May 21, 2013

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

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...]

MLB News: Indians closer Chris Perez deletes his Twitter account

Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez has had enough. Following Monday afternoon’s extra-innings win against the Seattle Mariners, thus completing a four-game sweep at Progressive Field, Perez deleted his Twitter account largely in part to the barrage of hate-laced tweets being sent his way.

Chris Perez Twitter Feed

Perez, a two-time All-Star with the Indians, has become a bit of a target on the microblogging platform following his comments last season regarding fan support. On Tuesday afternoon, Perez gave up his third home run in what was his last two outings, forcing the Indians to come from behind via the heroics of reserve catcher Yan Gomes.

When Perez allowed two home runs this past weekend, he tweeted out that one of the most useful tools on Twitter was the “block” feature that allows him to not receive messages from select fans. On Tuesday, the closer seemingly had enough of the tasteless barbs being thrown his way, oftentimes anonymously.

Despite saving 90 percent of his chances (81-for-91) since becoming the Tribe’s closer in 2011, a cabal of Indians “fans” have decided to carry along a narrative that Perez “always” blows saves and—despite being just a few saves shy of long-time Indians reliever Doug Jones—has provided no benefit as the anchor of one of the best bullpens in the major leagues. More importantly, he’s a human being.

Perez often used Twitter to interact with fans, hand out free tickets to games, and reveal his “song of the day” each and every morning. It appears that the costs associated with his profile, at this stage, far outweighed the benefits. Tough to imagine why…

[Related: Indians exemplifying “next man up” thus far]

Justin Masterson named AL Player of the Week

Major League Baseball announced today the players of the week for the week ending May 19th. Cleveland pitcher Justin Masterson earned the award for the American League and Joey Votto for the National-

“Masterson went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 20 strikeouts and five walks in 16.0 innings pitched over a pair of starts to claim his first

career A.L. Player of the Week Award and the first for a Cleveland hurler since CC Sabathia in 2008. Justin is the second Indian to be

tabbed with a weekly honor this month after teammate Ryan Raburn won for the week ending May 5th. Among pitching leaders,

Masterson was tops in the Majors in strikeouts and was tied for first overall in wins, ERA and innings pitched.”

The Indians are the hottest team in the majors right now, and Masterson is certainly the anchor of the starting rotation. Justin pitched a masterpiece against the Yankees on Monday allowing just four hits and struck out 9 on his way to another 1-0 shutout. Yesterday, Masterson had another brilliant pitching performance striking out 11 without allowing a run.

[Related: Indians exemplifying 'next man up' so far]

Indians exemplifying “next man up” thus far

Mike Aviles

Once upon a time, nagging injuries were analogous to death knell in Cleveland. When Grady Sizemore started finding his name on the disabled list more often than not, the Indians were forced to replace him with Ezequiel Carerra. When Shin–Soo Choo was shelved in 2011, right field would subsequently be occupied by the likes of Austin Kearns. Chris Giminez, Jerad Head, Travis Buck, Jayson Nix…all potentially wonderful human beings, but men who did not exactly led to many wins when wearing Wahoo on their hat.

Fast forward to 2013 and the Cleveland Indians have finally been able to field a roster where days off for core players, be they due to day games or scheduled rest, does not lead to moans and groans when the batting order is tweeted ad nauseum roughly 90 minutes before the first pitch. [Read more...]

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

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...]

Scott Raab on Chris Perez, Browns vs. Klosterman, NHLinCLE and relationships with editors – WFNY Podcast – 2013-05-20

WFNY Podcast LogoScott and I spent a lot of time talking Tribe today. We also touched on Brian Hoyer and whether we should be talking about it or not and also the Chuck Klosterman controversy with the Cleveland Browns.

