Book Review: Dealing
Many other books by well-known Northeast Ohio journalist Terry Pluto have been reviewed on this site before and this one is no different in terms of its entertainment value. In Dealing: The Cleveland Indians’ New Ballgame (Inside the Front Office and the Process of Rebuilding a Contender), Pluto takes readers through the steps it took […]
American League Championship Series: Toronto Blue Jays versus Cleveland Indians
The first surprise of this year’s American League playoffs came when the Toronto Blue Jays quickly disposed of the top-seeded Texas Rangers 3-0, followed by the Cleveland Indians sweeping the Boston Red Sox in the other matchup. Both teams have now had the opportunity to rest a few days and realign its starting pitching. […]
Twins Pre Spring Preview
Back again and not for the last time. Now that football is done, a ton of eyes have just turned towards the upcoming baseball season. 2 weeks out from the first of the “boys of summer” reporting to their spring homes. The beginning of the position battles, fan battles over projections, the studying of draft […]
What Dave Dombroski Needs to do to Fix the Boston Red Sox
Ben Cherington had a heck of a ride as GM of the Boston Red Sox. He came into an organization that was in shambles in 2011, acquiesced when ownership insisted on hiring Bobby Valentine to replace fired manager Terry Francona, booted Valentine after a horrific 2012 season, set out to rebuild the team in 2013, […]
An Umpire’s Perspective on a Batter’s Approach at the Plate
When I was younger I had a great eye for pitches thrown for balls & strikes. I almost never got called out on strikes, but over the last few seasons (not last year, but the prior four and over 20 years later) in my over 30 baseball league I have been called out on pitches thrown […]
July Reflections on the Cleveland Indians
What makes this year’s version of the Cleveland Indians different from those the past few years? They seem to have more staying power. Well, that remains to be seen, but at least they have the power to come back after getting knocked down. During the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the Indians shot out of the […]
What the Kevin Youkilis Trade Means to the White Sox
It is hard to imagine who would be playing third base for the Chicago White Sox right now had general manager Kenny Williams not gone out and gotten proven veteran Kevin Youkilis. Would Omar Vizquel be back in black by now? The Sox started out the season ready to give Brent Morel time to grow […]
Midseason Pythagorean Projections
In the midst of the muggy swelter of July, it’s not just baseball aficionados who look forward to the crisp, cool days of October. But with twice as many wild cards this year, fully one third of all major league teams will be suiting up when the season ends, giving fans an additional reason to […]
Reflections On The Twins: From Bad To Worse
I am going to drop some numbers on you today to expand your understanding of how bad this team is right now. .250, that is the winning percentage of the Twins, which is tied for the 5th worst all time and the worst in the modern 162 game season. 40, games that they are projected […]
Tigers win A.L. Central for First Time, Set Sights on Larger Goals
The second half of the Detroit Tigers season hasn’t gone like many anticipated. And that’s a good thing. For the first time since 1987, the Detroit Tigers are division winners. Exercising the Demons In order to win the division the Tigers needed to overcome some of the past that has haunted them. […]
Reflecting on Cleveland’s First Half
Well Tribe fans, have they made a believer out of you yet? As of this writing, the Indians are 43-37 and .5 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers for the lead in the American League Central. While it’s a far cry from the seven game lead they had just a month ago, the Indians are […]
Detroit Tigers Following the Same Path Again
The Detroit Tigers seem to find themselves in the same position every year. For four of the past five seasons they’ve entered June with an above .500 record and a few games up or behind in the AL Central. Halfway through the month they now find themselves tied with the Cleveland Indians in first. In […]
Book Review: Burying the Curse, By Terry Pluto
To many, Terry Pluto has been the most trusted voice of Cleveland sports over the past two decades. Through his tenure with the Akron Beacon Journal and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Pluto had readers waiting for the paper to get his specific view on whatever issue was going on at that time. Pluto has also […]
