Bring Back Boudreau was hatched in October, 2009 after several years of writing for a variety of sources in both the print and internet media. The mission here at 3B is fairly simple: create a site in which I can express my relatively imperfect opinions about the baseball team that I've followed since birth. One of my very first memories was attending a double header at the stadium with my father during 70's. I dont' remember much about the game, but I do remember an older gentleman sitting in front of my family, wearing a Yankee hat. It bothered me enough that by the third inning of the game against those Yankees, I began throwing peanuts at his head.
I was four and expressing my opinion about not only the Indians, but the teams they would be playing. I've spent every year since then attempting to do that very thing.
This site isn't intended to take over the world, or open up some sort of dream job with ESPN.com. I'm not trying to take on writers and become some sort of super hub. I'm not trying to break stories, or beat others to the punch. That's not my intent at all.
Instead, I want to create a place where some Indians fans, haters or anyone in between can come and talk about the team I've followed since birth. Call it the watering hole for Tribe fans. Check out my opinions, and leave your own.
As far as my take about this club? Truth be told, it changes from day-to-day, and week-to-week. I generally feel the same way about a player, manager or owner after five years, as I do the second I lay eyes on them. Allowing myself to drop the hammer on Travis Hafner has been difficult. Liking Eric Wedge in 2007 was equally as difficult I wanted him gone so bad. Cliff Lee won the Cy Young award, and I was still thinking about the time he snubbed me about ten times for an autograph when he was in the minors. I kept thinking, "what a freakin' attitude."
My point is that I'm not going to wrap up my thinking in Sabermetrics because it ISN'T the entirety of the game. I was talking to a scout in Kinston this year and he said, "if we just used saber-stats, why would we play the game to begin with?" We're baseball fans and stats are always important, but people are taking away the feel of the game.
What made the Indians in the 1990's so good? They could hit a ton for sure, and they were some warped version of The Waltons. There was something that connected that team, and it wasn't just the numbers.
I'm also not planning on regurgitating other posts from bloggers and newspapers around the Indians internet world. Sure, I'll use the print media for some cold, hard facts, and I'll occasionally berate another writer for being off point, but I'm not here to be a hub for what others say. Hopefully, I'll be able to create some unique content, that may even make some sense.
I bleed Cleveland, and plan on writing from that area in and around the heart that elicits the shredding of a newspaper article the other day hammering the Indians for discarding Lee and Sabathia. I was listening to some idiot talk about how the Indians got return for those two guys, so we can't be angry. My gut reaction was to pop him in the face. My only concern involves three words:
WORLD...SERIES...CHAMPIONS
If that means banking on players knowing we'll suck the following year, who cares. The point, I thought, was to win, not to dump players in hopes to get production until we can trade them right before we're ready to contend. I'd rather lose 100 games every year trying to get to the series, then trade guys with more than a year on their deals...but I'm off topic. Let's get back on point.
If I'm doing my job, we can laugh some together, stand up on our chairs and scream when we the good things happen, and hurl our computer monitors through the window when they don't.
Why 'Bring Back Boudreau?' Lou Boudreau has always been an icon to me, even though I never saw him play live (or come close). My Dad told me about a guy who managed from the time most of these guys today just barely make it to the majors. He played shortstop, one of the most demanding positions in the game, and often carred a very good Indians team on his back. My Dad often compares Derek Jeter to the Cleveland Icon. No, he isn't going to hit 40 homers, but boy could he beat you every other way.
And of course...Boudreau was the main cog in what has become the last World Series Champion in Cleveland. Can we get there again?...Can we 'Bring Back Boudreau?"
