Tagged: Ben

July 30, 2009

My Letter To The Cleveland Indians

Dear Cleveland Indians,

I know you lost yesterday, & the day before. It doesn’t matter to me as much as what has been going on. Was it possibly because you had other things on your mind? I sure did. I’m sure you were quite a bit distracted the last two days with the trades of Ryan, Cliff Lee, Bennie, & even Raffy. Ryan was a shock, but I could almost understand that. So was Raffy, but same story there. Cliff Lee & Bennie?! That was totally a huge shock. Personally? I think Mark Shapiro is crazy. Even Cliff Lee seems to agree, “As a fan, it’s hard to feel good about that,” Lee said. “Losing one Cy Young winner one year and another one the very next year is probably hard for a fan to swallow. It’s the nature of the game. It’s something you should really talk to [GM Mark] Shapiro about. What his outlook was, what his intent was. Obviously, he felt he was making the team better with this move. I’m not going to grade it, approve or disapprove. It’s my job to pitch. I just got traded and I’ve got to pitch for a new team.” Yeah, it is hard. It’s been hard ever since that stupid trading deadline stuff started. I’ve heard other Tribe fans talking about it, & they are quite upset. It’s like Mark is saying, “Hey! I’m so excited! I traded Cliff Lee & Bennie for some ice cream!!” ..That’s not cool. It’s also like the team is completely giving up. Yes, the rebuilding period has started. Wonderful. Saying “rebuilding” is supposed to make it feel easier? Happier? It doesn’t make it sound like a wonderful walk in the park. Just saying.. if it were up to me, I would fire Mark & Eric by at least the end of the season. Unfortunately, it’s not my decision, as I am just a 15 year old girl. Now that Cliff & Ben are gone, who is next? “It’s turned into an ax house around here,” said rookie outfielder Chris Gimenez. “We had Gark, Raffie Betancourt and Benny and Cliff. It’s tough. You get to know all these guys. You wish them the best, but it’s tough to see them go. In a sense, it’s a new beginning. We’re getting some young guys in here who can step it up and see what we have for a future.” Axe house is right. I got to hand it to you, Chris, that’s a good description.

Could Victor be the next to go? I swear, if he is..I will lose it. Victor Martinez is everything to our team. He’s basically our remaining All-Star, he’s a leader, he’s a good player, he’s a nice guy. I have heard so many trade rumors about it, about him leaving. Just to make it VERY clear. He shouldn’t be going anywhere. I have asked myself, “Why does it seem like we are giving up on next season before it starts?” Now I am telling you, Cleveland Indians, dont give up. ( Mark Shapiro, be a little smarter, would you?! ) All you players, get out there & be strong. Fight every day, & try your best no matter what’s happening. Be agressive, be proud to be where you are in life. Meanwhile, I will try to do the same. I will try to look on the positive side, & never give up on you. As a matter of fact, I would never give up on you. I dont care who does, I wont. I dont care if some Yankees fan wearing a Yankees jersey stares me down because I’m wearing a Tribe shirt. (It’s happened, it was sort of creepy ) I dont care if a Phillies fan torments me, saying that Cliff Lee is definetely going to Philly, even before the trade took place. I really, DO NOT CARE if a Red Sox fan calls this team a joke. You know why? Cause you are not. Keep fighting, believe in yourself, & show the world what you can do. What you can be. Grady, even if you end up leaving within the years to come, you will still be my hero. No matter where you go, it will always be the same. To all the players, I listen/watch you every day, unless it’s an off-day. Or, of course, off season. I feel hurt when players get traded, just like you do. I am there when you win, & I feel the joy of it along with all of you. I’m there when you have a bad game, & I swallow my pride & look forward to the next game, hoping to feel that familiar satisfied feeling of a solid win. I’m there when fans of other teams chime in & say what they think, which sometimes isn’t such a good thing to say. I’m always there, & always will be. No matter what, I will always be a fan of the Cleveland Indians. Good luck, & keep fighting. I believe in every single one of you.

Until Next Time..

GO TRIBE.

July 29, 2009

Lee Traded, & Bennie Too. Really? This Stinks.