  • Scott Raab will be on the Ken Carman show weekly every Friday at 9 PM
  • Talking about not talking about Brian Hoyer and his signing
  • Which team should win a championship if you had a choice?
  • Losing in 2007 and a hated Red Sox team in 2007
  • Cleveland fans and the amount of palpable hate for a fanbase that’s never won
  • If the Indians put up a statue in center field it ought to be Steve Olin
  • Is Jacob’s field a pitcher’s ballpark?
  • You have to get down to the seventh or eighth hitter to find a slow player
  • The contrived nature of the save in baseball
  • Chris Perez = Joe Borowski with a six pack in him
  • Julio Franco and the obsession with the holes in his game
  • Chris Perez talked about the organization and not just the fans
  • How much of the credit goes to Terry Francona?
  • Writing and how important it is to work with a good editor
  • David Granger and how important a good editor is for writers
  • Do novel writers have to have adversarial relationships with themselves?
  • The disadvantages of blogging are the lack of working it over and over
  • Balancing speed and quality / length
  • Guys who cover the NFL and how they feel about the Browns P.R.
  • The Browns and their adversarial relationship with the media
  • Chuck Klosterman whining about lack of access
  • It’s to Tony Grossi’s credit that Art Modell isn’t in the Hall of Fame
  • Access in the NFL is tightly tightly controlled
  • It’s better to be out there and not saying a lot than not out there at all
  • Talking about hockey with @NHLinCLE
  • The Cleveland Barons and Freddy Glover
  • Hockey fans and how they’re a different breed than the other sports
  • BrianHoyerSuperBowl.com

Check out this episode

Turning the focus away from the empty seats

Have you heard the one about the empty seats?

Have you heard the one about the empty seats?

At best, I’m a casual baseball fan. Even in the late 90′s and early 2000′s, I would probably hit up about five Tribe games a season. The Cavs and the NBA are my sport of choice. That’s my first love. But even then, I’ll only attend about four to five games in a season.

I’ve always had a hard time getting into the early part of the baseball season (and even more so since I quit playing fantasy sports). Regardless of whether or not the Cavs are in the playoffs, I’m watching NBA playoff basketball. The best players in the world are playing in do-or-die situations. I’m in. I’m watching.

I love the playoffs. I love the extended series and bad blood the forms between teams and players over the course of seven intense games. By the end, players know each other’s moves and tendencies and now they’re just playing hoops. The mental game, match-ups and coaching become more important.

While I’m not actively trying to ignore the Tribe and the baseball season, in the back of my head I’m fully aware that the Tribe still has over 100 games left to go. If I miss a few early season games due to playoff basketball, there’s still the entire summer for me to scratch any baseball itch.

[Read more...]

The Tribe – The REAL Lead Sports Story in Town

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...]

Indians 10, Phillies 4: The Return Of The Big O

Asdrubal CabreraI know none of you were really concerned about the offense after the last three games, right? I mean, what you can’t forget is that there was a time earlier in the year where they were shut out back to back games in Tampa and then followed it up by dropping a 13 spot on the Rays. Make no mistake about it, this was a tired ball club. It is also a very streaky ball club offensively. These types of hot and cold streaks will probably continue most of the year. You just hope that the cold spells don’t last very long.

After scoring just three runs in three games Monday and Tuesday, the Tribe had a quick turnaround afternoon tilt against tough lefty Cole Hamels and his Philadelphia Phillies. It was their seventh game in the last six days in three different cities (Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia), so another bat slumber could have easily occurred. Then again, this is a new era of Tribe baseball. ActaBall is dead. Long live TitoBall.

One of the things you come to learn while watching years and years of baseball is that on the mid-week “getaway day” games, you often see both clubs give “getaway-day at-bats.” Guys swing early in the counts and strike-zones seem to be more liberal.  However in this one, the Indians approach against Hamels was the opposite. They were set to work the lefty deep into counts and wait for him to make mistakes. [Read more...]

Phillies 6, Indians 2: Tired Tribe bats shut down again in Philly

Scott KazmirBaseball is a game of extreme ups and downs. The Indians won 12 out of 14 games with an offense averaging 6.5 runs per game and mashed their way to the league lead in home runs. On Monday, they were supposed to have a well-earned and much needed day off. But thanks to April rainouts, The Tribe played a traditional doubleheader against the New York Yankees. They would split the pair, but other than a Jason Kipnis first inning solo home run, the offense failed to score a single run.

