It's Tribe Time | A Cleveland Indians Franchise

[Vinsane]

Lol, you pulled the same shit back on them.

When the ball came off the bat I knew it was gone, good feeling getting one back on them. Helped because I lost a game to the White Sox, they're in the process of sweeping the Cubs.

Great win, nice job shutting down Hall lol.

lol! Hall is a punk, just got lucky!

Chise of the month material FO SHO

Coming from you Mike? That means a lot, thank you.

 

[Vinsane]

Brew Crew Come Through!

Mike Cameron, Cory Hart, and Ryan Braun celebrate.

Teams|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|R|H|E
Milwaukee |2|0|0|0|0|3|0|0|1|6|12|1
Cleveland |0|0|0|1|0|0|0|2|0|3|9|0

AP - Cleveland, OH - The Tribe made it interesting, no doubt. Ryan Braun hit a two run homer in the first inning to give the Brewers the 2-0 lead. Which they carried until the sixth inning, the Tribe couldn't answer their three run inning, and fell down 5-1. Mark DeRosa hit a two run shot in the eighth to put the Tribe within range of the victory. They however, wouldn't get any closer.

The Brewers take the series 2-1. "Well it's one of those things, you know?" said Eric Wedge. "Where you start out great against a team like Saint Louis, then you lose to Milwaukee and your five-hundred in inter-league play again, frustrating." What isn't frustrating for the Tribe is there upcoming day off before traveling to Chicago to play the North Siders.

The Tribe will travel west, while GM Mark Shapiro plans to meet with rookies he drafted weeks ago, they're first trip to Cleveland since being drafted. "It's important to take time now, get this out of the way. Know at the end of the year, no matter what happens, you've got guys in position."

The Indians pride themselves on their farm system and the fruits, of it's production. With the new blood into the system now the Indians can focus on bigger pictures, like catching the Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees.

Lineup:

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

Batting:

2B: M. Cameron (13), J. Hardy (10), P. Fielder (13), M. Lamb (7), J. Kendall (5)
HR: R. Braun
RBI: M. Cameron (27), J. Hardy 2 (39), R. Braun 2 (47), M. Lamb (36)

Fielding:

E: R. Weeks (7)

Pitching:

Gallardo (W, 4-3) | 8.0IP | 7H | 3R | 3ER | 2SO | 3.87 ERA |
Hoffman (S, 18) | 1.0IP | 2H | 2SO | 5.03 ERA |

Lineup:

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

Batting:

2B: J. Willingham (20), N. Johnson (17)
HR: M. DeRosa (4)
RBI: M. DeRosa 2 (37), W. Pena (12)
GIDP: B. Francisco

Pitching:

Pavano (L, 2-4) | 6.0IP | 9H | 5R | 5ER | 5SO | 6.22 ERA |
Smith | 3.0IP | 3H | 1R | 1ER | 2SO | 2.70 ERA |

Player of the Game:

R. Braun

2 for 5 - HR, 2RBI

Next Game:
June 19th, 2009

(38-30)

@

(35-31)​

 

[T.Dot]

Tough loss bro, you gave up a shit load of doubles, already half way thru June, good shit

 

[Archer]

You got them beat next game .

 

[Vinsane]

Series Preview:

(38-30)

@

(35-31)

The Season Series is tied 0-0.​

Probable Starters:

Game 1:

J. Westbrook (4-1, 2.17 ERA)

|

R. Dempster (3-1, 3.40 ERA)

Game 2:

A. Laffey (5-5, 3.17 ERA)

|

C. Zambrano (6-5, 3.47 ERA)

Game 3:

F. Carmona (7-1, 3.64 ERA)

|

T. Lilly (3-4, 5.48 ERA)

Key Bank's "Keys to Succes"

1.) Small Ball - The Cubs have a lot of good bats in this line-up, the Indians found out what it's like to try and match homer for homer, they lost the series to the Brewers based on home runs alone. If the Indians can keep the ball inside the park, they have a chance.

2.) Know What Chicago Did - When the North Siders met the South Siders the White Sox swept it's inner-state rival. The Indians need to build off of that and don't let the Cubs rebound against them, to beat a team while it's down is the best thing to do in this business, the Indians need to at least pull a 2-1 series victory to stay on pace with the White Sox and Yankees.

