Covering the Corner: All Posts by Matt LyonsCleveland Baseball: A team that's accomplished some things.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52871/Covering_The_Corner_Favicon-ICO..png2023-07-26T11:16:55-04:00https://www.coveringthecorner.com/authors/matt-lyons/rss2023-07-26T11:16:55-04:002023-07-26T11:16:55-04:007/26 Game Thread: Guardians vs. Royals
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<img alt="Philadelphia Phillies v Cleveland Guardians" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5lt5Gl9s9OilU-E4mTlloL289z4=/0x0:4284x2856/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72485573/1546729148.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Looking for a third-straight series win.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheLand?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheLand</a> <a href="https://t.co/HxlPJwxauo">pic.twitter.com/HxlPJwxauo</a></p>— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) <a href="https://twitter.com/CleGuardians/status/1684216948391829511?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2023</a>
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https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/26/23808494/7-26-game-thread-guardians-vs-royalsMatt Lyons2023-07-26T11:08:20-04:002023-07-26T11:08:20-04:00A changing of the Guard
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<img alt="Washington Nationals v Chicago Cubs" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BN9j7u0GHY-i2wbH55MbVa4ydDM=/0x0:4284x2856/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72485568/1554451473.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Are you the next managing editor of Covering the Corner? Maybe!</p> <p id="VSFMpj">Just going to cut to the chase – I will be stepping down as the managing editor of Covering the Corner effective as of next Monday, Aug. 1. </p>
<p id="4VurC8">There is no big dramatic reason or injustice to throw out there; really I’m just ready to do something new. There was a time that I thought I could make this into a full job here or elsewhere, but as time has gone on I’ve realized I don’t have the skill or, frankly, the desire to do that. Burnout has come in waves almost every year since I started but I just haven’t been able to dig out of his most recent bout. However, the longer it’s gone on, the more I’ve been OK with realizing it’s time to move on.</p>
<p id="YnqsHm">As many have pointed out, yes, there have not been as many posts as usual here lately – for that, I sincerely apologize. That’s not the site as a whole failing, just me. Turns out that taking on a bunch of scheduled posts when you’re really jazzed about writing about baseball makes it a lot harder when you’re not so jazzed. A couple of posts get missed and the hole keeps getting deeper. Everyone who has read and participated in LGT/CTG for the past 18 years (or 18 months, 18 minutes, or however long you’ve been here) deserves better. This has, and always will be, my favorite place for talking Cleveland baseball.</p>
<p id="NwMycL">With that said, it’s time to take all the time and energy I usually invest in the site and put it elsewhere to give someone else a chance to take over. I still plan to be around in the comments, the CTC Discord, and probably back on Twitter (and Threads! Threads is good, I swear!). But for a little while I’m just going to enjoy the world of being offline and a baseball fan who doesn’t need to have opinions. </p>
<p id="d0pV9C">Thankfully, the site will go on without because of an incredible staff of writers who have always more than held up their end of the bargain — and well, well exceeded it. I really cannot overstate how great it has been working with everyone, new and old, and just having people I (hopefully) can call friends to talk about the Guardians with. Blake, Matt, Brian, Chris, Merritt, Quincy, Jason, Tyler, westbrook, Andrew, Ryan, Jay, woodsmeister, and everyone else who has ever had a byline on this amazing website – thank you so much. Please keep doing what you are doing, as writers, moderators, and as excellent people. </p>
<p id="xVeqnD">And of course, thank you to Jason Lukehart for giving me this opportunity in the first place. I can’t count the number of fun conversations I’ve had and the amazing people I’ve met solely because I happened to ask if he was looking for writers at the right time. I will continue to remind people that Jason invented the Maddux whenever it’s mentioned in my presence. I’m not too ashamed to mention I once said I know the guy who invented it when it came up completely unprompted in a real-life conversation. Not because I care about the IRL clout of knowing someone who invented a niche baseball stat, but because I wouldn’t be where I am today without that one chance to write about this amazingly dumb little game. Even several years out of consistently writing about baseball, Jason deserves all the credit in the world for so many things. </p>
<p id="ALELMo">This community has treated me better than I ever deserved. You let an outsider come in and write about things like <a href="https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2019/5/20/18632365/ranking-the-indians-finger-guns">finger guns per second</a> and didn’t bat an eye. Thank you for letting me carve out a small part of the internet to call home. When Tyler Freeman finally gets consistent playing time and turns into an All-Star, please remember who called it first. </p>
<p id="s9TIji">Oh, and of course, Go Guards.</p>
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<p id="x6b1Kk">Now that that is out of the way, if you are interested in applying to be the next manager for Covering the Corner, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Tanya Bounderant with a resume and writing sample at <a href="mailto:tanya.anderson@sbnation.com">tanya.anderson@sbnation.com</a>. I can attest firsthand that Tanya has been a great person to work with as a connection to SB Nation. And, as a former site manager herself, she knows the ins and outs extremely well, which makes it so much easier. </p>
https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/26/23808470/a-changing-of-the-guardMatt Lyons2023-07-25T18:50:00-04:002023-07-25T18:50:00-04:007/25 Game Thread: Guardians vs. Royals
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<img alt="Cleveland Guardians v Texas Rangers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kVWZ2sp908Ai3QdZwOKCrs9a1vE=/0x0:5778x3852/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72483873/1544892012.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is our lineup tonight.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheLand?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheLand</a> <a href="https://t.co/5j27XDtZKl">pic.twitter.com/5j27XDtZKl</a></p>— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) <a href="https://twitter.com/CleGuardians/status/1683925317717565440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2023</a>
