Cleveland Sports Forum

“Try and catch the wind”
By Anthony Castrovince/MLB.com
On Twitter: @Castrovince

Yan Gomes walked by, and an Indians official said, “There goes our starting catcher.”

Indeed, the transition is complete. Gomes has started at catcher in 22 of the Indians’ last 36 games. Publicly, Terry Francona says what you’d expect him to say, but the proof is in the pudding – or, more accurately, the lineup card – and it says Gomes has graduated from the “Goon Squad” and essentially supplanted Carlos Santana behind the plate.

gomesAs far as compelling storylines within the Indians’ 2013 season are concerned, this strikes me as the most meaningful in both the short- and long-term view. As far back as May, members of the club were privately acknowledging that the Indians were simply a better team with Gomes behind the plate. At the time, though, it was hard to know how Gomes’ production would hold up to the weight of a larger sample.

Well, 251 plate appearances is a pretty sizable sample. Within that sample, Gomes has hit .303/.355/.518. Francona’s trust is such that when the Indians opened a pivotal three-game set against the Royals on Monday night with a tough right-hander – Ervin Santana – on the mound, Gomes got the green light. Sure enough, he made the most of it, throwing out two would-be base stealers and launching a solo homer (his 10th of the season) in the fifth. And Santana, in the DH spot, made the most of it, too, with his seventh-inning pole poke.

The Indians won, 4-3, and it’s worth wondering if the result would have been the same had the lineup been otherwise.

The numbers speak for themselves: With Santana behind the dish, Tribe pitchers have a 4.13 ERA, opposing baserunners are thrown out just 15.5 percent of the time (9 of 58) and the Tribe is 41-38. With Gomes, it’s a 3.68 ERA, a 46.9 percent (15 of 32) caught stealing rate and a 36-26 record.

Gomes, you could argue, has been the most valuable Indians player not named Kipnis.

For the last couple years, I’ve been among those advocating for the Indians to permanently move Santana, for good of his body and his bat, with the obvious caveat that you had to have a suitable replacement option for him behind the plate. That caveat loomed large, because Lou Marson never asserted himself enough offensively to stake a real claim to the job, and catching talent that can acquit itself offensively is one of the game’s more difficult finds.

Nobody was necessarily sure the Indians had found it when they acquired Gomes and Mike Aviles in the Esmil Rogers trade last November. He had a terrific offensive season at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2012, but evaluators tend to take Pacific Coast League numbers with a grain of salt, particularly in the hitters’ dream that is Vegas’ Cashman Field. Besides, Gomes was only a part-time catcher in Vegas, and he played primarily at first-base in his 43-game rookie break-in (over four stints) with the Blue Jays, posting an uninspiring .631 OPS. With the Blue Jays, he was a man without a specific position or a clear future. With the Tribe, he is the future. Behind the plate.

Santana is the future, too. He’s signed through at least 2016. I’m sure the Indians could net a hefty haul for him if they took the bold step of making him available this winter, but I doubt they’d go in that direction. What they’ll need is for Santana to buy into the idea that a permanent position switch is best for him in the long run.

That’s a tough sell, because that Nick Swisher contract isn’t going anywhere, and the 32-year-old Swisher seems best-suited to first base at this stage in his career, particularly if you read into what the advanced metrics say about his regression in right (and, yes, the Indians are a better defensive club with Drew Stubbs in right, unquestionably). So short of moving Santana back to his original position at third (not bloody likely) or giving him the bulk of time at first over Swisher (a superior defender), you’re asking a 27-year-old to spend his prime years relegated to DH duties.

It’s a tricky one, especially if Santana is one of those players who simply struggles with the mental waiting game that comes when you’re a bat-only ballplayer. In his career, he has an .802 OPS as a catcher and .868 mark as a first baseman, but, as a DH, it’s .729. That trend extends to this season: .823 as C, .890 as 1B, .751 as DH.

