It was May 2 when I hit rock bottom in my frustration with the baseball fans in this town. The Indians had started 9-15, and they hadn't looked good doing it, so the city wasn't responding to them by buying tickets. Yes, it was April, and it was cold.
What will be their excuse next week when the Tigers come to town with the Tribe in a pennant race and the temperature around 80? I'd be surprised if more than 25,000 people are there Monday night. The mid-90's are a distant memory. And people wonder why the Indians don't play all that well at home.
I was on my way to the Browns game tonight when Grady stole home in the first inning with 2 outs, and an 0-2 count on Hafner, so I still haven't seen the film of it, but it sure seemed to stoke the team. Hafner hit the ball out to the centerfield hotel a couple of pitches later, and they didn't look back. (Yes, I was listening to the Indians on the radio at the Browns game).
They arrive home Monday with the best August record in major league baseball, and a real chance to be playing in October. Let's hope some people in Cleveland remember what that can be like.
**More on the Browns game later, but the award for most creative new T-shirt tonight goes to......the "Kellen Knievel" model, with the tight end's face on Evel's red, white and blue jumpsuited body. It's OK to laugh at that, isn't it?
UPDATE 8/29: The announced attendance for tonight's comeback win was 22,713, although 5,000 of those were giveaways. Not good.
Posted by dan at August 27, 2005 1:37 AM