May 24, 2013

Justin Masterson named AL Player of the Week

May 20, 2013 by 2 Comments

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]

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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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Elias: Indians’ Masterson, Kipnis join the record books

May 14, 2013 by 7 Comments

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]

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

May 14, 2013 by 8 Comments

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...]

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

May 13, 2013 by 22 Comments

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]

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While We’re Waiting…Ranking Kyrie’s value, the Tribe’s rotation, and Browns rookie camp

May 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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


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“Let’s see … Irving missed 26 of 37 games at Duke, then 15 of 66 games as a Cavs rookie and 23 of 82 games this season. In three years, he’s played 121 games and missed 64. So far he’s torn ligaments in his big toe; sprained one shoulder; broken his hand; suffered a concussion; broken a finger on his non-shooting hand; broken a bone in his jaw; hyperextended a knee; and sprained the other shoulder.

Was that a series of fluke injuries … or a more ominous pattern that spells out the words, “KYRIE CAN’T STAY ON THE COURT”? Durability is really 25 percent luck and 75 percent DNA. You can’t do anything about Patrick Beverley slamming into your knee as you’re calling a timeout; that’s in the 25 percent. Mike D’Antoni playing you too many minutes until your 35-year-old body breaks down; that’s in the 25 percent. But grinding out 36 to 38 minutes a game for six to eight months per year, fighting off nagging injuries and bringing it year after year after year? That’s in your DNA. That’s the 75 percent.

My favorite example for this topic: John Stockton and Kevin Johnson. Before he saved the Kings and turned himself into Seattle’s Archenemy, KJ was an absolutely devastating offensive player; nobody could stay in front of him. He’s one of the few guards I can ever remember who made good defenders start backing up just by making it seem like hemight make a move. Stockton didn’t have that first step or KJ’s power around the rim, but he mastered everything that went into playing point guard — specifically, setting up teammates, running fast breaks, picking his spots and doing everything in the most efficient way possible. [Read more...]

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Indians 4, A’s 3: Its Better To Be Lucky Than Good

May 9, 2013 by 31 Comments

Bob MelvinWhen this series with Oakland began, I wrote that umpire Angel Hernandez was arguably the second worst umpire in the game behind C.C. Bucknor. Tonight, the crew chief was at second base. Three nights ago he did the Tribe a favor when he didn’t toss Oakland starter Jarrod Parker for throwing at the head of Mark Reynolds after giving up two homers earlier in the inning. If he had, we would have been robbed of the Reynolds revenge blast in the 7-3 Indians win. Last night, Hernandez may have topped himself.

I always like to begin my recaps start to finish, but in this case, I have to make an exception.

With the Indians nursing a 4-3 lead with two outs in the ninth inning, closer Chris Perez looked like he was on the verge of closing out another win. The usually light-hitting Adam Rosales took a 1-1 Perez pitch deep to left center, which looked to hit high off the wall for a double. At closer glance, it was thought to bounce off the railing above the yellow line on the high wall in left. Hernandez was the closest umpire to the action. A conference of the umpires was called after A’s manager Bob Melvin came out to argue that the ball should be ruled a home run. [Read more...]

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Wahoo Walkoff! Stubbs Makes It Five Straight For Tribe

May 4, 2013 by 9 Comments

stubbskipnisWith high-priced free agents Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher on the shelf for the last couple weeks and last few days respectively, one would think that Progressive Field was burning. Instead, that smoke you’re seeing is coming from the Tribe bats, who have stayed warm without their leadoff and cleanup hitters. Actually, they’ve heated up and diversified the contributions. Last night, it was ninth hitter Drew Stubbs in the starring role. The Tribe centerfielder had four hits, three of which were doubles, and secured the game-winning walkoff double high off the left field wall as the Tribe won their fifth straight game of the year 7-6 in 10 innings. [Read more...]

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WFNY Stats & Info: Putting Bauer’s early command issues into perspective

May 2, 2013 by 8 Comments

Trevor Bauer’s performance last night was just the 98th time in MLB history that a starting pitcher had the following stats:

– At least 5.0 IP
– No runs allowed
– At least 6 walks
– Max of 1 hit

Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore had a similar such performance on April 10 this season. No pitchers accomplished this feat in 2012.

