Indians Tidbits (2007 Season)

[Big Papa]

Byrd came through, and I'll eat the crow for doubting him. But wow, that Yankee lineup couldn't be less clutch with men on base.

Game 1 of the ALCS will be huge, HUGE. One of the teams will lose with their ace on the mound, and Beckett/Sabathia are some serious aces.

I agree C.C. is our ace, but Fausto is definitely the more dominant of the two right now. He was damn near unhittable in Game 2. If we take care of business in Game 1, I really think we leave Boston up 2 games to 0. In 2005 I could tell that the White Sox were going to win it all, they just seemed destined, and they did. I see that again with the Tribe this year. Of course, I had that feeling to with the Cavs in the Finals and I was off a bit there, so I'm hoping my master prognostication is relegated to Baseball.

 

[OSUsushichic]

It sucks that we have to wait till Friday for the first game. Let's play already!

 

[LitlBuck]

as it has been said many, many times, betancourt has been tried at closer repeatedly, and he has repeatedly been terrible. please stop.

12-29 career in save opportunities. He found his calling: setup man.

I guess as a pitcher gets older they do not learn more about how to pitch in different situations and to certain hitters. Please excuse my ignorance.

 

[OH10]

I really want to put it to the Red Sox, if for nothing else, than the fact that I can't stand the arrogance of Boston fans right now. They have the "no class" Patriots, the "bought and paid-for" Red Sox, and the "now overrated" Celtics.

Or maybe I'm just bitter because the Sports Guy has become an arrogant prick lately.

 

[tsteele316]

I guess as a pitcher gets older they do not learn more about how to pitch in different situations and to certain hitters. Please excuse my ignorance.

ignorace yes. all it takes is a little simple research to understand the situation.

here you go:

2003 saves-1 blown saves-2
2004 saves-4 blown saves-7
2005 saves-1 blown saves-2
2006 saves-3 blown saves-3
2007 saves-3 blown saves-3

so, yes, as he's gotten older, he's certainly done better. try again.

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians enjoy a day off after Division Series triumph over Yankees

Tribe enjoys series win before ALCS work begins
Wednesday, October 10, 2007Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Joe Borowski felt relief. The kind of relief that seeps all the way to the bone.
He couldn't tell Monday night if Jorge Posada swung and missed his last pitch or fouled it off. He could see the ball half in and half out of catcher Kelly Shoppach's glove. Then plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth signaled strike three and Shoppach and the rest of the Indians were leaping on him near the mound.
The Yankees were eliminated, 6-4, on their home field. The Indians will head to Boston after today's workout at Jacobs Field to prepare for Fri day's start of the AL Champion ship Series at Fenway Park. They are four wins away from the World Series.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge appreciates Yankees rival Joe Torre


Wednesday, October 10, 2007
INDIANS INSIDER
Wedge touched by Torre gesture
The phone rang in manager Eric Wedge's office at Yankee Stadium on Monday night. He wasn't there, so someone else answered.




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[osugrad21]

Canton

Tribe bounces Yanks only to face another well-financed foe
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
By Andy Call
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

Kate Wedge walked down a hallway at New York?s Yankee Stadium on Monday night, smiling and greeting a few friends along the way.

The wife of Indians Manager Eric Wedge is due to deliver the couple?s second child in February, and someone asked how she was feeling.

?I feel really good,? Kate Wedge said. ?I?m just trying to keep my stress level down.?

While it sounds like a good idea, it also might be impractical. The Indians have survived a playoff series with the mighty New York Yankees, but more stress lies just around the corner ? the equally mighty Boston Red Sox.

Cont..

 

[osugrad21]

Blade

Article published Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Chapman's spirit hovers over Tribe
Quite a season in Cleveland

By TOM WITHERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND - Ray Chapman's spirit could be floating the Cleveland Indians through a season unlike any other in their history. Strange, unexplainable, improbable, head-scratching events have surrounded this team for months, beginning almost from the moment the Indians rediscovered a lost piece of Chapman's legacy. Unexpected snowstorms, thrilling comebacks, unlikely heroes, invading bugs who swarmed the New York Yankees in the playoffs.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Morning Journal

Torre takes time to congratulate Wedge
Jim Ingraham, Morning Journal Writer
10/10/2007




BOSTON -- Perhaps the most meaningful congratulations Indians manager Eric Wedge got following the Tribe's win over the Yankees in Game 4 of the Division Series came from the other clubhouse.


Following the game, Wedge got a phone call from Yankee manager Joe Torre.

''For him to do that, and for him to say how much he respects our ballclub, that made it very special, especially coming from him,'' Wedge said.


Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Tribe's Wedge sticks to rotation Sabathia to start Game 1; then, it's Carmona, Westbrook and Byrd
By Sheldon Ocker Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Oct 11, 2007
CLEVELAND: There were several ways to program the Indians' rotation, and manager Eric Wedge probably examined all of them.
But in the end, he concluded that if it ain't broke, why fix it? And so C.C. Sabathia will start Game 1 of the American League Championship Series Friday night against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, and Fausto Carmona will get the ball in Game 2.



Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Wedge sticks to rotation Sabathia to start Game 1; then, it's Carmona, Westbrook and Byrd
By Sheldon Ocker Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Oct 11, 2007
CLEVELAND: There were several ways to program the Indians' rotation, and manager Eric Wedge probably examined all of them.
But in the end, he concluded that if it ain't broke, why fix it? And so C.C. Sabathia will start Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, and Fausto Carmona will get the ball in Game 2.
When the series comes to Jacobs Field for possibly three games after Sunday's off day, Jake Westbrook will get the call, and Paul Byrd will pitch the fourth game.



Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Sox should be even tougher Boston's pitching is superior to Yankees'
By Sheldon Ocker Beacon Journal sportswriter
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
Let's call this fun with numbers.
The Indians are likely to have a much more difficult time vanquishing the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series than they did in winning the division series from the New York Yankees.
Boston has superior starting pitching and a stronger bullpen than the erstwhile Bombers, and while the Sox's lineup is not as solid top to bottom as the Yankees', Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are more than a match for any two performers in the New York batting order, particularly in the playoffs.



Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians' Franklin Gutierrez is fulfilling the expectations of scouts, coaches

to

Thursday, October 11, 2007 Mary Schmitt Boyer

Plain Dealer Reporter
Luchy Guerra cried the day the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Franklin Gutierrez to the Indians.
Guerra, the Dodgers' assistant director for international player development, had a soft spot for the minor leaguer who was traded in 2004 for the talented and troublesome Milton Bradley. In the second half of this season, Gutierrez took over as the Indians starter in right field, hitting .266 with 13 home runs in 271 at-bats.




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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians' poise a reflection of their manager, says Bud Shaw


Thursday, October 11, 2007Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
The Indians could not have played more relaxed against the Yankees if they were getting foot massages between innings while listening to tapes of nightingale songs. This is not often the way in the playoffs.
You could trace their success to having no great expectations hounding them, especially in comparison to the uptight and overpaid Yankees. But that wouldn't quite cover it, seeing as how being new to winning didn't save them from a free fall two years ago in late September.
They have come a long way since the final week of 2005, when sometime after Grady Sizemore lost a ball in the Kansas City sun you could check players' pulses by sight. The Yankees series didn't stir up any of those old feelings.




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