I cant believe this. Cliff Lee & Ben Francisco were traded to the Phillies. Lee is expected to make his next start Friday, for Philadelphia. The Tribe will receive pitchers Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, catcher Lou Marson and infielder Jason Donald. Knapp, who is the key to all this, is still on the DL. That’s right, the DL. Wow. Cliff Lee was a star, & we went & traded him. Bennie was a great hitter, & was really heating up. & We traded him? This is insanity, in my opinion. I can only hope that all these prospects come to us soon, & at least two of them make a good impact on the Tribe. I love the Tribe..but I just am not sure what to think about this. I honestly expected Cliff to be traded. I didn’t, however, expect Bennie to be traded also. It’s just been tough recently, & these trades hurt. Who knows, maybe all the players involved in this deal will greatly help the Tribe. It was good having Bennie & Lee with the Tribe. I will miss them, just like I miss Garko. I guess it’s baseball, though. Good luck to Lee & Bennie.This isn’t official yet, but if all player’s pass their physical, it will be official within the next 10-24 hours. The link below is where I found the news. I voted in the poll question, & the majority agree with what I voted, that I do not like this deal. & Obviously, the writer of this article was just too shocked to even spell “prospects” right, because it says “porspects,” in the title. Well, it did say that. They changed it, though.

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2009/07/cliff_lee_ben_francisco_headed.html

Hopefully they dont do anything else that’s stupid..It doesn’t matter though.

No matter what, I’m rooting for the Indians. But boy, do I need an Advil.

GO TRIBE.

July 29, 2009

Tribe’s Streak Ends – & They Have A Chance To Win The Series Today

It was another tug-of-war game last night. It was a fight to the finish, between us being really good right now, & the Angels having been all year. Eventually, the Angels won, this time. We started with a lead of 2-0, but the Angels fought back all night. The Tribe still had a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the 8th, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough. The Angels tacked on 3 runs, & led 7-3 going into the top of the 9th. Well, the Tribe battled, & scored 3 runs, but couldn’t get anymore before the 3 outs. The final was 7-6. The 5 game winning streak was ended. The time was still early morning hours. That’s OK though. Maybe we can win the series today, as either team could win the series with a win today.

There are some more things to talk about,though. First, the Cliff Lee trade rumors. I got this qoute from Cliff Lee, which I found on the Tribe site, “If everything written was true,” Lee said on Tuesday, “I would have been traded about 12 times by now.” Wow, is that ever true! I’m not sure if all these trade rumors are true..but what do I think? I dont think they should be true, even if they are. Unless we get another surefire ace & a prospect for Cliff Lee, then the Indians would be insane to trade him. That’s just my opinion.

Another sad thing I decided to share, was about Ryan Garko. I read about his reaction to being traded at cleveland.com/tribe, with Bennie being Ryan’s former teammate, Ben Francisco. I call him Bennie, though 🙂 Garko let Bennie film him putting his bags in the car. “I wanted to get him driving away,” said Bennie, “but his mom asked me not to. She said the car needed to be washed.” Bennie said Garko was sort of dazed.”He kept talking about his apartment in Cleveland and what he was going to do with it.” Awww…I’m going to miss Ryan. I hope he has a great time with the Giants. Hopefully he will contend this year 🙂

One more thing, the reason why Grady Sizemore has been missing games for a few days is because he is or was sick. I’m not sure if he still has the flu, but he had it & still feels weak. He has lost 7 pounds because of it..I’m worried about him. I hope he feels better soon!

There are a couple higlights from yesterday’s game. They are a few Tribe homeruns.

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5794119&c_id=cle
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5794119&c_id=cle

Until next time..

GO TRIBE!!

July 28, 2009

Mixed Emotions

The Tribe had another great game last night, & never gave up. I stayed up until 1:45am to listen to it, & I stayed there despite us being down 6-4 going into the 9th. It had been a battle all game, with the Tribe jumping out 2-0 in the beginning, but the Angels making it 3-2. Then, 3–3, 4-3, 4–4, 6-4 Angels. I’m pretty sure that’s how it went. It was a tug of war, until it seemed like the Angels would keep the lead. I put my hat on backwards, & hoped for a comeback. Victor Martinez hit a 3 run homer, & we took the lead 🙂 Then, on the next pitch, Jhonny Peralta hit a homerun to widen our lead to 8-6. Victor Martinez seemed to have a good feeling about the game, because he told Jhonny “Somethings going to happen.” Wow, was he ever right! We held on to complete our comeback, 8-6. It’s been 5 wins in a row for the Tribe, & I am really excited about how they are playing. It’s been great! Dont get me wrong, this was a great win & I’m very happy, but.. there is something else on my mind today.

