It's Tribe Time | A Cleveland Indians Franchise

**Rylo** · 04-22-2009, 06:35 PM

Like I said in the CB, keep up the awesome work man.

**Vinsane** · 04-22-2009, 08:03 PM

Originally posted by T.Dot

Good luck vs the Cards, watch out for those mid order big bats

I found a smilie for what I hope doesn't happen to my pitchers. :crutch:

Originally posted by archer2k407

2 pretty even teams record wise , should be a good one.

Yeah, on paper we're even, we'll see, playing game one now.

Originally posted by Scud

Game 1 is going to be nasty. Each seems even..

Actually both teams are even pitching and batting-wise.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and say you win 2 of 3.

I hope that's what happens.

Originally posted by Rylo

Like I said in the CB, keep up the awesome work man.

Thanks man! Thank you for following!

Originally posted by Cudi

Nice job so far, you're doing great and sticking through this.

Only 100 games to go, I'm excited!

Originally posted by Bullsfan

interleague baseball! good luck.

I liked my inter-league schedule. Brewers and Pirates coming up, a good story line in coming up with the Cubs. Should be fun!

**Vinsane** · 04-22-2009, 09:48 PM

They Just Can't Lose!

Peralta, left, high fives his teammates after the win.

AP - Cleveland, OH - "What you seen today, was the definition of how a team, gets the job done." quoting an elated Eric Wedge after the game. "Our guys didn't give up, they played through, and top to bottom they won this game." Continued Wedge. The Indians win today is that of just pure will and determination to notch their fifth victory in a row. It started in the seventh. The Indians tried to get it going, Ryan Garko tripled home two runs in the seventh, but was stranded.

The Indians went quiet through the eighth inning. And exploded in the ninth. After Martinez failed to reach first, Nick Johnson doubled with an out. Josh Willingham brought him home with a double of his own. Wily Mo Pena stepped up and delivered a base hit that scored Willingham and got the game to 5-4. Ryan Garko was able to get enough push in the ball to bring the first baseman and second basemen off the plate. The only option was to first where the Cardinals would record their second out of the inning, advancing Pena to second.

Johnny Peralta stepped up to the plate and it didn't take him long, two pitches to be exact. To pound the hell out of the ball and give the Indians another come-back win and their second walk-off in four days. And that's how the Indians stunned the St. Louis Cardinals in game one of three in Cleveland.

Carl Pavano had a rough outing until leaving the game. He still pitched well giving up the runs early, but keeping them off the board late. Other than the four runs scored against, Pavano delivered a solid outing in the third spot or the "turn" guy in the rotation. Now it's up to Westbrook and Laffey to keep the series in the Indians favor.

Lineup:

2B Schumaker 1-5 |
DH Duncan 1-5 | 1K
1B Pujols 4-5 |
RF Ludwick 3-5 | 1K
CF Ankiel 1-5 | 2K
SS Greene 1-5 | 2K
C Molina 1-4 |
LF Mather 2-4 | 1K
3B Ryan 1-4 | 2K

Batting:

2B: Y. Molina (6), J. Mather (7)
HR: R. Ankiel (13)
RBI: A. Pujols (49), R. Ankiel 3 (39), B. Ryan (11)

Pitching:

Carpenter | 8.0IP | 8H | 2R | 2ER | 6SO | 3.92 ERA |
Perez (L, 0-1) | 0.2IP | 4H | 4R | 4ER | 3.71 ERA |

Lineup:

2B Barfield 2-4 |
CF Francisco 1-4 | 1K
3B DeRosa 0-4 | 1K
C Martinez 1-4 |
DH Johnson 2-4 |
LF Willingham 2-4 |
RF Pena 0-4 | 3K
1B Garko 3-4 |
SS Peralta 1-4 | 1K

Batting:

2B: J. Willingham (18), N. Johnson (13)
3B: R. Garko (1)
HR: J. Peralta (8)
RBI: J. Willingham (44), R. Garko 2 (29), J. Peralta 2 (38), W. Pena (11)
GIDP: M. DeRosa, B. Francisco

Pitching:

Pavano | 6.1IP | 10H | 4R | 4ER | 6SO | 6.10 ERA |
Chulk (W, 1-0) | 2.2IP | 5H | 1R | 1ER | 3SO | 5.19 ERA |

Player of the Game:

R. Garko

3 for 4 - Triple, 2 RBI

Next Game:
June 13th, 2009

(34-30) @ (36-27)

**T.Dot** · 04-22-2009, 09:49 PM

Are you kidding me!!!!!!
Awesome comeback man, congrats on the win.
Looks like you held those big bats in check for the most part

**chazmaniandevil** · 04-22-2009, 09:51 PM

i think the title should be Can't Lose

**mfbmike** · 04-22-2009, 09:53 PM

Hell of a bot9th rally. Picking up steam!

