Indians Confidential

As the 2008 All Star Game in the Bronx approaches and the season reaches its mid-season point, I wanted to recognize the Indians most consistent force, Cliff Lee. This 29 year old started the season with questions and doubts about even making the rotation and now this presumably All Star holds an 11-1 record with a paltry 2.34 earned run average after 15 starts. Cliff has been dominant, holding opposing hitters to a .247 batting average against. This 6 foot 3 inch, left-hander has given up 2 or more runs in only three of his starts and has been undeniably the best pitcher in all of baseball in the first half. He has also amassed 90 strikeouts in 103.2 innings with only 16 walks.

This is a sign of the work and dedication that Cliff has put in to improving his game and his control. With all of the injuries and troubles that have faced the Tribe this year, Cliff seems to be unfazed and on a mission to go out and give the Indians a quality start each and every time he takes the hill. When July 15th and the All Star Game takes center stage, I look forward to seeing Cliff Lee representing the Indians on the national stage.

If there is one thing the Indians have been able to count on in this season that appears to already be lost, it’s the pitching of starter Cliff Lee. Last season Lee found himself in Buffalo with the teams Triple-A club, and this year, unless there is some stunning collapse over the next two weeks, Lee will find himself in New York with the American League All-Star team.

Last night at Progressive Field Lee moved to 8-1 when he’s pitched the day after an Indians loss, as he threw a career-high 11 strikeouts in the teams 4-1 win over the Giants to salvage the finale of the three-game set. Lee is now 11-1 on the season. He went 8 innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking one and recording 11 K’s. His season ERA drops to 2.34. Manager Eric Wedge said postgame that Lee and C.C. Sabathia have been carrying the starting pitching the last few weeks, but for the most part Lee’s carried it the whole season.

On offense, the team got to Giants starter Matt Cain early, scoring three runs in the third after getting runners on in the first and second innings. Jamey Carroll, who continues to play well, tripled in a run when the ball bounced off the wall in deep left, and then Jhonny Peralta doubled in two more runs to make it 3-0. The Giants got their only run of the game in the 4th, but the Indians came right back as Carroll singled in Kelly Shoppach to make it 4-1.

Carroll is now hitting .293 on the season, and an injury to Josh Barfield and the poor play at the Major League level by Asdrubal Cabrera has allowed Carroll to play everyday, which he’s taking advantage of. Peralta had two hits as well, and put his average at .244. Overall the team pounded out 8 hits, Shoppach also went 2-for-3.

The win puts the team back to 7.5 back of the White Sox in the division, but they still have a share of last place with the Royals. At 36-43, they sorely need to go out and sweep the Ohio rival Reds at home over the weekend. C.C. Sabathia, who is 5-and-8 with a 4.06 ERA, will start for the Indians tonight . Daryl Thompson, who’s 0-and-0 with a 0.00 ERA, will start for the Reds. First pitch at Progressive Field is set for 7:05 p.m.

While the white flag has not officially been raised, let’s just says it’s on the pole and in position. The Indians have reached a point in the 2008 season many thought they would never get to - last place in the division, and basically ready to call it quits and get ready for a fire sale to start building for the 2009 campaign. Last night at Progressive Field, the team lost their 6th game out of their last 8, making Barry Zito look like the Barry Zito of old, falling to the Giants 4-1.

Coming in with a mark of 2-11, Zito threw one-run ball over 6.2 innings, making the Indians batters look more like a Double A club, because calling them a Triple A club at this point would be too generous. Yes, many agreed that Zito had his best stuff Wednesday night, commanding the plate and throwing well to both sides of the plate, but again, this is Barry Zito - a pitcher that has been back and forth from starter to bullpen, and a pitcher that was 2-11 coming in.

While Zito controlled the Indians at the plate, Jeremy Sowers did what he could to keep the Indians in the game. He ran into trouble right away in the first, allowing two quick runs, but settled down from there. His main enemy at the plate was Jose Castillo, who was a triple away from the cycle, hitting a double, homer and single in four at-bats. His solo homer in the third put the Giants up 3-0, and with the Indians offense going quietly in the night, that was more than enough for Zito.

The offense finally broke through with their only run of the game in the 7th, when Shin-Soo Choo singled in Kelly Shoppach to make it 3-1. It was all the offense the team would show vs Zito, and four Giants relief pitchers. The team put up 6 hits, and against Zito, a pitcher who averages three walks per outing, they never got a free pass the entire night.

The loss puts them at 35-43, and with the Royals beating the Rockies, a team the Indians were swept by over the weekend, the team is now in last place in the division by .5 game. They are 7.5 back of the White Sox, who lost on Wednesday night. Tonight is the finale of the set, with Cliff Lee at 10-and-1 with a 2.45 ERA going for the Indians. The Giants will send out Matt Cain, who’s 4-and-5 with a 4.31 ERA. First pitch at Progressive Field is set for 7:05 p.m.

