It was written by the experts that the Cleveland Indians best chance to win the American League pennant was getting dominant performances from its two aces, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona.  The Tribe’s starters for the first two games of the ALCS have combined to pitch 8-1/3 innings and have allowed 12 earned runs.  So, image how suprised everyone must be that the series is tied at one game apiece considering the work of the Cy Young worthy pair.  The Indians have used a superior performance by the bullpen to split the first two games in Fenway Park.

 

You would expect the Raffies to be at the center of the good work by the bullpen, but Rafael Perez struggled last night, giving up back to back bombs to Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell to turn a 5-3 lead into a 6-5 deficit.  However, Jensen Lewis came up huge giving Eric Wedge 2-1/3 scoreless innings to quiet the Red Sox’ bats, and Rafael Betancourt provided his usual outstanding performance by shutting down the Boston bats for another 2-1/3 innings.  Then, the fans of Cleveland got huge lift from an unexpected source.

 

Tom Mastny was pressed into service to face the big three of David Ortiz, Ramirez, and Lowell in the bottom of the tenth.   Surely, this would be where the Sox would take advantage and go up 2-0 in the best of seven series.  But Mastny retired the three hitters in order and gave his hitters a chance to face the unreliable part of the Boston bullpen.  The righty’s 7-2 record despite an ERA in the mid to high 4.00 range belies his uncanny ability to have the bats get warm when he comes in the game, but the 11th inning was beyond anyone’s thoughts.

 

First, Trot Nixon, I suppose his name should be proceeded by much maligned (including here), put Cleveland ahead 7-6 with a soft single into center which scored Grady Sizemore.  Nison was in the game because Eric Wedge pinch ran for Travis Hafner in the top of the ninth, but the skipper stuck with him even though the Sox brought in lefty Javier Lopez to pitch.  A wild pitch, and clutch hits by Ryan Garko and Jhonny Peralta followed by the capper, a three run bomb by Franklin Gutierrez gave the Indians a seven run inning and sent them home with the series tied.

 

Quietly, Peralta has had a good post season so far with the stick.   He hit .467 (7 for 15) against the Yankees, and erased a 3-1 deficit yesterday with a three run homer off of Curt Schilling.  He has been a little shaky defensive, especially on balls in the hole, but he has contributed mightily with the bat.  The one through nine approach preached by Wedge since he took over the manager job has never been more in evidence than the playoffs thus far.  Everyone has pitched in, including Nixon, reverse catcher Kelly Shoppach, and Jason Michaels.

 

I’m sure the fans no believe the Indians will come home and all will be well.  However, Jake Westbrook needs to give the Tribe a quality start in game three, if only to give the bullpen a little bit of a blow.  If the Tribe can get a well pitched game from the struggling sinker baller, and the hitting continues to keep the pressure on Daisuke Matsuzaka, perhaps Cleveland can make people remember that there is indeed two teams in the ALCS.  It’s not just the Red Sox invitational.

 

KM 

 

It’s finally here!  After three days with no baseball for the Cleveland Indians (kind of like the All Star break), the American League Championship Series starts tonight at Fenway Park in Boston.  The Tribe is making their first appearance in the ALCS since 1998, when they lost to the Yankees in six games.  It is the fourth time the Indians and Red Sox have met in the post season, with the Tribe winning Division Series in 1995 (3-0) and 1998 (3-1), and losing in five games in 1999.  Of course, that does not include the one game playoff in 1948, which sent Cleveland to the World Series and the franchise’s last World Championship.

 

The Indians went 2-5 against the Carmine this season, and as was the case with the Yankees in the regular season, it was the club’s offense, which was the problem.  The Tribe scored just 25 runs in the seven games, averaging less than four per contest.  Part of that is the Boston pitching, which is very good, but Cleveland did not swing the bats particularly well, especially in the four game set at home which featured back to back 1-0 games, with each team winning one.  The game the Indians won actually came against Josh Beckett with the only run coming on a Franklin Gutierrez home run.

 

Obviously, the Boston one-two punch of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez is a concern, but to me it is imperative the Indians pitchers keep the top of the Red Sox order, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youklis off base.  Pedroia is the typical irritant middle infielder that hits the ball where it’s pitched and was perturbed earlier this year when he felt Fausto Carmona was throwing at him.  Of course, the rookie stands right on top of the plate, so it wasn’t like the Tribe right hander was wild, he was simply a little off the inside corner.  Youklis is a quality hitter who makes pitchers work.  Cleveland hurlers have to keep them off base ahead of the big boppers.