3.) Defense - The Tribe have traveled well this season, they need to continue to the trend in order to win. Defense is key on the road as they don't always play in this ball park. Make a lot of errors and misjudgments on the field and you'll pay. As long as the defense holds up the Tribe should be looking good for a series victory.​

 

[T.Dot]

I like the new banner a lot, good luck versus the Cubbies

 

[Vinsane]

westbrook has an awesome year

He's doing good things since the call-up. If he continues to do well I'll be retooling the rotation, he could move up.

I like the new banner a lot, good luck versus the Cubbies

Credit goes to Yawkey Way, he did that for me per-request.

 

[Vinsane]

Triple Play!

Asdrubal Cabrera, turns the throw for the triple play in the bottom of the ninth.

Teams|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|R|H|E
Cleveland |0|0|0|1|3|0|4|0|2|10|17|0
Chicago |0|0|3|3|0|0|0|1|0|7|16|1

AP - Chicago, IL - The Cubs and Indians provided a whole lot of offense, but it was a defensive play that sealed the deal for the Indians in the bottom of the ninth. Kerry Wood came on the mound for the save in the ninth, even though their team was down the North Siders showed they were a class act clapping for him as he approached the mound, a gesture they gave Mark DeRosa with his first at bat of the night.

Wood gave up two singles to start the ninth, with runners on first and second when Catcher Bako came to the plate. A hot shot off the bat bounced once and into the glove of Kerry Wood, who reached over to step on the bag, he fired to Asdrubal Cabrera that got the second and with a last second toss and what appeared to be a tie at the bag, Bako was called out. Eric Wedge commented on the play. "When you pull a triple play, it's a thing of beauty. When you do it like we did, it's a rarity, last season we saw Asdrubal pull an unassisted triple play, this time a 5-4-3 triple, awesome!"

The Tribe escaped the Cubs who put up back to back three run innings off of home runs, something the Tribe was trying to avoid. Jake Westbrook put in seven innings though he should of only put in four, maybe five. "We believe in Jake." said Victor Martinez who earned player of the game honors. "With him on the mound this season, we've been good, if he slides we try to step it up on offense, that's what happened today. We got it going when they got it going."

This is the North Siders fourth loss in a row against an AL Central opponent. The Chisox came in earlier in the week and swept the Cubbies in their inner-state rivalry. It only gets worse for the Cubs that have to face Aaron Laffey and Fausto Carmona. Those match-ups coupled with the Tribe's hot bats of late could spell trouble for the Cubs, and honestly, that's OK with me!

Lineup:

2B Cabrera 3-5 | 1K
CF Francisco 1-5 | 1K
3B DeRosa 2-5 |
C Martinez 4-5 |
1B Johnson 1-5 | 1K
LF Willingham 2-5 |
RF Pena 3-5 | 1K
SS Peralta 1-4 | 1K
P Westbrook 0-3 |

Batting:

2B: M. DeRosa (26), W. Pena (9)
3B: J. Willingham (1), A. Cabrera (4), B. Francisco (3)
HR: V. Martinez (6)
RBI: J. Willingham (48), V. Martinez 2 (35), M. DeRosa (38), W. Pena 2 (14), B. Francisco 3 (35)
SAC: J. Westbrook
GIDP: B. Francisco

Pitching:

Westbrook (W, 5-1) | 7.0IP | 13H | 7R | 7ER | 4SO | 3.25 ERA |
Lewis | 1.0IP | 1H | 7.98 ERA |
Wood (S, 24) | 1.0IP | 2H | 2.36 ERA |

Lineup:

RF Bradley 2-5 | 1K
2B Fontenot 3-4 |
3B Ramirez 2-4 |
LF Soriano 2-4 | 1K
1B Lee 1-4 | 1K
SS Theriot 2-4 |
PR-SS Gathright 0-0 |
CF Fukudome 1-3 |
PH-CF Miles 1-1 |
C Barko 1-4 |
P Dempster 0-2 | 1K
PH-P Hoffpauir 0-1 |
PH Johnson 1-1 |

Batting:

2B: M. Fontenot (13)
3B: A. Soriano (1), D. Lee (1), K. Fukudome (1)
HR: A. Soriano (15), M. Bradley (14)
RBI: A. Soriano 3 (44), R. Theriot (26), M. Bradley 3 (39)
SAC: M. Fontenot

Fielding:

E: M. Fontenot (7)

Base Running:

CS: A. Soriano (1)

Pitching:

