Tribe Insider

Indians Can Not Back Up Sabathia

2008-05-20T23:16:00.001-04:00

Score: White Sox 4 Indians 1

Turning Point: Losing 2-1 going into the bottom of the eighth, the Indians brought in Jensen Lewis to replace C.C. Sabathia. The young right hander promptly loaded the bases and let the game open up on him.

Analysis: The Indians offense only managed four hits. But the issue is quality at bats. They were few and far between. There were several at bats where Cleveland hitters helped the opposing pitcher by swinging at stuff out of the strike zone. The Indians just look lost at the plate, and it isn’t just certain hitters. It is from top to bottom. The only extra base hit was from David Dellucci. On the mound, Sabathia had a bit of trouble in the first and second innings giving up two solo home runs. But after he settled down, C.C. was electric, but took the loss. What a horrible feeling that must be? Jensen Lewis had his second poor outing in a row in as many appearances.

MVP:C.C. Sabathia
C.C. took another tough luck loss tonight, but he had another solid outing. Sabathia pitched seven innings, giving up the two runs, and he struck out eight batters.

Extras:

- The Indians hitters were 4-30 at the plate. For all the math majors out there that is a .133 clip for the game.

- Jim Thome, who was hitless off of C.C. Sabathia prior to this season, now has three home runs this season, when facing Sabathia.

- The Indians tied their longest losing streak on the season at four games.

Next Up: Game Two of this series is tomorrow night from U.S. Cellular Field. The Indians will pitch Paul Byrd. Byrd, who didn’t allow a run in his last start, is 2-3 with a 3.61 ERA. The White Sox will hand the ball to Javier Vazquez. Vazquez is 4-3 with a 3.53 ERA. This game is scheduled to get under way at 8:11 PM.

Lee Handed First Loss, As Reds Sweep Tribe

2008-05-18T16:51:00.002-04:00

Score: Reds 6 Indians 4

Turning Point: With one man on and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Joey Votto hit a pinch hit home run that drove in two, and gave the Reds the six runs they would need for the victory.

Analysis: It was bound to happen. Cliff Lee pitched alright but he had trouble finishing an inning. He gave up six runs, five of which were earned, on ten hits, and he struck out only two batters. The Indians did what they could against Edinson Volquez, getting two runs. They rallied in the seventh to score two runs, but the Reds bullpen has been great this series. In what was a piece meal lineup, the offense wasn’t stellar though. In what seems to be the theme on the season, the Indians squandered early opportunities that may have gotten them rolling and chased Volquez from the game. But as this run drought continues, the big hit continues to elude the Indians. The Reds pitching staff fanned eight Tribe batters this afternoon.

MVP: Michael Aubrey
It was slim pickings for MVP today, but it will go to the newest call up for the Indians. Michael Aubrey got his first MLB hit and it came in the form of the home run. Aubrey was 1-4 today with that solo shot.

Extras:

- Asdrubal Cabrera’s stolen base in the top of the fourth this afternoon was the first of his major league career.

- April may have been kind to David Dellucci at the plate. But May is a different story. In the month of May, Dellucci is 7-47 and only five RBIs. If you are keeping track that is a .148 average and a RBI every 9.4 at bats.

- The Indians hitters struck out a combined twenty seven times of the three game series by the Reds.

Next Up: After an off day tomorrow, the Indians travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago White Sox. This is the first time these teams have met since the opening series of this season. The Indians will send the big man, C.C. Sabathia, to the mound. Sabathia made his contribution to the string of shutout innings last week, when he pitched a complete game shutout against Toronto. C.C. gave up only five hits and struck out eleven batters. Sabathia is 3-5 with a 5.47 ERA. The White Sox will pitch Jose Contreras. Contreras has had two lights out performances in his last two starts. Contreras went seven innings in both game, and he only gave up a run in both. He is 4-3 with a 3.35 ERA. First pitch will be at 8:11 PM from U.S. Cellular Field.

Dunn's Walk Off Crushes Tribe

2008-05-17T19:24:00.001-04:00

Score: Reds 4 Indians 2

Turning Point: Masa Kobayashi experienced his first blown save in dramatic fashion. The Japanese reliever let the first two Reds on the base paths in the ninth with no outs. Then Adam Dunn launched a 2-1 offering into orbit to beat the Indians with a three run homer.

Analysis: What a pathetic showing at the plate this afternoon? The Indians had ten hits and managed to score a measly two runs against Cincinnati. The Indians had scoring opportunities all afternoon, and again this offense remains stagnant with runners in scoring position. The Tribe left six men in scoring position and a total of nine men on base. Another fantastic outing by Fausto Carmona was wasted. Carmona was spectacular all afternoon. He went 7 and 1/3 innings, gave up one earned run on four hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.

MVP: Ben Francisco
The Ben Francisco treat has been on fire the past few games. Today he generated the only runs the Indians could muster. He was 3-4 with a home run, and he scored the only runs the Indians scored today.

Extras:

- Michael Aubrey, who was called up after Jeremy Sowers was sent back down to Buffalo, made his major league debut today. He had one plate appearance in which he was 0-1.

Next Up: The Indians will try and avoid the sweep at the hands of the Reds tomorrow afternoon. It will be quite a pitching match up as well. Cliff Lee will get the ball for the Indians. Lee is looking for his seventh win of the season. In his last start, Cliff pitched nine shutout innings, giving up seven hits, and struck out five. Lee is 6-0 on the season with a 0.67 ERA. The Reds will send their hottest pitcher of the season. Edinson Volquez has been awesome, since he was acquired from the Texas Rangers. Volquez is 6-1 with a 1.12 ERA. He is the National League leader in ERA. First pitch is at 1:15 PM tomorrow afternoon from Great American Ball Park.

Indians Can't Muster Much Offense

2008-05-16T22:34:00.003-04:00

Score: Reds 4 Indians 3

Turning Point: Jensen Lewis came on to pitch the eighth inning, and loaded the bases with only one out. He, then, walked Adam Dunn to drive in the go ahead run to give Cincinnati the 4-3 lead.

Analysis: The starting pitching was not as sharp tonight for Cleveland, and the struggling offense couldn’t produce anything outside of the sixth inning, when the Indians hit three solo home runs. The very next inning,they had a runner on second with one out and the bases loaded with two outs. Yet the Tribe couldn’t get the big hit to take the lead. The rest of the evening the Indians looked like little leaguers at the plate, swinging at bad pitches and taking good pitches. Jeremy Sowers had another average outing. He struggled early giving up a two run homer and a solo home run in the first and second innings. He would rebound, but Sowers was in trouble most of the night. His only 1-2-3 inning was the fourth. You can’t blame Lewis either. He did walk three batters, but the key hit was a bloop double by Joey Votto. Jorge Julio and Rafael Perez each had worked, and neither gave up a run.

MVP: Casey Blake
Blake was the only Indians to have more than one hit tonight. Blake got the offense rolling in the sixth with his solo shot. Then he had the double in the seventh. Blake was 2-4 with the home run and double. He continues to hit well away from Progressive Field.

Extras:

- The Cincinnati Reds pitching staff struck out a combined twelve batters on the night. Every starter, outside of David Dellucci, struck out at least once.

- Tonight was Travis Hafner’s second career pinch hit home run. The other pinch hit home run also came at Great American Ball Park on July 1, 2006.

- The Indians left four runners in scoring position and had a total of seven men left on base.

Next Up: Game Two of the Battle of Ohio is tomorrow afternoon. The Indians will start Fausto Carmona. Carmona had a tremendous outing in his last start against Toronto. Carmona pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only five hits and striking out three. Carmona has a 4-1 record with a 2.40 ERA. The Reds will counter with their number one starter, Aaron Harang. Harang has not got much run support when on the mound. He is 2-5 with a 3.32 ERA. The matinee will start at 3:55 PM from Great American Ball Park, on the banks of the Ohio River.

Laffey Leads Indians To Sweep Over Athletics

2008-05-15T17:31:00.003-04:00

Score: Indians 4 Athletics 2

Turning Point: With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and one out, Masa Kobayashi came into relieve Rafael Betancourt. After a run scoring wild pitch, Kobayashi got Mike Sweeney and Ryan Sweeney to strike out for his second save.

Analysis: Well the sweep is official. The tormented have become the tormentors. The Indians struggled early in the season against Oakland, but they were finally able to get the monkey off their collective backs. Aaron Laffey was lights out again with another stellar outing. The scoreless inning streak is over, but it was his only hiccup all game. The offense was alright again. They scored just enough to win, and that’s about all you can ask for against the AL’s leading pitching staff. The team had eleven strike outs today and eight men left on base.

MVP: Jhonny Peralta
Peralta was a key bat in the line up today. Peralta was 2-3 with a home run and scored three of the Indians four runs. He also had a stolen base.

Extras:

- Ben Francisco had a great day at the plate. He was 3-4 at the dish and he drove in a run in the second inning. His average jumped from .286 to .344 which is a fifty eight point jump.

- Travis Hafner had another productive day at the plate. Hafner was 1-2 with an RBI single in the third, two walks, and a rare stolen base. It looks like he might be emerging from his slump.

- The Indians finished off their home stand at 6-1. The Indians starting pitchers had a 6-0 record over the past two series. The rotations stats are 55 and 1/3 innings pitched, with a 0.16 ERA. The starters struck out forty three batters and only walked eleven.

Next Up: The Indians hit the road to start a three game set in the Queen City. The Indians will send lefty, Jeremy Sowers, out to the hill. This is Sowers second spot start of the season. He last pitched on April 26th against the Yankees. He went 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and striking out three. Sowers is 0-0 with a 5.06 ERA. The Cincinnati Reds scheduled starter is fire baller, Johnny Cueto. Cueto had a tremendous debut but has struggled since then. Cueto is 2-4 with a 5.91 ERA. The Battle of Ohio kicks off at 7:10 PM from Great American Ball Park.

C.C. K's His Way To Shut Out

2008-05-14T21:17:00.004-04:00

Score: Indians 2 Athletics 0

Turning Point: This game was over after Grady Sizemore led off the game with a home run. The way C.C. Sabathia pitched tonight, the Indians only needed one run even though they got two.

Analysis: Sabathia kept the string of outstanding starts going with his first complete game shut out of the 2008 season. He was never really in trouble all night, and only once did Oakland have two men on base at one time. Grady Sizemore led off tonight’s game with a home run. Ryan Garko hit a home run for the second consecutive night, to give the Indians a 2-0 lead. But the story was C.C. tonight. He kept the A’s hitters guessing, by mixing his fastball and change up regularly.

MVP: C.C. Sabathia
Continuing his return to form since a rocky start, Sabathia’s stuff was electric. C.C. went nine shut out innings, giving up only five hits, and striking out eleven batters. He has a 1.49 ERA over his last five starts.

Extras:

- The Indians offense has been saved by its great starting pitching. Grant it, Oakland is leading the league in pitching. But the Indians squandered a bases loaded opportunity in the fifth and left four runners in scoring position tonight.

- Grady Sizemore’s lead off home run is his third of the season and fourteenth of his career. He trails Kenny Lofton, who had eighteen lead off homers during his Indians career, for the most in franchise history.

- Indians starters now have now pitched 43 and 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. The last run a starter gave up was last Friday against Toronto.

- Jhonny Peralta broke out of a 0-15 slump tonight, going 2-4 with two doubles.

Next Up: The Indians look for a sweep tomorrow afternoon, when they take on Oakland again for their final meeting of the 2008 season. South-paw, Aaron Laffey, will take the hill for the Tribe. Laffey will be making his fourth start since being called up from Buffalo. Laffey got his first win of the season last time he pitched. Laffey is 1-2 with a 1.83 ERA. The Athletics will send Greg Smith out to face Cleveland. Smith has not faced Cleveland yet, but he has been a solid starter since he was called up April 10th from Sacramento. Smith is 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA. Tomorrow’s matinee kicks off at 12:05 PM from Progressive Field.

Tribe Defense Backs Up Byrd's Beauty

2008-05-13T22:13:00.003-04:00

Score: Indians 4 Athletics 0

Turning Point: In the Oakland half of the fifth, Paul Byrd was in a little bit of a jam with runners on first and second and only one out. Byrd was able to get strike out Donnie Murphy, and Victor Martinez threw out Bobby Crosby, who was attempting to steal third base to end the inning.

Analysis: Byrd kept the scoreless inning streak in tact. But he got plenty of help from his friends. The Indians were nursing a 1-0 lead through out most of this game. Grady Sizemore threw out Frank Thomas at home plate in the second inning and had a diving grab in center field later in the game. Asdrubal Cabrera made a diving catch over his shoulder in the eighth. David Dellucci made a leaping grab up against the wall in left field in the third inning. The defense answered the call all night. But that’s not to take anything away from Paul Byrd. Byrd had his best start of the season. At the plate, the offense sputtered most of the evening. After a Travis Hafner RBI single in the first, the Indians only had four more men reach base against Oakland starter, Justin Duchscherer. Ryan Garko finally got to the A’s bullpen, with a three run homer to straight away center field in the eighth.

MVP: Paul Byrd
As stated before on this blog, if the opponent can’t score, they can’t win. Byrd held Oakland in check on giving up five hits, and struck out a season high seven batters in 7 and 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.

Extras:

- Travis Hafner continues to make strides towards regaining his batting form. He is six for fifteen at the plate during home stand, which is a .400 average. He is also having better at bats. Travis battled out of a 0-2 hole at the plate twice this evening for hits.

- Masa Kobayashi got his first major league save tonight, after pitching 1 and 1/3 innings of shutout ball. He gave up a hit and had a strikeout.

- All of the Indians runs were scored with two outs tonight.

Next Up: Game two of the three game set is tomorrow evening at 7:05 PM from Progressive Field. C.C. Sabathia, who out dueled Toronto ace, Roy Halladay, last start, will get the ball for Cleveland. He has not fared well against Oakland in his career, and looks to change things tomorrow night. Sabathia is 2-5 with a 6.55 ERA. Oakland will start the right handed, Joe Blanton. Blanton has put together three fantastic starts in a row, giving up only six earned runs in 19 and 2/3 innings of work over those starts. Blanton, too, is 2-5 with a 3.82 ERA.

Indians Can't Avoid Split of Twin Bill

2008-05-12T22:28:00.005-04:00

Score: Toronto 3 Indians 0

Turning Point: Rafael Betancourt could not hold a scoreless tie in check. After loading the bases with one out, Betancourt gave up a sacrifice fly that made it a 1-0 Blue Jays lead. Next a single from Aaron Hill drove in two more runs to make it 3-0.

Analysis: Cleveland got its own terrific start from Cliff Lee. Lee scattered hits all night, and he had some fantastic defense behind him. In the fifth, Asdrubal Cabrera turned an unassisted triple play to end the inning. Franklin Gutierrez made a gorgeous catch in right field in the ninth with two runners on to preserve the shut out. But the offense never could get it going, only scratching out three hits. Justin Marcum fooled the Indians hitters all night.

