Tag Archives: Fausto Carmona

MLB

The 30 Minute Comedy Special of the Cleveland Indians

Ryan Isley

by Ryan Isley

Just when it looked like the Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne was going to be the funniest thing on television this week, the Cleveland Indians took the field at Angel Stadium of Anaheim to play the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Wednesday night.

The issues this season have been that the Indians have gotten inconsistent starting pitching, have been anemic offensively, have shown a lack of concentration on defense and were led by a manager in Manny Acta who seemed to not know what was going on at times in the game.

There were fans watching this game that may not have been watching a lot of Indians baseball of late because Roberto Hernandez (formerly Fausto Carmona) was making his 2012 debut for the Indians after serving his suspension from Major League Baseball for falsifying information to get into the country.

After a very effective first inning in which Henandez shut down the Angels in order, it was on to the top of the second inning, and the next 30 minutes became a microcosm of the Indians 2012 season. What happened in that next half hour was something that even the best comedians at the Roseanne Roast could not have scripted.

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MLB

Ubaldo Jimenez is Picking Up Right Where Fausto Left Off

Josh Flagner

The undercurrents of the 2012 Cleveland Indians season have been dominated by two stories; getting a right-handed bat for left field and the fight to the death between those who are convinced that Ubaldo Jimenez can be an ace and those who think he’s a back of the rotation arm.

The left field problem only has one solution, and pretty much everyone agrees what that solution should be; blow the entire place up and bring Barry Bonds out of retirement. (What? That’s not it? Fine, maybe there isn’t a solution.)

There’s no doubt that the Indians lack of offense is what is going to ultimately keep this team from making the playoffs this season – as I write this sentence, Johnny Damon, Shin-Soo Choo, and Asdrubal Cabrera fail to score a run with the bases loaded and no outs – the argument that really aggravates me is the Ubaldo Jimenez debate. Continue reading Ubaldo Jimenez is Picking Up Right Where Fausto Left Off →

MLB

Indians Still Shouldn't Welcome Back the Former Fausto Carmona

Ryan Isley 4 Comments

by Ryan Isley

When news first broke that Fausto Carmona was in custody for falsifying information and his name was actually Roberto Hernandez Heredia, I wrote that the Cleveland Indians need to do themselves a favor and wash their hands of the pitcher.

That was two months ago. Despite the positive news from the Hernandez camp this week, I still feel the same way.

On Monday, the news started coming out of the Dominican Republic that Hernandez and the Dominican Republican prosecutor had agreed to terms on a deal in which Hernandez would have the charges of false identity dropped in exchange for the pitcher completing a work program in the Dominican Republic.

While Hernandez may have gotten past this first issue in his hopes to return to the Indians this season, he will still have to obtain a waiver or a visa to return to the United States. To do this, he must be able to pass an inspection from the Department of Homeland Security.

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MLB

Indians Need to Rid Themselves of Carmona (or Whoever He is)

Ryan Isley

by Ryan Isley

Some Indians fans have been ready for the team to part ways with Fausto Carmona for a while. The team finally did so on Thursday, but parted ways in name only, as Carmona was found to actually be Roberto Hernandez Heredia in real life.

Now, it’s time for the Indians to say goodbye to Carmona – or Hernandez Heredia, whatever his real identity may be. For the purpose of this article, I will refer to him as Carmona – the name Indians fans were used to calling him. Well, there were other names as well, but most of those were not fit to print, even on the internet.

Sure, Carmona was 19-8 in 2007 when the Indians made a run to the playoffs and he was an all-star in 2010, but Carmona has had more ups and downs than the stock market in his six seasons as a starting pitcher for the Indians.

