I’ve pretty much stopped watching

[Frobby]

This team has pretty much become unwatchable.   I check the score on my phone when I’m done with dinner, generally around 8:00.   Inevitably they’re already losing.   I keep an eye on the game every 15 minutes or so in between checking the minor league box scores.   Most nights, it’s just never worth it to turn on the game.   It’s sad.

[survivedc]

Exactly where I’m at. I’ll listen to the beginning of the game as I finish making dinner, check the score after then go do something else. 
For the first two months I was holding on and watching crappy games but I’m just over it. 

[Can_of_corn]

Elias has to know he's going to lose the casual fan with this style of rebuild.

[Pickles]

10 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Elias has to know he's going to lose the casual fan with this style of rebuild.

Eh.  Did they lose them in 2008?

[DocJJ]

If the team ever gets good again, they'll come back....   but at the current rate, that will be years and years....

After tonight, I won't watch anymore.   It's one thing to lose 7-5, but most nights it's 10-2, 8-1, too lopsided to derive any kind of enjoyment...

 

 

[Pickles]

14 minutes ago, Frobby said:

This team has pretty much become unwatchable.   I check the score on my phone when I’m done with dinner, generally around 8:00.   Inevitably they’re already losing.   I keep an eye on the game every 15 minutes or so in between checking the minor league box scores.   Most nights, it’s just never worth it to turn on the game.   It’s sad.

I was thinking the exact same thing.  By the time you check the box score, they're almost always losing already.

The starting rotation is horrendous.  Particularly without Means.

Those who thought this team had a baseline of 68 wins, and should "go for it", are being shown to be more wrong by the day.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, DocJJ said:

If the team ever gets good again, they'll come back....   but at the current rate, that will be years and years....

After tonight, I won't watch anymore.   It's one thing to lose 7-5, but most nights it's 10-2, 8-1, too lopsided to derive any kind of enjoyment...

 

 

Some will but not all.  Even in 2014 attendance wasn't that strong (2.46M).

[Sports Guy]

18 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Eh.  Did they lose them in 2008?

Apples to oranges though…more entertainment options, different generation, older fans (those who generally watch the sport) are getting older and perhaps literally dying off.  
 

The need to bring in new fans is huge and MLB is already struggling with that as is…add on a team that is terrible and has been for most of this century and it becomes increasingly harder to get people involved.

[Pickles]

10 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Apples to oranges though…more entertainment options, different generation, older fans (those who generally watch the sport) are getting older and perhaps literally dying off.  
 

The need to bring in new fans is huge and MLB is already struggling with that as is…add on a team that is terrible and has been for most of this century and it becomes increasingly harder to get people involved.

They'll never be what they were in the mid 90s.  That's a cold, hard truth.

The more they lose, the more prestige they will lose.  I agree with that as well.

It has a ripple effect.  I agree.

The only solution is to win consistently for a long time.  Our model should be the St. Louis Cardinals.  And I believe it largely is.

[orioles22]

I spend most of my baseball time this year following Bowie and the other minor league teams online, then I think to check on the Orioles.

It's incredibly discouraging to think ownership isn't trying to win or doesn't have the resources to compete. If that is true, please sell the team.

I can live with a rebuild, but I cannot stand the idea of not being able to sign the players we rebuild around. I will just spend more time with the Colts if this continues. I would never follow another MLB team, but I can't invest myself into a team that isn't trying to compete and compete long term.

[Gurgi]

29 minutes ago, orioles22 said:

I spend most of my baseball time this year following Bowie and the other minor league teams online, then I think to check on the Orioles.

It's incredibly discouraging to think ownership isn't trying to win or doesn't have the resources to compete. If that is true, please sell the team.

I can live with a rebuild, but I cannot stand the idea of not being able to sign the players we rebuild around. I will just spend more time with the Colts if this continues. I would never follow another MLB team, but I can't invest myself into a team that isn't trying to compete and compete long term.

