How interested are you in the Red Sox at this point?

How interested are you in the Red Sox right now?

  • All time high ... this team could win next year (Willing to pay for season tickets/watch 100+ games)

    Votes: 11 2.3%
  • Pretty Interested, not as much as 2004 but I still going watch a majority of games

    Votes: 187 39.5%
  • Eh, the least interested I have been since FSG took over but still watch a game a week (Fire Chaim)

    Votes: 152 32.1%
  • Not even sure why I am here, couldn't care less, might catch some games this season out of habit

    Votes: 89 18.8%
  • I actively dislike the team and FSG at this point.

    Votes: 30 6.3%
  • Not a Red Sox fan, just here for the hawt MS Paint action

    Votes: 5 1.1%

  • Total voters
    474

TomRicardo

rusty cohlebone
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Feb 6, 2006
20,608
Row 14
I got into this discussion the other day with a non Red Sox fan I have known for a while. We were talking about how ridiculous the Bruins and Celtics are right now. He asked if I still followed the Red Sox and I told him I have not as much as I did as a kid. I watched maybe 10-20 games last year and I honestly watched more Celtics even when they were pretty bad in the first half of last year. I still get the MLB ticket but end up watching more baseball around the league than the Sox.

With Bogaerts leaving, I have to admit this is the least connected I have ever felt with the team. I definitely will follow them fairly passively day to day and will watch a couple of games but I won't go out of my way to get up to Fenway to see the team. It is not really about winning and losing as much as the lack of continuity with the team and the lack of energy it seems FSG is giving the team.

Like a good example was when they kept assuring everyone they were going to spend this off season. I rolled my eyes but that was just signaling they weren't going to spend. Then they leak to the Red Sox beat writers they were second in all these bids like telling you "See we tried."

I am not going to bad mouth FSG, they had an incredible run here as owners however it seems like they are going through the motions. That said I don't understand the plan forward if there is one.
 

greek_gawd_of_walks

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 14, 2009
9,138
Wiscansin, by way of Attleboro
I'm still in the "watch/ listen to the majority of the games" camp. The summer where I don't take in Red Sox baseball four or five times a week is the summer I seriously contemplate what it's worth being alive. Nothing better than Truck Day as a harsh winter winds down.

That said, I do this in spite of myself often, like when I start feeling my blood pressure rise with each bases loaded squander and every lost late inning lead. Seeing the likes of JBJ and Braiser do those two things respectively last season was doubly frustrating. The loss of homegrown talent and the low-balling from a marquee franchise is pretty disheartening. But I'm now wondering are the Sox on a decline in terms of being viewed as marquee? Ridiculous, considering the team was two wins shy of a WS appearance in '21, but there's something about not retaining good players, especially that came from within and the way they have seemed to negotiate with the vast majority of them.
 
Last edited:

voidfunkt

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 14, 2006
1,461
/dev/null
Mid-30s millenial. Baseball post-2010 feels different, I think it's just competing with too many other compelling entertainment choices now for me to tune into it much. I catch baseball games in bars when they're on but I generally can't be damned to turn on the TV and watch the Sox vs doing something else like playing video games. I don't think this is FSG fault, legitimately the product of baseball itself, is boring compared to the other options that are available now. I stopped caring about the stats and the makeup of the team a long time ago too.

So yea, watch in bars, watch playoffs. If the Sox are in the playoffs I watch most of the games. Non-Sox playoff games I tune in for late ALCS and World Series games.
 

SouthernBoSox

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 23, 2005
12,084
I was initially very excited when they hired Bloom. Smart, great rep, fantastic pedigree. And I’m someone who actually enjoys the process of breaking in new young players in spite of immediate winning so that added to my excitement.

My issue now is that I just have no idea what the vision is moving forward. If ownership isn’t going to sign in house superstars to long term deals when they are in their 20’s (Mookie, Devers) when are they?

So it’s going to be a revolving door of second tier free agents and then a few years of prime super stars if the farm produces them?

The entire thing just seems disconnected. They spend money but it’s in places where you can’t connect with the player.

So yea, in my decades of being a fan, my level of actually caring is nearing an all time low.

2018 is the best team I’ve ever seen. It was so exciting to see the mix of young system talent and smart free agency. So much fun and the culture was off the charts.

