Browns' Town

The Tribe did it again last night as they pulled victory from the jaws of defeat through persistence, solid bullpen work, and surviving a Wickman 9th. My buddy Dozer, who was among the 17,000 actually in attendance (his estimate, not mine), said that the standing ovation that the team received after coming back to take the lead in the 1st was like nothing he's ever seen at the Jake. This from a guy who STILL wears a Thome jersey regularly and has Chief Wahoo on his ankle. It must have been a pretty special moment, which could've been more special if more than 20,000, much less 40,000, people were there.

I'm not going to harp on attendance much more, but please don't ever tell me that Cleveland is a baseball town and that 455 consecutive sell-outs proves anything. I remember mocking Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and (particularly) Atlanta for not selling out playoff games, thinking, "How could people be that nonchalent about an exciting baseball team". Well, it's happening here, so let's hope that the Jake is filled if the Tribe makes the playoffs in 2005.

With Katrina dumping water on the North Coast and Tuesday's game cancelled (with Wednesday's game very much in question), I thought that I'd share a letter written to Bud Shaw, in response to his column in Tuesday's PD. The letter was written by serial poster Cy Slapnicka and articulates many of the issues that I'm having with the support that this team is receiving, both from the fans and the local media.

Bud,
After reading your column today, I have a question. How was it a throwback night? Was it because they came from behind to win or was it because they won based on runs and not pitching?

This team is completely different than the 1995 Indians. They embody the word team. They are well rounded and seem like quality people. While they have taken some time to gel, the result is far supierior to that of the late 90's Indians. Not to take anything away from that team, as I still fondly remember that summer working as an usher at games and watching them hit the cover off the ball. However, that is the past and I've moved on to the new team. The Kool-Aid Shapiro is serving tastes like wine.

I find it a lot more fun to watch Grady evolve into one of the best players in the AL. Jhonny Peralta has shed Omar's shadow and become his own brand of SS. The class clown Hafner brings a constant threat to the plate and a smile to everyone's face. Boone's bat has reappeared to complement his glove and leadership. And of course, there is the pitching. Bob Wickman wears his heart on his sleeve and as Joe Ladd (wickman's warriors) said in an ESPN article, "He looks like he's from my neighborhood." Kevin Millwood has shown this staff what veteran leadership is, both in the clubhouse and on the mound.

I am tired of Cleveland media comparing this team to the team of the late 90's. Can we just embrace this team as its own and get over 1995? What is not to like? Yes there are flaws, but the Indians of 1995 had theirs as well. And why hasn't the media questioned the faith Indians fans? Where have they gone? Is it because the novelty of the Jake has worn off? Did we ever have that many fans or was it just the thing to
do at the time? Its obviously not good baseball that will lure them to the park.

How can the PD not be interested in this? If attendance at Browns games dropped off to 30,000 a game (their play warrants it), I can only imagine the media uproar. Especially if that continued even after they started winning. I am not sure if you or anyone at the PD will respond to this (I've grown used to responses from Beacon Journal writers). But I'd be very interested to hear why you aren't writing about some of these things.

Why isn't this a big deal and why are there only fluff pieces on this? Lets face it, the Indians are a good baseball team and are contenders, yet the fans refuse to come. That's not worth writing about?

Well said. I'll let you know if he gets a response.

Rumor has it that Todd Walker may be coming to town, which is fine with me as an extra bat off of the bench and glove in the field.

While most are excited that Walker can also play 1B, did you realize that Broussard, after a hot stretch, now has the 9th best OPS for 1B in the AL, ahead of Morneau, Millar, Erstad, and Hatteberg? The position is certainly in line for an upgrade next year, but let's remember that when Benny gets hot, he adds another run-producing bat to an increasingly potent lineup.

Wednesday is the last day that the deal can go down though. With the second trade deadline on Wednesday and rosters expanding on Thursday, how could you not love this game?

I'll work in the "building through FA" vs. "building from within" soon.

Pronkredible

Was anyone else waiting for Foulke to walk off the mound, mouthing the word, "WOW"?

In the words of Dozer, "I love Pesky Pole."

What Have I Done?

After witnessing all 4 games of the current 4 game losing streak, I am seriously banned from the Jake for a while. I was so upset at my role in the losses, I spent the drive home figuring out what I have been doing differently or what I can do to change the luck. The decision was made that the new belt that I had gotten last Sunday and had worn to all the games was the culprit. As I held the belt over the trash can last night, I said, "what the hell am I doing?" Had I become that superstitious that I truly think that I can change the outcome of the game?

I wondered where this philosophy could have come from. It couldn't be those countless Browns games when nobody could change seats if the Browns were winning and HAD to change seats after an interception or a fumble, could it? During the Browns-Jets OT playoff game, my father didn't let my friend's mother (who was at the house watching the game) leave our downstairs bathroom for the whole OT, because "it would ruin the momentum that we had going". In retrospect, how insane is that? But it made perfect sense to everyone there at the time. During the Tribe-BoSox Game 5 in 1999, me and my buddy C-Badd changed seats 3 times during Pedro's pitching performance to see if we could "change things up a little bit". My buddy Dozer's family are big Illinois fans and he said they switched seats over 10 times during the Final Four games. Maybe it just makes us feel like we're doing our part to bring home the W.

