What is wrong with the Cleveland Indians?

[HD MM]

Well, the Indians quietly won their 8th straight game last night. This time against the Motor City Kitties.

Grady Sizemore also hit 2 HR's to become only the 2nd member in Indian history to be a part of the 30/30 club. (30 HR, 30 Stolen Bases).

Tonight, Cliff Lee goes against Chris Lambert (major league debut) in attempts for his 19th win on the season.

Cleveland is now .5 game out of third place and is currently the hottest team in baseball. Of course this is a case of "too little, too late", but it's good to see that this team isn't going down without a fight.

 

[HD MM]

With Sizemore's 30th and 31st HR's last night, he now has a legitamite shot at becoming the 5th player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and 40 steals in a season. Sizemore now needs nine more homers and six more steals in the Indians final 32 games to hit the 40/40 mark.

If he does so, G-Size will join the ranks of Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alfonso Soriano and Alex Rodriguez as the only others in the prestigious 40/40 club. Suddenly, Sizemore is now an MVP candiade and you simply cannot overlook this achievement, despite him playing on a team not in first place.

This very strange season continues for the club in 2008. How weird would it be for the Indians to have a Cy Young winner (Cliff Lee) and MVP on the same team who is currently battling for 3rd place and 11.5 games out of first place?!

 

[HD MM]

Since Cleveland has traded Sabathia, their record is 22-16. This projects to 94 games throughout an entire season and a possible playoff bid. Obviously, it is too little, too late, but the amazing part is that they have done this without a number of players. Since the Sabathia trade, we also delt starting pithers Paul Byrd and leading RBI man Casey Blake. Keep in mind that pitcher Jake Westbrook and mashers Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner have been on the DL since Sabathia has been traded too.

Shouldn't General Manager Mark Shapiro have figured out the benefits of having less talent a long time ago and gotten rid of these players months earlier?

 

[SabresRule]

The Indians are looking like a team that is:

A. Trying to play spoiler

B. Reach individual milestones (40-40, 20 wins, Cy Young)

C. Actually going to do well next year

Next year, the Indians will have low expectations, like in 2007, and they'll probably nuke the A.L. Central the way did in the old days.

 

[BillD1984]

The Indians are looking like a team that is:

A. Trying to play spoiler

B. Reach individual milestones (40-40, 20 wins, Cy Young)

C. Actually going to do well next year

Next year, the Indians will have low expectations, like in 2007, and they'll probably nuke the A.L. Central the way did in the old days.

This is what I'm afraid of. The Tribe come to Fenway for four games, Sept. 22-25, and it could be payback for the 2007 ALCS. That series worries the hell out of me!

 

[HD MM]

The Indians are looking like a team that is:

A. Trying to play spoiler

B. Reach individual milestones (40-40, 20 wins, Cy Young)

C. Actually going to do well next year

Next year, the Indians will have low expectations, like in 2007, and they'll probably nuke the A.L. Central the way did in the old days.

This is also a team composed of young, hungry and motivated players. Most of whom are playing for a job next season. Plus, you got to give Eric Wedge credit for keeping these guys motivated. Despite an overall disappointing season, I have to admit, I'm still having fun watching these guys play every night!

 

[HD MM]

This is what I'm afraid of. The Tribe come to Fenway for four games, Sept. 22-25, and it could be payback for the 2007 ALCS. That series worries the hell out of me!

Yup. We have that series marked on our calendars Bill. Don't think for a minute, this team won't be all charged up for that game. BTW, Victor Martinez is due to rejoin the club this week. Hafner's return is still TBD.....

Just looked at the September schedule. Next month, the Indians play 2 separate series' against the White Sox, 1 series against the Twins and a series against the Red Sox in the final week of the regular season. Talk about spoiler possibilities!

 

[HD MM]

19-2!

-Cliff Lee earns win number 19 last night.
-The Cy Young contender is 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA in August.
-Lee is one win from becoming the Indians' first 20-game winner since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry in 1974. His 19 wins are a career high, surpassing his 18 victories in 2005.
-Most impressively though, Lee is the eighth major league pitcher since 1920 to win 19 of his first 21 decisions!

This record puts him in the company of a few decent pitchers .......

Year- Pitcher--------- Team-------W L
2001 Roger Clemens--- Yankees----- 20-1
2008 Cliff Lee------------ Indians----19-2
1995 Greg Maddux------Braves------ 19-2
1978 Ron Guidry--------- Yankees--- 19-2
1966 Gaylord Perry----- Giants------ 19-2
1961 Whitey Ford------- Yankees--- 19-2
1951 Preacher Roe------ Dodgers--- 19-2
1931 Lefty Grove-------- Athletics---19-2

 

[HD MM]

10 in a row!

The Indians have had the best record in baseball since July 10th!

10.5 games out of first place. 29 more games to go. The Tribe still has 2 more series' against the White Sox and 1 more against the Twins. I'm starting to think crazy thoughts...

 

[salsadancer7]

10 in a row!

The Indians have had the best record in baseball since July 10th!

10.5 games out of first place. 29 more games to go. The Tribe still has 2 more series' against the White Sox and 1 more against the Twins. I'm starting to think crazy thoughts...

