As frustration mounts in Cleveland, one voice rises in defense of Stephen Vogt — and points the finger at the real source of the Guardians’ failures.
It’s a terrible thing to condemn a man for failing at an impossible job.
The Twitter polls have started. Should Stephen Vogt be fired?
The sharks are circling. The verdict feels inevitable. The media is beginning to question leadership. The jury sits eight to one in favor of a guilty verdict. And yet — I can’t vote with them. I won’t.
Because this isn’t justice. This is a setup. A farce. A trial designed to punish the wrong man while the real criminals walk free.
Yes, there have been mistakes. The offense looks lost. The bullpen is unraveling. And Vogt, in just his second year, has made his share of questionable decisions. But what manager wouldn’t stumble when handed a roster held together with chewing gum and pine tar? What leader thrives when the front office won’t spend, won’t support, and won’t step up? What team believes when it has been hampered in every possible way?
You want someone to blame? Fine. But let’s get the name right on the indictment.
Don’t write down Stephen Vogt’s name — because as far as I’m concerned, that man is innocent!
No — write down the real criminal — Paul Dolan.
Don’t point at the man doing his best with the depleted roster he has been given — point at the man signing the checks!
I’m telling you Vogt is an innocent man! A manager who came in with no promises, no ego, and no budget. He inherited a team with more holes than hope, and he tried to make it work. He showed up every day with positivity despite being crippled by a penny-pinching owner.
Vogt is what we need in a manager. He believes in this team. He is doing his best as he learns on the fly. And still — still — he’s the one we’re dragging into this courtroom like he rigged the game himself?
No.
The real guilty party wears a suit, not a manager’s cap. The one who’s kept this franchise on a bare-bones payroll while pretending we can contend. The one who trades stars, dodges paying players what they are worth, and banks on our loyalty to cover his greed.
And yes, we’ve been competitive on that shoestring budget — but there’s a reason Tito Francona left, and a reason this team has never broken through. It’s because Paul Dolan refuses to invest even a sliver more to push this club beyond division titles and into legitimate championship contention.
It wouldn’t break the bank for a billionaire like Paul Dolan. We had a team that made the American League Championship Series last year. You’re telling me by opening up that billionaire’s pocketbook — even just a bit — we couldn’t have become a legitimate threat to win it all? Stephen Vogt is not the culprit here…Paul Dolan is.
And if we fire Stephen Vogt, we’re giving ownership exactly what it wants: a fall guy. A distraction. A cheap sacrifice to silence the roar of a city that’s starting to see through the illusion.
Well, not me!
I won’t fire the wrong man just to make the powerful feel safe.
My vote is not guilty.
And when the real trial begins — the one with the Dolans on the stand — I’ll be the first to say that justice must be served.