The powerhouse that is the SVLG sent out a pretty straightforward and powerful letter to commissioner Selig yesterday that detailed their support of a potential San Jose ballpark for the Oakland Athletics franchise.

And they're not dickin' around.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group (otherwise known as the SVLG) is a group of high-power individuals (mostly CEOs) based in Silicon Valley/San Jose that was founded over 30 years ago "on the premise that local employers should be actively involved in working with government to find innovative solutions to issues like transportation, housing, permit streamlining, education, and the environment."(Source)

As the letter itself states:

By way of background, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group was founded in 1977 by David Packard and has grown to become the largest organization of its kind in Silicon Valley with more than 300 member companies. Combined member companies employ more than 250,000 local workers – nearly one of every three jobs – and generate more than $2 trillion worth in global revenue.

Good luck topping that one, Mr. Boxer. Ouch. Oh wait. What's that?

Doug Boxer, head of the civic group Let's Go Oakland, which is aimed at keeping the team in town, said the letter "has no impact on Oakland's efforts, and our civic and corporate community remains committed to keeping the A's in Oakland in a new, baseball-only park."

No impact? Really? You have the CEOs of Cisco, eBay, Yahoo, Sunpower, Adobe, and 70 other companies guaranteeing support for a possible San Jose Athletics franchise and it has no impact on your efforts?

We, the undersigned CEOs and senior executives, are committed to bringing jobs, revenue, a rich culture, and a thriving business climate to Silicon Valley. We believe that an intimate state of the art ballpark located on a prime downtown San Jose parcel, close to mass transit and major highways will be a catalyst for economic development in our region. We also believe downtown San Jose offers a compelling location for the advancement of Major League Baseball in the 21st Century. Silicon Valley is well known throughout the world as the cradle of innovation and the leading incubator of new ideas and new possibilities for human kind. There is no better location than San Jose, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, to advance the Major League Baseball brand on a global basis.

Once again: ouch.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group is comprised of both devoted A’s and Giants fans and we will continue to enthusiastically support both teams. We strongly believe that both teams will thrive in a vibrant two team market anchored by San Francisco and the Bay Area’s largest city, San Jose. Today, the Bay Area is the only two team market in Major League Baseball where the teams don’t fully share their common geographic territory. The divided territory was imposed at the request of San Jose baseball boosters in 1992 in a previous attempt to secure a Major League Baseball team.

San Jose (through way of the SVLG) isn't just taking batting practice anymore everyone: they're taking full on hacks and doing their best to send the ball about 36.8 miles past the right field fence.

And because I only posted snippets of the letter, make sure to read it in it's entirety here (if you didn't already get there through the previous two links).