Indians Confidential

If you would have watched just the first inning of Saturday’s doubleheader at Progressive Field against the Tigers, you would have thought it was going to be an extremely long day for the Indians and their pitching staff.

That’s due to the fact that ace and the teams only All-Star, Fausto Carmona, allowed three runs as Detroit took an early lead and seemed ready for cruise control.

But Carmona and the young Indians recovered, and with the pitcher going 118 pitches and the offense taking advantage of some wild pitches, the team rallied for a 4-3 win to improve to 36-54 on the season.

Carmona went 7 plus innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits with six walks and three strikeouts. He got out of some jams after the first, and even though he walked six batters, he never lost his cool on a 90 degree day at Progressive Field.

The offense got back in the game with two in the third, and then tied it off Verlander when he threw two wild pitches in the 6th that brought Shelley Duncan home to make it 3-3.

Off Tiger reliever Phil Coke in the 7th, Trevor Crowe singled in the winning run with two outs to score Matt LaPorta, and the bullpen did the rest to seal the win.

With now Kerry Wood on the DL with a blister, Chris Perez got into the 9th, and while he allowed a walk, he was able to get the other three Tiger batters to earn his 8th save of the year.

It’s a three hour turnaround at Progressive Field, as the nightcap of the twin bill starts at 7:05.

The Cleveland Indians will kick off the second half of the season Friday night at home as they take on the Detroit Tigers. With the first half now officially over, it is time to look back and give out some grades.

Sunday we graded the offense, and it is only right to do the same with the pitching staff. It has been a staff that many felt would struggle, and while the bullpen has had their share of lumps, the starters have pretty much held their own.

While the team is 34-54, last place in the division, they would be a lot worse if the pitching staff had not carried them through some games of the first half. With that, here is our grades for the pitching staff for the first half of 2010.

Chris Perez – The relief pitcher has had a tale of two seasons, at one point closing for an injured Kerry Wood, then going to the setup role in the pen when Wood was healthy. Has good stuff, and showed it at points in the season getting out of some jams. On the other hand, blew a big save early in the year in Detroit, and has to get tougher when called upon in that role. Is 0-2 with seven saves with an ERA of 2.62. Overall not a bad first half. Grade – B

Frank Herrmann - Had a long scoreless streak leaving Triple-A and coming to the Indians, but that went bye bye during the teams road trip to Pittsburgh. Still, he has been a great story and has throwing well in going 0-0 with a save and an ERA of 2.81. A surprise to be at this level, but is taking advantage of it by doing the one thing that Manny Acta preaches – he throws strikes. Grade – B+

Fausto Carmona - The teams only All-Star, Carmona has rebounded after a terrible 2008 and 2009. Some felt that

his career would be over, but instead he came back and listened to pitching coach Tim Belcher and is 8-7 with an ERA of 3.64. Easily could have 11-13 wins if he could have gotten some needed run support. Will be interesting to see how he wraps up 2010 and moves forward as the team has him around for a few more seasons. Grade – B

Jensen Lewis - Is 2-2 with an ERA of 3.86 in 20 games, going back and forth between Triple-A and the big league club. Lewis at some point will be at the MLB level for good, but for now the Indians use him as a guy when needed to come out of the pen, or a guy that can go to the minors and continue to work on his game. Grade – B

Mitch Talbot – He has been the surprise of the staff, going 8-8 with a 3.99 ERA in 17 starts. He throws strikes, does not get rattled easily, and seems to find ways to work out of jams. With run support another guy that could have 11-13 wins, but for a guy that a lot of people did not even know who he was, he has been a great addition coming from the Tampa Bay Rays for catcher Kelly Shoppach. Grade – A-

Rafael Perez – Two blown saves, and an ERA of 4.06, there is no doubt you have to hold your breath every time he comes in a game. Teams are hitting .320 against him, yet he has appeared in 37 games for the club, and the team seems to still count on him in key situations. He has thrown better than last season, but when you look at those numbers, that is not saying much. Grade – D

