KC at Tribe SHOWDOWN....we need nothing less than a ROYAL FLUSH

• TBone14

  

  Win out and see what happens.
  
  No matter what, a successfully season. Hats of to Tito...how he gets the group to do what they have done is beyond magic. The front office has to help him this offseason either via trade or free agency.
• IggyPride00

  

  TBone14;1656805 wrote:Win out and see what happens.
  
  No matter what, a successfully season. Hats of to Tito...how he gets the group to do what they have done is beyond magic. The front office has to help him this offseason either via trade or free agency.

  Tito walks on water at this point as far as I'm concerned. If he and Micky Callaway weren't here this team is likely a 70-74 win squad like it was in the Acta days.
  
  Tito needs to come out and challenge the front office to give him some offensive help. He is beyond safe as far as job security, so putting some public pressure on Shaponetti might be what is needed to get them to do more than dollar store bargain hunting in the off-season.
  
  The Tribe had an $82 million dollar payroll this year, good for 26th out of 30 teams. KC is at $92, Milwaukee at $103, and Cincy at $112.
  
  Those are all similar sized markets as Cleveland, but we are way behind all of them. The payroll was $92 million back in 2001, which adjusted for inflation would be $123 million today.
  
  There is no reason given all the TV money from MLB that the payroll can't be floating around $100 million give or take $5 million on either side.
  
  Attendance is a small fraction of the team revenue anyway, so it is not like ticket sales are what is keeping them from being able to spend.
  
  An extra $15 million in the payroll would be the bat we so desperately needed for 2 seasons now, and the Dolan's cheapskate ways are what is holding this franchise back as it has the pieces in place to make a legit run if management would commit the necessary resources.
• HitsRus

  

  BR1986FB;1656788 wrote:No you can't. You'd have to play max credits and it would likely have to be a Wheel of Fortune progressive to win that amount.

  Ohhhhh, that's right....you can't even win a million on a quarter any more. WTF is this country coming too.
  
  As far as the Tribe goes, I concur with the statement....win out and see what happens. Not close to being mathematically eliminated yet, and as Iron man pointed out, there still are some unlikely scenarios where the tribe could still make it.
• Laley23

  

  Glass half-full. Picked up a half game on the Ms.
  
  As for revenue, how sickening is it that Nelson Cruz is making less than David Murphy and John Axford. He was only 8M...
• BR1986FB

  IggyPride00;1656809 wrote: and the Dolan's cheapskate ways are what is holding this franchise back as it has the pieces in place to make a legit run if management would commit the necessary resources.

  I'm still holding the front office's piss poor drafting to blame over Dolan being a cheapskate. Asking Dolan to stop pinching pennies is like beating a dog for barking. Don't blame the dog. It's the nature of the beast.
• IggyPride00

  

  BR1986FB;1656848 wrote:I'm still holding the front office's piss poor drafting to blame over Dolan being a cheapskate. Asking Dolan to stop pinching pennies is like beating a dog for barking. Don't blame the dog. It's the nature of the beast.

  It's a 2 front war.
  
  The drafting is certainly an issue over the longer term as the complete failure to produce a high level bat by the minor leagues for about a decade now is disturbing.
  
  In the more immediate future though, we have now had 2 consecutive playoff births (2007,2013) that saw no tangible payroll growth when it looked like we had a small window and were knocking on the doorstep.
  
  I am not suggesting they be like the Tigers or Yankees, but when you are on the doorstep the time is then to maybe extend yourself a bit financially and make a push. Standing pat while everyone around you is improving is crippling when you are only contending a few times a decade. Those are the times to push.
  
  There is always a downturn on the horizon where you can make money hand over fist when you slash the payroll (we saw that post 2008), so it evens out in the end.
  
  We definitely need better drafting, but it is not being unreasonable to think they should stretch themselves a bit when you are right on the verge like we were last season.
  
  That is what you do in a small market and you don't contend on a regular basis. They have the hoarding during downturns part down, but it is that "making a push" part they either don't understand or don't care about.
  
