White Sox Swept As Race Nears End

There are just 4 games left of the 2013 regular season. I'm struggling to believe it, that the season is nearly over already. It's gone pretty fast for me. And the Indians have played some incredible baseball throughout. As we near the finish line, the Tribe are now so close to clinching a post-season berth through the Wild Card. 4 games left to get the job done...

With the Indians' two-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox last night, they still hold onto the second spot in the Wild Card race, 1 game behind Tampa Bay, 1 game ahead of Texas. Both the Royals and the Yankees were finally eliminated from contention last night, so it's just the three of us now, and we all know three is a crowd. As it currently stands the Indians would face off against the Rays in a one-game playoff to determine who would go on to play Boston. It's exciting times Tribe fans. 

Anyway, let's take a look at some of the talking points from this series:

Giambi Silences His Critics Once And For All

Coming into Spring Training, most Cleveland fans were unsure quite what to make of Jason Giambi and his role on the team. 42 years-old and a shell of the power hitter he used to be, his effectiveness as a player was questioned routinely, especially after he so nearly gave it all up to be manager of the Colorado Rockies just a few months before. A few among us believed the roster spot he inhabited could have been put to better use. In fact, as the season progressed, I saw calls for Giambi to be removed from the big league roster a lot. Well now, finally, the big man has proven his worth. 

After Chris Perez gave up two solo home runs in the 9th inning of Tuesday night's game to gift Chicago a late 4-3 lead, Giambi stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter with two outs, with Michael Brantley patiently stood at first base as the winning run (who promptly stole second base). As White Sox closer Addison Reed unleashed his pitch, Giambi got his bat on it perfectly, sending the ball deep into the right field stands. You could tell he knew where the ball was going as soon as it left his bat. The crowd erupted as the Indians emerged victorious 5-4, people going crazy having just witnessed another walk-off win, Cleveland's 11th walk-off this year, and Giambi's 2nd. It was a magical and symbolic moment of the Tribe's 2013 campaign. Just as you thought it couldn't get much worse (Perez's blown save), the Indians rally back and pull you back in. Giambi's mammoth walk-off 2-run shot will probably end up as one of the defining images of the 2013 regular season, such is the brilliant way it captures what this Indians team is all about.

I have to say it feels nice to see Giambi come through with such an important hit in such a crucial moment. Rightly or wrongly, there were times this season when he was criticised a lot but to Terry Francona's credit, he stuck by Giambi all year, never wavering. Speaking about Giambi's game winning homer, Nick Swisher said, "I almost started crying when he hit that ball." I'm sure a few of the diehards did too Nick, thanks to Giambi's heroics. He certainly earns the Player of the Series award this week. Fully deserved.

Ubaldo Poised For Playoffs

As the scheduled rotation currently stands, Ubaldo Jimenez is set to pitch against the Twins on Sunday 29th September, the final day of the regular season. If the Wild Card race is still alive and the Indians haven't yet sealed their post-season place, then I can't think of anyone else on the Tribe staff right now who I'd rather have out there for us.

However, should the baseball gods be kind and the Indians wrap it all up before Sunday's game, then Ubaldo will be rested in preparation for the one-game playoff on October 2nd, against Tampa Bay in all likeliness. The team and Francona are refusing to think that far ahead, and rightfully so, but it's worth discussing should events turn out this way.

If I'd said to you before the start of the season that Ubaldo Jimenez would become the best pitcher on the team and would be our first choice to start a playoff game, you would have laughed in my face. In fact, you'd probably have punched me, so ridiculous was the idea of Ubaldo being anything but a total mess.

Well folks, here we are, with October just days away Mr Jimenez has indeed established himself as the most effective pitcher on the Indians pitching staff. With all due respect to Justin Masterson, who has had a hell of a season and who I still consider our "ace" of the staff, Ubaldo has pitched far and above anyone's expectations and deserves the mantle of being our best pitcher. Especially given Masterson's recent injury, there is no doubt that right now, today, Ubaldo is number one. 

After yet another solid outing on Tuesday against the White Sox (6 1/3 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 7 strikeouts, 3 walks), let's take a quick look at Ubaldo's numbers. He currently sits with a 12-9 record with a 3.38 ERA after 176 innings pitched. But it gets better: In the month of September, Jimenez has a minuscule 1.04 ERA and an amazing 1.84 ERA since the All Star break. That puts him in the company of the elite pitchers in the game. Astounding.

So lets cross our fingers that the Tribe can ride this 6 game winning streak they're currently on and secure that playoff spot before Sunday's game. It would help if the bloody Rays and Rangers would lose some games too. Because I for one would really love to see Ubaldo on the mound for us on October 2nd, pitching for post-season glory. Make it happen Indians.

Thanks for reading.

Tribe Turn Corner, Win In Texas

Well that was an unexpected surprise. The Indians hadn't won a series in Texas since 2008 but they took care of that last night, winning their second game in a row and taking the series win against the Rangers.

The trip to Arlington didn't get off to the best of starts, the Indians dropping the first game 6-3, pushing their losing streak to 8 games. However they rallied to stop the bleeding on what has been a pretty horrendous roadtrip against some very tough AL competition. It started with Corey Kluber's pitching masterpiece Tuesday night, his performance guiding the Tribe to a 5-2 win. Then Cleveland rode that momentum into last night's contest, winning 5-2 again and taking the series in the process. Here's what I liked over the past three days:

Offense To The Rescue

The Tribe lineup has been pretty subdued this month to say the least. After being the baseball equivalent of a powerful Godzilla-like monster at the plate in the first two months of the season, the Indians batters had stuttered of late. Thank goodness they showed up again just at the right time. I mentioned in my previous post that maybe the ballpark dimensions in Arlington could have benefited the Tribe, even against Texas's stingy pitching staff. Thankfully it ended up becoming true, to an extent, the Indians using this trip to Texas to re-energise the offense and kick into gear once again.