Jake Westbrook – Started slowly coming back from major surgery, but has shown toughness in going 5-5 with a 4.75 ERA in 18 starts. He may never be a 15-game winner, but is the veteran of the starting staff, and players look at him for advice and come to him to ask about other teams he has faced in the past. It would be a shame to see the team dump Westbook in the second half fire sale, as he is worth keeping around. Grade – C

Aaron Laffey - The team seems to still feel that Laffey can at some point be a starter, but that remains to be seen. He pitched well when the team ran off five straight recently, but other than that has struggled, going 1-3 with a 5.12 ERA. Has almost as many walks (24) as strikeouts (25), and that is simply a number that has to improve if he is going to stay in the rotation. Grade – C-

Joe Smith – The submarine thrower started the year with the big league club, then got some work in Columbus before coming back to the Indians. Is 1-1 with a 5.17 ERA, but teams are hitting just .237 against him. Has a blown save but six holds, and has given up three homers. Overall it is a season where the Indians want to see what he can bring long term to see if he is worth keeping around. Grade – C

Justin Masterson - Seemed at first like it was going to be a long season for Masterson, who at one point had lost 11 straight dating back to last season till he finally won a game in Chicago. Has thrown much better since around Memorial Day, going overall 3-8 with a 5.31 on the season. Give credit to Manny Acta for keeping him in the rotation when many were calling for him to be sent to the pen or the minors. Grade – D+

Tony Sipp - Another player the team has turned too quite a bit, throwing in 38 games, going 1-2 with eight holds and one blown save. At one point showed a lot of ability in getting batters out, then at times teams seemed to use him for batting practice. Teams are hitting .259 off of him, and he needs to stay focused and keep throwing strikes if he wants to stay as a main part of the teams pen in the second half. Grade – D

Hector Ambriz - In spot duty really has not shown much, going 0-1 with an ERA of 5.86. Teams hitting .353 against him, and you have to wonder if he is going to make it another month at this level. Grade – D-

David Huff - At one point looked like he would continue his success from last year, as he started the year at 2-2, then the bottom dropped out. Since then has gone 0-7, and his ERA is over six at 6.04. Was shipped to the minors to find his stuff, and so far in Columbus is 3-0 with a 4.15 ERA. Found himself in way too many jams, and too many times allowed a bad play by a teammate to stay with him too long. We will see what he does the next time at the MLB level. Grade – D-

Kerry Wood - Many felt the Indians would showcase Wood to try to then trade him, but bad outing after bad outing seems to have sealed that fate. Wood was hurt to start the year, then has done little to impress any team, including the Indians. Is 1-4 with a 6.30 ERA and has blown three saves while saving just eight games. Wood is a waste of the $11 million he is making, and while it would be a surprise to see the Indians simply reelase him, he deserves it if it happens. Grade – F

The effort was a lot better on Wednesday night in Texas, but the results were the same, as in the end the Indians fell to the Rangers 4-3. The Indians held a 3-1 lead after four and a half innings, but the Rangers, maybe the best team in the AL West, rallied for three unanswered runs for the win.

Up 3-1, Ranger Michael Young hit a two-run homer in the fifth that tied the game off Indians pitcher Mitch Talbot. Julio Borbon’s two-out single up the middle in the sixth put Texas ahead for good, and earned Talbot the loss to put him at 8-8 on the year.

The Indians built the lead after Jayson Nix homered for the fourth time in three games. Jhonny Peralta singled in another run for the Indians to give them a 2-1 lead, and an error that allowed Michael Brantley to score gave the Tribe the two-run lead.

Nix has been a great story for the Indians, coming out of nowhere to being a solid starter at secondbase over the last 10 days. Coming aboard on June 24th, he was batting only .163 with a homer and five RBIs in 24 games for Chicago. He’s been more productive in his 12 games for the Indians with five homers and eight RBIs.

