Comments by "Itinerant Patriot" (@itinerantpatriot1196) on "Depressed Ginger" channel.

They'll always be the Indians to me, and I'm a Tiger fan. Getting Tom Hanks to try and sell that hideous name change was just more proof it was a sucky idea.
27
I remember the Seattle Pilots for one reason. Joe Sparma, a starting pitcher for my team, the Detroit Tigers, carried a no-hitter against them into the ninth inning. He gave up a hit and that was the end of that but the game was carried by the local station and would have been the first no-hitter I had seen, on TV or anywhere. Joe was known for being wild and I don't recall how many walks he gave up but he came close. Staying with the Detroit theme, who could forget the Detroit Wheels of the old WFL. They were bad even by WFL standards of the day. They were so bad the group of 32 owners gave up about midway through their one season in 1974 and the league took them over, charging each other franchise $60,000 to cover their expenses. They finally folded with six games remaining and held a draft for any team that wanted any of the players. I think maybe six guys got picked up by the other clubs. Interestingly, Mike Illitch, Little Caesar pizza magnate and future owner of the Red Wings and Tigers was part of the original Wheels ownership group, his first foray into professional sports. One thing, the Wheels made people feel a little bit better about the Lions. Not much, but a little.
6
Not only is Tropicana Field a crappy ballpark it's in a crappy area. I went to one game and the cops had no, I mean zero, clue on how to control the flow of traffic. They relied on our nororiously crappy traffic lights to control the flow and then spent their time yelling at drivers and chasing people out of the left-lane they needed to be in to get to the crappy parking lot because they were in an intersection, an intersection that didn't matter because they did such a crappy job in the first place and relied on crappy traffic lights. If I sound a bit redundant it's because that's how things roll in St. Pete. Florida is also known for narrow streets, especially in the older parts of a city which means they would have to tear down entire business sections to widen the roads to the point they could support large volumes of people. And then there is the problem of so many transplants like me living here. I'm a Tiger fan. Have been my whole life and will remain one until the day I die. The Bolts actually have the best homegrown fanbase in the Tampa/St. Pete area. Go figure, hockey is king in the heart of Dixie...eh. All we need now is Tim Horton's and Don Cherry. I know there is a plan in place to build another crappy ballpark in the same crappy area but they would be better served if they moved the franchise to Orlando. Or moved it out of the state entirely. Florida is all about spring training and minor league franchises. The market in the state can barely support one team let alone two. I may have given Tropicana a crappy review but crappy is as crappy does. That place sucks.
6
I've attended plenty of games at Comerica and I still feel like a stranger in a strange land. I miss Tiger Stadium, the old ballpark, a real ballpark. Comerica was poorly designed from the outset. That silly notion that creating a cavern would attract pitching was a half-baked dipshit idea and it only got worse from there. The old stadium had a cozy intimate feel to it. At Comerica you are far from the action even in a good seat. And that blaring cheezy sound system blasting out that horrible walk-up music. And bleachers. They purposely left bleachers out because of the rowdy fans they used to attract but again, that was part of the charm of the old ballpark. I spent many a fun summer night hanging out with the $2.00 crowd in center field. Sorry if I come off like an old curmudgeon but I miss the old days when it was about the game. These corporate bandboxes that get torn down after 30 years are ugly and cold. But you are right about the location. They really have no place else to build a new stadium unless they want to move out to the suburbs and that would take away the Illitch's precious foot traffic to the rest of the businesses they either own out right or are associated with down there. But that's just my take on it.
4
@johnwhite5485 You were there??? That's awesome! That Tiger team was the team of my youth, the team that made me fall in love with the game. You're the first person I have, well kinda met, who remembers that game. Not even my friends do. Way cool! Thanks for getting back to me. Old Joe was a bit on the wild side. Former starting QB for the OSU Buckeye's, but we didn't hold that against him once he was a Tiger. He started the pennant clinching game in 68, but he didn't get along with the manager Mayo Smith so Smith basically benched him for the World Series that year. He died young, heart problems. Sad end really. But he did get a ring. The good old Pilots. I imagine I had a few baseball cards from that team, I bought a lot of packs trying to complete my Tiger collection as well as the collectables from the 68 Series. Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA, Denny McClain's 31-6 record, Mickey Lolich pitching three complete games in the Series, beating Gibson in Game 7, the year of the pitcher. Way cool.
