Sodo Oh No

Opening Day is here. I could write a lengthy diatribe or wax poetic but it's been done so many times by writers better than myself. This is the first opening day I've missed in a few years. I could have had tickets but frankly I'm in total wait and see mode on the 2004 Mariners. I feel like the Batman villain Two-Face. On one hand I want them to be really successful because I love following the team and I really want them to win a championship. On the other hand I want them to be truly miserable because it's going to take a radical event to force ownership to evaluate their current situation.

I truly believe that M's ownership feel that they can be "successful" with their current team management strategy.

       1) Invest x% of team revenue back into player payroll.

       2) Field a "competitive" team in a 4 team division.

       3) Continue sucking profits out of the franchise and distributing them to ownership.

       4) Run the franchise the same way baseball franchises have been run for 50 years.

       5) Market the team as "nice guys"

The only action that is going to make them take a second look at their strategy is if attendance and TV revenues begin dropping to a point where the team begins to run in the red. A truly smart group of managers does not need a catastrophic event to inspire change. They look ahead of the curve. Frankly I'm surprised with several minority owners being Microsoft executives that the M's are such a passive management group.

Anyway, a lukewarm "Go M's" from this fan.

posted by John @ 12:36 PM