A fun article by Tom Verducci in this week’s Sports Illustrated takes a neat look at numbers and baseball and uses payroll, wins and post season success to determine which teams are getting the most bang for their buck.

Not surprisingly, the Orioles are one of the least-efficient teams in Major League Baseball in terms of the money spent for players vs. on-the-field success. According to Verducci’s numbers, over the last decade the Orioles have spent $717.2 million and won 698 games, or $1.03 million per win.

OK, it’s less than the $1.75 million the New York Yankees spent per win…but then again the Yanks did grab two World Series titles and four pennants in nine post season appearances. And with 12 straight losing seasons, the O’s have posted big fat “zeros” in those categories.

Sure, you could argue that the Orioles play in the toughest division in baseball. But when you look at Tampa Bay’s numbers — 694 wins at $577,522 per win and one pennant — that argument starts getting weak. True, the Rays caught lightening in a bottle the year they made it to the World Series…but at least the team didn’t waste its money the other nine years.

Hopefully with this change of focus on the farm system the Orioles can manage their payroll better. It’s funny — fans often complain that owner Peter Angelos won’t spend money on good talent. And maybe that’s been true at times…but obviously money isn’t everything.

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It’s only getting sadder for the woeful Nationals. For the second year in a row the team’s pitiful attendance (that are actually worse than the Orioles!! Seriously!!) has caused the team to try and meet their fans halfway.

At least as far as their pocketbooks go.

I guess that’s what you get when you build an expensive ballpark with expensive seats…then a recession hits and the team plays just as bad its new home as it did in its old one.  At least at RFK, you could get some decently priced seats on game day — even if the food was more of a science project than edible.

The Nationals announced yesterday that they would be reducing the price on more then 3,000 outfield seats (they lowered the price on 14,000 seats last year) for the 2010 season. The lucky section this year is in the Outfield Reserved, where all tickets will cost $24. (Last year they cost $24 to $30.) Seats in the Lower Right Field Terrace will also be reduced, from $18 to $17.

The remaining seats are under a price freeze, as the team did last year. Since the day the park opened in April 2008, the team has only lowered ticket prices. Isn’t it supposed to go the other way?

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We often hear in Baltimore about the desire for more local or family ownership (see Tribune/Baltimore Sun, Pimlico Race Course). But family ownership has its problems too.

Last month, Jamie McCourt, a Baltimore native who was CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the highest-ranking woman in baseball, and her husband Frank, announced their seperation. On Oct. 21 Frank fired his wife and Jamie filed for divorce the following week.

On Thursday, Jamie McCourt lost her bid to be reinstated as the team’s chief executive in what is already an ugly divorce. McCourt, 55, is accused by her husband of having an affair with her bodyguard-driver, also a Dodger employee who was fired. Frank McCourt, 56, also claims she was doing a poor job in her role as chief executive.

And on top of all that, the Dodgers have 16 potential free agents this off-season, including slugger Manny Ramirez, who is deciding whether to exercise his $20 million option for next season. The team has the ninth-highest payroll in the MLB at $100 million and the team is worth $800 million.

A Superior Court commissioner still has to rule on whether the Dodgers are community property or whether they fully belong to Frank McCourt, who bought the team in 2004. The couple has been married since 1979.

If the team is community property, Jamie McCourt could be reinstated. Some say that would have an adverse effect on the team. Hmmm, you think? If they don’t want to be married anymore, I doubt they’d be able to run a business together very well. And a $100 million payroll is a lot to mess around with.

Allegations aside, McCourt’s achievements in professional baseball were pretty significant for her gender and it’s a shame it has to end in L.A. like this. But I had the chance to meet McCourt last year and if there’s one place she can go and always be loved, it’s Baltimore. And it seems the feeling is mutual.

Wonder if there’s room in the front office at Camden Yards?

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After all the questions in the media about whether Orioles manager Dave Trembley needs to go, this came down late Friday from the organization:

“The Orioles today announced that they have exercised their option for the 2010 season on the contract of Manager Dave Trembley.

“This season is Trembley’s 25th in professional baseball. He won two league titles and earned Manager of the Year awards in three leagues in 20 years managing in the minor leagues before joining the Orioles as bullpen coach and field coordinator in 2007.”

Since this summer, Trembley has been on thin ice for his management of the team and the young squad’s needless errors.

So who’s responsible for Trembley staying? Owner Peter Angelos? GM Andy MacPhail? The O’s also won last night, snapping a 13-game losing streak.

Is this a sign that the team is or isn’t moving past the days of mismanagement that has plagued it during the Angelos era? Do you agree with the decision?

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If you follow Orioles attendance totals at all, I know what you’re thinking about that headline: “What?!? But Camden Yards is down nearly 9 percent right now compared with last year!”

