Billy Beane: Oakland A’s are a ‘micro-market’ team

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The Oakland A’s still have no financing or government approval for a new stadium, and they’re the low-revenue team in baseball’s smallest two-team market.

‘We’re not a small market,’ A’s General Manager Billy Beane said. ‘We’re a micro-market. That’s the new term.

‘We have just coined a new term.’

The A’s finished 24-1/2 games behind the Angels last season. The A’s and Angels have combined to win seven consecutive American League West championships, with the Angels winning in four of the last five years.

‘The Angels are still the team to beat,’ Beane said. ‘They’re the model franchise in our division. They have been for a few years. We’re a long way from the Angels.

‘What we’re trying to do is build something for the long term. In the interim, we’re trying to speed up the process with acquisitions like [Matt] Holliday and some other things you might have read about, some of which might be true.’

-- Bill Shaikin