Good Thing Anderson Varejao Held Out
May 29, 2008Left Fielders, Where Art Thou?
May 29, 2008Below, you’ll find the cover of next week’s edition of Sports Illustrated. On the cover, you’ll find Josh Hamilton – current outfielder for the Texas Rangers. Last season, Hamilton played just down the street for the Reds, notching one of the better feel-good stories of the season.
The Rangers, attempting to find a run-producer to replace Mark Teixeira, traded for Hamilton in the off-season; needless to say that he’s off to one heck of a start.
As Bugs and Cranks points out, Hamilton currently leads the league in batting average (.329) and RBI (58). He’s currently second in home runs behind Chicago’s Carlos Quentin – another outfielder acquired this past off-season by a league-rival. The same league rival that is now five and a half games ahead of us in the Central, after beating us for what seems to be the 1,000th time this year.
It’s worth mentioning that Hamilton’s 58 RBI is more than double that of the Tribe’s leader, Casey Blake, who has 27.
There’s a reason that Hamilton-to-Texas was given the top grade by SI’s John Heyman. Quentin-to-Chicago isn’t too far behind. And there’s also a reason why Mr. Heyman had no need to include the word “Indians” anywhere in said article, as they sat on their hands for the entire winter.
Sky’s The Limit [Bugs and Cranks]
6 Comments
Seems like exactly the same thing the Cavs did last offseason – that is, sit on their hands. Hopefully both teams will learn from their mistakes and correct them in time.
My idea of Shapiro is changing rapidly. Remember the episode of South Park where they were trying to choose a new mascot? I just can’t decide which of these mascots are more like Shapiro. On one hand, you have the Turd Sandwich, always standing pat with no fanfare or without anything to do. On the other hand, you have the Giant Douche, a pompous thing really. Unwilling to make any moves to make your team better while every team in the division does, based on the simple notion that you think they are a world series contender already. How in the wide world is it possible for him to have not made a move already? If this team doesn’t get a bat it will continue to sink further and further in the Central Division. I’m already sick of watching them this season. I’m officially boycotting the Tribe until Shapiro gets off his butt and does something to make this team better. No more watching, or getting caught up in just how terrible they are. Nope, just gonna relax and let them suck, unless they make an effort to get someone who can hit.
this is more a comment on the new poll you guys have up:
it was a tough decision but i decided to vote for offense as the most painful facet of the tribe to watch right now. while our bullpen is terrible, i feel that its a problem we can overcome. our starting pitching being as AMAZING as it is right now, with some AVERAGE hitting would more than likely make our slightly below average bullpen not look quite as bad. but as of right now, our batters can’t give us more than a 1 run lead (yesterdays game not withstanding). obviously its a combination of the two, but in terms of what is more important to fix (and who’s not living up to their potential) it is definitely the hitting.
mendy, you’re right in that the hitting is much more important to fix, but i also feel like it’s more likely to get fixed than the ‘pen. that’s why i voted for the ‘pen…while the offense KILLS me to watch, i have this insane hope that it’ll get better. the ‘pen on the other hand, well, i have no confidence in anyone who gets the ball from that area of the park.
jeremy…you’re kidding, right? boycott the Tribe???!!! this is Cleveland, man, we’re better than boycotts of our teams. we’ve been used to sucking for generations, that’s what gives us our chops as fans and what makes stuff like last year’s Indians or Cavs so much more fun. i’m embarassed for you if you’re truly boycotting b/c of a bad start.
Well Gordo, don’t be embarrassed for me. Be embarrassed for Mr. Shapiro for being spineless. There’s enough good pitching in the system to go out and get a hitter. Yet he somehow thinks Hafner is gonna get out of the funk. I’m convinced Hafner was a fluke. It’s like Major League II. This organization has no marbles. The players have no fire, or show any emotion. I actually think the worst move this team made in the off season was letting Trot Nixon go. Granted he sucked, but he was worth his weight in gold in the clubhouse. While last year was fun for both the Indians and Cavs, this year has been unwatchable. Do you really think CC wants to stay here anymore? I sure as hell wouldn’t based upon what the front office has done. If you were Aaron Laffey, would you wanna sign a long term deal? Again, I wouldn’t. I’d almost be regretting the deal I signed were I Grady Sizemore. But Pronk has to be as happy as a pig in poo. Making a ridiculous salary to hit .200. Why should we have to suffer because of sheer incompetence? As much as John Hart didn’t give a hoot for pitching, he had the balls to go make a deal when he had to. Shapiro is like the bizzarro John Hart. For a lesson in general managing, look at Phil Savage, who’s had the stones to go out and make moves when necessary. And I’d be pretty willing to bet that he’ll go and find a CB before training camp. We have a World Series caliber team. We have retarded starting pitching. And Shapiro is squandering the opportunity. Do I not make sense because I’m upset by this?
I had to vote, the ‘pen’ cause like Gordo says, it’s a confidence thing. Even when we get runs and ahead, I’m not real sure the pen will be holding up their part. I was sick the other night, well many other nights with recent games; but the lack of my confidence is definately by our failure in the pen. And also, isn’t it a jinx, or bad luck to have a player jump onto the cover of sports illustrated?