Tickets go on sale Friday: How excited are you about the 2020 Red Sox?

As of now, how much are you looking forward to the 2020 Boston Red Sox season?

  • Much more than I was looking forward to the 2019 team

  • More than I was the 2019 team

  • A bit more than I was in 2019

  • About the same as I was in 2019

  • A bit less than I was in 2019

  • Less than I was 2019

  • Much less than I was the 2019 team

  • Hardly paying attention at all


Results are only viewable after voting.

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
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https://www.mlb.com/redsox/tickets/single-game-tickets
It's been one helluva roller coaster ride the past 15 months. From the highs of the 2018 Championship (remember that?) to the lows of the 2019 season to the announcements of tightening the budget to the craziness of the Alex Cora separation, and now Pedroia appears done.

Most of us are here at Sons of Sam Horn due to a shared love of the Boston Red Sox, but it's hard for me to get excited about the 2020 season with all that has gone on recently. But we are Red Sox Fans, dammit, and we've been through the slack years and through 1986 and 2003 and emerged victorious so I know most of us have an abiding faith in this team.

So how you feelin' about this upcoming year?
 

Shaky Walton

Member
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Nov 20, 2019
717
Even before the Cora news, I was reasonably negative. I don't expect a lot out of Price, Sale and Eovaldi. With all three coming back from injury, the odds are good that we'll see the IL or under performance from more than one of them. And who's the fifth starter? How have they addressed the pen issues they had last year exactly?

And with the Mookie Betts story sure to dominate the news a la Tom Brady this past Pats season, I can hardly wait.

The Cora stuff is like a big, hairy, ugly cherry on what I assume will be a trying season.

Oh, and the Yankees look like the favorite to win the AL East, if not the AL and the WS.

And let's not forget the ever fascinating discussion regarding managing the luxury tax and the implications thereof.

So yeah, not that excited.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
53,850
It's baseball. It's the Red Sox. I don't understand the question.
 

JimD

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Nov 29, 2001
8,681
I voted 'a bit less' because 2019 was obviously coming off of an all-time great year, so how can this offseason possibly compare. I'm still optimistic that this team will do better than expected by many and compete for a playoff berth.
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
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Being less excited about the team than you were the year after a championship does not equal not being at all excited about it. But I expected a reduction in excitement which I am seeing.

I'll be tuned in to every game, but last year I was drooling in anticipation of the season. This year? Less so.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

Member
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Jan 23, 2009
20,676
Maine
It's baseball. It's the Red Sox. I don't understand the question.
Exactly why I voted "same as 2019". Which could just as easily be "same as 2018" or "same as 2009" or "same as 1993" or "same as 1988". I look forward to Opening Day more than Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, and my birthday combined.
 

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
24,829
Unreal America
I don't think it's strange to have differing levels of excitement before each season. I mean, I like baseball, I love the Sox, and my life is always better when there is Red Sox baseball in it every day. But am I anticipating this season in the same way I was last year? Or the year before? Nope. All the reasons why are pretty obvious.
 

DeadlySplitter

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Oct 20, 2015
33,253
they could win between 75-95 games and I wouldn't be surprised. so, less than 2019 but we'll see what happens.

the payroll mismanagement has let the Yankees take over for now as favorites. hopefully that isn't the case for several years in a row again, but it looks grim.

EDIT: or maybe more accurately, a stretch of poor drafting is why. they sure could use a #2 starter or better for cheap.
 

Shaky Walton

Member
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Nov 20, 2019
717
Exactly why I voted "same as 2019". Which could just as easily be "same as 2018" or "same as 2009" or "same as 1993" or "same as 1988". I look forward to Opening Day more than Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, and my birthday combined.
I get that reaction. It's how I would have answered for years.

For me -- and apparently almost half of the early voters -- the answer is much more negative this year. In my case, I do feel beaten down by the seemingly never ending series of off field drama surrounding my two favorite sports franchises (Pats and Sox). The Brady, Mookie, Pats video cheating, Sox sign stealing, Cora firing and other off field news have combined to make all of sports just a little less compelling right now. I doubt this will last. I still watched ravenously as the Celtics pummeled the Lakers and was on the edge of my chair while the Bruins hung on last night.

