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LA Times: Beane Agrees To Contract Extension!!

[EDITOR'S NOTE] - Billy Beane will apparently be with us for quite some time. In a first, glorious move showing his commitment to keeping the Oakland Athletics current regime in place, Lewis Wolff endeared himself to the Oakland fanbase by signing Beane long-term. And no, this isn't an April Fool's joke. I even went through the Times front page just to make sure. It's a great day to be an A's fan. Congrats, Billy, you've certainly earned it. - Blez

I haven't found anything about this anywhere else yet but look what the LA Times is reporting!

Lew Wolff leads the investment group that bought the Oakland Athletics for $180 million this week, but the new ownership has no intention of imitating its American League West rival in Anaheim. Instead, it has invested in General Manager Billy Beane, so heavily that some of the money Beane spends now will be his own.

The A's are expected to announce today that Beane has agreed to a contract extension through 2012 and has been granted a share of ownership, a distinction without recent precedent among major league general managers.

By the end of this season, Wolff said, he hopes to secure agreement on the site and a financing plan for a new ballpark in Oakland.

"We're not buying the team to move it," Wolff said.

Wolff, 69, a prominent Los Angeles real estate investor and developer whose companies focus on luxury hotels, is the A's new managing partner. The majority investor is John Fisher, son of Gap founder Donald Fisher. Forbes lists John Fisher's net worth at $1.5 billion -- and Moreno's at $850 million.

That the A's now boast one of baseball's wealthiest ownership groups apparently will have little impact on their moderate payroll, at least until a new ballpark can bring in the bucks. Under Beane, the A's have made four playoff appearances in the last five years, winning more games in that span than any team except the New York Yankees.

"Do we pay $100 million for a player or do we extend Billy's contract?" Wolff said. "We think, if the past is prologue, we're very comfortable. We think we've made the right decision in getting Billy to stay with us long-term, just like you'd like to have a player finish his career with you."

Few stars finish their careers in Oakland. The A's signed third baseman Eric Chavez to a six-year, $66-million contract last spring, but budget-driven departures in recent years have included those of shortstop Miguel Tejada, outfielder Johnny Damon, first baseman Jason Giambi and pitchers Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Keith Foulke.

One Oakland fan website sells "In Beane We Trust" T-shirts, but might fans not prefer that popular players finish their careers with the team, not just the general manager?

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you beat me to it
:)

This is exciting news.

by Sharon on Mar 31, 2005 10:43 PM PST   0 recs

Fantastic
Glad everyones one big happy family

by pickinmachine on Mar 31, 2005 10:47 PM PST   0 recs

Damn LA times!
Do some fact checking please...
One Oakland fan website sells "In Beane We Trust" T-shirts, but might fans not prefer that popular players finish their careers with the team, not just the general manager?

It's "In Billy we trust."

Props to BB for become a part owner.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE YELLING ABOUT!!!" -Brick Tamland, Anchorman

by secret ASian man on Mar 31, 2005 10:48 PM PST   0 recs

totally
Its LA news though, so im not suprised.

Looking forward to fantasy this year.  You might have to deal me some of that speed at some point.  What part of Fremont do you live in.  I grew up in centerville area.

by pickinmachine on Mar 31, 2005 10:52 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I went to Mission
I now live off Morrison Canyon Road.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE YELLING ABOUT!!!" -Brick Tamland, Anchorman

by secret ASian man on Mar 31, 2005 11:08 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Let's talk to Wolff...
and convince him to move the team to Fremont.  ;-)
"I'm my biggest fan ..." Eric Byrnes

by FoolshGame22 on Mar 31, 2005 11:15 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Nothing Wrong with So. Alameda County
   I agree, to put the team in the Fremont area circumvents Bud Selig's mandate about territorial rights and screws Peter Magowan and his insistence that SJ "belongs" to his dearly beloved Gnats. Walter Haas did Magowan a favor by attempting to allow the Giants the possibility of staying in the Bay Area and this how Magowan has returned the favor, what an ---hole.
   Southern Alameda is close enough to the silicon valley and far enough away from whatever stigmata that have been attached to Oakland, that corporate sponsorship wouldn't be an issue for a future stadium. From all I've read about Wolff, he's not one to burn but rather build bridges. Let's hope that somehow the A's time has come to shine and we as fans can finally flick that chip off of our collective shoulders and really enjoy all of the hard work BB et. al. have done to keep our team successful.

by Gerard on Apr 1, 2005 12:39 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Yay for Beane!
Sounds like good news about Beane -- 2012? Looks like Chavvy got his wish, Beane'll be around for as long as he is. Man. Giving Beane what he wants makes me happy.

