Has anyone noticed that Pittsburgh has become a farm team for the Boston Red Sox? Jason Bay went there last year, this season it’s Adam LaRoche. Next season who will it be?
Meanwhile, there's a lot of smoke out there about the Indians, which means there might be a fire somewhere. FOX points out the Indians thinking is changing, which indicates they might be losing their reluctance to make a trade. it lists several teams pursuing Cliff Lee.
Boston apparently is still pursuing Victor Martinez, though nothing seems imminent. There’s also a hint in Gordon Edes’ story on Yahoo that Tampa Bay is “working on” acquiring Lee.
Do the Indians want to be a farm team for all of Major League Baseball? They won’t be if they get a group of legitimate players in return, some of whom can play in the majors right away. Lee has been too good to trade him for prospects.
The same seems true of Martinez. If the Indians do trade Martinez they’d best receive some true, major-league-ready talent in return. Because trading two of the team’s legitimate players will not do much to bolster the team’s standing with its fans.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
the indians are already a farm team. they have been since they blew the alcs to the sox. what good are prospects when the organization can't develop most of them?
the cleveland indians renaissance is over.
It won't matter if they get prospects for them because Wedge won't play them anyway. He wants veteran "grinders" because that's what he was during his illustrious career with the Sox. If we do get some prospects I hope they send them to the minors so next year when our new manager is in charge, maybe, just maybe he will use them correctly.
No matter who they would get for Lee/Martinez, the Tribe's "standing with its fans" won't improve until Shapiro and Wedge are gone. So don't trade them Dolans so that you have some assets for your new GM and field manager.
How can we ever forgive Dick Jacobs for not signing Manny because he didn't want a huge contract to interfer with his selling the team or in his case 'fleecing' the Dolans even without Manny.
I wish it was the 31st already… I will still never understand why they do this, trade valuable veterans away for prospects they will farm out to other teams in the end.
Why doesn't anybody here ever discuss the real issues of the day? All this badmouthing, and yet Pat doesn't have the guts to acknowledge the Taco Bell dog just died. What a disgrace!!!
Oh, and Tim, if you ever read the Plain Dealer, you'd realize that Jacobs is a sacred cow. The guy is now living the high life at least six-feet-under, and they're all still terrified of him (and now his squirrely son Jeff). Although, this gives me an opportunity to post a copy of the obituary that *should* have been written by the Terry Plutonian saps who kissed that guy's rear end both during his life and after his death. Indulge me here, Pat, I could never stand Jacobs, I could never stand the fawning complicit media, and most importantly, the genesis of the vast majority of so many of the Indians' current problems still lie with him:
"Dick Jacobs – He Loved Money, But Also Life
Roldo Bartimole – June 5, 2009
Death is the great equalizer. Even multi-millionaires have to participate.
It is not optional, as Woody Allen once said, Americans seem to believe.
Dick Jacobs was well-regarded in Cleveland because he helped the Cleveland Indians win a couple of American League pennants and go to the World Series. For that, many believe he was “good for the town,” as they say. He gave it some spirit when it needed it.
He was a tough and smart businessman. When he wanted Italian marble for Jacobs Field’s loges, he got marble despite warnings they would break. They did break.
A very rich man, he once told a City Club crowd that baseball player salaries were “obscene.” He was right, of course. But he neglected to mention the profits of owners. They could be even more obscene.
I called him a Socialist for his comments that day. The proof. What he said.
He called for wealth sharing among teams by income redistribution. He favored a cap on ballplayer incomes. And he, as I would agree, called million dollar salaries “obscene.” That spelled socialism to me.
I wrote “Jacobs is socialism’s stellar star – the top recipient in the county, thanks to people like Voinovich, White, Hagan, Boyle and Petro.” They gave him breaks wherever they could.
Dick Jacobs once said “I believe in the quantum theory of profits to the nth power.” He lived by that motto.
He became a multi-millionaire by building junk as America went on its consumer binge. He built the strip malls and then regular malls. Hardly the stuff of heroes.
