Tribe Sweep Twins, Secure AL Wild Card

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2013 Cleveland Indians will be playing baseball in October. Post-season baseball. Playoffs.

Just let that sink in for a bit. Savour it.

For the first time since 2007, Cleveland will host an MLB Playoff game. At the beginning of the season, all Tribe fans wanted was meaningful baseball games in September. For me personally, I just wanted us to be relevant, somewhere within the region of "relevant" and "respectable" by the end of the season. The dream was post-season baseball for me, and I didn't really think they'd actually achieve it, not after 2012, not after all the new acquisitions would naturally need time to gel. Well the Indians only went and did it, surpassing all expectations. They did indeed play meaningful baseball in September. And now they will play in October too. Pinch me.

So that's it folks, the regular season is done and dusted. The Indians finished with a 92-70 record, quite astounding considering how bleak things looked at times this year. 10 straight wins to end the year. 21-6 in the month of September. I don't care what they say about the "soft schedule," you play the team in front of you. We did and we won. That's all there is to it.

In the end it all came down to the final day, game 162. Win and they're in. The Indians obliged. Thanks to an absolutely dominant outing from Ubaldo Jimenez and some important hitting from key players like Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana, the Tribe wrapped up the top spot in the AL Wild Card with relative ease, beating the Twins 5-1 on Sunday to complete a four-game sweep of Minnesota. It was Cleveland's seventh four-game sweep of the year, the most in major league history since the 1943 Cardinals. That's just amazing.

Something else amazing: Ubaldo's 13 strikeouts, which matched his career high. It has been a magnificent few months for the Dominican right-hander and he pitched a real gem in the Sunday sunshine. After getting into a bit of trouble in the 7th inning, Jimenez was relieved by Marc Rzepczynski and then Justin Masterson to finish out the game. It was somewhat fitting to see Masterson pitch the final couple of innings after such a brilliant season by the All Star. The final out was a thing of beauty as well: Masterson induced a sharp groundball that looked as if it had eyes for right field, but fellow All Star Jason Kipnis made a gorgeous web-gem-worthy dive to his left to snag the ball. Kipnis got to his feet in light-speed to throw the ball to Masterson covering first base for the final out. Cue delirious celebrations on the field, in the homes of Cleveland fans, and little old me here in UK, going mental sat on the floor in front of my laptop.

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

Perez Problems Solved? Sort Of

With just days left of the regular season, Chris Perez was finally relieved of his closing duties on Friday 27th September. And I'm surprised it took so long to be honest. After nearly costing the Indians another game in Thursday night's narrow 6-5 win, Perez apparently went to Francona and said he didn't want to cost the team any valuable wins this late in the year. The skipper agreed and demoted Perez from the closer role, finishing out the season with a closer-by-committee, including guys like Cody Allen, Joe Smith, and new member of the bullpen Justin Masterson.

It's safe to say Perez has had a terrible 2013. In 54 games he finished with a 5-3 record, a bloated 4.33 ERA with 25 saves, and 5 blown saves. In 54 innings he gave up 56 hits, 11 home runs, and 21 walks. Simply put, it was not good enough for a closer on a team trying to compete for a place in the post-season. There was a moment a couple of months ago where it felt like Perez was back on track to be being the closer he once was. It looked as if he was improving. Then he imploded once more. It wasn't to be.

The question now is, what role will the big right-hander play in the post-season? Will he feature at all? I have to admit, I think it would be wise just to shut him down entirely now. His confidence is completely shot and his future with the Tribe is in serious doubt.

How many fans would shed a tear if Perez were traded in the off-season? I certainly wouldn't and I'm sure the majority of Indians fans feel the same way. Our patience with Perez has always been relatively thin but it has never been thinner than now. The manner of his 9th inning displays are always nail-biting, and never in a good way. Painful to watch is the correct term I believe. Personally, I think it's time both sides agree to call time and move in different directions. A fresh start could be exactly what Perez needs to get his mojo back. I for one think his days closing in Cleveland are over.

