The Cubs announced their new ticket prices for 2013 and Alvin is doing a victory dance with his bologna sandwich tonight because he is getting a ~10% reduction on his seats up there in the last row of the bleachers.
In fact, all season ticket holders are holding basically even or getting a slight discount next year from the 2012 prices. In addition to the cut in bleacher prices, the Upper Deck Box Outfield folks are also getting a ~10% reduction and the the Terrace Reserved Outfield people are getting ~5% off.
Everybody else pretty much holds even at the old levels. If we averaged them out weighting them equally (which I know isn't 100% accurate, but it should be close enough for our purposes), the Cubs lowered their overall ticket prices by about 1.6%.
What's interesting is how the Cubs re-jiggered their individual ticket prices to come to this final overall reduction:
You'll notice that only 9 individual ticket price points were reduced. 37 price points were raised and 19 remained steady. Wait… what?
How did the season ticket prices come down while 56% of the price points actually went up? The key is how the games were distributed in the five pricing tiers. The tickets in the seating bowl have 4 fewer games in the Marquee tier than last year and 3 more in the Bronze tier. The Bleachers have 7 fewer in the Marquee tier and 7 more in the Bronze. They also have 8 more Gold level and 8 fewer Silver. So even though many of the price points were raised, over the course of the season the total amount to purchase every ticket was lowered because there were fewer of the most expensive tickets available.
This is clearly a move to appease their season ticket holders and indicates to me that the Cubs are extremely nervous about the attrition rate of their waiting list. They'll still claim that renewal rates are strong and the number of the people on the waitlist still tops 100,000, but when it comes to ticket revenues, actions speak louder than words.
For individual ticket purchasers, the news is not as good. For one, the prices listed above are generally $1 to $2 lower than they will be when single game tickets go on sale. That doesn't alter the percentage change on the tables above very much because season ticket holders saved $1-2 per ticket last year as well, so while the percentages might change by a tenth of a point or two, that doesn't mean a lot when we're talking about general trends.
Secondly, unless you buy Upper Deck Box Outfield seats, your individual tickets will generally cost you more than last year. Remember, the savings is a result of there being fewer Marquee games on the schedule. So while it is less likely you will be buying an individual ticket for a Marquee game than last year, if you do go to one, chances are you'll pay as much or more for that ticket. If you go to Gold, Silver, or Bronze level, you almost assuredly will pay more. In fact, the average Bronze level seat will cost you over 13% more than a Bronze game from last year.
I'll restate that. You can expect to pay about 13% more per ticket to watch two 90-loss teams play each other on a cold September weekday afternoon than you would last year. In some cases you'll pay significantly more than that. If you sit in the Terrace Reserved section for that horrid game, you'll pay 33% more than last year ($16 compared to $12 last year).
It's a bold strategy that seems on the surface like it may have been Todd Rickett's idea. Those Bronze level tickets were selling for less than a dollar on StubHub last year because season ticket holders were dumping them for anything they could get. Knowing that as we know now and knowing the team will most likely be shitty again next year, why would anyone buy those tickets at the old face value, much less the new one?
The answer might lie in some upcoming scare tactics that the Cubs like to employ to falsely inflate ticket demand.
As reported by Paul Sullivan, the Cubs are ready to expand their dynamic pricing experiment:
The Cubs also will use dynamic pricing in the entire ballpark, Faulkner said, after experimenting with the concept in the bleachers in 2012. As ticket inventory decreases, the price of the unsold tickets will go up.
So while people might normally be inclined to wait and see if the team does, in fact, suck as much balls as it did last year before running out and buying tickets to see the Cubs play the Padres, they may feel compelled to buy the tickets early to make sure they get the tickets at the lowest price point. If they wait and the team is actually better than they expect, it could cost more to buy the tickets later.
And don't think the Cubs won't be driving that point home all winter long.
Plus, remember that dynamic pricing allows them to sell fewer tickets overall while maintaining a decent revenue stream because the price point keeps rising as the tickets are sold. So they can make up for lost revenue in the crappy games by selling lots of ever-more-expensive tickets to the popular games.
But I guess as long as Alvin is happy. That's the main thing.
Comments
Is this what SK does these days?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I probably won’t go to any games again next year. They’re talking about taking on rehab players and players looking to build rep.
