In case you haven’t noticed (and judging from the readership on this site, you haven’t), the Indians have managed to win a few here and there and are threatening to lead the Major Leagues in winning percentage.

This is a darn fine team.  Check them out Cleveland fans.  The editorial staff at Bachmannalia lives so far from Cleveland — we count on your support!

So the editors of Bachmannalia and DoubleWahoo joined forces for a trek to Cleveland last weekend to see our beloved Tribe in action. It was the Home Opener! In a year when the Indians are a fashionable pick to make the postseason.

Well, as our devoted readers no doubt saw and shed tears over, the Opener was cancelled. After 7 hours. In the snow. And with the Indians 1 pitch away from a no-hitter win.

Such is the karma of Cleveland. Now they’re the Milwaukee Indians, at least for a few more days.

On a positive note, however, we got to see our very first snow angel at a baseball game.

Apparently a snake was found in the Indians’ pressbox during a Spring Training match today.  Thankfully, this man was there to save the day.  Who knew he was such a Tribe fan???

What can I say – my wife is amazing.  She fooled me completely, having me open a small package that included a Cleveland Indians polo shirt.  I liked it a lot, but she continued by saying “Well, I got it since I didn’t think you had enough Indians gear, and I thought it would look good on you for Opening Day in Cleveland…”

My only response was, “Wait, we’re not going to Cleveland this year…”  Then she whipped out the tickets – the first two games of the season, and my brother is coming too (so that I have someone to talk baseball with).

What a girl…

March 1st will go down as a great day for the editors of Bachmannalia.  Why?

(1) UVa defeated arch-rival Va. Tech to take 1st place in the ACC going into the final weekend of the regular season.  One more win will seal the championship.  This is a huge statement from a team that no one expected to be better than mediocre.  Bachmannalia directs our regular readers to the blog of compatriot DoubleWahoo for more in-depth analysis.

(2) The head editor and his wife got to see their favorite live band, “Guster,” at the 9:30 Club.  The show was great, punctuated by text messages from our friends with score updates (don’t worry, we watched most of the game before we left) and an incredibly funkdified version of “Airport Song.”  They always, always put on a great show, full of interaction and fun.  They ended with a horrific (but horribly amusing) version of 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Going On.”

(3) Spring training games have started, and in fine fashion, with a great pitching and batting effort by the Tribe in a 13-2 rout of Houston.  Ah, I can almost smell the spring flowers…

March 1 is a great day.

The Cleveland Indians have just announced that they will trade minor-leaguer Kevin Kouzmanoff and relief pitcher Andrew Brown to the San Diego Padres for second baseman Josh Barfield.  The crack-team of sports analysts at Bachmannalia are pumped about this deal.  Why?  Read on, gentle reader, read on.

First, Barfield.  The son of a major-leaguer, Josh had a very solid rookie season for the Padres.  He was excellent with the glove, which should help to improve the Indians abysmal infield defense from last season.  He also projects as a very good hitter; last season he played primarily in the most pitcher-friendly park in America but still hit .280.  He hit .315 on the road and will likely do somewhere in between for the Tribe – which sounds good to me, especially for a guy with some speed on the bases and great range in the field.

Now to the Kouz.  Kevin is the only player in major league history to hit a grand slam not only in his first game, not only in his first ever at-bat as a major leaguer, but on the VERY FIRST PITCH he ever saw in the major leagues.  Impressive.  He has hit at every level and plays a solid field.  However, the Tribe has Andy Marte penciled in at the hot corner and Ryan Garko at first.  Kouz was down on their list, and I for one am happy to see him get a shot in the majors now, even if its not for us.

Brown has been hyped by our analysts earlier in the year, but he never panned out.  He was also out of options, so no big loss.

Best part of all – Barfield is young and therefore under Tribe control for a long time to come.  He could very well add to that core of Sizemore, Martinez, Hafner, and CC (along with up-and-comers Marte, Peralta, and Jeremy Sowers).

Great trade.

And that pisses me off.

On an "up" note, the wiff and I head to Germany this weekend – WORLD CUP!!! 

As a big fan of the Cleveland Indians, I find myself frequently asked about the team's mascot, nicknamed "Chief Wahoo."

What a quandry.  Let's get a few things straight first.  I have no problems with the name "Indians" for the franchise.  The term is used often by historians and others as a synonym of Native American.  The image of Chief Wahoo and the name itself are a different story.

I find the image somewhat repugnant, though it is arguably less stereotypical than the older image (see below).  That being said, it is something I grew up with and find hard to forget.  But that is always the case I suppose.  The right thing to do would be to retire the Chief and transition to the cursive "I" that is creeping into Jacobs Field and onto uniforms more and more each year.

But that doesn't mean I'll get rid of my gear!

New Chief Wahoo.

Old Chief Wahoo… just a TOUCH more racist, huh?

On a sidenote, Cleveland was actually known as one of the more open-minded franchises years ago.  For example, Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, starred for Cleveland.  The old Cleveland Spiders of the late 19th century featured a Native American player named Sockalexis (many mistakenly believe that he was the inspiration for the current team name, though it was actually a play on the Boston Braves). 

The Indians have been going through an awful stretch.  After starting the season with high hopes and a quick 6-1 record over divisional opponents, they have struggled.  Most notably the pitching staff has been terrible – starters left games early, the bullpen couldn't hold a lead, injuries across the board – it was a real mess.  Especially considering that this team was ostensibly built around pitching.   The hitting was quite good but has cooled off recently.

Going into last night the Tribe was carrying a 6-game losing streak and a grudge against the Royals, who despite carrying one of the worst records in the league has thusfar torn the Indians apart.

But that changed last night!  Three scoreless innings from 3 different relievers, including the just-back-from-the-DL Betancourt.  Byrd was solid if not spectacular in his start, but he kept us in the game.  Casey Blake continued his tear with another homer.  Michaels gunned out a runner from left field and Broussard snagged a liner for another double play.  And it was all capped off by Sizemore tying the game in the 9th with a homer, followed by Hafner's walk-off home run shot to win the game.

That is how you win.  I really hope this is a sign of things to come.  Let's keep it going Cleveland! 

My buddy sent me this shot – basically how I feel about the Indians right now.  They are on a bit of a cold streak – their pitching is rather suspect and the hitting is cooling down.  All in all, not a great sign.

On the other hand, has anyone heard of Jim Webb?  Former Secretary of the Navy, I believe.  Anyway, he's challenging Sen. Allen in Virginia this fall (if he gets the Dem's nomination) and he could be a very interesting candidate.  Progressive guy who still has the military-background toughness.  Keep on the lookout for him.