Indians Confidential

It seems to be that every other year the Indians bullpen is very good.  The problem with that is that means this year is one of those “off” years for the pen, and that fact reared its ugly head again on Saturday as the bullpen allowed six runs in the teams latest setback 8-4 to the Tigers.  Aaron Laffey had done a solid job getting the Indians to a 3-2 lead in the 7th, going 6.2, allowing only a two-run homer to Carlos Guillen.  It was after he left that the wheels simply came off.

Starting with the 8th, Masa Kobayashi allowed two runs in just 0.1, giving up a homer to Marcus Thames, to tie the game at 3, then allowing a double to Mags Ordonez.  Enter Rafael Betancourt, who threw a meatball to Miguel Cabrera who singled to deep left to score Ordonez.  Betancourt, who has continued to take major steps back this season, then allowed another single, a sac to put runners on second and third, and then after an intentional walk to load the bases he struck out Ryan Raburn to give them two outs.

As has happend all year long though, the pen was unable to get that all important third out, and Betancourt again threw one over the plate, this time to Edgar Renteria, who didn’t let him get away with it, putting it out for a grand slam to make it 8-3.  The line on Betancourt, 1 inning, four runs, three hits, one walk and one strikeout.  Last season Rafael was 5-1, three saves, and an ERA of 1.47.  After 27 appearences in 2008, he is 1-3, 4 saves, and has an ERA of 7.27.

While Laffey was the bright spot, the offense did what it could to try and give him a win.  They put up three runs, one on a Franklin Gutierrez fielder’s choice in the 2nd, and then a Kelly Shoppach double to make it 2-0.  Guillen’s homer made it 2-2, but the Indians responded with a Ryan Garko sac fly in the 6th after an error by Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers opened the door.  It looked as if it would be enough until Masa and Betancourt gave it away.

The loss puts the Indians at 28-34 on the season.  They will throw Jeremy Sowers (0-0, 5.23) vs the surprising Armando Galarraga, who is 4-2 with a 3.76 ERA.  He beat the Indians back on April 16th in Cleveland going 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on one hit.

If there is one thing that the Indians can take some pride in so far in 2008 - the Tigers are worse than they are.  That fact was proven once again on Friday night at Comerica Park, as the Indians used a three-run fourth and a solid pitching outing from Paul Byrd to top the Tigers 4-2 in the first of a four-game set.  Byrd went seven innings, allowing two runs on just four hits.  He didn’t allow a walk and struck out two.  He made two mistakes, allowing two solo homers, but otherwise had maybe his best outing of 2008.

The offense was paced by Casey Blake and Franklin Gutierrez.  Blake hit a key one-out double in the 4th off of losing pitcher Justin Verlander that scored two to give the Tribe a 2-0 lead.  Gutierrez then came up with a single to left that scored David Dellucci to make it 3-0, enough for the Indians and Byrd.  With the team leading 3-2 in the 8th, Ryan Garko hit a big homer to deep left off reliever Denny Bautista to make it 4-2.

Masa Kobayashi came in and pitched the 8th without allowing any damage, and then Joe Borowski pitched the ninth, allowing one hit, but striking out one and earning his 5th save of the season.  Byrd with the win improves to 3-5 on the season, and drops his ERA to 4.46.

The Tribe improves to 28-33 on the season, dropping the Tigers to 24-36, losers of four straight.  Aaron Laffey (3-3, 3.02) goes tomorrow for the Indians at 3:55pm vs Kenny Rogers (4-4, 5.54).

All season long Indians players and the coaching staff had promised that the offense would start to come around. Even after the team slumped through May, players seemed sure that they would break out and have a big June at the plate. While it’s only been four games, maybe, just maybe, the team was right. Positive signs were everywhere Wednesday night in Arlington, as the Indians trounced the Rangers 15-9 behind a tied season high 17 hits.

High winds and temps in the 90’s made it for a hitters night, as the Indians scored in bunches, putting up innings of 4, 2, 5 and 4 runs. They slammed Texas relief pitcher Elizardo Ramirez to the tune of 9 runs in 2.2 innings. They broke the game open tied 6-6 in the 6th when they put up a 5-spot, then came back in the 7th and added four more to put the game away.

