April 15, 201015 yr This is going to be a problem for a lot of teams. Maybe, but Baltimore isn't the best example. They're the only AL team with a worse record than the Indians.
April 15, 201015 yr ^ + Tribe-like defense by the Rangers. I have really distinct memories of a game in 1988 when Ron Washington botched two routine ground balls in the 9th as tribe SS to lose a game. I feel like this is karma for him. Huff is awesome.
April 15, 201015 yr Thank God we had an Indians victory today! I've actually been a little depressed with all the Cleveland teams losing this past week and a half ( Lebron-less Cavs, Gladiators, and Indians) On a side note, I've found an interesting blog from a traveler seeing all the MLB stadiums: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/stealing-home/history-in-cleveland/article1535609/
April 15, 201015 yr ^Good find. It's totally refreshing to read a sports travelogue that isn't 50% (or more) snark. It may not be innovative, but I love the bar patio thing in center field. If I lived downtown I have a feeling I would find myself regularly paying for a cheap seat just for the right to sit out there and pay them more to pour me beer.
April 15, 201015 yr Thank God we had an Indians victory today! I've actually been a little depressed with all the Cleveland teams losing this past week and a half ( Lebron-less Cavs, Gladiators, and Indians) On a side note, I've found an interesting blog from a traveler seeing all the MLB stadiums: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/stealing-home/history-in-cleveland/article1535609/ $65 a night at the arcade hyatt?!?!! he destroyed my $99 price from a few yrs ago. grrrr!
April 16, 201015 yr OK. Nice way to gut out a victory. Lets see if they can piggyback it to win some games this weekend.
April 16, 201015 yr The stadium has looked empty the past two games. edit: Nevermind, the record for lowest attendance in Jake history was set last night. :cry:
April 16, 201015 yr Thank God we had an Indians victory today! I've actually been a little depressed with all the Cleveland teams losing this past week and a half ( Lebron-less Cavs, Gladiators, and Indians) On a side note, I've found an interesting blog from a traveler seeing all the MLB stadiums: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/stealing-home/history-in-cleveland/article1535609/ $65 a night at the arcade hyatt?!?!! he destroyed my $99 price from a few yrs ago. grrrr! I'm guessing he booked off hotwire or an equivalent. I've stayed twice at the Hyatt this past month and had my room at $64 plus tax via hotwire. (Great steal for NBA playoffs lodgng BTW.) But i agree that it's great to see an indepth sports blog without too much negative bias towards the hometown being visited.
April 16, 201015 yr It may not be innovative, but I love the bar patio thing in center field. If I lived downtown I have a feeling I would find myself regularly paying for a cheap seat just for the right to sit out there and pay them more to pour me beer. I actually did this very thing a lot over the past 2 seasons. It tends to feel better during afternoon or early evening games for some reason though. Especially in September when college football is starting up and you can keep up with the games at the bar. Best way to watch a game on the cheap IMO.
April 18, 201015 yr No talk of the Indians three game winning streak or the fact that we jumped out to a 7-0 lead in an attempt to sweep the White Sox? We could be back to .500 if we win this game! Also, I have noticed recently people are pronouncing Shin-Soo Choo like "Chin-Soo Choo". Is this really how you pronounce his name?
April 18, 201015 yr Choo & Starting Pitching = awesome Asdrubal = good Rest of time = Blah Weird season so far. But exciting!
April 18, 201015 yr This team is young and streaky. One thing i noticed is that they will win and lose off of momentum. Lets take a look at the streaks so far: The tribe was in Detroit last Friday and up 2-0 after taking two from the white sox...they are in control of the game and peralta botches a throw down the line and loses the game. They then go onto lose the next two. THey had a shot at the SUnday game, but once again momentum was shattered with Chris Perez blowing the lead and they lost two more games...On Thursday they were rescued by Choo...and that hit provided a momentum boost and now they look great. I have to give Acta credit for getting the most out of the lineup. The pitching is studly...but the averages outside of asdrubal and choo are atrocious...they need to get Chisenhall and Santana up here...having Redmond, Marson and Peralta playing isnt helping anything. It is SHIN-SOO CHOO, not Chin.
April 19, 201015 yr It is SHIN-SOO CHOO, not Chin. That's what I thought, but ESPN was saying Chin the other day, and today I thought I heard them saying Chin on WKYC.
