Tribe

"I hope this year's team is closer to the 1993 and 1994 teams than the one in 1992," said Shapiro. "The difference is that they were able to strip the 1992 team all the way down. We haven't been able to do that because of some existing contracts."

Not to criticize Mark Shapiro too sharply cause I think he's doing a good job, but this quote begs to be commented on. Essentially, Shapiro is most to blame for these "existing contracts." Maybe some of them were tough to avoid, but paying guys like Matt Lawton and Ricky Gutierrez on a team that is not a contender is impossible to justify. And keeping Omar, while popular with the fans, is probably a mistake as well.

That said, I'm pretty optimistic about the Tribe this season. They won't win the division, but we should see some positive things and hopefully be able to imagine how this team might make the playoffs in 2005. It should be a great summer to buy some walk-up seats and enjoy good baseball.

And I wish I were heading to Winter Haven in a few weeks. If you ever can make it down, it's well worth it. It's probably enjoyable to fans and non-fans alike too.