U-G-L-Y and Still Looking for an Alibi
2 Tribe losses (Friday and Sunday) and 36 holes of golf later, it's time to return to the North Coast - tail firmly planted between my legs.
Having never watched a Tribe game at an opponents' park, I don't know if anyone ever could have felt more embarrassed watching their home team go softly into the night.
The Brewers' sweep of the Tribe has re-energized the Brewers' season and their fans (both Saturday and Sunday were sell-outs), while the Indians half-hearted attempts at scoring runners, their DREADFUL lineups, and the bullpen implosions (note the plural) left me lighter in the wallet (after GIVING odds that Wickman would close out the 9th on Saturday to my father-in-law, I went double or nothing for Sunday) and looking for a break.
So, I'll be on a plane back to Cleveland soon - and getting rid of our tickets to tonight's game. Not because I can't go, because I don't know if I can take anymore after this weekend.
At least I got to witness the Tribe's equivalent of Little Big Horn first hand.
Normally I would say that there's nowhere to go but up, but I'm going to need see SOMETHING before I think that this team has the ability to go up.
More on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the weekend forthcoming. I have to pack my suitcase. I'll see if my pride can come back with me or if I left it on the shores of Lake Michigan this weekend.
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8 comments:
Can anyone else see him having to check his carry-on and losing it, Gaylord Focker style?
How about Sugay admitting he took HGH for a "human growth defficiency". I think that his record of "Most pulled hammy's and groin pulls over a three year period" should have an asterisk.
Apparently the web domain cutjasonjohnson.com is still available. How great would it be if a beat reporter asked the Tribe brass if they are going to have to put up that website in an interview?
They better finally bring up Sowers...and when they do, Shapiro better pray to the god of skinny punk kids that he gets shelled so he doesn't look like an idiot. If he starts rattling off some wins, I'm going to bananas.
If they don't dump him before his next start, can someone find his address to I can mail him an HGH kit and tip off the feds?
Almost a Gaylord Focker moment, but 6 hours in the Milwaukee airport qualifies as a disastrous end to a disastrous trip.
I believe that in Kevin Smith's "Dogma", the Milwaukee airport was purgatory.
That classification is not too far off.
Nothing like walking into Hopkins (at 11:30PM, rather than 5:30PM) and seeing that the Cubs (THE CUBS!?!) are up 12-4 in the 9th.
If Jason Johnson makes one more start, I'll reconsider my thoughts on Shapiro and the whole lot of them.
too frustrated to come up with a legit post.
Indians designate Jason Johnson for assignment
June 20, 2006
CLEVELAND (AP) -Jason Johnson, one of the bigger disappointments for the Cleveland Indians, was designated for assignment Tuesday by the club.
Cleveland, currently closer to last place than first in the AL Central, also optioned right-hander Jeremy Guthrie to Triple-A Buffalo, recalled right-hander Edward Mujica from the Bisons and purchased the contract of utility man Joe Inglett.
The Indians' patience with Johnson finally ran out following the club's 12-8 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Monday. The right-hander, signed as a free agent in the offseason, allowed six runs - three earned - and six hits in five innings to drop to 3-8.
But more troubling was the three-run homer he gave up to a .203-hitting Henry Blanco in the fourth inning, which came just after the Indians had tied it 3-3 on Travis Hafner's two-run homer in the third.
Afterward, manager Eric Wedge hinted at Johnson's demotion.
"It's important for our starting pitchers to keep us in the game and give us a chance to win," he said.
Since opening the season 2-0, Johnson is 1-8 with a 7.38 ERA in his last 10 starts. Cleveland is 4-10 in his outings. The team has 10 days to trade or release him.
The Indians entered Tuesday's game having lost four straight and 11 of 13. They trail the Detroit Tigers by 15 games, which matches their biggest deficit in 2005 when they rallied but couldn't catch the Chicago White Sox.
Johnson signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with a club option for 2007 in December. The Indians were hoping he and free agent right-hander Paul Byrd could offset the loss of Kevin Millwood, who signed with Texas.
But while Byrd (5-5 in 14 starts) has been serviceable, Johnson has been serving homers regularly. The shots by Jacques Jones and Blanco in Tuesday's loss were the ninth and 10th long balls surrendered by the 32-year-old in 77 innings.
The 22-year-old Mujica has not allowed a run in 38 2-3 innings (24 appearances) at Double-A Akron and Buffalo this season. The Venezuelan went 1-0 with eight saves for the Aeros, and since joining the Bisons, he is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 12 outings.
Inglett, 27, has spent most of the season at Buffalo, where he has batted .299 with one homer and 13 RBIs while playing second base, shortstop, left field and center for the Bisons.
Guthrie made seven relief appearances with Cleveland.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2005-2006, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Its funny, the news doesn't even make me happy. It would have a few starts ago, but not now. If it didn't happen now, I would have half expected them to pick up his option for 2007.
I would love to hear management's response as to what they accomplished by showing so much patience with JJ.
Btw, some great comments posted on Lets Go Tribe during the game yesterday. This is my favorite regarding johnson..."he eats up the innings...so long as you don't mind giving up a bunch of runs every inning!"
So about 2 weeks ago Shapiro was saying that the he didn't believe the young arms would be an improvement over our current staff. And then following today's roster changes he issued this beauty: "This is about trying to be better for now and the future," said Shapiro. "We had a pitcher at Triple-A who we felt could fit that criteria."
Is it just me or did absolutely NOTHING change? Well, besides Mark's feelings and our loss total. JJ is just as bad today as he was when Shapiro indicated he didn't think there was an improvement on the farm. And the opposite is true for Sowers.
Mark's latest batch of Kool-Aid tastes like he got the water from the Cuyahoga.
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