The Tribe traded minor league catcher Max Ramirez for Kenny Lofton today. Shapiro press conference is scheduled for 4.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Don't just sit there...DO something!
That’s what I’d to say to Mark Shapiro if I had his ear. Thing is, I know Shapiro isn’t just sitting around, watching the Indians as they play .500 ball. He knows this team needs bullpen help, another bat, and maybe even a starting pitcher given the struggles of Westbrook and Lee. The man is no fool…and allegedly he has the blessing of the Dolans to go out and add a significant piece to this club.
So what’s the holdup? The trading deadline is five days away and there’s barely been a peep about the Tribe charging hard at any available player. Take a step back and you’ll see this is not an uncommon circumstance. The entire league seems to be a dry well. One front-office executive told ESPN that this year’s trade deadline “may go down as the worst ever.” You know things are bad when the trade winds swirling around the Red Sox and Yankees are relatively still. Shouldn’t they be vulturing some small market team’s best player by now? Blame the slow trade market on parity. Blame it on the wild card. Blame it on the rain. But when Steve Trachsel is the best pitcher available, that’s a problem.
Not long ago the Tribe was a consistent “buyer” in the July 31 trade market. John Hart never could get that one piece (i.e. ace starter) to put the team over the top, but he sure did deplete the farm system trying. Let’s take a look back at some of those deadline trades, shall we? (Thanks to www.baseball-reference.com for the details. My editorial comments are in italics.)
July 27, 1995-Traded David Bell, Rick Heiserman (yes, that Rick Heiserman), and Pepe McNeal to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Ken Hill. I was a fan of Hill during his short time with the Wahoos. The dude was gritty. He won four games for us during the regular season and threw seven innings of shutout ball in the ALCS against Seattle.
July 29, 1996-Traded Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza to the New York Mets for Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino. Oh, this one stung. Carlos partied too hard, ate too much, and did the sex with too many women not his wife (allegedly )to stay in Cleveland. Plus he was awful at the plate in ’96. Carlos (along with Sandy Alomar) was my favorite player of the Hart/Jacobs era. I fell in love with Baerga the night in 1993 when he hit homers from both sides of the plate—in the same inning!
August 1996-Traded Jeromy Burnitz to the Milwaukee Brewers for Kevin Seitzer. This trade actually happened during the August waiver period, but I believe it deserves mention. Not one of Johnny boy’s better deals. The Indians needed another DH-type like Lindsay Lohan needs another drink (I heard this same exact joke on Leno last night…thank you Jay for letting me use it here).
July 23, 1998-Traded Shawon Dunston, Jose Mesa, and Alvin Morman to the San Francisco Giants for Jacob Cruz and Steve Reed. The biggest goat in Tribe history gets traded. Cleveland fans have long memories, and Joe Table still gets booed when he pitches at The Jake. Others have forgiven Mesa for crushing our dreams. One of those charitable souls is a contributor to this very blog. SamVox not only believes it wasn’t Mesa’s fault that Cleveland lost the World Series, he’s relatively certain the Indians fell because they didn’t have Julio Franco on the playoff roster. Interesting.
July 28, 2000-Traded Ricky Ledee to the Texas Rangers for David Segui. Traded Alex Ramirez and Enrique Wilson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Wil Cordero. Traded a player to be named later, Paul Rigdon, Richie Sexson, and Kane Davis to the Milwaukee Brewers for Bob Wickman, Steve Woodard, and Jason Bere. I remember this flurry of trades quite well. Hart was basically trying to save the season. It didn’t quite work, as the Indians missed the playoffs by one game. Sexson was one of the last big-time prospects in the system. Then came the rebuilding years, when the Tribe became "sellers" at the deadline. Will they be buyers again this year? Will they acquire Kenny Lofton or Octavio Dotel? Only time will tell, Constant Reader.
Don’t just sit there…do something!
That’s what I’d to say to Mark Shapiro if I had his ear. Thing is, I know Shapiro isn’t just sitting around, watching the Indians as they play .500 ball. He knows this team needs bullpen help, another bat, and maybe even a starting pitcher given the struggles of Westbrook and Lee. The man is no fool…and allegedly he has the blessing of the Dolans to go out and add a significant piece to this club.
