How 'Bout Them Cavs?

I had the oh so amazing pleasure of being in attendance for last night's beat down of the Cavs at the Palace.  I don't even know where to begin.  I was one of two Cavalier fans in attendance...the other being a mid-40s business man sporting a JJ Hickson wine colored jersey.  By the way business guy you did an excellent job supporting your team, thanks for sitting quietly the entire game.  At least everyone within four sections could hear me...

Everything fell for the Pistons and everything didn't for the Cavs, that really is all there is to it.  Jamison 0-10 from the field...yikes.  It got to the point where all I could do was laugh at how bad we were.  You have to think if Kyrie, Andy and Boobie were all healthy, and Gee played (not sure why he didn't play) it would have been a whole different basketball game.

Then there was the lady sitting two seats to my left.  Who knew every song the Pistons dance team danced to, as well as the halftime show.  She sang along and danced to every song...Oh but wait it gets better.  She looks at my retro Cavs Hardwood Classics shirt I had on and asks, "Are you rooting for the Cavs?"  No lady I'm actually rooting for the Columbus Crush, our professional women's football team...of course I'm rooting for the Cavs.

So then she goes on, "So do you like LeBron?"  This woman was just full of stupid questions.  "No I don't...I hate him."  And she comes back with the best thing I've ever heard, "You MEANIE!"

At this point I was just trying to keep a straight face, do you know what he did to us lady?  "You seem a little bitter?  And did you see that they were burning jerseys in Cleveland when he left?"

No woman I hadn't noticed...

Needless to say I had a great time at the game, regardless of anything that happened.  I paid $6 for a ticket with a face value of 30 bucks so it was definitely worth it.

Well...Cleveland sports are bad.

This pretty much sums it up:

But we're used to it.

Ohio State Football Open Practice: Recap

On a rainy Saturday morning in Columbus head coach Urban Meyer held an indoor practice open to all current students.  It was marked by an exciting atmosphere, as 3100 students were gathered on and around the field.  The players and coaching staff ran numerous plays of all sorts and were sure to get the students involved in the action, including pumping up the crowd and allowing a player-coach-student interactions and meet and greet following the conclusion of the practice.  All in all, this thrilling experience further demonstrated the unity shared at Ohio State.

As a student lucky enough to witness the practice first hand, I must say Urban did not show much.  He demonstrated traditional offensive sets and special team scenarios.  Nothing flashy, nothing extreme; just trying to improve how his players execute.  The speed of Braxton Miller was evident, and it was noteworthy that he did not make many if any careless passes.  Carlos Hyde in the backfield looked powerful, but most noteworthy was the defense.  Very quick off the line and always rushing the quarterback, it was a good sight to see.  Look out for John Simon, Bradley Roby, and Ryan Shazier to put up big numbers this season.  In terms of backup players, a dark horse candidate is surely defensive back Adam Griffin, son of Archie, who packed a major punch for only being 5'9-5'10. 

All in all, look for the Buckeyes to impress in 2012.

Seven Run First Sparks Tribe Win

KANSAS CITY -- Derek Lowe (2-0) didn't have to throw a pitch and he was already a happy man on Friday.  The Indians' offense exploded for seven runs in the first inning off of Kansas City Royals starter Luke Hochevar (1-1).  Michael Brantley led the charge with two hits in the inning after only managing one hit this season through his first 17 plate appearances.  The Tribe sent eleven men to the plate in the first inning and amassed eight hits and seven runs over that span.

Derek Lowe took the hill and had another stellar performance as the Indians' number three starter.  Lowe tossed six and two-thirds of an inning of three run baseball.  The Tribe will look for Jeanmar Gomez (0-0) to post a similar performance this evening when he takes on Jonathon Sanchez (0-0) of the Royals at 7:10 PM.

With the win the Indians improved to 2-4 on the season and sent the Royals to a mark of 3-4.

Game Notes:  Hochevar left the game in the 4th inning after a line drive off the bat of Carlos Santana hit Hochevar in the left ankle.  X-rays came back negative and Hochevar has been diagnosed with and ankle contusion.

