Baseball Cards: New Acquisitions

This year I decided to start collecting baseball cards. Not seriously, not like those dudes on Youtube who break box after box. Just casual collecting, of certain players, or getting a set of Indians players. I particularly look for autograph and relic cards of players I like, whether they play for Cleveland or not.

Over the past couple of years I've managed to get the odd Topps team set of Indians cards from a UK seller on eBay, but apart from him it is pretty difficult to get cards here in Britain. The postage from America is now pretty high and I'm lucky to get cards sent here for under $10. So I never really bothered with it, plus I spend too much money on useless crap as it is.

But after finding some cheap Justin Masterson cards earlier this year from sellers in the States, including a few that were autographed, I decided to scour eBay for deals and it's become a bit of a habit. So I currently have a Justin Masterson PC I'm working on (which I'll show off in a future post) but I still keep my eye out for any other cards that look good and more importantly, that I can get for a decent price (aka, a bargain).

So here are some new cards I've received in the post over the past couple of weeks:

Let's start with this Jason Kipnis card from Topps 2013 Series 2. It's a signed Chasing History insert that I bought for under $5 and is the first autographed card by Kipnis I have gotten so far. It's not signed on-card which is a shame, but an autographed sticker is better than no autograph at all. The young second baseman is one of my favourite guys on the club, how can you not love the guy, and I'll be looking to acquire more of his signed cards in the future.

Up next is this gorgeous on-card autographed Trevor Bauer from Topps 2013 Gypsy Queen. It set me back $6 which I thought was a pretty good price. I know, it kinda sucks that he's still in his Arizona gear despite this being a 2013 card but I don't really mind. It's quite nice to have an Indians player not in his Cleveland uniform. I just love that autograph too, it's absolutely perfect. This card had some trouble being dispatched so the seller was kind enough to throw in a couple of Bauer's rookie cards from the Topps 2012 base series as well. I hope Bauer can finish the season strongly in Columbus and I expect he'll get called back to Cleveland in a few days as part of the September call-ups. Fingers crossed he can impress.

This mini Asdrubal Cabrera jersey relic from Topps Allen & Ginter 2013 arrived just today. I couldn't wait for it to show up as its been a card I've had my eye on for a while. I love how the mini card is framed, it's a beautiful effect that really makes it stand out. The Allen & Ginter series produce some stunning cards and these 2013 editions are no different. This Cabrera card is the first jersey relic I've ever received and I just love the idea that I own a piece of game-used uniform he wore. I'll be buying a lot more from the Allen & Ginter series in the near-future, it's a set I absolutely adore. This card cost me just $2 as well. Now that's my kind of bargain.

I received another card along with my Cabrera relic today and it was this Adam Wainwright mini jersey relic, again from Topps 2013 Allen & Ginter. It cost me $3, which is a great price for an NL Cy Young contender (ok, so Clayton Kershaw should have it in the bag, but you never know). The Cardinals ace is having another great year, so I wasn't going to turn down the chance to grab one of his cards at such a great price. I know, he's not an Indian, but he's a pitcher I like and a pretty damn good one at that. So I jumped at the chance to add one of his cards to my collection and it's a beauty.

I hope you enjoyed this post, a slight detour from the normal run-of-the-mill stuff you get here at England Tribe. I've got some more cards lined up to buy in the near-future, especially some Allen & Ginter autographs, so watch this space for more.

Thanks for reading.

First Half Season Review: Pitchers

Yesterday I rounded off my review of the Indians' position players for the first half, you can find that here (or just scroll down you bums). Today the focus is on our pitchers, who've had a mixed season but overall I'd say they've been alright. Especially when you consider that many predicted the rotation to be a complete train-wreck this year. Without further ado:

Rotation

Justin Masterson A-

First time All Star Justin has rediscovered some of the magic he had in 2011 and has been the undisputed leader on the Tribe rotation. The biggest surprise has been his ability to get strikeouts, with 137 K's in 135.1 innings, good enough for 6th overall in the entire league, 4th in the AL. Not bad for a groundball pitcher huh? He's run into a bit of trouble lately, especially with his control (54 walks, 4th highest in the league), but he continues to pitch well every 5 days and has become the most reliable pitcher on the staff. Hopefully he can remain this good in the second half, maybe even get close to 20 wins. That would be fantastic.

Room for Improvement: Limit the walks.

Corey Kluber B+

A revelation this year and continuing to get better as the season progresses. Kluber has cemented himself as a solid number 2 behind Masterson since Zach McAllister got hurt in June. He has flourished with the added responsibility. Brilliant so far.

