"... but I don't see how the O's can justify any increase until the on-field product is noticably improved. It's not like the franchise is losing money with that payroll."

I wish I knew Angelos' email addy so I could forward this to him.

Maybe each one of us can print 10 out and mail them to the warehouse.

On second thought, if he gave a damn, he wouldn't have done it in the first place.

"But I'm guessing Delta would have to charge a lot less if you knew before you got on the plane that you had a 39 percent chance of getting where you want to go."

Love the analogy, Pete. Perfect.

With ticket price increases and another few days without as much as a whisper of a major acquisition from the Warehouse, even the eternal optimists must be getting a little antsy.

What a joke.

One more thought: For geographical reasons, I haven't been to an Oriole game since the 2007 season. And I don't get MASN. So, basically, I'm worthless to the Orioles.

Not sure what I'm getting at here. I think it just sucks to realize that they couldn't care less about me and my desire to see my hometown team succeed.

Just what I needed - yet ANOTHER reason to stay away from Camden Yards. Pennywise and pound foolish.

The arrogance of ownership is simply staggering. Why I even continue to care about the Orioles is frankly a mystery...nostalgia perhaps.

It's almost become Dickensonian..."please Mr. Angelos...more gruel..."

LET THE WHINING AND INDIGNANT HOWLING BEGIN!

All I can say is, those guys in the warehouse ought to walk funny, because they've got cojones down to here. They really make it easy, don't they? Like shooting fish in a barrel. Not to get all phil-o-sophical, but it's been reduced to the lowest commen denominator in my mind: Love the Team--hate the product (and those responsible for it). As Jim Mora might say "Advance?! Advance?! You want to talk about buying tickets in ADVANCE??!

Pete,

I already comments on this last night but I have a question.
The Orioles will charge you more to buy a ticket game day at the window BUT won't the customer ALSO pay more if they buy it in advanced due to fees charged by the companies they process the online ordering?

In other words you will get screwed both ways? Is the only way to avoid additional fees is to buy it from the BOX office at least one day ahead of the game?

Curious
Rich

This is the stupidest team in all of baseball.

When the supermarkets wanted to cut back on cashiers, they introduced the self service lanes where you scan your purchases yourself. I don't use them because (1) I don't remember ever filling out an application to work in a supermarket and (2) the customers who like to use these devices the most are usually the ones who are least capable of operating the d*#n things!.

Before too long, I see the O's installing ticket vending machines at the gate, charging a fee to use them of course...

Right on Peter. If this club starts putting a competitive team on the field, the Baltimore fans have proven that they will buy tickets.
However they seem to be charging major league prices for what is arguably a minor league product.
I really didn't expect the O's to pony up for Bay or Lackey, but I thought we'd see some impact player at some position come here. I'll stick to my earlier posts and wait until I see how this team performs in ST before passing final judgment on Andy's off season dealings, but right now I'm not seeing much to get me excited about what is looking very much like yet another losing season.
I know the O's have been a profitable franchise despite years of losing, so I guess that Angelos has figured he can still make a profit on a dozen or so big crowds of Sox and Yankee fans every year plus TV money, because he sure isn't doing much to put Baltimore fans in the seats.

This is just another bad decision in a long line of bad decisions made by the Orioles organization. The best work of MacPhail aside, the Orioles are never gong to be a good organization until Pete and sons leave the scene.

The only logical explanation for the lack of moves this offseason and an increase in ticket prices coming after a 98 loss season is that the Angelos family is either trying to sell or move the team…. Insane..

Exactly Pete! You reward the online ticket purchasers that can plan ahead by giving them lower prices as an incentive to do so but not by increasing the price for the fan that turns up on the day!

It is just like a store increasing the price of an item by 10% and then offering it for sale at 10% off! The mind boggles!

How can advance ticket sales be poor if tickets don't go on sale until FanFest weekend? Please explain.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I count season ticket sales as advance sales also.

This seems like poor customer relations in bad economic times for relatively little money. Heck they could get rid of unneeded and mostly unwanted Ty Wigginton and replace with Justin Turner and save more in salary than this will probably generate.

If you use Ticketmaster you get stuck with fee's too. I would now use their online service but I want particular seats and sections and there is no way to select from available seats online. Living 2 1/2 hrs away limits my advance purchase alternative. It is so horrible when the yanks and sux come to town I stay away. Maybe just add more and more to those tickets.

The "scalp free zone" will be where people buy their tickets. Season ticket holders who just want to give them away will be the first place walk up fans go. I, for one, will never buy a ticket in advance. Now with the higher fees, I definitely won't be buying at the ticket window. I would rather watch at home on the big screen so if the O's are getting blown out, I can just change the channel. I feel that is a much better plan than paying ridiculous parking fees, beer, food, etc. I have yet gone to a game where the O's actually won in the past 3 years. Talk about bad business and screwing the fans.

Pete - this is really insane. It feels like the O's are purposely trying to drive attendance down in order to move the team. Would the smart thing be to offer a discount to people who buy in advance rather than penalize people who decide to go last minute?

Just when I think they can't do anything more ignorant WHAM! they do.

Pete,

I'm OK witht he theory that encouraging advance ticket sales may allow the Orioles to reduce employees.

I reccomend that they start with Andy Macphail. The team could outsource the GM function to Pakistan or India, just like the banks outsource customer service.

Peter Angelos could phone in to the call center for direction on personnel moves. He could get better advice from Al Quida. They want to win.

Pete - this is really insane. It feels like the O's are purposely trying to drive attendance down in order to move the team. Would the smart thing be to offer a discount to people who buy in advance rather than penalize people who decide to go last minute?

Just when I think they can't do anything more ignorant WHAM! they do.

Right on Peter. If this club starts putting a competitive team on the field, the Baltimore fans have proven that they will buy tickets.
However they seem to be charging major league prices for what is arguably a minor league product.
I really didn't expect the O's to pony up for Bay or Lackey, but I thought we'd see some impact player at some position come here. I'll stick to my earlier posts and wait until I see how this team performs in ST before passing final judgment on Andy's off season dealings, but right now I'm not seeing much to get me excited about what is looking very much like yet another losing season.
I know the O's have been a profitable franchise despite years of losing, so I guess that Angelos has figured he can still make a profit on a dozen or so big crowds of Sox and Yankee fans every year plus TV money, because he sure isn't doing much to put Baltimore fans in the seats.

