Indians Closer Chris Perez Doesn't Think Much of Cleveland, or Cleveland Fans
By Tim Ryan
“I’m tired of getting booed at home, so I figured I’d throw some strikes today. You can quote that. It doesn’t bother me. It (ticks) me off. I don’t think they have a reason to boo me. They booed me against the Mariners when I had two guys on. It feels like I can’t even give up a baserunner without people booing me. It’s even worse when there’s only 5,000 in the stands, because then you can hear it. It (ticks) me off.”
So basically, in the eyes of Perez, barely anyone attends home games, and the disgraces who have actually made their way to the ballpark, suck. Fair enough. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion, but perhaps he’s being just a bit sensitive and a tad too reactive. Perez’s rant, thankfully, didn’t end there:
“I’m not calling out the fans. It’s just how it is. That stuff is reserved for road games. We don’t want to deal with that crap. Here, good fans are supposed to help you try to get through the inning and say, ‘Hey, you’re only one pitch away,’ or ‘Hey, it’s all right.’ And then after I struck out (Seattle’s Jesus Montero), the mock standing applause just adds to it. You see their true colors … Guys don’t want to come over here and people wonder why. Why doesn’t Carlos Beltran want to come over here? Well, because of that. That’s part of it. It doesn’t go unnoticed — trust us.”
Was Perez expecting some kind of singalong by the fire that hasn’t quite come to fruition yet? I can almost understand what he was attempting to get at, but I have three words for him: Indians, Browns, Cavs. Seriously, those are the only three powerfully depressing words one has to say to convey the temperament of Cleveland fans. They thoroughly explain everything. If Perez still doesn’t understand after a little time to reflect, and maybe some quality time with Google, he simply hasn’t been paying attention to the sea of cinder blocks that have been raining on those franchises for the past 50 years.
[via Chronicle-Telegram]