OK, true. Sixty-six home games into the season, the Orioles have drawn 1.6 million to the ballpark while last year the team drew 1.76 million in as many games. But hear me out:

1) The team drew about 25,000 Monday night for its first game in a three-game series against the Yankees. (That’s a little more than half-capacity but it’s still way better than the team’s usual 15,000-19,000 on a Monday night.) I predict the series can keep that pace — nice weather and the Yanks being a playoff team — the series should total about 75,000.

2) Next up is a Friday through Sunday series with the Texas Rangers. The last time that team came to Baltimore on a weekend, game attendance averaged nearly 25,000. Prediction: 74,250 series total.

3) Unfortunately the O’s will kill any attendance-building progress with it’s next series: a Monday through Thursday homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays (Sept. 14-17). Combine weekdays, which are usually a shoddy draw for Camden Yards, with a team that doesn’t generate much interest on the road, and let’s just say there won’t be any long lines at the concessions stands for this one. Last time the Rays visited during the week the per-game attendance averaged a little more than 15,000. Prediction: 60,700 series total.

4) Grumble all you want about visiting fans but the next series against Boston (Sept. 18-20) will help kick attendance back up in a big way. The Sox are in a playoff hunt and it’s the weekend — a perfect storm for baseball. Last time Boston visited on a weekend, the games averaged more than 45,000 in attendance. Prediction: 137,000 series total.

5) Lastly, the O’s season will end quietly with a three-game set against Toronto. It’s a weekend series (Oct. 2-4) which should help but with neither of these teams in a playoff hunt, it should be a pretty anti-climactic finish for Camden Yards. The last time Toronto visited on a weekend, the games averaged about 26,900 in attendance. But last year’s weekend series against Toronto to close out the 2008 season only drew about 18,600 per game. I’m leaning more toward the lower end of that scale. Prediction: 65,000 series total.

Add it all up and I’m predicting the O’s will finish out the season drawing 1.99 million to Camden Yards. That would be a 2 percent increase over last year’s total of 1.95 million. It may not be much compared with other ballparks that regularly draw 3 million fans, but when you factor in a recession and a team that’s looking to finish yet another season with a losing record, it’s a sign the ballpark may be back on the upswing.

So, do I have any takers for more than 2 million fans to Camden Yards next year?

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So the Washington Nationals just signed San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg to a record-setting contract worth $15.1 million over four years, and the team’s next financial move is to practically give away game tickets for $1 a pop.

Makes sense to me.

Actually, sarcasm aside, it really does. The Nationals rank 14th of 16 National League teams in attendance with a total of 1.38 million fans so far this year. That’s a 22 percent decline from last year’s total through 59 games.

The $1 promotion is for Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, which will be preceded by an on-field news conference with Strasburg, the team’s No. 1 overall draft pick, and a Q&A session with fans. The Nats are offering at least 2,000 tickets at the discount price, and the park will open a whopping five-plus hours before game time (1:30 p.m.)

One, let’s face it — it’s not as if the team was going to sell this game out. The seats will probably be the nosebleeds, which run about $10 at the gate, so we’re talking about taking a $9 hit on tickets that probably weren’t going to be sold anyway.

Two, that pregame news conference and the extra ballpark hours will more than make up for any loss the team may take on the discounted seats in the form of concessions sales, namely beer and souvenirs. Folks will file in early to get a good view of the conference and of Strasburg, and once you’re in the park you’re trapped. And hey, it’s Friday night — need I say more?

Now, it’s not like the team’s going to make so much money Friday night that its paying a ridiculously high amount for an unproven player will seem justified…but it’s a pretty smart promotional play by the team’s marketing department nonetheless.

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Talk about a commitment to customer service — the management at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen wasn’t going to let a little thing like a power outage stop the game from proceeding after last Friday evening’s thunder storm.

The storm, described in a press release as “howling wind blowing the rain side to side” abruptly stopped at 5 p.m., two hours before the scheduled 7:05 p.m. start for the IronBirds, one of Maryland’s five minor league baseball teams. But while the field tarp was removed and the grounds crew readied it for play, the power outage lasted long into the night.

The night staff walked around “using a bullhorn to inform to the many groups of fans patiently waiting for the game to begin about what was going on and when the game may start,” the release said.

The team had rented three giant generators in the early evening to power the lights and — of major concern — the restrooms. (Ripken Stadium has automatic flush toilets that don’t function without electricity.) At about 8:40 p.m. the lights kicked in over the field, drawing applause and cheers from the hearty fans still in attendance.

While the field was lit, the scoreboard (also electric) was a different story: that was drawn on a giant whiteboard and updated throughout the contest. The crew held up signs showing the balls, strikes and outs, each person wearing a t-shirt with a B, S, and O on it so the fans knew what each number they held stood for, according to the release.

The press box also functioned at a very limited level and a small generator powered the public address microphone, visiting radio and flood light.

The evening epitomizes one of the great things about minor league baseball that I wrote about last summer: it’s just good, old-fashioned (in this case literally) family fun and run by folks whose priority is entertaining the fans.

