well, last i wrote was mid august (the 15th). today is the end of august (the 31st). i got my wish. i was lamenting our struggles at the plate and in the standings on the 15th, and wishing for a hot streak. i listed reasons why we sucked, but also listed reasons why we could changeour ways. i was very prophetic on that night, except with one LARGE exception. one bad (to put it mildly) call. i thought asdrubal would be sent down. instead, not only has he stayed, but he is batting second and seemingly coincidentally sparked our 12-3 run.

about this run:

it includes winning our last 7 in a row. after the win over detroit that tied us with them for 1st, we went 6-3 on the road. we won each of the 3 series 2-1. we usually have problems on the road.

-it was nice to get things started against TB. we had a chance for the sweep. but then we were back to detroit.

-the rook who allowed franklyn's 2 run bomb in mid august (my other gaffe, i called it a 3 run blast, i did not watch or listen to that game) dominated us in game 1. seemed like our usually inept offensive selves.

-then the offense exploded in game 2, against verlander.

-in game 3, we were back to our ineptness at the plate. but jake came through, as he has done for all of his august starts. not a run was scored after 9. we scored 3 runs on clutch 2 out hits by kenny and gomez in the 10th, and won 3-1. what a rubber game! what a big win against the team you are battling for firs place! a playoff type game for sure.

-our first game in KC bewildered me. following the dramatic series victory, we were held to 1 run against a KC starter who only was in the game for 3 innings (zach greinke). c.c. is once again a tough luck loser. what the hades! will we ever play consistently, i was thinking.

-then another offensive explosion in game 2. i guess we were just tired in game 1.

-then we pull out the series win, in truly dramatic fashion. we were one strike away from loosing the series. then grady comes through with a double. then AC comes through with the game tying 2 out RBI single. in the 11th, both victor and pronk come through with clutch 2 out RBI singles. we now have won two in a row, starting with the laugher.

-back home, our winning ways at the jake have finally returned.

-we capped the sweep of twinkies (who had won their last 5 to slowly inch their way back into the race) by beating johan for the 4th time this year! in a battle of aces (vs c.c.), he allowed a career high in hits. the twins were shoved back into non contention status. we also turned a 5-4-3 triple play to boot!

-in make up game #3 against struggling seattle, kenny provided the walk-off walk to overcome a (tired) joe borowski blown save. typical jake heroics!

-in win 7, we score 6 in the 8th to beat the white sox. casey had the key hit, a 2 out 3 run double. more 2 out clutch hitting. more big numbers put up on the scoreboard. and unusual run support in a game that fausto started.

so, that catches me up. now onto some non game related thoughts:

newly anointed pinch runner josh barfield got his first start tonight since the run began. he did ok. he actually had a single that helped us score our first runs of the game, when we were down 5-0. after the game, wedge was asked if AC was ok. he assured us that yes, he is. i wished he used the same conviction he used when asked whether he wears his jersey under his pullover. ' "I always do, for the record," Wedge said with a devilish grin. "Always." ' this question was prompted after terry francona was checked mid game recently. is AC ok? "Absolutely" should have been his reply. after 15 games, a starter needs a break. props to wedge for doing so. he sometimes 'forgets' to give his starters a break.

in a sign that the management is with it, a seemingly minor move was made by the tribe brass today. AAA OF brad snyder was called up today, then placed on the DL. this odd move was made with the playoffs in mind. this move opens up a roster spot come playoff time. we are making moves with the playoffs in mind. i love it!

one concern is joe borowski. his health for the playoffs is imperative. as that of the rafaels. but instead of using JB for the 4th straight game, rafael B got the call to nail down the W. aaron fultz showed a sign tonight that he can once again be a reliable late inning guy. we can have our choice of lefties. rafael P hopefully no longer has to be overused. jansen lewis had a bad game against detroit, but rebounded with a great inning against minnesota in a close and late appearance. if he could spell rafael B, our bullpen is solid. and with rafael B's save tonight, he could spell JB. such depth and flexibility are crucial come playoff time.

the last 2 years, slumps seem to be the norm when a AL central team makes it to the world series. in '05, chicago almost lost the division lead due to a monumental slump. in '06 , detroit did loose the division lead on the final day of the season. hopefully, this trend continues.

oh yeah, it is official. the indians hold a 5-1/2 game lead over second place detroit to end the month of august. detroit lost tonight in the 10th to oakland to make it so. the tigers did their best to avoid falling back yet again. they scored 2 runs to tie the game in the 9th on just 3 singles and a RBI groundout. but right now the mojo is only going our way.

the one thing i do not understand, why is rookie aaron laffey starting when experienced cliff lee and jeremy sowers are still starting in buffalo? on one hand, i trust our decision makers, but on the other hand i am still thinking what the heck.

speaking of mojo: i really, really, really hope this posting does not jinx us in going for win 8. but i gotta write when the time presents itself. it has been forever, and i definitely will not be posting tomorrow. i probably will not even watch the game. i definitely will have my XM receiver with me though.

