For A's, the Wolff is at the door
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The problem for the
Oakland Athletics is they were always confronting themselves, not to
mention the rest of us, with a conflict of bad ideas.
First was the ridiculous one to put tarps on the third-deck seats, as
if, borrowing from that not-so-wise bird the ostrich, what we couldn't
see wasn't there.
Then -- or did this come first? -- was the plan by owner Lew Wolff, a
real estate mogul, to erect a "village" that would contain a ballpark,
somewhere east of Eden and west of the sun. Well, in Fremont, 20 miles
from Oakland, but what's the difference?
Then in those whiny, pouting, "You don't know what I can do to you"
ways Wolff loves to impose, he complained last season nobody paid
attention to the A's, despite a surprisingly good start. And that more
people went to the games of the Giants, who weren't playing nearly as
well as his A's.
Wolff may have been the frat bro of baseball commissioner Bud Selig,
but Lew understands neither the game nor the people who support it, or
in his case fail to do as much.
You don't go around figuratively kicking fans in the teeth, whether
it's effectively telling them they're ignorant or attempting to confuse
them by trading away the talent or stealing away the franchise to
never-never land.
There are a great many individuals who would like to tell Lew what they
think, but only the folks like Lew, who don't have to listen to a boss
but are the boss, have that privilege.
What he told us Friday was Oakland (the town) stinks, and he'd go
anywhere else, including San Jose. If possible. But, ho, ho, it's not
possible.
Given the current state of the economy, the fact the Giants do hold
territorial rights down there at the south end of the bay and a place
like Sacramento has a better chance to losing the NBA Kings than it
does of acquiring the A's, Mr. Wolff is without the only thing that
means anything in his world: Leverage.
We concede that McAfee Coliseum isn't AT&T Park. But there are
worse venues. BART stops at the Coliseum. For day games the sun shines
at the Coliseum. And with the upper deck untarped and a crowd of at
least 20,000 there is a nice feel to the place.
"Our attendance and low number of season ticket holders (both one of
the lowest in Major League Baseball)," Wolff proclaimed in a statement,
"also continues to decline when our on-field performance produced
playoff participation."
Does Wolff need to be reminded the A's in 2007 and 2008 had losing records and were out of the race by July?
That those seasons they dumped almost every player who was recognizable by someone other than his own mother?
That continual hints of dragging the team to Fremont created negative feedback from a fan base already whipsawed?
Oakland, the city, hardly has been guiltless in this scenario, with
former mayor Jerry ("I know nothing about baseball except they don't
punt on fourth down") Brown preferring to build lofts in old warehouses
rather than a ballpark.
But lo, the current jefe, Ron Dellums, authored on Friday -- or at
least signed -- a letter to Wolff outlining the city's intent to
provide the A's a new home.
This was met instantly with a back-of-the-hand response from Wolff and
his minions, who spitefully answered the Oakland plea by saying, "We
have fully exhausted our time and resources over the years with Oakland
dating back to the previous A's ownership.
" ... Outside stimulation to have us continue to play in an aging and
shared facility may generate press and 'sound-bite' opportunities but
do not provide any tangible alterations in the circumstances we face."
In other words, nyah, nyah.
So, Lew, sell the team. Oh, nobody else wants it, at least until the market reaches 9,000 again?
These are tough times, as you know, and not just in the sporting business.
Journalism is dying as a profession. The New York Times said in two years there might not be a major city with a newspaper still printing. The auto companies are laying off thousands.
Who's going to buy a ball club?
The A's this late winter of '09 have given us a reason to think they
might be both interesting and contending, what with the addition of
Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra
along with the maturing of a seemingly decent pitching staff. Then
along comes the man in charge who says, "B'gone, with all of you."
Lew Wolff is angry because he couldn't get what he wanted. What A's
fans want is assurance their team will be not only worth watching but
playing where they should be, in Oakland, new park or old.
Oakland Athletics is they were always confronting themselves, not to
mention the rest of us, with a conflict of bad ideas.
First was the ridiculous one to put tarps on the third-deck seats, as
if, borrowing from that not-so-wise bird the ostrich, what we couldn't
see wasn't there.
Then -- or did this come first? -- was the plan by owner Lew Wolff, a
real estate mogul, to erect a "village" that would contain a ballpark,
somewhere east of Eden and west of the sun. Well, in Fremont, 20 miles
from Oakland, but what's the difference?
Then in those whiny, pouting, "You don't know what I can do to you"
ways Wolff loves to impose, he complained last season nobody paid
attention to the A's, despite a surprisingly good start. And that more
people went to the games of the Giants, who weren't playing nearly as
well as his A's.
Wolff may have been the frat bro of baseball commissioner Bud Selig,
but Lew understands neither the game nor the people who support it, or
in his case fail to do as much.
You don't go around figuratively kicking fans in the teeth, whether
it's effectively telling them they're ignorant or attempting to confuse
them by trading away the talent or stealing away the franchise to
never-never land.
There are a great many individuals who would like to tell Lew what they
think, but only the folks like Lew, who don't have to listen to a boss
but are the boss, have that privilege.
What he told us Friday was Oakland (the town) stinks, and he'd go
anywhere else, including San Jose. If possible. But, ho, ho, it's not
possible.
Given the current state of the economy, the fact the Giants do hold
territorial rights down there at the south end of the bay and a place
like Sacramento has a better chance to losing the NBA Kings than it
does of acquiring the A's, Mr. Wolff is without the only thing that
means anything in his world: Leverage.
We concede that McAfee Coliseum isn't AT&T Park. But there are
worse venues. BART stops at the Coliseum. For day games the sun shines
at the Coliseum. And with the upper deck untarped and a crowd of at
least 20,000 there is a nice feel to the place.
"Our attendance and low number of season ticket holders (both one of
the lowest in Major League Baseball)," Wolff proclaimed in a statement,
"also continues to decline when our on-field performance produced
playoff participation."
Does Wolff need to be reminded the A's in 2007 and 2008 had losing records and were out of the race by July?
That those seasons they dumped almost every player who was recognizable by someone other than his own mother?
That continual hints of dragging the team to Fremont created negative feedback from a fan base already whipsawed?
Oakland, the city, hardly has been guiltless in this scenario, with
former mayor Jerry ("I know nothing about baseball except they don't
punt on fourth down") Brown preferring to build lofts in old warehouses
rather than a ballpark.
But lo, the current jefe, Ron Dellums, authored on Friday -- or at
least signed -- a letter to Wolff outlining the city's intent to
provide the A's a new home.
This was met instantly with a back-of-the-hand response from Wolff and
his minions, who spitefully answered the Oakland plea by saying, "We
have fully exhausted our time and resources over the years with Oakland
dating back to the previous A's ownership.
" ... Outside stimulation to have us continue to play in an aging and
shared facility may generate press and 'sound-bite' opportunities but
do not provide any tangible alterations in the circumstances we face."
In other words, nyah, nyah.
So, Lew, sell the team. Oh, nobody else wants it, at least until the market reaches 9,000 again?
These are tough times, as you know, and not just in the sporting business.
Journalism is dying as a profession. The New York Times said in two years there might not be a major city with a newspaper still printing. The auto companies are laying off thousands.
Who's going to buy a ball club?
The A's this late winter of '09 have given us a reason to think they
might be both interesting and contending, what with the addition of
Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra
along with the maturing of a seemingly decent pitching staff. Then
along comes the man in charge who says, "B'gone, with all of you."
Lew Wolff is angry because he couldn't get what he wanted. What A's
fans want is assurance their team will be not only worth watching but
playing where they should be, in Oakland, new park or old.