Outdoorsman? For a Day, Anyway...

I've never been much of an outdoorsman, and I'm aware that I've been missing out. Wasn't raised around fishing, or hunting, or boating, or skiing, and really haven't picked up on it in my adult life.

But for one day, at least, I got a taste of it. Part of the reason I haven't posted here for more than a week is that my wife and I had the chance to get away to Lake Mohawk, outside of Malvern, Ohio, about a half hour south of where we live. A friend was gracious enough to let us use his place on the lake, and we had a great time. Lake Mohawk is a man-made lake and residential community, with a par-3 golf course and several beaches built around the lake.

On one of the days, our three kids came to visit for the afternoon, and we took our friend's pontoon boat out on the lake. The kids rode the inner tube while I sat at the controls, and we had a great time. The kids had a blast on the water, and it was just a relaxing but fun way to spend the day. We grilled steaks and generally had a ball. And we were one of literally hundreds of families doing the same thing across the expanse of the lake community. The beauty of the scenery was matched only by the picture-perfect weather we were able to enjoy. What a serene, relaxing environment. We really couldn't have asked for more, and it was great to share it with our family.

Casey Blake

The Tribe pulled the trigger Saturday on a trade that made perfect sense, but sent packing one of my favorite players ever to don an Indians uniform. Casey Blake (left, in his 2-for-3 Dodger debut) was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for two prospects, catcher Carlos Santana and pitcher Jon Meloan.

No question it's a good deal. Santana's got a hot bat and a powerful arm, and Meloan has shown promise in relief during his minor league career. All that for a 34-year-old who is about to be a free agent. Mark Shapiro had to make that deal, even if the potential payoff is still a couple of years away.

Still, it's sad to see Blake join C.C. Sabathia as departed Indians who were once a part of something that showed such promise. To me, Blake was simply a guy you could count on to deliver consistent numbers. He wasn't a superstar, or even a star, for that matter, but you knew what you were going to get with him. After a slow start this year, he had brought his numbers right back to where you'd expect them to be: .289 batting average, 11 homers, 58 runs batted in (a team high). He played third base, first base or outfield, without complaint. He was a positive force in the clubhouse. In six seasons with the Indians, he showed up for work every day and got the job done.

It's good that Shapiro understands the Tribe's current situation and is moving forward without wringing his hands. But Casey Blake will be missed. He'll always be one of my favorites in Tribe history.

Random Thoughts for the Week

Some random thoughts that have occurred to me over the week:

How cool is it that Greg Norman continued to play brilliantly through the second round of the British Open, just one stroke off the lead? I’ll tell you how cool: At 53, he’s two years older than I am. That's not necessarily old -- except in golfing terms. To compete in a major at his age is amazing. To win it would be legendary. Then again, it is the British Open, once his favorite stomping ground. Besides, is it any wonder he’s playing great? He recently married again, to tennis legend Chris Evert. Hey, at least he didn’t marry her for her money. Go get ’em, Greg…

Don’t know why I never commented on the men’s Wimbledon final, but Rafael Nadal (left) and Roger Federer put on a show for the ages. It reminded me in so many ways of Borg-McEnroe in 1980, and even the Borg-Connors slugfests before that. The match was wonderful and awe-inspiring and may, over time, live up to Sports Illustrated’s breathless, instant labeling as “the greatest match ever played.” (No hype among today’s media, is there?) Nadal and Federer are great for men’s tennis – moreso than is the awkward pairing on the women's side of the Williams sisters, who, despite their greatness, make it difficult to watch with enthusiasm when they play against one another in a major final. It’s not fair to say that, but even they admit it. Nadal-Federer, meanwhile, will rank with the greatest rivalries in the history of sport. Just great to watch, anywhere, any time…

How stupid is it that Josh Hamilton is not the 2008 Home Run Derby champion? The other contestants should have just walked off and conceded after his stunning first round performance, during which he blasted 28 long balls. This was more awesome than what Bobby Abreu did a few years ago; Hamilton’s tape-measure shots had the Yankee Stadium crowd, and a national TV audience, gasping in amazement. (Not to mention Chris Berman, who, I do believe, would gasp in amazement announcing a turtle race.) So, Justin Morneau was the derby champion, huh? Yeah, right…

