Hope Ivy was born on Dec. 10th at 10pm. Both mother and baby are doing well and are finally back home. Thanks much to all of you who offered your condolences at the start of the year and have kept us in your thoughts and prayers until this extremely happy day. Her first real cry came when ESPN showed highlights of the ALCS. Another Indians fan has been indoctrinated.

The ALDS starts on either Wednesday or Thursday so I took it upon myself to compare the Indians to the Yankees at every position. For the purposes of this I took the three frontline starters, top three relievers, top five bench players and the entire lineup. (All statistics before Saturday's game)

Starters: (W-L, ERA, PRC)

CLE- Sabathia (19-7, 3.21, 131), Carmona (19-8, 3.06, 116), Westbrook (6-9, 4.32, 56).

NYY- Wang (19-7, 3.70, 90), Pettitte (14-9, 3.81, 92), Clemens (6-6, 4.18, 38).

Even Suzyn Waldman would admit that the Indians have the best one-two in the league. Clemens may have a slight margin over Westbrook but neither has been brilliant. If a fourth starter is needed Paul Byrd will give a slight advantage over Mussian or Hughes. The PRC of Sabathia and Carmona is astounding. This one is easy.

Edge: Cleveland

Relief Pitching (ERA, WHIP, FIP, LOB%)

CLE- Lewis (2.20, 1.22, 2.58, 80.9%), Perez (1.66, .89, 3.08, 84.8%), Betancourt (1.47, .76, 2.25, 86.4%).

NYY- Vizcaino (4.30, 1.45, 4.12, 72.1%), Farnsworth (4.73, 1.46, 4.92, 70.3%), Chamberlain (.38, .76, 1.94, 96.6%).

The state of affairs in the Yankee bullpen is such that Vizcaino and Farnsworth are one and three in appearances. For the Indians, the bullpen has made a tremendous impact on the season. Innings 7 and 8 will be split between Lewis, Perez and Betancourt. Loathe as we may be to admit, Chamberlain has been fantastic. Still, this one is not that close.

Major Edge: Cleveland

Closer (ERA, SV, FIP, WHIP)

CLE- Borowski (5.15, 44, 4.12, 1.44)

NYY- Rivera (3.15, 30, 2.71, 1.12)

Borowski allows way too many baserunners. While this may the product of a high BABip, it doesn't really matter, nearly a runner and a half reach per inning. Rivera has not been as dominant in the past but he has been better than Borowski.

Edge: New York

First Base (BA/OBP/SLG, HR, RC)

CLE- Garko (291/361/485, 21, 72)

NYY- Mientkiewicz (272/343/432, 5, 24)

Mientkiewicz has taken most of the time at 1st away from Andy Phillips. He has hit at a decent rate but for basically no power. Garko has been a nice surprise by continuing last year's success. His defense is not as good as Mientkiewicz but the Yankee has lost a bit and Garko is no slouch.

Edge: Cleveland

Second Base

CLE- Cabrera (279/345/422, 3, 25)

NYY- Cano (306/353/487, 19, 95)

We all love Asdrubal but he has not had a full year to contribute. Cano has been fantastic again. Cabrera is considerably better in the field but Cano just rakes.

Edge: New York

Shortstop

CLE- Peralta (270/341/432, 21, 85)

NYY- Jeter (322/387/449, 12, 113)

For all the hype, Jeter is not a noticeably better hitter than Jhonny. Jhonny has more pop in his bat and is more patient at the plate. Jeter will hit a few more doubles and triples. In the field there is also little difference. Both players have a mediocre RZR but Peralta has made nearly twice as many plays outside of his zone (OOZ).

Edge: Push

Third Base

Blake- (269/337/437, 18, 68)

A-Rod- (312/420/644, 54, 161)

We love you Casey but this is no contest. A-Rod is arguably the best player in the game.

Major Edge: NYY

Outfield

CLE- Lofton (298/369/413, 7, 79), Sizemore (280/393/466, 24, 124), Gutierrez (264/317/475, 13, 36).

NYY- Matsui (285/367/488, 25, 93), Cabrera (274/328/392, 8, 71), Abreu (283/368/447, 16, 102).

