Tribe Mosh Pit–May 13, 2007

I’ve been sitting around my house in a drug/concussion induced haze all week, so I had something in common with the Indians this week…the haze, not the drugs or the concussion. Yeah, a week with a long road trip from Baltimore to California, struggling starters AND relievers, blown leads and blowouts, with a sprinkle of Fausto in between, making a whole lot of fans thank their lucky stars, and make a few current starters sweat a bit. Yeah, pretty much just an ordinary week of Tribe baseball.

It’s funny how nearly a decade of winning baseball still couldn’t wipe out a lifetime of losing baseball before it. Of course, the head injury may have left me with some gaps. Enough aobut that…let’s get rolling…

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Tribe Mosh Pit-May 20, 2007

Cleveland came back home, and played like it, winning 5 of 6 games at the Jake this week. Home...Sweet...Home...



Before I get into the BIG CLUB, am I the only one that noticed that Adam Miller missed a start this past Thursday? It appears as though Miller had a "sore middle finger(no, I couldn't have made that up if I tried)." He'll pitch in his next start on Tuesday, but it sent up a small, slight red flag. Miller has a history of arm injuries early in his career. These minor injuries that "pop-up" tend to be a sign of things to come. My hope is that Miller just has a "sore middle finger," and not another injury on the road of many injuries. People are toting Miller as the reason not to give CC his money. Well, I'm not saying break the bank, but having CC is imperative.


Shhh, Paul Byrd won 2 games this week. This was a valuable Paul Byrd week. Can he continue this pace? You know the Yankees will be calling, but the facts are the facts. The Yankees have nothing we want. Let's ride this Byrd hot streak as long as we can. Why worry about what we can get for him, when ultimately, he could be the MOST important cog in getting us to the dance. What do I mean? Well, I don't think I'm the only one that thinks Byrd is going to falter at some point. So be it. This will give the Tribe brass the time they need to continue developing Miller, let Sowers work out his obvious issues, and see if Carmona is really the stud we all think he is. There's a lot that needs to be worked out, and Byrd is allowing it to happen. Dealing him now would be a monumental mistake. As I've said from the start, all World Series teams have a Paul Byrd.



Carmona became the first pitcher since 2004 to beat Johan Santana twice in one year. What do you think the odds were at the start of the season that THAT would happen? Nothing more needs to be said there. Carmona is that good, and there's really no reason to kick a dead horse.



Sizemore is obviously the poster boy for Cleveland this year. So, Grady is starting to hit more. Is there really anything different? He is still getting on base. He is still scoring runs. Like I said, it was the strangest slump I've ever seen. Sizemore still managed to dictate the pace of the Tribe by getting on base and creating havoc on the bases. He was 15 for 15 in stolen bases. Well, that streak has changed. Sizemore was thrown out for the first time today. So I say to you this. How many players do YOU know that can remain not only effective, but dominating, while only batting .230. Yeah, you'd have to be a pretty special player to do it. I wonder how far ahead in the MVP run he'd be this early in the season if he was batting .320.



Cleveland is 16-4 at the Jake. The last and only time Cleveland had the same mark was in 1995. I'll let you make any and all comparisons that you'd like. I'm not ready to go there yet.



Mike Miller is back and throwing rehab in Buffalo. He hasn't been electric, or anything like that, but I can't imagine he's going to be in Buffalo all that long. He's still working on his control, but he isn't an Indian to pitch for the Bisons. Mike Koplove and Brian Sikorski have also been pitching well for Buffalo...in particular Koplove. I like having spare relief arms in Buffalo. Wow. Cleveland has spare arms in the pen...AND...starters? John Hart must be quivering right now, wherever he is.



Jhonny Peralta is back. Enough talking about the fielding. He's improving. But the hitting? Peralta has 10 dingers already, leading the Indians. Even more impressive, is that Peralta has 30 RBI. It really makes you wonder what would have been different last year if at the very least, Peralta's bat was there. It was only a matter of time.



