So Close You Can Taste It

Isn’t it fun to have the Magic Number reduced even when Paul Byrd has to be relieved by Tom Mastny and Cliff Lee? It’s funny how you can tell how the game is going by simply looking at the relievers used, and how Lee has been relegated to eating up meaningless innings while getting his resume in order.

Regardless, the Magic Number stands at 1, the playoff ticket packet arrived this morning (yes, I got it on a Sunday as our reliable postal worker must have dropped them off some time after 8 PM last night), and I’m heading down to the Jake with some SRO tickets that T-Bone picked up so we can invade the Batters’ Eye Bar about noon and (hopefully) see the AL Central Flag raised above our heads today.

Since I have to get to the face painting (just kidding, although it is important to “support the team”), it’s time to take a round of Lazy Sunday:

A terrific bit from Terry Pluto on Frank the Tank in today's paper, but cleveland.com apparently didn’t link the piece, at least as of about 10:00 AM. They provided links for the absurdity of Shaw and Livy, and Pluto’s Browns thoughts, but you’ll have to pick up the print copy of the PD to see Pluto’s thoughts on Gutz and other Tribe topics.

Paul Hoynes owns up to his being wrong about the Tribe coming out of Winter Haven. I forgot that he picked them to finish 4th in the Central…4th!?!

Proving that his new desk must not be close to Sheldon, the ABJ’s Patrick McManamon gives a nice list of “Why Not” for the Tribe taking it all this postseason.

A little love nationally from Mike Bauman at MLB.com, who sees the big picture happening at the Jake.

In case you missed it, Tribe Assistant GM Neil Huntington has been tabbed to become the new Pirates GM, with the announcement coming in the most awkwardly written story I’ve ever seen.
Some of the actual sentences from the announcement:
“He is an adviser to Indians general manager Mark Shapiro, specializing in player evaluations.”
“He also works as an advance scout for a portion of the season.”
“He was also an Indians assistant GM.”
Seriously, did someone just look in the Tribe Media Guide and replace the bullet points with “He is” and “He was” for this story?
Somewhere Fr. Streicher (the man who literally wrote the book on grammar) is howling.
As a final aside to the story (and with our sarcasm stick put away), Hoynes predicts that Joel Skinner will follow him there in 2008 to become the Bucs manager.

Andy Call has a nice bit on Bartolo Colon (who is still, allegedly, only 33) falling off the cliff that so many people predicted due to his weight issues and (more importantly for those who want to use Bartolo in the C.C. comparison) lack of interest in conditioning.

While many of us have complained about the lack of national coverage for the Tribe, imagine being smack dab in the middle of New York or Boston during this nonsense. Luckily we have the perpective of sporadic commenter Ron Vallo, who writes the terrific “Tribe Fan in Yankeeland” blog that is linked in the sidebar. In his latest, he references a recent poll that confirms what we all knew…people on the East Coast are vaguely aware that Cleveland has a baseball team and is blissfully unaware of the punch that said team packs.
Ron’s going to keep tabs on what’s happening in New York for us here as the Yankees certainly look like a possible ALDS opponent for the Tribe.

Finally, in case you’re not sure of what all of this “It’s Tribe Time Now” talk is, here’s the link to hear the song that introduces the games on WTAM.

Taking the camera down this afternoon (with new batteries), so hopefully I’ll be able to put together some pictures of the highlights of “Clinch Day 2007”.

Today feels like the day!

A Look Back Before Looking Ahead

With the only question remaining of “When”, not “If” (though it’s been that way for a couple of days now) for the AL Central Pennant to be raised at the Jake, I thought it would be interesting to look back on the thoughts of one man prior to Opening Day.

Posted April 1st – the 2007 Team Outlook.

How about the predictions on Carmona and the mention of Jensen Lewis, Rafael Perez, and Asdrubal in the season preview?

If you’re keeping score at home for my predictions, they broke down like this:
AL East – Boston
AL Central – Cleveland
AL West – Oakland
AL Wild Card – Chicago

NL East – Philadelphia
NL Central – Milwaukee
NL West – Los Angeles
NL Wild Card – New York

ALDS – Cleveland over Oakland, Boston over Chicago
NLDS – Philadelphia over Milwaukee, New York over Los Angeles

ALCS – Cleveland over Boston
NLCS – New York over Philadelphia

World Series – Cleveland over New York

If it all breaks like that, sometime in late October or early November, Indians fans will rejoice worldwide and all will be right with the world.

Not too bad, with the notable exception of overrating Oakland, Chicago (AL), and Los Angeles (NL). The four championship series participants still look pretty good and I’ll continue to stand by them.

Gotta love the Baltimoran chiming in that none of PD writers picked the Tribe to make the playoffs though, while I know that to be true, I can’t find any record of the picks from the “experts” at the PD.

Back when I was about 12 I used to save those MLB/Tribe Preview Special Sections, but the realization that those guys know about as much about the Tribe as the folks hopping on the suddenly swelling bandwagon forces me to recycle that as quickly as the “Travel” Section.

If anyone has (or can find) the predictions from the local pundits, please post them.

In the meantime – it could happen tonight, it could happen tomorrow…but it is happening.
Get ready Cleveland!
The AL Central Pennant is coming back to where it belongs!

Tomahawks Shaped Like Brooms

With a perma-grin plastered to my face after sweeping the Tigers out of town, out of the Central race, out of the Wild Card race (it just goes on and on) and the Central completely in our laps, it’s time for some Tomahawk Target Practice:
_______________

Correct me if I’m wrong after being bludgeoned over the head with the “Panic Button in Boston” talk, but the Red Sox and Yankees are really just playing for the AL East pennant, aren’t they?

They’re both in the playoffs and who they play will be determined by the final records of the Tribe and the Angels – not the order in which they finish in the East, right?

Which is to say, whoever wins the AL East will play the team (Cleveland or Anaheim) with the worse record, while the Wild Card will play the team with the better record. Can we get the same kind of media coverage for THAT race?
I doubt it.

Does anyone even remember that the Twins overtook the Tigers for the AL Central title last year and that the Tigers were the Wild Card?
Is this any different?

I suppose it’s compelling in that it would represent a HUGE turnaround from the events of most of the season in the AL East and plays into the inferiority complex of New England, but if the idea is to make it to the playoffs, both teams have essentially achieved the goal.

The way that the race is being covered, you half expect Bucky Dent to be added to the 40-man roster for the Yankees to bury the Red Sox.
But…the Red Sox will make the playoffs, and won’t face the Yankees in the first round, so what’s the big deal?

Are the races in the NL THAT boring (they’re not) that the same attention can’t be devoted to Milwaukee (who hasn’t been to the postseason in 25 years) and the Cubs (who, well, you know that story) or how the Mets are falling apart and the Phillies are backing up Jimmy Rollins’ preseason comments that the team in the NL East to beat plays in Philadelphia? How about the oft-overlooked West, with an extremely young D-Backs team trying to stave off the brilliant pitching staff of the Padres (of their 20 shutouts, 1 hasn’t involved the bullpen…1!).

This East Coast bias will never change and maybe this is the most interesting storyline to most of the nation, but I wish that the idea of just covering sports and not sensationalizing sports became the focus of ESPN these days.

My brother had an excellent point a few weeks ago when discussing the downward spiral of ESPN. He accurately compared ESPN, and specifically SportsCenter, to becoming the sports equivalent of Entertainment Tonight…all fluff and very little meat, covering the “hot topic” of the day or the most salacious story instead of simply reporting the happenings of the sports world with no agenda or “talking head” telling me what I should think.

When was the last time that you watched SportsCenter, or Baseball Tonight, for the news of the day and were completely satisfied with the tone and focus of the program?
5 years ago?
10 years ago?

Unfortunately, this will remain the status quo in Bristol until another sports entity (FOX Sports or even STO) realizes that a void exists for even-handed, rational sports coverage. In the meantime, enjoy the Red Sox-Yankees “Fight to the Finish” for the next week and a half (impervious to the idea that both are in the playoffs and are just playing for a division title) on a television near you.
_______________

Since the Angels are out as a possible 1st round opponent, the poll has been revised to identify which AL East team you’d rather see in the ALDS.
_______________

The spark that Asdrubal has provided has been well-documented, but how about this stat?
Since Cabrera was inserted into the everyday lineup (really, it was August 15th against the Tigers), the Indians are 25-8!
Considering that they were 14-19 in their previous 33, that’s a nice jump start that the only man I know that wears pearls (and pulls it off) has provided.
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For those decrying the end of the Jacobs Field name, here's something to brighten your day. A rumor is out there that their alternate home jerseys (the vests, which are the worst), will be replaced for the 2008 season by these:


Best thing I've seen in quite a while. The return of the Block C, the feel that Bob Feller could come striding out of the bullpen...I love them.

Already thinking about what jersey to order and whether to get a fitted hat or one of those cotton ones that fit supremely better.
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According to Tom Hamilton, prior to the Tribe-Tigers series, a number of Detroit players told him (though they wouldn’t go on the record) that if they could take 2 of 3 from the Tribe that the Indians would fold under the pressure and that the Tigers would be poised to overtake them in the Central.


