Indians Lose 4-0 To Rays, Exit Post-Season

A packed to the rafters Progressive Field witnessed it's first post-season game since 2007 last night. Everything was set for a historic and memorable evening. But it just wasn't to be. The Indians fell to the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 in the Wild Card game and so the home team find their season over, eliminated from the Playoffs, as the Rays proceed to the ALDS to face Boston.

I'm not going to give you an in-depth recap of the game pitch-by-pitch. You already know how it ended so there's no need to rehash the disappointing events too much. It wouldn't make for the most exciting read anyway. But I am going to look at some talking points from the game, things I found interesting. Here we go:

Tribe Can't Capitalize On Opportunities

After a couple of innings this game looked as if we were set for a good old fashioned pitcher's duel. Danny Salazar and Alex Cobb were lights out to begin the game but after Delmon Young took Salazar's first pitch of the 3rd inning over the left field wall for a 1-0 Rays lead, the hits started to mount up on both sides. By the 4th inning, after a smashed liner down the third base line by Desmond Jennings put the Rays ahead 3-0, the Indians started to crawl back into the game.

It began with a crushed double by Carlos Santana, then Michael Brantley beat out an infield hit, followed by a Ryan Raburn walk to load the bases. Down 3-0, this was the key moment in the game to get back into the contest. The Indians were perfectly primed to score, with only 1 out in the inning. Asdrubal Cabrera, who struggled all season with runners in scoring position, had the chance to redeem himself for his sub-par 2013. Instead Cabrera swung weakly and grounded into an inning-ending double play, killing the rally and the momentum at the same time. The home crowd, previously so raucous for the first few innings, were silenced. I think this was the biggest turning point in the game. The fans inside Progressive Field were vocal all night but were never quite the same after that 4th inning. I think that effected the team to a degree, as you could feel the Rays had gotten away with a lucky escape. Cobb was on the ropes and could have been chased from the game if Cabrera had gotten a hit. It never happened.

The Tribe had another opportunity to get on the scoreboard the very next inning. To open the 5th, Yan Gomes smashed a double to start things off. Lonnie Chisenhall, selected to start over Mike Aviles at third base due to his success at hitting right-handers, lined a single to put runners at first and third. Michael Bourn struck out in his at-bat then Nick Swisher was lucky not to get caught in a double play after his weak grounder. Gomes was left standing at third and Chisenhall had moved up to second when Kipnis strode to the plate with 2 outs. Unfortunately Kipnis, perhaps trying a bit too hard on the big stage of the post-season, chopped the ball in front of the mound to Cobb to end the inning. Again the Indians couldn't capitalise against a reeling Cobb, stranding runners once more and allowing the pitcher to settle in and recalibrate. It was incredibly frustrating to see the home side squander these chances, especially against a pitcher like Cobb who looked very good all night and wasn't likely to give up many more scoring opportunities. So it proved.

The Indians had further chances to score as the game progressed but I felt like they never fully recovered from those wasted 4th and 5th innings. The Rays seemed to grow in confidence from then on and the Tribe hitters never put together another rally like those two in the 4th and 5th.

Moments Of Interest

• Terry Francona made the bold decision to start Chisenhall over Aviles and it paid off handsomely. Aviles slumped somewhat in September and, although Chiz didn't set the world on fire himself, he was better suited to hit right-handers than Aviles. It worked a charm as Lonnie went 3-4 on the night, and saved a run in the 8th inning when he made an amazing diving grab on a Evan Longoria line-drive which had the left field corner written all over it. Chiz did have an error in the 9th inning after a sharp Delmon Young groundball hopped off his glove, but overall I was thoroughly impressed by his poise and confidence in the first post-season game of his career.
• Danny Salazar deserves a round of applause. The rookie took the mound for the Tribe's biggest game since 2007 and didn't show an ounce of nerves early on. The first 2 innings were incredible as Salazar was simply untouchable. If the national baseball audience didn't know about him before, they do now. He looked like a 10 year veteran out there as he racked up some early strikeouts, not a guy who started the year at AA Akron. Francona pulled the young fire-baller in the 5th after Salazar walked Jose Molina to start the inning. I felt Salazar could probably have gone a bit longer but Francona probably saw something we didn't, plus the confident Tribe bullpen pitched very well as a unit in September. Salazar finished with 4 innings pitched, giving up 4 hits for 3 runs, walking 2 and striking out 4. It wasn't how Salazar pictured the night ending but he showed some glimpses of his immense talent. He has a promising future ahead of him that's for sure.

