Cleveland Sports Forum

That's the NFL goal for all clubs to be .500 level, isn't it?

I listened to the end of the game in bed. Wasn't over until after 2 AM! Once I heard they had put Mujica in, I knew we had a chance!

.........................................SWEEP!!!

That's two in a row!
Undefeated homestand!!

This is a shock to me. I was hoping for the team to pull within 5 games by the all star break. This is a very pleasant surprise.


We were 13 games back in the loss column on May 18. Picked up 7 games in less than 3 weeks!

J.R. wrote:This is a shock to me. I was hoping for the team to pull within 5 games by the all star break. This is a very pleasant surprise.


We were 13 games back in the loss column on May 18. Picked up 7 games in less than 3 weeks!

The remaining 6 will probably be much harder, cannot expect to keep sweeping everyone, and cannot expect to see the Tigers play this poorly much longer.

Well, we play the Tigers 13 more times this season, so we have to win the majority of those games.
The Tigers are showing themselves not to be as invincible as everyone thought.

It looks like Detroit will drop another one this afternoon. Things are looking brighter every day. Let's hope the starting five can keep on rolling.

Yep the Tiges lost. Only 5 games back in the loss column now!

"We swept a series this weekend. We sweep this one coming up with the BoSox, that's two in a row. We sweep one next weekend--that's called a ... a ... No, wait a second."

Article on tonight's brutal pitching matchup stud:


Yu Darvish better than ever? He's not sure

By Richard Durrett | ESPNDallas.com

ARLINGTON, Texas -- You notice how little talk there is this year about Yu Darvish's pitch counts? Or whether he can get the job done in close games?

So far this season, since he joined the Texas Rangers rotation a little later than planned because of a bothersome neck this spring, even nitpicking the Cy Young runner-up from 2013 is close to impossible.

When Yu Darvish pitches, the odds of seeing something special seem high. And that frequency seems to have increased during the past month.

He has the second-best ERA in the American League and allowed four runs in his last 31 2/3 innings spanning four starts. He's put up four starts with at least seven shutout innings, tied with Mark Buehrle for the most in the AL. He's got at least seven innings with two or fewer earned runs in seven of his 10 starts.

Think about that. It's ace stuff.

Those are just some of his ridiculous numbers in 2014. I didn't mention he is first in strikeouts-per-nine-innings at 10.77 or has the second-best opponent batting average at a paltry .210.

Just take my word for it that his numbers, which we could list for a while here, are extremely impressive.

Put his first 10 starts alongside just about any such set he made his first start in 2012 and you aren't likely to find a more impressive run for him.

He's had stretches of brilliance before. But now in his third season in the league, there's a maturity to his game. Darvish works off his fastball. He isn't afraid to change strategy and throw his devastating off-speed stuff early in counts if hitters starting sitting on the fastball. He still has, arguably, the best slider in baseball.

Darvish, though, brushed off the suggestion he's pitching better than he has since arriving in the big leagues.

"If you look at the numbers, it looks better than last year," Darvish said Wednesday through an interpreter. "But I really couldn't prepare myself the way I wanted because of the offseason. So I'm not sure I could say yes to your question."

My question was whether this is the best he's pitched. His answer makes you wonder what that 2.08 ERA might have looked like if he did get his full offseason.

But for Darvish to bring it up means it's still in the back of his mind. He's big on routine and making sure he's fully prepared. And because of a sore back at the end of 2013, he wasn't able to do that the way he wanted this winter.

Darvish said he's back to lifting heavy weights and doing everything he's supposed to be doing. And his strained neck appears to be fine. He threw 102 pitches in his last start, going eight innings, and is now back on his five-day schedule.

But one thing with Darvish: You feel like he could throw a no-hitter at any time.

Missing a Darvish start comes with a risk that you won't see something special. The frequency of that seems to have increased during the past month. Darvish's job is to continue to pitch at a high level and, just as important, to stay healthy. That last part has been a challenge for the Rangers in general.

Maybe because it's only 10 starts and two months, Darvish isn't ready to say he's pitching at his highest level since he got to the big leagues. Or, maybe, he knows there's still more there. He'll get another chance to prove it tonight against the Cleveland Indians.

I was tracking Darvish since he was drafted out of high school. I've watched Tanaka for the past 4 years. He ain't bad either. Right now, there are four rising studs in Japan ready to be the next Darvish or the next Tanaka. Otani has a chance to be as good as Darvish and Tanaka provided he can stay healthy. The four pitchers are one year removed from high school. These kids are well trained in the fundamental by the time they hit the professional leagues.

Need pitching? Go to Japan.

Need hitting? Go to Cuba.

Something you should know about high school baseball in Japan...

In Japan, Kōshien (甲子園) generally refers to the two annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan. They are organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation in association with Mainichi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring (also known as "Spring Kōshien") and Asahi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Championship in the summer (also known as "Summer Kōshien").

These nationwide tournaments enjoy widespread popularity similar to that of NCAA March Madness in the United States, arguably equal to or greater than professional baseball. Qualifying tournaments are often televised locally and each game of the final stage at Kōshien is televised nationally on NHK. The tournaments have become a national tradition, and large numbers of frenzied students and parents travel from hometowns to cheer for their local team. It is a common sight to see players walking off the field in tears after being eliminated from the tournament by a loss.

The star players of the championship team achieve a degree of celebrity status. For the players, playing at Kōshien is the door to playing at the professional level. Due to the recruiting practices of Japanese high schools, top prospects often play on strong teams that are able to reach the final tournament at Kōshien. Several professional baseball players first made their mark at Kōshien, including Eiji Bandō, Sadaharu Oh, Koji Ota, Suguru Egawa, Masumi Kuwata, Kazuhiro Kiyohara, Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka.

( Its not a far stretch to see 30,000 fans show up to watch these teams play )

Bauer gives them a 4 spot in the bottom of the 2nd. The 2 run HR he gave up was a big fat juicy one right down the middle of the plate that the #9 hitter took to the upper deck.

1st time in the last 7 games the Indians did not score the first run.

At least they have had a hit in each of the first 2 innings....

Top of the 3rd....2 outs....runners at the corners for Chisenhall.

Works a 3-2 count, takes a slider to the right field pole for a 3 run homer.

We cut it 4-3.

Murphy walks on 4 straight pitches

Gomes bloops it to shallow right center, Murphy to 3rd, runners at the corners for Santana....

Satana patiently works an 0-2 count culminating in a weak ass rally killing grounder to 1st.

Bauer gets em 1-2-3 in the bottom the of third on 10 pitches.

Darvish strikes out Aviles followed by Bourn swinging.

And Cabrerra goes deep down the right field line to tie it 4-0.

Cabrerra is 3 for 3....a triple shy of the cycle.

Brantly hits a hard one right at Odor to end the Indians half of the inning.