10 Reasons why the Cleveland Indians winning the 2011 World Series would be good for baseball

It is time to continue my series of Why Each Team's Potential World Championship Would Be Good For The Game. Before it is too late, I better do one for the Cleveland Indians.



It is very late August and the Indians, once the best story in baseball have fallen below .500. The Indians have had a very unlikely fun summer, but they are one modest losing streak and one modest Detroit winning streak from calling it a year.



The Tigers sweep of the Tribe was bad. The Indians losing 3 of 4 to the lowly Mariners was worse.



But by the same token, if the Tigers stumble and the Indians go on a winning streak, they could close in. Cleveland play the Royals 6 times and the A's 6 times before taking on Detroit again. They can pile up some wins.



Who knows? This season has been unexpected thus far. So let's get in this entry before they slip away!

10 Reasons why the

Cleveland Indians

winning the 2011 World Series

would be good for baseball

1. A World Series title is the final piece in Jim Thome's career



Jim Thome returned to Cleveland yesterday. All I thought was "Why couldn't have hit his 600th homer as an INDIAN?"



He's back where his wonderful career began. And this might very well be his last hurrah. He has smacked 600 homers scandal free and been as likable a player in baseball. Plus he was a veteran of the 1995 and 1997 World Series heartbreak.



What better way to put a bow on his potential Hall of Fame career than being the most recognizable name on the World Champion Cleveland Indians.

2. A World Series ring for Sandy Alomar, Jr.



Decades of futility started to turn in 1990 when Sandy Alomar Jr won the AL Rookie of the Year. He came over from San Diego with Carlos Baerga and the foundation of the Indians first pennant since 1954 was being put into place.



In many ways Alomar symbolized the changing times in Cleveland. And if the Tribe got those last outs in the 9th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, Alomar would have been the Series MVP.



He would get that ring if the Indians win it this year as Alomar is currently Cleveland's first base coach. Better late than never!







3. A championship would bring some credit to an underrated front office



The Indians fell apart after the 2001 season but by 2005 they were contenders again and Division Champs in 2007. They fell apart again but by 2011 they have contended.



Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti aren't mentioned as great brain trusts in baseball, but they don't let Indians fans wait long between good seasons. Carlos Santana, Matt LaPorta, Justin Masterson, Chris Perez, Carlos Carrasco, Joe Smith, Michael Brantley, Jason Donald and Lou Marson were all brought into the organization as minor leaguers from trades. They could be creating a nice nucleus for the future while avoiding signing crippling long term contracts.





4. Baseball fans claim they want a low revenue, star free World Series winner NOT from the Northeast. Here you go!



People complain that the Red Sox and Yankees win the World Series every year (even though they don't.) And small budget teams can't compete. (Even though they do.) And simply signing superstars will buy a title. (Even though it doesn't.)



Well imagine the 5th lowest paid team, playing in the midwest with a payroll less than what Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez will make and whose biggest star is Asdrubal Cabrera winning it all.



What would people say? Well they probably would say "The Yankees win it every year."





5. A well deserved title for long time Indians Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner



Both Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner are on the Disabled List now and their seasons are probably over. But for the past 8 seasons they have been teammates on some terrific Indians teams and some lousy ones.



Both came up big in the 2007 Division Series victory over the Yankees. Hafner got the walk off hit in Game 2 (the Midges game) and Sizemore batted .375 with a 1.211 OPS for the series.



Both were stolen from other minor league systems and are "Real Indians" by any definition. Enough real Indians have ended their career ringless. Let's not have Sizemore and Hafner on that list too.









6. We DON'T need another Major League movie.



Seriously, when has a sequel decades after the original worked? ONCE! The Color of Money... and that had Paul Newman, Tom Cruise and Martin Scorsese directing it.



They couldn't even make The Godfather, Star Wars or Indiana Jones work! Now Major League is funny... but it is also available on BlueRay and Netflix. And the charm of the original was that it played off of Cleveland's futility. If a REAL Cleveland team patched together from other teams beats the odds and wins it all, why make a fake movie about it?



Besides, we have been enabling Charlie Sheen WAY too much.









7. Think of all the people a Cleveland championship would let off the hook!



Jim Poole letting up David Justice's homer. Jose Mesa blowing the save in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Charles Nagy letting Edgar Renteria smack a 2 out hit to win the World Series. Joel Skinner not sending Kenny Lofton home with the tying run in Game 7 of the 2007 ALCS.



And that's not even counting Craig Ehlo, Red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble... They would all be relieved of their goat horns.



