Tribe Watch '13 (Week 21)

Record: 71 - 59

Standing: 2nd in AL Central (6 games behind Detroit); 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot

The Tribe did what they needed to do this week, which was beat up on lesser teams. They pulled off a sweep of the Angels in Anaheim and then took two out of three at home from the Minnesota Twins. Most of the wins were not overly flashy or impressive, but all that matters is putting another notch in the W column. We have now already surpassed the team's win total from last year and we still have over a month of baseball to go. It is so nice to be continuing this column this far into the season and have the team being playing meaningful games at this point. Speaking of meaningful games, the Indians have an important 9-game stretch coming up starting on Tuesday. It begins with going on to the road for series against the Braves in Atlanta and our final series of the regular season against the Tigers in Detroit. Both of those teams are almost certainly going to the playoffs this year, so it would be nice to be competitive against them. At this point, we do not want to risk falling too far out of playoff contention, so every win matters. The good news is that a lot of our guys are starting to heat up offensively. If we can get each of them hot at the same time, this can be a very dangerous team. Even as the temptation to shift your focus to football emerges, let's continue to root on this team and have them actually play baseball all the way into October! Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 19)

Record: 63 - 56

Standing: Third in AL Central (7 games behind Detroit)

Even yesterday's come from behind win against the Angels wasn't enough to buoy my spirits after a completely dismal week. Frankly I don't even want to talk about it. We can only hope this 10 day road trip that features the Tribe going against Minnesota, Oakland, and Anaheim puts them back on the right track (although tonight's loss to Minnesota certainly isn't a good sign). I gotta keep rooting for my team, but it's awfully tough to feel good about their postseason chances these days. Let's hope I'm singing a much different and happier tune next week. Until then, go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 18)

Record: 62 - 49

Standing: 2nd in AL Central (3 games behind Detroit)

As I type, the Indians are in the middle of the first of four HUGE games against division rival, the Detroit Tigers. But before we talk about that series, let's discuss how we got here since this is my first opportunity to discuss the Tribe since before the All Star Break. The Indians had me worried when they got off to a shaky start to begin the second half of the season. Unimpressive outings against Minnesota and Seattle had me concerned that we were in line for yet another second half collapse. Since, then however, the team has played much better. They looked red hot during a homestand that saw the team sweep both the Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox series was particularly fun since it involved a couple of walk-off wins (one of which I had the good fortune of seeing in person). This past weekend the team went down to Miami and managed to take two out of three from a Marlins team that is better than what their record suggest thanks to a good crop of young pitchers. All in all, the team is finding ways to win even when they aren't playing their best. The frustrating thing about this recent run is that the Tigers, currently in first in the AL Central, and the Royals, currently third, have played just as well so there really has been no change to the standings. The one positive about our recent good play is that we have managed to move up into sole possession of the second wild card spot. If the season were to end today, we would be in the playoffs. All of that brings us to the start of this series with Detroit. It is a four game series that could shake up the division depending on how many games we win. This is the last time the Tigers will be playing in Cleveland this season so we'll want to have as good of a showing as possible. After Detroit leaves, the Angels come into town for a weekend series. Anaheim had high hopes coming into the season but have struggled all year. Still they are not a team to take lightly and we'll need to avoid having any sort of hangover effect after the Detroit series. This a VERY big week for the Indians and I hope everyone comes out to support this team. Win or lose I'm going to be loving every minute of it. Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 14)

Record: 46 - 42

Standing: Second in AL Central (2.5 games behind Detroit)

