Dark days at the Trop

Carlos Pena was on his way to first base after drawing a first-inning walk off Oakland starter Dallas Braden on Thursday afternoon when the stadium lights at Tropicana Field went off.

Braden jumped off the mound as the building grew dark.

You can understand Braden being a tad spooked, what with the thunderstorm pounding the Trop from the outside.

The scoreboard, video board, sound system and lights through the stadium continued to work. Just the lights suspended from the catwalks lost juice.

The A's left the field as everyone waited for the lights to come back on. It would take 15 minutes or so before they came on fully juiced.

This is a good time to trot a favorite story among those who have covered this team for many years.

It happened when Hal McRay was manager. The lights went out during a mid-season game in 2002. After the game, Carter Gaddis of the Tampa Tribune asked McRae what he thought when the lights went out.

"Carter," McRae, began, "the lights went out around her a long time ago."

A Devil Rays classic.