June 20, 2013

Tribe Weekend Wrapup: A Ode To Corey Kluber

June 17, 2013 by 45 Comments

Corey KluberCould “Team Streak” be trending upwards again? Your Cleveland Indians were a blown save away from sweeping the Washington Nationals out of Progressive Field this weekend in grand fashion. They settled for a series win, which you will take all day long especially when the opposing pitchers are Tribe killer Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, and Stephen Strasburg. They didn’t really do anything special in taking the series, but they had some exceptional individual performances, highlighted by Corey Kluber on Sunday.

The nasty part of their schedule is now behind them. The Wahoos have been cold, hot, then cold again,which makes sense when you see their 34-34 record. But with the schedule softening up considerably, do the Indians have the juice to stay with the division leading Detroit Tigers? They sit in second place, four and a half games back and over the next 16 games, they only play three against a team over .500 (Baltimore). Now is as good of a time as any to make a move.

Yesterday was Father’s Day. I spent mine with my family watching a Tribe win at Progressive Field. It was a perfect end to a perfect weekend. So let us look back at the weekend that was in Wahooland. [Read more...]

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Fathers, Sons, Daughters, and Sports

June 14, 2013 by 13 Comments

IMG_1086Sunday is Father’s Day, a bittersweet time for me. I am extremely proud to tell the world what a lucky man I am—blessed, some people would say. I have an amazing wife and two healthy children, a boy and a girl. When you are entering adulthood and in a relationship with someone and start thinking about having kids, you have these illusions that getting pregnant just happens with ease and that anyone can do it. But as I can tell you from experience, it is not that easy.

Things happen for a reason and I came out of my experiences on the other side the better for it. My son is six years old and my daughter is three. I am one of two boys and that is what I always wanted. When my wife was pregnant with my son, we wanted to know the gender of the baby, but we couldn’t find out until the 20 week appointment. I told everyone I knew the entire time that I was sure it was going to be a girl. It was the old reverse jinx at its finest (kinda like my “Ubaldo needs to be released” call from April). When that nurse pointed to the ultrasound picture and said “You see that? It is a penis—it is a boy,” I was beside myself. Whenever people asked us if we found out ahead of time, my wife says “I am surprised you didn’t hear Todd from where you were that day, because he was screaming so loud you would have thought he just won the World Series.” [Read more...]

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Indians 5 Rangers 2: Kipnis, Ubaldo, and the pen lead Tribe to series win

June 13, 2013 by 7 Comments

Jason KipnisIt feels like forever since the Indians won two games in a row. Actually it was May 29th and 30th at home against Cincinnati. Last night in Texas, they had a chance to do it again and take some much needed momentum home with them after a brutal nine-game stretch against three of the top teams in the American League.

Arlington has been a house of horrors for the Indians over the past decade. But in their one visit this season, the Tribe pulled out the series with last night’s 5-2 win. The offense started to wake up a bit from their three-week funk. The starting pitching over the past two nights has been solid and we saw a throwback performance from the bullpen. All of it added up to a great end to a horrifically started trip.

Facing rookie Nick Tepesch, the Wahoos attempted to jump ahead early. Michael Bourn led the game off with a single to left. With two outs, he stood on second when Michael Brantley lined a sharp single to left. The speedy centerfielder raced around third and for some reason didn’t slide into home, instead attempting to knock the ball out of the glove of Rangers catcher A.J. Pierzynski. He was tagged out. But the two first inning hits set the stage for the rest of the evening. [Read more...]

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Indians 5 Rangers 2: Ding Dong! The streak is dead!

June 12, 2013 by 25 Comments

Corey KluberEight straight. 16 of 20. 12 straight on the road.

All of those losing skids went by the wayside last night in muggy yet windy Arlington, Texas thanks to a local boy turned good. Of all of the surprising storylines with the Indians thus far in 2013, perhaps the biggest shocker has been the rise of starting pitcher Corey Kluber.

Kluber was acquired from San Diego on July 31, 2010 as a part of a three-team deal which sent the ultra-consistent Jake Westbrook to St. Louis. He has been in the organization for just about three years and has been looked at mostly as an afterthought; a rotation filler kind of guy. Kluber got a taste of the majors down the stretch last year, making 12 starts. He certainly didn’t get anyone too excited with his 5.14 ERA and 1.49 WHIP, but he did strike out 54 in 63 innings.

Heading into Spring, Kluber was in the race for the fifth starter job, but he was a long shot. Even with a shot to get a spot start during that first week of the season with Carlos Carrasco suspended and Scott Kazmir on the DL, the Indians chose rookie Trevor Bauer over Kluber. But Kluber continued to bide his time in Columbus and when Brett Myers went down, Kluber got the call to replace him in the rotation. [Read more...]

