By now I’m sure you’ve heard. All that speculation about the pitching Jesus, rising in Washington on June 4 … probably not going to happen. Or maybe it will? Who really knows because the Nationals don’t want to say definitively. Fair enough. The equation has a lot of variables: rain could shuffle the rotation, a player could get or be injured (Pudge?), or maybe there’s a trade in the works?
Or maybe the Nationals will allow speculation over time about different dates and series (not the Reds, but maybe the Pirates?), stopping each frenzy in turn, just before the ballpark is completely sold out. If the Nationals change their plans, who could blame them? It’s a business that makes money in part by selling tickets. (Side note: It appears to me that nice-guy Mike Rizzo tried to slow down the June 4 buying spree.)
Ben Goessling reports Jim Riggleman as saying,
We’re at a point where we talk about when this young man’s going to come up and pitch for us, but we’re not going to announce anything. We can know that right up to the moment that we name him to pitch, but we’re not going to announce that. Again, there’s procedural things, there’s other players affected by it. There’s too many reasons not to announce it, so we’re not going to announce anything.
Shucks, that makes sense too. Jim’s job is to make the most of the team he has at any given moment, and part of his strategy is to support every player, including whomever is destined to lose his spot on the 25-man roster when Stephen Strasburg finally arrives. Jim’s respectful treatment of players is one of the things I love about him.
So why are some fans cranky? (Including yours truly, who already vented elsewhere.) I keep going back to that bad relationship, where the girl is obsessed with the guy and he’s just not that into her.
I read comments on a few blogs today and am persuaded by those that essentially argue, “buyer beware.” I bought a ticket for June 4 that I wouldn’t have bought otherwise. I own my decision, but am still a bit miffed at the Nationals’ non-communication until June 4 was essentially sold out. But why?
I think it’s because I’m totally obsessed with the Nationals, and the organization is just not that into me.
The preceding sentence no doubt sounds crazy, especially to those who know that my personal ballpark experience is pretty phenomenal. I have wonderful seats, terrific friends, personal contacts, and a former relationship with the Nationals that add up to me having more opportunities than other fans might. And yet sometimes I feel the Nationals don’t love me−one of their most dedicated fans−enough.
Notice that I said feel, not think, because this is about feelings. I propose that my feelings, and maybe those of some other fans, have two sources. The first relates to the customer service blunders, big and small, that the Nationals have made over time. Fans are tired. They have baggage, and it’s going to take good behavior by their baseball boyfriend for quite some time before trust is restored. It may even take flowers and chocolate.
The second source of feelings comes from the nature of the product, which is about dreams of winning, passion for your team, a sense of community, and other things that may not show up in a business plan that understandably focuses on maximizing revenue while controlling costs. Is Goodwill part of the business strategy? Probably, but not in a way or to an extent that the Washington community and Nationals fans are willing to embrace both the team, and the organization.
In my mind’s ear I can hear Stan Kasten saying that when the Nationals start winning, fans will come. Maybe he’s right, but I think that more fans would come even when the team loses, if only the Nationals were more into their fans. If fans felt more loved, uncertainty about when Stephen Strasburg will finally arrive might be met with more patience and understanding, and less frustration than bubbled up again yesterday.
eloquently put, Jenn. I think you speak for an ever-growing segment of the fan base here.
Thanks. Of course, if you take the argument to it’s conclusion … the girl is just not that smart to keep hoping for more from him. He is what he is.
In other news, I mentioned before that I bought a ticket for the June 4 game, while participating in the frenzy. The rest of the story is … More than a month ago, I used RCR points to get tickets to every game in the homestand (if I didn’t have my own season tickets that night) to cover the range of possible debut dates.
When I fell for all the commotion, I bought one additional ticket, of a sort-of-pricey variety to help ensure an excellent view. Money spent for (arguably) no reason. I put the June 4 RCR ticket up for sale on Stub Hub, at a price that would cover my splurge ticket, and it just sold! (After cold water was thrown on the June 4 possibility.)
So I’m financially whole, but still hoping the Nationals watch Ted Leonsis carefully, and learn from him.
My sentiments exactly! Thank you Jenn for knowing and writing how I feel. Yeah, flowers and chocolate and a lot more attention….
It’s not that he’s not that into you–it’s worse than that. He’s settling for you until he loses 30 pounds and thinks he can do better.. That’s what “they’ll come when we win” means.
Basically, he’s saving his flowers-and-candy budget for her.
Ouch! But sadly, that resonates.
My “favorite” example in this general category is when the ticket rep says, “those are the best available seats,” when everyone knows they aren’t. You can see which seats regularly have butts in them and which seats don’t, just like you can see that the people sitting in front of you have an electronic ticket that they obviously bought online and printed on their home computer.
While I will give the Nats a pass on the June 4 thing, overall I agree with you, there is far too much of a penny-wise and pound foolish approach to things that will discourage people from ever really falling in love with the Nats. That appalling red tent is a good example – per Stan Kasten, it “only” blocks a view of the Capitol from 400 seats – yeah, Stan, and blocks the vista from many of the upper deck walkways, a sight that is unique to Washington. I assume that the Nats make a few extra bucks by renting out that roof, but I rarely see it occupied – wonder what the math is to compare intangible discouragement to a few rental dollars. These silly points is another example – we sent in to redeem some of them, and 2 weeks later the Nats are now calling to say that the seats we want are not available – surely this information was determinable much sooner. Why not just let us show up at the box office and use them like coupons? This is the sort of thing that I find totally discouraging.
Traveler, I would go one step further (than you do, in giving the Nats a pass on June 4) by saying that I could list of bunch of things that used to drive me nuts–and have improved. In general, the Nationals are doing better than they have in the past.
But the organization has a long way to go before it starts getting the benefit of the doubt, even when deserved. People’s emotions are based not only on specific circumstances, events, and actions, but also on everything that’s happened in the past. It may not be fair, but it’s a situation that developed over time and probably will require a lot of fan-friendly gestures, over an extended period, to remedy.