The fact that 4 years later that team is just…. Gone, is simply stunning.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 13, 2021
11,921
I am still very interested, always have been, but I have noticed that my friends, guys who are the same age as me and were just as into it back in the early 00’s, really aren’t anymore. To the extent that texts about a Sox move are generally met with indifference or a “never heard of him”; the Sox clearly seem 4th in interest level among the major Boston teams right now. I kind of find that those who followed baseball, but it wasn’t their favorite sport, have largely moved on from day to day fandom of the sport.
 

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
24,829
Unreal America
I’ll always follow the team, but the intensity of that will vary.

If they get off to a good start in April and seem competitive I’ll tune in a few times a week for a few innings at a time. And I’ll certainly watch highlights every day and make plans to get to Fenway for a game.

But if they swoon and don’t seem competitive I’ll withdraw. I’ll check scores, because that’s the lowest bar possible in the smartphone era. But I won’t watch much. I don’t think I tuned in at all for a several week stretch in August/September last season. Same thing would happen.

None of the poll responses really nail that.
 

themactavish

New Member
Aug 4, 2010
75
St. Cloud, MN
I like watching the Red Sox, and I like watching baseball played well. Living in Minnesota, I watch Sox games via MLB on a computer. Occasionally, I watch other teams, but only if the quality of play is high. In other words, I won't watch just to watch any old baseball. Great baseball is a lure, even if it's not the Sox. But if it's anybody but the Sox, then if the baseball is bad (tons of walks, lots of errors, mental miscues, poor execution), I won't watch it. But what if it's the Sox and it's bad baseball? Then it's a matter of how bad. As someone who pitched once upon a time, I can't stand really bad pitching, so even though I can't draw a bright line to say how bad it must be before I turn it off, I can say that I watched a lot this past season (about every game), so that tells you something (as in, I can put up with some pretty bad Sox pitching). If the team doesn't improve between now and the season, I expect the Sox will more often dip below the threshold where I stop watching or watch a fair bit less.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
Trading Mookie was brutal, but bringing back Cora - a convicted cheater - just killed it for me. I can't with this organization until he's gone.
 

opes

Doctor Tongue
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
I'm pissed that they haven't gone all in on Bogaerts. Obviously the contract he got is ridiculous, but they should have given him a fair offer. Devers will walk now because of this without question. He cant accept Chaim will give him a fair offer.
I doubt we get Correa or Swanson even remotely close to the final contract numbers. This is going to go down and a really shit FA year, and we can pretty much bet we will be last place again next year.

But look! David Price is still on the market!
 
Last edited:

brandonchristensen

Loves Aaron Judge
SoSH Member
Feb 4, 2012
38,144
Definitely the lowest I've cared about the team since I can remember. It is what it is.

Hopefully some of the kids come in and play well. Watching the disinterested and sloppy play of 2022 was awful. Makes it easy not to care!
 

mr_smith02

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2003
4,352
Upstate NY
I have been an ardent fan of the Red Sox since 1975. So, the lows have been very low, while the highs have been very high.

For a very long time after the 1986 season, I was convinced I would NEVER see the Red Sox win a World Series. The notion that I got to sit in Section 37, in 2013, to see my beloved Red Sox win at World Series in Fenway Park, for the first time since 1918, still makes me emotional every time I recollect that fantastic night. Thank you, again, @johnmd20 !

I absolutely love baseball and the Red Sox have been my vessel for baseball and my fondest connection to my grandfather and cousin for decades now. I am going nowhere!

I will watch as many games as possible and make the three-hour trek to Fenway at least 3-4 times each season.

Nomar, Mookie, and Bogie have been three of my all-time favorite Red Sox players. I will miss them all but I will keep my Sox on and get on board with this next crew with the hopes they can add to the four titles I have already been blessed to see them capture.

Go Sox!
 

jose melendez

Earl of Acie
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 23, 2003
30,971
Geneva, Switzerland
The COVID year was bottom for me. Bad team, dislikable team, almost no one exciting and up and coming, no Mookie, weird season.

There isn't really the category for me in the above. If they're at all competitive, I'll probably watch a couple games a week, and parts of games most days. If they're awful, I just stop watching at this point.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,057
Hingham, MA
All time low, but it has basically zero to do with FSG and everything to do with 4 titles and life getting in the way. I still care and check the scores every day and read the main board. But it all rolls off me very, very easily like never before.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
2020 was the absolute least interested I’ve ever been in the Sox. Honestly I find all this right now to be incredibly interesting, even if I’m not thrilled with how it’s going.
 

