Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRapidsJackass
Armstrong's point yesterday: callers to sports talk shows are actually criticizing Hurdle's in-game moves, not just whining about how the Rockies are a loser franchise.
That means people are actually watching the baseball on the field. They are PAYING ATTENTION
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That's great for the casual fans in the city watching more games, but there isn't really a question about active message board posters and whether they are paying attention (at least usually).
We have been paying attention to this team for years. The key, though, is what should be the focus of the attention. What is making the biggest difference? What is a key to improving even beyond where the team is now? We should be beyond just proving to Mr. Armstrong that we watched the game with everyone else.
Somewhat understandably the attention always seems to be pointed at the hated owners, but at least now we should all realize that it is possible to win games on the field doing things the way the Twins & As historically have built steady, under-funded winners (and now Rockies amongst other historic examples). Maybe not preferrable, but certainly possible if you make good baseball decisions about talent. You may still hate them and their fiscal ways, but like always they aren't going anywhere anytime soon so it isn't going to change and at least we know good things on the field are still possible anyway to focus on. It never was "hopeless" but at least now there should be proof of that within the team itself, and remove a barrier some may have had to looking into possibilities on the field with greater attention.
Beyond ownership complaints, putting all the manager's moves into a microscope has been a popular source of attention. We've seen various managers move around from team to team with various levels of success mostly dependent upon the talent in any given place. We've seen managers who were on the hot seat to be fired early in the year turn things around to have some of the hottest teams in the game. We see "great" managers sitting at home now and "horrible" ones with some of the best chances of advancing in the playoffs with their teams playing great baseball. No matter what the manager move, it is still up to the players on the field to execute when they are up. I'm certainly not one to say that managers and coaches have no impact, as I think coaching plays a big role in overall development of a player, but I think that big picture improvements with your players outweight small in-game decisions as the players decide things on the field and there isn't a monumental difference between most managers anyway.
Any attention to the game from casual fans is fantastic as noted since it wasn't there before, but all the attention focused on a specific manager move in the middle of an 11-game win streak or something doesn't seem to be the proper attention to the situation and biggest impacts that are making the real difference that is worth paying attention to.