Here’s the headline:

"Drug Dealer Disappointed Josh Hamilton Didn’t Reach Full Potential As Heroin Addict"

Here’s the story…..yikes this is terrible:

Benjamin "Dry Bones" Gray, a drug dealer and former supplier to Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, expressed bitter disappointment over the centerfielder’s all-too-brief career as a heroin addict. "I’ve never seen anyone like Josh. He was a natural," said Gray, who helped Hamilton hone his drug-abusing talents during a stop with the minor league Orlando Rays. "He did all the little things you just can’t teach—injecting between his toes, nodding off wherever, selling all his stuff for money to buy more heroin…The man had everything you need to inject heroin into his body, not to mention crack cocaine. That was the beauty of Josh Hamilton: He could do it all." Asked to describe Hamilton’s addiction skill set against the all-time greats, Gray said Hamilton could have been "the next William S. Burroughs."

Don’t kill me if that offends you.

Whatev.  Enjoy.

Here ya go, our Browns blog:

Savage Dawgs.

Don’t be losers and not post anything either.  I’m not the only one doing this one, so there will be way more updates, and for a team that is actually gonna be fun to watch.

Kind of like the Tribe in April.

So go there nerds.

As we all know, the Browns are playing the Cowboys this weekend, and although they’re very similar teams, I am going to show you why the Browns will win.

Terrence Newman.

The star DB is a wuss.  I mean a huge wuss.  Nobody from Cleveland should ever lose to this guy:

10,000?

Nope.

2,000?

Nah.

1,000?

No way.

Freaking 600 people.

600?!?!?!  Are you kidding me?  600 freaking people.  That is ridiculous.  Baseball should not be in Florida.  They have the best team in the AL in Tampa Bay, and they can’t even get 15,000 people there.

I hate Florida baseball fans.

Sadly, on Monday, the freakin’ Red Sox will set the record against the Tampa Bay Rays.

I hate the Red Sox, and I hate that they are going to break the record.

Courtesy of SI.com, here is an update:

The empty bags were returned Tuesday evening, but Johnson said he is still missing $200, his ID, credit cards and clothes. Johnson said he had spoken with Bell and did not plan to involve the police.

Oh, and by the way, he has denied stealing the bags, but he returns two empty bags?

What Rudi Johnson said is even funnier:

All this happened once he got released,” Johnson said Wednesday as he came off the practice field. “He came here to get some stuff out of his locker. That’s when he scooped the bags up. Some real shyster, conniving stuff, man.

Who says shyster anymore?

• Here is what the game plan for Jeremy Sowers should be.  Pitch him four innings, and that’s it.  I don’t care if he has a perfect game going, four innings max.  He simply falls apart afterwards.  Does anybody disagree with that?
• Did you know that Nick Swisher did the "O-H" Ohio State cheer as he crossed home plate?  I think that was pretty sweet.
• My boy Shin-Soo Choo had another two hits.  It’s gonna be too bad when he has to leave the team for the military.  Does anybody know when that is?
• Also, they had their bum squad on the diamond.  Carlos Quinten, A.J., Ken Griffey, Jr., Joe Crede were all on the bench, and Thome didn’t come in until the 9th.  That makes me mad.
• Also, Cleveland fans, stop booing Jim Thome.  Let it go, it’s immature and lame.

Well we had it down to a single digit in regards to games back, and now we’re back to 10 1/2.  For some reason that one game makes a HUGE difference for me.  Whatev.

So the Lions signed Rudi Johnson, pretty much making Tatum Bell expendable.  Which he was, and he was informed he would be released.

Meanwhile, Rudi Johnson is in GM extraordinaire Matt Millen’s office hammering out the one year deal he signed, and he left his bags outside of the office.

What does Tatum Bell do?  Well steal the bags of course.  Here is what With Leather says happened in the Lions headquarters:

Bell took the bags to the house of a female acquaintance.  When confronted on the matter, Bell offered up some cockamamie story that he thought the bags belonged to someone he knew.  The girl, however, said that she hadn’t seen Bell in several months and he showed up out of the blue and asked her to keep the bags for a while.

That is hilarious.  I can see it now.  "Eff Rudi Johnson!  He got cut by the frickin’ BENGALS.  THE FRICKIN’ BENGALS.  Screw this, let’s see him succeed without any of his $*&%!"

Yes you heard me, a baseball player who has moves like Barry Sanders (or Jerome Harrison in the preseason).

WHAT.

That is so stupid.  They were about a million games out when they traded CC, and they couldn’t be playing much better than they are now.

I’m gonna show that video again of Rizzo falling down.

• Victor finally goes yahhhhhhhhd!  It only took him five months to do it, so that sucks.  But you can see he actually had some power, as opposed to the nubbers he was hitting in April and May.
• So has Asdrubal played his way into a job next year?  He’s been swinging the bat well, and his defense has never been a problem.
• It is pretty sweet to beat the White Sox when they desperately need this wins, since they broke our hearts three years ago.  Unfortunately, Minnesota keeps losing so they’re not losing any ground.  Freakin’ Twins.
• At the very least, at least they’re fun to watch again.
• Last night Tom Hamilton was saying how Andy Marte is swinging the bat the best he’s seen, and it’s a product of him playing everyday.  Now I know he’s not the best, but "Li’l Man" Jamey Carrol can barely make that throw across the diamond.

What are you guys thinking?  Is a huge, historic comeback in the back of your heads?  No?  Yeah me neither…

Bugs and Cranks has the official ESPN video, so check it out there.

And for the record, it was a nubber, not a bunt.

Here’s what the website says:

As I reported first on the PMS Show on Thursday afternoon, I have learned that former MLB Slugger, Jose Canseco will be in the hot seat on Fox’s Reality Show, "Moment of Truth"  Canseco already has taped the episode and according to my source that was in attendance during the taping Canseco was asked if he ever injected Mark McGwire with steroids and if he ever corked his bat amoung other questions that were asked during the taping.  The episode of "The Moment of Truth" with Canseco is supposed to air in late September or early October.  The way the reality show works is the contestant in the chair takes a polygraph test prior to going on stage and is asked the same questions.  If the anwsers the contestant gives on stage matches the polygraph then, they continue to advance and get more money.

I know it is shady as crap, but I have to be honest and I’ll probably end up tuning in, or at least read about what happened.

It was the 5th inning, and Adam LaRoche either hit a nubber back to CC or a bunt, I’ve only seen the video once, and didn’t see it come off the bat.  That part really doesn’t matter.

When the ball was coming toward CC, he misplayed it with his bare hand, LaRoche was safe at first, and a throw wasn’t even made.  In my opinion it was clearly an error, but the official scorer ruled it a base hit, saying bye-bye to the no-no.

He went on to throw a complete game, one hit shutout, so that stupid scorer cost CC the no hitter.

Some kid recreated this play in some baseball video game to show that if CC fielded it cleanly, he easily would’ve made the throw to first to retire LaRoche (sorry I can’t find the original video, MLB is lame and won’t let their content anywhere but their websites).

I can’t believe the scorer ruled it a base hit.  It isn’t even a question in my mind that this was an error, and it sucks that this cost CC his first career no-no.

What did you guys think of the play?

What would you say that there are people who play Molotov Cocktail baseball?

Yeah, it’s pretty dumb.  Why would anyone ever do this?  I’m kind of glad people are this lame/dumb/not all there, because they just give me material to write about.

There’s a bit of a shuffle among the top teams, as the Windy City now holds two of the top three spots. Philly leapfrogs the Mets due to New York’s brutal bullpen and a key injury in the rotation. Red-hot Cleveland makes a substantial leap. Yes, the Indians have beat up on lowly teams — Kansas City, Texas and Detroit — of late, but prior to that the Tribe took two of three from the Angels. Furthermore, there are reports that Victor Martinez may rejoin Cleveland this weekend.

I bet he feels like a jackass after they got swept by the lowly Mariners…

They’re still only 10.5 out, with eight games left against Chicago and Minnesota….can they pull of a miracle?

• During the game, we were thinking how many times a pitcher has won his 20th game on a complete game shutout.  Bryan said anywhere between 0 and 10.  He gives pretty good analysis.
• In case you were wondering, people still think it is a home run whenever a ball is hit in the air in the outfield.
• I really hope next year Victor plays first and they keep Shoppach behind the plate.  His bat has really come around the last few weeks.
• Remember when I said in my "Opening Day" post that the White Sox would be the worst team Nick Swisher could play for, and he probably wouldn’t play too well there?  Well he’s batting .226.  And that makes me feel cool.
• Wookster brought up a good point this morning.  At the beginning of the season, we had both Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia on our roster, so did we have the two best pitchers in the game for three months?  I don’t see how you can argue otherwise.

Well I’ll post all day again today, but keep your eye out for the Browns blog that will be launching next week…

Here is a triple alley oop, NBA Street style.

I’m not sure if the kid actually got it down, kind of the way Dwight Howard dunked with the Superman cape.

Sure I’d be mad too if I had to play on the Royals, but he made that decision himself.

Now here’s a video of him going after some fans heckling him, at home.

I just hope they’re not getting big heads right now and think that they’re just gonna roll over Seattle.

Someone needs to tell them they’re still a third place team that has failed to meet expectations.

But whatever, I’m still gonna hope for the sweep.

Here is what they said about the Tribe:

Has anyone noticed that the Cleveland Indians have won 10 in a row? And 16 of their past 19? Excitement is at a fever pitch along the Cuyahoga, where they’re talking division title, ALCS, and World Series! (Checks AL Central standings. Carefully folds newspaper, slowly rises from desk and leaves room). Cleveland is 65-67, 10 1/2 games out of first with 29 to play. So, um, never mind. But take consolation, tribe fans, in that if you were in the NL West, you’d only be two games out of first.

That’s the part that really hurts…they’d actually be completing if they played in the crappiest division in the history of MLB.

Here’s what the Tribe Report says:

But while we’re busy worrying about whether Ryan Garko has shown enough to either get back into the picture for 1B next year or bring something valuable in trade, or whether Anthony Reyes is good enough to be a No. 3 or No. 4 starter next year, we’re missing some of the best team baseball the Tribe has played since last October. So I just wanted to take a moment to look at the entire forest. The first half of this season was so miserable to watch, we owe it to ourselves to enjoy what we’ve been seeing lately, even if it comes under the category of cheap thrills.

And what Deadspin comes back with:

That was four wins ago. Might this incredible comeback continue? And wasn’t that the plot of Major League?

THAT’S what I’m talking about….this could be "Major League" in the making?

Here is what WSRZ News 107.9 has to say about what happened:

O.J. Simpson was a bloody mess the other day — and this time, he was the one who was allegedly attacked by a family member. Simpson’s oldest daughter reportedly opened a can of whup-a** on the former football star and his girlfriend, Christie Prody, at their Florida home on Sunday. According to the National Enquirer, Arnelle, Simpson’s 39-year-old daughter with his first wife, Marquerite, was angry at her father for not supporting her mom. Police rushed to the home, but Simpson didn’t want to file assault charges against his daughter. A source tells the Enquirer that Arnelle shoved O-J into a glass cupboard, leaving him with cuts on his head and face.

I think Deadspin said it best:  "What’s the old saying about apples and trees?

You know those facts underneath the cap of Snapple?  Well this is how they come up with them.

(Warning:  Contains VERY strong language, drug references, and yelling.  AKA everything that makes a video good).

ToMMyBoy would never let that by him!

A guy wearing a woman’s jersey.

I cannot believe this.  Why would this guy wear a Rebecca Lobo jersey?  I could only come up with two reasons:

1. Rebecca Lobo is his daughter (which I’m guessing she isn’t).
2. He is dating Rebecca Lobo (again probably not, she’s married to a former SI writer, and it’s not him).
3. He lost a bet.  Absolutely has to be it, there is no other way, or;
4. He bought it at Goodwill and didn’t know the New York Liberty was a WNBA team.  I’m gonna go with this one.

• Seriously, 10 in a row.  That is sweet.  And they can hit now.  I’m not saying they’re gonna make a serious run at it, but you have to credit them with not rolling over and dying.
• Has Kelly Shoppach put himself in the argument to be our everyday catcher?  I know Victor is coming back, but can’t we throw him in at first or something?  He has five homers in his past seven games, and could probably start on half of the other teams in MLB.
• My boy "Ah-Choo" goes yahd again.  I forgot he has to report for the army or something after next year.  That sucks.
• It’s kind of crazy that Justin Verlander has 14 losses.
• How many times has Ryan Garko been hit by a pitch this year?  I swear he gets hit two out of every three games. 

So what the hell do you guys think?  Has the thought of making a run in the Central even crossed your mind?

