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CTown Sports Fan

June 2007 - Posts

  • Tribe 2 Rays 1


    I wanted to first start off by apologizing for not posting lately. I have had computer problems that wouldn't let me get online. But the problem has been solved so the problem is in the past. The Tribe got a thrilling final inning win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays tonight at Jacobs Field. Here are my thoughts on the win:


    1. Jake Westbrook had another solid start tonight. He got more strikeouts than he usually does but kept the ball club in the game tonight. Also, the run he gave up tonight had he not walked a batter he probably would of pitched a scoreless game tonight.

    2. I'm not going to rip our offense for looking inept out there tonight. I thought Jackson for the Rays had electric stuff tonight. But you have to wonder why after he struck out the side in the 6th why the Rays manager took him out of the game.

    3. Nice to see Ben Francisco get two hits tonight and the big game winning homer. Francisco seems to be another gem that the Tribe has uncovered from their deep minor league system. The only thing with him is that I had hoped he would of seen a start of two before that since he has been up for a week now.

    4. Another good job by the bullpen tonight pitching two scoreless innings. Also, Borowski finally pitched well in a non save situation, and he has his ERA to a season low 5.70.

    5. The win coupled with a 11-1 Tigers loss gives the Tribe the division lead again. I think its key for the Tribe to take advantage of playing a Triple A team this weekend while the Tigers are playing a hot Minnesota team.

    The Indians will be back at home tomorrow night against Tampa Bay at 7:05 as CC Sabathia faces JP Howell.

    Posted Jun 29 2007, 10:16 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Tribe 10 Phillies 1


    The Cleveland Indians opened up their three game series with a win tonight at Jacobs Field. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. Cliff Lee had another good start tonight. I still don't think he is pitching at the level he has in the previous three years. He didn't have command of his cut fastball tonight again but got the Phillies hitters to swing and miss at some of his pitches and then on the other pitches which they hit hard he seemed to get them to be hit right at his fielders.

    2. The offense was good again for a second straight day. The Tribe seemed to have a very good approach at the plate against Cole Hamels who is going to be an NL All-Star. The approach seemed to be to take Hamels pitches especially the changeup to the opposite field. I think hitting coach Derek Shelton deserves some of the credit for coming up with a good game plan against an excellent starting pitcher.

    3. Of the three games in this series I thought tonight's game would be the most difficult to win since we have favorable pitching matchups in the remaining two games.

    4. It was great to see Brady Quinn and Joe Thomas throwing out the first pitches tonight. I love how the other sports teams in town have rolled out the red carpet for the both of them and have really made them feel welcome in town.

    5. The win was big tonight in keeping pace with the Tigers as they held off Washington.

    The Tribe returns to the Jake tommorrow at 7:05 as Jason Stanford faces Kyle Kendrick.

    Posted Jun 18 2007, 11:04 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog
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  • Tribe 5 Braves 2


    The Cleveland Indians salvaged one game of their three game series with the Atlanta Braves today at Jacobs Field. These are my thoughts on the game:


    1. Another great performance by Fausto Carmona this afternoon. I think it is becoming very evident that he has electric stuff and he makes really good hitters look terrible at the plate.

    2. We still didn't swing the bats great but persevered and found a way to get 5 runs across the plate. Plus, with Carmona on the mound and pitching with 5 runs a win seems like a lock.

    3. We really threw the leather out their today. Two great catches by Jason Michaels and an outstanding catch by Grady. I still standby my statement that had Michaels been in the game for defense on Friday night we would have won the game. I think Michaels has made a case to warrant more playing time by the way he has hit both righties and lefties.

    4. The bullpen was again good and closed down the game for us to get the win.

    5. With the win today we held onto a slim one game lead. The next series will be huge with the Phillies as the Tigers are playing the lowly Nationals.

    The Indians will return to the Jake tomorrow as Cliff Lee faces Cole Hamels.


    Posted Jun 17 2007, 11:30 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Tribe 3 Marlins 2


    The Cleveland Indians took the final game of a three game series with the Florida Marlins tonight. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. Great job tonight by Jason Stanford in holding a good Marlins offense to 1 run over 6 innings. I don't think any of us were expecting Stanford to pitch this well tonight. I think he definitely earned another start and even when Westbrook comes back I think it is possible you will see Stanford go to the bullpen so we don't lose him through waivers.

    2. Victor Martinez has a big home run tonight in the first inning. We went back to our method of winning games early which was score early, let your pitchers take the mound with confidence and then keep adding on runs as the game continues.

    3. I thought we did a decent job of hitting as we pushed two other runs across the plate, and would of had a third if not for an excellent throw from center on a single by Marlins center fielder Reggie Abercrombie.

    4. Roberto Hernandez really seems to be coming into his own and gave a strong inning of relief as did Betancourt. The 9th was a little hairy but Joe Borowski got the job done.