Next week is an important week. First comes a make-up game with Seattle. Then comes three games at Kansas City, as well as three games at Detroit. KC is a comer, and Detroit, is Detroit. It should be a match-up for first place. A big series for Cleveland to prove their mettle.



Monday vs. Seattle-- Cha Seung Baek, RHP (1-1, 5.16) @ C.C. Sabathia, LHP (6-1, 3.65)

Tuesday at KC-- Fausto Carmona, RHP (5-1, 2.55) @ Odalis Perez, LHP (2-4, 5.29)

Wednesday at KC--Cliff Lee, LHP (2-0, 4.15) @ Scott Elarton, RHP (1-0, 5.23)

Thursday at KC-- Jeremy Sowers, LHP (0-4, 7.13) @ Jorge De La Rosa, LHP (4-3, 3.59)

Friday at Detroit--Paul Byrd, RHP (4-1, 3.55) @ Nate Robertson, LHP (4-3, 3.62)

Saturday at Detroit--CC Sabathia @ Justin Verlander, RHP (5-1, 2.68 )

Sunday at Detroit--Fausto Carmona, RHP (5-1, 2.55) @ to be announced



Should be an interesting week. And heading to next week? How about at Boston. This is the week walking the tight rope won't be acceptable.



Game on.

Tribe to Honor Larry Doby

It’s time for Major League Baseball to open up their eyes.

On April 15th, Major League Baseball honored the great Jackie Robinson on the 60th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier. ESPN had a commercial during nearly every break announcing Jackie Robinson Day. Players from nearly every team were allowed to wear the #42 in his honor, even though it had been retired league-wide. The Los Angeles Dodgers ALL wore #42.

Unfortunately for MLB, that’s where the honors end.

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Tribe Mosh Pit--May 13, 2007

I've been sitting around my house in a drug/concussion induced haze all week, so I had something in common with the Indians this week...the haze, not the drugs or the concussion. Yeah, a week with a long road trip from Baltimore to California, struggling starters AND relievers, blown leads and blowouts, with a sprinkle of Fausto in between, making a whole lot of fans thank their lucky stars, and make a few current starters sweat a bit. Yeah, pretty much just an ordinary week of Tribe baseball.



It's funny how nearly a decade of winning baseball still couldn't wipe out a lifetime of losing baseball before it. Of course, the head injury may have left me with some gaps. Enough aobut that...let's get rolling...



Jason Davis was designated, and then, ultimately traded to the Mariners. Originally, I was going to discuss why so many people had mentioned Davis in such detail, being that Davis has never been much more than a project, and not a very good one. There wasn't anyone who wanted him to succeed more than I did. Still, the facts on Davis are pretty plain.

Tribe to Honor Larry Doby

It's time for Major League Baseball to open up their eyes.



On April 15th, Major League Baseball honored the great Jackie Robinson on the 60th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier. ESPN had a commercial during nearly every break announcing Jackie Robinson Day. Players from nearly every team were allowed to wear the #42 in his honor, even though it had been retired league-wide. The Los Angeles Dodgers ALL wore #42.



Unfortunately for MLB, that's where the honors end.


60 years ago, on July 5, 1947, Larry Doby broke the American League color barrier. The problem? Nobody knows a thing about it.



The Indians will take a step to educate the baseball world when they pay tribute to Doby on Friday, August 10 against the New York Yankees. Major League Baseball, in typical Bud Selig fashion, took over a month to okay a proposal by the Indians to allow the entire team to wear his retired #14 during the game. More than likely, his staff had to look up who Doby actually was.



I want to preface the rest of this by saying that what Jackie Robinson did IS something that should be celebrated. Being the first black baseball player in the modern era, combined with the numbers that Robinson put up, certainly make him worthy of the honors bestowed upon him.



Doby deserves the same consideration. When Branch Rickey signed Robinson in 1945, and brought him up to the bigs in 1947, he had planned for the event for many years. Rickey had a plan in place to not only make it easier for Robinson to be successful, but easier for him to avoid certain racial issues that could have come before him. No, I'm not saying that the path was easy for Robinson. That's ridiculous. I am saying that Rickey was shrewd enough, and racial sensitive enough, to make sure that Robinson succeeded not only as a player, but as a person.



