May 22, 2013

Blue Jays 10, Indians 8: Myers ignites fuse on Jays explosion

April 5, 2013 by 34 Comments

Brett MyersYour Wahoo Warriors headed into last night’s tilt against the Toronto Blue Jays looking for a sweep. I am trying to be a glass half-full guy when it comes to the Tribe in the Terry Francona era, so let me start with the positives.

The Indians were facing a familiar foe in former White Sox great Mark Buerhle. It seems as though the Tribe faced him almost every opening day for a decade (exaggeration here, but you get the point). Last season’s group would have cowered when a southpaw stepped to the hill, especially when you consider Manny Acta’s patented “all lefty” lineup. Francona kept his regular lineup intact for the third consecutive game. The only minor tweak was moving Mark Reynolds to first base with Nick Swisher as the DH. [Read more...]

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WFNY Podcast – 2013-04-03 – TD talking Tribe after 2-0 start

April 3, 2013 by 3 Comments

WFNY Podcast LogoTD sounded like garbage, partly because he was sick and partly because wherever it was in these United States of America that he was holed up in a hotel this week had garbage internet connections and equally garbage cell phone reception. What wasn’t garbage was our conversation following a Tribe win in Toronto as they made up for a Chris Perez blown save.

  • The Tribe start 2-0
  • Perez blowing a save isn’t that big of a deal
  • Ubaldo and his upcoming start in the home opener
  • Brandon Phillips
  • Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana in the 5-6 holes
  • Protection from Swisher
  • Eric Wedge and how Mark Shapiro had to fire his “partner”

[Read more...]

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Animated: Blue Jays fan celebrates, freaks out the world after catching bat

April 3, 2013 by 24 Comments

Boston has Stephen King. Cleveland has Drew Carey. Toronto has Geddy Lee…and now this guy, the recipient of a wayward Jason Kipnis bat in the first inning of Tuesday’s Opening Day loss to the Cleveland Indians.

PsychoJaysFanBat

It’s a way of life. Even the guy behind him wants to pretend he is a crazy man with a bat. Toronto: Poutine and air bat. Bonus points for choking up.

[Related: WFNY 2013 Tribe Predictions]

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Now an Angel, Omar Vizquel shares favorite Indians memories

January 31, 2013 by 24 Comments

omar vizquelHe wished he could have announced how proud he was of his return to Cleveland. He wished he could do this type of event right there again and again. He wished he could tell the Indians staffers in attendance that he’d see them shortly in Arizona. But it wasn’t meant to be, or at least not yet.

Omar Vizquel, now 45 years old and retired, was the main speaker at the Akron Shaw Jewish Community Center’s sports dinner on Tuesday night. He wined and dined while sharing stories with the ecstatic fundraiser crowd of over 200 people. He seemed genuinely thrilled to be back in Northeast Ohio.

“There is no other team I love more than the Cleveland Indians,” he said. “Believe me.”

Vizquel, who played his final Major League season in 2012 with the Toronto Blue Jays, also unveiled during the night that he will be working for the Los Angeles Angels in 2013 as a roving infield instructor. His first choice was Cleveland. They didn’t have any openings. [Read more...]

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MLB News: Omar Vizquel takes job with Los Angeles Angels

January 30, 2013 by 13 Comments

Omar Vizquel, who retired from his playing days following the 2012 season with the Toronto Blue Jays, announced his next career step at the annual Shaw Jewish Community Center sports dinner in Akron last night.

Vizquel, now 45 years old and with 2,877 career hits, will be a roving infield instructor for the Los Angeles Angels in 2013. He mentioned that he will travel from team-to-team in the Angels organization, reporting back on various players to his boss, likely Angels GM Jerry Dipoto.

The 11-time Gold Glove winner said he called the Cleveland Indians about a position, but they were not hiring. So he eventually was able to latch on with the Angels, while still maintaining hope that he will find a managing job at some point and maybe return to Cleveland.

Last night’s announcement of his new job appears to be the first report of Vizquel’s 2013 plans. He said he also hopes to continue speaking engagements throughout the country, especially in Northeast Ohio, and hinted that there is an summer announcement in the works with the Indians. Perhaps it will be a jersey retirement ceremony?

Also in attendance at the  Shaw JCC sports dinner were 1590 WAKR’s Ray Horner, Indians Senior VP for public affairs Bob DiBiasio, Indians announcer Jim Rosenhaus, new Akron Aeros owner Ken Babby and several other staffers for the Indians/Aeros. I’ll have more from the dinner later this week at WFNY.

