Grittiness - Quantified

Just in case you were wondering how to statistically quantify grittiness, wonder no more. The fine folks at Flotsam have done it already.

Holiday Hot Stove Review

Some more thoughts about how the off-season is going down:

• A reminder to panicking Indians fans: teams make the deals they make for a variety of reasons. Just because you feel the offer that another team accepted for a player you think the Indians could have used is inferior to what the Indians could have offered does not mean that Shapiro did not make a competitive offer. Maybe the key factor in trading Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks was not necessarily that the Indians' offer was inferior, but that they wanted to trade Haren to the National League so as not to improve the Indians. Maybe the Indians were not willing to overpay to the same extent that Arizona did.
• We tend to overvalue our own team's prospects.
• Which contract would you rather have on your books - Jake Westbrook at $11M per for the next 5 years or Carlos Silva at $12M per for the next 4 years? The M's pitching was so weak that they pretty well had no choice but to pony up the money.
• Josh Hamilton would have looked good in left field for the Indians, and I don't question the Reds for getting pitching for him - but, you just have to wonder why, with the Rangers needing pitching so badly, that they were willing to give up on Volquez, who has been touted as one of their best prospects for several years now. I suspect that the Reds will be underwhelmed by his performance, and they will find that they sold very low on Hamilton.
• The Indians don't have to make many moves to stay competitive. It would be nice to get a power-hitting corner outfielder and move Michaels/Dellucci - but it's not necessary. They could start the season with the platoon in left field, Gutierrez in right and be fine.
• I'm on the Andy Marte bandwagon. Unless there is an overwhelming offer for him in the offseason, give him the starting job out of spring training and let's see what he can do. He may not put up much average at first, but his potential to be the right handed slugger that the Indians need given his minor league track record is undeniable. He has nothing to prove at Buffalo, and he's out of options. Casey Blake becomes the uber-utility guy.
• The Tigers will win a lot of 10-8 games next season unless they do something else to shore up their pitching. If the Tigers have a lot of their old guys miss time due to injury, they will come to regret the wholesale dismantling of their farm system that they've been undergoing for the last couple years in order to win now.
• Cliff Lee is looking more and more like a very attractive consolation prize should the Tribe wish to deal him. His contract is affordable, he's had major league success. He may just need a change of scenery. I believe that we see teams go after Cliff Lee with a little more fervor once the ultimate Santana derby winner is known.
• The problem with trading Lee, Marte, Choo, Sowers, Adam Miller or Dellucci right now is that their value has never been lower and the Tribe would never be able to get anything approaching full value. The other problem is that these are the only guys that many Indians fans would like to see gone, which rather limits the ability of Shapiro to get an appropriate return. We don't want these guys, but we overvalue our ability to get an appropriate return for them.
• Why not take a flier on Mark Prior? The Indians can sell the chance to pitch in the playoffs for a competitive team, as well as one of the best medical staffs in the game to guide his rehab. However, they can't move the team to the west coast for him, which appears to be where he wants to pitch.
• I like the Jamey Carroll signing. It strikes me as the kind of move that really is the signal to another move we don't see coming - maybe trading Peralta and moving AC to shortstop and slotting Carroll at second base while Barfield gets his act together in Buffalo and Casey Blake plays uber-utility guy, spelling guys at second, third and the outfield.
• I like that Andy Marte is getting reps in winter ball at first base - if they do move him, it makes him more versatile.
• I think the Mets will likely end up winning the Johan Santana derby, primarily because the Twins will want to send him to the National League so they don't end up facing him in the playoffs. The Twins are still under the belief that their team just needs some tweaking to remain competitive, and adding some bats like Delmon Young and Mike Lamb will certainly help. But adding Adam Everett will not help them with their main problem - they can't score runs.
• I don't see how the Indians can seriously upgrade at any position on the field this year without giving up one of the following: Asdrubal Cabrera, Franklin Gutierrez, Adam Miller or Aaron Laffey. Those are the trading chips with some value. You have to give value to get value.
• It would have been nice to see the Indians get Alexei Ramirez, but you just know that the White Sox overpaid. They always do.

The Hot Stove So Far

The offseason so far:

• Indians sign Japanese reliever Masahide Kobayashi. The price was right ($6 million for 2 years with a club option for a third). If it works, great. If it doesn't, we haven't lost much money.
• Indians pick up options for Byrd, Fultz, Borowski. Again, the price was right.
• Eric Wedge - manager of the year. Well-deserved
• Grady Sizemore wins Gold Glove. Good thing they don't parse the outfield awards by position. He's good, but Torii Hunter wins a centerfield GG.
• Mark Shapiro, Executive of the Year. Also well-deserved.
• Juan Lara injured in car accident. Extremely sad. How fast must that motorcycle have been going. Best wishes for recovery, Juan.
• Indians protect Adam Miller, Reid Santos, Wyatt Torregas, Scott Lewis and Tony Sipp from Rule 5 draft by placing them on 40-man roster. No surprises here.
• White Sox overpay reliever Scott Linebrink and trade Jon Garland for Orlando Cabrera. Seriously, how does Kenny Williams keep his job? These are awful moves. However, as long as the White Sox are under the delusion that they don't have to blow the team up and rebuild, they're likely to post 7o win seasons, and that's fine with me.
• Detroit Tigers send good young pitching to Atlanta for Edgar Renteria. Sure, this allows them to move Carlos Guillen to first base where he won't be hurting the team (or himself, for that matter) defensively, they're going to miss that good young pitching sooner than they think. Kenny Rogers might not be back and Zumaya is already out. I'm not saying the Tigers are old, but the new team motto is "Hey, you, get off our lawn!"
• A-Rod resigns with Yankees. Yawn.
• Lowell resigns with Red Sox. Yawn
• Francisco Cordero signs with Reds. Great, now they're poised to make a run at fourth in the NL Central. Who pitches the 6th, 7th and 8th?
• Kerry Wood resigns with Cubs. Yawn.
• Brewers sign Jason Kendall after trading Jonny Estrada for Guillermo Mota. Estrada must really have been awful for a team to be excited about putting Kendall behind the plate. He's a shadow of his former self. Good think he's back playing in AAAA ball.
• Phillies acquire Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett for Michael Bourne and a couple prospects. I'm hard pressed to see how this makes Houston any better. I think they could have got more for Lidge if they'd held out a little longer.

In other sports:

• Holy cow, the Browns are 7-4, and if their season ended today they'd make the playoffs. Someone check Hades for snow. I have to admit that I'm really surprised. The offensive line has gelled, Derek Anderson made the Great Leap Forward, and Jamal Lewis still has something left in the tank.
• In what alternate universe does Anderson Verajao make $10 million/year? Now he wants traded. Who would give him the money he seeks. Sorry, Sideshow Bob. At least he gets to sit out the season in Brazil.
• How 'bout them Blue Jackets? They might actually be playoff contenders this year. It's about time. If anyone had doubts that Ken Hitchcock is a miracle worker, this may put them to rest.

Do the 40-Man Shuffle!

In Indians transaction news -

• Options picked up for Byrd, Borowski and Fultz. These were all pretty much no-brainers. Borowski is cheap for a closer at $4 million, even if his saves induce stress. Fultz, at $1.5 million, can be jettisoned like Oldberto Hernandez if he tanks - it's a good bullpen depth option for the Tribe, especially if he reverts to his form at the beginning of last season, when he was actually pretty good. Byrd - well, despite the HGH stuff, a #4 pitcher at $7.5 million is a bargain for a team like the Tribe.
• So long Luis Rivas and Matt Miller. Miller was released. Rivas was outrighted to Buffalo. Rivas opted for free agency. Mike Koplove was outrighted to Buffalo as well and taken off the 40-man roster.
• The Trotster, K-Love and Chris Gomez have filed for free agency. It is highly unlikely the Tribe will offer arbitration to any of them.

So, all this leaves the 40-man roster at 34 players. Everyone is paring their rosters to prepare for the upcoming Rule 5 minor league draft.