Talbot though could not finish the job after Nix and co. gave him a lead. He lasted 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out four.

Colby Lewis got the win for Texas, he went six innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits. He struck out 8, walking two, and improves to 8-5 on the year. Ranger rookie closer Neftali Feliz pitched the 9th for his AL leading 23rd save.

The now 33-51 Indians will head east to Tampa to play the Rays starting on Thursday.

The road to Texas has not been an easy one in years past for the Indians, but Monday night they used the long ball along with a good outing from pen to top the first place Rangers 8-3.

Not all went well though for the Tribe, as first basemen Matt LaPorta, who has been hitting well since his return from Triple-A, left the game after getting elbowed in the head playing first.

All LaPorta had done to that point was walked and scored in his first at-bat, then in the third hit a two-run bomb, his 5th of the year, to give the Indians a 4-0 lead.

“He was actually feeling nausea and he threw up a little bit too,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “It was a no-brainer to take him out of the game.”

LaPorta was taken to a hospital for a precautionary CT scan. LaPorta suffered a concussion when he was hit in the head by a pitch while playing for Team USA in the 2008 Olympics, and the Indians didn’t want to take any chances with one of their top young players, and right now, maybe their best offensive threat.

His teammates picked him up though, as Carlos Santana hit a second deck homer, and recent pickup Jayson Nix hit two bombs in the five-run win.

Nix did it in front of family and friends, as was born and still lives in Dallas in the offseason. “It’s a special night,” said Nix, who had 15 family members and friends at the game. “It’s great to be here at home and playing here. To be able to do that in front of them is special.”

Laffey had a 6-2 lead, but could only go 4.1 innings, and gave way to the pen. Sinkerballer Joe Smith got the win to move to 1-1, he allowed two hits in 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief for his first major league victory.

The Indians are now 16 games under .500, not bad considering it was just over a week ago they were a season high 21 games under the .500 mark.

Tuesday night their series in Texas will continue, as they play the Rangers once again.

Fausto Carmona knows all about having quality starts but losing none the less. He did it again on Sunday, as the A’s pitching once again shut down a shell shocked Indians offense in Oakland’s 3-1 win at Progressive Field.

The A’s have toyed with Indians bats all season, throwing two shutouts and now in this season in which they took two of three, they held the Indians to one run in the two games they won.

Sunday it was Oakland starter Vin Mazzaro topping the Tribe, he threw a season-high 7.1 innings, allowing just the one run on 7 hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Carmona, who was named to the AL All-Star team prior to the game, went 7 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Indians pitching coach Tim Belcher says despite falling to 7-7 on the year, there is no doubt in his mind that Carmona deserved to make the All-Star team.

“He’s 7 and 7 now, which doesn’t sound all that impressive, but after today that’s four losses with quality starts, and three no-decisions with very quality starts,” Belcher said. “He could very easily have as many as 13 wins, but even quite conservatively should have 10-11 wins.”

The Indians offense tied the game in the third when Austin Kearns singled with two outs to score Carlos Santana, but otherwise it was a quiet day all the way around for Indians bats.

“He (Mazzaro) threw the ball pretty well today, you can’t take anything from him,” Indians CF Michael Brantley said. “He kept us off balance.”

The homestand was a success, as the team finished 5-2, but now they will face up to two months without the teams other All-Star in Shin-Soo Choo, who is out with a thumb injury.

“He’s our all-star, we know he’s been playing at an all-star level for us, and we know every year there’s going to be a few guys snubbed whether you like it or not,” Acta said of Choo not being voted on the team.

The Indians will take their show on the road before the Mid-Summer classic, as they will play in Texas starting on Monday night, then travel to take on Tampa Bay.

Coming into this season the Indians were supposed to be a solid hitting team with many question marks pointed straight at the pitching staff.

Now we are nearing the All-Star break and the Tribe’s pitchers are starting to be the strength of the team. In the last five games, every starter has earned the win with closer Kerry Wood getting three saves.

