A Fresh Start (Indians)

[mattynokes]

*cries* Dawg....go out right this minute and rent Major League, please.

And #2! To me ML 1 and ML 2 go together. However Major League 3 isn't that great.

Anyways, Cat, nice dynasty. I'm not big on following retro ones, so this one being a modern day dynasty I'll be tuning in.

[BichetteMan]

I say Hafner develops like Cerrano and you need to pick up a japanese outfielder to tease him! Nice Start Cat. I'll be reading.

[CatKnight]

SrMeow: Cry?

petrel: That would be amusing.

Dawg: Yep! Lou Brown's the manager of the Indians in 'Major League'

bigpapi: Definitely worth renting.

mattynokes: Ya know, I'm not sure I've seen ML2. I know the general plot, but I don't recall actually seeing it. Hm.

Bichetteman: Hm...that could be fun too
*******

Early April 2006

The press conference went about as well as you would expect. Incredulity followed by concern. Didn't we know Eric Wedge led the Indians from obscurity to over ninety wins last year? Could the judgement of a first year GM (somehow this became my idea) be trusted?

Even Bud Selig called with a wary "Are you sure about this?" Just wonderful.

Lou managed to keep his mouth shut, though I could see him turning red as the questions continued. Ed thoughtfully let me handle the baseball questions. Did I think this would hurt the Indians' chances? No, of course not. We have complete faith in our players. Are we worried about the Twins and Tigers? No. We're going to play ball for 162 games, and the best team will emerge. How about the rash of contracts coming up at the end of the season?

"We will worry about those towards the end of the season." I leaned forward on the podium for emphasis. "I'd ask our players to concentrate on baseball right now. We don't want to distract them."
*******

"Hello, girls!" So began Lou's stint as Indian manager, much to the shock and chagrin of our players. We start out in the hole half a game, as the ChiSox annihilated Texas 10-2 yesterday. This could be a long season.
*******

Kansas City (0-0) (2nd-T, -0.5g) at Cleveland (0-0) (2nd-T, -0.5g)

2: A close fought game until the sixth when Ryan Garko hit a bases loaded double to blowit open. Garko and Kouzmanoff both earned their first (two) hits and a double apiece. Martinez went 4/4. Indians 9-5
WP: Miller (1-0), HR: Sizemore (1), Martinez (1)
*******

In St. Louis, the Cards showed off their new stadium in style. They annihilated Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, tossing him out after two innings on the way to a 13-2 massacre including two homers by Albert Pujols.
*******

3: Trailing 2-0, we exploded for 8 runs in the next three innings capped by Blake's grand slam. Lee pitched 5.1 mediocre innings. Hafner went 2/4 with 2R, 2RBI. Indians 9-5
WP: Lee (1-0), HR: Blake (1), Hafner (1)

4: We squandered a 6-0 lead, and they nearly blew one of 12-9. John Buck's grand slam off Miller gave them the lead for good. Kouzmanoff hit his first homer. Michaels went 4/6 with 3 R. They went through EIGHT pitchers, while we went through 5. Royals 12-11
LP: Miller (1-1), HR: Kouzmanoff (1), Sizemore (2)
*******

We'd briefly held first place, but the loss puts us into a tie with our next opponent.
*******

Cleveland (2-1) (1st-T, +0g) at Detroit (2-1) (1st-T, +0g)

5: Fausto Carmona's debut sees him go 6 innings while giving up 2 runs. Not bad for a converted reliever. Byrd comes in and gives up a third run. Tigers 3-1
LP: Carmona (0-1)

6: The buzz on Braves fan boards was that HoRam was, at best, mediocre and 'Good riddance.' Perhaps, but for one day Ramirez was fantastic giving up 1 run in 8 innings. Martinez's 2 run homer and a late rally puts the game out of reach. Indians 6-1
WP: Ramirez (1-0), HR: Martinez (2)

7: We could have had this one: Leading 5-1 in the 7th, C.C. gives up a 3-run homer to Marcus Thames. Relievers take over into the eleventh when the Tigers play small ball, scoring on two singles and a sac bunt. Tigers 6-5 (11)
LP: Betancourt (0-1), HR: Martinez (3)
*******

I suppose I should be happy. .500 ball with a raw manager who barely knows our signals? Lou seems abrasive. So far the rookies like him, while the vets don't know what to do yet.

