Compared to What?

Several times during yesterday's radio broadcast of what turned out to be the Mets 62nd loss of the 2010 season, the announcers pitched, as they have for a while, "Better seats, lower prices." During the 2002-2004 seasons (a collective 212-272 record), I went to Shea many times in September. I bought an upper deck ticket and then found a seat in the loge or mezzanine. The ushers never bothered me. I thought management might just be happy I was there, putting a body on camera, spending money. So I thought perhaps "Better seats, lower prices" might be this idea, only formalized. Nobody likes to cut prices but it's all about the net profit, right? After all, attendance at CitiField is down an average 5,235 per game from the inaugural season and the Mets .500 performance isn't much of an incentive by itself.

I went to Mets.com, where the promotion is prominently displayed on the home page, and clicked on the graphic. The 20 remaining home games popped up; I checked out a Phillies game. They were the same seats, at the same prices. I replayed the radio ad in my head and figured out the small print, 'Buy direct from the Mets and save' (or something like that). Let me explain something to management: all those season ticket holders already have the better seats and although a fan can over-pay on StubHub if they want to, tickets are being sold at a discount to face value. The Mets can't compete on the field, and they can't compete at the box office. I did buy some Phillies tickets though. I'm seeing them play the Marlins on Labor Day.