According to Tony Lastoria, here are the guys who are currently eligible for the draft on December 6, 2007:

• Barton, Brian D
• Bunkelman, Cody R
• Burton, TJ J
• Butia, Mike W
• Buzachero, Bubbie D
• Camacaro, Armando J
• Cevette, Dan E
• Constanza, Jose G
• Cooper, Jason M
• Cumberbatch, Cirilo E
• De La Cruz, Christopher A
• Finegan, Brian J
• Gimenez, Chris P
• Goleski, Ryan S
• Haad, Yamid
• Harris, Jeffrey A
• Hoyman, Justin K
• Larkin, Shaun M
• Lewis, Scott E
• Miller, Adam W
• Mulhern, Ryan T
• Newsom, Randy
• Niesel, Christopher W
• Nottingham, Shawn M
• Panther, Nathan E
• Perdomo, Luis M
• Pesco, Nick J
• Pinckney, Brandon M
• Riera, Jorge
• Roehl, Scott D
• Romero, Niuman J
• Rundles, Richard L
• Santos, Reid G
• Sipp, Tony M
• Smith, Sean H
• Southerland, Chip F
• Tavarez, Argenis F
• Toregas, Wyatt R
• Valdes, Juan M
• Valdez, Luis C
• Wallace, David H
• Whitney, Matthew J

Protecting Adam Miller, Tony Sipp and Scott Lewis is pretty much a given. Most likely Brian Barton gets 40-man status as well. That leaves two spots up in the air for the likes of Sean Smith, Toregas, Cumberbatch and Santos. Some team might take a chance of Whitney - guys with power potential don't grow on trees, but most likely his injury history will scare most teams off. Goleski is pretty much blocked, and I don't think the Indians would mind if another team took him off their hands. Another team might also take a chance on a career minor leaguer like Jason Cooper for outfield depth. Overall, it is highly unlikely that the Indians will lose someone that they are seriously counting on for the future in this year's draft.

Now What?

I've taken a few days to get the season out of my system. I've moved past denial into acceptance, and I'm ready for Hot Stove.

Here are the issues that the Tribe needs to face during the offseason, as I see them, in no particular order:

• Pronk's Mojo - Pronk's Mojo must be found. First priority. It's out there, people - keep looking!
• Who's on Third? - Andy Marte is out of options. It's time to fish or cut bait with Andy Marte. If Andy Marte can be a right handed power bat in the bottom of this order, that would be huge for the Tribe. That also frees Casey Blake to be Super Utility Grizzly(SUG), a role for which he is ideally suited.
• Whither CC? - I suspect that negotiations on an extension for CC have already started. The only way CC is not on this roster at the end of the 2008 season is if the Indians are 20 games out at the All-Star break. I don't see that happening. I think 2007 has only made this team hungrier for 2008 and the Tribe's best shot to win it all is with CC on the mound, despite his poor post-season performances. CC appears to be one who is very capable of learning and growing from his mistakes. Chalk up the 2007 postseason for CC as a learning experience.
• How Do You Solve a Problem Like the Byrdman? - Three weeks ago, picking up Paul Byrd's option was a drop dead no-brainer. At $8 million for a veteran #4 starter, Byrd is cheap in today's baseball economy. Then came the HGH controversy. Without getting into any conspiracy theories about the allegation's timing, it is fortuitous for the Indians that this came out before the Tribe was required to notify Byrd whether they were going to pick up his option, as the team can fully assess the ramifications before saying "yes." I think they pick up his option and slot him at #4. The free agent market for pitching is pretty thin, and Byrd's clubhouse presence cannot be ignored.
• Who's the #5 Starter? - It's going to be a fun battle this spring to see who is the number 5 guy. Aaron Laffey is a left-handed ground ball specialist. Can lefty Cliff Lee get his pitching and attitude together and flash back to 2004 form? Is "Atom" Miller ready? Was Jeremy Sowers a flash in the pan with his Jamie Moyer like junkballing? Do you trade one or any of these guys for offseason help? If Adam Miller is ready, then I think you have to add his power arm to this rotation, with Aaron Laffey as a swing guy out of the pen. Is there a team out there who would be willing to take a chance on Cliff Lee in return for a prospect or two? I think Shapiro has to explore that option in the offseason. I think we've seen the last of Lee in Tribewear.
• Who Closes? - Gotta be Joe Knows Closing. His option is cheap, and unless Shapiro does something radical like bring in Mariano Rivera, we're in for more tightrope walking in the 9th next season. Senor Slow will continue to be the high leverage guy in the late innings.
• Crowded House in the Outfield - No, not the Finn boys from Kiwi land, but the logjam of bodies in the outfield. We know K-Love will be gone. Gutierrez appears to have solved the right field problem, so that pretty much leaves Jason Michaels, David Dellucci, Ben Francisco and Shin Soo Choo fighting it out for playing time in left field. Can the platoon of Michaels and Dellucci perform next year as advertised? Choo is out of options. Neither one has anything left to prove at AAA. Do we see them carry 5 outfielders, with Choo/Gutierrez platooning in right and Dellucci/Michaels platooning in left. If so, then it limits the team as to bench help in the infield. Look for Shapiro to try to move either Francisco or Choo in the offseason, perhaps packaged with a pitcher (Lee or Sowers?), either for prospects or a talented corner outfield bat.
• How Do You Solve a Problem Like Josh Barfield? - The causes for the complete nosedive of Josh Barfield in 2007 are totally mysterious. Sophomore slump? League change? Did he lose some lucky object in his move to Cleveland? Is he under some kind of voodoo curse? At any rate, it looks like he and Cabrera will go into Spring Training fighting it out for the second base job, and it looks every bit like this is Cabrera's job to lose. Barfield probably starts the year at Buffalo to see if he can find anything resembling plate discipline. After this horrendous season, his trade value is at an all-time low, so he's not going anywhere.
• Retire the Chief - It's time. In fact, it's way past time. As someone with a very small percentage of Native ancestry, I understand why it's offensive, and as a fan, it bothers me that people cannot root for my team because they find its symbol offensive. It's one thing to root against a team because you find the players (Albert Belle anyone?) or the city not to your liking. It's another when the mascot mocks and trivializes your ancestry and heritage. We could also change the name while we're at it so we don't have any more idiots showing up at the park in headdresses with their faces painted red. Man, that was embarrassing. Symbols matter. Get a fresh start, Tribe. Put Chief Wahoo in the rear view mirror.
• Trades? - This team really doesn't have to do much in the offseason trade market. A power hitting corner outfielder for left field would be nice. Additional bullpen help is always a good idea if the price is right, as building a bullpen is a crapshoot every year (see Cabrera, Fernando or the 2006 Indians). If the past is any guideline, whatever Shapiro does will probably be something we don't see coming.

Time to Go Home

This picture pretty much illustrates how things went for the Indians last night. As you can clearly see, Lofton's hand is on the bag while Dustin Pedroia, with the ball, is actually tagging second base. His eventual tag of Lofton was high, up on Lofton's shoulder, but that didn't stop umpire Brian Gorman, who is clearly in position to make the call, from calling Lofton out.

This was a close series, and in the last three games with their backs to the wall, the Red Sox made more breaks for themselves, got all the close calls and non calls, and took advantage of them. When the Red Sox made mistakes, the Indians failed to capitalize. The Red Sox outpitched the Indians, the Red Sox outhit the Indians, the Red Sox outfielded the Indians, and Major League Baseball out-umpired the Indians.

So, just about everybody's happy. The Magical Mystery Tour of Red Sox Nation keeps chugging along, Fox is going to get high ratings and make a ton of money with a major eastern market squad in the World Series, the Eastern SPorts Network can keep shoving Red Sox Nation down our throats to the exclusion of everything else and Bud Selig and all his Major League Baseball cronies can pretend that everything is hunky dory with the game. If MLB has to run over the Cleveland Indians and their fans to make it all work out for their darlings, well, that's just collaterel damage.

When money is no object, you can buy a team like the Red Sox. They have the best big-game pitcher in the game (Beckett) because they could afford him and Florida could not. They have a future Hall of Famer, and one of the best hitters in major league baseball (Ramirez) because they could afford him and Cleveland could not. They have a core of battle tested players who came up big in the clutch where Cleveland's young squad did not.

The Red Sox proved that they are a better, more opportunistic, more composed team than the Indians, who spent the season being better, more opportunistic, and more composed than every other team they played. I wish I could believe that they beat the Indians fair and square, but I can't even believe that right now given the sorry-ass umpiring in this series. Maybe, after the pain wears off and I am able to be rational again, I'll put the conspiracy theories aside. But that doesn't mean that I have to like them or their fans.

