Dick Allen

Have Pudge give the fans rides home after the game.. http://www.tmz.com/2012/10/23/carlton-fisk.../#ixzz2A9iotOQc

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 23, 2012 -> 03:10 PM) I figured, but it gave a nice segue into a reason that really is valid to worry about Dunn - he's a big dude getting older, and injuries may become more of an issue as time goes on. He did have the second lowest OPs of his career. iMO, he is definitely on the downside, injuries or not.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 22, 2012 -> 05:00 PM) It was a throw away post, but if you want to keep the back and forth going . . . the Sox have a much better idea where the economy is heading than you or me. If dropping their ticket prices is a sure sign of impending economic doom, how do you explain their ticket policies when the economy took its biggest dip since the Great Depression? They want to appeal to people and have finally decided to take major steps for that to happen. If White Sox ticket prices determine when you buy and sell stocks, while its probably as legit as many trading programs out there, it hardly makes any sense. People need to remember "too expensive" doesn't always mean "can't afford".

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Oct 21, 2012 -> 09:22 PM) Pretty good article, did some good research and comparisons. I realize TM has to make money, but the fees are indeed outrageous. Not only is there a processing fee, but also a convenience fee. It's like the Seinfeld episode with a finder's fee, key fee, etc. Seems a bit much for it to cost like $9 to order tickets online. And if you want to print them yourself? We'll charge you more for that too. As a % of the ticket you're already paying for, it can be ridiculously high. I read an article last summer which was really interesting. Ticketmaster's fees vary from team to team. What they charge for White Sox tickets is higher than what they charge for most other teams.

The Marlins are paying more for Heath Bell not to pitch for them than they would have to pay Ozzie to not manage them. maybe Ozzie is sticking around.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 05:12 PM) Where you stand in the league is an excellent barometer to how good of a team you have. So the Tigers are't very good, and the Yankees are great.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 02:56 PM) But what did he come back from? When was he ever good? He earned the "Breakout Player" award or "Most Improved" but not comeback player. Comeback player of the year is pretty much most improved from the previous season. Rodney was decent 6 or 7 years ago.

QUOTE (bighurt574 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 02:57 PM) You're kidding yourself if you don't think postseason runs boost attendance. You don't need market research to show that. The actual data bears it out. That said, we didn't go to the postseason this year, so that obviously won't give us a boost in 2013. No, but the new price structure should help, plus I don't think there will be a mass exit of season ticket accounts, which drive attendance.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 02:48 PM) No asterisk, however unlike you I don't think it's good strategy to strive to be the 7th best team in the league going forward. When did I ever say that? The goal is to win the division, and then 11 playoff games. You don't have to win 125 games in the regular season to do that.

QUOTE (champs2005 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 02:00 PM) never mind 2006 or 2007 guys, we are living in 2012 and the 2013 season is being planned for. The market research reflects what fans think NOW. You dont plan 2013 for what fans thought 6 years ago. We can argue all we want, but rest assured that Brooks Boyer and the Sox brain trust now will NOT assume that more people will show up if the Sox win. They have to create strategies that get people to show up. And they are doing this. Like they built Bacardi in the Park. Like they built that Metra station stop. Now they are finally cutting parking and ticket prices. Of course the GM and that staff want to get good players and we fans want the team to win. But honestly we all must stop repeating this mantra of if "they win they will come" because it isnt true. Especially in light of the fact that 70% of current fans would rather watch the games at home. OMG that is a horrible stat. The survey occurred in the last 3 months. Most of that time the team was in first place. It would be kind of hard for them to say they aren't going to the games because the team isn't winning. The reality is, if the Sox won the WS last year, season tickets wouldn't have dropped, people would have bought packages to assure themselves playoff tickets and the survey would never have occurred. If you think winning doesn't matter with White Sox attendance, I think you are way off. The problem is, they had a pricing system in place this season that made not finding a code or trying to buy tickets within a week of a game, make the cost of attending a game ridiculous.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 01:14 PM) How was this NOT Rios or Dunn? 0.60 ERA, 48 saves. I think Rodney earned it.

