Wednesday, April 30, 2008

It Ends Tonight

Well, actually I'm hoping two things end tonight:

1) The Tribe's three-game losing skid that has come on the heels of a five-game winning streak
2) The Washington Wizards' season

The Tribe offense was asleep again for most of last night's game. Grady Sizemore made a much-needed appearance after missing the last two games and provided two doubles and scored our only two runs. Fausto looked pretty solid, going 6-2/3 and only giving up one earned run. But our bullpen (Rafael Betancourt in particular) looked terrible in the ninth, surrendering 5 runs to end all doubt in a 2-2 tie. My hopes for a .500 April went up in smoke as well. I'd like to blame the cold weather for the cold start, but it hasn't even been that cold. Here's to hoping that turning the page on the calender will help heat up the bats. Our new stud Cliff Lee takes his Nintendo-like numbers to the mound tonight to end a long April for our Tribe. Keep it going Cliff!

More importantly, the Cavaliers are at the Q tonight to end the Wizards' season. I'll be in attendance and I can't wait. I have a feeling this will be a very rowdy crowd tonight to greet the knuckleheads from the nation's capital. And speaking of knuckleheads, DeShawn Stevenson has now decided that Michael Vick is a solid role model. Honestly, nothing surprises me about this guy anymore. Please, let's just put him out of his misery tonight. And let's keep LeBron healthy in the process.

As if he wasn't public enemy #1 already... now DeShawn is a proud Mike Vick fan

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

They just keep talking

I know at this point I shouldn't be surprised that the Wizards are still talking - but I am. And annoying as it is, I'm actually glad they just can't seem to shut up. Any thoughts of the Cavaliers being unmotivated for Game 5 have gone out the window as Brenda Haywood and Gilbert Arenas keep flapping their gums.

Here are my favorites from Monday:

(Brenda on LeBron) "Awww," Haywood said, in a whiny, high-pitched voice to mock James. "They are trying to hurt me. I mean come on man, this is the playoffs," Haywood said following Monday's practice. "He wears 23, he wants to be Michael Jordan, I can respect that, he's a great player. You saw what Mike went through. Mike got fouled way worse than this. No one is trying to hurt him, everybody is trying to play basketball, trying to play tough. Play basketball and leave it alone."

(Gilbert Arenas on the series) "It's never over until it's over," said Gilbert Arenas, playing with a bone bruise in his knee. "They said there are eight teams that have done it [come back from 3-1]. We are going to be the ninth."
Now I really can't wait for Game 5. Time for these guys to start their summer vacation, courtesy of the Cavaliers. It should be a rowdy crowd down at the Q to welcome these clowns back into town. The only downer is that the geniuses in the league office decided to make this a 6:00 pm start to accommodate the Hawks/Celtics at 8:00 pm. And by the way, nice job by the Celtics last night. I guess those 65 wins during the regular season aren't helping much now. I would love nothing more than for them to lose to the Hawks (a 37-win team), but for selfish reasons I want the Cavaliers to oust them from the postseason.

"If you can't beat 'em, just keep talkin' trash"

We'll have to take the split

I guess a split with the Yankees in a four-game series in April isn't the worst thing. But after taking the first two games of the series (and winning 5 straight) I was hoping for at least three out of four. We were done in by Chien Ming-Wang on Sunday, but encouraged by CC's solid outing. Then last night, we were done in by a bunch of infield singles by the Yankees in the 6th inning. Aaron Laffey did pitch 5 no-hit innings, so that is something to take away from this one.

I'm still more than a little concerned about Travis Hafner. And basically the entire bottom of our batting order. But I'm hoping we can escape April at .500 by taking the next two from the Mariners tonight and tomorrow night. Fausto gets the start tonight and then the amazing Cliff Lee looks to continue his hot streak tomorrow. I like our chances with those two guys on the mound. Hopefully they can get some support from the bats.

Laffey was solid in his spot start Monday night

Monday, April 28, 2008

Monday Thoughts

Further thoughts after the Cavaliers won game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in this series:

  • End this thing on Wednesday night. No need to return to Washington for Game 6. No need to give them any hope. Just bury this team now.
  • I'm still amazed at LeBron's maturity. He took a blatant shot to the head and shrugged it off when most guys would have snapped. He then scored 10 of the next 16 points in the second quarter to really take over the flow of the game. He also put up with some questionable foul calls, didn't panic when he picked up his fifth, and trusted his teammates down the stretch.
  • Delonte West was obviously huge in Game 5. And Boobie Gibson hit two big threes. I'm a little concerned at the number of threes attempted (28), but I think they won't need to be as reliant on that shot at home. And I think it will be a rowdy crowd. I can't wait.
  • What has happened to Anderson Varejao lately? He has been out of sorts for long stretches this year. It's to the point that I cringe any time he touches the ball on offense. And he just doesn't look as active on defense either. He needs to get back to his old self in a hurry.
  • Is it wrong that I also cringe every time Devin Brown decides to drive into the lane? Or when he jacks up a three? Look, I love his work ethic and his hustle. He is a nice player. But I hate having to rely on anything offensively from him when LeBron is on the bench.
  • Finally, one thing that concerns me about Game 5 - if/when the Cavaliers take control of that game and ice the series, I'm not sure what to expect from the Wizards. But I could definitely see one of their guys taking another free shot at LeBron. And I'm not the only one worried about this.
  • Oh, and one last Game 5 update from our crazy friend Tom Knott from the Washington Times. Maybe he's not as crazy as I made him out to be, because even he knows it's over:

"The Cavaliers outworked the Wizards at the rim. The Cavaliers brushed off their 36-point whipping in Game 3 and dared the Wizards to be the aggressors.