Pete - this is really insane. It feels like the O's are purposely trying to drive attendance down in order to move the team. Would the smart thing be to offer a discount to people who buy in advance rather than penalize people who decide to go last minute?

Just when I think they can't do anything more ignorant WHAM! they do.

With their low payroll this year their record earnings for 2010 will be so high (around 60 million, previous 20 year high for any team 44) that they could let everyone in for free(gate receipts=47 million) and still have positive earnings. They'd rank about 20. They won't be first in 2010 wins but they'll be first in earnings and the media will let them get away with it.

I went to a game at OPACY last September for the first time in about 3-4 years (I catch a 3-4 game O's away series every summer in a different park). I was absolutely stunned at what I saw. There was maybe 3,000 people there. I felt terrible for some of the employees and outside vendors (One usher asked for a pay-off to let my friend and I stay in the box seats we snuck down to). It felt like I was at a minor league game. The Orioles should be doing everything possible to boost attendance and interest in the team. Raising walk-up ticket prices is idiotic.

Whoever makes these decisions for the Orioles should be fired. I'm not an Angelos or MacPhail basher and have spent numerous posts on this blog defending them, even when it isn't easy to do so. But this kind of decision is beyond infuriating, and makes me wonder if anyone in Orioles management truly understands the precarious position the team is in regarding dwindling fan support.

This team has put a terrible product on the field for 12 straight years, and hasn't made any moves this offseason that could be expected to make 2010 any different. The team clearly cannot justify a price increase based on an expectation that the product will be better this year than in the past.

The Orioles also can't make a case for a price increase based on increasing costs. Payroll (the largest cost component) has decreased more than 10% between 2009 levels and now. If anything, fans should be arguing for 10-20% LOWER prices, since the O's will be putting the same garbage on the field but paying less for it.

Finally, from a marketing/PR standpoint this move is terribly ill-advised. The Orioles have destroyed a lot of fan goodwill over the past 12 years, and especially in ANOTHER transition year (and a year with continuing economic challenges for fans) they should make a gesture showing that they understand fan sentiment and are genuinely working to earn back our fanhood. This might have meant overspending for a top free agent, like Teixeira, even though that might not have fit precisely within MacPhail's "plan". Fans would have seen such a move as a sign of the team's commitment to putting together a winner, and it would have also shown that management has an open ear to fans/customers (neither of which is apparent now).

But since we've already passed that bridge, going through another offseason without a centerpiece free agent, the team's other option to regain fan goodwill could have been to offer fans a discount. This could have been communicated in a way that expressed the team's gratitude to fans for sticking with the Os through a long down period and rebuilding process, and it could easily be structured in a way that wouldn't decrease future year ticket revenue (e.g., through keeping ticket "face value" the same but using special promotions- like discounted packages, CHEAPER gameday purchases, ticket upgrades, etc). Advertising this move would have gained the team some valuable goodwill, especially facing another uncompetitive season.

My biggest problem with this is that because the Orioles use Ticketmaster for online sales, I get to pay RIDICULOUS surcharges on everything.

I want to say the charge for O's tickets is up to 5 or 6 bucks sometimes... and for a pair of $10-12 upper deck seats? Absurd. Sometimes the charge is even PER TICKET.

If the O's want this to be 'fair,' they will at least make it easier to buy online AT price, not at price + fees.

For me its not as bad because I have season tix, so when I need extras I can call my agent and avoid fees. But calling the ticket office is no more fun or convenient.

What this amounts to is another effort to drive away the fans that don't live in the metropolitan area. Now I get to decide if I want to pay more at the park, or pay those wonderful "convenience fees" to Ticketmaster. This is in the same spirit as that brilliant decision to take the games away from WBAL, which I could listen to, and give them to some local FM outfit I couldn't get if i lived around the corner from the station. I would think an outfit with the record of this one, would be trying to attract fans, not chase them away.

Maybe if the O's were to cut salaries for the players by trading Roberts,Markasis and anyone else making over 1 million they woundn't have to raise ticket prices. Peter goal should be for payroll to be slightly higher than the Marlins.After all the Yankees and BoSox are going to beat us as long as he owns us. The people who go to these premier games are not going to see the O's. And day of the game higher ticket prices add to this. Pete the question to the front office is just how much profit is enough??????

Pete, I know there aren't many big names left, and I know Andy is usually a pretty straight shooter, but is there any chance the O's are concealing something fairly big that could jump out and surprise us in the next month?

Well put, Pete. I doubt many could have sid it better.

Go O's!

With the lowering of payroll the Orioles will have record earnings of 60 million in 2010. The previous high for any team over the last 20 years was 44 million. Totalled over the last 8 years the Orioles have the third highest earnings in all baseball. The Orioles gate receipts are 47 million. Their earnings in 2010 will be so high they could let everyone in for free and still finish about 20th in earnings. The media lets them get awaay with this. Some like Tom Davis fight so ardently for Angelos right to do this that you can't discuss the subject. What a sorry situation. We can't sigh Larouche and they're raising prices? The only price increase should be a 75% tax on earnings over 20 million for Maryland Pro Sorts teams.

Maybe if the O's were to cut salaries for the players by trading Roberts,Markasis and anyone else making over 1 million they woundn't have to raise ticket prices. Peter goal should be for payroll to be slightly higher than the Marlins.After all the Yankees and BoSox are going to beat us as long as he owns us. The people who go to these premier games are not going to see the O's. And day of the game higher ticket prices add to this. Pete the question to the front office is just how much profit is enough??????

So you're criticizing them for raising their price because they want to save money and have less employees? It's obvious if they have less employees they are going to increase their payroll so they can spend at will just like NY and BOS!!!! Right?
/end sarcasm

So you're criticizing them for raising their price because they want to save money and have less employees? It's obvious if they have less employees they are going to increase their payroll so they can spend at will just like NY and BOS!!!! Right?
/end sarcasm

Peter you are a wise scribe, and yes, it's inconvenient.

