the nail in the coffin | A Cleveland sports podcast: Indians

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Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Episode 199 – Did the Indians get it right with ‘Guardians’?

The Cleveland Indians on Friday announced that they will take the field as the Guardians starting in 2022. Even if the name changing process formally began seven months ago, it was a decision years in the making. But did the Indians get it right with their new identity? The guys discuss the new moniker, as well as whether it was a good idea to create a new visual identity that, while no longer controversial, certainly looks similar to the old one in a lot of ways.

Plus: The Browns have unveiled a 75th anniversary throwback uniform, and college football is being turned on its head this summer.

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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photo from @Indians on Twitter | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Friday, May 21, 2021

Episode 197 – MLB's data-driven dilemma, NBA Play-In, Browns' big games, Crew rebrand U-turn

Strikeouts are at a record high, batting averages are at a record low, and MLB is at a crossroads as teams continue to swing for the fences even as the ball has been tweaked to cut down on home runs. Three teams—yes, including the Indians—have been no-hit twice this season, and it’s still only mid-May. The guys discuss how teams’ analytics-driven pursuit of success is at odds with putting on an entertaining product for fans, and how it’s not just a problem for baseball.

Plus: The NBA’s play-in games are a literal overnight success, the NFL schedule makers believe in the Browns, and the Columbus Crew does a fast U-turn on an ill-fated rebrand.

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Friday, January 8, 2021

Episode 188 – A COVID cloud is stealing the Browns’ and Buckeyes’ sunshine

The Browns are going to the playoffs! The Buckeyes are playing for a national championship! This is all supposed to be exciting…right? The guys discuss COVID-19 taking the air out of Northeast Ohio football fans’ balloon at the worst possible time, whether the Browns can overcome not having Kevin Stefanski and multiple starters, and the possibility that Monday’s national championship game between Ohio State and Alabama might not end up being on Monday after all.

Plus: Justin Fields was incredible leading OSU over Clemson in one of the Buckeyes’ most satisfying wins in years, and the Indians’ trade of Francisco Lindor is the latest painful reminder that Major League Baseball is a broken institution.

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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photos from USA Today | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Monday, September 28, 2020

Episode 182 – A crash course on Indians vs. Yankees in the AL Wild Card round

Fausto Carmona is long gone, but the midges are back. Sandy Alomar won’t be hitting a game-tying home run that sends Paul O’Neill into a tantrum on the warning track, but he will be managing the Tribe. It’s the Indians and the Yankees meeting in the first round of the MLB postseason again, and Waiting For Next Year’s Mitchell Krall joins The Nail to give us a crash course. Topics covered: Presumed Cy Young winner-to-be Shane Bieber and the Indians pitching staff, potential AL MVP Jose Ramirez and whether the Tribe can generate enough offense, what role having Alomar manage in place of Terry Francona will play, and what we need to know about the team from the Bronx and the new postseason format.

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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photos from Getty Images | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Episode 181 – First impressions of Stefanski’s Browns, Indians clinch postseason spot

Two weeks into the NFL season, the Browns have bounced back from a rough (but, given the circumstances, maybe not too surprising) start in Baltimore. The Indians, meanwhile, are officially back in the postseason after a dramatic Jose Ramirez walk-off home run in extra innings against the White Sox on Tuesday night.

Joe Gerberry, writer and editor for Waiting For Next Year, joins The Nail to discuss the state of Cleveland’s two active teams. The guys go through the early returns on the Kevin Stefanski regime, Baker Mayfield, an improved offensive line, and a work-in-progress defense. Plus: Shane Bieber and Ramirez putting together award-worthy seasons, and best/worst potential first-round postseason opponents for the Tribe.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Episode 179 – Baseball, Blue Jackets, and (no) Big Ten football

Sports are back, and so is The Nail. The guys discuss the early ups and downs of the Indians, the Blue Jackets in the NHL playoffs, and adjusting to sports broadcasts with no fans but lots of ads. … Plus: With the Big Ten and Pac-12 opting out for the fall, what will become of the 2020 college football season?