And just like that, the Cubs became a minor league ball club. I know. I know. Think long term etc. etc. etc.
joshQuote Reply
I was hoping you’d write about this, 424. Good job.
mb21Quote Reply
This is a really good point. Also, they have about 100K to go before they even get to me on the season ticket waiting list. So lots of willing schlubs to burn through to get some base revenue even if most of those tickets end up going unused.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
He makes a great point that if they’re lowering ticket prices then they’re worried about that reserve list. The season ticket prices don’t come down for any other reason. Even in bad economic times Cubs tickets were increased and now that the economy is slowly improving they decrease it? Either they’ve had a lot of season ticket holders the last couple years give up their tickets (true, I’d suspect) and/or they’ve had a lot of people on that list drop out (also probably true).
I don’t know what this kind of decrease does to help though. They know more about that than I would.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
The attrition rate appears to be about 10K a year. I put my name on the list about two years ago and I was at 120K or so, now I’m near 100K. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they are burning through it rather quickly, but it would still take them about a decade to get to me at that rate. I’m not an economist but I feel like if they were truly desperate they’d probably offer an even bigger discount than what’s been reported.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Today I found out there is a 10% chance I might have to move from Chicago to Pittsburgh. I never thought I could see the bright side as being able to see a real baseball game next year (dying laughing)
akabariQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
They’re not desperate, but they must be concerned about the burn rate at which they are going through willing customers. They also know that it is highly unlikely that this team is going to sell tickets on its own merits this year (or even probably next year) so they are doing a PR job here.
But it’s a shell game. They actually raised ticket prices while getting to say they lowered them. All that has to happen is for them to shift a few of those lower-tiered games back into the Marquee column and they raise their revenue without “raising prices.”
In most cases, moving even one game from each level to the next highest level would result in those seats going from basically holding even to rising slightly. Move a couple of games and you are going to see significant rises in season ticket costs.
So in two years, they’ll talk about how they are only raising prices 2% or whatever after a promising season, but they’ll shift it back to having 13 Marquee games and only 6 Bronze like it was a couple of years ago. So those packages will shoot up in price.
I only wish the Cubs played baseball as well as they marketed their tickets. They’d be fucking unstoppable.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
Baby steps…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
mb21 wrote:
Attaboy, Aisley! {pat, pat}
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
No, but it gives me ideas…..
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Fucking shit. I was trying to watch the game last night, but you know how when you’re watching and you can’t concentrate because there aren’t enough camera angles? Why the fuck can’t we see all the camera angles? I don’t want to just watch the game, I want to spend all my time hunting through camera angles!
What’s that mlb.com, you say you have a new package that’s just for me?!
joshQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
Agreed. It may only be 10K right now, but fans were expecting the 2010 Cubs to contend. A large portion thought the 2011 team would because they won a lot of games down the stretch and the evil Lou Piniella was gone. 2012 was really the first year the fans expected nothing from the team. Now they expect even less. I’d think if the attrition was 10K over the last 2-3 years that we’ll see it increase quite a bit. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see that list down to 10K by the time the Cubs contend in a few years. It’s a great safety net to have, but it will go away quickly.
What kind of a net did they have prior to 2003? Any? It won’t take long to get back to that point.
mb21Quote Reply
The other thing is that you can buy tickets to a late season game for next to nothing. It even has me interested in attending a game at Wrigley late next year. Obviously the cost of travel remains the same, but it’s much more of an incentive to go there if I can get tickets for as cheap as they were late in the season this year. I expect they’ll be that cheap even earlier in the season next year.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
If you buy a shirsey and helmet nachos, Todd will pick you up from the airport.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ akabari:
When the Cubs come to town Cubs fans outnumber Pirate fans. Those games are really fun. And PNC Park is awesome. And tickets are CHEAP. Also Pittsburgh is pretty nice. Personally, I’d jump at the chance.
mobile SVBQuote Reply
GBTS wrote:
Sounds like a good deal, until you realize that Todd is waiting at Midway while you’re sitting outside of O’Hare.
BerseliusQuote Reply
http://news.yahoo.com/guantanamo-prisoners-opinion-basketball-star-treated-top-secret-190624284.html
Lulz.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Todd just ASSUMED you knew a better value when you saw one, but he guesses HE WAS WRONG wasn’t he!?
joshQuote Reply
josh wrote:
Don’t you like anything?
