DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum The 2016 Indians

25-20

I'll take that after 45 games compared to last year.

As Dave would say:

"Indians are on track to go 90-72."

(162 * 25/45)

The Tribe just completed an 8-day, 9-game road trip with a 6-3 record.

The Indians have a brutal ten game west coast road trip from June 6th-to-June 15th. (in 1 1/2 weeks)

Their longest road trip of the year. If they come home from that trip with 5 wins...

The Indians are 1/2 game out of 1st now.

This time last year, they were picking themselves up off of the floor.

I like the way this year is starting out, especially given that we have been missing Carrasco and Brantley for much of the season.

Cody Anderson had an encouraging outing last time around. Trevor Bauer can start or relieve, and he has been seamless in transitioning between roles.

Man, I am psyched! Let's go Tribe!

As for the 4-game set against the Sox that we won 3 of 4 game, can you guess which game I went to?

That brings my 16 year record to 2-18 when I attend a game with a Cleveland team playing in Chicago.

Ugh.

That trip will be the annual "June Swoon" event that knocks us for a loop. If it doesn't, we could have some fun. Better hitting, I hope.

I just hope the Indians keep winning.. maybe some day they will put them on national television so I can actually watch a game.

I'm glad someone brought it up, need some nationally televised games

My "season" ticket package starts on Saturday! I'm excited!

We seldom get them on TV here. All Reds, all the time. Loved our beatdowns in that series earlier! Our paper is prejudiced against all Cleveland franchises. They just feed us Dayton's Cincy crap and go out of their way to no coverage or hostile coverage like Manziel's fails.

Hardly have mentioned Cavs, and it is big NBA news now. Columbus does better by far. The lack of broadcasts stinks. Be a homer, pretend Reds are a local home team. But be a fair homer and cover all Ohio pro franchises. Myopic and self-serving it is. Lopsided depth, too. Page plus of Cincy, MAYBE a paragraph or two of Cleveland sports.

Go, Browns, Tribe, and Cavs!

I agree. And better for Browns as well.

quote by Rocket on the thread: Indians lose a heartbreaker, March 4th, 2016:

"I bought a 20 game season ticket package today"

So how does that work? Are the 20 games already chosen? When will game #1 be?
If the games aren't set, have you planned out which games you'll go to?

How much is a 20 game season ticket package?

It was around 400, and you can pay it with installments. I picked weekend games, and emailed my ticket rep the games I wanted to attend.

Don't look now ..... but if the Indians hold on to their 7-1 lead (bottom of the 5th) they will take over 1st place in the Central.

Now 8-1 Indians.

Tito goes to the bullpen after the 6th, and they give up 3 runs. 8-4 Featherheads. Salazar had 107 pitches.

I hate the frigging pitch count method of managing.

10-4 good guys

Technically we are in 1st place in the central right now, even before this week. .001% higher than CWS.

Well, we are now, officially, your 1st place Cleveland Indians! (by a half game)

(1st time in 1st place in something like 3 years)

Let's go Tribe!

Last time the Cleveland Indians were in first place in the AL Central - March 31, 2014.(Tied for first at 1-0 (Indians won season opener, lost the second game and have not been in first place since, until today)

Last time the Tribe was in sole possession of first place - July 2, 2013 (45-38)

So yeah, like three years.

Every other AL Central team - Tigers, White Sox, Twins and Royals have been in first place more recently than the Tribe.

So it was overdue.

Can the Tribe hold on?

I bought a quarter season plan as well to take the family to some games.

There were 4 packages to choose from, Sat/Sun games, Fri/Sat games, Tues/Thurs games and Mon/Wed games.

I chose Mon/Wed games b/c we are always busy on the weekend. Headed up to the Memorial Day game.

Rocket, I'm curious, why are your games just now starting? Did you buy a prorated plan or opt for the Ticket Exchange for the early season games?

Go Tribe! Carrasco pitched for the Rubber Ducks tonight. He should be back soon.