King Kazmir

Take a bow Mr Scott Edward Kazmir. The veteran left-hander put in a superb performance during Saturday afternoon's 5-1 win to edge the Indians another step closer in their bid to secure their Wild Card spot. Kazmir pitched 6 solid innings before departing, giving up 6 hits, 1 run, walking 2, and striking out an incredible 11 batters. He was making the Twins miss consistently, keeping them off balance all afternoon. I was particularly impressed with his breaking ball, a beauty of a pitch when he got it right. Kazmir finished the 2013 season with 162 strikeouts in 158 innings. That's more than Matt Cain, David Price, Zack Greinke, Hiroki Kuroda and Matt Moore. For the small price the Tribe paid for Kazmir, I think they more than got their money's worth. Especially for a dude who had been out of the majors since 2011.

In fact, after a difficult August in which he was plagued by arm fatigue, Kazmir rebounded in style during September. Over 5 starts he posted a 2.57 ERA this past month with 43 strikeouts in 28 innings, an incredible amount. Talk about a strong finish to the season. I've heard Kazmir is willing to discuss returning to Cleveland for 2014 and I have absolutely no problems with that. I think if he can remain healthy then he has the potential to build off this season and come back even stronger next year. I feel he deserves another year with the Tribe at the very least.

Sir Swisher

It's been easy to see the effect Nick Swisher has had on the Indians this year. The guy is such a character, so full of enthusiasm, you'd have to be blind not to see how beneficial his positive attitude has been to this club. From the moment he signed in December 2012 to the final out of Sunday's game, the smile on his face has rarely dropped, even as he struggled at times on the field.

It hasn't exactly been a career year for Nick in his debut season in Cleveland. I wouldn't have blamed him if his enthusiasm faltered a bit as his performance suffered. But give credit where it is due, the man did not give up.

Swisher had a fantastic month of September and was arguably the cornerstone of the Tribe's amazing playoff push these past four weeks. Let's look at some numbers: In the 26 games he played in September, Swisher batted .263, had a .353 OBP, and a .515 slugging percentage. He recorded 26 hits, 4 of them doubles, and hit 7 home runs for 17 RBI, to go along with 15 walks. Hell, he even threw in a stolen base for good measure, his only one this year.

He finished the year with 22 homers (he hasn't hit less than that since his rookie season in 2005) so considering that 7 of them came within these past 26 games, that's a pretty good hot streak right there. Swisher's 2-run bomb in the 1st inning of Sunday's game settled any early nerves for the Tribe and put them on track for the Wild Card-clinching win. It was only right that Swisher, the face of this franchise, should be the one to put a smile on the fans' faces, one big enough to match his own. Thanks Nick.

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So where does this all leave us? Tampa Bay and Texas both won their final games to finish with matching records of 91-71. That means they face off tonight in a 163rd game to decide who will play the Indians in Wednesday's Wild Card game at Progressive Field. I will of course be staying up late for Wednesday night's game and I cannot wait for it. It'll be my first Playoff game as an Indians fan since I started supporting the team late in 2007. I pretty much missed out on all the excitement six years ago. I was still a new fan and still learning the game, and thus didn't fully appreciate how special it was. Now I know, now I appreciate it, and I really hope the Indians can keep us happy for many more days to come in October.

Now if any of you kind souls feel like sending one of those sweet Indians Playoffs t-shirts to me in England, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks for reading.

Indians Win In Minnesota The Hard Way

I was beginning to get really worried there for a second. Heck, I still am worried about this team and their chances at making the playoffs. With the way they're playing right now, despite grinding out a much needed series win against the Twins, I don't think we'll be watching October baseball in Cleveland in 2013.

But let's try to lose the pessimism and focus on the fact that the Indians battled throughout this series and emerged victorious. It didn't look like they would most of the time but they did and that's all that really matters.The Indians haven't had the best August (6-8 so far) but we're still just 3 games behind in the wild card with everything still to play for. Let's take a little look at some of the key points from this series in Minnesota.

