Don't FIGHT and Don't RUN From this ITEM, PKMN

I am not a geek so I don't play World of Warcraft.  However, I am a nerd so I still refer to myself as a Pokemon Trainer now and again even though I haven't played the game since senior year of high school (blurring the line between nerd and loser).  Now, as many of my fellow trainers and I believe, our canonical manifestation of the Pokemon series ends after Blue, Red and Yellow.  Since the release of Yellow in 1999, Nintendo has come out with:
Gold and Silver  
Crystal*              
Ruby and Sapphire
Emerald                
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
Pokemon Ranger                                              
Diamond and Pearl                                          
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness
Pokemon Rangers: Shadows of Alimia
Platinum
Black and White

This is only a chunk of all the various installments of the series in which Nintendo has introduced nearly 500 new species.

To the extent of my knowledge, the creators of Pokemon have yet to enter the realm that which I am about to propose.  There should be a MMORPG ( Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game for all you noobs) that allows each player to leave the restraints of the muggle Pokemon Trainer and roam the lands of Kanto as a Pokemon.  In this game, you could band together with a group of no more than five other friends to form an elite Pokemon fighting team.  As the Pokemon, you would be able to create your own moves (restricted to your type, of course. Blastoise can't fly, Rhydon can't surf and Goldeen still can't do anything).
There are more exciting features that I am sure will reveal themselves soon, but I just wanted to incept the subconsciouses of current Pokemon game creators.  Hopefully this takes off soon.


*I may have grown fond of Crystal had I not dropped it and my gameboy into the toilet

A Sad Tale of C-Town

In the midst of a fascinating 2010 MLB postseason, full of amazing pitching duels and claws and antlers, I can't fight my inevitable trip into a 2007 relapse.

People from Cleveland, if they haven't forced themselves to forget, will remember this year as the Indians were up three games to one against the Red Sox in the ALCS. The last three games of that series turned out to be a mess, as no one on the mound stepped up to the challenge of propelling us to a World Series. C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook all were given the opportunity to close the door on the Red Sox, but all came up short.

Now, I was fully able to move on from this ordeal and I promised myself I'd be quite alright. When I left the postseason I'd be completely restored to my normal, terrible old self. But maybe I'd be a little bit wiser for the wear (Willy Wonka quote). However, these past two post-seasons have featured several former Indians players from Jim Thome to Kelly Shoppach. But one former member of the Tribe has turned the playoffs into something unseen before. A Mr. Clifford Lee, now advancing to his second consecutive World Series appearance, is a perfect 7-0 in his first seven playoff performances. In each start he pitches as if he is throwing against high school players, befuddling and baffling with insane control.

Cliff Lee really propelled himself into the spotlight with his unbelievable 2008 season. Everyone remembers his dominant 22-3 W-L record and his miniscule 2.54 ERA, but I ask you, painfully, to remember further beyond that season of genius.

In Cliff's first three full seasons, he won 14 games with an 18 win season sandwiched in there. He had shown signs of promise, but nothing of what we are seeing now. Then came 2007. When Everything seemed to be going right for the Tribe, Lee was the only thing wrong. Days before the trade deadline in July, Lee and his 6+ ERA were banished to the minors. Apparently, Lee never showed up to Buffalo, but instead joined the League of Shadows where Ra's al Ghul showed him the key to mastering the strikezone.

Cliff was a phoenix gloriously rising from the ashes of mediocrity and despair and he is now soaring at the highest levels of baseball lore.

A great story of redemption for Clifford, but what gets lost is that his period of rebirth took place during the same time in which the Indians were making their push to the playoffs. Cliff rejoined the team in September, but never returned to the rotation. He stayed in the bullpen for the rest of the regular season. The real horror of this tale is now revealing itself. When the Indians were sitting pretty up 3-1 in the 2007 ALCS, we needed one solid pitching performance to enter the World Series and face a Colorado team that was far inferior to the men of Erie. A sure World Series victory and a championship team for the troubled city of Cleveland. But while C.C. , Fausto, and Jake all failed to come through, a Mr. Clifford Lee sat on the bench and twiddled his thumbs. And the question is now, when did Cliff officially turn into the superhero he is today? Was it in his preparation and offseason before the 2008 season, or, perhaps, was the trip to the minors the wake-up call? Was Batman sitting on the bench while the Joker stole our trip to the World Series?

Now at 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA and a gaudy 9.57 K/BB ratio, Lee has yet to make a playoff mistake. All the Indians needed was one of those seven stellar performances, and the world would be a different place today.

I will leave the topic of how the Indians drafted Tim Lincecum for another post.