It’s amazing to think that Cliff Lee is the Indians MVP at this point of the season, but that fact came back to the forefront last night in Detroit as he pitched well enough to earn his 10th win of the season as the Indians topped the Tigers 8-2. The win wraps up the teams longest road trip of the season, an 11-game outing in which they went 5-6, hitting KC, Texas and Detroit.

Lee is the first AL pitcher to win 10 games, he went 5 innings, allowing two runs on six hits. The reason for the short outing was the fact the game was hit by a 57-minute rain delay. The bullpen finally did a nice job after blowing a game Saturday, as Rafael Perez, Rafael Betancourt and Masa Kobayashi went a combined four innings, allowing one hit total and walking three, striking out two.

The offense got off to a fast start, as Ryan Garko hit a three-run blast to deep left off of Tigers starter Dontrelle Willis in the first inning to give the Tribe a quick 3-0 lead. The team chased Willis in the second, as Kelly Shoppach hit a two-run homer to make it 5-0, then Garko got hit by a pitch to bring in a run, Jhonny Peralta singled to score a run, and Shin Soo-Choo hit a sac fly to make it 8-0.

Willis lasted just 1.1 innings, allowing 8 runs on three hits. He has been a big bust so far for the Tigers, has he’s been hurt, and is carrying an 0-1 mark now with an ERA of 10.32. He has started just four games, and has pitched only 11.1 innings, allowing 13 earned runs on seven hits. The Indians only had six hits, but were on cruise control most of the night due to the early lead that they carried as well as their bullpen.

New second basemen Josh Barfield batted ninth, and did little at the plate, going 0-for-4 with a fly out to center, foul out to right, fly out to deep left, and ground out to third. Grady Sizemore got a rare night off, as Franklin Gutierrez started in center and hit lead off.

Tonight the Indians come back home for the first time since late May, as they start the first of six at Progressive Field vs the Twins and then a weekend interleague series vs the Padres. C.C. Sabathia, who’s 3-and-8 with a 4.81 ERA, will start for the Indians. The Twins will send out Scott Baker, who’s 2-and-0 with a 4.03 ERA. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

The 2008 MLB All-Star Game is fast approaching, and with it history will be made as it will be the last All-Star game ever to be played in Yankee Stadium. As far as the Cleveland Indians go, right now the obvious choice to make the team is tonight’s starter, Cliff Lee, who comes in at 9-1. Other than that, the rest of the Tribe may have to get MLB All-Star Game Tickets just to get in the game, and there’s not many players, if any that will make the AL squad.

There may be another Tribesman involved in the events though, as Jhonny Peralta has a shot to be involved in the Home Run Derby, as he is one of the leading HR hitters as far as shortstops go with 11. As far as getting home run derby tickets go, it may be the best bet for any Indian to make it to New York for the All-Star events.

It will be bittersweet for Major League Baseball as this could very well be the last great game at Yankee Stadium. With the Yankees being somewhat of a shadow of the power they usually are, it looks like there may not be playoff games at the “House that Ruth” built in 2008. If you have a chance to get ticks to this game or events, or MLB tickets to Yankee Stadium, take advantage of it, as it won’t be there six months from now.

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.

The Indians road trip got off to a good start Friday night, as after falling behind 4-1 in the 4th inning, the team rallied for four runs between the 5th and the 6th innings to walk away with a 5-4 win.  What may have been even more impressive than the comeback on offense was the way the bullpen responded, as they pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Cliff Lee to notch the teams 25th win against 29 losses.

The offense was sparked by Grady Sizemore, who led the game off with a homer, and then hit another in the 5th to put the Indians back within striking distance.  He was 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBI.  Jhonny Peralta was 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.  The team had eight hits, three homers, and six total extra base hits.

Casey Blake’s 6th inning homer that scored he and Peralta was the difference, as his 4th homer of the season off of Brett Tomko ended up being the difference.  Rafael Betancourt, two days after a postgame tounge lashing from Eric Wedge about throwing more inside, pitched a scoreless two outs in the sixth.  Rafael Perez pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one hit and striking out one, and Joe Borowski gave up a double in the 9th, but got out of it for his 4th save.

Lee was okay at best, but good enough to notch his 8th win against one loss.  He went six innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits.  He walked one and struck out three.  His ERA sits at 1.88.  He allowed a pair of runs in each of the 2nd and 4th innings, but was good enough otherwise to get the win and then turn it over to the pen.

Saturday is game two of the series as C.C. Sabathia will take the mound for the Indians vs Kyle Davies at 7:10pm.