Tribe Blanks Bad Sox 4-0

Thank you DirecTV! For some reason you didn't show the Indians v. White Sox game today. WTF? I know the game time changed but the on screen guide said it was at 1:05. What would you think? I know what I thought. The giant blank screen is not what I was expecting!!!

Any-who... Apparently Paul Byrd threw 6 shutout innings and then the bullpen decided to close it out despite a little scare int he top of the 9th. I noticed we went Mastny, Fultz, Betancourt, and Borowski. No Roberto Hernandez all day makes Dr. Poove' say Yeah! So the series is knotted at 1-1.

I am a big proponent of winning each series. The Indians have held true winning both initial series 2-1 and they try and keep that intact tomorrow (weather permitting). I mean think about it. You keep winning 2 of 3 and that's a .667 winning percentage. Would you take that? I know I would. That equals 108 wins over a 162 game season.

It's still early but a nice chance to set the tone, especially against the hated White Sox. Why are they hated? Because Ozzie Guillen enjoys human feces. That's why.

Rematch of Opening Day at 1:05 PM EST tomorrow: Jose Contreras (1-1, 10.29) faces C. C. Sabathia (2-0, 2.77).

Fausto No Se Gusta El Frio!

Fausto Carmona looked more like the closer from hell that the potential ace that many have pegged him to be in Friday's 6 to 4 loss to the rival White Sox. With two homers over the left field wall and a consistent barrage of pitches in the dirt (including 2 wild pitches) Fausto did not look comfortable in any way shape or form in the 4 1/3 innings he managed to last. Juan Uribe looked like Barry Bonds with a deep SF in the 2nd and a monster jack in the 4th. The Tribe has plenty of opportunities as well with a runner on on 2nd with 1 out in the 1st inning, runners on second and third with 1 out in the 2nd inning, the bases loaded with 1 out in the 4th and runners on 1st and 3rd in the 7th and manged to plate zero, yes zero, runs. The inconsistencies that plagued the Tribe form Day One last year seems to be rearing their ugly head once again.

Dr. Poove's Three Good & Three Bad

3 Good
1. Fernando Cabrera - Stated a little shaky to the first two batters he faced but lights out from that moment forward. More Fernando equals less Roberto. Me gusta. 2 2/3 innings 5 Ks!
2. Ryan Garko - 4 for 5. Looking more comfortable at first now that he knows he's on the club. Some nice digs on some low throws for Peralta.
3. Jason Davis - Two scoreless innings. I step for JD. Now if only he could pitch with any sort of pressure on. Amazing how skittish he gets when someone gets on in a bad spot.
3 Bad
1. Situational (clutch) hitting - For a team that finished 2nd in MLB in runs scored last year to have so many innings with so many runners on base and not to score any of them is ridiculous and embarrassing. Not even a good defensive play or a bad bounce to blame, just piss poor execution.
2. Defense - Another error for Jhonny P. That's 9 total for the Tribe... to lead all of MLB with Toronto.
3. Fausto - See my comments above. Looked amazing in the Grapefruit League but horrible today. Could be a combination of the long layoff and the cold weather. Or it could be a bad omen.

Next up for the Indians, Paul Byrd (NR) versus John Danks (0-1, 4.50) at 1:05 PM EST tomorrow.

Pronk You Very Much!

No recap today due to the afternoon game yesterday. I did make it home in time to see the Bottom of the 8th Inning to see Grady and the Dirt Dog work walks to let Pronk do what Pronk do. See ball, hit ball. What a shot! Leaving Cleveland with a 4-2 win and 4-2 record.

Some random thoughts:

• Aaron Fultz is now 2-0 in games he pitches exactly 1/3 of an inning to one and only one batter.
• Joe Borowski actually picked up a save without allowing a run.
• Grady Sizemore is on pace to hit 108 home runs.
• Roberto Hernandez is on pace to pitch in 135 games this year. That is not good.

Today the Tribe tries to actually play an official game within Cleveland City Limits as Fausto Carmona makes his 2007 debut versus Javier Vasquez and the Chicago White Sox.

Let me count the wins...

OK so the NFL schedule was released today.