So what’s the holdup? The trading deadline is five days away and there’s barely been a peep about the Tribe charging hard at any available player. Take a step back and you’ll see this is not an uncommon circumstance. The entire league seems to be a dry well. One front-office executive told ESPN that this year’s trade deadline “may go down as the worst ever.”You know things are bad when the trade winds around the twice-damned Red Sox and Yankees are relatively still. Shouldn’t they be going after some small market team’s best player by now? Blame the slow trade market on parity. Blame it on the wild card. Blame it on the rain. But when Steve Trachsel is the best pitcher available, that’s a problem.
Not long ago the Tribe was a consistent “buyer” in the July 31 trade market. John Hart never could get that one piece (i.e. ace starter) to put the team over the top, but he sure did deplete the farm system trying. Let’s take a look back at some of those deadline trades, shall we? (Thanks to www.baseball-reference.com for the details. My editorial comments are in parens)
July 27, 1995-Traded David Bell, Rick Heiserman (yes, that Rick Heiserman), and Pepe McNeal (minors) to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Ken Hill.( I was a fan of Hill during his short time with the Wahoos. The dude was gritty. He won four games for us during the regular season and threw seven innings of shutout ball in the ALCS against Seattle.)
July 29, 1996-Traded Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza to the New York Mets for Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino. (Oh, this one stung. Carlos partied too hard, ate too much, and did the sex with too many women not his wife -allegedly - to stay in Cleveland. Plus he was awful at the plate in ’96. Carlos, along with Sandy Alomar, was my favorite player of the Hart/Jacobs era. I fell in love with Baerga the night in 1993 when he hit homers from both sides of the plate—in the same inning!)
August 1996-Traded Jeromy Burnitz to the Milwaukee Brewers for Kevin Seitzer. (This trade actually happened during the August waiver period, but I believe it deserves mention. Not one of Johnny boy’s better deals. The Indians needed another DH type like Lindsay Lohan needs another drink [I heard this same exact joke on Leno last night…thank you Jay for letting me use it here]).
July 23, 1998-Traded Shawon Dunston, Jose Mesa, and Alvin Morman to the San Francisco Giants for Jacob Cruz and Steve Reed. (The biggest goat in Tribe history gets traded. Cleveland fans have long memories, and Joe Table still gets booed when he pitches in Cleveland. Others have forgiven Mesa for crushing our dreams. One of those charitable souls is a contributor to this very blog. SamVox not only believes it wasn’t Mesa’s fault that Cleveland lost the World Series, he’s relatively certain the Indians fell because they didn’t have Julio Franco on the playoff roster. Interesting.)
July 28, 2000-Traded Ricky Ledee to the Texas Rangers for David Segui. Traded Alex Ramirez and Enrique Wilson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Wil Cordero. Traded a player to be named later, Paul Rigdon, Richie Sexson, and Kane Davis to the Milwaukee Brewers for Bob Wickman, Steve Woodard, and Jason Bere. (I remember this flurry of trades quite well. Hart was basically trying to save the season. It didn’t quite work, as the Indians missed the playoffs by one game. Sexson was one of the last big-time prospects in the system. Then came the exciting rebuilding years!)
Fausto really hates outfielders (plus bonus haiku)
Fausto is infielders' dream.
Garko mad putouts.
Three balls to outfield?
Sizemore and Michaels hate him.
Face-pie Guttierez.
Victor is the man;
He blocked out Covelli Crisp.
Tape your blisters, Josh.
Groundout, groundout, strikeout.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Haiku Wednesday
Marco Scutaro?
NY Times says the new Bill?
U R no Selby.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Outfielders hate Fausto Carmona
Carmona's 8 innings tonight:
Groundout, strikeout, single, groundout (FC).
Groundout, foulout, walk, pickoff.
Double, walk, double play, groundout.
Groundout, strikeout, groundout.
Single, flyout (!!), double play.
