Tag: believeland

Projecting the Indians ALDS Roster

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

The regular season is close to wrapping up and while the Indians are still playing to secure home field advantage, it is not too early to start thinking about the playoff roster for the first round.

Majority of the spots I feel are pretty secure. A few guys are injured right now and (knock on wood) hopefully no one else gets hurt at this point. So right now, I am assuming Brantley, Zimmer, and Guyer will be out. I am also assuming Lonnie Chisenhall makes it back.

Saying that, let’s start with the pitching staff. Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer are locked in as the 1, 2 and 3 spots in the rotation. The fourth spot is one of my question marks. In the pen, Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Mike Clevinger, and Joe Smith are all for sure going to make it. Still leaves 2-3 pen spots open depending on how many arms Tito wants to carry.

Now, the easiest position is catcher. Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez are locks. That position is set. Edwin, and his parrot, at DH is locked as well.

The infield is easier than the outfield so let’s go there. Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez are all set. Giovanny Urshela will make it at third and I’m going to go with Yandy Diaz making this roster as well.

So heading into the outfield now, we have 16 spots reserved with at least 3 more going to pitchers. Austin Jackson, Jay Bruce, and Lonnie Chisenhall will all make it. I also believe Jason Kipnis gets a spot. Now, how many outfielders do the Indians keep out there is a big question.

With five spots left, this is where it gets tricky. The starting rotation spot is a battle between Danny Salazar and Josh Tomlin. It’s a real toss up here but I think Tito goes with Salazar. Tomlin deserves to be on this roster but I don’t see it in the cards for him unless Salazar has a meltdown in his next start. 21 spots down.

Now to the pen. Keeping Salazar means you need another pen arm with his limited innings. I think Tito picks 8 and that means to me that Dan Otero, Nick Goody and Tyler Olson all make this roster. Ryan Merritt and Zach McAllister are the two arms that get left off for this round. 24 secured leaving us with 1 more position player.

This is really coming down to three players I believe. Erik Gonzalez, Abraham Almonte, and Greg Allen. Gonzalez is a great utility guy and a speedster on the base paths but I think Urshela, Jose and even Kipnis being able to come back to the infield eliminates his need. Which means it’s Almonte or Allen. Allen is the better defender here and for that reason I think the kid makes the roster. There you go. 25 man roster complete.

Here is the quick run down again.

Starting Pitchers:

Corey Kluber

Carlos Carrasco

Trevor Bauer

Danny Salazar

Pen:

Mike Clevinger

Bryan Shaw

Cody Allen

Joe Smith

Andre Miller

Dan Otero

Nick Goody

Tyler Olson

DH:

Edwin Encarnacion

Catchers:

Yan Gomes

Roberto Perez

Infield:

Carlos Santana

Yandy Diaz

Giovanny Urshela

Francisco Lindor

Jose Ramirez

Outfield:

Jay Bruce

Austin Jackson

Jason Kipnis

Lonnie Chisenhall

Greg Allen

Go Tribe!

Getting Saucy

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

Cleveland just keeps them coming. Saucy brew works is just a couple streets over from the main west 25th strip of Ohio city. This large space, including an outdoor patio, is a nice addition to the Hingetown neighborhood. This brewery opened up a little over two months. While the ordering setup was a little confusing, the staff quickly noticed my awkward standing around while I tried to figure it all out and they came over to direct me to the right place. Good customer service is always appreciated.

The beers were pretty good. While the TPS IPA was ok, but nothing extraordinary, the Save Room for Pie vanilla pumpkin porter was a sweet porter that drinks really easily. The Punchline fruit beer was delicious as well and I think I could easily pound 10 of those back like they were a glass of Welch’s fruit punch.

The pizza was very good as well. The large comes out on this huge serving tray. A large pizza indeed. We had the margherita and was very pleased with it. Overall, it is a great new spot with a pretty extensive tap list for a new brewery with quite a few seasonal brews that I will have to try out next time.

Small Town, Big Flavor

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

A good buddy of mine moved south of the Akron/Canton area of Ohio a couple months ago. I've been meaning to get down there to visit him and Friday I finally got that chance. I also got to try out Lockport Brewery in Bolivar, Ohio. A great excuse to try out a different brewery.

This brewery opened towards the end of 2016 and is an open concept brewery with everything out in the open. This place may be small but the beer was very flavorful. I had a beer sample with an amber Ale and various IPAs. The Tomahawk Double IPA was my favorite of the bunch. This high alcohol beer provided a nice flavor and was done very well.

For dinner, I had their cubano sandwich and it was toasted well and the pork was a nice smokey flavor. This was a great small brewery overall with a great knowledgeable staff combined with a relaxing atmosphere located in this small town of Bolivar, Ohio. Definitely worth the trip south from Cleveland.

