Back during the pits of 1998-2011 streak, I stopped watching after Bedard was shelved in 2007. He had been one of the only reasons I had been watching (that game he pitched against the Rangers was unreal). It wasn't because I didn't care, it's just...it was too depressing. As that 1997 team retreated further and further into the rear view mirror (I was in 4th grade when they lost to the Indians in that ALCS) turning things around just seemed impossible. That changed in September 2011 when the team just seemed to come alive, especially in that infamous game 162. And obviously the great five year run they had afterwards.
My feeling when MacPhail came in back in 2007 was that turning the franchise around was a long term thing, like 10+ years. It wasn't about draft picks or particular trades, it was about changing the way they did things from the ground up. Which not only takes time to put in place, it also takes time for the impacts to be seen at the major league level. My fear then (as it is now if I'm honest) was that ownership would not have the patience to see a rebuild through to the end. Meddling owners might give up control in order to win, but giving up control to still be losing wears thin eventually.
To the original point of this post, I too have stopped watching. I'm not mad, I'm just sad. The team doesn't have to win a pennant for me to watch, it just has to be more exciting. And it's stopped being that. I'm an Orioles fan much more than I've ever been a baseball fan, so even paying super close attention to the minors has never been my thing. I used to be a 13 game plan holder, but as my career has progressed, making the drive up from Virginia has become less and less feasible. I hope fans come back, and I hope TV ratings (or however people end up watching) get better when the team gets more exciting, but honestly, this franchise has been on almost 40 year slide, with brief upticks every so often. And now that is complicated by the return of baseball to DC, especially that team has had some recent success. It might take some work to get fan interest back.
I don't know, just some random thoughts I guess. But I understand the frustration, I really do.