[Related: 15 Years Ago: The Team Of (Almost) Destiny]

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WFNY Podcast 2012-11-14 – Craig and Jon discuss Marlins firesale and what it means for baseball

November 14, 2012 by 11 Comments

The cool thing about the podcast is that when something happens and even before I have a chance to outline the issue in my brain, I can send Jon an email begging him to talk to me about it on Skype. Jon, who has a nightmare travel day and wasn’t going to be able to write about anything for today, let alone this breaking news, gives me a 30 minute window, throws the headset on and we talk through it together. We are in the future people. And I like it. [Read more...]

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Toronto Sun: Robbie Wants Sandy To Land Blue Jays Manager Position

October 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Roberto Alomar, currently a special assistant for the Toronto Blue Jays organization, has come out in support of his brother, Sandy Alomar Jr., being the next manager of the Jays, The Toronto Sun reports.

“”I hope it’s my brother,” Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar said Wednesday. We need someone who wants to put his heart and soul into his team. Someone who wants to be here.”

Alomar Jr. lost out to Terry Francona in the Indians’ search to replace the recently dismissed Manny Acta. The prevailing belief is that Sandy would stay on the staff as Francona’s bench coach should he not find a managerial job. Alomar Jr. was 3-3 as interim manager following Acta’s termination at the end of September.

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Indians Weekend Wrapup: Unimpressive Start To The Second Half

July 16, 2012 by 14 Comments

The long All-Star break brought about some hard truths for our Wahoos. While they were just two and half games out of first, their margin of error was (and is) a lot slimmer than their rivals, the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. The bats need to become more consistent one through nine. The starting rotation needs to get stronger. The bullpen needs to get some depth beyond the back end three.

It all started Friday night in Toronto. The Blue Jays are a tough team, but the Tribe’s rotation was set the way they wanted it. Toronto is missing four of their five top starters and the Tribe would have their crack at a couple of fill ins in lefty Aaron Laffey and righty Carlos Villenueva.

Instead of taking advantage, the Tribe bats fell asleep in two out of the three games, particularly with runners on base. To make matter worse, in the one game the offense actually showed up, the pitching failed them. The Tribe would end up losing two of three and lost ground to both the Tigers and the first place White Sox, who each won Sunday and gained a game. The Tribe fell into third place. Its a three-team race in the AL Central, but with the Tigers so hot and the Sox not slowing down, the Indians cannot afford a slump.

As we do every Monday, lets take a look back at the weekend that was in Wahooland. [Read more...]

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Box Score: Blue Jays 3, Indians 0

July 15, 2012 by 3 Comments

The Indians faltered again today in a rubber match against the Blue Jays. Toronto scored three times against Derek Lowe in the third, and that was all the offense for the day.

The bats were miserable again today, with the team mustering just five hits and five walks total. Yet again, there were several wasted opportunities and some truly awful at-bats by the bottom of the lineup.

Cleveland now goes off to Tampa Bay for four games this week before returning home Friday to take on Baltimore. Hooray for lots of doses of the AL East right after the All-Star Break.

Scoring Summary
Bot 3rd: Toronto
- J.P. Arencibia singled to center, K. Johnson scored
- C. Rasmus singled to shallow center, J.P. Arencibia scored
- A. Lind walked, C. Rasmus scored, J. Bautista to third, E. Encarnacion to second
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .294
A. Cabrera ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .278
J. Kipnis 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .272
T. Hafner dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .231
C. Santana c 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 .222
M. Brantley cf 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 .302
C. Kotchman 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 .238
J. Damon lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 .219
    S. Duncan ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .233
J. Hannahan 3b 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 .236
    J. Lopez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .265
 Totals 31 0 5 0 0 5 9 0 17
 Batting
2B – M Brantley 2 (27, C Villanueva, D Oliver).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – C Santana 1, C Kotchman 1, J Damon 1, J Hannahan 1, J Lopez 1.
GIDP – A Cabrera.
Team LOB – 9.
 Fielding
E – C Santana (6, throw).
DP – 1 (J Kipnis-A Cabrera-C Kotchman).
 Toronto
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
B. Lawrie 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .286
C. Rasmus cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .253
J. Bautista rf 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .245
E. Encarnacion 1b 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 .293
A. Lind dh 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 .229
Y. Escobar ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 .251
K. Johnson 2b 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 .245
B. Francisco lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .250
    R. Davis pr-lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
J.P. Arencibia c 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .232
 Totals 27 3 5 3 0 4 7 2 6
 Batting
2B – J Bautista (14, J Smith); B Francisco (5, J Smith).
RBI – C Rasmus (54), A Lind (25), J Arencibia (43).
2-out RBI – C Rasmus, A Lind.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – E Encarnacion 1, Y Escobar 2.
GIDP – A Lind.
Team LOB – 4.
 Base Running
SB – J Bautista (5, 2nd base off D Lowe/C Santana), K Johnson (10, 3rd base off D Lowe/C Santana).
CS – R Davis (7, 3rd base by J Smith/C Santana).
 Fielding
DP – 1 (E Encarnacion-Y Escobar).
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
D. Lowe (L, 8-7) 6.0 3 3 3 4 5 0 1.56 4.43
J. Smith 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1.14 2.97
 Toronto
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
C. Villanueva (W, 4-0) 6.0 3 0 0 5 8 0 1.33 2.68
J. Frasor 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.37 3.53
D. Oliver (S, 1) 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.92 1.30

