Athletics Nation: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:

The Five Stages of Grief

Oakland_tiny by Blez on in News

Barry Zito will no longer wear green and gold.  I knew it was coming.  I knew we were going to lose Z to some other team that was willing to seriously overpay for his services.  Oh and overpay they did. Zito will don the Halloween uni of those clowns from across the Bay for the next seven years and $126 million bones.

I have such mixed feelings about this because I hate the Giants.  Not as much as the Angels and Yankees, mind you, but I can't stand that team nonetheless.  It was the Giants and their media whore KNBR that initially prompted me to start Athletics Nation.  I was so tired of hearing about that team that I wanted somewhere that was Giant free.

Yet here we are full circle whereas I'm discussing the Giants on my haven for A's fans only.  Still when the news struck me I found myself feeling those five stages of grief...

Denial:  He CAN'T be signing with the Giants.  Not that team.  It can't be true.  We can't be hearing the Giants dingleberry announcers (Jon Miller excluded) talking about Zito for 35 starts, can we?  Is this happening?  I'm dreaming and it's Vida Blue reincarnated...

Anger:  I still hate those Giants.  They're old, uncool and decrepit and yet they suddenly made themselves seem much cooler.  I can't stand Zito for being money-grubbing and making it clear that he was going to the highest bidder no matter who it was.  ARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH.

Bargaining:  Well, at least he isn't pitching for the Rangers or the Mariners and is in the National League (which will probably help his pitching stats significantly).

Depression:  Ah, forget it, baseball is disgusting and full of money grubbers who have no sense of loyalty at all.  I'm done and I'm going back to bed.  Please don't wake me up until next November.

Acceptance:  Zito is now the enemy.  Plain and simple.  I've loved the guy for years for that beautiful bender, but he's gone.  Forever.  He's now tainted orange and black and that's the facts.

Yes, I went through all of that today.  It probably would've been a more drawn out feeling had I not known that Zito was already going.  The Giants ridiculously overpaid for Zito, but they had to in order to get him and they apparently have the money.  And that's the way the market for starting pitching is going, so who knows what kind of contracts starting pitchers will be getting next offseason that might make this contract look small.  

At the same time, I'm kind of done with Zito.  He's gone to the highest bidder and good for him.  But that's his prerogative.  It's also mine to decide to forget about the guy.  Anyone want a Zito A's jersey cheap?

0 recs | Comment 177 comments

Story-email Email | Print |

Comments

Display:

I'm ok with it
mlb and all their owners are all about the money, so why hold the players to a higher standard? Mind you I don't like it, but I can't really do anything about it. If I want to be a major league baseball fan (and I have been all my life) I'll root for my team despite what I don't like about the business.

I won't hold any particular distain for Zito as long as he doesn't pull a Giambi and publicly diss the team, the fans and the city that has treated him so well these last six years.

by OaklandSi on Dec 28, 2006 12:12 PM PST   0 recs

Hmm...
Usually it's so easy to hate the Giants because their biggest star is their biggest arsehole.  Will Clark and Barry Bonds have filled that role for 20 years plus.

Zito was my favorite player with the A's over the past 7 years, and I'm sad he's gone, but I'm happy that he's going to be pitching close by, and I can go see him on a regular basis if I want to.

I'm not going to go hunting on Ebay for one of those 1989 A's/Giants split caps, but I can't hate the Giants, especially in 2008, when there's only going to be one Barry on the team.

Like I've said in other posts, if you want to get an A's jersey that's going to last, make sure the back says "Beane 11"  or  "Beane 27"  (those were the two numbers he wore in 1989) because Billy ain't going nowhere.

