Something To Look Forward To...

Take a look at the the last 4 games of the season...October 1st through the 4th.

Yeah, that's right...4 games in Boston!

The way the season is shaping up, these 4 games will very likely be critical to the Red Sox getting into the playoffs.

Could we get a bit of revenge for 2007?

Would knocking the Bosox out of the playoffs be sweet?

You bet!

In reality, there is every reason to believe that the Boston Red Sox will sweep the Tribe just like the Texas Rangers did over the last 3 games. Look at this Indians' team; all of the true veterans are traded away with the exception of Travis Hafner, Jhonny Peralta, and Kelly Shoppach, and of course Grady Sizemore who has been shut down by injuries for the remainder of the season. Our most experienced guys are Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin Soo Choo, and Peralta. The remainder of the team is AAA and AA players.

How could they ever expect to compete with a playoff-bound team in the last series of the season?

Well, these guys are hungry as well as talented. Sure they are raw rookies but what have they got to lose?

Even if Boston wins the first 3 games, it still could come down to the final game of the season.

Look, right now we will take any win, no matter how big or small. But if we can ruin Boston's playoff hopes, now that is S-W-E-E-T!

They're getting ready for the playoffs in Boston,

Let's see if we can spoil their plans!

She Sings!

Yeah, it's over and it's been over...ya just hate to admit it. Even Yogi would say, "It's over BEFORE it's over!"

This train wreck of a season started in Spring Training when we heard excuses like, "The thin air of Arizona is having it's effect on our hitters and pitchers." Thanks Eric, how come it didn't effect other teams?

When the season went into the tank early on, it was only a matter of time when the bargain basement discounting of future free agents would take place.

Just want to thank Cliff Lee for his recent comments last week pertaining to the poor attendance at Progressive Field. Cliff blamed the Cleveland fans for non-support of the team. He told Dennis Manoloff of the Plain Dealer words to the effect of, if the fans had come out to support this team, the owners may not have had to unload the free agents a year early.

Nice, Cliff!

Once again, he showed his wisdom and tact. The problem with the Indians has never been the fans. This has got to be one of the most loyal fan bases in all of major league sports. Our 455 consecutive sellout record stood until last season when the Red Sox finally beat the mark. Hmm, same Red Sox that blasted Cliffy in 2007, prompting him to tip his cap to the Cleveland fans as they let him know how they felt about his pitching that season. That was his next home game since beaning Sammy Sosa in Texas on Sammy Sosa Night. You still have so much class, don't you Cliff?!

Questions still to have answered;

1. Why can't everyone play like Grady Sizemore?

Grady is done for the season and will have 2 operations, one on his elbow and one on his abdomen, both injuries that have been nagging Grady all season long. (The abdominal injury was just reported recently.) When asked why the surgeries didn't take place early on, Grady replied that he wanted to play! Funny thing, so did manager Eric Wedge and head trainer Lonny Soloff!

2. When will Hafner be Full-ner?

What is wrong with our gentle giant? Just when it seems he is over his right shoulder ailment, his left shoulder acts up! Conditioning/Rest...Conditioning/Rest...Conditioning/Rest!

3. When will we get the ownership for the Cleveland Indians to take us to the World Series?

There is no doubt that the Cleveland Cavaliers have the very best chance to bring Cleveland it's first major league championship since 1964. Why?...Ownership! The Indians went to the World Series twice with Dick Jacobs. The Dolans were more lucky than smart in 2007 as we missed the World Series by one game. Please talk to Peter Lewis and his Progressive empire to buy this team!

As the sun sets on another season of Indians' baseball, we are thrust back to our resolve of the '60s, '70s, and '80s...Bad baseball is better than no baseball.

Mr. Dolan, if you love the Cleveland Indians as much as you say you do, then...

SELL THIS TEAM!

What The...?!

OK, when you get a guy wrong, you gotta admit it. My apologies to Andy Marte. Marte has found a home at 1st base and is tearing the cover off of the ball! Tonight, he hit a dead center triple and a go ahead 2-run homer in the top of the 9th inning which proved to be the game-winner in Baltimore. Congratulations to Marte on his play since being promoted again to the Bigs! I honestly did not think you had it in you, I had you wrong, especially when I saw you go for a 3-bagger tonight!

What is going on with the Rockies again? It is 2007 all over again...only one month earlier! They could be one of two roadblocks to my '09 dream World Series, Dodgers vs. Yankees...

The revenge of Joe Torre!

The second roadblock could be Charlie Manuel and his Phillies trying to repeat. Charlie is the latest edition of the Indians' "manager who got away!" That's OK, Charlie was a hard worker but more of a "Doer" in Cleveland than a guy who "Got after it." He has matured with the Phillies in his old age. He still sounds like Casey Stengle on Quaaludes.

Come on Joe Torre, don't make us suffer through another October of Charlie!

What's Wrong With Cleveland?

Over the last few weeks, business has required me to be spending most of my time in the great city of New York. It was only 10 months ago that I first visited the city for the very first time. Honestly, you can have it and the people, too!

• The major pass-time of New Yorkers is jay-walking. In fact, if you don't walk against signals, you get left behind.


• The service industry in New York is an oxy-moron. There simply is no service, from basic needs all the way up to what should be a luxury experience. I have never spent so much money to be treated so rudely. And it certainly brings out the not so nice side of me as well. I have verbally ripped hotel receptionists, deli counter workers, cashiers, and airline gate attendants regularly since December. They are extremely cocky and rude, argue about everything, and refuse to do the most basic parts of their jobs like provide a receipt.