Ironically, this consumer trend helped to destroy American cities.
But they made a lot of money for some people.
The best insight into Jacobs for me came when he had to appear before City Council in December 1989. Jacobs had to answer questions about legislation for some $120-million in tax abatements he desired. It would help subsidize his proposed Ameritrust bank building and a Hyatt hotel. He’s also would get another $20 million in zero interest loans. (The project, never built, left the west side of Public Square a parking lot since.)
Council members were looking for something in return from Jacobs for all these gifts. They wanted something to be able to say, “We got a return of your money, voters.” It would be a fig leaf for cover.
Jacobs was irate.
Here’s the way I described the situation in the Cleveland Edition in 1989:
“Dick Jacobs – looking much like Scrooge – sat red faced, silent and sullen as he refused to budge from his I-can’t-give-anything stance.
“Council, looking for a bone to hide behind, begged for something its members could say, “Hey, we got something, folks, for your $122-million gift to Scrooge.”
Jacobs made clear that he wasn’t happy he even had to answer questions. (He came with the mockup of the development in a black garbage bag, a sign of his disdain for the city’s legislators.)
I went on:
“A serious George Forbes – who is said to have had his own private dressing down by an angry Jacobs for the messy (1989) primary campaign he ran – tried cautiously at one point to test Jacobs for a $3-million pledge to neighborhood development projects.
“What would you say to that, asked the Council boss of the multi-millionaire developer?
“The answer shot back, sharp and rebuking. It came out in short bursts, ending in a threat.
“’Bye, bye, Pasadena. No way. There’s no deal. It’s not in the deal. It’s as simple as that. The figures are here for everyone to see.’
Jacobs was angry.
“And then the warning. A threat to walk away.
“’The patient is breathing heavily. Don’t kill it,’ said Jacobs.
If it were a bluff, no one called him on it.
A deal eventually was made by a few Council members at a private luncheon. Jacobs promised he’d lend some money to neighborhood groups. Penny ante stuff.
I remember as Jacobs left the hearing room with his black garbage bag the television cameras were outside the door waiting for Jacobs to make a comment or two. They expected him to stop and talk. Foolish people.
Jacobs rushed right by. He wasn’t talking to anyone else. I tried to get in front of him to delay him, but found myself being butted against the corridor wall by his son, Jeff. He said, “Leave my father alone. He’s an old man.” I didn’t see it that way. He was 74; I was 66. (Correction: He was 64 and I was 56).
Jacobs never did answer a question. He hurried away with his entourage.
Jacobs got huge financial aid from the city, including tens of millions of dollars in tax abatements, no-interest loans and a deal – kept secret until a lawsuit – that gave him an inside at the Chagrin Highlands development, rich undeveloped land.
Most of this public generosity came from Mayor George Voinovich and Council President George Forbes at the city, but also from County Commissioners Tim Hagan, Mary Boyle and Jim Petro via Gateway.
Jacobs bought the Cleveland Indians in 1986 for some $40-45 million, sold it for some $320 million in 2000. He got the most out of the new stadium, mostly publicly funded. He saw the downside and got out.
He apparently lived life fully from what reports I’ve heard.
However, he hasn’t been a very charitable man. Hopefully, he will prove a better citizen with the disposition of his wealth.
Over the years, I have looked at tax returns of Cleveland Indians Charities but never saw his name as a contributor.
I saw Albert Belle contribute $58,000 one year; Travis Fryman, $50,000; and remember similar contributions from Ellis Burks and C. C. Sabathia, and smaller amounts contributed by many players.
Jacobs, however, revealed his need to be remembered well by the plaque he required when he sold his East 9th & Euclid property to Cuyahoga County. Another bad deal for the public.
In the sales agreement a statement on a metal plaque was required to be placed on whatever building might be constructed on the site. The exact wording was stated in the agreement. It was to say:
“In recognition of over 50 years of endeavor and achievement, the Board of Cuyahoga County Commissioners, on behalf of its citizens, gratefully acknowledges the significant contributions of Richard E. Jacobs.