once again, it has been awhile. there is life aside from the tribe, unfortunately :). so, now more than ever, a posting is necessary. it seams the team is in disarray. the previous second ranked team in offense in the AL has evaporated. gone away, gone fishin, gone hiking, gone anywhere that's not a baseball field. a mere shadow of its formal self.

as almost expected though, cleveland won to tie for first. the only reason i say 'as expected' is because neither team can separate from one another due to an excessive amount of loosing. the few times we win, they win.

without the accurate aid of statistics to back me up, here is what i see, not in any particular order:

1. grady strikes out too much. he has been mostly bad at the plate, with a few really good games mixed in.
2. casey is casey, a non clutch hitting .250 hitter with above average power.
3. hafner is still not pronk, and now he is less than 100%.
4. victor is all of a sudden joining the crowd and striking out.
5. loften may not be acclimated to platooning duties. his stats say he should be, but i think it is affecting the 40 year old.
6. franklyn, although he hit a big home run today against a rook making his 1st major league start, is mostly over matched by quality, experienced pitchers.
7. recently brought up asdrubal is not ready to make his major league debut in a tight pennant race. IT SEEMS. when we traded eduardo perez for him last year, he was no bat, all D. omar-esque, at this stage. this year he did very well at both AA and AAA. now he is in his third level this year, the bigs.
8. i like him, but trot is over-the-hill. his range is bad (putting it nicely) too, and that has cost us.
9. no wonder we are struggling, here is reason (player) nine. jhonny. the same jhonny who very manny-esquely got foolishly picked off first in game 3 against the yanks. don't remember? we were down 4-0 in the seventh against the yankees. bases loaded, nobody out, the tiring andy pettite on the mound. we are trying to avoid the sweep. and manny, er jhonny, gets picked off 1st base.
10. unfortunately. this spot belongs to another big culprit, by boy josh barfield. i rooted him on so much in yesterdays game. twice he could have produced the game winning run as he batted with a runner at 2nd, and 2 out. in those two key AB's, he struck out both times, on the minimum 6 pitches. ouch!

here is why, despite being cleveland, i think we can prevail, also in no particular order.

1. jhonny usually finishes the season strong.
2. pronk's stats cannot stay this low. we are going to TB. no better place for him to remember how to crush pitching. the double today was a good sign too.
3. victor never slumps for long. enough said.
4. kenny can adjust. i believe he will. especially with the lead-off spot his again.
5. we are spoiled with grady. as the saying goes, D never slumps. he still can wear a pitcher down on those strike outs by working the count. grady gave up his lead off spot, but wedge will never abdicate grady's spot in center.
6. franklyn has been around for some time now. i think he is learning.
7. the pitching, for the most part, is hanging in there. having c.c. and fausto is like having two aces.
8. i still believe in josh. i have nothing to back this up. i just think he showed enough promise in his rookie year.
9. trot is big in many ways off the field. his bat has somewhat come around. and he has more experience than anyone else in the clubhouse.
10. asdrubal is doing alright so far. he might be one of those rooks who pitchers take awhile to adjust to. chris gomez was a nice pick up. i bet asdrubal goes when we need a 5th pitcher.
11. we have two 5th pitchers in AAA who have won in the bigs. that is an amazing understatement in regards to cliff lee. i bet he is chompin on the proverbial bit to get back up here.
12. casey has played good D, and he also typically sees alot of pitches.
13. september call up time is near. that mostly is good for all.
14. detroit has its problems too. and they play the yankees 8 times, real soon.

i could make a list of reasons other than the offense for why the collapse could continue. but i hope it does end. comes to a screeching halt. so i will not continue with anymore list.

go tribe!

u gotta believe.

the tribe won today, to split the four game series with the twins in minnesota. paul byrd came up huge. complete game shut out on just 99 pitches. pronk hit a bomb, but also hit into a DP. at least we were able to still score the first run of the game in the inning. by scoring that run (thank you for your unexpected clutchness, casey), we ended a 17 inning scoreless streak imposed upon us by minnesota pitching.

in the bigger scheme of things, my buddy and i have an idea for an new ESPN quiz show.

baseball quiz show, brought to you by baseball digest.

the idea came about as i quizzed my buddy on the baseball digest baseball quick quiz. since i do the quiz upon reading the issue as i recieve them AND mark each question first with my answers/guesses AND the correct answers, i had to read the questions to him. it was his choice to wait till after he was done answering the questions to learn of the score i recieved when i had taken the quiz. of the six quizzes, i was victorious four times.

so the new show is very similiar. except two people would both be taking the quiz for the first time. the questions would be given by a host. while we are playing, either an important current ML baseball game will be playing, or an ESPN classic baseball game. the theme of the questions will be determined by the classic game or milestone game that is being played. also, for at least one question where multiple choices are listed, we would have the ballplayers or managers the questions listed answer whether or not they accomplished such a feat. we have other details too, but it is late, and i do not want anyone stealing our great idea.

in conclusions: yes, we are both baseball nerds.