I used to be a bigtime baseball fan. For three years I lived about 5 miles from the Ballpark in Arlington and LOVED catching games. Followed the season faithfully. I remember the thrill of watching Big Mac beat the Braves one night in St. Louis during the magical McGwire/Sosa season with one of his monster homeruns. Now that is just a bitter taste. Over the years baseball lost its shine to me and for the past 2-3 years I've hardly given it any thought until the postseason...and even then I've barely watched. There's a part of me deep down that kinda misses it. The Spring Training issue of SportingNews was in my mailbox today. I'm tempted to let reading it be the first step back. I just don't know. The steroids junk sure makes me question whether I want to get involved like that again.
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Thinking about trying to be a MLB fan again (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Edgefan
- Start date
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
It's the greatest sport on earth. Come back to the right side of the tracks. 
falconeyed
Footballguy
The players stroll onto the field for the first workout of spring. The sun is out, the warmest sun they will ever feel. The grass is the brightest green they will ever see.
They will lie across that grass to stretch. A teammate will make fun of another's ugly haircut; all of them will laugh. After stretching, they will all take a slow jog around the field, and some old pitcher will whine about the journey, exaggerating how winded he is. The youngest pitchers will run with their shoulders back, not quite at the front of the pack -- they don't want to be viewed as trying to show up anybody -- but close enough to let the pitching coach know they are in great shape.
They separate to play catch, to loosen up, half of them aligned along a foul line, the other half in the field of play, first 50 feet apart, then 60, the distance between the throwing partners increasing, throw by throw, until they are about 120 feet apart. The distance between the older pitchers increases a little more slowly than it does between the youngsters, who are aching to cut loose; the veterans pace themselves.
Pitchers' fielding practice will begin. A coach will top a bounder toward the mound, and the pitcher at the front of the line -- invariably a veteran -- will catch, step and throw.
Somebody will fumble a grounder, pick it up and fire at an awkward angle to first. Take it easy, a coach will yell. Another pitcher will field a short-hop smoothly, with the ball making a satisfying whump when it buries itself in the pocket of his glove, and this will draw a couple of hoots from teammates. Twenty pitchers or so stand in a line behind the mound, waiting for their turn, and in the interim, some of them will chat about their offseasons.
Then they will take turns covering first base, reminding themselves of the art of taking a throw while hitting the bag with their right foot, and it will be clear within a couple of minutes who are the best athletes, who labor to move, who struggle a little bit with the hand-eye thing. If a veteran pitcher drops a throw, a friendly pitching coach will tease him; if a young player drops an easy throw, an older coach will bark, Let's go.
The drill will end, and then in prescheduled groups of four or five, they will head to the bullpen mounds. Catchers will stand 61 feet away, behind plates embedded in the dirt, the brownest dirt you could ever see, dirt that is carved easily by their cleats.
Maybe the baseballs will be left at the rubber for each of the pitchers, or maybe the pitching coach will flip them the balls, but either way, they will be the whitest baseballs you could ever see. And then a coach will glance at his watch, and let everybody know when they should begin this first 10-minute throwing session of spring. The pitchers will set a foot on the edge of the rubber and stride forward easily and toss the ball, if you call throwing a ball 80-85 mph tossing it.
The catchers, now crouching, will turn their wrists slightly and the baseballs will hit their gloves with a sound that is distinct to baseball, a sound that cannot be replicated, a cross between a crack of a whip and the slamming of a door. And that is how the healing will begin.
They will lie across that grass to stretch. A teammate will make fun of another's ugly haircut; all of them will laugh. After stretching, they will all take a slow jog around the field, and some old pitcher will whine about the journey, exaggerating how winded he is. The youngest pitchers will run with their shoulders back, not quite at the front of the pack -- they don't want to be viewed as trying to show up anybody -- but close enough to let the pitching coach know they are in great shape.
They separate to play catch, to loosen up, half of them aligned along a foul line, the other half in the field of play, first 50 feet apart, then 60, the distance between the throwing partners increasing, throw by throw, until they are about 120 feet apart. The distance between the older pitchers increases a little more slowly than it does between the youngsters, who are aching to cut loose; the veterans pace themselves.
Pitchers' fielding practice will begin. A coach will top a bounder toward the mound, and the pitcher at the front of the line -- invariably a veteran -- will catch, step and throw.
Somebody will fumble a grounder, pick it up and fire at an awkward angle to first. Take it easy, a coach will yell. Another pitcher will field a short-hop smoothly, with the ball making a satisfying whump when it buries itself in the pocket of his glove, and this will draw a couple of hoots from teammates. Twenty pitchers or so stand in a line behind the mound, waiting for their turn, and in the interim, some of them will chat about their offseasons.
Then they will take turns covering first base, reminding themselves of the art of taking a throw while hitting the bag with their right foot, and it will be clear within a couple of minutes who are the best athletes, who labor to move, who struggle a little bit with the hand-eye thing. If a veteran pitcher drops a throw, a friendly pitching coach will tease him; if a young player drops an easy throw, an older coach will bark, Let's go.
