This week, Nick wondered aloud what the Washington Nationals would look like, if only they had spent some money to retain former prospects like Brandon Phillips, Jason Bay or Javier Vasquez, instead of trading them for more affordable pieces.

But it was Melissa, a frequent Umpbump commenter, who caught my attention with this seemingly innocent line:

Now that (The Nationals) have a new stadium and are operating in a bigger market they should have the resources to keep their own talent….

That comment reminded me that, last we checked, the Nationals weren’t selling many tickets to games at the new stadium.  But, now that the weather has warmed up, they must be drawing better, right?

In a word, no.

So far this year, the Nats are averaging 30,347 fans per game, in a park that holds 41,888. This season, they’ve sold 18,000 season tickets, an increase of 3,000 since the team moved from Montreal to D.C. But the Nationals had a season-ticket base of about 22,500 in their first season at RFK in 2005, meaning the club has lost the equivalent of 4,500 season ticket holders since then.

What lessons can we learn from this? First of all, that new stadiums aren’t the draw that they used to be. When Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992, spectators packed the park. Orioles’ attendance, routinely below 25,000 at Memorial Stadium, soared above 40,000 at the new park and remained there for nine seasons. Cleveland’s Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) opened in 1994 and had a run of 455 consecutive sellouts. But the thrill of new, retro ballparks is gone. The Nationals are learning the hard way that it now takes more than just a new stadium to attract fans. It takes … drumroll please … a competitive team. Or Barry Bonds.

What does this mean for the Nationals? I think it casts real doubt on the assertion that Washington’s new stadium will lead to increased resources. Moreover, since the Orioles control the TV broadcasting rights to all of theNationals’ games, Washington seems like a longshot to achieve big-market status anytime soon – if ever.

I’m not an economist, but I think the Nats’ situation can be boiled down to this catch-22: The fans won’t show up unless the team improves, and the team can’t afford better players unless the fans show up.

So if Washington is going to win, they’re going to have to do it the hard way – the small market way. I think it’s time for Stan Kasten to buy himself a copy of Moneyball.

WaPo columnist Thomas Boswell has a story in today’s paper about how the Nationals have decided there is no room in their organization for former manager Frank Robinson.

The common wisdom when the Nationals declined to renew Robinson’s contract was that they would offer him a front office consulting job. Something, anything, to keep him in the organization that he had been so loyal to. After all, it was Robinson who consented to manage the lame duck Expos, even when the team had no fans, no future and no hope.

But instead, the Nationals seem to have decided to move as far away from Robinson as possible, as quickly as possible.

And Robinson is pissed:

“I’m done with them,” Robinson told The Post on Wednesday. “I have nothing against the organization per se. It’s two people that I’m concerned with: Jim and Stan.”

Jim and Stan are, of course, Nationals GM Jim “I only had one beer” Bowden and Stan Kasten, the team’s new president. Kasten says he debated whether or not to offer Robinson a role with the team.

 ”I was really torn,” Kasten said yesterday. “That’s why the decision took so long.”

The decision was to offer Robinson nothing. Nothing, but a plane ticket to spring training so that he could serve as a special assistant to the guy who is replacing him. Ouch.

But Boswell says he knows Robinson and that the baseball legend isn’t always easy to work with.

Last spring, I listened as Robinson went into a 10-minute fuming monologue about how the Nationals had insulted him — by not giving him the right cellphone plan. Others in the front office had a different plan. What did it mean? Was he out of the loop? Was it a hint he wasn’t wanted? Why, it was an injustice. To him, anyway.

“That’s a glimpse. He’s not a guy who endears himself,” a team source said. “He has a long history of a short shelf life.”

Maybe the Nationals decided that rebuilding the franchise would be easier without Robinson around. And maybe they’re right. But he still deserved better. He’s Frank Robinson, after all.

Incoming Washington Nationals team president Stan Kasten says he has talked to Jim Bowden several times about Bowden’s future with the team. But Kasten won’t say whether or not he plans to retain the GM:

I said I haven’t announced a decision. Whether I’ve made a decision or not, nobody really needs to know.

Translation: J-Bo’s a gonner. Anytime you hear the old, “we’ve made a decision but we’re not saying” line, that means the employee in question is on the way out. If the Nationals were even thinking about keeping Bowden, Kasten would say, “Bowden is a good GM and he is our guy.” Publicly supporting Bowden wouldn’t cost the Nationals anything. They could still fire him at the end of the season if they wanted and nobody would bat an eyelash. But keeping quiet just confirms what we all suspect: Bowden’s a lame duck.

Will this affect Bowden’s ability to make deals as the season progresses? Is Soriano more or less likely to be dealt? Stay tuned.

Say it ain’t so, J-Bo.

Nationals GM Jimmy Bowden was pulled over this weekend and charged with drinking and driving.

Talk about a guy bent on sabotaging his own career. How would you rank the following list of Bowden Blunders?

1. Worked as baseball analyst for Cold Pizza

2. Compared Players Association head Donald Fehr to Sept. 11 hijackers.

3. Traded for Alphonso Soriano

4. Signed Ken Griffey, Jr.

5. Died hair a ridiculous shade of blond after being dismissed as Reds GM in 2003.