But my usual anticipation of the baseball season has been muted somewhat by the series of mostly off ffield gut punches suffered by my two biggest sports passions..
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
37,068
Hingham, MA
Heading into 2019, I wasn't crazy excited, just because there was no way they were going to top 2018. Heading into 2020, my expectations are even much lower than in 2019. Then you add in the Cora and Mookie situations, the state of the starting rotation, etc., and I found myself voting "hardly paying attention at all".
 

Number45forever

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Apr 16, 2003
1,970
Vermont
It's been just an insane last four seasons.
  • 2016: Ortiz has a monster retirement season at age 40, then a surprisingly early playoff exit.
  • 2017: Division champs again, meekly out in postseason.
  • 2018: Cora comes on board, Mookie puts on the superhero cape and they break all the records while winning it all.
  • 2019: Literally everyone up and down the roster comes to spring training flat. Ultimate hangover season, complete with worse injury luck than 2018.
2020 feels like it's going to be a major transition year from the core group leading the team for the last four years to whatever the team becomes under Bloom and (insert new manager here) from 2021 forward. Someone above mentioned they could win between 75 and 95 games this year...I'd increase that range. I can see 70 wins and trading everyone. I can see good health for the rotation and 100 wins behind continued excellence from Mookie, Devers, X, a step forward for Benintendi perhaps. I've never entered a season less sure of what was to unfold than I am now, looking forward to 2020.

One thing is for sure, I'll be watching. Opening Day looms closer than you'd think...there are like a week's worth of games in March. Can't wait. Baseball is the best.
 

RIrooter09

Alvin
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Jul 31, 2008
7,254
they could win between 75-95 games and I wouldn't be surprised. so, less than 2019 but we'll see what happens.

the payroll mismanagement has let the Yankees take over for now as favorites. hopefully that isn't the case for several years in a row again, but it looks grim.

EDIT: or maybe more accurately, a stretch of poor drafting is why. they sure could use a #2 starter or better for cheap.
ERod performed like a low end #1 starter last year and he’s relatively cheap. The bloated contracts/injuries of Sale, Price, and Eovaldi are the biggest problem, so I think your first instinct was correct.
 

Light-Tower-Power

ask me about My Pillow
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Jun 14, 2013
15,953
Nashua, NH
I guess I'll answer for the "hardly paying attention at all" camp, or at least my take on it. I joined this board in 2013 as first and foremost a die-hard Red Sox fan. I'd watch almost every game I could, followed the team religiously, and truly enjoyed the on-field product. In the years following I still followed the team and watched a bunch of games and enjoyed Ortiz's swan song seasons. However, as the years have gone by the on-field product has evolved to become basically unwatchable for me. The 2018 postseason games were some of the last games I've watched. The glacial pace was such a turnoff I couldn't imagine how people that weren't fans of the teams playing could watch the games. I fell asleep during Game 3 of the WS. Yeah it was a lot of innings, but could you imagine falling asleep during Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS? Even catching a game at Fenway has become a bore. Fenway, which used to be one of my favorite places to go and immerse myself in the ballgame, has now become nothing more than a pit-stop on a night out in Boston for a few innings. And now, with the idiotic sign stealing scandal, I can't bring myself to take the league or the product even a little bit seriously. I never thought I'd say it but I hardly even consider myself a fan of the Red Sox anymore. I still love the game and love to play it when I get the chance, but MLB is ruined for me.
 

Plympton91

bubble burster
SoSH Member
Oct 19, 2008
12,408
I’m planning to be a bit of a bandwagon fan this year. If Sale, Price, and Eovaldi are healthy and effective they have a shot. I’ll invest accordingly.
 

nattysez

Member
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Sep 30, 2010
8,435
Am I excited for baseball to come back? Yes.
Am I excited about a team that has no first baseman, has an unimproved-from-last-year bullpen, is trying hard to trade its generational superstar, and could be on the verge of wasting another year of near-or-at-their-prime Bogaerts and Devers? Not particularly.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

Member
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Jan 23, 2009
20,676
Maine
Am I excited for baseball to come back? Yes.
Am I excited about a team that has no first baseman, has an unimproved-from-last-year bullpen, is trying hard to trade its generational superstar, and could be on the verge of wasting another year of near-or-at-their-prime Bogaerts and Devers? Not particularly.
If they were really trying to trade him, he'd be gone by now. The high price they're reportedly (and rightly) asking suggests they're not all that enthusiastic about moving him.
 

nattysez

Member
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Sep 30, 2010
8,435
If they were really trying to trade him, he'd be gone by now. The high price they're reportedly (and rightly) asking suggests they're not all that enthusiastic about moving him.
Ah, so they are trying to trade him, but not trying hard? Well, by all means, fire up my season tickets!

