Game 108: Indians 9, Red Sox 1
by Ryan on Aug 5, 2010 6:46 AM EDT
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The Indians already landed a mortal blow onto Detroit's playoff hopes, and it looks like they're doing the same to Boston's AL East designs. Despite throwing out an essentially AAA lineup, they forced Jon Lester out in the sixth inning, limiting Lester to his shortest outing since his first few starts of the season.
Lester retired the Indians in order in the first two innings, but the Indians took the lead when, with runners on first and second, Lou Marson laid down a bunt, trying to move the runners, and Lester threw wildly to third, allowing the runner on third to score. The Indians might have broken open the game then and there, since the play ended with runners on second and third with nobody out, but wouldn't be able to do any more damage.
The Indians added two more runs runs in the fifth, the first on a sacrifice fly, the second on an opposite-field double off the bat of Shelley Duncan. Lester, who was approaching 100 pitches by now and was showing signs of muscle cramps in his legs, came out to the mound in the sixth, and stayed in even after manager Terry Francona made another visit to the mound concerned with his pitcher's health. Jayson Nix hit Lester's next pitch over the Green Monster to give the Indians a 4-0 lead. Andy Marte would end Lester's night with a single.
After the Red Sox scored their first and only run of the night on a David Ortiz homer in the bottom of the sixth, the Indians put the game on ice with a five-run seventh thanks entirely to two Boston errors. Jason Donald led off the inning with a single up the middle, and then first baseman Victor Martinez let Asdrubal Cabrera's ground down the first base line go under his glove for a two-base error. Shin-Soo Choo was walked to load the bases; the strategy should have worked, for Duncan grounded right to the drawn-in Marco Scutaro, but the shortstop pulled Kevin Cash off home plate, and the runner was safe. The Red Sox had a second chance to record an out at home when Matt LaPorta grounded again to shortstop, and this time they pulled it off. But the Indians would take advantage of the extra outs; Jayson Nix drove home Choo with a sacrifice fly, and then Andy Marte put the exclamation point on the inning with a three-run homer that just cleared the top of the Monster wall, bouncing into one of the light towers atop the 37-foot wall.
Justin Masterson lasted just five innings, walking four and striking out 3, but kept the ball for the most part down in the strike zone and got the game into the hands of the Cleveland bullpen. Tony Sipp and Joe Smith finished out the key bottom of the sixth, the score still 4-1, and after the Indians exploded in the seventh, all that remained was to mop up.
| Highest WPA | Lowest WPA | ||
| Justin Masterson | .184 | Asdrubal Cabrera | -.064 |
| Lou Marson | .148 | Matt LaPorta | -.020 |
| Tony Sipp | .084 | Shin-Soo Choo | -.020 |
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Acta believes when Brantley rejoins the club it will be easier for him to have a more consistent lineup.
“Once Michael comes in, we’ll be able to rotate Shelley Duncan and Trevor Crowe in left field and Duncan and Jordan Brown at DH until Travis Hafner comes back,” said Acta. “It will be tough to find any consistency [in the lineup] because we still have to try find out about third base and continue to work Luis Valbuena at second and third.”
….
Acta will put Brantley in the leadoff spot and start him in center field.
Glad to see this. It’s too bad we can’t just rotate Crowe and Duncan every half-inning.
we still have to try find out about third base and continue to work Luis Valbuena at second and third
Do we? Really? I don’t even want them to find ABs for Brantley.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 5, 2010 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions
I assume you want Marte at 3b and Donald at 2b full time? I wouldn’t argue with that. But Valbuena still has potential value to be cultivated.
As for Brantley, we don’t have to “find” OF at-bats, they’re everywhere, puddling up at our feet, simply going to waste.
