Introduction Blog: Who Am I?

the first thing you need to know about me is i am a Ride Or Die Cleveland Indians fan. i don't like bandwagon bitches and i'll never apologize for my passion. i never give up on a game before it's over. i am currently in my 3rd consecutive year of not having missed so much as 1 out of 1 inning in 1 game. i will rearrange my social life, doc appts, etc. so that i don't miss games. and i do all this w/o having the benefit of actually watching Indians games. i live in an area of NY where Cleveland games are blacked out on the MLB Package. therefore, i have to listen to every game on my computer with GameDay audio. it's not that bad, as i love me some Hammy calls. but idk how many other people in my shoes would do this for 162 games a year, every year.

the amount of articles and Tribe writer tweets i read every day is astounding. not to toot my own horn but i can't even count how many times someone had a Tribe question and i had the answer for them. at least that's how it was on the message board i used to post on. i also listen to (and transcribed for the message board) Terry Pluto and Hoynsie's podcasts every week. you can trust that i know what's going on.

the second thing you need to know about me is that I AM MICHAEL BRANTLEY'S #1 FAN. that is not debatable. nobody dedicates as much time as i do to documenting all his #s and keeping track of what he does every game. until someone else gets his autograph 10 times, bookmarks all his videos, takes screen caps of videos he's in, saves his online pictures, and can proudly declare they supported him back in 2010 when his BA was as low as .118, you cannot argue this fact with me. not to mention the countless pictures and videos i myself take of him whenever i go to Cleveland for Tribe games.

i made the first "Michael Brantley's #1 fan" sign in 2010, which lured him over to my section before a game and got me my first Brantley autograph along with a big smile from Michael. as of September 2013, i currently have 10 Brantley autographs.

i made a personalized women's sized Brantley jersey in 2010 before most people even knew who he was, long before they sold his jerseys in the team shop, and way before he became the consistent hitter he is today. i also made a personalized blue Brantley shirt before everyone else too. i have his red player signature shirt as well. and thanks to a Brantley jersey giveaway in July 2013, i added TWO replica Brantley jerseys to my collection. just don't challenge me on this #1 fan business because you're gonna make yourself look bad.

my monthly Brantley blogs should support my cause as well. i take notes during every game Michael plays and write down all his game stats in a notebook, which later get written up into my blogs. i calculate all his final #s myself. i do not just pull his numbers off a statistics website. hell, i am turning into his statistics website now.

i really needed a new place to post my monthly Brantley blogs and thought it was about time i got myself a blogspot. so here it is. to anyone who takes the time to read through all my blogs and Brantley stats, thank you, i appreciate the support. and spread the word if you like.

if there's anything you need to know about Brantley, i'm your girl =D

Let's Talk Indians Attendance

let's talk about attendance for a minute. the Indians attendance numbers for the most part have been embarrassing all year, but they are really embarrassing as of late. the team has drastically improved from a year ago. we aren't going to lose 90+ games again. it's September and we're still very much in the race for a wild card spot, yet "fans" still won't go to the ballpark. they didn't even have 10,000 fans at tonight's game. i'm fuckin over it.

i'm tired of the excuses. i don't wanna hear that kids are back in school now. well what was the excuse when the kids were out of school and the Indians still weren't getting big crowds?

i don't wanna hear it's getting colder now. there were plenty of nice summer nights that should have brought lots of fans in yet didn't.

and i really don't wanna hear that it's too expensive. if you think going to a game is too expensive, then you better be piss fuck poor. i really believe that people make up bullshit in their mind as reason not to go to games. either that, or they're not really that good of fans to begin with.

let's go over just how "expensive" going to a Cleveland Indians game is, shall we?

there are limited numbers of $10 bleacher seats for every game. no, you won't get them if you wait until the day of the game, so plan ahead. also, there are many cheap tickets available on the online ticket seller sites, such as Stubhub. if you really want to be there and don't have a lot of money, you will buy a cheap seat.

