Friday, June 20, 2008

Season Swept Away

This may be the defining series of an extremely disappointing and frustrating year for the Tribe. The Rockies completed the sweep of our Indians with a 6-3 win last night in Denver. Jeremy Sowers wasn't very sharp and didn't get much support anyway. And the bullpen then gave us no chance, and they really haven't all season long. This isn't what I had in mind when I bought season tickets (20-game plan) last October.

The Rockies completed the sweep on Thursday night

The team surely won't admit it, but even they have to know it's time to blow this thing up. Start the fire sale now. Terry Pluto agrees with me. I've been saying for a while that Paul Byrd will surely have to go. That's a no-brainer. But now I'm fully on board with trading CC Sabathia as well. Honestly, the only pitchers I wouldn't deal at this point are Aaron Laffey, Fausto Carmona, and Cliff Lee. The rest can be had for the right prospects. It will be interesting to see how this plays out but I have faith in Mr. Shapiro.

Tribe Notes: The Tribe did some shuffling in the wake of Victor Martinez's elbow surgery. They acquired veteran catcher Sal Fasano from the Braves, the the ever popular player-to-be-named-later. They also sent catcher Yamid Haad back down to the minors before he ever played in a game. Oh, and Jason Micheals is batting .279 in Pittsburgh with 5 doubles, 3 HR, and 22 RBI since being traded there. Of course he is. And finally, who knows when Travis Hafner will be back? Your guess is as good as mine.

Cavs Update: Brian Windhorst makes his triumphant blogging return (well, for me at least) and gives us the lowdown on the recent Anderson Varejao trade rumors. I look forward to hearing more from BW over the next week in anticipation of the draft next Thursday.

6 comments:

sportsgirl132 said...

Brian Windhorst is excellent. We 're lucky to have him doing the Cavs thing.

Hey..sorry about the tickets but I'm sure you can still enjoy a nice day or evening down at Progressive Field. Tell you what, Losers or not, I MISS being able to go to the ballpark. Safeco is nice but it isn't home.

I think the only good thing about the wheels coming off so early is that we KNOW where we stand this year. Now I can feel OK with not being glued to the PC watching every pitch count when I can be doing something a little more constructive. No guilt now with just checking a few times throughout a game. Maybe that sounds bad- but in reality, I'm super busy.

The only worry I have is getting a good deal for Sabathia and some of the others. Personally, I don't want Shapiro to try to sell us on a .260 nobody that he thinks MIGHT have potential. The Indians spend far too much time shooting in a barrel. Bargains are nice but sometimes you need a little established talent. I think that's the reason they come close ( like last year) and then fail. It's like they buy a bunch of cheap cars and expect at least a few of them to surprise the world and perform like a Ferrari. Unrealistic expectations. Welcome to Cleveland.

chiefwahoo56 said...

Yeah, I probably do take it for granted being able to go to Progressive Field whenever. I've been to a few other parks (Cincy, Detroit, St. Louis, San Fran, Oakland, NYY) and I still like it the best. Probably because I'm such a homer, but it has a certain charm.

Trust in Shapiro sportsgirl... he's done a heck of a job keeping us competitive on a tight budget. I expect it to continue and with us being sellers soon, we will get some really good young talent in return. It's just a matter of finding the right mix of guys to get it done on the field.

sportsgirl132 said...

Wow...you're a travelin' man.

OK..I have been to Skydome , Camden Yards, Safeco, Wrigley, and the old Tigers' dump (the name escapes me at present).
Being honest, I LOVED the old stadium. Grew up there with my dad and brother. I cried when they tore it down--it was like losing a family member. Progressive Field is really nice ( although I despise what Progressive did to all those employees right before they bought the naming rights). It's just different, ya know?

Camden Yards is actually my favorite of the newer parks. It's got a charm that defies description. Wrigley is kinda cool too--those fans are serious. I respect that.

I wish I had more faith in sports but I think this last year watching all the Boston crap has me feeling on the ropes and beleagured. At this point I'd rather see anyone win--even the Yankees . Incidentally, How was Yankee Stadium? I wanted to go there but never made it.
The new place should be insane.

I have a friend who is a Cowboys and Yankees fan ( no...not LeBron James). Man, his teams will be playing in style.

chiefwahoo56 said...

Yankee Stadium was decent. Kinda big for my taste, but the fans around us were actually very nice and didn't give us crap for rooting for the Tribe. And there were a couple nice bars around there that we hit.

I would also love to hit Camden Yards someday too. It looks like it is a pretty nice place. And of course I too loved the old stadium here in town. But I was a senior in high school when the Jake debuted, so all my memories of going to the games independently are from that era.

I forgot to mention that I've also been to PNC Park in Pittsburgh. That place is actually very nice and I will definitely go back there. The river setting is pretty sweet.

You have a friend that is a Yanks and Cowboys fan??? That just screams front-runner! Ugh. (no offense to him/her personally)

sportsgirl132 said...

PNC does sound nice. Heinz Field ( as least the playing surface) looks like garbage though.

I had thoughts that my NY friend was a frontrunner UNTIL I found out that he is a huge Nets fan. So there ya go.
Seriously, he thinks the Nets will sign James. He LOVES James. He'll be simply insufferable if it happens!

Now watch it buddy! You're not THAT much younger than me.--LOL---
I started watching the Indians when I was 8...actually, we listened to the games a lot at first and then started going down to the old park.

But get this--my husband is NOT a sports fan. Not even close. It's weird. We have nothing in common--but he's rich so that makes him automatically compatible (LOL--I'm kidding ). Hey--I figure there's at least one person I can beat at fantasy sports.

Have a good one,
Cindy

chiefwahoo56 said...

How the heck did a girl like you end up with a husband that's not a sports fan?!?! I would have thought that was a prerequisite for you...