Fenway Gut-Punch, Tribe Lose Series

Urrrghh that was sickening, just about the worst finish to a baseball game you can imagine. I've just finished watching the fourth and final game of the Indians' series in Boston and I feel pretty ill now. After a less-than-100% Vinnie Pestano blew a save chance yesterday in a 7-4 loss, Chris Perez not only repeated that feat but went one step better, managing to infuriate and enrage Cleveland fans just a bit more.

God it was so bad I'm even sure I want to re-cap what happened, but here we go. Starting pitcher Corey Kluber had a great game and deserved the victory that eluded him yet again. Kluber's breaking ball was as good as I've ever seen it and he changed the speed on his pitches at the perfectly all day. There was a great moment in the 6th inning when Dustin Pedroia struck out on Kluber's sweeping curve, even though he knew it was coming because that was all Kluber was throwing to him. Kluber lasted a stellar 6 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts, a career high for him. He only gave up 3 hits and 1 run, and left the game in the 7th inning with a 4-1 lead, which the offense increased to 5-1 in the top of the 8th. The Indians were cruising and the Red Sox  had shown very little chance of mounting any meaningful response.

That is until the bullpen took over. Rich Hill and Cody Allen combined to get the Tribe through the rest of the 7th and the 8th inning, only allowing a solitary Boston run, giving Cleveland a comfy 5-2 lead to protect in the 9th inning. But Chris Perez has been excelling himself of late at turning what is usually a routine save opportunity into a baseball nightmare.

The horror! THE HORROR! You just knew right away we were in for an uncomfortable ride. In the 31 agonising pitches Perez threw, he gave up 2 hits and walked 3 Red Sox for 4 runs to turn what was an easy win into a soul-destroying loss. Perez took the mound with zero confidence. Either he was pitching hurt from the start or his mind wasn't focused on the task at hand, but he did not look ready to get the Indians out of that game victorious. It looked destined to end the way it did.

It was just as well the Tribe offense had earned the 5-2 lead for Perez, because he quickly gave 2 runs back to Boston to cut it down to 5-4. Still, there was hope left because Perez had somehow managed to get 2 outs and just needed one more. But no, it was too much for him, and he proceeded to load the bases before facing Red Sox leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury. He then overextended himself and really hurt his arm on a 2-1 pitch to Ellsbury, forcing Francona to come out and check on Perez. The closer tried to dismiss any attempt the manager made to remove him but Tito insisted on Perez having a practice throw to the plate to see how hurt he was. The throw missed Santana by a mile and that was it, Perez was hooked by the skipper and the extent of his injury is yet to be determined. Poor Joe Smith came in with the most pressurised situation a relief pitcher can face and I don't blame him for what happened next: Ellsbury hit Smith's first pitch over Michael Bourn's head and off the base of the Green Monster to score two Boston runners and win it for them 6-5. Devastating.

It's so frustrating because we had this one in the bag and had earned the series split in a ballpark not many road teams get results from. Instead, Perez fluffs his lines again and we go home empty handed once more. The back-end of the bullpen was considered the strongest area of this team last year but they are easily the weakest in 2013 and some serious questions need to be asked from this stage onwards.

I don't have any more time tonight to analyse this situation but I will return to this topic some time this week to debate what steps the Indians can take to resolve these problems the bullpen are creating. It's probably best I stop here now, because if I keep going I'm likely to write something I regreat about Perez and the team, and I don't consider myself to be that kind of fan. Until next time...

Thanks for reading.

Beantown Beatdown, Tribe Swept

The Red Sox were not expected to be competitors in 2013, with most 'expert's predicting them to finish in the bottom half of the AL East, a division the Boston club are used to winning (or at the very least competing with the Yankees for). The players and coaches obviously didn't pay any attention to that as they have gotten off to a very good start to the early season thanks to some very strong outings from their starting pitchers and good offensive production from off-season signings like Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino, two acquisitions largely ridiculed by fans and media at their time of signing. With that said it was never going to be easy for the Indians, up against the hot (and emotional) Red Sox for a three game series this week and it resulted in a sweep for the Tribe. Here's what I thought about this week's games:

Is The Ubaldo Era Over In Cleveland?

