(above : noted superfan William “Major” Ligue, shown with trusted advisers, contemplating moving AL allegiances from Chicago to Boston)
It’s only right and natural fair that if I’m gonna mock the Miami Marlins for their inability to pack their garish eyesore of a stadium for Opening Day, Boston’s plans to address poor 2013 ticket sales receive equal coverage. On Tuesday, the Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin reported the Red Sox are slashing prices on beer ($5, reduced from $7.50 for a 12 ounce cup), offering a free hot dog with each dog purchased, and providing free grub for kids under 14 for all games in April. “Why just April?” asks Over The Monster’s Marc Normandin, before answering his own question (“Presumably, the hope right now is that only April needs to be promised”)

If the Sox are doing well in April, and tickets are flying into the hands of fans once more, cheaper concessions aren’t as much of a priority. If the Sox start slow once more, though, then maybe the deal ends up leaking into May in order to keep people coming and bring back some of the idea that Fenway is a place you can take the family to see a game without breaking the bank. There’s no need, from a business perspective, to show that hand before you need to, though. And, as much as people like to forget this sometimes, a business perspective is just what a Major League Baseball team like the Red Sox have.


The Red Sox don’t expect Fenway to be a ghost town, but a look at a ticket resale site like Ace Ticket gives you an idea of how much easier it might be to get to games than it normally is. While seats are available for the home opener at a starting price of $95, the second home game of the season starts at $9 — the only game over $30 for a starting price is on April 15, the 11:05 am game against the Rays on Patriots’ Day.Five of April’s 17 home games have tickets starting at $9 at Ace, and even weekends are much cheaper than you’d expect them to be if you’ve been paying attention to the secondary market the last few years.