The first batter of the second inning was Travis Hafner who had a single up the third baseline, then Peralta hit a single, next was Choo to hit a homer, which gave us a 3-2 lead.  Garko popped out to the left fielder, then Fransisco hit a double, Cabrera hit a single and Fransisco scored ( 4-3 ). Sizemore and DeRosa both hit doubles and scored two more runs (8-3).  The it’s back to the first batter of the inning, Hafner, who hits a double, then Peralta did the same thing and scored two more runs ( 10-3).  The pitchers walks Choo, then Garko hits a single and Martinez hits a grand slam (14-3).  After 69 pitches the inning was over.  Everyone who was in the game scored at least one run in the inning.  Watch the highlights.

 This game was Eric Wedge’s, the team manager,  500th victory.

Not only was this exciting to watch because everyone was playing so well, but they broke some records too.  The Yankees have won 26 World Championships and the Indians have only won two.

• The Indians are the only visiting team to score 22 runs against the Yankees.  ( They’ve done it in 2004 too, in a 22-0 game, the Yankees worst loss in history.)
• The second inning Saturday represented the most runs and hits ever allowed by the Yankees in one inning.
• The 14-run second inning tied the Indians’ franchise record, set in the first inning June 18, 1950 against the Philadelphia A’s.
• The 14 runs were the most scored in the second inning of a major league baseball game.
• The 13 hits in the inning were a franchise record for a Yankees opponent.

Public Relations Prespective

The Cleveland Indians didn’t have the best start this season, but games like these give us Cleveland fans hope.  By beating these records the Tribe gained some positive publicity.  There were breaking news stories explainging how well they were doing in the second inning against one of the best teams in the league.

The public relations practitioners of the Cleveland team need to take advantage of this.   They need to publicize this information as soon as possible to prove to people that they are a team worth watching and will in turn most likely sell more tickets to games and more merchandise.

It is important to make sure all baseball fans get the message that Cleveland is a team to watch out for, not just previous fans.  By expanding all fans knowledge on the Tribe and their accomplishments it would make them seem like a threat and more people would watch the game, expecting some excitement.

LeBron takes it to the hoop!

There are a couple predictions on why we won?  Everyone always thinks there is some kind of alterior motive behind everything.  These are some of the rumors…

• Boston let Cleveland win so when they face each other again Cleveland thinks they will not have a challenge because they have already beat them so bad.
• Cleveland is the new Boston, we will be taking their place this year.
• Boston didn’t care about the game considering they are seated number 2 (we’re number 1) and can not move from that spot with the number of games left.  They wanted to rest their players.

But when it comes down to it, we won, we deserved to win and Boston fans can come up with all the excuses they want to why it happened.  Nobody wants to lose a game like that, especially to a rival.

After the first quarter it was 31-9.  LeBron had 29 points!  He was the leading scorer of the game, while Gibson had 15, Williams and West had 13 and Zigulskas had 11.  On the Boston side Pierce had 14, Davis had 12, Moore 10 and Perkins 8.  The second quarter Boston had a 14-0 run, but still couldn’t come back. More stats.

Anytime there is a good game there is going to be some hostility on the court.  Ray Allen and Anderson Varejao had a little mishap on the floor.  Allen hits the floor and on his was up elbows Varejao in the family jewels!  Varejao tries to do something back, but controls himself with a ref in the middle.  Both players get technicals and the game goes on.

Public Relations Perspective

We already know there are going to be large fan bases watching games like these.  Two good teams, both have star players and are 1 and 2 in our conference.  Publix Relations practitioners need to take advantage of these games.  They will be watched by more people than other games and give them an opportunity to reach more people.  This is a perfect time to let fans know about souveniers they can buy, tickets, Cavs sponosored programs and anything that has to do with the team.

With all the excitement it’s a perfect time to show how much fun the fans are having and try to get viewers to feel the excitement and tension that is in the Q.  The next Cavs vs. Celtics game should get pretty rowdy, hopefully the PR team is ready!

Tribe Manager Eric Wedge knew the starters of the game Saturday, the earliest he thinks he has ever given out the information before a game. 

The 10 starters for the Opening Day game will be:

• Ben Francisco in Leftfield
• Grady Sizemore in Centerfield
• Shin-Soo Choo in Right field
• Victor Martinez on First Base
• Asdrubal Cabrera on Second Base
• Jhonny Peralta at ShortStop
• Mark DeRosa on Third Base 
• Kelly Shoppach as Catcher
• Cliff Lee the Left-Handed Pitcher
• Travis Hafner as the Designated Hitter 

There is one new starter, but all of these players have a fan base and people who will be cheering them on!  Fransisco and Cabrera have the least amount of experience with only two years and DeRosa, the new addition to the starters,  has the most with 11 years.  There are 42 players on the roster for this season, we let some people go and gained some new talent.

