Cleveland Sports Forum

who could ever have imagine a strategy that put the guys who get on base a lot and take a lot of pitches at the upper end of the lineup. Bourn and Ramirez sure look like 1-2 in the order guys, but unfortunately don't get on base. This Francona guy is one of the most creative minds in baseball.

TribeVibe

Between the lines, into the clubhouse, on the road and inside the front office with the Cleveland Indians.
From the AP: ‘Former pro Julio Franco stays busy in Japan as player-manager’


Julio Franco is still playing professional baseball. Yes, you read that correctly. AP reporter Jim Armstrong recently profiled Franco and his baseball exploits in Japan. Franco played for the Tribe from 1983-88 and notched a Silver Slugger award in the ’88 season. His career lasted across 23 years, and still seems to be going strong. (Jim’s full profile can be read by clicking here)

http://www.thestate.com/sports/mlb/article20618811.html

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

Julio Franco is getting the best of both worlds as a 56-year-old player-manager for the Ishikawa Million Stars of Japan’s semi-professional Baseball Challenge League…..

“I don’t see myself out of baseball,” Franco said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “I can go fishing, go play golf or go to Starbucks but at the end of the day, I love baseball and this is what I want to do.”……

Playing in 10 of his team’s 14 games this season, Franco has a .333 batting average with four RBIs and six runs scored.”I wasn’t planning to play this much but one of my best hitters got hurt so I have to play first base or DH,” Franco said. “I was thinking about just pinch-hitting and playing once a week but since he got hurt I’m playing a lot more than I expected.”……

“I want to play until I’m 66,” Franco said. “That’s the goal.”

And nobody to knock him in.

Glad for Jason does seem that last year was the exception. He is stroking so smoothly at present, a bit like Brantley.

is his defense any better? Or does he need a position change? The overall defense is still a major negative for this team.

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NBA Finals 2015

How LeBron James was defended by the Golden State Warriors in their first meeting: An X's and O's look
LeBron James became leader he is today because he spent four years with Miami Heat -- Terry Pluto (photos)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State in the NBA Finals 2015 is almost here (finally) -- Bud Shaw's You Said It
What is tendinitis? And will the injury sideline the Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving for some of NBA Finals 2015?
After a 51-year title drought, seeing is believing in Cleveland, and that's OK

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's OK to entertain that notion of doubt. It's natural to let it creep its way in.

After all, it has been hammered into the minds of Cleveland fans for 51 years. Any time an area team sniffs the grand stage, the same, hackneyed montage airs in its entirety.

It highlights Earnest Byner and Craig Ehlo and Jose Mesa and Tony Fernandez and other goats of Cleveland sports lore. It features those who have helped to feed the insatiable narrative that the town is full of Eeyore-like sad sacks who stare at the ground and dejectedly kick around some dirt, waiting for the next installment of heartbreak. It treats Michael Jordan and John Elway and Edgar Renteria and Art Modell like well-off bullies who snicker at the anguish inflicted upon their Northeast Ohio adversaries.

It's easy to pick on Cleveland sports.

LeBron James used to be part of the latter group. He dodged town and lassoed a pair of championship banners to the home arena of an oft-apathetic fan base in Miami. Now, he plays for the other side, his original side. Now, he has a chance to eliminate the most inexplicable streak in sports: a 51-year title drought for a city with three major professional teams.

He couldn't achieve the feat in his first go-around with his hometown squad. Can he do it this time?

Excuse Cleveland fans if they opt to convey any skepticism. A boastful bravado by any other fan base is a cautious optimism beside Lake Erie. Maybe the Cavaliers will match up well with the upstart Warriors. Maybe Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and a hobbled Kyrie Irving are the correct cast of complements to follow LeBron's lead role. Maybe, no matter the objective level of confidence in that group, Cleveland fans will simply believe it when they see it, when they witness the roster concoction of mad scientist David Griffin hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Maybe Cleveland fans are a little jaded and unconvinced. Who could blame them? Only in Cleveland could a phrase such as "Only in Cleveland" gain such notoriety. There isn't so much a "Woe is me" attitude in the city as there is a feeling of "Only we can lament our past and laugh at the implausibility of 51 years of misfortune."

So when a visiting writer attempts to piece together 700 words comparing the sports teams' tribulations to the city's economy or construction or Pabst Blue Ribbon prices, Clevelanders aren't going to take kindly to the needling.

That's more than fair, too. Browns fans smirk and shake their heads at the fact that 22 different quarterbacks have started a game since the team's return in 1999. Somewhere between Spergon Wynn and Connor Shaw, the list becomes less bewildering and more disheartening. "Major League" triggered laughs across the country, but behind the antics of Willie Mays Hayes and Pedro Cerrano was the depiction of an actual franchise that, from 1969-1993, never posted a record better than 84-78.

Of course, it hasn't just been a half-century without hope. The Indians carried a one-run advantage into the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. They gripped a 3-1 series lead against the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series 10 years later. The Browns own the city's most recent championship, the 1964 drubbing of the Baltimore Colts. It's the most recent title, thanks in part to Elway's heroics with the Denver Broncos a quarter-century later. The Cavaliers have reached this stage before, albeit in the role of a severely undermanned underdog, eight years ago.

