The Failo Mentality

[floplag]

I never used to consider myself a so-called failo, but right now, i guess i am.  Since the middle of last season when it became clear that they were doing a 180 on us, i have fallen into that realm.

I was never down when we were lovable losers that did our best and always came up short.  I was never down when we got the occasional star and knew we would likely still be looking up and the division.

I AM down now because it isnt necessary, this was a decision made by the front office on financial basis after telling us they would do whatever it takes to win.

We as fans supported this team with 2-3 mil tickets even when were werent this, every single year.  in the last 15 years we have had 12 seasons of over 3 mil in ticket sales and never under 2 mil in that time period.  We support the team thru good and bad.   You have to go back to the mid 90s for the last time we were under 2 mil in attendance. The front office has failed us, not the other way around. 

I understand the salary situation, i get it, weve made some bad deals, but that justifies throwing away 5+ years of the franchise to them over a few mil dollars we know isnt coming out of anyones pockets with the tv deal and tickets sales being what they are.  

We as fans dont deserve this.  Everything we needed was right there, all we had to do was bust the salary cap for a couple years, which would have likely been offset by added merchandising, playoff sales,  etc... 

Im angry, what can i say, there is ZERO reason the club should be where it is right now aside from greed, ZERO.  

[eaterfan]

56 minutes ago, Grit said:

I saw all these people from both sides getting crapped on in this thread and thought, "I gotta get in on this crapfest".

As a longtime Kings fan, other than brief windows here and there, I'm used to having playoff hopes die early.  That doesn't make me lose interest in the team, it just shifts from a win now perspective to a draft, young player development, who's showing character perspective.  

As long as the team is reasonably diligent about building the team in line with a coherent philosophy it's easy to root for a team no matter how things go awry.  Not understanding the philosophy or seeing management go against  the purported philosophy makes one feel that we as fans are getting sold a bill of goods.  That's what makes it hard for me to watch the Angels right now, lack of observable direction.   Well, rephrase that to an unclear philosophy of rebuilding the team with a viable longterm plan to fully utilize the gift we've been given in Trout.  I am an optimist and give GM's a chance until they soil the sheets and have high hopes for Eppler.  However, my confidence in Arte has eroded as he has Admiraled the sinking of the fleet.  While he is hopefully learning from his billion dollar mistakes, he should deprioritize attendance in favor or doing what is necessary to rebuild this organization from the ground up, whatever the cost (not free agent cost but the price you have to pay to fully optimize player scouting, drafting and development).  The more I see a coherent direction, the more I can get excited about the team regardless of what the current standings are.

 

I agree with your post but am even more optimistic about the rebuild chances than you.

Eppler has so far made no moves that force us to compete now at the expense of our future like signing a big LF in the off season. Same with signing a 2B, 1B or SP. A move that caused the "superfans" to be as negative as the "failos" are re: this team's chances this year. Arte stayed below the luxury tax threshold for this season will allow us to exceed it down the road without penalty. Also, according to IP they have gone after scouts and I assume front office types so while it may look like Arte isn't spending money he appears to be spending it on organization upgrades instead of on the MLB roster.

I can see your hesitance to believe it will happen because they didn't trade for any prospects int he off season but I think it didn't make sense to for several reasons. First, studies have shown that veterans value increases closer to the deadline because contenders are willing to pay more when they know for sure they are in the playoff hunt and their needs are more clearly defined. Second, it was worth seeing if things broke our way and we were able to be competitive without sacrificing the future. If everything broke right maybe this team could have won 90 games. Was it worth committing a 1st round pick and $200 million to Jayson Heyward to take that from a 5% to a 10% chance of that happening? No. But it was worth waiting until the deadline to find out. Finally, a non baseball reason is that it bought half a season with the fans before waiving the white flag. When the baseball and non baseball reasons both point to waiting to sell until the deadline then it's best to wait.

I would say start to start to become more pessimistic if the deadline comes and goes with no moves but honestly, so many of our trade pieces have gotten hurt. Street, Wilson, Nava, Skaggs, Simmons, and Richards. I'm also worried with how much the BP is being used that more of them will get hurt and they are the best trade pieces at the deadline.

[Adam]

The Braves are like 3-50. Are their fans Braivlos?

[LAA Road Tripper]

17 minutes ago, Blarg said:

The moths,  so many here don't have any clue what you are referring to.