Let’s see now: James Posey gets tons of press as a possible free agent signing for the Cavs…and signs with New Orleans. Baron Davis? The Clippers. Elton Brand? Dealt to the Sixers. Even Corey Maggette signed with Golden State. Some major names have moved already, and so far the Cavs are standing pat. Michael Redd remains a possibility, but, with the addition of Richard Jefferson to the Bucks’ roster, it looks less likely that Redd will end up in a Cavaliers uniform. I appreciate that the Cavs pushed Boston to the limit in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but the fact is that it was just the semifinals, and the Celtics went on to win it all. The Cavs can’t afford to stand pat with the roster they have. Signing Daniel Gibson (left) to a long-term deal was a solid and necessary move, but more will be required if the Cavs are to compete for an NBA championship…

Hate to see Joe Jurevicius lose a third of the season to knee surgery, but that’s the way it is. It's hard to quantify the leadership and grit he brings to the Browns. He’s a crafty, veteran receiver, and I guarantee you that his influence rubbed off on his younger counterparts last year. It’s not likely he has a lot of time left. Here’s hoping he can come back and contribute in ’08. (By the way, has anybody else wondered if Jurevicius [left] and Drew Bledsoe [right] were separated at birth?)...

Finally, Asdrubal Cabrera (left) is back with the Tribe, and deservedly so. His month in Buffalo produced a .326 batting average, with four homers and 13 RBI. He’ll probably displace Jamey Carroll at second base, which is a shame because Carroll has been a consummate pro since taking over the everyday duties. What’s interesting to contemplate is how long it will be before Cabrera is the Tribe shortstop. He played short in 29 of the 34 games he played with the Bisons, and it’s my hunch that he hit better because he was playing a position he enjoys more, not because AAA pitchers are that much worse than big leaguers. If Eric Wedge is going to experiment with the rest of this season, why not move Jhonny Peralta to third (do we really need to see any more of Andy Marte?) and install Cabrera at short? Peralta has turned into a power and RBI machine since being moved to the cleanup spot in the order. That’s more suited to a third baseman. So make the move and get ready for ’09.

And that’s all I have to say about all that.

It's All Gone Too Favre

Brett Favre doesn't care what I think, but here's what I think.

I don't care if Brett Favre ever plays in the NFL again. I enjoyed watching him and was impressed by his accomplishments. But I really don't care if he plays.

I don't care if he retires. I don't care if he unretires. I don't care if he gets his unconditional release from the Packers, as requested. I don't care if he then defects to the Bears or the Vikings or the Lions, or to the Arena Football League. I just don't care.

All the attention heaped on his every move by ESPN is as ridiculous as it is irritating. Chris Mortensen, what do you think Favre will do? John Clayton, what do you think the Packers will do? Mark Schlereth, can you gush about Brett for a while, too?

The whole thing is a bizarre circus. To me, Favre has tarnished his image a bit with all this pins-and-needles nonsense. Make up your mind, already. It's like one of those annoying reality shows on Bravo or E! or one of those other celebrity-obsessed networks. Retire, don't retire, but please make up your mind. It's Sugar Ray Leonard all over again. Sorry, Marvin Hagler, I'm retired. No, wait, I'm unretired. No, this is it, I'm gone. Wait, I think I'll fight again after all.

Yawn. Just make up your mind, already.

Tribe Shows C.C. 'La Porta'

The confirmation today of the news that C.C. Sabathia had been traded by the Indians to the Milwaukee Brewers brought recollections of the deal in 2002 that sent Bartolo Colon to the Montreal Expos. A flame-throwing, top-of-the-rotation pitcher who promised to be difficult to re-sign, sent packing in exchange for some solid prospects.

In Colon's case, the Tribe stole some bonafide major leaguers right out from under the Expos' (now Nationals) noses. In addition to journeyman Lee Stevens, Cleveland nabbed then-minor leaguers Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips. The company line has always been that Eric Wedge and the Indians had their reasons for parting with Phillips in 2006, but the guy would sure look good in a Cleveland uniform right about now. In his third year in Cincinnati, he's been a .285 hitter during that span. Meanwhile, Lee and Sizemore will represent the Indians in this year's All-Star Game.

In today's deal, the Indians received four minor leaguers in return for Sabathia. The centerpiece of the deal for Cleveland is Matt LaPorta (left), an outfielder/first baseman considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball. LaPorta, thought to be on the fast track to the big leagues, was batting .288 with 20 home runs and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Huntsville, Milwaukee's AA minor league affiliate. (Note to Ryan Garko: No need to check out the picture to see Mr. LaPorta. Just look over your shoulder.)