So here is my first guess on what the Browns will do in 2007...

September 9 - Pittsburgh - What did I just write? Make it 21 out of 24. - LOSS

September 16 - Cincinnati - Mike Brown still hates the Browns for firing his father, seriously, like wishes death to the whole City of Cleveland hate. - LOSS

September 23 - Oakland - One of the few teams in worse disarray that the Browns plus the Browns have won 5 of the last 6, can't say that about most teams they play. - WIN

September 30 - Baltimore - The only team in the AFC North the Browns match up well against, but the Browns haven't won 2 in a row in almost 3 years. - LOSS

October 7 New England - The Browns used to own this series but have lost 5 of 6. Plus the Pats are a little peeved they blew the AFC Championship Game. - LOSS

October 14 - Miami - The Browns shut out the Fins in '05 but lost the previous 6. They are always good for one WTF win. - WIN

October 28 - St. Louis - Too much talent on the Rams. - LOSS

November 4 - Seattle - The Browns have never fared well against the Seahawks and the games are never close. - LOSS

November 11 - Pittsburgh - Day before my birthday? Irrelevant, make it 22 of 25. - LOSS

November 18 - Baltimore - The late season "turn the corner" tease. - WIN

November 25 - Houston - Mark it down, the Browns will win 2 in a row this year, seriously. Another team worse off than the orange and brown. - WIN

December 2 - Arizona - Arizona in December? Yeah right. - LOSS

December 9 - New York Jets - Revenge for the Phantom Force Out! - LOSS

December 16 - Buffalo - Again a team in worse shape that the Browns. - WIN

December 23 - Cincinnati - Can you really expect 2 division wins in a season? No. - LOSS

December 30 - San Francisco - An up and coming team possibly fighting for a playoff spot? - LOSS

That would be 5 - 11 folks! A dramatic improvement over 4 - 12. This is off the top my head before the draft, before pre-season and before injuries but while the Browns talent gap is closing on the rest of the NFL it still way to wide.

And so it begins...

Let the hate begin.

It was announced today... the Browns will open the 2007 NFL season at home in Cleveland Browns Stadium versus the evil, hated Pittsburgh Steelers on September 9th.

The storied series is tied at 55-55-0 (including playoffs) but the Browns have lost 7 in a row (last winning in 2003), 13 of 14, 14 of 17 since returning to the NFL in 1999, and 20 of 23 since 1994.

The series turns a new page with the (temporary) retirement of Bill Cowher and new Head Coach Mike Tomlin, a new coaching staff/philosophy and the departure of the diabolical Joey Porter. Offensive divas Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward take over on top of Cleveland's Most Hated List for 2007.

The last time the Browns and Steelers opened against each other was September 12, 1999 when the Browns were reintroduced to the NFL to the tune of a 43-0 ass kicking on National TV.

Romeo Crennel could not ask for a better AND worse scenario. Win and he'll equal the division win total of his first two years on the job and instill optimism for the season. Lose and let the cries for his head begin.

Get embarrassed and well, I don't want even to think about it, but it is a very distinct possibility. The Steelers may be beginning a transition into a new era, but they still have a ton of talent and want to prove the 2005 season wasn't a fluke. Most of the current players treat the "rivalry" as joke, and for obvious reasons, as I stated above, losing 20 out of 23 isn't much of a rivalry at all. It fact it's a disgrace.

The question is can the 2007 Browns make the rivalry relevant once again?

The Dreaded "Soft Tossing" Lefty

Well, the reason we have all be screaming for a power, right-handed bat reared it's ugly head again tonight as underwhelming lefty Joe Saunders and the Angels held the Tribe at bay for the duration of the game downing the Tribe 4-1 .

