Breaking: Water is Wet

So some jackass wore a Miami Heat #6 LeBron James jersey to Progressive Field last night:

A fan wearing a Miami Heat jersey of LeBron James drew the ire of the crowd at a Cleveland Indians game and was escorted out of the ballpark.

Fans in the left-field bleachers chanted obscenities and pointed at the man Wednesday night during the sixth inning of the Indians' 8-0 loss to the New York Yankees. Hundreds of fans joined in before security led the man out of Progressive Field.

As he left, some fans followed him toward the gate with more derisive chants.

Heh.

Look, I know not everyone will agree, but when you wear an opposing jersey to another team's stadium, stuff like this is going to happen (at least the trash talk and what not). And when you rock a #6 Heat jersey less than a month after LeBron skipped town, well, not saying you deserved it... but you were pretty much asking for it:

First, there's no defending the indefensible.

Simply put, the guy is an asshole. He knew exactly what was going to happen.

There's perhaps no worse place in America that you could wear a LeBron Heat jersey than the bleachers at Progressive Field during a game against the Yankees. Anywhere else in the stadium and he might not have taken much abuse — sparsely filled sections and families with kids don't really provide the right mix of alcohol and crowd-induced rage to carry an obscene chant. But the bleachers were filled to the brim because of A. Rod's possible 600th home run, and they were filled with the commoners, beer-addled, angry at a lopsided game, and already in midseason form spewing venom at Yankees fans who had invaded The Jake.

It began when the offending party waltzed through the home run plaza. An "asshole" chant broke out immediately.

I was standing on the porch the entire game so I'm not entirely sure what went down when the guy reached his seat in the bleachers, but judging from the events later in the night, it was a lot of the same thing witnessed in the beginning.

Eventually he was escorted out of the stadium by police. Whether this was for fighting, vulgarities, or just being a douche, I have no idea. From the video evidence, it looks like he might not have been sitting in the right seat, or fans weren't letting him sit in the right sit, or he just wanted to try sitting in ten different seats.

Should the guy forced to leave simply because he wore a different jersey? No. But when you wear the opposition jersey to a game, you have to expect to take a little heat. However, one of my most fun sports experiences was when I went to the OSU-PSU game in Happy Valley. Of course, I wasn't talking shit and trying to piss the natives off like this moron.

Can't wait til someone tries this at a Browns game. Not gonna end nearly as well.

Talk about selling high

The Tribe shipped Johnny Peralta to Detroit Tigers for a minor-league pitcher:

Those Indians fans who love to criticize Jhonny Peralta -- the number seemingly grew exponentially each year -- finally can relax.

Peralta was traded to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday for minor-league pitcher Giovanni Soto.

Now, I didn't hate on Peralta as much as most Indians fans, but that's probably just because I don't catch their games day-in, day-out.

I just know that Peralta drove the die-hard Tribe fans absolutely bonkers. He seemed lazy, his defensive range was terrible and his offense output has dipped these last few years.

Which is more weird?

We've entered a bizarre world where I'm pissed off that the Indians weren't perfect gamed(?) and that I agree with another Adrian Wojnarowski column about LeBron James.

I don't care for it.

The Indians are awful. They should've been the 20th team* to ever have a perfect game thrown against them, but the umpire literally blew the call on the 27th out. Jim Joyce... good luck man. You cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game and a chance at history. The fact that the play at first wasn't even that close just makes the whole thing even worse. Enjoy calling balls and strikes tomorrow!

(Here's my question, why so adamant to call him safe? If it's that close anyways (it wasn't), why not give the edge the pitcher WHO IS ABOUT TO COMPLETE A PERFECT GAME? If you blow the call the other way, I'm pretty sure the Tribe isn't going to care that much).

As for Wojo, I've disagreed with him in the past, but I find it hard to argue with this:

As the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers gather for a championship series to remind us of what built the league, what made it great, here’s LeBron James with a public ode on LeBron James.

