That's Enough

That's enough of Jose Jimenez. I know many fans have been calling for his head for some time now... but I think last night was the end of it. It's time to get rid of this guy. He's given up runs in four straight appearances and walk-off homers in two of those. His ERA is at 8.42 and rising. He's been getting his *ss handed to him worse than this high school girls basketball team.

I'm not sure why I didn't, but how many of you turned off the TV when they brought in Jimenez for the 11th? Are you like me.... regardless of past performance... do you always think but maybe this time it'll be ok? You'd think I'd learn....

Hindsight is always 20/20... but how much better would this team be if the Guillen/Vizquel trade had actually happened and if we'd actually signed Ugueth Urbina? You never know what type of an impact in the clubhouse those two guys would've had.... but... on paper.... we'd be in first place. Let's compare:

	Avg.	OBP	RBI	Slugging %	Homers	Errors
Omar Vizquel	.280	.342	34	.369	4	10
Carlos Guillen	.318	.381	52	.556	11	8

	Wins.	Losses	ERA	Sv	Bl Sv	BAA
Jose Jimenez	1	7	8.42	8	3	.297
Ugueth Urbina	3	2	4.50	11	1	.226

Interesting, huh?

Links and other stuff

As part of ESPN's 25th birthday, Page 2 has a piece on "Major League," which they've put in the top 25 sports movies of all time.

Jeff Angus runs a blog comparing business management to baseball. In a recent column, he explored the Indians' management style under John Hart.

I'm going to keep it short today because I'm still a little nauseous from last night. I had nightmares of Jose Jimenez throwing beachballs on the shores of Lake Erie.

Trivia Question of the Day

Which one is Jose Jimenez?

Miserable Day in Chicago.....

UPDATE!! 2:40 pm
Boone signing almost official, AP reports. According to the report, Boone must pass a physical this weekend and could be ready to play in a few weeks. RTF was the first to announce it here on this very site. It took two days for all other media sources to pick up on it.

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Well... I was hoping to come on here and report about how the Tribe took 3 out of 4 from the White Sox on a warm sunny afternoon in Chicago. Unfortunately, it was cold, rainy, and the Tribe's bats were quieter than the woman who designed the puffy shirt.

The designer of this shirt and these bats had something in common yesterday
Jon Rauch, who looks like a monster on the mound, somehow held the hitters to 6 hits in 5+ innings. Every time someone came to bat with RISP, they looked a little drowsy. They hit more popups in the infield than I've ever seen. It was the first win for a White Sox fifth starter since last August 22nd! It really felt like the Indians just didn't feel like playing a game. Granted, it was chilly and rained the whole game, but that's no excuse. I would've like to have ended the road trip on a higher note. Having said that, a 5-5 trip throught New York, Atlanta and Chicago should certainly be considered a success.

The biggest disappointment yesterday for me was Ben Broussard. I was hoping he'd use that grand slam from Wednesday night as a springboard to turning things around. Unfortunately, he followed up the first Indians' pinch-hit granny since 1986 with an 0-4 day with a strikeout, two popouts and a weak fly ball to left field. Getting that type of production from a first baseman is becoming very painful.

MLB All Access
On a completely unrelated note... I'd like to talk a little bit about MLB.com's All Access. You can receive it virtually free for the rest of the season by using this offer here from MSN (expires June 30). It's a must have for a big baseball fan... especially for you Tribe fans that don't live in Cleveland (like me). This gives you access to:

MLB.tv-- Live video feeds of almost every Major League Baseball game, every day and archives of virtually every game for the last two years

Gameday Audio-- Live and archived audio feeds (both home and away) for every single game

Video & Highlights-- A couple of hours after a game is completed, they'll have extended highlights and a condensed game (one play from every batter). In addition, they'll have an interactive boxscore where everything can be clicked on. For instance, let's say Travis Hafner went 2 for 4 with 1 homer and 2 strikeouts. You can click on the "2" to see both of his hits, the "4" to see all of his at bats, etc. And... for you fantasy fans out there... you can customize what you want to see each day and have them email it to you or access it online. For instance, you can see every atbat for Javy Lopez, the homers of Jim Thome, the strikeouts of Milton Bradley, etc.

Baseball's Best-- Lastly, Baseball's Best provides both audio and video of some of baseball's best all-time games and performances. For instance, you can listen to the audio broadcasts from all of the games of the 1948 World Series or you can watch Game Three of the 1997 ALCS against the Orioles.

I strongly recommend getting it for the final three months of the season if you haven't already. It's free with MSN Premium (along with increased Hotmail storage and some other perks).

