Is the Mojo Spreading?.....
The good feelings in this town haven't stopped since the Cavalier's won the NBA Championship. An estimated 1.3 million people showed up for the Championship parade celebration downtown. That's about 3 times the total population of the City of Cleveland. It is thought that was the largest celebration of basketball anywhere, and at any time.
On most any street corner pop up tents sprang up selling Cavs Championship gear. People are still in a good mood. They are a little more proud. Personally, I've got some souvenirs. But I find myself looking at pictures and videos from the Finals . It's almost like I'm expecting to wake up from a dream. But so far, it seems like we actually did win this thing.
The good feelings in this town not only are strong, they seem to be making people greedy about winning. Now, when people talk about the Indians, we're asking "why not?" Cavalier fans seemed to "will" their team to some victories in the playoffs. When the Indians return home this Monday, I'm expecting the same type of atmosphere.
The Indians franchise were last World Series Champs back in 1948. That's even before my time. But I heard about it from my Dad and older relatives. "The town was on fire," they would say. Sorta like it is now I would imagine. But the golden age for the Indians was really in the '90's. Jacobs
(Progressive) Field was new. Sellouts were common. There was an All-Star at every position. Except for the pitching staff. That was the Achilles heel of those teams. The Indians made it to the World Series in both '95 and '97, but couldn't break through. The '97 loss was particularly heart breaking. But you know what? The '97 loss just makes the Cavs win a little more special. So I guess I can live with it now.
Baseball is played almost every day from April to October. I think it might be easier for a community to get invested in a contending baseball team. The tickets are affordable, The summer weather is great. The players are easy to identify with. They aren't exceptionally tall or huge like basketball or football players. Deep down, baseball is my favorite sport. mostly because that's what I grew up with. (Somewhere in the Hanging With Rich archives there's a blog about that.) There's no clock in Baseball and there's plenty of time to talk about what happened, or what might happen next.
Until now, the Indians have had miserable attendance. Many fans became disillusioned a number of years ago when the club traded some highly regarded players for young prospects. It may have been good business to avoid paying high salaries for veterans. But there is a cost for doing that when you are in an emotional, entertainment type business. Ever since, the fans perception has been that the Indians management is cheap, and won't pay the price to contend.
But The Indians have always seemed to employ sharp people in the front office. They have drastically remodeled parts of Progressive Field trying to attract millennials.But nothing works like a winning team. They were one of the first clubs to be all in with "analytics". That's the advanced study of statistics to determine the true or hidden value of a player. If you have a limited checkbook, try to get the biggest bang for your buck.
The casual fan isn't aware how good the Indians are even now. Back in the day, ('90's) the Indians had a killer lineup, with mediocre pitching. Modern analytics shows the true value of pitching. Today's Indians may have the best starting pitching staff in all the major leagues. They are talented, young, with controllable contracts, (Read cheap.) You don't have to score much when the other team can't score much either.
On Friday night a historic thing happened. The Indians won their 14th straight game. The Indians have been playing in the American League for well over 100 years, and that never happened before. This team is oozing with confidence now. In baseball, a player with a confident attitude can be a difference maker. A team with a confident attitude is hard to beat. Manager Terry Francona is playoff tested, and seems to know the right buttons to push.
But can they keep it up? The Indians regular lineup has a few very good players. Francisco Lindor is a budding superstar. However, much of the lineup is veteran players having good to above average season for themselves. Arguably the best offensive player, Michael Brantley, has hardly played this year due to injury. He's not expected back anytime soon. Also, the relief pitching hasn't been the model of consistency. So the Indians may be looking to the trade market to strengthen some holes.
No amount of cheering or positive feeling will change a pitchers 78 mph sloppy hanging curve into a sharp hard breaker with late life. Bui it can make a good player play better. And turn a very talented player into a champion. So will the Indians make it happen this season? Will they be playing playoff baseball in late October? Magic 8-ball says - "Most Likely".
The good feelings in this town haven't stopped since the Cavalier's won the NBA Championship. An estimated 1.3 million people showed up for the Championship parade celebration downtown. That's about 3 times the total population of the City of Cleveland. It is thought that was the largest celebration of basketball anywhere, and at any time.
 |
| Cleveland, Ohio 6/22/2016: The world's largest celebration of basketball- ever. |
On most any street corner pop up tents sprang up selling Cavs Championship gear. People are still in a good mood. They are a little more proud. Personally, I've got some souvenirs. But I find myself looking at pictures and videos from the Finals . It's almost like I'm expecting to wake up from a dream. But so far, it seems like we actually did win this thing.
The good feelings in this town not only are strong, they seem to be making people greedy about winning. Now, when people talk about the Indians, we're asking "why not?" Cavalier fans seemed to "will" their team to some victories in the playoffs. When the Indians return home this Monday, I'm expecting the same type of atmosphere.
The Indians franchise were last World Series Champs back in 1948. That's even before my time. But I heard about it from my Dad and older relatives. "The town was on fire," they would say. Sorta like it is now I would imagine. But the golden age for the Indians was really in the '90's. Jacobs
 |
| Indians teams of the '90's had star power, but not much pitching. |
Baseball is played almost every day from April to October. I think it might be easier for a community to get invested in a contending baseball team. The tickets are affordable, The summer weather is great. The players are easy to identify with. They aren't exceptionally tall or huge like basketball or football players. Deep down, baseball is my favorite sport. mostly because that's what I grew up with. (Somewhere in the Hanging With Rich archives there's a blog about that.) There's no clock in Baseball and there's plenty of time to talk about what happened, or what might happen next.
Until now, the Indians have had miserable attendance. Many fans became disillusioned a number of years ago when the club traded some highly regarded players for young prospects. It may have been good business to avoid paying high salaries for veterans. But there is a cost for doing that when you are in an emotional, entertainment type business. Ever since, the fans perception has been that the Indians management is cheap, and won't pay the price to contend.
 |
| $13 can get you in, and your first drink is on us! |
The casual fan isn't aware how good the Indians are even now. Back in the day, ('90's) the Indians had a killer lineup, with mediocre pitching. Modern analytics shows the true value of pitching. Today's Indians may have the best starting pitching staff in all the major leagues. They are talented, young, with controllable contracts, (Read cheap.) You don't have to score much when the other team can't score much either.
 |
| Carlos Santana wins historic 14th straight game in the 19th inning. |
But can they keep it up? The Indians regular lineup has a few very good players. Francisco Lindor is a budding superstar. However, much of the lineup is veteran players having good to above average season for themselves. Arguably the best offensive player, Michael Brantley, has hardly played this year due to injury. He's not expected back anytime soon. Also, the relief pitching hasn't been the model of consistency. So the Indians may be looking to the trade market to strengthen some holes.
No amount of cheering or positive feeling will change a pitchers 78 mph sloppy hanging curve into a sharp hard breaker with late life. Bui it can make a good player play better. And turn a very talented player into a champion. So will the Indians make it happen this season? Will they be playing playoff baseball in late October? Magic 8-ball says - "Most Likely".
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