Cleveland Indians Report

September 30, 2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 30, 2005

NEW YORK 94-65
CLEVELAND 93-66
BOSTON 93-66

Cleveland: 3 games remaining, 3 home (43-35), 0 road (50-31)
New York: 3 games remaining, 0 home (53-28), 3 road (41-37)
Boston: 3 games remaining, 3 home (52-26), 0 road (41-40)

SEPTEMBER 29
Cleveland 6 Tampa Bay 0
New York 8 Baltimore 4
Boston 5 Toronto 4
Chicago 4 Detroit 2

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago (96-63) at Cleveland (93-66)
Mark Buehrle (16-8, 3.19) vs Kevin Millwood (9-11, 2.92)

New York (94-65) at Boston (93-66)
Chien Ming-Wang (8-4, 4.02) vs David Wells (14-7, 4.47)

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Matchups to be determined

Posted on 9/30/2005

September 29, 2005

CIR UPDATE: White Sox Clinch Division Title

With their 4-2 victory over the Tigers today, the White Sox clinched the AL Central Division Title. From mlb.com..."The reason the White Sox and Indians wouldn't play a one-game playoff is because, with the Red Sox and Yankees playing each other this weekend, one team would be guaranteed to finish out of the playoffs if the Indians swept the White Sox. And in instances in which two teams from the same division are guaranteed to make the playoffs, MLB does not use a one-game playoff, instead relying on head-to-head records to break the tie." It will be interesting to see how the White Sox play these three games this weekend (resting players, limited starter innings, etc.). In a strange way, could the White Sox clinching today ultimately work in the Indians favor? We'll see.

Posted on 9/29/2005

CIR UPDATE: Scoreboard Watching

I'd much rather just watch the scoreboard this afternoon than talk about SETH FREAKING MCCLUNG. White Sox and Tigers first pitch at 1:05.

2:45 PM: White Sox up 4-0 in the top of the 7th. Freddy Garcia is flipping a gem.

2:55 PM: Tigers pushed across a run in the bottom of the 7th. It's 4-1 Sox.

3:11 PM: Magglio Ordonez doubled in a run and the Tigers have cut it to 4-2 with one out in the 8th.

3:17 PM: Neal Cotts struck out Carlos Pena and Bobby Jenks got Craig Monroe to ground out to short. Ozzie Guillen plays the percentages well. 4-2 Sox as we head to the 9th.

Posted on 9/29/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005

CHICAGO 95-63, 3 up
NEW YORK 92-66
CLEVELAND 92-66
BOSTON 92-66

Cleveland: 4 games remaining, 4 home (42-35), 0 road (50-31)
New York: 4 games remaining, 0 home (53-28), 4 road (40-37)
Boston: 4 games remaining, 4 home (51-26), 0 road (41-40)
Chicago: 4 games remaining, 0 home (47-34), 4 road (47-30)

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay 1 Cleveland 0
Chicago 8 Detroit 2
Toronto 7 Boston 2
New York 2 Baltimore 1

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay (67-91) at Cleveland (92-66)
Casey Fossum (8-11, 4.65) vs CC Sabathia (14-10, 4.20)

New York (93-65) at Baltimore (71-87)
Aaron Small (9-0, 3.25) vs Erik Bedard (6-7, 3.74)

Toronto (78-80) at Boston (92-66)
Scott Downs (4-3, 4.35) vs Matt Clement (13-6, 4.50)

Chicago (95-63) at Detroit (71-87)
Freddy Garcia (13-8, 3.91) vs Jason Grilli (1-0, 2.00)

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 3
Cleveland at Boston (wildcard tiebreaker)

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Matchups to be determined

Posted on 9/29/2005

September 28, 2005

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT: Wednesday, September 28, 2005

.
STATUS QUO
n : the existing condition state of affairs

Or, rather, as I prefer, it's deja vu all over again. That's the existing condition again this morning as the Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, and White Sox all lost last night to keep the standings and the races exactly as they were entering Tuesday night games, except we now have five games to play instead of six. Note that the Sox joined the Indians and Yankees in a three-way tie based on their game one double-header win on Tuesday afternoon. It's not surprising to me that the Devil Rays, Orioles, Blue Jays, and Tigers would take one from any of the contending teams. The laws of baseball just make it so; taking two games in a three-game series is a very healthy .667 winning percentage. Of course, that also means there is a loss in there somewhere as well. What is surprising (amazing) is that it all happened on the same night. Which leads to our next definition...

OPPORTUNITY
opÂ·porÂ·tuÂ·niÂ·ty ( P )
n. A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances. A favorable or suitable occasion or time. A chance for progress or advancement.
Synonyms: opportunity, occasion, opening, chance, break

These nouns refer to a favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances, such as the Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox all losing on the same night. Or getting five runners on base in the second and third inning against a young pitcher. Or getting ahead in the count against a hitter who had grounded into 16 double plays and throwing a splitter he can hit into the dirt.

(sigh)

The first two opportunities the Indians sadly did not take advantage of, which led to the final opportunity of which Danys Baez (after struggling early, think he was pumped up?) did take advantage of in getting Ronnie Belliard to ground into the game-ending double-play and a 5-4 Indians loss.

Wasted Opportunities. You don't get many in the final week of the season and when they present themselves you have to take advantage of them. That's ultimately the difference between teams playing in October and watching in October.

