Cheers to Preseason Football!
Jeers to----Tie between Colt McCoy getting injured in the first preseason game and Me still being a Browns fan.
After what can only be described as a yet another abysmal summer as a Cleveland sports fan, I always tell myself "There's always next year...". Well, for the Browns, next year is starting now. After a slew of good offseason moves, and a few puzzling ones, preseason football has started, and I know it's only preseason, but I'm excited. You can't read anything into the games, but the Browns looked pretty good in their win over the Packers last weekend (even with the McCoy injury). We have some momentum going into the season, after winning the last four games of last season, and starting off the preseason strong. I mean, with the Bengals getting better, the Ravens getting significantly better, and the Steelers still in our division, we'll still be at the bottom of the AFC North. Regardless, I'm still excited.
Cheers to the Cleveland Indians' farm teams
Jeers to Ryan Kalish destroying the remainder of Carlos Santana's rookie season
The Cleveland Indians farm teams have been good for a while, and I guess the silver lining of the Dolan family not wanting to pay any money for players is that we get an opportunity to see our coveted prospects make it up to the show. Players like Jason Donald, Lou Marson, Carlos Santana, Josh Tomlin, JeanMar Gomez, Michael Brantley, and others have had the chance to play for the Indians this year, due to injuries and trades. Additionally, players like Andy Marte, Matt LaPorta, and Chris Gimenez continue to develop nicely. In my mind, the best players from the young crop have been Santana, Tomlin, and Gomez. Gomez and Tomlin were solid in their starts so far, both with ERAs under 3 (Tomlin 2.96, Gomez 1.84, as of today). Unfortunately, we won't get to see what else Santana can do this season, after a gruesome collision at the plate with Ryan Kalish. Amazingly, Santana held onto the ball, getting the out. He had surgery, and is out until the spring.
Cheers to Jim Thome
Jeers to Alex Rodriguez
Just a week shy of his 40th birthday, Jim Thome is still the man. I really wish we still had him on the Tribe, and I pray that he's not on steroids. Speaking of steroids, A-Ro(i)d hit homerun number 600*. Only he knows how many more he really needs to hit.
Cheers to Delonte West
Jeers to Delonte West
The hilariously unspeakable things which Delonte West may or may not have done to LeBron James' mama are both cheers-worthy and jeers-worthy at the same time.
Cheers to most of Dan Gilbert's open letter to LeBron James
Jeers to a few sentences of said letter
As a spurned Cleveland Cavaliers fan, I was ecstatic to know that our owner let LeBron James know how he felt. I was at a bar with my girlfriend, and at about 9:28 PM, I told her bluntly "We're leaving-NOW". But seriously, come on Dan. I know that you're upset- we all are, and maybe you deserved to say what you want after all, because you do sign the checks. But don't sound like an idiot. Do you really think that we have a shot at winning a championship before LeBron does with the current team? You've got to be kidding me. When our big offseason moves include getting Ramon Sessions and one of the Graham brothers, don't be surprised when Marv Albert isn't calling our games come late May/early June. In fact, don't get your hopes up for a playoff appearance for at least another few years. This team needs to be gutted completely, and you need to bring in the right people to advise you. Not Chris Grant. Not Byron Scott. I don't know who it is, but I know it's not those two individuals.
Cheers to the Indians trading away Jhonny Peralta, Jake Westbrook, and Kerry Wood.
Jeers to the Indians trading away Austin Kearns
For the last few years, I, along with every other Indians fan, has wanted nothing more that to get rid of Jhonny Peralta. As one of the "higher" paid players on our team, ol' Ja-Honny was not living up to his "lofty" contractual expectations. So when I heard that we traded him to the injury-plagued Detroit Tigers for Giovanni Soto, I was ecstatic and puzzled. Ecstatic that we traded him away, and puzzled for two reasons. Firstly, I couldn't believe that someone would want to take him. Secondly, since when was Giovanni Soto from the Chicago Cubs on the Tigers? Unfortunately for me, the prospect we received was Class A starter Giovanni Soto, very much not affiliated with the Cubs organization, and in his debut, Peralta hit two homeruns and a double. Great. Losing Kerry Wood and Jake Westbrook didn't bother me so much. They were the second and third highest paid players on the team, the first being Travis Hafner (PROOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!!!!!!), and to be brutally honest, they suck. Westbrook eats up innings but isn't the best pitcher out there. Wood can't stay healthy. That's about it. Dealing Kearns, on the other hand, was a terrible move. He was arguably the second best player on the team, making almost nothing, and we didn't even get anything back for him! I just don't understand it, and I probably never will
Cheers to National League teams that are in a hunt to make the playoff that aren't usually so good
Jeers to the fake fans of the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox
It's always great to see teams play well that never usually do, in any sport. The National League this year is crazy, with the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, and San Diego Padres playing extremely good baseball. The Reds division usually goes to the Cardinals, and often times, it's a race to make the Wild Card between Cincinnati, Chicago, or Milwaukee. But right now, the Reds are up 2 games on the Cards, and are really getting it done. The Braves are lucky that the Phils are behind them, even after they got Roy Oswalt. The biggest story is the way that the Padres have been playing. They're running away with their division, and they got immense help at the trade deadline. They snagged Miguel Tejada from the Orioles, and even more awesome, they got Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals. That's something I don't understand even more than trading away Austin Kearns. Why would you trade away Ludwick for nothing? He won the game the night before for the Cardinals, and the next day they shipped him off for nothing. Wouldn't you want a guy like Ludwick if you're trying to fend off Joey Votto and the Reds? Come on STL! (Speaking of Joey Votto, HOW DID HE NOT MAKE THE BALLOT ON THE ALL-STAR TEAM?!?! I mean he eventually got on, but he's probably going to win the NL MVP and you don't even put him on the team? Jeers to you National League, and anyone involved in that travesty).
