Tagged: Cliff Lee

Changes

So I lied last time. I did not stay back. I have been awfully busy and it has been hard to get back into the habit of writing entries. I promise I will try to do better.

Since I’ve been gone Grady has had two surgeries that will keep him out for the rest of the season. Personally I think this should have happened a long time ago because I don’t know what good it was doing to have him keep playing. I know it was not hurtung but it was not necessarily helping. Ocassionally it may have helped the Indians win a game or two but I do not think anyone thought that the Indians had a chance at the playoffs even in July. 
Which brings us to July and the month of trades. The Cliff Lee trade was tough and I was sad but the Victor Martinez was awful. I was in a baseball depression for probably about a month. Sometimes I still have relapses and seeing him in a Red Sox uniform is still tough. I think the last series between the Red Sox and Indians will be very difficult for me to watch. I would not rule out tears. However I love Justin Masterson. He may not have been very impressive in a few of his starts but I have seen some real potential and he is a great guy off the field. 
New in my life: I have decided to stay an Early Childhood Education major. I know some of you were excited about hearing college students shout “Melissa” at college football games but I went to what I thought would be my last ever education class and remembered why I loved Early Childhoos so much. So I am back on track to be a kindergarten/first grade teacher in the inner city. Right now I would like that city to be Cleveland but I would not mind back home in St. Louis or maybe Boston. But even though I don’t like the cold I have decided that I could not live in the south, I think I fit in more in the north. I still love the south though, I just think I will be ready for all four seasons again when I graduate. 
Here’s a video for everyone’s enjoyment about my second favorite team and secodn favorite player:

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.

Every word you say, say something sweet…

The Indians stomped the Twins last night. Amazingly the Indians scored runs behind Cliff Lee. Not just some runs though: ten runs. TEN RUNS. They only needed two. Then Kerry Wood would have gotten a rare save opportunity but, hey, we won and everyone else in teh AL Central lost. It was good day for the Tribe. Also Asdrubal Cabrera’s shoulder injury is not as bad as originally thought and he will probably be back in 2-4 weeks. A very good day for the Tribe.

Also Cliff Lee and Carlos Gomez got into it again. Early in the game Carlos Gomez bunted with two strikes and it went foul so he was out. This was a stupid move on his part and he looked a little bit like a fool and a bit cocky too. Cliff Lee did not like this move so later when Gomez flew out he said something to him. Rick Manning and Jim Rosenhaus (filling in for Matt Underwood, more on that later) thought he said something like “Should have bunted.” Carlos Gomez did not like that so he charged the mound when Cliff Lee’s back was turned (low) and Victor martinez, being awesome as usual, ran interference. The benches semi-cleared shortly and it seemed over. 
The next inning Ryan Garko was hit by a pitch in the first at bat. I do not think this was intentional. Then one batter later Kelly Shoppach gets hit. Still not intentional in my opinion. The umpire agreed with me and did not issue any warnings or anything. Later Kelly Shoppach was hit again. I still do not think this was intentional I just like the fact that we have something we are good at. We are now leading the Majors in hit by pitches at 39. Kelly Shoppach leads the league with ten. We call him the Ball Magnet.
Matt Underwood, the Indians play-by-play announcer is back in Cleveland with his mom who is very ill. So please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Is your muffin buttered?

Are you ready for this? I don’t think you are. I am about to go into full rant mode. This means you will have to really try to find sense in the next paragraph or so. Here we go. (To be clear I am in no way yelling at A-Cab or Cliff Lee.)

