Reds roll over Tribe for series win

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Another series in the sun, another two majestic blasts from the bat of Adam Dunn in his long and storied (albeit controversial) Reds career. So many times during his time with the Reds I've felt that this might really be it. That Dunn would never hit again. No matter what, he's always answered the bell. As those all around him in Reds nation continue to doubt him, he just continues to produce like he's always done. Dunn hit a 3-run home run today (his 2nd in two days to give him 20 for the season at the halfway point) to put the game out of reach for the Indians.

This isn't meant to be an Adam Dunn post, but like anything else in life; tomorow is not guarunteed. Each game we get to watch big #44 play in a Reds uniform could be the last and we know it. He's been our favorite player in any sport and probably always will be. If indeed the end is nearing, it's going to be hard to say goodbye when the time comes. Dunn isn't without faults, but he does things that no one can argue; and if that's what satisfies you as a fan then you're probably one of those people like me who is in Dunn's corner to be a long term solution here in Cincinnati. He shows up every day, plays hard (he threw a runner out today at 2nd base), and he puts up numbers. So many things have came and gone since Dunn's time in Cincinnati began; just thinking back on our own life and how it was different when Dunn was a rookie back in 2001. It would be nice to see him get to 500 or even 600 home runs as a Red, but we too are beginning to visualize the sad text on the wall. Adam Dunn probably won't be a Red beyond this season at most.

Reds are making this sweep stuff a habit

It was the Cincinnati Reds first 6-0 homestand since 1995. They've now won 7 in a row at Great American Ball Park, a stadium record. Adam Dunn hit another towering home run to the Sun Deck in right field; which was his 4th straight game and 10th round-tripper on the season (248 over the course of his career).

Cliff Lee vs. Edison Volquez certainly lived up to the billing. Volquez is now baseball's leader in ERA with a sparkling 1.33 mark and a 7-1 record to go with. Obviously at this point he is the ace of the staff whether or not people like Aaron Harang's workhorse mantra.

And suddenly this team heads out on a west coast swing that begins today; with all the ingriedients to make this season a worthwhile one. That also will hinge on getting through the 4 and 5 starters who have not pitched well this season (Arroyo and Belisle). They historically have not played well on the west coast. If they can get through this trip; and somehow keep the winning streak going, my goatee will get much longer and this season will grow in excitement.

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What can I say? Adam Dunn is a saturday night type of guy

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Adam Dunn is a saturday night hero, believe me; I've heard the stories. What is it about hitting walk-off bombs against the Cleveland Indians in Cincinnati? For the third year in a row, Dunn has done just that.

You could see it in the Reds' players faces. Their expressions said 'Yay! Thank you Dunner! We can go get drunk now!'. And to be honest, they deserve it. The win was the Reds 5th in a row, all coming on this homestand.

It was another majestic blast for Dunn. Masa Kobayashi showed us all how to take your ERA from under 2 to over 3 in one pitch. The ball, as usual; nearly left the entire stadium. The blast came after Dunn unsucessfully tried to bunt the runners on first and second over.

It was a really great scene, as not many ballgames are played starting during the 3:00 hour at Great American Ballpark. It was nice for a change for a ballgame to end around dinner time, just in time for the Reds to hit up a tavern in town and be ready for tomorrow's 1:00 start. After the game Dunn spoke to a national audience as FOX's Kevin Kennedy and Jeanne Zelasko observed. It was storybook.

The home run was the 247th of Adam Dunn's career, the 7th of walk-off variety, and his third straight game taking one long.

The Battle of Ohio commences tonight

Tonight the Battle of Ohio opens up with the Indians rolling 4 hours up I-71 and into Cincinnati to take on the Reds. Usually when the Reds win 3 in a row as they have achieved recently, they earn the title 'Surging Reds'. I won't do that. Cincinnati was opportunistic in beating the Marlins the past three games, but they did it with some luck; they haven't looked dominating like the Indians have while catapaulting back into first place.

