On LeBron

I swore I wasn't going to feed this anymore. I figured the media had driven it to absurdity months ago; I didn't need to contribute. But there's one thing I have up on almost all of the media, sports journalists, etc. I'm from Akron. And this hurts Ohioans. A lot. Sports fans are by definition emotionally invested in their teams, and this was a particularly high (and, while it lasted) great investment for Cleveland-area fans. To be spurned by the hometown hero, after all his alleged and professed love for his hometown not only feels like being rejected, but also being lied to. In short - it's really one of the cliched perfect storms for heartbreak.

Cleveland sports fans are used to heartbreak regularly. The Drive. The Fumble. The Shot. Art Modell. The Mesa Meltdown. The Sabathia Meltdown. The 2010 Conference semi-finals. More heartbreak in 23 years than some cities have had in 75.

But this one is the worst of all. And the reason is simple. This one took forethought.

Clearly, nobody in a game is putting forethought into the heartbreak. The Browns defense didn't say, "you know, Elway must feel pretty bad about that Cal-Stanford game....let's make it up to him!" Byner didn't think, "hey, I'll drop the ball on the goal-line!" Mesa didn't probably want to have that meltdown; Sabathia probably did wish he'd pitched better (too bad it only happened in 2009); and LeBron probably didn't even intend to be TEH SUCK against Boston.

And then there's Art Modell, the man LeBron will now rival for biggest villain in Cleveland sports history. Yes, Modell did decide to move, but by all accounts, the decision was sudden. And there was no multi-week (or multi-year) buildup to the decision-making itself. One day, the Browns are in Cleveland; the next day, it's announced they're heading off to Baltimore.

But this is different. LeBron planned this.

I have no idea how long he's known where he'd end up, but in some ways, it doesn't matter if it was 5 minutes ago, 5 hours ago, 5 days ago, or 5 weeks ago. Clearly, there was a lot of forethought both into the decision, and his opting to do it on television. It was the kind of heartbreak Cleveland sports fans have come to expect....but it was planned.

And that's what hurts the most. For those who haven't seen real salt-of-the-earth Ohioans, they defended Lebron, stuck up for him, took pride in him. That sounds silly, but as someone from Akron....there's not a lot to be proud of there, and a lot of people are never going to get out. It was great to see the hometown kid do good virtually in his hometown; to do good, by the community and for the community. And LeBron professed to feel it in kind.

But he either lied, or changed. He can't go back to Northeast Ohio now. He took the area that loved him like the natural-born son he is, and kicked it in the teeth. On national TV. He has his reasons, and from a sports perspective, they may make sense (though I'm curious how a team with three max-salary guys and 9 schlubs is going to do). But he took a region's pride, joy, and love, and threw it back. And he planned it.

Art Modell was never able to return to Cleveland due to the death threats he received everytime the Ravens played in Cleveland. I'm not advocating death threats towards LeBron or saying they will happen. But remember: Modell's was sudden. This has been weeks in the working.

And really, at the end of the day, that's why this is unforgivable. If LeBron had walked the normal way (i.e., press conference, twitter post, whatever), that would have been one thing. Sad for sports fans in Cleveland, but hey -we're used to heartbreak.

But to kick the people who supported you through all these years, from your high school years onward, to go on television to tell people who are where you're from but who will never be able to leave for better money, that they can piss on their support and their hometown....that's too much.

Make no bones - this is far from the end of the world. Dan Gilbert (the Cavs' owner) has plenty of money, and has said that he wants to build a winner and bring the first championship to Cleveland since 1964, with or without LeBron. And he spends enough of his own money on the Cavs (unlike Gordon Gund), I believe him. And it still remains to be seen if 3 max-salary-stars and 9 schmoes can win it all (I sure hope not).

But this was the perfect fairy-tale sports story: hometown kid becomes very good and ends up playing for the hometown team, bringing pride to an area desperately needing some.

And it ended the only way it could, Cleveland-style: in heartbreak and rejection. Good thing we've been trained for it.

