Indians Tidbits (2007 Season)

[OHSportsFan]

Well, Tribe gets a win tonight, of course on a night that both the tigers and yankees win. Bats are still less than impressive. Byrd pitched a beauty (CG, 4 hit shutout) and has very quietly gone 10-4 this season.

Very good win. I think the Indians are primed for a hot streak.

On one end of the spectrum, I'm thankful for the job done by Carmona and Byrd. Just think about where this team would be without the stellar performances put out by Carmona and Byrd. Very unexpected.

On the other end, I'm frustrated with the performances of the latter part of the rotation. Think about how much better this team could be without Lee, Westbrook, and Sowers bringing down the back end of the rotation. Even if 2 of those 3 could have been average...probably even below average, this team would be running away with the division.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Byrd hums along for Tribe
Right-hander silences Twins bats on four hits
Tuesday, August 7, 2007 3:21 AM



ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paul BattagliaAssociated Press
The Indians' Paul Byrd beat the Twins with his first shutout since July 1, 2005. He threw 99 pitches, 65 for strikes.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Paul Byrd's first shutout in more than two years and Travis Hafner's homer helped the Cleveland Indians gain a series split with a 4-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins last night.
With his old-school, windmill windup and high leg kick, Byrd (10-4) breezed through the Twins. He needed just 99 pitches to get his first shutout since July 1, 2005, in Kansas City, taking advantage of a Minnesota offense that could be starting to press with the American League Central race getting tighter.

Continued.....

 

[LitlBuck]

Is Loften a free agent after the season?

Yup! Lofton is a free agent after this year and will be history.

As for Peralta, his time with Indians is coming to an end. It would not surprise me if they toss/trade him during the off season. Or move him to third.... That fucker is to big to play SS.

I don't know if JP is agile enough to play 3rd base. I think if he could have played 3rd they would not have traded for Marte but what did that get us. Wedge and Shapiro have their favorites and Blake and JP are two of them.

Can Garko play outfield? Shoppach needs to play more and Victor and Garko need places to go.

You're joking about moving Garko or Victor to the outfield. I am faster than either of them and I can't even walk.

 

[tsteele316]

Yup! Lofton is a free agent after this year and will be history.

I don't know if JP is agile enough to play 3rd base. I think if he could have played 3rd they would not have traded for Marte but what did that get us. Wedge and Shapiro have their favorites and Blake and JP are two of them.

You're joking about moving Garko or Victor to the outfield. I am faster than either of them and I can't even walk.

lofton is gone. gutz needs to be playing everyday anyway. if cleveland is set on doing some oF platooning, bring in a big left handed bat for the outfield.

Casey Blake has one of the worst zone ratings of all major league 3rd basemen. peralta cannot be any worse. Garko would need a rocket up his ass to be able to cover ground in the outfield. that doesn't begin to mention is less than steallar throwing arm. i don't know if shoppach necesarily needs more AB's right now. lately, he couldn't hit crabs if he fell into paris hilton's snatch.

 

[LitlBuck]

CPD
Rouse designated for assignment. Cabrera called up.

more

he Indians reached into the past again today and signed infielder Russell Branyan to a minor league contact. Branyan has been assigned to Class AAA Buffalo.

They are really starting to grasp.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

They are really starting to grasp.

I wouldn't call that a desperation move.....he has been designated to the minors.....not calling anyone out, but by some of the posts on here you would think we were in last place and not in first......regardless of their recent struggles the Tribe is where they want to be.....I will take it.

CPD

INDIANS INSIDER
Cleveland Indians' Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers pitching well at Class AAA


Tuesday, August 07, 2007 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Minneapolis- The Indians, with Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers pitching well at Class AAA Buffalo, will have a chance to adjust their rotation following rookie left-hander Aaron Laffey's start against Chicago on Thursday at U.S. Cellular Field.
After Laffey's start, they conceivably wouldn't need a fifth starter until Aug. 25 because of three off-days in a seven-day stretch from Monday through Aug. 20. Depending on how Laffey, Lee and Sowers are pitching, the Indians could make a change.
"We're going to sit down and talk about the rotation," said Chris Antonetti, assistant general manager who is on the trip with the team.
Lee has made three starts at Buffalo since being optioned on July 31. He allowed one run and struck out eight in seven innings Sunday in a 2-1 loss to Scranton-Wilkes Barre. He allowed three hits, one run and three walks in 99 pitches.

Continued...

 

[OHSportsFan]

I've really been liking the Indians transactions lately. It was good to see them give Laffey a shot while Lee got his game straightened out (good to see him and Sowers doing well).