Links

Gary Miller reports on Eric Wedge, Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner in his latest Clubhouse Confidential.

Eric Neel doesn't think the Indians can hang in there with the Twinkies or Sox in the Central.

The Tribe is number 19 on both SI's and ESPN's Power Rankings. We never get any credit in either one of these things.

Let's hope the Indians can get back on track this weekend against the Rockies. The pitching matchups certainly look to favor us (which they usually would against the Rockies).

Another Great Night to Be in Chicago...

It was another lovely evening at the Joan (With the exception of a few raindrops) as the Tribe easily handled the White Sox 9-5. Yet again, there were quite a few Tribe fans at the park to support the team. I've been very impressed with the amount of people showing up. Considering the fan support has been down over the last few years and couple that with the fact that many fans who can't follow the team on a daily basis are "casual" fans, the turnout has been great. I hope to see a few more this afternoon.

Before I talk about anything else... there was one defining moment in last night's game. As much as I'd like to say it was Broussard's granny or any other play the Tribe made last night, I believe it was Carlos Lee's long single. If I were his teammates or his manager, I'd have some choice words for him. If that happened on the Indians, you can be sure Wedge would bench that player. But... I don't believe that would happen on the Indians, now with Milton Bradley gone.

Modern Day Version of White Sox vs. Indians?
I wrote quite a bit about Ken Griffey Jr. when he did virtually the same thing against us. Its so completely inexcusable. In this case, you could make the argument that Carlos Lee's (or... "El Caballo" as hawk named him) lack of hustle cost the White Sox the game. Interestingly enough, neither of the major Chicago newspapers even mentioned this. Typical.

Does anyone still think Shapiro and Wedge did the wrong thing with Milton now? Don't get me wrong, I had my reservations at first... but I'm not sure this team plays this way with Milton as one of the "leaders." Here's an interesting article from Terry Pluto in today's ABJ about how the Tribe is fun to watch. I'm just not sure they'd be playing with the same hustle, enthusiasm and teamwork if gameboy was around.

If I were constructing a team, I'd want no part of guys like Carlos Lee, Ken Griffey Jr. and Milton Bradley.


I wouldn't mind if these four took a ride together

Which brings me to my next point about Aaron Boone. Although I'm not convinced that his potential addition brings much to the table, I think I know why Mark Shapiro is making such a strong pitch for him. Remember 2002 spring training when Jeff Kent broke his hand while doing wheelies on his motorcycle? He tried to tell the team that he broke it while "washing his truck." Eventually.... the truth came out and everyone knew what kind of a guy Jeff Kent was (his contract could've been voided if they found out he broke it while riding a hog).

Well... that brings us to Aaron Boone's situation. Although Aaron could've kept his mouth shut after getting injured playing basketball, he opted to be forthright with the Yankees and tell them exactly what happened. Well... they voided his contract. And... as soon as Boone sacrificed several million dollars in the name of honesty, Mark Shapiro fell in love with him (not that there's anything wrong with that).

I think US Cellular Field got even quieter last night after Benny's grand slam than the night before after we overcame the eight run deficit. Its a great feeling to be sitting in the middle of "enemy territory" and, despite being drastically outnumbered, you can only hear Tribe fans going nuts. Somehow I haven't gotten into any verbal sparring matches yet in the first few games. Well... don't worry... there's always today's game.

I was hoping Cliff Lee would build on his last start against Atlanta and throw more strikes. But it seemed like he was still nitpicking a lot and not going right after the hitters. I'm not complaining.... he pitched well... I'd just like to see him become a little better with his pitch count. But.... if it ain't broke....

Great article on SportsIllustrated.com about our surprise Indians.

Here's a short article about Dan Denham's younger brother, Jason, who just signed with the Indians. The Denham family has a lot of good things to say about the Indians organization.

There are some thunderstorms predicted for this afternoon here in Chicago. But, weather permitting, I'll be reporting on today's game once I get home. Let's go Tribe!

What Would I Have Preferred?

UPDATE!!!-- 12:30 am

We Win!!!!
I just got back from my third straight game at "The Joan." I'll report on everything tomorrow morning. Another great game.....

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UPDATE!!!-- 6:15 pm

Boone to be signed by Tribe?
Rumors are swirling that Aaron Boone is close to agreeing to terms with the Cleveland Indians. Although nothing has been finalized yet, terms may be announced soon. Stay tuned. Here's a link to Aaron's career major league stats.

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Really... what's better? To have led and lost or to never have led at all? As I slowly try to piece my heart back together, I keep asking myself that.

