Maybe the A's and the City of Oakland can both come to their senses and agree to a plan to redevelop the original Coliseum/Arena site, in a way that benefits both parties.

Are the A's competent at this? Like at all? Having a hard time getting things done in California is one thing, even if the A's failure there still seemed pretty dubious. But floundering around all over Nevada sure makes it seem like they're not capable of getting literally anything done. All this time, I assumed that they were failing on purpose to get to Vegas like the Raiders did, but now it seems like they were just failing, full stop.

The new plans are they are going to demolish the Tropicana. I thought that was what the Rays wanted?

A's pull out of binding agreement, now trying for the Trop

This still requires them to get $395 million from the State of Nevada, with the legislative session for this year AND NEXT set to end June 2nd, without any legislation even having been drafted.

I had just assumed everything was already agreed to behind the scenes. Silly me. What a mess.

Fisher & Kaval couldn't run a whorehouse on an army base.

Maybe the A's and the City of Oakland can both come to their senses and agree to a plan to redevelop the original Coliseum/Arena site, in a way that benefits both parties.

This has been the obvious plan for YEARS, so there's no way in hell it happens.

The Oakland A’s and Bally’s Corp. have an agreement in place for the team to build a $1.5 billion stadium on a portion of the Tropicana Las Vegas site, a move expected to reduce the amount of public financing sought for the project to $395 million.

Sources with knowledge of the negotiations told The Nevada Independent on Tuesday that under the scope of the deal, Bally’s plans to demolish the Tropicana and allow the A’s to construct a 35,000-seat retractable roof stadium on 9 acres of the 34-acre site on Tropicana Avenue near the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip.

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-pivot-to-new-site-for-vegas-baseball-stadium-lowering-public-funding-request

The Oakland A’s and Bally’s Corp. have an agreement in place for the team to build a $1.5 billion stadium on a portion of the Tropicana Las Vegas site, a move expected to reduce the amount of public financing sought for the project to $395 million.

I don't see how this fixes their problem with the legislature.

Having failed to play one city off another, the A's have been reduced to playing one vacant lot off against another vacant lot.

Is the Tropicana not an historic landmark of some sort? Is there some better symbol of the last 70 years of America than a cheesy casino.

The Trop site will make Shea/Citi seem far away from an airport.

Is the Tropicana not an historic landmark of some sort? Is there some better symbol of the last 70 years of America than a cheesy casino.

Yes, it is. And in proper Vegas fashion, what you do with a pile like that is blow it the #### up.

I don't see how this fixes their problem with the legislature.

Asking for less money theoretically should be an easier lift, but perhaps not if it reduces the opportunity for graft.

The first time i went to vegas I got out of the airport and into a cab. I was staying at the Excalibur which is next to the Trop. Told the cabbie to take me to the Excalibur. He asked me if I wanted to take the highway or some other street. I told him whatever was easiest.


He took the highway and it cost me something like 20 bucks. When it was time to go back home I got into a cab told the guy take me to the airport and i spent like 1 minute in the can before i was at the curb of the airport.

The first time i went to vegas I got out of the airport and into a cab. I was staying at the Excalibur which is next to the Trop.

The Excalibur is haunted. Just saying.

Our long national nightmare is over.

Lombardo is on board:

As for political leaders in Nevada, new Republican Governor Joe Lombardo has surprisingly backed the plan despite previously being against public financing and tax hikes.

“Welcoming the A’s to Las Vegas would be great news for Southern Nevada as well as our entire state. The prospect of bringing new jobs, more economic development and a historic MLB franchise to Las Vegas is exciting on many levels,” Governor Joe Lombardo said in a statement.

That certainly clears one major hurdle.

Back when I was first doing job interviews in Wellington before moving, I had an interview coming up in 15 minutes or whatever. Stopped into a store to buy a coke, asked how to get to Willeston. Guy said turn right out the door, just keep walking, it's a couple of blocks. Awesome, lucky me. Walked a couple blocks found myself at the intersection with Willis St. ####, thinks I but an easy mistake for the guy to make after all, thought I said Willis. I jump in a cab, say I need to get to 1 Willeston St. quickly. "You're here mate." "No WilleSTON not Willis." "It's that building there mate." "Huh?"

Turns out Willeston is a street about 100 feet long that juts off the intersection of Lambton Quay and Willis St. A normal person would have have kept calling the street Lambton Quay but no .... so the corner of Willis St and Willeston which happens to be directly across Willis St from the corner of Lambton Quay and Willis. Not confusing at all.

At least the cabbie didn't charge me.

If it makes your feel better, Walt, from Google maps it appears that building is now 1 Willis street.

i spent like 1 minute in the can before i was at the curb of the airport.

Then clearly you didn't eat from the breakfast buffet.

Since the linked story is about the A's, can I use this as a place to ask whether Brent Rooker is actually John Dowd (who may or may not have emerged fully formed from a game of MVP baseball that had been running for 15 years)? Or, more plausibly, ask A's fans how this has happened for even 128 PAs?

Since the linked story is about the A's, can I use this as a place to ask whether Brent Rooker is actually John Dowd (who may or may not have emerged fully formed from a game of MVP baseball that had been running for 15 years)? Or, more plausibly, ask A's fans how this has happened for even 128 PAs?

He's OPSing 1.084 now - and he OPSed 1.044 in half a season at AAA last year.
Before that, .931 full season at AAA in 2021.
Didn't play in 2020, but in 2019 he OPSed .933 in half a season at AAA.
2018, full season at AA, "just" .798 with about 60 XBH in 130 games.
So it seems like he always could hit; I assumed his glove must be deeply suspect or something.

He's still not my pick for AL ROY - that'd be Jordan "3 HR at Yankee Stadium" Diaz - but I don't mind if those guys finish top 2, in whichever order.

