Roster Update: The Indians set-up man is back after spending his minimum of 11 games on the DL. To make room for Vinnie Pestano, the Indians have demoted Nick Hagadone for the third time this year. If this continues, Hagadone will be nicknamed the Herrmann of 2013.

Player of the Game

Tonight, the hero and the Player of the Game are one in the same as Jason Kipnis hit the home run that ended the game (even though a single would have done it). Kipnis also walked and singled earlier in the game as he reached base in four of his five at bats. This is his second POG in a row as he scored 5.76 points for tonight's effort.

Feathers Up

Seeing the Mariners play the Indians is always a good time. You always get to see a fair amount of players on one team that played (or managed) for the other. They also have been competitive with each other since at least the early 1990's, providing some of the greatest match-ups in recent history. Tonight was no different as the two teams took a tie game into the tenth inning before the Indians won in walk off fashion.

What Mark Reynolds couldn't do, Carlos Santana took care of himself. With Santana at third and one out in the second, Reynolds grounded out to short with the infield pulled in. Still at third, Santana then scored on a wild pitch by Brandon Maurer to give the Tribe a 2-0 lead.

Ubaldo Jimenez did a great job throwing strikes tonight and has now been effective in four straight starts. Most impressively, and an effect of throwing strikes, is that he has struck out at least eight batters in each of his last three starts. Jimenez only allowed 7 hits, six of which were singles, only one of which ended up creating a run (thanks to Rich Hill).

Michael Bourn has found the perfect place to hit the ball, just to the right side of the pitcher. Twice tonight he was safe on an infield hit that rolled slowly toward the second baseman. The second single was necessary to set up Jason Kipnis' two out, game winning, walk off, three run home run.

Eric Wedge deserves a lot of credit for this Indians win as he removed Carter Capps, who had no problem mowing down Tribe hitters for an inning and a third. He replaced Capps with Lucas Luetge (who now has an ERA of 10.50) and Luetge walked Drew Stubbs and gave up the Michael Bourn single before losing the game on the Kipnis home run.

Feathers Down

The only non-single that Ubaldo gave up tonight was a monstrous jack hit by Kendrys Morales. The ball landed in Kendrysville (I think the Indians are renaming the mezzanine after whoever hit the last home run there) a place that no Indians hitter has reached yet this year.

Rich Hill had a fairly easy chance at a hold in the sixth inning, facing the left handed Raul Ibanez with no outs and a runner on. Hill threw a 0-1 curve ball that stayed very high in the strike zone which Ibanez deposited far into the right field seats. The blast tied the game and stole what could have been a win away from Ubaldo Jimenez, who was great.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 - Seattle Mariners 3

Seattle Mariners (19-21) Chance of Postseason Play: (19.8%) at Cleveland Indians (22-17) Chance of Postseason Play: (46.1%)
Series 14, Games 40, 41, 42 and 43.
Progressive Field: 0.905, Slight Pitchers Park.
Weather: Beautiful weather on the North coast this weekend! Especially for baseball.

Prediction: Indians split the series, 2-2.

There is a time for serious baseball analysis and there is a time for silliness. Now is that time.

For anyone who wants a poorly made Indians wallpaper for their computer, check out my Flickr account for the original.

The Cast:

Michael Bourn as the Flash - Signed for his tremendous speed, Bourn has already shown glimpses of it on the base paths and in the outfield. It is also rumored that his stint on the DL was actually because he was holding a race against LeBron James to find out who really is faster. 

Michael Brantley as the Amazing Spider Man - Wall climbing is just one of Brantley's Amazing abilities that also include diving catches in the outfield and fighting the Green Goblin.

Jason Kipnis as Iron Man - The most durable Indian, Kipnis is on the field every day no matter what. He uses his hand rockets to get that extra height when turning difficult double plays.

Nick Swisher as Nickelangelo - The original dude-bro, Nicky is way too cool to care about anything on or off the field. He actually lives in the sewers beneath Progressive Field and hangs out with a giant rat (brought with him from New York City).

Cody Allen as the Bullpen Boy Wonder - The youngest member of the Bullpen Mafia is quite a versatile little helper for Chris Perez and co. He is available for long relief or the one inning hold and is always there to save the day (or at least one time in Detroit).

Mark Reynolds as the God of Thunder - Reynolds swings a mean hammer as the most powerful member of the current Indians super team. Not only does Mjolnir put some thunder behind every swing, but his super cool, extra large helmet has really helped him add up those hit-by-pitches.

Ubaldo Jimenez as the Riddle - Who is the Riddle? No one really knows.

The Rage as the Hulk - You won't like him when he's angry and he's pretty much always angry. Sometimes he will blow away opposing hitters with an impressive fastball and slider combination while other times he will take the more simple route and just rip them in half.

