-=> Quoting Ed Grinnell to All <=-
 EG> I can't believe just how stupid Cleveland is and more importantly,
 EG> how they can  expect any of their players to buy any of their baloney.
They're not the only ones. None of these people paying out all this money 
have 
any brains.
There are 40 major leaguers with annual salaries over 5 million dollars and 
another 33 over four million. That's 73 players, and I'd bet the ranch that 
there are not more than 15 who have been able to buy World series rings, and 
if you take out the Yankees and Braves, there ain't enough of them to fill 
out 
half the positions on the field.
 EG> Albert Belle (and several other players) did the organization a favor
 EG> and instead of repaying Belle, the organization tried to get Belle to
 EG> sign for less. When it became apparent that he wouldn't, they went out
L E S S ??? Less than what, Bill Gates? They tried to sign belle for EIGHT 
MILLION. They traded for Williams when they came to their senses and figured 
they may as well try and get a multi-dimensional player instead of just a 
wallbanger.
 EG> and traded for Williams. Now, I respect Williams but unless he's going
 EG> to be a permanent DH, they really screwed up this one. He's been
 EG> injury prone the last few years and I don't think that he gives them
Williams has also been one of the most productive sluggers in the NL over his 
career, and he is a steadily improving third baseman at the same time. 
Williams will be a lot less a liability at third than is Belle in left.
 EG> what Belle does. Like it or not, Indians' fans, your team bought
 EG> second place the moment they traded for Williams.
Doesn't matter what place they finish. They didn't get a ring with Belle, so 
they can't get worse than that with Williams. If you didn't play for the 
Yanks 
or Braves last year, EVERYTHING is second place or less.
 EG> Note to sportswriters and fans who honestly believed that Belle was
 EG> hurting himself with his antics, he was in demand by a lot of teams and
 EG> some of them were teams that had said that they wouldn't sign him
 EG> because of his actions. Anyone who bought that notion needs to wake up
 EG> and smell what they're shoveling.
Whether or not Belle was hurting himself wasn't a big issue this year. 
Hitting 
50 homers and 50 doubles last year, followed by 48 homers and 150+ RBI was a 
big factor. Still, no one in the world is worth ten million dollars.
Stephen
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