Old Man Giambi Still Got It

Jason Giambi, our 42 year-old designated hitter, has had his fair share of detractors and critics this season. Many fans see him as a glorified cheerleader on this Indians team, at best an assistant coach to Francona in the locker room. But Giambi to his credit steps up to the plate every time he is called upon. He's not even close to the juggernaut he was at his peak and we knew that when the Indians signed him in the off-season. Hell, he's 42 years old, the guy should be coaching or sat in a commentary booth. 

However, since Mark Reynolds' release the DH position has lost a viable option, thus increasing Giambi's chances of being in the lineup and starting games more often. And if he can keep producing big hits like he did on Wednesday afternoon then his spot on the team will be more than validated. Down by 3 runs in the 8th inning, Giambi stepped up with two runners on base and proceeded to smash his 8th home run of the season off Twins reliever Casey Fien to tie the game. It was a huge moment for the Indians, and without Giambi's homer the odds of the Tribe coming through victorious were slim that late in the contest. 

He's not going to bat .300 and he won't produce for us every time, but I'm glad Giambi can still provide a meaningful contribution to this Indians team on the field and not just through his leadership in the clubhouse.

A Japanese Alternative To Carrasco?

Carlos Carrasco has had a bad year in the big leagues. That much is obvious, and it's been well documented. I was hopeful he had begun to turn things around after his impressive 5 inning relief appearance against the Angels last week. But with Carrasco it always seems to be one step forward, two steps back. Francona was swayed enough by that Angels performance to hand Carlos the start for Wednesday's rubber game but the 26 year old right-hander couldn't capitalise on the opportunity and had a disappointing game yet again. Carrasco was pulled after 4 and a 1/3 innings, giving up 10 hits for 4 runs with 4 strikeouts (he didn't walk anybody, a positive sign, but his pitches weren't missing many bats, the Twins hitting practically everything). His season statistics make for ugly reading: a 7.82 ERA, an 0-4 record, 58 hits surrendered in 38 innings, and opponents hitting .356 off him. 

Now if I was the manager, I think I'd safely say that Carrasco's future as a starting pitcher for the 2013 Indians should be over. I'm not saying his days as a starter are over for good; nothing is stopping him from coming back in 2014 and proving he has what it takes. But I think now that every game from here until the end of September is considered "must win", putting Carrasco out there as part of the rotation is a bad idea and doesn't give the Indians a great chance of winning ball games. I still think he could provide some effectiveness out of the bullpen this year, and maybe his major league future belongs as a reliever, but his time as an Indians starter needs to come to an end this season.

So who would replace him then? Who takes Carrasco's spot? 

The answer is more obvious than you might have thought. Remember a Japanese veteran pitcher named Daisuke Matsuzaka? Oh yeah, that guy. Only one of the most famous and successful Japanese pitchers in modern times, who caused a media storm when he signed for Boston in 2007. Well he's not at the level he once was and poor Dice-K didn't make the big club out of Spring Training, but after overcoming some injury troubles, Matsuzaka has quietly been having an impressive year in Columbus. Especially when you look at his numbers recently. In his last 8 starts, he pitched at least 7 innings in 7 of those 8 games. Since the All Star Break he has a 4-2 record with a 2.36 ERA and has been throwing some real gems these past few weeks. 

Matsuzaka's dominating run of late at the AAA level earns him a shot in my opinion. With Kluber out of action until mid-late September, I'm sure an opportunity will arise where the Tribe will need an emergency starter at some point over the next few weeks. Especially if another injury were to occur. What do the Indians have to lose by putting Matsuzaka out there? He's obviously in form and he's surely a better alternative than Carrasco right now. I would very much like to see what the 32 year old right-hander has to offer and judging by what he's exhibited in Columbus, it's pretty good.