Terry Francona as Professor F - The bald, parapalegic leader of the Super Tribe uses his psychic abilities to know exactly when the starting pitcher is out of gas and to create great team chemistry. Without him holding the reigns, there would be nothing to keep this group of Super-heroes together.

Player of the Game

Jason Kipnis came to mash today, with three extra base hits including the finishing blow to the Phillies, a monster three run home run in the 8th inning. He scored after each of his hits, giving him three runs and three RBI on the day. He walked once as well, adding up to a POG score of 8.64. It is his team leading, fifth award on the season and his fourth in the Indians past 12 games.

Feathers Up

With Trevor Bauer getting things under control and Brett Myers returning from the DL within the next week, the pressure has been put on Corey Kluber to keep his place on the roster. After three pretty good starts, Kluber was destroyed last week against Detroit. He made amends this week, stating his case in a great game against Philadelphia. Kluber threw six strong innings, allowing just three runs, all knocked in by Jimmy Rollins. While he may not have guaranteed himself another start, hopefully he will at least be kept on the roster as the long reliever.

With two outs and two on in the top of the second, Kluber came up to bat and didn't embarrass himself. In fact, he had a great at bat, taking a couple of very close pitches after he had two strikes and ripping a foul ball down the left field line. He ended the at bat with a line drive out to the gap in left-center that was close to being a two run double. All-in-all, most people would still have preferred to see any player on the Indians bench batting in that position.

The Indians have long been proponents of making the opposing pitchers work and today it worked out perfectly. Even though they only scored three runs by the fifth inning, they already forced Cole Hamels to throw more than 90 pitches. Obviously tiring, Hamels left a ball up against Nick Swisher, who deposited it in the left field seats for a two run home run. It also forced the Phillies to go their bullpen early in the game despite the fact that Hamels pitched better than average, allowing just six hits in his five innings.

Feathers Down

Mark Reynolds was favoring his left shoulder/elbow during the at bat in which he eventually doubled against Cole Hamels. Once he reached second he still appeared to be in some discomfort. He was removed from the game in the 7th after striking out as part of a double switch with no further mention of the possible injury. Reynolds remains the Indians top hitter and the Indians cannot afford to lose his presence.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 10 - Philadelphia Phillies 4

Player of the Game

Michael Brantley wins tonight Player of the Game as the only Indian player to provide any positive effort. His second inning 2 RBI single was the only run scoring play for the Indians in the game and an 8th inning assist saved the Tribe another run. Most impressive about his RBI single is that it came with two outs on an 0-2 count. This is made even more impressive by the fact that the Indians only had four more hits during the entire game.

Feathers Up

Playing with the archaic National League rules, the Indians were lucky to score in the second inning before the opportunity was ruined by the pitcher batting. With runners at second and third, Michael Brantley hit a two run single to give the Indians the lead. Had Brantley gotten out, the Phillies would have walked Drew Stubbs to get to pitcher, Scott Kazmir. This essentially removes not just the DH from the lineup, but also the number eight hitter.

Feathers Down

In two steps forward and one step back news today, Scott Kazmir. The Indians fifth starter looked nothing like his last start when he had pin-point control in his dismantling of the Athletics. In that start he walked none and struck out 10, but this time around he walked two and hit two more while striking out just three. Less apparent, but just as important, his inability to throw strikes lead to many long at bats and a high pitch count early in the game.

Mark Reynolds had a night to forget tonight in Philadelphia. He couldn't have had more chances to increase his team lead in RBI than he did today, as he came up with a runner at third in each of his first three at bats and each time flew out to shallow right. For the night, Reynolds stranded five runners in scoring position. His first at bat came with runners at second and third with no outs, the second with the bases loaded and two outs and the third with runners at first and third with one out.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Philadelphia Phillies 6

Overview:
The Indians head into Philadelphia as one of the hottest teams in baseball and are hoping to stay that way by repeating their most recent performances against the Phillies.
The Indians will seek their 14th win in 18 games in the opener of a two-game series Tuesday night. The Indians are visiting Philadelphia with four wins in their last five on the road and will try to add to that by repeating how they beat the Phillies earlier this season. They outscored the Phillies 20-2 and posted a 31-8 advantage in hits during a two-game home sweep April 30-May 1. The Phillies are hosting the Indians for the second time; a three-game sweep for the Phillies in the other visit on June 22-24, 2010.

Tuesday , May 14 7:05 EDT (STO) 
Scott Kazmir (L) (2-1, 4.87)  vs. Jonathan Pettibone (2-0, 3.63)

Pettibone gave up three runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Giants on Wednesday. On paper, it does not seem like an overwhelmingly impressive outing for Pettibone, who finished the day with just one strikeout while throwing 112 pitches. Considering the injuries to Roy Halladay and John Lannan as well as the limited number of viable alternatives in the upper levels of the Phillies' farm system, Pettibone could be in the rotation for the next several weeks.

