People I know who’ve met Ozzie Guillen tell me he’s an incredibly nice man. I think this must be a front. I’m not saying Guillen is He Who Must Not Be Named, but clearly the man is part of Slytherin House. There is no other logical reason why the Indians are 6-1 against them this season. The Indians dropped two more games to them this weekend. Only the merciful intervention of Mother Nature to give us a rain out on Saturday kept it from being a three-game sweep (proof that Mother Nature is an Indians fan). Yesterday’s 4-2 loss included three errors and three unearned runs. Justin Masterson allowed four hits and one earned run over seven innings (with six strike outs), giving him another loss after another great outing.
There are trade rumors abounding as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. We’ve seen some of the names been thrown around: B.J. Upton, Hunter Pence, Coco Crisp and Ryan Ludwick, but no one but the Tribe front office really knows for whom they’re trying to deal. My only hope as a fan is that we don’t give away the farm in order to get somebody like former Indian Coco Crisp, who’s at the end of his career. I like seeing the same faces around for a few years. Although I’m not a fan of the Yankees (Voldemort’s favorite team) or Derek Jeter, there’s a lot to be said for keeping a great player around for 16 years. It gives the franchise and the team a face and gives the fans a more lasting relationship to their team.
Which leads me to the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. I love, love, love that Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were inducted this year. Both are former Indians who made me proud of my team when they played here. I wish they had both played here long enough to be identified with the Indians. Regardless of what hat they’re depicted as wearing on the plaques, they are both well-deserving of the Hall of Fame honor.