No Love for Cleveland, Example #582,193

In recapping the Lakers' loss to the Suns last night, the Game notes included the following little item: "Phoenix has a victory over the teams with the three best records in the league -- the Lakers, Boston and Orlando." Incidentally, L.A. is 24-6 (.800 winning percentage), Boston is 23-7 (.767), and Orlando is 22-8 (.733). Funnily enough, though, Cleveland is 24-8 (.750), a full game better than Orlando (and neither team played last night, so it's not like that is a sudden shift). I guess that would mean that the three best teams in the league are L.A., Boston, and Cleveland, not Orlando. And in the two (and only) games Cleveland and Phoenix have already played this year, Cleveland handily won both games. So I guess Phoenix hasn't won games over the top three teams in the league this year, and I guess Cleveland has once again been overlooked.

Amazing what a little research can do.

Sigh....

Forty-five years ago yesterday, the Cleveland Browns won the last professional sports title the city has seen. That's the longest drought (and has been for quite some time) in cities with three or more professional sports teams. And looking at the Indians' and Browns' current state, unless the Cavs get it this year, that number will continue to grow for a few years. Ah, the joys of growing up a Cleveland fan. But I guess beating the Raiders is a decent start....

Behold - the Wisdom of the Mangenius!

I've been steering the "fire Eric Mangini" bandwagon weeks before the NFL season even started; I secretly hoped I would be wrong, but I haven't been (and when Lyrad predicted the Browns would go 5-11, I said he was dreaming, and 3-13 was likely, and I might have overestimated the Browns). The season has quickly become a weird kind of sports-depression I've never experienced before. It's not that I'm down, or even despondent - those conditions would have required some sense of expectation of some success coming into this year, and I really had no expectations of any successes. Still, the speed at which Mangini has absolutely destroyed this team is mind-numbing. I didn't think they'd be good for at least 3-4 years coming into this season, but seeing the wrecking ball that is the "Mangenius," I don't think they'll recover for at least 5 years after Mangini's gone, and while it would be nice if that happened this offseason, it may not. Cleveland fans are used to "waiting for next year," and even when "next year" wasn't too likely (as with the Indians for 2010), at least you could hope they were building something good. But there's none of that here. Mangini isn't driving the team off a cliff - the stagecoach went over the cliff 10 miles back, and we're somehow still falling.

I'd take joy in my accuracy on the disaster of Mangini, but I don't - they're just terrible, and he makes some of the worst decisions I've ever seen in any professional sport and carries himself in one of the most appalling ways of any coach I've ever seen on any team. But I don't need to cite any examples - the snark over at this post at Waiting for Next Year hits it perfectly:

Once again, not only does [Mangini] leave the media guessing, but his two QB’s didn’t even know which way he was going. Brady Quinn, when asked if he was knew what his status for Monday Night, told the media he had “no idea.” Mangini claimed he would tell everyone Wednesday (today) what his plans are. “I haven’t sat down with the quarterbacks about it yet, so that’s part of it. We’ll talk about that in conjunction with our work on the Ravens.”

That’s exactly the way to run your team. Keep the QB’s in the dark when you had a bye week to prepare your chosen guy.

*Sigh*.....there's just nothing to hope for here, save for the removal of Mangini, and even when he's gone, it's going to take years to overcome the damage. I'd hope that the Cavs could keep LeBron, but fortunately, I'm a Cleveland sports fan. We had the audacity of hope mercilessly beaten out of us years ago.

Nice World Series coverage, Fox. You want to come kick my dog, too?

I don't get any television networks, so while I've paid close attention via the internet, I haven't been able to watch any of the baseball playoffs this year. However, as an Indians fan, that may be for the better this World Series. In addition to the typical crimes against intelligence and decency that Buck and McCarver manage to wage every year, apparently, there was also this during Game One:

The pain [for Indians fans] was there, assisted by the FOX graphic showing the 2009 post-season records for both Lee and Sabathia accompanied by pictures of each still donning Chief Wahoo, with the title “You Still Have LeBron” delivering the final knockout punch to an unwitting city that once again was forced to come to grips with their second-class status.

OK, it's bad enough you had to point out that yes, we didn't get to keep either of the last two AL Cy Young winners. But rubbing it in with the "LeBron" comment? Barring the return of Arrested Development to TV, I think it's safe to say I will never, ever, ever watch another Fox program as long as I live. Perhaps I'll even add "pissing on Rupert Murdoch's grave" to my list of things to do in my lifetime.

Oh, and Fox?

Fuck. You.

A Quick Question

Dear C.C. Sabathia:

Where in the blue hell was this back in 2007, in either game? That's some outstanding timing you have.

Thanks for nothing, jerk.

Trend

Just Wait Until 2056!!!

