maybe Cleveland fans are just smarter than everyone gives them credit for.  Letting optimism build and then underperforming in big moments is what fans have been accustomed to.  Now we are asking why the stadium wasnt full the last couple of nights?  Well, from a tribe fan standpoint, its almost unwatchable. 

 

Yep. I didn't even bother watching the game last night. Monday night's game killed it for me. It brought back way too many bad Cleveland sports memories for me. At gut-check time, Cleveland sports teams fold.

 

 

Buzzfeed.com acknowledges KJP's birthday. Sort of. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mrloganrhoades/the-most-amusing-and-exasperating-man-in-the-world-to-clevel

 

Sort of!

Detroit's clearly the better ballclub, but what happened Monday night is not reflective of that.  That's a game that the Tribe should have won.  Percentages show that a team with a 2-run lead going into the 9th inning wins over 90% of the time (don't know the exact figure). 

 

I don't see the Tribe winning both of the next two games.  Their best shot is tonight, and they need to win, even if they're only playing for the Wild Card at this point.

Too bad Corey Kluber is now going to miss at least a month........

 

http://www.rotoinfo.com/playerupdate/201115/Corey-Kluber-P/

Did anyone see Masterson hit Santiago with the pitch on TV?  I was at the game and it looked as though he squared to bunt and stepped in the way of the pitch (outside the box).  Just wondering what those watching at home saw.  Of course it ended up being the turning point....

 

I hope they have plenty of rum and cigars handy tonight.Let's get some runs and support the rookie.

Runs may be hard to come by, but I am super excited to see Salazar start #2. The guy is amazing.  If there weren't lingering health/durability concerns, he'd be one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.

 

Did anyone see Masterson hit Santiago with the pitch on TV?  I was at the game and it looked as though he squared to bunt and stepped in the way of the pitch (outside the box).  Just wondering what those watching at home saw.  Of course it ended up being the turning point....

 

I was bummed by that call...sure looked like he offered at it enough to be called a strike. Tough to say how much of a turning point is really was, though...the next several batters really teed off on Masty.

The win-loss doesn't show it but these  teams are very even. This will be a hell of a rivalry in the coming years with the Indians talent maturing and the Tigers getting older.

 

Edit: this has been a hell of a game. Going into the 14th

Ugggghhhhhhhhhh

And then they tease us like that.

Ugggghhhhhhhhhh

 

Yep

 

Kudos to Shaw for keeping us in it another 2 innings.

 

 

Gut-wrenching. Just crushing.  Salazar was awesome till his final batter though. That kid's amazing.

What's gut wrenching is we didn't pick up any major pieces at the deadline. (Technically, the player we did pick up was the one who gave up the losing runs. But I am not blaming him and that isn't my point). This team is "this close" to the Tigers who are the best or second best team in the MLB right now.

I don't think there were any major pieces to be had for a reasonable price.  At least not to fit our team's needs.  The Giants were rumored to have asked for Danny Salazar in exchange for their 36 yo lefty reliever. No thanks.

 

Wild card still a very plausible goal, so all is not lost.

Just watching Salazar's mechanics, I'd be concerned with his longevity as a starter.  The arm motion on his heater has a lot of snap to it, as opposed to the longer mechanics of someone like Randy Johnson or Nolan Ryan.

The win-loss doesn't show it but these  teams are very even. This will be a hell of a rivalry in the coming years with the Indians talent maturing and the Tigers getting older.

 

The Tigers' run differential is +144, while the Tribe's is +42 .  That's not really all that close.  And if Detroit continues to outspend the Indians like they are doing now, there won't be any rivalry moving forward.  Swisher is probably past his prime (enthusiasm aside), Bourn's speed will only deteriorate as he ages with his contract, Cabrera will likely be gone in the offseason, Kipnis is playing well but has his moments of inconsistency, and Brantley is a solid, but not great, cog in the lineup.  Don't get me started on the starting pitching, which beyond Masterson, consists of a group of guys each of which has no more than 2/3 of a season of very good pitching to their name.  Sure Kazmir has a proven track record, but there's a good chance he'll sign somewhere else because his stock has gone through the roof.

