Despite the high likelihood that the Red Sox aren't going to be any good this year - would it be indelicate to say that they're going to SUCK? - I am looking forward to the baseball season.
Oh, I'll likely miss turning on their first game, as it's against the Mariners and doesn't start until 10:10 p.m. And I'm sure I'll be turning off plenty of games part way through, sick of watching them flub around. Plus I'm mega-annoyed that I won't be enjoying (m)any games at Fenway. Yeah, I am going to Noah Kahan (VT singer-songwriter) night - a night game in April (night game in April? what am I thinking?) - but that's mostly because my niece Molly is a mega-fan, and she's turned me into a NK fan, as well. (At least there'll be a bobble-head.) But other than that, I have no plans to pay good money - highest ticket prices in the MLB! - to see bad ball. And it ticks me off that I won't be enjoying the anticipation of a game at "America's Most Beloved Ballpark," the great pleasure of walking out to Fenway on a nice day or evening, the equal great pleasure of walking home (especially if they picked up a W).
I just refuse. Even to get tickets for the Patriots' Day Game, the only morning (11 a.m. start) game they play and my most beloved game of the year, even though it means navigating Boston Marathon crowds and crazy security. I'm way too mad to pay ticket prices that are even more exhorbitant than last season's exhorbitant ticket prices.
If they hadn't raised their prices, I'm sure I'd have bought tickets for a couple of games already.
But this year, nah.
(And it didn't help my mood that, compounding last summer's news that Mookie Betts, contrary to what Red Sox brass had to say, wanted to stay in Boston, Fred Lynn recently said that, contrary to what the previous Red Sox brass had to say way back in 1981, he didn't want to get traded. Nor, Fred added, did Carlton Fisk.)
Grousing aside, I'm reluctantly looking forward to the start of baseball season.
God know I could use the diversion.
But a diversion I wasn't looking for was the Olde Towne Team taking the field in see-through pants that make up the lower half of the new MLB regulation uniforms.
The Nike-generated, Fanatics-produced uniforms have been dubbed "performance jerseys" by commissioner Rob Manfred and were used at last year's All-Star Game. Many players admit to a lighter feel to them but have issues with the look.
Because the fabric is lighter, [MLBPA executive director Tony] Clark said it's a "challenge" to have bigger numbers and letters -- hence complaints that the back of the jersey looks "amateurish," according to more than one player. And some say the eggshell color of the pants -- the fabric is the same as last year -- is creating a see-through vibe. The fit has also come into question.
After visiting over a half-dozen spring camps in Arizona, Clark is getting a clearer picture of the complaints.
"A lot of the rhetoric is confirmation that the pants are see-through," Clark said. "It's been an ongoing conversation where each day has yielded something new that doesn't seem to make as much sense as you would like it." (Source: ESPN)
Overall, while there are plenty of complaints about all aspect of the new look and feel, the biggest issue is the pants.
Anyone who's ever put on a pair of white pants has worried about transparency. Do those flowered undies show through? Should I wear white panties or beige? Will beige make me look like I'm going commando?
But the bottom line on these baseball white bottoms is that seeing the tucked-in shirttails through the sheer, filmy pants fabric is super cheesy and unprofessional looking. And if those shirts come flying out during the course of a game, well, lookout below. (Or DON'T look below, or anywhere near.)
MLB/Nike/Fanatics say that, by Opening Day, they'll make good on satisfying the players' desire not to live with the potential that their junk will be on display, even if the junk is veiled in a jockstrap or protected by a cup. Meanwhile, players are digging out last year's pants, and at least one team is planning on going shopping for new duds at Dick's. (Seriously? Dick's? No comment.)
MLB has done some good things. I like last year's changes (pitch clock, runner on second in extra innings), as they're speeding up the game.
But, as with everything else in the world, we're always looking for more transparency when it comes to whatever organizations that impact our little lives are going.
This is just not the transparency anyone had in mind.
Didn't anyone hold this fabric up to the light at some point???
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