WEBVTT - Sacramento A's transition talk 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:01.720 You know, there are a lot of balls in the air. 0:00:01.760 --> 0:00:03.600 Like I don't think it's a sure thing that the 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:05.840 A's are going to be in Sacramento this whole three 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:08.600 year stretch, Like, I don't think that's that's a given. 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:15.640 Here we go. 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:18.640 Chris Biederman is joining us covering the a senior reporter 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:21.360 for the Sacramento b Chris, Great to have you on 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:27.600 and welcome to foul Territory. Welcome to Sacramento, Major League Baseball. 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:29.240 How are the first. 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:31.520 Few days there? Obviously you can go over what you 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.959 saw on the field and what you've been experiencing in 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.920 Sacramento in terms of the fans receiving this team. 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:42.519 Yeah, thanks for having me. It's been pretty surreal because 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:46.680 I've been, you know, going to Rivercats games in different 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:49.560 capacities since like two thousand and eight, and to see 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:53.360 major League baseball there has been kind of crazy, but 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:57.360 it's been It's been very unique and there was a 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:00.520 lot of excitement. I think the atmosphere was really good, 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:03.680 albeit you know, just under fourteen thousand fans there for 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.479 opening night and then you kind of saw the crowd 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.800 numbers taper off a little bit. You had over twelve 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:13.000 thousand there on Tuesday, and then over nine thousand there 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:17.520 in a matinee getaway day on Wednesday, and things weren't 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:19.840 really helped by the fact that the A's gave up 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.319 the most runs they've given up in their first three 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:26.200 games of their home season since nineteen twenty two. So 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:28.960 it's been a little bit rough from that standpoint. The 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:32.240 wind has been blowing out and the Cubs have taken 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:35.880 advantage far more than the A's did, but it's it's 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:40.119 a real interesting situation you have. You know, the team 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:43.280 that the A's are sharing the ballpark with is the 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:46.679 Sacramento river Cats, of course, who are the giants top affiliate, 0:01:47.360 --> 0:01:50.800 And I think I think the town before the A's 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:53.480 got here has been kind of split between Giants and A's, 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:56.480 like much of northern California, and so it wasn't going 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:58.040 to be a slam dunk that there were just going 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.200 to be legions of A's fans coming to sacrament I know, 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:03.680 and obviously many A's fans have been pretty disenchanted by 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:06.200 the direction of the organization and the decision to move 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:09.799 out of Oakland. So it's just a really interesting dynamic 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.880 of very polarizing situation, a lot of strong opinions going 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:17.799 both ways, and yeah, it's it's been very unique and 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:19.119 we'll see where it goes from here. 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:22.000 Does it feel like I know, the seasons early, but 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:26.080 does it feel like the organization, the Oakland A's organization 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:29.880 has really like put a bunch of signs up and 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:32.720 let the city know, hey, you know what, we're here 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:35.840 now and like promoted the team or are they just 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.239 kind of sitting on their hands hoping people come out. 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:42.520 Yeah, So what's interesting is is they've partnered with the 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.280 River Cats, which are owned by the Sacramento Kings and 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:49.520 the vekron A DVA, and the Kings have really have 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:51.680 really handled a lot of the marketing and a lot 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:55.560 of the business and ticket sales operations, and so yeah, 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:57.640 there's been a little bit of it, but it doesn't 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:00.480 really feel like the A's town right there. There isn't 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:03.640 There are billboards, but they're not like everywhere you know. 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.880 The A's of course, did not make Sacramento as part 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:09.120 of their team name. They're the only team in North 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:12.119 American major sports without a city attached to their name. 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:16.440 They're just the athletics. And so I think some people 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:19.120 in Sacramento rightfully, so are a little bit miffed by that. 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:23.760 And I asked John Fisher about that specifically on on Monday, 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.679 the team's owner, and he just he kind of sideset 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.400 the question, and he said, look, this is an amazing 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:31.679 this is an amazing development for Sacramento. 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:33.120 There's major League Baseball here. 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:37.400 The Chicago Cubs are in town without really acknowledging the 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:41.160 fact that, you know, they they aren't really adopting Sacramento. 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:44.280 They're not putting it on the uniforms. They do have 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.320 a patch with the tower Bridge. That's cool, and they 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.640 gave out hats on opening night that have the tower 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:53.440 Bridge patch on the center of the hat. But you 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:56.880 know that there's no there's no apparel you can buy 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:59.880 that says Sacramento on it, at least none that I've seen. 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:02.400 And I'm not sure if that's going to change or not. 