Cliff Lee takes the mound tonight against Seth McClung. On paper, advantage Indians. Big advantage Indians. In his last three starts, McClung has allowed 17 earned runs in 9-1/3 innings. That's a 16.40 ERA, my friends. Meanwhile, Cliff Lee has run 47 in a row en route to Cy Young consideration. Take a closer look, however. McClung has started twice against the Tribe this season. Both wins. Three runs in seven innings at the Trop and one run in 5-1/3 innings at the Jake. Inexplicably, McClung has had the Indians number. Lee has struggled in his last two starts (both wins) and has shown a penchant for serving up the big fly in the middle innings (three run jack to Emil Brown in the 6th and a salami to Mark Teahen in the fourth in his last outing). The Tribe needs a Cy Young type of performance from Lee tonight. It's another opportunity that cannot be wasted.

Keep in mind, that with five games to go, the Indians simply need to win the final two series of the year to win the wildcard. That means taking the final two from the Rays and two of three from White Sox. Easier said than done, I realize, but as noted yesterday, the Indians have done an exceptional job of winning series in the second half. Remember, with the Yankees and Red Sox facing off this weekend, one of those two teams is going to lose twice. The best one of them will finish is 3-2 the rest of the way. If the Tribe goes 4-1 (wins both series), we're dancing.

Posted on 9/28/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 28, 2005

CLEVELAND 92-65
NEW YORK 92-65
BOSTON 92-65
CHICAGO 94-63, 2 up

Cleveland: 5 games remaining, 5 home (42-34), 0 road (50-31)
New York: 5 games remaining, 0 home (53-28), 5 road (39-37)
Boston: 5 games remaining, 5 home (51-25), 0 road (41-40)
Chicago: 5 games remaining, 0 home (47-34), 5 road (47-29)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay 5 Cleveland 4
Detroit 3 Chicago 2
Boston 3 Toronto 1
Toronto 7 Boston 5
Baltimore 17 New York 9

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay (66-91) at Cleveland (92-65)
Seth McClung (6-11, 7.11) vs Cliff Lee (18-4, 3.90)

New York (92-65) at Baltimore (71-86)
Shawn Chacon (7-10, 3.49) vs Daniel Cabrera (10-12, 4.58)

Toronto (77-80) at Boston (92-65)
Ted Lilly (9-11, 5.72) vs Bronson Arroyo (14-9, 4.29)

Chicago (94-63) at Detroit (71-86)
Jose Contreras (14-7, 3.66) vs Sean Douglass (5-4, 5.62)

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 3 (I think)
AL East Division Tiebreaker

OCTOBER 4 (I think)
Wildcard Tie breaker

OCTOBER 5 (Divisional Series)
Matchups to be determined

Posted on 9/28/2005

September 27, 2005

CIR UPDATE: Scoreboard Watching

They've started at Fenway.

1:45 PM: Sox up 2-0 after two. Ortiz and Manny knocked in a pair of runs in the bottom of the first.

2:15 PM: Sox still up 2-0 after four. Tim Wakefield has not allowed a hit through four inning. Did you hear that, he has a NO-HITTER. I can't believe he has a no-hitter. Throwing a no-hitter would be cool. Hey, did you hear that Tim Wakefield has a no-hitter going?

2:18 PM: Sweeeeeeeet. Frank Menechino leads off with a single for the Jays.

3:08 PM: Fast Game. It's 3-1 Sox in the top of the 8th. Wakefield tossed seven innings of three-hit ball. Jon Papelbon just walked Gregg Zaun to start the 8th. It's rally time Toronto!

3:15 PM: Alexis Rios singled. One out, first and third. Eric Hinske at the plate.

3:17 PM: My bad, that was Vernon Wells at the dish. Much better matchup but he popped out to first. Shea Hillenbrand up with two outs.

3:19 PM: Hillenbrand goes down swinging. Nice work by Papelbon in working out of the jam. 3-1 Sox, middle of 8.

3:29 PM: Blue Jays held. Timlin's on in the top of the 9th. One out. Russ Adams, Aaron Hill, and Gabe Gross due up.

3:34 PM: Well, the Indians are now tied with both the Red Sox and Yankees at 92-64. Corey Koskie delivered a pinch-hit single but Mike Tinlin got Gabe Gross to ground out to Alex Cora to end the game. Sox win 3-1. Game 2 of the double-header is tonight.

Posted on 9/27/2005

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT: Tuesday, September 27, 2005

And then there were six. As in games. As in to go in the season. As in left on the schedule. Ahh heck, you know what I mean.

Yeah, the White Sox lost last night (thanks Curtis Granderson, remember that name, he's going to torment the Tribe for years in center for the Tigers) to narrow their lead to two games, but let's not lose sight of the Devil Rays.

Those same Devil Rays who just happen to have a 37-30 record since the All-Star Break. Those same Rays who boast a young dynamic lineup of Jorge Cantu (.834 2nd Half OPS), Carl Crawford (.873), Aubrey Huff (.815), Jonny Gomes (.951) with veterans Travis Lee (.889), and Julio Lugo (.818) thrown in for good measure. (Did you see those second half OPS's?). And, yes, those same Rays who strolled into Cleveland in mid-August and swept a three-game series (August 12, August 13, August 14 from the Tribe after the Indians had just won 12 of 14 to climb back into the race. Sound familiar? Like I said, let's not look past the Rays. I don't think Eric Wedge is going to let this team do that, do you?

Since being swept by the Rays, the Indians have gone 29-9 and won 11 of 12 series. Since the All-Star break, the Indians are 45-23 and have won 16 of 20 series (three losses, one split). If they continue to win series, the Tribe will finish with 96 victories (4-2 min over the final six games) and (at the minimum) a wildcard tie. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but either the Yankees or Red Sox are going to lose at least two more games the rest of the way (they play each other the final weekend) meaning that the best (or worst, however you want to look at it) one of these two teams can finish is 96-66 (they both have 64 losses right now). Of course, the Indians can make things very easy by simply winning.

