It’s been about 3 months since the last time Dave Newhouse ripped Lew Wolff, so you had to figure it was time for Newhouse to drop another diatribe. It starts out by calling Wolff a liar, then the usual bid for canonization of Wally Haas, then a carpetbagger tag for good measure.
That union led to something beautiful — three straight World Series, 2.9 million attendees one season and a community bonding second to none in baseball.
Yes, the same community bonding that made attendance in the strike-shortened 1994 season (the last of the Haas era) 13th out of the 14 AL teams.
The tendency towards repetition is the major reason why I don’t feel the need to quote or respond to his rantings. This time, however, I figure it’s important to point out a few things.
But, MLB, remember this: Wolff’s initial lie was that the A’s must be near BART and the freeway whenever a new ballpark is built. Fremont fulfilled one-half of that requirement — BART was 2 miles away — and San Jose also fulfills one-half, but it doesn’t have BART.
Does Newhouse not understand that demographics and requirements change depending on the site? Of course BART is required in a place BART was previously used. If you spin out a radius of 20 miles from anywhere in Oakland, BART should be readily available. That can’t happen in San Jose, at least for several years. But in San Jose, people are used to getting to and from places without BART. Will East Bay fans find a San Jose ballpark less accessible? Of course they will. Will they be replaced by South Bay fans? Yes, they will. Why? Because it’s Major League Baseball at a fancy new ballpark near them. Some of them will be A’s fans. Others will be casual, hopefully some of them can be converted.
Later on, Newhouse espouses the virtues of the Coliseum’s location and plugs other sites.
And that isn’t the only available ballpark space in Oakland. There are two spots in Jack London Square, though it would take two businesses, Peerless Coffee and East Bay Restaurant Supply, to shift a bit to make it happen.
This may be doable for one business, not both. But Oakland City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente assured me that the most aesthetically pleasing spot — the Oak to 9th Project by the Estuary — remains available. It’s closer to the freeway than BART, but that site is every bit as attractive as the AT&T Park locale.
I find it interesting that Newhouse suggests that getting both Peerless and EBRS to relocate isn’t feasible. So does that mean that Victory Court is by extension infeasible? First I’ve heard of that. Beyond that, once again he’s being fed the same old nonsense by IDLF and Signature about O29 being doable – even though O29 has not been in the discussion for nearly a decade. Only Newhouse ever brings up O29, despite the lack of infrastructure and other challenges that would make it much more difficult to accomplish than Victory Court, 980, or even the Coliseum. Doesn’t it seem strange that while various real estate developers push for Victory Court to boost their own peripheral developments, one of those major developments could easily be cast aside for a ballpark? I’ll tell you why: those development projects aren’t as good as advertised. It’s not their fault that they were hung out to dry after the real estate collapse. Plenty of very rich developers have been left in similar circumstances.
My gut feeling is that Wolff has no place to go but Oakland. The world champion San Francisco Giants have strengthened their South Bay “territorial rights” by investing more heavily in their San Jose minor league team and by planning to renovate its home field, Municipal Stadium.
Thing is, it takes a lot more than a gut feeling to get a ballpark built. Throughout all of Newhouse’s vitriolic columns, he has never discussed how an Oakland ballpark will get done. Never mentions that it’ll cost $460 million in construction cost alone. Doesn’t have an answer for dozens of corporate interests that will be needed to get it financed. Let’s not forget that the Giants caught hell for financing $170 million, and that was after naming rights and charter seat licenses cut the original cost roughly in half. How can it get done in Oakland, a place that has relatively few major corporations? A place where PSL’s are impossible to sell? A place where building at the Coliseum (and perhaps anywhere in Oakland) may require shouldering the remaining debt on Mount Davis? A place where the government wants to keep the Raiders and simply may not have the resources to keep both the Raiders and A’s in town?
