I’ve held off on making this post for a few days because I’ve kind of been bouncing back and forth, and honestly, I don’t know that I’ve ever settled on anything conclusive. But nonetheless, here are some random thoughts, five days removed from “The Decision,” after the jump.

• Maybe it’s one of those things we won’t remember years from now, but if it is, I watched LeBron choose Miami from my office. We were working late to meet a deadline and I just happened to hit a milestone so I took a break and turned on ESPN 3. I had Twitter and Facebook up and I was watching the real-time reaction of friends both close and distant as the decision came in.
• If I had been in a coma for two weeks, and woken up to see Jim Gray interviewing LeBron James in a one-hour special called “The Decision”, with LeBron in an Italian Restaurant Tablecloth shirt and an Abe Lincoln beard surrounded by a bunch of kids who were afraid to crack a smile… I would have been convinced I had a stroke, that I had suffered massive brain damage and I was seeing some sort of Bizarro World.
• At 9:27 PM, LeBron James announced he was going to “take his talents to South Beach.” Two things: a) a new bowel movement euphemism was born. I originally saw this on Twitter, but I thought it was so funny that I’m trying to make it a thing: “I’ll be right back, I’m gonna take my talents to South Beach.” Tell your friends. And b) the “this is tough”. It didn’t really sound that tough. It sounded scripted. And LeBron is many things, but he’s not an actor.
• The anti-LeBron reaction on Twitter and on Facebook immediately following the decision was visceral. There’s no other word to describe it. It was like the chick in Avatar attacking those wolves that attacked Sully. He went from the King of Cleveland to the most hated man in Cleveland in less than ten seconds.
• The reactions they showed at Cleveland sports bars with everyone screaming “NOOO!” and booing was not my reaction at all. I kind of sat there, kind of slackjawed, kind of stunned. I quietly said “wow,” with the same tone that I said “wow” the first time I saw the first season’s finale of 24, where Nina killed Teri. Heartless. Brutal.
• Others have said this, but I’ll echo it: it wasn’t that he went to Miami; I don’t fault him at all for that. It was the way he went: a TV special where everyone who wasn’t from Miami felt betrayed or disgusted by the end of it. Look at it this way: when CC Sabathia left, he packed up, headed to Milwaukee, thanked the ownership, thanked the fans both in press conferences and via a full-page ad in the Plain Dealer, and moved on. Sabathia now pitches for the Yankees, and I know he still gets some boos at Progressive Field but they’re nowhere close to what they could be. I still root for the guy. He came up through Cleveland, gave it his all in Cleveland, and left Cleveland with class. LeBron went out in the exact opposite fashion.
• It wasn’t even 10:30, not even an hour after the Decision and ESPN had already found their spin: LeBron was making a “sacrifice” by playing for the Heat. Yeah, it’s a rough old life when you sign for millions of dollars per year in base salary, plus tens of millions in endorsements, plus never really having to pay for food, drinks or anything else because you’re LeBron James.
• I can’t really support burning of jerseys. Seriously, winters are cold. You might need that fire kindling when it gets cold out. And even if you have a furnace, don’t you want to have that so you can burn it when LeBron visits? (I don’t recommend burning jerseys at The Q. Not that I’m stopping you, I just don’t recommend it.)
• Dan Gilbert’s letter surfaced around 11 PM, and you know what? I liked it. Was it outlandish and outrageous? Sure. Does it have even a minimal chance of becoming true? No. Did it make me feel better? Yes. It’s rare when the multimillionaire owner and the white-collar fan is on the same page, and on this night that was so traumatic to Cleveland fans and Clevelanders in general, Dan Gilbert stood up for us. I’m a Dolan supporter, but he’s never done anything like that. The last owner we had that was even remotely like that was Dick Jacobs, and, well, you saw what happened when he was running the show. It was just announced that Gilbert is going to be fined $100,000 for that letter. Well worth it, I’d say. I think me and 50,000 other fans would be willing to chip in $2 to pay that off if we had to.
• Gilbert’s letter was largely outrageous, but he also mentioned LeBron quitting in the playoffs, which we all (myself included) suspected. I liked that Gilbert called him out. It may not be true, but it made us feel better. The gloves are off now: anything to rattle him the first time he returns to Cleveland.
• All sadness and bitterness aside, did this whole thing sound a lot like LeBron telling Cleveland “it’s not you, it’s me”?
• The welcome party in Miami (read: “coming out party”) for the new Big Three (actually, new idea: I’m calling them the ménage à trois. Who’s with me?). If I had any doubt before this thing, those doubts were erased when LeBron rose from the ground with his arms crossed, nodding and strutting like an idiot. We are so through, LeBron. Here’s hoping you, Wade or Bosh (or any combination thereof) break a knee.
• The last few days we’ve seen some of the best of Cleveland. We’re a city of people that are down, but not out; hurt, but not done; disappointed, but ready to start another season. I remain proud to be a Clevelander (despite the jersey burning). Ultimately, the chance to be proud of your city is why you follow sports, right?

