I don’t really know what ‘An Historical Retrospective’ means, but I like to think this fits the bill. The upcoming 10-year anniversary of the 1998 draft means that most of the guys picked are nearing free-agency, so it seems like a fair enough time to evaluate how each team faired in their selections. At the request of Adrien Monk, I decided to look at the first 10 picks. I might finish out the first round later — we’ll see how it goes.

A quick explanation of the charts: The include the initial pick, any players that player was traded for, any players THOSE players were traded for, etc. ‘WS’ is the number of Win Shares that player produced each year, ‘Salary’ is how much they were paid, ‘Market Value’ is how much the team would have had to spend to get a player of that quality on the open market, and ‘Savings’ is how much the team saved by not having to spend the market-rate. Without further ado…

#10 The team: Texas Rangers; The pick: Carlos Pena, 1B
Pena was one of the best prospects in the game in 2001, but between Rafael Palmeiro and Mark Teixeira the Rangers felt that first base was covered for the foreseeable future, so in a period of two years they traded away Pena, Travis Hafner, and Adrian Gonzalez (Combined 2007 RBI total: 321). Pena had the courtesy to wait until he was a Devil Ray to become a star, but the only thing the Rangers got for their excellent pick was Gerald Laird and eventually Vicente Padilla (by way of flipping Ryan Ludwick for Ricardo Rodriguez, and Rodriguez for Padilla’s last arbitration year).

Grade: C+. The Rangers made a very good pick followed by a very poor trade, but still ended up getting a cheap, above-average catcher and a solid 200-innings of work from Padilla in 2005. They’ll have Laird at a below-market rate for the next two years if they don’t flip him to make way for Jarrod Saltalamacchia before then.

#9: The team: San Diego Padres; The pick: Sean Burroughs, 3B
When viewed in light of his status as a much-ballyhooed prospect (I wish there were more social scenarios where the phrase ‘much-ballyhooed’ was applicable), Burroughs seems like a bust of the highest order; but the Padres still managed to get two very good seasons from him for near the league minimum. Not satisfied, the Padres swapped him for Dewon Brazelton, who was a bust any way you slice it.

Grade: C+. Burroughs never developed the power or the .330 average that he was supposed to, but he did deliver back-to-back seasons that would have cost the Padres eight-figures to replace on the open market.

#8: The team: Toronto Blue Jays; The pick: Felipe Lopez, IF
Lopez was a decent hitter in the minors, struggled in the majors, and was shipped away in a four-team deal that brought back prospect Jason Arnold, who remains tied with Cory and myself for most innings pitched in Blue Jays history. Lopez eventually turned into a decent enough player.

Grade: D+. It would have been an acceptable pick had they kept Lopez and stuck him at short, because the Jays haven’t had a decent shortstop since Tony Fernandez.

#7: The team: Cincinnati Reds; The pick: Austin Kearns, OF
Another prospect who didn’t live up to high-expectations. Kearns is the best of the bunch so far as he actually saved the Reds $30 million over five seasons despite being in and out of the lineup. The trade that sent him (and Felipe Lopez) to the Nationals for a pair of relievers looks as uninspired now as it did then.

Grade: B. Another moderately-disappointed prospect dealt before he got expensive for a lackluster return. Kearns gave the Reds solid production but he was rarely healthy and they were never good. Bray could still be a solid late-innings reliever, so there’s some room for improvement here.

#6: The team: Minnesota Twins; The pick: Ryan Mills, P
Career minor-league record: 17-40, career major-league innings: 0

Grade: F-. An F doesn’t seem low enough — Mills couldn’t even get anybody out in the minors.

We’ll continue the countdown to number one in a few days…

Dear Orioles,

I am writing to you on behalf of both the league and it’s fans, asking you to please accept a trade with the Chicago Cubs in which you would give them your All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts in return for four of their best young players: Jose Ceda, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, and Ronny Cedeno.

I understand your hesitancy to trade away your best player, but let’s be honest: even with him at the keystone you’re not going sniff 80 wins.  You’ll need some luck to win 75. Robert’s contract is up in two years and unless you want to drastically overpay him once he’s on the wrong side of 30, he’s not going to be stick around any longer than he has to. It’s time to cash him in for some talented players who are contractually obligated to stay in Baltimore for longer than two years.

Normally, I would say that a rebuilding team should target high-upside players who could develop into the caliber of star which cannot usually be found on the free-agent market and unfortunately, none of the players mentioned in the package above fit that bill. Ceda has the most upside of the bunch and he projects as a reliever. But your team, once Roberts is removed, may have the worst middle-infield in the history of time, and there’s really nothing better on the horizon. Luis Hernandez, Brandon Fahey, and Freddie Bynum are the only other 2B/SS on the depth chart, and Bynum’s predicted OPS (.659, by PECOTA) is the best of the bunch. Over a full season, a Patterson/Cedeno middle-infield would result in about 10 more wins than one with Bynum/Hernandez getting the bulk of the playing time. Having cost-controlled players like Patterson, Cedeno, Matt Wieters, and Nick Markakis in the lineup will allow you to throw your money at uber-stars like Baltimore-native Mark Teixeira when they reach free agency.

In closing, I would just like to say that I am by no means a Baltimore Orioles fan, or even a supporter. The reason that I would like to see you make this deal, which is undoubtedly a good economic move for your organization, is so that I can sleep at night, and not lay awake wondering how someone can be smart enough to accumulate enough money to buy a baseball team and yet dumb enough to blow $600 million on payroll this decade without ever cracking 80 wins. Frankly, it baffles me.

Sincerely yours,

Tony

Dear Cubs,

I am writing this on behalf of the league and it’s fans asking you to sign off on a trade to send four of your best prospects (Jose Ceda, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, and Ronny Cedeno) to the Baltimore Orioles in return for Brian Roberts.

Your manager, Lou Pinella, is planning on batting Ryan Theriot (.326 OBP in 2007) and Alfonso Soriano (.337) in the first two spots of the order. Brian Roberts had a .377 OBP last year. He stole 50 bases and was only caught 7 times. Yes, he costs a little more ($14.3 million over the next two years), but you’re the Cubs. You’re one of the top five most marketable franchises in baseball. And you haven’t won a pennant in over 60 years. The difference between Roberts and Mark DeRosa is something in the area of three extra wins, plus whatever wins you gain from pushing Theriot to the eight-hole. Last year you only won the division by two games. A three-game improvement could prevent you from having to blame your failure to capture the pennant on a goat or a season-ticket holder.

Ceda, Gallagher, Patterson, and Cedeno are all nice prospects, but none of them are likely to be stars. Cost controlled, above-average players can be a wonderful thing, but again: YOU’RE THE CUBS. You need to worry about being efficient with your roster space, not your money (not that you’ve ever been particularly efficient with your money). Here’s a suggestion: Take the the extra money you make from selling ‘Cubs 2008 World Series’ t-shirts and use it to sign a player who has big bonus demands in the upcoming June draft. The Tigers have done it the last two years and it’s gotten them Andrew Miller and Rick Porcello, both of whom are far better than any prospects you would be giving up.

In closing, let me just say that you have given so much to the league and it’s fans over the years. The music of Steve Goodman. The Sandberg Game. Gary Busey’s performance as Chet Steadman in the movie ‘Rookie of the Year.’ We the fans want to give something back. We want to cheer you on as you try to prevent going 100 years without a World Series title. Trading four of your prospects (who, let’s face it, you’re probably going to screw up anyway) for one of the best second basemen in the league is a step in the right direction.

Sincerely yours,

Tony

“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.

“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

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 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

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

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 

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