And the Wizards blinked in front of the home crowd that, in all likelihood, will be waiting on next season after Game 5 on Wednesday night."
And my non-Cavalier thoughts from the weekend:
  • I'm very encouraged by the Tribe taking two of three so far from the Yankees. And tonight's game is another big one with Aaron Laffey on the hill. I still believe if we can get out of April at .500 or better, this team is on its way to big things again this season.
  • Saturday's walk-off winner was a thing of beauty for me, not just because it was against the Yankees (although that helps). I really liked it because the Tribe has lost a lot of tough ones like this so far this year. And it wasn't looking good when Dellucci dove for that ball and missed it, allowing three runs to score. But Kobayashi came in and did a very nice job, and the offense won it in the bottom of the 9th behind Victor (as usual). Very nice win.
  • Yesterday's choice of Beau Bell by the Browns in the 4th round was music to my ears after reading this piece from Sunday's Plain Dealer on his admiration for Lawrence Taylor. Anyone who knows me will understand why I'm digging this guy already.

The Pictures Tell the Story

I thought this series of pictures was a good way to sum up Game 4. And probably a good way to sum up the series. The Wizards headhunting, LeBron responding, and ultimately, the Cavaliers winning:


Sunday, April 27, 2008

Game 4 to the Good Guys

Wow, what a Game 4 on Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C. Thankfully the Cavaliers came away with the huge win after LeBron found Delonte West for a corner three with 5.4 seconds left to give the Cavs a 100-97 win. This game had a little bit of everything, including another flagrant foul by the Wizards. This time DeShawn Stevenson took a free swipe at the King's head on a layup attempt. I'm amazed at the way LeBron doesn't flip out and want to kill these knuckleheads. But that play did seem to energize the Cavaliers and propel them to a 10-point lead at halftime.

Overall the Cavs shot only 41% from the field, but the difference today was from three-point land. They shot 46% (13-28) from downtown and made the Wizards pay for continually trying to trap LeBron.

Keys to the game from my viewpoint:

  • The Cavs destroyed the Wizards on the glass (51-31) and really did them in on offensive rebounds (18-6).
  • Three-point shooting was also a huge advantage, with us outscoring them 39-21 from beyond the arc.
  • LeBron's energy and assertiveness on offense was way up compared to Game 3. Tonight he went for 34-12-7. Sounds overrated to you too right?
  • Delonte West was huge for the Cavaliers, giving them 21 points in 38 minutes on the floor.
So now we head home with the series firmly in our grasp 3 games to 1. Let's end this thing on Wednesday night at home and send these clowns on a long summer vacation AGAIN.

Delonte's clinching three had my living room jumping

Saturday, April 26, 2008

It's Always Fun

I always get a little extra enjoyment out of beating the New York Yankees. Tonight was a great game down at the Prog. I got to experience that old Jacobs Field magic for the first time in the new seats. On this evening Jhonny Peralta was the hero, hitting a two-out, three-run homer off Andy Pettitte to put the Tribe on top for good.

Positive things to take away from this one:

  • This was the Tribe's fourth consecutive win and they are now 11-12, only 2 games out of first place.
  • Paul Byrd did a decent job tonight (other than when facing the greasy steroid monger Jason Giambi). He had great command of the strike zone (59 strikes and only 18 balls).
  • The bats banged out another 9 hits and 6 runs. The offense seems to be coming around.
  • Franklin Gutierrez added an important insurance home run and the offense manufactured another important 2-out run in the 6th inning as well.
  • Finally, and most importantly, the bullpen was solid. Rafael Perez came on in relief and pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings. And how great was it to see Rafael Betancourt come in and get a 1-2-3 ninth? I can't remember the last time JoeBo accomplished that.
Tomorrow we look to finally get back to .500 as Jeremy Sowers gets the call in place of Jake Westbrook. Let's keep it rolling.

Jhonny did the Yanks in with a huge 2-out, 3-run HR

Friday, April 25, 2008

Well, at least we got one sweep...

Wow, where to begin after last night's debacle in Washington??? The Cavs officially lost by 36 points, but it felt more like 100. I've never seen a less inspired team show up for a playoff game. Honestly, I didn't watch much past about 3 minutes into the third quarter. At that point, the Cavaliers somehow managed to turn the ball over 4 times in a row without even getting off a shot. That may be a first in playoff history. Just a mess of a game and the worst-case scenario for Game 3. Now the Wizards are feeling sky-high and have new life. My only hope is that this loss embarrasses the Cavs enough to be pissed for Game 4 on Sunday. We will see.

And check out this quote from Andray Blatche of the Wizards. This might be the strangest thing I've ever heard an athlete say:

"I was ballin' in my Mohawk," Blatche explained. "We all getting ready to go to war, man. White Out. It's like milk out there; I'm like a cat. I want some milk. I'm telling you, we're ready for war, man White out. Ride together, die together. Bad boys for life. I'm telling you, I was BORN for this."
Whatever Andray. Enjoy your milk.

Nothing was fun about Game 3 for Cavalier fans or players

There was some good news from Thursday night. The Tribe actually won both games of the doubleheader and completed the sweep of the Royals. I would have preferred a sweep by the Cavs, but I'll take this. The offense looked alive again in Game 1, scoring 9 runs. Fausto was not on top of his game but he still got the win. Then in Game 2, Cliff Lee pitched another gem. He is now 4-0 with a sparking 0.28 ERA. Incredible. Last night he allowed only 3 hits in a complete game shutout, while racking up a career-high 9 strikeouts. I shudder to think about the World Series rings we'd be polishing right now if Cliff had this kind of stuff last year. Oh well.

Cliff Lee is my new hero

Other good news from last night - David Dellucci hit a huge home run in the top of the 7th after KC's young stud Bannister had retired 16 Tribe hitters in a row. It ended up being all the support that Cliff would need in the 2-0 win. I'm officially laying off of David Dellucci until further notice.

