On the brink of 20 wins

With their dominating 10-4 victory last night in Detroit the Tribe has now won 15 of 18... 8 in a row on the road... and 9 in a row overall. All impressive numbers to be sure - but not as impressive as Cliff Lee upping his record to 19-2. Do you realize he is on pace for a mind-boggling 24 wins this year? It sounds crazy, but at this point I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls it off.

"I just want to get as deep in the game as I can," Lee said. "Give the team a chance to win and put up as many zeros as I can."

Lee continued his season of dominance by going 7-2/3 innings and allowing 2 runs on 6 hits. He likely would have notched his 5th complete game of the season if he wasn't on a pitch count (and he should be now). And Lee got plenty of run support on this night as the Tribe belted 4 homers on the way to their 10 runs. Ben Francisco got into the act twice and even Jamey Carroll joined the home run party for the first time this season.

Lee will look to become the Tribe's first 20-game
winner in over 30 years on Sunday

So for the first time since June of 2005 the Indians have put together a 9-game winning streak. And even better news, they have climbed up to third place in the Central. I know it's all too little and too late this year, but I think Eric Wedge deserves some credit for how this team is playing now. How many other big league teams could withstand losing their Cy Young ace, having their #2 starter (Carmona) being injured for a stretch, trading away another veteran rotation guy (Byrd), trading their starting third baseman, and having their #3 and #4 hitters injured for a huge chunk of the year and still be around .500? Not to mention all the bullpen problems this year. It shows a lot of heart by this team to still play at this level after all that turmoil. And I think it bodes well for the team's future.

The Indians will look to continue the hot streak and go for the sweep tonight with Fausto Carmona on the mound for the good guys. Then they will enjoy a much-deserved day off on Thursday before starting a home series against the Mariners.

Other Tribe Notes: The team seems to be split on the decision to add instant replay. I'm actually OK with it, but why in the world would you throw it in right in the middle of the season??? Then again, this is Bud Selig we're talking about... Ryan Garko is finally on a bit of a hot streak... and Aaron Laffey may be back up with the big league club soon.

Browns Update: It will be a battle for a roster spot among Syndric Steptoe, Travis Wilson, and Steve Sanders... The team trimmed the roster down to 75 yesterday, with final cuts coming later this week after Thursday's preseason finale... Travis Daniels is just happy to not be on the Dolphins anymore.

Cavs Update: An interesting look at some predictions for this NBA season. Sasha for Most Improved??? Even I'm not that big of a homer... and Dan Gilbert is moving more things from Detroit to Cleveland.

An unlikely sweep... and other thoughts

Well maybe the Indians are finally rounding back into form? Maybe the Rays really are just a fluke and are now crashing back to earth? Or maybe that team meeting before Thursday's game actually woke the Tribe up? We won't really know the answers until the second half of the season starts. But for now, the four-game sweep of Tampa Bay sure was a nice way to cap off an otherwise miserable first half of the 2008 season. And it was definitely unexpected coming on the heels of a horrendous 10-game losing streak.

Friday night's game featured more solid pitching from Cliff Lee, who notched his 12th win on the year with a 5-0 victory. With a 12-2 record and a tidy 2.31 ERA, today Lee did get the nod as the All-Star Game starter on Tuesday night in New York City. Quite a turnaround from his dismal performance in 2007. On Saturday the Indians won 8-4, behind Ryan Garko's career-high 5 RBI night. And yesterday's game featured a very bizarre stat line, one I thought I'd never see again to be perfectly honest. And Jhonny Peralta seems to be finally reaping the benefits of his laser vision correction surgery (7 hits and 2 home runs this weekend). We even had an Andy Marte sighting! And Ben Francisco is playing well again, raising his average by 14 points with a 12-for-19 series. The only bad news I could find after the Tribe's weekend was the fact that they allowed the Red Sox back into first place in the AL East...

A truly backwards weekend: Tribe sweep & a Mastny win!

More Tribe: American League home run leader Grady Sizemore takes his swing up against the short porch in right tonight in New York for the Home Run Derby. And we got a glimpse of the future with new prospect Matt LaPorta on Sunday in the Futures Game. And of course, I will miss seeing this in a Tribe uniform during interleague games. That is a hell of a swing for a pitcher.

Gladiators Update: The fun ride ended on Saturday afternoon as the Philadelphia Soul beat our Gladtiators 70-35 in the National Conference championship game. Early offensive mistakes and a turnover really put them in trouble in the first half and they just were never able to recover. But 2-14 to 9-7 and two playoff wins is nothing to take lightly. Good job by Bernie Kosar, the entire coaching staff, and the players. I'm now a fan and will be looking forward to more indoor football next spring.

Cavs Update: No news yet on the neverending James Posey saga. But Terry Pluto has some thoughts on what is happening behind the scenes in Cavalier-land.

Maybe?

