I was watching a few innings of the A's game on Sunday, May 6, as they were defeating the Orioles, 2-1, sweeping the weekend series.

The advertising backdrop behind home plate was promoting "Harvey the Rabbit Backpack Day" on May 26. When I hopped into my car to listen to the end of the game I realized that the A's had been moved from 95.7 FM due to the Warriors playoff game in New Orleans. It took me some time to find them on 1550 KGMZ on the AM dial.

The Oakland A's are celebrating 50 years of history. Much of the franchise's success has been built around the Big Flies of Reggie Jackson, Canseco and McGwire (aka The Bash Brothers), Jason Giambi, and now Khris "Krusher" Davis, who has more long balls than anyone in baseball over the past two years. That's right, Oakland's own Khris Davis with a K. He is already off to a 13 long-ball start as of Saturday, May 19.

We have two fantastic KDs as stars in Oaktown but only one is in the spotlight and he stands 6' 9".

Please show me billboards around town of the A's KD. What A's TV spots feature him going yard? What newspaper ads show him hitting Walk Offs? A team is its players -- not a rabbit backpack giveaway, a Treehouse, food trucks, free tickets or a proposed gondola.

And while you're at it, how about the nasty pitching staff led by Mr. Sean "No-No" Manaea?Ask the Orioles who stuck out 29 times during two games of the weekend series.

With all due respect to Harvey the Rabbit and his Bunny backpack giveaway, I think A's fans would be happy to see more promotion, marketing and advertising for the actual young stars on an A's team -- a squad under the quality direction of skipper Bob Melvin that is opening eyes and creating hope early in this season.

They just might pull a rabbit out of a hat and surprise the baseball pundits come playoff time.

1.   The Laney and Howard Terminal sites don't work, even if the Laney land could be gotten (doubtful) and the Howard Terminal area detoxified. Each is way too small, lacking the land for anything but a tightly wedged-in stadium. One thing we A's fans love is our tailgating, and neither of these sites has room for the parking lots necessary for grillin'.

 

Each site has serious access issues. Laney would need a new set of freeway exits and the walk from BART is longish. Howard Terminal is worse and the idea that an aerial gondola from the 12th Street BART station is going to solve anything is truly ludicrous. Seriously? How long would it take to move 10,000 fans to or from a game?

Finally, it's actually a stretch to pretend either would be a genuine "downtown" ballpark, anyway. Don't believe me? Go drive around the proposed areas and tell me which part of downtown you are in. There's literally nothing around the Laney site, and it's a bit of a trek through an industrial area to get from Howard Terminal to Jack London Square.

 

2.  While I'm on the subject of a "downtown" park, I doubt whether such a location is really as much of a panacea for attendance as claimed (as opposed to say a good team and good access). The top drawing teams in the majors so far this year are the Dodgers and Angels, and their stadiums are only near freeways. Of course, there is Yankee Stadium, in the romantic South Bronx. Conversely, Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, all possessed of gorgeous downtown stadiums, are in the bottom quintile of attendance. Maybe it's not that simple.

 

3.  Finally, for all its familiarity, the Coliseum is actually a really good site. First there is a literal s___ load of land, all already zoned, graded and environmentally entitled. It's clearly the easiest and cheapest place to build. Taking into account the empty land all the way to Hegenberger Road, there is plenty of room for a stadium, as well as housing or business development and an entertainment district with a Hooters to have a beer before or after the game. And tailgating!

 

The site is centrally located for access by car and has two convenient freeway exits. The rail access is even better with both a dedicated Amtrak station and, more importantly, its own BART station. BART, by the way, will be extending seven miles into downtown San Jose. The Giants can stop the move to San Jose, but they can't stop San Jose fans from coming here.

As far as I'm concerned, this dithering is a litmus test for how serious the A's are about a new stadium in Oakland. They can pick an impossible site and feign disappointment when it doesn't work. Or they can get real.