And Mr. Dellucci is no longer my enemy :)

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Waiting for Game 3

The wait between games in the NBA playoffs is sometimes agonizing. It feels like a week since the Cavs blew out the Wizards in Game 2, even if it has only been three days. But for this version of the Cavaliers (with LBJ's bad back, Big Ben's bad back, Z's bad back, Boobie's bum ankle, etc., etc.) the off days are likely welcomed by the players and will ultimately benefit us as a team.

I have a lot of confidence going into this one, even if it is on the road where the Cavs have struggled mightily in recent weeks. LeBron is playing at a very high level, which is normal, but I think he somehow has an extra playoff gear that we are seeing now. The x-factors for me are the following:

  • Can our shooters keep hitting on their open looks? If Boobie and Wally are making shots and Z is hitting on his pick-and-pops, we are extremely tough to defend.
  • Will Big Ben bring the energy we saw in Game 2? He has been tough to gauge this year because of the back problems, but the few times we have seen him play with that type of energy, the Cavaliers usually look much better. I think the intangibles he brings are even more important than what Varejao brings.
  • Will we continue to defend the way we have in the first two games? I think Mike Brown has made some great adjustments on the Wizards' big three that has really disrupted the team's rhythm. It helps that Arenas is nursing some injuries, but we have really locked down on him since the first half of Game 1. The key will be if Wally can stay in front of Butler, and if we can keep Jamison in check.
The good news is that Mike Brown is 10-2 during the postseason head-to-head vs. Eddie Jordan over the last three years. Brown has been able to keep his team focused and not let them get caught up in the Wizards' nonsense. I expect them to be just as focused in a hostile environment tonight. Taking Game 3 would really kill any life the Wizards may have left.

Non-basketball thoughts: I didn't even know who Soulja Boy was before LeBron's infamous quote (give me a break, I'm 32 and don't listen to pop radio or watch MTV). But if the Wizards are going to use that quote and some music to try to get into LeBron's head tonight (and go ahead I dare you to give LBJ extra motivation), they might want to check out this photo from Soulja Boy's official web site. Even he is a LeBron fan:

Even Soulja Boy knows who the King is

Tribe & Royals Washed Out

Wednesday night's game in Kansas City was rained out after a two-hour delay. Even Mother Nature doesn't want the Tribe to capitalize on the momentum that started in Tuesday's 15-1 drubbing. A doubleheader has been scheduled for 6:10pm on Thursday, with Fausto Carmona starting Game 1 and Cliff Lee starting Game 2. This means a long and likely late night of sports for me and Mrs. Chief:

6:10-8:00 - Tribe vs. Royals, Game 1
8:00-10:30 - Cavs smacking around the Wizards in Game 3
10:30-12:30? - Tribe vs. Royals, Game 2

The doubleheader on Thursday also means that there will have to be another shake-up in the Indians' pitching rotation. We already know that Jeremy Sowers will take Jake Westbrook's spot on Saturday vs. the Yankees. But now Fausto Carmona won't be able to go on Monday since he is pitching on Thursday. So look for Aaron Laffey to be called up for Monday's start. I'll be back later today for a Cavaliers/Wizards Game 3 update...

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Cavalier Off-Day Updates

Not much new to report on the Cavalier front as we wait for Game 3 tomorrow night. I did just read some good news about the broadcast - the game will be shown in HD on FSN Ohio so we can listen to our favorite homers Austin and Fred instead of the TNT crew.

As for the Wizards, they just keep talking. Now apparently Brenda is upset with Mike Brown:

"You know, any time LeBron gets touched, Mike runs out there like LeBron got shot or something. Calm down Mike. It's not that serious. We're not trying to take him out. It's all within the confines of the game,'' Haywood told reporters in Washington. ''I don't see how coaches should be running out on the court like that anyway. Isn't there a coach's box? Since we're talking about the confines of the league rules, he shouldn't be out of the box.''
I guess when you're down 2-0 you can find lots of things to complain about. And no Wizards update would be complete without catching up on the idiotic ramblings of a deranged lunatic (also known as Tom Knott's daily Wizards report for the Washington Times). I wonder if he actually believes the stuff he's writing, or is he looking to start a career as a fiction writer?

Tune out TNT and listen to your favorite homers on FSN

There is a 'W' in Sabathia

It took 5 starts, but Carsten Charles Sabathia finally earned his first victory of the season last night, pitching 6 shutout innings and allowing only 4 hits while notching 11 strikeouts. This was much needed from the big fella and a welcome sight for all Tribe fans. And to double our pleasure, the offense decided to make a rare appearance too.

The final tally was 15-1 (damn you Jensen Lewis!) as the bats worked for a season-high in runs and hits (17). The highlights for me were, of course, Casey Blake's grand slam and Franklin Gutierrez's 2-out bases loaded double that scored three. And I must mention that David Dellucci did put together a very nice night at the plate, going 2-5 with a HR. His average is up to .275, so maybe I'll have to lay off him for a little while.

The only low spot in the game for me was Travis Hafner going 0-5 to drop his average to .213. He needs to turn it around too, but the good news is he still has 142 games left on the season. Hardly a time to panic. Let's hope the bats have some hits left in them tonight as Fausto Carmona takes to the hill.

Casey did his part to help the slumbering offense, hitting a grand slam on Tuesday night

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

No Suspension for Brenda (and Ben called up!)

It's been a busy sports information afternoon here on the shores of Lake Erie. First, apparently Brenda Haywood will not be suspended for his flagrant foul on LeBron in Game 2. I've made my thoughts on this known below so I won't delve into it anymore.

