The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Indians are a big hit at the box office
Indians fans have responded to the team’s winning ways and increased payroll by scooping up tickets, Jeff Schudel writes. Plus, thoughts on Jimmy Garoppolo and the Cavs’ resting plans.
Indian Fever, It’s catchin’ fire with everyone. Indian Fever, You can be part of the fun.
You’re a winner at every game;
That’s where the excitement begins. So catch Indian Fever Be a believer With the Cleveland Indians. — From Indian Fever fight song, circa 1980s
The Indians in 2016 advanced to the World Series for the first time since 1997, and now an epidemic of Indians Fever is spreading rapidly among Tribe fans.
The home opener against the Chicago White Sox on April 11 sold out three minutes after the online ticket sale began. Nothing new there; the home opener always sells out.
What is different this year is the Indians have already sold 1.2 million tickets for 2017. Curtis Danburg, a member of the Indians media relations department, said that mark wasn’t reached last year until July 4. The lower bowl for most weekend games beginning in June are already sold out, Danburg said.
Plenty of tickets remain for the five remaining games on the first homestand of the season after the opener with the White Sox. That is another tradition in Cleveland, where weather can be fickle in April and May.
The Tribe plays the White Sox on April 12 and 13 and then hosts the Tigers for three games before going back on the road.
For years, fans grumbled about the Dolans not spending enough money as owners of the Indians. We can have a long debate on how trying to buy a pennant (or a Super Bowl championship) usually results in money wasted and managers or coaches being fired, but Indians owner Paul Dolan did dish out a four-year, $60 million contract to slugger Edwin Encarnacion this winter. Encarnacion was the top prize in free agency in the offseason.
The Indians now rank 17th in team payroll, according to Spotrac.com, with a total payroll of $124,861,165. They were 28th in attendance last season, beating out only Tampa Bay and Oakland.
• Indians manager Terry Francona will have a difficult decision to make when right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall comes off the disabled list. Chisenhall, sidelined with a sore shoulder, could be activated as soon as April 11.
The odd man out will probably be Abraham Almonte or Austin Jackson. Both outfielders were part of the 3-0 start to the season and both worked hard to make the 25-man roster. Almonte could be sent to AAA Columbus because he still has an option left.
• The schedule maker got it right for the Indians this time. Instead of playing the first home series against the Boston Red Sox or some other team outside the Central Division, the Indians play three games with the White Sox and three more with the Detroit Tigers. Obviously a rainout would be easier to make up because each team makes two more visits to Progressive Field.
Last year the Indians hosted the Red Sox on opening day.
It was postponed because the weather, predictably, was horrendous. That game was made up the next day because it was an open day for both teams, but another game that series was postponed and had to be made up in August.
Some fans believe the Indians should play the first three weeks on the road because of weather, but that is unrealistic. Anyway, there are no guarantees the weather at the end of April will be pleasant.
What’s up with Garoppolo?
About two weeks have passed since the last rumor of the Browns trading for Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo circulated. That’s like going 14 days without learning about a Kim Kardashian drama.
I have maintained the Browns should not overpay for Garoppolo by sending a bundle of draft picks to New England.
Likewise, I have said I won’t believe the Patriots aren’t trading him until the trade deadline passes in November.
The closer the draft gets, it seems to me, the lower the ransom it would take to acquire Garoppolo. Why?
Because the last thing the Patriots really want is to be stuck with him in 2017 and let him walk in free agency next year.
Garoppolo will command a salary similar to the $72 million, fouryear deal the Texans gave Brock Osweiler last winter. The Patriots would have to either do that or make Garoppolo their franchise player.
Tom Brady will earn $14 million in salary, another $7 million as part of a prorated signing bonus and a $1 million roster bonus in 2018 and 2019 for a total cap hit of $22 million each year.
The Patriots would be looking at a salary cap hit of around $40 million on just their quarterbacks for the next two years if they keep Brady and Garoppolo.
That isn’t going to happen, so the longer the Browns wait to make a trade if they are truly interested, the less they might have to pay the Patriots to get him.
One more wrinkle if the Browns are in love with Garoppolo: they could retain their draft picks and sign him as a free agent next year.
You could say, “But what if he doesn’t want to play for the Browns?”
Then a trade before the draft would really be silly because the only way the Browns could justify it would be if Garoppolo agreed to a long-term deal first. They are not going to send multiple draft picks to New England to rent him for one year.
The Browns would still have to fork over the huge contract to Garoppolo, which I maintain is risky gambling on someone with two NFL starts. That is why I believe drafting a quarterback is still the best way to go.
Cavs feel the Heat
Losing to the Atlanta Hawks on April 7 at Quicken Loans Arena put a crimp in the plans of Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue for the final three games of the regular season.
Instead of having a twogame lead over the Boston Celtics with a magic number of one to clinch the NBA East, the lead is down to a half-game and the magic number is still two as the Cavaliers prepare to play the Hawks in Atlanta on April 9.
Lue wants to rest LeBron James and Kyrie Irving against the Heat in Miami on April 10, but the Cavaliers and Celtics would have identical records if the Cavs lose in Atlanta. The Cavs won’t have a chance if they don’t play better than they did while losing to the Hawks at The Q.
“These games like this come back and bite you, especially down the stretch when you’re trying to get some rest,” Lue said after the April 7 game. “Trying to hold onto that No. 1 seed and getting rest and you come out and have a performance like this, it’s not good.”
The Celtics finish the season with a home game against the Brooklyn Nets on April 10 and a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 12. The Cavs close the regular season at home against Toronto April 12.
The problem for Lue is exacerbated because Irving’s left knee is bothering him. Irving fractured his left kneecap in the 2015 NBA Finals. He was examined in the Cavs locker room late in the third quarter April 7 but returned to finish the game.
Winning the East obviously is secondary to having Irving ready for the playoffs. The Cavs are expected to begin defense of their NBA title at home on April 16, but whether that will be as the first seed or second seed is to be determined.
I didn’t know that
…Until I read my Snapple bottle cap.
Four Corners, Ariz., is the only place where a person can stand in four states at the same time (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado). … A group of 12 or more cows is called a flink. … Dwight Eisenhower was the only U.S. president to serve in World War I and World War II. … An alligator can grow up to 3,000 teeth in a lifetime. … A nautical mile is 800 feet shorter than a land mile.