I sure am glad Mangini waited until right before week 1 to decide who his starting QB would be. Clearly, it was a decision he felt he could stick to.

Looks like my "fire Mangini" bandwagon is already getting pretty crowded...


....and now that Wedge is gone, Mangini can look forward to being the only Eric in Cleveland who has to worry about his job.

*sigh*

Go Cav.....oh, hell. Why even bother?

Fifteen Years Ago...

The 1994 baseball strike began this exact day, 15 years ago. On that day, I was devastated (even though people saw it coming) - for the first time in my life the Indians were in the running, just one game behind Chicago. Of course, my heartbreak is nothing to the former (and continuing) fans of the Montreal Expos, who were baseball's best team that year and who never recovered from the strike.

It's been a weird 15 years - the Indians' heartbreaks in 1995 and 1997, the agony of Yankee hegemony returning, a recent spate of unlikely World Series Champions (Boston and the Chisox back-to-back, with more than 80 years of championship drought; the Marlins [ugh], twice [UGH]), and of course, the steroids era's rise and fall, for better (it did help bring fans back) and worse (look where we are now, with all the talk of "asterisks" and the shadow over those years). It all certainly makes one look back and wonder what the future of baseball holds. Hopefully, strikes or lockouts are not a part of that future....

Eric Mangini Thinks He's More Important than the Browns

Eric Mangini is apparently dissatisfied with the Browns' continued survival, and is trying to run them into the ground once and for all with his egoism and his stupid decisions. Have I mentioned I hate Scamgini, er, Mangini? Even if he wins a title with the Browns (which he won't), I will never support this style of coaching.

Go Cavs/Tribe!

For the Record....

I remember numbers 8, 7, and 5 through 1, and each one still stings. But when I get to number one, it's still a pain you can't even begin to describe - I still fill with a wistful, morose perspective, pondering what could have been if Fernandez hadn't committed that error...(which speaks to how much I love baseball, how much an Indians championship would mean to me, and how pathetic my life actually is).

*Sigh*...............

Trading Carl Pavano Is Obvious, but....Why Now?

Well, this trade is the most obvious and simultaneously the most perplexing. A pitcher about to reach a bunch of his incentive bonuses in a one-year contract on a team that's losing money? That's a no-brainer. But why didn't the Indians try to trade Pavano sooner and maybe try to get more than just a "player to be named later"? He's been more than functional and could have added to a number of teams' starting rotations (Boston, I'm looking in your direction.....). Putting him on the waiver wire on the Monday immediately after the trade deadline really doesn't make sense to me. Of course, Mark Shapiro knows more about what was going on than I do, so maybe he quietly was mentioning Pavano to teams, and nobody was willing to part with a couple of minor leaguers for him. But maybe he wasn't, and this was one of Shapiro's poorer decisions. Whatever the case, it's long-term impact isn't too great, as we weren't keeping Pavano beyond this year (and both Cleveland and Pavano knew it), and who knows - maybe that PTNL will be lights out by some fluke that often happens in baseball. Still, I wish we'd at least traded Pavano for a couple of prospects, instead of just getting the PTNL after a waivers claim. Oh well....2011!

Your 2009 NBA Finals Champions - The Cleveland Cavaliers!

Clearly, Orlando's 4-2 series win over Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals was tainted. The only solution is to declare Cleveland the victor, the NBA Finals void, and give the NBA title to the Cavaliers.

After all, it seems that's the only way the city of Cleveland will ever get a championship....

Well, That Helps Explain the Lee and Martinez Trades...

Ouch. This is especially unfortunate given the vicious cycle of losing seasons and team incomes - a team starts losing money and has to let some players go, the team does worse, the fans don't come as much, team loses more money, more players go, fewer fans, etc. And unfortunately, it's not going to change until the Indians turn around - casual fans won't suddenly start coming so the team has more money; it's incumbent upon the team to do well (see: 1995's contention and the subsequent 455 sell-out streak).

