Chisenhall Plates Five in Half a Game as Indians Avoid Sweep; Indians 12, Dodgers 5

Lonnie Chisenhall delivered a clutch pinch-hit three-run home run in the fifth inning and the Cleveland bats tacked on as the Indians defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-5 to avoid the sweep in the final game of their homestand Thursday afternoon.

The bats were alive and well in a rare series finale between the Tribe and Dodgers as the club’s met for just the 12th time in the regular season. It required an unusual mid-game turn to the bench by manager Terry Francona, but the move worked to perfection as the Indians extended a one-run lead and did not look back. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 0

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Countdown to Opening Day – 0 days

Cleveland fans and their beloved Indians players were rewarded for their successful 2016 season with the shortest offseason in team history. It did not seem to make the fall and winter months move any quicker, however.

The final number in our nearly three-month long series brings about one candidate who has worn the number zero and two more who wore double-zeroes during the long, storied history of the Cleveland Indians organization. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 1 – Bobby Avila

Join Did The Tribe Win Last Night as we dig through the archives in our countdown to Opening Day with a story on the late Bobby Avila, who would have turned 93 today.

Countdown to Opening Day – 1 days

As a child growing up in Veracruz, Mexico, Roberto “Bobby” Avila played soccer and dreamed of being a bullfighter. As a student, he studied engineering. His later life was spent in politics.

But Avila – called Beto in Spanish-speaking nations but known as Bobby in the United States – was probably most famous as the first really prominent Mexican baseball player. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 2

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Countdown to Opening Day – 2

Few in life are comfortable with a second place finish and in Indians history, few have made a lengthy stay … Read More

Indians Finalize Roster with Additions of Diaz and Martinez

With just a matter of days until the Cleveland Indians open up their American League pennant defense, the final roster decisions have been made as the team announced on Thursday that prospect Yandy Diaz and veteran utility man Michael Martinez will be on the club’s Opening Day roster to start the 2017 season. It follows Wednesday’s news that outfielder Abraham Almonte will open the year with the Tribe with right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall set to land on the 10-day disabled list while dealing with a sprained shoulder.

Third baseman Giovanny Urshela and utility man Erik Gonzalez will both start their years back at Columbus, as the Indians announced both have been optioned to Triple-A. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 4

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Countdown to Opening Day – 4

For the first time since 2011, the number four will be missing in action on the diamond when the Cleveland Indians open the season.

Over the last few years, it has found its way onto the backs of veteran players on the roster, including both Juan Uribe and Coco Crisp last season and Mike Aviles for each of the three seasons before them, but it has rarely been used in recent years by a player making significant impacts on the outcomes of games on a nightly basis.

Despite being a low number and typically a digit that would be more frequently used, the number four has gone through some droughts in Cleveland history. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 5 – Lou Boudreau

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Countdown to Opening Day – 5 days

Number five on our countdown is one of the handful of players honored in Indians history with a retired number. He was a man who held two very distinct titles during his tenure in Cleveland and several more nicknames for good measure. Whether you called him “Old Shufflefoot”, “Handsome Lou”, “Boy Wonder”, “The Good Kid”, or skipper, Lou Boudreau was one thing in the end – a Hall of Famer.

The Indians will honor Boudreau on August 5th of this season with a statue outside of Progressive Field, where he will be immortalized alongside former teammates Bob Feller and Larry Doby, legendary slugger Jim Thome, and fellow former player-manager Frank Robinson, who will be recognized on May 27. Read More

Indians Announce Five-Year Extension with Jose Ramirez

The Cleveland Indians put an end to recent rumors when the club announced on Tuesday afternoon it had come to terms on a five-year contract extension with utility man Jose Ramirez.

The 24-year-old switch-hitting infielder by trade is coming off of a breakout season in 2016, the first season in his four-year Major League career that he has remained on the Indians roster for the course of the whole season without a lengthy stay at the minor league level. The Cleveland front office capitalized on the opportunity to add another player to the long list of Indians locked up on long-term deals. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 6 – Brandon Guyer

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Countdown to Opening Day – 6

One of the more underrated midseason acquisitions for any club last season was the Indians’ addition of outfielder Brandon Guyer from the Tampa Bay Rays on August 1. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 7 – Yan Gomes

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Countdown to Opening Day – 7

If there was one glaring and consistent issue on the Indians roster from the beginning of the season until the end of the World Series, it was the offensive production lacking from behind the plate.

Injuries decimated the Tribe’s catching position throughout the season, as the club lost both starter Yan Gomes and his backup Roberto Perez for long stretches of the campaign with ailments that landed each on the disabled list. It led to Perez returning from a broken thumb quicker than hoped and significant playing time for veteran Chris Gimenez, who rejoined the Indians for the third time in his career in May and logged a career-high 67 games over the course of the season. Read More

Jackson Makes Club as Cleveland Continues Finalizing Roster

As spring training wrapped up its final weekend in Arizona and Florida, the Cleveland Indians were busy working to finalize their 25-man roster to open the season. One big decision was made by the club on Sunday, as outfielder Austin Jackson has won an opportunity to start the season with the Indians.

The Indians announced several other moves in a press release early Sunday afternoon when several players were optioned or reassigned to minor league camp while four more non-roster invitees found out that they would not be on the roster to start Opening Day. Read More

Countdown to Indians’ Opening Day – 8 – Lonnie Chisenhall

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Countdown to Opening Day – 8

Friday was a day that quite likely made the Cleveland Indians coaching staff cringe with the thought of losing several potential members of the team’s 40-man roster with just a week and a half to go before the regular season begins in Texas against the Rangers.

Utility man Erik Gonzalez exited in the eighth inning of the day’s contest after being struck in the hand by a pitch. In the same game against the Chicago Cubs, right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall suffered a mild sprain of his right shoulder after crashing into the wall chasing down a fly ball.

Luckily for both players, the injuries appear minor and should not prohibit either from being back in action in the next few days. Read More