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In Cleveland, hope dies last

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06 Jun 2011

You can never have too much pitching

The Cleveland Indians are obviously believers in the old axiom that you can never have enough pitching, as the Tribe has selected 15 pitchers with their first 24 picks in the amateur baseball draft.

After using their first pick on shortstop Francisco Lindor, the Indians selected right-hander Dillon Howard with their second pick.

According to mlb.com:

In past drafts, there would only be a small offering of high-ceiling, projectable high school pitchers with good velocity to choose from in the first round. In 2011, there’s some depth in that category. Case in point is Howard, who doesn’t rank up with the prep arms being mentioned near the top of the draft, but isn’t far off, either. The Arkansas product has a fastball that will be plus, touching 95 mph at times. It’s not straight, either, with both sink and run to it. His hard curve, 78-80 mph, is a little slurvy now and is fringy average, but it’s got some depth to it and will be more than fine. He’s even got a good feel for a changeup, an offspeed pitch that should be a Major League average pitch as well. With a clean delivery, decent overall command — not as much with the curve — and the chance to have a solid three-pitch mix, Howard looks like he’s settled firmly into the first round, unless signability (he’s advised by Scott Boras) becomes an issue.

We’re all on board with the plan to stockpile pitchers; the more quality arms you have in the minors the better the odds you will find two or three that could reach the majors some day.

As for Lindor, mlb.com says:

He has the chance to be an impact player on both sides of the ball at a premium position. He’ll definitely be able to stay at shortstop with plus defense, showing outstanding range and a strong arm. At the plate, he’s gotten stronger and he could grow into enough power to hit 15 or so homers annually, enough to keep pitchers honest, along with hitting .290-.300 every year. While he’s a solid average runner, he could be a potential leadoff hitter in the future, thanks to his strike-zone knowledge and willingness to take a walk to go along with his ability to swing the bat from both sides of the plate. Lindor is a high-energy player with good makeup, one who is almost certainly the top high school position player, according to talent, in this draft class.

The Indians appear to be in good hands with scouting director Brad Grant. He drafted Alex White, Lonnie Chisenhall, Drew Pomeranz, Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps.

We’ve already had a taste of White on the major league level and we like what we saw before he was injured. And it’s easy to look at the other names on that list and imagine them in Wahoo red, white and blue.

There’s no known downside to having a strong minor league system and that’s what the Indians have been building. If Grant can keep the draft magic going, the team should have a strong pipeline of talent coming to Progressive Field for years to come.

***

There was a good story by Heather Havrilesky in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine on why Friday Night Lights, one of the best TV shows ever, was mostly ignored by viewers while drivel like Glee is a ratings hit.

Yet thanks to disappointing numbers in its first two seasons, Friday Night Lights was farmed out by NBC to DirecTV, which showed each new season in the fall, after which they were replayed by NBC in the spring. So the fifth and final season of Friday Night Lights has already wrapped up on DirecTV, even as it’s now completing a zombie victory lap on the network. It’s still hard not to wonder why a show so humble and all-American has struggled so mightily to attract viewers. Where are the cheering, breathless crowds?

These days, you’ll probably find them singing along with the precocious teenagers of Glee. That show covers much of the same thematic ground — high school, troubled marriages, the joys of teamwork — but in a far more spectacular, flamboyant manner. The colorful musical dramedy has been a huge hit since it shoved its way onto the schedule in 2009 in a violent burst of sequins and jazz hands. If Friday Night Lights is as American as apple pie, then Glee is more like Ben & Jerry’s deep-fried caramel-apple whipped-cream-swirl ice cream (which doesn’t exist, but really should): a dense, flavorful, genre-bending extravaganza of one-upmanship, raging hormones, teary confessions and lip-glossed warbling.

It’s a good read, but the answer is actually quite simple. If you watched Friday Night Lights you had to think, and the majority of people don’t want to do that anymore – the ongoing popularity of Sarah Palin is proof of that.

With drek like Glee, people can mindlessly watch the pretty colors and don’t have to worry about using their brains.

It’s unfortunate, too, because as long as that is the case it will be harder to get shows like FNL, The Wire and Rome on the air.

