A Split at Williamsport

Little did the Tribe realize they would be playing four games this past weekend at a little league stadium. The RWAB earning a split of the set at the New Yankee Stadium, which soon will have circus-like nicknames attached to it. The new yard is an absolute farce and a joke and good luck to Yankee pitchers this season who will have to endure pop ups to right leaving the building. The Indians bats were alive on Thursday and Saturday, the bullpen did its usual tanking, and we saw Jeffrey Maier revisited on Sunday. Why even have any sort of 'fan interference' rule in this sport? Oh yeah, it is run by Bud Selig, forget it.

I am not pleased with a split in NY. The Indians had every opportunity to sweep these high priced antiques, and they did not. I do like the speedy Brett Gardner, Tex is a player, and A.J. Burnett also was a fine pickup this winter. Other than that, I see a third place old team wearing pinstripes, with a ballpark that little leaguers would love. Johnny Damon cannot throw my buddy Seth out. Or his son Cooper either and he is in diapers. One of the goats of the weekend, Jenny Lewis, did point out today after he served up the go-ahead homer to Jorge Posada quote "It was a pop fly," Lewis said of Posada's homer. "Again, in any other ballpark in the country, it's an out. When it gets up in that jet stream, it just blows out. I'm definitely ready to leave here."

Lewis served up two pop fly dingers this weekend. 20 total in four games. 20! Give me a break. New Yorkers will say: "Well.. its the same dimensions as the old stadium". Yeah. So. The concourses are so wide that there is a jet stream running out to right. Anyone see AC's grand slam on Saturday? He fisted it to right and it was gone. By the way, Asdrubal is a stud. A 23 year old witch right now, who is aggressive on the base paths and doing it all.

This bullpen, outside of Kerry Wood, is abysmal. I still believe that Joe Smith is gonna contribute and Jenny Lewis will be fine. But the others look brutal and it would be nice to see someone come in and put out a fire for once. Where is that devastating Rafael Perez off-speed pitch?

One more thing. It appears Carl "The American Idle" Pavano is showing a pulse. Dude pitched a whale of a game today. Many will question Eric "Grind over Matter" Wedge and his decision to pull Carl after 89 pitches, but even Pavano says he was just happy Wedge kept him in to face Nick Swisher (slapdick alert) in the 6th with the bases loaded. I'm not gonna go nuts over that one. Bullpen has to do its job.