DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Indians 2016: First Place?!

keep rollin

Wow.

Keep rollin' rollin; rollin' rollin'

Man, they earned their all time longest win streak. We're Cleveland, and nothing comes easy. Man, 14 game win streak, with 8 wins in a row on the road. That is incredible!

Wow.

The redemption of Trevor Bauer continues.

It is a 162 game season. I know you already know this bro, so this post is not intended for you. For those jumping on the Indians band wagon just remember long winning streaks can be followed by long losing streaks. All that matters is our record at the end of the year. Please keep enjoying Tribe baseball all year long folks.

19 innings is just crazy.

What a game!!

Incredible performance by Trevor Bauer.

Go Tribe!!!

Great win, great job by Trevor Bauer, but who pitches tomorrow (Bauer was scheduled)? The guys on the radio seemed to think the Indians might have to bring up Shawn Morimondo (?) from AA Akron, because Cody Anderson is on the DL at Columbus, Mike Clevenger just pitched on the 29th, and TJ House just pitched 4 innings in relief recently. The tough thing is they're not off until Thursday. I wonder if they couldn't just move the rotation up one day and pitch Kluber tomorrow? Maybe not worth the risk of one of these starters getting injured ... just bring up the farmhand to eat some innings and hope for the best.

Gotta love Trevor Bauer. He went 5 innings today, and the reporter asked him if he was ready to start tomorrow, and he said "Sure, Why not?"

Kid is a bulldog, that's for sure.

I got a good chuckle when Bauer, during the postgame interview with Andre Knott, said, "Man I was tired. [Insert S bomb], I didn't even know what inning it was."

In case anyone missed it .... the Royals and White Sox each lost tonight. (thought the Tigers did win) This gives the Tribe a 7 game lead over the Royals in the division, 7.5 over the Tigers, and 9.5 over the White Sox. (and a 24 game lead over those darn Twins)

I can't remember things looking so good this early in the season!

I just hope they don't burn themselves out by playoff time. The team that usually wins the World Series is the one that got hot in September, not June.

you mean like the warriors did

Yes, exactly like the Warriors. I was saying all year that I hope the Warriors would knock themselves out going for that record, because it might burn them out by the time they got to the playoffs.

JC

I think people contesting 28+ foot shots is what really did the Warriors in.

I would agree if they didnt do that for 100 games before it

Did you watch those games yourself?

Probably 85% of their games, yes

Back to baseball ... the Indians are giving the bullpen today's start. Zach McAllister will start out, and Shawn Morimando was called up from AA Akron to help out. Morimando is 10-3 at Akron with a 3.09 ERA. He has 73 K and 36 BB in 93 IP, with a WHIP of 1.21.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=596049#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL

Also, the Indians just announced that their July 4th home game vs Detroit is a sellout.

Today's game will be a difficult one to win IMO. Hope I'm wrong.

I also expect the series against the Yanks to be a sellout. Should be continued fun in the land.

J/C ..... I hope that we'll somehow be able to keep Ramirez, but I suspect that another team will like what they have seen from him this season. It appears that Almonte has been hitting about half the pitches he has seen so far at AAA, since returning from suspension. I think that he'll be back with the Tribe after we get through this pitching situation today.

I found it interesting that teams have called about Clevinger. I wonder what kind of value he has.

Anyway ..... Pluto always has a ton of good info .....

Terry's Talkin'

Cleveland Indians have Terry Talkin' how they are winning and winning -- Terry Pluto (photos) | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2016/07/cleveland_indians_have_terry_t_57.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For some fans, it's hard to understand how the Indians are dominating the American League Central Division.

I confess to being shocked by their 14-game winning streak and 49-30 record heading into the weekend.

The obvious answer is the pitching. The Indians lead the American League with a 3.43 ERA, far in front of Seattle's second-best 3.89.

If the pitching wasn't outstanding, we could forget the rest of the discussion. So the pitching is the foundation, but it's not the entire house.

Start with defense. The Tribe catches the ball. The Tribe really catches the ball. Fangraphs ranks the Indians as the No. 3 defensive team in the American League -- behind Texas and Kansas City.

The website recently did a story on Francisco Lindor. Jeff Sullivan's article is very complex, unless you are deep into baseball analytics.

Here's his main point:

"As much as Lindor is phenomenal, the Indians contain other defenders and defenders are not in control of their shifts. This is a team thing, more than a player thing ... but shortstop is the true difference maker. With Lindor at the center of it, this year's Indians have welcomed opposing ground balls. ... it's not out of the realm of possibility that Lindor could win himself an MVP."