  It's part of why fan attendance is so bad. Everyone in town knows the ownership is not emotionally invested in the product, and that's why the fans still haven't bought in really after 2 winning seasons in a row. That kind of shit matters in a town like this.
• BR1986FB

  As far as the "high level bat" comment, I had heard a proposed trade that would send Lindor, last years top pick & more to Miami for Giancarlo Stanton. Pipe dream, I know but Brantley-Stanton-Santana would be a nice 3-4-5.
• HitsRus

  

  You are going to have to give up something to get something, so trading Lindor (or Jose Ramirez) woulkd be on the table as an area of strength from which to deal. You might have to part with one of the young pitchers also....Zac Mac is out of options, so a trade involving him or one of the other young pitchers to give him a possible rotation spot. Really, Lindor and a young pitcher could be an attractive package to bring in a big bat. A lot depends on how they value (and others value) Jose Ramirez.
• Heretic

  

  BR1986FB;1656865 wrote:As far as the "high level bat" comment, I had heard a proposed trade that would send Lindor, last years top pick & more to Miami for Giancarlo Stanton. Pipe dream, I know but Brantley-Stanton-Santana would be a nice 3-4-5.

  Definitely a pipe dream. Last year, Pittsburgh (who has one of the top minor league systems in baseball now) offered a lot for Stanton and the most I heard that did was get the Marlins to think about it for a bit before saying "no". Stanton is young, productive, marketable and (most importantly for their horrible ownership) under contract cheaply for some time. He's going nowhere until he's close to a big payday.
• HitsRus

  

  On my way to the game ... Let's go Tribe... Push this into next week .
• TBone14

  

  HitsRus;1656916 wrote:On my way to the game ... Let's go Tribe... Push this into next week .

  Bring us home a W.
• HitsRus

  

  Ramirez strikes again.
  
  ... Fortunately we get out of it.
• vball10set

  Laley23;1656695 wrote:Im surprisednyou haven't moved on to Cavs season, considering the OSU season is over.

  Why is it over?
• TBone14

  

  45 pitches for Salazar thru 3. Needs an efficient inning. Lots of Ks rack up the pitches.
• TBone14

  

  vball10set;1656926 wrote:Why is it over?

  Perhaps sarcasm because it isn't over but you have been saying the Tribe's season has been over since June.
• TBone14

  

  Not saying that as a bad thing. Everybody is a fan in a different way. Some pessimistic. Others are eternal optimists.
• TBone14

  

  1 damn hit. This is borderline ridiculous.
• Laley23

  

  vball10set;1656926 wrote:Why is it over?

  Im giving you shit for saying the Tribe season is over approximately 73 times this year.
  
  But in all honesty, OSUs season is more over than the Tribes has been. Unless you care about winning the B1G.
• HitsRus

  

  .... Ugh 5-0.... Team looks like they've packed it in.
• vball10set

  Laley23;1656938 wrote:Im giving you shit for saying the Tribe season is over approximately 73 times this year.
  
  But in all honesty, OSUs season is more over than the Tribes has been. Unless you care about winning the B1G.

  lol, okay
• vball10set

  HitsRus;1656940 wrote:.... Ugh 5-0.... Team looks like they've packed it in.

  shhhhh, Laley's listening
• vball10set

  TBone14;1656928 wrote:Perhaps sarcasm because it isn't over but you have been saying the Tribe's season has been over since June.

  
  It has been--they've been teasing us all season long with smoke, mirrors, and exceptional coaching...and oh yeah, a little Michael Brantley too.
• IggyPride00

  

  Where does everyone stand on Chis going forward?
  
  He had as hot a start as I have ever seen, but since that career game where his average peaked at .394 he has hit .219 over his last 296 AB's.
  
  Is he the guy who hit .394 over his first 168 AB's, or the guy that hit .219 over his last 296?
  
  There is like no middle ground there.
  
  Defensively he is below average and made 17 errors and carries a negative defensive WAR.
  
  Did he show enough in the hot start to be considered the 3rd basemen going forward, or is that another position that needs addressing?
• HitsRus

  

  Just taking terrible swings....... SMH.
• HitsRus

  

  Chiz is hitting .283 ... He is neither the guy hitting .394 nor the one hitting .219. That's why you call it an average.
  
  Lonnie is okay. You could try to upgrade the position. But you could say that at any position on this team except left field and maybe catcher.