Indians Confidential

Make that two nights in a row that the Indians look like a Major League team that cares again.  With their All-Star pitcher on the hill, the Indians again made life miserable for the Rays on Friday night at Progressive Field, stunning Tampa Bay with another beating, 5-0.  The Indians have whipped the Rays, a team that was coming in alreday slumping, by outscoring them 18-2 in the first two wins of the series.

Cliff Lee, the likely starter for the American League All-stars in New York on Tuesday night, moved to 12-2 with another solid outing.  He went six innings, allowing no runs on five hits, walking one and striking out seven. With the outing the best pitcher on the team lowered his ERA to 2.31.  He was in control, and while the Rays had some baserunners, they never were able to get that big hit off of him.

Big hits have come in bunches over the last 48 hours for the Indians.  They scored a run in the first when Jhonny Peralta smacked a double off of Rays losing pitcher James Sheilds to quickly make it 1-0 as Ben Francisco came around to score.  They added two more in the third when Peralta was at it again, hitting his 15th homer of the season, again scoring Francisco to make it 3-0.

With Lee shutting the Rays down, the offense added to the lead in the 5th, scoring a run on a Francisco double to center that scored Jamey Carroll.  They wrapped up their third solid night at the plate with a run in the 7th as Carroll singled to center to score Grady Sizemore to make it 5-0.

Another positive again was the bullpen, which for the last two nights has been given leads and have held them with somewhat ease.  Tonight Lee handed off to Rafael Perez, who went 1.2 scoreless innings, and then in the 9th Edward Mujica allowed a hit but was able to get out of it to complete the shutout.

The win puts the Indians at 39-53 on the season.  They will look for three straight on Saturday night at 7:05pm as Matt Ginter is expected to take the now departed C.C. Sabathia spot in the rotation, for at least one night, as he’ll take on Matt Garza (7-4).

While winning the “Ohio Cup” is about as much of a joke as anything when it comes to baseball bragging rights, what will also go down as a joke in the 2008 season is how bad the Indians played against not only their National League rivals, but against the NL as a whole. Following the teams 9-5 loss Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field, the Indians wrap up their season vs the NL with a mark of 6-12, and a pretty sad 1-5 mark against the Reds.

Sunday’s loss drops the team to 37-45, right back to 8 games under .500, and 22-22 at Progressive Field. The offense as usual made a rather bad pitcher, in this case the Reds Bronson Arroyo, look like someone heading for the Cy Young. Entering action vs the Indians, Arroyo was 4-7 with an ERA of 6.52. Instead of pounding him like Indians teams in the past would have done, they went quietly inning by innings, and by the time Arroyo left, he had allowed one earned run on two hits over six innings.

Aaron Laffey got the start for the Indians, and did a nice job till the 5th, when the Reds offense went off against him for five runs on five hits, putting 8 men to the plate. David Ross scored the first run on a wild pitch, then Jeff Keppinger doubled in a run, Brandon Phillips singled in another, and Edwin Encarnacion hit his 13th homer of the year to make it 5-0.

Grady Sizemore got the Indians back into the game with a solo homer in the 6th to make it 5-1, and a Shin-Soo Choo double that was botched in center allowed another run to come across to make it 5-2. Kelly Shoppach had a chance for the inning to continue but struck out, getting Arroyo off the hook. Rick Bauer took the spot of Laffey in the 6th, and ran into trouble in the 7th, then allowing Adam Dunn, who’s been an Indians killer all season, to take him deep for a three-run shot that made it 8-2.

The Indians loaded the bases in the 7th, but a Ben Francisco ground out ended the inning. Shoppach doubled in another run in the 8th when Jhonny Peralta scored to make it 8-3. Francisco made it look somewhat interesting in the 9th with a two-out, two-run homer that made it 9-5, his 6th of the year.

The Indians could for sure have their season for all intensive purposes ended this week as they travel to Chicago to take on the White Sox for three starting on Monday night. Jeremy Sowers (0-3, 5.97) will go for the Indians vs Gavin Floyd (8-4, 3.39) for Chicago at 8:11pm.

