Tribe Can't Top Tigers, Swept In Four

This was not how I hoped this series was going to turn out when I returned from my trip to Germany on Tuesday. Whilst I was away the Indians swept the Rangers, the White Sox, and took two of three from the Marlins. But yet again the Tribe came unstuck against our division foes, being swept over four brutal games.

I think we all need to recognise now that winning the AL Central is out of reach for this Indians squad in 2013. It's still mathematically possible of course but I don't see Detroit losing many games between now and the end of the season. Our best hope for the post-season will be through the wild card and the Indians now need to put this moral-sapping series behind them and concentrate on winning as many games as possible before the end of September. Thankfully we only play Detroit one more time towards the end of this month and our relatively easy schedule in September will make or break our playoff hopes.

I'm not going to do an in-depth series re-cap today, it'd be far too depressing. Instead I'm going to weigh in on a few talking points concerning the Tribe over the last few days.

Farewell Mr Reynolds

Our struggling slugger Mark Reynolds was finally put out of his misery and was designated for assignment by the Indians yesterday. And so his career in Cleveland comes to an end. Reynolds has told the front office he is unwilling to accept a demotion to AAA Columbus so he will surely be released over the course of the next few days. It'll be interesting to see if any other teams decide to take a flyer on Reynolds, or maybe the Indians can trade him for somebody useful to help us down the stretch (it's unlikely though).

It's a sad ending to what looked like a bright story early on in the season. Reynolds got off to a fantastic start in Cleveland, batting .301 in April with 8 home runs and 22 RBI. He was a key part of the offense and helped win a lot of games for the Indians over the first couple of months. But then the hits dried up and the strikeouts kept increasing. We all knew Reynolds had that side to his game; he has struck out at a ridiculously high level at every club he's been to. But that was ok as long as he was still hitting a few home runs. Right? Well that quickly became the problem, as his production at the plate has been non-existent since May. Francona had obviously lost all faith in Reynolds over the past few weeks and looked reluctant to insert him into the lineup on a daily basis. It has been pretty agonising to watch Reynolds recently, as he has looked largely over-matched nearly every day, becoming an automatic out for most opposing pitchers.

I'm somewhat sad to see Reynolds leave and it's a shame things couldn't work out the way we wanted. Having said that, I'm kind of relieved we don't have to endure watching him struggle at the plate any longer.There were a few fans calling for him to have his contract extended after his bright start to the campaign but I bet they're glad the front office didn't follow their advice now. Good luck in your future endeavours Mark. I'm sure he'll land onto another club in the near future. Some team out there will be willing to take a punt and see if his power can return (I expect the desperate Yankees may be monitoring the situation).

Raburn Earns An Extended Stay

Ryan Raburn has had a very impressive season off the bench for the Indians in 2013 and the club have rewarded his efforts with a 2 year extension that could see Ryan in Cleveland until the end of 2016. I have to say I'm pretty pleased the club have decided to keep Raburn on the team and I think he deserves it. His production has been a pleasant surprise this year, considering he was originally just a minor-league invite in the Spring. He's currently batting .274 with 13 home runs (3rd on the team) and 38 RBI, with 14 doubles as well. Not bad for a bench guy. Raburn's versatility in the field has also been of great benefit to the Tribe, slotting in with ease at both corner outfield spots as well as his natural position at second base. With Reynolds now leaving the team I can see Raburn playing a lot of DH between now and the end of September. I'm sure Francona will look to get him into the lineup as often as possible.

And what about Raburn as a pitcher? A couple of days ago you would have laughed in my face at the idea but after last night's emergency relief appearance the idea doesn't seem quite so ridiculous. And hey, the bullpen needs the help right? (I am of course joking). The Tribe's pen were exhausted again during the blowout 10-3 loss and Francona turned to Raburn to pitch the 9th inning. Ryan said no problem and proceeded to pitch a shutout inning as well as recording his first career strikeout. I don't imagine it was how Raburn intended to celebrate his contract extension, but he did add yet another layer to his versatility. The guy can do everything apparently. Congratulations to Mr Raburn.

