Open letter to Andy McPhail

[Hank Scorpio]

section18, I rated this thread because I agree with you 100%.

Season ticket holders need to be thought of, because those tickets aren't cheap especially in this down economy, and it doesn't seem that the Orioles care about their ticket holders with the lack of effort they've put into the ML product thus far. And you have every right to question the FO when they bring back a manager in a 98 loss season.

MacPhail needs to give Orioles fans a reason to buy tickets this offseason. The declining attendance needs to be addressed.

MacPhail doesn't need to do a damn thing other than what he's doing, improving the talent and depth in the organization.

They signed Sammy Sosa in 2006. How'd that sideshow workout?

[JTrea81]

MacPhail doesn't need to do a damn thing other than what he's doing, improving the talent and depth in the organization.

They signed Sammy Sosa in 2006. How'd that sideshow workout?

They traded for Sosa, actually and I'm not advocating they bring in a player like that.

We need a Matt Holliday type player to take the next step IMO. We need a John Lackey in our rotation.

Improving depth and talent is fine, but we need some of the best talent in MLB to compete in this division. That's what MacPhail needs to go get and he's got a great opportunity to do it this offseason.

[Hank Scorpio]

They traded for Sosa, actually and I'm not advocating they bring in a player like that.

We need a Matt Holliday type player to take the next step IMO. We need a John Lackey in our rotation.

Improving depth and talent is fine, but we need some of the best talent in MLB to compete in this division. That's what MacPhail needs to go get and he's got a great opportunity to do it this offseason.

They don't need to sign any outfielders, and signing Lackey to a 5 year deal is a mistake they should leave for someone else.

Someone will give Lackey a 5 year deal, at the end of which he'll be 36.

I think it's a bad idea.

[Mad Mark]

I dont think you'll see any surge in sales before next season. Also dont think you'll see any after we lose 90-100 next season. If McPhail doesnt go get a #4 hitter (at 3B or 1B) & a veteran pitcher thats likely what we'll be looking at ...another season at or near the bottom.

You kind of missed my point, which is that if Section 18 was to give up his (very good) seats, one of two things would happen: either another, opportunistic season ticket-holder like myself would snap those seats up, or--if they're really good--the Orioles would take them off the market and make them into premium seats.

It's like changing jobs: you lose your seniority when you leave.

[Mad Mark]

section18, I rated this thread because I agree with you 100%.

Season ticket holders need to be thought of, because those tickets aren't cheap especially in this down economy, and it doesn't seem that the Orioles care about their ticket holders with the lack of effort they've put into the ML product thus far. And you have every right to question the FO when they bring back a manager in a 98 loss season.

MacPhail needs to give Orioles fans a reason to buy tickets this offseason. The declining attendance needs to be addressed.

As usual, you're wandering around somewhere waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off the reservation, but I'm going to use your post to bring up a point from a conversation I had Friday night:

My friend (who works for the team on the business side) said he thought that the Trembley hiring would have exactly zero effect on ticket sales for 2010.

I agreed with him, but countered with the idea that the manager I would bring in if I had to replace Trembley--I guy I like to call "the next Joe Madden"--would have exactly the same non-effect on ticket sales that re-upping Trembley will.

If you're basing your ticket-purchasing decisions on who the manager is...I think you're kind of weird.

[TommyD4207]

I'm glad beyond all measure that you're willing to "pay double" for the one game a year you travel down here from MAINE to see. Glad beyond measure. Yep.

Meanwhile stop volunteering to double the cost of the 162 tickets I pony up for each year.

Are you ever not wrong?

Yep.

And if the Orioles ever take a similar approach to what JTrea advocates, I promise you, I will burn all of my Orioles stuff and never go to another game.

[JTrea81]

As usual, you're wandering around somewhere waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off the reservation, but I'm going to use your post to bring up a point from a conversation I had Friday night:

My friend (who works for the team on the business side) said he thought that the Trembley hiring would have exactly zero effect on ticket sales for 2010.

I agreed with him, but countered with the idea that the manager I would bring in if I had to replace Trembley--I guy I like to call "the next Joe Madden"--would have exactly the same non-effect on ticket sales that re-upping Trembley will.

If you're basing your ticket-purchasing decisions on who the manager is...I think you're kind of weird.

Section's post wasn't just about the manager but about the on-field product as well.

Bringing back Trembley wouldn't effect my choice to buy season tickets either (if I was of the ability to attend Orioles games on a regular basis), but if the Orioles have another offseason like the last one, then I sure as heck wouldn't be renewing and wouldn't blame anybody else for doing the same.

[Mad Mark]

Section's post wasn't just about the manager but about the on-field product as well.

Bringing back Trembley wouldn't effect my choice to buy season tickets either (if I was of the ability to attend Orioles games on a regular basis), but if the Orioles have another offseason like the last one, then I sure as heck wouldn't be renewing and wouldn't blame anybody else for doing the same.

