Some Opening-Day Ticket Stats

Got a nice email from Kim at the ticket marketplace Rukkus, offering ticket data that we might find useful. Here are some basic comparisons to get us started. Rukkus takes ticket-data requests, so let us know if there's any particular data you'd like to see.

Here's the data we compiled. Everything is based on secondary market ticket prices (sites like StubHub, VividSeats, Rukkus, etc). Enjoy!

Average ticket prices in the NL West
Giants = $96.43
Padres = $71.20
Diamondbacks = $64.85
Dodgers = $61.82
Rockies = $59.73

♦

Average ticket prices of California teams
Giants = $96.43
Athletics = $76.95
Angels = $64.23
Padres = $69.54
Dodgers = $61.82

♦

Min/max ticket prices for the 2015 Dodgers season
Minimum = $3.00
Maximum = $6,023.00

Thanks, Kim! As much as Dodger fans complain when the team raises ticket prices, it seems that the Dodgers are on the low end of the spectrum within the division as well as the state. But, as the last factoid shows, ticket prices for the better seats at Dodger Stadium can get expensive, fast. Expect that trend to continue with no end in sight to the Time-Warner debacle.

Johnny Blanchard Breaks Down the Dodgers' Non-SNLA Schedule for Us

So the Dodgers' Time-Warner impasse bullshit remains unresolved, but loyal SoSG reader (and softball stud) Johnny Blanchard has given some thought to Dodger games on other channels. Take it away, Johnny!

So, obviously, no deal is going to happen ever, so we're back in the 80s or 70s or back to the Z Channel for home games I believe. Or Wally George is stepping aside for some meaningless regular season games on KDOC. Here's the nuts and bolts:

So, here's the Dodgers TV schedule.

Note: It doesn't have the non-Dodger teams' broadcasts on it.

Here's the MLB "National Broadcast" schedule.

Note: There are 29 games on here for the Dodgers, but only 7 games are non-MLBN games (and thus viewable for those of us without SportsNetLA). Also, note no games on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball yet. We must not be playing the Giants on Sunday early on. There are no games scheduled after May 3 so far for Sunday Night baseball.

Note there are no games after August 8 on the national schedule. So we are awaiting late adds for ESPN and TBS. Here's the TBS terms:

• TBS would also air afternoon games with new co-existing rights on the final 13 Sundays of the regular season as part of the network’s Sunday MLB on TBS Game of the Week package.

So, I guess we wait until later in the season to find out if we make the cut for Sunday afternoon games.

Only the Cubs have a national contract, with WGN. So here's their schedule.

Click on this to find the channel locator for WGN at the top of the page. Note: we have 3 games on WGN, which I know DirecTV gets.

Most of us live in the Angels' area, since they are sucking off of our teat and it ain't that long. So we can access them and their awful not-talking-about-no-hitters announcers on Prime, FSW and KCOP (imagine that! 3 channels that you can watch the suckass Angels on). (Here's the channels that they are on, for each cable provider.)

PROJECTED NON-SNLA SCHEDULE:

Weds. April 8 vs. SD ESPN2
Weds. April 15 vs. Seattle ESPN
Sat. May 30 @ StL FOX

(MY BIG PREDICTION: Sun. June 21 vs. Jints, it's TBA, and it's one of only 2 Sunday games vs. them this year, so I'll guess they'll put it on Sunday night baseball)

Mon. June 22 @ Cubs WGN
Fri. July 3 vs. NYM ESPN
Sat. July 4 vs. NYM FOX
Sat. July 18 @ Washington FS1
Fri. July 31st vs. Angels ???
Sat. Aug. 1 vs. Angels FSN
Sun. Aug. 2 vs. Angels ???
Sat. Aug. 8 @ PIT FS1
Fri. Aug. 28 vs. Cubs WGN
Sat. Aug. 29 vs. Cubs WGN
Mon. Sep. 7 @Angels ???
Tues. Sep. 8 @Angels ???
Weds. Sep. 9 @Angels ???

