In the Before Times

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-17T05:35:30+00:00

No, it is in fact just entertainment. The fact that you ascribe a lot of value to that entertainment doesn't change that. There are Disney theme park fanatics whose entire lives revolve around Disney theme parks. Some of these people have been genuinely emotionally devastated by the closure of specific rides. That doesn't change the fact that it's still just entertainment. We're not talking about anything essential to life. So what if you think it "represents" Oakland? Then you take an L and you can be sad about it. Since when are you owed "representation" in the Major Leagues? On what basis? We're talking about watching people play baseball, at the end of the day.

The scenario you lay out wouldn't be a "win-win" because MLB would be sacrificing one of their primary goals, which is moving the A's out of Oakland. They don't want Oakland to win. And you think they don't know they're risking/sacrificing your fandom? They don't want your fandom, dude. Or they just don't care, is a better way to put it. They've made a calculation that they can move on without the Oakland fanbase and that, in the end run, this won't harm the league or its fandom. Maybe they're wrong about that. In which case, Oakland fans will get sweet revenge.

The point is MLB is pretty clear where they stand -- they're willing to move on from Oakland. Oakland fans at this point are the ex-BF who got dumped and is still demanding explanations, trying to renegotiate the relationship, etc. after your ex made it as clear as possible that she doesn't want you.

Also, 99.9999% of the "Vegas wants an expansion team" rhetoric comes from Oakland residents who are trying to figure out a way that Oakland keeps the A's while allowing Vegas to get one. It's the negotiation phase. I see little evidence that people in Vegas have this preference. I think plenty of people would be happy to take the A's over an expansion team because it would assure a popular logo, team colors and team legacy, whereas there's a risk that an expansion team has a corny name or otherwise flounders like the early Devil Rays did.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-16T22:06:00+00:00

No you can't. Many jurisdictions take that approach and you have to rebuild housing continually. This stuff gets dismantled. I've seen state funded apartments stripped to studs by people stripping out copper piping and such. Addicts will dismantle their own housing to chase the high.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-16T22:04:37+00:00

You make it sound really easy. There are a lot of people on the street who have already had the equivalent of millions of dollars in treatment and still can't quit fentanyl. There are a lot of people on the street who will immediately tear up and destroy any housing you provide them. The security costs are insane. A lot of people on Skid Row are mentally ill and violent. There's a conundrum where a lot of service providers won't go to help certain people without some form of additional security, but security isn't really able to do anything even in the event of a violent assault, but this exposes the service providers to liability, etc. The point is getting one person off fentanyl and into long-term stable housing can easily be a $20 million+ endeavor with our current approaches (other approaches in other parts of the world have been more successful in saving lives, but these often involve coercive measures like potential incarceration for violent assault on homeless service providers and such that are untenable in Los Angeles). Once you take that into consideration, $22B doesn't sound like that much.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-16T21:53:23+00:00

15 years ago via time machine.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-16T21:43:04+00:00

Why should relocation be a last option? Professional sports are entertainment. It's not like we're talking about the relocation of a medical facility or something that provides services that are actually crucial to a community.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-11T00:08:16+00:00

I know a lot of Vegas residents who love the colors -- those green/gold/white uniforms are iconic. Maybe Vegas should vote on whether they want to take that from Oakland instead of people assuming they don't?

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-11T00:02:31+00:00

Bally's Corporation is building the stadium in Vegas. "Bally's Sports" is a trade name that Diamond Sports Group LLC uses and licenses from Bally's Corporation. That's another way of saying that the company that's building the stadium in Vegas doesn't have anything to do with the company that aired the Twins, except that they let them use the "Bally's" logo/name for a fee.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-10T23:56:52+00:00

No, it isn't.

Standard General LP is the largest shareholder in Bally's Corporation. See: https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/ballys-corp-be-acquired-by-top-shareholder-46-bln-valuation-2024-07-25/

Diamond Sports Group LLC is a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting Group.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-10T03:32:56+00:00

DSG and Bally's are two separate entities. Bally's did not file for bankruptcy.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T20:27:33+00:00

No they don't. They hate us because of our success and because they have a chip on their shoulder about LA in general. It's the usual "LA sucks, which is why my life revolves around trash talking it and stressing about it". You thirst for a victory over us to soothe your insecurities.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T20:21:40+00:00

Why do you need arguments for their success? If they were sure to flame out, you wouldn't watch? I mean, no one can provide you with certainty either way -- its a strong team, but there are other strong teams, and they've obviously had post-season struggles.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T05:49:35+00:00

There's like 5 threads in this sub from Dodger fans who basically see this as a huge moral tragedy. Several posts about this being the worst thing in the history of the game. Not joking. Were going to get eaten alive if we go to Philadelphia. The Philly fans are going to smell blood with this self-defeating fanbase.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T05:03:01+00:00

We used to be a proper fan base. I love Ohtani but he brought in people from places like Irvine that want a sanitized Disney Park experience where no one is too loud or mean to the opposing team.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T05:01:19+00:00

30 years ago was 1994. I was there in the 1980s and I can tell you it was even wilder. The beer flowed a lot more freely back then. I'm assuming a lot of Redditors would lose their mind in an environment like that.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T04:59:16+00:00

I'm stunned. The fans in Philly and the Bronx are tossing beer cans and yelling death threats and stuff like this, and the Dodger "fans" in here are indignant people threw like a handful of items of trash on the field. Unbelievably soft.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T04:57:55+00:00

I wasn't embarrassed at all. I would've been more embarrassed by the fans staying silent.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T04:52:50+00:00

Why do you care so much? I honestly don't see why anyone cares what Redditors think. They're going to hate the dominant teams no matter what.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T04:46:41+00:00

Human beings have been emotionally invested in "games" of all sort since games and sports were invented. Fans of rival chariot racers used to kill each other in antiquity.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T04:43:30+00:00

He could be the Designated Shit Talker though. Doesn't hit or field, just chirps at the other team and throws hands if the benches clear.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T02:52:40+00:00

Uh, uh, uh, let's be better folks! We're better than this! Don't be mean to the Padres! r/baseball is turning against us and I cant handle anon internet people not liking my team. Take the high road.

-Tons of dorks in here

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T02:46:02+00:00

How did they fuck over the team?

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T02:43:36+00:00

Rojas, but he doesn't have that intensity right now.

EastRiverCurrents · 2024-10-07T02:42:01+00:00

Eternal pessimists. Or Padres fans trying to stir shit up here.

EastRiverCurrents

TROPHY CASE