Leadoff with Lee 8.1.14

-Following the Justin Masterson trade, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was traded to the Washington Nationals for infielder Zach Walters. Walters has played shortstop, third base, second base and left field. To me, it seems the Indians like the plug and play players in order to fill out their lineup in case of emergency or to give someone a rest. For now, Francisco Lindor will remain in Triple-A until the Indians can expand their lineup, barring injury, in September. Lindor already has Jose Ramirez and Mike Aviles ahead of him for the starting shortstop role. The Tribe had no chance of signing Justin Masterson or Asdrubal Cabrera, as both will be free agents at the end of the season without breaking the bank.

-Thanks to the bullpen, the Indians lost to the Mariners 6-5. The game had a total of 21 hits through the 9 inning game. Zack McAllister was only able to go 3.1 innings with Bryan Shaw getting the loss. This is Shaw's 4th blown save of the season. The bats were hot but the Tribe couldn't start the fire to roast the Mariners. The Texas Rangers arrive today for a 3 game set with Danny Salazar getting the start for the good guys. Jerome Williams will go for the Rangers.

-Appearantly the Tribe was in contact with the Rays for pitcher David Price. It would have cost them Danny Salazar, Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor. Would you have done it? Hell nah. I'm not gonna sacrifice my future over the right now. It's going to come along Tribe fans. We all want a winner!

-Josh Gordon flew out to New York Wednesday night and met with his lawyers Thursday to prepare for his appeal on a fail/missed/second hand smoke drug screening which will happen today. The results of his appeal won't be known until at least Wednesday or Thursday according to my sources. But sources did state to me, it will happen before the Browns first preseason game next Saturday. Roger Goodell will NOT be involved in the hearing and has appointed special counsel. From what I'm told, it's 50/50 on what will happen to Gordon. I should learn more info Friday night.

-Johnny Manziel vs Brian Hoyer is closer than what some may think. Manziel was a beast in goal line offense, while Hoyer was great in the middle of the field. Rumor has it, the Browns will run a college style offense depending on the personal and situation on the field. Packages have been installed for Manziel and Hoyer to take advantage of the defensive situations. Hoyer has the leadership but Manziel has the intangibles. Yes Cleveland, we have another quarterback battle.

-Besides Kevin Love on his way to Cleveland, I would suspect former Cavs player Mo Williams to come back as well. Just a rumor but don't rule it out!

-The USA Today Coaches Poll was released yesterday and where do you think the Ohio State Buckeyes ranked? After finishing 12-2 last year and 8-0 in the B1G Ten, the Buckeyes emerged 6th in the country and the favorite to win the Big Ten. Michigan State finished 8th. With Ohio State looking for a Big Ten title and a National Championship this year, the Buckeyes will continue to build to success for now and well into the future.

Leadoff with Lee 5.22.14

The Windians are back, the Windians are back! To my umpiring brothers that they call "Blue", great call. The Tribe won in unusual fashion 11-10 against the Tigers on a balk call in 13 innings. Yes I said balk! To use the words of David Murphy, "I don't even know where to start with this game". Murphy continued with, "I don't know if that was a baseball game, marathon combined with a circus." So let me just take it here. Ryan Rayburn was at the plate with the base loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning of a WWE-style slobberknocker. The game ended with Detriot's reliever, Al Alburquerque, balking by "false starting" and "shifting his hips", scoring Asdrubal Cabrera. The Indians swept the Tigers 3-0 in the series. The Tribe improved to 22-25 for the season, with Detroit still leading the division 27-15 and Cleveland 7.5 behind. The Indians open up a four game set tonight in Baltimore against the Orioles.

-Danny Green for three!!! The Spurs guard was the star of Game 2, knocking down 7 3-pointers in the San Antonio Spurs 112-77 blowout victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder were in this game in the first half until the Spurs pushed to a 14 point lead at the half. Green finished with 21 points, while Tony Parker chipped in 22 points and Tim Duncan added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Oklahoma City's "others" struggled again, with the starters not named Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scoring a total of 4 points. Durant and Westbrook also struggled, only scoring 15 points each. Game 3 will be Sunday night in Oklahoma City. It will be a must win for the Thunder because no team in NBA history has ever gone down 3-0 in a series and come back to win it.

Leadoff with Lee 5.9.14

-Be on the lookout later today for Browns React where we cover the Cleveland Browns draft picks in the 2014 NFL Draft.

-The Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 94-82. King James had a game high 22 points, Chris Bosh added 18. Deron Williams couldn't hit a shot, going 0-9 from the field with 0 points for the Nets. Mirza Teletovic set a Nets playoff record, hitting six 3-pointers scoring a total of 20 points off the bench. Miami leads the series 2-0. Game 3 will be Saturday in Brooklyn.

-The Spurs topped the Blazers 114-97 to go up 2-0 in the series. As always, the Spurs played a great overall team game with Kawhi Leonard leading the way with 20 points. San Antonio had 7 players score double figures. Other notables for the Spurs, Tony Parker had a double-double scoring 16 points and 10 assists. The Blazers shot a dismal 43% from the field. Nicolas Batum had a team high 21 points for the Blazers. Game 3 will be on Saturday.

-The Indians racked up 15 hits in their 9-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins yesterday afternoon at Progressive field. Asdrubal Cabrera, Michael Brantley, David Murphy and Mike Aviles all had 3 or more hits in the game. Cabrera and Brantley both hit home runs for the Tribe. Justin Masterson improved to 2-1 on the season with the win. He went 6.1 innings giving up 4 hits and 2 earned runs in the series finale. The Indians open up their weekend series versus the Rays in Tampa on Friday at 7 PM.