Red Sox to be 1st MLB featured on Netflix series
- Thread starter SouthernBoSox
- Start date
Not seeing any rage. I see people finding it strange or ironic against the backdrop of what's been going on with the baseball team.
The bolded sums up my thoughts exactly. I get that it’s an editing thing, but I’d be more likely to watch if it came out sometime during the season. I doubt I’ll have much interest in watching a mediocre at best team with a bunch of guys who aren’t even on the team by the time the series comes out.
Where are you seeing the rage? No one seems angry at all to me. I think that there are people wondering why if the Sox are going to be on a TV show they wouldn't sign some people with star power rather than trot out a milquetoast squad that's probably destined for fourth or fifth in the division. I think that's a reasonable question.
But I guess that's this is this year's offseason, nothing but mixed messages.
I do not have Netflix, as I have tried to cut down on streaming services and screen time in general. Having read the overview of this project, and being a huge Red Sox fan, I am not feeling too strong either way. Honestly, it is a good shot in the arm for baseball and it may get some new eyes onto the product and the game itself. I get tired of the handwringing about how the sport is "dying" or in a bad spot, so any mainstream baseball content is positive in my eyes.
The best baseball content is a fun and overachieving Red Sox team - I would binge watch that
The best baseball content is a fun and overachieving Red Sox team - I would binge watch that
The timing is weird (both choosing the 2024 Sox and airing it in 2025) but come spring training next year when I'm thirsty for baseball content, I'm sure I will tune in to watch. I think it's cool to get to see the more casual, silly side of the players (while acknowledging editing and players being aware they are being filmed). If the Sox have a big 2025 offseason, maybe that makes people hungry for content and eager to watch this, even if it covers an unsuccessful 2024 season. I think particularly with a lot of young players to be excited about, this should be a good way to get exposed to another side of them.
Sure... in the same way Leeds didn't get "paid" but saw a massive surge in out of country fandom and with it a huge surge in merchandise and other revenue streams. Even in the article saying they aren't getting paid they mention that it is marketing. It's a big long commercial for people to follow the Red Sox aimed at people who like reality TV but don't follow an MLB team.
Hell yes. So many years later and I still tear up almost instantly when I spend a little time thinking about that year.
I'd love something I could help indoctrinate my son with... His mom is a MFY, and it's extremely important he doesn't go that way for obvious reasons.
Not directly, but this will sell some more tickets to the "Fenway Experience". They're not doing out of the goodness of their hearts.
Rage probably isn't the right word but comments like "So time to cancel Netflix" is more than people wondering and it's a tone a lot of people seem to have about any topic, even when it's undeserved.
I also disagree that the team should alter their plans based on being the subject of a documentary. I assume this will be like hard knocks, which generally can find players and storylines that are entertaining even on bad/mediocre teams. I would watch this just for Casas, he has such a great personality.
Despite its flaws I love to rewatch the 30 for 30 doc "Four Days in October"
Like others have said, I assume the intention is to be put together like Sunderland til I Die or Drive to Survive or Welcome to Wrexham (different services, but same concept). These programs have been incredibly well done, and I assume that's what they are going for here. I've watched all of those but not as a fan of the particular teams being covered, and so it's hard to say how it will play as a fan of the actual team being covered. But this is not just for the fans of the club.
Undeserved? The team has been dog shit for years and did nothing to really change their lot all offseason. You are acting like people are picking on children. It is a bunch of billionaires and millionaires. I will never understand why people in this country are such simps for the heels of the boot on top their neck.
This feels like an odd standard to hold them to. I'm as allergic to soulless profit-seeking as anyone but how does one calculate this? Do they own the team out of the goodness of their hearts? To what degree is Raffy Devers playing for the Red Sox next year out of the goodness of his heart?
There's very little that could happen in the Red Sox universe right now that some people wouldn't find a way to spin into pessimism.
Probably because there's about a thousand more appropriate targets to direct this kind of sentiment at than the owners of the local baseball team — particularly the Red Sox, relative to other MLB owners, in this current system.
Framing your frustration with the fortunes of the Red Sox over the last two years in this kind of vernacular of class struggle is so goofy and misdirected. No Red Sox fan is being exploited or stolen from here.
What plans are we talking about here, being terrible until MAT rescues them? I mean they needed pitching and right handed power in October and it's about a week before pitchers and catchers report and they still need pitching and right handed power. They know what they need, we know what they need and they haven't addressed any of their shortcomings--except for maybe second base.
And I'll refer to what Ricardo said about whether cynicism and pessimism is undeserved.
From a business perspective this is genius. What better way to improve the awareness of the "Red Sox" brand internationally and try to move into the NYY and LAD realm across the globe? Get people across Europe to wear Sox caps? Seems less about baseball and more about selling merchandise, but who knows?
