By Rick Morris
One of the biggest collapses of the 2008 Major League Baseball season has belonged to the defending American League Central champions, a team up 3-1 in the 2007 American League Championship Series. Yes, the Cleveland Indians are absolutely El Stinko this year, and although I as a lifelong fan am frustrated by the fact, I am equally amused by the "This is Absolutely Unthinkable" refrain from the team's slavish Enabler Caucus.
Dumbos like Diatribe are hilariously posing the question right now: who knew this could happen? Well, if they'd pull their nostrils from the tuckess of Mark Shapiro and turn their attention to this here FDH Lounge, they'd be aware of this: WE KNEW!
Actually, now's not the time for me to start being unduly modest. Not only did we know, but we called it way ahead of time and we chastised the ownership-enabling homers for taking their 30 pieces of silver from Larry Dolan and trying to brainwash the populace into thinking that this was a legitimate World Series team. And for any misguided souls looking to label me a basher, consider this: even I was way too optimistic! I put this team down for 88 wins and a second-place finish in the division this year!
When everyone else was caught up in the heat of the moment about the ALCS meltdown last year, I correctly pointed out that the team had not choked away a 3-1 lead; the law of averages had merely caught up to them in a harsh and decisive manner as an infinitely superior team blew past them (if you don't believe me, check the records for Boston and Cleveland this year). Even going into the playoffs last year, when even sober media figures were losing their heads in the rush to proclaim Mark Shapiro (by the way, the true pronunciation is Sha-PIR-o -- folks don't realize that Sha-PIE-ro is his kayfabe name) the greatest GM in sports history, I exposed the truth about the fact that the organization hadn't proven anything of note yet.
Oh, and because those who shilled for the front office and proclaimed them above public accountability aren't going to be accountable for their own complicity in this season's disaster, I'll provide this compendium of their heinous apple-polishing before their masters in the organization. The doofus who repeats the lies about how Jim Thome snubbed the Indians is particularly laughable.
Now, before any remaining Kool-Aid drinkers get their unmentionables in a wad, I'll concede that the team isn't as bad as they presently look. Injuries have played a part in the team's demise, although the brass can certainly be held accountable for wheeling out a half-dead Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner for months at a time, hoping that somehow playing would be therapeutic in the healing process! So no, the team is not really this bad. But I was right about the fact that they weren't really that good last year when they caught fire, won most of their games against a horrific division and fooled the world into thinking they were really a 96-win caliber team. And ultimately, if they're not really as great as they convinced people they were last year, who really cares if they're a 75-win team or an 85-win team? Since when are Indians fans supposed to be satisfied with willful mediocrity?
My FDH Lounge and SportsTalkNetwork.com colleague Tony Mazur and I stood up repeatedly to the disinformation campaign of Diatribe and the other Shapiro coddlers and pointed to the vast amount of work to be done if this organization was to change its approach and get serious instead of just talking that way. For that, we were labeled haters by our STN colleague James Bridges (who is actually a friend of mine and a great guy, although I'm going to give him a hard time here), who bought the spin every step of the way. Tony and I each love this team and both of us have so many fond memories of watching Tribe games with our families when we were growing up in the area. Nobody ever has the right to tell us that we shouldn't expect a team's front office to reward our fan loyalty with the utmost possible efforts to put a winning team on the field. The consequences of enabling a front office that will only do as much as the public pushes it to do are now painfully obvious.
Who knew? We freaking did!
Showing posts with label Mark Shapiro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mark Shapiro. Show all posts
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
The Voice of the (so-called) Fan
By Tony Mazur
My grandfather was a huge Browns fan. I'm not quite sure if he followed the Cleveland Rams from 1936-1945, but I do know he was a Browns fan from the beginning. When he wasn't patrolling the rough, pre-Civil Rights Movement Cleveland streets, he was listening to those championship teams on the radio. My father can recall my grandpa sulking all day after a Browns loss. In his later years, the Browns made it to three AFC Championship games, only to fall to John Elway and the Denver Broncos. He passed away on June 29th, 1990, leaving behind a devoted wife and four successful children. He cared about his family. But he certainly loved his Browns. To this day, I wonder how he would have reacted to the news on November 6th, 1995 that the Browns were relocating to Baltimore.
Eddie Mazur was a true fan. He supported the teams no matter how well (mid-'40s to mid-'60s) or how poorly (mid-'60s to early '80s) the Browns were performing. I know my grandfather wasn't the only Clevelander crazy about his football team. I'm sure each family has their share of stories, whether they be about heading down to Cleveland Municipal Stadium on those frigid November/December days by Lake Erie, or listening to the radio after attending Sunday mass. Fans nowadays cannot relate.