The Blue Jays are 6-0. The Yanks lead the wildcard at 6-1. Good thing this isn't football or I'd be worried.
*******

Los Angeles (2-4) (3rd, -2g) at Cleveland (3-3) (2nd. -1g)

8: Lee rebounds with a great performance: 3 hits in 8 IP. It's never even close, especially after a 5-run rally in the 4th. Sizemore goes 2/3 with 3 RBI, Michaels and Belliard each get 3 hits. Indians 11-0
WP: Lee (2-0). HR: Sizemore (3)

9: Leading 4-2 in the 8th, Westbrook finally breaks down and they tie it. Miller takes over pitching: LA scores 3 in the 9th, we only score 2, one of those on a back to back passed ball and wild pitch. Angels 7-6
LP: Miller (1-2)

10: Our offense gets revenge, scoring 5 in the 1st. They get 3 in the 2nd, but that's it for them as we keep going. Carmona pitches another solid 6 innings. Blake hits his second grand slam of the season. Indians 10-3
WP: Carmona (1-1), SV: Byrd (1), HR: Blake (2)

11: A much closer game: Martinez's 3 run blast puts us ahead, but this time the Angels won't give up. Ramirez still gives us 6 solid innings, and relief pitching finishes it. Indians 5-4
WP: Ramirez (2-0), SV: Betancourt (1), HR: Martinez (4), Michaels (1)
*******

Well, that felt pretty nice. It'll feel even better if we can do something about the Tigers, who are coming to town.

Detroit (6-3) (1st, +0.5g) at Cleveland (6-4) (2nd, -0.5g)

12: A general solid performance. Sabathia finally hits his stride going 7 innings. Hafner goes 3/4 with 2R and 2RBI. Even Miller (0.2 IP, 0 H) manages not to blow it. Indians 7-3
WP: Sabathia (1-0), SV: Miller (1), HR: Hafner (2), Kouzmanoff (2)

13: Another game we should have had, Bob Wickman and Paul Byrd...suck..giving up 4 runs in the ninth to turn a probable win into a loss. Let's not forget Lee though, who's being very inconsistent and only went 3 full innings forcing an improbable comeback from 6-0. Tigers 10-9
LP: Byrd (0-1), HR: Sizemore (4)

14: For reasons that aren't at all clear, Betancourt STARTS. I understood when Lou said Westbrook needed a day off, but what about BYRD? Or...anyone trained to go more than one inning? Well, it was all relievers and we actually managed to hang in there most of the game. Trailing 4-3 after 7 they scored 2, then we copied them. In the ninth the Tigers scored one more. Grr. Tigers 7-5
LP: Betancourt (0-2), HR: Blake (3)
*******

AL Central
Detroit (8-4)
Cleveland (7-6) (1.5)
Chicago (7-7) (2)
Minnesota (5-8) (3.5)
Kansas City (4-10) (5)

ALE: New York (11-2), Toronto (-2), Boston (-4)
ALW: Oakland (8-5), Texas (-2), Seattle (-3)
ALwc: Toronto (9-4), Boston (-2), Cleveland (-2)
NLE: Atlanta (7-6), Florida (7-6), Washington (-0.5)
NLC: Milwaukee (7-5), PIT/CHC/STL/CIN (-1)
NLW: San Diego (9-5), Los Angeles (-0.5), SF/ARI (-1)
NLwc: Los Angeles (9-6), Arizona (-0.5), San Francisco (-0.5)

[petrel]

Rumor is they're calling Lou "Wilford Brimley".

--Pet

[CatKnight]

petrel: Lou hasn't asked anyone to eat their oatmeal. Yet.
*******

April 14, 2006


Detroit's GM, Michel Arneault(1), travelled with the team so I visited him in the guest box during the final game. He rose and bowed when I walked in.

