All Apologies

Dear Mr. Acta,

From the date of your hiring, I was

enraged and questioned the competency of the Indians’ front office to boil water, let alone run a baseball team

a skeptic. Given your previous track record, I felt that my reaction was warranted.

In back to back seasons you had led the worst team in baseball. Mark Shapiro tried to convince us that you were capable of cultivating young talent and refining it into a winner. I laughed. What evidence was there? The Nationals had been just absolutely terrible with no real signs of life. Shapiro was just blowing smoke up my ass again, I was sure. I called you “Manny Wedge” as you platooned the hell out of the infield, juggled the pitching staff and tinkered around with the line-up on a daily basis.

As hard as it is for me to admit this, I may have been wrong. I know what you’re thinking: “Marc? Wrong? Impossible.” Every so often, however, even I can be fooled. From the start of spring training, there was an obvious change in attitude. You brought a swagger to a team who, for the most part, had never won at this level. You told the media you expected to win this year. You seemingly made all the right calls (Tomlin, Hannahan, Pestano). You picked a line-up and stuck with it.

Look what is happening now. This team believes in itself. It stays in nearly every game and finds a way to win. As I write this, they are sitting atop baseball at 19-8. No matter how this season finishes, it is obvious you have driven this team to take a step forward with even more talent coming soon. A summer of relevant baseball in Cleveland…its like a dream come true.

Each day, you pick a song of the day. Mine: I’m a Believer – The Monkees.

Sincerely,
Me