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Episode 178 – Author Alex Harnocz on ‘Perfect Season Project: An Uncommon Arrangement of Cleveland Indians History’

Author Alex Harnocz joins the show to discuss his new book, “Perfect Season Project: An Uncommon Arrangement of Cleveland Indians History,” in which he sifts through 120 years of Tribe baseball to find the most interesting and/or historic year for each game on the schedule, from 1 to 162. In his book, Harnocz chronicles the classics—Bob Feller’s opening day no-hitter in 1940, Len Barker’s perfecto (Game 24 in 1981), and the miraculous comeback vs. Seattle (Game 110 in 2001)—as well as some deep cuts that only the most diehard Indians fans will remember. Harnocz explains the inspiration for his project and how he put the Indians’ “perfect season” together.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Episode 177 – Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com on the Indians, a name change, and the 2020 season

Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com and the MLB Network joins the show to discuss the Indians potentially changing their name, how the 60-game schedule and new rules for 2020 affect the Tribe, and whether roster restrictions in place this year could decrease the odds of a midseason trade of Francisco Lindor.

Read Castrovince’s column on a potential Indians name change:
https://medium.com/@castrovince/the-cleveland-spiders-b2f4aa576eb3

Check out Castrovince’s new book: “A Fan’s Guide to Baseball Analytics”

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Episode 175 – Field days, fantastic wins, and more tales from yesteryear

With sports still mostly on hold and not much fun happening in the world right now, the guys take a break from current events to reminisce about some lighter moments from years gone by, including Ohio State’s 2002 national championship, a pair of dramatic Indians wins, and some youth sports misadventures. Plus: A last word on ESPN’s “The Last Dance.”

Monday, July 29, 2019

Episode 155 – Ready for launch: Browns begin training camp, Bauer plays long toss

The Browns have launched into training camp. The Indians have launched themselves back squarely into contention in the AL Central days before the trade deadline. And on Sunday, an unhappy Trevor Bauer launched a ball over the center field wall. The guys discuss Bauer’s afternoon in Kansas City and the state of the Tribe heading into the deadline.

Plus: Browns training camp talk, how we lose context in video highlights on Twitter, and the countdown to the release of this year’s Madden game.

Support cancer research! Donate to Travis’ ride for Pelotonia today.

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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photo from USA Today Sports, Associated Press | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Friday, July 12, 2019

Episode 153 – Uncorking the second half of the Indians’ season

After a successful week of hosting All-Star festivities, it’s back to business for the Indians, who open up the second half of the season with a big series against AL Central-leading Minnesota. Jim Ingraham, a long-time Tribe beat writer and current sports columnist for the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and Medina Gazette, joins the show to recap the Indians’ weird first half, discuss the emergence of All-Star Game MVP Shane Bieber and rookie outfielder Oscar Mercado, as well as the surprising year for Roberto Perez. Ingraham also weighs the pros and cons of dealing Trevor Bauer or Brad Hand for an impact bat and explains why the elimination of the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline could make the end of July extra busy around MLB this year.

Plus: Monday marks the 25th anniversary of Albert Belle's corked bat being confiscated, leading to pitcher Jason Grimsley crawling through the air ducts of Comiskey Park and breaking into the umpires’ locker room to retrieve the bat, securing a place in baseball lore. Ingraham, who was in the press box that night, shares his recollections from a wild scene in the Windy City.

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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photos from Getty Images and mlb.com | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Episode 152 – Cleveland sports biz headlines with Kevin Kleps

Kevin Kleps of Crain’s Cleveland Business is back on the show to run through the sports biz items making news in Northeast Ohio. The guys discuss a pair of big events coming to town: the MLB All-Star Game (and all of its related activities) this weekend, followed by the NFL Draft in 2021 (actual stage location to be determined). Plus: The Browns scaling back their crowd sizes at training camp to create a better fan experience, the future of their local media deals, and the financial challenges along the Cavs’ long, slow road to rebuilding.

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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photos from clevelandbrowns.com and mlb.com | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Friday, April 5, 2019

Episode 146 – Celebrating the 30th anniversary of ‘Major League’

This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of ‘Major League’ hitting theaters. The guys look back at the Cleveland classic, from Bob Uecker’s legendary (and largely unscripted) performance in the booth as Harry Doyle to the athletic abilities (or, in one notable case, lack thereof) of the players. Does ‘Major League’ still hold up in 2019? How would it be remembered with its originally planned ending? And why wasn’t Willie Mays Hayes running on the brushback pitch to Jake Taylor?