    5. The Tigers lost again today so the Tribe takes back a 2 game lead and hopefully with the Tribe playing a reeling Braves team and the Tigers heading to Philadelphia to face a hot Phillies team that our lead in the Central can grow.

    The Indians will return home to the Jake for a three game series with Atlanta tomorrow with CC Sabathia facing Buddy Carlisle.

    Posted Jun 14 2007, 10:57 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Spurs 75 Cavs 72


    The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 3 of the NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurts to fall behind 0-3. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. I cant fault the effort tonight. Everyone on the team responded and I felt like we left everything we had on the floor tonight.

    2. Lebron had his best game of the series and even though he had some turnovers I thought he played a good all around game.

    3. All through this series I have felt the thing that has killed us has been the proficiency of the Spurs from the three point land.

    4. I hope we as fans don't make a big deal about the no foul call at the end of the game. Yes, it was a foul but its not the reason we lost the game. Quite frankly, we didn't play well enough to win the game.

    5. I have no criticism of Mike Brown in this game. The defense was a lot better and on the offensive side of the ball we had tons of open shots that we didn't knock down.

    6. I thought the fans brought their A game tonight and were wonderful and did have an impact on the game. As fans we showed the passion that makes us great.

    7. I think the good that is going to come out of this series is that the Cavs will realize what it takes from intensity standpoint to compete on a championship level. That being said this team desperately needs another player on it that on a regular basis we can count on them as a solid 18 to 20 points a night scorer. It could either be a guard or a low post player but it is vital if we want to be a championship team.

    Game 4 is slated for Thursday night at 9.

    Posted Jun 12 2007, 11:55 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Marlins 3 Tribe 0


    The Cleveland Indians lost the opening game of their three game series with the Florida Marlins at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Florida tonight. Here are my thoughts on tonight's game:


    1. Fausto Carmona was splendid again on the mound. The three runs came on a high hop ground ball double. He definitely deserved a better fate. It will be interesting to see how he rebounds in his next start after taking the loss.

    2. The offense again was anemic tonight. I find it hard to imagine that we cant get more than three hits against the Marlins. Even with the three hits we still had chances to get some runs across. The double play by Casey Blake with a runner at third was the start of things early.

    3. When a team gives u extra innings in an inning twice you have to take advantage of it. The Tribe really left the Marlins off the hook.

    4. Matt Miller pitched a scoreless inning in relief tonight. The bullpen does seem to be really picking it up lately.

    5. With this loss and the Detroit win tonight we are back in a tie for the division lead. Hopefully our bats can come back to life soon.

    The Indians will return to the field tomorrow night with Cliff Lee opposing Byung Hyun Kim at 7:05 pm.

    Posted Jun 12 2007, 10:25 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Mariners 8 Tribe 7


    The Cleveland Indians lost their brief one game makeup series with the Seattle Mariners tonight at Jacobs Field. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. Paul Byrd was not good tonight. His stuff looked to have no bite to it and he wasn't fooling anybody. I know he was really geared up for this start. It could be possible he had too much adrenaline for this start but still I'm not looking for excuses and he needs to pitch better than he did tonight and I expect he will.

    2. After falling behind by 7 the offense finally came back to life. The really good sign about the hitting tonight was that we scored runs by manufacturing offense and we just didn't do it with a bunch of home runs. Hopefully the offense will continue as we head to Florida.

    3. I thought Skinner should have held Dellucci at third in the 8th inning but I'm not going to kill him over it. I like that he was aggressive and he was taking the chance at trying to take the lead.

    4. I thought the biggest thing to come out of tonight's game was the three solid innings from Fernando Cabrera. It was nice to see him pitch like he is capable of. If you have him throwing well it greatly improves the bullpen. Also, Roberto Hernandez was good again tonight with pitching a scoreless inning. That is three straight outings he hasn't allowed a run.

    5. With our lead in the division down to a game these next two weeks against the NL East are huge in building back our lead.

    The Indians will head to South Florida to play the Marlins tomorrow night at 7:05 as Fausto Carmona will oppose Scott Olsen.

    Posted Jun 11 2007, 10:34 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Spurs 103 Cavs 92


    The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 2 of the NBA Finals last night to fall behind 0-2 in the series to the San Antonio Spurs: Here are my thoughts on last night's game:


    1. I thought we looked ready to play at the start but the second foul on Lebron completely took us out of the game. Mike Brown has to trust him enough to let him play through the foul trouble. If I'm the coach I want to go down with all my guns firing and this clearly did not happen.

    2. During the second and third quarters I saw a lot of players just throw in the towel. This is the NBA Finals where is the passion. I thought Lebron gave everything he had last night and Varejao, Eric Snow, and Boobie also busted it out their but the rest of the squad needs to look themselves in the mirror because they should know they didn't give everything they had.

