Kuzul

Cleveland is a city that is starving for a winner. Unfortunately for Cleveland sports fans the owners of teams are not always on the same page as what the fans would like to see. No team proves this more than the Cleveland Indians.

So far through the 2012 season, the Indians are 44-41 and are dead last in the MLB in attendance. Lately Tribe closer Chris Perez has been spouting off to the Cleveland fans about their lack of loyalty to the team, questioning the city’s blind loyalty to the Browns and lack of support for the Tribe.

Perez makes some good points, but he also needs to realize that his team is just above average right now and are only in the hunt thanks to being in an extremely subpar division. However, that does not explain why Cleveland has not supported the Indians a little bit better this year. In order to better understand what is going on, we must look at the past and see the culture that has led us to this point.

1993 is where we will begin our journey. Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, and Albert Belle were beginning to enter their primes. Looking back on it now, that is a solid trio that laid the foundation for some of the best seasons in Tribe history. This season saw one of the biggest spikes in Tribe attendance history, it went from 15,000 people per game in 1992 to 26,000 in 1993. This started the year where the Indians became a legitimate interest in Cleveland. From there the numbers continuously climbed over the next several years, reaching a point where they sold out 455 consecutive home games between June 1995 and April of 2001 which averaged around 42,000 fans per night. For a small market club that is quite the streak.

There was one common factor during those years that led to the fan support, the team was winning consistently and making the playoffs five consecutive years between 1995 and 1999. Players that had become faces of the franchise included Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle, and Sandy Alomar Jr. That would not be the case for long.

Cleveland had slowly begun to gravitate toward baseball even more in the 1990s in part due to the city losing their beloved Browns in 1995. The Indians had capitalized by building a winner that the city could fall back on and embrace. This was shown by that 455 consecutive game sellout that was notched. However, in 1999 the Browns came back to town and not long after that, the Indians lost sight of their  winning ways.

After the 2000 season, Manny Ramirez and Sandy Alomar Jr. left the club and Larry Dolan bought the club from then current owner Richard Jacobs, for whom the stadium formerly known as “Jacobs Field” was named after. To try and soften the blow of losing those players the Indians signed former MVP Juan Gonzalez and Ellis Burks. These players led the Tribe to another AL Central title, but the offseason would prove to be one of the worst in team history.

GM John Hart resigned and his assistant Mark Shapiro took over. In the process of his take over, the club lost Juan Gonzalez and traded away Roberto Alomar. Attendance dropped over 7000 people in 2002 and has since created the losing culture associated around the Cleveland Indians. Then following the 2002 season ,Jim Thome left the team and attendance plummeted as one of Cleveland’s heroes was no longer a part of the city. In less than five years (2000-2004), attendance average dropped over 20,000 people per game.

Between 2002 and 2006 the Indians had their struggles, but their young core of players was on the rise thanks to some savvy trade packages that brought back players like Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Cliff Lee and Coco Crisp. 

In 2007, the young guns finally put it all together and were able to make it to the ALCS, but fell to the Boston Red Sox.  Fans, however, were finally thinking a winning team was back. CC Sabbathia, Cliff Lee, and Fausto Carmona looked like a legitimate rotation and the offense looked like it was for real, causing fans to be cautiously optimistic—raising attendance to 28,000.  Fans were quickly disappointed over the next two years as the team dealt CC, Cliff Lee, and Victor Martinez. Attendance again fell reaching its low point in 2010 with attendance averaging less than 20,000 fans per game.

All in all, the Indians have lost over 20,000 fans per game and have not been over 30,000 fans (over 10,000 less than full capacity) since 2002. For a once dominate and lively stadium, it is a shame to see so few people there on a nightly basis.

The Dolans’ excuse has always been they have been losing money. My question is how much money would they have gotten back if they had only been willing to invest money in their current stars that they have? If they had done that since 2001, they would have, for hypothetical purposes, had roughly 20,000 more fans per game over that 10-year stretch.

If my math is correct, then they would have made—on the low-end—an extra revenue of $16.2 million each season, not including playoff revenue. That, keep in mind, is estimating each ticket at $10 which is extremely low. That in itself would be enough to justify signing many of the core players we had let leave over the years.

