Pronk, it seems, may be forced into a couple vacation days while his knee heals up. Apparently, he jammed it sliding into second base on his gift double Tuesday night. More will be known after an MRI administered by team doctor (I am not making this up) Mark Schickendantz. Hey, you gotta have both knees in fine working order to do the Schickendantz, especially after you've had a few.
Meanwhile, here at Pronk Needs You, we're also going on vacation to northern Michigan, near Harbor Springs. We will have minimal Internet access - just enough to set my pitching rotation in fantasy baseball a couple times, but not enough to craft the snarky drivel you've come to expect from Pronk Needs You.
Mark Buehrle is bipolar when he faces the Tribe - either we mash him like a potato or he's dominant. Last night, he was a spud. The Tribe put up a 5-spot in the 4th inning, and then held on to get a 7-5 victory. Kelly Shoppach and Josh Barfield both ended oh-fer streaks of 17 at bats in that 4th inning, with Shoppach mashing a 3-run tater.
Aaron Laffey went 5-2/3 for his first major league win, giving up 4 runs. Lewis, Perez held the White Sox down for the next 2-1/3 before yielding to JoeBo, who gave up another dinger (this time to Uribe) in notching his 32nd save.
Tonight - battle of the rookie phenoms - Carmona vs. Hughes - to lead off the big showdown vs. the Evil Empire.
Pronk Needs Us all now that he's on the bench. He's counting on all of us to rock the Jake this weekend with the Evil Empire in town.
And, oh yeah, Tampa Bay beat the Motor City Kitties in Motown last night. AL Central lead - 1.5 games.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory - Again.
"Oh, the pain, the pain" - Dr. Smith, "Lost in Space"
White Sox 6, Indians 4 in 13 innings.
White Sox 6, Indians 4 in 13 innings.
Ouch. That one hurt. I turned the game off when it went into extras, but I saw Betancourt groove a fastball to Jermaine Dye to send the game into extras and blow yet another win for CC Sabathia, who must be wondering what he has to to do to get a win lately.
JoeBo blew a save by giving up a homer to Punkzynski in the 12th. Ouch.
Juan Uribe homers to win the game in the 13th off Aaron Fultz? Juan Uribe? Ouch.
Travis Hafner pulled because of "left knee soreness?" Ouch and more ouch.
Still in first, though, as the Tigers got taken out back of the woodshed by the D-Rays. That's a pretty nice pain reliever for the moment.
JoeBo blew a save by giving up a homer to Punkzynski in the 12th. Ouch.
Juan Uribe homers to win the game in the 13th off Aaron Fultz? Juan Uribe? Ouch.
Travis Hafner pulled because of "left knee soreness?" Ouch and more ouch.
Still in first, though, as the Tigers got taken out back of the woodshed by the D-Rays. That's a pretty nice pain reliever for the moment.
Mojo Watch:
Tribe: 
Teams with more Elvis pull out games like last night.
Pronk: 
Just as the dude was starting to get some Elvis back, then he gets hurt. Apparently he's day to day, but as Keith Olbermann liked to say, "aren't we all"? Getting hurt while DHing will start your Elvisometer back at 0.
JoeBo:
Gotta downgrade him from Full Elvis for serving up a gopherball to Punkzynski.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Return of the Sinker
Jake Westbrook was dealin' last night, retiring 23 of 24 hitters in one stretch after getting touched up for a single run in the first inning, and the Indians scored just enough runs to beat the White Sox 2-1. Westbrook went 8 solid innings, giving up 2 hits and striking out 5.
Grady Sizemore had the big hit for the Tribe, a two-out, two-run single in the 5th.
Joe Borowski survived another tough save opportunity, generating 5 outs but only getting credit for 3. A leadoff strikeout pitch to Jerry Owens was muffed by Victor Martinez, allowing Owens to reach on a passed ball. After Owens was sacrificed to center, JoeBo got Thome to fly out to right, with Owens advancing to third. Konerko then popped a catchable foul ball that was inexplicably allowed to drop between Garko and Martinez, as apparently neither one called it. Konerko then walked, and then Punkzynski graciously obliged the Tribe by hitting a soft line drive at Josh Barfield to end the game.
John Danks, another pitcher having a generally mediocre season, stifled the Indians with no hits through 5 until a single by Peralto and a double by Michaels set the stage for Sizemore's winning looping liner to left. Danks gave up 4 hits in 6 innings and struck out 8, as the Tribe had difficulty laying off his high fastball.
Pronk was 2 for 4, including a gift double that occurred when Jermaine Dye allowed a line drive single to get to the wall without cutting it off.
