The 2021 Cleveland Baseball Organization

[macbdog]

Pretty sure they were just saying Doooo-lans in honor of their landmark decision.

 

[Kevalier]

Hey guys, I just woke up from an 18 month coma. The world definitely looks and feels different, but why are we no longer going to have baseball in Cleveland which this tweet indicates?

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Hey guys, I just woke up from an 18 month coma. The world definitely looks and feels different, but why are we no longer going to have baseball in Cleveland which this tweet indicates?

The tweet doesn't indicate that, and anyone who follows baseball enough to even be aware of this tweet in the first place knows exactly what point is being made. It is literally the last game the Cleveland Indians will ever play in Cleveland. All future games will be played by the Cleveland Guardians. That distinction matters to some fans, not to others, and no amount of arguing/debating/pontificating is going to change that.

 

[Kevalier]

The tweet doesn't indicate that, and anyone who follows baseball enough to even be aware of this tweet in the first place knows exactly what point is being made. It is literally the last game the Cleveland Indians will ever play in Cleveland. All future games will be played by the Cleveland Guardians. That distinction matters to some fans, not to others, and no amount of arguing/debating/pontificating is going to change that.

My interpretation was that the tweet was melodramatic and could have been framed in a less sensational manner. I completely acknowledge and relate to the adjustment that we in the fanbase will have to make by no longer referring to the club as the Indians or Tribe (unless you want to continue to which is your right.) However, we still have baseball here in Cleveland for at least another decade and some in the local media are acting as if today is some sort of funeral.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

My interpretation was that the tweet was melodramatic and could have been framed in a less sensational manner. I completely acknowledge and relate to the adjustment that we in the fanbase will have to make by no longer referring to the club as the Indians or Tribe (unless you want to continue to which is your right.) However, we still have baseball here in Cleveland for at least another decade and some in the local media are acting as if today is some sort of funeral.

It's melodramatic to you because you either support or don't care about the name change. Just as some folks wouldn't have cared if the Browns name would have gone to Baltimore with the franchise in 1996, but to others, keeping the Browns name for a new franchise here was important. What is melodrama to some is perfectly appropriate sentiment to others.

There isn't a right or wrong answer to the question of whether the name change matters.

 

[Kevalier]

It's melodramatic to you because you either support or don't care about the name change. Just as some folks wouldn't have cared if the Browns name would have gone to Baltimore with the franchise in 1996, but to others, keeping the Browns name for a new franchise here was important. What is melodrama to some is perfectly appropriate sentiment to others.

There isn't a right or wrong answer to the question of whether the name change matters.

I don’t see how you can compare the two situations. The Browns were stolen from the city overnight and shocked the entire region, while the organization announced in July of 2020 that they were undergoing a formal process to explore changing the name. Yes, it was crucial that the city kept the team name and colors once the franchise was moved to Baltimore, but how everything unfolded then is completely different to what is taking place with the Indians renaming the club to Guardians. And, agree with them or not, there are different factors at play here than what happened with the Browns i.e. social and cultural implications.

 

[CATS44]

If the Guardians come out next year with the team I expect, nobody will care about the name on the uniform as the team goes down the stretch run.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I don’t see how you can compare the two situations. The Browns were stolen from the city overnight and shocked the entire region, while the organization announced in July of 2020 that they were undergoing a formal process to explore changing the name. Yes, it was crucial that the city kept the team name and colors once the franchise was moved to Baltimore, but how everything unfolded then is completely different to what is taking place with the Indians renaming the club to Guardians.

One issue was present in both situations -- does the name of the franchise matter at all? And of course it does. That is different inquiry entirely from saying whether or not the name should be changed. Clearly, the franchise itself recognizes that the name change matters:

https://fox8.com/sports/cleveland-indians-offer-commemorative-ticket-to-fans-for-final-home-game-of-season/

And, agree with them or not, there are different factors at play here than what happened with the Browns i.e. social and cultural implications.

But that is the entire point. You are trying shift this into a debate about the justification for making the change, which isn't the point. The point is whether or not changing the name matters to some people, and it very clearly does. To those people for whom it doesn't matter, or who support the name change, why care about the tweet at all? It doesn't concern you or anything you value. Literally nobody is being "fooled" by that tweet into thinking that professional baseball won't be played in Cleveland.