Specific to the Indians, when with the Colorado Rockies, Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter on April 17, 2010 qualifies as he managed to walk six Braves despite allowing zero hits.

Justin Masterson was the last Indian to do so, on August 15, 2010 where he walked six Seattle Mariner batters in six innings of work.

Of all MLB pitchers with at least 10 innings under their belt in 2013, Bauer leads the pack with 11.7 walks per nine innings pitched. St. Louis’ Mitchell Boggs is second, a full three walks-per-nine-innings fewer than Bauer.

In MLB history, only 51 pitchers have ever started a season with at least six walks in each of their first two outings. Besides Bauer in 2013, Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey was the most recent to do so in 2009. Only five pitchers then advanced their streak to three games—Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan (1977) and Bob Feller (1941) are among this group.

[Related: Indians 6, Phillies 0: Bauer & The Raburn Show Help Tribe to Fourth Straight Win]

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Red Sox 6. Indians 3: Sox Plan Baffles Masterson

April 18, 2013 by 16 Comments

Asdrubal CabreraThere was rain in the forecast the last two nights in Cleveland. It is too bad it never arrived.

I sound like a broken record and we are only two weeks plus into the season, but the Tribe’s starting pitching is obviously a big concern. The thought was that with their best on the mound, Justin Masterson, the bleeding could be stopped. Actually the Indians starters pitched well in the Chicago series over the weekend, but what’s most fresh in our minds was Tuesday night’s comedy show starring Ubaldo Jimenez. The over-taxed Indians bullpen figured to get some relief with the Tribe’s ace on the mound. Just in case, Corey Kluber was called up as a long man, taking the place of CF Michael Bourn who was placed on the 15-day DL earlier in the day.

Masterson entered the game with a 19-inning scoreless streak in tow. The Red Sox came to the plate in the first inning with the perfect approach. They were patient with Masterson and took almost everything the other way right from the jump.  Four of the first five Red Sox singled the other way. The one who didn’t, Shane Victorino, was hit by a pitch. It was 3-0 before you could open your bag of peanuts. Justin managed to get through the rest of the inning unscathed, but the Red Sox knew they were on to something. [Read more...]

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Turning the Masty Corner?

April 16, 2013 by 25 Comments

Justin MatsersonI am sort of obsessed with Justin Masterson.

Every year, whether he has a difficult April (like last year) or a fabulous one (like 2011) I find myself poring over his stat line to see if anything remarkable has changed.  More often than not, I end up concluding the same thing each year: he’s a good pitcher who—as most non-strikeout pitchers do—relies heavily on the random distribution of his batted balls.  The things he can control—like strikeouts, walks, and to some degree home runs—suggest that he’s a completely competent starting pitcher.  Not one who you’d necessarily call an “ace”, but not someone who belongs in the bullpen as so many people preached back in his miserable 2010 campaign.

And now that he’s off to another great start (3-0, 0.41 ERA), I figured I’d check again, just to see if anything looks a bit different over these first 22 innings of 2012. [Read more...]

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Tribe Weekend Recap: The Rotation Situation Helps The Tribe Take Two

April 15, 2013 by 19 Comments

Nick SwisherThe weekend brought a fresh series and a fresh start for the Indians. They hadn’t played since Tuesday’s 14-1
debacle against the New York Yankees and the back to back rainouts were a welcome sight. Let them wash away the the memories of that brutal two game stretch and get back to baseball. The bats slumbered in two of the three games against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field, but they scratched and clawed their way to a series win, taking the first two of the three-game set.

There has been lots to talk about since we last got together, so let us get right to it.

Nick Swisher’s walkoff single was a thing of beauty on a night of hideous at-bats. Friday night’s series opener had a first pitch temperature of 42 degrees. However, for the brave 11,864 who paid to see this one, it felt more like four degrees. It was cold and rainy, a brisk night that felt more like football weather. For nine innings, the Sox and Tribe pitchers completely shut down the opposing offenses. Chicago lefty Jose Quintana baffled the Tribe over his seven innings of work. The only baserunners he allowed were Michael Brantley, who got on base via a second inning double and Swisher, who he hit with a pitch in the fourth. Other than that, he was perfect. Seven strikeouts, no walks. [Read more...]