"I ain't ever had a job. I just always played baseball."- former A's pitcher Satchel Paige

by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Dec 28, 2006 12:55 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Split caps
"I'm not going to go hunting on Ebay for one of those 1989 A's/Giants split caps"

I bought up all the ones I could find and burned them.

by gregorymark on Dec 29, 2006 6:42 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Wow oh wow.
The money is so freaking insane. This is "Roger Clemens in his prime" money. When does Johan Santana become a free agent and what could Boras get for him? His own planet?

by matthias on Dec 28, 2006 12:18 PM PST   0 recs

I went through a different 5 stages:
Vodka, Whiskey, Beer, Anger, and More Vodka. And I don't even care about Zito; it's just my Thursday routine.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Dec 28, 2006 12:20 PM PST   0 recs

don't forget to mention those
magazines too.
rip 2006, it was nice while it lasted.

by ak_A on Dec 28, 2006 5:30 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

we get screwed on draft picks again
no #1 for frank (who was a legit MVP contender), no #1 for zito (who gets the richest contract for a pitcher in history). what a bummer. this is supposed to be a really good draft, and i was looking forward to having multiple #1's to retool our barren farm system. dammit.
"welcome to ME, motherf*^*er!" - tim hudson

by guy incognito on Dec 28, 2006 12:21 PM PST   0 recs

It's okay.
Most of the guys we have starting weren't taken in the first round.

DJ was, what, 7th round? Mark Ellis was 9th. Milton was a 2nd rounder, and we have loads of those.

Mike Piazza? 62nd round draft pick.

We have sandwich picks and 2nd rounders aplenty - we'll do fine.

"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 28, 2006 12:41 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Then again
Street, Zito, Chavez, Crosby, Kotsay, Swisher and Blanton were all 1st round picks, so maybe some value can be had from that round too!

The A's "extra" picks come at 35, mid-50's, low-70's and mid-80's. 2007 is supposed to be a deep draft, but picking 80-something with your 2nd round pick might be pushing it.

This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Dec 28, 2006 1:03 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

But remember...
...when we have high draft picks, we inevitably choose guys that we know we can sign on a limited budget - Landon Powell, for example.

In respect of that, I don't see a 1st rounder, a sandwich pick, and a few 2nd rounders as being a bad haul. Especially in a deep draft.

"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 28, 2006 1:43 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

That happened in '02
I don't have my referrence materials handy, but as I recall the top draft picks from 2003 on have all signed for slot money.
This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Dec 28, 2006 3:58 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

money is quite the issue it was in 2002
i think we would've been able to sign draft picks this year - and draft the best ones (not draft ones we could afford aka the jerry brown effect). and yes, many good players are not 1st round picks, as the MLB draft isn't quite like the nba or nfl draft. but still, 1st round picks are pretty valuable if you know how to pick talent. and, like i said, we lost a top-5 MVP vote getter and what is now the richest pitcher in baseball history, and all we get are sandwich and 2nd round picks. un-f'ing-believable. and we really could've used the picks, our farm system is pretty shoddy these days.
"welcome to ME, motherf*^*er!" - tim hudson

by guy incognito on Dec 28, 2006 7:16 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

i believe zito...
was not taken in the 1st round...unless moneyball lied...cuz i believe he was taken in the 8th or 9th round if my memory serves me right

by AthleticsFanatic4ever on Dec 28, 2006 4:27 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Zito was a first round pick.
#9 in the draft.
"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on Dec 28, 2006 4:33 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Zito
Zito wasn't part of the Moneyball Draft.  Blanton and Swisher were, though.

by Colorado Fan on Dec 28, 2006 4:47 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

And Jeremy Brown and Mark Kiger
Shoot, Zito was in the bigs in 2000.  The Moneyball draft was 2002.

by achiappanza on Dec 28, 2006 5:49 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

That just goes to show
how precocious that wacky Barry Zito is, striking out the side in the majors two years before being drafted. And he does yoga. That card!
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Dec 28, 2006 5:59 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

he wasn't in the moneyball draft of '02...
but he was mentioned in the book as being a 9th rd pick...im sure u know the book wasn't just about that draft..it was about hatteburg,youkilis, chad bradford and shit like that

by AthleticsFanatic4ever on Dec 28, 2006 8:26 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Are you sure it mentioned him being in the 9th
round, and not the #9 pick?

It's been a long time since I read the book, but I think it talked about the Zito vs. Sheets issue? And both were first rounders.

"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on Dec 28, 2006 8:44 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

i think zito was picked twice
first time was at a much lower round (maybe 9th) - didn't sign, went to USC, then we took him in the first round.
"welcome to ME, motherf*^*er!" - tim hudson

by guy incognito on Dec 28, 2006 10:35 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Here's the important stuff
The A's drafted Barry Zito 9th overall in the 1999 draft. They gave him a $1.59 million signing bonus.