The drill will end, and then in prescheduled groups of four or five, they will head to the bullpen mounds. Catchers will stand 61 feet away, behind plates embedded in the dirt, the brownest dirt you could ever see, dirt that is carved easily by their cleats.
Maybe the baseballs will be left at the rubber for each of the pitchers, or maybe the pitching coach will flip them the balls, but either way, they will be the whitest baseballs you could ever see. And then a coach will glance at his watch, and let everybody know when they should begin this first 10-minute throwing session of spring. The pitchers will set a foot on the edge of the rubber and stride forward easily and toss the ball, if you call throwing a ball 80-85 mph tossing it.
The catchers, now crouching, will turn their wrists slightly and the baseballs will hit their gloves with a sound that is distinct to baseball, a sound that cannot be replicated, a cross between a crack of a whip and the slamming of a door. And that is how the healing will begin.
Jayrod
Footballguy
Things will start to change again for the better.
The game will start to feature more speed guys (like Reyes & Rollins), the ballparks are going old school and have an awesome feel while giving us the technological comforts we've come to rely on, the cheaters will start to decline with the continued pressure of the public and the offense will continue to produce with the thin pitching staffs and the improved natural strength and conditioning training.
There's a lot to love and I'm looking forward to see how my Cards pick up the pieces from last year's down year and the offseason fire sale.
The game will start to feature more speed guys (like Reyes & Rollins), the ballparks are going old school and have an awesome feel while giving us the technological comforts we've come to rely on, the cheaters will start to decline with the continued pressure of the public and the offense will continue to produce with the thin pitching staffs and the improved natural strength and conditioning training.
There's a lot to love and I'm looking forward to see how my Cards pick up the pieces from last year's down year and the offseason fire sale.
Eviloutsider
Footballguy
Lot's of great young players and up and coming teams that will usher in a new era of baseball.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Didn't see a game at Comerica last year? Ever? If you had, you wouldn't be disappointed. Sons with their Dads, fans having a cold one standing on the outfield rail, perfectly manicured grass,
s all around, and people just chatting about their week. It's the best sports atmosphere outside of college football which is just different.
Slinger
Footballguy
I'm a fan of a small market team, so until MLB has a salary cap and floor I'm never going to be totally into it. That's part of what makes the NFL so great.Lets put it this way. Before Week 1 every team in the NFL has a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Some more than others, but everyone has a chance. If the Lions were to go to the Super Bowl next season I wouldn't be totally shocked. Fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, etc. have no such hope.
Ozymandias
Footballguy
Masochist.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
A lot of people don't understand the term "small market" but I do understand your point.
That's my biggest gripe. As a Reds' fan, can we ever really consistently compete? We may catch lightning in a bottle once every 10 to 15 years and make a run at the World Series, but as long as the big market teams can afford to overpay for all the talent, it will always be a league of haves and have-nots.I understand why Red Sox and Yankees fans love baseball. They probably can't comprehend why I lost my love for the game.
SKribbles
Footballguy
As a fan of the Blue Jays... I feel your pain. While not a small market, they never have a chance to compete with the Yankees or Sox nowadays. Its fun to watch for the first half of the season while 2nd place is still in within 5 games or so but about a week after the all-star break I realize they are getting another 3rd place division finish so I pretty much give up.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Toronto is about the same size market as Detroit, much bigger than a true small market in St Louis, and medium-small markets like Cleveland and San Diego. Boston and the Yankees should be stopped or at least limited but some fans use this as a crutch for what amounts to poor management and caring more about the bottom line.
Capella
Footballguy
Actually the Rays may have one of the best teams over the course of the next 5-6 years.
Slinger
Footballguy
Tampa Bay's not considered a small market? I often hear the Rays mentioned as a small market team on talk radio. I think it's just a lame excuse and has more to do with cheap owners, but that's another story all together.
Yeah I follow the Rays, so I can relate with Cincinnati fans. I'll always like baseball and catch a game here and there and watch highlights, but I won't be as into it as I am with the NFL until MLB makes major changes.
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SKribbles
Footballguy
I'm not trying to say they haven't made bad decisions. Hell, the Jays payroll this year is going to be over $100M. Put them in another division and I would never complain.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Tampa is most certainly not a small market. Medium leaning toward large. The true "small markets" are Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Diego, and Baltimore. Cincinnati is more a medium market as they feed Indianapolis and probably do pretty well in Columbus and some Kentucky markets. Oakland probably can be added also but they grab a share of a huge Bay Area market so it's hard to tell. Their revenue stream is quite low though. Baltimore owned D.C. until recently making them a monster and a team like St Louis in a smaller market is a little bigger considering their regional draws.
Slinger
Footballguy
That makes sense. I guess I was just comparing Tampa Bay to cities like Chicago and New York.
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
phthalatemagic
Footballguy
No. Tampa Bay is considered a body of water. Tampa is a city close to the bay
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
I'm not saying there isn't a competitive imbalance but I am saying that some medium and small market teams can compete but they really have to be smart. New York, Boston, LA, Chicago, and Philadelphia teams have a big advantage for a lot of reasons. With baseball you have to go back a long way to understand allegances. In Nebraska you'll find Twins fans, Cardinals fans, and Royals fans. New England is owned by the Red Sox and the Cubs have fans all over the damn place. But in the end the most imporatnt thing is how many TVs are sitting in the media market you are in. The biggest cities are going to have the biggest advantage and big cities like Boston and Philadelphia who have those markets to themselves also have an advantage.
