An Indians fan strategy for the rest of the summer
With the Indians buried in last place after being picked by some to win the World Series this year, it's time to revert to my "old Indian fan" ways and root for individual success (you go Grady!) over team success, since it's painfully obvious that this team isn't getting anywhere close to the playoffs unless they buy tickets like the rest of us.
I'm also pretty sure that yesterday's signing of Jeff Weaver to a minor league contract is not enough to give most fans hope (ha!). And at least we won't have to suffer through Joe Borowski's 9th inning nightmares any longer.
Even rooting for an individual player's success has its pitfalls, however, as with the exception of Grady Sizemore (and perhaps Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona) there's probably not an untouchable on the team. Last year's Cy Young winner and free agent to be C.C. Sabathia is as good as gone, probably within another week or two, so the transition from rooting for an Indians star player to soon to be "ex-Indian I hate on another team" (can you say Albert Bell?) will soon begin. In some cases that's much easier than others, but the enemy is still the enemy you know.
Another effect of the Indians free fall out of contention this early in the year is that football comes into focus much sooner. Now that July is here and pro training camps are only a few weeks away, it's never too early to start getting excited about the Browns and the high expectations that they bring with them into the season. I fervently hope, however, that the only thing they have in common with the Indians, another team expected to make the post season before crashing too soon, is that they share the same first name.
I didn't need the Indians to fall into last place to get excited about the Buckeyes upcoming season, however. As hard as it may be to believe, especially if you're an SEC fan, Ohio State is a favorite to be back in the national championship game once again. The pregame hype for the early season matchup against USC is going to rival any regular season game in recent history (as will next year's return match in Columbus). Thinking about that right now is a much more pleasant mental distraction than watching my Tribe lose 7 in a row.
So my fan strategy for the rest of the summer is this: cheer for Grady Sizemore, hope the Indians can maybe put together a couple of 3 game winning streaks so things don't get too bad, keep an eye on the headlines out of Berea for the dreaded "breaking news" injury update, and start preparing for the Buckeyes showdown on September 13 by calling in all my good luck I.O.U.'s and conjuring up all the good karma I can muster. And maybe play a little wiffle ball along the way too.
I figure by the time September 1 rolls around I will have forgotten that the Indians were ever expected to make the playoffs this year, or that I couldn't ever imagine C.C. in a Tampa Bay Ray's uniform. That thought alone is enough to make me go out and buy all the football preseason magazines I can find.