May 21, 2012

The Red Sox, The Tribe, And The $200 Million Question

May 11, 2012 By 18 Comments

I was reading an excellent piece by Jeff Passan about the Boston Red Sox and the controversy surrounding Josh Beckett this morning. Beckett, who has a $17 million figure attached to his name is knee deep in it again. And no, I’m not referring to money. A year after the Red Sox imploded and got their manager fired amidst clubhouse dalliances with beer and fried chicken, the face of the dysfunction isn’t much better. Beckett got shelled by our beloved Tribe last night, but I missed it. I was putting my son to bed and it was a pleasant surprise when I finally got to turn the TV on to see that the Indians were pounding the Red Sox 7-1. Beckett most recently missed a start and then played golf on his off day, which he was forced to address after lasting fewer than three innings. This morning after reading about the dysfunctional backdrop that the Indians exploited last night it left me thankful.

The Indians aren’t without their own problems. The Indians have been suffering through the contractual dollars committed to players like Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore for years as the duo has struggled to stay on the field. The Indians had an entire off-season with the mission to get a right-handed bat. They re-signed Grady Sizemore and added Casey Kotchman who are both lefties. In addition they picked up the option on Roberto Hernandez and found out that he wasn’t allowed to work here under the fake name Fausto Carmona. Even those problems in a constrained situation like the Cleveland Indians business environs seems mild by comparison to what is happening in Boston. [Read more...]

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Thank You, Atlanta: Derek Lowe Serves as Veteran Anchor on a Young Staff

May 11, 2012 By 6 Comments

Derek Lowe returned to familiar grounds with familiar fan fare. As Bostonians welcomed Lowe back with open arms and signs thanking him for his time spent with their team, the veteran right-hander approached the historic Fenway Park as a former inhabitant whose keys still made the locks turn.

The headlines will belong to Washington’s Steven Strasburg who fanned 13 Pittsburgh Pirate batters in just six innings of work. The tabloids and Twitterverse will focus on Boston’s Josh Beckett who the Red Sox traded for after Lowe moved on to more western pastures; after all, it’s Becket who is making $17 million this season and continues to grow larger by the day, the antagonist in the 2011 fried-chicken-and-beer scandal which tipped Red Sox Nation off its axis like a wayward flip-cup. But it was Lowe, on this night, who seemingly flew under the radar to mow through the perennially vaunted Red Sox lineup to record his fifth win of the season, each of which has followed an Indians loss.

The first-place Indians, recent losers of two straight contests to the White Sox, will head into their second game of their series against the Redder version, having lost no more than two-straight games thus far in the 2012 season. Last season, the role of the stopper belonged to Justin Masterson. With Bat taking the role of the ace, the 38-year-old Lowe has stepped right in without skipping a beat. [Read more...]

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Indians 8, Red Sox 3: Hannahan, Brantley Batter Beckett as Tribe Fans Grin

May 11, 2012 By 13 Comments

Let me just get this right out of the way off the top; I do not like Josh Beckett. Never have. Never will.

Not only did he used to own the Indians, particularly during the 2007 ALCS where he wont both of his starts, but he also won a World Series title with the Florida Marlins in 2003 where he was the MVP. The Marlins having two rings in a seven-year span makes me ill on so many levels.The attitude he exudes, the slow pace in which he works, the way he disdains the media – all of it makes the guy extremely unlikeable in my opinion.

But I digress.

Beckett took the hill last night for the last place Boston Red Sox with a fresh new controversy on his hands (the off-day Golf incident). The Fenway Faithful have already seemed to be a little standoffish towards him since last season’s “Chicken and Beer” collapse in September. He entered this one with a 2-4 record and in dire need of a good performance to build back up some good will in his own city and clubhouse. [Read more...]

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WFNY Fantasy Challenge: $125 to the Winners

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

So, last week went well. At least for those who entered our FanDuel ”Beat the Expert” challenge wherein yours truly came in dead last, allowing every single person to at least break even.  Thanks a lot, Josh Johnson.

This time around, we’re going to do more of the same to see if I can rebound. 

Log in through this link, register a team based on a $35,000 salary cap and see if you can beat me. It’s only $2 to enter, so if you played last week, it’s house money. We’re also allowing participants to enter up to three teams per person with the top seven winners get a share of $125; beat me and break even.  It’s that simple.

Limited spots are available so get clicking and get winning.

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White Sox 8 Indians 1: Just One Of Those Games

May 10, 2012 By 8 Comments

The old adage in baseball is momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher. The beauty of the game of baseball is the you can turn the page after a bad night. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. You can’t get too high or too low after one game.

