Marine Layer's new A's to Fremont Site gets Publicity
Check out Marine Layer's new site A's Baseball to Fremont. It puts a bad taste in my mouth that a guy who has tried to stay nuetral through this whole affair, has openly made his view known. This website just got some publicity; an article was written Tri-Valley Herald writer Chris De Benedetti describing the new website and that there have been NO new developments in negotiations between Cisco and Wolff. I find it very ironic that a grass roots group is celebrating "Fremont Day" in Oakland at the Coliseum when the A's face off against the Mariners. "Here is a great way for Fremont residents and the Oakland A's organization to show support for each other," Mayor Bob Wasserman said, advocate of the A's deal with Cisco.
This article is another slap in the face of supporters who want the A's to stay in Oakland by Bay Area media. There is no mention of the Oakland Fan Coalition or this blog, which are direct counterparts to Marine Layer's "A's Baseball to Fremont". This article is completely one sided. I've already sent an email to Mr. De Benedetti why don't you: cdebenedetti@angnewspapers.com.
posted by drummer510 at 8:49 AM
12 Comments:
Drummer-
I'm with you. I was just watching the ball game and they had wolf on there. The guy just goes and on about how great the city of fremont has been working with the a's. Then he briefly mentions oakland has been too. Of course fremont is going to be helpful, in thier posistion, what else would they be. Hell, If the A's wanted to fill in lake elizabeth, fremont would. Then they go on about about San jose. I love how sj is the sports answer to sucess. Maybe we should move all the teams to sj. I thought, and I could be wrong, that the author was a member of OFAC. I will write him though...We can't just stop this issue, we cant concede yet.
Rockridge A
5/14/2006 11:24 AM
Marine Layer actually made his connection to the Fremont lobby quite a while back, long before he had the Fremont website. It's possible that his disclosure wasn't noticed, as it came at the end of one of his posts.
I notice that Wolff doesn't address how the heck fans are supposed to get to his new ballpark -- a not insignificant issue.
5/14/2006 11:47 AM
If the OAFC would advocate reasonable solutions instead of doing the "We're A Victim" routine, perhaps they'd get more attention
5/14/2006 12:18 PM
Georob-
We have been given solutions since day one. We extend our hand to wolff after the Oakland presentation. The board of the OAFC received a phone call from an A's front office spokesperson saying that it was not a good idea to promote the site since it would promote an increase in price of the land involved in disappropriation etc...the A's politely told us to keep quiet about the projects that had been discussed during that meeting and told us they would get back to us when the right moment would occur.
only to be told to keep quite.
Georob. We have been there every step of the way. We have contacted the a's for the last 10 years for ballpark ideas. We have been at the forefront at this issue, before wolff and will continue. We aren't playing the victim, we are the constant and continue to be.
Rockridge A
5/14/2006 12:52 PM
What I also find interesting, is Wolff is building boxes more for families and law firms not for big corporations. People have been saying how if the A's move South they'll get the corporations and big business from SJ to invest and advertise in the team, yet Wolff is building family style boxes. That reinforces the idea that there is no guarantee that South Bay corporations will be a part of the A's. Just a thought...
5/14/2006 1:18 PM
I announced my involvement with the Fremont Stadium Task Force on February 1st. I've always been upfront with everyone about my role there, what I could and couldn't disclose. I also acknowledged the potential conflict of interest, and reaffirmed my commitment to staying neutral on the ballpark blog. If someone has their mind made up that I have some hidden agenda, their entitled to that opinion. That opinion's dead wrong, but I'm not going to try to win anyone over.
If I were anti-Oakland, I wouldn't have made any effort to research and advocate sites in Oakland, which I did much of last year. I wouldn't have encouraged drummer510 on the "Keep the A's" site, nor would I have given him written approval to use images I created for my own blog. It became abundantly clear in the fall that efforts in Oakland were not going anywhere while news was being generated rapidly in Fremont and San Jose. That's not bias. That's the news cycle.
As far as the Argus article goes, I was not interviewed for it. I wasn't even aware that it was being published until this morning when I woke up. The reporter asked me to give him information back in February, and I deferred to the Task Force/Chamber head. The reporter works for the Argus and is reporting a news item. He's not analyzing the situation. He's not writing an op-ed. He's under no obligation to report anything other than that story. You want to get mentioned in the papers? Generate pro-Oakland news.
5/14/2006 1:55 PM
ML, I really do appreciate that you have been upfront to everyone about your involvement, and again I thank you for your support for this blog. It's just too bad, that such an informative and resourceful blog that you run is tainted a bit with your involvement with Fremont.
Like you've pointed out there are two sides to every story and I feel the Argus article failed to inform people of Oakland websites like the OAFC that have been around for a while, running pro-oakland petitions and rallies. You have to at least mention the interaction between people who are for the stadium in Fremont, people who are against it, and people that haven't made up their mind yet, when you report on people opinions or developments on the new stadium.
5/14/2006 2:23 PM
"For a while" is the operative phrase. While it looks like OAFC and your blog is helping to get the Oakland side moving again, there hasn't been much activity over the last two years. When there are new rallies, petitions, and other news, I'm certain the Tribune (not the Argus) will report on it.
De Benedetti covered the negative response when he mentioned the comments from the survey. That covers the "two sides" you speak of. He also mentions the links to blogs and other sites, of which both my blog and OAFC are on the list.
A good way to gauge the situation is to look at the Argus and Tribune websites. The Argus site has a section on its front page devoted to the "A's to Fremont" situation. The Tribune has no such section devoted to keep the A's in Oakland. Are you going to accuse ANG of having bias? That's not the case at all - it's simply the fact that there's little news emanating from Oakland.
5/14/2006 3:25 PM
I'm sorry. Complaining about media coverage is a perfect example of the type of "whining" we've gotten so used to seeing from Oakland over the past several years.
Point your frustration at Oakland city officials who are too scared to help Wolff out because their constituents don't give a rat about baseball after the Raider deal.
5/14/2006 3:35 PM
Perhaps the media coverage directly corresponds to the quality, professionalism, and general usefulness of the two websites.
Marine Layer really tore you a new one with his response, which covered pretty much all the problems with your very classy back-stabbing post other than the embarrassing spelling errors ("negociations").
5/15/2006 8:18 AM
georob, poeple like you, and the president of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce will end up alienating many Oakland fans with your ignorant comments. Good luck with providing police overtime, amd infrastructure improvements for the "OAKLAND A's"
This is probably the best option for the city of Oakland. Let Fremont spend tax payer money on security and infrastructure, while Oakland remains the designated home city. Great publicity for Oakland while Fremont pays the bills. I like it!
5/15/2006 6:50 PM
Well, to read a lot of the comments; a good many "Oakland" fans have no intention of supporting the team once they take one step out of city limits.
So, who's doing the alienating?
5/16/2006 8:54 AM
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