Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 54 of 96)

In a tight extra inning affair, the Indians came out on top in the rubber match to beat the White Sox 4-3 in 11 innings. Jason Michaels delivered the game-winning double for the Tribe and Bob Wickman came in and got the save. Indians starter Cliff Lee went 5 1/3 innings and gave up three runs before turning it over to the bullpen, which did a superb job keeping the Sox scoreless the rest of the way.

Michaels and Mota were awesome today. Jason is a tough and gritty ballplayer who gives it his all in the outfield and in the batter’s box. Whether he gets a hit or not, he seems to be a very difficult out who will always give himself a chance to get on base. Mota has great movement on his pitches and really showed me something today with his performance. Great win and just like last season, Eric Wedge knows the focus of this team is on winning series.

“Our goal is to win each series and it’s nice to get this first one,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said after Wednesday’s 4-3, 11-inning victory over the defending World Series champions.

Maybe it’s the weather. On a sunny afternoon in Chicago, the Indians’ bats came alive as they beat Freddy Garcia and the White Sox handily 8-2 for their first win of the season. They got much of their offensive punch from third baseman Aaron Boone, who went 4 for 5 with a homer and 4 RBI. Starter Jake Westbrook pitched a solid game for the Tribe, giving up two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. As far as C.C is concerned, Jason Davis will take his spot in the rotation until he returns.

After a dreary opening night, we obviously needed a game like this. Boone is carrying over his tremendous spring to the regular season, a far cry from 2005 when he had an atrocious first couple months. Granted it’s early but Boonie really seems to be focused and locked in at the plate.

“Without having to worry about his leg and having a year under his belt versus not having played for a year and a half, he’s been a different guy from day one this spring,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said.

The 2006 season started the same way the previous one ended: a loss to the hated White Sox. The Indians tied it up 3-3 in the fourth inning before both teams were forced to wait through a nearly three hour rain delay. The Sox came out after the break and proceeded to put up seven unanswered runs in the next three innings to beat the Tribe, 10-4. Indians starter C.C Sabathia had to remove himself from the game in the third after an apparent abdominal strain. Tribe pitchers had trouble all night finding the plate, walking nine batters.

I guess the Tribe didn’t get the memo that the season has started already. Their play was about as sloppy as the field conditions. Let’s cross our fingers that C.C’s injury is not too serious and hopefully we can get our act together before Tuesday.

The season starts tonight and the Cleveland Indians are looking like a team that is ready to win. The recent contract signings has done nothing to change the structure of this team. They are playing together and keep their egos in control. Mark Shapiro has done a wonderful job of creating a team that is easy to cheer for and hustles to win. This team has quiet leaders and the “pure” talent to win.

There are numerous fans that are comparing this team to the Albert Bell and Kenny Lofton days. I believe the talent is there, but the clubhouse unity is stronger. They need to start fast and the youth should help them through this long season.