May 28, 201213 yr As if I didn't hate the White Sox enough... I got lazy updating my fantasy baseball lineup and accidentally left Chris Sale on the bench today. 15 ks today and counting :(
May 28, 201213 yr My favorite stat for pitchers is WHIP. In his 5 wins with the 3.60 ERA, his WHIP is 1.60, which is pretty bad. It looks much worse than the 3.60 ERA would let you believe. If there's a big disparity between WHIP and ERA, he's always working out of jams and getting "lucky". And almost 7 BB/9 is awful. It's a miracle he has 5 wins. I wasn't really defending him. As I said, he's been awful. I was just saying that it's not accurate to say he's not giving us a chance to win because somehow (and I'm not really sure how either) he's managed to get more wins than losses. It's a statistical anomaly. Just like the Tribe's actual record compared to its run differential. These are the types of things that over a larger sample size is not going to bode well for Ubaldo individually or the Indians as a team.
June 9, 201213 yr Dear Cleve, Please destroy St. Louis. Thanks, natininja You scratch our back and we'll scratch yours...until next week.
June 13, 201213 yr How can the Indians sweep when we let that other team have a little confidence-builder? :P "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 13, 201213 yr Get ready for a sweep! Or two! Good luck. I had that game marked as a loss before teh series began due to pitching matchups. Tribe wins the next two.
June 13, 201213 yr Apparently, many of the Reds were sick with some stomach flu and missed practice. They were receiving fluid injections before the game. Then they scored 7 runs and only allowed one. By next week they should all be feeling better and we'll see what kind of performance a healthy team can produce.
June 14, 201213 yr Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Reds are looking good. Why they had to play like garbage against the Tigers I don't know, but they are certainly looking good now. The Indians badly need to start hitting the long ball again. Time to see a little more power from Choo and Santana and whatever garbage happens to be in left field on any given day. Tribe is in Pirates territory when it comes to HRs, which is frightening.
June 14, 201213 yr Shelley Duncan could be a strong left fielder if given the starting position. Remember how strong of a start he had. Was leading the team for batting average and OBP. Third in the league for OBP for awhile. It all went downhill once they signed Johnny Damon and basically told Duncan he was losing his staring job, which was dumb to do to a guy is doing well and batting the best on the team. And once getting the job, he did good last year post all-star game. Post all-star he had .276 batting average, 10 doubles, 8 homers, and 27 RBI's. And he continued into this season doing good.
June 14, 201213 yr Shelley Duncan could be a strong left fielder if given the starting position. Remember how strong of a start he had. Was leading the team for batting average and OBP. Third in the league for OBP for awhile. It all went downhill once they signed Johnny Damon and basically told Duncan he was losing his staring job, which was dumb to do to a guy is doing well and batting the best on the team. And once getting the job, he did good last year post all-star game. Post all-star he had .276 batting average, 10 doubles, 8 homers, and 27 RBI's. And he continued into this season doing good. My thoughts exactly when they pulled him from the starting lineup.
June 14, 201213 yr What's amazing is the amount of talent we got out of the Bartolo Colon deal way back when..... and the fact that the only piece from that trade we have left is perpetually on the DL. I will never forgive Eric Wedge for his inability to coach up Phillips.
June 14, 201213 yr I was just thinking today that the Phillips pick-up has to be the best Reds personnel move of the last decade in terms of value given versus received. Obviously drafting guys like Votto and Bruce has paid off, but Phillips was just a great transaction for the Reds. Looking from afar, the Indians have a lot of nice pieces, but they need a big bat pretty badly (at least based on the lineups they've been putting out against the Reds).
June 14, 201213 yr We definitely need a big bat. I'm amazed we've gotten this far with such weakness at the corner positions.
June 14, 201213 yr Well, that series sure was a bloodbath! Go Browns!! :P "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 14, 201213 yr Shelley Duncan could be a strong left fielder if given the starting position. Remember how strong of a start he had. Was leading the team for batting average and OBP. Third in the league for OBP for awhile. It all went downhill once they signed Johnny Damon and basically told Duncan he was losing his staring job, which was dumb to do to a guy is doing well and batting the best on the team. And once getting the job, he did good last year post all-star game. Post all-star he had .276 batting average, 10 doubles, 8 homers, and 27 RBI's. And he continued into this season doing good. Josh Willingham is tearing it up for the Twins...I really wanted the Tribe to trade for him last year and/or sign him in the offseason. Duncan's numbers are impressive, but I'm not at all convinced that he can be consistent. I will never forgive Eric Wedge for his inability to coach up Phillips. Come on, a big part of that was Phillips' own fault. He was an immature jerk. He was convinced that he had to play shortstop and he constantly swung for the fences. I don't entirely blame the Tribe for getting rid of him (even for peanuts), I only wish they hadn't sent him to a pseudo-rival where they'd have to face him in two series every season.
