Indians Confidential

HISTORICAL PLAYER: CF GRADY SIZEMORE is making his 3rd consecutive trip to the All-Star Game…He now has 100 career HR and 99 career SB and is vying to become just the 2nd player in Indians franchise history to hit 100HR and steal 100 bases as an Indian…JOE CARTER (151HR, 126SB) is the only other Indians player to accomplish the feat (1984-89)…Grady currently leads the team in On-base %, Slugging %, OPS, Games, at bats, PAs, runs, hits, Total Bases, triples, HR, RBI, walks, steals and extra base hits……On the year he is hitting .269 (91-338) with 56 RS, 18 2B, 4 3B, 22HR, 50RBI & 20 steals (23attempts) in 85 games…He has hit safely in 25 of his last 30 games batting .296 (37-125) w/7 2B, 11HR & 20RBI (1.025 OPS)…He has 10HR in his last 23G & has 14HR in his last 34G… Among AL leaders, Sizemore is 1st in HR (22), 3rd in TB (183), t4th in BB (50), T7th in RS (56), 9th in SB (20) & 7th in OPS (.913)…Is the only player in the AL with 20HR and 20 steals this season…Last Indian to lead the AL in homers was ALBERT BELLE (50)in 1995…Hit his 100th career HR Saturday in the Metrodome

SHARP LEE: Is making his first appearance on the AL All-Star Team…He is now 11-2 w/a 2.43 ERA in 17 starts (1CG/SHO, 118.2IP, 104H, 32ER, 19BB, 99K)…When he started 11-1 he became just the 4th Indians pitcher in franchise history to start a season 11-1 or better…It is the 5th time it happened as he joined Johnny Allen (12-0 in 1937, 11-1 in 1938), Gaylord Perry (11-1, 1974) & Charlie Nagy (1996, 11-1)…Cliff Lee is currently 2nd in the AL in ERA (2.43), 1st in winning % (.846), t2nd in wins (11), 9th in avg against (.236) and 8th in strikeouts (99)… Was the first Indians pitcher since GREG SWINDELL in 1988 to win his first six starts…ACCORDING TO ELIAS Since end of World War II, only 3 pitchers have won their first six starts while posting a lower ERA: Fernando Valenzuela (0.33) in 1981, Roger Clemens (0.73) in 1991 and Pedro Martinez (0.79) in 1997 …ALL THREE WON THE CY YOUNG AWARD…Only 2 pitchers in the last 60 years since 1948 had a lower ERA through first 7 starts than Cliff’s 0.67ERA – MIKE NORRIS, OAK, 1980 (0.45) and FERNANDO VALENZUELA, LAD, 1981 (0.29)…

As the Indians attempts to turnover their bullpen continues, their losing streak Saturday night at the HHH Metrodome continued. After taking a 5-2 lead after the second inning, and getting five ho-hum innings from Aaron Laffey, the bullpen imploded again, allowing five runs in three innings in the teams 7th straight loss, 9-6 to the Twins.

The bullpens culprits on this Saturday night included Tom Mastny, who allowed four runs on two hits in just 0.1, and Rafael Perez, who gave up one run on one hit in 1.1. The Twins moved to 5-4 after five innings, and then put the game away with a five run 6th to move to 49-38 on the season.

The Indians fall to 37-50, 13 games under .500 and 13 games back of the White Sox in the AL Central. The offense was highlighted by Grady Sizemore, who went 2-for-5 with his 22nd homer and RBI. Andy Marte showed signs of life at the plate, going 2-for-4 with his first RBI of the year, he’s batting .150.

The loss means that the Tribe, who were one game away from being the AL reps in the World Series just 8 months ago, now have the second worst record in baseball. “You can’t think about that now, ‘cause we’re here,” Grady Sizemore said. “You can’t be frustrated with the way things started because of the success last year. You have to move forward and find a way to make this year positive.”

It’s not getting easier to watch this team, and with C.C. Sabathia and probably at least 1-2 other players, like Casey Blake heading out the door to other teams in the next three weeks, it’s probably not going to get much better.

WHAT A NIGHT: CF GRADY SIZEMORE went 3 for 4 w/4RS, a walk, steal and 2 homers last night in Chicago…It was his 4th two-homer game of the year and the 5th of his career…He leads the league with 21 HR and is vying to become the first Indians hitter since ALBERT BELLE (50) in 1995 to do so.