For example Jim Thome made $8 million a year in 2002 with Cleveland. He signed a deal with Philly the following year worth $13 million a year. The extra revenue (assuming his previous salary amount, $8 million, would be carried over and then take the additional pay increase from the increased revenue) more than covers the salary and also lets the Dolans profit an extra $11 million—at the same time saving attendance from dropping over 10,000 fans per night.

CC Sabbathia made $11 million in 2008, according to Baseball Reference, and then with the deal he signed with the Yankees he maxes out around $24 million a year. If my math is correct the extra $16.2 milion a year would cover that extra $13 million a year and also would have allowed the Dolans to enjoy an extra $3 million in profit.  

Now these numbers are extremely simplified and I also let the ticket price low to compensate any major differences. If the Dolans would have invested in the team properly they would still be competing with the Browns for dominance in the Cleveland sports heart (Though they will never totally dominate as Cleveland is football first, everything else second city).

Maybe Chris Perez is right, maybe Cleveland does blindly follow the Browns. However, until the Indians become a perennial contender again, there will be no jump in attendance. Cleveland has a cult following to the Browns because it is a football city, and it was deprived of that sport for multiple years. The Indians and ownership must realize that until they invest properly in the team, the attendance will not follow.

Recently, with the acquisitions of Ubaldo Jiminez and re-signing of Carlos Santana, it seems that this current front office understands this concept. Let’s hope that they continue to build on that and see attendance, revenues, and the City of Cleveland rise.

All attendance numbers are courtesy of Baseball Almanac

Follow me on twitter @andrewj2010

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Have you ever seen that sign that says “maximum capacity is…” before entering a room?  At this rate, the Yankees need to put up one of those signs in their rehab room.  

In the 1993 film The Program, James Caan portrays a hard-nosed college football coach. In one scene, Caan asks his running back, played by Omar Epps, “Are you injured?”  He goes on to say, “If you’re injured, I can’t let you go back in, but if you are hurt than you can play.” 

CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte are injured.

Both Yankee pitchers are the most recent victims of the disabled list.  They are not alone in that undesirable distinction.  As the ballclub appears to be limping into the All-Star break, scheduled for July 7-10 in Kansas City, the timing couldn’t be better. 

The first sign of injury setbacks occurred back in late March, when the team had to indefinitely shut down the highly-touted stud Michael Pineda, who they traded away Jesus Montero for.  Possibly due in part to Pineda showing up to camp out of shape, the pitcher suffered a torn labrum and now fans won’t be seeing his heralded right arm until 2013.

A week later, Joba Chamberlain went on the disabled list for ankle and arm related issues.  He is expected to make an appearance at some point this year, probably in the dog days of summer.  

April didn’t lack news either. Just two weeks into the young season, the team learned of Brett Gardner’s elbow soreness.  Unfortunately, the elbow has undergone setbacks and complications that have lingered to the point where Yankee fans shouldn’t expect to see him until after the All-Star break.

The team knew they’d be losing his great ability to manufacture runs, but nobody accounted for how much the club would suffer from not having his speed out in left field.  Guys like Ibanez, Nix, Wise and Andruw Jones have been exposed in left as they take turns patrolling the corner outfield spot.

In May, the team suffered a huge knockout punch when they were blindsided by Mariano Rivera’s torn ACL, a result of shagging fly balls in pregame warm-ups.  Losing your closer is hard to deal with, but when your closer happens to be the best ever, that one hurts.  

Since May, the team has leaned on Robertson and Soriano to do their best impersonations of the Yankee closer. 

It has certainly been a turbulent season for the Bombers, and their American League East-leading 46-30 record is a little deceptive.  Despite the fact that they lead the majors in home runs, they are barely batting above .200 as a collective unit with runners in scoring position.  

I am not one for statistics, but this is a glaring discrepancy and although it might prevail in the summer months, the Yankees know that this is not a recipe that they can carry into October.  

To the club’s credit, most teams in the league couldn’t withstand the injuries and setbacks that the Yankees have encountered this season.  For them to be 16 games above .500 and hold a four-game lead over first place is an incredible testament to their depth.