June 14, 201213 yr I just think that Wedge had a responsility and duty to be the grown up. Yes, he was dealing with an immature kid, but I bet other coaches could have gotten through to him. Wedge was just one of those no nonsense, hardline, wanna-be-tough guys who wasn't the right coach for a guy like Phillips. Obviously, Phillips got his sh!t together and we certainly wouldn't be worse off to still have him. I think if Acta was our coach back then, he could have made something out of Phillips.
June 14, 201213 yr I just think that Wedge had a responsility and duty to be the grown up. Yes, he was dealing with an immature kid, but I bet other coaches could have gotten through to him. Wedge was just one of those no nonsense, hardline, wanna-be-tough guys who wasn't the right coach for a guy like Phillips. Obviously, Phillips got his sh!t together and we certainly wouldn't be worse off to still have him. I think if Acta was our coach back then, he could have made something out of Phillips. I don't know, the change of scenery overall seemed to help him. But I still think the fact that he's a jerk really hindered his early development.
June 19, 201212 yr I hope someone was at that game last night. Would have been exciting, especially for an Indians fan. Unless you're looking for good pitching, I suppose.
June 19, 201212 yr Cool article on OSU football coach Urban Meyer and Browns RB Trent Richardson visiting the Indians yesterday.... http://www.chron.com/sports/article/Ohio-State-s-Meyer-visits-Indians-3643238.php "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 20, 201212 yr Tribe is bouncing back from about 3 weeks of terrible baseball with a big series so far. A sweep would be nice. Cincinnati is a dangerous team and should be considered an NL favorite. In the past, i always thought they were beating the tribe on "Ohio bragging rights" and overplaying agains the tribe...but this year they look like the real deal. A sweep here will begin to make me believe that we could be the real deal as well. As starting pitching goes, so goes the Tribe. Not good enough offensively to make up for bad pitching every day.
June 21, 201212 yr S-W-E-E- wait for it... P There you go Natininja, i finished it for you. ;-) We were both able to finish it! Bravo, tribe. Well played! (I hate that phrase, but here it is fitting)
June 21, 201212 yr I'm hoping for another series with the Reds this year in October. Nothing could be better! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 21, 201212 yr Joey Votto is pretty damn good. I can see both Reds and Indians making some waves this season.
June 25, 201212 yr OK, so what impact will the Youkilis trade have on the White Sox's standing in the division vs. the Indians? http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-24/sports/sns-rt-bbo-braves-red-sox-writethrumtze86o3ek0ai-20120624_1_kevin-youkilis-red-sox-white-sox I ask this because the jackasses on ESPN are debating what impact the trade will have on the White Sox vs. the Tigers. See I keep telling you Cleveland isn't on the radar of many national sports commentators! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 26, 201212 yr OK, so what impact will the Youkilis trade have on the White Sox's standing in the division vs. the Indians? http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-24/sports/sns-rt-bbo-braves-red-sox-writethrumtze86o3ek0ai-20120624_1_kevin-youkilis-red-sox-white-sox I ask this because the jackasses on ESPN are debating what impact the trade will have on the White Sox vs. the Tigers. See I keep telling you Cleveland isn't on the radar of many national sports commentators! Not terribly concerned about the Youlikis trade. He's been struggling this season (injured, perhaps) and I'm not convinced that he'll turn it on just because of a change of scenery. He may be an upgrade for the Sox at 3B, but it's not a significant upgrade. I know it won't happen, but I would really like to see the Tribe throw a nice package at Minnesota to get Josh Willingham. Actually I wish they would have made a more legit offer to him in the offseason so they wouldn't have to give up prospects to try to get him now.
June 26, 201212 yr Gotta give Perez props again http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/sports/baseball/raw-numbers-cant-explain-how-indians-win.xml Often Outscored and Unsupported, but Over .500 Perez has expressed frustration with that, and did so again Monday. He said fans seemed to care more about rooting against LeBron James and the Miami Heat than they do about rooting for the Indians. "I don't get the psyche," said Perez,who grew up in Florida. "Why cheer against a guy that's not even in your city anymore? Just to see him fail?Does that make you feel good?I could see if the Cavs were in the championship,but that's their mentality. "They've had a lot of years of misery. They say,'You just don't understand because you don't live here.' O.K.,maybe I don't. But that doesn't mean it has to keep going." The Indians drew more than 3 million fans for six seasons in a row starting in 1996,the year the N.F.L. Browns moved to Baltimore. The new version of the Browns has not won a playoff game in its 13 seasons. "That's what I don't understand," Perez said. "Their whole thing is,'We want a winner.' Well,why do you support the Browns?They don't win. They've never won. They left. You guys blindly support them. I don't understand it. It's a double standard,and I don't know why. "It's head-scratching. It's just - they don't come out. But around the city,there's great support. They watch it in the bars. They watch it at home. They just don't come.
