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After already putting his faith in Ruben Amaro Jr., Phillies team president Dave Montgomery told the Bucks County Courier Times over the weekend that a total rebuild of the team could have a “negative impact on attendance” — no shit — and that’s a risk he may not be willing to take. Part of Montgomery’s thoughts on the idea to the Courier Times went like this:

“‘In 1998, what were we drawing? Where were we ranked of the franchises in the city? We were last,’ Montgomery said. ‘When I took over, we thought it was a moral victory to go 44-46 in the second half and still lose 97 games, drawing a million and a half and we couldn’t get into a new ballpark.

‘Some people say that the Phillies worry too much about attendance. Yes, we do. When you are low in attendance, the risk is only on the upside. When you are (drawing well), the risk is dropping any further. And that’s what we’re trying to avoid.'”

For the record, the Phillies are only filling CBP an average of 69.7% every night, and according to Baseball Reference, can boast about having the largest negative change in attendance from last season to this season. Through 45 games, the Phillies have brought 370,367 less fans to the games than they did at this point last year, which comes out to about 8,230 lost per game.

How Dave Montgomery thinks that isn’t a problem worth addressing is well beyond my comprehension. Then again, so is giving Ruben the stamp of approval.

h/t CSN

pic via local mystery writer Allen Schatz