Streak Snapped at 2

These are your 2008 Indians. They just can't seem to ever get any positive momentum going. After winning two straight and looking a little better, Paul Byrd took the mound and was promptly rocked for 6 runs in the first three innings. But after Grady Sizemore's 3-run bomb in the bottom of the 7th, the Tribe had clawed their way back to a 6-5 deficit. Leave it up to our shaky bullpen (it was Borowski this time) to kill any thoughts of a late-inning win by giving up two runs in the top of the 9th to erase any doubts. 8-5. Ball game. Back to .500 at home and 7.5 behind the White Sox. And Victor Martinez could now be heading to the DL. Damn it.

C'mon Byrdie... you're killing your trade value

Browns Update: Mary Kay Cabot and crusty old Bill Livingston add some more depth to the LeCharles Bentley saga. And some good news out of Berea - Joe Jurevicius says he wouldn't miss this season for the world.

Highlights from yesterday's mini-camp session:

Finally, a Streak!

Well it's only at two games, but a streak's a streak. For the record, this was the first time the Tribe notched consecutive wins since May 13-15. And it seemed even longer than that. CC Sabathia went the distance, allowing only 5 hits and striking out 5. It was also the Indians' shortest game of the year at just 2 hours and 6 minutes. I guess that's what happens when you have poor hitting and great pitching. Again the bats were unable to give CC much run support, mustering only one run on 9 hits. But who am I to complain? I'll take any sort of wins at this point. And CC's ERA is down to 4.34, which is really impressive when you consider how badly he started the year.

CC: Soon to be traded, or regaining Cy Young form?

The Tribe will look to enter uncharted territory (3 straight wins!) when Paul Byrd faces Nick Blackburn tonight at the Prog. We owe Blackburn one since we gave him his first major league win back in April...

Cavs Update: Daniel Gibson underwent successful ankle surgery yesterday at some place called 'The Roger Clemens Sports Institute' (I wish I was making that up). Get well soon Boobie. Brian Windhorst also gives some updates on Sasha, Andy, and Z.

Browns Update: Terry Pluto and Tony Grossi weigh in on LeCharles Bentley's future with his hometown team. And news wasn't all good on the Browns front yesterday, as we learned Joe Jurevicius may not be ready for the season opener.

Cliff to the Rescue (Again)

Cliff Lee continues to be one of the few good stories in an otherwise disappointing season for the Tribe. He continued his dominance again last night in Detroit, going 5 innings and giving up two runs before being pulled after a rain delay. He is now 10-1 with a sparkling 2.52 ERA and is making a strong case to be the AL All-Star starter. The Indian offense also jumped on Dontrelle Willis (probably the best example of the '08 Tigers foolish overspending) early with 8 runs in the first two innings. The game was also highlighted in the 8th inning by Franklin Gutierrez's (remember him?) leaping catch to rob a home run. The Tribe will again look for consecutive wins for the first time since the end of World War I tonight. They finally return home to the friendly confines of the Prog to face the Twins after going 5-6 on the looooong road trip.

The 'Streak Stopper' was at it again last night in Detroit

Roster Update: Asdrubal Cabrera and his .184 average were finally mercifully sent down to Buffalo yesterday in favor of Josh Barfield, himself only batting .255 in AAA. We'll see how this goes but I'm glad Barfield is getting another shot. Hopefully Cabrera can get himself straightened out down there with less pressure on him. I still have visions of him being our everyday shortstop and moving Jhonny "No Range" Peralta over to third someday...

Cavs Update: Old friend Ira Newble is happy to be in LA, even if the Lakers find themselves down 2-0 in the Finals. And Pat McManamon rightfully thinks the Cavs should be given credit for pushing Boston to the limit. Finally, Brian Windhorst thinks the shakeup in the Central division may make things tougher for the Cavs to make a trade.

Browns Update: Kellen Winslow stuck to his agent's word and arrived in Berea yesterday for the start of Browns minicamp, which begins today. Hopefully the first in a series of good things for our '08 Brownies.

***UPDATE*** LeCharles Bentley was cleared to resume playing and is on the field this morning!!! GREAT NEWS and let's hope he can stay healthy and somehow contribute this year...

K2 is pumped for the season to start

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