Attendance issues
by Adam J. Morris on Sep 9, 2008 11:00 AM CDT
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PrintMajor league baseball will not set an attendance record this year. And it sounds like the Rangers might be single-handedly to blame:
As of Saturday, Sept. 6, average attendance for the league is at 32,614, down from 32,757 on the same date last year, or a 0.44 percent decline. The drop in paid attendance (tickets sold, not turnstile clicks) comes as both Yankee and Shea Stadiums see their swansongs, and a new ballpark opened in Washington, D.C.
* * *
The biggest declines from last year to this come from the Rangers (-20.58 percent), Padres (-13.75 percent), Athletics (-13.42 percent) and Mariners (-12.10 percent).
The fact that the Rangers have stopped monkeying with the attendance figures this season, and are reporting "real" numbers (whatever that means), no doubt has a large impact.
But as I've said before, I think that a lot of this has to do with a team that has finished below .500 in 7 of the last 8 years, and has finished no higher than third in each of the last 8 years. And I'd be willing to bet that getting off to a godawful start in April two years in a row probably diminishes enthuasiasm and makes fewer people want to go out to the ballpark, even if things improve afterwards.
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Thought I read that a biggest
problem in MLB attendance this year is that the MF Yankees are not drawing like they have in previous seasons.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
I've actually gone to about twice as many games this year as I did last year.
And next year we are buying season tickets.
I must be a glutton for punishment.
"You got a guy coming up there who can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat." - Tom Grieve on Richie Sexson, 5.8.2008
"I’ve been a Rangers fan all my life and I can tell you there’s been plenty of fucking crying in baseball…" - WhipSmart, 6.3.08
"When it comes to Jeff Mathis, the story ends with us putting one in his earhole." - AJM, 7.7.08
I still go a ton
…but the “real” numbers can mean anything. It’s like last week (Mariners day game) when the reported attendance was just south of 13,000, but Evan Grant estimated somewhere around 2000 people were in the ballpark.
I would certainly guess they had 13,000 tickets sold for the game, but nobody showed.
this team
needs a dramatic reinvention in terms of marketing. Changing jerseys would be a start, as would adding some cosmetic upgrades to the ballpark (starting with the “jumbo” tron), which has now gone unchanged for 15 seasons. But this team needs buzz. They have a legitimate, nationally known superstar in Hamilton who may have the best “story” in all of sports, and they have Nolan, the true FOTF. They have some arms coming up who could legitimately create buzz and then live up to it, and they have some young, local talent in Davis and Teagarden. But they could still do more to endear their players to the fans. The Rangers are a family team, more than most any other in baseball. Going to the ballpark is not a happy hour/after work destination for the twenty something bro/ho class. Because of the location of the ballpark, it is a 30 minute drive for most, if not more. It is a legitimate family outing. They need to think outside the box and find even more ways to get their players in front of the fans, and in many regards should probably take a few plays out of the Frisco playbook.
Clark?
they already took plays ouf of the Frisco playbook. they lied about their attendance numbers.
Frisco is a bigger ripoff than the rangers. You pay major league prices to watch development baseball.
changing jerseys? new scoreboard?
when was the last time the chicago cubs changed their jerseys or their scoreboard
when was the last time the dodgers changed jerseys, the red sox, the yankees?
the scoreboard? been to fenway park? they do nothing there. they have a scoreboard, but the game is the thing. not the scoreboard. not the video board, not the jerseys.
it is called winning.
the rangers used to consistently outdraw the anaheim angels. what happened. the angels won the world series.
it is called winning baseball.
this argument of jerseys and scoreboards and the ballpark are now old and tired. how about they try winning for a change and winning on a consistent basis.
give me the 10 to 15 million dollars they are going to spend on the ballpark and give it to the baseball department.
the frisco playbook. give me a break. it is minor league, development baseball.
by aballplayer on Sep 10, 2008 11:09 AM CDT up reply actions
give me the 10 to 15 million dollars they are going to spend on the ballpark and give it to the baseball department.