The DH splits, to date, refute this, but the working theory is that if you take Santana away from the physical grind of catching and getting pinged by foul balls off the facemask or unblocked pitches in the dirt (we’ve seen that a time or two this season), you’ll get more out of his bat. With Victor Martinez, the Indians could make the argument that V-Mart’s bat was made all the more valuable by his position placement. With Santana, that argument still applies, but there’s more raw power in play, and you wonder if the Indians can tap into that power more frequently if Santana changes positions. For the longest time, the discussion was more conceptual, but Santana’s continued regression as a catcher and Gomes’ surprising emergence this season have forced the issue.

These are the kind of conversations typical of September: What have we learned from the season at hand, and how does it apply to the seasons ahead? For the Indians, this kind of discourse has been the only excitement in September in recent seasons.

But not in 2013. In 2013, the conversation takes place in the midst of a potential playoff push. And for that, the Indians have their new starting catcher to thank.

~AC

Why is Indians attendance so low? (poll)

Fans have been replaced by green seats once again at Progressive Field. ((Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer) )


Thank you for voting!
Not a believer in the team 29.49% (23 votes)


Too hard to make weeknight games 20.51% (16 votes)


Dolans 17.95% (14 votes)


Economy 17.95% (14 votes)


Other: 14.1% (11 votes)



Total Votes: 78



CLEVELAND, Ohio - Two weeks ago, the Indians' playoff chances were starting to slip away. They were riding a losing streak during a critical stretch and finished the month of August with five straight losses. But the Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers started to slip, opening the door back up for a late season push.

The Indians have done their part. A sizzling start to the month of September (6-2 record), has them right back in the hunt.

But the fans haven't done theirs.

Empty green seats have been the picture at Progressive Field. Monday night just 9,794 showed up for the 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals, a win that put the Indians 4.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers in the A.L. Central and just 1.5 games out of the wild card.

Indians beat reporter Paul Hoynes points out the low attendance numbers could have a long-term effect on the club.

Manager Terry Francona doesn't seem fazed by it.

Cleveland hasn't had a championship since 1964. This town is craving a winner. And with 19 games left in the season and a playoff berth still within reach, the Indians provide the best shot.

Who needs a poll ? The racist from Florida has the answer.

Anyone that lives or works in NE Ohio knows that the economy sucks. Only other reason is school or high school, college, or pro football.

Every other answer is an excuse for losers......

Well, I'm going tomorrow (Noon start)

Cleveland Indians are an endearing team, especially for Tribe fans with a sense of history: Terry Pluto

on September 10, 2013 at 2:53 PM, updated September 10, 2013 at 3:12 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Growing up, I would have loved to cheer for an Indians team like this one.

My Tribe Era was 1960-73, from the age of five through high school. The closest they came to finishing in first place was 14 games. This was when baseball had two leagues, no divisions. You won the American League, or you stayed home.

My favorite year was 1965, when the Indians were 87-75. It was the season Rocky Colavito returned. He played every inning of every game, batting .287 and leading the league with 108 RBI. His 26 homers were second to Leon Wagner's 28 on the Tribe. Sam McDowell struck out 325, threw 14 complete games and was 17-11 with a 2.18 ERA.

But they still finished 15 games behind first-place Minnesota. They drew 934,786 fans -- the most between 1959 and 1974.

That 1965 team was the baseball pinnacle for me. In 1969, they were 62-99. In 1971, it was 60-102. The only other winning season (besides 1965) from 1960-73 was 86-76 in 1968, and those Indians were 16 1/2 games behind the first-place Tigers.

It doesn't matter if you grew up a fan in the 1960s, 70s, 80s or even the early 1990s -- you didn't have a team in post-season contention. Period.

Some fans compare this Tribe roster to the teams of the 1990s -- and yes, it lacks the star power of those teams. But let's also be fair and state the Tribe played in a very weak Central Division for most of the 1990s. The 1997 World Series team had an 86-76 record.

This Tribe team is 77-66 heading into Tuesday's game. I don't think they'll catch catch Detroit (their own fault for being 4-15 vs. Tigers), but the Tribe was only 4 1/2 games behind in the Central Division -- and in the middle of a wild-card race.

For months, I've been writing about how I like this team. If the Tribe had Jason Kipnis when I was growing up, he would have rivaled Colavito as my favorite player. The second baseman with the dust-caked jersey attacks the game with a combination of passion and a bit of "I'll Show You" anger.

