CLEVELAND -- Shapiro seemed genuinely confused over Wedge's decision. "Did he ask me if I thought Kerry Wood should make a spot start? Uhh...no. No, he did not ask me and that's why we're having this conversation today."
CLEVELAND -- There's no word on whether or not charges will be pressed on the former Tribe manager but it is clear that everyone is surprised, saddened, and afraid. "It doesn't make any sense-even if you wanted to try to give [Adam] Miller a finger transplant, you shouldn't try to acquire that finger on your own," said a somber Chris Antonetti. "That's something you do at the hospital not in the back of the clubhouse-and before you say anything, I don't care if Graffanino said he was ok with giving it to Miller. That guy was as crazy as Wedge. Plus his hands aren't anywhere near big enough."
CLEVELAND -- When asked how long he'd known about Wedge's "costume issues" Garko downplayed the issue. "I don't know. I don't know that I ever really totally knew, you know? One time Ronnie, that's Slider, the guy who plays Slider, I saw him walking around looking for the Slider pants-the bottom half of the Slider suit. So, that was the first time I ever thought about it. It was probably a couple of weeks later that I saw all that purple fluff stuck to Eric's desk chair." Garko said he didn't think anything of it at the time.
Sizemore said he didn't know anything about the "costume issues" until he saw Wedge wearing them on the bench in the game against the Tigers. "At first, I assumed it was a joke but then I heard he wouldn't take them off. I don't know. I guess they tased him. That's what I heard anyway,"
CLEVELAND -- Progressive Field has a zero-tolerance no firearms policy but "the player and personnel entrance isn't typically screened" for dangerous items, an Indians spokesperson explained. "My understanding," Shapiro explained, "was that Eric thought it would get the guys pumped up just to show it off in the clubhouse before the game. He got going on a pre-game speech and I guess Datz was really egging him on and he got very excited and the firearm discharged. Obviously, that wasn't his intent but that was the result."
The two outfielders are each recorvering at the Cleveland Clinic; in the interim, the Tribe has yet to formulate a plan for how to move forward without Francisco and Crowe. "It's very unusual to see two people wounded on one bullet but it's not unheard of," said Cleveland Chief of Poice Edward Lohn.
CLEVELAND -- "A lot of the things the Yankees do, we admire them. It's a well run organization," Wedge commented when asked about Sabathia's transition to New York in a pregame press conference.
<snip>
Eric Wedge's immediate termination was announced by Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro just minutes before game time. Joel Skinner has been named the interim manager.