Hubris in Bucco Land

A summary of an actual conversation that took place on the phone with my Mother:

Pucks_and_Pols: So what’s up Mom?
Mom: You’re still really ticked off at the Pirates aren’t you?
Pucks_and_Pols: Yah, they are playing better, but I still think their management stinks.
Mom: And you are still angry about people who go to the games for silly promotions instead of the watching the baseball?
Pucks_and_Pols: Umm, yah, but what does that have to do with anything?
Mom: Well, my knitting group is doing a night at the ballpark…
Pucks_and_Pols: Your knitting group???
Mom: Yah, they are giving away tote bags and prizes before the game, and we are talking about going, but I’m kind of embarrassed by it to be honest with you.
Pucks_and_Pols: (Stunned) So the Pirates are actually organizing a knit at the ballpark night?!?
Mom: Uh-huh. You’re not going to be mad at me if I go along, will you?
Pucks_and_Pols: (Still Stunned) Of course not, go, have fun, enjoy the game.



Now, my preferred method of going to games is to buy tickets on the secondary market at websites such as craigslist or stubhub, so that I’m just re-buying tickets that people have already paid for and not putting any additional $$$ into the Nutting Family’s coffers. And of course I’m not going to buy any concessions or souvenirs at the game while I’m there either.

I don’t consider this a protest or a boycott, because it lacks any sort of organization and outreach, and I do not try to actively dissuade people from attending ballgames if that is their preference. It is a personal consumer decision I have made as a customer of major league baseball.

I don’t hold it against people like my Mother, who is a wonderful lady and also spends her free time teaching single mothers at women’s shelters how to knit clothes for their children, for wanting to go out and enjoy a night at the most scenic stadium in baseball, no matter their motivations.

I do however hold the Pirates responsible for their ridiculous, overzealous, and sometime downright zany promotion strategy of emphasizing everything except the game and team that actually takes the field.

I went to the Pirates website this morning to look up this latest and greatest promotion from the folks who brought us All-You-Can-Eat Seats and Bring-Your-Dog-to-the Game. It turns out they have actually been doing this “Stitch-and-Pitch” for a few years now.

http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/pit/ticketing/cd_stitchnpitch.jsp

Sunday, July 19 @ 1:35 p.m.Pirates vs. San Francisco Giants
Join fellow needle artists at PNC Park
Outfield Box Seatsfor just $20

Come to PNC Park for the fourth annual Stitch N' Pitch Day!
Bring your knitting, stitching, quilting or other fiberarts projects to the game.
Take a lesson, learn a technique and meet other enthusiasts, all while enjoying Pirates baseball!
Everyone who participates will receive a Stitch N' Pitch Tote Bagand will also be entered for a chance to win Pirates prizes!

No word on if this guy is going to be there to ‘encourage’ participation:

WELL NOW YOUR BACK'S GONNA HURT
CAUSE YOU JUST PULLED LANDSCAPING DUTY

I have had some of my own interaction with overzealous ticketing reps recently.

I was contacted by Mellissa my Pittsburgh Pirates “Personal Ticket Representative” on May, 23rd. After some initial confusion on my part as to what entitled me to have a Personal Ticket Representative with the team and how they got my phone number in the first place, it was determined that they wanted to know A) What interested me in attending baseball games (answer: the game of baseball and a winning team, which is lacking in these parts) and B) Would I be interested in coming down for a tour of the Stadium (and, I surmised, a sales pitch on purchasing tickets for upcoming summer games).

Interestingly, even after informing Melissa, my Personal Ticket Representative, that what interested me in attending ballgames was the game itself, the pre-pitch I was being given kept drifting onto other topics: how nice the weather was getting, fireworks nights, giveaways, concerts, family entertainment value, all-you-can-eat seats, anything to draw attention away from the lackluster team that would actually be taking the field on whatever mystical summer eve on which I chose to partake in the pastime of a baseball fan experience. Heavy on the Peanuts, Popcorn, and Crackerjacks, light on a focus on Winning, which was a shame

As my conversation went on with Melissa, my Personal Ticket Representative, and it became clear I was not going to be purchasing any tickets off of her at this point, first she got pushy, then it got weird, then she got condescending. I wish I had turned the record function on my phone so that I could give you a transcript verbatim, but for a brief summary I let her know that I did not want to lock into one of her plans, and that if I purchased tickets it would be on my own terms and conditions, at this point she changed tact to try to entice me with bizarre trinkets and rewards for becoming a plan holder, and I actually found myself having to defend myself for not buying the tickets. As an engaged consumer I cannot stand high-pressure sales tactics, and she started turning the screws and I started to squirm as she tried to leverage what she had to offer against my preferred method of buying tickets on my own terms. If the product she was trying to sell me wasn’t total craphola, I may have cracked at that point and signed on for a package.

As I held out and stood firm, and I made it clear that I wished to end my status with Melissa, as my Personal Ticket Representative, she started to get snippy and condescending. How dare I turn down her ‘offer you can’t refuse?’ All the way through, until the very end of the phone call, I resisted the temptation to get real nasty back with my Personal Ticket Representative and tell Melissa what I really felt about the Pirates and their obscene management. I realize that as annoyed as I am with the Pirates and how they are run, she is just a marketing rep trying to do her job, and lashing out directly at her would not resolve anything.

Obviously the team on the field has played better so far this year. For the first time in a few years there is a legitimate reason to have some reasonable hopes and expectations.

It should be noted that the last time the team was this competitive in June, it was that magical year of 2005, when on June 11th, against the Tampa Bay (Then Still the Devil) Rays, the Pirates cracked that magic ceiling of .500 with an 18-2 Interleague Shelacking. Reading this article was like a weird mini-time warp: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=250611123

Classic Lead: The Pittsburgh Pirates know all about bad baseball, having gone through 12 consecutive losing seasons. Even they haven’t seen anything like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The winning Pitcher that night: Oliver Perez.

Jose Castillo was the offensive hero with a homer and 5 RBIs, Ryan Doumit was still a rookie, Lloyd McClendon was still secure in his spot as manager, Daryle Ward was still in baseball. Freddy Sanchez was leading off and looked like the 3B of the future. Jason Bay and Jack Wilson had established themselves as legitimate ballplayers. It looked like the Pirates were a team on their way up. We can all see how that turned out.

Even if Pedro, Walker, McCutchen, and Tabata all turn out to be decent big league players, it is no guarantee that the end to losing is in sight. The pitching so far has been surprisingly excellent and has carried the Pirates to flirt with that magical realm of .500 baseball once again heading toward the Summer Solstice. The ownership and management has done nothing to deserve an atta-boy or a pat on the back yet though. Let’s see them lock in this core, commit to them, and actually build around them, rather than again tearing the club down to its foundations in the ever questing crusade for more prospects and a brighter, shinier tomorrow.