Room for Improvement: Keep doing what you're doing,

Zach McAllister B+

Zach started the year wonderfully before a finger injury at the beginning of June halted his progress. Showed enough of his supreme talent in his 11 starts though and can hopefully return to that level of effectiveness when he comes off the DL later this month. His introduction back into the rotation could be like a new signing and could just be what the rotation needs for the playoff-push in the second half.

Room for Improvement: Get healthy and pitch exactly the same as you did before.

Ubaldo Jimenez C-

Just when everyone had given up on him, Ubaldo somehow managed to sort himself out. We have finally begun to see flashes of the player we thought we were acquiring in the 2011 trade. It's not been all roses though. Jimenez's pitch counts are astronomical, hitters are nearly always pushing him to 3-2, and as a result he barely makes it past the 5th inning anymore. Some of that is luck and some of it is down to the defense, but Ubaldo has to find a way to pitch deeper into games if he is to have a future in Cleveland after 2013. At the moment, most people don't imagine him as part of the 2014 rotation. He has to prove them wrong in the second half.

Room for Improvement: Get at least 6 innings in the majority of your starts. Must pitch longer.

Scott Kazmir B-

We should all be celebrating the fact Kazmir even made it out of Spring Training, let alone to the half way point of the season. He's not the star he was in Tampa Bay anymore but we realise that, so expectations were low to begin with. Still, Scott has been a solid back-of-the-rotation starter, eating innings and has become one of the feel-good stories of 2013. A pleasant surprise all in all.

Room for Improvement: Keep contributing like you have. Limit the hits.

Trevor Bauer D

In the handful of spot-starts Bauer made in the first half, he's shown he's still not quite MLB-ready. Not yet anyway. Trevor is still struggling with his control, walking 16 batters in just 17 major league innings. The problem is, he's hardly setting AAA alight either. His numbers in Columbus aren't exactly mouth-watering, a 4.06 ERA in 14 starts, 76 hits and 9 HRs in 77.2 innings. I think Bauer could benefit from spending the majority of the second half in Columbus, and only join the big club in September. The elite talent is still obvious, he has possibly the best stuff on the roster, but a bit more seasoning at the AAA level is necessary to harness that potential.

Room for Improvement: Work on that control, have to limit those walks. Be patient, your chance will come.

Carlos Carrasco F

Carrasco's 6 starts with the big club can be considered a train-wreck by all accounts. He only pitched 1 quality start, against the Royals on June 17th, when he pitched 7.1 innings of 1 run ball and deserved a victory his team-mates couldn't provide. Aside from that single game he's been hideous. 47 hits and 29 earned runs in just 28.2 innings leaves him with a sky-high 9.10 ERA at the All Star break. The centre-piece of the 2009 Cliff Lee trade has failed to rebound successfully from the Tommy John surgery that kept him sidelined in 2012. It's not all doom and gloom for Carrasco though; he's been lighting up Columbus, with 60 strikeouts in 54.2 innings, with an impressive 3.29 ERA. He just hasn't put it all together at the major league level yet. There's still time, but he has to prove it to the big club, and the fans, sooner rather than later.

Room for Improvement: Transfer dominance from AAA level to major leagues. Avoid controversy.

Bullpen

Chris Perez D+

What a roller-coaster of a season so far for Perez, but he's actually been very good since his return from the disabled list. With expectations at an all time low, Perez seems to be pitching better than ever before, with 4 relatively incident-free saves within a period of 5 days in the run-in to the All Star break. He now needs to carry this consistency into the second half and become the closer he was in 2011 and 2012.

Room for Improvement: Keep your mouth shut and pitch. Stay healthy.

Vinnie Pestano D

Oh Vinnie, what happened man? Pestano has not been the same pitcher we've been accustomed to seeing so far in 2013. He's been struggling, the life in his fastball just doesn't seem right, and it's led to questions about his health and/or mental approach. Whatever the problem is, Vinnie needs to take these few days of rest to re-focus and fix himself. If its a physical problem, hopefully the club can give him the time he needs to recuperate. Pestano at 100% takes our bullpen to another level.

Room for Improvement: Fix what's ailing you and return to the Pestano we all know and love.

Joe Smith C

Normally one of our best bullpen guys but even Smith has struggled at times this year, especially lately (could be to due to being over-worked). Like Pestano, Joe needs to re-energise himself during the break and prepare himself for the second half. We're gonna need him at full health for the run-in.

Room for Improvement: Embrace the responsibility of carrying the load when the rest of the bullpen is failing.

Cody Allen B+

Arguably the lone bright spot in this year's bullpen, Cody Allen has established himself as a very good relief pitcher, maybe even a future closer (his strikeout rate of 11.80 K/9 is astounding). I've been extremely impressed with his composure and ability to handle the high-pressure situations that Francona throws him into. Excellent so far.

Room for Improvement: Keep it up.

