Cleveland Sports Forum

Maybe we can trade Perez to Boston for Youkilis. Sounds like he wants out.

Closer Chris Perez meets with Cleveland Indians brass, sticks to comments


Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 6:19 PM Updated: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 6:27 PM
By Dennis Manoloff, The Plain Dealer

Indians closer Chris Perez was called into the principal's office Sunday morning to explain himself after comments Saturday night that were critical of the fan base.
Perez told reporters later Sunday morning that he met with Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti. Indians President Mark Shapiro said the meeting also included him.
"I didn't get reprimanded or anything," Perez said. "I'm not suspended or fined or anything. It was a good talk, but I don't really want to get into what we talked about."
Saturday night, long after Perez struck out the side to earn the save in the Tribe's 2-0 victory against Miami, he criticized the fans who booed him Thursday during an appearance in which he didn't allow a run. But he saved his biggest blasts for those who haven't been attending games.
The Indians entered Sunday ranked last among the 30 big-league teams in attendance, with an average of 15,518 fans for 22 dates. No. 29 Oakland was at 19,573.
Perez continued to express his frustration in the dugout Sunday. Because so few reporters had been present for his comments Saturday night, he made himself available to everyone in order to "keep it out of the locker room and do it all at once."
Perez said he wasn't instructed to talk. If he had been, he probably would have apologized to some degree, or backed off his assertions. Instead, he held his line.
"The fans are going to come, I know that," he said. "It's just a slap in the face when you're in first place and last in attendance. Last. It's not like we're 25th, 26th -- we're last. Oakland is outdrawing us. That's embarrassing.
"In 2010, I wouldn't have made those comments [the Indians went 69-93 that season]. We deserved to get booed. We deserved to have nobody here. But we've been building up for this season. We're good. We have a good team. We haven't even played our best ball and we're in first."
Perez said some of his teammates feel the same way about the low attendance, but "they just won't say it."
"I'm not doing anything to bring extra attention to myself or distract from what the team's doing," he said. "I don't have an ulterior motive. I'm here to win. I want to win here. I care. We all care. We want to win. But right now, we're winning for ourselves, basically."
Within five minutes of Perez wrapping his session, Shapiro sat in the same spot and responded to Saturday's flare-up. Because Perez's comments Sunday were similar to those he made Saturday, Shapiro could have been responding to them as well.
"I, myself, and we, as an organization, have a lot of respect and appreciation for Chris," Shapiro said. "He's been one of the more dominant closers in major league baseball this year. What drives him to succeed in that role are emotion and competitiveness and passion, and I think a lot of that was behind what he said.
"In talking with him, and talking with him and Chris Antonetti, it's clear that what's behind the emotion is how great he feels our situation is -- how incredible he feels the team is, the ballpark is, and his desire for more people to experience it. [But] I can tell you that we, as an organization, clearly disagree with him about our fans. We appreciate our fans, we respect our fans."
Shapiro mentioned the word respect several times, including when asked if he worried that Perez's comments might alienate the fan base even more.
"No, I don't," he said. "I really feel like it's a moment in time, a story for right now. The reason I feel like that is, if you polled our players, by and large, and if you talk to our fans, by and large, and if you talk to every single person in this organization, what you'd see is a largely universal appreciation for our fans, a largely universal respect for our fans."
Shapiro was asked if he thought Perez was disrespectful of Tribe fans.
"I don't, but I'm not going to speak for Chris," he said. "He probably spoke to you in pretty clear terms. I'm guessing he was pretty crystal clear in how he felt. Obviously, he's a guy with strong opinions and a smart guy. He had thought out what he said and had reasons behind what he said. We agree on a lot of fronts and disagree on a few."
Perez, as one of the Indians' most accessible players, has been asked numerous times this year about the attendance issues. He has been adamant that he isn't disrespecting fans in any way -- he's just hoping that more come to watch a first-place club.
The reason these particular comments got so much play is because he was still running hot after being booed in the 10th inning Thursday against Seattle. Having entered a tie game with one out, Perez gave up a single and issued a walk on four pitches. When each of the next two pitches were balls, he was lustily booed. After rallying to get a pop-up to right, Perez was greeted with a Bronx cheer.
Perez struck out the next batter to escape unscathed. The Indians won, 6-5, in 11.
"Thursday was the last straw for me, and Saturday night was the first time I'd spoken [to reporters] since then," he said. "I just didn't understand the booing when I hadn't even given up a run. I don't understand the negativity, in general. Why? We have a first-place team. How many teams in the country would want that right now?
"You think the Tigers are happy? The Tigers are in third place. We're in first place. Enjoy it. We could be in last place. We could be the Royals, we could be the Pirates, who haven't won anything in 20 years."
To the surprise of no one, Perez's comments have touched more than a few nerves. Perez has received plenty of support, but the blowback has been intense.
"I expected it, but I really don't care anymore," Perez said. "I'm here to do my job and play for this team. If the fans come, they'll come. If they don't, it will be just like it was in April, so who cares?"
Perez said the perception exists that playing in Cleveland isn't fun, that the atmosphere isn't good. He said it keeps select players from signing -- or re-signing -- with the Indians.
Shapiro respectfully disagrees.
"My experience has been that guys want to be here," he said. "I'm sure there are some who don't, but I think a lot do. You've got two recent examples in Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana, who signed extensions."
Shapiro doesn't think Perez will be adversely affected going forward.
"He's certainly not one to shrink from responsibility," Shapiro said. "He can handle the heat."

