Tagged: Carl Pavano

June 9, 2009

It may be raining, but there’s a rainbow above you…

So it’s been awhile. I apologize. I’ve been pretty busy with work and the online class I’m taking this summer.

The Indians have been taking me on an emotional roller coaster again. They lost the series in Minnesota and then won the series in Chicago complete with a three-hit complete game shutout from Carl Pavano. Pavano has been amazing recently and I love it.

Fausto Carmona, however, has not been amazing unless you mean amazingly bad. He has been sent to rookie ball in Arizona after the Minnesota series to work things out down there. I really hope he figures it out and makes it back up sometime. I do not think we will be seeing him in the near future, or even this season, however.

Another starter who has been getting better and better every start is David Huff who is up in the Majors for the first time in his career and just got his first Major League victory on Sunday.

The bullpen is still concerning me. They have managed to get out of bad situations with minimal damage recently but for the most part they have put themselves in those situations. It is so bad that when we are leading 8-4 and Kerry Wood walks someone with two outs I assume that the other team just won the game.

Next up the Indians have the Royals who are in the midst of a bit of a free fall. The Royals have lost nine of their last ten and are now only a half game ahead of the Indians in the standings. Whoever loses this series is in last place in the AL Central. This is a key series for the Tribe. I am to the point where if they lose this series I may say the season’s over for them. They need to beat the struggling Royals. A sweep would be great but I’ll take two out of three. The pitching matchup for tonight is Bannister and Lee. If Cliff can pitch like he has been recently and the offense can score runs for him like last time we should win this game. However the offense seems to not care that much when Cliff pitches and decide that he can win even if they do not score. They have been scoring a little more recently so hopefully they can keep that up. Wednesday’s matchup is Meche versus Pavano. As I said Carl has been pitching very well recently and he leads the team in wins with six. Again we should probably win this game on paper but as everyone knows things do not always turn out that way especially for the Indians. Thursday is when Carmona’s spot in the rotation would come up normally but because of the offday mlb.com is saying that Sowers is the likely pitcher for Thursday night’s game against Grienke. Grienke was far from impressive his last outing but maybe that was just a fluke. If it was the Indians need to do their best to work Grienke hard. Sowers has been much better recently and hopefully he can continue that. He does not have an easy opponent to try to continue that with though. Overall this series is very interesting and very important for both teams.

My Baby is Hurt

That’s right everyone Grady is officially too hurt to play at all. He was placed on the fifteen day DL this morning. I am very sad but I hope he gets better soon. The Indians say that the MRI they did revealed no structural damage so that is good but with their track record on injuries and what they reveal I can only be so hopeful. This news kind of killed my day. The poor Indians cannot catch a break this year. Please get better Grady. I will be waiting.

Carl Pavano

Carl Pavano has been absolutely amazing recently. He leads the team with five wins and would have had number six today if the Indians’ bullpen had not reverted back to its old ways. Today for example he pitched 7 1/3 innings walking no one and striking out four. He gave up seven hits and three runs. That is less than a hit per inning pitched. He did not give anyone a free trip on base and when Wedge took him out he was not happy about it. I love how he is pitching and competing right now. The other night STO did an interview with him and it was probably one of the best interviews STO has ever done. I am really liking him more and more as the season goes on. I love it even more when he dominates the Yankees.

Pictures:

1) Cleveland Plain Dealer

2) http://assets.espn.go.com/media/apphoto/b82fc556-befa-49a8-9e0d-2d2c792a4a31.jpg

May 4, 2009

My Return to Cardinal Nation

Hey y’all! I’m back in St. Louis and the heart of Cardinal Nation! The sight of Busch Stadium greeting me as I crossed the MIssissippi was a beautiful one. I will be going to Busch Wednesday night for my first baseball game this year.

Carl Pavano pitched a seven-inning gem, giving up only two runs on Friday night against the Tigers. Very encouraging.