Hot Damn! 16 games (17 if my BIG PREDICTION is correct) we can watch on our little boxes! That's OVER 10 percent! And the TBS thing (see above) might add some more Sunday games!

And, as always, we have Impy and Chimpy on the radio for the last 7 innings of every home game and California road games (and whoever else was dredged up to do ALL of the non-California road games)! Rick and Chuck have so much fun, you should listen! Didja know Mo' was the 1st ever draft pick in Major League History? Didja know Charlie can wash balls like a pro? (NOTE: my opinion on Rick and Chuck does not reflect SOSG's policies)

Whew! Thanks a ton for all the legwork, JB!

5 Thoughts on the Giants' Dynasty

1. That's right, I said dynasty. 10 of the last 15 World Series have been won by the 21st-century baseball powerhouses: the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals and Giants. Three World Series titles in five years isn't quite Yankees territory, but it's getting there, and the Giants may not even be done yet. What's worse, the Giants are pulling away from the Dodgers in terms of franchise championships: The Giants have eight and the Dodgers have been stuck at six for, oh, 26 years and counting....

2. The Giants are no longer a small- or mid-market team. Their $149-million payroll is the major league's sixth-highest, and it only figures to go up — as it should. It's good to see their management reinvest all that postseason money into their team. It's bad to see that they have fewer Jason Schmidt- or Andruw Jones-sized blunders in their free agent history, but that's an entirely different frustration.

3. Every team has bad fans. Remember Jonathan Denver, the Dodger fan (and the son of a Dodger security guard) killed by a Giants fan near AT&T Park in 2013? It turns out that Denver and his brother teamed up against the Giants fan, whom the SF District Attorney could not prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" did not act in self-defense. So if you detected some subtle anti-L.A. sentiment in the Giants' quotes about Bryan Stow participating in their pre-game World Series ceremonies, just remember that every team has bad fans — even the Giants.

4. 2014 was as unenjoyable as winning years get. The Dodgers' 42-8 streak in 2013 may have been an anomaly, but the 2014 Dodgers didn't even come close to making any kind of winning statement. Unlike, say, hockey, baseball rewards the team that gets hot at the right time, and the 2014 Dodgers never truly got hot, posting a winning streak of more than three games against above-.500 teams only once (in July, against Atlanta). Add to that the bullshit Time-Warner Cable situation (still unresolved, by the way!), and 2014 would be a year to forget — if you saw it in the first place.

5. Some fuck you's are in order. Fuck you, Chase Carey, for trading Mike Piazza. Fuck you, Frank McCourt, for costing us Vlad Guerrero. And speaking of Vlads: Fuck you, Vladimir Shpunt, for not doing your job.

OK, I feel a little better now.

Guest Article: Triple Play Hipster

He's a Cornhusker fan. He MCd my own personal roast (even though he wasn't invited). He's performed stand up comedy next to a dart board WHILE IT WAS BEING USED. He's suffered in the mire of Wrigley before discovering the light of the Dodgers. And he's been drug free since halfway through this guest article. Ladies and gentlemen: SuperFan and Iron Sheik Sympathizer, SOSG TODD.

Having been reared on sports induced heartbreak, I’ve always been more of a condolence giver than a smack talker. Even on that one weekend a season when our own #ineedmydelino reverts back to being a Mets fan, I tried to be gracious and supporting of his horrible life decision by sending him the following text from the reserve level last Sunday afternoon.

“Picked a bad Mets game to miss.”

Two days later he replied back. (Editor's Note: If it's the choice between texting Todd and staring at the wall, well there's no choice at all.)

“Seriously. Triple Play. “

“Big deal. Already saw one of those this season.”

And with that text, I cemented my unfortunate status as a triple play hipster.

