Feathers Up Josh Tomlin continued the trend of Indians pitchers going 6+ innings today, only allowing 2 runs and earning the win. Only twice this season has an Indians pitcher thrown less than 6 innings, the last one being Mitch Talbot 10 games ago. Its a good week to be named Cabrera. Yesterday Asdrubal Cabrera knocked in 4 RBI and today Orlando Cabrera did. It kind of makes me wish they would re-sign Fernando Cabrera and see if he would play as well as the rest. Travis Hafner had another good day at the plate, getting 3 hits and scoring twice, as did Shin-Soo Choo and Matt LaPorta. Hopefully this will be a continuing trend for Choo and LaPorta and they can join the already hot Hafner, Cabrera, Cabrera and Brantley. Feathers Down The defense was a little sloppy today, a step down from what has been stupendous play to this point in the season. Josh Tomlin made his second error of the season and both Jack Hannahan and Michael Brantley had plays that could have been done a little better. Hannahan to hurried a throw second on an attempted double play and the ball short-hopped Orlando Cabrera while if Michael Brantley had played a fly ball to center a little better, the Indians may have been able to either tag out a runner trying for a triple or may have been able to keep him from running to third at all. It has been a really long time since Carlos Santana has had a hit. The last one I remember was 'Smooth' and that came out in 1999. Come on Carlos, give us something new. Final Score: Cleveland Indians 8 runs on 13 hits (1E), Baltimore Orange Birds 3 runs on 10 hits (1E). Indians remain in first place and look to sweep tomorrow afternoon. no comments

A day after Asdrubal Cabrera knocked in 4 runs, Orlando Cabrera matched that and raised him 3 Runs scored to win the 'Player of the Game' against the Orioles. O. Cabrera knocked in those four runs on a fielder's choice, a single and a 2 run home run. His final 'POG' score was 8.95 for his second 'Player of the Game' of 2011. Shin-Soo Choo, Matt LaPorta and Travis Buck also had scores of over 3.00. Buck's score of 3.33 was the highest by any Indians left fielder this season, and it came in, what could be, his last game on the Indians for awhile as Grady Sizemore is scheduled to come back soon and will probably take his spot. The final team 'POG' score was 24.60, leading to another Cleveland Indians win. no comments

Feathers Up Justin Masterson pitched another solid game and was supported well by his defense, who continue to be one of the best in the league. The hits were in large supply tonight, as the Indians had 9 singles, 1 double, 1 triple and 1 home run. Even more impressive was their scoring of 9 runs with only 3 extra-base hits. Shin-Soo Choo looks to be coming out of his slump after gathering another 2 hits (one of those being a double) and 1 more RBI. His batting average now stands at .224 and is steadily climbing. Feathers Down Joe Smith looked a little shaky in his first relief appearance since coming back from the disabled list. However, this was the perfect game to do that in, because the outcome was never in doubt after Masterson came out of the game. Asdrubal Cabrera was called out for tagging up too early on Travis Hafner's sacrifice fly. Cabrera had a great game, but you never want to give up outs. Indians stay in first place, Cleveland Indians 8, Baltimore Orioles 2 no comments

Justin Masterson pitched another great game, lowering his ERA to 1.33, and earning him his second 'Player of the Game' award of 2011. Masterson pitched 7 innings, striking out 3 and allowing only 4 singles, for the win. This all earned him a 'POG' score of 6.76. Asdrubal Cabrera came in second, earning a score of 5.41 by hitting two 2 run singles. The final team 'POG' score was 27.90, good for the Indians 9th win of the season. Final score Indians 8, Baltimore Orioles 2 no comments

Shin-Soo Choo barely edged out Michael Brantley to win his first 'Player of the Game' award of 2011. Choo had 2 RBI, a single, 2 steals and a walk earning a 'Player of the Game' score of 3.53. Brantley had 2 singles, a double and 1 RBI for a score of 3.25. As a group, the pitchers outdid the hitters again, all but one of whom scored a 'POG' score of over 1.00. Carlos Carrasco and Tony Sipp each scored over two. The only negative pitcher was also the lowest scorer of the game. Chad Durbin lost the game to the Angels in extra innings and earned a 'POG' score of -2.21. The final team 'POG' score was 12.36 in the loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Final: Cleveland Indians 3, LAA of A 4 no comments

