With his next at bat, Jim Thome will begin his 13th season as a Cleveland Indian. Only 7 players have played more seasons than him, the most recent of which was Jim Hegan, who ended his 17 year tenure as an Indian in 1957. While he didn't leave on the greatest terms after the 2002 season, his accomplishments during his first 12 seasons with the Tribe far outweigh the negatives. Those accomplishments include the all time Indians records for home runs (334) and walks (997) as well as 3 all star appearances and a silver slugger. Bringing a player back from a long absence is nothing new for the Indians, who most recently brought back Thome's teammate Kenny Lofton for the 2007 playoff run. The most famous return was that of Rocky Colavito in 1965 after being traded to Detroit, but many others have come back to welcome receptions including Julio Franco, Doug Jones and Jim Perry.

This year, Thome can't be expected to near his past totals of home runs (37,49 and 52 in his last three seasons with the Indians), his power bat will be a huge improvement over Shelley Duncan and a suitable replacement for Travis Hafner, who now will not be missed as sorely if he truly does need surgery. I will be happy as long as he hits a couple more THome runs to increase his team record and continues the rate stats he had going with Minnesota (.248/.357/.385). Truthfully, all he needs to do to make me happy is to retire with a Cleveland Indians jersey on his back and go into the Hall of Fame with Chief Wahoo on his hat. Welcome back, Jimmy!

I've had this file saved on my computer for over a decade, glad I can finally use it for something.

The Indians and Jim Thome will not joining forces this season as the Chicago White Sox have made a claim on both Thome and Jason Kubel. It is still unknown whether the Twins will actually release Thome to the Sox, or decide to keep him, but the Jim Thome will not be an Indian in 2011. There ends another Indians dream.

*Edit: There are now conflicting reports that the Indians have also claimed Thome and that the White Sox may have just claimed Kubel. Since waiver news is supposed to be secret, there will be no official reports until an actual trade is made. There is also a rumor that Thome wants to return to Philadelphia and will use his no trade clause to avoid any other team. 

Roster Moves: Cord Phelps was promoted for Zach McAllister before today's game. Luis Valbuena previously been sent down to make room for Zach McAllister.

Player of the Game

Shelley Duncan went 3-5, all singles, with an RBI, knocking in half the Indians run to win his 5th 'Player of the Game' of the season. Duncan wasn't even scheduled to start the game, but was added minutes before the game started to replace Shin-Soo Choo. This game was even better for Duncan as he didn't look like an oaf while playing left field, like he does from time to time. Duncan's final score was 2.15, 0.77 points less than his score in last night's game. Duncan has played well in his two games back from his last trip to AAA and will probably remain on the team for the rest of the season as a pinch hitter/DH.

Feathers Up

After Felix Hernandez had effectively shut down Indians hitting the first time through the lineup, striking out the last 4 batters, Ezequiel Carrera lead off the third inning with a bunt back to the pitcher. Hernandez was not prepared for it and had to dive with Carrera ending up safe at first. Zeke then stole second and scored on Shelley Duncan's single. This was the best thing I saw in the game. When a pitcher is absolutely dominating, sometimes you have to try something different, especially when you know you don't have a chance against him.

It's irrelevant whether the Tigers win or lose if the Indians can't win anyway, so we can stop scoreboard watching. Losing 3 out of 4 against one of the worst teams in baseball is inexcusable.

Feathers Down

Shin-Soo Choo was held out of today's game after he hurt his side while stretching before the game. This sounds a lot like what knocked out Jason Kipnis. Maybe the Indians need to hire a yoga master to introduce some flexibility on the team. Michael Brantley is also day-to-day again with his wrist problem. So far Brantley has missed 8 games over the last 20 due to this injury, but has avoided the disabled list. At least when he is still on the roster he can pinch run and the Indians will have plenty of outfielders when Grady Sizemore returns and September 1st rolls around.

Maybe giving Asdrubal Cabrera a day off isn't a great idea when 2 of your best players are already out of the lineup with day-to-day injuries and Felix Hernandez is pitching for the opposition.

