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The Real Moneyball
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The 10-year lease extension for the Oakland A's is not yet a done deal -- the City Council is stalling on ratifying it -- and MLB has given the team the OK to move if the deal's not done soon. So here's local speculation that the team could move to San Antonio or Montreal. Do you think that's an idle threat to get Oakland to OK the lease? Or should the A's be looking elsewhere? A few things: Ideally, MLB would put heavier pressure on the Giants to allow the A's to move down to San Jose, which makes too much sense and thus isn't happening. (San Jose is MUCH further from AT&T Park than Oakland, but the Giants rely on the Peninsula for their fan base.) Also, San Antonio doesn't even have an adequate temporary ballpark (the Alamodome is not a baseball-adaptable park, despite the exhibitions there, and Wolff Stadium isn't major-league expandable even on a temp basis); Montreal can use the Big O but has to come up with corporate support and a new ballpark, too. And there aren't too many better options -- Portland doesn't have a ballpark, Charlotte's new one can't be expanded for MLB, the Yankees and Mets would fight a New Jersey move, so... where should the A's go if they don't get that lease for the Open Sewer Coliseum done? (San Francisco Chronicle)
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