April 4, 2009

Tomorrow’s the Day!

The Indians won today! They beat the Astros in come-from-behind fashion 4-3. The game was tied 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth when Kerry Wood gave up 2 runs. I think this means he has to shave his goatee now. Then in the top of the ninth Trevor Crowe, my project, hit a line drive single into right scoring two to tie the game at three. Then Graffanino reached on a throwing error and the winning run scored.

Joe Smith had a lights out outing striking out all three batters he faced.

Overall I am very pleased with the Indians performance today. Mostly because it featured great offense from the bench which is very important. I am even more excited about Carl Pavano’s five-inning one run outing. After the first inning Pavano settled down. He allowed 4 hits and struck out 4. Jackson and Kobayashi, 2 question marks, also had good outings. Their problem is mainly consistency though so I am not too encouraged by their performances.

Tomorrow baseball that counts officially starts. I am so excited. I am more excited for Monday though. The Indians will be playing Texas in Arlington at 2:05. I am ready. I think they are too.

I thought you would all like to know that I got a 96 on my speech about baseball. Next up is our persuasive speeches. I was planning on doing something not baseball related because my friend told me I should. However, the kid behind decided to do his on “How the public has overreacted to steroid use in Baseball.” Maybe I do not know what he means by his topic but I was not okay with this choice. Now I may have to change my topic to how steroids in baseball are a problem and how they should fix it. My friend says she will allow this change because she thinks it will be funny to see. And then the Yankee fan in the room has the audacity to say to me, and I quote, “Grady is a juicer.” Over and over again. Not cool. I was not happy. I get angry just thinking about it. This is why I have problems with Yankee fans. Some (Jane) are perfectly nice people, but then you meet the kind like this kid and it just ruins it. Tell me, does this:

look like the face and smile of someone who would cheat and lie to thousands of fans? I did not think so.

I decided I would try to see if I can now successfully embed a video today. This is a video of my High School’s Women’s Choir singing Frobisher Bay by James Gordon. We sang this two years ago in New York at Riverside Church. I went to Webster Groves High School. Fun fact: Harry Carey went to my high school. He is our claim to fame and we love him even if he did betray us by becoming a Cubs announcer. As you can see below, it worked! Thanks Jeff!

March 30, 2009

The Fighting Braves of the Cuyahoga

Congratulations to Greg over at Red Sox Ramblings for correctly guessing my movie quote!

UPDATE:

Zach Jackson was chosen as the final bullpen pitcher. The Indians have finalized their 25-man roster.

Today it was announced that David Dellucci will start the season on the Disabled List and Trevor Crowe will be replacing him. I am very excited. Elizabeth recently asked me if I have any minor league projects like she has every year and I was thinking about who mine would be. Strangely enough I chose Michael Brantley and Trevor Crowe. And now Crowe will start the year in the Majors. I hope he does well. And I hope if he is doing really well the Indians try to figure out some way to keep him up there when Dellucci returns. Dellucci is a nice guy but the Indians have yet to see real consistent hitting from him. I do wish Dellucci a speedy recovery I just do not see him as a good player for this team. Maybe he will come back and prove everyone wrong; he has had a better spring than expected.

Guess what I found today? Mark DeRosa’s blog! It is called The Pulse. There was not anything on it the last time I checked but I cannot wait for it to start. Mark is so funny and personable in interviews and I am sure he will have a great blog.

I gave my speech and turned in my paper today! I will be posting my paper sometime in the next week. I have to make sure turnitin.com does not scan here and say that I plagiarized myself. That would be a huge mess. I can see it now. My teacher asks me to come to his office and then informs me that my paper is 100% copied and I will be kicked out of the University. I then ask if he knows who I allegedly copied the paper from. I have no idea if he knows this from the turnitin report but if he did: Why yes I do Melissa. From this blog on mlblogs.com. Then I would have to explain that it is my blog and turnitin has informed you that I plagiarized myself. And then who knows what would happen. I do not know how good my paper is. I am worried it kind of became a rant towards the end so hopefully I still do alright.