It looked like the Indians were going to continue their winning ways after that impressive four game sweep of the White Sox the weekend before. The Tribe managed to win the first game of the series against the Kansas City Royals, but then dropped the last two to end their long road trip on a bit of a down note. Upon returning home, it appeared as if the team had some jet lag and they went on to lose the first two games against the Tigers. Things would have been very bleak had the Indians not managed to pull off a victory yesterday. With that win, the team still now has a chance at earning a split with Detroit if they manage to win tonight. One of the key issues during the losing streak this past week was poor pitching. In some cases it was the starters not having good outings. When they did have a good start, then it seemed to be the bullpen that struggled. Even though we won yesterday, the bullpen still blew a 5-run lead before the Indians managed to come back and win it for good. Clearly, our staff has to step up their game if they want to remain competitive in the division. But it's also time to start thinking about who we can possibly get in a trade to help shore up this staff. As we hit the halfway point in the season, it's time for us to make the moves needed in order to make sure we play postseason baseball. Speaking of the halfway point, this is the final week of the season before the All Star Break. After tonight's game with Detroit, we have a pair of three game series at home with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Kansas City Royals. The Jays have been steadily improving since getting off to a horrendous start, so it would be nice if we could cool them off again. Plus, we need to start playing better against teams from the AL East. As for the Royals, we've played them very well thus far this season, so let's hope we can keep that up. We certainly don't want them to gain any ground on us and believe they still have a chance in the division. It certainly would be nice to head into the break being in first place, so let's cheer on this team and make it happen. Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 13)

Record: 44 - 38

Standing: Tied for first place in the AL Central

It was looking initially like it would be another uneventful week. We began by splitting the four game set with the Orioles in which we looked like we could have easily won all four games or lost all four games. Still, splitting against a solid team like Baltimore was positive. The start of the four game series with the White Sox made it seem as if we were in for an ominous weekend. In the first game of a double-header, our starter is unable to get out of the first inning and put the Indians in an early five-run deficit. However, the Tribe finally woke up and managed to clobber Chicago 19-10 in the first game. Then then had a four run 9th inning in the second game that allowed to come back and win that won as well. The Indians then proceed to sweep the entire four games capping it off today with a shutout victory by Justin Masterson. Those first three games against Chicago showed the Indians tenacity. They not only came from behind in each of those games, but they did so when it would have been much easier to just throw in the towel. Friday's double header lasted over seven hours to get those two games in. Between the length of the games and the amount of innings that the bullpen had to throw because of poor starting pitching, it's amazing we came away with any wins. And yet, this team pulled through and had an amazing weekend. To do it against those losers from Chicago made it even sweeter. Perhaps the best news of all to come out of the Tribe's successful weekend is the fact that they have climbed back up into first place, now tied with Detroit, who had a rough week. We're starting to see guys like Nick Swisher get hot again, so it seems like this team isn't about to die like they have the past years. We can improve our standing in the division further this week as we play another pair of divisional opponents. This long road trip finishes up this week as we make a stop in Kansas City to play the Royals for 3 games. Then we head home this weekend for a big series against the Tigers. The outcome of that series could really cement who's the best in this division as we head into the All Star Break. As we head into the 4th of July, let's hope the Indians provide some fireworks of their own. Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 10)

Record: 30 - 32

Standing: Second in AL Central (5.5 games behind Detroit)

What an utterly disastrous week for the Indians. The team was already struggling and then they proceed to get swept by both the Yankees and the Tigers. Our losing streak is at 7 games. We have lost 11 straight games on the road, which is the longest streak the Indians have had in over twenty years. We are back under .500 for the season. And we are now 5 and half games out of first place. There just are not many bright spots for this team right now as the offense is not producing and the pitching, while not terrible, have been giving up runs in key situations. The only thing I'm holding on to right now and keeping me from believing we are destined to have another second half implosion is the fact that we are playing an unbelievably rough schedule right now. It's been weeks since we have played a sub .500 team. We've got one more tough week and then things cool off considerably. We have to find a way to weather this storm. This week the Indians finish up this brutal road trip with a 3 game series in Texas. Then they will come back home this weekend to play the Washington Nationals. If we can have even a moderately productive week, it may help us refocus and get back to our winning ways against the lesser teams that we'll eventually play. If we have another week like this past one, then there may not be any recovery from it, which would set us up for another long disappointing summer. It may look bleak at the moment, but we gotta keep this town as "Believeland". Send some positive energy toward this team - any little bit could help these days. As always, Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 9)

Record: 30 - 26

Standing: Second in AL Central (0.5 games out of first place)

