The Loss Column — Baltimore Sports Blog and Community

It’s a good Friday night to relax, sip a bit of this, and consider some weekend discussion topics.

The Loss Column is — justifiably — known as primarily an Orioles site, but in fact this is a clearinghouse for all things Baltimore Sports. The O’s are a primary focus but I don’t want to entirely lose sight of the bigger picture. So, here we go.

– The NFL free agent signing period is open. I don’t have a read on whether or not the Ravens will be active — any thoughts?

They did jettison both Mike Anderson and Mike Flynn this week. Neither move surprises me (maybe Flynn a little), and I take it as a sign that they’re looking to get a little younger and more versatile. Both of which are good things.

With any luck, Chris will have a full NFL post coming soon.

– You might not be paying attention (it’s hard to keep up), but college basketball in Baltimore right now is as healthy as it’s ever been.

UMBC (my beloved alma mater): they’ve won nine straight games and currently sit at 21-7 overall, 13-2 in the America East. They have a very realistic shot at winning their conference tournament and making it into the NCAA field of 65.

Loyola: winners of 11 of 13, they’re at first place in the MAAC and likewise have a real shot at the NCAAs.

Towson: not doing nearly as well at 11-17 overall, 6-11 in the CAA. But they’ve shown signs of improvement, and let’s not forget that the CAA is a very tough mid-major conference.

Maryland: on the bubble but still looking OK. At 8-6 in the ACC they have to beat either Clemson (home) or Virginia (away), ideally both. One loss and a conference tournament win or two will get them in.

– Down in DC, the Capitals are putting together a nice playoff run. I don’t know if you can call them serious contenders but they’re certainly a team to watch.

– There’s a fascinating and terribly long article in the New York Times about the new leadership of the Yankees. This isn’t something you can really skim, but it’s worth a read. Check it out here.

I can’t help but look at that fat bastard on the right and think that the Yankees might be headed for a 1980s redux. Probably just wishful thinking.

So there’s all that and anything else you want to talk about. Floor is all kinds of open.

Rough start to the Grapefruit League schedule yesterday. But, really, who cares? Adam Loewen returned to the hill and appears to be fully recovered, so that’s good enough for me. Cross your fingers that a shaky first outing is the worst news we get about him this spring.

– Could Brian Roberts possibly be more of a pro? I hope the Cubs continue to balk at AndyMac’s demands. We’re better off — not just this year but going forward — with Roberts in the fold. I say this knowing full well that he’ll be gone before August.

– Cal Ripken has attached his name to an online video game. Dude’s busy.

– I said last year I would do this, but I didn’t. Maybe this time around…

Adam Loewen takes the mound today against the Florida Marlins as the Orioles face their first real competition of 2008.

It’s just game one of the Grapefruit League schedule, sure. It’s also the first step towards finding a fifth starter, figuring out the shortstop position, working out bullpen roles, and ultimately facing the Devil Rays on Opening Day.

And getting back to the World Series, of course.

Let’s open up a can of worms, shall we?

With the Orioles expected to finish no better than fourth place this year — for the eleventh consecutive season — it’s only logical to wonder how many fans will show up to watch rebuilding in motion. When the birds last made the playoffs in 1997, their average attendance was 45,816. They’ve suffered a precipitous decline since, bottoming out in 2006 at 26,583 before a slight bump last year to 27,060 (all figures from Baseball Almanac).

We know that two factors artificially inflate these numbers. One, Pink Sox and Janquis fans account for a huge influx. Those folks shouldn’t be counted at life, let alone as fans. Two, these numbers only reflect tickets sold and not actual butts-in-seats. I think it’s safe to say that nobody believes the O’s actually averaged 20k+ last year.

Regardless of how you measure it, though, this much is clear: the Orioles don’t draw like they used to.

Some folks claim this is purely a function of poor on-field performance. Others claim it’s a matter of bad marketing and community relations. Economic factors probably also play a role, and the fact that Baltimore has largely become a football town should also be considered.

So let’s talk about reversing the trend. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that winning teams have better attendance than losing teams. Yet it would still be wrong to say that winning is the only factor.

I see it as a 70-30 proposition. I think a better team will solve 70% of the Orioles’ attendance problems. “Better” generally means “winning”, but I also think fans will respond to tangible evidence of movement in the right direction.