2
So, if a city pays half the cost for these billionaires playpens, are they entitled to half of the "brokerage fees" these teams get for all the off-the-books money that gets laundered through them on any given Sunday? 🤔Inquiring minds want to know.
2
@johnwhite5485 Indeed I do. Mickey Lolich jumping into Bill Freehan's arm at the end, even Gibson striking out 17 of the local heroes in Game 1. The riots of 67 did a number on the city, the Tigers brought us together in 68. What a time. I remember thinking at the time that Seattle got jobbed after only one season. I was happy when you got the Mariners. Ken Griffey Jr. What a stud. He went off on Sparky Anderson in 1990 for intentionally walking him one series damn near every time he came to the plate. They kissed and made up later. Sparky had a real soft-spot for the kid, considering he was always hanging around the clubhouse of the Big Red Machine. Best of luck this season, unless it's against us.
1
I have never liked Comerica but there really is nowhere else down there to put it. The only option would be to move to the suburbs and the Illitch's would never allow the foot traffic the place generates to their other businesses take a hit. As for Tropicana, I was under the impression a deal had already been done. That is what was reported down here. And they are going to put it in the same shitty location. I went to opening day this past season, my first and last game at that dump. The cops have no clue on how to control traffic and they rely on the notorious five-minute Florida red-lights to do the work while they stand around and yell at drivers for blocking intersections when there is nowhere else to go. I circled that area for close to two hours before I was finally able to get to a parking lot. It's a crummy stadium in a crummy area and it's too bad because they really do have a good team. I guess Tampa just didn't want to give up any of that prime waterfront to build a proper stadium. Truth be told, with all the transplants like me down here who root for other teams they'd be better off moving, but that's me.
1
I could see the team relocating to Nashville. There was talk about building a stadium in Ybor City but zoning issues and a lack of funds in the Hillsborough County coffers seem to have squashed that idea. He is right about how Tropicana's location sucks and building a new stadium in that same area doesn't make sense. I went to my first and last game there this past opening day. Traffic sucked big time and the cops were clueless on how to keep it flowing. Instead they relied on the traffic lights which anyone who lives in Florida will tell you are for the most part timed like crap. The roads around there are just too damned narrow and if you go you better prepay for parking or show up seven hours early because the little bit of parking available in the area sucks as well. Have I said the location sucks? I hate using the same word so often but I'm trying not to swear. Too bad because the Rays are a an excellent team. If they were located in the city I grew up in, Detroit, they would be drawing three million a year. But unfortunately we have the Tigers. That is a conversation for another day though. I do expect the Rays to be gone. If they can stay in Orlando, cool. If not Nashville is a logical spot. Forget San Antonio or Austin, or any other city in Texas. I lived there for nine years. Texas is football and NASCAR, or it was when I was there. Three MLB teams is too much for that market. Maybe Charlotte if Nashville peters out. But they will leave, bank on it.
1
Okay, I'll give ya the benefit of being young and reliant on MAGA clicks but this subject is so old it's biblical. Alberta has been burping out separatist threats longer than the crazy French part of Quebec. It ain't happening and no, Canada would not just stand back and say: "Okay, you win...eh. Go ahead and take our most valuable piece of real estate." Go to the flip side of the coin, how popular would a shooting war with our northern neighbor who also happens to be the country with the largest border be with the average citizen? Do you really think there would be some national clamor for a "Free Alberta" campaign as some kind of a manifest destiny revival? That people would say: "Sure, that sounds like a battle worthy of my son's life." Benefit of the doubt aside, your entire argument has so more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese. Hey, there's a thought. While we're pimping wars over Alberta, Greenland, and the Panama Canal, why not make play for Switzerland? I mean, how hard would it be to climb the alps and take on a fight with those guys? 🤔There, let me the first to declare a "Free the Swiss" campaign! If I seem a bit overly sarcastic, it's because sometimes that's required. And no sonny Jim, I am not a lefty. Don't worry though, I won't be back, not even for a chuckle.