There are plenty of at-bats to give to four guys at three positions (3B, SS, 2B). Valbuena should get a little time at 3B and 2B, Donald can play shortstop twice a week, and Marte can play 1B twice a week while LaPorta is the DH. It gets a lot dicier, however, when you try to wedge Nix into that equation — pun intended.
by Jay on Aug 5, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, yeah, he probably does, but he can have a couple days off per month, and with a lack of real big boppers on the roster, why not let him DH sometimes?
by Jay on Aug 5, 2010 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions
@pgammo: Red Sox took run @ Masterson @ deadline. Indians said no thanks
Seller’s remorse, via Peter Gammons
"If Brown is the answer, then you’re asking the wrong question." - Ryan
I was actually at the game last night. First time at Fenway. Cool little piece of history, if incredibly uncomfortable for someone who is 6’5’’. But whatever. I saw two things that I thought were incredibly interesting:
1. In the second inning Jason Donald made a diving stop of a ball in short right and threw out the runner (J.D. Drew, I believe). It was a nice play. And after the runner was called out, the fans around me, at least the ones in my section, all gave Donald a nice round of applause for his effort. Later in the game, Laporta made an even more impressive play on that chopper down the line. That was the final out of the inning and, again, a hearty cheer was given for the effort, this one punctuated by one or two Sox fans shouting, “Nice play, NICE PLAY.” As they trotted off the field a guy sitting behind me (who, to the naked eye looked like a complete douchebag Sawx fan) leaned over to me and said, “Seems like he’s hitting the ball better since you called him back up, too. Gotta like that.” I saw my share of douchebaggery last night, but I was impressed by the level of class a good number of fans near me showed for a couple of nice plays.
2. A small boy, maybe 8 or so, who was sitting in front of me, took his hot dog out of its bun and said, “Daddy, daddy … watch how far I can put this in my mouth!”… before proceeding to open wide and slowly and (unbeknown to the boy…presumably) suggestively lower half the hot dog into his mouth. You’ve never seen a truly beet-red face unless you saw this mortified blue-collar Boston fan quickly slapping the hot dog from his shocked son’s hands, with his eyes darting around, checking, desperately to see if anyone saw what had just transpired. Most of us did. He stammered out something weird to us all like, “He’s just a kid … he doesn’t know…” They left in the sixth inning.
We also won 9-1. So that was nice.
My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts.
Having lived in NYC and gone to many games at Fenway, I can say that there is a base fandom under the jack-assedness that knows and appreciates the game. My favorite way to go to Yankee Stadium was always the bleachers. Though a rough crowd, they knew their $hit and had a much less toxic sense of entitlement.
There’s a distinct possibility that the % of douchebags at Fenway goes down as their position in the standings goes down. The bandwagoneers jump ship, leaving more room for True Fans.
As an aside, after my experience at the Nationals-Phillies game last weekend, I can say with sincerity that Philly fans suck.
They did a good job with it. Nice mix of old and new. More seats in the lower deck than the upper deck.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 5, 2010 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
That’s what Bill Simmons complains about all the time. The Sox winning has brought out all the bandwagon-jumpers (the pink hat fans, he calls them) and it ruins the stadium experience for the real fans.
DBN Grammar Police. Watch you're language.
Absolutely, it should be. You wouldn’t think that “Buckeye Brad” would be too subtle as a moniker, but apparently it is.
by Jay on Aug 5, 2010 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
That last Simmons column about the Red Sox was terrible. His premise was that local interest in the Red Sox is way down, and he was going to figure out why.
His conclusion?
Length of games: 40%
Bandwagon fans: 5%
Seriously? Games weren’t long last year when the Sox were in the playoffs? Screw you.
Was that the one where some guy speculates that the fans don’t think management kind of “took a pass” on the 2010 season and didn’t really invest in the club?
by Jay on Aug 5, 2010 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Great to see the Clippers Indians having fun; and Ryan, thanks for the write up. I appreciate you guys taking the time to summarize the games for us as the content of the write up and comments are always informative, entertaining, or both and a refreshing change from the Cleveland and national write ups.
by ShawnK on Aug 5, 2010 9:55 AM EDT reply actions 4 recs
Tim Belcher’s giving a little Wedge-face in that picture. Tim Belcher hates Jayson Nix.
Steel Nick
by nickjs21 on Aug 5, 2010 10:04 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
No, he’s just expressing disdain as he wipes ketchup off of his leg from an errant bun-less hot dog that some jack ass knocked out of an eight year old’s hand.
by stuart dean on Aug 5, 2010 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
first baseman Victor Martinez let Asdrubal Cabrera’s ground down the first base line go under his glove for a two-base error.