Fold? Under the pressure?
Does getting swept out of the AL Central race and dropping 3 full games back in that race and essentially getting knocked out of the Wild Card constitute a fold?
_______________

The Tigers aren’t alone, though in getting KO’d by the Tribe.
Remember when Minnesota came in for that HUGE series in late August?
Prior to the series, Minnesota was 5.5 back in the Central and “within striking distance”. Three days later, the Twins were 8.5 back and their season was done.

Almost an identical situation with the Tigers as they went from 4.5 back to 7.5 back in three short days and the Tribe bought their coffin, dug their grave, and covered it with dirt before they were able to get out of town with their tails between their legs.
_______________

Finally, I received some tremendous feedback from the “War Cry” post with the suggestions coming fast and furious from a number of sources.

Some fell right in line with the 70’s theory, with some great suggestions:
Just One Victory – Todd Rundgren

No Surrender – Bruce Springsteen

Runnin’ Down a Dream – Tom Petty

You’ve Got Another Thing Coming – Judas Priest

Rock and Roll All Night – Kiss

We’re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister

Others took issue with the fact that the song needed to come from the vault of WMMS and suggested songs either more current or in different genres:
Beautiful Day – U2

La Vida Es un Carnaval – Celia Cruz

Attack – 30 Seconds to Mars

Hey – Jurassic 5

Thru Ya City – De La Soul

Also, quite a bit of support for those inspirational songs from classic 80’s underdog movies:
You're the Best Around - Joe Esposito

Win In The End - Mark Sefan

And, finally, some went with the local bend or even a baseball-centric bend:
Centerfield – John Fogerty

Randy Newman – Burn On

Go All the Way – Raspberries (Cleveland Natives)

Talkin' Tribe (among others)

But, after reading numerous comments about how many Tribe fans have good memories tied to Kenny Lofton’s on-field comments after clinching the 1995 pennant, seeing the work of poster fasolamatt from the comments section, providing alternate lyrics to “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” as well as a new link, I’m staying with the original selection.

In case you missed it in the comments section:

I went down to the ballpark, to see my favorite team
The great big giant scoreboard, instructed us to scream
I think, even if we're down three
A win is what we'll get, mmm
We'll break out the rally pies, and yell

You ain't seen nothin' yet
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet
Here's something that you never gonna forget
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet

And now I'm feelin' better, 'cause I found out for sure
We're goin to the playoffs, our lead is now secure
With CC, Fausto, Jake, Paul
We'll take what we can get, yes we'll take what we can get
Then turn it over to the 'pen
And say

You ain't seen nothin' yet
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet
Here's something, here's something that you're never gonna forget
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet
You need educated

[break]

Any hits a good hit
So we take what we can get, yes we take what we can get
Then well break out the rally pies
And yell

You ain't seen nothin' yet
Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet
Here's something, here's something,
here's something, mama, you're never gonna forget
B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nu-nu-nu-nothin' yet
You ain't been around

You ain't seen nothin' yet
I know I ain't seen nothin' yet
I know I ain't seen nothin' yet
Baby, Baby, Baby
You ain't seen nothin' yet

Yeah, that clinches it - "I’ll stick with You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet".

The countdown is on to "Clinch Day".
Any guesses?
Should we just plan on going to the Jake until that magical day happens?

War Cry

As the Indians put the final nail in the Tigers’ coffin and continue to simply roll to the AL Central Pennant, something occurred to me…this team needs an anthem.

Like Europe’s “The Final Countdown” will always take me back to Richfield (or GOB’s magic act) or Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” harkens back to the dark days of 2005 when the Boys in Black were making their WS run, the 2007 Tribe has reached a point where a rallying cry needs to be identified and played ad nauseum until they’re playing it in Public Square at the conclusion of the World Series Parade.

A song that we can all get behind and cue up to get the good times going, both down at the Jake and wherever Tribe fans congregate. And we’re not talking “Again Tonight” by Johnny Cougar Mellencamp or the various montages on the JumboTron, the 2007 Cleveland Indians need some walking music, some swagger to accompany this team to the win column night after night and through the playoff run that we all think is coming.

Realizing fully that this is Cleveland, the “Rock and Roll Capital of the World” (despite the fact that most of the city is stuck in the glory days of The Buzzard and isn’t aware of new rock from the past 5…make it 10 years), the song needs to be a pretty-well known song and being from the 70’s or 80’s wouldn’t hurt for most fans to recognize it.

First, what can be ruled out?
They already use the inspirational Rocky II scene when the bullpen door opens for JoeBo (though not exactly as the link shown), so that’s out.

“More Cowbell” is also used with AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells" to get the crowd fired up late in the game, so that’s out too.

Of course, WTAM’s Mike Trivisonno has identified Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” as the Tribe theme, but I could find more inspirational music at a grade school band concert. Great lyrics, great song…but just doesn’t get the blood moving like an anthem should.

Unfortunately, all modern music (particularly hip-hop and rap) are ruled out because…well, if you’ve been to the Jake recently, you don’t need the answer. Most fans at the Jake couldn't tell you what the difference betweeen SpeakerBoxx and The Love Below is, much less get behind a song from it.

It’s also time to put the old Cleveland stand-bys that have been leaned on far too heavily for the past 25 years by the town to bed. You know the ones, MSB’s “My Town” and “Cleveland Rocks”.
Really, this is how creative this city can be?
To hear these songs over and over to create some sort of civic pride?
We're still stuck on this?
No, that day has passed.

Let's also rule out movie songs as not everybody can recognize, say the outstanding music from the Balboa-Drago match in Rocky IV.
And the great "Top Gun Theme" always sadly somehow brings to mind the mind-bogglingly out of place Volleyball Scene that just about ruins the whole movie for me.

This team needs an anthem that plays up the attitude of the team – a team playing for one purpose, with the steam rising from the roster. So how about “Train Kept A Rollin’”?
Nah, Aerosmith’s from Boston and the Chowderheads can keep this one.

How about something that says that this team is what it is…a solid group of great ballplayers comfortable in their own skin, more than happy to take the criticism of a JoeBo tightrope walk or a Peralta error? Something that plays up the old “we’ll put our best players on the field, you do the same…let’s see who wins” idea of sandlot baseball.
Maybe “I Don’t Want to Be” by Gavin DeGraw?
Unfortunately this song got locked in with some show called “One Tree Hill” on a network I’ve never heard of, so it’s out.

What about a song that stresses their workmanlike approach, the way that the team simply goes out and takes care of the business at hand…how about “Takin’ Care of Business”?
As much as I like this one (and it does play every day to introduce Tony Rizzo’s show on WKNR), the Mets and Braves have apparently been using it for some time to celebrate their victories and if we’re just recycling other ideas…this one’s out.

But, we’re getting closer.

We need that inspirational song that everyone knows and can sing along to the chorus that’s easy enough for Grandma to sing along to it, but also has that moment when everyone can go absolutely bananas.
“Livin’ On a Prayer”, anyone?

As much as I LOVE this song (it was actually the last song played at my wedding), I don’t like one basic premise behind it for a supremely talented baseball team – why are we the ones hoping and praying that our time will come?

Can’t we be the ones walking into the situation with all the confidence in the world?
Aren’t the prospects of this team in the post-season and the overall outlook for this team in the foreseeable future rosy enough that we should EXPECT this?

To hell with this underdog card, it’s time to make an announcement to the AL and all of MLB…
“You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet”.
This team is taking the first strides in what promises to be a winning race. The Indians take a backseat to nobody and won’t rely on prayers to get this team a title.
We’re going to win on talent and pitching and guts…and it’s only the beginning.

You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet, Tribe fans.
Trust me, You Just Ain't Seen N-N-N-N-N-N-Nothin' Yet.

IncrediBlake

As the Indians stole a game from the Motor City Kitties that they had no business winning, the Magic Number has been reduced to 7 (as T-Bone adjusted the number while the Family Truckster was on I-90 speeding away from the Jake).

Thanks to Casey Blake, with some BIG assists from Jhonny Peralta, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Rafael Betancourt, the Tribe sent the Featherhead Faithful home happy in the biggest game in the past…well…6 years at Jacobs Field, maybe longer.

Sitting in my perch in Pronkville, it was unbelievable to watch the Indians fight their way back into the game as the discussion in the mezzanine centered around what the coolest jersey to sport around Jacobs Field would be (the candidates – Asdrubal 13, The Tank 38, The Chin 1, Jacoby 26), mocking the Tigers fan who bought Whoppers from a vendor at the Jake (the malted milk balls, not the burgers), and watching some guy on the JumboTron do the Frank the Tank move with Gutierrez at the plate while the Erie Warriors willed themselves (somehow) back into the game.

Amidst a raucous (though small at 28, 825) crowd, with Tigers’ fans not nearly as numerous as earlier in the season, the feeling…the vibe…was there. The Indians won with persistence and moxie to put the AL Central away for all intents and purposes.