Player Of The Series

A tough choice this week. Nobody on the team really stood out head and shoulders above everybody else during this series. Jason Kipnis was at his usual best, an offensive spark-plug. Giambi's important contribution I've already discussed, but he didn't do much else during the rest of the series. Michael Brantley had another fantastic day with the bat on Wednesday and right now looks like the best guy to put in the 4th spot, ahead of the struggling Asdrubal Cabrera. But the guy who wins the award this series for me is Zach McAllister, who pitched a solid game on Tuesday and was largely responsible for getting the Tribe back into this series. McAllister has been a bit rusty since returning from the DL but appeared to have his stuff working better this time around. Zach pitched 6 solid innings, giving up 4 hits for 2 runs, only 1 of them earned though. He walked just 1 batter and struck out an impressive 7 Twins. A very good day at the office for McAllister and we'll need more performances like this from him between now and the end of the season. Keep it up Zach and congrats.

The Indians remain on the road but travel a little farther away from home, way out west to Oakland for a three game series with the A's. It's going to be a tough trip as Oakland are having another fantastic season but we've fared well against them so far this year and the Tribe will be hoping that success continues, starting tomorrow when Justin Masterson (13-8, 3.59 ERA) faces off against Oakland's A.J. Griffin (10-8, 3.88 ERA). 

Thanks for reading.

Tribe Too Much For Twins

Apologies for no series re-cap about the Royals last week. I was on holiday and despite watching the majority of the games, I felt my vacation earned me a bit of a break from the blog, so there you have it.

The Indians have remained in good form since returning home from what I like to call 'The Roadtrip From Hell Apart From When We Beat Texas'. They've been so good in fact they've won their last four series including that trip to Texas, dispatching the Nationals, Royals and now the Twins. It began with a 5-1 win on Friday, on the strength of a wonderfully pitched game by Scott Kazmir. The Tribe carried that winning form into Saturday, outlasting Minnesota 8-7, largely thanks to a 6 run first inning that helped propel Corey Kluber to his 6th win of the season. Unfortunately the Tribe couldn't capture the sweep on Sunday, losing 5-3, but at least they got another valuable series win.

Kazmir Answers His Critics (Me)

Since Scott Kazmir's last start against the Nationals, when he suffered heavily through 2 2/3 innings, the veteran left-hander rebounded in style on Friday against the Twins. Kazmir put any worries I had last week to rest, pitching 7 excellent innings against Minnesota, allowing 5 hits and only 1 run (a solo-homer to Brian Dozier). Kazmir didn't allow a single walk and struck out 7 Twins on his way to the win, his 4th of the season.

I couldn't have been more relieved to see Kazmir come back from that disastrous Nationals game. He was practically flawless against the Twins and it was so reassuring to see him under control once again and have his pitches working properly. Kazmir now sits at 4-4 with a 5.37 ERA, still a bit higher than he'd obviously like but at least it's heading in the right direction (down). His next scheduled start is in Baltimore on Wednesday June 26, where he has a favourable matchup against the Orioles' right-hander Jason Hammel. The O's have been a quality ball-club this season and they possess a dangerous lineup, including early AL MVP candidate Chris Davis, so there's plenty of potential stumbling blocks for Kazmir to encounter. But if he pitches anything like he did against the Twins on Friday, I have full confidence that he can get the job done in Baltimore, and we'll need him to be on top of his game in what'll undoubtedly be a difficult series.

Player Of The Series

There's no doubt who gets the award for this series: Step on down Jason Kipnis. Our star second baseman has been tearing it up lately and he maintained his hot streak against the Twins. Kipnis collected 3 RBI on Friday, 2 RBI on Saturday and 1 more on Sunday (maybe more check stats). He's really been making a late push to be an All Star this year and his recent form suggests he deserves it. I know it's practically impossible that Kipnis will beat out Robinson Cano and Dustin Pedroia for that second base slot but we can live in hope for now. I know I for one would love to see the JK Kid represent the Tribe in New York.