**Vinsane** · 04-22-2009, 10:03 PM

Originally posted by T.Dot

Are you kidding me!!!!!!
Awesome comeback man, congrats on the win.
Looks like you held those big bats in check for the most part

Poo-Holes tore me up.

Originally posted by chazmaniandevil

i think the title should be Can't Lose

lol, you're right. Good eye.

Originally posted by mfbmike

Hell of a bot9th rally. Picking up steam!

I know, I was ready to lose and Peralta hits that homer. 9 games above .500 is a nice cushion, but I'm STILL out of the playoffs.

**Vinsane** · 04-22-2009, 11:42 PM

Originally posted by NYsFinestBaller

this is great vin

Thank you for Following!

**Vinsane** · 04-23-2009, 12:50 AM

Number 6!

Westbrook, looking good.

AP - Cleveland, OH - You know what makes it good to be a writer? Times like these, when the best player's last name is pronounced Poo-Holes. Pujols and company couldn't get the bats going against the Cleveland Indians. Well, they couldn't get them going against one Jake Westbrook. Backed by one of the best offensive performances, Westbrook delivered one-hundred and thirteen pitches. All one-hundred and thirteen pitches equaled one complete game win for the hottest pitcher in Baseball.

Only Fausto Carmona can say he's had a better season than Jake Westbrook. Westbrook was a call up from Triple A, Columbus. Since then? He's dominated. Losing his first game on the mound behind a lackadaisical offense and defensive performances, Jake has improved to 4-1 on the Season. And he gets this win against one of the baddest rosters when it comes to middle of the line-up. The Cleveland Indians ride this recent success in their sixth win in a row.

"We won eight in a row earlier this year, streaks like these help. After that last one we floundered a little bit and stayed above five hundred." Commented Westbrook. "When you start to sink, a cushion helps. That's what we're prepared for coming into the All-Star game".

Eric Wedge was asked about the importance of winning this many games in a row. "It keeps us on pace." Said Wedge. "When you're four back of a team, you look at the end of the season. You don't get a four game match-up. You've gotta win when you're not playing that team. Right now it's the White Sox, we win while they lose, when it comes time to meet em, it could be for the division lead".

Lineup:

2B Schumaker 1-3 | 1K
DH Duncan 0-4 | 1K
1B Pujols 1-4 |
RF Ludwick 0-4 |
CF Ankiel 1-3 |
SS Greene 1-4 | 3K
C Molina 2-4 |
LF Mather 0-3 |
3B Ryan 0-3 | 1K

Batting:

2B: Y. Molina (7)
3B: S. Schumaker (1)
RBI: A. Pujols (50)
GIDP: R. Ludwick

Fielding:

PB: Y. Molina (1)

Pitching:

Pineiro (L, 2-4) | 5.1IP | 10H | 3R | 3ER | 1SO | 3.86 ERA |
McClellen | 2.0IP | 6H | 3R | 3ER | 1SO | 5.94 ERA |
Franklin | 0.2IP | 1H | 1SO | 2.70 ERA |

Lineup:

2B Cabrera 3-4 |
CF Francisco 2-4 |
3B Barfield 1-4 | 1K
C Martinez 1-4 |
DH Johnson 3-4 |
LF Willingham 2-4 |
RF Pena 1-4 | 1K
1B Garko 3-4 |
SS Peralta 1-4 | 1K

Batting:

2B: J. Willingham (19), A Cabrera (6), N. Johnson 3 (16), R. Garko (12)
RBI: J. Willingham 2 (46), A. Cabrera (17), N. Johnson (30), R. Garko (30), B. Francisco (27)
GIDP: J. Peralta, B. Francisco

Pitching:

Westbrook | 9.0IP | 6H | 1R | 1ER | 2BB | 6SO | 2.17 ERA |

Player of the Game:

N. Johnson

3 for 4 - 3 Doubles, RBI

Next Game:
June 14th, 2009

(34-31) @ (37-27)

**Vinsane** · 04-23-2009, 02:16 AM

Error!

Aaron Laffey hangs his head, despite the loss not being his fault.

AP - Cleveland, OH - The first error, not so bad. The second? Costs the Indians the win, and spoils another great pitching performance. Mark DeRosa gave the St. Louis Cardinals on this day. In the ninth inning it was his dropped ball that allowed Albert Pujols on base with two outs. Ludwick brings home Pujols, Ankiel brings home Ludwick, and Greene brings in Ankiel. 3-0 win, in favor of the St. Louis Cardinals, spoiling the Tribe's six game winning streak, and avoiding the sweep 2-1.

"Just a bad game, on my part." Said DeRosa. "You know the guy I feel sorry for is Aaron, if I make that play he leaves at least a winner of that game. Completing the game with a shut-out opportunity. Instead, my error puts the three runs on the board." DeRosa was convincing in his remorse factor. He does generally feel bad about costing Aaron the win.

