Thursday, October 20, 2016

Could be a Trend, or More of the Same


 OMG:  Terry Francona used reliever Andrew Miller for, now get this, not 2 but 2-2/3 innings yesterday against the Blue Jays on the way to a 3-0 victory in Toronto; Tony LaRussa must be in his cups now that managers are moving away from his strategy of employing constant late-inning, pitcher-hitter matchups, which is fine by me.  The Indians now go to the World Series as the AL team.
This is good for a couple of reasons, starting with Joe Maddon.  If the Cubs get in, their manager will want to show off how smart he is.  The thing about Francona is, he is smart and capable of maneuvering Maddon into making a mistake or two.  As someone who will have a pizza riding on the results, this gives me hope.
Then, there’s the matter of the Cleveland team’s name and logo.  The Indians and their fans just love Chief Wahoo.  Sorry, folks, the Chief is downright offensive, racist, if you will.  He’s got to go.  The team name is fine, unless Native Americans can make a compelling argument that "Indians" stings too much.
What could it hurt Cleveland management to find out?  I wouldn’t be offended if the White Sox changed their name to the “South Side Poles,” so long as they didn’t come up with a mascot/logo that incorporates an overweight character wearing a “wife-beater” t-shirt; that would be a problem.  If a name is meant to honor a group, then show some respect, drop the Chief and reach out to the tribes that have called Ohio home since the founding of the United States.  There are at least six, from what I can tell.
Otherwise, get ready for protesters outside Progressive Field starting next week.  They’ll be there, along with the TV cameras to show just how dumb a team and its fans can be. 

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