I really do have a problem with sports fans in this day in age. Unlike the "old days", if their team isn't performing well on the field or court, they'll pretend they don't exist. In some cases, folks will completely boycott the organization via petition or blog.
I can recall going to a relative's house back in 2001, a year to forget for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"Hey, the Cavs game is on."
"The Cavs?! They're terrible. I don't want to waste my time." (instead, we watched Everybody Loves Raymond, a show that I still cannot get into)
Five years later, he's one of the biggest Cavs fans around.
Fair-weather fans do not just exist in Cleveland. They're everywhere. From 1995-1998, the newly-relocated St. Louis Rams weren't drawing well. Then came "The Greatest Show on Turf". Fans packed the Edward Jones Dome for the next few years following their Super Bowl XXXIV victory over the Tennessee Titans. After the downfall of Marshall Faulk and the departures of Kurt Warner and many other players, the Rams have been bottom dwellers for the past couple seasons. As a matter of fact, during the 2007 season, a couple of Rams games were blacked out locally, due to the lack of sell-out crowds.
2007 brought a lot of success to the Cleveland/Ohio sports teams. The Ohio State Buckeyes football team started off the year playing in the BCS National Championship Game, only to lose to the Florida Gators. Fast forward a couple of months to April as we see another Ohio State team fall to another Florida Gator team, this time in basketball. The Cleveland Cavaliers made their first NBA Finals appearance in team history, only to get swept by the San Antonio Spurs in four games. The Indians lost to the Boston Red Sox in seven games of the ALCS. And finally, the Browns had their best season since 1994.
For the first time in a Blue Moon, fans showed up to the playing facilities. While I was downtown working for another radio station, I saw so many people with LeBron James jerseys (most likely the kind you see hanging at JC Penny's) during the Cavs' run to the Finals. I saw more Grady Sizemore and Brady Quinn T-shirts than I can count. I saw through the phoniness. I was able to pick between the bandwagon fans and the true fans. The true fans had "Hot Rod" Williams jerseys and Cory Snyder garb.
What's going to happen to these "fans" if 2008 doesn't work out? What if the Indians' mediocre team blows its chance to reclaim another Central Division title? What if injuries hold down the Cavaliers? What if the Browns lose 11 games (which I think they will)? They won't show up. They don't care. They only want to root for a winner. And you call yourselves fans. Ha!
However, there are fans who do stick with their team. Some follow the team and cheer for the good times, but critique the bad times. Others will praise the good times and blatantly ignore the bad times. When a questionable move is made, these fans will justify the said move and attempt to turn it into a positive. These are the fans that will slam you if you say ANYTHING remotely negative towards their team (see DiaTribe Blog).
In the Cleveland area, we have some untouchable personnel. When I say untouchable, expect to get your behind reamed if you decide to critique ANY decision making. Here are Cleveland's Untouchables:
Grady Sizemore, Indians' center fielder: Grady is a terrific athlete. He can hit 30+ home runs, steal 50 bases, and make incredible catches in center field. But that's all anyone looks at. Sure he won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in '07, but I watched him the entire season. On many occasions, Grady took bad routes to the ball. Balls that he should catch were overrun or misplayed. But that doesn't come up in the box score. What does is his low batting average and high amount of strikeouts. Don't get me wrong. I like Grady. However, his strikeout numbers and poor reads on the baseball have got to go. But we all love Grady Sizemore because he's so damn cute!
Mark Shapiro, Indians' GM: Former Indians GM John Hart took home six Central Division titles in seven years, and made two World Series trips. How did he accomplish that feat? He went out and spent money on veterans (Orel Hershiser, Dennis Martinez, Paul Sorrento), picked up top prospects (Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel, Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar, Jr.) and drafted pure hitters and sluggers (Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez) to help lead his team to victory. After the 2001, season, he handed his job over to his assistant, Mark Shapiro. Since '01, the Indians got rid of every player mentioned above in favor of younger (and cheaper) talent. Since '01, the Indians have been to the postseason ONE TIME. After the Red Sox celebrated their World Series victory, Mark Shapiro has refused to make moves. Instead, he has resigned the guys who blew the 3-1 ALCS lead. Why do you have to rip on Shapiro? They won 96 games! I'm sick of hearing that line.
