It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Introduction

I'm back!

Those of you who have read my previous dynasties know I tend towards elaborate plotlines and characterization. Well, this won't have that. Work and life keep me busy enough where I don't have as much time as I'd like for one of those. Yet, I do want to start getting back into the swing of things.

So, with apologies to YEAH DAWWWWG, I'll be borrowing a bit of formatting from his Twins dynasty which I've found very clear and easy to follow. I won't bother with much detail on the rest of the league, though I'll try for monthly summaries to give you an idea who's doing what.

Team

I moved to Cleveland in 2006. I may have attended one or two games that year, but I didn't really pay any attention until 2007 when the Indians were...pretty good and made it to the ALCS. The following two years Cleveland returned to mediocrity and began trading away its big names, including Sabathia (Yankees), Lee (Phillies), Casey Blake (Dodgers) and Victor Martinez (Red Sox). One can argue whether Cleveland needed to do this given the realities of baseball finances, but it was still disheartening. Over the past few days the Indians traded away more players leading a radio commentator to openly wonder whether the Indians are farther away from contending than 'we' thought.

Therefore, we'll take the 2010 Cleveland Indians and attempt to bring them their first World Series since 1948.

Game Notes
BBM 2011 v 13.08 with default rosters.

* League Editor: Inflation Index lowered to 26,190. No particular reason except that a minimum salary of $400K is easier for me to remember and estimate how much I'm willing to pay my people. Similarly, annual inflation increase is turned off.

* League Settings: Manager difficulty. Medical Staff Impact -50, All Expenses reset to 'Very Good', Promotion 0/50/50/50, Contract Renewals 20, Trade Frequency -20, Stats vs. Ratings +50. I'm hoping that expenses won't be an issue for competitive balance. Renewals and Trade Frequency are changed mainly to discourage the AI from making too many changes. I like teams that are at least somewhat consistent.

* Player Settings: Aging Randomness 50, Draft Predictability -50, Effect of Happiness on Negotiating -50/Performance -100. The first two changes are to make the draft more of a crapshoot, while the latter two will help smaller teams retain their players without hurting their skill level.

* Simulation Settings: Double Plays -10: The default seems to be a little high.

House Rules

1. I reserve the right to make any changes to have a better game/tell a better story/etc. This primarily means I might move teams, realign divisions and so forth.

2. Free Agents: I may have a number of FAs per year equal to last year's finish: 4th = 4, etc. I must negotiate through the game engine - competitive bidding is on. I may also have half of that number rounded up in FAs with peak below 75 to restock my minors as needed. These picks do not carry over from year to year.

2a. In 2010 I only get half of these totals, so 2 + 1 minor leaguer. (1+1 used through May 20)

3. Trades: I may initiate two trades per year using the trading block. I cannot offer more than three players in a trade. I cannot alter the AI offer except to balance cash. I may accept computer trade offers, but again cannot change them except to balance cash. Again, these trades do not carry over. I may not trade injured players.

3a. In 2010, I get an extra trade on April 1 to customize my team. (Used)

3b. I may not trade during the offseason. The AI trade frequency will be reset to -100 between October and March.

4. Injuries: Anyone who is injured for less than 14 days must stay on the ML roster: They weren't put on the DL.

5. Roster Changes: The 25 man roster may only be changed (due to promotion/demotion or bringing people back from the DL list) between series. However, I may bring a player off the DL early expecting to use them mid series. Injured players can be placed on the DL at any time pursuant to rule 4.

6. Lineup: The AI will determine all lineups and rotations. I determine who's on the 25/40 man roster.

7. Starting after the 2011 season, "I" can be fired. This is a random roll dependent on what place I finish in the AL Central.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

reserved for links and summaries

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

2010 - Looking at the AL Central

Let's take a quick look around the division.

Chicago White Sox
2008: 89-74 (1st, +1g; Lost ALDS) 2009: 79-83 (3rd, -7.5g) 2010 Pred: 71-91 (4th, -12g)

There's not much to say about the ChiSox. They do well enough to avoid embarassing themselves or manager Ozzie Guillen, but not enough to really compete. They do have two very good pitchers however including former Padre Jake Peavy and can still surprise you.

C: A.J. Pierzynski (.300 13-49 in 2009)
1B: Paul Konerko (.277 28-88)
2B: Gordon Beckham (.270 14-63) - rated 84/93
3B: Mark Teahen (.271 12-50 w Royals)
SS: Alexei Ramirez (.277 15-68)
LF: Juan Pierre (.308 0-31 w Dodgers)
CF: Alejandro De Aza (.250 0-3 w Marlins)
RF: Alexis Rios (.247 17-71 w Blue Jays/White Sox)
DH: Carlos Quentin (.236 21-47)
P1: Mark Buehrle (13-10 3.84)
P2: John Danks (13-11 3.77) - rated 90/93
P3: Jake Peavy (9-6 3.45 w Padres/White Sox) - rated 90
CL: Bobby Jenks (3-4 3.71 29 SV)
SU: Matt Thornton (6-3 2.74 4 SV)

Detroit Tigers
2008: 74-88 (5th, -14.5g) 2009: 86-77 (2nd, -1g) 2010 Pred: 78-84 (2nd, -5g)

The Tigers lost the division in a one game playoff against Minnesota. They appear to be a team in transition, and thanks to generous spending despite the fragile economy Detroit's well on the way to another championship. Cabrera and Verlander are some of the most dangerous people in our division. Detroit probably won't win in 2010 - but 2011 is a distinct possibility.

C: Gerald Laird (.225 4-33)
1B: Miguel Cabrera (.324 34-103) - rated 93
2B: Scott Sizemore (Rookie)
3B: Brandon Inge (.230 27-84)
SS: Ramon Santiago (.267 7-35)
LF: Ryan Raburn (.291 16-45)
CF: Clete Thomas (.240 7-39)
RF: Magglio Ordonez (.310 9-50)
DH: Johnny Damon (.282 24-82 w Yankees)
P1: Justin Verlander (19-9 3.45) - rated 93
P2: Max Scherzer (9-11 4.12 w D-backs) - rated 87/91
P3: Rick Porcello (14-9 3.96) - rated 78/93
CL: Jose Valverde (4-2 2.33 25 SV w Astros)
SU: Phil Coke (4-3 4.50 2 SV w Yankees)

Kansas City Royals
2008: 75-87 (4th, -13.5g) 2009: 65-97 (4th-T, -21.5g) 2010 Pred: 69-93 (5th, -14g)

The Royals have dwelt in or near the cellar of this division for years now. It's not entirely clear why, though much blame seems to be placed on owners and management. Whatever the reason, these Royals are no better and it's hard to imagine them competing this year. (It's worth noting however, that in a test game the '10 Royals won the division with an 81-82 record.)

C: Jason Kendall (.241 2-43 w Brewers)
1B: Billy Butler (.301 21-93) - rated 85/91
2B: Alberto Callaspo (.300 11-73)
3B: Wilson Betemit (.200 0-3 w White Sox)
SS: Yuniesky Betancourt (.245 6-49 w Mariners/Royals)
LF: Scott Podsednik (.304 7-48 w White Sox)
CF: Mitch Maier (.243 3-31)
RF: David DeJesus (.281 13-71)
DH: Rick Ankiel (.231 11-38 w Cardinals)
P1: Zack Greinke (16-8 2.16) - rated 93
P2: Brian Bannister (7-12 4.73)
P3: Kyle Davies (8-9 5.27)
CL: Joakim Soria (3-2 2.21 30 SV) - rated 89/93
SU: Matt Herges (3-1 3.38 w Indians/Rockies)

Minnesota Twins
2008: 88-75 (2nd, -1g) 2009: 87-76 (1st, +1g; Lost ALDS) 2010 Pred: 74-88 (3rd, -9g)

After two years of forcing the AL Central into a 163rd game, the Twins may take a step back this year...or may not. Mauer and Morneau are still a devastating combo, and this year the Twins christen their new stadium: Target Field.

C: Joe Mauer (.365 28-96) - rated 93
1B: Justin Morneau (.274 30-100)
2B: Orlando Hudson (.283 9-62 w Dodgers)
3B: Jim Thome (.249 23-77 w White Sox/Dodgers)
SS: Nick Punto (.228 1-38)
LF: Jason Kubel (.300 28-103)
CF: Jason Repko (.000 0-1 w Dodgers)
RF: Denard Span (.311 8-68)
DH: Michael Cuddyer (.276 32-94)
P1: Scott Baker (15-9 4.37)
P2: Kevin Slowey (10-3 4.86)
P3: Nick Blackburn (11-11 4.03)
CL: Jon Rauch (7-3 3.60 2 SV w D-backs/Twins)
SU: Matt Guerrier (5-1 2.36 1 SV)

Cleveland Indians
2008: 81-81 (3rd, 7.5g) 2009: 65-97 (4th-T, -21.5g) 2010 Pred: 83-79 (1st, +5g; Lose ALDS)

I don't believe for a moment that the Indians can win the division in 2010. Even ignoring the real life evidence, 'we' just don't have the parts in place for a serious run...this year. Possibly in 2011, almost certainly in 2012, but not today. Last year GM Mark Shapiro announced that '09 and '10 were basically lost seasons, and I think he hit it on the head.

No, this will be a rebuild year. My primary goals will be to gut Cleveland's payroll so in 2011 or 12 we can make a splash in free agency. No doubt it made sense at the time, but 'our' payroll has some serious imbalances that need to be dealt with from day one.

Before we do, however, a quick look around the rest of the league.

Prediction

Code:

Red Sox (102-60) Indians (83-79) Athletics (92-70) Rays (101-61) wc Tigers (78-84) Mariners (85-77) Yankees (92-70) Twins (74-88) Rangers (82-80) Orioles (73-89) White Sox (71-91) Angels (76-86) Blue Jays (66-96) Royals (69-93) Phillies (90-72) Cardinals (90-72) Dodgers (94-68) Marlins (83-79) Brewers (90-72) wc D-backs (79-83) Braves (77-85) Cubs (84-78) Giants (76-86) Mets (77-85) Astros (80-82) Padres (72-90) Nationals (76-86) Reds (78-84) Rockies (70-92) Pirates (70-92) AL: TBR 3 OAK 1; BOS 3 CLE 0 - TBR 4 BOS 1 NL: LAD 3 MIL 2; PHI 3 STL 2 - PHI 4 LAD 2 WS: TBR 4 PHI 1 Batting Titles: Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS .348), Albert Pujols (STL .340) Home Runs: Justin Morneau (MIN 37), Ryan Braun (MIL 48) Runs Batted In: Justin Morneau (MIN 128), Ryan Braun (MIL 151) Steals: Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS 87), Nyjer Morgan (WAS 75) Wins: Jon Lester (BOS 20), Chad Billingsley (LAD 18-t), Adam Wainwright (STL 18-t) Earned Run Avg: Matt Garza (TBR 2.34), Adam Wainwright (STL 2.36) Strikeouts: Jon Lester (BOS 208), Yovani Gallardo (MIL 256) Saves: Rafael Soriano (TBR 40), Trevor Hoffman (MIL 45) All Star MVP: Joe Mauer (MIN) Divisional MVP: Mike Cameron (BOS), Blake DeWitt (LAD) Divisional MVP: Carlos Pena (TBR), Domonic Brown (PHI) LCS MVP: Sean Rodriguez (TBR), Larry Wetzel (PHI) World Ser. MVP: Carl Crawford (TBR) Cy Young: Jon Lester (BOS), Adam Wainwright (STL) MVP: Justin Morneau (MIN), Albert Pujols (STL) Rookie of Year: Scott Sizemore (DET), David Freese (STL)

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Opening Moves

Let's get the questionable but life saving move out of the way:

Trade
Indians to Yankees
* 1B/DH Travis Hafner (78) [32] (.272 16-49)
* SP Jake Westbrook (79) [32] (DNP in 2009)
* C Mike Redmond (72) [38] (.237 0-7 w Twins)

Yankees to Indians
* $1.25 M dollars

No one offered a player. The why is obvious enough: I've just cut over $24 million in payroll giving up three players who are, to put it nicely, past their peak. Nonetheless, Hafner and Westbrook aren't bad players and can still contribute to their title defense. Three teams actually offered cash for these people, with the others being Boston and the Mets.

Free Agency

Though I probably have pitchers to get me through the year (in which time hopefully one or two of my rookies have developed), I'm going to go ahead and get a veteran presence. I could give you a handful of role-playing reasons to do this, but the truth is I just like the idea of his career ending in Cleveland...and it gets a really weak starter back in the minors where he belongs.

After a surprisingly ugly bidding war with the Nationals, we acquire Pedro Martinez (76) [38] (5-1 3.63 w Phillies) for $3.65 million.

Team Roster, Opening Day 2010 - Batters

CATCHER
Lou Marson (72/78) [23] (.246 0-4 w Phillies/Indians) - Starter
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 11
Acquired: 7/09 Trade w Phillies
Debut: 2008 Philadelphia Phillies

Wyatt Toregas (73/76) [27] (.176 0-6) - Bench
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 12
Acquired: 6/04 Amateur Draft
Debut: 2009 Cleveland Indians

* Toregas is a never-was that never-will-be. Marson is biding time while Carlos Santana (73/91) continues to develop in AAA-Columbus.

FIRST BASE
Matt LaPorta (75/85) [25] (.254 7-21) - Starter
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 11
Acquired: 7/08 Trade w Brewers
Debut: 2009 Cleveland Indians

Chris Giminez (70/73) [27] (.144 3-7) - Bench
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 11
Acquired: 6/04 Amateur Draft
Debut: 2009 Cleveland Indians

* LaPorta came here in the 2008 Sabathia trade. Whether he's the Indians' future remains to be seen. Giminez wouldn't be on the roster except we have few other people capable of playing 1B well. Russell Branyan (80) [34] will probably bump him when he comes off the DL in late April.

SECOND BASE
Asdrubal Cabrera (88/92) [24] (.308 6-68) - Starter
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 10
Acquired: 6/06 Trade w Mariners
Debut: 2007 Cleveland Indians

Luis Valbuena (76/80) [24] (.250 10-31) - DH
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 11
Acquired: 12/08 Trade w Mariners
Debut: 2008 Seattle Mariners

Luis Rodriguez (75) [29] (.202 2-16 w Padres) - Bench
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 10
Acquired: 12/09 Free Agent
Debut: 2005 Minnesota Twins

* Cabrera starts at second, and for the moment Valbuena is our DH. Again, I expect that to change rapidly when Branyan returns. We have two older players in AAA (Mark Grudzielanek and Tony Graffanino) who will probably retire soon.