Showing the 2004 documentary as well? Gold, Jerry.
Showing the 2004 documentary as well? Gold, Jerry.
I would watch this. The turmoil with that team and how it affects the players would be interesting.
The Sox in a bridge year they claim is not a bridge year? Pass.
Shaughnessy is probably dropping zingers like this around the Globe offices while his colleagues quietly slip on their Vision Pro and try to tune him out.
I wonder what teams get paid for this. As a fan, I’d love to see this. As an owner, I don’t know how there could possibly be any upside, especially during a transition year with new GMs and a weird offseason.
So I think I agree with everything you say here (the team hasnt yet addressed needs, Im always cynical about the driving forces behind something like this, etc). But that said, as a fan, I see literally zero downside as it's simply more (optional) content for us to continue to obsess over in real life and on here.
Hard to say, because as we know and have recent examples of, people that follow the Red Sox will seize upon certain statements and they will become etched in the annals of the team's history forever.
The guy that might say something memorable could be Cora. I mean, last year he was saying things like "The roster is what it is" right out loud...
Yes, undeserved on the specific topic of having a documentary about the 2024 team. There are plenty of reasons and topics to be upset with the team about, including payroll, on field performance, direction of the franchise, etc. It seems benign to me to have Netflix follow the team around for the season and misguided to try to turn everything the team does into a larger issue.
This offseason has been a mess in regards to communicating a plan but whatever their plan is for the team they absolutely should not change it due to being the subject of a documentary, that would be a terrible strategy.
I’m not making any of those arguments. They are getting paid for this, that’s why they did it.
And the opposite, too.
I see what youre getting at, but I do think the bolded is a bit hyperbolic. Those sound bytes typically (though there are exceptions) dont last. Jared Goff not knowing where the sun rises and sets from that Hard Knocks a bunch of years back wasnt discussed during this years playoff run, for example.
Seriously. They should not.
Yes, of course! It’s obviously of promotional value for the league, the team, and even the individual players. That’s why it’s worth doing for them, despite, you know, not getting paid for it.
And this could actually be a really dramatic season even if we’re not great. There will be a lot of opportunities for players o take on new roles and struggle or succeed.
Can Winck or Whitlock transition back to starting? Can Duran silence his doubters — most importantly himself? Can Yoshida build on an uneven first season to regain stardom on a new continent? Can Grissom live up to his considerable potential? How does the team handle the incredible fan negativity?
We might see late season promotions of some hyped prospects. We might see a huge FA signing during spring training.
Prediction: Verdugo ends up cast as the villain of the show.
One more reason they better be waiting out JMont/Snell for whichever settles for a short-term deal. They aren't giving Netflix access distraction for free.
Christ, there are some real curmudgeons here.
This sounds awesome. I love the Red Sox, and now I get to watch more of the Red Sox in a new format. I'm excited.
This sounds awesome. I love the Red Sox, and now I get to watch more of the Red Sox in a new format. I'm excited.
So the plan for this offseason was not to upgrade the pitching staff and add a right handed power bat? Got it. They're doing awesome then.
Seriously though, if the Red Sox FO knew that they're going to be on a TV show that would chronicle their entire year to a potential new audience; don't you think it behooves them to acquire good players? This, BTW, is another way of asking, whether they're on Netflix or not, isn't it a good idea for the Sox to get good players rather than stick their collective heads in the sand and pray that TAM get to Boston quick and all three of them develop into super-duper stars (who can also somehow pitch) and make this team something worth talking about?
The show seems fine--I'll watch. But like everything that the Red Sox have done in the last five years, it doesn't seem well thought out and half-assed. That's my point.
EDIT: My guess is that the Sox envision this as the MLB answer to "Welcome to Wrexham", which is awesome. But the thing with the Wrexham team is that their owners heavily invested capital into the team so that they can move up the table and get into a higher league. The first season didn't end the way they wanted it to, but they came really close. You cheered for this team because the town cared and the players cared and the front office cared and the ownership cared enough to do whatever they needed to do for the club to succeed. I don't think that the same can be said for the 2024 Red Sox.
Thus, it's probably not going to be quite the rousing success that they envision it to be with everyone in Sri Lanka wearing Red Sox hats if the team sucks or is boring. Two years ago, I couldn't tell you what country Wrexham is, but I actively follow the club now because of this show.
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Man, if you think this place has curmudgeons, you're kind of living a sheltered life.
I think you have nailed it!
