Nick Swisher

2012 Stats: 148 Games, .272 BA, 24 HRs, 93 RBIs & .837 OPS

Nick Swisher signed with the Cleveland Indians this off-season. He's a high energy guy who will bring a good leadership quality to a rebuilt Indians team. He will play mostly at 1B where his career Fielding % is .994. Batting in the middle of the lineup Swisher should get 100 RBIs in a season for the first time in his career.

Related Posts:

1. The Icky Shuffle: MLB Free Agency 2012
2. The Icky Shuffle: Happy Birthday Mike Hargrove

This Day in Sports History - 11/29/1971

In a swap of pitchers, the San Francisco Giants trade Gaylord Perry to the Cleveland Indians for Sam McDowell. It appears to be an even exchange. Perry is 33 and has a 133-109 career record. Despite pitching for some terrible teams in Cleveland, the 29 year old McDowell is 122-109 and has led the American League in strikeouts four times. Perry will be 24-16 in 1972, and from that season until the end of his career in 1983, he performs for seven teams with 181 more victories. Perry ends up with a record of 314-265 and a berth in the Hall of Fame. After the trade on this day, McDowell is 25-35 with three clubs and will exit the majors in 1975. He will later admit that alcoholism led to his downfall.

This Day in Sports History - 10/31/1999

The Cleveland Browns claim their first victory as an expansion team with a dramatic 21 - 16 win over the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome. Browns owner Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore following the 1996 season. Cleveland was granted an expansion team to begin play in 1999 and retained the previous team's nickname, colors, and records. The Browns start the '99 season 0-7 and seem headed for an eighth loss when Doug Brien kicks a 46-yard FG to give the Saints a 16 - 14 advantage. The Browns hold the ball on their own 44 with time for just one more play. QB Tim Couch launches a Hail Mary into the air, and WR Kevin Johnson catches it in the corner of the end zone for the game-winning score. The Browns will finish 1999 with a 2 - 14 record. The other win is achieved on a FG as time expires, to down the Steelers, 16 - 15, at Three River Stadium in Pittsburgh on November 14.

Happy Birthday Dennis Eckersley

Cleveland Browns 2012 First Round Picks

The Cleveland Browns selected RB Trent Richardson at pick #3 and QB Brandon Weeden with their pick at #22. Here are two videos with some highlights of those two players:

Omri Casspi Talks About the Cleveland Cavaliers

Tonight the Cavs start their 2011-2012 season against the Toronto Raptors. Here is a video of newly acquired Israeli born player Omri Casspi talking about many things regarding the Cavs.

Grady Sizemore

After not picking up his option the Cleveland Indians re-signed Grady Sizemore to a one year deal worth $5 million, but with incentives can be as high as $9 million. Sizemore has been injured for parts of the last few seasons and therefore has not put up the numbers he did from 2005-2008. Sizemore is a 3 time All Star and 2 time Gold Glove winner. He is 52 hits away from reaching 1,000 in his career and has 139 HRs & 134 SBs. If Sizemore can stay healthy then the Indians have a chance to make some noise in their division.

Related Posts:
1. The Icky Shuffle: MLB Free Agency 2011
2. The Icky Shuffle: Five Questions That Will Decide the Indians' Season
3. The Icky Shuffle: This Day in Sports History - 3/22/1993
4. The Icky Shuffle: Cleveland Indians 2008 Season Recap

Happy Birthday Otto Graham

Jim Thome

The first piece of the Free Agency puzzle is Jim Thome signing with the Philadelphia Phillies for a one year $1.25 million contract. Phillies 1B Ryan Howard will be missing the beginning of the season but don't expect to see Thome at first too often. He'll primarily be used as a big bat off the bench. Thome has 604 career home-runs and is a good guy & teammate. Something to look for is that Thome is good friends with Michael Cuddyer who is also a free agent and would fit in well with the Phillies because he's a right-handed bat who can play both corner infield & outfield positions.

