By Lynn Saternow
Herald Sports Editor
ONE DAY LAST week I received a phone message from my friend Dave Grober of Thiel College, who said he knew someone who had four club-box seats for that night’s Cleveland Indians game if I wanted them.
I had a meeting in the late afternoon so I turned them down. But many times in past years I would have blown off the meeting in a second and headed for Cleveland.
That was then; this is now!
I have very little desire to watch the Indians at all. They are pretty much pathetic.
Now realize, they have been pathetic many times in the past. I used to sit in massive Municipal Stadium in my younger days when only 2,000 to 3,000 people were in the stands. But I knew that the team had only a modicum of talent, but at least they were trying.
At the start of this season the Indians were highly regarded. Yet they have sunk to the bottom of the standings in a weak division. There’s obviously something missing.
And that something is a good manager. Eric Wedge is unable to bring out anything from these players. And where are his coaches?
If a Cy Young Award winning pitcher like Cliff Lee struggles, don’t you think a good pitching coach could show him what’s wrong?
If a hitting stars are mired in season-long slumps, shouldn’t a good hitting coach be able to solve their problems?
The Indians need to clean house. If not, it’s going to be like the old days at Municipal Stadium with hardly anybody in the stands.
Even Chief Wahoo isn’t smiling! The “Mistake on the Lake” isn’t the city anymore. It’s the Indians’ coaching staff.
ä If you’re looking for some real sports action, check out the Little League All-Star Tournaments which are under way locally. Those kids will give you everything they have.
The Major Division tourney got started last week, but battled a lot of rain. This week the other age groups begin and the weatherman is predicting a great week. Of course, they’ve been wrong before.
I don’t like the Little League All-Star setup because the average kid is done play ball before July even gets here. And we wonder why Nolan Reimold is the first local athlete to reach the Major Leagues since Gary Peters decades ago.
The tournaments have come a long way. They used to be single elimination and then double elimination. Now some of the age groups use pool play.
The pool play must have been the idea of people from the larger areas because it definitely favors leagues that have more teams. Since pool play requires several games in the same week, the bigger leagues usually have more pitchers so they’ll be better off.
Or didn’t you coaches from the small areas notice that?
ä Speaking of Nolan Reimold, it was fantastic that he was named the AL Rookie of the Month for June.
But why did it take so long for the Orioles to call him up? The Tribe could use him!
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