so at this point, you can get a ticket for $10 and then all you have to pay for on top of that is gas and parking. if you know where to park downtown and don't mind walking 5 minutes to the ballpark, then you can park for under $10. and something tells me that you would be putting gas in your car at some point anyways, no matter where you went during the week, so i don't see that as too much extra money breaking your bank. (unless you live far away like i do. then you may need to save up/put aside some extra gas money.)

alright, so far it's really NOT that expensive right?

now you ask me about concessions. first off, they lowered food prices, so certain foods and drinks don't cost as much as they used to. and hello! you can bring you own damn food/snacks/drink in and virtually spend NOTHING on eating. you would have to eat anyways if you weren't at a game, so again that isn't really adding any more money to the pile. make a sandwich to bring, grab a sub from Subway or a burger from a fast food place, and bring a beverage. whatever you would normally eat, unless you're hardcore cooking a huge dinner, just bring that to the game. boom, done.

and do you really need alcohol? well if you do, let me remind you that the Indians currently have the 4th lowest beer prices out of all the major league ballparks. so you're getting a deal there. and seriously, maybe try being a DD for a night if you're that strapped for cash.

but if all this is STILL too expensive for you to go to a ballgame, then i better not hear about you gallivanting to other places. if you can afford to go to a movie, you can go to a ballgame. if you can afford to go out to a nice restaurant one night, you can go to a ballgame. if you can afford a trip to the casino, you have a gambling problem. jk, you can go to a ballgame. if you can go to a bar at night and spend money on drinks for yourself and/or any women you meet, you can go to a ballgame. if you can go on a family vacation, like hell you can't go to a ballgame. if you can afford to do any of the above and have any type of social life, then there is no reason you can't go to a ballgame. I DON'T WANNA HEAR THE FUCKING BULLSHIT EXCUSES ANYMORE.

i KNOW a lot of people who aren't going to games simply aren't going because they don't think the team is going to win and they don't want to potentially watch the team lose. what kind of fan are you then? if you're not gonna support the team through both the good times and the bad times, then you might as well just give up the sport. and that goes for ANY fan of ANY sport. it's not fair for a "fan" to disappear when times get tough and then just show up again when things have turned the corner. if you think the team should be perfect for all 162 games, then you have an unrealistic view of sports, and probably life too. if you can't deal with the bad times a team is going through, how do you deal with the struggles you go through in your life? oh you don't have any? your life is perfect? give me a break. life is tough, get a helmet, and don't be a bandwagon fan. (or if you are a bandwagon fan, then at least admit it. i won't get along with you, but at least i'll understand where your nonsense is coming from.)

the Indians went out and actually spent money during the offseason to bring guys in that we desperately needed. no, they aren't batting .300 and knocking homers out of the park every game, but trust me, things would be a lot worse if we stuck with some of the players we had on the team from last year. if you're disappointed because the Indians may not make the playoffs this year, i think you put too high of an expectation on this team. i said plenty of times before that it's very hard to go from losing 94 games to making the playoffs in one year's time. besides, Cleveland fans should be used to losing anyways. we joke about "there's always next year" but when that becomes reality, idk i guess some people can't handle it.

but the Indians finally did what fans wanted them to do. they did what fans said would get them back to the ballpark. yet here we stand, still with one of the lowest overall attendance numbers in the whole league. it's ridiculous and embarrassing. the Indians shouldn't have to "earn" anybody's support. that is straight bullshit. either love em regardless or don't love em at all, but i am so done with the excuses.

Brantley's August 2013 #s

August was an awkward month for Michael Brantley and i'm still trying to wrap my head around it. while he accomplished a lot, he also struggled. he set a new Indians record, he set a new season high in home runs for himself, he recorded his 500th major league hit, and he added to his season high outfield assist total with assists #10 and #11. but he played quite a few games without getting a hit and that really brought his batting average and on base percentage down.

