Sometimes the best moves are the ones you’re prevented from making?
Yes, the A’s could be the accidental winner in this whole thing–the sad-sack, overlooked, formerly desperate-to-depart A’s, who could and should take over as the kings of Oakland right now, exactly when they finally really seem to want this.
And maybe when Oakland is ready both financially (although we’ll see about this) and emotionally (TBD, also, but who else is there for Oakland?) to re-embrace this team in a way they haven’t been since the late-1980s/early 1990s…
Which was when the Eckersley-Stewart-Canseco-McGwire-Henderson were the compelling athletes and personalities of this region–and the sport.