LeoCarrillo

Do his bits at your peril
SoSH Member
Oct 13, 2008
10,392
Four rings offers enough liberation from the quest to take a break at times. Not to V&N the place, but I haven't been watching because I can't root for any player who went to the White House after 2018 while Cora and the majority of the team boycotted. Most of the attendees are gone. JD and Eovaldi leaving would reduce the number to an amount that wouldn't be a distraction while watching games. Sale, of course, will be the last to go.
 

Blizzard of 1978

@drballs
Sep 12, 2022
503
New Hampshire
Love the team. Always interested. My peaks though as a fan were as a kid 1975 to 1980. Lost interest when Hayward Sullivan got rid of Fisk and Lynn ,but interest came back big with Boggs and Clemens. My second favorite peak years were 2003 to 2008. Big Papi, Manny and the crew. That was something special.
My least favorite years were the early 1990s when Butch Hobson was the manager.
 

FlexFlexerson

Member
SoSH Member
Definitely at a very low ebb for me, probably the lowest interest level in my life. I live in Colorado so subscribe to mlb.tv for games and for the first year in a lot of years I'm debating whether it's worth reupping or not. The post-deadline team was unbearable to watch for long stretches last year and - so far - the Sox don't seem to have the plan in place to improve the on-field product meaningfully next year either. With X gone it feels like a step backwards and, as other have said, it cuts off yet another personal-feeling connection to the team. I broadly understand what Bloom is trying to do for the team but it's hard to see when the brave new future is supposed to arrive, and their public communications leave, shall we say, something to be desired. I think the organization hurts themselves with fans by not seeming very forthright or honest about what they're actually planning at times, and I think fans can pick up on that.

On a personal level, my best friend from college - who was the primary person I'd B.S. with about the sox on a day to day basis - passed away last spring and that really made this last year hard to watch in some ways. Seeing the Sox part ways the last remaining cornerstone players (or seemingly be ready to, in Devers case) that both of us loved hurts in an irrational and highly personal way that obviously has nothing to do with any actual rational decision-making on the part of the Red Sox. But it doesn't make me love the team more, fair or not.

I dunno, I still love baseball more than any other sport but I've been watching the Bruins a lot this year and it's nice to be reminded of how fun it is to watch your team actually be great. It's hard to be great year over year, and championship years are spectacular and more numerous than anything I would have anticipated as a kid, so that's not my expectation. But you want to feel confident that even in the lean years there's still a sense of deliberate purpose and roadmap for the team, and Bloom & co. - especially with the reports this offseason - are exuding whatever the opposite of that is.

That said, hope springs eternal and get off to a decent little start in April (or heck, look good in Spring Training) and you'll have me tuning in most nights. I'm a sucker, I know I am.
 

Wake49

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 11, 2016
507
I’m still a loooooooong way away from shopping for a new team, but I gotta say I’m finding myself less interested in the Sox these days than I’ve been since the early 90s. I’m not for giving Bogaerts 11 years but for once cant we hold on to one of our beloved players? The MFY seem to be able to, so why not us?
 

sodenj5

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
6,619
CT
Mid-30s millenial. Baseball post-2010 feels different, I think it's just competing with too many other compelling entertainment choices now for me to tune into it much. I catch baseball games in bars when they're on but I generally can't be damned to turn on the TV and watch the Sox vs doing something else like playing video games. I don't think this is FSG fault, legitimately the product of baseball itself, is boring compared to the other options that are available now. I stopped caring about the stats and the makeup of the team a long time ago too.

So yea, watch in bars, watch playoffs. If the Sox are in the playoffs I watch most of the games. Non-Sox playoff games I tune in for late ALCS and World Series games.
Same age range, same general mentality. Pre 2004, I was in my teens and consumed almost every game. After finally winning one, I felt like I could finally relax and not watch so intensely.

Now, I might pop on a few games in April when the season start, pop on a Yankees game, watch the playoff games, but I don’t care to watch them on a daily, or even weekly basis anymore.

I hope that baseball start to benefit from some of the rule changes. Football has tweaked the rules to promote scoring and offense, and it looks like baseball is trying to do the same now. People don’t want to watch three hour plus hour games nightly where there are long stretches of inactivity.

At least in football, every 40 seconds, there’s a play, and 22 people are all doing something at once. With baseball, you could go 5 minutes without seeing a ball in play in an at bat. People don’t have the attention span for that in today’s world.
 