Also, the Tribe made a roster move today. Jake Westbrook was placed on the 15-day DL with a ribcage muscle injury (specifically a "left intercostal strain"). So Ben Francisco was called up from AAA Buffalo to take his place on the roster. This will likely only be for a couple days until Westbrook's turn in the rotation, when I expect Aaron Laffey or Jeremy Sowers to get the call. But maybe if we all work together in unison in positive thinking, we can persuade Eric Wedge to give Ben a couple starts in left field to show what he can do. The Jason Michaels/David Dellucci experiment has already taken at least a month off my life.

Welcome back Ben - hope you can stay for a while

Suspension Looming?

The more times I see the replay of that cheapshot from Brenda (not Brendan) Haywood on LBJ, the more I think a Game 3 suspension is in order. This is not because he is some great piece to the puzzle for the Wiz (he's definitely not) and I want him out of their lineup. It's simply because that was a thug tactic. He made absolutely no attempt at the ball, and pushed LeBron when he was at his most vulnerable point in midair. If LBJ doesn't partially get his foot down to soften the landing, we might be talking about a season-ending injury and an early end to this playoff run. Add the fact that LeBron is a superstar and the league has to take action in my opinion. I guess we'll see what happens before Game 3.

And not surprisingly, our good friend Tom Knott from the Washington Times does not agree with me (shocker, I know). I really think this guy is delusional.

Thank the sports gods that LBJ was able to get his foot down before hitting the ground

Also of note, I guess DeShawn "Soulja Boy" Stevenson just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. The latest idiotic quote from him:
Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson on whether there is a difference between a foul and a ''LeBron foul,'' as James said this week: ''He's going to cry about calls; that's what he do.''
And (drumroll please) here are the stats from Mr. Stevenson in 18 games against the Cavs over the last two years: 39 of 129 from the field (a whopping 22.4%) for 6.9 ppg. But thanks for the extra motivation for Game 3!

Finally, regarding our other team - as painful as it has been over the last few weeks to talk about our beloved Tribe, they are back in action tonight against the Royals. The hefty lefty will get another shot to get his first win of the year and lower his ERA from it's current abysmal number (13.50). Let's hope he can get himself back on track.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Game 2: A Massacre at the Q

What a great Monday in Cleveland. My good luck began today with a power failure at work that allowed me to go home at noon. And the good times rolled on into the night inside the Q as the Cavaliers just hammered the Wizards 116-86 to go up 2-0 in the series. This marks the 8th straight playoff win over the team that talks but just can't seem to back any of it up.

Tonight had a little bit of everything. Hard fouls? Check. Intense crowd? Check. The Wizards losing their cool and getting blown out? Check. The fun really started when Brendan Haywood made absolutely no attempt at the ball and shoved a flying LeBron James out of bounds on a layup attempt. The officials correctly gave him a flagrant 2 foul and an automatic ejection. LeBron went on to make both free throws and then Delonte West nailed a three on the ensuing possession to basically put the game away. That was a microcosm of how things went tonight. LeBron missed a triple-double by one rebound and got plenty of rest down the stretch, along with the rest of our rotation.

Highlights of the night for me (in no particular order):
  • Ben Wallace bringing some much needed energy early tonight. We needed it and he looked great.
  • LeBron's relentless attack of the rim, in spite of all the hard fouling. As he said, he's not the only one feeling the contact on those fouls. 30 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds. Outstanding as usual.
  • Wally Sczcerbiak's great shooting night. He really brought a lot to the team tonight and even played some decent defense. I think this was the best he's looked in a Cavalier uniform.
  • Gilbert Arenas' pathetic shooting night. I know he has the built-in excuse of the limp wrist, or whatever injury he's claiming now. But he looked awful out there and appeared to be about to burst into tears at any moment. High entertainment.
  • DeShawn Stevenson breaking out that idiotic hand-waving in his own face after hitting a three to cut the Cavaliers' lead down to 16 (!). Nice job moron.
  • Damon Jones busting out his own mock version of the hand-waving when he hit a three in the waning seconds to give the Cavs the final 30-point margin of victory. Now that was outstanding.
We'll see what happens in Game 3 (it's always an adventure when these Cavaliers leave the cozy confines of the Q). But I think this Wizards team is about to implode. Too bad we have to wait until Thursday night for the next game. But we will be plenty rested. In the meantime I'll keep tabs on what the pathetic Washington writers have to say about this one. I'm sure there will be plenty of excuses after this massacre.

LBJ was not to be denied on this drive, or at any other time tonight

Monday, Monday

I will spend a very brief amount of time recapping the Tribe's Sunday loss before moving on to much more important business... again, the offense was shut down by a fairly unknown pitcher. And again the bullpen unraveled with 2 outs and nobody on late in the game. I don't know how to fix what's wrong with this team but I hope it happens fast. After Thursday and Friday I thought maybe we were fighting our way out of the slump. But with the poor efforts on Saturday and Sunday, that now makes 12 losses in the past 16 games. Incredibly depressing. Thankfully they have an off-day today so I can put my entire focus on the Cavaliers and Game 2.

Playing the Wizards in the postseason is always a fun time. You get all the trash-talking from their players (who have never won a thing), the whining from their fans (LeTravel, etc.), but most enjoyably for me, you get the inane ramblings from their beat writers in the Washington papers. Here is a gem of a story from some guy named Tom Knott who writes for the Washington Times. This is my favorite part:

"LeBron James should be suspended from Game 2 after being unable to control his inner bully yesterday.

James deposited an elbow in the face of Andray Blatche with 11 seconds left in the first quarter. He then twice threatened to drop an elbow on Brendan Haywood, first to his groin region and then to his face, after the two became tangled near the end of the first half.

Players from both teams rushed to aid James and Haywood, and not surprisingly, referees Bob Delaney, David Jones and Scott Foster decided the Wizards were the principal instigators.

