There is a drinking game entitled “Fuzzy Duck” that starts by, well, drinking.  The object of the game is to go around the table, each participant saying “fuzzy duck”.  At some point, someone can say “Does he?” instead of “fuzzy duck” and reverse the order of the  participants that were saying “fuzzy duck” in chronological order.  In addition to shifting the game from clock-wise to counter-clock-wise, the opposing saying is “Ducky Fuzz”.  And so the game continues.  So one way, “Fuzzy Duck”  Does he? Reverses course and makes the saying “Ducky Fuzz”, and along the way, the tongue twister ends up making someone or another say a bad word or a combination of bad words and drink.  Eventually everyone gets toasted enough that the game falls by the wayside and you just watch sports.

With Chien-Ming Wang partially tearing a tendon and spraining his foot while running the bases during an inter-league match up with Houston, and C.C. Sabathia in the last year of his contract with a below .500 Cleveland Indians team that may or may not crawl back into contention in a poor AL Central, the New York Yankees, a bottomless free-spending pit already, might be desperate to pick up some more starting pitching.

Enter the latest drinking game that would actually be sports related instead of a just a reference to a duck with hair.  There is no way you couldn’t come up with something close to fuzzy duck with the words Wang, Yank (short for Yankees; short and Wang are even a somewhat funny combination as long as its not appropriate to apply it to yourself or your significant other), injured and Sabathia.  Maybe it starts out : Sabathia to Yanks replacing an injured Wang.  Then someone else says “possibility?” reversing the course and its “injured Wang sends Sabathia to Yanks” for the opposite direction.  You keep that up while drinking and watching what few Indians runners reach base, I guarantee there will be some worse sayings coming out of that combination than the “Fuzzy Duck” game. 

Since the actual word Sabathia does not really contribute to the offending nature of the saying of the game or the spirit of the contest, maybe he’ll be overlooked by the Yankees for trading for a pitcher like Aaron Harang, or worse, a trade for John Danks.  After all, Baseball is just a game, while drinking games are a lot harder to come by.

People would talk about the history of that one like “Remember the Wang Danks trade?”.  Oof.

Let’s just hope the Indians aren’t left with no Sabathia and holding a injured Wang.

Grady Sizemore is the only Cleveland Indians player listed among the vote-getters for the All-Star game.  All positions list the top 5, with the exception of outfielders, that display the top 15 (three positions x top five). 

The Red Sox lead the way with nine on the list, including five number ones.  That also translates into the fact  they have someone in the top five for every fielded position.

The Yankees are second with nine and two number ones, again someone for every position ranks in the top five.  They are currently third in the AL East behind Boston and Tampa Bay.

The Tigers and Rangers come in third with Six apiece.  Detroit and Texas are both below .500 and one team away from being in the basement of their respective divisions.

The White Sox, AL Central division leaders, have five.

The Rays have three players making the list, six less than the Yankees, who trail them in the standings by three and a half games.

The Twins and Angels each have two representatives to date, even though Los Angeles sports the second best record in the American League and is first in the AL West.

The Mariners, Indians, and Orioles each have one representative.

The Oakland A’s are the only team not represented on the list that are better than .500.  They have a 38-31 mark thus far.

Six of the teams on the list are below .500. 

The voting is about individual players and does not necessarily reflect how well their respective teams are performing.

Voting ends 11:59 PM on July 2^nd.

To cast your vote online click here

Even with all the Indians woes, Aaron Laffey has been great since being called up.  His performance may keep him in an Indians uniform for good.  See his stats and Rookie of the Month story here.  

With Barry Bonds riding the pine in his own backyard and still unsigned, if you were the GM of the Tribe, or any team for that matter, and could pick up Bonds as a DH, assuming the price is right, would you do it?   If the Tribe climbs into contention (or should I say when) around Mid-July and Pronk is still MIA via the DL or just not hitting, would Bonds be a viable option?

So far this season, no one has pulled the string.  Either Barry is pricing himself out of most teams’ budgets or they are afraid to touch him for fear of the public repercussions, team chemistry, or a combination of all of the above.