“I’m the ringleader,” he told King.

No judgment.

No shame.

He was talking about the free-agent crop of stars, because that’s mostly what James has cared about for two years now. He tried to win a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has surrounded himself with a collection of sycophants and incompetents, sneaker reps and childhood buddies and middlemen whom he calls his team. Somehow, they couldn’t let him stay quiet until the playoffs were over, until everyone had pushed past the way he disappeared in the conference semifinals. He did a vapid sit-down with King to air on Friday night, and they made sure to leak out a transcript that drones out the start of the NBA Finals.

In so many ways, he’s a young Alex Rodriguez, so insecure with himself and his MVP awards, so desperate to find validation in the courtship of free agency.

“He seems more enthusiastic about this than he did trying to beat the Celtics,” said one Western Conference GM. “I mean, who goes on Larry King to talk about ‘when I become a free agent’?”

That last quote hurts a bit, no? Can you disagree? I can't. I'm sick to death of the free agent talk already (well, to be fair, I was sick of it two years ago) and it's only going to get worse.

For what it's worth, during LeBron's talk with Larry King, James said that the Cavs have "the edge" in signing him. Well I should fucking hope so. He only grew up here and spent his entire career in Cleveland. I should hope the team coming off back-to-back 60 win seasons should have "the edge" in retaining his services. Ugh.

While LeBron's actions during and post-Celtics series have irked me to no end (understatement!!), I'm reserving judgment until he actually signs his name to an offer sheet. I don't wanna say that if he reups with the Cavs, all will be forgiven.... but I'm willing to forgive a good 80-90% of his shit. Game 5 is unforgivable.

*I have no idea if the Tribe would actually be 20th team to be, um, perfect gamed (it should've been the 20th perfect game). I'm sure it's possible that a team could've been perfect gamed twice but I'm lazy and I don't care to check. Look, I'm a shitty blogger. But you already know this.

Kinda Neat

Jim Thome has been reunited with Manny:

The Los Angeles Dodgers have seen the Rockies and Giants getting bigger in their rearview mirror, so they added some power to try to pull away.

The Dodgers acquired slugger Jim Thome from the White Sox and right-hander Jon Garland from the Diamondbacks on Monday after both players cleared waivers.

Add Thome to Casey Blake and Ronnie Belliard and the Dodgers look more and more like the Indians NL.

Hell, Manny said they wanted to play together again.

I know it's post-trade PR, but I don't disagree

Cleveland Indians owner Paul Dolan:

"After we traded Cliff, we had made a commitment toward a new direction for the franchise," he said. "At that point, you don't go halfway. We needed to make moves that put us in the best position to compete as soon as possible. The sense was in our organization that Vic [Martinez] was at his highest value and what we got back in return put us in a better position than we would have been had we kept them."

As much as I hated the Martinez trade, I have to agree here. The Tribe already tried the contend+rebuild combo (Matt Lawton!!) and it sucked. I'm all for tearing down and starting over. If you're gonna do it, go all the way.

Now, there's the flip-side to consider. When it's time for the Tribe to contend, you gotta go balls to the wall there as well. If the 2012 Tribe is looking good and needs and extra bat, you trade whatever prospect you can to go get that bat (and it can't be Kenny Lofton again).

I'm all for going 100% into rebuilding mode. Just make sure you go 100% into "Win the Fucking World Series" mode when it's time.

This is somehow fitting

Gotta love the promotions to bring the fans out to the ballpark:

Detroit Tigers Weekend Series (July 31-Aug. 1 & 2):

FRIDAY- Fireworks Themed to Tom Hamilton Game Calls to celebrate his 20th Anniversary

SATURDAY- 2009 Indians Hall of Fame Induction of Sandy Alomar, Jr. and Wes Ferrell; Inaugural Class of Distinguished Hall of Fame includes Richard Jacobs and Bill Veeck. And Victor Martinez Catcher Bobblehead to ALL FANS, courtesy of Time Warner Cable

SUNDAY- Slider's Birthday Celebration featuring Slider Bobster to ALL KIDS 14 and Under, courtesy of Nesquik

One slight problem:

The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were discussing a three-way trade Thursday night that would send Victor Martinez to Boston, Clay Buchholz to Cleveland and prospects flying in all directions, according to clubs that spoke to both team

This team is a joke.