Aisle424Quote Reply
mb21 wrote:
I don’t think they had any net before 2003. There might have been small waiting lists while Sammy was clubbing HRs left and right, but I bought in 1998 and I had a friend buy in with no wait in 2001. Both the end of 2001 and 2002 sucked so I can’t imagine there was a wait list after that until the after 2003 playoff run.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Ham. Unless it’s too salty.
joshQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Thanks. I didn’t figure they had one. The Cubs are going through a period of suck that we haven’t seen them go through in awhile. There are a lot of Cubs fans who became fans during or after 2003 that will probably give up or already have given up on them. Those fans were expecting the Cubs to contend every year from 2004 through 2010 and many of them in 2011. My guess is that by the time the Cubs contend that list will be down to 10K or be nonexistent and the Cubs won’t be selling out many games either.
People always say that Wrigley makes fans show up, but that hasn’t always been true. That’s only been true in recent years. It is the weakest argument for not building a new ballpark.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
You always hear people citing tradition, but that’s true every time a new stadium gets built. It’d be harder to find a more historic park than old Yankee Stadium. And people like it fine. I think most people would rather just have a nice ball park, when you get down to brass tacks.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I think my only concern right now (being prepared for the team to suck for a while) is that the team remains financially solid enough such that when the time comes, even if the attendance is a bit lagging, they can still drop armored trucks full of cash in the laps of free agents who deserve it.
I’m all for a new park BTW. Or at least a renovated version that doesn’t look as crappy.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
The attrition isn’t quite 10K a year. I signed up after Sori signed in the 2006 off-season and started in the low 17,000’s. I remained in the 17,000’s for the glory years (2007-2009) (dying laughing). The last two years have seen significant attrition resulting in me holding down spot 4,012. My fear is I will actually get a call this year or even next…I’d be crazy to accept.
/cool story bro’d
srbutch5Quote Reply
@ srbutch5:
Well, I would imagine there’s more attrition the further away from the top you are, though. Hell, you can almost taste the piss trough from 17,000.
joshQuote Reply
@ srbutch5:
I’m confused. You say 17K, but earlier it was mentioned that it was over 100K.
mb21Quote Reply
srbutch5 wrote:
(dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
I’m guesing it bloated after 2007/08
joshQuote Reply
@ mobile SVB:
Thanks for the advice. PNC flew me out for an interview Friday, so we will see what happens. All I got to see was Market Square and some hole in the wall bar (best burgers ever? Maybe some Sox fans were there?) But Pittsburgh SEEMED pretty nice.
akabariQuote Reply
@ akabari:
Are you hoping to move?
mb21Quote Reply
They should have charged money to those who sign up on the season ticket wait list, like 50 or 100 with that money able to go to the purchase of the season tickets. It seems silly not to. Give free Cubs Club membership with each purchase.
I know the # wouldn’t have gotten to 100k like this, but it probably would have got to 50k. Missed opportunity now though, until the Cubs are relevant again at least.
WaLiQuote Reply
This is great, via Buzzfeed:
MishQuote Reply
@ mb21:
It was 17K when I signed up after 2006. It ballooned over 100K after 2007 and 2008, I presume.
srbutch5Quote Reply
akabari wrote:
Everyone I know who has lived there loves the place
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
I know that Bears charge you $100 or something to get on the season ticket wait list…which does go towards your season ticket purchase.
srbutch5Quote Reply
@ Berselius:
It’s definitely a nice town driven by their love for the Steelers and Pens…both consistently good. And their love for Molson Ice. Maybe that’s just the hockey portion though.
srbutch5Quote Reply
Like any old, big city, Pittsburgh has its blights and its gems. Unlike many bigger cities, it also has a lot of hills that make it seem smaller. I lived about 90 min away, and visiting was fun. Our friends who were native there loved it. If you move out there, Akabari, beware of the Pittsburgh left. When a red light changes, the first car in the oncoming left turn lane turns automatically, expecting you’ll let them by, even though you, and the lane(s) to your right, are going straight.
SVBQuote Reply
@ srbutch5:
That might be Hockey folks, since Molson is Canadian swill. My Pittsburgh friends raved about Yuengling (sp?). I think there is a so-called microbrew from there too–maybe Fat Tire?