Zito was a re-draft, meaning he had been drafted before 1999 but did not come to terms.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/z/zitoba01.shtml

This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Dec 29, 2006 4:13 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Rich Harden
I think Rich Harden was taken somewhere around the 8th round.

by apilgrim on Dec 28, 2006 9:50 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

heh
whoops 17th round

by apilgrim on Dec 28, 2006 9:51 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Rich Harden, 17th round pick
will always be my favorite of those.
"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on Dec 28, 2006 8:43 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

So why don't we get a first round pick?...
Because the Giants didn't have one or what?

by SinceIwas7 on Dec 28, 2006 12:43 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

because they suck.
literally-- because their record was in the bottom half last year.

by stinkycheese on Dec 28, 2006 1:20 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Impressive, Blez
I thought the grief process was supposed to take a while. You've completed the cycle by the end of morning.

"It's also mine to decide to forget about the guy"

I'm with you here. Well, as much as I can be, seeing how Zito was never quite my favorite to begin with. He's going to make a boatload of money on a mediocre team. Good for him, blah blah blah. What's next for the A's? That's all I care about right now. Funny how a guy who was so much a part of the team for the last however many years so qucikly becomes a footnote.

Kettlecorn! Swishercorn!

by TurnTwo on Dec 28, 2006 12:23 PM PST   0 recs

Gotta agree....
It's wierd how we can bleed green and gold for these players, but the second they leave, I no longer care.

With the A's you've gotta Love the Laundry, Not the Player.

If you love the player, you'll be disappointed in no more than 3 yrs (Chavy's the exception)

Tear down Mount Davis!

by polytician on Dec 28, 2006 12:27 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Zito Jersey
I would've kept the jersey, if Z went to the Rangers, Mets or Dodgers -- but the Freakin' GIANTS??

Any suggestions on what I should do with it?  Whould I use it to wash the car? polish my shoes? Or just burn the thing, and consider it an offering to the Moneyball Gods?

Tear down Mount Davis!

by polytician on Dec 28, 2006 12:25 PM PST   0 recs

if it's an L or XL ...
... you could offer it to the Monkeyball Gods :)
you corrupt bitches @('.')@

by monkeyball on Dec 28, 2006 12:39 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Or you could...
.. sew a "sucks" under his name.
"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 28, 2006 12:42 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Go Johnny!
That's what Johnny Rotten did to his Pink Floyd T-shirt, and it got him discovered!  Look where he is now... a successful nature show host.  Who'da thunk it?  

(Go back in time to 1980 and tell some punk rock kid that in 25 years, Johnny Rotten and Henry Rollins are successful TV show hosts, and he'd hock a loogie in yer eye!)

"I ain't ever had a job. I just always played baseball."- former A's pitcher Satchel Paige

by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Dec 28, 2006 12:59 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Or do what I saw a guy do with a Giambi jersey--
He made a big "$" in the usual style of the numbers, put it over the number, and still proudly wore the jersey. g

by anomaly_kat on Dec 28, 2006 1:01 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

...snakes...
...why'd it have to be snakes...anything but snakes.
so it comes down to this...

by SF Geoff on Dec 28, 2006 3:48 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Ouch.
Does any ANer ever root like I do when the Giants and the Dodgers play...go Dodger blue???  Even more reason to now.  OH, THE PAIN!!!

by LilAnnieOaktown on Dec 28, 2006 12:25 PM PST   0 recs

I'm with you on that.
can't stand the giants.

by methodrampage on Dec 28, 2006 1:43 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Oh heck yeah.
It was one of the best days of the year this month when I found out that Jason Schmidt went Blue.
"I guess more players lick themselves than are ever licked by an opposing team." ~ Connie Mack

by Flyin As on Dec 28, 2006 2:13 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

agree...
ya ive been an A's fan since i was little living in Benicia, California(next to Vallejo)..when i moved to the L.A. area...my love for the A's grew even more...and so my hate for the Angels grew...and i took in the Dodgers as the my second favorite that i would like to see play the A's in my ideal world series..so ya i hate the Giants...hate barry bonds although i know ill never again see a better(but chemically enhanced)swing in baseball...now ill ignore/ root against Zito, afterall he always my least favorite out of the Big 3

by AthleticsFanatic4ever on Dec 28, 2006 4:35 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Stage #6.......
Anticipation.

