Fan Trade Proposals

 

“I think I got it. How bout this? How bout this? We trade Jim Leyritz and Bernie Williams for Barry Bonds! What do you think? We’ll have Griffey and Bonds in the same outfield. Now you got a team!” – George Costanza

 

So many people seem to think that they have what it takes to be a general manager. There are a few types of these people. You’ve got the “let’s trade every sub-par player we don’t need for one major star”, “let’s swap our big star player for another team’s star player”, “let’s trade for a player we don’t need”, and so on. Now, that’s not to say that every fan trade proposal is stupid, but Tony and I have come across a couple that made us chuckle. If, coincidentally, you are reading this and find out it was one of your trade proposals, I apologize…but…it was bad.

1) I’ve been thinking about it, I wonder is such a trade would work: Lee, Laffey, Jordan Brown, Barfield, Cabrera, Marte, Francisco, Choo, and Dellucci for Bedard, Roberts, Aubrey Huff, and Jay Payton.

Basically..we’ll trade you our entire bench/minor league team for the only good players you have. Do we have a deal or what? This is one of those “spare parts” trades. It’s like if you walked into Best Buy with a shoe box, pencil, empty can, and whatever other crap you could find in your room and tried to exchange it for an HD TV. Somehow, I don’t think Best Buy is gonna bite, just like I don’t think the Orioles would here.

2) Trade Washburn for Griffey straight up

This one just made me laugh. I’m not sure why.

3) Do the Indians have the prospects to pull off an Adam Dunn deal? Doesn’t that make absolute perfect sense? Is Shoppach for Dunn a pipe dream?

You see it all the time. The backup catcher traded for the 40 homer guy. You actually might see this trade go down, but only at a unicorn parade with a leprechaun, Bigfoot and the abominable snowman by your side.

Tony here, picking up where Cory left off with some Ranger-related fan-trades…

4) The Rangers trade: Michael Young and Chris Davis for Joe Nathan, Adam Everett, and Brain Deusing (some minor league pitcher)
I’m not sure that any team in the history of baseball has ever been in a situation where they should trade their best Major League hitter AND best Minor League hitter for a closer, a defensive-specialist, and ’some minor league pitcher.’ It’s ‘Duensing,’ by the way.

5) Joe Nathan for Josh Hamilton
Here’s a list of the players who have taken up the bulk of the playing time in centerfield each year for the Rangers this century: Gabe Kapler, Ruben Rivera, Ryan Christenson, Laynce Nix, Gary Matthews, Kenny Lofton. Matthews had a couple of nice years, but the best thing he ever did for the Rangers was sign that ridiculous 5/55 deal with the Angels. Lofton was the most productive of the bunch in his half-year with the team, but he was 67 years old and he can’t be expected to keep it up forever. Why anyone would be in favor of trading the first legitimate long-term centerfielder the Rangers have had since Ruben Mateo broke his leg is beyond me.

Kenny Lofton poses for a photograph during his rookie season.

This is What We’ve Waited For, This is it Boys, This is War

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” – Rogers Hornsby

Ahhh..finally about that time. What a slow, boring offseason (for me, anyway.. Tony got BEN BROUSSARD). But now, this nightmare is over. Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow. But..if HYPOTHETICALLY the Indians or Rangers don’t do so well this year, the regular season will be even more nightmarish than this offseason has been. That’s just hypothetical, though.. everybody knows that they will award the first joint championship to the Indians and Rangers this year. If so, Tony and I are partying at Beer-Pool-Darts on Broadway and everyone is invited (followed by a meal..you know, someplace special…Denny’s).

But really, I’m nervous about this season. I know they say pitching wins championships, but they also say that Miguel Cabrera once hit a homerun before the ball was even pitched. A story like that HAS to be true. Meanwhile, the White Sox are better, but still nothing special. Oh yeah, I hate the White Sox, but since they kinda suck now, I’m over it….mostly. The Royals are better but..I mean, they are still the Royals. The Twins got rid of the best player they’ve had since Kent Hrbek, but they still have Michael Cuddyer so..

I’ll let Tony go through the AL West if he so chooses.. but we all know it’s a moot point. Ben Broussard = automatic win. What? You don’t think so? Well throw some Chris Shelton on top of that and see how you like it. Still not convinced? Sprinkle some Kevin Mench around the sides and you’ve got undeniable proof.