I can’t really think of any positives that can come of getting swept by a team that coming into this past series was 14 games under .500. Let’s just say that it may have given GM Mark Shapiro enough indication to pull the plug on the 2008 season and start looking more at becoming a seller instead of a buyer as the trading deadline starts to creep closer.

Last night the Indians storyline against the Colorado Rockies was almost the same as it was the past two nights - allow a struggling pitcher to right himself against a weak Indians offense, allow some no-name like Jeff Baker to hit another homer (third straight game vs the Indians), and have shots to win it with a big hit, but in the end come up short. Sounds like the same recipe for a loss we’ve heard quite a bit this season.

To think that entering this stretch the Indians looked as if they finally may have righted the ship following a 4-2 homestand, now it looks like it’s back to square one. They allowed Jorge De La Rosa, who had a 6.89 ERA entering the game Thursday to strike out 10 Indians batters, allow just four hits, three runs and walk one in six innings. Jeremy Sowers was okay at best, allowing four runs, three earned, 10 hits, four strikeouts in six innings. He takes the loss to fall to 0-2.

The Indians actually had a first inning lead as Ben Francisco hit a two-run homer to make it 2-0. Sowers gave half of it right back in the bottom of the first on a Matt Holliday single to make it 2-1. Colorado then chipped away and built a lead with single runs in the 4th and 5th to make it 3-2. Casey Blake his a solo homer in the 6th to tie the game at 3, but then a Baker homer, and two more Rockies runs in the 7th iced it for the 6-3 win.

After Blake’s homer in the 6th, the Indians managed just one more base runner the rest of the night, and that was Blake again, who doubled in the 9th with one out. Overall three Rockies relief pitchers threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two. Masa Kobayashi gave up two runs in that critical 7th, and Joe Borowski did throw a scoreless 9th.

Things have gone from bad to worse this week, as the team drops 7 games under .500 at 33-40. They are now a whopping 8.5 back of the White Sox, who beat the awful Pirates again, and 1.5 back of third place Detroit, 4 back of the 2nd place Twins. Could a roster tweaking in terms of deals be far behind at this point?

Tonight the team moves to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers in the first of a three-game weekend series starting at 10:40pm. Cliff Lee, who’s 10-and-1 with a 2.55 ERA, will start for the Indians. The Dodgers will send out Clayton Kershaw, who’s 0-and-1 with a 3.75 ERA. First pitch at Dodger Stadium is set for 10:40 p.m.

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.

It’s been talked about enough among the media that if the Indians are going to put the tough start to 2008 behind them and make a run at the White Sox in the AL Central, they are going to have to do it now.  So far, so good.  With the next five series’ all against teams that are under .500, the Indians won their second straight series on Sunday, topping the San Diego Padres at Progressive Field 7-3.

The win wraps up the homestand at 4-2, and puts the team back to 4 games under .500 at 33-37.  Maybe the most promising sign is the fact that the offense is finally starting to come around, and this without Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez.  The players now picking up the slack are Grady Sizemore, who hit another homer Sunday, Ben Francisco, Shin Soo-Choo, and Jamey Carroll.

It could be a season where if the Tribe is going to make a run, they are going to make it with lesser known players like Choo and Carroll having career years.  The starting pitching staff continues to have their moments, as Sunday C.C. Sabathia notched his 5th win against 8 losses.  He went 8 innings, allowing three runs on six hits.  He also had his fastball in high range, striking out 10 Paders.  He drops his ERA to 4.30.

He had one bad inning in which he allowed three runs on four hits, but otherwise was very good.  He got out of a jam with a Jody Gerut on third with no outs, and struck out the side, setting the tone for the rest of the day.  He struck out two in the 2nd, got a double play in the 3rd, struck out two more in the 5th, and got a K and double play in the 6th.

The offense was paced by Francisco, who hit a three-run homer in the third off of Greg Maddux to put the Tribe up 3-0.  After San Diego rallied to tie the game in the 4th, the Indians got single runs in the 4th and 6th innings.  Casey Blake hit a dribbler to Maddux to score Choo who had doubled to lead off the 4th, and then they made it 5-3 when Franklin Gutierrez singled to center.

