Slog - Comments on Baseball http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball OK, with Steinbacher gone, time to slog more sports (and no, I don't consider Fantasy Football a sport, I consider it a form of masturbation--not that there's anything wrong with that). From the comments thread on my last Mariners post, from Eric F If the reward of fans who never stop packing the ballpark no matter how bad a team gets is 99 years (and counting) between MLB championships, I'd rather be the fair-weather variety. This assumes that the only reward for going to the game is winning it all, in which case every year all the fans of 29... Copyright 2008 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:57:37 -0800 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:48:42 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Will in Seattle Or we could all just go to SIFF Cinema and watch Contempt, it seems apropos for SLOG, and then see if there are any bars near Seattle Center showing the Olympics with drink specials.

Musing: Do they have drink specials at the Olympics? Most Chinese tend to drink at banquets but mostly just then.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094651 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094651 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:33:38 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Shut the fuck up, Will.

Chicago, the only thing more irritating than a Red Sox fan is a Cubs fan, and that only since the Sox won it all. And your analysis of their attendance is flawed; the Cubs have been perennial top-five, even though they play in a bandbox, for most of their history. Here you go, 1947, 69-85, 6th place (out of eight), third in attendance. There is no evidence that Cubs fans even know the difference between winning and losing.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094664 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094664 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:49:12 -0800 Comment by P to the J CF,

Have a great time on your minor league swing. A friend and I did it over a decade ago, and it is the BEST! Being from Wisconsin, I have taken in a couple of Rattlers games. the stadium is a great little park. We went to Clinton as well, and that was a weird little experience into small town America, and my friend and I am both from pretty small towns. Never been to see the Chiefs, but they are pretty good at MMA these days. PLEASE let us know how the trip goes. You may not see the greatest talent in the game, but you will see some serious hustle. Those guys are damn sick of riding buses and staying in shitty motels.

]]> P to the J http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094672 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094672 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:03:10 -0800 Comment by Enigma Right on Chicago Fan. Only one in my circle of friends likes baseball. The rest look at me like I'm an alien when I tell them I truly enjoy watching it, even on tv. I went to the game yesterday with my dad who's in town for the week, and I'm glad he instilled this love of baseball in me very young with many trips to the Kingdome. Sitting behind homeplate, rooting for your team, and enjoying the sun is one of my great pleasures in life.

]]> Enigma http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094673 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094673 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:03:17 -0800 Comment by P to the J PS going to see Ichiro the Great at the Cell on the 18th. Banzai!

]]> P to the J http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094676 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094676 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:04:55 -0800 Comment by heh Oh, the delicious irony in picking a baseball fight on a blog frequented by bitter queens, angry bull dykes and celeb-worshipping twinks!

You've earned a place in the Hall of Futility*, alongside Mudede and Graves' sad attempts to elevate the level of intellectual discussion on the Slog.

*there's also a delicious irony in putting a Cubs Fan in the Hall of Futility

]]> heh http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094689 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094689 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:15:25 -0800 Comment by itsthegame I am in your camp.
Ever since the M's season tanked in ... March ... my roommate makes constant comments about how it's all pointless, if they win it's 'too bad the season was over long ago' and when they lose it's 'that's why the season was over long ago.'
I'm not even a huge fan, I don't pay attention to the league beyond the current M's line up.
I just like to watch.

]]> itsthegame http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094690 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094690 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:16:17 -0800 Comment by elswinger I think $50 is a lot to ask to watch a team that has only a 38% chance of winning and a ownership or management that is unwilling or uninterested in putting together a competitive team (even if it's a long term goal).

]]> elswinger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094745 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094745 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:43:18 -0800 Comment by RonK, Seattle It's not clear whether C.F. most needs to bone up on math, reading comprehension, general reasoning, or general deportment, but my claim was that Mariners annual attendance exceeded American League average annual attendance in each of the 12 preceding seasons (which happens to be true).

I further observed that neither Cubs nor Sox could match this record, i.e., in their respective leagues, in the same 12 seasons (which also happens to be true).

Whether this resolves the "fairweather fan" question is a matter of judgment ... but it certainly weighs against C.F.'s position.

Is it a decisive figure of merit, for instance, that the (division-leading) Sox draw 500 for fans per game than the (27 games off the pace) Mariners? Or does this render the Sox followers "fairweather" relative to the Mariner faithful?

]]> RonK, Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094748 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094748 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:44:16 -0800 Comment by Eric F Hi Mr. Savage, I'm not saying I deserve a championship. (I don't, I'm a lousy fan.) But I don't think undying loyalty is helpful to poorly run teams that play for shit. The fair-weather fan (assuming that means guys who don't go to games when the team sucks, rather than guys who stop being fans of the team when they suck) is giving his or her team incentive to get better. The loyal fan is saying, suck all you want, you lovable losers, I'm here for you.

]]> Eric F http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094784 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094784 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:04:19 -0800 Comment by leek I agree with Eric. Why should a team spend money trying to win and making good roster choices if everyone turns up anyway? It's positively reinforcing bad behavior. Fuck that.

]]> leek http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094835 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094835 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:39:03 -0800 Comment by Julie All I need to have fun at a baseball game is good weather, good food/drinks, and a bunch of friends with which to play the betting game (everybody picks a player -- you get $1 from each friend if your player gets a single, $2 for a double, etc; you pay out $1 if you player commits an error).

Winning is irrelevant to me. So, I'm neither a loyal fan nor a fairweather fan. Since I live about 4 blocks from Wrigley, it's my impression that many of the people that go to Cubs games fall into my category (baseball is a fun day) as opposed to the die-hard fans category. I'll bet a greater percentage of Sox attendees are die-hards...

]]> Julie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094836 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094836 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:39:18 -0800 Comment by Eric F Actually, Julie, you sound just like a Mariners fan.

]]> Eric F http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094895 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094895 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:07:55 -0800 Comment by Lloyd Clydesdale Eric F -- The loyal fan isn't saying suck all you want, I'm here for you, they're saying please, for god's sake, do what you have to do right now to help your team win. The difference between statistically good and bad teams is the frequency of that occurring.

Anyone going to see the "Lowly Rays" come to pay us a visit? Chuck giving any interviews on a tale of two franchises? I remember being at the game last year where they slammed the door on the last flicker of M's post-season hope.

Oh, and Will, yes, please (for god's sake) go fuck off. I'm rooting for ya, man.

]]> Lloyd Clydesdale http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094996 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1094996 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:19:46 -0800 Comment by Greg I go to Mariners games because deep down I really, really want to pay $8 for a beer.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1095008 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1095008 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:25:45 -0800 Comment by DOUG. Steve Garvey owns your ass, motherfucker!!!

]]> DOUG. http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1095371 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/08/baseball#c1095371 Sports Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:48:42 -0800