sad-chief-wahoo.jpg
What the heck Indians? You call yourselves a baseball team? What baseball teams have you been watching? The Nationals? Even they are better than us (the records may not show that but who would argue?). Seriously Cliff gives you another phenomenal start and again you blow it. What does the poor guy have to do to get a win? Let me tell you what real baseball teams do not do. 1) They do not condone giving up when you are down nine runs. 2) They do not tackle catchers, we are not playing football. Please Luis, do not channel Chris Duncan, that is not okay. 3) They do not give up three run leads in the bottom of the ninth by giving up two consecutive home runs and then an RBI triple and then a sac fly. That is NOT how you win baseball games.
Next, Grady. What is wrong with you? Something is wrong with you. Believe me I know. I watch you and analyze you much more than anyone else ever. You are not right. You are broken and someone needs to fix you. You better not be hurt. The more I see this season the more I think you are. You better not be lying to me. I would not be able to take it. Because I am fairly sure that would mean you have been lying to me for like two months. Not cool. Reasons Grady may be hurt: 1) He is failing. 2) The Indians suspiciously gave him essentially three days off by making him the DH. Since when has Grady needed three days off? He never used to need ANY days off. What is wrong? DO NOT LIE TO ME INDIANS! I CANNOT TAKE IT IF YOU LIE TO ME! YOU ALREADY KILL ME EVERY NIGHT DO NOT BE LYING TO ME TOO! 3) Oh yeah, he is failing.
Please, please, please, please fix this Indians Your fans are begging you and I would hope you are begging yourselves.
I hope that was not too incredibly irrational and that you got something out of that. Just that I am very frustrated. 
Picture:

My Life Would Suck Without You

Dear Indians, 

Nice try. You stayed with arguably the best team in baseball at the moment for 8 innings. You stole 2 bases. Thanks Grady. You listened. Grady made an awesome play in the outfield and then a not so awesome one but he tried. Mark DeRosa got an RBI at a very important time and then Jhonny and Ben Francisco crushed my heart that had already been ripped out by Kerry Wood. Thanks guys. Tonight let’s put it back in. 
My heart has been through a lot this weekend. On Sunday it was stolen by my second favorite lead off guy in baseball who ironically you will be seeing in center field tonight. Then yesterday Grady took it back and then for good measure was awesome last night and showed me he really cares. 
I unfortunately can only say the same for a few of you: Victor, A-Cab, Eric Wedge, and Cliff. Please guys show me you care tonight. Give Anthony some run support. Which means, as scary and impossible as it may seem, you are going to have to hit with runners in scoring position. Boston pitching is not going to let you rely on home runs to score runs so you are going to have to take advantage of any opportunities you are given tonight. 
But as frustrating as you are “we belong together… you got a piece of me, and honestly, my life would suck without you.” And guys, “I know that I’ve got issues but you’re pretty messed up too… [but] I’m nothing without you.” And even though “being with you is so dysfunctional, I really shouldn’t miss you, but I can’t let you go… because we belong together… and honestly my life would suck without you.”
Love, 
Melissa, your forever devoted fan
PS Kelly Clarkson may have helped me out some…
 
Dear Indians,
Hey Indians I know looks can be deceiving but I know I saw a lot in you. Of all the girls tossing pillows at the TV set; I’ll be the one watching even when your down by 10 (or more). Hey Indians, boy you might have me believing you could maybe win it all this year. I can’t help it if you play like all stars, can’t help it if I wanna watch you every day and night. Come feel this magic I’ve been feeling since I first saw you, can’t help it there’s no one else, I can’t help myself. Hey Indians I’ve been holding back my feelings so I’ve got some things to say to you. I’d seen it all so I thought that I’d never see nobody fail the way you do. The way you hit (or not), the way you run, the way you play the game, you’re frustrating, even bad sometimes and it’s gotta change. Hey Indians people may be leaving but I think I’ll stick around awhile. Because I can’t help it if when you play like a bad team I still wanna watch watch every day and night. Come feel this magic I’ve been feeling since the season began, I can’t help it if there’s no one else. I can’t help myself. They’re turning the lights on, you’re ready to play, why won’t you try tonight? I’ve waited so long now so come out and try now and shine, shine, shine. Hey Indians, I can give 50 reasons why you should listen to me. Now all those other teams They may be wonderful but would I write a song for them? I can’t help if you play like all stars, can’t help it if I wanna watch you every day and night. Come feel this magic I’ve first saw you, can’t help it if there’s no one else. I can’t help myself.
Love, 
Melissa
PS Taylor Swift helped out a lot on this one.
I hope they watch or say something like this in the locker room before the game tonight:
You know with all the cheesy cliche statements too. I think that is the only thing that will help them at this point.