I can get behind this

Rick at Waiting for Next Year:

Mark Shapiro, as you field calls for Martinez let me give you a mantra to utter- “you have to take Hafner too.” That’s right. Make then take Travis Hafner’s damaged shoulder and albatross contract. Take a page from the NBA. Let’s ditch a bad contract.

I concur. Package Hafner (or Wood) with Victor Martinez. If you want the stud, take back the albatross.

But knowing our luck, once Hafner makes it to Boston, he'll regain his stroke and start mashing.

Trivia Question

Quick, name the guy who traded the reigning Cy Young award winner in consecutive seasons:

The Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians agreed to a trade that would bring Cliff Lee to the NL East leaders along with outfielder Ben Francisco for four minor leaguers, according to major league sources.

At least with C.C. Sabathia, the Tribe traded him during his walk year (rather than lose him for nothing). But not this time. Cliff Lee got jettisoned even though he has another full season under contract.

Well done Mark Shapiro.

The Indians picked up RHP Jason Knapp, RHP Carlos Carrasco, SS Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson. Knapp is the key guy, he had 111Ks in 85 IP this year in A ball (that's right A ball, remember when they wanted Major League Ready Arms for next year? Oopsie.). In fairness, they did end up getting four the Phillies' Top 10 prospects... but still, this is a salary dump.

And this makes me absolutely sick:

The Phillies weren't required to give up pitcher J.A. Happ or the three prospects they balked at trading for Roy Halladay -- outfielders Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor, and pitcher Kyle Drabek.

That's some fine negotiatin', Lou.

Fans should spend money on the 2010 Indians because...?

Still Alive

Got home from Bonnaroo on Monday, worked Tuesday and Wendesday, saw Phish in Pittsburgh on Thursday and went to Chicago on Friday. Despite my best efforts, I'm still alive.

Saw my first Tribe game of the season on Saturday. Needless to say, I'm not regretting ignoring them. Also, this guy must make a lot of money if he can afford buying a half-Cubs, half-Indians Mark freaking DeRosa jersey.

Behold:

I'd do it

Hey, remember when I wanted the Tribe to sign Manny?

Which brings me to Manny Ramirez. Manny can't go back to the Red Sox, the Yankees may be done spending for now, the Angels have said no, the Mets don't want him and if was going to be a Dodger, it probably would've happened by now.

So my questions is this: why shouldn't the Tribe throw a lot of cash at him?

Even if they gave him $20 million a year for the next 3-4 years, would it really kill them that much?

First of all, imagine how much excitement the signing would generate and how that buzz could translate into ticket sales/merchandise etc. Bringing Manny back would be a PR bonanza (we're playing to win now).

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Finally, he's familiar here. Ramirez actually liked Cleveland (what can I say, Manny is weird) and if no one else scoops him up, it's possible he could be persuaded to come back to his first franchise, no?

Wouldn't he be a good fit here? The fans know him, he'd be good PR, he'd be great baseball-wise and clubhouse-wise (winner, big game player, doesn't feel the pressure).

Well, I wasn't the only one thinking that way:

"I would like to play for Cleveland one more time, to go back where I started," said Ramirez, with the Dodgers playing their home opener Monday against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. "I have so many good memories there, why not?

"I think to go back where you started is everyone's dream."