Jim Tressel, Ohio State football coach: Jim won a BCS National Championship Game in 2003. He was blessed to have a talented quarterback (Troy Smith) lead him to many wins. But if you think about it, Jim Tressel has not won a National Championship with HIS RECRUITS. They lost two straight National Championship Games to SEC teams. Tressel loves to recruit within the state of Ohio, which is fine if other schools weren't importing recruits from other areas. If the game plan fails and the Buckeyes lose, it's not Tressel's fault. His assistant coaches should be fired for not doing their jobs.
In the three major professional sports, fans have the opportunity to vote for the starting lineups in their respected All-Star Games. Name recognition is huge when it comes to the voting process. Detroit Tigers' catcher Ivan Rodriguez started in the 2007 MLB All-Star Game. Not only should he have not started, but he shouldn't have been in the game. There were four to five better catchers than I-Rod last season, but since everyone knows "Pudge", we'll put him in the game. The same goes for Penny Hardaway. His best years were behind him, but fans STILL voted for him, based on his history with the Orlando Magic and his nickname.
No matter how you put it, fans annoy me. If you're going to support your team, go ahead. Don't make excuses as to why they may not be performing well, but also don't ignore or boycott them if their season is in the crapper.
Meanwhile, I cannot wait to see all of the die-hard Tribe fans come out to Progressive Field to cheer on their team....in April. 10,000 people and 32,000 ass-less green seats.
My grandfather was a huge Browns fan. I'm not quite sure if he followed the Cleveland Rams from 1936-1945, but I do know he was a Browns fan from the beginning. When he wasn't patrolling the rough, pre-Civil Rights Movement Cleveland streets, he was listening to those championship teams on the radio. My father can recall my grandpa sulking all day after a Browns loss. In his later years, the Browns made it to three AFC Championship games, only to fall to John Elway and the Denver Broncos. He passed away on June 29th, 1990, leaving behind a devoted wife and four successful children. He cared about his family. But he certainly loved his Browns. To this day, I wonder how he would have reacted to the news on November 6th, 1995 that the Browns were relocating to Baltimore.
Eddie Mazur was a true fan. He supported the teams no matter how well (mid-'40s to mid-'60s) or how poorly (mid-'60s to early '80s) the Browns were performing. I know my grandfather wasn't the only Clevelander crazy about his football team. I'm sure each family has their share of stories, whether they be about heading down to Cleveland Municipal Stadium on those frigid November/December days by Lake Erie, or listening to the radio after attending Sunday mass. Fans nowadays cannot relate.
I really do have a problem with sports fans in this day in age. Unlike the "old days", if their team isn't performing well on the field or court, they'll pretend they don't exist. In some cases, folks will completely boycott the organization via petition or blog.
I can recall going to a relative's house back in 2001, a year to forget for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"Hey, the Cavs game is on."
"The Cavs?! They're terrible. I don't want to waste my time." (instead, we watched Everybody Loves Raymond, a show that I still cannot get into)
Five years later, he's one of the biggest Cavs fans around.
Fair-weather fans do not just exist in Cleveland. They're everywhere. From 1995-1998, the newly-relocated St. Louis Rams weren't drawing well. Then came "The Greatest Show on Turf". Fans packed the Edward Jones Dome for the next few years following their Super Bowl XXXIV victory over the Tennessee Titans. After the downfall of Marshall Faulk and the departures of Kurt Warner and many other players, the Rams have been bottom dwellers for the past couple seasons. As a matter of fact, during the 2007 season, a couple of Rams games were blacked out locally, due to the lack of sell-out crowds.
2007 brought a lot of success to the Cleveland/Ohio sports teams. The Ohio State Buckeyes football team started off the year playing in the BCS National Championship Game, only to lose to the Florida Gators. Fast forward a couple of months to April as we see another Ohio State team fall to another Florida Gator team, this time in basketball. The Cleveland Cavaliers made their first NBA Finals appearance in team history, only to get swept by the San Antonio Spurs in four games. The Indians lost to the Boston Red Sox in seven games of the ALCS. And finally, the Browns had their best season since 1994.
For the first time in a Blue Moon, fans showed up to the playing facilities. While I was downtown working for another radio station, I saw so many people with LeBron James jerseys (most likely the kind you see hanging at JC Penny's) during the Cavs' run to the Finals. I saw more Grady Sizemore and Brady Quinn T-shirts than I can count. I saw through the phoniness. I was able to pick between the bandwagon fans and the true fans. The true fans had "Hot Rod" Williams jerseys and Cory Snyder garb.
What's going to happen to these "fans" if 2008 doesn't work out? What if the Indians' mediocre team blows its chance to reclaim another Central Division title? What if injuries hold down the Cavaliers? What if the Browns lose 11 games (which I think they will)? They won't show up. They don't care. They only want to root for a winner. And you call yourselves fans. Ha!
However, there are fans who do stick with their team. Some follow the team and cheer for the good times, but critique the bad times. Others will praise the good times and blatantly ignore the bad times. When a questionable move is made, these fans will justify the said move and attempt to turn it into a positive. These are the fans that will slam you if you say ANYTHING remotely negative towards their team (see DiaTribe Blog).
In the Cleveland area, we have some untouchable personnel. When I say untouchable, expect to get your behind reamed if you decide to critique ANY decision making. Here are Cleveland's Untouchables:
Grady Sizemore, Indians' center fielder: Grady is a terrific athlete. He can hit 30+ home runs, steal 50 bases, and make incredible catches in center field. But that's all anyone looks at. Sure he won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in '07, but I watched him the entire season. On many occasions, Grady took bad routes to the ball. Balls that he should catch were overrun or misplayed. But that doesn't come up in the box score. What does is his low batting average and high amount of strikeouts. Don't get me wrong. I like Grady. However, his strikeout numbers and poor reads on the baseball have got to go. But we all love Grady Sizemore because he's so damn cute!
Mark Shapiro, Indians' GM: Former Indians GM John Hart took home six Central Division titles in seven years, and made two World Series trips. How did he accomplish that feat? He went out and spent money on veterans (Orel Hershiser, Dennis Martinez, Paul Sorrento), picked up top prospects (Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel, Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar, Jr.) and drafted pure hitters and sluggers (Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez) to help lead his team to victory. After the 2001, season, he handed his job over to his assistant, Mark Shapiro. Since '01, the Indians got rid of every player mentioned above in favor of younger (and cheaper) talent. Since '01, the Indians have been to the postseason ONE TIME. After the Red Sox celebrated their World Series victory, Mark Shapiro has refused to make moves. Instead, he has resigned the guys who blew the 3-1 ALCS lead. Why do you have to rip on Shapiro? They won 96 games! I'm sick of hearing that line.
Jim Tressel, Ohio State football coach: Jim won a BCS National Championship Game in 2003. He was blessed to have a talented quarterback (Troy Smith) lead him to many wins. But if you think about it, Jim Tressel has not won a National Championship with HIS RECRUITS. They lost two straight National Championship Games to SEC teams. Tressel loves to recruit within the state of Ohio, which is fine if other schools weren't importing recruits from other areas. If the game plan fails and the Buckeyes lose, it's not Tressel's fault. His assistant coaches should be fired for not doing their jobs.
In the three major professional sports, fans have the opportunity to vote for the starting lineups in their respected All-Star Games. Name recognition is huge when it comes to the voting process. Detroit Tigers' catcher Ivan Rodriguez started in the 2007 MLB All-Star Game. Not only should he have not started, but he shouldn't have been in the game. There were four to five better catchers than I-Rod last season, but since everyone knows "Pudge", we'll put him in the game. The same goes for Penny Hardaway. His best years were behind him, but fans STILL voted for him, based on his history with the Orlando Magic and his nickname.
No matter how you put it, fans annoy me. If you're going to support your team, go ahead. Don't make excuses as to why they may not be performing well, but also don't ignore or boycott them if their season is in the crapper.
Meanwhile, I cannot wait to see all of the die-hard Tribe fans come out to Progressive Field to cheer on their team....in April. 10,000 people and 32,000 ass-less green seats.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
How to talk like a blind homer
By Rick Morris
Are you sick of sounding like an intelligent sports fan with well-reasoned, intelligent takes? Do you want to simply repeat and regurgitate the ga-ga from your team, which demonstrably cares way more about saving money than winning a World Series? Well, then we've got the website for you. You can learn every infantile, suck-up-to-the-front-office, know-nothing propagandistic talking point necessary to become a Useful Idiot Par Excellence for the Front Office, such as:
^ "When we don't win championships, the real reason lies with that big ol' meanie Jim Thome, who admittedly left five full seasons ago. But he's just out to get paid. Players chase the last dollar out of Cleveland all the time. I bet that never happens in other cities. Man, our poor unlucky front office just can't catch a break!"
