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The Indians beat the Nationals last night, 2-1, when Drew Stubbs took off on contact when Jason Kipnis hit ground ball to first base and just beat the tag at the plate in the bottom of the 9th (video). Justin Masterson looked great, going 7 innings and striking out 10. In doing so, he became the first Tribe pitcher with two 10+ strikeout games in the same season since CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee both accomplished that in 2008. Masterson now has 4 such games with the Indians, only Sabathia has more than that over the last decade.
Here's a box score for the game.
Here is Jodie Valade's recap from the Plain Dealer.
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Other Tribe links:
In case you missed it, 1st round draft pick Clint Frazier has agreed to a deal with the Indians.
Mark Emery's daily notes from MLB.com include word that Chris Perez will begin a rehab assignment somewhere in the minors this weekend, Zach McAllister will begin playing catch early next week (there's no mention of when he might be ready to play though), and Asdrubal Cabrera will "be back as quick as humanly possible," says Terry Francona (though again, there's no word on when that might actually be).
Al Ciammaichella at The Diatribe had the chance to speak with Francisco Lindor a couple weeks back, and shares what he learned in this well done look at the uber prospect's development and future. For what it's worth, when I spent a brief amount of time around Lindor last summer (at the Midwest League All-Star Game), I came away with many of the same positive impressions Ciammaichella does.
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MLB handed down suspensions and fines from the brawl at Dodger Stadium Tuesday night:
On the Diamondbacks' side, SP Ian Kennedy gets 10 games, INF Eric Hinkse gets 5 games, manager Kirk Gibson gets one game, C Miguel Montero and OF Geraldo Parra were each fined.
On the Dodgers' side, RP J.P Howell and UTL Skip Schumaker each get 2 games, hitting coach Mark McGwire also gets 2 games, manager Don Mattingly and RP Ronald Belisario each get one game, SP Zack Greinke and OF Yasiel Puig were each fined.
Baseball Nation's Grant Brisbee came to the same conclusion as me: Former Dodgers manager Joe Torre had no business being the one to decide these punishments. They seem to have gotten off easy, considering that Greinke beaned someone on purpose and Puig threw a punch. MLB should have had someone more impartial make these decisions.
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Craig Calcaterra at Hardball Talk discusses new evidence for just how far back baseball goes, with links to a documentary and articles from the BBC and SABR which take the game's roots back to 1749 (earlier than previously known).
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Will Leitch at Sports on Earth remembers the most significant coach from his Little League glory days, in a story with a Father's Day connection. For you papas out there, I hope you're able to enjoy your day in whatever fashion you prefer. For the sons and daughters out there, don't forget dear old dad.
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'Man of Steel' is headed to the biggest June opening weekend ever. I'll be seeing it this afternoon. I'm not actually a big Superman fan, I didn't read his comics when I was younger and I don't think any of the previous films have been particularly good (though John Williams' theme from the original movie is as good as it gets), but I'm excited about this one. This week I give you my favorite superheroes. These come largely from my childhood, when I read comic books, played with action figures, etc., but more modern pop culture has impacted the rankings as well.
Top Six Superheroes:
6) Doctor Manhattan - I was in junior high when I discovered 'Watchmen,' maybe the most distinguished comic/graphic novel ever. There are a lot of good characters. Forced to choose, I go with Doc.
5) The Human Torch - When I was very young, the X-Men were just too much for me (there's so damned many of them). The Fantastic Four was my first preferred team then and the Torch was my favorite of them.
4) Wolverine - Eventually I turned toward Professor Xavier's darker team of mutants, and like many kids my age, I liked Wolverine the best.
3) Daredevil - The Man Without Fear. Daredevil had some really well written story lines when I was at an age to start paying attention to that sort of thing. It's a shame he got such an awful film. I hope they give it another go eventually.
2) Batman - I was Batman for the first Halloween I can remember, I was bonkers for the original Tim Burton film, I watched 'Batman: The Animated Series' from day one, and the Christopher Nolan trilogy is the standard-bearer for the genre.
1) Spider-Man - I've read more Spider-Man comic books than those of any other character. He's a good balance between cool powers without being TOO powerful, he's got a good collection of villains and an interesting alter-ego, and for as long as I can remember, he's been my favorite.