Well I got my hands on some exclusive footage that shows the EXACT MOMENT he figured it all out.

I don’t think he does anymore.

Bugs and Cranks has his clutch numbers, and it doesn’t look good.  Check these out:

• In Yankee wins, he hits .358. In losses, many of which he could have impacted, just .251.
• Runners in scoring position? Just .250.
• Two runners on? A paltry .175.
• Bases loaded? Try .111.
• Runner on third base, less than two out? Just .250.
• Late & Close (7th or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck)? An OK .288, but with only 7 RBI in 59 at-bats.Here are a couple of numbers that show you how well A-Fraud has done in non-pressure situations. They shouldn’t surprise anyone who has paid attention.
• Bases empty? A .348 average.
• And, here is a really telling one. With the margin of a game at 4 runs or greater, A-Fraud’s batting average is a staggering .411. There is your ‘piling on meaningless numbers’ evidence right there.

Wow, maybe he should be booed…

Why do people think it is such a big deal when they’re on the news?  And why do they do stuff like this to be on it?

• As Wookster cleverly put it last night, call him Cy Lee.  19-2 and the Tribe is on it’s way to grabbing it’s second award in as many years.  And all this from a guy who couldn’t even make the postseason roster last year.
• The Ben Francisco Treat goes yahhhhhhhhhhhhd twice yesterday, making me more infuriated he wasn’t in the starting lineup in April, making me more infuriated that the Jason Michaels/"How You Doin’ dynamic duo was. 
• You know what’s funny?  The Tribe wins it’s 9th in a row, and it doesn’t even make a top headline on espn.com.  Whateva we don’t need them.
• How’s it feel to be in THIRD place Tribe?  I know it makes me feel good.
• Although I agree with the instant replay, I really like what Kenny Rogers said about the whole thing:  "I don’t like it. I think that it overshot the mark by far just because, what, in a Yankee game someone didn’t get a homer? Please," said Rogers before Tuesday night’s game. "Its happened thousands of times. That’s part of the game."  I just think it’s hilarious that he brought up how lame New York is and how the media won’t stop loving them.

What the hell are you guys thinking about this team?  You guys have been pretty lame on the comments, so get that back up.

Hopefully that eliminates some of this:

Never mind, A-Rod will always cry about something.

Yeah punishing kids for stuff like that is what makes them do stuff like this.

You know, voluntarily being shot in the mouth with a paintball gun:

I really hate today’s youth…I don’t consider myself part of it anymore, which is depressing.

I can proudly say I never owned any of these, but here are a few that I saw hovering around dorms, and what it says about you.

This pretty much means you are a loser poser, who always talks about how you like to party and get wasted all the time.

This pretty much means you are a loser poser, who always talks about how you like to party and get wasted all the time.

This pretty much means you are a loser poser, who always talks about how you like to party and get HIGH all the time.

I think the only poster I really had was a "Rocky" movie poster, and it kept falling down so I took it down.

Sorry to anyone who had these up, but not really.

Jericho Scott is a player in this league, and he is nine years old.

He’s a pitcher, and he’s pretty good.  He has been reaching 40 mph on the radar gun, and he’s as dominant as a nine year old can be.

As a matter of fact, according to the officials in charge of the league, he’s too good.  He actually got banned from the league because the other kids were too scared to bat against him.

When he was told he couldn’t pitch anymore, and his coach had him take the mound anyway, the other team packed up their gear and forfeited the game.

WHAT.

How can you be that big of a coward?  How can you tell a kid that he can’t play baseball anymore because he’s simply too good?  Would you ever kick a smart kid out of a class?  Did Michael Phelps get banned from the Olympics because he was too dominant?

This spells trouble for the next generation of children who will someday lead this country.  We are gonna have an entire generation of pansies, and it’s the parents’ fault for raising them like this.  The coach who took his players off the field should be ashamed of himself, and this kids need to not be scared of the ball and take their three pitch strikeout from Jericho.

Absolutely ridiculous.

• Congratulations to Grady Sizmore for reaching the 30-30 club, only the second member of the Tribe to ever do it.  Can he make it to 40-40?
• I used to have arguments with my friend Ken (a Tigers fan) about who is a better player, Grady or Curtis Granderson.  I think we can put that to bed.
• Jhonny Peralta is now hitting .278, which is about 278 points higher than he was hitting in April.  Is it because there’s no pressure?  Or has he just found his 2005 self?
• Can Jensen Lewis be our closer next year?  After working the 10th, he earned his seventh save in eight chances.  Unless they go out and get someone else, why the hell not?
• At 63-67, this is the closest they’ve been to .500 since June.  If they finish above .500, it’s gonna get everyone’s hopes up, and they could be a chic pick to win the Central in ‘09….uh oh.

Well I will be posting again today (seriously this time), including a post about a Little Leaguer who got banned from the league….for being TOO GOOD.  Yes you read that correctly.

• Baby Manny (as Wookster called him opening day) gets a game winning hit!  Sweet!  I promise I haven’t looked at his average, I’m gonna go ahead and guess it’s around .245.  Gave him too much credit, it’s .234.
• We’re actually approaching .500!  In my humble opinion, that shouldn’t be a goal to achieve in late August.
• Is this the first time in years that the Tribe has been on absolute fire but nobody knows it?  I was pretty sure they lost on Saturday, apparently not.
• So, they’re 12 games out with about a month to go.  Is it insurmountable?  The answer to that question is yes.

Well I’ll be back posting all day/week, leave comments, say something funny or something.

• Clifford Lee gets his 18th win, and at this point he’s the runaway AL Cy Young Award winner.  He leads the AL in wins, winning percentage (.900) and ERA (2.43), and almost has a 1/3rd of the Tribe’s wins.  Not too shabby for a guy who didn’t even make last year’s postseason roster.
• Dang Grady!  4-5, 7 RBI, and a double away from the cycle.  Could you say he’s a top-15 player in the league?  I’m not sure, but he’s close.
• I’ve been as big of a critic about Jhonny P’s range, but that was a hell of a double play he and Asdrubal turned yesterday.  It must be the "my veeeshon is now better than a 20/20" lasik procedure.
• How about all those double plays?  Pretty chill.

We’re creepin’ on Detroit!  I picked the Tribe to finish ahead of them!  Even though it was first not third, I was still right, suckas.

If you look at almost any MLB player, you’ll see them wearing it, and Curtis Granderson wears about 40 of them.  Here is what it says on their website:

This product helps to promote stable energy flow throughout the body. The benefits of this are longer lasting energy, less fatigue, shortened recovery time and more relaxed muscles.

You know who else is a new believer?  My boy, Shin-Soo Choo.  This is what it says in today’s PD:

Shin-Soo Choo has been wearing a titanium necklace he received when the Indians were in Seattle right after the All-Star break.  "My back was hurting before I started wearing it," Choo said.  "Now my back is good".

Case closed.  Buy a Phiten, they’re tight.  Hope mine comes in the mail tomorrow…

While Jhonny Peralta was talking to Paul Hoynes about which events of the Olympics he enjoys watching, here was his response.

"I like track and field.  I liked watching Usain Bolt win the 100 and 200 meters.  That’s how I think I look in my mind when I’m stealing a base".

Sure Jhonny.  Your three stolen bases really show that. 

Stick with the longball and not being able to move left or right at short.

• First four hits are home runs!  Sweet.  I really wish it wasn’t August.
• We now have a 3 1/2 game lead on the Royals, and we’re not looking back.  Look out Detroit, we might overtake you for third!
• All kidding aside, they have won 9 of 12, and they’re actually playing some pretty good ball.
• Jensen Lewis the closer for next year?  He did pick up his fourth save last night, and sadly enough, this is as stable as the back of the bullpen has been.
• Did you guys hear Franklin Gutierrez’s quote?   "I’m thinking positive and it is working," Gutierrez said. "After the home run, I was thinking, ‘What if I finish the game with a great catch?’ Then I did."  Yeah Frank, I’m sure after you went yahd you wanted to end the game on a sweet catch.

Well I will finish the Tribe blog this year, but starting September 8th, a Browns blog will start.  There should be more updates because I’ll be writing it with another guy, so look forward to that.

Any ideas for the name?

That was before I saw this:

Awesome.

Amy K. Nelson, from ESPN, wrote this article saying why Cliff Lee should win the Cy Young Award.

Here’s an excerpt, and it makes Cliff Lee sound like a pitcher who might have it figured out:

"You see a lot of guys that have unbelievable stuff, but they’re missing the edge, the confidence to put it all together to be successful," Lee said. "If you’re not confident and you’re a little bit timid out there, that’s when you’re going to be exposed."

Man I hope we get to keep him for a number of years…

Have players throw baseballs into their beers and then chug them.  You know, like this guy.

Maybe it was one of those sweet minor league promotions…

Here is the text she sent to MICHAEL PHELPS’ MOM:

"Tell him he’s f***ing amazing, and I want to meet him."

Ok, I get why she would want to meet him, who wouldn’t.  Be she obviously wants to meet him because she’s a "fast" woman (has that adjective been used since the 1950’s?).

Ok so she wants to sleep with him, so she sends a profane text message to his mom?  In my opinion, that isn’t the best way to introduce yourself to her.  She was probably all coked up anyway.

• Sweet, the Tribe has won 8 out of their last 11!  In August!  And they’ve been double digit games back for months now!  Maybe they were just digging themselves a hole to make a dramatic run in September.  No?  Yeah you’re right.
• Grady goes yahd, Shin-Soo Choo goes yahd (still like him), Garko went yahd,  and this offense is actually scoring some runs.  Just like I thought they would since April.  But they didn’t start until mid-July, when they were already out of it.
• Last night on the "10th Inning Show", Greg Brinda thinks Anthony Reyes has solidified a spot in this rotation next year, making it Cliff Lee, Fausto, Reyes, then who?  I don’t have a good feeling about that.
• Maybe Garko just need a kick in the ass.  Since he didn’t run out that ball a couple weeks ago, he’s hitting .405 with 12 RBI in his last 10 games.

Well at least they’re starting to be decently fun to watch.  Not that anybody is.  It was Dollar Dog Night last night so they had a decent crowd.  I’m guessing they’re not gonna have a decent crowd again until the next Dollar Dog Night.

"Dodgers left-fielder Manny Ramirez, sent to Los Angeles in a three-team trade two weeks ago, said Monday that he "really likes" the Red Sox’s new blue-and-white uniforms. "I like it more than the red," Ramirez told reporters following the Dodgers’ 8-6 win over the Phillies Monday. "I’m also happy that they shortened the Green Monster, and painted it blue, because that wall was too tall before. And I’m really enjoying the easy schedule we’ve been playing lately." Although Ramirez admitted he didn’t appreciate having "that vampire from the Yankees" [Joe Torre] hanging out in the dugout all the time, he did say that he "completely approves of David Ortiz’s new mustache" while gesturing towards Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent."

Now I know us Clevelanders don’t have much room to talk, since you still see lamers at the Q wearing those ridiculous Anderson Varejao wigs, but this is just hilarious.

I know the picture quality isn’t the best, but look how dorky the guy on the left looks!  He looks like he’s being punished, and I guess he kind of is.

You should be punished for being that lame.

And to prove that isn’t just some clever photoshopping, here is a pic of someone buying one.  Again I can’t stress enough how stupid these things are.

I’m sure that’s not what they had in mind when they signed him to that 7 year, $126M contract.

Can we go ahead and label that as the worst contract in history?  I’m not even talking about baseball.  I’m saying it’s the worst contract in the history of contracts.

Send me over some other terrible examples (Mike Hampton immediately comes to mind).

The Tribe will stay out of last place for the rest of the season!

Now we have a solid 1 1/2 game lead over the Royals for fourth place.

I just don’t want to be the team that goes first to worst.

If you ask me (and Mike Greenberg), shouldn’t he be in the talks of the MVP in the National League?

Obviously he isn’t going to get it, he’s only been there for about a month.

But if he leads the team into the playoffs, there is a legitimate argument you could make for him.  Eight wins and five complete games in a month? 

What if he keeps this up for the rest of the regular season?

I really wish I knew how to edit videos, because I would do cool stuff like this all the time.

Like editing "Dumb and Dumber" to make it look like a trailer for a James Bond movie.

I say before the first Browns game.

I just need 99 more people…

• Well I was really hoping for a sweep, and at least at the worst we’ll get the split.  It really depresses me that I am content with a split with the Orioles, at home nonetheless.
• Speaking of great pitching, Tribe pitchers didn’t record a strikeout, the first time in over four years that has happened.  Awesome.
• I hate Kevin Millar, and I don’t really know why.  He just seems like a choch ball.  I bet he walks around the locker room telling everyone about the World Series in 2004.  And his teammates are probably really sick of it.
• Sorry to keep coming back to former Tribe pitchers, but CC Sabathia is now 7-0 as a member of the Brewers.  I’m rooting for him though.
• Hey we still managed to stay out of last place!  But now 13 out.

