Cleveland Indians (long)

As a lifelong Indians fan I must say it is disappointing to see them throw in the towel on the 2002 season but success was obviously not forthcoming and they seem to have a good eye on the future. Colon became a bona fide ace and was not going to remain in Cleveland much longer so the deal must be deemed a smart one. I think they got good prospects in return. I would love to see Bartolo pitch Montreal into a post-season berth. Nothing would be a better one finger salute to Bud Selig than Montreal and Minnesota in the playoffs.


As far as the Indians go, it has been a great 8 year run. Growing up in Cleveland in the 1970s playoff baseball seemed like an impossibility. Games at the "Mistake on the Lake" frequently featured less than 10,000 fans and our biggest draw in the 80s was a one year wonder named Charbonneau, who went from Rookie of the Year numbers to making really really hot chili for sale at Rego's grocery. My biggest highlight of the botton dwelling Tribe years was attending Len Barker's perfect game in 1981. It was Cleveland v. Toronto, who featured a pretty good basketball player named Danny Ainge at 3rd base. I started keeping score but my 11 year old attention span got bored after 5 innings so I quit. All 12,000 of us were on our feet for the finale though--Rick Manning doing a great blue heron immitation to make sure everyone in the stadium knew he had the 27th straight out. They gave away a Cadillac afterward, the result of a weird "it'll never happen" clause written into the stadium's lease. My mom took my sister and I back to BP the next day--my ticket signed by Barker now rests in my desk drawer.


The late 1980s found me ushering at Municipal. Seeing 60 games a year had it upside but most of the best play occurred when a good visiting team was in town. New York games rarely turned out good for the home team but we did get quite a thrill out of waving our "I hate the Yankees" hankees--the brainchild of Joe Tate of WWWE radio. Souvenirs were extra $ in high school too. My sister and I made quite a bit of extra cash selling the "Free Hats to the first 20,000 (right!)" for a buck a piece to the vendors outside. Mostly though, ushering meant standing in a empty general admission section and yelling "You can't sit here". The cops liked everyone contained to cut down on pot smoking I guess. Sure increased the fights though. Thankfully the ownership gave up on 5 cent beer night after a not so mellow game decades earlier.


Finally in the 1990s the Tribe got a new home and an owner and GM ready to spend some $ and put a winning team out there. Imagine the heartbreak when the strike of 1994 hit with Cleveland atop the standings. I was already living in Seattle by then but got frequent reports on the Tribe from my dad back home. He told me of one older lady he heard during a sports call in show. She said "if they strike this year it will be a tragedy of biblical proportions". She summed up the feelings of many Indians fans that summer.


Of course, none of us knew that 1994 was the beginning of a run of playoff teams only interrupted one year of the next 7. Finally our years of devotion to the cellar dwelling Indians was paying off. I was doubly lucky because the playoff road went through Seattle, my adopted home town. I remember screaming like crazy in a crowded Bellingham, WA bar when Kenny Lofton scored from 2nd on a pass ball that Randy Johnson dogged it on. Fast forward a couple years and I am in the same tavern nearly in tears after Jose Mesa blew Game 7 and gave the World Championship to a mercenary team from Florida. Its not surprising that Omar took a pitch in the ribs in 2002 because of comments he made about that blown save.


We all knew that 2001 was a last gasp for the Indians. A new owner, a publicly traded stock to watch, a new GM--it seemed only a matter of time before the belt was tightened too much to compete with the free spending Yankees and new powerhouse in Seattle. Last year's team was good but Seattle and New York so much better--I was disappointed but not surprised the Indians season ended at the hands of the M's. I expect the Mariner's to take over the mantle of the last to first Indians and give their fans a good 8 year run to help blank the memories of 12,000 in attendance games at the Kingdome.


I'll still be listening to Indians baseball this summer (thank you mlb.com!) but full on Tribe Fever will have to put on hold for a few years. Hopefully Omar and Thome will stick around and show the youngsters how to play like winners. Hopefully Shapiro can build a team that will contend again in a few years. Hopefully the Jake will not become a house of broken dreams, like Municipal. Hopefully the Indians will be back on top before too long.


KJS

Nice post. I am saddened beyond belief that there is going to be another cancelled season this year.


One minor quibble though. I was living in Chicago at the time and it was the White Sox fans who were pissed at the strike because it was finally the year that they got over the hump. At the time of the strike, the Sox were 1 game up on the Indians.