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Tribe 9, Jays 11: It Wasn’t As Close As It Appears, and That’s Ubaldo’s Fault

July 15, 2012 by 3 Comments

This one was a doozy. The Cleveland Indians obviously should have lost by quite a bit more to Toronto Saturday afternoon, and that’s all on Ubaldo Jimenez.

The former Colorado Rockies ace had his worst outing of 2012, exiting after just 2.1 innings pitched. Against the 18 batters he faced, he allowed eight runs on seven hits (including two homers and four doubles), along with four walks and just two strikeouts.

It was as bad as we’ve seen Jimenez in a Cleveland uniform, and that’s saying something, considering he has a 5.09 ERA in his 29-start CLE career. But in the meanwhile, despite facing an early 10-2 deficit, the Indians bats didn’t just lay over, and they fought back to make this an interesting game late.

[Read more...]

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Box Score: Blue Jays 11, Indians 9

July 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

So, after three innings, did anyone expect this to be a competitive contest? The Indians eventually stranded the tying run on first base in the top of the eighth, as Toronto Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen picked up the final four outs for the save.

This was Ubaldo Jimenez’s worst outing of the season, as he failed to get past a miserable third inning. But Cleveland later rallied back, as led by three-hit-and-a-homer days from Michael Brantley and Shelley Duncan. Reliever Esmil Rogers also deserves some kudos for his final two innings of shutout baseball.

Let’s just hope now that the White Sox and Tigers don’t gain a game tonight. Derek Lowe (8-6, 4.43 ERA) will be on the hill tomorrow afternoon as the Tribe looks for the series victory at the Rogers Centre.

Scoring Summary
Bot 1st: Toronto
- A. Lind doubled to right, C. Rasmus and J. Bautista scored
Top 2nd: Cleveland
- S. Duncan hit by pitch, J. Lopez scored, C. Santana to third, M. Brantley to second
- C. Kotchman grounded into double play shortstop to second to first, C. Santana scored, M. Brantley to third, S. Duncan out at second
Bot 3rd: Toronto
- E. Encarnacion homered to deep left, J. Bautista scored
- Y. Escobar homered to deep left, A. Lind scored
- J.P. Arencibia doubled to deep right center, K. Johnson scored
- B. Lawrie doubled to right, J.P. Arencibia scored
- A. Lind singled to center, B. Lawrie and J. Bautista scored, E. Encarnacion to third
Top 4th: Cleveland
- S. Duncan homered to deep left, M. Brantley scored
Bot 5th: Toronto
- E. Encarnacion homered to deep left center
Top 8th: Cleveland
- M. Brantley homered to deep right, C. Santana scored
- C. Kotchman homered to deep right, S. Duncan scored
- T. Hafner singled to shallow left center, A. Cabrera scored, J. Kipnis to second
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .295
A. Cabrera ss 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 .279
J. Kipnis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 .275
J. Lopez 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .267
    T. Hafner ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .237
    J. Hannahan pr-3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
C. Santana dh 3 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 .221
M. Brantley cf 4 2 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 .299
S. Duncan lf 4 2 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 .235
C. Kotchman 1b 5 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 .241
L. Marson c 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .293
 Totals 37 9 12 8 3 6 5 0 11
 Batting
2B – S Choo (27, A Laffey).
HR – M Brantley (4, 8th inning off J Chavez 1 on, 0 Out), S Duncan (9, 4th inning off A Laffey 1 on, 1 Out), C Kotchman (9, 8th inning off J Chavez 1 on, 0 Out).
RBI – T Hafner (26), M Brantley 2 (44), S Duncan 3 (24), C Kotchman 2 (36).
2-out RBI – T Hafner.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – A Cabrera 1, C Santana 1, L Marson 1.
GIDP – C Kotchman.
Team LOB – 8.
 Toronto
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
B. Lawrie 3b 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 .290
C. Rasmus cf 4 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4 .253
J. Bautista rf 3 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 .242
E. Encarnacion 1b 4 2 2 3 2 1 1 0 2 .295
A. Lind dh 5 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 .232
Y. Escobar ss 5 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 4 .254
K. Johnson 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 .247
R. Davis lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .243
J.P. Arencibia c 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .230
 Totals 37 11 13 11 3 6 5 3 15
 Batting
2B – B Lawrie (17, S Barnes); J Bautista (13, U Jimenez); A Lind (9, U Jimenez); K Johnson (9, U Jimenez); J Arencibia 2 (13, U Jimenez, S Barnes).
HR – E Encarnacion 2 (25, 3rd inning off U Jimenez 1 on, 0 Out, 5th inning off J Accardo 0 on, 2 Out), Y Escobar (6, 3rd inning off U Jimenez 1 on, 0 Out).
RBI – B Lawrie (34), E Encarnacion 3 (61), A Lind 4 (24), Y Escobar 2 (34), J Arencibia (42).
2-out RBI – E Encarnacion, A Lind 4.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – B Lawrie 1, C Rasmus 1, Y Escobar 2.
Team LOB – 8.
 Base Running
SB – B Lawrie (12, 3rd base off S Barnes/L Marson), K Johnson 2 (9, 2nd base off U Jimenez/L Marson, 3rd base off U Jimenez/L Marson).
 Fielding
Outfield assists – R Davis.
DP – 1 (Y Escobar-K Johnson-E Encarnacion).
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
U. Jimenez (L, 8-8) 2.1 7 8 8 4 2 2 1.58 5.09
S. Barnes 1.2 3 2 2 2 2 0 1.85 8.31
J. Accardo 2.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 1.38 3.55
E. Rogers 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.59 1.76
 Toronto
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
A. Laffey (W, 1-1) 5.0 8 4 4 3 4 1 1.16 3.38
A. Loup 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00
J. Chavez 0.0 3 4 4 1 0 2 1.57 8.85
A. Carpenter 0.2 0 1 1 2 1 0 2.50 9.00
C. Janssen (S, 13) 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.87 2.21