The Royals got their FIRST EVER 100 RBI SEASON.  Yes you read that correctly.  Mike Sweeney, in 2000, became the first Royal to drive in 100 runs in one season.

According to Wikipedia, they have been around since 1969.

WHAT?!?!?!

They went 31 whole years before getting a guy to drive in 100?  Wow, that’s sucky.  You could say they were struggggggling:

Guess who showed up?

Our own Grady Sizemore!  As an underwear model!

Here’s what they said:

The loyal following of potential Mrs. Sizemores has spoken. Grady appears to have the swagger, build and good looks to grace a series of billboards in Times Square or a package of boxers briefs at Macy’s. And with a name like Size-More… well, you know.

I’m surprised ToMMyBoy doesn’t talk about Grady being his favorite player.  He has everything he looks for in a professional athlete….a cool name and good looking!

Right ToMMyBoy?

I don’t know what’s weirder, how he’s really fat and can’t get up, or that this team has a left handed catcher!

• We’re not in last place anymore!  We climbed into fourth, a whopping 1/2 game ahead of the Royals.  That’s what I’m talkin’ about baby!
• Asdrubal and that red bat really have something going.  Three more hits last night.  Sweet.
• Jhonny P continues to swing a hot bat as well.  Why couldn’t he do that earlier in the season?  Why couldn’t any of these bums do this in April/May/June?
• So who is gonna take Paul Byrd’s spot in the rotation?  It’s either gonna be Aaron Laffey or that dude we got in the CC trade, Zach Johnson.  Who cares.
• Is it just me, or is it kind of fun watching again?  Sure they’re beating up on some crap teams right now, but they’re a crap team themselves.

Well I’m gonna be posting all afternoon, leave comments for once!

That nice old man, Paul Byrd.

Yeah well he just got traded a few minutes ago, according to Munch on 850.

Just wait to hear what we got back….

A PLAYER TO BE NAMED LATER!!!!!!

That guy always turns out to be good….pfffffffffff

So basically this is Wookster if he had a car dealership.

It’s time for Madden.

How many people are going to buy this?  I personally will not be, I don’t think I’ve bought it since ‘07, the year with Shawn Alexander on the cover.

What percentage of young men between 18-35 do you think called off of work today to start their franchises?  30%?  75%  100%?

(I definitely would have if I didn’t still have old PS2, I just can’t bring myself to spend that much dinero on a new system).

Unless somebody wants to donate a PS3 to me, I don’t think I’ll ever play Madden again.

• Jhonny P is still tearing it up after going 2-4 last night, making him one of the best players in games that really don’t mean much.
• Garko proved jungle karma really exists, also getting two hits after calling in "The Jim Rome Show" yesterday.  I still don’t like him.
• Did anybody else notice Asdrubal Cabrera was using a red bat?  I’m sure it wasn’t cherry red or anything, but it was weird looking.
• Speaking off him, he’s been playing pretty well lately, both on offense and defense.  Is he turning into the everyday second baseman the Tribe’s front office thought he’d be?
• I think Ben Francsico is becoming a top-3 player on the Tribe.  Well not really, but he’s in my top-3, and he seems like he’d be cool.

What do you guys think of the Tribe?  Do you think they’ll become watchable again?

I guess what I’m getting at is, do you think they really care if they win or lose?  Aside from people like Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore (who have great seasons going), I really don’t think it means too much to them if they win or lose.

Well they get to play the role of spoiler, but you’re la lame-o if that is something you enjoy doing. 

What do you think?

I know it’s not related to baseball, but this is truly one of the greatest moments in Olympic history.

After winning again for the Brewers, he’s up to 6-0 since being in Milwaukee.

Also, he is hitting .186 over there, and in case you were wondering, that is a point higher than Andy Marte.

CC was one of my favorite players for the past eight years or so, more so than almost anybody in Cleveland.  Maybe they’ll re-sign him after this year.

Maybe?

• How sweet was that play to end the game on Saturday?  "The Ben Francisco Treat" played the ball perfectly off the wall, then shot that dude at second.  It was a terrible tag, but a worse slide.
• Jhonny Peralta brought his hot bat north of the border.  He has now hit safely in 26 of his last 29 games, not too shabby.  His average is up to .276, and he’s back to the player he was a couple of years ago.  His vision is better than 20/20 ya know, according to his hilarious radio commercial.
• Cliff "Cy Young" Lee now leads the majors in ERA (2.45) and is tied for the ML lead in wins (16).  Where was this guy last year?  (Do you think the Tribe rushes players back from injury?  I mean he was hurt in the spring last year, and maybe he sucked because he was hurried back, much in the same way Pronk and Victor might have been.  I think it’s worth looking into).
• So, just being curious, I wondered how many games we gained on our Central Division foes with this sweep.  1/2 game.  Oh.
• After looking at the standings, it really depressed me to see that a realistic expectation for the rest of the season is 4th place, just ahead of the Royals.  And they have to play decent ball to do that.  Yikes.
• Did you guys see Kelly Shoppach go all Bo Jackson on his bat after he struck out?  I love when players do that.  I would love to see one time when it doesn’t break, and the player looks like an idiot, and maybe hurt.

I’m back all day, comment and stuff.

• Ok, Jhonny Peralta, in my opinion, has definitely earned himself a regular spot in the lineup next year.  Going 5-5, going yahd again, they just need to find a new defensive position for him.
• The Indians have one less loss now than they did FOR ALL OF LAST SEASON.  Lame.
• The Kobayashi experiment needs to be canceled.  He isn’t good, he doesn’t even have a sweet windup like Hideo Nomo.  Get rid of him.
• Ryan Garko sure has heart.  Doesn’t leave the box on a dribbler down the line.  He can pack his bags too.
• You gotta love Tropicana Field.  Asdrubal trips on some loose carpet and has to leave the game.  Hell of a ballpark you guys have there.

Well I’m not gonna be around all day, but I’ll try to get a few posts in.

Here are some of the best:

Shea Stadium

Fenway Park

Petco Park

I can honestly say there isn’t a bad seat at Jacobs Field errrrrrr Progressive Field.

I’m glad they didn’t appear on this list.

A freaking plane crashes behind the left field wall during a minor league baseball game in Alaska.

What do you think?

• Evan Longoria is good.  By hitting his 22nd home run last night (off Rafael Betancourt, of course), he set the Rays’ rookie home run record.  Good for him.  I would definitely try to get with Eva Longoria if I were Evan.
• So, that bat that Kelly Shoppach used when he went 5-5 with five extra base hits has been sent to the Hall of Fame.  And that is the closest he’ll ever get.
• What’s up with Fausto?  I hope he shakes this streak this winter, because he’s supposed to be our ace next year (at least Cliff Lee will still be here).
• Jhonny Peralta is actually hitting the ball with regularity now.  Now all they need to do is move him to third, and he actually has some worth.
• If there would to be a theme for this season, it could accurately be called "2008:  Leave A Million Runners On Base".

Leave comments and such, man they are the worst team to watch ever.

How embarrassed would you be today?  Everybody in the world saw you looking like you just got bullied on the schoolyard.

Nonetheless, it’s funny.

It almost makes him look very smart.

The good: Young starter Jeremy Sowers has taken perfect games into the sixth inning in each of his last two starts. Sowers could be the Tribe’s ace in coming years, so fans should like what they see.

Yeah, Jeremy Sowers will never be the Tribe’s ace.  Idiots.

And here is a video of him falling on ice, it’s hilarious.

And for everyone who listens, let’s try to get Wookster on the A-Hole list.  Submit your emails to the show at rizzo@espncleveland.com.

• Congrats to Cliff Lee on winning his 15th game, and he’s inching closer to the Cy Young Award.  My dude Chad said last night that he expects him to fizzle out and end up around 18.  I hope he isn’t right.
• Tom Hamilton is a great announcer.  Right after a long at bat with Grady Sizemore, he said something to the effect of "a lot of times after winning a long battle with a batter, the next hitter comes up and just goes yard".  "How You Doin’" went yard immediately after.
• That was his 100th career home run.  Think he’ll make it to the Hall?  No?
• Growing up, I never thought I’d hit one homer, let alone 100," Dellucci said. "It’s just a sign that you played in the bigs for a long time."–"How You Doin’" (will somebody explain to him that it isn’t a great accomplishment to hit 100 HR?  Barry Bonds did it in like a season and a half).

Think they can sweep?  I know it’s a little premature to talk about it, but it really doesn’t matter at this point.  Leave comments and whatnot.

"Boom…outta here".

The classic Brett Myers.

(This is also a golf quote used when you hit a ball that is clearly going into a hazard).

This is Jim Rome on who he calls "Softball Guy":

Usually when me and my dude Po golf, and someone hits a shot fat (usually me), one or both of us yells it like this.

So here you go.

Looks like he got it a little FAT!

Here is Jhonny Peralta’s, that will be given out soon to the lucky fans of Progressive Field.

Here’s what they said about said bobblehead.

"If you’re at Progressive Field next Monday evening, you will be the proud new owner of a Jhonny Peralta bobblehead doll. You got it, the .270-hitting shortstop of the Indians, that has about as much range as Manuel Uribe. But the only catch is, I’m not so sure that this thing actually looks like Jhonny Peralta. Coco Crisp? Maybe. Peralta? Not so much."

If you check out the link, they have one featuring LeBron James.

Not only do they now have Casey Clutch, but obviously Manny Ramirez is gonna be fun to watch out there.

Also they used to have spring training in the same town where my grandmother has a place.  So I kind of have a connection to them, so there.

Who would you like to see win it?

• How the hell can Sowers Patch Kids keep having perfect games going into the late innings and lose?  Man I’d be frustrated if I were him.
• So Francisco Liriano is pretty good.  I wish we had him.
• I hope the Twins win the division.  They always seem like the "good guy", ya know?
• I love seeing all this money Detroit spent go to waste.  I know the Tribe is disappointing, and I know the Tigers aren’t out of it, but shouldn’t they be feeling as bad (if not worse)?

Well I’m back posting all day, leave some comments.

This video makes fun of it.

I think that guy does Batman better than Heath Ledger did The Joker.

The end is especially funny.

P.S….people say I look like him, so does that make me as cool as him?  I’ll say yes.

Here you go:

I wish I had video evidence of me doing something sweet like that.

• Nice game by Kelly Shoppach.  Three doubles and two bombs, and somehow that wasn’t enough.  Yikes.
• Cliff Lee looked like last year’s Cliff Lee.  He still could’ve had his 15th win after pitching terribly.  I really wanted it.
• Wow how bad did Shin-Soo Choo look when Fernando Rodney "K" him?  Kinda looked like me when Wookster was making me look like the Bad News Bears in the Show last night.
• You know what’s really sweet?  Blowing leads of 8-1 and 11-7 of course!

Man that game was frustrating. 

Yeah this guy is kind of weird, he’s always giving the stuff away.  He gave out 1,500 pizzas last year because the Patriots went 16-0.

I don’t think they deliver to Elyria.

• Was Jhonny Peralta just in a slump for the first couple months, or is this a product of playing with no pressure?  He’s mashin’ out there.  It’s my dude Steve’s favorite player, I bet he’s happy.
• I’ve talked with my friends that maybe Pronk was on HGH, and that’s why there’s the significant drop off.  I don’t think so anymore.  I think he was forced to play injured, and now we find out his father has been sick and just passed away.  There were a lot of issues with him, and maybe he can gain some closure following this tragedy.
• Does anyone else think Shin-Soo Choo is a good player?  I do.
• Has anyone watched a game from first pitch to last pitch since April?  I probably catch about 10 at bats a game.  That’s sad.

I’m only posting for about another hour or so, so freakin’ comment or something.

"Statistics are like bikinis. They show a lot, but never everything.”

Here is a list of the top 20 baseball quotes of all time.

Also, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Tribe or baseball.  But since it’s a bowling ball, it’s kind of like sports (warning–contains some strong language maybe).

Bob Wickman All-Star Poster Night!

He made the All-Star team while pitching for the Brewers in 2000, so the team would commemorate the occasion by honoring him with a poster.

Which is nice.

Except he was playing for the Indians.

Even though they traded him to the Tribe a couple days earlier, they decided to hold the event anyway.  Idiots.

Must be all the brew they’re drinking.

But in a good way.