 

In other words, this club reminds me a lot of the 2007 club (though clearly not as good): A team that had a very good year because a lot of things fell into place and a team that people are assuming is going to have staying power.  However after seeing this type of a storyline surrounding previous recent Tribe squads, I'll believe that their a contender when I actually see it.  Particularly when Dolan is as much of a tightwad as ever and Antonetti hasn't proven that he can succeed with one hand tied behind his back like Beane (Oakland) and Friedman (Tampa Bay) have.

^well my cheerios have been peed in. Thanks. ;D ;D

 

Your probably closer to the truth than I am. Just give me 2 or 3 competitive years in a row, then I will believe. That was drove me mad about the Wedge years, 2005 they made a late season run, 2006 they sucked, 2007 (no explanation), 2008 they sucked.

 

 

 

 

 

I think it's clear we're not as good as the Tigers, but you can say that about at least 27, maybe 29 other teams in baseball. It stinks that they're in our division, but doesn't mean the team can't crack the post season, which is enough of a crap shoot to be interesting.  I'm definitely not as pessimistic as Clevelander17 about the next couple years, though I'd be thrilled if the team could work out an extension with Masterson past 2014. 

So I guess some people were chanting "Detroit's bankrupt" yesterday at the game in response to tigers fans chanting and from the Google results they're pretty pissed about it

i heard it and Rome talked about it today.  Its funny.  Sorry you are bankrupt, Detroit.  People have been making fun of us for 4 decades about our river being on fire. Get over it

i heard it and Rome talked about it today.  Its funny.  Sorry you are bankrupt, Detroit.  People have been making fun of us for 4 decades about our river being on fire. Get over it

 

Nice!  Epic fan-win.

 

You kind of have to understand the culture of sports fans to understand why.  The Tigers fans invaded our park and tried to make it their own (a huge dis in sportsfan world), and now they are crying about the return fire.

grrrrr...

 

http://imgick.cleveland.com/home/cleve-media/width620/img/darcy/photo/13223624-mmmain.jpg

Well it was a win today.

i heard it and Rome talked about it today.  Its funny.  Sorry you are bankrupt, Detroit.  People have been making fun of us for 4 decades about our river being on fire. Get over it

 

Yep. Cleveland has been kicked around for decades. Now that we're kicking back (ie: Kosar's critique of certain Rams players), media outside Cleveland is all up in arms. Screw you. Get used to it.

This stupid team. I want to get on with my life but they still tease!

This stupid team. I want to get on with my life but they still tease!

 

Totally agree.

^^Because Detroit hasn't been the whipping boy of the country for decades? What's that slogan? Cleveland, at least it's not Detroit?

 

Personally I think Detroit and Cleveland should look at each other as brothers in arms. They are very similar, particularly if you count the rise and fall of our football teams.

This stupid team. I want to get on with my life but they still tease!

 

Totally agree.

I saw the Indians when they were in town a couple of weeks back. After that win I downloaded an app to my phone to keep track of the games in real time. What a mistake, I have since removed the app and haven't kept up with the games.

 

All the discussion of late about home attendance; this is exactly the problem. Same old Indians. It has nothing to do with population loss or the other theories that were discussed. I’ve tuned out.

^^Because Detroit hasn't been the whipping boy of the country for decades? What's that slogan? Cleveland, at least it's not Detroit?

 

Personally I think Detroit and Cleveland should look at each other as brothers in arms. They are very similar, particularly if you count the rise and fall of our football teams.

 

At first I got a chuckle out of the "Detroit's bankrupt" chant, but then I read some comments from Detroiters and realized that it is pretty mean-spirited.  But the vitriol indeed goes both ways.  I think there are a lot of similarities between the cities, so perhaps there's some grounds for making fun of each other and keeping it in the family.  However if an outsider (i.e. non-Rust Belt city) were to play that card, it would be even worse.

this is going to sound crazy.  But this is where Francona lives.  This is why he gets paid so much and is good at his profession.  When everyone else is ready to quit and throw it in, he manges to inspire and milk people for their most.  Boston came back in '04 from 3-0 and '07 from 3-1, then his teams get sizzling hot. Im telling you, it has been a roller coaster ride, but if we manage to squeak into the playoffs somehow, there is a legitimate chance they can catch fire and overcome talent discrepancies.

this is going to sound crazy.  But this is where Francona lives.  This is why he gets paid so much and is good at his profession.  When everyone else is ready to quit and throw it in, he manges to inspire and milk people for their most.  Boston came back in '04 from 3-0 and '07 from 3-1, then his teams get sizzling hot. Im telling you, it has been a roller coaster ride, but if we manage to squeak into the playoffs somehow, there is a legitimate chance they can catch fire and overcome talent discrepancies.