MVP: Cliff Lee
Lee now has a new scoreless inning streak at sixteen. He went nine shutout innings tonight, giving up seven hits, and striking out five. Combined with last week’s start against New York, Lee has not given up a run in his past two outings. Lee has only given up four runs in 62 and 2/3 innings this season.

Extras:

- Cabrera’s triple play is the second triple play in less than a year for Cleveland. It was only the fourteenth unassisted triple play turned in Major League Baseball history. It also was the third triple play turned in the history of Cleveland Indians baseball.

- All three of the Indians hits were doubles. Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, and Franklin Gutierrez all had two baggers for Cleveland.

- Both starters combined to pitch eighteen shut out innings of baseball for the Indians. Fausto Carmona pitched a complete game shutout in game one of the doubleheader.

Next Up: The Indians welcome the Oakland Athletics into town, who are tied for the best record in the American League with Boston. Oakland is 4-2 against Cleveland so far this season. The Indians will look to Paul Byrd. Byrd struggled to keep the ball in the park during his last start against the Yankees. Byrd is 1-3 with a 4.28 ERA. The A’s will send Justin Duchscherer to the mound. Duchscherer is 1-0 against the Tribe with a 1.80 ERA this year. He has only allowed three earned runs in his last two starts, since returning from the disabled list. Duchscherer is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA. First pitch is 7:05 PM from Progressive Field.

Cabrera's Homer Backs Up Carmona's Shutout

2008-05-12T18:38:00.002-04:00

Score: Indians 3 Blue Jays 0

Turning Point: Carmona was in a little bit of trouble in the third inning with men on first and third base with two outs. But Fausto was able to strike out Aaron Hill to end the inning.

Analysis: Carmona showed everyone how dangerous he can be this afternoon. Couple that with some runs, and he will be unbeatable. David Dellucci got the Tribe on the scoreboard with a run scoring single to take the 1-0 lead. Then, Asdrubal Cabrera put the game out of reach with a two run homer in the Indians half of the seventh inning. It was Cabrera’s first home run of the season. But when your starter doesn’t give up any runs, you don’t have to score a ton of runs to get the victory.

MVP: Fausto Carmona
Carmona was good today. He didn’t strike out a ton of hitters, but he kept the Blue Jays bats off balance all day. He went the full nine innings, gave up five hits, and struck out three. It only took 108 pitches to pitch the complete game.

Extras:

- Each team only had five hits in this game.

- This was Carmona’s third complete game of his career. It was also the second complete game shut out of his career.

- Cabrera’s home run was his first since September 17th of last season.

- Today’s traditional double header is the first at Jacobs Field/Progressive Field since August 13, 1997.

Next Up: Game Two of this double header starts at 7:05. Cliff Lee looks to go 7-0 against Toronto’s Shaun Marcum.

Sizemore, Indians Drill Blue Jays

2008-05-10T23:20:00.002-04:00

Score: Indians 12 Blue Jays 0

Turning Point: With a 3-2 count, Grady Sizemore led off the game with a home run to right center. That made the score 1-0 and the rout was on.

Analysis: The Tribe bats broke out of their slump in a big way, even if just for the evening. Sizemore’s lead off home run set the tone for the evening, and when the dust settled, the Indians had scored twelve times on twelve hits. But the domination didn’t stop there. Aaron Laffey had another tremendous outing. He pitched seven shutout innings giving up six hits and striking out a pair of Jays. He finally got his first victory of the season after the Indians offense backed up his pitching performance.

MVP: Grady Sizemore
Hopefully this is a sign that Grady has broken out of his mini-slump. Sizemore was 3-5 with two home runs, a double, and five runs driven in. He raised his batting average eighteen points at the plate tonight from .264 to .282.

Extras:

- Sizemore wasn’t the only Indian producing runs either. Both Asdrubal Cabrera and Victor Martinez had multi-hit and multi-RBI games. Cabrera, who has been stagnant at the plate recently, went 2-4 with two RBIs. Victor was also 2-4, and he drove in three Indians.

- Cleveland only left four men on base in this game.

- Tonight was the second night in a row where the Indians had a six run inning. Last night they scored six in the seventh, and tonight tagged Dustin McGowan for six in the first inning.

- Eight of the twelve runs scored by the Tribe came with two outs.

Next Up: The Indians will go for the series win tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 PM from Progressive Field. Although tonight’s pitching match up fizzled, tomorrow afternoon could be another good one. Fausto Carmona will take the mound for Cleveland. He had a short outing last time out in New York. He only went five innings, giving up three runs on six hits, and two strikeouts. Again walks haunted Carmona. Carmona is 3-1 with a 2.95 ERA. Former Florida Marlin, A.J. Burnett, will give it a go for Toronto. Burnett struggled out of the gate this season, but he has really had pretty solid starts since mid-April. Burnett is 3-3 with a 5.19 ERA.

Sabathia Tames Toronto

2008-05-09T22:56:00.003-04:00

Score: Indians 6 Blue Jays 1

Turning Point: With the bases loaded in the Tribe half of the seventh, Casey Blake came to the plate. Casey drove a ball that hit off the top of the left field wall for a two run double. That would start a barrage of scoring, and send Cleveland on the way to a win.

Analysis: C.C. pitched another gem tonight. He was finally able to get the run support he needed to out duel an opposing ace. As mentioned above, the Indians were finally able to get the Roy Halladay in the seventh inning. Blake started the rally and at the end of the inning it was 6-1 in favor of the Tribe. The offensive output seems to be taking baby steps in the right direction. The team had nine hits and they scored six runs. They still left eight men on base, but at least men are getting on again, which wasn’t happening a week ago.

MVP: C.C. Sabathia
Tip your cap to the reigning Cy Young winner. He was lights out for seven innings. His pitching line was seven innings of work, six hits, one run allowed, and nine strikeouts. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Extras:

- Ben Francisco might be the hottest hitting Indian right now. His two run pinch hit double in the seventh put this game out of reach. He is now 5-12 since being called up with two doubles and two RBIs.

- Travis Hafner had a good night at the plate, which is good news for the struggling lineup. But the better sign was Hafner’s hits were to the opposite field. His single in the seventh started the rally for the Indians, and his double down the left field line in the bottom of the fifth was smoked. He was 2-3 with a double and a run scored.

- The win over Halladay is the first time the Indians have beaten the Blue Jay ace. Cleveland had never beaten him until this evening.

- Casey Blake continues to be the clutch hitter for Cleveland. Blake is hitting a whopping .424 with runners in scoring position.

Next Up: Game two of this series is tomorrow night. Another great pitching match up is on tap. Aaron Laffey, who has been great in his first two starts, will take the hill for Cleveland. Laffey took a tough loss after giving up an unearned run to Kansas City. He went seven innings, gave up only four hits, and struck out five. He is 0-2 with a 2.84 ERA. The task doesn’t get any easier tomorrow night for the Indians offense. Right hander, Dustin McGowan, will start for Toronto. McGowan’s last start was phenomenal. He didn’t allow a run to the White Sox in 7 and 1/3 innings. He struck out six and only allowed four hits. McGowan is 2-2 with a 2.95 ERA. The first toss of the evening is at 7:05 PM from the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Long Ball Beats Byrd, Tribe

2008-05-08T16:06:00.002-04:00

Score: Yankee 6 Indians 3

Turning Point: With two outs and Robinson Cano on third, Johnny Damon doubled to left field to score the go ahead run, and that put the Yankees on their way to victory.

Analysis: Left handed hitters killed Paul Byrd today. All five runs Byrd gave up were driven in by left handed hitters. Also the three home runs given up by Byrd were to left handed hitters. When he got into jams, the left handed bats made Paul Byrd pay. Offensively the Indians had a piece meal lineup that faced Mike Mussina today. After stalling though out the first four innings, the Tribe bats finally got it going against Mussina in the fifth, tagging him for three runs and tying the game. But Byrd couldn’t hold the lead, and the Yankees were able to tag him for two more runs. Masa Kobayashi gave up a solo shot to Wilson Betemit for the sixth Yankee run. Jorge Julio pitched a scoreless inning in the eighth.

MVP: Casey Blake
Had it not been for Casey, the Indians would probably have been shut out in this game. Blake doubled off the right field wall to score the first two runs of the game for Cleveland. Blake, who is struggling to hit at home, continued his good road hitting and hitting with runners in scoring position. Overall, Blake was 1-3 with the two RBIs.

Extras:

- Eric Wedge elected to sit both Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner today. Martinez is still ailing from a sore neck. With poor numbers historically against Mussina, Wedge gave Victor an extra day to rest the ailing neck. Hafner was given what Wedge likes to call a “mental health” day. Hafner continues to remain ice cold at the plate. Travis has sat out the last three out of seven games.

- Ben Francisco has now hit in every game since his call up on Tuesday. Francisco finished the Yankee series 4-11 with a double.

- The Indians, who were 0-6 against New York last season, finish their season series with a record of 4-3. This was only the Indians fourth series victory out of twelve series played on the season. It was also the Indians last game in the current version of Yankee Stadium.

- Jason Giambi now has six home runs on the season. Three of those home runs have now come off of Paul Byrd.

Next Up: The Tribe returns home tomorrow night to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Another pitcher’s duel could be in store tomorrow night when these two teams meet for a four game series. The Indians hand the ball to the resurgent, C.C. Sabathia. C.C. had a mediocre outing against Kansas City last time out. Sabathia is 1-5 with a 7.51 ERA. Toronto will start their ace, Roy Halladay. Halladay has been victim a slumping offense in his starts, much like Sabathia. He is 3-4 with a 3.00 ERA. The game’s first toss will be at 7:05 PM tomorrow evening from beautiful Progressive Field.

Lee's Dominance, Timely Hitting Tops Yankees

2008-05-07T23:42:00.002-04:00

Score: Indians 3 Yankees 0

Turning Point: With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Cliff Lee allowed an infield single and then a double to put runners on second and third with two outs. Hideki Matsui, who is in the midst of a fifteen game hitting streak, came to the plate. Lee was able to get Matsui in a 1-2 count, and then struck out the player known as “Godzilla”, on a great curve ball. That kept the Yankees scoreless.

Analysis: It doesn’t matter how bad your offense is if your starter doesn’t give up any runs. What more can you say about Cliff Lee that hasn’t been said? This was quite possibly Cliff’s best start all season long. This was the best lineup he has faced so far, and he managed to out duel Chien-Ming Wang, who many consider the other hottest pitcher in baseball next to Lee. The Indians offense had another good night. They got some production from Casey Blake, Jhonny Peralta, and Andy Marte. They had runners on base all night against Wang. Grant it they only managed three runs, but considering the last time this team faced Wang, he threw a four hit shut out against them, the Tribe will take it. Cliff Lee gave up six hits, no runs, and struck out seven in seven innings of work. Rafael Perez was stellar pitching a scoreless eighth. Betancourt pitched his second consecutive 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save.

MVP: Cliff Lee
As mentioned above, Lee continued his hot start with another shutout performance. Keep this in mind, Lee has only given up four runs in his six starts, and he has struck out thirty nine in those six starts. His ERA dropped from 0.96 to 0.81 tonight.

Extras:

- The only bad news was Victor Martinez’s hitting streak ended this evening. He had hit in fifteen straight games. Martinez also got the start at DH. His stiff neck did not allow him to catch for the second consecutive game. However he did have an RBI in the first inning on a sacrifice fly.

- Casey Blake kept up his hot hitting on the road. Yes you read that right. Blake came into tonight’s game hitting .343 on the road. Blake is hitting a minuscule .119 at Progressive Field. Blake was 1-3 with a big two out RBI in the fourth inning.

- Ben Francisco had another productive night. This time he started in right field. Ben was 2-4 to raise his average to .357.

- It would be wise that the Indians don’t try to steal a base on Yankees catcher, Jose Molina anymore. Molina has thrown out the runner on every steal attempt in the first two games of the series. Ben Francisco was thrown out last night and tonight attempting to steal. Grady Sizemore was gunned down by Molina trying to steal third. Molina has thrown out a staggering thirty one percent of base stealers.

Next Up: Get out the brooms Tribe fans. The Indians go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon, as Cleveland finishes their short road trip against the Yankees. The Tribe starts veteran hurler, Paul Byrd. After giving up nine runs in his first two starts, Byrd has only given up five in his past four starts. Byrd did work 5 and 2/3 innings against New York on 4/25. He gave up four runs on six hits, but did get the win. He is 1-2 with a 3.74 ERA. Mike Mussina will take the mound for the Yanks. The “Moose” is on a three game winning streak, and one of those wins came against Cleveland. Mussina is 4-3 with a 4.23 ERA. First pitch is at 1:05 PM in what will be the Indians final game in historic Yankee Stadium.

Dellucci's Homer Dooms Yanks

2008-05-06T22:30:00.004-04:00

Score: Indians 5 Yankees 3

Turning Point: After walking Grady Sizemore and Jhonny Peralta, the Indians elected to pinch hit for Franklin Gutierrez with David Dellucci with two outs in the eighth inning. Dellucci responded by taking a Joba Chamberlain fastball to the short porch in left field. That would give the Indians the lead, and send them on the way to a win.

Analysis: The lineup isn’t cured, but the team to a big step in the right direction tonight. The key is to stay on this path. The Tribe bats finally got key hits with runners on. Grant it, both were big flies, but they were hits the Indians have not seen since last Wednesday, when they downed Seattle 8-3. Fausto Carmona struggled early, but he settled into a little bit of a groove. He had some great defense back him up too. In the fourth inning, after Carmona had already given up two runs and runners on first and second, Grady Sizemore made a spectacular catch in the left center field gap to rob Johnny Damon of a hit. Then, Franklin Gutierrez threw out Bobby Abreu at third base in a crucial fifth inning. If Abreu makes it to third, he would’ve scored another Yankee run. Rafael Perez was electric tonight. Perez, who got the victory, pitched two scoreless innings giving up one hit, a walk, and striking out three. Jensen Lewis pitched the eighth and shut down the Yankees. Rafael Betancourt worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his third save.

MVP: David Dellucci
It was beginning to look like another tough luck loss for Fausto Carmona, until David Dellucci came to the rescue with his three run pinch hit home run. It was the tenth pinch hit home run of Dellucci’s career, which ties him for third among active players.

Extras:

- The Indians didn’t hit the cover off the ball, and they were still out hit by the Yankees. But they started producing with runners on base. The team appeared more patient at the plate tonight, trying to work their way into hitter’s counts. Now the trend needs to continue.

- Victor Martinez, arguably the clubs best hitter right now, was sidelined tonight. Martinez sat out with a stiff neck. He is listed as day to day,

- Dellucci’s blast off Joba Chamberlain was the first runs Chamberlain has given up since April 24th, when he took a loss to the Chicago White Sox. His ERA ballooned from 1.48 to 3.38 tonight.

