Cleveland Indians 4, Kansas City Royals 3
June 11, 2009

Royals starting lineup:
David DeJesus (LF), Coco Crisp (CF), Billy Butler (1B), Jose Guillen (RF), Alberto Callaspo (2B), Brayan Pena (DH), Miguel Olivo (C), Willie Bloomquist (3B), Tony PenaJr. (SS), Zack Greinke (P),

Indians starting lineup:
Ben Francisco (LF), Mark DeRosa (3B), Victor Martinez (C), Shin-Soo Choo (RF), Jhonny Peralta (SS), Ryan Garko (DH), Chris Gimenez (1B), Luis Valbuena (2B), Trevor Crowe (CF), Jeremy Sowers (P),

Umpires -- Eric Cooper (HP), Mike Reilly (1B), Chuck Meriwether (2B), Laz Diaz (3B).

Gametime Weather: 62 degrees, Overcast.
Wind: 12 MPH, In From RF.

First pitch by J. Sowers at 07:05 PM local time.

Royals 1st (Royals 0, Indians 0) -- D. DeJesus grounds out, J. Peralta to C. Gimenez. C. Crisp grounds out, M. DeRosa to C. Gimenez. B. Butler grounds out, J. Peralta to C. Gimenez.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB)

Indians 1st (Royals 0, Indians 0) -- B. Francisco flies out to J. Guillen. M. DeRosa singles to left-center field. V. Martinez grounds out, T. PenaJr. to B. Butler, M. DeRosa to 2nd. S. Choo struck out looking.
(0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)

Cleveland Indians vs. Kansas City Royals Preview/Recap

Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio

Carl Pavano vs. Gil Meche

My favorite Indian is on the hill tonight looking to help lead the Indians to three in a row and push the Royals a little further into last place. Tonight’s stats of the night going into the game: Pavano has struck out 56 hitters while walking only 15 in 72 innings pitched this season, and he has gone 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA since the end of April. To put that into perspective a bit, CC Sabathia has struck out 61 in 86 innings pitched while walking 27. Am I saying that Pavano > CC? No, not quite, but when looking at the stats, one thing is for sure, 1.5 million < 15.2 million. Ok, time for the game and any other random thoughts that might come along.

Here are some things* that caught my script “I”:

*These things can be anything I saw during the game, anything that was talked about during the game, or anything that came to mind today in the world of sports, the Indians, and everyday life. Again, here are those things:

-This fall from behind thing worked last night, so what the heck, why not try it tonight? The Royals strike first on a walk, single, and sacrifice, taking the lead 1-0 in the top of the 2nd.

This is my first time doing a recap for ClevelandLeader.com, so for those who haven't seen my blog, I write my thoughts live as the game is being played, so I hope that will make all the below to make more sense. Without further ado:

Cleveland Indians vs. Kansas City Royals
Cliff Lee vs. Brian Bannister
Tuesday June 9, 2009
Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio

The Indians are looking to win their second straight series vs. a divisional opponent tonight. With a win tonight, the Indians can also leap frog KC and climb into 4th place in the A.L. Central and climb out of the basement, hopefully for good. Some things that I kept my “I” on:
-I’m liking the navy alternate jerseys at home.
-Jamey Carroll’s hit streak sits at seven, we’ll see if he can make it eight tonight.
-Well that was quick, it’s now at eight, not too shabby for a utility guy.
-Before I forget, I would like to send my condolences out to Matt Underwood and his family for the loss of his mother.
-am/pm went from a bad commercial to possibly a worse one with this guy asking for a cart in what looks like a Randall Cunningham throwback Eagles jersey minus the name and logo.

The Cleveland Indians used the 15th pick in the Major League Baseball draft to select Alex White out of the University of North Carolina. White a right handed pitcher who stands at 6 foot and weighs 200 pounds. White had been projected to land as high as number 7 but his draft stock dropped after he struggled late in the year.

Here is what his profile says from the official site of UNC:

Alex Bruce White is the son of Bruce and Catherine White • Born Aug. 29, 1988, in Greenville, N.C. • Has two older brothers • Majoring in sports administration at Carolina • Brother Travis played at North Carolina Wesleyan and played one year of pro ball • Lists favorite movie as "Bull Durham" and favorite book as "The Great Gatsby" • Favorite professional teams are the Atlanta Braves and Carolina Panthers • Modeled his game after Greg Maddux.

The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission announced a new partnership with Cleveland Indians Charities, naming them the title sponsor of the Continental Cup International Youth Baseball Tournament. In its inaugural year, the Cleveland Indians Charities Continental Cup is estimating 12 teams (U14) from around the world will participate in the tournament scheduled from July 2 - 5 at Euclid Memorial Park located on 22800 Fox Avenue in Euclid, Ohio. The final championship game will be played at Progressive Field following the Cleveland Indians baseball game on Sunday, July 5th. All tournament games are free and open to the public.

