The Nationals - could MLB be regretting it?

[inari]

The move to DC has been nothing short of a disaster for the organization. Attendance has been consistently low even with a brand new ballpark, and the results on the field have been nothing short of embarrassing. They are not even taking a small chunk out of the market of the Orioles, who have also been quite bad during the Nationals' tenure in Washington. If the Orioles get good first, and it's hard to imagine they won't, they might just take every fan in the DC metro area.

 

Something needed to be done about the situation in Montreal. It wasn't working. But, given the chance, do you think MLB would redo it's selection of Washington DC as the remedy for what ailed the franchise? I certainly do.

[Sammy Sofa]

I think we need to wait and see until they have something resembling a decent team until we give up on them. People anywhere, especially in a region so transient, are not going to latch onto a new team that has been THAT bad.

[UMFan83]

Whether they regret it or not, it doesn't matter. They built the ballpark and now they have to figure out a way to make it work. I think they should start by actually getting a marketable player. Then they should probably get better at some point. It would certainly help to not have your GM caught in scandals and get a GM that can sign your first round picks.

 

DC was always gonna be a tricky market with the Orioles so close by. You need some success to develop a fan base. Casual Orioles fans in DC aren't going to jump to a horrific unwatchable Nationals team just because they play 40 miles closer than the team they currently root for.

[CubbieBum]

cough Indy cough

[SouthSideRyan]

The only reason something "had to be done" in Montreal is because Selig and Loria willfully killed Montreal baseball.

[UMFan83]

The only reason something "had to be done" in Montreal is because Selig and Loria willfully killed Montreal baseball.

 

I wish the Expos were still around. I loved driving up to Montreal for a weekend of gambling, drinking, strip clubs, and a cheap ticket to a sparsely attended major league baseball game.

[OleMissCub]

The only reason something "had to be done" in Montreal is because Selig and Loria willfully killed Montreal baseball.

 

I wish the Expos were still around. I loved driving up to Montreal for a weekend of gambling, drinking, strip clubs, and a cheap ticket to a sparsely attended major league baseball game.

 

just wanted to say that strip clubs in Canada effing rule.

[Cubswin11]

cough Indy cough

I think Indy, Kentucky (Louisville), or one of the Carolina's would have been a better place to start a team.

[UMFan83]

The only reason something "had to be done" in Montreal is because Selig and Loria willfully killed Montreal baseball.

 

I wish the Expos were still around. I loved driving up to Montreal for a weekend of gambling, drinking, strip clubs, and a cheap ticket to a sparsely attended major league baseball game.

 

just wanted to say that strip clubs in Canada effing rule.

 

Whole heartedly agree.

[Clem Fandango]

The Nats would be fine if they had a decent pitching core. I saw something on MLB network the other way saying that the Nationals have been average something likr 5-6 runs over their last 10 games. And of those 10 games they lost like 9 of them. They got a solid offense. Dunn is mashing the ball, Zimmerman has been great, Johnson is hitting the ball well, they've got outfielders out the wazoo with tremendous upside, Guzman is a great contact hitter... they just have atrocious pitching.

 

If Strasburg is as good as advertised, that could go a long way for the club. If they could sign someone like Erik Bedard, or even Rich Harden if we choose not to resign him this offseason, they could have a decent little team there assuming they stay healthy. Then they can add a bullpen guy like Mike Gonzalez or hell even Billy Wagner will be available. That could help them out immensely. All they need is pitching

[Sammy Sofa]

The end of the Expos was just too sad.

 

http://progressiveboink.com/archive/expos.htm

[manbearcub]

The end of the Expos was just too sad.

 

http://progressiveboink.com/archive/expos.htm

That is a tough read. damn.

[OleMissCub]

The end of the Expos was just too sad.

 

http://progressiveboink.com/archive/expos.htm

 

you feel like you're watching an execution. You're watching the boy that no one tried to help be put to death, and the whole town shows up to see him die, and they all know it's not his fault.

 

had that exact same feeling watching that. it was almost painful.

[apete6]

I travel to the DC area quite often for work and I can, without a doubt, say that NO ONE gives a damn about the Nationals. They are a freaking joke around DC.

 

Is the stadium nice? I guess, but in a New Busch or US Cellular type of way. It's nice because it has comfy seats, lots of bathrooms, good food options, and plenty of seats available.

 

The neighborhood is absolute crap (moreso because the economy is killing the redevelopment than anything), but will eventually be OK.

 

The team sucks (bad scouting, somewhat cheap, and no draw).

 

Their TV/Radio deal sucks. Apparently as part of the deal to get Baltimore to give up their "territorial rights", Angelos blocked the Nats from airing a bunch of games on TV and Radio. The O's are still the "home team" as far as the media goes.

 

As part of the above problem, a lot of people are still O's fans because that's the only team they knew for 40 years. Even though the O's suck, the Nats havent given them anything to change allegiances over.

 

The biggest problem, however, is the fans. DC is a town full of dbags. They are a bunch of front-running morons. The only team with a decent following is the Redskins because they have been around forever and being a football fan is easy to do because its only 16 games per year. The Wiz and Caps have good crowds when they have a good team. Otherwise, it's empty. No one is from DC and everyone thinks they are a whole hell of a lot more important than they actually are and following a losing team isn't "cool".

 

The bottom line is, until the Nats are good for a few years, they will have no attendance. Even after that, I can't see them drawing any better than the early 2000s White Sox and even that would be good for the Nats. However, DC is still better than Charlotte and Portland and Richmond and Vegas and some of the alternatives. Boo freaking hoo for Montreal. Build a decent stadium and then maybe you won't lose your team.

[Outshined_One]

Build a decent stadium and then maybe you won't lose your team.

 

That and get an owner who won't go out of his way to alienate one of the better fanbases in baseball.