Walk, double play, groundout.
Strikeout, strikeout, groundout.
Groundout, strikeout, strikeout.
1 putout by a non-infielder/non-catcher (foul out was to Garko, too!)
And then the no-sweat save: Groundout, error, single, single, groundout FC, walk, error, strikeout.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Man Bites Dog
Saw this image posted on a couple of Atlanta Falcons' chatboards. Seems folks are ready to hang Vick out to dry...due process be damned. I cannot understand how anyone could get involved with dogfighting. There's apparently big money out there for people breeding these dogs, so maybe it's not that hard to understand. Still, that's some cold shit..CNN and some of the other news channels have been playing video of dogfights. (The fight I saw on television was part of a sting operation that took place in Columbus--yay us) I'm no animal lover, but it made me a little sick to see this dog with his jaw clamped around another dog's face. People were standing around this little walled off "arena" watching the dogs go at it...one of the spectators was a little kid. It's a felony in Ohio to even attend a dogfight, and the a-holes involved were all arrested.
Vick's status as a high-profile athlete is already making the condemnation of dogfighting the new cause du jour...John Kerry is throwing in his chips on the matter. Here's an excerpt from cnn.com:
.................................
Senate criticism increased Friday as Sen. John Kerry said he had sent a letter to the NFL commissioner calling for Vick's immediate suspension.
"Dogfighting is one of society's most barbaric and inhumane activities," Kerry wrote to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
"As the most popular team sport in America, professional football has a responsibility to showcase the highest levels of behavior and sportsmanship," Kerry's letter said.
The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee also said he planned to introduce anti-dogfighting legislation.
................................
The wheels of bureaucracy grind exceedingly slow…what will happen to Vick in the meantime? The Humane Society and others have been calling for Vick’s immediate suspension. Falcons’ ownership has to be freaking out about ticket-holders boycotting the team…not to mention public pressure to “do something.” The more allegations that come out, the uglier the case gets. One of the pending charges (pardon me if I don’t get the legalese right…I’m no lawyer) is Vick and two other guys “executing” eight dogs they deemed unfit for fighting.
Vick and his boys allegedly killed the dogs “by various methods, including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground," reads the indictment. PETA and the like are going to be screaming for Vick’s blood. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vick “voluntarily” left the team until trial, even if that means he misses the season.
Here’s George Dohrmann’s take from si.com:
...................................
With the gravity of the crimes alleged, Vick's most serious problem would seem to be one of perception. If one believes the allegations against him, Vick is neither a novice dogfighter nor or a hobbyist who dipped his toe into the sport briefly. The indictment alleges Vick is a professional dogfighter who"sponsored" more than two dozen dogfights. He is not, as he previously said, someone who merely trusted the wrong people. Rather, he is the face of a bloodsport that the majority of NFL fans probably didn't know existed until the property he owned on Moonlight Road was raided in late April.
"We expect the Falcons and the NFL to take prompt action," says John Goodwin, dogfighting expert for the Humane Society. "The message needs to be sent to other athletes who have been involved or are involved in dogfighting that this can be a career ender."
Thursday, July 19, 2007
You want more cowbell...
You want more cowbell...You got it!!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Lebron's 2nd Career?
Vegas next July
Where better to be than the "European Pool" at the Wynn next July, during the NBA Summer league?
From Bill Simmons' article today:
Besides, anything -- and I mean anything -- can happen during Summer League in Vegas. I found this out while playing blackjack at the Wynn's European pool on Saturday afternoon. Improbably, I ran into one of my favorite announcers, Gus Johnson, who loves me because I love him. Just as I was about to make Gus announce a few of my blackjack hands ("Here's the double-down card ... OHHHHHHHH, IT'S A 10!!!!!"), he implored me to come over and meet Isiah Thomas -- that's right, my frequent column target, who once threatened "trouble" if we ever met on the street.
After I explained to Gus why this would be a horrible idea, he countered, "Hold on, I got this; I'll fix this." He left while I kept playing blackjack, wondering how to defend myself if Isiah came at me with a piña colada. Minutes later, Gus waved me over and introduced me to Isiah, who was quite gracious and gave me 30 minutes.