Chris Perez expands on his comments; Mark Shapiro responds
Chris Perez met with the media Sunday morning to expand upon his comments from Saturday evening, when he expressed displeasure about being booed during a scoreless appearance on Thursday and about the club’s home attendance, which ranks last among Major League Baseball’s 30 teams. Below is a full transcript of Perez’s comments from Sunday and comments from Indians team president Mark Shapiro on his reaction to what the Tribe closer had to say.

PEREZ

Is this something that has been building up for you?
There’s no motivation. I don’t have an ulterior motive. I’ve been here since 2009. I was one of the first trade pieces when the team signaled they were going to start rebuilding. So, I’ve been here. In 2010, I wouldn’t have said those comments. We deserved to get booed, we deserved for nobody to be here. But we’ve been building up for this season and we’re good. We have a good team. We haven’t even played our best ball and we’re in first place. It’s been years building up and Thursday was the last straw for me. I had it on Thursday and yesterday was my first time to talk.

Are you worried about any backlash from fans?
Nope.

Were you amused by the backlash?
Some of it was funny. It entertained my timeline last night. That was fun. I expect it, but I really don’t care anymore. I’m here to do my job and play for this team and if the fans come, they’ll come and if they don’t, it’ll be just like it was in April, so who cares?

Have you talked to other players who have specifically said they don’t want to come here?
I have not. I’m just talking about perception of teammates and guys on other teams, not guys that have had the chance to say no to coming here, but guys looking on the outside in. I’ve talked to ex-players, guys that we have released in recent years. It’s the consensus pretty much.

…that they don’t want to be here?
It’s not a good atmosphere. It’s not fun to be here. Especially when you’re not playing well or not getting that many hits or you’re not pitching well. Baseball is supposed to be fun. At the end of the day, this is a game. It’s a child’s game, I understand that. But if you have the choice to go an atmosphere where it’s fun every day, like Philadelphia or some place like that where every day it’s fun just to go there, that helps you get through some seasons sometimes, some games. In August, when it’s 100 degrees out and you come back from a West Coast trip and you’re tired, that energy can help you push through a couple of games. Maybe it gets you a couple wins here or there. It makes a difference, it really does.

Why yesterday?
Like I said, it was the first time I got interviewed since Thursday. I got booed for no reason.

Have you talked to Sandy Alomar, who was here when the energy sparked them in the ’90s?
I have. I talked to ex-players who were here when it was like that. Ask Derek Lowe. When he was with Boston, they were like, ‘God, we’re going to Cleveland. That place is loud. They’re on you. That’s the home-field advantage. That’s what I want to get back to. That’s what helps us win. That helps us get to where we want to go. It’s not like that anymore, unfortunately. I don’t say that teams like coming here, but it’s just another game for them. It’s not like, ‘Oh god, we’re going to Cleveland. It’s going to be a loud series.’ When we go to Boston, it’s going to be loud. We just know. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. It’s fun. It’s fun to play in those kind of situations.

So why do you want to be in Cleveland?
Because we have a good team. I want to get back to that. I was in Florida in ’97 when they lost the World Series to the Marlins. I saw the atmosphere here. It’s great. It’s a good baseball town. I don’t know how to get back to that. I think everybody says ‘Winning, winning.’ Well we were in first place for three months last year. We’ve come out strong this year. Obviously it’s not a fluke. Last year, we tailed off because of injuries. This year is a different year. At the end, if you don’t want to get your heart broken again, then we don’t want you.

Why do you think people don’t come?
There are all kinds of reasons: weather, the ownership. I hear it all the time. You guys know the reasons. I’m just repeating what you guys write.

Why do you think the fans are so negative toward the ownership?
I think some of it is the media. Some of it is the fans. They want a winner. I think some of the ownerships in this city aren’t accountable. There are a lot of reasons. The economy. I’m not stupid, I understand the economy is bad around here. I understand that people can’t afford to come to the game. But there doesn’t need to be the negativity. I don’t understand the negativity. Enjoy what we have. We have a first-place team. How many teams in the country would want that right now? You think the Tigers are happy? They’re in third place. You might think, ‘Oh, they can turn on that switch.’ It doesn’t work that way. We’re in first place. Enjoy it. We could be in last place. We could be the Royals or the Pirates and haven’t won anything in 20 years. We’re not. Enjoy it. I don’t understand the negativity.

Do a lot of your teammates feel the same way?
They feel the same way. They just won’t say it.

