A Mind Boggling Stat I heard about the Tribe today on the radio

• IggyPride00

  

  With Jake Westbrook being traded yesterday, it marked the 3rd year in a row the opening day starter has been dealt by the deadline.
  
  Has that ever happened before?
  
  I knew we traded those guys, but it was only when I heard it on talk radio today that I realized how messed up that really is.
  
  Could Fausto make it 4 for 4 next year?
  
  Dolan needs to get control of this situation because people I heard calling in are just washing their hands of this team, and there is not even an ounce of hope looking forward really.
• Ironman92

  

  I feel bad for the Indians and their fans
• justincredible

  

  My mind has been boggled. Talk about turnover at the top of your pitching staff.
• Heretic

  

  You guys have become the Pirates of the AL where you essentially have to hope that the team can constantly feed itself from the minor leagues AND that ownership will make good decisions as to what players are worth paying to keep (as opposed to dumping a shitload of cash into the Hafners and Sizemores of the world and watching them immediately turn to shit).
  
  And, speaking of the Pirates of the NL, sorry Reds fans. Zach Duke utterly imploded in the fifth inning. Cards are beating us 6-1 now!
• Mulva

  

  In fairness, Westbrook was only the opening day starter because the rotation was pretty abysmal this year. I have no problem unloading him whatsoever. He wasn't worth anywhere near $10 million.
  
  The Indians control Fausto through 2014 with his options, so I really don't see him being traded next year IF he ends up being the #1 starter.
• wes_mantooth

  

  Next year will make four years in a row, when they trade Fausto at some point.
• krazie45

  

  The Dolans have been an embarrassment to the city of Cleveland and the history of the Indians franchise...I can only hope that one day attendance will drop low enough for them to sell the team.
• IggyPride00

  

  Dolan paid too much for the team and never exactly had the deepest pockets.
  
  With the way the world is today, if you own a professional sports team as a means of earning income instead of a play toy, you are in the wrong game. Sadly the fans are suffering for it.
• BRF

  

  wes_mantooth;438494 wrote:Next year will make four years in a row, when they trade Fausto at some point.

  Yeah, the way things are going with this club.....yeah.
• BRF

  

  Heretic;438466 wrote:You guys have become the Pirates of the AL where you essentially have to hope that the team can constantly feed itself from the minor leagues AND that ownership will make good decisions as to what players are worth paying to keep (as opposed to dumping a shitload of cash into the Hafners and Sizemores of the world and watching them immediately turn to shit).
  

  
  
  
  The only thing I disagree with your post is the "have become" part. We been there for a while now.
  
  P.s. - BTW, who is your avatar? Every time I see it, I think of David Bowie.
• Heretic

  

  Jim Anchower. "Columnist" for The Onion.
• BRF

  

  Heretic;438542 wrote:Jim Anchower. "Columnist" for The Onion.

  Ah,ty. Now I can get rid of the David Bowie thoughts in my head! . Back to the thread, I have little bit of hope in that all the teams in the AL Central are "small market", including the ChiSox. We just gotta get it going again to entice the fans into the hopes of making the play-offs, because that's how it rolls these days.
• KR1245

  

  Ironman92;438431 wrote:I feel bad for the Indians and their fans

  
  It can really suck at times. Thats kinda how things work for small market teams. Seems like you have a 3-4 year window and if it doesnt work you have to start over again. Its rare to see small market teams sustain years of dominance. The Reds have a very solid team but they will go through the same thing in a few years. The window for small market teams short
  
  Not hating the Reds, just using them as an example
• krambman

  

  The Indians have essentially become a farm team for the rest of Major League Baseball. They develop great talent which they then proceed to trade away before they have to pay them a ton of money. It has become very clear that the ownership in Cleveland is only interested in making money and couldn't care less about putting a competitive team on the field. It's been too long and too many of these deals trading away top players for them to lie that they are building for the future. They only thing they are building for their future is their bank accounts.
• krazie45

  

  KR1245;438554 wrote:It can really suck at times. Thats kinda how things work for small market teams. Seems like you have a 3-4 year window and if it doesnt work you have to start over again. Its rare to see small market teams sustain years of dominance. The Reds have a very solid team but they will go through the same thing in a few years. The window for small market teams short
  
  Not hating the Reds, just using them as an example

  
  Not necessarily true. The Twins seem like they've been able to maintain a level of competitiveness for a long time. Then again, their ownership actually opens up their pockets to sign their superstars instead of just trading them for low level prospects.
• ts1227

  

  krazie45;438872 wrote:Not necessarily true. The Twins seem like they've been able to maintain a level of competitiveness for a long time. Then again, their ownership actually opens up their pockets to sign their superstars instead of just trading them for low level prospects.

