Rockies II: Overmatched

    Rockies make rookie errors. Fielding percentage drops precipitously.The long layoff between the National League Championship and the World Series has clearly hurt the Rockies. Team spokesman Jay Alves swung and missed on an 0-2 count when he announced the suspension of the sales of World Series tickets today, saying, “Virtually the entire allotment of tickets that were on sale are still available.”

    In a rookie mistake, the Rockies relied on an overloaded online ticket brokering system to sell the tickets to the three World Series games. When lots of people tried to buy the tickets the club allegedly had for sale, the servers were overwhelmed. Apparently, the Rockies weren’t expecting many people to want these World Series tickets, even though it will be the club’s first appearance in the Fall Classic since the Big Bang. They were looking for a changeup, but they got a fastball. The system did manage to sell at least one set of tickets before it crashed, however — to a Boston Red Sox fan, according to The Denver Post.

    The Rockies did not, of course, apologize to the fans who wasted their own time trying to buy tickets over the Internet. “We’re as frustrated and disappointed as (fans) are,” Alves said. Instead they asked the police to set up barricades to keep people away from the ballpark. Some fans, frustrated with their online experience, headed down to Coors Field, apparently thinking it would be a good idea if the club sold tickets at the box office. Imagine that.

    Perhaps this is where the where the Rockies have gone wrong. A management consultant — preferably not one employed by Major League Baseball — could explain to them that the idea is to get people to go to the ballpark, not keep them away.