Update on the tie-breaker sites (if needed):

Chicago at Cleveland (Central Division)
New York at Cleveland (Wildcard)
Cleveland at Boston (Wildcard)

Note that the White Sox and Indians would only play a tie-breaker game for the division title if that's the only way that either team can qualify for the playoffs. If the loser of such a game would make the playoffs as the wildcard team, the game would not be played and the White Sox would be crowned division champs due to their better head-to-head record against the Tribe. The Indians would then enter the playoffs as the wildcard.

What could be interesting is if the Indians, White Sox, and/or Yankees and Red Sox all end up tied at 96-66. Would there then be a division champion tie-breaker game on Monday with the loser playing a wildcard tie-breaker game on Tuesday? Hmmm...

Travis Hafner was named American Player of the Week for the week ending September 25 in recognition of his sizzling performance at the plate in which Pronk hit .385/.529/1.192/1.721 with six homeruns, 16 RBI, and 31 total bases. Ouch. For the season, Hafner is now hitting .305/.412/.597/1.009 with 39 doubles, 32 homeruns, and 106 RBI. Einar Diaz and Ryan Drese are not having quite that good of years.

Saturday's start time against the White Sox has been changed to 1:25 PM so the game can be televised on Fox. That means no fireworks for those of you who bought the ducats earlier in the season with the kids in mind. Both Saturday and Sunday's games are sold out and approximately 7,000 tickets remain for Friday nights contest. There are more than 10,000 seats available for each of the games against the Devil Rays this week.

No Indian farmhands were named to the South Atlantic League's Top 20 Prospects by Baseball America. I had hoped that Chuck Lofgren (93 IP, 73 H, 43 BB, 89 K, .218) and/or Tony Sipp (69 IP, 47 H, 18 BB, 71 K, 2.22 ERA) might have found their way onto the list. In Sipp's case, it may have been that the left-hander simply didn't spend enough time in Lake County (he was promoted on June 21). Keep in mind that the Sally League is a 16-team circuit so making the Top 20 list is a more difficult feat than making the 8-team Carolina League list.

Posted on 9/27/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 27, 2005

CLEVELAND 92-64
NEW YORK 92-64
BOSTON 91-64, 1/2 out
CHICAGO 94-62, 2 up

Cleveland: 6 games remaining, 6 home (42-33), 0 road (50-31)
New York: 6 games remaining, 0 home (53-28), 6 road (39-36)
Boston: 7 games remaining, 7 home (50-24), 0 road (41-40)
Chicago: 6 games remaining, 0 home (47-34), 6 road (47-28)

SEPTEMBER 26
New York 11 Baltimore 3
Detroit 4 Chicago 3
Cleveland (off)
Boston (rained out)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay (65-91) at Cleveland (92-64)
Scott Kazmir (9-9, 3.85) vs Scott Elarton (11-7, 4.38)

New York (92-64) at Baltimore (70-86)
Mike Mussina (13-8, 4.20) vs Bruce Chen (12-10, 3.60)

Toronto (76-79) at Boston (91-64)
David Bush (5-10, 4.45) vs Tim Wakefield (15-11, 4.09) (Game 1)
Gustavo Chacin (12-9, 3.66) vs Curt Schilling (7-8, 5.89) (Game 2)

Chicago (94-62) at Detroit (70-86)
Brandon McCarthy (2-1, 4.20) vs Nate Robertson (6-15, 4.52)

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Cleveland at New York
California at Chicago

Posted on 9/27/2005

September 26, 2005

CIR UPDATE: Granderson is Grand for the Tribe

Curtis Granderson belted a solo homerun in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the White Sox. The Chicago loss moves the Indians to within two games of the Sox with six games to be played.

The Red Sox and Blue Jays were rained out in Boston and will play a day-night double-dip tomorrow, thus guaranteeing that the Indians remain at least a 1/2 game lead in the wildcard through this evening.

The Yankees are leading the Orioles 1-0 through four. Due to the rainout, if the Yankees win, they will take over the AL East lead by a 1/2 game over the Sox with Boston remaining a 1/2 game behind the Indians for the wildcard. If the Bombers lose, the Sox would take over the AL East lead, leaving the Yankees one game behind the Indians in the wildcard.

Posted on 9/26/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 26, 2005

CLEVELAND 92-64
NEW YORK 91-64
BOSTON 91-64, 1/2 out
CHICAGO 94-61, 2-1/2 up

Cleveland: 6 games remaining, 6 home (42-33), 0 road (50-31)
New York: 7 games remaining, 0 home (53-28), 7 road (38-36)
Boston: 7 games remaining, 7 home (50-24), 0 road (41-40)
Chicago: 7 games remaining, 0 home (47-34), 7 road (47-27)

SEPTEMBER 25
Kansas City 5 Cleveland 4
New York 8 Toronto 4
Chicago 4 Minnesota 1
Boston 9 Baltimore 3

SEPTEMBER 26
Cleveland (off)

New York (91-64) at Baltimore (70-85)
Randy Johnson (15-8, 3.90) vs Rodrigo Lopez (14-11, 4.79)

Chicago (94-61) at Detroit (69-86)
Jon Garland (17-10, 3.51) vs Jason Johnson (8-12, 4.57)

Toronto (76-79) at Boston (91-64)
Dave Bush (5-10, 4.45) vs Curt Schilling (7-8, 5.89)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Cleveland at New York
California at Chicago

Posted on 9/26/2005

September 23, 2005

CIR UPDATE: Cliff Lee on MLB Radio

Cliff Lee is scheduled to appear on MLB Radio this afternoon at 2:40 PM ET.