Yan Gomes is the season's best surprise. This guy is throwing like a young Johnny Bench or Pudge Rodriguez. You can see the influence of coach Sandy Alomar on how he blocks pitches in the dirt.

Michael Brantley is my wife's favorite player because he is so smooth. My father would have loved Brantley because he approaches game as my dad did his life -- do your job, never complain and don't draw attention to yourself.

Brantley will bat anywhere in the lineup. He moved from center (his favorite position) to left to make room for Michael Bourn. Never uttered a discouraging word about it.

Nick Swisher has had a downer season, hitting only .240. But he does have 17 homers. He clearly loves being here.

Little Jose Ramirez had two hits in his first Tribe start. He said he wanted to give the ball from No. 1 to his mother, and showed reporters the tattoo of her name -- Xiomara -- on his arm.

You can't make this stuff up. Scott Kazmir goes from being 0-5 with a 17.02 ERA in Class AAA in 2011 to pitching independent league ball (3-6, 5.34 ERA) for Sugar Land in 2012, to a key part of the Tribe rotation (8-7, 4.17) in 2013.

Ryan Raburn batted .171 with one homer last season for the Tigers, was cut, and now has 15 homers and is batting .275 for the Tribe.

Kipnis is the one real star on the team. Justin Masterson (14-10, 3.52) made the All-Star team, but now he's hurt. But Ubaldo Jimenez has a 1.94 ERA since the All-Star break -- who knew that was coming?

Closer Chris Perez now makes Bob "Scare and a Save" Wickman look like Mariano Rivera. He sometimes seems like a man walking a tightrope while trying to juggle three butcher knives at the same time.

The Indians lead the league in gobbling bubble gum (manager Terry Francona in the dugout), and anxiety attacks on their fans between streaks (good and bad), and dugout hugs with Jason Giambi, Mike Aviles and the rest.

A great team? No. An endearing one? Yes.

And all many of his have to do is stare into the rear view mirrors of our baseball lives to realize what fun this season has been -- with three more weeks to go.

Well, I'm going tomorrow (Noon start)

Shoot, I must have missed the entire game by now.

As you discovered, it was a good game to miss!

From a Toronto writer:

Yan Gomes and Cleveland’s Luck
by Matt Klaassen - September 11, 2013

Who knew Yan Gomes was the key to playoff contention? When he and Mike Aviles were traded from Toronto to Cleveland for Esmil Rogers, the Jays were in the midst of a massive off-season makeover that was supposed to make them American League East contenders. They were sending two redundant bench pieces away to Cleveland — a team unlikely to chase down Detroit for the AL Central title — for a bit of pitching upside. Fast forward to today: the Jays have been out of realistic contention for months, while Cleveland currently has 20 or 30 percent chance of making the playoffs, depending on which set of odds one consults. Gomes has hit .302/.353/.513 (140 wRC+) with good defense this year, while Toronto’s J.P. Arencibia has hit .205/.241/.382 (65 wRC+) with terrible defense.
Clearly, the trade has been the difference.

Jokes aside, Gomes has played surprisingly well this season, and lately has even supplanted Carlos Santana (who has been getting starts at first and DH) as Cleveland’s primary catcher. Part of that has to do with Santana’s struggles behind the plate this year, but Gomes’ good play has also been a factor. It would be easy to say Cleveland got lucky, but every team has its share of unexpected good and bad performances.

While the trade obviously looks bad for Toronto in hindsight, enough people probably understand what a disaster J.P. Arencibia has been on both sides of the ball this season that there is no point in once again twisting the knife. Moreover, few would have seen this coming from Gomes, who actually played college ball with Arencibia at Tennessee. Even when our own Marc Hulet cautiously saw Gomes as a potential contributor upon his call-up to Toronto last season, he hardly endorsed him beyond being a possible utility bench bat who could fill at the corners and occasionally at catcher. At all of those positions, Hulet remarked, his glove was “average-at-best.”

