San Jose A's, eh? Ole!
by Stirrups on Mar 12, 2009 11:34 PM PDT
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PrintAfter teasing that half-empty busload of self-absorbed anal-ytics that call themselves A's fans for the entire 2008 season with a promise of a Cisco-certified, cellular clogged, cloud-computing emporium in Fremont, Lew "Moth-Pocket" Wolff simply swept it all aside in the offseason like so many recent playoff hopes.
What to do for an encore?
Welcome the city of San Jose! Oh, Happy Day! Let's put another coat of white-wash on those promises of a shiny new future where they can finally build a bandbox to fit their tiny levels of attendance interest, ignore the fact that their owner is going to siphon off whatever revenue gains are to be made from new digs, sneak out of Oakland and pretend that this will make enormous amounts of difference to the off-season training regimen of their players.
And Giants? What Giants?
This Fan-Post is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.
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Not Very Likely
For two reasons. First, The SF Giants used to be based at Candlestick, which was proximate to the South Bay, and they still have a sizeable fan base down there. The A’s have basically no fan base in that area. Secondly, the Giants’ Triple A Affiliate is the San Jose Giants. They’d be ceding the market to their rival. The A’s and/or the City of San Jose would have to throw an incredible pile of money at the Giants to get this done. I just don’t see this happening. Moving to San Jose Mexico would be more likely. And it would please me. By the way, Orlando Cabrera: please come home. We need you.
agree with everything you said except the Cabrera part
another SS is the last thing we need. We actually need to get RID of an infielder at the moment
by ihearhowie2.0 on Mar 13, 2009 8:33 AM PDT up reply actions
Trade Aybar or Izzy!
Let Wood play! Maybe Aybar and Mathis could head up a trade for a decent starting pitcher.
I can see October from Arizona!
by Rally Manatee on Mar 13, 2009 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed.
Cabrera is not that good. His defense is still good but in decline and his bat is average at best. Wood > O-Cab since we don’t lose anything defensively and we add a lot more power production and overall offense potential. Besides, Aybar can be really good defensively as well if he can just learn to throw more accurately.
by Chzburger Jones on Mar 14, 2009 3:46 AM PDT up reply actions
Fail
1. San Jose Single-A Affiliate
2. A’s have a large fanbase from San Jose
3. If the Nationals can have D.C. for $$$ from the Orioles, San Jose can be had
4. Selig and Wolff are Fraternity Brothers
5. Candlestick is proximate to the South Bay?
by Colorado Fan on Mar 13, 2009 9:38 PM PDT up reply actions
The A's have a large fan base ...
where is this “large fan base” the A’s have? They must be hiding under the tarp. And yes, Candlestick is basically IN the south bay. I lived in San Jose for 2 years, in SF for 3 years. I know what I’m talking about here.
by LazorkoRules on Mar 14, 2009 8:53 AM PDT up reply actions
You don't know what you are talking about....
Candlestick’s address is in San Francisco….look it up. Last time I checked… being that I have lived here for the majority of my life, San Francisco is [i]not[/i] in the south bay.
And if by some chance you think proximity is important…….Candlestick is 44 miles from San Jose… Oakland is 36 miles away. You can do simple math right?
If you actually did live here for 3 years, then why don’t you think back to a time before the Giants got their park….. and ask yourself how many Giant fans were known to crowd into the Stick…. not many…I can pull up numbers for you if you want. New park = lots of fans. Plain and simple…. Oakland plays in a dump, I’ll admit it that, but given a new stadium…in a new area not too far away and you won’t be able to use that lame played out zinger “What A’s fan base…?” that all of you are so fond of.
Look it up yourself, 'piker
The stadium that Wolff was going to build in Fremont was about the same size as the EXISTING available seats in Oakland. You know, the one’s that are NOT tarped over. In other words, he was building DOWN to his attendance levels. And, by so doing, he was LOCKING OUT any possibility of some great horde of “lots of fans”.
Here, let me help you:
the design was for only 30,000 – 35,000 people. “…”http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/athletics/2006-11-14-oakland-stadium_x.htm" >an intimate venue"
Oakland-Alameda Stadium CAN hold over 60,000, but the tarps cut that back to a max of 35,000, but the official MLB max is only 34,007.
