Man, it is tough to be a fan of the Cleveland Indians right now. The team has lost its last six post-season games, and after three straight division titles, the aura around the team is negative.
With Opening Day coming up on Thursday, and the home opener arriving in just six days, the thoughts of northeastern Ohio should be that of anticipation of another post-season berth, and a chance to end a 70 year World Series drought.
Instead, the focus is on the team’s finances. In the past few weeks, Paul Dolan has done several interviews with local media, and in each one, has pointed out the team is losing money on a yearly basis, and the organization made a conscious decision to cut the payroll for players after the 2018 season.
Keep in mind, last year’s roster had arguably the best starting pitching in the game and two MVP candidates (and top ten players in the sport) in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.
This flies in the face of the famous statement from the Dolan family that they will spend when it is appropriate. Isn’t it appropriate now?
We have said this before, but Paul Dolan isn’t good at doing the whole media thing, so it would behoove the front office not to have him make the rounds.
Whether it is true or not, and quite frankly, we find it doubtful that an owner of a major professional sports team is losing money in this day and age, fans don’t care. The owners don’t announce when they make a profit, so they shouldn’t announce when they are losing money.
If that is the case, then sell the team to someone else, and let them worry about it.
What is very odd to us is the support around the city the ownership gets from some fans. Those people do understand they are taking the side of a multi-millionaire claiming to be losing money.
Dolan told fans in a piece in The Athletic that Tribe fans should enjoy Lindor while you can, a clear indication the franchise was not going to try to keep him on a long term deal when he becomes a free agent following the 2021 season.
Can you imagine the outrage if Jimmy Haslam said Baker Mayfield would likely only be a Brown until his rookie contract was up? Or Dan Gilbert said he was going to let LeBron James walk away without a serious contract offer?
Yes, James left twice, but not because the Cavs owner wanted him to go.
The other thing about the comments is the timing. Why make these comments right before the season is about to begin? We don’t think Dolan is trying to destroy interest in his team, but the outrage we’ve seen over the past two days cannot be construed as positive.
We have always thought the reasons for people to own a sports team are to win, to make money, or to have fun. Dolan admitted it was fun after the ’16 season, in which the Indians made it to Game 7 of the World Series.
But if you are losing money and aren’t actively trying to win, what kind of fun is it?
We also doubt that the attitude in the clubhouse will be the same as it was toward fictional owner Rachel Phelps in the movie Major League. It has already been reported that players found Dolan’s comments to be disingenuous.
Fans of the Tribe want a winner. They’ve enjoyed the past 25 years of good baseball since Progressive Field (nee Jacobs Field) opened. But there is one thing missing, and that hasn’t happened since 1948.
They would like the owner to want what they want. Oh, and for the franchise to keep Lindor.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 