Quote:
Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli
The Cleveland Indians played at the same ballpark in the late 90s when they were selling out every game and winning the division (made the postseason 6 out of 7 seasons between 1995 and 2001). In 2009 they drew 21,500 fans a game, losing 97 games and finishing 21.5 games behind the Twins.
-Al
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At separate times during the World Series I was struck by some random thoughts about this subject.
During the opening game when it was Lee vs. Sabathia, and they were dueling it out to show who was the better pitcher, I couldn't help but think: 1) How did Cleveland have both these guys on the same staff and still lose? and 2) How did management let them go for basically pennies on the dollar in return?
During a later game the situation arose with Chan Ho Park on the mound, Teixeira at the plate and Arod on deck. All former Texas Rangers, and hated in this part of the country, but all still playing baseball in November, while their former team mates are playing golf.
Why did all these guys leave their teams? Most didn't leave for money. They left because they wanted to win, and that wasn't going to happen during their career with their old teams.
I live in Texas, but any Ranger fan who doesn't hate this management is crazy. Same with Cleveland. You will get from ownership what your dollars demand.