Doby didn't have the benefit of that preparation. Bill Veeck signed him on July 3, 1947, sat him down one day and told him not to react to fans and to umpires. Don't do anything physical in retaliation unless it involves hitting a baseball. That was it. He played two days later. Jackie Robinson had been hand-picked years before, signing with the Dodgers in October 1945, and played in the Dodgers minor league system OUTSIDE of the United States, in Montreal. After 1947, Robinson received ALL of the media attention, while Doby took the brunt of the same racial attacks, without ANY of the support or media attention that Robinson received. Doby was straight out of the Negro Leagues, and five years younger than Jackie Robinson. Two guys seemingly in Doby's corner were manager Lou Boudreau and second baseman Joe Gordan:

"Now, I couldn't believe how this (cold treatment from the Indians team during his first year) was. I put on my uniform and I went out on the field to warm up, but nobody wanted to warm up with me. I had never been so alone in my life. I stood there alone in front of the dugout for five minutes. Then Joe Gordon, the second baseman who would become my friend, came up to me and asked, 'Hey, rookie, you gonna just stand there or do you want to throw a little?' I will never forget that man."

Rickey made sure to align Robinson with the rest of the organization. Red Barber, the famed announcer for the Dodgers was told early on, and nearly quit, until he saw him play. Rickey made sure all the minor league managers and major league coaches saw him play, to see how talented he was. Coaches and managers aren't stupid. If a kid can play, they aren't going to care about his color. Robinson was a superstar at UCLA. During his days in the minors, Rickey even went so far as to help train Robinson in how to deal with potential racial issues.



Doby had 2 days.



How did Doby respond? He became the first black ballplayer (along with Satchell Paige) to become a world champion, one year after becoming a pro, and his first pro season. He hit a key home run that gave the Indians a 2-1 victory, and a 3-1 series lead (the first black player to hit a home run in a world series game). He went to the all-star game 7 times, joining Robinson and Newcombe as the first black ballplayers in the all-star game. He led the league in home runs twice, with 32 in 1952 (first time a black player led the Majors) and 1954. In 1952, Doby led the league in runs scored with 104, and during the 1954 season he led the league with 126 RBI (first time a black player led the AL). In 1950, he led the league in OBP, and in 1952, he led the league in slugging. Much like Robinson, the New York Yankees blocked the Indians from world series acclaim, finishing second to the Yankees four times.



Doby retired in 1959. He should have been a first year ballot hall of famer. Instead, he didn't have to wait 10 years, or 15, or even 20. Doby had to wait 39 years, as he was inducted in 1998. Robinson was inducted in 1962, as a first ballot hall of famer.



Irony would continue for Doby in 1978, when he became the 2nd black manager for the Chicago White Sox.



Doby may have been the 2nd black player in the major leagues, but it's time that he be given the credit he's due. No, he wasn't Jackie Robinson. All the acclaim that went to Robinson is certainly deserved. But being Larry Doby should be given it's due.



It's time for Major League Baseball to recognize BOTH Robinson and Doby.



Let's hope August 10th is a step in that direction.

Tribe Mosh Pit--May 6, 2007

Every week that Trot Nixon makes me look bad, I'm going to thank him for it. Trot went 5 for 5 today, and had so many BIG hits that there's no use even mentioning them. Let's just say that the Indians won because of Trot's bad, and Grady's glove, and leave it at that. He's another Indian with an OBP over .400. He's a clubhouse guy. You see how patient the Indians are at the plate this season, and can't deny that Nixon's presence doesn't have something to do with it.

