Phil Castellini surprised that Opening Day tickets still unsold

[Wonderful Monds]

Ok, so never rooting for the Reds again no matter what. Then, just out of curiosity, why do you still come here? I mean, I honestly hope you stay as you are one of my favorites on this website, but if you despise the Reds, are not following the Reds, will never root for the Reds again (even if they win 100 games and win a World Series, which yes is a fantasy), then to quote my signature, what would you say ya do here?

I’m here mostly out of habit I guess and because there are people I consider e-friends here. Beyond that? Idk, I guess I’m second in command behind FCB in the role of “disgruntled observer”

I mean never say never I guess, but bare minimum until this team sells to an owner that clearly is committed to winning, I don’t trust them and I’m not wasting my time on them anymore. I’ve got too much going on in my life for that. This is a hobby at the end of the day, it’s supposed to be fun, not an exercise in misery and frustration. And starting another “hey maybe if we’re lucky, in 3 years….!” cycle is just that.

No more Castellinis and I might be willing to wear a wishbone C hat again and spend money on this organization. But not until then.

[Falls City Beer]

Believe it or not, I’m pretty much average when it comes to disgruntled fans. I’m still here after 26 years of futility. Thousands of fans have vanished and never returned.

I won’t pretend to understand the mind of someone who looks at this franchise and gives it the benefit of the doubt. Some people are just congenitally sunny regardless of the reality on the ground. I’ve never understood it, but vive la difference.

[Bob Sheed]

I used to be a pretty hardcore Cincinnati Bengals fan. Mike Brown's milking the franchise in the 1990s (so he could buy the team outright), killed that off for me. Which, now, is kind of good and kind of bad.

When the Bengals stink, I go find something else to do and don't think much of it. But, also as a result, when they are doing really well like they are now, the ceiling of enjoyment I get from that is far far lower than before. Basically, Mike Brown's scam in the 90s sucked all the highs and lows out of being a fan, for me.

I say that because I think Reds ownership is borrowing from the 1990s Mike Brown playbook and it is slowly having the same effect on me. I'm not there yet. But every year I bail out a little earlier when things start going south, from a game standpoint and a season standpoint.

This is why I think there is a special place in hell for owners of entities that have fanbases, that use that ownership to milk the entity instead of produce the best product possible. If you want to buy KMart and use it as a tax write off or whatever... fine. No one is rooting for KMart. But when you buy a sports franchise and bleed it for profit by producing an inferior on-field product, I'm sorry but that makes you a terrible human being.

They are basically profiting by robbing fans of positive fan experience. That's what it comes down to.

[RedTeamGo!]

Believe it or not, I’m pretty much average when it comes to disgruntled fans. I’m still here after 26 years of futility. Thousands of fans have vanished and never returned.

I won’t pretend to understand the mind of someone who looks at this franchise and gives it the benefit of the doubt. Some people are just congenitally sunny regardless of the reality on the ground. I’ve never understood it, but vive la difference.

I actually don’t give the benefit of the doubt to the Reds. At this point I expect them to be mediocre pretty much every year. I just can’t not have hope and I can’t quit watching and following. It’s difficult for me to separate the Reds as a whole and how much I like some of the players and truly believe there is a lot of talent coming up soon. I want to be clear: I didn’t ask monds that question because I want him to leave the site forever, I really do mean he is of my favorite posters on here. Believe it or not I’m glad you post here as well. At this point I acknowledge there’s more wrong with how I feel about the Reds than how you or Monds feel. I’m the broken one.

[BCubb2003]

The hardest thing to do in baseball is to fire the owner. If there’s anything productive to do, it might be to turn the conversation toward who should/could buy the team, and how to change the many-cooks ownership structure.

[wolfboy]

Another poverty PR piece from the Enquirer: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/new...ry/9514001002/

They really want you to know that Bob doesn't have as much money as other people.

[westofyou]

Another poverty PR piece from the Enquirer: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/new...ry/9514001002/

They really want you to know that Bob doesn't have as much money as other people.

He doesn’t, but then again other teams aren’t owned by thirty other individuals either. Maybe the Enquirer should focus on the ridiculous ownership structure and how that affects payroll

[Sea Ray]

He doesn’t, but then again other teams aren’t owned by thirty other individuals either. Maybe the Enquirer should focus on the ridiculous ownership structure and how that affects payroll

It's the market that affects payroll. Not the ownership structure. We've got a $100mill payroll in a rebuild yr. We're not the kind of market that can handle a top ten payroll

[Redhook]

As Cincinnati sports fans, we’ve had a tough and mostly miserable run for approximately 30 years. But, if you grew up in Cincinnati like most of us probably did, it’s almost impossible to quit something that is part of you no matter how frustrated they make you feel.

[RedsManRick]

As Cincinnati sports fans, we’ve had a tough and mostly miserable run for approximately 30 years. But, if you grew up in Cincinnati like most of us probably did, it’s almost impossible to quit something that is part of you no matter how frustrated they make you feel.

Even if you grew up in Columbus & Dayton, moved out of state at age 8, out of country at 32, and have no other baseball fans in your life (let alone Reds fans), it's still almost impossible to quit...

[REDREAD]

Idk man, people really started to tune out during the last tank cycle. In 2018, by like June or so, it was rare to find a bar or restaurant with the game on around town. I think they’re at risk of that again depending how the next year or two go.

That's true. Columbus sports bars were even worse.
They would have random sports talk shows on and other filler during Reds games during the tank cycle.
In 2020 and 2021 when the Reds were more respectable, they started putting the games on again.
You had to ask a waitress to put the game on one of the 40 TVs.. even when there was almost no other sports even on.
I suspect that if the Reds take a nosedive, they will stop tuning them in again.

[REDREAD]

Another poverty PR piece from the Enquirer: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/new...ry/9514001002/

They really want you to know that Bob doesn't have as much money as other people.

More nonsense.
The Reds revenue was cut due to covid.. yes.. but their expenses were dramatically cut too.. Prorated player salaries, no minor league expenses, other layoffs and cost cutting measurers.

So Bob is getting his puppets in the press to write more articles about how the Reds are just a poor small market team and he's putting back every cent he makes into the team.
Oh yea, and in 4-5 years, the team will be "rebuilt" again and maybe they will be good by then.
He just keeps going back to the same lies.
It will be interesting to see this years' attendance numbers.

[GAC]

Does this mean we'll be able to get a seat at the Moerlein House prior to the game?

[wolfboy]

More nonsense.
The Reds revenue was cut due to covid.. yes.. but their expenses were dramatically cut too.. Prorated player salaries, no minor league expenses, other layoffs and cost cutting measurers.

So Bob is getting his puppets in the press to write more articles about how the Reds are just a poor small market team and he's putting back every cent he makes into the team.
Oh yea, and in 4-5 years, the team will be "rebuilt" again and maybe they will be good by then.
He just keeps going back to the same lies.
It will be interesting to see this years' attendance numbers.

Second one in the last week. Jason Williams had a predictably mediocre piece singing Bob's praises and warning of the bogeyman that is out-of-town ownership.

[KronoRed]

Second one in the last week. Jason Williams had a predictably mediocre piece singing Bob's praises and warning of the bogeyman that is out-of-town ownership.

They also had a puff piece from Andy Furman with the same boogeyman who will move the team crap.

Full court press on treating Cincinnati fans like idiots.