Comments on: Selig to meet with Giants in attempt to clear San Jose for the A’s

By: fellspointbird

fellspointbird — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:46:37 +0000

Some years ago, the Orioles happened to be playing Oakland while I was in San Fransisco. They were running a promotion that I could not refuse: $2 for a nose-bleed ticket AND a hot dog.

$150? You sure about that?

By: dreadpiratesteve

dreadpiratesteve — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:48:22 +0000

the Giants have other prospects than Zach Wheeler, like Gary brown, Joe Panik, Heath Hembree and Erik Surkamp just to name a few. i think they’re farm system is just fine.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:21:16 +0000

You may be right. Would losing the A’s actually benefit the Giants? Or would it just lead to fewer baseball fans in general in northern California? You don’t gain fans by having no competition, you gain fans by having a winning team and well run organization…and that works no matter how much competition you have.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:58:17 +0000

Tickets to the Mausoleum aren’t cheap in terms of value, which is why they draw so few fans. What does that mean? In means, relative to the quality of the product, the cost of watching the A’s is perceived as high while the entertainment value is low. Remember, the $50 seats were $28 in the Moneyball era, that’s a rate of inflation far outstripping the CPI. Add the cost of parking (up 50%) and gas to get there (most people still drive) and the cost of seeing a game form the good seats is nearly $ 150 for 2, including a hot dog and two drinks. $ 150 for the A’s anemic baseball is way too high. True, you can sit in cheaper seats, but this is where the hugeness of the foul ground works against you, and takes you too far from the players and the action.

Will Air Bud be able to do anything with the Giants on the SJ issue? Theoretically he can. The Giants claim to the SC County rights is weak (meaning, the transfer of those rights from the A’s was predicated on the Giants originally doing certain things which they did not do).

In any event, I still predict a payoff to the Giants in some form. I doubt that the A’s will relocate outside the Bay Area, because I think MLB is setting up for expansion to 32 teams, and they would not want the A’s to take one of the potential expansion markets.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:54:12 +0000

Last I checked all those pitchers are in the major leagues right now and the Giants traded away their #1 prospect for Carlos Beltran. So yeah, the farm system is not in good shape right now.

By: clydeserra

clydeserra — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:51:25 +0000

I don’t disagree with you often pl, but I have a minor quibble with that one.

The A’s granted the San Jose t-rights to the giants for free in the 80s or early 90s in an effort to get the giants to move. They didn’t include a sunset clause (which was the big mistake).

At this point, I think the Giants don’t want money for this asset, they want the A’s out of Northern CA. Oakland is going to be a tough town to build in. IF the Giants can prevent the A’s from building in SJ and MLB buy the A;s back, the new buyer will move the team to a more accommodating City.

By: dreadpiratesteve

dreadpiratesteve — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:41:12 +0000

Cuz all those pitching prospects the Giants churn out are such tools? Think before you comment.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:33:56 +0000

It isn’t about that either. It is about owning an asset of perceived value and not giving it away for free.

By: JBerardi

JBerardi — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:11:41 +0000

“why does every stadium everything in America have to have expensive tickets and seem like a shopping mall with a bunch of yuppies running around.”

Because at least five or ten of those yuppie families haven’t defaulted on their credit card debt or been foreclosed on yet, and goddamnit, we’re gonna ride this train as far as it’ll take us.

By: danielwold

danielwold — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:01:41 +0000

why does every stadium have to have expensive tickets and seem like a shopping mall with a bunch of yuppies running around. the coliseum is old but tickets are cheap and its still pro ball.

By: JBerardi

JBerardi — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 05:40:20 +0000

They should, because the Giants farm system sucks.

By: humanexcrement

humanexcrement — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:36:20 +0000

It would be nice if it really worked that way, but MLB is a private industry, and they have contracts with franchise owners that limit how close they can put two teams–but as I said before, if the Giants can survive with competition just over the bay in Oakland, can’t they make it with a team in San Jose, which is much farther away? Sure San Jose is a richer community, but still…

By: jonirocit

jonirocit — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 03:52:17 +0000

The giants should buy the athletics and use them as a farm team

By: mgflolox

mgflolox — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:57:15 +0000

It was either the mayor or some SJ city official who said it best “I think it should be up to the people and city of San Jose to determine whether or not we attract a Major League Baseball team, not the San Francisco Giants.” Or something like that.

By: clydeserra

clydeserra — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:04:03 +0000

its not about the people, its about Silicon Valley money

By: humanexcrement

humanexcrement — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:59:17 +0000

If the A’s aren’t a threat to Giants attendance in Oakland, how could they be in San Jose? I guess there’s always the possibility that the San Jose fans will no longer travel to San Francisco. But if someone is dedicated enough to sit in that dump of a Stadium they have in Oakland, I think they’ll enjoy themselves watching the Giants.