Tribe Watch '13 (Week 24)

Record: 81 - 68

Standing: 2nd in AL Central (5 games behind Detroit; 0.5 games out of the Wild Card)

Now things start to get real interesting. Believe or not, the Indians are in a very good position right now to make the postseason. It hasn't always looked that way, but the cards are aligned right now for them to continue playing baseball in October. Part of the reason is because of what we have been doing. While we only managed to win one out of the three against Kansas City, we swept the four game series against the Chicago White Sox and had our offense come to life in the process. The other reason why we are in a good position is because the teams ahead of us, namely the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays have been really struggling as of late. Those teams, as well as the other teams in the playoff hunt (the Orioles, Yankees, and Royals) will be dealing with much more difficult schedules in the final two weeks of the season. As long as the Indians win the games that they should win, we could be heading to the postseason. Our final true test begins tonight when we start a three game series in Kansas City against the Royals. While we are 3 games ahead of them, we can ill afford to get swept by them and put them right back into this. If we manage to at least take two of three, then we can help ensure that they are taken out of consideration. After the Royals we come home for our final homestand of the regular series and begin a four game set against the Houston Astros. Even though Houston has the worst record in the American League, they are not just going to lie down and let us win, so we will need to keep our edge and make sure we don't falter against weaker competition. While nothing will get settled this week, it is exciting to think about the fact that we could be in possession of one of the wild card spots by the end of next week. Given that this team is right in the thick of the playoff hunt, I hope the city of Cleveland finally comes out and begins to support this team to show them we appreciate their effort. It's a real exciting time to be an Indians fan and I'm going to love every moment of it. Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (Week 23)

Record: 76 - 66

Standing: Second in AL Central (5.5 games behind Detroit; 2 games out of Wild Card)

Because of the holiday weekend, I never did a Tribe Watch post last week. However, given the way the Indians had played against Atlanta and Detroit, I really wasn't in the mood to talk about baseball. This week definitely saw some improvement. We managed to take two out of three against Baltimore (of course, the only game we lost was the one I attended) and the New York Mets. Taking two out of three against Baltimore was important because we are battling with them for that second Wild Card spot. I really would have liked to sweep the Mets, but could not managed to get a victory today. While it is just one loss, it was a particularly frustrating one because it featured three themes that when present usually equal to a Tribe loss. #1, when Yan Gomes and Ryan Raburn are not in the lineup, our offense is non-existent. #2, if we have men on base in a clutch situation, it always seems as if Asdrubal Cabrera is up to bat and he will inevitably not come through in the clutch. #3, Chris Perez will give up runs when he is in a non-save situation. Hopefully Terry Francona is picking up on these themes as well and will do something to rectify them as we head into the home stretch. Every game now becomes really important if we want to make the postseason. Our schedule is weak which means we can win a lot of these games. However, there are still a lot of teams capable of making the playoffs so we have to be careful not to lose ground to any of them. That push to the postseason continues this week with a three game series at home with the Kansas City Royals and then onto Chicago this week for a 3 game set with the White Sox. Kansas City won't go away, so beating them will be important to quash their hopes of making the playoffs. The White Sox are horrible and its essential that we sweep them, even if it is in Chicago. It's fun to be able to still be talking Indians baseball in September and have it mean sometime. It can also be nerve racking, but that's part of the fun. Let's root this team on to victory (especially since the Browns seem like they will be awful once again this year). Go Tribe!

Tribe Watch '13 (All Star Break)

Record: 51 - 44

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

Over the weekend, the Indians TV announcers mentioned how manager Terry Francona spoke with the team and promoted the idea of finishing strong to close out the first half of the season. It appears that the Tribe took those words to heart as they took two out of three from Toronto and then swept the Kansas City Royals. Now as the team takes off for a few days before transitioning into the second half, we can examine where they currently stand. I think the best way to define my feelings is cautiously optimistic. The Indians have a better record than they did at this point last year and are relatively healthy. The weak schedule in the second half also works in their favor. But before we can pencil this team into a postseason slot, there are a few things that should be addressed. First of all, while our overall record is good, we have played terribly against Detroit, Boston, and New York. Two of those three teams are in first place in their respective divisions. For this team to be seen as legitimate contenders, we need to play better against good teams. There's also a couple players who need to do more offensively. Mark Reynolds in particular has been trending downward when it comes to hitting. We need him to play better to shore up our lineup. And of course, we could always use more pitching. The starters, which not great, have performed admirably and should be improved when Zach McAllister returns. The bullpen. however, seems like it could use some additions. Hopefully as the trade deadline nears some moves can be made to address these issues. For now, let's enjoy the time off and get ready to come out fighting come Friday when we begin a weekend series with the Twins in Minnesota. I'm looking forward to wild and fun second half. 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 11)

Record: 34-34

Standing: Second in AL Central (4.5 games behind Detroit)

The Indians had hit rock bottom the week prior as they were in the midst of an eight game losing streak and an even longer losing streak on the road. Thankfully this past week has seen some improvement in the team, at least as it relates to winning. The Tribe manages to take two out of three from both the Rangers in Texas and against the Nationals at home. I would not say that the wins were dominating, but the key for this team right now is to win series. If they do that on a consistent basis, they can compete. Clearly there are still guys offensively who are slumping. The good news is that slumps don't last forever, so they'll start to get hot again before you know it. The other positive for this team is that the schedule gets a lot easier from here on out. Only about a third of the Indians' remaining games will be against teams who currently have a winning record. It's important though that we continue to stay competitive right now for several reasons. One is because you don't want to fall too far behind Detroit. If they gain too much of a lead in the division, we'll lose some of our motivation to win. Second, if the front office feels like we are close, they'll be more compelled to be active near the trading deadline, which would mean hopefully making a move that would bring in a key piece to help fill in the gaps. Winning this week will be particularly important since we'll be facing off against a pair of divisional rivals. First, we begin a three-game set with the Kansas City Royals starting tonight. Kansas City has been on a roll recently and they are only a half game behind us in the standings. It'll be important to beat them so as to remain in second place. Then this weekend we take on the Minnesota Twins. The Twins are a team that we should beat on paper, but when it comes to divisional rivals, there's no such thing as a guarantee. Both series will be in Cleveland, where we've played much better. Let's hope the city of Cleveland keeps coming out to support this team. I'd love to see Progressive Field to be rocking all week long. Go Tribe!