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:06.600 But the A's did file for the trademark for Sacramento A's, 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:10.640 but they aren't making any apparel with it, so they're 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.920 not fully embracing it from that standpoint, and I think 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:17.159 there are some fans in town who are a little 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:19.200 miffed by that, but also the A's have made it 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:21.719 pretty clear that their goal is to make this a 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:25.120 temporary venue because they have sites on Las Vegas, which 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.000 you know, they hope to open that Dome Ballpark on 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:30.640 the Vegas Strip in twenty twenty eight. 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:33.160 We'll see if that happens. 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:35.960 Obviously, the A's don't have the best history when it 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:39.279 comes to finalizing stadium deals and getting shovels in the ground, 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.560 but they're optimistic that it's going to happen. So we'll 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:42.520 just have to wait and see. 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:45.400 Chris. A couple of things before we dig in. 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:47.839 One nice slave, one behind you whatever it's called now lego, 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:49.120 So that's that's kil. 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:50.600 I have two of those in my house. 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:52.920 Oh, thank you, thank you, sweet touch. 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:56.120 Second of all, I played in Sacramento in twenty twenty 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:59.000 twenty zero zero, two thousand, and it was a launching pad. 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:01.679 So this doesn't supper the run score. 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:06.000 But my real question is is they say fourteen thousand 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:09.000 seed stadium. Do you know what the attendance recorded by 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:12.160 Major League Baseball was on the first game in Sacramento? 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.960 Yeah, it was was it twelve thousand, nineteen or something 0:05:17.000 --> 0:05:18.200 like that, one. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:20.159 Hundred and nineteen, So where in the holy hell are 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:23.120 they getting it insto a fourteen thousand seed stadium? If 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:25.800 on the first game of the year against the Cubs, 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:29.760 now against the team that has a national following, right 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:31.480 the Chicago Cubs, they. 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:32.480 Only draw twelve thousand. 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:35.560 The next night I think was ten thousand, like you said, 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:38.440 And then the third night was under nine thousand or 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:39.520 hold on, let me I'm looking here. 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:40.080 Ten thousand. 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:44.040 The second night, yeah, ten thousand, ninety five, and then 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:45.839 yesterday was nine thousand. 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:47.160 I believe. I know it is a ghetaway day. It 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:49.000 was a day game. But where do they keep coming 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:51.000 up with this fake number of fourteen thousand? Are they 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:51.560 talking about? 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:54.440 They talking to vendors, the clubhouse guys, the bat boys, 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:57.880 the bird circle in the stadium. I'm like, I'm super 0:05:57.880 --> 0:05:59.839 confused because then they had ninety three hundred there, Yes, 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:02.120 So where do they get fourteen thousand from? 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:03.200 Because I can't figure it out. 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:05.880 Yeah, you know, I'm with you on that. I think 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.960 that I know they have ten thousand fixed seats and 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:12.560 then they have, you know, a few extra thousand that 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:14.960 they can fit out in right field and right center 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:17.640 field and the grass burm area, and they sell those 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:22.320 tickets day of for twenty five bucks. So yeah, I'm 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:25.599 not really sure, and I know the A's were putting 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:27.760 it out. They put it out over the summer that 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:30.440 they sold all of their premium season tickets for the season. 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:33.800 They put it out in January that they sold they 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:38.040 sold out all of their season tickets. So apparently all 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:41.240 the season tickets have sold out per the team's messaging. 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:44.159 But you look at the pure attendance numbers of who's 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:46.680 actually been in the ballpark, and it would indicate that 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.720 it's not as successful as the team was talking about beforehand. 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:55.160 So you know, I know, look, as I mentioned, the 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.960 A's are partnering with the Kings in this. The Kings 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:04.320 are you know, vivekrona dive has been very vocal about 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:07.720 how he wants this to be an opportunity for Sacramento 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:11.000 to pay maybe lare an expansion team, and city leaders 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:14.240 and politicians and business leaders have all said the same thing. 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.600 So I think the messaging early on was look how 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.360 much interest there is, Look how many people are buying tickets, 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.520 and then you see the first three games they fall flat, 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:27.120 not only on the field, but it seems like they 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:30.840 fell flat in terms of attendance. And man, if you know, 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:33.080 if that's what the first three games looks like, you 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:34.920 got to be a little bit worried about what it 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:37.480 looks like when you know it's one hundred degrees in 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:40.920 the middle of June and July. You know, are are 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:43.000 people going to still want to come out, particularly if 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:46.200 the team's not winning? And and I am optimistic about 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:48.520 you know what the team is. It's a young, exciting team, 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:51.760 particularly offensively. They have not pitched well at all early on. 