Maybe the Tribe needed a 13-9 softball-type slugfest like last night vs. the Rangers to right the ship? Or maybe it's just an anomaly against a bad pitching staff in a hitter's ballpark. Either way it was fun to finally see the offense make some noise last night and pick up Aaron Laffey when he had a rare bad outing. It was one of those nights for the Indians at the plate - 4 HR's, 4 doubles, 16 hits in all, and 7 RBI by Casey Blake (all before the end of the 4th inning!). They actually raised the team batting average three points with last night's performance - still a paltry .236, but I'll take any type of progress at this point. Blake had two home runs and Ben Francisco and David Dellucci added the others.

Hopefully things can start rolling now but it will be even more difficult to keep the momentum going tonight, as Jake Westbrook has been put on the 15-day DL. To make matters worse, Tom Mastny gets the start tonight for the Tribe, since Jeremy Sowers just pitched for AAA Buffalo on Sunday. Jensen Lewis was also called back up today to help in the bullpen. Let's hope the bats can stay warm because I have a feeling they will really be needed in this one...

Casey was all over the bases on Monday night on his way to 7 RBI

Cavs Update: LeBron James was just named the #3 earner in pro sports over the past year, behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. All this in the dinky little godforsaken market known as Cleveland. Here's to hoping that he sees that market size does not matter and he will stay home in June of 2010. We need you LeBron... just look how much you mean to this city: www.lebron2010.com (brought to you by the great Glen Infante of RCF fame).

Lee Dazzles Again

Cliff Lee is on a mission this year and it is quite a thing to behold. I can't believe this is the same pitcher that I watched during this game last year, right before he was demoted to Buffalo. I remember sitting in Jacobs Field at the time wondering if we'd ever see the same reliable Cliff Lee we had known before the '07 season. Fast forward to today and he now stands at 6-0 with a microscopic 0.81 ERA. He is the first Indians pitcher to win his first 6 starts of the year since Greg Swindell in 1988. Lee pitched another scoreless 7 innings in Yankee Stadium last night as the Tribe handed Chien-Ming Wang his first loss of the year. To boggle your mind even further, Lee now has 39 strikeouts and only 2 walks so far this season, with opponents batting just .163 against him! Who knows how long this will last, but it sure is fun to watch. Here is a nice article from today's New York Newsday about Lee's amazing turnaround.

The offense did get some timely hits again last night and David Dellucci has now made me a believer. Ben Francisco seems right at home in a big league uniform and Travis Hafner continued his puzzling and depressing slide at the plate (literally a 2-foot GIDP with the bases loaded!). But today the Indians look for their first sweep in Yankee Stadium in almost 20 years. Unfortunately it is an afternoon "getaway" game and I think the Tribe has dropped somewhere around their last 50 of those. Hopefully they get a good performance today.

39 K vs. 2 BB? The Nintendo numbers continue for Cliff.

And tonight the Cavaliers look to even their series in Boston after letting Game 1 slip through their fingers. The Cavs do have a history of playing well on the road in the postseason after "letdown" games so we'll see what they bring tonight. Don't expect LeBron to dump a 2-18 shooting night with 10 turnovers again. I expect big things from him in Game 2. I smell a win for the Cavs and a loss for the Tribe. Maybe someday soon they can both win on the same day...

Weekend Recap

After the big Game 6 win by the Cavaliers on Friday I was hoping for a nice weekend from the Tribe to get back over .500. Instead the offense continued to sputter and wasted two decent pitching performances by CC Sabathia and Aaron Laffey. I honestly don't feel like going into all the details right now. It seems to me it's just the same old problems. No patience at the plate, and guys continually being fooled by pitches. After some hope from Travis Hafner, he has disappeared again in the 6th spot in the order. Really, at this point everyone besides Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez looks lost in the batter's box. Victor did continue his hitting streak to 15 games today. And according to the PD tonight, some hitting help is on the way. Thankfully the boys have a day off tomorrow, before heading to New York. I have a feeling Derek Shelton will be busy tomorrow...

Now, on to the good news. As expected, the Boston Celtics did beat the Hawks in their unlikely Game 7 on Sunday. So now the Cavaliers have a chance to slay the overhyped beast of the East in Boston. Consider this payback for the 2007 ALCS. I'm going out on a limb and predicting our Cavaliers in 6. And I did correctly guess the Wizards series. Here's the schedule:

Game 1 - @ BOS, Tue. May 6, 8:00 pm, TNT
Game 2 - @ BOS, Thu. May 8, 7:00 pm, ESPN
Game 3 - BOS, Sat. May 10, 8:00 pm, ABC
Game 4 - BOS, Mon. May 12, 8:00 pm, TNT
*Game 5 - @ BOS, Wed. May 14, TNT
*Game 6 - BOS, Fri. May 16, ESPN
*Game 7 - @ BOS, Sun. May 18, TBD
(* if necessary)

LBJ is not impressed by the hype, and neither am I

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