Ramirez, 37, who spent the first 10 years of his career in the Indians organization, shared his sentiments this spring with Chicago White Sox DH Jim Thome. They were teammates in Cleveland from 1993 to 2000, but each departed when the Indians were outbid in free agency. Ramirez left after the 2000 season for an eight-year, $160 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. Thome signed a six-year, $85 million contract after the 2002 season with the Philadelphia Phillies and, after a 2005 trade, is in his final year with the White Sox.

Thome and Ramirez each might be eligible for free agency this winter if Ramirez opts out of his two-year contract. And if they become free agents, Ramirez told Thome, they should both consider returning to Cleveland.

"Manny was very sincere when he brought that up to me," Thome said. "Manny was saying how special that would be for us to both go back together. He was very passionate. Baseball's such a weird thing. You never know what's going to happen."

If Ken Griffey Jr. can return to the Seattle Mariners, Ramirez says, he and Thome could make a last stop in Cleveland before their careers end.

"Me and Thome back in Cleveland?" Ramirez said. "That would be sweet.

"I love L.A. I really do. But the way the city responded to me, it reminded me a lot of how it was in Cleveland."

The thing is, ya, these guys are on their last legs, but they're still productive players (both had 30+ HR last year) and the Tribe could actually use a power hitting DH and corner OF. Depending on the price they take, this would be a huge boost PR wise (the city practically shit itself when they picked up Kenny Lofton in 2007).

Plus, both guys could be chasing some very pretty numbers. Right now Manny is at 527 homers and Thome is at 543, it would be conceivable that both of these guys could be going for 600 homers next season.

Seriously, tell me that watching Manny and Thome hit their 600th in an Indians uniform wouldn't give you chills. Chills I say! (and again, I can't stress this enough, this team could use some veteran power hitters).

(Meanwhile, Travis Hafner has 3 HR already. I'll be really pissed if he actually returns to form only to have the Tribe lose a bunch of 8-7 games).

9, 8, and 12

Well, this season has started off swimmingly. The Tribe put a guy on the DL before the first game and then proceeded to not only get swept, but gave up at least 8 runs in all three contests.

Great.

The home opener is tomorrow. I'd love to play hooky (hookie?) but no dice. More work.

(also, nice win by the Cavs. Nice to see LeBron be able to sit the entire fourth quarter. That's a good sign. I also liked the actively of both Delonte and Anderson were. They'll need both those two playing at a high level if they hope to hoist any trophies in the near future).

Also also, thank Jeebus the playoffs are coming up. I'm growing sicker and sicker of Austin Carr. And the fact that every casual Cavs fans loves the guys just kills me. I love Austin Carr the person/player, but the broadcaster? Gag me. I thought he was great as a studio host with Jeff Phelps. Repeating catch phrases at every single opportunity is no way to go through life. And Fred McLeod, you aren't helping him by egging him on ("what'd he do there Austin?" "Oh, yea, he got him a biiiiiiiiird"). Ugh.

Just throwing it out there

So the Yankees have signed C.C., A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira for roughly 12 billion dollars. I don't really care about how much they spent (and the Yanks actually cut payroll this offseason) but if the Yankees have a limit, they're getting close to it.

Which brings me to Manny Ramirez. Manny can't go back to the Red Sox, the Yankees may be done spending for now, the Angels have said no, the Mets don't want him and if was going to be a Dodger, it probably would've happened by now.

So my questions is this: why shouldn't the Tribe throw a lot of cash at him?

Even if they gave him $20 million a year for the next 3-4 years, would it really kill them that much?

First of all, imagine how much excitement the signing would generate and how that buzz could translate into ticket sales/merchandise etc. Bringing Manny back would be a PR bonanza (we're playing to win now).

Secondly, the Tribe has needed a right handed power bat for years now and well, Manny fits that bill too. Plus, he's playoff tested, comes through in the clutch and takes up a corner outfield spot (which has also been needed for awhile).

Finally, he's familiar here. Ramirez actually liked Cleveland (what can I say, Manny is weird) and if no one else scoops him up, it's possible he could be pursueded to come back to his first franchise, no?