Notice a trend here?
Last year the A’s home crowd draw was a crappy 1,665,256,for an average of 20,559. The best that Fremont would ever do would have been 2.7, which would have put you back closer to what you were drawing just a couple of years ago at 2.2. So the maximum number of “lots of fans” Wolff’s new stadium would draw is 500,000. Not bad, but he could do that right where he is – and more! – if he just put a better product on the field.
Slow down there cowboy
I never liked the idea of having the A’s move to Fremont…and as long as they stay in the Bay Area, they will play second fiddle to Giants….especially with regards to free advertising….ie media support. Fenway park is a perfect example of not needing a huge seating capacity to justify it’s fan base.
The Oakland Coliseum sucks….it’s in a terrible location and it’s a dump. We can all admit that. It sucks driving to it in ridiculous traffic, the lines to get anything are terrible, even with low attendance, and the field goes from green to brown every September due to the Raiders. It’s not fun to watch a game there. Take them out of that environment and they will draw. Like I mentioned in another post, the Rivercats draw very well…..and guess what, they are A’s fans. When a team draws and corporate sponsorship is high….the team creates revenue….which then could be spent on retaining players. Even with a low budget, the A’s are pretty damn competitive. If the A’s had the Angel’s budget….
You mean like when Bean spent $85 million dollars in 2007 and the A's were a .500 team?
That kind of budget? Where the bulk of the money was being spent on superstars like Jason Kendall, Mike Piazza, and Eric Chavez? Yeah, if only Bean had the money to sign more guys like that, what kind of team would the A’s be…
~Till the Halo burns out...
by Zu Long on Mar 14, 2009 12:13 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
WTF IS your point
That the A’s would be no better with a higher budget? And, so you’ve cited on season when the team was on the hook for a few big salaries as evidence of this point, disregarding the point that the A’s pretty much consistently punch above their weight in terms of revenue and wins.
You are not smart.
by Jeremy Belvins on Mar 14, 2009 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm just pointing out that there is no evidence
that increasing Beane’s payroll improves his team’s performance. It’s not my problem that this fact punctures your fantasies about him. Deal with it.
~Till the Halo burns out...
2007 payroll was 79 million
If you are going to be so adamant about about pointing to the facts, it doesn’t hurt to be accurate.
“If the A’s had the Angel’s budget….” is what I said.
does 79 million = 109 million? Oh wait…it doesn’t…
Deal with it.
by Sacpike on Mar 14, 2009 5:51 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sorry, I was working from memory.
And yeah, we out spent you by a whole $30 million. Given that Beane was spending $12.8 million on Kendall, $9.5 million on Chavez, $8.5 on Piazza, one can only guess what hidden gems Beane would have spent the rest of his money on.
Of course, in 2008, when he lowered payroll by another $30 million to $47 million, he was all set to spend that money on key pieces needed to put the A’s back in contention… except that he didn’t. He seems to have just pocketed the extra money. Huh.
So what would Beane do with the Angels Budget? He’d slash the payroll and pocket the difference while claiming to be strapped for cash, just like he is with the A’s payroll right now.
~Till the Halo burns out...
by Zu Long on Mar 14, 2009 6:27 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Dude, you are soggy
A’s fans realize that Beane makes mistakes. You are embarrassing the Angels fan base by taking pot shots like this. The best any GM can do is take educated guesses within the framework of a well-constructed plan, and there is no question that Billy Beane is top-notch at doing this.
Chavez looked like a good idea, Kendall was a bad contract exchange and he just happened to suck in the American League.
You have no basis for your claims that Beane slashes the budget to pocket profits. The Angels probably make a shit-ton more profit and you still don’t see them competing for the big name FAs.
I miss Chad God
I only started taking shots at Beane
because one of you guys started your tired refrain of “If Beane had the Angels payroll…” implying that somehow money is the only reason the Angels win. It seems to us at HalosHeaven that there’s this pervasive myth among A’s fans that Beane would be nigh unstoppable if only he wasn’t cursed with this horribly limited budget.
In response, I point to the fact that in the year where he was given by far the largest budget in team history, the A’s team he assembled did a fat lot of nothing.
