That sound was the alarm clock you missed.

I usually have good things to write about Mark Shapiro, but I don't today. He must be asleep. The Reds just gave away talent that would look mighty good wearing Indians' uniforms. The Reds traded away Austin Kearns (of), Felipe Lopez (ss/2B/3B) and Ryan Wagner (rp) for Gary Majewski and Bill Bray, who are a couple of pretty good relief pitchers, and some junk to fill out the deal.

I like Majewski, but he's not dominating. He's a good solid set-up man. Bray is interesting. He was Washington's first round pick. He's okay now, but he has some real potential. He may develop into something better than a middle reliever, but the odds are against him. I would have given Majewski and Bray for just Kearns.

When he was playing in the minors, most scouts predicted Austin Kearns would be a perennial all-star. He hasn't fulfilled his potential, but that's been primarily due to injuries. I like him. He has power, speed and a hell of a throwing arm. This year, his numbers are: .274 avg.; 16 HR; 5o rbi; and 7 SB. He also has 5 runners gunned down from RF. Lopez was also a hot-shot prospect. He hasn't been the world beater some scouts predicted, but it appears that he's emerged into a pretty good baseball player, and one I'd like to have. Lopez looks like this: .268 avg.; 9 HR; 30 rbi; and 23 SB. Huh. What?! 23 stolen bases. As a team, the Indians have 29. That means Kearns and Lopez have stolen more bases than all the players who've played for the Indians this year. By the way, they're both 26 years old. So they should have a lot of baseball in them.

The thing that breaks my heart is that Wickman and young bag of balls may have gotten both of them. If Shapiro knew Kearns and Lopez were available for relief pitching, shame on him.