Shut your fucking yap

I always find this time of baseball season the most mind-numbingly stupid. It's when all the sports pundits won't shut the fuck up about how some players are clutch and others just can't get it done in the playoffs. It's when all the fans get to act like their team is the center of the universe, and we see the idiots make asses of themselves.

I think that there is really no better example of this than with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are good. Really good. Baseball Prospectus predicted this, stat heads knew this, and your average ESPN pundit didn't realize it. So they kept saying stupid shit about the Rays - they're scrappy, this has been a magical season, etc. That's a load of shit. The Rays are a fantastic collection of talent, and they'll keep being good for many more years. They've developed the best farm system in baseball, and they've ensured that the AL East will probably be the toughest division in baseball.

Now, the AL East didn't used to be good. Hank Steinbrenner thinks it was, but the AL East was just the Yankees for about eight years. Then the Red Sox got good, so now there were two good teams. Now the Rays are a powerhouse, and the Blue Jays are getting better every year. Only the O's continue to suck outright.

While the bullshit surprise about the Rays and Hank Steinbrenner's crybaby shit is hilarious, what's even better is listening to Red Sox fans. Yankees fans are just pissed that they didn't make the playoffs.

But Sox fans are pissed that this new team is challenging them. They're pissed that a team that can't sell out it's ballpark during the regular season is making it.

Here's the thing: we really shouldn't expect there to be a large fanbase for the Rays. They spent years sucking. And the old ownership didn't give a shit about fielding a good team or caring for fans.

Look, the Red Sox have had a lack of postseason success over the years. But they've also been a pretty good franchise. They've fielded winning teams for many years. They're a century-old franchise that hase developed many lifelong fans. Lifelong Rays fans are in Junior High School right now. And that's alright - twenty years from now, there will be many lifelong Rays fans. They'll sell out whatever new ballpark they build. Good teams do that.

There was a time when the Astrodome had awful attendance. It was the pre-1997 years, when the team hadn't made the postseason since Nolan Ryan was pitching. Ownership sucked most of those years, until Drayton bought the team.

But a decade of postseason appearances and a lack of pro football in Houston made the city a baseball town. The Astros don't sell out every night, but they do fairly well considering how awful the teams have been since 2006.

It will be the same with the Rays. They'll do well, build a fanbase, and sell out stadiums later. Right now, though, it's kind of no-win situation for Rays fans. If they don't go to games, they're bad fans. But if they do go, then they're bandwagon fans. I suppose they can take solace in being a better team than Boston, though.

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I'm watching the ALCS right now, and it occurs to me that Boston is roughly as white right now as the 2005 Astros. Remember that? I remember taking shit for that on the internet - the only minorities were Zeke Astacio and Willy T. A big deal was made about the fact that Houston didn't have any black players. All Boston has is Coco Crisp. Whatever.