SB Nation User Blog: jeffro

Greener Grass, Episode 4: The Biggest Off Season (Potential) Decision Doesn't Involve Free Agents

jeffro — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:11:31 -0000

Where is the grass greenest? Staying in the same city, we mean.

A simple question. No simple answer. The frog in my pocket and I are in a speculative mood today.

I wrote about this a while back (other markets, within the Bay Area, and San Jose's actions), it's time to do a Ken Korach style reset on the whole thing.

"We are in the top of the 4th inning, the score is Oakland..."

A slight detour, to read really good analysis about the potential future homes of our Green and Gold heroes, go here.

First and foremost this post is all about Oaktown. Or, the potential of a great city.

Many people question if Oakland is indeed a great city. What with the Mayor talking of sanctioning "sideshows" to further the "crime ridden" stigma and all, it is understandable. But Oakland really is a very cool town, go back to the link above titled "within the Bay Area" if you don't think there are good things to do in Oakland. Or you can join me on a personal tour next March in the Oakland Half Marathon and get a ground level view of some happening places.

But the question isn't, "Is there good stuff to do in Oakland?" The question is, "Is there a good place to build a ballpark in Oakland?" And after that, "What is the City of Oakland doing to help get a ballpark built?"

On Question number 1:

Chip Johnson recently wrote of a rumor that Lew Wolff was interested in building a ballpark at Middle Harbor Park. As the latest rumor, let's start there.

Not a bad view, eh?

Before we go getting gaga over the view, let us remember that this couldn't be the view over the outfield wall. Stadiums can't face west because of sun problems... mainly, the hitter wouldn't see a damn thing if that was behind the pitcher. An argument could be made that Oakland would be quite the spot for free agent pitchers with this view, but it is moot.

So, not so not moot points? An illustration!

That little green patch, below the words "San Francisco Bay" is the parkish part of Middle Harbor Park

Does anyone see any challenges in this illustration? For us, the distance between downtown, the Freeway, BART is kind of a big deal. Well, really for me, the frog in my pocket likes being away from all that stuff as he can just use the water to get to the park. I have pointed out to him that there are many big boats that come through there and he is but a little frog, so easily squished. He doesn't care.

In a nutshell, the challenges here are transportation and the Port of Oakland. The positives are big boats to look at, a potentially cool view of the Oakland skyline from inside the park and a the San Francisco skyline from around the park. But really, there is no there, there so I fear this is just a trial balloon. Developing the Port of Oakland with retail and residential and a ballpark... I am not so sure this makes a lot of economic sense for the City of Oakland.

Maybe somewhere else on the waterfront?

Site number 2 that has been rumored is Howard Terminal. Vertig0/Marine Layer did a really good piece on Howard Terminal. I am not going to try and replicate what he put there. It really speaks for itself. There are challenges. Those challenges were estimated to cost over $500 million (in the world famous HOK Study) to address way back in 2003, which eventually ruled the site out.

For the record, Howard Terminal is the blue portion labeled "67-68" just north of Jack London Square in the picture below

I think, if any waterfront site has any possibility of becoming reality, it is this one. It will be very expensive to make this happen. The City of Oakland would have to pony up a BUNCH of cash. I will say this is really hard to imagine in the current financial circumstances, but we are talking about many of the same "civic leaders" who worked out that excellent deal with the Raiders.

A quick caveat for some bloviation. As I look at the two potential places above, I have two thoughts:

The Oakland Waterfront is really already being used by a very important economic engine.
Why do the A's need to be on the waterfront anyway?

I want the A's to play in a spot that is better than the Giants place. I know, that is kind of irrational because the Giants place is really nice and something comparable is a good goal. But I would say, the best way to be better is to be different! Isn't that the key message of Moneyball? So how about a more urban locale?

Honestly, I haven't heard of much in the way of a truly urban site, like the doomed Uptown Site. One place that has been mentioned is the old Malibu Funzone/Homebase site just south of the Coliseum. It may look something like this:

Courtesy newballpark.blogspot.com

I really find this site uninspiring. I imagine that it may be able to someday create the sort of atmosphere you see outside of Fenway Park. The sort of Baseball Carnival that happens there at all home games. In the mock ups above, all that stuff behind the outfield could serve as a gathering spot with bars and eateries and such. It could potentially be more of a destination spot. There is good transportation.