 

 

 

 

Wow, the moths. Haven't thought about that in a few years. I can still remember the pool of cash growing from an entire section willing to observe some crazy college kid perform and whatever was going on down on the field being a total afterthought. I was thinking the guy got a little too eager and left too much money on the table before munching down, though. Could've made 50 bucks turn into 150 by selling it the right way. Fun times.  

[nate]

3 minutes ago, Adam said:

The Braves are like 3-50. Are their fans Braivlos?

They are just poor schmucks.

[mulwin444]

I remember being at a game in Sept 1992, which was another forgettable year other than it being Tim Salmon's first call up.  It was so empty that we would yell "Hey, Tim!"  and "Way to go Tim! with a nice echo from the right field stands and he'd turn around and acknowledge us.  

[Troll Daddy]

9 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

I remember being at a game in Sept 1992, which was another forgettable year other than it being Tim Salmon's first call up.  It was so empty that we would yell "Hey, Tim!"  and "Way to go Tim! with a nice echo from the right field stands and he'd turn around and acknowledge us.  

Good times ... I remember buying a cheap ticket and walking down behind home plate and sitting by Salmon's wife and having a brief conversation with her in his rookie season. 

[Ohtaniland]

16 hours ago, Stradling said:

As a baseball fan I was raised to be patient and understanding that during a baseball season there will be highs and lows.  So my question to all of the failos out there, if you have declared the season as over, what joy do you get from this great game?  We are less than 25% of the way through the season and yea, it has been rough, but there is a ton of baseball left to be played.  I can understand that there is a portion of you that have realistic expectations, but there are others of you that have said you don't even watch the games anymore.  There are some that have said we are going to suck for the next 5-6 years.  There are some that have complained that Richards has decided to put off surgery and opt for stem cell injections and rehab.  To me the beauty of the game is that on any given night any team can beat another team.  I love the fact that unlike other sports a team can truly grow throughout the season and become a team of destiny (not that I think we are that team this year).  So I guess what I am asking is if you have declared season over, what is the point of being a fan of a game that plays six days a week for six months?  We've all seen teams that have been bad come back and make the playoffs.  We've all seen really good teams shit the bed in the playoffs.  What is the harm in having a little faith or a little bit of hope?  Lastly, does a victory feel as good as a loss feels bad?  It would be cool if we can have a conversation about this, because to me, sure it is frustrating, but it is also fascinating.  

Most of the people who attend the games are casual fans who don't give a hoot about the standings where as 99% of the people here are more than that. If you want or expect everyone here to be 100% positive then change the domain name to MikeTroutWin.com because he is the team.

[Blarg]

57 minutes ago, nate said:

They are just poor schmucks.

They get new stadiums faster than the Angels get managers. 

[Jay]

To me a "failo" is an oddball who pretends to be a fan but is actually an Angels hater who actively roots for the team to lose, then posts their "complaints" here.

 

[Blarg]

44 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Most of the people who attend the games are casual fans who don't give a hoot about the standings where as 99% of the people here are more than that. If you want or expect everyone here to be 100% positive then change the domain name to MikeTroutWin.com because he is the team.

Thanks for the Canadian perspective. By the way,  when is the next women's soccer match at Montreal's Big Owe stadium? 

[floplag]

1 hour ago, nate said:

They are just poor schmucks.

but which team will be better sooner?  

[Jobu]

1 hour ago, Adam said:

If a fan objectively believes this roster is subpar and not competitive over the long haul, does that make them a failo? 

Are they wearing bitch panties? This is key.

[Blarg]

1 hour ago, LAA Road Tripper said:

Wow, the moths. Haven't thought about that in a few years. I can still remember the pool of cash growing from an entire section willing to observe some crazy college kid perform and whatever was going on down on the field being a total afterthought. I was thinking the guy got a little too eager and left too much money on the table before munching down, though. Could've made 50 bucks turn into 150 by selling it the right way. Fun times.  

Arte hadn't quite finished his marketing degree yet. But he wasn't a starving student! 

[mulwin444]

3 minutes ago, floplag said:

but which team will be better sooner?  

Have you seen the Braves 40-man roster?  

[Stradling]

Now we are having some discussion.  Of course I don't think we've sucked like Nate does over the last several years.  As IP pointed out we've averaged 87 wins even during our down time, that's pretty damn good.  

[nate]

Sorry but how is missing the playoffs 6 out of 7 years pretty damn good?  Pretty damn good was the run from 2002-2009.

[Jobu]

If you're talking averages, it makes sense to acknowledge the outlier that is 2014. Without it, the average is 83.