My Boys Spoil Yankee Stadium Opener

UPDATE:
My next entry will be my 100th entry. I refuse to write my 100th entry until the Indians win (or in the event of a strategically placed off day, like Monday. Don’t worry this won’t be never-ending.). So anything I have to say I will add to this entry.
The Indians lost today but it was a well-fought battle. The Bronx Bombers were out in full force hitting five solo home runs to win the game 6-5. Some poor umpiring at the plate and an error by Vinnie Chulk contributed to the loss today. To be far the umpire was inconsistent with both teams but it seemed to affect the Indians a little more. I was pretty happy with this game despite the loss because the Indians battled hard and showed they can fight back from behind, something we had yet to see this year. 
Fun fact: The first person to hit a grand slam in the old Yankee Stadium: Tris Speaker, Cleveland Indians’ center fielder. Good job Grady. Channel Tris.
Interesting News: A crazy preacher man has been terrorizing the Clemson campus recently. He stands in police barricades and tells Clemson students how we are all going to Hell because we wear flip-flops and things like that. It is ridiculous. He claims he has never sinned which is a sin right there because it is a lie. I feel truly sorry for this man and I hope he gets the professional help he needs. Here is a YouTue video of him. I didn’t watch it through because it makes me sad. It may get explicit because he really upsets people. One girl left crying yesterday. It is horrible.

First run scored in New Yankee Stadium History: Ben Francisco

First RBI in New Yankee Stadium History: Kelly Shoppach
First Grand Slam in New Yankee Stadium History: GRADY SIZEMORE
First Winning Pitcher in New Yankee Stadium History: Cliff Lee
First Victory in New Yankee Stadium History: CLEVELAND INDIANS
Final score of the first game in New Yankee Stadium History: 10-2, Cleveland
Question: Who won the last ever playoff game in the old Yankee Stadium? 

Answer: Cleveland Indians

Question: Who has handed the Yankees their three worst losses in franchise history?

Answer: Cleveland Indians

I am so happy right now. The Indians beat the Yankees and start their first winning streak of the season. Granted it’s only two games but it’s all we’ve got so let me savor it.
I forgive Grady for starting slow. I forgive Cliff Lee for being terrible in his first two starts. I forgive Kelly Shoppach for striking out so much. I forgive Trevor Crowe for taking nine at bats before getting his first Major League hit (I actually forgave him a long time ago, but since we’re forgiving…). I even, barely, forgive Rafael Betancourt for loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth today. I forgive Eric Wedge for failing in Aprils in general. None of that matters right now because in the words of Gus Sinsky in For Love of the Game, “We don’t [stink] right now. Right now we’re the best team in baseball.” Okay maybe not the best but at least the happiest. 
This game really was a good game. For the first six innings it was a straight pitchers duel. CC left with one out in the top of the sixth with both teams locked in a 1-1 tie. In the bottom of the sixth Cliff pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Then in the seventh those of you who like a lot of offense would get your wish. The Indians rock the Yankees’ bullpen for nine runs including a bases loaded walk drawn by my project Trevor Crowe and of course a Grand Slam by Grady Sizemore immediately after. Victor Martinez, not to be done, followed one hitter later with another home run. After the seventh the Indians bullpen gave up only one more run despite their best efforts to give up more. This game had a little bit of everything. 
The stadium looks beautiful. I was a little disappointed in the Yankees fans who left after the seventh. It’s Opening Day of your $1.5 billion stadium and you have box seats and you are going to leave? I don’t care how bad your team is losing, you stay. 
gradyhitshomerun.jpg
Okay Grady let’s see about 37 more of those home run smiles this year. Then how about 39 more stolen base smirks.
See you tomorrow New York.
Pictures:

My Favorite Indians

I have nothing of any importance to say today. I am feeling like the Indians are apparently feeling now at the end of Spring Training; a little lethargic and apathetic. That does not mean I do not care about YOU, I just have no motivation. So here is a list of my favorite Indians of all time. The of all time is used loosely because I actually do not know that many Indians not playing now so it is mostly favorite Indians playing right now.