Cleveland Indians have Terry Talkin' about why Tribe is a real contender -- Terry Pluto (photos) | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf...art_river_index

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Indians look like legitimate contenders in the American League Central Division.

It's not simply because they went into the weekend trailing first-place Chicago by only a half-game. Nor is it because Francisco Lindor has become a star, a superb defensive shortstop who is batting .319 (.799 OPS) with 4 HR, 22 RBI and is 9-of-10 stealing bases.

And it's not just because of their excellent starting pitching. Or an offense that entered the weekend ranked No. 4 in the American League in runs scored.

Obviously, you need a star, you need pitching, you need offense. But there's something else, something very important. The Tribe has a 14-7 record in the Central Division.

This is a huge deal. There were a variety of reasons why the Indians missed the playoffs the last two seasons. But the bottom line was they weren't good enough to beat the teams in the Central Division.

Consider the following:

2015: Tribe was 32-43 in the Central, 81-80 overall.
2014: Tribe was 39-37 in the Central, 85-80 overall.
2013: Tribe was 44-32 in the Central, 92-70 overall.
You are scheduled to play 76 of 162 games against the four teams in your division. So you simply must have a significant winning record against them to make the playoffs.

In 2013, the Indians were 4-15 against Detroit, but still made the playoffs. That's because they were 17-2 vs. the White Sox. That helped give that team a wild card playoff spot.

So if you're a Tribe fan, you should be encouraged. This season, here is how the Tribe has played in the Central:

6-0 vs. Tigers.
4-2 vs. White Sox.
2-1 vs. Royals.
2-4 vs. Twins.
The odd part is the Twins are 4-2 against the Tribe, 8-32 against everyone else.

Obviously, a lot can change. But one of the goals for 2016 was to get off to a decent start, and the Indians have done just that after 46 games.

Here's the data:

2016: 25-21.
2015: 21-25.
2014: 21-25.
2013: 27-19.
I'm not saying the Indians will win 92 games as they did in 2013, but they are putting themselves in a good position to contend.

That's especially true as the Tribe is contending with Carlos Carrasco and Michael Brantley missing most of the season so far. Carrasco was 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts before injuring his hamstring. The 14-game winner in 2015 could be starting in the next week or so.

Brantley was hitting only .231 with two doubles in 39 at-bats. He has had trouble staying healthy after his off-season shoulder surgery. The Indians have him on the disabled list. They hope to have him back in a few weeks, but no timetable has been set.

Furthermore, other than Josh Tomlin bolting to a 7-0 start in the rotation, there have been no big surprises. So it's not as if several unlikely players are off to hot starts and that accounts for the Indians playing well.

It is surprising the Tribe entered the weekend at No. 4 in the American League in runs scored. Part of it is baseball has changed. The 1990s are long gone with the enhanced steroid testing.

The average American League batter is hitting .251, exactly the Tribe's team batting average.

CATCHING THE BALL

The Indians ranked No. 2 in American League defense, according to fangraphs.com. That's another reason the Indians can contend.

Let's page back to 2014, when the Indians ranked dead last in defense. Tribe officials admitted the team was "almost historically bad" defensively. And 2015 started the same way. In a September 12, 2015 Grantland article praising the Tribe's defense, Ben Lindebergh wrote: "On May 8, Sports Illustrated's Cliff Corcoran asked, 'Are the 2015 Indians the worst-fielding team in modern major league history?' At the time, it wasn't a preposterous question, but it was about to be. May 20 was the last day that the Indians' Defensive Efficiency sat below the 2007 Rays."

The 2007 Tampa Bay Rays are considered baseball's worst defensive team since 1950, according to the analytics.

During the 2015 season, the Tribe installed Francisco Lindor at shortstop and moved Lonnie Chisenhall to right field. Over the 2015 season, they traded Brandon Moss, David Murphy, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn -- all were having poor defensive seasons.