The other two games were saved by Chris Perez on Wednesday night, and Frank Herrmann getting his first Major League save yesterday afternoon completing a four game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays.

This was also the first four game sweep of the Jays since 1995. Overall the pitching staff has a home ERA of 4.16 and a road ERA of 5.14 this year. Starter Justin Masterson has looked stronger and stronger each time he takes the mound.

Opening day starter Jake Westbrook is 5-2 with a 4.18 ERA over his last ten starts. Fausto Carmona is 7-6 with a 3.68 ERA, and Mitch Talbot is 8-6 with a 3.88 ERA this season. With the struggling David Huff (2-9, 6.04 ERA) being sent down to AAA Columbus, Aaron Laffey (1-2, 5.55 ERA) has been put into the fifth starter spot for now.

The bullpen has settled in with Chris Perez (0-2, 2.90 ERA) setting up for Wood (1-3, 6.62 ERA) nicely at the back end. Herrmann (0-0, 2.13 ERA) has pitched extremely well in his thirteen appearances walking only two batters while striking out seven. The bullpen has a record of 5-14 with a 4.94 ERA through 72 games.

Looking for their longest win streak of the 2010 season on Thursday afternoon, a great outing by Justin Masterson combined with some long ball power by Matt LaPorta and Shelly Duncan was more than enough to earn the Indians their 5th straight win, topping Toronto 6-1.

Masterson, coming off a tough outing in Cincy on Saturday, was about as good as the shutout he threw earlier in the season against Boston. He went 8.1 innings, allowing 8 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, and 5 strikeouts. He moves to 3-7 on the season, but clearly has turned the corner from almost being bounced from the rotation earlier in the year.

His slider was excellent, and he was able to avoid a bad inning, unlike what happened against Cincinnati last week. Masterson has gone 3-2 over his last 6 starts with an ERA of 3.51.

On the offensive side, it was once again LaPorta’s bat that came through in the clutch. The blast today from Matt came in the 4th inning of a scoreless game. To that point, Jays starter Shaun Marcum had shut down the Indians, but LaPorta came up with two on, and slammed his third homer in as many days.

Then Shelly Duncan came up next and helped the cause as well, hitting a solo shot to make it 4-0. The team batted around that inning, as they scored another two runs to chase Marcum and leave the frame up 6-0.

For LaPorta, it’s the first time in his career he has hit a homer in three straight games.

Frank Herrmann came in for Masterson in the 9th after he allowed a run and some guys on, and got the save after he was able to entice a double play ball.

It is the first time since 2005 the teams starting pitchers have won five games in a row, and the streak means they are 16 games under .500 at 31-47.

They have a shot to keep their winning ways up as they play the Oakland A’s Friday night for the first of three at Progressive Field.

It’s been a long time it seems like since the Indians have been able to celebrate a win.

Over a week, actually, but Sunday afternoon in Cincy the team finally got back in the win column with a hard fought and very sticky win over the Reds 5-3.

They had to wait nearly an hour and a half for the game to kick off, but once it did it was Shin-Soo Choo with two homers and a great outing for starter Mitch Talbot that was enough to earn the win.

Choo homered twice off Reds starter Bronson Arroyo – the second time he’s done it this season. Carlos Santana also homered for the Indians, helping out starter Talbot who threw 7 strong innings.

Talbot allowed just one run on three hits over 7 frames, and even after Chris Perez gave up a two-run homer in the 8th, Kerry Wood closed the door in the 9th for his 6th save.

The rare Tribe win, only their second in 13 games, wrapped up a dismal interleague showing. Cleveland went 5-13 this year against NL teams, including 2-4 against the intrastate rival Reds. Cincinnati has dominated the series lately, going 13-5 over the past three years.

Matt LaPorta, fresh from Triple-A after the Russell Branyan trade, went 0-for-4 with two K’s and he also grounded into a double play.

The team will be back at home Monday, as they start a good old AL homestand with the Blue Jays.