Archive for July, 2009

Before Friday’s trade deadline hit, the Indians made one more significant move to bolster their pitching for the future. Unfortunately, Victor Martinez bobblehead night on Saturday will certainly take an emotional toll on fans in Cleveland. Mark Shapiro fired one more shot into the air during a frenzy-filled trade week…or month. Victor Martinez was sent packing to Boston for Justin Masterson, Bryan Price, and Nick Hagadone. Hagadone and Price come in as the Class A prospects, while Masterson moves over directly from Boston. Hagadone, a twenty-three year old lefty pitcher, stands at a rather large 6-5, 230 pounds. In ten [...]

Mark Shapiro sent the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner to the National League for the second season in a row on Wednesday. Last season, while enduring another subpar season, the Indians dealt CC Sabbathia to the Milwaukee Brewers, essentially for Matt LaPorta. Yesterday, it was Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco left to pack their bags for Philadelphia as the house cleaning continues for the Tribe. Knowing that the Indians will be cash strapped next season, Shapiro has rid the team of the high-dollar commanding players, and is trying to rebuild and reload the farm system to set the team [...]

 The Indians continued to be busy during the trading period as they sent first baseman Ryan Garko to the San Francisco Giants for Class-A left-handed pitcher Scott Barnes. The Indians continue to address pitching needs, the obvious weakness for the Tribe this season. Garko batted .285 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs on the year. Garko has been a mainstay in Cleveland since 2006. In 2007, he batted .289 with 21 homers and 61 RBIs. The following year, RBI production jumped to 90, as his average topped at .273 and he hit 14 home runs. Recently, Garko has helped [...]

In an earlier deal that sent Mark DeRosa packing for St. Louis, the Indians finally acquired the “player-to-be-named later” from the Cards to go along with Chris Perez. Todd has spent all but one game this season in the minor leagues. The twenty-three year old righty joins the Indians organization after being a second round draft pick of the Cardinals in 2007. Todd was a Pacific Coast League All-Star this year while closing games for the Memphis Redbirds. While in Double-A Springfield, he was tabbed as a Texas League All-Star as well, to go along with the New York-Penn League [...]

After starting the second half in a picture-perfect 4-1 victory over Seattle, Cleveland stayed true to form and followed the win up with three straight losses. Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn, Erik Bedard, and a solid bullpen helped seal the Tribes’ fate. With the lowest ERA in the American League, Seattle pitchers fooled Cleveland batters over the weekend as the Indians only managed 6 runs over the final three games of the set. Not that Cleveland’s pitching was terrible (Indian arms allowed 15 runs over the 4-game series), but Seattle showed what timely hitting can do for a ballclub wanting to contend [...]

Tomorrow night, Victor Martinez will take the field as the Indians lone member of the American League All-Star team. Last season in the Bronx, Cliff Lee started for the AL and pitched two solid innings, while striking out two batters. Grady Sizemore also participated going 1-for-5 and scoring a run in the American League’s 15-inning, 5-4 victory. This year will mark Martinez’s third appearance in the midsummer classic. In his two previous appearances (2004 and 2007), Martinez recorded two total at-bats. But he will be remembered by Tribe fans for what he did during the 2007 matchup in San Francisco. With a [...]

As if it mattered to Tribe fans, the All-Star Break is now upon us, and the Indians are still in last place…and worst in the American League. Barring something that happens in the movies, such as Major League (parts I or II), this season will go down like several others in Cleveland sports lore…a huge disappointment. Sunday afternoon, the Indians (a microscopic 13 games out of first place) tussled with AL Central leading Detroit. The Tigers demolished Cleveland 10-1 in the rubber match to win the series. As if facing Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander wasn’t enough to dampen the [...]

In news that should surprise no Indians fan, Cleveland was shut down by Chicago 5-1. The loss is Cleveland’s 17th over their last 22 games. Chicago, in the meantime, is now 44-40, a mere two games behind Detroit for the division lead. Contrary to Cleveland’s downfall, the White Sox have won 16 of their last 22 games. A resurgent Jose Contreras dominated the Indians for six and one-third inning. He allowed six hits and one run, while striking out nine and walking only one. Cleveland hitters fanned 12 times overall on the night. The only bright spot for the Indians [...]

This season at Huntington Park hasn’t been all gravy for the Columbus Clippers. Much like their parent club, they are mired in last place in the International League’s Western Division with a 36-48 record, good enough for the second worst record in the league altogether…behind only the punchless Buffalo Bisons at 28-51. Granted, this has been a transitional year for the Clippers as this is their first year under their current deal affiliating them with the Indians. Despite the lack of wins, fans in Columbus have enjoyed seeing Cleveland stars rehab while with the Clippers, even if the Indians’ fans are [...]

Prior to this month, your’s truly stated the importance of June for the Tribe. In seasons past, the Indians have been a solid second half team, but have also come up short due to the high mountains they have had to climb. Before June, the Indians were still described as contenders in a weak division. Most of the team’s struggles were blamed on injuries to star players, such as Grady Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera. Despite being stuck in the AL Central basement, the Indians were within ‘striking distance’ of the Detroit Tigers. The Indians were rolling until the midpoint of [...]