As Bob Feller’s shirt was telling me, “It’s Tribe Time Now” (too many pictures of the DiaperTribe rendered the batteries uncooperative as the requisite picture that should accompany that line is lost somewhere in the “CHANGE THE BATTERIES” message from the camera).

The Indians are going to the playoffs.
There… I said it. May the thunderbolts stay in heaven and the naysayers send their regrets.

October is a foregone conclusion after tonight…and maybe beyond.

Pies All Around on a Lazy Sunday

The Faustastic One took his name out of the “Dark Horse Candidate” column in the ledger for the Cy Young and had it marked (in pen) in the “Frontrunner” column, as he lowered his ERA to an AL-leading 3.07, so let’s take stock of how things have exploded for the Tribe in the last month:

Standings on August 14th
Detroit 66-53
Cleveland 65-54 (1 GB)
Minnesota 59-60 (7 GB)

Standings on September 16th
Cleveland 87-61
Detroit 82-67 (5.5 GB)
Minnesota 72-76 (15 GB)

The Tribe, after losing their 4th straight against Detroit at home (after being swept by the Spankees) on August 14th, has simply run away with the AL Central by going 21-8 since that game. With 19 of those 29 games being played on the road, the Indians are taking on all comers and disposing of them quickly and methodically.

It should come as no surprise that the Indians find themselves on the hot streak as the starting pitching has remained consistently dominant, the bullpen has slotted very nicely to pick up the final two (or three) innings when needed, and the offense has shown that it can win with the long ball or with small ball.

While it’s easy to look too far ahead, the Indians have to continue to take care of the business that they control, particularly with the Motor City Kitties (just 2 ½ back in the Wild Card and certainly playing for something) coming to the Jake tomorrow.

And, with that, a Lazy Sunday:
Terry Pluto takes a nice trip around the bases on some Tribe topics, including a bit about the young confectionary LHP in the system, Laffey Taffey and Sweet and Sowers.

Also, in case you missed it, Pluto had a great article on Tribe attendance and fan interest, including a quote from some guy named Mark Cousineau from South Euclid, who claims to have been to 10-12 games this year, obviously thinking that sitting through the snow on Opening Day somehow counted for multiple games.

It’s been said before, but more Terry and less Shaw and Livy make my weekend better. The Sunday paper had NO sign of The Brothers Grimm (outside of their Browns’ picks), and that is far from a bad thing. Now, if we could only get Branson Wright off my front porch…

Down I-77, Patrick McManamon has picked up where Pluto left off, today commenting on the effort by the Tribe to re-capture the magic at the Jake that was so prevalent during the run in the 1990’s.
In case you missed the memo, the Indians have asked fans to deck themselves out in red for the final home games and the playoffs to create (presumably) some sort of Red Sea at the Jake. They’ve also started the sale of red shirts that read “It’s Tribe Time Now”, playing off of the WTAM intro song that has replaced the ever-popular “We’re Talkin’ Baseball…Talkin’ Tribe”.

Elsewhere, the sordid saga of Cliff Lee continues as he remains a man without a permanent home, seemingly passed by in the rotation by the first “wave” of arms and unsure of where he stands in the organization going forward.

A great piece from the terrific DFP writer Jon Paul Morosi on Sizemore vs. Granderson, two unbelievable baseball players who promise to be mainstays in the AL Central for the foreseeable future, much to the chagrin of the folks in KC, Minneapolis, and Chicago.

Finally, a nice blurb about the Tribe from FOXSports.com’s Chad Finn.

Enjoy the beautiful Sunday afternoon that epitomizes Fall on the North Coast.
Wait, Tribe AND the Browns at 1 PM?
Fire up the DVR, “It’s Couch Time Now”!

The Silent Superstar

Ask an Indians fan to choose an MVP for the 2007 season, and the answers and reasoning will be varied and (for the most part) justifiable:
C.C. Sabathia has established himself as one of the elite pitchers in the AL, capable of winning EVERY game he pitches in.

Fausto Carmona saved the rotation in grand (and superlative-inducing) fashion from injuries to Westbrook and Lee, then the subsequent ineffectiveness of Lee and Sowers as he sawed off bats of hitters all over the AL.

Victor Martinez picked up the slack from Pronk’s struggles to carry the run-producing burden on the team, while quietly improving his much-maligned defense and throwing.

Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez settled the back end of the bullpen, stepping forward to lock down the 7th and 8th innings, bridging the effective starters (who often went the requisite 6 innings…Cliff Lee not included) to Borowski.

Even Joe Borowski, who single-handedly increased the sales of Pepto-Bismal and TUMS across Northeast Ohio on his way to a potential record-setting season in saves, could merit a mention as we’ve learned with closers that style points don’t matter, just results.

Or how about Asdrubal Cabrera, whose promotion provided the spark to a lackluster offense and team, launching them on the run to the AL Central title. With his clutch hits and emergence as the #2 hitter, Cabrera became the X factor that the Tribe seemed to be waiting for, appearing out of nowhere to save the season.

A case can be made very well for all of these players, but a name seems to be missing in most of these discussions – the Indians’ best everyday player.
Why doesn’t Grady get the love despite another stellar season?

Is his omission simply an oversight or an indication that he’s somehow unnoticed?
How could he be a quiet contributor – the SI Cover Boy with his own Fan Club, the Golden Boy whose 24 jersey continues to fly off the shelf in the Team Shop?

Have we already taken his projected contributions for granted?
Yeah, chalk him up for 25 HR, 100 RBI, 125 R, 35 SB, Gold Glove defense…yawn.

Perhaps it’s what is perceived to be an off-year with his batting average sitting at .277 , as people fail to realize that Batting Average falls pretty far down the list of measurables for a hitter’s performance as it doesn’t take walks into account (as OBP does…and, as we all know from Little League, “a walk’s as good as a hit”), or weight extra-base hits more than just hits (as SLG does as hitting a 2B or a HR certainly carries more weight than hitting a seeing-eye single) and BA certainly doesn’t measure up to what many baseball fans have acknowledged as the preeminent statistic to measure a hitter, OPS (literally, OBP plus SLG).
So how does Grady look in these categories, not as well known by most baseball fans, but that serve as better indicators of a player’s performance at the plate?
OBP - .387
1st on Indians
14th overall in AL
2nd among leadoff hitters in AL (Suzuki)

SLG - .466
3rd on Indians (Martinez - .503, Garko - .481)
26th overall in AL
2nd among leadoff hitters in AL (Granderson)

OPS - .853
2nd on Indians (Martinez - .880)
20th overall in AL
2nd among leadoff hitters in AL (Granderson)

Using the statistics that many people dismiss as “fancy math” (though they’re no more complicated than Batting Average) and just aren’t as well-known as Batting Average (the benchmark for a .300 hitter remains), Grady’s certainly not having an “off-year” by any stretch of the imagination.

Maybe it’s the perception that Grady is miscast as a leadoff hitter and that his best use for the lineup would be to sit in the #3 hole to maximize his offensive skills. Well, if his skills are scoring runs and creating runs for the team, built on pitching and the run-producing capability of Martinez and Hafner (the way that Soriano is able to lead off in Chicago, allowing Lee and Ramirez to drive him in), then the leadoff spot suits him at this point in his career.

Consider his AB in last Sunday night’s game in Anaheim, when he bunted his way onto 1B, stole 2B, and scored on a grounder hit to 1B. He essentially created something out of nothing and, at the leadoff spot where he’s assured to get the most AB of any player, what’s the harm in allowing Sizemore to remain the catalyst of the offense?
It’s not as if he’s lacking in the categories usually associated with leadoff hitters (obviously, see above for OBP):
R – 111
1st on Indians
3rd overall in AL
2nd among leadoff hitters in AL (Granderson)

H – 160
1st on Indians
17th overall in AL
4th among leadoff hitters in AL (Suzuki, Granderson, Roberts)

SB – 32
1st on Indians
6th overall in AL
3rd among leadoff hitters in AL (Roberts, Suzuki)

At a certain point in Sizemore’s career, it’s entirely conceivable for him to move down the order to impact his run-producing ability as he continues to mature as a hitter. Certainly, his skill set isn’t being wasted at the top of the lineup where his speed and aggressiveness are constantly utilized to create run-scoring opportunities for the rest of the Tribe lineup.

But what of this power, beginning to develop in SuperSizemore?
Despite the fact that he had Trot Nixon and Josh Barfield batting in front of him for most of the season, Sizemore still put up solid RBI numbers. And, now with Lofton, Gutierrez, and Blake in front of him on a regular basis, the fruits of having a more complete lineup are apparent as Grady finds himself in more run-producing situations.
Grady, sitting on the top of the lineup, seems to be doing OK for himself in the “power” categories, in terms of his placement on the Indians and league-wide:
HR – 23
1st on Indians
14th overall in AL
1st among leadoff hitters in AL

RBI – 74
3rd on Indians (Martinez – 102, Hafner – 90)
35th overall in AL
1st among leadoff hitters in AL

To recap, Grady’s in the top 3 on the Indians in ALL of the categories shown above and in the top 20 in AL in 6 of the 10 categories.