See how that works? James threatens Haywood's capacity to sire children, and it is considered bad form on Haywood's part to have a reaction to it. "
Possibly the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. I can't wait to read more of this guy's babbling and excuses after we go up 2-0 tonight. A win tonight would also make it 8 straight over Washington in the playoffs.

My view of Game 1's ending after LeBron hurt Tom Knott's feelings

Saturday, April 19, 2008

One down, 15 to go

To win an NBA title you need to win 16 games. That's a lot of games. I'm just going to take them one at a time this year. That's not to say that I expect us to win a title this year (I honestly don't). But we have LeBron and I guess anything is possible with him. It's been a long strange year for the Cavaliers with the contract situations (Varejao and Pavlovic), all the injuries (basically everyone on the roster), the big trade, the rise of other teams in the East, etc., etc.

But I can't help but think that teams expect us to just roll over in the playoffs. I think many of them are looking past us and forgetting that we have the best player in the league (possibly ever) on our roster. The Wizards called us out and got what they asked for in Game 1 - a beatdown. It wasn't easy by any stretch, but the Cavaliers won the way they usually do. They kept it tight until the fourth, played solid D down the stretch, and executed on offense by relying heavily on LBJ. I say if it ain't broke then don't try to fix it.

LeBron was outstanding today, especially in the 2nd half. He actually started the game 0-4 from the field but finished making 12 of his final 15, for 32 points. DeShawn Stevenson (3 points) might think he's overrated, but I actually think he is underrated. It was a fun game to be at and a nice way to open this year's postseason. Z also had a big day with 22 points and 11 boards. And I thought Delonte West played very nicely, finishing with 16 points and 5 assists. He didn't have a great shooting night, but was all over both ends of the court. Let's hope for more of the same from the wine & gold in Game 2 on Monday night.



*I did take some pictures with my phone, but of course I left my cord at work. Oh well.

The Tribe did play this afternoon too, but it was pretty much a snoozer. The highlights from what I saw:

  • some kid pitcher named Blackburn shut us down for 7-2/3 scoreless innings
  • we grounded into 4 inning-ending double plays
  • David Dellucci lost two pop flies in the roof of the Metrodome
  • we were shutout for the first time this year
Hopefully we can take the rubber match tomorrow to finish up a solid sports weekend. Of course, Paul Byrd is pitching so that may be asking for a lot...

Time to Rise Up (Again)

In about 2 1/2 hours the Cavaliers will be tipping off the 2008 postseason down at the Q. I will be at the game with my trusty camera phone taking in all the action. Hopefully when I return we will be up 1-0 and talking about how LeBron owns DeShawn Stevenson and Gilbert Arenas. I know this team is better than the Wizards, but it's just tough to know what to expect out of these guys. I can't remember the last time I went to a playoff game in the LeBron era and really didn't know what to expect. I guess we'll find out soon, but I'm hoping for the best...

Lee Shines Again

Cliff Lee is quickly making a believer out of me this year. He looks like a new man on the mound. He went a very solid 8 innings last night, surrendering only 2 hits to go along with 8 strikeouts and only one walk as the Tribe shutout the Minnesota Twins 4-0. For the season Lee has now gone 22-2/3 innings, collecting 20 strikeouts compared to only 3 walks. His ERA is now a sparkling 0.40. Incredible. I laughed when I heard people saying he could be the difference-maker this year for this pitching staff. So far he has been the glue holding it together, and has surpassed anyone's reasonable expectations.

So the Tribe has now won 2 in a row for the first time since the season opening series vs. the White Sox. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Casey Blake provided all the offense we needed last night, driving in 3 runs with a single and a solo home run. I'm a little concerned that Travis Hafner sat this one out with a "sore shoulder." We'll see how long this problem lingers...

Cliff Lee is making doubters (like me) eat crow in '08

Friday, April 18, 2008

That's More Like It

Maybe Eric Wedge's little pep talk did spark something. Maybe this team isn't ready to roll over quite yet. Or maybe Detroit isn't that good. We'll know more as the season unfolds, but for now last night was finally one to enjoy for Tribe fans. Fausto Carmona pitched well again, even with 30 pitches in the first inning. Most importantly, he stuck up for his teammates by plunking Ramon Santiago and Gary Sheffield after John Verlander hit Ryan Garko and Jason Michaels.

Other signs of encouragement - Garko and Travis Hafner both hit home runs, Jamey Carroll did more than we've seen from Asdrubal Cabrera in weeks, and the bullpen (Lewis, Kobayashi, and Betancourt) looked pretty good, even if they were spotted a 10-run lead.

We'll see if they can keep it up when playing indoor baseball in the BaggyDome in Minneapolis this weekend. But for one night, all seemed well at the Jake (I know, I know, but look at the poll results). If anything, last night's win kept us out of the basement of the AL Central. That has to give us a little morale boost, right?

Updated AL Central Standings:



WLPct.GB
Chicago96.600-
Kansas City97.5630.5
Minnesota 79.4382.5
Cleveland6 10.3753.5
Detroit511.3134.5


Fausto pitched well again, and stuck up for his guys

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Two Season Finales?

So we know for sure that last night was the Cavaliers' regular season finale. They lost at home to the Detroit Pistons in a purely meaningless game. LeBron and Z didn't even suit up for the wine and gold. I can think of three good things to happen last night: 1) no further injuries going into the postseason, 2) LeBron locked up the first-ever league scoring title by a Cavalier to add to his ever-expanding list of amazing achievements, and 3) Wally Szczerbiak netted 18 points in 43 minutes to hopefully give him some confidence for the playoffs. One particularly bad thing to note from last night: Damon Jones finally got off the bench and started the game - but went just 1-12 from the field in 37 minutes. Yikes.

