Today I received my Reds season tickets via FedEx, and inside was a letter from Reds CEO Bob Castellini. Clearly, the Reds and the Bengals have a different approach when communicating with fans. Below is the text of his letter. After you finish, remember back to the literary masterpiece from Mike Brown & co. earlier this year.
Dear Reds Season Ticket Holder:
On behalf of the Cincinnati Reds, thank you for renewing your commitment to the club with a 2009 season-ticket package. Your continued support is invaluable, especially in these difficult financial times, and it's essential to us to continue building a winning organization.
The 2008 season featured a number of highlights and exciting moments for our players and fans. Brandon Phillips had another stellar year at second base, earning his first Gold Glove Award. Edinson Volquez lead the rotation in his first year with the club and was named to the National League All-Star team. Meanwhile, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce combined to form the most prolific rookie home run duo in Reds history. Those explosive players along with the rest of our roster under the leadership of Dusty Baker are working even harder to bring our deserving fans a winning season.
Since taking over as GM last April, Walt Jocketty has assembled a team with a new look and feel, with an emphasis on pitching, defense, and speed. Our starting rotation has the potential to stand up against any in baseball, and our bullpen returns almost intact after finishing with the third-best ERA in the NL. The addition on Willy Taveras gives us a leadoff hitter who can impact the game both on the base paths and in center field, while Ramon Hernandez upgrades our offense and defense with a veteran presence behind the plate to help our young pitchers. Manager Dusty Baker will have a versatile and athletic roster at his disposal, giving him plenty of options each game.
We appreciate you reserving your space in our 2009 lineup. Reds fans are the best fans in baseball, and our goal is to reward your loyalty by giving you a memorable experience on and off the field.
Thank you again for your support and I look forward to seeing you at the ballpark this summer.
Sincerely,
Robert H. Castellini
and now MFB has Carson calling season ticket holders. LOL
Posted by: TigerJ@w | March 20, 2009 at 03:12 AM
Different philosophy when communicating with the fan... ...that may be true but the act of business is the same. Remember when the Reds floated the idea that Adam Dunn was a 'rent-a-player' last year during the trading deadline -- and they inferred that he was going to be back this year? Yeah, remember that? Hey Adam, how's Washington these days? Did you honestly think that this inference was legitimate? Nope! The Reds wanted to keep butts in the stands -- much like Mikey Boy Brown. I told you all of this a while back.
Now, another thing that I told you was the idea that the owner (that is, one other than Marge Schott) would really put the green into the team and things would be better... well Marge wasn't a great thing to begin with but she put in her money. She may not have been the quintessential owner but at least she did. Remember when everyone was shouting on high: "Oh, it's Uncle Carl to the rescue, he's got billions and he will have us a dynasty like the Yankees in no time!" Well at least he let you think that -- he certainly never said it. Now people are giving Uncle Carl a pass saying that for one reason or t'other, he shouldn't really even be mentioned -- that he was a caretaker in a sense for the team -- yeah, that's the ticket... a caretaker. Now we have Castellini and people are starting the same garbage that they did (and have conveniently forgotten about) under Uncle Carl. "Oh, he will bring us to the promised land!!!!" etc. -- all that's pretty much under consideration for a colloquial and collective name: BULLSHIT!
See, the problem is that we just aren't a good market in the sense of people blindly following. We are discretionary with our spending and we definitely want to see something happen before we invest (with the exception of the 'fanatics'). The problem is, the fanatics can't do it alone and left to them, you get 3rd, 4th, or 5th placed teams as a result. All you thinking or taking the bait that these things are going to be different, you better hope and pray for the 'perfect storm' that was 1990. That's about the only way that 'Castellini' is going to 'bring' this city a winner.
Oh well, as I've said, we aren't even a third rate city (acting like we are on top) -- don't get me wrong, I am comfortable with my city in that sense -- I just wish that others would be more realistic.
Posted by: WCH | March 20, 2009 at 12:26 AM
Where's the quote from Lou Pinella or Tony LaRussa saying the Reds are the 'team to beat?'
Posted by: Bob Saratoga | March 19, 2009 at 09:39 PM
Time will only tell, but I like the Reds approach better becausae they talk about winning. I still don't think Mike Brown knows how to pronounce that word YET.
The problem is that the Bengal's have a weaker schedule this year, so Mikey boy will probably get what he wants. The NFL will not let a team fail in sales.
Posted by: Herb | March 19, 2009 at 06:15 PM
Marc I agree with you 100%. Bob backed off his 'championship' talk in this letter...which was disappointing...but at least he is talking about forming a winning team and being dedicated to the STH. Much better than Mikey boy.
Posted by: Ghost of Boomer | March 19, 2009 at 09:18 AM
One thing I noticed (don't take this as me standing up for Mike Turd), was that Bobby did not say his goal was to win a championship, only a "winning season". So while I guess that's better than the Bengals goal of "trying to be competitive", it's still not the fans ultimate goal.
Posted by: Marc | March 19, 2009 at 08:54 AM
He sure as hell isn't a wordsmith, but daggummit Bob Castellini cares about winning. He also has a freaking GM.
Posted by: Sly Vramavomovich | March 18, 2009 at 06:25 PM