Cincinnati Crush, Tribe In Free Fall

How the mighty have fallen. The Indians are in a bit of a slump at the moment and after losing this short two-games series in Cincinnati, have now lost 5 games in a row. It began on Monday afternoon, when the Indians kept the game close and even tied it late on with a pinch-hit solo home run by Jason Giambi, but it wasn't enough as the Reds came back that very inning to add two more runs, winning the game 4-2. Cleveland looked to split the series last night but got off to a rough start and never recovered, losing 8-2 and with it, the series.

Now we shouldn't be too hard on our Tribe; we are in the midst of a very tough schedule and these recent losses to the Reds and the Red Sox should probably have been expected. They are two great teams, contenders in their respective divisions for sure, whereas we are still very much a work in progress and still trying to find an identity. So despite it being sad to see our boys drop these games, don't be too hard on them, since we're not really supposed to be challenging these teams anyway. The frustration is understandable of course, hopes are much higher this year and the hot start has helped increase expectations but like I said, the Indians are very much a developing ballclub and will have these losing streaks from time to time. The key is to quickly find a way to prevent this drop from turning into a season-ending tailspin like the last two years. That remains to be seen but I still have faith this new group will find a way to stop the bleeding and turn things around.

Suicidal Bullpen

The biggest factor in the Tribe's recent decline in form has been the bullpen's inconsistency and inability to hold onto a lead. We're losing these games because we're shooting ourselves in the foot with these terrible performances from our bullpen. What was considered to be the rock of this team entering 2013, the Indians bullpen has regressed significantly and is costing us games, especially of late. They were the shining light of 2012. We might have sucked on the field and at the plate but we all knew are bullpen was legit and the envy of many major league clubs. How times have changed huh?

I actually like this group on the whole but I feel we are still sorely lacking some experience. We're throwing Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen, Scott Barnes and Nick Hagadone into some pretty tight spots and asking these young guys to perform miracles. It's no surprise when they get destroyed. I'd prefer to see us make a move for a veteran arm for the 'pen, particularly a left-hander since we really lack any talent there. I like Rich Hill, his breaking ball can be a thing of beauty, but if he continues to come into games and walk the first guy he faces I'm going to scream. Matt Albers has hardly been used and has looked mediocre at best when he has. Since Corey Kluber looks better and better after every start, is there anyway we can move Brett Myers into the pen when he comes back from his rehab stint? It's not like he's a stranger to being a relief pitcher and he'd certainly qualify as an experienced arm, something the bullpen desperately needs. I know we're paying him $7 million to be in the rotation but maybe we can use him to address a more glaring need for now. It's an interesting thought and something I hope the Indians are at least considering.

The normally dependable trio of Smith-Pestano-Perez has also seen it's share of failures this year and is perhaps the most worrying trend. Smith I still like a lot and I felt bad for him entering the game on Sunday in Boston, it was an impossible situation for anybody. He'll be ok. Pestano just needs to get healthy and I think he'll be fine in the long-term as well. The news that he is the closer now Perez is on the DL is good, I think this move was going to happen eventually anyway. Despite earning 6 saves this year, Perez has been downright horrible for the Indians and it probably didn't help he missed most of Spring Training. I expect him not getting a proper pre-season has been somewhat responsible for his decline this year but the writing has been on the wall for a while now. Remember the blown home-run call Angel Hernandez made against Oakland a few weeks ago? Yeah, that was Perez's pitch that should have been ruled a homer and a blown save, but luckily for him he escaped. The meltdown he had against the Mariners, giving up back-to-back home runs, was bad enough but his car-crash of a performance at Fenway on Sunday really stole the show. We'll never truly know if his shoulder was hurting before he took the mound but his performance would indicate that was the case.

Where do we go from here? Well I'm honestly losing patience with Perez these days and he is not the elite closer many fans try to make him out to be (his 3.29 career ERA is far too high for that). He's had a really good past two years with us but now I think the Indians need to look to sell as high as possible over the next couple of months. I'd be overjoyed if he returned from the DL and became the second-coming of Mariano Rivera but it's unlikely to happen. I have a feeling a change of location for Mr Perez could be beneficial for all parties.