So where’s the love for a wildly consistent player that just goes about his job, never asking for the spotlight while throwing his body around the OF and having his name penciled into the lineup card every day?

Perhaps it’s his K totals (144 that lead the AL) that frustrate people, particularly from the leadoff spot. But, going into this year, Sizemore said that he was working on improving his hitting against LHP:
2006
.214 BA / .290 OBP / .427 SLG / .717 OPS in 220 AB
2007
.274 BA / .372 OBP / .416 SLG / .788 OPS in 190 AB
Nice little bump for something that he focused on getting better at.
All of Cleveland spends the Cavs’ off-season reading about what facet of the game that LeBron has decided to improve (and if his FIBA performance and reports that he’s suddenly Jimmy Chitwood from the field, I simply won’t be able to contain myself), so why can’t we say that Sizemore’s doing the same thing – improving a different portion of his all-around game one piece at a time.

In the same vein, as fans often forget Sizemore’s relative inexperience when pointing to his K total, consider that he has all of career 2,010 AB before this season is dubbed a “disappointment”, in that he didn’t enjoy the break-out year that some were predicting (remember that Gammons picked him as his pre-season AL MVP).

With Sizemore, it’s important to remember that he JUST turned 25 and the two players that he compares most closely too in the history of baseball are Duke Snider and Carlos Beltran. Snider hit 42 HR when he was 26 as opposed to the 21 he hit while he was 25 and Beltran’s breakout year happened when he turned 27 (he hit 38 HR with the Royals and the Astros during that season that he put the Astros on his back en route to the World Series) and never hit more than 29 in the years prior to it. Of course, there’s no certainty that Sizemore will take the same steps as those two players, but those expecting a true “breakout” year this year may just be a bit premature.

It’s also important to remember that the 25-year-old is still growing into his skin as his quiet demeanor often defers to players on the with more experience than him. At this point, he’s a leader on the team in that he leads by example the way that a young SS did back in the 90’s in the Bronx.

Now, is Grady our Jeter?
That “Face of the Franchise” whose numbers may not sparkle like those of the sluggers, but whose contributions go deeper than just numbers in the winning attitude, the quiet confidence, the “pedal to the metal” approach to the game that sets the tone for his teammates without saying a word, and the steadiness that calms the stormy waters of the ups and downs of a baseball season?

While his consistency and steadiness may leave Sizemore taken for granted as a pillar of the Indians, it’s important to remember the old adage that “slow and steady wins the race”.
If that’s the case, and Grady is by no means slow with no signs of slowing down, what does “fast and steady” win?
Hopefully, more than just the (simple pennant) race.

Tomahawks Down the Stretch

With an off day (finally) after a 7-3 road trip that I would dub a little more than mildly successful, let’s catch up on some Tomahawks and let ‘em fly:
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Is there any doubt left that Jenny Lewis (wasn’t that the girl in the first season of Survivor) is the 4th reliever the Indians were waiting to emerge from the pool of Lewis, Mastny, Fultz, and the Bisons’ reinforcements?

He’s now sitting on a 2.91 ERA with 24 K to only 8 BB in 21 2/3 innings of work, and while his WHIP of 1.43 looks a little too high, he is easing very nicely into the 6th inning (when needed) role with a 1.69 ERA in 4 appearances in September with a much more impressive WHIP of 0.94 in those 4 starts.

If the Indians are content to ride the hot hand in terms of bullpen effectiveness, Lewis has certainly established himself as a viable option in a game when the Indians are holding onto a lead and a reliever above and beyond the Big 3 is needed.
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Serial commenter Cy Slapnicka attended Tuesday’s game at The Cell (where he obviously almost got into a few fights with the South Side’s finest) and took some pictures of Tribe players, all while wearing his new “Rally Pie” shirt, which he’ll tell you all about in the captions of the slideshow here.
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Is it too early to anoint Asdrubal as the best Middle Infielder on the Indians?
Yes, Jhonny Peralta remains a presence (despite the perpetual moaning about his lack of range and his recurring inability to hit a breaking pitch down and away), and Cabrera has all of 107 career AB, but Cabrera’s performance at the plate (and his approach from both sides of the plate) bode well for the future of the young Venezuelan.

Truthfully, his much-ballyhooed glove hasn’t shown the sparkle that I expected (though it has been tremendously solid at a brand new position and he turns the DP as fast as anyone this side of Jelly Belliard), but if his Modus Operandi in the minors was a great glove with spotty hitting, he’s already surpassed most people’s expectations as he’s riding an 11-game hitting streak.

Oh, and he also has an OPS of 1.078 from the 7th to the 9th inning, with 1 of his 4 HR and 4 of his 16 RBI coming in those three frames, so he certainly doesn’t wilt under the heat of the spotlight.

Answer honestly who you’d rather see up in a clutch run-producing situation with the game in the balance at the end of the game right now – Peralta or Cabrera?
Yeah, me too.
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Is anyone else completely thrown off by TBS moving the “Seinfeld” re-runs from 6 PM and 6:30 PM to 5:30 PM? Not sure who, exactly, wants an hour and a half of “Everybody Loves Raymond” everyday, but they don’t live in my house.

TBS’ airing of “The Office” on Tuesday nights from 10 PM to 11 PM is a small consolation, and a must-DVR hour nonetheless, and the just concluded season of “My Boys” was entertaining, but I don’t know what I’m going to do without Jerry and George eating dinner with the DiaTribers.
What do you mean, talk about my day?
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OK, the announcement trumpeting the Return of Pronk may have been a little premature as he seems to be back to swinging and missing at pitches that he would have NEVER swung at last year and having a lot of AB’s end with him sticking the bat out to meekly ground out to the 2B or Short Outfielder…I mean SS.

Maybe the shift has gotten inside his head and he’s trying too hard to go the other way instead of smashing laser beams right at it, infield alignment be damned. Whatever the case may be, that “locked-in” Hafner that we saw up in Minnesota appears to have been more of a mirage than an actual oasis in the desert at this point of the season.
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Bought my Playoff Tickets yesterday, with the Indians (thankfully) changing their policy of Season Ticket holders having to buy ALL of the possible playoff games (which was the policy in 2005) to allowing them to pick a few games in each series (the new policy).

While the idea of a “refund” remains foreign (you simply get a credit on your account for subsequent years for any games that you have tickets for that don’t happen), at least I don’t have to commit an outrageous sum of money for tickets to ALL of the games.

To illustrate how refreshing this is, in 2005, under the old policy, buying all of the tickets for the playoffs (of which, obviously, none were used) would have given me enough “credit” on my account to pay for THREE years of Season Tix. Thank God I didn’t go for that. Conversely, this year, the amount of tickets that I bought (if NONE of the games happen) doesn’t even equal the total of my 2008 Season Ticket Plan.

Huzzah for the Tribe for realizing the short-sightedness of the old policy and remedying the problem. I’m going to be like Ralphie in “A Christmas Story”, excitedly checking the mailbox every day for his decoder ring until those tickets are in my hands.
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In case you didn’t notice, The Scarecrow and Senor Slo-Mo now lead all AL relievers (who are not closers) in ERA with Perez at the top of the heap at 1.44 and Betancourt right behind him at 1.57. Considering that the names around them include Putz, Papelbon, Okajima, and Nathan, consider the 7th and 8th inning stalwarts of the Tribe among the best around.
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Some tremendously funny Tribe-related PhotoShop pictures, created by Tribe fan Chester Banaszak (who goes by the Carnegie and Ontario handle in the blogosphere) can be seen here.
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Finally, in case you’re keeping track at home, the Indians would have to go 6-10 over their last 16 AND the Tigers would have to go 11-4 over their last 15 for the AL Central to come into question.

No lead ever feels big enough and anything can happen, but those are some settling numbers to help you sleep at night.

Get down to the Jake this weekend to support YOUR first place Cleveland Indians and pick me up a Pronk WWE bobblehead (I can’t make it on Saturday) while you’re at it.

Under the Radar

Unbeknownst to most of America (and apparently most of Cleveland, as many tickets for next week’s series against Detroit remain), the Indians now stand a mere 2 ½ games behind the Red Sox in the race for the best record in the AL, and all of MLB. Their Magic Number to clinch (12) matches that of the Angels in terms of having the lowest number of cumulative wins, coupled with losses by the 2nd place team, to ensure a divisional title.

Why has this information escaped the everyday sports (and even baseball-centric) fan?

Because, according to most published reports and national broadcasts, the Red Sox and Yankees continue to fight it out for the right to represent the AL in the World Series. Despite results on the field that dictate otherwise, the preoccupation with the idea that meaningful baseball doesn’t happen outside the East Coast has not only taken over that network with 4 letters, it’s become the accepted line of thinking across the country.