Do you believe Tribe is real contender? -- Pluto (photo, video)
Do you believe Tribe is real contender? -- Pluto (photo, video)
The Cleveland Indians are leading the AL Central Division as mid-season looms. Do you believe in them?
THE RANKINGS

Here's how Fangraphs ranks the Tribe's infield defense by position in the American League:

First base - ninth
Second base - first
Shortstop - first
Third base - second
Catcher - second
The surprise is the high ranking at third for Juan Uribe and Jose Ramirez. I don't see them as outstanding, but that's the ranking. However, after his early defensive troubles, Uribe has settled down and played well at third.

Ramirez does a good job anywhere he plays -- or bats in the lineup.

The outfield defense is ranked No. 8 overall.

In 2014, the Indians had the worst defense in baseball. That was according to the Tribe's internal stats and those of several other analytic websites. They were terrible early last season until Lindor took over at short and Gio Urshela started at third in June. In August, the defense became even better when Lonnie Chisenhall (right field) and Abraham Almonte (center) moved into the lineup.

The only really below-average spot this season has been center field, where rookie Tyler Naquin has had problems running down deep fly balls. But his hitting has offset that. Ramirez has been solid in left, his first exposure to playing the outfield. A year ago, Chisenhall was an elite right fielder. He's now simply above average, but that's still pretty good.

So defense is part of the story, led by Lindor.

THEY RUN THE BASES

One obvious stat is the Tribe leads the American League with 38 stolen bases, but that's only a small part of the story. The Tribe is 38-of-47 in stolen bases, and run more than any other team.

Just as important is how the Tribe runs the bases, period. Do the players score from second base on singles? Do they go first-to-third on singles? Do they put pressure on the defense by turning singles into doubles?

The answers are: Yes... YES... YES!!!

Fangraphs ranks teams for overall base running, and the Indians are No. 1 in the American League. The analysis takes into account all these things and more.

The Indians have a far more athletic team than they've had in years. Davis, Lindor, Ramirez, Kipnis, Naquin and Chisenhall all are above average base runners, especially when it comes to taking the extra base.

Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli are average in the extra-base department. Only Uribe and catcher Yan Gomes would be considered slow.

They lead the American League with 19 triples. They are eighth in doubles. They keep putting pressure on opposing defenses.

Rajai Davis is 35, but he can still run. He's 21-of-24 in stolen bases. Davis was only 18-of-26 in steals last season with Detroit. The Indians thought he could run more, but the Tigers wanted to avoid baserunning outs because they have so many power hitters. The previous three years, Davis averaged 42 steals.

Lindor has stolen 13 bases, Ramirez has 10. Nacquin has five triples, Jason Kipnis and Chisenhall each have four. Ramirez leads the team with 19 doubles.

When you add it all up in the American League, you find the Indians rank:

No. 1 in pitching.
No. 1 in baserunning.
No. 3 in defense.
No. 6 in runs scored.
Put all that together and you have a playoff caliber team.

ABOUT THE INDIANS

1. The Indians are cautiously hopeful about Michael Brantley returning in the next few weeks. They believe they'll have a much better idea about Brantley's comeback from shoulder surgery during the All-Star break (July 11-14).

2. Abraham Almonte is batting .458 (11-of-28) with 1 HR and 4 RBI at Class AAA Columbus. He is now eligible to return to the Tribe after serving his 80-game suspension for PEDs. The Indians really like Almonte, who batted .264 (.776 OPS) with 5 HR and 20 RBI in 51 games for the Tribe last season. He also was above average in center field.

3. Here is when good things are happening: Almonte's suspension opened the door wide for Naquin, who hit .397 with 4 HR in Arizona to win the center field job. As the Tribe juggled roster spots, he went to minors for a few weeks -- and kept hitting. Almonte's suspension allowed the Indians to fast-track Naquin, who had played only 50 career Class AAA games before 2016.

4. Then there was my dumb idea. When the Indians were bringing Michael Brantley off the disabled list, I suggested the Indians trade Chisenhall rather than send Naquin to the minors. At that point, Chisenhall was coming off a miserable spring training, a forearm injury and a slow start to the regular season. His trade value was about zero. It would not have been a wise move.

5. Chisenhall batted .227 in April. Since May 1, he's a .308 hitter (.860 OPS) with 5 HR and 21 RBI. He plays primarily against right-handed pitching. Maybe at 27 and having moved from third base to the outfield, Chisenhall is finding his spot in the majors.

6. Since moving to right in the middle of last season, Chisenhall is a .299 hitter (.817 OPS) with 8 HR and 44 RBI in 350 plate appearances.

7. Gio Urshela is having a hard time finding his swing at Columbus. The smooth fielding third baseman is batting only .245 (.589 OPS) with 3 HR and 26 RBI.

