I knew it was coming.
I knew it was bound to happen.
The likes of Tampa, Boston, Detroit were all interested in Cleveland Indians' Catcher Victor Martinez, and why shouldn't they be?
He has been the one constant with the Indians through the years since 1996.
He has developed into a fine catcher, 1st basemen, power hitter, team leader, and morale builder.
Oh, but no, that's not what Cleveland Indians' Management is looking for....they want cheap labor.
Even though Baseball is "America's favorite past time," they have morphed in with every other business and have followed suit --kick out the veterans, those employees who gives 200 percent, who WANT to give their all to their company, and hire young, preferably cute, dimwitted individuals to work for free.
If I hear one more time, "it's just a business," I will scream out loud. MLB and the team owners have ruined the game. Because they continue paying many of the selfish stars whatever they want, they will continue desecrating this great sport. The owners should have banned together and said, we refuse to pay AROD and Manny what they want so they have to come down and keep it on an even playing field. The owners did this to themselves and unfortunately have irreparably damaged the game and the heart of the fans.
We did not have this problem back in the day when players made 100 dollars a game, were not afraid to pitch more than 6 innings and kept strong in the off-season by actually working for a living. And many players DID play with just one team because they were devoted to that team. The owners coddle the selfish players, pay them what they want even if they don't produce (Travis Hafner) and unfortunately, the good, decent honest players like Victor Martinez become collateral damage and ultimately they and their families get screwed.
All morning Friday, Mom and I were doing the countdown. T minus 5, T minus 4. By the time we got to 1:30pm, we thought we may be home free. But no. WTAM's 2:30pm newscast eluded to the fact that it was only a matter of minutes before Victor was packing up and heading to Fenway.
I thought I could weather this storm. Not today. Even with my wonderful weekend with friends last week to recharge my spirit, it's not going to work today.
I shed a tear. I could not believe that MLB and the Cleveland Indians' management team could be so heartless, so money hungry that hard work, dedication, devotion, and allegiance meant nothing.
Used to be you could make a deal with a handshake. Those days are gone.
Used to be you would take care of your dedicated employees who wanted to stay and give their all for a company. Apparently those days are gone as well. I throw up when I hear of companies who toss out older employees who may need a month, 6 months or even a year after a long and illustrious career with the same company just because they do not want to pay their pension, their health or give them a nice retirement package.
I chuckle at how one of the players we got for Victor is recovering from "Tommy John Surgery." He could make a full recovery and become a huge star, but let's face it, he could never pitch again. We are already starting way behind the 8 ball with everyone we have received for Cliff and Victor.
My Mom has been an Indians fan for over seventy years. I have been a die-hard fan for almost forty years. We know what we speak.
I wish Mr. Dolan, Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge would have followed in the footsteps of the Jacobs Family.
The players of the 90's STILL think of themselves as Cleveland Indians even if they moved on. The players of the 90's have only wonderful things to say about the Cleveland Indians' organization to this day--when it was run by Dick Jacobs and Mike Hargrove. Heck, Sandy Alomar, who works for the Mets now, slipped up in his interview with Rick Manning and Matt Underwood Friday and said he worked for the Cleveland Indians.
Now Sandy would be a wonderful manager or coach and that is exactly why he will not come back here--our current management staff and front office will never see what they have right in front of their eyes until it is detrimentally too late.
I admit it. I was more shaken by the Victor Martinez trade than any leading up to it this year, including my boy, Mark DeRosa.
As a true Cleveland Indian fan, it felt like Larry Dolan had just pierced a knife through my heart. I can never trust any management personnel again who has no problem looking you straight into the eye and lying to your face, and dispensing with you for no apparent or legitimate reason.
If it was not bad enough already, seeing the interview with Martinez as he breaks down and says he really hoped he would have stayed in the same uniform his whole career left me speechless. If that is not loyalty and commitment, I don't know what is?
Once I saw that, I had to press on still being at work, but it was difficult. It could happen to any one of us. No matter how much you give in this life to a family member, a spouse, an employer, you could be denied and disappointed and discarded for giving your all and doing a stellar job.
There is absolutely something wrong with that mentality.
I am not abandoning my Cleveland Indians. I abhor the Cleveland Indians Management Staff and Front Office. And God bless them if these moves eventually pay off in some way. I'm sure they will come back and make sure the world knows 'we knew exactly what we were doing when we traded away Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez.' However, they have betrayed my trust time and time again over the last 8 years. I will never trust this current management team again. If the Indians wind up winning, it's a win-win situation for all of us, but I don't have to like the top brass.
I will continue going to games because I really enjoy Cleveland Indians' Baseball.
Mom, on the other hand, does not want to renew our Seasons' Tickets. It will be very interesting to see what we do. In fact, being the vocal baseball lover she is, she has already contacted fan services & our ticket agent and told them they must lower their prices next year because she is not paying exorbitant prices to see a double A team!!! Go Mom! We've been Season Ticket holders since 1988 and the family has been going to games for over 70 years....
This was and is hard. True, it really has no bearing on my life except whether or not we opt to buy tickets next year and it is not a tragedy. But I refuse to let the unscrupulous antics of moronic individuals stifle my spirit, smother the life out of me, or keep me down for long.
Yes, I will continue to follow Cleveland Indians' Baseball. I WILL continue cheering for Casey Blake, Victor Martinez, Cliff Lee, Ben Francisco, Ryan Garko, Mark DeRosa, Rafael Betancourt, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel and those who have a real history with this team.
I pray every day that ultimately good folks will triumph, that greedy SOB's will get their day, and that God gives me the strength, the peace-of-mind, and faith to lay my head down on my pillow each night having done my best knowing I have NOT screwed anyone as Larry Dolan, Mark Shapiro, and Eric Wedge do on a daily basis.
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