Frankly, Dave, you’re doing Trib readers a major disservice by not being honest about these challenges. Hope and emotion don’t make a strategy or a business plan. There are hard numbers and realities to address. When you feel like having an adult conversation with your readers about keeping the A’s in Oakland, you’ll be helping a lot more than you’re doing now. Until then, you’re just filling column inches, throwing some red meat at people who want it, and wasting everyone else’s time.
newballpark.org 
Beane was interviewed recently, you can see it here: http://athleticsafterdark.com/as-spirit-week-land-of-the-as
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Not much said really, other than they will be aggressive this off season, and the usual ‘hard-to-attract-free-agents-with-out-new-venue’ line he’s been giving out.
40 years of history and you expect Oaklanders to just roll over? An repeating the Jerry Brown failures doesn’t make your loyalties wither away. This is par for the course.
Mark Purdy’s been writing the same nonsense for years as well, except it has a pro-SJ slant.
@wha? can you give specifics about Purdy’s nonsense articles? Seems to me he can point to a site, land acquisition, committment of SJ leaders, etc….etc..etc—–what was enlightening in the Newhouse rant is another flaw in Oaklands effort—VC is no longer viable—check one more site off the list–
Oakland’s position has gained strength in the last month or so …
SJ’s redevelopment money dried up …
SJ Giants won the California League
SF Giants won the world series
BART and high-speed rail not coming to SJ anytime soon …
SV, state candidates, got whooped by Oakland residents (Boxer/Brown)
Perata loses to Quan
@David–please explain more how any of these events has an impact on what MLB will do?
SJ’s baseball plan, like Santa Clara’s football stadium plan, has holes in it. The onus is on SJ, to take the team from Oakland. Selig and Wolff would be down there now if it were just up to them. Luckily, it isn’t. The owners who will vote on T-rights are aware of SJ’s recent bumps in the (economic) road. And i’m sure they are watching, closely, the 49er stadium situation.
I definitely am not buying the “if not SJ, then out the bay area” scare tactic. That’s been tried before.
@David- and what plan does Oakland have—so in your opinion a solid plan with site, land, EIR, corporate committment, etc etc has more holes in it than no plan at all…you gotta explain that man…makes no sense to even the most ardent supporters….and to imply that the ‘9ers stadium being delayed a year is because of something San Jose/Silicon Valley is doing shows how misinformed you are—-once a CBA is reached with the players than things will move forward…
Show a logical plan for Oakland–site, acquistion costs, financing for infrstructure, ability to support from a corporate perspective on and on and than you have an argument–but to try and connect unrelated events and now say Oakland, who still has no plan at all, has momentum is a joke.
@ GoA’s — i respect your opinion, but i just disagree. We (Oakland) don’t have “momentum” … we have the A’s. MLB will “play ball” with our community, led by our new Mayor-elect.
How does:
“SV, state candidates, got whooped by Oakland residents (Boxer/Brown)”
Have anything to do with A’s ballpark location? Neither position has anything to do with the ballpark.
@David– I respect your hope…but its not a strategy—and strategy is what Oakland has been lacking since Uncle Al returned and they ruined the Coli—15 years and counting—
I don’t have a problem with SJ, or SV. I’m just saying that all the corporate muscle doesn’t necessarily get you want you want. Just ask Larry Ellison …
I guess everyone is very anxious for next part of the saga …
@Marine Layer – you never showed as much frustration as you do now, in this current top post.
Hopefully, we hear something soon.
@David – It’s hard not to get frustrated when Newhouse sounds like a broken record. It’s about real solutions, not name calling. Do you honestly think Selig is going to step aside, as Newhouse suggests? Of course not. He represents the owners, he is going to act based on their consensus.
David, the frustration is more directed at Dave Newhouse and his ridiculous, intentionally ignorant of the facts, regular trimonthly rant. At least, that is how I read it.
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To say the “Oakland doesn’t have momentum, it has the A’s” is to ignore an important reality. Oakland doesn’t possess the A’s, John Fisher and Lew Wolff do.