QUOTE (champs2005 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 12:28 PM) A big takeaway from the Sox Market Research was that 70% of fans would rather watch the game on TV rather than go to the ballpark and that this ratio has basically flipped since 20 years ago when 70% said they'd rather go to the game. wow. tough crowd. Another big conclusion was no one said they werent going to the games because they didnt think the team was any good or werent winning. So much for that commonly-posted theory that if Sox win then fans will come. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/201...cket-price-cuts That's because they conducted the survey when the Sox were in first place. See what the same fans would say if they did the survey in June of 2007. Finances would still be an issue, but they would mention the bad team. The good news is enough went right this year to stop another big drop in season ticket accounts. It is pretty interesting people would rather stay home and listen to Hawk. Reading this board, I was under the impression Hawk scares everyone away. I do wonder how much that turnaround has to to with HDTV. You can get really nice TVs pretty cheap these days and also nice sound.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 08:54 AM) Let's wait and see where the payroll stands after the ticket prices cut, next thing you know they might be trotting me out there to play 3b. According to Brooks Boyer, the ticket price slashing will have no effect on payroll other than perhaps increasing it. Also keep in mind, the television money is increasing.

It appears the 7th best team in the AL will be playing the 5th best team in the NL for the World Championship. Marty is probably going to want an asterisk by this one.

Ron Darling sounds a lot like Farmio.

Girardi should be fired.

IMO, the Sox have officially taken care of enough of the fans' complaints. Affordable tickets can be had without jumping through hoops, or going on Monday, the seats are green. They built a bar. I really think this new ticket scale will start a trend in the right direction.

It would seem ARod is probably going to at least attempted to be moved, but I think the guy in real trouble is Girardi. How he has thrown stars under the bus this series has been amazing. The only struggling guy he hasn't is Cano. He's totally panicked and it hasn't worked. Gardner with 4 AB since April?

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 01:40 PM) The prices changes are not for seats that were sold anyway so this really will have little affect on the bottom line. The good seats are still expensive. If the Whte Sox thought that this would negatively impact the bottom line, they would not be doing it. ? There are about 5,000 that are not getting decreased albeit the most expensive seats. It still effects about 20,000 seats sold per game in 2012, plus $3-5 a vehicle. Its a significant drop. If the team doesn't lose 90 games, the string of years of declining attendance will be OVA.

Some seats are going up. The premium lowers and premium clubs.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 11:12 AM) Has this been made official yet? Everything I read still refers to KW as the GM and Hahn as the asst GM. I heard Paul Sullivan say he heard it wasn't happening, at least not this year.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 10:38 AM) Not everyone is aware of that, especially if one doesn't ride the CTA very often. The Sox would be well served to have some kind of advertising campaign to inform people of the Green Line option. Until 1991 or 1992, the stop that will be in play next year was the actual Red Line stop at 35th street.

They are being smart. The more season ticket packages they sell, the more single game tickets they will sell if the team is halfway successful. Hopefully, they will also step away from Dynamic Pricing. The more empty seats someone sees on television, the less likely they are to buy a ticket even if the team is playing well. Full-Season Ticket Packages: Outfield Reserved - Dropping 30% Bleachers - Dropping 32% Premium Upper Box - Dropping 17% Upper Box - Dropping 28% Upper Reserved - Dropping 17% The one thing to wonder is does this mean they are dropping payroll by the same percentage or higher?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 09:00 AM) I can almost always get under $100/night for a 4-star hotel downtown, especially in January, and if I need to make the trip on an even tighter budget I can get a 3-star hotel out by Midway for under $70/night and take the Orange line downtown, so in my mind the cost for Soxfest is about $100 more than the cost of the actual pass to the event. Priceline will get you ridiculous deals. When it was at the Hyatt, you could get a room on Priceline for less than $60 a night.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 08:55 AM) So where can you get discount tickets to Soxfest? You get a discount if you buy early, just like Dynamic Pricing.