Where Do You Think This Conversation Took Place?

Yesterday, I found myself with a group of like-minded folks and the following quotes were bandied about (these may not be verbatim quotes, but the gist of them is accurate)....

• "The only way they are ever going to be any good is if they sell the team and get a new owner."
• "Why get excited over a young player? He's only gonna get traded for someone cheaper, or sign with the Yankees when he can be a free agent."
• "At least we have a nice ballpark."
• "Why should they pay big money to a free agent when they're making money the way it is right now."

Well, obviously, you are saying, I was commiserating with a bunch of fellow long-suffering Pirates fans, and we were rehashing the sorry state of affairs that is the Pittsburgh Pirates, right?

Well, if that is what you are saying, you are WRONG. This conversation took place in Cleveland, Ohio yesterday. I had the pleasure of traveling to the Forest City yesterday to attend the meeting of SABR's Cleveland/Jack Graney Chapter, and all of the quotes you see above were said in reference to the Cleveland Indians. Yes, these are the same Indians who have played in the World Series twice since the Pirates last had a winning season, and who three years ago played in a seventh game of the American League Championship Series, but their fans are saying things that are remarkably similar to what Pirates fans have been saying during the dark days of the McClatchey/Nutting eras.

It made me wonder about where else throughout the MLB landscape are these same conversations taking place. I daresay that perhaps only on New York City, Boston, and perhaps Dallas, where new ownership has just taken control of a team now playing in the post-season, are exempt from this type of talk, and I would guess that that portion of NYC that wears Mets orange and blue, rather than Yankees pinstripes is probably saying the same kind of things these days.

I am not sure if this is a commentary on the state of Major League Baseball's balance of power, or on the fickle nature of fandom, but I was amused by the whole thing.