The other possible season finale from last night happened just next door on the baseball diamond, where the Tribe fell to the Tigers, 13-2. This is not your typical gloom and doom, reverse psychology attempt on my part (well maybe it is), but this team is in serious trouble. CC Sabathia was shelled again last night, further proving team ownership is justified in not giving him a 7-year $120M deal that he will inevitably get in free agency. As my buddy Nicko said, it's time for a players'-only meeting. It's time to shake things up. It's time to rattle some cages. Something needs to be done before this season is lost already. This one dropped the Tribe to 5-10 and a last-place tie in the Central. Wow, and I thought my wisdom teeth extraction would be the lowlight of my Wednesday.

The big man can't even watch Renteria's grand slam in the 5th
... and the feeling is mutual for most Tribe fans when he pitches now

*Update* The Cavs have released their Round 1 schedule vs. the Wizards. Here's the rundown:

Game 1 - vs WAS, Sat. April 19, 12:30 pm, ESPN
Game 2 - vs WAS, Mon. April 21, 7:00 pm, TNT
Game 3 - @ WAS, Thu. April 24, 8:00 pm, TNT
Game 4 - @ WAS, Sun. April 27, 1:00 pm, ABC
*Game 5 - vs WAS, Wed. April 29, TBD
*Game 6 - @ WAS, Fri. May 2, TBD
*Game 7 - vs WAS, Tue. May 4, TBD
(* if necessary)

My prediction: Cavs in 6

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Late Tuesday Tribe Wrap

Sorry I'm late on my Tuesday Tribe thoughts - I had my four wisdom teeth removed this morning. Let me tell ya, that was a barrel of monkeys. As I sit here typing I have some sort of elastic contraption with two ice packs wrapped around my head. You could also say it's to dull my early season Tribe headache. Last night's 9th inning was more of the same, with Jensen Lewis giving up a game-winning HR to a pinch-hitting Jason Varitek. The loss puts us now at 5-9, searching for answers 14 games into the year. Will I regret become a Tribe season ticketholder this year? Naaah, I'm a glutton for punishment ;) Speaking of punishment, CC Sabathia is pitching again tonight! Wisdom teeth and CC all in the same day!

More 9th inning fireworks from the wrong team at the Jake has me in a foul mood
*and yes, it is now the Jake again, to try to conjure up some of the old magic

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

2008 Browns Schedule Released!

My drinking, errr, the Browns schedule was released today. Here is all the info you need:

Sun 9/7 vs DAL 4:15pm
Sun 9/14 vs PIT 8:15pm
Sun 9/21 @ BAL 4:15pm
Sun 9/28 @ CIN 1:00pm
Sun 10/5 BYE
Mon 10/13 vs NYG 8:30pm
Sun 10/19 @ WAS 4:15pm
Sun 10/26 @ JAX 4:05pm
Sun 11/2 vs BAL 1:00pm
Thu 11/6 vs DEN 8:15pm
Mon 11/17 @ BUF 8:30pm
Sun 11/23 vs HOU 1:00pm
Sun 11/30 vs IND 1:00pm
Sun 12/7 @ TEN 1:00pm
Mon 12/15 @ PHI 8:45pm
Sun 12/21 vs CIN 1:00pm
Sun 12/28 @ PIT 1:00pm


They got a Sunday nighter, a Thursday nighter, AND THREE Monday nighters! Incredible! Not to mention the opener vs. the Cowboys. Should be a fun year and, as always, a legendary tailgating season.

Gorilla, Mutant Dog, and Voorhees are pumped for Tailgate '08!
(yes that is a Garcia jersey, and yes I'm ashamed to admit I wore it)

Monday, April 14, 2008

One to remember, one to definitely forget

In the first game tonight - a game the Cavaliers absolutely needed in order to secure home court in the first round - there was a very bizarre ending. They took an 8-point lead going into the 4th quarter and in true 2008 Cavalier fashion, wasted it away in a matter of minutes. So the final quarter ended up being a dog fight, with some guy on Philly named Lou Williams making some incredible shots. He hit one with 5.1 seconds left to give the Sixers a one-point lead.

So after Philly took their final foul to give, the ball was in LeBron's hands with 4.1 seconds left. He drove hard into the lane, seemed to get fouled (of course no whistle), the ball was tipped by Samuel Dalembert and fell right into Devin Brown's hands. Then Dalembert steamrolled into Brown as he put up a shot that missed and the final horn sounded. Confetti dropped from the rafters and the Sixers ran into the locker room. I sat there mystified, wondering how no foul was called. I even ran the play back over and over on my DVR and noticed that the ref under the basket raised his hand to signal a foul, then waved his arms as if to say no shot.

Of course I was pissed that we blew another game and it would come down to the final game at home on Wednesday against the Pistons to secure home court. Definitely not a fun task the way we've been playing down the stretch. As this was going through my head, I noticed the refs were huddling at the scorer's table, looking at the replay monitor. They actually reviewed it, got the call right, and awarded two shots to Devin with .2 seconds on the clock! I must admit that I incorrectly predicted that Brown would miss both shots. Thankfully he actually drained both of them and locked up home court in the first round. So bring on Arenas, Stevenson, Soulja Boy, etc. etc. It will be fun eliminating those guys for a third straight season.

Home court came down to 2 Devin Brown FT's and LBJ knew he'd drain them

Now onto the Tribe game... this ending was a little more painful. Let's just say that Joe Borowski and Manny Ramirez were prominently involved. There were a lot of fair weather Boston fans who live in Cleveland happy after Manny's 9th inning home run actually landed. I will now go shave my tongue will a dull razor to get rid of the taste of this game. Ugh.

Weekend wrap

I went into this sports weekend with high hopes for my home teams. The Tribe returned home on Friday night after their early season West coast swing. And the Cavaliers were in Chicago to try to lock down home court advantage in the first round, and beat a bad Bulls team they've had trouble with all year.