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Rangers 6, Indians 3: Eight is enough…The streak has to be stopped

June 11, 2013 by 21 Comments

yan GomesThe Indians are in a rut. A deep rut. And it extends to every portion of the team—the offense, the defense, the starting pitching, and the bullpen. Each had a helping hand in Arlington last night as the Rangers dropped another loss on the Tribe, their eighth straight, to the tune of 6-3. Our boys only have two more chances to make sure they don’t get completely swept on this brutal trip through New York, Detroit, and Texas.

“We can’t make the big pitch, can’t get the big hit,” said  Mark Reynolds who went 0-4 with three K’s last night. “There’s really no answer for it. We just have to keep playing.”

Reynolds is one of many slumping Indians, tallying three hits with just one RBI since May 24. This slump has coincided with his shift to third base, where his defense has left a lot to be desired. Yes, he made one unbelievable play on Monday night (and was screwed by first base umpire Mark Wegner in the third) but it came an inning after a brutal error on a routine groundball. This is not to pick on the veteran Reynolds, but his play has been a microcosm of the Tribe’s skid that now has them as losers of 16 of their last 20 contests. [Read more...]

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Tribe Weekend Wrapup: Wahoos falling fast…can they get back up?

June 10, 2013 by 40 Comments

Michael BournLet’s get it out of the way right from the jump: Your Cleveland Indians, aka Team Streak, are in the midst of yet another June swoon. This was a team that not too long ago won 18 of 22 and led the AL Central by two and a half games. Since the miracle four-game sweep against Seattle, capped off by the Yan Gomes walkoff three-run homer on a Monday afternoon in Cleveland, the wheels have come completely off the wagon. The schedule became a lot tougher, and the Indians collectively have gone into a gigantic slump. The 4-15 stretch has been book-ended by two sweeps from the team they are fighting for the division lead, the Detroit Tigers.

It has been Murphy’s Law time for Terry Francona’s crew. Whatever could go wrong, has gone wrong.

“When it rains, it pours,” said slumping first baseman Nick Swisher. “We’ve got to just keep going out there and battling every day, man. This is a long season. Hopefully, we’ll look back at this stretch in August and September and kind of laugh at it all. That’s it, man. It just boils down to winning a ballgame. That’s it.” [Read more...]

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Browns WR Josh Gordon suspended two games by NFL

June 7, 2013 by 53 Comments

There have been rumors floating around Twitter for a couple of weeks now regarding Browns players and possible drug related suspensions. One of them has indeed come true.

According to ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi, Cleveland Browns WR Josh Gordon is headed for trouble with the league office.

 

Gordon was the Browns leading receiver during his breakout rookie year where he caught 50 passes for 805 yards and five touchdowns. He is expected to take a big step forward in Rob Chudzinski and Norv Turner’s new vertical passing attack. QB Brandon Weeden will be without his top target for the first two games of the regular season.

The Browns have just released the statement from the NFL offices via Media Relations Coordinator Dan Murphy:

Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns has been suspended without pay for the team’s first two regular-season games of the 2013 season and fined two additional game checks for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.

Gordon will be eligible to return to the Browns’ active roster on Monday, September 16 following the team’s September 15 game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Gordon is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.

This is the second prominent Cleveland athlete to come across substance issues in the past three days. Indians closer Chris Perez was charged with misdemeanor drug possession in Rocky River.

UPDATE: The Browns have just released a statement from head coach Rob Chudzinski:

“Obviously we are all disappointed in this news. In our short time with Josh, he has done everything that we’ve asked him to do and he has exhibited substantial improvement. We believe that he will continue to work diligently through training camp and the preseason. I am confident that others will step up in his absence.”

Gordon, in a statement, says that the suspension is due to medicine which was prescribed to him in lieu of strep throat.

“In February, I was diagnosed with strep throat for which a doctor prescribed antibiotics and cough medicine,” he said. “Apparently, the medicine I took contained codeine, which is prohibited by the NFL policy. The policy terms are strict about unintentional ingestion, but the NFL has not imposed the maximum punishment in light of the facts of my case. Therefore, I have chosen to be immediately accountable for the situation. I sincerely apologize for the impact on my team, coaches, and Browns fans. I look forward to working hard in training camp and pre-season, and contributing immediately when I return in week three.”

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Grossi: Biggest Browns offseason surprise could be Buster Skrine

June 6, 2013 by 40 Comments

Everyone knows that the Browns biggest question mark heading into the 2013 season is the secondary. The cornerback position in particular is deep in question, with several unproven players vying to be paired with Joe Haden as a starter.