    3. I'm not going to kill Mike Brown because when you have certain guys not giving full effort out their whatever you draw up isn't going to look good. Also, Popovich is a great coach and in the past series he has out coached Dantoni, Sloan, and George Karl as well.

    4. I had a feeling last night the Spurs would come out on fire and trying to blow us out and they indeed did that.

    5. I think these first two games of this series show us that this team is in dire need of a true point guard. I feel most confidant about the Cavs management over the other teams in town will do what it takes to make sure they add the pieces needed to compete on this level against championship teams.

    The Cavs will come home for Game 3 on Tuesday night at 9 at Quicken Loans Arena.

    Posted Jun 11 2007, 12:18 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Reds 1 Indians 0


    The Cleveland Indians lost the finale of their three game series in Cincinnati today by the score of 1-0 in 12 innings. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. CC was great again today and deserved a better fate. He did it all today pitched 9 quality innings and got two hits himself at the plate. I think he has really raised his level of pitching even from earlier on this season.

    2. This loss is hard to take because we had plenty of chances to get a run in and we didn't get the job done. Not being able to push a run home against the sub par Reds bullpen is inexcusable.

    3. The Indians did the right thing today and sent down Jeremy Sowers to get his command straightened out. The club is faced with a tough decision on who to bring up for a start or two while Jake Westbrook gets back to health. I might be alone here but I would be in favor of giving Chuck Lofgren the start.

    The Indians return home for a brief one game series with Seattle on Monday night with Paul Byrd facing Cha Seung Baek at 7:05.

    Posted Jun 10 2007, 10:47 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Tribe 8 Reds 6


    The Cleveland Indians got back on the winning track tonight with a big 8-6 win in Cincinnati over the Reds. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. Jeremy Sowers once again had no command and got hit hard. I thought we were lucky to only be down 4-3 when he left the game. I must ask how many more times do we have to run him out there and see him get bombed. He really should be in Buffalo working on getting his confidence back. I know Westbrook is hurt but wouldn't giving Brian Slocum or Jason Stanford or even Rafael Perez a start or two be any worse than what Sowers has shown.

    2. Maybe last night was an aberration but tonight the Reds showed what their bullpen is and it really blew up in their face. Great job all night by the Tribe of making the Reds pitchers work and it finally took its toll as the game progressed.

    3. The Tribe hit better tonight but still left 17 runners on base. If we want to be a playoff team this has to improve. Great job tonight by Grady in leading off with a homer and getting two other hits and a walk and scoring twice.

    4. I thought the bullpen was fantastic tonight. Rafael Perez was good again in long relief with only giving up one run. Betancourt was the solid reliever we have come to expect. Tom Mastny pitched like the Tom Mastny of April and early May. Finally, Joe Borowski gave us a 1-2-3 11th inning to close the Reds out.

    5. I think tonight's win will be one when we make the playoffs we go back and think this might be one that really made a difference. Big props to Franklin Gutierrez for giving up his body and saving the win with a great catch in the 10th inning. I really think he is making a case to be the 5th outfielder on the club.

    The Indians will finish up their three game series with Cincinnati tomorrow at the Great American Ballpark at 1:15 with CC Sabathia facing Aaron Harang.

    Posted Jun 10 2007, 01:09 AM by Cleveland Sports Blog
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  • Reds 4 Tribe 3


    The Cleveland Indians lost their series opener tonight in the second series of the Battle of Ohio in Cincinatti tonight. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. I thought Cliff Lee pitched better than he has the last few starts. The home run ball really did him in tonight. But I thought he challenged hitters tonight and seemed to look like the Cliff Lee we have come to expect.

    2. The Tribe made another rookie pitcher who they are facing for the first time look like Tom Seaver. They had him on the ropes in a few innings and only scraped out two runs. Plus, if the Reds had even a below average left fielder we would have only gotten one run off Bailey.

    3. Even after Bailey left I had a good feeling with facing the sub par Reds bullpen, and then we just get one run the rest of the game which is completely unacceptable.

    4. Josh Barfield really seems to have found his comfort zone and I never expected the dazzling defense that we have gotten from him. I still think he will continue to improve. He has also done a great job of hitting with runners in scoring position.

    5. Can someone explain the rationale for giving Peralta the night off? Its not like were playing a day game after a night game. I just didn't get it since we are playing by National League rules and then we lose one bat, I felt like we lost two bats in our lineup.

    6. The Tigers were shutout tonight so we still have the 2 1/2 game lead. Lately we really haven't lost much of our lead to Detroit. But if we want to stay ahead of the pack the bats need to pick up.

    The Indians will get back at it tomorrow night at 7:10 with Jeremy Sowers trying to get on track against Matt Belisle.

