Whose to blame: Canada, Communism, Dan Johnson?

I'm really glad that it was the East Bay Express who were the first to publish a feature article describing what has led to the A's planned move to Fremont. Robert Gammon and Chris Thompson did a great job in bringing to light the events and especially the interactions that took place. Although I don't feel it is entirely comprehensive, nor does it offer any posititve future for Oakland, it is the best feature article about the topic yet to be published.

The easy thing to do with this article is figureing out who really is to blame. They do such a good job in showing the circumstances that made Wolff decide on Fremont as the new ballpark location. Scapegoating is a very fun game. You can create a ranking system as I did:
The Blame a Chump Selection

1. Jerry Brown------ 1575 pts
2. Al Davis----------- 1491
3. Lew Wolff--------- 1445
4. Steve Schott-------1405
5. Bud Selig---------- 1255

Yet blaming owners and city officials is really pointless. The cause for the team moving South is rooted much deeper.

The blame rests on the C- word.... yes COMMUNISM. If it wasn't for those damn reds, nuclear (Or nucular if you prefer Bush-tongue) proliferation and East Berlin, the A's would still be in Oakland with a new downtown stadium, and Keak Da Sneak and Mistah FAB would be ownership parteners....
....oh wait
....what? not Communism, really.....
...Canada? no. Dan Johnson? damn...
...I am sorry ya'll. I got my C-words mixed up. So yeah, as I was just informed, the blame rests on our truly beloved free market system, called Capitalism.

Yeah that's right! Capitalism has taken our A's down to that city that's just "a parking lot with a mayor"! Capitalism is at fault! Can I get an amen!! (Before I get jumped on, I would like to say I am not a commie, red, socialist, or scientologist. I am just a concerned U.S.Yay citizen)

But let's be serious, Oakland has been screwed many-a-time before by big business, just like any major industrial city, this is nothing new. It's just the face and hope of the city that's leaving. Nothing big. The Town has recovered before, right? Oh wait, it's still recovering. The capitalist system is efficiently brutal. It's extremely adaptive and has made this country the super power that it is today, unfortunately, at the expense of many everyday people.

I don't want to make capitalism out as an evil demon because it does have many positive aspects to it, but it's effiency has help caused many of the problems this country faces today; mainly the declining middle class, our failing diplomacy, declining public schools, and the cause for most military conflicts.

"Thematically, it's about the very simple idea that, in this Postmodern world of ours, human beings—all of us—are worth less. We're worth less every day, despite the fact that some of us are achieving more and more. It's the triumph of capitalism," said David Simon, one of the co-writers of The Wire, in suming up his amazingly-complex HBO show. I hope some Oakland city officials can catch some episodes, they'll see many similarities with our town and Baltimore. Except for a great downtown ballpark.

Simon continues, "Whether you're a corner boy in West Baltimore, or a cop who knows his beat, or an Eastern European brought here for sex, your life is worth less. It's the triumph of capitalism over human value. This country has embraced the idea that this is a viable domestic policy. It is. It's viable for the few." (Here's the full interview)

Pretty cynical, but fairly spot-on. So the question is raised: Are we, as A's fans, pawns in the business of baseball and professional sports in general? and even further: Are we, as U.S. citizens, pawns of a the capitalist system? Do we worship the dollar more than we worship a God or our system of government or even ourselves? Mostly yes, buuuuuuuuuuut..... we can overcome.

It doesn't mean we have to start a socialist revolution and burning things(but if things get worse, it unfortunately could happen). It means just trying to stick to your morals and not compromising your ideals, community, friends, family, happiness and country for a dollar. It means making sure people who are in power and fail to uphold these truths are held accountable. It means learning from our past mistakes and not repeating them. Nobody is perfect.

As A's fans and American citizens if cannot adhere to these ideals and others I've failed to mention, we will continue to be dissapointed by big business and capitalism in general. The capitalist system can work, but it must be regulated and balanced, for it will destroy everything in it's path.

