It was quite surprising news from the Indians that they plan to make Progressive Field a winter wonderland starting Thanksgiving weekend. The ballpark will have a skating rink around the field, a fire pit on the home run porch, and an innertube slide from the bleachers according to reports.
At least people can have fun there in the winter, because no one had a good time watching the baseball team that plays there in the summer. That is, if you consider winning fun.
The ability to make money at the park is no doubt at the core of the decision, and actually, it’s quite innovative. Concessions will be available and it will bring cash into the pockets of the ownership.
Whether they will spend it or not is up for debate.
Back in the 70’s and 80’s, following a poor season, the fans could at least look forward to the hot stove league to find out what Gabe Paul and Phil Seghi would do to try and improve the team. Fans today don’t even have that to look forward to.
Instead, the front office will try to tell us how great the minor acquisitions they make are and how they will provide a “veteran” presence for the young core of players. Unfortunately, you still have to be able to play to be an influence, and lately, the guys the Tribe signed haven’t been able to contribute on the field.
There are some promising young players in place, both position players and pitchers. Plus, hopefully, the team will get a healthy Grady Sizemore back in the lineup for Opening Day 2011. Players such as Shin-Soo Choo, Michael Brantley, Asdrubal Cabrera, Fausto Carmona, and Chris Perez are a good place to start gearing up for a competitive team.
However, the early talk from the front office is scaling back the payroll to the $40 million range. And that would probably mean another winter of inactivity.
This team needs to sign at least one proven starting pitcher and a third baseman to be competitive and not face another 90-loss season. They cannot go into next season with guys like Jayson Nix, Luis Valbuena, and Andy Marte manning the hot corner. Although he’s not a great option, a guy like Tigers’ 3B Brandon Inge would be an upgrade. So would Ty Wigginton of the Orioles, as suggested by the News Herald’s Jim Ingraham.
The Indians can’t go into spring training with Carmona being their only proven starting pitcher. And no, please don’t include Mitch Talbot or Justin Masterson in that category. You can also make the case that Carmona is not a sure thing either as he spaced two poor years (’08 and ’09) between productive ones (’07 and ’10).
Guys like Carlos Carrasco, Jeanmar Gomez, and Josh Tomlin have shown promise, but you can’t base a starting pitching staff around a bunch of young hurlers who have no proven track record. Of these three, Carrasco is the guy who has the upper hand on a spot in the rotation based on his stuff and minor league experience.
If the ownership of the Indians really wants fans to have fun this winter, they should concentrate on improving the major league team, not on putting the Winter Olympics on at Progressive Field. The fans are already angry with the management, and having another 90-loss season in 2011 might leave the summers at the ballpark available for a bird sanctuary.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 