 

The Tribe hurlers have to also not allow the bottom of the Boston batting order hurt them.  Once you get past Mike Lowell, the Sox 6 through 9 is filled with guys like Julio Lugo, Coco Crisp, and a disappointing J.D. Drew.  The Cleveland starters keep these guys off base.  If these guys can collect a few hits, it turns over the lineup quicker and provides more opportunity for Big Papi and Manny.

 

Offensively, the Indians have to have the same approach they had against the Yankees.  They have to continue to get contributions from Jhonny Peralta, Kenny Lofton, Casey Blake, and Gutierrez because the Red Sox pitchers will be very careful not to let Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez beat them.  It would be amazing if the two out success the Tribe had against the Yankees would continue, but it is unlikely.  This series, the Indians will need a few extra base hits mixed in early in innings to score some runs. 

 

Compared to the Yankees, the Red Sox have much better pitching, but their offense isn’t as potent.  Compared to the Angels, the Indians have a better lineup.  On paper, it really looks like this series will go six or seven games.  Of course, that said, it will probably be a sweep.  No matter what happens in this series, it looks like they will all be low scoring affairs.  If the Indians can score four runs per game, they will win this series and go on to the World Series.  It should be a great series and great drama.

 

MW

 

They did it!  The Indians did what most around the country thought was impossible, that is defeat the best offense in baseball, the New York Yankees, in the AL Division Series 3 games to 1.  The Tribe advances to the AL Championship Series against the Red Sox, which will begin Friday night in Boston.  The Indians won with good starting pitching, great relief work, and timely hitting. 

 

Eric Wedge was criticized all day yesterday for starting right hander Paul Byrd in Game 4, but his confidence in the veteran righty was rewarded with five innings of gritty work, allowing two runs.  Wedge was second-guessed again for keeping Kelly Shoppach behind the plate to work with Byrd, just as they have done all season, and the back up catcher hammered two doubles in three at bats.  The skipper stayed with what he believed in all year, and his ballclub performed just as they did all season long.

 

In actuality, Byrd did have a bad start against New York this year, but last year he had a 4.22 ERA against them, and in 2005, he made one start, throwing seven innings and allowing three runs.  Also, Byrdie was better on the road this year; with his ERA almost 1.5 runs a game better away from Jacobs Field.

 

These Yankees remind me of the 1995-2001 Indians, in that they are teams built on offense.  The Tribe did get to two World Series, but didn’t cash them in, usually because the hitters didn’t do as well against better pitching.  Last year, New York couldn’t handle Justin Verlander, Kenny Rogers, and Jeremy Bonderman, and this year C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, and Paul Byrd did them in.  The old axiom that good pitching beats good hitting is never truer than in the post season.

 

 We said before the series that the Tribe needed to score runs in this series, and they did averaging six runs a game while holding the Yankee attack to four runs a contest, two runs less than the averaged for the regular season.  Cleveland moved runners, bunted (to the delight of many Wedge critics), and received contributions from everyone who played in the series, including Trot Nixon who had a homer and double in game three.

 

I like to focus on the Indians and their accomplishment, but I also have to laugh at the national media today.  The story is all about how the Yankees lost, and what is going to happen to poor Joe Torre.  Besides, the Yankees didn’t lose, the Indians won.  They had the clutch hits; they made the big pitches when it counts.  They are the ones going to Boston the ALCS.   They were the better team in this series. 

 

KM

 

We have seen some great individual days in Cleveland sports this year.  I recall the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend when the Cavs beat the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Indians completed a sweep of the Tigers in Motown.  Alas, yesterday was not one of those days.  Too many mistakes by both the Browns and the Indians led to a pair of defeats.

 

The Browns.  Our city’s football team is improving, but not enough to overcome three turnovers against one of the elite teams in the NFL.  The offense moved the ball well at times, but Derek Anderson’s poor decision on the first drive of the game loomed large in a 34-17 loss at New England. 

 

We have to remember that Anderson has made less than ten starts at quarterback, and hopefully he will learn from his errors, but his interception on the doorstep of the Patriot end zone was not a good decision.  Cleveland could have tied the game at 3, but instead came away with no points, and Bill Belichick’s crew moved out to a 20-0 halftime lead and cruised to a win.  Anderson’s other interceptions came off of deflections, one while being hit trying to throw, but the first pick set the tone. 