PC Drunken Friar

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 12, 2003
14,540
South Boston
I will watch Opening Day and catch an inning here or there. Unless they are in the play-off hunt, I doubt I will watch a full game. Been that way for a few years. I am in my (very...haha) early 40s and, like t4w, life has gotten in the way. I don't hold a grudge against the owners, but I don't like them anymore. I will not give them any more $ (save for the 50$ for 2 beers). I will only go to a game if the tickets are free and then will probably wait until the 2nd or 3rd to go in and leave early. That may be more of a baseball as a whole thing, though.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,239
Just as interested as ever. Probably not spending as much time watching/listening to every pitch of every game. Until a pennant race or other "big game."
 

Hank Scorpio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 1, 2013
6,915
Salem, NH
All time low for me, and I am not enjoying the Chaim Bloom experience at all.

I started following in 1995, and was a huge fan of Vaughn and Valentin, and of course Wakefield. Nomar came up a couple of years later, and Pedro shortly after.

I was disappointed when Mo left, and Valentin faded away, but we had Nomar and Pedro! Guys like Varitek and Nixon joined the team, and were solid for years to come, and the team was in the playoffs almost every year. Other guys like Daubach and O’Leary had their share of great moments.

Trading Nomar stung, but that sting didn’t last very long for some reason. Ortiz and Manny were fantastic in the 3 and 4 slot for years.

After winning the World Series in 2004, I think we all knew it was time to let Pedro walk. I would miss him, but he wasn’t 1999-2002 Pedro anymore.

A new core emerged, anchored by old guard Varitek, Wakefield, and of course, Ortiz. We got to enjoy the likes of Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youkilis, Lester, and to a lesser extent - Buchholz.

Ellsbury left, Youkilis and Buchholz faded. After winning the World Series in 2013, I think we all knew it was time to sign Lester to an extension. The Red Sox botched it horrifically.

A new core emerged once again, in Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr, and eventually Rafael Devers - this crew anchored by Ortiz and Pedroia. Ortiz retired, and Pedroia suffered career ending injuries. But we added some great talent in David Price, Chris Sale, and JD Martinez, and rolled to a 108 win season before winning the World Series.

After winning the World Series in 2018, I think we all knew Chris Sale was starting to break down and signing him to a massive contract was a bad decision. Dombrowski didn’t get that memo.

In large part, presumably, the Sale contract greatly hindered the Red Sox from retaining Mookie Betts, a generational talent and fan favorite, and quite possibly the most enjoyable to watch position player of my life time. Mookie was traded along with Price for, well, a bunch of mediocrity - but at least we’ll be able to keep Bogaerts and Devers.

Except now, Bogaerts is gone, after they essentially offered him the modern day Lester contract. But at least we’ll be able to keep Devers. Maybe he’ll sign for 4 years, $92M?

At this point, I look at the 2023 team and I see:

C: some randos
1B: prospect
2B: AAAA/bench guy
SS: unexciting, wishy washy star
3B: Devers for one last year
LF: Yoshida, we can hope
CF: Kike
RF: Mookie’s weight in mediocrity
DH: don’t worry, we’ll find someone!

SP: $145M worth of broken glass in a hefty bag, Pivetta, maybe one of Houck or Whitlock, probably a couple of old guys, and maybe a guy who will be shelved until June - which will become July - which will become August, and then he’ll suffer a setback and be done for the season.

But really, I have to hand it to Chaim Bloom for drafting Mayer. Absolutely brilliant move that no one else would have had the vision to make in that situation.
 

BoSox Rule

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
2,343
Nomar, Pedro, Manny, Ortiz, Pedroia, Lester, Mookie, Bogaerts will always come and go out it sucks. One day it might be Devers or Mayer and some kid in the 8th grade right now. I’m still interested, they’ve won plenty and it will never be 2003 or 2004 again but I still try to watch what I can. I can never be as interested as I was then because I’ll never be 16 years old without kids again but I’ll always try to watch what I can.
 