The other prospects shipped to Cleveland in the deal -- pitchers Rob Bryson and Zach Jackson, plus a player to be named later -- will be discussed by others, elsewhere, ad nauseum. The bottom line is, Sabathia's gone. And there was little that Tribe G.M. Mark Shapiro could do about it. The big lefty seems set on testing the free agent market (remember, he turned down an extension during spring training that would have paid him $18 million a year), so the Indians had to get something in return rather than letting Sabathia leave the way Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez did over the years.

This is the reality of small-market baseball. A few years ago Shapiro was pointing to 2005 as the year he expected the Indians to blossom into a contender. Sure enough, by 2007 they were again the A.L. Central Champs, and came within a whisker of another trip to the World Series. But this year it all came tumbling down, and the rebuilding begins all over again.

C.C. was solid, if not always spectacular, for the Indians over the years. His departure, coupled with injuries to Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook, leaves the once-vaunted Indians pitching rotation depleted and scrambling for cover. Such is the life of a team caught once again in the "rebuilding" cycle.

A friend of mine is a lifelong Pirates fan, and he concedes that there's no reason for the team's ownership to field a winning team. They're a small market, and fans support the team as it is -- so why go out of the way to bring in big-name talent at big-name prices? The Indians' situation is similar. If LaPorta or one (or more) of the other prospects develops, great. If not, the team (and their affiliate network, SportsTime Ohio), make money regardless. What more could an owner want?

Meanwhile, in Bulls' Town...

Couldn't help but notice this item as it trickled across the newswire. New Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro (left) added former NBA coaches Del Harris (center) and Bernie Bickerstaff to his coaching staff. This is Del Negro's first head coaching opportunity, and it shows either confidence, or stupidity.

Confidence, because it would indicate that he's secure in who he is and knows that he will benefit from having seasoned, experienced coaches around to advise him as he learns the role. Stupidity, because if he isn't up to the job, GM John Paxson can just install Harris or Bickerstaff in his seat.

I suspect it's the former. "When I first accepted this position, I made it a top priority to surround myself with an experienced coaching staff," Del Negro said. "Now. . .you would be hard pressed to find a staff with the combined number of years experience that we have assembled."

It's an approach that makes a lot of sense for someone new to coaching. And it reminds one again of the reservations many fans, and members of the media, have about Cavs coach Mike Brown.

Brown has proven that he can get a team to play defense -- often, great defense. But his offense hasn't worked, and doesn't work. At best, the Cavs offense seems to succeed when they overwhelm teams with athleticism -- usually on the part of LeBron James -- with the occasional and timely tip-ins of Zydrunas Ilgauskas as a follow-up to missed shots (which tend to be numerous). The roster has been littered with lousy shooters, and the offense typically deteriorates into the LeBron-James-dribble-dribble-dribble-shoot pattern. It elicits what one might call the "Ilgauskas chant": Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z. . . .

A frequent topic of radio talk shows and Internet message boards has been the need for Brown to hire an offensive guru to bring the Cavs into the 21st Century. He's resisted the idea, apparently operating under the belief that he and his current assistants can oversee an offense that will win championships.

My 13-year-old son knows that isn't true. Tens of thousands of frustrated Cavs fans do, too. And, as I've written here before, TNT's Charles Barkley told it like it is when, during the playoffs, he called the Cavs' system a "crappy offense."

The Bulls have been on the verge of being a contender for the past two seasons. With Harris and Bickerstaff (both with 13 years' experience as NBA head coaches) now on board to help Del Negro, this could be the year things get serious again in the Windy City. Brown would do well to take a page from Vinny's book and bring in an expert who could help the Cavaliers take full advantage of LeBron's talents and install an offense that will be both entertaining and productive.

Cavs Load Up on 'Bigs' - Possible Trade Bait?

OK, so it’s J.J. Hickson.

Message boards and talk radio shows are loaded with folks crying “foul” over Danny Ferry’s decision to select the power forward out of North Carolina State. Everybody needs to calm down. It’s one player, and, no matter who the Cavs selected with the 19th pick, they weren’t going to get someone who would instantly elevate the team to championship caliber.

There’s still work to be done. Seeing a scorer like a Michael Redd in a Cleveland uniform next season would be cause for excitement. But don’t give up hope, Cavs fans. A couple of moves that Ferry made later in the night may yet pay dividends. He sent a 2009 second round pick to Miami for the draft rights to Kansas forward Darnell Jackson, and then purchased the rights to Kansas center Sasha Kaun from Seattle. Both were second round picks.

