I must not be the only one who sees things this way - the Dodgers have been offering half-price pavilion and top deck seats for day of game sales ever since I could remember. Moreover, I cannot find another MLB team that is employing the strategy that the Dodgers are trying.

So I decided to call the Dodgers ticketing office and see if the webpage was a mistake. The conversation went a little something like this…

Me: “Is the website correct in that if you buy tickets on game day that they will be more expensive than if you buy them in advance.”

Dodger ticket representative: “Yes, that is correct. We want to encourage people to buy seats ahead of time.” Me: “So after encouraging them to buy ahead of time, and realizing that you did not sell out the game, you want to discourage fans from buying the day of game by raising the price?" Dodger ticket representative: “Uh, well sir, that was a decision made upstairs, not by us in the ticket office.”

I was going to try to call the people “upstairs” but I know what kind of luck you have had getting calls back from Mrs. McCourt. That said, if she would like to talk this over lunch at Water Grill, I am more than happy to oblige. Unlike Page 2, I will pick up the check.

I am not sure what is worse: this ridiculous ticket policy, or the message Dodger management is sending fans with this policy. I used to enjoy hoping in my car on a whim on a Saturday night and taking in a ball game at a reduced rate. Now I have to pay for the privilege of waiting to purchase tickets for a game that is not sold out?

I think they realized last year that they sold the amount of tickets they did due to sales in March and April and did not have to deal with decreased ticket sales when the team was turning out an awful product.

Thus, the message I get from Dodger management is that they are worried that the team as assembled will not perform well enough to sell games in July, August, and September. They want our money now so they can lock in the “2005 effect” in 2006.

You would think after a bad season that the Dodgers would keep ticket prices constant to encourage fans to come out. Instead, they raised ticket prices and then instituted this ridiculous advanced purchase/day of game sale distinction. Last year, on the day of the game, you only had to pay $3 for a top deck seat. That same seat this year will cost $10.

Thank god I went to UCLA – had I been a Trojan I might not have been able to see through this awful pricing strategy. I never thought I would long for Fox – but after 2 years, I would love to have the “stability” of the Fox era back.