Looking into my crystal ball, Gardner’s return to the lineup should relieve some of the pressure on the sluggers to hit home runs.  Add the fact that Sabathia is only expected to miss a couple starts, and Pettitte should come back a few weeks after Sabathia, and it could be a very interesting second half.  

A lot of pieces are going to have to come together for the team to be at their fullest possible strength as September draws near.  Fans should be optimistic, because if there’s anything that New York fans know, it’s that the hottest team entering the playoffs is usually the most dangerous.  

Maybe Joe Girardi can take a page out of Tom Coughlin’s book about grinding through a season, overcoming injuries and playing your best ball late. 

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The Los Angeles Angels signed Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson on the exact same day this past offseason in a stunning turn of events that generated headlines for weeks.

Between the two of them, Pujols got all the attention at the time. He was the true superstar, and it was clearly going to be him who would lead the Angels back to the top of the AL West, and maybe to the World Series too.

Yet here we are nearly three months into the 2012 regular season, and Wilson has been the better signing of the two.

Like, by far.

He hasn’t gotten the attention he deserves, but Wilson is putting together one heck of a season. He currently has the best ERA in the American League, and he hasn’t given up more than one earned run in a start since the middle of May.

Wilson has steadily been moving up in my weekly AL Cy Young award rankings, and he’s reached a new high this week. 

Here’s how the top five is looking right now.

Note: Feel free to check out last week’s rankings.

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The New York Yankees have some pretty bad contracts on their hands these days. Alex Rodriguez isn’t coming close to earning his $30 million salary, Mark Teixeira isn’t worth his $23 million fee and even Derek Jeter is overpaid at close to $16 million.

Thank goodness for CC Sabathia. The Yankees are paying him over $24 million this season, but Sabathia is somehow managing to give them their money’s worth.

That’s been the case ever since Sabathia first suited up in pinstripes in 2009. He’s been everything the Yankees could have asked for, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down despite the fact he has over a decade of big league experience under his belt and nearly 2,500 innings on his arm.

Though he’s had to battle more than he’s used to, Sabathia is once again having a fine season for the Yankees. He’s pitched well recently, to boot, and he now finds himself high in the running for the American League Cy Young award.

Here are this week’s rankings.

Note: Feel free to check out last week’s rankings.

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Cleveland was, once upon a time, a baseball town, featuring a team on the cusp of the World Series and perennial All-Stars like CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez.

Those days are a distant memory.

Since the Tribe’s home opener, which is always a sell out, the Indians have drawn record low attendances at Progressive Field. The Tribe has played in front of crowds of less than 10,000 fans four times already this season, including Tuesday night’s game that saw only 9,137 fans.

Ticket prices in Cleveland have fallen dramatically. On StubHub’s website, tickets for the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals range from only $2-10. Tickets into the stadium would cost less than a hot dog and a beer for the typical baseball fan to enjoy.

The Indians front office saw the major drop-off in attendance start last year and it has carried over into this season. But not because of lack of effort from the front office. Starting this season, the front office has adopted a more fan-friendly philosophy hoping to draw as many fans as possible. They have veered away from the typical baseball menu and installed more food kiosks with a variety of food in the stadium. New items on the menu include macaroni and cheese and buffalo chicken. The Indians have also altered their strict non-re-entry policy they have had in recent years in order to get more fans out to the ballpark.

All of these additions and more to the ballpark still haven’t paid off in getting fans out to Progressive Field. The team’s struggles in recent years, and lack of a World Series title since 1948, have likely left some Cleveland fans fed up, and caused them to remain indoors. 

With the majority of seats empty at a stadium, many would assume that it would have a negative impact on the team. Indians manager Manny Acta speaks to the contrary (via the Akron Beacon Journal). “Once a guy gets to the ballpark, he’s focused on the other club and trying to win,’’ Acta said. “Is it better when the seats are filled? Yeah, but players know they can’t control that. We’re sure not going to make excuses because there aren’t 40,000 people there.’’

The Indians players also realize that sparse crowds likely are a result from their woeful home record to begin the season. The Indians first baseman says he hope an improvement in on-field performance will result in improvement in the seats. “I’m hoping the fans will come when we play better [at home],’’ Kotchman said. “If they don’t come, we know it’s not in our control. But if you’re not playing well, it’s hard to expect fans to want to show up, especially in bad weather.’’