I'm gonna keep this one short as the memories are still too fresh to relive so soon. I'm sure many of you are saying: "Let's look at the positives. We came back to take the lead. Blah, blah, blah." But, this one was painful. In the last series here in Chicago, we blew a 4 run lead in the ninth to lose and now this. Instead of a long, dragged out entry about what went wrong, what went right, who screwed up, etc., I'm just going to add a few comments.

Victor Martinez would never have the type of game Casey Blake had. Just not possible. I was never able to see replays... but (even though he was called out) wasn't that guy at second safe on Casey's lackadaisical throw in the second or third inning?

Unbelievable at bat by Matt Lawton. Fouled off a bunch of pitches... had to wait while the umpire regrouped... fouled off another.... then goes yard. Great job.

I don't think these White Sox have a lot of heart. Even though they came back to win it, their celebration just didn't seem all that exciting. Despite the fact that this team has the most talent in the division, I think the Central is either the Tribe's or the Twins' for the taking (and... unfortunately... probably the Twins).

Interesting article from the Chicago Tribune this morning praising our young team. You may have to register to read it but its worth it.

Although I'm sure many of you have already watched this since last night's debacle, here's a link to put you in a good mood. Not all great comebacks end in disappointment.

This always puts a smile on my face

Although Matt Miller was credited with giving up the tying run.... that guy's got hitters way off balance. I think its time to give him a more prominent role in the pen.

David Riske is good again. Jose Jiminez still isn't.

Lefties are now hitting .318 with an OPS of over 1.000 against Cliff Bartosh. I think its time for him and Scott Elarton to start looking at new career paths. Perhaps they'd be accepted into the Crochet Guild. I certainly don't want 'em anymore.

Its going to be tough to go to the game again tonight. But I'll be there cheering us on. I'll probably keep posting throughout the day.... so make sure you check back.

A Heavenly Evening...

Wow! What a beautiful evening at the ballpark it turned out to be. It was raining all day in Chicago until about a half hour before game time, when the baseball gods decided that it was finally time for our beloved Indians to reach the .500 mark. The skies cleared, the sun briefly shined, the Tribe played an inspired game and, with the exception of a brief appearance by Satan (in the form of the home plate umpire), all was well in the world. I felt as if I had been dipped in magic waters.

Alright, alright.... maybe that's a little too dramatic. If you read yesterday's entry, you'll know how much I ripped on Sox fans for their low turnout. And you probably realized that the ballpark had almost 30,000 fans last night. What you have to take into account is that last night was "Pepsi Half Price Night" and that all those people very little to attend. Having said that, it was a good crowd.

As soon as I sat down about 15 rows right behind home plate, Ronnie took Scott Schoenehoweveryouspellit yard. I immediately heard some Tribe fans clapping and was pleasantly surprised to see an old friend of mine that had 10th row seats between the plate and third base. Because he received the tickets last minute, he had 5 (yes 5!) extra tickets. Now... typically I sit in those types of seats anyways because there are always open seats at the "Joan," but I don't usually have the ticket stub to make sure I don't get kicked out. So it was a nice surprise to be able to openly root for my Indians without fear of retaliation.

Unfortunately, at my angle I couldn't see just how much C.C. was getting squeezed by Timmy Timmons. I watched the highlights later and you really gotta wonder what was going through that ump's mind when he made those calls. Frankly, I'm just glad the Sox didn't swing at them because they were straight down the pipe.

Following up to my comment from yesterday regarding the White Sox announcers..... you gotta watch the highlights from yesterday's game on MLB.tv. Click on "Plays of the Game" (its free) and listen to Ken Harrelson announce Casey Blake's homer. Could he be worse than Monte the Colorman?

Who's the worst announcer? My vote goes to the guy wearing the hat with his own name on it. Who does that?

As you all know, the game went about as well as possible. C.C. made one mistake and settled down from his 2nd inning confrontation to pitch a beautiful game. Johnny Mac made two errors at short even though only one was actually scored an error. How much of a homer call was that? Even the Sox fans around me were complaining that that hot shot by Aaron Rowand was a play that needed to be made. Terrible call.

After the game C.C. and VMart were being interviewed by different members of the media. When they were both done, they gave each other a HUGE hug. It seemed to have all the emotion of the Maverick/Iceman embrace. I thought I overheard the following scenario:

Victor: "You can be my batterymate anytime."
C.C.: "Bullsh!t! You can be mine."

Worst pitching matchup of the series tonight. Hopefully Elarton can build on last week's rain-shortenend start. Let's see if we can sneak away with tonight's game. I'll bring all the action again tomorrow about the same time.