But thank goodness also for minor league baseball’s simplicity — can you imagine what would have happened at Oriole Park if the power had gone out like this?

And by the way, the Ironbirds won, 4-1.

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Well, we’re at the All Star break and it’s time for another Orioles attendance update. And this time — are you sitting down? — it’s good news!

If you’ll remember, back in early June I predicted we’d start seeing a boost in our beloved O’s attendance rate because the Birds were hosting a string of high-drawing teams, Matt Wieters had arrived and school was out.

I love being right.

After the June 9-11 series against Seattle, Oriole Park’s total attendance for the year was 692,891 — a whopping 21 percent down from its corresponding 32nd game at home last year. Since then, the O’s have hosted Atlanta, the New York Mets, Boston, Washington and Toronto and picked up 15 points in the meantime.

The team is still down from last year, but only by 5.2 percent. And that’s pretty much in line with the rest of Major League Baseball attendance, which is down between 4 and 5 percent, according to the Sports Business Journal.

Meanwhile, since Wieters joined the club on May 29, more than 600,400 people have passed through the gates at Oriole Park in 21 games. During the previous 26 games, attendance totaled about 541,000.

Now, not all is well — I attended Sunday’s matchup against Toronto (which drew about 21,600) as a plain old fan and the atmosphere was almost sleepy in the upper reserves. And this was despite the fact the Orioles won and had the lead for most of the game. Toronto’s not the kind of team that will draw road fans (as opposed to the previous clubs I mentioned), and with just orange and black shirts to fill the stands, the emptiness was palpable.

I know many Orioles fans who pride themselves on their baseball knowledge and their steadfast support of the team (although maybe not always its ownership). And while maybe it’s not as bad as attending a Sunday afternoon game at Nationals Park, it’s still a little depressing to see the lack of turnout from home fans on a beautiful day when you can get tickets for as little as $9.

The visiting fans are doing their part for Orioles attendance — if more Orioles fans showed up to support their team, Oriole Park may even beat its attendance total from last year. But the ball’s in your court — we’ll see how the second half of the season goes.

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If you love tinsel, the smell of spruce and singing along to a crooning Bing Crosby, you don’t have to wait five more months to do it. The Bowie Baysox are hosting a Christmas in July fundraiser on July 25 featuring holiday music and decorations, a jersey auction and — of course — a special appearance by Santa Claus and his elves.

Once again, the Baysox are taking the field in custom-made jerseys to be auctioned off after the game with the proceeds benefiting the Salvation Army. The jerseys are green with red sleeves and red numbers on the front and back. Instead of the regular logo on the front, the festive smocks will sport a candy cane cradling the Baysox logo. The winning bidders can meet the players after the game to pose for photos with the player and have their jerseys signed.

But wait, there’s more — the video board will play holiday clips, the Brass of the Potomac will be staked out in front of Prince George’s Stadium playing Christmas music and fans get a free candy cane as they pass through the gates.

I think the candy cane put it over the top for me, how about you?

To check out more Baysox promos and fundraisers (including the search for the Golden Wieters Bobblehead Doll and Scot Van Pelt bobblehead night), visit www.baysox.com.

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Yesterday’s ninth-inning comeback from the Red Sox — one night after the Orioles executed a similar feat against them — highlighted what has become a theme for Baltimore this year: you never know which O’s squad you’re going to get.

The Orioles have been streaky this year, to say the least.  Seven-game losing streaks, five-game winning streaks. They blanked the Rays one night then allowed 11 runs the next. They were scoreless against the Yankees on May 8, then touched home plate 12 times the next night. More than half of their wins have come from runs scored in late innings.

I recently heard a radio ad highlighting the fact that the Orioles have been an exciting team to watch because you can’t count them out in the later innings. Last year, the O’s marketing team launched a tongue-and-cheek promotion around the team’s bad luck on Sundays. At that point, the Orioles had a 13-game losing streak at Camden Yards on Sundays and marketers launched a “You Win We Win” promotion on July 6 that promised to give fans a free ticket to a future, non “prime” game to fans in attendance that day if the O’s broke their Sunday streak.

From talking with fans, I get the sense that there isn’t really any ill will about the streakiness because most know it’s just a characteristic of a young squad.  That being the case, can you market this unpredictability? The radio commercial I mentioned touches on it, but I wonder if team marketers can take it a step further and design a promotion around the team’s come-from-behind drama they’ve frequently displayed at home.

For example, they could print up a bunch of $8 off and $9 off ticket coupons and have them ready to hand out after a game for an eighth- or ninth-inning comeback (making it clear to fans that the go-ahead run is scored in one of those innings for the promotion to take effect).

On the other hand, as the manager of a ball club, you want to see your team jump out early and hold on to the lead. Would a promotion like the one I mentioned be a conflict in philosophy?

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