It's Tribe Time | A Cleveland Indians Franchise

[Vinsane]

Extra Inning Thriller!


Sizemore's late inning heroics the difference maker.

AP - Cleveland, OH - It felt like October. The energy of the crowd, the brisk breeze off of Lake Erie. The Tigers, the Indians, AL Central Rivals. And they went extra innings to boot, if this is just a glimpse of what we have in store for us over the next two months? Then it's great to be a baseball fan. The Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers met for the tenth time this season, and first time since the All-Star break.

Detroit got it going early against Jake Westbrook. Marcus Thames showed raw power as he pushed his first of two homers out of the park in the first inning. Westbrook who hasn't lost but one game this year, looked like the Westbrook of old, getting pounded. Jake wouldn't loose his composer however, he stayed in the game and kept the hits to a minimal as best he could, backed with his defense Jake was able to stay in the game for the Cleveland Indians.

It was Thames who struck again in the fourth inning for the Tigers, this time going to left field for a solo shot to the "Pepsi Home Run Porch". The ball was back into the field as quickly as it left as the Tribe faithful refused to let it rest on the concrete much longer than a few seconds. Thames has been a powerful asset to the Tigers as he punched out his 32nd and 33rd home runs of the season.

In the bottom of the fourth Ben Francisco would crush a ball that matched Thames in left field. This one would not return to the field and the Indians drew within one run of the Tigers. Solid base hitting and good path running would lead to the Indians game tying run in the bottom of the fifth. From there it was a pitchers duel between Jake Westbrook and Justin Verlander. Both pitched phenomenal baseball from the fifth inning on. The game would go into extra innings, Fernando Rodney would take over the mound duties for the Tigers, while long reliever Jonathan Meloan would take over for the Tribe.

There was not a shortage of hits from the ninth inning on, both teams would get runners on base but suburb defense would keep the runs off the board until the twelfth inning. With runners on first and third, the Indians called a pitch out play. The same time the Tigers called a double steal. Victor Martinez caught in confusion would throw to second, allowing the runner from third to score. The Tigers lead was short lived however. In the bottom of the twelfth they turned the game over to closer Brandon Lyon.

Lyon was hit early and often, allowing the first three batters on base. This allowed Jhonny Peralta to get Ryan Garko home on a base hit and tie the game at four. Grady Sizemore would turn on a pitch that just skipped inside the third base line and allowed Kelly Shoppach, who pinched hit for Mark DeRosa to score the winning run. Sizemore would be credited with the walk off hit, and the Tribe would take a 5.0 game lead in the AL Central.

Lineup:

CF Granderson 2-5 | 1K
2B Polanco 1-5 | 1K
1B Cabrera 1-4 | 1K
PR Everett 0-0 |
PR-1B Treanor 0-1 |
DH Thames 3-5 | 2K
PR Thomas 0-0 |
LF Guillen 2-5 |
RF Sheffield 0-5 | 3K
C Laird 0-4 | 2K
SS Santiago 1-5 | 1K
3B Inge 1-4 | 1K

Batting:

HR: M. Thames 2 (33)
RBI: M. Thames 3 (73)
GIDP: P. Polanco, C. Guillen, R. Santiago

Fielding:

E: R. Santiago (9)

Base Running:

SB: C. Guillen (7), C. Thomas (2)

Pitching:

Verlander | 8.0IP | 7H | 3R | 3ER | 4SO | 4.67 ERA |
Rodney | 3.0IP | 2H | 1SO | 3.06 ERA |
Lyon (L, 0-1) | 0.0IP | 3H | 2R | 2ER | 3.38 ERA |
Robertson | 0.0IP | 1H | 4.38 ERA |



Lineup:

CF Sizemore 3-6 |
2B Cabrera 0-5 | 1K
RF Francisco 2-5 |
C Martinez 1-5 | 1K
DH Johnson 2-5 |
LF Willingham 0-5 |
1B Garko 3-5 |
3B DeRosa 0-3 | 1K
PH-3B Shoppach 1-2 |
SS Peralta 1-5 | 2K

Batting:

2B: V. Martinez (24), N. Johnson (26), R. Garko (20), G. Sizemore 2 (11)
HR: B. Francisco (9)
RBI: J. Peralta (56), B. Francisco 2 (54), G. Sizemore (27)

Pitching:

Westbrook | 9.0IP | 7H | 3R | 3ER | 1BB | 8SO | 3.40 ERA |
Meloan (W, 6-3) | 3.0IP | 4H | 1R | 1ER | 4SO | 4.00 ERA |

Player of the Game:


B. Francisco

2 for 5 - HR, 2 RBI

Next Game:
August 1st, 2009

(56-45)@(62-41)

[T.Dot]

Nice wins0r, Thames murdered tu

[Vinsane]

Monthly Recap:

July Record: 15-9
Longest Win Streak: 8 Games
Longest Losing Streak: 6 Games

Positives:
1. Leading AL Central
2. Series Sweep (Chicago White Sox)
3. American League Home Field Advantage.

Negatives:
1. Swept by Blue Jays
2. A Series split, and loss against Seattle.
3. Six game losing streak.

Possible August Moves:

- SS Johnny Tate (AA, Akron) was on fire last month, batting .374. The Indians are fielding a solid team with Akron that has the best chance to make the playoffs. The Tribe will most likely keep this team intact for the remainder of the season.

- Akron Pitching (Oren Hitchcock, Jody Kern, Virgilio Saldana, Rich Rundles, and Cliff Shipp) Have pitched amazingly in the past month. The lot of them picked up 11 wins between the starters. Virgilio Saldana was able to notch 11 saves, and Jody Kern posted a 1.45 ERA in the month of July. The Aeros are looking to make a lot of post-season noise. (Note: I will play Aeros post season)

- 1B Dewitt Sams (AAA, Columbus) Slumped on the month batting only a .181.

- SS Andy Cannizaro (AAA, Columbus) Was ice cold at the plate, batting a .171. Luckily for him the Aeros are keeping their core guys for a playoff push. Cannizaro could of been replaced with Johnny Tate had the Indians decided otherwise.

- LF Taylor Huffman (AAA, Columbus) Struggled to get something going last month batting only .183. Not too much of a concern for the Indians. Plenty of depth in LF.

- P Preston Peralta (AAA, Columbus) Looked great, posting 11 saves in the month of July.

- P Nick Shipley (AAA, Columbus) Could be considered for a spot starter position within the Indians MLB Organization. GM Mark Shapiro and Manager Eric Wedge have been tossing the Idea around of bringing along a sixth starter to the rotation for the late playoff push and October baseball.

[Vinsane]

Around The League



Standings:

Vinsane's Take: The Red Sox are the best team in baseball, hands down. Only losing 33 games with 59 left speaks volumes about what it is going to take to get past this team in October. Easily the Red Sox are the World Series favorites if they can make it out of the AL Central. The Tampa Bay Rays have leaped up from a month ago, losing only 4 games in the month of July. They've overtaken the Yankees who are now on the outside looking in come playoff time.

Vinsane's Take: The AL Central could easily be a three horse race, the Indians for the first time this season are leading coming out of July. The White Sox had a monumental failure in the month of July that allowed the Tigers to creep up into second. If the Tigers are to overtake the Tribe, they'll need to play better against them and the rest of the AL Central. The Twins continue to improve though they're in last place. They'll prove to be a threat in coming seasons if they can progress further with this success.

Vinsane's Take: The AL West by far is the worst division right now in the Major Leagues. If this trend continues for the first time in MLB there could be a team with a sub .500 record in the playoffs. The last team to almost accomplish this feat? The Texas Rangers that missed the playoffs by a game. While the AL West will field a team, I see an early ALDS exit.

Vinsane's Take: This is proof that a member from the AL Central is going to have to win the division to get to the playoffs. While the Indians would hold a Wild Card lead they have no games against the competition, except for the Baltimore Orioles. Don't count the Yankees out just yet. It's possible that the Wild Card won't be decided until the final week of the season.

Standings:

Vinsane's Take: The Braves are the best team in baseball not named Boston. They've held the lead since the start of the season and haven't relinquished it. The Mets continue to add pressure though as they inch closer to the Braves. I don't think the Mets have what it takes to overcome Atlanta though.

Vinsane's Take: A week from now and we could name the Pirates the first team eliminated. Their poor performance this season is up there with some of the worst of recent memory. A plus from the NL Central, the Brewers are widening the gap from the Cardinals and a late surge by the Cubs could have Chicago in the post-season. It will take a hell of a finish for Chicago but the way they've jumped up from the start of the season, I wouldn't count the Cubbies out just yet.

