What Boston has that we dont...

[Machado13]

A salary cap would only help Boston with all the bad free agent contracts they've handed out over the past several years.

Eh, maybe some years. In general though, the uneven playing field means that those big teams won't miss the playoffs more than a couple years at most.

You can't run a league where every advantage is for the big markets, people in other markets lose interest. NFL, NBA and NHL all understand this. As expected, MLB continues to live in the Stone Age. Their idea of adapting to today's times is over use of emojis on social media.

[Aristotelian]

The scary thing is Boston might be able to replace Ortiz's DH production with one of their top prospects. We can only hope the Pedroia and Hanley start to decline fast because Bogaerts and Betts look like the real things. I just don't want Boston to improve at third and catcher.

But I just don't see Boston winning the World Series this year. I just don't see their pitching matching up with the National League teams. They might not have the pitching to get them to the World Series. We''ll see.

Also losing Ortiz' 1.000+ OPS in the NL parks is going to hurt their gameplan.

[Trace21230]

Another thing that Boston has, which Baltimore doesn't, is a fan base that shows up at the games to support the team. That's part of the reason why Boston is able to have a larger payroll.

[CheeryO]

Another thing that Boston has, which Baltimore doesn't, is a fan base that shows up at the games to support the team. That's part of the reason why Boston is able to have a larger payroll.

I read an interesting article on Camden Chat that theorizes the reasons O's fans haven't shown up, especially at Red Sox games. It mostly blames higher seat prices for Red Sox/Yankee games and poor management of communication with season ticket holders before the season.

[fdrnewdeal]

Another thing that Boston has, which Baltimore doesn't, is a fan base that shows up at the games to support the team. That's part of the reason why Boston is able to have a larger payroll.

First post- Red Sox fan, here, will always try to be respectful and friendly.

Anyway, to this point, this hasn't always been the case for the Red Sox. The team was basically dead before the impossible dream season of 1967. They were able to draw fans afterward, but declined again in the 1980s. Heck, Roger Clemens 20k game against the Mariners was in front of 20 K fans.

The point being, all Baltimore needs is a run and good marketing to become a daily sell out crowd. Baltimore has a few structural disadvantages (mainly the Nats) but they're in a good baseball market. Some championships and a savvy marketing campaign could put them in Boston territory at the gate. You guys were there in the 1990s afterall.

[Trace21230]

First post- Red Sox fan, here, will always try to be respectful and friendly.

Anyway, to this point, this hasn't always been the case for the Red Sox. The team was basically dead before the impossible dream season of 1967. They were able to draw fans afterward, but declined again in the 1980s. Heck, Roger Clemens 20k game against the Mariners was in front of 20 K fans.

The point being, all Baltimore needs is a run and good marketing to become a daily sell out crowd. Baltimore has a few structural disadvantages (mainly the Nats) but they're in a good baseball market. Some championships and a savvy marketing campaign could put them in Boston territory at the gate. You guys were there in the 1990s afterall.

I agree with what you are saying in principle but remain skeptical about whether it will actually happen. The Orioles have played winning baseball since 2012 - we are going on five years here.

What has happened with attendance? It has actually gotten worse over the past year despite two playoff appearances, a much larger payroll, and other factors that you'd think would improve attendance (Baltimore on the jersey, Student Nights, other promotions).

I've been a season ticket holder since 2005 and I've seen a lot of losing baseball. I've also seen a lot of empty seats at OPACY. Never have I been as disgusted with the fan base than I am now.

[bobmc]

Eleven straight wins was the gut punch!

[Bradysburns]

I agree with what you are saying in principle but remain skeptical about whether it will actually happen. The Orioles have played winning baseball since 2012 - we are going on five years here.

What has happened with attendance? It has actually gotten worse over the past year despite two playoff appearances, a much larger payroll, and other factors that you'd think would improve attendance (Baltimore on the jersey, Student Nights, other promotions).

I've been a season ticket holder since 2005 and I've seen a lot of losing baseball. I've also seen a lot of empty seats at OPACY. Never have I been as disgusted with the fan base than I am now.

We have played winning baseball - but haven't gone past the first non-wildcard playoff round for about 20 years. Again, the long dry spell really drove some fans away for good, I would imagine. Some of us simply will never stop being fans and going to games. But to fill stadiums every night, you need real buzz among the water-cooler set. You need the casual fans. Until the Orioles go deep into the playoffs, it probably won't feel "buzzy" to most casual fans.

Certainly we've come a long way during the Buck/DD regime. But we haven't been able to turn the corner just yet.

[Babypowder]

We have played winning baseball - but haven't gone past the first non-wildcard playoff round for about 20 years. Again, the long dry spell really drove some fans away for good, I would imagine. Some of us simply will never stop being fans and going to games. But to fill stadiums every night, you need real buzz among the water-cooler set. You need the casual fans. Until the Orioles go deep into the playoffs, it probably won't feel "buzzy" to most casual fans.

Certainly we've come a long way during the Buck/DD regime. But we haven't been able to turn the corner just yet.

2014 was much more recent than 20 years.

[Machado13]

Another thing that Boston has, which Baltimore doesn't, is a fan base that shows up at the games to support the team. That's part of the reason why Boston is able to have a larger payroll.

I'm not sure this is as big a deal anymore as in the past. An organization's lifeline now is the mega tv deals. Sure every organization would love a packed house especially a crowd that drinks a lot lol but really it's the big time regional tv deals and we all know MASN is nowhere near the revenue generator that NESN is.

[Bradysburns]

2014 was much more recent than 20 years.

My bad - we did make it the the ALCS, of course. Once. Which was awesome. But not enough to leave a lasting impression, apparently.

[OFFNY]

We have played winning baseball - but haven't gone past the first non-wildcard playoff round for about 20 years. Again, the long dry spell really drove some fans away for good, I would imagine. Some of us simply will never stop being fans and going to games. But to fill stadiums every night, you need real buzz among the water-cooler set. You need the casual fans. Until the Orioles go deep into the playoffs, it probably won't feel "buzzy" to most casual fans.

Certainly we've come a long way during the Buck/DD regime. But we haven't been able to turn the corner just yet.

2014 was much more recent than 20 years.

My bad - we did make it the the ALCS, of course. Once. Which was awesome. But not enough to leave a lasting impression, apparently. l

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[Machado13]

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That was so Omazing. One of my favorite baseball moments ever.

[CheeryO]

I don't see a"junior" Ortiz tucked away in their minors. Moncada they are trying to shoe horn in as their 3b of the future. He was overmatched upon his recall and likely needs another year in minors. The two options being kicked around here in Beantown is Panda or Encarnarcion. If they settle on

Panda they could plow their money into pitching.

They could move Hanley to DH I suppose if they think they could do better at first base via trade or free agency.

[spiritof66]

I'm not sure this is as big a deal anymore as in the past. An organization's lifeline now is the mega tv deals. Sure every organization would love a packed house especially a crowd that drinks a lot lol but really it's the big time regional tv deals and we all know MASN is nowhere near the revenue generator that NESN is.

That's not quite true. I'm not going to look up the numbers, but the NYY, BOS and SF have enormous gate receipts because their average ticket prices are so much higher than, say, the Orioles', and they sell so many season tickets to corporations and firms. Generally, the relative sizes of a team's cable TV and gate revenues are closely correlated, but not always.