Let's say something nice
Posted September 12th, 2007 by Pat McManamon
Time to be nice.
And upbeat.
And positive.
And happy.
But not about the Browns, about the Cleveland Indians, who return 7-3 from a 10-game road trip.
This team played 23 games in 23 days, and won 17 of those games.
This is called peaking at the right time. Peter Gammons is clearly one of the finest baseball writers in the nation, and for those of you who don't get ESPN Insider I offer his thoughts on Cleveland today:
"Right now, the Indians have a lot going for them. They have been able to win against their rivals' best pitchers (Sabathia and Carmona went 6-1 against Johan Santana and Justin Verlander, the pitchers the Tribe had to beat). They have put '06 behind them with their response to the 23 straight games, the emergence of Asdrubal Cabrera and the promise that Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner will get hot sometime. It seemed a given that their starters would lead the league in innings and quality starts, but watching the finale in Anaheim against the team with the best home record in the game was even more reason for optimism. Seeing Aaron Laffey (16-5 between Double-A, Triple-A and the AL), rookie Jensen Lewis and arguably the best left-handed reliever on the planet, Rafael Perez (one extra-base hit by a lefty in two years with a slugging percentage under .140), handle the Angels was the kind of sign the Yankees and Red Sox have seen in Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz."
Gammons goes on to point out that the Indians are 23rd in payroll and have no significant free agents this offseason (his words).
Barring a collapse of major proportions, we'll be talking about this team in October. Which is kind of nice.
The one weird thing is that a first-place team has yet to capture the imagination of the fans. As of earlier this week, next week's series against Detroit had more than 10,000 tickets remaining for each game.
People are entitled to spend their money where they wish — perhaps on the new iPod or a new clock radio? — but this is one fine baseball team.
And yes, those are the kind of in-depth insights we seek on a daily basis.
September 13th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Maybe having two HOF sluggers who are nearing 500 career home runs would have captured the imagination of the fans this summer.
It looks like Manny won't make it in 2007, but I do wonder if teammates have ever passed that milestone during the same season.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I think that when the playoffs start the Indians fans are going to come out of the woodwork. We are going to win the Central division barring the Jake falling right through the ground and ending up in Lake Erie. Just wait until the celebration begins when we win the Central and people are going to go nuts. The fans are going to go just as crazy as they did in 1995 and 97. I don't think they truly believe just how good this team is because of the last week of the 2005 season when we fell off the face of the earth. Not this year! History is going to repeat itself only this year we are going to win the World Series. The fans will be screaming, some already are.
September 22nd, 2007 at 6:36 am
Fans who won't turn out for a team that has been winning all year don't deserve that team. Everything else is just excuses.
First, it was that the Indians got off to poor starts every year, but not this year. Still no fans. Then it was assured they would choke, but it hasn't happened. Now, they don't have enough star power? Please. They have two bonafide Cy Young candidates. Also, they had mega star power that you so crave the previous three years in Hafner and Sizemore — and the fans still didn't turn out.
October 1st, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Any fan who buys a single ticket, pays taxes, pays for cable television or watches television commercials "deserves" the team because they have already paid for it in one manner or the other. Major sports is a business, not a privelege.
I don't think it's so much the lack of stars per se that has led to mediocre attendance. This is the first time the Tribe has made the playoffs since the owners broke up the team to save money. It was supposed to be good business, but maybe it created enough ill feeling that it was actually bad business.
Whether the Indians made a good business decision or not when they decided to throw in the towel on about four seasons, blaming consumers because they choose not to buy a product seems like an odd perspective.