An Open Letter To The Cleveland Indians...

Remember These Guys?

The long, cold winter may have helped numb the disappointment of losing the ALCS to the Red Sox in 7 games, but it did nothing to dull the memory of the season-long excitement of finding a way to win almost every day. The thrill of beating the Yankees in the ALDS kept many a fan's heart warm anticipating the 2008 season. You were the darlings of the playoffs; the underdogs, and for a while, America's team.

Like Bill Murray (as John Winger) in "Stripes" said, "We're all very different people. We're not Watusi, we're not Spartans, we're Americans. With a capital "A", huh? And you know what that means? Do you? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're the underdog. We're mutts."

No one thought much of your chances last year except the believers, that core of dedicated fans that believes every year is the year...oh yeah, and you guys...you obviously believed in yourselves last year or you couldn't have possibly accomplished what you did, getting within a whisker of the World Series.

So what's up this year?

Your General Manager and your skipper think things are going to turn around. They are not going to pull any triggers until things don't improve after 35-40 games. That's too long to wait and nobody in the minors can do what you guys can do.

This is basically the same team that captured the imagination and excitement of, not only a city, but an entire country.

If you can't turn it around, so be it. We've all been there before. We stuck with this team through many a bad time. We will stick with you again and again because we are mutts and underdogs too.

But, if you think you are up to it, there is no limit to what you could accomplish, the proof being in last season.

Who could ever forget the scene in the movie "Major League" when the team came together:

Lou Brown: [at a team meeting] "Can I have your attention, please?" [picks up a bat and leans on it like a walking stick] "I have something I think you all ought to know about.It seems that Mrs. Phelps doesn't think too highly of our worth. She put this team together because she thought we'd be bad enough to finish dead last, knocking attendance down to the point where she could move the team to Miami... and get rid of all of us for better personnel."

Roger Dorn: "Even me?"

Lou Brown: "Even you, Dorn."

Eddie Harris: "What if we DON'T finish last?"

Lou Brown: "She'll REPLACE you with somebody who WILL. After this season, you'll be sent back to the minors or given your outright release."

Jake Taylor: [Jake stands up] "Well then I guess there's only one thing left to do."

Roger Dorn: "What's that?"

Jake Taylor: "Win the whole f---ing thing." [long pause]

Willie Mays Hayes: [Willie stands up] "Yeah."

Pedro Cerrano: [Pedro pounds his hand] "YES!"

The season, or at least the remainder of the first quarter of the season is in your hands...Believe it!