No....you were in the garage with the garage door closed and the fumes from your car were making you hallucenate. NOW, if you were chasing the NY Mets, then you could have something.....

 

[salsadancer7]

-Cliff Lee earns win number 19 last night.
-The Cy Young contender is 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA in August.
-Lee is one win from becoming the Indians' first 20-game winner since Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry in 1974. His 19 wins are a career high, surpassing his 18 victories in 2005.
-Most impressively though, Lee is the eighth major league pitcher since 1920 to win 19 of his first 21 decisions!

This record puts him in the company of a few decent pitchers .......

Year- Pitcher--------- Team-------W L
2001 Roger Clemens--- Yankees----- 20-1
2008 Cliff Lee------------ Indians----19-2
1995 Greg Maddux------Braves------ 19-2
1978 Ron Guidry--------- Yankees--- 19-2
1966 Gaylord Perry----- Giants------ 19-2
1961 Whitey Ford------- Yankees--- 19-2
1951 Preacher Roe------ Dodgers--- 19-2
1931 Lefty Grove-------- Athletics---19-2

Just hope he is not being over used and not a one hit wonder. ALL those guy were consistant winners.....except for Gaylord Perry, and when he hit 19-2, he finished the season 2-6 the rest of the way...

 

[HD MM]

Just hope he is not being over used and not a one hit wonder. ALL those guy were consistant winners.....except for Gaylord Perry, and when he hit 19-2, he finished the season 2-6 the rest of the way...

And so is Cliff Lee. It's just that since Lee isn't on a major market team, no one's heard about him. Besides last year's injury and him never returning to form, Cliff has been winning since becoming a full-time starter in 2004, although not as dominant as he is this year....

2004- 14 wins
2005- 18 wins
2006- 14 wins
2007- 5 wins
2008- 19 wins and counting

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Just hope he is not being over used and not a one hit wonder. ALL those guy were consistant winners.....except for Gaylord Perry, and when he hit 19-2, he finished the season 2-6 the rest of the way...

Ugh, isn't he in the Hall of Fame? Last I checked that requires a whole lotta wins.

 

[SabresRule]

And he got #20.

HD is a perfect 2-0 when it comes to attending Tribe games this year.

They started slowly, but that may be a blessing disguise- they have nothing to lose from here on out, and they'll be expected to do little next year and proceed to rip the division to shreds.

 

[BillD1984]

And he got #20.

HD is a perfect 2-0 when it comes to attending Tribe games this year.

They started slowly, but that may be a blessing disguise- they have nothing to lose from here on out, and they'll be expected to do little next year and proceed to rip the division to shreds.

Not only is Lee going to win the Cy, he's also going to win Comeback Player (Josh Hamilton has cooled off since the ASB).

 

[HD MM]

Ho-Lee Cow!!!!!

And he got #20.

HD is a perfect 2-0 when it comes to attending Tribe games this year.

They started slowly, but that may be a blessing disguise- they have nothing to lose from here on out, and they'll be expected to do little next year and proceed to rip the division to shreds.

HO-LEE COW!!!!!!!

Yup. So glad I went to that game last night. Cograt's Cliffy!

After giving up 2 quick hits in the first inning, Lee retired the next 19 batters, en route to a complete game, 5 hit shutout! The crowd was electric late in the game in cheering on the 20 game winner. What a great way to cap a holiday weekend! And thank you Cliff for giving us Tribe fans something to root for this year.

A few notable Cliff Lee stats:

27/27: Starts of at least 5 innings
20: Victories. Indians' first 20-game winner since '74. (Gaylord Perry)
15-0: Record in night games
9-0: Home Record
9: Consecutive Victories
8-0: Record after All-Star Break
1: MLB 20-game winners to date in 2008
.909: Winning Percentage. (20-2)
30%: Lee is responsible for 30% of the Indians 66 total wins so far this year.

 

[KCK_Halo]

PRONK!!!!

PRONK IS IN THE STARTING LINEUP TONIGHT!!!


Go get 'em, HD!!!!

PRONK IS BACK!!!!

 

[HD MM]

PRONK IS IN THE STARTING LINEUP TONIGHT!!!


Go get 'em, HD!!!!

PRONK IS BACK!!!!

Yes! What a wonderful sight! We now have Hafner and Victor Martinez back, finally! Pronk has been out since May!

Needless to say, neither Pronk or Vic will play everyday, but this last month of ball will be key to getting their timing back for next year. And for the record, I'm expecting big things from this club in '09! (Baring anymore injuries)

BTW, Pronk's first 2 at-bats were hits! Welcome back you big lug!

 

[Ramy]

PRONK IS IN THE STARTING LINEUP TONIGHT!!!


Go get 'em, HD!!!!

PRONK IS BACK!!!!

Forgive me for asking, but who is Pronk?

 

[HD MM]

Forgive me for asking, but who is Pronk?

Pronk is Travis Hafner's nickname.

It was given to him early in his career. It is a combination of two parts: "project" and "donkey". You see, early in his career he was considered a project. At other times, he was called a donkey for the way he looked while running the bases. The two came together in what is now known as: "PRONK".