Tribe Watch '13 (Week 8)

Record: 27-22

Standing: Second in AL Central (1.5 games behind Detroit)

Well we all knew that the good times couldn't last forever. After an impressive run, the Tribe came back down to Earth this week. After an improbable win on Monday, the Indians lost both games against Detroit and then lost 3 of 4 in Boston. While the outcome wasn't desirable, I don't think there's any reason to push the panic button just yet. There's a lot of evidence to suggest that we will not have a repeat of the past two years where we get off to a great start and then absolutely collapse in the second half of the season. Even though we did lose five times this past week, our offense still did their job for the most part. I think our struggles can partially be blamed on some absolutely lousy weather this week. There was at least three games that were played in the rain, which can never be fun. If there is an area of concern, it's one that I wouldn't have thought of prior to the beginning of the season - the bullpen. Several of our losses this week were a result of our relief pitchers' inability to hold onto a lead. Vinnie Pestano has not been as effective since returning from the disabled list and closer Chris Perez left today's game with an injury. We'll need the back end of our pitching staff to pick it up if we want to continue to compete. The biggest issue is that the Indians have an extremely rough schedule over the next 3-4 weeks. If we can hold tight during this stretch, we should be ok as the remainder of the schedule is relatively light. If we go into a tailspin during the next month, it may turn into a repeat of the last couple of seasons. That rough stretch begins this week with an interesting 4 game series against our in-state rival, the Cincinnati Reds. It's interesting for the fact that the first two games will take place in Cincy and then the last two will be in Cleveland. The Tribe will then remain in town over the weekend as they take on the Tampa Bay Rays. I'm confident they'll be able to ride out this storm and remain with Detroit in that fight for first place. Regardless of outcome, I'll be watching them every step of the way. Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 7)

Record: 25-17

Standing: First in the AL Central

Don't look now because the Indians are the hottest thing in baseball. Since April 20th they've only lost four games. This past week was another excellent outing. They split the double header on Monday against the Yankees and then also split the 2 game set in Philadelphia. As a followup they've now taken the first three games (of four) against Seattle, which included two walk off wins and then defeating Felix Hernandez on Sunday. Hernandez is now the seventh former Cy Young winner that the Tribe has beat this year and we're not even into June yet. There's not a lot to complain or be worried about with this team. If they continue to play like this, it will make for a very fun season. Obviously the pitching needs to remain strong. During this good stretch, our starters have been getting ahead of batters, which they need to keep doing. On the hitting side, it's great to see that we're not being reliant on any one hitter. Everyone is contributing. This is especially true when it comes to two-out hitting. Our offense is making pitchers work long and hard, which means getting to the bullpen that much sooner. The bottom line here is that this team is just so much fun to watch right now. This week you can see them finish off their series with Seattle today in a day game. We then see the team we'll be fighting with all season for first place, the Detroit Tigers. They come into town for a brief two game set. After that, we head out onto the road to play Boston this weekend. Boston has been playing surprisingly well this season and they beat up on us earlier this season before we started playing well. We'll be looking for revenge when we head to Beantown. As always, I'll be here to report on all the highs and lows. Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 3)

Record: 7-10

Standing: 4th in AL Central (3 games out of first)

The Indians got off to rough start last week as they were swept at home by the Boston Red Sox. Credit bad starting pitching, anemic offense and an emotionally motivated opponent as the key reasons why the Indians couldn't do much against Boston. The weekend helped turn things around, however, as the bats came alive on Saturday. The Indians put a 19 spot on the scoreboard against the Astros. Our newest acquisitions, Mark Reynolds, Nick Swisher, and 42 year old Jason Giambi, were all major players in that outpouring of offense. Thankfully Saturday's performance didn't result in an immediate power outage on Sunday as the Indians were able to hit four more home runs in order to win by one and take two out of three from Houston. Hopefully the Tribe can carry that momentum with them as they now continue this road trip by heading into Chicago to take on those nasty White Sox. We played Chicago very well in Cleveland and I'd love to see more of the same to start this week. Cleveland will then finish off their road trip by heading to Kansas City for a weekend series. No matter the month, games against divisional opponents are critical, so it will be vital for the Tribe to have a good week. As the Indians hope to gain ground within the AL Central standings, I'll be cheering them on all the way and I hope you will too. Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch (Week 2)

Record: 5-6

Standing: 3rd in AL Central (1.5 games out of 1st place)

Similar to week 1, the second week of the season saw a mixed bag of results for the Tribe. Things looked pretty bleak early on in the week as the Yankees dominated us for the first two games of the series. Mother Nature thankfully cut that attack short by raining out the remaining two games of that series. We can now look forward to a doubleheader in May against New York to make up those games. The back end of the week was more promising as we took two out of three from our rivals the White Sox. Justin Masterson showed true ace material in his complete game shutout win on Friday and the bats came to life in Saturday's game. Though they lost on Sunday, the team has to feel positive by an improved performance by Brett Myers. Starting pitching is going to be so critical for this team. If they falter, things fall apart. When the pitching is strong, we have a very good chance of winning each of those games. As we head into this third week, the Indians will begin with an emotional series against the Boston Red Sox. Not only will it be the first time that Terry Francona manages against his old team, but the tragic events of yesterday will still be weighing heavily on everyone's mind. After the Boston series, the Indians will head out onto the road for a lengthy trip that begins with a weekend series against the Houston Astros who more closely resemble a AAA team than they do a major league team. Hopefully we can dominate them to help improve our standing in the division. One final note is with regard to injuries. Every team is suffering from them and the Indians are no different. The catcher position seems to be particularly plagued with both Carlos Santana and Lou Marson ailing. The Tribe actually had to make a minor league trade earlier this week just to gain some additional emergency backups. Center fielder Michael Bourn will also miss some time thanks to a finger laceration he received in Sunday's game. Thankfully most of the team's injuries are minor, so we can just hope for a speedy recovery so that our team can get back to playing at full strength. No matter who's out on the field, though, I'll always be ready to support my team. Go Tribe!