18 minutes ago, Texsox said:

I'm trying to understand what games are worth your time watching. Even if somehow I knew it's a blow out in advance it is still with my time. I'm trying to understand your time. 

My rule of thumb is generally that I will put time and effort into things of which others are putting time and effort into.

Which is why I'd have no problem watching a bunch of kids who aren't professionals play a sport at a lesser level, but won't waste a minute watching a team put together by a bunch of people who don't care.

1 hour ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

You comparing an individual game outcome to a team doing everything in their power to put garbage on the field night after night is an interesting choice.

Yes, a baseball game is an event that is a blast to attend on a nice summer night. It is a choice to do something you enjoy without maintaining some meta-anger and pretending to be a connoisseur of men playing a game flawlessly. It is a choice to be a grump and mock people who won't think the way you do. 

I'll watch them as I have the last 2 years: day games during work days where it is on in the background and when the wife isn't around and we aren't watching something else together.

14 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Yes, a baseball game is an event that is a blast to attend on a nice summer night. It is a choice to do something you enjoy without maintaining some meta-anger and pretending to be a connoisseur of men playing a game flawlessly. It is a choice to be a grump and mock people who won't think the way you do. 

Has nothing to do with anger and I'm not sure where I mocked anyone. If the owner of a business doesn't care about the quality of their product, to the point that they are actively hostile towards its quality, why would i continue to support that product? 

I like movies but that doesn't mean i watch gigli to show support for all movies.

Some people would prefer to do other things with their time and money than watch the bad baseball team that they are a fan of.

Seems pretty simple.

35 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Has nothing to do with anger and I'm not sure where I mocked anyone. If the owner of a business doesn't care about the quality of their product, to the point that they are actively hostile towards its quality, why would i continue to support that product? 

I like movies but that doesn't mean i watch gigli to show support for all movies.

There it is.  This is 2025, and there are plenty of things to do with my entertainment dollars and time.  I will be watching more of my local HS baseball team than I will this product.

44 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Has nothing to do with anger and I'm not sure where I mocked anyone. If the owner of a business doesn't care about the quality of their product, to the point that they are actively hostile towards its quality, why would i continue to support that product? 

I like movies but that doesn't mean i watch gigli to show support for all movies.

I agree with the Sox part, but you should really watch Gigli with your funniest friends. It's so bad it crosses over from earnest, godawful meditation on human sexuality to hilarious send up of pretentious filmmakers. One of the more enjoyable afternoons of my life was when I saw it i the theater.

7 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

I agree with the Sox part, but you should really watch Gigli with your funniest friends. It's so bad it crosses over from earnest, godawful meditation on human sexuality to hilarious send up of pretentious filmmakers. One of the more enjoyable afternoons of my life was when I saw it i the theater.

Tuff Turf was one of those films for me. Some friends and I were near another group of guys, and we traded Mystery Science Theater-type quips the entire movie. 

51 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Has nothing to do with anger and I'm not sure where I mocked anyone. If the owner of a business doesn't care about the quality of their product, to the point that they are actively hostile towards its quality, why would i continue to support that product? 

I like movies but that doesn't mean i watch gigli to show support for all movies.

I guess I don't understand your original comment. Yes, when you're talking about going to a ball game, it is a choice to talk about going to an individual game compared to thinking meta about "supporting the team". Calling that "an interesting choice" seems to mock a simple decision of what to do with one's evening. 

1 hour ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

My rule of thumb is generally that I will put time and effort into things of which others are putting time and effort into.

Which is why I'd have no problem watching a bunch of kids who aren't professionals play a sport at a lesser level, but won't waste a minute watching a team put together by a bunch of people who don't care.

You don't think the players are trying? Or the front office isn't trying? 

17 minutes ago, Texsox said:

You don't think the players are trying? Or the front office isn't trying? 

Answer to question 1: yes

Answer to question 2: no

Edit: I should explain the answer for 2: longterm, yes. Short-term: no. There’s a way you can rebuild and still try to add at the MLB level without being embarrassing but I guess that falls more on the ownership's willingness to open the purse strings 

Edited March 14, 20251 yr by Bob Sacamano

14 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

I guess I don't understand your original comment. Yes, when you're talking about going to a ball game, it is a choice to talk about going to an individual game compared to thinking meta about "supporting the team". Calling that "an interesting choice" seems to mock a simple decision of what to do with one's evening. 

My original comment? I responded to someone who said they did not understand the "not watching" crowd.

I do find it to be an interesting choice to support a product that does not want your support.

@Texsox I know the ownership group and, in turn, the front office is not trying. Do you think they are? They're going to have the lowest payroll they've had in 21 years this year.

The game's revenue in the past 21 years has more than tripled.

Meaning the payroll this year is more than 3 times less than it was 21 years ago, despite being roughly the same gross amount.

23 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

My original comment? I responded to someone who said they did not understand the "not watching" crowd.

I do find it to be an interesting choice to support a product that does not want your support.

@Texsox I know the ownership group and, in turn, the front office is not trying. Do you think they are? They're going to have the lowest payroll they've had in 21 years this year.