Cliff Lee
cliffandfam.jpg
Aren’t they a cute family? I love the little girl, Maci, with the bow!
Rick Vaughn 
vaughn-790656.jpg
Yes he so counts!
Rick Manning
rickmanning!.jpg
haha Look at his hair! Awesome.
Jake Taylor
jaketaylor.jpg
We already discussed this: he counts! There apparently are no good pictures of him. Which is sad.
Asdrubal Cabrera
asdrubal.jpg
Oh Cabby.
Trevor Crowe (my project)
medium_trevor-crowe-2009.jpg
I hope he blows the Indians away and permanently replaces David Dellucci. Dellucci is a nice guy but Trevor is just a better fit for playing on this team. And maybe I have not all the way forgiven him for the alligator stunt earlier.
Mark DeRosa
derosalaughs.jpg
Apparently all you have to do to become one of my favorite players is be amazing in the WBC, be hilarious, and say that Grady is the best leadoff man in the game.
And of course…
grady05.jpg
sadgrady.jpg
gradyinsunglasses.jpg
just one more… humor me.
gradybackwardhat.jpg
Um… Probably my favorite Grday picture ever. If you can rock the backwards baseball hat, you’ve got me.
Pictures:
5)http://letsgotribe.mlblogs.com/photos/uncategorized/825f1fad73c44513ba416382ebade5da_1.jpg
6) Cleveland Plain Dealer

Lucky #13!

That’s me! I’m lucky #13 this week! Thanks everyone! I am pretty sure this is the highest ranking so far for me! Today you will get a nice lesson on one of the Indians younger players.

Asdrubal Cabrera
tripleplay.jpg
Asdrubal will be starting his third year in the majors this year. He is the Indians starting second baseman although he is a natural shortstop. In his rookie year with the Indians he had a fantastic last seven weeks of the 2007 season and earned the position as starting second baseman and the second spot in the order behind this guy:
concentrategrady!.jpg
Sorry couldn’t resist.
Back to “Cabby” as his teammates call him. Cabrera batted .283 when batting from the second spot. He made o1 error in his 220 chances in all of his starts at second, third, and short. Cabrera had what some call the sophomore slump in 2008 and had to go back down to the minors. In Buffalo he had a very good attitude and worked out his offensive issues with a great work ethic the coaches said. He left the majors with a .189 batting average and when he returned he managed to raise it to .259, 70 points. His defense was never a concern but he had a hard time with his offense in the beginning of the year.He managed to fix his offensive slump and in the month of September batted .416, highest in the American League. Also last year he turned an unassisted triple play against the Toronto Blue Jays. This was only the 14th unassisted triple play in the Majors. He is just the third Indian to turn one. Interestingly the two earliest triple plays in the American League were also turned by Indians.
I like Asdrubal Cabrera even if his name is ridiculous. He is from Venezuela and lives there with his wife and son. Cabby is only 24 years old and is already showing a lot of resilience and dedication. He should have a great future ahead of him.
The Indians lost today. Many said they looked apathetic and slow. Cliff Lee had a rough start and gave up 5 runs. He says he was not locating his pitches like he wanted and was hoping for much better results. Well I should hope so. Anyway I hope he figures this out before the season starts.
Good News: Jhonny Peralta hit a home run to continue his monster spring. And although he was 1-5 today Grady’s 1 hit was a bunt single. If you recall your favorite Clemson Girl (I assume I’m your favorite, I’m the only one that I know of in the top 5o Fan Blogs) said Grady needed to bunt for more base hits. He listened y’all. Orangebird must be right; Grady reads my blog. That is the only possible explanation. And he stole a base. Always a good sign.
gradystealsbasesf.jpg
I never mentioned how much I enjoyed hearing Rick Manning and Matt Underwood again yesterday. I now have to wait until Monday for their next broadcast but I do not miss them quite as much.
Oh and if you have not had a chance to check out my finalized speech go here.
Cabrera Bio: mlb.com and Baseball Almanac
Pictures:
3) Cleveland Plain Dealer website

