Inside Cleveland Sports

Good Riddance

2006-05-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060512&content_id=1451080&vkey=pr_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle The Indians have finally parted ways with the uber-useless Danny Graves. To replace him is Fausto Carmona. Carmona's fastball/slider combo should be great out of the pen but whether he is ready to work like that remains to be seen. Tonight it was not the bullpen but the starting pitching that let the Tribe down. Another loss.

some series

2006-05-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well that was a waste. Another horrible series for the Tribe. Getting swept by the Royals to go a game under .500 was not something anyone could have seen at the start of this year. After going 6-1 to start the year the Indians are 11-17 and have been beaten by the Royals 6 times. The Tigers, loses of 3 straight, come to town now. Will that heal us?

Suggestions:

Release Graves, he is horrific in situations that matter. We need guys who can get outs when it matters
Activate Karsay, pitching well at AAA and should have the arm elasticity required to pitch out of our bullpen.
Do something (release, trade, bench) both Aaron Boone and Ramon Vazquez. I said early and often that releasing Phillips was a mistake and it was. Correct it now by unloading Vazquez and doing something, anything with Boone.

Updates

2006-05-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

The Indians start a series with the Royals today. The White Sox (22-9) are currently 5.5 games ahead of the Tribe and stand at 14-6 in the division. The Indians (17-15) are a respectable 9-6 in the division but need to make their proverbial hay when they have the chance. At this point the Tribe stood at 12-17 and was already 12 games back. Since the "Fly ball in the sun" game the Royals have been a challenge for the Tribe. This is not a good thing. This series against the 7-22 Royals should tell us alot about this team.

Nice

2006-05-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

Anyone else wish that Kobe would have been a man and done something to Raja Bell instead of just hiding behind his coach? What a wuss. The Indians are doing their usual thing here, a couple of good games to get our hopes up and now a 9-1 blowout in the 6th. Great job guys. Danny Graves haters the world over (myself included) may be forced to admit he has more worth than just filling a roster spot. He has actually been good lately. The best performance from the bullpen so far this year is, without a doubt, Jeremy Guthrie. At this point last year he was getting slapped around in his first 3 starts in AAA. He came back after a terrible year, put in some serious work, and now is a decent contributor out of the pen. I actually enjoy seeing him arrive on the field.

A win.

2006-04-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

Step back from the ledge, put the knife down and stop kicking the dog, the Indians have won. Cliff Lee was able to bow up and put Ortiz away on strikes twice in big situations and contain the rest of the Sox lineup very well. Jason Davis was solid again, he has really developed into good reliever. I would rather see him than Danny Graves any day. At least Davis looks like a man. A win against Beckett would actually convince us that the Indians are a decent team. The offense is very close to being unstoppable and, with pitching, this is a phenomenal team... To the few who may read this... I am heading to Lexington for the Mid South Conference tournament so I will be off of here for a few days.

Bullpen

2006-04-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

So the Indians bullpen is in the process of blowing another game. Meanwhile Bob Howry is being lights out for the Cubs. Is $3 million too much to pay a reliable bullpen arm? Keep in mind that, as things stand, we have exactly no reliable arms. Only the best offense in the league is keeping us even in most games. Meanwhile we are facing Foulke, Timlin and then Papelbon.

Even as I say this our offense is making yet another run. These guys can just flat out hit. 120 runs, .306 team BA. Excellent numbers. Grady needs one clutch hit here to erase the bullpens woes. (The crowd from the Cavalier game has assembled near the porch and has about doubled the noise factor recently). And Grady goes down with ferocious cut. Papelbon will be on next and that will about do it. We are a pitching staff away from being good.

Last Year

2006-04-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

At this point last year the Indians were 8-10, not a single starter was hitting over .300 and Bob Wickman had a 7.76 ERA. Bob Howry set Wick up and pitched well against the Mariners to lower his ERA to 2.79. The next day Scott Elarton was roughed up to go 0-1 with an ERA over 7. The bullpen was horrific, allowing 4 runs in 2.2 innings. We were down 6 games to the White Sox already. All things considered that makes this year look somewhat better. The bullpen has sucked, granted, but maybe the advantage gained by a 10-8 start will tell down the road. Had the Tribe started 10-8 last year they would have been playing in October... just something to think about.

Some stats from April 23, 2005

Hitting:
Belliard- .298 5hr
Crisp- .282
Blake- .235
Boone- .119
Sizemore- .233
Martinez- .219

Pitching:
Jason Davis- 7.00 ERA
Wickman- 7.76 ERA
Sauerbeck- 5.06 ERA
Elarton- 7.58 ERA
Riske- 0.00 ERA
Westbrook- 6.35 ERA

Thank God for KC

2006-04-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

It was vintage Wickman but it was a win. The Indians struggled mightily against the Orioles, thanks mostly to the bullpen. Fausto Carmona seemed to overthrow in tight spots, he showcased good stuff but was ultimately unable to get out of a couple holes of his own making. Last night Cliff Lee cruised and then imploded but, miraculously, Danny Graves arrived to bail him out. Guillermo Mota, who has actually had some rest, was able to safely navigate two innings to get us to Bob Wickman. On tap today, Joe Mays. If we can't put this one away early and maybe get it to Guthrie we have some real problems.

