Meet the Indians

The Yankees and Indians met just 6 times this year, one series at each home ball park. So now its time break down the AL Central title holders, the Cleveland Indians. Today will start out with the position players.

DH - Travis Hafner
The man they call "Pronk" had an off-year by his standards, but by driving in 23 runs in September, he finished with 100 RBI for the 4th straight year. His home run total of 24 was the lowest since he began playing full-time, as was his .266 average.

vs. Yankees pitching

Wang: 1-6 with 3 walks
Clemens: 0-3
Mussina: 1-10 w/4 walks, 1 RBI
Hafner has not faced Pettitte or Hughes
Farnsworth: 1 walk
Rivera: 0-4
Vizcaino 3 walks
Villone: 0-5

C - Victor Martinez
V-Mart put up MVP numbers in the 1st half, hitting .324-16-68. He slumped to .273-9-46 after the All-Star break, but still set career marks in HR and RBI as well as finishing with a .301 average. He's work at his defense, fielding a .995 percentage, but is not good at throwing out would-be base stealers.

vs. Yankees pitching

Wang: 2-9 w/ 2 RBI
Pettitte: 2-6
Clemens: 0-2
Mussina: 2-19
Hughes: 1-3
Farnsworth: 0-2
Rivera: 2-7 w/1 RBI
Vizcaino: 5-5
Villone: 3-5

1B - Ryan Garko
Garko did a fine job in his 1st full season as the Tribe's 1st Baseman. He put up .289-21-61 with 29 doubles in 484 at-bats. Is still prone to strikeout as evidenced by his season total of 94.

vs. Yankees pitching

Pettitte: 1-3
Mussina: 1-3
Hughes: 0-2
Garko hasn't faced Wang or Clemens
Rivera: 0-1
Vizcaino: 0-2

2B - Asdrubal Cabrera
The Indians disappointment with Josh Barfield gave Cabrera a chance to win the 2nd Base job and he jumped all over it. The 21-year old hit .283-3-22 in 159 at-bats, with 17 walks and 30 runs scored. Only hit .250 at his home park.


vs. Yankees pitching

Pettitte: 1-3
Mussina: 1-1
Rivera: 0-1
Villone: 0-1

SS Jhonny Peralta
The Tribe's shortstop, who is still only 25, bounced back from a mediocre '06 campaign to hit .270-21-72, 82 runs scored. But 14 HRs and 50 RBI came before the All-Star break. He's also struggled on the road, hitting just .243.

vs. Yankees pitching

Wang: 2-6, 1 RBI
Pettitte: 2-5, 2 RBI
Clemens: 0-5
Mussina: 6-17, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Hughes: 1-3
Farnsworth: 0-2
Rivera: 1-5
Vizcaino: 0-3
Britton: 1-4
Villone: 0-1

3B/OF Casey Blake
The under appreciated veteran has average 21 HR and 72 RBI over the last 5 years. He hit a pair of walk-off HRs, 2 of only 4 he hit in the 2nd half, down the stretch to help the Indians nab the AL Central title. His 14 errors at 3B was the 3rd highest total of his career.

vs. Yankees pitching

Wang: 1-3
Pettitte: 1-5
Clemens: 3-9
Mussina: 6-15, 1 RBI
Hughes: 0-2
Farnsworth: 0-2
Rivera: 1-4, 1 RBI
Chamberlain: 0-1
Vizcaino: 3-7, 2 RBI
Britton: 1-3
Villone: 1-2
Rivera: 0-1

LF Kenny Lofton
The former Yankee split the season between Texas and Cleveland. This is his 3rd stint with the Tribe, with whom he had his most success in the '90s. The 40-year old hit .296-7-38 with 23 steals and 86 runs scored.

vs. Yankees pitching

Wang: 1-3
Pettitte: 4-29
Clemens: 14-62 (.226), 10 BB/19 K
Mussina: 14-54 (.259), 2 HR, 6 RBI
Hughes: 1-5
Farnsworth: 2-2
Rivera: 1-10
Vizcaino: 1-4
Chamberlain: 0-1
Villone: 4-8, 3 BB