Ask a baseball fan who Rafael Perez (54 1/3 IP, 1.49 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) is and see the blank stare that you get.
Now try Joba Chamberlain (14 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.77 WHIP).
Ask a baseball fan who Asdrubal Cabrera (.849 OPS, 3 HR, 16 RBI in 99 AB) is, then Dustin Pedroia (.843 OPS, 7 HR, 47 RBI in 459 AB).

The notion that the Yankees vs. Red Sox in the ALCS is some sort of rite of Autumn is so ingrained in the national consciousness that it fails to take into account that neither team has made the ALCS in the past two years…despite growing payroll and nauseating media coverage.

You know what, though?
That’s fine with me.
After years of frustration about the lack of knowledge (or even caring to know anything) and dearth of coverage from the national media about the Indians and their promise, I’m HAPPY that the Indians aren’t getting any kind of attention. Sure, Peter Gammons (perhaps the last truly knowledgeable person in Bristol) has devoted his last few columns to C.C. and how the Indians (and the Angels) are probably better suited for a playoff run than the “elite” of the AL East.

But, who cares?
Let Indians’ highlights show up in the last ½ of recap shows, let the Indians build up a giant chip on their shoulder to feel underappreciated and underexposed. Let the Red Sox go into the playoffs with giant expectations and watch the Indians play the perceived role of David (however inaccurate that may be) with Sabathia, Carmona, and Westbrook manning the proverbial slingshots.

And while you think that the lack of coverage or respect is just national, watch a local sports broadcast. The Indians are getting as much press locally as they were last year, when they were afterthoughts in the AL Central race. During the Indians-Tigers series (when the Tribe took 2 of 3) about a month ago, the lead story on most 6 PM sports segments was…Brady Quinn’s new haircut.

Despite the fact that the Browns have become irrelevant (once again) before the start of Week 2, the trade of Charlie Frye (how talent evaluation and organizational confusion can result in the starting of a QB, then trading him in less than 48 hours is beyond comprehension) and the Romeo Crennel Death Watch are the topics of conversation on Clevelanders’ lips.

Yet the Cleveland media keeps sitting, waiting, and wishing for the Indians to fall apart, ready to pounce on the Dolans, Shapiro and Wedge if the Ghost of 2005 rears its ugly head and sabotages the Tribe’s playoff push. While the waiting continues, the Indians remain an afterthought in the city, somehow still transfixed by yet another Browns’ debacle and the ensuing mess.

You have to wonder if the average Clevelander knows much about the current incarnation of the Tribe and the roll they find themselves on. You can almost picture Garko and Michaels going into a bar and letting on that they play for the Indians. The scene would mirror that of the dinner party from Major League:
Cleveland Bandwagoneer: You play for the Indians? You mean, here…in Cleveland. I didn’t know we still had a team. I thought the team disbanded when Thome, Omar, and Manny left.
Garko: No. We’re still here and it’s really great. We’ve got uniforms and everything. We’re actually in 1st place.

But, again, who cares?
Let the bandwagoneers fill up on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario with people who will break their Tribe gear out of mothballs after 10 years of sitting in their closet. Let the Tribe “fans” hop on for the ride.
We’ve been on this ride for a while and it’s been a hell of a lot of fun.

Who cares if nobody else has noticed this, or if everyone’s attention is diverted elsewhere?

See the perceived disrespect fuel The Hefty Lefty and his boys through October.
You can almost hear C.C. saying, “We’re not sneaking up on anybody. We knew we were this good. I told you that we would win the division. I told you we were a good team. It’s YOU who didn’t care to know that we ARE this good...and that’s on you, not me”

The Indians aren’t surprising anyone who’s been paying attention and the fun is only beginning.

Lazy C.C. Sunday

After having lost two straight in Anaheim…I mean Los Angeles…let’s just say Orange County, the Tribe needed a victory on Saturday night to stop the Halos’ momentum and put a halt to the tiny slide (of course, coinciding with a resurgent Tigers’ team) that they suddenly found themselves on.

They needed a player to take control, they needed a player to put the team on his back, they needed a leader to step up and say, “I’m not going to let this tailspin continue and I’m going to single-handedly win a game for this team”.

They needed their ace – capable of twirling a virtuoso performance from the mound, keeping the pesky Angel hitters at bay, saving the bullpen, allowing the offense enough time to figure out Ervin Santana after two nights of facing the best Orange County had to offer in Escobar and Lackey.

Enter (stage right) the Hefty Lefty.
All the Crooked Cap did was throw a complete game 5-hitter with just 103 pitches, letting up 1 run, and allowing the Tribe to have a chance to go for the split tonight on the network that has become a 4-letter word in some parts.

Take into account that Howie Kendrick was using him for target practice (hitting him with come-backers twice in the game, causing Sabathia to vehemently wave off the trainers and just get more locked in) and that he was so utterly in command that the Angels never even really mounted a serious threat, and the maturation of C.C. – that “final step” that, prior to this year, was always in question – is unquestionably complete.

He is the best pitcher I’ve ever seen in an Indians uniform (I’m 30, so hold off on the Bob Feller comments) and has established himself as a selfless leader on this club. Earlier this season he was quoted as saying that the Indians were going to win the division (remember this is when the Indians were, shall we say, taking their good old time scoring runs) and that anyone in the clubhouse who didn’t believe that shouldn’t be there.
Since that time he’s backed it up.

But he hasn’t stopped there, continuing to put the team ahead of his individual accomplishments. As reader R.M. Jennings quoted in the comments section, C.C.’s thoughts on winning 20 games or the Cy Young, “I don't think about that. If I can just stay healthy and help this team get a ring, that's all that matters.”

Not impressed by the Big Fella’s perspective in that quote?
How’s this comment about the drought of 20-game and Cy Young Award winners in Cleveland, “We haven't won a World Series in about 50-something years. That's a longer drought than any of those other two. So that's all I'm going to hear about, honestly.”

I don’t care if contracts or guaranteed years or purported greed are going to cloud some people’s perception of C.C. in the next 18 months, C.C. Sabathia is the best player on this Indians team and the biggest reason that the Indians have a legitimate shot to go deep into the playoffs.

He’s a fearless ace, a pitcher who wants the ball in a big game, a player not scared by pressure situations or the spotlight. He’s something that we haven’t had in Cleveland, on a winning team in about 50 years.
Choose your weapon as the playoffs start.
Give me my aCCe, and I like my chances.

With that love letter completed, let’s take a quick look at a Lazy Sunday:
Terry Pluto (thank God he’s at the PD and brings some sanity to those pages) reflects on the effectiveness versus the efficiency of the Big Borowski as well as providing some of his regular insightful, well-thought out comments.

By the way, I thought that the Pluto hiring would mean less of Bill Livingston and Bud Shaw, yet the Brothers Grimm continue to bring their stormy disposition (not to mention horrible writing) to my front porch. I suppose that’s on me as much as anyone for continuing to subscribe, but can I get an Estimated Departure Date for the Brothers Grimm? Please?

Paul Hoynes rips off and dumbs down my “Promoting From Within” a few days later, although I guess he throws in a Shapiro quote. Actually the best thing from the Hoynes column is that Bert Blyleven thinks that Frank the Tank reminds him of a “thinner Juan Gonzalez”. Keep…blind optimism…in check.
Just keep those hamstrings intact, Gutz.

Stephanie Storm’s blog on the Aeros continues to entertain and keep the ABJ relevant in the wake of Pluto’s trek up north.

Finally, a nice piece on everybody’s favorite fan, John Adams, in today’s New York Times.

Tribe’s on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball tonight.
Try not to get too upset at the ignorance of Joe Morgan, his lack of knowledge about the Indians and stubbornness to discuss anything relevant or say anything rational. Actually, when you’ve had enough of him, pause the game and visit the brilliant Fire Joe Morgan website for some laughs (please note, parental discretion advised).

Oh yeah, and there’s something else happening this afternoon on the North Coast that’s going on that will cause me to break out my Chris Spielman jersey…um, William Green jersey…um, generic Browns gear with no mention of any player past or present.

Enjoy a nice, long Lazy Sunday and cheer the Browns and Tribe onto victories!

The Future's So Bright...

Watching this team congeal and accelerate going into the post-season, it’s important to remember that this team is built for long-term success, not a quick look at contention followed by a return to mediocrity. The Tribe is built on young stars playing with long-term contracts (for the most part), giving the team a backbone on which the body of the roster can be fleshed out.

The likes of Sizemore, Hafner, Martinez, Carmona, Westbrook, Garko, Peralta, and Perez (plus Gutierrez, Cabrera, and Laffey) aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and figure to serve as the bedrock for the Indians team (now just showing the flashes of brilliance which promise to shine brighter for years to come) that we are seeing emerge this season.

