Missing the Obvious

Well, that was a not entirely unexpected turn of events...  I don't know; this is something I do NOT like about Francona.  Kluber was pitching well, put a man on...and Francona decided to yank him, prolly because he had been through the lineup 3 times, and even though he was pitching well... well, we ALL know how that goes.  Smith gets out of it, but not before mucking it up and getting a HUGE assist from a baserunning error.  One has to admit, Smith has pitched well, but not that well this year.  Then, in the 9th, he goes to Perez -- third day in a row -- and he struggles...and Francona leaves him until he gets bombed (by a lefty, to boot).  Now I know EVERY manager does it, but...come on; on a nite when the closer doesn't have it, it's manifestly obvious...and you leave him in?  I mean, really.  You could have gone to a lefty -- you now have TWO, you know -- and then to Allen to face the righties.  I guess that is ONE thing I have NEVER liked; you pull the starter who pitches well, but you wait until the closer blows the game before yanking him. 

I would expect the press to nail Francona about this, but they won't.

Speaking of, thousands of Clevelanders woke up this morning and did NOT have the PD in front of them.  And we all survived.  I think we all know that I am exuberantly pleased by this, but...I think there are quite a few reasons as to why the PD is downsizing.

First, of course, is its liberal bias.  I don't think this is quite the issue people make it out to be; I mean, this is blue-state Ohio, and it should NOT surprise people that the paper reflects this.  On the other hand, it's completely in the tank for the left, and that, of course, means that for the third of us who around here who do not subscribe to that nonsense...well, we're not buying.  This is a problem because... Two, NE Ohio is experiencing population loss.  I know, I know, hard to believe that people would flee this bastion of liberalism, but...there are fewer people around to buy the paper (save for the poor and stupid Obamaites), and in that case, you broaden your base.  Which brings me to point three, which is that the PD has decided to answer the question of population exodus and suburban growth by....championing neo-urbanism, regionalism, and everything else.  To be sure, this reflects the biases of points one and two, but as more and more of the region's population leaves/has left the urban core, you'd think they would want to present themselves as a regional paper; what goes on in Akron and Lorain and points in-between is in some ways more important, if not moreso, than what happens in the city.  Seldom, of course, is such a view presented, which is why, of course, that people seldom read, or buy, the paper.