SHORTSTOP
Jhonny Peralta (81) [27] (.254 11-83) - Starter
Contract: $4.6M through 2010
Acquired: 4/99 Free Agent
Debut: 2003 Cleveland Indians

Anderson Hernandez (71) [27] (.251 3-37 w Mets/Nationals) - Bench
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 10
Acquired: 3/10 Waivers from Mets
Debut: 2005 New York Mets

* Peralta is one of the more reknowned players on the team. Hernandez is another never-was, and could very easily lose his position to one of three shortstops in AAA-Columbus. Certainly short of a major breakout, Hernandez won't be tendered in arbitration.

THIRD BASE
Andy Marte (77) [26] (.232 6-25) - Starter
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 10
Acquired: 1/06 Trade w Red Sox
Debut: 2005 Atlanta Braves

* Marte is widely considered a busted prospect. As it stands, he's holding the fort while Lonnie Chisenhall (62/91) develops in A-Lake County. Of course, if this year is any indication, he might make a decent RP...

LEFT FIELD
Trevor Crowe (72/74) [26] (.235 1-17) - Starter
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 10
Acquired: 6/05 Amateur Draft
Debut: 2009 Cleveland Indians

* Another probably busted prospect. He's on the opening day lineup to give Michael Brantley (74/83) a little more time to develop in Columbus while keeping his arb clock from running. If he struggles he will probably go down for good. Jordan Brown (73/80) starts the year on the DL and will also probably see playing time.

CENTER FIELD
Grady Sizemore (87) [27] (.248 18-64) - Starter
Contract: $6.55M through 2011
Acquired: 6/02 Trade w Expos
Debut: 2004 Cleveland Indians

* One of our most popular players, Sizemore's managed to survive two (IRL three) years of rebuilding the team. We do not have another CF anywhere near ready for the show, so let's hope he stays healthy.

RIGHT FIELD
Shin-Soo Choo (84) [27] (.300 20-86) - Starter
Contract: $400K through 2013
Acquired: 7/06 Trade w Mariners
Debut: 2005 Seattle Mariners

Austin Kearns (75) [29] (.195 3-17 w Nationals) - Bench
Contract: $400K through 2010
Acquired: 1/10 Free Agent
Debut: 2002 Cincinnati Reds

* Choo is another popular player with a potentially bright future. Kearns probably won't get any better, but there aren't any better options in the minors.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Team Roster, Opening Day 2010 - Pitchers
STARTERS
Fausto Carmona (81) [26] (5-12 6.32)
Contract: $5.5M through 2011
Acquired: 12/00 Free Agent
Debut: 2006 Cleveland Indians

Justin Masterson (79/83) [25] (1-7 4.55 1 CG)
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 2010
Acquired: 7/09 Trade w Red Sox
Debut: 2008 Boston Red Sox

Pedro Martinez (76) [38] (5-1 3.63)
Contract: $3.65M through 2010
Acquired: 4/10 Free Agent
Debut: 1992 Los Angeles Dodgers

David Huff (76/81) [25] (11-8 5.61)
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 2011
Acquired: 6/06 Amateur Draft
Debut: 2009 Cleveland Indians

Aaron Laffey (75/79) [24] (7-9 4.44 1 SV)
Contract: $400K throgh Arbitration 2010
Acquired: 6/03 Amateur Draft
Debut: 2007 Cleveland Indians

* Carmona is our ace. He spent part of last year in rookie ball getting back his confidence. 'Nuf said. I'm hoping Martinez has just a little gas left in the tank. Next year we will probably have Nick Hagadone (74/94), who came to the Indians with Masterson from Boston and projects in every dynasty I've played as a strikeout dynamo. The pitcher I bumped by signing Martinez was Jeremy Sowers (73) [26].

RELIEVERS

Chris Perez (80/91) [24] (0-1 4.32 1 SV) - Closer
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 2011
Acquired: 6/09 Trade w Cardinals
Debut: 2008 St. Louis Cardinals

Rafael Perez (80) [28] (4-3 7.31) - Setup
Contract: $895K through 2010
Acquired: 1/02 Free Agent
Debut: 2006 Cleveland Indians

Joe Smith (79) [26] (0-0 3.44)
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 2010
Acquired: 12/08 Trade w Mets
Debut: 2007 New York Mets

Saul Rivera (78) [32] (1-3 6.10 w Nationals)
Contract: $400K through Arbitration 2010
Acquired: 12/09 Free Agent
Debut: 2006 Washington Nationals

Jason Grilli (76) [33] (2-3 5.32 1 SV w Rockies/Rangers)
Contract: $400K through 2010
Acquired: 11/09 Free Agent
Debut: 2000 Florida Marlins

Jamey Wright (76) [35] (3-5 4.33 w Royals)
Contract: $400K through 2010
Acquired: 2/10 Free Agent
Debut: 1996 Colorado Rockies

* Chris Perez will probably be our closer for awhile, as Kerry Wood (79) [32] and his $10.5 M contract are going away as soon as he's off the DL in late May. Our bullpen is a mess and there isn't much hope in the minors. Expect Jess Todd (75/86) [23] to debut later this year.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

No apologies needed, Cat. It's pretty nice to have such a renowned Dynasty writer be taking elements from my dynasty into theirs. :)

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Good start i'll be reading

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Ill be enjoying this no doubt, Cleveland and a reknowned writer = Good Times.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thum...orn-blower.jpg

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatKnight

There's not much to say about the ChiSox. They do well enough to avoid embarassing themselves or manager Ozzie Guillen, but not enough to really compete. They do have two very good pitchers however including former Padre Jake Peavy and can still surprise you.

Ozzie does enough to embarrass himself already.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

YEAH DAWWWG: Thank you! I'm glad you're still updating yours. You had me worried for a few days. :)

ewing6: Welcome and thanks!

onemoretime: Glad to have you onboard.

gosensgo101: Well....true. Very true. :)
*******

Opening Day 2010
April 5, 2010
U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago

Code:

Opening Day Lineups: Cleveland Indians Chicago White Sox 1. Grady Sizemore (CF) 1. Juan Pierre (LF) 2. Asdrubal Cabrera (2B) 2. Alexis Rios (RF) 3. Shin-Soo Choo (RF) 3. Gordon Beckham (2B) 4. Matt LaPorta (1B) 4. Carlos Quentin (DH) 5. Andy Marte (3B) 5. Paul Konerko (1B) 6. Jhonny Peralta (SS) 6. A.J. Pierzynski (C) 7. Luis Valbuena (DH) 7. Alexei Ramirez (SS) 8. Trevor Crowe (LF) 8. Mark Teahen (3B) 9. Lou Marson (C) 9. Alejandro De Aza (CF) P. Fausto Carmona P. Mark Buehrle

TOP 1ST: Buehrle pitching Sizemore singles, but is caught stealing second. Cabrera grounds to first. Choo strikes out. 0R 1H 0E 0L Tied 0-0

BOTTOM 1ST: Carmona pitching Pierre singles. Rios strikes out. Pierre steals second and third. Beckham grounds to second scoring Pierre. Quentin grounds to third. 1R 1H 0E 0L White Sox 1-0

TOP 2ND: LaPorta singles. Marte stirkes out. Peralta singles. Valbuena singles. Crowe grounds to first scoring LaPorta. Marson grounds to second. 1R 3H 0E 2L Tied 1-1

BOTTOM 2ND: Konerko pops to third. Pierzynski flies to right. Ramirez homers. Teahen singles. De Aza grounds to third. 1R 2H 0E 0L White Sox 2-1

TOP 3RD: Sizemore strikes out. Cabrera flies to center. Choo doubles. LaPorta homers scoring Choo and himself. Marte pops to short. 2R 2H 0E 0L Indians 3-2

BOTTOM 3RD: Pierre lines to third. Rios lines to right. Beckham flies to left. 0R 0H 0E 0L Indians 3-2

TOP 4TH: Peralta strikes out. Valbuena grounds to short. Crowe singles. Marson grounds to short. 0R 1H 0E 1L Indians 3-2

BOTTOM 4TH: Quentin flies to center. Konerko doubles. Pierzynski grounds to short. Ramirez grounds to pitcher. 0R 1H 0E 1L Indians 3-2

TOP 5TH: Sizemore flies to right. Cabrera singles. Choo strikes out. LaPorta grounds to short. 0R 1H 0E 1L Indians 3-2

BOTTOM 5TH: Teahan flies to left. De Aza grounds to short. Pierre grounds to short. 0R 0H 0E 0L Indians 3-2

TOP 6TH: Marte strikes out. Peralta flies to right. Valbuena grounds to second. 0R 0H 0E 0L Indians 3-2

BOTTOM 6TH: Rios flies to left. Beckham grounds to third. Quentin grounds to first. 0R 0H 0E 0L Indians 3-2

TOP 7TH: Crowe grounds to short. Marson grounds to short. Sizemore grounds to first. 0R 0H 0E 0L Indians 3-2

BOTTOM 7TH: Rodriguez playing 3B. Konerko grounds to short. Pierzynski grounds to third. Ramirez strikes out. 0H 0R 0E 0L Indians 3-2

TOP 8TH: Cabrera flies to left. Choo doubles. Gonzalez pitching. LaPorta grounds to short. Rodriguez pops to first. 0R 1H 0E 1L Indians 3-2

BOTTOM 8TH: Teahen strikes out. De Aza singles. Pierre doubles, scoring De Aza. Pierre steals third. Rios grounds to second, scoring Pierre. Beckham strikes out. 2R 2H 0E 0L White Sox 4-3

TOP 9TH: Jenks pitching. Peralta grounds to third. Valbuena grounds to second. Crowe grounds to short. 0R 0H 0E 0L

*******
Chicago White Sox 4, Cleveland Indians 3
WP: Edgar Gonzalez (1-0), LP: Fausto Carmona (0-1), SV: Bobby Jenks (1)
HR: (CLE) Matt LaPorta (1), (CHW) Alexei Ramirez (1)
*******

Thoughts:
Carmona gets a complete game ... my manager (the AI) left him in for one inning too long. Otherwise we didn't do too badly, and it was certainly a close and fun game to watch. I'm not expecting much from this team so it's hard to be disappointed.

Code:

Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox April 5, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Indians (CLE) 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 9 0 White Sox (CHW) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 x 4 6 0 CLEVELAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Grady Sizemore (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250 Asdrubal Cabrera (2B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Shin-Soo Choo (RF) 4 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 .500 Matt LaPorta (1B) 4 2 0 2 1 2 0 0 .500 Andy Marte (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 Luis Rodriguez (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Jhonny Peralta (SS) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250 Luis Valbuena (DH) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Trevor Crowe (LF) 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .250 Lou Marson (C) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 35 9 0 3 1 3 6 0 2B: Shin-Soo Choo 2 (2) HR: Matt LaPorta (1) CS: Grady Sizemore CLEVELAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Fausto Carmona 8.0 6 0 1 4 4 4 110 4.50 TOTALS 8.0 6 0 1 4 4 4 110 CHICAGO ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg Juan Pierre (LF) 4 2 0 2 0 1 0 3 .500 Alexis Rios (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000 Gordon Beckham (2B) 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000 Carlos Quentin (DH) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Paul Konerko (1B) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 A.J. Pierzynski (C) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Alexei Ramirez (SS) 3 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 .333 Mark Teahen (3B) 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 Alejandro De Aza (CF) 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333 TOTALS 30 6 0 4 1 4 4 3 2B: Paul Konerko (1), Juan Pierre (1) HR: Alexei Ramirez (1) CHICAGO ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Mark Buehrle 7.1 9 0 1 3 3 6 108 3.68 Edgar Gonzalez 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0.00 Bobby Jenks 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0.00 TOTALS 9.0 9 0 1 3 3 6 126 WP: Edgar Gonzalez (1-0) LP: Fausto Carmona (0-1) SV: Bobby Jenks (1) Temperature: 39F Wind: 5 MPH (out to center) Attendance: 40,615 Time: 2:14

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

April 7

Indians 3 White Sox 1
WP: Masterson (1-0), LP: Peavy (0-1), SV: C Perez (1)
HR: (CLE) Choo (1)

Shin-Soo Choo homers early to give us the lead for good. Justin Masterson finally leaves the game after 7.2 innings and our bullpen makes its season debut.

April 8:

Indians 4 White Sox 10
WP: Floyd (1-0), LP: Grilli (0-1)
HR: (CLE) Cabrera (1), Sizemore 2 (2), (CHW) Ramirez (2)

Pedro Martinez doesn't make it through the third inning, but it's ultimately Jason Grilli who wastes our 3-run 1st inning. 3B Andy Marte gets out first error of the year.

*******

Cleveland Indians (1-2)
Tied for 3rd Place (1 GB) behind Chicago and Detroit

*******

April 9:

Indians 9 Tigers 8
WP: R Perez (1-0), LP: Bonderman (0-1), SV: C Perez (2)
HR: (CLE) Marson (1), Peralta (1), (DET) M Cabrera (1), Inge (1)

An alarming game despite our win: SP David Huff only lasts four innings and we go through five pitchers before rallying late. We also seem heavily dependent on power, and the Indians don't strike me as a power heavy team.

April 10:

Indians 3 Tigers 4 (13)
WP: Ni (1-0), LP: Grilli (0-2)
HR: (CLE) LaPorta (2)

Fu-Te Ni is an...interesting name for a pitcher. So be it. Though Grilli gets the loss, the real blame lays solely on CF Grady Sizemore who bobbles an inning ending fly ball allowing Adam Everett to score.

April 11:

Indians 7 Tigers 5
WP: Wright (1-0), LP: Schlereth (0-1), SV: S Rivera (1)
HR: (CLE) LaPorta (3), Sizemore (3), (DET) M Cabrera (2), Damon (2), Ordonez (1), Santiago (1)

Another troubling win as Carmona doesn't make it out of the fourth inning. Choo's two-run double in the sixth gives us a 4-3 lead, while both of our homers occur in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

*******

In my two previous games the AL Central is a low powered slugfest. By low-powered, I mean four if not all five teams all spend the season hovering around .500 ball. It makes for a strange looking, but very close divisional race. So far that looks to be what will happen here.