- Ben Francisco, who was recently called up to spark the Indians offense, did get the start in left field tonight. He went 1-4 with a strike out.

Next Up: Fans are in store for a pitcher’s duel tomorrow night, as two of the American League’s hottest pitchers square off at 7:05 in the “House that Ruth Built.” Cliff Lee, the reigning AL Pitcher of the Month, will look to build on his hot start against the Pinstripes. Lee is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA. The Bombers will hand the ball over to Chien-Ming Wang. Folks might remember the last time Wang faced the Indians he shut them down for seven innings, in a 1-0 Yankee win. Wang is 6-0 with a 3.00 ERA. In his last three starts, Wang has only given up a total of four runs.

Pressing the Panic Button

2008-05-05T21:52:00.003-04:00

The Indians front office had to do something. One thing is clear at this point. It can't keep going this way. The Indians offense has been anything but spectacular this season. So Monday, general manager, Mark Shapiro, made a move to try and stimulate the Indians. Jason Michaels is out, and Ben Francisco is in.

Jason Michaels isn't to blame. He has never been the main cog in the lineup. He just happened to be the worst hitting outfielder at this point, and there is a young stud that plays the position. The Indians have struggled as of late. Again the run production has been feast or famine. Just when you think the bats are about to break out of it, the line up falls back into the same old lull.

Shapiro acknowledged that this one move won’t solve everything. Putting Francisco in lineup is putting a sandbag up to stop a flood. Shapiro seems to think that the answer lies within. I’m not so sure. I think it’s time for a changing of the guard at hitting coach.

Derek Shelton has had ample opportunity to prove his worth. Let’s not forget that Eddie Murray was ousted after such a drought by the Indians lineup in 2005. That is when Derek Shelton took the reigns. But since the ’06 season, Shelton-taught lineups have been anything but consistent.

In 2007 the team saw a dramatic drop off from Travis Hafner. His home run total and average were far below his previous seasons. The hitting coach could never figure out exactly what Hafner was doing wrong. 2006 saw a dramatic drop off from Jhonny Peralta. Again, Shelton never got Peralta turned around. Last season the Indians had only one hitter that batted over .300 for the whole season.

This season shows more of the same underachievement at the plate. Currently the Indians have eight players batting under the .250 mark. Six of those eight hitters aren’t even hitting .225. Four of those hitters have twenty or more strike outs. The Indians have had fifteen games where they scored three runs or less. They are 2-13 in those games.

It’s understandable that teams go through hard times at the plate. But this is becoming more of a trend then an isolated incident. This lineup on paper should be one of the most feared lineups in the game. But that is not the case. And let’s not forget the slump this lineup was in through most of May and June last season.

So what is the answer? Michaels is the scape-goat for now, but if the this slump continues, it’s time to find a new hitting coach. Firing Shelton may do the trick. There is no way this team will win the division the way they are hitting now. Maybe this team needs a fresh set of eyes to diagnose the troubles of the Tribe bats.

Indians Get Royal Flush

2008-05-04T15:50:00.001-04:00

Score: Royals 2 Indians 0

Turning Point: Casey Blake’s throwing error in the fifth inning allowed an unearned run to score. With the way Gil Meche was pitching, that was all the Royals needed.

Analysis: More squandered opportunities and another wasted good start by a starting pitcher. Aaron Laffey became the victim of a poor showing by the Indians offense for the second time in a little under a week. Laffey had a no hitter going into the sixth inning against New York last week and lost. Then today he had an unearned run score and the offense wasted his seven inning gem. Rafael Betancourt gave up a moon shot to left field, as he continues to struggle this season, which was the Royals insurance run. The Indians managed a measly four hits, and looked downright baffled at the plate all afternoon. The lineup was a combined 4-30 at the plate with four strikeouts. This is the second consecutive Sunday the Indians have not scored a run in a loss.

MVP: Ryan Garko
It’s sad that one guy had half of the team’s hits today, but that was the case. Ryan Garko was 2-3 today.

Extras:

- The only good news this afternoon was that Victor Martinez extended his hitting streak to fifteen games with a single in the bottom of the fourth.

- The Indians finish the home stand at 4-5 and the team averaged only three runs per game.

- The bottom five of the lineup is hitting a combined .212 on the season. They were a combined 2-15 this afternoon, with Garko getting both hits.

Next Up: After an off day Monday, the Tribe will take their anemic offense on a short road trip to the Big Apple for a three game set against the Yankees. The two teams battled to split a four game series last week. The Indians will send Fausto Carmona to the hill Tuesday night. Carmona is 3-1 with a 2.60 ERA. The Pinstripes will have lefty, Andy Pettite, start. Pettite is 3-3 with a 3.93 ERA. First pitch is 7:05 PM from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Sabathia Can't Hold Off Royals

2008-05-04T00:04:00.004-04:00

Score: Royals 4 Indians 2

Turning Point: With a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning, Masa Kobayashi faced Billy Butler with two outs and runners and first and third. With a 1-2 count, Butler singled up the middle to give the Royals a 3-2 lead.

Analysis: C.C. Sabathia did not have his best stuff tonight, but he was able to stymie Kansas City through six innings. But finally the Royals were able to break through. But you can’t blame C.C. He has been a victim of poor run support so far. Again the Indians let a young pitcher look like an all star. Luke Hochevar only gave up three hits all night, and the lineup looked futile in their efforts at the plate. What is going to take for the lineup to take a consistent approach at the plate? Some nights it seems as though the team is putting it together. At others, it seems as though they have never seen major league pitching. Overall the line up was 4-29 which rounds out to a paltry .137 average. The sad thing was this team was only a half game out of first heading into tonight’s game. With a win, the Indians could have seized a share of first place over the White Sox. Instead they fall to a game and half behind now division leading Minnesota.

MVP: David Dellucci
Dellucci had half of the team’s hits and scored half of the team’s runs in this game. Dellucci was 2-4 and the only other Indian to make it to third base besides Grady Sizemore.

Extras:

- The Indians have scored a total of three runs and have only eight hits in C.C. Sabathia’s past two starts. C.C. fell to 1-5 tonight.

- Hitters five through nine went a combined 0-14 with six strikeouts tonight at the dish.

- On a good note, Cliff Lee was named the American League’s pitcher of the month for April.

Next Up: The Indians will finish this rain shortened series with the Royals tomorrow afternoon. The Tribe will start rookie, Aaron Laffey, who won the empty rotation spot vacated by the injured Jake Westbrook. Laffey is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA. The Royals will send out Gil Meche, who was roughed up the last time he faced Cleveland. Meche is 1-4 with a 7.22 ERA. First pitch is at 1:05 PM from Progressive Field.

April Report Card

2008-05-02T17:26:00.003-04:00

The 2008 Major League Baseball season is officially a month old, and here is a report card as to how our Cleveland Indians are doing.

Starting Rotation: B

The rotation has been relatively strong to this point. The big story, of course, is the resurgent, Cliff Lee. Lee has gotten off to a 5-0 start, which leads the majors. He also leads in ERA as well. C.C. Sabathia started off rocky, but seems to have settled down into his old form. Paul Byrd also struggled out of the gate, but he, much like C.C., has settled into a groove. Jake Westbrook was on a roll until he went to the disabled list, and although erratic at times, Fausto Carmona continues to pitch rather well. Even the two spot starters, Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers, pitched well against the Yankees.

Lineup: D+

If there has been a disappointment so far, it has definitely been the lack of offensive production. A team that is supposed to have one of the most feared lineups in the game is ranked twenty second out of thirty teams in batting average, nineteenth out of thirty is home runs, and fourteenth out of thirty in runs. Guys like Travis Hafner, Ryan Garko, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Jhonny Peralta, who are main cogs in the offense, have struggled during the first month of this season. Victor Martinez is the most consistent bat in the lineup. Grady Sizemore has been decent, but he lacks consistency.

Bullpen: C-

The bullpen has lacked consistent performances. The bullpen went through some trials early in the season, when Joe Borowski blew two save chances in grand fashion. This prompted JoeBo to head to the disabled list with a strained tricep. Rafael Betancourt has been the fill in closer, and he has been mediocre at best. Jensen Lewis and Rafael Perez have struggled to put together successful back to back outings. The most promising pitcher out of the pen has been newcomer, Masa Kobayashi. The Japanese import has been dominant in his outings, and he has two wins under his belt.

Coaching: B-

Some might think this grade is a bit high, but when Eric Wedge has stepped in, things have happened. His pre-game speech resulted in an 11-1 rout of the Tigers on April 17th. Two nights ago, his lineup adjustments brought on eight runs and eleven hits. However the lineup’s futility continues to call for a new hitting coach. Wedge has had a hard time finding a good coach since he took the job in 2003. Shelton guided lineups have underachieved in 2006 and at times in 2007. That trend has continues into this year. Pitching coach, Carl Willis, earned his paycheck by being able to get Sabathia to settle into his old form.

Overall: C

For all the lofty expectations, the Indians have not performed up to there abilities. But for weathering an offensive slump and a rocky start for their staff ace, Cleveland is sitting pretty well. At the end of last night’s game, the Indians sat only 1 and ½ games behind the first place, Chicago White Sox. The Tribe needs to have more consistent approaches at the plate, and the bullpen needs to buckle down. But despite the poor start, the Indians are in the thick of the hunt.

Cabrera's Single Saves Tribe

2008-05-01T22:49:00.006-04:00

Score: Indians 3 Mariners 2

Turning Point: The Tribe loaded the bases in the bottom of the eleventh, and with two outs, Asdrubal Cabrera drove a sinker into right field to drive in the winning run.

Analysis: The Indians offense continues to sputter and the bullpen hasn’t done much better, but the Tribe somehow got the “W.” As heartbreaking as a no decision is for Paul Byrd, he will take the team victory. He pitched 7 and 2/3 of shutout baseball, only to have it go all for naught. Betancourt couldn’t hold the lead in the ninth, and Masa Kobayashi, who has been lights out this season, gave up a home run in the top of the tenth inning, but he held the M’s in check in the eleventh. The Indians had the bases loaded with one out in the tenth, and Grady Sizemore drove in the tying run with to re-tie the game at 2-2. Then in their half, the Indians reloaded the bases with one out, and finally Asdrubal Cabrera got a base hit to win it.

MVP: Paul Byrd
Give it to Byrd. He deserved this one for sure, but the bullpen couldn’t do their part to hold the lead. Byrd threw a masterpiece. He pitched the 7 and 2/3 innings, stuck out four, and he shut out the Mariners. His ERA dropped from 4.85 to 3.74 during tonight’s start.

Extras:

- Travis Hafner had a good night in his new line up spot. Hafner was 2-4 with the two doubles and a RBI.

- Ironically four of the Indians eight hits were doubles. Hafner hit the two, and Blake and Martinez each hit a two bagger tonight, as well.

- Ryan Garko had a good night. He went 2-4 in the ballgame. Garko was mired in a 0-24 slump.

- Asdrubal Cabrera’s single in the eleventh was the first hit of the home stand with the bases loaded. The team is just 1-8 with the bases loaded so far.

- Victor Martinez threw out two base runners attempting to steal second tonight.

Next Up: The Indians welcome the Kansas City Royals to Progressive Field on Friday night. The Royals were swept a little over a week ago by the Tribe, and the Indians are looking for more of the same. The Indians will start the resurgent, CC Sabathia, who took a tough loss in his last start against New York. CC has only allowed one run in his last fourteen innings pitched. Sabathia is 1-4 with a 7.88 ERA. The Royals will start rookie, Luke Hochevar. Hochevar has a 11.57 ERA on the road, and for the season he is 1-1 with a 5.91 ERA. First pitch is 7:05 PM.

Offense Comes To Life, Lee Now 5-0

2008-04-30T22:27:00.001-04:00

Score: Indians 8 Mariners 3

Turning Point: Grady Sizemore set the tone for this ballgame right off the bat. Sizemore led off the game with a solo shot. That would get the offense rolling in the right direction.

Analysis: Eric Wedge’s shake up paid dividends tonight. Wedge held line up regulars Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta on the bench. The result was eight runs and eleven hits. Grady Sizemore and Franklin Gutierrez led the offensive charge. The Tribe had the lead off man on base in five of the eight innings, and they had five doubles. Cliff Lee continues his hot start. He pitched six innings and gave up a season high three runs in his start. He just ran out of gas in the seventh, when he gave up the three runs. Lee struck out three. Jensen Lewis pitched two innings of shut out ball, and Jorge Julio closed out the Mariners in the ninth. With the offensive success tonight, it will be interesting to see what Wedge does tomorrow.

MVP: Franklin Gutierrez
Gutierrez continued to stroke a hot bat tonight. He went 2-4 with three runs driven in. He is 7-11 in his last three ball games, and he has raised his average to .276.

Extras:

- Cliff Lee’s scoreless innings streak was snapped at twenty seven tonight in the seventh inning. His ERA rose from 0.28 to 0.96.

- When Grady Sizemore led off tonight’s game with a home run, it was the twelfth time he has done so in his career.

Next Up: The Indians face Seattle again tomorrow night in the rubber match of this three game set. The Tribe will send Paul Byrd, who got his first win last time out, to the hill. Byrd is 1-2 with a 4.85 ERA. The Mariners will pitch journey man, Miguel Batista. Batista is 2-3 with a 5.26 ERA. The game will start at 7:05 PM from Progressive Field.

Bullpen Battered in the Ninth, Lose to Seattle

2008-04-29T22:15:00.003-04:00

Score: Mariners 7 Indians 2

Turning Point: Rafael Betancourt came on in a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth, and he promptly gave the lead back to Seattle. Betancourt gave up back to back base hits to start the inning, and then he left a fastball out over the plate to Adrian Beltre, who planted it in the right field seats. That would put the Mariners over the top in this one.

Analysis: The Tribe has officially fallen back into their offensive lull that they were in at the beginning of the season. The middle of the order was a combined 1-11 with an RBI. The lineup has been weak in its at bats, putting little to no focus in during their at bats. It’s clear either a shake up is needed, but the team is not responding. On the mound Fausto Carmona didn’t have his “A” material, but he only allowed two runs. Masa Kobayashi held the Mariners in check, but the big blow came in the ninth inning off the bat of Adrian Beltre. After Betancourt imploded, Craig Breslow followed suit only getting one batter out and giving up three hits and two runs. Tom Mastny was finally able to end the ninth.

MVP: Grady Sizemore
Grady had a successful return to the lineup tonight, after having the two previous nights off. Sizemore was 2-4 with two doubles, and he scored both of the Indians runs.

Extras:

- David Dellucci is a bright spot in what has been a rather dismal start to the season. He is hitting .283, which is fifty three points higher than last year. He is tied for second on the team in home runs with three, and he has ten RBIs.

- Ryan Garko was benched tonight. Garko, who is in the throws of a 0-23 slump, received what Indians manager, Eric Wedge, called a “mental health day.” Andy Marte started in place of Garko at third base, and Casey Blake moved over to play first base.