This ended up being closer than I thought. The defensive edge is all to the Indians, who employ three center fielders. The Yankees are average at best in the field. The Yankee outfield is renowned for really crushing the ball but actually posts a lower slugging in two of the three spots.

Edge: Push

Catcher:

CLE-Martinez (298/371/504, 25, 106)

NYY- Posada (337/426/544, 20, 100)

Posada is having a career year. Martinez just keeps getting better. Neither is great at shutting down the running game but both are quite competent. Both will hit to the alleys with decent power. This is as close as a position as there is on the field. Shoppach will see time here if Byrd starts, whether or not this is a good thing is debatable.

Edge: Push, again

Designated Hitter

CLE- Hafner (264/384/449, 24, 93).

NYY- Giambi (232/349/431, 14, 39), Damon (270/351/396, 12, 85).

Nothing overwhelming here, which is a real dissapointment for the Indians. Giambi and Damon will both see some time here, with Damon also playing in the outfield. If Hafner gets hot he can carry a team, the same can not be said of either Yankee.

Edge: Cleveland

Bench

CLE- Micheals, Nixon, Barfield, Shoppach, Gomez.

NYY- Betemit, Duncan, Molina, Phillips, Giambi/Damon.

J-Mike and JBarf both spent some time starting this year. The Giambi/Damon player off the bench for the Yankees will also have some time starting. Betemit is a more powerful version of Gomez who does not make contact as frequently. Shoppach and Molina both can hit a bit but Shoppach supplies more power. There is no real standout player on either bench.

Edge: Push

Prediction: Indians in 3. The Yankees can hit but the advantage is not so big as the national news media would have you think. The pitching is a marked advantage for the Indians. Sabathia and Carmona are the best one-two the Indians have ever sent to the playoffs. Five years ago, Clemens against Westbrook would have been a nightmare matchup for the Indians, now it is a very winnable game.

[This is just a skeletal rundown. There are players who may appear for an inning or two whom I have not mentioned. All statistics are from The Hardball Times, all player positions used for projection of lineups are from ESPN.]

Hello assembled gentlemen and lady, I'm Brad and I am here to discuss a recent outbreak of that most horrednous disease, Nickname Forcing. This disease is at times known as Chris Bermanism or ESPNitis. Known sufferers are Linda Cohn, Stuart Scott and the namesake of the disease, Chris Berman.

The danger of this scourge is that it leads to a bunch of grown men (and woman) sounding like nothing more than a bunch of junior high kids, trying desperately to be cool. While it has been established that there is nothing cooler than a nickname that just seems to flow (ie. The Wizard of Oz) it has also been established that nothing sounds so stupid as a nickname that is forced (ie. Curtis "My Favorite" Martin).

I plead with you, the kind citizens of LGT, to not fall into the plague of ESPN with the rest of the world. Do not succumb to the pressure to give Ben Francisco a nickname, do not call Grady anything but Grady, don't be Linda Cohn and call Victor Martinez "V-Mart." I pray of you, let us rise above the fray. Let us call players by the names that their parents argued over for so long before bestowing them.

I leave it to you, my friends, to keep this a place free of this horrific malady. Only you can prevent Nickname Forcing.

Pro:

Charlie Frye- Frye has been completing over 62% his passes. He has a QB rating higher than Ben Roethlisberger, Steve McNair and Jake Plummer. He has thrown 5 td's despite being sacked 16 times and spending more time running than your average felon. He has been cool in the pocket (when there has been one) and has shown good leadership according to his teammates. Bernie Kosar, in an interview on WTAM, said that Frye has all the tools and needs a decent line to protect him. Bernie said that Frye has a chance to be great if he can stay on his feet.

Defense- The defense has, with the exception of the Cincy game, been pretty good. They have kept us in every game despite spending a ridiculous amount of time on the field almost every game. Ralph Brown sucks but other than him the secondary has done quite well despite injuries. Sean Jones and Brodney Pool have both been outstanding.

Kellen Winslow/Braylon Edwards- Finally healthy, putting up the numbers that everyone thought they could. They have combined for 50 catches, 593 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Special Teams- Given the practice Zastudil gets he should be good. Cribbs leads the league in kickoff return average and Northcutt leads the league in punt return average.

