I didn't pay for the overpriced package to watch my favorite teams (90 Directv, 60 MLB.TV) and I didn't even summon up enough to do previews of this glorified exhibition that not even the men playing the game seem to completely want to participate in.
I'm in the most dangerous mode that one can be for fans of any particular genre'- Indifference.
Rob Manfred isn't responsible for Covid-19 and he can't really be held accountable for the lack of live fans in the stands, but otherwise, everything that has drained my ability to care that goes back to last fall before the pandemic arrived is all on the man that has made a huge move to pull alongside Roger Goodell and the usual pacesetter Gary Bettman as the worst commissioner in sports.
From Manfred's owning an idea brought forward by a disgraced executive that was chased from the game (deleting forty or more teams from the minors to save the number of dollars per team that is less than a long reliever or utility infielder) to his pushing of gimmick ideas to gain new fans that are unlikely to do so and finally forcing a sixty game season that seems to lack full interest with a bloated postseason with a spoonful of castor oil to National League fans that shoved the designated hitter into their game, Manfred has done almost everything that one could do to take away my ability to care about the 2020 season.
I watched most of the Giants opener against the Dodgers on ESPN until the game got out of hand late in the game, but the game seemed so sterile and while the cardboard cutouts of fans were funny at first look, after a bit, they served as a reminder of what was missing and some of why I'm having trouble caring.
Some of this was missing the usual Giants broadcast team and the Giants are terrible with their questionable managerial selection, Gabe Kapler, making mistakes from day one, but I'm not filled with passion for the Indians either.
I'm going to put the inevitable name change aside with the best that I can summon is a prayer that the new name isn't something awful, but my apathy involves the sector of ownership that refuses to spend any type of money to give the team a chance with a contention window that closes every day with another inevitable loss- that of shortstop Francisco Lindor.
The refusal to add any players around Lindor while the star is still in Cleveland combined with a reluctance to trade Lindor and perhaps obtain a few young players in return makes me think the team is simply jogging in place with an attempt to thread the needle of contention, but one that is unlikely to do so without any additions to aid Lindor while he is still the team's building block.
The Indians (or whatever nickname they'll be using shortly) are even more frustrating than the Giants because you know that the Dolan's will blame the pandemic for not having the ability to upgrade and to add another log to the poverty pile of reasons that they did not/will not sign Lindor.
I'm not saying that I won't watch baseball or any statements as such, but other than maybe watching one of the Orioles or Nationals visits to Buffalo to see the Bison's stadium, I'm not enthused about watching very often until maybe the postseason.
For now, I think I'm mostly going to pass on Studio Baseball, although I'll be around with any trade coverage that needs to be written.
Sports have always been a passion of mine, but they aren't my only passion as people that "really" know me already know.
Perhaps as sports continue to do everything possible to drive me away, there will be something old or something new that is waiting to take its share of my time?
I'm going to try to be back later with something special, should I have the time to write.
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