Posted on 9/23/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 23, 2005

CLEVELAND 90-63
NEW YORK 89-63
BOSTON 88-64, 1-1/2 out
CHICAGO 91-61, 1-1/2 up

Cleveland: 9 games remaining, 6 home (42-33), 3 road (48-30)
New York: 10 games remaining, 3 home (51-27), 7 road (38-36)
Boston: 10 games remaining, 7 home (50-24), 3 road (38-40)
Chicago: 10 games remaining, 3 home (44-34), 7 road (47-27)

SEPTEMBER 22
Cleveland 11 Kansas City 6
New York 7 Baltimore 6
Minnesota 4 Chicago 1
Boston (Off)

SEPTEMBER 23
Cleveland (90-63) at Kansas City (52-100)
CC Sabathia (14-10, 4.07) vs Jose Lima (5-16, 6.95)

Toronto (75-77) at New York (89-63)
Ted Lilly (9-10, 5.46) vs Shawn Chacon (6-10, 3.70)

Boston (88-64) at Baltimore (70-82)
Bronson Arroyo (13-9, 4.31) vs Daniel Cabrera (10-11, 4.68)

Minnesota (78-74) at Chicago (91-61)
Kyle Lohse (9-12, 4.16) vs Jose Contreras (13-7, 3.79)

SEPTEMBER 24
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Boston at Baltimore
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 25
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Boston at Baltimore
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 26
New York at Baltimore
Chicago at Detroit
Toronto at Boston
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Cleveland at New York
California at Chicago

Posted on 9/23/2005

September 22, 2005

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT: Thursday, September 22, 2005

.
Two out of three ain't bad.

In fact, that's pretty darn good when you can go into the den of the first place team, in your division, in September, and take two of three.

Yeah, it coulda (shoulda) been three but you never, ever, argue with the wise bard Meatloaf. Two out of three ain't bad.

Now, if we can just take three in KC, two from Tampa, and two from Chicago, that's seven of 10, a final record of 96-66, and a likely spot in the post-season. Sure, I would love to catch the Sox but what's getting in is what's important.

Mr.September (a.k.a. Scott Elarton) continues to roll, tossing 7-1/3 scoreless innings last night. In four September outings, Elarton now has a 0.89 ERA and a 0.857 WHIP in 30.1 innings while allowing just three earned runs on 20 hits and six walks. Eric Wedge looks pretty good right now in maintaining his rotation and not skipping Elarton in the rotation on recent off days, huh? Looking towards the winter, how much has Elarton bumped up his 2006 (and beyond) salary these past four weeks? I've said it before and I'll say it again, the decision on Kevin Millwood may well be very easy for the Indians this winter if he's offered 3 years and $30 million by the market. The decision on Elarton may well not be that easy. I have to believe that his agent is going to strongly push him to test the market given his recent performance and good health the past two seasons and it will be interesting to see what kinds of offers he receives and how that fits into the Indians budget. Still, let's just enjoy the ride over his next two starts, shall we? FYI, that last one will just happen to be the final game of the season against the White Sox.

Speaking of an off-day, think Bobby Howry needs one tonight? Thanks to the Tribe's blowout victory last Sunday over the Royals, he got his day of rest and (as speculated) ended up working all three games against the Sox.

How crazy is it that the Indians win and yet the Yankees go from out of the playoffs to hosting the Tribe in the Division Series on the same night? Thanks to a Yanks win and a Red Sox loss, that's exactly what happened as the Bombers took over the AL East lead. Two changes I would like to see made for the playoffs: An additional wildcard team replaces a division champion under .500 and playoff seedings are based solely on record, not division champion and/or wildcard status. Once the four playoff teams are established, the two teams with the best record should be given home-field advantage in the first round.

I didn't think AJ Pierzynski stepping on Aaron Boone was that much of a big deal on Tuesday night. It was just a crazy play with bodies all over the place. I was surprised, however, that more was not made of it during the broadcast.

The White Sox face Johan Santana tonight. The Tribe faces Runvelys Hernandez.

Posted on 9/22/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 22, 2005

CLEVELAND 89-63
NEW YORK 88-63
BOSTON 88-64, 1 out

Cleveland: 10 games remaining, 6 home (42-33), 4 road (47-30)
New York: 11 games remaining, 4 home (50-27), 7 road (38-36)
Boston: 10 games remaining, 7 home (50-24), 3 road (38-40)
Chicago: 11 games remaining, 4 home (44-33), 7 road (47-27)

SEPTEMBER 21
Cleveland 8 Chicago 0
New York 2 Baltimore 1
Tampa Bay 7 Boston 4

SEPTEMBER 22
Cleveland at Kansas City
Cliff Lee (17-4, 3.75) vs Runvelys Hernandez (8-12, 5.24)

Baltimore at New York
Bruce Chen (12-9, 3.51) vs Mike Mussina (12-8, 4.34)

Minnesota at Chicago
Johan Santana (14-7, 3.05) vs Brandon McCarthy (2-1, 4.72)

Boston (Off)

SEPTEMBER 23
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Boston at Baltimore
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 24
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Boston at Baltimore
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 25
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Boston at Baltimore
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 26
New York at Baltimore
Chicago at Detroit
Toronto at Boston
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Toronto at Boston
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Cleveland at New York
California at Chicago

Posted on 9/22/2005

September 20, 2005

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT: Tuesday, September 20, 2005

.
6 in a row

13 of 14

34 of 45

1-1/2 up

2-1/2 out

12 left

88-62

Thanks Dirty Kurt!