Now in all honesty I think Beane is a pretty good GM who has helped pioneer a fairly workable strategy for competing with a lower budget. However, I am SICK of A’s fans pretending that if they had a larger budget, they’d dominate people every year. No, you wouldn’t. If money was all it took, the Yankees would win every year.
So you want if you really want to know what Beane would do with a hundred million dollar payroll, the best case scenario is that he’d put together a team that would compete for the division title each season, and win 90-100 games every season—in other words EXACTLY WHAT THE ANGELS HAVE DONE every season we’ve had a payroll in that range.
The sooner you guys realize that the Angels aren’t just a bunch of goobers who luck out every season, and that in fact they’re one of the best-run organizations in baseball, the sooner you’ll appreciate just how hard Beane’s job REALLY is.
As for your last point, I base my claim on the fact that he cut off 40% of your payroll and left it that way for no discernible reason. If and when the Angels payroll does something like that, you can feel free to suspect Arte is ripping us off.
Also, not going after premiere free agents? Is Vlad not on our team? Did we not pursue Mark Teixiera this winter?
~Till the Halo burns out...
You make a good point..
I do agree that they A’s would not dominate everyone because their payroll is over 100 million. They would be more competitive year in and year out. Specifically, it would be nice to see them hold onto some of our favorite players. There is no doubt A’s fans have a bit of envy of the Angels because they hold onto their players. It’s not so much the signing of free agents…. it just would be nice to hold onto the ones you got.
To be honest, one does not generally choose to be a fan of a team(excluding Rod Sox and Yankee fans), it just happens. I could not be a Giant fan if I wanted to, my heart is with the A’s, be it for better or worse.
That's one point I simpathize with you guys on.
I always feel like I got punched in the stomach when a favorite player leaves, it has to suck to see it happen almost every time.
As for me, I actually did make a choice to be an Angels fan. The first 10 years were pretty rough going, but the last 7 have been fun.
~Till the Halo burns out...
"Candlestick is basically IN the south bay"
No, DUDE, it’s not. Maybe some people in, say, North Beach like to refer to Candlestick as being in the South Bay (as a snobby joke), but geographically it’s not even close. No part of the city of SF is in the South Bay, this point is even debatable! WTF ARE YOU talking about?
You’re wrong.
by Jeremy Belvins on Mar 14, 2009 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions
A's triple A club (the river cats) is in sac-town.......
fan base is probably there
A person who performs good Karma (deeds) is always held in high esteem
12/19/08 - Thank you KLJ for coming into my life.
by norcaliangelsfan on Mar 13, 2009 9:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Nope.
They can barely support the Kings. With the economy being what it is, the A’s are basically screwed. Maybe they can get some of that bail out money.
by LazorkoRules on Mar 14, 2009 8:54 AM PDT up reply actions
A few years back....
Sacramento made a huge push to get a major league team…..they did this whole parade and everything. The Rivercats park was eventually built, but it was built so that it could easily be expanded and retrofitted to hold a major league team. The mayor of Sacramento is campaigning hard for them too. Having the A’s there would be a perfect fit imo. The park is brand new, in a great location and it has a very good fan base(all of which are A’s fans…..who would of thought?), despite a poor economy. It would still be in NorCal as well.
With the expansion of Government
this will be the trend. Watch the Mariners move to Salem, Oregon before it is all said and done…
Hopefully for the A's fans in NorCal
Sacramento is an option. Arnold can throw out the first pitch and John Garamendi can catch the ball.
by stolenbases on Mar 16, 2009 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Outdoor summer baseball in Sacto
PASS
Wolff wants a small park with expensive prices. I don’t see Sacto farm country fans being able to support that. He wants San Jose so he can cash in on the dot com money…. at least what is left of it
lew rejects chokeland lol
they might be called the contraction A’s…good news…in a dispersable draft wouldnt socal native trevor cahill look good in an angels uniform
wow.....
I am appalled that an Angels fan would want to see that happen. The rivalry between teams is fun and intense. The whole point of playing a game….any game for that matter is to compete against other teams…..everything else is moot. It’s fun to hate the other team, but I don’t want to see them dead.