Dempster (L, 3-2) | 6.2IP | 15H | 8R | 8ER | 1BB | 3SO | 3.94 ERA |
Samardzija | 0.1IP | 2.57 ERA |
Hoffpauir | 0.1IP | 0.00 ERA |
Heilman | 1.2IP | 2H | 2R | 2ER | 3SO | 1.43 ERA |

Player of the Game:

V. Martinez

4 for 5 - HR, 2RBI

Next Game:
June 19th, 2009

(39-30)

@

(35-32)​

 

[Archer]

Your team seems to be plotting through the season nicely enough , keep it up , you got the pride of Cleveland in you

 

[Vinsane]

Your team seems to be plotting through the season nicely enough , keep it up , you got the pride of Cleveland in you

Taking it a series at a time, that's for sure. Cleveland pride, sometimes we few our pride as a curse :shifty:

westbrook struggled this time but nice win

Yeah, Jake got rocked, I stick with him though so his confidence doesn't drop dramatically, luckily he gets offense behind his outings so he's staying hot.

 

[Archer]

Taking it a series at a time, that's for sure. Cleveland pride, sometimes we few our pride as a curse :shifty:



Yeah, Jake got rocked, I stick with him though so his confidence doesn't drop dramatically, luckily he gets offense behind his outings so he's staying hot.

It takes a brave man to openly support the Browns

 

[Vinsane]

Let Em Fly!

Jhonny Peralta's defense was good, his bat was better.

Teams|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|R|H|E
Cleveland |0|3|0|6|2|0|0|3|1|15|23|1
Chicago |0|2|1|2|0|0|3|2|0|10|17|0

AP - Chicago, IL - The Indians bats came alive, the Cubs wouldn't go away. It was like a bad horror movie tonight, watching the Indians dismantle the Cubs, only to have the boys in blue bounce back and make it a game again. It was frustrating for many who were in attendance as well, there were plenty of runs scored which made for exciting baseball. Non more so exciting then watching Jhonny Peralta get his ninth, and tenth homers on the season, both shots to left center.

"When the ball left the bat the first time, it needed a little push to get over the ivy, when it left the second time? I knew it was gone." Said Peralta of his two shots today. "Everyone's bat was big today, no body could miss on either team. It makes for a good story." Added Victor Martinez. The Indians had three homers, a triple, and two doubles on the day as they base hit most of the way to their fifteen runs, besting the Cubs by five runs for the victory.

Nick Johnson was the first of the new guys to hit a homer. A reason a trade was made in the first place, for more power. Until tonight only Wily Mo Pena had hit a homer on the season for the tribe, and he hit two, tonight, Johnson hit a three run shot. "It feels good." Commented Johnson. "We were brought here to provide runs, and we've been doing that with base hits, and doubles, and sometimes, triples. To hit a homer in this legendary park and to have it as my first as an Indian, very special".

The Indians will place Fausto Carmona on the mound for the series sweep tomorrow. The only issue being that Fausto has been one of their cold starters as of late. If Fausto can get it going for the Tribe early they could be looking at a sweep of the North Siders, their first sweep of Inter-league play.

Lineup:

2B Cabrera 1-6 | 3K
CF Francisco 4-6 |
3B DeRosa 3-5 |
C Martinez 4-5 |
1B Johnson 2-5 | 1K
LF Willingham 1-5 | 2K
RF Pena 4-5 |
SS Peralta 3-5 |
P Laffey 1-2 |
PH Garko 0-1
P Lewis 0-1

Batting:

2B: V. Martinez (14), B. Francisco (19)
3B: M. DeRosa (3)
HR: N. Johnson (8), J. Peralta 2 (10)
RBI: A. Cabrera 2 (19), V. Martinez 2 (37), N. Johnson 3 (34), J. Peralta 4 (43), M. DeRosa 2 (40), B. Francisco (36)
SAC: A. Laffey
GIDP: J. Willingham 2, M. DeRosa

Fielding:

E: N. Johnson (3)

Pitching:

Laffey (W, 6-5) | 6.0IP | 9H | 5R | 5ER | 1BB | 5SO | 3.45 ERA |
Betancourt (H, 6) | 1.1IP | 8H | 5R | 4ER | 4SO | 4.78 ERA |
Lewis (S, 2) | 1.2IP | 1SO | 7.16 ERA |

Lineup:

RF Bradley 3-5 | 1K
2B Fontenot 1-5 | 1K
3B Ramirez 3-5 | 1K
LF Soriano 3-5 | 1K
1B Lee 2-4 |
SS Theriot 2-5 | 1K
CF Johnson 1-5 | 2K
C Barko 2-5 | 2K
P Zambrano 0-1 |
P Gaudin 0-1 |
PH Miles 0-1 |
PH Hoffpauir 1-1 |
PH Gathright 0-1 |

Batting:

2B: R. Theriot (12), D. Lee 2 (11), R. Johnson (13)
3B: A. Soriano (2), M. Hoffpauir (1)
HR: M. Bradley (15)
RBI: C. Gaudin (3), A. Soriano (45), D. Lee 3 (35), A. Ramirez (43), M. Bradley (40), P. Bako 2 (6), M. Fontenot (28)
GIDP: A. Soriano

Pitching:

Zambrano (L, 6-6) | 3.2IP | 11H | 8R | 8ER | 2SO | 4.13 ERA |
Gaudin | 2.1IP | 6H | 3R | 3ER | 2SO | 3.00 ERA |
Samardzija | 2.0IP | 5H | 3R | 3ER | 1SO | 3.30 ERA |
Hoffpauir | 0.0IP | 1H | 1R | 1ER | 3SO | INF |
Vizcaino | 1.0IP | 2SO | 4.91 ERA |

Player of the Game:

J. Peralta

3 for 5 - 2HR, 4RBI

Next Game:
June 20th, 2009

(40-30)

@

(35-33)​

 

[T.Dot]

Holy fuck at all the hits, good win

 

[Vinsane]

Holy fuck at all the hits, good win

Neither team could miss the ball, it was ridiculous.

wow 25 runs

Yeah, at one point it was 11-5, then they charged back to make it interesting.

Holy shit, lol.

40 hits and 25 runs, nice work bro.

Thank you!

Great job beating the Cubs!

Yeah, need one more victory for the sweep, Cubbies are tough.

damn, talk about an offensive game. Nice win. Peralta is playing extremely well

Peralta is being a BEAST. I always liked his defensive skills more-so than his bat, but when he does that? I'm not complaining.

 

[Vinsane]

Whose Your Daddy?

Fausto Carmona showed why he is a Cy Young hopeful.

Teams|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|R|H|E
Cleveland |0|0|0|0|0|0|0|5|1|6|10|0
Chicago |2|0|0|0|0|0|1|0|1|4|6|1

AP - Chicago, IL - The headline is fitting. As Father's around the world celebrated Father's day, the Indians celebrated a series sweep of the Chicago Cubs. Fausto Carmona made everyone look silly on the Cubs. He started out with a rough first inning, letting two runs come home early. The lack of run support didn't bother Carmona as he was able to force five scoreless innings after that, only giving up another run in the seventh off of a Derrek Lee home run.

Fausto was able to fan eleven batters in his eight innings of work. Some had said that Fausto had fallen off as of late, unable to secure a decision in his past couple of outings. A big part of that was the lack of offense the Indians were unable to provide for him, they waited until the eighth inning in this game to give Fausto the runs he needed for the Victory.

"I know the guys have my back" commented Carmona. "I have some of the best guys in this team, opposite of me. We're dealing with a lot of pressure to catch the Yankees and to catch the White Sox. I go out there and deliver a great pitching outing, it's nothing unless they push across those six runs late. We did a hell of a job today."

Not just today, but the entire series. The Chi Sox were able to sweep the Cubs, and now the Indians do. They head into a day off before picking up the pace again against the Pittsburgh Pirates, The Cincinnati Reds, and closing out the month of June with a three game series with the White Sox, if all goes well between now and the end the Indians could be playing for the AL Central lead.

