Tuesday was not exactly a banner day for the Indians, as things that appeared to be heading on the right track after a 6-2 homestand went right back to despair. First there was the updated injury report, which included Josh Barfield having finger surgery, Fausto Carmona being sore after a 50-pitch session, and Travis Hafner heading to see “Dr.Doom” James Andrews for a second opinion on his shoulder.
Then last night in Colorado, the team took any and all momentum from winning five of their last seven and flushed it down the toilet with an uninspiring 10-2 thrashing at the hands of the Rockies. The loss had all the usual elements of a 2008 Indians setback - little offense, wasted chances, Paul Byrd allowing homers (in and park and out this time), and the bullpen giving up runs when trying to keep the team in the game.
Overall, not a good way to start a west coast trip to say the least. Let’s start with Byrd. As stated here on this site before, Paul Byrd is one of the classiest players you’ll ever come across. He’s also a guy that will stand up and admit his mistakes, and Tuesday night, he was on that side of doing that once again. Falling to 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA, you get the sense that Byrd at 37 might just be nearing the end of being a solid MLB pitcher. Last season he won 15 games, but with the way he’s going this year, it’s hard to believe he’ll get to 10 wins all season.
It’s too early to say, but one has to think that the next three and a half months will be the last for Byrd in an Indians uni. The team can dump him at the end of the year, and with some prospects pitching well, and the team likely to revamp some of the staff on the open market in 2009, I think Byrd will not be here next season, unless that is as some sort of long relief arm, which I think is unlikely.
Against the Rockies, Byrd allowed two more homers, one in the park and one out, putting that total to 19 this season. He allowed 27 last year in 192.1 innings, and this year has allowed 8 less in only 77.2 innings. Byrd started the year slow at 0-2, but things seemed to be on track after his 4-0 shutout win over the A’s on May 13th. Since then, the wheels have come off again, as he’s gone 1-4, and in his last two starts has gone just a total of 7 innings, allowing 10 earned runs on 15 hits.
His linescore on Tuesday read 4 innings, five runs on nine hits, two homers allowed, walking one and striking out four. The offense did little to pick him up, as they left 8 men on base, managed 9 hits, and plated two runs, the second with the team well out of the game at 10-1. Greg Reynolds pitched well against the Tribe, going 6 innings, allowing one run on five hits, not walking a batter and striking out four.
Jhonny Peralta was about the only bright spot at the plate, going 3-for-4 and raising his average to .235. Other than that, the offense never seemed to get off the plane arriving in Colorado for the interleague matchup. Now at 33-38, the team falls into a third place tie with the Tigers, who won over the Giants Tuesday night. They also lose a game on the White Sox who won, to fall to 6.5 games back in the AL Central.
Wednesday night the team will look to get back on track as Aaron Laffey, who’s 4-and-3 with a 2.83 ERA, will start for the Indians. The Rockies will send out Jeff Francis, who’s 2-and-6 with a 5.49 ERA. First pitch at Coors Field is set for 9:05 p.m.
Matt has covered Major League Baseball and the "other two" Pro teams in Cleveland since 1994. He has been on the beat of the Indians in full-time mode since 1996, working for various raido and print networks around the country.