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.640 But yeah, I'm I'm you know, I'm with you aj 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:59.440 and that like, I'm not really sure where these where 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:01.880 these ballparks numbers were going. I know there was a 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:05.760 lot of messaging coming from the team side about the 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:08.520 season tickets and stuff, and we frankly the first three 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:10.440 games have been kind of a letdown from that standpoint. 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:14.320 You said, you've been going in some capacity to Rivercats 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.800 games since two thousand and eight, right, so you've been 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:17.880 watching some games? 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.840 How have Yeah, go ahead. 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:23.360 No, I was just gonna I intern for them back 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:27.080 in the day, you know, in college and all that. 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:28.400 So it's been Yeah, it's been a trip. 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.440 But anyway, continue, How how has the field played these 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:36.160 three games compared to what you saw otherwise. Is it 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:38.800 big leaguers making a minor league park look like a 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:42.120 minor league park or is this an anomaly? And it'll 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:44.080 start to get because once it gets warmer, we know 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:45.280 the ball flies even more. 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:49.560 Yeah, the ball definitely flies in the summer months. I 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:53.320 will say the wind that they had this week was 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:57.120 blowing out towards right center field, which is typically not 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:01.160 the prevailing win. The prevailing wind typically blows in, and 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:04.400 so you know, it was a little bit unique from 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:05.079 that perspective. 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:05.920 It was pretty cold. 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:08.720 It was in the fifties and forties late in these 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:11.200 games the first two nights, so it was chilly, but 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:14.200 the ball really carried because of the wind and as 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.480 far as the field goes, that's that's kind of another 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:19.120 interesting subplot. I'm sure you guys are well aware. The 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:22.520 initial plan was to have an artificial surface there because 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:25.760 there are one hundred and fifty some odd games played 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:29.200 at Sutter Health Park between the A's and Rivercats. Ultimately, 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:31.760 the Players Union stepped in. They went with natural grass, 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.400 and they did they did all they could to have 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.440 to have a you know, a really regenerative surface that 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:41.559 has a super unique injection system when it comes to 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:45.120 nutrients and things like that. So apparently the grass is 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:48.640 gonna be gonna be able to bounce back from all 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:51.160 the wear and tear. But again, that's another thing we'll 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:52.520 have to see in the summer. Is it going to 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:55.600 get super baked out in July and August? Is it 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.040 you know, are there going to be massive brown spots? 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:00.680 And where the out fielders are? 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:03.800 Uh that those are all really significant questions when you 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:06.400 get to the summer, in the summer heat. But yeah, 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.559 I think the ball is going to carry regardless if 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:11.880 it's you know, if it's late March early April, you'll 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.120 get the wind blowing out to right center field. In 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:17.960 June and July you'll get the wind coming in from 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.760 that direction, but the ball will still carry because of 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:23.520 how warm it is. So I do expect it to 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:26.960 be more hitter friendly and and we'll see if the 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:29.280 A's pitching can can combat that at all, because they 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:31.400 certainly haven't during the first three games. 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:35.120 Are they going to be good? I thought the A's 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:35.600 would be good. 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:37.600 They picked them kind of as my sleeper team to 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:40.720 be their their their their number was very low for 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:44.920 over unders. I took the over easy because I thought 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:46.960 they would be better with Savarino and Springs and some 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:48.640 of the other guys have another year in of the belt. 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:50.000 But the a is going to be good because these 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:50.640 first three. 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:55.319 Games they look like plea, Yeah, I'm with you. 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:58.840 I think, you know, it's a tough start, and and 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:00.880 you know, the pitching is in isn't what they want 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:03.040 it to be, and obviously that was the issue for 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:05.680 them last year, much more so than the offense. So 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:08.080 I think, you know, I think they're going to be 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:10.280 better than they've been during the first week of the season. 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:12.920 I think we saw, you know what this team is 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.160 going to be a better representation of them, I think 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:20.280 was the first series in Seattle, and then you come 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.120 to West Sacramento and you know they don't pitch well 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:25.200 at all. They allow thirty five runs in three games 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:28.280 they including eighteen on opening night, which was the most 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:31.120 ever by or the most been a home opener for 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:32.839 a home team since nineteen twenty five. 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:33.400 I think it was. 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:35.840 You have a couple of records going back one hundred 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.760 years going against the A's in their first series, which is. 