...a tradition of hope, passion, and misery
Pitchers and Catchers have reported to Spring Training!!! Wahoo!!! Rejoice!!! Man I love baseball. Man I love me some Tribe action!!!
With Manny Acta and his coaching staff arriving in Goodyear to get things started, the media had their first crack of the spring to ask the questions they’ve been working up in their minds all offseason. [Read more...]
Kudos to the PD’s Mary Kay Cabot who scored an interesting interview with the NFL Network’s draft expert Mike Mayock about the Browns, their QB position, and the kid that seems to be universally loved both on and off the field, Baylor’s Robert Griffin III. Mayock was an open book on how he feels about RGIII the player and RGIII the man off the field. He also had some very strong feelings about how the Browns should handle the entire situation.
Mayock had so much to say, I want to tackle some of these quotes one by one.
“As much as I like Colt McCoy, I still think they have to look to upgrade that position and I think they have to do whatever it takes to get there,” said Mayock of grabbing Griffin. “If it’s me, yeah, I’m looking at that real hard. I want to go get RG3.”
There is no doubt in my mind that Mayock is correct here. I am one of the Colt McCoy defenders, but in this league, if you look at the top teams in the league, nearly all of them have a top tier QB. This is not news to anyone. The two Super Bowl teams – the Giants and the Patriots – have Eli Manning and Tom Brady at the helm. Both are studs. The Packers were 15-1 with NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers under center. [Read more...]
This one really hurt.
The Cleveland State men’s basketball team was riding high, sitting atop the Horizon League in control of their own destiny to host the conference tournament just two short weeks ago. Fast forward to last night, and not only has the league lead been taken away from them completely, but all of a sudden the all important double-bye in the tournament is on its way to disappearing.
Coming off of a pair of ill-timed home losses to league leading Valparaiso and Butler last week, the Vikings travelled to Wisconsin for the tough battle against Milwaukee. The Panthers, a team that CSU has caught, jumped, and pounded at the Wolstein Center 83-57 on January 22nd, took it to the Vikings and handed them their third straight loss last night 86-84. It wasn’t just that they lost, it was how the game ended. [Read more...]
Derek Lowe. Kevin Slowey. Now, Jon Garland.
Are the Indians throwing numbers up against the wall and hoping that a couple of them stick? Well, yes, that is exactly what they are doing.
At the end of the 2011 season, The Indians had Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, the man formerly known as Fausto Carmona, and Josh Tomlin (I know he was hurt, but the Indians shut him down once they were out of contention) in their rotation. Rookie Jeanmar Gomez took Tomlin’s spot the final month and was a strong. In the first four of his five September starts, Gomez was 4-0, allowing six earned runs in 24 innings pitched. Gomez doesn’t have a high ceiling and looks like a back end of the rotation guy. The Indians have given him shots over the last two seasons and he has been solid, yet unspectacular. Again, just like a fifth starter usually is.
So why is it that the Indians essentially keep signing over Gomez? [Read more...]
I love Hot Stove talk. Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks and it appears as if the Indians are still looking to improve their roster. With Asdrubal Cabrera signing his one-year deal on Friday avoiding arbitration, the Tribe has everyone under contract for the 2012 season….and that’s it.
It’s now the worst kept secret in town, but the Tribe literally has nobody signed past 2012. Of course, they control the rights to many of their young players as well as club option years for the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Travis Hafner, and the man formerly known as Fausto Carmona. Many people are viewing this is a bad thing. I say, good for them. Remember all of these years where we have been saddled with the noose that is the Hafner contract, the deal that is considered among the most untradeable on the game.
That contract is finally going to be off the books after 2012 with the Indians surely buying out the remaining option year. But is it as untradeable as we all think? Yes, of course it is. However, GM Chris Antonetti could shed Hafner for the equivalent of the pitching version of his deal – Yankees starter A.J. Burnett. [Read more...]
It was only their biggest game of the year to date. With the potential to take sole control of first place in the Horizon League, controlling their own destiny the rest of the way, the Cleveland State Vikings came out of the tunnel for their showdown with Valparaiso seemingly ready. Their largest crowd of the year (4,521) was ready. Everyone was on their feet as the ball went in their air…. and just like that, everything went, splat.
Valpo took control from the opening tip and never looked back. In the blink of an eye, the Vikings were down 17-1. While the Crusaders were hitting everything, the home team couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn (unofficial count had CSU missing NINE first half layups, en route to a 25% shooting evening). Even with star Center Kevin Van Wijk going down with an injury just seven minutes into the game, Valpo just took it to Cleveland State. Outside bomber Ryan Broekoff exploded for 24 points and reserve forward Richie Edwards added 20. For the first time in ages, the Vikings were not the aggressor; their opponent was. [Read more...]
We are so close to pitchers and catchers reporting to Arizona, that baseball starved fans like me can taste it. Football season officially ended Sunday with the New York Giants holding the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in four years. While I am a hardcore college basketball junkie (which in this town is like being a leper), I always have one eye looking towards my first love, the Cleveland Indians.
The upcoming season has a ton of intrigue. The winter leading up to this campaign had so many ups and downs. Everyone looked at the offseason as a time where the Indians would do everything they could to get that middle of the order, right-handed power bat to place between a healthy Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana. GM Chris Antonetti wasted no time improving his roster. Just after the World Series, he acquired veteran pitcher Derek Lowe from Atlanta presumably as the fifth starter. The thought was that he would stabilize that final spot, throw his usual 200-plus innings, and offer some veteran presence to the clubhouse of this young team. Little did we know how valuable adding Lowe would be. [Read more...]
The quest is over! And now we can finally get on with our lives. I wrote about the Indians search for an extra bat for months, and it has finally come to an end.