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I am all for the A’s staying in Oakland, but Oakland really, really hasn’t done much in the way of providing a workable solution to the A’s stadium conundrum. Oak 2 9th? Are you kidding me? I suppose Signature Properties is willing to sell the land to the A’s at the same steep discount at which they acquired it? Or better, gift it to the Oakland CEDA so they can turn around and gift it to the A’s? Magically, the barriers that have kept Oak 2 9th from ever materializing will disappear when the project is a baseball stadium rather than housing with open space mixed in? Really, Iggy? Are you completely full of crap or just mostly?
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Victory Court is awesome, unless of course you want the existing businesses to move to make it, you know, even possible?
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Corporate muscle isn’t everything, sure, but it is definitely required to build a privately financed stadium. Are you advocating for Oakland to help with construction costs? Sales tax increase? Divert Hotel taxes? How do you make up for the lower expected contribution from the business community?
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This is the stuff that frustrates the hell out of me, a guy who would like to see the A’s stay in Oakland. It’s the complete and utter disregard for reality. The complete and utter lack of a real plan. The complete and utter inability to realize that the further this drags on, the worse it is for Oakland, not the better. “Hey, we have sites… unless you want to actually build a baseball stadium! Hye, we have new sites, unless you remember the 2001 HOK study that eliminated them! Hey, we have corporations, too, but they aren’t really that important to building a privately financed stadium. Hey, the A’s will pay for the stadium with a $460M loan!”
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Good grief. Dave Newhouse, pull your head out of your ass and start acknowledging obstacles, and explaining how they can be overcome instead of pointing out the blip of one season with 2.9M attendance 20 years ago as if it is relevant to the discussion today and/or more important than the entire attendance history in Oakland.
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Yeah. I am pretty frustrated, too.
Newhouse referred to San Jose as “Prune City” a few months ago. He’s in total complete denial and is stuck in the Dark Ages. LIke somebody arguing for horse and buggies after Henry Ford’s automobile took the country by storm. Or arguing for gas lights after Edison’s electric lightbulb took hold. Laughable, really
Is Newhouse an adult? His ramblings belong on a facebook fan page, not an allegedly legitimate newspaper.
ML / Jefferey – Thank you for taking the time to counter all the accusations / pipedreams / rhetoric that has been commonplace for the past decade in the pursuit of an Oakland new stadium. I hope that you take the time to personally email and call out Newhouse on this one…
Just got back from the Raider game, took a nice hot shower and am relishing one of the best games in years. The place was rocking! All the way now for the R’s. This will help get a new stadium in Oaktown, and the 49ers should hop on board and make it happen. Santa Clara’s setting is so sterile and blah (okay, roller coasters in the background may be cool to some), but really not the greatest place for a football stadium.
Okay, I see another hit piece here by ML on Dave Newhouse’, one of the most respected bay area writers for years (sorry, but Murky News hack and Wolff bootlicker Mark Purdy isn’t). Dave pretty much nailed it on all fronts, but I disagree with him that VC isn’t doable (it is, if the will is there and Quan as mayor), and Oak to 9th may be a long shot, IMO. I remember Dave in the mid 80’s when he hosted his own show on KNBR and he got bounced out by blabber jaws Ralph Barbieri, who’s voice alone is enough to make you turn the dial.
@jk-usa – Just like your hero, you resort to name calling without providing anything of substance. Hit piece? Take time to actually read it and address the points within the post and you’ll see that it’s definitely not a hit piece, just an honest retort. Of course, you don’t actually have any real solutions yourself, so it’s not surprising that you’d take this view. Garbage.
@ML–talk about name-calling? You and your brethren have been doing that to me for months on here.
Garbage.