I almost went online to verify the standings too. Thanks for the heads-up.


KJS

Very enjoyable post, KJS. I've been a Yankees fan since 1960, but more than that, I'm a baseball fan and it's a pleasure to read another baseball's fan intelligent musings. (1994 was a sad year for me too, because the Yankees, after a long dry spell, finally were in first place too when the strike washed away the season.)


I know, as a Yankee fan I've been fortunate, with their great run the past 6 years (interrupted by the two great games to end the 1997 series between your team and mine, great even though my team ended up on the short side of 3-2 and 4-3 scores) and a system that favors Mr. Steinbrenner.


Here's hoping the Indians rebuild, and quickly. Fans like you deserve it.

Thanks for the compliment. Been reading Fred Lieb, Red Smith and Halberstam for the last couple weeks. I guess you could say they inspired me to put down my thoughts on this season. I'll be watching the Tribe-Yanks on TV tomorrow and Thursday. Go Indians!


One story I should have included. It was October 1997. I had just entered graduate school, where I was offered an assistanceship. First meeting of TAs and advisors was scheduled for October 16th--right in the middle of Game 6 of the ALCS between the Indians and Orioles! I went to the Student Union and watched the first 6 innings, which found the game scoreless. After showing up for the meeting about 5 minutes late, the department head chastised me (jokingly) for my tardiness. I responded "As a huge Cleveland fan, I must admit I am here under protest. Pulling myself away from a scoreless, possibly deciding, ALCS was not easy". As a lifelong Cards fan he was empathetic but it was too late to do anything about it. Imagine my surprise when I returned an hour later to find not only is the game still on--its still scoreless! Tony Fernandez finished it with a solo homer off Armando Benitez in the bottom of the 11th. What a game.


KJS


PS. The Yankees just scored 7 in the 7th. *sigh*

"PS. The Yankees just scored 7 in the 7th. *sigh* "


Yeah, and I just watched Colon retire the Braves in order in the 7th, preserving a 5-2 lead, the 2 Braves runs coming as the result of horrific fielding by Montreal in the 1st inning. I sigh with you.


If you like a happy ending, read "Epic Season," by David Kaiser, about the great 1948 American League pennant race in which 3 teams were tied (Cleveland, Boston, New York) after 147 games (with just 7 to go in the old 154 game season).

I hope both of you (KJS and Andy) have read "Veeck as in Wreck." Many great things in that book including the '48 season. I think Andy mentioned it in a post recently. That's a great sports autobiography.

As you know I grew up in Cleveland as well and saw many, many baseball games at Municipal Stadium. My Dad is a die hard baseball fan who umpired in the Cleveland sandlots for many years. He started playing catch with me in the back yard when I was a mere 5 years old thus perking my interest in baseball (too bad I was never really that good at baseball). I attended my fist Indians game in 1957 and I do remember being startled as to how green the grass was. The longest home run I ever saw hit at the Stadium was by Micky Mantle (batting left handed) although I saw Harmen Killebrew and Dave Kingman hit some monster shots. I remember Rocky Colavito hitting 4 home runs in a game and I believe he was traded a season later for Harvey Kuenn. I remember the Indians pitching staff of the mid sixties that included Sonny Siebert, Luis Tiant, and Sam McDowell. I saw Sonny Siebert pitch a no hitter live. The Indians and McDowell always seemed to fall a little short of their potential. Years later McDowell, who IMO was a tremendous talent, addmitted that he'd was had a serious alcohol problem as a player and it definitely compromised his career. Interestingly McDowell has devoted his life to helping people with alcohol problems. I remember Gaylord Perry in the early 70's and how well he pitched for the Tribe (although we all know that he doctored the ball). I remember a player named Mike Hargrove who was nicknamed the human rain delay and he WAS. Of course Hargrove would later become the Indians manager during their 90's run. I often wondered how Hargrove would handle someone like himself who did all that stuff in the batters box before each pitch. I remember sitting in the bleachers on $0.10 beer night when the crowd got out of control. The Indians were playing the Texas Rangers managed by Billy Martin. The crowd had become increasingly unruly after each half inning. Finally in the 5th a fan came out of the stands and took Jeff Burroughs cap. Burroughs gave chase, more fans came out on the field, the Rangers dugout emptied, and many more fans poured out on the field and before you knew it there was a full scale riot on the field. I remember watching it all unfold including the riot police squad coming in. The Indians foreitted that game. Totally disgraceful fan behavior. From that point on it seemed like years of endless futility until the strike shortened season when the Indians had finally become contenders to no avail. Of course during the 90's the Indians had a great run with their owner Dick Jacobs doing a great job of rebuilding the franchise. I remember when Jacobs indicated is intention to sell the team and I more or less thought he was selling at the top which I don't have a problem with. It seems that he was right. I've lost a lot of interest in baseball over the past several seasons. The dichotomy between the have and have nots in baseball is just too much for me. Yeah I know the Expos and the Twins but I don't think either team has a chance to win the championship although I'd love to see it. The current owner of the Indians I believe is hurting financially (could be wrong about that) due to malinvestment in the cable TV industry. I know his brother owns Cablevision and they're hurting. It's obvious to me that the Indians owner sees a strike this season as inevitable and is acting accordingly. It's been a great run in Cleveland but the realities of the game today seem to be that in order to compete with the likes of the Yankees, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Braves, etc. you've got to spend enough money and it's getting harder to do. Then we have millionares going on strike this summer. I think I'll pass on major league baseball for the forseeable future. Hopefully I'll be surprised but I doubt it.