Though the comments about not raising payroll but expecting a large jump in revenue makes me raise an eyebrow -- if the words 'raising ticket prices, beer prices and/or parking costs' is associated with this extra revenue, that ain't cool. The comments about a 35,000 seat stadium to "raise demand" gets a similar look. Yeah, it'll be nice to have a stadium small enough that a 25,000 person crowd doesn't get dwarfed, but if demand equals eye-gouging prices... ugh. I don't want BOTH sides of the Bay to price out their fanbase.

If Wolff can attach a few more 'when's instead of 'if's about staying in Oakland, I think I'll be less cranky and cautious. :)

by Kyli on Mar 31, 2005 10:54 PM PST   0 recs

Final paragraph=scary
"...35,000 seats,...minimize...MAXIMIZE DEMAND FOR TICKETS"

One thing that has always been great about the A's is being able to walk up and buy a great seat on gameday.

It seems the A's stock is gaining momentum.

Not the team so much, but the organization as a whole. We love the team, and believe in the team, and baseball pundits have their varying prognostications about the team. But from the "business" standpoint, it seems everybody wants a piece of the action.

I hate to be a "glass is half-empty" kind of guy here, but it seems like our notoriety may be the downfall of what we hold so sacred.

A revolutionary GM and state-of-the-art blog that are fastly becoming world-renowned may change the future like we had never imagined.

Lord Vader... ...yesss massster? ...RISE!!!

by Force on Mar 31, 2005 10:59 PM PST   0 recs

this sentence
"If we're going to stay in the Bay Area, we're going to try and build a new facility in the Oakland area."

Was one that really made me gasp.

What does he mean If we're going to stay in the Bay Area??????

by Hegenberger Road on Mar 31, 2005 11:30 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Why did that make you gasp?
It's rather obvious, isn't it?  If Oakland won't pony up and San Jose is Giants' territory, there are other places out there which are willing to build a stadium.  If they don't build it, they won't stay.
"I'm my biggest fan ..." Eric Byrnes

by FoolshGame22 on Mar 31, 2005 11:34 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I guess
I was hoping the "If" talk wouldn't start for a while.

by Hegenberger Road on Apr 1, 2005 9:18 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

"if they don't build it...
... they won't stay".  I can just see the locals saying that about the baseball playing ghosts in that Iowa cornfield.

by Brian in 317 on Apr 1, 2005 2:17 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

HOORAY!!!
Billy's the star of this team and this is the best news I've heard EVER!

by kvn on Mar 31, 2005 11:03 PM PST   0 recs

Key Line
"He said he planned to add a few minority investors with expertise in various ventures the A's could explore to raise revenue, possibly including a broadcasting outlet"

A's Brand Radio, Im telling you! KNBR What?

"I'm good because I ground out to second a lot!" ~ Darin Erstad

by Zonis on Mar 31, 2005 11:25 PM PST   0 recs

smart guy
Wolff sounds like a sharp guy....

50 million more in annual revenue should be enough to keep a competitive team on the field year after year

by spaceman on Mar 31, 2005 11:26 PM PST   0 recs

I think you're mistaken
I'd expect revenue != team payroll, sadly enough. :(

Wolff seems in it solely for the money, as much or perhaps more so than Schott. this may be worse than we thought - we should've been careful what we wished for (new stadium? ha! how about we jack up the prices for you, eh?). :(

by rickeytime on Apr 1, 2005 12:21 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

shew!
I wondered how long it would take for someone to bash this ownership group as being in it only for the money!

This is what they've done so far:

*Sign Billy Beane to an extension and give him part ownership, and
*Focus their attention on a new stadium in Oakland

GREEDY BASTARDS!

by Dog Days on Apr 1, 2005 10:04 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Seating
From what I gather for rational for the seating limit is sort of simple.

1st) More Seats = More Money in Construction Cost

2nd) More Seats means the stadium looks emtpy. Those seats also wont be very profitable after a certain point and they will be pretty far away. Better for the seats to be closer right?

