By asch (68.55.128.230) on Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 06:02 pm:

"http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080117&content_id=2349669&vkey=pr_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak"

Street signs one year deal

By linusalf (71.198.42.96) on Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 10:31 pm:

why the hell would he do a stupid thing like that?

By raiderjohn (65.168.177.49) on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 09:13 am:

...it's about the cash, doesn't think he'd win his arbitration case. Get what he can today....now if he does sign long term.....that would be a stupid thing.

By eyleenn (38.99.44.122) on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 10:21 am:

He knows he could still be traded. Might as well take the money.

By nickb (12.151.32.25) on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 01:48 pm:

What a freeking depressing offseason!!!

Street signs a contract and folks assume he'll still be traded!!

Swisher ... gone!!!

Kotsay ... gone!!!

DanfreekenHaren ... gone!!!

Can you imagine the outcry in ANY other major market if their all-star starting ACE was traded in the middle of his freeeking contract which was tremendously undervalued compared to the market???!!!???

Don't start about potential of any of the young guys either ... who cares anyway? They'll be gone when they start making some real money!

I'm at a point where I don't even care about this team anymore and don't care if they move to Fremont, Hayward, Portland, Vegas, or Timbuktu!

This team sucks!

By eyleenn (71.131.35.76) on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 08:19 pm:

They re-signed Blanton today. Does that help?

By leftfield139 (66.58.158.141) on Sunday, January 20, 2008 - 04:47 am:

they only re-signed him so we can fleece some team after the all star break. Street and Blanton will be traded before the end of the year.

By oaklandsi (68.167.204.115) on Sunday, January 20, 2008 - 09:13 am:

Gaudin is going to try his luck at the arby table.
I hope he is thick skinned, it's not likely to be a pleasant experience.

By eyleenn (71.131.36.89) on Sunday, January 20, 2008 - 12:57 pm:

Hey, LF, good to see you again!

By leftfield139 (66.58.158.141) on Monday, January 21, 2008 - 03:19 am:

Hi eyleen I feel far away from the carnage. I rooting for my Aces rigth now (hockey)

By eyleenn (71.131.29.71) on Monday, January 21, 2008 - 01:41 pm:

"Carnage" is a good way to describe it!

By raiderjohn (65.168.177.49) on Monday, January 21, 2008 - 02:04 pm:

Street and Blanton are in the same boat, arb eligible. Just avoiding arbitration with these 2.

By slash034 (208.108.120.232) on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 11:12 am:

Hey NicB go cry a river somewhere else... I am getting annoyed of everyone complaining and moaning about baseball and what has been going on for years. Small market teams do this they have to. Cleveland went through this a couple of years ago and survived.

Oh yeah NicB if you want to leave and don't care go ahead no one is stopping you. Just do it and quit complaining.

By finleyunplugged (205.225.207.97) on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 11:32 am:

Let's see, Gaudin had a 4+ ERA, lost more games than he won, and just had surgery on his hip and foot.

Based on the market for these type of pitchers, he should get about $11 million. Unbelievable...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3208331

By nickb (12.151.32.25) on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 01:06 pm:

Hey Slash, with all due respect ...

kiss my ass.

I'll say what I want, when I want, where I want and with whom I want. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Naive fans like you have to realize that the A's are NOT a small market team. They are in one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the country. They do share the market but the A's convenient excuse for being cheap is always "We are a small market team." Well I say BS!

Just when fans get interested in their key players, they up and trade them. Swisher and Haren were NOT Mulder and Hudson, who were in the last year of their contracts. They were young players under the team's control for years to come.

A's management has brainwashed fans like you to be conditioned for "small market" actions such as this. It's a convenient excuse for being CHEAP!!!

So if you don't like the truth, nobody is stopping YOU from leaving. I'll complain all I want and I think I represent the feelings of alot of a's fans who really have cared in the past but have become disillusioned with current mgmt.

... and oh yeah, spell my name correctly!

By givedaddy5 (216.133.102.110) on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 02:23 pm:

nickb,
Question for you...
You say the A's are not a small market team.

How do you figure?
Do you think they are big market team because they are near the city of San Fran?

Not trying to start anything here but your comment "Naive fans like you have to realize that the A's are NOT a small market team" is a comment that confuses me. I don't consider myself a baseball expert but I don't think of myself as naive either and I would consider the A's a small market team. Oakland is not a big market. I understand they are close to San Fran but that does not make them a big market.

Big Markets are:
NY
Boston
Philadelphia
LA
Chicago
San Fran
Baltimore
Detroit

I am sure that there are 1 or 2 missing from my list but you get the drift.

I am just curious about your definition of a small market vs. big market.

By diamond_lil (201.19.92.120) on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 04:08 pm:

old and very interesting discussion...

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1432

By eyleenn (38.99.44.122) on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 04:39 pm:

I have not yet read the above article, but I think there's a difference between "small market" and "low revenue." I would say the A's are the latter, relatively speaking. It's hard to argue that the 5th largest media market in the country is "small."