June 26, 201212 yr Why does Perez get "props" for running off at the mouth about things that he clearly does not understand? We had this conversation on another thread, but the Clowns get "support" (if you even want to call it that at this point) partly because of their tradition in this town, but most of all because the NFL is the most popular sports league in this hemisphere and they play eight home games which are all downtown events. If Perez doesn't understand that then he has no hope. The Indians have been very lucky this year to be where they are at this point. As I said earlier, they can't continue to play like this as the sample size of games grows--it will catch up to them unless they turn that run differential around. They're also lucky in the fact that the AL Central is should be renamed "Comedy Central" because of how pathetic the top of the division is. When you're on a three-game losing streak and one of your highest paid players isn't playing at all because of some statistical oddity (the save), it may be time to rethink some things. The closer position is overrated and the save statistic tells very little about how good a player is. That being said, Perez is racking up saves this year and because a lot of GMs still overvalue that stat, Perez's stock is through the roof right now. The Tribe should unload him for a right-handed bat that actually will play more than two or three innings a week. I'm not going to touch the points he made about the Cavs and LeBron because I'm sick of that discussion and again he shows a lack of understanding about not only this town but also sports fandom in general.
June 26, 201212 yr I give him props because he's speaking his mind, which is very refreshing in our overly politically correct world, but mostly because I agree with him.
June 26, 201212 yr I disagree with Perez this time. It's terrible timing, considering the Indians have scored 5 runs in 4 games. The team has a run differential of almost -50 and if they were in any other division, they would be in third or worse. I dont blame the fans for not seeing the team. Dolan promised that they would spend when we are contending. If we aren't contending, why should the fans come? If we are contending, do kotchman, Damon, Lopez, and Lowe count as major improvements for a team that wants to win?
June 26, 201212 yr I give him props because he's speaking his mind, which is very refreshing in our overly politically correct world, but mostly because I agree with him. I don't understand how you can agree with more than 20% of what he said. The guy is completely clueless.
June 26, 201212 yr The team is currently contending and hasbeen most of the season. What are they, 2 games back? I'm not sure what Chris said that you guys disagree with. The Browns have basically been unwatchable since their return, certainly since '08 (and they weren't all that hot in the 90s either), yet Clevelanders will obsess nonstop about them. And look at all the discussion of Lebron that still goes on two years later. It's ridiculous - he's moved on, the team has some young studs, but Livingston still writes about him weekly, with hundreds of responses. I don't know what else to say. How is Perez even wrong here?
June 26, 201212 yr In the past ten years: Seasons over .500- Browns 2, Indians 2 Trips to the Playoffs- Browns 1, Indians 1 Let's not act like the Indians have been world beaters for a long time. Sure they've been marginally better than the Browns, but that also can be due to the inherent nature of baseball where winning percentages are more cluttered together.
June 26, 201212 yr Perez is wrong because he fails to recognize the wild popularity of the NFL. It's not even that the Browns are more popular than the Indians, it's that the NFL is bigger than MLB. There are a only a few small/medium markets where MLB is bigger than the NFL (i.e. the baseball team draws as well as the football team). In regards to his comments about LeBron, as an outsider he just does not understand the level of sports misery we've dealt with over the years and how James significantly added to that. The truth is, however, that I think that for the most part this town is moving on...that doesn't mean that we're still not going to root against him similar to the way I'm sure fans of his Miami Hurricanes (all seven of them) probably root against Florida State. And if that comes off as a bad comparison, it's because I can't think of anything better because there truly is no analogous situation for him to understand being a native of South Florida.
June 26, 201212 yr ^Agree...I'm tired of people telling me I have to move one. I did. However, that doesn't mean I have to root for the guy.
June 26, 201212 yr In the past ten years: Seasons over .500- Browns 2, Indians 2 Trips to the Playoffs- Browns 1, Indians 1 Let's not act like the Indians have been world beaters for a long time. Sure they've been marginally better than the Browns, but that also can be due to the inherent nature of baseball where winning percentages are more cluttered together. This point really nails it. The Indians have basically had one good 5-year run in 60 years. That might be part of the problem.
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