*******

Cleveland Indians (3-3)
Tied for 1st Place (0 GA) with Chicago and Detroit

*******

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Yeah, haha, I had a busy couple of days where I didn't have the time to really update it. That may happen occasionally.

Anyways, you definitely have a good team to build with here. In every sim I've seen Hagadone turns into a complete stud, and Sizemore, Cabrera, and Laporta are all excellent hitters to start with. Though Sizemore may be getting to that age where he looks better as trade bait for you than a piece to build around.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

YEAH DAWWWG: I agree. I'm looking forward to seeing Hagadone play. Sizemore...I may have to trade him when his contract is up, as I'm sure he'll think he's worth some ungodly amount. Until then I plan to enjoy having him around. LaPorta, Cabrera and possibly Peralta will factor heavily as we rebuild.
*******

So we head home for the first time tied for the division lead. Let's see if it lasts...
*******

April 12

Rangers 1 Indians 3
WP: Masterson (2-0), LP: Wilson (0-1), SV: C Perez (3)
HR: (CLE) LaPorta (4), Peralta (2)

Masterson lasts another 7.2 innings and once more gives us a convincing victory. We continue to rely on power with Peralta's sixth inning, two run shot leading the way.

April 14:

Rangers 1 Indians 7
WP: Martinez (1-0), McCarthy (0-2)

Martinez remembers how to pitch. A solid performance with Marson and backup 1B Chris Giminez getting 2 RBI each.

April 15:

Rangers 13 Indians 0
WP: Harden (2-0), LP: Huff (0-1)
HR: (TEX) Guerrero 2 (2)

Texas avenges themselves in style as SS Elvus Andrus goes 5 for 6 as DH Vladimir Guerrero gets six RBI. They score ten in the 4th inning obliterating Huff and RP Jamey Wright.

*******

Cleveland Indians (5-4)
Second Place (1.5 GB) behind Chicago

*******

April 16:

White Sox 3 Indians 1
WP: Buehrle (1-0), LP: Laffey (0-1), SV: Jenks (2)

Laffey does well. ChiSox ace Mark Buehrle does better. Our sole run comes on an Alexei Ramirez error.

April 17:

White Sox 4 Indians 5 (15)
WP: Grilli (1-2), LP: Gonzalez (1-1)
HR: (CHW) Quentin (2)

Carmona misses his start with a sore arm, and Masterson tires after two innings. Chicago takes a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth when a major rally ties the game. For the next five innings both bullpens cancel each other out when Chicago RP Edgar Gonzalez tires. He loads the bases for Shin-Soo Choo, who hits a line drive up the middle to get the win.

April 18:

White Sox 12 Indians 2
WP: Floyd (3-0), LP: Martinez (1-1)
HR: (CHW) Teahen (2), Quentin (3), (CLE) Marson (2)

Martinez goes back to sucking, and RP Jamey Wright decides to come along for the ride raising his ERA to 12.38. Once these two idiots leave the game it settles down, but by that point (the 4th inning) we're already behind by eleven runs.
*******

The season's twelve games old and we're straddling the .500 mark. It's too early to look at who is really helping or hurting us, but a few names stand out. Grady Sizemore has an OBP of over .400, while LaPorta's 4 homers lead the team. Marte and DH Valbuena are hitting below the Mendoza line. Masterson came back to earth but still boasts a K/IP ratio of over 1. Martinez (6.36 ERA), Huff (9.39) and long reliever Wright are embarassing themselves.

*******

Cleveland Indians (6-6)
Tied for 3rd Place (2.5 GB) behind Chicago

*******

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Back on the road for pretty much the rest of the month. If we actually plan to compete (unlikely, but hope springs eternal...) we'll need to win at least half of the next nine games and stay close to the ChiSox. The good news is we're about to get Russell Branyan back.
*******

April 20

Indians 5 Twins 7
WP: Guerrier (2-0), LP: Smith (0-1), SV: Rauch (5)
HR: (MIN) Thome (4), Cuddyer (1)

Trailing 4-0, we rally to tie the game in the seventh. Up until this point Joe Smith's had a stellar season (sporting a 0.96 ERA in 9.1 IP), but today he falls apart giving up three in the eighth. We manage to score one when Choo brings home Marson on a single, but can't quite close the gap.

April 21

Indians 5 Twins 9
WP: Slowey (2-1), LP: Laffey (0-2), SV: Duensing (2)
HR: (CLE) Valbuena 1, (MIN) Mauer (4)

Now here are the Indians I expected to see this year: Incompetent. Yet, it's worth noting we didn't give up. Minnesota scored all their runs early off Laffey and Jamey Wright. We spent the rest of the game nickel-and-diming our way back.

April 22

Indians 10 Twins 6
WP: Carmona (1-1), LP: Blackburn (0-2), SV: Smith (1)
HR: (CLE) LaPorta (5), Peralta (3), Sizemore (4), Kearns (1), (MIN) Thome (5)

Kearns DHs for an injured Valbuena. Cleveland scores in five different innings including three in the ninth to slam the door in Minnesota's face. The Twins scored four in the bottom of the eighth to crawl back to within one. Sizemore had 4 RBI and Peralta 3 in a very successful day for the club, while Minnesota's Jim Thome earned 5 RBI in a losing cause.

*******

Cleveland Indians (7-8)
Fourth Place (4.5 GB) behind Chicago

*******

April 23

Indians 2 Athletics 3
WP: Wuertz (1-0), LP: Rivera (0-1), SV: Bailey (4)
HR: (OAK) Sweeney (4)

Masterson pitched well again, but left after seven innings so Oakland finished us off late. Sizemore earned the team's only RBI on a double scoring Choo.

April 24

Indians 4 Athletics 6
WP: Sheets (4-0), LP: Huff (0-2), SV: Bailey (5)
HR: (OAK) Ellis (4), Kouzmanoff (8)

When Andy Marte (2 for 3, triple, 2 R, 1 RBI) is your offensive player of the game, you know there's trouble. David Huff gets blasted again and the starter's ERA creeps over 9.

April 25

Indians 5 Athletics 8
WP: B Anderson (1-1), LP: Laffey (0-3)
HR: (OAK) Cust (4), Rosales (1)

Ow. Another lazy performance by the Indians. Saul Rivera leaves in the eighth game with a broken tibia. No loss.

*******

The good news: Russell Branyan (80) [34] (.251 31-76 w Mariners) is ready to resume his career. He'll rejoin the lineup as IF Luis Rodriguez (75) [29] (.091 0-0) returns to Columbus to figure out which end to hold a bat from. He becomes our 1B, while Matt LaPorta moves to DH and Valbuena goes to the bench.

The bad news (kinda): Saul Rivera (78) [32] (0-1 7.36 1 SV) is put on the 60 day DL due to his broken shin. Since his arbitration clock runs out this year anyway, we might as well see if Jensen Lewis (77) [25] (2-4 4.61 1 SV in 2009) has learned anything since last year. He'll go to long relief while Jamey Wright moves to mid-relief.

*******

*******

Cleveland Indians (7-11)
Tied for 4th Place (7.5 GB) behind Chicago

*******

April 26

Indians 2 Angels 1
WP: Martinez (2-1), LP: Weaver (2-3)

Pedro Martinez proves he still has it..sometimes at least...by pitching a 7K one-hitter with only 1B Kendry Morales standing between him and the record books. Branyan goes 2 for 4 in his season debut.

April 27

Indians 12 Angels 3
WP: Carmona (2-1), LP: Pineiro (2-3)
HR: (CLE) Branyan (1), Sizemore (5)

Jensen Lewis' season debut hardly goes smoothly (2 IP 2 ER), but by the point he entered the game it was already too late and Sizemore's ninth inning grand slam was just icing on the cake. Choo went 4 for 6 with 3 runs and 2 RBI while Branyan and Marte also hit two men home.

April 28

Indians 3 Angels 7
WP: Kazmir (1-2), LP: Masterson (2-1)
HR: (CLE) Branyan (2), (LAA) J Rivera (3)

The road-trip ends on a sour note with Masterson having a bona fide poor outing (4.1 IP 5 ER). Marte led the offense with a 2nd inning 2-run triple that temporarily gave Cleveland the lead.

********

I was hoping for a little better than 3-6, but we could have done much worse. April's almost over so it's time to take a look at where we stand along with the rest of the league.

*******

Cleveland Indians (9-12)
Tied for 4th Place (7 GB) behind Chicago

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Code:

2010 Batting Team G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP Marson, Lou CLE 19 .219 64 14 2 0 2 11 19 0 1 10 9 .344 .333 Toregas, Wyatt CLE 5 .211 19 4 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 .211 .211 LaPorta, Matt CLE 19 .256 78 20 4 0 5 6 14 0 1 11 10 .500 .306 Gimenez, Chris CLE 3 .455 11 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 .455 .455 Branyan, Russell CLE 3 .364 11 4 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 4 3 .909 .462 Cabrera, Asdrubal CLE 19 .226 84 19 5 0 1 5 22 1 1 6 10 .321 .267 Marte, Andy CLE 20 .228 79 18 3 3 0 4 14 0 0 10 6 .342 .265 Peralta, Jhonny CLE 21 .273 77 21 4 0 3 6 17 0 0 10 10 .442 .326 Valbuena, Luis CLE 14 .211 57 12 0 0 1 2 5 2 0 6 4 .263 .237 Rodriguez, Luis CLE 6 .091 11 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 .091 .091 Hernandez, Anderson CLE 2 .167 6 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 .167 .143 Sizemore, Grady CLE 21 .341 85 29 9 1 5 14 11 3 2 13 17 .647 .446 Choo, Shin-Soo CLE 20 .294 85 25 7 1 1 7 21 1 0 10 11 .435 .355 Crowe, Trevor CLE 20 .190 79 15 2 0 0 5 11 3 0 10 1 .215 .247 Kearns, Austin CLE 2 .333 6 2 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 1 .833 .500

Catcher: Neither man is exactly impressing me. Nonetheless, without knowing if my AI manager will actually use Carlos Santana (72/90) I'd rather let him develop in AAA-Columbus for awhile longer.

First Base: Notice how well Giminez has done in limited appearances. This is enough to let him stay with the Major League roster even though I really don't need three first basemen. LaPorta's a much better choice for DH than Valbuena was.

Infield: Peralta is doing very well. Marte and Cabrera aren't, but it's hard to argue for replacing them at this time. We will sned Valbuena and Hernandez down however and give some other people a chance.

Outfield: As expected, the only real problem I've having here is from Trever Crowe. It's time for him to go down as well.

Reassignment:
* to Columbus *
2B Luis Valbuena (76/80) [24]
SS Anderson Hernandez (71) [27]
LF Trevor Crowe (72/74) [26]

* to Cleveland *
SS Brian Bixler (73/75) [27] (.227 0-3 w Pirates in 2009) (.395 OBP in AAA)
3B Brian Buscher (71/72) [29] (.235 2-12 w Twins in 2009) (.348 1-19, .458 OBP in AAA)
LF Michael Brantley (74/83) [22] (.313 0-11 in 2009) (.298 0-14, .402 OBP in AAA)

In the aftermath of all these moves, Brantley and Buscher join the starting lineup while Marte moves to the bench.

Code:

2010 Pitching Team IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9 Masterson, Justin CLE 28.2 4.08 5 5 2 1 0 32 8 12.56 Carmona, Fausto CLE 25.2 3.51 4 4 2 1 0 10 6 10.17 Martinez, Pedro CLE 20.2 4.35 4 4 2 1 0 14 5 10.45 Laffey, Aaron CLE 19.0 9.00 4 4 0 3 0 8 8 16.58 Huff, David CLE 15.2 9.19 4 4 0 2 0 10 8 17.81 Smith, Joe CLE 17.0 3.18 12 0 0 1 1 10 4 10.06 Perez, Rafael CLE 15.0 3.60 8 0 1 0 0 11 3 10.20 Rivera, Saul CLE 14.2 7.36 10 0 0 1 1 7 7 19.02 Wright, Jamey CLE 12.1 8.76 9 0 1 0 0 9 8 21.89 Grilli, Jason CLE 12.1 2.19 8 0 1 2 0 10 3 8.76 Perez, Chris CLE 6.2 2.70 5 0 0 0 3 8 3 6.75 Lewis, Jensen CLE 3.0 6.00 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 12.00

It can be argued with some fairness that one month is too soon to properly evaluate pitchers.

I don't care. This is a mess.

Starters Masterson's showing potential above and beyond what his real life stats indicate. Carmona and Martinez are merely inconsistent, with some excellent starts and some truly awful ones. Laffey and Huff give up an outrageous number of runners per game. Lest you think their ERA misleading, their DICE isn't much better. (5.95 and 7.79 respectively)

Relievers It's too early to judge Lewis, and Perez looks like he might indeed be a decent closer. With Rivera gone and Grilli putting together some decent performances of late, the only reliever left who makes my skin crawl is Jamey Wright. Again, lest you think his ERA and 21.9 R/9 unfair, his DICE is over 6. Down he goes.

The only real problem with all these changes is that I don't have many people to replace them with.

Reassignment:
* to Columbus *
SP David Huff (76/81) [25]
SP Aaron Laffey (75/76) [25]
RP Jamey Wright (77) [35]

* to Cleveland *
SP Jeremy Sowers (73) [26] (6-11 5.25 in 2009) (1-2 6.23 in AAA)
SP Mitch Talbot (69/75) [26] (3-3 3.16 in AAA)
RP Tom Mastny (71/72) [29] (0-0 2.04 8 SV in AAA)

I could have made stronger choices: SP Nick Hagadone (74/94) can't stay in Columbus forever, but I'd rather let him beat up on AAA-batting for awhile longer. Further, Sowers and Mastny's arbitration clocks are up this year anyway, while Talbot's runs until 2012.

