Do A's Stay or Do They Go?

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

I think on Vegas' part, its kind of like having a pretty girl you don't know introduce herself & hand you their number. You're flattered, Your ego gets a turbo boost. You dial her up on the quick cause of the possibilities in your mind. And then you see why she is still single.

In this case you can also tell at a glance that she’s kq76’s mom

[kq76]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

In this case you can also tell at a glance that she’s kq76’s mom

Oh, that reminds me. She liked the basket of flowers you brought her last time, but what she'd really like is more of that Trader Joe's BBQ sauce she likes.

What you see in a 77-year old woman I don't know, but I'm glad you two make each other happy.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by kq76

Oh, that reminds me. She liked the basket of flowers you brought her last time, but what she'd really like is more of that Trader Joe's BBQ sauce she likes.

What you see in a 77-year old woman I don't know, but I'm glad you two make each other happy.

No lie, I have used this exact same comeback to great effect so WELL PLAYED SIR

[Le Grande Orange]

At least the Athletics can celebrate their recent winning streak, which has raised the club from 1889 Louisville Colonels territory up to the heady heights of 1962 New York Mets territory.

[Cobra Mgr]

A's clear 1st step in getting Nevada tax dollars.

[BBGiovanni]

Bill amended and approved by the Assembly, now back to the Senate. Start stocking up on Oakland A's memorabilia now.

[Cobra Mgr]

David Samson, former Prez of the Marlins, talks the A's to Vegas move on the Dan LeBetard show.

[mytreds]

I'm not an Oakland fan, but I've been making the trek to Oakland games more last year and this year, just so I can see the Coliseum in its final days, like I did with Candlestick. Call me an ol' softy, but I enjoy the old cookie cutter stadium, warts and all. New stadiums are too slick and have little character IMO. Coliseum has plenty of character (good and bad). Will be sad to see it go. If I were in charge, I would demolish Mount Davis so the fans could see the beautiful coastal hills again.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by mytreds

I'm not an Oakland fan, but I've been making the trek to Oakland games more last year and this year, just so I can see the Coliseum in its final days, like I did with Candlestick. Call me an ol' softy, but I enjoy the old cookie cutter stadium, warts and all. New stadiums are too slick and have little character IMO. Coliseum has plenty of character (good and bad). Will be sad to see it go. If I were in charge, I would demolish Mount Davis so the fans could see the beautiful coastal hills again.

This is… a take, at least. The “character” of the o.co is that since the Kingdome was demolished it’s the worst baseball stadium in the majors. That doesn’t mean the A’s should leave - personally given the way the owner runs the team I’d rather see them disband it altogether and reward a new owner an expansion franchise to get the league back up to 30 teams - but the stadium is terrible and any nostalgia about it reminds me of the way people were like “haha those Orioles are lovable losers” when they lost their first 21 games in 1988 - it sure as hell wasn’t lovable to the fans.

[Amazin69]

I don't know…the grassy bank in CF looks pretty nice in all those 1970s Doug McWilliams Topps pics.

Scale back the foul territory and get rid of Mount Davis (and do any necessary maintenance), and I wouldn't see a problem. In an era of ridiculous scoreboards and relentless advertising, I'm old-school enough to appreciate the basics.

Wednesday's loss ended the winning streak at 7 (I bet quite a few teams don't put together a 7-game winning streak this season…even some contenders)…but the winning percentage is all the way up to .271, which projects to 44-118 for a full season. Bye-bye, 1962 Mets! Bye-bye, 2003 Tigers! (And a bunch of rancid depression-era Phillies teams, too.)

Y'all laughed when I called 55-107. And yes, we're still 11 games below that. But we've got time.

[Déjà Bru]

Yesterday, when asked about the A's fans' "reverse boycott" that drew over 27,000 in attendance (according to Wikipedia, the capacity of the Coliseum for baseball is 46,847), Rob Manfred's response was “It was great. It’s great to see what is, this year, almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night. That’s a great thing.”