"We've been beating teams in the ninth inning a lot lately." Said Victor Martinez. "It was only a matter of time before it happened to us, we've got to bounce back against the Brewers. It's a good match-up after a loss, and with Fausto taking the mound, should be fun."

The Indians were able to gain a game on the White Sox who avoided the Sweep on their end, going 1-2 against the Indians next opponents, The Milwaukee Brewers. The Tribe will face a three game series with the Brewers while the White Sox will take a day off, then travel North to take on the Cubs, in their inner-city match up.

**Vinsane** · 04-23-2009, 12:08 PM

Series Preview:

(35-28) @ (37-28)

The Season Series is tied 0-0.

Probable Starters:

Game 1:

M. Parra (5-3, 3.06 ERA)|F. Carmona (7-1, 3.17 ERA)

Game 2:
J. Suppan (3-2, 5.49 ERA)|C. Lee (5-3, 5.40 ERA)

Game 3:

Y. Gallardo (3-3, 3.93 ERA)|C. Pavano (2-3, 6.10 ERA)

Key Bank's "Keys to Succes"

1.) Good Pitching - It starts once again, with keeping runs off of the board. As long as the good pitching continues from the rotation, and the bullpen can deliver when called upon the Indians look good to take at least two out of the three against the Brew Crew.

2.) Error Free - Avoid giving up runs on Errors, you take that away from the last series, it's a sweep. The Errors cost the Tribe a sweep, they need to avoid playing with fire and try to avoid the error bug in this series.

3.) Small Ball - The Brewers have some power to their line-up, keeping the ball in the yard is key to winning this series. If the Indians in fact want to walk away victorious they cannot give up the long ball at will, they're the best in the business right now playing small ball, they need to continue this trend, to continue success.

**Vinsane** · 04-23-2009, 01:21 PM

One Strong Brew.

Bill Hall's two homers, propel the Brew Crew over the Tribe.

AP - Cleveland, OH - "He took me out of the park today, it's all that can be said. I got rocked for eight innings." Fausto Carmona said answering to the media after the one run loss to the Brewers. "The offense did everything right, we matched them run for run. It was just that one run that we couldn't match that was the difference today, it's a difficult loss for us as a ball club. To know you did all the right things and still come up short, it's disappointing." Carmona said in closing.

His record won't take a knock though, Carmona pitched six innings of work, giving up twelve hits. One of his worst outings this season as he also surrendered seven runs. In the seventh he was removed in what would be a no-decision situation as the game was tied at seven a piece. Then the Brewers pushed across the winning run on Rafeal Betancourt. The Indians couldn't match it in their final three innings, a place recently that has been where most their run production has came from.

"We're still looking good, can't let the last two loses get to us. Got to jump on them tomorrow and pound out a win." The Tribe will attempt to do that with Cliff Lee taking the mound for them. Lee has been struggling in recent memory, his last outing left something to be desired from the pitcher. It's also been rumored recently that the Indians would trade Cliff if his struggles continued. He was removed as the Ace in the earlier part of this year and has pitched as the two spot since then, though his performance has reflected a four or five spot.

Lineup:

2B Weeks 0-5 | 1K
C Rivera 2-5 |
LF Braun 3-5 |
1B Fielder 2-4 |
SS Hardy 0-4 | 2K
RF Hart 2-4 | 1K
3B Lamb 1-4 | 1K
CF Cameron 1-4 | 1K
DH Hall 3-4 | 1K

Batting:

2B: R. Braun (19), B. Hall (8)
3B: R. Braun (2), C. Hart (5)
HR: M. Cameron (7), B. Hall 2 (9)
RBI: M. Cameron 2 (26), R. Braun (45), P. Fielder (49), B. Hall 4 (24)

GIDP: J. Hardy, R. Braun

Fielding:

E: J. Hardy 2 (8)

Pitching:

Parra | 4.0IP | 9H | 6R | 6ER | 1SO | 3.62 ERA |
Villanueva (W, 2-0) | 3.0IP | 4H | 1R | 3SO | 3.19 ERA |
McClung (H, 12) | 1.0IP | 2SO | 4.78 ERA |
Hoffman (S, 17) | 1.0IP | 1H | 5.30 ERA |

Lineup:

2B Cabrera 1-5 |
CF Francisco 3-5 |
3B DeRosa 0-4 | 1K
C Martinez 3-4 |
LF Willingham 0-5 |
DH Johnson 3-5 |
1B Garko 1-4 | 1K
RF Pena 1-4 | 2K
SS Barfield 2-4 | 2K

Batting:

2B: R. Garko (14), B. Francisco (18)
3B: N. Johnson (2)
RBI: V. Martinez 2 (33), N. Johnson (31), R. Garko (31), B. Francisco 2 (29)
HBP: V. Martinez
SAC: M. DeRosa
GIDP: J. Willingham 2

Pitching:

Carmona | 6.0IP | 12H | 7R | 7ER | 4SO | 3.64 ERA |
Betancourt (L, 2-2) | 3.0IP | 1R | 1ER | 3SO | 3.82 ERA |

Player of the Game:

B. Hall

3 for 4 - 2 HR, Double

Next Game:
June 16th, 2009

(36-28) @ (37-29)

**Vinsane** · 04-23-2009, 01:30 PM

Originally posted by Bullsfan

tough one run loss, kinda funny their DH beasted is Hall even starting.

