Indians Confidential

This years Indians are so bad, they even allowed a pitcher on Sunday to drive in a run in what became their 25th loss of the season. That pitcher was Andy Sonnanstine, who due to a lineup mixup by manager Joe Maddon was forced to hit in the 9 hole, and of course against new Indians pitcher David Huff he had an RBI double.

It was just one of a couple of crazy things to happen to Huff and the Indians as they fell to the Rays 7-5 on Sunday. It was the third straight loss for the Indians, and after a brief winning streak they now find themselves 11 games under .500 at 14-25, and are 7.5 games back in an AL Central that is quickly slipping away.

Huff, who got the call-up to start on Sunday, wasn’t very good. He allowed 7 runs on 7 hits in 3.2 innings, walking four and striking out two. “He was erratic,” manager Eric Wedge said. “You could tell he was a little nervous early on. I don’t think we saw his ‘A’ game today. I think he was just fighting to control the baseball with most of his pitches. It still stems off the fastball command, and it was tight up there today.”

Wedge tried to shake-up the lineup a bit, sitting struggling Grady Sizemore, and putting hot hitting Asdrubal Cabrera at the leadoff spot. Jamey Carroll hit second and played second, while Cabrera played short and Shin-Soo Choo hit fourth. Ben Francisco did a great job playing in place of Sizemore, hitting two homers and putting up four RBI.

The Tribe did get screwed in the 8th, as a ball hit by Ryan Garko that should have been a double was ruled an out. The fly to left hit the top of the padded portion of the wall and bounced back into Carl Crawford’s, who was playing left, hand. The umpires ruled that the ball hit Crawford’s glove before bouncing into his hand, resulting in an out, but replays showed that it hit the wall.

Just another thing against the Indians in what is quickly is starting to be more and more of a frustrating season. “It’s been frustrating for a while,” Kerry Wood said. “I don’t think it can get a whole lot more frustrating than where we’re at right now. At least I hope not.”

Drop a couple more games in KC this week, and we’ll see how those calls to talk shows asking for Wedge’s head grow louder.

It’s been awhile since Cliff Lee has been able to gain a victory, but it hasn’t been his fault for the most part.  Lee has been having issues with the Indians offense, but Wednesday in the finale of a 6-game homestand, Lee was on like last season, quickly and with great success shutting down the White Sox as the Indians wrapped up the homstand with a 4-0 victory.

Friday Lee got no runs at all, and lost 1-0 to the Tigers.  While he’s just 2-5, he had not won a game since the opener in Yankee Stadium back on April 16th.  It had to be pretty frustrating for him, as he has a 1.70 ERA in his last five starts, but was getting litte run support.  The teams four runs today doubled its output in Lee’s previous four starts combined.

So it was nice to see Victor Martinez hit a solo homer in the first inning off of Mark Buehrle to give Lee a little support.  It was even better when the team got a two-run shot from Ryan Garko to make it 3-0 in the 4th, and then another run crossed to make it 4-0 in the 5th.

Not like beating Buehrle was an easy task.  The Indians were the first team in 2009 to do it, as entering Wednesday he was 5-0.  Matched up against Lee, those four runs were more than enough.  Lee went 7 innings, allowing six hits with 1 walk and 9 strikeouts.

“He’s been about as good as we’ve seen him. He’s been very consistent,” Eric Wedge said. “He’s gone through a stretch here where we haven’t scored any runs for him, but he hasn’t given in to that.”

Maybe the most important numbers were 2-1, which is what the Indians win to loss total the last three days vs Chicago, meaning they have won a series.  It was just their 2nd series win over the season, the first was against KC back April 21st to 23rd at Progressive Field.

It was also the Tribe’s first shutout of 09, last season with at one point Lee and C.C. Sabathia on the roster, the team ended the season with 13 shutouts.  The team now sits at 13-22, and will head out on their longest road trip of the season, starting with a game Thursday night in Tampa Bay.

On a positive note, the Indians at least seem to play well in the finale of series’ where they lose the first two games. Problem is, that’s going to mean they are in for a long season. Ok, let’s keep the positive thoughts up for now. Sunday in another steam bath at Progressive Field, the Tribe got some great starting pitching from Aaron Laffey, and even better relief pitching from Tony Sipp as they beat the Twins 4-2.

For the first time in the three games against the Twins, they were able to get some big hits, the biggest of which was a one-out single by Ryan Garko in the third that gave them a 4-0 lead. With Laffey getting lots of first pitch strikes and ground ball outs, it seemed like it was one of those games where it all came together for the Tribe.

Laffey was in control till the 7th, when he left with the bases loaded and one out. Jensen Lewis allowed a single to make it 4-2, and Eric Wedge turned to Sipp. The youngster, making just his 2nd outing as a member of the big league club, came in and was awesome, striking out Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel to end the inning and get things back to normal for the Indians.

