Happy Memorial Day on the Oakland Futility Watch, and yes, this team is burying itself deep into the need for a funeral—and not the honorary kind. The Athletics lost every game they played last week, and the team is now sporting an 11-game losing streak as its overall record drops to 10-45 on the season. The A’s lost two games by one run last week, and they were blown out three times as well. It’s ugly.

As we commented last week, Oakland needs to win more than one game a week to avoid infamy, so this is definitely a step backward (or several steps). The team really shouldn’t be this bad, but it is what it is. Remember, “Losing is a disease, as contagious as polio. Losing is a disease, as contagious as syphilis. Losing is a disease, as contagious as bubonic plague. Attacking one—but infecting all. But curable.”

But it is for the A’s? The big team news last week was the announcement of the quasi-finalization of the move to Las Vegas and the Tropicana site on the Strip there—with the pretty-cool artist rendering of what a new ballpark would look like there. We’re not going to lie: that looks amazing, and if you like Las Vegas for entertainment and relaxation, it’s going to be a fun place to catch a baseball game, too.

However, the Athletics still have to play ball in Oakland (for now). The team is terrible; the A’s are also dead last in the American League for attendance (248,825) so far. They have played 28 games at home, so this figure prorates out to about 720,000 fans for the full season. The last time Oakland drew that low of a number for a year was back in the late 1970s—and that was pretty ugly then. To wit:

Remember, at the time, then-owner Charles O. Finley wanted to sell the team for a move to Denver. Of course, the A’s recovered with some great seasons later, even finishing second in the AL for attendance twice (1989–1990). Fans do like winners, of course, but if Oakland could draw over two million fans as recently as 2014, this comes down to larger issues. Yes, the current stadium isn’t “popular”, but …

It’s still a nice space to watch baseball. We see the late 1970s having a long-term effect, however, on the mindset of the worst MLB commissioner ever: Bud Selig. He never got over that 1979 embarrassment, evidently. And when he stole the sport from Fay Vincent, he had plans in mind. But we digress: this column is about the A’s current futility, which is definitely on the hands of the current ownership group.

Yet again, there is talent on this team, and with the No. 1 pick coming next spring, the franchise will be able to rebuild for a Vegas relaunch that is successful and profitable. Look at what the Houston Trashstros did from 2011 to 2013: they tanked. Where was all the outrage then? Barely visible. So why should people care now about whatever the A’s are doing? Good question. They should not.

In the meantime, we will go to the Oakland Coliseum this week to check it out for ourselves and give an update next week. Stay tuned …