Oakland A's 2006-2007 Offseason Thread

[mikev]

Official Oakland A's Cisco Field Page

[edog23]

I stayed home from work today and watched the press conference and I liked what I saw. The views of the new ballpark are pretty nice and these guys want to make every effort to make this work. The real trick will be the traffic issue. If somehow they can make a deal with the Santa Clara county transit authority and run Bart over that way as well as more busses, this could really work. I'll make more trips up there, that's for sure.

[Green & Gold Heart]

Originally Posted by mikev

Official Oakland A's Cisco Field Page

Pretty freaking amazing.

[mrskippy]

The new ballpark looks gorgeous. It's so nice to see the new A's owners willing to invest so much money into the team. They are willing to spend money to field a winning team and now are willing to put money up to build a stadium. No public financing. The Maloof's need to take that to heart in Sacramento. It can be done and there are plenty of corporations that would be willing to swing a similar deal.

Nice thing is that Fremont can actually be a shorter drive from Manteca. You don't have to hit the 580-880 bottleneck. You can go 580-680 and than take the appropriate expressway exits from there ... straight to the ballpark. My guess is it will chop 15-minutes off.

Only drawback is that ticket prices will be substantially more. I think you will lose a lot of old timers you had at the Coliseum.

Personally, I would have preferred a ballpark next to the current stadium. That would have allowed the A's to keep the Oakland feel ... which leads to the bigger question ... what to call them:

Oakland A's
Fremont A's
San Jose A's
Silicon Valley A's
East Bay A's

[mrskippy]

Originally Posted by edog23

I stayed home from work today and watched the press conference and I liked what I saw. The views of the new ballpark are pretty nice and these guys want to make every effort to make this work. The real trick will be the traffic issue. If somehow they can make a deal with the Santa Clara county transit authority and run Bart over that way as well as more busses, this could really work. I'll make more trips up there, that's for sure.

I think they are banking on BART expansion, as well as expansion of the Santa Clara light rail system. This is an area poised for dramatic growth.

[mrskippy]

This will be the biggest hurdle:

Groundbreaking on the project will commence once the A's gain approval from the City of Fremont, Alameda County and other government agencies with construction time taking between 24-36 months.

I think they'll easily get Fremont's nod. Alameda County could be another issue. Look for major environmental impact reports. Look for the more liberal (environmentalists) to protest. Best bit is that there won't be any need for a ballot measure. As it will be a privately financed facility, there won't be any need to request public funding (except for the transit, which will end up happening regardless). The other AlCo issue is the county's relationship with the current stadium authority.

Sticking around in Alameda County takes away any chance of the Giants to claim territorial rights. Looking at things, this will end up very close to Santa Clara, without crossing the county line. For all intensive purposes though, they will draw huge from the market and the Giants won't have a leg to stand on.

[Green & Gold Heart]

WTF?

Frank Thomas to sign with Blue Jays pending physical.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Green & Gold Heart

WTF?

Frank Thomas to sign with Blue Jays pending physical.

It is a done deal 2yr/$20M

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by RchW

It is a done deal 2yr/$20M

Ouch.

[Green & Gold Heart]

Originally Posted by RchW

It is a done deal 2yr/$20M

Yikes. They can have him.

[Magatsu]

Originally Posted by mirrf

Ouch.

"

...although I'm a bit surprised that you're so surprised about this.

Anyway, as a M's-Fan i'd like to ask, since you seem to have a lot more knowledge about what your players said or think: what do you think about the chances of Zito ending up in Seattle???

I heard he would like to stay at the West Coast and Safeco is a great pitcher's park. Might this be enough (+ a LOT of money) to get him??

Sorry. didn't want hijack this thread, but you A's fans probably know him better than anyone else, so I asked ...

M

[Green & Gold Heart]

There are pretty much Zito-to-everywhere rumors, so it's hard to tell. I'd be really surprised if he went to Seattle though. The most likely to me seem to be LA, San Diego (because he's a Southern CA guy) and the Mets (because they will likely be pushing hard for him and because of Rick Peterson).

[Magatsu]

Originally Posted by Green & Gold Heart

There are pretty much Zito-to-everywhere rumors, so it's hard to tell. I'd be really surprised if he went to Seattle though. The most likely to me seem to be LA, San Diego (because he's a Southern CA guy) and the Mets (because they will likely be pushing hard for him and because of Rick Peterson).

Granted, LA or San Diego are very, very viable solutions but Mets ???? ... Zito get's crushed in Shea over the next 2 (or when ever citi .... whatever is build) years, don't you think?

M

[Green & Gold Heart]

Originally Posted by Magatsu

Granted, LA or San Diego are very, very viable solutions but Mets ???? ... Zito get's crushed in Shea over the next 2 (or when ever citi .... whatever is build) years, don't you think?

M

Yeah maybe, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't sign him.

[Magatsu]

dola ...

.... another (very stupid question ... sorry for this ): Why does everyone tell us that the San Diego-area is owned by the Giants (at least nameswise)???? How did the Padres get in there?? What happened then????

M

[Magatsu]

Originally Posted by Green & Gold Heart

Yeah maybe, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't sign him.

.... argument .... .... sorry for the dola ....

M

[Green & Gold Heart]

Originally Posted by Magatsu

dola ...

.... another (very stupid question ... sorry for this ): Why does everyone tell us that the San Diego-area is owned by the Giants (at least nameswise)???? How did the Padres get in there?? What happened then????

M

I think you're getting San Diego confused with San Jose, which is much closer to San Francisco than San Diego is. The Giants' territorial rights are why the A's were not allowed to move to San Jose.

[mrskippy]

Of course, come 2011, the A's will be able to keep all their stars. That said, casual fans won't be able to afford the tickets.

I think that with what Thomas was asking, the A's are better off signing Bonds and getting a huge draw for the next year or two.

[mrskippy]

Originally Posted by Green & Gold Heart

I think you're getting San Diego confused with San Jose, which is much closer to San Francisco than San Diego is. The Giants' territorial rights are why the A's were not allowed to move to San Jose.

However, being in Fremont will allow them to be close enough. I wouldn't be surprised if the A's are called the San Jose A's of Fremont ... as the Angels have already set that precedent.

[Green & Gold Heart]

Originally Posted by mrskippy

Of course, come 2011, the A's will be able to keep all their stars. That said, casual fans won't be able to afford the tickets.

I think that with what Thomas was asking, the A's are better off signing Bonds and getting a huge draw for the next year or two.

I HATE the idea of signing Barry Bonds, and I don't think I'm alone. I think the media assumes Oakland would embrace him because it's still the Bay Area, but I think a lot of fans would be pissed off. Sure, you'd still draw the casual fan, but... ugh. I am going to throw up in my mouth just thinking about it.

That said, I doubt he'd be in their price range anyway. Someone is going to pony up bigger money than the A's would be willing to spend.