Player Of The Series

A tough pick in what has been a largely miserable trip to Cincinnati but Ubaldo Jimenez's solid effort on Monday cannot be ignored. He was chased from his last start against Detroit after only 4 innings but he rebounded with style against the Reds on Monday afternoon. Facing one of the National League's toughest lineups, Ubaldo pitched 7 strong innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs, walking 4 and striking out 6 batters. If we're nit-picking, the walks could be better but it was a great effort from Ubaldo and it was reassuring to see him bounce back so well after that loss against Detroit. He kept the Indians in the game and that's all you can ask from him. Congrats Ubaldo!

Cincinnati remain our opponents as they travel to Cleveland today for another two-game series. The Tribe send our ace Justin Masterson to the mound, he of the 7-3 record and 3.20 ERA. Justin will face-off against the veteran right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who sits at 5-4 with a 3.39 ERA. We have to put an end to this losing streak as soon as possible and it should start tonight with Masterson. Hopefully our top guy can quieten the Reds' bats and we can get back to winning ways. We need our offense to wake up for that to happen!

Thanks for reading.

Indians Victorious In Houston

This re-cap will have be a short one since I don't have a lot of time this morning. The Tribe managed to hold on last night to beat the Astros 5-4, winning the series overall. It went right down to the wire though, thanks to Chris Perez treating us to one of his customary nail-biting saves (his second of the year). Let's look at what I liked in this series:

Reynolds The Destroyer 

The acquisition of Mark Reynolds in the winter was rather overshadowed by the other key free agent signings the Tribe made, but it has been Reynolds who has made the most impact so far in 2013. Reynolds was crucial to the Tribe taking the series victory in Houston, hitting a home run for 5 total RBIs in the 19-6 rout Saturday night, then crushing another homer last night that proved to be the difference in the 5-4 win. Not only is Reynolds destroying nearly every ball he sees, he's also been one of the only Indians to get those "clutch" hits, the timely knocks that decide the result. So far Reynolds has a .298 batting average with 7 home runs and 18 RBI, leading the team by a wide margin in the previous two. We all knew when the Indians picked up Reynolds that he was a strikeout machine but so far he's been relatively disciplined at the plate (for him), striking out 15 times. There are at least three other Indians with more strikeouts than Reynolds, Drew Stubbs leading the team with 20. If Reynolds can maintain this level of performance then we could be seeing a guy reach 30+ HRs at the very least, maybe even 40+ if we're very lucky. Take Mark out of the lineup and the Tribe's offense would look very sad indeed. The power he brings to the middle of the lineup is keeping the Indians competitive right now, picking up the slack whilst his teammates are still feeling their way into the campaign. Reynolds has surprised us all with his defense as well, last night making a gorgeous play at third base, with the bases loaded, to save Perez's ass and the victory. It's nice to have a power guy who can be versatile, slotting him at first or third base, and be dependable at the same time. Overall Reynolds is really endearing himself to the Tribe faithful so far and I hope he can keep contributing like this deep into September. If he keeps this up past May and into June, the Indians front office will seriously need to start thinking about signing him up to a longer deal, if they're not already thinking about doing that right now.

Starting Pitching Still Needs Work

This series against the Astros saw Brett Myers, Scott Kazmir and Ubaldo Jimenez all take the mound for the Tribe. Not one of them went deep enough to earn a win. Against the Astros! None of these guys pitched horribly in this series but you cannot say they pitched well.

Myers went 5 innings on Friday night, surrendering 3 earned runs but again fell victim to the long ball, giving up 2 home runs, taking his season total to an astounding 10. He earned his third loss of the season and has now gone on the DL because of pain in his right elbow, which he's apparently been feeling since Spring Training. Could this be to blame for Myer's poor start in Cleveland? Probably, but I expect he'd have been this bad without the pain in his elbow. Corey Kluber, who pitched very well in relief in this Houston series, will take his spot in the rotation for now.

Scott Kazmir made his long awaited debut for the Indians on Saturday night but he was far from sharp. Kazmir only lasted 3 1/3 innings, giving up 7 hits for 6 earned runs. Luckily the offense picked him up, giving him an 8-0 lead when he took the mound, but Francona had him on a pitch count and had seen enough in the 4th inning. Some rust was to be expected so there's no cause to worry yet.