A True Indian to the last.
Of our 54 remaining games, only 19 come against teams with winning records and only 23 are on the road. Furthermore, 23 of our remaining games are against the Royals, Mariners, and Orioles, who range from as bad as we are to abjectly miserable. I don’t think we can come storming all the way back to .500, but I don’t think it’s ridiculous to think that we can finish the second half several games over the break even point and end up with a 74 or so win season.
Come on, four billion!
If you classify Detroit and Oakland as not having winning records, the Indians will play 18 straight games against teams with a losing record after the series with Minnesota.
Well, given the results of our post ASB run against tough teams I’d be happy to keep playing them. Screw the “easy” games— we’re so young and inexperienced that we might just play down to their level.
by MTF on Aug 5, 2010 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Sorry to say that I have joined the evil side for today’s game with BOS -199 on the ML. The simulator has the Red Sox chances of winning at 69.126% and Vegas had them listed at 66.555%. Just wanted to thank the Tribe for the two out of three wins against the BoSox so far in this series. I obviously won’t be around this evening to cheer the Tribe on today, but just wanted to say thanks and hope to see you some time down the road for some more success.
vr, Xei
Betting is so ridiculous. I’d be more impressed if you convinced someone to sell you a credit default swap on the reorganized Texas Rangers.
by jhon on Aug 5, 2010 2:04 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
If you really make a killing doing this, don’t the bookies and other mafia thugs come after you and physically threaten you or beat you up? In the casino, they throw out the card-counter because he wins. If you’re actually making money off gambling, you are taking away from someone’s “business” where you’re supposed to give them your gambled money – so that is what I wanted to know when I asked if people come after you (after you said you make a killing by using your machine every day).
In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).
by V-Mart Shopper on Aug 5, 2010 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions
off-shore / internet. Take a look at how matchbook works. It is a paramutual(sp?) system where there is no juice (if you offer instead of take bets) and you are up against the other people like you, not the house. So no, nobody comes after me.
vr, Xei
Ouch! Twins just tripped me up a bit with that 8th inning meltdown. Those things happen though. Have the ChiSox too.
Ok, Minnesota game in the books as a win. Now just need the White Sox to hold on in their close game. :)
vr, Xei
wow, now the White Sox bullpen blows a late lead. Up 4-1 with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Jenks gives up a three run HR to tie the game. Madness!
vr, Xei
juice?
In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).
by V-Mart Shopper on Aug 5, 2010 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions
vig, price, etc. what the book collects on a bet assuming even money on both sides. on non-moneyline wagers, typically -110, or ten cents.
You are reading my signature.
Thanks.
In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).
by V-Mart Shopper on Aug 5, 2010 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Right most books have juice/vig of anywhere from 10 to 20 cents.
Example of 10 cent juice
CLE vs BOS
BOS -155
CLE +145
Example of 20 cent juice
CLE vs BOS
BOS -160
CLE +140
Example of no juice
CLE vs BOS
BOS -150
CLE +150
Obviously you get the best price with no juice and the worst with 20 cent juice. The more juice there is the harder it is to make money over the long haul. Just think of betting on red or black on the roullette wheel and getting paid even money odds, when there is actually the black 0 and 00 on the wheel, so you are getting screwed in the long run.
matchbook does not have juice but takes 0.7% ante on any bet taken. But if you make an offer and someone takes your bet, then you don’t pay any ante but the person taking your bet does. Matchbook is very interesting and the best place to wager if you know what you are doing.
Most people don’t win at gambling, so wouldn’t know of this as a potential problem. Do you doubt that they throw you out of the casino for counting cards and consistently winning? There are physical threats along with it.
In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).
by V-Mart Shopper on Aug 5, 2010 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Unless you’re just using your mind, counting cards is illegal in casinos anyway.
I assume they take care of the winners who are honestly winning, because you want them playing there and returning. Eventually, they’ll pay the house back what they took.
Not enough people win for this to be a problem. But that’s just my guess.
Steel Nick
most people are dumb.