Take last night for example.

The game between the Tribe and the Chicago White Sox was delayed by an hour thanks to a light rain storm. The umpires didnt want to start the game, get the pitchers all warmed up, and then have a delay. They would have been better off just calling the game for the Indians sake.

The White Sox abused Jeanmar Gomez during a six-run fourth inning which for all intents and purposes ended the game. Chicago would go on to take the final game of the series 8-1.

They got two in the first inning for the second straight night, this time thanks to an Adam Dunn homer. Interestingly in the last three games of the series, Dunn crushed a pitch in the first inning deep into the Cleveland skies. On Monday night, Michael Brantley reached up and stole a homer at the fence. An evening later, Brantley tracked the Dunn fly ball, but mis-timed his jump and watched as the ball bounced off of his glove for a double. Last night there was no catching that Dunn shot. [Read more...]

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WFNY Wednesday Wahoos: Indians Minor League Weekly Review 5/9

May 9, 2012 By 3 Comments

Every Wednesday, I bring you all the highlights from the week that was for the Cleveland Indians organization, along with some added insight on what it means for the major league squad.

The topic du jour in the Cleveland Indians organization has to be the bullpen. After last night’s disappointing 5-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox, people must be asking what is the future for the Tribe pen, or as many call it, the “bullpen mafia”? Are there any players down in the minors that could join it soon and what would they contribute? [Read more...]

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On Chris Perez, Tie Games, Save Situations, and Stories

May 9, 2012 By 42 Comments

Jason Miller / Getty Images

You have to believe me: I didn’t know what I was getting into.

I was completely unaware of the narrative surrounding Chris Perez in non-save situations (or is it tie games? Or extra innings? I get confused.).

As the kids say, “I didn’t know that was a thing.”

So when twitter exploded last night after Perez allowed two runs to break a tie game, I wasn’t feeling combative. I was mostly curious. There were so many people suggesting that Perez just couldn’t handle that situation that I wondered how I had missed it. How had Acta missed it? WIth those glasses and everything?

I had to look it up. But how?

Thank goodness Al Gore created a magical series of tubes for just that purpose. In two seconds, I found this link and tweeted it: [Read more...]

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White Sox 5, Indians 3: A Debate “Rages” On

May 9, 2012 By 13 Comments

The red hot Cleveland Indians seem to be doing no wrong these days. Every decision Manager Manny Acta has made seems to be the right one. The right strings are being pulled. However last night, after the Indians used a little Progressive Field magic eighth inning comeback, Acta made a decision that was scrutinzed after the White Sox took the game 5-3 in 10 innings.

The Tribe offense was completely shut down against another lefty John Danks, who they have had good success against during his career (4-8 with an ERA over five in 15 starts coming in). For seven innings, Danks was working on a three-hit shutout. On the other side was Justin Masterson who didn’t have his slider working, but managed to weave his way through six innings allowing just two earned runs on six hits.

The walks are still a serious problem for J Mast. In this start, he walked five White Sox. Over his last five starts, Masterson has given free passes 23 times in 29 innings pitched. That just isn’t going to cut it. [Read more...]

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When it Comes to Credit, Indians Collectively Pass the Buck

May 8, 2012 By 17 Comments

Not long after Shelley Duncan drove a 94-mile-per-hour fastball from the hand of Chicago reliever Matt Thornton to the left field wall in Progressive Field, plating what would ultimately serve to be the game-winning run in a rain-soaked outing with a depleted bench, the Cleveland Indians left-fielder wasted no time in handing the credit to those who came to bat ahead of him. For if not the two hard-fought bloop singles which landed in shallow right field prior to his plate appearance, Duncan’s line drive would have meant little if only to further amplify just how much success he has against those with a southern paw.

[Read more...]

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Tribe Grit: Indians Take Two From the White Sox and Keep Rolling

May 8, 2012 By 19 Comments

It was quite the double dip yesterday down at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. The weather was dicey. The fact that they were able to get two games in was a borderline miracle. At noon, it was dark and a torrential downpour at Progressive Field. Yet at 1:05, the sun was out and the tarp was lifted. The first pitch came at 1:30.

