Indians most hated team...and ignored

Thanks James for the intro to the topic. I was going to post the link this morning, then I saw your post.

The deal is, the Indians are in a tough spot. The fans are passionate, but are becoming very disenfranchised with the ownership. Since the Dolan's took over there is a perception that they won't spend the money to keep the good players. So, its been 9 years ( i believe) since the Jacobs' sold the team; and the fans have really only had one year to be excited about.

I hate the argument that the Dolans did actually carry a high payroll in their tenure. That is true, in 2002 they had a big payroll; but that was only because it was left over from the Jacobs tenure. As soon as they could, the Dolan's let the talent go and rebuilt. Rebuilding is an okay part of the game, but at some point you have to spend money again to build a competitive team.

The Indians sign young players to long contracts (Grady, Carmona) so as to avoid arbitration and a few years of free agency. Not a bad plan, but you have to keep spending to get veterans with those young guys. Young guys alone are too inconsistent to win titles; you need a mix. Plus, you miss with some signings, like Jhonny Peralta.

Did Indians fans get spoiled in the 90s? Yes, but too bad ownership. You can't undo what happened, so pony up and put some talent on the field. Its the only way fans will come back to the ballpark. (no Paul Dolan, its not the other way around. We come to buy tickets when you spend first. I'm not spending money in the hopes that you will use it on players later. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.)