You are reading my signature.
by rolub on Aug 5, 2010 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Wow, xeifrank. I remember using your software something like 5 years ago when I wrote for Fantasy Baseball Central. Funny that I remember that.
August 5 #indians lineup: Crowe cf, donald ss, choo rf, laporta 1b, brown lf, nix dh, valbuena 2b, marte 3b, marson ca, tomlin p
14 minutes ago via web
I take this to mean Crowe will be leading off against RHP and Donald vs LHP.
This lineup is just…bizarre. I have no idea what’s going on.
I guess lineup order doesn’t really matter, and we’re just practicing at this point, but, uh, does he really think Marte is that awful? Isn’t Nix one of our better defensive players? I was pretty sure he liked to put the most inexperienced guys at the bottom, but there’s Brown right in the middle like he’s Carlos F’n Santana.
Anyway, not mad, just amused.
And playing LF. Wow.
In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).
by V-Mart Shopper on Aug 5, 2010 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m looking for advice.
Here’s my problem:
My 6 year old son is slowly being turned into a Yankees fan by my in-laws and ESPN America.
I can’t blame stepdad-in-law, who has lived his whole life in the Bronx and is a reasonable fan, but mom-in-law is much less pardonable (3/4 of life in Youngstown, former fairweather Pirates fan, became full time Yankees fan with move to NY in 2000). They have purchased him an inordinate amount of Yankees merchandise. They are visiting us now, so Yankees talk is a daily occurrence, but even when they aren’t here, they bring up the Yankees during their phone conversations with him.
We live in Prague, so ESPN America is another big part of the problem. It seems like every other game is the Yankees. I swear they haven’t had 3 Tribe games on all year. Even if they did, the time difference means that most games start at 1AM our time. I can catch games on the internet if I don’t have to be up early the next day, but I can’t keep my son up that late. If it weren’t for ESPN America’s next day replays, he would have no MLB to watch at all.
There is a part of me that doesn’t want to force him to be a Cleveland fan and have him go through the torment of watching crushing defeats to could have been championship teams punctuated by years of hopeless floundering. I just couldn’t live with myself though if he turned into one of those not-even-from-New-York Yankees fans that typify douchebaggery.
What do I do now; ride it out and hope he gets wise, or force Cleveland down his throat?
Every pessimist thinks himself a realist. In the case of Cleveland sports fans, they are probably right.
I took him to a couple of Clippers games before we left Columbus for Prague, but he was only 4 at the time, so I don’t know how much sunk in. They were the Nationals’ farm team at the time, so maybe the less that sunk in the better.
Every pessimist thinks himself a realist. In the case of Cleveland sports fans, they are probably right.
At least they weren’t still the Yankees’ AAA affiliate.
"If Brown is the answer, then you’re asking the wrong question." - Ryan
Yeah, those were tough, conflicted years. Dime-a-dog vs. Yankees hatred.
Every pessimist thinks himself a realist. In the case of Cleveland sports fans, they are probably right.
I tried to limit my attendance to Buffalo and, before that, Charlotte games, but sometimes it’s good to be at the ballpark even if you don’t care that much for the home team. Having them be the Nats affiliate really freed me to enjoy the last couple years at Cooper Stadium.
"If Brown is the answer, then you’re asking the wrong question." - Ryan
This is easy: drop ESPN and refuse to allow the in-laws to visit. You can thank me later.
by MTF on Aug 5, 2010 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions
You can’t force it, of course. Just got to show your own love and joy in the Tribe. That’s what did it for me.
Hey, the grandpa shouldn’t be seeing this kid more than the pa. Bend his ear with the Tribe when his grandfather doesn’t have access. More importantly, let him see YOU be an Indians fan. You’ll probably need a way to watch Indians games for that to happen.
Maybe get mlb.tv.
Steel Nick
Time with me is certainly not the problem. Time watching me be a Tribe fan definitely is, since it mostly happens when he is asleep.
I tried to get a subscription last year, but for some reason copyright worries wouldn’t let them sell it to me in the Czech Republic. Maybe I need some sort of proxy work around. Even so, unless you can save and watch later though, the bedtime issue is going to come into play.
