The Oakland A’s stadium situation has taken yet another interesting turn.
Over the last two weeks I have outlined the A’s desire to move from Oakland to San Jose.
I have also written how Governor Jerry Brown plans to eliminate redevelopment funds and the impact it will have on both the Oakland and San Jose sites.
It now appears that General Manager Billy Beane’s future with the team will hinge on Major League Baseball’s decision of whether or not to allow the A’s to move south to San Jose.
Bob Klapisch of FoxSports writes an interesting article in which he states that those close to Beane have indicated that this will be his last go-around with the team if they are not allowed to move to San Jose.
If Bud Selig and his committee decide to uphold the Giants territorial rights to Santa Clara county, Beane will hand over his duties as General Manager to current assistant-GM David Forst.
Klaoisch writes:
“In fact, Beane’s friends say this is his last go-round — if the A’s aren’t allowed to move to San Jose, he’ll officially pass the baton to assistant David Forst and look for a Plan B for the rest of his professional life. It’s anyone’s guess what would be next for Beane; remember, this is the same executive who turned down what should’ve been a dream job, controlling the Red Sox.”
Regarding the almost two year wait for an answer from Major League Baseball about their request to move to San Jose, Beane told Klapisch “It’s a complicated decision, so I understand the reason for the deliberation. We need a new venue.”
Since taking over as general manager of the Oakland A’s, Billy Beane has been handcuffed with financial decisions regarding players and the construction of the A’s roster.
A new stadium would remove some of the financial restrictions and allow him the ability to perform his job with the same capability as the other top general managers in the game.
Thinking back to the string of success in the early 2000’s, it’s hard to argue with Billy’s prowess as a general manager.
Sure he has had his mishaps along the way. Trading Andre Ethier for Milton Bradley, and Carlos Gonzalez for Matt Holliday instantly come to mind.
But he has also constructed a team with a young core built around solid pitching and defense which will compete for the postseason for years to come. He has also done it while having to reconstruct his roster seemingly annually.
“We’re all excited by the foundation we’ve laid with the young pitching,” Beane said. “It was a lot of fun being active this winter; it’s the part of the job that re-energizes you, the ability to be aggressive and make baseball moves that have an impact.”
Unfortunately for the A’s, without a new stadium, this team as currently constructed will also need to be broken up in a few short years for another rebuild to remain financially stable.
Without a new stadium, the A’s will not be able to afford the increase in payroll as their core of young stars reaches their late arbitration and free agent years.
It would appear though that his pending decision to step down as the general manager if the A’s are denied in their quest to move to San Jose is an admission that the A’s can not compete long term due to their state of financial limbo.
Major League Baseball’s delayed decision has already potentially cost the A’s the ability to build a new stadium thanks to Governor Brown’s elimination of the redevelopment funds and agencies statewide.
Both San Jose and Oakland are racing to complete preliminary steps to secure the bonds necessary to keep the project alive past the July 1 deadline for implementing the new state budget.
It would appear that MLB’s delay may also ultimately cost the A’s the general manager that is responsible for building the teams we have enjoyed watching compete over the last decade.
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