Kerry Wood cleaned it up in the 9th, as he did allow a hit and walk, but got a huge double play and then a strikeout looking to end the game and collect his fourth save of the season in four chances. What was nice is that was a spot where Indians fans were use to seeing Bob Wickman or Jor Borowski allow the tying runs to score over the course of the past few seasons. Not Wood though.

The win puts the team at 7-12, and while they didn’t gain any ground in the division (still 3.5 out), they have to start getting some momentum with the Red Sox coming in for three games to wrap up the homestand. That series starts Monday night at 7:05, as Cliff Lee takes on Tim Wakefield.

It was a wasted day in NYC, as the Indians had all the momentum going their way to walk out of the Big Apple with a 3-1 series win over the Yankees, and also some much needed lift going into a big 9-game homestand starting Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

Welcome to The Bullpen from Hell 2009.

It was that awful pen that allowed New York to push six runs across in the final two at-bats to turn a 3-1 Indians lead into an eventual 7-3 setback. Sure the offense only managed four hits all day, but two big homers (Choo and Garko) had the team winning entering the bottom of the 7th.

That’s when Eric Wedge gave the ball to Rafael Perez, who really should get a tune-up in the minors at this point. He gave up two hits and a run, then Jensen Lewis allowed a two-run homer to Jorge Posada to give New York the lead for good. Rafael Betancourt made sure the Indians had no chance of a comeback, as he gave up three runs in 1.1 innings to make it the final of 7-3.

Let’s see the ERA’s of our wonderful pen – Perez: 16.17. Lewis: 8.10. Betancourt: 6.14. Need I say more?

This team is never going to challenge anyone unless they get some help from their bullpen, and Eric Wedge and Mark Shapiro have to know that. Perez really needs to get his head checked at this point, as he can’t get anyone out, and Lewis has already allowed four homers in 7.2 innings pitched. Ouch.

Props to Carl Pavano, who did a nice job getting the Indians to the 3-1 lead in the 7th. He allowed just one run on four hits in 6 full innings. He walked one and struck out four, and has made some impressive strides since that first bombing he took in Texas the third game of the season.

So now the team will come home, unpack their bags for the first time in two and a half months, and settle in for a long homestand. Let’s be optomistic that the club can go 7-2 in the 9 games vs the Royals, Twins and Red Sox, and if that comes about, they will be 11-12 after 23 games. A bad homestand, and the club won’t even be the front page of the area sports papers.

Sometimes the difference between good and bad teams comes down simply to clutch hitting and defense.  That was evident at Progressive Field on Saturday afternoon, as the Los Angeles Angels took advantage of four Indians errors and the fact the Indians couldn’t get a big hit when they needed it in their 4-3 win.

With the game tied at one in the third, the Indians put on one of the more uglier defensive displays you’ll ever see.  From Ben Francisco throwing a ball 15 feet short to the cut-off at third that allowed a run to score, to an Andy Marte short hop throw to first, to a wild pitch that allowed Vlad Guerrero to go from second to home, the Indians looked more like the Bad News Bears than a team trying to stay competitive.

Fausto Carmona threw that wild pitch, it was one of two for him on the day, but overall can’t be blamed for this setback.  He lasted seven innings, allowing two earned runs, four overall, on six hits.  He walked three and didn’t record a strikeout while falling to 5-5 on the season.  He was able to limit any damage the Angels did throughout, and deserved a better fate.

As for the offense, they were led by the long ball, as David Dellucci hit a solo homer in the first to tie the game at one, and then Ryan Garko hit a two-run shot in the fourth to make it 4-3.  It was the last run of the game.  The Tribe loaded the bases in the 7th off relief pitcher Darren Oliver, but a strikeout, a senstional play by short stop Erick Aybar, and then a ground out ended the frame.  Aybar was running at the popout in short left and made a diving play on a ball by Garko to save one or possibly two runs.

Francisco Rodriguez allowed a single to Jhonny Peralta (2-for-4) to start the ninth, but then the team was unable to get that clutch hit and it ended with the team dropping another one-run game.  The loss drops them to 55-67 on the season, the Angels improve to 76-45.

The series wraps up on Sunday with Jeremy Sowers (1-6, 5.70) vs Joe Saunders (14-5, 3.07) at 1:05pm.

In a season that has seen the Indians win just 55 games, the one shining light continues to come out every five days, and his name is Cliff Lee.  Friday night vs the best team in baseball record wise, Lee was on his game, again, going the distance as the Indians topped the Angels 3-2 at Progressive Field.  The numbers on the now 17-2 Lee are amazing.  His 17 wins leads the American League, and ties him with Brandon Webb of the D’Backs for most wins in the Majors.  It also was his third complete game of the season.  He allowed two earned runs on 8 hits, walking two and striking out eight.  He also got the help of the defense behind him, as there were four double plays, and an amazing play by Asdrubal Cabrera to save a hit.