And that certainly does not fill us with glee.

***

Finally, we made our debut at EPL Talk today, with a post on how the NFL lockout could have a negative impact on Randy Lerner and Aston Villa.

Posted in Cleveland Indians, EPL, Friday Night Lights, Randy Lerner | Leave a comment
05 Jun 2011

Flashes tame Texas; Tribe, not so much

It was a tale of extremes this weekend for two of the local nines as they battled in and against Texas.

After being so strong at home, the Indians finally crashed in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers.

As for Kent State, the Golden Flashes were loving the Lone Star state this weekend.

The Indians continue to struggle offensively, as the Tribe only put up six runs in the four-game series, and were shutout Saturday and Sunday.

The Tribe only put up five hits on Saturday – three from Asdrubal Cabrera – which means hitters three through nine in the lineup were a combined 1-for-23.

It was much the same on Saturday, another five-hitter by the Tribe, with five through nine in the lineup combining to go 2-for-16.

Sunday? Try three hits, with five through nine combining to go 1-for-14.

To recap: in the past three games, Tribe “hitters” five through nine in the lineup were a combined 4-for-45, an .089 average.

Is it really any surprise they were swept?

On the pitching side, things were just as bad.

Texas hasn’t shown much power on the road this year, coming into the series with just 16 home runs on the road. So, of course, they rip the Indians for six home runs on the weekend.

Actually, that may be a bit harsh as the starting pitching really wasn’t all that bad.

Friday night, Justin worked into the seventh and left with the Indians trailing 2-1. Tony Sipp came on with two runners on and Josh Hamilton, who was batting .179 against left-handers, hit a three-run homer and the rout was on.

Saturday, Fausto Carmona gave up two, two-run homers but pretty much shut down the Rangers. Sunday, it was Mitch Talbot going six innings and only giving up the two solo homers.

It was that kind of weekend for the Tribe, which is going through a really tough stretch right now. Over the past 10 games, second-place Detroit has made up three games in the standings and the Tigers now sit just 2.5-games behind – the closest anyone has been to the Indians since the end of April.

The good news is that the Indians now get last-place Minnesota (13.5 games back) for three games while Detroit has to go to Texas for three.

The Indians should be able to get things back on track against the Twins, and if the Rangers can keep the momentum going from this weekend the Tribe will see their first-place cushion get a little bit bigger again.

Kent defeated host Texas, the No. 1 seed in their regional and the No. 5 team in the nation, on the Longhorns’ home field Saturday night, 7-5.

“I thought that was just a wonderful ballgame all the way around,” said associate head coach/pitching coach Mike Birkbeck. “The Texas Longhorns did not give up. They got down to their last out. But we are thrilled to be in the position that we are in.”

The Golden Flashes rocked Texas ace Taylor Jungmann (13-1) for seven earned runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Longhorns (44-16). It was his first career loss at home.

The No. 3-seeded Golden Flashes (45-15) advance to a regional final for the first time since 2001. The 2011 squad becomes the second in program history to reach the 45-win mark, joining the 1992 team in achieving the most victories in program history.

The Golden Flashes were scheduled to take on the Longhorns again Sunday night, after Texas beat Texas State in the afternoon to advance from the loser’s bracket.

The Longhorns took it to Kent, however, beating the Flashes 9-3 to set up a winner-take-all game this afternoon at 2.

Win, and Kent earns a spot in the Super Regional for the first time in school history.

We have to worry, though, that the Flashes lost their chance Sunday night.

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Kent State | Leave a comment
03 Jun 2011

Indian Fever goes national

The rest of the country is about to be swept up in Indian fever, as three upcoming Indians games have been picked for a national TV slot.

Fox will televise the Indians game at San Francisco on June 25 and the July 2 game at Cincinnati in its Saturday national telecast position.

ESPN will feature the Tribe and Giants on June 26 in its Sunday night slot.

Get ready for plenty of references to Willie Mays and Dusty Rhodes, Cleveland.

***

Kent State won its opening game in the Austin Regional of the NCAA Championship on Friday, beating Texas State in extra innings.

The Golden Flashes won 4-2 as pinch hitter Jason Bagoly came through with an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning.

