This year's summer trip back to Cleveland has been a nostalgic one for me to say the least.
It started with a wake for a boyhood friend of mine, which reunited me with neighborhood "kids" I hadn't seen in 30 years or more.
Then there was last night's trip to Progressive Field, which transported me back to the days of Municipal Stadium.
The crowd was minuscule, mostly disinterested and definitely disgusted with a home team that seemed equally disinterested and mostly inept. I felt I was back in the late '70s.
The announcement of the starting lineup for the Tribe was greeted by a response that could only generously be called a smattering of cheers. The place was dead from start to finish of another get-it-over-with performance from the home team.
Even John Adams could barely gather enough enthusiasm to whack his big bass drum more than three or four times during the game.
The Tribe went down to a methodical defeat before the sun had even set completely
In an ESPN.com article by Jerry Crasnick, posted two days ago, Tribe GM Mark Shapiro says Tribe fans are "traumatized," which, from the context of the article, I took to mean shell-shocked from all the bullets of disappointment we've taken in the past from all of our home teams.
But the current mood of Tribe fans, I think, has little to do with the town's checkered sports past.
Tribe fans are not "traumatized." Some are angry that a team that was one win from the World Series two years ago has devolved into an unwatchable mess. Others are saddened by the same phenomenon.
A number of other fans are turned off by seven years of the same old same old, with the same faces in charge and very little to be happy about during that time period and a questionable future staring them in the face.
Others - and I think this applies to a large chunk of the fan base - are just plain bored.
The result is the same night after night. An offense that has recently taken to going through the motions, knowing full well that at some point - be it in the early innings by a starter or the latter innings at the hands of the bullpen - the pitching will collapse and the team will notch another "L"
In CYA fashion, the front office members quoted in the ESPN article attempted to dial down markedly fan expectations.
Shapiro: "I truly believe in my heart that we're going to be back in the playoffs again in the next three years."
Three years? Aren't we in year seven of a five-year rebuilding program already?
And from assistant GM Chris Antonetti, these thoughts about the success of 2007 and where the teams stands today:
"Any time you have the opportunity to advance in the postseason and get that close, there's some level of disappointment when you don't reach your ultimate goal of winning the World Series. We valued that at the time. We understood that for teams in our market size, with our resources, it's exceptionally challenging to repeat and sustain that level of success."
Which means what? Don't expect much any time too soon? He makes it sound as though smoke and mirrors are a necessary set of tools for a team like the Tribe to to anything more than make an accidental appearance, every so often, in the playoffs.
No wonder the team is drawing so poorly smack dab in the middle of the summer. There seems to be a general lack of hope, which has led to a general lack of interest.
There are some things the team can do spike interest enough to at least keep the die-hards from defecting.
A new manager would be a start, but it has become abundantly clear that that won't happen - at least until the offseason. Right now a new appointee would likely be an interim choice to finish the season anyway.
But there are some other things the team can do in the area of player personnel.
As much as I like the way Jamey Carroll plays ball, the Tribe needs to get Luis Valbuena in the lineup every day to see what he has and to allow him to get needed experience.
Then there's Matt LaPorta. Why is he not up with the big club and in the lineup every day? Put him either at 1B or LF. With the trade of Mark De Rosa the Tribe has a more glaring need in LF than at 1B right now, but I think LaPorta is more likely to be a 1B long-term so I would play him there.
Which brings us to Michael Brantley - he of the 30 SBs in 33 tries at Columbus. Why not let the fans have a glimpse at him rather than more than more than they ever want to see of Ben Francisco?
There are other moves that could be made, and perhaps will be made, if some of the dead wood can be cleaned out before the trading deadline. Presumably some young talent will be headed in our direction if trades are made.
But from what I saw tonight - the deadest I've ever seen Jacobs/Progressive Field - some kind of shakeup is in order or the fan base will tune out the Tribe altogether before too long.
It started with a wake for a boyhood friend of mine, which reunited me with neighborhood "kids" I hadn't seen in 30 years or more.
Then there was last night's trip to Progressive Field, which transported me back to the days of Municipal Stadium.
The crowd was minuscule, mostly disinterested and definitely disgusted with a home team that seemed equally disinterested and mostly inept. I felt I was back in the late '70s.
The announcement of the starting lineup for the Tribe was greeted by a response that could only generously be called a smattering of cheers. The place was dead from start to finish of another get-it-over-with performance from the home team.
Even John Adams could barely gather enough enthusiasm to whack his big bass drum more than three or four times during the game.
The Tribe went down to a methodical defeat before the sun had even set completely
In an ESPN.com article by Jerry Crasnick, posted two days ago, Tribe GM Mark Shapiro says Tribe fans are "traumatized," which, from the context of the article, I took to mean shell-shocked from all the bullets of disappointment we've taken in the past from all of our home teams.
But the current mood of Tribe fans, I think, has little to do with the town's checkered sports past.
Tribe fans are not "traumatized." Some are angry that a team that was one win from the World Series two years ago has devolved into an unwatchable mess. Others are saddened by the same phenomenon.
A number of other fans are turned off by seven years of the same old same old, with the same faces in charge and very little to be happy about during that time period and a questionable future staring them in the face.
Others - and I think this applies to a large chunk of the fan base - are just plain bored.
The result is the same night after night. An offense that has recently taken to going through the motions, knowing full well that at some point - be it in the early innings by a starter or the latter innings at the hands of the bullpen - the pitching will collapse and the team will notch another "L"
In CYA fashion, the front office members quoted in the ESPN article attempted to dial down markedly fan expectations.
Shapiro: "I truly believe in my heart that we're going to be back in the playoffs again in the next three years."
Three years? Aren't we in year seven of a five-year rebuilding program already?
And from assistant GM Chris Antonetti, these thoughts about the success of 2007 and where the teams stands today:
"Any time you have the opportunity to advance in the postseason and get that close, there's some level of disappointment when you don't reach your ultimate goal of winning the World Series. We valued that at the time. We understood that for teams in our market size, with our resources, it's exceptionally challenging to repeat and sustain that level of success."
Which means what? Don't expect much any time too soon? He makes it sound as though smoke and mirrors are a necessary set of tools for a team like the Tribe to to anything more than make an accidental appearance, every so often, in the playoffs.
No wonder the team is drawing so poorly smack dab in the middle of the summer. There seems to be a general lack of hope, which has led to a general lack of interest.
There are some things the team can do spike interest enough to at least keep the die-hards from defecting.
A new manager would be a start, but it has become abundantly clear that that won't happen - at least until the offseason. Right now a new appointee would likely be an interim choice to finish the season anyway.
But there are some other things the team can do in the area of player personnel.
As much as I like the way Jamey Carroll plays ball, the Tribe needs to get Luis Valbuena in the lineup every day to see what he has and to allow him to get needed experience.
Then there's Matt LaPorta. Why is he not up with the big club and in the lineup every day? Put him either at 1B or LF. With the trade of Mark De Rosa the Tribe has a more glaring need in LF than at 1B right now, but I think LaPorta is more likely to be a 1B long-term so I would play him there.
Which brings us to Michael Brantley - he of the 30 SBs in 33 tries at Columbus. Why not let the fans have a glimpse at him rather than more than more than they ever want to see of Ben Francisco?
There are other moves that could be made, and perhaps will be made, if some of the dead wood can be cleaned out before the trading deadline. Presumably some young talent will be headed in our direction if trades are made.
But from what I saw tonight - the deadest I've ever seen Jacobs/Progressive Field - some kind of shakeup is in order or the fan base will tune out the Tribe altogether before too long.
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