Jackson is intriguing. He’s 6-8, 250, and averaged 11 points and almost seven rebounds a game (tops on the team) for the NCAA champion Jayhawks. More important, he put up those numbers on the national stage, and was part of the pressure-cooker that is the NCAA tournament, all the way through the Final Four and the title game.

Kaun (6-11, 250) averaged seven points and four rebounds as a reserve center. He’s apparently headed to Moscow to play, but could develop into a long-term project. Or, he could be trade bait. So could Jackson. So could Hickson.

Assuming Hickson stays with the Cavs, however, he’ll be expected to be a solid "rotational" player, as Ferry put it. And that may be why Cleveland passed on selecting GlenOak and Ohio State product Kosta Koufos, who later went to the Utah Jazz. Rather than have Koufos intern behind Zydrunas Ilgauskas for a few years, Ferry apparently felt a player like Hickson could establish himself in the rotation and make a contribution right away. Hickson led the Wolfpack in scoring (14.8 ppg), rebounding (8.5) and blocked shots (1.5) as a freshman, so I’m not sure what more fans would ask him to do at age 19. He's an athletic player with basketball skills and strength who the Cavs had rated very highly.

Regardless of who was drafted, it’s not likely that Ferry’s offseason activities are finished.

If You're Gonna Wear Throwbacks, Wear the Right Ones

While we learned the stunning news of Tiger Wood's physical condition requiring him to have more surgery and sit out the remainder of the season after winning the U.S. Open in a 19-hole playoff. . .and that Fausto Carmona and Travis Hafner will have to sit out even longer than expected. . .and that the Indians dropping another game leaves them 7-1/2 games out (and closer to last place than first). . .we turn our attention to one of the really crucial aspects of sports: throwback uniforms.

Recently when the Indians and Padres donned their oldies during their weekend series, they matched 1978 garb. Well, the Tribe simply couldn't compare to the Pads on that score. Cleveland trotted out in their very ordinary solid blues with boring block letters, while San Diego got jazzed up again in those old yellow and brown combinations. Nasty, those Padres jerseys, but memorable. I was living in the L.A. area in those days, and when Steve Garvey left the Dodgers for the Padres, he never looked quite right in that taco combination.

I know the Indians have worn them before, but if you're going to pull out something that recalls the '70s, there's nothing like the '75 attire. The stylized lettering, the blue and red versions, and, of course, the all-red uniforms worn, memorably, on opening day when Frank Robinson hit a home run in his first at bat as player-manager, were unlike anything else worn in team history. Boog Powell said the all-red version made him look like "a giant tomato." Not a bad assessment. But hey, it was the '70s. They weren't alone in their garishness, however. The Oakland A's were best known for the trend with their all-yellow and all-green combinations in 1971 (actually adapted from the franchise's uniforms in 1963, when they were located in Kansas City). The A's were joined in '71 by the Baltimore Orioles' bizarre all-orange outfits. And the Pittsburgh Pirates donned all-yellows and all-blacks in the late '70s.

The Chicago White Sox, not to be outdone, had all-blacks among their many combinations in the late '70s and early '80s, which, memorably, featured shirt collars and, for one game in August 1976, shorts (left). It was the ultimate sandlot softball look, which is pretty much what all the multi-colored major league uniforms recalled during that era. And let's not forget the baby blue road uniforms favored in those days by the likes of the Phillies, the Rangers, the Royals and, yes, the White Sox. What a time.

Still a topic of hot debate, however, is the multi-colored jersey worn by the Houston Astros for 12 seasons, from 1975 through 1986. They're symbolic of that entire era, and were certainly unique among all the brazen color combinations sported by MLB teams in the '70s and '80s. Personally, I was never bothered by them, and I lived in Texas during part of that stretch and was subjected to images of the Astros in those uniforms perhaps more than most people. But a lot of people hated them, and they eventually disappeared.

I've never been much of a Yankees fan, but they still wear the most distinctive uniforms in baseball. The Dodgers are right there with them, of course. And, I have to acknowledge the Tribe for their return to the classic Indians script jerseys in 1994, when they moved to Jacobs Field and began their resurgence as a championship franchise.

Want a fun way to waste some time? Check out the "Dressed to the Nines" section of the Baseball Hall of Fame Web site. You can view renderings of every uniform ever worn by any team. Some cool ones, and some terrible ones. But an enjoyable trip down memory lane.