But some fans do have some emotional attachment to "The Tribe", The Indians", "Let's go Tribe", etc.. I'm not quite sure why anyone would argue that isn't the case.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Call me an old sap if you want, but I'm a little misty-eyed today, knowing that this is the last home game for the Cleveland Indians.
That name has been part of my life as long as I've been alive, and decades before that.
I know it's the same franchise, and I understand the reasoning for the change. That doesn't mean a lot of people don't feel the same as me. I wish the Indians would have done something to remember the Indians team history.
One other note in the news: Reading about the search for Gabby Petito, and her killer, has brought to light the crime and conditions on Indian land and the reservations. Over 700 Indigenous People have gone missing in those areas over the past decade. Nobody cares what happens to those people.
Too bad our situation wasn't used to help, or something tangible.

 

[Criznit]

I do have to wonder if 2022 being the inaugural season for the Cleveland Guardians will influence the spending of money for 2022 (and beyond). It seems like a prime opportunity to put forth the highest quality product you can and any hard feelings "should" be smoothed over the closer we are to a true WS contender.

Winning it all in 2022 would be a HUGE win (obviously) for the "brand new" Cleveland Guardians.

2022 lines up in a lot of ways for the owner(s) to spend money. If they go full gladiator - we should expect an extension or 2, and a legit add or 2.

Being timid/passive for 2022 could be perceived very negatively by the average fan.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I do have to wonder if 2022 being the inaugural season for the Cleveland Guardians will influence the spending of money for 2022 (and beyond). It seems like a prime opportunity to put forth the highest quality product you can and any hard feelings "should" be smoothed over the closer we are to a true WS contender.

Winning it all in 2022 would be a HUGE win (obviously) for the "brand new" Cleveland Guardians.

2022 lines up in a lot of ways for the owner(s) to spend money. If they go full gladiator - we should expect an extension or 2, and a legit add or 2.

Being timid/passive for 2022 could be perceived very negatively by the average fan.

This makes sense to me. Justified or not, there is clearly some negative fan reaction to the name change, and I'd think it important to try to give a many of those people as possible as much reason to show up in 2022 as you can.

I'm sure there are some fans who feel "no big loss" if some fans are alienated permanently, but ownership is likely to have a different view.

 

[MirORich]

So glad to have the new name. Long overdue. Looking forward to rooting for the team the same as I have been since I heard my first game on the radio sitting in a hot non air conditioned car waiting on my Dad to finish up buying some sheep feed from some farmer in Medina in I think 86 or 87(just remember that we were facing Chuck Finley when he was still a youngster with the Angels)

 

[sportscoach]

This makes sense to me. Justified or not, there is clearly some negative fan reaction to the name change, and I'd think it important to try to give a many of those people as possible as much reason to show up in 2022 as you can.

I'm sure there are some fans who feel "no big loss" if some fans are alienated permanently, but ownership is likely to have a different view.

I wish this free agent class was better overall since it would make it easier to get a "splash" move done. Outside of the 30+ million Bryant would cost, I dont see a legit person who has a name that I would even think about putting money into.... it would mess with some dolans are cheap people if we went and got Bryant, signed some extensions and went in got like a Reynolds... that would be a legit team to beat on paper, but I cannot ever see that happening in Cleveland...

 

[Lee]

The tweet doesn't indicate that, and anyone who follows baseball enough to even be aware of this tweet in the first place knows exactly what point is being made. It is literally the last game the Cleveland Indians will ever play in Cleveland. All future games will be played by the Cleveland Guardians. That distinction matters to some fans, not to others, and no amount of arguing/debating/pontificating is going to change that.

Personally, last time i rooted for the Indians they missed the playoffs, so i welcome this new team the Guardians coming to town.

 

[Lee]

So glad to have the new name. Long overdue. Looking forward to rooting for the team the same as I have been since I heard my first game on the radio sitting in a hot non air conditioned car waiting on my Dad to finish up buying some sheep feed from some farmer in Medina in I think 86 or 87(just remember that we were facing Chuck Finley when he was still a youngster with the Angels)

So this was the pre "Stiletto in the face from Tawny Kitaen" Chuck Finley?