I totally agree with you on all your points (I guess I could have said +1). Canseco might have introduced some players to PED’s but he didn’t force them to take anything. He just ratted them out.

I will be happy reading Aces and watching my A’s DVD that has the championships from the ’70s and skip 1989. It was and will be forever known as the earthquake WS anyway, wrapped in tragedy. Next year will be huge.

On another topic, why are we not calling up other AAA’ers? Anybody in RF beffer than Cust? 3B better than Hannahan? They couldn’t be any worse! Pack Gio up in a trade with Holliday, let Nomar ONLY come off the bench to PH. I’m just sick of watching Davis and others GIDP!

The number, another summer.

Three thoughts…

1) re: Canseco. You make a good point. It sound as if Lansford is not pissed for players cheating, but for being ratted out… which now that you phrase it that way, maybe is closer to being correct. If so, then I change my earlier comment in another thread saying that I understand his sentiments.

2) re: the earthquake. I have never had a problem separating the world series and the earthquake. The two are two separate and distinct events, IMO, that happened to overlap. Nothing more.

3) What ruins the 1989 title for me… the losses in 1988 and 1990. Especially 1990. This was a dynasty-like team that was far better than any of the three teams they played, and if they had been able to win at least two in a row they would be remembered as such. 1988 can be forgiven, I think as it was the Dodgers “catching lightning in a bottle” to paraphrase Bob Costas, and even many Dodger players have since admitted as such. 1990 was inexcusable, and tainted the memory of the entire run.

Why, because if he had not become a professional baseball player he could have a better and more successful carreer going as something else?

STFU, Jose!

Sure, Josehead was an a-hole, but he was ALWAYS an a-hole.

If we as fans embraced him and teammates tolerated him when he had talent, why all of a sudden do we despise him now? Seems incredibly shallow and revisionist to now claim otherwise.

I LOVED Jose when he was with the A’s. For me to deny that now is wrong and duplicitous.

I could be wrong, but weren’t we the underdogs in a few of the ‘70 World Series? I think it was just the Baseball God’s coming back to get us, and Sweet Lou being as great as he was back then. I also think sometimes a team can be too sure of themselves.

That was supposed to go in response to Uncle Leo’s post.

But Canseco was such an intregal part to the success of the late ‘80s and early ’90s Athletics, that to not invite him is complete bullshit. If Lansford and others wouldn’t show for a one day event if Canseco were to also show, then I think the whole event isn’t worthwhile in the first place.

Yes, Canseco is someone who I happen to believe is a big asshole worthy of scorn for rolling over on former teammates out of sheer vindictiveness and a desire to take as many people down the toilet with him. But surely he should be invited because of what he meant to that team and the fans — he was a heart-of-the-order slugger who carried the team for days at a time. And someone like Lansford, in my opinion, shouldn’t be trying to sabotage the event by saying things to further poison the well through whatever leverage he may have. But whatever.

Dave Stewart and Carney Lansford, two of the most respected players from the 1989 team, said that it was a bad idea for Canseco to be there, that’s enough for me.

The only difference between what they said was that Lansford tried to be polite and say that he thought Canseco was a nice guy when they were teamates. Stewart pulled no punches and said Canseco was a terrible teamate and he was glad Canseco wasn’t there.

The 1989 A’s have been sullied a bit by Canseco and all the other allegations and outside of A’s fans the team will most be remembered for the earthquake and steroids and that’s sad but what are you going to do?

Maybe by the time the 30th anniversary comes around all will be forgiven but I doubt it as Canseco is someone who feels he’s a martyr despite the fact that he nothing but a opportunist who cheated the game and then wrote a book about his cheating because he was broke.

My first thought is one I sometimes have when reading squabbles here on AN, which is: Yes, you’re correct and he’s incorrect, but it’s sufficient to just rebut the argument and let the facts speak for themselves. You don’t have to call the guy an “ignorant SOB”.

The second is that I have no sympathy for him being “completely broke right now”. I don’t know how many millions of dollars he made during his career, but anyone who made even one million has no excuse for not having saved some of it for retirement. If Jose really is completely broke, that’s on him, not MLB.