In just under two months I’ve personally witnessed 22% of the triple plays turned against the Dodgers since they became the Los Angeles Dodgers. As first year as full-fledged season ticket holders, there have been some historic moments to witness at the stadium. Was I there for Ryu’s deep run at perfection? Nope. I was at a Memorial Day BBQ hiding in the bathroom staring at my phone until the Reds strung together some hits in the 8th inning.

Was I there for Kershaw’s gem? Nope. Watched that one from the couch because I was “too exhausted” from going to the ravine the previous three nights. Vin on the TV from start to finish (thank you Time Warner) made missing that one much more bearable.

Thanks to Puig’s base running gaffes (or well-intentioned aggressiveness, depending on your world view), I’m now immune to anything bad that can ever happen to Dodgers offensively.
Thank you Puig for being the rattlesnake to my Billy Jack.

While I can’t guarantee you can develop immunity as quickly as I did, I made a handy guide to help you cope should you ever get to witness a triple play in-person.

Stages of reacting to a triple play:

1. Momentary Confusion (If a replay review IS involved.)

The first notch in Puig’s triple play belt was thanks to Terry Francona coming out of the dugout to argue he was out at second after tagging up from first. Because of the excitement of a bang-bang play at the plate, it took a moment for those of us in the stands to do the math and realize that a triple play was at stake. Once we did, it was a nervous few minutes while we awaited word from New York. Donnie Baseball coming out to argue that Gordon was safe at home really botched what could have been a somewhat quick execution at the hand of the ump.

-or-

1. Shock (If a replay review is NOT involved.)

Sunday’s triple play wasn’t so much painful as it was disappointing. As in your grandpa told you he was disappointed in you- the absolute worst form of disappointment on the planet. Sure, getting a potentially game changing rally snuffed out by a double play is a bummer, but seeing Puig fly around third only to be dead to rights at home with half a mile to go left the entire crowd speechless.

After confirming what happened really happened with those around you, move to step 2.

2. RAGE!!!

If you have the strength to rip your seat from the concrete by all means do. And don’t be shy about chucking it on the field.

Possible Breakthrough in Dodger Cable Broadcast Mess

Look I'm not going to fake the funk and provide some sort of deep analysis based on what is just being reported, mainly because a) I'm lazy b) I've had a couple of margaritas c) I'm not steeped in cable economics. But this sounds positive and is hopefully something to get excited about. So I'm just going to quote Dodgers' Jon Weisman in full with all credit to him for breaking it down in the last hour.

Dodgers support binding arbitration to solve distribution of SportsNet LA
By Jon Weisman

On behalf of the Dodgers, team president and CEO Stan Kasten spoke tonight in favor of a proposal from a group of six California-based members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Brad Sherman, calling for binding arbitration between Time Warner Cable and potential carriers that would enable immediate distribution of 24-hour Dodger channel SportsNet LA to all available homes in Southern California.

Time Warner Cable also said it would submit to binding arbitration with potential distributors of SportsNet LA (including DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, Charter Communications, Dish Network and Verizon Fios), effectively taking the negotiations out of Time Warner Cable’s hands.

“This, if it were agreed upon, would end this blackout right away, today, and we would be on the air literally tomorrow night in the entire area, ” Kasten said at a Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission event at Dodger Stadium this evening. “I want to thank Congressman Sherman and his colleagues for their diligent work and their concern for Dodger fans everywhere. I think it’s a very useful and productive step that he made.”

“We’ve heard a lot of things on both sides of this equation,” Kasten added. “This is a way to cut through all that. We’ll let an arbitrator decide who’s right and who’s wrong, and we can move on. And we don’t need to wait for the outcome of the arbitration. Once both sides agree to submit, we can turn the games on right away and they can figure out the price later.”

Kasten’s words followed an affirmative response from Time Warner Cable earlier in the evening to the proposal from the Sherman group.

“We are willing to enter into binding arbitration with DirecTV, and we appreciate the Congressman’s concern for Dodger fans,” Time Warner Cable’s statement read. “We prefer to reach agreements through private business negotiations, but given the current circumstance, we are willing to agree to binding arbitration and to allow DirecTV customers to watch the Dodgers games while the arbitration is concluded.”