Unbelievable. I was in full playoff mode last night. My arm almost fell off it was so "asleep" after being wedged behind by head for the last two innings because the Indians started to rally. Nah, I'm not superstitious or anything.

What does Bob Wickman have that Paul Shuey didn't? Why can Bob Wickman get Paul Konerko to pop up a 82 mph slider up in the zone while David Riske (early 2004 version) throws a 91 mph slider on the outside corner that gets poked through the hole for a single? Call it pitchability, call it guile, call it luck, call it fortitude, call it talent, whatever it is, it's something (and god bless him for it). New school thought (which I tend to lean towards) will have you believe that anyone with good stuff can close out games. Old school thought will have you believe that you need the "closers mentality" to own the end of the game. Wickman has far from the best numbers (or stuff) in the Tribe 'pen but that "closers mentality" or whatever you want to call it just gets the job done. 44 times and counting after he "huffed and puffed" (thanks Jayson Stark) his way to another one last night. As good as Grady, Travis, Jhonny, and the starters have been this season, is there any doubt (after last seasons bullpen struggles), that Wickman is the MVP of this team? Not in my mind.

Sneaking a peek into the winter, how important is it for the Indians to re-sign Wickman for another season? While watching the game last night, did you realize that four of the five Indians hurlers (Millwood, Sauerbeck, Howry, and Wickman) will all be free-agents this off-season? What priority in which they are placed will be one of the more interesting developments to follow this winter. I hate to say it but I can see the Yankees throwing a lot of money at Bob Howry, especially if they fail to re-sign their own free-agent Tom Gordon. But let's save that discussion for November.

Is it just me or does Wickman look like he's passing a kidney stone after each pitch?

It's not often you can say "that was a great one-pitch at-bat" by a hitter but that's exactly what Ben Broussard did last night in the third inning. With Freddy Garcia struggling and Ozzie Guillen chewing him out, you just sensed that Garcia's first pitch was going to be down the middle for a strike. So did Ben, and he crushed it to dead center. Unfortunately, it was an "at'em" ball and couldn't find a gap (still brought home a run on the sac fly) but that's a hitter who perfectly understood the situation at hand, was prepared for it, and took advantage of it with a good swing. Great one-pitch at-bat.

Ronnie Belliard (strained abdominal muscle) could return to the lineup tonight after sitting out the last four games. Good thing too, Belliard is slugging .526 against Buehrle according to espn.com. In his absence, Ramon Vasquez and Jose Hernandez have combined to hit .200 (3-for-15) with a walk and two RBI while, most importantly, playing solid defense.

The combination of last nights win and the Red Sox' loss gives the Indians the third best record (88-62, .586) in baseball trailing only the White Sox (90-59, .604) and Cardinals (95-56, .629).

Jayson Stark reviews the impossibility of the Indians (potentially) overcoming a 15-game deficit to win the AL Central.

According to Baseball Prospectus, the Indians have a 93% chance of making the playoffs via either the wildcard (54%) or division title (39%). Interestingly enough, BP gives the Red Sox and Yankees both a 5% chance of making the playoffs as a wildcard. Second behind the Indians in terms of wildcard chance? The White Sox (35%). BP simulates the remainder of the season 1,000,000 times to determine the odds on a daily basis.

Jason Stanford was arrested Saturday morning for aggravated disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. As expected, the Indians limited their comments "out of respect to the judicial system". Stanford posted a 2.42 ERA in 15 appearances covering 24.1 innings in four stops in the Indians system this season as he continues to recover/rehab from Tommy John surgery. What effect this incident has on Stanford's future with the Tribe remains to be seen. I would think he remains a candidate for removal from the 40 this off-season depending on how the roster is shuffled. Much more on that in the off-season.

To end on a high note, Division Series tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10:00 AM (ET).

Posted on 9/20/2005

CIR UPDATE: Drennan #12 in Appy

Burlington's John Drennan is ranked as the 12th best prospect in the Appalachian League in Baseball America's annual Top 20 League Prospects review. Drennan, who hit .238/.325/.435/.760 with 7 doubles, 8 homeruns, 18 walks, and 37 strikeouts in 168 at-bats after being selected by the Indians as a supplemental first rounder, was noted for having "excellent bat speed (and that) he should hit for average and power." Defensively, BA notes that "he's an average runner with good defensive instincts and solid-average range, and the combination may be enough for him to stick in center field. His arm rates as average." At this level, these kids are so far from the big leagues, that any prospect rankings need to be treated more for their entertainment and discussion value than for any indiciator of future performance. Still, it's better to be on the list then off, right? One reference note, Corey Smith was the number three prospect five years ago.

Posted on 9/20/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 20, 2005

CLEVELAND 88-62
NEW YORK 86-63, 1-1/2 out
OAKLAND 83-67, 5 out

Cleveland: 12 games remaining, 6 home (42-33), 6 road (46-29)
New York: 13 games remaining, 6 home (48-27), 7 road (38-36)
Oakland: 12 games remaining, 9 home (42-30), 3 road (41-37)
Chicago: 13 games remaining, 6 home (43-32), 7 road (47-27)

SEPTEMBER 19
Cleveland 7 Chicago 5
New York 3 Baltimore 2
Oakland 7 Minnesota 6

SEPTEMBER 20
Cleveland (88-62) at Chicago (90-59)
Jake Westbrook (15-14, 4.560 vs Mark Buehrle (15-8, 3.21)

