40 Days Left

Only 40 days left until sports enjoyment can officially resume in Cleveland. Or at least that's what I'm hoping. But until the Browns begin their season on September 7th, we're probably going to have to deal with a few more bad weekends like the one the Tribe had this past weekend. And in what seems like typical fashion this season, I tuned in just in time to see the bad stuff and missed the few good things that did happen.

On Friday I skipped the entire Indians game (in favor of the outstanding Foo Fighters show at the Q) and missed the lone victory of the series, a 5-4 triumph over the Twins. In that game Cliff Lee notched his 14th victory (even if Masa Kobayashi did his best to try to ruin things) and dropped his ERA to a stellar 2.29. The win also marked the Tribe's first division win in 8 tries. Ouch.

So feeling better about the team's recent play and with not much else to do while burning the summer away (it's going WAY too fast) I attended the game on Saturday, eager to see Fausto Carmona's return to the rotation. Well, it didn't last long and it was brutally painful. 2-1/3 innings pitched, 7 hits, 3 walks, and 9 earned runs are all you need to know about the 11-4 loss. I guess this sort of thing should be expected when a guy returns after being out that long. But with the way this season has gone for the Tribe I half-expect Fausto to be put back on the DL for the rest of the year...

Then yesterday's game... I forgot they were even playing and was out and about yesterday when my wife reminded me to flip on the radio as we were driving. Just as I tuned to 1100 AM I hear Tom Hamilton say, "and Sowers has gone 5 perfect innings", and right then I knew it was over. Of course the next Twins batter hit a double and it was all downhill from that point. The Indians ended up losing 4-2 after Justin Morneau got the game-winning RBI off closer candidate #956, Rafael Perez. By the way, Morneau is now hitting .350 against the Tribe this year with 7 extra base hits and 10 RBI. Yikes. Like I said, only 40 more days until Browns football.

All Tribe fans should rejoice now that this man has left town

Other Tribe Updates: Well, Casey Blake was finally dealt on Saturday. That one was bittersweet for me. I love what Blake has done this year and appreciated all his hard work over the years. I wish him nothing but success wherever his career takes him. He ended up going to the Dodgers in exchange for right-hander Jonathan Meloan and catcher Carlos Santana (maybe he will prove to be a better guitar player than Ben Broussard?). In another minor deal, the Tribe acquired pitching prospect Anthony Reyes for hard-throwing right-hander, Luis Perdomo. Terry Pluto calls the deal a "decent gamble" so I'll take his word for it. The Indians face the Tigers tonight at the Prog to start a four-game series. Paul Byrd will be on the mound for perhaps the final time for the good guys...

Cavs Update: Hoopsworld.com got an exclusive interview over the weekend with Danny Ferry. Not much new to report, but I thought I'd pass along what Ferry had to say.

"I like our team very much," said Ferry, "But we're looking at every possibility. I think we helped ourselves in the Draft this year, we'll look at the free-agent situation if there's opportunities there and trades as well."

Browns Update: Camp continues in Berea, with no devastating injuries yet (keep your fingers crossed). There was a nice piece on veteran wide receiver Kevin Kasper today. And also some updates on our favorite backup QB and punt/kick returner. And don't forget, Monday is chat day with the PD's Tony Grossi. There's always some good stuff in those podcasts.