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https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/25/23807539/7-25-game-thread-guardians-vs-royalsMatt Lyons2023-07-23T12:15:00-04:002023-07-23T12:15:00-04:007/23 Game Thread: Guardians vs. Phillies
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<img alt="Cleveland Guardians v Pittsburgh Pirates" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3IC182hnkfjGcpIFhjRcJtItW-E=/0x154:3000x2154/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72476369/1538987143.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="Be0jDJ">LET’S GO GUARDS!</p>
https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/23/23804828/7-23-game-thread-guardians-vs-philliesMatt Lyons2023-07-22T18:45:00-04:002023-07-22T18:45:00-04:007/22 Game Thread: Guardians vs. Phillies
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<img alt="Cleveland Guardians v Texas Rangers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IqfWjaLJ5K7irGM_jVRiUc1pCrI=/0x0:3438x2292/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72475323/1548921467.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>LET'S GO GUARDS!</p> <div id="NaYwHA">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gates open at 5:00 for another sold-out crowd. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheLand?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheLand</a> <a href="https://t.co/80PqFluTie">pic.twitter.com/80PqFluTie</a></p>— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) <a href="https://twitter.com/CleGuardians/status/1682856481329147904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2023</a>
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https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/22/23804341/7-22-game-thread-guardians-vs-philliesMatt Lyons2023-07-21T08:22:26-04:002023-07-21T08:22:26-04:00N&N: Josh Naylor is on fire
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<img alt="Cleveland Guardians v Pittsburgh Pirates" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/q1nS4tOj5sSPUai294LjjQhrUKs=/0x103:3000x2103/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72471421/1541239416.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Cleveland Guardians news and notes for Friday, July 21, 2023</p> <p id="RNAUue">This man is a machine. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Since some of you still aren't paying attention, Josh Naylor has been, arguably, the best hitter in baseball since the end of May.<br><br>We'll just scream it from the rooftops, we guess.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheLand?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheLand</a> <a href="https://t.co/szlKcphgUe">pic.twitter.com/szlKcphgUe</a></p>— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) <a href="https://twitter.com/CleGuardians/status/1682091752507711496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2023</a>
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<h3 id="kGiXTZ"><strong>Cleveland Guardians news</strong></h3>
<p id="Pg1xjM"><a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/terry-francona-backed-steak-replace-tremonts-parallax/95-e41ca804-50d7-4225-b13e-d55e74f11c5e">New in Tremont: Terry Francona-backed ‘STEAK’ to replace ‘Parallax’ in 2024 | WKYC</a><br>Do you think this Terry Francona-backed restaurant will serve Bundt Cake? </p>
<p id="NWa90n"><a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/logan-allen-is-back-in-the-majors-and-im-a-little-freaked-out/">Logan Allen Is Back in the Majors, and I’m a Little Freaked Out | FanGraphs</a><br>Logan Allen’s wacky inflatable arm-flailing changeup could be his key to success going forward. </p>
<p id="QHx0rK"><a href="https://awaybackgone.com/posts/cleveland-guardians-josh-naylor-is-having-a-season-for-the-ages-01h5qesj9kyp">Cleveland Guardians: Josh Naylor is having a season for the ages | Away Back Gone</a><br>This is the Josh Naylor we’ve all hoped for.</p>
<p id="i2kAVJ"><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F4705045%2F2023%2F07%2F20%2Fguardians-trade-deadline-shane-bieber-2%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.coveringthecorner.com%2F2023%2F7%2F21%2F23802795%2Fjosh-naylor-is-on-fire" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Guardians trade deadline plans: What I’m hearing about Shane Bieber and others | The Athletic ($$$)</a><br>Publicly, the Guardians sound like there’s no way they’re trading Shane Bieber — because why would they say anything else? That still doesn’t mean he won’t be traded. </p>
<p id="OhSv8k"><a href="https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2023/07/what-does-it-take-to-sell-out-progressive-field-here-are-the-reasons-on-and-off-the-field.html">The Guardians are selling out games??? How they rekindled the magic with their fans | Cleveland</a></p>
<blockquote><p id="OIyNcA">“Any time we’ve had success it’s been a combination of factors,” King said. “It’s hard to pinpoint one specific thing, but there are a handful of things kind of in play. We had a young team last year. A lot of those players at the beginning of the year were relatively unknown - whether it was Steven Kwan or Andrés Jiménez or Josh Naylor. As we went through the season, with a lot of exciting comebacks and we went on to that great run in September and went on to the playoffs … Now we get into this year and those names who were a little less known last year, I think people have a strong connection with.”</p></blockquote>
<h3 id="zXL74L"><strong>Around the league</strong></h3>
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<li id="FqAb86">The Orioles are leading the AL East, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38044880/orioles-alone-atop-al-east-10-inning-win-slumping-rays">just like everyone predicted</a>.</li>
<li id="xNOUVa">Rob Manfred <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/rob-manfred-expected-to-win-reelection-as-mlb-commissioner-per-report/">is here to stay</a>. </li>
<li id="MpstpA">So, you want to <a href="https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2678557/evaluating-which-teams-would-benefit-most-from-an-ohtani-deadline-trade">trade for Shohei Ohtani</a>? </li>
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https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/21/23802795/josh-naylor-is-on-fireMatt Lyons2023-07-18T18:54:18-04:002023-07-18T18:54:18-04:007/18 Game Thread: Guardians at Pirates
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<img alt="Cleveland Guardians v Kansas City Royals" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6X-i_quCG9hhtYb2oRK-JAE14tM=/0x50:3000x2050/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72463745/1504731551.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="40aK6j">LET'S GO GUARDS!</p>
https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/18/23799660/7-18-game-thread-guardians-at-piratesMatt Lyons2023-07-18T08:39:17-04:002023-07-18T08:39:17-04:00N&N: Losing streak? What losing streak?