Are you the kid who puts in all the cheat codes to a game before he plays it?
seriously…
Check his/her name...
A’s Fan 4 Ever 723… and posts 913 comments on AN while only 12 on HH.
Now, re-read above and make your decision to be appalled or not.
by Downing Rules on Mar 16, 2009 6:42 PM PDT up reply actions
I was wondering about the name... but figured it was short for Angels
but by first impressions…. that post seems pro-contraction and anti-A’s.
I have seen other posts about contraction though, so it still applies to those who think it’s a good idea.
I might be the only one...
But I think its a good time to move a team to Mexico, Monterry to be exact. The City has a lot of love for baseball. They were in on the bids to bring The Expos to Mexico. Plus, it would give the game a greater international feel. Moving The A’s to Monterry, you could even still keep them in the AL West.
But I’m also in favor of moving the Marlins to Puerto Rico.
Would they change their name to the "Eh's"?
by sothball on Mar 13, 2009 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Enough U.S. money already goes to Mexico.
I can see October from Arizona!
by Rally Manatee on Mar 13, 2009 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Taft A's of Maricopa
". . .and the young lions will lock horns!" -- Ron Fairly, from an Angels telecast
OH, Stop putting on airs
You’re the Los Angeles Angels of F*cking Anaheim!
You’re in Disneyland’s rat-infested parking lot; the cultural equivalent of a giant Taco Bell.
Yes, the A’s have some sorry digs, but don’t act SO superior. You’re really not all that.
San Jose is the tenth largest city in the USA, it’s STILL in the Bay Area (soon to be a BART stop), and it’s the home of Silicon Valley. How is this a downgrade from Freemont?
Just.. STFU!
by Jeremy Belvins on Mar 14, 2009 12:41 PM PDT reply actions
Dude
Chill
We’re making fun of our name, I’m sorry that you as a fan of The Choakland A’s via Philadelphia with a stop over in Kansas City can’t see past your bullshit owner, your crappy stadium and your overall disappointing team and see that
So to I say Shut the FUCK up (March F-Bomb)
by Seik1177 on Mar 14, 2009 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good job elevating the debate!
Really makes me want to give your arguments serious consideration! And you reflect well on the teams you support! I’m sure he A’s will give you a green and gold star for your efforts! Congratulations!
I've heard of "second city" complex...
but never “10th City Complex”.
Also, there’s only one “e” in Fremont, as in John Fremont, the fellow most likely after which the city is named.
by Downing Rules on Mar 14, 2009 9:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh, its gonna be a BART stop! well, that changes everything.
Oh, and our parking lot is nowhere near Disneyland. Freakin’ Pole vaulter.
Netherlands-2 Dominican Republic-0
Oh, and our parking lot is nowhere near Disneyland.
I was implying that your ballpark was in Disneyland’s parking lot.
I’m hysterical!
Way haven’t I been banned yet?
by Jeremy Belvins on Mar 15, 2009 12:16 AM PDT up reply actions
London or Northern California
"Yes, [Northern California]. You know: fish, chips, cup ’o tea, bad food, worse weather, [Silicone] fucking [Valley]… [NorCal]
Thank you sir!
Dennis Farina is Snatch is a sight of beauty. The movie is an all time favorite but the venom and delivery of Cousin Avi is brilliant. I wish I had a cousin like that.
Oh, how clever. Making fun of the full team name, tossing out the 'culture' canard, and chest thumping over Silicon Valley.
Of course, you were one successful steal-the-team-away-by-Wolff from becoming the “Oakland A’s of Fremont”. Currently you are stuck back at square 3: the Philadelphia A’s of Oakland by Way of Kansas City. But you may yet end up becoming the “Oakland A’s of San Jose”. So, until your owner finally takes his crap on that Oakland you are so proud of and finds some new burg to hand over to him a real estate gold mine, you may want to limit the use of that tar you will get painted with. live by the stupid and igorant comment, die by the stupid and ignorant comment.
Culture. Oakland. Yes. Cultural like, say, Wilmington. Or Carson. And we are snobbish? Puhleeeze. Snobbishness is the ONLY thing you folk up there have going for you. It’s your reason d’etre. Give San Francisco (NOT Oakland) a symphony and an opera, and find a way to syphon the monumental tax revenues out of the 9th-largest economic engine on planet earth for 100 years and you can sure float a society on enough perfume to hide the stench of your feces. Well enough to convince yourself that it is your birthright.
