Indians Confidential

The moves continue for the Tribe, who have the worst bullpen in the Majors, but are looking to do what it takes to get it straight.

They already made maybe the best move possible today, as they sent Rafael Perez packing down to AAA Columbus. They called up Matt Herges. At this point, it didn’t matter to me who they called up, anyone is better than Perez.

Now the bigger and maybe more surprising move. Paul Hoynes at the PD wrote about 6pm that the team is moving Aaron Laffey, who has been a pretty good starter so far this season after he was called up for the injured Scott Lewis, to the bullpen.

With that, they are bringing in Jeremy Sowers, and he’ll start Thursday vs the Red Sox. Hoynes wrote “GM Mark Shapiro told reporters about the move before Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox. He said the Indians are exploring other moves as well to help a bullpen that leads the AL in blown saves and homers allowed.”

Laffey (2-0, 4.09) was pitching well, but he has come out of the pen before, In the 2007 ALCS, he threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief against Boston in Game 6. He’ll pitch tonight out of the pen if need be, even more so after another meltdown on Tuesday in Toronto.

Sowers was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts at Columbus. He had 22 strikeouts, while allowing five walks, six runs and 23 hits in 24 innings. The opposition is hitting .240 against him.

Another day, another bullpen disaster. Yes, welcome again to the Indians 2009 season, as today, it was Rafael Betancourt’s turn to implode in the Tribe bullpen, as he turned an 8th inning Indians 7-6 lead into a Tigers 9-7 victory. Thanks to Betancourt allowing a Curtis Granderson two-run homer, followed by a sack fly by Carlos Guillen to tack on an extra run in the latest Indians loss.

The setback was most frustrating as the Indians came back from a 4th inning 5-0 deficit, tied the game at 5, lost the lead a 6-5 in the 6th, got it back with two runs in the 7th, then Betancourt gave it right back as the team fell to 9-15 on the season, allowing the Tigers to escape to improve to 12-11.

This tune is getting old. The bullpen that has been the worst I have seen in awhile is never going to allow this team to get back to .500, much less be a true contender in the American League. Eric Wedge said it all in the post game when he said that they simply have to find a way to get past the 7th and 8th innings in order to get to Kerry Wood with a lead in the 9th.

Here’s an idea – put Wood in the game in the 8th. Why not at this point? What’s the worse that can happen? If Wood allows the lead to be given up, at least your best is the one that gave it up. I’m sick and tired of seeing the following bullpen throwers blow the lead – Betancourt, Rafael Perez, Jensen Lewis and Joe Smith (at least we won’t see him anytime soon as he’s on the DL).

About the only two arms that seem to be able to get anyone out are Vinnie Chulk and Tony Sipp. Problem is – that’s only two relievers, and you need a lot more than that in order to get the job done. On the offensive side, six players each had two hits, as the team put up 13 hits, 7 runs, and still found a way to lose.

Aaron Laffey, who had been the best starter on the team as of this point, wasn’t very good. He couldn’t get his slider down, and paid for it as he couldn’t get the ball over the plate. He lasted just 3.1 innings, gave up 5 runs on six hits with five walks and one strikeout. The big blow was a grand slam he allowed to Adam Everett that made it 5-0 in the 4th.

Cliff Lee will look to win the series on Sunday for the Tribe at 1pm.

With the month of April gone, the Indians looked to start May on a high note. Well, it wasn’t exactly the way they wanted it, but they got the job done on Friday night in Detroit, topping the Tigers 6-5. The game seemed similar to the one they lost Wednesday vs the Red Sox, as they had a 5-0 lead before Boston came storming back and eventually got the win.

This night, the Indians got that big 6th run in the 7th, and even though they led 6-0, they would need them all by the time the “bullpen from Hell” almost gave it all back. Detroit put up a five-spot in the 8th, as (who else) Rafael Perez and Jensen Lewis gave them almost enough runs to tie the game.

Thanks though to Rafael Betancourt and then Kerry Wood to close it out. Betancourt got the last out in the 8th, and then Wood recorded his 5th save of the year with three outs in the 9th to get the Tribe the win. They move to 9-14 on the season, and drop the Tigers to 11-11.