- With Beltre’s ninth inning homer, the Indians have now given up six home runs in the ninth inning. That’s not exactly a good stat for the bullpen. The bullpen also threw 54 pitches in the ninth inning.

Next Up: Cleveland looks to even the series tomorrow night with the Mariners. The unstoppable, Cliff Lee, will make the start for Cleveland. Lee is 4-0 with a 0.28 ERA. The M’s will pitch Jarrod Washburn. Washburn is 1-3 with a 4.03 ERA. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM from Progressive Field.

Tribe Drops Finale, Splits Series With Yankees

2008-04-28T22:19:00.002-04:00

Score: Yankees 5 Indians 2

Turning Point: Aaron Laffey had dominated up until the top of the sixth inning. He had a no hitter going. Then, Laffey gave up two infield hits, and then hit Alex Rodriguez on a 1-2 pitch. At the end of the inning, Laffey had lost his two run lead, and he was on the bench. The Yankees were up 4-2.

Analysis: The Tribe had plenty of scoring opportunities. After already scoring a run, the Indians had the bases loaded with nobody out in the fifth, and were only able to muster one run across on a Travis Hafner sacrifice fly. Again the Indians’ offense is either feast of famine in this short season, and the lineup looks feeble against the Yankee bullpen. On the hill Aaron Laffey was tremendous. He was victim to two infield singles, and that was all the powerful Yankee lineup needed to get rolling. Jensen Lewis was less then stellar in his two innings of relief. Jorge Julio pitched and inning and a third of shutout ball.

MVP: Jason Michaels
Michaels was 2-3 with an RBI in this game. His at bat to drive in the run was fantastic. He also made a spectacular diving catch on a Derek Jeter line drive.

Extras:

- Grady Sizemore was held out of the lineup for the second night in a row. Sizemore, who twisted his ankle on Saturday, was held out for precautionary reasons. David Dellucci led off for the second game in a row. He went 1-5 with two strikeouts.

- Travis Hafner continues to struggle at the plate, especially in two strike situations. He now leads the team in strikeouts with twenty eight. He continues to watch pitchers locate fastballs on the outer half of the plate, and he does not offer at them. Hafner needs to learn to go the other way to left field, or his average will continue to flounder.

- Ryan Garko is in the midst of an 0-23 slump. Garko’s average his dropped from .314 on April 16 to .227 tonight.

Next Up: The Indians will welcome the Seattle Mariners to Progressive Field tomorrow night for a three game series. The Indians will send out sinker baller, Fausto Carmona. Carmona is 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA. The Mariners will start former Minnesota Twin, Carlos Silva. Silva is 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA. This should be a great pitchers duel. First pitch will be at 7:05 PM.

Tribe Bats Can't Solve Wang

2008-04-27T23:28:00.002-04:00

Score: Yankees 1 Indians 0

Turning Point: Melky Cabrera took CC Sabathia deep to left field for a home run in the fifth inning. It was the only run scored the entire game.

Analysis: The offense could not put anything together against Chein-Ming Wang. The Tribe only scratched out a total of four hits. Wang had his sinker working today too. The Indians seemed to let his fastball by, and continuously bite at his breaking stuff. It was definitely a frustrating day at the plate. The good news is CC’s outing against the Royals was not a fluke. Sabathia continued his return to form from 2007.

MVP: CC Sabathia
You have to give it the big guy. CC made on mistake and had eight strikeouts in seven innings of work. He only gave up four hits as well. He was on again, which was most evident in the sixth inning. Derek Jeter doubled to deep left center to start off the inning. Yet Sabathia didn’t allow him to score as he retired Bobby Abreu on a ground ball, and then got Alex Rodriguez and Shelley Duncan to strike out. You hate to see him lose this one.

Extras:

- This was the first 1-0 game in the majors since June 13, 2006. Ironically that game was a 1-0 victory by the New York over Cleveland, as well. Chien-Ming Wang was the winner of that game, and CC Sabathia was the loser. The margin of victory came from a solo home run in that game too.

- Grady Sizemore did not play today, which ended his streak of 382 consecutive games played in. It was the majors’ longest active streak until today.

- It was reported after the game that Jorge Posada would go on the disabled list for the first time in his professional career.

- It's the first career loss for Sabathia in which he has allowed one earned run or less in at least eight innings pitched. He was 23-0 heading into Sunday.

Next Up: The Indians look to win the series tomorrow night in the finale of the four game series against the Yankees. Cleveland will start southpaw, Aaron Laffey, who will spot start for the Indians. Laffey has not pitched in the majors yet this season, but he is 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA at Triple A Buffalo. New York will hand the ball off the “Moose” otherwise known as Mike Mussina. The seventeen-year veteran is 2-3 with a 4.94 ERA. First pitch is at 7:05 PM from the beautiful Progressive Field.

Indians Walk Off With Victory

2008-04-26T19:55:00.001-04:00

Score: Indians 4 Yankees 3

Turning Point: There are a few crucial moment that stand out, but it would have to Asdrubal Cabrera’s double play turned in the top of ninth. With Yankees at the corners, Derek Jeter lined a one hopper at Cabrera. He back handed the ball, stepped on second, and threw to first. The double play ended the inning.

Analysis: My how the tables have turned. The Yankees normally torture the Indians by getting that crucial hit to beat the Indians, but it’s the Yankees who are faltering in the clutch. The Yankees left nine men on base, and squandered some golden opportunities. The bullpen was lights out again for the second night in a row. Jeremy Sowers did exactly what Cleveland needed him to do. He gave the Indians 5 and 1/3 innings, gave up three runs, and struck out three. The Indians tagged Ian Kennedy for three runs in the second, and they didn’t score again until the game winning hit in the ninth.

MVP: Victor Martinez
Victor drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Indians their fifth win in a row. It was the first walk off win hit for Martinez in his career. He was 2-4 with a RBI. He now has a team leading .373 batting average.

Extras:

- Grady Sizemore was caught stealing for the first time this season. He is now 6 for 7 when it comes to stolen bases to steals attempted.

- The game almost turned on a poor call by umpire, Derryl Cousins. Cousins called Martinez out on a slide into second base. However the replay showed a bobble of the ball by Yankee second baseman, Robinson Cano. Eric Wedge was thrown out arguing the call.

- Masa Kobayahsi got his first major league win today. He pitched two scoreless innings and struck out two. His ERA is now at 1.86.

Next Up: The Indians and Yankees square off again tomorrow afternoon. The Indians will send CC Sabathia to the hill. CC looks to build off his fabulous start against KC. Sabathia is 1-3 with a 10.13 ERA. The Bronx Bombers will start Chien-Ming Wang, who has been very good so far this season. Wang is 4-0 with a 3.94 ERA. First pitch is at 1:05 PM from Progressive Field, in downtown Cleveland.

Jhonny On The Spot

2008-04-25T22:51:00.001-04:00

Score: Indians 6 Yankees 4

Turning Point: With two on and two out in the bottom half of the fifth, Jhonny Peralta stepped to the plate. The Yankees had the lead at 3-1, until Peralta crushed a 3-1 fastball over the left field wall. That home run helped drive Andy Pettitte from the game, and took the wind out of the collective sail of New York.

Analysis: This was a nice hard nose win. Peralta was definitely the offensive hero in this one. The Indians took care of business with two outs and runners in scoring position. All of the runs were scored with two outs. The fifth inning was crucial, but the Tribe finally got to Andy Pettitte. Peralta hit his three run home run, and Franklin Gutierrez made it back to back homers with his moon shot to left field. Rafael Perez was the hero on the mound. Byrd scattered six hits and fours runs over 5 and 2/3. But it was Perez, who came in and shut the Yankee offense down. Rafael Betancourt worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save of the year.

MVP: Jhonny Peralta
Jhonny was on tonight. Peralta drove in four of the six two out runs. As mentioned above, it was his three run shot that doomed Andy Pettite. Jhonny finished 2-4. He also turned a crucial double play in the eighth that kept the Yankees in check.

Extras:

- Tonight’s win over New York was the first regular since win over them since July 4, 2006. But if one counts the playoffs, the Indians have won the last four out of five games from the Yankees.

- Jamey Carroll had a nice night at the plate and on the base paths. Carroll hit a single that brought Grady Sizemore home for a much needed insurance run. He also scored the first run of the game, and he also stole two bases.

- Tonight tied Andy Pettitte’s shortest outing of the season, and it was also the most runs he has given up in a start this year. Pettitte, who normally pitches extremely well against Cleveland, was rattled in the fifth after giving up the back to back home runs in the fifth inning.

Next Up: Game Two of this four game set is tomorrow afternoon. The Indians will hand the ball to the recently called up Jeremy Sowers, who takes Jake Westbrook’s spot in the rotation. Sowers has not pitched in a game yet, but he was 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA in four starts at Triple A Buffalo. The Yankees will give Ian Kennedy the start. Kennedy has struggled so far this season. His is 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA. First pitch is from Progressive Field, at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, at 3:55 PM.

Cliff Lee Dominates, Indians Sweep Royals

2008-04-25T01:37:00.003-04:00

Score: Indians 2 Royals 0

Turning Point: Cliff Lee escaped the fifth inning, after Jose Guillen doubled off the left field wall. It was the first real scoring opportunity either team had in the game. Lee regained his composure, and calmly struck out the side.

Analysis: This was a pitcher’s duel tonight. Two of the American League’s hottest pitchers matched up, and the Indians were finally able to get to Brian Bannister. In the seventh, David Dellucci took a first pitch fastball and launched it into the right field bullpen. Asdrubal Cabrera drove in Travis Hafner for an insurance run, and with the way Cliff Lee was pitching, that’s all the runs the team would need.

MVP: Cliff Lee
What more can you say? Lee is pitching the best that he ever has in his career. He pitched a complete game shutout, striking out nine and only giving up three hits. He now has pitched twenty one consecutive scoreless innings. His ERA dropped to a league leading 0.20.

Extras:

- While the first game was a marathon, the second game was a sprint. The game took a little over two hours to complete.

- This is the Indians’ first series win since the opening series against the White Sox. It is also their first sweep of the year.

- An interesting side note, the Indians played in their blue tops and gray pants in game one of tonight’s double header. The second game saw a change in tops, when the Indians took the field in their road grays. A total of twenty five minutes elapsed before the start of the second game.

- The Indians finish the road trip with a record of 4-2.

Next Up: The Tribe head home to take on the Bronx Bombers for four games. First pitch is tomorrow night from Progressive field at 7:05 PM. The Indians will hand the ball to Paul Byrd, who has pitched really well in his last two outings. Byrd is 0-2 with a 4.43 ERA. The Yankees will pitch southpaw and Tribe nemesis, Andy Pettitte, who has been sharp so far this season. Pettitte is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

Tribe Takes Game One of Twin Bill

2008-04-24T22:26:00.003-04:00

Score: Indians 9 Royals 6

Turning Point: The Indians would hang a four spot on Royals’ pitcher Brett Tomko in the third inning. Ryan Garko, Ben Francisco, and Jason Michaels all drove in runs in the inning. It pretty much put this game away early, although the Royals made it interesting.

Analysis: This game moved at a snail’s pace. A lot of pitches were thrown throughout this game. Brett Tomko was at 89 pitches throught three innings, and Fausto Carmona was at 58. The teams threw a combined 354 pitches for the whole game. But the Tribe bats had another solid outing. The team piled up fifteen hits and had five two out RBIs, as well. Carmona didn’t have his best stuff, although he was effective through his five innings. He is still getting unnerved and rushing his motion to the plate. It was not the bullpen’s finest night either. None of the relievers were sharp, but the only pitcher who gave up any runs was Rafael Perez. Rafael Betancourt got his first save in the first game.

MVP: Grady Sizemore
Grady was hot in the early game. He went 4-5, clubbing his second home run of the season and driving in two. He also stole his team leading sixth base of the season. His batting average jumped thirty three points from .256 to .289 during the game.

Extras:

- As mentioned earlier this game was a marathon. The total game time was three hours and thirty seven minutes.

- Casey Blake continued to stroke a hot bat. Blake was 2-4 with two RBIs. More importantly was that both runs batted in came with two outs.

- Ben Francisco is making the most of his short time with the big league club. Francisco was 2-5 with a double and a run batted in.

Next Up: Game Two of the double header is next. Cliff Lee pitches for Cleveland, and Brian Bannister gets the nod for the Royals.

Mother Nature Forces Tribe to Play Two Thursday

2008-04-23T22:23:00.002-04:00

Rain forced the postponement of Wednesday's scheduled game against the Kansas City Royals. The two teams never took the field, and the game was officially postponed at around 10:00 PM EST. The teams have decided to schedule a double header for Thursday night. The first game will feature what was to be Wednesday's pitching match up. Fausto Carmona will take the mound for the Indians, while the Royals will send out Brett Tomko.

Game Two will feature two pitchers, who are off to great starts. Cliff Lee, who has been lights out so far, will take the ball for Cleveland. Lee is 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA. The Royals will start the hot pitcher, Brian Bannister. Bannister is 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA.

Extras:

- It was announced Wednesday that Jeremy Sowers will get the start in place of Jake Westbrook, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. Sowers was chosen of fellow southpaw Aaron Laffey. Sowers was 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA with Triple A Buffalo. Sowers will start Saturday afternoon's game against the New York Yankees. Westbrook strained his intercostal muscle on his left side. The muscle, located in the rib cage, was strained during Westbrook's last outing against Minnesota. He could be out from two weeks to a month. Sowers will remain in the rotation until Westbrook's return.

- Aaron Laffey may not have to sulk for long. If the proposed double header takes place, the Indians will probably need a spot starter for the series finale against New York on Monday. Fausto Carmona, who is scheduled to pitch Monday, will pitch game one of tomorrow night's double header. That will throw off the rotation, only giving Carmona four days rest for Monday's start. Not wanting to chance an injury, the Indians would likely call up a starter from Buffalo, to spot start in Carmona's place. That starter would probably be Aaron Laffey.

Sabathia, Blake's Slam Sink Royals

2008-04-23T00:02:00.004-04:00

Score: Indians 15 KC 1

Turning Point: Casey Blake’s grand slam in the fourth inning started this one on its way to a blow out. Blake blasted a Gil Meche fastball over the left field wall for his fourth career grand salami.

Analysis: When this club hits on all cylinders, it’s going to be a long night for opposing clubs. The Indians absolutely tore apart the Royals pitching staff. Meche, Joel Peralta, Yasuhiko Yabuta, and Jimmy Gobble all gave up at least two runs. Every starter in the lineup had a hit except for Travis Hafner. The story on the mound was CC Sabathia. He finally looked like the pitcher who won the Cy Young Award last season. CC went six innings gave up four hits and struck out an impressive eleven batters. He got ahead of hitters all night, and he had great pitch sequences, setting up batters all night. Also two of the hits he gave up were cheap bloop singles, after he jammed the batter.