The Indians are playing the Padres tonight at 7 at Peoria. Carl Pavano is the scheduled pitcher. I hope he has a similar outing to his last outing. He looked a lot better in his previous start and I hope that is the Pavano the Indians will get this season. I will hopefully get to hear Rick Manning and Matt Underwood again but I am not sure. If I do I will try to remember or write down some priceless Manning quotes so you can all understand my infatuation with him. He is so funny. I have also decided that in honor of Major League I may start calling the Indians the strange names the announcer calls them in Major League. For example: the Wigwamers or my personal favorite the Fighting Braves of the Cuyahoga.

For now I will leave you with:

“This is the Sammy Sosa who forgot the English Language!”- Indians broadcaster yesterday referring to the Orioles trading away Mike Fontenot for Sammy Sosa when Sosa was clearly past his prime. Sorry Ken and Jordan. He said it not me.

Picture: http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0aYh4Qn7rP0J4/340x.jpg

March 23, 2009

Why the Indians Win It All in 2009

Toady is a off day in Spring Training for the Indians so there is no real news to report so far.

Ryan at Prose and Ivy recently asked me to comment on his blog about why I think the Indians will win the World Series in 2009. This got me thinking that it would be a great blog post on my blog.

So here it is: Why the Indians Win It All in 2009

1) The offseason was a great one for a mid-market team with limited resources this year that will definitely be hit hard by the economic crisis. They began the offseason with a list of priorities. The first was a closer. They got a top rate closer in Kerry Wood. They could have waited until he was cheaper or a cheaper option was available. However being passive in the offseason clearly did not work last year so they had a target and they hit it. Next they wanted an infielder that was not a first baseman. A third baseman would be ideal but a second baseman or shortstop would work as well. What did they do? They got Mark DeRosa who can play really anywhere and made him their third baseman. DeRosa actually says he feels most comfortable at third. Their third priority was a middle of the rotation starter. They got Carl Pavano. So far this is their most risky and questionable move. I think it will work out for them. He may not be like he was a few years ago but he says he feels more comfortable in Cleveland and feels healthy. So far his spring has not been too impressive but he claims he is fine. The one thing the Indians are giving him that no one else would is a chance. They are showing him that they believe in him and they are willing to let him try to come back. I think this will do a lot for him.

2) The Indians’ offense is shaping up to be one of the most potent offenses in the Majors. Just look at the projected lineup:

Grady Sizemore CF

Mark DeRosa 3B

Victor Martinez C/1B

Jhonny Peralta SS

Travis Hafner DH

Shin Soo Choo RF

Ben Francisco LF

Ryan Garko 1B

Asdrubal Cabrera 2B

Insert Kelly Shoppach for Ryan Garko on days Cliff Lee pitches and whenever else Eric Wedge feels like playing him.

The first six batters are all legit home run threats. Even without home runs there are some scary things happening in that lineup for opposing pitchers. If Grady gets on DeRosa has already said that he would love to figure something out with Grady to make it easier for Grady steal some more bases this year. So there is the stolen base threat. Then there is the RBI threat without a home run. This entire lineup is capable of hitting to drive runs in.

3) The Indians injury problems seem to be fixed this year. With the exception of Jake Westbrook all of the players that the Indians lost to injury in 2008 are back. Hafner may not be back to his Pronk state just yet but he says he feels great and it is just a matter of time until he gets his rhythm back and finally starts to really drive the ball. Martinez has already shown that his power stroke is back. He has a great spring so far including a few home runs. Anthony Reyes’ elbow problems seem to be fixed. He has had a very dominant spring and has shown his ability to be a very effective fourth starter for the Indians this year. In my opinion Reyes could easily be the third starter for the Indians. He may be if Pavano gets hurt or does not work out as expected.