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Tribe 1, Jays 0: Masterson, Relievers Dominate to Begin Second Half with a W

July 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It was a familiar setting. A type of opening day. Save situation. Against the Toronto Blue Jays. Chris Perez had been there before in 2012, and fortunately for Indians fans, this save opportunity ended in a Cleveland victory.

On Opening Day, Perez blew the save in allowing three ninth-inning runs to Toronto, eventually leading to a 7-4 loss in 16 innings. On Friday night, however, with the Indians returning from the All-Star Break three games back of the White Sox, he preserved a 1-0 lead for his 25th save out of 27 chances on the year.

Justin Masterson delivered seven spotless innings and Vinnie Pestano got out of the eighth to set the table for the All-Star Perez. All the star pitchers needed in terms of offense was a solo home run by Travis Hafner, who continues to hit the ball well since returning from injury.

[Read more...]

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Box Score: Blue Jays 0, Indians 1

July 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

What a great way to start off the second half. Justin Masterson was, well, masterful, and the usual duo of Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez was dominant in the final two frames.

A solo shot in the second by Travis Hafner was all of the firepower the Indians offense needed to improve to 45-41 on the season. This was a crucial victory with both Detroit and the White Sox leading as of the completion of Cleveland’s game.

Scoring Summary
Top 2nd: Cleveland
- T. Hafner homered to deep right
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
A. Cabrera ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .282
J. Kipnis 2b 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 .275
T. Hafner dh 4 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 .232
C. Santana 1b 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 .224
    C. Kotchman 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .241
M. Brantley cf 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .294
L. Marson c 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 .295
J. Damon lf 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .223
    A. Cunningham lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .189
J. Hannahan 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 .239
 Totals 32 1 8 1 1 4 9 1 14
 Batting
2B - M Brantley (25, R Romero).
HR - T Hafner (8, 2nd inning off R Romero 0 on, 0 Out).
RBI - T Hafner (25).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Cabrera 1, L Marson 1, J Damon 2, J Hannahan 1.
GIDP - T Hafner.
Team LOB - 8.
 Base Running
SB - J Damon (4, 2nd base off J Frasor/J Arencibia).
CS - J Kipnis (2, 2nd base by R Romero/J Arencibia), C Santana (2, 2nd base by D Oliver/J Arencibia).
 Fielding
DP - 2 (A Cabrera-J Kipnis-C Santana, J Kipnis-C Santana).
 Toronto
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
B. Lawrie 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .287
C. Rasmus cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .256
J. Bautista rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .241
E. Encarnacion 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 .293
A. Lind dh 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .215
    B. Francisco pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .244
Y. Escobar ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 .254
K. Johnson 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .247
R. Davis lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .249
J.P. Arencibia c 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 .226
 Totals 30 0 5 0 0 1 8 0 8
 Batting
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Rasmus 1, K Johnson 2.
GIDP - Y Escobar, R Davis.
Team LOB - 4.
 Fielding
DP - 1 (B Lawrie-Y Escobar-E Encarnacion).
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
J. Masterson (W, 6-8) 7.0 5 0 0 1 5 0 1.32 4.14
V. Pestano (H, 24) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.00 1.70
C. Perez (S, 25) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.08 3.24
 Toronto
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
R. Romero (L, 8-5) 6.0 6 1 1 2 6 1 1.46 5.03
J. Frasor 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.38 3.63
D. Oliver 1.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0.95 1.38
C. Janssen 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.88 2.29