How deep-rooted is the roster?
Subscribing to the idea that you can never have too many arms too choose from and that there’s no such thing as a sure thing (Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers, Atom Miller), let’s assume that the Tribe picks up the options for Byrd ($8M option), Borowski ($4M option), and Fultz ($1.5M option) for the 2008 season. With those three presumably in the fold, the only Free Agent on the roster after this season is Trot Nixon.
Let me write that again (in another format) so everyone can do their Dance of Joy.
FA after 2007
Trot Nixon

Everyone who wants The Trotter to become scarce in the Tribe clubhouse (veteran leadership, awesome and ever-changing facial hair, the occasional Ultimate Warrior eye-black, and pie recipes notwithstanding) will have their wish granted in the very near future.

Of course, if Nixon helps (in ANY way) the team get fitted for rings or for a certain flag to be raised high above the Jake, I’ll take his contributions (obviously unseen by the public) and assume that the Dolans can do some sort of tax write-off as paying his $3M salary is essentially charity.

The fact that he’s the only player on the current roster not signed for next year shows the foresight that the Indians’ Front Office has shown to lock up and stabilize the “core” of this roster, keeping the current players (at known salary numbers) for the foreseeable future.

But it doesn’t stop just by looking at the potential Free Agents next year. How about those that would be locked down until the end of the 2008 season?
FA after 2008
C.C. Sabathia
Casey Blake
Paul Byrd
Joe Borowski
Aaron Fultz

That’s it.
And while that’s a pretty big Matzo Ball hanging out there at the top of the list, the farm system has plenty of time to develop replacements for the other four (if it hasn’t already).

Rather than dwelling on C.C.’s contract negotiations and whether he will continue to anchor the Tribe rotation (call me crazy, but I think that he will…go ahead, do it…“you’re crazy”), consider that with the bevy of arms that the Indians boast (I believe the oft-used term is “waves of arms”) you would think that one (or two) starter(s) and two relievers could emerge to fill the pitching staff out. Throw in the projected maturation of Rafael Perez, Aaron Laffey, or Jensen Lewis as well as the possibility of a rebound for guys like Jeremy Sowers and Tom Mastny and the pieces may not be far away at all.

On the non-pitcher related front, while some would scoff that Casey Blake has little value on the team going forward and could be replaced by any AAAA player, consider that Blake can play four to five positions, can be moved around the lineup, and can grow a beard like few who have ever donned the Chief. Essentially, he may not be as replaceable as some would like to think. Thus, it is entirely feasible that Blake could be re-signed to serve as the Super-Utility player for a few more years if that suitable replacement is not obvious or even on the horizon. It’s not likely that it would take too much to convince Blake to remain with the first team that gave him a chance, where he can launch verbal cannonballs across Pronk’s bow, and where he shares an Alumni Card with the manager.

That must be it, right? After 2008 is when the team falls off the cliff?
FA after 2009
Rafael Betancourt
David Dellucci
Jason Michaels

Depending on how the back of the bullpen situation plays out, it’s conceivable that Senor Slo-Mo could be given a few years on a contract (though hopefully not too many, due to the volatility of relievers in general). Regardless, he’s here for another two years…at least, giving the organization more time to churn out suitable replacements.

As for the other two, they may not be here at the start of 2008 depending upon how the OF situation plays out. Both were given contracts that were too long and are unlikely to see the end of those contracts with checks still coming from the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, particularly with Frank the Tank seizing his opportunity in RF and the likes of Ben Francisco, The BLC (Choo, assuming he’s still around), Brian Barton, Jordan Brown (the dark horse candidate who won his 2nd consecutive MVP award in Akron this year, after winning the League MVP in Kinston last year), and even Brad Snyder and Trevor Crowe (both of whom have REALLY fallen off of the prospect map) in the pipeline with the hopes that at least one will separate from the pack.

That means the rest of the team stays intact for another TWO years and while the names of the prospective Free Agents look a little bigger going forward, take note of who’s NOT on the list:
FA after 2010
Cliff Lee
Victor Martinez
Jake Westbrook

FA after 2011
Josh Barfield
Jhonny Peralta
Kelly Shoppach

That’s right, Sherlock, you haven’t seen Fausto Carmona (FA after 2012), Grady Sizemore (FA after 2012), or Travis Hafner (FA after 2013) even show up on the list.

The most important factor in all of these players being locked down is that the Indians figure to face few true off-season question marks. With most of the pieces already in place and the holes (hopefully) filled by youngsters, the Tribe isn’t beholden to overpay on the Free Agent market.

Sure, this off-season promises to be full of spirited debate about what the makeup of the infield should look like, who will play LF, how the bullpen will shake out, who the 5th starter will be, or something having to do with a heavyset fellow from the Oakland area and how many zeroes should be on his biweekly checks, or…well, actually that’s it. The question marks don’t figure to be as large as most other teams face (and most other teams face HUGE question marks every off-season)

The stability and the “known quantities” that are making this playoff push so impressive and so very important is reminiscent of a comment made by Orel Hershiser after the 1995 season. He said, in effect, that the young players on that Indians team didn’t understand that this (ridiculously winning games like you were playing a video game) isn’t how it always worked in MLB…that your team just didn’t win every year. But they did, and that experience, and the resulting swagger, is what carried the Tribe to the unparalleled success in the late 90’s.

This group of youngsters is gaining that same invaluable experience, confidence, and an education in September and October baseball, with the hopes that it continues to translate into perennial success. When (not if) this group makes a push for the next few years, they’ll look back on this, the first year of true success as a building block.

How large a building block it turns out to be will be determined in the next two months, but the team is learning how to compete (and win) within a divisional race.
Here’s hoping the building block is shaped like a ring.

The Return of the Incredible Pronk

As a humble representative of all the Featherheads on the Reservation, I’d like to welcome Pronk back to the Cleveland Indians’ clubhouse. I don’t know where he was, nor do I care to know where he has been for the last 4 months.
The only thing I care about is that he’s back, baby!

Perhaps the Indians should pay for Mr. & Mrs. Hafner to travel with the Indians for the rest of the season if this is the effect that they have on their son when attending games. I’m all for it if only to see Pronk’s dad, a mountain of a man in a plaid button-up from the Big & Tall Shop in Sykestown and an askew Tribe hat who couldn’t look anymore like a farmer from North Dakota if he tried.

Last night, it was Pronk’s turn (as one of the Indians’ pillars) to put the team on his shoulders (C.C., Grady, and Victor are sore from doing it all season) with 2 HR, including the improbable BLAST in the 9th off of Joe Nathan with 2 outs to tie the game.

In all, Hafner went 2 for 4 with the 2 aforementioned HR and 4 RBI, including the go-ahead RBI in the 11th thanks to another prodigious drive that plated Frank the Tank after Torii Hunter tracked it down.

In the last 10 games, Pronk has a .978 OPS with 3 HR and 12 RBI.
Seeing as how those HR and RBI totals equal his June totals (yes, the whole month of June) and nearly match his totals from July (4 HR, 16 RBI…again, for the whole month), and realizing fully that 10 games a season does not make, it’s time to welcome Pronk back into the fold.

This Indians’ team was peaking and starting to score runs with Pronk still on the side of a milk carton, replaced by some joker named Travis.
Now, somebody must have made Bruce Banner…er, Hafner mad, because Pronk is back and his return to a hot Indians team just may be the final piece of the puzzle to get the Indians truly going on all cylinders, if they weren’t already.

7 full games up with the Magic Number down to 18.
The Indians are (finally) running and hiding with the AL Central…and Pronk has come back to enjoy in the revelry of a playoff chase.

A New Sheriff in Town

Twice in the past five days, C.C. and The Great Santana have squared off against each other, with the Crooked Cap besting the 2-time Cy Young winner both times, winning 4-3 last Wednesday and 5-0 Monday afternoon. Perhaps in the last week, we have all witnessed a changing of the guard in regards to the top starter in the AL Central, and possibly in all of the American League.

Before the cries of blasphemy and homerism start, consider the numbers of C.C. over his past 10 starts:
2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 4.25 K for every BB (51 K to 12 BB)

Did I mention that he hasn’t given up more than 2 ER in any of those 10 starts with 8 of the 10 being 7 innings or longer, all coming with the Indians making a giant push for the playoffs?

C.C. is now tied for the AL lead in Wins with 16, leads the AL in Innings Pitched with 219, is 6th in the AL in ERA at 3.24, and is 4th in the AL in K with 182. Granted, Santana comes in above the Hefty Lefty in ERA and K; but with the Indians in the pennant race, C.C. has put the team on his back and has given the Indians a chance to win every game he has started (assuming they can score 3 runs, which is no given) over the last month and a half.

Santana now sits at 0-5 against the Tribe, with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in 6 starts against the Featherheads. Obviously, some of the onus falls on the Twins’ offense for not getting Santana a W, but the Indians’ hitters (Jhonny Peralta excluded) seem to have figured out the once-unhittable Johan.

But that’s bound to happen anytime a pitcher logs 5 decisions against a team in one year, right? The hitters get a chance to see how a pitcher approaches different situations, have seen the arsenal of pitches, and can adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the pitcher.