The Expos were #1 on the list, obviously it is the Grady/Brandon Phillips/Cliff Lee trade.  Here’s what it says:

  They got Expos-ed

"The Expos trade Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Lee Stevens to the Indians for Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew. Omar Minaya paid dearly — beyond dearly — for roughly two months of Colon. Colon gave the Expos high-quality innings down the stretch, but they finished 12 games out of playoff position. In the service of making that run, the Expos gave up, most notably, Sizemore (one of the best young players in baseball and already a three-time All-Star), Lee (possibly the AL Cy Young winner this season), and Phillips (a 30-30 player last season as a 26-year-old), who’s now a Red. The state of Ohio remains grateful."

Hey, at least they’re kind of being paid attention to by the national media.

• Where did this combined four hitter come from?  Last time I checked, the bullpen sucked.
• How in the hell have the Tigers been shutout 11 times?  Weren’t they supposed to be the best offense ever? 
• After I dropped off Po off from golf, I turned the Indians game on the radio and heard someone say that the team will be shutout for the 11th time.  I assumed they were talking about the Indians.
• Is it just me, or does Andy Marte seem to be hitting the ball harder?  I might be grasping at straws here, but it seems like he is improving a little.

Why can’t the Indians just be good?  It would be a lot more fun to do this, and I wouldn’t be bitching all the time and saying stuff like "Andy Marte seems to be hitting the ball better". 

I’ll post more today, there was nothing going on except for Brett Favre yesterday.

And it is titled:

C.C. Sabathia, Prince Fielder Keep Imagining Each Other As Giant Talking Hot Dog, Hamburger

That is hilarious.  Here is an excerpt:

"I should have noticed something was wrong weeks ago, when Prince, who has always had a certain fascination with the sausage races, expressed delight that we had ’signed Cleveland’s huge chili cheese dog’ and welcomed C.C. to the team by coating him liberally with celery salt and mustard," said manager Ned Yost. "And in his very first start, C.C. praised the way our ‘great big hamburger’ was hitting, and kept trying to pick off runners at first base by throwing ketchup and extra cheese to Prince."

That publication never gets old.

Here are some of my thoughts:

• So is it worth it to even watch them anymore?  Everyone on the team sucks except for Grady and Cliff Lee.  I guess it’s ok to watch them every five days.
• Jeremy Sowers actually pitched well!  Who would’ve thought a guy who throws 67 mph could have a perfect game through five innings?
• How come Rafael Perez sucks now?  He was one of the best relievers in the game last year.  Guess it’s the name Rafael.

Well I’m back all week, I’ll be posting.

Lata losas.

• Grady goes YAHD to lead off the game, and he is swinging the bat well since the All-Star Game.  So much for the Home Run Derby effing up your swing.
• Is it a coincidence or nothing special at all that the Tribe played against Jered Weaver and I played against him in the Show last night?  Yeah, didn’t think it was anything.
• Casey Clutch is also Casey Versatile.  Since he batted cleanup yesterday, he’s batted in every spot this season except for leadoff.  Give Grady the day off and start Casey at leadoff!  It’s one of the few things I get to root for now!

Anything you guys want to talk about?  It’s tough to think about exciting topics at this point.  Help me out!

(Also, Wookster, I think I can hit again in the Show).

However, I still haven’t seen "Talladega Nights", and I’m not looking forward to hearing catchphrases from "Step Brothers" either.

People say baseball is boring because of the slow pace of the game, not everyone is athletic, and it lasts for months on end.  But at least it is an intricate game with very fine strategic points that can easily separate a good team from a bad team.

NASCAR, in my opinion, doesn’t.  "The Onion" agrees with me:  This video is hilarious, take a couple minutes and watch it.

NASCAR Coach Reveals Winning Strategy: ‘Drive Fast’

With who?

A hot New York model?  A gorgeous Hollywood actress?  That stripper chick he was photographed with last year?

Nope.  This thing:

Yes.  Some dude in New York says he has a sex tape of A-Rod and Madonna. 

Here is what wwtdd.com says about it:

A sleazy cameraman is trying to flog a tape he alleges shows the singer romping with hunk Alex Rodriguez.
He is demanding a fortune for the footage he claims was shot with a hidden camera in an apartment allegedly used by the pair for secret afternoon trysts.

Of all people, why Madonna?  She’s at least 115 years old.  She might have more money than him, but come on…

Check out this video of Joba giving his best as a fast pitch softball pitcher:

Maybe this is the reason he didn’t get to host the ESPY’s, despite his performance.

Check out this kid "robbing a home run".  I put this in quotations because he obviously has his little cronie friend throw him an easy to catch ball:

Now I know my friends and I used to do this for fun, but we didn’t record it and try to pass it off as making a great play in a game.  He even shows the ball to the "crowd" to prove he caught it.

Kids today are nerds.

• I really don’t want to see Casey Blake get traded.  Unfortunately he’s our second best player right now.
• Hey, we’re not in last place anymore!  No more looking up at KC!
• More good news, Fausto is coming back.  We can be in first place by September!
• Where did this barrage of long balls come from?  And what odds would you have given me if I said Casey Blake, Andy Marte, and Jhonny Peralta would all go yard in the same game?  10:1?  25:1?  1000:1?

Don’t look now, the Tribe is on a little roll right now…maybe they’ll keep it up…

Check out this play:

Which one is funnier?

He kind of looks like Cohutta from the "Real World" with that hat.  Also, do you think he’s just doing that because he knows he’s being recorded, or he’s just that lame?

What is the most logical way to predict the series?  Compare the lineups?  Who has the better pitching staff?

Of course not.

The Indians and the Angels are two teams that have had movies made about them.  Let’s compare those.

Major League

A timeless classic with about a million quotable parts.  A true underdog story with an epic ending.  Successfully integrates Corbin Bernsen, Tom Berenger, and Charlie Sheen, which can’t be easy.  Also set a trend with that bad ass haircut Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn was rockin’.  Also the first tough guy with poindexter glasses.  A solid 10 out of 10.

Angels in the Outfield

A lame Disney movie where the fans stand up and wave their arms like angels to give the California Angels players the placebo effect that the real angels are in the outfield (!) when they aren’t at the end.  Head angel Christopher Lloyd calls himself "AL" because of his American League umpire’s hat.  I can’t remember one line from this movie, and it isn’t funny.  0 out of 10.

Minimum two out of three for the Tribe!

• I think it’s safe to say Cliff Lee is the tightest pitcher in the AL.  Not that I’m comparing him to Josh Hamilton, but this is one hell of a comeback year he’s putting together.
• Casey Clutch, you never fail to disappoint me.  I was at Sidelines with my uncle yesterday when I bet a guy a beer he would knock in Grady.  Well he didn’t do it the first time I bet, but he sure as hell did the second time.  By the way, all the old dudes love the name "Casey Clutch".
• I think everyone has taken him for granted, because you’re gonna miss him when he’s gone.  And at $6M, he surely isn’t going to be here.
• Well I’m definitely sick of Ryan Garko.  How has a coach not fixed that damn right knee hitting the ground after every swing?  And does he ever swing for contact?  Or just tries to go yard everytime?
• I know Shoppach went yard yesterday, but he’s really showing me that he deserves to be Victor’s backup.

Does anyone else think the Tribe can turn this thing around?  Or is it just going to be a loooooong 2 1/2 months?

The best part?  When he says "trade David Dellucci, he suuuuucks!"

But apparently he has one of the hottest girlfriends of all time:

Like I titled this post, good work David Wright.

Anything you guys want me to talk about to start the conversation?

To hold us over, here’s a weird Japanese baseball fight:

Here is the article, and here are some from the list:

Knockout Jose Canseco 7,293 times. That’s a lot, even if it’s just a rough calculation (read: random throwing together of digits). For the record, when I win, I will donate 85% of my earnings to the charity of my choice.

Write 57 kind letters to Florida Marlins second baseman under various names. Tell him to stay positive, that he is a fine defensive player. Forget that no All-Star has ever had as many errors in a single game.

Reread the Mitchell Report twice and in its entirety. Notice how so few of the players named were at the game? They really are cleaning the game of steroids. Yeah, Bud!

Heat up no less than 1,193 times while playing a nostalgic game of NBA Jam, including 2,746 shots from downtown!

Man that makes me want to play NBA Jam….

Apparently there is a hotel that overlooks the stadium, and there was a girl just chillin by the window in NOTHING BUT A THONG.

Here’s the story.

I wish I could post the picture, but obviously I can’t.

Another obvious thing:  nobody probably watched the game.

Now I don’t think she’s just guessing he has this stuff, so I’m gonna go ahead and assume it is true.

And A-Rod has the same tendencies of lunatic women.

• Cliff Lee showed he definitely deserved to be starting that game.  I just wish he got to pitch more than 2 innings.
• Grady only went 1-5, but had that HUGE stolen base then went onto score the tying run.  Joe Buck called him "one of the most exciting players in baseball".  It’s pretty cool to hear the national broadcasters say stuff like that.
• You know who had an Uggla game?  Dan Uggla!  Three errors (ouch), and two at very critical times.
• How about Ichiro’s throw from right field to hose Albert Pujols?  That dude has a rocket for an arm, even though replays showed that Pujols was probably safe.
• Those New Yorkers sure do have class huh?  Basically threatening his pregnant wife during the parade.  Awesome.

That game is dumb.  The NL isn’t going to win a World Series forever even if they have home field advantage.

And how old is Bug Selig?  102 years old?  How is he still fit to be Commissioner?

Sorry Stephen A. Smith is on it.

He’s a loser (video contains strong language):

I know you heard about the lamer Indians fan who is renting his allegiance to anyone else, and letting people bid on it on ebay.

Here are a few of his rules from the ebay page:

Package A). - Being a Fan of the Boston Red Sox requires an additional fee of $3500.00 (USD)

Package B). Rooting for any team Jim Thome is on requres an additional fee of $1500.00 (USD)

Package C). Rooting for the New York Yankees requires an additional fee of $10,000 (USD)

Package D). Rooting for any team Roger Clemens may join requires an additional fee of $5000.00 (USD)

Package E). Rooting for any team Barry Bonds may join requires an additional fee of $35,000.00 (USD)

Package F). If you are a current MLB player and want my exclusive rooting rights for you individually, that will require an additional fee of $10,000.00 (USD) if your BA > .300 or your ERA is < 3.00 and and additional fee of $15,000.00 (USD) if your BA < .300 or your ERA > 3.00 (at the time of the sale) - VOID for Jim Thome, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.

I hate this guy, absolutely hate him.  He is the ultimate fair weather fan, and now he’s even trying to make money on it.

The worst part?  Somebody actually bid $300 on it.  That makes it two huge losers involved.

Actually players are kind of happy that they won’t have to play there anymore.

Apparently it stinks, the clubhouse is tiny, and it just isn’t a pleasant place to spend a summer.

Here’s what Joe Crede said to the New York Times:

"Hitting my head on the dugout," the Chicago White Sox’ Joe Crede offered. "Every time somebody scored or got a hit, you jumped up and forgot how low the ceiling is in there."

Maybe it’s not so great after all…

I know the rules say you wipe the slate clean for the finals, but in no way did Justin Morneau deserve to be holding that trophy.

I mean he did, but you know what I mean.

Josh Hamilton hit 6 more home runs IN THE FIRST ROUND than Morneau did in the whole competition!

Ben Sheets will be starting for the team who hasn’t won it in forever, the National League.

It’s because this was their logo for 1927-1928:

What the hell is that?  It doesn’t even look anything like a Tiger.  And why does it look so scared?

I was talking with my dude Craig, and the reason he thinks there aren’t more premier players in it is because players think it screws up their swing.

I think these are supposed to be the most talented hitters on Earth, and they should be able to make the proper adjustments.

What do you guys think?

• Jhonny P showing some power?  Where the hell did this come from?  And why can he only perform when there’s no pressure?
• Jeremy Sowers didn’t lose yesterday!  He didn’t win either, so whatev.
• CC (no periods) got the complete game AND went yard yesterday.  Oh yeah, he doesn’t play for us anymore.
• It’s being reported that Cliff Lee is gonna start the All-Star Game.  When was the last time a pitcher for a last place team started the game?
• Anyone think Grady can win the Home Run Derby tonight?

I’m back all day, leave comments and funny things because the Tribe doesn’t play for 5 days, so I’m gonna need stuff to talk about.

As if it weren’t enough to feature the game’s top players in the only All-Star game in all the pro sports with any real implications, Major League Baseball and Fox have decided to spice up the contest with a few tweaks. Onion Sports lists the most intriguing:

• Warning track covered with red carpet, celebrities
• Every fan in attendance mic’d up
• Basepath will have translucent blue glow to show viewers where baserunners need to go
• Clean uniforms
• To avoid dull, tedious, or awkward moments during broadcast, Fox promises never to point the cameras at Bud Selig
• All-Stars will rifle balls into the stands during the new Line Drive Derby
• Three Doors Down or some similar band will sing some song while they show videos of diving catches
• Yankee Stadium to be imploded during seventh inning
• Mercury column at first base will measure how much pressure the first baseman is applying to it
• Game will determine if American League representative will win World Series at home or on the road

Sounds pretty sweet huh?