3rd) From a buisness standpoint, on one hand more seats = more tickets to sell, but the problem is, if you know you cant sell that many, you are waisting it. Lower the amount of possible tickets and it increases the demand for tickets. This I guess will mean we'll have a harder time buying tickets the day of the game eh? (Someone put that Peter Mag. quote up about Candlestick)

"I'm good because I ground out to second a lot!" ~ Darin Erstad

by Zonis on Mar 31, 2005 11:29 PM PST   0 recs

Fenway Park
Fenway Park only has about 35,000 Seats.  They aren't complaining too much.
Let's Go Oak-Land!

by Colorado Fan on Apr 1, 2005 8:40 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

They also
have the highest ticket prices in baseball.  Their third deck seats are $45.
"May our feet be swift. May our bats be mighty. And may our balls be...plentiful."

by nothinlikethetown on Apr 1, 2005 9:03 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

They also...
Just won the World Series last year.  

We're probably arguing the same point here.  I like the idea of an intimate setting.  I would assume that they will start doing ticket prices like other teams are doing.

A's vs. Giants, Yankees, Boston, Weekend Games - Ticket prices will be pretty expensive.

A's vs. Devil Rays, Tigers, Blue Jays, White Sox, Weekday Games - Ticket Prices won't be expensive.

A's in Playoffs - Ticket Prices will be very expensive.

Let's Go Oak-Land!

by Colorado Fan on Apr 1, 2005 9:11 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Fenway
But the price of a ticket is high because they do not have the luxury boxes, which is where the teams make the money. In a small park, you have to have a ton of luxury suites to make money. You can see what Boston is doing (they are putting seats everywhere, (ie the monster, the right field higher up boxes etc). If the A's build a 35K seat stadium, the money will need to be made in the luxury boxes. That's the key to all the new stadiums.

Its the same thing Al Davis fought so hard for, the Raiders might not sell all the seats, but those boxes are always sold out. Its big business money that needs to be guranteed not the 15 bucks seat with a view of SF.

"Not the fucking ducks again." Tony S.

by rook on Apr 1, 2005 9:57 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Yup
That is why the tickets are so expensive. Compared to the new parks and even some of the old ones, Fenway does not have the class luxury boxes that the rest have. So therefore they have to charge a pretty penny for shitty seats now. I too have been to Fenway, and its is tiny compared to the rest. The new owners have done some great things to stadium, as far as creative seating is concerned, but they will cost you a pretty penny to pay for the 120MM product.
"Not the fucking ducks again." Tony S.

by rook on Apr 1, 2005 1:59 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Pittsburgh's new park
Isn't that the best comparable for the type of stadium Wolff is talking about here? Where do their ticket prices rank?

by Dog Days on Apr 1, 2005 10:07 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Pittsburgh is relatively cheap
$9 Upper Reserve
$14 Bleachers
$20-$27 Field Level

They actually have club level directly behind home plate available for individual game sale.

It's $185 bucks, but how many teams even list that?

"May our feet be swift. May our bats be mighty. And may our balls be...plentiful."

by nothinlikethetown on Apr 1, 2005 11:10 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Haha
"And no, this isn't an April Fool's joke. I even went through the Times front page just to make sure."

i did the same thing.

confucius says "baseball is wrong; man with four balls cannot walk."

by gotgreen on Apr 1, 2005 12:02 AM PST   0 recs

What's the deal with the reporter
editorializing about what the fans want?  Is he a columnist?  I've never heard of him.

The other thing that's interesting about this story is the broadcast outlet.  How nice would it be to be able to see the team on a regular basis and not have to fight with UPN-31 in Sacramento about their syndication deal with Judge Judy?  Ugh.

by Blez on Apr 1, 2005 12:09 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Not exactly editorializing
Merely an obvious question, which was presented in the form of a transition paragraph to set up Wolff's response that followed.

And, yeah, despite the Cult of Billy, it is an obvious question.

by River City Slim on Apr 2, 2005 10:32 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

This is the best news I've heard all day...
...and I thought I was happy when I found out Crosby was gonna be okay!

by bigthree17 on Apr 1, 2005 12:33 AM PST   0 recs

hey bigthree17
is that your section?  I'm in 317 row 10 seat 8.

by Brian in 317 on Apr 1, 2005 7:36 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

guess
there won't be a section 317 if we "get our wish" for a new stadium.

by Brian in 317 on Apr 1, 2005 7:37 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

nope
Big Three is my homage to the greatest starting pitching talent this organization has ever assembled.