Youk Box Hero

New Member
Aug 23, 2010
1
I fall squarely in the "least interested since FSG took over" camp except that I don't necessarily think Bloom should be fired. It's sad my favorite member of the Red Sox is a coach (Jason Varitek). Things just haven't been the same since Don Orsillo left. I still tune in and follow scores and standings, but the best part of watching games last year for me was Youk in the booth.
 

beautokyo

New Member
Jun 5, 2008
267
Tokyo, Japan
Ted Williams was my boyhood idol. Saw him hit a HR at MFY Stadium. I watch a lot on my PC now because I'm an ex-pat. Lots of ups and downs of course but still watch. If they are getting blown out I may stop watching but will go back and check every 10-15 minutes hoping for a comeback. Never can tell right.
My thinking on salaries is I don't like long term deals. Anything over say 3-4 years is to much imho.
 

Jungleland

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2009
2,351
I voted active dislike, but eventually I will get back somewhere between option 2 and 3. I did not watch a game this past season, and the season before that was pretty much the same though I watched a couple playoff games out of obligation - in total I'd estimate I've seen <40 innings since Mookie was traded.

It's not that they're mediocre or even that you could argue they're taking the long view of rebuilding - I'd like to think I'm a real enough fan to follow the team closely enough even during the down years. But the Mookie trade pretty much killed my short term interest in the team between the feeling that it didn't have to happen, the off field issues with the return, and the Dodgers' immediate championship. Admittedly, some ill feelings toward prominent players' attitudes toward the vax only amplified my distaste. As far as Xander, I'm not mad that the deal wasn't matched, but it's inexcusable to get there - insulting offer followed by completely blowing the trade deadline is pathetic.

I don't want them to fire Bloom yet. I will be thrilled if Verdugo is traded. I hope they keep Devers. It's going to be a while before I give a shit again.
 

pk1627

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 24, 2003
2,514
Boston
I love baseball and especially Red Sox baseball. I think this is a pretty interesting time with different models on building a team. I like that the team is transitioning to a better model and realize it’ll take some time.

Even though I’m part of two ST plans, I’ll see less than 100 games. I get pretty bored with the televised game. Maybe if I stay up to 11:30, I will watch the last innings of a close one. At the ballpark, it’s an absolute blast no matter the score and the game seems to fly by.
 

InsideTheParker

persists in error
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
40,371
Pioneer Valley
Since 2013 was my favorite year ever, and it began with some odd signings of less than stellar players, I have developed a "wait and see" attitude. So that's where I am right now.
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Whatever I can watch on the west coast I will watch. Won’t pay for MLB.TV unless the team is good, just like I didn’t buy when we got here late last summer when they were already out of it.

I don’t get making the “Write “em off” decision on 12/8, before all the chips have fallen. I thought there were still a few good Free Agents out there?
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

has big, douchey shoulders
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Not an option, but I'm just as interested as ever.
I've been a fan since somewhere around 1970. I've watched plenty of bad teams and plenty of good teams, but I have been able to find enjoyment every season. Obviously, championships are awesome, but I've always been able to enjoy an individual game as an individual unit of entertainment, without obsessing over the larger implications. Hell, even the shitty teams are going to give me 70-80 wins. It's one of the many things that I love about baseball--enjoy today, see what happens, and then there will be another game tomorrow, another chance for victory, or at least, some great performances.

Literally the only time that my fandom was shaken at all was after the 1986 season. I was so heartbroken, I didn't know if I could start it up again. But Opening Day 1987 came, and for me, hope sprang eternal.
 

brandonchristensen

Loves Aaron Judge
SoSH Member
Feb 4, 2012
38,144
All time low for me, and I am not enjoying the Chaim Bloom experience at all.


<SNIP>
This is a good summary of how I feel. RE: Nomar leaving ,it was devastating. He was ours - but the pain wasn't long for three reasons.

1. The writing was on the wall. He rejected the extension and seemed to be playing listlessly with that game in NY where he seemingly refused to play was much talked about
2. His injury was still something he was battling with.
3. The Sox started winning shortly after with Cabrera making some big hits and great plays. The trade served as a shot in the arm.

But yeah, You nailed it.

And to add one thing...it's not about winning for me. It's about playing solid ball, and having individuals that you can root for. Like when Casas came up - I started tuning in again because it was genuinely exciting. Even if they were losing, he gave me a reason to watch. The promise of a young player is something special and it's why I'm most excited for this year with the signing of Masataka.
 

pk1627

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 24, 2003
2,514
Boston
Literally the only time that my fandom was shaken at all was after the 1986 season. I was so heartbroken, I didn't know if I could start it up again. But Opening Day 1987 came, and for me, hope sprang eternal.
For me it was feeling numb for about 10 days after 2003 Game 7. But what happened was that SoSH rallied and raised $ for charity to thank the team for an amazing season. That fellowship with a bunch of internet strangers helped me understand how baseball transcends all.
 