  Public Relations doesn’t have much to do with picking the starting line-up, but once it is picked they have something to work with!

Get to Know the Starters

 Ben Fransisco He started his career in MLB in 2007.  This Monday, will be his 177 game playing for the Cleveland Indians.  He  played all over the outfield last season and started as DH nine times when Hafner was hurt.

Grady Sizemore  He played his first full season with the Cleveland Indians in 2005 and has lead the team in hits since. This Monday will be his 683 game with the Tribe.  He hit 33 homeruns last season and ended with a .268 batting average.  He also, played and started in 151 games.

Shin-Soo Choo He played his first season with the Tribe in 2006, went to Seattle and then came back to us in 2007.  He ended last season with 66 RBI’s and a .309 batting average.

Victor Martinez  He’s been playing catcher and first basemen for the Tribe since 2002.  Last season he played 55 games as catcher and 10 at first base.  He was at bat 266 times and ended with a .278 batting average.

Asdrubal Cabrera He became a part of the Tribe in 2007 and played 40 games as the second basemen, 1 at third and 7 at shortstop.  Last season he played mostly 2nd (94 games) and 20 games at short.  He had 136 hits and ended with a .266 batting average.

Jhonny Peralta He’s played on Cleveland since 2002 and has been our starting shortstop, but able to play third when we need him too.  Last season, he started 143 games at short and 1 at third.  He scored 104 runs and had a batting average of .268.

Mark DeRosa He played with Chicago last year and had a .285 batting average, played 149 games and had 87 RBI’s.  He’s an all-around player, just last season he played first, second, third, short, left and right field.  Through the past eight years he has not played a single season at only one position.  Let’s see what he does for the Tribe at second!

Kelly Shoppach He joined the Indians in 2006 as a catcher and played in 40 games.  Last season he caught in 110 games and had an FPCT of .989.  He had 67 hits and a .261 batting average.

Cliff Lee He started pitching in Cleveland in 2002.  Last season he won 22 games and lost 3.  He gave up 214 hits and was 0 for 5 at batting.  His FPCT was .968.

Travis Hafner He has been playing with the Tribe since 2003 as a first basemen and DH.  He had a shoulder injury last season and his stats seem kind of low, but that is why.  He played in 57 games he had 39 hits and scored 21 runs.  Also, he had 24 RBI’s and hit 5 homeruns.

P.R. Perspective

All fans have favorite players.  The more they play, the more likely the fan is going to go watch a game with them in it.  Of course, the player’s are all good to be in MLB, but the one’s that put in the extra effort to see fans and support good causes are appreciated.

The Cleveland Indians help with recreational programs to show kids the skills they’ve learned that got them where they are, humanitarian programs to help clean up streets and educational pragrams to teach kids how important an education is.

Grady Sizemore was the recipient of the 2008 Roberto Clemente award, which recognizes players who best represent the game of baseball through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions to their teams.  He actively participates in  Cleveland’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program.  He also is involved with numerous other community activities.

They also have a program through Dick’s Sporting Goods where you can “Shop with a Pro” where Sizemore, Ryan Garko and Shin-Soo Choo were involved. 

Jhonny Peralta was involved in a program to award fans K-8 on grades, attendance and reaching reading goals.  There’s also a “Reporter for a Day” program where a lucky student gets to interview the team, managers and other Indian’s Personel.

The Cleveland Indians are involved in a lot more charitable and helpful programs then people know about.  Not only are the people behind the scenes strongly involved, but the player’s are too!

The Indians let go of 15 players today; This morning the Indians optioned RHP John Meloan, RHP Adam Miller, RHP Juan Salas, LHP Tony Sipp and INF Luis Valbuena to AAA Columbus. Optioned RHP Hector Rondon and CA Carlos Santana to AA Akron. Re-assigned RHP Jack Cassel, LHP David Huff, CA Armando Camacaro, INF Jordan Brown, INF Wes Hodges, INF Jesus Merchan, INF Beau Millsand OF Stephen Head to minor league camp.  There are now 44 players still in the Camp

Progressive FIeld

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They coaches felt these players folded under pressure and could not keep up with the competition.  Although they played well in the minor leagues they doubted their success at the Major’s. They are still trying to find someone to fill the  fifth starting spot, a bullpen spot and several promising prospects.