The game's revenue in the past 21 years has more than tripled.

Meaning the payroll this year is more than 3 times less than it was 21 years ago, despite being roughly the same gross amount.

Sure, I get your argument. I've got 30 years, tops, on this Earth. I'm a fan of a team. I may have 15-20 years of being able to get to games and enjoy the experience. It would be a full-time job to research the corporate philosophies of every product I consume. I'd have to pretty much stop listening to music, or even consume any popular media, as there's always nefarious people behind the scenes. 

I fully support you in not watching bad baseball. I want you to not watch bad baseball. When I'm looking for perfection, I'll go see the ballet. 

17 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Sure, I get your argument. I've got 30 years, tops, on this Earth. I'm a fan of a team. I may have 15-20 years of being able to get to games and enjoy the experience. It would be a full-time job to research the corporate philosophies of every product I consume. I'd have to pretty much stop listening to music, or even consume any popular media, as there's always nefarious people behind the scenes. 

I fully support you in not watching bad baseball. I want you to not watch bad baseball. When I'm looking for perfection, I'll go see the ballet. 

The amount of false equivalences you've mentioned in this thread is impressive. 

I've watched tons of bad baseball in my life. That's not the issue here. When the Sox tried to supply a quality product I'd watch all ups and downs. If my favorite musician started releasing albums of them simply humming I wouldn't keep listening out of loyalty.

6 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

The amount of false equivalences you've mentioned in this thread is impressive. 

I've watched tons of bad baseball in my life. That's not the issue here. When the Sox tried to supply a quality product I'd watch all ups and downs. If my favorite musician started releasing albums of them simply humming I wouldn't keep listening out of loyalty.

Dude, every comment you make has something like this that feels like a swipe. I'll just end this here; you're right about everything. 

36 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Sure, I get your argument. I've got 30 years, tops, on this Earth. I'm a fan of a team. I may have 15-20 years of being able to get to games and enjoy the experience. It would be a full-time job to research the corporate philosophies of every product I consume. I'd have to pretty much stop listening to music, or even consume any popular media, as there's always nefarious people behind the scenes. 

I fully support you in not watching bad baseball. I want you to not watch bad baseball. When I'm looking for perfection, I'll go see the ballet. 

It's funny, as I have gotten older, I spend less and less time on professional sports in general, and more and more on amatuer.  It isn't about perfection, otherwise no one would watch athletics in general.  Just like I want to see an honest effort on the field, I also want to see an honest effort off of it.  Right now the White Sox are the 400 pound dude on his chat board talking about "no fattys".  

36 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

It's funny, as I have gotten older, I spend less and less time on professional sports in general, and more and more on amatuer.  It isn't about perfection, otherwise no one would watch athletics in general.  Just like I want to see an honest effort on the field, I also want to see an honest effort off of it.  Right now the White Sox are the 400 pound dude on his chat board talking about "no fattys".  

In my experience, the fat ones do way more stuff.

22 hours ago, T R U said:

Yeah I don't get the im not going or watching crowd. Especially the people lucky enough to live close enough to get to go to the games of their favorite team. 

I watch damn near every game because I just love baseball. Would it be nice if they were good? Of course. 

I don't watch because I still have too much emotional investment. When they play bad and lose, it makes me unhappy and miserable. So I just don't put myself through the misery.

I'm perfectly fine watching other games where I don't care about either of the teams playing.

14 minutes ago, Iwritecode said:

I don't watch because I still have too much emotional investment. When they play bad and lose, it makes me unhappy and miserable. So I just don't put myself through the misery.

I'm perfectly fine watching other games where I don't care about either of the teams playing.

Ok, that makes sense to me. 

1 hour ago, T R U said:

In my experience, the fat ones do way more stuff.

So Jerry must think he is a perfect 10, because he ain't doing a damned thing.

I watch them for the comedy. I finally finished watching the final season of curb so I only have so many choices left

7 minutes ago, 46DidIt said:

I watch them for the comedy. I finally finished watching the final season of curb so I only have so many choices left

I can already hear the Curb theme song playing in the back of my head while the Sox are botching play after play in the field or striking out multiple times at the plate.

It really is how someone defines "not trying". Not trying by the front office to me  would be no trades, keep the entire coaching staff in place, draft a few players based on what they read here. 

Trying would be rebuilding the farm system and hiring new coaches and managers. 

But that's just my definition. 

 

2 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

It's funny, as I have gotten older, I spend less and less time on professional sports in general, and more and more on amatuer.  It isn't about perfection, otherwise no one would watch athletics in general.  Just like I want to see an honest effort on the field, I also want to see an honest effort off of it.  Right now the White Sox are the 400 pound dude on his chat board talking about "no fattys".  

I was moving in that direction and really enjoying college sports. Then it became professional with the same problems. 

Here's something I thought of. If you were for example a Padres fan. You decide to go see a game that weekend. You look at the schedule and see they are playing the White Sox. Do you decide to pass because the Sox are horrible and not trying and you only want to watch MLB level teams who are trying? 

Are the Sox hurting attendance for everyone?