By diamond_lil (201.19.92.120) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 03:29 am:

I believe there are big spenders and small spenders, the latter willing to be bottom feeders who opportunistically make money out of MLB division of their revenue pie which is huge.

There is no way around the fact that some cities have far more fans and TV viewers to cash in on.

But in most businesses, profits don't parallel population. The reason George Steinbrenner pulls in such a huge stream of cash is not that he enjoys access to the biggest market in the country, but that he enjoys almost exclusive access to that market. Steinbrenner spends, even though he doesn't have to compete for fans.

In any other type of businesses, a company earning such huge profits would attract lots of rivals eager to compete and attract some of its business.

But in baseball, such competition is not allowed. The big spenders are punished with luxury tax while the small spenders get gratified with the revenue sharing rules.

Residents of the New York metropolitan area can choose from several ballet companies, and thousands of shows and theaters. But yet they have only two options to watch MLB: the Yankees and the Mets.

Brooklyn didn't lose the team for lack of attendance or because the market was too small...
they lost the team because the team wanted a new ballpark and MLB wanted to expand to the West Coast and O'Malley was willing to screw the fans very much like Wolff/Selig are now screwing the Oakland A's fans. Greed is the name of the game.

As long as MLB retains their antitrust exemption and keep running as a legal monopoly, there will be disparity, corruption and deals made among the big spenders and the bottom feeders. All for the prosperity and good of their monopoly and clan as a whole.

This of course, at the cost of robbing the fans,
both economically and even worse, emotionally.

By nickb (12.151.32.25) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 09:30 am:

Lil - wholeheartedly agree.

I still just can't see Fremont fitting MLB model here. The site has terrible access and public transit options. It's in a suburb and does not have an existing infrastructure. I still think this is a smoke-screen.

By slash034 (208.108.120.232) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 09:40 am:

NICB.... like i said earlier go cry somewhere else. Your arguement is old and it gets boring. But you are probably right it is a smoke screen and they are going to move whether it is to Fremont or somewhere else. I just know that they need a new stadium and they arent getting one anytime soon. So if you were the owner what would you do???? Sit in Oakland and watch the stadium fall apart and free agents pass you by, for more money and face it a better place to play.

NicB no thanks on the ass kissing diamond lil and eyeleen do enough of that.

You can say whatever you want I dont really care I like being entertained by crybabies

By nickb (12.151.32.25) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 10:52 am:

Slush - you're a real punk-asshole. Go over to Marine-jerkoff's site if you don't like it here.

You're a pretty naive SOB as well.

By slash034 (208.108.120.232) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 12:14 pm:

hahahahahaha. that figures you come back with nothing except names.... naive is you thinking that the owner of a BUSINESS doesnt want to make money. He didnt buy the A's to make you happy. I do go to different sites this site is just a discussion board it really offers no information. Just a bunch of jerk offs like you offering there "why are they moving, who could do this to us" thoughts.

By nickb (12.151.32.25) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 01:29 pm:

just curious ... do you often hang out with guys that don't like you?

slash=loser

By diamond_lil (201.19.92.120) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 03:25 pm:

slash just hates us all but just can't stay away...unfortunately he just can't carry on a discussion without resorting to personal child like insults.

I suggest the best is just ignore his insults and move on.

By slash034 (65.164.140.178) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 04:04 pm:

I am not hanging out with any one of you people.... but i do love the touch slash=loser real mature.. anyways diamond lil i would love to carry on a discussion.
Let's start with this what or should I say where would you want the A's to build a new stadium????

By dgaddy1 (65.29.80.72) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 08:05 pm:

Lil,

Don't you think we've seen enough of Slash's remarks?

This is set-up to talk baseball, not name calling.

But if I was going to stoop to name calling, I would likely refer to Slash as a...............

DICK-WEED

But I would NEVER stoop that low. ;-)

By eyleenn (71.131.15.136) on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 09:36 pm:

I think the word you're looking for, dgaddy, is dick-WAD.

Not that I would stoop to name-calling.

In fact, part of the purpose of this website is to give A's fans a place to vent, whine, etc. If we feel screwed over by ownership, this is the place to talk about it. Carry on, Nick!

By diamond_lil (201.19.92.120) on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 12:42 am:

and this was precisely why I haven't nuked the dick....huh...I mean slashed the dick-weed...

if with our whining and venting they get all hot and bothered...I say good!

yes...enough of name calling and carry on nick!!!!

back to roidbaseball ...

By nickb (12.151.32.25) on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 09:34 am:

Eyleenn/Lil/gdadd - thanks for the encouragement. I'll continue to vent from time to time knowing that it's appreciated/tolerated? by some folks.

And you're right, I shouldn't stoop to name-calling ... but if I were so low and were to direct it at a loser like slash, I'd probably pick a name such as dil-rod, or dim-wit, or prick-in-the-nose.