The Tribe traded Ryan Garko. Check..1..2..3..is this thing on? You said, “They traded Ryan Garko?” There must be some mistake. Oh no, there isn’t. I found out right before the game. “Just coming out of the Indians Clubhouse..” I knew what was coming, but I never imagined they would have traded Ryan. I barely heard when they told me it was for Class A left-hander Scott Barnes, much less heard all the good stuff he is supposed to have. I was shocked. Ryan Garko was one of my favorite players, & they traded him? How could they?! They did, though. It breaks my heart, but I learned something from what Victor had to say.”Obviously we’ve lost two great teammates, two good ballplayers,” said Martinez. “It’s tough, but at the same time there’s nothing we can do about. We just have to show up and play our game every day.” Deep breaths..pheww. It will be OK. I am really going to miss Ryan, though. Hope you have a great career with the Giants, Ryan.

Last but not least, here are some more links to the highlights of last night’s game. As I said, the Tribe came back in the 9th, & won their 5th straight, a new record for the season, with the final being 8-6.

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5781171&c_id=cle
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5781171&c_id=cle
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5781171&c_id=cle
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5781171&c_id=cle
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5781171&c_id=cle

large_indians3 choo.jpg

Until next time..

GO TRIBE!!

July 26, 2009

Break Out The Brooms & Have Yourself A Grand Salami

Going into the Tribe’s game tonight, a sweep & another massacre by us seemed to good to be true for some people, didn’t it? Boy, did we show those people! At first, the Tribe had a 1-0 lead on Grady Sizemore’s lead-off homerun. Then, the Mariners came out & had a 2 run first, making it 2-1. I was shocked, because Cliff Lee usually never does something like that! Those runs didn’t matter anyways, because Cliff Lee pitched fantastically after that. The Tribe kept on keeping on, & piled run after run on the Mariners. Jhonny Peralta hit a grand slam in the 5th inning for the Tribe, & extended our lead. Grand salami time had come! Eventually, the Tribe closed out the game, & won 12-3.

That means this : The Indians outscored the Mariners 31-6 in the three game series. The Tribe belted out 9 homers in three games. We swept the Mariners, & rolled over the best pitching in the AL. We are in 4th place still, & have ourselves a pretty good lead over the struggling KC Royals. We have won 4 games in a row, & tied our record for most wins in a row during this year. It also means..we have a chance to break that record tommorow. Not bad for a road trip, eh? I’m pretty happy about this turnaround. What a difference a week makes!

The Tribe also has news regarding the Mark DeRosa trade, they have picked the “player to be named later.” Jess Todd, a pitcher, has been picked by the Tribe to close off the deal. Todd is 4-2 with 24 saves & a 2.20 ERA in 41 appearances with AAA Memphis. His opposition is hitting .214 against him. I think he will help us a great deal. He also leads the Pacific Coast League with his 24 saves.

Last but not least, here are some of the best plays during the series against the Mariners. There are some homeruns in the videos, & a great homerun saving catch by the Tribe’s Chris Gimenez. I will put the links below.

Until Next Time..

GO TRIBE!!

July 25, 2009

Tribe Crushes Mariners & Keeps Winning Streak Alive

By the fourth inning, the Tribe was already on top of the Mariners, 6-0. It was obvious what kind of game this was going to be. A great one! Jeremy Sowers pitched a gem for the Tribe, & finally got over his usual 6th inning woes. Homeruns by Chris Giminez, Ryan Garko, & Asdrubal Cabrera helped carry the Tribe to their eventual win. Boy, was it a crazy ride, though! Chris Giminez had something to prove to his teammate Travis Hafner, because the Radio announcers were telling quite a story. Chris Giminez has a shirt he wears that says, “Every Darn Day,” meaning he would be there to play every day, if needed. Travis taped over that, & jokingly made it say “Every 10 days.” Well, Chris showed today that he could be great for us, even playing every day. He hit a two run homerun, & made a homerun saving catch, robbing Seattle of a homer in the bottom of the 9th.

After Asdrubal Cabrera’s two run homerun, which made it 8-0 Tribe, the Mariner’s pitcher hit Ben Francisco with a pitch, on purpose. Bennie threw up his hands, knowing it was an intentional hit, & the benches cleared. Thankfully, nothing happened, but the pitcher was ejected.

