Ain't No Crying; Tribe's Trying

Beat the drum ever so slow. This is going to be a long Indian’s summer. The Cleveland Indians are not just sinking lower each day, they have hit bottom with a thud. Not so very long ago, the Tribe won the Central by 30 games. …30 games!! We were setting attendance records with 455 straight sellouts. We had no trouble attracting free agents. Not only were we one of the best teams in baseball, we were one of the best organizations in baseball and other MAJOR LEAGUE cities were modeling their programs after ours.

A very smart man once told me to enjoy it while you can. So I did. I savored every inning of every game. The year the Indians won the division by 30 games was 1995. The Royals were the “runner up”. That was also the strike shortened year and Cleveland’s record was 100-44. And they still won by 30 games. Three years later, in 1998, I took a part time job at Jacobs Field as an usher just to part of a magical time in Indians history. My how time has a way of changing things. I am 14 years older and feel like it every single day. The current Indians are feeling something every day too. The wrath of the fans.

THERE" NO CRYING IN CLEVELAND

I’m here to say that Cleveland cannot cry this time. These things run in cycles. I was born in 1953, too late to know about the 1954 success story here in Cleveland. I grew up watching the Tribe lose, year after year. I didn’t care. I loved baseball and listened on the radio to Jimmy Dudley every night until Mom or Dad busted me! Then I got lucky. At the spry age of 42, I saw the Tribe become King of The Hill. They were unstoppable the year of 1995. My two sons, ages at the time were 17 years old and 9 years old, roll with each win as if they were hitting the game winning homer. I did not temper their joy then, nor will I cry now.

Neither should Cleveland. We had a shot for a good number of years in the 90’s. In 1997, we were one out away from a World Series Championship team in Cleveland. One strike away for crying out loud. Oops. No crying! So we had our chance to witness a finely tuned team for 6 -7 years that had less flaws in it’s make up than other teams. We heard the cheers, experienced the giddiness, and felt the pride that you have when your team is the best!

THEY ARE TRYING

Plus, this year’s team is trying. They are really trying, but injuries, guys on the down side of their career, guys who have little exposure in “The Show” to help. Those who are playing are trying. Maybe too hard and they end up pressing. The front office is trying. They are making trades, signing waived players, bringing up players from the minors and I also heard they are seeing a fortune teller. They try. There is no way I can imagine that this team wakes up each day , opens the shades, stretches their muscular arms over their heads and say; “ What a beautiful day it is today. Can’t wait to go out there and suck tonight.” They try and use their talent to its fullest. Some days you’re the dog, some days you’re the hydrant.

Like you and me, they have pride and want to do well. Remember how you felt the first time you got a bad grade on a big test in school? Sick to your stomach? Scared? Shocked? What did I do wrong? Boy will my folks be mad! I remember.

Now imagine that over 1,000,000 people get to watch your every move while you were at school and yell mean things at you and question if you were born out of wedlock. Imagine that every one of these people thought they could do way better than you. Imagine every pencil stroke, every answer you gave, every homework you did and every test you took was kept track of and shown in the newspaper every day so total strangers could check the standings and see how good a student you’ve been so far. Could you honestly say that type scrutiny would not affect your performance? What if you were getting paid? What if your pay was with guaranteed A’s on your report card, despite the actual daily results of your efforts. Do you think people would be screaming and moaning that, “You’d think with him getting all those A’s on his report card that he’d at least try and do good. Look at that bum. He’s an idiot. My 5 year old could write a book report better than him!

Come on Cleveland, you have to admit. The last two paragraphs should put it in perspective a little bit. This team does not want to lose. They also are playing opponents who also are paid well to win and I didn’t even factor that angle in my school/ student comparison. As Sgt. Hulka said in the 1981 movie, Stripes:
“Lighten up Francis.”