HISTORICAL PLAYER: CF GRADY SIZEMORE now sits at 99 career home runs and 99 career steals and is about to become just the 2nd player in Indians franchise history to hit 100HR and steal 100 bases as an Indian…JOE CARTER (151HR, 126SB) is the only other Indians player to accomplish the feat (1984-89)…Grady currently leads the team in on-base & slugging %, OPS, games, at bats, runs, hits, total bases, triples, homers, walks, steals and extra base hits…He has 9HR in his last 20G & has 13HR in his last 31G… Among AL leaders, Sizemore is 1st in HR (21), 3rd in TB (174), T4th in BB (49), T7th in RS (55), 8th in SB (20) & 7th in slugging % (.534)…He is the only 20HR/20SB player in the AL to date.

TV SWITCH: The following games have been switched on the television schedule… On Saturday, July 5th STO will televise that night’s contest from Minnesota & on Saturday, July 12th vs. Tampa Bay, WKYC will air the 7:05 PM tilt from Progressive Field

HODGES ON OLYMPIC WATCH LIST: Akron 3B WES HODGES has been selected to play in the Futures Game in Yankee Stadium on July 13 for Team USA and is one of 60 players currently being considered for the 24-man United States Olympic Team that will be selected on July 16th…The Olympics begin in Beijing, China on August 9th…Hodges is hitting .307 (94-306) with 15 2B, 9HR & 64 RBI in 82 games this year for Akron…He leads the Eastern League in RBI and is 2nd in hits.

RUNDLES AN ALL-STAR: LHP RICH RUNDLES is the lone representative for the AAA Buffalo Bisons in the Triple A All-Star Game…He is 5-4 this year w/a 3.48 ERA in 32 games (33.2IP, 26H, 13ER, 20BB, 39K).

CHISENHALL SETTLING IN: 2008 First Round pick INF LONNIE CHISENHALL has hit in 6 straight games and over his last 5 contests is 11 for 20 (.550) w/2 2B, 1HR & 4RBI to raise his average to .286 (16-56, 5RBI, 13G) on the season at A Mahoning Valley.

TOREGAS BOMBS: CA WYATT TOREGAS hit 3 homers for Akron last night at Erie (Aeros hit 7 for the game)…He entered the contest with 4 homers on the entire season.

Fri., July 4 at Minnesota (7:10PM ET, WTAM/IRN, STO)

RHP Paul Byrd (3-9, 5.26) vs. RHP Livan Hernandez (8-5, 5.22)

Sat., July 5 at Minnesota (7:10PM ET, WTAM/IRN, STO)

LHP Aaron Laffey (4-5, 3.24) vs. RHP Kevin Slowey (5-6, 3.47)

Sun., July 6 at Minnesota (2:10PM ET, WTAM/IRN, STO)

LHP Cliff Lee (11-1, 2.34) vs. LHP Glen Perkins (4-2, 4.31)

As the Indians continue to try and fight and stay in the AL Central race, the two things they seem to have going for them as of late is the pitching of starters C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Last night it was the pitching of Lee that led the team to a 4-1 win over the Giants, and Friday night it was Sabathia’s turn - giving the team another strong outing as the Tribe spanked the Reds 6-0.

Sabathia, who continues to hear his name in trade talks almost non-stop by the local and national media, remanis focused on the task at hand. Friday night he went 8 innings, allowing 0 runs on 4 hits, and striking out 11 while walking 2. It’s the fifth time this season he’s thrown double digit K’s, and over his last three starts he’s 3-0, allowing just 4 earned runs. He moves to 6-8 on the season.

On offense, the team put up a crooked five spot in the 6th off three Reds pitchers to blow the game open. They batted around that inning, putting up the five runs on four hits to go along with a Reds error. The big hits were a Casey Blake two-run single, and a Grady Sizemore double that scored two more runs. Sizemore opened the scoring in the 5th inning with a solo homer off Reds starter Daryl Thompson, his 18th blast of the season.

Overall the offense put up 10 hits on the night, Jamey Carroll continued his hot hitting with three hits, and is now hitting .304. Shin-Soo Choo and Blake each had two hits, as did Sizemore. The win puts the Indians now at 37-43 on the season, 2-2 on this homestand. They still trail the White Sox by 7.5 in the Central, as Chicago of the AL topped Chicago of the NL Friday afternoon.

Two struggling pitchers go at it Saturday night at Progressive Field, as Paul Byrd at 3-8 with a 5.21 ERA takes the hill for the Indians vs Johnny Cueto (3-8, 5.01) at 7:05pm.

On a season that has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster at Cedar Point, the Indians again have given their fans a reason to think that maybe, just maybe, the 2008 season isn’t over just yet.  After falling to 33-40 on Thursday after a loss to the Rockies, the Indians moved further west to Los Angeles, and in two extra innings have quickly moved back to 35-40, and more importantly, back to 6.5 back of first in the Central.

Saturday the team’s offense was held in check for more than 9 innings, as their only run came from - who else - pitcher C.C. Sabathia, who hit a homer to right in the third inning to make it 1-0.  Sabathia, who has been rumored to be on the trading block, was crusing for the first five plus innings, and made just one mistake, a homer to deep left center by the Dodgers Matt Kemp that tied the game at one.