There are problems though. One big one is that the entire lot cannot really be developed due to an EBMUD right of way. Through a section of the drawing above, there runs a thing called the "Southern Interceptor." This has been described to me as a "river of raw sewage" and that building something the scale of what is pictured is not a real possibility.

So, really the answer to Question 1 is, "Maybe there are good sites in Oakland." It kind of depends on Question 2, but maybe Howard Terminal? That'd be my first choice, but it may be too expensive.

Question 2... There are no real answers here. What is Oakland doing? What is Oakland willing to do? What should Oakland be willing to do? Where the heck is the plan already?

The online petition and facebook group are a little lame at this stage of the game. I signed up for the facebook group hoping to get some insight into what the actual plan is. I won't sign a petition that isn't for anything specific.

So anyway... to reset the game as my favorite Ken Korach does, "We are in the top of the 4th. The score is Oakland 1, San Jose 0. San Jose has all the bases occupied, nobody out and Clue Haywood at the plate. Oakland has Facebook Group on the hill. The lights are on but not yet taking..." Is there anyone warming up in the bullpen? Is it a kick ass Ricky Vaughn like plan for a ballpark? Inquiring minds want to know... Like, now already.

Poll

What is your preference for a future A's Stadium?

DLD 10/13/2009: Back to back, Jack. The return of the first "D."

jeffro — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:22:18 -0000

MLB Trade Rumors looks at our Green and Gold (and sometimes Black) heroes in their continuing Offseason Outlook series.

Our sometimes community member Mychael Urban takes a peep into his inbox. Bailey for ROY?

Huston, we have a problem. Carlos Gonzalez is clearly going to hit over 500 for the rest of his career. Damn you Matthew T. Holliday!

It's raining or something. Drive carefully.

Hey! I thought all the crime was in Oakland?

Who knew prehistoric pigs were such bad asses? Not I, until I watched Nat Geo last night anyway.

Anybody else want to dump?

DLD 10/12/2009: What a bunch of sloppy playoffs (in Bill and Ted Style)

jeffro — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:40:20 -0000

Dudes... Strange things are afoot at Circle K.

Jon "Most Excellent One" Papelbon gave up two inherited runners in a most heinous display of closerhood. He topped it off by giving up 3 more in the next inning... bogus

Another personage of historical significance to have a bad day, Nick Punto say it ain't so?!?!?! Piranha's are excellent on the base paths, wtf?!?!?!

And, it is the playoffs for the umpires too. In most non triumphant fashion CB Bucknor, Phil Cuzzi and Jerry Meals continued the egregious trend set forth by Randy Marsh in game 163.

One guy who hasn't been such a medieval dickweed this time around.

Dumpy dump dump dump dump.

DLD 9/18/2009: A paltry one indeed

jeffro — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:19:57 -0000

I wish these were really daily these days... And well... "Be the change you wish to see in the world," some famous guy once said. Here are some links for you all to peruse.

A good read right here at AN (as usual)

Give it up Roger and Whitney.

CityWalk, the phoenix of Oaktown.

Strangely enough, I wish this dude was a cop in my town.

As an A's fan, it was shocking that watching this whole thing go down made me an Angels fan for 15 seconds..

Dumpy, dump, dump

Tri Valley fan meet up anyone? September 26th? A's v. Angels, TV and beer?

jeffro — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:22:31 -0000

Hey everyone... I always miss AN Day because my dang wife always schedules something else months in advance. 6 years running, how the heck does that happen?

So I was thinking, maybe we should have a little neighborhood get together to view an away game together? So if you are in the Tri Valley (or if you aren't and don't mind coming out to hang with a bunch of suburbanites) and interested, please let me know. Some logistics, below the fold, await.

My thought is to have a casual meet up at a place where folks can bring their kids if they would like and still drink beer! The places I can think of are in the poll. I ahve not been to all fo these places so I am not sure if they will even have the A's on TV at each (let me know if you know)If there is somewhere else, please suggest it. Any where needs to have a TV, a bar and foods.