So your assertion is that the Rangers would be better if they just spent some more money?
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
"Take a few plays out of the Frisco playbook"...
…like winning?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
So does Nolan get blamed for the drop in attendance since he is the President?
Thats supposed to be his primary focus right?
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
Nolan wasn't hired until after season tix
money was due and he had almost nothing to do with the club built by JD in the off-season nor did he hire the manager.
Nice try, bigsteve.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
No,
that was all JD.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Question
What will your stance be vis-a-vis Nolan if Daniels and Washington are back next year?
by Adam J. Morris on Sep 9, 2008 12:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Candidly,
that he f’d up big time.
This team needs more pitching talent at the major league level than ever before and JD’s biggest weakness (other than hiring a competent manager or building an appealing team) has been identifying major league pitchers.
Conversely, what will your feelings be vis-a-vis Nolan if Daniels & Wash are back?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
I don't know
I’m not a Wash supporter. I’ve come to believe that hiring was likely a mistake. I’d like to see what Matt Walbeck, who was a highly regarded minor league manager and (supposedly) more of a detail guy, could do.
I think Daniels has done enough to stick around, though.
by Adam J. Morris on Sep 9, 2008 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree with you
…and most of all I would respond to the knee jerk statements that JD hasn’t gotten enough pitching the last couple of years by saying “Who should he have gotten? Daisuke?” Last year, the outfield was in more dire shape than the pitching staff, we needed a CFer, and Volquez had been a massive fail in Arlington and I still like that trade.
I agree that JD has been terrible at pitching identification, but that is mostly 20/20 hindsight with the Danks and Galarraga moves. The Chris Young deal is in a whole different class, though, but I’m sick of talking about that one.
You would cut bait with Washington before Daniels?
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 12:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Daniels assembled the product.
It’s not Washington’s fault the pitching staff is shitty or that one middle infielder is old and wealthy and the other is a flippin’ matador with the glove.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions
AJM, So you give JD a pass
for his hiring of Washington?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
I don't give him a pass
I also don’t, though, go with the Galloway school of “if Wash goes, Daniels should go for hiring him.”
I don’t see how firing Wash and keeping Daniels means you are giving Daniels a pass.
by Adam J. Morris on Sep 9, 2008 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions
Galloway is crawling up JD's ass
because JD is the person who put this team together and assembled the pitching staff.
JD has done a lot of really dumb things as the GM of this team (how do you feel about MYoung’s deal?) and the hiring of Washington is one more brick in his personal wall of incompetence.
Getting a lot of prospects in the system is a separate skill to knowing how to build a major league team that wins and that’s why JD needs to go.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Telegraph,
what exactly did JD do this year for the Rangers at the major league level in terms of talent acquisition after Nolan was hired?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Nothing
However, he made no significant mistakes during the season, especially at points where such mistakes could have been easily made (i.e. when the team was a couple games back in the WC). This means that at least he knows what he is trying to do, which is better than a lot of the alternatives out there.
JD did nothing during the season
and it appears as though he is afraid to make another mistake (hence, unable to get anything for his catchers) and a great offensive season by the team was wasted.
He also should have fired Washington’s butt when the team broke the gate 7-16.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Actuallh the mistake was that Nolan
forced JD into not making moves at the Deadline because Nolan was afraid of eroding the fan base by delivering a signal if non faith in the current club.
So instead of moving Bradley, EddieG etc at the deadline, they stayed pat with the mentality that they still had a chance. Doing so gained the franchise nothing, and yet you let Nolan get a free pass on this but not Daniels?
That's bullshit. Nolan expressed disappointment that nothing
was done by JD to improve the pitching because he knew the pitching staff JD built was crap.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
The catcher problem is not that simple
I really didn’t like the entire setup coming out of spring training that is made even worse by bringing Salty up when they needed a backup. It seemed like instead of having a concrete idea of what they were going to do, a “wait and see” strategy was taken. I do not like this at all.