 

On defense, the Browns put no pressure on Tom Brady as the three time Super Bowl winner picked the secondary apart going to other options with the defense doubling on Randy Moss.  The lack of pressure stems from the fact Todd Grantham’s squad still cannot stop the run.  You can’t blitz if you are facing a 2^nd and 5 defensively.  That tactic has to be used in long yardage situations.

 

The Indians.  The Yankees avoided a sweep by capitalizing on some Tribe mistakes and a poor outing by Jake Westbrook to claim an 8-4 victory and force a Game 4 tonight in the Bronx.

 

Mistake #1:  Victor Martinez picking up Melky Cabrera’s harmless roller in front of the plate and trying to get Hideki Matsui, who was not forced, at third.  At that time of the game and the Indians leading 3-0, Martinez should have taken the sure out.  Without a man on first, Johnny Damon’s single through the hole that produced the first New York run, might have been fielded by Ryan Garko, who was holding Cabrera.  Westbrook did minimize the damage by getting Derek Jeter to hit into a double play.

 

Mistake #2:  Jhonny Peralta has to throw out Alex Rodriguez on a ball hit to the hole to start the sixth inning.  It was a routine play and the Tribe SS double clutched the ball, and then threw high and late to Garko at first.  If the Indians get that out, then maybe mistake #3 doesn’t come into play…

 

Mistake #3:  Trot Nixon overruns Robinson Cano’s single to right allowing three runs to score.  It’s quite possible two runs would have scored anyway, but these two mistakes were a big reason for the three run sixth that effectively put the game away.  Eric Wedge’s hunch to play Nixon did pay off from Trot’s solo home run against Roger Clemens did pay off, but let’s face it, Nixon is the Indians’ third best defensive right fielder, behind Franklin Gutierrez and Jason Michaels.  It did come back to nip, not bite, the Indians in their collective backside.

 

So, tonight it’s Paul Byrd’s turn to try and get the Indians to the AL Championship Series, and with the Browns’ next two games against the winless Dolphins and Rams, they could be 4-3 and very much alive in the playoff race in the AFC.  Try looking toward the sun; it has to be a brighter day than Sunday for Cleveland sports fans.

 

JD/MW

 

The Cleveland Indians got an assist from Mother Nature last night to take Game 2 of the AL Division Series and also take a commanding lead in the best of five series against the Yankees, 2-0.  The Canadian Soldiers unnerved reliever Joba Chamberlain and the Tribe took advantage scoring the tying run in the eighth without the benefit of a hit.  The insects overshadowed a tremendous pitching performance by Fausto Carmona, however, and his dominance on the mound is the real reason Cleveland needs just one more win to advance to the AL Championship Series.

 

Carmona allowed just three hits in nine innings, one of them a third inning home run to Melky Cabrera, which gave New York a 1-0 lead.  The last hit by Bobby Abreu in the ninth didn’t even leave the infield.  Mix in a diving catch by Grady Sizemore, a couple of double plays, and Carmona’s 95 mile an hour sinker, and the Bronx Bombers did not look like the team who led the major leagues in runs scored this season.  The young right hander was that good.

 

Before the game, I questionned Eric Wedge’s decision to start Kenny Lofton since the veteran was 4 for 32 against Yankees’ starter Andy Pettitte in his career.  But Wedge played a hunch and it came up big, as K-Love had two hits off Pettitte and drew a leadoff walk in the 11th against reliever Luis Vizcaino and came around to score the winning run.  Lofton has played the first two games of this series like he turned back the clock to 1995, when he was one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball.

 

You also cannot say enough about Rafael Perez, who came back from throwing two innings in Game 1, to do the same last night, and was the winning pitcher.  Once the Yankees used Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera and the score was still tied, you had to feel good about the Indians’ chances against the rest of the New York bullpen.  Remember, if the game remained tied, Wedge still had Rafael Betancourt, Jensen Lewis, and Joe Borowski to go to.

 

Now the series goes to Yankee  Stadium where Joe Torre’s crew’s season rests on the arm of a 45 year old pitcher who hasn’t started a game in over three weeks.  Granted, that hurler is one of the game’s all time greats in Roger Clemens, but I’m sure even the staunchest Yankee fan has got to be concerned about what The Rocket will give them Sunday night.  It might be the kind of game where both teams will have to go to their bullpens early because a lot of runs will be scored.  If the good Jake Westbrook shows up, I like the Tribe’s chances to close out the series.