Matt Albers C

Albers has been better than I thought he would be during the first half but like so many others he needs to cut down his walks if he wants to be an effective reliever in this bullpen. To his credit he has given up the least amount of home runs (2) amongst the bullpen staff with 10+ appearances.

Room for Improvement: Work on your control.

Bryan Shaw C

Shaw gets a bad rap from some fans but he's largely been effective in his 39 appearances thus far. Nothing spectacular but he's got the job done. I'd prefer if Francona left him out of some of the more volatile situations though. Shaw should strictly be used in emergencies during tight games, as I'd prefer to see Allen or Smith.

Room for Improvement: Limit the walks and hits.

Rich Hill D-

After starting the season so well, Hill has been a disaster ever since, with a lot of fans expecting the news of his release weeks ago. Rich is still capable of getting outs and there's been signs of him turning things around lately, but the fan's confidence in him is still pretty low. I'm a big fan of that sweeping curve ball though, the way it leaves hitters completely frozen at the plate. Hill needs to pitch better in the second half, like he did to end the first, or he won't last the year in Cleveland.

Room for Improvement: Cannot afford to keep walking the first batter you face or your days are numbered.

Nick Hagadone D

The once-promising left hander has had his fair share of troubles like the rest of the bullpen and needs to make the most of his next opportunity with the big club when his name is called again. Like Hill he needs to work on his control and limit the walks, or the Tribe will look elsewhere for left handed relief.

Room for Improvement: Cut down those walks and be prepared next time you make it to the bigs.

Not applicable for grading: Brett Myers, Scott Barnes, Matt Langwell, Joe Martinez, Danny Salazar, David Huff, Preston Guilmet, CC Lee

Myers was one of the off-season signings acquired to help shore up the rotation but injury has ruled him out of having any effect on the Indians in the first half. Danny Salazar is the highlight of this bunch, his impressive debut last week causing a quite a stir.

So there you have it, my review of each player as the first half has come to an end. The second half will reveal whether the Indians pitching staff are pretenders, like the previous 2 years, or contenders; can the Tribe actually make a real push for a playoff spot? Our hopes will lie largely with the rotation and the bullpen, and their collective performances will determine just how far these 2013 Indians will go.

Thanks for reading, enjoy the All Star Game tonight.

Potential Trades For The Tribe At Deadline

Apologies for interrupting your regularly scheduled programme (my series re-caps) but I thought I'd weigh in on some potential moves the Indians could make this month before the trade deadline. With the way things stand at the moment, the Indians are certain to be buyers this month instead of sellers like we've been used to in years past. So let's see who the Tribe might be looking at this month, or rather, who I'd like them to be looking at:

It Could Happen Trades

Matt Garza

Of all the players known to be on the market, Garza is one of the most achievable as far as the Indians are concerned. Competition will be fierce for the right-hander, with a number of teams looking to solidify their rotation ahead of the second half of the season, but the Indians should certainly be interested in the 29 year-old. Cleveland wouldn't have to give up too much to the Cubs either, since Garza is a free agent after this season. Maybe one of our young outfielders would suffice, since Chicago is pretty set with Starlin Castro at shortstop, so shifting one of our prized infielders can be avoided.

Garza is 3-1 in 8 starts this year with a 3.83 ERA, after missing the first seven weeks of the season. He's been getting better as the season has progressed, really getting into his groove lately. He's 2-1 in his last 3 starts with a 0.82 ERA, surrendering only 2 runs over 22 innings. Yes, those results are against mediocre teams like the Mets, Astros and Brewers but still, pretty decent numbers nonetheless, and he lasted at least 7 innings in each of those games.

I'd really like Garza to join the Tribe, even if it is for just 3 months. I've been an admirer of him since his days in Tampa Bay. As good as our rotation has been this year (compared to what we thought it was going to be) we could sure use more help in the second half, as surely injuries will take their toll during the dog days of August and September. A rotation of Masterson, Garza, Kluber, Jimenez, and Kazmir/McAllister (depending on health) is a tasty proposition. As long as the Indians don't give up too much for Garza and we get a fair deal, I'm 100% behind the club trying to acquire him from the Cubs.

Bud Norris

Houston's 28 year-old right-hander is also known to be available this month and the Tribe front office are surely monitoring the situation. So are a lot of other major league clubs though, with teams like the Orioles, Jays and Giants all in search for pitching help and Norris tops most of their wanted lists (although at the time of writing, I believe Baltimore have just made a move for Chicago's Scott Feldman, which would likely remove them from the Norris market).

