Two More Great Pitching Performances!

On Tuesday night, Jeremy Sowers pitched a great game as the Indians defeated the Orioles 6-1. Sowers pitched 8 innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits with 7 strike-outs. Sowers flirted with great games many times this season but somehow couldn't get out of the "big" inning. That was not the case on Tuesday as he put both halves of a game together.Enter Scott Lewis, up from AAA ball. At Class AAA Buffalo and Class AA Akron this year, he was a combined 8-4 with a 2.53 ERA. With Anthony Reyes needing to rest a sore arm, Lewis was brought up to "fill-in" as the Tribe's starting pitching was in need of a respite. Lewis more than answered the challenge, beating the Orioles 7-1. Lewis pitched 8 strong shut-out innings, giving up only 3 hits with no walks and 3 strike-outs. So, why wasn't he out for the 9th inning to preserve his shut-out? SportsTime Ohio commentator Rick Manning was upset that after the bottom of the 8th inning, Lewis was getting the congratulatory high 5's and pats on the back. "He's done!" said Manning, "Oh, I'm disappointed!" So were we, Rick. He had thrown 96 pitches and breezed through the 7th and 8th innings. To add insult to injury, Masa Kobayashi couldn't hold the shut-out in the 9th. When will he go away??????
But upon further review, manager Eric Wedge probably made the right choice, although not the most popular, in taking Lewis out after 8 innings. Lewis underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery while at Ohio State in 2003 before being drafted in the third round by Cleveland in 2004. He was limited to six starts in 2005 because of biceps tendinitis, then spent most of the 2006 season on a limited pitch count before finally pitching a full season last year with Double-A Akron.
This spring training, however, Lewis strained a back muscle and was forced to stay in extended spring training until early June. He combined to go 8-4 with a 2.53 ERA for Akron and Triple-A Buffalo before finally making his way to the Indians. When interviewed after the game, he showed tremendous poise (similar to his poise on the mound) and professionalism in the way he handled the questions put to him, especially on being removed after the 8th. "I expected that." he said, "I am on a pitch count. I can't be disappointed about anything today." Well said, Scott! Here is hoping Scott Lewis sticks around through September. He looks like the real deal!

Congratulations on a great game and effort!

Hey, don't look now, but the new "House of Pain" in the Bronx is moving along to completion!

That's OK, we can handle those guys anyway!

We have our own construction taking place in Goodyear, Arizona as our new spring training facility is coming together...

The major league field will be ready for spring. The practice fields are already done!

The locker rooms are coming along as well. What a great place to visit!

Message to Ron Gardenhire and His Twins…

Obi-Wan Gardenhire:

Years ago, you won the division in a close race; now we beg you to help us in our struggle against the Evil Empire in Chicago. We regret that we are unable to repeat as division champs again this year; but our season has fallen under bad times and I'm afraid our mission to keep the division out of the hands of the dark side of the force may fail.

We’ve placed information vital to the survival of your success into the memory systems of this R2 unit, made to resemble a bullpen telephone. Only you will know how to retrieve it and it must stay out of the hands of Darth Guillen.

You must see this R2 unit is safely delivered to your team in Minnesota. This is our most desperate hour. Help us, Obi-Wan Gardenhire; you're our only hope.

Come on, Twins! It is up to you to keep the White Sox out of the playoffs! This is a winner take all, loser go home situation. The Wild Card is all but sewn up between Tampa Bay and Boston, whichever team fails to win the East.

Spare us seeing Ozzie Vader rant and rave through another playoff season. Keep the Grand Moff Pierzynski off of the prime time networks where he can manipulate the game, like running out a dropped third strike even when it wasn’t dropped and duping the umpiring crew.

We don’t want to see Jabba the Thome and his followers; stormtroopers Dye, Buehrle, Crede, Konerko, Griffey Jr., Swisher, etc.

You have only to take control of your own destiny!

Beginning with Kansas City tonight, you need to win 14 of your 19 remaining games!

That puts you at 92 victories, the division championship, and the Sox on the couch for October…just do it!

The future of fair play and decency in baseball is in your hands!

Fall Forward...

Fall will be upon us in a couple of weeks. The air becomes brisk and as the season takes hold, beautiful fall foliage portraits autumn in its incredible beauty.
What?!
Did I say that???

• Fall means it's gonna get cold soon and snow is quick to follow.
• Fall is synonymous with back to school, the scourge of every summer-loving kid that keeps his bat, ball, glove, and fishing pole somehow attached to his bike, ready for anything.
• Fall is a reminder that those beautiful leaves will have to soon be raked up, wet or dry.
• Fall also serves as a reminder that there is an end in the future to the season of the grand old game of baseball.