^ "Even if C.C. Sabathia leaves, it's still nothing but blue skies and palomino ponies! We're set up from here until the end of time with athletes even George Steinbrenner would saw off his left nard to have on his team! The only unfortunate thing about C.C. leaving would be those mean fans somehow blaming Larry Dolan for not signing him and Mark Shapiro for letting the situation fester to that point. The nerve of those peons! The Tribe front office is right, these uneducated ingrates don't know how good they've got it!"
^ "The Tribe will sign C.C. Past history regarding franchise players and the Dolan ownership is completely irrelevant! Those who try to learn from history are delusional and can't see what Our Great Benevolent Ownership is doing for us in the glorious struggle against the Infidels of the Central Division!"
^ "Offseason upgrades? Those are for mere mortals! We don't need no stinking offseason upgrades! I can't believe that these uneducated fans are impressed with the acquisition of Miguel Cabera. How many World Series titles has he won? Really? Ok, scratch that last point."
^ "The Indians' mediocre farm system of present is NOT the result of poor drafting! It's a combination, circumstances, bad luck, a lunar eclipse and a curse placed on the minor leaguers by that evil Jim Thome!"
Are you sick of sounding like an intelligent sports fan with well-reasoned, intelligent takes? Do you want to simply repeat and regurgitate the ga-ga from your team, which demonstrably cares way more about saving money than winning a World Series? Well, then we've got the website for you. You can learn every infantile, suck-up-to-the-front-office, know-nothing propagandistic talking point necessary to become a Useful Idiot Par Excellence for the Front Office, such as:
^ "When we don't win championships, the real reason lies with that big ol' meanie Jim Thome, who admittedly left five full seasons ago. But he's just out to get paid. Players chase the last dollar out of Cleveland all the time. I bet that never happens in other cities. Man, our poor unlucky front office just can't catch a break!"
^ "Even if C.C. Sabathia leaves, it's still nothing but blue skies and palomino ponies! We're set up from here until the end of time with athletes even George Steinbrenner would saw off his left nard to have on his team! The only unfortunate thing about C.C. leaving would be those mean fans somehow blaming Larry Dolan for not signing him and Mark Shapiro for letting the situation fester to that point. The nerve of those peons! The Tribe front office is right, these uneducated ingrates don't know how good they've got it!"
^ "The Tribe will sign C.C. Past history regarding franchise players and the Dolan ownership is completely irrelevant! Those who try to learn from history are delusional and can't see what Our Great Benevolent Ownership is doing for us in the glorious struggle against the Infidels of the Central Division!"
^ "Offseason upgrades? Those are for mere mortals! We don't need no stinking offseason upgrades! I can't believe that these uneducated fans are impressed with the acquisition of Miguel Cabera. How many World Series titles has he won? Really? Ok, scratch that last point."
^ "The Indians' mediocre farm system of present is NOT the result of poor drafting! It's a combination, circumstances, bad luck, a lunar eclipse and a curse placed on the minor leaguers by that evil Jim Thome!"
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
While Shapiro sleeps
By Rick Morris
EDIT: For the benefit of those Stockholm Syndrome types in Cleveland who sympathize with the Dolans, here's the Forbes Magazine report showing the Indians fourth in baseball in operating income in their most recent rankings.
Being an Indians fan just got more depressing. Now even the Houston Astros are more serious about succeeding.
EDIT: For the benefit of those Stockholm Syndrome types in Cleveland who sympathize with the Dolans, here's the Forbes Magazine report showing the Indians fourth in baseball in operating income in their most recent rankings.
Being an Indians fan just got more depressing. Now even the Houston Astros are more serious about succeeding.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Goofus and Gallant, the GM edition
By Rick Morris
Gallant makes a move to firmly establish his franchise as the team to beat in the AL Central for the next few years, acquiring one of the top ten hitters in the game to augment a good lineup.
Goofus is content to sit on his rear and field another squad in 2008 with a rancid collection of journeymen, unproven youngsters, winos and anyone else willing to play for pennies at the power positions of third base, left field and right field.
But when Goofus has such credulous spinmeisters willing to peddle bogus propaganda on his behalf, he might be right to figure he can fool enough of the public enough of the time. This Baghdad Bob thinks the Tigers mortgaged their future, when they acquired two players with a combined age below 50!
Chuck Norris may think he's tough, but let's see him spend serious time as an Indians fan. 59 years since a World Series championship and the end of the drought is nowhere in sight ...
Gallant makes a move to firmly establish his franchise as the team to beat in the AL Central for the next few years, acquiring one of the top ten hitters in the game to augment a good lineup.