Norris is 5-7 so far this year, with an impressive 3.35 ERA on a terrible Astros team. He was superb in the month of June, compiling a 2.77 ERA over 39 innings. The best thing about trading for Norris aside from his pitching ability?  He'd join the Indians with plenty of time left under club control, unable to become a free agent until 2016. Norris is enjoying his finest year in Houston to date and hopefully that's a sign of things to come, that Bud will only get better. If he does end up in Cleveland, I sincerely hope that will be the case; that we get a quality pitcher for the rest of 2013, and a reliable arm for a few years in the future. I'm all for us trading for Norris, but its difficult to predict what it will take to pry him away from Houston. There's no way we give up anybody like Francisco Lindor or Trevor Bauer, but maybe someone like Dorssys Paulino or Ronny Rodriguez would be enough. I'm probably way off the mark here and the Tribe would be giving up too much, so I'm really not sure. Let's just say I'd be happy with Norris in Cleveland and leave it at that.

Ricky Nolasco

Despite our need for another starting pitcher, I don't think we're really in the race for the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco, but until he's traded it's still a possibility. With everything I've read so far it looks as if a club with deeper pockets than us will make the move for Nolasco, with the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees and even the Red Sox rumoured to be in the hunt for the right-hander.

The 30 year-old is having a good season in Miami, currently sitting with a 4-8 record and a 3.93 ERA. He would certainly bolster our rotation but I don't expect us to be the team he joins before the deadline. It's long been established that the Marlins have had Nolasco in the shop window and I reckon Los Angeles or San Francisco will become his new home in the coming weeks.

In Your Dreams Trades

Giancarlo Stanton

The Marlins may have the worst owner in baseball in Jeffrey Loria, but even he wouldn't ship away his star player, the face of the franchise? Would he?

Well the rumour-mill is abuzz that the Marlins just might do it, that they might actually trade away 6'6 outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. The 23 year-old MVP-calibre slugger would fetch a huge haul of top prospects from every club in the league. Who wouldn't want Stanton gracing their outfield?

Well Indians fans can keep dreaming because there's a 99% chance that this trade will never happen, not in 2013 anyway. Despite Loria's reputation, it's highly unlikely the Marlins will trade away Stanton this season. You have to believe the rumours are exactly what they are; just rumours, created out of thin air. I'm pretty sure that Cleveland is one of the many clubs on Stanton's no-trade list anyway, so this move is even more likely to remain a dream. But I can dream right? Stanton would look awfully good in Indians red, white and blue, gunning down would-be runners from right field.

Cliff Lee

Ahh, Clifton Phifer Lee, what memories we had. His 2008 Cy Young season was my first proper year following the Tribe, day in, day out. So I was instantly a big Lee fan and was so sad to see him traded away in 2009. But word on the street is that the Indians are trying to make a run at bringing him back to the place where he had so much success.

It won't happen folks. Sorry to burst your bubble but Lee won't be pitching in Cleveland for the home team any time soon. For starters, the Phillies have categorically said he isn't available for trade. They're having another poor year by their standards but won't succumb to the pressures of the trade deadline madness. Their whole roster could do with a shake-up but it doesn't look like happening any time soon (they want to hold on to Chase Utley too). Secondly, we can't afford him anyway. And third, we'd have to give up a lot to reel in a superstar like Lee. To begin with, you can say goodbye to Lindor. The Phillies would certainly demand the best possible prospects for Lee, and I'm not comfortable giving away Lindor this decade, not with Cabrera approaching free agency in the next couple of years. A trade for Lee would certainly deplete the farm system and I'm not sure that's a good idea for the Indians right now.

As much as I'd love to have Lee come back, the price the Tribe would have to pay would be large indeed, too large for my liking. Kyle over at Wahoos On First has written a thorough article examining potential trades the club could try to lure Lee back, it's definitely worth checking out.

Please Poke My Eyes Out Trades

Jonathan Papelbon

I know the Indians have had their fair share of bullpen problems this season, especially when it comes to closing, but the Tribe should not waste their time looking to trade for a new closer. I've seen Papelbon's name floated around and I just have to say:

No.

No no no no.

Not only am I not a fan of the 32 year-old right-hander - I think he's overrated and overpaid - but we don't need him. I know our closer situation has been bad but it's nothing compared to the Tigers, who are actively shopping around for a new closer. Detroit has no one else for the 9th inning (until they just trust Benoit). We at least have a variety of in-house options for the 9th so there should be no way in hell we make a move for a closer, especially one like Papelbon. If the Indians are looking for bullpen help, they can forget all about closers and aim to pick up a left-handed reliever. End of conversation.

I look forward to seeing what the Indians do over the new few weeks, and hope whatever moves they do decide to make prove to be successful for the Tribe in 2013.

Thanks for reading.