If that’s the case, explain how C.C. is now 4-1 against the boys from the Land of 10,000 Lakes with a 1.51 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Again, some of that falls on the hitters for the Twinkies, but it shows how C.C. has embraced the adjustments that the elite pitchers in the league have mastered. While the Twins have seen the aCCe in 5 starts, they either have yet to make the proper adjustments to hit him or C.C. has stayed a step ahead of them, mixing his pitches and keeping hitters off-balance.

Whatever the case is, confidence in the Tribe ace grew as the games wore on in both Sabathia-Santana match-ups and the feeling that the Indians used to face (utter hopelessness) when drawing the Johan straw from the Minnesota pool settled into the Minnesota dugout.

That feeling of hopelessness found in the Twins’ clubhouse cannot be unique to the AL Central rivals though as it must be the same feeling that permeates AL lineups when the 290 pounds (plus about…oh…35 pounds) that is C.C. strides to the mound this year.

C.C. may not have a chance to go for 20 wins this year, depending upon how the last week of the season shakes out and how the Indians want to (fingers double-crossed) set up their playoff rotation. But Sabathia has undeniably taken the step that we’ve been waiting for.
He’s an ace. And a homegrown one at that.

Save all of the talk about contracts and trades and MTV Cribs for a while.
The Indians are in a pennant race (sitting pretty at 6 games up) and their aCCe is making a statement throughout the league every time he takes the ball.

I'll Have the Lazy Sunday on A Roll, Please

Well, the hitting has come around (Mr. Dolan, the bats have woken up) and the streak is on. Sitting 5 ½ up, getting complete game 4-hitters from the #4 starter, baking pies in the clubhouse in anticipation of another win, this team has found its stride and couldn’t have done it at a better time.

The lineup appears to be locked in.
The starting pitchers are all pitching like they don’t want to be the one to stop the streak.
The bullpen (JoeBo’s theatrics considered) is falling into place.

What more do you need to make a wonderful holiday weekend?

A Lazy Sunday, perhaps? Ask…and you shall receive:
Terry Pluto brings his knowledge north to the PD (where it was SORELY needed), commenting on…well, exactly what I’ve been talking about here about the Tribe.
Maybe Terry has this page bookmarked? Regardless, welcome back Terry.

Cliff Lee (and Francisco, Rivas, and Koplove) all have joined the parent club and Lee still doesn’t seem to get it. Lee (obviously) is headed to the bullpen but doesn’t understand why. Quoth Mr. Five and Flee, “It's a concern. I thought I had a pretty set role, now it's not there anymore. I'm kind of curious what the future holds for me here. That's a question I really can't answer."

Um, Cliff? I’m pretty sure you flamed out in the Tribe rotation and didn’t exactly set Buffalo afire. So, if I understand this right, you should have your spot in the rotation, just sitting there for you to occupy? Be happy that you got called up and are on the team, in any role.
Nice to see that Cliff’s thinking about the name on the front of his jersey and not the back.
Here’s the answer to the question that you refer to in your quote. Buh-bye, Cliffie

As for the other call-ups, Rivas was a surprise as he’s a redundancy on a roster full of middle infielders and Rivas doesn’t bring anything obvious to the table that the current Indians lack. Francisco looks like a defensive replacement and pinch runner, as other RH OF exist in front of him for playing time and pinch hitting. Koplove could be the sleeper, though, as he did perform very well in Arizona a few years back (19 holds in 2004) and could work his way onto the postseason roster if he’s able to prove that he could add more to the team than, say, Tom Mastny.

No link for Sheldon Ocker as his relevance in Tribe-related matters belongs in the funny pages, on a good day.

Tribe goes for nine in a row and another sweep today with Jake taking on Contreras. On paper, it looks good for the Erie Warriors, but that’s why they play the games.

Somebody get the thermometer…I think I’ve got a case of Indian Fever!

Promoting From Within

Heading into the weekend’s series with the sinking ship that is the White Sox (with Cap’n Ozzie not exactly lauding the efforts of his crew and possibly going down with the ship), taking a look at the evolution of the current construction of the Indians’ roster is nothing short of unprecedented.

Consider for a moment how this team looked coming out of Winter Haven for Opening Day:

Sabathia
Westbrook
Byrd
Lee
Sowers
Davis
Cabrera
Hernandez
Mastny
Fultz
Betancourt
Borowski
Martinez
Shoppach
Garko
Barfield
Peralta
Marte
Rouse
Blake
Nixon
Sizemore
Michaels
Dellucci
Hafner

The players not on the active roster are in bold and if you’re counting at home, that’s 8 players from the Opening Day roster not on the team (yes, I know Dellucci is hurt and is allegedly returning soon – but for all intents and purposes, he has not been contributing for some time); so that means that nearly 1/3 of the 25-man roster is different today than it was on Opening Day.

When turnover like this on a roster takes place it usually means that either the injury bug has hit the team hard (thankfully, not true) or the team is out of contention and has moved the veterans to play youngsters to see what they have (like the Tribe did late in 2006). Since neither of those things have taken place (the team is healthy and firmly in contention), the turnover in roster is amazing. Even more amazing than that is the fact that Dellucci has been the only player lost to a significant injury (everybody knock on wood…now…and hard), as both Lee and Westbrook returned from oblique strains and Pronk’s lingering “issues” (there has to be some) have not been catastrophic for this team.

Now, look at the list above again. The Indians are also no longer getting significant contributions from Mastny (although I know he’s still on the team because I keep seeing him warm up during Borowski’s tightrope walks), Fultz, Barfield, Nixon (pies notwithstanding), or Michaels.

Adding those 5 to the 8 in bold above and the number of players not playing a vital role on the current team from Opening Day is a staggering 13! That’s over 50% of the Opening Day roster that finds themselves either elsewhere (like Buffalo), on the DL, glued to the bench, or remain in the dark on how to work the lock on the bullpen door.

Yet, this team has firmly established itself as the leader in the AL Central and is (arguably) playing their best baseball as the calendar flips to September.

Additionally, seeing as how the only players that the Indians currently use that were outside of the organization at the dawn of the 2007 are Kenny Lofton and Chris Gomez, these facts speak volumes about the depth and quality of the Indians organization and talent evaluation of young players.

Essentially, the lion’s share of replacements that are fueling the current team’s run didn’t come via trade or from other organizations. They came from nurturing the crops down on the farm. The list of players called up and contributing is long and illustrious with Carmona, Laffey, Perez, Lewis, Gutierrez, and Cabrera playing enormous roles in the club’s current surge.

But four players have distinguished themselves this season, some with a nice career progression, and others out of nowhere to put the team where it is today – sitting atop the AL Central with (as of today, courtesy of Baseball Prospectus) an 86% likelihood of making the playoffs:

The Faustastic One
Going into the season, Carmona was thought to be the all-important 6th starter with the hope that the train wreck that was his 2006 season wouldn’t ruin his confidence (remember the stuff was ALWAYS there as he was a ridiculously good set-up man before imploding as a closer) and that he could rebound into a fill-in if an injury happened.

Now if those are the expectations (to simply be able to rebound and become a serviceable MLB starter), Fausto just sunk your Battleship because he’s blown everything you thought you knew about baseball out of the water en route to a Cy Young-caliber season, in effect saving the rotation as Westbrook, then Lee, suffered through injuries and ineffectiveness and somebody exposed Jeremy Sowers to Kryptonite.

What Carmona has done is nothing short of extraordinary, acting as the 2nd ace of the staff, propelling the team to victory after victory. Carmona, too, is doing it with a pitching arsenal that has been described as “filthy”, “nasty”, “not fair”, and “makes you feel like you’re hung-over”, as he has complemented his sinking fastball with a slider and a change-up. Carmona’s learning curve has been so quick that he’s already arrived as a PITCHER, and not just a thrower. How long did we wait for Bartolo Colon or C.C. to make that transition?

Interestingly, the pitcher that I keep hearing as the comparison for Carmona is Kevin Brown – another sinkerballer who complemented his nearly-unhittable sinking fastball with secondary stuff that generated some phenomenal years. Brown was nothing short of dominant for those years with the Marlins, Padres, and Dodgers as his average year from 1996-1999 looked like this:
17-6, 2.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP

Um..yeah. I’ll take that production over the course of a few years.
But Brown didn’t post these gaudy numbers until he was 31, so it could be argued that it took him the 7 previous seasons in a starting rotation to perfect his arsenal. By comparison, the maturation for the 23-year-old Carmona (yes, 23) has taken about 4 months.

American League hitters, be afraid…be very afraid.

The Scarecrow
For some quick perspective, the list of relievers (not on the 25-man Opening Day roster) thought to be ahead of Rafael Perez in the organization breaking Spring Training:
Matt Miller
Mike Koplove
Edward Mujica

You might even put a guy like Tony Sipp ahead of Perez in the organizational depth chart (though not likely) to show how Perez certainly wasn’t widely thought to be a viable candidate to become a regular contributor in Cleveland this year, much less one of the most important players on the team.
By the way, don’t even ask where Jensen Lewis started the season on the organizational depth chart in April. It’s not on the first page, maybe not the second.