Good to see main-board pedantry is not dead.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Jan 23, 2009
20,676
Maine
Ah, so they are trying to trade him, but not trying hard? Well, by all means, fire up my season tickets!

Good to see main-board pedantry is not dead.
Frankly, I don't think they're trying at all. "Trying hard" implies they're actively trying to move him out. I don't believe that is the case. I think teams are inquiring because the rumors abound, and the Sox are probably listening (hence the rumor of a high price), but I don't think they're offering him around the league intent on getting rid of him.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
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Apr 12, 2001
24,548
Guys, I'm am super psyched! I'm just really looking forward to the Sox getting under the payroll threshold. And maybe John Henry's EBITDA has an outside chance of rising a little bit and HOO BABY, now we're talking! My goodness, I can't wait to read the Q2 numbers when they come rolling in!

That's where the magic of the baseball season lies.
 

Minneapolis Millers

Wants you to please think of the Twins fans!
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Jul 15, 2005
4,753
Twin Cities
I voted "less." This seems like it's going to be a placeholder season. Too much off-season drama (of the bad kind). Holes and questions on an overly-expensive roster. Hard to see any rookie bursting on the scene. But I'm still a baseball fan, and hey, anything can happen. Fortunately, though, not being in town, buying tickets isn't any kind of conundrum for me. :cool:

I do find it at least a little humorous/ironic that people who are taking the time to vote in an online Red Sox poll are voting "hardly paying attention at all."
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
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I voted "less." This seems like it's going to be a placeholder season. Too much off-season drama (of the bad kind). Holes and questions on an overly-expensive roster. Hard to see any rookie bursting on the scene. But I'm still a baseball fan, and hey, anything can happen. Fortunately, though, not being in town, buying tickets isn't any kind of conundrum for me. :cool:

I do find it at least a little humorous/ironic that people who are taking the time to vote in an online Red Sox poll are voting "hardly paying attention at all."
We have Yankee fans here who keep track of the Sox. we Have folks here who like the community but have stopped following the team for whatever reason.
 

brs3

sings praises of pinstripes
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May 20, 2008
5,200
Jackson Heights, NYC
You folks who like other sports as intensely as baseball are so lucky. Baseball is all I care about. I can't just bail. Last year the hangover season was a shock, and it took me a while(eg most of the season) to shift my excitement to think like I did during the lean years..personal stats and looking for the silver lining of each game. It's fun once I shifted my expectations, so I expect to enjoy the season more than I enjoyed last season, with more wins being a happy accident rather than an expectation. Part of me wonders if we've seen the last of epic Sale and will have to settle for burst of brilliance like we did in Pedro's last years.
 

johnnywayback

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Aug 8, 2004
1,421
I'm always excited for baseball season. And I can enjoy the Red Sox even when they're not particularly competitive. But it's a depressing time to be a Red Sox fan. The team is on the outside looking in when it comes to 2020, PLUS: Mookie's probably leaving (one way or another), JD Martinez is possibly leaving, Cora (my favorite manager since Tito) is gone, the specter of the scandal will be hanging over press coverage and likely costing us draft picks, there's no real exciting talent coming via the farm system and no room to add it via trade or free agency. And the stupid Yankees are good again.

Put another way, if you made a list of the 20 most exciting things to look forward to in baseball this year, I don't think any of them would involve the Red Sox. So, obviously I'll watch the games, because what else am I going to do to kill time until the meteor claims us all, but we've all suffered through stretches where being a Red Sox fan is thoroughly unrewarding and I fear we're in the opening stages of another such stretch now.
 

