A's Owner Lew Wolff Rejects Oakland's Overture, Wants Move

WILD PITCH: In Oakland, Cam Inman wrote under the header, "A's Alienating Fans With Threat To Leave Oakland." The A's are "whining about their poor little park, and they're threatening to take their ball and go home, wherever that might be." The A's are not "willing to play nice anymore." They "want to bully their way to San Jose or whichever city will lavish them with rubies" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 3/14). In S.F., Ray Ratto wrote, "The A's don't have a way out of the Coliseum for now, period. That's nobody's fault. ... Let's just not endure the pretense that there is a useful alternative available, or that this is the fans' fault, or the media's fault, or anyone else's fault" (SFGATE.com, 3/13).

A GIANT ROAD BLOCK: In S.F., Henry Schulman reports Selig yesterday met with Giants Managing General Partner Bill Neukom and President Larry Baer. While Baer did not discuss the meeting, he indicated that Selig "affirmed his public stance that he will not allow the A's to breach the Giants' territorial rights to San Jose." Baer: "From what we could tell, there is no change in his position" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/16). Also in S.F., Matier & Ross wrote the "spotlight is on San Jose to see if it can swing a new A's ballpark next to HP Pavilion, now that the team has scuttled its Fremont plans and told Oakland it's not interested in staying." However, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) "could make life difficult" for MLB by "raising the specter of hearings on its antitrust-exempt status." Also, Giants sources said that Neukom "won't let the A's move into Giants land without a fight, even if it means going to court" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/15). The S.F. EXAMINER's Artie Gigantino wrote, "Lew Wolff: For the last time, forget about San Jose, Fremont and all the other stuff that we keep hearing from your office about relocation and a new stadium." The team should "go to Sacramento" and "add 20,000 seats, luxury suites and a new press box" to the city's Raley Field, currently home to the Triple-A PCL Sacramento River Cats, an A's affiliate. Gigantino: "What a wonderful setting for the A's to call home. Is it me or does this make too much sense? Great location on the water, ballpark already in existence, enthusiastic fans and an area with only one pro team and no big time college sports" (S.F. EXAMINER, 3/15).

TAKING A GAMBLE? In Las Vegas, Norm Clarke reports Selig yesterday reportedly met with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and A's execs. However, Las Vegas spokesperson Jace Radke said that he was "not aware of any meetings" yesterday (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/16).

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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.

ART SPANDER / RealClearSports.com / March 16, 2009 / 4:45 PM

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