The 24th-ranked Golden Flashes (44-15) advances to Saturday’s regional semifinal, where they will face the winner of the Texas-Princeton game.

“We’re in great shape,” said seventh-year head coach and Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year Scott Stricklin. “Everyone assumes we’re playing Texas. Princeton is a good team, but I think we are prepared to play Texas.”

***

What did we learn from the hearing between the NFL and players that took place Friday morning before Judges Steven Collton, William Benton and Kermit Bye of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit?

Well, the lockout is still on, but Judge Bye informed both sides that the panel would reach a decision in “due course.”

He also warned the panel could reach a decision that “neither party will like.” He further added, with a smile, “We wouldn’t be all that hurt if you go out and settle that case” on your own.

Whatever.

***

Which team will be foolish enough to sign wide receiver Plaxico Burress when he is released from jail?

As long as the team doesn’t rhyme with “Cleveland Browns” we will be happy.

***

Finally, some rough news for anyone who likes the summer tradition of corn on the cob (and who doesn’t?)

Because of the seemingly never-ending rain this spring, it is still too wet for many farmers to plant their corn. Normally, about 93 percent of the acreage farmers devote to corn has been seeded by May 29; this year the number was 19 percent.

If we can’t get our weekly corn fix from Szalay’s, things could get ugly this summer.

Posted in baseball, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Kent State, NFL, summer corn, Szalay's | Leave a comment
31 May 2011

Should we be worried about the Tribe?

The Indians have been rather ugly and disappointing of late on the field, losing four of their last five games.

During the losing streak, the Tribe has only scored eight runs, has a .213 batting average, is just 2-of-20 with runners in scoring position and have posted an ERA of 6.27.

The skid hit rock bottom (we hope) Monday night against Toronto when the Indians couldn’t figure out how to get to Blue Jay starter Jo-Jo Reyes, who came into the game with an 0-4 record, a 4.70 earned-run average and a losing streak (28 starts) that stretched to 2008.

Told you it has been ugly.

So should we be worried?

Probably not.

On May 1, the Indians were 19-8, a winning percentage of .704, which they obviously were not going to sustain for an entire season.

Heading into last night’s game with Toronto, the Tribe was 31-20, which means they have played .500 ball for the month of May.

But (and there is always a but) the Indians have increased their division lead during the month, from 4.5 games over second-place Kansas City on May 1 to to 5 games over second-place Detroit heading into last night’s game.

So they have made it through a month of mediocre play and still sit comfortably in first place.

But (there it is again) the past week has put the team’s shortcomings in the spotlight.

The team has been trying to hold down the fort while waiting for Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner to return from injuries. Their absence definitely thinned out the lineup. Sizemore is back and hopefully Hafner will return sooner rather than later so the bench players, like Shelley Duncan and Travis Buck, can go back to the bench.

So the lack of offense may correct itself.

Then there is the defense.

After being solid for the first month-and-a-half of the season, the Tribe defense has fallen off a cliff. In the last six games, the Indians have committed six errors. The one game they didn’t commit an error? Saturday’s 7-3 win against Tampa.

In the first 40 games of the season, the Tribe committed 16 errors; in the past 11 games the number is 12 errors.

The Indians have to have solid defense to have a chance to win, especially with the offense slumping the way it is. This team just can’t afford to give away outs.

Luckily defense is something that should be easily fixed (or at least we hope so).

So that leaves the starting pitching.

After being so good, the starters have struggled – a lot – recently.

From Mitch Talbot (3 innings pitched, 12 hits, eight earned runs vs. Boston), to Justin Masterson (5 IP, eight hits, seven earned runs) to Fausto Carmona’s stinkfest against Toronto (4 IP, nine hits, seven earned runs), the pitching staff is slumping just as bad as the offense.

The pitching staff has given up seven or more runs five times in the last 11 games – the same number they put up in the first 40 games of the season.

And that right there probably gives us the answer we are looking for.

With the offense, the pitching and the defense all struggling at the same time, any team is going to look bad. The Tribe is most likely not as good as they looked when they started 19-8, but neither are the as bad as they have been during the 12-12 stretch of the past month.

