A's vocally 'concerned' about rigorous travel demands of 2016 schedule
Traveling can be one of the more difficult aspects of being an MLB team these days - especially for clubs based out of the West Coast.
While the official schedule for the 2016 season won't be made public until September 8, the Oakland Athletics have already seen it and are apparently rather concerned about the challenges their travel itinerary will present.
As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported, the A's in 2016 will have a rather 'brutal' geographic journey as the season unfolds.
Slusser notes that A's team president Michael Crowley attempted to influence some changes at recent owners' meetings that would alleviate the travel demands...but his efforts went unrewarded.
As she quoted Crowley, he made no bones about the team's frustrations: "We continue to be concerned about the competitive imbalance this schedule presents."
Here's another point of contention that the A's have complained about, as per Slusser:
Among the biggest issues: for the second year in a row, the A’s do not play back-to-back series at Houston and Texas, meaning Oakland will make 12 trips to that state in 2015 and 2016. When the Astros joined the AL West in 2013, one of the suggested “benefits” was that teams would travel to play both in succession.
Slusser also mentioned that the A's are a bit 'miffed' about something involving them and the crosstown San Francisco Giants that could be construed as a 'preferential treatment' situation:
The A’s also are a little miffed because they believe their needs are seldom considered, but when the Giants complained that they had to travel back from the East Coast after a night game and play the next day, the Players Association immediately responded that the issue should be addressed in the next CBA.
It's very unlikely any changes will be made, of course, since the schedules are already set to be announced and are contingent upon one another. For all intents and purposes, it appears as if the A's will have to just 'deal with it' once 2016 rolls around...but that hasn't kept them from vocalizing their frustration anyway.