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Yuengling is supposedly the oldest brewery in the US, and their beers are more or less ubiquitious in the mid-Atlantic. They’re a decent inexpensive non-BudMillerCoors option to get.
Fat Tire comes from New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins CO, which is a fantastic place to visit. Though if you’re in town, O’Dell’s is even better.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Yuengling is from Pottsville I believe and is delicious for its price point. Fat Tire is from CO
WaLiQuote Reply
SVB wrote:
We have those in Chicago, too. Here, they’re called “assholes”.
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Also, Yuengling overtook Sam Adams this last year and is now the highest selling American owned beer, even though they mostly just distribute on the eastern part of the US.
http://adage.com/article/news/d-g-yuengling-son-america-s-largest-brewer/232102/
/beer good
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
It was funny seeing AJ wearing a suit on the pre-game.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
It’s a whole new outfit to imagine him beaten to a blood pulp in!
joshQuote Reply
Why the fuck is the game on now?
gbts22Quote Reply
Uh-oh, Beltran is out of the game? That’s gotta hurt the Cards chances.
joshQuote Reply
@ gbts22:
2 games today.
joshQuote Reply
C’mon SFGnats
Suburban kidQuote Reply
The radio guys are making fun of/complimenting Hawk Harrelson.
joshQuote Reply
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
gbts22Quote Reply
@ gbts22:
Somebody thought of the children
BerseliusQuote Reply
crap
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Fucking Cardinals
mb21Quote Reply
josh wrote:
False.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
I forgot about their hidden weapon. Matt… Carpenter….?
joshQuote Reply
Cardinals —> black magic
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Ooooh, Scutaro!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Goddammit Panda…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I don’t believe anyone’s used the spoilers in a while…
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]
Rice CubeQuote Reply
MO is dancing in the streets.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Did Michael Brenly get released or something?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Brenly and Gracey trading places?
WaLiQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
The other shoe drops….ugh
Suburban kidQuote Reply
WaLi wrote:
Who knows? I hope not. I still think it will be Wood. I’m hoping for Glanville.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ WaLi:
Plenty of public transportation on the north side. Or maybe Grace thinks he can renew his Illinois drivers license.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
I figure he earned enough money while he was playing and broadcasting that he could just buy Todd Ricketts’ Undercover Boss apartment across the street.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Doug Glanville? I thought he did random stuff for ESPN already.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
it’s official
http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/8517366/bob-brenly-return-chicago-cubs-booth
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Kinda sounds like Brenly was not offered a new contract?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Doggone it…Giants are in trouble now 🙁
Rice CubeQuote Reply
FACK
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Oh joy, a rain delay.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Hobbiton Press-Citizen reports Brenly is indeed expected to join AZ booth.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I’d rather have Brenly than Grace.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
x1000000
GBTSQuote Reply
Yeah, I didn’t like some of Brenly’s comments toward specific players (Aramis in particular), but the Cubs could do a lot worse than him.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
And I can’t stand Brenly. I’m very glad he’s gone. That said, I don’t have high expectations they’ll hire anybody who is better. I know people have said Moreland hasn’t been all that good on the radio side, but when he filled in on the tv side years back I thought he was excellent. I wonder if the negative attention he’s gotten is partly because of the shoes he had to fill. This is odd to me to considering that Santo was not even close to a good announcer. A good to great Cubs fan? Absolutely! Was he good at announcing baseball games? No.
mb21Quote Reply
I liked Moreland when he filled in for Santo occasionally on the radio but not as much since he became the regular analyst. It seemed he was better when he was relatively unprepared and was just winging it. I don’t listen to the radio broadcasts very often, though.
Grace sucks and I don’t think there’s any chance the Cubs hire him at this point.
Good riddance to Brenly.
cwolfQuote Reply
I want to like Zonk, but I think he’s terrible, regardless of whoever’s shoes he’s had to fill.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
I don’t think I’ve listened to a radio broadcast since 2007 or 2008 so I have no idea.
mb21Quote Reply
GBTSQuote Reply
mb21 wrote:
Then I’m done talking with you. Good luck.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
You’re not going to ban me first?
mb21Quote Reply
Kick rocks, Johnny Cakes.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Dueling episodes of Rain Delay Theatre here. Trapped in an airport lounge and the local Fox affiliate switched over to “The Ricki Lake Show.” I would kill everyone here for a showing of “Sink the Bismarck!” instead.