[Angel Oracle]

44 minutes ago, Blarg said:

They get new stadiums faster than the Angels get managers. 

No kidding, only 22 years will be spent in Turner Field before moving to their new stadium? 

[mulwin444]

20 minutes ago, Jobu said:

If you're talking averages, it makes sense to acknowledge the outlier that is 2014. Without it, the average is 83.

And if you take out the low-end outlier in 2013, you get 85 wins

83...85...87...you can give and take how much you want, I guess

For some, nothing less than a World Series Championship is acceptable...for them, the team hasn't been successful for the last 14 seasons

For others, its playoff series wins...or playoff victories in any capacity...or winning the division...or getting the wild card, which was the Angels' ticket to their first championship

For myself, I experienced the "desert" and the "oasis" - the highest highs (2002) and the lowest lows (1986) with this team since I can remember (1976), and, as bad as this year seems so far, its not so bad and it could be worse.  

[tdawg87]

As someone who suffers from depression, I know what feeling constant negativity is like. It's easier to be negative. You never get disappointed in anything.

I'm not suggesting the people you are referring to are depressed. I'm just saying that it's far easier to go through life being negative. 

I seriously doubt anyone here enjoys misery. It's just easier to expect the worst. As I mentioned, low-expectations = no disappointment. This may not seem like a good way to go through life but many people do. I do. 

Negativity is just another perspective. People who express constant negativity even in the face of positivity aren't necessarily enjoying it, it's just how they deal with things. I don't think anyone here truly enjoys seeing the team lose. Some just expect it and act accordingly. 

We are all fans here. It doesn't matter when you became a fan or how you act here. If you follow the team and post on their message board you are a fan. 

[Stradling]

Thanks tdawg

[floplag]

1 hour ago, mulwin444 said:

Have you seen the Braves 40-man roster?  

have you seen ours?  they just got a lot better influx in recent trades than we have, including from us.
If we are talking about that same 3-5 year window, their farm has to look better than ours which is regarded as among the worst in the game in a long time. 

[Docwaukee]

We got our taste early in our window of success with our only series victory right at the beginning.  From 2002 to 2009 we had the 3rd most wins in baseball.  Getting to the playoffs a bunch but never getting to relive the sweet taste of victory.  We've had the 9th most wins in baseball from 2010 to now and made the playoffs one time getting bounced without a win. 

The team hasn't sucked by any stretch.  They have been, by far, the most frustrating team in baseball during that time though.  Being just barely below what it takes to get to the next level.  That is a recipe for fan insanity.  It's been a slow water torture like decline with frustration mounting and people are getting increasingly impatient because in just 4+ years there is a decent chance the end is nigh.  

To me, a failo is constantly and repetitively negative which is different than the frustrated general fan.  A nutswinger wants you to believe in the team against your own better judgement that is telling you this isn't all that fun which is different than the mostly positive general fan who tries to see the good even though he/she is fully aware of the bad.  Like MT said, there really aren't very many on the extremes, but they seem to be a vocal minority on either side.  

[LAA Road Tripper]

45 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

As someone who suffers from depression, I know what feeling constant negativity is like. It's easier to be negative. You never get disappointed in anything.

I'm not suggesting the people you are referring to are depressed. I'm just saying that it's far easier to go through life being negative. 

I seriously doubt anyone here enjoys misery. It's just easier to expect the worst. As I mentioned, low-expectations = no disappointment. This may not seem like a good way to go through life but many people do. I do. 

Negativity is just another perspective. People who express constant negativity even in the face of positivity aren't necessarily enjoying it, it's just how they deal with things. I don't think anyone here truly enjoys seeing the team lose. Some just expect it and act accordingly. 

We are all fans here. It doesn't matter when you became a fan or how you act here. If you follow the team and post on their message board you are a fan. 

I watched ESPN's 30 for 30 on Cleveland over the weekend. That's the only city in America with at least three major sports teams and no championships in the last 50 years. Somebody mentioned that it can be difficult to do business there since there's a prevailing sense of pessimism. It got me thinking. What's the real difference between Cleveland and Pittsburgh? Both are rust belt cities, losing jobs to the new economy, not too far apart. But the contrast in psyche of the residents is huge and as insignificant as the subject of pro sports really is it's not a stretch to map that back to how the Steelers, Penguins and to a lesser extent the Pirates have done over the years compared to the Browns, Cavs and Indians.

Edited May 18, 2016 by LAA Road Tripper
grammar