The Sham That Is: Cleveland Indians Baseball

[Cleveland's Finest]

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The Sham That Is: Cleveland Indians Baseball

by Cleveland's Finest

 

Baseball is random, at times. But the long, 162-game season of Major League Baseball allows for averages to win out. Your averages of winning are greatly increased when you can find star-caliber, or even consistently solid players. The way to find these players is through either the minor leagues or trades. That’s where management comes in. The organization should be proactive in making sure it has the best strategies to achieve success on and off the field, with a championship being the priority at all times. I have a gripe with a certain MLB organization, in particular. It is the Cleveland Indians, the team that I am supposed to support. But I am sick of it, and that’s prompted me to write this rant. Even some of the players have managed get on my nerves.

 

Confused, irritated, embarrassed…those three words sum up my feelings about Cleveland Indians baseball. Now think about it. Those three words:

 

Cleveland

 

Indians

 

Baseball

 

What comes to mind? Of course, there’s arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, and also war veteran, Bob Feller. There’s also Lenn Barker’s perfect game. But most recently, the thing that comes to mind is the team that played in Jacobs Field. The Jake. Talk about star-studded. But that’s even starting to seem distant, right? Or is it? Heck, I recently saw Omar Vizquel record his third “web-gem” of the 2012 MLB season with the Toronto Blue Jays. Not to mention Jim Thome, who’s move to the Orioles might have seemed minor, but not until I saw him smack successive home runs in back to back games against the Indians in Cleveland’s first two home games post All-Star break. It was only less than a decade ago when Manny Ramirez helped the Red Sox end Boston’s curse, and a few years later he had one of the greatest second halves in baseball history with the Dodgers. Of course, there are also the more recent players who have worn an Indians uniform. C.C. Sabathia has been a dominant ace for the Yankees, leading them to a World Series, and is on pace to get them to another. Cliff Lee was part of the most stacked pitching rotation in MLB history, and had a history making post-season stretch in 2009 with Philly. How about Jake Westbrook? He played a role in helping the Cardinals win a world championship, winning game six to push the series to seven.

 

All of those aforementioned players have one thing in common: they once wore a Cleveland Indians uniform.

 

But Cleveland Indians Baseball has such a deep meaning, but it has been trashed in the past decade. It has utterly turned into garbage. It has nothing to do with Shelley Duncan’s struggles. It has nothing to do with Manny Acta. I could care less if he is a little laid back. It has to do primarily with the organization.

 

In my lifetime, Cleveland Indians Baseball is the mid-90’s. Albert Belle, Sandy Alomar, Omar Vizquel, Jim Thome, and more. It’s the packed crowds and rocking stadium atmosphere. “Cleveland Rocks” is heard all the time. The vibe is unlike any other. To think that this may never return is haunting.

 

Where do I begin with the current Indians? Well, they play at Progressive Field, nicknamed “The Prog”, which is home to the lowest attendance in Major League Baseball. Despite that glaring side note, the home of the Tribe is quite successful, hosting events such as “Snow Days” and other sports events such as the hockey showdown between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines last year.

 

The reason why I mentioned these former Indians and gave a synopsis of Progressive field is because of the message it sends. It all sounds quite backwards. You would think that a Major League owner would look at the team first and foremost. But with a dwindling fan base and increasing non-baseball announcements and activities, you wonder what the priorities truly are.

 

To answer the question, I will begin with the Indians a little over one hundred games into the 2012 season. They are 50-52. A few days ago, they came off winning a huge home series victory against division rivals, the Detroit Tigers.

 

Forget last year’s mirage. At least the Indians went out and tried to go for it, right? They got Ubaldo Jimenez, who you certainly can’t blame for the current state of the Tribe. They also got Kosuke Fukodome, who batted .249. While that may sound mediocre, that average is higher than a majority of averages on the Indians team. Heck, only four every-day players - Michael Brantley, Shin-Soo Choo, Asrdubal Cabrera, and Jason Kipnis - have higher averages.

 

The weird part starts now, and it has been escalating to this point in the past few months. The Indians were 26-18 after sweeping Detroit early on in the season. Sure, they were not winning in walk-off style, but winning is winning. With big series victories against the Cardinals, Reds, White Sox, Rangers and Angels in the first half of the season, they looked legit, making the strings of losses to bottom-of-the-barrel teams such as the Twins, Astros, and Royals seem bearable. Fans were forming all of the possible trades that could be made. But the optimism of the fans began to dwindle.