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MLB

Indians Make Quick Moves on Sizemore, Carmona and Lowe

Lisa Pitz

It is only November 1st and, in just two moves yesterday, Indians GM Chris Antonetti has already set the 2012 starting Indians rotation and set the tone for the rest of the offseason.  In yesterday’s moves, the Indians exercised the $7 million team option on Fausto Carmona and acquired RHP Derek Lowe from the Atlanta Braves. The Indians also declined to exercise the $9 million option on Grady Sizemore, making the outfielder eligible for free agency. Antonetti, in his press conference yesterday, indicated that the Indians were not done yet, stating that they were  looking to upgrade both the outfield and first base during the offseason.

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MLB, NFL

MTAF Morning News – Wednesday, August 17

Ryan Isley

By Ryan Isley

Ugh-Baldo and the Indians Fall:

What do you get when you combine bad starting pitching, bad defense and bad umpiring? You get Tuesday night’s Indians loss in a nutshell.

For the second straight Tuesday night, the Cleveland Indians played a 14-inning game in which their starting pitcher had a short outing. Unfortunately this time, the Indians lost and the short start had nothing to do with the weather.

Ubaldo Jimenez took the mound for his third start as a member of the Indians last night and lasted just 4 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on nine hits on 105 pitches. He left the game down 5-2 but the Indians offense came right back to tie the game in the top of the 6th on RBI singles by Travis Hafner and Carlos Santana and a bases loaded walk by Jason Donald.

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MLB

It's Time for Sizemore and Carmona to Go

Stephanie Metzger 1 Comment

For weeks, the blogging, fandom, and tweet world have been calling for Grady Sizemore and Fausto Carmona (as well as what seems to be the rest of the Tribe team) to move on. Two of Cleveland’s once most promising stars have slipped through the cracks and failed to perform at their expected levels, and the results show.

 The Indians shocked the nation back in April and early May, but have since fallen from grace. Once holding the best record in baseball, Cleveland now sits a half game behind the Detroit Tigers. The team’s hot start can be attributed to reliable pitching and clutch offensive performances, but not necessarily from the expected candidates. Since Opening Day, Carmona has struggled and failed to perform as the team’s ace. He currently posts a 4-10 record and concerning 5.89 ERA, and has already conceded 15 home runs, which is just two less than his entire 2010 season number. The source of Carmona’s struggles has always seemed to root from his mental game, and now it seems it may be irreparably damaged. It appears that the days of his 2007 19-8 season are long gone. Carmona has been an elevator of success and failure, though one thing about him is always static – he’s unreliable.

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MLB

The Cleveland Indians Are The Hottest Team in Baseball

Josh Flagner 1 Comment

The Game:  The Cleveland Indians took a 1-0 on Asdrubal Cabrera’s fourth home run of the season, and that turned out to be all starter Mitch Talbot needed.  Talbot used his 8 innings of 5 hit ball to prove that this Indians team isn’t just all about offense.  In fact, after giving up 14 runs in the first two games of the season (both losses to the White Sox), the Tribe pitching staff has only given up 14 runs in the eight games since (sweeps of the Red Sox and Mariners, bookended by wins against the White Sox and Angels).

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MLB

Player of the Week: Masterson Beats Me With My Own Snark

Josh Flagner

Player of the Week: Justin Masterson, SP

After spending the last month making snide comments about how ineffective Justin Masterson was going to be in the Indians rotation, he comes out and tosses a 7 inning gem to get the Tribe their first win of the 2011 season.  Masterson’s 7 inning, 7 hits and 1 run performance may not headline SportsCenter as a dominate performance, but it was the perfect elixir to cure what had been ailing the Tribe: terrible starting pitching.
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MLB

Season Opener and The Bob Feller Tribute

Josh Flagner
The Tribute: The Indians organized a pregame tribute to honor the most revered man ever to don a Tribe uniform.  The organization has commemorated Feller’s spot in the press box with a memorabilia  case and a bolted down, painted gold chair, to ensure that no one ever takes the legend’s place.  The Indians players all wore Feller’s number 19 jersey during introductions.  And the club had a silent first pitch to honor the man who famously threw an opening day no hitter.  Anne Feller placed a baseball with a few words written on the side onto the mound before the moment of silence.  I think everyone cried, at least a little.
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