In the aftermath, our rotation is Carmona-Masterson-Sowers-Martinez-Talbot. Mastny goes to long relief bumping Lewis to mid-relief.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Major League Baseball
April 29, 2010

Code:

AL East AL Central AL West Toronto 12 10 -- Chicago 16 5 -- Los Angeles 13 10 -- Boston 12 10 -- Minnesota-wc 12 9 4 Oakland 11 11 1.5 Tampa 10 11 1.5 Detroit 10 12 6.5 Seattle 10 12 2.5 New York 9 11 2 Cleveland 9 12 7 Texas 9 12 3 Baltimore 8 13 3.5 Kansas City 9 12 7 NL East NL Central NL West Philadelphia 14 7 -- St. Louis 14 7 -- San Diego 11 10 -- Atlanta-wc 13 8 1 Pittsburgh-wc 13 8 1 Colorado 11 11 0.5 New York 12 10 2.5 Milwaukee 12 9 2 San Francisco 9 12 2 Florida 10 12 4.5 Houston 10 10 3.5 Los Angeles 9 12 2 Washington 9 13 5.5 Chicago 9 13 5.5 Arizona 9 12 2 Cincinnati 5 16 9

Code:

American League National League Batting Average Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) .398 Cristian Guzman (WAS) .410 Home Runs Two tied with 8 Justin Upton (ARI) 9 RBI Alexei Ramirez (CHW) 24 Andy LaRoche (PIT) 21 Stolen Bases Juan Pierre (CHW) 12 Two tied with 11 Wins Three tied with 4 Four tied with 4 ERA Robinson Tejeda (KC) 1.23 Cole Hamels (PHI) 0.69 Strikeouts Felix Hernandez (SEA) 36 Yovani Gallardo (MIL) 39 Saves Mike Gonzalez (BAL) 7 Three tied with 7 Indians in the Top Ten Strikeouts Justin Masterson 32 (T-2nd AL) (T-8th MLB)

Trades (non-Indians)
None

Major Injuries (3 mo. plus, MLB, non-Indians)
BOS - LF Jacoby Ellsbury (82) [26] (.301 8-60 in 2009) - 3 months
DET - RP Daniel Schlereth (75/87) [23] (1-4 5.89 w D-backs in 2009) - 6 months
LAA - 2B Maicer Izturis (81) [29] (.300 8-65 in 2009) - 5 months

NYM - CF Angel Pagan (80) [28] (.306 6-32 in 2009) - 3 months
NYM - SP Johan Santana (94) [31] (13-9 3.13 in 2009) - 3 months
NYM - 2B Luis Castillo (79) [34] (.302 1-40 in 2009) - 3 months
PIT - 1B Garrett Jones (78/79) [28] (.293 21-44 in 2009) - 3 months
STL - 2B Felipe Lopez (82) [29] (.319 9-57 w D-backs/Brewers in 2009) - 4 months
SDP - 1B Adrian Gonzalez (89) [27] (.277 40-99 in 2009) - 3 months
SFG - 2B Juan Uribe (82) [30] (.289 16-55 in 2009) - 4 months
SFG - SP Matt Cain (93) [25] (14-8 2.89 4 CG in 2009) - 4 months

Milestones
DET - LF Johnny Damon (79) [36] (.242 6-14 in 2010) - 1000 RBI, 1500 Runs
DET - RF Magglio Ordonez (83) [36] (.322 2-18 in 2010) - 1000 Runs, 2000 Hits
CLE - CF Grady Sizemore (87) [27] (.341 5-17 in 2010) - Hit for the Cycle (on April 11!)

LAD - LF Manny Ramirez (90) [37] (.270 5-13 in 2010) - 2500 Hits

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

We're 9-12 with one day left in April, and seven games off the pace because the White Sox are red hot. I've made a number of changes in the hopes of, if not necessarily competing, at least finding out who will be able to help the team going forward.
*******

April 30

Twins 10 Indians 9 (10)
WP: Neshek (2-1), LP: R Perez (1-1), SV: Condrey (1)
HR: (CLE) Cabrera (2), Marte (1), Sizemore (6)

For reasons that escape me, Jeremy Sowers debuts by pitching 9 innings...horribly. Perhaps the AI saw no point in trying to save the game. Our offense sure did as we battle back from 2-0, 8-4 and 9-7 deficits. We finally go to our bullpen in the tenth...and lose.

May 1

Twins 2 Indians 3
WP: Martinez (3-1), LP: Duensing (0-2), SV: C Perez (4)

Brian Bixler (see below) debuts by going 2 for 4 with a run. Martinez does well enough for the win, but it's up to our bullpen to shut the Twins down.

May 2

Twins 5 Indians 0
WP: Baker (4-1), LP: Carmona (2-2)
HR: (MIN) Thome (7)

Scott Baker pitches a two-hit, 8K complete game as our offense takes the day off.

********

On April 30, SS Jhonny Peralta broke his forearm and will go on the 60-day DL. In his place we bring back 2B Luis Valbuena. Our manager moves Brian Bixler to the starting lineup.

*******

Cleveland Indians (10-14)
Fourth Place, (6.5 GB) behind Chicago

*******

May 3

Blue Jays 9 Indians 10
WP: C Perez (1-0), LP: Frasor (0-1)
HR: (CLE) Sizemore (7)

We trail 7-1 entering the bottom of the second thanks to Justin Masterson. Two major rallies led by Michael Brantley (2 for 5, 4 RBI) and Austin Kearns allows us to take a 10-9 lead in the bottom of the eighth. Chris Perez gets the win in a game where we combine for 29 hits.

May 4

Blue Jays 0 Indians 1
WP: Sowers (1-0), LP: Morrow (3-3)

Jeremy Sowers pitches a 2-hit 6-strikeout shutout...then ends his season and quite possibly career with a broken arm. Catcher Lou Marson also goes on the 14-day DL with a separated shoulder. Talk about pyrrhic victories....

May 5

Blue Jays 2 Indians 7
WP: Martinez (4-1), LP: Tallet (0-5)
HR: (TOR) Snider (6), (CLE) Marte (2)

Did Pedro just need time to get back into the swing of things? Another strong performance and he's starting to look like a bona fide ace again. We score all our runs in the third inning, including Marte's grand slam.

*******

The May 4 shutout will prove to be important one way or the other, as it forces me to make my move at least one month ahead of schedule. Carlos Santana and Nick Hagadone (0-4 4.42 in AAA) will have their chance to stay with the club. Santana becomes our starter, Hagadone our number four man ahead of Mitch Talbot.

In brighter news, this is our first sweep of the year.

*******

Cleveland Indians (13-14)
Third Place, (4.5 GB) behind Chicago

*******

May 7

Tigers 5 Indians 2
WP: Bonderman (2-3), LP: Masterson (2-2), SV: Valverde (4)
HR: (DET) M Cabrera (8), Guillen (7), (CLE) Choo (2)

Well, it couldn't last....and in the last few starts Masterson's gone straight from ace to awful. His ERA is now 6.89 after giving up all five runs in the first 2.2 IP. Santana debuts going 1 for 3 with an RBI.

May 8

Tigers 3 Indians 4
WP: C Perez (2-0), LP: Zumaya (0-1)
HR: (DET) Inge (6), C Thomas (3)

Carmona and Perez appear to be turning into a decent team as he finishes a relatively strong performance. Sizemore goes 4 for 5 with 2 RBI as we win it in the ninth on Santana's RBI single.

May 9

Tigers 8 Indians 9
WP: Lewis (1-0), LP: Coke (1-2), SV: C Perez (5)
HR: (DET) Everett (1), (CLE) Choo (3), Santana (1), Brantley (1)

Martinez stumbles a bit and Grilli lets Detroit back in the game, but Lewis stops the bleeding as we deadlock at 7 through six innings. Our offense seems to be remarkably good at making up for our pitching weaknesses however, as Santana and Brantley both get 3 RBI in the 8-9 spots of the order.

*******

Cleveland Indians (15-15)
Third Place, (3.0 GB) behind Chicago and Minnesota

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Santana turned into a rock behind the plate in my Twins dynasty. 89/94 with excellent all-around vitals. Hasn't really produced as he should yet, but he's still only 24 in my game. Definitely something for you to look forward to.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

YEAH DAWWWG: I have high hopes for Santana, but like in your dynasty he's struggling early on.
*******

That was a pleasant opening to the month, though now we go back on the road for eight days.

LF Jordan Brown comes back in six days, C Lou Marson in nine. If nothing else happens, we will have some decisions to make.
*******

May 11

Indians 1 - Royals 5
WP: Davies (4-2), LP: Hagadone (0-1)
HR: (CLE) Marte (3)

Hagadone makes his career debut and gives us three scoreless innings...then one pretty bad one. I'm not expecting him to be great this year, but I'll be watching closely. If it looks like this little tryst is hurting his development, I'll suck it up and rent an FA pitcher.

May 12

Indians 3 - Royals 2
WP: Masterson (3-2), LP: Farnsworth (0-3), SV: C Perez (6)
HR: (CLE) Bixler 2 (2), (KC) Podsednik (6), Moustakas (1)

Masterson hears rumors of my displeasure (something to do which love notes taped to his locker titled 'Dear Loser') and gives me seven solid innings. SS Brian Bixler does the rest going 3 for 5 with 2 R and all 3 RBI.

May 13

Indians 0 - Royals 10
WP: Meche (1-4), LP: Carmona (2-3)

Ow. Gil Meche pitches a 3H 12K shutout. Not only do our pitchers suck, but Marte and Bixler combine for two errors and four unearned runs.

*******

Cleveland Indians (16-17)
Third Place, 4.5 GB of Minnesota

*******

May 14

Indians 4 - Orioles 5
WP: J Johnson (2-2), LP: Martinez (4-2), SV: Gonzalez (11)
HR: (CLE) Choo (4), (BAL) Scott 2 (10)

We need to get back home ASAP. This road trip is killing us. The only bright spot today is Choo's 4 RBI.

May 15

Indians 6 - Orioles 1
WP: Hagadone (1-1), LP: Matusz (3-3)
HR: (CLE) Sizemore (8), (BAL) A Jones (4)

Hagadone lets me know he'd rather stay with an 8K 7IP run. Sizemore and Choo both get three hits, and Sizemore brings home three of our runs.

May 16

Indians 2 - Orioles 9
WP: Bergesen (3-2), LP: Talbot (0-1)
HR: (BAL) Wieters (5), Crede (7), A Jones (5)

Talbot finally makes his season debut from the #5 slot ... and makes it abundantly clear why the AI would just as soon skip him. It's 5-0 Orioles when he leaves in the third and goes downhill from there.

*******

Jordan Brown (73/80) [26] is ready to come off the DL. He batted .311 10-75 in AA-Akron last year. Does he deserve a shot to make the club? Who would he replace?

Michael Brantley, who's batting .185 1-9 in 54 AB with 3 SB, a .185 OBP and .259 SLG.

Welcome to the show, Jordan.

*******

Cleveland Indians (17-19)
Fourth Place, 5.5 GB of Minnesota

*******

May 17

Indians 4 - Rays 1
WP: Masterson (4-2), LP: Shields (4-4), SV: C Perez (7)
HR: (CLE) Marte (4)

I write more 'love notes' for Masterson, since they seem to work. Marte (2 for 3, 2 RBI) is actually starting to look like a competent player.

May 18

Indians 7 - Rays 1
WP: Carmona (3-3), LP: Garza (2-1)

We persevere despite giving up an error and hitting into nine double plays. Carmona gives up 0 ER in 7 IP. Marte has another stellar day going 3 for 5 with 3 RBI, raising his BA to .263

*******

It's now Marson's turn to come back. Lou Marson was batting .244 2-12 with a .337 OBA when he was hurt. Carlos Santana is currently .242 1-5 (.342 OBA) and Toregas .267 0-1 (.290). I would rather send Wyatt Toregas down, but my friendly AI manager informs me that in that case Marson would start and Santana would sit on the bench.

I do not want anything getting in the way of Santana's development. Far better he get playing time at AAA then splinters in his tail.

*******

Cleveland Indians (19-19)
Third Place, 4.5 GB of Minnesota

********

May 19

Royals 1 - Indians 6
WP: Martinez (5-2), LP: Bannister (2-4)

It feels very good to be home. No real heroes as six players get hits, while Martinez goes eight innings.

May 20

Royals 3 - Indians 1
WP: Hochevar (2-4), LP: Hagadone (1-2)

Jordan Brown, who entered the game with a batting average in the .180s, gets 3 hits in 4 attempts. He's really the only one who has Luke Hochevar's number however, while Hagadone is thrown out of the game after three innings.

*******

It's now time to get ready for the rest of the season.

First, I sent Nick Hagadone (1-2 4.85 in 13 IP) down. Other than his 4.1 IP/G ratio he's really not doing that badly...but that's the point. The only reason we're even remotely in this pennant race is because the White Sox died and the rest of the division isn't much better. I can't expect it to last... and I want him to have plenty of time to practice in Columbus. No doubt he'll come back later.

Second, Andy Marte (77) [26] (.264 4-21) ruptured his pride on a Cleveland Plain-Dealer article suggesting we should trade him for a bag of baseballs. He will be out about two months. Up comes Mark Grudzielanek (74) [39] (.256 0-11 in AAA). It might have been better just to let him decide to retire in the next few months, but as our roster is filling with players looking to make a last gasp (Martinez, and see below) we might as well let Mark try too. Plus, he has an interesting name.

Free Agency
We sign Paul Byrd (69) [39] (1-3 5.82 w Red Sox in 2009) to finish out the season. Byrd actually played for the Indians from 2006-08 before being traded mid-season to Boston. During those 2 1/2 seasons he made fans groan, but did emerge with a 32-27 record and 4 CG. Like Martinez, let's hope he has a little something left in the gas tank.

Trade
Kerry Wood (79) [32] (3-3 4.25 20 SV in 2009) comes off the DL. His $10.5 M salary is just too much so we put him on the block looking for prospects.

The Nationals decide to show us how serious the are about contending and offer SP Collin Balester (69/79) [23] (1-4 6.82 w Nationals in 09) (2-4 4.59 in AA-Harrisburg). Deal.

*******

Cleveland Indians (20-20)
Third Place, 4.5 GB of Minnesota

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Great to see you back, CatKnight. Now I need to find some way back myself.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

not to interrupt but how did you code your standings like that?

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

That's Nice CatKnight, It's great to have you back by doing a dynasty about the Tribe from Cleveland!

