Indians Confidential

The Indians are on a roll, winners of five straight and finally back at .500 for the first time since early in the season.  Now at 12-12, here are some thoughts from the press box as we await Sunday’s matchup with the now 12-13 Yankees.

* Last season got off to a better start for the Indians, as after 24 games they were 16-8 and led the Central by 1.5.  The difference this year though is that the division is not off to the best of starts, as the only team over .500 is Chicago, as 13-10.  The Tigers continue to bring up the rear of the central at 11-14, while the Twins and Royals are 11-13.

* The teams starters have been on a roll the last 9 games, going 6-1 with a 2.41 ERA.  Can’t say enough about Cliff Lee, but if C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona continue to get on track, and Paul Bryd keeps pitching well, this team will be just fine in that regard.

* I love what I’ve seen from Jamey Carroll so far.  He’s reached base safely in 15 of his last 30 at-bats, and is hitting .250 with 10 runs scored and also has three steals and has an OBP of .447.  He’s been a find from an offseason that didn’t see a ton of activity.

* Bold Prediction – I don’t think we’ll see much of, if at all of Joe Borowski for the rest of the season.  Yes, it may be April 27th, but some people I have spoken to up here say that Jo-Bo has lost it as a pitcher, and that there is no way the team can trust him in critical situations this season.

* Who would have thought after 24 games that Casey Blake would lead the team in RBI?  Casey has 18, while slugger Travis Hafner is still struggling with a .233 average and 14 RBI.  Grady Sizemore and Ryan Garko each have 12.  Shows again how vaulable Casey is.

* So far, so good for relief pitcher import Masa Kobayashi, who is 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings so far.  Eric Wedge has said from day one they will not push Masa too much early, and I think they are doing themselves well so far when they have thrown him into the fire.