I was in attendance at The Prog for the Tribe game, hoping to see CC Sabathia break out of his early season funk. Instead, my wife and I were forced to sit in the cold wind (and it was cold, despite what the weather reports told us prior to the game) and watch Sabathia stink it up again. We NEVER (I repeat, NEVER) leave games early, no matter what the circumstances. But Friday night at The Prog was different. Down 9-1 in the 6th and facing severe weather coming in from the West we actually left the game. Of course without us in attendance the Tribe rallied to make it 9-7 with two men on in the 8th, but the rally eventually stalled out.

To make matters worse, I at least wanted to catch some of the Cavs game on the way home. Thankfully my buddy Nick texted me the following, so I knew my Friday sports night was a total loss:
"Cavs down 17
15-0 run
Pathetic."
That pretty much summed things up perfectly.

Saturday then showcased a wild Fausto Carmona, setting a career high for walks in a game for him. That made us 0-for-2 at home against a rebuilding A's club. Thankfully on Sunday the Tribe offense woke up a bit and took the finale, 7-1. That was the good win on Sunday. The bad win (and yes, there is such a thing) was what the Cavaliers came up with against the pathetic Miami Heat and its roster full of NBDLers. Mind you, the Cavs still have not locked up the 4th seed in the East. They had a lot to play for at home against a bad team. Yet they somehow still looked pathetic, actually going into the fourth quarter trailing a 13-win team. They squeezed out a 84-76 win and their magic number now stands at one to lock up home court in the first round (of course Mike Brown refused to play Damon Jones for the 5th straight game). The problem is that they have two games left @ Philly and home vs. Detroit. I'm begging you Cavaliers, just get this over with tonight...

One saving grace from Friday night's debacle - our new mezzanine seats are great

AL Central Update: The Tigers are now 2-10 after another shutout loss to the White Sox. This is the fourth time they have been shutout in just 12 games and they are now -45 in runs on the season. Even with the Tribe's crappy start we are a 3 games up on them. Perhaps we can bury them early this year with a 2-game sweep Wednesday and Thursday at The Pro/Prog?

Friday, April 11, 2008

Big sports Friday

Tonight is a big sports Friday in Cleveland. Most importantly, the Cavaliers travel to Chicago holding onto a 2-game lead for the #4 spot (home court advantage in the first round) in the East. The next two games are very winnable (Chicago and Miami), but anyone who has followed the Cavs this year knows that you can't predict anything with this team. Our magic number is really 3 with four games remaining. Any combination of Washington losses and Cleveland wins equaling three will clinch home court in the first round. So we'll keep watch here and hope that we can get LeBron some rest in the process.

Also, the Tribe returns home tonight to face the A's after a 2-4 West coast trip. I will be attending that game and will post some pictures afterward. I'm somewhat looking forward to and somewhat dreading attending a game that CC is pitching. He looked pretty shaky in his previous two outings so hopefully he can right the ship tonight.

And I wouldn't be a good Cleveland sports blogger without mentioning this little nugget involving the Browns and yet another staph infection. Let's hope it's not as serious as some of the others and Joe J can return soon. He is one of my favorite Browns.

Here we go again with the staph infections...

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Fausto locked up

Just heard the news that Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona has signed a guaranteed contract through 2011, with club options for 2012, 2013, and 2014. This is outstanding news for all Cleveland fans. He will be the new ace of this staff when Sabathia inevitably leaves for free agency after this season. At only 24 the future is very bright for Fausto and I couldn't be happier for him.

My wife teaches ESL (English as a Second Language) and had a chance to meet some of the young Tribe players in Lake County for A ball a few years back. I remember her telling me about a nice young kid named Fausto trying to learn the English language. So we've always held a special spot for him and we were elated when he became a star last year. We are excited to have you here long-term Fausto!

Carmona in the infamous Bug Game during last year's ALDS

One bad and one good...

The bad: Well, Wednesday's Tribe game went pretty much as I expected. I have no statistical evidence to back up this claim, but just going on memory over the last couple years the Tribe has been horrendous in weekday "getaway" games. You know, the last game in a series when one team has to travel to the next city so the game is played during the day? I dread these games because I'm usually forced to listen on the radio and we usually look like dog shit.

The most worrisome thing from this game is how hard Byrd got knocked around again. That's two pretty bad outings in a row now. I guess one good thing to take from this one is that the offense did show some signs of life. And that was with no Victor in the lineup. So it's back home tomorrow night for the start of a three-game series against the A's (again). Also, Friday night will be the first game in our new season tickets in the mezzanine :)

The good: At least the Cavaliers knew that I was getting sick of the double-loss days when the Tribe loses too and decided to finally beat a team they are better than. Honestly, this year you really never know which lousy team they might lose to on a given night. And even though we did end up winning by 21, we were down by 14 at one point in the third quarter. The defense did buckle down in the second half and the offense looked much better. And LeBron was his usual outstanding self. Let's hope his back can hold up for another extended playoff run. I'm sure it didn't feel very good absorbing that flagrant foul from the one and only DeSagana Diop.

This one was important because we maintained our 2-game lead for the #4 spot with just four games left to play.

LBJ took the hard foul from Diop, and the Cavaliers preserved their 2-game lead for home court

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

A lesson learned

Games like last night's Tribe game in LA (or is it Anaheim, since the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play there?) are the reason why I usually opt out of going to bed early in order to watch my teams play late games. You just never know what's going to happen and if you go to bed early, you might miss something good. Of course, after the frustrating loss on Monday night I opted for sleep and missed the ending completely. Travis Hafner hit a huge 2-run HR with two outs in the top of the ninth to give our Tribe a big come-from-behind win. Jake Westbrook also pitched a complete game. Lesson learned: I will stay up for all West coast games the rest of the season. Thankfully the Tribe comes back home after this afternoon's game. I hate these getaway games - we never seem to play well when I'm forced to listen at work on the radio. Let's hope Byrd performs a little better this time around.