mobile daveQuote Reply
@ mb21:
That would be impressive…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ mobile dave:
“killing everyone” and “airport lounge” in the same paragraph would probably get you kicked out the airport and on the no-fly list. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
@ mobile dave:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGco4ySBQTg
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
That’s the full movie, BTW.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
FIYAH
GBTSQuote Reply
No clincher tonight.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Wow, you might have just saved all our lives there.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Remember this
within the next 5 minutesthe next time I’m acting like a smarmy assbag.Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Restart at 9:05 CST. CAMON GIANTS
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Why do people think Sabathia can’t pitch Game Seven now? That dude threw like 65 innings in September for Milwaukee in ’08.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
Because after last night’s comical lineup and pinch-hitting strategy, it’s a 90% certainty the BBWAA are running the Yankees?
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
If Sabathia pitches a bad game, he’ll be moved to the bullpen next year.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
If they even get to a game 7…all hands on deck!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
But Ibanez is there to take his slot in the rotation, so they should be fine.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
In all seriousness, Girardi has made some really odd decisions this postseason.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
We better see what Mike Rizzo thinks of this.
BerseliusQuote Reply
I’m pulling for Glanville, but think there’s a nontrivial chance it could be Kerry Wood, broadcast experience be damned. Or better yet, Zonk to the booth, Glanville/Wood to the radio.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
He’s on an innings limit and will be shut down after his next start.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
He’s been panicking.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
HEY, HE HAS A 120-PAGE DOCUMENT
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
I could see Wood to the radio but will be shocked if he gets the tv gig. I’ll be surprised if he even gets a radio job. The Cubs can pick almost anyone they want.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Yeah, big time. Overreactions to almost every “crisis.” We used to joke about the writers running the Cubs, but it really seems to me like Girardi is letting media pressure get to him.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Zonk and Len could make a nice team, I think.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Biggest fears:
1.) Gracebag
2.) Return of the Playgirl Model
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
FWIW, I think Pat would do a great job shepherding along someone who hasn’t done much broadcasting work. I would be surprised if Wood was ready to jump into it right away. I always figured it would be a few years down the road.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I think Stoney nuked his bridges from orbit with the Cubs org over the past few years. Hiring TLR is more likely than FPM.
Though speaking of terrifying hires, Bobby V is unemployed.
BerseliusQuote Reply
Why don’t they just let Zonk go to the TV booth and let Pat Hughes hold down the fort on his own?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Per Stark, Motte recorded no 2-inning saves this season.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I’m surprised he keeps putting Cano in the lineup. Of course, he’s their best player and he isn’t hated like Rodriguez (yet).
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Completely diff regime there now, and Ricketts is still a fanboy.
Bobby V already agreed to go back to ESPN.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Another nightmare scenario: Fucking Sutcliffe.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
The whole “A-Rod has been struggling against right-handed pitching” excuse is hilarious. The team’s been facing right-handed pitchers every day, and almost all of the hitters are struggling.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
If there was a Nunez behind him, he might have already.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Not pinch-hitting Swisher and Arod last night vs. Coke, who gives up hits to RHB with the regularity of the Shepherd Gate Clock, is inexplicable.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Way to make him work, Giants. I really fucking hate these damn Cardinals. GTFO already.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
I would love Glanville. He’s still old school in terms of analysis, but he is a super smart dude.
I’m sick of Zonk. SO SO SICK.
joshQuote Reply
Rosenthal says Beltran may play tomorrow. Of course.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Everyone (maybe even A-Rod) has bought the storyline that A-Rod + postseason = disaster. That’s as best I can figure.
joshQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Did the Tigers have a righty in the pen? That could explain why he left Ibanez in (sorta). It wouldn’t explain leaving in Ichiro, though, since he was the first hitter Coke faced.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ josh:
Maybe just this postseason. Including this year A-Rod has a line of .265/.372/.467 across 324 PA. I don’t really think that’s a disaster overall, but he’s really sucked this October.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I would live to see this. I would listen to radio exclusively.
mb21Quote Reply
Do Yankee fans remember 2009? They must have some kind of selective amnesia.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
BUT WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY?!?!?!?!?!?!!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
A-Rod’s career line vs. RHP: .303/.383/.562
A-Rod’s career line vs. LHP: .290/.388/.556
But somehow, suddenly, he can’t hit RHP’s. Brilliant managing, Joe.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
GAme over, apparently.
joshQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
To be really really fair, he’s been in a prolonged slump and in a short series I guess the manager is stuck between hoping that the guy snaps out of it or playing the hot hand. This version of A-Rod isn’t playing to the level of career A-Rod, at least not from what I’ve seen.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I would prefer Pat solo. He does such a great job of play-by-play.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I’m real behind thanks to a dead iPad (dying laughing)
But yeah. I just finished school, have been in Chicago most of my life, need a at least SOMEWHAT professional job…etc. a fresh start, kind of. So yeah, I am kinda looking to move.