And if you had the tickets Section 18 has and made that decision for that reason you would cement your reputation as being plumb loco. Because if you walk away from those tickets now you're never getting them back.

"Instant Karma" is a song, not a team-building strategy.

[JTrea81]

And if you had the tickets Section 18 has and made that decision for that reason you would cement your reputation as being plumb loco. Because if you walk away from those tickets now you're never getting them back.

Only if the Orioles start winning games, and if they make offseason moves, then obviously you keep the tickets.

If they don't make any offseason moves of note, they don't have the talent alone to win games right now, so IMO I'd be able to get those seats again as next year will be another losing season.

Baseball in Baltimore is irrelevant right now IMO, and Andy needs to take steps this offseason to make it relevant again, so those tickets will be a hot item again, as you suggested.

[jimbones]

I'm sure season tickets have been decreasing the last several years. Section 18 is a sample of hundreds each off season. My friend who I sublet 4th row tix from behind the visitors dugout swears he is nonrenewing. Until the Orioles start winning, tickets for under face value will be the norm and especielly on a Sunday when the Ravens are playing the Patriots. Personally, until the O's leave town, I'll go to the games and in a way its nice not to fight traffic or wait in concession lines like during the 90's. I expect it to get worse before it gets better. Any one think Angelos will move the team?

[BlackWillow]

Markakis, Jones, Reimold, Roberts, Weiters, Bergesen, Matusz, Tillman, Arrieta, Mickolio, Uehara, Johnson, Pie

I wonder how many times Trembley will go into a game with these guys + a couple of upgrades acquired in the offseason. I wonder how that compares to what we had to work with this season.

it won't mean diddly-doo-daa. The group listed above cannot compete with NY and BOS, so who cares. This team needs to big time players, not above avg major league talent. Period

[Bradysburns]

To: Andy MacPhail - You may have made a huge mistake. Be prepared for many season ticket holders to walk this winter. I just sold two tickets earlier tonight worth $48 a piece to buyers for $20. No! Not $20 each...a total of $20. $10 each. People outside the park told me most tickets were going for $5. Great investment. You probably won't read this thread on OH so I will be sending you a letter concerning my disappointment with your decision to extend Trembley. Yeah...Yeah...Yeah! DT is a nice guy....everybody loves him. I like him but don't love him. You are running a business. This is not a club or lodge. Most of my friends and people I meet that like him share a common bond. They don't go to the games. I ask them why and they say why should I spend money to go see an inferior product and a team lose more than it wins. When I ask if they owned the team...would they make changes? they don't even pause...I would get rid of all of their coaches....there are problems on that team. Really! Yet you like the manager. Yeah! He's got that stern look like a general.

We are 41 games out of first. A little applause is needed here. Not 20 out ...not 25 out...not 30 out...not 35 out.....no! 41 out and battling with the Pirates to see who will have the worst record to be second to the Nationals our neighbor as one of the worst two teams in all of baseball. AM you are setting a precedent for future managers of this team. We have fired managers for being less than 15 games out of first. The team is rewarding a manager for sub par performance from a number of players, coaches and his managing weaknesses.

I think our season tickets should be reduced substantially since our payroll continues to shrink. You had the oportunity to hire a quality manager to go to Spring Training with and start the 2010 season. If Trembley continues with his same managing style and we are 15 out in July and you fire him will you use a bench coach to finish the season? Sure you will to save money. The poor season ticket holders will have another losing season to swallow. Your tickets are free. Think about what we are enduring sitting in the stands year after year watching the losses pile up.

I have tried to sell tickets to games I could not attend three times in the past month in the scalp free zone down at OP. Usually there are three guys we've all seen working the sidewalks leading to the park and the lots trying to buy your tickets cheap for them to flip for a higher value. My tickets are $48 each X 2 - $96 face value. The best price I have gotten is $30 each. In September and tonight I was told by the ticket buyers that $10 is the best deal I'll get...things are really bad they say. The people stopped coming is what they tell you. Wow! That's front page news. Tonight people were coming into the scalp free zone and offering $5 per ticket wherever the seats were located. There were people selling tickets behind home plate 10 rows up and behind the Oriole dugout first 15 rows trying to get $20 for 2 tickets worth $48 each. Great investment. Even back in May and June you could buy field box seats for $20 each. Can anyone explain to me why I should buy a season plan worth over $3000 and pay retail when I can buy seats for less than half price?

I think you should invite all of the season ticket holders to the Baltimore Arena for a special Q & A before you send season ticket renewals out in the mail. Don't wait until next season starts. Let the season ticket holders have a town meeting like the politicians have. I think you are going to be shocked at the mass walkout of season ticket holders this winter. The time is now to explain yourself and ownership's position for the future of this team. If you have a town meeting for us paying stiffs you will have a sell out something you aren't getting at OP. I'm not sure what the current season ticket holder numbers are so maybe you can get by with the Lyric or Convention Center.