Manny Ramirez is a showboating egomaniac, and has always been one, even when he played for the Indians. Red Sox Nation, now that they finally won their World Series and broke the curse of Babe Ruth, is full of bandwagon fans and now carries the same attitude of entitlement that makes Yankees fans unbearable. Dustin Pedroia (or as RSN likes to call him PedROYa) is a cocky punk. Matsuzaka? $103 million. What else is there to say?

Oh yeah, there is one more thing to say: Go Rockies!

Bitter and Nervous

I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to respond to last night's Game 6. I thought about taking the high road and congratulating the Red Sox for coming up clutch , but I decided against it. I've decided to be bitter.

The game was decided in the worst possible way - by the home plate umpire, who seemed bound and determined to do everything that he possibly could to make sure that this series goes to 7 games by squeezing Fausto Carmona at the plate as if he were a tube of toothpaste, and not returning the favor against Curt Schilling.

Dana DeMuth. Remember the name, Tribe fans, because he is the one who took the Indians out of this game. Once his pathetic skullduggery at the plate ensured that the inning kept going and going and going until the Red Sox scored, the game was pretty much over. Carmona not only threw a lot of pitches, but nobody in the park knew what the hell the strike zone was, By the time Carmona left in the third inning, he was pretty well toast. And Rafael Perez couldn't figure out DeMuth's cryptic strike zone either, and he got pummeled.

But it all comes down to the man behind the plate screwing the Indians. Royally. Relentlessly. Until they were hopelessly out of the game, at which point he started calling strikes for Aaron Laffey, probably because he was tired.

Of course, DeMuth was not alone. His counterpart in right field jobbed the Indians out of a home run in the first inning down the right field line.

Tom Hamilton , the Indians' radio play-by-play guy, who is normally a reliable, even-tempreed and even-handed game reporter, was completely mystified by the way Carmona was getting jobbed. If we had been playing a drinking game, and one was required to drink whenever Hamilton said "I don't know where that pitch was," one would have been totally blotto by the the third inning.

Yes, I know that Travis Hafner isn't hitting. For that matter the rest of the Indians' hitters pretty much picked a sucky time to slump together. But the Indians had little chance to recover from Dana DeMuth's handiwork, and if they had, there's no telling what DeMuth and this sad, sad umpring crew would have done to turn the game in Boston's favor again to ensure a seventh game.

Fox should be happy. ESPN should be happy because their darling Sawx have taken it to 7, so they can hammer us with Boston mystique and grit for another day. MLB is probably happy because now we have a game 7 and increased ratings and drama.

If I thought the Indians lost a fair game, it would be one thing. But right now, I feel like my team has been screwed by The Man. And it hurts like hell. And I'm pissed off that there is a Game 7 and nervous as hell, primarily because I am a Cleveland fan, and crushing defeat on the biggest stages (well, and the smallest one, too ) has been all I've ever known.

Seriously, if this is the best umpiring crew that Major League Baseball can run out there, we might as well put electronic sensors on the foul lines, and hook up voice recognition software to the Questec and fire every damned umpire. If these are the best, the rest must be awful beyond imagining.

Not Our Night

Clues it wasn't the Indians' night:

• Josh Beckett was dealing.
• CC Sabathia was getting ahead and then nibbling.
• The bottom of the Sawx lineup showed up.
• Grady Sizemore made an unchargeable error in the field.
• Rafael Perez looked awful for the second straight appearance against the Sawx.
• Tom Mastny, as seems to be the case most times when he pitches with the bases loaded, threw one to the backstop. It was charged as a passed ball, but still...
• Pronk hit into a double play to let Beckett off the hook in the first inning.

Other observations:

• If the run that Manny drove in after only getting to first base while admiring his shot (which replays showed was not a home run) had been the last run the Sawx scored, and the Indians had come back to win this game, Manny would be Goat #1 in Boston. As it was, it was just Manny being Manny and he'll get off the hook again.
• I'm not sure who to side with in the Lofton-Beckett thing. They both acted like spoiled punks.
• Pronk needs you, badly. He has looked completely overmatched in the last two games. Pronk's Mojo has gone AWOL at a very bad time. Send him your positive thoughts, and keep looking for his Mojo. It's not too late.
• It will indeed be sweet if the Indians celebrate a World Series berth in Fenway Park.
• I'm not sure I trust Fox' pitch tracking thing, but they sure seemed to use it on the rare occasions that Beckett got a ball that looked close but never when he got a strike that sure looked like a ball. I'm just sayin'.
• CC should never have gone back out after he escaped the sixth inning. Either Lewis or Mastny should have started the 7th. Mastny seems to be a better pitcher when he starts an inning.
• What is that thing around Beckett's neck? As much of a big deal as people have made about Cabrera's necklace, it looks like Beckett is wearing a noose around his neck.

Schilling v Carmona at Fenway Park on Saturday. I have to believe that Carmona won't pitch two bad games in a row, especially now that he's pitched at Fenway once.

What the People Want to Know

I figured when the playoffs started that I would get a surge of hits on this blog, primarily because it focuses on the Indians and casual fans would want to know a little about what the buzz was about the team.

What I did not count on was the fact that what people really want to know about the Cleveland Indians is what Asdrubal Cabrera is wearing around his neck.

Of the hundreds of extra hits I have had on this blog, over 90% are coming by way of Google to a short blurb I rattled off citing the Plain Dealer called "The Truth About Asdrubal Cabrera's Necklace"

People do not want to know about Asdrubal Cabrera's clutch hitting and slick fielding. They want to know about the beads (not pearls, beads) he wears around his neck that his wife made him for good luck.

So this is what I say. The time has come, people for Indians fans to rise up and say, all together, "Fear The Necklace."

That's right. Fear The Necklace. It represents luck united with skill. Shout it from the rooftops. Take your banners to Jacobs Field. Paint it over your doorposts. Fear The Necklace. It's the rally cry that Cleveland needs. Mistake By the Lake? No, we have The Necklace. The Drive? That's history - today, we have The Necklace. Red Right 88? No, Fear the Necklace.

Do you really think that Youk and Pedroia dropped that foul pop on their own accord. Sorry, crimestoppers - it was The Necklace. That liner off Wakefield's glove - The Necklace.

The Indians mid-season turning point? Say it with me - "The Necklace."

The people have spoken. Fear The Necklace.

All He Does is Throw Strikes

Thoughts on the ALCS Game 4:

• Who knew that Paul Byrd was such a big game pitcher? All he does is throw strike 1, then strike 2, and then make you swing at his pitch. It's Pitching 101, and the old guy can do it through the lineup twice. It's age and treachery overcoming youth and skill. He beat the Yankees, and for 5 innings, confounded the Red Sox. If the Indians had not batted for over a half hour in the bottom of the fifth, allowing Byrd to get cold, I wonder whether Byrd might not have been good for another two innings.
• The problem with knuckleball pitchers without another good pitch is that they are prone to hang that one knuckleball that gets clobbered. Tim Wakefield hung that one pitch, Casey Blake, Mountain Man, clobbered it, and then the wheels fell off for the Sawx in the bottom of the fifth. Manny Delcarmen didn't help much by giving up a three-run homer to Jhonny Peralta that pretty well sealed the deal.
• What difference does a stolen base make? I was surprised to see Lofton steal second base with the Tribe up 6-0, because typical baseball etiquette has been that if you are up by that much then stealing is showing the other team up. Lofton scored to make the game 7-0. When the Sawx got their back-to-back-to-back shots in the 6th, the difference between a four-run game and a three-run game meant the Tribe could keep Senor Slow in the game in the 9th because it was not a save situation.
• You just went back-to-back-to-back out of the yard, Manny Ramirez! Please admire your shot and showboat around the bases for your adoring fans! The fact that you're still down 4 runs should make no difference! You can argue that it's just Manny being Manny, but sometimes, Manny being Manny is actually Manny being a clueless egotistical jerk.
• I thought the Sawx defense was supposed to be better than the Tribe's. After both Youk and Pedroia managed to muff a foul pop by Asdrubal Cabrera that might have settled the team down in the fifth, Wakefield then muffed one up the box. If they make either of those plays on Cabrera, the game is different. And Youk made a bad error (one he got charged with) on an attempted pickoff play that was lucky not to have hurt the Sawx in the 6th. So far, the Indians and Sawx have only been charged with 1 error.
• What's that giant sucking sound I hear? No, Ross Perot, it's not NAFTA sucking American jobs south of the border - it's the bottom of the Sawx lineup. Once you get past Lowell, it's pretty much automatic outs until you get back around to Youkilis.
• In the battle of personal catchers, Shoppach went 1 for 3, plus getting hit by a pitch and scoring a run in the pivotal fifth inning. Mirabelli went 0 for 2 and was pulled for Varitek as soon as possible after Wakefield was lifted.
• Pronk got the golden sombrero, striking out 4 times in 4 at bats. Mercifully, Cabrera ended the 8th inning by grounding into a fielder's choice before Pronk could take the mucho gigante golden sombrero in his 5th at bat. Pronk seemed overmatched by the knuckleball. He's hitting .200 for the series, with an OPS of .694. And the Indians are up 3 games to 1.
• Gho Jhonny Gho! Ihf thhe Ihndians whin thhis sheries, Jhonny ihs clhearly the AhLCS MhVP. Jhonny's OhPS - 1.h213.
• The Tribe's postseason veterans have been getting it done. Lofton - key homer in Game 3. Trot - game winning hit in Game 2. Byrd - winning pitcher Game 4. Joe Knows Closing - Save Game 3, Finished Game 2. Sabathia - well, we'll give him a pass until tomorrow.
• Which CC shows up tomorrow? Big Game CC of 2007, calmly throwing strikes and unruffled by bad umpiring or facing Johan Santana, or Postseason CC, who is a mess of flop sweat because he can't throw a strike. If CC shows command of the strike zone and command of himself tomorrow, I think the Red Sox go home for good. Even so, I like the pitching matchups for Game 6 and 7 in Boston in case the Indians can't finish it up at home.
• Dane Cook Must Go.

