Athletics Nation’s resident raconteur, emperor nobody, posted a beautiful plea to A’s fans and Bud Selig in the wee hours this morning. A Facebook page was also created named “Hey Bud, PleA’se stop the TeA’se” whose purpose is to spread the message. The message? It’s time for Selig to make a decision and lead. Whether the future is in Oakland or San Jose matters less than the idea that there is a future for the A’s and A’s fans.
In the emperor’s inimitable way, he asks us to be indomitable:
Yes, the Giants are holding it all up, I get that. Yes, Oakland’s “Victory Court” Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is proceeding at a speed somewhere between that of a glacier and Bengie Molina running out a triple, I get that too. Yes, in Bud’s mind his hands are tied, so he has gone into a sort of administrative fetal position on this matter, all curled up with his thumb is his mouth — or some other convenient orifice of choice. Be all that as it may, there’s no cavalry coming to shake him back to sentience and make him bring leadership to a difficult and distasteful set of circumstances. I hate to say it to you, but the A’s fanbase — the group of people who form the natural constituency of concern here — has been whittled down pretty significantly. So if you’re looking through your binoculars to see if the cavalry is approaching to save the day — or at least to start some shit so the real players in the drama can feel the heat and act accordingly — I’d suggest you lay the spyglass down and refer to your nearest mirror. Because that’s where the cavalry is gonna come from, if it’s to make the scene at all in time to keep this franchise from circling the Eternal Drain of Irrelevance and Depredation.
More details about the movement will be unveiled on Chris Townsend’s show at 3 PM. It’s time for real accountability. It’s time for a decision. I’m onboard with this movement and have liked the page. How about you?
newballpark.org 
Preach on emperor, preach on.
I commend the Emperor, but it’s a total waste of time like you guys say Lets Go Oakland FB is. BS doesn’t give a damn about the fans and what they think/want.
Its only a “waste of time” when its pro-Oakland … i “liked” the page anyway …
@David–agreed. 46k means nothing, but a couple 100 will make Bud move very quickly…lmao
@jk-usa/David – Exactly what additional movement has occurred with LGO since December? A tailgate before a game. How convenient. Anything else? I had to lobby Doug Boxer to have renderings of Victory Court made so that they could motivate fans – I don’t know if it’ll actually happen. Why on earth did I have to ask that? I’m not a part of LGO. FB groups by themselves don’t mean much. Movements that arise in concert with those groups can mean a lot.
…Oakland with its VC draft EIR seems to be taking its cue from MLB’s own “Blue Ribbon Committee.” Nearly 6 months and no report. Maybe they’re in no hurry to confirm officially that VC isn’t going to work out?…
didn’t they add Grunwald to the EIR?
@ML. Its early but so far this group hasn’t done anything either. Hold your horses there pal. I became a fan of the page anyway, even though claims of facebook fandom are worthless.
@D.Jr – What ML said was FB groups or pages by themselves mean very little, if not nothing. However, if you use them as an organizational tool for further activities or functions or disseminating information, then they actually have a worth.
Thanks ML, I appreciate the promotion of my Facebook page. I didn’t create the page just for the sake of creating a Facebook page and hoping that someone would see it. My goal is to get us talking about it, and in turn taking action to make sure that it moves to the forefront of MLB. I want Selig to be reminded every day that we A’s fans do care about our team and we are united to ensure that the team that we root for is successful. if we stop caring, then nobody will care, if its not us then it’s nobody!
One thing ML and I can agree on is that Bud Selig is a moron and gutless all the way.
Why not just shoot down San Jose like he did in 2004 when Steve Schott did Selig’s job for him and got the votes to overturn the Giants T-rights?? At least we all could sleep in peace knowing a decision has been made.
Back then he did not seem to care about the A’s nor anyone else and made the announcement quickly and swiftly.
Today we sit in limbo, days passing, with no end in sight……I can accept them shooting down San Jose for a good reason. Right now I don’t think Selig has one therefore he sits and does nothing.
We can theorize why this is taking so long but in the end it is Selig that is causing the delay. Good leaders communicate and make swift decisions……Can Selig just retire already??
R.M.,
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Selig actually allow the A’s and Santa Clara to talk about a possible relocation, only to then shoot it down after a few months? 04 was such a long time ago. I think Selig’s premise has always been to tamper with the Giants T-Rights ONLY if a South Bay ballpark was 100% certain, going to happen. Heck, back in 05 he even met with then SJ-Mayor Ron Gonzalez before giving a Commonwealth speech at the SJ Convention Center…remember that one!
@Tony D. – It wasn’t a few months. Schott was given tacit approval by Selig to explore Santa Clara for the better part of 2 years. When the Mandalay Entertainment deal leaked out and Santa Clara soured on Schott, Selig made a statement or two “upholding” T-rights. Staying publicly silent allows Selig to have it both ways.
I joined the Facebook group… wouldn’t mind seeing another group to tell Bill Neukom & Co. that if they don’t drive the A’s out of town by blocking San Jose, we might actually stop hating the Giants and buying tickets to AT&T again.
Yeah, the ticket buying argument against AT&T isn’t exactly gonna hold water right now….
I joined the Facebook group, and I applaud the sentiment. But if Selig ever listened to the fans, he would have updated the arcane television blackout policy, re-instated Pete Rose, instituted true NFL-style revenue sharing amongst the clubs, kept the Expos in Montreal, and removed all steroid-enhanced achievements from the baseball record book.
Bud Selig is indifferent to the fans’ opinions. The only opinions he cares about are those of the MLB owners – – and only the group as a whole (or even just a majority vote). He doesn’t acknowledge the challenges of the individual clubs. He expects the A’s to solve their own problems, and he’ll catch you at the groundbreaking ceremony. Expecting anything more is a waste of energy.
sorry guys–dont buy into that bs will care about any facebook group or for that matter any email campaigns—you really think he looks at this stuff? You also gotta move away from this is a competition between SJ and oakland—oakland is not gonna happen without a significant public subsidy that isnt gonna happen–reality is it is SJ v. sf/neukom and when bs if finished with the CBA he will make a decision of opening up SJ or setting the A’s up for leaving the bay area—in the meantime–as much as this might piss all of us off—and doing this might make you feel better but it isnt gonna change what bs is doing–
@RM,
Thanks brah. 2 years? Wow, I was way off! I guess the “territorial rights are sacred” crowd will be surprised to know that info.
Again, 100% for sure ballpark in SCCo = bye bye TRights and “decision” from MLB.