OH10;1074270; said:
Unrealistic. You're talking about a fanbase that became very jaded after losing Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome for nothing. If nothing else, Cleveland fans know what deja vu feels like. Coming close again? Losing a top player in free agency? You think they'll be excited and supportive about that?
I don't think the fans were that jaded when we lost Belle cuz we were still winning division titles. It turned when Manny left and it seemed like the team would not be competitive. And when we lost Thome we went into full blown rebuilding mode and the fans jumped ship. Maybe I am reading my fellow fans wrong. But even if CC leaves we will be a contending team and we won't be tearing down the team to rebuild like we had to do when Manny & Thome left. So the fans won't bail out because we didn't resign CC. Plus the fans will still have a warm feeling for another playoff run.
Whereas if we trade CC away and then don't make the playoffs the fans are MUCH more likely to be jaded and take it out on the team. And as a small market team if the fans backlash against ownership it can really impact what the front office can spend which becomes a self-fullfilling prophecy.
OH10;1074270; said:
The Indians are not the Yankees, Red Sox, or Angels. They do not have the luxury of gambling on getting nothing in return. In the present economics of Major League Baseball, the Indians have to take away something from the team that is ultimately going to sign C.C..
EDIT: This is a shitty situation. We all wish C.C. would just resign for the money the Indians are offering him. But, unless baseball institutes a long-needed salary cap overnight, it's not going to happen. To be fair, neither option is all that appealing. But the Indians have to hedge their bets for long-term success. Short-term contention will not bring back the days of 455 sell-outs in a row.
That is right, which is why when you have a window you have to go for it. Since we are a small market team you have to take advantage of the small windows you get. Which is why I am still bitter about this past playoffs.
A perfect example is the difference between the Twins and the Indians. Both teams are the same - Small-market teams run by smart people that know what they are doing. They know they have to build from the farm up and when their window opens up to hit it hard. But then realize when their window is closing and to reload.
While both teams/organizations are similar they are in different parts of the cycle. The Indians are in the beginning of their window. We probable have another 2-3 years left for this window. We have our core locked up and will be favorites to get to the playoffs (or at least contend).
The Twins on the other hand have just lost their window. They are at best the 3rd team in this division and most likely 4th. Their core that they locked up are all ready for free agency. Jones this year, Santana & Nathan coming up soon. So in reality they are on the verge of rebuilding.
Which is why both teams are facing different issues with their big stud pitchers. The Twins can use Santana to jump start their rebuilding process for their next window which will probable open up in 2-3 years. But the Indians have a different issue. Their window is NOW, they keep CC and they can win it all. Trade him away and they close their own window. And those windows don't open up all that often.
Also the difference is who is their potential trading partners. The Indians BIGGEST problem is CC is a west coast guy and it is preceived that he would rather sign to a team out there. This SUCKS for the Indians. While the west coast teams have money they do not operate under the pressure cooker of other teams. So they don't feel the pressure to have to trade for CC, and they won't overpay for him.
Then you have Santana... he is open for anywhere, so the big players come out in Boston, and the two NY teams. Since those 3 teams operate under different conditions they are much more likely to sell out the farm to get Santana.
I am sure if CC would openly say he is willing to sign a long term deal with Boston or a NY team then we would be much more open to trading CC and I can bet that CC might actually get more from NY/Boston than Minnesota can get giving them Santana.
And yes... this whole situation sucks. I can't blame CC for leaving when a team would be willing to pay him $20 mil a season for 7 years. He would be a fool to turn that down. It isn't the Indians fault, or CCs, it is the system we have (and the players union that puts pressure on the players to take the big long term contracts)
. CC has done this the past 2 years becoming the Cy Young pitcher he is. Who is to say that now that he has experienced the post season (for the 1st time)that now he can control his emotions better and pitch like he did during the regular season?
