In an effort to contain communications, Lew Wolff asked San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed to keep city officials from contacting Major League Baseball about the city potentially getting the A’s. This may be to avoid the spectacle caused by former Mayor Ron Gonzales, when in 2005, he staged a press conference complete with unconvincing signage in front of Phoenix Muni in an effort to convince MLB that San Jose was a worthy city. The event didn’t hold a candle to Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman’s use of showgirls a few months earlier at the 2004 winter meetings. Goodman repeated the performance in a misdirected manner last December, in front of a bunch of minor league moguls.

Back in 2005, both the mayor and the now-defunct Baseball San Jose group lobbied hard on San Jose’s behalf. There was talk of liberation for San Jose. Some suggested legal means to loosen the Giants’ grip on Santa Clara County’s territorial rights. Wolff had not yet assumed control of the A’s, and the city’s efforts were confusingly, yet transparently non-specific.

This time, it’s clear who’s going to talk and how it’s going to progress. If there’s anything we’ve learned about the last few years, it’s that MLB doesn’t like to be shown up. Even Bud Selig’s continued stubborn defense of his tenure during the steroid era shows the need to control the message, no matter how absurd it sounds.

As the San Jose saga begins in earnest, expect the communications to be tight. No room for overeager types looking to earn political points, no need to stray from whatever blueprint is/will be in place. If San Jose is, as Roger Noll says, the last chance to keep the A’s in the Bay Area – and more importantly Wolff believes it – Lew’s not taking chances.