Indians Confidential

If there is one thing that the Indians can take some pride in so far in 2008 - the Tigers are worse than they are.  That fact was proven once again on Friday night at Comerica Park, as the Indians used a three-run fourth and a solid pitching outing from Paul Byrd to top the Tigers 4-2 in the first of a four-game set.  Byrd went seven innings, allowing two runs on just four hits.  He didn’t allow a walk and struck out two.  He made two mistakes, allowing two solo homers, but otherwise had maybe his best outing of 2008.

The offense was paced by Casey Blake and Franklin Gutierrez.  Blake hit a key one-out double in the 4th off of losing pitcher Justin Verlander that scored two to give the Tribe a 2-0 lead.  Gutierrez then came up with a single to left that scored David Dellucci to make it 3-0, enough for the Indians and Byrd.  With the team leading 3-2 in the 8th, Ryan Garko hit a big homer to deep left off reliever Denny Bautista to make it 4-2.

Masa Kobayashi came in and pitched the 8th without allowing any damage, and then Joe Borowski pitched the ninth, allowing one hit, but striking out one and earning his 5th save of the season.  Byrd with the win improves to 3-5 on the season, and drops his ERA to 4.46.

The Tribe improves to 28-33 on the season, dropping the Tigers to 24-36, losers of four straight.  Aaron Laffey (3-3, 3.02) goes tomorrow for the Indians at 3:55pm vs Kenny Rogers (4-4, 5.54).

Every once in awhile, the Indians offense teases fans with signs of just how good they could be. Monday night seemed to be one of those nights, as the team hit four homers and scored double digit runs for the first time in over three weeks in a 13-9 win over the Rangers in Arlington, Texas. The big bomber was Casey Blake, who hit two of the four Indians homers and ended the night with seven RBI.

David Dellucci and Ben Francisco also homered, Francisco’s two-run blast snapped an 8-all tie in the 7th and the sailed from there. Blake hit a pair of early two-run homers, and ended the night 3-for-5. The offense, usually known for numbers like one run on four hits, put up 13 runs on 16 hits. If only they could have these types of nights on a consistent basis.

Masa Kobayashi got the win in relief for the Indians, as Aaron Laffey was nowhere near as good as he was in previous starts. Laffey went 5 innings, allowing 8 runs on 11 hits, walking two and striking out two. He let the Rangers back in it with two homers, the big blast a grand slam to Marlon Byrd that tied the game at eight in the 5th. Kobayashi went 1.2 innings, allowing one run on one hit with 3 K’s to improve to 3-2.

The team moves to 26-31, 4.5 back of the White Sox in the Central. Tonight with Jake Westbrook back in Cleveland with a sore elbow, the team has not announced a starter, while the Rangers have A.J. Murray (1-0, 3.38 ERA) starting at 8:05pm.

While the starting pitching was at it again with another strong outing Saturday afternoon in Cincy, the offense was quiet as usual, and new closer (at least as it appears at this point), Masa Kobayashi, got a rude awaking to American baseball in the latest 4-2 loss to the Reds.  Masa, coming on in the 9th with a 2-1 lead, made it simple and sweet for the Reds, giving up a single, double, and then 3-run mammoth homer to Adam Dunn, giving the Indians their second straight loss.

Dunn’s blast was his second in two games vs the Indians, the first a two-run homer last night in the Reds 4-3 win, and today his homer clinched the Reds 20th win of the season against 23 losses.  The loss for the Indians drop them to 22-21.  The Tribe took a 2-1 lead in the 8th when Ben Francisco, who had a good day going 3-for-4, hit a homer to left off of Reds relief pitcher David Weathers to make it 2-1 Indians.  It was Ben’s first homer of the year.

The offense put up 10 hits off of three Reds ptichers, but were only able to put up one run, that came in the second when Ryan Garko doubled to deep left that scored Francisco to make it 1-0.  Cincy got their first run to tie the game in the 6th off of Indians starter Fausto Carmona when former Indian Brandon Phillips singled home Jerry Hairston Jr. to make it 1-1.  Carmona had another good outing, going 7.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits.  His ERA dropped to 2.25.

The loss puts Masa at 2-1 on the season, and it was his first blown save.  The Indians fall to 8-8 on the road.  Sunday in the series finale at the Great American Ballpark, Cliff Lee looks to move to 8-0 as he takes on surprising Reds starter Edinson Volquez, who is 6-1 with an ERA of 1.12 at 1:15pm.

While the Indians shutout streak may have ended today, the winning didn’t, as the team won their 6th home game in 7 tries, topping the A’s 4-2 at Progressive Field. The run for the A’s came about due to an error by pitcher Aaron Laffey in the 2nd that made it 1-1. The young pitcher made a throwing error that saw the ball went to right field that allowed Bobby Crosby to cross the plate. It was the first and only run that the A’s scored in the three-game set. Laffey had another good outing, going 7 innings, allowing the one run on five hits, walking one and striking out six. He lowered his ERA to 1.35.

On the offensive side, Ryan Garko started the scoring in the first inning with a double that scored Jhonny Peralta to make it 1-0 in the first off of A’s pitcher Greg Smith. After the A’s tied the game, the Indians jumped right back on top with two runs in the third inning, as Ben Francisco singled in Grady Sizemore to make it 2-1, and then Travis Hafner, who continues to make strides out of his slump, singled in Peralta to make it 3-1.

The offense has made a few strides all homestand, as they did have nine hits on the afternoon. Peralta wrapped up the scoring with a homer to deep left in the 7th that made it 4-1. It was Peralta’s 7th homer of the season. Rafael Betancourt was brought in to try and get his 5th save of the season, but was unable to get out of the inning and instead loaded the bases, bringing Masa Kobayashi in for the shot at the save. A wild pitch did allow a run to come across to make it 4-2. A pair of strikeouts ended the threat.