I’ll wrap up with this quote from Dark Knight:

“The night is darkest just before the dawn.”

– Harvey Dent

It’s pretty dark right now. That means it has to get lighter soon. Right?

LeBron: "Really wish I was at home watching Gilmore Girls right now instead of having to phone in this game..."

LeBron James was, as Bill Simmons put it, perplexingly and indefensibly awful last night. 15 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds betray how poorly he actually played, which was like it was his first playoff game ever and he was afraid of the moment. Perhaps the most telling sign of how bad he was: with time left in the fourth quarter, fans were walking out of what, let’s be honest, was most likely his last game in Cleveland this season and potentially (more so than ever) his last game as a Cleveland Cavalier.

After the game, LeBron had every right to be frustrated. Angry. Disappointed. Instead, after being asked about his game, he said, “Nah, I’m not disappointed. I’m never disappointed in my play. I feel like I could do more, but I’m not disappointed at all.”

No big deal. Easily the biggest game of the Cavs season in probably the most important season in the Cavs’ franchise, but hey, no big deal. He also added this gem:

I spoil a lot of people with my play. When you have a bad game here or there, you’ve had three bad games in a seven-year career, then it’s easy to point that out. So you got to be better.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to be out there and be the best player on the court, and when I’m not I feel bad for myself because I’m not going out there and doing the things I can do. But I don’t hang my head low or make any excuses about anything that may be going on, because that’s not the type of player or person I am.

A lot to digest here. First, it’s certainly been more than three bad games, but never on this stage and never because it seemed like he wasn’t even trying. Second, having a bad game is forgivable: everyone has bad nights. Putting in poor effort is never acceptable, and that’s what happened last night. (Back in 2007, the Indians had some bad nights in the playoffs, but I was never concerned with their effort like I am the Cavs’ or LeBron’s.)

(Sidenote: I’m currently watching a Rachel Nichols SportsCenter report about Cleveland’s “fragile state of mind” following that loss and anticipating a do-or-die game six. And game five was “no big deal.” Really?)

But the major implication here was that Cleveland fans are “spoiled”. Sure, I can see that. Here’s a franchise who’s never won a championship, whose intra-city sister franchises (the Indians and Browns) haven’t won since 1948 and 1964, respectively. But hey, LeBron’s been MVP twice in the last two years, right? The Cavs have put up 60-win seasons twice in the last two years, right? Isn’t that enough?

If you’re LeBron, all you have to say is “hey, I had a bad game”, or “hey, my elbow hurt”, or “someone switched my Nikes with REEBOKS!” Don’t blame the fans for expecting too much; don’t dismiss your poor play as no big deal.

Last year, the thing that got under my skin about this team is that there was this “One Goal” mantra where it always seemed like the players were thinking “which finger should I put my ring on? I know tradition is the ring finger, but I think it’d look sweet on my pinky” rather than “hey, Orlando’s making a lot of threes, maybe we should do something about — POINTER FINGER.” This year, the mantra is “All for One”, which I guess is supposed to mean that everyone on the team and in the city is working towards one goal. But what’s that goal really been: a championship or keeping LeBron happy?