In other news, uberprospect Asdrubal Cabrera has been brought up to The Show. It's believed he will spell Barfield a couple times a week and Peralta and Blake a couple times a month, essentially getting a taste of the majors as a utility infielder. He can't be any worse than Rouse at the plate (Rouse was batting .119) and those who know about these things rave about his fielding. Most likely, he will get his first action tonight or tomorrow agains the Sox.
And, Russ Branyan is back, signed to a minor league deal by the Tribe and assigned to Buffalo. I suspect that Russ will be providing air conditioning and an occasional mighty clout spelling Blake at 3b in September during the stretch drive.
Mojo Watch
Cleveland Indians:
This team is finding a way to win now despite their offensive woes.
Pronk:
Pronk is showing some signs of coming out of his funk.
Starting Pitching:
Full Elvisness. Every single pitcher seems to be clicking right now. If only the team were hitting like earlier in the season...
JoeBo:
JoeBo also gets the Full Elvisness. He's now 31 of 34 in save chances, even when it takes 5 or 6 outs. The guy may not have the best stuff, or even look the part, but Joe Knows Closing.
Grady Sizemore had the big hit for the Tribe, a two-out, two-run single in the 5th.
Joe Borowski survived another tough save opportunity, generating 5 outs but only getting credit for 3. A leadoff strikeout pitch to Jerry Owens was muffed by Victor Martinez, allowing Owens to reach on a passed ball. After Owens was sacrificed to center, JoeBo got Thome to fly out to right, with Owens advancing to third. Konerko then popped a catchable foul ball that was inexplicably allowed to drop between Garko and Martinez, as apparently neither one called it. Konerko then walked, and then Punkzynski graciously obliged the Tribe by hitting a soft line drive at Josh Barfield to end the game.
John Danks, another pitcher having a generally mediocre season, stifled the Indians with no hits through 5 until a single by Peralto and a double by Michaels set the stage for Sizemore's winning looping liner to left. Danks gave up 4 hits in 6 innings and struck out 8, as the Tribe had difficulty laying off his high fastball.
Pronk was 2 for 4, including a gift double that occurred when Jermaine Dye allowed a line drive single to get to the wall without cutting it off.
In other news, uberprospect Asdrubal Cabrera has been brought up to The Show. It's believed he will spell Barfield a couple times a week and Peralta and Blake a couple times a month, essentially getting a taste of the majors as a utility infielder. He can't be any worse than Rouse at the plate (Rouse was batting .119) and those who know about these things rave about his fielding. Most likely, he will get his first action tonight or tomorrow agains the Sox.
And, Russ Branyan is back, signed to a minor league deal by the Tribe and assigned to Buffalo. I suspect that Russ will be providing air conditioning and an occasional mighty clout spelling Blake at 3b in September during the stretch drive.
Mojo Watch
Cleveland Indians:
This team is finding a way to win now despite their offensive woes.
Pronk:
Pronk is showing some signs of coming out of his funk.
Starting Pitching:
Full Elvisness. Every single pitcher seems to be clicking right now. If only the team were hitting like earlier in the season...
JoeBo:
JoeBo also gets the Full Elvisness. He's now 31 of 34 in save chances, even when it takes 5 or 6 outs. The guy may not have the best stuff, or even look the part, but Joe Knows Closing.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Age, Treachery and Facial Hair
"Age and Treachery will overcome Youth and Skill" -- popular T-shirt
The Indians' version of Age and Treachery, Paul Byrd, bamboozled the Minnesota Twins on 4 hits to pitch a complete game shutout, using only 99 pitches to go the distance. The Twinkies were completely off-balance all night, grounding out weakly and popping out.
The Tribe managed just enough offense off Carlos Silva. A clean-shaven Casey Blake, sacrificing his beard for the good of the team, had 2 RBI, and Pronk hit a mammoth clout off the facing of the upper deck in right field. The Indians actually had some timely hitting, getting 2 of the 4 runs with two outs. One run was the direct result of Pronk breaking up a double play.
The suddenly surging White Sox, fresh off of a sweep of the Motor City Kitties, will host the Tribe tonight, with Westbrook going against Danks.
In other news, utility infielder Mike Rouse was DFA'd after the game. It's not known who his replacement will be. Possibilities include Joe Inglett, Asdrubal Cabrera, and someone off the waiver wire. It is unlikely to be Luis Rivas, who is currently on the minor league DL. Rouse, a reasonably solid fielder, has made several critical fielding mistakes lately, and was hitting about at the Neifi Perez line, which is several notches below the Mendoza line.
Still no word on the ulitimate disposition of Fernando Cabrera. Hector Luna got picked up by the Blue Jays. Go figure.