Gomes did not exactly set the world on fire in his 111 plate appearances for the Blue Jays last year, hitting .204/.264/.367 (67 wRC+). He rarely walked, and struck out nearly 30 percent of the time. He did show a bit of power (.163 ISO), but not enough. Sure, it was a small sample, but his minor league numbers did not really show that there was a ton of potential there.

This season has not been a terribly large sample either, at just 255 plate appearances, but it has been different enough from last season to instill more confident in Gomes, while not being so different as to seem completely flukey. Gomes still does not opt for the free pass much, keeping his walk rate around six percent. One big difference has been that Gomes has addressed his issues with contact, moving it from 70 percent to over 82 percent. It is still a small overall sample, but it does show that Gomes can get the bat on the ball enough to make some things happen, and his walk rate is under 20 percent this season.

A big part of Gomes’ jump in performance is fluctuation in his BABIP — just .246 last year, this season it is up to .339. Most FanGraphs readers probably know that neither is likely representative of his true talent. While we are still talking about a small sample for all peripherals, BABIP is one of the least stable of them. What is more promising for Gomes’ present and future, along with his improved contact, is power. Both relate metrics relate to true talent in smaller samples than just about anything else. One probably should not latch onto Gomes’ .211 ISO this year as a jump in true talent — his rate of home runs on contact is actually slightly down from last season. The main difference from last year is an increased rate of doubles and triples. Nonetheless, his power is good, and if he can keep his strikeouts in the range of just below average, he can be about a roughly average hitter overall. Now, “roughly average” is a far cry from his 140 wRC+ so far this season, and maybe he is better. Maybe he is worse. Again, this is a player with less than 400 MLB plate appearances.

Still, if Gomes is “just” a league average hitter, that is more than fine for a catcher. And that, perhaps, has been one of the bigger surprises with Gomes this year. Again, part of his increased playing time at catcher lately may well be that Carlos Santana is struggling behind the plate. Part of the reason for Gomes not being seriously considered as more than a possible bench player before was his lack of ability to play a position where his bat would be good enough. One should acknowledge both the sample size issues and other difficulties with measuring catcher (or any) defense, but so far, Gomes has been excellent according to most metrics, being several runs above average. He has thrown out nearly 50 percent of the attempted steals against him. The caught stealing numbers might be inflated if runners are trying to test him more often than they should, but he has held his own behind the plate. But again, even if Gomes is just an average bat with an average glove, that is more than good enough to make him a viable every day catcher.

It is not clear that this is what Cleveland plans to do in the long term or if they should. It is an intriguing possibility, especially given the relatively small price they paid to get Gomes, who looked like an afterthoughtcoming into the season. If Gomes does end up being the long-term starting catcher for Cleveland, it should not be taken as a slam on Carlos Santana. Santana hits well enough to justify a spot at first or DH, and it is not as if he cannot play catcher at all. Santana might be just a part-time catcher, but he is still a full-time player. With Mark Reynolds gone, DH is open for Santana on days when Gomes catches. If Nick Swisher moves out to right, Santana can play first. It is a nice situation for Cleveland.

Back in August, I wrote about some of 2013′s surprisingly valuable bench pieces. It was a piece mostly inspired by another one of Cleveland’s off-season budget acquisitions, Ryan Raburn, who has been another big factor behind Cleveland’s run this year. In that post, I wrote “I could also have included Yan Gomes here.” In retrospect, I am glad I did not, since it looks like he might be more than a bench player. I doubt Cleveland saw things much differently to open the year. In that sense, they probably got lucky with Gomes. On the other hand, they obviously saw something in him when they traded for him and gave him a chance.

As for the short-term, if Cleveland was fortunate with big performances from players like Gomes and Raburn, it is not as if everything went perfectly for them this season. Mark Reynolds had a big first month then fell off of a cliff and was released. Neither of their biggest off-season signings, Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher, have played up to expectations. This happens with most teams. In Cleveland’s case, it adds up to a rather surprising shot at playoff relevance.

http://www.stationcaster.com/player_ski ... &f=1842521

Francona on ESPN 850 today.

POSTED: 08/07/13, 11:51 PM EDT

The Indians' attendance is still among the worst in major league baseball.

Only Miami's 17,337 per game is worse than the Tribe's 17,895.

