I was reading a recent issue of Sports Illustrated yesterday in which the feature piece centered around Mark Buehrle. The by-line to the story suggested that his perfect game a few weeks ago was quite possibly the best moment of the MLB season thus far. I can't argue with that assessment one bit. Being an Indians fan (actually, that's only a half truth, but we'll deal with that another time) I had no problem rooting for Buehrle to get the perfect game as I followed it online. The drama was high, and the action was right down to the wire as DeWayne Wise made what I consider the catch of the year in the ninth to save the perfect game. I couldn't get enough of the highlights of the game and how the crowd reacted as they got closer to the twenty-seventh out.

The Cleveland Indians fire sale continued today when the club announced that they have traded right hand pitcher to division rival Minnesota. The Twins will send a player to be named later for Pavano who has gone 9-8 with a 5.37 ERA in 17 starts for the Tribe this year.

Pavano is the seventh player in a little over a month traded away by the Indians. Signed in the offseason to an incentive laden contract, the Indians would have lost in him in free agency as he was only signed through the year. Taking Pavano's place in the Indians rotation will likely be Justin Masterson who was traded to the Indians last week as part of the deal for Victor Martinez.

The Associated Press is reporting that Indians top management is expecting the club to lose $16 Million this season. Paul Dolan, who is the president of the Cleveland Indians and the song of owner Larry Dolan, also said that the team is projected to draw 1.7 Million fans this year which is a half million short than what they had projected at the beginning of the season.

The statements come less than a week when angry Tribe fans voiced their displeasure of the team sending 6 players away from trades in recent weeks that included All Star catcher Victor Martinez and Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee in trades. When asked about the moves Dolan stated they were:

"Necessary long term moves".

It has been suggested by some that no matter how rough things got around Cleveland, the city could always adopt the motto of “At least we’re not Detroit”. While that adage still rings true on many fronts, the world of Cleveland sports has a long way to go before they can embrace that mentality.

Let’s start with the most comparable sport, football. The Detroit fans, fed up with years of losing and ineptitude, have abandoned the team in recent years. This abandonment has been seen in the form of the “Millen man march” which came as a plea from the fans to fire long-time GM Matt Millen. The fans even stopped buying tickets last season, which left the beautiful Ford Field looking quite empty at times. The fans stood up and let the Ford family know they were sick and tired of losing. The owners responded by overhauling the entire organization by bringing in a new head coach, GM, logo, and face of the franchise in Matthew Stafford. Browns fans have responded with years of losing and ineptitude by selling out every game. While owner Randy Lerner has more goodwill with the fans thanks to his quick reactions to fire losing coaches and general managers, the fans still have not recognized the flawed structure of the organization and continue to embrace the Browns like they are perennial winners. The Browns may have overhauled their organization as well, but those changes have not garnered the positive reviews and feelings, both locally and nationally, that the Lions have. Detroit 1. Cleveland 0.

On the college football front, Ohio State clearly has the edge on the University of Michigan in pretty much every facet imaginable. The problem here is Ann Arbor is a short 45 minute drive from Detroit (making it easier for Detroit residents to embrace), while Columbus is much further away as it straddles the redneck border of Southern Ohio. To make matters worse, Cleveland area Ohio State fans can only enjoy Buckeye football so much knowing they have to share it equally with Cincinnati, which is basically a part of Kentucky more than it is Ohio for all intents and purposes. Detroit 2. Cleveland 0.

...this offseason:

-The Indians have already traded better players so why not?

-The Indians are not going to contend next year (repeat in 2011, 12, 13, 14....etc.)

-You can't build your team around a guy who strikes out too much and hits .260 when he's healthy.

-Trade him while other GM's still feel he has a tremendous upside and before they have a few more years to see his batting average and extra base hits decline as they have since 2006.

-Grady's Ladies have got to go.

-There would never be a chance of another Surfing Sizemore bobblehead. Hard to imagine a kid who grew up in Washington state did much surfing.

-There would never be a chance of another Sizemore fleece blanket, paving the way for just a plain Snuggie giveaway, which is all we've really ever wanted as fans.

-I won't have to watch him hit anymore solo home runs when the Indians are losing 8-1.

-I won't have to watch him kill rallies by striking out with runner's in scoring position in a close game anymore.

-The Indians could get three prospects that aren't considered their trading partners top prospects (i.e. the Cliff Lee trade). Please note sarcasm, but I'm sure this isn't far from the truth.

In Cleveland, sometimes the fans just don’t know when to say no. With the Browns, ten seasons of mostly underachieving football since the 1999 return has been met largely with no less enthusiasm in the fan base. Coming off one of their most disappointing campaigns yet, the Browns opened training camp last weekend and were greeted by a fan who was so excited he decided to camp out in anticipation. When the gates opened the next morning, many more people poured through to take in the first official practice of the 2009 edition of the Cleveland Browns. While there were not any knuckleheads chanting “Super Bowl” on the first day of camp this year, the hope and enthusiasm for the Browns was still quite palpable amongst the fans.

Cleveland Indians fans have just gone through the most turbulent month perhaps in franchise history. Over 25% of the team's roster was recently traded, with the biggest blows coming from 2008 Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee and perennial All-Star Victor Martinez being dealt in separate deals earlier this week.

While your initial reaction was probably "I am never following this team anymore" and "I'm never buying another ticket", chances are that you won't follow through on those idle threats. So you now have to look to what the future holds for the Wahoos.

Where does the Tribe go from here? What does their future hold for the 2010 season and beyond as it is apparent that they have given up on the near future? Here is a look at the likely starters and prospects that the team is grooming in their farm system in the next few seasons as they will try to make another run for contention (hopefully sometime before their lease at Progressive Field runs out).

Talk about some bad timing. Trading away all their top players this season hasn't been the only boneheaded move by the Tribe lately. Today, the Cleveland Indians traded catcher Victor Martinez to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Justin Masterson and Nick Hagadone. But guess what tomorrow is in Cleveland - Victor Martinez Bobblehead night at Progressive Field.

All fans attending the Aug. 1 game against the Detroit Tigers will receive a Victor Martinez catcher bobblehead, compliments of Time Warner Cable. The game, which begins at 7:05pm, will also feature "Turn Back the Clock" night. Both teams will be sporting Negro League uniforms instead of their regular attire.

Only in Cleveland...... Maybe Indians fans headed out to the game tomorrow could sell them on eBay, after all, there will be a demand in Boston now.

The Cleveland Indians made their final move before the trade deadline dealing away All-Star catcher Victor Martinez. The Boston Red Sox are parting ways with pitchers Justin Masterson Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price.

Martinez departing caps off a whirlwind month for the Tribe that has been met with disgust by Indians fans. The Tribe, who had been predicted to contend for a World Series title this season, has traded way notable names such as Marc DeRosa, Rafael Betancourt, Ryan Garko, Ben Fransico, and Cliff Lee and now have parted ways with the popular catcher who has been part of the franchise since signing in 1996. In his big league career, which started in 2002, Martínez has hit .297 with 102 HR's and 512 RBI's and is was one of the most recognizable faces in the franchise during his stint with the Tribe.

Here are the scouting reports on the other players involved in the deal so far:

Nick Hagadone