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

petrel: That's why I chose something simple and easy to follow. Speed seems to help me keep coming back to update.

jshaw: Nothing special - I didn't do anything to the export or anything. I opened my text program (I use TextPad, though NotePad works just as well) and typed everything out, lining it up and enclosing it in code tags. There's a little more detail in the 'Dugout: Tips and Tricks' thread.

AthleticsFan2K8: Thanks. I'm glad to see you're still doing your dynasty as well.
*******

We finish up May with our ancient NL rivals, the Cincinnati Reds (O rly?) followed by the ChiSox and Yankees, who are probably looking for revenge after April's trade.

*******

May 21

Reds 10 - Indians 2
WP: Baek (2-2), LP: Byrd (0-1)
HR: (CIN) Rolen (5), Nix 2 (10), Stubbs (4), (CLE) Branyan (3), Brown (1)

Byrd wouldn't have done so bad in 6.1 IP if he didn't give up 3 HR. The score wouldn't look so bad if Rafael Perez knew how to pitch. Sheesh.

May 22

Reds 5 - Indians 1
WP: Cueto (2-2), LP: Masterson (4-3), SV: Rhodes (1)

Meh. Sizemore gets our only RBI when he singles home Bixler. Our bullpen once more blew it.

May 23

Reds 8 - Indians 5
WP: Rhodes (2-2), LP: R Perez (1-2), SV: Cordero (9)
HR: (CIN) R Hernandez (4), (CLE) LaPorta (6)

Rafael Perez's ERA climbs to over 6. He may go down to AAA if he keeps this up. Our offense finally makes a real stab at winning and our bullpen really falls through.

*******

Cleveland Indians (20-23)
Tied for 3rd Place, 6.5 GB of Minnesota

*******

May 24

White Sox 3 - Indians 8
WP: Martinez (6-2), LP: Garcia (1-4), SV: J Smith (2)

Pedro Martinez can usually only give me 5 or 6 innings, but that's okay as he's turning into my most reliable starter. A rather pleasant day led by 1B Chris Giminez (3 for 4, 2 R, 2 BI) who is filling in for Branyan.

May 25

White Sox 6 - Indians 2
WP: Buehrle (4-3), LP: Mastny (0-1)
HR: (CHW) A Jones (7)

So...Paul Byrd misses his start with a minor injury. Fine. Rather than go to our #5 guy, the AI gives the ball to Tom Mastny. Mastny's very clearly a reliever who's only now making his second career start. The result is fairly predictable.

May 26

White Sox 13 - Indians 2
WP: Floyd (6-3), LP: Talbot (0-2)
HR: (CHW) A Ramirez (9), (CLE) Brown (2)

Ah..so this is why the AI doesn't want to use my #5 guy. Okay, I take it all back.

*******

Fortunately(?) Mitch Talbot (now 68/74) [26] (0-2 19.64) won't be bothering us for a little while. He's out for a month with a fractured eye bone after my pitching coach slugged him. It's probably significant that in two years (this and the '08 Rays) he's 0-2 13.50 ERA, 3 starts in 5 games, 13.1 IP and a 9.75 DICE.

I suppose this means we'll give Aaron Laffey (0-2 9.00) a chance to prove I'm wrong about him. Good luck with that.

*******

Cleveland Indians (21-25)
Fourth Place, 7.0 GB of Minnesota

*******

May 28

Indians 1 - Yankees 3
WP: Pettitte (4-5), LP: Masterson (4-4), SV: M Rivera (8)

Like last start, it's not that Masterson does badly...just not well enough. Our offense takes the day off and so we lose.

May 29

Indians 2 - Yankees 3
WP: Robertson (3-2), LP: R Perez (1-3), SV: M Rivera (9)
HR: (NYY) A Rodriguez 2 (13)

A-Roid goes 4 for 4, and is a single short of hitting for the cycle. Jake Westbrook, who we traded to NY in April, avenges his honor somewhat by pitching 6 innings and giving up 2 runs. Giminez continues to impress going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI.

May 30

Indians 3 - Yankees 6
WP: Burnett (2-4), LP: Lewis (1-1)
HR: (CLE) Marson (3)

Martinez puts in another solid performance, but this time he can't save us from the bullpen.

May 31

Indians 5 - Yankees 2
WP: Byrd (1-1), LP: Vazquez (4-3), SV: C Perez (8)
HR: (CLE) Marson (4), LaPorta (7), (NYY) Teixeira (7)

You mean if we score more runs than the opponents we win? Who knew? LaPorta goes 2 for 3 with 2 runs and an RBI, while Marson and Giminez put in solid performances.

*******

So...what does it mean when you go 1-3 in a series, and pick up 1.5 games in the divisional race?

*******

Cleveland Indians (22-28)
Tied for 4th Place, 5.5 GB behind Minnesota

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Amateur Draft 2010

It's hard to imagine what this club will look like in 2013-2014...hopefully nothing like it does today. Because of that it's not all that easy to tell what we should draft.

Team Review

Let's take a quick look by position:

Catcher
Lou Marson (74/79) [23]
Wyatt Toregas (72/75) [27]
Carlos Santana (72/90) [23]

Santana's our future, and Marson can turn into a formidable backup. I don't think Toregas has a place in the organization except as a third string backup. I'm a little disturbed that we have no one else worth talking about if something happens to Santana.

First
Russell Branyan (79) [34]
Chris Giminez (70/72) [27]
Matt LaPorta (79/90) [25]

So...LaPorta's our starter of the future, and Branyan will probaby retire/go away in the next couple of years. Giminez is hot now, but it doesn't look like it can last. Again, we don't seem to have anyone else near ready, so first base looks like a priority.

Second
Asdrubal Cabrera (88/92) [24]
Mark Grudzelinak (74) [39]
Luis Valbuena (76/80) [24]
Tony Graffiano (73) [37]
Luis Rodriguez (77) [29]

Cabrera's our future, at least until his contract is up in 2011. Grudzelinak and Graffiano will retire soon. Valbuena and Rodriguez could be worthy backups and we have a tiny bit of depth further down the minor league chain. We're okay here.

Short
Jhonny Peralta (28) [80]
Brian Bixler (72/74) [27]
Jason Donald (71/75) [25]
Anderson Hernandez (72) [27]

Peralta's contract is up this year, but unless he's a total ass in negotiations he should be back. Donald could be a tolerable, if not great backup. It's worth keeping an eye out for a hot shortstop, but not as important as first or catcher.

Third
Andy Marte (77) [26]
Brian Buscher (71/72) [29]

Though this looks very bad, there's help around the corner. Lonnie Chisenhall (63/92) [21] will be ready in a few years, and Wes Hodges (67/76) [25] may be able to back him up. It'd be nice to have another plan if Chisenhall busts, however.

Left
Jordan Brown (72/79) [26]
Trevor Crowe (73/75) [26]
Michael Brantley (77/83) [23]

Despite his poor start this year, Brantley's probably our future with Brown backing him up. We have another OF in A ball who will probably also do well. We're okay for now.

Center
Grady Sizemore (87) [27]

This is frightening. Sizemore's our only CF at any level, and his contract is up next year. We need to find a CF in this draft if possible, and maybe even use my last free agency pick for the year to find someone we can develop.

Right
Shin Soo-Choo (83) [27]
Austin Kearns (72) [30]
Shelley Duncan (71/73) [30]

We have a starter, but no real effective backup. Right's another place to look for help.

Starters
Justin Masterson (84/85) [25]
Fausto Carmona (79) [26]
Pedro Martinez (76) [38]
Paul Byrd (69) [39]
Aaron Laffey (75/76) [25]
Scott Lewis (66/69) [26]
Nick Hagadone (74/94) [24]
Mitch Talbot (68/74) [26]
Anthony Reyes (72/73) [28]
Jeremy Sowers (72) [27]

Ignoring Martinez and Byrd, this give us two players with peaks in the 80-90 range, Carmona at 79, and a host of others. There is significant help in the lower minors though. We just need to hold on for a few years.

Relievers
Chris Perez (85/93) [24]
Rafael Perez (80) [28]
Joe Smith (78) [26]
Jensen Lewis (76) [28]
Jason Grilli (75) [33]
Tom Mastny (67/68) [29]
Tony Sipp (75/77) [26]
Jess Todd (74/81) [24]
Mike Gosling (69/71) [29]
Jamey Wright (75) [35]
Saul Rivera (76) [32]

The bullpen's another story. Chris Perez should be our closer for some time. Rafael's in his prime now. Todd may grow into his position with a little luck. There's only one reliever in the low minors with a peak of 80+ and a lot of chaff. We need to deal with this.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Fricking 10K limit!

Picks

1. SS Elmer Alonza (66/87) [20]
Con 71 Pwr 61 Spd 71 Eye 78 Arm 76 Rge 71 Fld 79 Hlt 79
2010-Okla. St: .315 4-37 with 5 SB

Taking into account that health is generally a very good thing, Alonza became one of the top players available. I have high hopes for him in a few years.

2. CF Owen Boudreau (60/83) [17]
Con 63 Pwr 66 Spd 75 Eye 68 Arm 70 Rge 73 Fld 76 Hlt 81
2010-HS (Montreal PQ): .395 10-40 with 4 SB

Boudreau will take a little longer to be ready, but (like Alonza) he has real potential to be our starter in a few years.

3. RP Joe Dorn (58/76) [20]
End 24 Ctr 55 Pwr 80 Mov 58 Def 63 Hit 70 Hlt 73 / Fast 69 Slid 67 CirChg 57
2010-Long Bch St: 4-1 2.75, 23 SV and 80 K in 39.1 IP

We are quickly heading towards the chaff of this draft. There are players with more potential upside but other problems, such as being 16 years old and therefore ready to join the 25 man roster by around 2020. Dorn, at least, has decent power/stuff. If he can improve his control a little bit he might just make it.

4. 1B Travis Usher (55/77) [21]
Con 67 Pwr 66 Spd 55 Eye 66 Arm 74 Rge 63 Fld 68 Hlt 73
2010-S Carolina: .384 17-56 0

Much as I've picked up an aversion to all ball players named Travis, he was the best option left. At age 21 we'll know fairly quickly whether he can improve enough to contribute or be a career minor leaguer.

5. RP Philip Dean (47/78) [19]
End 22 Ctr 57 Pwr 60 Mov 60 Def 83 Hit 72 Hlt 85 / Fast 59 Chg 53 Split 48
2010-HS (Montgomery AL): 6-1 1.72 ERA

Eww. He's like Dorn without the fastball. Still, with that health he might make something of himself and his defense is very good.

6. 2B Samuel Emanuelles (48/72) [16]
Con 55 Pwr 58 Spd 73 Eye 58 Arm 72 Rge 53 Fld 64 Hlt 77
2010-HS (Arecibo PR): .360 4-14 with 4 SB

Eww. Since there were very few people left who even projected to ever see a Major League diamond, this time I went for youth. Emanuelles' only real hope is that the game's aging engine goes nuts and gives him a number of boosts. I want to give it the maximum chance to do precisely that.

For Those Curious:

1st Pick: Washington Nationals
CF Mike Corn (72/87) [21]
Con 75 Pwr 70 Spd 81 Eye 68 Arm 76 Rge 97 Fld 82 Hlt 61
2010-Florida St.: .414 8-38 with 2 SB

Last Pick: New York Yankees
SP Houston Puiggros (48/69) [20]
End 82 Ctr 57 Pwr 58 Mov 50 Def 69 Hit 70 Hlt 73 / Fast 61 Slid 54 Split 46
2010-Georgia: 8-4 4.78

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Team Statistics
May 31, 2010

Batters

Code:

2010 Batting Team G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP Marson, Lou CLE 35 .252 115 29 5 0 4 19 26 0 1 19 18 .400 .358 Santana, Carlos CLE 10 .242 33 8 1 0 1 5 7 1 0 3 5 .364 .342 Toregas, Wyatt CLE 8 .267 30 8 1 0 0 1 6 0 1 2 1 .300 .290 LaPorta, Matt CLE 48 .230 183 42 7 0 7 19 35 0 1 22 23 .383 .304 Branyan, Russell CLE 24 .141 92 13 3 0 3 9 40 1 0 9 6 .272 .225 Gimenez, Chris CLE 13 .286 42 12 2 0 0 2 15 0 0 4 8 .333 .318 Cabrera, Asdrubal CLE 44 .275 171 47 13 2 2 10 34 4 2 18 16 .409 .317 Valbuena, Luis CLE 19 .192 78 15 1 1 1 3 13 2 0 9 5 .269 .222 Rodriguez, Luis CLE 6 .091 11 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 .091 .091 Bixler, Brian CLE 28 .171 105 18 3 1 2 8 43 4 0 13 7 .276 .250 Peralta, Jhonny CLE 22 .280 82 23 5 0 3 6 18 0 0 10 10 .451 .330 Hernandez, Anderson CLE 2 .167 6 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 .167 .143 Marte, Andy CLE 37 .264 144 38 6 3 4 6 26 0 0 19 21 .431 .289 Buscher, Brian CLE 12 .357 42 15 4 0 0 3 6 0 1 5 4 .452 .400 Crowe, Trevor CLE 20 .190 79 15 2 0 0 5 11 3 0 10 1 .215 .247 Brantley, Michael CLE 15 .185 54 10 1 0 1 0 8 3 1 6 9 .259 .185 Brown, Jordan CLE 14 .260 50 13 5 1 2 3 9 0 1 4 3 .520 .315 Sizemore, Grady CLE 49 .289 194 56 14 1 8 24 38 9 3 23 30 .495 .378 Choo, Shin-Soo CLE 46 .286 175 50 9 1 4 19 48 1 1 23 22 .417 .364 Kearns, Austin CLE 7 .286 21 6 1 0 1 4 5 0 0 5 3 .476 .444

Catchers: No change from before. I don't trust my manager to not sit Santana on the bench, and I want him to get playing time, so it'll continue to be Marson and Toregas.

First: I have a pet peeve against people who can't even hit the Mendoza line. 92 AB is enough to at least begin to turn things around. Giminez is at least putting in the effort. Branyan will go down.

Second: Similarly, this means I have a problem with Valbuena. The AI isn't using Grudzielanek yet at second. Maybe it will if he doesn't have any competition.

Short: Ditto with Bixler, who's been starting since Peralta got hurt. Peralta should be back in late June.