Slinger
Footballguy
1/10
Thin Spirit
Footballguy
Injuries are the only thing stopping this team from being neck-and-neck with the Yanks, and possibly even the Sox.I'm a Jays fan too, so I may sound like a bit of a homer... but if BJ Ryan comes back healthy (already throwing all his pitches), the Jays have one of the top pitching staffs top to bottom in the majors. The offense, and now defense with the addition of Rolen is there... there is no more excuses for this team. They SHOULD be in the playoffs, it's a matter of if they want it.
Pai Mei
Footballguy
Eh, I lost a lot of interest in baseball when they added the wild card. I felt it really cheapened the regular season. You play 162 games, you really should eliminate all but the best teams. What you end up with now is a situation where the best teams have clinched and are forgotten about down the stretch, and all the focus is on the WRONG teams - the ones with a lot of flaws that are chasing the wild cards. I follow my Indians but I really don't care about the races elsewhere. Then I pick up more interest in the playoffs. But prior to the wild card, man, it was fun as hell to follow every race closely. I'll never forget the year the Giants won over 100 games and missed the playoffs. THAT was a race. Matt Williams standing at the podium after the regular reason was over, saying "NOT ONE!"
boom king
Footballguy
im a bit ignorant on the subject, but outside of halladay, whats so good about the rotation?
SKribbles
Footballguy
I agree with with your comments. I'm still not optimistic. This year the wild card probably won't come out of the East so they will have to beat both the Yanks and Sox to make it... which is a daunting task.
Eephus
Footballguy
The long season is part of baseball's appeal but I think you guys are making a meal out of the hopelessness of a small market team. When you reduce the sport to a single game, even a 100 loss team has a 38% chance of being victorious. And if your team loses today, there's another game tomorrow. Compare this to the NFL or NBA where bad teams hardly ever win during the course of an entire season.
Start with a game, watch it, enjoy it, have a beer and some peanuts and don't worry about the unfairness of economics.
Start with a game, watch it, enjoy it, have a beer and some peanuts and don't worry about the unfairness of economics.
kupcho1
Footballguy
But this only holds true for baseball. Unless and until there is a salary cap (with a minimum as well) and revenue sharing I've no interest in the sport.Why should I care when the Pirates are already mathematically out of it, and it's February? This year, and every year.
Thin Spirit
Footballguy
The second half of last year things really came together for this staff.If he can stay healthy (big IF) AJ Burnett is the perfect #2... in the 2nd half last year he posted 5-2, 3.01 ERA, .202 AVG ... he has learned from Halladay to become a smart pitcher and not just over-power hitters. He is in a contract year and if he can stay healthy could put together one hell of a season.Dustin McGowan who has long be touted as the Jays future ace finally started to find his groove last year too. Made some noise pre-All Star break and then started to break out post-break even though he had the worst run support of any member of the staff. (7-6, 3.67 ERA, .217 AVG)Shaun Marcum is another young gun who is more of a finesse/ground ball pitcher. 12-6, 4.13 ERA out of a number 4 starter and is still only 26.The fifth spot is up in the air right now... could be Gustavo Chacin who is a lefty and your typical #5 AL starter in every sense of the word. Or, if BJ Ryan is healthy this spot could go to Casey Janssen who has middle of the rotation stuff but was put into the bullpen due to lack of arms last year. At points, he was almost unhittable coming out of the pen last year.Lots to be excited about with this staff. Accardo-Ryan is a great 1-2 punch to close out games as well.
boom king
Footballguy
was marcum in relief at all last year? or am i thinking of someone else?
Thin Spirit
Footballguy
Yes, he started out in the pen last year.Was throwin' into the rotation about mid-May when Chacin, and Ohka went down.boom king said:
boom king
Footballguy
haha, so true, didnt they give the cubs A Ram and maybe Lofton for a bag of baseballs and some sterile needles for sosa?
Jimboozie
Footballguy
Last year, I went to one game...it was great. Detroit beat Cleveland in a tight, beautifully pitched game. In total, I think there were only about 5 hits total given up in the game, three of those happened to be solo HRs. Carmona vs some young guy on Detroit...Jurgens or something? You're right--going to games is awesome. I was referring to the long haul of the season being disappointing. It's hard to get pumped about games in May, June, July when you know there's still another billion to be played. And ESPN/Sportscenter turns into a total crapfest (Not that it already isn't, it just gets worse). OOOHHH Gotta see those Marlins-Reds highlights!Doctor Detroit said:Didn't see a game at Comerica last year? Ever? If you had, you wouldn't be disappointed. Sons with their Dads, fans having a cold one standing on the outfield rail, perfectly manicured grass,Jimboozie said:s all around, and people just chatting about their week. It's the best sports atmosphere outside of college football which is just different.