Every pessimist thinks himself a realist. In the case of Cleveland sports fans, they are probably right.
With MLB.TV all games are available archived. I make heavy use of this feature living three time zones west of Cleveland, where games typically start before my workday ends. You can even watch games from past seasons on demand. There are many annoying things about it (pretty much every time they make an “upgrade”, it gets harder to use), but it’s pretty good.
I don’t know what the copyright worry is though — that’s bizarre.
by Logodaedalus on Aug 6, 2010 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
If you figure out how to get it to work, you should show your son The Bug Game. That should set him straight.
by Logodaedalus on Aug 6, 2010 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions
This is a marital issue. You need to impress upon your wife that the sports thing is central to your father-son relationship, and what her parents are doing is offensive. There is no excuse for your parental prerogatives to take a back seat to your step-dad’s, and that ultimately is what this is all about. My in-laws lived in New England for the past 30 years (until recently moving close to us), and they would never dream of buying Sam any Red Sox paraphernalia.
by Jay on Aug 5, 2010 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
I may give this a try, but I am not sure that it will cut any ice with my wife. She is not the type to be reasoned with on an issue like “your mom isn’t taking my sports fanaticism seriously enough”.
Every pessimist thinks himself a realist. In the case of Cleveland sports fans, they are probably right.
But it isn’t about your fanaticism. It’s about your relationship with your son.
Obviously I know nothing about your marriage. The case I would make is that the idea of your son becoming a Yankees fan is morally abhorrent. You need to put it in terms of being a frontrunner, and what that values he’s learning. It’s about loyalty.
For men, being a loyal fan is proxy and preparation for being a faithful mate. Being a Yankees fan, on the other hand, means rooting for players for whom loyalty meant nothing, it was all about greed and the getting the very last dollar. It is morally equivalent to dumping your wife for your hot young yoga instructor.
by Jay on Aug 5, 2010 9:02 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It’s sad what happened to her. We had a great thing going. Now I only recognize two, maybe three features on her.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Aug 5, 2010 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Have you seen Inception?!
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Aug 5, 2010 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
The Jackass hates Baseball! The whole Baseball season!
It could be the fleas on his back are the reason.
Or maybe he never liked ale, stout or porter,
Or has an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Whatever the cause, there’s one thing that is clear:
The least thing he likes is to hear other fans cheer.
Especially the fans in Podunkland and Pronkville!
Their cheers even powered Podunkland’s big windmill!
Their cheers traveled far, over sea and land masses,
Til finally reaching the ears of Jackasses.
And when he did hear them, he steamed and he snorted,
And wondered how to get this Baseball aborted.
“Perhaps,” thought the Jackass, “I’ll paint the balls green,
So when pitched toward the batters they cannot be seen!
And even if somehow the batters do smack ‘em,
The outfielders will not be able to track ’em!
Or should I paint all the balls cerulean blue?
Oh dear me, I’m not certain just what I should do!”
The Jackass paced ‘round his enormous Ass Palace,
Drinking Jackass Juice from his gold Jackass chalice.
“I could shine a great beam and roast Pronkville quite crisp!”
And Jackass pictured Pronkville an ash-smoky wisp.
“Volcanoes can bury them in ashy layers!
Or better than that! I’ll just buy all their players!"
And that’s what he did! The plan worked to perfection.
And Baseball was changed in its entire complexion.
The Jackasses ran off with all pennant races,
The Podunkville smiles were erased from all faces.
And if you should ask who can root for Jackasses:
The answer is: Only the Jackassy classes.
by YoDaddyWags on Aug 5, 2010 7:08 PM EDT up reply actions 10 recs
Sorry, it wasn’t green when I wrote that, and, at risk of seeming like a fathead, I was a bit surprised: I was beginning to think that Dr. Seuss, who, for a kid born in the 1950s, belongs on Mt. Rushmore, might not be so important to this younger crowd. (Though he still sells well in our bookstore, happily.)
I’m a child of the 80s, and grew up with Dr. Seuss books….by the time I was six, my One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish was literally disintegrating.
He’s on vacation, I think.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Aug 5, 2010 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions
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