April 21, 201015 yr wow... just wow. I really don't know how people can ignore this, or pretend it doesn't exist, and really think that it's just ownership "cheapness"... baseball is so f'd. http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/04/19/forbes-and-yankees/?e050bdf0 Just a snipet... "This is just a little bit different. You know, we focus a lot here on team payrolls … and those payroll numbers can be pretty stark. This year, for instance, the Yankees $206 million payroll is $44 million more than any other team and at least double the payroll of 22 teams (and six times the payroll of the Pittsburgh Pirates). But people who know a lot more about accounting and such have told me for a long time that payroll is not the issue — REVENUE is the issue. And when you look at the Forbes numbers, yes, it does seem to ring true that salaries are driven by revenue and not the other way around … that is to say that your ticket price didn’t go up because Roy Halladay got a $60 million extension, but instead Roy Halladay got a $60 million extension because of the price of your Philadelphia ticket (and all the other Phillies revenue streams — the Phillies made $233 million in revenue in 2009, sixth-most in baseball). According to the Forbes numbers, every team in baseball, except the Florida Marlins (who are a WHOLE other story) spent at least 80% of their revenue on on baseball operations last year. There were differences in how much teams spent, sure. The percentages ranged from the Detroit Tigers (who spent 116% of their revenue — they lost almost $30 million in 2009), to the Marlins (who spent just 68% — the San Diego Padres are next at 80%). Seventeen teams spent 90% or more on baseball operating expenses, so at least in financial terms you would have to say that most teams ARE trying."
April 21, 201015 yr ^ the reason why I don't watch baseball. Don't get me wrong, I will jump on the bandwagon in a second if the Tribe starts to make a run... but I am not wasting my time with an exhaustive (largely pre-determined) regular season until they fix the rules and put in some kind of cap.
April 21, 201015 yr Posnanski has been skewering the Yankees and MLB's salary structure as of late. In fact, so have Gammons, Olney, and many others. I love the sport, and love the Tribe, but the league is so unfair. At least in the NBA and NFL, the playing field is level, and the fact that the Browns and Cavs haven't won anything in years has just been due to bad management over the years. The Tribe is really at a big disadvantage.
April 21, 201015 yr I liked this response in that blogs comment section. The “the yankees don’t win because of their circumstances, they win because they’re better at this than everyone else” argument, to me, is like the NFL overtime argument. Logical people can look at both situations and go “yeah, that’s not how that should be.” But then there are those that want to give statistics about how the first team to touch the ball in overtime doesn’t win and the Yankees don’t win every year, so obviously both systems are fine. Yeah, that’s not how that should be.
April 22, 201015 yr the total tribe payroll hasnt changed much in ten years. i think the twins have spent less but made the playoffs more? there is plenty of management ineptness too, i dk. so its back to the old tribe i grew up with, still fun but, you know, 'major league-esque.' i agree something definately needs to be done to even things out better among all the teams, its ridiculous.
April 22, 201015 yr I also thought that STO was created in part to generate this revenue windfall that would buoy the team's revenue, now, what 3-4 years in, it would seem having their own network hasn't produced the results envisioned.
April 22, 201015 yr the total tribe payroll hasnt changed much in ten years. i think the twins have spent less but made the playoffs more? there is plenty of management ineptness too, i dk. so its back to the old tribe i grew up with, still fun but, you know, 'major league-esque.' i agree something definately needs to be done to even things out better among all the teams, its ridiculous. With a large payroll, teams like the Yankees and Red Sox have the cushion to make big mistakes (and they have). The Indians can't. The Twins have done just about everything right, which is why they've been a consistent competitor.
April 22, 201015 yr like i said, the primary culprit with the indians hasn't been ownership... but moreso the front offices inability to draft and develop talent. the twins on the other hand keep churning out players. And when torri hunters leave for more $$, they have players coming up to pick up the slack. Now they have a new ballpark, which means a big jump in revenue, which allows them to make a "splash" signing in mauer. This isn't really any different than what the indians did in 1994. We just stopped producing home grown stars and have had to rely on trading players for other teams prospects.
April 28, 201015 yr According to WSJ, Indians most 'hated' team in baseball. http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2010/04/cleveland_indians_are_most_hat.html Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
April 28, 201015 yr My wife called the ticket office 2 weeks ago to inquire about some season ticket packages and she said they were offering 2 for 1 deals on the seats. Desperate times. If they can't start winning some games, compete in the division, and generate some buzz, the season will be over by July. Especially if the Cavs win the NBA finals, Cleveland sports fans will be talking about that till July... come August it'll be all about Browns preseason hype & speculation...