Wouldn't he be a good fit here? The fans know him, he'd be good PR, he'd be great baseball-wise and clubhouse-wise (winner, big game player, doesn't feel the pressure).

Am I dreaming?

84 K - 66 IP

Yes, please:

The Cleveland Indians are close to getting their closer.

The club has offered free agent Kerry Wood, the former Chicago Cubs starter-turned-reliever, a two-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the sides are still working through details at the winter meetings in Las Vegas.

Wood, who has had numerous injury problems in the past, needs to pass a physical before the deal can be completed.

I like this a lot, at least they'll have a closer with, you know, "closer stuff". That's my analysis, go see DiaTribe for actual knowledge.

Really? A four game win streak?

Can we fire Eric Wedge yet? It seems that every time that the Indians face some pressure or have expectations placed upon them, they fold. The make or break road trip? EPIC FAIL. Season is done, facing the first place Rays? Four game sweep. Thanks guys.

This has happened before... start of the 2006 season... the 2007 playoffs... this season.... there's a distinct pattern emerging. At what point does Wedge take the fall for this? I mean, I know you can't blame him for the entire team slumping or the bizarre faith in Joe Borowoski (and the lack of backup plan) but some of this has to go on him, no? When Wedge's teams can fly under the radar, they play well. But when we actually expect them perform? Notsomuch.

Anyways, let's hope Grady doesn't screw up his swing tonight.

C.C. Ya

(just felt like I had to get my obligatory stupid pun out of the way)

So it's official, the Tribe traded away a 28 year old, reigning AL Cy Young award winner.

Great.

The Tribe picked up four prospects, with the 'name' being OF Matt LaPorta, who is currently batting .288 with 20 HRs in AA. They also grabbed two pitchers and the always fun 'player to be name later'. Now, I have no clue about any of the prospects, but I tend to trust Mark Shapiro when it comes to trades like this (no one bring up the name Alex Escobar, please).

A couple of friends (who support other teams) have asked me if I'm "mad" about the deal. Mad that they traded him at all, mad that they should've gotten more, mad that it was with the Brewers.... mad.

Am I mad they traded him? At this point... no. I don't think you can be. The Tribe is in a complete free fall, two of their three best hitters are on the DL and they definitely 'broke' on their make-or-break road trip. Shapiro had to trade C.C., because the longer they lost, the more likely it was he was going to head elsewhere anyways. It's one thing to take a hometown discount to stay with a franchise that is winning... but when you're last in the AL Central...

While I'm not mad a Mark Shapiro for making this deal, I am mad at Shapiro for letting it come to this. This team was one win away from the World Series (where I thought they'd be favored over Colorado) and they're now mired in last place and trading their Number 1 starter for prospects. I always thought C.C. would leave because of more money, I never thought it would be because the front office couldn't field a competitive ball club.

For instance, while no one thought that the offense would be this bad, it wasn't a secret that they needed another power bat (specifically a right handed one), for sometime now. I didn't expect Hafner and Victor to go down (and I expected some kind of return to form from Pronk), but those guys could've used some help last year, let alone this season. No help + injuries = lots of 2-1 games. Jason Michaels, Dave Dellucci, Casey Blake and Ryan Garko. Those were the players in the "power positions" to start the season. What? We're shocked that this team couldn't score runs?

And the bullpen... I mean, Christ... If Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge actually thought that Joe Borowoski was going to make it through another season armed with only smoke, mirrors and a fastball that tops out at 88 mph, they should be fired on the spot. They absolutely needed to shore up the back end of the pen or at least have some kind of contingency plan in place just in case JoeBo couldn't replicate last season's (unlikely) heroics.

