As the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Nevada legislature resumes discussions:
The bill in Nevada’s state legislature that would provide $380MM in public money to fund a stadium in Las Vegas for the A’s was put on hold last week when the legislature adjourned Thursday night. As noted by Jacob Solis, Tabitha Mueller, and Sean Golonka of The Nevada Independent, that adjournment is set to end today, allowing negotiations on the stadium bill to begin once again.
The ongoing special session was called by Governor Joe Lombardo, though members of the legislature have become frustrated by the lack of amendments to the bill since the end of the legislature’s regular session on June 5. Amendments that have been suggested include ensuring the A’s home games are not exempt from the state’s 9% Live Entertainment Tax and requiring the A’s to match their past donation commitments to California food banks with similar commitments in Nevada.
2. Pasquantino to undergo MRI:
Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino recently landed on the injured list due to shoulder soreness, which MLB.com’s Anne Rogers notes has similarities to an injury that kept him out of action for three weeks last season. While he’ll undergo an MRI today to get a clearer idea of the injury’s specifics, Pasquantino himself noted that his shoulder feels “pretty much the same” as it did during last season’s injury. The 25-year-old is one of just five above average hitters for the Royals this season by measure of wRC+. While Pasquantino is on the shelf, Nick Pratto figures to move from the outfield back to his natural position, first base.
3. Rangers vs. Angels Series Preview:
The Rangers and Angels begin a four-game set today that could have major implications in the race for the AL West crown. As things stand, the Rangers have a commanding lead in the division, with a five-game lead over the second-place Astros and a six-and-a-half-game lead over the third-place Angels. That said, the Angels appear to be the hot hand at the moment. The club has won six of their last seven as they arrive in Texas, where the Rangers are coming off a difficult series loss to the AL-leading Rays.
Tonight’s game will begin at 7:05pm CT when Angels lefty Tyler Anderson, who has struggled to a 5.62 ERA in 57 2/3 innings this season, takes the mound against Rangers right-hander Dane Dunning, who was excellent in a bullpen role before joining the rotation and posting a 2.97 ERA and 4.02 FIP across six starts. Looking to the rest of the series, Angels righty Jaime Barria will take on Rangers righty Jon Gray in Game 2. Game 3 will see a duel between lefties Reid Detmers and Andrew Heaney. Game 4 will see a pitching duel between each team’s top starter: Shohei Ohtani and Nathan Eovaldi.
Reverse Boycott is on Tuesday 6/13 for the Oakland A’s. We are going to show up to show there is a fanbase here we just hate ownership. Fans donated $35K to have 7K SELL shirts printed up to be handed out before the game. There’s will be at least 20K fans there on Tuesday compared to the 3K they will today.
A’s fans need the TV media coverage of the game so other cities can see how owners use fans as pawns in their money grab game.
Media will be there including the national outlets it will be covered
Unfortunately, it seems the owner is hell-bent on seeing his team disintegrate, I believe because he wanted to get rid of high salaries (correct me if I’m wrong). In European soccer, fans come out in droves to tell off the ownership, telling them to sell the team. Usually, it works, or it gets the owner to buy better players. I doubt it will ever work here but I like that you’re giving it a shot.
lol enjoy lining John Fishers pockets with more cash and not accomplishing much otherwise
Of course if 20k fans showed up to the games every night we wouldn’t even be having this discussion…
If MLB had a real commissioner we would be talking about which group is buying the A’s. Without getting rid of Fisher the A’s will continue to be a problem because he could care less about building a team. Oakland problem is not a stadium but a horrible owner who only wants free money from the tax payers.
Fisher makes Bob Nutting look like Cohen.
ARC 2: You’re right about Manfred. He totally sucks. There should be some kind of rule where if an owner deliberately destroys his team, he is suspended for a long period of time or maybe (and I prefer this one) force him to sell the team. Fisher and Reinsdorf should be the first to go.
1. Move the A’s to Mexico City. It’s unfair that the NL has a high offense ballpark but the AL doesn’t.
2. Too bad. He’s doing well this year. Maybe numbers are a bit lower but he’ should be fine.
3. Easy sweep for the Rangers. Angels’ management really messed up on cashing on out players. They could have trade Trout at his peak but instead decided to sign him long-term. We’ll see what they do with Ohtani but I wouldn’t be surprised if they miss this boat and let him walk.
Your argument is that a team should be ripped away from its fans base and city because it’s “unfair” there isn’t a higher altitude ballpark in the AL. GTFOH with that BS. HORRIBLE TAKE
@OaktownMook
Then support your team with sold out crowds each night.
Your team don’t have sell outs every night.
@ARC 2
Better than Jokeland, where 10 people shows up.