Player Of The Series

This four-game set with Detroit has been a disaster of epic proportions but there were a couple of bright spots amongst the disappointment. Despite the Tribe losing all four games, there was some decent pitching involved. Two men stood head and shoulders above the rest: Corey Kluber, who went 7 and a 1/3 innings on Monday, giving up 6 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 6 whilst keeping Detroit scoreless. And Danny Salazar, who lasted 7 and 2/3 innings on Wednesday, giving up 7 hits and 4 runs, walking 1 and striking out an astounding 10 Tigers, often on fastballs that reached close to 100 mph. Both pitchers put in superb shifts: Kluber kept Detroit off the board in his outing, and the rookie Salazar, in just his second start, struck out the powerful Tigers with ease, although he did get hit for 2 HRs. It's tough to choose this week's Player Of The Series so I'm going to give it to both men, the first time I've done such a thing at England Tribe. Kluber has since been diagnosed with a finger injury that will keep him out for 4-6 weeks, a devastating blow to the right-hander who had turned his season into a very successful one. The impressive rookie Salazar will take his spot in the rotation and can hopefully continue to dominate unsuspecting opposition lineups.

The Tribe welcome MVP candidate Mike Trout and the Angels to Progressive Field today for a three-game series that the Indians must win. Our boys really need to rebound and do it quickly if they're to keep pace in the wild card chase. Despite Anaheim having a sub-par season and standing no chance of making the playoffs, they should not be underestimated, not with the talent they have on their roster. The Indians look to Scott Kazmir (7-4, 3.89 ERA) tonight to turn things back around and he'll faceoff against Angels ace Jered Weaver (6-5, 2.90 ERA). The Tribe need to bounce back in style and they need to start doing that tonight.

Thanks for reading.

First Half Season Review: Position Players

The Indians enter the All Star break with a 51-44 record, good enough for 2nd place in the AL Central, just 1.5 games behind Detroit. It's been quite a journey so far and we've seen a good deal of ups and downs along the way. Here is my season review for the position players up to this point, based on my expectations of what we expected out of Spring Training, as well as my feelings about how they can go forward into the second half of 2013. Enjoy:

Catchers

Carlos Santana B+

Despite a slump here and there, Santana has been one of the Tribe's more consistent hitters so far and a constant threat in the middle of the lineup. He's only just behind Kipnis in terms of OBP (.382), amazing for a catcher. He narrowly missed out on being an All Star this year and arguably deserved it more than the Royals' Salvador Perez. Santana has become one of the best catchers in the American League, albeit with some concerns about his defensive abilities behind the plate. Still, he's had a very good first half all in all.

Room for Improvement: Work on preventing so many passed balls. Keep getting on base.

Yan Gomes C+

A revelation behind the plate and effective with the bat as well, Gomes made a considerable impact on the fans in the first half. I'd like to see Francona try and fit him into the lineup more often in the second half, slide Santana to first base and let Gomes catch. He's probably a better catcher than Sanrana defensively, so it will be interesting to see how much playing time Gomes sees from here on. Hopefully a lot.

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

Lou Marson N/A

Limited to just 3 games before getting hurt and is now on the 60 day DL for a shoulder issue that's kept him away from the club since April. Surely considered the 3rd choice catcher now since Gomes has done so well in his absence.

Room for Improvement: Get healthy, fight for your spot when the opportunity arises.

Infielders

Nick Swisher C

The face of the franchise has struggled to play like the star he was expected to be. That might be unfair on Swisher, he's never been a true star player at any stage in his career, but the Indians paid him a lot of money to perform like one in Cleveland. Had a terrible June when he played through injury but has started to turn things around a bit lately. His positive attitude and enthusiasm in the clubhouse has undeniably had an impact on the team though. He's a big reason why this team has been so fun to watch.

Room for Improvement: Get that batting average up. Play like a guy who deserves to be hitting 4th/5th.

