The red-hot Tribe made it eight in a row with a 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks. Scott Elarton has turned into a reliable starter and he delivered another fine outing even after 10 days rest. The bullpen slammed the door again and the offense delivered just enough to give Elarton his fourth win of the year. Unfortunately, the White Sox won again, though the Tribe is serving notice that they are a team to be reckoned with this season.
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The offense is officially on a roll. The Indians pounded the Diamondbacks for 10 runs in the third inning on their way to a 13-6 victory. It was their seventh-straight win, and for a change the offense carried the day. Aaron Boone contines his resurgence, and Casey Blake hit another home run as he works to break out of his own slump.
Meanwhile, Grady Sizemore continues to make Shapiro look like a genius. Three years after the Bartolo Colon trade, Sizemore and Cliff Lee have become important components of this team, and Brandon Phillips still has great potential. Not every one of Shapiro’s trades yielded gems like Sizemore and Lee, but it’s hard to argue with the salary dump he initiated once it became clear that the Tribe needed to rebuild. Even the Robbie Alomar deal is paying dividends as Shapiro parlayed Matt Lawton into Arthur Rhodes, transforming the bullpen into a real asset this season. It remains to be seen whether the current roster can make it to the playoffs, but the Indians are certainly better off than they would have been had Shapiro held on to Colon and fading stars like Alomar and Thome. The salary structure is under control, and there is real hope for this season and beyond with guys like Sizemore and Lee leading the way.
Patrick McManamon has a great profile of Jeff Faine in the Beacon Journal as the Browns wrap up minicamp, pointing out that Faine has to prove himself to the new coaching staff. Crennell again demonstrates that he’s all business and only cares about performance, pointing out that he’s not concerned about Faine’s weight as long as he gets the job done.
McManamon also includes another interesting story about Butch Davis, explaining that the offensive coaches perferred Eric Steinbach, who now starts for the Bengals, over Faine. Davis, on the other, hand wanted to go with a guy that he had recruited. Faine hasn’t turned out to be a terrible pick, but he’s another first-rounder under Davis that hasn’t cracked the Pro Bowl yet.
C.C. Sabathia had a rough night, but the bullpen and the offense bailed him out in a dramatic 7-6 victory in ten innings. Jhonny Peralta tied the game with a home run in the bottom of the ninth, and then Aaron Boone won it with a blast in the bottom of the tenth. Suddenly, the offense is looking strong and the Tribe seems poised to make a serious run at the White Sox and Twins. Maybe we’ll have a fun summer after all.
ESPN’s Lee Pasquarelli takes and in-depth look at the new Browns being built by Savage and Crennell and likes what he sees. Pasquarelli likes the new emphasis on character, contrasting that with the widely-held impressions of the out-of-control Browns under Butch Davis. We’ve said it here since Savage took over. This organization is much more professional than the spin-obsessed regime of Davis, and they have backed things up with a toughness and honesty not seen in Berea for years. By completing a solid draft and then getting rid of loudmouths like Ross Verba and Big Money, Savage and Crennell are starting to get recognition around the league as solid managers who might finally bring a winner to Cleveland. The true test will be on the field and results may not come till next season, but it looks like they’re off to a great start.
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