I can't wait to see the A's whoop-up on Z a couple of times of year in the Bay-Bridge series.

What's the sked say? The first time he pitches in Oakland! Imagine the crowd! Z's patented "rough early innings".....Swisher takes him deep for a 3-run job in the 1st! Pandemonium erupts!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sidenote:

Highest paid pitcher ever? What has the game come to?

by Force on Dec 28, 2006 12:34 PM PST   0 recs

yeah...
Zito will have a good year... 17-10 or something like that, with an ERA in the 3's...

But the A's will eat his lunch, taking the curveball low for balls and fouling off the two-seamer.  Zito won't get any victories against Oakland this year.

"I ain't ever had a job. I just always played baseball."- former A's pitcher Satchel Paige

by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Dec 28, 2006 1:01 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Assuming 35 starts this season...
...that's over half a million per start.  Good grief.  That boggles my mind.
"So, whatever, Ozzie." -- Nick Swisher

by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Dec 28, 2006 6:22 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Not exactly
Zito's contract is the highest contract ever for a pitcher.  Partly that's general inflation and all the pitchers are getting obscenely high money this year; even more it's because Zito was signed for seven years. It's pretty rare to see a big FA pitcher signed for so many years. Zito is young for a free agent and he's unusually durable, so he can swing a seven-year contract.  Roger Clemens got the same annual salary, but for only one year.

Then again, $18 million a year!  Holy crap!  Add $16 million for the other Barry.  For a lot of teams that's half the payroll right there.

"...but we're also always open to hearing about other sandwiches if it can make our lunch better." -- Nico, channeling Billy Beane

by iglew on Dec 29, 2006 12:02 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

I'll take the Zito uni......
he aggravated and tantalized us for the last 4 years, and he was working on the ultra-cheap.  He may drive Giants fans absolutely insane, and we'll get to see it up close and personal.  Gimme that Zito jersey - I'll wear it over to BigPhone park as Zito goes 100 pitches thru 5 innings.

On the other hand, a fresh start in a new league without the DH may be just the ticket to re-start the clock on his trick pitch of a hammer.

No matter what happens, Scott Boras is THE MAN!  Why would any free agent-to-be ever hire any other agent?  $40MM more than the next highest bidder?  Say goodbye, Brian Sabean.

by BleacherDave on Dec 28, 2006 12:35 PM PST   0 recs

It's not that Boras is the man..
...it's that the Giants are panic-buyers.

They paid about $8m more for another year of Bonds than anyone else would have offered, even though nobody else was interested enough in the guy to say so publicly.

And here, they've paid about $4m a year more than Texas offered - and Texas are usually the stupid spenders.

"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 28, 2006 1:45 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Got over it long ago
We knew he was leaving years ago.  Even if the A's had the resources to pay him that kind of money, they wouldn't be stupid enough to do it.  And for that, I am grateful.
"[Frank's] a big battler. He's the mother of battleships."

-Nick Swisher

by kaweahkaweah on Dec 28, 2006 12:40 PM PST   0 recs

that's exactly how i feel
no matter how much money the a's were spending, they wouldn't be spending that much on zito, so why should we be angry at zito?  our front office doesn't even want the guy at the market price.  enjoy your money, zito.  thanks for the memories.  next.
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Dec 28, 2006 3:48 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Three words:
Pre-season exhibition game.

Wait, is that three words or four?

"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 28, 2006 12:43 PM PST   0 recs

ahh
the mighty power of the dash, turning three words and a prefix into just three words.

by methodrampage on Dec 28, 2006 1:46 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

hyphen!
"...but we're also always open to hearing about other sandwiches if it can make our lunch better." -- Nico, channeling Billy Beane

by iglew on Dec 29, 2006 12:04 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

I dont see him as an enemy at all...
I dont get that at all.  I guess I dont see the Giant hatred like I understand towards the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, etc.  I will 100% root for Barry to do very well across the Bay....and will certainly catch him in Dodger Stadium whenever he comes and pull for him to beat the Dodgers.
Bring back Hammer.

by OaktownPower on Dec 28, 2006 12:45 PM PST   0 recs

A's / Giants
My hatred toward the Giants has subsided since my days in California - 1970 - 1997 - As an Oakland A's Fan, The closer you are to the Bay Area, the more you hate the Giants.  

