http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/teams/cleveland_indians/8 Recent articles about Cleveland Indians en-us First and foremost congratulations to Nick Swisher, his wife and the new baby girl that they welcomed to this world Tuesday afternoon. The first baseman was placed on the paternity leave list by the Cleveland Indians. He is allowed to enjoy these moments with his family for a few days and hopefully he takes full advantage. FFLockerRoom hopes for a healthful childhood. The post Cleveland Indians NIck Swisher Leaves Team After Wife Has Baby appeared first on FFLockerRoom | Fantasy Sports Advice | Sports News | Sports Talk |. Tue, 21 May 2013 21:19:33 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/cleveland_indians_nick_swisher_leaves_team_after_wife_has_baby/13667137 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/cleveland_indians_nick_swisher_leaves_team_after_wife_has_baby/13667137 Cleveland Indians NIck Swisher Leaves Team After Wife Has Baby http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/cleveland_indians_nick_swisher_leaves_team_after_wife_has_baby/13667137 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png credit: getty images The Cleveland Indians will be without Nick Swisher on Tuesday night after his wife gave birth to a baby girl earlier in the day. Swisher is expected to return to the Indians in the next couple of days. In order to give the Indians some infield depth Cord Phelps has been promoted from Triple-A. Phelps was hitting .233/.318′.431 over 30 games for the Columbus Clippers. Swisher has been a key part to the early season success of the Indians as he has compiled a .274/.382/.493 line with six home runs and 16 RBI. Mark Reynolds will move to first base in the absence of Swisher while Jason Giambi will occupy the designated hitter spot against Detroit. Tue, 21 May 2013 18:26:09 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/indians_place_nick_swisher_on_paternity_leave_list/13666180 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/indians_place_nick_swisher_on_paternity_leave_list/13666180 Indians place Nick Swisher on paternity leave list http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/indians_place_nick_swisher_on_paternity_leave_list/13666180 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez, one of the most entertaining — and sometimes controversial — Twitter users among professional athletes, surprisingly deleted his Twitter account on Monday, reportedly due to his growing exasperation with having to deal with the hostile, troglodytic and oft-unwarranted commentary from a small but prolific faction who troll his account and [...]The post Tired of mouth-breathers, Indians closer Chris Perez deletes Twitter account appeared first on Sportress of Blogitude. Tue, 21 May 2013 14:00:38 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/tired_of_mouth_breathers_indians_closer_chris_perez_deletes_twitter_account/13664059 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/tired_of_mouth_breathers_indians_closer_chris_perez_deletes_twitter_account/13664059 Tired of mouth-breathers, Indians closer Chris Perez deletes Twitter account http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/tired_of_mouth_breathers_indians_closer_chris_perez_deletes_twitter_account/13664059 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/5/5/55f02e1a73d36cc3965b76135505736fa0d9c09d/mini/mlb-indians-blue-jays.jpg While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com “Well, last year Cleveland’s hot start was done with smoke and mirrors; they were outscored on the season, even when the Tribe was standing in first. That ain’t the case this year, as Cleveland is above average in run scoring and run prevention. The Indians’ offense has been a real juggernaut so far. They are first in the AL in slugging percentage, second in homers, third in on-base percentage, fourth in doubles, triples, and batting average—yeah, they are hitting pretty darn well. In fact, their team OPS+ is a comically high 121. Strangely, Cleveland ranks just sixth in runs scored, though. It isn’t as bad as it sounds, as there is a tight pack at the top. If you shift to runs per game, the Indians are tied for third in the AL. Still, to date their bats have been at their wors... Tue, 21 May 2013 09:00:42 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/while_were_waiting_making_believers/13661629 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/while_were_waiting_making_believers/13661629 While We’re Waiting… Making believers http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/while_were_waiting_making_believers/13661629 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png The first place Cleveland Indians come into the 2 game series against the Detroit Tigers tonight at Progressive field with a 2-1/2 lead over the Tigers in first place in the A.L. Central. It should be Corey Kluber facing off against Detroit’s Max Sherzer. Scherzer is one of the best pitchers in the Tigers staff. He comes to Cleveland with a record of 5 wins and no losses this season. Scherzer has a ERA of 3.98. Kluber comes into the game with a record of 3-2 and hasn’t had the same kind of success as Scherzer. Kluber’s ERA 5.40. The Tigers need to win this game to gain some ground in the A.L. Central. The Tribe bats are going to have a few things to say about that. The last time they faced Scherzer things didn’t go the Indians way. Scherzer is the best pitcher this season on the Tigers staff. Verlander was labeled the Tigers ace, but he hasn’t performed the way Scherzer has. The Indians would probably like to be facing Verlander instead of Scherzer. It is going to be a great game. T... Tue, 21 May 2013 06:34:41 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/indians_take_on_the_tigers_tonightcan_corey_kluber_beat_max_scherzer/13661086 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/indians_take_on_the_tigers_tonightcan_corey_kluber_beat_max_scherzer/13661086 Indians take on the Tigers tonight,can Corey Kluber beat Max Scherzer? http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/indians_take_on_the_tigers_tonightcan_corey_kluber_beat_max_scherzer/13661086 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/7/7/772e18660900ff3c25dce7c11d5b5f9c4ee28133/mini/mlb-diamondbacks-tigers.jpg Cleveland Indians ace Justin Masterson was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday following two dominant outings in which he held his opponents scoreless. In two starts this past week, Masterson pitched 16.0 scoreless innings with a 20/5 strikeout to walk ratio, posting a perfect 0.00 ERA in the process. On Monday, May 13 Masterson pitched a complete-game shutout against the New York Yankees, surrendering just four hits and striking out nine batters. Building off of his gem against New York, Masterson would pitch seven scoreless innnings against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, May 19. The Indians ace allowed just three hits while striking out a season-high 11 batters. Masterson improved his season record to 7-2 and lowered his ERA from 3.67 to 2.83 over his two starts this past week. Tue, 21 May 2013 00:29:09 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/justin_masterson_dominant_performances_earn_al_player_of_the_week_honors/13660435 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/justin_masterson_dominant_performances_earn_al_player_of_the_week_honors/13660435 Justin Masterson Dominant Performances Earn AL Player of the Week Honors http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/justin_masterson_dominant_performances_earn_al_player_of_the_week_honors/13660435 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/b/4/b4ae01463d2de21a1245ab01121eba655c252f2e/mini/6435830.jpg The Cleveland Indians have been rather rough this year on reining or former Cy Young award winners, having beaten 7 of them to date. A list of the victims follows.      They started the rein of terror in the first game of the season against reining N.L. winner R.A. Dickey now with the Toronto Blue Jays. Dickey, who won the award last year with the Mets allowed 4 runs, 3 earned, on 5 hits in 6 innings. He also struck out 4 and walked 4.      The Tribe followed that up with a 13-0 win against current A.L. Cy Young winner David Price and Tampa Bay a few days later. Price allowed 8 runs, all earned, on 10 hits in 5 innings pitched. He also walked 3 and struck out 3.      The next Cy Young recipient to fall was 2010 N.L. winner Roy Halladay of Philadelphia. the Indians topped Halladay and the Phillies getting to Halladay for 8 runs, all earned, on 9 hits in 3.2 innings worked. Halladay also struck out 3 and walked 2. The game was also notable for the Indians because they hit 7 ... Mon, 20 May 2013 22:45:00 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/so_you_won_the_cy_youngbig_deal_the_indians_dont_care/13659862 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/so_you_won_the_cy_youngbig_deal_the_indians_dont_care/13659862 So You Won The Cy Young...Big Deal, the Indians don't care! http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/so_you_won_the_cy_youngbig_deal_the_indians_dont_care/13659862 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Score one for the haters. The Twitter account for closer Chris Perez was no longer active Monday night. Perez, one of the more accessible and open Indians players, apparently had enough ugliness. Perez was villified on Twitter immediately after giving up a solo home run in the ninth inning of Mondays 10-8 win. Perez had blown a save on Saturday after giving up two solo home runs in the ninth. The Indians won both games. Evidently that didnt matter to the Twitter boors, who let Perez have it in no uncertain terms. He was villified in profane and ugly ways even though Vinnie Pestano and Joe Smith both gave up home runs as well. Among the tweets directed at Perez:@chrisperez54 you dumb fat a, we should trade your nasty a beard a bch a to the fuing cubs or pirates. We DONT need you ahole Nate Testa (@TheRealGord) May 20, 2013 Chris Perez has deleted his Twitter. I finally did it. You're welcome, Cleveland.HeBlockedMeBackIn2011YetIStillTweetAtHim WinnerWinner John Solano (@Solano_56) May 21, 2013 I will person Mon, 20 May 2013 22:18:13 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/perez_deletes_twitter_account_after_verbal_attacks/13659778 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/perez_deletes_twitter_account_after_verbal_attacks/13659778 Perez deletes Twitter account after verbal attacks http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/perez_deletes_twitter_account_after_verbal_attacks/13659778 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/0/d/0db66b5ee728bac8030b7f267598e7c78c378587/mini/6497040.jpg It might be time for baseball fans to start paying attention to the Cleveland Indians. The AL Central-leading Tribe have won five straight, and Terry Francona‘s club completed a four-game sweep of the Mariners on Monday in dramatic fashion. After taking a 5-5 tie into the bottom of the seventh, the teams combined to score eight runs over the final 3 1/2 innings, with Cleveland’s Mike Aviles coming home on an error to tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Seattle again took the lead on a Jason Smoak homer in the top of the 10th, but Indians catcher Yan Gomes responded with a three-run bomb in the bottom of the frame, allowing Cleveland to walk off with a win in what reliever Chris Perez called the “best game [he's] ever been a part of.” It may be a highlight of Perez’s career, but even this finish can’t come close to the game these two teams played back in 2001, when the Indians rallied from a 12-run deficit over the final three innings to complete the greatest c... Mon, 20 May 2013 18:57:45 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/yan_gomes_caps_indians_wild_win_over_mariners_with_walk_off_homer_in_10th_inning/13658746 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/yan_gomes_caps_indians_wild_win_over_mariners_with_walk_off_homer_in_10th_inning/13658746 Yan Gomes Caps Indians’ Wild Win Over Mariners With Walk-Off Homer in 10th Inning http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/yan_gomes_caps_indians_wild_win_over_mariners_with_walk_off_homer_in_10th_inning/13658746 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png CLEVELAND, OH -- This time the excitement and jubilation came down to the best bunt never hit.To overcoming the failing of not one but three of the Indians standout relievers.To bumbling errors by the Seattle Mariners.And to a home run by a backup catcher in the bottom of the 10th that sent the bench racing to the plate to welcome a hitter for the second time in four days.Go ahead and try to figure whats happening with these Cleveland Indians, though perhaps its best not to try.Perhaps its best to simply join the ride, because its been one wild and crazy one to start the season. Wild and crazy enough to give signs that something special could be building -- though if anyone did say that too loud manager Terry Francona might glare at them, because he just wants to focus on winning the game the team is supposed to win on each particular day.Still, even Francona admitted that Mondays 10-8 win over Seattle was about as weird as they come, with four lead changes in the final four innings.The game-winning hit came Mon, 20 May 2013 18:13:46 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/gomes_home_run_beats_mariners_in_10th/13658524 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/gomes_home_run_beats_mariners_in_10th/13658524 Gomes' home run beats Mariners in 10th http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/gomes_home_run_beats_mariners_in_10th/13658524 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Major League Baseball announced today the players of the week for the week ending May 19th. Cleveland pitcher Justin Masterson earned the award for the American League and Joey Votto for the National- “Masterson went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 20 strikeouts and five walks in 16.0 innings pitched over a pair of starts to claim his first career A.L. Player of the Week Award and the first for a Cleveland hurler since CC Sabathia in 2008. Justin is the second Indian to be tabbed with a weekly honor this month after teammate Ryan Raburn won for the week ending May 5th. Among pitching leaders, Masterson was tops in the Majors in strikeouts and was tied for first overall in wins, ERA and innings pitched.” The Indians are the hottest team in the majors right now, and Masterson is certainly the anchor of the starting rotation. Justin pitched a masterpiece against the Yankees on Monday allowing just four hits and struck out 9 on his way to another 1-0 shutout. Yesterday, Masterson had another brill... Mon, 20 May 2013 16:21:46 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/justin_masterson_named_al_player_of_the_week/13657891 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/justin_masterson_named_al_player_of_the_week/13657891 Justin Masterson named AL Player of the Week http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/justin_masterson_named_al_player_of_the_week/13657891 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/d/2/d255fb7aefb056a4c8b047308426f7ae51adc905/mini/6435860.jpg Table of Contents Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes. 1. Featured Game: Seattle at Cleveland, 12:05pm ET 2. Today’s Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game) 3. Today’s Complete Schedule Featured Game: Seattle at Cleveland, 12:05pm ET Regarding This Game, Who’s Starting It for Cleveland Starting this game for Cleveland is left-hander Scott Kazmir (25.1 IP, 96 xFIP-, -0.1 WAR). Regarding Scott Kazmir, A Thing of Which the Author Is Aware The author is aware that recently, in these pages, FanGraphs managing editor and viceroy of love Dave Cameron welcomed back now-Cleveland left-hander Scott Kazmir to major-league baseball — welcomed him back, that is, largely due to the impressive velocity Kazmir had exhibited in a start against Oakland on May 9th. Another Thing of Which the Author Is Aware Another thing of which the author aware is that perhaps the Reading Public — itself busy attempting to navigate life’s horrors one-by-one — needs only so many sta... Mon, 20 May 2013 10:10:54 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/daily_notes_scott_kazmirs_increasing_velocity_animated/13654336 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/daily_notes_scott_kazmirs_increasing_velocity_animated/13654336 Daily Notes: Scott Kazmir’s Increasing Velocity, Animated http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/daily_notes_scott_kazmirs_increasing_velocity_animated/13654336 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Expectations were high heading into 2013, with general manager Chris Antonetti blazing a new course with real free agent signings and manager Terry Francona at the helm. At the quarter-mark of the season, expectations remain high as Cleveland sits two games up in the division and owns the fifth best record in all of baseball. How did the team reach that height? Well, it is once again time to rank the roster and break down each player's contribution to the team. This piece is long enough already, so let's just dive right in. #35 Carlos Carrasco, RHP (Previous Rank: UR) 2013 Stats: 1 GS, 0-1 W-L, 4.91 SO/9, 4.91 BB/9, 17.18 ERA, 11.47 FIP, 5.96 xFIP, -0.2 fWAR, -0.3 rWAR in 3.2 IP No matter how successful Carrasco has been at Triple-A in his first full season since Tommy John surgery, it is hard not to have a bad taste in your mouth after his ill-fated start early in the season. Carrasco has a lot of work to do to erase his hothead persona and will probably get the chance some... Mon, 20 May 2013 10:02:39 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/ranking_the_2013_cleveland_indians_roster_at_the_quarter_mark/13654162 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/ranking_the_2013_cleveland_indians_roster_at_the_quarter_mark/13654162 Ranking the 2013 Cleveland Indians' roster at the quarter-mark http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/ranking_the_2013_cleveland_indians_roster_at_the_quarter_mark/13654162 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Justin Mastserson did it again. He pitched a fantastic game to help the Cleveland Indians shut down their 7th Cy Young award-winning pitcher out of the 8 they faced this season. The Cleveland Indians have now won 16 of their last 20 games and they wake up this morning with a 2 game lead over the Tigers in first place in the A.L. Central. The Indians watched as their Ace, shut out the Seattle Mariners for his second shut out performance in a row. Masterson pitched 7 innings of shut out baseball and he struck out a season high 11 batters, he only issued 2 walks. As the season goes on Masterson gets better. Just like the Indians offense who continue to take advantage of some of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. The Indians offense has beaten 7 out of the 8 CY Young Award winning pitcher they faced. They say good pitching stops good hitting. That hasn’t been the case with the 2013 Indians offense. They beat the Mariners Felix Hernandez yesterday and they made it look easy. Mic... Mon, 20 May 2013 06:37:54 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/masterson_shuts_out_the_mariners_to_give_the_indians_7_out_of_8_wins_over_cy_young_award_winning_pitching_this_season/13653202 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/masterson_shuts_out_the_mariners_to_give_the_indians_7_out_of_8_wins_over_cy_young_award_winning_pitching_this_season/13653202 Masterson shuts out the Mariners to give the Indians 7 out of 8 wins over Cy Young Award winning pitching this season. http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/masterson_shuts_out_the_mariners_to_give_the_indians_7_out_of_8_wins_over_cy_young_award_winning_pitching_this_season/13653202 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png From the Bait Shop: There’s struggling… …and then there’s being just plain bad. The Mudcats were officially bad last week, as they only managed a 1-6 record, dropped to 13 games behind the first place Myrtle Beach Pelicans, were outscored by 13 runs, and had the worst record in the entire Carolina League, by five games. Some will point to the offense leading the league with a .269 average, and scratch their heads at how or why this team is so bad. It’s easy. The average doesn’t mean a thing when you aren’t scoring enough runs. The Muddies continue to have some players just scorching on the offensive side of things with regards to hitting the baseball, they are now last in the league in runs scored, last in home runs (by six), and last in RBI. The Mudcats hit a pretty respectable .261 on the week, but were really carried by two or three guys at the top of that lineup this week. They averaged just under four runs a game, which is horribly bad, but never good when your pitching has bee... Sun, 19 May 2013 16:11:20 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/lindor_and_naquin_are_fishing_for_mudcats/13650406 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/lindor_and_naquin_are_fishing_for_mudcats/13650406 Lindor and Naquin are Fishing for Mudcats http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/lindor_and_naquin_are_fishing_for_mudcats/13650406 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png The Indians expect right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka to be pitch again in the minor leagues within the next month after an oblique injury sidelined him. Matsuzaka has been out since April 28, when he hurt his side while pitching for Triple-A Columbus. Indians vice president Ross Atkins said Sunday that the Japanese right-hander is progressing, and he believes Matsuzaka will be pitching again ''in weeks, not months.'' Matsuzaka signed a minor-league contract in February and was given a chance to win a job in Cleveland's rotation during spring training. But he was beaten out and the Indians released him before he re-signed and reported to the Clippers. In five Triple-A starts, Matsuzaka went 0-2 with a 3.92 ERA. The 32-year-old was limited to just 18 starts in the past two seasons because of elbow issues. Sun, 19 May 2013 14:02:59 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/indians_matsuzaka_improving_from_side_injury/13649920 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/indians_matsuzaka_improving_from_side_injury/13649920 Indians' Matsuzaka improving from side injury http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/indians_matsuzaka_improving_from_side_injury/13649920 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png They say you judge your baseball teams after 40 games of the regular season. The Cleveland Indians have played 41 games and they have played most of them very well. The team is in first place in the A.L. Central and even the starting pitchers have done better than expected. The Indians won another one run game over the Seattle Mariners yesterday. That makes 2 games they won in the late innings and 2 games they were able to pull off to take over first place in the A.L. Central. The Indians started Zach McAllister, he continues to throw well and he pitched for 7-1/3 innings giving up only 2 earned runs on 6 hits. Chris Perez came in to close it down in the 9th but wasn’t able to hold the Mariners. He gave up 2 home runs and the Tribe had to pull out some more of their late inning magic to pull out their 24th win. Mark Reynolds was able to pull out an infield hit that knocked the Mariners short stop on his butt trying to filed the ball. His throw was bad coming to the plate and Jason K... Sun, 19 May 2013 09:13:52 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/the_cleveland_indians_stand_alone_at_the_top_of_the_alcentral_division_after_41_games/13648735 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/the_cleveland_indians_stand_alone_at_the_top_of_the_alcentral_division_after_41_games/13648735 The Cleveland Indians stand alone at the top of the A.L.Central Division, after 41 games. http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/the_cleveland_indians_stand_alone_at_the_top_of_the_alcentral_division_after_41_games/13648735 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Some news, notes and thoughts from my Indians notebook… Quarter pole review The Indians just passed the quarter pole in the season, which is typically the time when the fans and the front office reassess the team.  Sitting at 24-17 and winners of 16 of their last 20 games, the Indians are playing well and hitting on all cylinders. The Indians are ahead of last year’s pace by a game as the 2012 Indians were 23-18 after 41 games, and they are two games behind the pace of the 2011 Indians who were 26-15 after 41 games. With the Indians off to their third straight good start, the question remains: are they for real? The IBI’s Jim Piascik will be doing a 40-game review of the actual performances of the players in a piece that will post on Monday, so I won’t delve too much into the individual performances to date. Instead, I will tough on some of the things that have led to their success and why this year’s good start may be more sustainable than the prior two seasons. The biggest differe... Sun, 19 May 2013 01:21:50 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/tribe_happenings_third_time_the_charm_with_this_hot_start/13648174 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/tribe_happenings_third_time_the_charm_with_this_hot_start/13648174 Tribe Happenings: Third time the charm with this hot start? http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/tribe_happenings_third_time_the_charm_with_this_hot_start/13648174 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png As an Indians fan watching the team get off to a tremendous start, I find myself spending the majority of my time trying to pick holes in the roster that could eventually be our downfall or equalizing force. Attempting to find players who are so far outplaying their capability that regression both as a player and as a team is inevitable. This is not to say I am not thoroughly enjoying every moment of Tribe baseball but merely that I am hesitant to heap unfair expectations on this exciting and altogether exuberant team. During this process of attempting to find holes in the Indians roster and specifically the starting nine, there was one thing in particular that I could not get past. Drew Stubbs is hitting ninth. The Indians have a 15 homer, 30 steal guy hitting ninth in the lineup, offering plus defense in right field. Shelley Duncan, Jose Lopez, and even the legendary Travis Buck hit in the top six in the order at points the last two seasons. Wow. Perhaps this idea has been reitera... Sat, 18 May 2013 09:24:25 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/trend_spotting_the_value_of_drew_stubbs_and_a_dilemma_at_third/13644337 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/trend_spotting_the_value_of_drew_stubbs_and_a_dilemma_at_third/13644337 Trend Spotting: The value of Drew Stubbs and a dilemma at third http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/trend_spotting_the_value_of_drew_stubbs_and_a_dilemma_at_third/13644337 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png CLEVELAND -- Jason Kipnis remembers making noises, but he doesnt know what they were.There were no words coming out, really, he said Friday night. It was just kind of sounds. Gibberish. Just screams.Kipnis had just watched his 10th-inning fly ball sail into the right-field stands to give the Indians a 6-3 win over Seattle. And as the crowd of 34,282 exulted, so did Kipnis.The dugout emptied to welcome Drew Stubbs and Michael Bourn to the plate, then put a semi-circle around home as Kipnis rounded the bases.He put his arms out and looked to the crowd headed to first. As he got to second, he started screaming. As he got to third, he enjoyed the roars of the most exuberant crowd at Progressive Field this season. Halfway down the third-base line, Kipnis slammed his helmet, then jumped on the plate and into the the gaggle of teammates.I was so happy for them, manager Terry Francona said. I get a big kick out of that. Watching those guys jump on each other is fun.The two-out rally ended what Bourn called a battle o Sat, 18 May 2013 00:31:49 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/kipnis_home_run_in_10th_sends_34282_home_happy/13643497 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/kipnis_home_run_in_10th_sends_34282_home_happy/13643497 Kipnis' home run in 10th sends 34,282 home happy http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/kipnis_home_run_in_10th_sends_34282_home_happy/13643497 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png