Is It Oakland's Turn Yet? The A's Really Need a New Stadium (Photo Credit: Ray Chavez/AP)

Those Miami Marlins are making quite the splash so far this offseason. They’ve secured a brand-new venue and have locked up free agents Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle. Things are looking good in Miami right about now.

Things in Oakland, however, remain ever so dim. The Athletics, a team coming off yet another sub-par season, are stuck in the aging, crumbling, and confining O.co Coliseum. The team’s lack of a new venue is making it extremely difficult for Billy Beane & Co. to prepare for the franchise’s future.

MLB and Commissioner Bud Selig have spent the last three years or so analyzing the A’s stadium issues. The A’s still, however, have yet to hear the thoughts of the league or Mr. Selig. Both parties have yet to deal their recommendations for the A’s bid for a new stadium in San Jose, a territory that the San Francisco Giants contend is within the team’s territorial rights.

While the Marlins are finally opening up their wallets and making some serious noise in the free agent market, Oakland remains strapped for cash without much wiggle room financially. Beane, essentially, is being forced to make do with what he’s got, which isn’t much, by the way.  (more…)