Cleveland now return to the road for a while, beginning with a four-game series at Camden Yards against the Orioles. It'll be a tough trip, as Baltimore strive to stay in touch with the giants of the AL East, but the Indians should have no reason to fear them and could even come away victorious if everything breaks just right for us. Until then...

Thanks for reading.

Tribe Tops Twins, Streak Over Though

I'll have to make this a quick re-cap because I've got to run for work soon, so let's dive right in and have a look at what I thought about this recent Twins series:

The Streak Is Over

I really thought for a second there we'd sweep Minnesota but it wasn't to be. Nevertheless, Saturday's 7-3 win took the Tribe's winning streak to 6 games, but they couldn't make it to 7, falling to the Twins 4-2 last night. It was a lot of fun to watch this team the past week. They've been hitting the absolute crap out of the ball and have got some very good performances from the starters. Despite not sweeping the Twins, it's still a series win over a division rival and that's all you can really ask for from this Tribe team. The loss last night leaves us at 14-14, but hey, at least we're still at .500.

Rotation Settling

Like I previously said, the starting rotation looked very impressive as a unit during the 6 game winning streak and that carried into this Twins series. Nothing amazing, no dominant performances, but still some solid efforts and quality outings from a group of guys we still don't quite know if they're for real or not. Masterson pitched Friday night, going 6 2/3 innings giving up 8 hits for 5 runs with 5 strikeouts, and ultimately wasn't eligible for the win. It wasn't vintage Masterson by any means but it was alright, and he kept the team in a position to win, which they eventually did in the 10th inning, Drew Stubbs walking off with a double in a 7-6 victory.

Scott Kazmir put in a very impressive outing on Saturday, lasting 6 innings whilst surrendering 5 hits and 2 runs with 7 strikeouts. He really had his pitches moving well and managed to avoid trouble in a couple of tight spots. Kazmir picked up his first win of the season and it's actually his first victory since September 19th 2010. "It feels good to get that monkey off my back," said Scott after the game. I bet it does, that's a long time to wait between wins! I'm really pleased Kazmir's comeback with us is progressing nicely, he's looking better every time he goes out there. If he can pitch like this every 5 days then the Indians got themselves some serious value for money from his acquisition.

Finally, Corey Kluber went to the mound yesterday trying to make it 7 wins in a row for the Tribe but it couldn't be done unfortunately. Kluber actually pitched pretty well, going 5 2/3 innings with 5 hits and 3 runs and 5 strikeouts. Not incredible numbers I know but considering he's not even supposed to be at this level and would normally be down in Columbus, that's not a bad effort from Kluber. He kept the Tribe in the game, battled out of some problematic jams, but just didn't get the run support, as our bats finally slowed down a bit after such a blistering week at the plate.

Overall I like how our rotation is settling down now. The last week has seen our starters pitch most of their games and not rinse and abuse the bullpen, which is all I can ask for from what is still a rather suspect group at the moment. We need to keep up this level of consistency if we're to have any chance at contending for a playoff spot this season.

Player Of The Series

I'm gonna go for the resurgent Jason Kipnis this time. He finally looks to be breaking out of his early season slump and he ignited the offense in this Twins series. Despite going hitless yesterday Kipnis still had 6 RBI over this series with 2 triples and a home run. He looks so much happier out there now he's swinging the bat well again and hopefully he's shaken off the rust for good and can go back to being the dynamic hitter and excellent base runner we all know him to be. Congrats Kip.

Up next we have the 18-14 Oakland A's coming into town for a four game series at Progressive Field. They're a pretty good team again this year and I'll be happy if we can split the series to be honest, though I'd take a series win obviously! Ubaldo (1-2, 7.13 ERA) takes the mound tonight for game 1 and he's up against the struggling Jarrod Parker (1-4, 7.36 ERA). I'm praying for another miracle start from Ubaldo, anything similar to his previous start against the Royals will do.

Thanks for reading.