Fansided

Cleveland Indians cancel their Sports Illustrated subscription

By Stanford Crissey

May 10, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; A general view of Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis (22) jersey after defeating the Minnesota Twins 8-2 at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; A general view of Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis (22) jersey after defeating the Minnesota Twins 8-2 at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Indians don’t take articles slamming them lying down, cancel SI subscription

The Cleveland Indians apparently don’t take slams of their defense lightly.

Sports Illustrated, which picked the Indians to win the World Series in their MLB preview, thereby jinxing the team irrevocably, ran a story asking whether the Indians were “the worst defensive team in modern major league history?”

This did not sit well with the Indians, who responded on Twitter by posting a screenshot of a cancellation of the team’s Sports Illustrated subscription.

That’ll teach ’em.

Maybe the Indians were sick of being jinxed. The last time the magazine picked Cleveland to win it all, in 1987, the team ended up going a league-worst 61-101. This year, the team’s 11-17 record has them tied for the fewest wins in all of baseball while watching their division rivals, the Tigers and Royals, soar through the season’s first month.

So maybe they didn’t want those jinxed flooding the office mailbox anymore. But maybe, they were a little scared of the truth.

Because math don’t lie, and the SI article has a point about the Indians: their defense is atrocious. Using defensive efficiency ratings (which admittedly isn’t a perfect summary of team defense), writer Cliff Corcoran compiled a list of the worst defensive teams in league history and concluded that the 2015 Indians, if they continue at this pace, would be the worst defensive team in 85 years.

Sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes when you’re watching David Murphy, Michael Bourn, and Brandon Moss man the outfield, it gets a little too painful, and you need a scapegoat. Maybe the subscription cancellation will solve the Indians’ defensive woes. It’s doubtful, but if we start seeing Indians highlight after Indians highlight on SportsCenter from now on, we’ll know something’s up.

As for SI, while another cancellation isn’t exactly what the print media industry needs right now, they’ll probably come out OK. Just don’t expect to see the Indians on any MLB preview covers anytime soon. It hasn’t gone well so far.

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