Nightengale's notebook: Former A's stars lament what once was in Oakland

They haven’t watched a minute of the Nevada Senate sessions.

They haven’t followed the drama close enough to know whether the A’s are headed to Las Vegas, staying put in Oakland or headed to a city near you.

What appeared to be a formality just a few weeks ago now has the A’s sweating out their future with the Nevada Senate adjourning until Monday. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, labor unions and politicians spent the weekend scrambling to dig up enough votes to approve a $380 million public funding package for the A’s proposed $1.5 billion ballpark.

Yep, as if the A’s don’t have enough problems just trying to win games on the field.

"All I know is that it sucks for them, it really does," Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson tells USA TODAY Sports. "I’ve always respected Oakland a lot. I still think it’s got one of the coolest fields. A loyal fan base. Great people. I have a lot of gratitude in my heart for those people. They drafted me, signed me and gave me an opportunity to have this career.

"I’ll always love that organization."

Olson is just one of several All-Stars who were born and raised in the Athletics organization, only to be discarded simply to cut payroll. Everywhere you look there are former A’s players littered across baseball’s landscape. You have MVP candidate Marcus Semien in Texas. Prized starter Chris Bassitt and three-time Gold Glove winner third baseman Matt Chapman in Toronto. Gold Glove winner Sean Murphy in Atlanta. All-Star closer Liam Hendriks in Chicago. All-world third-base coach Ron Washington in Atlanta. Manager of the year winner Bob Melvin in San Diego.

And every single one of them is absolutely sick to their stomachs watching what’s going on with this proud franchise. They’re playing in a decaying ballpark, with more beer and hot dog vendors than fans, and are a team threatening to go down in history as the worst to ever play the game.

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Atlanta was the last team to play at the Coliseum before the A’s left town for their 10-day road trip.

The total attendance for the three-game series?

Just 20,101, an average of 6,700 per game.

"It’s (expletive) up, no doubt about it," Washington said. "The toughest thing is for the fans. That team was the (expletive). Now, look at it. They have to rebuild that team and start over.

"They have young pitchers learning on the job. Young players learning on the job. And they don’t have a star. Now, if they had a star, it might make a little bit of a difference. They’d still get their ass whipped, but a star would help win more games for them."

The A’s once did have a plethora of stars, but now they’re all gone, wondering just what would have happened if the A’s had kept them together.

"The best-case scenario is that we could have all been on the same team, but I understand the business of it," Murphy said. "That’s not how it works. We can all speculate what would have happened if we got to stay together, but who knows?"

The A’s earned postseason berths three consecutive years in 2018-20, six times in nine years, and were a role model for every small-market franchise.

Well, owner John Fisher decided to blow up that model, selling off each and every star for parts. They let Melvin walk away for nothing, saving his salary. They were really hoping architect Billy Beane had departed, too, saving $8 million, when the Mets were interested in him.

"You heard they had these plans and none of it really happened," said Semien, born and raised in the Bay Area. "That was the disappointing part for me. As a guy who grew up there, the fans in that area deserve something better for a stadium. The A’s have always gone through waves, three or four years good, three or four years bad. That’s just kind of the nature of how the owner wants to spend, players get expensive.

"When you have a special group like the one we had − 2018, ’19, ’20 and even ’21 when I left − it would have made more sense to try and keep that group together. It would have been a special group to keep playing for, but everybody understood once they didn’t bring Liam Hendriks back, (we were) kind of aware where it was headed."

Now, here they are with a 16-50 record, drawing just 8,675 fans a game, and having no idea where they’ll be in a few years.

"I hope they stay in the Oakland Coliseum as long as they can," Washington said. "Just pay whatever you got to pay to stay there. That field is one of the best fields in baseball. It’s impeccable. If you didn’t know where you were going to after you left that damn field, you think you’re in a grand place."

If you’re a gambler, and know that whatever happens in Vegas never stays in Vegas, you can place a friendly wager the A’s will eventually be moving to Las Vegas, where they expect to play in 2028. When you have a young governor pushing for the A’s, even calling a special session that costs $250,000 a day just to get it done, he should have enough clout to pull the necessary strings to see it through.

It will be too late for the owners to vote on their relocation at their meetings this week in New York, but once everything is on the table, they’re expected to unanimously approve the deal.

Still, no matter when it happens, or if it ever does happen, those ex-A’s vow never to forget their roots, forever grateful to the organization.

"I don’t think anyone has had any negative experiences over there," Murphy said. "The people are great. The city is great. I have nothing but love for the guys over there. ...

"It’s just so unfortunate."

If the A’s depart, Oakland should emerge on the short list of expansion sites. MLB plans to award a team to Nashville, Tennessee, but there is no clear-cut second choice. Why not Oakland?

