Friday, August 6, 2010

The B-List Lite: 8/5

The Red Sox split the series on one bad pitch, and the game recap features:


  • Josh Tomlin's success
  • Flyball pitchers in general
  • Frank Herrmann's misunderstanding
  • Shin-Soo Choo's strength
  • The Reverse Doughnut Lineup
  • Disparaging comments about leadoff hitters
  • ... including one who wasn't even on the roster yet
  • Tofu Lou's bad judgement
There are lots of places to see a home run in an Indians game, but only one place to read The B-List.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

The B-List Lite: 8/4

The Indians destroy the clown-shoes-wearing Red Sox, and the game recap features:


  • Justin Masterson's revenge
  • Justin Masterson's potential fade pitch for lefties
  • Justin Masterson's inaccuracy
  • Tony Sipp's maturity
  • Relievers who throw strikes
  • Jensen Lewises who don't
  • Chicks digging the long ball
  • Indians fans digging the clown shoes
There are lots of places to see bad defense in a Cleveland game, but only one place to read The B-List.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The B-List Lite: 8/3

The Tribe loses the beanball war and the game, and the game recap features:


  • Josh Beckett as pot, Indians as kettle
  • The Fairness Doctrine applied to David Huff
  • The Fairness Doctrine applied to Tofu Lou
  • Obligatory cheap shot
  • Justin Germano making an impression
  • Grasping at straws looking for positives
There are lots of places to David Huff give up a home run, but only one place to read The B-List.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The B-List Lite: 8/2

The Tribe wins a game and dodges a bullet, and the game recap features:


  • The injury
  • The implications, long and short-term
  • Fausto rebounds
  • Shelley hammers
  • Jord Brown gets hit first hit
  • The bullpen fails ...
  • ... but the closer succeeds!
  • A very, very, very unlikely box score line
There are lots of places to see a Boston Red Sok get hurt, but only one place to read The B-List.

What exactly did we lose here?

The Indians were said to have gutted their team, trading away every short-term veteran and leaving the team short-handed for the rest of the season.

Does the first part really imply the second?

Consider left fielder Austin Kearns.  Kearns was a revelation in April, getting off to a fast start and saving the team from a truly horrendous offensive start, lifting them up to "merely bad."  I've argued that he might be the best NRI signing of the year, except that I think Joaquin Benoit was an NRI.  I don't know the details, but Benoit's season is a lot better than Kearns' (or most other humans).  In any event, Kearns was a good signing that paid off, and good for him (and us).

But realistically, since that hot start, Kearns has been kind of a schmoe.

Monday, August 2, 2010

When trades open doors

Pinch-writing for a traveling Rob Neyer, I wrote this piece for ESPN.

The overall point is that sometimes a trade will open a slot for regular playing time for a guy who's more important to your long-term success, but the main example is Matt LaPorta being "acquired" as part of the Russ Branyan Dump Trade.  It was pointed out in the comments that I missed an obvious case when San Francisco traded Bengie Molina to make room for Buster Posey, but I cite some other examples as well.  Hope you enjoy the piece.

The B-List Lite: 7/30 - 8/2

The stripped-down Indians are better than the originals and take two of three from Toronto.  The game recaps feature:
  • Justin Masterson taking one for the team
  • Two unbeaten sub-2.00-ERA rookie starters
  • On short rest!
  • The bullpen redeems itself
  • Chris Perez as Really Big Bob
  • A surprising home run
  • Managerial Head Scratchers
  • A misuse of resources
There are lots of places to see the Indians field AAA callups, but only one place to read The B-List.