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Indians Weekend Wrap Up: Things Are Better Than They Seem

April 9, 2012 by 58 Comments

Step away from that ledge Tribe fans, its only one weekend. The first three games of the season in fact. Things aren’t always as good or as bad as they seem this early. Heck, the Tampa Bay Rays started 0-6 last season, as did the Boston Red Sox. Both finished with 90-plus wins. This weekend, the New York Yankees and the Red Sox were both swept. Of course, the sky is falling there, especially in Boston where the Bobby Valentine era has gotten off to an inauspicious start to say the least. Remember, the Tribe lost their first two to the White Sox last year and then went on a 31-13 run.

The Indians lost two of three to the Toronto Blue Jays, but in reality, they could have and probably should have swept the series. There were plenty of things to discuss after the home opening debacle 16 inning loss, Saturday’s 7-4 extra inning heartbreaker, and yesterday’s 4-3 win. There was GREAT starting pitching, a surprise power display with the struggling bats, and a closer quandary solved in one day.

[Read more...]

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Box Score: Indians 4, Blue Jays 3

April 8, 2012 by 6 Comments

The Indians got yet another strong performance from their starting pitcher, this time from Derek Lowe (seven innings, five hits, two runs (unearned) and a walk) and Carlos Santana provided the power (two home runs) and the Indians got their first win of the season. Things did get a little hairy in the 9th; Asdrubal Cabrera botched a double-play ball that would’ve ended the game and Chris Perez ended up facing Jose Bautista with the bases loaded. For the entire at-bat, I was thinking about how a HR would make the score 7-4, same as the first two games. Thankfully, Perez came through and got Bautista to pop-up, giving the Tribe their first win of 2012

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 9 1
                           Cleveland 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 x 4 6 2
WP: D. Lowe (1-0) S: C. Perez (1)
LP: J. Carreno (0-1)
Toronto
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
Y. Escobar ss 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 .105
K. Johnson 2b 4 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 .357
J. Bautista rf-1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 .333
A. Lind 1b 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .250
    R. Davis pr-rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
E. Encarnacion dh 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 .250
B. Lawrie 3b 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 .214
E. Thames lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .182
C. Rasmus cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .067
J. Mathis c 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .333
    B. Francisco ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
 Totals 36 3 9 3 0 2 5 0 18
 Batting
2B - E Encarnacion (3, D Lowe); J Mathis (1, D Lowe).
SF - B Lawrie.
RBI - A Lind (1), E Encarnacion (3), B Lawrie (3).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - K Johnson 1, J Bautista 2, B Lawrie 1, E Thames 1.
GIDP - C Rasmus.
Team LOB - 9.
 Fielding
E - K Johnson (1, field).
DP - 1 (Y Escobar-A Lind).
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
M. Brantley cf 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .077
A. Cabrera ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 .200
S. Choo rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .154
C. Santana c 4 2 2 3 2 0 1 0 2 .250
T. Hafner dh 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .200
    J. Donald pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
S. Duncan lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .111
    A. Cunningham lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .000
C. Kotchman 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .062
J. Kipnis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .154
J. Hannahan 3b 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 .250
 Totals 29 4 6 4 2 6 5 1 16
 Batting
HR - C Santana 2 (2, 2nd inning off J Carreno 0 on, 0 Out, 5th inning off J Carreno 1 on, 2 Out).
RBI - C Santana 3 (3), J Hannahan (4).
2-out RBI - C Santana 2, J Hannahan.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Cabrera 2, C Santana 1, J Kipnis 1.
GIDP - J Hannahan.
Team LOB - 7.
 Base Running
SB - J Donald (1, 2nd base off J Frasor/J Mathis).
CS - M Brantley (1, 2nd base by J Carreno/J Mathis).
 Fielding
E - A Cabrera (1, field); J Hannahan (1, field).
DP - 1 (J Kipnis-A Cabrera-C Kotchman).
 Toronto
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
J. Carreno (L, 0-1) 6.0 6 4 4 4 3 2 1.67 6.00
C. Villanueva 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.20 0.00
J. Frasor 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.50 0.00
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
D. Lowe (W, 1-0) 7.0 5 2 0 1 1 0 0.86 0.00
J. Smith (H, 1) 0.1 3 1 1 0 1 0 1.67 3.00
V. Pestano (H, 1) 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.12 3.38
C. Perez (S, 1) 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.62 10.12
Pitches-strikes - J Carreno 97-57; C Villanueva 22-13; J Frasor 23-12; D Lowe 95-61; J Smith 18-12; V Pestano 11-8; C Perez 28-20.
Ground balls-fly balls - J Carreno 10-5; C Villanueva 3-0; J Frasor 1-1; D Lowe 16-7; J Smith 0-0; V Pestano 0-0; C Perez 1-2.
Batters faced - J Carreno 26; C Villanueva 5; J Frasor 4; D Lowe 27; J Smith 4; V Pestano 2; C Perez 6.
Game Details
Umpires: HP–Mike Everitt. 1B–Paul Schrieber. 2B–Tim Welke. 3B–Mark Carlson.
Weather: 51 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 17 mph, left to right.