After the brief spot at home, they went back on the road to Philadelphia for an interleague matchup with the Phillies. Ex-Tribe manager Charlie Manuel sent out rookie Jonathan Pettibone to the mound, a right-hander that the Indians had not seen. In the second inning, the bats looked like they were regain their mojo. Nick Swisher opened the frame with a single. Carlos Santana followed by going the other way for a double, which landed just fair down the line. After a Mark Reynolds pop out (on the first pitch) failed to bring in a run, Michael Brantley singled two center, scoring both Swisher and Santana. The inning ended with Drew Stubbs and pitcher Scott Kazmir striking out, but the offense was off to a good start, or so it seemed.

The game really changed course in the third. [Read more...]

Elias: Indians’ Masterson, Kipnis join the record books

Justin Masterson struck out nine batters and went the distance in a 1-0 win over the Yankees in the first game of Monday’s doubleheader. Per Elias Sports Bureau, the only other Indians pitcher who authored a complete-game 1-0 victory against the Yankees with at least that many strikeouts: Bob Feller. Rapid Robert did so in 1946 via a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium where he had 11 strikeouts.

Masterson also became the first Indians pitcher to record multiple 1-0 CG shutouts in the same season since 1989 when left-handers Bud Black and Greg Swindell both accomplished the feat twice, as Masterson also pulled the trick back in a 1-0 walk-off win on April 12 vs. Chicago. Black recorded wins on June 16 vs. Kansas City and Sept. 12 vs. Detroit, while Swindell’s victories came on May 28 vs Baltimore and June 7 at California. With six wins already this season, Masterson is now tied with Boston’s Clay Buchholz (6-0), Texas’ Yu Darvish (6-1) and Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore (6-0) for the A.L. lead – one behind Washington’s Jordan Zimmerman for the MLB lead. Masterson also leads the Majors with 63.0 innings pitched

When Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis’s turned a David Phelps 2-2 fastball into a 414-foot first-inning home run, it accounted for the only run of the Monday’s Game 1. It was the first time in the Indians’ 113-year history that they won 1-0 with a home run in the first inning. Two other teams defeated the Yankees by that score on the strength of a first-inning home run: the 1910 Tigers on a home run by Ty Cobb, and the 1965 Angels with a homer by Albie Pearson.

Kipnis now has five home runs on the season, all of which have come in the first inning of their respective games.

[Related: Tribe splits with Yanks in front of larger-than-expected crowd]

Tribe splits with Yanks in front of larger-than-expected crowd

Justin MastersonI attended last Thursday afternoon’s 9-2 Indians win over Oakland at Progressive Field. It was an absolutely perfect day; mid-70′s and sunny. We are talking shorts and t-shirt weather. Fast forward four days and I was breaking out the winter coat and gloves that I had put away about three weeks ago as the Indians and the New York Yankees played a traditional doubleheader.

There is certainly a buzz in the city about our Tribe. They entered this double dip winners of 12 of 14 and tied for first place in the AL Central. While the vibe was palpable, it had yet to translate into any real attendance spike.

Talking about attendance at Progressive Field is my least favorite topic. The Indians have been bad for five straight years. There hasn’t been a lot of trust between the fans, ownership, and the front office. The season ticket base had dwindled down to historic Progressive/Jacobs Field lows (though the Indians never speak on the subject, it is believed that the base is about 6,500). It takes years to build that trust back up. With Terry Francona and his shiny new toys on board, the Wahoos want to be more than just relevant in Cleveland again. They want to be the top dogs. [Read more...]

Francisco Lindor could be MLB’s top prospect by end of 2013

Two separate MLB scouts have reportedly told Yahoo! Sports baseball columnist Jeff Passan that Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor may end up being the most highly-touted prospect in baseball by the end of 2013.

Profar, as referenced, is presently baseball’s highest-rated prospect accross many independent mediums. A product of the Texas Rangers’ farm system, the 20-year-old has flown through the team’s farm system thanks to his big-league ready glove and the offensive skill set to eventually be a star.