On topic: Fuck the cardinals
AkabariQuote Reply
@ josh:
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
There’s no way his TTL has dropped anywhere close to Ibanez’s dismal numbers vs. LHP over the last 3 seasons.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
I guess that the difference between the Pittsburgh left and the Chicago asshole left is that in Pittsburgh it is accepted and the cars in the oncoming lanes wait on purpose to let the left-turner go. (dying laughing)
SVBQuote Reply
Lincecum and Zito next up for Giants.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I think if he had pinch-hit Swish or A-Rod for Ibanez in that situation it would have been the right call too, but you know they would skewer A-Rod and Girardi on the ~65% chance that he makes an out.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I’m also sure that Girardi had all those numbers in mind and doesn’t really care what the media thinks, but at the same time both A-Rod and Swisher had been in prolonged slumps and in a short series he doesn’t have as much of the luxury of waiting out those slumps. I don’t know if that makes sense…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Berselius wrote:
Oh Boy Oh Boy! Can I hope for this? I never see games on TV, but listen to the radio all the time. Glanville is excellent. Though I think both he and Wood are smart enough to realize when Pat is needling them. I’m not sure that was the case with Ronny, though I did enjoy his “commentary” ( ≠ analysis).
SVBQuote Reply
Oh, and for the record, I rather like listening to Brenly, and I’m brave enough to admit it here.
SVBQuote Reply
Dave Cameron wrote about what I was trying to convey previously:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/joe-girardi-and-the-tragedy-of-the-recent/
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Bruce Levine speculates on replacements for Brenly, doesn’t include Dave Otto or Bob Dernier.
Does include Todd Hollandsworth. Ugh.
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
The Dave Campbell pick was an interesting one. I recall his voice as being one that could put you to sleep though.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Fangraphs fucking loves extrapolating from small samples to draw unwarranted conclusions nowadays.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Tribune adds Steve Lyons, Eric Karros, Sarge Matthews, and Darrin Jackson. Guess the first two would be OK with me.
SVBQuote Reply
I like Karros, know nothing about Sarge, and think DJ and Lyons are hot garbage.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
akaQuote Reply
@ aka:
This is true.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ aka:
But FG, and especially Cameron, should know better. I think that’s what really set off MGL (well that and his enormous sense of self-importance); you expect this from the BBWAA set, but not from FG people.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
If Lyons is the analyst, won’t he take his pants down during the stretch?
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
I always assume he’s pantsless.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
They can just get rid of Len as well, hire Grace and Sutcliffe, and have open bar night every night!
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
he’s good when he’s blackout drunk.
@ Akabari:
just don’t start using the word “yins”. man does that drive me fucking crazy.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
They’re really warming up the tar and pulling out the bags of feathers in NY. He’s going to be run out of town before the winter meetings.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ SVB:
I don’t mind him. As I said earlier, there’s a lot worse.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I don’t mind Sutcliffe (he is definitely a lot better than Grace and the equal to Karros), but I don’t see him signing on to 162 games.
Hollandsworth should just go away – he sucks. (He is probably the favorite though. Probably comes cheap for starters)
Dave Campbell would be OK. I hate him on Playstation but when I heard him for real filling in for Brenly he was a pleasant surprise.