Happy ending, MY ASS!!

From ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons...


"Speaking of numbers, a surprising amount of Cleveland fans took issue with my complaints about supporting the Pats over the years. Reader Brian Spaeth summed it up best: "Boston people crack me up -- you're so 'tortured.' Those 16 NBA championships must have been really horrible to deal with, huh? You realize Cleveland has never even been to the Super Bowl, right? Or the NBA Finals? And the Indians sucked for 40 years straight. Not only that, but we helped define both John Elway's and Michael Jordan's status as clutch players. The Drive, the Fumble, the Shot ... we, my friend, are tortured. Do you know how many times I've seen the Shot? And I'm only talking about my nightmares.


I'll never forget when I really knew what it is like to be a Cleveland sports fan. 1997 World Series, Game 7, ninth inning, Indians are (gasp) winning. I look over at my dad (lifetime Clevelander) and I say, 'Dad, there's no way we're going to win, is there?' He just kind of looks at me in a way that says, 'I'm sorry, son, but no, there's not.'"

As the son of a diehard Indians fan, I understand where you're coming from, but as a Dodger fan, I take exception with your last statement.

I'll be the first to agree that Fox is the evil empire, and that they've turned my beloved Bums into a twisted caricature of their true selves.

However, this year has been refreshing. This year has been (dare I say it?) O'Malley-ish. Their high priced gun-slingers are mostly gone and long forgotten, and the Phoenix that has risen from the payroll ashes is bleeding Dodger blue. They've made their amazing NL WEst run on the backs of daring scouting Finds (Ishii), worn but worthy vets (Nomo), loyal foot soldiers who've been there for the long haul (Karros), savvy trades (Izturis, Daal, Jordan), and homegrown talent (LoDuca).

These pieces have come together to deliver the Dodger hallmarks of great pitching (Daal, Ishii, Nomo, Perez, Gagne), timely hitting, solid Defense (except for Beltre, of course), and a gritty attitude of a winner that wasn't expected to be.

Why, even the star of the team, although he's the last big money superstar left standing, is in the Dodger mold: A skinny jewish kid who's long on talent!!

No offense meant about the Dodgers. Since they're owned by you know who and they moved the Dukes out of Albuquerque I'm not too happy with them. Glad the Dodgers are having a good year and I've always thought Shawn Greene is a helluva baseball player. It's too bad that baseball is such that people like the O'Malley's had to get out.

Sorry, John. I was talking to the Indians fan; alas, there are no happy endings for Red Sox fans. The last Red Sox dynasty, which ended 84 years ago, featured 2 of the 3 best players in the game at the time (and 2 of the 10 greatest players ever) one of whom (Tris Speaker) was traded to, yes, the Cleveland Indians, where he hit .360 for the balance of his career and managed them to a World Championship, and the other was traded to, yes, the New York Yankees, where he did OK also.


There might be a happy ending this year. I like what the new owners have done, particularly getting rid of Mr. Duquette. Now if they can get their hands on Mr. Thome, they might really have something. And I'm a Yankee fan.