What makes this deal somewhat palpable for me is the fact that Sabathia ended up A) in the National League and B) on a small town team. Shapiro didn't ship the hefty lefty to the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers, C.C. ended up in the land of beer and brats. I'm cool with that. Plus, I'll get to see the big fella swing the stick every time he starts, so that should be neat.

Though I do have one question, when was the last time the Tribe was on the opposite side of a deal like this? When is the last time an Indians team was having a good year and they added a major talent in a mid-season trade? The closest thing I can think of is Ken Hill in 1995... In the 1990s they were always rumored to be in the running for somebody like Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling or Pedro Martinez, but they never pulled the trigger on a blockbuster in mid-season. They always added auxiliary pieces like Hill, John Smiley or Kenny Lofton Round III.

Just once I'd like to see a Tribe GM say, "fuck it, we're going for it all this year". I'm actually somewhat happy for Brewers fans out there. Their team is going for it. Their team just picked up the reigning Cy Young winner.

I'm jealous.

This and That

Great news everyone! Look at this from Denver:

Convinced they must make a significant change to compete for a championship, it's no secret the Nuggets will actively pursue trade options. What's more significant, according to a source familiar with the team, is nobody on the Denver roster has been deemed absolutely untouchable.

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While the Nuggets have given no indication they will actively shop Anthony, the constant drama in the life of their 23-year-old forward has become the source of enough frustration within team headquarters that Denver would be willing to listen if somebody made a trade offer too good to refuse for Melo.

Me gusta.

Meanwhile, the Indians... only a Cleveland team can see their starters pitch 18 innings of shutout ball and manage to split the double-header. Well played. Meanwhile, Paul Byrd and the defense got yet another 9 innings of 0 run ball.

All things considered, they're in a decent spot as we reach the quarter mark of the baseball season and you'd have to think that the bats will wake up at some point (though, as other owners in my fantasy league can attest, I don't really pay attention to baseball until the NBA playoffs are over).

Also, I'd like someone to give Hafner his roids back. And I'd like them to put in an offer for Ken Griffey Jr.

Time for Plan B

Playing with Fire

And so it begins

Magic?

In a column about how we shouldn't dwell on the Tribe's ALCS loss, Pat McManamon says this:

Any team that wins 96 games and comes within a win of the World Series has had an outstanding season. And when that team has its core of players back the following year, it must be considered a favorite, especially if you figure General Manager Mark Shapiro continues his magic and improves the team in the offseason.

And, for the most part, I agree.

But what kinda Mark Shapiro "magic" has he been seeing? I don't want to come across as trashing Shapiro, because obviously, he's done a fantastic job. He's rebuilt the Indians. There's young talent littered across the diamond.

But the task he has to complete now (adding veteran players and key free agents), hasn't exactly been a task he's excelled at. Shapiro has built the Indians through the farm system. His best moves have been the ones where he trades an aging veteran for a prospect (and he gets a Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner or Coco Crisp). He's drafted well and has had a good eye for prospects. In that regard, he's been phenomenal.

However, the moves he's made that haven't worked out tend to be his free agent signings. Despite his Game 2 heroics, I can't believe anyone thinks that the Trot Nixon signing went well. How about Matt Lawton? Ricky Gutierrez? Roberto Hernandez? David Dellucci?

I'm not saying that there hasn't been some good ones (Paul Byrd), but Shapiro's track record with free agents isn't exactly stellar. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a lot of this also has to do with his budget constraints; he's had to go for bargain basement guys and mediocre talent. That's fine, I understand that.

But right now, the Tribe is in a position to compete for years to come. They should be past the stage of bargain shopping.

Shapiro needs to add solid veteran talent this offseason. A run producing corner outfielder would be a nice start. Or maybe a veteran starting pitcher with big game experience. Whatever he adds, via free agency or trade, it needs to be a non-platoon player; he needs to be legit.

And for all the success that Shapiro has had (and he's had a lot) his strength hasn't been finding veteran talent to compliment his young ball club.

Which is exactly what needs to be done this offseason.