One of the Best Catches I Have Ever Seen

I know he isn't an Indian, but I couldn't resist. You have to think of the situation and how difficult this play is. Chris Heisey, I salute you. This is incredible.
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Indians Trade Kerry Wood

Multiple sources, including Jayson Stark of ESPN, report that the Indians have traded Closer Kerry Wood to the Yankees for either cash or a player to be named later. Indians are paying about half of Wood's salary for the rest of the year. More details when they surface.

UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that it would be $500,000 if the deal is finished by accepting cash apposed to a player to be named later.

Jake Westbrook Traded

Many sources, including Tom Krasovic of Fan House, reported on the deal. It sends Jake Westbrook to the Cardinals, Ryan Ludwick and Nick Greenwood to the Padres, and Corey Kluber to the Indians. Kluber leads the Texas League in strikeouts and has given up a little less than a hit an inning. The only real complication during this deal was that Westbrook has to reduce his $2M trade bonus, thus needing Union approval.

Austin Kearns Traded to the Yankees

According to Ken Rosenthal on Twitter, the Yankees have acquired Austin Kearns from the Indians. Joel Sherman reports that it is for a player to be named later. When I learn more info on that play, I will post and give my thoughts.

Indians Trade Jhonny Peralta

Anthony Castrovince reports the Indians have just traded Jhonny Peralta to the Tigers. I am very excited about this move. I stated earlier that the Indians needed to trade him as soon as possible. Peralta just held up a spot on the roster and hindered the progression of the young guys on the roster. In return, the Tribe gets pitcher Giovanni Soto. The 19 year old lefty pitched well in A ball this year with a 2.61 ERA and 8.3 K/9. Although years away from the big leagues, he looks pretty promising. To get rid of Jhonny's contract and get a promising young arm was probably the best the Tribe could do.

On a less fun note, Castrovince also reports Luis Valbuena is taking Peralta's roster spot. There has got to be someone else who we can call up. Also, more time for Andy Marte to play, hooray...

Attended Game Notes 7/26/2010

I got a chance to see the World Champions last night. Although the Tribe got the loss, they looked good. Jake Westbrook may have pitched his last game as a Cleveland Indian. If this is the case, it was a good one to go out on. Westbrook shut down the best offense in the game; one bad pitch lost it for us unfortunately. The Yankees did not look good; Jeter, Teixeira, Rodriguez, and Cano all went hitless on the night. If Westbrook wants to be traded, he really helped his cause. My player of the game has to Curtis Granderson. Even though he was thrown out at second on a fantastic throw by Shin-Soo Choo, he still hit the game winning homer.

HGH Testing in the Minors

Good news everyone! Announced today was the plan to randomly test minor league players effective immediately. Some say the test is a little unreliable and the MLBPA wants to wait for a 100% reliable test before it agrees to allow testing. While not a perfect solution, it is a start in turning this great game clean again. Read the full story here.

Good Win, But I Have Some Issues With Our Announcers

Very solid win last night. There was one interesting play last night that really boggled the minds of Matt Underwood and Rick Manning. With 1 out and a man on second, Joe Mauer tried to bunt for a hit. Our announcers just went off on him and so did the crowd. Manning even said something along the lines of "Why would he do that? I can't remember a number three hitter laying down a bunt for a hit since Robbie Alomar." Exactly. He just proved his argument wrong right there. Mauer was trying to catch the defense off guard, and it almost worked. Everyone in the stadium expected him to try and swing normally. Why is it such a bad idea if literally no one expected for it to happen?

Fausto Doesn't Get the Call

Fausto Carmona did not get to pitch in the All Star Game. This is unfortunate as I thought this would have been a very good time to raise his trade value. Had Carmona pitched well against the best hitters in the game, the Indians might have been able to get a lot more for him. It seems the Tribe are leaning more towards keeping him this year.

The Futures Game

Well, neither prospect really impressed at the game. Lonnie Chisenhall went hitless but did walk and have a RBI. Chun-Hsiu Chen went hitless. Neither Tribe representative started as the USA team destroyed the World Team 9-1.

Indians Call Up Chris Gimenez; Designate Mike Redmond for Assignment

Indians call up catcher Chris Gimenez from AAA according to a tweet by Anthony Castrovince.
In the process, Mike Redmond was sent down. Redmond made only two starts since the Indians called up Carlos Santana. This brings a little more youth to our roster and versatility. Gimenez can play catcher or any of the four corner positions. With the club getting the injury bug lately, this versatility is needed.