Ubaldo pitched last night, striking fear into every Indians fan and their hopes for a series win. He got knocked around in the 1st inning, quickly giving up 2 runs, but his defense bailed him out with Stubbs making   a great double play from the outfield. Every ball the Astros hit in that first inning was a rocket, and Ubaldo can count himself very lucky to have escaped from that 1st inning relatively unscathed. After that he settled down a bit and we got to see a glimpse of the good Ubaldo. Overall he lasted 5 innings, giving up 4 hits and 4 earned runs, his last one erasing his chance at the victory. For Jimenez this performance was definitely an upgrade on what we've seen from him his preview two outings. It was a positive display from him at least. Unfortunately it still wasn't really good enough and he needs to show us a bit more. Come on, this is the Astros, and they were treating him like batting practice in that first inning. It'll be interesting (and probably horrifying) to see how he gets on in his next start. That'll be a truer test of where we really stand with Ubaldo right now.

I'll leave it there for now (told you it'd be quick... sort of). The Indians travel to Chicago today to take on the White Sox and we have Masterson on the mound in search of his fourth victory. He'll faceoff against Dylan Axelrod, who has a 0-1 record and a 4.70 ERA. Let's keep this mini winning-streak alive and build on it.

Thanks for reading.

Tribe Takes Series, Can't Sweep Chicago

I've been away on holiday for the past few days so didn't have a chance to re-cap the Yankees series last week, although the less said about that the better. However I have been around to watch some of the White Sox series over the last few days and even got a chance to watch last night's 3-1 loss from start to finish. So with that, let's get to my views about the series victory over Chicago:

M&M&M Boys Pitch Well

After the disastrous pitching performances against the Yankees, feelings on the Cleveland starting rotation were at an all time low. Thankfully, after two days off due to rainouts, the Indians staff came back with a vengeance against the White Sox and pitched extremely well. It all started with Justin Masterson, who pitched a complete game shutout on Friday 12th and was rewarded for his effort with a Nick Swisher walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th to win it 1-0 for the Indians. Masterson was incredible, giving up 5 hits and only 1 walk whilst striking out 7 Chicago batters on his way to his third straight victory. The 6'6 right hander has gotten off to a dream start in 2013 and his ERA now sits at an amazing 0.41. Now obviously we're only half way through April and it's a small sample size but I am absolutely loving what I'm seeing from Masterson this year. Have we got the AL Cy Young 2013 winner in our midst? That's a massive, and frankly ridiculous claim to make at the moment but stranger things have happened. Who expected Cliff Lee of all guys to win the award in 2008? The Francona effect is working wonders for Masterson and I hope this hot streak can continue and he can truly grow into the ace of our staff.

Zach McCallister pitched Saturday night and managed to pick up his first win of the season in a 9-4 Tribe victory. The 25 year old pitched 6 1/3 innings, surrendering only 1 earned run and no walks whilst striking out 6 White Sox. It was a very successful outing for McCallister, who is showing some real promise and if he can build on this recent performance could legitimately become our number two starter in the rotation. The matchup against Chicago's Chris Sale didn't look good from the outset but McCallister settled down after the first inning and outperformed the White Sox southpaw on his way to the win. Young Zach finally got some support from the Tribe lineup, especially from Mark Reynolds who is hot to start the season, hitting a grand slam in the 5th inning and collecting 5 RBI's altogether Saturday night.

Finally, it was Brett Myers pitching last night as the Indians went for the sweep. This was my first time watching Myers pitch and he looked a lot better than his previous two performances in a Tribe uniform indicated. He has gotten off to a pretty rotten start in Cleveland so far (4 HRs in his first start in Toronto didn't look good) and I've seen a few grumbles on Twitter and other blogs saying we should get rid of him already. It's far too early for that and I'd hope that his performance last night might have changed some opinions. Myers pitched well through 6 innings, surrendering 6 hits, only walking 1 and striking out 4. Myers looked really good early on and was given a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Michael Bourn hit a first-pitch home run off Jake Peavy. As the game went on Myers looked okay, but he kept having trouble getting the first batter of the inning out, only to work through the pressure and get out of it. In the 6th inning, with two outs, it was Paul Konerko who finally got to Myers, smashing a 2 run homer to give the White Sox the lead and they never looked back from there. Myers couldn't get help from the Tribe lineup, as Jake Peavy settled in and dominated after his 1st inning mistake, going 7 innings and striking out 11. Chicago tacked on another run in the 8th, De Aza hitting a homer against Vinnie Pestano to make it 3-1 to the White Sox and give them the win. Despite Myers getting the loss I liked what I saw and if he can pitch like that each time out, I think the Indians are getting good value for money from him.