Michael's worst month this season is officially June, but August is a close second. he worked so hard in July to get his batting average up from .275 to .285, and now it's down to .273. his August batting average is .085 lower than July's. this month, Michael went from being on a 7-game hitting streak, to a 5-game 0-for streak, to ending the month on a 5-game hitting streak. he was very up and down and uncharacteristically inconsistent.

something that was more consistent, finally this month there was some regularity in where Michael hit in the lineup. he bat 5th against right-handed starters and 7th against left-handed starters. he played a lot in the 5th spot last month too, so Tito clearly likes him there. if this keeps up through September, i would be very happy. i just want some kind of normalcy for him regarding batting order. however, with our new acquisition of Jason Kubel and all the new faces due to September call ups, i fear his BOP will once again be kind of all over the place. i also worry his playing time could be cut down. and if we're out of the playoff race, it almost assuredly will be. so he needs to make the most out of the opportunities he gets next month for sure.

Michael had a hit in 17 of the 27 games he played in in August and reached base safely in 20 games, 7 straight at one point. on August 8, Michael got the 500th hit of his major league career. then on August 9, Michael hit a home run, giving him a new season high of 8 home runs. i was hoping Michael would surpass his season high 60 RBI from last year as well, but i'll patiently wait for that feat to occur in September.

due to the fact that most of the rest of the Indians had a poor month offensively, Michael still boasts the 2nd highest batting average on the team behind Jason Kipnis. he is batting .354 (35-for-99) with runners in scoring position. last month that was the 3rd highest batting average in the American League; now he's moved up to 2nd, trailing only Detroit's Miguel Cabrera. Michael is also batting .321 (18-for-56) with two outs and runners in scoring position. despite his struggles, both of these RISP numbers continue to be the best on the team because he did well enough in these categories before August.

after Michael missed his 9th home run of the season by mere inches on August 17, his offense took a nosedive. he couldn't seem to find any holes in 5 straight games, then got a lucky RBI single (that easily could have been an error on the opposing outfielder), and then had another 0-for game. this concerned me. he was not working the count and seemed to swing very quickly, like he was distracted. my mind automatically goes to home/family problems when a player struggles like this. and with his wife being pregnant, that's an easy target, but it is just speculation. i think i have a better explanation for his troubles.

this is the first season Michael hasn't had any kind of an injury to give him extra time off, if you will. in 2011, he played hurt for a few weeks at the end of July and beginning of August before he was entirely shut down with a wrist/hamate issue. even last year, Michael was stricken with a groin injury/hernia that not only reduced his role to pinch hitting in a few games, but also caused him to completely miss a few games towards the end of September and October. as a result, it could be possible that all the games he's played this year are starting to catch up with and affect him. i really hope he can bounce back in September and finish the year around .285. his swing has been looking better as of late and he's working the count again, so there's a good chance he can turn things around before 2013 comes to a close.

regardless of what's happening with Michael's bat, he remains very hot in the outfield. for the 5th month in a row, Michael played errorless defense and his fielding percentage stays at a perfect 1.000, highest on the team out of the regular players. he had 51 putouts in August and 2 more outfield assists, giving him a season high total of 11.

on August 19, Michael set a new club record by playing 213 consecutive games in the outfield without committing an error. that was such a proud moment for me and when it happened i wrote a short blog revealing all of the details, which i will link here. since he continued to play errorless baseball after that, Michael is now at 223 consecutive games without an error. 223 and counting, that is. among major leaguers with at least 70 starts in left field, Michael is still just 1 of 3 with no errors, the other two being Kansas City's Alex Gordon and Baltimore's Nate McLouth.

on August 30, Michael recorded his 11th assist. (he picked up his 10th assist on August 5.) that's more assists than the previous 2 seasons combined. when asked about this, Michael said, "i just know i want to make sure i take advantage of every opportunity to get to throw out somebody. there's more that goes into it. obviously, you have your infielders catching the ball, making great tags, and being in the right position at the right time." while only 4 of his 11 assists have come at home, Michael still credits Progressive Field for giving him extra opportunities. "i think it's more of the opportunity. just playing left field at home. when they hit hard doubles off the wall, you have a chance to get a good hop and just make a good throw to second, and you have a chance. i just try to take advantage of every chance and opportunity i get." so far, so good.