The "17" is just a reference to my favorite hoops player of all time...Chris Mullin.

by bigthree17 on Apr 1, 2005 2:50 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Big Three
"Big Three is my homage to the greatest starting pitching talent this organization has ever assembled."

That's nice of you to pay homage to Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Ken Holtzman. ;)

by Catfish27 on Apr 1, 2005 10:39 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

or...
Chief Bender, Eddie Plank, Rube Waddell?

Loved Chris Mullin too ("run TMC")

by Brian in 317 on Apr 2, 2005 7:56 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

It's shaping up to be a joyous, joyous day!
The subject line says it all, my friends.  This is easily some of the best, most enjoyable news that I've heard regarding my beloved boys of summer for quite some time (and with Crosby's hand okay and Chavvy having a monster Spring, good news has been rather plentiful).  Sure there are aspects of the article that cause my left eyebrow to raise (namely the aforementioned point on building a smaller stadium to maximize ticket revenue), but that's just a small part of it all.

I've felt good about Wolff being our new owner for awhile now, but with this news coming out, I feel REALLY good about him.  Regardless of what this writer may believe, Billy is the key component of this team and knowing that he'll be sticking around (and gaining a share of ownership, something that I imagine pleases him immensely) is huge for this team.  I've honestly never been too worried about what the future holds with regards to this team, but knowing that Billy will be around, that our new owner very much wants to get a new stadium built in Oakland, AND that our revenue stream may be increasing soon definitely makes me smile and smile wide.

I love this game!  But more than that, my God do I love this team!! :)

In God We Trust... All Others Must Show Data

by Wes7 on Apr 1, 2005 1:26 AM PST   0 recs

Hooray!!!!!
3 days before opening day, and we get THIS!!! HOORAY!!!!!

This is great news for the A's organization. That means 7 more years with Billy.

Kielty, rejuvenated by his new genetically created St.Pats Day/Oktoberfest, shows us why Billy and Ohad are geniuses.

by ohad on Apr 1, 2005 4:27 AM PST   0 recs

great news!!!!!!!!
a round of cherry kool-aid for everyone!!!!
"I always like the word bold"- Billy Beane, March 30th, 2005.

by bigelephant on Apr 1, 2005 5:11 AM PST   0 recs

How much is the deal worth?
I can see some idiots complaining that the money would've been better spent on re-signing Tejada or Hudson...

by OaktownTribesman on Apr 1, 2005 6:15 AM PST   0 recs

Woo
To sum up: yay.

by Brian Durack on Apr 1, 2005 6:50 AM PST   0 recs

$100 Million for a player VS. Billy....
Sounds like he got PAID!!!!!!!!!!!
Wherever You Go...There You Are -J. Kabat-Zinn

by jrwolf on Apr 1, 2005 7:04 AM PST   0 recs

There is a God!
Yes! (wipes away tear)

by Jennifer on Apr 1, 2005 7:49 AM PST   0 recs

Press Conference
does anybody know when the press conference introducing the new owners is going to be?
confucius says "baseball is wrong; man with four balls cannot walk."

by gotgreen on Apr 1, 2005 8:43 AM PST   0 recs

Friday at 11 AM
I think the Chronicle said today at 11 am

by batgirl on Apr 1, 2005 10:33 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Thanks!
confucius says "baseball is wrong; man with four balls cannot walk."

by gotgreen on Apr 1, 2005 10:41 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Winning first
Dude says winning first, then economics.

Billy Beane until 2012.

Owner's worth: $1.5 billion.

New stadium in Oakland.

