"A couple of years ago, a new ballpark was of huge interest to me," said Chavez, 31. "Now, I don't see myself being around whenever we get a new stadium. So I don't pay much attention anymore.Now that is the sound of a beaten man. Why do I sense that Chavy will end his career as a Giant if he can't go to his childhood home San Diego? I'm going off on a tangent. Anyway, fan fave A.J. Pierzynski will no doubt endear himself even more to the Coliseum faithful with this gem:
"It's literally a Coliseum, where we play now. As a fan, it makes sense to go to a beautiful park like Pac Bell (in San Francisco), or whatever they call it now."
"The dugouts aren't really dugouts. They're just benches they stuck in front of the fans."Hey A-hole Jerkoff Pierzyzewkyszerbiak, most benches I've seen don't have a restroom at the end. Or bat racks for that matter.
Prodigal son Jason Giambi chimed in with his observations on the House that
"It's unbelievable," said Giambi, who toured the new Yankee Stadium toward the end of last season when he still played for the Yankees. "It's a billion dollars. You can't even fathom that type of money. It has every amenity you could possibly want from a players' perspective and from a fans' perspective."I like the idea of all 25 players running into the clubhouse between at bats on April 13 just to send tweets via their locker-mounted computers.
Each Yankee's locker will be equipped with a computer. There is a large video room just behind the Yankees' dugout, in which the players can watch videos of their at-bats -- or study the opposing pitcher -- just before heading to the batter's box.
29 comments:
I think Pyrzynski was referring to the bullpen benches rather than the actual dugouts.
Chavy is not the sharpest tool in the shed. He's inserted his foot in his mouth quite a few times. Must be suffering from Lew Wolff disease.
Anon 8:29--doesn't take the sharpest tool in the shed to come up with the same assessment that Chavy has---bottom line--its one of the 3 worst stadiums in baseball--will be 1 of 2 once Florida is built---
As I recall Furcal said the same thing before signing with the Dodgers--
Remember Pyrzynski is the guy who kicked a cameraman in the nuts, and was the "Bad Guy" in the Giants clubhouse with "Barry Bonds." How was that possible?
The A's players should use these last 3-4 years (San Jose could actually be up and running by mid-season 2012 [ask DevCon construction] - people keep forgetting that No Vote is Necessary if No Public Money used for Stadium) at the Mausaleum and say to themselves, "This Cave is Our Cave and Nobody Beats Us in Our Cave." And have this chip on their shoulders until they leave that god forsaken place and wind up in San Jose.
Chavy has lost 50 pts off his career batting average by playing at the Mausaleum.
San Jose Cisco Field will be a hitter's park, and possibly equipped with a Reverse Fenway Right Field Fence and little or no foul territory.
Pyrzynski is a real bad guy who was so bad Genius Sabean thought that his badness would balance out Felony Bonds; Sabean made the worst trade in the history of baseball to get him; Bonser, Liriano, Nathan;
Oh wait, actually the worst trade was the Giants trading George Foster to the Cincinnatti Reds for nobody and Foster won the MVP that next year.
Giants continue to define futility and ignorance ever since they came West....Keep it up Geniuses...
I don't know what I like better: An A's Win or Giants Loss/Injury.
ML
Nice Boss Tweed ref. Probably went right over 95% of your Bloggers' heads...But I bet Rabbit Ears Ratto got it...
BTW I remember the Giants players ripping on Candlestick the last few years baseball was there.
Also, ATT is just as cold as Candlestick...San Jose Cisco Field will be so much warmer and comfortable then ATT....keep freezing your asses off GiantFan...
And Mix in some Home Runs this year. The Giants are about to become the first team since expansion to hit fewer than 100 HRs for 2 straight seasons....its a nice little garnish to go along with their No World Series Titles in SF...
Anon 12:12 - Chavez is a career .277 hitter at home and .261 on the road. He's also shown more power in the Coliseum than on the road over his career.
Let's not let the facts get in the way of your hyperbole, though :)
Hey BootlegGuy 6:53A is pretty early to hit the sauce, so put down the bottle and read what was written.
The point is that the F'd up place the A's call home is not friendly to hitters, especially guys like Chavy who has played his whole career there. His career BA could be a significantly higher in a better hitter's park. I think he is bitter that he won't get a chance to hit in Cisco Field - at least as an Athletic.
Chavy is the $11M black hole...
Go sleep it off.
no need to be rude to each other.
I like pitchers parks becuase its easier to build good teams arround pitching and defense and arms are really overvalued at this time. Hitters parks penalize good pitching and expose hitters when they leave their home park.
12:20 - I agree. But one factor that makes the Coliseum a pitchers park - the massive foul territory - is going away no matter where the new park is built.
Giambi's comments don't read as a dump on the Coli so much as his customary awe of the Yankees.
I've toured the clubhouse facilities both in the Col and in ATT Park. Despite the fact that ATT Park is much newer, the Coli amenites look just fine for the players.
The playing field is extremely well kept. There are newer parks that also play as pitchers' parks.
I'm not arguing that the A's -- and the fans -- wouldn't be better served by a new or remodeled ballpark. But as a season ticket holder who has spent a great deal of time both at the coliseum and other ballparks for many years, I really think the criticisms of the coliseum are overblown, and don't help attendance. The A's are likely to be playing in the coliseum for at least a few years more, so I would encourage everyone in the A's organization -- from players and staff to ownership -- to stop badmouthing the stadium and city where they play.