However, the mid-season catcher situation was as expected. JD did not trade one of them just for the sake of trading – an agreeable position. However, trying to trade a catcher for significant value is not easy during the middle of the season. Laird is the only “known” product, and since contenders looking for a piece to put them over the top (the only kind of buyers who will overpay) will only want known products, he is the only one who could have possibly been traded during the season for good value. The fact that he did not get good value suggests that other teams may not be as high on Laird as we sometimes are (or are unsure whether his good first half was a fluke or not). Trading Laird for a spare prospect does nothing to improve the team.
On the other hand, trading prospects for pieces to improve the present team is also foolish. The team is not a playoff team. Even if we got CC at the deadline, it is still not a playoff team. There is no conceivable reason to make any trade during this season to try to immediately improve the team. THAT would be a gigantic mistake. Especially if you think the offensive performance this season is a great big fluke.
I don’t think very highly of Wash. His plus side seem to be in the department of player relations, but his game-managing skill is poor. That’s sort of like one of those personable bosses that would go out drinking with his team, but doesn’t inspire them to be efficient and driven enough to meet the deadlines. However, firing him on a knee-jerk like that in the beginning of the season is extremely unwise. First of all, you should never fire a manager (or any important personnel for that matter) without given sufficient thought into possible candidates for replacements (why you are firing him, what qualities do you seek in the next guy, etc), and I am pretty sure that they don’t have that good of an idea about the replacement 25 games into the season. If they intend to fire him at this off season, I am not going to shed too much tears, provided that they gave enough thoughts into who should replace him already, and not waiting after he is fired.
So basically the point is that JD did nothing during the season, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, there is simply nothing to be done out there, and you don’t try to force the issue just to do something. I don’t agree with some of the decision made during the pre-season, but as far as the season itself is concerned, I think there is nothing to complain about.
You don't think
having a lot of prospects is an important step to the long term health of the major league club? And aren’t you sort of giving Hicks a free pass if you put all of the blame for the direction of the major league club on Daniels?
You like to see the world in black and white, but this is a pretty complicated dynamic. All parties bear blame and credit, and like it or not, luck plays an uncomfortably large part as well. Daniels made some big errors. What GMs can you point out that have not made horrible trades? If Daniels had made those deals and not changed the direction of the team since then, I’d be all for firing him, pronto. But he did change direction, and maybe more importantly, he seems to have convinced Hicks (and Ryan seems to have supported this) that a long term, consistent, slow building plan is what is needed.
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Having lots of prospects is an important step to
long term health of the major league club but JD’s biggest problem is identifying major league talent and hiring major league managers.
Just because JD may have stocked the system with prospects does not mean he should still be in charge of the major league team.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Dont you mean hiring "A" major league manager
Technically JD has hired 1 MLB skipper in his tenure here….Washington
JD has hired one MLB skipper
and it was a colossal failure.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
so then you admit that you missed stated your previous post?
How many other “missed statements” are there in here?
"missed stated" ??
Ron Washington proves that JD does not know how to hire a big league manager.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Where your other examples of other MLB managers he has hired?
once again, MISS STATED….
Its fun to see sweeping conclusion based on 1 fact, and then tried to be represented as based on several.
laxtonto,
it’s time for you to douche.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
back to the standard Josey
Can’t win with facts, try by insult instead.
Its OK, we all pretty much expect nothingless
Your question was answered previously
tonto.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
actually you never did...
Name me the others? Or admit you made a mistake in your wording? That simple. Its not hard…
Like the mistake you made
by making misstate two words?
I’d rather talk Great Game.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Notable first manager hirings
Theo Epstein = Grady Little
Dave Dombrowski = Tom Runnels
Pat Gillick = Roy Hartsfield
Mark Shapiro = Charlie Manual
by robert_d_wilfong on Sep 9, 2008 8:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Heh
kind of revealing. You might add that often 2nd or 3rd hirings don’t go so well.
