Locked in the cellar

The Tribe ended another 'blah' weekend in Minnesota yesterday with the Twins taking two out of three in the series. Friday night featured Nick Blackburn shutting down the Indians' offense yet again (he's 3-0 with a 1.30 ERA in four starts against the Tribe this year) in a 4-1 Twins' victory. The Indians did put a nice game together on Saturday night behind another strong start from Paul Byrd for a 5-1 win. Byrd has only given up five earned runs over his last four starts, totaling 26 innings of work. But the same old Tribe reappeared yesterday when they had a chance to win a series, this time in a 6-2 loss to the recently reactivated Francisco Liriano (of course his first win of the season). The Tribe is now 17-30 (.362) vs. the Central Division, and that is the main reason they are now firmly locked in the Central cellar, a full three games behind the Royals. The series loss also makes them 19-36 (.345) on the road and by my unofficial count, 12-20-4 overall in series this season. I guess the good news is there are only 52 games left.

The Twins are now 10-5 vs. the Tribe this year... compared to 4-14 last year

The Indians continue their road trip tonight when they open a three-game series vs. the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays (only five sellouts this year???). The Rays should have revenge on their minds in this series after losing four in a row at the Prog back in July. At least we get to see Cliff Lee pitch tonight.

Other Tribe Notes: Not that this is really news, but Eric Wedge would like a new closer by next spring (I'm begging, please be K-Rod, please be K-Rod). And the Red Sox have reportedly offered Joe Borowski a contract. Not exactly the recipe for repeating as World Series champs.

Browns Update: Remember Travis Wilson? The Browns used a third round pick in 2006 on the receiver from Oklahoma and so far he has given us just two career receptions for 32 yards. With the injury to Joe Jurevicius the Browns are looking for someone to step us as a reliable third receiver and he has impressed his coaches thus far in training camp.

''Travis has had a particularly good OTA (organized team activities) period, he began to show up and make some plays, and I think that has carried over to training camp here because when the ball comes his way, he's been catching them,'' Crennel said.

The Browns may also have found a diamond in the rough to fill in for the injured Antwan Peek. And today is Monday so don't forget about Tony Grossi's noon update from training camp (if you can't tell by now I'm a big fan of these).

Cavs Update: Terry Pluto reports that the Cavaliers are talking to Denver about J.R. Smith. Personally I'd be shocked if we gave an offer sheet to a restricted free agent at this point. I think a trade would be the only possibility, but I've been wrong before.

Could Smith soon be wearing wine and gold?

And from China, LeBron James chipped in 10 points in 24 minutes to help lead Team USA to a 21-point win over Russia. The Redeem Team has one final tune-up vs. Australia tomorrow before the real games begin.

Moving On...

My Cleveland Gladiators (affectionately called 'mine' after my recent jump onto their bandwagon) got a big playoff win last night in Georgia and they will now advance the conference championship game... but they aren't the only ones moving on. The really big story over the holiday weekend actually became official yesterday. CC Sabathia is now a Milwaukee Brewer, traded Monday for 1B/LF Matt LaPorta, LHP Zach Jackson, RHP Rob Bryson and the always popular player-to-be-named-later. The Tribe insists that this player will have a chance to be a big leaguer so we will wait and see on that one.

Listening to the radio and reading responses online, Indians fans are obviously less than thrilled with the move. And I understand that. I loved watching CC grow from a solid-but-inconsistent young pitcher into a Cy Young winner last year. There were always questions about his weight, but none of us can deny that CC was a durable pitcher while he was here and he actually liked being on the Indians. That goes a long way for fans in this town. Yet with that said, I just cannot rip the Indians for this move. This is what Major League Baseball has become over the last decade. With no hard salary cap in place, the rich stay rich and mid-market teams are forced to make agonizing decisions about their own players. Do you risk everything and give him a huge, long-term contract that he will likely never live up to and will strap your team financially for years? Or do you trade him for prospects and hope that those young guys pan out and become stars?

