Bad Economy Equals Empty Seats For Mets & Yankees

(Originally published 4/8/11 in "The Montclarion")

The Yankees have been plagued by their lowest attendance marks in the new Yankee Stadium the first week of the season. Attendance at the Mets’ opening home series this weekend is expected to be low as well. 

A new reality is setting in for our New York baseball teams – primarily the New York Mets. The team is looking to pay off the new stadium they just built as well as the Bernie Madoff scandal. Now they are struggling to sell tickets. Their 2011 home opener, which is normally packed, is nowhere near being sold out. Thousands of tickets were being sold on third-party websites such as StubHub and eBay.


The Yankees may be fine financially, but their ticket sales aren’t going as well as in years past. Their opening day game at Yankee stadium netted them a sold-out crowd, according to ticket sales, but there were plenty of empty seats on the field level behind home plate. Games against the Red Sox, the Subway Series and other important games will bring a full house to the stadium, but the other three-quarters of the season are going to have the Yankees losing out with their best available seats.

Their full-house opening day may be overreacting, but the reality is ticket prices aren’t worth the money the teams are asking for.

Fans of the game will always enjoy the atmosphere and experience of being at the game, but the better value for their money is watching the game in crystal clear picture with first-rate sound close to the detailed action. For no additional fee they’re able to see the left fielder catch the ball against the wall or the homerun as it just makes it past the foul pole. The only seats that seem reasonably affordable obstruct views that they can see from the comfort of their living rooms. They can get 12 times more beer for the same price you pay for two at the game. They can make a quick three-course meal in your kitchen for the same price of a hotdog and a soda, and they’re also allowed to keep the cap for their water bottle at their own house.

The Mets’ cheapest seat available from the Mets themselves is $36 for a premium game. The Yankees, have their bleacher seats priced at $15 and their grandstand tickets for $20. That doesn’t include a parking fee and the money spent on gas.

The Mets are going to see themselves affected to the point where they close down the upper level of seats, concession stands and vendors, especially when they play meaningless games against second-rate teams. The Yankees will draw enough fans to get by since they’ll be playing exciting baseball for the whole season. It doesn’t seem worth it to attend a baseball game anymore; the stadiums are beautiful and the atmosphere is amazing, but in a time where gas prices are rising and jobs are becoming scarce, the cost of attending one three-hour night of entertainment just doesn’t seem worth it.

If Only We Could Yell At Them

The Chicago Cubs are paying Carlos Silva $11.5 million dollars to stay away from the team this year. Silva was released by the Cubs early Sunday morning with one year remaining on his contract. He left the Cubs kicking and screaming, starting fights with Aramis Ramirez during the team's first Spring Training game, and ending his tenure with a loud tirade against Cubs pitching coach Mark Riggins when he learned that he was going to get demoted to Triple-A.

Carlos Silva's contract was more disastrous than the contract ex-Mets general manager Omar Minaya gave lefty Oliver Perez. Silva signed a 4 year $48 million dollar contract with the Mariners in 2008; Perez signed a 3 year $36 million dollar contract with the Mets in 2009. Each earned $12 million dollars annually, but which $12 million was more poorly spent?

Since signing his contract (between 2009-2010), the always erratic Oliver Perez had a combined 6.81 ERA and had more walks (100) than strikeouts (99) and refused a demotion early in 2010 because he felt he was better than the minors. During those two years Perez posted a total of 3 wins to go alongside 9 losses while averaging a 1.995 WHIP (2 base-runners an inning is horrific!).

Silva didn't fare much better than Perez. His two years with Seattle netted him a total of 5 wins, two more than Perez, but also tagged him with 18 losses, twice as much as Perez. Silva's ERA matched Perez at 6.81, but he posted less strikeouts (79) to go along with almost half as many walks (43). His WHIP was more efficient (1.62), but an efficient 1.62 WHIP is like jumbo shrimp, an obvious oxymoron.

Between the two, who was worse?

Oliver Perez and Carlos Silva were absolutely atrocious for the Mets & Mariners/Cubs respectively, earning $12 million dollars annually to produce Single-A numbers.

If I had my choice I would take Perez on my team. Now, certainly I wouldn't want either of them, but for arguments sake I would choose Perez. He at least struck fear in the opposing batters; they never knew when they would be hit by a pitch. His different arm angles were laughable, and his pitch location could have been more pathetic than a drunk guy trying to walk a straight line. But when all is said and done Perez showed up when it mattered most (sometimes). Without having the stats in front of me, Perez pitched very well when he played against great teams like the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees. He was able to hold them down at times, but at other times he could barely record an out against the Washington Nationals. He amazingly pitched 7 stellar innings against the Cardinals in game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, the same game that Carlos Beltran left the bat on his shoulder as Adam Wainwright threw a full-count curve ball for a strike to end the game and to send the Cardinals to the World Series. If Perez would have gotten that win he may have been New York's newest hero.

Carlos Silva was a disaster from the start. He is a perfect example why you shouldn't base a contract off of one season (especially when it's a contract year). Just look at Gary Matthews Jr., or Milton Bradly, who's hot tenure with the Cubs got him traded to the Mariners in exchange for Silva before the 2010 season. Silva was awful, yet posted decent stats for the Cubs (10-6, 4.22 ERA, 1.27 WHIP). But with one more year than Perez (and thus another $12 million), Silva loses this debate. Never did he show promise or poise past the first 4 games he pitched with the Mariners (he went 3-0 with a sub 2.75 ERA). Perez left with class, I guess. He didn't bad mouth anyone, and never complained that he didn't receive a fair shot (the Luis Castillo treatment). Silva did the opposite. He was a terrible player to have on your team, a terrible fantasy pickup for anyone stupid enough to draft him, and a cancer to your rotation.

Both of these players are going to go down as two of the WORST contract signings in the history of the game. Neither of them deserve the contracts they received, and if this were like the NFL, where contracts aren't guaranteed, neither player would have lasted longer than their first season. In the end, Perez was the lesser of two evils. But when you look at it from a broader perspective, they were both laughable players from hell.