Lindor, conversely, is still playing in high-A ball, but the 19-year-old appears primed to take the next step as he is putting up a slash line of .333/.406/.471 while walking 16 times compared to just 14 strikouts 1 . Lindor’s ability in the field is also touted as big-league ready, but the team wants him to continue to work on his ability to produce at the plate.

Entering the 2012 season, Lindor was ranked 14th overall by MLB.com. Drafted in the first round of 2011, the switch-hitting Lindor grew up idolizing former Indians infielder Roberto Alomar.

[Related: How good of a starting prospect is Danny Salazar?]

___________________________________

  1. This all while being in the midst of a 4-for-24 over his previous seven games [back]

Justin Masterson shuts out the Yankees in game one of Tribe double-header

How do you save a pitching staff from getting overworked? Throwing a complete game shutout in game one of a double-header sure helps.

That’s exactly what Justin Masterson (6-2) did this afternoon. The Indians right-hander made a Jason Kipnis solo home run stand up for his second one to nothing shutout of the season.

The only hint of trouble Masterson had all game came in the second inning. After getting the first two batters out, Chris Nelson got an infield hit. Masterson then walked Joseph, and gave up another infield single to Chris Stewart to load the bases. Masterson ended the threat with a punchout of Alberto Gonzalez.

Justin Masterson had great control of his slider, using it as his strikeout pitch for most of his nine strikeouts. He allowed four hits and walked three, but was dominant all afternoon.

With the win Cleveland moves .5 game ahead of the Tigers for sole possession of first place in the Central Division. The Tigers play Houston tonight while the Indians finish the double-header against the Yankees. Trevor Bauer pitches for the Indians.

[Related: Indians promote David Huff, demote Lonnie Chisenhall]

It’s Time for Fun with Numbers…

Everyone likes numbers right? Every once in a while I like to see what story the numbers tell. Today, ‘Fun with Numbers’ checks in on the Indians, Cavs and Browns. Let’s have some fun-

NumbersLet’s start this piece off with the hottest team in the Majors- the Indians!

23- The Indians have hit 23 home runs since April 29th, best in the majors.

.839- The Indians OPS with 2 outs this season, best in the majors.

.750- The Indians winning percentage since April 20th, also best in the majors.

.600- The Indians winning percentage against the AL Central (9-6). To be the division champs you have to beat the other teams in your division.

.200- Even when he is slumping, Mark Reynolds has been pretty fantastic. The last 7 games Reynolds is only hitting .200 with 10 strikeouts, but has made a big difference with 6 RBI on just 4 base hits including 2 home runs.

3- Carlos Santana is one of three catchers in the top 10 in batting average. His .336 average is good for 7th, right behind catchers Joe Mauer (.341) and Yadier Molina (.343).

14- The Indians are in the midst of a brutal stretch playing 14 games in 13 days. They have won 8 of the first 10 games in this stretch.

20- Following a day off on Thursday, the Indians begin a 20 game stretch without a scheduled day off until June 6th. Eleven of those are home games. [Read more...]

Yan Gomes, Miracle Worker

Yan Gomes Chris Perez

As the Cleveland Indians clawed their way to a 4-3 extra-inning win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon, Tribe faithful rejoiced that the Wahoos were atop the leader board in the AL Central with Mother’s Day in the rear view mirror. Sure, the Indians were able to top the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics, but it was what they did against the Tigers and their infinite payroll that would matter. Once the Comerica Park visitor’s clubhouse cleared and various streaks were discussed—what with the Tribe winning 15 of their last 20, several wins being of high-leverage fashion—one such run that should be a story line is that of reserve catcher Yan Gomes.

[Read more...]

Tribe Weekend Recap: How Does First Place Sound To You?

Nick SwisherSay it loud. Say it proud. Your Cleveland Indians are a first place baseball team. Sure, you can tell me how two years ago they were 30-15 and how last year they spent time on top of the AL Central during the first two months of the season, but this just feels different, doesn’t it?