Yankees, there's a new sheriff in town.

by As Man on Apr 1, 2005 8:48 AM PST   0 recs

Easy
I wouldn't go that far.  It's going to take some time.  Our payroll won't hit 100-Million anytime soon.
Let's Go Oak-Land!

by Colorado Fan on Apr 1, 2005 9:13 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

that's the beauty
beane could have a dynasty with $90

IMHO A's stock went up a fifty percent with this announcement

by As Man on Apr 1, 2005 9:32 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

a new ballpark in the uptown neighborhood
would have been the best park on the west coast. Of course, Jerry Brown killed it so I just hope something can happen in Oakland. It's not Oakland is broke. Go to the city of Oakland's website - Oakland's keen on innovative development ideas and Lew might have a trick up his sleeve.

by kvn on Apr 1, 2005 9:55 AM PST   0 recs

CONGRATULATIONS BILLY!
So happy to hear about your contract extension and your ownership piece in the A's.  Keep up the good work and of course, keep visiting AN, we like those interviews.

Now you can bring back Depo, Rickey, Foulke, Huddy, Mulder, Bonderman, and Miggy at different points in the next 7 years...

"In Billy we Trust"

Now THIS is Billy Ball

by Masaryk on Apr 1, 2005 9:57 AM PST   0 recs

Amazing!!
There's so much food news coming out of AN I can't believe it.
~This is a simple game...You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. YOU GOT IT!?!

by BornInOakland on Apr 1, 2005 10:01 AM PST   0 recs

McWhat?!!?
"I refuse to belong to any club which would accept someone like me as a member." - Groucho Marx

by McFood on Apr 1, 2005 12:19 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

seriously
i rarely even go over to the A's site anymore because news makes it here first.

this is awesome news, it's like a big weight has been lifted off my chest.

Do you Yabu?

by JMC on Apr 1, 2005 10:28 AM PST   0 recs

Lew should talk to BB about the park...
Perhaps he could apply his statistical data to the ballpark design.

by tblazrdude on Apr 1, 2005 10:32 AM PST   0 recs

2012--best news ever
bb is a rock star.  now if wolfe can build a downtown stadium and keep some of our players through their prime, we could be in the playoffs for a decade!!!!

by wilyc on Apr 1, 2005 10:40 AM PST   0 recs

wilyc
I like the way you think!

by kvn on Apr 1, 2005 10:53 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

I'm in LA, and I read the article, too....
...and came away with a very different impression.

The thing that really jumped out at me was the get-this-new-stadium-done-in-a-year-or-bust approach that the Times suggested Wolff is takinkg. That, of course, is the classic precurser to moving a team. ("See, I gave you a shot and you couldn't get it done; I have no choice now but to take the Mongolian dollars and move to Ulan Bator.") I thought it was a profoundly ominous note.

Also, I found it discouraging that Wolff seems to be saying with the Beane signing that he's committed to the Schott/Hoffman financial model, the one in which making a profit using revenue sharing dollars, rather than winning, is the main goal of management.

(To clarify, I'm not saying that Beane and Co. don't want to win; they do. I'm just saying that it's not the top goal.)

I was also discouraged by the notion of a 35,000 seat stadium with expensive tickets; it means a way of life for Oakland fans, a ballpark open to the elderly, poor people, working families, people on fixed incomes, people making a spur-of-the-moment decision to attend, etc., will be a thing of the past. It's one of the things that gives Oakland ballgames an Oakland flavor.

It's less and less clear to me that the A's need a new ballpark to compete financially, or that building one, publicly or privately, is a good idea.

Finally, the more I learn about Fisher, the actually money behind all this, the more discouraged I am. Besides that he's a troglodyte Republican involved in shady first-growth harvesting land deals on the North Coast, he's apparently famous in the various industries in which he partakes for squeezing every last dime he can out of them.

Past is not always prologue; Wolff could turn out to be a Haas-like community benefactor. Or he could simply be in sheep's clothing, the teeth concealed until sometime next winter.

It's no accident, by the way, that Haas is so revered. He is the one, single owner in A's history who could be trusted not to move the team, the one, single owner who made these endless, depressing debates about the A's future pointless. If Wolff can accomplish that, he will take his place with Haas. If he can't, he'll rot with Schott and Hoffman. It's up to him.

by jrbh on Apr 1, 2005 11:24 AM PST   0 recs

BUZZ KILL ALERT!
I absolutely share your misgivings about the way Lew Wolff is providing himself an out. He's never expressed a strong conviction to keep the team in Oakland. He's basically saying he'll try to stay in Oakland if possible, so he can later say, "it wasn't possible". But he also suggested some redevelopment deal might be possible to offset some of the cost of building a new park. It's hard to be optimistic about the prospects of developing in Oakland, but we know that the revitalization of downtown Oakland has been a priority of the city with only modest success. It's just as likely that Lew is maneuvering behind the scenes to make something happen in Oakland.