There were some offensive highlights that deserve mention:

Jhonny Peralta had a RBI single in the second, then hit his first homer in the 3rd to make it 5-0.
Mark DeRosa was 2-for-5 with two runs scored
David Dellucci (a sight for sore eyes), played his first game coming off the DL and was 4-for-5 with a run scored.

Overall the team put up 12 hits, and put up plenty of chances to score, but in the end were able to push across 6 runs to get the win. Another positive was the pitching of Carl Pavano, who got his first win as an Indian. He went 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on 5 hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.

While he’s had his moments, there’s no denying how bad this bullpen is. Why Eric Wedge keeps running Perez out there is beyond me, and he’s going to lose games the more he puts him out there. Let’s look at Perez – he wasn’t able to get an out, allowed two hits, two runs. He’s got an ERA of 13.50, and in 11 games has given up 15 earned runs. If this guys doesn’t get sent down to AAA soon, it’s a joke.

Okay, let’s stay positive here, the team got win one of the road trip out of the way, and game two tomorrow will see Aaron Laffey, the teams best starter so far this season, against Zach Miner at 3:40pm.

On a positive note, the Indians at least seem to play well in the finale of series’ where they lose the first two games. Problem is, that’s going to mean they are in for a long season. Ok, let’s keep the positive thoughts up for now. Sunday in another steam bath at Progressive Field, the Tribe got some great starting pitching from Aaron Laffey, and even better relief pitching from Tony Sipp as they beat the Twins 4-2.

For the first time in the three games against the Twins, they were able to get some big hits, the biggest of which was a one-out single by Ryan Garko in the third that gave them a 4-0 lead. With Laffey getting lots of first pitch strikes and ground ball outs, it seemed like it was one of those games where it all came together for the Tribe.

Laffey was in control till the 7th, when he left with the bases loaded and one out. Jensen Lewis allowed a single to make it 4-2, and Eric Wedge turned to Sipp. The youngster, making just his 2nd outing as a member of the big league club, came in and was awesome, striking out Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel to end the inning and get things back to normal for the Indians.

Kerry Wood cleaned it up in the 9th, as he did allow a hit and walk, but got a huge double play and then a strikeout looking to end the game and collect his fourth save of the season in four chances. What was nice is that was a spot where Indians fans were use to seeing Bob Wickman or Jor Borowski allow the tying runs to score over the course of the past few seasons. Not Wood though.

The win puts the team at 7-12, and while they didn’t gain any ground in the division (still 3.5 out), they have to start getting some momentum with the Red Sox coming in for three games to wrap up the homestand. That series starts Monday night at 7:05, as Cliff Lee takes on Tim Wakefield.

Do you get a sense that nothing will be coming easy for the Indians in 2009? Me too.

With a bullpen that couldn’t get some good high school teams out (at least it seems that way), no lead is safe, and once again that was on display Tuesday night at Progressive Field in the teams 8-7 wild win over the Kansas City Royals.

It wasn’t the win that got all the attention, it was the fact that the team was up 6-1 entering the 8th, only to have to hang on and have a late Victor Martinez homerun in the bottom of the 8th end up as the margin of victory. Kansas City scored four runs in the 8th off of relievers Joe Smith and Masa Kobayashi, only to have Jensen Lewis save the day and get them out of the inning.

In the 9th with the team up 8-5, Kerry Wood, who’s been good to this point, allowed a two-run long ball to David DeJesus to close the gap to 8-7. The reliever came back to strike out Billy Butler to end the game and give Eric Wedge and the team a big sigh of relief.

The offense had a good effort against Royals pitcher Sidney Ponson. Martinez was the star, going 4-for-5 two RBI and a homer. Grady Sizemore was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer. The team collected 9 hits on the night, and drew a solid 9 walks as well.

Aaron Laffey went 7 pretty solid innings, allowing just one run on seven hits, with three walks and three strikeouts. He’s making the most of his opportunity with Scott Lewis on the shelf to come in and make an impact on the Indians starting rotation.

On a night that saw temps hover around 40 degrees with overcast skies, fans didn’t exactly clamor into Progressive Field, as the reported attendance was just 11,408. That crowd according to reports is the smallest in history of that ballpark, easily beating the 14,841 that saw the Indians beat Chicago on April 10th, 2003.

The team is now 5-9 on the season, and they are playing much better ball over the last several days than when they were floundering off to a 1-7 start. Wednesday they will throw Cliff Lee on the mound, as he comes off his win last Thursday in New York.