Living in Colorado, I was glad to see Zito sign with the Giants.  It will be fun to tell my Giants buddies, "I told you he wasn't worth the money."  As they monitor their heart rates with every Zito start.

Zito is the most frustrating pitcher in the Bigs, and he was only making 8-Million this season.  I can't imagine how frustrating it will be when he's making 18-Million per season.

ACE, Zito is Not.

by Colorado Fan on Dec 28, 2006 1:20 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I just never saw why...
I lived in the Bay Area for 18 years and never got the hating the Giants thing.....I hate the Angels because they are the rival.  I never was a fan of the Giants, but would rather see them do well than a team like the Dodgers...and I certainly pulled for them in the WS vs the Angels.
Bring back Hammer.

by OaktownPower on Dec 28, 2006 1:25 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I'm as puzzled by it as you are
Hating actual opponents like Angels and Yankees makes a lot of sense.  Giants hatred just sort of smacks of underclass resentment of some sort.  It's not worth it... especially when it's not true.

by achiappanza on Dec 28, 2006 1:32 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I can tell you why I hate the Giants.
Barry Lamar Bonds.

And the fools who bow to him like he's a god, even though he wouldn't waste spit on them if they were on fire.

And stupid management. And Rotating Name Ballpark.

"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 28, 2006 1:47 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

hate
That would explain why you'd hate them from anywhere on the globe.  It doesn't explain why there's so much of it from AN'ers in general.

by achiappanza on Dec 28, 2006 2:49 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Um...
..Maybe because we inhabit the globe?
"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 28, 2006 4:53 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Aliens hate Barry Bonds Too!
My crazy homeless friend who says he's from another planet really hates the Giants.  One time, he got released from the drunk tank and the cops gave him a Giants t-shirt to wear because he puked on his other clothes...  When I saw him later and pointed out to him that he was wearing a Giants shirt, he looked down aghast and ripped the damn thing in half with his bare hands.

And this was in November!

"I ain't ever had a job. I just always played baseball."- former A's pitcher Satchel Paige

by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Dec 29, 2006 8:57 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Do you still talk to Esteban much?
"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 29, 2006 1:39 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

It's about splitting the market
The Giants are unfortunately MUCH better at marketing and dominating an area.  They own the radio, they take priority on the television, they have the "territorial rights" to San Jose for reasons that are sketchy at best, relegating the A's to the "small market" we've grown so accustomed to.

It wasn't always this way.  At one point, the A's were the ones with the better stadium, way more star power, and way more attention (and attendance!) in the area.  Some of us long for those days, and blame the Giants (as well as the A's ownership groups) for the decline.

Huh. I always thought that baseball's version of a home run is the motherf---ing home run itself. -FJM

by oblique on Dec 28, 2006 2:51 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

When were those days?
It had to be the 70's, because in the 80's and 90's, Will Clark and Robby Thompson ruled all Bay Area media coverage in the 80's (see: KNBR).  Since I've been a fan of MLB Baseball (1980), the Giants have always been the media darling.

Two Words:  Crazy Crab

by Colorado Fan on Dec 28, 2006 4:51 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

the late 80's....
the A's were the media darlings of all baseball in the Bash Brothers days.  They had the #1 payroll and the most stars.  KNBR and the Chron are the roots of my Giant distaste.  Once they announced that new ballpark, the fact that the Giants struggled at the gate for years, played in a horrid stadium, and were sold to Tampa Bay were completely forgotten.

by BleacherDave on Dec 28, 2006 9:00 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, I was referring to
the late '80s.
Huh. I always thought that baseball's version of a home run is the motherf---ing home run itself. -FJM

by oblique on Dec 28, 2006 10:29 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