If it ends up that the Cavs lose game 6, and LeBron leaves, it won’t just be another athlete in a long string of athletes to grow up in Cleveland, say how much they love it, become a superstar, and then promptly say “so long, Cleveland, it’s been real” before exiting. It’s kind of like how Packers fans must have felt last year when Favre signed with a division rival, only instead of leaving at the (what was supposed to be) the twilight of his career and completing his legacy, here’s a guy leaving in his prime after perhaps his worst game as a professional. It’s like if Obama was elected, then said “hahaha, I’m leaving for France, see you all on the flip.”

The best case scenario here is that LeBron and the Cavs win game 6 and 7, prolonging their existence in the playoffs, and making last night’s game just a minor blip on LeBron’s record. But let’s face it: after their showing last night, it’s an unlikely scenario.

I’m not a Red Sox fan. Far from it. But I understand the plight of the Red Sox fan pre-2004, since it’s what we as Indians fans are going through now. (And seriously, Simmons, you give us no respect in that book. It’s all “Cubs this”, “Cubs that”. Chicago has the White Sox, Bulls and Bears, all of whom have won a championship in the last twenty-five years.) The Indians haven’t won a World Series since 1948, and haven’t been in a World Series since Edgar Renteria’s soft line drive ticked off Charles Nagy’s glove and fell into center field at Dolphin Stadium.

You could argue that the 1997 Series was the darkest moment of the Indians franchise since Ray Chapman was killed by a pitch in 1920: two outs away from a win; a team that had two home run hitters who are currently in the top 20 all time; a team that will have at least 3 Hall of Famers before it’s all said and done. It was the ball rolling through Bill Buchner’s legs for the Indians.

While Simmons wrote the book about the Red Sox, he’s a Boston sports fan in general, and included the column he wrote after the Patriots upset the Rams the Super Bowl in 2002. His reasoning was that it was important for the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. Because a Boston team won a championship, the snakebitten Red Sox could finally win one.

Like the Sox before the Patriots, the Indians have made the playoffs since 1997, but haven’t had success even getting to the World Series.

Enter the 2010 Cleveland Cavaliers. Here’s a team that is competitive dominant because of one player, a player that may or may not be around next season. Fans are clamoring for a championship while LeBron is still in town, in case the unthinkable happens and he leaves for free agency.

I’m not a big Cavs fan. I’m not the biggest fan of LeBron, and I’m not a fan of the way the front office treated Ilgauskas this season, and I find going to a Cavs game to be a somewhat painful experience. But I’m a fan of Cleveland. And like every Clevelander, I’m rooting for them to win it all this year. But I’m subscribing to the “Simmons Trifectus” theory (as it shall henceforth be called) rooting for them so that the Indians (and *gasp* the Browns?) can possibly win one down the road.

Is all of this hocus? Maybe. But despite the Indians going 3-6 on the road trip ending tonight (on a bunt, no less), they’ve played decent ball, and with some breaks here and there, might start surprising people. If the Cavs win, and people are in a better mood for the summer, I think you’ll see people coming to the ballpark and maybe attempting to recreate that late-90s vibe. There’s no way that’s a bad thing. As a Tribe fan, and as a Clevelander, I’ll take whatever I can get.

• Barack Obama’s inauguration (which is next Tuesday, finally. Doesn’t it seem like this whole coronation has been going on for years?) is going to cost a lot of money. For those too lazy to read the article, the figure is $160 million, according to this and a few other sources. (Interestingly enough, you can’t find a cost of the inauguration anywhere on CNN, NYTimes, etc. Weird, eh?) For a nation with an economy that “is in a crisis not seen since the Great Depression,” this seems a little excessive, particularly when the same Democrats who are okay with this huge party were not in the same free-spending mood when Bush took office in 2004.

  The whole attitude with Obama taking office really disturbs me. Not only is CNN covering Obama’s rise to power like ESPN covered the Boston Celtics and New England Patriots last season (“Isn’t it great kids? Now you know that all it takes to have a winning team is millions and millions of dollars and a league that gives you the calls you need to win!”), but it’s almost like the nation is at a standstill while we wait for Obama to take office. And why wouldn’t we be, when when he states that all we need to do is wait and the government will bail us out?