Also covered: The quintessentially ’80s American Express commercial, Randy Newman’s “Burn On,” and the licensed “Major League” video game (?!) that was only released in Japan.

Monday, April 1, 2019

Episode 145 – Talking about how we talk about the Tribe

On the eve of the Indians’ home opener, the mood is anything but festive in Tribetown. An ugly, abrupt postseason, followed by a winter of inaction and a series of interviews with ownership that focused more on lamenting finances than chasing pennants have left Indians fans on edge as they return to the gates of Progressive Field this week. But is the criticism fair? The guys explore the weird position Tribe fans find themselves in: fully expecting a fourth straight division title, but largely frustrated and unsatisfied with the state of their club as a window of contention starts to close.

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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photo by Tom Valentino | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Episode 142 – Michael Mulhall, VP of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Michael Mulhall, vice president of business development for the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, joins the show to go inside the process of bringing major sporting events to Cleveland. What are leagues looking for when selecting host cities for their championship and all-star events? How has Cleveland’s pitch changed in the past five to 10 years? What events are on the horizon for Northeast Ohio – and which aren’t? Mulhall tackles all of that and more.

Friday, January 18, 2019

Episode 140 – The Nailbag, Vol. 1: Lunch with a Brown, favorite sports movies, Indians offseason

This week, the guys are opening it up for questions from the audience. Some of the topics on listeners’ minds: What are your top five sports movies? If you could have lunch with a current and retired Brown, who would you choose? Who should the Cavs draft? What are the odds LeBron returns again? Plus: “Slobby’s World,” potential Kluber or Bauer trades, the best Nail guest of all time, and more.

Friday, October 12, 2018

Episode 132 – It was what it was: Getting the Indians postmortem out of the way

A few days removed from the Indians’ ALDS debacle, the guys air their remaining grievances about the Tribe’s all-too-short postseason run, and then discuss some of the fallout this week since the series ended and what, if anything, there will be to get excited about in the regular season next year. (It’s not an upbeat first 20 minutes, folks!)

Plus: Bakermania and the cult of personality that is driving a real change in the Browns’ culture and finally making NFL Sundays exciting in Cleveland again.

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Episode 131 – It’s time to get serious: Indians-Astros ALDS preview

Let’s be honest, the Indians knew they would be playing in the postseason when they took the field on Opening Day. After six long months, October has finally arrived and the defending World Series champion Astros await in the ALDS. Joel Hammond spent five years as the Indians' assistant director of communications, a tenure that included three postseason trips. He’s back on The Nail to share some perspectives on the mood inside the organization at this time of the year.

The guys also dive into the biggest storylines that will be playing out on the field, including: how the Indians are setting up their pitching staff, whether Andrew Miller can show any flashes of his overpowering 2016 form, postseason redemption for Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and Corey Kluber, and the looming uncertainty for a lot of key players who could be suiting up for their final games with the Indians.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Episode 129 – Tom Withers of the AP on covering Cleveland's teams

From Twitter exchanges with LeBron James over potential Browns moves to covering games and chasing down stories for all three of Cleveland’s professional sports teams, there’s rarely a boring day on the job for Associated Press sportswriter Tom Withers. He joins The Nail to reflect on covering LeBron’s career (and, as of recently, James’ more vocal interest in the local football team), as well as where Week 1 ranks in the Pantheon of Weird Browns Games, the state of the Indians, and the next chapter for the Cavs.

Plus: The challenges of keeping tabs on three major pro sports teams simultaneously, and finding a balance between covering the basics that are expected of the Associated Press and digging deeper to find unique stories and scoops.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Episode 125 – Midseason State of the Indians with T.D. Dery

It’s our midsummer tradition: Tribe fan extraordinaire T.D. Dery is back on The Nail to discuss the state of the Indians coming out of the All-Star break. The guys look back on how the team seized control of the AL Central in the first half of the year, Jose Ramirez putting together one of the franchise’s all-time great individual seasons, Michael Brantley’s resurgence amid a depleted outfield, and lingering injury concerns with Corey Kluber. Plus: Francisco Lindor as a potential face of Major League Baseball, the overall marketability of MLB, and outfield and bullpen trade targets as the deadline approaches. *** Don't forget: Travis is once again riding in Pelotonia to raise money for cancer research. You can help by donating at: pelotonia.org/travisulle