Whiskey and Beer in Cle

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Distillery, Restaurants, whiskeyLeave a comment

The Cleveland Brewery Scene is growing rapidly. Cleveland Scene just wrote a large article about it. It’s a well done article you can read here. While there may or may not be a bubble, it is great for the beer lovers of Cleveland that so many places keep popping up. A few weeks ago I visited Portside Distillery and Brewery for the first time. This place has been open since 2015 but I had yet to stop in.

What makes this place unique in Cleveland is that they not only brew beer but they are a distillery. Not many places out there do both. That is a nice addition to the traditional brewery. They have a good variety of beers and the pretzels were pretty good as well. This location near the water is pretty spacious and when I went on a Sunday afternoon provided a good laid back spot to have a Sunday Funday. Once thing I do regret not trying was the whiskey but it does give me a reason to go back and try it again.

Wade, Durant, and the Crazed Events Surrounding NBA Free Agency

On By Chris ElliottIn BasketballLeave a comment

NBA Free Agency has started up and caused a plethora of tweets, thoughts and hot takes. Every white guy with an average jump shot now gets pad $10 Million a year in the new NBA. I am pretty sure I am due a 4 year/$6 Million deal shortly. My solid celebrations and hustle can at least earn me that.

But really, these contracts are not that absurd. In fact, when the cap goes up again next year they will seem like bargains. Maybe I should sign a 2 year deal with a player option? My value is sure to sky-rocket.

With Kevin Durant bolting for Golden State and proving how much of a choke job he really is, the NBA is really a battle between 3-4 teams…at most. Sorry everyone else it is July 5th and your season is over. Time to play for the lottery. It also has started a series of Wade to the Cavs rumors. Would I love to see Wade in a Cavs jersey next season? Yes, of course. He can still average 16 points in the Cavs lineup and help retain the title in Believeland. But that is just not realistic. Cavs don’t have the money. I could see this  as Lebron’s ploy to get his buddy his money and also get the Cavs another player. Could this force a team to dump a player in a trade with the Cavs that fits into one of their trade exceptions in order for a team to sign Wade? Yes, and I think that is what will happen. Wade will get paid more than the 2 year deal worth $40 Million. Lebron  will get another body to help defend the land and everyone will go home happy…. Well except Thunder fans. Sucks to be them.

Why Cleveland?

On By Chris ElliottIn BasketballLeave a comment

I can’t tell you what its like to win a championship. Personally, I have come close but never won one. I see myself in this city that longs for a title.

I have always hated fans referring to the team as “We”. We didn’t practice, we didn’t play, we didn’t coach. Most of the time there is no we. However, in Cleveland it’s different this time. This team and this city are connected.

Tonight, June 19, 2016, could be the greatest night in Cleveland history. No other city has been waiting for this day quite like Cleveland has.We have  waited and waited. Sat through heart-break after heart break. For years Cleveland has been the mistake by the lake. The city no one wants to visit. Our nightlife sucks, our teams suck, our city sucks. Our players leave, our people move out and our best players bail on us because you can’t win in Cleveland. This is the narrative everyone wants you to think. Yet, the narrative has slowly been changing. Travel magazines and blogs say we are the place to visit, people rave about our homegrown chefs and dining scene and even the republicans think Cleveland is important politically. Our teams returned, our people moved back and even our players come back like a prodigal son. Maybe, the old narrative isn’t true.

We know Golden State is the best team in regular season history. Curry and Klay are the best shooters ever. Everyone knew we didn’t stand a chance epitomized by the 3-1 series start. The season was going up in flames like our river once did. Lebron couldn’t handle pressure, Kyrie was not  fit to be a superstar and Cleveland sports once again will come up short.  But we don’t believe that narrative about Cleveland. We never did.

Slowly, the impossible seems to be occurring. It’s cool to be from Cleveland. The flats are back, old neighborhoods are rising and young people are flocking to Cleveland in waves this town has never seen. This  is the new Cleveland narrative.

Outside this city there was little hope. The Warriors were about to complete the greatest season. Then the Cavs stole game 5 on the road. Lebron showed why he is the true MVP in game 6 and suddenly the Cavs forced game 7 against the best team ever. The Cavs are writing a new chapter..

My earliest sports memory was the 97 world series. It’s just one of many famed Cleveland sports failures. And like any young kid I didn’t realize I would have to wait 10 years to see the city have another chance. Only to see any hope come crumbling down with “The Decision”. Yet, Lebron came back. The city came back. The Cavs came back. WE came back. .

And come tonight the Warriors could find their jumper. Lebron could lose his and Kyrie could disappear and all would return to normal in the eyes of the outside world. Cleveland would again let one slip and the city would remain without a title. Yet, the narrative seems different. The city is different. This team is different. We are different. We know  it won’t be easy. It won’t be given to us. Like everything we have in this city, it will be earned.  This title will need to be earned.  In North East Ohio, we know nothing is given, everything is earned. #AllIn216 #Believeland