MVP: Casey Blake
It was “Casey at the Bat” who did in the Royals tonight. Blake went 4-4, with the grand slam, two doubles, and a single. He scored two runs and had six RBIs. His average jumped from .179 to .233, and his six ribbies gave him the team lead in runs batted in.

Extras:

- It was obviously a season high for Cleveland in runs and hits. The fifteen runs and seventeen hits are a welcome sight.

- Hitters six through nine in the batting order went a combined 11-16, scoring nine runs, and driving in eleven of the fifteen runs.

- CC Sabathia hit double digits in strike outs for the first time this season.

- The Tribe had nine extra base hits in the game, which is a season high.

- Asdrubal Cabrera was hit by a pitch tonight, to drive the club total to nineteen hit by pitches on the season. That is the most in the majors.

Next Up: The Indians look for a repeat performance against Kansas City, tomorrow night. Cleveland sends Fausto Carmona to the hill, and he will face off against veteran, Brett Tomko. Carmona is 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA. Tomko is 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA. First pitch will again be at 8:10 EST from the K or Kauffman Stadium in KC.

Morneau, Twins Walk Off With Win and Series

2008-04-20T18:35:00.002-04:00

Score: Twins 2 Indians 1

Turning Point: Justin Morneau singled off Rafael Perez in the tenth inning, which allowed Bredan Harris to score. It was a walk off win for the Twins.

Analysis: The offense is still not out of its funk yet. The team is hitting an American League worst .239 through today. The Indians continue to squander scoring opportunities. The Tribe had Jamey Carroll on second base in the top half of the ninth inning, yet the team could not find a hit to bring him home. They also left runners in scoring position in the third and sixth innings. The pitching for Cleveland was solid. Paul Byrd had his second consecutive good start. Byrd went seven innings, gave up one run on six hits, and he struck out three Twins. Masahide Kobayashi pitched 2/3 of an inning, giving up a hit. Rafael Perez, who was the losing pitcher, pitched 2 and 1/3 innings, giving up the winning run on four hits, and he struck out one.

MVP: Victor Martinez
Victor seems to be the only Indian who is consistently hitting the baseball. He was 2-4 again today, and he is batting .360 on the season.

Extras:

- The Indians have still not won a season series since the opening series of the 2008 season. Cleveland manager, Eric Wedge’s philosophy, is winning series, and the Indians are 1-7 when it comes to winning series.

- Cleveland has lost twelve of its last sixteen games.

- Paul Byrd, whose ERA was at 6.08, lowered it today to 4.43.

Next Up: Monday is an off day for Cleveland, who is 7-12 on the season. The Indians take the field again on Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals. CC Sabathia, who has been off to a terrible start, will get the nod on Tuesday. CC is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA. The Royals will give the ball to Gil Meche. Meche has a 1-2 record with a 6.08 ERA. First pitch is from Kauffman Stadium at 8:10 PM EST.

Blackburn Blanks Indians

2008-04-19T19:52:00.001-04:00

Score: Twins 3 Indians 0

Turning Point: Justin Morneau’s two run homer in the bottom of the first sealed the game for the Twins. Morneau was in a 2-2 count, and Jake Westbrook left a fastball over the middle of the plate, and the result was Morneau’s fifth home run of the season.

Analysis: Two steps forward and one step back. The Indians had their opportunities to drive in some runs. They had three chances to score. Asdrubal Cabrera was thrown out at home plate in the second, and they left four men on base, all were in scoring position at one point. Jake Westbrook didn’t have his “A” game with him today. He gave up three runs in the first two innings, and with no offensive support he didn’t have a chance. Westbrook scattered eight hits across seven innings of work. He struck out four and walked one.

MVP: Nick Blackburn
Blackburn held the Indians’ offense at bay. When he needed to make a pitch, he made it. He didn’t allow any runs, struck out one, and gave up eight hits in 7 and 2/3. Blackburn is now 1-1 with a 2.49 ERA.

Extras:

- Last night the Indians had their first shut out win on the season, and today they had their first shut out loss.

- The Tribe grounded into four double plays, which is what often killed any kind of rally that was started.

- Today’s game saw Jamey Carroll’s on base streak continue. Starting at second base for the third consecutive game, Carroll was hit by a pitch in the top of the first.

Next Up: The Indians face the Twins again tomorrow afternoon in the series finale. Paul Byrd will get the nod for Cleveland. He had a very solid start against the Red Sox last time out. Byrd is 0-2 with a 6.07 ERA. Minnesota will send right hander, Scott Baker, to the mound. Baker is 2-0 with a 4.34 ERA. First pitch is from the Metrodome, located in downtown Minneapolis, at 2:10 PM EST.

Cliff Lee Continues Hot Start

2008-04-18T23:17:00.002-04:00

Score: Indians 4 Twins 0

Turning Point: Casey Blake lined a base hit to centerfield with the bases loaded in the second inning. That is all the scoring the Indians would need in this one

Analysis: Casey Blake was the star at the plate. Blake seems to be hitting better, and he seems to getting his timing down. Blake followed up his RBI single in the second with his first home run in the seventh inning. He was 2-4 and has three RBIs. Off the bump, Cliff Lee was tremendous again. Lee threw a two hitter in eight innings of work. The Twins never came close to materializing a scoring threat. Rafael Perez came on late to close out this one.

MVP: Cliff Lee
Cliff was untouchable through eight innings of work. Lee didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning. Lee only allowed two hits and he struck out eight Twins. Lee is now 3-0 and he lowered his ERA to 0.40.

Extras:

- Jamey Carroll got his second consecutive start at second base. He has reached base every time that he has been in the lineup. Carroll didn’t have a hit but he had two walks.

- The Tribe matched their longest winning streak of the season at two again tonight. They won their first two games in the season opening series against the White Sox. The team hadn’t matched two wins in a row since then.

- Hitters 1-4 for the Indians batted a poor 1-13 with one run batted in.

- Tonight's game was the first shutout win for Cleveland.

Next Up: The Tribe looks to win three games in a row when they take on the Twins again, tomorrow afternoon. Cleveland sends Jake Westbrook to the hill. Westbrook is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA. Minnesota will look to Nick Blackburn to end their short losing streak. Blackburn is 0-1 with a 3.57 ERA. First pitch is at 3:55 PM EST from the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis.

Carmona, Indians Clobber Tigers

2008-04-17T22:32:00.001-04:00

Score: Indians 11 Tigers 1

Turning Point: There are a few plays to pick from, but it has to be Jason Michaels play in the top of sixth inning. With Gary Sheffield on second and Magglio Ordonez on first, Carlos Guillen lined a pitch into left field. Jason Michaels picked up the ball and threw a one hopper to the plate to nail Sheffield. That kept the game at a 5-1 Indians lead, and it killed any kind of a Tiger rally.

Analysis: Turn about is fair play. A night after getting crushed by the Tigers, the Indians gave the Motor City Kitties a taste of their own medicine. The bats got going early in this one. The bottom of the second saw the Indians plate three runs, and got Justin Verlander off his game early. But more importantly, it was the bottom half of the lineup that produced the runs. Casey Blake and Franklin Gutierrez both got hits in the inning, and Blake and Jason Michaels drove in runs. Then after, Michael’s crucial play in the top of the sixth, Cleveland erupted for five more runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Tribe would ass on more run for insurance. Is the slump over? Only time will tell, but this is a step in the right direction. From the bump, Fausto Carmona was back on his game tonight. Carmona struggled to find the strike zone a little early, but once he found his groove, Carmona was electric. He pitched 6 and 2/3, allowed seven hits, one run, and struck out two. The bullpen was solid as they held the Tigers in check, and didn’t give up a run for the first time since last Sunday.

MVP: Jamey Carroll
The scrappy Carroll was crucial in getting the Indians’ runs on the board. Carroll drove in runs in the second and sixth innings. Carroll was 2-4, with a triple, and the two RBIs. He also had a walk. Carroll continues to play very well in limited playing time.

Extras:

- The bottom three of the lineup that consists of Franklin Gutierrez, Jason Michaels, and Casey Blake went 5-12 with four RBIs. That is a far cry from the 1-9 they batted last night.

- Travis Hafner flashed some opposite field power on his home run in the sixth. Hafner was late on a middle of the plate fastball, and he was able to muscle it out to left field. The home run also drove his RBI total up to twelve, which is the team high.

- Fausto Carmona dropped his ERA from 2.20 to 1.96.

- Jason Michaels outfield assist in the sixth was his second already on the young season.

- The Indians finish their first full home stand of the season at 2-5. They are now 4-6 at home this season.

Next Up: The Indians hit the road to the Twin Cities to take on the Minnesota Twins. The Tribe sends Cliff Lee, who has been as dominating as ever, in his first two starts. Lee is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA. The Twins will send out young fireballer, Francisco Liriano. Liriano, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, will make his second start since coming back. Liriano is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA. First pitch is tomorrow night at 8:10 PM EST from the Hubert H. Humphery Metrodome.

CC Stunned By Tigers

2008-04-16T22:47:00.005-04:00

Score: Tigers 13 Indians 2

Turning Point: The fifth inning was a disaster for CC Sabathia. He walked the bases loaded, and then allowed Miguel Cabrera, who was in a 0-2 hole, single in two runs. That made it 5-1. The bases were reloaded on a Carlos Guillen single. Then CC threw a high fastball and Edgar Renteria tattooed to the left field seats. In the blink of an eye, Detroit had scored six runs, and it was 9-1.

Analysis: There are games like these in a season. But these types of games have been too common in this short season already. This club is lifeless. There is no mental edge. It is evident in all facets of the Indians’ game. The offense let Armando Galarraga make them look overmatched at the plate. The Tribe had only one hit through the first six innings of the game. At one time Galarraga had retired seventeen Indians in a row. CC Sabathia wasn’t locating his pitches, had no life on his fastball, and let the Tigers get into his head. His ERA ballooned to 13.50 and is now 0-3. Tom Mastny, Jorge Julio, and Masahide Kobayashi weren't a whole lot better. This club is no longer off to a slow start. This club is in a funk, and they don’t seem to be doing a whole lot to resurrect the situation. Somehow, somewhere this club needs to wake up and get on its game, or a 5-10 record is going to be a 5-20 record real quick.

MVP: David Dellucci
Dellucci seemed to be the only Indian who was looking to take the bat off his shoulders tonight. While the rest of the offense was swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, Dellucci actually found a fastball to his liking and put it in the seats. He was the only run of the night.

Extras:

- It’s no wonder the Indians’ pitchers were in jams all night. The pitching staff allowed nine walks tonight. Five of those walks turned into runs too.

- Craig Breslow was the lone bright spot for the pitching staff. He pitched 1 and 2/3 innings and didn’t give up a run. He was the only Indians pitcher to not give up a run.

- As a team the Indians were 3-30 at the plate during tonight’s game.

- Ryan Garko broke the Indians hitless streak in the seventh. That hit also drove in the second run for the Indians.

- Miguel Cabrera was 4-6 at the plate for Detroit. He had a home run and had 5 RBIs/

Next Up: The Tribe look to rebound from tonight’s outing and split this short two game series against Detroit, as well as, end the home stand on a good note. The first pitch is 7:05 from Progressive Field. The Tribe look to Fausto Carmona to turn the tide in their favor. Carmona is 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA. The Tigers will counter with their struggling ace, Justin Verlander. Verlander is 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA.

Red Sox Sweep Short Series From Indians

2008-04-15T22:43:00.001-04:00

Score: Red Sox 5 Indians 3

Turning Point: Jason Varitek hit a Jensen Lewis fastball that just cleared the wall in left field to take the lead in the ninth, and that was all the runs that Boston needed.

Analysis: The Indians had Tim Wakefield on the ropes several times tonight, but they could not deliver the knock out blow. The offense continues to sputter in the clutch and leave men on base. Tonight they left eleven men on base. Someone needs to step up in the clutch or the Tribe will continue to waste golden chances to knock a starter out. Paul Byrd was great tonight. He seemed to finally get on track and he had the Boston hitters fooled all night. He allowed only one unearned run, and he struck out six, in six innings of work. The bullpen, however, is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jorge Julio relived Byrd in the seventh with the Indians ahead 2-1. Julio threw nine pitches and eight of them were balls, to put the first to Red Sox on base. Rafael Perez came in and limited the damage to two runs, and pitched well. That gave way to Jensen Lewis, who immediately got himself into trouble, with the score tied at three. Luckily, Lewis was able to escape a bases loaded, one out jam, and not allow a run. But he returned for the ninth, and allowed the homer to Varitek. Boston tacked on an insurance run, as well.

MVP: Victor Martinez
Victor seems to be the only Indian hitting, especially tonight. Martinez was 3-5 with two RBIs on the night. He has bumped his average up to .375.

Extras:

- The Indians were outscored by the Red Sox 9-1 throughout innings 7-9 in the two game series. The Indians’ bullpen blew leads late in both games.

- Jed Lowrie, who got his first hit in the majors tonight, was an RBI machine for the Red Sox. Even though he was only 1-4, he drove in three runs.

- To honor Jackie Robinson, Grady Sizemore and CC Sabathia wore Robinson’s retired #42 during the game.

- Paul Byrd lowered his ERA from 11.05 to 6.07 during his start.

Next Up: The Indians, who have fallen four games under .500, welcome the Detroit Tigers, who are on a two game winning streak, to town tomorrow night. CC Sabathia will try to get his season on track again. Sabathia is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA. He will face off against rookie, Armando Galarraga. Galarraga will be making his first major league start, in place of the injured Dontrelle Willis. First pitch is at 7:05 from Progressive Field.

Changing of the Guard?

2008-04-15T12:40:00.004-04:00

It was almost as if it was already scripted. The train was a runaway, and there was no way that it could be stopped. David Ortiz blooped a single into left field to put the winning run on board. Then Manny, the thorn in Cleveland’s side since he left, put a baseball into orbit, and eventually it landed in the left field seats. It was one more heartbreak for the Indians, and another blown save by Joe Borowski.

It’s been almost a week since it happened. Torii Hunter blasted a grand slam off Borowski for his first blown save of the year. But since then there has been a low rumbling amongst broadcasters, reporters, and fans that maybe the Indians should go in a different direction at closer. After last night’s performance, those low rumbles have been amplified. Is it time for a changing of the guard at closer?

The average Tribe fan would jump up and say yes. But management feels the benchmark is mid-May before any team can successfully gage a player’s performance. But will it be too late by then? Borowski has been in the league thirteen years and has had varying degrees of success. He had a meltdown with the Cubs in 2004 after he saved 33 games the previous season. JoeBo had an 8.02 ERA before he was removed from closer of the Cubs. Then in 2005, he had a 6.55 ERA before being released by Chicago. Borowski rebounded that season with Tampa Bay going 1-5 but had a 3.82 ERA. He went to Florida in 2006, where he saved 37 games and ended the season with a 3.75 ERA. That leads us to last year where Borowski saved 45 games and ended with a 5.04 ERA. So it’s clear Borowski is not a pillar of consistency to begin with.