1
I can see Tampa relocating to Orlando. St. Pete is not a good spot for a ballpark. The traffic control is crap and the parking situation outside of the reserved spots is lousy. The roads are two, maybe four lane in spots and the cops rely on the lights to control the flow which, as anyone who lives in Florida will tell you, is a dumb idea because the lights are timed like crap down this way. I'm not following the logic of moving Jacksonville to Austin and moving the Texans out of Houston. Houston was very loyal to the Oilers. I can't speak to the current situation since I moved out of Texas a while ago but having a team closer to the Cowboys fanbase is, well just not a bright idea. Oklahoma City, maybe. As for the Chargers, they never should have left San Diego. They actually started in LA when they were an AFL franchise and figured out pretty quick LA is primarily a baseball and basketball town. The Rams left and I'm not sure people really cared too much. It's not the kind of city that will support two NFL franchises, at least not based on what I've observed over the years. But what are the Chargers going to do, tuck their tale and move back to San Diego? Seemed to me they had a solid fanbase, not sure how they'd feel about welcoming them back though. Maybe they can go to Oakland. Al Davis would roll over in his grave, that alone would make it worth it.
1
Someone else already touched on this but the location itself is a problem. I went to my first game there this year and it was opening day so you figured the traffic would be bad but it was a flipping nightmare. Unlike other parks that have plenty of big private lots the private parking lots around that stadium are small. There is plenty of parking near the stadium but as I mentioned, getting to it was a bitch. The roads leading there are two lane and the cops were clueless when it came to sorting things out. They relied on the traffic lights which, if you know Florida, are timed like crap. They could have and should have taken charge that day but they didn't. If they stick around, they would be better off going to Tampa but even then I'm not sure by how much. Orlando will probably be the landing spot. I'll admit, I'm not a Rays fan but there are a lot of us who have relocated in the area so it's not uncommon to see a lot of fans for the visiting team, even though the Rays are a very good ballclub. As far as the stadium, I thought it was goofy. Describing it like an amusement park is a good descriptor but then again I grew up in a town with an old ballpark so I guess I'm biased. It is a lot better than the Rogers Center or whatever they are calling that mess in Toronto these days so that prevents Tropicana from being the worst park I've been to but I digress a bit.
1
The main thing to keep in mind is that politics has replaced religion for a lot of people on the left. Our public education system spent decades pushing left-wing causes as virtuous and proper and right-wing causes as evil and mean. The left also invested a lot of time and money running God out of the public square. The thing about God is if you tell Him you don't need Him He will say okay, you're on your own. C.S. Lewis out it best: “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.'" Combine that with a 24/7 bombardment of hateful messaging where talking heads tell their audiences that it's the people, not the ideas or viewpoints they hold, who are bad and what other outcome would you expect. This digital age, where everyone gets to take part in the hate-fest, brings out the worst parts of human nature. Our dialogue has become coarse, people have become closed-minded, and now you have to accept the entire program without question or you aren't part of the clan. The vast majority of these people carrying on about wanting to kill the president wouldn't know how to fire a BB-gun. And they wouldn't have the nerve to try. But there are enough out there, people with murder in their heart, who aren't afraid to try anyway. There is a demonic force at play. Look at that trans cult going around killing people in the name of...well themselves. We exist in these echo-chambers where group-think is mandatory, critical thinking is seen as heresy, compassion is seen as weakness, and getting along with the other side is seen as betrayal. We are entering a cold civil war. Will it turn hot at some point? I hope not. Even politicians make casual remarks on the floor of the house about a national divorce. Divorces are messy on a one-to-one level. A divorce at a national level? Be careful what you wish for Dorothy, you just might get it.
1