Perez Should Have “Saved” His Comments

After saving Saturday’s 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins, Indians’ closer Chris Perez decided to vent about being booed and the poor attendance at Tribe games this season.

This is one of those things you cannot mention even if it is true, just like telling your boss he’s treats people poorly.

There is little to be gained by making such comments.

There is some truth to what Perez said, the Indians are playing well right now and there is no question attendance has been disappointing.

However, crowds are starting to catch on and almost 30,000 showed up Friday and Saturday with the return of warmer weather to Cleveland.

So, not only should the reliever have kept his thoughts to himself, they were also ill-timed.  It’s another case of someone with the Indians trying to put a wet blanket on fans’ enthusiasm.

As for the booing, Perez should understand a couple of things:  First, it’s just a handful of people vocalizing the negativity.  The majority of fans don’t boo as a general rule.

Secondly, fans aren’t usually booing the player.  They are criticizing the manager for making the decision to put the player in that position.  No one is expecting Perez to understand this, but more than likely that’s what the jeers were about.

Fans know that Perez’ history is that he doesn’t pitch as well in tie games as he does when he’s protecting a lead.  Yet, Manny Acta brought him in anyway, that’s what the fans were upset about.

(By the way, there should be no issue with bringing the closer in at home, there can’t be a save situation).

The fact is Cleveland fans have sat through eight losing seasons in the last ten years.  No matter how well the Tribe has played this season (in only a quarter of the season), fans haven’t experienced sustained winning (if you call sustained two straight winning years) since 2001.

Also, last year’s team started even better than the 2012 Indians, getting off to a 30-15 start, yet finished under .500 for the season.

So forgive the team’s supporters when they look at this year’s ballclub with a jaundiced eye.

It would have been understandable if Perez had made his comments following Thursday game in which he was booed, but to wait until he strikes out the side two days later, and then spout off, well, he lost the higher ground on this argument.

Remember that the closer has been known to speak off the cuff.  He criticized an opponent in his first season as closer because they had the audacity to win by bunting in a situation that Perez didn’t deem appropriate.

After another blown save, he criticized his catcher for allowing a passed ball.

Since then, Perez appeared to have matured until his comments on Saturday.  But he threw himself under the bus.

As for his comments about people not wanting to play in Cleveland, the same things were said in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.  Why?  Because the Indians were a losing organization.

Over the last decade, they have returned to that status.

Ask the players who wore the Cleveland uniform from 1990-2001 if they enjoyed their time here.  Guys like Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Orel Hershiser, etc. loved it here and are loved back in return.

The fans love them because they won.

Fans want to have that same feeling about Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Kipnis, etc., but they feel the players are short-term here, and management can’t afford to keep them.

Chris Perez doesn’t understand that, and that’s his prerogative.  He’s a ball player.

He still should have kept his mouth shut.  Nothing good can be gained by criticizing the people who buy tickets.

KM