tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post3885058146065903396..comments2024-03-16T08:21:16.037-04:00Comments on The DiaTribe: As the Dust Settles - Starting AnewPaul Cousineauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-19101462540008904122009-08-12T21:13:04.580-04:002009-08-12T21:13:04.580-04:00I apologize and stand corrected:
http://mlb.mlb.c...I apologize and stand corrected:<br /><br />http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090805&content_id=6264300&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle&partnerId=rss_cleJasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08631006365916798557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-46033119667003104122009-08-09T14:36:10.186-04:002009-08-09T14:36:10.186-04:00Nitpicky? Perhaps. I just think that is one litt...Nitpicky? Perhaps. I just think that is one little thing that keeps this from being the best-written as well as the most-informative Tribe blog out there. I think Paul is a better writer than that and it is just a rut thing.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08631006365916798557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-15506896499572422912009-08-09T07:49:01.392-04:002009-08-09T07:49:01.392-04:00You're underestimating Sowers, who has a bette...You're underestimating Sowers, who has a better chance of making the 2010 rotation than Carrasco. it will be very interesting to see how things develop - this is a rotation that could surprise the heck out of everyone, or be even worse than the worst critic can imagine. the most important guy is Carmona.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13953768790569389148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-77203990495767942052009-08-08T03:10:49.365-04:002009-08-08T03:10:49.365-04:00hey, spills, could you post that Insider article o...hey, spills, could you post that Insider article on here if it's no problem? thanks.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12554323845469390779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-53015700533739869442009-08-07T17:11:40.178-04:002009-08-07T17:11:40.178-04:00spills, i'm not advocating standing pat and ma...spills, i'm not advocating standing pat and making a run with the current (as of a week ago) team. i'm not saying the twins built a powerhouse. and i'm not saying drafting talent is easy.<br /><br />my problem is with the message that i should happily put my time and money into this organization when success is measured by 2 good seasons out of 5 and 1 playoff appearance. i'm being given a bunch of excuses as to why they aren't succeeding (in my eyes, not theirs apparently), b/c its not fair, and money doesn't grow on trees, and the economy sucks, and the evil big teams. all this by the person who expects me to put my ass in a seat, buy a few lids, and maybe a jersey, so i can watch them meet their expectations... which happen to be failure, mediocrity, and the occasional success story (if everything goes right and the bugs attack at the right time).<br /><br />here's a thought, sack up and say you failed. tell us that you had a plan, a good plan that was well thought out and made sense given the factors both in the league as well as the local area and its economy and sports landscape. you felt you had the best management team in place to formulate and execute that plan. and the plan didn't work, it failed due to poor execution. bad decisions were made. bad breaks happened. and what you are going to do is go back and evaluate the hows and whys. what led to those things happening. and put measures in place to try and prevent them in the future. evaluate things and modify the plan as necessary (such as unloading valuable assets at their peak value), and get back to work at ensuring we achieve our lofty goals.<br /><br />but none of that was said. dolan got up and tried to sell a rebuilding effort as success. their plan crashed and burned and "that's as good as it gets".<br /><br />have fun at the cell. if you've not been in a while, get the brats on the 1B line-they are excellent. the beer stand there no longer serves good beer, if you're looking for it. i was offered tickets and turned them down.Cy Slapnickahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10109399114263980881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-73630222607379733362009-08-07T16:17:55.216-04:002009-08-07T16:17:55.216-04:00Cy, now that I've extricated myself from the f...Cy, now that I've extricated myself from the filth that is Gary, IN, lets roll.<br /><br />First, for the Twins comparison. Since 2001, can you name one of those years in which the Twins could be argued as the best team in the Majors? Or, even as a team that could have gotten on a hot streak a la the '06 Cardinals, or even the '08 Phillies? I'll give you one year, Liriano's rookie campaign ('06), which ended with them being swept in the first round of the playoffs.<br /><br />What's that you say? The Tribe has two more playoff victories than the Twinkies since '01? Oh, right.<br /><br />If everything breaks right (i.e. Westbrook, Hafner, and Fausto signings don't blow up), then the Indidans can compete year in and year out. Otherwise we can sit back and watch a few years of mediocrity, and hope that our "draft" will restock us with enough talent to make another run for the title a few years down the road (ask KC how this strategy is going). Or, we can leverage the talent we currently have, blow everything up and take another extended shot as a legitimate contender for best team in the AL two years from now. The Marlins seem to have this down to a science.<br /><br />Next, big markets and the drafts. This is the article that began to swing my feelings on the trades: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4375672&name=olney_buster. If no insider, I can post it on here later.<br /><br />If there is no problem with the draft, then why was there ever a though of the Nationals passing up the best pitching prospect of at least this past decade? Oh right, because they didn't think they could afford to sign him. A 21 year old collegiate pitcher with 0 MiLB innings let alone MLB innings is looking for $50 million guaranteed. <br /><br />This is the extreme example, but look through the drafts, and you will see mid-round draft picks signing for more money than picks multiple rounds before them. Typically this is due to signability concerns from smaller teams. If you have more money coming in up top, you can afford to spend more on prospects who probably have a 20% chance of making an impact in the majors 5 years from now.