Grapefruit League No More by 2020

The city of Sarasota, Florida recently voted down a measure that would have brought much needed renovations to the home of the Cincinnati Reds Spring Training facility. With the outcome of this vote, look for the inevitable to happen, a Red move to always sunny Arizona and the Cactus League.

With 12 teams already located within 1.5 hours of each other in Arizona and the Dodgers and Indians on the way in the next couple years, baseball is seeing a major shift in spring baseball and Arizona is happy to accommodate.

Goodyear, Arizona could use a new team to partner with the Indians. A nice Ohio connection of the Tribe and Reds in the same park would be entertaining and convenient for fans. Surprise, Arizona has a facility that was built to accommodate three MLB teams. Casa Grand recently pushed hard for a team and with the growth of the outlining cities around Phoenix, it is not a stretch of the imagination to see every Major League team with an Arizona home by 2020. I could see Queen Creek, North Phoenix, Gilbert, West Mesa, North Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, Avondale, Anthem, Chandler and many others easily being able to accommodate teams.

And how about Tucson? Just 1.5 hours from Phoenix and able to currently house 4 teams. The Tucson area could easily host another 6 teams with new growth.

And why not? Barring a freak of nature, it doesn't rain in Arizona and it's absolutely beautiful during March. This happens to be a great benefit to big league baseball teams in trying to get every single day of work-outs completed before the season begins. Florida is the rainy, hot and humid state, with numerous wash out games and days in the spring. Every day counts in spring training and one day of lost work certainly sets a team back.

Plus, you have the dreaded travel that the Grapefruit League teams have to contend with. A simple trip from Ft. Myers to Brevard County is a good 5 hours long. Big league players love 5 hour bus rides, don't they? In the Phoenix area, it's a hop, skip and a jump to the next park, with the longest trek being only 1.5 hours to Tucson.

The Grapefruit League does have some nice parks, so please don't get me wrong about the accommodations. Palm Beach and Clearwater have beautiful facilities. But these same parks could easily be built with new money in the desert.

If it's a matter of convenience and the convenience that not only players want, but that organizations want, the Cactus League just makes better sense. For the weather, expenses that would be saved and for the ease of finding every possible entertainment element in the world to do, Arizona almost seems like a no-brain er for teams.

There are some leases ending soon and talks are already in the works for more teams to head West, but it will take some time for my entire prediction to come true. A few staples in the Grapefruit League might fight the movement to the end. Clearwater and the Phillies are in a brand new park and I can already picture the Yankees as the last team sticking to it's Florida roots, vowing to never leave the Tampa area. Steinbrenner would probably fly his players to games out West before giving up on his Florida empire.

Hats Off to Boston, but Not Happy

Great comeback by Boston. You have to tip your hats to the Red Sox. They played hard and their line-up showed up from top to bottom the last three games. They showed what Cleveland seemed to lose all of the sudden after game 3: Heart! May you please roll over Colorado in the series and bring the World Series back to the AL.

As far as having the same attitude that Philly, Chicago or Arizona fans had when they lost, there is no chance. I am not satisfied that the Indians made it this far. I will not say that they gave it their all. I will not say they weren't supposed to make it this far anyway. I'm ticked off, sickened to my stomach and not one bit happy with a season that ends this way.

There is no excuse for being up 3-1 in a series and losing. There is no excuse for being up 3-1 in a series and getting crushed three games in a row. There is no excuse for having the look of quitters, while getting laughed at by an entire city that just knew they had it won heading in game 6, still down 3-2 in a series.

There was no fight in this team. They completely rolled over and let the Red Sox Nation plow over them. And it all starts with the Tribe's two Cy Young hopefuls. I don't know if Sabathia & Carmona were simply afraid to pitch to Boston's line-up or if they just think they are that good and that guys will swing at their pitches off the plate. It may have worked during the regular season, but come playoff time, you have to throw strikes and these two completely dropped the ball for their team.

I'm not going to rah-rah this team and say it was a good year, because it wasn't. There were good moments during the season and during the playoffs, but the way this team folded does not leave me looking forward to next year. This team has a lot of holes that need filled, especially the huge, gaping one that seems to be right about the sweet spot of their number three hitter's bat; Pronk. They need a closer. A real closer and if moving a middle man to closer is the solution, then they need more help in middle relief. They need a shortstop that can move more than 2 or 3 feet to his left or right to make a play. They need more power from the 3B position. After a collapse like this, you can go on all day with the problems that this team has.

