Why MLB is dying- -

[lg325]

Braves/Padres 6th inning tied 7-7. Full stadium. Great game . 1 grand slam by padres 3 run HR by the braves.

 

[JohnReese]

Braves/Padres 6th inning tied 7-7. Full stadium. Great game . 1 grand slam by padres 3 run HR by the braves.

Braves have to lose!

 

[lg325]

Braves pulled it out in the 10th inning. great game in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The Playoffs are going to be good.

 

[lg325]

 

[AmericanGirl05]

As a life-long Pittsburgh-er I have followed the Pirates through thick and thin, mostly thin. At the present time, the only reasons to go to a Pirate game are to see the other team, and enjoy the experience of a wonderful Major League ballpark. And to see the babes, of course. It's a good thing for the Pirates that all their "fans" are not as cheap as I am.

The Pirates are, in most ways, a "minor league" team. That is to say, we develop players until they are good enough to be major league starters, then lose them to free agency. One could staff a very competitive Major League team with the players that the Pirates have lost to free agency over the years. When I look at the box scores in the paper every day, I look to those players rather than the ever-dreadful Pirate results.

And given the economic realities, I can't blame the Pirates' management for not pursuing the big money free agents. Most of them prove to have been grossly over-valued by the marketplace, and the risk of spending a quarter of your entire player budget on a .255 hitter or a pitcher who goes 10-14 is very real.

Baseball NEEDS a salary cap and revenue sharing. The big market teams make more in RADIO revenue than the Pirates make overall. Aside from the occasional fluke year, the small market teams literally cannot compete. The other "solution" is to divide the Majors into two tiers, then, just for fun, have the champion of the Poverty Tier play a series against the champion of the Prosperous Tier, then call the winner the "World Champion." What could it hurt?

If the Rays can put a top team on the field, so could the Pirates.

And I grew up and went to college in Western PA and was a die hard Pirate fan and Clemente lover.

Then I moved to DC, married a New Yorker, and ended up a Yankee fan because of Derek Jeter.

 

[NoBueno]

The Rays won 100 games with a payroll of $70 million.
The Dodgers won 106 games with a payroll of $270 million.
Those six wins cost the Dodgers $33 million each.

 

[lg325]

Here we go waiting for the results of the giants dodgers game. There been some really good games being played to full stadiums so MLB is alive and well.

 

[frigidweirdo]

1. Though I prefer to write about inspirational topics, I feel after nearly a half century of watching one MLB team wallow in mediocrity, it’s time to speak up. MLB is slowly slipping into irreverence, due to many factors, the example below is the biggest one, and this applies to the majority of MLB teams:
   
   
   I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life, and love sports. I have learned however there is one constant in MLB that never changes, and it is this: The Seattle Mariners will purchase just enough talent to call themselves a major league team, knowing legions of devoted fans will unfailingly file into the ball park, sit on their large rumps, with their baseball caps on, talking about ERA’s and batting averages, only to watch the home team finish out of the playoff hunt year after year.
   
   
   Once a season is over Mariner ownership can be counted on to issue the same tired old talking points i.e. “they have some great young talent coming up” With the exception of a few teams in the 90’s that’s been the story of the 45+ year old Mariner franchise. Mention this fact to any baseball fan, and you’ll be saturated with one statistic after another on everything from slugging percentage to RBI's, this is because baseball fans can’t see past their stats, and realize corporate ownership of baseball teams is not about winning - it’s about money. Behind all those baseball stats. lurks an ugly truth: Mariner ownership (like most teams) doesn’t care if they win. For decades, Mariner ownership has kept their eye only on the bottom line of their financial spreadsheets. Like many, I stopped following MLB a few years ago, and have not missed it at all.
   
   
   This just in: Mariner owners are soon expected to issue a statement that “they have some great young talent coming up”….

Perhaps they should go for a system like soccer has in other countries. You have a team, and it can be relegated or promoted through the ranks. Bad teams will drop and drop and drop.

The English Premier League has had 50 teams play in it since 1992. There are 92 teams in the top four divisions which is considered the Football League.

That's more than half. Three teams play in the 4th division now, eight play in the 3rd. Because they went up and down and better teams came up and replaced them. Makes it more interesting.

 

[lg325]

If you missed the Giants /Dodgers game 5 you missed one heck of a game. Heres the final 4 , my Braves are going to have it tough against the Dodgers it should be some top notch games best of 5. Boston vs Astros tonight on FOX .

 

[lg325]

 

[lg325]

 

[CrusaderFrank]

1. Though I prefer to write about inspirational topics, I feel after nearly a half century of watching one MLB team wallow in mediocrity, it’s time to speak up. MLB is slowly slipping into irreverence, due to many factors, the example below is the biggest one, and this applies to the majority of MLB teams:
   
   
   I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life, and love sports. I have learned however there is one constant in MLB that never changes, and it is this: The Seattle Mariners will purchase just enough talent to call themselves a major league team, knowing legions of devoted fans will unfailingly file into the ball park, sit on their large rumps, with their baseball caps on, talking about ERA’s and batting averages, only to watch the home team finish out of the playoff hunt year after year.
   
   
   Once a season is over Mariner ownership can be counted on to issue the same tired old talking points i.e. “they have some great young talent coming up” With the exception of a few teams in the 90’s that’s been the story of the 45+ year old Mariner franchise. Mention this fact to any baseball fan, and you’ll be saturated with one statistic after another on everything from slugging percentage to RBI's, this is because baseball fans can’t see past their stats, and realize corporate ownership of baseball teams is not about winning - it’s about money. Behind all those baseball stats. lurks an ugly truth: Mariner ownership (like most teams) doesn’t care if they win. For decades, Mariner ownership has kept their eye only on the bottom line of their financial spreadsheets. Like many, I stopped following MLB a few years ago, and have not missed it at all.
   
   
   This just in: Mariner owners are soon expected to issue a statement that “they have some great young talent coming up”….

Jeter retired

/thread

 

[JohnReese]

The MLB isn't dying! Bryce better win the NL MVP!

 

[NoBueno]

Bryce drove in what, 79 runs?

 

[Opie]

Just zip it and watch the show

 

[JohnReese]

Bryce drove in what, 79 runs?

This post didn't age well, lol! And he won his second MVP!

 

[Who_Me?]

When I was a kid you could get into a baseball game for $2.00. (bleacher seats). Certain Tuesdays were family night. Kids get in free with a paying parent. We could go to real Sunday double headers.

Kids could follow their favorite player for years.........now they leave for $200 million dollar contracts and the kids who live in the neighborhood can't afford to get into the game.

I still very much enjoy going to minor league games.

Agree 100%. They're paying $200M for guys whose best days are long gone. Can't afford to bring the family + no player / owner loyalty = a dying sport. Max Scherzer getting a $130M contract at 37. Didn't the Mets ownership ever watch Moneyball?