By the end of 2015, the Indians ranked No. 2 in American League team defense after the All-Star break.

Lindor is a Gold Glove candidate at short. Mike Napoli is an upgrade over Carlos Santana at first base. I was surprised to see fangraphs ranking Juan Uribe as the No. 4 defensive third baseman in the American League. I consider him average at best.

Fangraphs ranks Jason Kipnis as the No. 2 defensive second baseman. In 2014, Kipnis ranked No. 10 out of the 11 starting second basemen in the AL.

Outfielders Marlon Byrd, Rajai Davis, Jose Ramirez, Chisenhall and Brantley have combined to play an above average outfield. Yan Gomes ranks high as a defensive catcher.

The Royals have had the No. 1 ranked defensive team in 2014 and 2015. Defense is a big part of their success. They are ranked No. 3 this year, behind Texas (1) and the Tribe (2). Now, defense has gone from a disaster to a strength for the Tribe.

ABOUT THE TRIBE

1. The Indians were very excited about Cody Anderson's last performance. He allowed one run in seven innings in a victory over the White Sox. He struck out a career-high nine. He threw 21 curves, by far the most he's ever used in a game. The Indians have Anderson working on a curve as he needs a third to pitch to off-set his fastball and change up.

2. Anderson is back at Class AAA Columbus, but his added velocity (95.2 mph) and enhanced curve have him on the short list to be promoted. When Carrasco is healthy, the Indians will have Mike Clevinger and Anderson available in Class AAA. That's excellent depth.

3. Jose Ramirez ranks about average in left field and at third base, according to fangraphs. That's a real tribute to the 23-year-old, who played only 15 games at third and two in the outfield before this season. He has been a middle infielder most of his career. Then you add in the fact that he's hitting .287 (.776 OPS) with 3 HR and 18 RBI -- and he has been one of the Tribe's early MVPs this season.

4. The Tigers gave 28-year-old Justin Upton a six-year, $132 million deal. He is batting .223 (.589 OPS) with 2 HR and 10 RBI. He leads the majors with 66 strikeouts. Looking at Upton made me think about Marlon Byrd, who signed with the Tribe in the middle of spring training for a $1 million non-guaranteed contract. Byrd entered the weekend hitting .243 (.715 OPS) with 4 HR, 18 RBI.

5. But here's the comparison, from 2013-15, Byrd was a .268 hitter (.782 OPS) averaging 24 HR and 82 RBI. In those same three years, Upton was a .262 hitter (.814 OPS) averaging 27 HR and 83 RBI. Granted, Upton is 28, Byrd is 38. But the Indians got a real bargain in Byrd, a right-handed hitter with some power.

6. Last week, I wrote about Josh Tomlin being the last Tribe pitcher to get two hits in a game since Steve Dunning in 1972. That was true ... in the regular season. But as several readers mentioned, Chad Ogea had two hits in Game 6 of the 1997 World Series. Ogea won two games in that World Series for the Tribe.

great read Y.

Did you say Uribe?



"Aye, amigo how 'bout 'nother pork n' bean tortilla?"

I bought the 20 game flex plan, and that let me pick all of my 20 games. I live in Alaska for roughly 10 months, and I wanted to pick 20 games where I'd be back in NE Ohio for the summer.

Ah ha. I had forgotten about the 20 game Flex Plan that they began offering. Enjoy the games this summer!

Marlon Byrd facing 162 game suspension for PED's. Excellent work, Marlon!

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2016/06/01/repo...ame-suspension/

It's official. Bummer. This team needs Brantley back soon.

FOX Sports: MLBVerified account
@MLBONFOX
JUST IN: the #Indians Marlon Byrd has been suspended 162 games for his 2nd PED suspension

(via @Ken_Rosenthal)

Link

Hmm...

23 homers last year...39 years old...

It kind of adds up.

Oh well.

