Indians=Bad, Crushers=Good, Where I've Been

Well, it turned out to be an awful baseball weekend for my at the Jake**. I witnessed two awful defeats at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. We've got a Triple-A pitching staff and it seems that the Indians have raised the white flag on the season, especially with trading away Mark DeRosa, for bullpen help, to the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a good move but it definitely tells me, and others, that the Indians are packing it in for the season. Rumors have Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez leaving town before the trade deadline too. If they trade Cliff, I won't be too upset. It doesn't sound like he wants to re-sign with the team for next season and beyond, but if they trade Victor, I will be EXTREMELY upset. Giving up the season is one thing, but giving up one of the cornerstones of the team is a completely different issue. What they should do is get whatever they can, in the way of pitching, for Kelly Shoppach. The guy calls a great game and usually hits well, but for whatever reason, his swing has had more holes than a pound of Swiss cheese this year. It's bad. Not only will this open up playing time for Chris Gimenez, it will give Eric Wedge the opportunity to play Ryan Garko every day.

Speaking of Eric Wedge, how is he still the manager of this team? I mean, seriously, the man couldn't manage his way out of a wet paper bag. My dog, with her head stuck in the same wet paper bag, could manage this team better. Hell, her bowel movements could manage this team better. I understand the guy was a great manager down in the Minors, but this isn't the Minors. This is the show, where ego's have to be managed and every now and then you've got to yell at your team and wake them up! Enough of this rah-rah crap he's been feeding us for the past SEVEN seasons...yeah, it's been that long. Unfortunately, because the Dolan's purse stringer are tighter than my favorite t-shirt from 1st Grade, they won't pay 2 managers while only one is still employed by the team, so we're stuck with this for another year. It is so frustrating watching this team under perform.

Fortunately, here on the west side of Cleveland, we have other baseball options. The Lake Erie Crushers are playing well above what I expected from an expansion Frontier League team. The Crushers have won three games in a row and are in sole possession of 2nd place in the East Division, only 3 games behind the Kalamzoo Kings. I was thinking about going to the game tonight at All Pro Freight Stadium but I think I'm going to have to pass. Vacation is coming up and I need to make sure I'm ready. During vacation, I'll be heading to the home of the Kalamazoo Kings to see them play the Rockford Riverhawks. A couple weeks ago, the Riverhawks were in Avon to play the Crushers and I was at the game. I ended up sitting behind the visitors bullpen, chatting with one of Rockford's pitchers, Elliot Cribby. We talked for about 3 innings and have stayed in touch via Facebook since then. I contacted him about getting a Rockford hat for myself and asked if he'd bring one to the game for me to purchase. He agreed and I'll have my Rockford hat on the 10th.

I'm mostly excited about the Kings/Riverhawks game because it will be another ballpark on my list of Baseball Stadiums and Ballparks that I've Visited. So far, this is where I've been...

Cleveland Municipal Stadium - Indians
Jacob's Field - Indians
Wrigley Field - Chicago Cubs
Oriole Park at Camden Yards - Baltimore Orioles
5/3 Field - Toledo Mud Hens (AAA)
Eastwood Field - Mahoning Valley Scrappers (A)
All Pro Freight Stadium - Lake Erie Crushers (Frontier League)

Amanda and I are going to try to visit as many ballparks in our lifetime as we can. We'll be adding at least 3 more this summer. I'll tell you about that in a later blog, when the trip approaches. If there is anything any of you would like to me write about, drop me a line, I'll research the topic and see what I can deliver to you.

**Jacob's Field will always be just that to me!