But in fairness, we still have it pretty good at Camden Yards.
O's tickets are the 8th most affordable in baseball.
http://bit.ly/994oN

Seems to me they're trying to increase revenues modestly, and in a way that causes the least amount of pain. (trying to kill off ticket window workers? really?!)

Still better than the 11 percent increase in the rest of MLB last year.

Do the Orioles have an ANTI-PR person heading their public relations team?
Poorest Public Relations I've ever seen.

There are a number of factors that shoud be taken into account when setting ticket prices. Obviously, supply and demand is foremost, that's why many teams are charging more for weekend games and when big name teams like Boston and NewYork are in town. This is true in most cities.
Most cities, however, have better teams so you would think that given the O's dismal record for over ten years, the fans would catch a break on ticket prices. To some extent, they do as O's tickets are far lower than most.
The state of the economy should factor in there somewhere. I don't know how bad the economy is in Baltimore but in Detroit-with over 25% unemployment, pro teams there are at least offering some seats at very cheap rates. You can buy bleacher seats and 'nose bleed' RedWings tickets for less than $10.
Public relations should also be looked at..A better move would actually be to REDUCE some ticket prices by even token amounts, to lure back fans.
Finally, there is often no correlation between ticket prices and the caliber of the team. For example, the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the worst teams in years, yet fans pack the Air Canada centre for every game; premium seats go for 400/500 EACH and scaplers get far more than face value for even standing room only tickets.
Obviously, OPCY is far from full, except when invaded by out-of-town Yank and RSox fans so they may want to re-think their ticketing strategies!

Just a thought. how bout puttin slot machines in Camden Yards? Slot players seem to be the target market for the O's, HA!

Shouldn't they be doing just the opposite? I mean, if they want to increase attendance, shouldn't they be offering last minute deals to get people in the park? The airlines (to continue your analogy) often have last minute specials to fill their planes.

I understand that they don't want to encourage people to wait until the last minute, nor do they want people only taking advantage of special deals, but they are going to really hurt themselves with this ridiculous plan.

How about a more enlightened idea, like charging extra to anyone who lives in NY/NJ or New England? That way we could discourage so many Yankees and Red Sox fans from descending upon us, or at least profit more from their swarms.

But they have to raise prices to pay for all of the big ticket free agents they've signed...... oh, my mistake.... I thought this was the Red Sox....

They could of increased revenues easily by putting a competitive product on the field, instead of beating the same old drum for the past 12 years. Andy McPhail is making changes? Please don't blow sunshine up my @#( until this team reaches 500, it's great the minors are getting re hauled, but the major league team has been the same. Matt Wieters? Andy said if he had the pick he wouldn't of even drafted him, Brian Matusz? If he botched that pick at that slot then he doesn't belong in the majors as an executive. Say what you want but a decade of losing and incompetence has brought us to this point, and if the McPhail experiment fails (which to God I hope DOESN'T), then they may as well change the stadium name to something that accommodates our northern visitors more.

interesting strategy. I would think if they had empty seats they would drop game day prices for walk ins in hopes they could recoup at least some parking/ concessions/etc money.

I am trying to be very patient. I do not know all the details re attempts to rebuild the team. Maybe top tier FA just are not interested in coming to BAL, unless we really overpay, and then that just gets used for leverage to get more from BOS or NY or more preferred places. Maybe a big deal is being worked out.

I know I will be extremely disappointed if we do not end up with at least another FA starting pitcher and top corner infielder. Crede? Maybe, but I would not be surprised to see Mora outperform Crede in all phases of the game next year.

Thats fine by me PA, one less fan that will attend 10 games or so this year. He will start charging you on masn by the minute next. Oh, and to the front office great pick up on Salazar? Just what we needed another nobody to go with the rest of them, I am sure you will hype them to be some next great thing down the road. I have an idea, how about not announcing anything that the team does from here on out cause it isn't worth it. That will stop some sort of advertising for them. Hey Pete, is there anyway you can talk with the head honcho's at the Sun and see if you guys can pick another MLB team to talk about? I am an O's fan but seems like there is never that much positive stuff, figured if your covering someone else it might be more positive. Thanks again.

Is there something wrong with the comments feature causing all the duplicates or do folks not realize that their comment doesn't always post instantly so they keep posting?

That being said, when I was 30 years old I bled Orange. Now, at 41, I couldn't care less about this team. Mr. Angelos has killed a part of me. Go Ravens!!

No worries. Scalpers still don't charge service fees.

interesting strategy. I would think if they had empty seats they would drop game day prices for walk ins in hopes they could recoup at least some parking/ concessions/etc money.

I am trying to be very patient. I do not know all the details re attempts to rebuild the team. Maybe top tier FA just are not interested in coming to BAL, unless we really overpay, and then that just gets used for leverage to get more from BOS or NY or more preferred places. Maybe a big deal is being worked out.

I know I will be extremely disappointed if we do not end up with at least another FA starting pitcher and top corner infielder. Crede? Maybe, but I would not be surprised to see Mora outperform Crede in all phases of the game next year.

Not Brppks,

I think even the website is embarrassed. It is apparently trying to shut itself down. NB, they should care about someone who cares as much as you do about the Orioles. If you ever doubted that both Peter Angelos and Andy Macphail are both tone deaf, I think they cleared that up once and for all This week.

To "Joe Sixpack". I thought they gave the Oriole employees off on weekends. Don't try that hilarious PR on the blog anymore, the fans read it and reach for the Barf bag.

Right on cue an outhouser chimes in to defend the indefensible

The Tigers went from 120 losses to the WS in 3 yrs

This is Andy's 3rd season

They wont even make it to .500

There is still no major upgrades and its mid Jan

Back in mid nov, the outhousers were making the excuse that "its only november"

this is the same group who praised the eaton,freel et al acquisitions last yr

They're praising this horrible offseason too. The more things change....

O's top 5 in profitability

O's bottom 5 in payroll & standings

are we really surprised???

Joe SixPack - I hope that's sarcasm... otherwise, you sound just as intelligent as the clown that coined the name.

I'm not defending the Angelos Clan for a second.

But, I split a partial season ticket plan with some friends for box seats. The O's premium ticket pricing is just following what people around us have been doing for years.

