The gloves are coming off..
I have been biting my tongue on the Indians for quite some time now, but I simply can't do it anymore. Some things need to be said.
First of all, here's a tip for Indians management. As Cleveland fans, we have been through the ringer more than a few times. No other fan base is more equipped to deal with disappointment, and while we don't like it, we can handle it.
So don't try to Butch Davis us around and spin fantastic tales about the status of the ballclub. Mark Shapiro scolding us about getting too excited and not "seeing the big picture" is doing nothing but insulting our intelligence. You want a big picture Mark? How about 30,000 empty seats each game in September if your "brain trust" can't figure out a way to win some freaking ballgames? How's that big picture for you?
And Eric Wedge, I see you trying to sneak away from me. As for you and your incessant "it's such a long season" preaching. Just STOP! First of all, are you trying to tell us something? Is the season too long for you? Are the Indians not giving you enough vacation time?
All jokes aside, while Wedge is so busy calming the masses, his team has already dropped 15 Central Division games. Hey Eric, you don't get those games back!
It goes so much further than the 23-25 record. The team's play on the field reflects the very lackadaisical lack of urgency their manager maintains during press conferences and interviews.
Back to Shapiro for a minute. In the interest of full disclosure, I must say I was a strong Shapiro supporter at one time. I did not set my couch on fire when the Tribe traded Colon or even Alomar. I recognized the need for rebuilding and reloading the organization of prospects.
But this past offseason has really raised some questions about Shapiro's baseball acumen. I feel some lucky jackpots early in his stint have brought about an arrogance that is ultimately leading to his demise.
Shapiro struck gold a few times early on, such as the Colon trade and stealing Hafner from the Rangers for Ryan Drese and Einar Diaz. Prospects like Hafner, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore made such an impact, people hardly noticed how badly he missed on others moves such as signings of Scott Stewart, Jose Jimenez and Ricky Gutierrez.
To make things worse, his gamble on Kevin Millwood coming off an arm injury paid dividends and it appears Shapiro started believing his own press clippings. It all came to a head this offseason.
He arrogantly traded a "heart and soul" guy in Coco Crisp for a "can't miss" prospect who is doing a whole lot of missing at Buffalo right now. To make it worse, he replaced Crisp with an unproven crap shoot in Jason Michaels, who is about as special as yellow mustard. (I don't care what his on-base percentage was in 250 at bats last year. There is a reason Philly wasn't playing him)
Shapiro felt since the Millwood deal worked out so well last year, certainly he could strike gold on another rehab project and replace one of the best set-up men in baseball (Bob Howry) with Guillermo Mota. Yet another move that has fallen as flat as a Jason Davis fastball.
The Shapiro/Wedge team, combined with an absurdly cheap owner, seems to be on a path to destruction. Nobody seems to be happy, not the fans, not the management and not even the players.
Jhonny Peralta and Ronnie Belliard have the same look eighth graders have sitting in algebra class. Vic Martinez almost seems to be begging to be moved from catcher with each opponents stolen base. Now he can't hit or apparently run hard to first base on ground balls anymore.
The whole thing is a mess and there is plenty of blame to go around. There is no way a guy like Kenny Rogers should be wearing a Detroit uniform. Those are the kind of signings that takes a good team to the next level, not the dynamic duo of Paul Byrd and Jason Johnson.
All I know is we are coming to a critical point as Tribe fans. I know turning your back on the home team should always be the FINAL option. But are we close to that option? In 2002, we were promised great things (i.e. contending and championships) starting in 2005. Well 2005 came and went. Are we supposed to be content with a mere 93-win season and no playoffs?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not ready to go back to 77-85 seasons again. If a miserable season and countless empty seats at the Jake is going to force front office and personnel changes, then sobeit. A message needs to be sent to the organization.
This isn't the movie "Major League." We sold out 455 straight games when this team was a legitimate contender. Don't give us this small-market crap company line. The Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins and Oakland A's all have higher payrolls than the Indians this year, along with 20 other teams.
We have two other professional sports franchise owners in Cleveland that seem to have a genuine interest in winning. If Larry Dolan and the Indians refuse to join the group, then I am left with little choice but to wash my hands of them.