As I've said before, "The A's franchise has a long history of screwing its fans and cities, this is just another manifestation of that trend." To elaborate: The capitalist system has a had a rich history of making some people very wealthy, powerful, and maybe happy, but has screwed many of it's followers. The A's moving to Fremont "is just another manifestation of that trend."

The new Cisco Field will be a mall and may make Lew Wolff richer than he already is. Even though I know a downtown ballpark would have made him way more dough, and loved by A's fans. Yes, people will like it and the stadium should do fine. Heck, I'll probably go, but will have a knot in my stomach knowing this could have been in Oakland and could have helped continue to move the city in the right direction.

We can be cynical and blame people like Lew Wolff, Bud Selig, Steve Schott, Kenneth Lay (Enron), Lee Scott (Walmar), Dick Cheney, etc. who will continue to dominate our society and make decisions based on greed. Or we as country decide that we value morals and substance over the dollar. We will never have a perfect world were people don't get hurt, but we must all take a step back and look at our longterm goals decide who we want to be.

Thank you and good night, you've all been far to kind.
-Vent complete-

Side Note: New Links up on side bar-Prof Oakland's, and A's Booster Club

"Whose Oakland?"-Summary of an Execution that took Place Tuesday

Fill in the blank: ____________ Athletics of Fremont

It was the meeting of the minds. The big guns were there, Selig, Wolff, John Chambers Ceo of Cisco, even Beane showed up. They talked and showed us their vision, it did not include Oakland... at all. The A's will be playing in Fremont barring any major disturbance.
Lew Wolff spoke; claimed Scott Haggerty planted the "Fremont seed" three years ago, and that the "Most Valuable Person of the MLB is Bud Selig". Mr. Wolff ya got something brownish on your nose. I wonder if Lew acted this way when he was a frat brother with Buddy. "We believe that Cisco Field will be an economic benefit to the entire area." Of course mentioning Santa Clara County as well.

Depressed looking Selig pontificated, even including that Lew's momma claimed, Wolff would never amount to a "pile of pins." Cute.

Billy spoke, he was bright spot of day. Beane says, "I can't wait to start cashing some of these checks to start signing some of our players." I hope so as well.

Questions were asked.
-Public transportation? Wolff: We're examining the public transportation issue. We're spending our time on the transportation aspect and sharing it with the citizens and elected officials of Alameda County. (Paraphrase: I have know idea, people actually ride bart. Hummers are way sweeter.)
-Name? Selig: The naming rights has to adequately portray the area it represents. Oakand? (Paraphrase: San Jose A's or Silicon Valley A's or Crisco A's or The UnOakland A's)
-Wolff: I felt that Oakland had lots of priorities, but in terms of the discipline in terms of giving a site, I didn't sense it. I need a ballpark for my organization will work for everyone. The only option after Fremont is to move out of the state of California. If someone feels we didn't do enough, there isn't much I can do about it. (Paraphrase: I hate Oakland and all ways will.)
-Selig: "If you want a team to be competitive, right Billy? If you have a stadium that can't produce the revenues you need you are rendering it not competitive. This is a classic situation of a team that needs to take control of its own destiny. And it's done that. This is going to make the Oakland Athletics a better franchise. They had no alternative. This park has the potential to do so many unique things." (Paraphrase: Moneyball is ruining meeeeee! p.s. I also hate Oakland)

The new Cisco Field will be state of the art (lacking a bullpen or batters eye). Here's a better description. It looks pretty sweet, much as most artist renderings are. But really, it will be a cool park; real close to the action, interesting hi-tek thangs, and with a good team this would be a great fan experience.

Except for one thing....
The stadium will be built in Fremont, and in the middle of nowhere. The surrounding village will be a mall, with out a sense of community or respect for Oakland A's history. This will be a great venue for the band-wagon fan, the rich-bitchy-suburban girl, the souless corporate man who goes to games only because he wants to impress his boss and get that raise. The fans who have stuck with this team lose out. There will be no local bars, no history, or unique-quirky things that have defined the A's fan base. No, they get left out.