Even though there might be a lack of bodies in the seats, don't confuse that with lack of interest.

The Indians' average rating so far this season on Fox Sports' Sports Time Ohio is up 34 percent compared to last season's average rating, according to a spokesperson.

Attendance would be better if the Tribe had some actual stars.....someone that people would pay to watch.

Chicks dig the long ball and so do fans.

People buy tickets to be entertained.

A bunch of three-run homers is entertainment.

Former Cleveland Indians World Series hero Jaret Wright looks back at a time that's still special for Tribe fans: Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jaret Wright is only 37 years old.

I found that impossible to believe when talking to Wright before a game at Progressive Field. It was a few hours before last Saturday's game. We were the only two sitting in the Tribe dugout.

I was thinking about how Wright started the Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. That was almost 16 years ago, the last World Series game played by the Tribe.

Sixteen years ago, Wright was only 21. But as we began to talk that Saturday, Wright stared at the field and said something that shocked me.

"My last game was here," he said.

I thought he'd mention his first big league start, a 10-5 victory over Minnesota. That was June 24, 1997, at what was then an always sold-out Jacobs Field.

But Wright was remembering April 29, 2007.

"I was pitching for the Orioles," he said. "I lasted only a few innings."

The Tribe was headed to the playoffs that 2007 season. Wright allowed three runs in three innings. He had a 6.97 ERA that season, his last three big league games.

"The day after that game in Cleveland, I called Dr. (Louis) Yocum," Wright said. "He had done both of my shoulder surgeries. I wanted to know if there was anything else he could do."

No, said the doctor.

"There was nothing left in my shoulder to operate on," he said.

Wright shook his head and smiled. He doesn't want anyone's sympathy for a career that ended at the age of 31, a career that never came close to it's enormous promise of 1997.

That special feeling

Wright had not been to Cleveland since that game in 2007 until being invited back last weekend as part of the Indians' alumni program.

"Everyone has been super to me," said Wright. "Just driving up to the park, my heart beat a little faster. The memories are vivid."

Wright opened the 1997 season at Akron's Canal Park. Not only was that his first game in Class AA, it was the first game at that new stadium in downtown Akron.

By the end of June, Wright was pitching in Cleveland.

"Back then, I never was nervous," he said. "I was ready for anything."

Wright had a fastball in the 95-99 mph range. He had an angry slider that sliced the outside corner against right-handed hitters. He had a change up that dived and flittered away from lefties.

"I felt like I could just blow people away," he recalled.

Wright was the Tribe's first-round draft pick in 1994, the No. 10 selection in the draft. He's the son of Clyde Wright, who pitched 10 years in the Majors with a 100-111 record.

As a senior in high school, he was written up in a small story by Sports Illustrated. Often, at least 30 scouts were at his games. He also was an excellent high school linebacker.

In football, he hit people hard. In baseball, he threw hard. He pitched with the mindset of a middle-linebacker.

"When I didn't know what to do, I'd just rear back and throw harder," said Wright. "I had sort of a violent motion. I remember Charlie Nagy telling me that could hurt my arm throwing like that. Charlie talked about dealing with his elbow problems … I was like, 'Hey, that's never going to happen to me.' "

Wright was 6-foot-2, 230-pounds of raw power when he came to the Tribe at the age of 21.

"I was cocky," he said. "I felt invincible."

Wright was 8-3 with a 4.38 ERA for the Tribe in 1997. The Tribe was 12-4 in the 16 games that he started. He was 7-0 when pitching after a Tribe loss.

An ace at 21

By the end of the 1997 regular season, Wright had emerged as the Tribe's best starter. This was the peak of the steroids era. The average American League team had a 4.56 ERA.

The Tribe's rotation was Orel Hershiser (14-6, 4.47), Chad Ogea (8-9, 4.99), Bartolo Colon (4-7, 5.65), Nagy (15-11, 4.28) and Wright (8-3, 4.38).

The Indians opened the 1997 playoffs against the Yankees. Wright started Game 2 in New York and beat the Yankees, 7-5, allowing three runs in six innings.