Blizzard of 1978

@drballs
Sep 12, 2022
503
New Hampshire
Definitely at a very low ebb for me, probably the lowest interest level in my life. I live in Colorado so subscribe to mlb.tv for games and for the first year in a lot of years I'm debating whether it's worth reupping or not. The post-deadline team was unbearable to watch for long stretches last year and - so far - the Sox don't seem to have the plan in place to improve the on-field product meaningfully next year either. With X gone it feels like a step backwards and, as other have said, it cuts off yet another personal-feeling connection to the team. I broadly understand what Bloom is trying to do for the team but it's hard to see when the brave new future is supposed to arrive, and their public communications leave, shall we say, something to be desired. I think the organization hurts themselves with fans by not seeming very forthright or honest about what they're actually planning at times, and I think fans can pick up on that.

On a personal level, my best friend from college - who was the primary person I'd B.S. with about the sox on a day to day basis - passed away last spring and that really made this last year hard to watch in some ways. Seeing the Sox part ways the last remaining cornerstone players (or seemingly be ready to, in Devers case) that both of us loved hurts in an irrational and highly personal way that obviously has nothing to do with any actual rational decision-making on the part of the Red Sox. But it doesn't make me love the team more, fair or not.

I dunno, I still love baseball more than any other sport but I've been watching the Bruins a lot this year and it's nice to be reminded of how fun it is to watch your team actually be great. It's hard to be great year over year, and championship years are spectacular and more numerous than anything I would have anticipated as a kid, so that's not my expectation. But you want to feel confident that even in the lean years there's still a sense of deliberate purpose and roadmap for the team, and Bloom & co. - especially with the reports this offseason - are exuding whatever the opposite of that is.

That said, hope springs eternal and get off to a decent little start in April (or heck, look good in Spring Training) and you'll have me tuning in most nights. I'm a sucker, I know I am.
That happened somewhat to me @FlexFlexerson ,but he was my brother in law. We would bs each other for 34 years about the Red Sox, sadly he passed away in 2021 because of Covid. He was the biggest Red Sox fan, more than me and I was thinking of him during that 2021 run. My interest is still here, but don't have that best friend anymore to bs about the Red Sox every morning thru texts or phone calls, so I can relate @FlexFlexerson.
 
Last edited:

GoJeff!

Member
SoSH Member
May 30, 2007
2,011
Los Angeles
Since 2013 was my favorite year ever, and it began with some odd signings of less than stellar players, I have developed a "wait and see" attitude. So that's where I am right now.
This is a great point. I’m less invested than ever, but a fun team will definitely pull me in.
 

FlexFlexerson

Member
SoSH Member
That happened somewhat to me @FlexFlexerson ,but it was my brother in law. We would bs each other for 34 years about the Red Sox, sadly he passed away in 2021 because of Covid. He was the biggest Red Sox fan, more than me and I was thinking of him during that 2021 run. My interest is still here, but don't have that best friend anymore to bs about the Red Sox every morning thru texts or phone calls, so I can relate @FlexFlexerson.
Appreciate the solidarity, and my condolences for your own loss. At the end of the day, sports is largely a conduit for connecting with other people, and an absence like that inevitably changes things.
 

jaytftwofive

New Member
Jan 20, 2013
1,182
Drexel Hill Pa.
No matter how mediocre they get, or even bad or a contender, they are still Our Team. We didn't talk like this during the 70's through the 80's and 90's as we suffered with no WS victory. Part of this slight decline of popularity or malaise is obviously the success this century of B@B and the Pats. In 2017 at a Boston Sports Bar in Philly(I live in the area) watching the Pats and the Chiefs, I was talking to some fans and one guy said to me " I'm sick of the Red Sox". Didn't really have a good answer why. And what disappointed me and kind of broke my heart was Oct.14th, 2018, when the Pats played the Chiefs on SNF and the Sox played the Stros in game 2 of the ALCS. The Pats-Chiefs game had much higher ratings in the Boston area, over a Red Sox playoff game. I would never in my lifetime had thought that would ever happen. Anyway, the point is if we love our team, never give up. Baseball is my favorite pro sport and the Sox will always be my favorite Boston team. Despite my disdain for Bloom, we will get though this and be a 87, 88 win team next year.
 