“Mr. Jacobs has consistently and selflessly devoted his insight, skills, and resources to the development, redevelopment, and preservation of Downtown Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. This complex, which includes the historic Rotunda, symbolizes the legacy that Mr. Jacobs has established through his leadership in development and owning many of this County’s major commercial, retail, and recreational facilities.”
There will be no plaque outlining what Richard E. Jacobs TOOK from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County."
Thank you for pointing out what I've always felt was painfully obvious: The Indians are in the current mess because of Dick Jacobs. What, he wasn't rich enough? So he had to cripple the new owners financially?
Those who hold Jacobs up like some kind of hero or savior don't know the facts. The man basically drained every last cent from this franchise, then he walked away. And died. And we're left with this quagmire we may never escape, all because of one man's enormous greed. That's the real truth, folks.
Bravo Alan. I didn't like the guy from the very beginning when he refused my 12 year old son an autograph at the Wahoo Club after he and Dick bought the team. This is an awful thing to say but did the wrong Jacobs brother die first?
Excuse me after he and David bought the team.
Wow, Alan, that was the best roast job of a dead Indians owner I've ever read. It totally eclipses the rant I launched into when Gabe Paul died, and this hapless friend of mine went into the whole "He-kept-the-Indians-in-Cleveland" crap. In between wiping spittle off my chin, I remember frothing about the Chris Chambliss trade to the Yankees, and countless other idiocies inflicted on us by that New York-loving toolbag. (Oops, is "toolbag" a blocked word on this blog?)
Egad, but this blog stuff is revealing. Who the hell is this guy Alan T? What a memory . . . . . . . he's got a lot of good words . . . . and he writes with authority . . . . . . I wonder what he can tell us about Larry and Charles Dolan . . . . . and poor Mark Shapiro.
Who am I, Robert M. Kraus? Apparently you've never seen any of the Batman movies or the Batman TV show. Thank goodness my secret is still firmly intact, I was a little concerned at first.
Whether fans want to believe it or not, this statement is true: THE DOLAN FAMILY CARES MORE ABOUT THE CLEVELAND INDIANS THAN DICK JACOBS EVER DID.
The Dolans told us from Day 1 that they are lifelong fans of the Tribe, and they've opened their checkbooks for the highest payrolls in team history. Cheap? No way. But after Jacobs fleeced them, they've had to be realistic in their spending. Other recent teams have been World Series champions with HALF of what we spend.
It's not that our owners haven't spent. It's that our GM's business plan has been flawed from the get-go. And Shapiro is the best PR guy in the biz in making himself sound brilliant—a man with "a plan." Trouble is, there was little talent to complement the plan.
i've never had a problem with the dolan's spending. they've had the team in the middle of the pack. a reasonable level for the payroll.
i dared pluto over at the peedee to flesh out a comparison-the trajectories of the 2007-2009 colorado rockies vs. the cleveland indians. the rockies have a lower payroll than the tribe and the teams were very similar in performance until about 2 months go during that time span.
this is where my problem with the dolans comes in. colorado didn't cash the season in a month into the schedule. they made a change and it worked. now, they took betancourt off the tribe's hands for table scraps. i can't respect the dolans for letting shapiro and wedge run the team into the ground because they don't want to be stuck paying two g.m.'s and two managers. it's choking the life out of the franchise and a miracle is going to have to take place to revive fan interest.
It's been years since I've gone to an Indians game. Way too long a round-trip drive for me. I do miss those days when I would buy the very worst ticket in the house, and then my buddy and I would watch the game from box seats.
Question: Are the Indians now one of the baseball teams doing that politically correct and excruciatingly unbearable and evidently permanent destruction of the 7th-inning stretch by shoving "America the Beautiful" down everybody's throat?
that "america the beautiful" crap was the beginning of my intense dislike of current mlb. good people all over the world die an undeserving death while bud selig continues to live. there is no god.