Mark Reynolds C-

Reynolds got off to a blistering start, crushing every ball in sight in April, before declining rapidly in May and he hasn't been able to turn things around since. The grade I've given him might seem a bit harsh for a guy who has hit 15 home runs (still leads the team) but he's been such a liability at the plate since April that its easy to forget how good he was earlier in the season. Maybe now we're seeing why Arizona and Baltimore were happy to let him leave, despite his impressive home run totals. When he's slumping, he's a black hole in the lineup. Reynolds need to take the All Star break as an opportunity to re-focus and re-energise.

Room for Improvement: Improve on the woeful .218 batting average. Bring the power back.

Jason Giambi C

The veteran has had his critics all year but he's been better than I thought he would be up to this point. The .200 batting average is painful to look at but considering he's effectively a 42 year-old cheerleader on this team, he's not doing too badly. And I mean no disrespect with that cheerleader remark (just being a wise-ass) because the job he's been doing as a leader in the clubhouse has obviously had a positive effect on the team so far. Francona loves him and he's met my expectations so far in his limited opportunities.

Room for Improvement: Make the most of your time left in The Show. Get to 10 HR's by end of year.

Jason Kipnis A

Quickly becoming the heart and soul of this team and now an All Star, deservedly so too. Hard to find many faults in his game, especially since he got hot with the bat in June, winning the AL Player of the Month award for his efforts. Got off to a slow start in April but he was playing hurt in his defense. Has more than made up for it since though, and now leads the team in batting average (.301), RBI (57), stolen bases (21), hits (96), runs (53) and OBP (.383). Nearly every offensive category actually. I've even seen him mentioned in some AL MVP conversations (way down the ladder in 8th/9th but still, just to be part of the conversation is incredible). An amazing first half for the JK Kid.

Room for Improvement: Cut down the strikeouts. Stay consistent with the bat in second half.

Mike Aviles B

The invaluable utility man would likely be starting every day for a lot of other teams, such is his quality. He's been a great addition to the team and his versatility off the bench has been put to use by Francona in a variety of ways. We've seen him at SS, 2B, 3B, even LF once or twice, and he's been solid at every position. His production dipped slightly when he was thrust into the role of starter, when Cabrera went on the DL, but overall he's been a reliable and effective option off the bench in the first half. I'm a big fan of Aviles.

Room for Improvement: Try and get those power numbers up, otherwise just continue as before.

Asdrubal Cabrera B-

Injury has hindered his season a bit but he's still one of the best shortstops in the AL and remains a wizard with the glove, pulling off some spectacular plays in the field and making it look routine. Seems to be finding his groove a bit lately, hopefully an encouraging sign heading into the second half. He's still our premier trade chip, with the Cardinals and Yankees very keen, but I'd be sad to see him go this month. I'd prefer the Indians to keep hold of him for as long as possible, at least until the end of the year, but his days are likely numbered since Lindor is progressing so well. Time will tell just how much longer Cabrera will remain in Cleveland...

Room for improvement: Get the .255 batting average up. Stop chasing so many pitches outside the zone.

Lonnie Chisenhall C

After an impressive Spring Training, Lonnie struggled to start the campaign and was soon sent to Columbus to fix his swing and reset himself. His stint at AAA did wonders for him and he's been remarkably solid since his return. Looks a lot more comfortable now at the major league level than he did previously. See my KC re-cap yesterday for more on Chiz's encouraging performances.

Room for Improvement: Be more disciplined at the plate and the .243 batting average will grow in time.

Outfielders

Michael Brantley A-

Brantley is quietly having a great 2013, some might even say a breakout year for the outfielder. He's starting to look like the talent we hoped we'd get in the CC Sabathia trade of 2009. Brantley has successfully hit in nearly every spot in the lineup and has become an invaluable part of the offense, especially adept at scoring runners in clutch situations (48 total RBI, second on the team behind Kipnis). He's been equally good in the field as well, a crucial part of the outfield trio that has helped make us much better defensively. Brantley is one to watch in the second half, so long as he keeps up this level of performance.

Room for Improvement: Not a lot since his power is progressing nicely of late. Keep up the first half pace.

Michael Bourn B

A finger injury on April 14th kept him out for nearly a month and prevented him from finding his groove early on but he's been everything we expected since his return. Fantastic defensively and near-unstoppable running down the first base line, he's proving his worth since we poached him late in the off-season.