I've seen it happen. The goats of Red Sox past are absolved. Bill Buckner (who should NEVER have been a goat) received a standing ovation. Johnny Pesky (also an unjustified goat) got his number retired.



It will happen in Cleveland. YES, even for Jose Lima.







8. It could be the beginning of forgiveness and acceptance of LeBron James in Cleveland





I know a lot of Cleveland people will think I am crazy for even suggesting this, but hear me out.



If LeBron had won a title in Cleveland, the whole "Decision" would have been less of a fiasco. It was based upon the idea that LeBron was supposed to deliver that elusive title. The anger came in a not exactly subtle way from that hole in your collective lives. That "We have never seen a title of any kind" agony.



Remove that. Have the euphoria of seeing a championship in Cleveland. And before long you will be able to let go of the anger about LeBron. And eventually you will be able to say "Remember when we had the best player in the NBA? Remember how exciting it was? Remember how much fun we had WHILE he was in Cleveland?"



I know I sound crazy now. Call me 10 years after a Cleveland championship.







9. An Indians championship would mean the Cubs would stand alone



The Cubs used to have lots of company in the whole "Waiting forever for a championship" misery. Forever it was the Cubs, Red Sox and White Sox fans sharing misery.



But when both Sox won, it meant that the Indians and Giants were the only original franchises to NOT win a World Series title since the expansion era. Take the Giants off the board and only the Cubs and Indians remain. The Cubs since 1908. The Indians since 1948.



Remove the Indians and the Cubs' closest partners in misery would be the Rangers and Astros (since 1961 and 1962.)



For fans of Schadenfreude, leaving the Cubs alone in misery would be enough to root for the Indians.







10. It would be the single greatest sports championship parade in American history.



Cubs fans have waited for more than a century, but they have had the Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks win.



Red Sox fans waited forever, but the Celtics won over several generations.



Giants fans agonized about their team but could be consoled by the 49ers.



Imagine the frustration compounded over the decades without ANY kind of release. Especially in a cold weather city where industry has dwindled away and sports means so much. San Diego has waited longer for a title, but when they lose they can go to the beach.



There are people in their 50s with no clear memories of a Cleveland title and anyone born after 1964 can honestly say "It hasn't happened in MY lifetime."



We may never see an outpouring of pure joy quite like a Cleveland title. And I am rooting for it to happen just so I can see it.



And just think of the incredible HBO Sports special they can make!





I really hope it happens for the Indians but it looks remote at best. I've enjoyed writing about Cleveland and making a video about their fans, but eventually the story must end. Maybe it won't be this year, but they are putting together a nice core. Maybe it will be soon. (Where have I heard THAT before?)







If you liked this then go ahead and read the entries for the other teams.



CHICAGO WHITE SOX

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM

NEW YORK YANKEES

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The Muted Celebration of Jim Thome

Jim Thome has 600 homers.

Great. Good for him. He seems like a nice guy and has had a terrific career.



Is he a Hall of Famer? I guess. I won’t have a problem if he is elected.



Is the 600th home run one of the great moments in baseball history?



Eh.

Frankly I don’t even think it was the highlight of the night (Milwaukee’s bizarre triple play on the Dodgers had that honor with me.)



So why isn’t Thome’s home run a bigger event?

Thome seems like a good guy. You never hear a bad word said about him. He’s friendly, charming and humble in interviews.



And he has never been tied to any scandals. His numbers peaked in his late 20s and early 30s and then came down and didn’t suddenly spike again.



Why isn’t he getting the love? Bert Blyleven joked during the Twins game last night that Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit celebration was so over the top that you’d think he was the first to ever do it.



No it isn’t fair that Thome didn’t get all the attention. But that doesn’t mean that it was wrong.



Jim Thome hit 600 homers in the wrong era. Sorry. That’s just the truth.

And the long term result of The Steroid Era is that the people who played in the post strike flurry of elite home run hitters are going to be scrutinized heavily.



No it isn’t fair that McGwire and Sosa got to be showered with accolades while Thome gets a nice golf clap.



But that is the price of people saying “We were burned but now we have our guard up.”



You don’t like that journalists go after politicians with brute force? Blame Watergate.



Thome is like the nice guy trying to date the pretty girl who is always burned. And when Thome does one or two things the old boyfriends used to do, HE’LL catch the blame. It’s not fair. And he’ll say “You are making me feel badly because of what Jason did!”



(FYI, every single woman in the world has dated an a—hole named Jason or Mark.)



But we have been burned. And 600 home runs, or at least the celebration for it, has been diluted.