Well it is.

However, the the city came down crashing on them for building it on their land, which was being used for nothing.

Neighbors even called lawyers in to have them take it down.

Stupid lame old neighbors.

Here’s the story.

Well, we all know he sucks.

But here’s my question.  Do you think they’re holding onto him because they gave up so quickly on Brandon Phillips and they’re afraid the same will happen if they give up on Marte?

Or does he just suck so bad there’s nowhere for him to go?

Now I know he leads the AL in home runs, but do you guys think he has a shot at winning it?

I’m not sure if I do.

• When I got into my car after golf yesterday, the Indians were up 6-0 in the 6th.  After they scored their 6th run, Tom Hamilton said "with this bullpen, and this offense, this game is far from over".  Whaddaya know…bullpen blows it.  Sweet.
• The best part of this season?  When we talked last week how this next week was going to make or break the season.  What did they do?  Got swept by everybody!  Way to show up!
• What did Eric Wedge say about all this?  "I’m meeting with the team tomorrow to discuss the situation."  This guy is a great manager.  Maybe he should’ve done that in May, you know, when they were kinda still in it.
• They should just call up Matt Laporta now.  Who cares, at least give the fans something to go to the ballpark for.

Now that the Tribe is officially out of it, who are you guys rooting for?  I’m going for the Rays, just because they’re young, talented, and burying Boston and New York.

Here is the best sports commercial ever, a Michael Jordan Nike one.

He played baseball for a minute, so I guess that counts.

They are actually canceling the All-Star game because they are afraid kids’ self esteem will drop if they aren’t picked.  How much farther are parents going to go to protect their kids?

This is the worst thing you could do for your kid.  When are they going to learn they have to strive and work hard to do well for themselves?

How are they going to learn that sometimes in life you lose, and if you work hard than maybe you will be rewarded for it?

This infuriates me.  And people wonder why kids are such wussies nowadays.

On cleveland.com, Belle is quoting as saying:

"Imagine that, the Cleveland Indians trade away another great player because they didn’t want to pay him".

When is Larry Dolan going to sell the club?" said Belle. "I could buy a piece of it. There are a lot of people on teams making a lot of bad decisions. You don’t always have to spend a lot of money. Look at what Billy Beane does in Oakland.

Told the Indians have no power with the exception of Grady Sizemore, Belle said, "They got rid of three of us, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and me."

Here is my vote for Albert "Joey" Belle to become part of the Tribe’s management!  He could even hit cleanup!  AND  be the manager!  At least they’d be interesting…

I doubt it.

But dang I wish we had both of them.  And again, it really hurts to c CC (get it, see CC!) in another uniform.  I was in attendance at the Jake for his MLB debut, and it has been awesome watching him since.

My new NL team is the Brewers (was the Dodgers) because I want to c CC (get it!) win.

• Obviously, CC (no periods, please) got dealt, for a bunch of bums and Matt Laporta.  Apparently the guy is a power hitting outfielder/first baseman, something we need, which is nice.
• All that said, it hurt a little bit last night to see CC in a new uniform.  I was a little to young to fully be demoralized by Manny, Thome, Belle, etc leave, but this is gonna suck without him.
• Onto the Tribe, they’ve lost 9 in a row and are a full 2 games back of the ROYALS.  And Sowers Patch Kids sucks.  Bad.
• Next year should be delightful as well.  Maybe they’ll be the team that’s supposed to finish 3-4th and surprises everyone.  Or not.

Ok here’s the question I want to ask you. 

Since the Indians have thrown in the towel for 2008, how would you feel if Tribal Pursuit transformed into a general baseball blog, with a hint of focus on the Tribe.

Nobody wants to read (or write) about a last place team, but people do want to read about baseball.  Is this OK with everyone?

I will still update about Indians news, the focus will just be a little bit broader than the Indians.

Agreed?

Apparently Mark Ecko has decided to unconditionally donate the ball.

(This isn’t the ball, but it has been confirmed that the ball has been branded with an asterisk).

I’m assuming it went something like this:

"Damn this team sucks.  I don’t even want to be in the clubhouse anymore.  Hey, wife, I think we should go to Europe for a couple weeks."

"But honey, don’t you have to pitch?  You’re actually pretty decent in the bullpen right now!"

"Babe, I’ll take care of it"

(Later on, in Mark Shapiro’s office)

"My grandma died".

Smart man, I’d get the hell away from this team too.

Alonso Fragoso, a young kid with a lung condition, chose to see the Indians play at home as his wish.

It is amazing to see how accommodating the club was, and how beneficial Alonso’s presence was at the game.

Let’s just say maybe they should sign him.  Check it out:

• Another Cliff Lee gem, it’s too bad he couldn’t have received his 12th win.
• The only praise I really have is that I expected that game to be blown when Rafael Betancourt was brought in the game.  At least Joe Blow wouldn’t have even been on the mound.
• Casey Clutch does it again, homering in the top of the 10th to give the Tribe the lead.  He should have saved us all time (and hope) and just grounded out.
• As Hammer on 850 said this morning, the skinniest man in the history of MLB homered off Borowski.  Seriously he can’t weigh much more than my dog.
• Seriously, was there one person who DIDN’T think Orlando Cabrera was gonna drive in that other guy I’ve never heard of?

Mark Ecko is the owner, and last year he held an online poll asking fans whether it should be burned with an asterisk, donated to the Hall of Fame, or shot into space.

Fans voted for the asterisk.  It has not been reported on whether or not it now has an asterisk.

The Hall is saying that Ecko is no longer willing to donate it, but wants to be compensated, and that is their reason for not accepting it.

Do you believe them?  Or do you think they don’t want the ball due to the steroid implications?

I think they should take it.  Sure it might be tainted, but regardless it is a piece of baseball history.  Isn’t that what the Hall of Fame is?  A museum for the history of baseball?

I know it isn’t exactly that, but that is how all people who visit it think of it as, in my opinion.

Of course, it’s this one:

Well if they did this more often, I’m sure they’d get some people tuning in.

(Hint:  It’s not winning.  But that could get people to watch too.)

Duh.

Of course he likes him the way they are now.  They stink.  Why would he want them any other way than they are now?

Here’s what he said to cleveland.com:

"Every time we face each other, it’s a pretty good baseball game," said Guillen. "If they think they’re going to break them up, I don’t know. I don’t think they should. I’m not the general manager, but they still have a lot of talent out there."

I wish the White Sox were like the team they were last year, along with Detroit, Minnesota, and Kansas City (can’t believe I just included KC in that).

Too bad he couldn’t hit for the first 3 months of the season, maybe we’d only be 8.5 games back!

Can you guys believe we are a game behind the ROYALS? 

Where will this season rank of all time disappointing teams if we finish in last place behind the laughingstock of MLB?

On ESPN 850, Munch says they have to go AT LEAST 6-2 just to stay in the race. 

I don’t think they have a chance to go 6-2 against these teams with arguably the most broke ass lineup I’ve seen in years. 

Maybe they can go 4-4, but I even doubt that.  They need everyone to hit, and Andy Marte doesn’t seem like he’s gonna snap out of this anytime soon. 

Nobody is.  I am thisclose to losing all hope, and I just can’t see this team of scrubs possibly getting this done.

(Yes, I’m trying to give them bulletin board material).

Now, Manny Ramirez looked to follow suit.

Over the weekend, he pushed a Red Sox employee because he couldn’t get him the 16 tickets he had requested.

What did Manny say when the guy said he couldn’t get the tickets for him?

"Just do your job."

Sounds like a nice guy.  Or like Craig.  Either one.

This guy kind of did it.

Must be a Japanese thing.

• So when is C.C. gonna get traded?  9 1/2 out and tied with the Royals for last place.  I would’ve bet you $1M if you would’ve told me this is where we’d be on June 30th.  Yuck.
• On Mike and Mike in the Morning, they’ve reported that the C.C. deal could happen any day now, and Milwaukee is the favorite to get him.
• I was at a wedding Saturday with a bunch of Reds fans.  Wasn’t the best.
• At least Grady keeps going yard, at least he’s worth watching.  That catch on Friday night was sick.  Good thing we locked him last year.
• On my way to a cookout last night, the callers on ESPN 850 were already talking about TRADING CLIFF LEE.  How ridiculous is that?

I really thought that this weekend they could start turning this around.  It’s not over yet, but if they blow this stretch of division play, it is.  These next couple weeks will make or break the season.

When do you think C.C. will be gone, and where do you think he’s going?

According to a major-league executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing a player not on his team, the Cleveland Indians are making a last-ditch attempt to sign ace C.C. Sabathia to a contract extension before trading him. There are major obstacles to signing Sabathia. Negotiations halted in spring training, and Sabathia has said he does not want to work on a deal during the season. And the smaller-market Indians are not interested in matching Johan Santana’s $137.5 million, six-year contract with the Mets.

What do you think the chances of actually getting him back are?  Zero.  It might be a different story if they were running away with the division, but I don’t think C.C. is gonna take a hometown discount to stay on a last place team.

That sucks.

"Indians ace Lee strikes out career-high 11 to earn win No. 11"

It might be a little short sighted, but definitely true.

Way to be a leader CBS!

Just the other day, an umpire in Kansas City had to leave the game because he was hit with the piece of a maple bat.

I just read yesterday in ESPN magazine that in 2001, Barry Bonds started this trend, because he thought he could make better contact with the maple bat.  Later on in the article, a study found that wasn’t true.

What do you guys think of this?  Should they be banned?  Is everybody overreacting?

• Well, Cliff Lee came through again, pitching a dominant game en route to his 11th victory.  His most impressive statistic is that he is 8-1 after a Tribe loss. 
• Who would’ve thought Jamey Carroll would be our RBI man?  Who would’ve thought a guy who looks like he should be ringing up your groceries would be hitting .429 in the last 15 games?
• Is it just me and Craig, or does Ryan Garko pop out to the infield/shallow outfield an awful lot?
• I wish this weekend were being played in Cincinnati.  At least then we could get another big bat in the lineup.  You know, C.C.
• I can’t believe how bad Omar is hitting this year.  .165?  Hey, he could still start for us!

I know I sound negative, and even though they won, I’m even starting to lose faith.  Help me restore it.

It’s an article of a guy ripping his fantasy baseball team to the media (I fully expect Craig to do this on the paper’s future Browns blog).

Here are a couple of excerpts:

Mark Mendicus, 26-year-old Staples employee and principal owner of the fantasy baseball team Beat With Uggla Stick, blasted his underperforming team in the media Monday, going so far as to single out individual players, criticize their recent play, and question their commitment to winning.

"They all suck," a visibly frustrated Mendicus told reporters following Beat With Uggla Stick’s head-to-head 8-2 loss to division rivals The Mark Currys. "[Alex] Rios sucks, Delmon [Young] sucks, Pedro [Martinez] f***ing sucks. Everybody on my team sucks."

With his team already down 9-1 in this week’s matchup against Gary Sheffield’s Head Vein, Mendicus issued an ultimatum, claiming that unless his team delivers at least a tie, there will "be some changes around here." Mendicus said that "no one is safe," and had particularly strong words for pitcher Chris Young, who three weeks ago was hit in the face with a line drive and has not made a single start since.

"Toughen up, you little baby," Mendicus said. "You don’t throw with your face, do you? I already got Phil [Hughes] in the DL slot, so you better get your ass back in action."

It’s good that he cares," said Beat With Uggla Stick catcher Jorge Posada. "Some owners, like Garrett Baldwin of the Smilin’ Joe Randas, or Mike Broberg of Tiny Damon, they just sort of check in every once in a while to see how we’re doing, but that’s it. In fact, I’ve been on the Tiny Damon’s bench since I went on the DL in April, and they don’t even have anyone in the catcher slot. That’s just shoddy ownership."

"But there’s also a thing called caring too much," Posada added. "You can only be called a worthless shitbag after popping out so many times before it starts to sting. It’s at the point where playing for Mendicus is almost as bad as playing for Hank Steinbrenner.

If you don’t find that stuff funny, there’s something wrong with you.

You be the judge:

Just picture Sowers Patch Kids with that ratty facial hair he has now, and it’s perfect.

I usually don’t like the Tigers, but this is really funny.

Marty Cordova was burnt all over his body because he fell asleep in a tanning bed.

That one guy who I don’t know his name was hurt carrying groceries up steps.

