Hey, look at us!

by streetfan on Jun 30, 2005 11:29 AM PDT Comment 34 comments

Hi AN! I am new here and I'm glad I found you by accident. I have been reading at the official site for a few months now and I have to say, this place has a much better vibe! Clever & smart & friendlier. Plus not so many naysayers and trolls. And there are more females (I'm one) and they seem to like baseball, not just players... although I appreciate the comments on some of the, ahem, ass-ets, of certain players too :)
Anyway, I don't want to sound like too much of a whiner in my first post but WHY isn't our crazy season getting more media coverage?! I usually just check the major websites and TV channels but nobody is noticing this total turnaround. We Need More Love :)
Truly, what other baseball story is more interesting than ours right now, besides the Yanks sucking? The other teams are doing pretty much what people expected. But after we tossed 2 of the Big Three (a sad sentence, I know), who expected we'd be making this kind of comeback? Especially after Miserable May. I guess because we have a rep of being a second half team. Or because we don't have an expensive superstar (that should be a good thing!). Maybe I'm biased.
Maybe there is coverage in the Bay Area I am missing (I live just south of it).
So on to the weekend! Green socks vs. White Sox! Let's Go A's!

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welcome

of course the answer is "because it's the a's and not the giants/yanks/red sox/cubs."
but the positive press is slowly starting up, a different tone is used now when the a's are mentioned on tv, and the chronicle has photos of all five starting pitchers on the front page of the sports section today.

by xbhaskarx on Jun 30, 2005 11:49 AM PDT reply actions

Sometimes I think

our guys play better when they're under the radar, anyway.

"Look what we did!"

by ArakSOT on Jun 30, 2005 11:51 AM PDT reply actions

very true

by xbhaskarx on Jun 30, 2005 11:53 AM PDT up reply actions

I agree

by OaklandSi on Jun 30, 2005 5:11 PM PDT up reply actions

You arent missing much

First of let me welcome you, you are gonna love it here. Second, I think all fans here and everywhere think there team is unfailry represented. But I think the A's are getting it worse than any other team. I think I have seen more media coverage on Biggios bean ball record than I have the A's turnaround. But dont worry as soon as we catch the Angels or the wild card we will get the respect that we all feel the A's diserve.

by joemomma14 on Jun 30, 2005 11:52 AM PDT reply actions

minority opinion from me

Welcome!

Unlike most people here, I don't care whether the A's get good mass press coverage and let me explain why.

98% of all sports coverage is dumb crap. So in the idiot 98%, we get snubbed by ESPN, snarky Ratto columns, and the general establishment glee when Beane seems to flop. I say without exaggeration that a computer program could generate the usual press coverage. Here:

Whoever won last night 'wanted it more'.
Whoever has a high batting average or RBIs last week is 'red hot'. Whoever went hitless for two days is 'in a funk'.
Adjust #2 to suit teams.
Throw in random trade rumors.
Play up any crimes, misdemeanors and violence towards objects by players or their relatives.
Every now and then compare the W-L records or BA of players traded and declare one team the winner.

In the 2% that I actually care about, you get decent books like ACES, reasonable coverage from Baseball Prospectus and Hardball Times and, most importantly, Moneyball, one of the most influential and interesting sports books ever written.

And of course we have Athletics Nation which has Blez's great interviews, heartless punners, and the High Socks Crew.

So I'm pretty happy with the state of meaningful A's coverage.

by Apricot on Jun 30, 2005 12:22 PM PDT reply actions

post of the day

great comments!

by tblazrdude on Jun 30, 2005 12:31 PM PDT up reply actions

exactly!

by xbhaskarx on Jun 30, 2005 12:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Also, compare how much

money the teams spent on free agents in the off-season, and declare that the team that spent less didn't "improve" as much.

"Look what we did!"

by ArakSOT on Jun 30, 2005 12:47 PM PDT up reply actions

you are right

but it does annoy me that it took 10 min before I could find the game on t.v.

