The Cleveland Guardians!
When the name was announced I said to myself 'Now there's a name that won't offend or scare anyone, won't have intellectual property issues and I can see the possibility of having a cool-looking mascot and diverse merchandising possibilities.
Basically, its name designed to maximize the profitability for the shareholders. Now, like every business name change, there is a backstory developed (or somewhat inherent) in the new name. The same is true in this case, if you really believe that a couple of statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge are enough to drive the name of a major sports franchise.
Now, don't get me wrong. In two years or maybe less, people will forget about the Cleveland Indians and associate the name with the sports franchise. Seamless transition. I have seen it in business multiple times in my career.
So here's to the Cleveland Guardians. May the new name usher in 20+ years of World Series' titles, playoff appearances for this team and HOF inductees going in as Cleveland Indians...uh...Cleveland Guardians. [NOTE: If this comes to pass will our heroes have the old Cleveland logo on the cap on their bronze busts be the past or the future logo of the Cleveland baseball team? Something to think about].
The robber barons of baseball
In the late 1800s there were a group of rich men known as the robber barons. Because they had the cash they could buy up property, businesses, inventory, whatever, for pennies on the dollar from people or companies who needed the cash. The goal was typically capitalistic: make a profit in ways that were, on paper, legal. Of course, at the expense of the sellers.
This tradition is still ingrained in the psyches of Americans. Get a distressed property at a huge discount, charge triple the normal rate when someone's pipe breaks on a weekend and, of course, make a one-sided baseball trade.
I get it in towns like New York where this cutthroat practice is part of history. When I see trades proposed by New York blog or media writers I laugh. Just like the MLB.com article I wrote about yesterday that described how we should trade Jose Ramirez for pennies on the dollar just because we needed to get rid of him before he left for free agency. I get it. But yesterday took this to a whole new level.
There I am, about to sit down to watch the Indians game and I see that Tampa Bay has traded for Nelson Cruz. A guy still performing at a high level...who becomes the best hitter on his WS-contending new team...for a couple of middling pitching prospects. Unless the Twins suddenly become the Cleveland Indians, this is a lottery ticket for the Twins. For Tampa Bay, their chances of making the WS just went up significantly. This type of thing really irks me as I am sure you could tell by my last article on the proposed Yankees trade. The Twins get back a return not likely to move the needle on their contention for the AL Central in the future whereas the Rays get a guy who is likely to have a huge impact on their success this year. Is that one year success, that one possible WS title, worth that much? I don't know, why don't you go on the street and ask any Indians' fan what they would be willing to trade for the realistic chance of being the favorite to win the WS title? I think the answer would be much closer to "Anything!" than it would be to "Nothing".
So there you have it. When the Tampa Bay Rays become robber barons I just give up. When the Twins give up a huge piece to Tampa Bay's title hopes this year and get little back in return, I give up.
I am left with one question: Why isn't my team making those kinds of trades or, at least, having those kinds of trades postulated by the media? Then I think "Is that really the way I want to win my title? By being a robber baron?"
Stay tuned. I may be making a heel-turn here any day now.
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