Whats even funnier is that I got on 71 heading back to Columbus, starting just south of Strongsville there's not a flake of snow to be seen on the ground, except for snow blowing off people's cars heading out of Cleveland. When I move back its definitely going to be on the southside.  Gotta love Lake Erie and its Lake effect.

Look at the bright side. If the Indians finish the season 2-1...they'll be in the playoffs for sure! :)

^with the amount of snow that we have on the ground, I don't see how they can play anything this week. i hope that they go out to California to play the Angels.

 

Just thinking how strange this team has been over the past decade..

California Angels

Anaheim Angels

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

 

 

I get a kick out of that too

 

Imagine the Detroit Pistons of Auburn Hills

 

Or the New York Giants/Jets of East Rutherford, New Jersey

 

Only California owners would be goofy enough to make a name change like that.

i just heard on espn that MLB moved the tribe-angels series to milwaukee. does this make any sense??  how much money will the tribe lose in ticket sales and concessions? i'd hope that MLB would have to compensate cleveland for the loss of revenue. i wouldnt think shapiro or dolan would agree to this without it.

i'd assume MLB will do something for the indians revenue.

 

jeepers, I wonder how many people will actually show up for the games? I mean if the arizona diamondbacks randomly decided to play a game a cleveland, would you go? (assuming no marquee names involved)

Video of Cleveland & Indians from AP:

 

http://www.yahoo.com/s/552760

 

Indians move series against Angels to Milwaukee

 

By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer

April 9, 2007

 

CLEVELAND (AP) -- After snow wiped out Cleveland's series against Seattle for the fourth day in a row Monday, the Indians moved their next series against the Los Angeles Angels to Milwaukee's Miller Park.

why not move this series to cincinatti? theyre outta town this week. milwaukee?? wtf!

well gee, whose former franchise stands the most to gain? Why Bud Selig's of course!

 

But really I guess you go for a stadium that has no chance of being weather affected, and has the availability (i'm not going to take the time to look into the MIN, TOR, TBs, schedules.....)

This in no way looks good for Cleveland, I hate it.

This in no way looks good for Cleveland, I hate it.

 

True we really need some good press sometime this decade. Since 2000 you hear about Cleveland when A) There's a loss of jobs B) there's a loss of People or C) Pro sports are cancelled due to inclimate weather.  Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese roll that marketing campaign sometime soon!

I bartend here is Chicago, near Sox Park, and I have a lot of regulars who like to give me grief for being a tribe fan.  They were all offering thier sympothy to me because as one guy put it "It makes Cleveland look really bad.  Do you think they are thinking of moving the team?"

 

Grrrrr

Tickets sales go to (or mostly) to Cleveland, concessions go to Mil....the reason it wasn't moved to LA is because they have a series with Boston and would require too much travel after the last game...they didn't choose Cincy or similar park is because Mil has a retractable dome.....don't fret, has nothing to do with moving the team...this move makes sense because you can't keep calling these games due to weather.   When players have off days into season, the last they want is to travel across the country to make up games by playing (usually) double-headers....they do need time to recoup, heal from injuries, etc....I don't blame the organization for this move..it makes sense.  As far as what the Chicagoans think..they can kiss my bean bag!  If the same thing happened to them, and they made the decision...it would be a genious move...because it came out of Chicago.  How can any city control mother nature?  Shit happens...and it did, get over it!   Why when this happens to Cleveland it "looks bad" or becomes a joke...like CRAP ESPN said the other day!?!?  (the comment about global warming and all other things new, hip, and trendy...hasn't made it to Cleveland yet AND the reference to setting the river on fire again)  The real question is, why does the league open in cold weather cities so early in the season?   

The real question is, why does the league open in cold weather cities so early in the season?

 

Because they have done it for over 100 years

The real question is, why does the league open in cold weather cities so early in the season?

 

Because they have done it for over 100 years

 

yes, but in 1901, the didn't play a game until April 24th.

How do you clear a baseball stadium after a blizzard?

 

Cleveland crew has its hands full

Extra workers help in clearing foot of snow from Jacobs Field

By David Briggs / MLB.com 

 

CLEVELAND -- Seven independent contractors. More than 150 extra temporary hands. And a grounds crew that shoveled, plowed and swept from 6 a.m. to well past dusk. By Monday's end, Jacobs Field was green once again after an improbable confluence of workers somehow managed to entirely clear more than a foot of snow from the park's surface.

 

More at www.mlb.com

It might be wise for MLB to schedule primarily divisional opponents in April, so making up the games would be much less problematic...

I bartend here is Chicago, near Sox Park, and I have a lot of regulars who like to give me grief for being a tribe fan.  They were all offering thier sympothy to me because as one guy put it "It makes Cleveland look really bad.  Do you think they are thinking of moving the team?"