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Yeah
Dombrowski followed up Hartsfield with Bobby Mattick
by robert_d_wilfong on Sep 9, 2008 10:27 PM CDT up reply actions
We're seriously not going
to compare Theo Epstein to Boy Blunder are we?
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Hicks was as responsible
for hiring Wash as JD was. For all we know, JD wanted someone else, but Hicks was 100% sold on Washington. I seem to remember a quote along the lines of Hicks asking JD “Is there a reason we haven’t hired him yet” after first meeting him.
After it was all said and done
JD said that Washington was his number one choice all along and just this past April he also proclaimed “I’m a Ron Washington man.”
I do not see how Nolan Ryan can rationalize bringing both back next year.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
so you instead you wanted the GMof your franchise to say
“Screw Washington, I wanted somebody else, but the owner forced me to take this guy?”
Come on now, like any other personnel decision made by your superiors, you just have to make due with who you get. You cant erode even more of your clubhouse or office by letting it be known the the GM has no faith in the Manger before he has ever stepped into the clubhouse.
JD brought Washington to Hicks
after vetting him personally. JD"s number one recommendation was Ron Washington.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
And you've touted Hillman
and he is failing miserably in KC. Did you see the link I posted yesterday here about Hillman? He has already completely lost that team and they’re playing like crap.
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Won't get a response...
for him on that. He just ignores it like he never even said it.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Hillman is struggling in KC
but he took over a team that won 69 games last year.
Washington took over a team that was expected by many (not me) to contend right away.
tball…missed your link.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
The link
was a damning article by Joe Posnanski yesterday. Sad, really. I thought about your saying we needed to know more, but from what the article says, I think you could say you know enough. Actually it sounds like either his style just worked better in Japan, or he got away from what worked over there a little.
http://www.kansascity.com/180/story/785522.html
I enjoy ribbing you about this stuff, but I really do think it’s complex and you can’t just throw out the baby with the bathwater when it concerns Daniels, and maybe even Washington. Compared to Hillman, it sounds like Wash has done a much better job of being a manager of people, even if his in game moves make us scratch our heads in bewilderment. I think his lineups, pitcher management and in-game strategy are bad enough that they may outweigh his ability to manage the people in the clubhouse successfully.
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Washington had all kinds of problems
in the room when he first started.
I did read the article on Hillman but I’m not sure how many more games than 69 they were supposed to win this year.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Who expected...
the Rangers to contend right away when Wash was hired? A large reason why he was hired is because the team was rebuilding and he had a rep as a players guy so the Rangers thought he would be good for the kids coming up.
And wasn’t it you who guaranteed that Hillman and the Royals would have more wins than the Rangers this year?
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Hell no I didn't guarantee the Royals
would have more wins than the Rangers this year.
Get your lies straight.
Evan Grant had the Rangers winning 90 games before the 2007 season and there was open discussions by Hicks & JD about contending for post-season that year.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
My apologies...
it was LBrooks.
http://www.lonestarball.com/2008/1/3/123825/5683#2697966
Anyone who predicted this team would win 90 games in ’07 was dreaming, and of course Hicks and JD would discuss contending any year, what does that prove? Either way you are still clueless.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Not to go all Sharky...
and reply to myself, but after reading more of that link not only is steal home gone but now LBrooks is gone as well. Not that he has been posting here much lately though. Nice bet LBrooks.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Wash had problems early
but by this time last year the players were behind him.
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Yeah, that 6-12 finish was an appropriate
way to top off a 75-87 season.
This team has regressed under Washington and it was a terrible hire.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
Ugh,
come one, I was talking about the relationship with the players. I’m not defending Washington as a manager you dolt. I’m basically saying that even Washington may be better than Hillman. If Hillman was so great his team would at least be doing some of the right things on the field and not having those kinds of things said about them. AND he’s completely lost the clubhouse. Washington at least is succeeding in the clubhouse portion of the job. Hillman is failing all the way around.