Also, since I know that C.C. Sabathia reads this blog regularly…this is my plea to him: Cmoooon man. Take the deal. Do this one for a dying kid (technically, we all die someday so as soon as you are born, you technically start dying, right?) Don’t make me beg C.C… if I have to produce tears, I will.

That’s the end of my rambling for now..but you know I got more rambling flowing through my veins, waiting to be unleashed.

Cory

Can’t Go On…Must Go On…Can’t Go On

Well.. I decided to come back to the now-world-famous Unnatural. I’d like to say it’s because I have something profound to say, but it’s really because I’m stuck in class. Some guy is talking about something called “P systems”.. I wonder if he’d be flattered to know he is in this blog. Probably not. Personally..I would.

So it’s November and I was SUPPOSED to still be celebrating an Indians championship. But situations came up.. certain events took place. These events have left me like this:

Cory: Can you believe they decided to officially end the season after game 4 of the ALCS?
Random Person: But the Red So–
Cory: CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY DECIDED TO OFFICIALLY END THE SEASON AFTER GAME 4 OF THE ALCS?

I confess, that was kind of like a joke on Frasier. At least I’m citing my sources.

So, after being crushed to pieces, I got myself back together again in time for the sunshine after the rain (although, I’m a rain/snow man myself) . The first bit of good news, Grady got his Gold Glove. It wasn’t his best year, offensively, but at least he still got this. Then ol’ CyCy Cybathia..Cy…got his Cy Young award. It’s a Pyrrhic victory, but I’m very happy he beat Josh Beckett. Beckett earned himself a spot at the top of my “People I’d Devote My Entire Life’s Work in an Attempt to Get Them Deported” list. Right now, the list looks like this:

1. Josh Beckett

Obviously, there’s room for growth.

Finally, Eric Wedge got his AL Manager of the Year award. I’m not really sure who he was competing against. To be fair, he isn’t the only manager to take home an award. Ron Washington won the award for “Manager Most Likely to Tell a Story About His Blind Grandpa Willie While Playing a Harmonica.” But really, Wedge deserved this one. I admit the Cy Young award was a toss-up, but this was pure Wedge. He stuck to his original philosophy the entire year (which resulted in starting Paul Byrd in Game 4 of the ALDS to win the series) and took a young team to the ALCS. Pretty good…preeettty..preeetttty….prreeetttttty…..pretttttty..pretty good.

Moving on, it’s that time of year: Tony checking every hour to see if the Rangers made a move, until he finally sees the move they make, which promptly sends him into a spiraling depression. Then I have to go over to his house every day to watch Big and That Thing You Do until he comes down from Red Alert Suicide Watch. Which isn’t so bad, really..those movies rock.

So basically, what I’d like to see the Indians do this winter is resign C.C. and get a good bat for the outfield or third base. The most likely candidate is Jason Bay, which is an idea I like. There have been talks of Miguel Cabrera and Raul Ibanez (and of course, there are the always knowledgeable “We can get A-Rod, just hear me out” people). I don’t expect any big free agent signings, though.. so I’m waiting for a trade. I could go for one more bullpen arm, just to be safe.

Speaking of tangents, if you don’t watch Kid Nation, you aren’t really living. Forty kids, one “abandoned” town, and no adults (except the host and I guess the cameramen). It’s 45 minutes of pure entertainment. It surprisingly isn’t that far from the idea (which was a joke) pitched in a Jamie Kennedy sketch.

 

Well, I’ve killed a solid 45 minutes..so that’s it for me.

Cory

The Indians Get an Extended Wedgie

The Indians are hanging on to the youngest manager in the big leagues

Eric Wedge got his extension, which I am fine with, but some people are up in arms about it.  I don’t think he is horrible..he’s not the best there ever was, but between him and Mark Shapiro, they are doing good things with a $60 million team.

I’m not sure why people tend to complain about managers so much.  I know they are important but I think the players play SOME part in the success of the team.  It’s like..if a manager pinch hits with somebody and they strike out, people are like “great move, genius.”  But what about the guy who struck out?  To me, managing is a basic strategy plus some instinctive moves..that’s it.  Wedge seems to do the basic things all right..pinch running to try to get the winning run in, moving players around for better defense late in the game, and starting players with the best chance of success against the opposing pitcher.

