Graney: A’s ignore limbo status on Big League Weekend — PHOTOS
The limbo part doesn’t bother Zack Gelof. Not that much. We’re still talking four years from now. It can be a lifetime of change in baseball.
There is, however, an underlying point of urgency. The A’s ballpark in Las Vegas is scheduled to open in 2028. The team still hasn’t announced where it will play in 2025 after its lease with the Oakland Coliseum expires.
Maybe it’s back in Oakland. Maybe it’s in Sacramento. Maybe it’s in Salt Lake City. Maybe elsewhere.
“Obviously, with the down year we had last season, we’re just focused on this year and having a winning team,” said Gelof, a second baseman. “We’re trying to do the best we can with this group, but it’s hard not to think about the future. … A lot of us love playing for the A’s, so we want to do this together.”
At least we finally received an idea of what the ballpark on the Strip might resemble.
Cracker Jack payroll
Renderings were released this week, and whether you want to say it looks like the Sydney Opera House or an armadillo or some futuristic sphere, one player was happy with what he saw.
Gelof was featured on a massive scoreboard within the structure.
“I thought it was really cool I was hitting .318,” he said.
I get it. The A’s lost 112 games last season. They lost more than 100 the previous year. Most believe they’re headed toward another century mark in defeats when first pitch commences Opening Day. Their payroll is still a box of Cracker Jack missing its prize.
So to be concerned with anything other than what occurs on the field is beyond counterproductive. To worry about where they might be pitching and catching and hitting for home games following this season makes no sense for those on the field and in the dugout.
The A’s — who started a lineup of mostly Triple-A Aviators on Saturday at Las Vegas Ballpark — closed out Big League Weekend with a 4-2 win against the Brewers before a sellout gathering of 9,342.
“This is my second year of (questions about the future),” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “It’s nothing new for me. It’s something that I understand my role in this organization in a leadership position is that I’m going to have to deal with this and answer these questions.
“I don’t know how many more times or different ways I can say this, but we’re focused on playing baseball.”
Rebuilds are brutal, if that’s what the A’s are really trying to accomplish. It’s a constant struggle for everyone involved. A daily challenge to make things better.
But there are some who see light at the end of such a losing tunnel, who are sure when time passes and the A’s finally make Las Vegas home, those who have doubts now will hop aboard a green-and-gold bandwagon.
Mitchell Ferguson is one. He grew up in Northern California and now lives in Las Vegas. He’s hoping when the A’s do arrive, the purse strings are loosened and the payroll is increased and the baseball team takes on a similar path as the Golden Knights. Which is to say do everything possible to win immediately.
‘Our rescue team’
“I’m a little worried about the media market, but the Raiders seem fine and the Knights seem fine and the Aces just sold out their season tickets,” Ferguson said. “The (A’s) are going to be our rescue team like when you go to a shelter and find a rescue dog. You’re going to bring it here and love it and hope.
“It’s going to be our dog, our team, and I’m hoping Las Vegas embraces it. People talk about Dodgers fans and Angels fans here — well, they’re going to be A’s fans after a period of time.”
Every dog might eventually have its day, but the present sure makes it difficult to see when the A’s might discover much good on the field.
For now, they’re in limbo. Not that they seem to be focusing on it much.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
