So It Begins Again...

Well, just when things begin to turn around, the fire sale begins again. Why Austin Kearns had to be taken out of the game last night because he didn't belong to the Indians anymore! Johnny Peralta goes to the Tigers for a Happy Meal. Austin Kearns goes to the Yankees for a hand full of beans to be named later. Jake Westbrook is starting today. If he comes out early for no apparent reason...guess what? He's traded!

It feels like the '70s and the '80s again. We almost lost the team until Dick Jacobs built a new stadium and saved the franchise. He enabled GM John Hart to extend long contracts to young players to ensure a future for the team and it worked. We have become a Triple A farm team for MLB once again. The funniest thing last night was that broadcaster Rick Manning kidded fellow broadcaster Matt Underwood that he heard rumors that Underwood was being traded. Funny, but sad.

So who is to blame, the Dolans for their shoestring budget and almost absentee ownership?

Or is it Mark Shapiro who sits on the edge of his seat ready to pull the trigger on any player making more than the league minimum?

I'll say it again, if my job performance read like Shapiro's, I wouldn't be gleaming for the cameras with the eventual promotion he will receive at the end of the season. When results are less important that the immediate bottom line, there is little hope for the future of the franchise...unless there is another Dick Jacobs out there. The city of Cleveland longs for another hero like Mr. Jacobs but does that person or group exist?

Until then, we are subject to the annual fire sales and poor baseball in Cleveland.

Too bad...too bad! But the true fans of the Cleveland Indians will still support the team and keep the faith. After all, that is what the city of Cleveland is so good at and all about. Time to pop in "Major League" again in the DVD player and dream about...I don't know, next year? Perhaps 10 years from now.