Goofus is content to sit on his rear and field another squad in 2008 with a rancid collection of journeymen, unproven youngsters, winos and anyone else willing to play for pennies at the power positions of third base, left field and right field.
But when Goofus has such credulous spinmeisters willing to peddle bogus propaganda on his behalf, he might be right to figure he can fool enough of the public enough of the time. This Baghdad Bob thinks the Tigers mortgaged their future, when they acquired two players with a combined age below 50!
Chuck Norris may think he's tough, but let's see him spend serious time as an Indians fan. 59 years since a World Series championship and the end of the drought is nowhere in sight ...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Sorry Larry Dolan, facts are facts
By Rick Morris
The success of the Cleveland Indians in 2007 has obscured, in the minds of many, the fact that the organization has put greater emphasis on its bottom line than winning on the field. Fans have waited in vain for the team to make it somewhere into the middle of the bell curve since Mark Shapiro and Company instituted the payroll slash-and-burn in 2002.
We always make mention on FDH programming of the fact that analysts can speak with the most knowledge about situations closest to home. Therefore, I can speak with more authority on Cleveland sports than on any other market because I have observed it up-close my entire life. Nevertheless, it's always nice to be reinforced by something noticed by an observer of the national scene. Such was the case with this column by our friend Russ Cohen of Sportsology. As he notes, the correlation between payroll and World Series titles is undeniably strong. The Tribe obviously has a strong core in place, but as previously noted here, it wasn't nearly strong enough to beat Boston minus a strong overachieving scenario. A few impact moves are still necessary to give this team a legitimate chance at a world championship. The Dolans must change their policy and give the go-ahead for at least a mid-level payroll in order to maintain credibility with non-homers moving into 2008.
The success of the Cleveland Indians in 2007 has obscured, in the minds of many, the fact that the organization has put greater emphasis on its bottom line than winning on the field. Fans have waited in vain for the team to make it somewhere into the middle of the bell curve since Mark Shapiro and Company instituted the payroll slash-and-burn in 2002.
We always make mention on FDH programming of the fact that analysts can speak with the most knowledge about situations closest to home. Therefore, I can speak with more authority on Cleveland sports than on any other market because I have observed it up-close my entire life. Nevertheless, it's always nice to be reinforced by something noticed by an observer of the national scene. Such was the case with this column by our friend Russ Cohen of Sportsology. As he notes, the correlation between payroll and World Series titles is undeniably strong. The Tribe obviously has a strong core in place, but as previously noted here, it wasn't nearly strong enough to beat Boston minus a strong overachieving scenario. A few impact moves are still necessary to give this team a legitimate chance at a world championship. The Dolans must change their policy and give the go-ahead for at least a mid-level payroll in order to maintain credibility with non-homers moving into 2008.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Shapiro/Dolan redemption premature at best
By Rick Morris
While I respect the hard work and commitment to his job evident in his work, frankly, the gushy-gooey tone towards the Cleveland Indians' front office from Lorain Morning-Journal beat writer Jim Ingraham is sometimes a tad overbearing. As such, he seized upon the opportunity of the Tribe's 2007 division title to proclaim that Mark Shapiro and the Dolan family were vindicated.
At the risk of being labeled a nattering nabob of negativism by the team's homer chorus in Cleveland, pardon me whilst I emit a belly laugh.
THIS is vindication? One division title five years after the "braintrust" burned this team to the ground in the pursuit of financial savings? Whatever happened to the era of championships promised by Mark Shapiro? Evidently, he meant "American League Central Division" championships -- classic bait and switch and lowered expectations.
And those aforementioned financial savings? Although they've been demonstrated to be factual by Forbes magazine, don't look for the amen chorus of ass-kissers in this town to ever acknowledge this -- because they're either feeding at the trough or they desperately wish to someday. The crumb-bums in C-Town who aided and abetted the Dolans in holding back this team for years have much to answer for -- dating back to the vile, behind-the-scenes smear campaign against Jim Thome's health that convinced the big slugger to sign with Philly and led far too many sheep-like fans to perpetuate an embarrassing and unworthy vendetta against him.