Perhaps Daniels should have hired Acta?
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Not sure who JD should have hired
but Washington was a complete fail.
This thing is no closer than it was before he took the reins.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
by Josey Wales on Sep 10, 2008 12:06 AM CDT up reply actions
I think Wash should stay
He’s shown enough in how he can handle all these rookies that it may be best for him to stick around. If anything, the team will be even younger next year.
If the team starts off slow again in April, then he’s out.
I hope this team will move....
….to Fair Park. I seem to remember that their attendance studies show something like 80% of people come from the Dallas area to the games as is, and I guarantee you they could make up that 20% in additional Dallas people if they moved to Fair Park.
The reason that – and no other move – will ever happen is because of Tom Hick’s GloryHolePark or whatever all that real estate is out there in and around the Rangers and Cowboys stadiums. Why would I go to a Gap or Chili’s or even a bar after a game in Arlington when I can get the same stuff where I live (Uptown, Dallas)? That goes for 100% of the people that go to Rangers games. Glory Park is such a stupid idea.
…attendance studies show something like 80% of people come from the Dallas area to the games as is…
I don’t think this is correct.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Ditto
That kind of statement needs backup with a document or link.
Am I alone in thinking Glory Park is an unfortunate name choice?
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
"Victory", "Champions", "Legends"...
…These things don’t exactly describe the Texas Rangers.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions
Victim, chomps, lemons?
Playing in Gory Park?
Right
…which is why I said “I seem to remember” at the beginning of that statement. Mr. OC took things out of context, unfortunately. At any rate, I am far too lazy to try and find a link, but I do remember reading that the breakdown is something very extreme, like 80% Dallas area, 20% Ft. Worth area.
I didn't take anything out of context.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 12:23 PM CDT up reply actions
You were presenting my statement as fact...
….and not a memory. That is what I meant; not a huge deal.
Anyone know
where to find that info?
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
That's cool.
I’ll buy tickets to all the games you’ll be skipping.
by FuturePants on Sep 10, 2008 10:08 AM CDT up reply actions
Once...
they win a division or two we will see attendance up at around 35,000-40,000 a game average.
Adam is right. People are tired of paying money to watch this team lose. If things fall right with the rebuilding and the Rangers set themselves up for a long 5-7 year run of on the field success they could parlay that into a decade or more of butts in the seats.
by ghostofErikThompson on Sep 9, 2008 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Yep
and now that they priced tickets for corporations, rather than families, I think their fans are even more demanding of success.
If I’m a company, I can easily justify $50-$100 a ticket for season tickets if I can get a night out with a customer, which is true if the team is winning and its a hot ticket. I can’t justify that expense if the tickets rot in a secretaries desk because no one really wants to see a mediocre team that’s out of it in August.
If I’m a family with kids, I was priced out of more than the occasional game a long time ago. Other than discounted tickets, its just not a form of entertainment that’s budget friendly.
"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky
"I just hope enough dumb oversexed over self-esteemed American public educated female liberals (yeah, you know the type) vote for a woman because she has a vagina, to swing some things."- Sharky.
"JD is a great GM if you ignore the giving away pitching and handing out horrible contract stuff."-Tricer
One thing will save attendance (besides winning)
The DART rail must run to the stadium. Or some other form of (quick) public transit. I have several tickets I probably won’t even use this year because I don’t want to fight traffic, then throw away $20+ on gas and parking. If I could take the DART rail to the stadium, I would get season tickets.
Because of the Cowboys stadium, I think they'll be considering that soon.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions
Does the Dart Area
even extend Arlington? I thought it petered out in Irving or so. I’d doubt rail would be constructed to Arlington, if thats out of the Service Area.
"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky
"I just hope enough dumb oversexed over self-esteemed American public educated female liberals (yeah, you know the type) vote for a woman because she has a vagina, to swing some things."- Sharky.
"JD is a great GM if you ignore the giving away pitching and handing out horrible contract stuff."-Tricer
Arlington has a rail line.