Am I being too hard on the Indians. I don't think so, as the Red Sox will be even better next year with the young talent they have. The Blue Jays will be better, the White Sox will insist on turning it around and most importantly, the Tigers will be back with the best rotation in baseball again and have every Indians game circled on their schedule.

Cleveland should be headed to the Jacob's Field to be playing games 1 & 2 before a weekend in Denver right now. Instead, the Indians and Indians' fans are left with a full off-season of questions and continual frustration. And I don't blame the Curse of Rocky Colavito!

Manny Being...an Idiot, but that's Boston

I always say I am going to let things go, but with the constant replays on ESPN and many other postings on the web, I have to get my two cents in on Mr. Manny Ramirez.

Having been a Tribe fan my entire life and during Manny's time spent in Cleveland, I can't say I remember a time, walk off or insignificant home run, where Manny, while with Clevleland, pulled a show boat move like last night. This seems to be his thing now with the Red Sox.

Is it really Manny being Manny or simply Manning fitting in just right in the most arrogant city in America - Boston. It's a simple fact, everyone from the Boston metro area is extremely arrogant about their sports teams. They are the best and there is no discussion. Well, that's until they start losing, then they go radio silent on you. Or better yet, they start to turn on their own, which is why I stay so close to my many Bostonian friends. It's when the tide turns that I get my enjoyment.

Boston fan will scream to the high heavens about great acquisitions like J.D. Drew or Dice K and say they have the best defensive CF in the game. You can't even argue with them, they are right. With players like this, we will dominate anyone and everyone, they say. They love these players, they welcome these players to their city, they buy their jerseys, wearing their name on their own back. Oh, how the tide has turned. Oh, how it has turned.

The tide will soon turn on the Patriots as well and then onto the Celtics. All the sudden everyone is a Celtic fan again. Go figure. Where were these fans last year or the year before or the year before that. I'm all for fair weather fans and supporting a winner, but what I hate is the mouths. Boston has the mouths and I'm praying Cleveland can shut them up for good, tomorrow night.

Well, it will never be for good. As a close friend said last night after the Tribe game, "You may have us now, but it's just on to Patriots season for us here. That's the great thing about being from Boston." They support their winners, I'll give them that, but just show a little class in doing so and maybe it won't spill onto the field in the form of Manny Ramirez after an insignificant home run.

A Sox fan emailed Bill Simmons last night during the game and Simmons put it in his post today. Pretty much sums up Manny Ramirez:

Mark from Philly offers an inspiring defense for Manny's home run preening: "When Manny went deep, my first thought was, 'Quit posing, Manny, we're still down 7-3.' Then it dawned on me that Manny probably had no idea what the score was. In fact, he probably isn't aware that baseball games are determined by which team scores more runs. Manny's only point of differentiation comes when, after hitting a home run, he sees his teammates waiting for him at home plate -- it's at that point he knows it's time to go to the strip club."

Blame it on the Bugs

The Indians called upon their 10th man tonight and boy did the 10th man show up. And he brought some friends. Thousands of them.

Night fell on Jacob's Field and the bugs I grew up swatting away as a child on a hot Ohio summer night came a calling.

The volume was off the TV from the 7th inning on, so I can only imagine what the TBS commentators had to say, but it was a crazy site to witness.

Like the Indians of the 90's, this Tribe team has no quit in them at all. Fausto Carmona will be a household name for a long time to come. And this young Indians team is only going to get better.

I was forced to turn the volume off the TV in the 6th inning after finally realizing that the Yankees were not concerned at all over getting smacked to the ground last night. They had Andy Pettite on the mound. The savior, the only picture they would want in this situation, the one that would turn things around for the team and the city of New York.

Man do I dislike sports commentators. There is a need for play-by-play, but please do away with ridiculous commentators. I think they go into games already having decided what they would talk about, inning after inning after inning. There are a couple good ones out there, but as a whole, I would be fine with just play-by-play.

Here's to a one and done game in New York on Sunday.

Playoffs Equals Big Attendance

Year in, year out, I am always happy to see teams packing their ballparks to over capacity limits in the playoffs. Teams that only averaged around 25,000 fans a game during the regular season are now jamming their parks full with 45,000 fans.

This is always attributed to fair weather fans. But is that truly the case? I actually wish it was the case, as it would excite more fans into attending regular season games the next year. But unfortunately, they are filling the parks with the same fans that attended 5 to 10 games during the regular season. The problem is, that with the potential of only 2 or 3 home games in a playoff series, these same fans are forced to have to attend the same 2 or 3 games versus spreading it out over a full season.