Unstoppable Tribe Sweep White Sox

The Indians made a bit of history last night, defeating the White Sox 4-0 to achieve a four-game series sweep in Chicago for the first time since 1948. Why is this important? Every Tribe fan knows why but I'll elaborate nonetheless: 1948 was the last time the Cleveland Indians won the World Series, led by Tribe heroes like Bob Feller and Bob Lemon. A good omen? We hope so.

The Indians could not have picked a better time to get hot, as our AL Central foes in Detroit have slipped somewhat of late. Their loss to the Rays last night coupled with the Indians fourth win in Chicago means your 2013 Tribe have vaulted back into first place (we're tied, but hey it's still first). I did not think we would get back on top this quickly after the dreadful start the Indians made to the month of June, but there you go, that's baseball and credit to the team for putting together this wonderful run lately.

Here's a quick re-cap of the series in Chi-Town:

Offensive Explosion Powers Tribe

The Indians kicked off the series with a double-header on Friday which became the longest 18 inning double-header in major league history. And it was oh so sweet for the Indians, who won both games thanks to our powerful offense putting the White Sox pitching staff to the torch.

Cleveland took the first win by a score of 19-10, with every Indians batter getting at least one RBI except for Asdrubal Cabrera (who still collected 3 hits and 3 runs). It looked like the Tribe were in for a long night after Trevor Bauer, making a spot-start from Columbus, got absolutely annihilated in just 2/3 of an inning, giving up 6 hits, 2 of which were home runs, for 5 earned runs before he was pulled. It was the worst possible way to start a double-header, where the preservation of your bullpen is key. Luckily it didn't bother the Indians in the slightest, as guys like Ryan Raburn (4 RBI), Drew Stubbs (3 RBI) and the King of June Jason Kipnis (2 RBI) fuelled the offense and carried the Indians to a dominating victory.

After that marathon opener, the Tribe had another game to win and they delivered in dramatic style. Carlos Carrasco took the mound for us and managed to save the bullpen a bit better than Bauer did. Carrasco wasn't very good but ground his way through 5 and 2/3 innings, surrendering 10 hits for 6 runs. He wasn't doing too bad, until a 4-run 6th inning proved to be his undoing. Chicago tacked on 2 more runs in the 8th inning off reliever Matt Langwell, leaving the Indians trailing 8-5 and with a considerable hole to climb out of in the 9th. It didn't faze the Indians one bit as they roared back to tie the game on a Kipnis sac-fly before Nick Swisher redeemed himself for his recent batting woes with a monster solo home run to right field off White Sox closer Addison Reed. That made it 9-8 to the Tribe and they never looked back, Vinnie Pestano getting his 6th save of the season.

Swisher was enjoying his return to Chicago, where he spent a pretty miserable season in 2008, and wasn't finished with his Friday night heroics. Swish was torturing White Sox fans again Saturday night, getting the game winning hit in the 8th inning to bring home Cabrera to put the Tribe on top 4-3. Chris Perez made his return to the closer's role and pitched a clean 9th inning (do not adjust your screen, it is true) for his 7th save of the season, cementing the Tribe's series win.

The cherry on top of this delightful series was delivered by Justin Masterson on a sunny Sunday afternoon. In a battle of the team's aces, Masterson out-duelled Chicago's Chris Sale in a 4-0 complete game shutout to seal the series sweep. Sale was very good as usual, giving up 3 runs over 8 innings with 10 strikeouts, but Masterson was in a different class altogether. Facing just 3 batters over the minimum, our tall right-hander cruised through 9 innings, giving up 6 hits and a single walk, to go along with 8 strikeouts on his way to his 10th win of the season. It's the third time in Masterson's career he's reached double digit wins with the Indians and he's just 2 away from equalling his career best 12 wins (in 2011). He still has half a season to achieve that and just 3 more wins to break his career high. If he continues to pitch like this in the second half of the campaign, we could be looking at Masterson becoming a 20 game winner. It'll be a very difficult task for Justin but he's half way there already and as long as he stays healthy, there's always the possibility. With Masterson's fantastic outing yesterday, he surely has cemented his spot on this year's All Star team and he fully deserves it. It was the perfect way to end what was a wildly successful series for the Indians, putting us right back in contention in the AL Central.

Player Of The Series

This is a difficult one since there were so many outstanding contributors over the last four games. But my gut feeling has to give it to Nick Swisher. After my last post about his recent struggles in the Orioles re-cap, Swisher answered his critics in style in Chicago. Despite being rested for yesterday's game, Swisher collected 4 hits in the series, including a double and his game winning solo home run on Friday, for 4 total RBI, as well as scoring 4 runs and earning 4 walks. A very successful series altogether, with two memorable game-deciding hits produced from his bat. As impressed as I am with his performance, I'm almost more impressed with his mental fortitude to get out there and keep plugging away. It would be easy for a player to let his recent woes at the plate get him down but Swisher shook that off during this series and got a measure of redemption against the White Sox. Honourable mentions must go to Jason Kipnis, who is still on fire at the plate and had a terrific series, and Justin Masterson of course, whose complete game shutout was his third of the season, currently leading the league. But the way Swisher responded to adversity earns him the award for this series. Those game winning hits helped too. Congrats Nick.