He started Game 5 in Cleveland, a 4-3 victory to advance the Tribe into ALCS against Baltimore.

He pitched only once against the Orioles, shelled for five runs in three innings.

But in the World Series, he started and won Game 4 against Florida.

When it came down to a decision who to pitch in Game 7 -- Wright or Nagy -- manager Mike Hargrove went with Wright.

"He called me the night before and said I was starting," said Wright.

How did he feel?

"Good," he said. "Back then, I always felt good. I didn't stay up worrying or anything, I just went to sleep."

Wright allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings, a game the Tribe lost 3-2 in the bottom of the 11th -- Nagy taking the loss.

"It was an amazing time," said Wright. "The city loved us. We'd walk into a restaurant and people would stand up and clap."

Members of the great Tribe teams of the 1990s seldom had to buy a dinner or a drink.

Some of his teammates told him to cut back on the night-life.

Wright admitted, "I made some bad decisions back then. What did I know, I was 21?"

And he thought it would last forever.

Reality is painful

In 1998, Wright was 12-10 with a 4.72 ERA. Occasionally, his shoulder ached. Hitters also began to not swing at his high, fishing fastball. His walks piled up.

He was crushed for seven runs in two innings, starting against the Angels in his hometown of Anaheim. He still has some sensational starts, but others were a disaster.

The playoffs went from a dream-like 4-0 record in 1997 to 0-2 with a 9.82 ERA in the 1998 post-season.

By 1999, he lost confidence and velocity on his fastball. He was 8-10 with a 6.06 ERA. He was on the disabled list twice with shoulder and back issues.

"Suddenly, I knew how Charlie (Nagy) felt," said Wright. "It's so frustrating, because you can't pitch like you know you can. You can't get healthy."

Wright had shoulder surgery in 2000. He had elbow surgery in the spring of 2001. He had a second shoulder surgery in the the fall of 2001.

Remember how Wright said he "never felt nervous" when first coming to Cleveland?

"Now, I was nervous every time I was coming back from surgery," he said. "I was wondering if I'd ever pitch again -- or how would I be able to pitch?"

In 2002, Wright was 2-3 with a 15.71 ERA for the Tribe. They didn't offer him a contract for 2003.

"I then went to San Diego," he said. "I was like the last guy in the bullpen, the mop-up guy. It was humbling."

In 2004, he was with Atlanta.

"My arm felt good and I really learned how to pitch," he said. "(Pitching coach) Leo Mazzone taught me to pound the outside corner at the knees. I was a different kind of pitcher, not throwing as hard. But I loved to pitch again."

Wright was 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA for the Braves that season. That winter, he signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Yankees. The arm problems returned.

"I never was the same after that," he said.

Starting over

In Wright's 1997 season, he threw 217 innings, beginning with that game at Akron and ending in the World Series. All that at the age of 21. The next year, it was 204 innings in 1998 … at 22.

That wouldn't happen now. Look how the Tribe carefully watches the innings and pitches of phenom Danny Salazar.

"I never think about the innings I threw," he said. "I wanted to pitch all the time. I felt great."

But was the heavy workload behind his injury problems?

"I don't think it's why I got hurt," he said. "Who knows why you hurt your arm? Some guys, they count all their pitches and keep the innings low -- and they still get hurt."

Wright then talked about "all the great memories" with the Tribe.

He is very upbeat, a father of four children under the age of nine. He made about $30 million in baseball, so money is not an issue.

"I play on a co-ed softball team with my wife," he said. "I play with the kids. I surf. I play golf."

He lives in the San Clemente area. In some ways, he looks in better physical shape at 37 than he did in some of his Major League seasons.

As Wright and I were finishing our conversation, Jason Giambi stopped by to say hello. The 42-year-old Giambi and Wright were teammates with the Yankees for a few seasons.

Giambi was the one who looked like the former player, not Wright.

"There is a void (from not playing)," Wright said. "But I'm grateful I got to pitch. I loved being with the Indians. I have no regrets."

Michael Bourn says more fans needed at Progressive Field: Cleveland Indians insider
By Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With just six home games left in the regular season, Indians center fielder Michael Bourn asked fans for some help.