When "it's" not true
When "what's" not true??!!  "Underclass resentment?" Ummmm, not sure, but no one ever hates the Giants because they feel "underclassed."  Hating the Giants because of "what they do," is like hating the Devil Rays, or Grizzlies, or Sam Houston State.  Theres no point. They lose year in and year out.
I hate them because they're so bad and we still have to talk about them.
If Barry "wanted to win," he picked the wrong team.  15 wins -- tops.  And that's if EVERYTHING goes right. The Giants have 100-loss potential.
VacaAsFan

by Vacafan on Dec 28, 2006 2:59 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Underclass resentment
isn't about the Giants per se.  It's about San Francisco.  It is part of the San Francisco mentality to lord it over the rest of the Bay Area like we're just their imperial provinces.  They dominate the media, so that everything is San Francisco this and San Francisco that, like no other cities matter.  (Go anywhere outside the Bay Area and mention the 1989 earthquake, and they'll call it the "San Francisco earthquake". My wife and I visited recently and she asked which was the freeway that collapsed and killed 70 people ... she thought it was in SF, had no idea it was in Oakland.)

Part of the San Francisco media strategy is to badmouth Oakland, San Jose, and other cities, as if they have no culture or class, or (in the case of Oakland) that they're full of slums and rapists and you're risking your life just to get off the BART train.  They have to; otherwise they couldn't maintain those high SF property values. The Giants are just part of the general pattern.  The San Francisco team gets all the attention, because it's San Francisco which is the real city.  Oakland is just a dumb suburb, so our team doesn't matter.

That's why I hate the Giants.

"...but we're also always open to hearing about other sandwiches if it can make our lunch better." -- Nico, channeling Billy Beane

by iglew on Dec 29, 2006 12:21 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Absolutely
I'll wish Zito well in a Giants uniform the same way I wish Huddy well in a Braves shirt.
"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" --Johnny Rotten

by FreeSeatUpgrade on Dec 28, 2006 1:56 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Thanks Blez
I needed to go thru the 5 stages too..  I've been over with Barry by end of last season.  It was all about 'show me the money' especially when he signed with Boras.

by oaklandbbfan on Dec 28, 2006 12:46 PM PST   0 recs

Rob Neyer writes...
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=14071

The ONLY thing this deal does is make the Giants look ridiculous. Granted, Zito's ERA will get a boost from the National League and the Giants' home ballpark. And this one isn't as dumb as the Mike Hampton deal with the Rockies. But based on the facts at hand, this looks to me like one of the dumber free-agent signings ever. Zito just isn't very good. And if he's worth $18 million per season, Santana's worth $25 million

More than just ANtics: http://www.louisgray.com/live/

by louismg on Dec 28, 2006 12:47 PM PST   0 recs

money grubbing? be serious
what did you want barry to do?  go to texas or NY rather than stay in an area he likes living?  sign with the A's for something like 4 years and $44m (more than that wouldn't have made sense for the A's)?  a hometown discount is one thing, but c'mon.

i don't get the bitterness.  he's not the enemy, he's just a giant.  personally, if i like a player i tend to keep liking them after they leave.  it's not just the laundry for me.  i still like watching giambi hit even as i root against his team, and i'll still like watching zito throw the curve.  i'll root for him when he isn't throwing it against the A's.  

Thanks for the memories Barry -- best of luck to you!

by danh on Dec 28, 2006 12:52 PM PST   0 recs

Really well said...
Couldn't agree more.
Bring back Hammer.

by OaktownPower on Dec 28, 2006 12:54 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Don't Hate the Player
Hate the game, but don't hate the player.

by ChucklesSD on Dec 28, 2006 1:28 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I don't hate a guy for leaving.
I hate a guy for lying about why he's leaving.

If it's all about the money, then have the balls to say "I'm gonna get my ass rich, man", rather than "I want to be with a team that can win multiple championships," as you leave an ALCS contender for a group of steroid junkies, over the hill vets and departure lounge inhabitants.

"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Dec 28, 2006 1:50 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

another candidate
for Post of the Year.  Awesome Oz.
Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water, the other third is covered by Kotsay.

by carp on Dec 28, 2006 2:07 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

What's to lie about?
Barry gets to stay in the area that he likes best, he goes to the NL in a weak division, and he gets the most money.  It's not like he's choosing between priorities.  Everything points to SF.
"...but we're also always open to hearing about other sandwiches if it can make our lunch better." -- Nico, channeling Billy Beane

by iglew on Dec 29, 2006 12:28 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

<