Why it Matters in PR

The Indians need to make sure they get the right players.  Fans are already watching to see who will be the newest additions to the team.  There are some fans already rooting for some of the minor league player to join our team.  Not only do they want to make sure they are good on the field, but they need to look into their past experiences and see if they will fit in with the Tribe’s plans.  Everyone is expecting a great season.

GOOD SIDE

 Although the ticket prices are rising for some games, other games will be less expensive.  In April and May weekday game tickets are nearly half price compared to how much it will cost to go to other games.  Those precious diamond boxes that are always shown on TV, real close to the infield, are only $35 for the early, weekday games.  Those of us who are not willing to spend over $70 for tickets can finally get our chance to sit up close!  Also, the increase in revenue could get us a better team or make things at the stadium cheaper (doubtful).  

MIDDLE

The tickets have been separated into four categories: Spring Super Savers(13 games), Spring Value(8 games), Summer Value(29 games) and Prime(31 games).  Although tickets for the beginning of the season are down, the end is more expensive than ever!   Teams icluded in the Prime Time are Cincinatti, New York and St. Louis.  While in the Spring Savers it has Boston (which I will be attending), Chicago and Tampa Bay. Boston is a great team, but since they’re game takes place before kids get out of school and before the temperature goes up their tickets are cheap!

BAD SIDE

The economy is bad, so let’s raise prices?  Everyone’s looking for a way to make more money and the loyal fans are being taken advantage of.  Yes, it is nice to be able to get cheap tickets, but what if I want to go to a game where the weather is nice, were playing a good team, on the weekend when I dont have school or work and there are fireworks and possibly a Grady Sizemore bobblehead?  Should I have to pay $50 more?  Plus, I love how all the categories are called values except one.  So this means over half of the 81 games are discounted and the 31 that are not are going to raise ticket revenue by five percent? That can’t be right?  The last thing I see wrong with this idea is they are going to charge $1 to $5 extra when you buy tickets on game day.  Why? They must think people are desperate to go or this might make more people buy tickets ahead of time.

In the End

We will have to wait for the season to end to see how this works.  Obviously, lower income families will be affected by this, but at the same time if they go early they can get seats they normally would never buy.  The bleacher seats stayed nearly the same, no complaints.  The highest price tickets may not sell, if people can get a “deal.”  Best case scenario, maybe less people will go watch the Yankees!

“That last call is the worst call that I have ever been a part of,” Brown said. “I cannot imagine another worse call than that. It was an awful call and for him to take away a basketball game from a team with 0.4 seconds on the clock is irresponsible.”

Brown does not seem upset by his actions.  In later interviews he goes on to say, ” I said what I had to say and the NBA needs to do what it needs to do. I just said what I said and saw what I saw.”

Lesson in PR

It is never good to lose your temper as head coach.  It sets a bad example for the team.  Also, it makes you look like  a baby. Whether the call was wrong or not they are not going to change it because you complain.  Many people in the sports world now look at Brown differently.  People from other teams are blaming LeBron and saying he complains way too much for the fame he has and for how good he’s supposed to be. 

More controversy comes because a lot of people don’t think it was a bad call.  Each team ran a similar play, if not the same, and was given the same call.  It’s only fair if one team gets the foul to give it to the other.  It may have been a bad call the first time, but at least the refs were consistently bad.  That’s all you can ask for is consistency.

In the End

In conclusion, Mike Brown looks like a cry baby and gave other teams and fans ammo to use against us in the future.  There are comments all over the web about LeBron and him complaining.  Most are saying LeBron is overrated and he shouldn’t be able to get away with more because he is talented and known as ” KING JAMES. “  Also, I’m sure the refs will have this in their minds when they come to ref their games.  If they thought the last call was unfair, I’d like to see what happens now.  To publicly ridicule a ref who made the same call for both teams, just in different seconds of the game isn’t fair.  It looks childish and is completely unhelpful.

This season the Cleveland Cavaliers have been switching up the colors and jerseys for different games.  Here’s a history of the jerseys from the past.  Is this a marketing scam or does it have something to do with PR?  I’ve heard both sides of the story.

Lessons in Marketing

Of course, the marketing side of it is they wear different jerseys to sell more.  This season they brought back the gold jerseys from the 1970s.  Since the team is doing so well and more people are buying jerseys ( a lot to do with LeBron) it seems like they just want to sell more, so people can buy the same jersey in a different color. 

Lessons in Public Relations

But from the PR perspective, I’ve heard they brought back the jerseys to try to attract old fans who watched during those times.  Some people stopped watching because they felt that the sport has changed so much over the time and can’t  compare it with how it used to be.  Also, the gold shows “they’re going for the gold.”  They want to be seen in gold to give the impression that they are the best and will be the winners.

The Last Word