• LaGuardia Airport should sink into the East River and take all of the American Airlines employees along for a good dunking. These people should be subjected to themselves by being on the other side of the gate counter. Basic politeness doesn't exist ever, but when things get tough, their total lack of compassion and their selfishness are well displayed.
  

OK, so all that said, they do get things done here!

• Fabulous theater
• Great museums
• Fine dining
• Winning sports teams

It's that last one that gets me...winning sports teams. Year after year the Yankees are in the playoffs. From baseball to football to basketball to hell, you name it...these crabby-ass bastards win!

In New York, sports teams are expected to win every year. In Cleveland, the owner of the Cleveland Indians claims that he can only be successful one or two times in a five to six year period...Wussy!

There it is, right there...Cleveland is a town of Wussies! We let that wussy Dolan make bigger wussies out of us because he can be a wussy and get away with it!

Not me, when in New York, I get my receipts and my money's worth of chewing somebody's ass when they piss me off! And that's OK because the clerk or cashier or whoever just gives me what I want (what he or she should have done in the first place) and then moves on to someone else to bully.

That's what I like about these current Cleveland Indians. Throw at them and they are gonna knock down 3 of your guys! If this team gets pissed enough, they win 15 games in a row and make the next 30 to 35 days very interesting and exciting!

They Still Have Heart!

After everything that has happened this year, despite the trades, the owner with deep pockets and short arms, the stubborn manager, the executives scrambling to save their jobs, the bewildered coaching staff, despite all of that...this team still has heart!

Grady Sizemore has said it many times in the past few weeks, "We got nothing to lose, we are playing all out!"
How else do you explain these guys hanging tough? Sizemore, Choo, Carroll producing every day and night...Peralta getting tough at 3rd and overcoming his streaky hitting...Fausto being who he can be...the rise of a star in Valbueno...Astrubal threatening to crack the top 10 in league batting average while playing a slick SS...some gutsy pitching...even Marte is starting to produce!

There is still time for one last winning streak!
Eyebrows would be raised once again!
This pesky bunch of misfits could make things very interesting with a little over a month to go!
They could steal the show!

Still On The Warpath!

As asked last week, what would it take to win the American League Central?

Well, the good news is that the Indians are only 1 game off of the plan (See below, see previous blog).

· Win today’s game (8/13) vs. the Rangers...Nope, lost that one!

· Win 2 of 3 at the Twins...Yes, we took 2 of 3!


· Win 2 of 3 from L.A.


· Sweep the Mariners


· Sweep the Royals in K.C.


· Win 3 of 4 from the Orioles


· Win 2 of 3 from the Tigers


· Win 2 of 3 from the Twins


· Win 2 of 3 from the Rangers


· Sweep the Royals here!


· Win 2 of 3 from the Twins


· Win 3 of 4 from the A’s


· Win 2 of 3 from the Tigers


· Win 2 of 3 from the Orioles


· Win 2 of 3 from the White Sox


· Win 3 of 4 from the Red Sox!

It's that simple!...Well, why not?
The Rockies did it in '07...so did the Yankees only they started their move about 30 days earlier...so what! We need something to salvage from this season of waving the white flag early and "scalping" our future free agents.

It's like Grady Sizemore said Sunday, "We have nothing to lose, we are relaxed and playing all out."

True, but you could have something to gain...a far-fetched but possible shot at the Central Division!

There are others who would have something more to say about it. The cover of the USA Today touts the Angels (our next opponent) as having a hot hitting lineup, all hitting .297 or better! We play them pretty good and there is no reason we cannot take 2 of 3.
The Tigers have Rick Porcello pitching well and just signed big hitter Aubrey Huff. They still don't scare me.

Grady is right! There is nothing to lose and everything to gain so let's beat the drum, stay on the warpath, win some games, and have some excitement!

Note; A win streak sure makes all of this come together...we have 2 in a row!

How The A.L. Central Division Can Be Won…

Apparently neither the Tigers, White Sox, or the Twins seem to be very engaged in winning the American League Central Division so, as written yesterday, here is how our Indians can do it;
We have 49 games remaining and we must win 37 of those games…Yes, it is a tough road but with no one running away with the division, why not consider the possibilities. Here are the must win scenarios of the final 16 series;
· Win today’s game vs. the Rangers
· Win 2 of 3 at the Twins
· Win 2 of 3 from L.A.
· Sweep the Mariners
· Sweep the Royals in K.C.
· Win 3 of 4 from the Orioles
· Win 2 of 3 from the Tigers
· Win 2 of 3 from the Twins
· Win 2 of 3 from the Rangers
· Sweep the Royals here!
· Win 2 of 3 from the Twins
· Win 3 of 4 from the A’s
· Win 2 of 3 from the Tigers
· Win 2 of 3 from the Orioles
· Win 2 of 3 from the White Sox
· Win 3 of 4 from the Red Sox!
Of course, if we run up a nice win streak, this all becomes much more achievable!


“All right people, we got 10 minutes 'till game time, let's all gather 'round. I'm not much for giving inspirational addresses, but I'd just like to point out that every newspaper in the country has picked us to finish last. The local press seems to think that we'd save everyone the time and trouble if we just went out and shot ourselves. Me, I'm for wasting sportswriters' time. So I figured we ought to hang around for a while and see if we can give 'em all a nice big shitburger to eat!” Lou Brown, fictional manager of the Cleveland Indians in the movie, “Major League”.