http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/6851444/texas-rangers-cj-wilson-rips-oakland-fans-mound
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson made it clear that he won't have the Oakland A's on his list of potential free-agent destinations this winter. The lefty is slated to open a three-game series at Oakland on Friday night, and on Wednesday before the Rangers closed their homestand against the Seattle Mariners with a 4-3 loss, Wilson said he finds little to like about the team or its home on the east side of the Bay. "I hate pitching there. The mound sucks, the fans suck. There's no fans there," Wilson said, free-flowing off a question about the ample foul territory at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. "It's too bad because the fans that are there are really adamant and they're really stoked on the team and they play drums and they wave flags and that's cool. But, you know, some games you go there and there's like 6,000 people there. "It's kind of sad because it's a major league team and there's guys out there that are obviously pretty good players -- guys like (Trevor) Cahill and Gio Gonzalez, obviously they are All-Star pitchers -- and I just wish that the fan base supported them a little bit more." The Rangers will get to escape the 100-degree temperatures that have gripped the region for more than a month, but Wilson said the home fans in Arlington make it preferable for him to pitch in the sweltering heat of North Texas than the mild climates of Northern California. "I'd rather pitch here than in Oakland. I like the fans here a lot better, so you don't have to worry about me signing there after the season," Wilson said. "They hate me there anyways so it doesn't matter. The players on their team hate me, whatever; I don't care." Wilson, who is 1-2 against the A's this season and 0-1 at Oakland -- going seven innings in each start and allowing a total of eight earned runs -- said the hatred stems from being on rival clubs and because the Rangers clinched the American League West title and celebrated on the A's field a year ago.
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson made it clear that he won't have the Oakland A's on his list of potential free-agent destinations this winter. The lefty is slated to open a three-game series at Oakland on Friday night, and on Wednesday before the Rangers closed their homestand against the Seattle Mariners with a 4-3 loss, Wilson said he finds little to like about the team or its home on the east side of the Bay. "I hate pitching there. The mound sucks, the fans suck. There's no fans there," Wilson said, free-flowing off a question about the ample foul territory at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. "It's too bad because the fans that are there are really adamant and they're really stoked on the team and they play drums and they wave flags and that's cool. But, you know, some games you go there and there's like 6,000 people there. "It's kind of sad because it's a major league team and there's guys out there that are obviously pretty good players -- guys like (Trevor) Cahill and Gio Gonzalez, obviously they are All-Star pitchers -- and I just wish that the fan base supported them a little bit more." The Rangers will get to escape the 100-degree temperatures that have gripped the region for more than a month, but Wilson said the home fans in Arlington make it preferable for him to pitch in the sweltering heat of North Texas than the mild climates of Northern California. "I'd rather pitch here than in Oakland. I like the fans here a lot better, so you don't have to worry about me signing there after the season," Wilson said. "They hate me there anyways so it doesn't matter. The players on their team hate me, whatever; I don't care." Wilson, who is 1-2 against the A's this season and 0-1 at Oakland -- going seven innings in each start and allowing a total of eight earned runs -- said the hatred stems from being on rival clubs and because the Rangers clinched the American League West title and celebrated on the A's field a year ago.