This is a new chapter in A's fanchise, leaving the Walter Haas legacy far behind. This is a Fremont South Bay team now. Say bye to Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, hell even Piedmont, and the Contra Costa towns, all who have help created the Oakland A's image. This is not a stadium, it's a mall. Fremont is fine suburb, but is not meant for a baseball team. This is a cheap and short-term way to build a stadium and make a lot of money. There is no "A" in Fremont.

I wonder how the fan experience at the Coliseum will be these next couple seasons?

These are the best things I have seen all day.
The Fremont Athletics are good?.


"F*&# the Fremont A's, Ghostride the Volvo"

My sentiments exactly.

Great Interview Neil deMause-Field of Schemes

Elephants in Oakland interviewed Field of Schemes co-author/webmaster Niel deMause. Click here for interview.

In the interview, deMause comments on the idea that the Cisco-Fremont-A's stadium plans are more like a real-estate deal:

Right, that's the other conspiracy theory: that Wolff doesn't care about the stadium or the team, and just wants to use the stadium to get leverage to force Fremont to rezone his land so he can build condos. Stranger things have happened, certainly. There's a lot of speculation that something similar may happen in Brooklyn, with the planned Nets arena, where the residential development is the real cash cow for the developer.

DeMause actually feels there's a less than 50% chance that this stadium will be built in Fremont, that "There are a million things that can trip up even the best-laid stadium plans, and this one seems dodgier than most."

I agree that this Fremont stadium is not finalized and still could go horribly wrong, but Wolff has been able to get what he has wanted up to this point, for example tarping the third deck and buying land in Fremont. As for the idea that this is a real estate deal with a ballpark as a front, this is spot on. Wolff is getting a great opportunity to develop 143 acres of land in a middle class city close to San Jose. Real estate developers would kill for that opportunity to build condos right next to I880. Great interview.

In Conclusion

I've been very busy, with school and life, which is why I haven't been able to post in regards to the lastest A's stadium news. Reportedly the A's have reached a deal with Cisco and the city of Fremont. Interestingly, Wolff has been bashful in announcing this new deal and instead spoke to Fremont city council members; "Wolff 'seemed almost apologetic' that word of the Cisco deal was leaked to news reporters earlier in the week." The Fremont city council still must hammer out transportation, financing, and rezoning details, but so far they seem happy with the deal.

As Wolff plans to move the team to Fremont, John York continues to tarnish 49er legacy as he cut off talks with San Francisco and told the media Santa Clara was in the plans of a new stadium on Wednesday. Whether not this is a bluff or an actual legitamite plan, Niner fans should start to organize if they want to try and keep their team in S.F. Remember the 49ers are the only San Francisco professional fanchise to ever win a championship. I will continue to post opinions on the 49er situation, because I find it very similar to the A's stadium issues. It's seems that York wants a Theme Park Stadium, with coasters traveling through the park, much as Wolff wants his Disneyland Dream Park.


So is it over? Apparently not to Robert Limon, head of Chose Or Lose. Here's his statement:

The Fremont community has to approve the development plan, and the infrastructural investment is going to be considerable. This plan may not work for Fremont---and Oakland needs to have options on the table and ready to go.

So I am not advocating negativity. I am advocating RESPONSIBILITY and communication. We need our city's leaders to publicly communicate what they will do NOW. Hopefully we can get them to put aside their personal concerns for the good of the community.

Let's just be open, honest, and realistic. Most importantly, LET'S BE IN ACTION.

There's a possibility we can hold a press conference TUESDAY at 6pm at the UPTOWN nightclub. I think it would be a great counter message to Lew's McDisneyCisco Village announcement. Plus, we could get a press release out and get alot of great press which will amplify our message. Most importantly--- YOU will get an opportunity to get on the Mic and speak your peace and express your message (keep it clean please). We will invite politicos also. It could be alot of fun.

2. We also need to agendize this entire subject to the City Council. Would you be willing to show up to the City Council in the next few weeks?

Feedback welcomed. If we do this Uptown Press Conference---we need to choose today and get it in action.