Josh Tomlin pitched 4.2 innings to successfully end his Major League record 37 game streak of pitching at least 5 innings each game to start a career. At first he looked like he has all season, giving up only a home run to Wily Mo Pena over the first 4 innings. Once the 5th inning started, he just lost it, allowing 4 more runs on 5 hits.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Seattle Mariners 9

Player of the Game

The player of the day was Shin-Soo Choo who, in his return to the lineup had a double, triple and 2 home runs between the two games. Choo knocked in 5 and scored twice, also walking twice on the night. There is no question now that Choo is the best hitter on the Indians now, as he should have been all season. He scored 5.50 'POG' points in game two of today's double header (2 more points than anyone else on the team) for 11.80 points on the day. Choo has averaged 2.27 points per game since his return from the disabled list, more than a full point over his season average.

Feathers Up

Kosuke Fukudome went yard for his first time in an Indians uniform. Fukudome hit a solo shot down the right field line in the bottom of the second inning to give the Indians an early 1-0 advantage.

Jack Hannahan showed off his defensive skills tonight with a few great plays. He stretched over the Tribe dugout for an out in the first inning and made an outstanding throw in the sixth to gun down Wily Mo Pena at first. Along with his defense, Jack hit singles in each of his last 4 at bats, including an opposite field drive in the 9th inning.

The Indians offense battled hard the entire game, depite being down by 8 runs at one point. They scored in 4 of the first 6 innings.

Feathers Down

The third inning was very rocky tonight. Seattle scored 5 earned runs on 4 hits, and absolutely pounded Zach McAllister. Ezquiel Carrera bobbled a ball that allowed Ichiro Suzuki to score on a Frankin Guitierrez double, but that error did not make a difference as Mike Carp homered later in the inning. The fourth inning wasn't any better for McAllister. He allowed 3 more earned runs and only got one out before the bullpen had to take over. Two unearned runs scored on a dropped ball by center fielder Kosuke Fukodome. After the top of the fourth inning, the Indians were down 10-2.

Finals Score: Seattle Mariners 12 - Cleveland Indians 7

Player of The Game

With a walk-off 3-run home run to the bleachers, Shin-Soo Choo took Game 1 Player of the Game honors. His score of 6.30 included his home run, a double, and a great defensive play. This is Choo's 6th award of the year, his second in the last 4 games. Kosuke Fukodome came in second with a score of 4.39.

Feathers Up

Shin-Soo Choo and Shelley Duncan are back with the team. It is nice to have these guys back, especially with the double header today.

Justin Masterson came to the bullpen's rescue today. The bullpen has been pitching a lot of innings the past few games. Masterson nearly pitched a complete game today,pitching 8.1 innings.

The defense was solid today, with a few good plays by Masterson and Choo. It is a lot easier to stay in the game or maintain the lead when the opposing team has to earn all of their runs.

The Indians tore the ball apart today with 12 hits, 7 of which were doubles. Kosuke Fukudome had a very solid day at the plate, providing the offense the Indians needed to win. Fukudome had a single, 2 doubles, an RBI, and scored two runs, allowing the Indians to squeak by with the win.

Walk-off home run, enough said.

The Indians snapped their 4 game losing streak. If they win tonight, they are guaranteed to gain at least a half game on the Tigers, even if Detroit wins. Hopefully this win is just what the Indians need to get back into the playoff race.

Feathers Down

Chris Perez has had a difficult time closing lately. With one out in the 9th inning, he gave up a 2-run double to the first batter he faced, giving Seattle a 5-4 advantage. On a positive note, the Indians did come back in the bottom of the 9th and Chris Perez ended up with the win.

Final Score: Seattle Mariners 5 - Cleveland Indians 7

Player of the Game

Fausto Carmona came through big in his second straight start, pitching 6 strong innings while only allowing one earned run. He only gave up 6 hits and struck out 6 with the only run coming off a home run by Ichiro Suzuki to lead off the game. Carmona is one of the most important peices of this team if the Indians are still going to try to make it to the playoffs.