Bourn Injures His Right Index Finger

There was more bad news for Cleveland when, in the 8th inning, Michael Bourn slid into first after hustling down the line and got his fingers trodden on by pitcher Matt Thornton. It was a total accident but Bourn received five stitches after the game and will probably miss a few days whilst his fingers heal. "I'll probably be in a little bit of pain for the next day or two. Other than that, I should be fine," Bourn commented. The 30 year-old centre fielder has made a great start to his career in Cleveland and has arrived from Atlanta exactly as advertised so far. We really need him out there on the field; we haven't had a lead-off hitter like him since a healthy Grady Sizemore and Bourn has quickly established himself as a crucial cog in the Tribe lineup. So far he's hitting .333 with 2 home runs and a stolen base, and has been lightning quick defensively in centre field. I'd be surprised if he can make it back against the Red Sox this week to be honest. As much as I'd love to have him back when Boston comes to town tomorrow, I think it'd be better if he heals up properly so he's healthy long-term.

That'll be all for today. The Tribe have their first official day off today before the hot Red Sox arrive tomorrow. Until next time...

Thanks for reading.

Tribe Takes Series To Begin 2013

Despite Brett Myers getting absolutely pounded last night for a 10-8 Tribe loss, I'd say it hasn't been a bad way to begin the season overall. Not too bad at all. Winning the first two games of the year, guaranteeing us the series victory against the potential World Series contending Blue Jays, is a great way to start the season, even if we couldn't quite go all the way and get the sweep. Let's look at some of the positives over the past three days:

"The Power!" (say it in a He-Man Masters of the Universe voice)

The Tribe certainly didn't leave their bats behind when they left Spring Training. The club have gotten off to a powerful start so far, with Mark Reynolds in particular showing us what he does best: taking guys yard. He hit his first Tribe homer on Wednesday night, a magical 11th inning winner that hit Toronto's second deck and he homered again last night to keep us in the game. So far so good from Reynolds. We know the dude strikes out a tonne but that's the payoff for these home runs he can produce. Francona said on Wednesday night, "We all know he's going to miss sometimes, but when he does that, he's a game changer." Despite losing last night, Reynolds and his team-mates showed what this lineup can do, hitting eight extra-base hits out of a total 14 for eight runs. Most nights that's enough for a win, but Myers and the bullpen couldn't hold back the Jays, who let's be fair have a pretty damn powerful lineup themselves.

Carlos Santana also got off the mark last night, hitting his first home run of the year and finished up just a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Asdrubal Cabrera hit his first homer of the season in the 4-1 win Tuesday night, a two-run bomb off R.A. Dickey, the reigning NL Cy Young winner. It was a beauty, Cabrera smashing Dickey's hanging knuckler over the fence in right-centre. It reminded me of the 2011 AL Silver Slugger Cabrera. Let's hope our shortstop can keep it up and repeat that awesome 2011 season (he hit 25 HR and 92 RBI that year). Overall I'm happy with the offensive output the Tribe have displayed so far. It's important to get off to a good start and the lineup have done just that.

Masterson and Ubaldo Look Good... So Far

There's not a great deal to complain about when it comes to Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, our two "aces" of the pitching staff. Both men took the mound and went 6 strong innings, both of them only surrendered 3 hits to that strong Jays lineup and both men only gave up 1 earned run, earning each man a 1.50 ERA so far. Looks pretty nice doesn't it? Granted, Masterson did walk 4 guys and Ubaldo did give up a HR but that's really all there is to moan about. We need to put this in perspective of course: Any guy in the bigs can have one good start. What we need to see now is both of them build on these solid outings and ride that momentum into their next starts. If all goes as planned Masterson should take the mound on Sunday in the final game against the Rays, looking to double his 1-0 record. Ubaldo should pitch on Monday in our home opener against the Yankees, searching for his first W since his start against the Jays on Wednesday only earned him a quality start.

Brett Myers on the other hand had a pretty rough go of it last night. In his Tribe debut, things didn't turn out the way Myers hoped. Over 5 innings he was shellacked for 7 hits, four of them via the long-ball, for 7 earned runs and didn't record a single strikeout. Four HRs (his career worst) in one game is rarely going to get you the win, even if our offense did try to keep Myers in the game. It's way too early to write Myers off, it's only one start, and he of all people will know this morning that he needs to pitch better. "I couldn't get the ball down tonight. Everything was up," he said. "When you pitch up in the zone against these type of hitters in the big leagues, it's not going to be good." Amen to that Brett.