  The attitude should be completely different: if you’re down and out, work your way up. If you’re at the top, think of the people who are down and out and make sure you keep working so you stay up. I think the biggest stereotype of conservatives is that we don’t care about the people who are less fortunate than us. This is completely untrue: instead, we rely on ourselves and our churches and our communities to help out the less fortunate when they need it, instead of waiting for the government to do it. And unlike the government, we expect that our resources are used wisely, not squandered away before getting in line for the next check.

• In other “one-guy-is-treated-as-a-savior-when-really-he’s-not-all-that-great” news, Steve Jobs is taking a leave of absence from Apple. Coupled with modest sales in the holiday season, Apple is now without its leader at least until June (but who knows).
• It’s really cold outside. Like, really really cold.
• I don’t really follow the Cavs much, but its hard not to notice their impressive start: 30-6, after Tuesday’s win in Memphis. It would be really nice if LeBron stayed in Cleveland, but I honestly don’t see it. One benefit of the NBA vs. MLB, however, is the salary cap: LeBron, the Cavs, the Knicks, the Celtics, etc. know that there is an absolute ceiling, so if LeBron is able to win the eastern conference with the Cavs this year (or maybe win it all) he’ll know that Cleveland gives him one of the better (if not best) shot at being a perennial contender.

  As an aside, I recently attended a Cavs game for the first time in a couple years (last Wednesday, against the Bobcats). It’s a completely different experience than any baseball game I’ve ever been to; baseball games, I think, let you just kind of blend in and enjoy the game, where the Cavs game (and maybe all basketball games in general) are constantly fighting to keep you engaged in the game. I have no problem watching the game with my full attention, but I don’t particularly like being shot at with T-shirts every timeout. And I think this is mostly a function of being in a smaller space indoors, but I left the Cavs game with a headache.

• Expect my pre-season report on the Indians soon, including my projected starting lineups, rotations and bullpens.

I think that’s all from the frozen tundra that is Cleveland, Ohio. Hope you’re all staying warm, wherever you are, and it’s good to be back in the blogosphere.

• After work tonight, a friend and I decided to try to get one of those famous 23 cent pizzas. Actually, the original plan was to get more than one – as many as possible, actually. Unfortunately, we weren’t counting on every single Clevelander having the same idea. The talk radio people like Mike Trivisonno (who is normally fun to listen to, for the record, but has his moments where he’s just an absolute moron) were very annoyed that so many people were taking advantage, and as the previous article states, there were some issues. But tomorrow is another day, and by this time tomorrow, we’ll all remember that Papa Johns doesn’t really make great pizza.
• The Indians took a series in New York (mostly thanks to Cliff Lee and David Dellucci, two oft-maligned southpaws on this blog), but another southpaw, Travis Hafner, is really struggling.

  All you can hope for with Travis Hafner is that he’s seen video of his swing from this year (and presumably last year – last year he wasn’t ever bad enough to merit drastic reconstruction on his swing, but it might have been enough for him to develop some bad habits) and compared it to video in 2006. To me, after watching the video, it’s pretty obvious. Of course, it’s far easier said than done – but the season is still young, and Hafner has plenty of time to turn it around.

  Ben Francisco is up, and is getting regular playing time, which is nice to see. He’s had some good solid hits already, and his defense in the corner outfield spots doesn’t leave me holding my breath as much as Dellucci.

• And now a message from every mathematician in the world: “To Hillary Clinton: It’s Over”. She doesn’t seem to think so, and I guess when you have as much money as the Clintons do (although that amount is dwindling, because she keeps loaning herself money) you can alter math.

  One thing I’ve noticed about John McCain recently – his supporters are far easier to get along with than either of the Democratic candidates. Perhaps the Democrats are a little edgy because they see McCain gaining ground quickly while Obama and Clinton battle it out, but seriously, there is no need for the fawning on the message boards: “OMG PRESIDENT OBAMA I LOVE YOU” or the hatred: “OMG PRESIDENT CLINTON II BARACK OBAMA SUCKS”.

I’m typing this from my work laptop and I’m really not a fan of the keyboard or touchpad (I have a docking station and a mouse at work, but not with me at the moment), so I’m going to adjourn. Once again, I apologize for the lack of updates lately – hopefully I’ll be on a more regular schedule soon.