There’s a mass influx of pearl-clutching going on amongst Indians fans this weekend.  Their loyalty has been questioned by one of the players, and they’re just so darn outraged about it.

By now you know the back-story. Chris Perez allowed two runners on base the other day, and the fans started booing him.  He didn’t allow any runs to score, and he did the job he was paid to do.  He gave up no runs in the 10th inning of a tie game, and the Indians went on to win said game, but the fans actually booed him for allowing base runners. Perez let the moment sink in for a while, thought about it, and spoke up about it two days later following a win (and his 13th consecutive save had been registered).

Yes, he was angry – the guy’s nickname is “Pure Rage”, after all – and he has every right to be angry. Mainly because he’s right.

In every city, fans have decided that anything less than 100 percent perfection is an outrage, deserving of the loudest boos. Yes, we know your record on “MLB ’12 – The Show” is 47-0 as a starter, and that clearly means that you can do better.

News flash – this is not your X-Box – this actually IS ‘The Show’. Batters are going to reach base. They are, after all, major league baseball players.

Booing Chris Perez is absolutely ridiculous, and those fans should be ashamed of themselves.

Since Opening Day (when Perez allowed 3 runs and got a blow save – something he said deserved the boo-birds), he’s allowed a total of three runs in 15.2 innings for a 1.72 ERA. Read that stat again, then tell me if you think he deserves to be taunted after allowing two runners to reach base.

Perez knows these stats and he knows how badly he wants to win each and every time he steps foot on the mound. Those screams he lets out are not for show – he runs on emotion and loves to strike out that last batter. I only wish I had half the drive for success that he does, and he pours it out for the fans every chance he gets.

As for his accusation of low attendance, he’s right on that count.

There’s no excuse for an average attendance of 14,000 fans to come out to see the Indians. As fans, we should all be ashamed. These guys are a good team, and they are winning more than they are losing. There’s 20 teams in the league that wish their record was as good as ours, and for some reason the fans can’t bring themselves to the game.

I’ve heard the excuses – the price of tickets, the parking, the cost of food at the park, the fear of the team losing down the stretch like 2011.

I don’t buy any of the excuses.

The hated Detroit Tigers are in town this week for a big series – you can get into the game for a ten-dollar ticket. If you’re willing to actually walk a few blocks, you can park for as little as five bucks. Eat before you get to the ballpark.

Boom. You just got a night of solid entertainment for 15 bucks. Furthermore, you’re seeing a GOOD ball team for that 15 bucks.

So if Chris Perez complains that too few fans are showing up at the game and some of them are booing one of their best pitchers – well, that’s his issue to vent upon, and he might not win many fans from it.

But it doesn’t mean he’s not 100 percent correct.

Roll Tribe.