Today saw Borowski go on the disabled list with strained triceps. Borowski has been perplexed by a 5-7 M.P.H. drop off in his fastball. Location of his pitches has also been a problem. Borowski has already allowed four walks and seven hits in four innings. He also has given up eight runs. Is this a sign that an arm that has been taxed by thirteen seasons is done? Borowski did have an offer pulled by the Philadelphia Phillies due to concern with his arm, particularly his shoulder. Is his arm tapped out?

And what if he is done? Who do you replace Borowski with? No one has really stood out in the bullpen this far. Rafael Betancourt will get the nod, while JoeBo is on the DL. Betancourt hasn’t been exactly lights out. He has a 5.14 ERA and allowed four earned runs. Other viable options are relievers Jorge Julio and Masahide Kobayashi. Julio was a closer with the Orioles and had 84 saves over three seasons. Kobayashi is the all time saves leader in Japanese baseball.

So is this DL stint an audition period for other closers? If the front office is smart it is. The Indians have at least two weeks to get a look at there other options, and they hope maybe one of those option catches lightning in a bottle. But it is becoming apparent that they don’t want to put the ball in the hands of Joe Borowski again.

Tribe Tidbits: Early Struggles, Lee's Start, and AL Central Update

2008-04-14T23:26:00.002-04:00

Slow Start: The Indians aren’t stressing over the 5-8 start. The Indians are hitting only .242 as a team, and the pitching staff has a 4.74 ERA. Is it too early to panic? Probably, there are still 149 games left to play. The Indians also have played one of the hottest hitting teams in baseball, Oakland, for six games already. "Everybody wants to get off to a good start, whether it be a ball club or an individual," manager Eric Wedge said after Sunday’s game. "But what you have to do is just trust in the length of the season, trust in your ability and the fact that we've played 12 games, and we've got 150 to go. There's a wide range between those two numbers."

ALCS in the Past: Many of the reporters are billing the short series as a rematch of last season’s league championship, which saw Boston rally from a 3-1 deficit to take defeat the Indians. Boston went on to win the World Series. But the Indians weren’t stressing over the upcoming games. "To tell you the truth, I hadn't even thought about the Red Sox," left fielder David Dellucci said. "Really, in the end, it's just another series. Say, if they sweep us or we sweep them, it means nothing." Boston took up where they left off against Cleveland. The Red Sox rallied from down 4-1 to win 6-4 in the ninth.

Lee’s Start: He may have only two start under his belt, but Cliff Lee has been as dominant as ever. Lee, who had to battle for the fifth starters job, has pitched 14 and 2/3 innings and only allowed one earned run. He has struck out twelve, given up only six hits, and walked one batter. His pitching has been a breath of fresh air, since staff aces CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona have struggled out of the gate.

AL Central Update: Despite the Indians’ slow start, no one is running away with the division early. At the end of Monday night, the Royals and White Sox sat atop the division tied at 7-5. Minnesota was in third with a 6-7 mark, standing at a game and a half behind the leaders. Cleveland was 5-8, standing at two and a half games behind. The Tigers were in the cellar at 3-10, sitting four and half games from the top spot. Detroit continues to struggle, with a league high 5.42 ERA and hitting a league worst .238 as a team.

Borowski Blows Another One

2008-04-14T22:57:00.001-04:00

Score: Red Sox 6 Indians 4

Turning Point: Manny Ramirez took a Joe Borowski slider to the left field stands with a runner on in the Boston half of ninth. That made it a 6-4 ballgame and the Indians couldn’t muster a rally in the bottom half of the ninth.

Analysis: Despite the four runs scored, the Indians squandered a golden opportunity in the bottom of the fifth. After already scoring two runs in the inning, the Tribe had the bases loaded with one out. Ryan Garko and David Dellucci both struck out and left the bases jammed. The Indians left eight runners on base again tonight. Jake Westbrook was electric again. It’s sad this is the second quality start the team has squandered. Westbrook only allowed two runs in 6 and 1/3 innings of work. But the bullpen couldn’t hold it. Rafael Betancourt pitched 1 and 2/3 innings and struck out two but gave up a home run to Kevin Youkilis to make it 4-3. Then Joe Borowski blew his second consecutive save and Manny planted one on the home run porch.

MVP: Jake Westbrook
Jake couldn’t have done much better then he did tonight. Westbrook struck out five and allowed seven hits. Westbrook should’ve gotten the win.

Extras:

- The middle of the order seems to be coming to life. Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez were a combined 5-9 with three RBIs. Hafner is now hitting .275, while Victor raised his average to .333.

- While the middle was hot, the bottom half was not. Michaels, Dellucci, Gutierrez, and Blake combined to go 0-11 in the game with four strikeouts. Dellucci is the only one of the four who is hitting above the Mendoza line.

- Combined with last season, the Indians have now lost four in a row to the Red Sox.

Next Up: The Indians look to square up the short two game set against the Bo Sox. Paul Byrd gets the start for the Indians. Byrd has been tattooed so far in his first two starts, and he looks to get it going tomorrow. Byrd is 0-2 with an 11.05 ERA. The Bean Towners send knuckle baller, Tim Wakefield, to the mound. Wakefield is 1-0 with an 3.27 ERA. The first pitch will be from Progressive Field at 7:05 tomorrow night.

Lee is Lights Out Against Athletics

2008-04-13T17:10:00.002-04:00

Score: Indians 7 Athletics 1

Turning Point: Travis Hafner lined a single into center field with two runners on and two outs, in the third inning. It was the first they have converted a two out base hit. The Indians were 0-6 last night. But once Hafner drove in his runs, Cleveland never looked back.

Analysis: Last night it was noted in the recap that poor pitching and poor hitting do not win ball games. Well clutch hitting and great pitching do win games. Cleveland came through at the plate in two out situations. The Indians were 4-6 with runners in scoring position and drove in six runs. But the story of the game was the second consecutive dominant start against the A's for Cliff Lee. Lee pitched eight innings, allowed one run on two hits, and struck out eight batters.

MVP: Cliff Lee
As stated above, Lee was lights out. He had streaks of retiring nine and thirteen batters in a row. Lee continuously pounded the strike zone early in the count, making it difficult for Oakland to have solid at bats. Lee allowed his first earned run in 14 and 2/3 innings. Lee is now 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA.

Extras:

- Grady Sizemore, David Dellucci, and Travis Hafner came up clutch with two outs. Their two out base hits were crucial in the win today. Sizemore had two base hits with two outs and runners in scoring position. Grady drove in three runs, and both Hafner and Dellucci drove in two. Hafner and Sizemore are now tied for the team lead in RBIs with eight.

- Jamey Carroll may not have had a two out base hit, but he was part of the table setting. Carroll reached base every time he stepped up to the plate. He was 1-1 with three walks and three runs scored.

- Oakland pitched Chad Gaudin hit Jamey Carroll with a pitch in the Indians half of the third, and it is becoming a familiar thing for Cleveland on the young season. The Tribe is the leader in hit batsmen with ten.

- Progressive Field was an ice box on Sunday afternoon. Temperature hovered in the high 30’s and the fans experienced snow flurries throughout the game. The game was originally delayed 48 minutes due to ominous clouds, yet a drop of rain did not fall during the delay.

Next Up: The Indians welcome the Boston Red Sox to Progressive Field tomorrow evening. This is the first match up between the two clubs since last year’s ALCS. The Indians will start Jake Westbrook, who is 1-1 2.76 ERA. The Red Sox will send Jon Lester to the hill. Lester is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA. First pitch is from the corner of Carnegie and Ontario at 7:05 PM.

Carmona, Indians Continue Struggles Against A's

2008-04-12T23:16:00.002-04:00

Score: Athletics 7 Indians 3

Turning Point: Chris Denorfia drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the fourth off Fausto Carmona. It was Carmona’s eighth walk of the night, and that made the score 3-1. Although the Indians did make it 3-2 in the sixth, the Indians were never close to taking the lead.

Analysis: Poor pitching and poor hitting do not win ball games. The Indians squandered several opportunities at the plate, and let Lenny Dinardo, who’s ERA was 54.00 coming into today’s game, look like Johan Santana. From a pitching standpoint, Carmona didn’t have his best stuff again. He was ok, but it was clear after the bases loaded walk that he did not have it tonight. The pen was solid except for Rafael Perez, who allowed his four runs on three hits. That nullified any chance of a comeback.

MVP: Daric Barton
Barton continues to kill the Indians with timely hitting. He was only 1-4, but his hit was a two out single to drive in Oakland’s first two runs. That made it 2-0 early, and put Carmona on the ropes. Barton is hitting .363 off Tribe pitching this season.

Extras:

- Joe Borowski pitched for the first time since he gave up Torii Hunter’s walk off grand slam in Anaheim. JoeBo pitched an inning of work, striking out a batter, and didn’t give up a hit or walk.

- Jensen Lewis was a workhorse tonight. Lewis pitched 2 2/3 innings not giving up a run, and striking out two.

- Cleveland was 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Next Up: The Indians look to avoid a sweep at the hands of Oakland for the second time in a week. Cliff Lee was the man for the job last Sunday, and he looks for a duplicate performance, as he gets the nod tomorrow. Lee is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Oakland will send Chad Gaudin out to square off against Cleveland. Gaudin is 0-0 with a 11.25 ERA. First pitch will be at 1:05 PM from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland.

Sabathia Gets Rocked

2008-04-12T00:45:00.001-04:00

Score: Athletics 9 Indians 7

Turning Point: This game changed course early on. CC Sabathia retired the first two hitters he faced in the ball game. After that he gave up twelve hits that resulted in nine runs. It was Sabathia’s shortest outing since June 21, 2006.

Analysis: The Indians offense put together a valiant effort in the eighth inning. The Tribe rallied for five runs, and then Mother Nature stepped in and delayed the game for about an hour. When play resumed, a wild pitch brought home the sixth run of the inning. Unfortunately that was all Cleveland could muster up. On the hill, CC was awful. His stat line speaks for itself. He is now 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA. It’s not quite time to push the panic button, but this is not how the Indians front office envisioned him starting the year. The pen held Oakland at bay the rest of the way out.

MVP: Jhonny Peralta
Peralta continues to swing a hot bat for the Indians. He seems to be a one-man offensive machine. Peralta launched his third homer of the season in the second inning. He followed that with a walk and a run scoring single in the sixth run seventh. He is now batting a solid .324

Extras:

- The season series with the A’s stands at 1-3. Oakland has outscored Cleveland 22-13 in those four games.

-Another former AL Central Division foe hurt the Indians on Friday. First earlier in the week, former Minnesota Twin, Torii Hunter, stroked two homers off Cleveland to win. Tonight former Kansas City Royal, Mike Sweeney, went 2-4 and drove in two runs.

- The bullpen shut down the Athletic bats after Sabathia left. Jorge Julio did give up a single that scored two runs, however the runners were inherited. Besides Julio, Craig Breslow, Masahide Kobayashi, and Rafael Betancourt combined to give up only three hits and struck out seven

Next Up:
The Tribe looks to get back to winning ways with the second game of the three game set tomorrow night against Oakland. The Indians send Fausto Carmona out to the hill. He is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Oakland will counter with Lenny Dinardo. Dinardo is 0-0 with a 54.00 ERA. First pitch will be from Progressive Field at 7:05 PM.

Indians and Carmona Agree on New Deal

2008-04-10T21:36:00.004-04:00

Up until Thursday afternoon, the biggest home run hit was probably Travis Hafner’s two run shot on Tuesday night. But Mark Shapiro trumped that in a big way. Shapiro, the Indians GM, cranked a homer, metaphorically speaking. Shapiro locked up young ace starter, Fausto Carmona, to a long term deal on Thursday.

The right hander and the Indians agreed to a 4 year deal that pays out 15 million dollars. The Tribe also holds a three year option that could make the deal worth as much as 7 years to the tune of 48 million. Carmona, who was the surprise story last season, won his way to 19 games, and showed poise beyond his years. The deal locks up the future of the club’s starting rotation through at least 2014.

The deal also gives the Indians options. It has been widely reported that the parties who represent CC Sabathia, who is eligible to be a free agent this coming off season, and the Indians have broken off contract talks until the end of the season. The deal, however, in no way means the Indians are not interested in Sabathia. But the deal does give the Indians stability in case CC decides to leave town.
Shapiro cited Carmona’s toughness, that led him to sign this deal, which is the highest guarantee a club can make to a pre-arbitration eligible starter. Whether it was his resiliency during Carmona’s disastrous time as the Indians closer, or the now infamous ALDS Game Two that saw Lake Erie midges swarm then Jacobs Field, Carmona has fought through the adversity. "This is a guy who has shown he wants to be great," Mark Shapiro said. "He has exceptional toughness, exceptional talent and intelligence. Those things combined with his work ethic made this a very easy decision."
But most importantly what it does is lock up another piece of a core of young players the Indians already have signed to long term deals. The Tribe had already signed Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Grady Sizemore, Jake Westbrook, Jhonny Peralta, and Cliff Lee to multi year deals. The only thing that Cleveland did not have was a starting rotation ace. Carmona is that ace. Shapiro’s move shows the Indians commitment to not only winning, but also being financially responsible as well. The club has made a habit of signing its young stars to long term deals, before it was necessary, and so far it has paid off. The young core of players led the Indians to a win away from the World Series last year.
So the Indians might be struggling out of the gate on the early season, but the biggest move was done on the second off day of the season. The Indians have locked up another piece to the puzzle, and they did it in a sound financial move. At the end of the season there may be towering homers, awesome strikeouts, and terrific defensive highlights to remember. But maybe the biggest play of 2008 has already been made, and it wasn’t made on the field.

The Long Ball Dooms Cleveland

2008-04-09T18:31:00.003-04:00

Score: Angels 9 Indians 5

Turning Point: Mike Napoli hit a grand slam off Paul Byrd in the bottom of the second, and that started the long ball rally for the Angels.

Analysis: The Tribe offense seemed to be getting on track. Today’s series finale showed the Indians generating some offense. The Indians had twelve hits in the ball game. They setup rallies in sixth and eighth innings. Cleveland still left nine men on base, but the offense is showing some signs of life. Off the bump, Paul Byrd got shelled for the second straight outing. Byrd six runs on five hits to drive his ERA up to 11.05. He gave up three bombs, and Jensen Lewis gave up another one in the seventh.

MVP: Jhonny Peralta
Peralta had a great day at the plate in a losing effort. Peralta had a single, double, and home run to finish up his 3-5 day. Peralta’s average has jumped from .143 going into lasr Sunday’s game to .294 at the end of today.

Extras:

- The Indians finished their first road trip of the year today. The Tribe finished 2-4 on the West Coast. The brings their overall record to 4-5 on the young season.

- The Indians committed their sixth error in nine games today in the field.