The game stayed that way for five more innings, till the Indians offense exploded for one of its best innings of the season, putting up six runs on six hits to make a 1-1 game quickly into a 7-1 blowout.  Three outs later, and one Dodger run, the Indians were on the winning end for the second straight day with a 7-2 victory.  Masa Kobayashi pitched one scoreless inning to get the win to improve to 4-3 on the season.

Sabathia went 7 innings, allowing one run on five hits.  He walked one and struck out 10.  If the Indians do move Sabathia on or before the trading deadline, his stock over the past three starts has once again soared. In those three starts, he’s gone 24 innings, allowing four runs on 16 hits, striking out 25.  Needless to say, he’s looked like the Cy Young C.C. more than the one that floundered early in 08.

As for that 11th inning, the hits came at a furious pace, with Jhonny Peralta getting the first RBI on a single, then Casey Blake driving in a run with a single, Kelly Shoppach doing the same to bring in two more runs, and after a Grady Sizemore single, Jamey Carroll hit a sac fly to end the scoring at six for the inning.

The finale of the road trip and the three-game set in L.A. comes up on Sunday, with struggling Paul Byrd (3-7, 5.21 ERA) going for the Indians vs Chad Billingsley (5-7, 3.54) at 4:10pm.  Who knows, maybe another step closer to moving back in the AL Central race?

With the Indians’ recent success at home, they now travel to the once dreaded West Coast. The Tribe is headed to Colorado for 3 games and San Diego for an additional 3 game set. This very well could be a blessing in disguise. The Indians currently sit in 3rd place in the American League Central well with in reach of the Chicago White Sox, and coupled with Grady Sizemore welcoming the summer breezes by tearing the cover off the ball.

All the while the Indians are beginning to score more and more runs a game. Now they meet two teams who have been less proficient than the Tribe at scoring runs. The Colorado Rockies average only 4.17 runs per game, and the San Diego Padres average a dismal 3.79 runs per game. In comparison, the Indians currently average 4.57 runs per game this season. The Indians need to embrace this west coast trip and take advantage of this disparity. If the Indians are going to make a run at the White Sox, there is no better time than the present.

You can take the Indians recent 4-2 homestand vs the Twins and Padres one of two ways - you can look as it as a step in the right direction that the team won two straight series’ and the offense is coming around, or you can simply look at it like they are just staying enough above water for Mark Shapiro and company not to pull the plug on the season and start looking to shop around players like C.C. Sabathia.

On a positive note, after being at and watching the last six games, if you don’t agree that Grady Sizemore is not one the five most exciting players in the game, then you don’t watch a lot of baseball. Sizemore almost lifted this team on his shoulders from an offensive standpoint over the last week, hitting .310 with 5 homers and 9 RBI. Sizemore simply took the offense to another level this week, and picked up the slack when the team needs it with Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner on the bench.

I enjoyed watching the youth of this team get going as well this past homestand, with players like Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez and Kelly Shoppach all having a part in winning games at the plate. The team scored 48 runs this past week, an average of 6.8 runs per game. That has got to be an encouraging sign to management and manager Eric Wedge.

Yes, there were moments of frustration, such as Paul Byrd having a poor outing on Wednesday night in the teams 8-5 loss to the Twins. Byrd is one player that has never got on track this season, and in his last five starts is 1-3 and has allowed 21 runs as well as 7 homers. One has to wonder if his time as a quality starter in the Majors is over. Byrd is a class act and has always spoken out when he has had poor outings, but if this team is going to make a run, his pitching simply has to improve, and he’ll be the first to admit that.

The bullpen continues to be the great unknown, as pitchers like Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, and Masa Kobayashi have to be on the verge of giving Wedge an ulcer. You never know how these players will respond in tough situations. In the Saturday night loss, the team got into the 8th with a 3-2 lead, and Perez gave up a homer on the second pitch after a good outing by Betancourt. Then in the 10th, Edward Mujica walked in what was the game-winning run, and then made matters worse by allowing a grand slam.

One beat reporter commented to me that he has no idea what the team sees in Mujica, as he has been terrible this season, allowing three homers in 6 games he’s pitched in, and has an ERA of 9.00. Add to that the 8.31 ERA in 13 innings pitched in 2007, and the reporter who made that comment to me has a valid point, and one that the team should look at.

Overall though, I’d have to say the week had more positives than negatives, and the team did gain a game on the Sox to move within 5.5 of first. With the Rockies, Dodgers, Giants and Reds up next, all teams under .500, this team seems poised to finally tell us once and for all if 2008 is going to be a season of hope, or a season of despair.