Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the tag “Cleveland Indians”

25 May 2013

Why is Jason Giambi on the Tribe’s roster exactly?

We knew the numbers were bad.

We just didn’t know they were that bad.

We’re talking, of course, about Cleveland Indians designated hitter Jason Giambi.

After Friday night’s 0-for-4 performance against Boston, Giambi is now batting .150 on the season. But wait, there’s more! During the month of May, Giambi has three hits total in 32 at bats. (h/t to Rick at WFNY for pointing out that fun little nugget during the game on Twitter.)

Despite it being pretty clear that Giambi is done as a player, Tribe manager Terry Francona keeps putting his name on the lineup card for reasons that remain a puzzle to fans.

20 May 2013

Tribe keeps holding out for a hero

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong, he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero

Another day, another improbable win from the Cleveland Indians, who apparently don’t remember what it’s like to lose a game.

On Monday it was Yan Gomes, who hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th (yeah, like everyone saw that one coming) to lift the Tribe over Seattle. It was the Indians 18th win in their last 22 games, their fifth consecutive victory, their first four-game sweep of Seattle since 1981 and the third time in the four-game series that they beat the Mariners in their final at-bat.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the last time the Tribe had three walk-off wins in a four-day span was 1992 against Kansas City. In that series against the Royals, Carlos Baerga had a 14th-inning sacrifice fly, Junior Ortiz had a game-winning single and Baerga had a walk-off home run.

Posted in Cleveland Indians and tagged Cleveland Indians, Terry Francona, Yan Gomes | Leave a comment

15 May 2013

Would dropping Chief Wahoo hurt the Tribe in the wallet?

As the debate ebbs and flows over whether or not the Cleveland Indians should drop Chief Wahoo as their logo, a look at what has happened when other teams have made the decision reveals an interesting fact: teams that make the switch may not see a negative impact on their financial bottom line.

The Emory Sports Marketing Analytics project analyzed the impact on universities that changed their American Indian name or mascot and found that, for the most part, the switch away from an American Indian mascot results in positive financial returns over the long run. The switch also has no long-term impact on a team’s brand equity.

Posted in Chief Wahoo, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians and tagged Chief Wahoo, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Josh Cribbs | Leave a comment

13 May 2013

Masteron, Bauer distract from Tribe’s anemic offense

Lost in the fan euphoria over the Cleveland Indians splitting a doubleheader with the New York Yankees on Monday is the fact that the Tribe offense was embarrassingly bad.

One run over 18 innings of play? That’s all they can get with New York starting David Phelps and Vidal Nuno? And fans are supposed to be happy that the Tribe earned a split against a Yankee team that is playing without Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira?

Wow, talk about low expectations. (Or maybe we are just not being realistic in our expectations.)

Posted in Cleveland Indians and tagged Cleveland Indians | Leave a comment

14 Apr 2013

1 Comment

Radio home of the Indians drops the ball during broadcast

We were running errands this afternoon and listening to the Cleveland Indians game on WTAM, the flagship station of the team.

The Tribe was trailing, 2-1, heading into the bottom of the seventh inning as they were looking to sweep the Chicago White Sox in the weekend’s three-game series.

Just as play-by-play man Tom Hamilton was setting the table during the seventh-inning stretch, we were ripped from Progressive Field by the 3 p.m. “news update” from WTAM’s weekend news staff.

Posted in Cleveland fans, Cleveland Indians and tagged Cleveland Indians

10 Apr 2013

There is something oddly familiar about the Indians so far

The Cleveland Indians have a familiar look to them through the first eight games of the 2013 season.

It’s not so much the offense,even though the 2-3-4 for part of the lineup (Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Kipnis and Nick Swisher, the man with the largest free agent contract in franchise history) are hitting a combined .172 with just two home runs and six RBI on the season.

Or that the Tribe has scored one or fewer runs three times in the past six games, helping contribute to the Indians losing five of those games.

No, it’s the starting pitching that is giving Tribe fans flashbacks to 2012, when the Indians had the worst starting rotation in the American League.

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08 Apr 2013

All in all, not a bad opening week for the Tribe

The Cleveland Indians come back to the North Coast for today’s home opener after what, for them, has to be considered a nice road trip to open the season.

Sure, 3-3 on the road doesn’t sound good on the surface, especially since the Tribe won the first two games of the trip in Toronto. But this is a Tribe team that has averaged 89 losses a year for the past five years, has been a collective 77 games under .500 on the road during that time, and was facing Toronto and Tampa Bay – only two of the American League’s better teams. Considering all that and, well, splitting the season’s first road trip isn’t a bad deal at all.

Even though six games is a small sample size, Tribe fans got a glimpse during the first week of what they will see from the team this year – and what the Tribe needs to do to be competitive.

Head over to The Cleveland Fan for the rest of the story.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

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02 Apr 2013

What does 2013 have in store for the Tribe?

The Cleveland Indians open the 2013 season tonight in Toronto with new faces on the field and in the dugout.

Did the Tribe do enough in the off-season to close the 20-game differential with Detroit in the AL Central standings? Or the 25-game gap for a Wild Card spot?

Will the Indians get the Terry Francona who managed the Red Sox to two World Series titles, or the one who was 78 games under .500 in four seasons in Philadelphia?

Is there any way that Nick Swisher is worth the largest free agent contract in franchise history?

Can anyone in the starting rotation pitch well enough to turn the game over to the bullpen?

We join some other writers from The Cleveland Fan to try and look for answers as to what the 2013 season holds for the Tribe.

Your season opening preview starts now at The Cleveland Fan.

(Photo courtesy of the Western Reserve Historical Society)

Posted in Cleveland Indians and tagged Cleveland Indians | Leave a comment

28 Mar 2013

Talking Indians baseball with England Tribe

Being a fan of Cleveland sports is one of the better aspects of life, aside from the no championship thing, of course.

The allure of the Indians, Browns and Cavs is not just confined to Northeast Ohio, however, but extends not only across the country but internationally as well.

Which brings us to Ash Day.

Ash is a 24-year-old from Dorset, England, and the author of England Tribe, a blog about the Cleveland Indians as written by an Englishman. You can also find him on Twitter @AshKetchup29.

We recently came across Ash’s blog (h/t to @TalknCleveland) and Ash was kind enough to sit down for a virtual Q&A on how he became a Tribe fan and the team’s prospects for 2013.

Read more…

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Cleveland sports and tagged Cleveland Indians, England Tribe | Leave a comment

05 Mar 2013