Mojo Watch
Pronk showed substantial Elvis last night, crushing one to the facing of the upper deck in right, and breaking up a double play. However, his Elvis has been so low lately that he's still barely above Michael J. Fox level.
Paul Byrd:
The old guy's still got some major Elvis left. Last night's win was victory #10 on the year. Yeah, it's Vegas Fat Elvisness because it's all about age and treachery and the old school full windup, but it's still Elvisness, a quality this team has been dangerously low on lately.
The Indians' version of Age and Treachery, Paul Byrd, bamboozled the Minnesota Twins on 4 hits to pitch a complete game shutout, using only 99 pitches to go the distance. The Twinkies were completely off-balance all night, grounding out weakly and popping out.
The Tribe managed just enough offense off Carlos Silva. A clean-shaven Casey Blake, sacrificing his beard for the good of the team, had 2 RBI, and Pronk hit a mammoth clout off the facing of the upper deck in right field. The Indians actually had some timely hitting, getting 2 of the 4 runs with two outs. One run was the direct result of Pronk breaking up a double play.
The suddenly surging White Sox, fresh off of a sweep of the Motor City Kitties, will host the Tribe tonight, with Westbrook going against Danks.
In other news, utility infielder Mike Rouse was DFA'd after the game. It's not known who his replacement will be. Possibilities include Joe Inglett, Asdrubal Cabrera, and someone off the waiver wire. It is unlikely to be Luis Rivas, who is currently on the minor league DL. Rouse, a reasonably solid fielder, has made several critical fielding mistakes lately, and was hitting about at the Neifi Perez line, which is several notches below the Mendoza line.
Still no word on the ulitimate disposition of Fernando Cabrera. Hector Luna got picked up by the Blue Jays. Go figure.
Mojo Watch
Cleveland Indians:
The Tribe showed some Elvis last night. I hope this will carry over into the White Sox series.
Pronk:
Pronk showed substantial Elvis last night, crushing one to the facing of the upper deck in right, and breaking up a double play. However, his Elvis has been so low lately that he's still barely above Michael J. Fox level.
Paul Byrd:
The old guy's still got some major Elvis left. Last night's win was victory #10 on the year. Yeah, it's Vegas Fat Elvisness because it's all about age and treachery and the old school full windup, but it's still Elvisness, a quality this team has been dangerously low on lately.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Slumpbusting the Thai Way?
It seems that for the last month or so, several of the more prominent members of the Tribe offense, particularly Pronk and Vic Martinez, but also Grady and Jhonny Peralta, have all gone into a slump at the same time.
I have a solution, imported from Thailand: Hello Kitty.
The Thai police will be forcing their officers engaged in inappropriate behavior to wear pink Hello Kitty armbands as punishment. The thought is that this would shame the miscreants into proper behavior by wounding their masculine pride.
Is it time for Eric Wedge to invest in some hot pink Hello Kitty armbands to shame some of his players to get some good at bats? Radical problems sometimes call for radical solutions.
I have a solution, imported from Thailand: Hello Kitty.
The Thai police will be forcing their officers engaged in inappropriate behavior to wear pink Hello Kitty armbands as punishment. The thought is that this would shame the miscreants into proper behavior by wounding their masculine pride.
Is it time for Eric Wedge to invest in some hot pink Hello Kitty armbands to shame some of his players to get some good at bats? Radical problems sometimes call for radical solutions.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
No Elvis
Whatever Elvis this team may have achieved by beating Johan Santana is now gone after pissing away two games to the Twins against pitchers they should have beaten like a rented mule.
The Twins play in a Hideous Abomination of a ballpark that squashes the life out of everything that is good and right about baseball. I hate the Twins, I hate their ballpark. I hate the "piranhas". I hate everything about them. What I hate the most about the Twins is that the Indians keep losing and letting them back into the race.
Mojo Watch:
Cleveland Indians:
Pronk:
Fausto Carmona:
The only thing keeping Fausto from having Massive Elvis is the fact that the offense keeps stranding him without run support. No way should he have lost 1-0 to the Twins today with Scott Baker on the mound against him. But right now, the Indians offense got no Elvis. They suck. They can't hit their way out of a paper bag. They can't move runners over. They can't bunt. They can't even hit mediocre major league pitching.
Yet, somehow they are still in first place. Go figure. I'd like to think it can only get better, but I've been a Cleveland Indians fan too long. I hope so, but right now I'm just really, really pissed off at the way the Indians have pissed away the last month and a half by playing generally crappy baseball.
