Comments on: Manny Acta talks Indians at the winter meetings http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/2009/12/10/manny-acta-addresses-the-indians-at-the-winter-meetings/ Musings on the world of sports Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:17:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Miguel http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/2009/12/10/manny-acta-addresses-the-indians-at-the-winter-meetings/comment-page-1/#comment-10500 Miguel Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:20:58 +0000 http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/?p=5093#comment-10500 This sounds like Browns-speak and it scares me. A total disconnect from who you really are leads to poor short term decision making. If you believe your team is going to win the division, then you make very different moves than if you are thinking this is a rebuilding year. And if you are thinking it is a rebuilding year but saying otherwise, then that leads to a lot of upset fans and PR damage that could easily have been avoided. Hey, I am actually interested in the Tribe this year. I think if they could get some real solid pitching from all the bodies they have, then the lineup will be good enough to win some games (but likely not the division)---maybe. But I sure as hell would not be planning on that if I were the Indians. I'd be planning on developing the young guys, and then if we end up surprising and contending, great. But I sure wouldn't be making any moves based on that premise, and I damn sure would not be telling the fans that we have a good chance to win our division, because lying to your customers (or yourself) is never a good idea. Be honest and the fans will deal with it. Blow smoke and they will crucify you. The Tribe should take a lesson from the Browns, who are finding out all about that now after all the BS they spewed in the off season about this team being closer to the 2007 team than the 2008 team (when it turns out they were closer to the 1999 team). The Browns lied to the fans, or were clueless about who they were, and the fans are justifiably pissed off about that. It means they are either liars or incompetent. But had they been upfront and prepared the fans for a long season, things might not be nearly as ugly as they are right now. It would be a shame to see the Tribe go down the same road, because I still believe that Mark Shapiro is a good judge of talent and can turn things around. I think he's done a great job for a guy working with one arm tied behind his back because of payroll. So, it would be sad to see the Indians generate fan enmity when there is no reason for it. No one is expecting contention this year, so why not let us be pleasantly surprised rather than bitterly disappointed (again)? This sounds like Browns-speak and it scares me. A total disconnect from who you really are leads to poor short term decision making. If you believe your team is going to win the division, then you make very different moves than if you are thinking this is a rebuilding year. And if you are thinking it is a rebuilding year but saying otherwise, then that leads to a lot of upset fans and PR damage that could easily have been avoided.

Hey, I am actually interested in the Tribe this year. I think if they could get some real solid pitching from all the bodies they have, then the lineup will be good enough to win some games (but likely not the division)—maybe. But I sure as hell would not be planning on that if I were the Indians. I'd be planning on developing the young guys, and then if we end up surprising and contending, great. But I sure wouldn't be making any moves based on that premise, and I damn sure would not be telling the fans that we have a good chance to win our division, because lying to your customers (or yourself) is never a good idea.

Be honest and the fans will deal with it. Blow smoke and they will crucify you. The Tribe should take a lesson from the Browns, who are finding out all about that now after all the BS they spewed in the off season about this team being closer to the 2007 team than the 2008 team (when it turns out they were closer to the 1999 team). The Browns lied to the fans, or were clueless about who they were, and the fans are justifiably pissed off about that. It means they are either liars or incompetent. But had they been upfront and prepared the fans for a long season, things might not be nearly as ugly as they are right now.

It would be a shame to see the Tribe go down the same road, because I still believe that Mark Shapiro is a good judge of talent and can turn things around. I think he's done a great job for a guy working with one arm tied behind his back because of payroll. So, it would be sad to see the Indians generate fan enmity when there is no reason for it. No one is expecting contention this year, so why not let us be pleasantly surprised rather than bitterly disappointed (again)?

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