Well, at least Naquin will get another shot. I liked a lot of what he showed when he was up with the team earlier this season. He has not developed his power (yet?) but he has hit for average at every level.

I really hope that Brantley recovers quickly. We really need his bat back in the lineup.

On another bright side, it seems as though Carrasco is recovering from his injury, and we need him in this starting lineup, as we've hit a few bumps lately.

Since when does MLB actually test for and pay attention to PED's??

If you believe the experts, MLB has a much more strict testing and enforcement policy that football or basketball..

Naquins nagging issues focused around his spotty defense in center, and an alarming strikeout rate. Hopefully he's learned to improve both of those.

Good guys came from behind for a win tonight! 2.5 games out with four very important games against the Royals. Should end up as a fun weekend, and I'll attend all the games.

They came from behind but Allen also blew the save (his first I think, so that's okay).

I'm glad they won this one because the Rangers were killing us. Ugh.

Well, I guess Byrd is done helping us....

Byrd suspended 162 games

Cleveland Indians outfielder Marlon Byrd was suspended 162 games by Major League Baseball on Wednesday after a second failed test for performance-enhancing drugs.
Vince Grzegorek of Cleveland Scene broke the news of Byrd's suspension. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed it. When MLB announced the news officially, it revealed that Byrd tested positive for the growth hormone Ipamorelin.

As a second-time PED offender, Byrd gets the stricter 162-game penalty outlined in MLB's joint-drug agreement. He previously was suspended for 50 games in 2012 after a positive test for the steroid Tamoxifen.

Since Byrd is 38, there's a good chance this latest suspension will be a career-ender.

In a statement released Wednesday, Byrd accepted his punishment without appeal and owned up to his mistake, though he maintained he never knowingly took Ipamorelin. Here's Byrd's statement in full:

"Today, I have accepted a 1 year suspension by Major League Baseball. Recently, I was notified that I had tested positive for Ipamorelin, a peptide prohibited by the JDA. In 2012, I tested positive for the medication Tamoxifen, which I was using on the advice of a physician for a medical condition resulting from surgery, and I accepted my suspension without challenge.

"Since that time, I have paid close attention to the substances that are banned by the Joint Drug Agreement, as I had no intention of taking any banned substances. I relied upon a medical professional for assistance and advice with respect to the supplements that I was taking. However, certain supplements I was taking were not on the NSF Certified for Sport list, and therefore, I assumed certain risks in taking them.

"When I learned that I had tested positive for Ipamorelin, I retained the services of private counsel and an independent chemist to determine the origin of the Ipamorelin test result because I never knowingly ingested Ipamorelin. After an extensive investigation by my lawyers and an independent chemist, it was concluded that the most likely source of Ipamorelin was a tainted supplement.

"I alone am responsible for what I put in my body, and therefore, I have decided for forgo my right to an appeal in this matter and accept the suspension. I apologize for any harm this has caused the Cleveland Indians, Indians’ fans, my teammates, and most importantly, my family."

Indians score 1 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th for the 5-4 win over the Royals!

Fantastic win tonight. I sat there above the University of Toledo sign in the 8th thinking "this team needs to learn to win." Lindor ends up coming through in the clutch. Naquin came up big tonight, too.

Go Tribe! Three more to win against these guys.

Napoli has been a pretty nice pickup off the scrap heap...much better than playing santana there

Nice win for the Tribe again tonight.

They are proving to be a very streaky team thus far this year. They win, and take back 1st place, then drop a lot of games, and fall 2.5 back ..... and now that they have taken 2 in a row from the Royals, they are again only 1/2 game out of 1st.

Nice game tonight, again, by Salazar, Tyler Naquin hit his 1st Major League HR, and the Tribe rolled 6-1.

They listed what Naquin traded for his 1st HR ball. He gave the person who got his HR ball 2 signed balls and a pair of batting gloves for the ball. Thought that was kinda cool.

1st place is on the line tomorrow at Progressive.

Let's go Tribe!