Con:

Playcalling- Started the first week with Carthon calling fullback sweeps on 3rd and 1...twice. The play calling has been astonishingly conservative given we have playmakers all over the place. This week Carthon decided to mix things up by throwing in a fullback pass on the goalline. Moronic play call. Chris Palmer showed more guts than this guy. It seems like we are content to dink and dunk without ever trying anything down the field. In the 21 games that Carthon has been the coordinator the Browns have been the lowest scoring team in football.

Running- Droughns has been hurt and inconsistent when he is in. The next problem is probably what is hurting the running game.

Offensive line- These guys suck. Frye has been sacked 16 times but seems to get hit on nearly every passing attempt. Frye is constantly being sacked on 3 step drops and in the midst of handoff attempts. I know very little about the intricacies of football but I know a sack on a running play is a very bad thing. The line has had plenty of time to "gel," this is a matter of a lack of talent. They have been little better when it comes ot clearing holes to run. Droughns gained 6 yards after first contact on one play last week, sadly he only made one yard past the line of scrimmage.

Charlie Frye- Much as I am a Charlie Frye apologist I will admit that he has made some really, really bad decisions this year. He has thrown nine interceptions but, in his defense, four have bounced off of his receivers hands and one smoked Droughns in the head. The interception in the end zone against Baltimore quite probably cost us the game and one in Oakland would have had the same effect had the defense not tightened down. Bernie said much the same thing when he said the only thing keeping Charlie from being great was his decision making (and the O-line of course). Bernie is of the opinion that Charlie will learn and get better. One can only hope.

Sorry this is rather poorly written. I put it on Facebook first and didn't bother proofing it.

An interesting article that reveals, among other things, that last year's David Riske is better than anyone we have had in the pen this year. The article focuses mainly on the idea of Pitching Runs Created to show that the bullpen of this year has been, among other things, a massive disaster (notably Betancourt). You don't need this article to tell you this but in case someone didn't see it here it is:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/where-it-went-wrong-for-the-tribe-part-1/

1. My whole family loves the Tribe, probably irrationally. Last night, when Carmona entered the game my 5 year old brother said "if this gets to Pudge he is going to hit a HR to win the game." After the game my 3 year old brother said "unbelievable" stood up, and left the room and the 5 year old proclaimed that we don't need more starters we need a "finisher." Another generation is already getting sucked in.
2. Though he has not been brilliant, Andy Marte has held his own. He has been a pleasant surprise in the field where he has shown a very strong arm and good reactions on balls to his backhand side. I know it is a tiny sample size but he sure looks better than Error On did down there. I'll grant that the .150 BA doesn't look good, nor does the barely over .200 OBP. Some of the blame for that will have to be placed on the shoulders of FO as they waited for Marte to be mired in an 0-17 slump before calling him up. He recently broke out of that and is 3 for his last 7.
3. For as solid as Marte has been, Choo and Sowers have been better. Sowers has pitched in 143 innings so far this year so he may be limited the rest of the way. With the Indians having nothing to play for it would make considerably more sense to rest Sowers than to take a chance with his arm. Choo has simply been incredible. His OPS is 1.081 and he has at least walked 4 times to go with his 6 k's. He seems fairly unselective at the plate but he makes contact a very good portion of the time. He is something of a more patient Rocco Baldelli. His defense, billed as below average, has been great thus far.
4. A petition to the FO: Do not bring Miller up and then use him in middle relief. It would certainly be tempting but the last thing we need now is a 3rd Jason Davis to go with the two we already have in JD and FC. Let this kid work some AAA as a starter and bring him up as a starter. The Indians recent run of starters who debuted as relievers does not exactly speak to future success Drese, Drew, Baez, Davis, Tallet and Stanford to name a few have begun as relievers and have either struggled mightily or moved on. Don't do it to Miller.

Just wanted to mention that we now have a site running at http://inside-cleveland-sports.blogspot.com/ published by some college students who are avid Cleveland fans. Hope you can check it out. Currently has some thoughts on the Indians and how they stack up against the white Sox, position by position. Would appreciate your thoughts