Why can't it be the only sport played 12 months out of the year?


In addition to having to go back to school (shudder), Fall in Cleveland often meant some other major league baseball team in the post season, not the Indians. Oh, there were exceptions when I was a kid...the 1954 Indians in the World Series and the 1959 Indians that battled the White Sox all summer long only to come in second (but what an exciting season). The 1966 Indians roared out of spring training and went 10-0, only to finish the season at .500.


It wasn't until I was an adult...actually near middle age when the Indians began to compete again. 1995 through now brings positive thoughts every spring that are now well founded. This team should be able to compete every year. Well, it didn't happen this year. So how do you deal with Fall when your team will be home for the playoffs?


Adopt a team! Yeah, that's what I'll do!


But who?


What's the criteria to win my favor?

• Since I live and die in Cleveland, my adoptive team more than likely will need to be an underdog.

Hmmm, Milwaukee...Minnesota...Philadelphia...L.A. Dodgers...Tampa Bay?

• They need to be winning with a strong "team" effort, not a team winning with individual efforts.

Hmmm, Milwaukee...Minesota...Tampa Bay?


It's a tough choice but I gotta go with upstarts Tampa Bay.

• They have the better record this season (between them and Minnesota) against the Red Sox, the White Sox, and the Angels.
• 3 years ago I claimed that they would be a contender by 2009.
• They are the Cinderella team of 2008.
• I like their style!

Congratulations to Cliff Lee on win #21!
Not only is he having an incredible season, he sets a new record every time he goes out to the mound lately. Lee's dominance has afforded him a victory in 10 straight decisions, and he is now, with at least three starts remaining this season, in a position to become the Indians' winningest left-hander in a season. That honor currently belongs to Vean Gregg, who won 23 games in 1911.
Lee is the first Major Leaguer to win 21 games since Dontrelle Willis did so for the Marlins in 2005.

Go Cliff! We should all pause to "Cy!"

All-Stars and Good Guys!

Congratulations to Cliff Lee on being named American League Pitcher of the Month for August. Lee went 5-0 in August with a 1.86 ERA. This is the second time this season Lee has won the award, winning it in April. Next up for Cliff, a date with destiny and the Cy Young Award?

Another congratulation goes out to Grady Sizemore on being the 2008 Indians’ nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award. How does Grady feel about the nomination? "He (Roberto Clemente) was one of those guys who paved the way for Latin players and was a good role model for all baseball players," Sizemore says, "There wasn't anything he couldn't do -- not just on the field but also off the field. He was an icon, so it's an honor to be a part of something like that."

Well said Grady but honestly the same can be said for Grady. Read about Grady’s community and charitable works and contributions;

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080903&content_id=3411364&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle

Do Ya Wanna Win Or What?

The Indians lost a game this afternoon to the White Sox 4-2 that they should have and needed to win.

I love Asdrubal Cabrera. I think he is our shortstop of the very near future, but could somebody please teach the guy how to lead off from 1st base?! Every team we play goes after this guy hard every time he is on base. Today, they got him again. The difference in picking off Cabrera and fooling him with the hidden ball trick is, you don't have to go to the effort of the hidden ball trick!

What was Eric Wedge doing today with that bull crap lineup? Just when he starts to make some sense and win some ballgames, he's got to pull everybody back in and show 'em who calls the shots by resting some of his best players...with an off day tomorrow! David Dellucci is a nice guy and plays hard but he takes up valuable space in the batting order as well the outfield. And why rest two regulars and replace them with Dellucci and Sal Fasano?

Don't eat him, Choo!

How about the pinch hitting? zippo! Nada! Negatory! Gutierrez is 0 for the season in pinch hit opportunities.

Wedge, you don't have to blow games just to keep the fans and media at arms length, we will never like you that much. Why don't you take a day off?!!!!

ShouldaCouldaWoulda...

The Cleveland Indians recently won 10 games in a row. The last 9 of those games were road games. They returned home and got swept in 3 games by the lowly Mariners. Now, they turn around and take the first 2 games handily from the division leading White Sox.

What if they would have taken (and they sure could have) 2 of the 3 games from the Mariners? They would be 7.5 games out of first place with 25 games remaining. A year ago, the Rockies were in 4th place before taking the field on September 3rd with a record of 70 - 66. They won 20 of 27 games to capture the wild card spot (including the tremendous 1-game playoff).

