I have been resisting Tribe playoff mode for a while, mainly because I knew that the moment I got into it, I would not be able to stop paying attention, no matter how tired I am.
As I write this, the Tribe is up somewhat safely on the Royals, 9-6, middle of the 8th. Normal human beings would go to sleep right now. Not me. I’m afraid I’m going to be losing a lot of sleep in the coming weeks.
How many sports blogs you know cover Oprah? None? There’s one now. Damn straight!
Oprah was her lovable, head-waggin’ self, saying about all the money, the posse, all the cousins who come out of the woodwork, “I worry ’bout you!” asking Lebron about all the “girls standin’ outside the game with their panties on their heads…” Lebron was at his clean cut, good guy best. Lebron’s mom, and his girlfriend Savannah (who he’s dated for more than 3 years - how on earth can that thing last?!?!) were in the audience, and he was ready with the right answer to that one. “I seen ‘em! But my mom taught me right from wrong.”
On the whole being the best basktball player of all time thing….Cavs management take note.
“I think long term, in basketball, the ultimate goal is to win the NBA championship,” Lebron says. “I got to. I have to. My life won’t be satisfied without winning an NBA championship.”
Kid’s got the money. Got the fame. Got the girls with the panties on their heads. He ain’t goin’ nowhere if he thinks Cleveland is where he’ll win that championship. That’s the challenge for Gilbert, Ferry, et. al.
Tony Grossi details the Browns aversion to the running game.
Through two games, they have thrown 75 times and run 41. That 65-to-35 ratio is not abnormally high — Baltimore is throwing a whopping 74 percent of the time — but it is higher than you would expect.
I’m a little worried about this. The offensive line has proven solid in pass blocking, are they just not measuring up on run blocking? Not sure I see that…their first half performances with Reuben Droughns have been pretty good.
The only problem I had with last night’s game was how Wedge used his bullpen. Bobby Howry had pitched two nights in a row and got hit pretty hard the night before. I don’t necessarily have a problem with running him out there in the eighth last night — he’s probably your best reliever, especially with the loss of Rhodes — but I have absolutely no idea why Howry was still out there in the ninth with an 8-0 lead.
Fine, they’ve got an off day today, which will give Howry an extra day of rest. Whatever. You’re still talking about a guy with a history of arm problems who right now is probably the most important guy in your bullpen (yes, more than Bob Wickman). He’s now pitched three nights in a row. You’ve got an eight-run lead. If anything, the off day is even more of a reason to sit him for the ninth rather than running him out there for another 13 pitches. You’ve got to keep these guys fresh, not run them into the ground, especially when the game has already been decided.
Then again, maybe Wedge figured his ‘pen wasn’t going to get much in the next few days with a weekend trip to KC slated next.
After the way Elarton pitched last night, and after watching the Indians take two of three from the Sox, this may seem like a foolish question but should Wedge consider adjusting his rotation a bit so that C.C. and/or Lee can go in next weekend’s Sox series? As the rotation currently stands, the Indians will be running the same trio of starters out for that series (Millwood, Westbrook and Elarton), and while each starter pitched well enough to win (or well enough for the Indians to win, anyway) this time around, this scenario just makes me nervous.
Sabathia and Lee are arguably your two best pitchers, but at the very least Sabathia, Lee and Millwood are your three best — how you slot them is up for debate. C.C. may be the hottest pitcher in baseball right now and Lee, on some writers’ scorecards, has vaulted into Cy Young contention in the AL. With a series that potentially is going to have so much riding on it, you almost hate to have two of your best starters on the bench watching the drama unfold.
Of course, the argument against juggling the rotation would be two-fold. First, why mess with success? Millwood, Westbrook and Elarton led the Tribe to a series victory this time around, so why couldn’t they do it again? And second, adjusting the rotation could have a negative effect rather than a positive one. These guys are used to a routine, and taking them out of that routine by moving starts up or back could take them out of their rhythm and cause the move to backfire on the Tribe. Plus, if you adjust the rotation for the Sox series, how does that affect your potential playoff rotation?
These are, of course, valid points, but what if that weekend series rolls around and the Indians need a sweep to get into the playoffs? Or what if they need to win two of three but split the first two games? Who do you go with Sunday? You could always have C.C. and Lee ready to go in the bullpen if needed, but will that be enough? Would they even be effective in relief? These are all questions Wedge needs to consider now because, if he is going to make some changes, now’s the time to do it in preparation for next weekend. Most people would probably elect to stand pat and go with what got you here, and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Wedge did just that, running Millwood, Westbrook and Elarton out there next weekend. But it would be such a shame to see this team miss out on the playoffs by a game or two while their two best pitchers are riding the pine.
The absolute pummelling the Tribe put on the White Sox last night makes the world feel right again. Jayson Stark at ESPN is banging the MVP drum for Hafner, who was simply dominating last night, with two homers and 5 RBIs.
This week, on the South Side of Chicago, in the biggest series of the Cleveland Indians’ season, Travis Hafner had himself the kind of September series that MVPs are made of. Four home runs — at least one in every game of the series. Seven extra-base hits altogether. And 10 RBI. In 12 at-bats that might have changed the course of events for both the Indians and that White Sox team they were playing for those three nights.
And after a one-day hiatus, Jay Marriotti at the Chicago Sun Times is hilariously back in choke mode.
After a one-night breather, Choke Job Theater returned to the South Side. Media watchdog A.J. Pierzynski wants to know why we speak of the Sox in such harsh terms, saying, “It would be nice to open a newspaper one day and see someone write an article that this team is still good and still has a chance.'’ Well, I was thinking about it until the Wheezinators managed no runs and five singles off someone named Scott Elarton while Travis Hafner and the Indians — I repeat, the most complete team in the American League — were mashing baseballs long and far over the outfield fence.
Wheezinators. Hysterical.
The Indianapolis Star notes that Romeo Crennel has a, shall we say, great record vs. Peyton Manning.
With Crennel pulling the defensive strings from 2001-04 and including the playoffs, the Patriots posted a 6-0 record against the Colts. They got physical with Manning’s receivers and forced Manning to move around or vacate the pocket, limiting him to nine touchdowns and forcing 10 interceptions.
The Dayton Daily News also focuses on the Crennel-Manning matchup…
“I don’t know that we got in his head; he just didn’t win the games,” Crennel said of Manning. “There’s been some discussion about the success I’ve had against the Colts, but I went back and looked and I wasn’t on the field for one play. The players play the game.”
And Colts president Bill Polian apparently loves Trent Dilfer…
He was perfect for the Baltimore Ravens when they had that great defense and great running game when they went to the Super Bowl. He’s the perfect quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. He won’t make mistakes. He won’t turn it over. He’ll hit the high-percentage passes. He’ll make the right audible.
Should we propose a trade to Polian? How about you take Dilfer, we’ll take Manning.