Here are some details on each of the spots

The Hopyard (I just put the Pleasanton Yelp, the San Ramon is similar): official site yelp page

Main Street Brewery: official site yelp page

First Street Ale House: official site yelp page

Go A's!

Poll

Can you come and where would you like to meet up?

The Hopyard in Pleasanton

2 votes

Main Street Brewery in Pleasanton

1 votes

The Hopyard in San Ramon

2 votes

First Street Ale House in Livermoe

1 votes

Screw You Suburbanites

8 votes

Some other place I have noted in the comment section

2 votes

16 votes | Poll has closed

Greener Grass, Episode 3: San Jose Specifics Begin to Emerge

jeffro — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:38:25 -0000

So, before I do this, I have to say... This is the place to really get the dish on developments in the A's quest for the grail (or new stadium).

A long time ago, I rambled on and on about markets in which the A's might play and then I made up a sequel about two specific cities in the market in which the A's already play... and then one of those two municipalities went and released an Economic Impact Report.

The frog in my pocket and I are back to wax profusely, if not profoundly, on what this report says about the A's plans.

First, there is always speculation about if these Economic Impact Reports can be trusted. The fundamental question is always "Does building this stadium really benefit the local community?" The answer is generally "No" even though the reports says "Yes." There is a great deal of explanation at this site. But why is the answer No?

In a nutshell it has to do with how the stadiums are paid for. Here is a table that shows the percentage of funding for each of the recently built MLB Stadium that is "private" and "public."

So what we have here is 21 stadiums, and only 4 were built with more private than public money. Simply put, the greater the public investment the less likely that the economic activity will be a net positive for the community. All those fans a spending money, they are going to have to spend A LOT of money for the tax revenue to increase enough to offset the tax revenue spent on the stadium.

Another thing to consider here, is that evaluating the economic impact also requires an understanding of whether or not all that money being spent by those money spending fans is actually new to the City.

In both of these respects, San Jose has a huge advantage over most of the stadiums on the list. First, the stadium (if it is built) in San Jose would cost approximately $460M (long ago I suggested it would be about $450M plus land acquisition to make $550M total). The stadium itself would be privately financed. Ray Ratto made some offhand remark in a column recently about the A's seeking public funds, but it turns out that is to build a Parking Garage in the area that would be used for Sharks games, A's games and High Speed Rail, etc. I think that will be needed regardless of a new baseball yard.

Second, in a sharp contrast to all of these stadiums above... This stadium would be built in a different city than the prior stadium. This means that some portion of the fans going to San Jose in the potential future are not coming to San Jose today. The EIR speculates that 50% of the fans coming to the A's games would be net new money spenders in San Jose. We, the frog in my pocket and I, think that is a conservative estimate.

The one area that seems a bit of a stretch is the number of new jobs created. The EIR calls out over 900 post construction jobs. That includes the A's front office staff, but not the players. I don't know what a more realistic number might be, but that just sounds pretty high.

The next thing that is sort of important to note is the estimated size of the stadium and number of fans included in the money spending fan calculations.

Another table! This one about new stadium attendance trends.

The EIR is based on a capacity of 32k and an average attendance of around 24k. That column called "Fifth Year Number" tells us, me and the frog in my pocket, why the 32K. But we both think that the 24k estimate is a very conservative estimate because it is basically the A's average in Oakland over the past few seasons. So we imagine an initial uptick from 24k to 32k and then a stabilized number somewhere around 30k.

So far, we would have to say the positive numbers projected in the EIR are actually underestimates (which is good, we think).

A couple other things that are important to note. First, we expect the number of premium seats to decline in a new San Jose yard. What you ask? Decline? Isn't the idea to get more boxes and club seats.

We present... Another table!!!!!

The A's have a lot of premium seating right now. So much in fact, that they probably wanted to tarp those things off more than the third deck. What jumps out at me in this table is that both the A's and Marlins have way too many premium seats (maybe because they play in football stadiums?). I would expect the A's to have something similar to the Giants premium inventory in a new yard, and they will have some innovative premium products like mini suites. These are those sort of changes that will help with the overall revenue stream from the stadium... The things that help get the payroll up to Chicago White Sox territory!