@jk-usa – Do you have a rebuttal to any of my points? If you don’t, I suggest you move on. BTW, repeating what I write doesn’t make you clever, only annoying.
re: SJ’s redevelopment money dried up …
…So now Wolff can buy the properties himself and avoid an election. Way to go San Jose A’s!!
re: SJ Giants won the California League
…Utterly no impact on the A’s to San Jose. Very very very few people follow that team. None of us would know a SJ Giants player if one landed in our living. room.
re: SF Giants won the world series
…Beneficial to the A’s in San Jose. No more sympathy for Neukom’s phony arguments.
re: BART and high-speed rail not coming to SJ anytime soon …
…No impact. There’s VTA Light Rail, CalTrain, ACE Commuter, Amtrak and bus service right next door to the ballpark site.
re: SV, state candidates, got whooped by Oakland residents (Boxer/Brown)
…Utterly no impact.
re: Perata loses to Quan
..Does Quan have $1 billion on hand to buy the A’s and build a stadium in Oakland with no corporate support? Didn’t think so.
What we still have is San Jose firing on all 8 cylinders to get the A’s while Oakland has done everything it can to chase away the A’s and now is playing the victim card.
i thought you needed to use redevelopment funds, to take property via eminent domain? or something like that.
@David – That’s correct. Plus a referendum would be needed.
@pjk – San Jose is anything but running on 8 cylinders. Redevelopment is like an old Ford Escort with 200k miles, running on borrowed time.
@David- last I heard the SJ RDA had $140M of banked land—they only need $20M to finalize site acquistion—sell a few parcels…buy a few parcels….btw–as I understand Oakland doesn’t have this luxury-
Has anyone gotten word on the outstanding 10k mail in ballots for the oakland mayor? i dont necessary care (although its interesting an asian women is going to be leading a city in the bay area), but if its perata, hopefully it accelerates the a’s to sj.
A final tally is expected to be released tommorow.
One can respect the fact Newhouse has a lot of Civic pride when it comes to Oakland. But like ML and Jeffrey point out it is “unreal” he offers zero solutions to the problem.
The problem is with no public funding being used you need a big corporate base along with an affluent fan base to make this happen.
Oakland is not that place and if they want to put up $200 million in “General Fund” $$ for the place then I say let’s do this as the team is in Oakland now.
In reality that is not the case and Lew Wolff is actually being “honest” when he states he will pay for it in San Jose but not Oakland.
Why San Jose? Cisco has pledged $120 M in San Jose and SVLG has sent a letter with “names” on it in support of the move. You gotta be crazy to think MLB will not let the A’s at least “explore” San Jose thoroughly with this kind of corporate backing.
We as fans cannot dictate the business of the team itself. All we can do is support the team through thick and thin. While people in Oakland will be hurt buy the A’s leaving a new fan base and a Downtown site await in San Jose.
The A’s are trying to survive sharing a market with a newly crowned World Series champion. They need to be able to compete and they are the “last” team in MLB to be sharing a stadium with an NFL team.
Something has to give….
@ST–LW and Fischer contributing to Perata’s campaign smells to high heaven, and is unprecedented. LW and Perata deserve each other. Both lack any integrity, just like Selig. Hopefully Quan wins and can get to work soon on a plan for the team she loves. Oh my gosh, she’s an Asian woman!! Do you have a problem with that?
Are you now crying racism and sexism out of nowhere?
Just let me know when the nightmare is over.
Would love to see them stay in Oakland, but everyone is doing their best to push it to SJ for those reasons stated by Jeff/ML. It’s tough when Oakland doesn’t have the corporate backing that SJ can gin up.