It runs parallel with Division… from Fort Worth to GP.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions
I knew there was the dallas line to Fort Worth.
that was a joint venture with Fort Worth’s Rapid Transit, but that was way north of the ballpark. I just can’t see Dart picking up any of the cost for connecting it.
Arlington would be the obvious city to pick up the bill, but I’m not sure if they have a rapid transit. I just don’t see why Dart would want to take on the cost of laying track that’s outside of their tax zone, unless the City of Arlingtons subsidized it.
"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky
It still baffles me why Arlington voted down mass transit a couple of years ago.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 2:44 PM CDT up reply actions
Because they'd rather
pay for stadiums for billionaire sports owners.
"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky
Apparently
they only like giving tax money to billionaires building stadiums that will make them even richer, not public entities building public transportation.
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
There's a faction in the city
that worries that public transport will make the city ‘poor friendly’. Same group has tried to push out a Christian mission organization from downtown because having all those poot immigrants (and natives) hanging around gives the city a ‘bad image’.
However, if it came to promoting the business friendly ‘good image’ of the city, I wouldn’t be surprised if the city would back it. There’s nothing like socialism as long as it’s for the right crowd. (Yeah, I’m a bit cynical about my hometown.)
Two theme parks, two sports franchises, a university, a college and a Whole Foods...
…Hardly POS.
Garland is POS.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Central Arlington is POS
North and South are alright
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
That's not shit. That's character.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 4:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Man OC, you are riding me today.
At any rate, one of my best friends is a high elected official in Arlington. Yes, it has all the things you mentioned above, and I’m sure New Jersey has some nice theme parks as well as a couple of sports franchieses. That does not make Jersey any nicer than it does Arlington.
OC Fun Fact:
I was delivered by Mayor Cluck.
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 4:44 PM CDT up reply actions
i have a love/hate
relationship with arlington. in the sense that i hate living here and id love to leave.
our inability to push through some form of public transportation is baffling and sad. i understand this will always be a car city. everything is spread out and there are neither bike paths nor sidewalks in a lot of places. it would be so much better if it were more like a city and less like 4 large suburbs mashed together.
by Smoakin in the Boys Room on Sep 9, 2008 4:51 PM CDT up reply actions
I think I've found the solution to our problems
they forgot </Frankie throws chair>
Do you have any Jeff Sullivan?
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 9, 2008 7:32 PM CDT up reply actions
Sosa helped the attendance last year
The problem can be remedied if Hicks opens up his pocketbook for Manny next year. Speaking of which, I wonder how much is made from ticket prices and concessions? Movie theatres collect most of their income from food sales. I wonder if that translates to the park?
I think he had one left with Boston
but it was voided when he was traded. He’s a FA after this season.
Plus, I don't think it will really happen
It just seems like a quick fix for the attendance situation. The Rangers employ those often.
Again,
Sosa was a much, much, much better signing than Catalanotto.
"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky
Not really.
His OPS v. righthanders was below .700 and Washington not only gave him 300+ ab’s v. RH’s but also hit him 4th/5th.
Ridiculous signing and he did not help attendance.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
So,
Catalanottos OPS vs Lefties has been under 600 as a Ranger. The fact that Washington is an idiot has no bearing on the Sosa signing.
Catalanotto was also given a 3 year contract in which to suck.
You really are a moron, Josey.
"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky
Agree
Sosa was a beast against left handed pitchers, something this team actually still needs. I wish the Rangers had brought him back this year, but that would have only led to more angry posts by Adam about why Sosa is on the team and not Jason “I can’t hit and don’t make me field” Botts.
A 39 year old part time DH
would have been smart for this team????
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
That's bullshit!
This thing played an old, broken down has been just so Hicks could put money in his pocket. Sosa was only here to put butts in seats. That money should have been spent on pitching. And that stupid african american Wash wrote his name in the lineup way too much.