Related Posts:

1. The Icky Shuffle: MLB Free Agency 2011

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2011 Peyton Hillis

Browns' RB Peyton Hillis was voted by fans as the NFL player to grace the cover of Madden '12. In a previous post we told you that for Hillis to do better than his 1177 yards from last year he needs to average 73.5 yards per game. The Browns are 2-2 so far in the first four games and this is what Hillis has done:

Week 1: Cin 17 Att. 57 Yds.

Week 2: @Ind 27 Att. 94 Yds. 2 TDs

Week 3: Mia DNP - Strep Throat

Week 4: Ten 10 Att. 46 Yds.

Totals through week 4: 54 Att. 197 Yds. 3.6 Yards/Carry 2 TDs 81.7 Yards needed per game to surpass 1177 Yards.

Coming Soon: Peyton Hillis' 2011-2012 Season

Last season we kept you apprised of how Peyton Hillis was doing in each quarter of the season. This year we plan on doing the same thing. Hillis will be a key for the Browns to contend in games especially when we get to late November-early December. Last year Hillis rushed for 1177 yards, for him to surpass that this season he needs to average 73.5 yards per game. We'll see if he can do it, so stay tuned as our first Hillis check will be the Monday after Week 4.

Top 10 Perks For Being On The Cover Of Madden NFL 12

Cleveland Browns Draft Picks Greg Little and Owen Marecic

When the Browns traded down with the Atlanta Falcons so that they could draft WR Julio Jones the Browns received Atlanta's 2nd and 4th round picks (amongst others). With those picks the Browns selected WR Greg Little from UNC and FB/LB Owen Marecic from Stanford.

Cleveland Browns Draft Pick Phil Taylor Feature

Last night was the first round of the NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns had the sixth pick and many thought they may draft WR Julio Jones or DE Robert Quinn. Instead the Browns traded down, acquired 5 picks for that 6th pick and drafted DT Phil Taylor at pick #21. The Browns now have two picks in the 2nd round and have the opportunity to fill some of the many holes that they have.

Five Questions That Will Decide the Indians' Season

Today is the Indians opener against their division rivals the Chicago White Sox. Here are the top five questions that will need to be answered to see how the Indians will do this season.

1. Will Fausto Carmona pitch well and how will the rest of the rotation be?


2. Are young players like Matt LaPorta, Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley ready to step up?


3. When will Grady Sizemore return from injury?


4. How soon will players like Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall be in the Majors?


5. Will Shin Soo-Choo, who is no longer a surprise, be able to carry the team if others fail?

My Top 11 Cleveland Indians Hitters

1. Manny Ramirez


2. Rocky Colavito


3. Lou Boudreau


4. Grady Sizemore


5. Travis Hafner


6. Joe Carter


7. Sandy Alomar Jr.


8. Frank Robinson


9. Albert Belle


10. Omar Vizquel


11. Jim Thome

This Day in Sports History - 3/22/1993

A boating accident on Little Lake Nellie in Clearmont, Florida, claims the lives of Cleveland Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews and leaves Bobby Ojeda seriously injured. Just after dark, the three were riding in an 18-foot aluminum open-air bass fishing boat piloted by Crews when they slammed into the side of a pier at high speed. Olin was 27 years old; Crews was 31. Ojeda will undergo surgery to reattach his scalp and return to the Indians in August of this year.

True Pioneers in Sports History: Larry Doby

Orlando Cabrera

The Cleveland Indians signed Orlando Cabrera to a one year contract. He'll move from SS to 2B to allow Asdrubal Cabrera (no relation) to stay at SS. Cabrera has 1,948 career hits and has won 2 Gold Gloves. From 2007-2010 Cabrera has played for 4 different teams and have helped each of them make the playoffs.

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2. The Icky Shuffle: RIP Bob Feller 1918-2010

Happy Birthday Jim Brown