Just curious, is there any apprehension by MLB on relocating to a large area that has not fielded a sports team that would need to pull 30K daily? I know the Sharks have stalwart fans who host 17,000 in per game, but is there enough crossover for baseball to consistently get twice that number for twice as many games?
jk – your knee jerk commentary wreaks of ignorance and sensationalism. I am an Asian FYI and would be proud if Quan wins and hope for the best of Oakland. However, in the context of A’s, I prefer Perata to win so the issue of a new stadium an be addressed sooner.
ru155- judging by how many bandwagon gnats fans ive seen the past few weeks, i think there is sufficient number of fans to pull 25k, if not 30k daily. that would be 2.5% of the local SJ population itself which will most likely compromise a huge proportion of Sharks fans (pro SJ/sports folks). but the most telling support will not be necessary in attendance but rather suite and season ticket sales. judging by the response of the SVLG, it should increase significantly from Oakland.
ru155,
Respectfully, your post demonstrates a problem with many a thinking in regards to the A’s playing in San Jose; that somehow county lines/current territorial lines can’t be crossed in the Bay Area. Trust me, just because the A’s will be in San Jose doesn’t mean that current season ticket holders (and casual fans) from (say) Fremont, Union City, Livermoore, Pleasanton, etc. won’t follow the team to SJ. Heck, I’ll bet you 95% of them will find the WAY TO SAN JOSE! Add in the A’s fans (like myself) and casual fans from SCCo./SJ, and the A’s will do just fine in the South Bay.
FYI, Sharks fans just don’t come from San Jose: many come from the lower Peninsula and Fremont area. Again, we cross county lines all the time to see our teams; the A’s playing in San Jose won’t be any different (at least for most).
@ru155- Most people in the South Bay will tell you “yes” on if the A’s can draw 30k in fans per night in San Jose.
Right now SF and OAK are too far away for people out here to consistently attend games for either team. The Giants have 7,000 or so season ticket holders in the South Bay and those are “hardcore” fans as they make the trip up to SF and do not mind coming home late at night. Plus the Giants play in the #1 ballpark in MLB as ranked by Forbes.com.
The A’s on the other hand don’t have 8,000 “total” in season ticket holders and it is because of their cruddy stadium located in the East Bay. With a new stadium the A’s would draw very well in Downtown San Jose.
The problem with having a new stadium in Oakland is that is too close to ATT Park (7-10 miles). In San Jose it would 50-60 miles away in a different metro area. Also if they built in Oakland, they A’s will probably still receive $$ from revenue sharing much like Pittsburgh and Milwaukee who have modern stadiums but still are on MLB welfare.
Right now MLB has two teams in one metro area (San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont) while they have zero in the South Bay (San Jose-Santa Clara-Sunnyvale) which is considered a separate metro area.
By spacing the teams out it will allow MLB to compete in the combined market more efficiently. Hence the big corporate base and affluent fan base will allow the A’s to contribute $$ to revenue sharing while right now they receive 30 million a year being based in Oakland.
The Giants know the A’s would get fans and corporate support in San Jose and do not want to see the A’s on “equal footing” with them fiscally.
The Giants want to keep things they are as they know the “political well” has been poisoned beyond repair in Oakland or they want them to leave the Bay Area period.
San Jose would support the A’s like the Sharks. Hockey is “boring” and it sells out all day in San Jose. Baseball would be far easier to sell out if the team had “San Jose” on the jersey. People have $$ out here and like sports. But SF and Oak are too far to invest significantly in it.
We’ll know the Oakland Mayor’s results by 4p today, and if Quan can hang on to win, I’m going to her gathering at The Parish near Oak City hall at 6:30p tonight. It’s celebrating the victory of neighbors coming together from across the city to move Oakland forward. I want to try talk to her personally on the A’s situation, and also drop off a few bucks to pay off her campaign debt. It’s pot luck, so I’ll bring a desert or something. Running a grass roots campaign against Perata’s political machine was a tough task, but she may pull this one out.
http://www.jeanquanforoakland.org/event/celebrating-grassroots-oakland
@NamTurk–do you EVER have anything to add to the discussion on here, except your little lame one-liners, just like on LetsGoOakland FB? Which, BTW, is suppose to be for Oakland A’s fans, keeping the team in Oakland, not Oakland hating trolls like yourself.
