The B-List Lite: 7/1

Justin Masterson completes the 4-game sweep of Toronto, and today's game recap features:

• Masterson's improved approach
• Masterson's improved luck
• Back-to-back jacks!
• Carlos Santana's amazing stamina
• Is Mike Redmond dead?
• Trevor Crowe's last week at leadoff
• We hope

There are lots of places to see the Tribe hit a home run, but only one place to read The B-List.

Why we whipped Russell Branyan

Paul Cousineau laments the loss of Russell Branyan in an SBNation post. Actually, I should say he laments the perception that Indians fans treated Branyan unfairly, considering him a “whipping boy” for all the Indians’ problems, when in fact Branyan did pretty much what could reasonably be expected from him. This isn’t an unsupportable position, as shown by Cousineau’s excellent support. Yes, Russell Branyan struck out. Yes, Russell Branyan played subpar defense at first. But Branyan also hit 10 homers and finished the Cleveland portion of his stint hitting .263/.328/.491, good for an .819 OPS that was 3rd-best on the team at the time. In terms of reasonable expectations, it could credibly be argued that Russ actually exceeded them.


Of course, this is part of the problem. The expectations for Branyan were that he would add value, but not a LOT of value. Which is exactly what happened: he added some value. But the team was still bad, and in terms of what fans wanted to see, there were basically two plausible camps:

1) The Indians are rebuilding and need to make every move in accordance with the Posnanski Treatise
2) The Indians might compete in a weak A.L. Central if they exceed expectations

Well, Branyan doesn’t serve EITHER of those purposes. He sure as heck isn’t a long-term solution to ANYTHING: the man is 34 with a balky back, and not really an everyday player despite what hard-core wishcasters would have you believe. Branyan hit 3 homers in 45 ABs against lefties, leading to a .467 SLG. That’s good. He also drew 2 walks and hit .222, leading to a .255 OBP. That’s nauseating. And in terms of competing in the Central, well, Branyan would have had to add a LOT of value QUICKLY, and instead added SOME value TOO LATE.

The B-List Lite: 6/30

Cleveland wins its third straight, all saved by Kerry Wood, and today's game recap features:

• Matt LaPorta's sustainable approach
• Afterthought Laffey
• Flyballs and first pitches
• Carlos Santana's amazing gap
• The bullpen streak
• No Break for Choo
• Speed and power from ... Jason Donald?

There are lots of places to see the Tribe hit a home run, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 6/29

Cleveland wins its third straight, all saved by Kerry Wood, and today's game recap features:

• The "Fausto Fade"
• The bullpen glass three-quarters full
• Still-comical defense and pitching location
• Kerry Wood's giant neon sign
• Jayson Nix: miscast at 3B, or simply miscast at MLB?
• Matt LaPorta's extra-extra-base hit
• Lineup Construction for fun and no profit

There are lots of places to see the Tribe give up unearned runs, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 6/28

Cleveland wins back-to-back games and the first while scoring 2 runs since last year, and today's game recap features:

• Jake Westbrook's bad start
• Jake Westbrook's good recovery
• Travis Hafner, flashing the wheels!
• Kerry Wood's continued audition
• A new suitor
• Jayson Nix taking the bull by the ... ear, probably
• Matt LaPorta's extra-base hit
• The ol' Santana-Kearns one-two punch

There aren't many places to see Travis Hafner score on a suicide squeeze, but only one place to read The B-List.

The B-List Lite: 6/25 - 6/27

The Indians snap a 7-game losing streak after a winless last week, and today's game recaps feature:

• The sub-umphant return of Aaron Laffey
• Justin Masterson's regression to the Cleveland K:BB ratio
• Mitch Talbot's smoke & mirrors
• Smash-Soo-Choo
• Carlos Santana, Two-sided Terror
• Russ Branyan's exit, stage inevitable
• Second Basemen of Death
• Trade for Kerry Wood, or you will die!

There are lots of places to watch three runs score without a hit, but only one place to read The B-List.