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Moneyball just might be dead…or at least, filing for bankruptcy. The Cleveland Indians completed a three-game sweep of the punchless Oakland Athletics with a 6-2 win at Jacobs Field Sunday afternoon. The victory secured the Indians first winning homestand of the season, inching the Tribe one game closer to the .500 mark.

But the promise of the recent homestand needs to continue for the next week if Cleveland genuinely hopes to make this season relevant. With the next six games at Minnesota and Chicago, the Indians can insert themselves right into the thick of the AL Central chase.

A few observations going forward this week:

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Drawing an immediate connection between the release of Danny Graves and the Reds three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals would disrespect the effort by Cincinnati to turn around an awful season. It seemed everytime the Reds hit the hypothetical bottom, a new depth would be reached, whether it would manifest itself as a critical baserunning blunder or another blown lead. On Sunday, Danny Graves brought the team to its knees. In the past three days, his former teammates have begun digging themselves out of the hole.

The sweep couldn’t have come at a better time. Perhaps conversations about the Reds will move back to the on-the-field action.

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The torrent of boos that rained down upon Danny Graves on Sunday afternoon during the ninth inning of the Reds 9-2 loss against Cleveland represented every bit the level of frustration fans have been feeling about the team so far in 2005. Graves surrendered five runs on four hits while retiring only one hitter as Cleveland’s bats woke up to put the game out of reach in the final frame. By the time it ended, the crowd emptied to the point where those remaining had to be either Indians fans or simply awestruck by the latest meltdown by the Reds pitching staff.

But despite the exodus in the ninth-inning, one thing is clear: Reds fans are angry! And Danny Graves is the punching bag. Surely Eric Milton and Paul Wilson aren’t accountable for the awful starting pitching. Surely the Reds lineup, on pace to set a Major League record for strikeouts in a season, has nothing to do with the Reds’ losing ways or inability to score runs. It must all be the fault of Danny Graves.

Danny Graves never was, and never will be, a “mow-em” down closer like Mariano Rivera or Eric Gagne. This is Cincinnati, and Cincinnati gets the Danny Graves of the closer world. The Yankees get the Mariano Rivera, the Dodgers get Eric Gagne. Deal with it Reds fans. If you hate Danny Graves, Dave Miley, and the rest of the team so much, stay home. Didn’t we just go through this with Ken Griffey, Jr?

Graves relies on guile, grit, and nasty sinker to close out opponents. But Graves’ velocity is down — and his sinker up — and he’s getting ripped. But the Reds, without the depth of most major league franchises, simply can’t shut him down and find out what’s going on.

Editor’s Note: The Reds cut Graves on Monday, marking the end of the pitcher’s eight-year tenure with the team. Who gets the blame next?

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Only the complete ineptitude of the Indians offense prevented the Cincinnati Reds bullpen from handing Cleveland the win in the first game of the Battle of Ohio. In the critical eighth inning, Ryan Wagner walked two consecutive batters, and before the 25-thousand plus at Great American Ball Park knew what was happening, Reds manager Dave Miley was calling for the struggling Danny Graves to put an end to the mess. But slugger Travis Hafner stuck out with the bases loaded and two out, thus preserving the Reds 2-1 victory in the series opener.

Aaron Harang - quietly establishing himself as the go-to guy in the Reds rotation - outdueled the Indians’ Kevin Millwood to earn the win. Millwood dropped to 1-4 despite a 3.31 ERA. Harang upped his record to 3-2 with a 3.32 ERA.

Saturday night’s matchup pits the Indians quixotic ace C.C. Sabathia against the Reds’ Elizardo Ramirez. Ramirez earned this start against the Indians by pitching an outstanding game against Philadelphia last Sunday. Normally you’d go with the established big leaguer against a young guy making his second career start — but the less-hitting Indians don’t leave a great taste in your mouth.

See you at the ballpark tonight.

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No sooner than I turn the ballgame on the 700 WLW, Adam Dunn finds the moon deck to give the Reds a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Might just be enough for Harang, but perhaps Cleveland is just laying back waiting on the Reds bullpen?