As we write this, the Indians are in the process of building a 3-0 lead in the third inning against Toronto. So maybe the past week – and month – are just a normal part of the ebb-and-flow of a long baseball season.

After all, the only number that counts is the one that says the Tribe is in first place by five games.

***

Lots to like as the alma mater participates in post-season play.

The Kent State golf team posted a team score of 304 (16-0ver) during the first of three stroke play rounds on Tuesday at the 2011 NCAA Championship at Oklahoma State.

The Golden Flashes finished the day in ninth place among 15 teams.

After winning its third consecutive MAC championship over the weekend, the baseball team drew a No. 3 regional seed in the 2011 NCAA Championship tournament.

Ranked No. 24 in the nation, the Golden Flashes will play in the Austin Regional this weekend, opening on Friday against the No. 2 seed, Texas State.

***

TV ratings for Saturday’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United were up 64 percent from last year.

***

Finally, Peyton Hillis’ Madden cover has been released.

Would it have killed them to show him steamrolling a Steeler?

Posted in Champions League, Cleveland Indians, Kent State | Leave a comment
27 May 2011

Turns out, their is an I in team

With their victory over the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat continue to disprove the old adage that there is no I in team.

By making the finals in the first year of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh playing together, the Heat are creating a new model for the NBA where the individual is more important than the team.

The Heat deserve some credit, we suppose. They manipulated the system to their advantage, the players colluded to play together, and now they have been rewarded with what could be the first of multiple trips to the NBA Finals.

As for the Bulls, the writing is on the wall. They learned the same lesson the Cavs learned the past two years: one superstar player and a supporting cast of role players isn’t going to get it done in today’s NBA.

And really, how are the Bulls any different than the Cavs of ’08-’09 and ’09-’10?

They both were led by a dominant player (Derrick Rose and James), with a group of role players (Carlos Boozer/Antwan Jamison, Joakim Noah/Anderson Varajeo, Keith Bogans/Mo Williams) and a head coach that preaches defense first (Tom Thibodeau/Mike Brown).

How long before Rose decides, rather than looking for help, that he can’t beat the Heat and leaves Chicago? Does anyone really think that in a couple of years, when Kobe Bryant is done in LA and Dwight Howard and the Lakers come calling, that Rose won’t head out west?

The Heat haven’t won the title yet; the Mavericks still have a say in this.

But we’ve seen the future and it doesn’t look pretty, at least in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

***

Former Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse, who suffered the most inexcusable injury in baseball history, feels sorry for San Francisco catcher Buster Posey but doesn’t join the hoopleheads in calling for a rule change to protect catchers.

“The game has been around more than 100 years, and now they’re going to start protecting catchers?” Fosse told The San Francisco Chronicle. “I can’t see anything that can be changed. In high school, you can’t run over a catcher. But that’s high school. This is professional baseball. The idea is to score runs. If the catcher has the ball and he’s standing there, the runner has to stop? Is that the protection?

“I can’t believe anything can be done, and I don’t see how you could regulate something like that.”

***

The football season comes to and end on Saturday when Manchester United takes on Barcelona in what should be an exciting final of the Champions League.

Will the game by the last hurrah for Barcelona and Spain?

Can Manchester United learn from the mistakes of 2009?

Can Edwin van der Sar go out a winner?

Finally, six of the best matches between the two teams.

And just think, with a 2:45 p.m. kickoff from London’s Wembley Stadium, we’ll be able to watch the final and only miss a couple of innings of the Tribe game vs. Tampa.

Posted in Barcelona, Champions League, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, hoople heads, Manchester United, NBA | Leave a comment
27 May 2011
2 Comments

Does Cleveland not hurt?

Wednesday night in San Francisco, Giants catcher Buster Posey suffered a brutal leg injury in a home plate collision with Florida’s Scott Cousins. Posey ended up with a broken bone in his left leg and speculation is that he also suffered ligament damage.

This lead to cries from Posey’s agent that Major League Baseball must change its rules to protect catchers in these situations (no word, though, on what the agent thinks about a runner being injured. Apparently that’s OK). Others jumped on the rule change bandwagon as well.

Funny, but we don’t remember anyone calling for rule changes when Indians catcher Carlos Santana was injured at home plate last season against Boston.