I think that in Cleveland (where the only "luck" we've ever had is bad), it's amplified. I hear conversations of people that say that LeBron is certain to leave, but maybe if they get a LeBron jersey, it'll change the mojo to make him stay. As if, one Saturday as the cashier is bagging a 23 jersey in Great Northern, LeBron (sitting at home in Bath) will have this revelation come over him that he should stay in Cleveland. It's such an insane premise, but normal, intelligent people subscribe to these superstitions every single day.

I remember this one TV movie when I was a kid called Tiger Town, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086439/, with Roy Scheider (the guy from Jaws), with the premise being that this little kid's favorite player was this washed up vet (Scheider). When the kid went to the games, and prayed real hard when Billy Young (Scheider) came up, Young would always go yard. The movie ends with the player finding out about it, and the kid not making it to the big playoff game in time, but the player hits a homer to win it at the end, without the kid's help.

It's a ridiculous movie, but there I was, about 7 years old, whenever the Tribe was up at old Municipal, head in my hands, deep in prayer. Never worked for the Indians teams of those days though.

What's wrong with us?

On a Tribe note: Let's be patient and see how they close out the homestand. They should've touched Milton up for a ton more runs and it should not have been that close at the end. There is no production coming from the corners.

On a Cavs note: The draft is rapidly approaching, they've cut ties with Traylor and Harris (no argument here), reportedly almost traded Gooden for Kurt Thomas, and are trying to deal Jiri Welsch to get into the draft. One question: WHO'S MAKING THESE DECISIONS? Wouldn't it make sense to have someone in place WELL before the draft and the Free Agency period begins?

Interestingly, they showed on the scoreboard that yesterday were birthdays for George Vuckovich (remember how he always made his hat fall off?) and Doug "Special Delivery" Jones (what a horrible nickname).

I'll recount the conversation between me and my wife about what's wrong with Cleveland sports fans tomorrow. I promise to be nowhere near the Jake tonight.

Fresh off a Rehab Stint

After a wild week and a half, it's time to talk Tribe (despite the 2-4 start to the road trip). A few thoughts as I've been watching the last few games:

• The Juan Gonzalez thing was a fiasco only in that the media had hyped him up to be the savior of the offense. Had the offense been playing RELATIVELY decently, it would have merely been a blip. It was ridiculous though, to see him pull up lame on his first at-bat! I was watching the game and had just finished saying something to the effect of, "if he could only stay healthy." Manning's reaction was classic with an understated "Oh, no..." as the camera wasn't even on Gonzalez. Manning's always good for an articulation of what Joe Fan is thinking. Even my bride said, "Did that really just happen?"
• It sounds like there's more to this Eddie Murray thing than meets the eye. Ever notice that Easy Eddie NEVER sat with the "Brain Trust" of Wedge, Bell, and Willis (if you can call that triumverate a "Brain Trust")? He was always off near the camera bay with his big head, surly disposition, and great mustache. I don't think he ever got along with Wedge, but was protected by his friendship with Shapiro (Shapiro's father was Murray's long-time agent). The season had reached a breaking point with the offense, though, and changes had to be made. It's not like Luis Isaac (who I think still throws BP) was going to get the blame.
• The loss of Buddy Bell doesn't concern me that much (remember we did OK after he left in the 90's), though I'm still not 100% confident in the Atomic Wedgie as a manager. I understand that the bunt is discouraged in the Moneyball world of the Tribe front office, but NOBODY can execute a simple bunt. One huge difference between the White Sox and the Tribe on offense (both are near the bottom of the AL in team offense) is that the White Sox do the little things to manufacture runs. I know that these are terms heard often, particularly this year, but the series in Chicago could not have made it more obvious.
• I'm becoming more resigned to the fact that the Indians are the 3rd best team in the Central. They were beaten by both the Twins and the White Sox, with a lot at stake this early in the season. All of the games are close, but they don't count ties, close games, or moral victories in the standings.
• I think that changes are still to come. My buddy Dozer thinks that a trade needs to be made to shake things up. But who? Nobody wants Boone or Blake, and I can't see Shapiro trading one of the players who is actually producing (Broussard, Gerut, Belliard), so I don't know what can be done. It's not as if the team is one bat away from ripping through the month of June; the problem is deeper than that. Unless Derek Shelton turns out to be the hitting coach equivalent of Leo Mazzone, I don't see this offense doing a 180 anytime soon.
• To Shapiro's credit, he recognized the need for a RH bat this offseason. Let's go through the checklist and the results: Boone (oops), Gonzalez (ouch), Blake to a long-term deal (oh man). Who's going to be the right handed stick in this lineup? Belliard? Peralta? Everyone is either a lefty or a switch hitter.

That's enough venting for one post, though there's still a lot on the table here. I know that the tone was rather negative, but it's hard not to be when you watch the good ship Wahoo go down like this.