No surprise, given the team's uncertain product this year. Granderson and Teixiera are fine players, but they don't have the pizzazz of the injured Jeter or Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees should be competitive, but after nearly two decades of success, the New York market expects more than that.

And the novelty of any new ballpark wears off after four years.

Isn't part of the problem that they have many tickets that they have overpriced to the point where they can't sell those seats?

I suppose that the new MSG and Barclays has some impact as well. The Nets were a complete non-factor prior to this year.

A new stadium that's the same as the old one, a Yankee team on the low side of the appealing-ness arc these past twenty years, season ticket packages that allow you to lock in seats at 2 to 6 times the StubHub cost but which in many cases have had their playoff seat option de-grandfathered out... what's NOT to love?

Good luck with that "come to the game for the food and beverage" strategy, Lonn. What's the Zagat rating for generic $9.50 beer?

I didn't renew my partial season ticket package this year, actually. But that's more to do with not finding someone to share the plan with than the product on the field.

And yeah, the low price of random weeknight tickets on StubHub makes the season plan less appealing, for sure.

We’re trying to provide the fan with more than just the game

Why go then? I go to a game to well, you know, watch the game. If I happen to have a dog and 2 beers whilst there, then so be it. I don't really understand this need to have an experience at the game. If I want awesome food, I'll go to a good restaurant. If I want loud music, I'll go to a concert. Personally I'd rather watch the game with actual baseball fans then some chardonnay sipping tosser wearing a tweed coat who spends 50% of the time on his mobile telling people, "yeah, I'm at the game!"
Yes I know tweed jacket guy is cashed up, but if you have too many of them it kills the atmosphere and I reckon in the long run just puts off genuine fans of baseball.

Why go then? I go to a game to well, you know, watch the game.

At least some of that--and maybe a lot of it--is people with kids. I know it's easy for us to be snobby about it (I certainly am/can be) but when I was little kid my parents would take me to a game. We'd watch a few innings then I'd get bored or cranky and my Dad would take me to watch the subways go past for a while*. So now at ballparks you can take your kid on the Ferris Wheel or into the San Diego Sand Park (or whatever they call it) and so on.

*Perhaps the real takeaway from this post is that I was an easy child to entertain

season ticket packages that allow you to lock in seats at 2 to 6 times the StubHub cost but which in many cases have had their playoff seat option de-grandfathered out... what's NOT to love?

There are season ticket packages that don't allow you to get playoff seats?

Most partial plans don't have guaranteed playoff tickets.

dupe

The Yankees led the league in attendance last season, as usual, and have a pretty good chance to do so again this year. Still some seats to be sold, which is Trost's lament, but it's not that big of a problem, since they are making more money in the new Stadium even with those unsold seats. Other teams would be happy to have it so "rough".

If I was a Yankees fan, which I am not, I would be furious at their penny pinching ways. With revenues about 3 times the league average, a new stadium financed by tax payers, and cash from the News Corp deal coupled with the Arod injury, age and nothing at the high levels of the farm system, there is no excuse for an offseason like they just had.

If I was a Yankees fan, which I am not, I would be furious at their penny pinching ways.

Pulling the wagon gets pretty tiring when everyone else just wants to ride.

“It’s rougher than in years past. It’s rough for the Yankees.”

Mr Pink [rubbing his thumb and forefinger together]: Do you know what this is? This is the world's smallest violin playing just for the Yankees.

Most partial plans don't have guaranteed playoff tickets.

Ah, that makes sense.

It’s rougher than in years past. It’s rough for the Yankees.

I tell ya, last week I went to the track, they shot off the starting gun and killed my horse! It's rough I tell ya! I get no respect at all.

Most partial plans don't have guaranteed playoff tickets.

Ah, that makes sense.

At one point, all Yankee partial plans came with guaranteed playoff seats. The smaller the plan, the smaller the number of guaranteed seats. For example, a Sundays-only plan only offered one game per playoff series, and in a worse location because partial plans overlapped for the same seat locations and the bigger plans received preference.

One year, the Yankees stopped offering that option as part of the partial packages. If you guessed "when the Yankees started making the playoffs again," aka "not the 1980s," you've pretty much nailed the timeline. However, all preexisting planholders who'd already had the postseason guarantee were grandfathered in. When they switched stadiums in 2009, though, they cancelled the postseason option for all partial plans, no matter how far back they went.

I believe the ticket office was benevolent enough to create a lottery in which the lucky, lucky winners were given presale codes. This allowed longtime customers to go onto the internet one day before the official on-sake date, and fight it out with everybody else who had been given the same code.

Shockingly, Yankee season ticket holder totals have noticeably dropped.

Shockingly, Yankee season ticket holder totals have noticeably dropped.

StubHub's evil is strong.

I tell ya, last week I went to the track, they shot off the starting gun and killed my horse! It's rough I tell ya! I get no respect at all.

It's rough, I tell ya. Friday night I went to the fights and a hockey game broke out.