In this case I really think Mark Shapiro made the right decision. We've seen it too many times in the past where we thought we could keep our own players, only to see them bolt to greener (as in dollar signs) pastures. Did we get ripped off in this deal? Who knows? But to me, the Brewers are giving up four prospects for a pitcher they are renting for maybe 15 starts this season. And they are currently behind two teams in their own division. So by no means does this guarantee them anything. At least the Indians know their season is already over and building for the future begins now. We can only hope that this deal can come remotely close to the Bartolo Colon trade that netted us Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips. I'm not expecting that this time around, but I just hope one of these players will end up being solid for us. I'd honestly rather see it go down this way than CC just walking away for nothing after this season.

And ripping the Dolans for this move is just silly in my view. CC was offered a 4-year deal at $72M before this season started. Given the history of long-term huge money deals for pitchers (Barry Zito immediately comes to mind) I would have really been upset if the Tribe went for more years and more money. It just wouldn't have made any sense and would have hurt the long-term potential for this team. I wish CC the best and I'm looking forward to seeing him hit in the National League. But I'm not looking forward to him wearing a Boston or New York cap next season when he chases the almighty dollar. And that's why Major League Baseball in 2008 drives me crazy. This scenario will play out again and again and again until the system is fixed.

We'll definitely miss the big lefty

Trade Reactions:

• Terry Pluto
• Bill Livingston
• Paul Hoynes
• Pat McManamon
• Buster Olney

Other Tribe Updates: Life without CC begins for the Tribe tonight in Detroit when Jeremy Sowers and his 7.53 ERA try to end the team's current 8-game losing skid. In case you missed it over the long holiday weekend, our favorite punching bag closer Joe Borowski was designated for assignment on Friday. Thinking back to last year, it now truly seems miraculous that we were able to squeeze 45 saves out of that right arm. And Jeff Weaver was picked up off the scrap heap to plug the enormous hole left by CC in the Tribe's rotation. That ought to be fun to watch. And Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee will be the lone members of the Tribe in NYC for the All-Star Game. Oh, and Grady will even be in the Home Run Derby, thanks to his AL-leading 22 HR's (18 of them solo shots by my own unofficial count - lots of clicking on individual box scores there).

Gladiators Update: Big win for the Gladiators last night. Once again our receivers basically caught everything thrown to them and they squeaked out another big playoff win, this time on the road. And QB Raymond Philyaw added 8 more TD passes, now giving him 16 for the postseason to go along with no interceptions. My personal favorite moment from last night's game was team president and CEO Bernie Kosar hovering behind the officials as they tried to review a play near the end of the game on instant replay. You can see he is pouring everything he has into this team and it's fun to watch. The Gladiators now advance to the National Conference Championship game against the Philadelphia Soul this Saturday at 1:00pm on ESPNHD.

One win away from ArenaBowl XXII...

Another Walk-Off Loss

The Tribe's brutal three-game series in Chicago concluded fittingly last night on Masa Kobayashi's first pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning. When the ball finally landed in the bleachers in left center field, the White Sox were again dancing on the field and the few Indians left sitting in the dugout were probably wondering how many more games were left in this miserable season. The bright spot for me is that we are so buried now that I don't really concern myself with the outcome of these games anymore. I used to get pissed - now I'm just indifferent. It makes me wonder how many players on the roster feel the same way about this season...

The White Sox are surely sad to see the Indians leave town

This is now five straight losses for the defending AL Central champs. They find themselves a full game behind Kansas City for sole possession of last place (if anyone still cares out there). At this point I'm hoping that a little pride will kick in. At least enough to stay out of last place for the duration of this season. Grady Sizemore did add two more homers last night... of course they were both solo shots, but now I'm just nitpicking. Today's off-day will likely be a big one for the team, with the front office and manager discussing plans for the rest of the season.