Comcast had the SF v AZ game listed on KTVU, ESPN2, and FSNBA. Unfortunately it aired on FSNBA so that meant I had to choose from 5-6 different channels to find the alternate station. And of course living in Walnut Creek, the channels were screwed up. Then I start from channel 2, 3, 4 etc. watching commercials and waiting to see what is actualy on. Turns out 63 is the right one.

I apologize for my rant, but it got me thinking that: wouldn't more media coverage increase the chances of more televised games?

"Sometimes people don't believe me when I tell them I'm not trading Zito." BB

by AllThingsOakland on Jun 30, 2005 12:59 PM PDT up reply actions

tv is the one downer

Like yesterday, the A's game was preempted by the hideous AZ-Giants game. Blah.

But I'm not convinced that's something national media can change. It's probably related to the way they measure the local audience for teams and I suspect, however inaccurate that is, it won't change with better press.

by Apricot on Jun 30, 2005 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions

No problem

Great points, thanks! I guess I don't care about the media either, as long as I can get a good recap of a game in case I miss it on TV or online somehow.
I mean, WE all know how good the team is, even in Miserable May we knew they were better than that, so that's what counts!

Sometimes I just wish I could use some GOOD story in a major newspaper to convince my (non-baseball-fan) friends that watching the A's is not a waste of time... I need better comebacks to why I don't follow Team Halloween :)
Right now I say "16-0" and "no World Series" and my current favorite, "Bobby Crosby"!!

by streetfan on Jun 30, 2005 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Welcome home

I'm sure you must have known, deep down, that this is where you belong.

Fearing Mecir since 2000.

by salb918 on Jun 30, 2005 12:30 PM PDT reply actions

Hi, Welcome!

The girls on here are great because we do know baseball, but we can also have fun talking about the pretty, pretty boys, too. :) The guys are good at putting up with it, as well! Knowledgable baseball girls who don't mind some hot high socks and tongue action = wonderful.

Unfortunately, the A's are just never going to get the kind of coverage teams like the Yankees do. :( But on the plus side, it's like a secret club only cool people know about. Haha.

by rookieoftheyear on Jun 30, 2005 12:53 PM PDT reply actions

Exactly.

"Shop smart. Shop S-Mart."-Ash of Evil Dead

by pbruins92 on Jun 30, 2005 4:09 PM PDT up reply actions

err..

to the secret club part, not pretty boys part.

"Shop smart. Shop S-Mart."-Ash of Evil Dead

by pbruins92 on Jun 30, 2005 4:09 PM PDT up reply actions

the tongue

Thanks for the welcome.
I have to wonder, has anyone ever asked Street if he's afraid of biting that cute tongue off? It's really sweet, but I worry sometimes :)

by streetfan on Jun 30, 2005 9:59 PM PDT up reply actions

Hi streetfan!

Welcome aboard! I live in the East (North Carolina), so media coverage of the A's isn't a big deal to me. Only the sports apparel stores stocked with Braves, Yankees and Red Sox stuff but maybe an A's hat or two. Oh well...thank goodness for the Internet!

AN Members Nationality Official Survey II: Stats now available!

by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Jun 30, 2005 1:07 PM PDT reply actions

thanks

So far I've had good luck with TV coverage which is good. I live just 2 hours south of Oakland. Some parts of No. California, they only get Giants games :(
But in the stores here, it's still mostly Giants, 9ers, Raiders clothes and hats :(

by streetfan on Jun 30, 2005 10:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh

Your name is "streetfan" you'll definitely find some :P fans around here.

by rookieoftheyear on Jun 30, 2005 1:15 PM PDT reply actions

WELCOME!

Wherever You Go...There You Are -J. Kabat-Zinn

by jrwolf on Jun 30, 2005 1:21 PM PDT reply actions

Welcome

Love your name!!
Always glad to have another Street Fan aboard!

And as one of the girls on here who actually likes the baseball part of the baseball game too, it is nice to have someone else to chat about the ass-sets, as well as the stats of our team!
There is a lot to love about our team.

"No one wears it more than Chavy." BB

by Swisherfor05ROY on Jun 30, 2005 2:37 PM PDT reply actions

thanks

There seem to be PLENTY of Street fans here.... and what's not to love?!

by streetfan on Jun 30, 2005 10:20 PM PDT up reply actions

Welcome, A's girl-fan!