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:39.320 Kind of wild. 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.360 But no, I think they're better than how they've played 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:44.319 these three games. I think the offense is going to 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:46.679 pick up. They have a bunch of good young hitters. 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:51.040 There are some question marks defensively, and obviously the big 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:55.120 question is starting pitching. But I think they're better than 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:57.800 what they looked like these last three games, and I 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.280 would expect them to be in the wildcard mix, and 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.360 that's I know, that's the expectation they set out for themselves. 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:05.800 Mark Cotts say, their manager, talked about that that the 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.440 expectations are a lot different this season coming in, and 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:10.960 they do expect to be in that playoff mix. So 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.200 I hope for their sake that this is just a 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:17.000 slow start and they pick things up like they did 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:19.000 last year when they were five hundred after the break. 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:22.760 So we'll see how it goes. But they're more talented, 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:25.439 particularly offensively, than what they've shown these last three games. 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:28.040 Chris, you mentioned the field and how they're cheering it 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:29.920 with the river Cats. By the way, no field could 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:32.240 sustain one hundred and eighty straight games of being I 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:34.559 don't care how what they inject it with I mean, 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:36.280 but it can't be worse than what was in Oakland 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:38.440 right when they used to have the Raiders field on it. 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:40.600 I mean they would do a Raiders game and that 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:42.960 field was destroyed. It was like playing on concrete. There 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:44.640 was no grass. I mean it was painted green, but 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:46.840 the grass was dead in most places and it was 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:49.600 just painted green. You had the infield, you know, the 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.240 lines through the field, the whole thing. So it can't 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:54.120 be worse than that, even though it will be destroyed 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:56.400 because you can't play games on a baseball field one 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:58.000 hundred and eighty straight days, and I'd give it a 0:12:58.000 --> 0:12:58.920 little break somewhere. 0:12:59.800 --> 0:12:59.959 Yeah. 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.480 Yeah, that's a great point, and we'll see how that goes. 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.680 They there was a lot of discussion about that with 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.400 the players union and the league when when they're sorting 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:10.920 it all out and figuring out that they did want 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:13.600 to use a natural surface instead of artificial grass, which 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:16.199 I completely get because you know, you don't want to 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:18.720 be out there on an afternoon in Sacramento where it's 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:22.160 a one hundred and ten degrees on artificial surface. That 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.800 just doesn't sound like any fun for anybody. So yeah, 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.160 I mean that, Well, we'll see. There are a lot 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.560 of things are going to reveal themselves as the season 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:33.760 goes on. As you know, we we talked about the attendance, Like, 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:35.760 is that going to hold up over the long term, 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:37.199 particularly if the A's aren't winning? 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:39.960 Is the field going to hold up? How's that going 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:40.360 to work? 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.160 Is this going to be a situation where you know, 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:45.760 there are a lot of balls in the air, Like, 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:47.800 I don't think it's a sure thing that the A's 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:50.160 are going to be in Sacramento, these these this whole 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:52.959 you know, three year stretch, Like, I don't think that's 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:55.960 that's a given, particularly if, like you said, the field 0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:58.440 gets completely baked out, it turns into concrete by the 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:02.640 time August comes around. You know, if if opposing teams 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:07.120 voice their complaints, the media situation certainly isn't great. I 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:10.280 know fans don't care about that, but the media situation, 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:13.720 the lack of like real press conference areas and press 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:17.280 workrooms and press seating. If the A's do make the playoffs, 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:19.600 the press setup is going to be why they won't 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.280 host a playoff game. And then you'll have a scenario 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:24.720 where if the A's do end up hosting a playoff game, 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:28.400 more most likely is that'll be in San Francisco, And 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:29.880 what kind of look is that going to be for 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:32.520 the A's, So you know, there's there's a lot of 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:35.240 balls in the air, for sure. The field's absolutely one 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:38.320 of them. And if enough of these, if enough of 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:41.200 these factors go poorly for the A's, it wouldn't surprise 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:43.280 me at all if this Sacramento thing is kind of 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:45.600 is a one and done, because you do have a 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:48.080 major league ballpark sitting there in Oakland. I know it's 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.280 being used by the Oakland Root soccer team right now, 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:52.480 but it wouldn't take much for them to get that 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:56.080 back ready to major league caliber. And you know, despite 0:14:56.120 --> 0:15:00.000 the team's relationship with the local officials being completely framed 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:02.840 and the fan base can be being completely fractured, you 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:05.160 do have a major league ballpark there that's sitting unused 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.760 that could that could potentially, you know, make more sense 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:11.400 for the A's than than West Sacramento if things go poorly. 