Ken-ny! Ken-ny! Ken-ny!

If you grew up watching Superhost on Channel 43 in Cleveland, or Mystery Science Theatre 3000, then you probably remember the Gamera movies. Gamera was a giant turtle who primarily wanted to be left alone, but occasionally, Gamera was called out of the deeps to save Japan from a mutant monster from outer space and befriend a young boy who is always named Kenny, who helps him to save the day.

The monster threatening Cleveland was Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox paid $51.1 million just to negotiate with him and another $52 million to sign him to a 6-year deal before the season to bring his unhittable gyro ball to Beantown.

In the role of Gamera - Jake Westbrook, sinkerballer who was pummeled his last start against the Yankees. (Note - Indians entire 2007 payroll - around $70 million, up from $61 million before the season started based on the extensions given Pronk and Westbrook).

In the top of Inning 2, it looked like Gamera was in trouble. The evil monsters had loaded the bases with 1 out. But look - it's a pop up! Look! A double play ball! Threat ended!

In the bottom of Inning 2, it was Kenny to the rescue. Kenny Lofton, trusty sidekick, link to the great teams of the '90s, ageless wonder, in his third stint with the Tribe, in his first at bat of the game, with the crowd chanting "Ken-ny! Ken-ny! Ken-ny!" saved the day by socking a two-run home run to right field to put the Tribe up 2-0. The Indians added 2 more in the 5th on a single by Asdrubal Cabrera and an RBI groundout by Pronk to knock Dice-K out of the game.

Westbrook went 6.2 innings and induced three double plays. The only blemish was a two-run homer in the 7th given up to Jason Veritek. The Tribe bullpen locked the game down, with Jensen Lewis rescuing Westbrook in the 7th, Senor Slow getting Youk, Big Papi and Manny 1-2-3 in the 8th and Joe Knows Closing pitching a 1-2-3 ninth.

Maybe I've stretched the metaphor just a little bit with the Gamera thing with Dice-K as a monster threatening Cleveland. To hear the hype, you'd think he was the most important Japanese import since the Honda Accord. At any rate, the Indians beat a pitcher that the Red Sox paid 73% of the Indians 2007 payroll just to negotiate with in the offseason.

Westbrook, on the other hand, has received virtually no respect from the media or fans outside Cleveland, primarily because he's not a flashy strikeout pitcher, and because he's been battling injuries this season. His 6 wins on the season were not impressive. However, between 2004 and 2006, only Johan Santana, Kenny Rogers, and Jon Garland had more victories in the American League than Westbrook's 44.

Other notes about the game:

• The strike zone was wildly erratic, varying wildly from batter to batter. By the end of the game, it was anybody's guess what a strike was and players on both sides were swinging at balls well off the plate. This guy graded out as one of the 12 best umpires MLB could offer us in the postseason?
• Trot Nixon started. He went 0-3 with a strikeout. He was replaced by Gutierrez for defensive purposes. Chances are, this is the last we see of Trot Nixon for awhile.
• Uber-rookie Dustin Pedroia is batting .167 on the series with an OPS of .398. Asdrubal Cabrera is batting .333 with an OPS of .690.
• As much as I dislike the Fox guys, they are still better than the TBS crew.
• Westbrook got 15 of 20 outs via ground balls.
• Ryan Garko made a heck of a stretch on the double play in the second. Who knew the big guy was so flexible?

Tonight, weather permitting: Byrd vs Wakefield, or perhaps Beckett. Francona says that it's going to be Wakefield. Red Sox Nation is crying out for Beckett to start on short rest with the Sawx down 2-1. Tune in around 8:17 Eastern and find out who gets the ball.

Tied

Some reasons to love postseason:

• If anyone had told me before the series started that CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona would both pitch like crap and that the Indians and Sawx would still go back to Cleveland tied 1-1, I would have asked for a swig of whatever they were drinking.
• Unlikely postseason hero #1 - Tom Mastny. If the Indians win this series, Tom Mastny's 1-2-3 inning against Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell, will likely have been the turning point. On paper, this should have been disaster. Once the Sawx had to bring in Eric (L'Homme Brulant) Gagne, the game was over. The fact that the Indians torched the last guys out of the Sawx bullpen has to be giving them concern in the Back Bay.
• Unlikely postseason hero #2 - Christopher Trotman Nixon. After pinchrunning for Pronk in the 8th, Wedge needed another DH in the 11th, and in came Trot Nixon, in his old home park, with the go-ahead run on second base. And he stayed in the game after the Sawx brought in a lefthander to face him. And then, he calmly stroked a single to centerfield where Coco Crisp proceeded to throw weakly to the cutoff man, requiring the cutoff man to make a perfect throw to get Grady Sizemore at the plate. The throw was not perfect. Even though Sizemore got a bad read on the ball and a late jump, he still beat the throw. Anyone in Cleveland still missing Coco?
• Wasn't Curt Schilling supposed to be The Super Clutch Pitching God with postseason experience who was going to see the Sawx through against the raw rookie Carmona, who was going to crack under the pressure?
• Think the Sawx would like to have Kason Gabbard back?
• Come back, Rafael Perez. We need you.
• Franklin Gutierrez is no longer afraid of the Green Monster.

I don't have anything to say about Game 1 or the first part of Game 2 for the simple reason that I didn't see any of it. Longstanding personal commitments, including singing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Columbus Symphony Chorus and a house full of classmates back in town for our 20th college reunion, kept me from seeing any of that baseball.

The Indians go home having taken the home field advantage from the Sawx. I would be surprised if the series does not go back to Boston for a Game Six, but it is nice to know that a return to Boston is not necessarily foreordained if the Indians can take care of business. I still think it goes seven, but last night's game will at least put a little hitch in the giddyup of the Red Sox Express.

If you're not reading Ryan Garko's postseason blog, you're missing out.

Next up - Westbrook v Matsuzaka at the Jake. Let the sinkers sink and let the gyros gyro!

A Souvenir for Your Yankee Loving Friends

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=7&id=875442003

According to this article above in The Scotsman, Rachael Harris, a sculptor from Orkney, has found a way to encase midges in amber resin. I could not find where she is selling them online, but I will keep looking. Next time you're in Orkney, buy a few and give them to your Yankee fan friends to comemmorate the Day of the Midges.

The following links to pictures of midges in amber, but has no relation to Rachael Harris that I could see.

http://www.3dham.com/microgallery/amber.html

Priceless

A friend of mine e-mailed this to me at work. I wish I knew who did it so I could give it proper attribution.

ALCS Preview - Indians vs. Red Sox

It's even. Flip a coin.

Both teams tied for the best record in baseball. Both teams have great starting pitching and solid bullpens. Both teams can score runs and have solid hitters 1 through 9. The differences between these two teams statistically are not that significant.