Where we sit it's almost all plan holders, but on a Boston/Yankee weekend series we're completely surrounded by the enemy. So much so I've quit picking Yankee/Boston games when we have our lottery for tickets. Can't stand to sit amoung those rude SOB's.

Some of the other guys in our group are now picking Yankee/Redsox games and doubling their money by selling them online. Truth is there are some people buying season tickets, selling off the premium games on line along with some select games & weekend dates and ending up with 30-40 games for almost nothing. Scalp half and you end up seeing 15-20 games for the price of food.

That crowd will profit from this move because as long as you get face value for those games they're making a profit and the Angelos's just drove up the price of walkup tickets.

The amount of planholders reselling tickets is unbelievable. Remember Eli Jacobs? The O's fans and the Maryland Stadium Authority found out the Yard
was bigger then they thought after he sold the team. He was selling a few thousand unmarked tickets for every game and pocketing the proceeds.

Wouldn't be surprised to see the Angelos's scalping tickets themselves outside the Yard.

It's different world from the Hoffenberger's back in the old days.

Another short-sighted move by the Orioles. This will most hurt the students who like to go and sit in the upper deck on Friday nights. I doubt they buy their tickets in advance and will want to spend a couple extra bucks at the gate. For a team that has lost a generation of fans, this is not the way to win them back

It's amazing to me that there is this much energy wasted over a couple of dollars per ticket for walk-ups. O's tickets are still cheaper than 2/3 of the tickets in MLB and dramatically less than most east coast teams.

Also, exactly which big name free agents were the O's going to sign - Holliday (was never leaving SL), Bay (how much of an upgrade would he have been for $70 million?), Lackey -(sure he was leaving the Angels to go to Baltimore), Adam Laroche, Johnny Damon - (right, the O's would go right to the World Series with them).

Do you all really think this team isn't better next year with Weiters, Reimold, Bergeson and Matusz in Baltimore for a full year. Think about the players in those spots on opening day a year ago. Before injuries both Reimold and Bergeson were in the ROY running and Weiters was the best rookie in baseball in September.

No, they aren't going to the playoffs this year, but there can be no debate they will be improved. Then again having gone to about 20 games a year who am I to argue with people that haven't been to a game in years and don't have MASN.

I can hear it like it was yesterday. Chuck Thompson in the booth saying "It's a beautiful night. If you're in the neighborhood come on down" I bet Chuck is spinning in his grave.

And how come you media types never write about how the O's scalp their own tickets. I know for a fact they give "Premium Seats" to 'Premium Games" to brokers to sell them at rediculous prices and reap most of the benefits. And then arrest someone outside for trying to recoup their extra charges they paid on Ticketmaster. That's gotta make the Angelos boys proud.

NEW TEAM SLOGAM:

Lower payroll, higher ticket prices - come watch the kids play!!

At this rate, would losing the team, not having them for a few years, then getting a new team with a great owner, be any worse?

I mean if I just want to watch baseball for the sake of watching baseball, I can go to DC.

I know the team can't move at this point, but seriously, how can it be worse? The owner and sons do not care if this team wins or loses. It simply doesn't matter to them, not anymore.

With that being the case, are they really YOUR Baltimore Orioles? I mean is this a club you feel good about calling your home town team?

Sell the team PA, or leave town. We'll take our chances with losing a team for a few years, with the hope that things will greatly improve.

Now there's a PLAN I can buy into!

Time to....

OPEN THE BOOKS!

Time for the lies to stop!

I am a defender of MacPhail and believe he is on a good path in a dark place,MLB,the broken sport.
Almost impossible position but he has done well,certainly better than his predecessors.
Grew up near old Stadium off the Alameda. Went to most games on the spur of the moment.
I run/owned business's.
This is simply incredulous decision.
Beyond stupid.
Live in Frederick. Did 3 games last year.
I might go to one game this year(only if the lady is smokin!0
Geesh. How many billions do you need tort lawyer?
This is insane.

wayne, read Jeff's post, he put it better than I could.

Maybe you'll learn something....or not.

Pete
How do you put up with this idiocy?
Just curious.

Ken,

I saw Jeff's post. Seen it before, many times in fact.....

When the team is going into its 13th losing season... when the team won 64 games last year... when the team is #26 of 30 in mlb payroll... when the team refuses to pay for any legitimate, productive fa... when the team is projected to win (at best) 75 games (Pete's words) ONLY if all the young players progress... when the team has possibly the worst corners in the game... when the team has no #4 hitter... when the team has 3 rookies (basically) in the staring rotation... when the team is depending on two surprise players, both coming off of major injuries... when the team says every year that 'it's not about this year'..... then

You don't raise ticket prices in any form.

Of course there were legitimate fa's that would have helped this team this year. Players that would have helped the development of the younger players. Always however, people blame it on this years crop, or fa's not wanting to come here. It's pure BS!

That's what the front office and ownership wants you to believe..... and you, Jeff and others do.

Ken, the Angelos family does not care about winning. It's so obvious, its pathetic! The media can't talk about it for obvious reasons. No, not a conspiracy... rather it's just business.

So no, I didn't learn anything from Jeff's post. In fact, his post EXACTLY what the Orioles want you to believe. Great job Jeff!

Pete/All,

I got an email today explaining the season ticket plans and asking which one I would be interested in. I responded by saying why would I invest in an organization that won't invest in itself and until they decide to adequately address their inefficiencies, I will put my support on hold just as they have put their committment to winning on hold!

Wayne,

Amen!

I'm greedy as the next person, but this does not even seem smart. I guess Angelos thinks that once I get there what choice do I have. I gotta pay to get in, but the scalpers aint gonna charge extra and neither will MASN.
Besides that, it just takes the good city feel of just going down to the game and paying a few bucks to get in the standing area, sneak in a soda and enjoy something that used to be THE thing to do on a summer night.

Do the Orioles have an ANTI-PR person heading their public relations team?
Poorest Public Relations I've ever seen.

You're welcome Wayne. By the way, it's just a game and disagreement is supposed to be part of the fun.

Actually, I'm not a fan of PA, but remember writing checks doesn't always work - (see football team 40 miles from Camden Yards). However, I do think AM is doing what he promised and is making progress - maybe not as fast as we'd all like, but for the first time in many years I think they are much better than 12 months ago and that's good enough for now.