by kvn on Apr 1, 2005 11:40 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

What do you expect?
There are a lot of people here and on other boards that are being quick to annoint Wolff as the next Haas or the next Schott or Finley. That's really unfair to Wolff. No owner these days can run the A's like a non-profit as Haas did. Even he acknowledged the changing economics of MLB as his ownership came to a close. The A's right now are only around because of revenue sharing. If they didn't have it, they'd be forced to have a $25 million payroll every year, unless they liked hemorrhaging money.

The revenue issue isn't going to solve itself. It's going to come from a stadium, media contracts, or both. Selig hasn't said it yet, but he and the owners aren't going to allow the A's to continue to be successful while on baseball's equivalent of a welfare check.

It's not only troglodyte Republicans who make deals that don't benefit the public. Kevin McClatchy's a staunch Democrat who doesn't mind charging $50 for an upper deck club seat at PNC. John Henry and Tom Werner are Dems who charge the highest average ticket prices in the league. And the Pulitzer family has put together the most expansive charter seat licensing scheme in baseball history to finance the new Busch.

Fans should be guarded when assessing Wolff. Anyone who thinks he'll be canonized like Haas is setting himself up for a big fall. Trashing him before he's even put out a proposal is irresponsible.

The next 12 months will prove definitively whether or not Oakland can continue to field a team. Not just for 2 or 5 years, but for 20-50.

by vertig0 on Apr 1, 2005 12:45 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

JRBH Stop...
alienating your fellow A's fans who happen to be Republican, there are more of them passionately following this team than you'll ever know.
   Our "troglodyte Republican" who happens to own the team now, is a comment that's so disconnected with the reality of this dynamic new ownership, that I think your opinion borders on needing psychoanalysis.
   Who cares if he's supported Reagan et. al. Let's reserve judgement for a future date. This is not a day for doom and gloom. This organization is in the hands of very bright people and deserves better than your political misgivings.

by Gerard on Apr 1, 2005 12:59 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

JRBH
I love your "Glass is always Empty" approach.  I think it's hilarious...However, I would love to see you post one positive thing about today's news.  
Let's Go Oak-Land!

by Colorado Fan on Apr 1, 2005 1:31 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Thank You
I too am a Republican.  It's bad enough that I have to be the political black sheep amongst my friends and classmates.  (Do you know how few Republicans there are that are my age in the Bay Area?)  AN is my escape from that crap.  I'm here to talk about baseball.  I want to know who the fifth starter is going to be.  I want to read the PECOTA projections of this year's lineup.  I want to reminisce about where I was sitting when Hatteberg hit that walk off to win game 20.  I don't come here to talk politics.  there are other blogs for that.  If you want to sound off on those, haver yourself a ball.  Otherwise, how about we evaluate the new owners on how they'll help the team, rather than whether or not they support the governator.
"May our feet be swift. May our bats be mighty. And may our balls be...plentiful."

by nothinlikethetown on Apr 1, 2005 1:39 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

some people can't help it
you'd think "no politics" would be an easy enough rule to follow, but for some reason this seems to come up every few days!

"If someone continues to bring political beliefs to the site, they may eventually get banned. There are plenty of blogs out there that discuss politics, AN wasn't created for that reason."

by xbhaskarx on Apr 4, 2005 11:20 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Make up your mind

"I was also discouraged by the notion of a 35,000 seat stadium with expensive tickets"

JRBH, can you not understand that, if the A's don't somehow come up with a new way of generating some income, the A's will always have to rely on revenue sharing? And that if they're on revenue sharing, they're not going to be competing with the Yankees, the Mariners, in terms of the amount of money they can put into the payroll?

You're always the first to complain about the low payroll yet you honestly don't want the A's to generate more revenue? Do you think we live in 1990? Times have changed, buddy. Don't even mention Haas because even if you account for inflation, the money coming out of his pocket paying for real impact players like Rickey or Eck back then would barely pay for mediocre journeymen like Mark Redman or Arthur Rhodes these days. Can you not see it's impossible for a team to have to rely on modest owner handouts to compete these days? If he were alive, I bet that even Haas would balk at the notion of shelling out $7 million for a guy like Russ Ortiz

From what I gather, you want the A's to be some anachronistic trillionaire's toy, despite the fact that the other 29 teams in the league are all big businesses (or at least trying to be). Well, to that I say "dream on".

by OaktownTribesman on Apr 1, 2005 3:24 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

posting this shit pisses me off...
...which is actually the point i guess.

go a's!