The other 30% is a matter of providing a better fan experience. By that I mean not only better marketing and a stronger presence in the community, but also a better fan experience. The ushers need to be re-trained or, in some (read: many) cases, given their walking papers. The service staff needs to become more efficient and friendly. The policies regarding cheering and signs and moving down to better seats need to be relaxed.

But that’s just me. So, have at it: why have the Orioles suffered such a drastic decline in attendance, and what will it take to bring lost fans back?

Wherein we once again round up the links…

– LaTroy Hawkins has found a comfy home in the Bronx. In past years that would have meant he’d become an Oriole killer, but I’m feeling a different vibe this year. I think the Yanks are headed into a rough patch.

– There will be O’s (and Nationals) games in HD this year. Not enough of them, of course, but it’s a start.

– Meet Matt Klentak, the newest member of the “what about Mike Flanagan” movement.

– An interesting Seattle perspective on Adam Jones:

Jones admits that he had relished the thought of taking over right field in Seattle, playing next to Ichiro.

“It would have been real fun,” he said, “but I’m next to Nick Markakis now, so I can’t complain.”

Damn right.

– A writer named Nathan Warters dug up some good new Cal Ripken quotes.

These and anything else are fair game in the comments.

I’ve been kicking around ideas lately for how to tweak things a bit with the site, keep it moving forward and whatnot. To that end, I’ve got an idea I think might be worth trying.

Starting today, all Loss Column comments become eligible for our new Featured Comment Feature. A lot of the best content on the site comes in the form of individual comments, and I want to feature and reward that. So every week I’ll pluck the best comments from the previous 7 days and put them into a post on the main page, linked back to their spot in the original discussion.

Then, at the end of each month the best comment of them all will be designated the winner, and the person who wrote it will receive a prize. For this month (actually 5 weeks — this week and all of March) the prize is a $10 iTunes gift certificate — enough to pick up one album of your choosing. It’s not a new canary yellow Mustang, but it’s something.

To become a featured comment your post must be:

– Intelligent.
– Well-reasoned.
– Fresh and new.
– Valuable.

Humor can earn you bonus points, naturally, but this isn’t Deadspin.

Edited to add: this basically describes the comments as they already are. I want to make sure everyone knows that the point of this is to keep the already good things going and have a little fun with it.

I’m the sole and final judge of who wins what, and I promise to be fair. That said, feel free to suggest favorites, offer up nominations, etc.

This first month will be a test run. If nobody’s feeling it then, hey, fun while it lasted. If it works then we’ll keep it going indefinitely.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Anything I might have missed? Lemme know…

You might remember last June when I spent a fair amount of time covering the Panasonic Open. It didn’t get a whole lot of press, but I’d argue it was as intense and professionally contested as anything else in town last year. I enjoyed the hell out of it.

And I plan to do so again, now that I’ve learned that the Open will be returning to Charm City this summer.

The press release went out last week announcing June 19-22 as the time when hometown hero Bucky Lasek and the rest of the crew will descend once more upon the Camden Yards “sports complex” (which last year meant “parking lots”) for skateboarding, freestyle motocross, and BMX.

June seems like half a lifetime away when the temperature hovers around twenty degrees, but look for more coverage as we get close.

The weekend beckons, during which I strongly suspect I have a date with Klitschko-Ibragimov. Which reminds me that if you ever have the urge to read some knowledgeable boxing writing you should make sure to check out No Mas. Whenever they go boxing they go there with ease. Even if they are very Brooklyn.

– Did you know that Jeff Fiorentino is with the Athletics now? He didn’t stick with Cincy but Oakland liked him so much they put him on the 40-man. Weird.

– The O’s play the Brewers this year in interleague play, which reminds me that if you haven’t read Nine Innings by Daniel Okrent, you really should. It’s one of the great baseball books.

– Still more reasons to love Dave Trembley.

– Do you realize that the last regular season game ever at Janqui stadium will be played against none other than our beloved Orioles? Nothing this season matters nearly as much as the need to win that game.

–Deep thanks to everybody who’s piping up in the comments, and especially new arrivals King and Greg. Keep ‘em coming.

And to Drew of course, who, I think it’s safe to say, we all enjoy having around.