A.M. Wahoo's: Counting Down the Days Until Thursday
The Cleveland Indians have two more days to prepare before the fun begins and the Boston Red Sox come to town for Thursday’s ALDS opener.
Clinching the American League Central was fun, but Thursday marks the return of playoff baseball in Cleveland. And as many baseball fans will tell you, there is nothing better in sports than playoff baseball.
It is the only sport where everything can change in an instant. A lead can fade away in merely minutes, causing a starting pitcher to be pulled and for a team to be in disarray when things seemed so great just minutes earlier.
Indians fans are hoping the magic of the regular season will carry over into the postseason, making fans in Boston wonder how the excitement of the regular season disappeared in a matter of days.
Fans of both teams now know when the games will actually begin. Thursday’s opener has an 8:08 p.m. EST start, while Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 4:38 p.m. EST and Sunday’s is set for 4:08 p.m. EST. The final two games do not have times set, as they are still to be determined.
Some, in the dregs of social media, began the complaints about Friday’s start time, but this type of schedule is not new. Plus, the 9-5 schedule isn’t universal, so this start is nice for all those who work nights and make it possible for the rest of us to make regrettable purchases in the early hours of the morning.
Hopefully, these are the only start times to be released for the ALDS, meaning the Indians sweep the Boston Red Sox and get revenge for the 2007 ALCS. While it is an entirely new roster on both sides, it would be nice for the fans who remember a 3-1 lead slowly slipping away at the hands of Terry Francona’s Red Sox.
While we continue trying to stay busy until Game 1 begins, let’s take a look at the news surrounding the Indians and the rest of the MLB in today’s edition of A.M. Wahoo’s.
Cleveland Indians News:
Cleveland Indians: Start Times for ALDS Games 1-3 Announced
The moment that just about every fan of the Cleveland Indians and, surely, the fine people who run its social media accounts, had been waiting for came on Monday afternoon, as Major League Baseball announced the starting times for the American League Division Series.
Cleveland Indians: The Striking Similarities Between 2016 and 2007
The Cleveland Indians are American League Central Division champions, and the playoffs are headed to Progressive Field on Thursday with game one of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox. It’s the Tribe’s first division crown since 2007, which also happens to be the year they last reached the division series and last met the BoSox in October.
Bauer a Constant Through Indians’ Adversity (Indians.com)
No one was safe. As the party raged on inside Comerica Park’s visitors’ clubhouse, Trevor Bauer looked for targets. With a camera strapped to his hat, the pitcher made his way through the champagne mist, a bottle in each hand, dodging corks and searching for anyone deserving of dousing.
Indians Won AL Central by Beating the AL Central (Let’s Go Tribe)
The Cleveland Indians are in the 2016 postseason. Not only are they in the 2016 postseason, but they are there as the No. 2 overall seed in the American League. Despite several key injuries before and during the season, as well as some prolonged slumps from key players, the Indians are hosting the American League Divisional Series.
MLB News:
Arizona Diamondbacks fire Chip Hale, Dave Stewart (FanSided)
Changes are coming in the desert. After a season full of expectations, the Arizona Diamondbacks were an unmitigated disaster during the 2016 season. Whether it was bad personnel moves, injuries or stories coming out that didn’t paint organizational members in the best of lights, this season was not what was expected.
Miami Marlins Likely to Bring Ichiro Back (Call to the Pen)
2016 was something of a bounce back year for Ichiro following three below average offensive seasons. He appeared in 143 games for the Marlins (62 as a starter, 81 as a sub), and hit .291/.354/.376. Ichiro was especially effective against left-handed pitching (.339/.435/.424).
Banged up Indians Rotation Gives Boston an Edge in ALDS (BoSox Injection)
Well folks, October baseball is finally here. We have been waiting for the Boston Red Sox to be back in postseason play for three years now and it couldn’t feel any better.
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