Last edited:

Dewey'sCannon

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
870
Maryland
I voted "not sure why I'm here." But it's mostly to see how many others share my feelings.

I've been a die-hard fan since '67. Lots of hard times, and lots of FO screw-ups (nothing will top the Lynn/Fisk debacle) but I hung with them, and after much heartbreak my loyalty was ultimately rewarded with four(!) titles this century. Through all this time, I only lived in Boston for three years (and one of those was the strike year in '81) so I never got to many games in Fenway, although I did fork out to see Game 1 of the 2004 Series. But I probably have watched over 100 games a year on TV since I started getting the baseball package in '96, or whatever year it was first offered on DirecTV (which I got for this express purpose).

I'm beyond disillusioned today. What the Padres gave Xander was crazy, but it never should have come to that. To hear that their best offer was 6/160 - that's just a joke. There was no chance he was going to take that deal, and it reveals that Sox management was not serious about bringing him back, despite his importance to the team on and off the field and his importance to the fanbase. Yes, players come and go, but I'd like to think that ownership and management cares as much about the team as we do. This is not fantasy sports - it's not just about stats and WAR. Those things are important to winning, which of course fans care about, but fans care about the players too - we have favorites, we chant their names, we buy their jerseys - we don't just buy the ones that are blank on the back. There's real value to retaining homegrown players, especially those who you know can succeed in the tough Boston market. These players are not so easily replaced.

I don't know why they seem to be so unwilling to pay market value to keep their own players, They have the money. They could put together a winning team that fans would love. But they keep f'ing it up. At this point, I don't see much chance that they won't be last in the AL East again. Unless that changes, I won't be watching, and all my Sox gear will stay in the closet. Maybe I'll watch the Mets instead (who I also grew up watching and rooting for in the late 60s) - at least their owner is willing to spend to try to get a winner. I'm probably too hooked on baseball, and the day-to-day joy I get from following a team through a season, to just give it up cold turkey.
 

bernardsamuel

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2006
195
Denver, only physically
My wife and I retired nearly ten years ago to live in Baltimore, a five-minute walk from our three bio-grandchildren, after having lived in Denver for the prior 33 years, in turn after having spent our first 33 years in Boston/Framingham. One of my fondest memories is my father, of blessed memory since 1970, explaining the strike zone to me in 1952 when I was five years old as we were watching a game. As an only child, the Boston sports teams were essentially my playmates as I was growing up, and I "lived and died" with each game of each team. Jumping a number of decades from childhood, I was in a hotel room in 2004, staying up much too late before giving a speech the next day in South Carolina, when the Sox won the World Series that night, and I cried my eyes out - in a combination of joy for the event and sadness in missing my father.

Now as an old man - with my grandchildren not even having a TV in their home, much less an interest in professional sports - my rooting for the Sox is on a game-by-game basis as contrasted to focusing on where they are in regard to making the playoffs. Also, I have come to view my Boston-teams "fan-hood" as a sort of portfolio. Right now the Celtics and the Bruins are up, and the Red Sox and Patriots are down, and I can live with that without complaining, even as I genuinely enjoy the community of SoSH and respect everyone, their opinions, their knowledge, and their passion which in just about all cases exceeds my own.

Nonetheless, I miss the bleacher seats going for 50 cents when I'd go to Sunday double-headers at Fenway, and I miss the Reserve Clause which enabled traditional sports-hate (nowadays you just can't hate any player beyond the point of no return, for that player may be on your team the next year). So overall, I'm less interested in the Red Sox than I've been since 1951, but I don't want Chaim to crap himself out of a job and don't believe it's gotten to that point yet. Almost forgot - in a battle between the ground and Thurman Munson's plane, and in a battle between an apartment building and Cory Lidle's plane, I'd still be rooting for the ground and the building, respectively (when the answer will differ, that will be the clue that the Durable Power of Attorney pursuant to my testamentary documents should be energized).
 

the1andonly3003

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
4,371
Chicago
The hardest part of all this is when I tune in to a random SD game for a few innings just to hear DO and perhaps X get an at bat. The last full game I watched was in 2019 at Fenway when Mookie scored in the walkoff win for game 162. COVID season was the breaking point for me with the sport. The fact that Red Sox cannot get me back to the sport is damning, especially when the news that catches my attention are this. Days like are the only Red Sox related text messages to my friends.