New Point Guard, same as the old Point Guard
Brian Windhorst reports that the Bibby deal seems to be dead, and that the Cavs will most likely wait for a trade to improve the team, not jumping at a free agent. And that could take a long time.
So, our starting point guard...Larrrryyy HUUUUUUUUGHES!
–Right now, the Cavs are considering opening the regular season with Larry Hughes at point guard. They are exploring other options to be sure, but in the short term it may very well be the best option if the roster stays intact. Please consider the following:Here are numbers from the 24 games Hughes started at point guard in the regular season:
Record: 17-7
PPG: 99.6
FG pct.: .464
APG: 23.4In those games, Hughes averaged 15.4 points and 4.1 assists.
Numbers when someone else started:
Record: 33-25
PPG: 95.6
FG pct.: .440
APG: 19.8He may not be the total answer there, but I often think many fans overlook his value because everyone thinks about his contract first. He does not produce at a near-max deal level, that is a reality. He should not be shooting so many jumpers. But he is a quality player and was a big part of many Cavs wins over the last two years.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
You can complain about Wedge for three more years
Mark Shapiro almost rewarded Eric Wedge with a contract after last season, and during spring training, but I think he probably feared the backlash after the egg the Indians laid last year. Oh well, his explanation works for me:
`Eric has maximized the talent in this organization to sustain a level of success, and doing this demonstrates a certain consistency. We've retained our core players, and Eric is a core part of the team. I just think it's the right thing to do to maximize the positive environment.''
A lot of detractors (especially on WKNR yesterday) pointed out the reasons he shouldn't. One basically challenged Mark "Munch" Bishop (who I kind of liked as the Clear Channel sports guy, and kind of can't stand on a call-in show) to tell him another current manager who has been around 5 years without bringing his team to the playoffs. Munch couldn't even wager a guess, but I found that Clint Hurdle and Ned Yost are the other two. But this argument doesn't hold water. Wedge took over a scorched Earth group of young players and players who, well, didn't exactly raise memories of the '95 squad. He has led a group of young players to consistent improvement, and many of them came up with him in the minors. In 2005 they famously tanked (remember the title of this blog) in the last week of the season, however they furiously came back on the fluky White Sox for two months before that.
Last year's rotten egg nonwithstanding, I disagree with the critics of his managerial style. A famous quote from Casey Stengel (I think) said something like "Managing is getting paid for home runs that someone else hits." Many look at him as the best manager due to his Yankees' success, but remember his stint as the Mets' manager. Who's the best manager now? Jim Leyland? Sure he won a World Series last decade I think (but I think I skipped watching it that year), and is doing a fine job with the Tigers, but his only Pirates success came with a skinny Barry Bonds, and those 1998 Marlins sure were awesome, weren't they?
Give Wedge a chance, at least he's not putting Carmona out there for 130 pitches every night. And who knows, he might grow the mustache back.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Are the Browns that Bad?
32. Cleveland: The Browns are beginning to draft their way out of the abyss. But it's a pretty deep abyss.
Greg Oden likes Bunnies
Point Guard or Power Forward?
Brian Windhorst writes that the Cavs-Kings talk is still hot and heavy, apparently mostly involving some kind of Gooden-Bibby swap with the Cavs throwing in lots of extra pieces.
The only thing I can think is the Kings just still aren’t happy with the package being offered. The Cavs can offer Gooden and expiring contracts (Ira Newble, David Wesley) or they can offer Gooden and a shooter (Jones) or a combination of both. They are still trying to get a third team involved, just as they were for hours and hours back in February, to sweeten the package. With all this talk, my gut tells me this probably gets done at some point in the future. They aren’t going to give up now.I am a little skeptical of this, Bibby had quite the down year and looks to be slowing down, if anything. I realize that a playmaking PG would be just what they need, but the expense of a rebounding power forward seems like a dangerous price to pay. IF the Cavs keep Anderson Varajao, and there seems to be some concern that it might be only for one year, is the the solution there? He truly is clueless on the offensive end, except for the occasional move and on fast breaks. He is an excellent piece of the puzzle, but I don't think he can put up 35-40 quality minutes a night. The burst of energy that he provides is great, but Drew Gooden has the offensive game that Anderson lacks, even if it always doesn't show up. How good would Boozer look in a Cavs uniform right now?
