Tribe Sweeps Rays Into Second
July 13, 2008No Shortage of LaPorta Coverage
July 14, 2008
With rumors of an All-Star week bow from grace, we ask why not? Why not let Omar wear Chief Wahoo one last time before he fades off into the sunset?
It was always our dream. We all wished it would happen. We wanted Omar Vizquel to retire as a Cleveland Indian. It only seemed natural. It only seemed right. The fans wanted it to happen. Omar wanted it to happen. The Indians front office wanted it to happen. Then the Giants stepped in and offered Omar a 3 year, $12.5 million contract, and at that point we all knew it was over. There was no way Omar could turn down that deal, and there was no way the Indians were going to match that deal, especially with blazing hot SS prospect Jhonny Peralta looking more and more ready for big league play. The Omar Vizquel era was officially over.
Or was it? There are some serious rumors going around that Omar has been embarrassed by his poor hitting this season, and some have speculated that he might actually retire at the All-Star break. I saw this story in the Denver Post courtesy of Buster Olney’s blog (ESPN Insider link). In the article, Tony Renck writes,
“There is simmering buzz that San Francisco shortstop Omar Vizquel might walk away from the game during the all-star break. Vizquel is a proud man, who is embarrassed at how he’s hit since returning from knee surgery May 10. He has batted .153 in 44 games. The Giants don’t want him to go. Vizquel is still a gem defensively, providing immense help for a maturing pitching staff. Robbie Alomar, a Hall of Famer in my mind, retired abruptly when he could no longer play at the level to which he was accustomed.”
If there is truth to this, the Indians have a unique opportunity to make ammends with those fans who were so disgruntled when they let Omar walk away 4 years ago. If Omar truly wants to retire, why not work out a deal with the Giants whereby they trade Omar to the Indians for cash considerations, or a couple bats and balls, or something along those lines? Then, once the Indians acquire the rights to Vizquel, they could let him suit up one last time for the Tribe and play his farewell game in Jacob’s Field, the house Omar ruled for 10 glorious seasons.
Now, before you either roll your eyes or fall over laughing, hear me out. This actually makes sense and is doable for all parties involved. First off, what do the Giants have to lose? If Omar is going to retire anyway, why not send him over to Cleveland for a couple bucks? If Omar gets into the Hall of Fame (that’s a post for another time), it’s not like he’s going to go in as a Giant, so they’re not messing with Omar’s San Francisco legacy.
From the Indians’ standpoint, they really have nothing to lose and a little to gain. The Indians are 41-53, in last place in the Central and 13 games behind the leading White Sox, and that’s even after sweeping the Rays this weekend. The Indians are going nowhere this season and have already thrown in the towel when they traded away Clubhouse Leader and Staff Ace CC Sabathia to the Brewers. While Indians fans understood the trade and realized why it was necessary and the right thing to do for the future of this franchise, it also left a lot of us feeling somewhat hollow about the whole thing. With a team going nowhere and a fanbase filled with confusion, indifference, and mistrust, you can expect there to be a lot of empty nights in the stands this summer at Jacobs Field.
The Indians are already a medium market team, and it can hardly afford to have empty seats for 3 months. The team needs the revenue to be competitive. This wouldn’t be a long term solution, but imagine the fanfare that would exist if Omar Vizquel was coming back to play one last game as a Cleveland Indian in Jacobs Field. It would provide the Indians with an almost certain sell out game in a season that surely will not otherwise have any more sell outs. Furthermore, it will help rebuild just a little bit of the goodwill with the fans that has been lost throughout this already long and torturous season.
Obviously I realize this is a novelty idea. I know baseball franchises, at least the ones that experience long term successes, don’t operate on the basis of what makes the fans happy. I also know, though, that franchises do make moves based on money from time to time, and even just one big sold out night of baseball could make a big difference to this team. Who amongst us wouldn’t want to be at that game, to stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow fans as we not only say goodbye to one of the most popular Indians in franchise history, but also show our gratitude for all the years of tantalizing plays in the field and big hits at the plate?
Nobody knows yet whether Omar is really about to retire in a couple days, but one thing we can be sure of is that having one final chance to watch Omar play in an Indians uniform at home would be a miraculous and joyous occasion and it would certainly be a night none of us would soon forget. The Indians aren’t playing for anything this season anymore, so why not? Please, let us have that one last chance to watch one of the last remaining pieces of the era of teams that meant so much to us all.