8. It could be that Yandy Diaz is playing himself into the picture. The Cuban third baseman is batting .309 (.848 OPS) with 4 HR and 18 RBI for the Clippers after opening the season at Akron. Diaz is 24 and in his third pro season. He's a career .301 hitter in the minors. He also has been learning the outfield.

9. Mike Clevinger is 8-0 with a 2.70 ERA for the Clippers. He is a prospect several teams have asked about in possible trades. With Cody Anderson recovering from arm problems, Clevinger is the first starter who will be promoted if the Indians need someone to help in the rotation because of a doubleheader or injuries.

10. Adam Plutko was promoted from Akron and is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in his first three starts at Columbus. Plutko was on the same UCLA pitching staff with Trevor Bauer. The 24-year-old right-hander entered the season with a 20-17 record and a 3.16 ERA in his minor league career.

good info Ytown ... I always have said Pluto is a GREAT mlb/Indians journalist

As the Cleveland Indians pursue their 15th consecutive victory Saturday, ESPN Stats & Information gives you 15 things you should know about the team:

1. With their win in the 19th inning Friday, the Indians became the first team in major league history to extend a winning streak to 14 games or longer by winning a game of more than 14 innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

2. Cleveland's starting pitchers have a sub-2.00 ERA -- 1.83 ERA, to be precise -- during the streak.

3. Only three other American League teams in the wild-card era have had win streaks as long as the Indians’: the 1994 Kansas City Royals (14 games), the 2001 Seattle Mariners (15) and the 2002 Oakland Athletics (20).

4. The Indians have outscored opponents by 3.9 runs per game during the win streak. Their scoring margin is 55 runs (82-27).

5. Second baseman Jason Kipnis has at least one hit in each game he has played during the streak. He has a 13-game hitting streak, during which he has three home runs and 13 RBIs. The 13-game streak is baseball’s second-longest active streak, one game behind Corey Seager.

6. The Indians have scored six or more runs in a game eight times in their 14-game streak (57 percent of the time). In their first 65 games, the Indians reached the six-run mark 24 times (37 percent of games).

7. The Indians’ win streak has propelled them to a seven-game lead in the AL Central. The last time they were up by this many games this late in the season was in 2007, when they won the division.

8. Indians starters’ WHIP during the streak is 0.85. That’s only slightly above Greg Maddux’s WHIP for the Atlanta Braves in 1995, when he won the National League Cy Young Award and finished third in the NL MVP voting (0.81).

9. In their win against the Blue Jays on Friday, the Indians’ bullpen threw 13 scoreless innings, which matched a franchise record.

10. As good as the starting pitching has been, the bullpen has perhaps been better. Indians relievers have an MLB-best 0.79 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP during the streak. The second-best ERA by a bullpen during this time is more than three times as high: 2.44 by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

11: Power has been a key component of the Indians’ run. They have hit 25 home runs in the 14 games, second to the Chicago Cubs’ 28 home runs (in 15 games) from June 17 through Friday.

12. Indians batters have thrived on “soft” stuff from pitchers (defined as changeups, curveballs, sliders and splitters). They have an OPS of .803 on those pitches -- best in baseball -- compared with the MLB average of .657.

13. The Indians have fared well against right-handed pitchers. They have faced at least one in each game of the streak and have a slugging percentage of .567 -- best by any team against right-handers from June 17 on.

14. The Indians’ bullpen has not allowed a run in its past 16 2/3 innings.

15. The Indians’ 14-game win streak is tied with the 1948 Cleveland Browns for the longest single-season streak in Cleveland major pro sports history. That title-winning team was 14-0 during the regular season in the All-America Football Conference.


http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_...th-straight-win

1 batter ..... 1-0 Indians!

Made it easy for him.

The Blue Jays' starting pitcher threw 25 pitches in the 1st inning. Hopefully the Indians can continue that eye. and really make him work, and maybe we get into their bullpen early too.

good start!

nevermind ... bad start

This will end up as the toughest win of the streak if they can pull it off.

Definitely. They cannot use the biggest strength the team has today. (their starters)

Hopefully we can score enough to off-set the difficulties we will have with the pitching.

I get it now.

Toronto manager John Gibbons basically sacrificed yesterday's game. (having the second baseman pitch rather than today's scheduled starter Marco Estrada)

ehh teetering here ... looks to be the end IMO

Back and forth game. So much different than yesterday.

Tribe just got shafted on that overturned call.

They got screwed big time.

We should be in the 9th inning, tied ..... but instead the Blue Jays have a 9-6 lead.

Well ..... top of the 9th, down 3 ...... time to see just how much magic this team has in it.

Well, it took a really good Toronto team, and being screwed by the replay official, to end the streak.

Time to start a new streak today.

Really miss Brantley when you are in games like the last two ..