The Phillies gave Pettibone a $500,000 signing bonus as a third-round pick in 2008 and sent him to the Gulf Coast League for one start. In 2009, Pettibone moved on to the New York-Penn League, where he tossed 35 1/3 innings with a 5.35 ERA as one of the younger players in the league. The Phillies continued to promote him a level at a time as he moved to Low-A in 2010 and put together his first truly successful season, posting a 3.49 ERA in 131 1/3 innings. Pettibone’s breakout campaign came when he tore through the High-A Florida State League in 2011 with a 2.96 ERA, less than a hit per inning, and better than a three-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio. Pettibone continued his success in 2012 with a strong showing in Double-A before a late-season promotion to Triple-A.

Once in Triple-A, Pettibone earned a 2.55 ERA across seven starts with the best strikeout rate of his career. Back in Triple-A to start the 2013 campaign, Pettibone has posted a 9.64 ERA in two starts. He was called up this month to replace the injured John Lannan in the starting rotation. Pettibone certainly isn’t a flashy pitcher, but he does plenty of things well enough to succeed in the majors. His above-average command allows his deep arsenal to play up across the board. He locates his hard sinking fastball well, as it sits in the 91-92 mph range and can touch 94 when he reaches back for more. He is very tall; his 6’6” frame and high three-quarters arm slot allow him to gain good leverage on his pitches. According to scouts, Pettibone added a cut fastball to his arsenal last season, and there were flashes of effectiveness, giving him a sharper, more consistent pitch with horizontal movement. His slider is a bit softer than his cutter but can still be an average offering at times. Pettibone’s best pitch is a plus changeup that has excellent deception and can miss bats when set up properly. He is capable of pitching backwards to keep hitters off balance but can also find success with more traditional sequences. Pettibone is an intelligent pitcher who gets the most out of his raw stuff and should be able to slot in as a number 4 starter on a good team over the long haul.

Wednesday, May 15 1:05 EDT (STO)
Corey Kluber  (2-2, 5.64) vs. Cole Hamels (L)  (1-5, 4.18)

Hamels took the loss at Arizona on Thursday, allowing two runs and six hits over six innings. He issued five walks and struck out three. Hamels seemed to be fortunate, considering he allowed 11 base-runners. He usually has excellent command, but the walks are starting to become a problem, with 11 free passes in his last three starts.Overall, it’s really just an issue with walks so far this season. His career BB% is 6.3% and in 2013, it’s 10.1%. He’s had two games where he really struggled to spot the ball, but other than that he’s been pretty much as advertised. In fact, if you look at his last six starts, he’s held opposing batters to a .186/.274/.331 slash line and posted a 2.41 ERA and a 22% strikeout rate. The walks are a concern, yes, but his other peripherals are right on target. He will be a guy the Indians will struggle with. 

Prediction: Both teams win one game and split the series. The Indians beat Pettibone on Tuesday evening.

Player of the Game

Indians starter Trevor Bauer won his second Player of the Game today after being on the roster for just four games this season. He threw 6.1 innings allowing no earned runs before a couple Yankees doubles chased him from the game. Nick Hagadone allowed the second of the runners to score giving Bauer two earned runs allowed in the end. He still earned a POG score of 2.87, the highest on the team.

Feathers Up

Two low scoring, fast games allowed the Indians to save their pitching staff and to get to Philadelphia as soon as possible on what was originally scheduled as a day off. The flexibility of the bullpen should allow Terry Francona to maneuver however he sees fit in the NL rules park. The games we so quick that the Indians and Yankees played two games before any other team even started one.

Trevor Bauer continues to improve in each start, setting a new season high in innings pitched today. While he did give up a run in the seventh after a couple of doubles, he only allowed five total hits and is starting to get his command under control. His two walks are a far cry from the 13 he walked across his first two Indians starts.

Feathers Down

Despite an early game that lasted just two and a half hours, the Yankees had enough time between games to add some pitching depth, sending Brennan Boesch back to AAA and bringing up Brett Marshall.

The Indians had some defensive issues for the first time in a long time in the first inning, when Carlos Santana botched an easy play to first to give Robinson Cano a single. He then over threw the pitcher allowing Jayson Nix to reach third. Nix then scored on an overthrow on an attempted double play by Mike Aviles. This unearned run was all the Yankees needed to win the game. Mark Reynolds added another error in the 7th inning that allowed another unearned run as well.