The resulting bad headlines this morning are "In a Moment that Called for Grace, Rob Manfred Opted for Sarcasm" and "MLB commissioner Rob Manfred needs to read the room."

No wonder people call this man "Dumbfred."

[Westheim]

*Numbfred

Ah, both check out.

[joefromchicago]

Well, I went ahead and took a trip to the Bay area to see the A's for (probably) the last time at the Oakland Coliseum. My impressions of the place:

• It's not as bad as I imagined it would be or as other people have said - but then I wasn't there when there was raw sewage filling the dugouts, so I can't say that I got the full Coliseum experience.
• That being said, the ballpark has clearly seen better days. There was a distinct lack of upkeep visible in the concourse area and just a general sort of drabness all around. It's not terrible, but it's more or less "blah."
• Really, the worst thing about the Coliseum (apart from Mt. Davis, which is just comically disproportionate) is the area around the ballpark. I arrived on BART, and the surroundings could only be described as "modern urban decay." About the only thing that I could compare it to is all of the chop shops that used to abut Shea Stadium. I suppose it's OK for football fans who can tailgate in the parking lots, but for baseball fans the best thing to do before or after an A's game is to do it somewhere else. I can see why the club wanted a ballpark closer to the city center.
• The contrast with Oracle Park is pretty striking. I never went to Candlestick, but I imagine that some of the same factors that compelled the Giants to abandon that park and move closer to the city existed for the A's and the Coliseum. After a rush to make parks as car-friendly as possible in the 1960s and '70s, the A's missed the subsequent trend to move back to the urban core (Atlanta is a notable recent exception, but there are other factors at play there). The plans for Las Vegas look like they might finally get that kind of ballpark. Of course, if the A's wanted a ballpark in the heart of a major city, they should never have moved from Philadelphia

[Amazin69]

In defense of Big Shea, the street with the chop shops was out beyond the (enormous) parking lot. The "7" Train debarked just outside right field, within the footprint of the stadium. Nobody who came to a game, by private or public transportation, ever had to go down that street…

…unless of course they were a poor college student who wasn't going to pay any damn parking fees and was glad to park outside the chop shop and hoof it across the asphalt sea, secure in the privileges of being a big dude and thus an unlikely target. ¿Quien es mas macho? ¡Amazin69!

(Lifetime record in actual fights: 0-1-1. And I only got the draw by biting the other kid. But there's something to be said for a visual deterrent, thankfully.)

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by mytreds

I'm not an Oakland fan, but I've been making the trek to Oakland games more last year and this year, just so I can see the Coliseum in its final days, like I did with Candlestick. Call me an ol' softy, but I enjoy the old cookie cutter stadium, warts and all. New stadiums are too slick and have little character IMO. Coliseum has plenty of character (good and bad). Will be sad to see it go. If I were in charge, I would demolish Mount Davis so the fans could see the beautiful coastal hills again.

I lived near Sacramento from 1963-1971. We went to a TON of games at the 'Stick, and a ton of games after the A's moved into Oakland.

Frankly, both stadiums were terrible.

[Le Grande Orange]

Oakland is currently hovering just above 1962 New York Mets territory. (It would finish 42-120 if it maintains its present winning percentage for the rest of the season.)

[cephasjames]

And the Royals are hanging in there right with them.

[mytreds]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

I lived near Sacramento from 1963-1971. We went to a TON of games at the 'Stick, and a ton of games after the A's moved into Oakland.

Frankly, both stadiums were terrible.

Stick had its problems, because the owner was taken to Candlestick Point in the morning, when the climate was agreeable. It wasn't until the stadium was built that they realize how horrible it was to play at night.


That being said, neither stadiums are terrible. But I understand your opinion.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

And the Royals are hanging in there right with them.

An entertaining race to the bottom!

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

An entertaining race to the bottom!

"Entertaining" not the term I would use.