- Hitters two through five in the lineup didn’t put up much of a fight today. Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner, and Ryan Garko, who batted in that order, went a combined 2-14 at the plate today.

- David Dellucci, who got his first hit yesterday, had another soild day at the dish, going 2-4.

Next Up: The Indians have an off day tomorrow, Thursday. They get back in action on Friday from the friendly confines of Progressive Field. The Tribe will start a seven game home stand, and they welcome Oakland to town for the weekend series. The Indians will send ace CC Sabathia, who looks to finally get his 2008 season going in the right direction. Sabathia is 0-1 with a 7.59 ERA. The Athletics will start their ace Joe Blanton. Blanton is 0-2 with a 3.44 ERA.

Pronk's Blast Saves Tribe

2008-04-09T01:00:00.003-04:00

Score: Indians 4 Angels 3

Turning Point: Travis Hafner blasted a Justin Speier pitch into the right field seats with Asdrubal Cabrera on to give the Tribe the 4-3 lead.

Analysis: Travis Hafner saw the pitch he wanted, and planted it in the right field stands. This was the second night in a row the Indians rallied in the top of the ninth. The difference was Jake Westbrook. Westbrook had his second stellar outing. He worked a complete game, gave up seven hits, and three runs. Westbrook also struck out four. He also only threw 94 pitches for the win.

MVP: Asdrubal Cabrera
My apologies to Pronk, but it was Cabrera who not only drove in the Indians first two runs, but worked out of a 1-2 count to draw a walk. That walk set up Hafner’s two run shot to give the Indians the lead in the ninth.

Extras:
- David Dellucci finally got his first hit of the 2008 season. Dellucci lined a high fastball of Ervin Santana into the right center gap.

- After allowing five stolen bases last night, the Indians didn’t allow one stolen base on Tuesday. Jake Westbrook did a wonderful job paying attention to the speedy Halos and keeping them at bay.

- Opening Day was good to Franklin Gutierrez. He was 3-3 with a homer. Since then he has gone 1-23 at the plate. He now has a .154 batting average.

- Despite the victory, Cleveland continues to struggle with runners on base and runners in scoring position. The Indians left nine men on base compared to the Angels one runner.

- The victory by the Indians snapped the Angels streak of consecutive wins with the lead going into the ninth. The Angels has won the previous 162 games in a row when they had the lead going into the last inning.

Next Up: The Indians look to finish at the .500 on this road trip. The Indians send Paul Byrd out. He looks to rebound after his shaky start in Oakland last Saturday. Byrd is 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA. He will take on Dustin Moseley. Moseley is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA. First pitch is tomorrow afternoon at 3:35 PM EST from Angels Stadium.

Hunter Slams Borowski, Tribe

2008-04-08T01:23:00.002-04:00

Score: Angels 6 Indians 4

Turning Point: Torii Hunter punished the Indians bullpen twice. First he hit a solo shot off Rafael Betancourt to give the Angels the lead. Then after the Tribe took a 4-2 lead in the ninth, Torii Hunter blasted a grand slam off an erratic Joe Borowski in the bottom half of the ninth to win it for the Angels

Analysis: The Indians were able to rally in the ninth off of Angels’ closer, Francisco Rodriguez. Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta, and Casey Blake all drove in runs in the top half of the ninth to give the Indians the short lived lead. It was the first time the Indians put together a good string of hits since the second game of the season. On the mound, Fausto Carmona was brilliant again. He was a little erratic with his control, but he held the Angels at bay. He pitched six innings, struck out three, and allowed only an unearned run on a Casey Blake throwing error. Carmona’s ERA is now a meager 0.69. The two Rafaels pitched the seventh and eighth. But it was a out of control Borowski who loaded the bases, and hung a slider to Torii Hunter that resulted in the grand slam.

MVP: Torii Hunter
Hunter came up clutch in the late innings with homers in the eighth and ninth. He might be wearing a new uniform, but he still hits the Indians well. Hunter was 3-5 with the two round trippers, and drove in five. The grand slam in ninth was the tenth of Hunter’s career.

Extras:

- Jamey Carroll got the start at second base, and it was hard to not make him the MVP. His defense at second was fantastic tonight. Carroll made two diving stops in the gap to rob the Angels of two hits. He also held on to a tough throw from Victor Martinez to tag out Gary Matthews, who was trying to steal.

- As promised, Victor Martinez did start at catcher tonight. Victor had a rough night behind the plate, as the Angels stole five bases, but he did throw out Gary Matthews in the seventh. But it was his clutch double into the right hand corner that got the rally in the ninth started. Martinez was 2-4 with an RBI. He is hitting .571 so far.

- Joe Saunders started for the Angels and pitched brilliantly. He side stepped some early trouble, and he only allowed one base runner after he gave up a home run to Jhonny Peralta. Saunders struck out five and gave up only four hits on the night. He is now 2-0 with 0.56 ERA

- Rafael Perez continued his dominant start to the new season. Perez came on in the seventh and pitched well. He still has not given up a run this season.

- Jhonny Peralta was a one man offensive machine. He went 2-4 with a double and a home run. He also drove in two. Peralta seems to be getting his swing on track. He had two hits yesterday in Oakland and two more tonight.

- The Indians are now 1-3 on their current road trip on the West coast.

Next Up: The Indians face off against the Angels again in game two of the three game set. Jake Westbrook gets the nod for the Indians, and he will square off against Ervin Santana. Westbrook is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA, while Santana is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA. First pitch will be at 10:05 PM EST from Angels Stadium in Anaheim.

Tribe Tidbits: Victor, Hafner's Struggles, AL Central Update

2008-04-07T14:44:00.003-04:00

Martinez Back: Victor Martinez has been sidelined with a pulled hamstring since last Monday’s opener against the Chicago White Sox. Outside of a pinch hitting opportunity against the Sox last Thursday, Victor has been designated to a seat on the pine. But manager, Eric Wedge, said on Sunday, that Victor was expected to start at catcher in the series opener with the L.A. Angels of Anaheim. Martinez was going to take some batting practice, and then run some sprints. If all went well, he would be back in the starting lineup according to Wedge.

Hafner Buckling Down: Although the Indians are only six games into 2008, Travis Hafner still continues to struggle at the plate. Hafner has a respectable average at .261 for the first week. But the concern is the lack of walks Hafner has generated is the concern. Hafner, who normally has a selective eye at the plate, has only walked three times in twenty three at bats. More alarming is his nine strikeouts. His plate discipline woes were most evident Saturday, when Hafner stuck out in consecutive at bats on curve balls out of the zone. It was enough that STO color analyst, Rick Manning, took notice. “He usually doesn’t swing at that stuff, especially in consecutive at bats. He’s really not seeing the ball well.” Sunday, however, brought a renewed focus at the plate. Hafner remarked that he needed to be more consistent at the plate. He was 1-4 and had a walk.

Motor City Woes: At the end of the first week, the AL Central Standings were drastically different then most experts thought. The Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox were ties atop the standing at 4-2 with the Tribe a game behind at 3-3. But the real shock of the week is who the cellar dweller is in standings. The Detroit Tigers, many analysts pick for A.L. representative in the World Series, currently sits at 0-6. The Tigers have been outscored 33-11 through the losing streak.

Miscellaneous:

- One of the things that often go unrecognized is the performances by players off the field. This website will try and recognize those accomplishments. Cliff Lee and his wife, Kristen, were named honorary chairpersons for the Annual Light the Night Walk. Congratulations Cliff and Kristen.

Cliff Lee's Gem Halts Losing Streak

2008-04-06T20:43:00.001-04:00

Score: Indians 2 Athletics 1

Turning Point: It came in the top of the seventh when Oakland first baseman, Daric Barton, bobbled a tailor made double play on a ground ball hit by Asdrubal Cabrera that allowed a run to score to tie the game at one. The Indians would go on to take the lead on a bases loaded walk by Ryan Garko.

Analysis: Cliff Lee pitched tremendously in his 2008 debut. Lee allowed one unearned run on four hits. Lee struck out four and only walked one. The Cleveland offense was able to eek out two runs in the top of the seventh, and the pen would keep Oakland at bay for the rest of the game.

MVP: Cliff Lee
Lee made 2007 look like an after thought by pitching very well. Lee was in command from the beginning of the game. He peppered the strike zone early in the count and A’s hitters were constantly down in the count. The only run scored by Oakland was unearned.

Extras:
- Grady Sizemore continues to be the Indians most potent weapon at the plate. Sizemore was on base three out of the five times he came up to bat.

- Rafael Perez was sharp again in late inning relief. Perez has appeared three times and has struck out three. He also has not yet given up a run.

- Joe Borowski made his first appearance since Opening Day. Borowski did his job again. Borowski pitched the ninth inning and he recorded his second save of the season.

- Andy Marte and Jamey Carroll both played in today’s game. Now every player on the current roster has made an appearance in a game. Marte went 1-3 with a single. Carroll pinch ran for Marte in the seventh and scored the tying run.

Next Up: The Indians travel south to Anaheim for a three game set with the L.A. Angels of Anaheim. Fausto Carmona takes the ball for the Tribe. Carmona is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA. The Angels will start Joe Saunders, who is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. First pitch is tomorrow night at 10:05 PM EST at Angels Stadium in Anaheim.

Tribe Loses Third in a Row

2008-04-05T21:11:00.003-04:00

Score: Athletics 6 Indians 1

Turning Point: It came early in this one. After giving up a run in the top of the 1st inning, the Athletics answered back with three runs of their own. Darric Barton led off the rally by hitting a triple to right center. Emil Brown would single him home a batter later, and the A’s wouldn’t look back.

Analysis: Again, for the third game in a row, the Tribe bats have made a pitcher who is mediocre at best, look like Cy Young. First it was Jon Danks on Thursday, Justin Duchscherer last night, and Dana Eveland today. They squandered some opportunities, but once again they failed to get the lead off man on base. Another glaring hole is the approach at the plate with two strikes. The Indians seem as though they are trying to be too fine at the plate. Sabathia didn’t have his “A” game again, but he kept the Indians in it for 5 1/3.

MVP: Dana Eveland
For the second straight game, the Oakland starter baffled Indians hitters. Eveland scattered 6 hits giving up the one run, in seven innings of work. Eveland also set a new career high in strikeouts with seven.

Extras:
- Rafael Betancourt came on in relief the eighth and he left after only a 1/3 of inning. Betancourt allowed two runs on four hits.

- Grady Sizemore recorded his first stolen base of the season. With the offense struggling, look for the Indians to try and steal with Sizemore to get a runner in scoring position.

-The left field platoon of Jason Michaels and David Dellucci has yet to record a hit this season. They are a combined 0 for 12 with two runs and four strikeouts.

Next Up: The Indians will try to avoid the sweep against Oakland on Sunday. Cliff Lee, who won the fifth spot in the rotation in Spring Training, will make his first start of the 2008 season. Oakland will send Joe Blanton to the mound. Blanton is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. First pitch will again be at 4:05 PM EST from McAfee Coliseum.

Indians Drop Opener in Oakland

2008-04-05T02:00:00.004-04:00

Score: Athletics 6 Indians 3

Turning Point: The bottom of the 5th inning saw the A’s tag Paul Byrd for four runs. Byrd got himself into a bases loaded jam with no outs. Kurt Suzuki, Jack Hannahan, Ryan Sweeney, and Bobby Crosby each drive in a run in the inning.

Analysis: It was a typical Paul Byrd start. Byrd worked himself into some jams, and he was pretty unscathed until the bottom of the 5th. But once he worked himself into the bases loaded and no out jam, he wouldn’t escape. Offensively the Tribe bats woke up too late. They couldn’t get it going early on against a very dominant Justin Duchscherer. The bullpen held up, sending the Indians to their second straight loss.

MVP: Justin Duchscherer
You have to give it to the Oakland starter. He turned in a very dominant performance until he left with arm discomfort after the 5th. He only gave up four hits, one run, and struck out six. The Indians looked baffled by him through the first three innings.

Extras:
- Although Kelly Shoppach started at catcher again, Victor Martinez did catch a bullpen session today, and he reported no problems. It is not clear when Martinez will return to the lineup, but it is possible he may play either tomorrow or Sunday.

- Tribe newcomer Craig Breslow made his Indians debut, and he pitched very well. Breslow went an 1 1/3 innings and struck out one.

- Former Indian Keith Foulke appeared against the Tribe on Friday night. Everyone knows of course Foulke never pitched an inning for Cleveland last season, before he retired shortly before spring training. Foulke gave up a run in his inning of relief, but he did strike out two.

- Cleveland has now dropped its last 16 out of 22 games to the A's at McAfee Coliseum.

- Hope you have a radio. Saturday’s match up with Oakland will not be televised due to extenuating circumstances. Sportstime Ohio, the Indians cable network, was originally scheduled to carry the game, but due to Major League Baseball’s contract with Fox, led them to select the game is its potential nationally televised Game of the Week. However Fox opted not to show it, yet STO is unable to televise it still. Good news though. So far it is the only Indians game so far that will not be televised. Folks can still listen to the game on the Cleveland Indians Radio Network. Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan will have the call.

Next Up: The Indians will face off with Oakland again tomorrow, in game two of this three game set. The Tribe will send ace C.C. Sabathia to the bump in hopes of climbing back over the .500 mark. Oakland will start Dana Eveland, who came to Oakland from Arizona in the Dan Haren trade. First pitch will be at 4:05 from McAfee Coliseum.

The Farm Report

2008-04-04T00:17:00.003-04:00

Buffalo Bisons:

Players to Watch: OF Ben Francisco, 2B Josh Barfield, RHP Adam Miller, LHP Aaron Laffey, LHP Jeremy Sowers, 1B Ryan Mulhern

Analysis:
Veterans Ben Francisco, Josh Barfield, Aaron Laffey, and Jeremy Sowers will all start the year in Buffalo. That’s good news if you are Buffalo and bad news to be one of those players. Francisco was last years IL Batting Champion, and he looks to bolster what should be a good lineup. Keep an eye on 1B Ryan Mulhern, who was Buffalo’s MVP last season. Another prospect worth paying attention too is C Wyatt Toregas. Toregas impressed Indian’s manager Eric Wedge this past spring, and the club is very high on the young backstop. But the strength of the club rests in its pitching rotation. It boasts two pitchers who each have spent a significant amount of time with the big league club in southpaws, Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers. Also Adam Miller, whom many consider the Tribe’s top pitching prospect, looks to bounce back from an elbow injury and try and make the show this year.

Akron Aeros:

Players to Watch: OF Trevor Crowe, 1B Michael Aubrey, LHP Chuck Lofgren

Analysis:
The Aeros return several main pieces from last years runner up. The main keys to keep an eye on are Trevor Crowe and Michael Aubrey. Both enjoyed extended springs with the big league club. With some more seasoning, both could find there way to Cleveland by season’s end. Another prospect who is turning heads is pitcher Chuck Lofgren. Lofgren notched 12 wins for Akron and tallied 130 strikeouts. He is another candidate to join the big league club, before seasons end.