I probably shouldn’t talk too much about this because I’m not really an expert in managerial duties (heh..duties), but I will anyway.  Wedge has done all right as far as I can tell, but there are some things that have bothered me.  The main thing was his decision not to give Ryan Garko a starting spot at the beginning of the season.  Even though he only played for a couple months last season, it seemed pretty obvious that he could hit, even if his defense wasn’t good (but he’s turned out to be a decent fielder).  But that all worked out, so all is forgiven (as Kramer would say “it’s all water near a bridge”).

On another note..I’m anxious about upcoming trades.  One rumor is that Cleveland is interested in Kenny Lofton.  I actually like the idea of having a wise old sage leading off.  But really, he may be a bit older but he’s still got it.  Plus, it would allow me to bust this poster back out:

The question is..who would the Indians give up?  If it’s someone that the Indians don’t have room for, I’ll be ok.  I’d like to see:

Lofton
Blake
Grady
Hafner
Vmart

Every game would start out: Lofton singles/walks, Blake moves him over, Grady knocks him in with a base hit, Hafner homers and it’s automatically a 3-0 game.  You’re guaranteed three runs to start every game, it can’t miss.

Another need is bullpen help.  Imagine this:

Aki/Lidge/Gagne
Perez
Betancourt
Borowski
Fultz
Mastny

I’m really liking the Rafael combo meal.  I’m fine with Borowski.  Fultz, besides allowing inherited runners, was doing well before his DL holiday and Mastny isn’t awful, just average right now.  That’s a good bullpen, but adding one of those other guys would make the best bullpen since..sliced bread.   But what does it take to get one of those guys?  That’s the eternal question..

Well, that’s it for me..let us all hope for some good trades in the upcoming weeks.

Cory

Getting My Hopes Up for the Second Half

Well, the All Star break is over, so it’s back to baseball.  It was a good first half, but not the best.  I will talk about the Indians’ first half vs what I expect from them in the second half.  It is sure to be the most exciting thing you have ever read.

The Offense
First half:  Good but fairly inconsistent.  Not very good on the road.  They lost to the Reds 1-0 in 12 innings (even when Sabathia himself had two hits).  The first half offense was one of the best in baseball, statistically, but it doesn’t feel like it.  I expect Hafner to bounce back with his new contract.  V-Mart may not be AS good as he has been, but he should still be good.  I hope Peralta and Blake keep up their seasons while Grady and the Barf raise their averages a little.

Second half: Same.  I’m expecting the offense to be what it has been lately.  Good at home, bad on the road.  IF the Indians were to trade for another bat, maybe in the outfield, that could change (but don’t trade Garko or else face the consequences.. hell hath no fury like an Indians fan scorned).  I don’t want any BIG changes to the lineup though, maybe just a tweak.

The Rotation
First half: Better than I expected thanks to Carmona and Byrd.  C.C. is as good as ever, but Carmona and Byrd stepped up when the rest of the rotation was injured.  Sowers, Lee, and Westbrook all left a Sowers taste in my mouth (crickets chirping), but I blame injuries and the sophomore slump.

Second half: I expect a slight improvement.  I think C.C. and Byrd will be about the same as they were in the first half.  I expect Carmona to drop off just a little, but I also hope that Lee and Westbrook will pick up the slack.  Lee has shown signs of improvement lately..and we know Westbrook is as cool as the other side of the pillow (or as cool as a chillow).  Just look at a picture of Westbrook when he is throwing a pitch.  Cool as a chillow..

The Bullpen
First half:  Surprisingly, not that bad.  It’s not like they blew a four run lead to the Yankees in the 9th with two outs and nobody on (it NEVER HAPPENED).  Besides a couple horrifying experiences, the bullpen has done relatively well.  Betancourt having a very Carl Farbman-like year.  Borowski has surprised me.  Perez and Fultz have also been nice surprises.  But Cabrera and Mastny started off strong and have faded since.  Then Roberto Hernandez was released, possibly because of conflicts between the team and his retirement home.  Overall, good but not GREAT.

