And before you say “the A’s don’t draw because Beane does X”- they weren’t drawing well in the 1970’s when they won World Series.

You’re right about that. For as much as we joke about the A’s not drawing any fans, their attendance is actually probably better these days than it was back in the early 70′s…I mean, how the hell can you have a championship team playing 81 home dates (with a lot more Saturday matinee games in those days, too, I might add) and still draw not even one million for the whole season? Even the Marlins in their two WS years have gone over a million.

And, out of all the excuses I’ve heard about that place, the two that crack me up the most are: (1) “it’s in a crappy area of town” and (2) “it’s too cold to go out there for a night game” — because: (A) for the most part, stadiums generally tend to be located in somewhat-grungy sections of town in the first place, and (B) gee, I wish all those A’s fans who whine about it being 55* and a little breezy at game time would go cry a river to Yanks, Bosox, Tigers, Indians or Cubbie fans who show up in droves on Opening Day when it’s freakin’ snowing outside for pete’s sake.

Aside from ignoring my OTHER example, you don’t think that winning baseball has just a BIT to do with Mariner attendance? Hint: please note my reference to the Mariner attendance peak in 2002. What happened the year before?

And before you say “the A’s don’t draw because Beane does X”- they weren’t drawing well in the 1970′s when they won World Series. Oakland/Corporate Sponsorship Coliseum is a lousy ballpark and hurts their product.

Our team is lying down and our manager can only cry about it. Is there ANYONE on this team that you can imagine getting angry at our team’s current situation?

Quite a few.

But I don’t go by just what I see in TV.

One of the things I REALLY hate to hear is the term “The team has laid down” or “The team has stopped trying.” You CANT tell that from the outside. That’s just the external stuff, subject to invidual variations in personal expressions.

I MIGHT believe the current Sonics team gave up. I don’t believe it’s applicable to the current Mariners team–watch that spirit and attitude pick up if the team goes on a five game winning streak.

…BUT if the fans thought the M’s had a chance to win, they’d brave almost anything to watch it happen.

I think what really hurts last night’s game was that it was almost instantly hopeless. We know we can’t hit, we know that our defense is questionable and our bullpen can’t be counted upon…so, when it’s obvious from the first pitch that our starting pitcher doesn’t have it that night…it’s over.

That kind of defeats the whole “inherent drama of sport.”

And it really feels like there’s nothing this team can do about it.

Seattle fans “gotta love these guys”–so, they assume that they’re all “really trying”… We watch these games and there’s absolutely no sense that any of them is “due”, or that anyone can “grit their teeth and switch gears” or that they can improve upon what they’re doing. And we all know that the cupboard is now bare of in-house options.

There’s never a rally. There’s never that sense of “come on, we can still do this.” Those “two outs, so what” memories mock us.

If baseball isn’t exciting…and it keeps getting more and more expensive…then people AREN’T going to “suffer” through what is meant to be entertainment.

Our team is lying down and our manager can only cry about it. Is there ANYONE on this team that you can imagine getting angry at our team’s current situation?

Last night, a loud clang was heard that shook us up in section 331–and that’s when Adrian Beltre smashed his bat against the metal bench in the dugout. It shook the fans up…and it’s a taste of what is needed, I think–a sense that this team cares that it built up expectations and is historically failing to live up to those expectations.

Unfortunately, Beltre was only angry that he’d just struck out…nothing more.

The bottom line is…if the team can’t be motivated to show up, how can you expect the fans to be motivated to show up?

27. 14 gallons (the average size of a tank) * 3.65 a gallon = $51.10. And that’s at the current rate: the price will go up. So yeah. Five years ago, not even close to that, but nowadays that’s the going rate.

Yes, the team is bad, and until changes are made (both on and off the field) attendance is going to lag.

I don’t buy the weather argument either, as there are teams in worse locations outdrawing the M’s. There’s no compelling reason to go see the team right now, especially on a non-Felix or Bedard night, and especially with the offense being as terrible as it’s been this year.

msb, $50 for a tank of gas doesn’t require a huge tank. $4 / gallon X 12.5 gallons = $50.

I know y’all think that there’s NO way senior Mariner management could possibly avoid hiring the next Cam Bonifay as Bill Bavasi’s replacement… but consider:

- the Mariners know that winning = attendance = money.
- the Mariners are 6 years removed from their attendance peak, and 5 years removed from their last really good team.
- evidence is mounting that a) Bavasi isn’t the answer and b) Mariner attendance is starting to implode.
- Gosh, that Billy Beane guy seems to be pretty good at winning. And Theo Epstein. Hmm, maybe those wacky sabremetrics guys might have a point. Why don’t we interview a couple of them during our GM hiring process?

St. Louis is more of a football town, no?

St. Louis is one of the great baseball towns in the country. The new ballpark, and winning, sure help.

Losing isn’t so bad. Losing while being boring AND stupid is, and that’s what the Mariners have going for them now.