Arneault was a slim man in his late thirties with short black hair. He dressed immaculately in a $500 suit with a black and silver tie. His attendant, a pretty thing of about 20-25 with blond hair, blushed when she saw me. He murmured something in her ear and she left.

"Mister...Knight, yes?" He gripped my hand in both of his. "An honor, sir! Please, will you join me?" He spoke with an accent, but I understood him well enough.

"The pleasure's mine." Didn't hurt to be polite. "How are you enjoying the game?"

He glanced over his shoulder at the center field scoreboard. "I am enjoying it very much, though I fear you must be suffering grievously." He wrung his hands as if this actually bothered him. "Such are the whims of destiny."

"It's not over yet." I sat beside him and we talked about our lives and families. "Are you married?" he asked, glancing at my hand.

I followed his gaze to the simple gold band. "Engaged." And so I talked about Katrina(2), coming in from Oregon. To hear him tell it, his wife's name was 'Mon cher.'

Finally the conversation swung around to the state of the American League, and I asked about the Tigers' woes.

"Us? In trouble? Who has told you such nonsense?" he snapped, his accent thickening. "I will wring their nose from their face! It is an insult!"

"So it's not true?"

"Non! Oui, it is true the Tigers have seen better days, but I run a tight ship. There is no danger of the team going bankrupt or moving. Not on my watch!"

I apologized and inevitably the conversation shifted to Pittsburgh.

"Now that is a different kettle of fish," he said in a troubled tone. "I may be wrong. I hope so, indeed, but I do not see how they can stay."

He then added a surprise. "It is not well publicized, for many are waiting for the Pirates to decide if they can weather this storm or not, but there may be another potential place for them to go."

"Besides Jacksonville, Indianapolis and San Antonio? Where?"

"And besides San Jose, do not forget. I am, however, speaking of Calgary."
-------

(1) For those new to my dynasties, I always fictionalize the GMs. This way I can give them what personalities and histories I want.

(2) And for those who remember Katrina from 'Royals'...that's my RL fiance's middle name and the one she uses. For those veterans of 'Cardinal' and 'Destiny' who remember Kelly, that's her first name.
*******

Cleveland (7-6) (2nd, -1.5g) at Boston (7-6) (3rd, -4g)

16: Kouzmanoff's two-run error gives the Sox a lead we never come back from. Tim Wakefield holds us down most of the game until he tires late. Garko's two run double is almost our only reply. Red Sox 5-3
LP: Carmona (1-2), HR: Sizemore (5)

17: Hafner singles home Michaels in the first, and that's it for us. C.C. continues to struggle and only makes it five innings. Red Sox 5-1
LP: Sabathia (1-1)

18: This time it's the 2nd inning with Kouzmanoff's solo shot that's our only run, and Lee struggling through 5.1 innings. Red Sox 5-1
LP: Lee (2-1), HR: Kouzmanoff (3)
*******

Well, that officially stunk. Unfortunately our east coast trip isn't over.
*******

Cleveland (7-9) (3rd, -2.5g) at New York (13-3) (1st, +2g)

19: We didn't deserve this one. Thrice we left the bases loaded. Kouzmanoff alone stranded 8 runners (and had another error.) Staying in it as long as we did is a testament to Jake Westbrook (5.2 IP 9 K).Give Yankee Kyle Farnsworth some credit also: He loaded the bases in relief with no outs...then struck out the side. Yankees 4-3
LP: Westbrook (0-1)

20: We snap our losing streak at 6. Carmona pitches 8 shutout innings, while Michaels gets two homers worth 3 RBI. Indians 6-1
WP: Carmona (2-2), HR: Michaels 2 (2)

21: Despite a late comeback led by Sizemore and Blake, the Yanks take the rubber match. Randy Johnson strikes out 10 in 6.2 IP. Yankees 4-2
LP: Ramirez (2-1), HR: Blake (4)
*******

Ugh. We're already in trouble and it's not even May yet. Lou's asking everyone if they've eaten their oatmeal, whatever that means.
*******

Minnesota (9-10) (3rd, -3.5g) at Cleveland (8-11) (4th, -4.5g)