JD Silences His Critics

Jason Davis went seven strong innings yesterday to bring the Indians, again, to one game under .500. Hopefully, with CC on the mound tonight, we can finally bring ourselves to the break-even point. Unfortunately, the weather here in Chicago calls for rain. But, don't worry, the Ranting Tribe Fan will be in attendance for all four games this week at the dump formerly known as Comiskey.

A quick note on White Sox fans
These people are truly the worst fans in baseball. In addition to drawing only the 22nd most fans in baseball (in a city of 8 million people), these fans are by far the dumbest group since this family in Tennesee. These are the types of fans that'll talk trash when their team is down by 12 runs.

Go to the "Joan" and you'll see about 21,822 people like this
Yes... they call Cellular One Field "The Joan" now because Joan Cusack is the cellular company's spokesperson.

Things you might overhear at "The Joan":

Who's this Magglio guy?
Ozzie Guillen's our manager?!?!? I thought he was still playing shortstop!
Carlton Fisk is sure calling a good game tonight behind the plate!

But... by far and away the most annoying thing about the White Sux.... their TV announcers. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson and Darrin "DJ" Jackson are quite possibly the worst announcers in the history of broadcast media, much less baseball. These guys will say things that will make you think they've never watched a game of baseball in their lives. For nine straight innings... all they will do is root for the White Sox. In many cases, they won't even say anything when the other team scores... they'll just sit there in silence. Its a travesty.

Anyway... as I said, I'll be at each and every game this week and I'll try to report on things that are "outside the box score" each day. Let's see if we can take at least three of these games.

In other news.... one guy we definitely don't want back for the bullpen, Jason Boyd, has been in the headlines a little too much since he left the Tribe. First, he was arrested twice in the offseason, and now he's out two months because he slammed and broke his hand on the pitching rubber in frustration after giving up a game winning homer in the minors. What a moron. Read more about that here in Jayson Stark's Wild Pitches.

Clifton's Gem

UPDATE!
Cliff Lee suspended 6 games.... yes 6 games for the Griffey pitch. I hope the next time they face Griffey.... they actually hit him. He deserves it. But that suspension is ridiculous. Just a pure and blatant double standard. Was Pedro ever suspended for his actions in the ALCS last year? Was Roger Clemens ever suspended for throwing a splintered BAT at Mike Piazza? Granted, Cliff Lee is no Rocket or Pedro, but the same rules should apply. This angers me.

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How 'bout that game last night from Clifton Phifer Lee? After the first couple of batters it looked like it was going to go the way of his last start against the Reds. Thankfully, with the exception of Furcal's homer in the third, he was awesome for the next six innings. Let's further dissect his performance:

No 3 Ball Counts
He never once went to a 3-ball count on a batter. Now this is pretty good for ANY pitcher, but for Cliff, it's unbelievable. This is a guy who's given up the third most walks in the league. He's always been touted as a command pitcher, but never really pitched like it with the parent club. Having said that, the strike zone last night was definitely pitcher-friendly. Speaking of strike zone sizes, how painful is it to think of Game Six of the 1995 Series? The strike zone for Tommy Glavine that game was bigger than Jabba the Hut. Still makes me mad.
'95 Strike Zone was bigger than Jabba's cousin Pizza
1 for 3 at the Dish
How great did he look at the plate? We hear all this talk about how good C.C. is with the lumber, but Cliff looked a lot better. He could've easily been 2 for 3 if Hampton hadn't made that great play on the ball up the middle. Don't forget, lefties bat almost 100 points lower against Hampton than righties. Was anyone else surprised by how quickly he got down the line on his groundout? That boy has got some speed.<

How is it that Lou Merloni is only batting .271? Doesn't he hit the ball on the nose every single at bat? That guy has gotta have more tough outs than anyone else on the team. Speaking of tough outs, Johnny Mac was robbed twice last night by the Braves' middle infielders. How unbelievable would it have been to see him get six straight base hits. What would be next? Me thinks it might be armageddon.

You'll have to dodge these guys when Johnny Mac goes 6 for 6
I was getting the Turner South feed last night for the game so I wasn't able to hear what the Tribe broadcasters were saying..... but it's really disappointing that we're not going to be able to face Jaret Wright in this series. The Braves' broadcasters kept talking about how he was their best and most reliable starter. That's good to hear. Let's all wish Jaret the best.

Bullpen's been great....

I like the way the team celebrates after a win. They all seem to really enjoy getting a W. Often times, you see a team that is very businesslike.... but I like to see the excitement. They seem to get along very well and that's always important for a young team growing together.

Let's see if we can finally get to .500 tonight. Let's see if Jake can have as good of a performance as last time out.....