"We would like to be supported a little bit more if we could," said Bourn, following a 6-2 loss to Kansas City on Wednesday afternoon. "We're two games out at the most (in the wild-card race). We're fighting for the second wild card. ... Last year they didn't make it to this point."

The Indians drew 12,085 fans Wednesday. After a seven-game trip to Chicago and Kansas City that begins Thursday night, they return for the final homestand of the season on Sept. 19. They'll play four games against Houston and three against Chicago.

During the just completed nine-game homestand in which the Indians went 5-4, they drew the two smallest September crowds ever (9,794 and 9,962) at Progressive Field. Their biggest crowd was 21,453.

The Indians started Wednesday ranked 13th in the AL in attendance at 1,426,120. They're averaging 19,536 fans per home date. Only Houston, who has already been eliminated, and Tampa Bay have drawn fewer fans in the AL.

"The extra man (fans) is a good thing to have," said Bourn. "It gets your blood flowing a little bit.

"I don't see any reason why they shouldn't believe in us. This is a totally different team, totally different atmosphere in the clubhouse. I think we deserve it. I think we deserve that chance until the last day of the season is over."

Bourn knows the Browns are a big draw in Cleveland.

"Hopefully, they come out and support us during the week or the weekend," he said with a smile. "We know the Browns play on Sunday. We'll give them their time on Sunday morning. All the other days, they're at practice.

"Come on out and watch us play. That's all we want."

This is Bourn's first season in Cleveland after he signed a four-year, $48 million deal in February.

"We're just asking for them to come out and support us ... that's it," said Bourn. "We'll try to give them a good show every time they come out. The last four games have been kind of disappointing to us in here.

"We're still going to play, no doubt about it. But you want that atmosphere to be rocking like they had in the 1990s. I know they were the team at that time, but we're trying to work to be a good team."

Heavy lifting: Cody Allen leads AL rookies with 67 appearances. After he gave up a two-run homer to Kansas City's Alex Gordon on Monday night, manager Terry Francona told reporters the next day that he shouldn't have used Allen, who had pitched in five of the previous eight games.

"I'm feel great," said Allen on Wednesday. "Tito said (the work load) hurt my command, but that's on me. I was just trying to do too much with my fastball. I was trying to throw it too hard."

Allen's best pitch is a 96 mph heater. The Royals have given him problems this year because they're a good fastball-hitting team.

"I have to be careful with them," he said. "I have to get ahead and stay out of fastball counts against them."

Among AL rookies, Allen is tied for sixth in wins with five, third in saves with two and second in strikeouts with 78.

Missing piece: A healthy Justin Masterson was in line to start Thursday night against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Masterson, however, is sidelined with a strained left oblique muscle.

How big a hole has that left in the rotation? Masterson is 4-0 with a 0.85 ERA (three earned runs in 31 2/3) against the White Sox this season. In those of those victories, he threw complete game shutouts.

What gives? During the just completed nine-game homestand, Ryan Raburn made just two starts. He went 2-for-5 with five RBI, but is still having problems with his strained left Achilles tendon.

When asked about Raburn after Wednesday's loss, Francona said he was fine and would be in the starting lineup Thursday night against John Danks, one of three lefties the White Sox will start in the series. Since Francona likes to play Raburn against lefties, it could be a big series for him.

Finally: Gordon's leadoff homer Wednesday off Scott Kazmir was the 26th hit by an opposing player in Progressive Field history. ... The last opponent to hit a first-pitch, leadoff homer against the Tribe was, naturally, Gordon. He stung Corey Kluber on Aug. 2, 2012 at Kauffman Stadium. It was Kluber's first big-league start.

Attendance would be better if the Tribe had some actual stars.....someone that people would pay to watch.

Chicks dig the long ball and so do fans.

People buy tickets to be entertained.

A bunch of three-run homers is entertainment.

Two Words - Jose Abreu

Two More Words: Wladimir Balentien

A Mark Reynolds type of hitter with a much better walks to strikeouts ratio:

Balentien's Japanese Stats for 2011, 2012, & 2013

http://bis.npb.or.jp/eng/players/13315133.html