From a record standpoint, the Indians did better this week than the previous week, but it was still something of a letdown. The week began with the Indians splitting their series with the Reds as both teams won both of their home games. I was pleased that our starting pitching did well against their potent lineup and if we were to face them again in the World Series, I have confidence that we would not be outmatched. The Tribe then finished out their homestand by losing 2 of 3 to Tampa Bay. The first game should have been a rain out, but given the poor scheduling done by MLB, their hand was forced and the game didn't truly get started until midnight and was a battle of bullpens, so not the best display of our talent. The one that hurts is our loss on Sunday. It hurts for a few reasons. One is that is was a lopsided loss and we haven't had a ton of those so far this year. Second, it was a rare bad start by pitcher Zack McAllister. Losing that game also meant we lost the series. But perhaps worst of all is that it was a deflating loss that comes on the eve of the Tribe's most important road series of the year. Our next 9 games will be on the road against the likes of the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. Detroit and Texas are currently in first place in their respective divisions and the Yankees were atop the AL East last week before going on a recent skid. These are three very good teams that the Indians will need to find a way of staying competitive against. If we can somehow come out with at least 5 wins on this road trip, I'll be very happy. It'll also further bolster my confidence that this team has what it takes to play in the postseason. It may be disastrous, it may be great, but either way I'll be watching them every step of the way. Go Indians!

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 6)

Record: 20 - 15

Standing: Tied for first in the AL Central

Wow, another amazing week for the Indians. Two weeks ago they were in languishing in last place and have now won 12 of their last 14 games and have now gotten into a first place tie with Detroit. The past week began with an impressive four game sweep of the A's. The series wasn't without some controversy, however. A blown call by the umpires in Wednesday's game earned national attention and potentially cost Oakland the victory in that game. Then the Indians got a big test this past weekend as they faced the Tigers in Detroit. After dropping the first game, the Tribe came back and won a couple of close games on Saturday and today. Winning close is an extremely good sign that this team can be competitive for the whole season and potentially have success if they make the playoffs. One of the things that has been so remarkable during this good stretch by the Indians is their ability to get big hits with two outs. You gotta love a team that never says die and believes they are in every game regardless of what the score is. The Indians will look to maintain their momentum as they deal with another busy week. It all begins with a traditional doubleheader tomorrow against the Yankees to make up a pair of games that were washed out a few weeks ago. The Indians will then make a brief two game visit to Philadelphia to play the Phillies. We handled the Phillies when they played in Cleveland a couple weeks ago, so they'll no doubt have revenge on their mind. Then the week will wrap up with a trip back home to play against the Seattle Mariners. Whenever we can beat up on a team managed by Eric Wedge, I take extra glee in that. Things are starting to get really exciting in Cleveland, so let's show this team that we're behind them. Despite their impressive play, the stadium hasn't been very full. Let's hope that begins to change. Go Tribe!!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 5)

Record: 14 - 14

Standing: 3rd in AL Central (Four games out of first place)

Last week went about as well as you could hope for with a baseball team. The Indians rattled off six wins in a row before losing a close game to the Twins on Sunday. Those wins came in all forms; they won big, they won close, and they were clicking on all facets of the game. Their performance last week showed what this team is capable of. And the scary thing is that they did so without being at full strength as Michael Bourn remains out with his finger injury and Nick Swisher sat a few games with a sore shoulder. When the Indians are at 100%, this could be a competitive team with the best in the AL. However, one week is not a large enough sample size to convince me they can do this on a consistent battle. The good news, or bad news depending on how you look at it is that they'll get a chance to really prove themselves this week as they face a couple of very good teams. First, they'll play a four game set at home against the Oakland A's, who surprised everyone last year and have continued to play good baseball to start this season. Then they'll head out onto the road to play the Detroit Tigers, who currently lead the AL Central and have been just as hot as the Indians recently. Playing good baseball against those two teams will go a long way to convincing everyone that these guys are for real. Of course, pitching remains key. Last week our starters had solid starts and we'll need for that to continue or else we could be in store for a very painful week. The uncertainty makes for some very exciting baseball and I can't wait to watch it all. Go Tribe!