Subtly running Thome out of town on a rail was part and parcel of the decimation of this team's talent base at the major league level so as to hold payroll down, maximize profits and pocket that tasty revenue-sharing money that suckers like the Yankees who actually cared about trying to win provided them. All the while, vague promises were made that the team would spend the money to go out and get the extra parts when the standings warranted. Five years later and there's no trace of a 1990s Eddie Murray or Dennis Martinez on this roster. Plus, as was pointed out to me by a person in ill health back in 2002, the Indians really did flip the middle finger to that significant part of their fanbase that had good reason to question whether they would still be alive when and if the Dolans decided to spend money on the team. To try to hoodwink the fans, showbiz-style decisions were routinely made, like rushing Brandon Phillips in 2003 and further contributing to his horrible attitude and air of entitlement -- all because he was the prospect in the Bartolo Colon trade closest to the major leagues and the front office didn't have enough faith in its move to wait for history to judge it in a few years (when the irony is that the judgment of history is that it was a fantastic deal).
This team has been held back by an ownership posture unworthy of even C. Montgomery Burns for a full half-decade, exemplified best by the 2005 collapse. On our SportsTalkNetwork.com show Reality Check, host Ron Glasenapp asked me during our 2005 Indians roundtable preview who the key player for the season would be and I identified Juan Gonzalez. He exclaimed that the team was in trouble if what I said was right and I agreed, pointing out that the team conveniently chose to fill their need for an additional power bat on the cheap and that their insane gamble would have to pay off for the team to succeed. Juan Gone managed all of one at-bat in 2005 and the team fell apart down the stretch and missed the playoffs by a single game in a manner the "experts" deemed inexplicable, even as the Blake-Broussard-Boone heap of fetid guano that was the 2005 bottom-of-the-lineup emitted more odor by the day. Oh, wait, those players all did play better "after June 1," which was the blind homer talking point of the year -- as though the stinko performances of the first two months were given a mulligan by the American League.
Fast-forward to the next year, when Shapiro neglected to bring any kind of bullpen presence to the equation and when he failed to adequately address the loss of Coco Crisp in a deal the team had the unmitigated nards to claim was not merely for the future (a deal which would have been somewhat justifiable in that light and if they made a move to offset it for the present) but also a good trade for the present. The team stunk. Period. As with the year before, seeing the trainwreck coming only protected me from the pain I felt as a fan somewhat.
Now, in 2007, everything has broken their way. I must say, however, that I don't hear the blind homer chorus explaining how exactly their beloved overlords in the front office were all-knowing and all-seeing when most of the key contributions have come from players the team had no intention of using in big-time roles this year (i.e. Ryan Garko, Asdrubal Cabrera, Franklin Gutierrez, Fausto Carmona). So while they deserve credit for stockpiling depth, how smart were they really when they are as surprised by these contributions as you and I?
For years now on SportsTalkNetwork.com, I have argued with friends and colleagues who wittingly or unwittingly have regurgitated ownership talking points verbatim. They've accused me of not being happy with anything less than Steinbrenner-level spending, when all I have ever called for is for this team to be in the middle of the bell curve in terms of ownership commitment measured by payroll -- nothing more, nothing less.
And for now, the team's determination to try to get something for nothing has actually not stopped them. Even going into the playoffs, there's nothing to fear necessarily when looking at the other teams in October -- all have flaws at least as glaring as those still remaining for the Indians (another veteran power bat, at least one more bullpen arm for the 7th inning), if not more so. But what is frustrating to me is the fact that the relatively minor level of commitment needed to acquire those pieces would have left the Indians as THE overwhelming favorites in this magical year of theirs to win the World Series. Right now, there's much cocky crowing from the front office, ownership and their lackeys on the flagship stations and elsewhere that they did it "their way" -- "something for nothing," although they'll never admit it. The onus is on this team to finish the job and win the World Series. Otherwise, "their way" was the path to ultimate heartbreak in the end and all the flowering tributes to Mark Shapiro from Jim Ingraham won't change that one bit.
While I respect the hard work and commitment to his job evident in his work, frankly, the gushy-gooey tone towards the Cleveland Indians' front office from Lorain Morning-Journal beat writer Jim Ingraham is sometimes a tad overbearing. As such, he seized upon the opportunity of the Tribe's 2007 division title to proclaim that Mark Shapiro and the Dolan family were vindicated.
At the risk of being labeled a nattering nabob of negativism by the team's homer chorus in Cleveland, pardon me whilst I emit a belly laugh.
THIS is vindication? One division title five years after the "braintrust" burned this team to the ground in the pursuit of financial savings? Whatever happened to the era of championships promised by Mark Shapiro? Evidently, he meant "American League Central Division" championships -- classic bait and switch and lowered expectations.