Manny Acta’s clubs were fools gold. They won a lot of low scoring, one-run games thanks to a fantastic bullpen and timely hitting. The roster was not exactly loaded. The Terry Francona version play with a different sense of urgency and confidence. This is a group that expects to be good and plays like it. Of course it helps Francona to have veteran additions like Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, and Mark Reynolds to go along with the maturation of Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, and Carlos Santana. Having that deep and solid bullpen certainly doesn’t hurt.

Francona and his Wahoos ended their 8-1 homestand with a four-game sweep of Oakland and headed to Detroit for a measuring stick series with the AL Champion Tigers, who entered the weekend in first place. The pitching matchups for the most part weren’t going to favor the Tribe, but all weekend they battled and came out with a series win and a move into a tie for first with the team from that state up North. [Read more...]

Jason Kipnis gets too close to a dugout heater in Tribe’s win over Detroit

Jason Kipnis has been on a hot streak lately. Today, he got a little too close to a heat source however-

Kipnis drove in a pair of runs in the Indians’ 4-3 extra innings victory over the Tigers. The win moved the Tribe into a first place tie with Detroit atop the Central Division with identical 20-15 records.

[Related: Indians will call up Bauer to start game 2 of the double header]

MLB News: Indians will call up Bauer to start Game 2 of Monday’s doubleheader

According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com Terry Francona has confirmed Trevor Bauer will be making his return to the big leagues on Monday. Bauer is set to start the second half of Monday’s doubleheader against the Yankees.

This will be the third time Bauer has been called up already this year, and once again it appears to be a quick trip for a spot start. In his last outing against Philladelphia, Bauer went five scoreless innings, walked six, and only gave up one hit. Only 98 times in MLB history has a pitcher had such a stat line, the last Indian being Justin Masterson back in 2010.

While Bauer’s six walks against Philly didn’t get him in too much trouble, his seven walks in his first start against Tampa Bay did. Bauer gave up three runs to the Rays in five innings, and became only the 51st pitcher in MLB history to start a season walking at least six batters in each of his first two starts.

Despite showing command issues, Bauer has also showcased his exceptional talents. While he hasn’t clicked on all cylinders for a whole start, the rookie has made big pitches in big spots.

“When he got into some traffic out there, he made unbelievable pitches. He attacked hitters when he had to with really good stuff,” said Francona following his start against Philly.

Bauer will get another opportunity on Monday to show why he’s regarded as such an exciting prospect for the Tribe, but then will most likely head back down to Columbus on Tuesday. The Indians will continue to be cautious with Bauer, holding him to a pitch count and restraining from throwing the 22 year old into the big league rotation just yet.

[Related: How good of a starting prospect is Danny Salazar?]

Tribe win streak snapped: Tigers 10 Indians 4

Corey KluberHaving won 10 of 11 and fresh off a four game sweep of Oakland, the Tribe headed north to the Motor City looking to stay hot for a weekend series against the AL Central leading Tigers. The Tigers however wanted no part of succumbing to the Indians’ winning ways and thumped the Tribe 10-4 with Max Scherzer getting the win and Corey Kluber picking up the loss.

The Indians jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 1st with a two out double from Nick Swisher, scoring Jason Kipnis who also doubled earlier in the inning. The lead didn’t last long as the Tigers tagged Indians’ starter Corey Kluber for three runs in the bottom half of the second.

Prince Fielder extended Detroit’s leadto 4-1  in the forth with a monster solo shot off the brick wall passed the stands in right center. ESPN Stats Inc. measured the homer at an astounding 460 feet.

The Tribe answered back thanks to Swisher’s one out triple in the top of the fourth and Santana’s ground out that scored him. Swisher would finish the day with 3 hits, a home run shy of the cycle.

In the bottom half of the inning with Detroit leading 4-2, last year’s Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera clubbed a deep three run homer extending the Tigers lead to five. The lead would move to six as Alex Avila singled in Johnny Peralta in the fifth, giving the Tigers runs in four straight innings.

Reynolds and Brantley would each knock in runs for Cleveland in the 7th, but the Indians two runs were matched by the Tigers who chipped in a run in both the 7th and 8th giving Detroit the 10-4 win. [Read more...]