The way the Twins and White Sox are playing, a focused and driven team, playing with nothing to lose could win 19 of those remaining 25 games and possibly take the division with 86 victories. It would be a difficult task but it is not totally out of the question. It would mean that both the White Sox and the Twins could win no more than 9 of their remaining 24 games each.

Yes, we have all heard it all season long...The injuries and slow start for many of the Indians' players...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

In this season of disappointment, the Indians continue to put their own backs against the wall each time they make some progress. As said so many times before, this team has a strong nucleus and could have competed in the division long before now.

When the team assembled in Spring Training, very little had been done by V.P. and General Manager Mark Shapiro to improve a team that tied for the most wins in baseball in 2007. Injuries to key players were not disclosed. Because they had not improved, there was pressure on these players to play through their injuries. Catcher Victor Martinez obviously was suffering from an injury to his right shoulder and further complicated that with an injury to his leg sliding on opening day. He continued to play until he basically could not play anymore. Travis Hafner obviously came to camp damaged and hurting. (He still doesn't look right!) So your top 2 sluggers are hurt, not producing, and clogging up the bases when they do get on. Early on, when Martinez, Hafner, Garko, and Peralta reached 1st base, they could only get to 2nd on a single. We couldn't hit and when we did hit, we couldn't score because we couldn't run. What kind of incentive is that for the younger players, watching these guys play at 40% and icing down constantly?

It is easy to sit here and say, "They shouldn't have been in there," but you know what? "Martinez and Hafner shouldn't have been in there!"

You have to trace the failings of the younger players back to Shapiro and Manager Eric Wedge. For Shapiro to make a statement (in mid-April when the team was floundering) to the effect of, "We are not going to react until we reach the 40-game mark," tells these younger players that it is acceptable to hit under .220 until 25% of the season is in the tank. For Wedge to insist that it will come together "If we just keep after it," is ridiculous. There was no accountability. Recently, Garko failed to run out a foul ball that decided to go fair. Wedge blasted him, sat him, fined him, and made him think about it. What happened? The guy is on fire since then! OK, this is just more of the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

The bottom line is, shame on the front office and the manager for setting low expectations and not holding players accountable to their potential.

OK, OK, OK, so what do you do on September 3rd?

You play with reckless abandon, all out, and with nothing to lose. You win as many of the remaining 25 games as you can, you try to finish as high as you can in the standings, and you see what happens.

This team has lost key players to injuries and trades throughout this season but since July 7th, they are 30 - 19, playing at a .612 clip. Since August 1st, they are 20 - 10, playing .667 ball. Over their last 25 games, they are 18 - 7, playing .720 ball.

It is time to cut loose, kick ass, and take names!

They owe it to their fans...They owe it to themselves!

Let's see what happens...

30-30-30!...54 Years Young!...20 Victories!...Fausto's Turn Tonight!

Every time Grady Sizemore takes the field, he stands to break a new record for the Cleveland Indians. He currently is a 30-30-30 man, the first player for the Indians ever to have 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and 30 doubles in the same season. Can Grady reach 40 homers and 40 steals? I wouldn’t bet against him!

Happy 54th Birthday to the Cleveland Indians’ SportsTime Ohio broadcaster Rick Manning. Rick was a very fine hitting center fielder for the Indians and he has really become an excellent sportscaster. What’s next, managing in the Bigs?

It was great to see Cliff Lee reach win #20 last night. He has been so focused this year on winning that he has been over-powering at times. He truly had great command of all of his pitches last night as he pitched a 5-hit, no-walk, complete-game, shut-out. You have to wonder what got Ozzie Guillen and A.J. Pierzynski all fired up last night before the game. Cliff had a little ritual that he performed before his warm-up pitches each inning, perhaps the boisterous Sox manager and catcher took exception to Cliff facing second base and throwing a phantom pitch prior to his warm-ups. But before the game even got underway, before Cliff took the mound, Ozzie could be seen mouthing off and making gestures to the Cleveland dugout. Who (Indians’ fans) could ever forget Ozzie giving the Cleveland fans the choke sign at the end of the 2005 season? Rather than stoop to their level, perhaps the Indians can just play good, hard baseball and help to take the Sox out of contention in the 5 remaining games we have with them and no choke gesture will be needed, just implied.

Tonight is Fausto’s turn. He needs a big victory to continue his return to greatness since coming off the DL.

Tonight, how about this…Fausto and the Indians 7, White Sox 3?!