I think I've made my ideas sort of well-known here about the current state of the Tribe. But here's what I would lay out today if I were part of those meetings:

1) Move Jhonny Peralta to third base... it's more likely his natural position now with his lack of range at shortstop.
2) Bring back Asdrubal Cabrera and plug him in at shortstop. This is also his natural position and with the season already over there will be less pressure on him to hit in the big leagues. Time to see what the future holds at shortstop.
3) This obviously means that Casey Blake needs to be traded. He is a free agent at the end of the year and likely not in the team's long-term plans. He's a great guy and I appreciate everything he's done for this team. He can help a team in the playoff hunt and I think he would bring back a prospect or two in a trade, especially given his versatility (he can play basically any position).
4) Other players I'd look to trade (no surprises here) - CC Sabathia, Paul Byrd, Joe Borowski, David Dellucci. Obviously CC is the big prize here. I would wait until the deadline and really see how desperate teams get for him. And I'm not expecting much in return for the other three, but I'd take anything at this point.

There are probably lots of other moves to be made but it's hurting my brain right now thinking that this is the same team that was one win away from the World Series just 9 months ago. Hopefully today begins the discussion to take the necessary steps to get this team back there.

The Return of Joe Blow

Leave it to the Tribe's cold bats to prevent Cliff Lee from notching his 12th win... then leave it to Joe Borowski to really blow things up. With two outs and no one on in the bottom of the 10th and the Tribe hanging onto a 2-1 lead, Joe Blow first served up a home run to weak-hitting Alexei Ramirez. Then he went on to give up two more hits and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet again. The Indians' miserable four-game slide continues and I'm at a point where I've run out of ways to describe my level of disappointment (and now disinterest) in this team.

Believe it or not, this picture was taken when Borowski was running in from the bullpen

I was talking to my buddy at the game last Friday, recalling the Tribe's poor '06 season. But at least in that season you felt like they were trying to build towards the future. I just don't see the logic anymore of playing guys like David Dellucci and Joe Borowski on a daily basis. At some point you need to give up hope and start trying to retool for next year. 11.5 games out on July 2 and in sole possession of last place - it's time to raise the white flag. And that's coming from as big a Cleveland homer as you'll find.

But never fear Tribe fans - Eric Wedge isn't ready to concede anything. Great. Terry Pluto wonders if the Indians' youth is being wasted this year. And Sheldon Ocker tells us to expect new faces in the bullpen soon - and yes he did drop the dreaded Mastny reference there. Yikes.

Browns Update: Joe Jurevicius sounds like he really won't be ready for the start of training camp on the 23rd. A fourth surgery already this offseason? I'll be happy if he plays before the bye week at this point. And it makes the Donte Stallworth signing that much smarter.

Streak Snapped at 2

These are your 2008 Indians. They just can't seem to ever get any positive momentum going. After winning two straight and looking a little better, Paul Byrd took the mound and was promptly rocked for 6 runs in the first three innings. But after Grady Sizemore's 3-run bomb in the bottom of the 7th, the Tribe had clawed their way back to a 6-5 deficit. Leave it up to our shaky bullpen (it was Borowski this time) to kill any thoughts of a late-inning win by giving up two runs in the top of the 9th to erase any doubts. 8-5. Ball game. Back to .500 at home and 7.5 behind the White Sox. And Victor Martinez could now be heading to the DL. Damn it.

C'mon Byrdie... you're killing your trade value

Browns Update: Mary Kay Cabot and crusty old Bill Livingston add some more depth to the LeCharles Bentley saga. And some good news out of Berea - Joe Jurevicius says he wouldn't miss this season for the world.

Highlights from yesterday's mini-camp session:

It's Always Fun

I always get a little extra enjoyment out of beating the New York Yankees. Tonight was a great game down at the Prog. I got to experience that old Jacobs Field magic for the first time in the new seats. On this evening Jhonny Peralta was the hero, hitting a two-out, three-run homer off Andy Pettitte to put the Tribe on top for good.