Apparently injuries are only a national crisis if the player who is hurt doesn’t play for Cleveland.

***

When is a sellout not a sellout? Apparently it depends on who is doing the accounting.

According to Forbes, since attendance has become such a key component for sports leagues, the actual idea that it shows how many people are actually at a game is a fantasy.

And that includes the Indians:

In terms of Major League Baseball, sellout figures are often well below seating capacity.

Case in point, the Cleveland Indians announced last Friday that they reached a sellout for Saturday’s interleague game with the Reds, the first non-Opening Day sellout since May 24, 2008 when they played the Texas Rangers. But, when the numbers came in, you had to scratch your head.

Capacity for Progressive Field is 43,545. The announced attendance was 40,631, or 2,914 short of capacity. Sellout?

In speaking with the Indians, they explained part of the difference by saying their sellout threshold varies, but 41,721 is a good barometer, getting us to 1.090 shy of a sellout, but not to capacity.

Why the difference?

According to the Indians, that threshold was broken with comps related to several factors including rainout exchanges, Club Seat benefit for season ticket holders, group leader tickets, fan appreciation coupons from last Sept, etc.

But, that still doesn’t explain how all the variation. As an MLB source said, “We need to look into this.”

Ah, when you have a six-game lead over the second-place team in your division, we can overlook a little accounting voodoo.

Posted in Buster Posey, Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians, freak injuries
26 May 2011

Razor thin Tribe

The last two days against Boston highlighted just how thin the Tribe’s margin of error is right now.

With Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner out of the lineup with injuries, and Carlos Santana in an 0-for-19 slump, the Indians need to have outstanding pitching to have any chance of staying in the game.

Tuesday night’s game was a perfect example. Fausto Carmona went eight innings and really only made one bad pitch – the two-run home run he gave up to Jason Varitek in the seventh inning of the Indians 4-2 loss.

Most nights four runs would not have been that much to overcome, but the Tribe lineup is currently a bit thin. Add in the fact that the Indians forgot how to run the bases – they had a runner thrown out at third, two base stealers were caught at second, and Matt LaPorta was doubled off in the fifth.

With the offense in its current state, that’s not going to get it down.

And the less said about Mitch Talbot’s performance in Wednesday’s 14-2 loss the better. Doesn’t matter how well you are playing, few teams are coming back from 7-0 in the first inning.

So the Indians hit the road with a two-game losing streak. Does that mean the good times have come to an end? Of course not.

Detroit was rained out Wednesday, and the Twins and White Sox both lost. Pending the outcome of the Royals game, the Tribe leads second-place Detroit by 5.5 games, KC by at least 7.5 and Chicago by 9. Minnesota is so far behind they are lucky there isn’t relegation in baseball.

The Indians entered May 4.5 games ahead of second-place KC, so they’ve increased their lead during the month. And Sizemore is expected back on Friday.

So while the last two days haven’t been fun, the Tribe is a long way from the panic zone.

***

Former Cavs coach Mike Brown has agreed to become the coach of the Lakers, taking over for the retired Phil Jackson.

“In response to rampant speculation and reports about our head coaching position and Mike Brown, we’ve met with Mike and are very impressed with him,” the team said in published reports. “In addition, we have an outline for an agreement in place and hope to sign a contract within the next few days.”

Who saw this one coming?

Although, once you get past the initial surprise, the Lakers may have made a good hire.

During his time in Cleveland, Brown:

  • Won the third-most games in team history with 272 wins;
  • Won the most postseason games in team history with 42 wins;
  • Coached the team to the playoffs five straight years;
  • Coached the team past the first round of the playoffs every year;
  • Posted at least 45 wins five straight years, the first time in team history;
  • Posted back-to-back 60-win seasons;

And no one was under more of a spotlight than the Cavs during Brown’s last two years with the team, so the pressure of coaching the NBA’s marquee franchise shouldn’t faze him.

Plus, you don’t think Kobe Bryant is just itching to prove he can win a title without Phil Jackson?

“If you’re building a championship team, the DNA always has to start on the defensive end of the floor. Always. I’m a firm believer in that,” Bryant told The Los Angeles Times. “I don’t believe in building a championship team on offense. It has to be built on defense and rebounding. Period.”

