I can relate to these comments. I am an even older vintage (current age 74) and now I have a lot more time to follow and stew on a baseball season than I did during those years when family and professional responsibilities were much higher priorities. There were years when my biggest sports related concerns were how to give 16 6 year olds equal time in a 4 inning tee ball game or how to get 3 girls to soccer games on time in different parts of the city.
Before I had all of those responsibilities I had a much more optimistic outlook for the teams I rooted for. Maybe it didn't hurt that my Dad was a native New Yorker who rooted for the Yankees. So I rooted for both the Braves and Yankees during a period when both teams were regular contenders with multiple future Hall of Famers
I am now several years past the point that I concluded that the chances of the Brewers winning a World Series in my lifetime is significantly lower than 50% because of the competitive disadvantage of the small market teams.
Because the Brewers winning the division or just making the playoffs isn't as exciting as it was in 2008 and 2011 I am now focused on the next goal, and I critique the team from that perspective. I don't get into the daily bashing (often second guessing) of the manager and players. But I am scarred by the disappointments of the past and have a hard time getting past the "here we go again" feeling when things get rocky.
It would be interesting to know the ages of some of the posters here and what life experiences they bring. Following baseball was a lot different when you didn't have every game on TV with dozens, if not hundreds, of statistics and measurements being thrown around telling you what you should think about what's going on. That stuff might be great for professionals trying to evaluate players for their organizations. But in the hands of young amateurs they probably make them think that they're smarter than they really are.