22: Sabathia gives up one in the first, but that's it as our offense makes a methodical comeback. Hafner's 2 run homer paves the way, and another RBI helps seal the deal. Indians 5-1
WP: Sabathia (2-1), HR: Hafner (3)

23: When Lee leaves after 5 innings we begin trying to battle back, but then reliever Bob Wickman gives up 5 runs in 0.1 innings. An overall sloppy performance all around. Twins 10-3
LP: Lee (2-2), HR: Hafner (4)

24: Tied 2-2 in the ninth Martinez singles, advances on a sac bunt, goes to third on a fly, and scores on Kouzmanoff's single to take the rubber match. Indians 3-2
WP: Perez (1-0)
*******

We get a day off to think about what's happened so far and get ready for our next opponents. I feel a strange affinity for them. I wonder why...
*******

Kansas City (7-15) (5th, -7g) at Cleveland (10-12) (3rd-T, -4g)

26: Question: Leading 2-1 entering the 7th, which is worse? Carmona imploding and giving up 4 runs, or Paul Byrd giving up 2 consecutive homers an inning later? Garko hits his first career homer amidst this drama. Royals 7-2
LP: Carmona (2-3), HR: Garko (1)

27: Leading 1-0, Sabathia struggles through the eighth, then Byrd once again makes it worse. Garko and Kouzmanoff hit solo shots - our only runs. Royals 4-2
LP: Byrd (0-2), HR: Garko (2), Kouzmanoff (4)

28: We save our tattered rep by blowing the Royals out. Sizemore and Hafner both get three hits, and combine for five runs in the eighth to destroy KC. Garko apparently loves the Royals, going 6 for 13 with 4 HR in the series. Indians 11-0
WP: Lee (3-2), HR: Hafner (5), Garko 2 (4)
*******

[CatKnight]

April 29, 2006

Standings

American League East
Team            W    L    GB
New York        20    5   --
Boston          19    7    1.5
Toronto         14   12    6.5
Baltimore       12   15    9
Tampa Bay        7   18   13

American League Central
Team            W    L    GB
Detroit         16    9   --
Chicago         13   14    4
Cleveland       11   14    5
Minnesota       11   14    5
Kansas City      9   16    7

American League West
Team            W    L    GB
Oakland         15   10   --
Texas           13   12    2    
Los Angeles     10   16    5.5
Seattle          9   17    6.5

American League Wildcard
Team            W    L    GB
Boston          19    7   --
Toronto         14   12    5
Texas           13   12    5.5
Chicago         13   14    6.5
Baltimore       12   15    7.5

National League East
Team            W    L    GB
Atlanta         14   12   --
New York        14   12   --
Washington      11   14    2.5
Florida         10   15    3.5
Philadelphia    10   18    5

National League Central
Team            W    L    GB
St. Louis       16    8   --
Milwaukee       15    9    1
Chicago         13   11    3
Pittsburgh      11   14    5.5
Cincinnati      10   14    6
Houston          9   15    7

National League West
Team            W    L    GB
Los Angeles     17   10   --
San Diego       17   10   --
Arizona         14   12    2.5
San Francisco   13   12    3
Colorado         8   16    7.5

National League Wildcard
Team            W    L    GB
San Diego       17   10   --
Los Angeles     17   10   --
Milwaukee       15    9    0.5
Chicago         13   11    2.5

*******

American League Leaders
Average: Magglio Ordonez (DET) .368, 2 tied with .360
HR: Richie Sexson (SEA) 10, Carlos Pena (BOS) 9
RBI: Magglio Ordonez (DET) 26, 3 tied with 25
Steals: Chone Figgins (LAA) 12, 3 tied with 8

Wins: Barry Zito (OAK) 5, 7 tied with 4
ERA: Curt Schilling (BOS) 2.08, Josh Beckett (BOS) 2.18
Strikeouts: Scott Kazmir (TBD) 44, C.C. Sabathia (CLE) 42
Saves: Todd Jones (DET) 9, Huston Street (OAK) 8

