I’d trade my sense of smell to take part in a champagne celebration. It looks like the second-most fun activity in the entire world. The most fun activity in the world, you ask? Watching this Cleveland Indians team win the World Series. For that I’d trade my sense of smell, my Herbert Perry autographed baseball, and the final 20 years of my life.
As of now, my entire life is focused around this. Schoolwork, food, showering on a regular basis – everything is secondary to the Indians. I don’t even mean watching the Indians. Simply sitting in a dark room and thinking about how much I love this team is a higher priority in my life than putting on deodorant, eating, and getting my Masters.
I know I’m not alone feeling like this, but I also know there are many out there who yelled about the Dolans, pouted about losing seasons, and jumped off the bandwagon. You’re ready to watch the post-season, but you still plan on brushing your teeth and going to class. This column, much like this up-coming October, isn’t for you. Stop reading this like you stopped following this team.
Are all of the bandwagoners gone? Good. Now, to the rest of my rabid, Tribe-watching brethren, I say congratulations. Let’s enjoy the next month because we earned it. We watched every game during 2002 when Mark Shapiro blew the team up and started over. We watched all of the dismal 2003 season. We watched a big, dumb, redneck traitor from Chicago take his bat to Philadelphia. We talked ourselves into Bill Selby, Alex Escobar, Ricky Gutierrez, Chris MacGruder and Jason Davis because we believed in Shapiro’s plan..
We saw a foundation take root in 2004. We saw Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner become special. We saw this team get to within a game of first in late August before folding.
We saw 2005. We fell in love with Grady Sizemore. We watched C.C. Sabathia mature. We watched the sun get in Sizemore’s eyes in Kansas City, which started a losing streak that ruined a 93-win season. (The Sun-ball Slump)
We watched 2006 and immediately forgot it ever happened.
We all knew 2007 would be the year. Sure, we knew it all the other years (except maybe 2003), but we REALLY knew it this year. And even if it looked like it was all falling apart, it all came together.
Jeremy Sowers sucked. Cliff Lee sucked. Jake Westbrook was hurt. Hafner couldn’t (and still can’t) find his inner Pronk. All of our free agent signings turned into poo. I wrote a column declaring the team dead after the Yankees sweept us.
But in the words of Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, “it don’t matter, none of this matters.”
Shapiro called up a rejuvenated young phenom named Fausto Carmona. He brought up soft-hitting Franklin Gutierrez, who suddenly had a sharper swing and more confidence. He brought up Asdrubal Cabrera, who plays with smoothness unseen since the days of Omar Vizquel.
But wait! There’s more! Paul Byrd found his inner not-Paul Byrd and pitched tremendous all year. Rafael Perez rescued the team from numerous dicey situations. Joe Borowski saved games. Rafael Betancourt, always a reliable right-hander, became, in my opinion, the most valuable player on the team. Free agent flop Trot Nixon discovered his love of the culinary arts. And to top it all off, we re-acquired Kenny Lofton, the most exciting player from the last Indians team we fell in love with.
All of these players meshed with the mainstays from the last few years and together they produced the most memorable regular season I’ve seen as a sports fan. No jerks on the team. No showboaters. It is a group of likeable guys that play hard every night and don’t quit until the last out. They produced dramatic wins and walk-off homers. They revived Jacob’s Field Magic and won more than 50 games at home (which hasn’t been done since 1996). They were in a legit pennant race against the Tigers, a team everyone assumed would win, and they treated the Tigers like Charlie Weis treats a cheeseburger. Right now, the Indians are to baseball what Milton Bradley is to tirades, and I couldn’t be happier or more excited about the Tribe’s chances.
I’ve cut all non-Indians t-shirts out of my wardrobe. I’ve cut ties with anyone who isn’t a true fan. I’m ready for October baseball; you’re ready for October baseball; and by the look of the last month, the Tribe is ready too. Many fans want to compare this team to those from the ‘90s. I don’t. I want this team to win a World Series! This team deserves it, and us fans deserve it. Well, some of us anyway.
It’s Tribe Time Now!
I will live and die with the month of October. I have 5 shirts I will wear for a whole month. If people thought I was nuts on the day of OSU v Mich and Dark Monday then they do not even know. I agree with Double C I would trade my last 50 years and my bocce championship (and those will continue to come with ease) for an Indians World Series. That’s how important it is.
Guys, as a Cubs fan…i could not agree more. Right now, all I do at school is think about these last 5 games the Cubs have. I think about how wide open the NL is and how the Cubs have the best starting pitching, top to bottom, in the NL. With Soriano, Lee, and Ramirez on this hitting tear, i am once again excited about October baseball. As a matter of fact, i have a semi-boner right now.