For now, A’s fans are staging a "Reverse Boycott" Night on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, where fans plan to show Major League Baseball that they are not the problem.

They just need a reason to come to the games.

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Around the basepaths

≻ The Chicago White Sox may have plenty of trade chips at the deadline if they’re out of the race, including shortstop Tim Anderson, starter Lucas Giolito and relievers Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly, but plan to retain closer Liam Hendriks. He’s not only a fan favorite, but a personal favorite of owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

≻ The trade market is eerily quiet, and scary, GMs say, fearing there could be precious little activity with few teams willing to sell.

"I’m concerned," one GM said. "Look around, who’s going to sell? And the teams that do, like the A’s and Royals, who do you really want?"

≻ The St. Louis Cardinals say they still are undecided whether they will buy or sell at the deadline, but if they sell, they’ve got some rather intriguing pieces.

Starter Jack Flaherty has quietly produced a 2.06 ERA in his last six starts, and reliever Jordan Hicks had given up just four hits and no runs in his last 12⅓ innings before giving up two runs Friday.

≻ The New York Mets may be struggling with the largest payroll in baseball history, but there are no plans to fire manager Buck Showalter or GM Billy Eppler. Their jobs are not in jeopardy, at least not during the season.

They instead are expected to hire former Milwaukee Brewers GM David Stearns, whose contract expires after this season, for a high-ranking position in the front office.

≻ There are a whole lot of teams kicking themselves now for not giving Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy a call the past two years when he was available.

Bochy was quite interested in the White Sox, but they declined to even interview him before hiring rookie manager Pedro Grifol.

If the season ended today, Bochy would be the unanimous AL Manager of the Year winner.

≻ It was wise for closer Liam Hendriks to inform the White Sox that he was unavailable to pitch in their doubleheader Thursday with the hazardous conditions of the air quality from the Canadian wildfires.

"I have to look out for my health with the low immune system," said Hendriks, who just returned to baseball after recovering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Said Dr. Lawrence Rocks: "The dangers of the wildfires lie in particle morphology. The lungs cannot cleanse themselves of particles of that particular shape. They’re very small. They’re less than 0.2 micrometers and penetrate into lungs, thus easier to enter bloodstream."

≻ White Sox bench coach Charlie Montoyo, who plays the bongos in his free time to relax, just released a two-song album with agent Burton Rocks called, "Montoyo Rocks."

They played "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and "El Ritmo de Beisbol."

"I’ve loved salsa music ever since I was a kid," Montoyo said in a telephone interview from New York. "And honestly, this came out pretty good. Really good. I love it. It’s great."

≻ Washington Nationals ownership can’t blame GM Mike Rizzo and their front office for the disastrous Stephen Strasburg seven-year, $245 million contract extension.

They recommended a two-year extension, no more than three, once Strasburg opted out of his contract.

Ted Lerner, owner at the time, refused to listen, blinded by his brilliant postseason.

It was a foolish contract at the time, gambling that Strasburg’s injury history would suddenly vanish.

They should have thanked Strasburg for opting out of the remaining four years and $100 million left on his deal.

The Nats instead turned it into the single-worst contract in baseball. They are saddled with $140 million still remaining on his contract, with Strasburg having thrown just 31 ⅓ innings since the deal, and little hope now that he ever throws another pitch.

≻ The Blue Jays certainly are pleased they resisted the temptation to give All-Star pitcher Alek Manoah a contract extension after his sensational season last year, finishing third in the Cy Young balloting with his 16-7 record and 2.24 ERA.

He has been a mess this year, yielding a 6.36 ERA, giving up 1.90 walks and hits per inning, worst among all starters, before being sent to their Florida Complex League for an indefinite stay.

≻ Yes, the Cincinnati Reds are a young and exhilarating team that could make life rather interesting in the weak NL Central race, sitting just four games out of first place.

But, no, even with Elly De La Cruz proving to be the best $65,000 the Reds ever spent, they are not going to be buyers at the trade deadline, knowing that realistically they may still be two years away from being a genuine contender.

≻ It was a nice present from Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton to Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick when he increased his workload and responsibilities while president Dave Montgomery was battling cancer.

He gave Gillick 1% share of the team without Gillick even requesting a raise.

It’s now worth about $30 million.

≻ "The League," a celebration of the Negro Leagues in the first half of the 20th century, debuts at the Tribeca Festival on Monday.

≻ Prayers to Los Angeles Dodgers great Davey Lopes and longtime pitching coach Mark Wiley, who are undergoing serious health problems.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-A's stars Matt Olson, Marcus Semien lament what once was in Oakland