April 28, 201015 yr They were offering the 2 for 1 deals on select sections last year as well. You could get the upper deck "view box" seats I think they were called at 2 for 1. These are the first 5 or so rows of the upper deck and they're actually very good seats. Probably the best deal if they are still available.
April 28, 201015 yr I would be all over those tickets if I lived in town. Even when they stink I manage to listen or watch (mlb.tv) most of the games (all of them in the early going). God I wish i didn't care about them; I would be so much happier.
May 6, 201015 yr Can you hit? Then, please, call the Cleveland Indians now Give us your poor, your hungry, and if you can hit, you just might be a millionaire. The Cleveland Indians, whose attendance is the worst in the majors, are desperate for anyone who can hit. How bad is it? http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/05/can-you-hit-then-please-call-the-cleveland-indians-now/1
May 6, 201015 yr Even with their lousy play and having to compete with Cavs fever, I can't believe how low these attendance figures are, especially given the weather. One of these nights the Clippers are going to have a bigger crowd. Scary.
May 9, 201015 yr So glad I bought a slingbox and can watch them choke nightly... At least I can watch local talk about the Browns and Cavs.
May 9, 201015 yr People are finally tired of rewarding failure. But, with the empty seats...the good old days of the 80's are back! I can finally go like I used to and sit by myself with a beer. :lol:
May 9, 201015 yr I've gone to 3 games this year...the ticket deals are really good. Tuesday I went and had an upper deck ticket and they just gave me (and anyone else) who wanted to move down a new ticket as you walked in. Went for the lunch and 3 innings deal Wednesday and just sat in right field (in the sun) rather than going upstairs. Bought a sweatshirt at the team shop yesterday and they gave me a voucher for 2 free tickets to any game in May or June in the Mezzanine level. It's still a great stadium, the Indians are bad, but still competitive, and it's the cheapest pro ticket in town...support the local teams!
May 9, 201015 yr The Tigers broke their 10-game winning streak against the Indians today :( I couldn't belive how empty it was there.
May 20, 201015 yr Cleveland Indians pondering a facelift at Progressive Field, but funding is a mystery By Henry J. Gomez, The Plain Dealer May 19, 2010, 5:23PM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Progressive Field, not quite two decades old, might be getting a makeover. But who would foot the bill for any physical improvements is a mystery. Could it be the Cleveland Indians, whose money challenges became clear last year during the team's second fire sale of high-priced talent in as many seasons? Could it be Gateway, the nonprofit development group that operates the downtown ballpark? Or could it be Cuyahoga County, where taxpayers still are paying for the stadium's construction and, through an increased sales tax, have begun paying for a proposed medical mart and convention center? http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2010/05/cleveland_indians_pondering_a_facelift_at_progressive_field_but_funding_is_a_mystery.html
May 20, 201015 yr ^Interesting. And incredibly depressing if the team tries to shake the city/county down for tens of $millions for some updating. Would be particularly annoying in light of last night's game :(.
May 20, 201015 yr They could trade Kerry Wood and Hafner for the stadium upgrades. Not sure they'd get much more than a new chopped onion dispenser for them. This team is becoming unwatchable :( And yet, I will continue to watch and suffer.
May 21, 201015 yr What's wrong with the stadium? It looks to be in good shape and the exterior isn't really outdated or anything.
May 23, 201015 yr I am surprised a team this bad is even allowed to compete at the major level. It really is a minor league club stuck in the majors. It is really embarrassing to baseball. The lack of attendance (except these games) really shows that fans are tired of rewarding a bad product. They really are The Bad News Bears of the majors. As for the upgrades...they need to do something to get fans coming again and such will play on their curiosity. How about a new logo/uni-design that does not exude mostly what has been associated losing and laughter with the past? How about something that commands respect? Not all traditions are worth keeping. Oh.. I also have issues with the balloon releases on opening day. I will not spend a dime to watch this product anymore.
May 23, 201015 yr I think they need have more bobblehead giveaway days. When they run out of players to "bobblehead", they could move onto local media personalities and politicians, and then maybe the beer and peanut vendors. People love bobbleheads! Collect all 150!
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