Brown certainly knows defense, so if that’s what Bryant wants, he’s going to get it.

Congrats to coach Brown – a good guy who may gotten a raw deal at the end in Cleveland.

***

The Tribe is finally getting some love from the worldwide leader – with two (two!) columns praising the team in one day.

Tim Kurkjian risks being struck down by lightening for suggesting that Asdrubal Cabrera may be the best shortstop in the American League:

The best shortstop in the American League this year is not closing in on 3,000 hits, he’s getting close to 500. He has an unusual first name, his last name is the same as his double-play partner and he was traded for a current ESPN analyst who had only 17 hits after the deal.

Meet Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians. He is 25 years old, a switch-hitter and, so far this season, the best player on the best team in baseball.

Then Jerry Crasnick came through with a look at how the Indians fleeced the Mariners of both Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo in separate trades in 2006:

The Cleveland Indians lack the financial wherewithal to compete for big-name free agents and their recent draft history is nondescript, to put it kindly. But the Tribe sure does hold its own on the trade market.

Scan the roster for the Indians, the surprise American League Central leaders, and you’ll find quite a bounty by way of the Pacific Northwest. Asdrubal Cabrera, who leads AL shortstops with 10 homers, 58 hits and an .900 OPS, arrived from Seattle five years ago in a late June deal for Eduardo Perez. Less than a month later, the Indians acquired outfield prospect Shin-Soo Choo and pitcher Shawn Nottingham from the Mariners for Ben Broussard.

Two positive stories in one day? Things are definitely getting strange around here.

***

Finally, today is the anniversary of arguably one of the greatest games in Champions League history – Liverpool’s win in the final against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005.

Trailing 3-0 at halftime, the Reds scored three times in the first six minutes of the second half and eventually won the game in a penalty shootout for their fifth European Cup championship.

Posted in Champions League, Cleveland Indians, Liverpool, Los Angeles Lakers, Mike Brown | Leave a comment
24 May 2011

Tribe bandwagon getting crowded

It took 45 games and almost two months of the season, but the rest of the country has finally figured out what we’ve known here in Cleveland since early in April – the Indians are the dogs bollocks this year.

The Tribe is No. 1 in the latest ESPN.com power rankings, have held the top spot in Real Clear Sports’ ranking for the entire month, are getting love from sites as diverse as The Wall Street Journal and Gaming Today, and have even won over Boston Red Sox announcer Jerry Remy:

“They’ve been no flash in the pan,” Remy said of the Indians. “They’ve done everything. They’re pitching well, they’re hitting well, they’re playing good defense. They’re just playing great baseball right now, and they’ve gained some confidence in themselves where they figure they can win this division.”

We were listening to Mad Dog Radio on Sirius today and Larry Bowa, a studio analyst for the MLB Network, was on and said he’s taken a seat on the Tribe bandwagon.

Life is truly good for the Wahoo Warriors.

***

American Brad Friedel will be part of Fox’s coverage of the Champions League final on Saturday between Manchester United and Barcelona.

The Fox pregame show will include host Curt Menefee along with Friedel and Eric Wynalda. Martin Tyler and Alan Smith will handle the play-by-play of the match.

Friedel, who has spent the past few years with Randy Lerner’s Aston Villa squad, is rumored to be returning to Liverpool, where he played from 1997 to 2000, next season to backup Pepe Reina.

Posted in Brad Friedel, Champions League, Cleveland Indians, dogs bollocks, Liverpool | Leave a comment
23 May 2011

Manny being Manny a winner

It’s easy to love this Indians team.

They have the best record in baseball at 29-15. The largest division lead by far in baseball – seven games. What’s not to like?

But it is more than that.

It’s the team never quitting, especially at home.

It’s a different player coming through seemingly every night.

If it’s not Travis Hafner hitting a game-winning home run against Seattle, it’s Travis Buck hitting a late-game homer against the Reds or Asdrubal Cabrera going 5-for-5 on Sunday to lead a sweep of Cincinnati.

It’s a starting rotation that has 19 wins against only 10 losses. And a bullpen that is the best in the American League.