Lee was good enough, and while the offense scrapped for a couple of innings, they finally got to Angels starter Jeff Weaver in the sixth, enough for manager Mike Scioscia to pull him and put in Jose Arredondo, who allowed a hit and three walks, one of which was Cabrera’s with the bases loaded that gave the Indians the lead for good.  On the night the Indians only managed eight hits themselves, but walked five times and showed patience at the plate to allow the Angels pitchers, who are usually dead on, to hang themselves.

Jhonny Peralta smacked a double in the 4th off of Weaver that tied the game at one.  Peralta was thrown out at second on the play, but nevertheless got the RBI and was 2-for-4 on the night and is now hitting .278 on the season.  Juan Rivera hit a solo homer off of Lee in the 5th to give the Angels a 2-1 lead.  It was the last mistake that Lee would make on the night, and the defense and offense backed him up and got the run back with another in the 6th to win the game.

Ryan Garko singled home the tying run off of Arredondo to make it 2-2 in the 6th.  With the bases loaded, Cabrera watched as Arredondo threw four balls that allowed the game winning run to score.  The Indians improve to 55-66 on the year, and have won 7 of their last 10.  The Angels drop to 75-45.  Tomorrow at 3:55pm it’s Fausto Carmona (5-4, 4.91) for the Indians vs John Lackey (9-2, 3.15) with the game nationally televised on FOX.

It’s been over 400 days that the Indians had tangled with the Baltimore Orioles, but for the Tribe, the hot streak continues no matter who they play.  Monday night on a beautiful night for baseball at Progressive Field, the Indians offense jumped on O’s starter Dennis Sarfate for four runs in the first, and in the end held on for an 11-8 win to push their winning streak to four straight.

The game was not as easy as it looked, as the team went up 5-0 after two, but then had to rally after they found themselves down 8-7 heading into the bottom of the 7th.  From there, the offense that had so many issues in the beginning of the year, rallied for one of the few times this season.  They put up a three-spot in the bottom of the 7th with some heads up baserunning, then added another three runs in the 8th on a pair of homers, one from Ben Francisco and another from Andy Gonzalez to secure the win.

Fausto Carmona did his best to try and hold the lead, but just couldn’t do it.  He lasted 6.1 innings, allowing 7 runs on six hits.  He walked four, struck out four, and gave up a homer.  Edward Mujica, who I wish they would finally give up on, pitched 0.2, and allowed the run that put the O’s up for a bit to make it 8-7.  Brendan Donnelly did a nice job in the 8th not allowing a run while walking one and K’ing one.  In the 9th it was Jensen Lewis closing the door.

Four players in the lineup had two hits, Francisco, Johnny Peralta, Asdrubal Cabrera and Ryan Garko paced the offense that pounded out 13 hits and 13 runs.  Four Orioles pitchers were no match for a hot Indians offense that has scored 33 runs in their last five games.  Cabrera also added a homer for the Indians.  The Indians improve to 53-64 on the season, dropping the O’s to 56-61.

The two teams will play game two of the four game set on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.  Jeremy Sowers (1-6, 5.70) will go for the Indians vs Garrett Olson (8-6, 6.06) at 7:05 p.m.

Paul Byrd continues to be a bright spot in a season gone wrong for the Indians, as Saturday he threw a six-hitter vs the Blue Jays in the Indians 4-2 win at the Rogers Centre.  “I had a really good curveball today,” Byrd said. “I used it to left-handers a lot. I got a strikeout on it, a number of outs on it. I got some first-pitch strikes on my curveball, I thought that was key. It’s probably not in the scouting report for them over there.”  It was the 4th straight win for Byrd, who had at one point lost five straight from June 11th to July 4th.

He moves to 7-10 on the season, it was his first complete game since a 7-0 win last season vs the White Sox on September 1st.  He allowed two runs and six hits, walked none and struck out two. He threw 93 pitches, 67 for strikes.  He set down 12 straight batters and 21 of 22 overall when Lyle Overbay hit a two-out single in the ninth. Overbay was thrown out by left-fielder Ben Francisco to end the game as he tried to stretch the hit into a double.

The Indians offense did a nice job getting Byrd the win, as they scored three runs in the 6th inning to turn a 2-1 deficit to a 4-2 lead.  Jhonny Peralta led off with a single and Choo followed with a grounder to short that left runners at first and second after John McDonald threw high to Inglett as he tried for the force. Francisco bunted to advance the runners before Garko and Andy Marte hit run-scoring singles.  Asdrubal Cabrera walked and Garko was forced out at the plate on Grady Sizemore’s fielder’s choice before David Delluci drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.

The Tribe has owned the Jays this year, as they are 5-1 against them, and have outscored them 30-8 in the six games.  Sunday they look for the sweep as 15-2 Cliff Lee goes for the Indians vs Scott Richmond (0-1, 4.91) for the Jays, making his 3rd career start.