CF Grady Sizmore
The 25-year old's game is still blossoming as he nears elite status (we disagree with those who say he is already there). Hit .277-24-78 in the lead off spot. Also walked 101 times, but did strike out 155. Stole 33 bases in 43 attempts. Has made just 9 errors in his 4 seasons. Keeping him off the bases is the key for the Yankees pitchers.

vs. Yankees pitching

Wang: 3-9, 1 HR
Pettitte: 1-3
Mussina: 2-15, 6 K
Hughes: 0-3
Farnsworth: 2-4
Rivera: 0-4
Vizcaino: 2-5, 2 RBI
Chamberlain: 0-1
Villone: 2-4
Britton: 1-2

RF Franklin Guitierrez (added 10/4)
The one-time Dodgers phenom is still only 24-years old and had a chance to make an impact for the Indians this year. Hit .266-13-36 in 271 ABs. High strikeout ratio - 77 Ks. Is getting the nod over Nixon in game 1 and since Pettitte is going in game 2, probably then too.

vs Yankees pitching

Wang: 1-3
Pettitte: 1-3
Mussina: 0-3
Rivera: 1-1, 1 RBI

RF Trot Nixon
The long time former Red Sox outfielder hit .251-3-31 in 99 games. Went 10-43 with no HR or RBI in August and September.


vs. Yankees pitching

Wang: 1-13
Pettitte: 1-9
Clemens: .371-3-10 - but this is not your father's Nixon
Mussina: .289-3-12 see above
Hughes: 0-2
Farnsworth: 0-2
Rivera: 3-17
Vizcaino: 0-2
Chamberlain: 0-1
Villone: 1-4

Bench:

Backup catcher Kelly Shoppach, the one time Peter Gammons' highly touted Red Sox prospect, had a fine season backing up Martinez. He hit .261-7-30 in 161 at-bats. His HRs and RBI before and after the break were about the same, but he hit .330 and .178 before and after the break. As we mentioned earlier, Josh Barfield played himself out of the starting 2B job by hitting just .243 with 90 strikeouts, and a .270 on base percentage.

(Added 10/4)
Jason Michaels and Chris Gomez round out the bench.

photos courtesy of AP and mlb.com

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No Sleep 'til Cleveland

Actually get all the sleep you can, because you know how late those playoff games run. Once again, anyone who would like to smash Dane Cook's unfunny head in, be my guest. His hiring to do promos for MLB is only the 2nd most inexplicable thing concerning him - the 1st is people thinking he's funny.

But lets get back to the important stuff. It's October, post-season baseball. There's a chill in the air and excitement that is unmatched. Here is how the ALDS schedule pans out:

Thursday, 6:30: Chien-Ming Wang (19-7, 3.70) vs. C.C. Sabathia (19-7, 3.21)

Friday, 5:00: Andy Pettitte (15-9, 4.05) vs. Fausto Carmona (19-8, 3.06)

Sunday, 6:30: Jake Westbrook (6-9, 4.32) vs. Roger Clemens (6-6, 4.18)

Monday, 6:00 (if necessary)
Wednesday, 5:00 (if necessary)

All games are on TBS, and as you can see NO games are in prime time. Is this a slap in the face to the Yankees. Um, yeah...actually probably more to the Indians, but a slap nonetheless.

The Yankees and Indians have met in the post-season in 1997 and 1998. The former being the last time the Yankees served as the Wild Card rep. It was also the year that made Mariano Rivera tougher. He served up the game tying HR to Sandy Alomar Jr. in game 4 and the Yankees were eliminated in 5 games.

The Yankees trailed the Indians 2 games to 1 in the 1998 ALCS (thanks in part to Chuck Knoblauch's brain cramp), but a poised rookie, who goes by the name of El Duque, beat the Tribe in Cleveland and the Yankees went on to capture the series, and eventually, their 24th world championship.

The teams met 6 times this year and the Yankees took a clean sweep. There was the incredible comeback in April, when A-Rod capped off a wild 9th inning rally with a walk-off home run. The Yankees have always had great success at The Jake (which soon will have corporate sponsorship). This past August they took the 3 games by a 22-6 combined score.

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