Get outta here, meddler. You have no say around here. Here's today's stack of checks for you to sign.
Look at what we are living through in Oakland with the A's. Every time a player develops they trade him. They won't sign free agents or even go to arbitration. It's one thing for a smaller market team (Oakland is really not a small city!) to say they went after a big name guy and were outbid by the Yankees or Dodgers, it's quite another to not even attempt to compete with Kansas City, Minnesota, Houston, etc. In Oakland, it's make the All Star team, get traded. They kvetch about attendance, but every time the fans connect with a player he's gone. They just traded a top pitcher for two Class A minor leaguers. Not even triple A. I'd bet if either becomes a good major league ball player, the A's will trade him for another low level prospect. We've talked here about favorite all time Blazers. We can name who was on the 1977 team (at least the key guys), the 1990-92 team, the 1999-2000 team, even the team from 2014. In Oakland, mention the 70s team and any fan can say Catfish, Reggie, Rollie, Captain Sal, Rudi, Campy, Kenny, Vida, Greenie, Geno. Mention the 1988-1992 team and any fan can say the Bash Brothers (Canseco/McGwire), Rickey, Eck, Stew, Captain Carney, Hendu, Cobra. Ask me who played the last time the A's made the playoffs, 2 years ago, and I'd have to think about it. Because most of them are gone. I go to fewer and fewer A's games because what am I rooting for? As soon as I start to get behind a player, or he gets a fan following, he's gone. Yes, ownership does matter. The A's owners keep getting richer while the team gets worse.
If that was the only issue, Denny, how did the A's win 4 World Series, 6 pennants, 12 division titles? During much of that time the Giants ownership said they could not compete. Then they changed owners. The Warriors owners said they could not compete. Then they changed owners. The current A's ownership has decided NOT to compete.