And now... for our last table!

I know some folks are going to be concerned that a new stadium will result in most of us being priced out of the market. Especially with the smaller capacity. I look at the table above and think that perhaps we shouldn't be so scared. Smaller inventories of the premium seats and the corresponding rise in prices for those premium seats will make the most expensive season ticket prices much more expesnive. But we believe, me and the frog in my pocket, that the impact will be to actually drive overall prices to look more like the bottom row on the chart... the MLB averages.

So, In summary... the EIR for San Jose is not complete bullcrap. It is actually fairly conservative as far as the total economic growth (though probably over estimates the number of jobs created after the construction period). Second, it doesn't appear that the new stadium would price most folks out of the market. And last, I'd love to compare how this would differ in Oakland but there isn't much available by way of what the plan is in Oakland. If anyone knows, email it to me and I won't rat you out.

Help Me ANi-Wan, You Are My Only Hope

jeffro — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:03:43 -0000

So... I have a well documented (here and here and here and here) love for all thing Bill King.

I have taken it upon myself to get the dude elected as the winner of the Ford C. Frick award sometime in the next millennium. But this is foolish on my part... I need help.

"What do you need from me?" you might be asking.... Well below the fold is the specific request(s).

First, I need some of y'all to come and blog about Bill and radio announcers in general. I am not looking to go all "Fire Joe Morgan" or even "Fire Jay Mariotti" on the radio announcers of the day. I would like to praise the good guys, call out the crappy guys (like perhaps Hawk Harrelson, ugh) with the idea of showcasing why Bill is the best! If anyone is interested in writing blogs once a month, once a week or as often as possible about broadcasters, please let me know... I could use the help.

Second, I need personal stories from each of you about why Bill was the best. Think of it as being akin to writing your Senator a Letter... only hopefully this musing will be read by someone :) I will then post each of these letters on the remeberingbillking.com blog under a special heading as "Testimonials." I have a couple of folks who are slightly famous lined up to provide some of these already and I am bugging the hell out of other local writers and broadcasters to get them to do so as well.

Third, it is my goal to have audio of Bill's best calls on the site. I don't have any recorded... if anyone can help with this (send me mp3's?, have tapes? I can convert them! Know of an online repository?) I would be forever in your debt. I have heard rumors that Robert Buan has quite a collection of audio but I have failed in my attempt to hook it up with him... can anyone email him? Call him? Get him to let us use them?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any help any of you can give to help forward Bill's cause. On my recent trip to Cooperstown, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad when I looked at the Ford C. Frick display and Bill wasn't there. Here is to hoping that my next trip that way includes listening to someone give a speech on his behalf.

Go A's!

The Trip to End All Trips: Our Excellent Adventure

jeffro — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:23:50 -0000

What a week.

New York City. Cooperstown. Boston., The Trade Deadline.

When the schedule was released, I looked at the past week and said to myself, "Self, Rickey is going into the Hall. Wouldn't it be awesome..."

Well, I wasn't the only one who thought that. Amongst the others with that exact thought was my brother. And we took a brotherly trip for the ages. Thank you for inspiring us Rickey!

Here are some of my thoughts on the Stadiums we visited, the teams we watched and how those situations relate to our A's.

The first stop on our trip was New York City. We landed on Thursday, and Matt Holliday was still on our favorite team. We went to the game on Friday and Matt Holliday wasn't. But, getting Adam Kennedy's batting practice ball made up for it (and knowing that Brett Wallace was in the organization did too). The game sucked, so let's talk stadium.

Adam Kennedy hit this to me :) (via obiwan2900)

My thoughts on Yankee Stadium are this... When we got off the subway, there was an eerily familiar feeling. I looked down on some shanty like buildings housing sports (mostly Yankees stuff of course) memorabilia stores and a few sports bars and it occurred to me that I was looking at a larger version of the burger joint under the BART ramp in Oakland. In short, I wasn't really impressed.

When we got inside the joint, I was overcome with a rush. I was in YANKEE STADIUM! My brother can back me up. I had to stop and take a deep breath before walking up the stairs and looking down at the playing field. I was not disappointed when we got up to the top step and stood staring down over the "bleachers" in Left Field.