Sizemore continued his torrid hitting when he homered to lead off the 7th vs Cla Meredith to make it 6-3.  After Carroll singled and stole second Jhonny Peralta four batters later doubled him in to give the team a 7-3 advantage.

The Indians are off Monday, as they continue their interleague play on Tuesday night with a trip to Colorado to take on the NL Champion Rockies.  Paul Byrd (3-6, 4.89) will go Tuesday for the team vs Greg Reynolds (1-4, 6.69) with a start time of 9:05pm Eastern.

On a night when the offense got off to a great start then hit the snooze button the rest of the evening, the Tribe dropped a tough decision to the San Diego Padres 8-3 in 10 innings at Progressive Field. Maybe the team was tired after playing till after 1am on Friday night. Whatever the case was, Padres pitcher Cha Seung Baek gave up early runs, but was in complete control from there out.

On the offensive side for the Padres, it took them awhile to get going, but once they hit extra innings, they made the Indians pay for throwing out Edward Mujica (0-1), who first walked in a run then gave up a grand slam to former Indian Kevin Kouzmanoff for what was the difference. It was the third homer that Mujica has allowed in just six appearances in 2008.

The Indians jumped on Baek in the first inning, as they scored three runs on two hits. Ryan Garko hit a single to bring in Grady Sizemore to make it 1-0, then Shin-Soo Choo stayed hot with a double to drive in Ben Francisco to make it 2-0 with one out. Jhonny Peralta then hit a ground out to short that scored Garko to make it 3-0. Little did the Indians know that Baek would settle into a groove from there.

The Padres pitcher after that first inning was unhittable, putting down the last 16 batters he faced. The only baserunner he allowed was Sizemore, who walked in the second but was stranded when Jamey Carroll lined out to short to end the inning. Baek struck out only four batters, but the Tribe offense seemed never to be able to do much of anything against him.

San Diego rallied for single runs in the 3rd, 5th and 8th to end up tying the game. The 3rd inning run came on a solo homer by left fielder Justin Huber, who had just one dinger on the season entering the game. Former Indian Jody Gerut singled in a run in the 5th, and then spoiled Cliff Lee’s effort for his 11th win when he hit a homer in the 8th off of Rafael Perez.

With the loss the Indians fall to 32-37 on the season, 19-18 at Progressive Field. The homestand and the three-game set wraps up on Sunday at 1:05pm with what should be a great pitching matchup. C.C. Sabathia (4-8, 4.34) coming off the shutout of the Twins on Tuesday night, takes on Greg Maddux (3-4, 3.33).

On a day that had its share of downs with Victor Martinez and Josh Barfield finding themselves on the DL, the Indians put all that behind them and put on an offensive explosion in pounding the Twins 12-2 at Progressive Field. They put up a season-high in hits with 18, hit two homers, and everyone in the starting lineup minus Ryan Garko had a hit and scored at least one run.

Aaron Laffey made it a laugher as well, going six solid innings to improve to 4-3 on the season. He allowed just one run on five hits, walking one and striking out four. He also dropped his ERA to 2.83 on the year. Laffey is a player that will have to pitch great the rest of the season if the Indians want to contend the AL Central.

As for the offense, they hit early and often. They pounded Twins starter Livan Hernandez, hitting him up for 7 runs on 12 hits in just three innings. He also allowed two homers, one to Grady Sizemore in the 4th with no one on, and a three-run blast to Shin Soo-Choo in the 3rd and put the Indians up 6-0.
The Tribe scored a single run in the 2nd when Kelly Shoppach punched in an RBI single. They put up five in the third, with Choo’s blow being the biggest of the inning. Jhonny Peralta also had a big hit, a two-run RBI single that scored Jamey Carroll and Ben Francisco.

Carroll was impressive at the plate, going 4-for-4 and raising his average to .273. Francisco went 4-for-5 with three RBI, he’s hitting .309. Choo went 2-for-3 with three RBI and is hitting .333. Poor Ryan Garko could not share in the fun, as he went 0-for-4 with six men left on base. I’m sure he’s not all that upset about it.

The win wins the series for the Indians, as they get set for interleague play with the Padres coming to town for a three-game set over the weekend. Cleveland is now 31-36 on the year, closing in on the Twins for second, who fall to 32-35.