Author's Blog

Tiger Killers

by scott longert on 05/05/16

As I write this the Indians have taken five straight from the Detroit Tigers. Last night Corey Kluber pitched a five-hit shutout. Josh Tomlin had a good outing the night before. Even without Carlos Carrasco the pitching is holding up fairly well.

The hitting has been up and down, but players like Lindor and Kipnis have been keeping the team in most of the games. It is still too early but the Tribe's pitching may carry them a long way.

There has been some outstanding pitching all around both leagues. I watched Clayton Kershaw throw an amazing shutout last week, I believe striking out fourteen batters. There does not seem to be any limit to his greatness. Chris Sale is having an unreal start this year, winning six in a row. We may see several twenty-game winners before the season is finished.

The most surprising story out there is the pitching of Jordan Zimmermann of the Tigers. Right now he is dominating the American League along with Chris Sale. He was expected to help the Tigers pitching staff but has gone way beyond that. This may be the year of the pitcher.

I am still on the disabled list but the knee surgery went well. Now I can sit at the computer for about twenty minutes which means the blogs will be back on time.

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Random Observations

by scott longert on 04/18/16

After two weeks of regular season play, the Indians record is 5-5. So far that is a good April for them. I am looking forward to the return of Michael Brantley as soon as possible. Someone has to go when he comes back. It could be a pitcher or possibly Marlon Byrd or Colin Cowgill. The Tribe needs Brantley's bat to go along with Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor. The other guys are not showing much at this point

The Mets took two out of three against Cleveland over the past weekend. They showed a good combination of hitting and pitching. No doubt they will be a major factor especially when Harvey gets back on track.

The Cardinals somehow manage to still compete despite the loss of Heyward and a slow start from Adam Wainwright. I like their outfield a lot and Matt Holliday looks like he can still do the job well. Don't count them out of it by any means.

Of all the great pitchers, Chris Sale looks outstanding. I think the White Sox might give the Royals a challenge. I m not sure about the Tigers, but Kansas City and Chicago look very tough.

I am going on the fifteen -day DL with knee surgery Tuesday morning. There is a chance it will be moved to the sixty- day DL. I hope to be back to the blog lineup as soon as possible. The doctors tell me it is not a career ending injury.

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One Week Down

by scott longert on 04/11/16

Despite all the rain outs and snow storms at least some of the games got played. I fail to see the wisdom of cities in the Midwest having home openers the first week of April. Here in Cleveland the weather was suitable for mid-February and as a result there were two cancellations. The Indians moved on to Chicago where of course another game was cancelled. Teams in the A.L. Central should open up on the road in California or Texas. That being said the weather at home here today is in the 40s with rain all day. What to do?

When the Indians did play we saw some good and bad. The Tribe's two best pitchers, Kluber and Carrasco both struggled while Salazar and Anderson looked good. Mike Napoli hit two home runs while Francisco Lindor played well. The old guys, Byrd, Davis and Uribe looked, well pretty old.

It never fails when the guy who signed for an astronomical amount of money fails out of the gate. Zack Greinke got off to a poor start and Arizona hardly looked like the team to beat. The Twins and their young players could not buy a win, while Baltimore got off to a flying start. Of course it is too early to spot any trends but that is the fun of it, especially in April. Till next time!

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To Flip or not to Flip

by scott longert on 03/26/16

Over the last week or so there has been much discussion on whether players should be allowed to flip their bats after hitting a home run. Some players want to bring more celebrating in to the game.

For well over a hundred years baseball has been operating with a code that one does not show up the opposing pitcher after a home run. Traditionally if that happens, the next time the batter steps in the box, the first pitch will be at his head.

I have watched this happen more times than I could count. My memory goes back to the early 1960's and I usually sided with the pitcher because throwing at the batter was always part of the game.

Even though I guess I am a baseball purist, I don't have a problem with bat flipping or other types of celebrations. The game has changed tremendously over the years and maybe it is time to let the players celebrate all they want. I am not advocating new rules to this effect, but I believe today's ballplayer has the right to throw his bat in the air after an important home run. The other sports allow all kinds of celebrating, particularly football where all kinds of bizarre antics are tolerated. Maybe baseball should follow.

However, about that phantom tag at second............

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2016 Season

by scott longert on 03/18/16

Opening day is almost here and I am eager for the season to begin. There are so many questions that will be answered as the year moves along.

Will the Cubs grab first place in April and hold on through September? Are they the next super team? I want to see if they can win 100 games. On paper it look possible.

Did Arizona buy themselves a pennant contender? Will Greinke and Miller be worth the money? This is an intriguing question regarding one's beliefs in how a team should be built. Does spending money trump analytics?

Will David Price lead Boston to contention? He is a tremendous pitcher, but can his presence spark the Red Sox to win a division? No doubt if he wins 18 or 19 games that will help considerably. Is that enough?

I wonder if the Yankees over thirty crowd can stay healthy and lead the way all season? Can A-Rod and the rest be counted on for big numbers? We shall see in a few weeks.

Here in Tribe Town the Indians signed Marlon Byrd to a minor league contract. The Indians now have more outfielders than any other team in baseball. If Byrd can still play we may see him in the starting lineup in April.

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