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Vizquel Discusses Possibility of Cleveland Return

April 8, 2012 by 3 Comments

With the Toronto Blue Jays in town for opening weekend, a familiar face has returned to Progressive Field. Now-utility infielder Omar Vizquel, who turns 45 later this month, appeared in Thursday’s Opening Day as a late-inning defensive replacement. Before the game, however, he chatted with 92.3 The Fan’s Daryl Ruiter about a possible future with his old team:

 “I wanted to be part of the organization before,” Vizquel said. “Obviously this business takes you to different places and you don’t know where you’re going to be the next day.

“The Indians have a special place in my heart.”

Specifically, Ruiter paraphrased Vizquel in saying that he would like to follow in the footsteps of former teammate Sandy Alomar Jr, the current Tribe bench coach. In the rest of the article, Vizquel addressed his thoughts on an eventual retirement, why he thought this Opening Day was particularly special, why he cherishes his Cleveland memories and if he thinks he is worthy of the Hall of Fame.

SportsTimeOhio displayed a graphic during Thursday’s broadcast saying that Vizquel started the most consecutive home openers for the Indians in Progressive Field history. He started 11 straight from 1994-2004, and Travis Hafner now sits one back with his stretch of 10 straight from 2003-2012.

Source: [Daryl Ruiter, 92.3 The Fan]

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Game 3: Derek Lowe’s Debut

April 8, 2012 by 10 Comments

If the Tribe wants to avoid getting swept by the Blue Jays in this opening weekend series, they’re going to need a strong performance from the 38-year old Derek Lowe.

*gulp*

So their two games thus far, the Indians have gotten great starts out of Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, only to watch the bullpen squander the anemic leads the offense managed to procure.

The Tribe faces 25 year old RHP Joel Carreno. He’s fairly untested (just 15 major league innings) so this could be an opportunity for the Indians to get their offense going. What I would give to see the bats wake up and but up some crooked numbers without having to rely on a home run.

Happy Easter everyone. And if you don’t celebrate Easter, well, have a happy Sunday.

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Box Score: Blue Jays 7, Indians 4

April 7, 2012 by 10 Comments

Well, at least Ubaldo Jimenez pitched well.  The Tribe did their best to mirror their opening day debacle, complete with the strong starting performance, weak hitting and 9th inning mishap from the pen (with Vinnie Pestano doing the honors), the multiple extra innings and all the way down to the final score. Good times.

Derek Lowe goes for the Tribe tomorrow.

Blue Jays 7, Indians 4

Final 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Toronto 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 4 7 8 1
Cleveland 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 5 0

WP: C. Janssen (1-0)
LP: T. Sipp (0-1)