Room for Improvement: I expect to see more stolen bases. Produce more RBI's in the second half.

Drew Stubbs C+

A terrific outfielder and natural defender, and practically impossible to catch in a double-play, Stubbs' speed is deadly both defensively and offensively. But the guy strikes out too much, even for a number 9 guy (he's second on the team behind Reynolds, with 93 strikeouts in 287 at-bats). It's hard to knock his effort and he comes across as a very likeable guy, but he has to be more disciplined at the plate. Too often he's an easy out.

Room for Improvement: Cut down the strikeouts. Other than that, keep doing what you're doing.

Ryan Raburn C+

Versatile like Aviles, Raburn has seen the majority of time in right field and has been an important figure in the Indians' first half success. His power threat has been a big bonus off the bench, with an impressive 10 home runs before the All Star break. Raburn even earned the AL Player of the Week award for April 29th -May 5th. Hopefully Raburn can maintain this pace in the second half and Francona can find a way to maximise his bat when he's at his best.

Room for Improvement: Get hot with the bat again like you did in late April/ early May.

Ezequiel Carrera N/A

Began 2013 with the club but was among the unlucky few cut before the end of Spring Training. He managed to get picked up by the Phillies though, before they eventually released him and the Tribe re-acquired him once again in early May. Has only played in 2 games so far, both in May, and hasn't featured for the Indians since. Carrera could still prove to be useful though; the Indians could put his impressive speed to good use late during a playoff-push or he could become a useful trade chip if the club decide to make any moves in the near future.

Room for Improvement: Make yourself useful, via performance on the field or as a potential player to trade.

Not applicable for grading: Omir Santos, Cord Phelps, John McDonald

McDonald and Phelps had more at-bats than Carrera and Marson combined in the first half but their influence on the team was negligible at best. McDonald has been traded and Phelps doesn't really figure into the Indians future, not yet anyway. Santos is strictly a depth player in case of injury.

Overall, despite their ups and downs, the offense has been impressive as a unit and the biggest reason for the Tribe's success in the first half. The good news is there is still room for improvement. Provided Cabrera doesn't get traded, he has the ability to produce more. Reynolds can hopefully break out of his slump and Swisher can revert back his career-norm in terms of offense. There's a lot more to look forward to from this offense. They aren't finished yet.

Thanks for reading. Pitchers review coming shortly.

That's More Like It; Indians Sweep Reds

The Indians bounced back from their miserable road-trip in Boston and Cincinnati, beating the Reds twice in  a row at home, snapping the 5 game losing streak they were in. There was even better news in the shape of Pittsburgh doing us a favour, beating the Tigers twice and allowing us to climb back to within a 0.5 game in the AL Central. Let's look at the positives from this mini two-game sweep against our Ohio foes:

Good Pitching = Wins

Both the starters in this series pitched fantastic games these past two days. Justin Masterson started things off on Wednesday, lasting 6 innings and giving up only 4 hits and 1 run, a solo homer by Joey Votto in the 1st inning. He settled into his groove after that mistake and struck out 7 Reds batters, his two-seam fastball breaking down and away from hitters beautifully. He did walk 4 batters but that was a minor blemish on an otherwise perfectly pitched game. Masterson picked up his 8th win of the season in the process, a quite amazing feat considering how hard he struggled last year to earn victories. He's on track to get a career high in wins if he can continue this pace. The bullpen came in after Masterson finished his 6 innings and were relatively incident free for once, Cody Allen and Joe Smith combining well to get the Tribe to the 9th. Vinnie Pestano, newly elected closer, came in and immediately gave up a lead-off homer to Xavier Paul which helped unsettle the Tribe faithful but he dug in and got through the rest of the inning unscathed. The Indians won 5-2 in the end and snapped out of their losing streak in the process. Masterson got his run support from Mark Reynolds and Jason Giambi, the heavy hitters both striking for home runs to fuel the Tribe offense. Reynolds hit his homer, his 13th of the year, in the 3rd inning to tie the game and Giambi smashed a 3 run bomb with 2 outs in the 6th inning for 3 RBI to put the game beyond the Reds.