The only significant advantage that Boston has over the Indians is home field advantage, and they only have that because we threw Sowers and Lee at them to use as pinatas during the season.

How can you not love a Game 1 matchup of Sabathia vs. Beckett? Or a Game 2 matchup of Carmona vs. Schilling?

This should be tense, exciting baseball, and I will be very surprised if either team is able to wrap this up before a Game 7.

At this point, most sportswriters would toss out a bunch of cliches about the team that executes the best will probably win, or give the edge to Boston because they're at home, and will probably be throwing their ace 3 times. Maybe they'd offer a position by position breakdown and assign an edge based on whether Garko or Youkilis is the better first baseman. That's all well and good, but it really doesn't tell us that much.

My take -- the teams are so evenly matched that the team with the most breaks is going to win. The team that gets a surpise homer to wrap around the Pesky Pole. The team whose pitcher gets a ball to stay in Fenway Park because it hits high off the Green Monster and then manages to strand the runner at second. The team whose pitchers get the umpires who call the strike zone more favorable to the way they pitch. The team that bloops one in between three fielders in short right center field. More importantly, there is no way to tell who that team is going to be going in.

The baseball gods are notoriously fickle. If there were a greater disparity of talent, it would be easy to give one team an edge based on talent alone. There isn't. I can't guess which team will be getting those lucky breaks. I hope it's the Indians, but I think that it will make for some of the most compelling baseball we've seen in the postseason since 2004.

Start Spreading the News...

They're leaving today. The Yankees (aka, the Forces of Evil and Darkness in the Baseball Universe - FEDBU) will scatter today, packing their gear and traveling to various parts of the globe where they can spend their offseason counting their cash and pondering how they managed to lose in the ALDS to an allegedly inferior team.

Because, really, everybody knows that they didn't lose to a superior team. The Yankees never lose to a superior team - they just find new ways to beat themselves. Just ask Johnny Damon:

"We got beat in the four games played," Damon said. "Overall, are they the better team? I don't know." Now that's losing with class.

Nevermind that they had their "ace" going against the Indians fourth starter, and their ace left down 2-0 with the bases loaded in the second inning. Chien-Ming Wang, 19-game winner, lost two games in the series.

Nevermind that the Indians outpitched the Yankees best pitchers and outhit the Yankees best hitters in clutch situations.

Nevermind that Captain Clutch, Derek Jeter, in 17 AB, actually hit into so many double plays that he was responsible for 17 outs. He was 3/17 for the series (.176) and hit into 3 douple plays.

Nevermind that Alex Rodriguez, who will be the AL MVP, perhaps unanimously, hit .267 for the series, with 6 strikeouts in 4 games.

Nevermind that their Greatest.Pitcher.Ever (and headhunting punk extraordinaire), never made it out of the third inning in his start. It is worth noting here that Clemens made $19.5 million this year and pitched, including the playoffs, 101.1 innings, for a total cost of $192,497 per inning, or $64,165 per out.

Nevermind that the Indians payroll of $61 million for this year is less than one-third of the Yankees payroll.

Nevermind that the Indians had two players (Lofton, Nixon) on their postseason roster with World Series experiece and three others (Sabathia, Borowski, Byrd) with postseason experience, while the Yankees have been in the postseason each of the past 13 years.

Nevermind that everyone knows that the Indians couldn't possibly win anything with Joe Knows Closing taking the hill in the 9th inning of a close game, especially after he blew a game in Yankees Stadium in early April, 6 months ago.

The Yankees and their fans will always be convinced that the better team did not win and that the Yankees beat themselves instead of losing to a superior team. That's okay. That is what makes them Yankees and Yankee fans.

The Indians, on the other hand, will also be leaving. They're going to Boston to start the American League Championship Series.

And all the Yankees have to show for their season is a boatload of money, a manager that may be fired because he could not beat a team with a payroll 1/3 of his team's -- despite taking his team into postseason for a 13th straight year, a pitching staff that is old and in disarray, the possible loss of the best hitter in baseball, and the decision on whether to exercise expensive options on overpaid players. The Bronx Zoo, indeed.

Start spreading the news. They're leaving today.

The Trot Giveth, and the Trot Taketh Away

Game 3 of the Indians-Forces of Evil and Darkness in the Baseball Universe (FEDBU) series is in the books, and the Indians now lead their ALDS series 2 games to 1 after last night's 8-4 FEDBU victory.

Roger Clemens, headhunting punk and future Hall of Famer in the event he ever stays retired, looked like a 45-year-old guy with a bad hammy. Roger was gone two batters into the third inning, with what most likely will be his last major league pitch striking out Victor Martinez. Clemens left on the hook for a 2-0 deficit, including a solo home run to surprise starter Trot Nixon, which was expanded to 3-0 when Jhonny Peralta dhoubled in Travis Hafner, who walked off Clemens to lead off the inning. That was the last really good thing to happen for the Tribe. Philip Hughes relieved Clemens, and after giving up the double to Peralta, pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief and kept the FEDBU in the game long enough to get to Westbrook.

Jake Westbrook looked like Jake Westbrook. He got a lot of ground balls, some of which went through and some of which ended up starting double plays. He was leading 3-1 when the roof caved in in the 5th. Peralta misplayed a grounder to the hole into an infield single by A-Rod. Westbrook, who suddenly was not being given the low strike by home plate umpire Ron Kulpa, elevated sinkers to Matsui, Cano and Cabrera, which led to a run scoring and two men on for Johnny Damon. He then elevated a sinker to Damon, who deposited it in the right field stands to give the FEDBU a 5-3 lead.

The FEDBU expanded the lead to 8-3 the following inning off Westbrook and Aaron Fultz, helped out by Trot Nixon allowing a Robinson Cano bases loaded single to skip beneath his glove, clearing the bases. Since the game was pretty much out of reach anyway, Trot was allowed to bat in the 8th inning, and got an RBI double to the gap in left to drive in the Indians last run off uber-phenom Joba "Walks on Water" Chamberlain. Chamberlain seemed human in the 8th, as the Indians managed to get 3 straight hits.

Jensen Lewis struck out the side in the 7th. Joe Knows Closing pitched a scoreless 8th to get some work in and Mariano Rivera slammed the door on the Tribe in the 9th.

So, we now go to Game 4 tonight. The FEDBU will start Wang on 3 days rest, while the Indians will go with Paul Byrd. Both pitchers will have a short leash, and the FEDBU have shot most of their better bullpen bullets by using Hughes and Chamberlain for extended appearances in Game 3 while Betancourt and Perez stayed on the Indians' bench. If Wang performs poorly, Mike Mussina will be available for long relief. Aaron Laffey, a left-handed sinkerballer, will likely be the Indians long guy out if Byrd runs into trouble.

So why did Wedgie start the Trotster? He has an outstanding batting record against Clemens, and his intuition paid off initially. However, Wedge's failure to lift Trot for defensice purposes once Clemens left the game probably cost the team. If Gutierrez is in right field, the FEDBU likely score only one run on Cano's single, and the Indians turn two on Cabrera's ensuing grounder to third. It's still 6-3, but the late innings become much more interesting, with the Tribe bringing the potential go ahead run to the plate in the 8th off Joba "I am the Walrus" Chamberlain.

The good news is that the Indians are still up 2-1, and the FEDBU have to win 2 games while the Indians have to win 1. Is a FEDBU comeback possible? Of course - nearly anything is possible. Is it probable? The odds say no.

Travis Hafner is Lord of the Flies

A pest in baseball is typically one of those annoying players like David Eckstein who seems to bother the opposition. Yesterday, the pests were really pests - midges swarming Jacobs Field in the 8th inning. Forces of Evil and Darkness in the Baseball Universe (FEDBU) uber-phenom Joba Chamberlain got rattled and uncorked two wild pitches - the first of which put the tying run in scoring position, and the second of which scored the tying run from third- and the Indians came from behind to beat the FEDBU 2-1 in 11 innings.

The Indians had many opportunities to put the Yankees away - they were ultimately 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position, but could not do wo until the 11th inning, when Pronk (remember him?) laced a bases-loaded full-count two-out single to right centerfield to score Kenny Lofton with the winning run. They left 14 runners on base. The other hit with RISP was a single by Kenny Lofton in the second, on which Jhonny Peralta was thrown out trying to score from second. It is worth noting that the stas had aligned earlier in the inning to allow Peralta (Slowest.Shortstop.Ever) to steal second off Andy (Best.Balk.Move.That.Never.Gets.Called.Ever) Pettite, and that to expect him to score on a single to shallow center was probably pressing their luck a bit too far. Pettite also threw out Lofton trying to steal third base to end the fifth inning.