@ jk-usa: “Oh my gosh, she’s an Asian woman!! Do you have a problem with that?” That’s not race baiting? C’mon, brother. Grow up. And as for LGO’s FB page. All kinds of crazy going on there. They’re blaming everyone but themselves, calling for lawsuits against the A’s, Wolffe, SJ, SF, etc, pushing like 5 different sites. Crazy town. And interestingly, hardly ever a mention of ML’s reporting. But then again, who wants facts might get in the way of an impassioned rant?
@jk-usa – Isn’t Nam Turk just providing a counterpoint on LGO, just like you do here? And the “Asian woman” comment was way over the line. There are many, many Asians that read this blog. For you to say that just goes to show that once again you have very little understand of the South Bay. It’s getting to the point where I have to think that you’re willfully ignorant.
@ML–I thought this site was neither a pro-SJ or pro-Oakland, but neutral? I don’t post on Baseball San Jose site at all because it’s all SJ cheerleaders and I don’t belong. This site is pretty much turning into that, and I feel I don’t belong. If SJ is awarded the A’s, I’m done with you guys on here and the As FOREVER. If Oakland gets there deserved shot, It’s gonna be fun on here. You guys will be eating crow for a long time. BTW, I married an Asian woman.
Hey ML, if Quan wins, comon down to the Parish tonight, I’d like to meet you. I’ll be the tall, white, ignorant dude wearing an A’s cap eating egg rolls.
@jk-usa – Stop while you’re well behind on the Asian stuff. I beg of you.
Seriously, I’d be happy to have a chat with you if/when there are study sessions for a ballpark in Oakland. That’s how I’ve met many of the readers and it’s always been good conversation. As for the mayoral event, come on, really? You and I have one thing in common when it comes to Oakland – we’re both not residents, and therefore not constituents. So you’ll go as your one-issue, non-constituent self and ask her about something that’s well down the priority list, that she can’t at the moment give anything but the most general answers about? Okay…
If SJ is awarded the A’s, I’m done with you guys on here and the As FOREVER
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JK – Sounds like you’re allowing your pride to get in the way of your support for the A’s. If Oakland gets their shot I’d be happy because at least we’d be making some progress. I would prefer San Jose, because I believe it gives the A’s the best chance to succeed, but the bottomline is I just want a new ballpark somewhere in the Bay Area.
Another thing that bothers me in the Oakland Only movement… “Oakland has the A’s.” and “If Oakland gets their shot.” I hear this sort of ranting a lot. It is true, the A’s play in Oakland, which doesn’t mean they own the A’s but does mean they have, and have had for a looooong time, their shot.
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I am pretty ambivalent on where the A’s should play next. My opinion is “where ever a plan that is doable can be hatched.” As of right now, I’d say Oakland has probably blown it’s shot.
If Marine Layer and jk-usa were meeting in person, I’d totally want to see that… even if it gets awkward. Though, I really can’t see you two having a productive conversation
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@ jk-usa: No offense but you’re really coming from an emotional space and haven’t been rational on this board. We all know you’re frustrated but by baiting fellow A’s fans who support (but not necessarily endorse) a move to SJ, you’re really losing sight of what you could be doing to keep the A’s in Oakland.
fyi: No new Oakland Mayor yet.
OAKLAND — The outcomes in a couple of East Bay mayor races — including the battle for the Oakland mayor’s seat — became no clearer today, and may remain cloudy for days.
Dave Macdonald, Alameda County’s registrar of voters, said his office — in agreement with Oakland city officials — would not release new results today based on the ranked-choice voting process because ballot counting was not complete.
@Briggs–i’ll meet ML only if the A’s stay in Oakland, NOT go to San Jose. I’d be done with this board and all on here if that dreaded move happens. Actually, Jeffrey would be a very interesting guy to sit down and have a beer with too.