The big night on offense belonged specifically to two players - Ben Francisco, who was 5-for-6 with three runs scored and a RBI, and Ryan Garko, hitting in the four-hole and going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and a career-high 6 RBI. David Dellucci added a three-run homer and Casey Blake was 2-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI.

On the mound Cliff Lee was good enough helped out by the offense to notch his 9th win against just one loss. Lee saw his ERA plump to 2.45 after allowing six runs on nine hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out 8. Rafael Betancourt, Masa Kobayashi and just called up Rick Bauer also pitched in relief of Lee, and the three combined to allow three runs on four hits, all three runs were allowed by Bauer.

The win puts the Indians at 27-32 on the season, still 5.5 back of the Sox in the Central. They have a great shot to head to Detroit on a high note tonight, as C.C. Sabathia (3-7, 4.32) goes for the Tribe against old friend Kevin Millwood, who is 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA. First pitch at 8:05pm.

While the starting pitching was at it again with another strong outing Saturday afternoon in Cincy, the offense was quiet as usual, and new closer (at least as it appears at this point), Masa Kobayashi, got a rude awaking to American baseball in the latest 4-2 loss to the Reds.  Masa, coming on in the 9th with a 2-1 lead, made it simple and sweet for the Reds, giving up a single, double, and then 3-run mammoth homer to Adam Dunn, giving the Indians their second straight loss.

Dunn’s blast was his second in two games vs the Indians, the first a two-run homer last night in the Reds 4-3 win, and today his homer clinched the Reds 20th win of the season against 23 losses.  The loss for the Indians drop them to 22-21.  The Tribe took a 2-1 lead in the 8th when Ben Francisco, who had a good day going 3-for-4, hit a homer to left off of Reds relief pitcher David Weathers to make it 2-1 Indians.  It was Ben’s first homer of the year.

The offense put up 10 hits off of three Reds ptichers, but were only able to put up one run, that came in the second when Ryan Garko doubled to deep left that scored Francisco to make it 1-0.  Cincy got their first run to tie the game in the 6th off of Indians starter Fausto Carmona when former Indian Brandon Phillips singled home Jerry Hairston Jr. to make it 1-1.  Carmona had another good outing, going 7.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits.  His ERA dropped to 2.25.

The loss puts Masa at 2-1 on the season, and it was his first blown save.  The Indians fall to 8-8 on the road.  Sunday in the series finale at the Great American Ballpark, Cliff Lee looks to move to 8-0 as he takes on surprising Reds starter Edinson Volquez, who is 6-1 with an ERA of 1.12 at 1:15pm.

While the Indians shutout streak may have ended today, the winning didn’t, as the team won their 6th home game in 7 tries, topping the A’s 4-2 at Progressive Field. The run for the A’s came about due to an error by pitcher Aaron Laffey in the 2nd that made it 1-1. The young pitcher made a throwing error that saw the ball went to right field that allowed Bobby Crosby to cross the plate. It was the first and only run that the A’s scored in the three-game set. Laffey had another good outing, going 7 innings, allowing the one run on five hits, walking one and striking out six. He lowered his ERA to 1.35.

On the offensive side, Ryan Garko started the scoring in the first inning with a double that scored Jhonny Peralta to make it 1-0 in the first off of A’s pitcher Greg Smith. After the A’s tied the game, the Indians jumped right back on top with two runs in the third inning, as Ben Francisco singled in Grady Sizemore to make it 2-1, and then Travis Hafner, who continues to make strides out of his slump, singled in Peralta to make it 3-1.

The offense has made a few strides all homestand, as they did have nine hits on the afternoon. Peralta wrapped up the scoring with a homer to deep left in the 7th that made it 4-1. It was Peralta’s 7th homer of the season. Rafael Betancourt was brought in to try and get his 5th save of the season, but was unable to get out of the inning and instead loaded the bases, bringing Masa Kobayashi in for the shot at the save. A wild pitch did allow a run to come across to make it 4-2. A pair of strikeouts ended the threat.