 

The Indians started to resemble the same team from the 2011 season by looking average. The falling record hinted a return to the .500 mark. But the Tigers did not look as mighty as they did last year, so at least the Indians would be in a closer race this season, right? The White Sox, though solid, did not look scary enough to resemble last season’s Tigers. The Royals and Twins were fading away early on. Not only did the division look, clearly, like the worst in baseball, but the Indians also had the trade deadline to further improve their team.

 

Red Sox first basemen Kevin Youkilis was on the trade market early on in the season. After the Indians acquisition of former World Series champion, Johnny Damon, fans were wondering what the next move would be. Youkilis looked to be a perfect match for the Tribe. He would be extremely useful as either the first basemen or the designated hitter. After all, the Indians have struggled at the DH position with Travis Hafner’s injury problems. At first base, offseason acquisition Casey Kotchman had great fielding abilities, but he just was not cutting at the plate. To add to that, Youkilis was a right-handed hitter, something the Indians were in desperate need of. Sure, he would be leaving Boston on a bad note due to the controversial scenario around he and manager Bobby Valentine, and he had not been performing well up to that point. Looking at Youkilis’ acumen, though, one would predict a return to his all-star numbers.

 

Well, Youkilis got traded. To the White Sox. And they got on fire. And they took hold of first place in the American League Central. The White Sox added him to an already solid lineup starring Tribe-killer Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn, and Alex Rios. How will the Indians counter this? The Indians won’t play the new-look White Sox until the final two weeks of the season, but there is still great concern.

 

The Detroit Tigers are starting to heat up. They acquired second basemen Omar Infante and starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez from the Marlins, coming right after the Indians addition of Brent Lillebridge from the Red Sox.

 

There’s so much in this article that to address that I almost forgot to mention the rest of this season. There are games to be played. But in the scheme of things, when compared to the glaring issues at hand, which I mention, these games seem meaningless.

 

Who cares if the Indians are four to five games out? That has run its course. We all know the players are not as fired up as those in Chicago and Detroit, who’s morale likely exceeds ours as their teams make big splashes in the trade market. Let Detroit and Chicago rejoice. For the Indians, it’s time to reshuffle the decks and realize the mess they have become.

 

Confusion

I am confused because I am wondering: what is going on? All of those names I mentioned from the Indians past have been traded. What have the Indians done since? They have made the playoffs once since the 2012 season. Yeah, they got Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore for Bartolo Colon, which looks great on Indians President (former GM) Mark Shapiro’s resume, but what has the move done for the team? Phillips still plays in Ohio, but he has a Reds uniform when he runs out on the field. Sizemore went from Sports Illustrated cover-boy to an injury prone let down. What have those moves done for the fans?

 

I am also confused why Florida-born closer Chris Perez is telling the fans about his disappointment in their support at games. Has he even come to wonder why the fans may be disappointed in the team? He uses fan support as a reason why free agents such at Carlos Beltran in 2011, chose not to consider the Indians. Is it fan support that gets a bad reputation in Cleveland? No, I think it’s the reputation of the organization.

 

Another thing that confuses me is the term we hear a lot when the Indians are discussed: “small market”. Yes, Cleveland is a small market. But so is Detroit, and that has not stopped them from acquiring the likes of Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez. One would think that the Indians would be able to retain at least one of these players in the past five years: C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, and Victor Martinez. Those players have put up consistent numbers, and you’re telling me that you could not afford to keep even one of them? How did they manage to sign Hafner to such a lucrative deal? Why use money on Kerry Wood? If other small market teams such as the Tigers manage to get such big names, then is this term really something we can look to when we wonder why so many of our favorite Indians have left town?

 

Irritation

I am irritated by the Cleveland Indians. Why do I always have to hear about the Sandy Alomar bubbleheads, the Charlie Nagy jerseys, and see the clips of Kenny Lofton in the “What If” commercials? It irritates me that the team has become so lacking of talent that management has turned to living off former players to get fans in the seats.

 

I am also irritated by the multiple error games of our so-called star Asdrubal Cabrera. His second half slump is worse than last years. He’s got talent, yes, but on a World Series team, he would be maybe be the fourth or fifth, if not lower, best player in the lineup. His sluggish demeanor turns me off, and it certainly overrides the few occasions in which I have seen him fired up.