It's rough, I tell ya. Friday night I went to the fights and a hockey game broke out.

It's rough, I tell ya. I had plenty of pimples as a kid. One day I fell asleep in the library. When I woke up, a blind man was reading my face.

Oh man, if a Rodney Dangerfield thread breaks out I will be the happiest ############ in the world.

My wife likes to talk during sex. The other night she called me from the hotel.

The other day I bought a cemetery plot. The groundskeeper said, "There goes the neighborhood."

My life likes to have sex in the back seat of the car. She asked me to drive.

My life likes to have sex in the back seat of the car. She asked me to drive.

Did you mean "my wife likes to have sex in the back seat of the car", or "my life consists of having sex in the back seat of the car"? Just an innocent question from high above courtside.

"The Yankees led the league in attendance last season, as usual, and have a pretty good chance to do so again this year"..........Yankees DID lead AL. The Phillies led MLB in 2011 and 2012.

This year?.... maybe the Dodgers.....

One day I came home from work early and a man was running naked. I said to the guy, "Why are you running naked?" He said, "Because you came home early."

I took my kid to Coney Island and gave him $20 and said "do whatever you want for the day". He took a cab home

I bought some powdered water, but I don't know what to add.

The other day, I got back from a business trip. I got in a cab and said to the driver, "Hey! Take me to where the action is!" So ya know where he took me? He took me to my house!

#9 I recall taking my nephew to a football game. Went from thrilled to bored well before the end of the first half. I'm glad there are now options for the kids at the park.

When I played in the sandbox, the cat kept covering me up.

I am also glad there is somewhere for other people's bored kids to go when I'm at a ballgame too. My kids generally do well as long as they get popcorn in the 6th inning.

When I played in the sandbox, the cat kept covering me up.

I used to put a paper bag over my cat's head and watch him walk backwards all over the house, trying to get out of it. Stupid cat!

"I tell you, it's tough gettin' around, y'know? I hadda fly out ta Vegas a couple o' weeks ago, and really, the food was fit for a king. Here, King! Here, King..."

Henny Youngman is not Rodney Dangerfield!

Henny Youngman is not Rodney Dangerfield!

Neither is Steven Wright

I not saying my wife is a poor housekeeper but last week I went into the living room and had to fight off a Japanese soldier who thought the war was still on.

If they're having trouble selling tickets, they could always reduce the prices.

My wife's cooking is so bad, we had to have screens on the windows to keep the flies in!

I want a table near a waiter.

If they're having trouble selling tickets, they could always reduce the prices.

Bolshevik.

This year?.... maybe the Dodgers.....

Only if you measure between inning 3-6

If they're having trouble selling tickets, they could always reduce the prices.

I'd like to see a fresh creative approach to the league-wide problem of empty seats and poor attendance. One surefire method of stimulating interest in even the most remote of obstructed views is to have MLB collectively agree to confiscate its single worst-performing team from the current ownership and announce a season-long, league-wide raffle. One lucky fan will win the chance to serve as that team's GM for the next season! He'll manage the budget, sign free agents, participate in the draft, oversee international signings, approve festive novelty items for giveaway nights, the whole shebang! And his raffle entry is any single ticket from every regular-season game from every team in the league!

"But Mr. Redneck," you demur, "You're just going to get one of those beer-swilling hairy-backed slobs who are always screaming and burping and bumping into me when I'm trying to keep score. They'll ruin the team!"

What makes you think he won't be 100% incentivised to to well? He'll be surrounded by the same highly-qualified advisors and have all the institutional force that an MLB team can bring to bear. And a MLB GM's salary surely beats anything Barry the Beerman was bringing home from the quarry. In fact, he'll be much more focused on improving the team than the average GM, because if the team improves its record by more than 2 games the following season, he gets a second year at the helm with the same conditions!

The team wins thanks to the common wisdom of Joe Sweaksock. The narrative carries the entire league for years. At some point the poor fellow doesn't reach his mark, at which time a traditional buyer steps in and purchases the team, with the profits going back to the league. Our fledgling GM will be a celebrity and have offers from half a dozen teams.

And in a few years, you do it again, with the latest sad sack franchise.

This idea more stuffed with WIN than Prince Fielder's pants are with ass.

My grandson, 21 years old, keeps complaining of headaches. I say, Larry, when you wake up in the morning, it's feet first! (strokes violin)

I'd like to see a fresh creative approach to the league-wide problem of empty seats and poor attendance. One surefire method of stimulating interest in even the most remote of obstructed views is to have MLB collectively agree to confiscate its single worst-performing team from the current ownership and announce a season-long, league-wide raffle. One lucky fan will win the chance to serve as that team's GM for the next season! He'll manage the budget, sign free agents, participate in the draft, oversee international signings, approve festive novelty items for giveaway nights, the whole shebang! And his raffle entry is any single ticket from every regular-season game from every team in the league!

In South Florida, a light bulb was just spotted flashing over Jeffrey Loria's head...