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Tribe sets record in dismantling of Yankees

Thanks to a record breaking 14-run second inning, the Indians absolutely smoked the Yankees 22-4 in New York on Saturday.

The Indians merely tied their franchise record for runs in an inning; they also scored 14 in the first inning against the Philadelphia A’s on June 18, 1950. It’s also the most runs in an inning by any team since Boston lit up Florida for 14 runs in the first on June 28, 2003. (A certain right-hander named Carl Pavano gave up six of those runs.)

Now, an inning like the Indians’ second does not happen without some horrific pitching, and you have to figure now that something is wrong with Chien-Ming Wang. His earned run average actually rose, from 28.93 to 34.50. He has allowed 23 earned runs in six innings over three starts. That is staggering.

One other point: it is an absolute jet stream to right center field at the new Yankee Stadium. The dimensions are the same as the old place, and the weather is unseasonably warm (75 degrees at game time). But in the last 11 innings, there have been nine homers to right. Wow.

‘You have to figure now that something is wrong with Chien-Ming Wang.’ You think? In just three starts, the guy has been hit more times than a freaking piñata and it would take a football team scoring five touchdowns to match his ERA. He’s throwing gopher balls and batters are knocking them out of the park – it’s as simple as that.

And if there is a jet stream in right center field, then Mark Teixeira should lead the majors in home runs by the end of the year. There’s no excuse to give up 14 runs in one inning – jet stream or not.

Chicago’s youngsters star in upset

Bulls GM John Paxson has taken a lot of grief for his decision to the draft rights of LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas back in 2006. But as Thomas was knocking down jumper after jumper in the fourth quarter of Game 1 at the Garden, that trade doesn’t look quite as bad anymore. Sure, Aldridge still projects to have the better career, but Thomas has made big strides in his third season, and he’s still just 22 years old. He finished with 16 points (on 8 of 12 shooting), six rebounds and three blocks.

But I’m burying the lead. Derrick Rose was the reason the Bulls were able to pull the upset. He posted 36 points (tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points by a rookie in his playoff debut) and 11 assists. He shot 12 of 19 from the field and made all 12 of his free throws. It was truly one of the best playoff debuts by a rookie in the history of the league, especially considering that he was going up one of the better defensive point guards in Rajon Rondo.

Joakim Noah rounded out the “young core” trio with 12 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks. Ben Gordon chipped in with 20 points and had a great fourth quarter.

The Celtics are in a bad way down 0-1 and without Kevin Garnett for the foreseeable future. Rondo played well (29 points, nine boards, seven dimes, one turnover), and Paul Pierce scored an inefficient 23 points (on 8 of 21 shooting), but Ray Allen’s 1 for 12 shooting killed Boston.

Report: Browns to take either Sanchez or Crabtree

According to 19 Action News in Cleveland, the Browns will either take USC quarterback Mark Sanchez or Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree with the No. 5 overall pick.

Cleveland – Sources have told 19 Action News the Browns will either take USC quarteraback Mark Sanchez or Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree. The Browns have the fifth pick in next week’s NFL Draft.

Rumors have swirled around the team concerning a trade with Braylon Edwards and Brady Quinn. One report said teh team will trade Edwards to the Giants before the draft.

If the NFL Network, ESPN or any other major media network isn’t reporting this, than I doubt 19 Action News has the inside scoop. However, either player makes sense for the Browns as I’ve highlighted here, and here.

Again though, this is just a rumor and there will be about a million more in the upcoming week.

Top 10 active ERA leaders

As far as pitchers’ statistics in baseball, earned run average (ERA) is the batting average of those stats. ERA is how many earned runs a pitcher gives up per nine innings, and anything under 4.00 is pretty good while anything under 3.00 is very good and anything under 2.00 is bordering on sick. So here is a list of your Top 10 active pitchers in ERA:

1. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (2.28)—You want to know why this guy comes in and shuts the door every time he’s brought in for a save? Look no further than this statistic. Mo has been the most dominant closer in the game for over a decade and shows no signs of slowing down.

2. Pedro Martinez, free agent (2.91)—Sure, he’s not the same guy he was in Boston or even Montreal, but Pedro’s a gamer and it’s hard to believe he still isn’t on a major league roster right now.

3. Johan Santana, New York Mets (3.10)—You have to watch this guy work to fully appreciate his art of pitching. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, but he locates all his pitches beautifully and his change-up sometimes makes batters swing out of their shoes. He’s like a lefty Greg Maddux.

4. Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros (3.14)—At 31, Oswalt has a lot of career left, and he has one of the game’s best fastballs.

5. Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres (3.26)—Peavy was rumored to be traded to the Cubs about 12 times in this past off-season. If you close your eyes, you can someday picture him in Yankee pinstripes.

5. John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox (3.26)—One of the game’s good guys, and as a Mets’ fan, that is not easy for me to say. I’m just glad he’s now in the American League.

7. Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks (3.27)—At 30, Webb is another of the game’s bright young stars and he’ll be in contention for many more Cy Young Awards.

7. Randy Johnson, San Francisco Giants (3.27)—The Big Unit is 45 years old and creeping up on 300 wins. And yeah, he’s racked up an incredible 4801 strikeouts. But his 3.27 ERA over 22 seasons is just awesome.

9. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (3.50)—Is it possible that Carlos Zambrano is only 28 years old? Yes, and he’s going to be dominant for quite some time.

10. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (3.48)—He’s battled injuries, but when he’s on top of his game, Hudson is one of the best in the game. And he turned out to be the best among that awesome young trio in Oakland that included Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.

Source: Baseball Reference

Which position is the safest bet in the first round?

I was watching one of the many Mel Kiper and Todd McShay arguments on ESPN the other day [video], and Kiper was arguing that if McShay has Matthew Stafford ranked so high (McShay currently has Stafford ranked #8), then he should almost be a no-brainer for the Detroit Lions, who have the #1 overall pick and need a quarterback. McShay isn’t convinced that he’s a so-called “franchise” quarterback, so he says he would go another direction. (For the record, at the time Kiper called McShay “crazy” for having Stafford that high, but now he has the QB ranked #3 on his big board. It’s clear that Kiper’s pure hatred for McShay is causing him to slowly lose his mind.)

Anyway, the debate piqued my interest and got me wondering – when it comes to the first round of the NFL Draft, is one position safer than another? For example, if the Lions have three holes to fill (they have more, but bear with me) – quarterback, linebacker and tackle – and they can’t decide amongst the three players, is one position a safer pick than the other two?

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