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Masterson Wins Pitchers’ Duel With A Little Help From Sir Swish

April 13, 2013 by 8 Comments

swishmastyAfter two days off due to rain and two more days before that where the starting pitching failed to show up, we were all hopeful that the Tribe would regroup. Behind their ace, they did just that. Justin Masterson turned his third stellar start to begin the 2013 campaign, going the distance and blanking the White Sox. The Indians squeezed across a run in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off single by Nick Swisher that scored Michael Bourn to give the Tribe a 1-0 victory. With that, the Indians are a perfect 3-0 with Masterson on the hill, and we’re seeing the big right-hander as dominant as he’s been in a Cleveland uniform. [Read more...]

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Opening Day Optimism

April 8, 2013 by 59 Comments

WFNYIndiansStoreIt is finally here. An exciting off season for the first time in a long time put a big circle on this date for months. The Home Opener. Our Indians holiday every year. (And while I realize it isn’t technically opening day, I’m using the phrase. It’s opening day for the city.)

Every year at this time we have hope for our beloved Indians. Hope that the season won’t be over by mid-July. Hope that the team can compete into September or day we say October. Hope that we will have another “post season to remember” as Tom Hamilton eloquently put it so many years ago.

This year there are reasons for optimism. Yes, there are plenty of concerns and question marks about the 2013 version of the Tribe, but what better day to dwell on the positive than Opening Day in Cleveland?

Top Ten Reasons for Opening Day Optimism-

10- Have you seen the blasts coming off of Mark Reynold’s bat? These are not fly balls that just manage to squeak over a short porch. These have been dead center mammoth blasts. Yes, he is also going to strike out. We knew this. But when he makes contact, that ball is scorched. Consider this- Reynolds has six base hits on the season (.300 average so far) and four of them have been home runs. Another was a double. That’s five out of six hits for extra bases. [Read more...]

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Tribe Weekend Recap: Baseball Is a Strange Game

April 8, 2013 by 32 Comments

Justin MatsersonWe’ve waited a long time for the much anticipated 2013 Cleveland Indians season to begin. The complete makeover of the team, a culture change if you will, has been universally lauded across our fair city. It starts with manager Terry Francona. I think it was a good thing that the Indians started on a tough six-game road trip to AL East beasts Toronto and Tampa Bay. Because of how things would shake out, they would see arguably the two best starting rotations in the American League right from the jump. The question was how would the new, deeper lineup respond.

After taking two of three in Toronto where they scored 15 runs in three games, the Wahoo attack looked extremely sleepy Friday night, where they were completely befuddled by hard-throwing lefty Matt Moore. They only managed two hits – both by Michael Bourn – in a 4-0 loss. The Indians didn’t get into the Tampa are until 4 AM Friday morning, that certainly didn’t help matters. But they figured to get back on track a night later against second year righty Alex Cobb. Instead, the bats extended their slumber a second game, as Cobb and two relievers blanked the Tribe 6-0. They could only muster six singles in this one. The Tribe faced a sweep yesterday as the Rays sent Cy Young Award winner David Price to the mound. It looked like quite the daunting task. But days like Sunday are what makes baseball such a great game. [Read more...]

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Indians 4, Blue Jays 1: Let the 162-0 Speculation Begin!

April 3, 2013 by 34 Comments

Drew Stubbs Michael BrantleyOh how I have longed for this day…..

Your boy is back for year four of the Tribe recaps. It is a true labor of love for me. This year for me holds something special for all of us. I actually like the fact that the Indians started the 2013 season on the road in Toronto against one of the best teams in the AL. Let us see right away what Terry Francona’s bunch is made of.

Well it is only one game, but you have to love the way things started for the Wahoos. The new look lineup would have to face last year’s NL Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey. The knuckleballer would be no easy out. The Indians approach against Dickey was fantastic all night as they worked deep into counts and didn’t seem to chase bad pitches. [Read more...]