The Twins play in a Hideous Abomination of a ballpark that squashes the life out of everything that is good and right about baseball. I hate the Twins, I hate their ballpark. I hate the "piranhas". I hate everything about them. What I hate the most about the Twins is that the Indians keep losing and letting them back into the race.
Mojo Watch:
Cleveland Indians:
Pronk:
Fausto Carmona:
The only thing keeping Fausto from having Massive Elvis is the fact that the offense keeps stranding him without run support. No way should he have lost 1-0 to the Twins today with Scott Baker on the mound against him. But right now, the Indians offense got no Elvis. They suck. They can't hit their way out of a paper bag. They can't move runners over. They can't bunt. They can't even hit mediocre major league pitching.
Yet, somehow they are still in first place. Go figure. I'd like to think it can only get better, but I've been a Cleveland Indians fan too long. I hope so, but right now I'm just really, really pissed off at the way the Indians have pissed away the last month and a half by playing generally crappy baseball.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Happy Birthday, Grady
It was Grady Sizemore's 25th birthday, so Eric Wedge gave him a present - a start at DH instead of centerfield. Sizemore responded by going 2 for 3, driving in the game's first two runs, helping to spark the Indians to a 5-0 win.
Jake Westbrook, Rafael Perez and Edward Mujica combines for the shutout. Westbrook struck out 5 and gave up 5 hits in 6 innings in his second straight excellent performance.
Victor Martinez also showed some signs of life after a tough home stand, with a solo home run in the 7th inning.
Eric Wedge apparently gave the team a refresher course in situational hitting overnight, as the team scored two runs on sacrifice flies and even advanced a runner from second to third on a groundout to the right side of the infield - twice!
Sizemore's start at DH was brought on primarily by the fact that they were facing soft-tossing lefty Kason Gabbard for the second time in a week, and Wedge decided to give Pronk a Mental Health Day.
In other team news, Fernando Cabrera, who has been maddeningly inconsistent, was DFA'd. It seems clear that Shapiro could find no takers in a deadline deal. I have a hard time believing he'll clear waivers - he's got "killer stuff" and there's always a team willing to take a chance on their pitching coach being the one to get through to such a guy.
The Indians season of strangeness continues with a trip to Minnesota, this time as the first team in after the bridge disaster. There was some debate over whether the games should be played, since I-35W is one of the major arteries serving the Hideous Abomination (aka the Metrodome); however, the consensus is that the games should be played for the sake of the community. The cancellation of yesterday's Twins game, however, means that instead of the Indians missing Johan Santana, he's now up against Sabathia tonight. There is an old baseball saying that momentum is your starting pitcher, so both teams have momentum coming into this evening's game, but only one team will leave with it.
Mojo Watch
See sidebar for new Elvis-based mojo scale.
His Elvis level is dangerously approaching Michael J. Fox levels.
Jake Westbrook, Rafael Perez and Edward Mujica combines for the shutout. Westbrook struck out 5 and gave up 5 hits in 6 innings in his second straight excellent performance.
Victor Martinez also showed some signs of life after a tough home stand, with a solo home run in the 7th inning.
Eric Wedge apparently gave the team a refresher course in situational hitting overnight, as the team scored two runs on sacrifice flies and even advanced a runner from second to third on a groundout to the right side of the infield - twice!
Sizemore's start at DH was brought on primarily by the fact that they were facing soft-tossing lefty Kason Gabbard for the second time in a week, and Wedge decided to give Pronk a Mental Health Day.
In other team news, Fernando Cabrera, who has been maddeningly inconsistent, was DFA'd. It seems clear that Shapiro could find no takers in a deadline deal. I have a hard time believing he'll clear waivers - he's got "killer stuff" and there's always a team willing to take a chance on their pitching coach being the one to get through to such a guy.
The Indians season of strangeness continues with a trip to Minnesota, this time as the first team in after the bridge disaster. There was some debate over whether the games should be played, since I-35W is one of the major arteries serving the Hideous Abomination (aka the Metrodome); however, the consensus is that the games should be played for the sake of the community. The cancellation of yesterday's Twins game, however, means that instead of the Indians missing Johan Santana, he's now up against Sabathia tonight. There is an old baseball saying that momentum is your starting pitcher, so both teams have momentum coming into this evening's game, but only one team will leave with it.
Mojo Watch
See sidebar for new Elvis-based mojo scale.
Cleveland Indians:
This situational hitting is encouraging. I'd say they now actually appear to have recovered a small amount of Mojo. Sizemore definitely had high levels of Elvis on his birthday. Victor also showed some signs of recovering his Elvis.
Pronk:His Elvis level is dangerously approaching Michael J. Fox levels.
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