Nick Hagadone saw trouble in his second straight appearance. This time he came on with a runner on second and one out, but was only able to get out of the inning without damage. He allowed a walk, two singles and a double to give the Yankees a 6-0 lead.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 0 - New York Yankees 7

Roster Update: For today's double header, the Indians have brought up Trevor Bauer as their 26th man and he will be starting the second game. It will be Bauer's third start and just his third day on the roster this year. The Indians are being very frugal with his Major League time so they can keep him under team control as long as possible.

The Indians also made a huge move today, sending starting third baseman down to AAA after he had struggled early in the year. This makes the normal DH, Mark Reynolds, the starting third baseman and moves Jason Giambi to starting DH. Mike Aviles will likely move into a larger role in the lineup as well. Chisenhall will spend at least ten days in Columbus after which he can be reevaluated if the the Indians would like to bring him back. David Huff was recalled for Chisenhell, giving the Indians 6 starting pitchers and 8 relievers for today's games.

Player of the Game

Justin Masterson earned his nickname (Nasty Masty) today as he threw his best game so far this year and his second complete game shut out. Despite having an extra man in the bullpen, Masterson decided to go the distance himself, limiting the depleted Yankee lineup to just three infield hits and an opposite field seeing-eye single. He struck out a season high of 9 (2nd time) in addition to the season high of 9 innings (also 2nd time). Jason Kipnis deserves some credit as well for hitting a home run to give the Indians their only run of the game.

Feathers Up

The Indians are finishing up their opening series today with a very different look in the visitors dug out. In addition to their already expensive disabled list, the Yankees have since added Kevin Youkilis, Ivan Nova, Joba Chamberlain and Eduardo Nunoz to the DL. This has lead to what looks to be the least familiar Yankee lineup in over 20 years. The Tribe has also completely turned things since being swept by the Yankees in that shortened two game series. Since then, they have gone 17-10 after staring the year 3-5.

Justin Masterson held the Yankees to just three hits, all infield singles. The Yankees had trouble hitting anything solid against the Indians ace and all three were well placed slowly hit ground balls. He also had his strike out pitch working, throwing his fourth game this year with at least 7 innings pitched and 7 strike outs.

Milestone Updates: Jason Giambi is now 50th in Major League history with 1,515 strike outs.
Joe Smith is now tired for third all time in career holds as an Indian with Paul Shuey at 67.

Feathers Down

A bad call cost the Indians a run in the first inning, when Michael Bourn was called out trying to steal second. Jason Kipnis followed with a solo home run that should have given the Indians a two run lead.

Justin Masterson now has two complete game shut-outs this season and the Indians have scored a total of two runs during those two matches. Can a pitcher get some run support?

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 - New York Yankees 0

In 1904 George Stovall joined the Cleveland Blues and became the teams first long-term first baseman. Unlike the majority first baggers to follow him, Stovall was a defense first player, recording a career .986 fielding percent at first base. He lead the league in fielding percent  in 1910 and 1911 and ranked at least third from 1907 on. He also ranked first in assists from first base every year from 1909 through 1911.

Offensively, Stovall was subpar compared to both the players of his age (like Napoleon Lajoie and Elmer Flick) and the first basemen of the future, but he still contributed to the team for a lengthy career. During his eight years in Cleveland his most impressive stat was his 110 stolen bases. While caught stealing numbers are unavailable from that time period, the total steals still rank among the top 20 in Indians history. Despite little power, he still had over 200 extra base hits and knocked in and scored more than 375 runs. To this day he remains ranked in the top ten Indians first basemen.

At the end of his playing career his leadership ability was recognized and he became player/manager before being traded to the St. Louis Browns in 1912 for Lefty George. He continued managing every team he played for during his last four seasons with the Browns and Kansas City Packers (Federal League). As a Cleveland manager he ranks tenth all time among managers with at least 100 games under their belt. Stovall retired in 1915 after 12 years of professional baseball. George Stovall died in 1951 at the age of 73.

Player of the Game

Although he only had one plate appearance, Mark Reynolds is the player of the game. What was equally impressive about his at-bat was that he was in the hole 0-2, facing a very tough southpaw in Darin Downs and still came up with the game winning hit on a change-up.

Feathers Up

Two-out hits continue to be the main reason why the Indians are tied for first place in the division. They had two more this afternoon in high leverage situations in the ninth and tenth. Michael Brantley's at-bat in the top of the ninth was an excellent one. Known as a patient hitter, he certainly lived up to that reputation as he laid off two tough pitches on the outside part of the plate and shot the third pitch to left field to score the game-tying run. After recording only three saves in his short minor league career, Cody Allen earned his first Major League save, striking out the only batter he faced in the bottom of the tenth.

Feathers Down

The Indians are only tied for first place, not in sole possession.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 4 - Detroit Tigers 3