Yeah, I agree with all that. Those teams, even if they fell short, had players that were worth seeing. The big frustration in the 70s/80s (other than coming up short again and again) was that the good ones would often end up leaving because the cheapskates who ran the club didn't want to participate in free agency. Hmm... I guess we are right back there.Would Sox fans accept this for very long? I'm thinking probably not. It's a nice consolation, I guess, but I'd rather build for the future as unsexy as that sounds. I wouldn't want to be the Angels, or an Angels fan right now.
I grew up watching some great stars, but while Jim Rice moonshots, Evans cannon arm, and Yaz being Yaz were so so much fun to watch, it was the teams that won and went on great runs I appreciated most.
Morgan magic in '88 was truly magic, and the run in '90 was beyond amazing. How about that Jeff Stone! He had a bat in his hand, didn't he? I still get chills. I was able to be in the park for 20+ games that year, including Brunansky's catch (fuck off Ozzie!) and the Stone game and it was an incredible, incredible rush.
Sure, there were some stars on the teams, and Clemens was must see, but it was the collective that mattered a whole hell of a lot more.
Really, is there much reason to think that Casas or any other youngster is going to accept a team friendly extension? Or that this franchise is going to offer them something more than a team friendly deal? These guys must read the same news we do. Aren't they also wondering if the club is serious about building a contender? If they think the answer is no, why would they hang around? At least the guys in Atlanta think they are working towards something meaningful.
Let's face it, Casas and Mayer and so on are probably leaving the same way Mookie did unless there's a major change in this franchise's approach.