One of these guys is going to have to step forward and make a name for himself. According to ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi, there has been one player in particular that has been catching a lot of eyes.  Of course. I am talking about everyone’s favorite nickel back, Buster Skrine. He’s been working with the first team in OTA’s, opposite Haden. The Browns starting corner has loved what he has seen from Buster.

“Buster’s playing at a really high level,” Haden told me. “I never saw him play this good before. He’s making plays every day. People aren’t catching the ball on him. He’s doing a really good job.”

Chris Owens, third-round pick Leon McFadden, and Skrine will be locked into this battle through training camp and it will be interesting to see how things play out here.

[Related: NFL and Verizon renew mobile phone streaming deal]

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Yankees 6 Indians 4: Pronk and CC help sweep Tribe out of the Bronx

June 5, 2013 by 17 Comments

Mike AvilesSeth Greenberg, former head basketball coach at Virginia Tech, now an analyst on ESPN once said after a blowout loss “sometimes you’re the dog….sometimes you’re the tree.” Well your Cleveland Indians were the tree all week as the Yankees took turns battering the Wahoos into submission.

The Indians had hoped to stop their 4-11 skid on a sunny afternoon in the Bronx, but things just got way out of hand far too quickly. Corey Kluber entered the game pitching as well as any Indians starter. In the first inning, the Yankees hit a couple of rocket shots. One of them was a fly ball towards the gap in right center off the bat of Robinson Cano. Center fielder Michael Bourn ran a long way to get the ball and did everything put make the catch. The ball bounced off his glove for an error, giving the Yankees an extra out. Of course, they would capitalize.

“He chased it down and just didn’t catch it,” Manager Terry Francona said. “He went a long way and he got to it, but it didn’t stay in his glove.” [Read more...]

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Yankees 4 Indians 3: “One day we will figure out how to beat those guys”

June 5, 2013 by 34 Comments

Mike AvilesI don’t know what it is. The mystique of the pinstripes. The overwhelming feeling of playing in the Bronx. The 26 World Series flags that fly. Whatever the case may be, the Indians have always seemed to struggle against the New York Yankees. Last night was no different. I think Lou Brown put it best in Major League after a loss to Clew Haywood and his crew: ” One day we will figure out how to beat those guys.”

The Indians are reeling. They entered this game losers of 10 of their last 14, their bullpen has become a bit of a mess, everyone seems to be slumping at the plate at the same time, and now they lose All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to a strained quad muscle. They need a victory some way, some how.

So back to the Bronx they went for game two of this brutal nine-game to New York, Detroit, and Texas looking for an edge of some sort. David Phelps took the ball for the Yanks and the last time we saw him, he was locked in a pitcher’s duel with Justin Masterson where he would end up a hard-luck 1-0 loser. On that day, only a first inning Jason Kipnis beat him. After that he pitched six and a third more scoreless innings, striking out seven. His last start, he couldn’t make it out of the first against the Mets. So naturally Phelps would get his groove back and dominate. [Read more...]

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Indians 5 Reds 2: The Great Giambino to the rescue!

May 30, 2013 by 7 Comments

Jason GiambiYour Cleveland Indians, losers of five straight and seven of eight, arrived back in Cleveland in dire need of a pick me up. “We needed to get a victory because we’ve been playing good baseball without much to show for it,” said last night’s starter Justin Masterson. The Big Nasty was the perfect pitcher to take the mound to attempt to end the skid. This is his job as the Tribe’s ace. Be a “stopper,” and streak-buster. Go out, give your team a solid pitching performance and hope that the offense takes care of the rest.

That is pretty much what happened last night as the Tribe took down the Cincinnati Reds at Progressive Field.

It didn’t start out that way as in the top of the first, all-world first baseman Joey Votto took Masterson deep over the center field fence for a solo homer. Votto is such a stud at the plate (Did I mention I still can’t believe that Terry Francona allowed Nick Hagadone to face Votto with first base open in a tie game in the eighth inning Monday night? I swear, I will let it go!). But from that point forward, Masterson was in control. [Read more...]

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Reds 8, Indians 2: Streaky Tribe loses fifth straight

May 29, 2013 by 11 Comments

Asdrubal CabreraI have written this many times before;  the Indians are a streaky team. They are as volatile as the stock market. They can win 18 of 22 and can lose 10 of 12 right after. The bats can club 12 homers in six games and follow that up by going homerless for five.