The main reason the Indians look dominant is their pitching. They had a stretch where three straight starters had shut out the other team in their appearance (Carmona, Lee, Sabathia). They're still not really hitting like they should but this should make for an entertaining series. The Reds always seem to give a heavier loaded Indians team fits. Ken Griffey Jr. can still find the humor in not hitting, thank goodness.

We wish we were going to be on-hand in this one as we were last season, but we have to work 16 hours tomorrow. We'll be watching and commentating we assure you.

In the end, we see the Reds taking 2 of 3 here at home to stifle the Indians recent hot play a bit. The Reds have no business winning this series, but they'll find a way. Dunn homers once as does Griffey in the 3 game set.

Grady Sizemore fleece blanket night wakes up the bats

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For the 13th time in his career, Grady Sizemore led off the game in a home run. Sizemore went 3 for 5 and drove in 5 runs. The Indians and Aaron Laffey routed the Toronto Blue Jays 12-0. Laffey's ERA is now pretty spotless under 2.

With the win the Indians even their record at 18-18 and are now just a half game out of the American League Central chase.

After taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees in New York and now taking the first two from the Blue Jays the Indians are starting to look like a team that can catch fire and take the AL central by storm.

Quick as they were Quiet; the Indians have won 5 in a row

Victor Martinez just singled home Grady Sizemore in the bottom of the 9th inning against the New York Yankees to give the Indians their 5th straight victory and even things up at 12-12 for them record wise. The Tribe got a quality start out of Jeremy Sowers today.

This is the type of team with that rotation, and a different hero seemingly emerging every night in the lineup; God it could get scary in a hurry. There's not a team in their division that can match them talent-wise by our opinion.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees continue to not really hit; only mustering a bases loaded pinch hit from Jorge Posada.

C.C. Sabathia can't stop throwing up (runs that is)

C.C. Sabathia is a fat man. He's a fat man with indigestion this season. He is throwing up, runs. And he can't stop. Cookie Cookie Sabathia has done it again tonight, as if we didn't know that would happen. He's became the kryptonite key the Tigers needed to start hitting everything in sight, as he's been for every team he's faced.

Hey lard ass. I got a good idea. Why don't you turn down an $18 million a year offer to the team that gave you your stake because you want more money. Then go out and throw every ball down the dick so it gets pounded into every crevice of Jacobs Progressive Field. We'll see if you get that money now. I know I want a pitcher who's ERA has touched 13.50 after a few starts.

You've already got all that covered don't you?

Matinees are the theme today

There's three games being played this afternoon that I have interest in. Two of them make the cut for television and the Cincinnati Reds are on the radio. I'm just trying to hunt down WGN on my cable package. It's nowhere to be found.

Speaking of matinees, you can select the song that will play at Shea Stadium every 8th inning this year. My money is on Sweet Caroline.

I'll probably liveblog one of the games today and do some commentary on all things baseball.

It's early. But I like the way the Indians are handlin' their business

Those Cleveland Indians are certainly wreaking of professionalism I think. They came out again tonight and beat up Ozzie Guillen's White Sox.

My decision to draft Fausto Carmona on all my teams? Might have been genius. Carmona was solid all night long (7IP, 4H, 4K, 4BB, 1ER).

Grady Sizemore tripled, singled twice, and drove in 3 runs while scoring twice. Asdrubal Cabrera had 3 hits and 2 RBI.

Eric Wedge was feeling so froggy he even let Jorge Julio throw the 9th out of the kindness of his heart.

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Indians win the season's game #1 over Chi-Sox

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Cleveland Indians 10, Chicago White Sox 8

Grady Sizemore became the active leader in baseball's consecutive games played, homering in what was his 366th straight game played. The Indians wore their new home uniforms and got timely hitting from Franklin Gutierrez to win the game 10-8.

While C.C. Sabathia might have been making his final Opening Day start in an Indians uniform, he did not have his best stuff. Sabathia went 5 and 1/3 while allowing 5 ER on 6 hits. He did strike out seven.

The big hit of the ballgame was a double off the wall by Casey Blake which broke a 7-7 tie. Joe Borowski made it interesting in the 9th; but held on for his 1st save and the Indians have begun a season in which Peter Gammons picked them to win the World Series on the right track.