Whenever you turn on the radio or television to watch the Tribe, thank your lucky stars for Tom Hamilton, Mike Hegan, Matt Underwood, Rick Manning, and Jim Donovan. I spent the weekend watching the Orioles telecasts with their TV crew, Gary Thorne and Rick Dempsey. Most of you probably know Gary Thorne from ESPN (he's the announcer who declared that Schilling faked the bloody sock during the World Series). Most of you probably know Rick Dempsey from his many years as a catcher for the Orioles, Dodgers, Yankees, and even a season with the Tribe. Now, let me preface this by saying I have no issues with biased announcing when you are an announcer for your local team, that's partially your job. What I have no patience for is blatant idiocy. Thorne has moments of sounding like he knows what he's doing. Then a ball gets put in play, and it all goes down the toilet. There isn't a fly ball hit by the Orioles that wasn't kept in the park by the wind, or a ground ball single for the opponent that wasn't a seeing eye single, or took a lucky hop. But that was tame compared to Dempsey, who was just blatantly horrible. Here's a list of Dempsey's transgressions: How about having no clue who was who for the Tribe. Tony Mastny, Don Dellucci, Kevin Shoppar, and Ryan Gark all made their debuts this weekend, but my all-time favorite player was Vinnie Martinez. HEY VINNIE! Dempsey also seemed to be a bit fixated with Trot Nixon. Whenever Trotter would come up to bat, Dempsey would say, "I just can't get used to him wearing that uniform," as though Trot was the Cal Ripken of the Red Sox. There was the prediction Dempsey made for Jay Gibbons. He had a feeling that Gibbons was going to hit a double off the wall. Gibbons, mired in a huge slump, popped out to short. I could go on and on, but you get the point. We are lucky to have a solid announce crew here in Cleveland. Of course, my five and two year old could out announce the Orioles team.

Don't be surprised if Grady Sizemore got crossed off of Corey Patterson's Christmas list. If you didn't see the game, you missed one of the reasons why Peter Gammons thinks Sizemore is going to win the MVP this year. The first catch came in the 6th inning, with the bases loaded. He had a good jump, and was laid completely out when he made the catch. It saved at least three runs, and would have closed the score to 8-6. In the 8th inning, Sizemore went after a fly in nearly the same place. This time, Sizemore slid UNDER Trot Nixon, who was coming over from right to make the catch, and made another fantastic catch. Who hit it? That's right, Corey Patterson. We all know about Sizemore's stick, but I dare you to find me a better center fielder.

You have all read here that the Yankees contacted Cleveland about Paul Byrd. You can officially put that to bed when the Yankees announced today that Roger Clemens was coming back with the Yankees. Please feel free to join me in hating the Yankees just a little bit more.

CC Sabathia is a #1 pitcher, there is no doubt about that, but I still have questions. They showed a stat today that was eye opening. It was pitcher under the age of 27 with the most wins. Sabathia was first with 86 wins. Carlos Zambrano is second with 67 wins. That's 20 more wins than Zambrano. Zambrano debuted in August of 2001, while CC debuted in April of the same month. That says a lot about CC. Still, he has shown flashes of struggle in his last three starts. He's won them all, which says a lot. It's been a long time since the Indians have had that starter/stopper, and todays CC-stop opened up my eyes at least. I'm also liking the way that the Indians are playing behind him. I ask you all this. If Zambrano's stats aren't as good as CC's, how much will CC end up making? Raise your hand if you think Sabathia will be playing in Boston or NYC in two years. Yeah, me too.

Cleveland's pen still obviously needs some work. I'm hoping Cleveland can find a team to deal someone like Paul Byrd too to perhaps get that lockdown setup guy, or even another pitcher with closer potential. The two guys that are on my radar right now are Akinori Otsuka from Texas and Jonathan Broxton from the Dodgers. Both can close, and both have been lights out. The problem with Texas is that Gagne gets hurt every other day (thank you Texas, for taking that off our radar), and they won't deal Otsuka without Gagne healthy. The problem with LA is that Broxton is their closer of the future. Still, if either is in contention, and in need of a starter, Cleveland has the weapons to deal. My question? Would either team take Byrd?

