Major league pains

Forget about letting Smoltz go (that doesn't look so bad these days) and forget about rehabbing Glavine only to boot him a few days before a scheduled major league start. The moves on the baseball field look, if not entirely correct, sensible.

It is some of the decisions being made involving the fan experience that give me pause and make me wonder if going to a Braves game is worth it anymore.

First off, as many of you well know, I am a big Red Sox fan. In years past, when the Red Sox came to town, I would attend all three games in the series. The games usually occurred near Father's Day, so I would take my dad to a game, attend one with my family and another with a friend. The cost would come close to $200 in tickets and fees, not to mention parking and food at the park. This year, with the Yankees coming to town as well, Braves management decided to attempt to milk fans for all they were worth.

Single game tickets did not go on sale until June after a lottery was held. Fans were urged (even with phone calls the week of the lottery) that if they wanted to guarantee themselves a chance to see one of these six games to buy one of six packages - none of which gave the fan a chance to see all of one series (Yankees or Red Sox). If you wanted to go to all three Red Sox games and did not want to see if you won the single game ticket lottery, you'd have to buy three different packages and go to games involving teams like the Phillies, Cubs, Nationals and Mets among others.

Here's the rub though. I "won" the lottery and ordered my tickets on-line, getting socked with the convenience fees of not having to talk to a human, but I could have bought single game tickets after the lottery winners had their chance and I would have most likely got the seats I wanted anyway. In fact, there were tickets being sold the day of the game to all of the Yankee and Red Sox games I went to.

I would be surprised if this marketing gem made any difference in Braves coffers this year. I know that it irritated a lot of people.

There have been other irritants this season too. A colleague had tickets to a game with the Cubs that got rained out. He and his family waited for hours to see if the game would resume. It did not and they were told that they could trade their tickets for another series this season. The next time he attended a game he went to turn in the tickets and was told they could no longer be exchanged because the game had been made up.

Look at Turner Field the next time the Braves are on t.v. Do you see empty seats? Wouldn't it be the nice thing to do to let somebody who obviously spent money once and is going to spend money again to choose another game to go to? The Ted is going to be a ghost town in a few weeks when school is back in session. Give the fans a break.

This Sunday's game against the Dodgers is also Kids Day at the park. Upper level tickets for kids are $5 and all the games are free. The kids will also get to run the bases after the game. You get the picture - it is a kid-friendly day. Except ESPN has now picked up the game for their Sunday night broadcast meaning the game doesn't start until 8 p.m. (instead of 1 p.m.) and likely doesn't end until past 11 p.m. The kids can still run the bases afterwards, if they are still awake. I realize that there isn't much to do if ESPN picks up a game and changes the game time, but perhaps another Sunday afternoon home game could be designated Kids Day? As it stands, if I want to exchange my tickets for another game I'm welcome to. As long as it is during box office hours at the stadium before the close of business Friday.

Convenient for them. For me? Not so much.

I can't say that I am surprised by this type of treatment, but it is discouraging. I do find it odd though, considering the Braves aren't necessarily dealing from a position of power. They are the only major league baseball team in town, but they don't sell out all their games and fans aren't putting themselves on wait lists for season tickets. It would be nice to see policies in place that allow for some wiggle-room.

The customer doesn't always have to be right, but some middle ground could be easily reached so that everybody leaves feeling like a winner. For me to win, let me feel like my opinion has been heard and try to accommodate my request. If you have two seats open for a Sunday afternoon game before the end of the season, let me turn my tickets in on the day of the game. The Braves obviously win that way too because they still have my ticket money, my parking fee and the $20-$30 I lay out for concessions. Maybe I'd even buy a program or a souvenir for my son, who will hopefully be a baseball fan like me.