The Tribe returned to their winning ways in Baltimore last night (after a forgettable Monday night) with a 6-1 win. Jeremy Sowers was able to notch his third win of the season with 8 strong innings of work (7K, 1BB, and 72 strikes in 96 pitches). And more importantly, this game finally featured the return of Travis Hafner off the disabled list. He went 2-for-4 with two singles and a walk. So the Indians finally have all of their bats back in the line-up for the first time since May 25, although now there are only 19 games left in the season.
A sight for sore eyes: Pronk singling in the first inning"He looked good, [took] a couple of strong swings," Wedge said. "I felt like it was a great start for him in regard to him getting back with us and getting back into the swing of things here at this level."I actually didn't think Hafner would make it back on the field this year. It has been a tough season with the shoulder injury and the passing of his father. But I have to admit it was nice to see him back out there having some fun and helping contribute to another Tribe win. They are now 33-22 in the post-Sabathia era and only need to finish 11-8 in their quest for .500. And you have to wonder what could have been had this team remained somewhat healthy this season. They are only 9-1/2 out right now even after all the adversity. But as we are used to saying in Cleveland, there's always next year...
Other Tribe Notes: Mark Shapiro talks about the infield options for 2009... Brian Bullington was called up from AAA Buffalo to start the second game of Saturday's double header... and some strange details are emerging in the yet-to-be-finalized CC Sabathia trade with the Brewers.
Browns Update: The Browns offense is getting ready to play the Steelers, with our without Donte Stallworth at receiver. Why do I have a feeling this guy will never be 100% this year? To add to the speculation that Stallworth might be recovering for a while, the Browns re-signed receiver Paul Hubbard to the practice squad... Tony Grossi gives his scouting report on the Steelers... obviously the Browns defense needs to improve quickly to beat their arch rivals.
Cavs Update: OK, only 48 days until the season opener. If you can't tell I'm obviously excited for this season. There probably won't really be much to talk about until training camp opens in a few weeks, but I did like this article from the Toronto film festival where the documentary 'More Than a Game' (chronicling the LeBron-led Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary high school basketball team) just premiered. It should be something to see.
Then, James, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound man who has carried an NBA franchise on his back since his rookie season at age 18, stopped talking and started to get choked up. He cried onstage. For the first time, the public witnessed a deeply emotional moment for James. ''This is the first time I've cried — in basketball or anything — since we lost that national championship game in eighth grade,'' James said, referring to an AAU game in Orlando. He wasn't the only one who cried.
