This via MLB trade rumors.

Mark Mulder, who has made three starts since 2006, announced that he would retire rather than have a third surgery on his ailing shoulder.

He will always be one of my favorite Athletic. It was a shame that he burnt out this fast.  I know I was very upset when we traded him, but as they say here "in Billy we trust."  Maybe had he shut it down sooner in 2004 his arm could have saved some wear and tear, but who knows.

I wish him the best of luck in his next career!

The New Swingin’ A’s (The A’s 2.1)

In my opinion, the A's have a small market mind set.  Which I feel is sad, and sells this storied franchise short.  These days, it seems that unless we fans have children the fan base does not grow. I wonder why the A’s have a small fan base. Is it apathy among local residents, competition with other activities, or the high cost of living out there? It could very well be all three or some combination of the three. No matter the reason, I feel that the Front Office now has a chance to enlarge their fan base. I will state first off, that I no longer reside in the SF Bay area. I currently live in the Greater DC area at least for another year.

I will provide a new course of action for the team to pursue which could lead to a larger fan base and more wealth for the team and local area.  It is insanity to think a business will pour money into a losing venture. However, baseball is different and one year you lose money, but the next you may sell-out and rake in the dough.  A good business understands it customers, and baseball companies must understand it fans.  I will address some factors we need to know about the fans. They love the underdogs, winners and FREE stuff:

            First off nothing is free someone has to pay for it. However, if they provided free games on TV, I feel it will help grow the fan base ESPECIALLY inside their territory. They could recover the lost revenue in local and national advertisements. Let’s face it lots of people watch TV so why not offer them a chance to watch A’s baseball instead of some rehashed sitcom or reality TV show:

                        -  With free games on TV how do you get fans to the game? I can tell you there is NOTHING better than going to a game. However, the cost can be a lot a problem.  After the strike of 94/95 they had $1 games for kids. They can do a $5 seats for kids in the second deck. They will recoup lots of the money lost from the ticket cost just by the parents buying the kids gear and food.

                        -  The food is another aspect of getting fans out. All you can eat seat are a great start. However, today’s fans wants more than just hot-dogs, peanuts and soda. They can also expand the variety of their food provided not just in the stands, but also at the food court:  BBQ, Chinese food, Mexican, Peruvian Pollo, and they can also add a Restaurant like an Outback steakhouse.

                        -  More interaction between the team and fans at games. I would start this off by asking the players to spend at least 30 minutes signing autographs at home AND on the road.  Players can also spend time greeting the kids tossing balls, Tee-shirts into the stands. These can all be paid for by companies. In the old day the players lived in the neighborhood and were a part of the community now they are distant and don’t relate to their city. They need to embrace the under 14 fan more.

                     -  Increase the number of give-away and event days. The Friday fireworks are a great idea, but maybe Saturdays are laser light show. Start the games at 6:00pm and have light show afterwards. Sundays let the kids run the bases and sit in the dugout after the game has concluded. On selected nights they can have a musical Artist perform for the fans. This one will be harder to organize, but not impossible. They could also have Celebrations for the different ethnicities in BA on a given series.

                     -  The team should encourage random acts of kindness from their players. Like if Huston was out at cold stone getting ice cream for his wife maybe he says HEY Bubble gum Ice Cream for all the kids on ME!!!! How about this dude I was out last night and Big Joe Blanton bought a round of tequila shots us at the bar!!!

Some of these suggestions may be costly up front, but in the long term they will pay for themselves.

In closing, I will just say that the time is NOW!!! The baseball world is looking for a team that is young, exciting and has some soul to root for. The Red Sox are like the Yankee dull and soulless. The Giants are just LOSERS, 50 years in SF and no WS titles gives credence to the LOSER tag. There are many people in the SF Bay Area and across the USA will be turned off by those teams. 

BACK GROUND:

These factors I believe work in favor of the A’s as they look to increase their fan base. The team in my opinion needs to take these factors into consideration when they are growing fans:

1.      SFBA is the fourth largest market in the nation.

2.      It is one of the wealthiest in the nation.

3.      The A’s have roots in the East, Central and West.

4.      The A’s have 9 World Championships.

5.      The A’s are YOUNG and EXCITING. 

Evidence for growing a fan base:  

- The A’s have a quality product and they should be trying to build a larger following. One example they should review is the Atlanta Braves. They have fans all over the country for a couple reasons. 1st they won 14th Division titles (winners), 2nd TBS showed every game for almost 20 years and called them America’s team (soul). 

- The 1988-1990 A’s brought in a ton of fans. I believe even Tyler became endeared to those A’s and he has not left. So the Team has done it in the past and now must reach back and do it one more time. They can also say that since they have played in Philly they are also an East Coast team. Same logic follows their playing in KC. This will allow them to challenge the Royal’s, twins, Cards and Rangers for their fans.

- There has been a lot of talk about what name to call the A’s if they move to Fremont. I think it will be disastrous if they change their name to something like what the Angels call themselves.  It will be better to just call The A’s / Athletics. This will allow people not in Oakland to begin to Identify with the A’s.

- I know that they Giants just bought a large part of Fox Sports Bay Area (FSBA), but the A’s need to get with FS and either buy a piece of that channel of create FSEB (East Bay). It might cost a pretty penny now, but if you don’t invest in the product / infrastructure you end up with a bridge that collapses.

- Now that the Giant are a LOUSY team and will remain so for a few more years Oakland needs to grab the momentum from them and grow new fans in the bay area, SF and outside of it. I think they need to go out there and proclaim the NEXT great A’s dynasty in the making.  Proclaim a new BIG three and the next Reggie, Rickey and Big Mac. I would say look wins and losses are important, but YOU will want to be apart of the building of this new dynasty.   

By the way I didn't steal my title from a sonic commercial OKAY?!?!?  J