Where the fair weather fans come into play is with TV audiences. Ratings jump through the roof with fans who haven't watched one game the entire year now glued to their TV. All the sudden your dentist, doctor and neighbor is talking about the big game the night before.

What we hope to see is the fair weather watchers of the post-season translate into fair weather attendees come the 2008 regular season. Put on a good show for the TV audience with huge crowds behind you and these fair weather TV fans are sure to bite.

I for one hope this is the case. Teams like the D-backs, Indians and Rockies should be playing in front of 45,000 fans all season long and not just the playoffs. What fans are seeing now in the playoffs is absolutely wonderful, but is actually only a replay of what half the fans have been seeing all season - Great Baseball.

A Perfect MLB World Series Path

Here is how the post-season will shake out starting today with the Rockies-Phillies game. The only logic involved in this is that the Indians will win their first World Series title since 1948. Best record in baseball and best 1-2 punch on the mound.

Look for the Rockies to be playing the D-backs in the NL finals. Why will the Rockies top the Phillies? Because when the Tribe reaches the World Series, it would be much more convenient to see them play in Denver than in Philly. But, here's hoping that scenario doesn't shake out, as I have to root for my current hometown and NL team, the D-backs. Making only a 30-minute drive to watch the Tribe play and possibly wrap things up in the Series on the road would be a very sweet thing.

We already know the Indians are taking it all, but how are they getting there? Through LA of course. A nice little $98 one-hour flight is definitely in the cards for next weekend. The Yankees will go down and the Red Sox do pose an area of concern, but it's only right that on the road to a title, that the road runs conveniently close or through the Phoenix area.

So there you have it...Indians over Yankees. Angels over Sox. Tribe over Yankees. Colorado over Philly. D-backs top the Cubs and then roll over the Rockies. All to get to the 2007 World Champion Cleveland Indians.

How sweet it will be. Go Tribe!

Congratulations to MLB

It's been requested that I lighten things up a bit. Not an easy task for someone as mad at everything as I am, but I'll give it a shot.

Major League Baseball has yet again broke its all-time attendance record for the 2007 season. This is a great feat, especially considering how poor some team's numbers were this year.

Overall 2007 has been a great year of baseball. Pennant races are coming down to the wire, records were broken and most importantly, my beloved Indians have returned to the playoffs.

Here's to getting a first round series against the most arrogant city in the nation - Boston. They really are not that good of a team and are in a division that really was not very good this season. It would be an honor to get to knock the Red Sox and the city of cry baby cheaters out of the playoffs.

I tried, but couldn't do it. Baseball was great this year, but won't be complete without Cleveland's first championship since 1948.

Borowski = Wickman = Mesa

It's been 49 years since the Cleveland Indians won a Championship and 10 years since their last appearance in the World Series. If 2007 is to prove to be the year for Cleveland, they have one major problem at the end of the rotation to overcome. Anyone who has witnessed Joe Borowski pitch the ninth inning this year with a two or three run lead understands exactly where I'm coming from.

Yes, it's hard to complain about someone who is leading the American League in saves with 40, but how many times can the Tribe get by with Big Joe loading the bases and giving up one or two runs before closing the game out? The Indians won't be playing the likes of the Royals, White Sox and Devil Rays in the playoffs. The Yankees, Red Sox and Angels will not let opportunities go by and offer a little more firepower as well. What's the Tribe's record against the latter three teams this year? The answer is 2-5 against Boston, 0-6 against New York and 3-3 against the Angels. Borowski's line in those 19 games - 1 loss, 1 save!

Cleveland fan holds their breath every time Borowski toes the mound. But, then again, Cleveland fans have been holding their breath with closers since 1994. That's the year Jose Mesa joined the Tribe. As with Borowski, Mesa put up great save numbers, but did it at the expense of an inflated ERA and a WHIP that makes all fantasy owners cry. This is a disturbing trend in Cleveland, one that the Atlanta Braves couldn't deal with, which led to the release of Bob Wickman in the middle of a pennant race. Tribe fans are extremely familiar with Wickman's closing issues, but hey, the saves were there right? Mesa, Wickman and Borowski are all the same person - plenty of saves but many more heartaches. I'm one Tribe fan that hopes Borowski doesn't lead to another heartbreak year for Cleveland fans.

So I ask, why will 2007 be different for the Tribe with Joe Borowski as their closer? A closers job is 3 up and 3 down. Remember, it was 10 years ago this October that Jose Mesa took the mound in the 9th inning of Game 7 against the Florida Marlins. How are the Borowski days of today any different than the Mesa days of old?