Now we have Brandon Inge.  He was hurt by trying to put a pillow under is son’s head.

Here is what he said to the Detroit Free Press:

"I have a 3-year-old son who sleeps in the bed with my wife and me," Inge said. "I was trying to push the pillow down behind his head (two nights ago), and when I did … I repopped (the strained muscle).

And this coming from the supposed most athletic guy in baseball…

But that’s not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about what he did to his GM.  Basically he choke slammed him, kind of like the Undertaker, or his loser brother Kane.

Here is what Chacon said about the incident on espn.com:

"So at that point I lost my cool and I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. I jumped on top of him," he said. "Words were exchanged."

You know, kind of like this:

This guy makes Milton Bradley look like Mr. Rogers.

Here are my thoughts:

• As I mentioned above, we’re in last place.  But still only 7 1/2 out.  Forgive me for looking for positives here.
• Casey Blake playing short, Marte playing third, some other bum was in at short for a period of time.  Collectively I think they were 0-73 yesterday (and Marte for his lifetime).
• So do we call Asdrubal Cabrera back up?  He’s hitting .456 in Buffalo, so shouldn’t he get another shot?  Any other ideas?
• How come we don’t hit home runs anymore?  I think the last one I’ve actually seen was Ben Francisco sometime last week.
• Does this spell the end for everyone?  Does anyone think we can claw our way back up the AL Central?

• Laffey Taffy comes in with another solid outing, and has Betancourt blow it for him.  I’m sick of typing that sentence.
• I actually thought Shoppach was gonna get at least one run in the 9th to cross the plate.  Then I remembered he’s a member of the 2008 Cleveland Indians.  Silly me.
• I was eating wings with my buddy Jake last night, and nobody at the bar was even remotely interested in the Indians.  Are they fair weathered fans?  Or are they just disgusted?
• Anyone else ready for Browns season to start?
• If they don’t beat Barry Zito tonight, they might as well trade C.C. tomorrow.  Seriously

Sorry for the negative tone today, I’m really frustrated.  What do you guys think?

First, here’s Michael Vick’s (I will not make a dogfighting joke):

Then, there’s LeBron’s, bombing full court shots:

Now, Gatorade got in the mix.  Check out this video of a ball girl going all Spiderman on a foul ball:

I still say the Vick one is the best.

Well, apparently, Undrafted Free Agent feels the same way.  They have a post today titled "Sports Figures Living With Unfortunate Same Names".  Here’s what they say about Evan Longoria, and a nice picture for you guys to look at:

Evan Longoria vs. Notable Basketball Wife
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is one of baseball’s bright young stars. Still, whenever I hear his name, I think of this. I can’t be the only one.

No sir, you aren’t the only one.

Don’t get me wrong, Jamey Carroll is a nice little ball player, but probably not the ideal guy for the spot.

Remember a few years ago, when we had a blue chipper at 2nd base, and was actually the key to that whole Bartolo Colon trade?

Yeah.  That guy.  Brandon Phillips.  See the difference between him and our second basemen (or any infielder for that matter), is that he can hit.  He’s hitting .271 with 13 HR and 43 RBI.  Don’t forget to throw in his 13 SB.

On top of that, he makes plays like this.

Don’t call them crap.

Genius Jerry said this to the New York Post:

Manuel’s loose lips got him into trouble on Sunday when he took Met fans to task for booing underachieving reliever Aaron Heilman. "It’s very, very fertile ground for growth in Shea Stadium," he said. "It’s fertile ground for a team’s growth and development. Sometimes, fertile ground has fertilizer." But Shea fans weren’t happy when Manuel’s quotes hit the fan.

Personally, I think it’s kind of funny, and clever, but it’s something you say behind closed doors, not to a major metropolitan newspaper.

But it makes for good reading, that’s for sure.

Here’s how he sees it:

This is how I came up with the early Sabathia Sweepstakes rankings the other day: 1. Milwaukee; 2. Cubs; 3. Dodgers; 4. Rangers; 5. Red Sox. If Boston suffers any kind of a significant pitching injury to one of its mainstays, of course, that could change everything.

Really doesn’t seem like the national media thinks the Tribe has a chance this year…

From what he hears, they’re scouting the Yankees farm system for players they’d like to see.  Here’s what he said:

The Indians have begun scouting the Yankees’ system to see if they can find anything to interest them in case they decide to trade C.C. Sabathia. They have told teams they have to get better than the two draft choices they’d get if Sabathia left as a free agent. Sabathia, who’s likely just a rental pitcher (though a great one), is believed to be interested in a "Johan Santana contract.” Good luck there. Sabathia’s a nice kid and he’s lefthanded, but he should get into Johan Santana shape before anyone agrees to give him six years. The Dodgers, Red Sox, Phillies and Cubs also are believed to be interested.

There are gonna be a lot of unhappy people around here when they make this deal, because it doesn’t sound like any household names will be coming to Cleveland.

Be ready for about 3 months of bitching if this kind of deal happens.

I don’t think anybody will disagree that he is one of the all time most likeable guys in Tribe history, maybe even baseball history.

To commemorate this occasion, here is a video of him stealing home with the Giants:

• TWO extra inning victories?!?!?  Wow.  I always get a bad feeling in extra innings due to their pathetic clutch hitting, but Jhonny P of all people won it for us. 
• Eric Wedge must be delusional.  He wanted to commend JoBo for "keeping it a tie" on Friday night.  Why doesn’t he roast him for giving up two runs and making it a tie ball game?  He publicly criticized Betancourt for what seems like a lot less.
• I feel bad for Cliff Lee.  Should’ve had his 11th win, but the bullpen blew it for him.  Did I say bullpen?  Cuz I think I meant JoBo.
• C.C. Sabathia continues to show why he won’t be pitching for the Tribe next year, as he dominated.  Also, and I’m being serious here, would it be worth it to let him get a few swings at DH?  That HR he hit must be the furthest yet on the Tribe this year.
• Good old Paul Byrd gave up four runs to the first four batters in the game, then was still on the mound in the 7th.  He’s pumpin up his trade value!

What do you guys think the Tribe will do this week?  The good news is the CWS are struggggggling, but the Twins and Tigers are hot.  Anybody else think they still have a shot?

• Thought it started off well.  Grady beating out a ball to second base, then almost getting picked off and stealing second, then getting driven in on Ben Francisco’s two run homer.  Then that’s about it.  Sweet.
• How does this Willy Taveras get THREE infield singles?  Is that some kind of record?
• Jhonny Peralta stinks.  He can’t go to his right to save his life, and can’t really go to his left either.  Good thing he’s our starting shortstop.
• Mark Shapiro was on ESPN 850 WKNR, and Kenny Roda asked him to identify the core of this team.  He mentioned Grady, Francisco, Westbrook, Carmona, Laffey Taffy, and Victor.  Notice no C.C., Pronk, or Jhonny?  All of whom were THE core two years ago? 
• Previous statement was Shapiro’s way of telling the fans "there’s no freakin way we can get C.C. back".

Here’s how I see the rest of this season playing out.  They’re gonna keep playing like garbage for awhile, to the point where they’re 12-14 games back.  Then in late July, early August, they’ll get hot, and maybe cut the lead back to 3-4, getting all of our hopes up.  Then we’ll be let down.

Just like 2005.  And it’s gonna suck.

Dan (Buffalo, NY): Steve, the Indians are done, right? Any chance they can trade some pieces other than Sabathia for Holliday or Atkins?

He replied (being the great and professional analyst he is) buy absolutely butchering almost everyone’s name in the answer:

Steve Phillips: I’m not ready to give up on them just yet, but I have serious doubts as to whether they can get back in the race. The only way they have a shot at Atkns or Holliday is if they are willing to trade a guy like Carmona or Cliff Lee or Grady Sizemore. I’m not sure that guys like Sowers or Laffee are good enough to be the lead pieces in a big deal for either of the bats in Colorado.

Maybe that’s why the Mets didn’t want him as their GM anymore:

When Jose Reyes had a sore hamstring, he pulled him from the game.  When Reyes disagreed, he flipped out and threw his helmet and had a mini tantrum.

This is what Manuel said in response:

I told him next time he does that I’m going to get my blade out and cut him. I’m a gangster. You go gangster on me, I’m going to have to get you. You do that again, I’m going to cut you right on the field," quipped Manuel.

Yikes…

Jamey Carroll shows up on the list.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Carroll was a personal favorite of Frank Robinson in Washington, and Jose Guillen once called him the most intelligent player he’s ever seen. He’s 12-for-14 in stolen base attempts the last two seasons, and he’s averaged 4.12 pitches per plate appearance in his career.

It didn’t surprise me that people think he’s a smart player, because he’s definitely a guy who got here with his brains, not his pure athletic ability.

It did surprise me he was in the article though.

• Another day, another couple scrubs that are the key to beating the Tribe.  Jeff "Inside the Park HR" Baker goes yard again.  How come our scrubs don’t do cool stuff like that?  Ours just strike out.
• Congratulations to Laffey Taffy, who gets his first career hit.  I wish he would’ve given up a couple less hits.
• More great news on the Indians front…Fausto Carmona experienced discomfort in his hip and he’ll be shut down for another three days!  Awesome!
• Isn’t it funny that Travis Hafner is also suffering setbacks in his rehab and nobody cares?
• I just hope they at least get the win tonight, I’m no expert, but I don’t think starting a road trip by getting swept is the best idea.
• Oh yeah, now we’re officially behind the Tigers!!!!

Now read this story by Rick Reilly and watch it again.

That’s pretty messed up.

And don’t give me this "he’s so competitive, it finally happened for him blah blah", this is the second weirdest dude to ever win a championship, besides Joakim Noah at Florida.

(Note:  How pissed off would you be if you were a Minnesota, and he says something like "this is for Minnesota"?  That’s like Manny winning the Series, and dedicating it to Cleveland.)

They’ve decided to put on a "Battle of the Bands".  Yes, "Baseball Tonight" is hosting a musical contest.

The best part?  It’s bands competing to see who can sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the most original, and entertaining way possible.

This could be, and probably is, the dumbest idea anybody could ever think of.  Ever.

The Sporting Blog feels the same way I do.

By the way…did you know Peter Gammons is a musician?

I’m surprised he’s not wearing a Red Sox hat.

Is Jamey Carroll the answer for us at 2nd base (at least for the rest of this season)?

Does Asdrubal Cabrera get called up in case of injury/fatigue?

What do you think they should do?

…kissing him?

• Bases loaded, no outs.  Strikeout, double play.  I like how we capitalized there.  Dangit.
• I hate inside the park home runs.  Or at least when they’re against the Tribe.
• Shin-Soo Choo is good.  If his line drive didn’t get caught, we score two.  He can hit.  I know Grady doesn’t want to move down in the lineup (or so he says), but doesn’t Choo seem more fitting for the leadoff position?
• Paul Byrd got rocked.  Why does Eric Wedge keep letting his Dad go out there and pitch?
• Has anybody else heard Jhonny Peralta’s lasik commercial?  If I were the company that performed it, I would not let him do a radio testimonial.  It is ridiculous, and hilarious.

His numbers haven’t been the best, but it’s this story that makes this dude tough.

Let’s hope he gets a few more of those for us…

My favorite?  "(Unnecessary ACL) Operation"

• David Ortiz, BOS
• Jason Varitek, BOS
• Manny Ramirez, BOS
• Dustin Perdroia, BOS
• Kevin Youkilis, BOS
• Alex Rodriguez, NYY
• Derek Jeter, NYY
• Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
• Josh Hamilton, TEX

Yep.  7 of the 9 leading vote getters (also: starters) are from the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees.

Grady is the only Indian among vote getters, at 12th.

Here is what he had so say about the National League, from Newsday:

My only message is simple: The National League needs to join the 21st century," Steinbrenner said. "They need to grow up and join the 21st century. I’ve got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He’s going to be out. I don’t like that, and it’s about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s.

The funny thing was, on "Baseball Tonight", Buster Olney corrected him, stating the DH rule went into effect in 1973.

But the question is:  where would he go?

While watching "Baseball Tonight" yesterday, they’re saying that the Yankees might not be a realistic destination, because the Indians are going to be looking to make a move similar to the Johan Santana deal, and Brian Cashman wouldn’t do that because he doesn’t want to part with prime prospects.

So where does he go?

Or does he stay, and do we actually make it to the playoffs after this horrendous start?

As expected, Cliff Lee is the only Indian.

What, no Rafael Betancourt?  Someone representing the bullpen? 

Oh yeah, it isn’t good.  Nevermind.

After their sweep of the Dodgers, they have won six straight games, and seem to be out of their season long hitting slump.

They’re hitting .345, averaging 5.8 runs per game, and hit 8 home runs over that span.