 Toronto
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
Y. Escobar ss 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .143
K. Johnson 2b 5 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 .300
J. Bautista rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .375
A. Lind 1b 5 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 .125
E. Encarnacion dh 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 .250
B. Lawrie 3b 5 1 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 .273
E. Thames lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
    R. Davis ph-lf 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 .200
J.P. Arencibia c 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 .083
C. Rasmus cf 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 .091
 Totals 44 7 8 7 1 4 8 1 12
 Batting
2B – E Encarnacion (2, T Sipp); R Davis (1, T Sipp).
HR – K Johnson (1, 9th inning off V Pestano 0 on, 0 Out).
RBI – K Johnson 2 (2), B Lawrie 2 (2), R Davis 2 (2), C Rasmus (1).
2-out RBI – K Johnson, B Lawrie 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – A Lind 1, R Davis 1.
Team LOB – 6.
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
M. Brantley cf 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .091
A. Cabrera ss 4 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 .273
S. Choo rf 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .111
C. Santana c 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .125
T. Hafner dh 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .222
S. Duncan lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 .167
C. Kotchman 1b 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 .000
J. Kipnis 2b 4 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 .111
J. Hannahan 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .200
 Totals 40 4 5 4 2 3 5 0 7
 Batting
HR – A Cabrera (1, 9th inning off S Santos 0 on, 1 Out), J Kipnis (1, 5th inning off B Morrow 1 on, 2 Out).
RBI – A Cabrera (1), T Hafner (1), J Kipnis 2 (2).
2-out RBI – J Kipnis 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – C Kotchman 1.
GIDP – S Duncan.
Team LOB – 3.
 Toronto
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
B. Morrow 7.0 1 2 0 3 3 1 0.57 0.00
D. Oliver 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00
S. Santos (BS, 1) 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1.20 5.40
C. Janssen (W, 1-0) 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.67 0.00
F. Cordero 1.0 3 1 1 0 0 0 2.00 4.50
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
U. Jimenez 7.0 1 2 2 3 3 0 0.57 2.57
J. Smith 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.75 0.00
V. Pestano 0.2 2 1 1 0 1 1 1.50 4.50
R. Perez 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00
C. Perez 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.00 16.20
T. Sipp (L, 0-1) 0.1 4 4 4 0 1 0 3.60 21.60
D. Wheeler 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.00 0.00
WP – U Jimenez.
HBP – J Bautista (by V Pestano).
Pitches-strikes – B Morrow 106-64; D Oliver 10-6; S Santos 12-8; C Janssen 31-18; F Cordero 30-17; U Jimenez 95-55; J Smith 10-7; V Pestano 25-14; R Perez 14-11; C Perez 10-8; T Sipp 24-17; D Wheeler 19-9.
Ground balls-fly balls – B Morrow 10-8; D Oliver 2-1; S Santos 2-2; C Janssen 1-3; F Cordero 3-1; U Jimenez 6-12; J Smith 1-0; V Pestano 0-1; R Perez 1-3; C Perez 1-0; T Sipp 0-0; D Wheeler 2-1.
Batters faced – B Morrow 24; D Oliver 3; S Santos 4; C Janssen 6; F Cordero 6; U Jimenez 25; J Smith 3; V Pestano 5; R Perez 4; C Perez 3; T Sipp 5; D Wheeler 4.
Game Details
Umpires: HP–Mark Carlson. 1B–Mike Everitt. 2B–Paul Schrieber. 3B–Tim Welke.
Weather: 48 degrees, clear.
Wind: 5 mph, left to right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Blue Jays 7 Indians 4 – Pure Enjoyment Turns to Pure Pain After Pure Rage Enters

April 6, 2012 by 20 Comments

It all started out so well.

The sun was shining. The stadium was completely full. Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson struck out the side in the first and it looked as if we were in for some fun on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

The fun continued in the second inning. After a Carlos Santana walk and a Travis Hafner K, newly minted left fielder Shelley Duncan laced a double down the left field line to get the first rally of the season started against Blue Jays lefty Ricky Romero. Casey Kotchman, the Indians new first basemen, put up a quality at bat before eventually grounding out to first which brought in Santana. It was Actaball at its finest. Kotchman didn’t get a hit, but hitting a ground ball to the right side got the Tribe on the board.

Jason Kipnis would then walk, bringing Jack Hannahan to the plate. Jackie won the third base job in spring training, keeping top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall in AAA for a little longer (which he needs by the way). All Hannahan did was crush a Romero pitch to the seats in right field for a three-run homer. The sell out crowd was loving every second of it.  [Read more...]

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Box Score: Blue Jays 7, Indians 4

April 5, 2012 by 14 Comments

The longest home-opener in the history of Major League Baseball sends the Indians home as hard-luck losers. Following a masterful eight-inning performance by Justin Masterson — 8 IP, 10K, 1 BB, 1 ER — closer Chris Perez was all over the map, ultimately allowing three runs and the tie game. The bullpen would ultimately be depleted, leaving Jays catcher JP Arencibia to place a ball deep into the left field home run porch, plating three. This would all go down in front of the largest Opening Day crowd in Progressive Field history.

Blue Jays 7, Indians 4

Final 16   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   R   H   E
Toronto 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 10 1
Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 0
 
WP: L. Perez (1-0)
LP: J. Asencio (0-1)
Toronto
  AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg 
Y. Escobar ss 8 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0.250
K. Johnson 2b 5 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0.200
J. Bautista rf-1b-rf 4 1 3 2 1 2 1 0 0 0.750
A. Lind 1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.333
    R. Davis pr-rf-lf 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0.000
E. Encarnacion dh 7 0 2 2 0 0 3 0 2 0.286
B. Lawrie 3b 6 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 0.000
E. Thames lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.000
    O. Vizquel lf-1b 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
J.P. Arencibia c 7 1 1 3 1 0 3 0 2 0.143
C. Rasmus cf 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.000
 Totals 56 7 10 7 2 7 16 0 16  
Batting    Fielding
2B – Y Escobar (1, J Smith); A Lind (1, J Masterson); E Encarnacion (1, C Perez). E – C Rasmus (1, field).
   
