Goodbye, East Bay?

It's sounding more and more like the A's have a better chance at a future in San Jose than they do in Oakland. A's owner Lew Wolff sounds like he's not only disinterested in his home city, he's done with it altogether. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and City Council President Jane Brunner sound desperate in their efforts to woo the team back from the brink of a move.

"We have fully exhausted our time and resources over the years with the city of Oakland, dating back to previous A's ownership," (Wolff) said in the statement. "We recognize conditions have not changed. Letters to Major League Baseball offer nothing new or of any real substance. Outside stimulation to have us continue to play in an aging and shared facility may generate press and 'sound-bite' opportunities, but do not provide any tangible alterations in the circumstances we face."

Dellums and Brunner asked Selig to name a point person to work with Oakland on finding a site for a new stadium in Oakland. The letter also said city officials are putting together a team of civic leaders to advise the city on possible locations for a new ballpark, and are "prepared to do everything reasonably possible" to keep the A's in Oakland.

One of Wolff's major issues with Oakland is the erosion of the downtown corporate life of the city. Let's face it, if boxes and big-money seats go unpaid for, there's not way Wolff wants to lose money he could be making elsewhere. Things sound dire for the "Oakland" A's.