Please don’t let Pat go solo. That would mean at least a full inning of Judd Sirott solo. Zonk was a fresh voice was he was a sub, but after hearing him for a couple seasons now, he’s starting to expose his limitations.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I don’t mind Sutcliffe either. I like Dave Campbell, but I don’t think the Cubs hire someone as old as he is. He’s the best possible replacement I’ve heard so far. Can’t stand Grace (dislike him more than Brenly) and can’t imagine the Cubs will hire him. Don’t want Hollandsworth either. I don’t mind Sarge.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Sarge would probably be pretty good, but he seems to have a good thing going for him in Philly. It’s not like he needs the theoretical goodwill of two seasons of replacement level performance in a Cubs uniform to make himself a candidate (*cough* Hollandsworth)
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
It’s irrelevant, Judd Sirott is like death. It’s going to happen, so just try to enjoy everything else.
joshQuote Reply
The comments here are kind of fun:
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/18/a-rods-2009-never-happened-people-got-me-it-never-happened/
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
“Yeah, he’s no Reggie Jackson.
Number of post-season series played by Jackson: 17
Number of post-season series in which Jackson had an OPS > .700: 8 (in other words, he completely sucked 1/2 the time, but was great the rest of the time).
Number of post-season series played by Rodriguez: 16
Number of post-season series in which Rodriguez had an OPS > .700: 8 (in other words, he completely sucked 1/2 the time, but was good or great the rest of the time).
Yep, totally different guys in the postseason.”
joshQuote Reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI8UPHMzZm8
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Looks like the Jays weren’t paying attention to the Theo compensation last offseason
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/18/red-sox-blue-jays-talking-compensation-for-john-farrell/
BerseliusQuote Reply
It’s going to be a race to see which of Kenny Williams or Ned Colletti will trade prospects for A-Rod’s contract this offseason (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
I think Colletti has clearly gained front-runner status. Also, Kenny is no longer GM.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
The Dodgers are becoming the Island of Misfit Toys.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Which one is Josh Beckett?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Funny, I was about to go grab a similar pic. Well done.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
He’s still team president, he could make it happen if he wants to (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Looks like the Sox are cutting ticket prices too:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/chi-sox-cutting-2013-ticket-prices-20121018,0,1655301.story
Damn I wish Cubs season tickets were that cheap.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
Face value won’t matter when Cubs tickets are 9 cents on StubHub
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
What is that, like $15.09 after taxes and fees? That’s still better than going through the box office (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
Are you renewing your tickets, WGC?
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Would you ask Tom Petty that?
mb21Quote Reply
mb21 wrote:
This is a meme I have to admit I don’t understand.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Alvin has projected the chances of the various candidates chances of replacing Bob Brenly:
Thus, the chances someone from this list is hired is 155%
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
I put my own chances at 162%. I based that on SCIENCE. You can tell because I used a percent sign.
joshQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Oh I kow this one!
So, Billy Bob Thornton started a band. And he went on this radio show and was a total dick to the interviewer. The guy asked him something harmless about the music or about transitioning from acting to music and Billy Bob hollered back “Would you ask Tom Petty that question?” as in “I am TOO a serious musician!!”
joshQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Google that question along with Billy Bob Thornton.
mb21Quote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
Yes. They’re throwing in an autographed Rizzo baseball this year, so it seems totally worth it (dying laughing)
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
(dying laughing) I hope someone called him out his inability to do math.
mb21Quote Reply
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
Hey, at least they gave you some incentive…
@ mb21:
Were they subsequently banned?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Yeah….that’s not how math works.
GBTSQuote Reply
Have we considered the possibility that Alvin does not operate in base-10? It actually might explain a lot.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
So, he’s arguing those are independent probabilities, and therefore there must be a chance that the Cubs hire everyone on the list. That makes perfect sense.
joshQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
So, like .2 octal is .25 decimal. I tried base 12 and I get 1 5/144ths. That’s close anyway.
joshQuote Reply
So he’s operating somewhere inbetween base 12 and base 13.
Holy shit, Al’s gone fractal!!
joshQuote Reply
I’ve determined that Al must be using the base 6+/- sqrt(41).
joshQuote Reply
Maybe the Cubs will hire 2 people.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Ah, Josh beat me to the possibility of multiple hires.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
josh wrote:
Maybe they’ll have a booth like the one in Naked Gun with Goudy, Stockton, Allen, Palmer, McCarver and Dr. Joyce Brothers.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
Have you seen the size of the broadcast booth? If they’re gonna have that many broadcasters, they’ll need to eliminate the press box, the organist and most of the upper deck concession stand. Then again, those might all be seen as improvements
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
New shit: http://obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/bill-murrays-video-resume-for-the-cubs-open-tv-broadcast-position.html
Aisle424Quote Reply