The Indians ended June victorious and begin July with an off-day before travelling to Kansas City for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday. Corey Kluber (6-5, 4.16 ERA) will take the mound for us, looking to rebound from his disappointing start in Baltimore, and will face the Royals' Luis Mendoza (2-4, 4.16 ERA). I'm starting to enjoy this winning thing, let's just hope we can keep it up and ride this great form into the All Star break. Until next time...

Thanks for reading.

Indians Split Double-Header With Yankees

A beautiful sunny Monday in Cleveland saw a rather mixed bag for the Indians in their double-header against the Yankees. Let's take a look:

The Good...

The first game of the day saw an absolutely stunning pitching performance from Justin Masterson. Backed by a 1st inning home run from Jason Kipnis (his fifth homer of the season), Masterson was untouchable. He lasted the entire 9 innings, giving up 4 hits, 3 walks and striking out 9 Yankees in a memorable outing for the 1-0 complete game shutout. Despite only having Kipnis' homer for support, Masterson didn't need anything else and protected the thin lead with ease. Masterson now sits at 6-2 with a 3.14 ERA, joint first in the majors in victories. Francona said, "Masty went out and did exactly what you want your ace to do. From the very first pitch of the game, he had power, he had breaking ball, he attacked hitters." A near perfect performance from our number one guy, a very well pitched game. It'll earn Masterson the Player of the Series award from me as well.

The Bad...

Unfortunately things didn't go quite so well for Trevor Bauer, up from Columbus for the day to make the spot-start in the second game of the double-header. He pitched the best game of his young Indians career so far but he had no help from the offense, who struggled to muster any sort of attack in a 7-0 whitewash by New York. Bauer lasted 6 1/3 innings, surrendering 6 hits for 3 runs, 2 of them earned, whilst he walked 2 and struck out 4 batters. Despite getting the loss, the improvement in Bauer's performance was notable. For one, he kept his walks down to just 2, which is significantly better than his previous two starts where he walked far too many hitters. Bauer now sits at 1-2 for the year, with a 2.76 ERA.

He wasn't helped by his bullpen. Nick Hagadone came in to relieve Bauer and immediately allowed one of Bauer's runners to score. Hagadone is really struggling of late, still adapting to life in the majors and he had a torrid time against the Yankees. He only lasted a third of the 7th inning and was hit 3 times by the Yankees, giving up 4 runs, 3 of them earned, striking out 1 and walking 1. Matt Albers and David Huff pitched the rest of the game and didn't allow any more runs but the damage was done off Hagadone and the Indians never recovered.

It was a frustrating game for the Indians offense, who have been so potent of late but stumbled in this series. The Yankees sent former Indians draft pick Vidal Nuno to the mound and he stifled the Tribe lineup over 5 innings of work to earn his first major league win. He allowed only 3 hits and the Tribe had no answer for him, nor Adam Warren who pitched the final 4 innings for the Yanks, also allowing no runs and only 2 hits, earning the save. It was a very disappointing game for the Indians offense to say the least.

... And The Ugly

I mentioned on Sunday after the 4-3 win in Detroit that the Indians might look at the Lonnie Chisenhall situation sooner rather than later and that's exactly what they did. They made a decision on Chisenhall much sooner than I expected though, sending him down to AAA Columbus on Monday and recalling pitcher David Huff, who pitched in the second game against the Yankees yesterday.

I can understand this move certainly. With Vinnie Pestano still out for a bit, the bullpen needs another arm and Huff can do that job, so I can see why the struggling Chiz is the one who has to make way. Still, I can't help but think sending Lonnie back to AAA after making him the everyday starter at third base could be slightly detrimental to his long term prospects. When he does make it back to Cleveland, and that will certainly be this year, we'll see if the trip back to Columbus did him more harm than good. I don't expect that to be the case, I think mentally this is a good move for Lonnie and he should make it back to the bigs a stronger player.

But Nino over at The Tribe Daily made a good point that Lonnie doesn't have anything more to learn at the AAA level, that he can work out his problems whilst still being part of the Indians team. I agree and I especially agree with Nino that we don't want this to become another Matt LaPorta situation. However I can see why this move will be beneficial for Lonnie. Now he can get away from the limelight of the major leagues and fix his batting mechanics in a more relaxed setting, where the fans and the media aren't dissecting and criticising his every move. He needs to snap out of this funk and get back to what made him successful in Spring Training, because right now Chisenhall is not playing like the guy we know he can be. It's not pretty, but sending him back to Columbus to fix his plate approach is ultimately the right move.