It is worth noting that although the FEDBU appeared noticeably disconcerted by the midges, the Indians did not. Fausto Carmona appeared completely oblivious to the midges, and he was spectactular, going 9 complete innings, giving up only 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 5. Unfortunately, 1 of those hits was a home run by Melky Cabrera (yeah, go figure). He got 18 ground ball outs. His last pitch struck out Alex Rodriguez with the potential winning run on second base. Rafael Perez shut down the FEDBU in the 9th and 10th.

Other heroes for the Tribe include Kenny Lofton, who went 2 for 3 with 2 walks and scored the winning run, and Grady Sizemore, who scored the tying run, tripled, and beat out a high throw to first base after striking out in the 10th to help make Mariano Rivera sweat. Rivera required 38 pitches to make it through two innings of relief after the Indians loaded the bases off of him in the 10th. As a result, the FEDBU were forced to bring in Luis Vizcaino in the 11th, who gave up the winning run.

A few words about Thursday's game while we're here.

Batting practice, baby! 12-3 Tribe. With both pitchers being squeezed by a small strike zone, a more mature Sabathia was able to cope with it, while Chien-Ming Wang was not. After a tired Sabathia worked out of a bases loaded with one out situation in the fifth inning by blowing fastballs by Jorge Posada and getting Hideki Matsui to pop out in what was then a one-run game, a tired Wang allowed a two-run shot to Victor Martinez to make the game 6-3. Then the FEDBU bullpen came in and pitched batting practice, while Perez, Lewis and Betancourt shut the FEDBU down.

So, now the series goes to the Big Apple with the Indians up 2-nil. Sunday's game is Westbrook vs. Clemens, whom the FEDBU have been saving for the playoffs. We'll see if Clemens is still worth $4.5 million per month after not pitching since September 16.

FEDBU fans will whine about how the game should have been stopped because of the midges. Let them. Both teams had to play through the bugs and umpire crew chief Bruce Froemming said after the game that he had no intention of calling the game. Mickey Mantle would have played through the bugs. Joe DiMaggio would have played through the bugs. Yogi Berra would have played through the bugs. Fausto Carmona wasn't bothered by the bugs at all. Man up, FEDBU fans. If you would have played better during the season, you would have won your division and this game would have been in your house. Get over yourselves.

AL Central Division Champs

The Cleveland Indians clinched their 7th American League Central Division Championship in 13 years with a 6-2 victory over the Oakland A's in front of a sellout crowd at Jacobs Field. Jake Westbrook went 7 strong innings and Senor Slow closed out the game. Oh - the Indians currently have the best record in baseball. Not the Red Sox. Not the Yankees. Not the Angels. The Cleveland Indians. I point out this last fact for those of you who depend primarily on ESPN for your sports news.

Some more pictures from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Three Is a Magic Number

"Three is a Magic Number" - Schoolhouse Rock

Three is now the magic number for the Cleveland Indians to clinch the American League Central Division after yesterday afternoon's victory over the Motor City Kitties.

After spotting the Kitties a 2-run lead in the top of the third inning, the Indians came back off Goggle Boy Nate Robertson with a solo home run by Casey Blake in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Indians took the lead in the 5th with three runs. Key hits were back to back doubles by Gutierrez and Michaels and an RBI single by the Beaded One, Asdrubal Cabrera.

CC Sabathia went 7 strong innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs, striking out 7 and walking only 1, turning in another ace-like performance. CC Sabathia knows how to Beat Michigan. Senor Slow came in and pitched an uncharacteritically tense 8th inning, loading the bases before getting Marcus Thames to fly out to end the rally. Joe Knows Closing pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to send the fans out to get an early start on celebrating happy hour. Jason Michaels got served Leadership Pie.

The Tribe now has the opportunity to clinch at home this weekend without anyone's help by sweeping the Oakland Athletics.

A few words about the Tigers. It strikes me that their window is closing while the Indians' is opening. The Tigers took a risk by signing expensive free agents that priced themselves too high for anyone else (Rodriguez and Ordonez), and it paid off last year. Everything went right for the Tigers last year - their young pitching matured all at once, and all their overpriced veterans stayed healthy and produced.

The problem with depending on overpriced veteran free agents, especially older and/or injury-prone ones is that eventually they do experience a drop in production, and they may not stay healthy. This year, unlike last year, their overpriced veterans did not stay healthy (Kenny Rogers, Gary Sheffield).

Their young pitching also got hurt or was not nearly as effective (Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney both spent significant time on the DL, Jeremy Bonderman spent the last couple months in a funk before being shut down, Nate Robertson was ineffective most of the season, Mike Maroth is now a Cardinal).

Kenny Rogers is finally showing his age, leaving a void at the top of their rotation. Andrew Miller wasn't ready this year - he might be next year. How badly is Bonderman hurt? Was their pitching staff a victim of overuse last year? The Tigers will probably come to regret giving up top pitching prospects for Gary Sheffield, especially if Sheffield continues to miss games at the rate he did this year while their prospects go on to shine for the Yankees.

Pudge Rodriguez is a shell of his former self, both offensively and defensively. Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames had career years last year, and both came crashing to earth, Monroe crashing so hard that he was dealt to the Cubs.

The Tigers have a solid core in Granderson, Verlander, Ordonez and Bonderman. However, they have a lot of questions - is all the hype on Andrew Miller legitimate? Can they find a shortstop that will give them enough offense to allow them to move Carlos Guillen to first base to keep him healthy? Can Ordonez continue to avoid injuries? What do they do with Pudge now that he's lost it? How long can they keep riding Todd Jones at closer, and is Zumaya really ready to close? Can they put together a decent enough bullpen to get games to Rodney/Zumaya/Jones?

It will be a critical off-season for the Motor City Kitties that determines how well they continue to stay in contention.

The Truth About Asdrubal Cabrera's Necklace

From the Plain Dealer:

"Clubhouse confidential: No, that's not a pearl necklace that second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera wears. It's a necklace of beads that his wife, Lismar, made for him."

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1188390648188850.xml&coll=2

Now you know, as Paul Harvey might say, the rest of the story.

Chicks Dig the Long Ball - Magic Number Now 5

Jake Westbrook walked a tightrope for 5 innings, Jensen Lewis shut the Motor City Kitties down for the 3 more to secure his first major league win, and the Indians beat the Tigers 7-4 behind 4 home runs by 4 different players off Tigers ace Justin Verlander.

The homers:

• Inning 2 - Ryan Garko (solo) - tied game at 1
• Inning 3 - Pronk (3-run) - tied game at 4
• Inning 6 - Victor Martinez (solo) - gave Indians 5-4 lead
• Inning 6 - Franklin Gutierrez (2-run) - gave Indians 7-4 lead

Three of the four home runs (Garko, Pronk, Gutierrez) were measured at over 400 feet. They were, indeed Mighty Clouts.

The Tigers stranded 10 runners and had several opportunities to put the game away in the first five innings against Westbrook, but were unable to get the big hit, and the Indians came back with a mighty clout in the bottom of every inning that the Tigers scored to keep the pressure on.

Jensen Lewis knows how to Beat Michigan, taming the Kitties by retiring 9 of the 10 batters he faced, with the only blemish an errant pitch that plunked Placidao Polanco. For his efforts, he was rewarded with Leadership Pie, and the Indians dropped their magic number to 5. Joe Knows Closing pitched a reasonably uneventful ninth for his league leading 41st save.

In another good sign, Jacobs Field was full, with over 5,400 walk-up tickets sold on Dollar Dog Night at the stadium.

The Indians have a chance to drop the magic number to 3 with a noon game. Sabathia vs. Robertson.

Mojo Watch -

Pronk:
Good timing for the Pronkmeister.

Tribe:
Still rollling with Full Elvis.

Tigers: Right now, the Motor City Kitties got no Elvis. They are Michael J Fox.