Note: Why the ballgame is not televised on FSN Ohio in Cincinnati remains beyond logic. FSN Ohio has a Cleveland “market” and a Cincinnati “market” in which sometimes they share programming and on other occassions show regional programming. Why FSN Ohio can’t show the Cleveland “market” game must be one of those things that only makes sense in a corporate boardroom — things like New Coke or the most recent installment of the Bachelor.

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Both the Indians and the Reds, in less than 40 games, have managed to play themselves into a distance out of first place so remote, they might as well be playing on the island in Lost. A season filled with promise has sunk faster than a busted barge on the Ohio River. And the luster of what could have been a battle of two upstart ballclubs has been dimmed to matchup of helpless pitching and inept offense.

After opening the season with a sweep of the New York Mets, the Cincinnati Reds have won only 11 of 37 games since the opening series. Pitching can mostly be to blame. The Reds staff sits 13th in the NL in ERA (second-worst in Major League Baseball), one-hundredth of a point ahead of the thin-aired crew from Coors Field. While that figure is likely to improve against the light-hitting Indians, the Reds remain nearly a full run behind Philadelphia. It seems that the Reds staff either blows the lead late, or doesn’t even the offense a chance to stay in the game.

The Erie Warriors from up north have fared no better this season, stumbling out of the gate with an offense so weak it makes Seth from the O.C look tough. Weak enough to be worse than notorious lightweights Pittsburgh and Kansas City, the Indians own a MLB-worst .238 batting average. Only the Pirates have scored fewer runs.

So with the three-game series beginning Friday night at Great American Ballpark, here is a look at three story lines to follow (if you manage to tune in the games):

Good pitching almost always defeats good hitting. The old baseball adage will be put to the test this weekend – the Reds have some pop and the Indians pitching staff has shown signs of being one of the better in baseball. The Indians own the AL’s best bullpen ERA and the Reds lineup has struck out more than any other in baseball.

Aaron Boone’s homecoming. Perhaps a homecoming will get Boone back on track. Boone’s return in Cleveland has been nothing short of a disaster – as Boone’s .163 average would indicate. Boone had some good years in Cincinnati and was always a fan favorite. Escaping the boos might do him some good and get him to stop pressing.

Baseball – Ohio style. Historically, the Reds have been one of the baseball’s flagship franchises. The fans deserve better than what they’ve received the past 10-plus years. Maybe the informal nature of interleague play can get them on a roll. The Indians became a modern phenomenon in 1994 when they became one of the first teams to parlay a new ballpark into a winning franchise – a failed scenario in Cincinnati. The Indians hope to contend this season, and games like these can make a difference in the standings.

The Indians and Reds should provide for some entertaining baseball this weekend, whether it be the Indians finding a few pitchers they can hit or the Reds finding some guys they can get out. But in the stands, don’t be surprised to hear a few conversations about Kellen Winslow’s knee, the Bengals draft; or maybe some Dawgs barking and a few “Who Dey’s”. It is after all, already May.

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Tuesday night, the Indians proved they can minor league pitching, roughing up AA-call up Ervin Santana. But Wednesday afternoon, it was back to same-old, same-old as the Indians mustered only four hits and one run in a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County in Southern California.

Once again, a Tribe starter pitched well enough to win, but losses thanks to a lackluster offense. Starter Jake Westbrook retired 21 consecutive batters heading into the ninth inning, but the Angels managed to string together three consecutive singles (a rare feat in Cleveland games) to push across the tying run. A sacrifice fly later in the inning ended matters.

It’s clear the Indians can’t hit top-flight pitching. Roy Halladay, Bartolo Colon, Paul Byrd?, forget about it. Still the worst-hitting team in the Majors - .238.

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Lost in the press conference where the Browns decided to support Kellen Winslow Jr., Browns GM Phil Savage made it clear that its time Browns fans find their way.

“”If you listen to talk radio or pick up the newspaper or follow the Browns at all, you certainly sense here we go again . . . same old story, different guy.’ Our intention is to try and change that,” Savage said in the Plain Dealer article.