Third: Buscher at least has done quite well since Marte's been out. Marte will return in late July.

Outfield: Our outfielders (Brown, Sizemore, Choo and Kearns in reserve) are doing enough to keep their job. Sizemore and Choo continue to be the backbones of this outfit.

So, where does that leave us?

Assignments
Cleveland to Columbus
* 1B Russell Branyan
* 2B Luis Valbuena
* SS Brian Bixler

Columbus to Cleveland
* 2B Tony Graffanino (73) [37] (.130 0-0 in 2009) (.257 2-10 in AAA)
* SS Jason Donald (71/75) [25] (.294 1-24 in AAA)
* RF Shelley Duncan (71/73) [30] (.200 0-1 w Yankees in 2009) (.243 11-39)

In the aftermath, Duncan becomes our DH (uhoh), LaPorta to first, Donald at shortstop, and Giminez to the bench.

Our lineup: Sizemore-CF, Brown-LF, Cabrera-2B, LaPorta-1B, Choo-RF, Duncan-DH, Donald-SS, Marson-C

Pitchers

Code:

2010 Pitching Team IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9 Martinez, Pedro CLE 62.1 3.61 11 11 6 2 0 41 23 11.70 Masterson, Justin CLE 58.1 4.78 11 11 4 4 0 56 19 12.81 Carmona, Fausto CLE 53.2 3.35 10 10 3 3 0 28 15 12.58 Laffey, Aaron CLE 19.0 9.00 4 4 0 3 0 8 8 16.58 Sowers, Jeremy CLE 18.0 3.00 2 2 1 0 0 11 2 10.00 Huff, David CLE 15.2 9.19 4 4 0 2 0 10 8 17.81 Byrd, Paul CLE 13.1 4.73 2 2 1 1 0 6 1 8.78 Hagadone, Nick CLE 13.0 4.85 3 3 1 2 0 15 9 18.00 Talbot, Mitch CLE 3.2 19.64 2 2 0 2 0 2 1 31.91 Smith, Joe CLE 34.2 2.60 23 0 0 1 2 18 9 8.57 Perez, Rafael CLE 32.1 5.29 24 0 1 3 0 23 10 12.80 Grilli, Jason CLE 29.1 3.99 18 0 1 2 0 20 7 9.51 Lewis, Jensen CLE 28.0 4.18 21 0 1 1 0 30 11 12.21 Perez, Chris CLE 19.2 2.29 16 0 2 0 8 24 6 9.15 Mastny, Tom CLE 17.2 5.60 13 1 0 1 0 12 7 15.28 Rivera, Saul CLE 14.2 7.36 10 0 0 1 1 7 7 19.02 Wright, Jamey CLE 12.1 8.76 9 0 1 0 0 9 8 21.89

Similar to the Mendoza line, ERAs over 6 are sure to get my attention. For starters the only one in rotation with that problem is Laffey, who came back up because Talbot is too awful to live. June 1st is one of four dates (April 1, August 1 and September 1 being the others) when I do routine maintenance on my minors and a large number of starters were promoted to AAA. Still, I'm going to leave this alone for now and let them develop. Suffice to say Hagadone (still 74/94) now has company in the form of Alex White (76/93) [21].

Our relievers continue to give me headaches, especially Rafael Perez who should really be snapping out of any early season slumps by now. Again, I'm going to attempt to be disciplined and leave this alone for right now.

Rotation: Masterson-Carmona-Martinez-Laffey-Byrd
Bullpen: C Perez (CL), R Perez (SU), Smith (SR), Lewis (SR), Grilli (MR), Mastny (LR)

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

You're getting an impressively good year out of Pedro so far. Also looks like a pretty solid draft you had there.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

YEAH DAAAWG: Martinez has really surprised me. I expected him to be filler, not my ace!
*******

Major League Baseball
May 31, 2010

Code:

AL East AL Central AL West Boston 29 23 -- Minnesota 28 23 -- Los Angeles 29 24 -- Tampa 26 26 3 Chicago 27 24 1 Seattle-wc 27 23 0.5 New York 25 26 3.5 Kansas City 25 27 3.5 Texas 25 25 2.5 Toronto 26 27 3.5 Cleveland 22 28 5.5 Oakland 24 28 4.5 Baltimore 21 30 7.5 Detroit 23 29 5.5 NL East NL Central NL West Philadelphia 30 21 -- St. Louis 32 20 -- San Diego 28 23 -- Atlanta 28 23 2 Houston-wc 30 21 1.5 Arizona 26 26 2.5 Florida 27 25 3.5 Milwaukee 27 24 4.5 Colorado 25 27 3.5 New York 26 26 4.5 Chicago 26 26 6 Los Angeles 24 27 4 Washington 21 31 9.5 Cincinnati 24 28 8 San Francisco 17 33 10.5 Pittsburgh 24 28 8

Code:

American League National League Batting Average Josh Hamilton (TEX) .337 Pablo Sandoval (SFG) .361 Home Runs Jack Cust (OAK) 15 Ryan Howard PHI) 18 RBI Justin Morneau (MIN) 45 Mark Reynolds (ARI) 52 Stolen Bases Juan Pierre (CHW) 24 Jose Reyes (NYM) 24 Wins Josh Beckett (BOS) 8 Three tied with 7 ERA David Price (TBR) 1.57 Yovani Gallardo (MIL) 2.30 Strikeouts Felix Hernandez (SEA) 77 Adam Wainwright (STL) 78 Saves Two tied with 13 Jonathan Broxton (LAD) 16 Indians in the Top Ten Wins Pedro Martinez 6 (T-3rd AL) (T-6th MLB)

Trades (non-Indians)
None

Major Injuries (3 mo. plus, MLB, non-Indians)
CHW - RP Bobby Jenks (82) [29] (2-2 6.59 5 SV) - 13 months
TOR - 3B Jose Bautista (79) [29] (.262 8-21) - 5 months
TOR - SP Brian Tallet (68) [32] (0-6 6.86) - 16 months

CIN - SP Aaron Harang (80) [32] (0-7 4.27) - 4 months
NYM - SS Luis Hernandez (66/68) [25] (.207 0-1) - 7 months
SFG - SP Sidney Ponson (69) [33] (1-2 8.84) - 4 months
SFG - SP Barry Zito (85) [32] (4-5 5.08) - 3 months
SFG - LF Fred Lewis (76) [29] (.250 1-7) - 6 months

Milestones
CHW - LF Juan Pierre (80) [32] (.297 0-15) - 21 game hitting streak
KCR - C Jason Kendall (75) [35] (.247 0-13) - 1000 Runs
MIN - 3B Jim Thome (80) [39] (.281 12-36) - 1500 Runs
NYY - SS A-Roid (93) [34] (.274 13-42) 300 Steals
SEA - 3B Chone Figgins (83) [32] (.290 0-8) - 300 Steals

CHC - LF Alfonso Soriano (77) [34] (.310 14-38) - 300 HR
CHC - 1B Derrek Lee (84) [34] (.282 7-26) - 300 HR
CHC - CF Marlon Byrd (81) [32] (.304 5-24) - 21 game hitting streak
MIL - RP Trevor Hoffman (83) [42] (0-4 4.24 12 SV) - 600 Saves
PHI - RP Brad Lidge (80) [33] (1-3 9.00 5 SV) - 200 Saves

Retirements (April-May) (At least 1 Award)

C Paul LoDuca (Colorado, Age 38)
2010: DNP
Lifetime: .286 80-481, 1112 H, 20 SB
Teams: Dodgers (98-04), Marlins (04-05), Mets (06-07), Nationals (08), Marlins (08)
Honors: 4 x All Star (03-06)

SP Bartolo Colon (Free Agent, Age 37)
2010: DNP
Lifetime: 153-103 4.10 31 CG, 1607 K in 2076.2 IP
Teams: Indians (97-02), Expos (02), White Sox (03), Angels (04-07), Red Sox (08), White Sox (09)
Honors: 1 x Cy Young (05), 2 x All Star (98, 05)

SP Mike Hampton (Free Agent, Age 37)
2010: DNP
Lifetime: 148-115 4.07 21 CG 1 SV, 1384 K in 2264 IP
Teams: Mariners (93), Astros (94-99), Mets (00), Rockies (01-02), Braves (03-08), Astros (09)
Honors: 1 x Gold Glove (03), 2 x All Star (99, 01)

CF Jim Edmonds (Milwaukee, Age 39)
2010: DNP
Lifetime: .284 382-1176, 1881 H, 65 SB
Teams: Angels (93-99), Cardinals (00-07), Padres (08), Cubs (08)
Honors: 8 x Gold Glove (97-98, 00-05), 4 x All Star (95, 00, 03, 05)

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

June 1, 2010

Indians 2 - Tigers 5
WP: Bonderman (4-3), LP: Masterson (4-5), SV: Miner (1)
HR: (DET) Inge (9)

Yet again Masterson gives us a decent performance. This time it's the offense who betrays him. Duncan goes 1 for 4 in his season debut with a run.

June 2

Indians 1 - Tigers 10
WP: Turner (3-2), LP: Carmona (3-4)
HR: (DET) Santiago (3), Damon (8)

It's not a good sign when one of your starters gets bombed, but it's another guy who gets hurt. Paul Byrd goes on the 15-day DL (out for 22 days) when he stumbles over his cane and falls.

June 3

Indians 3 - Tigers 15
WP: Verlander (4-2), LP: Laffey (0-4), SV: Coke (1)
HR: (CLE) LaPorta (8), Cabrera (3), (DET) Laird (4), Damon (9)

The fact a 12-run rout earned Phil Coke a save gives you a pretty good idea how this game went.

Code:

CLEVELAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA Aaron Laffey 2.0 8 1 0 5 5 1 62 10.29 Tom Mastny 2.0 2 1 0 0 0 1 27 6.97 Jason Grilli 2.0 1 1 1 1 1 0 38 3.98 Joe Smith 1.0 1 0 0 2 2 3 24 3.03 Jensen Lewis 0.1 3 0 0 3 3 0 7 5.70 Rafael Perez 0.2 3 0 1 4 4 0 23 6.09

*******

Following Byrd's injury we bring up SP-Carlos Carrasco (71/83) [23] (0-4 8.87 in 2009, 4-3 5.21 in AA-Akron). I'm still trying to save Hagadone and possibly Alex White, though the logic of why is starting to escape me. At least my bullpen is methodical about this. Let's take a look:

*******

Cleveland Indians (22-31)
Fifth Place, 6.5 GB of Chicago and Minnesota

*******

June 4

Indians 2 - White Sox 5
WP: Peavy (5-3), Carrasco (0-1), SV: Thornton (6)
HR: (CLE) Choo (5)

Carrasco's debut could have gone worse...and could have gone much better. I think it's time to admit we're just playing this season out... I figured that anyway, but it's still frustrating to watch.

June 5

Indians 3 - White Sox 6
WP: Floyd (7-3), LP: Masterson (4-6)
HR: (CLE) Cabrera (4), (DET) Rios (7)

Let's find out who actually reads these summaries: Who does Seaworld call when Shamu needs a dentist?

June 6

Indians 5 - White Sox 6 (12)
WP: Thornton (2-0), LP: Grilli (1-3)
HR: (CHW) Teahen (9)

Our bullpen blows a solid performance by Carmona. Our offense at least shows up, with Choo going 4 for 5 with 3 RBI

*******

Cleveland Indians (22-34)
Fifth Place, 8 GB of Chicago

*******

June 7

Red Sox 2 - Indians 4
WP: Martinez (7-2), LP: Lackey (4-3), SV: C Perez (9)
HR: (BOS) Hermida (4), (CLE) Marson (5), Brown (3)

A solid game from the only pitcher on our team worthy of the title. No, I'm not bitter. Why do you ask?

June 8

Red Sox 2 - Indians 3
WP: Laffey (1-4), LP: Beckett (8-3), SV: C Perez (10)
HR: (CLE) Kearns (2)

The answer to June 5th's trivia question? An Orca-dontist.

June 9

Red Sox 11 - Indians 6
WP: Matsuzaka (2-1), LP: Carrasco (0-2)
HR: (BOS) V Martinez 2 (12), Reddick (4)

I remember this series IRL. Boston has the second most obnoxious fans in baseball, which is rather sad because it didn't used to be that way before the 'Sox started winning World Championships. I used to be one, but it seems I've defected.

June 10

Red Sox 6 - Indians 4 (13)
WP: Doubront (1-0), LP: Mastny (0-2)
HR: (BOS) Cameron (5), Reddick (5), (CLE) Duncan (1), Brown (4)

Most obnoxious in baseball? Yankees.

*******

Cleveland Indians (24-36)
Fifth Place, 8 GB of Chicago

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Nice joke with the orca-dontist, Cat ;).

Btw, hope you don't mind me borrowing a bit of your formatting for adaptation into my own dynasty. I figured you wouldn't since you borrowed mine :p.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

YEAH DAWWWG: Not at all!
*******

June 11, 2010

Nationals 3 - Indians 5
WP: Carmona (4-4), LP: Olsen (4-4), SV: C Perez (11)

I believe it's safe to say only one of you actually reads these game summaries. Either that or the rest of you are too polite to say anything.

June 12

Nationals 3 - Indians 1
WP: Burnett (1-3), LP: Lewis (1-2), SV: Capps (12)
HR: (WAS) Kennedy (2)

I'm going to go with the former. Politeness and mutual respect don't appear to be this board's strengths.

June 13

Nationals 5 - Indians 11
WP: Laffey (2-4), LP: Marquis (4-5)
HR: (WAS) Desmond (1), (CLE) Jordan (5)

Which is really too bad. You all seem to be a decent group of people. Well, ninety percent of you. Okay, eighty.

*******
Thoughts:

IRL the Indians hyped up how we'd get to face 'phenom' Stephen Strasburg. In this universe Strasburg is still in AA-Harrisburg (71/93) [21] (5-4 5.03 ERA). That's probably where he should be. Why rush the kid? Well, besides the multimillion dollar contract of course.

*******

Cleveland Indians (26-37)
Fifth Place, 7.5 GB of Detroit(!)

*******

June 15

Mets 8 - Indians 4
WP: Maine (5-4), LP: Masterson (4-7), SV: F Rodriguez (14)
HR: (NYM) Barajas (6), Reyes (7), (CLE) Choo (6)

I'm not sure why it gets to me sometimes. I suppose because I tend to be a little too serious. Grim, an old girlfriend called it.