The sky is not falling. This is just what this team is. They get hot. They get cold. Unfortunately, during this difficult portion of the schedule, they aren’t playing their best baseball. The bullpen issues aside, the Indians aren’t coming through with the clutch hits all of a sudden either. Oh, and defensive mistakes are starting to pop up at inopportune times.

Take last night’s game for example. Terry Francona’s club was in desperate need for a win. Yet despite being in the game into the seventh inning, the Tribe was just 2-12 with runners in scoring position. One of those hits was Michael Brantley’s eighth inning RBI single with the Indians down by six.

How did we get there? [Read more...]

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Bullpen spoiling wins, Francona’s decisions come into question

May 27, 2013 by 9 Comments

Nick HagadoneWhile it was a long weekend for all of us, it was a looooong weekend for the suddenly embattled Cleveland Indians. I’ve said it so many times, but baseball is such a crazy game and the season is a marathon, not a sprint. I come back to that often because it is important as a fan to not get too high or too low, especially in May.

This month has seen the best and the worst of the Tribe. It wasn’t more than a week ago that the Wahoos were pulling rabbits out of their hats in a four-game sweep of the Mariners. Now here we sit in crisis mode, losers of six of seven.

The sudden fall off of the Tribe shouldn’t freak everyone out the way it is. This is water returning to its level. The Indians were not as good as that 18-4 run and they are not as bad is the current 1-6 mark would indicate. [Read more...]

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Indians 12 Red Sox 3: Tito’s Revenge Tastes So Sweet

May 24, 2013 by 33 Comments

Terry FranconaBaseball is such a beautiful sport because the highs are so high and the lows can really get you down. The last seven days are a prime example.

Your first place Cleveland Indians swept four games from the Seattle Mariners in dramatic fashion thanks to three walk off wins and a shutout from their ace Justin Masterson. We were all riding high heading into Tuesday’s two-game set with the rival Detroit Tigers. Then the Tigers beat down the Tribe two straight and all of a sudden, people were starting to panic a bit. When asked if I was worried at all yesterday, I told my dentist, the great Dr. Ben Hornstein, If we had taken three of four from Seattle and split with the Tigers, nobody would be concerned.

What you all need to remember is that the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint, and this is NOT the 2011 or 2012 Cleveland Indians.

This is Terry Francona’s revamped 2013 Cleveland Indians with a real roster and a top flight manager leading the way. [Read more...]

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Does the Indians bullpen have a southpaw problem?

May 23, 2013 by 10 Comments

Nick HagadoneOver the last three years, the Indians have constructed their bullpen in a certain way. You have the back-end, three-headed monster in Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano, and Chris Perez turning leads into wins. The names around them have changed, but the group as a whole has been solid since these three have steadied the ship.

The key to a good bullpen is having balance and several options.  At least one of those pitchers is always a lefty matchup guy – a LOOGY (lefty one out guy) as many inside the game call it. The last two and a half seasons, the Indians key lefty was Tony Sipp, who came through the Indians system as a 45th round draft pick in 2004. Sipp definitely had his moments here and for the most part was solid. In four years in Cleveland, Sipp made 248 appearances and posted a 3.68 ERA.

It seemed as though Nick Hagadone was poised to take the late inning lefty role from Sipp last year, as he shot out of the gate looking dominant. Throught his first 14 appearances in 2012, Hagadone posted an ERA of 1.93 with 14 K’s in 14 innings. But then the wheels completely fell off of his wagon and he was demoted in early July. His ERA had ballooned to 6.39. Hagadone punched a wall after his last outing where he was tagged for two runs in two-thirds of an inning and broke his hand. That was the last we saw of him in 2012 The only Hagadone news was his grievance against the Indians for not paying him his Major League Salary while he was hurt, despite the fact that he was going to be demoted anyways. [Read more...]

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Tigers 11 Indians 7: “Bad Ubaldo” reappears at the wrong time

May 23, 2013 by 24 Comments

Ubaldo JimenezThat one month run where Ubaldo Jimenez “found something” sure was fun, wasn’t it? I made the mistake of writing him off once before. I think I learned my lesson. I wouldn’t drink the “Ubaldo is back” kool aid and I won’t say that last night’s return of “Bad Ubaldo” is a complete setback.  But what we saw from him was obviously concerning.

This was a big spot for Jimenez, facing off for a second time this season with Tigers ace Justin Verlander. The first time around, he actually outpitched Verlander in a 7-6 Indians win two weeks ago. However last night, the Detroit treated Ubaldo like their personal punching bag. It took no time either.