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WFNY 2013 Tribe Predictions

April 2, 2013 by 16 Comments

WFNY_roundtable

It is Opening Day! Rejoice! Terry Francona! Nick Swisher! Michael Bourn! Do you believe the Dolan Family Ownership ponied up for free agents? Do you believe not one, but TWO big name free agents signed long term deals here in Cleveland? The offseason was as exciting as any we have seen in the long history of the Tribe. The organization wants to get the fans back and they everything they could to do so. So here we are.

As we get set for another season of Cleveland Indians baseball, I got the WFNY group together and asked them some simple questions regarding the 2013 season. What do we expect for this club? Can they contend? Who will step forward? Who will disappoint? Lets take a look and if you would like, answer along with us in the comments section. [Read more...]

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Tribe Season Preview Part Two: The Pitching Staff

April 2, 2013 by 13 Comments

Justin MastersonTerry Francona’s re-made Indians will take the field full of confidence and excitement, ready to turn the page on the debacle that was the close of the 2012 season and the Manny Acta era. ActaBall is no more. Long Live TitoBall. Ownership had seen enough. The hiring of Francona signalled a new day was upon us. It was time to turn the page and move forward. There was an enormous amount of negative energy surrounding the franchise. Things had to change. We just had no idea how quickly and how massive the changes would be.

Gone (for now) are the days of seeing a band of merry-4A players rotating in left field, third base, and the utility spots. GM Chris Antonetti, with the help of Team President Mark Shapiro and owner Paul Dolan, added not one, but two big name, big money free agents. Between Francona, Nick Swisher, and Michael Bourn, the Indians want you all to know that they mean business. A once barren farm system is getting stronger with the addition of top prospect Trevor Bauer in the Shin-Soo Choo trade. Bauer joins Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Tyler Naquin, Ronny Rodriguez, and Shawn Armstrong as names to know down on the farm.

But it is no longer about the future. It is about the NOW.

[Read more...]

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The 2013 Tribe and jWAR

March 10, 2013 by 4 Comments

mastersonstA few weeks ago when Jon wrote this article, talking about expectations for the Tribe in 2013 and how they may be a little too high, I immediately conveyed how I thought that article rained on my potential parade of writing about how this team with its flurry of additions in the offseason should be above .500. That led to the conversation that sparked this Jacob piece about our discussion on the Tribe’s amazingly bad starting rotation in 2012. I still want to go through my exercise, using one metric, Jon’s newly fashioned “jWAR” to see how many wins it could potentially get the Tribe to in 2013. Now, before we begin, I realize that this is just ONE metric, a metric that is not without its flaws, but in the new stats revolution, WAR is certainly something that has garnered its fair share of respect. So, take this article as more of a fun piece and not a hard and fast prediction that the Tribe is going to the playoffs or anything like crazy like that. [Read more...]

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MLB News: Indians’ Justin Masterson named Opening Day starting pitcher

February 26, 2013 by 32 Comments

Cleveland Indians’ manager Terry Francona officially named Justin Masterson the starting pitcher for the team’s Opening Day contest early Tuesday afternoon from Goodyear, Arizona. This will be Masterson’s second-consecutive Opening Day start, once again against the Toronto Blue Jays — this time, on the road.

“As the ace, I look to be the leader of the staff and set an example and go out there and set the tone,” said Masterson, following his outing on Monday. “You do that by going out and performing, which didn’t always happen last year. So my goal is to be the leader of this pitching staff and to set the example, and when something needs to happen, guys will look to me to go out there and get the job done.”

Masterson is coming off a down season in 2012, where he posted a 4.93 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and 159/88 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 206 innings in 34 starts. The right-hander had a 3.21 ERA in 2011. Francona and Masterson have a history from their respective days with the Boston Red Sox.

Masterson will be followed by Ubaldo Jimenez and Brett Myers in the starting rotation, with the final two spots to be decided in spring training — it is believed that Zach McAllister, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Scott Kazmir are vying for those two remaining spots with prospect Trevor Bauer opening the year in Columbus with the Clippers (Triple-A).

[Related: Justin Masterson: Jamaican expatriot, devout Christian, heck of a dancer]

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