Feathers Up

I got nothing. Carmona was ok, but not great. The defense wasn't good. The offense was terrible. The Indians lost another game in the standings to Detroit while playing one of the worst teams in the Majors. Finally, the majority of the starting lineup is now out with either their own medical situation or someone close to them. Where is Trevor Crowe? Give me more Crowe.

Feathers Down

Shin-Soo Choo was missing from tonight's game to be at the birth of his child. You would think his wife would understand that he is in the middle of a divisional race and can't be bothered with little things like babies. To make matters worse, he left so abruptly that the Indians weren't able to call up a replacement and had to play tonight's game with 24 men. With Choo missing along with Shelley Duncan and Travis Hafner, the Indians showed a definite drop in offensive production.

These wild and crazy pitchers have to get things under control. Between Fausto Carmona and Chris Perez, 4 Seattle batters were hit by pitches, two of whom came around to score. Both of these runs were unearned, one because of a wild throw by catcher, Lou Marson, the other because of a stupid error by Perez, who was trying to get the runner out at third on a sacrifice bunt.

Here's something I don't understand about Manny Acta. If Jason Donald wasn't even good enough to be on the team for the majority of the season (meaning he was worse than Adam Everett, Austin Kearns, etc) then why is he all of a sudden hitting higher in the lineup than Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana and Kosuke Fukudome? Just because the normal number 2 hitter (Jason Kipnis) is out, doesn't mean you need to let his replacement hit second. The higher in the lineup you bat, the more at bats you get. Who wants to see Jason Donald go 0-4 while batting second? This is an ongoing discussion I've been having all year, just with different players each time.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Seattle Mariners 3

Travis Hafner has been moved to the 15 Day DL for the injury to his foot. Pronk fouled to balls off his right foot before stumbling around first base and limping off the field. He has dealt with an injury like this through most of this season, but he is unaware if it is the same injury. At the same time Shelley Duncan (and his father, Dave Duncan of the St. Louis Cardinals) have taken family emergency as Shelley's mother goes through a serious surgical procedure. These tragedies have left the Indians without a designated hitter for the time being, with Matt LaPorta taking Hafner's spot in tonight's game.

While this may seem like a serious blow for the Indians, it may be a blessing in disguise. It has been reported that the Minnesota Twins have placed Jim Thome on waivers and the Indians are in a decent position to claim him. There are only 6 teams above the Indians on the waiver wire (Baltimore, Kansas City, Seattle, Minnesota, Oakland and Chicago) and none of them are contenders with the exception of the Chicago White Sox. If Thome makes it past the Sox, I can't see any chance of the Indians not claiming him. He would be the perfect fit as the Indians only need a DH and it would allow him to retire as an Indian (he already said he would likely retire after hitting 600 home runs). While Thome has a full no trade clause, he would probably waive it to play with his old team for one last chance at a championship. The White Sox do look like a real problem however as they would love to have a real power hitter to replace Adam Dunn. They could also claim him just so the Indians won't have a chance to. Thome is also likely to be willing to for the Sox as he is from Illinois and has played for them in the past.

If he does come back it would be reminiscent of 2007, when Kenny Lofton came back to the Indians to end his career. I would love nothing more than to see Thome back in an Indians jersey one last time and maybe add a couple more home runs to his already prodigious team record.

Summary:

The Mariners come into Cleveland having lost five straight. They're hitting only .180 (23-for-128) against the Tribe. Vargas, who has thrown three shutouts this year, is 0-1 against the Indians. The Tribe is coming off a 2-4 trip against Chicago and Detroit. They are playing the Mariners for the first time since May, have outscored them, 25-12. Shin-Soo Choo is hitting .400 (6-for-15) against his former team. Tomlin and Masterson are each 1-0 against Seattle.