As for Wedge, I'm usually not one of "those" guys, but hopefully, ownership and Shapiro determine that it's time to change horses. I like Wedge a lot, but the constant slow starts in April (9-14 in 2009; 14-15 in 2008; 15-8 in 2007, the lone good year; 13-13 in 2006; 9-15 in 2005; 10-13 in 2004; and 7-20 in 2003) are tough to deal with. What's more, Wedge is just really tightly wound, and very controlling, which can be great; however, after awhile (and it's been awhile), it leads to players pushing too hard, always trying to get that hit, always trying to get the perfect pitch, which just leads to swinging at bad pitches and making bad throws. In short, the team is too wound, pressing too hard, and Wedge's personality and style has a lot to do with that. And it's never a good sign when teammates are not-too-subtly throwing each other (and the manager) under the bus when things go wrong (see the July 12 post). It signals that the antagonisms between players and managers have irreversibly manifested themselves, and at that point, your manager is no longer effective.

So, I am rarely one of those people who quickly and rashly declares the manager has to go (Eric Mangini being the exception - let it be known here and now that, when it comes to the "fire Mangini" bandwagon, I'm not hopping on; I'm driving the thing). However, it's clear that Wedge's style has worn thin and lost its effectiveness. If Shapiro wants to bring a bunch of young guys up from the minors together and have a cohesiveness (and it certainly seems that that is now his plan), then he's going to need a manager who can work better with that. So hopefully, ownership and Shapiro will be on the same page, and Cleveland will have a new face as manager next year, even as I wish Eric Wedge the best of luck and future success with another (non-Yankee) team.

Cleveland Indians Trade Victor Martinez (or, "Just Because It Makes Sense Doesn't Mean It Doesn't Hurt")

I'm not going to lie - this one hurt. Victor has not only been a vital part of the Indians' offensive lineup for years - he's been the emotional center, one of the most popular players the Tribe has had over the years. This is probably the toughest trade to deal with on an emotional level since the Indians surprised their fanbase and traded Kenny Lofton in the offseason of 1996-1997.

It also hurts because it confirms what I already suspected - the Indians are in full-blown rebuilding mode for the first time since the end of the 2001 season. This isn't just "wait 'til next year" - this is "wait 'til 2011," with next year basically being a season-long spring training. Sure, the AL Central is still kind of weak, even with Jake Peavy, Jarrod Washburn, and Orlando Cabrera, so they could not-surprise me and win the AL Central, but, barring any miracles (and there haven't been any miracles since 1948), they're not winning the World Series next year.

This isn't to say the move doesn't make sense. Just like Lee, it was hard to keep Victor - his club option for next year was $7 million, and this is a team that (sadly) has to cut its (already bare-bones) payroll. With Matt LaPorta coming up soon to play first base, and with Travis Hafner already locked in as our DH through 2011, and with Lou Marson and Carlos Santana (not that one) sitting in the farm system at catcher, as well as Kelly Shoppach, who's very good and who we may now try to sign to a long-term deal, well....there just wasn't a lot of room for Martinez and his expiring contract.

Certainly, part of this feels necessary. As Paul puts it, "it kind of feels like we’re tearing off a band-aid and we might as well get in all the pain all that we can at once to let that next stage begin as soon as possible." And he's right - the efforts of 2002-2008 failed, and so it's time to look ahead, start over, and move on to the next stage. Plus, we already have great players like Sizemore locked in for a few more years, along with good players like Hafner. Combined with the fact that, by trading Lee, Martinez, Mark DeRosa, and Rafael Betancourt, the Indians save $25 million for next year and can maybe re-sign Choo and Cabrera, this all seems like a necessary evil. The Indians simply do not have the payroll to be able to continue to "rebuild" while remaining in contention by hiring experienced, good players to come in and fill the holes while the young guys develop. At the end of the day, this trade makes sense - it frees up payroll, it (together with the Lee trade) gets us a lot of pitching prospects, of which we have very few. And while I don't like to root for the Red Sox, I'll root for Victor always (barring him facing the Tribe in the World Series), and if he helps the Sox take down the Yankees, I'll be more than OK with that.

Still, Victor was a guy who loved Cleveland, who gave his heart and soul to the Cleveland Indians, and who in many ways was the face of the team in the post-Ramirez/Belle/Lofton/Thome years - the fact that he cried when he learned of the trade says all you need to know about his feelings for the Cleveland Indians. And there aren't a lot of guys who love Cleveland like that, in baseball or any other sports. Not only that - he's still very good. So this is necessary. But right now, it sucks, and all we can do is hope that the new efforts work out and keep a special fond place in our hearts for El Capitan.