The Indians certainly could use a bat like Bonds in the lineup.  Who on the Tribe is a legitimate walk candidate with runners in scoring position and first base open?  Casey Blake on the road?  Ben Francisco?  Travis Hafner?  Grady Sizemore? Quite frankly right now there isn’t a whole lot of scary to induce a free pass.

As the season progresses, do you think anyone will take a flyer on Bonds?  Would he still be a threat after all this time away from hitting?  If you could trade Travis Hafner for Bonds straight up, would you do it?

Bonds might be just what the Indians lineup needs to strike fear into opposing pitchers hearts.  What do Cleveland fans and potential GM’s have to say?

Check out the 2008 Cleveland Indians selections

In recent feedback on the blog, a couple readers have questioned some of the moves the Indians made or did not make over the off season.  For instance here are a few excepts from obviously well-informed and passionate sports fans.

Common Sense writes I wish someone in the media would "call out" Shapiro for failing to upgrade the outfield (in the off-season), when triple-crown probable Josh Hamilton was available from the Reds for TWO FREAKIN' MINOR-LEAGUE PITCHING PROSPECTS FROM TX.

Eric replies :  But Hamilton is the one that Shapiro will have to kick himself in the rear about blowing for the next decade. Even the Cincy radio voice said that when Josh played his season there, he was THE BEST ATHLETE he'd ever seen in any sport in his entire lifetime. How does a talent like that go overlooked (especially at that bargain trading price!) by the supposed "professional talent evaluators" in Cleveland—who KNEW that a power-hitting corner outfielder was a MUST.

Well Common Sense, here is a story just up your alley.  Dr. Jeff Poove' offers this article as representation of what ails the Indians.  See Shapiro at the top of the list. 

P.S. whether I think Shapiro is or is not a bonehead, I have to agree with reader feedback from pinky9.  He/She states : Hamilton was a hidden gem, but there were others. Texiera could still be gotten from Atlanta, and Colorado has a plethora of players that would help this team. CC is our most tradeable commodity, so let's do it.

On the Cleveland Indians official website, they have Travis Hafner's photo as the main image for All-Star balloting.  It's not because he has the largest head, since Jhonny Peralta's head-shot rivals Hafner's.  It's based on the fact that Travis shows up suggestively right under the VOTE NOW sign and the headline reads, "Help Sizemore, Martinez, Pronk reach the All-Star game".   All I can say to that is WHAT????  Victor Martinez is about the only position Tribe player other than pitchers that should even be considered for an Indians vote.  Ben Francisco would be the second option.  Grady Sizemore would probably be the most likely to garnish votes to the casual fan not following MLB this year, but EVEN that person couldn't vote for Pronk, could he/she?  With voting closed, the likelihood of Hafner making it is slim and none, but it's just the point our intelligence would even be tested toward casting that vote that makes the whole thing somewhat disheartening. 

Tom Mastny looks to get his first start in the Bigs Tuesday night, taking Jake Westbrook's spot in the rotation.  Jensen Lewis returns to the Tribe bullpen after a brief stint down in Bisonland.  Talk about shuffle off to Buffalo and back!  Good luck to Mastny going against a red hot smoking Texas lineup.  He hasn't taken the hill yet, so speculation still runs rampant.

Jake Westbrook suffered an injury in his return to the rotation last week, and now he's returning to the 15-day disabled list.

Firing up an Indians blog in the midst of the slump they are in seems a bit like poking yourself in the eye, but anyone who'd be reading a Cleveland Indians blog during this current losing debocle is obviously my kind of people.  True Tribe fans enjoy watching baseball even as the team wallows, so we'll sweat it out together until they break out of this funk and take us back to the top of the AL Central.

After being humiliated by the the Kansas City Royals, losing their fifth series in a row, the Indians travel to Arlington Texas for a four game set with the Texas Rangers.  Many experts wrote this ten game road trip was just was the Indians needed - a bonding experience, little home life destraction, etc… to break out of their slump.  So far, that hasn't been the case, but its still early in the road trip.  Hopefully the Rangers are just what the Doctor ordered. 

I guess we'll find out one way or the other.  Aaron Laffey takes his 3-3 mark and 1.59 ERA to the hill hoping to get Cleveland off on the right foot with his left hand.