Complete Speech

Be sure to go vote over at THE MAX today. I am up against Rockpile Rant. Vote for whoever you want to and good luck baseball snatcher!

History of Cleveland Baseball

It
is Game 7 of the ALCS. The Red Sox are leading 3-2 in the top of the seventh.
Kenny Lofton is on second thanks to an error by shortstop Julio Lugo. Franklin
Gutierrez hits a shot down the third base line. It ricochets off the wall into
short left center where Manny Ramirez picks it up. Kenny Lofton is held at
third for fear of being thrown out at home. Casey Blake, one of the best clutch
hitters in the league steps in. He hits into an inning ending double play. Can
the Tribe come back in the late innings and pull off a Game 7 victory and make
it to the World Series for the first time in ten years? 

Cleveland has a long
and rich baseball history dating all the way back to 1869. Cleveland’s early
years range from the worst in baseball to the best in baseball. Cleveland
baseball teams have won two World Series Championships: 1927 and 1948. However
the Curse of Rocky Colavito has kept them from another championship ring for
sixty years, the second longest unbroken championship drought in baseball. The
future of the Cleveland Indians is bright and filled with rising stars.

Thumbnail image for spidersjersey.jpg

The
early years of Cleveland baseball saw baseball in Cleveland rise from the worst
to the best. Cleveland’s owner sent its best players, including Cy Young, to
St. Louis to popularize baseball there causing the Cleveland Spiders to achieve
the worst record in baseball history, 20-134. In 1901 Ben Johnson, the creator
of the American League, founded his league and created a team in Cleveland
making the Cleveland Indians one of the four charter members of the American
League. Early Cleveland stars included Napoleon Lajoie, giving the team their
first nickname The Naps, Addie Joss, and Joe Jackson of Black Sox Scandal fame.
Cy Young returned to Cleveland in 1909 to finish his career where he got his
start. After the 1914 season the nickname Indians was chosen for the team. 

The
Indians have won two World Series Championships in their history. They have
been to the postseason ten times throughout their history. In 1920 the Indians
played the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series.
They beat the Dodgers five games to two. The road to the Series was a tough
one. The shortstop of the Indians was fatally hit by a pitch while playing the
Yankees in August. Joe Sowell replaced him and began his own All Star career. The
Indians’ Elmer Smith hit the first grand slam in World Series history in game
5. The Indians won their next World Series in 1948. They beat the Boston Braves
in six games. The Indians led the league in batting average, earned run average,
and fielding percentage in the 1948 season. The road to the World Series included
a historic one game playoff for the pennant against the Boston Red Sox. 

franklane.jpg

The
Indians have not won another World Series in over sixty years giving them the
second longest unbroken Championship drought in baseball behind only the Cubs.
Like the Cubs the Indians have a curse which has supposedly kept World Series
wins from them, the Curse of Rocky Colavito. Colavito was one of the Indians’
top young players in 1955. In 1960 Frank Lane, the Indians new manager, traded
Colavito to the Indians’ biggest rival, the Detroit Tigers. To this day Frank
Lane’s name makes Indians’ fans cringe. Since, the Indians have faced years of
losing seasons and have yet to win the World Series. From 1960- 1993 the Indians
had only finished third or lower in their division except for one year in 1968.
They reached the World Series for the first time since 1954 in 1995 and lost.
They also lost in 1997. Some believe trading Joe Carter for Carlos Berraega is
the trade that finally broke the curse. Since that trade the Indians have
experienced mild success but have still not won a World Series. In my opinion
trading Bartolo Colon for Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee was the trade that broke
the curse. Grady Sizemore has very similar popularity to Rocky Colavito and
many say he, like they said of Colavito, is what a baseball player should be. 