Second half: Better.  I assume that they will get some bullpen help (Aki..?).  Even if they don’t trade for any relievers, I think Betancourt and JoBo will keep up their work and the rest, hopefully, can hold their own.  Maybe Cabrera will get back in the groove..who knows?  I guess we’ll never know..until the season is over.

The Bench
First half:  Well, there isn’t much of a bench because of platoons.  But if you consider Shoppach and Francisco as bench players, then this bench has been great.  Then there’s Rouse.  It’s nice that he can play all around the infield but man.. not a lot of offense.. that’s a nice way of putting it.

Second half:  Probably worse.  I don’t expect Shoppach to continue to put his numbers up.  I’d like to see Francisco in more of a starting role.  And of course Rouse.. but maybe a trade will be made.  Overall, this isn’t a huge concern for the team either way.

Overall
First half:  The team has done well but a lot of fans, including myself, feel like it hasn’t been a GREAT first half, even though it has.  Their best hitter isn’t hitting that well, one of their most consistent pitchers hasn’t been consistent at all, and their road record is looking up at .500.  Despite all this, they were just one game back in the division, and leading the Wild Card, entering the All Star break, which I will take.

Second half: I’d like to say better, but it all depends on whether the team clicks or not.  There is always the chance that things that have been going their way in the first half won’t go their way in the second half.  They might just play the same, too.  Here’s what I’m hoping for (and where I get my hopes up and my heart ready to be broken):  Pronk is awakened and sparks the rest of the offense, the starting pitching gets a little more consistent, some bullpen help arrives, and their performance on the road gets a little better.  Those are pretty realistic..right?  I’m not getting my hopes up……right..?  What might also be nice is to get a legitimate leadoff hitter to let Grady hit 3rd, but I don’t want to trade too much for one and I’d be worried about tampering with the lineup TOO much.

Well, who knows what will happen with the trading deadline coming up.  I do feel like, if the team would play to their potential a little more, they could have an insane second half.  The Tigers are tough, but the Indians and the Tigers have stayed within a few games of each other all year long, so it’s really a toss-up.  I don’t think the Tigers will fade away, which sucks, so it will be interesting..

On another note, we are officially on Rangers Trade Watch.  If something goes down, it could be the beginning of a new life for Tony..or the end of it.  If you see James Loney, Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, or Conor Jackson as Texas Rangers, Tony will be a new man..one of those guys who walks down the sidewalk with a walking stick, hair slicked back, throwing money around and yelling into a phone “BUY BUY..SELL!”

Cory

GMs

I don’t think I could be a general manager. I’m not good with knowing a player’s value vs another player’s value, or how much money a player should get and for how long. I do know good GMs from bad GMs. Brian Cashman has all the money in the world to spend and look at the Yankees.

Tony could be a GM..don’t be surprised if you see the headline “Rangers GM Daniels replaced by guy who was part of a 7-run scoring duo in 8th grade.” That’s right, I was the other part of the duo.

By the way, am I the only one who thinks Jon Daniels looks like Dax Shepard from Punk’d?

I mean, if they had the same hair and if Dax was trading away future All Stars (and maybe Hall of Famers) for the guy who will soon be washing your car and/or serving you at your local McDonald’s.

As Tony is painfully aware..Daniels is in a make-or-break position. With half the team expendable and many likely to be traded, he can bring in prospects to save the Rangers or he can pull a Daniels. You will know which one it is if you read the headline “Cory has to talk Tony down from a ledge.” And yes, that would be the frontpage headline in the New York Times.

For me, on the other hand, I’m content with Mark Shapiro as the Indians GM. He has done well considering the amount of money he is allowed to spend. Unlike Cashman, he can’t just throw money around to try to fix a team (by the way, isn’t it funny that his name is CASHman). Not all the moves have been perfect. Roberto Hernandez, who started his career with the New York Knickerbockers, and Trot Nixon haven’t been the greatest signings. Trot’s not HORRIBLE but for the money, I’ll take Franklin Gutierrez or Ben Francisco in right field. But hindsight is always 20/20, isn’t it?

Well..I don’t have much else to say..just wasting time in class.

Cory

Let’s just agree that neither of us could be a GM. My roster would consist of Pudge and Michael Young (both handed lifetime contracts), washed-up prospects for Rudy J to turn into hitters, and any high school pitcher from Texas who can top 92 on the radar gun.