In the bottom of the ninth, it was still 10-0, & Winston Abreu hit a Mariners batter, & got ejected along with Eric Wedge, because apparently, they ruled it like he did it on purpose. He probably may have, but that’s OK with me! He gave one for his team, & it was something the Mariner’s probably had coming to them anyways. The batter hitting was now even 😉 Soon after, Seattle ripped a double down towards left field, but a fan interfered & grabbed it. It should have just been called a double, & no one from Seattle should have scored because of that fan. Well, the ump then HANDED Seattle a run. 10-1. The ump supposedly thought Seattle would have scored anyways, if the fan hadn’t caught it. Okay then..I guess they got a run? Anyways, Seattle scored two more times in the bottom of the ninth, but we still won 10-3 in the end. In my opinion, it should have been 10-2, but I’ll take it! The Tribe has won 3 in a row, & has won two series in a row. Cliff Lee will be on the mound tommorow, & we will have a chance to sweep! Until next time..

GO TRIBE!!

July 25, 2009

Did We Get Our Revenge? I Think We Did :)

When the Tribe lost the tough one, that ended in a catch robbing us of a possible chance to win, I was upset & frustrated, to say the least. I even walked around my room & kept saying that “the Mariners now had it coming to them in the next series, and that they should fear us cause we were mad now & would get revenge.” ( Just because I talk to myself does not mean I am insane. ) I never knew how right I was! Yesterday’s game was an absolutely amazing game for the Tribe. We batted very well off the Mariner’s pitching, which can be hard to do.

We also used 4 pitchers, & neither gave up a run. Yesterday was only our 4th shut out game of the year. & BOY, was it a good one! The final score was 9-0 Tribe. Travis Hafner came back, & hit a three run homer. The Pronk is back in town! Then, right after, Ben Franciso hit one. This was all in the seventh, where we grabbed 4 runs in that inning. Then, there was even a homer by Jamey Carroll! It was homerun galore for me. I was so happy. I have to give credit to Aaron Laffey, who pitched a gem through seven innings. We only allowed the Seattle Mariners to have 4 hits. I can safely say that for at least one game, we looked like a play off team, & it was wonderful.”I thought Laffey threw a heck of a ballgame,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu added. “The tempo was good, he kept the ball down in the zone, changed speeds, kept our hitters off balance. He was awfully, awfully tough today.”

By the seventh & eighth inning, the radio annoucers were already talking about how the Seattle Natives were filing out of the stands. I understand their pain, the Tribe has seen their share of games where they probably felt like quitting early. I’m glad we just kept hitting, & it made it worth the listen. I stayed up till 12:30am to listen to this, but I’m so glad I did! If we win the game today, it will automatically win us the series & give us 40 wins. Until next time..

GO TRIBE!!

July 20, 2009

One of Those Games That Really Hurt

Well, this one hurts. The Tribe was down 3-0, but we eventually tied it 3-3 & I was very happy by that point. I thought we could win. Well, eventually Kerry Wood gave up some runs, & it was 5-3 Mariners going into the bottom of the ninth. The Tribe had two outs & one guy on base, & Victor Martinez came to bat. The crowd was going crazy, hoping for a homer which would tie the game & give us a chance. Well, he swung & I thought it was going out. It went so far..but right at the wall Ichiro jumped & made the catch. Ouch..Victor seemed as shocked & upset as I was, & you could hear a collective sigh from the crowd. It cant be happening again. Will the second half be any better? I hope so. Another thing, I felt betrayed because of Franklin Gutierrez. He used to be with the Tribe, & Ichiro said Franklin seemed more happy about the catch then Ichiro was. ..Wow. Anyways, I hope the next series is better..

July 19, 2009

Tribe Looks To Split Series At Even

The Tribe lost yesterday in what can only be called a pitcher’s duel. The Mariners pitcher did a great job- AGAiN. No wonder they say the reason the Mariners win a lot is because of their pitchers! That’s a lesson about just how important pitchers can be. The final score was 3-1. I liked how the Tribe didn’t give up, they kept trying to put the ball into play but were not able to a lot. Our bullpen did a great job, so the final score was nothing like the score could have been. Grady Sizemore had a few great plays, & even a diving catch. The fans at Pro Field cheered until the very end, which actually made it a lot easier to deal with the fact that we lost, for some reason. Today we have a afternoon game at 1:05 & look to even the series at 2 games a piece. One thing I cant help but hear the rumors about..will Eric Wedge still be the manager by the end of the year?