More about Varajao, I was actually slightly disappointed that he didn't leave so the Cavs could go after Darko. Of course that really doesn't make much sense, but a younger, still maturing player with the offensive game that he may (should?) develop would be fun to watch. Oh well, Memphis signed him, nobody can afford Andy, and his agent wants $4 million more per year than the Cavs are willing to pay. As Brian Windhorst reported a league executive told him, "This is going to be one to watch." Fun for outsiders, sickening for Cavs fans if Drew is traded and Andy leaves or only stays for one year.
Friday, July 13, 2007
RIC FLAIR.......
For bang for your buck, it's Indians over Browns
For bang for your buck, it's Indians over Browns
What do you guys think? Since some of you are season ticket holders to the Browns and not the Indians why not buy Indians or even Cavs season tickets and dump the Browns since they always seem to be heading in the wrong direction.
My take….
As a fan of both teams, I believe that the reason the Browns and most NFL teams can continue to sell out is because of the way the NFL is set up. Each year you believe that your team has a possibility to win (even if deep down you know it’s a long shot, you still believe). Over the years in the NFL there have been quite of few teams that have gone from worst to first in one season. (New Orleans 2006, St. Louis in 99, N.E. 2000). Baseball just doesn’t work that way. If you don’t have good to above average pitching you won’t win. Even if you have a stud he only pitches every 5 days. The only way to help your team quickly from one year to the next, (example: Detroit past couple years) is to make a big splash in free agency, and when the Indians don’t do that the casual fan thinks they aren’t improving themselves, and don’t buy tickets. However with football you make front page headlines with big signings and big draft picks, the casual fan takes notice and say “maybe I’ll head to a Browns game and see Brady Quinn play, I liked the way he played in college.” You didn’t hear people saying, “can you believe they signed both Trot Nixon and Joe Borowski, man I can’t wait to go to a Tribe game it’s going to be wild!” what you do in the prior year/off-season drives your next seasons tickets. The Indians didn’t play well last year and didn’t do much in the off season hence not that many tickets were sold. I can write more, but what do you guys think any comments?
By the way if people do show up in mass to the Tribe games the rest of the year, what the hell are they going to do about the concession stands? I head to a lot of games and they have trouble serving people when they draw 20k you end up waiting in line for a couple of innings if not more. I went to a game earlier this year and was told that the hot dogs weren’t ready yet and they would be another 10 minutes it’s a freaking baseball game I wasn’t ordering a filet. By the way it was the first inning. Hopefully they have more people they can hire to work there, if not you’ll be reading about people being in the line for the whole game or most of the game sometime in the future. It also doesn’t help when the people working the cash registers have trouble with basic math.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Indians "Core" under contract
I came across this post on another blog and it shows the contract situation for the Indians "core" players and when they are free agents. Hopefully we can keep the good young players from getting away or giving up on them to early, ie Jeremy Guthrie. Either way it looks like the Indians have locked up most of the players through 2011.
From The Dia Tribe Blog:
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The “Core” Corps
The news that Hafner has signed a 4-year, $57M extension means that another one of the “core” players has been locked up for the long term. Going into the season, the Tribe faced the prospect of losing Jake Westbrook after this season and Hafner and C.C. after next season to Free Agency. Westbrook, obviously, has been taken care of, and now, with Hafner in the mix (the C.C. discussion will be touched on in a bit), the following players are locked up through the corresponding years:Hafner through 2013 (club option in 2013)
Sizemore through 2012 (club option in 2012)
Peralta through 2011 (club option in 2011)
Victor through 2010 (club option in 2010) Westbrook through 2010
Lee through 2010 (club option in 2010)
That’s 4 of the 9 positions (and the 4 best position players on the team) in the lineup and 40% of the rotation locked up through 2010.