Cleveland Indians 2008 Season Preview

Leading up to the start of the 2008 Regular Season, Diamond Hoggers will preview each of MLB's 32 teams. Teams will be rated on a 10-point scale in the following 5 areas: Lineup, Pitching, Manager, Intangibles/Chemistry, and Overall. Today's team is the Cleveland Indians.

Lineup
I think this team is at their top level with Grady Sizemore hitting in the 3 hole. For that to happen, someone has to emerge enough to get him out of the leadoff spot. Sizemore could be a 30 home run threat with better protection and less strikeouts. I think he'd actually feel a bit less pressure not leading off every game and he'd drive in more runs. For the sake of argument, we'll say that Sizemore starts the season at lead off and does it a significant amount. In the 2 hole, you've got Asdrubal Cabrera. You can call him Asdrubial too if you want to. I do it sometimes. Cabrera is about even odds to struggle in his sophmore season more than he did his rookie year. He's slick defending and can handle the bat well. He is a high end ballplayer that really panned out for Cleveland and gained valuable experience.

When you get to the middle of the Cleveland lineup, you've got some real thunder. Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, and Ryan Garko are guys who should be locks for 30 home runs and possible more. Look for Hafner to rebound and look like the pre-2007 Travis Hafner. Martinez must stay healthy and although I worry about him behind the dish wearing out his legs he seems not to mind the rigors of catching. Garko is up and coming and hits in the clutch.

That leaves 3 guys to talk about. Casey Blake, Franklin Gutierrez, and Jhonny Peralta. Solid players who don't hurt you with their bat. These are players that can get you to a championship. Not superstars, but define the word solid. All three of them hit in the clutch as much as anyone in this lineup last year.

The Indians don't have a downright scary line up that beats you every night with a barrage of home runs. They have literally a million ways to best you and a good combination of power and speed blend. Timely hitting is what will make this one of the AL's best lineups.

Rating: 8.9

Pitching
Everyone knows about the 1-2 punch in Cleveland. This could be the last hurrah for C.C. Sabathia in an Indians uniform, and hopefully it is as a Cy Young candidate. Fausto Carmona was the guy who really surprised last year, reaching his 'star' potential with 19 wins and a 3.07 ERA, which was a bit lower than Sabathia's 3.21 ERA. This tandem alone if healthy should get the Indians into the postseason, despite a tough division.

It is from there in which the Indians biggest questions remain. How will the 3-4-5 guys in the rotation handle themselves? Jake Westbrook returned to pitch really strong in the postseason. He made up for the lack of show by Sabathia. Cliff Lee must return to form when he won over 15 games in 2004. I have my doubts about that. The number 5 spot is somewhat a mystery right now. It will come from any combination of Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers or who knows.

Joe Borowski and Rafael Betancourt are the most solid contributors in the bullpen. Borowski had 45 saves last season and Betancourt had a sub 1.00 ERA out of the bullpen. Borowski does it ugly, but he does it more often than not.

This is one of the better pitching staffs in all of baseball. When and if they get into the postseason, they must win the games with the money pitchers. That is all it comes down to for them to be 'elite'.

Rating: 9.2

Manager
Eric Wedge doesn't get nearly the credit he should. He had to win big last year and he did, to the tune of 96 games. This was the second time in his five years of managing that he won 90+ games. This is a big year again for Wedge, when he proves if he's in special territory or if he's just a good, solid manager. The Indians were a win away from a World Series, and Wedge will have little excuse to let this team fall short of at least getting somewhere close to that.

He's got his questionable moves like every other manager, but he's also one of the better in-game managers in baseball to those that know the game. He gets the most out of his young players and they go to battle for him for a full season; evidenced by last year's tough stretch weathered by the team.

Rating: 8.8

Intangibles/Chemistry
Again, with this team this is another area that is a strength where it is a liability to other teams in the league. The Indians have a nucleus of players that have played together for an extended number of years. Players that played together at Buffalo and Akron. They seem to get more come from behind and squeak out more close/late games than any team in the league. They win late, they win close, and they come from behind.