YTF

Member
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I voted a bit less than 2019. There is no lure of a repeat as there was last season, but there is still a ton of talent on this team. Health is ALWAYS a wild card in this and yes there is the mystery surrounding how much of the season Mookie or Price will spend on the Sox roster or what any potential trade might fetch. The fact that there isn't a manager in place is a bit concerning but I look at the success that Bloom had in Tampa and I'm hopeful. Yes his hands are a more than just a little tied at the moment, but I want to see how he handles it all. I want to see how Boston's next, front office whiz kid builds from what's already in place. We're not looking at a complete tear down here., this isn't Baltimore or Kansas City. I'm always excited for the start of the season. I don't mind the idea of this team having to find their identity and I don't mind the idea of them finding some level of success along the way.
 

Hank Scorpio

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Apr 1, 2013
6,919
Salem, NH
I’m not feeling very optimistic about this season, and I’m barely paying attention right now.

I like X and Devers, but think Mookie isn’t long for Boston, which will kind of be a big deal for me.
 

The Gray Eagle

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Aug 1, 2001
16,725
Guys, I'm am super psyched! I'm just really looking forward to the Sox getting under the payroll threshold. And maybe John Henry's EBITDA has an outside chance of rising a little bit and HOO BABY, now we're talking! My goodness, I can't wait to read the Q2 numbers when they come rolling in!

That's where the magic of the baseball season lies.
John Henry has every right to cut back on spending and watch his money carefully, avoiding non-essential spending that just doesn't make financial sense.

So do people who used to buy Red Sox tickets.
 

OurF'ingCity

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Apr 22, 2016
8,469
New York City
I voted just as excited as last year mainly because the makeup of the team is almost exactly the same as last year, so there is not much reason to be more pessimistic than last year (admittedly the Yankees, and maybe the Rays, have improved on paper).

I think a lot of the pessimism here has to do with the fact that the Sox have been complete non-players this offseason, so there are no new shiny players to look at and get excited about. But the core of this team absolutely destroyed the league only 2 years ago and it's at least highly plausible they could do it again if a few things go their way.

Cora's departure and potential draft pick forfeiture is not great, obviously, but despite my share of knee-jerk game thread posts I continue to think baseball manager is one of the most overrated positions in all of sports in terms of importance, and the loss of draft picks won't affect this year's team anyway.

Now, going into the 2021 season, if the 2020 Red Sox were average or worse, if Mookie (and JDM and JBJ and Price and others?) are gone, and if the Bloom looks it's starting to come off the rose, then sure, I'll be pretty pessimistic. But we're not there yet.
 

azsoxpatsfan

Does not enjoy the go
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May 23, 2014
4,774
Just as excited. As of now mookie is still on the team. I’m psyched to see devers and x continue to improve into the best left side of the infield in baseball. I’m excited to see if Vazquez’s 2019 was a real improvement or just a blip on the radar, and to see Martinez continue to feast. For all the negativity, the team will still be one of the best offensive teams in the league, and while the pitching has lots of question marks with injuries and underperformance, it’s not like it’s impossible for Sale and Price to bounce back and for edro to take another step forward.

Also, I loved Cora and it sucks that he’s gone, but I really don’t care about the whole sign stealing thing. I’ve learned from loving the pats not to give a shit about what people say or write about my teams.

It’s baseball, and it’s the Red Sox, and I’m confident the team has way more upside than it seems a lot of posters here are giving them credit for
 

Mrmojo

New Member
Nov 30, 2005
11
The poll isn't asking if I feel the Sox will be successful. Its asking about my level of interest in them. Two very different things, and I'd like to see levels of interest and expectation compared in another poll. I'm slightly less interested and believe its 50/50 they qualify for the wild card.
 

Plympton91

bubble burster
SoSH Member
Oct 19, 2008
12,408
I’m planning to be a bit of a bandwagon fan this year. If Sale, Price, and Eovaldi are healthy and effective they have a shot. I’ll invest accordingly.
Also want to add Chavis to this list. I think his struggles were as much due to nagging injuries as the lack of adjustments to the league adjustments. His minor league numbers are more dominant than he gets credit for. I think there’s a reasonable probability he breaks out. And, that would make them 6 deep.
 

