Mailbag: Lamenting Tribe's start

My good friend Jeff Brown sent me this e-mail recently:

Not only is the Tribe stinking up the joint in their ill-fated attempts to play baseball so far this season, but [last] week they set a new record -- the lowest single-game attendance for a game at Jacobs Field = 11,408.

Steve, remember the early days of Jacobs Field, when it was difficult to even get a ticket? When they sold out every single game several years running?

Obviously, those days are long, long gone, my friend.

This is beginning to remind me of the old days at Cleveland Municipal Stadium when they drew about 5,000 fans per game in the cavernous 80,000 seat stadium, and you could hear the beer vendors voices echoing off the empty parts of the stadium.

What has become of our beloved Tribe, Steve?

You know, they're not playing badly, except for the bullpen. It's amazing how much that one phase of the game can influence the won-lost record, given that those pitchers generally only pitch one-third or so of the total innings in a season. The offense is slumping a bit right now, though.

That attendance figure is emblematic of the fact that the Indians no longer play in a new ballpark, they are no longer an elite franchise, and with the Cavaliers' ascension and the Browns' continued (albeit pathetic) existence, the demand is no longer there for Indians tickets. Also, we had crappy weather that day. Regardless, I'm sorry to say that what we'll see in the future will probably be closer to those old days at the Stadium than the early days of the Jake, at least in terms of attendance. No, I don't think we'll go four decades between playoff appearances again, if only because there are eight playoff teams now; but we certainly won't be able to afford one of the top-five payrolls any time soon.

Bring on the Heat (or Hawks)

The Cavaliers made mincemeat out of the remnants of the Detroit Pistons over the last 10 days or whatever. And that's what's supposed to happen when the team with the NBA's best record plays the team with the worst playoff-qualifying record. The only time the Pistons made it remotely interesting was Friday night, when they briefly pulled ahead in the third quarter of Game 3 before getting smoked the rest of the way. Yesterday's Game 4 was never in any doubt. And so our Cavs become the only team to sweep a first-round series in this year's playoffs, and only the third team in NBA history to sweep a series while winning each game by double digits.

Next up: the winner of the Heat-Hawks series, which Miami currently leads 2-1 going into tonight's Game 4 in Florida. If the Calories were to win tonight, they could close it out Wednesday in Atlanta. But more likely, the series will go six or seven games, which would have the series ending as late as Sunday, leaving the Cavs resting for over a week. I don't think it matters much who we're playing. The Cavaliers went 3-1 each against Miami and Atlanta this year, and I don't see this series going longer than five games. Maybe six.

Love and honor to Miami!

Yes, this is a Cleveland sports blog, but I'm all abuzz about my alma mater, Miami University, having its first chance ever to play for a national championship in any sport. The RedHawks (known as the Redskins during my college days) dispatched the Bemidji State Beavers yesterday, 4-1, in a game that probably wasn't as close as the final score. One more win, and we're champs. I can hardly contain my excitement. The Hawks will be underdogs against the Boston U. Terriers of Hockey East, but our boys have proven they can hang with the big dogs.

The biggest moment in last night's game came right after Bemidji cut Miami's lead to 2-1 on a power play goal in the second period. Will Weber took a shot that hit Bill Loupee’s stick in the crease, and the puck ricocheted off Bemidji goalie Matt Dalton and back into the net. Miami, 3-1. They'd score their last goal on an empty-netter in the third. And in their first-ever trip to the Frozen Four, the RedHawks (23-12-5) have reached the title game.

The Terriers (34-6-4) come in after a hard-fought come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Vermont in the other national semifinal, and have won their last six and 11 of their last 12. They rattled off a nine-game winning streak earlier this season, which was followed by a rather bizarre three-game tying streak, then a five-game winning streak. So at one point, they won 14 games between losses. Since January 1, they're 23-2-3. This is a tough opponent for anyone. Our guys will have their hands full, but once the puck drops at 7 p.m. Saturday, the score will be zero-zero.

I can hardly wait.

No 162-0

Yeah, so the Indians lost the opener. Yeah, so Cliff Lee looked as bad as we've seen him since ... well, 2007. Yeah, so the Tribe only managed five hits against former Indian Kevin Millwood and the Rangers' bullpen, and their only run scored on a wild freaking pitch. It's still just one game. And that's what I love about baseball: There's another game tomorrow. (Except there isn't one tomorrow, because Major League Baseball always schedules an off-day the day after Opening Day. Why? Bud Selig is a moron.)

On to some other thoughts:

* The Cavaliers played very, very badly on back-to-back nights in losses to the woeful Wizards and the surging Magic. I switched away from that game against Orlando in the second quarter, and just checked back from time to time. It was uuuuuug-LEE! But again, it was just one game. And hey, our boys came back out on Sunday and kicked the Spurs' butts pretty hard. And that was without Anderson Varejao, who might be back Wednesday in the rematch against Washington. In fact, Ben Wallace might be back for that game too. Either way, I can't see the Cavs losing twice to the Wizards in a week, especially with the second game at home.

* If you had Michigan State going to the title game in your bracket, you're a lot more prescient than I am. I knew they were a good team, but remember when Ohio State beat them in the Big Ten tourney? I guess it just goes to show no team is at its best every game. I'm guessing not many people will read this until after tonight's game, but I wouldn't be that surprised to see the Spartans topple the Tar Heels tonight. I think you have to favor Carolina, but I think it'll be a lot closer than the UNC-Villanova game the other night.

* I have no way of proving this, but I predicted Michigan State's win over Connecticut -- right before the game started. I saw the UConn players coming out during the introductions, jumping around and laughing with each other, and I said, "They look awfully arrogant. They're going to lose." Sure enough, the Spartans had them down early and put them away late.

Well, that's about all I've got right now. I'm off to watch some more baseball, and then switch to hoops for the big game. I hope it doesn't go too late. Some of us have to work tomorrow.