Tribe Falls in Finale, Can't Complete Sweep

2008-04-03T17:32:00.004-04:00

Score: White Sox 2 Indians 1

Turning Point: It came in the bottom of the 8th, when Joe Crede took a hanging sinker from Jake Westbrook over the left field wall to break a 1-1 tie.

Analysis: The Indian bats had a tough time getting the offense rolling in this one. White Sox starter, Jon Danks, held the Tribe hitless until the bottom of the 6th inning. When Cleveland finally scored a run, Westbrook gave up homer to Crede the next inning. For his part though, Jake Westbrook did pitch rather well. He did give up just the two runs, and he kept the Tribe in it until he left. The Indians would’ve been happier with the sweep, but they will take the series win.

MVP: Jon Danks
Danks was unhittable until the 6th inning, and he only gave up a run on two hits. Danks didn’t get the win, but it was a big stride in his career. Danks finished last season with a 6-13 record and a 5.50 ERA. The outing was a tremendous improvement, and could be a sign of things to come for the left hander.

Extras:
-Octavio Dotel had a much different outing Thursday then his appearance on Opening Day. Dotel only pitched a 1/3 of an inning, but he got the crucial third out in the 7th inning. After Danks gave up the tying run on a Garko double, Dotel was brought in to close out the inning, against Casey Blake, his nemesis on Opening Day. This time though Dotel got Blake to fly out harmlessly to centerfield. The Indians head west to Oakland an then on to Los Angeles of Anaheim for three more games.

Next Up:
Cleveland takes its game to the West Coast to take on the Oakland Athletics. The Indians send Paul Byrd to the hill while Oakland will start Justin Duchscherer. First pitch will be at 10:05 PM at McAfee Coliseum on Friday night. Cleveland is 2-1 and Oakland is 1-3 on the young season.

Carmona Cruises, Leads Tribe to 2-0 Start

2008-04-02T23:12:00.003-04:00

Score: Indians 7 White Sox 2

Turning Point: When Grady Sizemore got the offense rolling in the second inning. Grady lined a base hit to left field, with two outs and the bases loaded. Franklin Gutierrez and David Dellucci came around to score, and the Indians never looked back

Analysis: Anytime Fausto Carmona pitches the way he did tonight, it is going to be tough to beat him. Carmona pitched seven solid innings and limited the Sox to only one run. Grady Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera led the offensive charge for the Tribe. Sizemore went 3-4 with a triple and three RBIs. Not to be outdone, Cabrera went 3-5 with a double and drove in two runs. The closest the Sox came was in the 5th inning to make it 2-1. But Cleveland answered in the bottom half with two runs of their own

MVP: Fausto Carmona
Carmona picked up right where he left off last season, dominating the White Sox order. Carmona went seven innings and only allowed one run on four hits. He had 3 double play balls coupled with a total of 16 ground ball outs. He also struck out four. When Carmona pitches like this, he is almost unbeatable.

Extras:
- Matt Thornton of the White Sox had a tough moment pitching in the bottom of the 8th inning. With two runners on, Ryan Garko hit a broken bat ground ball to Thornton. The ball and the stub of the bat arrived at the mound at the same time. The bat landed in Thornton’s glove, allowing the ball to trickle by. Garko legged out the ground ball and Sizemore scored on the play.

- Travis Hafner added two hits of his own. But what was encouraging about those
hits were Hafner went with the pitches lacing a base hit to left and left center field.

- Rafael Perez came back strong. After a rough opening day outing, in which he gave up two hits that resulted in runs, Perez was able to retire Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye on strike outs to close out the 8th inning.

- The atmosphere was different in the Indians second game from its home opener. The attendance was 17, 645, which is about 23,000 less than Opening Day. Also the temperature was about thirty degrees cooler. Many players donned a variety of head gear to keep warm in the field. White Sox short stop Orlando Cabrera ran the bases with hand warmers in tow.

Next Up: The Indians look to finish the sweep of the White Sox with a business man’s special on Thursday. They will face off at 12:05 at Progressive Field. Cleveland sends Jake Westbrook to the mound while the White Sox counter with John Danks.

Tribe Tidbits: Victors Hammy, CC, and more

2008-04-02T00:40:00.003-04:00

Martinez Day to Day: When asked how serious the pulled hamstring was to Victor Martinez, Eric Wedge seemed pretty tight lipped. Tuesday's press release called it a mild strain. This was the second opening day in a row where Martinez limped off the field. During last year's blizzard, Victor strained his quadricep. The Indians are not planning on making any roster move at this time.

CC Squeezed: CC Sabathia had a mediocre opener allowing 3 walks and 5 earned runs. Sabathia blamed his poor outing on not being able to establish his fastball. But the consensus around Tribe nation was the narrowing of the strike zone by home plate umpire, Gerry Davis. Many felt both homeruns that were given up to Thome, were a result of CC being squeezed on the outside corner. Both Thome home runs came after Sabathia had two strikes on him.

A Year's Difference: Many Cleveland fans coudn't help but reminisce about the 2007 Opening Day that wasn't at the then Jacobs Field. Paul Byrd threw 4 2/3 of no hit baseball, until the game was suspended for a fourth time due to heavy snowfall. Several times the grounds crew was forced shovel off the outfield. Temperatures were in the low teens last year, compared to yesterday's high of 60 degrees.

Miscellaneous:

-Yesterday was the earliest Cleveland had opened at home since 2001. The Tribe played the White Sox then too.

-Yesterday was also officially the Tribe's first game in Progressive Field. Progressive Insurance bought the naming rights this past winter. Fans were treated to Progressive Field ballcaps, as a courtesy from the company.

-Although officially sold out, there were several empty seats at Progressive Field. Many pundits blamed it on the original ominious forecast. Others blamed it on Cleveland's slumping economy.

Blake Turns Back Sox

2008-04-02T00:22:00.003-04:00

Score: Indians 10 White Sox 8

Turning Point: Casey Blake hit a 3 run double off the top of the left field wall with bases loaded and 2 outs in the bottom of the eighth. Blake lined Octavio Dotel's pitch out of a 1-2 count

Analysis: The Indians were able to score runs when they needed too. The Tribe tacked up a 7 spot in the second inning. Then they added the 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth. CC Sabathia went 5 1/3 innings striking out seven, but he also gave up five runs, 4 of which were the result of Thome homeruns.

MVP: Rafael Betancourt

Betancourt was able to work the Tribe out of a bases loaded jam with no outs in the top of the eighth. After giving up back to back doubles, Betancourt was able to get a force out ground out at the plate. Then he was able to get Thome to ground into a double play, which was the result of the interference call on Orlando Cabrera

Next: These two teams meet again at 7:05 at Progressive Field. Fausto Carmona will start for the Indians while Javier Vazquez takes the mound for the White Sox.

2008 Tribe Preview

2008-04-02T00:15:00.003-04:00

by Chris Schmidbauer
4/1/08

As the 2008 season began yesterday, it seems as though yours truly is a bit behind. But have no fear, the 2008 Tribe preview is here. Last season, the Indians fell one game short of a World Series berth to the eventual champion, Boston Red Sox. 2008 brings high expectations for the Indians. The Indians not only have the pressure of trying to duplicate a performance from last season, but also hold off the rest of a vastly improved AL Central opponents. Here is a breakdown of the Indians for 2008.

2007 Record: 96-66

Key Additions: RP Masahide Kobayashi, INF Jamey Carroll

Key Subtractions: OF Kenny Lofton, OF Trot Nixon

Manager: Eric Wedge (5th season)
Eric Wedge looks to follow up his 2007 Manager of the Year season, with one that ends in a World Series title. Wedge showed signs of becoming one of the games top skippers last season.

Coaching Staff: HC Derek Shelton, PC Carl Willis, BC Jeff Datz, 1B Luis Rivera, 3B Joel Skinner

Catcher: Victor Martinez (.301 Avg, 25 HR, 114 RBI)
Victor Martinez might be the best hitting catcher in all of baseball. Martinez's strongest feat last year was his improved defensive skills. Victor is an early MVP candidate in 2008

First Base: Ryan Garko (.289 Avg, 21 HR, 61 RBI)
Garko had an impressive season in 2007, the first as an everyday player. Garko, who many thought would start the year in Buffalo last season, became a surprise mainstay in the Tribe lineup. The organization would like to see his RBI total rise even higher this season, now that he has his feet wet. Garko also turned out to be a pretty solid defensive first baseman.

Second Base: Asdrubal Cabrera (.283 Avg, 3 HR, 22 RBI)
A mid season call up, Cabrera cemented his name into the lineup after becoming the catalyst that jump started the Indians last season push to clinch the AL Central. A short stop by trade, Cabrera showed poise beyond his years at second base, especially in the playoffs where he drove in 6 runs and played wonderful in the field.

Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta (.270 Avg, 21 HR, 72 RBI)
After a dismal 2006 season, Jhonny Peralta rebounded with a very good year. Peralta became a clutch hitter down the stretch, and also vastly improved his defense at short. The Indians would love for Peralta to improve upon his RBI total in '08, especially since he will be a middle of the order hitter.

Third Base: Casey Blake (.270 Avg, 18 HR, 78 RBI)
Down the stretch last season, when the Tribe needed a big hit, it was a job for Casey at the bat. Blake came up big for the Indians, especially against the rival Detroit Tigers. Blake filled in admirably at third base, after rookie Andy Marte never quite panned out. Blake is a above average defender, who plays with alot of grit.

Centerfield: Grady Sizemore (.277 Avg, 24 HR, 78 RBI)
The main cog in the Indians machine, Sizemore turned in another solid performance in his young career. Grady had a slight drop in his numbers at the plate, but he more than made up for it in the field. Sizemore is the wheel that makes the Indians go. Sizemore could be the next to join the 30/30 club.

Rightfield: Franklin Gutierrez (.266 Avg, 13 HR, 36 RBI)
Gutierrez was another player who started in the farm system in 2007 and ended up playing a key role in the Tribe's run to the postseason. "Goot", as he is known by the fans, is a great young prospect that has pop to left field. Gutierrez needs to improve his hitting against right handed pitchers, but he is a tremendous right field. He also has a laser for an arm.

Leftfield: Jason Michaels (.270 Avg, 7 HR, 39 RBI) & David Dellucci (.230 Avg, 4 HR, 20 RBI)
Jason Michaels and David Dellucci will once again platoon in left field. Michaels will start against left handers, while Dellucci will start against right handers. Michaels played decent most of last season. The Tribe still are waiting for Michaels to take that next step offensively. However J-Mike is a pretty good outfielder. Dellucci was hurt most of last season. He was slumping when his season ended last season. The Indians need Dellucci to put up number similar to those he did with the Phillies in '06, the season before he signed with Cleveland.

DH: Travis Hafner (.266 Avg, 24 HR, 100 RBI)
2007 was a rough year for Travis Hafner. Hafner hit almost thirty points below his career average. At times Hafner seemed to have his stroke back, and at others he seemed lost at the plate. Hafner still drove in 100, but he looks to rebound in 2008.

Bench: Cleveland has a rather solid bench. Kelly Shoppach, who would be a startin catcher anywhere else, will again be the back up to Martinez at catcher. Jamey Carroll, who was acquired by from the Rockies, will be the utility infielder. Andy Marte, will also be a bench player looking to play first and third base. Marte, who is out of options, needs to prove he belongs at the major league level.

Starting Rotation
1.) CC Sabathia (19-7, 3.21 ERA, 209 K)
CC looks to repeat his 2007 performance, when he won the AL Cy Young Award. Sabathia enters the final year in his contract, and he will need to have another dominant year. A dominant fastball and a nice changeup have hitters off balance.

2.) Fausto Carmona (19-8, 3.06 ERA, 137 K)
Carmona was the whiz kid for Cleveland last season. Fausto was destined to be a starter for the Bisons until Cliff Lee went down early on. Carmona pitched his way into the rotation though. He ended up posting a team tying 19 wins, and he was the hero of Game 2 of the ALDS, when the Yankees were attacked by the Lake Erie midges. Carmona has a biting sinking fastball and a devastating slider.

3.) Jake Westbrook (6-9, 4.32 ERA, 93 K)
Westbrook, who was hurt for a major portion of '07, had an up and down campaign. Westbrook shined in all three of his playoff starts. Westbrook struggled during the season, but seemed to find his rhythm toward the end of the season. Westbrook is a sinker baller who is almost unhittable when he is on.

4.) Paul Byrd (15-8, 4.59 ERA, 88 K)
Paul Byrd had a great rebound season in 2007. Byrd was able to keep offenses at bay with his array of junk ball, while he was the pitcher who benefited the most from the Indian offense. Byrd, like Westbrook, had two very good post season starts, but rumors of HGH use could affect his eligibility in 2008.

5.) Cliff Lee (5-8, 6.29 ERA, 66 K)
Cliff Lee looks to rebound from a disastrous 2007. Lee started the season on the disabled list, and he never quite found his form. Lee was inconsistent and had a hard time getting ahead of hitters. Lee won the job over fellow south paws Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers. The Indians would like nothing better then Lee to return to form from the 2005 and 2006 season. If he doesn't look for the Indians to look elsewhere.

Bullpen
CL: Joe Borowski (45 SV, 5.07 ERA, 58 K)
Joe Borowski was known for his tight rope saves. Borowski became the first closer to lead the league in saves and have an ERA over 5.00. He also led the league in blown saves. The Indians hope to see a lower ERA, but a similar saves number in 2008.

Setup: Rafael Betancourt (5-1, 1.47 ERA, 80 K)
In his most dominant season yet, Rafael Betancourt was as automatic as you can get. The Indians benefited from Betancourt's consistency in the late innings of ball games. With a fantastic fastball and changeup, Betancourt had a career high in strikeouts last season. Look for more of the same in 2008.

The Rest:
The Indians got much of its talent from the farm system when it came to the bullpen. Guys like Rafael Perez and Jensen Lewis were tough down the stretch, and both were key to shutting down the Yankees in the ALDS. The Indians added some depth this year too. Japanese import Masahide Kobayashi, who was a top closer in Japan, adds some much needed experience, and he can provide some late inning help. Also added to the mix is veteran Jorge Julio, who had a terrific spring.

Outlook:
The Cleveland Indians are bound and determined to bring a World Series title to Cleveland for the first time 1948. But with the vast improving AL Central, especially the Detroit Tigers, the Tribe definitely has their work cut out for them. The Indians will need repeat performances from the pitching staff. Sabathia and Carmona will need to turn in similar seasons, and the bullpen will need to produce it's success as well. The lineup will need more solid production from the corner outfield positions and at DH. Gutierrez and the platoon of Michaels/Dellucci will need to be more consistent at the plate. Travis Hafner also needs to have a better year at the plate. If Hafner can't learn to adjust to pitches on the outside part of the plate, he will continue to struggle. If the Indians can put that together, they have a great shot at repeating in the AL Central.