Tony 

You might be the Cleveland Indians…

How you lose two out of three to the Nationals..I’ll never know..

Let’s change that to “You Might be the Cleveland Indians..”

If you make Scott Olsen look like Sandy Koufax, but make Justin Verlander look like..well..Scott Olsen..you might be the Cleveland Indians.

If you sweep the Tigers and the Twins, but can’t compete with the Royals and Nationals..youuuu might be the Cleveland Indians.

If your team has more platoons than the U.S. Army..youuu might be the Cleveland Indians.

If your backup catcher hits like Mantle but your DH hits like Mantle’s mother..youuu might be the Cleveland Indians.

If your team has to be in first place for two months just to get to 5-digit attendance..you might be the Cleveland Indians.

If you play your home games in both Ohio and Wisconsin..you might be the Cleveland Indians.

If the umpire awards your opponent a run three innings after it was scored..you might be the Cleveland Indians.

If you release a horrible player and he becomes a star on another team..you might just be the Cleveland Indians.

I’m joking..for the most part.  I love the team, but right now, it’s getting a little frustrating.  The worst part is that they aren’t playing like the Royals.. their pitching is doing pretty well and they have great offensive numbers..but those two never seem to coincide.  I’m convinced that if an Indians pitcher throws a complete game and allows just one run, he is more likely going to get a loss, but if that same pitcher gives up seven runs in the first, he is probably in line for a win or no decision.  That’s just the way this team works.  The opposite of every team that has ever existed.  Can’t beat the bad teams, but great against the good ones.  Oh well..just gotta hope everything falls into place.

Cory

I’m not one to take pleasure in the pain of others..

But the White Sox had it comin

Ever since 2005, I have DESPISED the White Sox.. The very thought of them..their fans, their players, their announcers…fills me with a kind of bitterness and rage that would shock Mike Tyson. Ok..not really THAT bad..but I do not like them at all.

I don’t have an irrational dislike of the team. It’s rooted in firm logic.

1) A.J. Pierzynski – if you like this guy, you should be locked up in a mental institution. He is like Hitler, but with less charm.

2) Ozzie Guillen – same goes..if you like him..mental institution. Also, the choking action he made to the Indians fans when they lost at the end of 2005 still pisses me off.

3) “The Hawk” – people have all sorts of ideas of what Hell will be like. I don’t know much about it, but I do know that it will be narrated by the Hawk. That’s enough to scare anyone into being a full-out religious zealot.

4) Jim Thome – he was supposed to be a lifelong Indian. However, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness drew him away (life = $$$, liberty = $$$, happiness = $$$$$$).

5) The fans – ok, not all the fans are bad..there are some cool ones out there, I know. However, I have seen more bad White Sox fans than I have any other team (except the Yankees and Red Sox, but they don’t count).

So now the White Sox stand at 29-41, 13.5 games back of 1st place and are challenging the Royals for the worst spot in the AL Central.. and believe me, the Royals are thrilled to finally have some competition. It’s been a little too easy for them to take last place year after year..finally they are getting a challenge. I know as soon as I write this, they White Sox will go on an unbelievable tear and leave me depressed and looking like an idiot..that’s a double whammy.

Cory

Closers

It was another one of those classic Joe Borowski appearances last night: shortness of breath, chest pains, numbness in my left arm, and the phone with a 9 and a 1 dialed, just waiting on that last 1. After irreparable damage to my heart, he did get the save, but man..can’t it be easier? I can’t complain because he is racking up saves like Tony stacking up chicken on his plate at that Las Vegas all-you-can-eat buffet (no idea what the name was). But it did get me thinking about closers in general. It seems like an easy job..come in and get three outs. A closer only pitches a few games a week. But obviously, it’s not that easy. So let’s look at some stats:

2004 Mariano Rivera - 53 saves with a 1.94 ERA. He only blew four saves, too. I can’t imagine having a closer I can trust. Even though Jose Mesa had some good times (and one specifically bad incident in 1997), Bob Wickman was shaky but got the job done and Joe Borowski is a science experiment in which they cloned Wickman and shaved off about 100 pounds. The 2004 Rivera had a great year and it carried over into the ALCS where he triumphed over the Red Sox..just kidding, he and the Yankees blew a three game series lead.

