I think I've had it with major league baseball.
Let me back up a little. I first got interested in baseball in the early 1970's. the Oakland Athletics were doing really well back then, so that's the team I followed over the years.
Fast forward to this season... Oakland had a good team, but not a great team. It had a shot at a playoff spot. That was before the owner, Lewis Wolff, gave up and started selling off and trading away the team's best players. I can understand having a bad team. No one knows more about losing than I do. But, if you have a good team and you give up on the season-- while you still have a possibility of making the playoffs, well, that's another story. Oakland has lost a ton of games since the fire sale.
The man who owned the Athletics in the 70's, Charley Finley, tried to pull similar stunts in 1976 and 1977. He was blocked by baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn. This year, not a peep out of the current do-nothing commissioner, Bud Selig. He does so little, he should be a member of the Pennsylvania legislature.
The Oakland Athletics have never been a success when it comes to attendance. The team didn't draw, even during the glory years. You can't get an upper deck ticket at the Oakland Coliseum. It's closed.
Bad ownership. No fan support. Oakland shouldn't have a team. If you don't want to invest in your product, you shouldn't be in the business. The team hasn't earned my support. Major league baseball doesn't deserve my support.
The same goes for the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays. Those teams are winning this year, but there are too many empty seats at the stadium.
Baseball might be better off if some franchises go away. The players union fought a move to drop a couple teams a while back. It's time to re-visit the idea.
As for me, I just don't care any more.