• It was not a good night for our big free agent acquisitions. Michael Bourn had an awful game in the lead-off spot, going 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. He was fooled by Cobb's breaking ball too often. Nick Swisher also had a miserable evening, going 0-4 as well with 2 strikeouts of his own. Swish was really trying out there, taking some huge hacks and only just missing at times, but ultimately lived up to his reputation as a guy who struggles in the post-season.
• Let's give some credit where it's due: The Indians bullpen did a brilliant job at keeping the home side in the game. Marc Rzepczynski took over in the 5th inning in relief of Salazar and did well, striking out David DeJesus before being pulled for Bryan Shaw. Shaw pitched fantastically, striking out 2 Rays, before turning the ball over to Justin Masterson in the 7th inning. Masterson pitched so well in 2 innings of relief that it made you wonder if Francona could have rolled the dice a bit and started the big right-hander instead of Salazar. Nonetheless, Masterson got the Indians to the 9th inning with the score still at 3-0, recording 2 strikeouts. Cody Allen started the 9th and was unlucky to have an unearned run charged to him, after Lonnie's error and Swisher's missed catch at first base saw Yunel Escobar score Ben Zobrist to put the Rays up 4-0. It was Joe Smith who Escobar hit off but Joe settled down after that and struck out Molina before getting DeJesus to fly out to right. Overall I was really impressed with the bullpen's efforts and they were unlucky not to have the offense pick them up.

Still A Season To Be Proud Of

So the Indians season is now over but do not despair Tribe fans. Despite the disappointing loss last night, there is still a lot of pride to be had in this 2013 season. When you lose 94 games in 2012 and then make the Playoffs with 92 wins the next year, that's something to shout about. The improvement this squad made was remarkable and there is a lot of positives to take away: the development of our starting pitchers, such a question mark before Spring Training. The amazing value and production provided by 'The Goon Squad' (Aviles, Giambi, Gomes and Raburn if you didn't know already - shame on you). That's just two examples of many and there's even more to look forward to in 2014. I can't wait to see Salazar again, as he'll be aiming to complete his first full season in the majors. Next year should see the beginning of the Francisco Lindor era in Cleveland, as we should hopefully catch our first glimpse of the shortstop prodigy at some stage in 2014. So don't wallow in sorrow for too long fellow Tribe fans. 2014 will be here before you know it. Until then, take pride in this Indians team and their superb against-the-odds season.

The game began at 1 am here in the UK last night and I didn't get to bed until 5 am. I'm shattered from it but I feel it was worth staying up for. It's not every day your team plays a high stakes Playoff game. Even though we lost I'm glad I made the extra effort to watch it.

I'll have my season review and player ratings up over the course of the next week or so. It could be rather large so it might take some time to work out. Watch this space.

Until then, thank you to everybody who has read this blog during this fabulous season. Go Tribe!

(All photos courtesy of Zimbio)

Indians Regain Some Dignity But Lose Series

For a while there the series in Detroit looked like a total disaster. The Tribe were dominated in the first two games of the series, losing 7-2 on Friday and 10-5 on Saturday, before they managed to save face a bit by shutting out the Tigers on Sunday with an impressive 4-0 win.

Let's make one thing clear. Detroit have had Cleveland's number all season long. The Tribe have lost 15 of the 19 games they've played again the Tigers this year, an abysmal record. This weekend's series was particularly painful to watch because it quickly became clear that the Indians just didn't have anything that posed a threat to Detroit. You could read it in the players' body language as they stepped to the plate, or how Zach McAllister's shoulders slumped again as he walked yet another batter (I'm not singling Zach out here, he had a bad day is all and it was noticeable). Cleveland were lucky to avoid being swept for the second straight series in a row and have our Player of the Series (to be revealed below) to thank for getting them out of a real mess.

There was no clearer example of the Indians' total ineptitude against the Tigers in 2013 than the third inning of Friday's game. The Tigers were leading 2-1 and had the bases loaded when Victor Martinez (it still makes me sad to see him playing for bloody Detroit) hit a long fly ball to centre field. It should have been a routine out but Michael Bourn never saw the ball and lost it completely in the lights, allowing two runners to score with ease and that was essentially game over. The Indians looked totally sapped of confidence after that and never really threatened to get back in it. It was a frustrating moment in a frustrating season of futility against our AL Central foes. I'm not going to sit here and rain curses down on Bourn. He's been somewhat of a disappointment in his first season in Cleveland, I think most Tribe fans would agree. I don't think we've got the level of production many expected from him; he hasn't stolen many bases considering his past achievements and he's only really been average at best as a lead-off man this year. But players make mistakes and he knows more than anybody he messed up but it doesn't change the fact his blunder was essentially the turning point in the series.