You don;t know how bad this has affected me. First, that announced Fremont move was a kick in the teeth. Losing out to a suburb that makes San Jose look like New York City. I could of handled it if they stayed in the real east bay, meaning any place from Richmond to Hayward, and keeping the name Oakland A’s. But Fremont would of been a whole different animal to say the least. Too Siilcon Valleyish for me– sprawled out blah, track home, big box hell, and the name would of been some weird combination of Fremont and Silicon Valley which is outright embarrassing. I’m glad that plan died, but now San Jose is back in the picture and I thought that was dead in the water for good. That pissed me off even worse, and I cut back on my games so much, it’s like I’m barely a fan any more, which pains me inside. From a peak of 68 games in 1990 to just 7 games last year. If Oak gets their chance, I’ll ramp it up to my 30 average. If SJ is chosen: Nada, zilch, no more.
@jk-usa: I can’t say for certain, but I suspect your threat of departure will not be enough to derail the A’s to San Jose. Happy trails.
“That pissed me off even worse, and I cut back on my games so much,” – Yes, Oakland-only crowd…decrease attendance further to show support for your A’s.. /rolleyes
As an infrequent visitor to this website, I would suggest that ML and other SJ advocates step back and see how ridiculous and immature your wrath at Dave Newhouse really is. Seems to me that if you really detest the guy’s articles as having no substance and advancing no plan, you should just ignore him. Can’t you see that the deck has been stacked against Oakland for years, and Newhouse is simply voicing the frustrations of those who have supported the Oakland A’s through thick and thin who now feel like the blood is being drawn out of us as we stand to loose the A’s? Can’t you see that he is trying to keep the last flicker of hope alive as long as there is a chance that the A’s may stay in Oakland?
Oakland continually gets crapped on, and losing the A’s would be just one more indignity suffered. How do you think it makes us feel when the owner of the team we have supported for years says that he can do without the Oakland fans, that he’ll just simply get new ones down in San Jose? How do you think it feels to know that the A’s would be moving to a place that would be much more difficult and costly to get to, meaning that we could attend only a fraction of the games we attend now? I’ll be long gone by the time there is a feasible transportation option to get me to a SJ A’s game.
Yes, San Jose has a great plan and can answer all the technical questions, which of course must be answered. Yes, SJ has the upper hand in this tug-of-war. But frankly, hearing the winners become whiners is immature and unbecoming of serious fans like yourselves. Go worry about the dimensions of right field and how many parking spaces will be built and let the Oakland folks do what we have to do to make one last effort at building the ball park in Oakland. You guys may have all the answers but you have no soul.
Jerry… You had me, right up until you profess to believe you can tell others they have no soul. That was very big of you.
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Dave Newhouse, as a public figure, earns any lumps he takes. If he wants to keep blabbering on inanely, I will keep calling him on it.
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And, jk… I will have a beer with you anytime it is feasible. Like ML, I won’t be going to any victory celebrations for political candidates (I won’t even do that in Pleasanton, and I live there). But, when baseball season rolls around, I can be found at the Coliseum on many occasions and they got cold beer ($4.99 at certain stands last year!)
@Jerry – I normally ignore Newhouse’s columns. This time I chose to address his vitriol. Newhouse isn’t exactly Guy Fawkes. He doesn’t have a plan.
@ Marine Layer — yeah, I heard you the last three times.
@ Jeffrey — Sorry for the over-dramatization, but I was trying to make a point. You guys really should take a step back and listen to what this constant berating of Oakland sounds like. You guys run an otherwise intelligent site here, and I applaud all the work and thought that is put into it, but it’s really starting to sound amateurish.
@Jerry–how does pointing out the flaws in a factless article written by this guy, with no proposed solution to the Oakland ballpark issue, have anything to do with berating Oakland? “Amateurish” is what Newhouse is as he does nothing to propose solutions for Oakland. Arguing from an entitlement perspective is not going to be a successful formula and hence where he could be in a position to help Oakland is to hold those leaders in Oakland accountable for doing something….15 years and counting and still no agreed upon site by the leaders of Oakland…
Jerry, I apologize for anything that I have written that sounds like I am berating Oakland. As I have said on here many times, of the three nationally recognized cities in the Bay Area I spend more of my leisure time in Oakland than San Jose or San Francisco.