I just think next off season is a more important test for ownership than this one. Obviously none of this is good enough for you and that's your choice as a fan.

The great thing about sports is 10 months from now we'll know how they did and we'll know more about all the young players and we can start the debate anew.

In the meantime, I'll keep going to games and watching them on MASN because we love baseball and Camden Yards is still one of the great places to see a game. I really hope you can enjoy some better baseball this year.

Amen Jeff. Can't understand why some guys spend so much time on this post if they are so disgruntled with the team - if it's that bad, just find a different team.

They can accuse me of drinking the Kool Aid, but how can anyone that saw them play last year not think there is some reason for hope. There's no comparison to the line-up and rotation from opening day last year.

Personally I would have liked to see them go after a verteran bat like Vlad to support Weiters and Reimold and I think they should go after one more starter to give Tillman and others more time to develop, but seriously not one free agent out there makes them 10 games better next year.

I'm also not convinced that holding the corners for Bell and Snyder is smart, but if AM makes that choice, he'll be judged on the results. In the meantime, my guess is Weiters and Reimold make us all forget about all those .250 avg 15 HR free agents.

Reese - 64 wins. No significant additions. Hope for what? 70 wins? Woo Hoo, I'm excited now.

Thanks

I told you so!

The truth will set you free!

Hahahaha, I absolutely loved the sarcasm in this post. Add on the fact that Ticketmaster is an evil company that somehow gets us silly sports fan to pay an extra $5 for nothing per ticket, and this is one of the best moves the O's made this offseason.

It's been 10 min. since the Ravens disappointed and I'm already on this blog. God help me.

Planning ahead doesnt give you the chance to avoid the extra fees Pete, it costs upwards of $5 a ticket to order online or by phone

Jeff,

Please just give it a rest. I mean it just sounds ridiculous.

Of course they're better than last year. Who brought in stiffs like eaton, hill, simon and the rest? AM is competing with the shit year he had last year, hoping all of you will say 'we're better than last year'.

It's called getting snowed!

And no one will listen to the 'next year' bullshit anymore. It's tired, and people have had enough of the 'next year' lie's.

Just stop it with the bs Jeff. Only warehousers will listen to such, and all warehousers are now obvious on these blogs. LOOK AT THE POST! People are tired of being jerked off by ownership, by the front office and by jerk off warehousers.

Demand that the team wins games, or just go away!

whine complain gripe fuss hate whine some more complain more

I love how people bring up Eaton and Hill and some of the other cheap pitchers last year....Psst, guess what they were brought here for? Yeah, just to eat some innings while Matusz and Tillman and Bergesen got some more experience.....Guess what they did? Exactly that.
You see, Macphail knows alot about building world Series winners (2 and counting) and you all don't.

Hey Wayne,
Why not DEMAND that the Ravens start winning some more playoff games. What a pathetic organization. You boy Ozzie hasn't been to a Super Bowl since when...10 or so years ago? and this acceptable? He can't find a Qurterback who can get more than 8 stinking first downs? What a loser outfit...
Either demand they get their act together or Go Away!
The spin will be "Oh but we made the playoffs" big stinging deal.
Total count of championships
Macphail- 2
Ozzie-1 (when the game was way different)

Talk about trying to kill a baseball fan's spirit. It used to be that ball teams encouraged their fans to walk up and see a game.

And I thought this was the year to sell every top deck seat for a dollar-a-game just to get people out to the park again. Go after it O's - go after every last dollar you greedy bastards.

God, this team is cheap. It's embarassing.

Extending your airline analogy: Delta would be very happy to take on same-day customers if they could count on each passenger another 30 dollars for a miniature of Jim Beam and a bag of peanuts, and if they knew that some poor fool will pay 80 dollars for an official "Airline Pilot" shirt and hat.

bf,

You just embarrassed yourself again!

You actually want to compare the Ravens, who went to the post season yet again, to the Orioles, who continue to set the bar for the term 'rock bottom'.

I'd discuss the difference with you bf, but you're simply too stupid to comprehend basic common sense.

You probably watched the game last night in your Oriole PJ's, hoping they'd lose so the talk shows can start blxwing the orioles again, with you first in line.

And yeah, i'll keep bringing up eaton, hill, etc...... You know why bf? Because this organization has a responsibility of putting a product on the field worth shelling dollars out for. You don't put complete stiffs in front of the fans so they can eat innings, in hope that the kids MAY develop. Real teams don't do that!

The Orioles are raping the proud fans who used to support this club. Read the post bf and jeff. Read what people are saying.

Demand winning, or help everyone out, and just go away. You're pathetic!

And here's where you say 'no, you're pathetic wayne. you say the same thing.......'

Save it bf and others. People are on to you for what you really are....... Oriole Warehousers. And you're embarrassing yourselves.

Wayne,
If you hate how the O's are being run, why do you even care anymore? Why waste all this energy on something you view as futile. I guess your solution to fixing however many losing seasons is to go out and buy every big named FA available. Well guess what.... THIS YEARS FA CORPS SUCKED ASS. Throwing money at players is what got us into this mess.

Go out to Dick's and buy a Red Sox shirt, asswipe.

This would have been smarter if they lowered season ticket prices and left regular ticket prices the same, in effect, increasing walk up tickets.

wayne=tool... you miss the point, by demanding winning, it will simply happen. thats what the red sox and yankees do. They built their teams on the winning demands of the fans. The best teams just get it done, they sign the best players whether they are available or not. They trade anything not nailed down to get the best. They spend $300mil to get Lackey, Holliday, and Figgins, because they will win the world series.

you see, wayne just wants to win. I predict he runs on the field by May and knocks over Markakis and tries to hit for him.

by not being a raving lunatic, you are just embarrassing yourself, you should be ashamed to leave your house and live in fear of being raped by the Orioles.

Hows that for irrational?

wayne=tool,

Last year's FA group was pretty good. What's your excuse for those misses??? Andy's 'offer' to Tex was a joke. What a missed opportunity. He'd look pretty damn good with Matusz, Bergie, Tillman, and so on. But, oh well.

