Sunday’s game was one for the ages, one that you had to see to believe. Thirteen runs, 11 of which came in the first inning. Kansas City took a royal beating from the Tribe, losing 13-0. The Indians completed a four-game sweep of the Royals and extended their winning streak to six games, matching a season-high. The last time they went on a run such as this? The first week of the season, when they started 6-1. A Pronk-sized record was matched Sunday as Travis Hafner went yard with the bases loaded again. Hafner’s grand slam total for the season now equals six, which ties a Major League record for most slams in a single season. Don Mattingly set the record back in 1987.

“It’s cool to tie a Major League record,” said Hafner, a crush of reporters around his locker stall. “But, during the season, I really don’t get caught up in a whole lot of stuff like that. I just try to take a good approach in every game.”

The Indians hadn’t put up 11 in the first inning of any game since 1954. Franklin Guitierrez notched his first career homer in the game and Ryan Garko went deep for the second time. Jeremy Sowers went six innings and got the win as the Tribe continue to lay the wood to their opponents.

The NFL Competition Committee continues to evaluate and improve the game of football. They usually concentrate on player safety, sportsmanship and general rules of the game. The regular season is less than one month away and they have implemented some subtle and obvious rule changes this year.

The NFL decided to shortened instant replay from 90 to 60 seconds and allows a team to have options after a referee blows an inadvertent whistle. These are two of the more obvious rules changes.

The Ohio State Buckeye defense is going to have many new faces this season. The three linebackers that were the backbone of last year’s defense are playing on Sundays. Coach Tressel is looking for new leaders and Lawrence Wilson may be a star of the future.

Wilson came out of high school ranked one of the top defensive ends in the country. He studied under Will Smith and Mike Kudla, both very successful in their careers, but very different. Wilson is currently listed at starting defensive end and with the intensity he brings to each practice, coaches expect him to stay at that spot for the next couple years. I will make an early prediction that with the speed training from Butch Reynolds, Wilson will anchor a surprisingly strong defense this year.

With the way Indians rookie catcher Kelly Shoppach is playing defensively, Victor Martinez should seriously consider giving up catching. Shoppach has opened the eyes of many Tribe fans recently with his solid skills behind the plate and should be considered a very reasonable option as the team’s future backstop.

Shoppach is only batting .265 but has showed some promise offensively the past couple of weeks. He has begun to show some pop in his bat, hitting his third homer of the season on Saturday night. However, his biggest asset to the club at this point is his arm behind the plate. The Indians organization has been high on him because of his throwing ability and against the Royals we saw why. Shoppach threw out three baserunners and has an absolute cannon for an arm. He has much better mechanics than Victor and gets rid of the ball much quicker.

Some stats to chew on (2006 season) -

Martinez: 96 gms. played, has thrown out 14-of-86 basestealers…16%
Shoppach: 23 gms. played, has thrown out 6-of-13 basestealers…46%

One of the Indians’ problems all season, as well as in previous years, has been controlling the opposition’s running game. Teams have been able to run at will on Martinez but with Shoppach behind the plate that hasn’t been the case. We all know how important defense is and having a good catcher is especially important. Shoppach’s defense is already above average and his offense should only improve as he gets more playing time. With Shoppach gunning down basestealers, teams will be a little more reluctant to send runners once they reach first base.