I believe they intend to try to copy the Rays techniques of selling players before they hit free agency.  With the slight benefit that we should have a little more resources to keep the occasional player we like and who will accept a team friendly contract.  

[PHRESH]

I remember when I was living in bmore '04-'09, the team was just plain awful. And they had been since the late 90s. I had a hard time watching the Orioles play, but I did tune in and watch pretty often.

One thing I did during those years was start paying much more attention to what was going on in the minors. I kept telling my friends that the team would be competitive in 2012. Obviously I had no idea, but I was hopeful . And sure enough, they were. What a fun season that was. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long.

I feel like we're right back in that scenario again. This team is pretty pathetic, but I'm looking forward to seeing some of the younger guys come up over the next few years. Hopefully, if things pan out, we might be able to sniff the playoffs by 2023 or 2024. But even that doesn't seem too realistic with how many good, young players our division rivals are putting out there.

I'm not going to abandon the team or anything, but I certainly hope we don't have another 15 year stretch of basement dwelling in store for us. 

[Philip]

I don’t watch either. I detest the Broadcast folks, Palmer excepted, and when I listen I usually turn on the opposition team, several of whom I like. I’d endure it if they’d call up some prospects and let them play, but it is impossible to watch bad baseball night after night, read The beats ignoring the problems or spouting the party line, and watch Hyde unable to get them to play fundamental baseball and make bad decision after bad decision.

I check the score, root for some guys like Wynns, and play candy crush…

[UMDTerrapins]

I think back to the 18 consecutive winning seasons in a (beloved) dumpster of a stadium. And then the era where Camden Yards was so special that the team could draw a crowd even if they weren't all that great. Then came the 14 consecutive losing seasons combined with the arrival of the Nats to our region. We're now conclusively a small market team that plays in a truly great stadium. We'll never draw crowds and enjoy a payroll advantage the way we did in the 90's. But we can do what the Rays have been doing for the past decade, but with a great stadium and a fan base that actually cares. It's clear that the game plan for 2021 is to keep the kids on the farm, then let them arrive in bulk in '22. We'll get a few second tier pitchers and position players to get excited about debuting this year, but this year is absolutely engineered to drive us fans mad. If the net result sets us up to sustain success beyond a five year window it will be worth our agony this year, and we're relatively close to start enjoying the payoff for our suffering. I'm just sobered by the reality that the Angelos family is still in control. It's hard to imagine that any other owner who purchased the team in 1993 could have produced worse results than the curse that they inflicted on this franchise. I've taken comfort from the appearance that the organization is maneuvering like a team that is positioning itself for sale. That will make this dumpster fire totally worth it, all by itself. 

[accinfo]

29 minutes ago, orioles22 said:

I spend most of my baseball time this year following Bowie and the other minor league teams online, then I think to check on the Orioles.

It's incredibly discouraging to think ownership isn't trying to win or doesn't have the resources to compete. If that is true, please sell the team.

I can live with a rebuild, but I cannot stand the idea of not being able to sign the players we rebuild around. I will just spend more time with the Colts if this continues. I would never follow another MLB team, but I can't invest myself into a team that isn't trying to compete and compete long term.

This is tough to watch and if I believed ownership didn't have the resources to compete it would be even tougher.  I don't think that is the case at all.  I think this is a more an issue with the system that exists with baseball.  Teams are not rewarded for spending a medium level of money.  When Peter Angelos ran the Orioles they spent plenty of money and it hasn't bought them anything as far as long term success.  They need to build their talent base and right now winning 70-80 games doesn't help get the top talent they need.  They are investing in the Dominican baseball academy which will also help bring talent from that regent that was woefully neglected for too many years.  I can't blame anyone for not watching.  I turned it off tonight and I rarely do.  As far as investing in a team that isn't trying to compete in the long term if I believed that I couldn't invest as well.  I believe they feel this is the best way to compete for the long term.  Only time will tell if they are right or not.  Look at the record of the Houston Astros from 2011-2014 and look at them now.