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.

There's the 'pen I remember

During the Tribe's recent five-game winning streak, the relievers actually started to look a little better. Jensen Lewis got a couple saves, Rafael Perez looked outstanding, and I was starting to have a little hope that our bullpen wasn't a complete disaster. Then came the last two games. Brandon Donnelly was shelled on Wednesday night, and Thursday it was Rafael Perez's turn, with some gas thrown on the fire by Edward Mujica for good measure. Those two combined to give up 8 hits and 7 earned runs in the top of the 8th inning, turning a 3-3 tie into an 11-3 deficit, and eventually an 11-6 loss.

No need to delve any further into the details of this one, but 13 hits and 6 runs should be enough to get a win on most nights - unless your bullpen gives you no chance, which has been an ongoing theme all season long. If this isn't evidence enough to Larry Dolan that he needs to spend a lot of money on the back end of this bullpen, I don't know what is. I'm usually not critical of Tribe ownership, but if they don't get something done to fix this over the winter I will be extremely disappointed.

The lone good news from Thursday night was that starter Zach Jackson looked pretty solid in his Indians debut and may end up being a key piece to our future as part of the Sabathia trade. He was the victim of some bad luck in the 5th inning when Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo lost a fly ball in the lights, allowing for one of Jackson's three runs allowed over five innings. At least the Royals lost again to keep us a half game out of last. The Indians will look to bounce back tonight as they start a 3-game weekend series against the best team in baseball. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Los Angeles, California in Anaheim (or something like that). Cliff Lee (yay!) gets the start tonight.

The Tribe gets disappointing split after taking the first two from the Orioles

Other Tribe News: Matt LaPorta hit a 3-run shot to help propel Team USA to their first Olympic win on Thursday over the Netherlands. His swing looks pretty nice to me (it can be seen around the 6:25 mark of the video on that link)... Josh Barfield could be back soon... And Travis Hafner finally made it back to Pronkville.

''I think he felt good and he looked good,'' Wedge said of Hafner, the Indians' designated hitter. ''We'll get him back out there Saturday, and hopefully he can go out (on a rehab assignment) next week.''

Browns Update: Kamerion Wimbley is trying out some new moves for '08. I can't wait to see what he can do now that he has some guys in front of him... Travis Wilson is giving credit to Joe Jurevicius for his improved play... and this Steve Sanders is turning into a favorite of mine, and not just because he's a fellow Bowling Green alum.

Cavs Update: LeBron seems to like the trade for Mo Williams (and I'm loving another article from Brian Windhorst). And Williams insists he can play defense.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to play here. I can reiterate, as far as defense is concerned, I know what it takes to win. It's no secret. It takes defense to win." - Mo Williams

At least we know Mo's D will be better than one former Cavalier...

Locked in the cellar

The Tribe ended another 'blah' weekend in Minnesota yesterday with the Twins taking two out of three in the series. Friday night featured Nick Blackburn shutting down the Indians' offense yet again (he's 3-0 with a 1.30 ERA in four starts against the Tribe this year) in a 4-1 Twins' victory. The Indians did put a nice game together on Saturday night behind another strong start from Paul Byrd for a 5-1 win. Byrd has only given up five earned runs over his last four starts, totaling 26 innings of work. But the same old Tribe reappeared yesterday when they had a chance to win a series, this time in a 6-2 loss to the recently reactivated Francisco Liriano (of course his first win of the season). The Tribe is now 17-30 (.362) vs. the Central Division, and that is the main reason they are now firmly locked in the Central cellar, a full three games behind the Royals. The series loss also makes them 19-36 (.345) on the road and by my unofficial count, 12-20-4 overall in series this season. I guess the good news is there are only 52 games left.

The Twins are now 10-5 vs. the Tribe this year... compared to 4-14 last year

The Indians continue their road trip tonight when they open a three-game series vs. the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays (only five sellouts this year???). The Rays should have revenge on their minds in this series after losing four in a row at the Prog back in July. At least we get to see Cliff Lee pitch tonight.

Other Tribe Notes: Not that this is really news, but Eric Wedge would like a new closer by next spring (I'm begging, please be K-Rod, please be K-Rod). And the Red Sox have reportedly offered Joe Borowski a contract. Not exactly the recipe for repeating as World Series champs.

Browns Update: Remember Travis Wilson? The Browns used a third round pick in 2006 on the receiver from Oklahoma and so far he has given us just two career receptions for 32 yards. With the injury to Joe Jurevicius the Browns are looking for someone to step us as a reliable third receiver and he has impressed his coaches thus far in training camp.

''Travis has had a particularly good OTA (organized team activities) period, he began to show up and make some plays, and I think that has carried over to training camp here because when the ball comes his way, he's been catching them,'' Crennel said.

The Browns may also have found a diamond in the rough to fill in for the injured Antwan Peek. And today is Monday so don't forget about Tony Grossi's noon update from training camp (if you can't tell by now I'm a big fan of these).

Cavs Update: Terry Pluto reports that the Cavaliers are talking to Denver about J.R. Smith. Personally I'd be shocked if we gave an offer sheet to a restricted free agent at this point. I think a trade would be the only possibility, but I've been wrong before.

Could Smith soon be wearing wine and gold?

And from China, LeBron James chipped in 10 points in 24 minutes to help lead Team USA to a 21-point win over Russia. The Redeem Team has one final tune-up vs. Australia tomorrow before the real games begin.