And what about that old. broken down cripple in CF? What the fuck did he do for this train wreck? NOTHING! Then you have the “elite” closer who hadn’t been healthy in 3 years. What did fucking JD expect from him, health? Moron punk kid! What did Gagne do for this thing…NOTHING!
I’m so glad Nolan’s here to make everything better!
/J Wails
"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," Bo Diddley
Rodney, do you still send people pm's
offering to meet them?
I thought that was really odd.
"Dying ain't hard. It's living that's hard."
You're an odd person
I’m sure plenty of people would offer to meet you.
"The question of how we came to be is a philosophical one." - 4HIM
by inactive lsb user on Sep 9, 2008 7:39 PM CDT up reply actions
The Rangers have been bad for a long time
but they’re better this year than last, more fun to watch, and they should be better next year. If they stay the course on rebuilding they’ll start winning in the next two or three years and attendance will come around. Hicks, Nolan, and co. will be shooting themselves in the foot if they panic about attendance and start blowing up the organization. On the other hand, i think a new manager might help accelerate that winning thing.
FWIW
I had been meaning to do something in-depth on this for a while, and Maury Brown’s article finally prompted me to finish it:
Thanks again to Adam for providing an outlet to discuss such pressing organizational issues.
JD for President?
Keep JD:
1. Wash was a solid hire for a number of reasons – cheap, the team is/was rebuilding (so, worth a try), first African American manager in Rangers history, he has made some mistakes, but he had the team playing well much of 2008 (despite pitching).
2. I think JD has learned from his pitching mistakes. Someone else will hire him.
3. Attendance RELATIVE to payroll is probably the best in years, right?
Word choice
It’s the economy, stupid – or – it’s the stupid economy. The amount of discretionary income for people in my bracket has gone to zero, or below. I used to attend 15-30 games per year (depending on time at home versus work related travel) and treat kids and grandkids to games over and above that. Now I’m lucky to score game tickets from friends or past associates. It isn’t just my circumstances uniquely, there is a whole bracket of folks who love baseball, follow it, but have a hard time spending to attend.
Winning adds to the incentive to attend. It does not pull in people who used to afford it but can’t any more.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
by Ed Coffin on Sep 9, 2008 6:18 PM CDT reply actions
exactly
i used to attend a few games a year, more when i got free tickets. This season I havent had the extra money that i could justify spending on a tank of gas and tickets and i’m sure a lot of people are like me.
For me frisco is much closer and is cheaper, also doesnt hurt that they win and I get to see some top prospects.
"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg
attendance
wouldn’t this team be in third or last place if it weren’t for how poor Seattle and Oakland played this season? The Mariners did win 88 games last year. Oakland won 76 and the Rangers won 75 to finish last. This year the Rangers have 18 games to win 5 more games to tie their win/loss record of last year. The Oaklands are at about 65 wins and Seattle is at about 55. I will concede that this current team will probably have a better record but I think the reason this team is in second place is not because of any the Rangers did but their competition played very poorly.
¡yo soy Horsedooty!
I soloed in the Mile High Club!
That would be a little stretched
Seattle underperformed greatly, even considering the chaos in their management. Oakland started off pretty well, but sacrificed (invested?) in some future considerations midstream and has been unlucky since. This year, and every year, you run the race you are in. How other teams do does matter, but in reality this year was LAA and “everybody else”. Finishing ahead of the most declined team and the most overhauled team isn’t actually special, but 2nd place regardless of record is better than 4th place with more wins.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
by Ed Coffin on Sep 9, 2008 7:18 PM CDT up reply actions
It's all my fault
I haven’t and won’t attend a game this year. I went to 1 last year with a friend who gave me a ticket. I went to 1 the year before that just so that my daughter could go to a game.
I applaud the fans for not showing up for that mess out there. Not buying tickets is really the only way to show team management we are tired of the no talent ass clowns they put on the field on a yearly basis.
"Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states" - Barack Obama
by LSBUser on Sep 10, 2008 7:39 AM CDT reply actions
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