They've got a great up the middle defense (and this is giving credit to the underrated Peralta). Players like Casey Blake and Grady Sizemore; hustle players; do everything to drive up this rating.

Rating: 9.0

Overall:
The Cleveland Indians have a great team. This is a team that will compete and win in the toughest division in baseball, but winning the division isn't what this team is really built for; even though that is going to be an under-stated task if they do it. This is a team that could win 95 games, and against the teams they'll play in upwards of 20 times, that is basically like winning over 100. They were a game from the World Series last year, and that window is still open to get there and win won for this city. That said, the window will be closing fast. When the Indians failed to do it last season, my attitude wasn't "oh well they'll be back". It was knowing they had missed a golden opportunity to do something and they might never get back regardless of how good they are on paper, which is scary good for at least one more year.

Rating: 9.0

Random Player Review: Mel Hall

Mel Hall was not the most famous Cleveland Indian, nor was he close to being one of the best; but his legacy in the Cleveland Indians fraternity lives on forever with guys like Alex Cole and Pat Tabler.

Hall was an Indians from the second half of the 1984 season until 1988. This was when the Indians were particularly shitty, losing more then 100 games in 1985 and 1987.

Mel Hall never hit over .300 in a season in which he appeared in more than 100 games, but was spectacularly solid. Hall was the type who you'd expect to show up to the ball park every year and hit .280 with 15-18 homeruns, 30 doubles, and 80 RBI. Despite looking the part of the flashy, Hall never stole more than 7 bases in a season, in fact he only stole 4 over the final 5 years of his career; all of them coming in 1992 when he was a New York Yankee.

Hall was a career .276 hitter and .981 fielder, but never appeared in a playoff game. He never was an All-Star.

In 1992, as a 32-year-old, Hall opted to leave the Major Leagues, agreeing to a 2-year $4 million contract to play in Japan. When he returned to play for the San Francisco Giants in 1996, Hall registered just three singles in 25 games with the big league club, retiring shortly thereafter.

Mel Hall and his hair have fallen on tough luck since retirement. Hall faces up to life in imprisonment for sexually molesting two young girls, but we don't want that to be the focus (how can't it be?).

The focus of this guy is he was the man with the curly, greasy showtime hair who roamed the outfield at old Cleveland Stadium and Yankee Stadium like a champ. We salute you Mel Hall, king and hero of all ordinary 80's ballplayers!

Come on, you love these guys

Just a little preview as to who the 2nd team in the Diamond Hoggers 2008 Season Previews will be. A full day of Cleveland Indians posting awaits. Always enjoyable to write about these guys, the lovable Cleveland Indians.

ALCS Game 6: Crushed Cleveland Dreams

It was over really before it got started, as it was in game 5. Excitement was quickly replaced with urgency. Finally the reality of the situation had just set in. The Cleveland Indians have one game to save their entire season of work, and it's a game 7 against the Red Sox at Fenway with their 100 million dollar guy on the mound.

When we were watching the ballgame, we had just finished saying that JD Drew was a career disappointment. That with just one big homerun that would result in a grand slam, he could redeem an entire season of killing rallies and not coming through in the clutch.

Then it happened.


Just like that, the Cleveland Indians are one game away from letting this series and season slip away from them. Go help them this evening.

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So I hear there is a game today

As you all know, tonight is game 6 of the American League Championship Series. Editor George and I have met up for a Diamond Hoggers meeting of the Chairmen of the Board. It's going to be an important night of Cigars, Dewars, Dip, and end up at the Winking Lizard bar. The game of the century for the Indians is on tap, and the fate rests in the hands of Fausto Carmona.

If the Indians make the series tonight against Curt Schilling in Boston, I'll go completely nuts and celebrate late into the morning hours....I really will.

Pictures to come from tonight. GO INDIANS!

