A’s deserve better than ownership’s penurious disgrace

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The disgrace of A’s ownership really hit home at the Giants’ tribute to Lon Simmons at AT&T Park on Thursday night. The A’s were well represented, as a nod to Simmons’ memorable stint with the club, and they enjoyed sharing the laughter as so many wonderful stories were told.

Heaven knows they’re trying to forget the present day.

Wally Haas was there, a reminder of days when management truly cared. The sight of Ray Fosse recalled the glory seasons of the mid-1970s. Legendary traveling secretary Mickey Morabito was Billy Martin’s trusted associate in the “Billy Ball” years, and clubhouse manager Steve Vucinich has seen it all in the A’s employ, going back to the inaugural Oakland season of 1968.

It had been a brutal day for the organization. The Scott Kazmir trade signaled surrender, a farewell to the season a week before the trading deadline, and Josh Donaldson homered during Toronto’s win. There was heartfelt sympathy for manager Bob Melvin, who tries to put a positive spin on his diminishing returns, and the players, who live in eternal anxiety over the revolving-door madness.

As for the fans, one wonders why anyone would bother to give Lew Wolff or John Fisher one cent of a paycheck. But this is a hard-core group, small in number but fierce in loyalty to the green and gold. The Warriors’ fan base has nothing on these people, few of whom would be terribly upset if the A’s played at the Coliseum forever. Even among the loyalists, though, faith is on the wane.

It’s not so much that Billy Beane made a terrible deal. He was going to lose Kazmir anyway, and he might have landed two excellent prospects. Some of his trades work, some don’t. The larger point? The whole operation is tired and depressing. Wolff and Fisher are extremely wealthy men who make millions in baseball’s revenue sharing, yet refuse to take their rightful place among the big-spending teams, and there’s simply no excuse for that.

Can you imagine running a business that everyone wants you to sell — and then stubbornly refusing? As if you’re right and the exasperated public is wrong? The message couldn’t be more clear: Sell the damn team. Get out. Something has to change in Oakland, and it won’t without an entirely new outlook.

Since that obviously won’t happen (but keep pushing, Joe Lacob), let’s see how the A’s react if the Raiders move to Los Angeles. With clearance to build an ultra-cool ballpark on the existing lot, the A’s could make amends and create a bright, brilliant future in Oakland.

The Padres made a big deal out of Hector Sanchez’s little bat flip on Tuesday. The Padres made a big deal out of Hector Sanchez’s little bat flip on Tuesday. Photo: Lenny Ignelzi, Associated Press Photo: Lenny Ignelzi, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close A’s deserve better than ownership’s penurious disgrace 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Do Wolff and Fisher deserve that chance? Probably. I just have to wonder if new Commissioner Rob Manfred would prefer to see it happen under responsible ownership. He has to be as repulsed by the A’s business strategy as anyone else.

Here come the cavemen

The Idiot Patrol ran rampant through the NL West this week. Hector Sanchez took about a half-second to enjoy his grand slam, and the absurdly uptight Padres got all steamed (if that was an arrogant bat flip, a paper airplane will get you to Chicago). Then Jose Fernandez threw an 0-2 pitch that accidentally beaned a good friend, Arizona’s David Peralta, and although the Miami pitcher grabbed his head and approached the plate to see if Peralta was OK (he was, apparently), that didn’t quite measure up to the Diamondbacks’ code. Dominic Leone took the mound and hit Christian Yelich in the back, just to let everyone know that the manly men were feeling especially rugged. Plenty of last-place thinking going around ... Seasoned Giants fans speak reverentially of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, the Dodgers’ devastating 1-2 rotation punch in the 1960s. That era has been resurrected, in the form of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. In a combined 56 innings this month, they have allowed one run — and it’s even more impressive to watch them in person. If the Dodgers pick up another starter — their Johnny Podres or Claude Osteen, for those who remember — the division race is over ... Nice to see Seth Curry hook up with Sacramento, but as comical as the Kings may be, there’s a lot of backcourt competition: Marco Belinelli and Ben McLemore at shooting guard, with Rajon Rondo, Darren Collison, Andre Miller and David Stockton at the point ... Terrific (and somewhat scary) stretch of schedule coming up for the Giants: 26 games from Aug. 6 to Sept. 2, all of them against the Cubs, Astros, Nationals, Cardinals, Pirates and Dodgers ... What a tremendous AL West race in store: Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and the Angels’ excellent pitching against the Astros with Kazmir, Carlos Correa and so many other superb young players. Do the A’s owe L.A. a valuable piece, just to even things out?

Baseball isn’t an obsession with weights or any kind of newfound bulk that destroys precious flexibility. It isn’t a steroid injection, a testosterone boost or a bunch of pills. The essence of the game is Pedro Martinez, about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. When he signed with the Dodgers at 16 out of the Dominican Republic, he weighed 135 pounds at best. Years later, interviewing him up close in locker rooms, I marveled at the fact that his pitching arm was about as imposing as a noodle. And yet, he was as fierce and intimidating as any pitcher who ever lived. From 1997 to 2003, in the heart of the steroid era, his ERA was 2.20 — when the league average was over 5.00. On top of all that, he set a glowing example for all Latino players trying to learn English, mastering the language to the point of subtlety and nuance. You’ll never find anyone more qualified for Cooperstown.

Bruce Jenkins is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. E-mail: bjenkins@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1