Michael is now 3 assists behind Alex Gordon. Gordon currently leads all American League left fielders as well as AL outfielders in assists, and he's also the major league leader with his 14 assists. Michael's 11 assists are the most by an Indians outfielder since Shin-Soo Choo recorded 14 in 2010. he is now tied with Albert Belle, who also had 11 in 1996, for the most assists in one season by an Indians left fielder. that should be another record broken by Michael before this season ends.


now let's break down the numbers. i am going to document his August #s, the 7th spot #s, the 5th spot #s, the #s of everything not leadoff combined, as well as the left field #s, overall left field #s, and overall outfield #s.


August batting average: .233

OBP: .279

SLG: .330

OPS: .609

 
Michael played in 27 (of 28) games in August. he started and played left field in all 27 games. he had 1 complete game off and did not play any center field this month.


Michael bat 7th in 6 games.

Michael bat 5th in 21 games.


Michael played left field in all 27 games.

Michael played in 27 complete games.


in August, Michael had a total of 112 plate appearances and 103 at bats. here is how he fared:

24 hits

17 singles

5 doubles

1 triple

1 home run

7 RBI

1 sac fly

7 runs scored

7 walks

3 stolen bases

1 caught stealing

1 sac bunt

8 strikeouts

6 first at bat hits


45 left on base

51 putouts

2 assists

246.2 innings, 27 games

August batting average: .233 (24-103) (27 games)


now let's break down his (non-leadoff) numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.


when Michael bat 7th in August, he had a total of 25 plate appearances and 23 at bats in 6 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

3 hits

3 singles

1 walk

2 stolen bases

1 sac bunt

3 strikeouts


14 left on base

14 putouts

55.2 innings, 6 games

August batting average in the 7th spot: .130 (3-23) (6 games)
August batting average in the 7th spot while playing left: .130 (3-23) (6 games)

overall batting average so far in the 7th spot: .256 (22-86) (25 games) (212.1 innings)
overall batting average so far in the 7th spot while playing left: .247 (21-85) (25 games) (212.1 innings)
overall batting average so far as a PH in the 7th spot: 1.000 (1-1) (2 games)


when Michael bat 5th in August, he had a total of 87 plate appearances and 80 at bats in 21 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

21 hits

14 singles

5 doubles

1 triple

1 home run

7 RBI

1 sac fly

7 runs scored

6 walks

1 stolen base

1 caught stealing

5 strikeouts

6 first at bat hits


31 left on base

37 putouts

2 assists

191 innings, 21 games

August batting average in the 5th spot: .263 (21-80) (21 games)
August batting average in the 5th spot while playing left: .263 (21-80) (21 games)

overall batting average so far in the 5th spot: .253 (47-186) (51 games) (455 innings)
overall batting average so far in the 5th spot while playing left: .253 (47-186) (51 games) (455 innings)



when Michael was not leading off in August, he had a total of 112 plate appearances and 103 at bats in 27 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

24 hits

17 singles

5 doubles

1 triple

1 home run

7 RBI

1 sac fly

7 runs scored

7 walks

3 stolen bases

1 caught stealing

1 sac bunt

8 strikeouts

6 first at bat hits


45 left on base

51 putouts

2 assists

246.2 innings, 27 games

August batting average everywhere other than leadoff: .233 (24-103) (27 games)
August batting average everywhere other than leadoff while playing left: .233 (24-103) (27 games)

overall batting average so far everywhere other than leadoff: .265 (100-377) (107 games) (911.1 innings)
overall batting average so far everywhere other than leadoff while playing left: .264 (99-375) (107 games) (911.1 innings)



now let's break down his numbers based on where he played in the outfield.


when Michael played left in August, he had a total of 112 plate appearances and 103 at bats in 27 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:

24 hits

17 singles

5 doubles

1 triple

1 home run

7 RBI

1 sac fly

7 runs scored

7 walks

3 stolen bases

1 caught stealing

1 sac bunt

8 strikeouts

6 first at bat hits


45 left on base

51 putouts

2 assists

246.2 innings, 27 games

(27 complete games)