 

Grrrrr

 

How in the hell does this make Cleveland look bad? Having 20 consecutive seasons of losing baseball made Cleveland look much worse back in the day. The White Sox father and son team that stabbed the Royals first-base coach 5 years ago, that looked bad. This will be ancient history when it's 90+ degrees east of the Rockies in July. :)

It might be wise for MLB to schedule primarily divisional opponents in April, so making up the games would be much less problematic...

 

Agreed. The Tribe plays Detroit 17 times.....we play Seattle 7, I believe. I doubt you'll see this problem next year. I take that back...Selig will still be making decisions.

This was astonishingly cool to watch - a time-lapse of Jacob's Field from Friday:

 

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/pdvideo/flash/index.ssf?040707_Tribe_video

thats comical

I like the part where they trade the tarp for the American Flag. 

19K showed up for the Indians-Angels game last night. 9/10 being Tribe fans. ESPNNews gave props to Cleveland on the attendance. They said it's sad for Milwaukee when more people attend an Cleveland-LA game than when their home team is there.

FYI, we sold a lot of tickets because they were 10 bucks a piece and they were field level tix. 

^ Anyway... It is still pretty impressive. We are lucky to get 5K for our hometown team the Marlins.

FYI, we sold a lot of tickets because they were 10 bucks a piece and they were field level tix. 

 

I already knew that. Ya think 19K would have come out for say....Pirates-Nationals? They were two good AL teams. Milwaukee fans are pretty versed in baseball...they knew it was good baseball for a cheap price, that's why the attendance was better than expected.

Barf.

AL Central

 

Cleveland      11-7      .611

Detroit          12-9    .571

Chicago        11-9      .550

Minnesota      11-10    .524

Kansas City    7-14      .333

Now if we could just get someone other than Hafner, Sizemore, and Martinez to consistently hit....

Borowski's 6-run 9th inning against the Yankees dosen't make me feel like they've solved the closer situation either. But hell, outside of that awful Yankees series...the Indians are 11-4. We're back to the 90's....hit the hell out of the ball and hope the pitching staff can keep the other side below 10 runs.

^Borowski's a stiff.  And so is Casey Blake.  Nice guy but a stiff.  But the rest of the bullpen has been really awesome this year.  Looks like we have the Fernando Cabrera of 2005 again.

I agree, Fernando is sweet. Borowski does have 8 saves, but I almost have less faith in him than I did with Wickman.

 

Also,

I've never been a fan of Blake, Delucci or Michaels. I'm glad to see Garko getting a shot. Its too early to tell with Barfield and Marte.

^Yeah, Garko has me excited in the no 5 slot.  Blake there gave me chills (the bad kind).  I think captain clutch is 1 for 18 with RISP so far.  Though that's sort of a problem with the whole team, which is only like 3 for 25 with the bases load- and two of those hits are Choo's.

 

Barfield has to come around sooner or later, right?

I think that I might rather see Choo play over Michaels and maybe even Delucci.

how 'bout that inside the park hr by grady? now that is exciting baseball -- even espn was gushing over it last night:

 

copyrighted image removed.

Carmona pitched a gem yesterday even though he knows he's going back down to Buffalo. I hope Lee is in good shape, that guy's pitching is erratic as hell.

^Yeah, poor Fausto- he's been awesome of late.  Maybe we should send Westbrook down to Buffalo...

^Yeah, poor Fausto- he's been awesome of late.  Maybe we should send Westbrook down to Buffalo...

 

Well Carmona got sent down yesterday....and guess who's starting tonight? Mr. 7+ ERA Westbrook. I hope they can score 9 runs again tonight against the Jays...I have a feeling they might need 'em.

This is all from ESPN.  Please tell me what is wrong with this picture: 

 

Best Records in Baseball

 

1 Cleveland 17-8 .680

2 Boston 18-9 .667

3 Milwaukee 18-10 .643

4 Atlanta 17-10 .630

5 NY Mets 16-10 .615

 

2007 - Average Home Attendance

 

1 NY Yankees 48,840

2 LA Dodgers 46,684

3 St. Louis  43,824

4 NY Mets 43,428

5 LA Angels 40,459

6 San Francisco 38,266

7 Chicago Cubs 37,600

8 Boston 36,505

9 Houston 36,141

10 Philadelphia 34,216 

11 Texas 33,500 

12 San Diego 32,471

13 Detroit 31,671

14 Milwaukee 30,072

15 Chicago Sox 29,728

16 Atlanta 27,495

17 Toronto  27,102

18 Minnesota 26,021

19 Seattle 25,898

20 Arizona 24,709

21 Colorado 24,583

22 Oakland 24,032

23 Cincinnati 22,958

24 Baltimore 22,853

25 Washington  21,349

26 Florida 18,210

27 Kansas City 18,089

28 Pittsburgh 17,933

29 Cleveland 17,589

30 Tampa Bay  16,423

 

What's going on?...  Cavs fever? Bad weather? Loss of support?  All the above?...