This bothers Savage, and Savage is smart enough to know that cutting Winslow won’t change people’s attitude’s toward the team. Winning changes attitudes, and keeping Winslow maintains that philosophy. Talent brings wins — and Savage knows that if you have talent on your roster, you don’t let it walk just because he did something stupid.

This isn’t the Mayberry NFL. Leave nobility at the outskirts of town. Winning matters, and while it may not be at ‘all-costs’, the Browns seem willing to pay a steep price. Taking the high road, the Browns seperated Winslow the man and Winslow the player. In an era of self-righteous respect, the Browns have paid Winslow the proper respect.

Make no bones about it, the Browns will make sure they are covered financially. Yesterday’s press conference left the door open to some financial manuevering. But in doing the smart football move, they’ve also done the right move, period.

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Browns say a press conference at 4:00pm. So far, nothing.

Speculation suggests the Browns will cut Winslow loose. While I’m all for sending the right messages, this could prove to be a mistake. At some point, Winslow will get his life figured out. And he’ll be a damn good football player. Who better to show him the light than Romeo Crennel?

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If ESPN did always hate on Ohio State (yes, I’m talking to you Trev Alberts and ESPN The Magazine), pretend the Midwest didn’t exist (what, you say a baseball team in Chicago other than the Cubs has the best record in baseball) while talking up the latest Yankees losing streak, or insinuate Lebron’s celebrity would be better off elsewhere (read: a location not in Cleveland), ESPN’s recent airing of the Five Reasons You Can’t Blame Art Modell for Moving the Browns to Baltimore would seem pretty innocuous stuff. Only, its not. It slaps an already upset fan base in the face, stoking the fires of a possible inferno.

For the most part, Browns fans remain pissed off about The Drive. Those that forgive the Browns defense, raise their ire at Earnest Byner. Fans forgiving enough not to view a lack of Super Bowl as some sort of demented Dawg Pound curse, still blame the current struggles of the Browns on one man — Art Modell.

ESPN’s effort to exonerate Modell falls way short only because defending Modell represents a nearly impossible task. A quick look at the five reasons:

5. Bill Belichick. Browns fans won’t buy this one because every knows Art Modell hired Bill Belichick and never, not even when Belichick ran Bernie Kosar out of town, questioned Belichick’s decision making. Some could argue Modell’s decision to hire Belichick showed savvy, Modell saw the potential Belichick eventually acheived in New England. Not buying it…Modell never checked Belichick’s power and let him run off talent.

4. Al Davis and Robert Irsay. So, your buddies are NFL owners? Tough life. The owners approved Modell’s move because they knew that if they didn’t, at some point they may need Modell’s vote to move their own team. But this reason is only relevant after Modell’s already signed the papers to move!

3. Cleveland Indians. One of the worst franchises in baseball catches a winning season in 1995, and suddenly the Browns don’t matter in Cleveland is like saying that if Tom Cruise puts out a lousy movie, he’ll never work in Hollywood again. Everyone knows that’s bogus, Cleveland was, is, and forever will be Browns Town.

2. Modell’s Finances. How is this not about Modell? I thought the point of the show was to find five reasons not to blame Modell. I guess the writers at this point were ready to throw in the towel after the initial three lame excuses. Modell couldn’t find a way to make the stadim lease work, he had to pay almost 75% of revenues in player salaries, he didn’t understand free agency, and leverage his only asset, the Cleveland Browns, into Lake Erie. Bad business can’t be blamed on Modell?

1. Rock and Roll. So, this is it. Cleveland jipped Modell. Gave the Indians, the Cavs, and rock and rollers more respect. Nonsense. Modell gambled on the stadium deal and lost. Pure and simple. Modell overplayed his hand…prior to the Sin Tax, Cleveland attempted on multiple occassions to push through a domed stadium initiative that would bring a world-class venue to the Lakefront. Each time the dome came up for debate, someone, either in City Council or the taxpayers, shot it down. Modell figured the Sin Tax would fail, he’d keep the Indians as tenants at Cleveland Stadium, and things would continue as normal. Only this time, Cleveland did it right, and by the time Modell wanted in, the money had been spent. So he crawled on to Baltimore.

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