Overall the team outscored the A’s 9-2 during the three-game sweep, ending the homestand outscoring the Blue Jays and A’s 31-6. They went 6-1 overall in the seven games to improve to 22-19. The team moves now to Cincy to take on the Reds for the first of three on Friday night. Jeremy Sowers (0-0, 5.06) takes on Johnny Cueto (2-4, 5.91) at 7:05pm.

You can do a lot passing the time waiting for a rain dealy to pass. While the delay never ended Friday night, I had the pleasure of dining with two of my favorite vets in the Cleveland media - Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer and Greg Brinda, sports talk host of ESPN 850 WKNR. While it was fun to trade some personal stuff with these solid vets, we also talked some Indians. Here is a quick set of highlights of our discussions:

Travis Hafner - We all agreed that the issues that are hindering Hafner are not issues that are going to be solved quickly. Travis’ problems that started last year are far and away a complete mystery as to not only why they started, but what he can do to get it turned back around. Hoynes compared Hafner’s sudden lack of power to fomer Indian Carols Baerga, whose issues off the field and lack of production eventually got him traded to the Mets in 1996.

The Closer Role - We all agree that putting Joe Borowski right back in the closer role is a risky call, but as Paul pointed out - could it get any worse than it is right now? We also all came to the conclusion that one wild card in the closer mix could be Masa Kobayashi, who seems to have adjusted nicely in the Majors. One thing appears for sure - Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez and Borowski don’t appear to be the answer.

Adding a Spark to the Offense - Hoynes thinks that Mark Shapiro is going to have to make a move and add a bat to the lineup, and I don’t disagree with that. Bringing up Ben Francisco and keeping him on the Major League roster is something that should be done soon. As far as some of the players that could be on the bubble of being sent elsewhere or even being shown the door include Jason Michaels (.207), Andy Marte (.077) and maybe reduced playing time for Jhonny Peralta (.229).

The month of April is in the books for the Indians, and while the baseball season is for sure more of a marathon than a sprint, it seems that the Tribe has stumbled out of the gate a bit. Here is the good and the bad for the first month of the season:

Good:

Cliff Lee - In a month where the Indians won 13 games, Lee won five, and looked far and away like the best starter on the roster. He’s re discovered his control with his fastball, and had a 27 inning scoreless streak during the month. And to think he had to win a spot in the rotation during spring training.

Victor Martinez - He put a scare into the team with his injury on opening day, but recovered nicely and now a month into the year is leading the AL with an average of .366 (30-82). He has yet to homer and has just 10 RBI, but those numbers will for sure pick up as the season moves along.

Masa Kobayashi - The Indians import has done well when called upon, going 1-0 in 12 games, throwing 12.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and 13 hits for a 1.46 ERA. They are easing him into pitching more, but if this keeps up, there’s no reason not for him to see more calls from the bullpen.

David Dellucci - After a start that made many wonder why Dellucci deserved any playing time at all, this vet finally got on track and is now playing well. He’s added spark to a dull lineup, hitting .283 with three homers, 9 RBI and four doubles. He’s playing more like the player the team thought they signed before last season.

Bad:

The offense - As a whole, the team is still rather lifeless at the plate, hitting a very average .250. Eric Wedge has started the process of tinkering with the lineup, giving players that are not producing nights off. The starting pitching cannot hold the team in games forever, and the team has to get better in this regard.

Travis Hafner - After another poor game on Tuesday night, Eric Wedge had seen enough, giving Travis a seat on the bench Wednesday night and maybe beyond. In 100 at-bats he has just three homers, 16 RBI, has struck out 27 times and is hitting just .210. The team still feels he’ll come out of this, but the fan base with him is getting restless.

Joe Borowski - Hard to throw Jo-Bo in here hurt, but you just get the feeling after blown saves vs the Angles and Red Sox that him getting back to being the closer is a long shot. Some have said that Borowski has a tired arm, and that last season was his last good year in the Majors.

The Schedule - The team has had a tough start to the year and the schedule hasn’t helped. Three cold games at home, a trip out west, home series vs the Yankees and Red Sox, and a homestand where they went 2-5. The team has 17 home games in May, let’s hope they improve quickly on their 7-9 mark at home.