So it seems like he always could hit; I assumed his glove must be deeply suspect or something.

Sure, but not like this. He seems to have always had projectible power but was starting to resemble a AAAA player and had been passed around by several organizations in the last few years. His projections at the beginning of the season didn't suggest he was going to be a quality hitter for a corner OFer. Even now, with an extra 130 PAs of insane production he only projects forward as having a ~117-119 wRC+.

Meanwhile his statcast numbers most back up what he's doing in terms of on-contact production and his BB%/K% are arguably as good as any he's had since rookie ball 6 years ago.

He's not likely to hit HRs on 30% of his flyballs and maybe the .337 BABIP is unsustainable (though it's hardly outrageous). But this seems like a real breakout into a very good, if not elite, MLB hitter from a guy who was freely available in the offseason. I think there is more to it than he hit well in the minors and is now 28. Maybe not though, that's why I'm asking.

He's still not my pick for AL ROY - that'd be Jordan "3 HR at Yankee Stadium" Diaz - but I don't mind if those guys finish top 2, in whichever order.

Wasn't even aware of Diaz, looks kinda like Johnathan Schoop statistically. His 2023 success looks...less sustainable.

the glove is bad, he's been in good hitting environments, power/patience don't translate as well as making contact
has always been considered a plus clubhouse guy, afaict, though. easy to root for.

Rooker's key stats look a fair bit like Cub Patrick Wisdom's but Wisdom Ks about 35% of the time while Rooker this year is down at 23% this year. Some career stats (neither has much of a career)

Rooker 235/334/462, 122 OPS+, 290 BABIP, 5% HR, 29% K, 9% BB, 91 EV, 50% HH, 29% LD
Wisdom 219/305/475, 112 OPS+, 290 BABIP, 6% HR, 37% K, 10% BB, 91 EV, 50% HH, 23% LD

Rooker looks slightly better overall (K and LD rates) but (a) Wisdom is over 1100 ML PAs now and (b) Wisdom is a below-average 3B rather than a below-average OF/DH. Rooker off to a great start this year but it's just 128 PA, maybe pitchers just haven't found his weak spot yet. I suspect we could find similar 128 PA stretches for Wisdom -- OK< maybe not any where he hit over 300 or didn't K 30% of the time but Wisdom does still have the higher HR rate this year. If the K rate difference is for real, even at 37 vs 29, that's a huge advantage for Rooker.

He's still not my pick for AL ROY

Rooker isn't eligible for the RoY. Too many PAs in 2021.

has always been considered a plus clubhouse guy, afaict, though. easy to root for.

He gave a very thoughtful interview in Fangraphs a couple years ago.

Rooker looks slightly better overall (K and LD rates) but (a) Wisdom is over 1100 ML PAs now and (b) Wisdom is a below-average 3B rather than a below-average OF/DH. Rooker off to a great start this year but it's just 128 PA, maybe pitchers just haven't found his weak spot yet. I suspect we could find similar 128 PA stretches for Wisdom -- OK< maybe not any where he hit over 300 or didn't K 30% of the time but Wisdom does still have the higher HR rate this year. If the K rate difference is for real, even at 37 vs 29, that's a huge advantage for Rooker.

Interesting comp and I agree that the defense certainly gives Wisdom an edge that requires Rooker to rake to match up in terms of total value.

One thing I noticed is that they have the same CSW% this year (29.3 to 29.6, although bigger for their career). A quick look at the leaderboards suggests that K% and CSW% are not super closely correlated (at least not so far this season and I'm too lazy to do 2022). Guys like Wisdom and Jung have CSW% rates in the 40s and are top 10 in K%. Matt Olson is 62nd in K% but 6th in K%! So yeah, that tells us nothing.

Anyway, if Mason Miller doesn't need TJ surgery I now have a second reason to watch the A's. Which is kind of a lot of reasons all things considered.

There's a "fair territory" split at b-r which is almost the on-contact split. (Yes, there's the super-useful foul territory split too. Would it really be that hard to add those together to give us something kinda useful?) For 2023

Wisdom 403/1030
Rooker 446/944

So obviously both destroying the ball when they hit it. Right now Rooker is hitting it a lot more often. (Both with 2 foul outs by the way.)

Judge hits the ball as hard as anybody, quite possibly as hard as anybody ever. Last year his fair split was 446/997, pretty spot on for these too.

Careers
Wisdom 387/842
Rooker 358/710
Judge 431/896 (likely even better than Ruth)
Trout 418/821
Stanton 401/823
Gallo 370/880
Ohtani 388/774
Schwarber 352/754
Thome 406/824
Mac 392/828

So all you need to turn Wisdom or Gallo into a HoFer is to cut down on the Ks (without hurting those splits) and improve the endurance. Or turn them into Judge when they do make contact (and endurance).

This year Rooker is off the non-Judgian charts but those career numbers are closer to Schwarber. I'm sure the A's would be thrilled with a few years of Schwarber. The main difference between Ohtani and Wisdom is 26% vs 36% Ks but Wisdom seems to have a bit moe raw power.

I'm just kinda fascinated that a guy like Wisdom, buried in the minors, can be one of the most powerful hitters in MLB. When he actually hits the ball, he's essentially Mark McGwire. We know the price for that (for him) is a huge strikeout rate and that all those Ks and indifferent 3B defense can drag his value all the way back to average so it's not like we can consider it a huge blunder on the part of front offices.

Rooker isn't eligible for the RoY. Too many PAs in 2021.

Cross him off, then.

Rooker not a rook

The prospect of bringing (...) a historic MLB franchise to Las Vegas

Historically bad, maybe...they're projected to finish 37-125. ('62 Mets, beware!)