The afternoon tilt was literally a tale of two games. The Indians offense absolutely erupted against Phil Humber, he of the recent perfect game. Travis Hafner got things started with a solo blast to the right field seats to tie the game at one. Carlos Santana followed with a double into the right field corner. Shin-Soo Choo then singled to shallow right and stole second, putting two runners in scoring position for Michael Brantley. Brantley, who has looked more comfortable at the plate of late, delivered in a big way, singled in both Santana to put the Tribe on top. Casey Kotchman’s fielder’s choice  — which should have been a double play but was thrown away by shortstop Alexei Ramirez – scored Choo.

But they were far from done. [Read more...]

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Dolans need to fight the law even if the law wins

May 7, 2012 By 87 Comments

It is a topic that won’t go away. The Indians are currently in first place in the standings and last in attendance. What gives? Can Cleveland support three teams anymore? All these topics and then some have been top of mind ever since the NFL draft stopped flooding local talk radio phone banks and web servers alike. I haven’t really weighed in on it yet because frankly I find it wholly depressing all the way around. I am a bit embarrassed by it as a fan. I am indignant as well because I don’t think fans should be judged harshly on justifiable actions. Somewhere between these two competing emotions I find the whole topic of conversation completely exhausting, but I have the answer. The Dolans don’t need to spend more money. They need to at least look like they’re fighting the system that leaves them without the ability to spend just as much.

This time of year teams like Baltimore and Cleveland can occasionally thrive. Sometimes a team will maintain this level of quality all the way until the playoffs, but more often than not the quality provided by deeper pocketed ownership usually rises to the top over 162 games. That’s where being a baseball fan is so irrational. It is fun to laugh and point at big markets when they struggle, and then flip the switch to complaining about inequities when a high percentage of those big spenders qualify for the playoffs. It is predictable and I long for the year where I not only recognize that, but break the cycle. Yet, here I am. [Read more...]

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Pure Rage Caption Contest

May 7, 2012 By 25 Comments

There was a lot of fun had last night on the WFNY Facebook page putting captions to Chris Perez’s celebratory scream and fist pump. Here were some of the highlights. As always the instructions were to keep it clean.

Jason Miller / Getty Images

I started things off with “This is fun but I miss singing for the Foo Fighters!” Thankfully they got better after mine. [Read more...]

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Tribe Weekend Wrapup: ActaBall Reigns Supreme

May 7, 2012 By 72 Comments

Can you climb on board the bandwagon now? There is plenty of room to join us. Still time too! After a weekend in which your first place Cleveland Indians took two of three from the best team in baseball, the Texas Rangers (and really, they were a sac fly away from a sweep), how can you not be impressed by what you are seeing? How could you not want to come out and support this team?

They spent the weekend pitching their behinds off and showing that power stroke that had been missing but seemed to re-appear this week. Manny Acta’s club is starting to come together. I know, we saw this last summer with the 30-15 start, but doesn’t this feel much better than the Eric Wedge Aprils and Mays? I will take this all day, even with an offense that still leaves a lot to be desired.

We saw great starts, a budding star player continue to crush opposing pitching, a big time hit in a home debut, and disappointing attendance figures. All of it added up to a successful weekend at Progressive Field. Let us take a look back as we do every Monday morning at this time. [Read more...]

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Tribe turns to Ubaldo for rubber match with Rangers

May 6, 2012 By 13 Comments

Jimenez looks to rebound from his rough start in ChicagoIf there’s one Indians storyline that dominates this early season, it is the lackluster performance of one Ubaldo Jimenez. If you’re ever on twitter during a Jimenez start, it’s one of the more entertaining twitter experiences one can have with the 2012 Tribe.

Notice I didn’t say enjoyable. Nothing is fun about an ERA over five and more walks (20) than strike outs (14). Coupled with the fact he’s only made it through seven innings once in five starts, it’s safe to say he’s a concern.

Questions surround Ubaldo. Will he ever regain his 2010 form? Is it his mechanics? Is it mental? Does Ubaldo mean ‘bust’ in Spanish (hardy har!)? How is it that he could pitch in Coors Field but not on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario? [Read more...]

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The Indians are in first place, did you notice?

May 5, 2012 By 45 Comments

Really? Fans aren't showing up to Progressive Field because of this guy?

The Tribe is in first place, the Texas Rangers (only the two-time defending AL Champions) are in town for the weekend and, as an added bonus, the weather doesn’t suck.

Jeanmar Gomez went 7 strong innings, Shin-Soo Choo and Jack Hannahan each hit a home run and Johnny Damon somehow had a 2-run triple and the first place Cleveland Indians beat the first place Texas Rangers 6-3. Chris Perez notched his 10th save.

So of course, with 16,147 fans in attendance, the stadium was less than half full.

Makes sense. [Read more...]

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