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Last edited by Shakedowncapo; 07-21-2010, 04:15 AM. -
"It may well be that we spectators, who are not divinely gifted as athletes, are the only ones able to truly see, articulate and animate the experience of the gift we are denied. And that those who receive and act out the gift of athletic genius must, perforce, be blind and dumb about it -- and not because blindness and dumbness are the price of the gift, but because they are its essence." - David Foster Wallace
"You'll not find more penny-wise/pound-foolish behavior than in Major League Baseball." - Rob NeyerComment
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Re: The Decline Of MLB
While it's true that it's mostly Yankee fans that will defend Jeter's defense (which did get better once Alex joined the team - surprise!), there are a number of casual fans that will believe Jeter's defense is one of the best in the league at his position.
You're right that real fans know better, but real fans are the minority in a billion dollar sport. I'm sure you know that too.
Anyway, I don't mean to completely shut down the eye test. Obviously eyes work in many ways and I'm not saying you are wrong for trusting them over advanced fielding statistics. There are positives and negatives for both sides.
The issue I have with eyes is that they are completely subjective. Advanced Stats may not tell the whole story, but they allow for a finite comparison. So maybe a particular fielder goes from good to bad one year and then good again the next. That doesn't seem very reliable, but what it does tell you is who was better then him that year he was supposedly bad.
Maybe what advanced fielding stats should do is stop quantifying by good and bad and instead just compare by better or worse."It may well be that we spectators, who are not divinely gifted as athletes, are the only ones able to truly see, articulate and animate the experience of the gift we are denied. And that those who receive and act out the gift of athletic genius must, perforce, be blind and dumb about it -- and not because blindness and dumbness are the price of the gift, but because they are its essence." - David Foster Wallace
"You'll not find more penny-wise/pound-foolish behavior than in Major League Baseball." - Rob NeyerComment
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Re: The Decline Of MLB
When did it start declining? Did it incline too high? What's the measure?Comment
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Re: The Decline Of MLB
The steroid issue is a huge chuck in the armour as there is always a speculation whether a particular player (whom is performing well) is "using". Additionally, the playoffs take FOREVER from start to finish to the point that the World Series is diluted (at least to me).
A big issue, at least to me, is how franchises go decades without ever being into the playoffs while other teams never miss. I don't understand how MLB allows teams to go so long and somtimes have fire sales just to make more money...I'm fairly certain the appreciation for baseball in Pittsburgh is definately not what is was 15 years ago. I understand winning is a huge component but the fact that the team is seemingly never in contention is absurb.
Bud Selig attempts to make things more "interesting" with longer playoffs, interleague and the all-star festivities but a huge majority of his decisions (or sometimes lack thereof) have hurt the game rather than help the game. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.Originally posted by Gibson88Comment
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Re: The Decline Of MLB
My personal theory:
In Baseball, more than any other sport out there, if a fan's favorite baseball team is performing poorly, that fan will be completely turned off to the sport.
I dont know why this happens so readily in the MLB, it could be the fact that many fans perceive an unfair advantage in payrolls, but I also feel its largely due to the long season, where a game is played every day. Fans arent going to watch their team lose almost every day. Watching a bad baseball team is awful, and exemplified by how many fans of poor teams feel disconnected from the sport.
That being said, the MLB is the strongest its ever been, and people dont like to watch Fox Sports because no one can stand their announcers anymoreComment
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Re: The Decline Of MLB
Thats very true, but Idk, I feel that its a much more harsh reaction in the MLB, usually because small market teams' fans will feel cheated when their team cant pay for free agents like a team like the Yankees can.Comment
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Re: The Decline Of MLB
Well, TV Ratings seem to indicate that and that's one declining area this season that seems to not concern MLB but instead all of those that continue to think MLB is declining. Either way, ratings are down.
Just read a blog from Rob Neyer saying that the Red Sox are experiencing a decline in their NESN viewership. They are still Top 5 across the league, but they were tops in the league for a few seasons even as they continued to sell-out every home game.
Here's the interesting thing about baseball ratings: they are more dependent on local fans than NBA or NFL.
The NFL makes it an event of a day where two local affiliates not only play your home team games, but also games from across the league. You follow that up with a nationally televised Sunday Night and Monday Night game (two to be exact) and the NFL is a TV rating whore. Good for them.
The NBA is similar. ABC hosts its Sunday lineup which runs two-three games on a given Sunday. Then there's also TNT which has double headers two nights of the week. This stuff is an event.
Baseball doesn't have that. They have ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and it is one of the worst nationally televised telecasts with its central focus being on about six-eight teams throughout the season and very little fan fare for the viewers.
If you want to watch baseball, you need Season Ticket or whatever it might be called. FOX has their Saturday thing, but it's Saturday afternoon. Who is home on Saturday afternoon?
There just isn't enough baseball to go around. It is very limited in marketing its product on television. I'm not sure if that's MLBs fault, the networks or the fans."It may well be that we spectators, who are not divinely gifted as athletes, are the only ones able to truly see, articulate and animate the experience of the gift we are denied. And that those who receive and act out the gift of athletic genius must, perforce, be blind and dumb about it -- and not because blindness and dumbness are the price of the gift, but because they are its essence." - David Foster Wallace
"You'll not find more penny-wise/pound-foolish behavior than in Major League Baseball." - Rob NeyerComment
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Re: The Decline Of MLB
A lot of it simply is the amount of games. For instance, I don't miss a Vikings game (or rarely anyways.) That's because there is only sixteen of them. But if I miss a Cubs game no big deal, they're playing again tomorrow. But that idea is a slippery slope and pretty soon I've found myself watching less baseball games than football even though there's 10 times the opportunities. To a certain degree, almost all fans are like this.Comment
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