Mr. Trend's Professionally-Amateur Baseball Predictions - Playoffs and World Series

Taking my guesses at how the American League and National League will play out this year to their logically impossible-to-imagine final point, here are my predictions for the playoffs and World Series. I expect to get this as right as anybody else (which is to say, nowhere near right, and even if something does pan out, it will probably be more to blind stupid luck than any "knowledge" or "insight" - the vagaries of the regular season are just too many for accuracy here).

ALDS
Tampa Bay (1) over Cleveland (3), in five games.
-If the Indians do make the playoffs, and if Cliff Lee is 75% the pitcher he was last year, the Indians should cause some trouble in the playoffs, as Carmona seems to have found his stuff again. Still, I have little expectations of a Cleveland run, and I just really like everything Tampa has done lately.

Boston (4) over Oakland (2) in three games.
-I just don't think the AL West is very good, still. The top of the division is better than the AL Central, but I don't think the winner of the West will be as good as their record indicates (much like the Angels last year).

NLDS
New York (1) over Los Angeles (3) in four games.
-This could be wrong, but if there's going to be a smoke-and-mirrors team this year, it's the Dodgers.

Chicago (2) over Philadelphia (4) in five games.
-Not out of any love for the Cubbies or any disrespect to the Phils. But after two year of getting swept, I'm sure the Cubs will move on, so that their fans can get their hopes built up even higher

ALCS
Boston over Tampa in seven games.
-I really, really like Tampa, but it's just so hard to make back-to-back appearances in the World Series (though if anybody could, I bet it's Tampa). There's no conviction in this pick - I like Tampa's youth, and they proved themselves last year, but I like Boston's experience, too. Plus, in a just world, Tampa would beat Boston, and we wouldn't have to hear their whining so much (present company excluded, Dave and Sator). Unfortunately, the world isn't just - Boston in 7.

Oh, screw it - Tampa in 7, for a very simple reason (see below).

NLCS
Chicago over New York in 6.
-The Mets look very good on paper, but they also look pretty old once you get past David Wright and Daniel Murphy. I don't have a lot of conviction on this one either, but I'll go with the Cubs, so they can finally make it to....

The World Series
Tampa over Chicago in a 4-game sweep.
-Because Cubs fans haven't truly experienced the feeling of finally making it to the World Series, and then having their high expectations absolutely destroyed by a team that isn't even 15 years old. Welcome to my hell, circa 1997, Cubs fans.

Cleveland Collapses.....Again

I'm pretty much too despondent to write very much write now, even though I saw this coming (my wife kept saying, "I think they're going to win tonight", but I said since Saturday night, "Boston's got this thing wrapped up" - I really loved and appreciated her optimism, but as a lifelong Cleveland fan, I knew better). Overall, as time passes, I'll be happy with this season, considering everything that actually went wrong for Cleveland:

-two of our five startes on the opening day roster didn't make it the season (Cliff Lee & Jeremy Sowers)

-despite the flops this year of Jesse Barfield, Andy Marte, David Dellucci and Trot Nixon, callups Asdrubal Cabrera, Franklin Gutierrez, Rafael Perez, Jensen Lewis, and Aaron Laffey were unbelievably important in the second half of the season, and even Luis Rivas looked REALLY good in his few at-bats as a September callup.

-pitching was great, between our top 3 starters (even Paul Byrd got 15 wins), and the bullpen, while an adventure with Borowski, looks good with who we have for the future, especially Betancourt.

-the Tribe won 96 games despite Hafner and Sizemore having what is for them a terrible year in production.

But for the love of all that's good in the world.......if you'd told me we'd make it to the ALCS just two have our two top starters, Travis Hafner, Rafael Perez, Victor Martinez, Betancourt (last night), and several other players not show up for the series, stinking up the joint in ways previously inconceivable to the foolishly-hopeful Cleveland fans (like Charlie Brown with the football, somehow believing that this time was for real), and the fans who don't need any more suffering (thanks guys, but we already have the Drive, the Fumble, the Shot, Jose Mesa, and the NBA finals this year, not to mention the Buckeyes with Florida) something else (the 3-1 year, with "The Case of the Missing Aces"), well, I would have honestly passed. I bear no personal ill will to my Boston fans, but as a collective, they can go to hell (along with all the other cities that have won something in my lifetime - I'm looking in your direction, Philadelphia) - you have the Pats, you had the Celtics in the 80s, and you have this. Again. Meanwhile, it's been 60 years now (and counting) for the tribe, 53 for the Browns, 40+ for the Cavs, and no end in sight......