Hafner flipped the script on the Angels late Tuesday night

Central update: The Tigers are now 0-7, giving us a 3.5 game lead on them already, even with our mediocre start. I am enjoying this immensely.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Joe 'Blow' is back...

I guess these sort of things happen from time to time over the course of a long 162 game baseball season. But it doesn't make it any less frustrating. The offense looked dreadful again last night for 8 innings until scoring three runs in the top of the ninth. It should have been more, but Jason Michaels was prominently involved with the bases loaded, and we know how that usually plays out.

So with a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth and JoeBo coming in, I expected things to get a little shaky, as they typically do with JoeBo. But I also expected us to get the win. Things started off innocently enough, with him retiring the leadoff man. But then a base hit and two straight walks had me shaking my head. Then Torii Hunter sealed the deal with a walkoff grand slam at approximately 1:12 am ET. It's times like this when I wonder why I stay up for these West coast games. There will be a payoff eventually for my undying loyalty, right???

Torii provided the death blow as I wondered why I wasn't sleeping...

Sunday, April 6, 2008

It always works...

No matter how much your teams are slumping, one thing always seems to work for me as a Cleveland fan - reverse psychology. Turn the enthusiasm into doom and gloom and start bashing your own players and they inevitably turn it around. Cliff Lee was today's example, going a strong 6 and 2/3, with one unearned run, 4 K, and 1 walk. Sure, our offense still looked anemic, but at least we got a win to avoid the sweep. A mediocre 3-3 start, but still a 3 game lead on the big bad Tigers who are now 0-6.

It's only one game, but so far so good for Mr. Lee

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Saturday: 0 for 2

Another stellar day here for C-town sports. Maybe starting this blog wasn't such a hot idea. Today we had two more losses. One another fourth quarter meltdown involving my rapidly disappearing Cavaliers. And the other prominently featuring our soon-to-be-overpaid former Cy Young pitcher. Thankfully the Tribe game wasn't on television due to some wacky agreement between MLB and Fox for Saturday day games. And I was smart enough to head to the gym at halftime of the Cavs game when they had a comfortable 8 point lead. I've seen enough of that this year to know it wouldn't hold up. That's two home losses in a row for a team that is clinging to that #4 seed and home court in the first round. That's supposed to be an advantage, right? What baffles me the most is that we outrebounded a Dwight Howard-led team 48-33, yet still lost the game by 15 points. How is that even possible??? At least we don't have to watch them play again until Wednesday night. Until then I'll be hoping the Tribe starts playing better. Good thing Fausto is pitching tomorrow :)

*edit* I see that Cliff Lee is pitching, not Fausto... chalk up another L, and a winless weekend.

Does this look like a team excited about the postseason???

Friday, April 4, 2008

Tough loss to swallow

Last night's loss to the Bulls was really frustrating to me. Look, I understand that we already basically have the #4 seed wrapped up. And we really don't have a huge incentive to play these games right now. But losing a 17 point third quarter lead at home to the Bulls? The same Bulls who had only won 7 of their previous 20 and hadn't won a road game since Feb. 25? And letting Larry Hughes almost get a triple-double? That I don't get. Apathy and disinterest is no way to go into the playoffs (in my best Dean Wormer voice).

Maybe it's time to bring the Dean in for a pep talk...

...because apparently this doesn't make our players as frustrated as it makes me


Thursday, April 3, 2008

It's Tribe time now

Hopes are high for our beloved Tribe this year. And I have to say, attending this year's home opener was a little more fun than last year's. See photo comparison:

2007 Opening Day @ Jacobs Field

2008 Opening Day @ Progressive Field

As you can tell from the 2008 photo, we are now playing at "The Prog" or "The Pro" or whatever-the-hell nickname you wanna give it. Also, our seats this year were outstanding. Big thanks to Razzles bar in Olmsted Township. $59 got us those great seats in Section 117, food, beer, transportation to and from the game, and another game ticket in June to top it all off. They do this Opening Day package annually and I highly recommend it. And I much preferred the 60 degree weather and Indians victory this year over the snow and cold game that was eventually postponed last year.

I'd also prefer to see the CC Sabathia that won the Cy Young last year (pre-playoffs of course). The one we saw on Monday looked pretty rough. Hopefully the warm weather out in Oakland this weekend will help him right himself.

The good news is that the Fausto Carmona we saw last night was the great sinkerballer that we saw burst onto the scene last year. The 2-0 start has been nice to see for this team, and coupled with Detroit's 0-2 start (to lowly Kansas City) means that we are on track for a wire-to-wire lead this season in the AL Central!

Speaking of the Armpit of America (a.k.a. Detroit), I was up there for the NCAA tourney games at Ford Field last Friday. I was very happy to see Davidson slap around Wisconsin and all of their arrogant fans. It's fun to root for the underdog, and they almost managed to pull off the huge upset over Kansas... here was the view from our seats at Ford Field - quite a strange place to take in a basketball game:


Off and running

It's been a lifelong passion of mine to have one of my Cleveland teams (Browns, Cavaliers, and Indians) win a title. As most of you know, Cleveland has been a tortured sports town. Our last title came way back in 1964 with the Browns (that was 11 years before I even existed for those of you scoring at home). But we finally have three teams that are on the brink at the same time. It's an exciting time to be a sports fan in Cleveland and time for the countdown to a title to begin. Rather than blogging about some inane topic like "saving DJ's mohawk" or "ugly athletes", this time I'm putting my effort towards a championship for one of my beloved teams. So feel free to stop here from time to time as I chronicle our rise to the top of the sports world. It should be a fun, interesting, agonizing, and ultimately satisfying ride.