If you haven’t noticed we have the worst ownership group in baseball. There’s a reason attendance is low and that is 100% by design from ownership. Educate yourself on the situation there’s been plenty of articles written lately about what he’s done. Also since he bought the team in 2006 the largest free agent contract he’s given out is 2/15 to Soria
@OaktownMook
Then clearly, the guy wants to move the team. It’s a private business. They can move shop if they want. They owe nothing to Jokeland. Buh Bye!
OaktownMook: I stead of boycotting the games, maybe thousands (around 35-40,000 a game would work. Fisher won’t be able to claim he’s moving the team because of low attendance. The lame commissioner, if he actually does something beneficial for the first time, would maybe have a talk with Fisher to ask him why he wants to move the team for the third time. Fisher can counter about the stadium needs to be renovated or something. Just an idea from a fan who watched A’s win four straight WS titles in a row. It’s time to respect history.
If its a private business it shouldn’t be asking for tax payers dollars and tax exemptions to move. The irony is people who defend owners that want tax payers to pay through socialism to build them a stadium.
@ARC 2
I agree and am opposed to it. They should be building their own field.
So as punishment you want to move them somewhere worse than Oakland?
Which “high offense ballpark” are you referring to because Coors Field is nothing like it used to be and is 10th in MLB this season in Home Runs allowed. Numbers 1 and 2, Yankees Stadium and Tropicana Field, both in the American League
Ahhhh sweet silence from Old York. I really love the mute function.
The Angels need to show they belong at the playoff level.
Seems like we always get hot against bad teams then take a beating against good ones.
It’s part of growing pains. The Angels have definitely improved over last year. They’re winning games that they didn’t last year. I’m really pulling for the O’s, Dbacks and Angels to make the PO. The Angels so hopefully they’ll keep Ohtani. It’s nice that some of the usual suspects are not leading their division. Time for some new teams to get in there. Makes the PO a lot more interesting.
Os rule for me but MLB fan in general. Will be following Angels-Rangers series. IMO, both teams have something to prove. Let’s see who’s legit!
While I feel for A’s fans, the solution isn’t as simple as selling. Multiple owners have spent decades trying to get a new ballpark. There was even a proposal for a privately funded park on the existing lot.
The City of Oakland is a nightmare to deal with and that problem won’t go away. A’s fans are getting screwed on two fronts.
Perhaps a new owner could get a stadium in a nearby city that isn’t as difficult. That’s probably the best solution.
I am sorry but you are wrong on this. Fisher has been the majority owner since 2005, They haven’t been trying in Oakland until recently they spent a decade trying to build in San Jose when they knew they didn’t have territorial rights. If the A’s wanted to build at the coliseum site shovels would be in the ground today. The Howard Terminal project is a huge undertaking ($12billion project) that includes condos and office buildings with a stadium that the city said it would take care of the offsite infrastructure for and has raised the money for it.
Ok. I lived in Sacramento in the late 90s/early 2000s and there was talks of getting a new stadium then; particularly after the changes the Raiders made.
I thought they were looking at Oakland.
Oakland actually caved into every demand by Fisher to build then the A’s went silent. It also happened when Fisher lost a boat load of money on the stock market. Fisher biggest asset is the A’s now not his mommy and daddy’s money inherited.
(and he can’t borrow against the team _again_ until he pays off the loan to US Bank where he used the team *and all it’s material possessions and rights* as collateral.)
Fisher did not negotiate in good faith with Oakland.
Oakland was offering more to the A’s than Las Vegas is offering.
Fisher acts like the Cleveland Indians Owner in the movie “Major League”..She and Fisher were /are tanking their team to destroy fan support and move the team out of their towns.
I feel really bad for A’s fans. They deserve a better team owner.
If you are wondering if the A’s ballpark is going to go through, this graph tells the story.
twitter.com/LVSportsBiz/status/1668270950591131654
This article blasts MLB for their part in this debacle.
twitter.com/howardstutz/status/1667892156152045568
This thread is from the speaker of the Assembly in the Nevada legislature and is a must read if you are interested in the subject.
twitter.com/SteveYeagerNV/status/16675913437477642…
This article on the ballpark is pretty clear that the ballpark will lose money for the state of Nevada.
joesheehan.com/2023/06/joe-sheehan-newsletter-june…
“Even at $500 million, it will be hard for the public to make its investment back, especially if spending at the new park largely goes to paying off the new park. Ballparks create lousy, part-time, seasonal, ill-paid jobs once construction is over, and almost anything else built on the Tropicana site will produce more revenue, and tax revenue for the state, than the new ballpark will.”
