Don’t tell me that all of the pessimism about the Cleveland Indians’ 2010 season has anything to do with the archaic and racist Chief Wahoo logo - that would at least make sense. Unfortunately, from what I can gather, the “no hope” chants surrounding the team have a little to do with the players currently on the roster, a little to do with negative attitudes, and a lot to do with ownership.
In a series of posts surrounding the Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez deals last summer, we outlined the basic reasons for why we supported the actions taken by now outgoing General Manager Mark Shapiro and, no doubt, signed off on by owner Larry Dolan. Essentially, the team hadn’t won with Lee or Martinez. Prospects were more important for the future. This is baseball, after all, where one player can only make so much of a difference (read: not that much).
Even if you didn’t agree with trading Lee and Martinez (or Ryan Garko or Mark DeRosa, for that matter), and you’re pissed at ownership as a result, is that a good reason to not root for the Indians?
This is actually a legitimate question with a fairly complex answer. Do sports fans root for teams? Do we root for players? Do we root for organizations and owners? Do we root for cities? Which one is it?
Not everyone is the same. There are plenty of people around the country, for example, who now root for the Cavaliers because LeBron James is on the team. If he leaves as a free agent in the summer, I suspect most of them will become fans of whichever team he moves on to. Some of us, like LeBron himself, root for whichever teams are on TV and winning the most often while we’re growing up. Others root for the teams that their parents root for, no matter where they live now.
When sports and sports fans are at their best, they become a metaphor for entire cities and sometimes even regions. This has happened in places like New Orleans, which saw the Saints win the Super Bowl in February. It could happen in Cleveland if the Cavs win the NBA Finals in June. In these cases, a sporting event can represent and inspire the hopes of a tremendous mass of people.
In fact, if the Cavs do take home the Larry O’Brien trophy this summer, Mayor Jackson better be ready to mobilize this energy in positive ways.
Excuse the brief aside, but my point is that people root for teams for a lot of different reasons … but I’m pretty sure that nobody - except for friends and relatives - roots for a team because of its owner. And if you are the friend or relative of an owner, you’re going to root for that owner no matter what he does.
Which suggests that if you’re still a baseball fan - and I know sometimes the sport makes it hard - and you have some connection to the Indians and/or the city of Cleveland that has nothing to do with Martinez, Lee, DeRosa, Garko, or, I don’t know, Carl Pavano, then you should remain a fan of the Cleveland Indians for the 2010 season.
Rooting for a team is one thing though, and being optimistic about them is another. So let’s talk about that pessimism. Most of what I’ve heard so far has to do with the pitching staff. This is actually somewhat of a positive development because it actually makes some sense. The Indians’ offense last season was above average in adjusted OPS, only three points below the second place Angels. In the Central Division, they were tied for first.
Since the team has only lost Ben Francisco, Kelly Shoppach, and Garko from that starting lineup, Grady Sizemore isn’t hurt, Travis Hafner is getting healthier, and Matt LaPorta, and Michael Bradley are taking over for Garko and Francisco, I would argue that the Indians actually have a very good chance to be even better offensively this season.
But then there’s the pitching staff that most local journalists love to hate. Why is this? The Indians’ number one starter, Jake Westbrook, is coming off of Tommy John surgery. Fausto Carmona was terrible last year (1.13 SO/BB | 1.1 HR/9). Justin Masterson can’t get lefties out, and the rest of the starters (Mitch Talbot and probably David Huff) are relatively unproven.
The bullpen is a similar story. Kerry Wood wasn’t great last year, but he’s hurt now anyway. Rafael Perez had a down season. Jensen Lewis had a down season. Chris Perez doesn’t have a lot of experience, etc. etc.
In other words, the pitching staff is unproven and inconsistent.
Okay, that’s fine. It’s a rational argument. But the only thing it really means is that there’s a chance the pitching staff could suck.
But there’s also a chance the pitching staff could be awesome.
Carmona has been great in the past. Westbrook has been very good. Rafael Perez has been great. Chris Perez was pretty damn good last year (10.3 SO/9). Masterson is young (25). He can get better at getting left-handed hitters out and is already very good at striking out righties. Huff, despite general mediocrity, did lead the Indians in victories in 2009…
What I’m saying is that there are just as many reasons to be optimistic about the Indians’ pitching staff as there are reasons to be pessimistic.
I believe that if you’re a fan of the Indians or the city of Cleveland, you should choose optimism.
People might say you’re a fool. It’s okay. The first guy to believe in something always is. But these kinds of “fools” are what Northeast Ohio needs right now.
Be a fool. It’s the better option.
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