12-14-2012, 10:34 PM
To touch on the original points of the thread, I understand the small market strategies and what the Indians are trying to accomplish, but it is so hard to pull off any success that way. I'm a Tigers fan, and we had some competitive years in the 80s, with star players like Alan Trammell who stayed on the same team forever. Then came the 90s and it all fell apart. It got to the point where Travis Fryman was the best player, and then they couldn't keep him. You get to that point where it's like anytime you have a good player, two years later he is too expensive to keep. As a fan that is just unacceptable. It's frustrating to cheer for a team that is constantly trading it's star players to build for a future that never comes.
Since Mike Ilitch took over the Tigers everything changed. Last year he paid way too much money for Prince Fielder. One could look at it and say, this deal will paralyze the Tigers and they won't be able to afford a complete team. But he seems willing to solve that problem by simply spending more money than the Detroit market can support. Dude is 83 years old, loaded with money, and he wants to win a World Series. Basically the ideal owner from a fan's perspective.
Now how can a team like the Indians compete? It's really a tough puzzle if the budget is not big enough to bid on top players. Certainly we have seen teams with young stars and small payrolls that had success and made playoff runs. It is certainly possible with sharp management and some luck. But there is not much margin for error, and fans will run out of patience if things don't come together quickly. When you have a reputation as perennial "seller" team, then solid veteran players won't want to sign/stay with your team either.
Since Mike Ilitch took over the Tigers everything changed. Last year he paid way too much money for Prince Fielder. One could look at it and say, this deal will paralyze the Tigers and they won't be able to afford a complete team. But he seems willing to solve that problem by simply spending more money than the Detroit market can support. Dude is 83 years old, loaded with money, and he wants to win a World Series. Basically the ideal owner from a fan's perspective.
Now how can a team like the Indians compete? It's really a tough puzzle if the budget is not big enough to bid on top players. Certainly we have seen teams with young stars and small payrolls that had success and made playoff runs. It is certainly possible with sharp management and some luck. But there is not much margin for error, and fans will run out of patience if things don't come together quickly. When you have a reputation as perennial "seller" team, then solid veteran players won't want to sign/stay with your team either.