Scott Kazmir went one better than Masterson last night, lasting 7 innings, surrendering 8 hits and only giving up 1 run. Kazmir also limited his walks, allowing just the 1, and struck out 5 Reds batters to earn his 3rd win of the season. It was a very impressively pitched game by Kazmir, a performance he was due after going through a bit of a rough patch lately in his comeback tour. He got all the run support he needed when the Tribe exploded in the 4th inning for 7 runs, chasing Reds starter Homer Bailey from the game. With 2 outs in the 4th, the Indians were relentless and kept lining hits into the corners to pad their lead. With such a commanding lead, the bullpen could relax when they relieved Kazmir in the 8th and Nick Hagadone and Matt Albers pitched a clean inning each to get the Tribe to the finish line for a 7-1 Indians win and the series sweep.

Player Of The Series

There are many deserving candidates for the award this series, with nearly everybody having a good game. But my award goes to Yan Gomes, who despite playing in just one of the two games, had a fantastic day at the plate yesterday. This award is as much for his great game yesterday as it is for his impressive performance so far in 2013 and I thought it was about time I recognised his greatness here at England Tribe. Gomes got 3 hits yesterday, leading the team, and an RBI as well, which leaves him with a .319 batting average with 5 home runs and 13 RBI in total so far. The 25 year-old Brazilian backstop is impressing every day he plays and has grown into the perfect back-up catcher when Santana needs a day off behind the plate. Keep it up Yan, and congrats!

So the Indians have broken out of their funk just in time, as they begin what is arguably the toughest stretch of the schedule this campaign. The Tribe welcome the resurgent Rays to Cleveland for a three-game series beginning today, before jetting off to New York, Detroit and Texas for a long and season-defining road-trip.

Thanks for reading.

Seattle Swept, Tribe Continue To Roll

Four games against Seattle and three of them end in walk-off wins for the red-hot Cleveland Indians. What are the odds? I'm serious, this team just won't quit. Call it resilience, call it luck, call it whatever you damn like, but this team is winning one way or the other. When you think they've blown it and all hope is lost, they somehow turn it around and get that W. It's crazy, and at times infuriating, but it's also been a lot of fun when things break our way.

So the Tribe managed to sweep the Mariners in this four-game series and now sit at 26-17 atop the AL Central, a full 2.5 games ahead of Detroit. Here's a quick summary of how it all played out:

Quick Re-Cap

It began Friday afternoon with the Indians coming out on top after a 10 inning nail-biter, Jason Kipnis finally ending it with a clutch 3-run homer to snatch the Tribe a 6-3 victory.

The Indians walked off again the next day, winning 5-4 on Saturday, thanks to Mark Reynolds getting good contact on an infield single and Kipnis being fast enough to make it to home-plate and beating the throw home, Seattle catcher Jesus Montero's foot being dragged away from the plate in the process. That came after Chris Perez blew the save opportunity by giving up back-to-back home runs in the top of the 9th, causing the home fans to boo the controversial closer mercilessly. More on that later.

Justin Masterson pitched an absolute gem in game 3, earning the series win and his 7th victory in 2013, helping the Tribe cruise to an easy 6-0 win, as the Indians had a great day against Mariners ace Felix Hernandez.

And then came the series finale, as wild a game as you're likely to see, the Tribe prevailing 10-8 in the bottom of the 10th inning, Yan Gomes smashing his second home run on the day, a 3-run bomb to cement the sweep. The Mariners tied it in the 8th inning, Kyle Seager hitting a homer off Vinnie Pestano, then took the lead in the 9th when Endy Chavez hit a home run off Chris Perez. Seattle took the lead once again in the 10th inning, Justin Smoak going deep off of Joe Smith and each time the Indians responded and showed incredible resolve to tie the game, Gomes finally ending Seattle's hopes with his walk-off homer. Just another day at the office for Yan Gomes, who is quickly attaining serious hero status in Cleveland after another fine performance. That Esmil Rogers trade to Toronto looks better and better every day.

