They Hope For The Best And The Best Is Always Coming
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:20 am
I wrote a long article about the Mets and Royals and other teams who try to pull themselves up by the bootstraps to get rid of the 'loser' stigma.
Then, decided against posting it.
Why?
It would only hurt feelings of their fans.
And to be a fan of a team is to have the misguidance that that team is doing everything possible to put a winning product on the field.
Most don't.
Baseball is a business. First and foremost. And I can't even say that winning was always at the forefront for teams. Owners like Comiskey and Griffith were always driven by the bottom line. If their team won, that was gravy, not to mention more revenue.
It's the number one reason why the Yankees have the history they have. They have been lucky enough to have had owners through their history (the exception being CBS) that have put the bottom line behind winning.
Their fans have come to expect playoffs or World Series.
Mets and Royals fans see kids in the minors and get excited at the prospects of seeing them and that those prospects will lead their teams to glory.
It hardly ever happens that way, but who am I to take away that hope?
I see the way baseball works. How some ownerships peddle hope to their fans. I know a lot of Royals fans and I just get pissed when they see their team as Dayton Moore wants them to see that team.
Ugh.
Met fans are banking on a triumverant of Harvey/Wheeler/Syndergaard to be the arms of the future, fully forgetting that 20 years ago, it was Wilson/Pulsipher/Isringhausen.
Today, I saw a blurb that said, 'Chris Davis is on pace to hit 57 homers, breaking the Orioles record'.
'On pace' sucks.
It always has, always will.
Two words destroy almost every 'on pace'. Two words.
What are those two words?
Shit happens.
In Davis case it could be an under performing month or two. Or it could be an oblique. Anything.
Shit happens.
Fans use prospects as an 'on pace'. They see them perform well in the Minors. Have scouts and Baseball America rave.
And Voila! They're 'on pace' to be stars.
They forget.
Shit happens.
It does little good to put reality into a fans dreams. They don't want to hear it.
For every one Koufax/Drysdale duo, there are thousands upon thousands of Montgomery/Duffy duos.
But that won't happen to MY team. Ask any fan. It just won't.
Locally, I get to talk to a lot of Rockies fans. Earlier in the year, I was reminded every day for close to a week that the Rockies had the best record in baseball. They were doing it with the over performance of a couple of position players and their pitching was beyond over performing. When John Garland looks lights out, you know that somebody has rubbed Aladdin's Lamp three times and wished it.
I knew that time would bring the Rockies back down to earth. Baseball works that way.
It takes 25 good Major League players to win a pennant now. Not only that, but teams need to call up players like Quentin Berry or Avasail Garcia or John Jay from the minors for instant help.
So really 30-35 dependable, good players.
Some organizations have less than 10. Their fans look past that.
Their fans know that'll change.
Royals fans, Mets fans, and Rockies fans are buoyed by what they want to see. A kid doing well in the minors. A six game winning streak. Or hopes that they can continue to be the best team in baseball, even if it's only April.
Non fans of these teams can point out the failings, but it does little good.
Fans do not want to hear of failings. They can look at the standings and see that.
They hope for the Best and the Best is always coming.
Then, decided against posting it.
Why?
It would only hurt feelings of their fans.
And to be a fan of a team is to have the misguidance that that team is doing everything possible to put a winning product on the field.
Most don't.
Baseball is a business. First and foremost. And I can't even say that winning was always at the forefront for teams. Owners like Comiskey and Griffith were always driven by the bottom line. If their team won, that was gravy, not to mention more revenue.
It's the number one reason why the Yankees have the history they have. They have been lucky enough to have had owners through their history (the exception being CBS) that have put the bottom line behind winning.
Their fans have come to expect playoffs or World Series.
Mets and Royals fans see kids in the minors and get excited at the prospects of seeing them and that those prospects will lead their teams to glory.
It hardly ever happens that way, but who am I to take away that hope?
I see the way baseball works. How some ownerships peddle hope to their fans. I know a lot of Royals fans and I just get pissed when they see their team as Dayton Moore wants them to see that team.
Ugh.
Met fans are banking on a triumverant of Harvey/Wheeler/Syndergaard to be the arms of the future, fully forgetting that 20 years ago, it was Wilson/Pulsipher/Isringhausen.
Today, I saw a blurb that said, 'Chris Davis is on pace to hit 57 homers, breaking the Orioles record'.
'On pace' sucks.
It always has, always will.
Two words destroy almost every 'on pace'. Two words.
What are those two words?
Shit happens.
In Davis case it could be an under performing month or two. Or it could be an oblique. Anything.
Shit happens.
Fans use prospects as an 'on pace'. They see them perform well in the Minors. Have scouts and Baseball America rave.
And Voila! They're 'on pace' to be stars.
They forget.
Shit happens.
It does little good to put reality into a fans dreams. They don't want to hear it.
For every one Koufax/Drysdale duo, there are thousands upon thousands of Montgomery/Duffy duos.
But that won't happen to MY team. Ask any fan. It just won't.
Locally, I get to talk to a lot of Rockies fans. Earlier in the year, I was reminded every day for close to a week that the Rockies had the best record in baseball. They were doing it with the over performance of a couple of position players and their pitching was beyond over performing. When John Garland looks lights out, you know that somebody has rubbed Aladdin's Lamp three times and wished it.
I knew that time would bring the Rockies back down to earth. Baseball works that way.
It takes 25 good Major League players to win a pennant now. Not only that, but teams need to call up players like Quentin Berry or Avasail Garcia or John Jay from the minors for instant help.
So really 30-35 dependable, good players.
Some organizations have less than 10. Their fans look past that.
Their fans know that'll change.
Royals fans, Mets fans, and Rockies fans are buoyed by what they want to see. A kid doing well in the minors. A six game winning streak. Or hopes that they can continue to be the best team in baseball, even if it's only April.
Non fans of these teams can point out the failings, but it does little good.
Fans do not want to hear of failings. They can look at the standings and see that.
They hope for the Best and the Best is always coming.