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.360 Hold up, hold up, I gotta I gotta fall Wait, 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:16.920 you're saying the A's could go back to Oakland, which 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:20.240 would be awesome, because it would be incredible after all 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:23.480 the crap that was said about from the A's, not 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:26.200 the fans, not the players, but from certain people in 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.880 the organization and the war they had for years. 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:29.720 To me, you know what. 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.160 This sounds like that the A's didn't know what they 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:35.160 were doing. They rushed into the Sacramento thing. They have 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:39.160 no press box, they have the locker rooms around the outfield. 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:41.720 The field could be trashed. The fans aren't showing up 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:42.720 like they thought they were. 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:43.680 Oh but we can. 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:46.400 We're gonna rush back to Oakland before hopefully we're one 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:47.120 day in Vegas. 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.440 This sounds like a bigger disaster than even Scott Bron 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:51.440 can make it out to be. 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.880 Like this is this is Scott Bron's. 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:57.040 Like dream scenario right here, like his mind, like his 0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:00.360 bobblehead right here from when he went to the fan 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:03.440 stingy the fan fest, Like his head is about to 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:04.320 explode because. 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:08.240 He's like, careful, careful, I'm bringing that up north. But 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:11.320 also I feel like, just to add to this, this 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:15.760 came about with two friends, two billionaire friends, John Fisher 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.600 and Vivek right there. I think neighbors or yacht buddies 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:21.600 or whatever they are. They drink together or they do 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:25.640 whatever rich people do together, whatever the cool new recreational 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:27.720 thing is to do. Let's put it that way. AJ 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:29.920 was looking for what I was going to say, but anyway, 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:31.600 I mean, he's just sitting with him and he's like, oh, 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:34.520 come over here, and he's like, uh, okay, sure, let's 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:34.880 do that. 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:36.840 Yeah. 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:39.480 I just you know, and again this is just me speculating. 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:43.120 I haven't heard anything, you know, but it's just you 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.360 have Cubs players complaining about the situation before the series 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:50.520 even started. You have, you know, the media situation being 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:53.480 what it is that shed that they have out down 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:55.920 the left field line where they have press conferences right now, 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:59.720 it's not climbing controlled, and you know, they apparently they're 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:02.840 going to climbate control it. But if they don't throw 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:05.480 air conditioning in that thing on one hundred degree day, 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:07.320 I don't know how you can have a press conference 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.520 in basically a metal box that's going to turn into 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.000 an oven. So that's something they have to fix, right 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:16.639 They built this new structure out beyond the left field 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:19.480 wall that has a new clubhouse, and the facilities are 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:22.359 you know, they're top notch. They're not the largest facilities 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:25.320 because the footprint isn't the biggest because you still have 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.480 the Rivercat's clubhouse next door, and then you have the 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:30.719 visiting clubhouse next door to that, and you have new 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:33.439 batting cages built out there, so all that stuff is 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.480 very nice, but they didn't build any sort of media 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:40.199 facility out there. They're just trying to expand what was 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.360 already there. And they had like, you know, a three 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:44.960 or four person press box that they outfitted and put 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:46.960 a couple extra seats in, and then they took a 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.159 luxury suite and basically pulled the chairs out of that 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:52.640 and have these folding chairs with tiny little desk things 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.320 on them. So it's not a bad vantage point behind 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:58.600 home plate, but it's not you know, if you're hosting 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:01.119 a playoff game, you need one hundred and fifty two 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:04.400 hundred seats for media people, and the A's right now 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:07.040 have about like thirty or forty, and you had opening 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:10.320 night with one hundred and fifty media people there, the 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:12.919 vast majority of them were without seats and we're standing 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.720 on the concourse watching and you know, basically standing room 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:20.959 only areas. So you know, I again like, maybe it works, 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:24.040 maybe it gets better, maybe they play winning baseball, maybe 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:29.200 it drums up local enthusiasm and maybe everything everything ends 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:32.840 up being fine. But today J's point like, if if 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:35.040 you know you have one hundred and fifty three games 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:38.399 on that grass, if the grass turns into concrete, if 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:42.600 it's too hot, if the media situation doesn't improve. Major 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:45.400 League Baseball could look at this scenario and say, man, 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:48.200 why are we doing this when there's a perfectly usable 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:51.480