Meanwhile, you might want to bone up on the actual accomplishments and the impact on American culture and the global economy by that favorite target of your derision: Disney. Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks personally pioneered artistic and technical achievements in the film business that are accepted standards and practices even today.
Speaking of the film industry, what do you have up there in Oakland to compare with the cultural and artistic and economic accomplishments of Hollywood? Most of the top 100 AFI films of all time come from right here, baby. Ooops. Did I say most? Let me correct myself. It’s not most of them, it’s ALL of them.
Our musical contributions take a back seat to nobody. We have generated more athletic champions (…let’s pause and dwell on World Series titles a while, shall we? Ahhh. Good. Now let us continue…) and Olympic athletes and Olympic medalists than anyplace else (light years beyond NorCal). And we gave America it’s love affair with the car culture. Your seminal ‘me-too’ moment in the car culture – America Graffitti? Yeah, SoCal wannabes. We invented hot rods, hot rodding, and drag racing. And we gave the world that whole James Dean persona in the first place.
But, yeah, you DO have Silicon Valley. Congrats to that. Of course, that would be on the other side of San Jose. That is MUCH farther away from Oakland than Anaheim is from LA. 26 miles between Anaheim and LA versus 38 miles from Oakland just to SJ itself. So, if you find eason to mock the notion that Anaheim has nothing to do with LA, by what level of intelligence do you find merit in claiming credit for Intel?
So wrap it up, loser. Crawl back to your sliderule and recalculate your way out of shame.
LMAO
I was trading barbs, not debating!
My comments were barely a step above “you suck.” (And, you do!)
My point was never that Silicon Valley was great. I could care less about that corporate waste land, I was just making the point that SJ was hardly a downgrade to Freemont. The point holds. It was just stupid to go on like the A’s ballpark prospects somehow took on a new low.
And, yes, you’re awfully full of yourselves: musical contributions?! Talk abut an inferiority complex.
Your stadium is practically a theme park. You’re not even located in a city, just awful, soul-crushing suburban sprawl. You are who are, there’s no way around it.
By the way, I know San Jose is fairly unremarkable city, and Oakland is 3/4 ghetto, but it still beats the scorched plastic wasteland the Angels call home.
YOU SUCK!!!
by Jeremy Belvins on Mar 15, 2009 2:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Is it possible you don't read a newspaper?
San Jose is the tenth largest city in the USA, it’s STILL in the Bay Area (soon to be a BART stop), and it’s the home of Silicon Valley. How is this a downgrade from Freemont?
Perhaps it is a liberal interpretation of the word “soon”, but the economy and the declining tax revenues have caused the VTA to revise their estimate of a BART stop in San Jose as being around 2025, due to the costs of tunneling under the city. Until then, it would be busses from the Fremont terminus to whatever site is selected for a stadium in San Jose.
While we’re at it, Magellan, San Jose is “the home of the Silicon Valley” in the same way Anaheim is the heart of Newport Beach. The traffic between those pairs of sites is about the same, too.
As to the idea of the As staying somewhere, anywhere near Oakland, Lew Wolff just pissed all over the Oakland city fathers by declining the city proposal to build the As a new stadium in the city. Excerpts from Wolff’s reply:
We understand the facility continues to cost the city of Oakland and Alameda County millions of lost dollars per year. Sadly, the business and corporate base of the city of Oakland was very limited when we purchased the team and has eroded since. Our attendance and low number of season ticket holders (both one of the lowest in Major league Baseball) also continues to decline; even when our on-field performance produced play-off participation.
[edit]
Our goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California . That goal has not changed.
We have no interest in covering old ground again, as we need to move forward in finding a future home for our team.
And sure enough, the attendance has been declining over the years. From the most recent peak in 2004 of 2.2M, the attendance has dropped off each season, down to last year’s 1.58M, averaging fewer than 20K fans a game. And this is at a stadium which is located at a BART station right now.
