Kensington Blues

I wish I were joking when I said that this scene from Step Brothers was the inspiration for Bring Your A’s Game. It’s been a pretty amazing day for the project. Great write-ups at Geekadelphia and Philebrity, great people reaching out, and even more people joining the cause on Facebook!

I’m amazed at the level of interest that’s already been generated. If you know anyone who loves baseball and the City of Brotherly Love, then let them know about Bring Your A’s Game!

Remember how I posted that thing about bringing the Athletics back to Philadelphia this morning? Well, it’s kind of becoming a thing. I just registered a domain for Bring Your A’s Game, a site dedicated to bringing the Athletics back to the City of Brotherly Love.

Where does this rank among my quixotic pursuits? Somewhere between my childhood wish to become President at 35 (still have two years to get that together!) and swimming in the ’96 Olympics, which is to say, it’s pretty far out there. Does this sound completely insane, yet strangely appealing to you? Be in touch!

As an aside, do you think I should start a Kickstarter account to raise the $295M to buy the team outright?

The Athletics are one of baseball’s most nomadic franchises. After originating here in the late nineteenth century and then becoming a modern club in 1901, the A’s have moved twice: first to Kansas City in 1954 and then on to Oakland in 1968, as baseball fans moved west in droves. Now the club is threatening to move away from Oakland. They’re threatening to move to — wait for it — Sacramento, of all places.

Now maybe the people of Sacramento would like a professional baseball team, but so did northern Virginia and what did they get? The Expos. How’s that working out? Have you been to a Nationals game? The crowd they claimed was starving for baseball would appear to appreciate the diet. Even with pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg the Nats struggle to draw a crowd. I have my doubts that Sacramento would be able to support a major league baseball team any better than Oakland does. Lots of love for Tyreke Evans, but even the Kings don’t rule.

Here’s my solution: let’s bring them back to Philadelphia! I’d have to double check, but I’m pretty sure Philadelphia’s the largest television market that doesn’t have two teams. Is it an impossible pipe dream? Probably, but I’m not ready to give up the slim hope that some wildly egotistical entrepreneur couldn’t embrace the romantic notion of returning the A’s to their hometown, the birthplace of professional baseball.

I’ll grant that there are many seemingly insurmountable practical concerns, first and foremost being where they’d play. Could Philadelphia even support two teams? We’re baseball rich right now, but what about when the Phillies inevitably slide? Will baseball fans retreat into their homes? Would people support both teams? How does Chicago manage?

If the A’s are planning to move anyway, why not at least try to bring them back to Philadelphia? Can’t the City of Brotherly love make a pitch to win them back?

I’ve been to Kraftwork a number of times now and I think I like it. I mean, it’s okay. There’s that one sandwich that’s really delicious, but not much else that really stands out on the (recently reconsidered) menu. The draught list is amazing, although it’s like doing surgery with a shotgun; put enough beers on tap and you’re sure to get something right, no?

But you can fix menus and curate beer lists to make it seem like you know what you’re doing, rather than not wanting to get it wrong. What you can’t really change is physical plant. If you want to be clubbed over the head with concept, Kraftwork is the place. Without even mentioning the clunker of a name, you know it’s stylized to a fault, which really distracts from the things that probably brought you there in the first place. Did I mention how NOISY it is? Now, I know I’m getting older, but when you have a DJ spinning dance music during dinner, at a place that doesn’t have a dance floor, you’re going out of your way to seem silly. I mean, at least the Abbaye had sensible brunch DJs.

Thing I hear from fans of craft beer and gastropubs in general though is that the prices are simply too high. I can get a pint of Russian River Blind Pig for less than I can a tulip of the same at Kraftwork. And while the taps are more plentiful than other neighborhood bars, I don’t get the sense that more thought went into selecting what’s on them. Instead of feeling like you’re getting a deal on something that’s been carefully considered, you know you’re overpaying for something you can probably get somewhere else in town.

Will I keep going back? Absolutely. I have faith that Adam Ritter will get it right and, hell, who I am to say anything: the place is usually full to overflowing, which is a good problem to have in this economy. If they can build a tasty, inexpensive menu around their beer can chicken sandwich, then they’re already on the right track. Where else can you get a Mikkeller Breakfast Beer Geek Imperial Stout at 10:30 on a Sunday morning?

Want to give special thanks to my friend Lois and the rest of the crew at Trophy Bike Garage for fixing up my bike. It’s back to riding like an absolute dream after giving me a good scare on 17th street. Now I’m back to commuting to and from work safely, which my family certainly appreciates.