Vinsane's Take: While I mentioned the Braves as the second best team in baseball, the Dodgers are statistically better. The Dodgers competition hasn't been up to par, no team has really challenged them yet for the lead in the West. The Rockies have made a move up in the standings thanks to only a 10 loss July. If the Rockies are going to make a move on the lead, they'll need to do so in this next month or time might run out for another chance at a World Series.

Vinsane's Take: The Padres are the biggest losers here, going from first to fourth. With the Cubs charging up it will be up to the Mets, Cardinals to hold them off and take on the Rockies. I personally believe that the Rockies don't have what it takes to hold this Wild Card spot for the next two months. We'll see how this one shapes out as it too has the chance to not be decided until the final week of the regular season.

[Vinsane]

A Complete Game Too


Laffey pitched a complete game for the Tribe.

AP - Cleveland, OH - Game two was a little less exciting. The Indians went up early and kept their foot on the throat of the Tigers. Aaron Laffey pitched a complete game for the Tribe when Manager Eric Wedge failed to call the bullpen to get a man ready in the seventh. Laffey to that point only had given up eight hits and one run. He finished the night with ten hits and three runs.

The Tribe looked good for their second game against the Tigers and widened the lead a bit more relieving the pressure felt during their six game skid a week ago. The Tribe have done everything they could to prevent giving up the lead in the Central. Heading into game three they're looking for the series sweep. And doing so with Zach Jackson on the mound for them.

It should be interesting to see how the rest of this season plays out. The Tigers are unable to do well against the Indians thus far this season dropping the season series to 8-3 in favor of the Tribe. Right now it seems as if Cleveland is a shoe in to win the season series in their next match up, a little less than a month from now. The Tigers will look to regroup with Jeremy Bonderman on the mound who has delivered for the Tigers in the past against the Tribe.

Lineup:

CF Granderson 2-4 | 1K
2B Polanco 0-4 |
1B Cabrera 2-4 | 1K
LF Thames 2-4 | 1K
DH Guillen 0-4 | 1K
RF Sheffield 1-4 | 1K
C Laird 2-4 | 1K
SS Santiago 1-4 |
3B Inge 0-4 |

Batting:

2B: C. Granderson (22), M. Thames (19)
3B: G. Laird (2), M. Thames (3)
HR: C. Granderson (14)
RBI: C. Granderson (46), C. Guillen (46), G. Laird (35)

Fielding:

E: R. Santiago (10)

Pitching:

Galarraga (L, 9-7) | 3.2IP | 8H | 6R | 4ER | 3.55 ERA |
Miner | 4.1IP | 5H | 2R | 2ER | 3.04 ERA |



Lineup:

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

Batting:

2B: M. DeRosa 2 (39), B. Francisco 2 (34), J. Willingham (24)
3B: G. Sizemore (3)
RBI: A. Cabrera (29), V. Martinez (57), R. Garko (44), J. Peralta 2 (58), M. DeRosa 2 (61), G. Sizemore (28)
GIDP: V. Martinez

Pitching:

Laffey | 9.0IP | 10H | 3R | 3ER | 6SO | 3.63 ERA |

Player of the Game:


M. DeRosa

2 for 4 - 2 Doubles, 2 RBI

Next Game:
August 2nd, 2009

(56-46)@(63-41)

[T.Dot]

Nice win, lots of two baggers for you

[mfbmike]

I notice I gave up a lot of doubles against the blue jays as well. Wonder why that is. Hmm, nice win.

[Vinsane]

Tigers Roar, But More Of The Same.


Gary Sheffield watches, as his two run homer isn't enough.

AP - Cleveland, OH - The Tigers now know how the Indians felt. A second place team challenging the leader for the reigns of the Central, only to come up short. The Tigers haven't played their best baseball, especially against the Indians. They've struggled in nearly every meeting that they've had with Cleveland. Today was no different.

The Indians looked to their new rotation man, and third addition to the rotation this season, Zach Jackson. Jackson pitched well during his seven innings of work allowing only a run. The Tribe needed that kind of outing from him, especially against an AL Central opponent. "When Zack looks back on this game, he'll know that he can beat a team of Detroit's caliber, that's all I can ask for as a manager." commented Eric Wedge.

