http://www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~11080~2002316,00.html


Same 'ol Schott: A's need a new ballpark to compete


PHOENIX -- That was nice of Steve Schott. He gave the Giants some credit. Said SBC Park, as it's now known, is ideal, "the standard without a doubt." The man wasn't entirely negative.

Steve Schott, the Athletics' owner, had the stage. Gave his State of the A's message. Gave another ballpark ultimatum. Gave Peter Magowan and George Steinbrenner a couple of jabs. Gave us the undiplomatic prose that makes great copy if not great impressions.

Steve's a construction guy, as you know. His company, Citation, is one of the largest home builders in California. Others pound the hammers, Schott pounds away at whatever is in his path. "No comment," is not his style. Neither is "no progress."

Which is what he and the A's are making in their never-ending quest for a place to play.

Not in spring training. Not for exhibition games. Phoenix Municipal Stadium, where the A's on Saturday proved their state is decent enough, beating the Anaheim Angels, 26-3, has been renovated.

A new press box. New dugouts. "Better dugouts and clubhouse than we have in Oakland," said Steve Vucinich, the Athletics' longtime equipment man. Maybe, all things considered, a better ballpark, if smaller than Oakland.

More knocks on Network Associates Coliseum. "It's outdated and antiquated." More knocks for Magowan, the Giants owner. "Geeze, I usually understand people pretty clearly." More knocks for Steinbrenner, the Yankees owner. "Give me a break, gag me, I'd be absolutely embarrassed to spend that kind of money and not win a World Series."

Steve Schott likes what he has in the park. "The outfield is better. Five very good starting pitchers." He hates what he has for a park.

"We've got to get a stadium to be competitive," said Schott, a theme now familiar. "We deserve one, we have to have one, and we cannot continue to do what we've done without one. Sooner or later we have to build."

But how? Where? When? The city of Oakland doesn't have the wherewithal or the money. If San Jose has the money, which it probably doesn't at the moment, Schott doesn't have what Magowan claims are the Giants' territorial rights to the South Bay. Or does he? Not that the A's are going to the South Bay.

"It's still an issue," said Schott, who was born down there, who went to school down there at Santa Clara and who lives down there.

"Obviously, Magowan has his feelings strongly about that. He came out just the other day with a statement. I don't know if it was to diffuse the bigger problems he might have. I'm not sure what those all are, but he said that there's territory rights and blah, blah, blah."

Schott said when the A's moved to Oakland in 1968 there was no such thing as territorial rights, but the rights were developed, invented if you will, when the Giants in the early 1990s, attempted to build a stadium in Santa Clara.

"Now in the meantime, they built a stadium closer to Oakland than they were before," Schott reminded. "And now if we talk about another stadium down in that area, they go berserk. It's like my 4-year-old granddaughter says, 'crybaby, crybaby.' They like to cry a lot about it."

Asked if he had spoken directly to Magowan, Schott said, "Yeah we talked about three years ago. For about 10 minutes. And I thought what I heard was X and he said what he told me was Y, and I thought, geez, I usually understand people pretty clearly."

What wasn't clear was Schott's response when questioned if he had considered selling the team, not to a particular individual group in another city, but in general.

"People who think I don't want to win," answered Schott, "are crazy. We lose in the playoffs, and I get depressed for a couple of weeks. Maybe I should be more realistic... when you get that far, you just hope you get a break or two. ... I don't know if I can personally or mentally and physically stay in this job for a much longer period of time."

How is that to be interpreted? What does it mean for the city of Oakland, which hasn't given Schott, or co-owner Ken Hofmann, the least bit of assurance it will do something to retain the A's?

"We feel that (a new stadium) cannot be built with totally private money," said Schott. "The Giants, I'm sure, without a doubt, wish they hadn't done what they've done. We know any little hiccup there, and they have some serious problems."

They've also got a ballpark. The one Steve Schott points out would be a model for the ballpark the A's need, don't have and never may have.

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