Not to repeat what I said earlier, which was about how many people were there at the end of the game. And equally not to pull a Chicken Little, sky is falling type of thing. But I was reading the game's recap on ESPN and noticed something that shocked me. Being at the game tonight, I could tell it wasn't sold out, but it seemed a decent crowd. The recap said attendance was only 25,939. Yes, it was a weeknight. Yes, it was hot as **** out there tonight. But Strasburg's "really, really long awaited return" according to the Nats was announced a week ago, before anyone knew how hot it was. It was Strasburg's first start in 2/3 of a month. If you were the Nat's, wouldn't you be concerned with that attendance number? 26,000, even against the Marlins, is not a good sign. It seems to indicate that once these fair weather fans see Strasburg, they feel that's enough. Bottom line, I think only 26,000 for tonight, considering most tickets should have sold a week ago before we knew how hot it would be, is a very concerning figure when it comes to the future of Strasburg drawing fans in on his starts this year and next.
It was one start, so we'll have to see what happens Sunday and the rest of the season. But it's not a good feeling seeing we only drew 26,000 tonight, regardless of the heat, week-night start, Marlins. The "return of Strasburg", never mind the kids still being out of school, should have offset those negatives a whole lot more than 26,000. I'll point out yet again, don't bother replying saying I'm going nuts over something that doesn't matter. I'm not saying it does, but if anyone thought they'd only sell 26,000 tickets tonight, I'd be surprised. I remember hearing over the weekend on the broadcasts they were expecting a near sell-out tonight. 26,000 is a shocking number all things considered. It better be further proof that they need to resign Dunn or some FA draw, because it looks like they're not going to be able to rely on Strasburg every five days to offset dismal attendance numbers the other four.