Yup, I said it. Nothing. The major prospects that Toronto wanted in the Roy Halladay discussions didn't get moved in the deal to get Lee. So, are we to believe that Toronto's scouting is just that much better than Cleveland's, or is it something as simple as the Indians just not being interested in winning. And, it's time that the fans respond.
Cleveland is the second team this year that has pretty much made it clear that winning is not a priority. The Pirates have given away their entire team this year, in the midst of b.s. trades for prospects who'll never so much as excel at AAA ball.
Where's the fan outcry? At least in Pittsburgh, the GM was worried enough that he had to address the matter, by sending out an email to season-ticket holders, offering assurances that the team wasn't actually giving up. At least there was concern, which indicates that the fans were starting to grow a spine, and some intelligence.
Hopefully, fans in Cleveland will also start to develop that spine as well. Two Cy Young-award winning pitchers being traded in back-to-back years should give some kind of idea that their team really doesn't care about winning.
And, yet, the focus is almost always on the Yankees, and their spending. If the Yankees so much as spend a nickel, fans of other teams almost always cry "overspending", and start to whine about the lack of a salary cap.
Yet, there's no ranting and raving about teams like Pittsburgh and Cleveland tanking their teams, in an effort to reduce spending.
And, don't give me that nonsense that some teams don't have the money to spend as the Yankees. If an owner has enough money to run a franchise, they certainly have enough money to try and build it up. Especially, with the Yankees and Red Sox forking over several millions of dollars to pay for other teams' salaries, via the luxury tax.
In fact, when a team is operating on a payroll that is less than the amount of money the team has been given through the luxury tax, I'd say that's criminal, and the commissioner should look into it. But, Bud Selig has about as much of a spine as a snake, and thus teams can get by living on the cheap, and continue to reap the profits through the luxury tax.
So, the next time you wonder about why the "rich keep getting richer" in baseball, ask yourself: just how much money are the "poorer" teams actually spending to produce a competitive team? The answer might make you pretty sick. Just ask the folks in Pittsburgh.
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