Thumbnail image for sam_mcdowell_autograph.jpg

The
Indians have experienced tragedies with many of their most important players. Sam
McDowell was a great pitcher who could not control his alcohol problem. Tony
Horton was a great first baseman who could not handle the pressures of baseball
and had a mental breakdown that took him out of baseball forever. Four of the
Indians best pitchers were lost in a tragic boating accident in 1993. Two were
killed, one was seriously injured, and one was too emotionally unstable to
continue to pitch for the Indians. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds to help
him endure the loss of his best friend. 

The Cleveland Indians’ future looks
bright despite 2008’s struggles with the
emergence of young, rising stars. The 2008 season marked a year of struggle and
disappointment for the Indians. The Indians’ designated hitter, Travis Hafner,
and star catcher,
Victor Martinez, were sidelined early with injuries. Without the bats of Hafner
and Martinez the Indians had trouble adjusting and could not get their offense
going. With the exception of Cliff Lee the Indians pitchers suffered without
the foundation of a strong bullpen and starter Jake Westbrook who was out for the
season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Midseason saw the Indians trade
away their Cy Young Award
winner CC Sabathia to the Brewers. Despite being last in the division the
Indians climbed to third in the division with an 81-81 record during the second
half of the
season. 

gradystrechingallstar.jpg

The Indians’ 2009 season will rest on their young talent. Grady Sizemore is the Indians’ centerfielder. He has been to three
consecutive All Star Games. He has won two consecutive Gold Glove Awards. In
2008 he won his first Silver Slugger Award. In 2008 he also became only the
second Indians player and sixth American League player to steal thirty bases
and hit thirty home runs in one season. He is incredibly humble and shy and
shuns the spotlight and is consequently believed by experts to be one of the
most underrated players in the game. Cliff Lee is the Indians staff ace. In
2007 Lee battled through injury issues and never found his rhythm. Last season
he came back and won twenty-two games and lost only three to become the
American League Cy Young Award winner. Many experts pick the Indians to win the
American League Central in 2009 and many have them finally winning a World
Series as well. 

In Cleveland baseball’s early years Cleveland saw the worst
team in baseball grow into the best. The nickname of Indians was also chosen
during this time. In 1920 and 1948 the Indians won the only two championships
the franchise has ever won. In 1960 the Curse of Rocky Colavito is said to have
taken affect and has allegedly kept the Indians from winning a Championship since.
Although 2008 saw the Indians stumble the Indians appear to have bright future
with young stars like Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee. 

So did the Indians manage
to come back and beat the Red Sox in Game 7 of  the 2007 ALCS? Well in the bottom of the seventh Rafael
Betancourt comes on in relief of Jake Westbrook. Casey Blake makes an error
allowing Jacoby Ellsbury to get on base and bringing Dustin Pedroia up to bat.
Betancourt gives up a two run home run to Pedroia giving the Red Sox a five to
two lead to end the seventh. The Indians were unable to figure out Boston’s
closer Jonathan Papelbon in the next two innings but the Red Sox managed to
score six more runs to give the Red Sox the eleven to two win and send them to
the World Series. However these struggles have not kept Cleveland fans from believing,
“It’s Tribe time in 2009!”

Sources:

Terry Pluto The Curse of Rocky Colavito

Mike Sowell The Pitch that Killed

Indinas History from Indians.com

T.R. Sullivan “Indians Short Hops: Game 7 ALCS”

Indians from Goodyear, Arizona: 30 Clubs in 30 Days.