POG:  Asdrubal Cabrera:  2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI

Indians Reach Deal With Cooperstown Hopeful Damon

The Tribe has reportedly agreed to bring veteran outfielder Johnny Damon to Cleveland for the 2012 season.  Damon, 38 years old, is coming off a season where he batted .261 and drove in 73 runs for the Tampa Bay Rays, including 16 homers. The deal has a base pay of $1.25 million and an additional $1.4 million in performance based incentives.  Also included is an opt-out for Damon if and when a healthy Grady Sizemore returns to take the role Damon is filling.

Damon is approaching 3,000 hits, and a moderately successful 2012 and 2013 season should ensure him this mark, making him a potential Hall of Fame candidate.  Damon reached a career high in batting average in 2000 with Kansas City posting a mark of .327.  Johnny also belted a career high in homers in 2006 ans 2009 as a member of the New York Yankees with 24 dingers each season.  He is a former world champion and surely still has some juice left in the tank.

All in all, this is a win win situation for the Tribe.  Damon is an obvious offensive step up from outfielder Aaron Cunningham, and a proven clubhouse leader.  He is exactly the kind of player the Indians need to make a playoff run and to give the fans something to cheer about.  Perhaps his addition will produce more than a few thousand fans in attendance for upcoming home games.  Even if Damon ends up being a bust, which seems unlikely, the Indians are risking next to nothing. 

This move further shows that management wants to win now.  Damon's numbers from last season would have made him the 3rd most productive hitter on the roster in terms of RBIs and batting average, including being 2nd in total hits.  In the words of Damon, "Like I said, I've kept myself in pretty good shape, and I'm just excited that Cleveland is giving me this opportunity to see what I can do and also go help out a young team and provide some leadership to them."

Let's improve on this 1-4 start with a solid series against Kansas City. Roll Tribe.

Indians' Comeback Falls Short

CLEVELAND -- The Tribe dug themselves a hole early against the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon.  Opening Day starter Justin Masterson took the mound for the Indians in an effort to avoid a sweep by the Chicago White Sox.  Masterson gave up four runs in the first and the Sox never looked back.  The Indians answered with one run in the bottom of the first, making the score 4-1.

Masterson seemed to settle in for the next few innings surrendering only one additional run before he was relieved by Dan Wheeler.  The Tribe narrowed the gap to a one run deficit, trailing 5-4 after five innings, but it was all downhill from there.

Wheeler and Rafael Perez combined to give up five runs in the sixth inning pushing Chicago's lead to 10-4.  The final Tribe runs were scored on a two run homer by Shelley Duncan in the seventh inning.
With the loss the Indians fell to 1-4 on the season and with the win Chicago improved to 3-2.

This post marks the beginning of the "B Bow and The Slot Machine Player of the Game" (POG)

Game Notes:  W: J. Danks (1-1),  L: J. Masterson (0-1), POG: Travis Hafner  2-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI

Damon Deal in the Works

A deal between Johnny Damon and the Indians is on the horizon.  A reported 1 year deal with an "out clause" for the 38 year-old free agent is being discussed. 

The "out clause" would allow Damon to leave the Indians upon the return of center fielder Grady Sizemore from the disabled list.  No official announcement of the deal has been made, but consider it done within the next 48 hours.

4/10 Ballgame Postponed

The second game of the series between the Tribe and the White Sox has been put on hold due to winter weather conditions, giving Indians fans an unexpected 3 hours of free time for their Tuesday evening.  As all Clevelanders know by now, it's not April baseball without some hindering weather conditions, so we should be thankful that we are not dealing with a week long blizzard shutting everything down.

Next game will start off in a matter of minutes as first pitch is scheduled for 12:05 on 4/11.  The Tribe will look to improve their record to 2-3 as they send ace Justin Masterson up against John Danks of the Sox.

Santana Inks Extension

Monday the Indians decided 26 year-old catcher Carlos Santana will factor into the team's future plans.  Santana and the Tribe agreed to a multi-year extension; details will be released later today.

Santana is batting .250 so far this season and has clubbed two homers.  The Tribe will be back in action tonight when they take on the Chicago White Sox at 7:05 PM.