So after two games against the Yankees the Tribe now fly to Philadelphia for two games against the Phillies before getting a day off on Thursday. Scott Kazmir (2-1, 4.87 ERA) will look to continue his good start to the season against the Phillies' Jonathan Pettibone (2-0, 3.63 ERA) tonight, first pitch at 7.05 pm ET. Lets hope the offense can get back on track and put up some big numbers.

Thanks for reading.

Phillies Fall To Terrific Tribe

The Indians have begun their nine game home-stand with a bang, beating Philadelphia twice in a row to take the mini two-game series. Cleveland's winning streak is up to four games now and the club are a single game from getting back to a .500 record. What a lovely way to begin the month of May. Let's have a look at how it went down:

Offense Clicking Into Gear

April saw the Indians offense take on a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde persona. For a couple of games they wouldn't string any hits together, then 24 hours later they'd explode for double-digit runs and leave opposing fans cowering behind their sofa cushions. The inconsistency on a nightly basis was baffling. How could a team with this much power, this raw ability to crush the ball, be so limp at the plate all of a sudden? Well thankfully the last few games have seen the Tribe offense begin to find their rhythm and no game highlighted that more than Tuesday night. 

The Phillies brought Roy Halladay to the mound, not so long ago one of the best pitchers in the game, a two-time Cy Young winner and proud owner of a perfect game to his résumé. But this is not the same Halladay of yesteryear. Doc is having a rough time of it lately and the Indians only added to his misery. Poor Roy got shelled for 9 brutal hits for 8 earned runs in only 3 2/3 innings.

And that was only the beginning. The Indians hit 7 home runs in total Tuesday night in the 14-2 thrashing, taking it to the Phillies' bullpen after Halladay had left the game. The Tribe got homers from Santana, Reynolds, Chisenhall, Brantley, Stubbs and 2 from Ryan Raburn (more on him later). The offensive outburst somewhat overshadowed Zach McAllister's fine outing: Number 34 went 7 strong innings, scattering 5 hits with 4 strikeouts. Zach did give up 2 home runs to the Phillies but they were solo-shots and really the only mistakes the 6'6 righty made all night. 

The offense carried over their fine performance from Tuesday night into yesterday's game. The Indians' bats stayed alive in the 6-0 victory, ensuring the series win and sweep over the Phillies. Cliff Lee made his first start against his former team since his trade out of Cleveland in 2009 but even he couldn't quiet the Tribe lineup. I have fond memories of Lee's 2008 Cy Young season but I can't say I wasn't pleased to see him get smacked around for 9 hits in 6 innings of work. His opponent for the Tribe was our young pitching stud Trevor Bauer, making a spot-start before going back to Columbus today. Bauer lasted 5 innings, only surrendering 1 solitary hit but he walked 6 Phillies batters. He had a lot of trouble in last start in Tampa Bay when he had too many walks (7!), and again last night his control was just as wild. Nearly every fastball he threw was far too high, and he struggled to keep anything down. One positive though was his breaking ball; he had a mean curveball working, a thing of beauty when he got the Phillies' Ryan Howard to strike out looking in the 1st inning, then catcher Carlos Ruiz to whiff badly in the 2nd. Bauer still needs to work on his control before he can be considered MLB ready, that many walks is unacceptable and infuriating, but the potential talent is obvious. I don't expect it will very long before he becomes a permanent addition to the starting rotation.

The key hit in last night's game was Asdrubal Cabrera's 2 RBI double down the left field line in the bottom of the 3rd inning, scoring Brantley and Kipnis to stake the Indians to a 3-0 lead. They never looked back from there, tacking on 3 more runs over the remaining innings, coasting to the win. Cabrera has really been hitting well over the past week and looks to have put his early slump behind him now. Still, he's not as hot at the plate as this guy...

Player Of The Series

Take a bow Ryan Raburn. The versatile 32 year old has been making the most of his playing time lately, doing his best Joe DiMaggio impression. The guy can't miss, he's hitting everything. Since Bourn went on the disabled list, the speedy Drew Stubbs has shifted over to centre field with Raburn taking his place in right field. He got off to a bit of a rough start and I can remember a few times when Raburn swung at the first pitch to end a crucial rally with a double-play ball. But he's done a great job of late to change his critic's opinions.

It started in the final game of the series in Kansas City this past Monday, when Raburn unloaded for 2 home runs, and it didn't stop when Philadelphia came to town. Tuesday night saw him go 3-for-4 at the plate, with 2 more monster home runs in the 14-2 rout. Then last night he went 4-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI in the 6-0 win. He's been unstoppable at the plate, whether its a bloop single, a double in the gap, or another fence-clearing homer, Raburn has been on fire. So the award goes to Ryan for this Phillies series. What a beast.

