Wait...The A's Have Money?

🔥 FIRST PITCH — The A’s Have Money?

So let me get this straight.

The A’s suddenly have money.

This week’s headline:
Tyler Soderstrom, with just two full seasons in the majors, signed a seven-year, $86 million extension — the largest contract in A’s franchise history.

Seriously?

For years, we were told the Athletics couldn’t spend.
That payroll had to stay low.
That ownership’s hands were tied.

Turns out, that was never true.

John Fisher is worth roughly $3.8 billion.
Gap heir.
Real estate money.
Plenty of room to operate.

The money was always there.
It just wasn’t used.

And now — suddenly — it is.
Right on schedule.
Just in time for the planned move to Las Vegas.

Funny timing.

Soderstrom earned the deal. He’s a legitimate building block.
But this contract isn’t really about belief.

It’s about optics.

Oakland was never treated like a long-term home. It was an asset — one Fisher minimized, neglected, and eventually walked away from, then blamed fans for not showing up.

Now comes the reset.
New city in 2028.
New stadium in 2028.
New storyline.

And here’s the part Fisher can’t ignore:

The Golden Knights are Stanley Cup champions and fully entrenched.
The Raiders are the Raiders — even with underwhelming results.

Las Vegas already has teams people care about.

So the A’s don’t just need a stadium.
They need legitimacy.

That means spending.
That means building something before the move — not after.

Soderstrom might help stabilize the roster.
He might even become a face of the transition.

But the takeaway is simple:

John Fisher always had the money.
He just decided when — and where — it was worth spending.

And Oakland never made that list.

🟢 THE GOOD — Pirates & White Sox (Yes, Really)

OK, we’ve taken plenty of shots at the Pirates and the White Sox — and deservedly so. Chronic ineptitude earns chronic ridicule. But this week? Credit where it’s due.

Let’s start in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates didn’t just dabble — they committed. Signing All-Star Ryan O’Hearn and trading for All-Star Brandon Lowe finally moved the needle. Lowe’s already talking like the Buccos are ready to contend. Easy there, Brandon — yes, Paul Skenes is arguably the best pitcher on the planet, but let’s walk before we sprint.

And then there’s Chicago — yes, that Chicago.

Two weeks after winning the draft lottery and locking in the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, the White Sox caught a legitimate Christmas miracle: signing Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami.

For a team that had one of the worst seasons in MLB history in 2024, this feels like momentum. Murakami brings star power, buzz, and something the South Side hasn’t had in a while — a reason to pay attention.

Nobody’s planning a victory parade.
But for two franchises we love to roast?

Good job.
Keep it going.

🔴 THE BAD — What Happened to the Cards?

For decades, the St. Louis Cardinals were baseball’s gold standard.

Class. Continuity. Winning.
Eleven World Series titles.
A fan base that showed up no matter what.

That version of the Cardinals is gone.

They haven’t won a playoff series since 2014.
Attendance has cratered.
And now they are a recipient of MLB's revenue-sharing system for the first time.

Let that sink in.

Watch video

This is a franchise that once defined stability — now classified alongside teams that need financial help just to stay afloat.

The reasons aren’t complicated:
Losing seasons.
Bungled player moves.
A TV broadcast deal on life support.

The result is a seismic shift. The Cardinals are no longer contributors to the system — they’re beneficiaries. Eligible for draft lottery perks. Treated like a rebuilding club.

That’s not just a financial change.
It’s an identity collapse.

St. Louis didn’t fall off because of bad luck.
They fell off because the machine stopped working — and no one seemed willing to admit it.

This used to be the franchise everyone pointed to and said, “Do it like them.”

Now the question is simpler — and far more uncomfortable.

Revenue sharing was designed for struggling markets and rebuilding clubs — not organizations that once defined stability. Yet here are the Cardinals, benefiting from the same safety net they spent years helping fund.

Some will frame this as flexibility.
A chance to reset.
A smart recalibration.

But for a franchise built on pride and consistency, this feels less like strategy and more like erosion.

The Cardinals didn’t just fall behind on the field.
They lost their identity.

And that’s the bad part.

🎬 ONE FOR THE ROAD — Here’s To MiLB!’S SO MiLB

Finally—let’s face it, promoting minor league baseball ain’t easy. Giving fans a show can be a challenge. Sometimes, the stranger the better. A few gems from the 2025 season:

🎭 Renegades: The Musical! (Hudson Valley Renegades) — Baseball meets Broadway—an original musical staged in 90-second bursts between innings. First of its kind, the show was written specifically for the team.

Watch video

🧻 Toilet Paper Night (Charleston RiverDogs) — The RiverDogs gave out 2,000 rolls of toilet paper after the game, inviting fans to redecorate the ballpark in white.

Watch Video

🎤 Awful Night (Altoona Curve) — A celebration of bad ideas done perfectly wrong: off-key “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” awkward contests, and glorious chaos all night long.

Watch Video

All the best in 2026!

Box

0ord mid-week baseball snack? Click here.”