Yeah, it looks like he's playing 3B on and off, just happened to get put in the DH spot for the game?

**Vinsane** · 04-23-2009, 02:35 PM

Big Ben Comes Through!

Ben Francisco, pictured above, is one reason why the Indians are doing so well.

AP - Cleveland, OH - If you try to measure the success of the Cleveland Indians, based on stats, based on players, based on performance, something doesn't compute. While the Indians are currently one of the better teams in baseball, they struggle where it matters most, while they're fourth in the league in RBI's they're 30th in home runs, and stolen bases, a big part of that having to do with the lack of speed on the bases, that and Grady Sizemore still has a month of rehab.

No, to measure the Indians success this year you have to look at the "X-Factor", Factor. The Indians win and lose nightly on these x-factors. Ben Francisco, happens to be one of the X-Factors. Ben, started in left field at the beginning of the season. When the news was announced that Grady Sizemore was going to be out for 1-2 months, Ben stepped into center field. He has been one of the better defensive players on this time, rarely does a ball pass him up, or does he not make that extra effort to run a base hit down.

Ben is only one of many x-factors on this team. When one of the X-factors step up like Ben did in the eighth inning. It makes you wonder if the Indians can make a playoff run, on X-factors alone? Big Ben was up to bat, runners on first and second with one out. He was the tying run. When he blasted a ball onto the Pepsi home-run porch. The Tribe celebrated at the plate as they tied it up in the eighth. A couple of batters later they avenge a one run loss with a one run win, in their favor.

The Tribe so far have split the series with the Brew Crew. Cliff Lee pitched five innings of shut-out baseball and continues to work out of his slump. Had it not been for Ben, Lee would've left the game the losing pitcher. He continues to pitch well though, and things are starting to look up, if he can get a dominating one or two games in Lee might, just might, look good enough to stay on as a piece to a playoff team. Carl Pavano takes the mound for the Tribe in the rubber match, tomorrow night.

Lineup:

2B Weeks 3-4 |
C Rivera 3-4 | 1K
LF Braun 0-4 | 2K
1B Fielder 0-4 | 2K
SS Hardy 1-3 | 2K
RF Hart 1-4 |
CF Cameron 2-4 |
3B Hall 0-4 | 2K
DH Kendall 1-4 |

Batting:

2B: M. Cameron (12), J. Kendall (4), M. Rivera (5), R. Weeks (12)
HR: C. Hart (10)
RBI: C. Hart (42), M. Rivera (15), R. Weeks (17)
GIDP: R. Braun

Fielding:

E: M. Rivera (4), R. Weeks (6)

Base Running:

CS: M. Cameron (1)

Pitching:

Suppan | 2.1IP | 3H | 1R | 1ER | 2SO | 5.43 ERA |
Villanueva | 4.2IP | 1H | 1SO | 2.83 ERA |
McClung (L, 1-4) | 0.2IP | 5H | 4R | 4 ER | 1SO | 5.79 ERA |
Coffey | 0.1IP | 5.59 ERA |

Lineup:

DH Carroll 1-4 |
CF Francisco 1-4 | 2K
3B DeRosa 0-3 |
3B Cabrera 1-1 |
C Martinez 1-4 |
LF Willingham 1-4 | 1K
1B Garko 1-4 |
RF Pena 0-4 |
SS Peralta 2-3 |
2B Barfield 1-3 | 1K

Batting:

2B: A. Cabrera (7), R. Garko (15)
HR: B. Francisco (6)
RBI: J. Willingham (47), J. Peralta (39), B. Francisco 3 (32)

Base Running:

CS: J. Barfield (1)

Pitching:

Lee | 7.0IP | 9H | 3R | 3ER | 6SO | 5.27 ERA |
Perez (W, 2-1) | 1.1IP | 2H | 1R | 1ER | 1BB | 2SO | 4.28 ERA |
Wood (S, 23) | 0.2IP | 1SO | 2.45 ERA |

Player of the Game:

B. Francisco

1 for 4 - HR, 3 RBI

Next Game:
June 17th, 2009

(36-29) @ (38-29)

**mfbmike** · 04-23-2009, 02:47 PM

Chise of the month material FO SHO