Pictures:

1) http://storesense1.carrierzone.com/stores/h/HS12284/catalog/Sept212007%20039.jpg

2) Life Magazine

3) Baseball Almanac

4) http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0dYe0Sh4yoa29/610x.jpg

Indians this Week

Sorry if this is boring but I thought I would post the article I wrote for MLB Center this week. I have already mentioned some things in the article but it is a good general overview of Tribe happenings in the past week.

The WBC was bittersweet for me tonight. I want Mark DeRosa in camp but I want the US to do well too. They were playing with Japan for awhile but they just let it get away from them. It was a good run for the US though. They faced a lot of difficulties and still managed to have strong showing on an international stage. Good job guys!

The Indians made their second cut this week. They cut
fifteen players trimming their roster from 59 to 44. They sent down one
prospect for the fifth rotation spot and three prospects for the last bullpen
spot. Some notable cuts include Tony Sipp, LHP, David Huff, LHP, Carlos
Santana, C, and Wes Hodges, 3B. Tony Sipp is still recovering from Tommy John
Surgery so the Indians are being careful with him. He has made a good
impression so far in camp. David Huff was somewhat of a surprise to be cut but
recently suffered some soreness in his arm, which slowed his progress. He was
competing for the fifth rotation spot but is no longer being considered to get
the spot out of Spring Training. Carlos Santana has lived up to expectations
offensively and has highly impressed the Indians. However Eric Wedge thinks he
needs a little more practice handling a pitching staff. Santana has been called
the Indians’ top minor league prospect. Wes Hodges was very successful
offensively but needs a little more work defensively at third.

            In
Sunday’s Cactus League game Cliff Lee started against the Rockies at Hi Corbett
Field in Tucson, Arizona. Lee looked commanding giving up two runs and striking
out three. He said after the game that he feels ready for the season. He added
that from now on in Spring Training starts he will be pitching as if he is
pitching a regular season game. So Lee should start to look like he should look
in the regular season in the last couple of weeks of the spring.

            Fausto
Carmona is reportedly fine after taking a line drive to his arm in an
intrasquad game at Goodyear Park in Arizona. He threw a bullpen session
Saturday and felt fine. He is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game against the
White Sox at Goodyear.

            Anthony
Reyes has had a very strong spring so far. He threw five scoreless innings on
Saturday. As long as he stays healthy he should be a lock for the fourth
rotation spot.

            Carl
Pavano has allowed twelve runs so far on fifteen hits. He has not had a very
impressive spring so far according to the numbers but he says he feels better
than he has in years and feels he is making progress. As long as he continues
to feel good he will be in the rotation.

            The
fifth rotation spot will probably come down to Scott Lewis and Aaron Laffey
although Jeremy Sowers is another possibility. Zach Jackson was formerly
competing for the spot but now he seems to be more likely to get the last spot
in the bullpen if anything. Scott Lewis has made a strong showing this spring
and has thoroughly impressed Eric Wedge. Wedge says that Lewis is definitely
high on the list for the fifth spot. Aaron Laffey came into to Spring Training
as the favorite for the job. However he has a rough spring so far with an ERA
of 6.92. But Wedge does not place too much stock in Spring Training statistics;
he is more concerned with seeing progress from his players. Wedge also stresses
that there is a lot of time still left in this year’s extended Spring Training.

            With
Team USA’s nine to four loss to Japan Sunday night, Mark DeRosa will be heading
back to Goodyear. Wedge cannot wait until he returns so he can get him some
more typical Spring Training work to ensure that he is prepared for the regular
season. DeRosa’s return should also help him become more acclimated to the
team. Shin Soo Choo, the Indians only player left in the Classic, will be
playing in the final game tomorrow night for South Korea against Japan. The
winner will be the new World Baseball Classic Champion. Choo has been out of
camp since February 24. He has had two hits in the Classic in only twelve at
bats. There is some concern that he has not been getting the work he needs to
prepare him for the season.