Reason to Hate the Babe Ruth Historical Museum

I saw the name Art Modell pop up in an article I was reading online and thought I'd do a websearch, just for the heck of it. Turns out one of the hits was to a page at the Babe Ruth Historical Museum. Every year they do a fundraiser honoring someone prominent in Maryland sports history. This year's honoree: Art Modell

http://www.baberuthmuseum.com/press/pr/index.html?article_id=21

For $125 ($110 for Babe Ruth Museum members) you can go to this black tie event on October 23 honoring the man who mismanaged a great franchise into the ground and ripped the heart, soul and guts out of Cleveland and Browns Nation.

This is the same guy who ran Cleveland Municipal Stadium, refusing to upgrade it, and gouging the Indians for years, refusing to let them have a share of the stadium suite revenue - truly, a man who has made mighty contributions to baseball. Here is what they will be doing for Mr. Modell, according to their press release:

The evening will include a special tribute to Art Modell (the list of dignitaries who will participate in the event will be announced soon), silent auction, carving stations/hors d'oeuvres and open premium bar. In recognition of Mr. Modell's numerous accomplishments, the Museum will unveil a specially designed plaque in his honor that will become a prominent piece of the Ravens' Gallery in Sports Legends Museum.

Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards is the home of the Official Raven's Team Store and has an extensive gallery dedicated to the Baltimore Ravens.

It would make me happy if some Browns fan in Baltimore were to stand silently outside the grounds with a picket sign dressed in Browns gear in silent protest.

Lucky Number 7

The Indians reduced their magic number for clinching the American League Central Division by beating the Tigers 6-5 in 11 innings on a walk-off home run by Casey Blake.

The Tigers led most of the way, as Kenny Rogers' Deal With Satan continued long enough to allow him to agetreacheryguile a 5-2 lead after 7. The Indians were clubbing the ball the last three innings Rogers pitched, but right at the Tigers' fielders. Paul Byrd, after being deserted by his defense in the 4th inning, allowed 5 runs (4 earned) and agetreacheryguiled his way through 7 -1/3 innings. Aaron Fultz pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam in the 7th.

That's when the fun began. The Tigers brought in Joel Zumaya, a hard thrower who has been known to hit 100 mph on the gun, to start the 8th. He walked the Sizemore, and Cabrera followed with a single. Hafner advanced the runners to second and third on a groundout. Martinez also grounded out, scoring Sizemore, bringing Jhonny Peralta to the plate as the tying run with two outs. Jhonny proceeded to zhoom one of the park, his second home run of the game, tying it at 5.

Joe Knows Closing came on in the 9th, and, of course, that always means excitement. This time, Sean Casey, pinch-hitting for Timo Perez, lined a one-out single up the middle. Cameron "Beanstalk" Maybin, pinch-running for Casey, stole secong base, giving Cabrera an elbow to the head while popping up on his slide and forcing Cabrera to drop the ball. The next batter, Marcus Thames, grounded to short. With the play directly in front of him, Beanstalk tried to take third anyway, and was cut down by a good throw by Peralta, as justice for his assault on Cabrera. Brandon Inge flied out, ending the threat.

Indians 9th - on comes Zach Miner. Indians get winning run to second base with one out. Sizemore flies out, Cabrera walks, Hafner grounds out. Bonus baseball ensues.

Detroit 1oth - on comes Rafael Betancourt (Senor Slow). Polanco doubles with one out. Sheffield Ks on a high fastball, nearly screwing himself into the ground. Ordonez flies out.

Indians 10th - Peralta walks with one out. Josh Barfield is paroled long enough to pinch run for our most productive hitter of the game. Inning ends on a strike-em-out, throw-em-out doublte play with Gutierrez striking out and Barfield, who got a horrible jump, getting thrown out at second.

Detroit 11th. Guillen flies out. Next two batters K'd by Senor Slow.

Indians 11th - Lofton grounds out. Blake launches one into the left field bleachers. Game over. Mass hysteria. Dogs and cats sleeping together. Casey Blake gets the Leadership Pie. Magic Number at 7.

Casey Blake and Jhonny Peralta Know How to Beat Michigan

Mojo Watch:

Cleveland Indians:
This team still has the Full Elvis going strong. Different hero every night. Looking like a Team o'Destiny.

Pronk:
Mojo Shrinking. Maybe Pronk lent his free-floating mojo to the University of Michigan so they could finally win a football game.

Brady Who?

Quarterback controversy? What quarterback controversy?

The Cleveland Browns played inspired football yesterday, at least on offense, and beat the Cincinnati Bengals 51-45, behind 5 touchdown passes from Derek Anderson and 215 yards rushing from Jamal Lewis. The offensive line looked like it had actually received an overhaul in the offseason and the defense made just enough key plays, including a nifty interception by Leigh Bodden with 21 seconds left the Bengals driving for a potential game-tying touchdown.

The Browns' playmakers - Kellen Winslow, Jr., Braylon Edwards, and Jamal Lewis, stepped up and made plays. Derek Anderson resembled an NFl quarterback, throwing confidently, getting rid of the ball quickly, and making the right read. The much-maligned offensive line, gave Anderson time to find the open receiver and opened some giant holes for Jamal Lewis, who showed some the same kind of open field speed that he did a couple years ago when he was all-everything in Baltimore.

So, what happened? I think two things happened. First, I think the Bengals came in thinking that all they had to do to win was show up. Given how bad the Browns have been, this is understandable. The Bengals defense played an inspired game on Monday night against the Forces of Evil and Darkness in the Football Universe (FEDFU), and all the press about how much they had improved apparently got to their head.

Second, I think the Browns came out inspired and determined that one week as a national laughing stock and the accompanying public humiliation was enough. To quote Twisted Sister, I think they decided "We're not gonna take it." And so they didn't. This team, unlike other Browns teams we've seen recently, actually appears to have some character and resiliency.

I have been telling people all off-season that, if the Browns are lucky, they will win 6 games, but they will be more competitive. I still think that. However, I'm more than willing to allow myself to watch this team prove people wrong. The Browns took a big step forward this week to becoming a winning team. However, it is important to keep this in perspective - their defense still got shredded, and they won playing in their own stadium with their manhood on the line against a division rival that was taking them lightly. After this performance, I guarantee that no other team will look on the Browns as the equivalent of a bye week again.

In addition, we may have seen the arrival of Derek Anderson as a pro quarterback. He may be just good enough for the Browns to actually give Brady Quinn the Full Carson Palmer Treatment, which I think is what management would really like to do. Derek Anderson slugged it out, toe to toe, with the guy who is pretty much acclaimed as the second-best quarterback in the NFL, and won the game.

It will be a pleasant few weeks in the office, giving "Who deys" to my co-worker Bengals fans, of which there are several.

Oh, and Chad Johnson did score that touchdown, and did jump into the Dawg Pound where Browns fans tried to pummel him and successfully poured beer on him and gave him the finger.

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9

I did not see the Indians play the Royals yesterday. My wife (a Steelers fan - what can I say?) and I went to a sports bar to watch football.

However, most accounts indicate that the Indians' fifth starter lost a relatively uninspired game to the Royals, 4-3. It would have been nice to sweep the series, but the Tribe will have to settle for winning the series instead.

The Indians' magic number remains 9, with the chance to knock it down in a hurry with a three-game series beginning against the Motor City Kitties tonight, who have won their last 5 after sweeping a series from the Twins, who appear pretty much to be phoning in the rest of the season. The Kitty Cats remain 2.5 games behind the Yankees for the Wild Card and 4.5 games behind the Indians in the AL Central.

It's Good to Be Back Home Again

When last we left our intrepid band of Wahoo Warriors, they were in the midst of a wicked 10-game road trip featuring stops in Minnesota, A Nameless Place in Southern California, and Chicago. They had just dropped the first game of a 4-game set in that Nameless Place in Southern California.

The good news is that, after dropping a tough game 2 of that series, the Indians went on to take the next two, including a Sunday night victory on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, to split the series.


After a 4:30 AM arrival in Chicago, the team managed to show some spunk, behind a 3-run 7th-inning rally to win a rain soaked 6-2 game that lasted well into Tuesday morning. After a 2-hour-plus rain delay, the Indians poured on two more runs while Chicago was phoning it in. Chicago phoned in the next game as well. With the off-day coming, Eric Wedge decided to rest key regulars to give them a two-day break. Unfortunately, the Indians were facing Javier Vazquez, who is pretty much the only consistent pitcher the Sox have left, and, with the Sox' Konerko given a gift home run that was clearly foul, as well as a poor relief performance from Cliff "Sleepy Kitten" Lee (see below), the Tribe managed to lost 7-4.