But let's end this on a high note. The Tribe beat a really good team on the road to take the series victory, thanks to some solid pitching from our key guys and our lineup getting the important hits. Sure a sweep would have been great, and we were close, but you can't really ask for much more from this rejuvenated Indians squad. The big righty Zach McAllister takes on the Rays and their lefty Matt Moore tonight at the Trop. Here's hoping Zach can settle in and get the job done. A 3-1 record would look awfully nice when I wake up tomorrow morning.

Thanks for reading.

What I Want In 2013

We're into the meat of Spring Training now and Opening Day is within our sights. With that in mind I thought I'd kick off this new blog with a wishlist of sorts: what I want to see from our Cleveland Indians this 2013 season. Some of it is largely obvious but necessary too. Without further ado...

1) Masterson and Jimenez to Bounce Back

Now this one is so obvious it should be on every Tribe fan's wishlist for 2013. Whether we like it or not, Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez are the "aces" of our pitching staff and both guys had pretty miserable 2012 campaigns. It's fair to say that expectations are about as low as can be so if Masterson and Jimenez can just get back to respectable form I think most Indians fans will be relatively happy. If one of them could regain some of their past magic (Masterson 2011, Jimenez 2010) and distinguish themselves as a real ace then we're golden. What a bonus that would be. Both guys are having a solid spring so far and look to be rejuvenated by the good feelings in the clubhouse that all the new additions have brought. Plus, if anyone can get the best out of Masterson, it's gotta be new skipper Terry Francona who never shied away from his admiration for the big righty during their time together in Boston. Time will tell but the success of this Indians team lies on the arms of Masterson and Jimenez. We need them to perform if we stand any chance at competing.

2) Stay Healthy (AKA Get Lucky)

Every MLB team gets hit with injuries over the gruelling season. It's part of the game. However if we can get a little bit of luck and keep our key guys healthy for the majority of the season, especially our speedy outfielders, we'll have a much better shot at staying with the Tigers this year. The most depressing sight in baseball is seeing your star player/s go down with long term injuries. So this wish is for us to get a bit of luck when it comes to the team's health. Fingers crossed...

3) New Boys Perform

The Indians had an unusually busy off-season this year and brought in a lot of new talent. If our new guys like Swisher, Bourn, Stubbs and Myers can just live up to their career averages then the Indians are immediately a more dangerous team in the American League. If any of them can surpass their average and have a career year, then that's even better! As long as each man can be on the field for the majority of the season and perform at the level we're accustomed to seeing, then the Tribe have a real shot at making the Playoffs.

4) Can the Back of the Rotation Surprise?

At the time of writing this, the 5th and final spot in the starting rotation is still up for grabs. I feel like whoever wins the job could surprise a few people in 2013. Yesterday Daisuke Matsuzaka was told by the organisation that he would not break camp with the Indians roster so the battle for the 5th spot is now down to Scott Kazmir and Carlos Carrasco (with Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer all but confirmed to be starting the season in the minors). Kazmir has been a Spring Training star and has surprised everyone during his bid to break back into the majors. Carrasco is now healthy after missing all of 2012 through injury and has had a solid spring so far, pitching well. It looks like everyone is leaning towards Kazmir grabbing that 5th spot and I think that would be fair. There are still a lot of questions about his durability and whether or not the velocity on his fastball can hold up over multiple innings but so far the signs have been good, if not great. The 5th spot in the rotation on the majority of major league clubs is usually the place for an average to below-average pitcher so if Kazmir does make the roster and contributes solid innings, the Cleveland front office will be overjoyed. With Zach McAllister already confirmed at number 4, the back of the rotation will be under watchful eyes all season. If somebody doesn't pan out or looks shaky, the good news is we have some decent guys ready and waiting to step up. Bauer is one of the best pitching prospects we have and could easily force his way onto the 25 man roster. If Dice-K does well at AAA he could be brought up, plus the young arms of Kluber and Carrasco will be stating their cases too. That's a lot of healthy competition, which can only be a good thing for the Tribe.

Overall this 2013 team will live or die on the strength of it's pitching. We all know the bullpen are pretty good but the starting pitchers are still a mystery at the moment. On paper our offense should be well equipped to keep us in games but we won't get anywhere if can't hold back the opposition. Hopefully the rotation can surprise the nay-sayers and play well. The season will depend on it.

Thanks for reading.