On the Bull and Fox show, Indians ace Justin Masterson isn’t worried about the attendance to start the season. “It’s only two games,” Masterson said. “It [was] Easter. Everyone has to go to church one day of the year,” he added.

Holiday or not, the attendances have been declining drastically in the last two years in Cleveland. If the new fan-friendly philosophy doesn’t pay off in bringing in the crowds, and the team doesn’t start improving it is hard to tell where the Indians front office will turn to try to draw the crowds.

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The Yankees were no match for the newly-extended Andrew McCutchen and the Pirates today in Bradenton. To celebrate his new six-year contract with Pittsburgh, McCutchen killed the Yankees for two hits and two RBI.

CC Sabathia was given the ball to start the game—his first live game action this spring. He pitched pretty well in two innings of work, allowing three hits and a run while recording one strikeout.

When asked about how he felt, Sabathia responded, “I’ve still got work to do, but my arm feels good and my body feels good.”

He threw 35 pitches over the course of two innings.

Phil Hughes saw his first action of the spring as well, throwing 1 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs (one earned), allowing four hits and striking out one.

Although he was slated to go the full two innings, some tough spots prevented Hughes from going any further in the contest.

After having problems with velocity last season, Hughes was consistently clocked at 93 MPH on the radar gun, a very good sign for the Yankees.

Prospect Brett Marshall came on in relief of Hughes and turned in the only scoreless outing of the day for Yankees pitchers. In 1 2/3 innings, Marshall issued one free pass and struck out one.

Graham Stoneburner and Chase Whitley pitched the final three frames of the contest. Combined, they allowed nine hits, four runs and struck out two.

Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira all made the trip to Bradenton for the game, going a combined 3-for-10 with an RBI (Cano). 

Second baseman David Adams provided the team with two RBI in his 1-for-2 effort, while Francisco Cervelli added an RBI of his own on his 26th birthday.

Melky Mesa, Ramiro Pena, Chris Dickerson and Justin Maxwell all recorded hits of their own.

Prospect Zoilo Almonte, after going 4-for-4 in the previous three spring games against the Phillies, made an out in his only at-bat after pinch running for Teixeira.

The Yankees are now on their first losing streak of the season, but they should be happy with what they saw today from Phil Hughes.

Hughes put it best today, saying that it would be a “dogfight” for the fifth starter’s job, and he did plenty to impress the club with his outing. Topping at 93 MPH for nearly any pitcher is impressive in the first start of Spring Training, but it is especially noteworthy when that pitcher is Hughes—who battled dead arm for most of last season.

It will be an interesting battle all spring for the job, but it’ll be hard to deny Hughes if his velocity keeps increasing.

The Yankees play again on Wednesday against the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

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Baseball perfection is one of the most exciting, rare and unpredictable feats in all of sports. Yet here I am trying to predict who will hurl the next ultimate gem.

The last time we saw one, Roy Halladay pulled it off in a 1-0 victory over the then Florida Marlins in May of 2010. The fact that Halladay has done it so recently makes him an automatic candidate to pull it again, never mind the postseason no-no he threw that same year.

If Halladay does indeed throw another perfect game, he would make history in more than one way. He would become the only man in baseball history to be perfect more than once.

That puts into perspective just how rare this is. Since 1922, there have only been 15 thrown, and only 20 in the game’s history.

I did some deep digging, because that is just what I love to do, and I found a few interesting trends. The average age of the past 15 pitchers to throw a perfect game is 30. They have had an average of nine years MLB experience and a WHIP of 1.272 the previous season.

The most common season for a pitcher to throw a perfect game has been a player’s fourth season. Four players threw their masterpiece in their fourth year—most recently Dallas Braden of the Oakland A’s.

Older pitchers haven’t been shut out either, as four pitchers at 35 years old or older have accomplished the feat. Randy Johnson threw his at 40, in his 18th season.

While there aren’t any players that hit each of those numbers and categories exactly, there are a few players that come fairly close.

In light of these findings, as well as a few other fruits of my research, I’ve compiled a list of 20 pitchers that have the best shot at throwing the next perfect game.