 

Not crazy at all. You see him trying to still instill the "nothing bothers me" mentality. Such as: players joking around at the end of the fourth game of the Detroit series, despite on the cusp of losing all of them. Kluber looking like a stone-faced killer after pitching a shutout. Or Masterson completing not reacting at all to his teammates throwing sunflowers seeds and water on him while he did a live, televised interview. I think that's Francona rubbing off on them.......

 

You only show emotion if you win the championship.

Ugh, they had every chance to win that last night. Can we just give A Cab a week off? He needs to get his head together. His whole game is just off right now.

 

 

Sweep of the angels. 5.5 back in the divisional race. 2.5 back from the A's in the wild card race. Tigers play the A's next week. Who to root for (or against)?

Sweep of the angels. 5.5 back in the divisional race. 2.5 back from the A's in the wild card race. Tigers play the A's next week. Who to root for (or against)?

 

Tough to say, but I think you gotta root for the As.  We still have a series against Detroit coming up and would love to see them gain some ground heading into that one.

naw, a wildcard spot is the realistic opportunity.  What makes you think the indians will win the next series against the tigers?

I would rather have a shot at winning the division. A seat at the big dance or one game toss up to get in?

I'm with Mendo on this.  Think big--that's what Francona would do (hopefully!). 

 

I never believe in gambling on another teams fortunes.  I'd rather us keep trying to win it all than settle for a one game playoff.  You never know, an injury here or there or the Tigers could just go cold....

I'm sure everyone would prefer taking the division, but I much rather have a 50% shot at a WC slot than a 20% shot at the division, so I'll be very reluctantly rooting for the As to lose.  The nice thing is knowing that we'll have a shot to gain on someone no matter who wins. 

Im just sayin that there are 35 games left.  the tribe has to either win 16% more games than detroit or 8% more games than EITHER the Rays or the A's. 

 

i want them to win the division as much as anyone, but we are entering a stretch where the indians have to win almost one out of five more than Detroit to win the division.

Saw the Tribe today in Anaheim. Lots of Indians fans in attendance! I ended up liking Angels Stadium a lot more than I thought I would, fun atmosphere. Another win for the good guys!

Really, it doesn't matter who we root for. Our rooting will not have much effect on the outcome. That said, I'm rooting for the Indians to win, one game at a time.

^This is very true.  It's really about calibrating expectations, but it is funny how fans phrase it like it's a decision we or the team needs to make.

 

Oh, and the Tigers lost today.

Really, it doesn't matter who we root for. Our rooting will not have much effect on the outcome. That said, I'm rooting for the Indians to win, one game at a time.

 

mr wet blanket, over here

  What makes you think the indians will win the next series against the tigers?

 

Major League.

  What makes you think the indians will win the next series against the tigers?

 

Major League.

 

Still hanging around, another win tonight.

Asdrubal's defense has become a real liability.

 

^ And Santana's, and Swisher's, and Kipnis'. Our infield defense is pretty crappy all around. This isn't even the first 4 error day. It ties the season high.

 

edit: That stupid play by Kipnis should have been error #5. Why not just flip the damn ball to A-cab? If the Twins didn't suck, we would be out of this game.

That game was super ugly. 

 

The rest of the league is cooperating today so far. Our playoff odds definitely jumped a bit.  Hopefully the Yankees and Dodgers win too.

I was there today for that ugly-fest. Thankfully Minnesota's offense this year is worse than ours so we didn't lose the series.....

 

 

Some interesting stats of this season vs. playoff seasons of the recent past, courtesy of this guy on Twitter......

 

Zack Meisel ‏@ZackMeisel 1h

'13 Indians thru 130 games: 71-59

'07 Indians thru 130 games: 73-57

'01 Indians thru 130 games: 73-57

'97 Indians thru 130 games: 69-61

 

We'd better get our hitting coach replaced if we want to make a late-season run. Hey Charlie Manuel is available again!

Have we hired that new hitting coach yet? Did you all hear Matt Underwood last night noting that the Indians are 0 for their last 14 with runners in scoring position? This is bad.