Andy Dirks led off the game with a sharp single to center and stole second. Torii Hunter then singled to left. Miguel Cabrera continued his hot hitting with a double to the corner in left, scoring Dirks with ease. Prince Fielder then ripped a line shot up the middle that was hit right into the glove of Asdrubal Cabrera, who had shaded Prince that way. The Tigers kept the pressure on and scored their second run on a Victor Martinez sac fly. Jimenez would K Jhonny Peralta to end the inning, but it was clear the Tigers were not going to be done with Ubaldo. [Read more...]

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Tigers 5, Indians 1: Scherzer Shuts Down Hot Tribe

May 22, 2013 by 57 Comments

Miguel CabreraI write these recaps four to five times a week. Over a full baseball season, some of them are so much fun to put together and they write themselves. Then there are others where you have to grasp at an angle because nothing really exciting happened. Then there are the ones with one or two obvious story-lines  Last night falls into the category of the latter.

It was another nice night down at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario as the Indians, winners of 18 of 22, welcomed their Central Division rival Detroit to town. The Tigers have led the division most of this young season, but have been overtaken by the Tribe during this three weeks of baseball heaven here in Cleveland. With a two and a half game lead entering this short two-game set, no matter what happens, the Tribe will stay in first.

While the Tigers payroll is near the top of the league, the two teams are pretty evenly matched. The Tigers rotation is superior to the Tribe’s, there is no doubt about that. However, the Indians pen dwarfs Detroit’s. Both teams have loaded lineups, but it is not hard to see where the Tigers trump the Indians there. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder hit third and fourth. It is a 1-2 punch that is the envy of all of baseball. [Read more...]

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Indians 10 Mariners 8: Yan Freaking Gomes and the Mariners Defense – a Lethal Combination

May 20, 2013 by 43 Comments

yan GomesI have been to hundreds and hundreds of baseball games in my 37 years on this earth. I don’t think I have ever witnessed a game like this one. The beauty of baseball is that every time out, you may see something you have never seen before. Today was one of those days.

Like the great Mr. Skin says, “Let us fast forward right to the good parts.”

The Indians carried a 6-5 lead into the eighth inning and turned it over to resident set up man Vinnie Pestano, who was activated off the DL Friday. Vinnie is still trying to work himself back into a groove and showed some immediate signs of rust. Kyle Seager hit a rocket shot, no-doubter to the seats in right field to tie the game before Pestano could record an out. The 19,390 fans in attendance sat in stunned silence. However, the Indians still had two more shots to finish off the sweep.

“With this lineup, you can go back in the dugout look guys in the eyes and say, ‘Come on, boys pick me up,’ ” said Pestano. “And they’re all in. It’s not deflating by any means. It’s like, ‘OK, let’s go back to work.’ ” [Read more...]

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Tribe Weekend Recap: Two Walk Offs and a Shutout – What More Could You Ask For

May 20, 2013 by 67 Comments

Jason KipnisMagnificent weather. First-place baseball. Hot Dogs.  Walk-off wins. Shutout Sunday. Beating down another Cy Young Award winner in front of the home fans. I mean, honestly, could it get any better down at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario this weekend?

I vowed not to discuss the attendance at Progressive Field, but after a night where 34,282 came out to support the Tribe, two weekend afternoon games drew a combined 37,000 plus. The weather was perfect. The Indians were coming off a walkoff win. They are in first place. Seriously, folks, what were you doing this weekend? Most interesting to me is how immensely popular $1 hot dogs and fireworks are here in Cleveland. Regardless, the Indians continued their unbelievable hot streak, taking all three games this weekend against Eric Wedge’s Seattle Mariners. The wrap around of the series takes place this afternoon where the Tribe goes for a four-game streak, but the series has already been clinched. It is the 10th consecutive series that the Indians have either won or split.

Think about that for a second: It was just three weeks ago that the Tribe got smoked in Kansas City in that first game of a Sunday doubleheader. Since then, they are 17-4, the best record in baseball. This weekend provided a ton of highlights, so let us look back at the weekend that was in Wahooland. [Read more...]

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The Tribe – The REAL Lead Sports Story in Town

May 17, 2013 by 224 Comments

NumbersI love my city. There is something special about our little community. We are all bound together by our misery. It is no secret that Cleveland is nationally viewed as a dying city, trying desperately to rebound. There are hundreds if not thousands of people here that do their best to promote programs to invigorate the town. The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is one that comes to mind. But if there is one thing that all born and raised Clevelanders share, its our passion for our local sports teams. No matter where we may live, we represent our teams, perhaps even more loudly if you don’t live here.

That’s one of the many things I love most about Cleveland and its residents, yet it is also one of the things that bothers me the most about them as well. Now before jumping all over me, hear me out. [Read more...]

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