My relationship started going downhill during the 2011 offseason, after Crawford missed Robert Andino's fly ball and then chicken and beer, Tito/Theo leaves and the fix was Bobby V.

Why I still come back here is for EPL discussion on weekends. I can't allow myself to root too hard for Liverpool because of FSG, but associating the savings from Mookie and X have contributed to Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz...hurts.
 

sonsoftrotnixon

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2005
700
Western NY
Been a fan since ‘75. My fandom almost always has rested on the few generational talents the team had, and it’s characters that kept me interested. It started for me with Yaz, my boyhood idol. Then I kind of lost interest when Lynn and Fisk were gone but stayed with them only because Yaz was still there. I bounced back when Clemens came along and then completely bailed after ‘86. When Nomar and Pedro hit the scene they drew me back and the period from about ‘98 to 2000 I was completely hooked. Covid and the loss of Mookie and now Xander have me in the “meh” camp at this point. I’ll watch from a distance….
 

Bill Landis

New Member
Jul 19, 2021
2
I am old enough to remember the Buddy LeRoux / Haywood Sullivan years of the early 80s. This seems the same to me.

During those years my interest in the Sox definitely backslid and I sense the same happening now. My sucky fantasy basketball teams are more interesting.

My wife calls me a fair weather fan. Guilty.
 

jaytftwofive

New Member
Jan 20, 2013
1,182
Drexel Hill Pa.
And let's not forget our team has won the most WS this century with four. Add to that the Pats with six and the Celts and B's with one each, we have been pretty spoiled.
 
Last edited:

aksoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
7,160
Southeast Alaska
Games in general have gotten less interesting to watch. I hate all the strike outs, slow pace, batting glove adjustments, home run or nothing approach, shitty umping and indisciplined play. I don‘t get a lot of opportunity to watch the Sox so I usually do when they are on. But unless they are playing better than what I expect this year, I’m sure my interest will be down.
 

mikeford

woolwich!
SoSH Member
Aug 6, 2006
29,517
St John's, NL
Somewhere between 3 and 4. I've never been less interested in the Sox than when they hired Booby V and I suspect that cannot and will not be duplicated. But this team is gonna suck. And they're gonna suck for a while. And Chaim should be gone already.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
Honestly. If they let Devers go, I'm done.

I gave them a pass on Betts. Bogaerts they botched from moment one. They still have time with Devers. But if they let this kid walk, my 40 year fandom will go with it.

Not hyperbole. They are already giving me practically entire seasons not to care. I have tons of other pro and collegiate sports programs to care about and spend my money on.
 

grimshaw

Member
SoSH Member
May 16, 2007
4,220
Portland
Nothing has changed for me. I always root for the team and not the players. It's a bonus if guys I like stay, but I want to have a sustained winner.

The offseason is half over, there is a lot still out there I'm interested in (Swanson, Nimmo and Senga (or Rodon), and no one who has been signed elsewhere has been all that disappointing to me. Most of us knew Bogaerts wasn't coming back, but it is a little sobering to me that the market is as bonkers as it is.

I don't think they'd be throwing money around at bullpen guys if they didn't have some other big plans. That's usually the last place teams will spend if they think they have a good team.

I'll circle back in May after everything is settled and it's all marinated. If they get in the neighborhood of a wild card spot on a soft rebuild that's fine as long as they are still building towards something. If not, I'll assume Bloom is indeed overmatched at his position.
 
Last edited:

streeter88

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 2, 2006
1,807
Melbourne, Australia
All time low for me, and I am not enjoying the Chaim Bloom experience at all.

snip

But really, I have to hand it to Chaim Bloom for drafting Mayer. Absolutely brilliant move that no one else would have had the vision to make in that situation.
This sums up how I feel except for one thing: Devers is going to be traded for a bag of balls at the deadline, and then I will be truly done. Chaim and the ownership group have been nothing short of a disaster this past year. Bad injury luck, contract luck, crazy swooping padres and all, but poor decisions made when there were chances to treat the homegrown stars well have continued to doom this franchise throughout its most recent history.

Just the fact that there doesn't seem to be a plan we can all look at and be reassured there is hope for the next season, or for 2024, or for sometime after that. Apparently Chaim's value is in building the farm up - so we just wait for the next crop of budding stars and then the cycle repeats?

What a mess.