Larry Ellison may not have been able to purchase the Golden State Warriors from Chris Cohan, but there’s another opportunity for Ellison. In fact, the team he can buy is in a lot better shape than the one he was going after.
The Oakland A’s would be the perfect team for Ellison to buy. For one, he would make an immediate impact for the A’s because it would mean that there is no more Lew Wolff ownership.
Under Wolff’s direction, the franchise went from a perennial playoff team to a team that struggled to stay out of the American League West cellar. Another issue with Wolff was his unwillingness to allow the signing of free agents.
Only one deal for a premiere player has been made recently by the A’s. That was the acquisition of Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies and even then, the A’s were the losers in that trade.
Over the years with Wolff as owner, the A’s have watched Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi, and Barry Zito leave via free agency. The A’s have also seen the like of Dan Haren, Tim Hudson, Joe Blanton, and Mark Mulder traded because Wolff wasn’t going to open his wallet to sign any of them.
So, as the seasons have progressed with the trades that were made, the A’s have been able to develop some solid young pitchers such as, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and coming into his own right now is Vin Mazarro.
The same question remains: What happens in a few years when it comes to re-signing them? Will Wolff continue the same habit of letting players develop but when they become free agents or close to free agency will he trade them or will he let them go because he won’t spend the money?
Wolff is supposedly hoping for a new stadium for the A’s, but it won’t be in Oakland. It will be in San Jose. While Wolff tries to figure out how to get a stadium built in San Jose, A’s fans are subjected to a team that has some solid talent, but won’t be making the playoffs without help.
As in taking on some salaries so the team can be successful, but Wolff won’t do it because he’s too busy wanting to move the team.
This is where Ellison comes in, because he has the money to buy the team. Hopefully, he would do a better job of trying to find a place in Oakland to build the stadium, not have some secret agenda to get the team to San Jose.
Even if the team did move to San Jose, Ellison wouldn’t be afraid to open his wallet to field a competitive team. Meaning not only locking up key young players like Kurt Suzuki, Cliff Pennington, Anderson, Cahill, Gonzalez, and Mazzaro, but also going after the teams needs.
This season, the A’s need a big bat in the lineup. That means going after Jayson Werth, Corey Hart, and Prince Fielder. An owner like Ellison would try to put the best team on the field even if it means spending money.
According to ESPN, the A’s payroll is at just under $51 million. Only Arizona, San Diego, and Pittsburgh have a lower payroll.
Ellison just made an offer to buy the Warriors for nine times that amount! There’s no question that Ellison could afford to buy the A’s. The only questions is would he be willing to?
As an A’s fan, one can only hope. There’s nothing like thinking about the A’s putting a team on the field with a credible lineup because with the A’s pitching right now they’d be running away with the American League West.
It also would go from a different direction as well where Wolff was counting every penny he made and keeping the payroll down the exact opposite can be said about Ellison.
Ellison didn’t get to where he is today as the sixth richest man by counting pennies.
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