I'm another one, and I like to think that I do know a bit about the game but can appreciate--well, what you do. :)

I think it's a bias against the Left Coast, since so many of the dominant media are on Eastern time. The Eastern papers often don't even get the scores before deadline.

But as other folks around here have said, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. We can miss a lot of the cliched junk-writing.

by Batgal on Jun 30, 2005 3:16 PM PDT reply actions

Are there enough women in AN

to have "The Girls of AN" calander?

Now THIS is Billy Ball

by Masaryk on Jun 30, 2005 3:36 PM PDT reply actions

Dude, I got June!

...you wonder when it's time to start thinking about saving a season that seemed lost.

by baseballgirl on Jun 30, 2005 4:23 PM PDT up reply actions

Absolutely!

And we're hot, too! Seriously. It would totally make a lot of money and I bet the players wouldn't mind signing a few copies... ;)

I will take July since June is taken!

by rookieoftheyear on Jun 30, 2005 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions

Fun

That sounds fun :)

by streetfan on Jun 30, 2005 10:08 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm not sure if a 5 year or 10 year is better,

...guess we need both!

"the A's can be consistent winners if they add power vs righties to this offense without hurting the defense. Kearns? ...worth the chance & fits the budget"

by A s Eh on Jun 30, 2005 11:17 PM PDT up reply actions

...and Welcome to AN!

"the A's can be consistent winners if they add power vs righties to this offense without hurting the defense. Kearns? ...worth the chance & fits the budget"

by A s Eh on Jun 30, 2005 11:22 PM PDT up reply actions

Which one of you girls...

is the girl sporting the Athletics Nation shirt? She has to be in the calender.

Oh, and hey streetfan, I am a former official site member as well. People like canseco69, all angels "fans", and some blosux fans ruined it. Much nicer here, and better resources too. And the more females to talk about baseball is better for both girls and guys. =)

by WhiteElephantGuy on Jun 30, 2005 6:29 PM PDT reply actions

Yeah, thanks

I am a little tired of the personal attacks at MLB sites, not just the A's board. No one said bad stuff to me but there are some, like you mention, who would rather stir up crap than keep on topic.

by streetfan on Jun 30, 2005 10:05 PM PDT up reply actions

Welcome to AN!

Yeesh, I guess I haven't been paying close enough attention - I knew there were a lot of folks of the female persuasion here but I guess I never knew how many. Good stuff.

I hate to be a cynic, but follow the money. The largest media markets in the country seem to be: New York, New England, LA and Chicago. Media coverage naturally moves toward those areas, because the most money can be made there. The Bay Area comes in somewhere behind these four (and possibly behind the DC metro/maryland/northern virginia market). The larger markets have more viewers and therefore generate more money.

The equalizing factor is the fanbase. A team with a large, die hard fanbase (I'm thinking St. Louis here) can get attention disproportionate with its media market if it can develop a large-scale rabid fanbase.

I think we get caught up in a nasty Catch-22. In order to gain a larger fanbase, we need more exposure, however we can't get more exposure 'till we get a larger fanbase.

If AN proves anything, its that there are a fair number of us A's fans out there and we're spread out all over the country (nee the world), hungry for a place where we can follow our team more closely.

Based what I've read here, I'd say generally we're a more intelligent breed of fan, very rabid, generally open minded and obviously more attractive than your average baseball fan (too much? Nah...) You'd think people would want to sell us stuff...

To be honest, I think it has gotten better over the last few years - maybe in another 5 years or so, our team can get the coverage (and have the fanbase) that it deserves

by RickeySteals on Jun 30, 2005 6:59 PM PDT reply actions

Money money

I fully agree that TV and newspaper writers follow the $$ and want the most people to see/read them.

But maybe now I'm more sad that the A's don't have as much respect in the Bball world as Yanks/Sox/Dodgers... even though we usually have a better & more genuine team. Every time a baseball fan thinks "Playoffs" or "World Series," they should automatically think "Oakland A's" :)

Thanks for the warm welcome everybody!

by streetfan on Jun 30, 2005 10:13 PM PDT up reply actions