29 Comments
Wonderful post. And so true.
By your logic, it would work out for all parties.
But it’s probably just too cool of a thing to happen.
I would love it tho.
Rock – Great post.
I will be horrendously disappointed if this doesn’t happen, and will blame you for getting my hopes up.
If you have it right, I’ll buy you a beer next time I’m in Cleveland or you’re in DC.
You’ve got yourself a deal Ron. I’m not crossing my fingers or anything like that, but I’ll take almost any bet when free beer is involved.
Take him to the Pour House so he can admire all the Steelers regalia.
CJG and I were just drinking there on Friday and they just happened to have the Cavs-Bulls MJ 69 point game on the ESPN bigscreen.
In our defense, the big happy hour drafts are 2.50 there and the service is good or we wouldn’t dare drink in a pro-Steelers bar.
If this happened… I honestly would consider flying back home to Cleveland from DC to go to that game.
…And would probably do it.
I’m so torn on this…for one thing I’d love to see Omar back, for any length of time. But the other side of me says that is a roster spot that we don’t need to occupy with a part time light hitting vet that won’t be back next year.
I would much rather see Cabrera get reps at short, and try Peralta somewhere else…
If it was at the end of the year, like when they expand the rosters I could see it. Of course if Omar is that serious about retiring because he can’t play at the level he wants, do you really think he would want to do the Cleveland retirement tour?
My post makes 4 from DC. I’ll buy the second round.
Rick, I actually just meant for one game. If Omar wants to retire, he’s not going to play a half season in Cleveland. But he might be willing to play one game.
Im not sure if your getting sick of this, but I found a typo:
“While Indians fans understood the trade and realized why it was necessary and the right thing to do for thr future of this franchise, it also left a lot of us feeling somewhat hollow about the whole thing. ”
There is an ‘r’ instead of a ‘t’ in ‘the.’
Thoughts on the article coming soon. 😉
I love how strong our DC contingent is.
Any wonder why???
“There is an ‘r’ instead of a ‘t’ in ‘the.’”
Wrong. There was an ‘r’ instead of an ‘e’.
Did anyone see how a regualr Wednesday night turned into a packed out crowd when Kenny came back. Why they didn’t resign him baffles me. Just imagine if Omar came back. I would think they would need him for a whole weekend though, if it was just one game, tickets would be so hard to come by. It was packed(and I was there too) when he came back in a Giants uniform. Scalpers would have a field day with this one.
Same difference.
“Did anyone see how a regualr Wednesday night”
You spelled ‘regular’ wrong.
I know.
Typo. I realized it right after I hit the button. You could use an edit button.
We have one. I guess only admin can see it? Do you see an ‘e’ next to the timestamp?
Nope just the name and time. But since there is no login I guess it would be impossible
Mmmm, the sweet taste of nostalgia…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121572830850843973.html?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular
“Im not sure if your getting sick of this, but I found a typo:”
Wait – there’s another.
As for Omar, it seems that his self-consciousness might make him wary of the idea of coming back for one game. What if he doesn’t get a hit? What if he makes an error? Of course, none of us would care, but it sounds like he’d really magnify that kind of thing.
Fantastic idea Rock. Maybe you can call McGowan / Sabean on behalf of Shapiro and work out a deal sending Delucci and about 100 maple bats / case of cheap beer in return for Omar.
@LaundroMat: then he can just play another game and make THAT one his last! 🙂
@Chris: Fantastic idea. Maybe we can agree to send them some Christmas Ale come winter time. If they knew what they were missing, they would totally agree to that deal.
Well done. I unfortunatly just came across this site a few eeks ago, since I’ve become an avid reader.
I think it might be a bit much for the Tribe to get around too. As a fan and someone who was growing up with that era of team, I would travel back from NC to see that.
If your right, there’s a beer in Charlotte for ya too. Hell, there’s one even if your wrong.
Nice! I need to go on a beer tour across the country. Any readers in any other cities want to buy me a beer? 🙂
Great Post, Agree completely
Rock, you rock! I was there when Omar got the standing ovation when he came back to our Jake. Yes! I would love to have him back even for one game!! I’ll buy you a beer, but I’m in the fine state of Ohio, does that count?
Omar denies the rumor: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/13/SP3811OL9A.DTL&feed=rss.giants
Maybe next fall we’ll have to have a WFNY night at a Cavs/Wizards game in DC. We could try Browns/Redskins in October but that won’t be as easy to get tickets for.