First of all, here's a tip for Indians management. As Cleveland fans, we have been through the ringer more than a few times. No other fan base is more equipped to deal with disappointment, and while we don't like it, we can handle it.
So don't try to Butch Davis us around and spin fantastic tales about the status of the ballclub. Mark Shapiro scolding us about getting too excited and not "seeing the big picture" is doing nothing but insulting our intelligence. You want a big picture Mark? How about 30,000 empty seats each game in September if your "brain trust" can't figure out a way to win some freaking ballgames? How's that big picture for you?
And Eric Wedge, I see you trying to sneak away from me. As for you and your incessant "it's such a long season" preaching. Just STOP! First of all, are you trying to tell us something? Is the season too long for you? Are the Indians not giving you enough vacation time?
All jokes aside, while Wedge is so busy calming the masses, his team has already dropped 15 Central Division games. Hey Eric, you don't get those games back!
It goes so much further than the 23-25 record. The team's play on the field reflects the very lackadaisical lack of urgency their manager maintains during press conferences and interviews.
Back to Shapiro for a minute. In the interest of full disclosure, I must say I was a strong Shapiro supporter at one time. I did not set my couch on fire when the Tribe traded Colon or even Alomar. I recognized the need for rebuilding and reloading the organization of prospects.
But this past offseason has really raised some questions about Shapiro's baseball acumen. I feel some lucky jackpots early in his stint have brought about an arrogance that is ultimately leading to his demise.
Shapiro struck gold a few times early on, such as the Colon trade and stealing Hafner from the Rangers for Ryan Drese and Einar Diaz. Prospects like Hafner, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore made such an impact, people hardly noticed how badly he missed on others moves such as signings of Scott Stewart, Jose Jimenez and Ricky Gutierrez.
To make things worse, his gamble on Kevin Millwood coming off an arm injury paid dividends and it appears Shapiro started believing his own press clippings. It all came to a head this offseason.
He arrogantly traded a "heart and soul" guy in Coco Crisp for a "can't miss" prospect who is doing a whole lot of missing at Buffalo right now. To make it worse, he replaced Crisp with an unproven crap shoot in Jason Michaels, who is about as special as yellow mustard. (I don't care what his on-base percentage was in 250 at bats last year. There is a reason Philly wasn't playing him)
Shapiro felt since the Millwood deal worked out so well last year, certainly he could strike gold on another rehab project and replace one of the best set-up men in baseball (Bob Howry) with Guillermo Mota. Yet another move that has fallen as flat as a Jason Davis fastball.
The Shapiro/Wedge team, combined with an absurdly cheap owner, seems to be on a path to destruction. Nobody seems to be happy, not the fans, not the management and not even the players.
Jhonny Peralta and Ronnie Belliard have the same look eighth graders have sitting in algebra class. Vic Martinez almost seems to be begging to be moved from catcher with each opponents stolen base. Now he can't hit or apparently run hard to first base on ground balls anymore.
The whole thing is a mess and there is plenty of blame to go around. There is no way a guy like Kenny Rogers should be wearing a Detroit uniform. Those are the kind of signings that takes a good team to the next level, not the dynamic duo of Paul Byrd and Jason Johnson.
All I know is we are coming to a critical point as Tribe fans. I know turning your back on the home team should always be the FINAL option. But are we close to that option? In 2002, we were promised great things (i.e. contending and championships) starting in 2005. Well 2005 came and went. Are we supposed to be content with a mere 93-win season and no playoffs?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not ready to go back to 77-85 seasons again. If a miserable season and countless empty seats at the Jake is going to force front office and personnel changes, then sobeit. A message needs to be sent to the organization.
This isn't the movie "Major League." We sold out 455 straight games when this team was a legitimate contender. Don't give us this small-market crap company line. The Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins and Oakland A's all have higher payrolls than the Indians this year, along with 20 other teams.
We have two other professional sports franchise owners in Cleveland that seem to have a genuine interest in winning. If Larry Dolan and the Indians refuse to join the group, then I am left with little choice but to wash my hands of them.
posted by Jon Sladek at 9:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home