Is this the time where the Tribe and Tigers start fighting for the division as everyone expected?

• So did anyone else yesterday think once C.C. stepped off the mound after the 7th that the Tribe was in trouble?  This bullpen is terribly scary.
• So I guess all it took was to put like the five highest paid players and get them on the DL to start hitting. 
• Grady is on pace for about 40 bombs this year…think about the HR and RBI if he wasn’t hitting leadoff….
• Why not put Shin-Soo Choo in the leadoff spot?  It seems like he’s always getting on base.
• What is the record for number of grand slams given up by one relief corps?  We gotta be getting there.
• How long can the Tribe keep this up?  If the bats are hot, they’re one of the best teams in baseball in my opinion (except for the shoddy bullpen).
• Good thing Kelly Shoppach can hit for power, or else we might have had exactly zero HR from that position.

I’m back all day, leave comments and get some conversation going.

Josh Barfield has been placed on the DL as well, with a "long finger sprain" (apparently not middle finger).

Awesome.  Hope these bums from AAA that the radio guys couldn’t even pronounce can turn this team around!  Or not.  Probably not.

This really has nothing to do with that, but I want you guys to let me know if you think this thing is fake.

The video is from SI.com’s Hot Clicks, and it shows what happens to popcorn kernels when located at the center of four cell phones that are called simultaneously:

Their food stinks.  Literally.  Here is an excerpt from the "Truth and Rumors" MLB section on SI.com:

Fenway Park’s food stands flunked city health inspections on more than a dozen health and safety measurements on Red Sox opening day April 8, from storing food at unsafe temperatures to failing to clean food preparation counters. City inspectors discovered the violations, which were significant enough to pose a risk of food poisoning for patrons, even though they had found virtually the same set of problems in an examination more than a week earlier and demanded corrective action.

They probably all just think they’re throwing up from all the beer.

He didn’t take this news lightly.

In his mind, the best idea to address the situation was to storm out of the clubhouse, confront him, and possibly try to kill him.  We’re not talking about the most logical person here.  I’m guessing he looked something like this:

That being said, I wish we still had him, raging lunatic or not.

Victor Martinez?

No.

C.C. Sabathia?

No.

Rafael Betancourt?

No.

Travis Hafner?

DING DING DING DING!!!!

Here’s what he had to say:

DH — Travis Hafner, Indians (.217, 4, 22). Former star has absolutely killed Cleveland (as has much of their lineup). The Tigers’ Gary Sheffield (.213, 3, 12) gets dishonorable mention.

Hey, at least he kind of shared the award…

• Paul Byrd stinks.  He said it was "like a pinball" machine out there, because baseballs were flying all over the place.  Time to call that dentist again, Paulie.
• Victor has an inflamed elbow, and left the game in the first.  So now he has a bum elbow and hammy.  At least we still have Kelly Shoppach, who has 3 more home runs than Victor in 118 less at bats.
• Barfield could also be heading to the DL if he can’t grip a bat in the next couple days.  Welcome back Asdrubal!
• While golfing with my dude Po yesterday, he thinks that Paul Byrd was supplying the team with HGH last year, and this is why they’re falling victim to these ticky tack injuries.  I said no way at first, but no I’m thinking about it a little more…
• Speaking of HGH, why don’t they start doing it?  I know it’s "cheating" and "unethical", but they can’t test for it, they can’t get caught if they’re not caught buying it, and who knows if everyone else isn’t still doing it.  It’s worth a shot, right?

• The Indians are five games under .500 and 7 1/2 out of first;

or

• Victor Martinez hasn’t hit a home run yet?

An article on espn.com’s MLB page right now focuses on some of the players with power outages this year.  Here’s an excerpt from the entry on Victor, and he doesn’t seem to worry, or maybe even care:

Martinez told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he’s not troubled by his power outage. "I always say God does things for a reason," he said. "If I’m not going to hit a homer the whole year, I’m going to make sure I go out there and give my best."

Is it because he’s playing hurt, or is this just a LONG string of bad luck?

The last time it was done, it was a period in time where baseball still looked like this:

So you know it’s been a while.

Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967, when he hit .326 (THAT won it?!?!), with 46 HR and 121 RBI.

That is almost 40 FREAKING YEARS AGO.  I thought Barry Bonds had the best shot in the ‘02-’04 seasons, and the best bet nowadays is probably Albert Pujols….but do you think it will ever happen again?

I can’t decide.

• Still think it’s time to trade C.C.?  We have to remember it’s JUNE, and there’s a lot of baseball to play.  Three years ago the Indians chopped a 15 game lead to 1 in about 3 weeks.  So it sucks now, but it’s not time to give up on the season.
• So when do we call Asdrubal back up?  Barfield goes out with a strained finger.  Not that he’s been tearing it up, but I feel more comfortable with Barfield in the lineup now than Cabrera.
• Garko is staying hot, which is nice.
• I still maintain I don’t like the Indians scoring in the first inning.  I know that sounds completely backwards, but whenever they score early, they don’t score after it.  But if they didn’t score then, they probably would score at all.  Awesome.
• Only one game back of second place!
• Is it just me, or should Eric Wedge go on a public tirade a la Ozzie Guillen?  Sure, he gets blasted in the media for it, but his players sure do react to it.  Plus it would give me something to write about.

This article from ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian talks about how freakin’ sweet "The Kid" was after he was drafted, and how everyone knew he was something special.

(Remember how much less this card was worth than the Upper Deck rookie card?)

Here are a couple excerpts:

I’ve seen it before when a No. 1 draft pick comes to the big club right after he’s drafted, and the kid is nervous, he gets in the cage, pops up a bunch of balls, swings and misses at a couple because he’s trying to hit it so high and so far because he doesn’t feel like he belongs," said Scott Bradley, who is Princeton’s baseball coach, and a former teammate of Griffey during 1989-92. "That wasn’t the case with Junior. He got in the cage, and he was kind of carrying on a conversation with the media while he was hitting. The first 25 swings, he just hit line drives to left field. He didn’t overswing one time. Then he hit balls up the middle. Then he took a break, came back loose, and started hitting balls into the seats. I looked at [veteran Mariners] Harold Reynolds and Alvin Davis and said, ‘It looks like he belongs.’

When he came to camp in 1989, he had no chance to make the team," Bradley said. "But he got a lot of at-bats early that spring because a lot of veterans don’t like to play a lot early. After 20 games, he wasn’t just the best player on our team, he was the best player in the league that spring. The Mariners basically said, ‘We don’t want this to happen, we don’t want to rush him, we don’t want him to make the team.’ So they started running him out there against every elite pitcher, against all the nastiest left-handers they could find in hopes that he would stop hitting, and they could send him out. It never happened

Griffey had the amazing ability for a young hitter to see, react and hit the breaking ball if it stayed in the strike zone for too long. As he grew as a hitter by developing his opposite field power and still maintaining his pull power, the huge home run seasons came. He was then the youngest player to reach 300, 350, 400 and 450 home runs. He was named to the All-Century team when he was 29 and he was named the Player of the Decade for the 1990s. When he was 31, he was a legitimate threat to break Hank Aaron’s record of 755 home runs. The projections were for 800 home runs, nothing could stop him

Man I wish he would’ve stayed healthy…

Maybe that billboard should say "Maybe It Is the Steroids", with a needle sticking out of his bicep.

Is it just me, or does Tom Glavine look like he’s roping the ball towards the end?  Also, Greg Maddux needs to lose those Egon glasses.

They’re not doing themselves any favors by trying to figure out what they need to do from here on out to turn this thing around.  Narrowing their focus might be something they need.

It’s like me with golf.  I can play really good, or really bad.  On Saturday with my dude Steve, I shot a +10 46 on the front, and a +1 37 on the back.  In golf you have to forget about the bad parts of your round for you to have any chance of succeeding later on.  If you continue to harp on the bad parts of your round (or your season), you’re not going to have any consistent success.

So Tribe, listen to me.  Don’t worry about yesterday.  Don’t worry how you haven’t hit the ball, or closed out games.  You can’t do anything about it now.  Worry about winning today.  Don’t worry about tomorrow, or how many of the next 10 you need to win.

Don’t look at the standings, don’t look at your stats.  Just play today.  Then worry about tomorrow.

On deadspin.com, they talk about how it is an insult to Griffey to say that "he did it the right way.  Here’s what they say about it:

Of all the praises of Griffey we hear, perhaps our least favorite is that he "did it the right way." The implication, of course, is that Griffey hit all his home runs without steroids, unlike Barry Bonds and (presumably) Sammy Sosa. This seems more an insult to Griffey than to the alleged users. Praising Griffey by denigrating others’ accomplishment doesn’t allow Griffey to stand on his own, turns him into a martyr rather than the upper echelon Hall of Famer he is. Griffey should not be defined by others. He should be defined by being one of the best pure baseball players we’ve ever seen.

I see their point, but I disagree.  Otherwise, you’re just lumping him in the same group as all of the "roiders, thus not allowing him to stand out of that pack.

Your thoughts?

And probably the 4th to do it without steroids.

Imagine how sick his numbers would be if he wouldn’t have been hurt for the majority of the last 5-7 years.

Again, congratulations for doing it the right way.

• Westbrook being out for the year puts the Tribe in a tough spot.  Sowers isn’t going to give you his production, and he looks like he’s 9.  At least Westbrook had a beard.
• How long are they going to keep running Betancourt out there?  Do they think he’s just gonna pitch out of it like a shooter shoots out of a slump in basketball?  That’s dumb if they think so.
• So 40% of our starters are on the DL, we have two guys who were in the minors last year taking their spots, and our ace is 3-8 with an ERA nearing 5.  Sweet.
• Oh yeah, three guys who got big deals (Hafner, Carmona, and Westbrook) are on the DL.
• Does it scare anybody else that with one more injury to a starter, Scott Elarton could be starting?  I have to give him credit, he has been a good reliever, but he can’t be starting.
• But hey, they scored 8 runs yesterday!  Sure, it was off of Dontrelle Willis, who pretty much looked like Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn at the beginning of Major League.

Lame.

Anything you guys care to talk about?

Not that there is great Indians news to talk about, except for a win yesterday off one of the biggest broke @$$ pitchers in baseball.

Oh yeah, and Westbrook out for the year.

There is something funny to talk about though:

A "source" within the Yankees dugout said that Roger Clemens used to keep Viagra in his locker.  ESPN reported that it doesn’t help you play baseball, but it did "increase endurance".  Wow.

(Note:  Keep commenting.  It’s cool when there is an ongoing conversation, even if it is about super heroes, nerds.  I’ll begin taking part again tomorrow.)

My favorite part is the end, where Jeter calls A-Rod a "f***ing loser".

I know they’ve been hitting the ball much better lately, but this can’t hurt:

Growing a mustache.  Just ask Jason Giambi.

I read this on a blog called sabrneighbor.com:

No one can be certain as to when the first whiskers sprouted on Giambi’s upper lip but since May 15th Giambi has hit 21/54 for a .388 batting average with 5 homeruns and 11 RBI.

It can’t hurt, right?

(Also, doesn’t he kind of look like A.J. Soprano?)

Hurry up and watch it before MLB pulls it off YouTube:

The Tribe drafted some dude named Lonnie Chisenhall with the 29th overall pick in the draft yesterday.

Here is an excerpt from Chris Assenheimer’s article in the Chronicle today:

What made the pick even more peculiar is that the Indians, who strongly value character in their players, chose one with past issues in the department. Chisenhall was at community college this year because he was dismissed from the University of South Carolina after being arrested on burglary and grand larceny charges during his freshman season with the Gamecocks in 2007.

GRAND LARCENY? Hey-soos.  They claim it was a "one time thing", and not part of his overall character.

It’s not like the dude got a speeding ticket, or parked in a handicap spot.  I don’t get it.

• Grady doubles, "How You Doin’" doubles, get four in the first, and we lose by five.  Awesome.
• I will forever maintain that I am very uncomfortable when the Indians score in the first inning.  Everytime they do, they’re done scoring.  I hate it.
• Does Milton Bradley go yard every game?  Sure seems like it.
• So Rafael Betancourt is pretty good.  It’s awesome when your shut down reliever has an ERA of 6.12.
• Everybody but Victor, Jamey Carroll, and Casey Blake struck out.  Cool. 
• It’s pretty crazy that C.C. is 3-8 with an ERA of 4.81.  I know those numbers are inflated due to his slow start, but usually in a contract year you expect the opposite.

What do you guys think about the Tribe?  Do you even like watching them?  Wish the CAVS were still playing?  Wish it was Browns season?