 

I am irritated by the invisibility of the Indians. Their game highlights are rarely shown on ESPN. Casual fans may not even know who is on the team. The way the team operates has caused the players and the team to become transparent to the outside world. During Michael Brantley’s unbelievable hitting streak, I heard little made of it on outside networks. Whenever wild card standings have been shown, there are the first four or five teams, and the Indians, the fifth or sixth team, which would be right behind, won’t be listed. Even Chris Perez’s comments on the fans, which would surely be an attractive anti-Cleveland story for ESPN to cover, failed to make big news. This team is invisible. I do not like it. I want our team to be important and relevant, and it is far from it. At least the Minneosta Twins fans can look forward to seeing what Joe Mauer will do throughout his long tenure there. What of the Indians? There’s no gem in the minor leagues, free agency lurks for some key players in the next few years, and the team has faded into the nothingness in the Major League Baseball world.

 

Embarrassment

I am embarrassed to be an Indians fan. When the Indians traded for Ubaldo Jimenez, General Manager Chris Antonetti talked about the three-year window that the Indians had to compete and go for the division crown. He was talking about the 2011, 2012, and the 2013 seasons. That is our window. It must be, right? But when I see the results of the first one in a half years of this window, I start to think, “Is he thinking of a different three year period?” Let’s see this three-year period from a record standpoint.

 

2011: 80-82

2012: 50-52

2013: to be determined

 

What a three-year window! Now I get why Chris Perez is adamant that the fans show up! Now I see what Chris Antonetti saw when he traded for Ubaldo!

 

Let us examine the Brent Lillebridge deal that took place a little while ago. I have no problem with him as a player or person. But everything the deal represents embarrasses me. After the Indians got Johnny Damon, it was highly probable that another move would be made. There was a move alright, but this was not the move anyone expected. We were talking about Justin Upton. I would have been fine with Alfonso Soriano or Matt Garza, just to give the team some more experience and ability. Apparently the Indians front office thought that a back up utility player was the Indians only need as they made their run for the division title. Sure, Lillebridge was a solid minor leaguer, but his numbers in the majors have been subpar, especially this season. I just do not see where the Indians go due to this move alone. Will it have any effect at all? Heck, it may have a downward effect. A neat little oddity that pushes the needle a little further is the fact that Lillebridge was one of the players whom the White Sox shipped off to Boston for Kevin Youkilis. You know, the guy who would have been the perfect match for the Indians? The same guy who helped the White Sox pull ahead of the Indians?

 

I am embarrassed that a move of such insignificance ended up being “the move” that fans were talking about ever since the Indians took off early on in the season.

 

I am also embarrassed that this season has taken a 180-degree turn for the worse. Fans went from discussing possible Justin Upton deals to looking for trading partners for Shin-Soo Choo. Choo’s been one of the few bright spots for the Cleveland Indians. Next to Michael Brantley, he’s had the best average on the team and has been responsible for a majority of the offense. His arm in right field is lethal, and keeps third base coaches alarmed. His contract expires at the end of the 2013 season, so why are we talking about this? Nothing adds up. A top player on our team will be a free agent over a year from now, and that’s what fans discuss instead of the current team, or even next year’s team? I guess you can add him to the list of players mentioned earlier as stars who left town. Choo’s agent will certainly be demanding, but it is starting to feel like the Indians will not even bother to try resigning Choo.

 

Boy, what a three-year window.

 

So what now?

 

It is with ultimate confusion, irritation, and embarrassment that I write this. This season has revealed the sham that is the Cleveland Indians. In the worst division in the majors, in the middle of a pennant race, or even a wild card berth, the true characteristics of the organization have been revealed. It has proved to be misleading, unaware, ignorant, and hopeless. Equivocating my gripes, I do not know how else I would be able to put up with it. The Cleveland Indians are in need of a major overhaul, and it has little to do with the on-field talent. It has to do with the philosophies held by the owner. As long as those are held in place, the Indians are not going anywhere. Unless one is happy with one post-season appearance per decade, something has to change. The humiliating attendance numbers have not clued the Indians of their obvious problems, so what will?

 

If this is Cleveland Indians Baseball, then it is a sham.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Cleveland's Finest