Do you feel like this could ignite fans that have been waiting for somebody to speak up?
I hope so. Like I said, I don’t have an ulterior motive. I’m going to go out there and play well and do my job. School is out now. The last three days have been amazing weather. The fans are going to come. I know that. It’s just a slap in the face when you’re last in attendance. Last. It’s not like we’re 25th or 26th. We’re last. Oakland is out-drawing us. That’s embarrassing.

Have you given away tickets yourself?
I’ve basically bought season tickets for six seats for the rest of the year. I’m not doing anything to bring any extra attention to myself or distract myself from the team. I’m here to win. I want to win here. I care. We have guys on the team that care, younger guys. Kipnis cares. Pestano cares. Older guys care. We want to win. But right now, we’re winning for ourselves, basically.

Has anyone from the front office approached you?
I talked to [general manager Chris] Antonetti. I don’t really want to get into what we talked about. I didn’t get reprimanded or anything. I’m not suspended or fined. We had a good talk.

Did they force you to talk today?
No.

What was this for?
Just to keep it out of the locker room and so I could do it all at once.

Is it deceiving when you go out through the offseason and see what seems to be a swelled fan base at the mall tours and the offseason public appearances, but then you get here and see the empty seats?
It’s not deceiving. It is what it is. It’s been like that since I’ve been here. It’s not like that’s a one-year thing. It’s been like that since I’ve been here. That’s why it’s frustrating, because it doesn’t seem like it’s getting any better. What else can we do? That’s the frustrating part. I understand 2010. We were terrible. I wouldn’t want to come watch crap baseball either. But we’re getting better. That’s what you do with a hometown team. You watch the rookie come up and struggle and then two years later he becomes an All-Star or whatever. Then you say, ‘Hey, I remember when he couldn’t do that, and now look at that.’ That’s what you do with a team, at least when I grew up that’s what I did. I think most fans do that. They fall in love with a team. The names change, the players change, but it’s the team. We play in Cleveland. We’re here.

There were the two largest crowds Friday and Saturday since Opening Day. Do you think that’s a sign of things to come?
I hope so. The weather is nice. All of the factors are lining up for the fans to come. It’s a weekend. We’re playing well. I expect it to continue. I hope it does. It helps. It really does.



SHAPIRO:

I, myself, and we, as an organization, have a lot of respect and appreciation for Chris. I understand the emotion and the passion and the competitiveness that drives his performance. I mean he’s been one of the more dominant closers in baseball this season. What drives him to succeed in that role is his emotion and his competitiveness. I think a lot of that was what behind he said yesterday. Talking to him with Chris Antonetti, it’s clear that what’s behind that emotion is how great he feels our situation is. How incredible he feels the team is, the ballpark is, and his desire for more people to experience that. That’s the root of it.

We as an organization clearly disagree with him. We appreciate our fans, we respect our fans. We certainly want more to come and we’re working extremely hard to make that happen, but it’s our underlying belief that if the team continues to play the way it plays and we continue to win, then more fans will come out. It was about this time last year that more and more fans began to come.

Do a lot of players feel the same way as Perez?
No. I get the sense they do [want to be here]. You have two recent examples in Asdrubal and Carlos Santana that signed extensions. In my experience, this has been a place that, for certain types of players, they want to be here. They want to come here for the culture, for the city, for the quality of life. Great ballpark, great place to play. I’m sure there are some that don’t, but a lot do.

Were fans too spoiled with old ownership?
One of the unfortunate aspects of our current owners is the timing of when they bought the team. I think that, to be judged through the lens of the mid-90s teams is unfair. It’s a different situation in every way. If you measure us as a different era of Indians baseball, we’ve done well. They are an ownership that cares deeply about the team. It’s frustrating for me to see them criticized, but I understand that people need to point a finger somewhere. I don’t think people are making a decision not to come to games because of ownership. The bulk of people anyway. Ultimately, we’re focused on trying to control the things we can control.

Did you ask to speak with Perez?
Yeah, but we have a good relationship with him. He’s certainly one not to shirk from responsibility. Easy conversation. Obviously he’s a guy with strong opinions, and he’s a smart guy. He had thought out what he said, and had some reasons behind what he said. It was a good conversation. I think we agree on a lot of fronts, and disagree on a few.

Are you disappointed in the attendance?
Am I disappointed? I want more people to experience what we have going here. I have that feeling in a moment, but I turn that more to resolve because I think once they get here, they’re going to want to come back again.

Are you worried about the comments alienating the fans even more?
I don’t. I really feel like it’s a moment in time. It’s a story for right now. If you polled our players by and large, if you talked to our fans by and large, and if you talked to every single person in this organization, what you’d see is a largely universal respect for our fans.

Is ownership is a scapegoat?
I don’t know if it’s a scapegoat. I think we, as a society, tend to need to place our finger on one aspect to be able to understand and digest things that are challenging for us. I think that’s unfortunately where a lot of the focus has gone in recent years.

What was your initial reaction to Perez’s comments?
I tend not to react too quickly until I have all the information. My initial reaction was just, ‘What happened? What was said?’

Do you think Perez disrespected the fans?
I don’t, but I’m not going to speak for Chris.