Dr. Poove's Three Good & Three Bad

3 Good
1. Fernando Cabrera - He looked like the 2005 Fernando and not last year's horror show. Keep pitching like this and maybe my Roberto Hernandez nightmares will stop.
2. Hmmm... Tom Matsny retired every batter he faced... 1. Does that count as good?
3. The Italian Sausage won the Milwaukee Sausage Race for the second day in a row. Mama mia!
3 Bad
1. Jake Westbrook - Jake never has had 2 bad outings in a row in the last 3 years. We we can't say that for 2007. No so many hits but walks, lots of walks. I said it before not a good start to a contract year. Plus a rare wild pitch to add another run.
2. Infield Defense - Errors by Peralta and Marte, ugh. I think I jinxed these guys. Both were bad, I don't want to talk about it...
3. Bats - I said it in the opening, throw a non-power, left handed pitcher against the Tribe and if they get 5 hits it's a miracle. Unfathomable.

I truly boring game tonight. Thanks again to the Milwaukee fans for showing up.

Up Next: 1:05 PM EST Tomorrow Dustin Moseley (1-0, 1.50) vs. Jeremy Sowers (0-0, 3.00) in Milwaukee

Live From... Milwaukee?

Originated from the Algonquian Indian word "Millioke" which means "the good land" the Tribe played its first of 3 "home games" at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI due to the impending doom in Cleveland. And by impending doom I mean the weather not the Browns upcoming draft.

The Tribe managed to hang on for a 7-6 win to improve to 3-1 overall. C. C. looked a little shaky due to the long layoff but pitched out of every jam he got himself into. Solid hitting, good defense (minus Jhonny Perlata going stupid) and even despite the best efforts of Roberto Hernandez and Joe Borowski it was a nice way to kick-off the series.

Dr. Poove's 3 Good / 3 Bad
3 Good
1. Andy Marte - Showed some pop in his bat and the guy just gets it done on D. He does look lost from time to time at bat but so did Jim Thome and Manny "Scum" Ramirez when they first came up to the bigs. If the D stays solid and he steadily improves at the plate throughout the year its a win.
2. Kelly Shoppach - The 2-run jack to start to the scoring, great back-up on the botched play at first on the Howie Kendrick squib and just a solidly called game overall (as he ALWAYS does). And then throwing out an attempted steal for the final out of the game. Could this guy be our catcher of the future with the Vic, Pronk and Garko trilogy at first? When a guy gets hurt this is what you want his back-up to do.
3. Base running - Sizemore with 3 steals, Barfield scoring from first TWICE, it's amazing how a little speed makes a difference. The Indians were aggressive but not stupid. You never saw this last year.
3 Bad
1. Casey Blake - I know he hit a home run but why is he hitting 4th? Listen, we need Casey Blake. He's a great veteran, jack-of-all-trades player who is team first and a good clubhouse leader. But history shows he is an awful hitter with men on base or in scoring position. He should NOT hit higher than 7th EVER.
2. Jhonny Peralta - I know it was one play and you have looked very focus in the first three games but Kelly Shoppach hit you RIGHT IN THE F'N GLOVE on the botched play at first on Howie Kendrick. He was out by over 10 feet and you just didn't pay attention. Ugh...
3a. Bullpen - Roberto and Borowski are looking shaky at best. Maybe we need to bring some of these young arms up. They can't be any worse than this. I know this is only 4 games but I've gotten sick in 3 of the 4.
3b. Vlad Guerrero - I don't often give it to an opposing player but tyring to throw Travis Hafner out at first from RF was little league. You're a perennial MVP candidate you should know better.

SPECIAL KUDOS TO THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE. ALMOST 20,000 FANS FOR A GAME THAT WAS JUST SCHEDULED YESTERDAY! SEEING SLIDER COME DOWN THE BERNIE BREWER BEER SLIDE WAS PRICELESS. THE ITALIAN SAUSAGE TOOK HOME THE 7TH INNING SAUSAGE RACE WHEN THE CHORIZO'S SOMBRERO CREATED A SEVERE DRAG EFFECT IN THE HOMESTRETCH AND COST HIM THE WIN.

Next up: Joe Saunders (0-0, 4.76) versus Jake Westbrook (0-0, 12.60) at 7:05 EST at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI.

This is Easter?!?

A picture speaks louder than words.

So they're gonna give it another try for a double header tomorrow.... Third time's a charm!

I have no idea who's pitching but if they get one game in let alone two I will be shocked. Let the scheduling debacle begin. Oh well the Tribe is still standing pat at 2-1.