    Posted Jun 09 2007, 12:23 AM by Cleveland Sports Blog
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  • Spurs 85 Cavs 76


    The Cleveland Cavaliers opened up their NBA Finals series with the San Antonio Spurs with a loss at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Here are my thoughts on Game 1:


    1. I thought we seemed ready to play last night but wore down as the game went on. We just couldn't hit open shots especially when the Spurs struggled in the first half.

    2. I will criticize Mike Brown for one thing. The guards seemed to have no clue how to guard Tony Parker, he just was able to get to the basket anytime he wanted. Nice job by Lebron in playing effective defense on Parker.

    3. Lebron didn't have a great game but I'm confident he will be better. Hopefully we will go away from the pick and roll because the Spurs blow this play up every time we ran it.

    4. I'm not blaming the officials for the loss but if Lebron or some of the other players could have gotten a call it would of been a miracle last night. By the way David Stern what the hell is Steve Javie doing officiating an NBA Finals game.

    5. I like everyone else here would like to see more of Gibson out there because we are going to have to score at lease in the mid 80's to beat the Spurs.

    6. The other positives I took from this game tonight was I thought Gooden had a solid game and also Sasha seemed to have found his offensive game again.

    The Cavs will return to action on Sunday for Game 2 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio at 9 pm.

    Posted Jun 08 2007, 01:51 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog
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  • Tribe 8 Royals 3


    The Cleveland Indians got back on the winning track today with a win in their afternoon matinee with the Kansas City Royals. The win gives the Tribe another series win. Here are my thoughts on the win:


    1. A great start this afternoon my Carmona. I thought he pitched his best ball in a month since the afternoon start against Minnesota. His command was good and he really pounded the strike zone.

    2. The one bad thing to come from today's game was Tom Mastny was ineffective again. He really seems to have lost his command. I don't see him challenging the hitters like he was in the first two months of the season.

    3. I must say I'm not a big fan of the three man booth on STO for the matinee games. There is too much talking during the broadcast. Underwood and Manning are a solid team there is no need to tinker with it.

    4. Good sign seeing the bats come to life again. With Lee and Sowers taking the hill we really need the hitting to continue.

    5. With a 2 1/2 game lead going into the weekend the series with the Reds is huge. Cincinnati is a team you have to destroy and take their will away, since in all likelihood they are playing out the string.

    The Indians will start the second round of the Battle of Ohio in Cincinnati against the Reds with Cliff Lee opposing Homer Bailey.

    Posted Jun 08 2007, 12:37 AM by Cleveland Sports Blog
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  • Royals 4 Tribe 2


    The Indians lost the middle game of their three game series with the Kansas City Royals tonight at Jacobs Field. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. I thought Paul Byrd really didn't have his great stuff tonight, but he still gave the club a chance to win.

    2. Great job by Rafael Perez in giving the team 2 1/3 innings of relief tonight. I really hope they decide to keep him in the bullpen because I really like the idea of having two quality lefties in our bullpen. It just gives Wedge more options late in close ballgames.

    3. Now I'm not a Wedge basher, but I really hated the idea of pinch running for Pronk in the 8th inning. Ive never been a fan of pinch runners and it really came back to bite us in the butt in the 9th inning. Also, I really don't think Pronk is a slow runner and he is a very good baserunner. I just hope we don't continue to do this in close games.

    4. It is disappointing to watch this team struggle against the Royals. I think the Royals have improved, but I think we don't get up to play them like we do against the other teams in the division.

    5. We really need the bats to start picking up some of the slack especially with the shaky pitching of Sowers and Lee.

    The Indians will return to the field tomorrow afternoon at 12:05 as Fausto Carmona opposes Odalis Perez.


    ctownsportsfan.blogspot.com

    Posted Jun 06 2007, 10:40 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog

  • Tribe 1 Royals 0


    The Cleveland Indians started their three game series with the Kansas City Royals with a win tonight at Jacobs Field. Here are my thoughts on the game:


    1. Great start by CC Sabathia tonight. I think this might have been his best performance of the year. CC was simply dominating tonight. He keeps making a strong case for consideration of being the starter for the AL in the All Star Game, which would be a nice feather in his cap since the game is near his hometown of Oakland, CA.

    2. It was really nice to see Franklin Gutierrez help out with a big solo homer. He has made numerous trips from Buffalo to help the Tribe out when needed. You have to feel good for a player who has never complained and plays hard no matter where he is at.

    3. Now I'm a big uniform buff, but I really liked that the Tribe went back to wearing the blue tops at home. I thought they really looked great and it brings back memories of the late 90's Indians ballclubs.

    The Indians will get back on the field tomorrow night with Paul Byrd taking the hill against Brian Bannister.

    Posted Jun 05 2007, 11:11 PM by Cleveland Sports Blog
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