pan6467

I agree with this, every year we see players trying to hang on for one more year, taking "cheap" contracts, playing hard in Spring Training for one last year. Sosa this year is a prime example, Jose Rijo, Deion Sanders, Aaron Boone, Marcus Giles, Scott Elarton, etc. There are MANY great players, maybe not talent wise but heart wise in the game. That's a reason to love it right there, the passion some of these players have.

To me personally, I think letting salaries get out of control to where teams have to trade their star players away, because they can't afford them and want something before the player goes Free Agent. So they "rebuild" and by the time those great prospects are seasoned enough to contend the team has to trade them away.

I think trading Santana to Boston or New York shows how bad things really are. Granted I'm not a Santana fan and I think he won't be able to handle the pressure but you're looking at Bedard, Haren and others going the same route to the "rich" teams. So in turn, the poorer teams are always in rebuild mode, losing their fan base and because of the way revenue sharing is, they can't afford to keep or get the players they need to contend.

They go out and play those hard games for MILLIONS and the "great" players today don't give a shit if the team wins or not. Look at players that sign huge contracts with teams knowing the team will never contend.

Another way they treat fans like shit is the cheating, I'm sorry taking steroids, HGH, PEDS whatever, knowing that it may enhance your game and thus line you up for a big payday isn't being very fair, honest and true to the fans and the owners who sat by allowing it, turning blind eyes and in some ways encouraging it because it meant more money in revenue didn't give a shit about the integrity of the game or the fans or the players lives and health that were destroyed by the drugs.

It's all about the money, to Hell with the fans, the players and owners have proven with this whole debacle they care not about us but about the money. And we'll do nothing but watch and go to games because we don't want to believe the games and the winning teams and losing teams are pretty much determined already. Hope springs eternal that the "kids" will outplay the billion dollar machines.... but in the end the small market teams while every year there maybe that surprise team..... are doomed to be bottom feeders.

It's sad, it's disgraceful, it's a slap in the face to the true fans (not the band wagoners or the corporate douche bags that come late and leave early because the company gave them primo tickets while the true fans sit miles away in exensive cheap seats because that's all they can afford... and they can only afford to 2-3 times a season). Teams with proud histories and once great fan bases are being turned into farm teams.... it's pathetic. But there's no alternative... they have the monopoly. It's WWE sports entertainment where the end is known before the season even starts.

The sport used to belong to the fans and the players and owners knew that. Now it belongs to the Media Corporations and the advertisers and they don't want small market teams to win.... they want the big cities to win.... big cities playing means bigger ratings, bigger ratings means more ad revenue means more profit. Fuck the fans in Kansas City, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toronto, Oakland, San Fran, Houston, Philly, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and so on.

(Yes, I know Cleveland is on a run Cavs have LeBron, the Tribe is looking good and the Clowns look to be playoff bound..... but what of the other cities? It's not just poor management in those cities in every sport, I don't buy that.)

Every now and then one of those cities may contend in a sport but in the end... the big markets and the media crush them like ants. Those fans don't matter, because if they play for the championship it means little ratings .... so fuck them.

All about the money, honey.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"