Facts: Nevada Legislature is “cold” to approving large subsidies to an A’s Stadium project in Las Vegas
especially after Nevada Governor said the State WAS BROKE and COULDN’T AFFORD BADLY NEEDED STATE FUNDING for: Education & schools, addressing Nevada’s homeless crisis AND increased funding for the mentally ill in Las Vegas and Nevada.
Fact: San Francisco Bay Area has 550 billion yearly GDP.
Fact: Greater Las Vegas Area has 136million yearly GDP.
Fact:: Population of SF Bay Area (12+ Counties) is 9.7 million.
Fact: Population of Greater Las Vegas Area is 2.2 million
Fact: San Francisco Bay Area has 6th largest TV market in USA.
Fact: Greater Las Vegas Area has 40th largest TV market in USA.
Fact: A’s current Owner John Fisher is either:
1) not qualified financially to own the A’s
2) OR is a bad business man
3) OR both.
Sports franchises are “gold mines” if run by smart business persons.
The appreciation and tax advantages of MLB franchises have been proven over time.
And, sports franchises can be very successful and very profitable without public tax subsidies.
Facts: John Fisher does to have the money, credit and/or business acumen to run a successful MLB franchise (both financially and for the customers, the fans).
Fisher has proven that much throughout his A’s tenure as Owner.
And, I and many others are not buying the misleading narrative that the A’s problems are the fault of the Fans and/or the SF Bay Area community of fans.
Successful businesspersons can and do overcome challenges that are, at times, much worse the the challenges facing the A’s in the SF Bay Area and succeed, come out on top.
John Fisher has become the AL’s version of Frank McCourt.
See stories: “How Frank McCourt ruined the Dodgers and made a fortune doing it.”
dodgersnation.com/dodgers-how-frank-mccourt-ruined…
John Fisher is highly over leveraged and does not have impactful outside businesses that are throwing off huge cash streams such that revenue sharing funds and team profits and more are invested back into the Athletics MLB franchise.
Fisher is only hot to trot to Las Vegas because MLB OWNERS AND the COMMISSIONER have GIVEN Fisher an ULTIMATUM: GET get NEW STADIUM DEAL FOR the A’s BY January ’24 OR MLB WILL CUT OFF REVENUE SHARING TO THE A’s.
John Fisher has kept the A’s and himself afloat by REVENUE SHARING AND FIRE SALES OF PLAYERS.
A properly, well funded MLB Owner is one who has cash and credit to: build a privately financed stadium, to pay to keep his top young core of players long term, sign some impactful free agents and compete for Division Titles, League Pennants and World Championships. JOHN FISHER IS NOT THAT GUY.
Memo to Nevada Legislature: Be Very Wary of A”s Owner John Fisher.
Do not give him any taxpayer subsidies.
Make Fisher open his business books and the books of the Oakland A’s to an independent forensic audit.
A deal they are trying to rush and sandbag through the Nevada Legislature in the middle of the night is probably not a good deal for Las Vegas and Nevada taxpayers.
A bad and highly taxpayer subsidized A’s Las Vegas stadium deal very likely will lead to continued MLB revenue sharing subsidies and a taxpayer bailout of the A’s stadium deal by Las Vegas and Nevada taxpayers who are on the hook as the financial backstop of last resort in the proposed A’s stadium deal.
John Fisher should be forced to sell the A’s to local SF Bay Area, well funded, future Owners who have large independent revenue streams from outside businesses and who have successes running businesses. And, the New Ownership Group should buy the team with the proviso that the A’s build a new stadium in the SF Bay Area and not move out of that area.
Facts: A’s gave Giants a temporary gift of their 50% share of Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley territory to keep the Giants in the SF Bay Area and out of a move to Tampa.
Facts: Former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig stated that former A’s Owner Walter Haas(Levis Strauss) “acted in the best interests of baseball” to gift his 50% of the Santa Clara County/San Jose territory. However, Commissioner Selig stated that the gift by Haas and the A’s of their 50% Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE PERMANENT.
Haas and the A’s expected the 50% of their Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley territory
TO BE RETURNED TO THE A’s AFTER THE GIANTS BUILT THEIR NEW STADIUM.
The Giants built their new stadium in San Francisco not in San Jose 90+ minutes away by car. in traffic. The A’s only gave the Giants that territory to help the Giants built a new stadium for the Giant in San Jose. But, that never happened since the Giants ended up building a privately funded new stadium in downtown SF.
Facts: the A’s had serious, financially viable stadium proposal for Silicon Valley/Santa Clara County/San Jose to be named Cisco Field after the high tech company.
Fact: the subsequent ownership has been blocking the A’s move to Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley FOR DECADES.
Fact: Subsequent MLB Commissioners and Owners could have solved the A’s stadium problem by voting to force the Giants to return the A’s 50% share of Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley to the A’s.