Earthbound64

Member
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It's baseball. It's the Red Sox. I don't understand the question.
Beat me to it. They could be projected for last place, I'd still welcome the season and be glad they're back on my TV every night.
I love baseball. It just fits with the rhythm of my life. So, I'll take whatever the Red Sox have to offer.
Pretty much.
I mean, it may be less than after 2018, but it's still more excited than I am about most things - and unquestionably much more excited than I am than about not having it.
 

ookami7m

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Jul 15, 2005
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I wrote “73 days to opening day” on our family whiteboard calendar earlier this month. So yeah, I’m as ready as ever. Baseball is a huge part of my life’s rhythm and I’ll always be ready for it.
 

Manuel Aristides

Member
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Apr 7, 2009
224
I'll never be not-excited for baseball. But for the first time in almost twenty years, the season ticket renewal was not an automatic decision for us. Did it, as we can usually offload enough of them to make it worthwhile, but, if we lose as much on them as we did last year...
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,498
Anyone here local and actually more excited? (If not than last year, then than 2 years ago?)
 

Shaky Walton

Member
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Nov 20, 2019
717
Anyone here local and actually more excited? (If not than last year, then than 2 years ago?)
I'm not sure that I get why being local would factor in either way.

At least, regarding this question.

Things like the current state of the pitching staff, the Cora stink, the luxury tax stink and whatever else that has people less excited aren't really Boston centric.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

has big, douchey shoulders
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I spent enough of my life looking forward to watching guys like Dick Drago, Jackie Gutierrez, and John Dopson. I was even excited about the start of the Ramiro Mendoza and Mike Lansing eras.
There is literally nothing that could make my excitement for the start of every Sox season wane, even a little.
 

joe dokes

Member
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Jul 18, 2005
30,243
The games are all that matter. Offseason feelings and predictions are like wrapping paper. Nobody really cares. Lets just see what's in the damn box. Last year "sucked," and they were good more often than not.
 

DeweyWins

Member
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Jan 24, 2012
56
Huntsville, AL
I always look forward to baseball. I voted a bit more than 2019 because I think literally anything could happen this year. So many unknowns.

Going into last year, I felt like there was no way the 2018 magic was going to stick around. I was optimistic about everything but our pitching at the start of the year last year, and I thought our bullpen would be a major issue.

For this year, I wonder in no particular order:
  • How juiced is the ball going to be this year?
  • What will the end result be of the investigation into techno-enhanced sign-stealing?
  • Who manages the team?
  • Who ultimately mans first and second base regularly?
  • Will we (and if so, when) get under the CBT threshold this year?
  • Which pitcher implodes first this year?
  • Does ERod take another step forward or two steps back?
  • Who is the next regular contributor from the farm?
There are so many unknowns, I can see this team winning anywhere between 70 and 100 games.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,498
I'll be a lot less excited if Wil Myers is our starting RF. I'd probably prefer Mike, actually.
 

Mugsy's Jock

Eli apologist
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Dec 28, 2000
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If the multiple choice answers were simply “a lot”, “some”, “ a little”, “not at all” then it’d be “a lot”. As @DJnVa rightly points out at the top of the thread:
It's baseball. It's the Red Sox. I don't understand the question.
But comparing to 2019 isn’t a fair measuring stick. After all, that was a likable team coming off a dominant season and dramatic World Series, headlined by one of baseball’s brightest young stars, 2 top line veteran aces...one of whom had impressively rebuilt his reputation with the fans, a third starter who looked like the next big thing, an emerging superstar at 3B, what looked like an emerging Fred Lynn in LF, and an incredibly likable and capable manager. Sweet.

This year’s model lacks...almost all of that. Still have the emerging superstar 3B, and Bogaerts is coming off his best season yet and feels like even more of a fixture.

But While Mookie’s still on board and I know will continue to play with great skill and joy, the FA cloud is undeniable. JDM will be great again too, I’m sure, but given the cap problems he is now shadowed by his “pretty big for a DH” contract. No new acquisitions to be excited about, no new young studs up from the system seem likely to become our next heroes.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,498
I'm not excited now, but I think I will be come mid-February, especially if they make some move not involving trading Mookie (nor Beni/Devers/X)

Chaim's got something up his sleeve, I'm confident in that. Don't really have a valid piece of reason/proof though.