Face it, PA is THE WORST MLB owner. This is not mine, Wayne's, et al's opinion. Brought to you by SI.

picking up crede or blaylock and another solid relief pitcher makes this team a heck of a lot better than last year.

wayne=tool,

Listen, a few of us already know who you are. We also know you go by multiple names on these post.

You have nothing to say (no matter how many names you go by), and the only points you attempt to make have been made by other warehouse types.

In any case, just know that you have been, are, and will continue to be on the side of losing.... as in another losing year..... as in one of the worst teams in baseball... as in - well, you get it, right?

But wayne=tool? Dude, that's the best you've got? Come on warehousers, let's have a contest to see who can come up with the best wayne name.

It'll help your days go faster....

Wayne my brother in realism,

Congrats, you won! It appears the Hog Blogger can not longer stand up to your realism and truths. I also have a theory the Sun is behind the repeating of blog entries to make the truth sayers think more people support the plan and are buying into their propaganda!

Hey the real problem with the Kool Aid Drinkers/Warehousers/Blog Hosts is that the truth hurts! The lack of activity by one of worst 4 teams in baseball is not going to improve their futility. In fact, for all of those who wish to dispute what you and many of us have said is that we have 13 years of facts and results on our side and they have nothing!

Keep up the goodwork, just converting one person at a time ( Pete being a big get on your part) and we will get there.

Keep the faith my friend!

Remember I told you so!

The truth will set you free!

Keith,
You know one of the reasons you guys sound really ignorant....it's because we are still 2 months away from throwing out the first pitch and you all think you know how the season will play out. That is the height of arrogancy
And what is your guys religeon you are trying to convert others to?
"the not so bright nattering nabobs of negativism who realize the O's will never ever be competitive unless we sign marginal free agents or trade away our top prospects for marginal players"

I'll stick to following the one who said "I am the way, the truth and the light and no man cometh unto the Father but by me."

Keith,

I hear ya brother!

Problem is, these people are seriously embarrassing themselves.

As warehousers (and alike), they'd have much more cred if they just didn't sound so stupid all the time. I mean I feel bad for them at times, knowing that AM never gives them new ammo, but you'd think they could be a little more creative.

Problem is, it's impossible to sell losing to rational people. Even after all the practice they've had, they still can't find a way to win the argument.

I mean it's like a bunch of kids screaming 'we won, we won'. But then someone says, 'um no the scoreboard says we lost 12-3'.

On these blogs Keith, no matter what the scoreboard says, they keep saying 'we won, we won'.

Kinda sad actually!

At this point in our lives my wife and I have a few more bucks to spend on extras like a weekend in Balt. to eat crabs and catch a game at OPACY. We always walked up and purchased. We knew the Os would probably loose but that was OK cuz we grew up loving the Os and watching the stars like Frank and Brooks. This increase for walkups is a slap in the face for loyal fans who have to endure ridicule for being loyal to a team that sucks. Maybe this year we'll stop by Busch stadium on our way to see the kids in Nebraska instead of coming to Balt. Even if they charge extra for walk ups it will be worth it just to see Pujols.

hmmm let's see, who is really the crowd saying "we won, we won!"
the team that can't find a decent receiver for the past 5 years?
The team that didn't win the division, that didn't make it to the AFC title game, that hasn't won a championship in 10 years. Are you kidding me. That is success to you? Not even getting to the Super Bowl in 10 Years?
Wow, you Ravens fans accept mediocrity. You are really the true "warehousers" "Oh yea wait till we get a good receiver next year" That is "the plan", Wait till next year. You bunch of losers, you should demand they win it all NOW, because if you as fans DEMAND they win the Super Bowl, then it will happen...
Just like the O's. Because we don't have enough fans that DEMAND a winner we don't get one. Well. the Ravens must have a bunch of mediocre fans who demand we get into the playoffs now and again and win one game here or there, Pathetic stuff.
Where's the plan Ozzie? Is that all there is?
What a bunch of losers you Ravens fans must be to accept this 9-7 stuff 9-7???? Are you serious? That's barely above 500. Most years that are not so watered down that wouldn't even be good enough.
Stop with all the lies Ozzie. Stop drinking the Purple Kool Aid people. The team aint that good!!!
Cmon Pete when are you going to rip the Ravens like you should? Are you scared. Man, If Steadman were here, he wouldn't stand for this mediocrity. Pete, does Ozzie pay you to write these blogs or What?

I don't know if I'll be that mad in the morning but that was me at 3:45. :)

Wayne and Keith are 100% correct.

How can anyone in their right mind defend this organization and the myriad poor decisions being made year-in and year-out?

The ticket price issue, the lack of significant free-agent signings, not sending any scout to the Dominican Prospect League, drafting the cheapest non-Boras client available in the June draft...the stupidity never ends.

bf - you're a very strange person. If you're attempting to compare the orioles to the ravens, you literally must be in an institution. I'm not sure if you realize how much of a moron you look right now. But if that's what you're going for, you've succeeded.

BF, You want to compare real fans to Oriole geeks like yourself? Let's meet at a place of your choosing and my friends and I will educate you and your geek losers to what the word fan really means. Up to you

BF, You want to compare real fans to Oriole geeks like yourself? Let's meet at a place of your choosing and my friends and I will educate you and your geek losers to what the word fan really means. Up to you

Dave,
You really want to meet because you can't even understand sarcasm...get a life and a sense of irony and humor while you are there

Oh, get over it.
OPCY is one of the most beautiful sports venues anywhere.
If you want it to stay that way, then be willing to support it.
This is 2010.... not 1956.
Things cost more.
It's like the price of gasoline.... it is what it is.
Subtle or not..... I think it's a good way to try and encourage fans hoping to see ballgames this season to plan ahead.
Since when is that not a good idea?

People who gripe about this are the same people who gripe about the price of tomatoes...... and most of them haven't a clue about what it's like to be a farmer.

If they think attendance has been bad lately, wait til they see the stadium this year.

The damage that this seemingly minor price increase will cause is going to surprise people.