"I always like the word bold"- Billy Beane, March 30th, 2005.

by bigelephant on Apr 2, 2005 10:50 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Prices at Pittsburgh's new park,
by the way, aren't all that cheap. Prices went way up from Three Rivers, and the only thing holding them down now is that the Pirates ownership makes Schott and Hoffman look like George Steinbrenner. They are one of the two or three most incompetently run organizations in baseball, and they can't charge higher prices because they're offering a hideous product to which fan resistance is growing.

by jrbh on Apr 1, 2005 11:25 AM PST   0 recs

NOT THE COMPLETE ARTICLE
This is not the complete article that was posted in a diary yesterday evening.  There still is a limit to how much the new owners will pay for the new stadium.  It appears that the new stadium size is scaled down to 35,000 is because of the stadium cost, not to make the it look full.  If Wolff limits its investment to $100,000,000, the community needs to come up with the balance.  The only was he would put up more money would be if he can develop the surrounding area.  If not, the City of Oakland, Alameda County, and other investors will have to provide $250M or more.  Unless Wolff can change attitudes and generate more interest, I don't see it happening in Oakland.  Do you?  I can subscribe $100.
Jim

by jarforcefatherofforce on Apr 1, 2005 11:30 AM PST   0 recs

Hey Jim
FYI, we can't run the complete article over here.  Copyright issues and all.  That's why I trimmed it.

Just so everyone knows.

by Blez on Apr 1, 2005 3:48 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Oooh
good to know.
confucius says "baseball is wrong; man with four balls cannot walk."

by gotgreen on Apr 1, 2005 3:51 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Press donference on mlb tv right now
Wolff just said they will be looking at other sites next week..
BB and Mike Crowley are both part of ownership...

by LongTimeFan on Apr 1, 2005 11:33 AM PST   0 recs

ok- conference
Wolff says he has an outline of a very deep 2006 budget..they have a budget, will base it on how many wins Billy and Mike think we can have...
says "we can provide everything they need"..
so far, so good...
may be other ways to finance...

by LongTimeFan on Apr 1, 2005 11:36 AM PST   0 recs

Deep 2006 Budget???
In terms of budgeting for personnel or for stadium financing or what??  Can we please re-sign Zito already?  Im gonna have a heart-attack if we lose all of the Big 3...

by CyZito on Apr 1, 2005 11:51 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

First off I'm not expecting
Wolfe and Fisher to suddenly stop being big business capitalists, some of whose enterprises may be involved in questionable practices (I happen to know some unsavory things about Rosewood Enterprises, the Texas-based resort firm that Wolfe has a 50% share of). I would love it if they turn out to be Haas II, but would be satisfied if they at least put in enough money to promote the team, get better radio and broadcast coverage, and sign a few more franchise players.

I don't see anything wrong with trying to tie a new ballpark in Oakland to a redevelopment area, be it the coliseum area or downtown. (I also would be happy to get the Coliseum back to baseball-only, though I realize that there's currently no way to get rid of the Raiders).

A new ballpark should seat 40,000 minimum, or else it risks being way too expensive a venue for many fans (come to think of it, sounds like the ballpark in SF...)

by OaklandSi on Apr 1, 2005 11:55 AM PST   0 recs

Such great news
If it is in San Jose or Oakland, doesn't matter TOO much for me, just as long as the A's stay in the bay.  

by Cy Hudson on Apr 1, 2005 12:22 PM PST   0 recs

I would prefer the East Bay
but my mind is not creative enough to imagine where to build

by kvn on Apr 1, 2005 12:25 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I've got a backyard
They can build it in my backyard...well, it's not MY backyard, it's my mom's...and I don't really live there anymore, so I should probably ask...and it's not really big enough for a 40,000-seat stadium, but maybe the neighbors can chip in parts of their backyards...oh, and maybe knock down a few houses too...there's room somewhere I'm sure...  ;)

giggle