Baltimore (70-79) at New York (86-63)
John Maine (2-1, 3.27) vs Aaron Small (8-0, 3.28)

Minnesota (76-72) at Oakland (82-67)
Francisco Liriano (0-0, 3.86) vs Joe Blanton (10-11, 3.57)

SEPTEMBER 21
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 22
Cleveland at Kansas City
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Chicago
Oakland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 23
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 24
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 25
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 26
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Cleveland at Boston
California at Chicago

Posted on 9/20/2005

September 19, 2005

CIR UPDATE: 2006 Schedule

The Indians released the tentative 2006 schedule this afternoon. Like this season, the Tribe will open 2006 in Chicago against the White Sox with the first game scheduled for Monday, April 3. The home opener follows against the Twins on Friday, April 7 followed by a 5:05 start time on Saturday. I like that start time, into the evening but not so late that it will be 40 degrees at game time (or maybe it will, who knows in early April). The Cubs, Pirates, and Reds visit the Jake for interleague series while the Indians will visit the Cardinals, Brewers, and Reds. 2006 ends the same as 2005 with a homestand against the White Sox and Devil Rays although next season will see the series flipped with the Tribe finishing the season against the Rays.

Posted on 9/19/2005

CLEVELAND INDIANS REPORT: Monday, September 19, 2005

.
5 in a row

9 of 10 on the homestand

12 of 13

33-11 since July 31

1-1/2 games in front for the wild card

3-1/2 games behind the White Sox.

13 games remaining.

87-62

No matter how you look at it, the numbers look very, very good for the Tribe right now.

Kevin Millwood opens the biggest series of the season tonight in Chicago. In three appearances this year against the Sox, Millwood has pitched very well (1.29 in 21 innings) with little to show for it (0-2 record and one no decision). Taking you back, the no-decision came back on game two of the season when the Sox scored four times off Bob Wickman in the bottom of the 9th inning. Remember that one? Who would have envisioned the Tribe sitting at 87-62 and Wickman leading the AL with 43 saves after that one? Millwood also lost the home opener 2-1 on April 11 and a 1-0 duel with Jose Contreras right after the All-Star break. Things have definitely changed, however, for both clubs since those games were played.

For the Indians to have a shot at catching the Sox, they need to take two games. Doesn't matter which two, doesn't matter how they win them. Just win two and prepare to make up ground against the Royals and Rays before the final three games against the Sox to end the season. Winning the division would be nice, but getting in is what's important. I'm not so worried about catching the Sox as I am about the Yankees catching us. A sweep would be nice, though ;-).

Anyone else enjoying all the Tribe talk on ESPN and MLB radio? Crazy.

The best thing about CC's dominant outing yesterday? A full day of rest for the Bobs, Howry and Wickman. If needed, they could both probably work in all three games now against the White Sox. Great outing by CC and the offense in giving the regulars in the 'pen a day off.

They almost had that day of rest the day before against the Royals except for one mistake pitch by Cliff Lee. Not to mention some baserunning blunders that have been obscured by the wins but continue to haunt this club and is something you should keep in the back of your mind as October nears.

That mistake by Lee to Emil Brown (on a 0-2 pitch, no less) came right after a masterful at-bat against Mike Sweeney in which Lee dialed it up to 92 mph on the strikeout pitch in a four-pitch at-bat in which Sweeney really had no chance. Great pitchability by Lee in that situation.

From Will Carroll's Under the Knife on Baseball Prospectus: "Want to feel good about something? Not only is Grady Sizemore becoming one of this year's breakout performers, he's also one of the most tested athletes in baseball. His time with the U.S. National Team resulted in three random tests just from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency--all negative".

Ryan Garko (strikeout) and Franklin Gutierrez (line out) had their first trips to the major league dish yesterday. Garko, who hit .303/.384/.498/.882 with 25 doubles and 19 homeruns for Buffalo, could figure prominently in the Indians plans next season depending on what the Tribe does with the right-field/first base situation in the off-season. Gutierrez, who hit a combined .260/.321/.420/.741 with 31 doubles and 11 homeruns for Akron and Buffalo, likely will return to Buffalo to start the season with the anticipation of being major league ready by mid-summer.

Speaking of Garko, he's been named as a replacement for Michael Aubrey on the Indians Arizona Fall League contingent. Aubrey, still nursing his back, will prepare himself for spring training. Joining Garko in the Valley of the Sun will be Brad Snyder, Adam Miller, Javi Herrera, Brian Slocum, Travis Foley, and Pat Osborn.

Congrats to the Akron Aeros on winning their second Eastern League championship in three years after the good guys knocked off Portland 4-1 on Saturday to take the EL Championship series three games to one. Jake Dittler tossed seven shutout innings while Nathan Panther went 4-for-4 in leading the Aeros to the win. Panther was named the playoffs MVP after hitting .380 (12-for-31) in the two series. Dittler's seven scoreless frames were parts of a 23-2/3 scoreless streak put together by Aeros hurlers that included a 2-0 shutout win in Game by Brian Slocum and the relief trio of Travis Foley, Chris Cooper, and Edward Mujica.

Congrats also to the Kinston Indians who put forth a valiant effort that ended a game short in their quest to repeat as Carolina League champions. They had their chances, however, as the K-Tribe left 13 runners on base, including 11 in the first five innings, in the decisive 2-0 game five loss to Frederick.

Starting September 20 (tomorrow), you can vote for Bob Wickman for the DHL Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award. Wickman is one of 10 finalists for the inaugural award that includes Chad Cordero, Dustin Hermanson, Trevor Hoffman, Brad Lidge, Joe Nathan, Mariano Rivera, Jason Isringhausen, Todd Jones, and Mike Timlin (I thought he was a pitching coach? Sorry, inside joke). Inaugural? What happened to the Rolaids Relief Man Award Winners? R-O-L-A-I-D-S, man. In the name of Dan Quisenberry and Jeff Reardon, what's going on here?