Along the way the Tribe and Tigers went back and forth through a lot of scoreless innings. The Indians only offensive out put came from SS Jhonny Peralta who stepped up big for the Tribe once more with his 14th homer of the season, a three run shot in the fifth to push the Indians ahead 4-1. Jackson took care of the Tigers up until the eighth where the reigns were handed over to Rafeal Perez. Perez got the Indians through the eighth and Wood came on in the ninth.

Allowing the first runner to hit a double, Wood was feeling the pressure. And the crowd erupted in boos when Sheffield hit his 9th of the season onto the left field home run porch. The Indians were feeling the pressure but Wood delivered as he always has all season and picked up his thirty eighth save of the season. Drawing closer to the record with just 57 games to go.

Lineup:

CF Granderson 2-4 |
2B Polanco 3-4 |
1B Cabrera 1-4 | 1K
LF Thames 1-4 | 1K
DH Guillen 0-4 | 2K
RF Sheffield 2-4 |
C Laird 1-4 |
SS Santiago 0-4 | 1K
3B Inge 0-2 |

Batting:

2B: P. Polanco 2 (30), M. Thames (20)
HR: G. Sheffield (9)
RBI: G. Sheffield 2 (37), B. Inge (31)
SF: B. Inge
GIDP: M. Cabrera, M. Thames

Fielding:

E: B. Inge (3), R. Santiago (11)

Pitching:

Bonderman (L, 5-8) | 5.1IP | 11H | 4R | 4ER | 3SO | 4.13 ERA |
Rodney | 2.2IP | 2H | 1SO | 2.94 ERA |



Lineup:

CF Sizemore 1-4 | 1K
2B Cabrera 2-4 |
RF Francisco 0-4 | 1K
C Shoppach 1-4 |
DH Johnson 1-4 | 1K
LF Willingham 2-4 | 1K
1B Garko 1-3 |
3B DeRosa 2-3 |
SS Peralta 3-3 |

Batting:

2B: N. Johnson (27), M. DeRosa (40), K. Shoppach (5), G. Sizemore (12), J. Willingham (25)
HR: J. Peralta (14)
RBI: J. Peralta 4 (62)
GIDP: B. Francisco, K. Shoppach

Pitching:

Jackson (W, 2-1) | 7.0IP | 6H | 1R | 1ER | 4SO | 3.68 ERA |
Perez | 1.0IP | 2H | 1SO | 3.57 ERA |
Wood (S, 38) | 1.0IP | 2H | 2R | 2ER | 2.68 ERA |

Player of the Game:


J. Peralta

3 for 3 - HR, 4 RBI

Next Game:
August 4th, 2009

(44-61)@(64-41)

[goDawgs1433]

Nice win, that was a big series for you.

[Archer]

woah close ass win

Keep it up bro

[Vinsane]

First time I've checked in on this, very nice work here Vinsane.

I'm following.

Glad to have you aboard Woy, thanks for following.

Nice wins0r, Thames murdered tu

Nice win, lots of two baggers for you

Thames destroyed me in that game, I got lucky.

And the doubles were crazy, a lot of hits went in the gaps.

I notice I gave up a lot of doubles against the blue jays as well. Wonder why that is. Hmm, nice win.

Shit happens? Thanks Mike.

Nice win, that was a big series for you.

No doubt, I thought they'd at least get one on me. Have during every other series.

nice win but almost threw it away

Yeah, Wood was shaky at the start of the season. He started 0-2, since then though he's been money. Hopefully he doesn't fall apart late, need him for the playoffs.

woah close ass win

Keep it up bro

Thanks Archer.

Yo, this franchise is "V"insane! Keep up the great work. I loved your "around the league" and "monthly recaps"! This is so in depth and an outstanding read!

lol, thanks man. I try to give a little something as my outside opinion of the goings-on of the season. You'll get more updates like that with a playoff tracker, something to give during the final eight weeks of the season.

[LC AAU]

Woody with another save :D. Nice win.

[Vinsane]

Series Preview:

(44-61)@(64-41)

Cleveland lead the Season Series 4-2.

