Aceves booted off 40 man roster

[Station 13]

Hmm what could Cherry be up to? A trade? Adding Bogaerts once the team is back home? Edited July 15, 2013 by Station 13

[Mr Tibbs]

Lots of moves up and down lately. Maybe guys are tired, or we have the talent in Pawtucket to swap out when someone goes into a slump (WMB)??

[a700hitter]

Maybe his injury is worse than we suspected.

[Bellhorn04]

Maybe he was insubordinate in that game, wouldn't be a shock.

[Thunder]

Man I miss Theo... He wouldn't be doing this.

[Bellhorn04]

Man I miss Theo... He wouldn't be doing this.

 

? Please explain.

[MJantomaso]

Man I miss Theo... He wouldn't be doing this.

 

sarcasm?

[italstallianion]

Maybe his injury is worse than we suspected.

 

Actually, according to MLBTR it's exactly the opposite. Aceves is saying he has an oblique injury and may be injured for the rest of the season whereas the Red Sox don't think he's injured. I believe Manny Ramirez was the last player to pull something like that, but he's a HOF caliber player whereas Aceves has been god awful the past few years. I was a huge fan of Aceves a few years ago (from his time with the Yankees to his first year with us) but now his production hasn't been good enough to mask the fact that he's a total dick.

[jung]

Probably a dispute over starting vs relieving. Aceves is unscrupulous and a total jerk. The number of total jerks in baseball seems to be rising exponentially. Beware PA, between the nitwit owners, the commish, the umps, the networks and your constituents somebody is going to slay the golden goose. Once dead, that sucker will be hell to raise up again.

[mvp 78]

Fans don't care about jerks as long as their jerks are winning.

[italstallianion]

That's why we tolerated Beckett and Youkilis when we won the World Series and that's why we're happy with Lackey now.

[Bellhorn04]

I doubt that the jerk population has actually increased much over the years. It's all about the information we are privy to, that's what has increased exponentially.

 

I mean, before "Ball Four" came out I doubt too many people pictured Mickey Mantle leading his teammates on Peeping Tom excursions.

[italstallianion]

Not to mention everything we heard (true or not) about Ty Cobb.

[mvp 78]

Players may feel more "entitled" these days, maybe that's what jung was getting at?

[jung]

And it is true that fans don't care about jerks as long as their jerks are winning. But the truth of it is that the big four pro sports can't really survive on the hard core fan. The NHL has probably done the best job at surviving on the hard core fan. In truth, the Stanley Cup playoffs offer so much drama, draws in so many casual fans and lasts for something like 40% of a full regular season that the NHL really lives and dies on its playoffs.

 

MLB ratings are not growing and in fact have been in decline since 2007. MLB attendance is not growing this year either but attendance grew from 2004 through 2012. We all know that the 2nd WC was dreamt up as a means to keep attendance growing and it seemed to work for the one year anyway. This year attendance is also down. We don't notice that much cause we are in one of the major markets for MLB. But MLB can't survive on those major markets either.

 

Attendance is up in ten markets and down in twenty with the total down by 1,500,000 attendees already. Miami is the big loser accounting for 500,000 fans. 2nd WC seems to be a pretty short lived boost. Interleague seems to have lost its luster as well. The last rounds left in the gun are variable and dynamic pricing. Once all teams have instituted one plan or the other, there is little left for MLB to do to boost attendance.

 

The real deal is rating though. Ratings have been in decline because TV viewers have several entertainment options to choose from in the comfort of their dens and MLB is just not capturing enough of their attention. TV is really tough as even hardcore fans have got to learn how to glean as much of what they would get about the intricacies of the game from the mighty tube as they would get being in the stadium. In order to do that, you actually have to teach yourself what to look for from the mighty tube and you just have to resign yourself to not being able to get as much from the TV experience as you would get being there. Heck, casual fans don't know enough about the actual game to make that transition. The key to ratings is likely computer integration and enhancement of the TV experience as a means of actually bringing the TV viewer more than what he can get in the stadium. Clearly it won't be the same but you could still envision the ability to get more from the tube than you would from being there.

 

If you are wondering, attendance is down in Boston. Tells you that you can be exciting as hell but it takes a long time to reverse a trend. Hence my comment about killing the golden goose and taking some time to revive that sucker if dead.

 

The worst thing that can happen to pro sports is the idea that the fix is in. Even wild cards are tough for pro sports to take. So, blind umps and PED's are negatives big time both because they dampen the betting interest and because they dampen casual interest. Nobody wants to spend 3.5 hours invested in a game to have some jerk umpire blow a call and turn the whole thing on its ear. Nobody wants to read a week later that the guy that hit the walk-off is juicing either. That is the problem with jerks be they juicing jerks, incompetent jerks or unscrupulous jerks. The game takes too long and casual fans just won't give it that much time only to be foiled by the jerk factor.

[Behindenemylines]

I'm surprised Aceves lasted this long. He cleared waivers so the Sox aren't the only team that doesn't think he is worth the trouble. With chemistry being a big part of the success so far this season, and Aceves not producing like he has in the past its a wise decision that the Sox don't want the head case in Boston.

[seabeachfred]

I've wondered about that Stallion. From what I've heard over the years Beckett was pretty much a competitive lion and hard ass on the mound and a pretty good clubhouse guy back in '07 when he carried the Red Sox to the title. I also heard that when he came to ST in 2008 featuring an enlarged gut he brought a different attitude with him. Youk was Youk; everything about him was intensity. OTOH, Aceves seems to have been a prick at each stop and now he pulled this "injury" game on us. All in all it is hard to tell where competitive fire starts and plain *******ism takes over. I will grant you and others that by the time we traded Josh he was pretty much a dickweed.