Now for the History...I am always harping on the A's for not using their past as a marketing tool. But I have got to say over using it is not much better. I didn't need to see career highlights of back up players from the 50's and hear intimate interviews with their minor league teammates throughout a 3 hour long batting practice. I was slightly annoyed to be reminded of walking down Embarcadero in San Francisco and seeing plaques for such stalwarts as Kirk Manwaring and Johnny Lee Lemaster affixed to AT&T Park. Seriously, put up the good guys, make retrospectives about them... but don't beat me over the head with crappy players and talk about the great history of the franchise in the same breath... it's kind of an oxymoron.

We hit the Beers of the World stand a few too many times it appears (via obiwan2900)

As the game progressed and we checked out the stadium as a whole, I have to say that I would be happy if the A's had a stadium like Yankee Stadium. It basically reminded me of the pre-Mt. Davis Coliseum with much wider concourses and a good view of the field no matter which concession stand you stopped at for a beer (we hit Beers of the World most of the time). That said, Yankee Stadium is over rated. There I have said it. That place is not all that spectacular. Maybe it is the white walls that make it feel sort of sterile, in the hospital sense. Maybe it is the trumping up of history for history's sake, as if the 1961 Yankees were history in the same sense that an armistice is history. Whatever it was I have to say of the new stadiums I have been too, this one isn't really in the top tier.

But do go and visit... because it is a place all baseball fans should be able to say they have been too.

Next on our trip was a train ride to Albany and then a rental car to Cooperstown. Albany was nice enough, probably because of the beautiful train ride along the Hudson River. Cooperstown was INCREDIBLE.

It was like walking down Main Street in Pleasanton, old buildings with bricks and large storefront windows. The only difference was that every store had something to do with baseball. From the memorabilia stores to the Triple Play Diner, they all had a tie in to the greatest game on Earth.

Personally, the best part was meeting Dave Stewart and laughing with him about how all the Red Sox fans in attendance probably couldn't remember his career record against Clemens. "Selective recall" Mr. Smoke (he chastised me for calling him Mr. Stewart) said out loud and proud.

My brother (Dogdays) and Mr. Smoke discuss his dominance of Roger Clemens (via obiwan2900)

Rickey wowed. I got text messages from friends I hadn't seen in a long time to let me know I was on national tv. All in all, at the risk of offending Muslim's, Cooperstown is to baseball as Mecca is to Islam. I can't really put it into words. You must go. Maybe someday another Athletic will go into the Hall and you can go on Induction Weekend, but even if not... just go.

I wonder if there is an East Bay Sport's Hall of Fame? I am too lazy to type this into Yahoo and look. If not, there should be one in Pleasanton at the end of the street to replicate Cooperstown. I know, not quite the draw... but still I'd love to walk up and down a street that feels like Cooperstown on a semi regular basis.

The last stop on our trip was Boston. As much as I hate to admit it... Boston does baseball right.

Walking up and down the closed Yawkey Way before the game I felt the pangs of missed opportunity. It was like a carnival. Beer drinking, stilt walking, everyone in a great mood to the point where no one even ripped on me for my Rickey Henderson shirt and A's hat. And this was on a MONDAY!!!!! It was the kind of environment I used to think was possible in Uptown Oakland before that never happened.

Us at Fenway (via obiwan2900)

The game was no better than the one in New York, Trevor "I Am Not Ready For The Big Leagues" Cahill got rocked. But the atmosphere was ridiculous and it got me to thinking that Lew Wolff is on to something with the smaller stadium concept.

If you could combine the best of Yankee stadium (wide concourses and a view of the field from everywhere) with the best of Fenway (intimate, carnival outside before the game) you could have baseball heaven. To make this happen, the A's will need an urban setting with bars nearby. This is possible in San Jose or Oakland (although I am not sure where exactly in Oakland at present). Make it happen A's!!!!

In closing, I just want to say... this trip was an awesome experience and everyone should follow the A's east to these two cities at some point in their fandom. Who else went? What were your thoughts?

