rocky_ag said:

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Interesting that a lot of people seem to be up in arms about the A's going to Vegas. I understand A's fans being upset - but it is interesting that so many non-A's fans are upset.

From my perspective, I completely understand the move. As far back as attendance data goes, they have never been in the top half of attendance in the league. Not one time. Since 2006, they have finished in the bottom 5 in attendance in 14/17 seasons. In the 3 seasons they weren't in the bottom 5 in attendance, they were never higher than 23rd. This would be somewhat understandable if they were terrible every year - but they made the playoffs 7 times in this stretch. They won 97 games in back to back seasons in 2018 and 2019 and still finished 27th and 24th in attendance. That is just completely unacceptable. I get the stadium plays a role in that, but when your team is winning 97 games, the stadium should not matter all that much. Any team winning that many games should, at the very least, be top 10-15 in attendance. Not 27th. The team desperately needs a new stadium, the city is not cooperating, and nobody is going to the games. It is a terrible situation that the franchise needs to remove itself from.

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KT 90 said:

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rocky_ag said:

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Interesting that a lot of people seem to be up in arms about the A's going to Vegas. I understand A's fans being upset - but it is interesting that so many non-A's fans are upset.

From my perspective, I completely understand the move. As far back as attendance data goes, they have never been in the top half of attendance in the league. Not one time. Since 2006, they have finished in the bottom 5 in attendance in 14/17 seasons. In the 3 seasons they weren't in the bottom 5 in attendance, they were never higher than 23rd. This would be somewhat understandable if they were terrible every year - but they made the playoffs 7 times in this stretch. They won 97 games in back to back seasons in 2018 and 2019 and still finished 27th and 24th in attendance. That is just completely unacceptable. I get the stadium plays a role in that, but when your team is winning 97 games, the stadium should not matter all that much. Any team winning that many games should, at the very least, be top 10-15 in attendance. Not 27th. The team desperately needs a new stadium, the city is not cooperating, and nobody is going to the games. It is a terrible situation that the franchise needs to remove itself from.

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I'm good with it. It'll put them one time zone closer to us, so games won't be quite as late.

And they've needed a stadium for years and years. That place was a dump back in the late 90's when we went to a game out there. But I also understand cities wanting to stand up for themselves and not get fleeced by ownership on a stadium deal too, but it's been too long. If Oakland wasn't willing to come up with a deal, the A's should have left a long time ago.

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2. Texas Rangers (12-6, 1st in AL West)

What's different: The Rangers centered their offseason around upgrading their pitching staff, and that group currently owns a top-10 ERA (3.49) and a 9.6 K/9, which would crush the single-season franchise record (8.6). Although much money was spent on the starting rotation, Texas' bullpen has been even better. That group is tied for third in ERA (2.71) and second in opponents' batting average (.190).

Challenge ahead: Jacob deGrom has been outstanding since his rocky Opening Day start. But on Monday, he provided yet another reason why you must hold your breath every time he takes the mound. It's imperative for the Rangers to keep their high-priced ace healthy, especially if they want to stay competitive in a division that features the reigning World Series champion Astros, a strong Mariners squad and the improved Angels.

Why it can stick: The Rangers complement that mound success with an offense that features some potent veteran bats in Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe and the currently injured Corey Seager. Plus, rookie third baseman Josh Jung is off to a good start. In short, the Rangers haven't had a team this complete in about a decade.

-- Brian Murphy

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