Feathers Up Michael Brantley had a great day at the plate. He doubled in a run to bring the Tribe within 1 run in  the 5th and he singled in the 8th with no-body out to keep the inning alive in which the Tribe tied the game at 3. Shin-Soo Choo had 2 RBI, both on sacrifice outs. Feathers Down Numerous base-running mistakes by the Tribe really hurt them. Adam Everett was caught in a meaningless pickle between 3rd and home. Choo was caught trying to swipe 3rd base on a hit and run. Asdrubal Cabrera was caught halfway between throwing the ball and holding on to it, and let the ball slip away. Joe A. Coblitz better return from New Mexico, the Indians have lost 2 in a row since he left. What a loser. no comments

Fausto Carmona won 'Player of the Game' in his second straight start with the lowest winning score this season, 2.78. Carmona pitched 7.2 innings and only allowed two runs on two solo home runs against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Fausto struck out 6, walked three and took his second loss of the season, making him 0-2 on the year. Even though he has won two straight 'Player of the Game' awards, he still has a negative season total score of -2.70, because his first start was so horrendous. If he pitches well in his next start, he should be able to flip that score around. Every single other Indians player had a negative score for the game, except Frank Herrmann with a 0.75, for bailing out Carmona in the 8th, and Shin-Soo Choo with a 0.01. Choo had the only hit of the game for the Tribe, but also struck out in a 1-4 effort at the plate. As you could imagine, the total team score was the lowest of the year, at just 1.35 'POG' points. If it wasn't for Fausto Carmona's tremendous effort on the mound, the score would have been well into the negatives. Indians 0, Angels 2 no comments

Feathers Up Fausto Carmona has certainly rebounded since his disastrous opening day start against the White Sox.  Although he did have 3 walks, holding an American League team to 2 runs an outing is encouraging. Jack Hannahan continues to play a formidable 3rd base. He was able to work the count in the 3rd to force a walk off of Dan Haren. It was the first time in 63 innings that the Tribe has not had the lead in a game. This could be a feathers down just as much as it is a feathers up, but considering the external expectations of the team going into the season, this is a plus. Feathers Down The offense just could not get anything going all game. Haren faced 30 batters and threw a complete game. no comments

Feathers Up Asdrubal Cabrera, fresh off his player of the week award, continued to play Babe Ruth and hit a first inning home-run. It isn't just the fact that he is hitting very well, but that he is doing it early on in the ballgame when there are, on average, higher leveraged situations. In such a case, he has been "Mr. Clutch" in a sense. Matt LaPorta's 3-run home run in the 2nd inning essentially put the nail in the coffin on the Angels evening... I am happy to see Matt hitting the ball well. If he hits to his potential this year... what a middle of the order we have! Not only was Mitch Talbot very effective tonight, he was also efficient. He faced 30 batters and threw 112 pitches. Every team in the AL Central lost today... KC did not play. Feathers Down I did not get to see Chris Perez's awesome beard. no comments

Mitch Talbot took the 'Player of the Game' award home for his effort against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Talbot pitched 8 shut-out innings and started the ninth, only to be taken out after the first batter doubled. Before that hit, Talbot had only allowed 4 hits, all singles and 2 walks. Talbot struck out 4 and secured a win giving him a 'Player of the Game' score of 8.61, a new single game high for the Indians in 2011. It was Mitch Talbot's first award this year, in just his second game played. Matt LaPorta took second place in 'POG' scoring, by hitting a three-run home run in his first at bat. Matt lost some points after that by making a poor defensive play and getting out in his last two at bats, once with a runner in scoring position, but he still earned a score of 5.44. The final team 'POG' score was 20.30, good for the Cleveland Indians 8th win in a row. Indians 4, Angels 0 no comments