4:09 PM -- Santana's extension:  5 years, $21 M with a club option for 2017.

Indians vs. White Sox -- April 9th

CLEVELAND -- Turns out changing the opponent had no effect on the Tribe's lack-luster offense so far this season.  The Indians dropped a 4-2 decision against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night, falling to 1-3 on the season; with the win the Sox improve to 2-2.

The Tribe sent Josh Tomlin (0-1) to the bump, allowing all 3 runs in the first and another in the fifth.  A combined effort from Acardo Ascencio, Dan Wheeler and Rafael Perez held the Sox scoreless the remaining four innings.

Manager Manny Acta used a lineup that included Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Jose Lopez and Aaron Cunningham to take on Chris Sale (1-0).  The Tribe will look to rebound in the second game of a three game set with the White Sox.  First pitch is slated for 7:05 PM, with the Tribe sending Jeanmar Gomez (0-0) to the mound to take on Phillip Humbar (0-0).

Game Notes: Shin-Soo Choo was hit by a pitch on the same hand that ended his season last year.  Preliminary tests indicate no damage. 

Tribe Earns First Win

After back to back extra inning affairs to open up the season with the Tribe falling in disgusting fashion, the Indians squeaked by with a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.  Today the birthday boy came through, as now 26-year-old catcher Carlos Santana belted his first 2 home runs of the season to account for 3 of the Tribe's runs.  The W was also marked by 7 solid innings by veteran Derek Lowe, giving up no earned runs, and a gutsy effort by recently inconsistent closer Chris Perez to seal the deal.  The Jays left 2 men on in the 9th. Following a rare Asdrubal Cabrera error, Toronto slugger Jose Bautista sent an infield blooper into the glove of Cabrera to send the few thousand left in the crowd home happy. 

This hard fought W puts the Tribe at 1-2 on the season, just as they started out last year preceding an 8 game win streak.  The Tribe will continue this early home stand tomorrow as Josh Tomlin will take the mound against the Chicago White Sox (1-2).  The Tribe will look to spark some April magic once again after what all fans would agree was an overall disappointing first series.

Opening Day History

CLEVELAND, OH -- What a better way to start the 2012 season then to be a part of Major League Baseball history right?  Well in the case of the Cleveland Indians, as most of us probably could have expected, they came up on the wrong side of that history. 

The Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays engaged in a 16 inning, 5 hour and 14 minute Opening Day affair.  The game included 3 home runs, a 14 inning scoreless streak by the Tribe and bench clearing brawl in the bottom of the 15th inning. 

The Indians entered the 9th inning with a 4-1 lead over the visiting Jays after an outstanding pitching performance by starter Justin Masterson.  Masterson logged 8 innings of one-hit ball, with 10 strikeouts using only 91 pitches.  Manager Manny Acta elected to bring on Chris Perez (0-1) for what seemed like an easy save.  However, a few base runners and a double by Edwin Encarnacion later and it was a whole new ballgame.  Tied at four, the Indians came to bat in the bottom of the 9th.

The Indians had countless opportunities to win in walk off fashion.  The first opportunity for the Tribe came in the bottom of the 9th with a runner on third and one out.  Two ground outs later and it was on to extra innings.  Then in the bottom of the 12th the Indians loaded the bases and Asdrubal Cabrera stepped to the plate.  The Blue Jays brought on Omar Vizquel as a fifth infielder to prevent any ball from leaving the infield.  With the bases loaded and one out Cabrera swung at the first pitch, grounding into a 6-4-3 double play, ending the threat.

Toronto took the lead in the top of the 16th inning 7-4 on a three-run homer by J.P. Arencibia.  Luis Perez (1-0) combined with Sergio Santos put away the Tribe in the bottom of the 16th ending the longest MLB game in Opening Day history.  


With the loss the Indians fall to (0-1) on the season.  They will look to rebound on Saturday against the Blue Jays (1-0), and will send Ubaldo Jimenez to the hill.  Jimenez, who received a 5 game suspension from the MLB, is currently appealing his suspension and will not miss his scheduled start on Saturday.