ALCS Game 5: Boston 7, Cleveland 1

One couldn't figure that this series would really only go 5 games could they? Well I did. I thought last night that destiny was going to overpower anything that the Red Sox could throw at the Indians and their fired up crowd at Jacobs Field. In the end, Josh Beckett was too much. Beckett fanned a postseason career high 11 Indians last night and allowed only 1 run over 8 innings, and none after the first frame to improve to 5-0 all time in the postseason season with an ERA just over 1.00.

I can't write it up and make it poetic. I can't paint a picture on this that makes it majestic. The Indians lost an opportunity to have one of the greatest victories in the history of the franchise. Their ace was on the hill and they had a chance to beat the game's finest postseason/big game pitcher and they failed. If they are meant in destiny by the baseball Gods to win the pennant, they'll have to do it as they've done their previous 5, celebrating on the oppositions field on the road.

The good news is they can make it the finest saturday night of the entire season tomorrow night. It will be a joyous and celebratory event at my house. Fausto Carmona can become a legend at age 23. The Indians are going to write a new chapter in their history book, but the mystery is what will it say?

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ALCS Game 5: The Once and Future Mighty Indians

The Cleveland Indians tonight have a chance to rewrite all that is good in baseball. This is what teams play games, seasons, careers for. This is the reason they lace it up, the one's that love the game anyways. This is what ties a million dollar world-class athlete to his boyhood dreams after all the lights have gone out each night in the big city that he plays. The dream of playing in the World Series. Some are playing for their jobs and as Jake Taylor says in Major League, "some of you won't be back next year."

This is some players' only chance to make it to the World Series. It could be all of this team's only chance. Fates and careers will be decided tonight. There is no grander stage. There is no better drama in movie theatres. This is when the dreams are while you are awake. The Cleveland Indians up I-71 are playing for a chance to go to the World Series tonight. By tomorrow morning we might very well be talking about the American League Champion Cleveland Indians. We might be hearing about the party that went late into the night and into the wee morning hours as the rest of us go to work.

This is our team, our Indians. This is the blue collar team who wins ugly and represents it's city well. These guys are tight knit, and they play hard every night. They've gotten this far. One last step remains to make this season a memorable one and to win their 3rd pennant in 12 years.

Legends have been carved on this stage. You think back through the years to the images of other teams celebrating on this stage and wondering what it will be like to wake up one morning and have your team playing for it all. This is the Indians chance to carve that history and be that team. There is no turning back now.

Hold on baseball fans. 27 outs from now, the Cleveland Indians just might be in the World Series.

To Clinch, Indians need Sizemore to star

They were talking on ESPN radio this morning about how the Red Sox are a team full of stars and how outside of maybe Victor Martinez, the Cleveland Indians lack that superstar guy like the Red Sox have several of. I couldn't disagree more. The Red Sox may have established superstars who get attention from the national media cock-gobblers, but the Indians are not without their stars. A win over the Red Sox will only take a step to further establish these guys like the teams of the 90's were. To these guys like Colin Cowherd who make such statements about my Indians, I ask: is Fausto Carmona, C.C. Sabathia, and Travis Hafner chop liver? Most of all, he's really forgetting about one guy.

Grady Sizemore is a legitimate superstar. He's been an All-Star two seasons in a row now, and he's gotten some huge hits here in the postseason. Other than game 2 in the ALCS, Sizemore has been hitless in this series, including the last two games in Cleveland. To get past Josh Beckett and the Red Sox in game 5, and advance to their first World Series in 10 years, the Indians need a big game from their face player.

If Sizemore can hit another homerun to lead off the game as he did in game 4 in the Bronx in the ALDS, or get a big hit early in the game off Beckett, he can rattle the Red Sox and get some huge momentum going for the Indians. This is pretty much common sense, but I'm circling Sizemore as my player to watch in this game. He's more than due and is seeming to set a trend that when the spotlight shines bright, he steps up. He has a flair for the dramatics and a big game maturity beyond his 25 years of age.