So the Indians can enjoy their time off today before the Twins arrive in Cleveland tomorrow to begin a three game series, where we'll see Minnesota's Pedro Hernandez (1-0, 2.35 ERA) face off against our Justin Masterson (4-2, 3.12 ERA). Until next time...

Thanks for reading.

A Tale Of Two Tribes In Tampa

When the Tribe bats came alive in the 10-8 loss to Toronto on Thursday 4th April, I expected them to continue their hot hitting and come out blazing against the Rays. What happened? The Indians offense were shut out two games in a row, 4-0 on Friday and 6-0 on Saturday. Our bats could not touch the Rays' pitching, going completely silent. However, in the third game of the series today the Tribe woke up and unloaded on the Rays for a 13-0 whoopin'. Here's my thoughts on this series in Tampa Bay:

Our Bats Go Slowly Into The Night... Twice

Game 1 against the Rays saw Matt Moore face off against our young righty Zach McAllister and it didn't go as planned for our boys. McAllister didn't pitch too badly, lasting 6 innings and only giving up 2 earned runs but he had trouble finding the plate at times and ultimately had no support from the offense, giving him the loss. The Tribe could only muster 2 hits all night, both by Michael Bourn. After all the good feelings the Tribe   lineup carried over from that final game in Toronto, they were gone just like that, a 2 hit shut-out. Game 2 didn't go well either. Trevor Bauer, called up to replace the injured Scott Kazmir in a spot-start, made his Indians debut and proceeded to walk the first 4 Tampa batters he faced, giving up a run. From my untrained eye it didn't look as if Bauer was missing by much. Sure he was nibbling the outside of the strike-zone but the umpire was tight all night, giving nothing on the outside edge. He squeezed the strike-zone the entire game and Bauer just couldn't adapt, finishing with 7 walks in 5 innings of work and taking the loss. Just like in McAllister's outing, the offense weren't there to support Bauer, recording only 4 hits against the Rays' Alex Cobb, 5 in total. Another shut-out, this time 6-0 to the Rays. All signs pointed to the Rays sweeping us today in the final game of this 3 game series, since they had reigning AL Cy Young winner David Price, historically very good against the Tribe, up against our Justin Masterson, historically very bad against the Rays. It didn't look good for us going in. But...

BOOM! The Bats Break Out!

I've just finished watching us destroy Tampa Bay 13-0, thanks to 17 hits and 5 home runs from the re-awakened Tribe lineup. What a way to answer back to two straight shut-outs by the Rays. Shut them out right back, but in style! Mark Reynolds had a monster of a game, hitting two enormous home runs and a double. His first was a 3 run bomb off of Price in the third inning to put us ahead 4-0 and it was game over after that really. Speaking of monster games, Carlos Santana went 5-for-5 at the plate this afternoon and couldn't miss, himself hitting a long home run to right field and finishing with 3 RBI. Lonnie Chisenhall and Michael Bourn also joined the homer club, both men hitting their first HRs of the season. Chisenhall's was particularly nice, a lovely 3 RBI effort, netting me some much-needed fantasy points! It was just amazing to see the lineup hit like this, especially against David Price. The star Rays pitcher collected his Cy Young award before the game and maybe the occasion got to him a bit, because we pounded him for 10 hits and 8 earned runs in just 5 innings. Out of all the games in Tampa the past three days, it was expected that today would provide the toughest test since Price is usually so good. But it just wasn't to be, the Indians batters had his number all afternoon. You don't often see an ace get rocked like this very often. Speaking of aces...

Magnificent Masterson

Justin Masterson, starting today 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA coming off his Opening Day win in Toronto, was pretty much perfect and pitched a beauty. He quickly retired the first two Rays batters in the first inning before getting sloppy, giving up a hit and walking two men to load the bases. Thankfully he escaped unharmed and was pretty much untouchable for the rest of the game. Masterson went 7 solid innings, surrendering only 2 hits and struck out 8 batters. He had his sinker working perfectly and attacked the strike-zone mercilessly. It was fantastic to watch, reminiscent of the Masterson of 2011, he flat-out dominated the Rays today. He's now 2-0 on the season and couldn't have started 2013 any better. Keep it up Masterson, you looked like an ace today.

So we're 3-3 after six difficult games on the road, against arguably the top two teams in the AL East. I would have taken that result before the start of the season to be honest. Up next we have the Yankees coming to Cleveland tomorrow for the Tribe's home opener but I expect you won't get a post from me re-capping the Yankees series since I'm going away this week and won't be able to post. Until then...

Thanks for reading.