Do you think it could distract Perez’s on-field performance?
That’s a unique role, and I would say no. That role is all about how a guy handles the blown save, how a guy handles the tough moments. He’s shown over and over again is he can handle the tough times.

Could this ignite fans to come out?
Talking to [Perez], I think some of his hope is that’s what he’s saying. He’s saying, ‘Hey, pay attention. Good things are happening here. Look at this ballpark, look at what you’ve got here. Come on out.’ I don’t know whether that will happen, but I would conjecture that part of his desire is for that to happen.

Paul Hoynes likes the angles: The scribe as baseball writer: Ted Diadiun

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 12:01 AM
By Ted Diadiun The Plain Dealer's baseball writer, Paul Hoynes, stands in his "office" -- the press box at Progressive Field -- on Wednesday.

A friend used to say that there are no boring baseball games . . . only boring people who cannot grasp the intricacies of a beautiful game.

That is an opinion I happen to share. But, unlike my friend, I realize that people of good will can differ on just how intriguing an outfielder's throw that misses the cutoff man can be. Fortunately for those folks who tend to doze off in the seventh inning of a 1-0 ballgame, we have an antidote for any encroaching diamond ennui they might experience.

His name is Paul Hoynes, and he has been enlivening the sports pages with daily stories about the Indians for 30 years -- the last 28 at The Plain Dealer.

I started newspaper life as a sportswriter, but even though baseball is my favorite sport, I never aspired to cover a major league team. The job is a grindstone, with the longest season of any major sport, the most games and the most crushing deadlines. I didn't see how anyone could do it and not wind up hating the game.

If you want to see how, pick up The Plain Dealer most any morning and read Hoynes' account of the previous day's game. He's been at it since 1982 -- home and away, rain or shine, 2,388 wins, 2,440 losses through Wednesday -- but he approaches each story with the freshness and enthusiasm of a guy on the first day of the job.

Hoynes didn't want to be a baseball writer, either. He barely played the game as a kid, preferring more physical sports like football and rugby, and the beat he aspired to was football. But after a couple of years on the Browns beat, he wound up switching to the Indians, and now he wouldn't want to do anything else.

"I like the freedom you have," he said. "It's always different, there's always something to write about. Even if the Indians get beat 10-0, there are all kinds of story angles."

Pace and personalities

He likes the pace of the season. "I used to read that there's a thread to each season, and I never really got that until about 10 years ago. But I began to see that it's true . . . the personalities, the way they play the game, the reasons they win and lose, it all ties together into a different thread each year."

"You get so much access to the players, you're with them every day, they play every day, the tension is ratcheted way down and it's a game you can dissect in all kinds of different ways," he said. "Anyone you talk to can become the focus of that day's story, and it's not just the players. You talk to the first base coach about stealing, you talk to the third base coach about why he waved a guy home, and he winds up telling you what outfielders have the best arms in the league, who you can run on and who you can't. They're all good."

Hoynes says baseball is perfect for the newspaper form of writing, with its episodic chronicling of daily diamond triumphs and tragedies, but it's not limited to that.

"It's a writer's sport," he said. "All the great writers write about baseball. If you're a stat guy, if you're into personalities, if you're into strategy . . . it's all right there for you. There's a reason that 15 times more books have been written about baseball than about any other sport."

The challenge for a good writer covering a writer's sport, of course, is the clock.

The clock is the enemy, and baseball makes that an unfair battle because the sport doesn't respect the clock. The games end when they end, sometimes in exactly the opposite way that you expect. A game-winning home run that turns a loss into a win can give the baseball writers quite a thrill when it happens right on deadline, when they have two minutes to file their stories and get them sent to the sports desk so they can make the newspaper's first edition.

The writers usually must have their game stories all written and ready to go when the last out is made. Hoynes denies rooting for the other team when deadline approaches and an Indians' rally would prolong the game and make him miss an edition, but he does confess to having his superstitions, just like the players do.

"You can start to think you're jinxing guys," he said. "Last year there was a stretch when [Indians closer] Chris Perez was having a tough time and I would write, 'Chris Perez closed out the ninth for his XX save' -- and then it wouldn't happen. So I just started putting in an X where that sentence would go so I didn't forget it, and add it later."

It must have worked. Perez snapped out of his funk and ended the season as one of the most effective closers in baseball.

Hoynes was grateful. "The worst thing that can happen to you as a baseball writer is a bad closer," he said. "They can turn things completely around. It's bad for the team, but it's bad for the writers, too."

On a normal day for a 7:05 p.m. game, Hoynes gets to the ballpark about 3. He goes to the locker room, kibitzes with the other writers, talks to players and coaches for his daily notes story, then joins other media for the routine pregame chat with Manager Manny Acta.

Then he takes his seat in the pressbox, writes a preview piece for the cleveland.com website, and begins work on his daily notes column. The day I was there, he was intending to lead the notes with a story about the team's relievers, but when outfielder Grady Sizemore, who has been away from the team recovering from an injury, came wandering through the locker room, he became the main topic.