And MLB Ownership can also vote to block the A’s proposed move to Las Vegas.
(The A’s teamed with the Dodgers to line up votes to block the Giants move to Tampa. The Dodgers did not want to lose the Giants NL rivalry on the West Coast.)
Fact San Jose is the largest, most populated City in the SF Bay Area
(not San Francisco and Not Oakland…Oakland has only 300k-400k people?!)
San Jose is the 3rd most populous city in California(#1 Los Angeles #2 San Diego).
San Jose has a population of 1..2+ million, Santa Clara County has a population of close to 2M, SF Bay Area 12 Counties have population of .9.7 million combined.
And the area has a yearly GDP of 550 billion dollars that is larger and richer than many countries.
So, the facts, the numbers, the potential profits all favor Oakland staying in the SF Bay Area, new ownership and building a new A’s stadium in the SF Bay Area preferably in Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley.
The NFL and the 49er saw the value and market potential and built the new 49ers football stadium in Santa Clara County.
The smart money for MLB for both long and short term would be for the A’s to stay in the SF Bay Area preferably with new, well funded local ownership that would build the new A’s baseball stadium in Santa Clara County Silicon Valley.
An Athletics deal is “pocket change” for tech owners & executives like Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Laurene Powell Jobs etc., The list is very long of SF Bay Area billionaires
who could pull off this deal including a newly privately funded baseball stadium in Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley without breaking a sweat.
The alternative is MLB Ownership paying/subsidizing the A’s revenue sharing subsidies for decades in Las Vegas since the financial numbers do not work for the A’s in Las Vegas under John Fisher.(and the 30,000 proposed seating stadium that is tiny by MLB standards).
Perhaps you can clarify something for me. From what I understand from your post, A’s and Giants each owned 50% of the Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley rights. Why did the Giants need the A’s 50% to build a new stadium? How did the A’s build theirs? You stated that the Giants built their new stadium with private money. Why did they need to essentially borrow money from Haas in the first place? Also, it seemed that Haas and selig wanted the Giants out of the Bay area. The Giants got to the SF Bay area first. Why should they have had to move?
Good questions!
One of the former Giants owners, Bob Lurie, had had enough and wanted out and to sell badly. He accepted an offer from a group of investors from Tampa who were open about their intentions to move the Giants to Tampa.
It occurred on Sept. 27, 1992,
The A’s Haas took many active efforts to keep the Giants in the SF Bay Area and to block their move out of the Bay Area.
As posted previously, Former A’s Owner Haas worked with the Dodgers Owners and other MLB Owners to block MLB Ownership approval for a Giants move to Tampa. Haas also helped find new, well funded local SF Bay Area Ownership for the Giants.
Selig voted with the A’s and Dodgers to keep the A’s in the SF Bay Area.
Also, Haas worked with the MLB Commissioner’s Office “in the best interests of baseball” to keep the Giants in the SF Bay Area. Hass was willing to
gift his share of the A’s 50% of Silicon Valley/Santa Clara County to the SF Giants IF the Giants planned to build their stadium in Santa Clara County.
I think FAY Vincent was MLB Commissioner at the time.
Bud Selig was Owner of the Brewers who did not become MLB Commissioner until 1998.
The Giants were looking to build their stadium in Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley San Jose Area. A’s Owner Haas was willing to, temporarily, give up his 50% of Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley to get a New Giants stadium built in Santa Clara County/San Jose area. But, according to Selig, Haas expected the 50% of that territory to be returned to the A’s at a later date once the
Giants were situated and stabilized in their new Stadium in Santa Clara County/San Jose.
SF couldn’t get the project going in Santa Clara County/San Jose because voters in that area rejected a ballot initiative requiring taxpayers to subsidize the proposed new Giants stadium in Santa Clara County/San Jose.
The SF Giants ownership then pivoted back to San Francisco and lined up private financing to build theri present stadium in downtown SF and not San Jose.
The entire reason for the A’s Haas’s temporary gift of Santa Clara County territory to the Giants never came to fruition.
Haas and Selig never wanted the Giants out of the SF Bay Area.
They took affirmative steps to keep the Giants in the SF Bay Area.’
The New A’s stadium was not built in the SF Bay Area.
Subsequent SF Giants Ownership has balked at giving the A’s back their 50% of the Santa Clara County/San Jose territory.
Bud Selig was MLB Commissioner from 1998-2015.
It seems like Selig could have worked harder to keep the A’s in the SF Bay Area by restoring the A’s 50% territory to Santa Clara County/SanJose.
Multiple A’s New Stadium plans for Santa Clara County/San Jose have been blocked by the Giants and the Commissioner’s Office?!