Player Of The Series

I was going to skip this award entirely if the Indians couldn't muster a reply in the final game of the series on Sunday and thankfully they managed to reply in style. There's a couple of candidates for the award this week, including rookie pitcher Danny Salazar who continues to impress at the major league level. Salazar was efficient through 6 strong innings, allowing 6 hits and walking nobody, keeping the Tigers scoreless whilst striking out 6. All this on a strict pitch-count so it was a relief to see him last 6 innings. But the hero of the series for me was Mike Aviles, who saved the best until last. In the top of the 9th inning on Sunday, Aviles stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and proceeded to smash the first grand slam of his major league career to put the Indians up 4-0 late in the game, thus sealing the victory. "I hit a lot of grand slams in my sleep," said Aviles after the game. "It's just good to have a real one." Yes it is Mike, and congratulations on your first Player of the Series award this season.

So the Indians return home now and don't go back on the road until the 12th of September. Up next are the Baltimore Orioles and we need to perform to our best since the O's are our direct competitors in the race for the wild card spots. Monday afternoon's game will see Justin Masterson (14-9, 3.49 ERA) take the mound in search of his 15th win of the season and he'll face off against Bud Norris (3-1, 4.91 ERA with Baltimore), the pitcher I wouldn't have minded seeing the Tribe acquire before the trade deadline.

The Tribe didn't have the best of Augusts and need to play better in September. Winning the first game of the month yesterday was a good start. With a schedule that looks easier than most (on paper at least) the Indians still stand a very good chance of making the post-season. They just need to get hot and play their asses off. One more push guys.

Thanks for reading.

Tribe Woes Continue In Oakland

The Indians wrapped up their series in Oakland yesterday in disappointing fashion, unable to win the rubber game and thus losing the series overall. Scott Kazmir, he of the "dead arm", was unable to make the most of his extended rest and was on the hook for the loss, giving up 10 hits for 5 runs in 5 innings in the Tribe's 7-3 loss to the A's. Cleveland haven't had the best run of late; they're 7-10 in August but somehow still find themselves in the wild card race, 4.5 games back of Tampa Bay. Hope remains.

Let's take a look at some talking points from the series:

Ubaldo Still A Mystery 

If you were told Ubaldo Jimenez would flirt with a no-hitter in 2013, you'd probably laugh in that person's face. But believe it or not he did, shutting out the A's for 5 innings on Saturday night during the Indians' 7-1 victory. It was quite a remarkable outing for Jimenez and, like the majority of his starts, wasn't everything it seemed at first glance. Yes, Ubaldo did keep Oakland from getting a hit through 5 innings, but he also walked 5 guys, so he hardly kept the A's off the bases. It came back to bite Ubaldo in the end, as his pitch count escalated (like usual) and he was pulled after just 5 and 2/3 innings.

But there was a lot to love about Ubaldo's recent outing. The right-hander struck out 8 batters, his highest strikeout total in a game since June 29th. He also got the invaluable run support that has been sorely lacking for our pitchers at times this month. Before Ubaldo even took the mound he had been gifted a 2-0 lead; that's got to be comforting from a mental aspect and I expect it helped Jimenez settle in a bit better.

With Saturday's win in the books, Ubaldo's season stats look like this: He's sitting on a respectable 4.00 ERA with 123 strikeouts in 128.1 innings, good enough for a 8.63 K/9 ratio. He has a 9-7 win/loss record, matching the 9 victories he earned last season, so he stands a good chance to beat that and achieve double-digit wins as an Indian for the first time (he had 10 wins in 2011 but 6 of them were in Colorado).

So all in all, it hasn't been the dreadful season from Jimenez many of us expected. He hasn't been great for sure, and he's only been good a handful of times, but he's been a massive improvement from 2012 Ubaldo. With just under a month and a half left of the season, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Jimenez can produce more outings like those of the Saturday night variety. Now if only he could make it through 6 full innings...