If Netflix follows the same pattern as they did with "Break Point", which is most probably what is going to happen, they are going to offer an inside view of what goes through the players' minds, how they prepare themselves mentally and physically, how they interact with teammates and opponents. Baseball is a team sport, but until a player reaches a certain status, he is not only competing against players on opposing teams, but more importantly against other players on his own team that are fighting for the same spot in the lineup. That takes a great toll on many players' minds and confidence.
I am sure we will also see some of this, especially in spring training and the first few weeks of the season.
Then a few weeks later, we will see how players live with the possibility of being traded, with absolutely no control over their inmediate future.
Many viewers will learn these things for the first time, and perhaps they will start to value the difficulty of being a professional athlete of a sport that has 162 regular season games in just over 180 days. What a strain!
It only improves the brand and merch sales if the team wins and is successful. I'm not sure Franz in Munich is going to buy a City Connect jersey if the team struggles or is even just mediocre next year. It's a little shocking that they would open up access to the team in what's at best a state of transition, which makes me think that FSG is foolishly optimistic about how this year is going to go.
According to The Athletic, the negotiation with MLB began three years ago. The doc is going to focus more on the players on and off the field.
Wait, so this was CHAIM BLOOM'S IDEA?!? What is the over/under on sneering references to Bloom in Shaughnessy's forthcoming article about how mad everyone should be at Netflix?
You'd be surprised. Teams that don't win that have had these types of docs have seen big increases, the whole point is to make you like the guys on the team and the idea of supporting the team, not because they are good, but because you liked the episode where Casas broke out of his slump, or Rafaela got called up and told his Mom he was going to the show. Sometimes these are about top teams (Man City did something similar) but just as often it is just random midlevel teams or loveable losers, it's really not about winning/losing.
See all the stars! Rafael Devers! Uh.... Kenley Jansen maybe! Trevor Story for about 2 out of 7 months! Possibly other people you've heard of!
My main issue: why release this during the 2025 spring training, when actual baseball is firing back up? This would be perfect mid-January content, when the offseason has felt interminable and I am craving any and all baseball.
Anyway, as others have said, this isn't aimed at folks like us who know the team and the players. It's to get Netflix folks who liked documentary series on rugby players or Formula 1 drivers and want to follow a different group of athletes. I have no idea if I'll ever choose to watch it.
Now, that 2004 documentary, if done even decently, will be on a constant loop on my tv...
Anyway, as others have said, this isn't aimed at folks like us who know the team and the players. It's to get Netflix folks who liked documentary series on rugby players or Formula 1 drivers and want to follow a different group of athletes. I have no idea if I'll ever choose to watch it.
Now, that 2004 documentary, if done even decently, will be on a constant loop on my tv...
I'm guessing it's designed to provide continuity and convert March casual viewership into April fans.
I'm interested honestly, assuming the players end up forgetting about the camera and it's not all bad sports platitudes.
Yea a Red Sox message board is a terrible place to vent your frustration out over the management of the team over systematic wrongs of society.
Do you think Putin is the reason the Red Sox pitchers cannot go through a line up three times or is it global warming? Should I blame Social Media negative influence on teenagers for the lack of RHH on the Red Sox or do you think it is the flaws in campaign finance law?
Edit - Kind of curious, do the Bloomers get online ads from Sephora or Target to get their clown make up?
Look, if you feel like insulting Chawson directly there's a DM function for that, but come on, do better than this shit on the main board please, it's super cringe.
How much of the same venting should we all listen to, comrade?
It's a serious question. Because some people vent more than herd of holsteins grazing at the mythical burrito patch.
Well there is always going back to your Nip/Tuck Suits fan fiction. Does Harvey want more than Botox?
It is clear FSG is hoping that Red Sox - The Road to Purgatory Netflix show has the same effect as Wrexham. Bring in people beyond the regular fan base, it is a good business move. The best is selling the team on basis beyond results. Feel Good Sox! As a shareholder of FSG, I would LOVE the concept.
The questions comes to the focus of FSG. The strength of FSG is its marketing wing. Clearly the Red Sox have had suboptimal results as it tried to right its payroll issues. Last four years happened, and the fall guys/junior culprits have been let go. Are you going to double down and invest in product development or marketing? I work in tech and have seen enough companies on the downturn focus on the latter.
This team is in no better a position than it was six months ago with near miracle like odds at anything that would drastically change their lot at this time. #SuperCringe
Is the team going to try to market themselves out of the hole they dug? Is this the right direction for a sustainable model of success after a half decade of under achieving? #FullThrottle
If you don't care about this team's performance, are delusional about the team's talent level, or just find joy wandering into traffic; who cares what they doing? Also if you just want to watch baseball for the joy of it, there is the Savannah Bananas. I highly recommend it (not being sarcastic). My nephew loves them. It is fantastic.
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