But to hear you talk about it, there would be no issue with Oakland fans taking BART another 30 min down the line from the Coliseum to Fremont, then taking a 45 minute bus ride to San Jose and a new stadium. I am sure all those fans on the other side of the Caldecott tunnel will be more than happy to add another 1+ hours to each way of their commute to the game. Yes, your plan is pure genius.
As far as the “right” of the As to set up shop in San Jose, the area is part of the territory given to the Giants a couple of decades ago:
The question now is, where in Northern California will Wolff focus his efforts? There has been speculation that the A’s, through MLB, will look to negotiate with the San Francisco Giants to regain control of Santa Clara Co. as part of their league-defined territory. San Jose, where Wolff has been involved in several development projects, including the return of MLS to the city. As part of the agreement with MLS, plans for a soccer-specific stadium in San Jose are currently being negotiated.
As mentioned, the A’s once had control of Santa Clara Co.
When Giants owner Bob Lurie was looking to get out of Candlestick Park in the late 80’s, baseball expanded the Giants territory to include Santa Clara County where there were efforts to pass funding to build a new ballpark in San Jose. The voters in Santa Clara County rejected tax hikes to fund the stadium in both 1990 and 1992, yet baseball reaffirmed those rights when Peter Magowan purchased the team in 1995 and built PacBell Park.
Look for the Giants to expect the sort of payday Peter Angelos received from the Expos/Nationals to give up territory to another franchise, when MLB paid Angelos $75M for 10% of MASN, and the Orioles received the broadcast rights to the Nationals games. In this economy, it seems unlikely MLB or the As will be handing out that kind of cash, nor that Oakland would hand over its broadcast rights to the Giants, which makes it equally unlikely that the Giants will be handing over Santa Clara County to Wolff or anyone else.
But please, keep up with this fantasy of yours—the day is kind of cold and rainy, and you’re providing topflight entertainment.
by George Kaplan on Mar 15, 2009 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah...
Look, it’s not that complicated, The idea that moving to SJ somehow takes the A’s far from their existing fanbase is ridiculous — period! The BART point was merely to denote the fact that San Jose is still a part of the Bay Area, and thus pretty damn close to the existing fanbase. And, anyway, it borders Freemont, so it’s just absurd to cast the shifting of the relocation plan from Freemont to San Jose as some sort of downgrade.
“While we’re at it, Magellan, San Jose is "the home of the Silicon Valley" in the same way Anaheim is the heart of Newport Beach. The traffic between those pairs of sites is about the same, too.”
— You have no idea wtf you’re talking about. You realize Silicon Valley doesn’t actually geographical dimensions, right? No, seriously, this is often a point of confusion for people. The geographical region is the South Bay. The largest city in the South Bay is San Jose. San Jose s thus WIDELY considered the capital of Silicon Valley. I didn’t make it up, jack ass!
I didn’t read the rest of your post, so I’ll just offer you this: YOU SUCK!
by Jeremy Belvins on Mar 15, 2009 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions
That's the sort of high road reply we've come to expect from you
Yes, I do have an idea about “Silicon Valley” and San Jose. That was my point with Anaheim/Newport Beach, but I am sure you’re accustomed to missing the point. Furthermore, I think everybody here understands “the South Bay”, so you needn’t act as if you’ve discovered the New World.
The elephant in the room (as opposed to the logo) is that moving so far away from the current McAfee location will serve to disenfranchise the fans who live north and inland from the Coliseum, increasing their travel time to the game and back by two hours.
None of this will be a problem for Wolff, of course, since his end game in purchasing the As seems to have been built upon developing land in San Jose, where he has land and business contacts. Maybe the folks in Santa Clara County and nearby will take their new team under their wing and bring solid attendance year after year. Or maybe they won’t. Or maybe it’s moot if Wolff doesn’t find a way to financially compensate the Giants for their territory which works for him as well. Otherwise, he can’t simply move the team without McGowan’s consent.
What is sure is that few of the current fans who live any degree north or east of the current Coliseum will wish to endure the extended commute via BART and bus to get to a stadium site in San Jose. All your lame, adolescent attempts at smack talk aside, Angels ownership respects its fans, while current Oakland ownership gives its fans the finger.
by George Kaplan on Mar 15, 2009 9:28 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree and disagree with you.
