Could this be the year attendance snaps back to something resembling 1990s-levels?
Pluto has some interesting analysis on the apparent disconnect between TV/radio ratings and attendance. As a percentage, Cleveland had one of the highest TV and radio ratings among major-league cities. Only Detroit, Pittsburgh, St. Louis. and Kansas City had higher TV ratings in 2014. Now that is a bit misleading, because mega-markets like New York and Los Angeles can have lower ratings (again, a percentage) but still have many more eyeballs/ears because of the sheer size of the market. Still, those high ratings are a sign that people are interested in the Indians.
TribeFest once again had a great showing; 8,000 fans attended the two-day event. The Indians are making major renovations to the ballpark, turning a severely underutilized section into hopefully a major draw. Perhaps the confluence of all those factors could break the attendance drought that has plagued this club since at least 2006.
Cleveland Indians talking to John McDonald about rejoining organization | cleveland.com
The Indians have in recent years have tried to add former players to their organization, so this would come as no surprise. McDonald would be a great resource to have in the organization as an infield coach, whether it would working with minor-leaguers or at the major-league level.
MLB News
Banks honored during memorial service in Chicago | MLB.com
Chicago said goodbye to Ernie Banks yesterday.
Report: Padres still exploring trades " Hot Stove
The Padres, who along with Oakland have been baseball's most active teams this winter, may not be done yet, as crazy as that seems. Cole Hamels is one of their targets, though they don't have the prospects other potential Hamels suitors have.