I have been as critical as anybody about the Indians closer, Chris Perez, but I've also been very happy to eat crow each and every time he's proven me wrong. After all, I was one of the idiots with the knee jerk reaction after Perez's Opening Day debacle to say that Vinnie Pestano would be the closer by mid-July.
Although there's still a very, very slim chance that could happen, I really wouldn't count on it. And I honestly couldn't be more happy about that. Since he blew the save on Opening Day, all Perez has done is go 13 for 13 in save situations with a 1.72 ERA—including a flawless 9th inning yesterday where Perez struck out the side on 10 pitches, nine of which were strikes. It was probably the most dominant performance from a closer I'd ever seen in person at the Jake.
Now, the Indians attendance problems have been well documented, but on a day where the Indians drew nearly 30,000 fans for the second straight game and had their largest crowd since Opening Day, why in the wide, wide world of sports would Perez go off on the fans?
I realize, as Perez said on his Twitter, that the closer was only answering the questions he was asked, and I also appreciate his candidness and honesty in answering the questions, but you know what? I think a few of his comments went too far.
Okay, I'll admit that I hold this perhaps unpopular opinion, but on principle I'm usually just fine with booing home players if you're a fan in attendance. You paid for the price of admission to see an entertaining product on the field, so if that product stinks I have no problem with letting them know it. And if the closer blows a save, he deserves to get booed—and I will boo the guy 10 times out of 10.
To his credit, Perez acknowledged the fact that after blowing the save on Opening Day he deserved to get booed. And I agree with Perez when he said that it was ridiculous when two guys reached base and fans booed earlier this week when he pitched against the Mariners. Perez didn't even end up giving up a run in that inning, and the Indians ended up winning the game. In situations like that, preemptively booing is uncalled for—especially because no harm was actually done.
But beyond that? Can't say that I care if Perez is "pissed off" over getting booed at home.
You know why? Because Perez has 4.5 million reasons to suck it up and get over it.
Professional athletes are paid ridiculous amounts of money to be entertainers. As Adam the Bull from 92.3 The Fan said on his Twitter last night, All-Star players get booed in New York and all over the country all the time. So if Perez can't stand the fact that fans might not be so encouraging every time he takes the mound, maybe he's in the wrong business.
And additionally, to say that Carlos Beltran chose to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals over the Indians because of fan support or lack thereof is positively absurd to me. Yes, Beltran turned the Indians down—as well as Roy Oswalt and Carlos Pena—but there were a number of factors with those things. Oswalt was being a general jerk and only wanted to play for maybe two teams. Pena wanted to go back to a familiar environment with the Rays, in part because his family was located in Tampa. And with Beltran, he didn't want to switch back to the American League—a switch that can be difficult (ahem, Albert Pujols)—after playing in the NL since mid-2004.
So for Perez to insinuate that Beltran was swayed to the Cardinals over the Indians because of the fans just sounds foolish. He's really saying that despite the similar amounts of money offered, any logical person wouldn't sign with the defending World Champions? Yeah, I'll let Dr. Evil handle this one for me.
So here's the deal, Perez says he's in for the long haul, to bring a Championship to C-town, and I believe him. He's sure as hell pitching like it. But you know what? If you don't want the fans to boo you, it's probably not a good idea to assail them in the press.
I'll say this—I'm still going to cheer on Chris Perez and hope that he continues to prove me wrong. I'm still going to go down to the Jake as much as I can, and I hope you will too. But if the team stinks that night, they're going to hear it from me.
And I will not apologize for that.
~MAS
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