Nobody on the team badmouths the city. But every objective observer sees that the Coliseum is a dump in a horrible location (not Oakland, but that particular spot). You can't even get excited by the quality of the field because that, too, turns to crap in August every year -- right when it matters most. Access to BART is its one redeeming quality.
Well there's at least one player on the team that has publicly dumped on the city. When Giambi signed with the Yankees he appeared on Letterman to deliver the Top Ten Reasons I, Jason Giambi, Want To Play For The New York Yankees.
Number 3 was: "Have you ever been to Oakland?"
Old, old news.
Chavez and Giambi have made many insensitive remarks over the years criticizing the Coliseum, the fans, and the city of Oakland. Also, what exactly is so terrible about the Coliseum? The Coliseum is only the third worst stadium in the Bay Area behind Candlestick and Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. The Coliseum is way more comfortable than say Fennway Park or Wrigley Field. And, what exactly is wrong with the area? Where do you think ballparks are usually located. Should we put the new ballpark in Los Gatos where the really fat cats live? After all, isn't this relocation about getting as close to corporations and rich people as possible?
"what exactly is so terrible about the Coliseum?"
Sigh. Do we have to go through this again? OK:
- Terrible sightlines
- Numbing, cookie cutter, industrial architecture completely devoid of all charm
- Narrow, dirty, dimly lit concourses
- Inadequate concessions
- Inadequate bathrooms
- Mt. Davis
- Terrible field conditions August through October
- Ugly, dangerous, industrial neighborhood with no restaurants, bars, or other signs of life whatsoever
"The Coliseum is way more comfortable than say Fennway Park or Wrigley Field."
Please don't smoke and post. The Coli shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as those gems.
"And, what exactly is wrong with the area?"
If you really can't tell, it probably won't do any good to explain it to you.
"Where do you think ballparks are usually located."
Generally, lively downtown neighborhoods. Failing that, nice suburban neighborhoods. Last choice: Ugly, scary industrial neighborhoods.
"Should we put the new ballpark in Los Gatos where the really fat cats live?"
OK with me.
You do realize when you post something this inane, you're really only hurting your cause, right?
Giambi...when he signed with the Yankees...thus not a member of the team. Please post the comments Chavez made about the city of Oakland.
The Oakland-only crowd is getting so delusional, that they've convinced themselves the Coliseum is a model stadium in a wonderful neighborhood. Wow.
"The Coliseum is only the third worst stadium in the Bay Area behind Candlestick and Memorial Stadium in Berkeley."
And 6-day old roadkill would be slightly less disgusting to eat than raw sewage or medical waste. Well, you've got me convinced, the Coli is an underappreciated gem.
All the Coliseum haters should just stay at home and watch the games if it's really that bad of an experience to watch athletes play baseball.
I see how it's pretty much one of the most dated ballparks in the league, but for someone who goes to almost 50 games a year can tell you that it's not that bad at all. It's just not as fancy as the rest.
Maybe all the fair weather fans on this site should just go to AT&T to watch baseball while the real A's fans will continue to go to the Coliseum to watch a real team play ball. The fans are cool, the food is cool (depending on which concession stand you hit up) and the weather is almost always perfect for baseball. What more do you really need when you're trying to watch a baseball game sitting in plastic seats??
The problem is, the "fair weather fans" ARE going to AT&T park, and will continue to do so. The "real A's fans" at the Coli often number about 6,000 on a weeknight. Those are minor league numbers; in the long run, they will not sustain an MLB team. The A's get by on league welfare at the moment, but that could go away as of the next collective bargaining agreement.
The A's desperately need a new venue. As has been noted previously, a lot of the problems with the Coli have to do with the building, but a lot have to do with the site.
I just don't see $1.5 billion of private money materializing to build a Santana Row in that area, as they are talking about now. It's too big a gamble. (And ironic considering how much the Oakland-only crowd hated the concept when it was contemplated for Fremont, where it might actually be viable).
What more do you need? How about some actual people enjoying the game with you?
The coliseum doesn't work. Nobody shows up for the games! I thought we had gotten past this line of thinking.
Aside from the excellent points made above, you're using the term fair-weather fan incorrectly. It refers to only caring about a team when it wins. It has nothing to do with fan opinion of the stadium. Thank you and have a nice day.
Actually it comes from the fact that there are some fans who would only show up to games during nice weather...hence the term "fair weather" fan.
I think that's the reason why Anon 11:30 was referring to Coliseum haters as fair-weather fans.
Nice weather or nicer ballpark. I guess it sounds like A's fans just don't like going to the Coliseum for whatever reasons rather than what's being played on the field.
"Fair weather" is a metaphor. It does not literally mean nice weather outside, it means when things are going well the fan professes allegiance and when it isn't they don't.
I guess that could be stretched to cover stadiums. For the record I go to games at the Coliseum and have gone to other venues. The other venues are far superior. It is really simple. I will continue to got to games at the Coliseum and continue to hope it is replaced with a modern ballpark.
Bozos - it has nothing to do with weather. Why do people just assume the meanings and reasons behind things and not go find out where they come from before randomly typing out garbage on blogs? It has always been about the state of the team. Nothing more. Have our schools just completely stopped teaching kids how to think critically and learn? Jesus.
That's enough.
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