Who's up to Play? Let me know,

Thank you all,

Robert Limon
chooseorloseoakland@yahoo.com

If the this is the end, I want to say a few things, for I can't be at the Uptown meeting because I'm at school. A number of things have come to light during this process:

1. The A's fanchise has a long history of screwing it's fans and cities, this is just another manifestation of that trend. I don't think that change either. Do you really think the A's will stay in Fremont for more than 40 years. This is a short term/cheap solution to the A's stadium situation, and Wolff will not make as much money as he wants by building suburban ballpark.

2. Seatle will be the only urban ballpark in the AL West. Anaheim and Arlington are both very suburban ballparks. The Fremont park will be another car friendly facility and will continue to make I880 a nightmare.

3. You cannot place the blame on the current Oakland City Council, yes they did abolutely nothing to keep the A's, but even if they tried, Wolff would have not been swayed; he wanted to move the team from the beginning. The blame lands on Jerry Brown and the Schott/Hoffman ownership during the late 90's. They had a golden opportunity to hash out a plan to build a downtown ballpark, but neither side was willing to compromise. The Haas family sold the fanchise to Schott and Hoffman with the understanding they wouldn't move the team.

4. Oakland will, once again, be burned by big business.

5. Cisco Field will be a carbon copy of Artie Moreno's Angel Stadium, cheap and souless.

6. By moving the team to Fremont, you will lose much of the soul and eccentricity that was a big part of the Oakland A's fan experience. Whether is was Crazy George's wave, the Banjo Guy, or the drummers and flag wavers in left field. I think unfortunately you lose those unique qualities of an A's game when the team goes to Fremont.

7. Oakland loses a huge part of it's culture and identity. I guess we'll have to rely on the Hyphy Movement for motivation and excitment.

8. This will be a huge change for most of us A's fans. I will go to games in Fremont, but it will not be the same. The idea of building a mall around the stadium is gross to me. I don't want to be bombarded with annoying teenage girls and the superficiality that comes with large suburban retail centers like the one Wolff plans. The tailgaters will be pushed far from the stadium. Maybe instead they can eat a Chotchkie's closer to the stadium and be amazed by their waiters flair. Sounds like fun Lew. (Im fairly bitter)

9. As for a name change, I really hope they don't change the name. But at this point Wolff has burned Oakland so much that a name change would be the icing on the cake. Wolff might as well continue to humiliate Oakland and alienate A's fans.

If this is the end, I would like to thank all the Oakland supporters and their efforts. At least we didn't roll over. I would also like to thank everybody who came to this blog and stated their opinion, whether it was for or against. This was my first blog, and I hope people came away with a new perspective. Thanks for putting up with my spelling and grammatical errors. Thanks to all the other bloggers who helped me out.

I will continue to post things, but I'm fairly busy these days, and haven't had much time to post. Hopefully the 49ers will stay in S.F. I'm a Raider fan, and I even have sympathy for Niner fans right now. I know what their going through.

Pat Kernighan's Choice

Pat Kernighan has participated in Choose or Lose the Oakland A's. Here's her clip.

Oakland Officials Finally Respond to Recent Fremont Developments

Oakland City Councils members and even Ron Dellums have responded to Wolff's purchase of land off of I880:

"It's been a while that I have been hearing the A's are leaving," De La Fuente said. "Being in this game for so long, this doesn't mean a thing."

I disagree IDLF, developing a ballpark plan is a very long process and Mr. Wolff's purchase is a clear indication that he is taking the steps toward buying up all the land around the Pacific Commons. So when he does buy Pacific Commons he will own the land around the ballpark, which he can sell, and or develop.

"He is a real estate developer, and perhaps he just bought three parcels in that area as a real estate developer," Dellums said through his communications director, Deborah Campbell Ford. "It would be ignorant on our part to speculate on what Mr. Wolff's intentions are."

How would it be ignorant to speculate that Mr. Wolff is planning to move the team out of Oakland? Isn't it obvious? Would it be ignorant of me to speculate that you, Mr. Dellums, are cleary following the footsteps of Brown as another political hack.

