Indians Confidential

The first half of the 2009 season is officially over.

Thank Heavens.

Justin Verlander has owned the Indians this season, he’s 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA against Cleveland this season.  Sunday it was business as usual, halting what Eric Wedge thinks is a pretty good offense to to no runs on five his with three walks and eight strikeouts over 7 innings.  In the end, Tomo Ohka was no match for Verlander and the Tigers, as Detroit rocked the Indians 10-1.

The first half of hell ends at 35-54, 19 full games under .500.  The team sits 14 games under .500, they are 19-25 at home and 16-29 on the road.  They have used used 26 different pitchers to date, including Tony Sipp, Matt Herges, Mike Gosling, Vinnie Chulk, Luis Vizcaino, Greg Aquino, Rich Rundles, Winston Abreu, Chris Perez and Ohka.  Yes, it’s been a tough season.

“It’s been a disappointment,” Eric Wedge said. “There’s a long way to go, and I still feel good about the lineup we are putting out there every day, but we’ve got to improve the rotation and our bullpen.”

Improve our rotation?  How about give it and that bullpen which is flat out awful and find a way to get some runs across against the AL Central teams that are pounding the Indians night after night.

The team is going nowhere fast, and if the second half is as bad as the first, you can bet there will be plenty of changes this offseason.

The Cleveland Indians today announced RHP WINSTON ABREU has reported to the club and been activated onto the 25-man Major League roster. To allow room for Abreu the Indians designated RHP MATT HERGES for assignment.

Abreu, 32, was acquired on Thursday, July 2 from the Tampa Bay Rays for RHP John Meloan and cash. He spent the majority of the 2009 season at AAA Durham where he went 3-0 with 10 saves and a 1.41 ERA (32.0IP, 14H, 5R/ER, 10BB, 49K) in 23 appearances. He was recalled to Tampa Bay on June 14th and appeared in 2 games (2.45ERA, 3.2IP, 3H, 1R/ER, 2BB, 3K) for the Rays before being designated for assignment on June 27th. This year at Durham he was a perfect 10 of 10 in save opportunities. He limited AAA hitters to a .128 (14-109) average, including a mark of .061 (4-66) against right-handed hitters, while averaging 13.8 strikeouts per 9.0IP. His last appearance w/TB came on June 23 vs. Philadelphia (2.2IP, 1H, 0R).

Herges has been with the Indians since May 6 and was 2-1 w/a 3.55 ERA in 21 appearances out of the ‘pen (25.1IP, 24H, 10ER, 6BB, 18K).

Abreu will be wearing #59.

The Cleveland Indians today announced they have acquired RHP WINSTON ABREU from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league RHP JOHN MELOAN and cash. Abreu will join the Indians 25-man roster in the coming days with a corresponding roster move being announced at that time (wearing #36).

Abreu, 32, who was signed by the Rays to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training on February 4th, has spent the majority of the 2009 season at AAA Durham where he went 3-0 with 10 saves and a 1.41 ERA (32.0IP, 14H, 5R/ER, 10BB, 49K) in 23 appearances. He was recalled to Tampa Bay on June 14th and appeared in 2 games (2.45ERA, 3.2IP, 3H, 1R/ER, 2BB, 3K) for the Rays before being designated for assignment on June 27th. This year at Durham he has struck out 49 and walked just 10 while being a perfect 10 of 10 in save opportunities. Abreu has limited AAA hitters to a .128 (14-109) average including a mark of .061 (4-66) against right-handed hitters while averaging 13.8 strikeouts per 9.0IP.

The 6-2, 170-pound right-hander spent the 2008 season pitching for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League under Manager Bobby Valentine. In 20 appearances with the Marines he was 1-2 with a 3.32 ERA (21.2IP, 23H, 9R/8ER, 8BB, 24K) before having surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow on June 6th. Abreu last appeared in the Majors in 2007 with the Washington Nationals where he was 0-1 with a 5.93 ERA (30.1IP, 37H, 21R/20ER, 9BB, 26K) in 26 appearances out of the bullpen. He owns a career Major League record of 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA (42.0IP, 50H, 32R/30ER, 17BB, 35K) in 35 career games with Baltimore (2006), Washington (2007) and Tampa Bay.

Meloan was 0-0 with a save and a 5.52 ERA (44.0IP, 52H, 27R/ER, 17BB, 37K) in 25 games, including 2 starts at AAA Columbus.