 

Today’s off day will be welcomed by the fans, since last night’s game took a toll of everyone’s nerves.  Relax and gear up for a night of Ohio State football, and a big day of sports tomorrow which will include the Browns and Indians games.  It’s a great time for Cleveland sports.

 

MW

 

I have always been of the belief that the most important games of a five or seven game series are the even numbered games.  Those games can either get you even if you lost the first game, or give you a commanding lead, either 2-0 or 3-1.  That being said, it was nice for the Tribe to win game one against the Yankees, 12-3, last night, but it doesn’t mean the Tribe is off and running.  It does mean that the 0-6 record in the regular season means nothing.

 

The key to last night’s triumph was the Indians ability to answer the Yankees scoring in the first and fifth innings.  After Johnny Damon’s lead off home run in the first, C.C. Sabathia gutted through the rest of the inning without allowing another run.  The Tribe tied the game with a Ryan Garko single, but Kenny Lofton’s two run single up the middle was huge.  It put Cleveland on top and showed me the Yankees or post-season play did not intimidate the ballclub.

 

The same thing occurred in the fifth inning after the Yankees closed to within a run at 4-3.  First, Sabathia came up huge by striking out Jorge Posada and getting Hideki Matsui to pop up with the bases loaded.  Then in the Tribe half of the frame, Victor Martinez belted a two run homer to put the lead back to three runs at 6-3.  The Indians bats added three more to effectively put the game away at 9-3.  Lofton and Martinez came up huge last night.

 

In reading this morning’s paper, I was glad to see I was not the only one who thought Bruce Froemming’s strike zone was the eye of a needle.  I felt C.C. got squeezed on the first batter of the game when Damon took a pitch that appeared to catch the inside corner, but was called a ball.  As a matter of fact, could Derek Jeter stop his ridiculous jumping back on any pitch on the inner half of the plate?  To Sabathia’s credit, he said in the post game press conferences that the umpire called a good game, once again showing the maturity he has developed since his rookie season.

 

The Yankees are throwing Andy Pettitte (read:  soft tossing lefty) tonight, which is supposed to be a disadvantage for the Indians.  However, in past post-season series, Cleveland has never had that second good starter like they have now in Fausto Carmona.  If Carmona is on his game, I like the Indians chances to go up 2-0 in the series.  But, he is pitching on long rest (he hasn’t started in eight days) and is throwing first post-season game. 

 

We said the other day that the Indians needed to score runs in this series to win, and at least for last night they did.  They have to be patient against Pettitte tonight.  The last time they faced the veteran lefty, the hitters swung early and often and the Yankee starter threw only 60 some pitches through the first six innings.  If Pettitte can go six tonight, Joe Torre will go with Joba Chamberlain for two innings and Mariano Rivera for one inning to secure the victory.  They have to make Pettitte work and get into the soft part of the New York bullpen. 

 

Regardless of what happens tonight, the invincibility of the Yankees has been erased.  The Indians know they can compete with the pinstripers. 

 

KM

 

Let the angst begin.  Tomorrow, the Cleveland Indians start their AL Division Series against the powerful New York Yankees at Jacobs Field.  Some fans are thumping their chests because of the one-two pitching punch of C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, but there have been many circumstances where having dominant pitchers don’t guarantee success.  For example, look at Roger Clemens lack of success in the post season prior to 1998.  One thing is for sure; this is a series of contrasts.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION:  Who was the last Indians’ pitcher to win a post-season game? 

Answer below

 

The Yankees have the best offense in baseball, scoring 157 more runs this season than the Indians, an average of almost a run per game more.  However, the Tribe has allowed 73 less runs this season than New York.  The Bronx Bombers led the AL in scoring, Cleveland ranked 6^th.  In ERA, the Indians ranked 3^rd in the junior circuit, New York was 8^th.  The conventional wisdom in baseball says good pitching beats good hitting, but they play the games on the field.

 

There is no question the Yankees have gaudy offensive numbers, but they have much more pop at home, averaging almost a run per game more at Yankee Stadium than on the road.  Although they scored almost 1000 runs this season, remember this, the last team to score that many runs in a season was the 1999 Cleveland Indians.  That team lost in the Division Series to the Red Sox. 

