Bleacher Report - Articles by Patrick Mace

In Perspective: The Top Five Cleveland Indians Trades Ever Made

Patrick Mace — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:19:25 -0400

The Cleveland Indians have picked up many talented prospects over the years in seemingly absurd trades. But the tales have told that they were in fact, great trades on behalf of the Tribe. Keep in mind, this is solely on opinion and is focused upon the main players dealt in these trades. Feel free to comment if you have any questions or objections.

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Rockies-Cardinals: Colorado Looks to Pull Out the Brooms in Game Four

Patrick Mace — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:10:51 -0400

The Rockies are one game away from a four game sweep of the Cardinals today, starting at 12:15.

For Colorado, Jason Marquis will throw Monday's game, coming in with a 7-4 record and a 4.10 ERA. In his career versus the Cardinals, he is 4-2 with an ERA a click below four.

Look for him to have a strong outing tonight, facing a St. Louis line-up that has been struggling lately, helping win only five of their last seven games.

St. Louis will throw right-hander Brad Thompson (0-1, 4.12 ERA) on Monday, coming in off of a decent outing last week against Cincinnati.

He should throw well today, as he has had a successful career against Colorado with a record of 3-2 and an ERA of only 1.50.

It should be a pitchers duel with the two opposing staffs battling it out. But I predict a win on the Rockies part, coming off a stretch of hard ball.

Fausto Carmona Sent To Indians Rookie League: A Season in Shambles

Patrick Mace — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:17:05 -0400

Fausto Carmona was sent to the Indians Rookie League team in Arizona on Saturday. That's right, Rookie League.

The Cleveland Indians' starting pitcher has been struggling since his 17 win 2007 season. Last year, Carmona was 8-7 with a 5.44 ERA. This year, he has been just as bad, leading the American League in walks, with a 2-6 record, and an ERA over seven.

Fausto was moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation in 2006, where he had one good year in the Tribe's "miracle" season.

The organization looks to get him some basic work to regain composure and confidence in the "starter" league.

Look for him to be back sometime right before, or after, the All-Star break.

Yankees-Rays: New York Squeak Past Tampa Bay to Even Series

Patrick Mace — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:49:46 -0400

The New York Yankees took game two of the series on sunday by a score of 4-3.

Joba Chamberlain pitched well, throwing five six strong innings, giving up only five hits and three runs, while striking out four. Relief was outstanding for Chamberlain, as Aceves came in and threw two scoreless innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced.

Tampa Bays' Garza (4-4, 3.67 ERA) threw a gem, giving five innings allowing only one earned run on four hits. The bullpen faltered late, with Balfour in relief, giving up three runs in the eighth inning.

Runs were spread throughout the Yankees lineup as Cano, Posada, Matsui, and Swisher all picked up one RBI.

For the Rays, Gabe Gross drove in two of the three Tampa Bay runs in the game.

Alfredo Aceves picked up the win, improving his record to 4-1, while Balfour was tagged with the loss, his first on the season.

Also, Nick Swisher hit the 100th homerun ever at the new Yankee Stadium, while Joe Girardi got his 200th win as a manager.

The two will face off tomorrow for the rubber match of the series, starting at 7:05.

The Nitty Gritty: Ohio State Buckeyes' Football Schedule for 2009

Patrick Mace — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:25:54 -0400

Alright, so i'm going to break down the Buckeyes schedule for this year and make predictions on what will happen, look for them to have a more than satisfactory season this year. The Ohio State Buckeyes look to take the BCS National Championship, and return to glory in 2009 behind the arm of Sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the explosive offense, and the smash mouth defense.

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Late Inning Heroics Lead Pirates to Comeback Win

Patrick Mace — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:45:14 -0400

Knocked down early by the Mets lineup, the Pirates rallied against the impressive New York bullpen Monday night to win in comeback fashion.

Ian Snell struggled early in the game, giving up five runs in three innings. But Snell battled and lasted six innings giving up only two more runs.

The Pirates late inning heroics started in the eighth inning when Pedro Feliciano was brought in for relief of Livan Hernandez. Adam LaRoche started the inning off with a double, getting the Pirates lineup in motion.

Two batters later, Adam's brother, Andy, drove him in with a single off Hernandez. Then Jason Jarmarillo singled, bringing up Jack Wilson. Wilson hit a single scoring Andy LaRoche and was followed with another RBI single from Delwyn Young.

The bases were loaded when Freddy Sanchez grounded to shortstop Wilson Valdez and Valdez dropped the ball on the transfer, scoring one more. Then Nate McLouth hit a sac fly scoring the final run of the rally.

Gorzelanny picked up his third win on the season, improving his record to 3-1. While Capps picked up his 11th save on the year.

Jeremy Sowers Makes Return to Rotation Against Yankees

Patrick Mace — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:57:53 -0400

Jeremy Sowers will make his first start tonight against the Yankees after being called up from Triple-A Columbus on May 24th.

Sowers' numbers have been less than desirable over his last few starts, with a 1-2 record and a 7.71 ERA. And with Sizemore, Hafner, and Martinez on the DL, Sowers will get his chance to shine tonight.

In Sowers' career against the Yankees, he has had three starts with a 1-1 record with 11 earned runs giving him a 6.60 ERA. Look for Sowers to bounce back tonight after a strong start against Tampa Bay in his last appearance.

The Indians should be able to give him some run support scoring 13 runs in their last three games while taking six of their last 10 games.

For the Yankees, Chamberlain will start. Chamberlain has had nine starts this season with a 3.97 ERA and a 2-1 record.

The game will be aired on ESPN starting at 7:05.

Look for this one to be a great game.

Taking The Reigns: The Mangini Era

Patrick Mace — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:23:19 -0400

Cleveland sports is and has been a troublesome spot for many fans over the years. Cleveland hasn't won a major sports championship in 45 years. Eric Mangini looks to change that.

Mangini, a veteran of eleven coaching years, four division titles, three conference titles, and three Super Bowl championships, looks to change the way the Browns have performed in the last couple of seasons.

DEFENSE:

The Cleveland Browns defense has been their downfall since the return in 1999. It has been feeding on the septic waste of the National Football League for well over ten years.

The defense ranked 26th overall in the NFL last year giving up a colossal 357 yards a game. Mangini looks to help out overall filling holes in the secondary and firming the defensive front.

OFFENSE:

On the offensive side of the ball, the Browns managed a measly 250 total yards a game with only 14.5 points a game in 2008.

The addition of center Alex Mack from the University of California, and wide receivers Brian Robiskie of Ohio State University and Mohammed Massaquoi from the University of Georgia brings young talent to the team. Plus the additions of David Patten and Mike Furrey bring veteran leadership.

Brady Quinn is taking the helms and looks to dish passes to Braylon Edwards who looks to return to "Pro-Bowl form" in 2009.

Eric Mangini looks to quench the Browns thirst for victory as he steps into the head coaching job in 2009.

Terrelle Pryor Has Big Hopes for Buckeyes in 2009

Patrick Mace — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:58:07 -0400

Although Terrelle Pryor was thrown to the wolves in his freshman year at Ohio State, he was decent at best in the 2008 Buckeye Football season. All year long he looked uncomfortable and hurried. When put in a tight situation, he resorted to his favorite tactic, scrambling, gaining chunks of yards at a time. But when given the chance to throw the football, he didn't deliver. While his stats don't show it, he didn't showcase any ability to throw deep.

But TP has shaped up in the offseason and the spring game showed some promise for the rising sophomore. He looks to improve on his 146.5 QB rating of last year.

Look for Terrelle Pryor to put up big numbers this season with his young crew.