Cleveland Sports Forum

Jordan Bastian ✔ @MLBastian
Danny Salazar says Mickey Callaway informed him that he's on the World Series roster. Callaway: Salazar could go 65-70 pitches.

It appears that they want Tomlin in game 3 because of his offensive skills: a former college shortstop his major league stats are 6 hits in 12 at bats. Bauer meanwhile says he couldn't little league pitchers, so not likely to hit major leaguers.

If there is a distinct disadvantage in this series it will be the ability of the Cub's pitching staff to hit a baseball. The Cubs have to be one of the top 2 or 3 hitting staffs in the majors if not the top team.

The second big disadvantage will be the bottom four batters in the lineup whether at home or on the road. Let's face it, the pitchers will have their work cut out for them. There won't be any time for the pitchers to relax.

World Series in Cleveland: Lofton, Baerga to throw out first pitches

Posted 2:29 pm, October 24, 2016, by Ann Domeck

CLEVELAND – Now we all know: 1995 Cleveland World Series team members Kenny Lofton and Carlos Baerga will be throwing out the first pitches in Games 1 and 2 of the 2016 World Series!

That announcement was made Monday afternoon.

Major League Baseball also announced that pop star Rachel Platten will sing the National Anthem before Game 1, and country duo LOCASH will perform it for Game 2.

Singing “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch for Game 1 is US Air Force Master Sergeant Alyson Jones, and during Game 2, US Air Force Master Sergeant Eric Sullivan.

For Game 1, the official game ball will be delivered to the pitching mound by former Tribe manager Mike Hargrove and a representative from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The official ball for Game 2 will be delivered by Tribe legend Joe Charboneau and a member of the local Boys & Girls Club of America.

They're OK with letting Baerga throw out the first pitch, a guy who ate drank and partied his way out of baseball, but don't want Charlie Sheen.

Why would you want Bauer to bat with his finger the way it is ? Bauer is only going to pitch in Cleveland. Salazar is going to start game 4 or 5. My guess would be Game 4 if the Tribe is up going into Game 4 if not Game 5 .

Hillbilly wrote:They're OK with letting Baerga throw out the first pitch, a guy who ate drank and partied his way out of baseball, but don't want Charlie Sheen.

Well at least they have one thing in common. Steroids !

They should ask Jose Mesa or Charles Nagy throw out the first pitch. I can still see that POS, Mesa, sweating like a pig, scared to throw a pitch and blowing a 2-1 lead in the 9th inning of game 7 in 1997. Then a washed up Charles Nagy gives up a 17 hop ground ball in the 11th to lose the game.

Think this year's pen is the best in baseball.

Our defense doesn't have a Matt Williams or Tony Fernandez, whose range was next to zero, looking like statues as ground balls went by them.

Like our chances.

Go Tribe

rusty2 wrote:Why would you want Bauer to bat with his finger the way it is ? Bauer is only going to pitch in Cleveland.

Yeah, another good point.

I'm not much of a Bauer fan right now. After the 14 inning game in Toronto he hasn't been terribly effective. And he's just a flake. Ya'll make good points, just wouldn't hurt my feelings if he didn't start at all I guess. But ok.

Was watching MLB Network coverage at the park tonight and they showed Santana shagging fly balls in Leftfield with Guyer. And Tito was standing there watching intently.

Don't be surprised to see Santana in LF in Chicago.

Cubs are -175 and Indians are underdogs, +150.

Been thinking about the Santana thing. I dunno, pitching and defense have got us this far in the postseason. Not sure if sticking Santana in LF would be great. I think I would just play Santana at 1B and try to live without Napoli's 0-4 with 3 K.

Stephen King:

http://www.wkyc.com/sports/mlb/indians/ ... /341363360

Indians players and manager meet the press:

https://www.facebook.com/Indians/videos ... 4773795787

Tomlin's dad will be there for Game 3 start


By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com | @MLBastian | October 23rd, 2016

CLEVELAND -- Josh Tomlin got the nod to start Game 3 of the World Series in Wrigley Field. His father, Jerry, got the nod to travel to Wrigley to watch his son pitch.

Enter one of the great subplots of an Indians-Cubs World Series loaded with them.

Last week, we told you the story about how Jerry has been paralyzed from the chest down since mid-August because of a rare condition called an arteriovenous malformation -- a tangle of blood vessels on the spinal cord -- that required emergency surgery. Josh left the Indians for a couple of days on family medical emergency leave to be with his dad in Tyler, Texas, as he recuperated from the surgery, but the two haven't seen each other since. Jerry watched both of Josh's postseason starts, one in the American League Division Series and one in the AL Championship Series, from his room at the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas.

But Jerry was released from the hospital last Wednesday, which just so happened to be Josh's 32nd birthday and the day the Indians clinched the AL pennant. And so the family has made arrangements for Jerry to travel to Chicago along with his wife, Elana, and Josh's aunt and uncle, Shawn and Scott Hilburn. Josh's wife and kids will also be in attendance.



"It's neat," Josh said, "because he's always talked about Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, two historical ballparks, being the ones he wants to go see. As a Father's Day gift, we let my father-in-law and him decide what game they wanted to see, and he was supposed to come to a game in Chicago [at U.S. Cellular Field]. But because of the incident, he wasn't able to enjoy that gift. So it's nice to be able to share this with him."


Jerry, who uses a wheelchair as he holds out hope that he'll one day be able to walk again, had joked that he would climb on somebody's back to go see his son pitch in the World Series, if he had to.

Instead, much more comfortably, he'll be flying commercial.

The Indians are not ruling out the possibility that they might have to reshape their rotation in Games 2 and 3 of this Series. While Trevor Bauer is currently slotted to follow Game 1 starter Corey Kluber in Game 2, the Indians are monitoring his progress from a deep finger cut suffered in an accident repairing a drone. But for now, Tomlin was told the Game 3 assignment is his. There is some thought there that if Bauer should have another mishap, as he did in Game 3 of the ALCS in Toronto, the Indians would be better equipped to empty their bullpen in Game 2, which precedes an off-day, than Game 3, which is followed by two more games on successive days.



Tomlin, who has a 2.53 ERA in 10 2/3 innings over two starts in this postseason, is facing a daunting assignment. Game 3 will be the first World Series game at Wrigley Field since 1945, so it goes without saying that the crowd won't be on his side.

"That's going to be something else," he said. "I've never actually pitched in Wrigley Field, but we played there last year, so I've gotten to experience a game there. But I take it this will be a little bit different atmosphere than it was that day."

At least he knows he'll have his dad there, leading his cheering section.

Tito, Tomlin, Napoli PC just now:

https://www.facebook.com/Indians/videos ... 4773795787