  This. Other small market teams do OK because they are willing to pay at least some of their talent to stay. Dolan is looking for a way to unload players for a box of baseballs the minute it becomes clear he will have to give them a pay raise in their next contract.
• grodt

  

  Thought this was kinda funny and seemed to fit in
  http://www.theonion.com/articles/indians-apologize-for-not-having-ace-pitcher-to-tr,17819/
• Heretic

  

  grodt;439097 wrote:Thought this was kinda funny and seemed to fit in
  http://www.theonion.com/articles/indians-apologize-for-not-having-ace-pitcher-to-tr,17819/

  Shapiro, who said the Indians really had no need for a closer, claimed the team was willing to part with reliever Chris Perez for $5,000 and a new baseline field marker.

  Man, I don't know what they're thinking. I'm pretty sure Chris Perez is not going to bring more on the market than Lee did.
• BigAppleBuckeye

  

  Baseball is unfortunately a broken sport, it's not set up for teams like Cleveland and Pittsburgh to win, and that's a shame. Until there is a salary cap, the game will continue to flounder. I LOVE baseball, have always loved it, played it, etc ... but it amazes me how poorly MLB has managed things, and how the game has changed for the worse. Used to be great back in the 80s and 90s and see teams like Kansas City, Minnesota and Milwaukee in the World Series, and teams like Pittsburgh winning several division titles.
  
  Which makes it worse, I root for a team (the Mets) that has ALL the resources available for them to succeed, but their management is so void of baseball intelligence that this franchise will never excel until it is sold.
• burt07

  Comparing the trades this year to those of years past is a little much, I don't have many problems with what they did this trading deadline, as opposed to the last few. Kearns did what he was supposed to do, play well enough to at least get something, one of those recovery projects Shapiro loves. Wood was one of the worst signings in club history. Westbrook was what he was, a mid level starter who was never really going to lead the team. Nice to have yes but very replaceable. Peralta is pretty much the same, I think it could still prove to be a little bit of a mistake but I don't think there's going to be too many people losing sleep over losing him. People would have very good reason to be upset about some of the trades of the last few years but for this year, it all pretty much makes sense.
• wes_mantooth

  

  burt07;439576 wrote:Comparing the trades this year to those of years past is a little much, I don't have many problems with what they did this trading deadline, as opposed to the last few. Kearns did what he was supposed to do, play well enough to at least get something, one of those recovery projects Shapiro loves. Wood was one of the worst signings in club history. Westbrook was what he was, a mid level starter who was never really going to lead the team. Nice to have yes but very replaceable. Peralta is pretty much the same, I think it could still prove to be a little bit of a mistake but I don't think there's going to be too many people losing sleep over losing him. People would have very good reason to be upset about some of the trades of the last few years but for this year, it all pretty much makes sense.

  
  Exactly...they didn't have a "top flight" guy that get you big time prospects. These were salary dumps of overpaid players....nothing nearly as bad as the Cliff Lee trade.
• Footwedge

  Fausto...where was this effort in game 6 a few years ago in Boston? Tribe was on the cusp of winning it all.
• krazie45

  

  Footwedge;439646 wrote:Fausto...where was this effort in game 6 a few years ago in Boston? Tribe was on the cusp of winning it all.

  
  I put more on Cliff Lee for going Dave Chappelle/forgetting how to pitch in one of the most important seasons in franchise history.
• grodt

  

  Can you imagine how sick our rotation would have been that year if Lee pitched even close to how he'd been pitching the few years beforehand? 3 shut-down starters in the playoffs would have been damn near impossible to beat.
• BRF

  

  Well, that was then and I hear ya. We are about to win this one game, though. And......We win!