Now consider the young players under the Indians’ control until their first year of FA year indicated:
Barfield – FA after 2011 season
Carmona – FA after 2012 season
Garko – FA after 2012 season
Mastny – FA after 2013 season
Perez – FA after 2013 season
Shoppach – FA after 2011 season
Sowers – FA after 2012 season
Figuring that Barfield and Garko/Shoppach take up 2 more positions (with Garko and Shoppach’s future tied to where Victor eventually ends up), that’s 6 of the 9 positions locked up for 3 more years AFTER this season.
In 2010, the lineup should include the emerging talent of Sizemore, Barfield, Peralta, Hafner, Peralta, and either Garko or Shoppach. To call that solid would be an understatement. The inclusion of Hafner in that lineup serves as the bedrock that everyone else can feed off.
Pronk staying. What of C.C.?
I don’t think so.
It was critical for this franchise to sign at least one of these two. Wait and you may lose both--it's wise to knock out the "easier" signing (Pronk) now and worry about C.C. later--in the meantime ownership can use the Hafner deal to show fans that it's serious about contending. Dolan can't afford to give a finicky fanbase, one still pining for the days of Manny, Kenny, Thome and Omar, another reason not to show up.
Of course, I would rather have C.C. signed long-term over Pronk.--I imagine most Cleveland fans would prefer keeping the left-handed ace who seems to be coming into his own this season. But unless Sabathia takes the dreaded “hometown discount” (Lord how I hate that phrase—nobody has taken the sodding “hometown discount” in this town), it’s going to be damn near impossible for the Tribe to re-up the big man. You’re talking $17-$20 million a year over six or seven seasons...thank you very much San Francisco for setting that idiotic precedent by giving Barry Zito seven years and $126M. I would love to see the Dolans ante up somehow...but it’s likely that C.C. will end up back home in Cali or maybe with one of the cash-bloated East Coast juggernauts.
It’s pointless for Tribe fans to worry about that now. The Hafner signing is a positive move all the way...he’s been down so far, but the man has a track record and I expect a second-half surge from him to help propel the Woobas into the playoffs. And because the AL was able to put aside its differences and band together for last night’s critical exhibition game, the Indians will have home field once they make the World Series.
Buckeye Top 10 Ever
CNN/SI Had there Top 10 Buckeye Athletes:
10. Troy Smith
9. Jack Nicklaus
8. Greg Oden
7. Eddie George
6. Katie Smith
5. Jerry Lucas
4. Blane Wilson
3. Howard Cassady
2. Jesse Owens
1. Archie Griffin
Pepe Pearson must have been #11.
Who's your top 10?
SMACKDOWN AT MIT
MIT is now offering a class called "American Pro Wrestling." I read about this class in the July issue of Readers Digest while sitting in JFK airport last Friday. I'm sure some of the contributors of this blog would have been the first people signed up for it, actually probably just Froms and Doug.
Haiku Wednesday
Bucks get asses kicked;
Cavaliers dominated;
Can Tribe win it all?
Brady Quinn is hot;
Takes shirt off for Men's Health Mag,
They wax at ND.
Two three seven nine.
Five four six and fucking four.
How many Browns wins now?
Jacobs is a tease;
Watch Manny and Thome leave.
Please stay here C. C.
Rock and Roll doggie.
Come get the dog if you're bad.
Who gaffled our tap?
Thursday, July 5, 2007
What happened to Tony Soprano?
Here's a link to a very long analysis of what might have happened at the end of the Sopranos...
http://www.bobharris.com/content/view/1406/1/
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
What is Love?
Love is hopefully watching a very similar commercial about Lebron James in about the year 2026.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Some of you have seen Swerb's Blurbs before, www.theclevelandfan.com He has some contributions from some other people some of us know, like Tom C. I heard Munch talking to the Swerb on my way home today about his most recent post...
I Love This Town
http://www.theclevelandfan.com/article_detail.php?id=573