And it’s manager Manny Acta.

We admit we were neutral when the Indians hired Acta last year. We don’t follow the National League – their snootiness about pitchers hitting and over-exaggeration on the “nuances of the double-switch” make us ill – and Acta had managed in Washington so we didn’t know much about him.

But we like his approach to the game. He takes things day to day – not in the soul-less “grind it out” way of Eric Wedge – but more of a “let’s take care of today” mentality. He worries about what he can control and deals with the rest when he has to.

The injuries to the pitching staff are a perfect example. While some were worried about what the team would do when Mitch Talbot was ready to come off the disabled list, Acta knew things would work out.

It’s unfortunate that the decision was made for the team as Alex White is now out for the next three months, but the fact that Acta kept the team focused on each day’s game – just worrying about what they can control – fills us with confidence that the Indians have the right guy in charge.

Just another reason to like Manny being Manny.

***

The Premier League season came to an end on Sunday, with Blackpool and Birmingham joining West Ham in being relegated in the closest race in league history.

And after putting on such a strong run since Kenny Dalglish took over in January, Liverpool lost its last two games of the season to miss out on European play for the first time since 1999.

“The end of the season has come at a good time for us,” Dalslish told the Daily Mail. “I’m proud of the players and the way they turned it round. It’s been a long time since this club hasn’t been in Europe but we have to get used to it. This club didn’t build its history and tradition on losing games. We don’t want that to be a habit.”

If the team can add a few more players and pick up next season where they left off this one, that shouldn’t be a problem.

“The squad only needs tinkering,” Dalglish said. “If people want to see the best players and assets of the football club wearing a red shirt, that’s what we want to try and provide. We want to get the highest quality of player in that we can. That’s what position we have been put into, and that’s what we will try to do.”

Sounds good to us.

***

Had some quiet time this morning at Red Right 88 headquarters, so we put on the DVD of the Browns 1989 opener against Pittsburgh and a couple of things stood out to us.

The Browns starting backfield was Tim Manoa and Keith Jones. No wonder the Browns drafted Eric Metcalf for that season.

Who didn’t love the Bubby Brister era in Pittsburgh? In that game, Bubby was 4-of-8 in the first half for seven yards and two interceptions. Even Derek Anderson mocks those numbers.

We forgot how much fun it was to watch Webster Slaughter, Brian Brennan and Reggie Langhorne abuse the over-rated Rod Woodson twice a year.

The Browns defense, at least that first year under Bud Carson, was really good. Guys swarmed to the ball, hit people and made things happen. We haven’t seen that around here for a while now.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool, Manny Acta | Leave a comment
21 May 2011

Just another night at the ballpark

It was a normal night on Friday at Progressive Field – at least for the Indians.

The Tribe won its sixth consecutive home game in their last at-bat, beating the Reds, 5-4.

There seems to be no obstacle the team can’t overcome right now, especially at home.

The opposing pitcher is throwing a no-hitter into the sixth inning and you are losing 4-0? No problem.

A couple of hits, a hit batter, a few walks, a sacrifice fly and the score is tied.

“These guys are not going to give up,” manager Manny Acta said in published reports. “We’ve done that a few times now. They do feel they are never out of it and that’s a good feeling to have.”

Runner on third with two outs in the bottom of the eighth? No problem.

Just send rookie Ezequiel Carrera to the plate and have him bunt for his first major-league hit, driving in Shin-Soo Choo with what would turn out to be the winning run.

“It was a perfect spot for Carrera,” Acta said. “We needed a hit. We didn’t need an extra-base hit. Even if he hits a ground ball, he might beat it out.”

Need the bullpen to shut down the opposition so you can get back into the game? No problem.

Joe Smith, Tony Sipp, Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez combined for four innings of shutout ball.

Just another night of the Tribe being the Tribe.

The Indians have baseball’s best record at 27-15, and lead the Central Division by six games over Detroit and Kansas City.

Acta has the players believing anything is possible. With more than 30,000 in attendance Friday night and a sellout in place for today’s game, the fans are starting to believe as well.

After Friday night’s win, is there any reason to doubt?

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Manny Acta, Tribe Time | Leave a comment

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