1998 Trevor Hoffman – 53 saves with a 1.48 ERA. I’m a little bitter that he didn’t sign with the Indians last year. He only allowed two homeruns in 1998. But he does have one weakness: Michael Young.

1990 Dennis Eckersley – 48 saves with a 0.61 ERA. With an ERA lower than Lindsay Lohan’s blood alcohol level (geez, insult on Lohan out of nowhere), I think it’s pretty safe to say that he was effective in 1990. He recovered from that Kirk Gibson thing pretty well.

Those are three of the best closer seasons I could dig up. Let’s switch gears to horrible HORRIBLE closer moments.

1993 Mitch Williams – How could I not mention this. Joe Carter, my favorite player of all time, hit the World Series-winning homer off Williams. That crack of the bat was the sound of Williams’ career ending.

2005 Brad Lidge – heh..I still chuckle about that one to this day. Pujols hit that homer off Lidge in the NLCS. If it was just a normal homerun, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But this one landed somewhere in northern Russia. Ever since, Lidge hasn’t been the same. He tosses and turns all night saying “Pujols…..slider…..NEWMAINIUM!”"

1997 Jose Mesa – This one didn’t really happen..I’m just making it up for the sake of entertainment…sad, depressing entertainment. When is the worst time to blow a save? I think the unanimous answer is “Game 7 of the World Series.” So, of course, that’s what Joe Table decided to do. As a kid watching, I thought Craig Counsell’s sacrifice fly had a chance of going out and I thought it could have been a game-winning homer. Kids are stupid though..I didn’t think of the fact that “the Indians just blew it”..I only thought “man, that was almost out!” I was a little slow..

Well..those are some pretty bad moments. That’s why it’s tough to be a closer. You can save 300 games, but when you blow a huge one in the clutch, that’s all most people will remember. Honestly, I don’t know anything else about Mitch Williams except that I think he lives on a ranch and likely owns a gun. So in the end, the closer life sounds pretty glamorous, but it’s business as usual at Kramerica.

Cory

Bah

What a crap day yesterday.  I don’t know how you go 12 innings without scoring a run.  It seems like you would accidentally score one somewhere in there.  If you would have told me that C.C. Sabathia would pitch nine shutout innings and get two hits himself, I would have said “all right..mark one down in the win column.”  But I’d be an idiot.  What’s worse is that I actually took the time to sit down and watch almost the entire game.  It was painful.

Do you ever want something you can’t have.  Of course you do.  Is the thing you want a helper monkey?  Probably not.  But how could you not want one of these fellas

Look at him go.  It’s like a little buddy and a butler, all in one little package.  It’s not like I would be a slave driver.  I’d rather he just hang out and watch TV with me.  If he occassionally feels the need to get up and make me a sandwich, then who am I to deny him that right.

Ok, intermission is over..back to baseball.  One issue of concern: who should be resigned, C.C. or Hafner?  I don’t know.  At first, I thought C.C. was gone for sure and Hafner was staying for sure.  In reality, the Indians might not sign either.  In a dream world, they would keep both of them.  Both have obvious strengths.  With each season, C.C. puts up better numbers.  Hafner makes the entire lineup look better when he is in the middle of it.  But here are some problems: C.C. will want a TON of money and Hafner is due to get probably 12-13 million a year at least.  For a DH, that’s a lot.  And with him struggling but the team still winning, you wonder if it’s worth it.  I have to say that the top priority is to resign C.C. because pitchers like him are very rare.  Especially given the way he can hit.  If he does go to another team, I hope it’s in the National League for two reasons.  One, I don’t want to face him.  Two, I want to see how he can hit over an entire season.  His numbers would be: 19-4, 3.17 ERA, 212 K, .328 avg, 12 homers, 73 RBI.  Maybe C.C. can be the 4-day DH if Hafner leaves, then pitch every 5th game.  This is all starting to make sense!

I would really like the Indians to win tonight.  They’ve been kind of up and down each game for the last week or so.  If they could go on a 7-1 or 8-1 run, they would be in great shape.  I won’t be comfortable until they make the playoffs and the White Sox don’t (I LOATHE the White Sox.  All that’s evil in the world was rolled into one entity and they called this evil being the Chicago White Sox).

Well, not much else to say right now..just hoping the Indians kick it up a notch.

Cory