June 16

Mets 5 - Indians 3
WP: Niemann (3-4), LP: Carmona (4-5), SV: F Rodriguez (15)
HR: (NYM) Bay (13), (CLE) Sizemore (9)

There are some things a forty year old can't or at least shouldn't say. Society's strange like that.

June 17

Mets 3- Indians 2
WP: Green (5-1), LP: Mastny (0-3), SV: F Rodriguez (16)
HR: (NYM) Barajas (7), (CLE) LaPorta (9)

For example, ****, One player just went on the DL, and two more have injuries of less than 15 days so I have to keep them on my ****ing roster full of misfits, has-beens, never weres and general **** ups who, if they weren't playing baseball, would probably have trouble getting jobs at the supermarket, and what the **** is wrong with a country that pays these assholes millions when people who do far more important things like teaching or keeping us safe can barely make ends meet?

*******

Thoughts:

SS Jason Donald (73/76) [25] (.183 0-4) is injured and goes on the 15 day DL. Peralta won't be back for 11 days yet. I guess we're back to Brian Bixler (.171 2-7).

*******

Cleveland Indians (26-40)
Fifth Place, 10.5 GB of Detroit

*******

June 18

Indians 3 - Pirates 6
WP: Karstens (5-5), LP: Laffey (2-5)
HR: (CLE) Marson (6), Sizemore (10)

Two more players are injured-but-on-roster. Meanwhile, all this rambling makes me question my own sanity. I'm alright with that actually.

June 19

Indians 4 - Pirates 3
WP: C Perez (3-0), LP: Dovel (3-2), SV: Mastny (1)
HR: (CLE) Toregas (1), (PIT) D Young (2)

You see, I find the line between insanity and enlightenment is razor thin. You can't really figure out what life's about until you understand that everything you were ever told about it is quite possibly wrong and subject to continual review.

June 20
Indians 2 - Pirates 7
WP: Maholm (3-3), LP: J Smith (0-2)
HR: (CLE) Kearns (3), (PIT) LaRoche (13)

Scary huh?

*******

Thoughts:

As of June 20, there are four pitchers on my 25-man roster who are all suffering minor injuries. That's alright though, Mitch Talbot will be back in 3 days, and Paul Byrd in 4. We're saved!

Right?

*******

Cleveland Indians (27-42)
Fifth Place, 11.5 GB of Detroit

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Enjoying your ramblings, Cat :p. I hope it means you're not losing interest in this dynasty though, because it really is quite enjoyable.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

These ramblings are cracking me up

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Either that or the rest of you are too polite to say anything.

I thought it was best not to speak up. :D

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

YEAH DAWWWG: No, not bored...though I'm running out of creative ways to say 'We suck.'

titanqb3: Glad you're enjoying it.

petrel: Uh huh. :)

*******

So, let's review.

We are now entering late June. We are 27-42 (.391) and 11.5 games off the pace. Detroit's trying to pull away with the division, but Minnesota and Chicago are close and even Kansas City's still in striking distance. Technically so are we, but I won't get my hopes up. We're 10 games out in the Wildcard behind Boston with nine other teams in the way. Translation: We have the worst record in the American League. For that matter, we have the second worst record in baseball.

There are some things I can do about this. I've intentionally held back bringing up players hoping they can develop in AAA-Columbus. I also have a trade left as well as a free agency choice.

Free Agent:
We close a deal with Gary Sheffield (75) [41] (.276 10-43 with Mets in 2009) to finish the year with us at a prorated $2.7 million/year. The Diamondbacks also expressed some interest and I probably wouldn't have gone higher, but much like Martinez and the other 'oldsters' I'm hoping Sheffield has a little left to get us through this campaign. Down goes our 'DH' Shelley Duncan (.197 1-4). Sheffield will try his luck DHing.

Let's begin.

*******

June 22

Indians 1 - Phillies 4
WP: Halladay (10-4), LP: Carmona (4-6)

A ninth inning rally spoils Halladay's 134 pitch complete game. He took a perfect game into the sixth. Sheffield goes 0 for 3 in his season debut with a strikeout.

June 23

Indians 2 - Phillies 12
WP: Hamels (11-3), LP: Martinez (7-3)
HR: (CLE) Buscher (1), (PHI) Howard (24), Dobbs (12)

Philly scores 6 in the sixth to go up by twelve. Buscher's 8th inning homer prevents a shutout.

June 24

Indians 1 - Phillies 8
WP: Blanton (6-3), LP: Laffey (2-6)
HR: (PHI) Rollins (9), Werth 2 (9)

This time it's Sheffield who spoils the shutout with a sacrifice.

*******

Thoughts: We truly suck.

Paul Byrd (1-1 4.73) and Mitch Talbot (0-2 19.64) are ready to come off the DL. Byrd will go to Cleveland as he's at least making an effort to perform, while Aaron Laffey (2-6 8.29) goes back down because he clearly isn't.

*******

Cleveland Indians (27-45)
Fifth Place, 13.5 GB of Detroit

*******

June 25

Indians 0 - Reds 5
WP: Bailey (4-2), LP: Byrd (1-2)
HR: (CIN) Stubbs (6)

Manny Acta gives Byrd the ball since our bullpen is still recovering from a rash of small injuries. Byrd doesn't do well, but does give us seven innings so our surviving relievers can rest. Cincy SP Homer Bailey (3.42 ERA) shuts us down.

June 26

Indians 4 - Reds 12
WP: Wood (3-1), LP: Carmona (4-7)
HR: (CLE) Sizemore (11), (CIN) Hernandez (7), Votto 2 (9), Rolen (7), Bruce (18)

For those keeping track at home, we've lost six straight, nine of ten and fifteen of twenty. Our projected record is now 63-99, and that's looking generous.

June 27

Indians 2 - Reds 6
WP: Washburn (1-1), LP: Martinez (7-4)
HR: (CLE) Marson (7), Cabrera (5), (CIN) Stubbs (7), Bruce (19)

Seven straight. I think we're shot of the National League for another year. Thank God.

*******

Thoughts:

Grady Sizemore (87) (.266 11-38) informs us that he can't be around this group of losers anymore and asks for the next 36 days off for intensive psychotherapy. I tell him to bring his counselor back with him. I'll need one by then.

We bring back Trevor Crowe (73/75) (.190 0-1) who appears to be marginally better than the alternative, Michael Brantley (77/83) (.185 1-9). Crowe has a .462 - .444 advantage in OPS, and an .868 - .821 advantage in OPS while in Columbus.

We also welcome home SS Jhonny Peralta (80) (.280 3-10). He'll miss the next game, but should be okay after that. Down goes Mark Grudzielanek (.167 0-1). At age 39, I wouldn't be surprised if Mark's career ends on this note.

*******

Cleveland Indians (27-48)
Fifth Place, 14.5 GB of Detroit

*******

June 28

Blue Jays 9 - Indians 6
WP: Morrow (5-9), LP: Carrasco (0-3), SV: Frasor (15)
HR: (TOR) Snider (13)

Well, our offense never gives up. Soon to be replaced SS Bixler (2 for 4, 3 RBI, .174 BA) rises to the occasion. Too bad our bullpen still stinks.

June 29

Blue Jays 5 - Indians 2
WP: Drabek (3-2), LP: Masterson (4-8), SV: Frasor (16)
HR: (TOR) Overbay (6), (CLE) Brown (6)

June 30

Blue Jays 6 - Indians 5
WP: Frasor (6-2), LP: C Perez (3-1)
HR: (TOR) Wells (6), (CLE) Buscher (2)

We actually take a 5-4 lead into the ninth! Then lose. Trivia Question: Who's the worst team in Major League Baseball? By 4 1/2 games?

*******

Thoughts:

It's obvious we're just gearing up for next year now, though I'd like to avoid complete humiliation if possible. We're now projected to lose 100 games. I was hoping to keep it to 70-92 or above.

Traditional strategy at this point is to trade for prospects, and perhaps bring some young guys up and give them playing time. What do you think?

*******

Cleveland Indians (27-51)
Fifth Place, 14.5 GB of Detroit

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Don't feel too bad, Cat. My Twins are vastly under-performing as well.

Since you're asking, I'd put Sizemore on the block and see what's out there. It'll free up some money for you in the off-season, and you should be able to get a nice prospect or two for him.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

YEAHDAWWWG: *grin* Sizemore's the one guy I can't get rid of. I don't trade injured players, and he won't be healthy until after the deadline. Carmona and his $5.5m contract is a definite possibility. Another possibility is Peralta, who's $4.6m contract is up this year. I'd need to find a bonafide shortstop in the latter case though.
*******

Major League Baseball
June 30, 2010

Code:

AL East AL Central AL West Tampa 43 34 -- Detroit 42 37 -- Seattle 40 37 -- Boston 42 37 2 Minnesota 40 38 1.5 Texas 38 39 2 New York 39 38 4 Chicago 37 41 4.5 Los Angeles 39 41 2.5 Toronto 39 40 5 Kansas City 37 42 5 Oakland 36 43 5 Baltimore 37 40 6 Cleveland 27 51 14.5 NL East NL Central NL West Philadelphia 50 28 -- St. Louis 46 32 -- Arizona 42 37 -- Atlanta 42 37 8.5 Chicago 42 36 4 San Diego 41 37 0.5 New York 41 37 9 Houston 42 37 4.5 Colorado 40 39 2 Florida 39 40 11.5 Milwaukee 40 38 6 Los Angeles 37 41 4.5 Washington 32 47 18.5 Cincinnati 37 42 9.5 San Francisco 31 46 10 Pittsburgh 36 42 10

Code:

American League National League Batting Average Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) .342 Pablo Sandoval (SFG) .356 Home Runs A-Roid (NYY) 22 Mark Reynolds (ARI) 30 RBI A-Roid (NYY) 72 Mark Reynolds (ARI) 80 Stolen Bases Juan Pierre (CHW) 41 Two tied with 36 Wins Ben Sheets (OAK) 10 Cole Hamels (PHI) 12 ERA David Price (TBR) 1.86 Mat Latos (SDP) 2.18 Strikeouts Felix Hernandez (SEA) 111 Adam Wainwright (STL) 108 Saves Two tied with 20 Heath Bell (SDP) 23 Indians in the Top Ten ERA Pedro Martinez 3.56 (10th AL)

Trades (non-Indians)
NYY-LAD: SP Jake Westbrook (78) [32] (3-1 5.71)
LAD-NYY: $5.5m

PHI-STL: SP Brad Lidge (79) [33] (1-3 6.75 5 SV)
STL-PHI: $5.3m

LAA-WAS: SP Ervin Santana (79) [27] (2-5 6.94)
WAS-LAA: $5.8m

TBR-NYM: SP Jeff Niemann (74/75) [27] (2-4 5.29)
NYM-TBR: $5.3m

NYY-ATL: 1B Nick Johnson (79) [31] (.223 6-23)
ATL-NYY: $5.15m

WAS-SEA: LF Josh Willingham (82) [31] (.193 4-19)
SEA-WAS: Two Minor Leaguers (CF, 3B)

MIL-LAD: RP Todd Coffey (79) [29] (8-0 3.57 2 SV)
LAD-MIL: $5.85m

TBR-SDP: 3B Willy Aybar (78) [27] (.295 2-7)
SDP-TBR: $4.3m

* Note: No, I have no idea why so many cash trades. League finances are mostly healthy.

Major Injuries (3 mo. plus, MLB, non-Indians)
CHW - 1B Paul Konerko (78) [34] (.247 7-28) - 4 months
DET - LF Ryan Raburn (81) [29] (.289 9-32) - 4 months
LAA - RP Rich Thompson (71/76) [25] (0-0 0.00) (2 IP) - 7 months
LAA - LF Paul McAnulty (71/72) [29] (DNP) - 3 months
OAK - RP Andrew Bailey (87) [26] (2-4 2.41 12 SV) - 3 months
TEX - C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (75/77) [25] (.253 5-28) - 3 months after tripping over his name.
TOR - RP Shawn Camp (75) [34] (2-1 3.21) - 4 months

ATL - 2B Martin Prado (84) [26] (.279 3-30) - 4 months
CHC - SP Tom Gorzelanny (81) [27] (4-1 4.06) - 3 months
COL - RF Brad Hawpe (83) [31] (.310 22-71) - 7 months
LAD - CF Alfredo Amezaga (73) [32] (DNP) - 7 months
LAD - CF Reed Johnson (75) [33] (.322 1-6) - 3 months

Milestones
CHW - LF Juan Pierre (80) [32] (.317 0-24) - 500 Steals
DET - LF Johnny Damon (80) [36] (.272 16-48) - 2500 Hits
NYY - SS A-Roid (93) [34] (.296 22-72) - 600 HR (June 12)
NYY - C Jorge Posada (77) [38] (.231 12-36) - 1000 RBI
SEA - RF Ichiro Suzuki (82) [36] (.346 1-45) - 1000 Runs

ATL - RP Billy Wagner (82) [38] (1-3 4.25 15 SV) - 400 Saves
MIL - RF Denard Span (84) [26] (.256 2-19) - Hit for the Cycle (June 26 vs. Seattle)
PHI - SS Jimmy Rollins (84) [31] (.274 11-53) - 1000 Runs
SDP - RF Jermaine Dye (76) [36] (.184 4-17) - 1000 Runs

Retirements (At least 1 Award)

CF Darin Erstad (Free Agent, Age 36)
2010: DNP
Lifetime: .282 124-699, 1697 H, 179 SB
Teams: Angels (96-06), White Sox (07), Astros (08-09)
Honors: 3 x Gold Glove (00,02,04), 2 x All Star (98,00)

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

Team Statistics through June 30
*******

We won't pretend that much is going right this year, so let's take a look and see what we can do to get ready for next year.