HR – J Bautista (1, 4th inning off J Masterson 0 on, 1 Out), J Arencibia (1, 16th inning off J Asencio 2 on, 0 Out). DP – 3 (K Johnson-Y Escobar-A Lind, Y Escobar-A Lind, Y Escobar-K Johnson-J Bautista).
   
SF – J Bautista.  
   
RBI – J Bautista 2 (2), E Encarnacion 2 (2), J Arencibia 3 (3).  
   
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – R Davis 3, E Encarnacion 1, E Thames 1, J Arencibia 1.  
   
GIDP – A Lind, R Davis, E Thames.  
   
Team LOB – 10.  
 Cleveland
  AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg 
M. Brantley cf 6 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0.167
A. Cabrera ss 7 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 0.143
S. Choo rf 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0.250
C. Santana c 4 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 4 0.000
T. Hafner dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0.250
    J. Donald pr-dh 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0.000
S. Duncan lf 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0.500
    A. Cunningham pr-lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.000
C. Kotchman 1b 7 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0.000
J. Kipnis 2b 5 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 0.000
J. Hannahan 3b 6 1 2 3 1 0 2 0 0 0.333
 Totals 49 4 7 4 1 11 12 0 18  
Batting    Base Running
2B – M Brantley (1, R Romero); S Duncan (1, R Romero). CS – S Choo (1, 2nd base by J Frasor/J Arencibia).
   
HR – J Hannahan (1, 2nd inning off R Romero 2 on, 2 Out).  
   
S – A Cunningham.  
   
RBI – C Kotchman (1), J Hannahan 3 (3).  
   
2-out RBI – J Hannahan 3.  
   Fielding
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – A Cabrera 1, C Santana 1, J Kipnis 2. DP – 3 (J Masterson-A Cabrera-C Kotchman, J Kipnis-A Cabrera-C Kotchman, J Hannahan-A Cabrera-J Kipnis).
   
GIDP – A Cabrera, T Hafner, C Kotchman.  
   
Team LOB – 10.  
 

 

Toronto
  IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA 
R. Romero 5 3 4 4 3 4 1 1.20 7.20
J. Frasor 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2.00 0.00
D. Oliver 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 0.00
C. Janssen 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 2.00 0.00
F. Cordero 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.00 0.00
C. Villanueva 2.1 1 0 0 2 2 0 1.29 0.00
L. Perez (W, 1-0) 4 0 0 0 3 3 0 0.75 0.00
S. Santos 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.50 0.00
                   
 Cleveland
  IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA 
J. Masterson 8 2 1 1 1 10 1 0.38 1.12
C. Perez (BS, 1) 0.2 3 3 3 2 0 0 7.50 40.50
V. Pestano 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.75 0.00
J. Smith 1.2 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.20 0.00
T. Sipp 1.1 0 0 0 2 2 0 1.50 0.00
J. Asencio (L, 0-1) 3 2 3 3 2 2 1 1.33 9.00
                   
                   
WP – J Masterson.                  
                   
IBB – J Bautista (by T Sipp).                  
                   
HBP – S Choo (by R Romero); K Johnson (by V Pestano).                  
                   
Pitches-strikes – R Romero 96-55; J Frasor 21-10; D Oliver 12-7; C Janssen 20-11; F Cordero 11-6; C Villanueva 41-22; L Perez 62-34; S Santos 17-9; J Masterson 99-66; C Perez 30-16; V Pestano 25-18; J Smith 28-19; T Sipp 29-15; J Asencio 48-26.
                   
Ground balls-fly balls – R Romero 7-3; J Frasor 0-1; D Oliver 1-0; C Janssen 3-0; F Cordero 2-0; C Villanueva 3-2; L Perez 3-4; S Santos 2-0; J Masterson 10-3; C Perez 1-2; V Pestano 2-2; J Smith 3-2; T Sipp 1-1; J Asencio 3-3.
                   
Batters faced – R Romero 20; J Frasor 4; D Oliver 2; C Janssen 5; F Cordero 4; C Villanueva 10; L Perez 14; S Santos 3; J Masterson 27; C Perez 7; V Pestano 6; J Smith 6; T Sipp 6; J Asencio 13.
                   
Game Details                  
Umpires: HP–Tim Welke. 1B–Mark Carlson. 2B–Mike Everitt. 3B–Paul Schrieber.
Weather: 44 degrees, clear.
Wind: 16 mph, in from right.

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