Mike Rouse, while not a huge impact player, was still worthless to the team. He can't hit and even his defense, what his main job is as a utility infielder, was starting to bring the team down.

"Droob" has been moving up the minors VERY fast. I'm excited to see him play. While I am apprehensive of bringing him up before he's ready, I like that he'll be able to give Barfield and Peralta some days off while hopefully bringing a spark to the team. You could argue that as a UIF he won't get to play everyday (hell, not even weekly if he's used a scarcely as Rouse) and while playing everyday is a big step towards improvement, IMO, there's really only about 3 weeks left in the minor league season and he was likely to be part of the 40-man roster on Sept 1, so may as well kill 2 birds with one stone by getting him in the majors and getting Rouse out.

oh and my dad is a big fan of the Branyon signing, he called it the day he saw him released. Yeah, he won't really do much, but maybe he'll get some games in w/ the big club and hit a few longballs. Can't really go wrong with the signing.

Like I said earlier, I am sensing a good streak for the Tribe. They're going to start hitting and the pitching will continue to do its part.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Tribe keeps slipping gear in the clutch
Barfield's statistics less than thrilling
Published on Tuesday, Aug 07, 2007


Scribbles in my Tribe notebook . . .
For a long time, we've been hearing the Indians have a great offense. The team spent much of the first few months in the top two for runs scored in the big leagues. They are now fifth. Can we now concede that with the Indians facing contending teams in pressure games, this offense is not exactly producing as advertised?
Here's the problem: The Indians are hitting .255 with runners in scoring position. Here's how you know that stinks: It's 25th in baseball, only the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks are worse.
I don't know how you coach guys to hit in the clutch. I just know that once your pitching is in order and the Indians have made progress there you win games against good teams with hits in pressure situations. In the first three games of the Minnesota Twins series, the Indians were 3-for-22 in those spots.

Continued......

 

[Crashcup]

It's either hitting or pitching but Cleveland NEVER has both. Not only is it difficult because they're not Atlanta or New York etc with strong markets but more importantly cable tv markets, they haven't had long term owners like Steinbrenner or Turner weakening the teams equity position making it unaffordable to be competitive. Under the circumstances they have been making apple butter out of s____!

 

[NFBuck]

.....not calling anyone out, but by some of the posts on here you would think we were in last place and not in first......regardless of their recent struggles the Tribe is where they want to be.....I will take it.

That's probably because they've been playing like a last place team for the past several weeks, actually Detroit has been worse which makes it that much worse. If they had played .500 ball recently, they could be 5-6 games up as opposed to 1/2. There is no excuse for a team with this kind of offensive talent to hit so poorly as a team. There was a stretch of 4 outta 6 games where they managed 4 hits in the game. Unacceptable. The blame falls on "hitting" coach Derek Shelton. At least they're up on the White Sox right now. Hopefully they can hold on. I know you weren't pointing me out individually, but I've certainly been guilty. Probably my frustration as a Cleveland sports fan coming to the surface after being teased earlier in the season. We're still in a good position, but right now this is not a good baseball team, and make no mistake about it, a division title is a must because the Yankees are going to be the wildcard team.

On a positive note, thank God Rouse is gone, I'm interested to see what this Cabrera kid has.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

That was an interesting 9th inning..... :2004:

 

[NFBuck]

Jake has looked very good his last two starts. Eight innings with just one run on two hits tonight. Thank God, because again, the bats manage just two runs on seven hits. I'd hate to see the team batting average over the last month. If I had to guess, I'd say it's hovering around the Mendoza line.

 

[Napoleonbuck]

Nothing like giving the home team five outs to beat ya...

At least we came out on top.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Indians: Sizemore's two RBI back Westbrook gem

Wednesday, August 8, 2007 3:49 AM

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO -- Jake Westbrook retired 23 of 24 batters during one stretch and Grady Sizemore hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox last night.
Westbrook (3-6) battled through hot and humid conditions to win his second straight outing after going 12 straight starts without a win. After allowing a run in the first inning, he retired 12 in a row before Scott Podsednik's fifth-inning single and then set down another 11 straight.

Continued.....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

Cleveland Indians win with strong performance from Westbrook

Westbrook stymies White Sox for win
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Chicago -- Welcome back, Jake. And how about a hand for Iron Joe Borowski?
Westbrook pitched eight sparkling innings and Borowski earned another one of his five-out ninth-inning saves Tuesday night in the Indians' 2-1 victory over Chicago at sweltering U.S. Cellular Field.
"We've got to keep improving and we've got to find ways to win games easier than what we've been doing," center fielder Grady Sizemore said. "My heart was pounding in that ninth inning."

Continued......