I've waited since Sizemore burst on the scene to see what he'd do in the postseason. Now that he's got his shot to showcase these skills on baseball's grandest of stages, I am becoming increasingly greedy. I want to see Grady get World Series experience. It is the final step for him becoming one of the league's premiere players. If he can 'have a day' tomorrow night, the Indians are going to the World Series and John Mellencamp will be blaring on the Jacobs Field loud speakers after 27 outs.

The Top 10 Reasons Manny Ramirez raised his arms after his ALCS Homerun

10. In Manny's World, hitting a baseball between the foul polls is a field goal.

9. It was a Red Sox gesture of surrender.

8. Manny was showing Indians pitchers the rib they were going to be throwing four seamers at all Spring Training.

7. Manny forgot where he was supposed to run.

6. Flashing back to when he was with the Indians, Manny was trying to start the wave.

5. Knowing he'd earned some TV face time, Ramirez was showing off his Whopee Goldberg homage 'doo.

4. He wanted to get his hands above the level of the sea of fawning spoog that the TV announcers had been spurting his way all series long.

3. Manny is a classless jerk.

2. It was a signal directed at the Red Sox GM, meaning: "If you think my last contract was bad, the next one's going to be freakin' armed robbery baby!"

1. Manny isn't too good at math and didn't realize that two plus one wasn't greater than seven.

I don't know why, but we picture Manny Ramirez having the mentality of the Buffoon (Adam Sandler).

ALCS Game 4: Just a Moment Away

Check that Tribe fans. The Magic has been back. The Cleveland Indians are just one more postseason victory away from climbing back to the World Series for the first time since before I'd even kissed a woman.

Paul Byrd continued his smoke and mirrors attack, and the Indians found a way to get to Tim Wakefield's knuckleball in winning their third ALCS game in a row. The Tribe withstood a burst of fury from the Red Sox bats; as they became the first team to ever hit back-to-back-to-back homeruns in League Championship Series history.

Terry Francona looks a bit confused. When Mike Lowell popped out for the first out in the 9th inning tonight he looked shocked. After the game Peter Gammons could be seen talking to other media members on the Jacobs Field battle ground; waving his arms and shrugging his shoulders at how this little engine that could Indians team could take down his mighty Red Sox three games in a row.

It hasn't been easy; this team just wins ugly as it has all season long. It took 11 innings and everything short of throwing the kitchen sink at the 'sawks to even this series last saturday night. The stars haven't shined for the Indians in this series: Grady Sizemore has 3 hits (all in game 2). Travis Hafner went hitless with 4 strikeouts tonight. Victor Martinez got his first hit from the right side of the plate all postseason tonight, and it was against Wakefield, a right-handed pitcher. Isn't it fitting that a journeyman pitcher in Paul Byrd and a streaky #3 starter in Jake Westbrook have accounted for the wins from the Indians starters; and not the two loaded-arsenal Cy Young candidates Sabathia and Carmona. Isn't it just typical of this team?

It won't be easy. Josh Beckett in 8 career postseason starts has a 1.87 ERA. Teams in the postseason with Josh Beckett on the roster have won all 4 postseason series they've played. If the Indians are going to close this series down at home and pour out champagne at the Jake for their 42,000 champion starved teepee heads, they'll have to beat the best.

The bottom line is that the Indians have put themselves in a position where Boston must now have a 3 game sweep against them to keep them from getting to the World Series. Boston will need to beat the best two starters the Indians have consecutively. Otherwise the Indians will enter the World Series as heavy favorites against a white hot Colorado Rockies team.

Whatever happens from here on out; the Indians have given their fans this year the ride of a lifetime. This sneaky-good team had it's low points during the season when it caused some to question whether they could even hold off the Detroit Tigers. Now this group led by a skipper in Eric Wedge, who's been on the hot seat all season long, finds themselves a win away from playing for it all near Halloween.

Many Indians fans will disagree with me. They'll say that they want to be greedy and not relax, just end this thing right now in game 5. Something tells me there is no reason to worry or feel urgency anymore. Something tells me that this team will answer sometime very soon and deliver as they have in the face of odds all season long. If not in game 5, it will be game 6. To quote Chicago Cubs fans: "It's Gonna Happen."

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