Fausto Carmona is back. I ask you all this. If Carmona continues to pitch well with Westbrook out, what happens when Westbrook is ready to come off the dl? Do you send Carmona back with 5+ good starts in a row? Not likely. Do you send down Sowers, or Byrd? Do you make a move this early? I don't know what they'll do, but I'm content with the problem. As I've said before, it's good Shapiro learned from the Hart regime, that you need a staff to go with the hitting.

Cleveland can't win this series, but against a team like Baltimore, they should at least get a split. You don't want to start a long road trip going 1-3 against a team you should beat.

The Next Seven Days:

Monday: At Baltimore 12:35 ET-Fausto Carmona vs. Steve Trachsel


Tuesday: At LA of Anaheim 10:05 ET-Cliff Lee vs. Ervin Santana


Wednesday: At LA of Anaheim 10:05 ET-Paul Byrd vs. Jered Weaver


Thursday: At LA of Anaheim 3:35 ET-Jeremy Sowers vs. Kelvim Escobar


Friday: At Oakland-CC Sabathia vs. TBA


Saturday: At Oakland-Fausto Carmona vs. TBA


Sunday: At Oakland-Cliff Lee vs. TBA

It's a BEAUTIFUL WEEK FOR BASEBALL!

Trust the Numbers That Count

Joe Riggins, the coach of the Durham Bulls in Bull Durham simplified the game of baseball....

"This is a simple game...you throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball."

My Dad may have been more wise than Riggins. During a game when I played for the T-Ball Blue Jays, my Dad had a simple message for me.

"Don't worry about strikeouts or walks or hits. They are just numbers. Just get on base. And when you get on base, score. If that means you get hit...you get hit."

Like I said, he is a wise man. Get on base and score.



That message is resonating with the Indians this year.



You'll hear about Cleveland's horrific average. Right now they are batting a lowly .255 (it's crept up 8 points over the past week), which is 17th in the league. You'll hear about a bunch of strikeouts, 209 to be exact, 4th most in the league.



Here's what you won't hear a lot about.



Cleveland is third in the league in total walks, and first in the league with nearly five walks a game. They get on base. Cleveland is leading the AL with an On Base Percentage of .355. Cleveland is tied for sixth in the majors in Runs Scored. They are second in the league with 5.6 runs per game. Cleveland is third in the league in getting hit by pitches, and is sixth in the league in On Base plus Slugging percentage.



What does all of this mean? Cleveland gets on base, and when they get on base, they score runs.



Oh, and they do it a lot.



Does it get any more basic than that?



Cleveland now has the best record in the bigs, at 17-8, are 9-1 over their last 10, and not playing their best baseball. They just won another series.



What will the future bring? Hopefully, and Indian Summer.

Trust the Numbers That Count

Joe Riggins, the coach of the Durham Bulls in Bull Durham simplified the game of baseball….

“This is a simple game…you throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball.”

My Dad may have been more wise than Riggins. During a game when I played for the T-Ball Blue Jays, my Dad had a simple message for me.

“Don’t worry about strikeouts or walks or hits. They are just numbers. Just get on base. And when you get on base, score. If that means you get hit…you get hit.”

Like I said, he is a wise man. Get on base and score.

That message is resonating with the Indians this year.

You’ll hear about Cleveland’s horrific average. Right now they are batting a lowly .255 (it’s crept up 8 points over the past week), which is 17th in the league. You’ll hear about a bunch of strikeouts, 209 to be exact, 4th most in the league.

Here’s what you won’t hear a lot about.

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The Hidden Value of Roberto Hernandez

Roberto Hernandez isn’t pitching very well right now. Over the past week, his ERA is 9, and he’s allowed several other runners on base to score once he came into the game. He’s looked every bit of his 42 years of age. If you check any Tribe forum or blog, you can bet you’ll come across at least 100 posts, or a paragraph or two that wonder why Cleveland didn’t cut Hernandez and keep Fausto Carmona on the roster as either a long reliever, a sixth starter, or ANY combination of moves that keeps him away from Bison territory.

It didn’t happen. Hernandez is still with the big club.

Hernandez ultimately played a key roll, today, in the development of Carmona.

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