August batting average while playing left: .233 (24-103) (27 games)
overall batting average so far while playing left: .273 (128-469) (129 games) (1103.1 innings)



August #s while playing left: 51 putouts, 2 assists, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (246.2 innings, 27 games)

overall #s so far while playing left: 219 putouts, 11 assists, 1 double play, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (1103.1 innings, 129 games)

overall #s so far while playing center: 0 putouts, 0 assists, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (4 innings, 1 game)

overall #s so far while playing the outfield: 219 putouts, 11 assists, 1 double play, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (1107.1 innings, 129 games)



now my game-by-game numbers and notes.

Game 103/Game 1, August 1: 0-4. AVG: .282
(7th/LF/CG)
 
Game 104/Game 2, August 2: 0-3. AVG: .279
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 105/Game 3, August 3: 0-4. AVG: .276
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 106/Game 4, August 4: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .276
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 107/Game 5, August 5: 2-4, single (first at bat), stolen base, run scored, single, run scored. AVG: .278
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 108/Game 6, August 6: 1-3, single (first at bat), run scored. AVG: .279
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 109/Game 7, August 7: 3-5, walk (first at bat), double, single, caught stealing, double, run scored. AVG: .283
(5th/LF/CG14)

Game 110/Game 8, August 8: 1-4, single. AVG: .283
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 111/Game 9, August 9: 1-4, home run (first at bat), run scored. AVG: .282
(5th/LF/CG)

August 10: not in lineup.

Game 112/Game 10, August 11: 1-4, double. AVG: .282
(5th/LF/CG)
^^Michael's 7-game hitting streak ends.^^

Game 113/Game 11, August 12: 0-3. AVG: .280
(7th/LF/CG)

Game 114/Game 12, August 13: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .280
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 115/Game 13, August 14: 2-5, RBI single, RBI single, run scored, RBI sac fly. AVG: .281
(5th/LF/CG12)

Game 116/Game 14, August 16: 2-4, single (first at bat), walk, single. AVG: .283
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 117/Game 15, August 17: 2-3, walk (first at bat), double, double, run scored. AVG: .286
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 118/Game 16, August 18: 0-2, walk, sac bunt. AVG: .284
(7th/LF/CG)

Game 119/Game 17, August 19: 0-4, walk. AVG: .282
(5th/LF/CG)
^^Michael set a new club record once this game was completed, going 213 consecutive games without committing an error in the outfield.^^

Game 120/Game 18, August 20: 0-6, reached on forceout. AVG: .278
(7th/LF/CG14)

Game 121/Game 19, August 21: 0-4. AVG: .275
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 122/Game 20, August 23: 0-3, walk. AVG: .274
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 123/Game 21, August 24: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .273
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 124/Game 22, August 25: 0-4. AVG: .271
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 125/Game 23, August 27: 1-4, single, stolen base. AVG: .271
(7th/LF/CG)

Game 126/Game 24, August 28: 2-4, single, stolen base, single. AVG: .273
(7th/LF/8.2 innings)

Game 127/Game 25, August 29: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .273
(5th/LF/CG)

Game 128/Game 26, August 30: 1-2, single (first at bat), walk. AVG: .274
(5th/LF/CG7)

Game 129/Game 27, August 31: 1-4, triple. AVG: .273
(5th/LF/CG)
^^Michael ends the month on a 5-game hitting streak.^^



so far in 2013, Michael has a total of 522 plate appearances and 472 at bats in 129 games (1107.1 innings). in total, he has 129 hits, 96 singles, 22 doubles, 3 triples, 8 home runs, 59 RBI, 7 sac flies, 58 runs scored, 37 walks, 1 intentional walk, 4 hit by pitches, 14 stolen bases, 3 caught stealing, 2 sac bunts, 53 strikeouts, 33 first at bat hits, 189 left on base, 219 putouts, 11 assists, and 1 double play.

season batting average: .273 (129-472)

OBP: .327

SLG: .383

OPS: .710