 

Read more at www.espn.com

I'm sure those home games that were postponed/moved are a part of it, but the Indians gradually lost support after the '01 season, and it may start to pick back up now that they seem to be on a winning streak.

did you guys know i was at game number 456, it was depressing.

If you average in the home opener (which was lost), then we should have a higher average. I also think that we averaged less than 17k for our three home games in Milwaukee.  Overall, its the weather.

Last night was a nice night, no?  16k people-WTF?  When the team's this hot?  Not that I'm helping.  Funny thing is, in the early 90s, there would have been 16k Bluejay fans alone.

Ever since Dolan has owned this team...the attendance has been poopy. I think Tribe fans would be more willing to go if they knew their owner was invested in winning a championship and not trying to compete to be the stingiest owner in baseball. Not that Mr. Jacobs was free wheeling with the cash, but he'd fork it over if Hart said we needed it. While we never won a championship with Jacobs/Hart....we had division titles and pennants. With Dolan/Shapiro...we have zippy. Dolan wants asses in seats, then he needs to prove it if we are still in the playoff mix when the mid-summer trade deadline shows up. He was eerily silent when we won 93 in '05.

Last night was a nice night, no?  16k people-WTF?  When the team's this hot?  Not that I'm helping.  Funny thing is, in the early 90s, there would have been 16k Bluejay fans alone.

 

That's too funny and too true. I remember going to Indians games back in the Brook Jacoby, Mel Hall, Phil Niekro days when the highest home attendance was vs. the Yankees due to all their fans.

don't forget jacobs also had steady income, but the dolan's lost a lot of loot in cablevision for awhile and this owner is low on the family totem pole. also, don't look for it to get better, recent news is the dolans want to buy the yankees.

 

still, ownership issues are no real excuse about attendence today tho. fans should support a solid/contending tribe team like this one. i am surprized, but it will pick up as long as they win.

 

don't forget jacobs also had steady income, but the dolan's lost a lot of loot in cablevision for awhile and this owner is low on the family totem pole. also, don't look for it to get better, recent news is the dolans want to buy the yankees.

 

still, ownership issues are no real excuse about attendence today tho. fans should support a solid/contending tribe team like this one. i am surprized, but it will pick up as long as they win.

 

 

Cablevision should really relocate to Cleveland, but MRNYC, if Cablevision is trying to go PRIVATE, there won't be any money to buy the Yankees.  Where would they get (approximately) $1 Billion?

 

still, ownership issues are no real excuse about attendence today tho. fans should support a solid/contending tribe team like this one. i am surprized, but it will pick up as long as they win.

 

 

I disagree.  Ownership can have a huge influence on what the attendance can be, especially in a town like Cleveland.  Look at Dan Gilbert currently; he took the Cavs from absolute last to third overall in NBA.  32 out of th 41 games were sold out this year where a few years back, the Cavs were averages 10000 a game.  (But of course he had the help of someone by the name of James.)  Honestly, Gilbert reaches out to the fans with free stuff, enjoyable game atmospheres, and helps regulate the front office work.  Have you guys been to a Cavs game in the past two years?  They are frikin awesome!

 

Larry Dolan could do so much more.  There's no excuse to take over a team that has had 5 straight years on sold out games, let the streak end in one year, and not let them not be able to rebound even when they are winning, especially in a town like Cleveland where everyone is hungry for any team success at all!  To have fallen to second worst attendance is a sin.  I can't figure out if he doesn;t know how to own a team, just dosent care since he's so rich, or is purposely trying to discourage fans from coming.  2.9 million in the effing Cleveland metro alone, a winning team (and plus some with the rest of the state and area!), and you can't fill the stands?  c'mon Dolan....Do something! 

also, don't look for it to get better, recent news is the dolans want to buy the yankees.

 

I think you have it backwards: if the Knicks are any indication, Charles/Jim Dolan ownership of the Yankees could only help the Indians...and Red Sox, and every other AL team.  Charles has already failed on bids for the Redskins and Browns so I'm not holding my breath on any Dolan ownership of the Yanks, at least not anytime soon.

 

It is sort of a weird coincidence that so many NY teams are owned/controlled by Cleveland natives.  Was even weirder when MoMa and the Guggenheim were in this category too.

 

Anyhoo, I'm just happy Fausto is back up with the Tribe and am hoping a 44 year old Clemens back in the AL gets pounded.

I've never been a Davis fan -- too inconsistent.

 

 

 

Westbrook on DL; Davis designated for assignment

Posted by Paul Hoynes May 07, 2007 10:49AM

BALTIMORE -- The Indians, as expected, activated Fausto Carmona and placed Jake Westbrook on the disabled list so Carmona could start against the Orioles today.

 

What was unexpected was reliever Jason Davis being designated for assignment and and reliever Edward Mujica being recalled from Class AAA Buffalo.

 

More at:

http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2007/05/westbrook_on_dl_davis_designat.html

^Agreed about Davis- won't miss him.

 

And damn, Fausto pitched another good one today.  Anyone else hoping Westbrook has a slooooow recovery?