Dropping like flies

2006-04-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

Associated Press: Today in Cleveland the Indians will be holding free tryouts at Jacobs Field to fill bullpen spots vacated by Fernando Cabrera, Matt Miller and Rafael Betancourt. Manager Eric Wedge was overheard to say "If I had left Jake Westbrook in for the rest of the game this would never have happened. I will never pull a starter early again. How foolish of me to think he would not settle in after 6 straight hits." General Manager Mark Shapiro was seen pulling vigorously on his remaining hair while he frantically searched his desk for Bobby Howry's cell phone number and his friends Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. Danny Graves was unconcerned about his latest shelling because "I look just like Cher with my fabulous hair. Hey that rhymes. I should sing." Andrew Brown and Jason Stanford were later seen attempting to restrain Graves as he continued to practice his budding career at the top of his lungs.

In all seriousness, this could get ugly soon. Miller is already on the DL (elbow again) and there is no word on Betancourt (as of post time) other than that it may be his back. Andrew Brown is unproven and Stanford is a converted starter. Steve Karsay looms as the most attractive choice but he is another injury risk. A healthy Karsay, Cabrera, Betancourt and Mota could come together to be a great bridge to Bob Wickman, or they could all get hurt again. This has the makings of a season derailing bullpen collapse. Who would have ever thought that we would some day be looking back and wishing for the glory days of Eric Plunk and Jim Poole? We are still better off than we were with Jamie Brewington and Chad Paronto.

Interesting note: Graves tattoo claims that only God can judge him. Well let me tell you this Danny, if God were a Cleveland fan you would be in serious trouble.

Not so good...

2006-04-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

The Indians were stricken by teamwide batting impotence today. Aaron Boone seemed, at least for the moment, to delay the appearance of Andy Marte in Cleveland but it can't be too far away. Boone has looked relatively anemic at the plate as of late and Marte can at least hit .230. Peralta's swing still looks very long, almost as if he is trying to drive the ball out of the park rather than just hit it.

This is a situation where I think it would have been beneficial to keep Brandon Phillips around. He could at least spell Peralta, be something of a threat at the plate and play well above average defense. Vazquez is a walking out at this point. I keep waiting for Wedge to DH for him and let our pitchers hit in games when Vazquez plays. He looks completely overmatched at the plate.

The strange thing about this is that Vazquez did not have a better spring than Phillips. His numbers at the plate were not as good and he is obviously inferior in the field. I fear that this is a decision that could come back to bite the Tribe in the long run. Phillips had underachieved to be sure but I would rather have a 25yr old who is a wizard with the glove and has a chance with the bat on my bench than a 29yr old who swings like my sweet old grandmother.

Walking to Detroit

2006-04-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Nine walks. Not a way to win baseball games. One extra baserunner an inning is not at all a good thing. Jason Johnson seemed to hit a wall and the bullpen passed out walks like welcoming gifts. Other than Betancourt's grooved pitch to Lopez, no balls were hit exceptionally hard. Just a complete collapse. Too early to worry? Not sure on that. The bullpen held this team together last year, holes there will be a major issue.

On to Detroit where the Tigers have lost 4 straight. Jim Thome and Chris Shelton just squared off for a series there and both continued to mash at a crazy rate. Ben Broussard kept pace tho, by hitting his first home run last night. Way to go Ben. Is there a particular reason that Wedge will not bring Perez in to pinch hit for Ben? Last night Broussard once again went down on strikes looking overmatched against George Sherrill, a lefty. Seems like this is why the Tribe acquired Perez but hey, maybe it was just for name recognition.

So close to immortality

2006-04-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

So I guess 161-1 was an unreal expectation anyway. Tonight the Tribe looked like a worst case scenario. Paul Byrd was, again, miserable and struggled with command during his brief stint on the mound. Danny Graves, who has a small control problem in the same way that Ozzy Osbourne has a small drug problem, came in and scattered 6 baserunners in 2 1/3 innings. Richie Sexson (would you rather have him or Wick? tough question) delivered the blow that pretty much sealed the deal. The Indians offense still looks unstoppable. Belliard and Boone both blew a chance to make themselves heroes but, despite that, the Indians added another 9 runs to the season tally. With any pitching this will be a tough, tough team to play.

That being said... are the few who post on here the only ones who are interested? The STO feed showed that the announced crowd of 14,000+ was quick to leave once Sexson deposited a rare strike from Graves into the mostly empty seats. What will the Tribe have to do to win back the "faithful?" This is a winning, exciting, talented team and only 14,000 are all that come to watch? Surely the entire Cleveland area is not as poor as a first year law student such as myself?