I'm Loving Our Starting Pitching

We all knew the success of this 2013 Indians team depended on the quality of our starting pitching. The offense can only carry you so far. So it's been a cause for celebration that our starters have pitched so well and are not the unsightly blemish we thought they'd be (not yet anyway...). The jewel in our rotation-crown has been Justin Masterson, who Marty McFly'ed it back to 2011 and carried that form and confidence back with him to the present day. He's been filthy on the mound giving opposing batters absolutely nothing (batters are hitting .210 off him). So far he's got a 7-2 record (only Tampa Bay's Matt Moore has more wins, with 8) with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He's struck out 71 batters in 70 innings, not bad for a groundball specialist like Justin, and he's only walked 26, plus he's only given up 3 home runs. He had another amazing start on Sunday, pitching 7 shutout innings whilst giving up just 3 hits and striking out 11 Mariners. He'd have probably gone on to pitch all 9 innings for the complete-game but his pitch count was already over 100 at the end of the 7th. He hasn't given up a run in his last 2 starts and earned the AL Player of the Week award for his recent efforts as well. It's fair to say Masterson has been superb and his resurrection from the player he was last year has been a revelation for this team.

We got two more good performances this series as well. Ubaldo Jimenez kicked things off on Friday: he only managed to last 5 innings, which isn't bad, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, walking 2 but striking out an amazing 9. It was another solid start on Ubaldo's road back to recovery and he looked pretty good out there, despite the 7 hits. Zach McAllister pitched really well Saturday afternoon, looking more and more like our legitimate number two guy in the rotation. Zach went 7 1/3 innings, giving up 6 hits whilst walking only 1 and striking out 1 as well. He kept Seattle scoreless until Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan hit a two-run homer off him in the 8th inning, and would have been good for his 4th win of the year if Perez hadn't blown the save later on. Until that point McAllister looked untouchable, pitching to contact and getting the Mariners to fly out regularly with ease. He currently leads the team with an amazing 2.65 ERA. Unfortunately Scott Kazmir could not add the cherry on top of what's been a great effort from our rotation during this series. Kazmir just didn't have it yesterday, getting hit 7 times for 5 runs in just 3 innings, with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Hopefully it's just a blip and he can come back next time and pitch well. It doesn't diminish the fact that this Cleveland Indians rotation is surpassing expectations so far in 2013, and the success of the ball-club will depend on them maintaining this level of performance.

I Hate To Bring Negativity To This Party, But...

Closers blow saves. It's a baseball fact. Not everybody can be Mariano Rivera. Still, the questions surrounding Chris Perez and his role as closer are being asked. A blown save is painful, it hurts and you want to be angry and the closer will be responsible and thus always be the target of that anger. We all know that, and Perez knows that too. It comes with the job. He gets to fist pump and slap high-fives when he gets the job done, but I'm afraid he'll have to put up with some booing when he doesn't.

Now I need to make this clear. I'm not really Chris Perez's biggest fan and never have been. I'll always remember his 2009 Indians debut, coming out of the bullpen with so much hope and then getting absolutely destroyed. I was deflated to say the least. Maybe I've never recovered from that, despite the 2 All Star appearances and the fact he's grown into one of the premier closers in the league.

My trust issues with Perez run deep but I'm not going to join the parade and say he needs to be pulled from being the closer. Not yet anyway. I think over the last few years he's earned himself some breathing room in regards to his position as closer. Last year he earned an astounding 39 saves on a bad team, an impressive feat and one of the few bright spots in a dismal 2012.

But I can't say the home runs he gave up this series didn't hurt. The back-to-back solo homers he surrendered to Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak on Saturday, with 2 outs in the 9th and the victory practically in the bag, were unbelievable. I had to rub my eyes when Smoak hit that ball deep over the centre field fence. Frickin' Justin Smoak, who hit only his 2nd HR of the year and is well known as being absolute dog-shit most days?! The game looked safe, McAllister was cruising all day and Perez had a 2-run cushion. The fact he got the first 2 outs with ease made the painful events that followed even worse. The team picked him up and won anyway in the bottom half of the 9th but the Tribe faithful still let Perez hear it, raining boos down on our closer. And then he did it again yesterday, albeit not in a save situation, the Mariners taking the lead in the 9th inning when Endy Chavez went yard on only Perez's second pitch thrown. Yes, Pestano had blown the save in the 8th but Perez allowed Seattle the lead. Yet again the offense carried the rest of the team on their back and won regardless, thankfully.

