EG>Mantle didn't have to put up with the probing press that was LOOKING for
EG>anything to screw him. Mantle had it a lot easier because most, if not 
ll,
EG>events were staged.
Yeah, the press has to probe real hard to find something about Belle.
Hmm, read the police blotter, look, Belle tried to run over several
teenagers.  Hmm watch a game, watch Albert assault a fan and a
photographer, use a corked bat and curse out a reporter for no reason
what so ever. Yeah, they have to go so far out of their way to get this
information.
EG> TY> Nobody back then did.  I agree Mantle was an alcoholic, heck even he
EG> TY> agreed.
EG>LONG AFTER the fact.
Regardless of Mantle's problems with alcohol, or when he admitted
these problems, he never threw a baseball at a fan or photographer, he
never tried to run over some teenagers and he never used a corked bat.
What Mantle did has no bearing on what Belle does.  None of this changes
the fact that the Indians still offered to make him the highest paid
player in baseball.  How is this a slight of him?
EG>Puhleeze. Unless a player stages public events to show how much of a
EG>humanitarian that he is, the press is probing for something in his past.
I tell you, I see the horrible old media destroying so many player's
careers.  Boy, they really cost Albert a lot of money don't you think.
Maybe without their "unfair" portrayal of him, he could have got a
couple more million out of Reinsdorf.   Were any of their statements
untrue?  Did they have to "probe" for any of them?  No, they all
happened in public, even the assault with the motor vehicle was a matter
of public record.  You make it sound like the press is digging through
his birth records, financial information and medical records to find
this out.  And it still doesn't change the fact they offered to make him
the highest paid player in baseball.  How is this a slight of him?
EG> TY> Strawberry, Gooden, Howe, Welch, Ferguson Jenkins, et. al. have not
EG> TY> committed the boneheaded on and off field actions Belle has.
EG>Really? I'm sorry but if you think that their transgressions weren't equal 
t
EG>or worse than Belle, you're either naive or you're trying to give Belle 
your
EG>own special slant. To even include Howe in your list of "angels" is beyond
EG>ludicrous.
Their transgressions were against themselves.  They did not assault
others.  Not even Howe did that.  That doesn't make what they did
right. With the exception of Welch, as his activities were not illegal,
I think they should all have been banned from baseball, particularly
Howe.  They were offered as examples of players who had problems off the
field, but pale in comparison to Belles, which Howes do.  Their actions
affected themselves, not others and the last I saw they never assaulted
anybody.  And I'm sorry to see that you think sniffing cocaine is
worse than trying to run over a teenager.
EG> TY> that with the offer they had already made for Belle, Cleveland would 
no
EG> TY> have matched Chicago's offer if they really felt Belle could put them
EG> TY> over the top?
EG>That's a ridiculous statement. Do you think that Montreal let Alou go 
becaus
EG>they didn't think he could put them over the top? Do you think that Finley 
l
EG>Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter go because he thought that they couldn't 
g
EG>the A's over the top? Cleveland made it quite clear that their definition 
of
EG>loyalty only pertained to player and his loyalty to the team.
THEY OFFERED TO MAKE THE MAN THE HIGHEST PAYED PLAYER IN BASEBALL!!!!
How is that slighting him?  Why do you feel compelled to make asinine
comparisons?  Alou was not matched by the Expo's because they do not
have the money to keep him, Rojas also left if you notice.
There is a long history of Montreal losing players because they
cannot afford to keep them.  Cleveland certrainly has the money, they
are much more knowledgable about what Belle can bring to his team than
you or I, so I yes, truthfully feel they did not think he would bring
them a title, and chose not to top the White Sox offer.  The last i knew
Finley was not trying to win titles, he tried to sell off Rudi and Vida
Blue. Personally I don't recall whether or not he tried to match the
offers for Jackson or Hunter, it is possible he did and they still chose
to go elsewhere.  Lord knows, he was not a popular owner.  The actions
of a 20 year old decision have nothing to do with this scenario at any
rate. I really don't think the Indians take their ideas from ancient
history. By your logic, a player that can still play should never be
released from a team, since they should be loyal to him.  Belle rejected
an offer that would have made him the highest paid player in baseball.
Loyalty cuts both ways. By refusing the offer and seeeking more money,
he was certainly not showing any loyalty to the Indians.  Maybe I missed
it somewhere along the way, but what is your belief of why the Indians
did not resign Belle?
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 þ SLMR 2.1a þ On a clear disk you can seek forever
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