Jayson Nix

Right now, I'm not quite sure what to think of him. Jayson Nix has been on an absolute tear lately and I am happy to see some offense coming from one of our middle infielders. That being said, I am a bit skeptical.

In 255 Plate Appearances last year, Nix only batted a measly .224 with 12 homers and 32 RBI. In 41 PA's for the Tribe this year, Nix is batting a very nice .317 with five homers. Nix is on a tear right now with five homers in his last five games.

Will this very surprising performance continue? I lean towards no but I really hope I am wrong.

Game Wrap-Up 7/2/2010

Oakland Athletics vs Cleveland Indians FINAL SCORE: 3-0

It was not a good day for the Tribe. It seemed like we never were really in it, and that begins with the starting pitcher. Mitch Talbot walked in the run in the first inning; the Indians were playing behind the entire game. I know it isn't the only reason but it is a lot harder to try and catch up than a tie game or playing with the lead. The offense was just not there. Carlos Santana did not have his usual patience and went without a hit. Jayson Nix had a solid day at the plate with two hits and a walk. I'm not sure I like him playing though. He hasn't shown anything defensively and offensively he is just as bad as Luis Valbuena. If we are going to put out a middle infielder who can't hit at the bottom of our lineup, might as well put someone out their who can field. I like Anderson Hernandez's range and overall feel out there. If I had to find a bright spot for the Tribe, I would say it was our bullpen. The combination of Tony Sipp, Hector Ambriz, and Rafael Perez gave up only one hit and struck out five in three and 2/3 innings. On the other side, Oakland really didn't play that well either, Talbot got into a jam early and then gave up one big double in the sixth to finish us off. Gio Gonzalez did pitch a pretty solid game and his performance earns my player of the game. The play below shows how bad the Tribe looked today and that is just unacceptable on Redmond's part.

BIG GAME UPDATE!

As promised, a recap of all the games I missed.

6/26/2010 Cleveland Indians at Cincinnati Reds Final Score: 4-6
It was a tough loss for the Tribe. We left Masterson in one inning too long. No one on either team really played that well, it was a bit boring. The Indians were more consistent but the Reds had two big innings were they blew it open. The Indians couldn't rally back and take the loss.

6/27/2010 Cleveland Indians at Cincinnati Reds Final Score: 5-3
Finally we win! Shin-Soo Choo, what a day. Two homers off of Arroyo. Of course I cannot forget Carlos Santana and his home run. Talbot pitched a very solid game to keep the Tribe in it, seven innings, three hits, one earned run. Chris Perez got me worried giving that home run to Votto, but luckily Kerry Wood came in and shut them down in the ninth. Never thought I would say that.

6/28/2010 Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians Final Score: 1-2
This was a solid pitching performance by both teams. Westbrook looked shaky in the first inning but settled down as it was the only run he gave up. No big hits really, but Ricky Romero gave up seven hits in seven innings. The Tribe played solid small ball and Jayson Nix laid down a solid bunt for the go ahead run.

6/29/2010 Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians Final Score: 4-5
The Indians got lucky. Fausto really didn't pitch that well but still got the W. After LaPorta hit that home run in the sixth, the Jays bounced back and scored two in a tough seventh inning for the Tribe. I think the key to this game was Rafael Perez coming in and shutting down a very hot Blue Jays' offense. His solid performance really killed their rally and the Indians held them off for the victory.

6/30/2010 Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians Final Score: 1-3
This was a solid game all around for the Tribe. The offense was there led by Choo and LaPorta, both hit home runs. Carlos Santana added to hits. Aaron Laffey had a nice bounce back performance giving up only one run in 6 innings. Our bullpen looked very solid, pitching three shut out innings and only giving up one hit.

7/1/2010 Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians Final Score: 1-6
A five game winning streak! This game showed off Justin Masterson at his best. I still think he should be moved to the bullpen, but if he keeps pitching gems like today then I might have to eat my words. Masterson took a shut out into the ninth inning but couldn't quite finish it. It turned out okay as Frank Hermann came in and pitched another very good relief effort. LaPorta had another homer; he has been on fire since getting the call up again. Trevor Crowe added three hits while Shelly Duncan had a home run. Very good game for the red hot Indians.