 

The New York pitching was also more effective at home, allowing about a half run per game less than on the road.  The Indians pitched better on the road, with an ERA of under 4.00 away from Jacobs Field for the season.  On offense, the Tribe did fair slightly better at home scoring 425 runs here, and 386 on the road. 

 

To me, the key to the series is the Cleveland offense.  In the well-documented six losses to New York in the regular season, the Tribe scored 17 runs, an average of less than three per game.  You simply are not going to win games against New York with the puny attack the Indians mustered this year.  The Indians have to put their hitting shoes on, work counts, and get into the middle of the New York bullpen, before Joe Torre can get to Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera.

 

Another concern I have is Rafael Perez.  You may not have noticed because of the games on the west coast last week, but Perez has struggled in his recent outings, including Saturday night against Kansas City.  I’m hoping he has not hit a wall.  The bullpen needs his left-handed offerings, especially against a team with as many left handed hitters as the Yanks have.  Also, he shortens the game if he is on, with the starters having to give the ballclub six innings before going to Perez, Rafael Betancourt, and Joe Borowski. 

 

Eric Wedge’s one game at a time approach must be enforced for the young players, many in their first post season.  Trot Nixon’s advise to slow the game down also helps.  For the Tribe to win and advance to the ALCS, they have to do better offensively.  As good as Sabathia and Carmona have been this year, Chien Ming Wang is no slouch.  He has won 19 games each of the last two seasons, and is definitely one of the best hurlers in the game. 

 

Trivia Answer:  Tomorrow’s starter C.C. Sabathia, who won Game 3 against Seattle in 2001, 17-2. 

 

MW

 

Look who has an offense!  The Cleveland Browns scored more than 24 points in a game three times all last season, and this year they have accomplished the feat in three consecutive games.  After going 0-6 in division games in 2006, Romeo Crennel’s crew has won two of three home games against divisional foes and hit the quarter pole of the NFL season at 2-2, a big surprise for many who felt a 0-4 start was very possible.  By the way, isn’t it great to knock the smirk off of offensive genius and Ravens’ head coach Brian Billick’s face.

 

The Browns scored early and often against the Ravens, taking advantage of some early turnovers to build a big lead at the half and doing just enough to hold on for a 27-13 victory.  QB Derek Anderson continues to cool the “when will Brady play” talk with an efficient performance throwing just 18 times and hitting for two touchdowns.  Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski stayed with the running game once he got the lead, keeping the Raven defense honest, as well as working the clock.  It was simply a workmanlike performance for the offense.

 

You simply cannot say enough about the Browns’ offensive line.  Anderson was not sacked at all yesterday by the big, bad Raven defense.  The work that Phil Savage put in improving this unit the past two seasons is starting to pay off.  Joe Thomas looks like he is the real deal.  Eric Steinbach is playing well.  Hank Fraley has provided leadership and well as good play.  This week, the line gets Ryan Tucker back from his four game suspensions and that will provide even more depth. 

 

The early lead made the Ravens throw the ball a more, thus easing the Browns’ weakness on defense, that is, stopping the run.  Baltimore still averaged 5.6 yards per carry, which is way too many.  In the first half, before they abandoned the running game, they were getting over six yards a pop.  Willis McGahee became the fourth opposing back in as many games to hit the 100-yard mark against the Cleveland defense.  This does not bode well with New England on the schedule next.  You know Bill Belichick will not get cute, and will run the ball down the throats of the Browns until they can stop it.

 

Crennel and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham did make some personnel changes on the defensive line, starting Ethan Kelley instead of Ted Washington.  The staff also kept players fresh by consistently rotating fresh bodies in the game.  However, the biggest play on defense was Leigh Bodden’s interception killing a Ravens’ drive in Browns’ territory in the first quarter.

 

Also, what about the performance of kick returner Joshua Cribbs.  Once again, Cribbs gave the team momentum by taking the opening kickoff back 41 yards.  The former Kent State quarterback averaged over 30 yards a return yesterday, and continues to average that for the season.  He also is regularly in on tackles on the defensive special teams.  He is worthy of All Pro mention.

 

This week the brown and orange take on the early favorites to win the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots.  That game is followed by a contest against the Dolphins, so it is entirely possible the Browns will be 3-3 at the bye week.  If that is the case, Derek Anderson will continue to start at quarterback because Cleveland will be in the playoff hunt.  Who would have thought that was possible after the opening day massacre against the Steelers.

 

JD