The 'running' gamer

When the game starts, Hoynes simultaneously watches the action, keeps score, finishes his notes column, and sends out Tweets as news or game developments dictate. He generally tries to have the notes finished and sent by 8:30 p.m. That story appears on the cleveland.com home page as he begins writing the "running" gamer -- an account of the game that will be ready to be topped and sent in a hurry at the end.

He massages it as the game progresses, adding detail, deleting things that become unimportant, and silently roots against extra innings or long games. As the end draws near, if the game is close, he'll have two leads on the story, written one way for a win, one way for a loss. Most games end between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m., which gives him enough time to send the story to beat his 11 p.m. deadline.

As soon as he can after the final out, he sends the story, confirms that it got there, and then rushes to the elevator to get to the locker room and interview the key players. Then he either calls the quotes into the sports desk or goes back to the pressbox to update the story. In a short game, those quotes make the first edition, which is delivered mostly to counties outside Cuyahoga. If the game goes later, they do not.

How he does this, keeping the writing crisp and the stories fresh, is a mystery to me.

"I have to admit that sometimes I'm writing, and think to myself, 'Did I write this lead before?' " he said with a laugh. "I suppose it's happened, I've written a lot of stories."

He has indeed.

A few years ago a Plain Dealer editor, trying to make a point, conducted a "byline count" to see who had written the most stories in the previous year -- and the fewest.

It's not the only way to decide who's doing the most work, or the best way. But it is a way.
Hoynes, with somewhere around 700 stories, led the second-place finisher by more than 200.

And not a one of them boring.

This Chris Perez talk is just a competitive athlete being a competitive athlete.


If The Indians want greater attendance, just borrow Holmgren from The Browns to arrange the menu for a buffet bar at each entrance to Flo Field.

Perez opened a can of worms. He better pitch his ass off at home 'cause the fans are really going to get on him if he falters.

I think he just wants out of Cleveland and the FO just may be working the phones.

I have no problem with what Perez said. It's self-serving, but at least it's honest. Much better than what you get from ownership or the commissioner's office.

Chris Perez is a good closer, good teammate without much perspective, Terry Pluto writes

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 5:47 PM Updated: Monday, May 21, 2012, 8:45 AM