4) The Indians bullpen was awful in 2008. In 2009 however it looks to be solid. The bullpen is much more organized; everyone has a role and everyone knows their role. Kerry Wood is already becoming the leader of the pen. His leadership will go a long way in solidifying the bullpen and making the younger pitchers more successful pitchers.

5) Fausto Carmona appears to be back. So far this spring he has shown better command of his pitches and seems to have his rhythm back. His return could be reminiscent of a certain Cliff Lee last year. In 2006 Cliff Lee was very good for the Indians but in 2007 he suffered an injury and was never able to fully recover and return to his previous form. In 2008 he started the season in the Majors and was able to return to 2006 form and improve on it. I hope the same happens with Carmona and so far it looks that way. It is true that Spring Training numbers do not mean a whole lot in the long run but he is pitching with more confidence and command than he showed last year and that will matter in the long run.

6) Two words: Grady Sizemore. Grady had a small setback early in the spring but he appears to be 100% recovered from his minor groin injury that kept him out of the World Baseball Classic. In my opinion Grady is set to have another monster year for the Indians. I think there is a real chance he will have a 40/40 year. One thing I think Grady can do more of this year is bunt for base hits. I think this will help his average a lot and get him more stolen bases. I also think this is what the team needs more of this year. They have the people back who can hit home runs; they do not need him to be their power bat anymore. I love home runs as much as the next girl but Grady’s first priority this season should be to get on base I think.

The only problem is the starting rotation. If Carl Pavano pitches a solid season the rotation is great. If not, it is shot. I know everyone is saying that the key to the season is Pronk’s return or Martinez’ return. I disagree. Pavano is the key. Everything else is pretty much set. There are very few other questions or unsolved issues. I think his season will set the tone for the rest of the rotation. If the Indians have solid third starter it takes the pressure off of the first two as well as the last two. If Pavano can do that the Indians are good to go. If he is not able to put together at least a solid season I see the Indians finishing still finishing first or second in the division. If they finish first and make the playoffs I do not see them being able to make the World Series let alone win it.

What do you think about your team’s chances this year? I know everyone is supposed to think that this is the year for their team but I know a lot of you do not think that. I would love to know why and who you think does win it all this year.

March 17, 2009

Indians on 30 in 30!

Last night the Indians were featured on 30 Clubs in 30 Days on MLB Network. It was a great show and was a lot of fun to watch for Indians fans. They had a lot of interviews which was very interesting to see. I loved hearing what the players had to say about themselves and 2009. I think the two best interviews were Kerry Wood’s and Carl Pavano’s. In Wood’s he talked about the difference between being a starter and a closer. He believes that the closer’s job is a lot less forgiving. Basically he said that closer’s have to go out and be pretty much perfect every time they pitch while starters have a little bit more room for error. He seemed ready to take on both the leadership role in the bullpen and the intensity of being a closer. Pavano talked about feeling healthy and better than he has in a long time. This is exciting to hear and very relieving. I hope it is true because we need him to be strong to be able to be a serious contender. They also talked to Grady. Grady said he was not really happy with his performance in 2008. He did say that he was happy with how the team finished and is happy to be considered a leader on the team. Overall it was a great show and I suggest watching the show about your team if you can. It is a great series.

The Indians play Texas today and Cliff Lee will be starting. So far this spring he has not been too impressive as far as ERA and things go. However last year he was not that great either and look what happened. The important thing is that he feels good and he feels like he is improving and getting ready for the season.

I am currently still working on getting a closer for my Fantasy Team. I think I should have at least one by the time the season starts. I would just really like one. I was very unfortunate when it came to getting closers. I would keep having a closer picked out and then someone would take him just before my pick. Unfortunately this would throw me off so I would not be able to plan my next closer until the next round when the same thing would happen. It was weird. I had backup plans for everything except closers. Bad choice.

Picture: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/network/images/promotions/30_in_30/spring_logo.gif