Lineup:

2B Cabrera 1-4 | 1K
CF Francisco 2-4 | 1K
3B DeRosa 1-4 |
C Martinez 1-4 |
LF Willingham 2-4 |
1B Johnson 2-4 |
RF Pena 0-4 |
SS Peralta 0-2 |
PH Garko 1-1 |
PR-SS Carroll 0-1 |
P Carmona 0-3 |

Batting:

2B: J. Willingham (21), M. DeRosa (27), B. Francisco (20)
3B: N. Johnson (3)
RBI: R. Garko (32), M. DeRosa (41), B. Francisco 2 (38), J. Carroll (19)
SAC: F. Carmona
GIDP: N. Johnson, M. DeRosa

Pitching:

Carmona (W, 8-1) | 8.0IP | 4H | 3R | 3ER | 11SO | 3.62 ERA |
Wood (S, 25) | 1.0IP | 2H | 1R | 1ER | 2.60 ERA |

Lineup:

SS Theriot 1-4 | 2K
2B Miles 2-4 |
3B Ramirez 1-4 | 2K
LF Soriano 0-4 | 1K
1B Lee 2-4 | 1K
CF Johnson 0-4 | 2K
RF Fukudome 0-3 | 1K
C Bako 0-3 | 1K
P Lilly 0-2 | 1K
PH Hoffpauir 0-1 |

Batting:

2B: A. Miles 2 (6)
HR: D. Lee (11)
RBI: D. Lee 2 (37), A. Ramirez (44), A. Miles (13)

Fielding:

E: A. Ramirez (6)

Pitching:

Lilly (L, 3-5) | 7.2IP | 8H | 5R | 1ER | 2SO | 5.05 ERA |
Cotts | 0.1IP | 7.07 ERA |
Vizcaino | 1.0IP | 2H | 1R | 1ER | 5.02 ERA |

Player of the Game:

F. Carmona

8.0 Innings 4 Hits 11 Strikeouts

Next Game:
June 23rd, 2009

(41-30)

@

(21-50)​

 

[Archer]

Boom , keep the good form up.

Chise of the month contender.

 

[Vinsane]

Series Preview:

(41-30)

@

(20-51)

The Season Series is tied 0-0.​

Probable Starters:

Game 1:

C. Lee (5-3, 5.27 ERA)

|

Z. Duke (2-4, 3.27 ERA)

Game 2:

C. Pavano (2-4, 6.22 ERA)

|

J. Davis (3-4, 4.63 ERA)

Game 3:

J. Westbrook (5-1, 3.25 ERA)

|

T. Gorzelanny (1-6, 5.20 ERA)

Key Bank's "Keys to Succes"

1.) Play Smart - Looking at the records, this should be another series sweep. The Indians are having their best month of baseball yet. And while only trailing the White Sox by three games, this could be great for them as Chicago plays the L.A. Dodgers. The Indians however, need to not look past the Pirates and play every game, and play it smart. Keeping errors off of the board and a higher run total.

2.) Good Defense - The Tribe are still on the road, they need to complete this series with good defense in enemy territory, doing so will get them the best chances for winning. That coupled with runs on the board they will be series victors.

3.) Solid Bullpen - The Indians rotation is doing everything it can to keep this team afloat, if they want to head into the All-Star game with at least 50 wins the Bullpen will have to be solid for the remainder of inter-league play, this and a Cincinnati series will cap inter-league play. The Bullpen must be solid for The Tribe to walk away with the victory.​

 

[Vinsane]

carmona reminds of casilla in my chise. both are doing very well

It's amazing pitching with him, he was actually cold heading into this game. Some of his stuff missed early on, then once it was hitting pitching with him is amazing, I can do all kinds of stuff that I can't do with pitchers 2-5.

Carmona 8-1...amazing

I know, I want him to get the Cy Young, a lot of baseball to play though.

Voted yours for chise of the month, good luck with everything bro.

I thank you for that, I believe GSW deserves the first COTM award for a baseball chise, he's so much further than I am. Keep me in mind next month though!

Boom , keep the good form up.

Chise of the month contender.

Thank you Arch, doubt I'll beat out GSW.

 

[Vinsane]

ARGH!

Asdrubal Cabrera celebrates, being the first run across of the ball game.

Teams|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|R|H|E
Cleveland |2|0|0|0|2|0|1|0|0|5|15|0
Pittsburgh |0|0|0|0|2|0|0|0|1|2|6|0

AP - Pittsburgh, PA - Normally when two cities like these meet, it's pretty vicious. Cleveland and Pittsburgh have a long tradition of hating each other. What spawned this hatred was back in the football days, The Browns and Steelers at one time the standard of AFC teams. Now Pittsburgh would seemingly hold that title alone when discussing the two teams. That coupled with the rise of Penn St. football and their battles with Buckeyes, they are two cities separated by state boarders, and always provide a good show when their teams meet.