[XZero771679666304]

The end of the Expos was just too sad.

 

http://progressiveboink.com/archive/expos.htm

That is a tough read. damn.

 

It was. It might have even been powerful had someone edited the crap out of it.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Its hard for a fan base to jump right in to a team, especially when theyve been awful for their existance. If they're still around in 10-15 years, there will be kids that grew up watching them that are now older who should be fans. Who knows, maybe if they actually try to put a team together and not try to just get by on their fancy new stadium, they'll be in business.

[illiniguy]

Its hard for a fan base to jump right in to a team, especially when theyve been awful for their existance. If they're still around in 10-15 years, there will be kids that grew up watching them that are now older who should be fans. Who knows, maybe if they actually try to put a team together and not try to just get by on their fancy new stadium, they'll be in business.

This was kinda the cubs problem for years as well. We just knew that Wrigley would bring the people in.

[str8carter]

Apete6 mentioned Vegas as a bad alternative, but I must dissagree...per capita it's the richest city in the world. They could field a team of monkeys and pack a stadium built 30 miles, say, out of the city.

 

They don't want a team there because of the gambling?!! The N.J. teams seem OK. There is legal gambling everywhere now...get a clue baseball!

 

The move to DC was as stupid an idea imaginable. When the Browns moved there that was it! DC cannot support 2 baseball teams! There are 10s of 1000s of tourists in Vegas every day that would go to the games along with the locals that HAVE to want a different form of entertainment.

 

Join the 21st century, Baseball...."The Nevada Nationals" would be MONSTER franchise. :yahoo:

[AllStarMe]

Their TV/Radio deal sucks. Apparently as part of the deal to get Baltimore to give up their "territorial rights", Angelos blocked the Nats from airing a bunch of games on TV and Radio. The O's are still the "home team" as far as the media goes.

Agreed. While MASN airs all the games of both teams, evenly split between MASN and MASN 2, except for the few games picked up by national networks. Yes Angelos owns the O's and MASN, but still all the Nats games are broadcast, and done so with a level of production quality similiar to other regional sports networks. The problem is: no one watches.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/07/07/ST2008070702853.html

This article from last July shows the disparity - The Nats ranked 30th in TV ratings, and averaged less than 1/3 the audience of the 29th ranked Royals (9,000 to 28,000). Simply wretched.

 

Somehow MASN sees fit to air 8 "different" supplemental programs about the Ravens, but not one show about the Nats. Their sports talk radio simulcasts feature just Baltimore personalities and the spend about 15 minutes talking O's for every 1 minute talking Nats. If they want to actually build a fanbase, they need actual coverage beyond the game, and pre and post shows. Let people get to know the players. There is no established history with the Nats; no legacies like Cal, Eddie, Brooks, or Palmer to fall back on and try to to distract fans that the current team sucks out loud. So their job is that much harder than the O's.

 

All the other reasons about Washington seem valid enough. It's a divided city. Lots of poor people who can't afford and/or don't care enough to get on the bandwagon, and lots of wealthy, often part-time residents who probably have other allegiances and aren't going to start rooting for a loser like the Nats. Having spent last season sitting through 4 or 5 Nats games a week (not by choice but at work, mind you) I must say that team is VERY hard to watch, and I don't see their situation changing anytime soon.

[SouthSideRyan]

I rooted for the Yankees in 2003 solely because of Jeff Loria.

 

Build a new stadium? Yeah, boo hoo Montreal, pay [expletive] 800 million out of your own pocket to build a stadium for a baseball team that you can't watch on TV because your owner was sent by Seligula to kill off the franchise.

 

Oh, I can't fathom why Expos fans weren't rabidly packing the stadium the last few years. I just can't understand why Montreal wouldn't finance a new stadium while MLB is attempting to contract them. What happened to the Expos was criminal, and the fact that piece of [expletive] in Miami profited off it is outrageous(Not as outrageous as when he moves the Marlins to a new city that builds him a stadium and then he sells them off for an even bigger profit.) I'd cheer this man's death.

[jersey cubs fan]

Apete6 mentioned Vegas as a bad alternative, but I must dissagree...per capita it's the richest city in the world. They could field a team of monkeys and pack a stadium built 30 miles, say, out of the city.

 

They don't want a team there because of the gambling?!! The N.J. teams seem OK. There is legal gambling everywhere now...get a clue baseball!

 

Las Vegas is getting its ass kicked economically.

 

Also, there is no baseball team in NJ (although one could prosper if built along the waterfront in Hudson county, the most densely populated county in the country), they are in NY. And the hangup is sports betting. There isn't any sports betting in NJ. There is in Vegas.

[kujay]

Obviously a ballpark in Vegas would need a retractable roof, and that's not cheap. We went to a 51s game a few years ago (saw Edwin Jackson pitch to Randall Simon). The place had literally less than 100 people there. Too damn hot.

 

Aside from that, I'd be fine with a league trying there and I think baseball would be the best option.

[kjfoster 1553]

cough Indy cough

 

As a Cubs fan living in Indianapolis, I would be in a true predicament if a team was to come to Indianapolis. Obviously, I will always be a Cubs fan. But you better believe I would be on the list for season tickets the first day I could. Man, now I am all excited... and it isn't going to happen soon.

[loukycub]

cough Indy cough

I think Indy, Kentucky (Louisville), or one of the Carolina's would have been a better place to start a team.

 

not gonna work here. the reds won't allow it for one, and two it would be the same situation the natspos have in washington with the orioles, except you could substitute baltimore with cincinnati, chicago (N) (this is a national league town), and saint louis. i am big on louisville and will support anything louisville, but if that team comes here, i'm gonna be agan' it.

 

the only way a team will ever move to louisville is if it's an american league team and may have trouble drawing because it's an al team.