BF,

No arrogance here or if I may speak for Wayne, it's realism. Being a lifetime fan of the O's which means from the very early 60"s for me and seeing what championship teams are doing and seeing what the O's are doing and have done. Some things are getting better but as we take a step forward some in the division took 3 steps forward and the rest took 2 steps forward. LOOK, the facts (transactions) are public knowledge, the Team Payrolls are public knowledge and the last 13 years of win loss records are public knowledge. That said, what is there to be arrogant about! Were just presenting a realistic view, while the Kool Aid Drinkers, Warehousers and blog host paint this rosier than red picture which is just lunacy! I believe the thought of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results has been defined. Histoiry will repeat itself.

I told you so!

The truth will set you free!

bf- all i can say is - huh???

dude, we've been losing for 12 flipping years. you think that's going to change?

yeah, we have some promising pitchers. last time i checked though, the skanks picked up two proven pitchers, one of them elite, last year. if our rooks somehow manage to match that, where's our a-roid, tex, jeter... sure we have kakes, and brob is solid, but we just don't stack up. and don't give me wieters & reimold. they are UNPROVEN. get a clue my man.

and your ravens 'sarcasm' is just pathetic. you want sarcasm? try this: The O's are a wonderfully run organization, and care deeply for their fans.

Thanks

Arod Tex and Jeter were ALL UNPROVEN at one time...
You don't get that....Huh????

Yes, Tex and Jeter were unproven. But most good young players have a few proven and productive vets to protect them in the lineups and help their overall development. The Orioles throw Weiters to the wolves, and they don't care about protecting Markakis in the line-up. You'd have to know baseball to understand.

bf -

i recall Tino Martinez, Paul O'neil and a few other good vets w/ jeter when he was young and they won. Aroid and Tex never won squat until they went to the yanks. Not to mention, Aroid had Griffey and Edgar. Now, again, kakes and brob are nice, but they are not Griff, and not even Edgar, with the bat circa 96. who will protect our guys.

Also, it's a FAR stretch to believe Matusz, Tillman & Bergie will become CC, AJ & Petite. I hope they do.

Still, we have Atkins and Aubrey to NY's aroid and Tex. cano= brob. jeter is wayyy beyond izturis. Mariano vs Gonzales. C'mone man. We do have a better outfield, but come July, you know they'll be adding Agon, Fielder, or some other big bobber.

We are the O's. We stink like 5 day old steamed crabs. Which bats are we buying??? I thought that was the mantra.

Thanks

Oh Thanks Doug. I thought i understood enough baseball to know that every great player (regardless of who is in the lineup with him) is unproven BEFORE THEY PROVE IT.
You probably need to understand logic to understand though so I'll let it go.

Bear, bf and the rest of the posters who defend this move:

If you studied economics, you would know that price is determined by supply and demand. When there is an excess supply, prices should decline to a level which stimulates sufficient demand to consume the excess supply. Conversely, when supply is tight, prices should rise to a level where demand is satiated. Stadium seats are fixed prices. one more person there does not cost more for the Orioles.

So when you decide you want to go to a Tuesday night game against KC when there is an advance sale of 10,000, you will pay more for that privilege. Now there will be 36,999 empty seats. Conventional wisdom suggest that this strategy discourages fans. Especially when the fan base feels alientated, has a team that has not performed well for over a decade and we are in a recession.

The Orioles have themselves to blame through mismanagement, loss of key personnel under Angelos (not necessarily baseball operations side), a son who is not well versed with operation of the team and others in key positions who are basically inept.

There is no one in the organization that can speak for what is going on except for scripted releases.

Here is an interesting fact. Since 1992, the Opening of Camden Yards, the Orioles out-drew the Red Sox until the 2003 season. In 2002 the Red Sox were sold to an owner who cared about baseball and hired great people. Larry Luchino, who used to work for the Orioles when the team was respected, helped re-energize the fan base.
By the way, doen't say John Henry has more money to spend as his net worth is estimated to be $1.2B ( and team is the majority of the wealth) and Angelos estimated at $1.1B.

This team is a train wreck and they have no one to blame but themselves.

Peter, how will Ticketmaster's surcharge be affected by this? It's possible that a game-day walkup ticket might be cheaper than an advance ticket because a $2 last-minute surcharge is a lot less than Ticketmaster's fees.

If that's the case, this isn't an issue worth getting worked up about. The O's are taking a little additional profit that would have gone to Ticketmaster instead. It's not the world's best PR move, but economically it does make sense.

Joefoss,

I got it and am with you, but your talking to a group of Koolaid drinkers who don't wish to comprehend the truth. Anything this team does or doesn't do is fine because they have a plan. Losing 13 straight years and having the 4th lowest payroll and gizzam, because we have a plan we obviously were gonna be winners! It's a tad illogical but the media, and a large portion of the bloggers chose not to accept the fact that ownership is cheap and is stealing from their fans. I would use the word gullible. I just started on this blog, but went back some 6 months to capture the groups general thoughts as well as the Host, Peter Schmuck. It seems that most fans have blind faith but a growing contingent sees the O's for what they have demonstrated and write what they think. This group, which I probably include myself believe if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, MUST BE A DUCK.

You are correct in your assessment, just beware, being logical here is often met with disbelief.

The more people buy tickets, the more rent they have to pay. The less revenue they bring in, the more revenue sharing money they get.

They own the regional sports network for two teams. They don't need no stinkin' fans.

Stu,

Careful, If you're not for the Plan, you'll be called negative, as well as some very non creative names, not only from a few posters, but from Pete himself.

Just so you know, there are around 3 legitimate posters who are genuinely for the Plan (bless their naive hearts). The rest are paid 'warehousers' who are part the orioles ingenious marketing scheme. They respond to blogs (under many names for each person) and call as many talk shows, etc as possible.

The Oriole Way - Angelos style!

Just wait till they hit a year by playing over .500 ball. Big, big ticket increase on the horizon!

Wayne,

The "PLAN" is nothing more than a facade that the Angelos family is hiding behind. In all fairness, AM has performed admirably with what he has been given to work with. The fact that the Orioles are 26th out of 30 in spending is an Angelos issue not an AM issue.

What irritates me on the little time I;ve been on this board is that far too many people are buying the crap put out by the warehouse and the local media after 13 years of extreme failure!

And while we all like to view the glass is half full, there is NOTHING to even hint that this organization is trying to put the best team on the field, but they raise prices and want folks to spend their good money on tickets and souvineers! But many will, why I don;t know, just like I don't understand why the media is in lockstep with PA!

