WFNY Podcast: Loving the Tribe and Rooting for the Cavs
April 8, 2011Last night’s win shrinks Tribe’s Magic Number to 155
April 9, 2011
While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Indians roll over Eric Wedge and his Mariners: “Travis Hafner was not just Travis Hafner on Friday night. During the fourth inning, when the Indians’ designated hitter used a ferocious swing to stun the Mariners and silence Safeco Field, he was Pronk again.
It was a titanic three-run blast that capped off a furious rally for a surging Cleveland squad, serving as the crushing blow in a series of jabs in a 12-3 rout over Seattle. As the baseball rocketed over right field, Hafner could not help but watch as he headed up the first-base line.
The home run from Hafner provided an exclamation point at the end of Cleveland’s 10-run outpouring in the fourth inning. That marked the Indians’ first double-digit showing in a single frame since the club hung 14 on the Yankees in the second inning of a 22-4 victory in the Bronx on April 18, 2009.
The offensive outburst helped right-hander Carlos Carrasco to his first win of the season and pushed the Tribe to its fifth victory in a row. As a result, the Indians (5-2) are off to their best start since going 6-1 in 2006, and the team is in sole possession of first place in the American League Central for the first time since May 16, 2008.” [Jordan Bastian / MLB.com]
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Manny calls it quits amidst drug allegations: “Manny Ramirez, a former Dodger who started the season with the Tampa Bay Rays, is retiring after being notified of an issue under Major League Baseball’s drug policy.
The commissioner’s office issued a statement Friday afternoon that said Ramirez decided to retire rather than go through MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
The statement did not say whether Ramirez tested positive for a banned substance. He served a 50-game suspension for violating the drug policy while he was with the Dodgers.” [The FabulousForum / Houston Mitchell]
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Fox 8 News in Cleveland sends Deadspin some Gloria James videos for free: “Poor Gloria. Gloria just wanted her car, and Gloria just wanted some kid to foul her son like a considerate human being.
We now have this Queen James highlight reel, thanks to the sharing souls at WJW Fox 8 News in Cleveland: Gloria’s booking video at the Miami Beach Police Department, accompanied by the video of her coming after young LeBron’s opponent in a 2002 high school game.
The booking clip just might be the portion of the official report in which James tells Lieutenant Acosta, “I’m trying to trust you, but I don’t trust your kind. I don’t trust that officer who arrested me.”” [Emma Carmichael / Deadspin]
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From Friday, prior to even more winning over Seattle: “Of course we hear the it’s-only-been-six-games warnings from folks who are much more reasonable than we are, but having our hopes crash after getting them up is the last of our concerns down here at rock bottom.
After LeBron, and with the Browns on an unstoppable bullet train to 2-14, aren’t you amazed just to see hope get off the ground? Look at it fly! The only possible harm we see in calling the Tribe contenders right now is that of potentially being wrong in the end.
We’ve been that before plenty of times, and we’re totally fine with the trade-off given the upside here. If we can’t call these guys contenders now, what’s the point?” [Pete / Cleveland Frowns]
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In follow up to Craig’s post Thursday, I wrote this on that topic of rooting for Cavs losses: “Over the last six seasons, no teams to finish with the worst record in the NBA ended up winning the draft lottery. Henceforth known more simply by the acronym: OLSSNTTFWWRINEUWTDL
The last six teams to finish with the worst regular season record in the NBA were the New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trailblazers, and Atlanta Hawks. In those subsequent drafts, each of these worst record teams ended up picking 3rd, 4th, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 2nd. Nobody picked first.
The teams who did pick first in each of those respective drafts were the Wizards, Clippers, Bulls, Trailblazers, Raptors and Bucks. The Wizards finished with the 5th worst record in the league on their way to winning the draft lottery that season, Clippers 3rd worst, Bulls 9th worst, Blazers 7th worst, Raptors 5th worst, and Bucks 6th worst.” [Stepien Rules]
14 Comments
The last to win it was the Orlando Magic in 2004.
And the next time before that…I think we all know.
On the Indians: I joked that hope didn’t even get 1/2 a game this season, but I was wrong. I’m P***** that they had to go on a week long west coast trip this early in the season. Sorry… I just can’t stay up to watch these games.
On Manny: I was sure they’d use a picture of Manny in an Indians uniform when this story broke about him retiring. I’m still surprised there wasn’t a single picture in the SI gallery with him in an Indian uniform. Makes me happy.
I think the point is not about winning the first pick; it’s guaranteeing that you can pick no worse than 4th (instead of 5th). But any Cleveland winning is more important to me than winning an unpredictable lottery. Derrick Williams is the goal!
Glad to see Pronk back on the “juice”. Ironic, with the timing of Many’s departure.
With regard to the Cav’s I am for maximizing our chances to get the 1st pick. Need to make sure Baron’s “back injury” acts up so he is put on the shelf for the last 3 games.
Re: “Manny hangs it up” – Ramirez is now the 3rd Manny I think of, behind Acta and Harris, but I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t either of the first two.
Manny may have been the best right handed hitter I ever saw. Seriously, who in the last 40 years was better?
I’m with you, Mark. Am awful lot of people seem to be getting some weird satisfaction from the news of his retirement, but the fact is there hasn’t been a better hitter from the right side in my lifetime and then some. As odd as he is as a person, he was still a heck of a player.
@ Mark: Alex Rodriguez and/or Albert Pujos.
Manny was the kind of guy who did things to drive a manager crazy but he was such a goof it became the stuff of legend. One of the best right handed hitters I ever saw.
i’ll remember manny as a bit of a cautionary tale. i truly believe he would have been happier with 5MM/yr less and staying in cleveland. he let himself be used to fulfill scott boras’ and mlb player union’s agendas, not his own.
hard to deny how effective he was with the sox, but he never seemed happy in boston.
as far best indians hitter of that era, my vote goes to albert belle. manny was a great and clutch hitter, but his most amazing production was mysteriously accompanied strangely oversized/baggy uniforms and severe acne.
he won’t get in the HOF before mcgwire, clemens, and bonds.
off topic — i think the indians have possibly stumbled on a resolution to their never-ending logo dilemma. use the ‘feller-rock’ silhouette. it’s represents the best of team’s heritage with the added benefit of being as iconic as air jordan.
My favorite Manny moment was when Omar V. handcuffed him to a Gatoraid jug (or whatever) during a game in his rookie year!
I’m w/ 6,7, and 9. Just heard HOF voter Ken Rosenthal say on the Yanks/Red Sox TV broadcast that he doesn’t think Manny is a HOFer. That is absolutely preposterous.
Classic story from Hoynes this morning about a time when Manny came into the dugout after making an error when Schilling was pitching. He could see that Schilling was steaming about it, pointed at Orlando Cabrera’s glove, said “gold glove,” then pointed at his own and said “bronze glove.”
@Frowns,
That is my new favorite “Manny being Manny” story