Certain players had a very successful series. Jason Kipnis got at least 1 hit in every game (including 3 just last night, one a solo homer). Carlos Santana broke out of his recent slump and got a hit in every game too (4 total RBI on the trip). Mike Aviles has settled into his role as a starter, getting a hit in every game as well (including a mammoth 2-run homer to fuel the offense last night). Michael Brantley joined the club too, getting at least 1 hit in each game.

This series in Texas turned out to be just what the doctor ordered for the Indians offense, a chance to rebound and show their credentials against a top team. We've really suffered this season against the top dogs in the league but it was great to see us play so well against the Rangers, a club with World Series ambitions every year (realistic hopes at that). The offense just need to settle down now and maintain this level of performance heading into our long home-stand beginning on Friday against the Nationals.

Player Of The Series

Despite all of my praise for the offense, there's really only one man I can award this to. Step on down Corey Kluber, for pitching the game of your life on Tuesday night. Kluber went 8 innings, the first time he's lasted that long in his professional career, allowing 6 hits and just a single run (he pitched scoreless ball for the first 7 innings), walking 3 and striking out 3 as well. He did a fantastic job getting the Rangers to hit his pitches into the ground, many balls never getting past the infield. In fact he even fielded a few himself, getting the Rangers to weakly tap come-backers to the mound for Kluber to field with ease. Texas just didn't know what to do with him and whenever they looked to threaten, Kluber pitched out of the jam without breaking a sweat. A fine performance and another step up for the 27 year-old right-hander, who is progressing very nicely this season. He seems to be getting better every start, minus the aberration in Detroit back on May 10th. Kluber has quickly become an important cog in the rotation, a pleasant surprise in 2013, and looks effective and efficient every time he pitches now. Congrats Corey.

So the Indians travel home today for their off-day before hosting a 32-32 Washington team on Friday. We'll see a good pitching battle between Justin Masterson (8-5, 3.68 ERA) and Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.59 ERA), with Masterson looking to rebound. Our 6'6 righty has yet to win a game this month, giving up 4+ runs in both his starts in June, so he'll be fired up to get back to winning ways. It should be a good game and hopefully we can build on this excellent series win in Texas.

Thanks for reading.

Detroit Dominate, Cleveland In Freefall

This roadtrip has gotten mighty ugly, mighty quick. The Indians have lost 7 straight games and are falling away from the Tigers at the top of the division at a rapid pace. The June swoon is in full flow ladies and gents. We haven't won a game since the start of the month, June 1st...

Lets be honest, the Tribe were never really in any of these games against the Tigers. They looked over-matched, overwhelmed, short of confidence, basically exhibiting every trait and sign of a struggling team. They were always battling out of a hole, trying to rally back into contention. Our best chance came on Sunday when Ryan Raburn golfed a shot into the stands to tie the game 1-1 but the Indians couldn't build from there. Pretty soon the Tigers' Don Kelly, who hasn't been able to hit his way out of a paper bag this season (love that cliché), took Justin Masterson yard with a 3 run bomb that put Detroit up 4-1 and they never looked back from there, winning the game and sweeping the series.

It's been a depressing month for the Indians and their fans so far. They've been in a slump for a while now and aren't really showing many signs of coming out of it yet. And it gets worse: The Tribe are in Texas today for a three game series against the run-happy Rangers, sitting pretty atop the AL West with a 37-25 record. The Rangers are having a very good 2013 as expected. Their impressive pitching staff are 7th in the league in ERA and their dynamic lineup are 10th in runs scored, a deadly combination of effective pitching and successful hitting. There is a positive for the Tribe though: The hitter-friendly confines of Rangers Park in Arlington could potentially help reawaken the Indians offense, who despite their recent woes still find themselves 8th in the league in runs scored, two places ahead of the Rangers. If the Indians can get key hits off the Texas pitchers (which is no easy task admittedly) the field dimensions in Texas could possibly help them in their quest to break out of this losing streak and get back to the task of chasing down the Tigers. We just need to get those clutch hits that served us so well in the early part of the season. Easier said than done I know...

We mustn't be too hard on the team though. All these losses recently have all come against contenders, teams cruising along with plus .500 records with hopes further down the road of going deep into October. If anything, this roadtrip has helped reinforce reality, that this Tribe team aren't going all the way this year, that they are in fact one or two more years away from being a true contender. Success will not come straight away, not after the past few years of sub-par performance. This team needs time to be built up and developed properly. I think maybe we fans needed to be brought back down to earth a little bit, although perhaps the Indians could have done it in a less painful and depressing fashion. Once the Tribe return home from Texas for their off-day on Thursday, the schedule starts to relent a bit and we begin a long home-stand, starting against the Nationals on Friday. Normally the idea of facing Washington would be daunting but these Nats are struggling lately too, crippled by injuries and facing their own problems. These are not the same Nationals of 2012, and I reckon we stand a decent chance against them.

Anyway, there is still cause for optimism and the season is far from over. There's plenty of time yet to make up the ground against Detroit, or alternatively fight for a wild-card spot. Good times are just around the corner folks. I can feel it.

Thanks for reading.