National League Leaders
Average: Kenny Lofton (LAD) .417, Jack Wilson (PIT) .379
HR: Corey Koskie (MIL) 10, Ray Durham (SFG) 9
RBI: Corey Koskie (MIL) 25, Albert Pujols (STL) 24
Steals: Chris Duffy (PIT) 12, 2 tied with 9

Wins: John Thomson (ATL) 5, 3 tied with 4
ERA: Jason Johnson (CIN) 1.24, Mark Prior (CHC) 1.34
Strikeouts: Tim Hudson (ATL) 45, Mark Prior (CHC) 42
Saves: Macay McBride (ATL) 10, Derrick Turnbow (MIL) 10

Cleveland Indians Leaders
Average: Travis Hafner .360 (2nd-T)
HR: Sizemore, Hafner 5
RBI: Travis Hafner 25 (2nd-T)
Steals: Grady Sizemore 4

Wins: Cliff Lee 3
ERA: Fausto Carmona 3.48
Strikeouts: C.C. Sabathia 42 (2nd)
Saves: Rafael Betancourt 2
*******

Major Injuries (All stats for 2005)
BOS-SP Daisuke Matsuzaka (70/91) [25] (Rookie) - 3 mo
BOS-2B Mark Loretta (82) [34] (.280 3-38 8 with SDP) - 2 mo
DET-RP Jason Grilli (74/76) [29] (1-1 3.38 0) - Season
LAA-SP Bartolo Colon (71) [32] (21-8 3.48 2 CG) - 4 mo
OAK-RP Scott Sauerbeck (75) [34] (1-0 4.04 0 with CLE) - 4 mo
OAK-SS Bobby Crosby (83) [26] (.273 0-2 0 SB) - 2 mo

HOU-RP Chad Qualls (83/89) [27] (6-4 3.28 0 SV) - 2 mo
HOU-RP Scott Dohmann (74/77) [28] (2-1 6.10 0 with COL) - 3 mo
MIL-SP Tomokazu Ohka (75) [30] (11-9 4.04 1 with WAS/MIL) - 2 mo
PHI-RP Arthur Rhodes (77) [36] (3-1 2.08 0 with CLE) - 3 mo
SFG-CF Steve Finley (73) [41] (.222 12-54 8 with LAA) - 2 mo
WAS-LF Ryan Church (81/85) [27] (.287 5-42 3) - 3 mo
WAS-SP Ramon Ortiz (66) [33] (9-11 5.36 1 with CIN) - 5 mo
WAS-CF Nook Logan (79) [26] (.258 1-17 23 with DET) - Season

What's with all these transplants getting injured?
*******

Trades (All stats for 2005)
TB-KC: SS Ben Zobrist (73/78) [24] (Rookie)
TB-KC: 3B Sean Burroughs (76) [25] (.250 1-17 4 with SDP)
KC-TB: 1B Doug Mientkiewicz (75) [31] (.240 11-29 0 with NYM)
KC-TB: SS Angel Berroa (78/79) [28] (.270 11-55 7)

Uhm...okee.

KC-HOU: 3B Sean Burroughs (as above)
KC-HOU: RP Scott Dohmann (as above under Injuries)
HOU-KC: RF Jason Lane (81) [29] (.267 28-76 6)

I'm gonna call this a Royals victory
*******

Milestones (All stats for 2005)
ARI-RF Shawn Green (84) [33] (.286 22-73 8) - 1000 R
COL-C Yorvit Torrealba (79) [27] (.234 3-15 1 with SFG/SEA) - 20g Streak
NYM-SP Pedro Martinez (91) [34] (15-8 2.82 4) - 200 W
PIT-RF Jeromy Bernitz (79) [37] (.258 24-87 5 with CHC) - 300 HR
SDP-C Mike Piazza (87) [37] (.251 19-62 0 with NYM) - 400 HR
SFG-LF Moises Alou (81) [39] (.321 19-63 5) - 300 HR
STL-CF Jim Edmonds (88) [35] (.263 29-89 5) - 1000 RBI
*******

Notable Retirements
Mike Lieberthal (C, Philadelphia): Age 34, 12 seasons
2006: .182 0-1 0 in 11 AB - 2005: .263 12-47 0
Career: .274 141-574 8 - 1,082 H
Teams: Phillies (94-06)
Awards: All Star (99-00), Gold Glove (99)

[PotatoOfCouch13]

The talent always rises to the top, no matter the manager.