Pitching Matchups:

LHP Jason Vargas (7-11, 4.37) vs. RHP Fausto Carmona (6-12, 4.89) Monday at 7:05

RHP Blake Beavan (3-4, 4.10) vs. RHP Justin Masterson (10-7, 2.71) Tuesday at 1:05 p.m.

Zach McAllister vs. Anthony Vazquez Tuesday, 7:05 p.m.

RHP Felix Hernandez (11-11, 3.38) vs. RHP Josh Tomlin (12-6, 4.03), Wednesday at 12:05 p.m.

Mariners Medical Watch:

• SS Brendan Ryan (sprained left shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 4. He still had a limited range of motion as of Aug. 15. He was activated Aug. 19 but wasn't 100 percent healthy. Wedge said Ryan is likely to return to the starting lineup tonight.

• SS Luis Rodriguez (left elbow contusion) was listed as day-to-day after being hit by a pitch Aug. 21.

• 2B Jack Wilson (bruised left heel) was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 18..

• 1B Justin Smoak (broken nose) went on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 13. He could be back as soon as he is eligible on Aug. 28.

• 3B Chone Figgins (strained right hip flexor) went on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 2. He was expected to start doing baseball-specific work the week of Aug. 15-21, and he could be activated on Wednesday.

• C Chris Gimenez (strained left oblique) went on the 15-day disabled list June 29, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 3. He began a rehabilitation assignment with Class AAA Tacoma on Aug. 12.

• C Adam Moore (torn meniscus in right knee) went on the 60-day disabled list retroactive to April 7. He had surgery April 12. He resumed playing catch June 13. He was taking on-field batting practice in early August, and he hopes to play once the roster expands in September. Moore was doing regular rehab work at the minor league facility in Arizona.

• RHP David Aardsma (left hip surgery in January 2011) had a torn labrum repaired, and the damage was more extensive than expected. He went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. Aardsma began a rehab assignment with Class AAA Tacoma on April 19, and he made five rehab appearances through April 29. In that last outing, he sprained a ligament in his right elbow. He resumed throwing June 13, the same day he was transferred to the 60-day DL, but he was subsequently shut down again. He underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery July 22.

Mariners News/Notes:

• RHP Jamey Wright came into Sunday with a scoreless streak that has reached 11-1/3 innings. It's the third-longest active streak among AL relievers. But asked to hold a two-run lead, he gave up a double and three walks to the five batters he faced and was charged with four runs and a blown save.

• 3B Kyle Seager got his first start of the season at second base Friday, was forced to play shortstop for the first time as a pro in an emergency situation Saturday, then started at short Sunday.

• 1B Mike Carp extended his current major league-best hitting streak to 20 games with a double Sunday. It's the longest streak for a Seattle rookie since RF Ichiro Suzuki had streaks of 21 and 23 games in his debut season back in 2001.

• SS Brendan Ryan, activated Friday from the disabled list (shoulder sprain), still isn't 100 percent healthy, but Wedge said Ryan is likely to return to the starting lineup tonight.

• SS Luis Rodriguez is listed as day-to-day after being hit by a pitch on his left elbow Saturday. He tried to stay in the game, but had to be lifted with an elbow contusion.

• CF Franklin Gutierrez comes into a four-game series in Cleveland this week averaging .308 (16-for-52) in his last 13 games, raising his average from .194 to .216. In the streak, he has scored six runs and hit four doubles.

• RHP Michael Pineda's strikeout rate is the best for any American League pitcher dating back to 1955. With five strikeouts in six innings Sunday, he has struck out 9.06 batters per nine innings, the most for an AL rookie since Herb Score averaged 9.70. The rookie record is held by Kerry Wood of the Cubs (12.58 in 1998).

• DH Wily Mo Pena hit his first homer in a Seattle uniform, a game-tying two-run shot in the eighth inning Sunday. Combined between Arizona and Seattle, Pena is 13-for-62 (.210) this year and six of the 13 hits have been homers.

Former Tribe skipper Eric Wedge makes his second return to Cleveland.

