Baseball has had five years to fix this, but it's only gotten worse. Finally, it has hit home. It's not just that the Reds will go to Sarasota this year with little or no chance to win the division. They'll go every year with the same chance. It becomes a night out.
Baseball is dinner and a movie.
When your team aspires to .500, it ceases being worth your heart, unless you like heartburn. You might still go, to cheer a favorite player or watch an opposing star or simply because you enjoy the game. But you won't be there shivering with pennant fever. You won't be at a game in August watching the scoreboard. When hope is derailed because it costs too much, your passion fades.