There have been only 8 players to hit 600 homers… and 5 of them have been in the past 10 years. Think about that… from 1931, when Babe Ruth hit his 600th home run to 2002 when Bonds got HIS 600th homer, a grand total of 3 hitters reached the milestone.



3 in 70 years.

And 5 more in 9 years.



It isn’t as special.



There was a seven decade window where 600 was a jaw droppingly impressive number. But with Bonds, A-Rod and Sosa crowding it up, it no longer seems to mean as much.



Thome and Griffey are on the list and there is no reason to think they did anything. I personally don’t think they did.



But be honest… would you be STUNNED if they did? How can anyone be shocked by any name anymore?



So good job Mr. Thome. I’m a fan. If you get into the Hall of Fame, you will no doubt be a classy member.



Sorry you didn’t get the big celebration. Chances are the guys caught juicing WON’T be in Cooperstown. You might get the last laugh.

Jim Thome and Kenny Lofton’s post season luck

So it goes for the Twins… their post season losing streak at 12 and they have been swept out of the playoffs again.

Homefield advantage?
New ballpark?

No difference.

And it also goes for Jim Thome, who in his 20 seasons, is still in search of his first World Series ring.

His luck has been truly rotten.

He’s appeared in 9 post seasons, including 2 trips to the World Series (1995 and 1997 with Cleveland.)

He’s been in the last 3 post seasons with three different franchises.

And of course he was part of that magical Cleveland Indians squad that, for at least a few seasons, made the Indians a fun powerhouse in the late 1990s.

Among his teammates was Kenny Lofton… the only guy with WORSE luck than Thome in the post season.

Lofton, a 6 time All Star, played in 11 different post seasons with 6 different franchises.

And somehow made it through without a ring.

Lofton was part of some classic near miss teams.

Besides the 1995 squad that played the Braves so closely n the World Series…

Lofton and Thome were on the 1999 and 2001 Indians teams that won 2 games in the Division Series and had a lead at home in a potential clinching game… and lost.

Lofton, the hero of the 2002 NLCS with a walk off clinching hit, was part of the San Francisco Giants team that lost the World Series despite having a 5-0 lead in a potential clinching game.

Lofton was on the 2003 Cubs squad that blew a 3-1 NLCS lead (and gave too much grief to Steve Bartman.)

Lofton was on the 2004 Yankee squad that blew the 3-0 lead to the Red Sox. (Not sure I remember that.)

And was on the 2007 Indians squad that blew a 3-1 series lead to the Red Sox.

(Before anyone tries to correct me, Lofton and Thome were NOT teammates on the 1997 Indians team. That one season Lofton played for Atlanta before coming back to the Indians.)

So Lofton and Thome played in 8 series over 5 different post seasons as teammates.

Lofton played in 12 more series over 6 different post seasons on his own.
Thome played in 7 more series over 4 different post seasons on his own.

So if you are keeping score, over the last 16 years, 15 different post season teams had either Jim Thome or Kenny Lofton on their roster.

And somehow NONE of those teams won the World Series.

That is some bad luck.

I often wonder what guys like Thome and Lofton think about guys like Francisco Cervelli who win a World Series ring in their rookie year.

Maybe Thome and Lofton will win a ring as a coach.

Hey White Sox! How about a little urgency?

On July 20th, the White Sox took a 3 1/2 game lead in the A.L. Central. They had the arms, the bullpen and the lunatic manager to keep them steady.



They also could have used another bat, but that's nit picking.



They had a 5 game winning streak not long after that but it looked like they were going to be locking horns with the Twins all year for the Central (especially with the collapse of the Tigers.)



Well in less than a month, they have dropped 7 1/2 games in the standings as they sit 4 games back of the Twins, including an extra inning loss on a Jim Thome homer... the same Jim Thome who sunk the Twins in a 2008 one game playoff as a member of the White Sox.



Let's get going White Sox!

I made it clear that I am rooting for you and I would like to see more October games in the South Side.



But for general baseball fans, a tight pennant race is good for the game. Two teams going back and forth right until the last day makes the last weekend super cool and frankly it will be only time that baseball attention will turn to the AL Central this year.



Win today and it will be a 3 game deficit.

Lose? And you are looking at 5 games back and a chance for 6 back if the Twins complete the sweep.



And let's face it... the Twins will get WALLOPED by the Rangers, Rays or Yankees in the playoffs. So basically if the Twins run away with it, there will be no reason to pay attention to the AL Central until 2011.



So let's go White Sox.

Floyd vs. Liriano tonight. Put it on the boaaaaaaaaard. YES!