So, just keep watching on TV, give them NO money watch another losing season. Maybe when they lose another 90-100 games this year some of these guys on the Plan will figure it out too!

Stu Miller,

If you have gone back and tried to get a feel for the pulse of the blog then you know where I stand. As a matter of fact, when I go on vacation, I'll let you ghost write my responses.

I supported Macpahil when he got here on June 2,2007, and all through the 2008 season. It was during the offseason before 2009 that the ether wore off and I figured out that "the plan" was ambigous and open ended with no articulated goals and timetables to win. It was nothing more than a scam to get the heat off Peter Anglelos.

Every non move Macphail has made, and all of the eqivocation and physchobabble coming out of the warehouse has reinforced my belief that"the plan" is nothing more than a cheap hoax to delay and deter spending money on established major laegue talent. It simply will not work in it's present form.

For that view, i am regularly pilloried and ridicluled by the true believers.

Join the club, and put in your mouthpiece.

Until it's proven otherwise, I blame Angelos for the lack of effort in going after any major FAs. And since Matusz, who have they drafted, a bunch of unproven high school kids who've done little or nothing in their brief minor league time. Drafting as high as they have, they should have gone after more premium college talent-of course that COSTS MONEY, doesn't it.

Live in S. Jersey, but an O's fan for years. Usually drive down 6-8 times a year on the spur of the moment to catch a game. Think I'll cut that in half out of principle. This is the height of arrogance especially with how loyal O's fands have been to watch a terrible product for years now. My $100 won't break their bank, but I'll go to see the Phils who don't pull this crap.

I'm sure others who have had season tickets or the more economical 13-game plans have seen, the Orioles shifted policies two years ago concerning unused tickets. Before, I was credited for any unused tickets from the previous season, thus making my next season "cheaper" (not really since I had already paid for the tickets). But then, they made the "mistake" of sending out a statement saying I had the credit, then having the gall to call me and tell me to disregard that statement and that they were sending me a new one. When it arrived, it didn't show the credit. At no point did they apologize or otherwise explain the change. They just disregarded previous policy, and ask me to look the other way and take it. Suffice it to say, I didn't renew my plan and went to very few games after that.

This is just another in the series of ways a struggling franchise is disregarding its most loyal fans to either make or save a buck.

And as someone who works for a smaller local bank, I know what you mean about trying to shove out the personal side of banking. Banks that are open 7 days a week and for 12 hours a day may "seem" like they're more personal, but the attrition rate is so high because the employees can't stand the crazy hours and understaffing. Who would want to work the Orioles' box office anyway? Oh, and by the way, the one person at the Orioles' store here in York always looks very very lonely and bored. Good thing he/she has a big screen tv to watch Oprah and Ellen all day.

Joe from York,

I live just above York and commute to Timonium daily. Spent 38 years in banking myself so I know where you are coming from. I spend most of my summer evenings and weekend now at Sovereign Bank stadium to watch the Revolution in the Independent League. It is much more fun than getting fleeced at Camden Yards and the beer is cheap and cold.

bf-
You quoted Scripture to defend the Orioles?!!! You make King James fundamentalists look like complete idiots, and you even more so.

I hope that the Orioles dig themselves out of this hole some day. I had hoped that Andy MacPhail's presence and moves would turn into something, but it is clear that it is not. I don't know if the fault lies more with the Orioles organization or with MLB for its difficult contract situation with players. Both are true enough, and reason to feel absolutely no hope for the foreseeable future. This 'rebuilding plan' has sputtered, which means another 5 years for another attempt. We have become an organization that like Pittsburg or Kansas City. It is what we are, and it won't change for a long time.

Charging more for tickets is probably just business, but it just feels cheap and pathetic for an organization that already has proved itself to be both.

Gil,

Yeah, I'm certainly with you. I really do wish the news and future looked better but only the front office can change than by positive actions (quality free agent signings, quality international signings) not more empty words of optimism with NOTHING to support them.

I suppose PA is getting what he wants because he sure isn't doing anything to lead the fans to believe anything else.

Though PA must be laughing if he read these blogs on how many people actually think things are getting better and on the band wagon as he counts his money and knows damn well this team is desitined for a deep 5th place finish!

Like the Cubs fans say, "maybe in our lifetime"! Then again, AM should be familiar with all of that!

Joefoss....
Gee, thanks for explaining all that to us.
Could you possibly be more condescending?
Ironically, you only proved what I said about most people who complain about the price of tomatoes while not having a clue about what it's like to be a farmer.
Andy McPhail inept? His resume reads differently.
John Angelos didn't just fall off a cabbage truck last night, either.
People like you need to change gears and get over your tired prejudices.
I notice you never answered my question: Since when is planning ahead a bad idea?
Try to limit your answer to say..... 10 words or less, will ya?

Personally, I've never bought anything from TicketMaster and never will, so that part doesn't bother me a bit. I'll either get the tickets sent to my home or pick them up on Will Call. Or go up to the box office and buy them there (which isn't difficult if you use the Light Rail like I do. :) )

As for Kouzmanoff not being an Oriole, I know for a fact that there were more teams than the Orioles looking into Kouz and if that's all the Padres wanted for their 3B, then he would've been gone at the Winter Meetings. Obviously, they were expecting too much and either everybody pulled out or they just settled for what they could get. I mean, I like Kouzmanoff too, but I don't think he's worth a Troy Patton or a Jake Arrieta.

You guys don't get it. The Os are so certain they are going to challenge the Yanks and Sox this year that they want to cah in on it! %#@^&!

Bear the Birdfan - when did I mention Andy McPhail?

I can't respond in ten words or less and answer your question.

"Ironically, you only proved what I said about most people who complain about the price of tomatoes while not having a clue about what it's like to be a farmer."

I worked for a sports franchise and in sales and marketing and left because of the ineptness.

To answer your specifivc question, it is not bad to ahead, but this philosophy of the Orioles is to penalize the walk-up crowd. When you have 30,000 empty seats at game time it is not prudent to ask people to pay more when they make a decision to support the team.

I was not being condesending, just stating facts. If you ttok it that way, that iu your problem.

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