Positive things to take away from this one:

• This was the Tribe's fourth consecutive win and they are now 11-12, only 2 games out of first place.
  
• Paul Byrd did a decent job tonight (other than when facing the greasy steroid monger Jason Giambi). He had great command of the strike zone (59 strikes and only 18 balls).
• The bats banged out another 9 hits and 6 runs. The offense seems to be coming around.
• Franklin Gutierrez added an important insurance home run and the offense manufactured another important 2-out run in the 6th inning as well.
• Finally, and most importantly, the bullpen was solid. Rafael Perez came on in relief and pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings. And how great was it to see Rafael Betancourt come in and get a 1-2-3 ninth? I can't remember the last time JoeBo accomplished that.

Tomorrow we look to finally get back to .500 as Jeremy Sowers gets the call in place of Jake Westbrook. Let's keep it rolling.

Jhonny did the Yanks in with a huge 2-out, 3-run HR

One to remember, one to definitely forget

In the first game tonight - a game the Cavaliers absolutely needed in order to secure home court in the first round - there was a very bizarre ending. They took an 8-point lead going into the 4th quarter and in true 2008 Cavalier fashion, wasted it away in a matter of minutes. So the final quarter ended up being a dog fight, with some guy on Philly named Lou Williams making some incredible shots. He hit one with 5.1 seconds left to give the Sixers a one-point lead.

So after Philly took their final foul to give, the ball was in LeBron's hands with 4.1 seconds left. He drove hard into the lane, seemed to get fouled (of course no whistle), the ball was tipped by Samuel Dalembert and fell right into Devin Brown's hands. Then Dalembert steamrolled into Brown as he put up a shot that missed and the final horn sounded. Confetti dropped from the rafters and the Sixers ran into the locker room. I sat there mystified, wondering how no foul was called. I even ran the play back over and over on my DVR and noticed that the ref under the basket raised his hand to signal a foul, then waved his arms as if to say no shot.

Of course I was pissed that we blew another game and it would come down to the final game at home on Wednesday against the Pistons to secure home court. Definitely not a fun task the way we've been playing down the stretch. As this was going through my head, I noticed the refs were huddling at the scorer's table, looking at the replay monitor. They actually reviewed it, got the call right, and awarded two shots to Devin with .2 seconds on the clock! I must admit that I incorrectly predicted that Brown would miss both shots. Thankfully he actually drained both of them and locked up home court in the first round. So bring on Arenas, Stevenson, Soulja Boy, etc. etc. It will be fun eliminating those guys for a third straight season.

Home court came down to 2 Devin Brown FT's and LBJ knew he'd drain them

Now onto the Tribe game... this ending was a little more painful. Let's just say that Joe Borowski and Manny Ramirez were prominently involved. There were a lot of fair weather Boston fans who live in Cleveland happy after Manny's 9th inning home run actually landed. I will now go shave my tongue will a dull razor to get rid of the taste of this game. Ugh.

Joe 'Blow' is back...

I guess these sort of things happen from time to time over the course of a long 162 game baseball season. But it doesn't make it any less frustrating. The offense looked dreadful again last night for 8 innings until scoring three runs in the top of the ninth. It should have been more, but Jason Michaels was prominently involved with the bases loaded, and we know how that usually plays out.

So with a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth and JoeBo coming in, I expected things to get a little shaky, as they typically do with JoeBo. But I also expected us to get the win. Things started off innocently enough, with him retiring the leadoff man. But then a base hit and two straight walks had me shaking my head. Then Torii Hunter sealed the deal with a walkoff grand slam at approximately 1:12 am ET. It's times like this when I wonder why I stay up for these West coast games. There will be a payoff eventually for my undying loyalty, right???

Torii provided the death blow as I wondered why I wasn't sleeping...