Soy un perdedor dolorido, bebé

St. Louis Cardinals fans get crazy with the cheese whiz Wednesday night when the Nats met the Cards. Cardinals pitcher Ryan Franklin responds to boos in his own stadium:

"You're either a fan or you're not. You don't boo your own team. I don't care who you are or what you say. Just because you spent your money to come here and watch us play, and somebody happens to make one bad pitch and gives up a homer, you don't start booing them. I've been here for five years, and four years I've been pretty good. You should go write stories about the fans booing. They're supposed to be the best fans in baseball. Yeah right."

I mostly agree with this statement. The only part that is arguable is when he suggests the fans turned on him for giving up a homer on one bad pitch. The quote should read about when, "...somebody happens to get four blown saves out of five attempts, give away a 9th-inning lead here and there, get removed as closer, and allow the Nationals a home run when you're already down by 2, you don't start booing them." It is a more difficult argument when you look at it that way. I will give him that.


I admit, baseball is not my game and the Cardinals are definitely not my team, but I can read a stat sheet. Franklin looks like he's been doing his job for the last couple of years. While I don't think a 38-year old player can rest on his laurels and start to phone it in, I also don't agree with the fans booing their own players. As far as this blogger is concerned, you stick with your team through thick and thin. If you can't stand losing, jump on another bandwagon. There are plenty of places you can voice your frustrations about washed up players and losing games, but the stadium is not where it's done. There is poor sportsmanship on the field and off, and when fans of the home team start to boo their own players, that is a stadium full of sore losers as far as I'm concerned.

Baseball Fever

Well gang, baseball season is just two weeks away and I am excited.  The records are even and unless you are a fan of the Royals or Pirates, you are probably talking yourself into why your team can make an incredible run to the playoffs.  Even better, the realization that there are 161 more games to play after opening day has not sunk in and you are just stoked.  All you can think of is evenings at the ballpark, peanuts in the shell, ice cold beers, and dogs.

And then something strange happens around April 22nd.  You just stop caring.  For me, it is usually after a busy week of work when I don't have a chance to follow the box scores or keep track of my favorite players.  When I do look again, I realize that nothing has really changed.  Nothing. Then I start to get angry that players are paid $25 million per year to fail 2/3rds of the time. After getting over this anger and realizing that I am just jealous that I am not 27 years old with an 8 year $184 million contract (preferably in a state with no property taxes) I tend to give up on the game.

Now that doesn't mean that I stop pulling for the Mets or don't check out the scores when I can.  It just means that the enthusiasm is gone.  I don't really get up or down when my team wins or loses because I understand that baseball is about 10 game, not 10 minute stretches.

I think this apathy that the length of the baseball season can generate is a blessing and a curse for the game.  On one hand, it is nice that the baseball season (and games themselves) are so long.  I can go away for vacation and not feel like I have missed much.  When I am at a game I can leave to go get a beer and I am okay with that because going to the game is about the experience of the ballpark and sitting outside, not the action.  On the other hand, because of the slow pace of the season and games, it is so easy to lose interest.  Do I really need to watch a player take 35 seconds between pitches?  Seriously, Nomar's routine was hilarious after the first pitch, but a 10 pitch at-bat could take forever ( David Wright is a distant second).  That, J.B. Sports Chat readers, is way to long.

But hey, it's only 2 weeks until baseball and my excitement level is still super high!  My Mets are definitely going to win the Pennant...right....????