I’ve grouped the players into four different categories. Behold the slideshow:

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Following a dormant pre-holidays period, the New York Yankees have been active in the trade and free-agent markets recently, signing former Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $10 million deal.

The Yankees then traded stud catching prospect Jesus Montero and pitcher Hector Noesi to the Seattle Mariners for 22-year-old right-hander Michael Pineda and a minor leaguer. It was a flurry of activity that was aimed at improving the Yankees’ shaky starting rotation, which was considered a glaring weakness that needed to be addressed.

New York already has a bona fide ace in CC Sabathia, who has been good for at least 19 wins and 230 innings per year since joining the team before the 2009 season. Sabathia will continue to anchor the staff in 2012, but there was uncertainty surrounding who could be counted on after CC takes his turn.

Right-hander Ivan Nova, 16-4 last season, emerged as a solid No. 2. He logged 165.1 IP in his rookie season last year, along with a 3.70 ERA. Expectations heading into this season are that Nova will follow up his solid rookie campaign with another 15- to 20-win season.

The third spot in the rotation will likely be filled by the newly acquired Hiroki Kuroda. The veteran was 13-16 with a bad Dodgers team in 2011, but he logged a solid 3.07 ERA over a respectable 202.0 innings. On a contending team like the Yankees, Kuroda should be able to post a winning record in the high teens.

Slot No. 4 would feature another newly acquired Yankee, Michael Pineda. The young fire-baller struck out 173 batters in 171.0 IP during his rookie season, the most Ks by a pitcher 22 or under since Kerry Wood  in 1998. Pineda also ranked first among MLB right-handed starters in opponents batting average, holding hitters to a .184 BA.

The Yankees’ fifth spot is a bit more murky. A.J. Burnett, Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes are expected to compete for the final turn in the rotation.

Burnett, who could be moved before spring training, possibly for an everyday DH, is the latest in a long line of overpriced, under-performing free-agent pitchers the Yankees have signed over the last decade. His high salary and low production could present a problem on the trading block.

Hughes, an 18-game winner in 2010, missed a large part of 2011 with arm fatigue, pitching only 74.2 innings and posting a 5-5 record. Hughes’ arm issues are a huge question mark, and he’ll face an uphill battle to make the rotation heading into 2012.

Garcia, 34, is coming off a 12-8 season in which he logged 146.2 IP and a 3.62 ERA. He’s a proven veteran who should be considered the favorite for the fifth spot.

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Growing up, a lot of young men want to be a professional athlete.

With that comes countless hours in the backyard honing your sport and doing a play-by-play with you at the plate, the three-point line as the clock hits zero, or catching a winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.

After that comes the dreams of being a superstar in that sport and becoming one of its best.

Then, comes the speech you’ll give when you’re being inducted into the Hall of Fame. You got through countless drafts as a young kid, dreaming of how cool it would be to live in immortality.

For a few baseball players, that dream will become a reality in just a few short days. They will be announced as the 2012 Hall of Fame class for Major League Baseball, living what most kids dream of.

All through their playing days, some felt they were destined for greatness, while others feel honored to just get Hall consideration.

Undoubtedly, many big-league players will watch or listen to that announcement with much anticipation. Because for many, it’s a dream that they hope becomes a reality for them years down the road. Some, are shoo-ins, some we’re still not sure of.

Here’s a look at the top 10 players who are shoo-ins for the Hall of Fame at this point in their careers.

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The New York Yankees are reportedly seeking to lower their payroll to $189 million. To most teams that seems very easy but the Yankees have a bunch of aging stars with huge contracts that will make this seemingly-simple task very difficult.

Now, the Yankees will not have to permanently stay at $189 million to save money, as the luxury tax in the new CBA punishes repeat offenders, so the Yankees payroll will waver above and below $189 million. In order to save a large amount of money the Yankees will only have to drop to the $189 million payroll threshold once of out every three years.

I will be acting as the Yankees GM and my goal will be to field a competitive lineup while trying to eventually lower the payroll to $189 million. For this article I will ignore arbitration, bench players and players getting league minimum because those figures tend to stay pretty much stable year-to-year and they are tough to predict.

Lets see how this $189 million payroll is possible.

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