But back to the skinny LHP with the wicked slider, who really solidified the back end of the bullpen as much as the success of Borowski and Betancourt did. What Perez’s emergence did was shorten the game to 6 innings as he grabbed that 7th inning role and ran with it.

At the beginning of the season, that 7th inning role was seen as up for grabs and we sat and watched Hernandez age before our very eyes, Aaron Fultz proved to be effective only when starting an inning and a disaster with men on base, and Tom Mastny proved to be…well, Tom Mastny.

Perez worked his way up the bullpen ladder from garbage innings-eater to match-up lefty to dominant reliever. Not limited to only facing LH, Perez has proven to be effective against all comers (note the 3 swinging K’s in the 8th inning of Thursday’s game against LH Jose Guillen, LH Raul Ibanez, and RH Adrian Beltre) and has been nothing short of a lockdown reliever in tight spots with runners on base.

His development as a pitcher, and possibly as a future option as a closer, will be an interesting storyline to watch as most of the other relievers developed and nurtured by the Tribe have flamed out (CaBBrera, Jason Dangerously) at some point, forcing the Indians to rely on retreads and reclamation projects to fill the bullpen. Perez could be the trailblazer for a line of solid relievers to emerge from the Tribe’s farm system and could turn out to be the one that they all eventually hand the ball to when the 9th inning rolls around.

Frank the Tank
Entering 2007, Gutz was a bit of an enigma to the organization, with his talent and tools not yet translating to Big League success and stagnating in Buffalo. Coming out of Spring Training, the depth chart for OF in the organization broke down like this:
Sizemore
Michaels
Dellucci
Blake
Nixon
Choo
Francisco
Gutierrez
That would be Frankie, #8 on a list that mans 3 positions.

But something happened to the Tribe’s well-intentioned plans coming out of Winter Haven. Andy Marte struggled at 3B, then got hurt, moving Blake out of the OF mix. Choo was called up, then Francisco was in early May, but both were sent down days later as Frank got the call on May 6th. A mere 13 days later, he was sent back to Buffalo when Marte was ready to return. As Marte continued to struggle, Andy was sent packing and Gutierrez returned on May 31st.
Following all of these roster moves?

This time Gutz was in Cleveland to stay…just not necessarily to play. He kept himself busy splitting time with Trot Nixon in RF, logging 54 AB in June and 49 AB in July. Through his success in limited time (.882 OPS in June, .891 OPS in July) and some success against RHP (his HR against Beckett in the 1-0 win particularly stood out), Gutierrez did what every organization wants their young players to do – force their way into the everyday lineup with solid and consistent play.

When finally inserted into the everyday lineup, Gutz drastically improved outfield defense with his speed and arm while providing more power, speed, and athleticism to bottom of lineup than the Trotter could bring to the ballpark every day.

Gutierrez has continued his excellent play, particularly in the field and with his speed on the basepaths, and has claimed a legitimate stake on the RF job every day for 2008 and beyond. While the Indians certainly must have HOPED that this would have been the step that Gutz would have taken in 2007, his presence and consistency has laid the Oliver Stone OF (Platoon…get it?) to waste and has contributed to a stable lineup and a huge upgrade in speed, athleticism, and defense – something sorely needed for the playoff push.

AstroCab
If the players above constitute “pleasant surprises” and “talent realized at an opportune time”, Cabrera would fall under the category of, “who’s?…doing what?…”.
Realizing fully that you’re completely tired of seeing depth charts from 5 months ago, consider the ladder that Drooby Drooby Droo climbed in regards to Middle IF:
Peralta
Barfield
Rouse
Rivas
Inglett
Luna
Cabrera
You could even throw Keith Ginter in there above Cabrera if you’re just talking about possible Utility IF.

Consider now that the Indians went outside of the organization to add Chris Gomez (and that there are all of two positions for Middle IF to play) and Cabrera’s ascent into the #2 hole in the lineup and a crucial role on this contending team’s stretch run is worth a double take.

When Cabrera was acquired for Eduardo Perez (who said the other night, tongue firmly in cheek, on Baseball Tonight that the Tribe got the best of the deal to nab Cabrera from Seattle), he was thought to be a great glove, no hit player who had been rushed through the Mariners’ organization as he had just turned 20 and was playing at AAA Tacoma. The Indians assigned him to Buffalo, where he played like you would expect a 20-year-old in AAA to play – inconsistently.

Going into 2007, the Tribe decided to start him in Akron to let him get his feet wet and earn his way to Buffalo (which, remember, was the halfway house for retread MI Rivas, Inglett, and Luna). Seeing as he was still 20 (turned 21 on August 8th of this year, by the by), it was a decision that couldn’t really be argued.

But, all AstroCab (this supposed reincarnation of Felix Fermin – smooth glove, spotty bat) did was hit. He posted a .310/.383/.454 line in 96 games in Akron with 23 doubles, 8 HR, and 54 RBI. With the Mighty Rouse struggling to put bat on ball (and put glove on ball, truthfully), the Tribe decided to see how he would handle Buffalo this time around. Showing remarkable consistency, Asdrubal posted a .316/.350/.395 in his 9 games as a member of the Herd.

With the Indians no longer able to handle Rouse’s inconsistency on the roster (and the Buffalo Blowhards not doing anything to impress), the Tribe called up Cabrera, mainly to spell a struggling Barfield and for the ability to have a dependable late-inning defensive replacement. Of course, soon after Asdrubal arrived, the Indians decided to bench Barfield and give Gomez and Cabrera a shot.

In effect, the situation could not have been better for Asdrubal. If Murphy’s Law is “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong,” maybe Asdrubal’s Law is the opposite as everything fell neatly into place for him to get his chance. And he has certainly seized it, providing a spark to a (at the time) listless offense and providing steady glove work in the field. He shows no signs of being overwhelmed by adjustments or of being intimidated by his new surroundings (the HR against Santana being the clincher), so he’s acting and playing like he belongs and that he has no plans of making the return trip East on I-90 to Buffalo. Watching him play, it’s hard to argue that he should even consider it.

But, as exciting as AstroCab’s performance on the field has been, the incredible thing about Cabrera’s success (albeit in a very small sample size) is his age. Again, he just turned 21 three weeks ago, and looking at recent Middle IF who made their first real contributions in MLB at either age 20 or 21, it is a pretty impressive list with players like Alan Trammell, Roberto Alomar, Lou Whitaker, Willie Randolph, and Ozzie Guillen offering a range of players with varying degrees of success.
Expand it to age 22 and the list doesn’t have much of a drop-off, with the likes of Barry Larkin, Omar Vizquel (yes, Omar), and Ryne Sandberg dotting the high end.

Of course, you’ll also run into the likes of Mark Lewis, Jerry Browne, Miguel Cairo, Luis Rivas, and D’Angelo Jimenez as young infielders that debuted at a young age but never progressed much past being a Utility IF (or worse).

With only the early returns in, it looks like Asdrubal is the Real McCoy, exhibiting a nice approach at the plate (though that BB number could be higher) and a smoothness and fluidity in the field not seen here since (gulp…should I say it…dare I throw these expectations on this youngster) Omar.

Regardless of where he ends up playing (2B or SS) or what we say about him 10 years from now, Asdrubal (by the way, I’m getting a lot of flak for AstroCab and a movement is gaining ground that he could be the next first-name-only-player – like Omar, Manny, Grady, Victor, C.C., Fausto, etc. before him), his inclusion on this team and his accomplishments to date are above and beyond what even the most optimistic prognosticator would predict.

Had anyone predicted in April that these four players (plus Lewis and Laffey) would be playing a vital role in the season, you likely would have scoffed in disgust that all that would mean is that the Indians were experiencing a lost season.

Had that same person predicted that these players would be playing crucial roles in a playoff race, playing for a team sitting on top of the division by 4 ½ games as August draws to a close, you would have laughed at their blind optimism.

Yet, here we find ourselves, getting contributions from players we certainly didn’t see coming (for the most part) as the Indians find themselves relying on a bumper crop of youngsters produced by the farm system, and perhaps more talented than players available via Free Agency to make their push for the postseason.

Baseball’s a funny game that way, the unexpected (regardless of how unexpected) is often the norm and the smartest baseball people are right as often as the guy calling the sports-talk radio show (best example I can think of for the dumbest people in the world).

The future is now for the Indians, the Minor Leagues are producing quality players that are arriving at fortuitous times, and youth is being served on the North Coast.

Pie Me

As the Indians pull victory from the jaws of defeat, they’ve now won 6 straight, put the Mariners a little deeper in the hole, and keep the momentum going.

With Jason Michaels receiving the rally pie (not alone as Underwood and Manning got them in the STO booth simultaneously), it’s time for the out-of-towners (or those that don’t make it down to the Jake) to see the Rally Pie Video they show on the JumboTron.
Garko getting the pie when looking for the low-five is the highlight.


Much more coming on the hot streak and the way that this team is peaking at the right time, regaining their confidence and swagger (I know I can’t just keep posting a picture and 3 lines and keep everyone happy); so stay tuned.