9/6/2012 - West Side Leader
     

To: LeBron James

From: Craig Marks

So far this year, you’ve won an NBA championship and your second Olympic gold medal. Now that you’ve achieved the easy goals, I want you to set your sights higher.

I want you to buy the Cleveland Indians and turn them into a winner. That’s it. I want you to form an ownership group that would make the Indians’ current owners, the Dolan family, an offer they can’t refuse. If they don’t want to negotiate, throw in a pair of your new $300 sneakers. They’ll cave.

The Indians are in desperate straits, LeBron. Fans gave up on the team and its management as they dejectedly watched the Tribe race to the basement as if someone had shouted “tornado drill.” At one time this year, the Indians were fighting for a playoff spot but needed to spend money to stay in contention. Ownership, responding to the urgency, purchased for Manager Manny Acta a “best of luck” Mylar balloon. It was not even inflated.

From July 27 to Aug. 24, the Indians played 26 games and won four of them. My brother’s family has a 20-pound cat named Fluffy. If Fluffy were running the team, the Indians could not have done substantially worse than that.

You wouldn’t be the only NBA superstar in the owner’s club. A group headed by Magic Johnson recently bought the Los Angeles Dodgers, so buying the Tribe would let you go head-to-head against one of the original Dream Teamers. And you’ll still be playing basketball — talk about multitasking.

I’m not asking you to run day-to-day operations, making decisions on which pitchers to promote from Columbus or which condiments should participate in the hot dog race. You’ll hire experienced executives to handle those things. But when the time comes to find a right-handed bat, you’ll tell the front office to look for the best player available, not to scour the Big Lots shelves.

And I don’t care that you root for the Yankees. The new Cleveland Browns owner, Jimmy Haslam, once said he was “1000 percent” a Steelers fan. Now that his wallet is $1 billion lighter, I’m guessing that percentage has changed.

Your foundation’s Wheels for Education program recently was saluted at Canal Park. The program is making a difference with Akron’s inner-city youth, and your efforts should be applauded. Purchasing the Indians would not be on the same level of civic-mindedness, but a winning ball club would certainly brighten the lives of your Northeast Ohio friends and neighbors. (And it would draw away customers from Dan Gilbert’s Cavaliers, if you need extra incentive.)

LeBron, most of us in Northeast Ohio are over “The Decision.” What’s done is done. We prefer to look toward the future, though the future of the Indians is pretty bleak. Many of the players who have taken the team to the outskirts of mediocrity are likely to be dealt soon for cheaper unknowns. Indians fans need a knight in shining armor — or a King.

Think about it. Successfully running the Indians would be a way to bring a championship to Cleveland without having to play here. It would be a win-win, which is two more wins than Cleveland fans usually see. All we’d expect from you is to show the same determination and commitment to winning you display on the basketball court.

Oh, and we’d also want a promise that you won’t move the team. Nothing personal.

• All you need is clove
• Cartoons: 5-16-13
• Coventry resident suggests use of tuition to fund public schools
• Manchester superintendent thanks community
• Cartoon: 5-17-13