And for something different... Another interview with my cousin Joey August (Savannah Sand Gnat)

jeffro — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:39:02 -0000

Hey all,

It has been a while since I posted anything (but I have been lurking). I figure with the whole Bernazard-Omar-Rubin hate triangle thing melting into an unproductive Trade Deadline you guys might want something a little less heavy to read about. I am a bit late posting this interview, it is from a week or two ago but it is still time appropriate.

Over the last three games, Joey has turned it on a bit going 6 for 10 with 6 runs scored,and his first professional Home Run.

If any of you have questions you would like answered... send them to me (my email address is in my profile) so I can get them to Joe and next time it will be an interview made up entirely of your questions.

Go Mets!

Me: Your time in Brooklyn was short. What did you learn while you were there?

Joe: My time there was definitely short but was a lot of fun and was a learning experience for sure. I think the main thing was just getting accustomed to the pro ball life style and just starting to make the transition from metal bats to wood bats. The guys on the team there have been in the system a little while and they helped me a lot with just dealing with our day to day routine.

Me: How did you learn of your move to Savannah? What preceded the move? Did you have any idea that it was coming?

Joe: My move to Savannah happened pretty fast. We got back from a game in Brooklyn at about 10 30 and our manager called me around midnight and told me the news. My van to the airport left at 6 that next morning... so in less than 12 hours I was in a new state and on a new team. It was pretty unexpected, but that comes with the job and it was exciting for sure.

Me: Now that you have been a Sand Gnat for a while, what are the biggest differences between Brooklyn and Savannah? How is the team preparation different?

Joe: I think the biggest difference between here and Brooklyn in the lifestyle. Brooklyn was very fast paced while Savannah has a southern feel to it and it a lot more laid back. The baseball is similar, intense and a lot of fun. It is a little different being on a team who is already half way through their season, but the guys here are awesome and are helping me make the adjustment.

Me: You played with Sean Ratliff in college, what is it like to be on the same team again?

Joe: It's awesome to be playing with Sean again. We were roommates in college and were good friends and to have him here has been really helpful. He knows me well as a player and can help me with my swing just because he knows me better than other guys here. I feel like I can do the same for him and having a familiar face around has helped make the adjustment a lot easier. It also has been a lot of fun getting to know guys I played against in college... Josh Satin and Evan Leblanc are guys I played against for three years and to have them as teammates has been a lot of fun.

Me: Speaking of college, what is the biggest difference between college and pro ball? How has the adjustment been from metal to wood bats?

Joe: I think the biggest adjustment thus far is the switch from the metal bat to wood. It's not that you have to completely change everything about your swing, but there definitely are adjustments to make. I think hitters can get away with a lot more in college with the metal bat. You can be a little inconsistent with your stroke and still be ok, in pro ball it's much harder to be successful that way. You have to find a way to get the barrel into the zone and keep it in the zone as long as you can and you need to do this as consistently as possible. The more consistent you are with your own swing and your own approach, the more success you'll have. You have to know what your strengths are and stay offensive in the box.

Me: Thanks Joe!

Joe: Anytime.

Rickey's Induction and Bill King

jeffro — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:42:52 -0000

So I am an ignoramus... I can't figure out how to post an image here. If you are interested in seeing the t shirt/downloading the picture go to www.rememberingbillking.com and it is available or email me)

Rickey and Bill. Probably my two favorite people associated with the A's over the course of my fandom. There have been many great players (Everyone from Mark McGwire to Tim Hudson) and talented broadcasters (Lon Simmons, Greg Pappa, Dick Stockton, Monte Moore, Ken Korach, etc.). But none of these people have been as good at what they do as Rickey and Bill, in my opinion.

I am hoping on seeing many of you in New York City, Cooperstown and Boston at the end of the month. I am hoping many of you will do Bill King asmall favor and wear a DIY "Bill King in the Hall" t shirt along with me.

It's very simple... got to craft store, buy some iron on transfers (10 for 10 bucks at Michael's). Get a t shirt and iron on the image that is posted at www.rememberingbillking.com.

Congrats Rickey! Let's get the guy who made so many great calls about Rickey and his teammates honored at a future date.

(thanks to Leopold Bloom for schooling me, the image is in the comments)