“Cleveland Indians Charities is very excited to partner with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission on this initiative,” said Cleveland Indians Charities Board President Bob DiBiasio. “The Cleveland Indians Charities Continental Cup further solidifies CIC’s mission of providing youth with educational and recreational opportunities through creative partnerships.”

The 2009 Cleveland Indians season has been nothing short of a nightmare so far. Many people in the know had pegged the Tribe to be contenders this year but Eric Wedge's group of men seem to have as many people land on the DL as victories this season. The 2009 campaign could get a little boost of morale for both fans and the franchise tonight. With a victory over the struggling Kansas City Royals, the Indians will escape the basement of the AL East for the first time this season.

The Tribe will have a good chance at a victory tonight as well. Cliff Lee (3-6 2.96) takes the hill for the club and has owned the Royals compiling a 12-5 record against the team. His 12 victories against KC is the most the 2008 Cy Young winner has won against in a single opponent in his career. When you add in the fact that Lee has thrown together an impressive string of starts the odds for a Indians victory gets even greater. The Royals trot out Brian Bannister (4-3 4.97) to the mound for the opening game of the series at Progressive Field.

Here are the other matchups for the 3 game series that kicks off at 7:05 this evening:

This is my first column of what I hope to be many for not only Cleveland sports fans, but sports fans in general, in hopes of entertaining all who stumble upon this. I hope that this column will provoke thoughts, spark memories, and make you laugh.

I am a 32 year old lifelong suffering, lifelong disappointed, lifelong die-hard, and always hopeful Cleveland sports fan. I am old enough to remember the drive, the fumble, the shot, the late 80’s and early 90’s Cavs being very good, and the Bulls of that same time being even better. And while I don’t remember watching the game, I got to hear from my dad about a cold day in January of 1981 when Browns fans had their hearts ripped out of their chest. I don’t think I need to beat a dead horse by mentioning the name of this play. But, since we seem to like name type acronyms in this town like K2, DA, JMIKE, AC, and LBJ to name a few, I’ll just call this play RR8X11.

That trash being the ‘09 Cleveland Indians season. Just as recent as yesterday at the time I’m writing this, myself and many fans were ready to throw this season away, chalk it up as another ‘06, and ‘08, and be prepared for the possible managerial and front office changes that could happen at any moment. It was a strange day in Cleveland Indians history as former owner Dick Jacobs passed away, and one of the most promising pitching prospects as recently as two seasons ago was sent down, not only to the minors but to Arizona Summer League in Fausto Carmona.

You can say that at the start of today, not only was the Jacobs news somber, but the feeling of most Indians fans about this season was as well. We were teased with a nice win in the second game of the Twins series only to follow that with a horrible performance by Fausto, and an 11-3 loss for the team. Damnit! I said to myself, now we’re done. I can’t take this anymore, injury after injury, batting practice after batting practice being thrown by Fausto, the inability to win four games in a row, being sucked into this constant magnetic field of being ten games under .500 that we can’t seem to escape, the Indians were done.

Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore could be out up to 6 weeks according to Sportstime Ohio who broadcasts the game. Sizemore, who has been battling elbow pain all year, had tests done and the good news is that their was no structural damage to the elbow. The bad news is that Sizemore's elbow may need arthoscopic if the elbow doesn't heal after rest.

"There is no structural damage to the elbow," Indians trainer Lonnie Soloff said. "The treatment is rest, or stop doing what caused the symptoms. Unfortunately at the elbow, the thing that causes the soreness is extension."

Filling in for the all-star outfielder are Trevor Crowe and Ben Francisco.

The Indians have fallen victim the injury bug this year as they have 8 men on the DL. In the first inning of the game today Asdrubal Cabrera appeared to have sustained a serious injury after sliding in to second base and injuring his shoulder. There is no word yet on the severity of the injury and whether or not Cabrera may be heading to the DL as well.

On Wednesday morning, Cleveland Indians' owner Larry Dolan suffered a heart attack. It was not fatal, and Dolan, 78, is currently recovering in the hospital.

The Indians' vice president of public relations, Bob DiBiasio, said "He had a mild heart attack. He is hospitalized and resting comfortably. He's in good spirits." He did not indicate at which hospital Dolan was staying.

Dolan, a native Clevelander, purchased the Tribe from former owner Dick Jacobs in 2000. He is also the president and managing partner of the Chardon law firm Thrasher, Dinsmore, & Dolan. His wife, Eva, is also an attorney, and his son, Paul Dolan, is the Indians' team president.