For the second straight series, the Indians looked rather ugly in losing the first two games of a series, only to then rebound and win the finale. They did that same thing again earlier today as they topped the KC Royals 5-4 in Kansas City to move to 2-7 on the season.

The win didn’t come easy by any means, as it was Travis Hafner that had a huge double that keyed a three-run 7th inning that got the Tribe the lead which led to the win. Hafner, who I think has been a bright spot during the early part of what’s been an ulgy start, had two doubles in the game, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, and is hitting .286 on the season.

The team got enough from spot starter Aaron Laffey, who was called up from AAA Columbus earlier in the day for Josh Barfield. While he didn’t earn the win (Jensen Lewis 1-0 got that), he did go 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Laffey, who didn’t have a good spring, now has a chance to make an impact, as this is sort of his second lease on life as a guy that can make and stay in the rotation. I thought Scott Lewis was going to be able to have a good season, but he’s already on the DL, and you know that Laffey will get another start at the big league level in this stretch, and it’ll be at home next week vs the Royals.

Joe Smith, Lewis and Rafel Betancourt held the fort down till the 9th, when Kerry Wood came in and got his first save of the season with a solid inning. The offense, which I thought has been downright awful at points in the first 8 games, looked good on Wednesday. They had 10 hits, 5 doubles and struck out just 6 times, which is a vast improvement from the first 8 games.

Now the hoopla of having to head to New York and the opening of the new Yankee Stadium is upon the team. They get a shot at C.C. Sabathia tomorrow, and I think they can steal one since we all know how C.C. pitches when the pressure is on. If Cliff Lee can follow up the last few innings of his outing from Saturday, the Tribe I think can steal a win in NYC on Thursday.

The Indians made some interesting roster moves today that will round out the 4th and 5th starters in teams start of the 2009 season. First, the team sent Aaron Laffey to AAA Columbus to start the season.

Then, the team named lefty Scott Lewis and righty Anthony Reyes as the 4th and 5th starters. They join Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona & Carl Pavano. Lee will start the season opener (4/6) with Lewis starting the home opener (4/10).

Here are notes on the two new starters in the rotation:

SCOTT LEWIS

Recalled from AAA Buffalo on Sept. 7 and earned his first Major League win in MLB debut on September 10 at Baltimore, a 7-1 Indians win… He was outstanding as he tossed 8.0 shutout innings holding the Orioles to just three hits while striking out three… 8.0IP, 3H, 3K, 96P… Since 1956 only 4 other Indians pitchers have tossed more innings in their debut than Lewis… The 8.0 shutout innings by Lewis is the 2nd longest start since 1956 in club history w/o allowing a run… Won his 2nd start w/6.0 more shutout IP on Sept. 15 vs. Minnesota (6.0IP, 3H, 0R, 2BB, 5K)… According to ELIAS, the last Indians pitcher to not allow a run in his first 14.0IP as a starter was Dennis Eckersley, who had a 14-IP streak in May 1975…Won his 4th start at Chicago on Sept 26 (5.0IP, 6H,4ER, 3HR) to move to 4-0…No Indians pitcher has started his career by winning 4 straight starts since at least 1969 (Elias SB)…Named AL Rookie of the Month for September as he was T1st among AL pitchers in wins (4) and 11th in ERA (min 20.0IP, 2.63ERA)…

ANTHONY REYES

Was acquired in late July and was a solid member of the rotation for 6 turns in August and early September before being shut down for the season with a sore right elbow after his final start on Sept. 5 at Kansas City…With Cleveland he was 2-1 w/a 1.83 ERA in 6 starts (34.1IP, 31H, 7R/7ER, 12BB, 15K)… His 2.01 ERA during the month of August was 3rd best in the AL (min 30.0IP, 31.1IP, 30H, 7R/ER)…Did not allow more than 2 runs in any of his 6 starts and over his last 3 starts his ERA was 1.06 (17.0IP, 12H, 2R/ER)… With the Indians batters hit .242 (31-128) w/a 2HR…Combined on the year for Cleveland and St. Louis he was 4-2-1 w/a 2.76 ERA in 16 games (6GS, 49.0IP, 47H, 15ER, 15BB, 25K)…Pitched at least 6.0IP in 4 of his 6 starts with the Indians.