Don't forget that you can also vote for Wickman for the Comeback Player of the Year Award as well. I like the idea of the fans voting but shouldn't the fear be that this will turn into nothing more than popularlyty contest? We'll see.

What happened to Todd Wright on All Night on ESPN Radio? I miss the Tussle. And like that, he's gone.

Posted on 9/19/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 19, 2005

CLEVELAND 87-62
NEW YORK 85-63, 1-1/2 out
OAKLAND 82-67, 5 out

Cleveland: 13 games remaining, 6 home (42-33), 7 road (45-29)
New York: 14 games remaining, 7 home (47-27), 7 road (38-36)
Oakland: 13 games remaining, 10 home (41-30), 3 road (41-37)
Chicago: 14 games remaining, 7 home (43-31), 7 road (47-27)

SEPTEMBER 19
Cleveland (87-62) at Chicago (90-58)
Kevin Millwood (8-11, 3.02) vs Freddy Garcia (12-8, 3.96)

Baltimore (70-78) at New York (85-63)
Erik Bedard (6-7, 3.82) vs Chien Ming-Wang (7-4, 4.18)

Minnesota (76-72) at Oakland (82-67)
Brad Radke (9-11, 3.91) vs Barry Zito (13-12, 3.75)

SEPTEMBER 20
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 21
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 22
Cleveland at Kansas City
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Chicago
Oakland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 23
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 24
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 25
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 26
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Cleveland at Boston
California at Chicago

Posted on 9/19/2005

September 14, 2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 14, 2005

CLEVELAND 83-62
NEW YORK 81-62, 1 out
OAKLAND 80-64, 2-1/2 out

Cleveland: 17 games remaining, 10 home (38-33), 7 road (45-29)
New York: 19 games remaining, 7 home (47-27), 12 road (34-35)
Oakland: 18 games remaining, 10 home (41-30), 8 road (39-34)
Chicago: 19 games remaining, 7 home (43-31), 13 road (45-24)

SEPTEMBER 14
Oakland (80-64) at Cleveland (83-62)
Barry Zito (13-11, 3.64) vs Jake Westbrook (14-1, 4.59)

New York (81-62) at Tampa Bay (60-85)
Chien-Ming Wang (6-4, 3.97) vs Mark Hendrickson (9-7, 6.06)

Chicago (88-55) at Kansas City (46-95)
Freddy Garcia (12-8, 3.75) vs JP Howell (2-5, 6.63)

SEPTEMBER 15
New York at Tampa Bay
Oakland at Boston
Chicago at Kansas City
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 16
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston
Chicago at Minnesota

SEPTEMBER 17
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston
Chicago at Minnesota

SEPTEMBER 18
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston
Chicago at Minnesota

SEPTEMBER 19
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 20
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 21
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 22
Cleveland at Kansas City
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Chicago
Oakland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 23
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 24
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 25
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 26
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Cleveland at Boston
Anaheim at Chicago

Posted on 9/14/2005

September 13, 2005

CIR UPDATE: Stephen Head on MLB Radio

Tribe prospect Stephen Head is scheduled to appear on MLB Radio this afternoon between 2:00 and 3:00 (ET) on Around the Minors with Mayo. Head, the Indians second round pick this year out of Mississippi, hit .286/.310/.419/.729 with 15 doubles and 4 homeruns in 203 at-bats for Kinston after terrorizing NY-Penn League pitchers to the tune of .432/.533/1.027/1.560 with six longballs in a 10-game stint to begin his professional career. He and his K-Tribe teammates staved off elimination in the Mills Cup last night with a 3-0 victory over Frederick. Head went 2-for-3 with a pair of ribbies but the star was right-hander Sean Smith who tossed 7-2/3 innings of three-hit, shutout ball while punching out seven and walking none. Adam Miller takes the mound tonight for Kinston in game four of the best of five series (Frederick leads 2-1).

In the Eastern League, Jeremy Sowers takes the bump for Akron against Portland in game one of the Championship Series.

Posted on 9/13/2005

September 12, 2005

CIR UPDATE: Coco Player of Week

Coco Crisp was named the American League Player of the Week for September 5-11 after hitting .571 (16-for-28) and slugging 1.036 with a major league best 29 total bases over seven games. Coincidentally, or not, seven games in which the Tribe went 7-0. For the season, Coco is now hitting .306/.352/.472/.824 with 38 doubles, 13 homeruns, 61 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.

Posted on 9/12/2005

CIR UPDATE: Tiebreakers at the Jake

MLB conducted a series of coin tosses today to determine the sites for potential two-team tie-breaker games and the Indians went three-for-three. If the Tribe and White Sox end up in a tie for the Al Central, the tie-breaker game would be played at the Jake. Likewise, if the Indians end up in a wildcard tie with either the Yankees or Athletics, the tie-breaker games would be played at Jacobs Field. Interestingly enough, a site was not determined for a potential Angels-Indians or Red Sox-Indians wildcard tie. Maybe the Athletics and Yankees tosses are considered runner-up AL West and East tosses? Tie-breaker games would be played on Monday, October 3. The official MLB release is here.

Posted on 9/12/2005

CIR UPDATE: Minor League Playoffs

Akron advanced to the Eastern League Championship Series with a 6-4, game five victory over Altoona yesterday. The Aeros will square off against Portland for the EL crown with game one being played in Maine on Tuesday.