<br /><br />And, as for middle management, there is always room in life for an exception. The perception I receive from the Indians, is that they are a team of decision makers. Every once in a while, you happen to run into a well run organization. They have made mistakes (draft, bullpen, evaluation of major league free agents), but seem to recognize these mistakes, and work to correct them (targeting of low A high ceiling propects, targeting young, hard throwing bullpen arms, Wood and DeRosa).<br /><br />The Eric Wedge era has run its course, and it has come time to slot in some new blood. But, I have come around, and may even go see Masterson shut down the chiSox tomorrow night.Spillshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08413824903442574052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-61966701074738533622009-08-07T12:33:47.380-04:002009-08-07T12:33:47.380-04:00spills, i gotta say, Dolan's comments made thi...spills, i gotta say, Dolan's comments made things even worse. first off, this beauty made me want to vomit:<br />"Every four or five years, if we can have a shot at the World Series like we did in '07 and compete for the playoffs like we did in '05, that's as good as it gets, and that reflects well on our personnel."<br /><br />Dolan, do you care to discuss the Twins then? I think your fans are well aware of their accomplishments, considering they are IN THE SAME DAMN DIVISION! <br />Since 2001 they've had one losing team. They've either won the division of finished a few games back except when the Sox ran away with it and we did (still playing competitive baseball). Their attendance is close to ours and they play in a shopping mall! It may be a bit better b/c people come b/c they win. And they are currently constructed to contend for the foreseeable future. I suppose next we hear from you, you'll be crying that you can't compete with them b/c the Vikings had another boat trip, they don't compete with Lebron, and Target Field's beer is colder than the Jake's?<br /><br />And in case you haven't noticed, everyone is hurting financially. Don't blame the economy on your inability to run a business effectively. The economy didn't make all the bad personnel decisions, go into 2008 with a wounded closer, sign a Japanese gay-porn star, or draft your players. What are you, General Motors? "Oh, the economy, that's why we are failing..." Fix your business or move on, jackass.<br /><br />And speaking of drafts, don't cry about the big markets ruining the draft. Its not the Yankees fault we've drafted buckets of balls for the past 6 years.<br /><br />When running a business, you need to spend money wisely to make money. If you spend it unwisely, you'll likely lose money. That's how it goes. Deal with it. If you're not going to invest wisely in the infrastructure required to produce a winner, year in and year out, you'll likely continue to lose money and/or see your market share decrease.<br /><br />Don't treat us like we're idiots. <br /><br />And Spills, you'll eventually learn, the middle guys always take the bullet. Executive management and ownership blames them, fires them, and brings in new management to fail under their poor leadership. The fact that Dolan let Shapiro flounder and then came out with his weak excuses just makes me care about the Indians even less.<br /><br />I'm bright enough to realize they had a plan that seemed sound, made some bad decisions and the plan failed. Figure out why it failed, why good decisions weren't made, and fix it or come up with a new plan.<br /><br />Either way, I won't accept being told to expect 2 good seasons out of 5, one playoff appearance, and a bunch of poor decision making as reality. The reality is, Dolan, you just told one of your primary revenue streams that you don't want their money. Jackass.<br /><br />slot slot slot slot slotCy Slapnickahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10109399114263980881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-16073659564224414402009-08-07T11:43:54.287-04:002009-08-07T11:43:54.287-04:00Jason, a little nitpicky, don't you think?...w...Jason, a little nitpicky, don't you think?...we should slot that last part of that comment to A-ball.Rockdawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15392724225649893240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-5642646211468697722009-08-07T10:41:50.083-04:002009-08-07T10:41:50.083-04:00I just wanted to stop by to let you know that I re...I just wanted to stop by to let you know that I really appreciate the analysis you provide. When I talk to my print media-dependent stepdad in Cleveland he has no idea what I'm talking about half the time. He had never heard of Wyatt Toreagas or even Hector Rondon. I really appreciate how your hobby helps so many of us stay in the know.<br /><br />I do have a stylistic favor to ask, however. Could you please not use "slot" as a verb quite so much?Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08631006365916798557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-13419436677779252332009-08-07T08:13:16.940-04:002009-08-07T08:13:16.940-04:00Just wanted to comment on the management of the Tr...Just wanted to comment on the management of the Tribe one more time. After spending my first year truly under middle management, I have to say that the way the Tribe has handled this post-deadline period is sadly refreshing. <br /><br />How many other upper level managers would have let their middle-guy (Shapiro) take the bullet in public? Sadly, I fear that this is the exception in real life, rather than the rule. The fact that the Dolans have come out this week and taken the PR hit for publicly confirming this as a salary dump is... again, sadly, refreshing.<br /><br />I swore off the everything Cleveland Baseball last week after the trades, mostly not due to the fact that I knew the rebuild was not coming, but more so due to the fact that I had hoped it would not come for another year. But I am slowly coming around to the kool aid again. I honestly hope that they will take the money saved next year from Vic and CP's contracts, and invest it in the draft rather than any kind of possible free agents over the next few years.<br /><br />And that is likely my final diatribe for the season.<br /><br />Side Note: 10:1 odds of a Larry Dolan cutout inhabiting the clubhouse, with each win placing another piece of clothing on his "la naturale" body...Spillshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08413824903442574052noreply@blogger.com