Overall the team outscored the A’s 9-2 during the three-game sweep, ending the homestand outscoring the Blue Jays and A’s 31-6. They went 6-1 overall in the seven games to improve to 22-19. The team moves now to Cincy to take on the Reds for the first of three on Friday night. Jeremy Sowers (0-0, 5.06) takes on Johnny Cueto (2-4, 5.91) at 7:05pm.

The Indians starting pitching and staff as a whole continues to be the saviour of the team, as Tuesday night at Progressive Field Paul Byrd came through with 7.1 innings of shutout ball as the team topped the A’s 4-0 to move to 20-19.  Byrd continued a trend as Indians starters continue to dominate.  The starters have now allowed just one run in their last 39 innings.  A staggering stat to say the least.  Byrd moves to 2-3 with the win, allowing five hits, no walks, and striking out seven.

The offense continues to be in a shell, putting up just seven hits, but they did get some runs when they needed them, as Travis Hafner came though with a big two-out single to center to make it 1-0 in the first inning, and then with two outs in the 8th, Ryan Garko hit a three-run homer to add a little breathing room to make it 4-0.  Hafner and Asdrubal Cabrera each had two hits, while Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez and Garko each had one.

The Indians pen also did a nice job to pick up Byrd, as Rafael Perez took over in the 8th and got one out, and Masa Kobayashi pitched an inning to close the door and earn the save.  The team is now 4-1 in this seven-game homestand, and overall have won 7 of their last 10 to start to put pressure on the Twins at the top of the AL Central.

Wednesday C.C. Sabathia (2-5, 6.55) who has struggled vs the A’s this season with two losses, takes on Joe Blanton (2-5, 3.82) at 7:05pm.

You can do a lot passing the time waiting for a rain dealy to pass. While the delay never ended Friday night, I had the pleasure of dining with two of my favorite vets in the Cleveland media - Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer and Greg Brinda, sports talk host of ESPN 850 WKNR. While it was fun to trade some personal stuff with these solid vets, we also talked some Indians. Here is a quick set of highlights of our discussions:

Travis Hafner - We all agreed that the issues that are hindering Hafner are not issues that are going to be solved quickly. Travis’ problems that started last year are far and away a complete mystery as to not only why they started, but what he can do to get it turned back around. Hoynes compared Hafner’s sudden lack of power to fomer Indian Carols Baerga, whose issues off the field and lack of production eventually got him traded to the Mets in 1996.

The Closer Role - We all agree that putting Joe Borowski right back in the closer role is a risky call, but as Paul pointed out - could it get any worse than it is right now? We also all came to the conclusion that one wild card in the closer mix could be Masa Kobayashi, who seems to have adjusted nicely in the Majors. One thing appears for sure - Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez and Borowski don’t appear to be the answer.

Adding a Spark to the Offense - Hoynes thinks that Mark Shapiro is going to have to make a move and add a bat to the lineup, and I don’t disagree with that. Bringing up Ben Francisco and keeping him on the Major League roster is something that should be done soon. As far as some of the players that could be on the bubble of being sent elsewhere or even being shown the door include Jason Michaels (.207), Andy Marte (.077) and maybe reduced playing time for Jhonny Peralta (.229).

The month of April is in the books for the Indians, and while the baseball season is for sure more of a marathon than a sprint, it seems that the Tribe has stumbled out of the gate a bit. Here is the good and the bad for the first month of the season:

Good:

Cliff Lee - In a month where the Indians won 13 games, Lee won five, and looked far and away like the best starter on the roster. He’s re discovered his control with his fastball, and had a 27 inning scoreless streak during the month. And to think he had to win a spot in the rotation during spring training.

Victor Martinez - He put a scare into the team with his injury on opening day, but recovered nicely and now a month into the year is leading the AL with an average of .366 (30-82). He has yet to homer and has just 10 RBI, but those numbers will for sure pick up as the season moves along.

Masa Kobayashi - The Indians import has done well when called upon, going 1-0 in 12 games, throwing 12.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and 13 hits for a 1.46 ERA. They are easing him into pitching more, but if this keeps up, there’s no reason not for him to see more calls from the bullpen.

David Dellucci - After a start that made many wonder why Dellucci deserved any playing time at all, this vet finally got on track and is now playing well. He’s added spark to a dull lineup, hitting .283 with three homers, 9 RBI and four doubles. He’s playing more like the player the team thought they signed before last season.

Bad:

The offense - As a whole, the team is still rather lifeless at the plate, hitting a very average .250. Eric Wedge has started the process of tinkering with the lineup, giving players that are not producing nights off. The starting pitching cannot hold the team in games forever, and the team has to get better in this regard.

Travis Hafner - After another poor game on Tuesday night, Eric Wedge had seen enough, giving Travis a seat on the bench Wednesday night and maybe beyond. In 100 at-bats he has just three homers, 16 RBI, has struck out 27 times and is hitting just .210. The team still feels he’ll come out of this, but the fan base with him is getting restless.

Joe Borowski - Hard to throw Jo-Bo in here hurt, but you just get the feeling after blown saves vs the Angles and Red Sox that him getting back to being the closer is a long shot. Some have said that Borowski has a tired arm, and that last season was his last good year in the Majors.

The Schedule - The team has had a tough start to the year and the schedule hasn’t helped. Three cold games at home, a trip out west, home series vs the Yankees and Red Sox, and a homestand where they went 2-5. The team has 17 home games in May, let’s hope they improve quickly on their 7-9 mark at home.