Earlier this evening, a letter sent to the chairman/CEOs of DirecTV and Time Warner Cable by U.S. representatives Sherman, Janice Hahn, Gloria Negrete McLeod, Alan Lowenthal, Grace Napolitano and Karen Bass was released, outlining the proposal. It followed a recent letter from eight members of Congress, led by Tony Cardenas, that asked the FCC to mediate the gap between TWC and potential distributors.

“While such mediation would be helpful, it would not be binding or certain to resolve the dispute,” Sherman’s group wrote. “Now, on behalf of Dodgers fans throughout Southern California, we urge that Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and all other TV providers enter into binding arbitration, so that a neutral third party can determine the right price and terms for the Dodgers network. This will be a fair and fast way to return programming to consumers.

“Additionally, as you enter into the arbitration process, fans should no longer be left in the dark. We are requesting that SportsNet LA be made available immediately to all fans, beginning with tomorrow night’s game against the Atlanta Braves. The arbitration would determine the amount payable for games aired both before and after the arbitration is complete.”

MLB chief operating officer Rob Manfred, among the speakers at the LASEC event, said that he spoke about tonight’s news with MLB commissioner Bud Selig and said “we’re in complete agreement that this is a very positive development.”

Could be something, kids. Fingers crossed. Boobs exposed and burgers on the griddle.

Howard Cole Holds TWC PR's Feet to the Coals

Howard Cole at the LA Weekly tried to extract an apology from a Time-Warner Cable PR rep. It went about as well as you'd expect. A sampling:

What about that apology? Why not just use the two-word phrase, "we're sorry."

We are sorry that more fans don't have access to SportsNet LA. Our goal is to have full carriage for the network, and we hope that providers will come on board quickly. We are working hard to make that happen as we don't want fans to miss any more Dodgers games and programming.

Thanks for fighting the good fight, Howard, but this thing is much bigger than the fans.

Yeah, But The Dodgers' 2016 Telecasts Will Be That Much More Awesome

With the Time Warner Cable standoff siphoning over 20% of the season away from Dodger fans' televisions, Chris Erskine of the LAT gives us the great precedent that in San Diego, the embargo lasted two full years:

"There is no medicine like hope," once wrote Orison Marden, that most-American of authors. "[There is] no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow."

For Dodgers fans, tomorrow's tonic seems a long way off right now. How long can this TV blackout linger? In San Diego, a similar situation lasted two years. In the case of the hapless Padres, that might be considered a civic courtesy. But still.

Even more remarkable about the Padres' situation is that Time Warner Cable, the overlord in the Dodgers standoff, was on the other side of the equation. Down there, Fox Sports San Diego had the rights to the games, and TWC balked at the asking price. So an estimated 185,000 households — 22% of the market — went two years without TV coverage, until it was resolved for this season.

No reason to buy that new tv now, I suppose.

Can Game Of Thrones Substitute for Dodger Games?

Received a "nice" letter from Verizon stating that I am a valued Verizon customer, but will not be able to watch Dodger games because they "do not believe the fees sought by Time Warner Cable are fair or reasonable."  So they recommend one of three ways to view Dodgers' games.  1. Watch nationally broadcast games on ESPN, Fox Sports 1 or Fox.  2. Subscribe to mlb.tv and watch the game On Demand 90 minutes after each game concludes. 3. Sign up for MLB Extra Innings for $156 and get mlb.tv for free.  All of these are unacceptable options for Dodger fans.  On the flip side, I get HBO for 3 months free and can probably cram all of the Game of Thrones episodes in before the trial ends.  Winter is coming, but Dodger games aren't.  Anyone else getting these pathetic letters?