If I'm Francona, Perez is obviously still the number one guy out of the pen with the game on the line. He's the closer and will remain so until he becomes the next Carlos Marmol and can't do it anymore. In which case we have Pestano ready and waiting. Most fans would agree that Pestano is already the better pitcher in terms of talent but Perez earned his role as closer and won't give it up without a fight (as you'd expect from the fiery right-hander). However, if the opportunity to trade Perez for another arm to add to the rotation comes up around deadline time, I won't be shedding any tears. I feel our bullpen is well stocked that we'd cope without Perez and his trade value is unlikely to grow, so selling high this year might be the best option. It may not to come to that if Perez can put this series behind him and get back to closing games without incident. I hope for his sake as a member of this Indians team he can.

Player Of The Series

This is really tough. There were quite a few standout performers during this series. Honourable mentions must go to Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, Mark Reynolds, Mike Aviles (for that sterling job he did in left field on Saturday), Zach McAllister, and finally Yan Gomes. All of these guys could stake a claim for the award this week. But I can't look any further than Justin Masterson, whose dominating performance in his matchup against Mariners ace Felix Hernandez was sublime. It was the most anticipated pitching duel of the series and Masterson came out and completely shut down the Seattle offense, whereas his opponent King Felix, usually so amazing, wasn't up to his immeasurably high standards. Justin came out on top, dethroning the King for the day and earning my Player of the Series award. Congrats to Justin.

Cleveland welcome our division rivals Detroit into town today for a short two game series. With us ahead in the standings, I'd really appreciate it if the Tribe could get another sweep and put even more distance between them and the Tigers. That'd be pretty much perfect I reckon.

Thanks for reading.

Tribe Tame Tigers, Steal Series Win

Wow. I just finished watching what was arguably the biggest win of this young season so far. The Indians just stole a win in Detroit, beating the Tigers 4-3 in extra innings to win the series overall. The victory takes our record to 20-15, the same as Detroit. You know what that means:

Ladies and gentlemen, your first place Cleveland Indians.

Ok so it's joint first place at the moment, but the race in the AL Central is most definitely on. We went into their house, the reigning American League champions, and we beat them two out of three in dramatic fashion, laying down a marker in the process. These Indians mean business, and now Detroit and the rest of the league can take notice. Even when we're not at our best, like today, we still ground out the win and that's a very encouraging sign.

I thought it wasn't going to be our day for a while. McAllister was decent in his 6 innings of work, but he left the ball in the zone a bit too much, Detroit connecting for 8 hits and 2 earned runs. I was impressed with his location though, he nearly always started out with a first-pitch strike, but maybe that came back to bite him since Detroit had few problems making contact off the right-hander. The Tribe offense were trying their best to turn the game around but we couldn't get the big hit, stranding 9 baserunners and always at that crucial moment when we were just a run away from tying things up. A strikeout here and a double play there, the Indians couldn't make anything count and it looked as if Detroit would hold on to their slender 3-2 lead in the 9th inning. The Tribe had other ideas thankfully, as Michael Bourn came off the bench to earn a walk, then immediately stole second base (with ease, Tigers closer Valverde never even looked his way). Michael Brantley came up and lined a single into left field and Bourn didn't hesitate for a second, rounding third base and making it home without even sliding. Tie game at 3-3 and a blown save for Valverde. The Tribe rode that momentum into the 10th inning and stole the win, with Mark Reynolds smashing a single into left field, scoring Carlos Santana to make it 4-3 Indians. Rich Hill and Cody Allen (first MLB save for Mr Allen) combined in the bottom of the 10th to shut down the Tigers and thus ensuring the series victory. It was a real roller-coaster of a game but the Tribe pulled through, grabbing the series win and taking our share of first place in the AL Central, delighting every Indians fan in the meantime. Fantastic win all in all. Let's have a look at some talking points during this series:

The Yan Gomes Experiment Is A Success

With backup catcher Lou Marson spending most of this season on the DL, 25 year-old Yan Gomes has taken his place and has been a revelation. In 14 games this season he's hitting .268, with a .279 OBP, with 2 doubles, 2 triples and 2 home runs for 5 RBI total. Decent enough numbers in only 41 at-bats but Gomes is one of those players where the stats don't truly tell you the whole story. Gomes has tremendous presence defensively, his rocket of an arm gunning down would-be base thieves at will. He's not exactly a black hole at the plate either, having a very successful day in Detroit, going 3 for 4 and being the only Indian in the bottom half of the lineup who actually produced today.

Watching Gomes play this season really makes it difficult to see Lou Marson make it back onto the ballclub at Gomes' expense. I like Lou, he seems to be a great guy, but at this stage, with the way Gomes has been playing in 2013, I think Marson has to stay in AAA once he's healthy. Gomes has earned his spot on the roster and it would be ridiculously unfair to demote him again once Marson is back to full fitness. Yan has been a lot of fun to watch and I hope he can stay on the team for the rest of the year, producing the likes of what we've seen so far. He can be an important contributor down the stretch.

Is It Time We Talked About Lonnie?

Mr Chisenhall is having a rough time of it lately. He's in a deep slump and isn't showing many signs of recovery. So far in May, Lonnie is batting .211 and his April numbers aren't much better, hitting .222 with 16 hits but striking out 18 times. Even more worrying, he only has 2 walks all season, and one of them came today in Detroit. And yet again, he's struggling to hit lefties, a problem he's yet to solve during his time in Cleveland.

He had a costly error today as well, which eventually became the Tigers' third run of the game, putting them 3-2 up at that stage. Luckily the Indians came back and erased the deficit. At the plate Lonnie was even worse, striking out twice with one of them being at a key moment late in the game where runners were stranded again. He's having no luck at all right now.

The question is, how long do we wait until something is done about Lonnie? The short term solution is to bench him for now and play Mike Aviles at third, which at the moment looks like a certain upgrade. Mark Reynolds could also be given the third base job, with somebody like Gomes or Giambi taking the DH spot more regularly. Do we send Lonnie back to Columbus for a while until he can turn things around at the plate? I'm personally hesitant to do that, I think it could be crushing for his already fragile confidence, but maybe it's what he needs to work out his batting problems. Right now, Chisenhall needs to break out of his slump, and he needs to do it quickly before a decision is made about his place on the team. I'm hoping he's just having a hard time getting into a rhythm and this poor start is not indicative of his future potential with the Tribe.

Either way, Chisenhall needs to step it up before Francona takes action. The young third baseman seems to have the manager's support for now but I expect the patience with Chiz will only last so long. And for God's sake Lonnie, shave that horrid thing off your top lip. That is the nastiest 'stache I've seen in some time and is doing you no favours son.

Player Of The Series

There's been some superb solo performances during this series but how about Ubaldo Jimenez out-duelling Justin Verlander? In a nail-biting 7-6 win Saturday night, Jimenez was brilliant, lasting 6 innings, giving up 3 hits and only 1 earned run (a solo HR by Jhonny Peralta). Most impressively, Ubaldo only surrendered 1 walk and he struck out 8 Tigers. He looked so incredibly comfortable on the mound and his mechanics are working in sync for the first time in a long while. He picked up the win, his third of the year, and has had three quality starts in his last three games. The signs are good at the moment. Speak in hush tones and keep it secret, but maybe Ubaldo is finally turning things around and is becoming the player we though we were getting in 2011. He's gets my Player of the Series award for such a well pitched game yesterday. I don't think many of us expected the Indians to not only beat Verlander, but see Ubaldo put in such a fine shift as well.

That's it for this re-cap. Next up is a double header against the Yankees at home on Monday, and we get to see another Trevor Bauer spot-start. Keep those walks down Trev, and you'll be fine. Until next time...

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.

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.

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.

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.