Kinston has their backs against the ball in the best of five Mills Cup Championship in the Carolina League after losing 6-2 yesterday to Frederick to fall behind in the series two games to none. Game three is this evening with Sean Smith taking the mound for the K-Tribe against Orioles top prospect Adam Loewen. Keep in mind that the good guys were also down two games to none last year before sweeping the final three from Wilmington en route to the Mills Cup.

Posted on 9/12/2005

CIR UPDATE: Pitching Reinforcements

The Buffalo News reports that the Indians called up Jason Davis and Fausto Carmona last night after the Bisons were eliminated from the International League Playoffs in a game five loss to Indianapolis. The Indians (Indianapolis flavor, that is) swept up three games in Dunn Tire Park after the Bisons had won the first two on the road. Thus ends the Bisons quest to defend their 2004 Governor's Cup title. Davis and Carmona will likely support the big league club in the middle innings and blowout situations to help prevent the regulars from being overworked. Note that no position players (Brandon Phillips) were called up according to the Buffalo News.

Posted on 9/12/2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 12, 2005

CLEVELAND 82-61
NEW YORK 80-62, 1-1/2 out
OAKLAND 79-63, 2-1/2 out

Cleveland: 19 games remaining, 12 home (37-32), 7 road (45-29)
New York: 20 games remaining, 7 home (47-27), 13 road (33-35)
Oakland: 20 games remaining, 10 home (41-30), 10 road (38-33)
Chicago: 20 games remaining, 7 home (43-31), 13 road (44-24)

SEPTEMBER 12
Oakland (79-63) at Cleveland (82-61)
New York (Off)
Chicago (Off)

SEPTEMBER 13
Oakland at Cleveland
New York at Tampa Bay
Chicago at Kansas City

SEPTEMBER 14
Oakland at Cleveland
New York at Tampa Bay
Chicago at Kansas City

SEPTEMBER 15
New York at Tampa Bay
Oakland at Boston
Chicago at Kansas City
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 16
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston
Chicago at Minnesota

SEPTEMBER 17
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston
Chicago at Minnesota

SEPTEMBER 18
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston
Chicago at Minnesota

SEPTEMBER 19
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 20
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 21
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 22
Cleveland at Kansas City
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Chicago
Oakland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 23
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 24
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 25
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland
Minnesota at Chicago

SEPTEMBER 26
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Chicago at Detroit

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 4 (Divisional Series)
Cleveland at Boston
Anaheim at Chicago

Posted on 9/12/2005

September 09, 2005

CIR UPDATE

SEPTEMBER 9, 2005

CLEVELAND 79-61
NEW YORK 78-61
OAKLAND 77-62

Cleveland: 22 games remaining, 15 home (34-32), 7 road (45-29)
New York: 23 games remaining, 10 home (45-26), 13 road (33-35)
Oakland: 23 games remaining, 10 home (41-30), 13 road (36-32)

SEPTEMBER 9
Minnesota (73-66) at Cleveland (79-61)
Boston (82-57) at New York (78-61)
Oakland (77-62) at Texas (69-71)

SEPTEMBER 10
Minnesota at Cleveland
Boston at New York
Oakland at Texas

SEPTEMBER 11
Minnesota at Cleveland
Boston at New York
Oakland at Texas

SEPTEMBER 12
Oakland at Cleveland
New York (Off)

SEPTEMBER 13
Oakland at Cleveland
New York at Tampa Bay

SEPTEMBER 14
Oakland at Cleveland
New York at Tampa Bay

SEPTEMBER 15
New York at Tampa Bay
Oakland at Boston
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 16
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston

SEPTEMBER 17
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston

SEPTEMBER 18
Kansas City at Cleveland
New York at Toronto
Oakland at Boston

SEPTEMBER 19
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 20
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 21
Cleveland at Chicago
Baltimore at New York
Minnesota at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 22
Cleveland at Kansas City
Baltimore at New York
Oakland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 23
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 24
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 25
Cleveland at Kansas City
Toronto at New York
Texas at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 26
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland
Cleveland (Off)

SEPTEMBER 27
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 28
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 29
Tampa Bay at Cleveland
New York at Baltimore
Los Angeles at Oakland

SEPTEMBER 30
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 1
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

OCTOBER 2
Chicago at Cleveland
New York at Boston
Oakland at Seattle

Posted on 9/09/2005

September 06, 2005

CIR UPDATE: Minor League Playoffs

Three of the six Indians minor league affiliates qualified for post-season play. Buffalo, winners of the International League North with a 82-62 record, open a best-of-five series at Indianapolis tomorrow. Akron, winners of the Eastern League South with a 84-58 record, open a best-of-five series against Altoona tomorrow. Kinston, winners of the Carolina League South 1st Half, open a best-of-three game series tomorrow against either Salem or Winston-Salem.

Posted on 9/06/2005

CIR UPDATE: Great Deal for Sunday Night

Check out this deal for Sunday night...

$5 SEATS FOR 9/11 COURTESY OF TRIV: WTAM's MIKE TRIVISONNO SHOW has made a deal with the Indians to take over the Tribe Box Office from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 7 to sell tickets for the Tribe vs. Twins game at Jacobs Field on national TV (ESPN 2) at 8:09 p.m. on Sunday, September 11. During this short period of time, Fans can purchase TICKETS FOR ONLY $5 for ALL SEAT LOCATIONS (excluding Field Box, Club Seats and Suites) on indians.com (password: TRIV) and at the Jacobs Field Box Office ONLY.

Posted on 9/06/2005

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