Divsion Standings:

Probable Starters:

Game 1:

F. Liriano (8-8, 4.71 ERA)|F. Carmona (12-2, 3.35 ERA)

Game 2:

S. Baker (6-8, 3.90 ERA)|C. Lee (9-4, 4.40 ERA)

Game 3:

K. Slowey (4-11, 6.21 ERA)|J. Wesbtrook (8-1, 3.40 ERA)


Key Bank's "Keys to Succes"

1.) Good Pitching - The Tribe go to their top of the rotation for this one. The 1-3 spots need to finish well on the season heading into the playoffs. It starts with this series against the Minny Twinnies.

2.) Defense - The Tribe need to play mistake free baseball, they did this in the Tigers series and it paid off with a series sweep. With the Twins this season the Tribe have been unable to complete a sweep. Any mistakes made and they could be looking at a series loss against the last place in the Central Twins.

3.) Small Ball - The Indians need to play well with base hits and base running, something they've been shaky with as of late. It hasn't hurt them up until this point, there is no reason to think they're invincible though.

[T.Dot]

I would say this series is key but the Twinkies are 20 games behind you
Just try and take 2 of 3, shouldnt be too hard

[Vinsane]

Wood Blows, DeRosa Saves!


Mark DeRosa gets this base hit to win the game for the Tribe.

AP - Cleveland, OH - It was a wild one from the start. The Indians got two runs early off of base hits. Cleveland has been one of the best in the majors, scoring without homers this season. They tacked on a run in the second to go up 3-0. Fausto Carmona pitched well for six solid innings without surrendering a run. It was his work in the seventh though that hurt him as the Twins were able to tie the game at 3.

In the bottom of the seventh it was the Minnesota Twins error that scored the run when Grady Sizemore was caught in a rundown and the throw to third went high and into the stands. Vinnie Chulk came on in the eighth to provide the Tribe with a set-up man and kept the Twins from scoring. In the bottom of the eighth Craig Breslow came on for the Twins and was able to hold the Indians to four runs.

In the ninth, things got weird. Kerry Wood who has been one of the most dominate closers this season got two quick outs before giving up a hit to the gap in right field. That pushed the runner to second. A base hit later and Josh Willingham tried with all his might to get the final out at the plate, the tag missed the runner by inches and the Twins tied it at 4. Wood was able to get the final out to pop out to center.

Starting off the bottom of the ninth, Josh Willingham was able to get on base with a base hit. Ryan Garko then came on and dropped down a bunt to advance the runner to second. First baseman Justin Morneau was not on the same page as Craig Breslow and allowed Garko to get on base with his bunt attempt when the ball got Morneau off the plate and Breslow was unable to cover first.

DeRosa came on with the intention to advance both runners with zero outs. On a double steal DeRosa failed to make contact with the ball and catcher Joe Mauer gunned down Josh Willingham at third, Garko however, advanced to second. On the very next pitch Mark DeRosa redeemed himself with a base hit that allowed Garko to score, and the Indians to get the walk off base hit.

Lineup:

CF Span 2-4 | 1K
DH Buscher 0-4 | 1K
C Mauer 1-4 |
1B Morneau 0-4 | 1K
3B Crede 0-2 |
3B Villa 1-2 |
LF Young 2-4 |
PR-LF Gomez 0-0 |
RF Cuddyer 2-4 | 1K
2B Harris 1-3 |
SS Punto 0-3 | 1K

Batting:

2B: J. Villa (1), D. Young (20)
RBI: D. Span (21), D. Young 2 (41), M. Cuddyer (36)
GIDP: J. Mauer, B. Buscher

Fielding:

E: N. Punto 2 (12)

Pitching:

Liriano | 6.0IP | 10H | 4R | 1ER | 1SO | 4.54 ERA |
Breslow (L, 4-2) | 2.1IP | 3H | 1R | 1ER | 1SO | 3.17 ERA |



Lineup:

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

Batting:

2B: N. Johnson (28), M. DeRosa (41), G. Sizemore (13), J. Willingham (26)
RBI: A. Cabrera (30), M. DeRosa (62), J. Willingham (54)

CS: J. Willingham (1)

Pitching:

Carmona | 7.1IP | 3R | 3ER | 3SO | 3.37 ERA |
Chulk (H, 6) | 0.2IP | 2SO | 3.67 ERA |
Wood (W, 1-2) | 1.0IP | 2H | 1R | 1ER | 2.83 ERA |

Player of the Game:


M. DeRosa

2 for 4 - Double, RBI

Next Game:
August 5th, 2009

(44-62)@(65-41)