Tribe Watch '13 (Week 25)

Record: 86 - 70

Standing: 2nd in AL Central; current holder of the 2nd Wild Card spot

One week to go. Just six more games. If we can hang on, we will be in the playoffs. We earned this spot after a relatively successful week. While the Tribe only managed to win one against Kansas City, that win was enough to still keep some distance between us and them. Then we did what we needed to do and that was sweep all four games against the American League's worst team, the Houston Astros. That was amazingly our 6th 4-game sweep of the season - a feat that has not been accomplished by any team since 1961. While some of those games were not our finest effort, we managed to get the W nonetheless and that's all that matters. As things stand right now, we hold a 1 game lead over the Texas Rangers for that final wild card spot, while Tampa Bay is one game better than us for the other Wild Card slot. With things that close, we can ill afford any slip ups this week. After having a day off on Monday, the Indians will have to kick it back into high gear with their final series at home, a 2-game set against the Chicago White Sox. We will then finish up on the road as we head to Minnesota for the final four games of the season. Neither team is very good, so let's hope we continue doing what we need to do and that is win these games. It is hard to believe that by this time next week we could be talking playoffs. It doesn't get any more exciting that this, so let's cheer this team into the homestretch. Go Tribe!

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 20)

Record: 66 - 58

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

Well anything the Tribe did this past week would have been an improvement over the week before so I guess we should be positive, but I sure would like to see this team playing better than they are right now. After dropping the opening game to Minnesota, they managed to take the next two and the series, which is what they should do against lesser opponents. After heading out west, however, the Indians could only manage to win one game against the A's. Oakland is a decent team, so there's no shame to losing two games to them in their place, but it is just frustrating because they currently sit ahead of us in the Wild Card standings, so it would be have been helpful to gain some ground on them. Right now it seems like our focus should be on earning one of the wild card slots as Detroit shows no signs of relinquishing first place before the end of the year. Our efforts to procure a playoff spot begin this week as we finish up our west coast road trip with a three game set against the Anaheim Angels. Then we finally head back home to take on the Minnesota Twins in a weekend series. Neither of those teams are making the playoffs this year, so we need to rack up a lot of wins against them. Despite our recent struggles, it is still great to be playing meaningful baseball this late into the season. As the Indians try to make that late season push, I'll be there with them each step of the way rooting them on. 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 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!