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A's owner willing to sue over right to move A's to Santa Clara County

By CHRIS HAFT
San Jose Mercury News


PHOENIX - Steve Schott is willing to fight for Santa Clara County, and not just because he's an area native.

The A's owner said Saturday that, as a last resort, he would consider suing Major League Baseball to challenge the Giants' territorial rights to the San Jose area -- which prevent Schott's franchise from building a ballpark in the South Bay. Schott made these comments during his annual State of the A's address to reporters preceding Oakland's 26-3 exhibition victory over Anaheim.

Schott indicated he would weigh litigation only if the Montreal Expos move to Washington, D.C., or Northern Virginia -- thus invading the Baltimore Orioles' space -- and baseball continued to earmark the South Bay as Giants territory.

''Let me just put it this way -- that's an option,'' Schott said, when asked if he's following the Expos' situation and whether he would go to court to establish territorial rights. ''I don't prefer to use that option.''

An Expos move to Washington or Northern Virginia might set a promising precedent for the A's. ''I would think it would help our cause,'' said Schott, reiterating that the franchise cannot survive long term in Network Associates Coliseum.

Schott said that the A's have not identified potential stadium sites in San Jose, although they continue to search there, as well as in Oakland and Fremont. He said they've even ''been asked to look'' at Sacramento as a potential new home.

While Schott spent much of the 50-minute session reiterating his commitment to build a new ballpark for the A's, he conceded that he has contemplated selling his interest in the franchise -- yet hasn't come remotely close to acting on that fleeting thought.

Discussing the challenge of operating a low-revenue, high-efficiency franchise such as the A's and enduring their four consecutive first-round playoff defeats, Schott said, ''I don't know if I can personally, mentally and physically, stay in this job for a much longer period of time. It takes its toll on you, it really does.''

Pressed further on the subject, Schott said that nobody would want to buy the A's until a new ballpark is built. And once that happens, he might want to stay aboard anyway: ''It'd be like a nice transfusion. It would get me energized again.''

Schott sounded quite energetic as he chided Giants owner Peter Magowan over the territorial issue, tweaked high-spending clubs such as the New York Yankees and revealed that Commissioner Bud Selig will inspect the Coliseum later this month.

Reacting to Magowan's remarks Monday about keeping the A's out of Santa Clara County, Schott said, ''Maybe that was to defuse his bigger problems that he might have over there; I'm not sure what those all are. But he said, that's their territory and blah, blah, blah....If we talk about another stadium down in that area, they go berserk. It's like my 4-year-old granddaughter says sometimes: 'Cry, baby! Cry, baby!' They like to cry a lot about it but they get nervous about it.''

Schott pegged Oakland's 2004 payroll at $57 million-$58 million, up from last year's season-ending figure of approximately $54 million. That's still dwarfed by teams such as the Yankees and Boston Red Sox, whose payrolls exceed $100 million. Schott said of the disparity, ''It's like, give me a break! Gag me! I would absolutely be embarrassed to be spending that kind of money and not win. You can put me on the record on that.''

Schott said that Selig's impending tour of the Coliseum will mark his first visit there since Schott and Ken Hofmann bought the A's in November 1995.

''I want him to walk through that stadium and see how much deferred maintenance there is and how bad of shape it's in,'' Schott said. ''It's outdated, it's antiquated and it's obsolete.''

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Super Bowl's Over. It's Time To Play Ball And Bring The Expos Home.