I think that Oakland to certain extent does give the fans the finger, but I also think that it is a product of the situation. There a lot of A’s fans out there, but until they have a park worth going to, we will only see the true diehards at the game. Like I said before, I am rooting for a move to Sacramento. It is a separate market than the Bay Area but close enough to draw from the Bay. There are a lot of A’s fans in the Sacramento area as well, because of the Rivercats.
Most people who are fans of a team can’t just switch allegiances at the drop of a hat. Unless you are a Yankee or Red Sox fan, you root for your team, because you would be a poser otherwise. No one can call A’s fans bandwagon fans.
Oh, you mean right next to Nasty City? ;)
by Downing Rules on Mar 16, 2009 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Bart Stop In Fremont...
yeah, i’m sure it’s all gonna come together for choakland.
YOU DON'T KNOW THE POWER OF THE DARKSIDE.....
The Bart stop
… is just another example of how close SJ is the existing East Bay fanbase.
by Jeremy Belvins on Mar 15, 2009 12:17 AM PDT up reply actions
You forgot
to close with ‘you suck,’ and the 6 people that currently make up the east bay fanbase applaud your effort.
Lamest poster of all-time.
by ineptituderunsamok on Mar 16, 2009 3:30 AM PDT up reply actions
FACE IT
The Athletics are moving out of state.
The writing is on the wall.
They will be in Portland, Vegas or Central New Jersey by 2013.
A’s fans are doomed to a life beginning with Zito’s final season as a Giant starter.
It is a curse for being the steroid juciers of 1989 – God tried to smite your asses with an earthquake and failed and now he is killing you slowly with delusional theories, an owner that is ripping you all off and a General Manager who pays more attention to Ramones lyrics than Bill James essays.
But I admire Jeremy Melvins for posting here and making Ron Dellums look intelligent in comparison.
Moving the As
but as far as Portland is concerned, that city just approved a new, city-owned 7,000 seat stadium for the PCL Beavers on some prime real estate in the Rose Garden district, and it would be a stretch to graft about 30,000 more seats onto that site if MLB was considering Portland. Las Vegas will work so long as MLB can accept the idea of its sport being played at the professional level in a city built on gambling. Hey, maybe Pete Rose would be the ideal choice for a manager…
A new location in the Eastern time zone (including Charlotte) isn’t a viable option without wholesale reconfiguration of the divisions—the AL West, of course, has one fewer team than either the Central or East, so moving the As to the East would necessitate moving one team out of the East and into the Central, then one from the Central and into the West…and unfortunately, I think the westernmost team in the AL Central are the Royals.
The team which might move to block such a move would probably be the Mariners, as they already log more air miles than any other team, and having a divisional rival move from Oakland to KC (or any other city not on the West coast) would cause the team to spend more hours wheels-up than it does currently.
So maybe Vegas is the winner by default.
by George Kaplan on Mar 16, 2009 10:15 AM PDT up reply actions
I have a propsed solution
Subtract Athletics from AL West
Add Diamondbacks to AL West
Add Houston Astros to NL West
Add Toronto Blue Jays to NL Central
Add Charlotte to AL East
Houston is VERY far East
…for a West Coast team. It reminds one of the days when the Twins were in the AL West.
I think the only real option for the As (assuming they’re going to move) is for the team to pay a ransom to the Giants and move to San Jose (and see if that market will support a team with a stadium capacity of about 35K), or to Las Vegas. One way or the other, I don’t think teams like the Dbacks would accept a move to the “Junior Circuit” AL, claiming they’d lose prestige by leaving the NL (though the true reason would be they’re afraid of the higher level of play in the AL).
by George Kaplan on Mar 16, 2009 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions
NFL: Atlanta and New Orleans were in the NFC West
Talk about silly positioning.
by Downing Rules on Mar 16, 2009 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Didn't the owner cut a deal...
…when they were established. They were meant to join the AL west and he lobbied for it to be NL West and won.
I see red people
They approved the Minor League Stadium because they are giving the current stadium to an MLS team
The current location is nicer then the furture location as well. The future location does not have anywhere near the room required to house a MLB venue.