"We all got this feeling, everybody who met with him, we all walked away thinking he was just not interested," said Councilmember Jane Brunner (North Oakland). "When you negotiate with someone, you need a nibble. ... There was just no nibble."

She brings up an interesting point because Wolff has stated that the city has made no attempts to work with him on a site, but Brunner claims they have tried, but got no bite.

"Originally, he just wanted entitlements to the sites, but then it became clear he wanted more," she said. "He wanted a clean site, he wanted a very easy development."

Makes sense. Like any shrewd business man, Wolff wants the easiest/cheapest way to build his Disney Land park (Yes, he wants an Arty Moreno style Disney Park). This "he said/she said" match between Wolff and the Oakland City Council has yet to change. It's a toss up on who to believe.

"To be honest with you, I don't think there is the political will on the council, given all the other things we have to provide to our residents," said Councilmember Larry Reid (Elmhurst-East Oakland). "Mr. Wolff has made a decision that he can't do what he needs to do in Oakland."

And then there's Larry Reid who seems to be lone council member who seems to really know what's going on. Even if there was political will on the council I doubt something would get hashed with Wolff. Dellums seems to be the only one with any ability to get something rolling, but he is absent and cares to much about what his backers think to take a chance on a saving an Oakland tradition.

Wolff doesn't care about Oakland, tarps the third deck during the playoffs, buys land in Fremont, and can't decide where to have a World Series parade. "It would be ignorant on our part to speculate on what Mr. Wolff's intentions are." Dellums you're a hack and Wolff go f*ck yourself.

Go to the October 17th City Council Meeting to voice your opinion. (See Post Below)

Wolff buying land in Fremont and Oct. 17 City Council Meeting

As the A's continue the their amazing postseason run, but looming in the backdrop is Wolff's plan to move the team to Fremont. Matier and Ross claim that the plan is moving to foward, with the team in the process of buying Cisco owned land in Fremont. As we have all suspected Dellums has yet to speak to Mr. Wolff since his election, which does not bode well for Oakland supporters.

But we have a great opportunity coming up to speak face-to-face to Oakland City Officials. Here's Robert Limons word:

Dear Oakland's A's Fans,

Congratulations to the A's from Oakland for taking care of business with the TWINkieS. Go A's!
The A's are the Pride of Oakland.
KEEP THE A's in OAKLAND !

Express your message to our City's Fathers & Mothers. SHOW UP ! at the City Council Meeting and ask our City's leaders to begin talking about the Oakland A's in Oakland. Fill out a speaker card online to reserve your mic time, and then demand leadership from out city's mothers and fathers that they make Oakland a CAN DO CITY!

Save the Date and Show Up:
Tuesday October 17th, 2006 @ 6 PM. at Oakland City Council chambers and ASK our city leaders to KEEP THE A's in OAKLAND.
[after party at The Uptown]

NO More sticking their heads in the sand. Let our city's leaders know that we WANT THEM to INVENT A POSSIBILITY that KEEPS THE A's in OAKLAND.

REQEST:
Please
1. Follow the link and sign up to speak during OPEN FORUM starting at 6pm Tuesday, Oct. 17. :

http://oaklandnet.com/government/city_clerk/speakerupdate.cfm



Here's lot's of details:
Speaking at Open Forum
There will be a 15-minute Open Forum at the beginning of the 6 p.m. portion of the City Council meeting. If all Speakers are not heard within the 15 minute time frame, Open Forum will be continued at the end of the 7 p.m. portion of the meeting.

http://oaklandnet.com/government/city_clerk/speakerupdate.cfm

To speak during Open Forum:

- Submit a Speaker's Card to the City Clerk by 6 p.m.
- Generally, speakers will have at least one (1) minute to speak.
- If everyone who submitted a speaker card is not heard within the 15-minute period, they may speak at the end of the 7 p.m. portion of the agenda.

SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE.

Please share this email with your communities!

keepTheAsInOakland.com

Go A's (but not from Oakland)

best regards,

Robert Limon