You think the White Sox have trouble scoring? Sheesh, the Indians hit just .218 for the entire month of May. They’ve already played 30 games in which they scored three runs or fewer. (They only did that 56 times all last year.) And their rotation injuries might make it impossible for them to deal a starting pitcher for an impact bat. "They’ve got problems," said one scout. "[Victor] Martinez is playing hurt. Asdrubal Cabrera hasn’t done anything. Casey Blake is really just a bench player. And [Ryan] Garko and Hafner aren’t hitting a lick. Their whole lineup is scuffling at once. And they don’t have enough pitching to overcome all that.

They obviously wrote this before Casey Blake arrived!  Just kidding.  He’s just a good clubhouse bench guy.

Sweet beard though.

Brandon Inge.

In an article on espn.com in which athletes voted on who sports’ best athlete was (LeBron James received the most votes), this is what Grady had to say:

"How many guys are great defensive catchers, third basemen and centerfielders at the major league level? From what I hear, he has also kicked 50-yard field goals at Ford Field and can hit a golf ball almost 300 yards. Plus, the man has the biggest calves I’ve ever seen." -Grady Sizemore, Indians

I would’ve probably named at least 100 players if you wanted me to guess who Grady thought was the most athletic.

Maybe these AL Central boys just stick together.

I didn’t realize the majority of these episodes happen in Boston.

Check out this guy basically getting checked over the wall:

Here are some snippets:

Accounts vary as to the volume proffered — 8 ounces? 10? 12? — but the price was certain enough: 10 cents per cup. Fans — and we shall use this term for lack of a better one — could buy up to six cups at a time, with no system in place to prevent a designated mule from purchasing a full complement, handing them off to underage clients, and returning for more.

Through deliberate coordination or spontaneous groupthink, hundreds of fans showed up with pockets full of firecrackers. Anonymous explosions peppered the stands from the first pitch, lending the game a war-zone ambiance that would seem increasingly appropriate. Though it is not clear whether this impromptu celebration cost anyone a finger or hand, an uneasy je ne sais quoi settled into the stadium along with clouds of exploded gunpowder and marijuana smoke.

When Grieve hit his second home run in the fourth inning, he had not yet rounded third base when a man — entirely naked — ran onto the field and slid into second, probably getting dirt in places unsuitable for speculation. In the fifth inning, two men in the outfield got into the act, jumping the wall and mooning the Rangers’ outfielders. The players watched, hands on hips, shaking their heads as park security chased one hooligan after another across the diamond.

The jovial, frolicking nudists had disappeared. The mob that replaced them kept its clothes on and brandished an arsenal that made Martin’s Louisville Slugger look like a child’s toy. The Rangers manager spotted people wielding chains, knives and clubs fashioned from pieces of stadium seats. The 25 Texas players quickly found themselves surrounded by 200 angry drunks, and more were tumbling over the wall onto the field. The Texas Rangers had been ambushed.

That sounds crazy…these drunk dudes were fashioning shanks out of bleacher seats?  Naked people sliding into second?  Firecrackers being thrown into bullpens?  Chugging beers and smoking weed?  Yikes.

When they decided to kiss, like a lot of couples do at games, an usher basically told the women to "tone it down", because it was making another fan uncomfortable.

This has obviously sparked a huge controversy in Seattle.

What do you guys think about all of this?

I got to the office this morning with this email from Craig, asking my opinion of this lineup:

Choo

Garko

Sizemore

Francisco

Martinez

Peralta

Blake

Gute/Delluci

Barfield - if ass-dribble is hurt

I really like it, but I’m not sure about Garko batting second.  I think Choo might be ideal in the leadoff spot.  He seems to put the ball in play, get on base, and he has some speed. 

This would bury "How You Doin’" and Gutierrez (as they should be), actually have a guy who can go deep hitting cleanup, and give Barfield/Ass-Dribble a low pressure situation to hit in.

Your guys’ thoughts?

• Who would’ve thought Ryan Garko had a four hit game in him?  In all honesty, I probably haven’t actually SEEN him get a hit in about a month.
• Benny Francisco with a huge five hit game, increasing his average to a sizzling .343.  While I was golfing with my friend Po yesterday, we were talking about how he’s the only guy on the team that swings at the first pitch, ever.  Po responded by saying he looks like the only dude who wants to get a hit.  I agree.
• We’re finally seeing the 25-30 HR Grady that we’ve been hearing about for a couple years.  He’s been killing the ball for the last couple weeks.
• You gotta love the poor man’s Ichiro, Shin-Soo Choo.  He’s had a couple big hits for us the last couple games.  Must be that double eared helmet (is he a switch hitter?  Why does he have that lame helmet?).
• What are the chances they take three of four with a lot of momentum going into Detroit?

Ok I’m really gonna post all day, keep coming back.

I thought a seminar I was in this morning was only gonna last an hour, but it led right into a retirement luncheon I had to go to.

Now I am off to my golf league.

I’ll be back full force tomorrow with new posts, as well as responding and taking part in the conversations in the comments.

Also, underpar, this contest will actually have a winner!

I have a new contest though. 

Leave a comment and let me know when you think Victor Martinez will hit his first HR, and the person who guesses the date (or is the closest), will get two tickets to a future game.

So leave your guess, and I’ll give you the tickets.

They took a shot at Casey Blake, and I thought it was amusing:

"Casey Blake knocked in seven runs and went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers — to raise or lower? — Raise his batting average to, yeesh, .236."

(By the way…why did they stop with the pies?  I know it was pretty corny, but the Tribe had a lot of luck in the late innings in ‘07, so it can’t hurt)

I’m guessing they got the idea to do it from the 1985 Chicago Bears’ famous "Super Bowl Shuffle". 

At least the Bears won the Super Bowl.  I’m pretty sure the "Baseball Boogie" video is the exact reason why the Dodgers didn’t.

That being said, if there is anything the Tribe has a surplus of, it is at starting pitching, and we all know they need a bat.

In comes Matt Holliday.  He has a friendly-ish contract right now, and isn’t eligible for free agency until after next year.  He has been a Silver Slugger in each of the past two years, and although he is on the DL now, his numbers are still pretty good.

Do we trade Laffey for him?

Craig and I have been emailing back and forth, and he says yes.  Colorado might be willing to deal him because of their fears of not being able to re-sign him, and he could be the bat that gets us back on track.

I agree.  What do you guys think?

Back in March, he recanted his previous statements by saying he probably wouldn’t have caught the ball:

"Everywhere I play, even now, people still yell, ‘Bartman! Bartman!’ I feel really bad," Litke quoted Alou as saying in March. "You know what the funny thing is? I wouldn’t have caught it anyway".

Bartman had to feel pretty good, that is, until he read this today on espn.com:

"I don’t remember that,” he said, according to the Post. "If I said that, I was probably joking to make [Bartman] feel better. But I don’t remember saying that."

What an idiot.  He doesn’t remember saying it?  What the hell does that mean?  Was he hammered?  I hate him, he’s a jerk.

Jeremy Sowers, right? 

Can’t do it.  He pitched Sunday, so he can’t go tonight.

It’s gonna be Tom Mastny.  But only expect him for a couple innings.  Jensen Lewis is being called up, and he’ll go a few.  Then probably Scott Elarton, then the back end of the bullpen.

Tonight is obviously going to be a very interesting game, I suggest you watch tonight at 8:05.

Last night might change that mentality.

Casey Blake, along with Chase Utley and Yunel Escobar, hit home runs on a 3-0 count.

I do it all the time in "The Show", maybe MLBers should start doing it in real life.

Baseball fans know his story.  He was THE next big thing, a natural 5-tool player.  The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were lucky enough to take him number one overall in 1999, but he never played a game for them.

Early in his career, he was injured.  And that started his downward spiral.  He then started using drugs, and I mean the hard stuff.  He formed a crack addiction, and in addition to that, he was using cocaine everyday, and drinking a bottle of Crown Royal.

His wife kicked him out of the house, and he moved in with his grandmother.  There were nights he woke up sweating, and actually climbed into bed with her as a safe haven.

The story he told Jim Rome last week was heartbreaking.  He realized how terrible his life was when one day he woke up in a trailer in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of dirtball junkies and not remembering how he got there, and having to call his wife and begging her to come pick him up.

Last year, after trying his hardest to get clean, the Cincinnati Reds acquired him when the Devil Rays didn’t protect him.  He was a solid player last year, hitting .292 with 19 HR and 47 RBI in 292 at bats.  He was traded to the Texas Rangers this winter.

Now he’s a Triple Crown candidate, leading the AL in batting average (.331), HR (16), and RBI (65), and the best story in baseball.

This dude is this good, and he flat out didn’t play for 3 years, steps back on the diamond, and is now dominating, I mean KILLING it.  Amazing.

• I feel very happy for Josh Hamilton (I’ll cover that in a post later on today).
• CASEY CLUTCH!  I was really rooting for him to get 10 RBI, however unlikely it would be.  I really liked seeing him go to opposite field twice.
• I noticed one thing that the Tribe hasn’t done all year:  scoring runs after being ahead.  I’ll be honest, when Texas tied it at 8, I had a bad feeling about the game.  Then Benny Francisco goes yahd, and "How You Doin’" seals the deal. 
• Laffey got roughed up, but it had to come at some point.  Luckily, this is the first game he’s really gotten any support, and it came when he needed it.
• I was texting back and forth with Craig last night about Jhonny.  I feel he is probably the most limited and worst fielding SS in MLB.  Craig likes his bat, doesn’t love his glove, and points out he doesn’t have the power to be a DH.  Seems like a problem.  Did have 3 hits though.
• STO needs to hold off their "This Tribe Is Amazing" promotional spots indefinitely.  It’s almost a joke to have those ads running now.
• And please somebody tell Ryan Garko to stop swinging out of his shoes every pitch.

Well I’m actually in a good mood today, hopefully the Tribe can keep this up.  Keep coming back all day for updates.

However, the person in this video probably was drunk.  Watch him get leveled as he is running across the field:

So you can imagine how excited I was when my dude Bryan told me this was coming out (warning–video contains some strong language and graphic material):

Even better news….it comes out tomorrow on DVD.

There are numerous quotes in there from Indians players saying stuff like "it’ll get better", and "it’ll all even out, we’ll start hitting!".

Now I think it’s great they believe that, but not one player said they’re gonna work harder, change their approach, watch some tape, etc. 

They’re just saying "dudes, we’ll come around, just wait and see".

Ryan Garko said that "numbers are numbers, and they’re bound to even out".  Numbers aren’t just numbers.  The numbers show your poor performance.

And what does he mean even out?  So he thinks they’re gonna be knocking the cover off the ball like in "The Sandlot"?

I just wrote that last part as an excuse to post a video from "The Sandlot":

Well look how freakin’ sweet Babe Ruth was in the 1920’s:

1920    .376    54(HR)   137(RBI)   158(Runs)

1921    .378    59    171    177

1922    .315    35      99    94    (110 games)

1923    .393    41    131    151   

1924    .378    46    121    143   

1925    .290    25      66    61    (98 games)

1926    .372    47    146    139   

1927    .356    60    164    158   

1928    .323    54    142    163

1929    .345    46    154    121

1930    .359    49    153    150   

1931    .373    46    163    149   

1932    .341    41    137    120   

His corpse could probably hit better than the Tribe right now.

At what point do the Indians start thinking about trading C.C.?

What could they realistically get for him?

In my opinion, you don’t trade C.C. unless they are something like 10 games back.  It’s not like you can trade him for Lance Berkman or Manny Ramirez, so why bother unless you’re certain you’re not going anywhere this year?

What do you think?

• Since when does it take two Grady home runs, and a running catch in the bottom of the 9th just to beat the Royals?  I never thought it would come to this.
• Our boy JoBo is back.  Granted, Raffy and Kobayashi haven’t exactly locked down the job, but anyone is better than him. 
• Doesn’t it suck that if you turn on the game and the Tribe is down, you know they’re not gonna come back and win it?  I got home yesterday, turned it on, they were down four or something, so I just turned it off and took a nap.
• Well at least Grady found his power stroke.  Three HR in this series is pretty chill.
• Maybe they should hire Al Pacino as their coach to give pregame speeches like in "Any Given Sunday".  Or hire him as the devil in "Devil’s Advocate", and we can make a deal with him.  We’ll just sacrifice Pronk.
• I guarantee the Tribe starts winning if they get pregame speeches like this (warning–contains very strong language):

Well I’ll be back posting all day, let me know your thoughts the Tribe and whether or not we should keep watching them.

At least it seemed like it when he was doing it. 

The bullpen is in shambles, our "big bat" pretty much sucks, and there still isn’t a true leadoff hitter on the roster so Grady can hit where he truly should.

I was interested when I heard he was gonna be on 850 yesterday, so I could hear what