This version of the Wine and Gold has a better chance at breaking the hex. And maybe a title would eliminate that involuntary sense of doubt that trickles in every time a Cleveland team makes it this far. Maybe that intrinsic hesitation and trepidation will vanish once a title is finally acquired. Maybe the networks won't need to resort to adding Kelly Olynyk's mug to the much-ballyhooed montage.

The Browns can continue to replace their regime on a seemingly annual basis in hopes that they strike administrative gold. The Indians can continue to hope that their low-budget indie film makes it mainstream. The Cavs held out hope for a homecoming. It worked. As 51 years have demonstrated, there is no proven formula in this town. Eventually, one of the teams will snap the streak, no matter how long we have been saying as such.

The Cavaliers could bring a parade to E. 9th Street in as soon as two weeks. Based on history, it's natural to approach the series with a twinge of apprehension. Clevelanders have raised their hopes time and time again, only to have them dealt a punishing blow on each occasion.

No fan base has been more patient, more persevering, more tormented. A championship would change the group's disposition. No more montage. No more re-living past agony. Instead, streets filled with people clad in wine and gold, filled with smiling faces, filled with a sense of relief.

Do you need to see it before you believe it? That's understandable.

**********

Here we go Guess it is time to pay attention to the tribe:

2015 Year to Date 2015 Projected Standings / Playoff Probabilities
Team W L W% GB EXPW EXPL rosW% DIV WC POFF DOFF ALDS ALCS WS
Twins 30 20 .600 0.0 80.9 81.1 .455 10.9 % 13.6 % 24.5 % 17.0 % 6.8 % 2.4 % 0.9 %
Royals 29 20 .592 0.5 84.6 77.4 .492 29.9 % 20.7 % 50.6 % 39.6 % 18.2 % 7.9 % 3.4 %
Tigers 28 25 .528 3.5 83.7 78.3 .511 22.8 % 20.3 % 43.1 % 33.0 % 16.4 % 8.0 % 3.8 %
Indians 25 26 .490 5.5 85.2 76.8 .542 33.8 % 21.1 % 54.9 % 45.0 % 24.8 % 13.3 % 6.9 %
White Sox 23 27 .460 7.0 76.3 85.7 .476 2.6 % 3.7 % 6.3 % 4.3 % 1.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cleveland Indians promote shortstop Francisco Lindor to big leagues

Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group By Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group
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on June 13, 2015 at 10:25 PM, updated June 13, 2015 at 10:26 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The waiting is over for shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Lindor told the Columbus Dispatch on Saturday that he was being promoted to the big leagues. He'll join the Indians on Sunday at Comerica Park for the final game of a three-game series against the Tigers.

"It was awesome," Lindor told reporters after being told the good news during Saturday night's rain delay. "I'm so blessed."

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.com first reported that the move was imminent. Shortly afterward the Indians confirmed it.

The Indians will have to make a move to clear a spot on the 25-man roster for Lindor. The do not have to make a move on the 40-man roster because the Indians are carrying only 39 players.

Tribe called up Clippers SS Francisco Lindor. Got the news during rain delay. "It was awesome. I'm happy and blessed."

#shortstop

— Jim Massie (@MassDispatch) June 14, 2015

Lindor, the Indians No.1 pick in 2011, is currently hitting .279 at Class AAA Columbus. His slash line for the Clippers is .279/.346/.398.

The switch-hitting Lindor has two homers, 11 doubles, five triples, 22 RBI and eight steals in 59 games. He's struck out 37 times, walked 25 times and scored 26 runs.

Lindor was named International League Player of the Week last week. He's hitting .400 (18-for-45) in June with five extra base hits.

The debate has gone on since the start of the season on when the Indians would promote Lindor. Just recently manager Terry Francona said Lindor wasn't ready for the big leagues.

Apparently that has changed.

The debate increased last week when the Indians optioned Jose Ramirez to Columbus. Ramirez was the Indians opening day shortstop, but struggled.

The time of Lindor's promotion coincides with that of other prospects including Houston's Carlos Correa, Joey Gallo of the Rangers and Byron Buxton of the Twins.

The Indians will have to make a move to clear a spot on the 25-man roster for Lindor.

I think Swisher could stand some more time on the DL...

I think Swisher could stand some more time on the DL...

Yeah, like the rest of his contract.

LOL, we are psychic.


Nick Swisher - DH - Indians

Indians placed DH Nick Swisher on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 13, with left knee inflammation.

Swisher had surgery on both knees last August and just hasn't looked right since returning, batting only .198/.261/.297.

It's not clear at this point how big of a setback this is, but the Indians are probably better off with him out of the lineup at this point, anyway.

About freakin' time. Can't hit, can't field, can't run. Keep him on the DL.

Creative use of the DL kept Giambi off the field last year. Nick could start working on this broadcasting career.