Texsox

Supply and demand gets ugly for consumers. I think one reason we see different reactions is no one is scalping a Frostie.

I'm going to some games this year. I'll be at a few high school, a college game or two, a couple MiLB games, and probably a few MLB games. Most will be in Texas. I haven't even looked yet but if the team is in town when I visit I'll go. But it's just not a must schedule thing. Plus, for the first time in decades no one in my family bought season tickets.

Winning will bring back the true fans. They need hearse jumpers because the bandwagon is reserved for parades.

Don't even bother trying to get the generational fans. A quick read here will tell them the hardcore fans are staying away. Promote the visitors, baseball as the All American game. Add some giveaways for the kids. Fireworks, concerts, etc. I hope they can sell some tickets.

I think we all appreciate honesty. "Hey, these guys are cheap and we're required to fill a roster. I didn't pick them, they're the scrap heap of players. My goal this season is to save my career. We are going to lose 100 games and it's not my fault."

You're married to JR?

I can't believe MLB doesn't specify materials for uniforms. That's not how most companies subcontract work.

If all goes well this won't matter in two years.

I thought it was a law firm

We usually blame that on the poor coaching throughout our system. Obviously it's impossible to pin this on one thing or he could have fixed in immediately. But most anyone, in any job, will struggle to perform their best when their life goes to crap.

Can we agree that having two families splashed all across the media is stressful for most people and possibly a contributing factor?

Guaranteed Deficit Field

I agree. I was going to write no boos but there's a few in every crowd. I should have looked at the schedule since it won't happen this year.

He's got the hometown, he's looking for a roadie.

I think he needs to go through the humble loop. "I'm just happy for the opportunity, just want to play hard and help my team, I'll miss the fans in Chicago, etc" and stay out of the limelight. He won't receive a Liam welcome in his first game back as a visitor, but it shouldn't be filled with too many boos.

He needed a change of scenery. Fans in Miami will be pulling for him. It's a fresh start. I'm glad we didn't lock him into some $300 mil, play for us until retirement, contract extension a couple years ago. I wonder if Miami's offer was going up or down as the season opener for closer.

https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/wsoxatte.shtml For those interested. Average AL

I'm thinking you can't beat fun at the ballpark and they hit the 2,000,000 mark again.

Robins in the yard and the diamond club is open. Soon the roar of the bats, the smell of the crowd.

That has to be a part of it. It would also be nice to know what the player and agents are telling teams. If Tim (for example) is (hypothetically) demanding a five year deal, it's no wonder he's still sitting at home. If he's hypothetically telling teams he'll play on a one year incentive loaded contract then something is very fishy. The reality is probably somewhere in between. I could see him holding out for a three year deal expecting someone to need him that bad. How can teams piss away $4 mil on scrubs yet collude on bigger issues? All reality and normal business practices just get suspended.

Teams can see how their spring training is going, perhaps evaluate players that are already in their system to see if they are MLB ready, or sign a free agent. Right now if a contending team's starting shortstop wakes up with an injury Tim is in a nice spot. Making free agent players ineligible at some point to play seems like a harsh punishment for the player.

But it's not amazing how much bad owners can make. That's about a hundred times more.

Taxpayer Field

Depth is a luxury that this franchise will never have. We have had at least three positions each year with well below MLB average players as starters. I don't believe they are capable of fixing that. Now toss in viable players as bench and MiLB? I'm done with that dream.

I don't think it's an all or nothing proposition. In the past two years I've reached a point that I don't schedule my vacations around home stands, I don't make every attempt to watch every game. I've flipped from the Sox game to watch the Rangers or Astros. They are still my favorite team but they have lost my loyalty. If that means I shouldn't call myself a fan, I'm fine with that. If the standard is face paint and tattoos for every game, I'm certainly not. If applauding every mistake and poor decision is the barometer, then I'm out as well. My current number 1 team is a high school team.