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<img alt="Cleveland Guardians v Pittsburgh Pirates" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lRbbIDmufra-qO44KME7cT8ao1g=/0x100:3000x2100/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72461544/1539116568.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Cleveland Guardians news and notes for Tuesday, July 18, 2023</p> <p id="qleXo2">If you’re going to lose four games in a row you might as well snap it with an 11-run blowout, right? </p>
<h3 id="L5j6eb"><strong>Guardians 11, Pirates 0</strong></h3>
<p id="6FiW0s"><a href="https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/17/23797437/7-17-game-thread-guardians-at-pirates">Game Thread</a> | <a href="https://www.mlb.com/gameday/guardians-vs-pirates/2023/07/17/717371/final/box">Box Score</a> | <a href="https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/17/23798389/guardians-pummel-pirates-to-snap-first-four-game-skid">CTC Recap</a> | <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/josh-naylor-gets-two-hits-three-rbis-in-win-over-pirates?game_pk=717371">MLB Recap</a><br>Xzavion Curry finally got a chance to start and didn’t disappoint. Granted, it’s against the Pirates, but Guardians pitchers have struggled against many bad teams this season. Curry didn’t struggle here. </p>
<div id="LBQ3rN"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9sMeSNFvNgc?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="mxdfsu"><strong>Today’s baseball: </strong>@ Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m. ET (LHP Logan Allen vs. RHP Mitch Keller)</p>
<h3 id="bOcBwN"><strong>Cleveland Guardians news</strong></h3>
<p id="5b5Yiv"><a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/mlb/cleveland-guardians/cleveland-guardians-shane-bieber-wont-throw-for-2-weeks/95-afb8bdac-69e0-4b66-9e26-b6b4f4af05d6">Cleveland Guardians’ Shane Bieber won’t throw for 2 weeks, apparently won’t need surgery, Francona says | WKYC</a><br>Cool cool cool cool.</p>
<h3 id="hlG8yA"><strong>Around the league</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li id="UjtFAf">Even Shohei Ohtani’s <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38027743/shohei-ohtani-35th-home-run-epic-bat-flip-spark-needed-angels-win">bat-flipping is elite</a>. </li>
<li id="JFL7Qg">The Angels don’t want to <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-rumors-trades-and-signings?t=trades-and-transactions">send Ohtani to the Dodgers</a>. </li>
<li id="4udGdk">The Cardinals will be <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-rumors-trades-and-signings?t=trades-and-transactions">sellers at the deadline</a>. </li>
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https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/18/23798682/losing-streak-what-losing-streakMatt Lyons2023-07-16T13:50:00-04:002023-07-16T13:50:00-04:007/16 Game Thread: Guardians vs. Rangers
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<img alt="Kansas City Royals v Cleveland Guardians" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZQ-1WnQYejgf-01QMplSeRFbUd4=/0x0:4862x3241/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72456655/1522772671.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="0eZkxf">LET'S GO GUARDS!</p>
https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/16/23796719/7-16-game-thread-guardians-vs-rangersMatt Lyons2023-07-15T15:50:00-04:002023-07-15T15:50:00-04:007/15 Game Thread: Guardians at Rangers
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<img alt="Kansas City Royals v Cleveland Guardians" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/61VOCqVBnezDBYsbAzytKEPjlKo=/0x0:5702x3801/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72455287/1540329011.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="aFO3iM">LET'S GO GUARDS!</p>
https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2023/7/15/23796161/7-15-game-thread-guardians-at-rangersMatt Lyons