Brad

Mariners

2006-04-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

Just as soon as I say that Peralta is struggling he has a huge game for the Tribe last night. His average, which had been around the Mendoza Line, is now an even .300. Ron Belliard returned to the lineup and was his usual steady self in the field and also managed to drive in a run. To say anything about Travis Hafner would be useless because the Cleveland media has pretty much said it all. Just an inclredible run he is having. Cliff Lee was unspectactular but very solid and he certainly made fantasy owners everyhwere happy with his 8 k's. Cabrera continued his emerging pattern of a bad outing after a good outing. Wedge seems to be trying to get him some work in low pressure situations to make up for the fact that Fernando pretty much missed Spring Training. Wedge also fought off his growing compulsion to use Guillermo Mota... 6-1. 6 straight after the disaster in the rain and the first division lead since the 11-1 start a couple years ago that proved to be nothing but a tease.

Sweep

2006-04-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

I don't think that the first two series of the season could have gone much better. A few positive and negative thoughts.
Positive:
- The Indians bullpen looked good, as did the starters (with the exception of the outing by Cabrera in Chicago and Byrd's cold addled start).
- The lineup prduced from top to bottom. Boone and Blake each had big games and the Ben Perez combo was, at the very least, productive. Hafner was a monster in Cleveland and Martinez continues to give the impression of calm competence. Only Belliard and Peralta are yet to really put together a string of good at bats.
-Jason Michaels continues to get good at bats behind Sizemore. Is it irrational to think that they could flip positions at the top of the order? With Sizemore's penchant for swinging freely (and more often than not making contact) could it really hurt to have a .400 obp guy on ahead of him?
Negative:
-Guillermo Mota pitched extremely well. Unfortunately he did it very frequently. Can the Indians and Eric Wedge afford to run Mota out there 4 out of every 6 games? That would be 108 appearances this year and, with some of them including 49 pitches, that can only spell elbow trouble somewhere down the line. I know he won't make 108 but even the 70's could be a real issue.
-The one man on our team who is supposed to be an accomplished bunter, Jason Michaels, failed twice to get a bunt down. Many in the media have spent the winter bemoaning the Tribe's lack of bunting prowess. Will this continue to be a problem? Is it really a problem? Who knows...
-Indians defense is not exactly a rock wall. Boone made several nice plays in the first 6 games but also made a couple in the Twins series that could have been ruled errors. Vazquez was solid in the field but he is not quite the hitter (as in, no hits yet) that Ron Belliard is.

All in all... 5-1 is a good start.

Home Opener

2006-04-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

It was cold out there today for an Indians home opener circa 1995. The Indians overcame some seriously mediocre pitching with a barrage of hitting. Casey Blake's grand slam in the fog to stretch the Indians lead to 8-3 brought the frozen crowd to its feet. Pronk Hafner also ignited the faithful with two home runs of his own. All in all today was a display of the Indians offense at its prodigious best. If the pitching can keep pace (and Belliard and Peralta come around) today will only be a harbinger of things to come. More from section 303 tomorrow.

B

After one series

2006-04-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

a quick rundown of the Tribe vs. the main competition this year.

1. Offense: The White Sox offense cannot compare to that of Cleveland. Konerko had a career year last year and will still be better than Eduardo Broussard. Iguchi, quite simply, is not as proven as Ron Belliard, he may steal more bases but his power numbers should not quite match Belliard. Uribe is not even close to the threat that Peralta is at the plate. The matchup at catcher does not even merit discussion. At third base Aaron Boone should do a serviceable job as will Joe Crede. The Indians hold a major edge in the outfield positions. Especially in center and left. In right only a career year from Casey will match Jermaine Dye. Should both Hafner and Thome stay healthy DH should be roughly the same. Thome sucked last year but he hit 42 hr's the year before and 47 the year before that. One injury ridden year does not a down fall make. On the other hand Hafner has shown great power and an innate ability to drive in runs. Indians: 5 (LF, CF,2b, SS, C) White Sox: 2 (1b, RF) Wash: 2 (3b, DH)

2.Pitching is close. The assertion that Byrd (the major league leader in quality starts last year) and Elarton are close would be foolish. Byrd actually made the same amount of quality starts that Kevin Millwood did last year and had. Johnson is a slightly better bet than Elarton. Sabathia, Westbrook and Lee will anchor a rotation that could put up better numbers than Chicago's. Garland, Contreras and Garcia all were stellar last year but to expect the same from Contreras and Garcia again may be a reach. Buerhle and Garland should continue to get better. That being said, Sabathia, Lee and Westbrook combined for only one less win than the White Sox top three last year. The bullpen, best in the majors last year, only got better. Mota is Howry only with a slightly stronger arm. Cabrera and Graves will offset any other losses. The major difference is at closer where Wickman is clearly the better of the two rotund stoppers. This is where the division will be won and lost.

3. The Indians made several moves this year. The acquisition of Andy Marte being chief among those. Mota and Graves were added to the bullpen and Jason Michaels to the OF. The White Sox were a bit more lavish, acquiring Jim Thome and Javier Vazquez. All of the players listed here could be major contributors this season, with the Sox seeing more for their efforts. In the long run the Marte/Michaels trades will pay off for the Tribe.

Predictions:

Sabathia bounces back from early injury and wins 17, Lee, Westbrook and Byrd should all win near 15. The strength of the Indians offense and bullpen carries them to 93 wins for the second year in a row and the division title by one game over a White Sox team victimized by the rotating closer.

2006-04-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

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