By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer



My brother Tom Pluto coached Chris Perez for a few summers at the IMG Baseball Academy in Florida.
It was when the Tribe's reliever was in his early teens. Back then, Perez was mostly a catcher. A former baseball coach at Cleveland Central Catholic, my brother moved to Florida in 1973 and coached summer teams for decades.
Several times, my brother has said how amazed and impressed he's been by Perez, because the young Chris Perez was a volcano of emotions. His nickname is "Pure Rage," and he earned it with his words, actions and eruptions.
As a closer, Perez is operating in baseball's most pressurized job, one that St. Louis wondered if he had the self control to handle. That's part of the reason Perez was traded by the Cardinals to the Tribe for Mark DeRosa in 2010.
Perez likes to say what he feels, as many people do.
Problem is that what we feel doesn't always match reality, as was clear by the words of Perez the past few days about the fans and the franchise.
Let's start with what Perez had right.
Some fans have been too tough on Perez, as they were on Bob Wickman before him. Those fans believe every ninth inning should be three-up, three-down. They don't like base-runners, they don't want drama. They tend to forget every save and remember every failure.
Perez trashed a 4-1 lead on Opening Day, then saved the next 12 games before he allowed a couple of runners and heard some boos on Thursday.
That really upset Perez, who believes he's earned more good will from the fans.
Since he's 49-of-54 in saves since the 2011 opener. . . .
And 24-of-27 in one-run saves. . . .
And his 90-percent save conversion rate was even higher than Mariano Rivera in 2010. . . .
A GOOD JOB
The guy deserves some grace and patience.
It's understandable when Perez said: "They booed me against the Mariners when I had two guys on. . . . It feels like I can't even give up a base-runner without people booing me. It's even worse when there's only 5,000 in the stands, because then you can hear it. . . . They haven't even scored yet and you're booing me? You're saying, 'Get this bum out of there.' "
I was at that 6-5 win over Seattle on Thursday. Most of the fans were not booing him. The problem is when the crowd is small (12,894) you hear those who scream the loudest -- and some guys were bellowing at Perez.
Was he too sensitive? Perhaps.
But was he wrong? Not really.
Closers are blowing up all over baseball. It's a job that tends to attract strange and outrageous personalities.
No matter what the stats geeks insist, racking up the final three outs of a close game is different than a pitcher trying to get any other three outs in any other inning.
Almost every time manager Manny Acta hands the ball to Perez, the game is in his hands.
And more than 90 percent of the time since Opening Day 2011, he has delivered. In that span, he ranked No. 3 in the American League in save conversions.
WANTING SUPPORT
Perez then talked about the lack of attendance, how the team deserves better support. But he said it after Saturday's 2-0 victory, and two consecutive games where the Tribe had nearly 30,000 fans.
Just as the fans were grabbing on to the team, Perez was angry about them staying away. He sounded a bit like some pastors that I've heard over the years when they finally have a full church for a holiday service -- and they spend part of their sermon complaining how no one comes to church.
I've been told that Perez realizes that his timing was not the best. But he does believe it's embarrassing the team is last in attendance while being in first place in the Central Division.
And he's right when saying other players agree with him, they just don't say it.
And there is a case to be made for Perez's plea for support.
The problem is the Indians came off seasons of 93 and 97 losses in 2009 and 2010, and they never had back-to-back losing seasons of 90 games before. And there was the trauma of losing Cliff Lee, C.C. Sabathia and Victor Martinez to trades in those seasons.
No team had ever traded back-to-back Cy Young winners before.
The Indians have not had back-to-back winning seasons since 2000-01, and ownership has a major public relations problems in terms of trust with the fan base.
But from the view of Perez, the team was exciting for most of last season (finishing 80-82), and it's been fun this year. So where are the fans?
The trouble is rather than turn it into a plea for more support, it came off like a whine of feeling underappreciated by a guy making $4.5 million who was given a chance to establish himself as a closer in Cleveland. No matter how Perez sees it today, the view of most fans is Cleveland has been the land of opportunity for this young man from Bradenton, Fla.
GOING WRONG
Perez also talked about how players don't want to come here -- and he said it was because of the fans.
He then mentioned Carlos Beltran.
Let's see, Beltran was offered $26 million for two years from the St. Louis Cardinals.
And $24 million for two years from the Tribe.
So he took the offer of more money to play for the World Series champions.
You can't blame the fans for that.
Yes, St. Louis has outstanding fans. And Albert Pujols owned the city and married a woman from St. Louis. The Cardinals did everything possible to make Pujols happy, and he apeared to be happy.
But then Pujols signed for more money with the Angels.
When Sabathia became a free agent, he said he preferred to play in the National League because he also wanted to bat. He was leaning toward the West Coast.
But he signed with the Yankees, an American League team in New York.
Why? Money. Lots of money.
If the Indians had offered Beltran $30 million instead of $24 million, and the Cardinals offered him $26 million, a safe guess is that he'd be in Cleveland today.
Is Cleveland one of the top destinations for players who mostly grow up in the south, the West Coast or Latin countries? You know the answer to that. But when the check is big enough, they will come to the Midwest. Just look at Detroit's payroll.
NOT A BAD GUY
Perez is 26 and a ballplayer, not a 56-year-old statesman who graduated from the Harvard school of diplomacy.
He doesn't look at the world through the eyes of fans who grew up with the Tribe, nor does he understand the different hot spots that some of his remarks have touched.
He's in his middle 20s, and not all of us can say everything we did at that point in our lives was wise and well-spoken.
I know that Perez doesn't run from the media or fans. He is buying tickets to give away. He signed autographs for kids before Sunday's game. He shakes hands and has generally been a good ambassador for the team.
He's not acted as if he can't wait to leave town.
Tribe President Mark Shapiro was correct when said Perez "is driven by emotions, passions and a drive to succeed."
It also can led to frustration and words uttered in anger. He also is active on Twitter. Like other forms of media, it's the most extreme voices that seems to receive the most attention.
I know from my brother the progress made by Perez. And I look at a man as more than what he might say in a weekend of anger, even if all the rage isn't justified.
One day, ballplayers may learn never to complain about the fans -- you always end up doing it in the wrong way at the wrong time.
Keep in mind that what a ballplayers says really doesn't amount to much in the big picture of the team, much less life. What counts is how he pitches and acts with his coaches and teammates.
So far, Perez has done very well in those areas. I disagree with some of his points, but I still like and appreciate guy and pitcher.

I think Perez is an excellent closer (for some reason he made the All Star team last year and he is near the league lead in saves again this year) who is not perfect. Most players are not perect. I am very glad we have him.

I think Cleveland is a lousy baseball town. Cleveland sports wait around impatiently for the Browns to start another miserably unsuccessful season and put up with the Indians for a little while since there is no sports alternative.

I think those actual baseball fans have good reason to be unhappy with the way the team is run. But have no good reason to be unhappy with the way the players play. A few of the players are good, and Perez is among the few. Only a few of them are overpaid by baseball standards (only Sizemore and Hafner come to mind) and that's because ownership overpaid them not because the players held them up. The ownership for some reason provided a lineup of nearly all LH hitters and has collected a corps of exclusively RH starting pitchers.

If Cleveland fans are actually rooting for a winning baseball team, they will respond to Perez' complaints by one: actually buying tix and going to a few games; and two: cheering him on as one of the most instrumental players to our 1st place standing to date.

I have no issue with what Perez said. Would it have been better if he kept his mouth shut, I don't know. Maybe he's a guy who has to get things off his chest to keep his head on straight, if so I guess I can appreciate that as opposed to keeping it bottled up. As long as he keeps his edge and performs the way he did the other night I can live with it.

It does suck that a first place team is at the bottom of the league, by a long shot, in attendance. And he's certainly right about how a LOT of players would rather play just about anywhere else other than Cleveland.