At-Game Recap: Tigers @ Dodgers (April 8, 2014)

Finally, my first game of the 2014 season at Dodger Stadium and boy was it a doozy.  Mama Cora and I braved the elements in the 80 degree sunny and mild spring day.  We tried to show up early, but even at 5:30 pm, the traffic on Sunset was pretty congested.  When we arrived at the parking booth, our prepaid season ticket holder parking pass would not register on the scanner.  Security told me to pull my car to the side while they took 15 agonizing minutes to figure out that they could just give me the yellow sheet for my dashboard and send me on my way while they resolve the situation later.  But we finally got inside the stadium and picked up our nice, soft Dodger hoodie.  Unfortunately the right sleeve has the Time Warner Cable insignia on it, but I am hoping to scratch that off.  (On a side note, I am trying to tweet snarky comments to every Sportsnet LA tweet they put out).

 I then got to witness the glory that is Think Blue BBQ and the seats over looking the bullpen.  Mama Cora wanted to find an opening day pin, but the left field team store ran out and they directed us to the right field store.  While walking behind centerfield, I heard a "clunk clunk" and to my right a ball was rolling down the stairs.  So I ran over and picked it up.  Woohoo!  It seems like it was a batting practice home run ball by a Tigers player to left centerfield.  This was my second HR BP ball I have snagged, bringing back memories of the first one I snagged at Oriole Park in Baltimore.

Batting Practice HR Ball

Feeling elated, we walked over to the RF Team store and bought the last opening day pin for Mama Cora, which made her day.  Of course, we had to stop by Tommy Lasorda's Italian Trattoria and try the meatball sandwich.  Impression:  Meatballs were thick and juicy, but bread was kinda stale and I feel that the sandwich could use more sauce.  A 6/10 of the Blue Plate Special o' meter.  We stopped to admire all the statues: Dodger dog, Rawlings glove, Tommy bobblehead, and the World Series ring.  I thought it was very cool to be able to walk all the way around the field level section.  What a treat.

Tommy's Meatball Sandwich

Much has been said (unfortunately not seen, thanks to Time Warner Cable) about the game.  One of the new Dodger sponsors is Forest Lawn Mortuary.  Kinda gruesome and I'm sure there are going to be a lot of jokes about that if we don't win the World Series.  Around the 8th inning, there was a Detroit Tiger fan down the 3rd baseline who would just stand and hold up her right hand while the Tigers were rallying.  She continued to do this for the whole inning and then around the end of the 9th she left.  What was funny was that after the walk off win when all of the Dodger players were coming back to the dugout, Uribe was looking for her and holding up his right hand and smiling.  It was great to see the boys in blue back in action.  Nice to get that walk off win!  Go Blue!

Forest Lawn: Plan Ahead.  Really?  That's our sponsor?

Miggy and Matt

Walk off baby!  Puig and CC hug it out!

Segundo on the Barbie: Late Night w/ the Dodgers

Joining Nomo and Team Killeen, #ineedmydelino ventured over the hill and down the 110 to Time Warner, El Segundo. Let me just say I have found the new gold standard for watching baseball from 1am to 5am. Thanks to our wonderful hosts at Time Warner Sportsnet, we got to eat and drink like kings. At least, local kings at Dodgers stadium... with an open bar.

The perfect menu for watching a game during the witching hour. My personal goal was to pack on a Puig 26... but after Aussie beer three and meat product number four, I hit the wall.

Picture and boomerang provided by Sir Killeen.

We even got some face time with one of the all time greats, the (real) OREL!!!

Orel and Time Warner management. Woman not affiliated with either.

There was a game too... as the Dodgers showed the strength of a Vegemite sandwich and the dexterity of a Dingo. Actually, I'm not sure if these are accurate statements, having never tasted either. But the Dodgers won. The local Aussie fans won. And Sportsnet won... our admiration and appreciation.

Makes we want to switch to Time Warner tomorrow... but I think DirectTV has ways of dealing with those who break contract early.

430 am. Still going strong

#ineedmydodgers

Inflata-Hood

Best swag ever

#ineedmydodgers

The TW Viewing Party

To my right is the game