Travel Day

Sorry, crimestoppers, but real life has kept me from posting regarding the last two games until now. If only I could find some way to get myself paid for doing this. Anyway, today is a travel day for the Tribe, as they come back from a dramatic 2-4 West Coast swing, having split the last two with the Angels.

• Tuesday night the Indians took some measure of revenge for Toriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Hunter's walk-off slam of the night before when Pronk smashed a two-run shot in the top of the 9th off the Angels of Orange County Which is Kinda Close to Los Angeles closer Justin Speier to win 4-3 behind a complete game from Jake Westbrook. This game was notable for an Andy Marte sighting. Marte came in to play the field after Ryan Garko was lifted for a pinch runner, which slid Casey Blake to first base.


• Wednesday afternoon, Paul Byrd thought the early start time meant that he was throwing batting practice instead of pitching in a game that really counted. Age and Treachery could not fool the Angels who teed off on him for 3 homers, including a Denny's signature breakfast from Mike Napoli. The Indians were down 6-nil before they suddenly came to the realization that instead of a good pitcher, they were facing Dusin Moseley, and beat him up for 4 runs in the 6th to at least make the game interesting. That didn't last very long as Jensen Lewis gave up a three-run shut to Vlad the Impaler in the 7th. After that, it was all over but the plunking, as Justin Speier, in a blatant display of poor sportsmanship, hit Pronk on his bad elbow in the 9th inning. We shall see if the Indians have the cojones to return the favor when the Angels of Orange County Which is Kinda Close to Los Angeles come to town later this year.

In other news, even as I write this the Indians are holding a press conference to announce that they have locked up Fausto Carmona to a contract extension guaranteed through 2011 with three club option years that will likely keep Carmona in Cleveland until 2014. Huge. Totally Huge.

Oh, and no more lolcats for the near future. The Motor City Kitties have finally won, to up their record to 1-7.

Mojo Watch:

Mark Shapiro: Fausto Carmona through 2014! Enough said.

Travis Hafner: The game-winning shot off Justin Speier was a huge display of Pronkitude, and perhaps getting hit by Speier in that last at-bat will reawaken the Incredible Pronk.

Age and Treachery: Right now, Paul Byrd, like Michael J. Fox, has got No Elvis.

Jake Westbrook: If the Tribe could have managed more than 1 run off John Danks last week, Westbrook would be sitting at 2-0.

David Dellucci: The left field position is now off the schneid, with Dellucci registering 2 hits to raise his average over the Mendoza line to a smokin' .231.

Jason Michaels: Michaels right now has No Elvis. In order to see his .048 batting average, you need one of these:

Franklin Gutierrez: Since his incredible opening day, Frank the Tank is 1 for 22. He was benched in Anaheim for Jason Michaels - against a right handed pitcher.

Andy Marte Watch:

Game 8:

Mop up duty. Field only, 9th inning no at bat. Started nifty double play.

Game 9:

Detroit Now 0-7

New lolcat for every Detroit loss to open the season.

Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory

The University of Memphis was not the only team to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory last night. After rallying off Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez to replace a 2-1 deficit with a 4-2 lead, Joe Knows Closing had one of those memorable meltdowns he is prone to having from time to time, giving up a walk-off grand slam to Toriiiiiiiiiiiiii Hunter to wrap up a 6-4 loss.

Mojo Watch:

Fausto Carmona: Worked in and out of trouble all night. Had trouble finding the plate on occasion.

Casey Blake: In his big return after a day off, his error contributed to the one unearned run charged to Carmona.

Jason Michaels/David Dellucci: The left field platoon is now 1 for the season. Seriously. Ben Francisco is batting .211 right now at Buffalo and he'd be smoking hot compared to the early-season rally-killing incompetence of this horror show.

Victor Martinez: Victor is back, baby!! Let the people rejoice.

Joe Knows Closing:
Even when Joe blows the save, he's still got more Elvis than Michael J. Fox. Or the left field freak show.

Senor Slow: Betancourt has had a tough start to the season. Last night, he gave up a solo shot to Toriiiiiiiiiiiiiii Hunter, which would have been the winning run for the Angels had K-Rod not blown the save (which led, of course, to Joe Knows Closing blowing the save in a most final manner)


Andy Marte Watch:

Detroit Still Winless

Games 5 & 6: Guys Named Dana Have it In for the Tribe

Game 5: Oakland 6, Cleveland 1

What is it about guys named Dana? Dana Demuth, umpiring in the ALCS behind the plate in Game 6 hoses Fausto Carmona. Oakland pitcher Dana Eveland holds the Indians down in this game, while CC pitches another clunker in front of the hometown fans.

The only good thing is that it wasn't on television so that nobody outside of the stadium got to see this dog of a game.

Andy Marte Watch:



Game 6: Indians 2, Athletics 1

Andy Marte Watch:

Andy Marte starts the game, goes 1 for 3, starts the winning rally with a base hit. The Indians are now 1-0 when Andy Marte plays and 2-3 when he doesn't. Coincidence?

Clifton "Sleepy Kitten" Lee gave up only 1 unearned run on 4 hits in 6.2 innings. The Indians are now 1-0 when Cliff Lee starts a game and 2-3 when someone else starts. Coincidence?

In other news, David Dellucci remains 0 for the season. Jason Michaels is now batting .077. Andy Marte: .333.

Game 4: Haiku

West Coast bats silent.
Paul Byrd hits wall very hard.
Pronk hits late home run.

Indians 1, Whine Sox 2

We could only score 1 run off John Danks; therefore, we deserved to lose. On we move to Oakland.

Mojo Watch:

Jake Westbrook: Jake pitched well, but he made two mistakes. If he gets the win, it's 5 Elvi.

Indians offense: 1 run off John Danks? C'mon.

Detroit Tigers: Swept three straight by the KC Royals. With Chicago's victory over the Tribe, every team in the American League has more wins than the Motor City Kitties.

Andy Marte Watch: