According to an interview with USA Today, former Indians slugger Manny Ramirez has stated that he’d like to play for Cleveland one more time before he finishes playing.

“I would like to play for Cleveland one more time, to go back there I started,” said Ramirez.  “I have so many good memories there, why not? I think to go back where you started is everyone’s dream.” He went on to add “I love L.A. I really do. But the way the city responded to me, it reminded me a lot of how it was in Cleveland.”

Well Manny, if that’s how you feel about it, maybe you should have accepted the Indians’ offer. You had your chance to remain an Indian and you let your agent talk you into taking less deffered money.

No doubt Indians owner Paul Dolan and GM Mark Shapiro did not want to see something like this stated publically by Ramirez. For the last two years, Indians fans have been essentially begging the team to bring back the proven slugger. Instead, fans have been given every excuse why he can’t or shouldn’t be brought back. No doubt, with this definite interest by Manny to return, sports talk radio shows and internet message boards will be beating this topic like a dead horse once again. And once again, Mark Shapiro will make us dizzy with the spin he’ll put on the situation to try to explain why it won’t be done. Don’t hold your breath Indians fans.

In other news, the Indians will be recalling left-handed starter Aaron Laffey to take the place of Scott Lewis, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with a mild forearm strain. Laffey will be starting Wednesday’s game against the Royals at 2:10pm EST.

Lewis, Laffey and Jeremy Sowers all battled for a spot in the rotation this spring with Lewis eventually winning the spot. Laffey hasn’t been particularly great this spring and here in the early going of the minor league season, but manager Eric Wedge felt like Laffey was the best choice to replace Lewis. Let’s hope he’s right since the pitching needs all the help it can get.

The 2009 Major League Baseball season officially started on Monday, April 6th for the Cleveland Indians. As far as the citizens of Cleveland are concerned, the season started on Friday, April 10th.

The 16th home opener played at Jacobs…oops….Progressive Field marked the beginning of the latest “This is our year” talk around town. Everyone in attendance was ready to put the opening series the Indians played in Texas behind them. There was a sense of optimism and excitement in the air. It turns out that Mother Nature, along with the Indians’ pitching staff, had other plans in mind. Included in that was a rain delay of almost 4 hours.

With rain in the forecast and rather cool temperatures putting a chill on things, the Indians hurlers were about as miserable as the weather. Starter Scott Lewis started the game off well by getting through the Toronto order relatively easily. However, once he faced them a second time through, things changed quickly. Lewis’ final line was 4 1/3 innings, 4 runs (all earned), 3 strikeouts and one walk. Not terrible, but not too great either. Enter, the bullpen…

The combination of Rafael Betancourt, Joe Smith, Rafael Perez and Masa Kobayashi ended up allowing up 9 runs (all earned), with 4 walks and no strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Defensive misques by Jhonny Peralta and Shin-Soo Choo also helped throw gas on the fire.

The Tribe’s offense deserves some credit for trying to smash their way to a win, however. Travis Hafner went 2-4 with one home run, one double and 3 runs batted in. Hafner’s double just missed being a home run by a couple feet as it blasted off the wall of the visitor’s bullpen fence. Victor Martinez and Choo also added homers and Ryan Garko reached base 4 times with 3 walks and a base hit. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough offense.

Saturday’s afternoon game featured cool temperatures but an abundance of sunshine. If felt like a good day to win the first game of the season. Once again, however, it wasn’t meant to be.

Starter Cliff Lee continued the trend of the starters not getting out of the fifth inning by giving up 4 runs (all earned) and 4 walks, combined with 5 strikeouts. Lee’s record currently stands at 0-2 and his ERA actually DROPPED to 9.90. Yikes! Joe Smith and Vinnie Chulk helped keep Toronto’s hitters in check as the offense attempted a comeback.

The big offensive hit was provided by a struggling Mark DeRosa. With the bases loaded and 2 out in the 9th inning, DeRosa lined a pitch off the wall in left field that cleared the bases as he checked into second base with a double. It was his first extra-base hit and first RBI’s as an Indian. That would be as close as they would get though as Victor Martinez would eventually strike out to end the game, stranding DeRosa at second base.

Sunday’s game had a bit of a sense of urgency to it. Fans had been teased a few times in this young season already, feeling like the Indians we going to finally get a “W”. On top of that, they were already off to their worst start since 1985. Could this be the day it finally happens?

Starting pitcher Anthony Reyes, making his first start of 2009, gave the best performance of any starter to that point. He went six innings, allowing 4 runs (all earned) and 2 walks, while striking out 3 batters. Jesnen Lewis relieved Reyes and earned his first hold of the season and lowered his ERA to 4.91.

While all of this was going on, the offense was doing their part as well. Travis Hafner added his 3rd homer of the season, a 2-run shot, which was also his 150th career home run. Mark DeRosa added his first homer as an Indian, also a 2-run shot. The key hit, however, came off the bat of rookie Trevor Crowe. After striking out with the bases loaded and two out earlier in the game, he found himself in that same situation but this time, he ripped a double that short-hopped the wall in right center. By the time Crowe pulled into second base with his first major league hit, two runs had crossed the plate.

After all of this, closer Kerry Wood entered in a non-save situation since the score was 8-4. After starting with a 3-0 count to the lead-off hitter, Wood regrouped and preceeded to strike out the side in a dominating way. It was something Indians fans haven’t been able to enjoy since the days of Jose Mesa. And with that, it FINALLY happened! Kerry Wood and the Tribe wrapped up their first win of the season, now “improving” to 1-5 on the season.

And now all of North East Ohio can breathe a big sigh of relief…

Series Recap:

Overall Record: 1-5     Series Record: 0-2

The Good:

• Home Runs by Hafner (2,3), Choo (1), DeRosa (1), Martinez (2)
• Anthony Reyes gets first win by an Indians starter
• Kerry Wood stiking out the side to close out Sunday’s win
• Trevor Crowe and Mark DeRosa’s RBI doubles (2 RBI and 3 RBI, respectively)

The Bad:

• Starting pitching of Scott Lewis and Cliff Lee
• Bullpen performance on Friday’s home opener
• Scott Lewis placed on the DL with mild forearm strain
• The attendance on Saturday and Sunday

The Ugly:

• The weather on Friday, which featured a 3 hour and 47 minute rain delay

Next Up: After a brief homestand, the Indians travel to Kansas City to face the Royals (3-3) for a 3 game series. Monday and Tuesday’s games start at 8:10pm EST while Wednesday’s game will be at 2:10pm EST.

Today’s series finale against the Texas Rangers was not as good of a game as it’s 12-8 final score MIGHT indicate. The game was basically over before most fans in the Rangers’ stadium were settled in their seats.

One of the Indians’ offseason acquisitions, Carl Pavano, made his Indians debut against Texas on Thursday and it was a very brief and forgettable debut. Having given up 7 runs in the first inning and not able to record an out in the second inning, he’s going to be one of many topics burning up Cleveland’s sports talk radio shows and internet message boards. After pitching 1 inning and giving up 9 earned runs, it’s hard to imagine why. However, the Indians’ starting pitching in all three of the games was lousy and is already justifying a lot of the offseason skepticism surrounding the starting rotation and what to expect of the Indians in 2009.

In the season opener, the Indians offense was only able to score a single run, which came on a passed ball. As the series went on, the offense got progressively better. Thurdays game featured five home runs by Indians hitters, led by two two-run home runs. Victor Martinez, Kelly Shoppach and Travis Hafner (yes, Pronk!) also added solo shots.

One of the bright spots of the series was the long-relief work of youngster Zach Jackson. Jackson come on with 2 on and nobody out in the second inning in relief of Pavano. Faced with the task of sparing Eric Wedge from having to start burning through arms in the bullpen already, Jackson did not disappoint. He did allow a pair of runs, but he also struck out six batters and allowed only four hits in his four innings of work. That’s a better line than any of the starting pitchers’ performances so far.

With the opening series disaster behind us, Tribe fans and players alike can focus on baseball’s return to Cleveland for tomorrow’s home opener at 4:05pm. The gates will open at 2:00pm and the Indians suggest being in your seats by 3:15pm to take in all the pregame festivities.  

Series Recap:

Overall Record: 0-3     Series Record: 0-1

The Good

• Home runs by Francisco (1), Sizemore (1,2), Martinez (1), Hafner (1) and Shoppach (1)
• Relief work by Zach Jackson: 4 innings, 2 runs, 6 strikeouts, 4 hits
• The Series is over

The Bad

• Lack of offense in series opener
• Shoddy defense

The Ugly

• Indians starters (Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona, Carl pavano): 0-3, 18.00 ERA, 23 hits, 22 earned runs, 4 home runs in 11 COMBINED innings
• Carl Pavano: 0-1, 1 inning pitched, 9 earned runs, 2 home runs

Next Up: The Toronto Blue Jays come to Cleveland for a 3-game series to kick off the home portion of the 2009 season

I like this move personally. If Pavano is healthy he will be a bargain for the Indians as he throws the ball well when he is 100% healthy. He posted a 9-8 record in 26 starts after signing a four-year, $39.95 million contract with New York in December 2004.

Pavano will look to join the rotation of Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmono. The tribe will be without Jake Westbrook until the middle of the season as he is still recovering from elbow reconstruction surgery. Aaron Laffey, Anthony Reyes, Jeremy Sowers, Scott Lewis and Zach Jackson are the other pitchers in contention for starting jobs in Cleveland in 2009.

Indians Blog

DeRosa will be a free agent after the 2009 season and will be due $5.5 million next season but he is a very versatile player that can play pretty much every position besides catcher and pitcher. This is a steal for the Indians in my opinion!

GO TRIBE!

The trade came together because of the Mets’ interest in Putz, the Mariners’ interest in Gutierrez, the regular communication between Shapiro and his good friend Minaya and the Tribe’s recent talks with Seattle regarding Putz

Look for the team to also announce a two year deal with closer Kerry Wood possibly on Thursday and if not then on Friday. All that is left for Wood to do is pass a physical in Cleveland and then sign a two year contract that is to be worth $20 million dollars. There could be a option for a third year in the contract but as of right now that is uncertain.

Cleveland Indians

Lee went a major league best 22-3 this season with a 2.54 ERA. Talk about a complete turn around after being sent down to the minor leagues the season before. Lee hopes to come back just as strong in 2009 and help the team compete for a playoff spot.

Lee received a $250,000 bonus for winning, and the price of Cleveland’s 2010 club option increased from $8 million to $9 million.

Indians Blog

Rafael Perez was the losing pitcher as he gave up the winning run for the Red Sox in the eighth inning. Perez allowed two hits and one run in his one inning of action. Fausto Carmona was the starting pitcher but he got rocked for five hits and four runs in just one inning of action.

All four of the Indians runs came via singles as Shin-Soo Choo, Jhonny Peralta, Victor Martinez, and Josh Barfield all had rbi singles.

The Indians will have a chance to get a split in the series as they take on the Red Sox once again on Thursday.

Indians Blog

The Indians beat Josh Beckett which was even more impressive. Shin-Soo Choo, Jamey Carroll, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Travis Hafner all had an rbi in the game. There wasn’t much offense, but the Indians did the best with their opportunities and that is why they came away with the victory.

Zach Jackson was the winning pitcher as he tossed six innings and only gave up six hits and two runs. It was a very good quality start for Jackson who improved his season record to 1-3. Rafael Perez gave up one run in relief before Jensen Lewis finished things up to get his 12th save of the year.

Indians Blog

Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner each had one rbi each as well for the Indians.

On the mound it was Cliff Lee starting the game and throwing 6 1/3 innings. Lee was charged with ten hits and four runs as he wasn’t his usual self on Wednesday night. Lee walked three batters while striking out five and giving up one home run.

Edward Mujica ended up picking up the inning as he recorded the final two outs in the seventh inning. Jensen Lewis picked up his 10th save of the season in the ninth inning.

Indians Blog