Archive for September, 2009

Wednesday afternoon, Eric Wedge was relieved of his duties as manager of the Cleveland Indians. He will finish the season, but will look for a job with the rest of his coaches once the final out of 2009 is recorded for the Indians. Wedge’s future has been on the line for quite some time now, which means that this news is not all that surprising. The Dolan family met with General Manager Mark Shapiro to decide the future of Wedge and the coaching staff, ultimately reaching this decision. In what has been a dismal season, the trigger was finally pulled. [...]

Ernie Banks wouldn’t have it any other way, would he? A four-game series that was slated to decide the AL Central winner will now feature a day-night doubleheader tomorrow. Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.18 ERA) will duel against Tigers’ rookie Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.14 ERA) to kick off the week in Detroit. Detroit nurses a two game lead over the Twins, despite a tumultuous September that saw the Tigers lose nine of twelve from September 8th to the 19th. The Tigers have since won five of seven including a sweep over the Indians. Minnesota is on an 11-2 tear as of [...]

After coming out of nowhere to score 18 runs in a 3-game sweep of Baltimore, the resurgent Indians failed to put up a fight against the White Sox in the opener of Cleveland’s final home series. In what has been a tight series this year, the White Sox have kept slim hopes alove for finishing at .500. John Danks (13-10) was simply electric against the Tribe, as he allowed only three hits in his complete game win. Danks struck out seven and walked only one as Chicago improved to 76-81. As the offense struggled, Aaron Laffey (7-8) still kept the [...]

It may come as no surprise to some that the talent-depleted Indians are stuck in the mud so-to-speak while mired in a 10-game losing streak. The Tribe is now an Indian village loaded with rookies (12) who are simply over matched by what has become a somewhat competitive AL Central Division. Cleveland has been swept by Minnesota and Oakland, leaving them with a game against Detroit to prevent yet another sweep. In the meantime, Cleveland has sunk back down the basement of the division, and only leads Baltimore in terms of American League standings. Despite the 10-game losing skid, Cleveland [...]

In the first game of a double-header, Carlos Carrasco (0-1) was lit up for five runs in five innings against Texas. The Rangers improved to 77-60 prior to tonight’s game…which also seems like a victory as of now. Cleveland remains 4th in the division, ahead of only the lowly Kansas City Royals…who have decided to keep Trey Hillman on as skipper for 2010. Hopefully that will make Cleveland think twice about the Eric Wedge situation. Carrasco gave up bombs to David Murphy and Julio Borbon, spotting Texas a 2-0 lead. Murphy plated Ian Kinsler in the 4th inning off of [...]

This is rather overdue, but the day after praising Sizemore for having a warrior-like mentality about staying on the field for what is in effect, a lost cause, Grady has decided to call it quits for 2009 and focus on the future. After all, that is what is important at this time. The younger guys can take the field from here on out and show the front office what they are capable of, and that will have no effect on Sizemore or the other proven players whatsoever. There is no need going through the numbers again. The average is down. [...]

Let me start this by saying I have an obsession with Grady Sizemore. I have done a pretty good job of masking that fact up until this point, but I cannot hold back anymore. I may not exactly be “Grady’s Ladies” material…but I love the guy. He is gritty, all out, and definitely a team first kind of guy from what I can see. So yes, I have an obsession for Grady Sizemore, quite even along the lines of UNhealthy. With that out of the way, let’s discuss his style of play. He was a contact hitter who has since become [...]

Carlos Carrasco is the newest pitcher to hold a mini-tryout for next year’s starting rotation in Cleveland. Carrasco joins the team from triple-A Columbus, where he went 5-1 with a 3.19 ERA. Carrasco also lead the team with 164 strikeouts in 157 innings. Unfortunately, Carrasco may have some lofty expectations upon himself, as he was a part of the Cliff Lee deal. Carrasco was certainly a prospect the Phillies weren’t eager to part with, but Lee is certainly paying dividends for the Phillies. With Lehigh Valley of the Phillies organization, Carrasco went 11-10 with a 4.64 ERA. Between the two [...]