Code:

2010 Batting Team G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP Marson, Lou CLE 58 .232 194 45 7 0 7 25 44 1 1 27 28 .376 .320 Toregas, Wyatt CLE 14 .288 52 15 3 0 1 3 9 0 1 5 5 .404 .327 Santana, Carlos(AAA) CLE 10 .242 33 8 1 0 1 5 7 1 0 3 5 .364 .342 LaPorta, Matt CLE 71 .230 269 62 9 0 9 24 58 0 1 29 29 .364 .294 Branyan, Russell(AAA) CLE 24 .141 92 13 3 0 3 9 40 1 0 9 6 .272 .225 Gimenez, Chris CLE 23 .212 66 14 3 0 0 4 24 0 0 5 8 .258 .257 Cabrera, Asdrubal CLE 71 .257 268 69 19 2 5 22 50 4 2 30 22 .399 .317 Valbuena, Luis(DL) CLE 19 .192 78 15 1 1 1 3 13 2 0 9 5 .269 .222 Grudzielanek, Mark(AAA) CLE 6 .167 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 .167 Rodriguez, Luis(DL) CLE 6 .091 11 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 .091 .091 Graffanino, Tony CLE 3 .333 6 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 .333 .333 Marte, Andy(DL) CLE 37 .264 144 38 6 3 4 6 26 0 0 19 21 .431 .289 Buscher, Brian CLE 40 .286 140 40 10 1 2 13 25 0 2 14 13 .414 .346 Bixler, Brian CLE 38 .174 144 25 5 1 2 10 53 4 1 15 11 .264 .245 Peralta, Jhonny CLE 24 .281 89 25 5 0 3 7 22 0 0 10 10 .438 .333 Donald, Jason(DL) CLE 16 .183 60 11 3 0 0 4 21 1 0 6 4 .233 .242 Hernandez, Anderson(AAA) CLE 2 .167 6 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 .167 .143 Brown, Jordan CLE 40 .243 140 34 11 1 6 8 26 1 2 12 15 .464 .288 Crowe, Trevor CLE 23 .200 90 18 5 0 0 7 14 3 0 11 5 .256 .265 Brantley, Michael(AAA) CLE 15 .185 54 10 1 0 1 0 8 3 1 6 9 .259 .185 Sheffield, Gary CLE 9 .129 31 4 0 1 0 4 13 0 0 3 1 .194 .229 Sizemore, Grady(DL) CLE 74 .266 290 77 17 2 11 38 69 13 6 33 38 .452 .362 Choo, Shin-Soo CLE 72 .274 266 73 12 1 6 29 71 5 1 33 32 .395 .353 Duncan, Shelley(AAA) CLE 16 .197 61 12 2 0 1 7 16 1 0 7 4 .279 .279 Kearns, Austin CLE 15 .286 35 10 1 0 3 4 8 0 0 7 8 .571 .390

Catcher: This may be our easiest choice. Santana is ready: At some point his ratings popped to 88/96, so it's time for him to rejoin the club. Since we're going to go for youth when possible, Marson [24] will stay up while Toregas [27] goes down despite performing better through 52 AB. Plus, Toregas' arbitration clock is not set in stone yet, so this may save us down the road.

First Base: I might have considered bringing Branyan back, but he's injured for 14 days. Therefore this will remain the same.

Second Base: Valbuena (77/81) [24] still has a tiny bit to go before he peaks. He's drifting beyond the point where AAA can really help him, so I'll bring him up and hope he's used more than his predecessors. Graffanino goes down.

Third Base: With Marte on the DL, this is any easy choice. Besides, Buscher is doing well.

Shortstop: Here we're going to bring Hernandez (71) [27] up for Bixler (72/74) [27]. It could wind up being a wash, especially since I expect very little out of Mr. Hernandez, but if Bixler has any opportunity to improve I want him to take it. Especially if I choose to get rid of Peralta in a month.

Left Field: Brown has done well enough to keep the starting job. In my mind I can't justify giving it to Brantley. (Both men are young and need playing time to develop further.) Crowe is playing center field currently. Sheffield's .129 BA is actually an improvement...but since we're going for youth, I don't have time to wait for a 41 year old to snap out of it. Up comes Brantley, and Sheffield can enjoy his $3 million or so in retirement.

Center Field: Sizemore's injured. End of discussion.

Right Field: Kearns has done more than well enough to earn the second outfielder spot.

********

Moves
* Cleveland to Columbus *
C Wyatt Toregas
2B Tony Graffanino
LF Gary Sheffield

* Columbus to Cleveland *
C Carlos Santana
2B Luis Valbuena
LF Michael Brantley

* Releases *
2B Tony Graffanino: He's 37 years old, and I have a glut of infielders in AAA. I don't want to botch their growth any further.
2B Mark Grudzielanek: He's 39. Ditto.
LF Gary Sheffield: Less of a glut, but we're going to call this a failed experiment and wasted FA slot. It costs me $689.5K to buy him out.

*******

Code:

2010 Pitching Team IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9 Martinez, Pedro CLE 93.2 3.56 16 16 7 4 0 74 34 11.82 Carmona, Fausto CLE 90.2 3.57 17 17 4 7 0 44 24 12.81 Masterson, Justin CLE 80.2 5.36 16 16 4 8 0 75 32 13.50 Laffey, Aaron(AAA) CLE 42.1 8.29 11 9 2 6 0 23 20 18.50 Carrasco, Carlos CLE 23.2 7.99 6 4 0 3 0 20 6 14.45 Byrd, Paul CLE 20.1 4.87 3 3 1 2 0 8 2 9.30 Sowers, Jeremy(DL) CLE 18.0 3.00 2 2 1 0 0 11 2 10.00 Huff, David(AAA) CLE 15.2 9.19 4 4 0 2 0 10 8 17.81 Hagadone, Nick(AAA) CLE 13.0 4.85 3 3 1 2 0 15 9 18.00 Talbot, Mitch(AA) CLE 3.2 19.64 2 2 0 2 0 2 1 31.91 Smith, Joe CLE 51.2 4.53 39 0 0 2 2 36 19 11.32 Perez, Rafael CLE 49.0 4.96 38 0 1 3 0 33 16 11.94 Grilli, Jason CLE 45.0 5.80 31 1 1 3 0 26 19 13.00 Mastny, Tom CLE 42.1 5.95 29 1 0 3 1 30 26 16.58 Lewis, Jensen CLE 40.1 5.58 32 0 1 2 0 37 16 13.39 Perez, Chris CLE 36.1 2.97 28 0 3 1 11 40 13 9.91 Rivera, Saul(DL) CLE 14.2 7.36 10 0 0 1 1 7 7 19.02 Wright, Jamey(DL) CLE 12.1 8.76 9 0 1 0 0 9 8 21.89

Starters Pedro's really the only 'old man' who's earned the right to finish the season with his head held high. He's certainly done better than the puppies I've surrounded him with. Carmona's inconsistent (like in real life) but solid (unlike real life). Masterson still leads the team in strikeouts with thirteen less frames to do it in, but his R/9 is starting to creep up there. Carrasco's embarassing himself. In a normal year, Byrd would be a solid #4 guy or so, but as we're punting and going for youth he becomes expendable.

I have three potentially great pitchers in AAA - Hagadone (74/93), Alex White (76/92), and now T.J. House (73/91). I have to assume my scouts are lying to me or just plain wrong...but this seems like a really good time to find out. To make sure they get playing time, I need to clear the #2, 3 and 4 slots and make sure someone with poor ratings is number 5. Maybe I have a use for Mr. Byrd after all...

With Masterson's overall tolerable performance and 85/86 ratings, I don't want to leave him in Columbus too long. Once it becomes obvious one of my studs...isn't (at least yet), I'll bring him back.

Regarding my relievers, you'll notice I've demoted none (or more correctly they came back after Wright and Rivera were injured.) My bullpen has a lot less depth than elsewhere. Still, Grilli's 33 years old, and Mastny's having a very bad year. It's time to let someone else try. My two most promising (highest upside) candidates are Jess Todd (75/82) and Zach Putnam. (72/87)

Moves
*Cleveland to Columbus*
SP Carlos Carrasco
SP Justin Masterson
SP Fausto Carmona
RP Joe Smith
RP Jason Grilli

*Columbus to Cleveland*
SP Nick Hagadone
SP T.J. House
SP Alex White
RP Jess Todd
RP Zach Putnam

*Releases*
None

*******

Lineup
2B Cabrera - CF Crowe - 1B LaPorta - C Santana - RF Choo - SS Peralta - LF Brown - DH Valbuena(?) - 3B Buscher

Rotation
Martinez - White - House - Hagadone - Byrd

Bullpen
CL C Perez - SU R Perez - SR Smith - SR Lewis - MR Todd - LR Putnam

*******
Aftermath

Following their releases, both Graffanino and Grudzielanek retire from baseball.

Graffanino was a lifetime .266 hitter with 58 HR, 302 RBI, 748 H and 52 SB.
He played for the Braves (96-98), D-Rays (99-00), White Sox (00-03), Royals (04-06), Red Sox (06), Brewers (06-07) and Indians (09-10).

Grudzielanek was a lifetime .289 hitter with 90 HR, 630 RBI, 2012 H and 131 SB.
He played for the Expos (95-98), Dodgers (98-02), Cubs (03-04), Cardinals (05), Royals (06-08) and Indians (10).

He was a 1996 NL All Star and won the 2006 Gold Glove while with KC.

Re: It's Tribe Time (2010 Indians)

I can't prove it and no one else has ever mentioned it, so this might be mere myth and perception. However, I have a running theory that there is some sort of clubhouse 'penalty' if I shake things up too much. If so, then these next few weeks should be painful. Then again, the rest of the season's been painful so far.

One more game against Toronto - I didn't realize these guys were still in town, then onward.

*******

July 1, 2010

Blue Jays 2 - Indians 11
WP: House (1-0), LP: Mills (0-1)
HR: (TOR) Lind (16), (CLE) Santana (2), LaPorta (10)

That..that was beautiful. Santana homers in his first at bat back. House gives me 7 IP, 1 ER in his career debut with his only mistake being Lind's homer. Even RP Jess Todd (2 IP 1 ER) manages to shut the door in his season debut. No offense to Toronto fans, but after going 5-23 in June I really needed to see us slaugther somebody.

July 2

Athletics 20 - Indians 7 - not a typo.
WP: Cahill (2-1), LP: Hagadone (1-3)
HR: (OAK) Kouzmanoff (16), Cust (17), (CLE) LaPorta (11), Choo (7)

Oh my. The ups and downs of managing this club. Seven pitchers all give up runs. In fact, Oakland scores in seven of the nine innings. We actually put together a 5 run fifth, but at that point it was already 12-1. Choo (4 RBI) and LaPorta (3) account for all our runs.

July 3

Athletics 3 - Indians 1
WP: Gonzalez (2-5), LP: Martinez (7-5), SV: Wuertz (7)
HR: (CLE) Brown (7)

At least this game was a little more sane, with Martinez giving us 7 strong innings...just not enough as our offense takes the night off.

July 4

Athletics 3 - Indians 4
WP: White (1-0), LP: Sheets (10-5), SV: C Perez (12)
HR: (OAK) Barton (9)

When you outduel Ben Sheets in your career debut, that's pretty good. Seven good innings from White. Brown, Cabrera and Valbuena all get two hits and an RBI as we hold on to win.

*******

Comments:

While playing through these games I remember I can change my strategy settings. I'm really not happy with having an 85/86 starter in the minors, so I'm going to bring Justin Masterson back, demote Paul Byrd and wish him a happy retirement, and make sure Manny Acta uses a strict five man rotation. It costs me $366,750 to wish Byrd a fond farewell.

********

Cleveland Indians (29-53)
Fifth Place, 13 GB of Detroit

********

July 5

Indians 5 - Rangers 4
WP: Smith (1-2), LP: Kiker (0-1), SV: C Perez (13)
HR: (CLE) Giminez 2 (2), (TEX) Hamilton (19)

For some reason Zach Putnam starts..and goes a long way towards redeeming himself with 5 IP 0 ER after some really crappy relief work (especially in the 20-7 blowout.) For similarly unfathomable reasons, RF Choo takes the night off and Manny doesn't use reserve OF Austin Kearns. Instead he gives the..er..glove to 1B Chris Giminez, who not only escapes without an error but goes 2 for 4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI.

July 6

Indians 5 - Rangers 6
WP: Hunter (2-2), LP: Todd (0-1), SV: Francisco (19)
HR: (CLE) Santana (3), LaPorta (12), Brown (8), (TEX) Moreland (4)

We battle our way to a 4-3 lead when our young reliever decides to go ahead and suck.

July 7

Indians 7 - Rangers 11
WP: Feliz (4-2), LP: White (1-1)
HR: (CLE) LaPorta (13), Brantley (2), (TEX) Teagarden (3), C Davis 2 (19), Hamilton (20)

This is getting hard to watch.

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Comments:

Is Grady back with his psychotherapist? I think I need one.

Pedro's ratings have dropped into the 60s. I've noticed him weakening as the season goes on and it's time. He goes to Columbus with his 7-5 3.69 ERA while Fausto Carmona rejoins the Tribe. Now I have all my young arms back and my experiment with older players is officially a failure.

No one wants Pedro on the trading block, so we buy out his contract for $863,000. Hopefully he takes the hint and retires on a high note.

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Cleveland Indians (30-55)
Fifth Place, 15 GB of Detroit

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July 8

Indians 2 - Rays 1
WP: House (2-0), LP: Shields (6-8), SV: C Perez (14)
HR: (CLE) Choo (8), (TB) Crawford (7)

Not bad all around. A solid performance.

July 9

Indians 1 - Rays 3
WP: Price (11-2), LP: Hagadone (1-4), SV: Soriano (18)
HR: (TB) Kapler (9), Sweeney (3)

Rookie night from our starter and bullpen, and I have to remind myself that three runs over nine innings isn't that bad. Grr.

July 10

Indians 4 - Rays 3
WP: Masterson (5-8), LP: Garza (7-2), SV: C Perez (15)
HR: (TB) Longoria (18)

Masterson's return won't break any records (7 IP 3 ER) but is good nonetheless. CF Trevor Crowe gives us 2 RBI for the win.

July 11

Indians 2 - Rays 4
WP: Davis (9-1), LP: Carmona (4-8), SV: Soriano (19)
HR: (CLE) Brantley (3), (TB) Crawford (8)

Carmona didn't benefit from his time in Columbus. All four runs come in the first four innings. Maybe I was too quick on the trigger with Pedro...

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Cleveland Indians (32-57)
Fifth Place, 15.5 GB of Detroit