“Just another roll of the dice”
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince

Cleveland has its casino now, and lines have snaked around the Horseshoe for much of the past week. The allure is obvious, for even if you’re not entranced by the spinning wheels and rolled dice and flipped cards and all the monetary magic they promote, there’s always the appeal of the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Of course, over time, the long lines and $25 minimums will die down, the hotels that were sold out this past weekend will be amply available. But the casino, it is expected, will still draw a fair number of folks looking for a little luck. Odds of winning big at a casino are probably somewhere in the 100,000-to-1 range, and the Horseshoe, if in-house estimates are to be believed, is expecting to generate around $800,000 in daily revenues. But these facts won’t stop people from giving it a go.

A small-market ballclub such as the Indians offers the consumer similar opportunity to have his or her heart broken. Well, not on such a scale, of course. As much as you might think the Indians have the deck stacked against them, with regard to winning the World Series, I’d say their odds are still much greater than 100,000-to-1 (and I’d also venture to guess that they’re not pulling in $800,000 in daily revenues).

But there’s no denying that to build a winner on a budget is difficult and to sustain one is incredibly complex. To realize and then retain relevance, so much has to go right in drafts and trades and personnel evaluations and injury rehabilitation and just good, old-fashioned luck.

That’s why sports fans in these parts ought to enjoy and appreciate every minute of what’s taking place at Progressive Field these days, no matter how long it lasts or how tenuous it might be. The Indians crumbled after a 30-15 start last year because of injuries and a glaring lack of depth to account for those injuries. The same could very well happen this season.

Or it could very well not. Baseball Prospectus’ Playoff Odds Report, which always seemed to read as rather distrusting of the Tribe’s strong start in 2011, is a little more bullish on the boys right now, giving the Indians a 61.8 percent chance to reach the postseason and a 48 percent chance of winning the AL Central. (Detroit is given a 41.7 percent chance in the division… and nobody else comes close to the Tribe and Tigers.)

This division is inordinately weak, even by AL Central standards. The Tigers have been betrayed by their bullpen, and Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello have been unreliable in the rotation. The White Sox are mediocre, nothing more. The Royals’ youth movement hasn’t reaped the expected results, and the Twins are an abomination… again.

So while this is an Indians team that really doesn’t wow you in any one particular area and isn’t any deeper than it was a year ago, none of us is smart enough to know if the walls are due to crumble, as they did in ’11, or if the past seven weeks have been the start of something special. What we do know is that, with Memorial Day approaching, the Indians remain relevant and still have plenty of areas of internal upside.

I’m reminded, then, of a line from a Springsteen spiel in the midst of a live version of “Light of Day” — “I can’t promise you life everlasting, but I can promise you life right now.”

And hey, that’s all anybody can reasonably ask.

This is not another take on attendance.

This is not a deep discussion about socioeconomics or baseball’s lack of payroll parity or the oft-overrated impact of free-agent “buzz” signings.

Suffice to say those are all complicated conversations.

But what Chris Perez said over the weekend was honest, biting and, on the whole, correct. And while we can fault a millionaire athlete for whining about getting booed and we can debate whether he did the right thing going public with what has, for some time, been a matter of internal clubhouse griping among several players, his basic premise is spot-on:

“I understand the economy is bad around here,” he said. “I understand that people can’t afford to come to the game. But there doesn’t need to be the negativity. I don’t understand the negativity. Enjoy what we have.”

What they have is a team five games above .500 despite ERAs over 5.00 from each of its purported top two starters, Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez. Despite a slow start from Shin-Soo Choo, the absence of Grady Sizemore and abysmal production from first base and left field.

Maybe each of the above is the start of a troublesome trend. Maybe Masterson was a one-year wonder and Jimenez is an eternal head-scratcher. Maybe Choo never regains his 2008-2010 production. Maybe the over/under on games played for Grady is 35. Maybe Casey Kotchman and Johnny Damon/Shelley Duncan never provide league-average production from pivotal spots.

Or maybe all or some of those areas round into form, and the Indians are all the better for it.

Of course, this runs the other way, too. There are areas that are positives now (like Derek Lowe’s success sans strikeouts) that could implode over time. And we never know what injury is lurking on the horizon; we just know it’s coming for somebody, perhaps of prominence.

So, yeah, when you emotionally invest in a baseball season, you emotionally invest in all sorts of shifting scenarios and wayward paths. There is a narrative to 162 games, and there’s no skipping ahead to the final chapters. The Tigers were as heavily favored to win their division as any team in recent memory, and their fans are running through all kinds of “ifs” and “maybes” right now, too. That’s baseball.

If you can’t predict it, if you can’t alter or arrange it to your whims or likings, you might as well just sit back and enjoy it. Because the fact of the matter is that for the better part of the last 14 months, the Indians have fielded a competitive and, on the whole, entertaining product.

And it’s a little like that casino up the street. Maybe the odds are stacked against you, but it can still be fun to pull the lever and watch the wheels spin.

~AC

Kenny Lofton says Chris Perez ‘doesn't get it'

Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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By Jim Ingraham
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
@jitribeinsider

Click to enlarge

Former Indians outfielder Kenny Lofton took some shots at Indians reliever Chris Perez on 92.3 The Fan on Monday.