And those aforementioned financial savings? Although they've been demonstrated to be factual by Forbes magazine, don't look for the amen chorus of ass-kissers in this town to ever acknowledge this -- because they're either feeding at the trough or they desperately wish to someday. The crumb-bums in C-Town who aided and abetted the Dolans in holding back this team for years have much to answer for -- dating back to the vile, behind-the-scenes smear campaign against Jim Thome's health that convinced the big slugger to sign with Philly and led far too many sheep-like fans to perpetuate an embarrassing and unworthy vendetta against him.
Subtly running Thome out of town on a rail was part and parcel of the decimation of this team's talent base at the major league level so as to hold payroll down, maximize profits and pocket that tasty revenue-sharing money that suckers like the Yankees who actually cared about trying to win provided them. All the while, vague promises were made that the team would spend the money to go out and get the extra parts when the standings warranted. Five years later and there's no trace of a 1990s Eddie Murray or Dennis Martinez on this roster. Plus, as was pointed out to me by a person in ill health back in 2002, the Indians really did flip the middle finger to that significant part of their fanbase that had good reason to question whether they would still be alive when and if the Dolans decided to spend money on the team. To try to hoodwink the fans, showbiz-style decisions were routinely made, like rushing Brandon Phillips in 2003 and further contributing to his horrible attitude and air of entitlement -- all because he was the prospect in the Bartolo Colon trade closest to the major leagues and the front office didn't have enough faith in its move to wait for history to judge it in a few years (when the irony is that the judgment of history is that it was a fantastic deal).
This team has been held back by an ownership posture unworthy of even C. Montgomery Burns for a full half-decade, exemplified best by the 2005 collapse. On our SportsTalkNetwork.com show Reality Check, host Ron Glasenapp asked me during our 2005 Indians roundtable preview who the key player for the season would be and I identified Juan Gonzalez. He exclaimed that the team was in trouble if what I said was right and I agreed, pointing out that the team conveniently chose to fill their need for an additional power bat on the cheap and that their insane gamble would have to pay off for the team to succeed. Juan Gone managed all of one at-bat in 2005 and the team fell apart down the stretch and missed the playoffs by a single game in a manner the "experts" deemed inexplicable, even as the Blake-Broussard-Boone heap of fetid guano that was the 2005 bottom-of-the-lineup emitted more odor by the day. Oh, wait, those players all did play better "after June 1," which was the blind homer talking point of the year -- as though the stinko performances of the first two months were given a mulligan by the American League.
Fast-forward to the next year, when Shapiro neglected to bring any kind of bullpen presence to the equation and when he failed to adequately address the loss of Coco Crisp in a deal the team had the unmitigated nards to claim was not merely for the future (a deal which would have been somewhat justifiable in that light and if they made a move to offset it for the present) but also a good trade for the present. The team stunk. Period. As with the year before, seeing the trainwreck coming only protected me from the pain I felt as a fan somewhat.
Now, in 2007, everything has broken their way. I must say, however, that I don't hear the blind homer chorus explaining how exactly their beloved overlords in the front office were all-knowing and all-seeing when most of the key contributions have come from players the team had no intention of using in big-time roles this year (i.e. Ryan Garko, Asdrubal Cabrera, Franklin Gutierrez, Fausto Carmona). So while they deserve credit for stockpiling depth, how smart were they really when they are as surprised by these contributions as you and I?
For years now on SportsTalkNetwork.com, I have argued with friends and colleagues who wittingly or unwittingly have regurgitated ownership talking points verbatim. They've accused me of not being happy with anything less than Steinbrenner-level spending, when all I have ever called for is for this team to be in the middle of the bell curve in terms of ownership commitment measured by payroll -- nothing more, nothing less.
And for now, the team's determination to try to get something for nothing has actually not stopped them. Even going into the playoffs, there's nothing to fear necessarily when looking at the other teams in October -- all have flaws at least as glaring as those still remaining for the Indians (another veteran power bat, at least one more bullpen arm for the 7th inning), if not more so. But what is frustrating to me is the fact that the relatively minor level of commitment needed to acquire those pieces would have left the Indians as THE overwhelming favorites in this magical year of theirs to win the World Series. Right now, there's much cocky crowing from the front office, ownership and their lackeys on the flagship stations and elsewhere that they did it "their way" -- "something for nothing," although they'll never admit it. The onus is on this team to finish the job and win the World Series. Otherwise, "their way" was the path to ultimate heartbreak in the end and all the flowering tributes to Mark Shapiro from Jim Ingraham won't change that one bit.
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