Canseco really is a liar, a felon, a cheater, an opportunist, and general turd of a human being. It’s also unlikely that Lansford’s comment was just thrown out there, but rather reaction to being asked about Canseco—or at a minimum, reaction to being told he’s not coming.

If the A’s say they invited him, and Canseco said they didn’t, it’s 99% likely that Canseco is the liar. If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck…

If that’s true, then apparently 20 years isn’t nearly enough.

In the summer of 1989, I had this poster hanging in my bedroom as a recent HS graduate and happy and confident A’s fan:

Yes, the ‘88 and ’90 WS losses stung. But I almost think it hurts more now to think that this reunion became a half-hearted attempt with a hollow result because someone in the A’s organization (apparently very late in the game as far as event planning goes) said “Hey, the Giants are planning something, don’t you think we ought to as well, seeing as how we won and all?” And the “party” unfolded predictably from there.

I can’t help but be forced to agree with this opening paragraph from Cohn’s articles:

The Oakland A’s always do things wrong. The Oakland A’s are cheap and amateurish, and if that seems harsh, it’s still the truth.

Like Rickey, I would have loved if all (or nearly all) of the 1989 team could have been there. But the “steroid era” questions would have inevitably dominated the party anyway. Much like the 1989 team itself, this reunion was cursed to being overshadowed by some other news. The earthquake I can understand. The steroid allegations I am just tired of it tarnishing what was accomplished when our team was the class of Major League Baseball, attendance was record-setting, and ownership ran the team like a family.

I mean how ironic is it that a team whose theme song is “Celebration” had to settle for what transpired earlier this week in commemorating a truly fun and dominant team?

1989 was literally a banner year for me and for the A’s. I just hope it can still be remembered as such in the years to come. Relationships. Cheating. Small-market mentality…A lot of things need healing.

(And don’t even get me started on the sting of being 1-5 against the Giants this year. This season, along with the past couple, are beginning to prove more painful than any disservice mentioned above).

Nice post BBG. I feel your pain.

Sigh.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_michael_jackson

Yeah it’s unfortuate that the team’s image has been tarnished, and that the quake overshadowed what it did in the post-season (which was demolish the opposition).

I can sit here and lament the ‘89 season for what it should have been (the middle of three straight Series titles), but it was still a very special season. There was so many things working against that team, and in the end, not even Mother Nature could stop the A’s.

With each passing year, I appreciate ‘89 a little bit more, even if it appears that the A’s themselves don’t.

but I wonder if Bud, in his infinite desire to sweep all of this under the rug, has ever suggested to his ol’ college buddy, “Ixnay on the elebrationsay of 1989, Lew.”

It’s certainly more convenient for Bud if there’s no real event, no Canseco, no controversy, no coverage.

A’s 89 reunion VS Giants 89 reunion

it was Spielberg’s worst movie (Hook or 1941) I think his worst still beats out any middle school play and sadly the A’s are the pimple faced middle schooler in this scenario.

I loved watching the games, loved it when the A’s whipped the Giants and loved watching the steroid aided hitters.
As for Canseco, I loved reading his books and even though he’d mug an old lady if it made him a dime I bear him no ill will. He outted himself and others as steroid users. Well , if you use steroids being outted was the risk that you took. I don’t see anyone lining up to give back the money earned from using those steroids. Bbg and all quit bitching and remember Canseco for the great A’s player he was then…

When I first read this post, I was sorta bummed, thinking about how even the loyal A’s fans are beginning to think in the negative light about the A’s and all of the sordid details of the 80’s teams that we have to deal with. But then I snapped back into reality- a reality that tells me EVERY great team in baseball history and most of the not so great teams had some sort of scandal going on that probably wasn’t reported. We know the great Yankee teams of the past had all kind of drug issues being covered up and many of the superstar players from yesteryear probably have a ton of scandals hidden away that we’ll never know about. My point is this- people are people, when you get 25 guys on a team- any team- you’re going to have some sort of issue to deal with. Maybe the press picks it up and maybe they don’t- but it ‘s still there. I’ll keep rooting for the A’s, no matter what Cansceco or any other player brings forward and no matter how bad our down seasons get. Go A’s!