Play Wood already. Willits sucks.
Roger that
I think the soccer team has a larger and more enthusiastic following in Portland than the Beavers (insert your own joke here).
by George Kaplan on Mar 16, 2009 1:12 PM PDT up reply actions
They do.
The city is a bit hypocritical though. They will not spend money on MLB but MLS is an okay object to throw money at? MLS is not a sure bet to survive.
Play Wood already. Willits sucks.
RE: MLS.
What with bringing David Beckham to LA, soccer is sure to thrive and grow in the US!
HAHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAH!
by Downing Rules on Mar 16, 2009 2:13 PM PDT up reply actions
...not to mention the un-intended humor of closing with most of his posts with "YOU SUCK!"...
…while “taunting” us with living in “soul-crushing suburbia”.
Somewhere north of us, I heard the sound of a cockroach being squished.
Swing and a miss ...
for Downing Rules.
by Downing Rules on Mar 16, 2009 3:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Sloth is the mascot and there is a "one eyed willy" bobbled head night
What in the wide wide world of sports is a goin on here?
by AlohaHalofan on Mar 16, 2009 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions
Salt Lake City could use another Pro team. I think they require you to field mostly white guys though.
Netherlands-2 Dominican Republic-0
and to have 16 kids
Vlad cheated me. I thought he was 12.
by vlad IS my man on Mar 17, 2009 5:57 PM PDT up reply actions
SJ may be a lost cause for the As
From the SF Chronicle:
giants beat
San Jose still seems to be S.F.’s territory
Henry Schulman, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, March 16, 2009
(03-16) 13:01 PDT Scottsdale, Ariz. — Commissioner Bud Selig visited Scottsdale Stadium on Sunday and met for an hour with Giants managing general partner Bill Neukom and President Larry Baer. Baer would not discuss the meeting but hinted Selig affirmed his public stance that he will not allow the A’s to breach the Giants’ territorial rights to San Jose.
“From what we could tell, there is no change in his position,” Baer said. He declined to elaborate on the meeting, saying, “There are a lot of things we discussed.” Selig did not speak to reporters.
The issue returned to the fore after the A’s withdrew plans to build a stadium in Fremont and owner Lew Wolff rebuked a letter from the city of Oakland to Selig seeking his help in keeping the A’s. That has led to renewed speculation of an A’s stadium push in San Jose, whose city council plans to discuss the topic next month.
Selig had sent Wolff a letter inviting the A’s to investigate other communities if the Fremont deal fell through. Some viewed that as a sign Selig might let the A’s talk to San Jose, but the letter did not make that clear.
The Giants aren’t letting Santa Clara County go.
No argument from me
The city council has been kicking around the idea of building a new park for the AAA Charlotte Knights (White Sox team) in a prime downtown spot (close to the Panthers’ home of BofA Stadium). The financing has been stymied since the economy took an ugly turn, with BofA and Wells Fargo/Wachovia laying well-salaried workers off weekly. As a result, the Knights still play down the interstate in Fort Mill, SC, and will for years to come.
Money is tight in Charlotte, as it is in any city in America, but I think the city would move heaven and earth to score an MLB franchise. It would be a huge boost to the local economy—just having the NCAA regionals in 2007 brought in something like $30M in local income over the 10 days of playoffs. The downtown area is robust with bars and great restaurants in walking distance, a light rail system similar to the Metro Blue Line which ferries in visitors from outside the area—the best analogy I can make is that it would be a similar fit to Petco Park and the Gaslamp District.
I still think the As will wind up in Las Vegas—stories have Wolff meeting with the mayor of LV this week—and as one who has spent some Summer days in LV, a pro park will need to be enclosed with a/c to attract crowds in the days of July and August, but someone will find the money to build it.
But San Jose? Naaaah…. It doesn’t even have a BART station, for chrissakes.
Yes, I know…I suck.
by George Kaplan on Mar 17, 2009 8:17 PM PDT up reply actions
On a purely speculative note, putting the DH into the Rockies stadium
might have interesting effects on the RS/RA. As in, ‘First team to score and allow 1000 runs in a season.’ :P
Plugging the upside since 2006.
Never give up, never surrender!
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