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What infuriates me is the Oakland Only crowd and the lamest of lame arguments about why the A’s might be leaving. It is tired and old to read folks saying things like “Oakland gets crapped on all the time” as if there is some malevolent cosmic spirit that is secretly pulling puppet strings to make that happen. Oakland is as much to blame for Oakland’s situation as anyone else and Oakland is responsible for making it better.
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I am rooting for the City of Oakland. I just root for them to do something rather than lamenting how everyone else looks down at them.
Jerry, I don’t know what’s your situation with regard to transportation, but I just don’t understand comments from the Oakland Only crowd that “San Jose is too far”. Why is it too far for you, but not too far for south bay fans to drive to Oakland? I sell a bunch of my season tickets to buyers in San Jose and Santa Clara. I even sell tickets to a guy who lives in Merced, and Bleacher Dave who lives in Holister.
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Maybe some in the Oakland Only crowd are confusing loyalty with convenience.
@Jerry – Thanks for the backhanded compliments. Look, we can either be like Baseball Oakland or OAFC or White Elephant Parade and blow smoke up your ass, or we can tell it as we see it. Don’t like it? Tough.
Tell you what. From now on there will be a moratorium on responses to Newhouse columns. I think that’s fair. But really, when it gets to the point of whining about whining about whining about someone, it gets ridiculous. And yes, you are whining about us here so you’re a party to it.
You can do a search on this site to see how many times I’ve written about Newhouse. There aren’t many posts.
“NamTurk–do you EVER have anything to add to the discussion on here, except your little lame one-liners, just like on LetsGoOakland FB? Which, BTW, is suppose to be for Oakland A’s fans, keeping the team in Oakland, not Oakland hating trolls like yourself.”
If you think I hate Oakland, you’re an idiot. Sorry, but I can’t put it lightly. That’s a ridiculous accusation. Your divisive worldview is simply not compatible with real life.
Not to mention I’d never be a fan of a team bearing the name of a city I hate….
Jerry – I think you should take a step back and not get so emotional / dramatic. If look at it from a pro-SJ A’s fan perspective, do you realize how whiny YOU sound? You talk about Oakland and how unlucky it has been. Sorry, but shrewd planning, community support, and a good governing body does wonders to overcome any of these “bad breaks” you speak of. I mean, 15 years of doing nothing and you make it seem like it was just yesterday when Oakland welcomed Al Davis back open arms and all. And turning your back on A’s fans? Sorry to break it to you, but we’re ALL A’s fans here, and us south Bay folks who deal with 880 traffic on a regular basis continue to support the A’s regardless. You’ve already admitted to the technical hurdles facing Oakland, so instead of trying to mock us realists, you should ask your own soul if it makes sense for Oakland to again fork over a huge public subsidy in light of a baseball stadium for your own enjoyment.
When dealing with irrational people, you either have to go down to their level or just ignore them. Reasoning to them is pointless. If you get them to budge a little, they’ll just change the argument and then you’re back to square one.
Completely agree with Briggs! Just ignore them.
Fantastic interview with Lew Wolff on AN. Too many great quotes to pick just one.
http://www.athleticsnation.com/2010/11/9/1803045/lew-wolff-on-oakland-san-jose-and-a-bay-bridge-series-athletics#storyjump
Briggs – that’s been working for me. It’s not like something new or insightful is going to come from them, so why bother? That said, I feel for folks like Jerry. Oakland does get a bad rap a lot of the time (not here, but in general) and that wears on you after awhile. With a few exceptions, I think most people commenting on here don’t bag on Oakland per se. Just the historical lack of effort on city leaders’ part to do anything to keep the A’s. And there’s no way a rational person can interpret ML’s and Jeffrey’s work as anything but impartial. Remember: pointing out areas where SJ has an advantage isn’t bashing Oakland. It’s just the way it is.