One night after the Orioles set the franchise record for lowest attendance at Camden Yards, they were surrounded by more empty seats. Only this time, the weather was the sole culprit. No debating was necessary.
Last night's game was postponed because of rain, and a makeup date will be announced later. It wasn't the opponent, it wasn't the lowly national projections for the Orioles.
Not that the club seems overly concerned with Wednesday's announced turnout of 10,505 - almost 3,000 fewer than the previous low.
"Do we notice it? Yes. Does it bother us? No. We still have to go out there and pitch," reliever Chad Bradford said.
"You notice it, but it's early in the season, it's cold, it's the middle of the week. Hopefully it'll go up by the weekend. I think it all depends on how good we're playing."
Said first baseman Kevin Millar: "The bottom line is you have to win. They want a good product on the field. Also, you don't want to sit in the stands at 34 degrees. If it's 80 on Friday night or Saturday, it would be something to worry about. Plus, I've guaranteed a World Series this year. They'll be there for that."
Team spokesman Greg Bader noted that April is historically the lowest attendance month across the majors, "and games the week after Opening Day are traditionally among the lowest of the season for all teams," he said.
"The club's fan-friendly policy of permitting our season-plan holders to exchange tickets for almost any game, combined with school being in session, poor weather and other factors, all played a role. This is part of the rebuilding process, and we believe our fans are supportive of the new direction [team president] Andy MacPhail and [manager] Dave Trembley are leading us. By the end of the season, we fully expect our attendance numbers to be similar to what they have been in the recent past."
Welcoming Perlozzo
Trembley said he's looking forward to greeting former Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo, who returns to Baltimore tonight as Seattle Mariners third base coach. Perlozzo gave Trembley his first chance to coach in the majors, assigning him to the bullpen last season - a gesture that won't be forgotten.
"I've gone on record as saying I'll be forever indebted to Sam Perlozzo for what he did for me. What he did for me was what a lot of guys said they were going to do and never came through and did," Trembley said.