You are a nice guy and so am I but I have been burned year after year after year watching losing baseball. I want to hear from you directly at an open forum. Please tell me what DT did that was better than what Cooper in Houston and Wedge in Cleveland did. Both have lost their jobs with much better records. DT said on the Postgame show after tonights game that when you called him into your office today you told him he did a great job and then told him he was being brought back for next season. Please let us all know what was great about it. I really hope you will have a town hall meeting for season ticket holders and keep the media out. A private meeting for season ticket holders only. Many of us can change our minds about whether we renew or not by hearing your answers to our questions and the moves you make this winter.

This kind of emotional outburst is fine for a fan. I can see why you'd make it. In fact, I've made similar outbursts myself, usually in private. But more to the point, I can see why AM would retain Trembley - because he knows that no manager could have competed in our division with this team... or rather, this rotation of rookies, rejects and roustabouts.

If you can honestly say that the Yankees would have not won the division with Trembley at the helm, then I would be surprised.

The Orioles are in transition mode. This is what it looks like when you literally blow up a team and start over.

At least we have a respectable organization again, and the chance to improve next year. Plus, Trembley can crush iron ore with his jaw.

[Mad Mark]

Only if the Orioles start winning games, and if they make offseason moves, then obviously you keep the tickets.

If they don't make any offseason moves of note, they don't have the talent alone to win games right now, so IMO I'd be able to get those seats again as next year will be another losing season.

Baseball in Baltimore is irrelevant right now IMO, and Andy needs to take steps this offseason to make it relevant again, so those tickets will be a hot item again, as you suggested.

Have you ever had season tickets...to anything? Do you have the first idea of how this stuff works? Let me explain it to you, and I'll type extra slow just in case I've been going too fast for you: IF HE GIVES THOSE SEATS UP, THEY'RE GONE TO ANOTHER SEASON TICKET HOLDER...LIKELY WITHIN MINUTES OF HIS DECISION TO GIVE THEM UP...AND HE'LL NEVER GET THEM BACK!

It took me 10 years--nine of them losing years--to move from a 13-game plan two thirds of the way back in section five to an 81-game plan in section 22 that's six rows behind the Orioles dugout. How did that happen? Because other season ticket holders gave theirs up.

I've paid vastly more dues to this team than you can ever hope to. I have skin in this game. Do you? If not, stop acting like you know things you don't know. This ain't theory. This ain't whining about Teixeira would have come here if only Andy had handed him several sacks full of gold teeth over some dinner Angelos was to cheap to let him go to. This is season ticket holding reality, son...and you have no grasp of it whatsoever.

[TonySoprano]

Have you ever had season tickets...to anything? Do you have the first idea of how this stuff works? Let me explain it to you, and I'll type extra slow just in case I've been going too fast for you: IF HE GIVES THOSE SEATS UP, THEY'RE GONE TO ANOTHER SEASON TICKET HOLDER...LIKELY WITHIN MINUTES OF HIS DECISION TO GIVE THEM UP...AND HE'LL NEVER GET THEM BACK!

It took me 10 years--nine of them losing years--to move from a 13-game plan two thirds of the way back in section five to an 81-game plan in section 22 that's six rows behind the Orioles dugout. How did that happen? Because other season ticket holders gave theirs up.

I've paid vastly more dues to this team than you can ever hope to. I have skin in this game. Do you? If not, stop acting like you know things you don't know. This ain't theory. This ain't whining about Teixeira would have come here if only Andy had handed him several sacks full of gold teeth over some dinner Angelos was to cheap to let him go to. This is season ticket holding reality, son...and you have no grasp of it whatsoever.

He'll lose *those* tickets, yes. Will he miss out on buying a different set of tickets at a later date? I really doubt it. We're talking about a team that sells half the tickets they did a dozen years ago. They'll take his money and roll out the orange carpet.

[RShack]

Have you ever had season tickets...to anything? Do you have the first idea of how this stuff works? Let me explain it to you, and I'll type extra slow just in case I've been going too fast for you: IF HE GIVES THOSE SEATS UP, THEY'RE GONE TO ANOTHER SEASON TICKET HOLDER...LIKELY WITHIN MINUTES OF HIS DECISION TO GIVE THEM UP...AND HE'LL NEVER GET THEM BACK!

It took me 10 years--nine of them losing years--to move from a 13-game plan two thirds of the way back in section five to an 81-game plan in section 22 that's six rows behind the Orioles dugout. How did that happen? Because other season ticket holders gave theirs up.

I've paid vastly more dues to this team than you can ever hope to. I have skin in this game. Do you? If not, stop acting like you know things you don't know. This ain't theory. This ain't whining about Teixeira would have come here if only Andy had handed him several sacks full of gold teeth over some dinner Angelos was to cheap to let him go to. This is season ticket holding reality, son...and you have no grasp of it whatsoever.

Not only does he not understand this, he also doesn't even watch the actual ballgames. Apparently, neither MLB-EI nor mlb.com fit with his idea following the team from afar. Yet, despite not even watching the games, he seems to know the finer points of what happens both on the field and off.