Two days ago, I flew back home from a business trip. Walking towards baggage claim, I saw a man from a limo company holding up a sign that said “Kotchman.” I then tweeted the following:
24 hours later, Casey Kotchman was your newest Cleveland Indian. [Read more...]
I was lucky enough to attend one of the better annual events in our city last night, the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. Held at the Renaissance Hotel Ballroom downtown, the night celebrates the best of our local sports scene for the past year. Each year, the event has a big name host. From Jim Nantz to Mike Tirico to Bill Walton to Kirk Herbstreit, the committee has always hit a home run. This year was no exception – ESPN siren Erin Andrews was in charge of the evening.
Let me just get it out of the way – she is absolutely stunning in person. Fortunately for me (and thanks to a great friend), I was at a table right next to the stage. This is a family site, so no need to get any deeper, but in all seriousness, up close she is even more beautiful than on TV.
As for her presentation, she did a nice job, although she did hit our fair city with a few barbs here and there, but it was all in good fun. One thing she did say that would be of some interest to Buckeye fans is that Urban Meyer is like “a second father” to her and she just raved about the man who has taken over the Ohio State Football program and his top five recruiting class. [Read more...]
Yesterday I was coming home from out of town and walking to baggage claim when I saw a man from a limo company with a sign that read “Kotchman.” I tweeted right away what I saw. I figured it was a coincidence. Evidently, I was wrong.
According to CBS Sports’s Jon Heyman, the Indians are about to sign former Tampa Bay First Baseman Casey Kotchman. The terms and money are not yet known, but I would imagine he is coming over here on a one-year deal. While he doesn’t have the cache of the others the Indians were after the offseason, Kotchman is coming off a year and in which he hit .306/.378/.800 and played gold glove caliber fist base. He will most likely be in a platoon with Carlos Santana.
I will have much more on this tomorrow on WFNY.
There are plenty of old bits in Cleveland sports. How could the NFL not force the financially strapped Art Modell to sell, or what if LeBron hadn’t been coddled the way he was, or why didn’t Sandy Alomar go out to the mound and yell at Jose Mesa when he was shaking him off in game seven of the ’97 World Series, or Joel Skinner’s stop sign starting the chain of events which began the unraveling of the ’07 ALCS. But perhaps the oldest of bits and one that was brought back to the forefront last week was a classic; say it with me:
“The Dolans need to sell the Indians.”
I have long been a defender of their ownership in our market, with the emphasis on the “in our market” portion of that sentence. Let’s get the facts out of the way:
The Indians do as much as they can from a PR standpoint to reach out to the community and engage with their fans. Its something they obviously must do, considering the economics of our market. The Tribe was dealt a significant blow this past week when the rival Detroit Tigers decided to replace the injured Victor Martinez with the biggest fish in the free agent pond, Prince Fielder. Nine years and $214 million later, Tribe fans coast to coast felt as though we had been kicked in the stomach. In the meantime, a couple of days later, Manager Manny Acta and some of his players hit the road on a four mall PR run called “Tribe on Tour” and undoubtably be asked about it, and the opening at first base.
Things wrapped up Sunday at Beachwood Place mall. Acta, Josh Tomlin, Jason Donald, Jason Kipnis, Vinnie Pestano, Jack Hannahan, and Shelley Duncan all met the fans for an hour of Q & A followed by an autograph session. [Read more...]
Look people, I know you are all down and out because the Tigers signed Prince Fielder and the Indians would have had to dump payroll had they signed a Carlos Beltran type, but all is not lost. The games still have to be played. Let us concentrate on what we have and stay positive.
(SIDE NOTE – can I also mention that if the Tigers indeed use Miguel Cabrera at third base regularly, their infield defense will not only be the worst in baseball, it could be as bad as we’ve seen in ages. Imagine the statues on the left side with Jhonny Peralta at short and Cabrera at third. I’d be bunting on those two all day long and dare them to get me out.)
While the Tigers will win by mashing the ball around the yard, the Tribe will have to do it they way they did last year during their hot streak – timely hitting and excellent pitching. The rotation should be solid with a top four of Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Tomlin, and Derek Lowe. But what will really help carry this Tribe team, as it did last year, is the Bullpen Mafia, version 2012. [Read more...]
Cleveland has a historic landmark in its Hough Neigborhood. Many people know it’s there, but other than a quick drive-by, there isn’t much of a reason to stop. I’m speaking of course of old League Park, the baseball field that was the one-time home of the Cleveland Indians and the Negro League Cleveland Buckeyes. The structure sits vacant on the corner of E. 66th and Lexington.
This is the place that saw Babe Ruth’s 500th home run in 1929 and where Bob Feller fired fastball after fastball. Legends of the game played in this hallowed park and then after 1946, it became outdated. Cleveland Municpal Stadium was the spot for the baseball action in Cleveland while League Park just sat there empty, year after year, decade after decade. It was never razed. [Read more...]
I spent all of yesterday on the road, going in an out of meetings. I emerged from a two and a half hour ordeal in a good place. We got a lot out of this customer visit. Little did I know how quickly my mood would change. As I looked down at my phone, I saw an email from a friend of mine with the subject “Prince?” I open the email and it simply reads “Prince to the Tigers…This can’t be true. Tell me this can’t be true.”
I had seen on Twitter earlier in the day that the top prize of the baseball free agent class (sorry Albert Pujols), Prince Fielder, could be considering large money, one-year deals and that the Tigers and Dodgers could then enter the fray if this happened. The thought of this one year with Fielder as a Tiger had me very concerned. That was just a one-year deal I was worried about. So I began to open the series of emails that are bandied about all day by the WFNY crew. I came to find out my nightmare was even worse than I thought. [Read more...]