Player Of The Series

There were some good contributions throughout this series: Justin Masterson pitched a solid game on Friday night, lasting 7 and 2/3 innings, giving up 3 runs and keeping the Tribe in the game. Unfortunately the Indians couldn't support the big man and he ended up with the loss but it was a decent performance from Masterson nonetheless. Nick Swisher has been pretty good at the plate lately and his form continued in his old stomping ground in Oakland: Swish had 5 hits in the series for 3 RBI, including a home run on Saturday, his 13th of the year. But the Player of the Series for me was Jason Kipnis, who continued to pace the offense like he has all season. Kipnis had 4 hits, 3 RBI, and stole his 22nd base of the year in the series. He now sits with a .294 average, a .374 OBP, 15 home runs and 72 RBI for the season, pretty much leading every offensive category on the team. Well done Mr Kipnis, keep it up.

So the Indians remain out west for a bit longer, travelling to Anaheim today to take on the Angels in a three game series. Rookie pitcher Danny Salazar (1-1, 4.08 ERA) will toe the mound for us, facing off against Jered Weaver (7-6, 3.49 ERA). Salazar made an impressive start to his career in the majors but faltered a bit in his last start against the Twins. He'll be looking to rebound in style against the Angels tonight, and can hopefully put the Indians back on track.

*EDIT* Salazar has been scratched from tonight's start, and Zach McAllister is set to pitch instead. Something to do with the Indians keeping an eye on his innings limit.

Thanks for reading.

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.

Tribe Too Much For Toronto

Are we beginning to turn things around against the AL East? Possibly, or maybe we're just pretty good against the Blue Jays, the cellar-dwellers of that monstrous division (hey, they're still pretty good). Either way, the Indians faithful can celebrate another series victory today, closing the gap on the Tigers a little bit more. Detroit fell to the White Sox this afternoon so the distance has been narrowed down to just 2.5 games.

The Tribe kicked the series off on Tuesday with a 3-0 win, thanks to a solid effort from Ubaldo Jimenez, who managed to keep the Jays scoreless through his 6 innings of work. He wasn't flawless and ran into trouble more than a few times, but he remained calm and escaped danger to earn his 7th win of the season. I managed to watch the entire game and kept fearing the worst, that Toronto would finally make us pay for Ubaldo's awful location, but the big hit never came for the Jays and the Indians emerged victorious. Ubaldo only walked 2 Jays during his outing, but he really struggled to get ahead in the count and constantly went deep into at-bats. He has to be more efficient and effective with his pitches in the future because when he pitches like this, he'll never make it past 6 innings. We're often lucky to get 5 from him. But I'm not going to be too negative, he worked hard and earned the Tribe the win and that's all you can ask for at the end of the day.

Cleveland dropped game two of the series 5-4 to even things up. Justin Masterson was decent through 6 2/3 innings but had location trouble again, walking 5 batters. He did enough to keep the Tribe in the game though but it all came crashing down in the top of the 9th inning, the Jays striking for 3 runs off Rich Hill and Joe Smith to put the game beyond the Indians. The home side did try to rally back into the game, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn't to be.

The Indians quickly put Wednesday's loss behind them and wrapped up the series in style today, winning 4-2 to take the series win. On a beautiful summer's day in Cleveland, rookie right-hander Danny Salazar made his first major league start for the Indians and pitched an absolute beauty, carrying a no-hitter into the 6th inning. He out-duelled Jays ace and reigning NL Cy Young winner R.A Dickey for the first big league win of his young career. It was quite a debut for the 23 year-old and he'll be the happiest man in town tonight. Salazar lasted 6 innings (he was on a pitch count) and gave up just 2 hits for 1 run, with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts. It's unlikely Salazar will stay with the big club though, today was just supposed to be a spot-start, but his superb performance might earn him an extended stay past the All Star break.

Player Of The Series

Is there any question? I have to go with the rookie from the Dominican Republic. To step up the way he did was amazing, to pitch with such confidence on your big league debut. Danny Salazar fully deserves the award for this series. He may have elevated himself above Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco in the Tribe rotation pecking order as well. He showed no nerves on the mound and left the game to an enthusiastic ovation from the home fans. Well done Mr Salazar. I'm looking forward to his next start already.

The Tribe welcome the Royals to Progressive Field tomorrow for the final series before the All Star break. Friday's game will see Corey Kluber (6-5, 4.23 ERA) take the mound against KC's Bruce Chen (3-0, 2.41 ERA). The Indians can hopefully take this winning momentum into the series against the Royals tomorrow and close the gap on the Tigers even more before we send Kipnis and Masterson off to NYC for the Midsummer Classic.

Thanks for reading.