Player of the Game

Carlos Santana is your 'Player of the Game' for hitting a solo home run when the Indians were down by 7 that started a huge Indians rally. Santana later walked and scored another run, earning a final 'POG' score of 3.75. Ubaldo Jimenez hit a new personal low in his 4th game with the Tribe, scoring a -9.47 as he allowed 8 earned runs in 3.1 innings.

Feathers Up

Carlos Santana has finally started to turn things around, to the point where other teams now legitimately fear him as a power threat. During April, Santana hit .198 and slugged .395. It took a long time to even out those numbers, but Santana's hot hitting of late has brought him up to a batting average of .242 and a slugging percent of .440. While these are by no means elite numbers, the do show a marked improvement on his early season performance. The Indians catcher/firstbaseman now has 19 home runs and 61 RBI, second to only Asdrubal Cabrera for best on the Indians.

Jim Leyland and Manny Acta showed they have extremely different managing styles today, as both were put in similar positions at times during today's game. While Ubaldo Jimenez struggled through 3 innings, Manny let him try to work it out, probably leaving him in there too long as he stayed in until he gave up 8 runs. In the other dugout, Leyland pulled Tigers starter Rick Porcello after just 5 runs scored against him, even though he was lights out for the first couple innings. Later in the game, when Manny didn't like a call at second, he came out to stand up for Asdrubal Cabrera, but didn't argue and sat back down without a fight. A few innings after that a call went the Indians way as Lou Marson through out a runner at third on an attempted sac bunt. Leyland came out flaming and was tossed within seconds. This made it so he was unable to manage the last 3 innings of a one run ball game. One point goes to Leyland for pulling his pitcher before he blew up the whole game, but the second point goes to Manny for actually being able to see how the game ended.

Feathers Down

Travis Hafner more severely injured his right foot today as he was trying to run out a double late in the game. His foot had been bothering him, but not enough to miss time. With how badly he was limping it would be a surprise to see Pronk in the lineup tomorrow. To make it worse, Hafner was tagged out retreating to first after the injury.

Ubaldo Jimenez was brought in to beat the Tigers more than any other team, and he was destroyed by the Tigers worse than just about any Indians pitcher this season. With 6 games still to play against the Motor City Kitties, Ubaldo better figure something out. The only way the Indians can make the playoffs now is by beating Detroit.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 7 - Detroit Tigers 8

Player of the Game

Shin-Soo Choo won his 5th Player of the Game award tonight. Because of his time on the disabled list, this is the first time he has won since May 20. Choo was a big contribution to what little offense the Indians had tonight. Choo had 2 singles and a solo home run, giving him a PoG score of 3.79. 

Feathers Up

Chad Durbin did a great job in long relief tonight. Durbin pitched 2.2 innings, going longer than starter David Huff. Durbin allowed one of Huff’s base runners to score and 2 unearned runs scored after a Michael Brantley error. Overall, Durbin pitched well tonight. 

Feathers Down

The Indians fell behind early tonight. In the first inning, David Huff gave up a couple of hits, two walks, and a sacrifice fly to the top of the Tigers lineup, giving Detroit a 2-0 advantage. Huff ended the first inning with 34 pitched thrown, one-third of what an average starter will pitch in 6-7 innings. The second inning wasn’t any better for Huff. He gave up two more runs, giving Detroit a 4-0 advantage after just 2 innings. Huff only pitched 2.1 innings before the Indians bullpen took over.

After a great defensive game last night, left fielder Michael Brantley had a costly mistake tonight. He appeared to be distracted by the base runner on 3rd, Victor Martinez, who had gone back to the base to tag up, and dropped a routine fly ball, which lead to 2 unearned runs.

This is a critical series for the Indians, as they battle the Tigers for first place in the Central Division. The Indians must win tomorrow to avoid the sweep if they want to stay close to the Tigers atop the Division standings. After the loss tonight, the Indians are 3.5 games out of first place.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 - Detroit Tigers 10

Roster move: Shelley Duncan was placed on the Family Medical Emergency list, so the Indians called up Ezequiel Carrera from AAA Columbus.