So, the grueling road trip is over, and the Indians went 7-3. This caps a stretch of 23 straight days with a game, during which the Indians went 16-7, and ended with a 5.5 game lead, and a magic number of 11. You know, this team might turn out to be pretty good after all, after all the hand-wringing we've been through this year.


After an off day for everyone, the Tribe last night managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat once again, coming from a 4-1 deficit against the Royals on a 2-run homer by Franklin Gutierrez in the 7th, a solo homer from Victor Martinez in the 8th, and a leadoff, walkoff solo shot by Casey Blake in the 9th against Tribe castoff David Riske. Joe Knows Closing got the victory for pitching a reasonably uneventful 9th. Last night's victory leaves the Tribe's magic number at 10.

Mojo Watch:

Pronk: It seemed like Pronk was about to turn it around. He hasn't, at least not to the extent we all have hoped. He still has managed to knock in 91 runs. However, his 21 homers is half of what he put up last year in 8 fewer games than he has already played this year.

Indians: The Indians continue to run on Full Elvis. They're winning the games they should win, and sometimes even winning the games they have no business winning. The magic number is 10.

Bill Belichick's New Media Guide Photo

In light of recent events, the Patriots have released a new photo of Head Coach Bill Belichick. It is now pretty clear why the coach has preferred hooded sweatshirts.

A spokesman for the NFL indicated that the new photo, while seeming to be appropriate, showed Belichick in an outfit not meeting NFL apparel guidelines, and that a fine would likely be forthcoming.

Special Browns Edition: Steelers 34 - Browns 7

I've been telling people for weeks that any optimism on behalf of Browns fan is misplaced. It's extremely disheartening to have been proven right in such a brutal fashion. Some thoughts.

• This team was beaten 2 minutes into the game after that sorry punt attempt. How does your team break down so completely that you draw four penalties on one play?
• I thought Jamal Lewis had a reputation as a guy who didn't fumble.
• Charlie Frye looked like he had a serious case of Tim Couch disease. Throw the ball away, Charlie. It is beginning to look like Charlie Frye will not ever be able to make decisions quickly enough to be a successful NFL quarterback.
• Derek Anderson, on the other hand, appears quite decisive, and seems to make the right read most of the time. He just can't reliably get the ball into a position where the receiver can catch it.
• The defense played relatively gamely considering they were on a short field all day. It could have been 50 or 60 to 7.
• Hines Ward is a cheap-shotting punk. Considered by his peers as one of the dirtiest players in the NFL, Ward threw a blindside helmet to helmet hit on Daven Holly after the whistle, giving Holly a concussion and drawing a personal foul. It would be one thing if this were Ward's fist such incident against the Browns, but in 2004, he laid Earl Little out on a downfield block from the blindside and then taunted Little while he lay on the ground, injured. What was almost as bad was CBS color commentator Rich Gannon, who should know better, commending Ward for the cheap shot hit, saying he was someone who "plays through the whistle", while Holly was lying on the ground concussed. Ward regularly taunts opponents and opponents fan. In short, he's a punk. And, amazingly, he get's a free pass from the media. It's about time that somebody in the media called out Hines Ward for his cheapshotting punk-ass behavior.
• It's going to be a long, demoralizing season. They're already making plans for the Browns first-round pick in Dallas. If they don't beat an improved Oakland team in a couple weeks, they could easily not win a game until November or December.
• Despite all this, I still think Brady Quinn should get the full Carson Palmer treatment. Playing him behind that line, even if it is allegedly improved, could be disastrous.

Indians 3, Angels 10

Executive Summary (the less said the better):

• Escobar was hittable - Indians let him off the hook.
• Byrd was hittable - Angels did not let him off the hook.
• Jensen Lewis - OK; Rest of bullpen who won't be pitching in postseason anyway - not good.
• Garret Andersen - en fuego

Sweep!

If the Indians do indeed go on to win the AL Central, their performance this year against the Twins, a team that has given them problems in recent years, will be one of the key reasons why. Yesterday's 6-2 win left the Indians 14-4 in the season series versus the Twinkies, including 5 victories against Johan Santana (who, despite the thorough beatdowns he's received from the Indians, still seems to get all the pub for AL Cy Young).

The Indians continued their recent trend of jumping out to an early lead by getting to Scott Baker for 3 runs in the first inning and peppering him for 11 hits in 5 innings. Tribe starter Fausto Carmona spent most of the game pitching with runners on base, but was also bailed out by three double plays, and only had one bad inning, giving up 2 in the fifth. The Tribe put it out of reach with 3 big insurance runs in the 9th on big RBI hits by Jhonny Peralta and Kenny Lofton, allowing Rafael Perez to stay on and get his first major league save, giving Joe Knows Closing the day off.

Pronk: 2 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 runs, and 1 RBI. Hitting streak now at 7 games. Batting average up to .260.

With this victory, the Indians have now won 16 of their last 20 games, and continue to hold a 7-game lead in the AL Central after Detroit's extra-inning 2-1 victory over the White Sox.

Mojo Watch:
Pronk: Still not clearly at Full Elvis, but clearly not regressing either.

Tribe: This team remains at Full Elvis. We'll see how much Elvis they'll have after a West Coast swing, as they start a four-game series today against the Angels of Somewhere Between LA and San Diego. Tonight - Byrd vs. Escobar.

Pronktacular

Since we left our intrepid Wahoo Warriors for the Labor Day weekend, the following has happened:

8/31 - Tribe 8 - White Sox 5
The Tribe bailed out Fausto Carmona, who had a bad outing, by scoring 6 runs in the 8th. Kenny Lofton tied it with a two-out bases loaded walk, and then Casey Blake followed by lifting an outside pitch down the right field line for a bases clearing double. Fultz with the vulture win.

9/1 - Tribe 7 - White Sox 0
Paul Byrd gets a complete game shutout, completely dominating the Pale Hose. Gutierrez and Shoppach homered, Pronk had an RBI double.

9/2 - Tribe 0 - White Sox 8
Win streak ends at 8 with this thorough beatdown by the Sox. Jose Contreras showed up, instead of phoning it in, and we got Hittable Jake Westbrook instead of Dominant Jake Westbrook. Games like this happen. The Tribe still took the series at home

9/3 - Tribe 5 - Twins 0
Johan Santana remains the Indians personal rented mule. CC Sabathia continues his quest for the Cy Young Award by shutting down the Twins on 6 hits and 1 walk with 6 Ks through 8. Santana is now 0-5 against the Indians with 1 no decision in 6 appearances against the Tribe. Sabathia has beaten him head to head in each of his last three appearances.

Last night: Tribe 7 - Twins 5
It was Pronktacular! Pronk went deep twice, including a two-out bomb in the ninth off closer Joe Nathan to push it into bonus baseball. Pronk then drove home the winning run in the 11th with a bases loaded screaming line drive to the right centerfield gap that Torii Hunter barely tracked down, but that served as a sac fly. Victor Martinez followed with a single. Joe Knows Closing pitched a 1-2-3 11th to get the save. Note: Daddy Pronk was in the stands to see his boy smash two out of the yard.

Could this 2-homer, 4-RBI night be what Pronk needs to get out of his slump and go on a rampage? Let's hope so. Pronk has now hit in his last 6 games. The Tribe has now won 10 of their last 11. Today's afternoon matchup: Fausto Carmona vs. Scott Baker. Baker shut the Tribe out 1-0 in his last appearance versus the Tribe and almost threw a no-hitter in his last outing. Baker is hot right now.

September callups for the Tribe: Cliff Lee, Luis Rivas, Edward Mujica, Juan Lara, Andy Marte, Ben Francisco and Mike Koplove. I hope that we see Marte spelling Casey Blake at 3b often for the next month. Marte was raking the ball in his last month at Buffalo, while Blake could use some more off days. Lara gives us another lefty in the bullpen to match up with, while Koplove, Lee and Mujica give us more arms for mop up duty. Francisco gives us another solid outfielder to spell some regulars, and Rivas - well, who the hell knows why he's here?

Mojo Watch:
Pronk We'll give Pronk 4 Elvi after last night's show and hope he's on his way to Full Elvis

Tribe: Don't step on this team's blue suede shoes! Full Elvis! 10 of 11. 7 game lead. Enough said.