Baseball is no different. Even though the Pirates are one of the worst teams in the MLB this season they were able to give the Indians enough of a challenge to keep it to a close game. Cliff Lee who has been a question mark recently pitched a spectacular game throwing five innings of hitless baseball. In the sixth he gave up his first hit, and two runs.

Lee has done well for the Tribe though in his recent outings. Perhaps enough to stay with the club, even though sources have said he'll be a last minute trigger pull come time for the trade deadline. On the offensive side of the ball the Indians were able to push across five runs on fifteen hits. An outing like that wouldn't of gotten the job done, but luckily for the Tribe they were playing the Pirates.

As Cleveland looks to close another chapter on this fantastic month of baseball they'll look to Carl Pavano, and Jake Westbrook to close out this series and head into their inter-league finale against the Cincinnati Reds.

Lineup:

2B Cabrera 1-5 |
CF Francisco 2-5 | 1K
3B DeRosa 2-4 |
C Martinez 1-4 |
LF Willingham 2-4 |
1B Johnson 2-4 |
RF Pena 2-4 | 1K
SS Peralta 1-4 |
P Lee 1-2 |
PH Garko 1-1 |
P Chulk 0-1 |

Batting:

2B: A. Cabrera (8), N. Johnson (18), B. Francisco (21)
RBI: N. Johnson (35), M. DeRosa 4 (45)
GIDP: C. Lee, J. Peralta

Pitching:

Lee (W, 6-3) | 6.0IP | 5H | 2R | 2ER | 4SO | 5.12 ERA |
Chulk (H, 2) | 2.0IP | 1H | 1SO | 4.66 ERA |
Wood (S, 26) | 1.0IP | 2SO | 2.51 ERA |

Lineup:

LF Morgan 0-4 |
SS Gotay 1-4 | 1K
2B Sanchez 1-4 |
1B LaRoche 1-4 | 2K
C Doumit 0-4 | 2K
CF McLouth 1-4 |
RF Moss 0-3 |
3B LaRoche 1-3 | 1K
P Duke 0-1 1K
PH Diaz 1-1 |
PH Vazquez 0-1 |

Batting:

RBI: R. Gotay (13), F. Sanchez (20)

Base Running:

SB: N. McLouth (12)

Pitching:

Duke (L, 2-5) | 5.0IP | 10H | 4R | 4ER | 2SO | 3.52 ERA |
Yates | 1.0IP | 1H | 3.53 ERA |
Grabow | 1.0IP | 2H | 1R | 1ER | 5.98 ERA |
Sanchez | 2.0IP | 2H | 1SO | 6.17ERA |

Player of the Game:

K. Wood

1.0 Innings 0 Hit 2 Strikeouts

Next Game:
June 24th, 2009

(42-30)

@

(21-51)​

 

[Vinsane]

Welcome Back!

Kelly Shoppach has been missing since April.​

AP - Pittsburgh, PA - The Cleveland Indians got back a piece of the puzzle today. Kelly Shoppach has returned from his injury, finally. Shoppach was injured in April on a slide into second. He was able to fracture his shin in the slide and has been on the 60 day DL since. The Indians have struggled on long stretches this season as they've been playing short handed without subs.

"Kelly gives us depth." Said Eric Wedge. "We need depth to make it through those grueling stretches. I think we've been playing our best ball this month because we've gotten rest, we've been able to put guys in and sit other guys. With Kelly back we get another option at DH and Catcher. We've missed him, I'm glad he's back" Added Wedge.

"Rehab was hard, I'd wake up everyday hoping that this would be the day I'm better. Now that it's finally here, I can't wait to pick up some pine and get back out on that field." Said Shoppach. When asked how his shin will hold up for the remainder of the season, Shoppach laughed. "You know, they say you can't break bones in the same place twice, so I think I should be good. I'm looking forward to catching for our guys again."

Shoppach was kept to the roster despite playing back-up to Victor Martinez. Eric Wedge fought for Shoppach to be kept on the roster, feeling he had a place as a spot starter and DH, when needed. Shoppach only appeared in four games, with 16 at bats. He was batting .437 when he went down, adding 7 hits and 2 RBI's. While he wasn't a key contributor early on, it's nice to see the Indians getting back a little depth to their roster.

On a side note, center fielder, Grady Sizemore. Remains on the DL, he is projected to start rehab in 1-6 days, returning to the ball club after the all-star break. Sizemore has been sidelined with a broken arm suffered during a diving catch earlier in the season.