Perez ripped Indians fans over the weekend for not coming to games. The Indians are last in the majors in home attendance.

In an interview with Andy Baskin and Ken Carman, Lofton said Perez "doesn't get it."

Said Lofton: "You're in first place for a couple of days, and you think you're big time? That's not how it works."

Lofton said the Indians teams he was on in the 1990s reached out to the community more than the current team does.

"We had 15, 16, 17 guys out in the community, meeting the fans. I'm not sure they do that anymore," Lofton said. "If you go out in the community and meet the fans, they will come to the games. Chris Perez has got to understand that. The players need to earn the respect of the fans."

Lofton said players today don't understand the dynamics of the player-fan relationship.

"When it comes to the fans, this is their city. As a player, I came into their city. You have to earn their respect," Lofton said. "Chris Perez, he's young. He doesn't get it. He doesn't understand what the league is about. Cleveland fans are loyal. The grass is not always greener on the other side."

Lofton also doesn't buy Perez's opinion free agents don't want to come to Cleveland because of a lack of fan support.

"If you pay the money, they'll come to Cleveland," Lofton said.

ports
Jim Ingraham: Save your rage, Chris. At this time of the year, the crowds always return

Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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By Jim Ingraham
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
@jitribeinsider

Click to enlarge

One of the oldest sayings in the world of business is still one of the truest:

The customer is always right.

When he attended the University of Miami, Indians closer Chris Perez obviously didn't take any courses in business management.

That's why the Indians' front office reacted with a collective shudder when Perez ripped Indians fans over the weekend for the team's poor attendance.

When you're already last in the majors in attendance, the last thing you need is one of your players to further alienate your customers.

In tennis, this would be called an unforced error.

Perez basically took a bad situation and made it worse, unless you believe, for most of April, there was a huge portion of the Greater Cleveland population sitting around the dinner table having the following conversation:

Father: Say, honey, did you know the Indians are in first place?

Honey: Really? When did that happen?

Father: I don't know, but one of their pitchers pointed it out in the paper today. Apparently, not many people are going to the games. What do you say we round up all the kids in the neighborhood, buy a bunch of tickets and take them to a game so we can support our first-place team?

Honey: That's a great idea! Do we have enough mittens and ski masks for them all?

Perez's comments were ill-timed, ill-advised and ill-conceived. He's criticizing fans for a pattern of behavior that has been exactly the same for each of the last 10 years.

It's a pattern of behavior that has nothing to do with how good or bad the team is, but everything to do with the time of year and the weather.

Indians fans are last in the league in attendance because the majority of the home games in April were played in 40-degree weather, with a wind chill in the 30s, and with the kids still in school.

Anyone who's been paying attention knows the Indians for the last 10 years are always last, or close to last, in the league in attendance at this point in the season. This is not a new phenomenon. It's not a phenomenon at all. It's a firmly established pattern of behavior.

Perez's rip job would have been more legitimate if the Indians for the last 10 years had been drawing huge crowds early in the year, and then suddenly — this year — they stopped coming to games early in the season.

That's not what happened.

What happened is what has happened every year for the last decade.

Even the 2007 Indians — a far better Indians team than the one Perez is on now — didn't draw big crowds early in the season.

The 2007 Indians won 96 games and the Central Division title. But in their first 14 home games that year, their average attendance was 17,496. This year, it's 15,872 through 23 home games.

On May 17, 2007, when the Indians were also in first place, with a far better record (24-14) than the team Perez is on now, the attendance figures for their next five home games (in round numbers) were 28,000, 34,000, 35,000, 32,000 and 38,000.

Happens every year.

The Indians draw bigger crowds starting right about now, when the weather warms, in every calendar year.

The irony of Perez's weekend comments is they came on the day the Indians had their second-largest attendance of the season. That increase in attendance followed the same pattern that has been established for the last 10 years.

Starting now, the Indians' crowds are going to get bigger at Progressive Field.

This isn't opinion. This is historically established fact.

So the temptation is to tell Perez, and any other closet complainers in the Indians' clubhouse about the poor attendance, to relax. Take a deep breath. The dynamics of what goes on here were established well before most of them joined the team.

Most players in all professional sports believe their sport began the day they arrived in the big time. Their frame of reference doesn't extend beyond their own shadow.

Perez is a good guy, and Tribe president Mark Shapiro is right when he says Perez's all-in, all-on, all-the-time personality is an asset in doing his job.

In analyzing the business aspects ancillary to his job? Not so much.

We'll see on which side of the fence Indians fans come down the next time Perez enters a game. Some feel his verbal cattle prod to the fans will trigger a spike in attendance. But it will be an invalid test, because we're entering the part of the season when attendance always goes up.

It's like staring at the horizon just before daybreak and ripping the sun for not coming out.

Kenny "gets it" !!

Nice catch Gaylord! Can't say I disagree with anything in that article.

Said Lofton: "You're in first place for a couple of days, and you think you're big time? That's not how it works."