Besides, it's a long season. You have plenty of time to recover from April, especially the way your youngsters are hitting lately.

[yaya0]

Kill Barry Bonds... Kill Barry Bonds... Kill Barry Bonds...

[eick]

Kill Barry Bonds... Kill Barry Bonds... Kill Barry Bonds...

But how? Arms exploding from using too many unknown substances on them?

[CatKnight]

PotatoofCouch: Our hitting is fantastic! .293 last I checked. Our pitching and fielding? Hm.

yaya0: I may not need to. He's fading fast in this dynasty - already down to an 85. He has 2 HR so far, giving him 710 lifetime.

eick: A meteor almost as big as his head lands on him and sinks San Francisco into the sea.
*******

April 29, 2006

We're 25 games in and have won eleven - not good. What's even more frustrating is that our Pythagorean shows we should have won fifteen and be neck and neck with the Tigers.

My assistants - Directors of Scouting, Business, and Player Development - know even less about how to run a Major League club than I do so I cornered Lou to go over our lineup.

C Victor Martinez (.344 4 HR-17 RBI)
1B Ryan Garko (.344 4-16)
DH Travis Hafner (.360 5-25 1 SB)
CF Grady Sizemore (.314 5-20 4)
RF Casey Blake (.279 4-14 1)
LF Jason Michaels (.263 3-10 0)
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (.256 4-9 0)
2B Ron Belliard (.226 0-7 0)
SS Jhonny Peralta (.269 0-8 0)

Only two real worries here:

Kouzmanoff's doing okay behind the plate, certainly for a rookie, but his fielding has slipped to .906. Lou promised to talk to him and I agreed to give him another month. My pickings for replacing him are rather slim: Aaron Boone? He's 33 years old, and 0 for 9 on the season.

Belliard has the opposite problem: A good glove (.992), but his production is worrisome. Again, we'll give him another month but if he continues to struggle... Lou reminded me Kouzmanoff's a young kid. True. Belliard's 31 though, and running out of excuses.

We therefore content ourselves with shuffling the lineup around.

SP Jake Westbrook (0-1 5.19)
SP Fausto Carmona (2-3 3.48)
SP C.C. Sabathia (2-1 4.31)
SP Cliff Lee (3-2 4.93)
SP Horacio Ramirez (2-1 3.43)

Again, only some rearranging here. For a washed up, mediocre pitcher Ramirez is doing just fine in the 5 spot.

CL Danny Graves (0-0 1.98)
SU Rafael Perez (1-0 1.50)
SR Matt Miller (1-2 6.75 1 SV)
SR Bob Wickman (0-0 6.75)
MR Rafael Betancourt (0-2 5.40 2)
LR Paul Byrd (0-2 6.57 1)

We haven't seen much of Betancourt, but his high ERA and DICE are worrisome. We'll give Graves and Perez a shot. The only one here in real danger of losing his job (and thus a demotion) is Paul Byrd, who needs to step it up if he doesn't want to be considered too old to continue.

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Don't you wish you still had Andy Marte to play 3rd? Just kidding. It's really a shame, though. Marte was a can't-miss 3Bman, but just hasn't been able to put it together.

And what about Josh Barfield? Could he step in at second base?

Here's what I'm thinking: Belliard for a back-end starter...continue the youth movement

[HoustonGM]

Marte was a can't-miss 3Bman, but just hasn't been able to put it together.

He obviously wasn't can't-miss then.

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Touche.

"Marte was a highly rated 3B prospect...

How's that?

[Coach Owens]

Sign Rube Baker!!

[gosensgo101]

Trade for Barry Bonds!

In all serousness, how's your backup OFers? You could sub one in for Kouzmanoff and bring Blake into third. As for Belliard, hope someone comes available I guess.