35thstreetswarm

Not difficult for the kinds of people who post on message boards. But prohibitively difficult for a huge swath of the potential baseball-watching population. A lot of people dramatically underestimate how difficult it is for a lot of fans, especially older fans, to negotiate the ever-evolving technological landscape -- and they're not going to do it for a damn baseball game. Lots of folks just turn on the TV and try to find the game, and those people should be able to watch the game too. "Just find a streaming service that offers a free trial, set up an account, and cancel the trial when the trial period ends" -- great, you lost 35% of people at "streaming".

Here's all you need to know about playoff parking (and Sox parking in general): don't park in the lots like a sucka

Is it automatic (as in a normal person can just flip on the game and it will be there) or are there hoops to jump through?

Yeah, they can usually be counted on for the laziest possible take. I've seen quite a bit of love for the Sox from national writers, including plenty of WS projections.

This is an absolute joke. Really feel for those who can't watch. No local fan should be shut out of a playoff game.

I'm not sure about that -- who is the Astros 4th starter who matches up with the guy who's #3 in strikeouts in the AL? I'd take Dylan every time.

For selfish reasons I’m really praying for an earlier start time Friday (so I can make my flight home from Houston on Friday night). Generally not a fan of weekday afternoon games though.

(Reposting in the thread where I intended to post). We have better starting pitching, a better bullpen, and the offenses are a toss-up. I think we are a more complete team on paper. It will just come down to execution. It all starts with stealing one in Houston, which I hope we can do right out of the gate with Giolito on the mound.

We have better starting pitching, a better bullpen, and the offenses are a toss-up. I think we are a more complete team on paper. It will just come down to execution. It all starts with stealing one in Houston, which I hope we can do right out of the gate with Giolito on the mound.

Oh, so you *were* being self-evidently ridiculous in calling a 93-win, division championship season (despite major injury issues) “disappointing.” I forget sometimes that not everyone cares much about credibility. Thanks for clarifying!

You honestly think that’s the part of his post I take issue with, rather than the part where he says this was a “disappointing regular season”?

Don’t bother. “we suk lol” is basically his go-to comment in all situations

Is this a joke?

I get this a lot from casual fans. Sox fandom and Chicago sports media don't do the Sox any favors in this respect. There's a disproportionate amount of doom and gloom about the fine details of the Sox season as compared to acknowledgment of the obvious fact that the Sox are really good. I'm guilty of it myself. It's been a whole lot of "Ugh, Tony LaRussa" and "Ugh, injuries" and "Ugh, Yermin Mercedes is fighting TLR" -- and not as much "the Sox are one of the best teams in the American League." Die-hards take it for granted that the team is super talented and winning ballgames, but if you weren't paying attention you could be forgiven for thinking the Sox were having a disappointing season rather than blowing away their division. It's just something in the character of the organization and fanbase that I've come to accept, and that I vacillate between respecting and loathing depending on my mood. Sometimes I wish we could "keep it in the family" a little more, and be more rah-rah with the rest of the world given the respect deficit we already experience. By comparison (because comparison is inevitable in a two-team town), there's been more happy-go-lucky casual fan energy about the last few middling Cubs seasons--even as it was obvious to knowledgeable fans that their contention window was slamming shut much faster than expected--than there has been about the Sox rebuild taking off with a bullet. I've run into lots of folks who don't even know the Sox are better than the Cubs *this season* (though that did change a lot with the mass departures of the Cubs star players.)

What Phil fails to realize is that attendance is up 1 million + % over 2020, making it the largest year-over-year attendance increase ever!

They’re the douchiest fan base. They think that “owning” their disgraced cheater status will make it go away but it just makes it worse. Man, I’m so getting beat up in Houston

Oops, for some reason I read it as "if the Astros go 1-2" (as in 1 game in final series, i.e. 1 for 3).

ONLY if Astros lose today first. If they win today there is to be a double-sided sweep in teams’ respective final series.

White Sox FOD game every year!!!

not to mention trying to anticipate game times. If Friday in Houston is a day game you can fly out that evening. Night game and it’s a Saturday flight

Man, I hate the Reds uniforms. They look so trashy

This whole thing is dumb and needs to end.

Yes

Yeah I got right up to the end on a bunch of tickets only to get an error message and start all over.

Yeah I suppose locking in ALDS tickets had value. Just didn't anticipate I'd be able to get ALCS tix relatively easily.