Tom Kuhman

I have been waiting for this day since the middle of 2007.  The Indians cut Joe Borowski!!!!!

The 2007 Saves Leader could not come back from an alleged “biceps injury”.  I don’t buy half the crap we hear from these GM’s.  I just love the way these players suck for a long time, and then, all of a sudden, they find out they are injured!!  I realize you want to play everyday, but if my arm was getting me a paycheck, and it hurt, I’d have checked on day 1.  I wouldn’t wait until I stunk up the stadium for a month then mention it.  Apparently, the GM can’t just come out and say things like, “Travis Hafner sucks this year” or “Joe Borowski has really sucked for a long time!”  As much as I hate to say it, Ozzie Guillen is so refreshing!!!

Back to the subject…Borowski was “designated for assignment!”  I remember, I was “designated for assignment” once while bartending for giving drinks to my friends.  The owner designated me out the door!  Borowski gave it up more than co-eds on spring break during his entire stint with the Indians.  While stumbling into 45 saves in 2007, he had an ERA above 5.00.  This year, he seemed on a mission to redefine the role of closer…closing the Indians chances of playing in October.  Joe, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

The Tribe also sent Rick Bauer (who?) into the limo with Borowski.  I’d love to see the Apprenticesque limo interview on these “designations”.  I can see Mark Shapiro, as the “Donald”,  “You’re DESIGNATED!”

The Indians brought Jensen “Twitch” Lewis and Brian Slocum up from Buffalo to take their roster spots.  I am interested to see how Slocum pitches.  He hasn’t been to the show since ‘06, but seemed to do well in a relief role for the Bisons in the last month.

The bigger problem now becomes, who is gonna lose games late for the Tribe now.  Damn, did I say that out loud?  I don’t think Kobayashi has the focus necessary to be a consistent closer.  I know Betancourt doesn’t.  Go back and read my earlier article about that…I’ll wait………

Okay, now that your back, I’d just like to add that I have given up beer.  I was apparently under the influence when I wrote that Franklin Gutierrez was going to have a break out year.  After some inspiration from Ozzie Guillen, for you, the reader, I would like to say, “Gutierrez sucks this year.”

Go Tribe.

Daniel Chodos

The Brewers’ defense is proving itself to be a real enigma this season: at times their players look like fielding superstars, and at other times they look like a little league squad.

Take the club’s July 3 game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks as an example. The second inning began with a routine ground ball to third baseman Russell Branyan, which he promptly bobbled, allowing the leadoff batter to reach first base. Branyan followed up his error by picking up a tough short-hop on a surefire double play ball, and made a decent throw to Rickie Weeks, who was covering second base. Weeks was able to handle the throw, but dropped the ball as he attempted to transfer it from his glove, thereby losing any shot at the twin killing.

The next batter hit a laser into the hole at shortstop. J.J. Hardy dove headlong to stab the ball, quickly hopped to his feet, and made a strong throw to Weeks to retire the lead runner. Hardy followed up his highlight reel play by charging a hard hit chopper that just passed the pitcher’s mound, and fired a strike to first base to retire the side.

There you have it: a couple of bad plays, a few great plays – there couldn’t be a better microcosm for the Brewers’ season defensively.

But while the Crew’s infield confounds Brewers fans, the performance of Milwaukee’s outfielders leaves little to be desired. Ryan Braun has made a surprisingly smooth transition from third base – where, as we all know, he was awful – to left field. As an outfielder, Braun has made a grand total of zero errors to go along with six outfield assists. At times, Braun is prone to poor decision making – such as diving wildly for would-be singles instead of simply playing the ball on a hop – but such mental lapses all forgivable, particularly since he is still a young player learning a new position.

Corey Hart is also proving himself defensively this season, showing tremendous range as he takes advantage of his tall frame and good speed to track balls hit to the gaps. Meanwhile, Mike Cameron has lived up to his billing as a defensive specialist who covers a lot of ground in center field. With these three gentlemen patrolling the grounds, Brewers pitchers can confidently throw strikes, knowing fly balls will find a leathery home more often than not.

Speaking of Brewers’ pitchers, I must add to my previous comments about Manny Parra. After struggling away from home through most of the 2008 season, Parra has thrown back-to-back gems on the road, tossing shutouts against contenders Minnesota and Arizona. He has now gone 11 straight starts without a loss, and deserves serious consideration for a spot on the NL All-Star team.

If the Brewers make the anticipated trade for the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia, their rotation would prove to be one of the most formidable in the National League. Moreover, with Ben Sheets at the top of the rotation and Yovani Gallardo expected back at full strength next season after tearing his ACL this April, there is good reason for fans to believe Brewers’ pitching will continue to complement their impressive offense for years to come.

Sandy Gemmiti

Well just to make sure I am sick of watching the Cubs play baseball, they went and earned a split with the Giants!  The Giants, the Orioles, theses are names I am cursing lately.  Come on fellas you are supposed to be one of the best teams in baseball.  In fact I wrote a blog on here asking for better teams and nobody stepped up and said another teams name.  The Giants?

Man oh man.  The Cubs look to welcome big Z back with open arms as they set battle with those dirty birds from St. Louis.  This is a big series to put our foot back on the pedal in the divi and show we are the cream of the crop.  No need to take a pre-allstar break.

I look for the Cubs to come back strong and take at least 2 of 3.

Should the Cubs go out and get someone right now fans?  Could we use another starter? perhaps another bat?  I would be calling the Orioles again to see what it would take for Roberts.  I also would be thinking of giving the Jays a call about the services of AJ at this point.  Burnett has shown over his last few starts at the Rogers Centre that he still has stuff in the tank.  What about C.C Sabathia?  The Cubs have to take a run at this guy don’t they?  I am sure they could put together a solid package of prospects for the Indians…I would honestly give up Hill, Gallagher, and Murton for him at this point.  I think marching out Zambrano, Sabathia, Dempster, Lilly in the post season would be something else.

Any thoughts?