This question has already been asked many times (exceptionally well at WFNY by TD might I add) and until a final decision is made, or Jimenez makes a Jesus-like recovery, it will continue to be asked. After an off-season of promises that mechanics had been fixed and a relatively harmless spring, we were all set for Ubaldo to bounce back in 2013. Surely it couldn't get any worse than 2012? His first start in Toronto was good, only giving up 1 earned run in 6 solid innings on his way to a no-decision which the Tribe eventually won in 11 innings. But then came the home opener in front of a near sold-out Progressive Field, where Ubaldo got rocked by the Yankees, giving up 7 earned runs in only 4 1/3 innings of work. Not only did he look lost on the mound but his velocity was drastically down, creating Ubaldogate in the process (check out Adam Burke's brilliant article for the details). Jimenez was then scratched from his next start against the White Sox and had plenty of time to prepare and rest ahead of Boston's first trip to Cleveland on Tuesday night. I don't think Ubaldo would have been ready even if he'd had a whole year to prepare for the Red Sox. After the Dominican right hander cruised through the first inning 1-2-3, he melted down in the second. Ubaldo couldn't escape and left the game having pitched only 1 2/3 innings, walking 5 guys and conceding 7 earned runs. Two of those runs Ubaldo single handedly walked in himself when Boston had loaded the bases. All in all it was an unmitigated disaster and undoubtedly one of the worst performances of Jimenez's career.

So where do we go from here? Can the Ubaldo era be saved? Right now it doesn't look good (understatement of the year) and if he keeps up this level of play he's likely to be cut from the team. Tuesday night saw him lose complete control, unable to locate any of his pitches after the first inning. I realise Ubaldo is only three starts into this fledgling season but the situation is getting out of hand now. I feel really bad for the guy, because you can see on his face how painful it is for him to struggle like this. He doesn't want to be out there at all and the pressure has become too much to bare. The true test of where we go from here will be on Sunday afternoon in Houston, when we play the third and final game against the Astros. If Ubaldo can't get through Houston's miserable lineup, easily one of the worst in MLB this year, then maybe all hope is  surely lost for the 29 year old. We either cut ties with him altogether or see if we can send him down to Single A or out to Arizona to completely re-structure him as a pitcher, similar to what we did with Fausto Carmona/ Roberto Hernandez a few years ago. It's got to the stage now where he is a liability in the rotation and can only harm the team if he can't turn around his form. Can the likes of Kluber, Bauer, or Dice-K be any worse for us? Probably not. How long Francona and the front office give Ubaldo remains to be seen; The club might even have made a decision to omit him from the team by the time his scheduled start on Sunday comes around. It'll certainly be interesting to see what happens in the next chapter of the Ubaldo Saga but all signs suggest it wont be a happy ending. Watch this space.

Infield Struggles

So far this year the Indians are not getting much production from their infield players, with the exception of Nick Swisher who has started his career in Cleveland pretty well (a .407 OBP, second on the team). The most troubling member of the Tribe infield has to be our All Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, one of my favourite players. He's mired in a deep slump at the moment and has started 2013 with a .127 batting average and a mere .200 OBP. It's early so there's obviously no need to panic yet but it's still a concern when one of your best guys only has 7 hits in two weeks, especially when he's been in every game. Cabrera is not alone though. Lonnie Chisenhall is taking some time to find his feet this year, stuck with a .200 BA and 13 strikeouts. This is Chisenhall's first full season starting at third base and it looks like he's pressing at the plate a bit, trying to do too much. He was scratched from the lineup last night in favour of Mike Aviles, who has performed relatively well in the nine games he's played in. Jason Kipnis, our second basemen, has also struggled this year, at the plate and with his health. The 26 year old hasn't played in nearly a week because of  some soreness in his left elbow but he wasn't exactly playing well before his omission from the lineup. In eight games Kipnis has a .125 BA with 11 strikeouts and only 4 hits. Not great statistics to look at I know, but at least it's a small sample in a long season.

The problem is we really need these guys to pick up their game. Kipnis, when he's healthy and back in the team, and Cabrera are two of our key guys, batting two and three in the lineup. In those positions you damn well ought to be hitting, or at least getting some walks. The lineup has had trouble getting runs over the past week because our infield isn't hitting at all, offering zero support to the rest of the offense. The Tribe travel to Houston today and now is the prime opportunity for these infield players to pick up some form and start hitting. The Astros are hardly loaded with top talent in their rotation and bullpen, so it'd be nice to see Cabrera get hot and start contributing like we know he can. I'm not expecting too much from Kipnis this weekend, returning from an injury and all, but anything he can add is obviously welcome. And if Chisenhall can also get into his groove then we're golden. There's no cause for panic or drastic changes yet but if this infield trio don't pick things up by the middle of May then something is seriously wrong out there. I don't think that'll be the case though, these guys just need a hit or two to go the right way and I think eventually their stats will recover. But they need to turn it around pretty quickly because the Tribe are already starting to lose ground in 2013 and we will need Cabrera, Kipnis and Chisenhall to play like the important players they're supposed to be.

The Tribe go on the road now for a ten game trip that begins in Houston today and won't end until we host the Phillies on the 30th April. It'll be a pretty important early season test of our abilities and we need to put a bit of a run together to keep in touch with the front-runners in the division. Tonight we have Brett Myers, he of the 8.82 ERA and 0-2 record, pitching against the Astros' Lucas Harrell, himself carrying an 0-2 record and a 5.63 ERA. Hopefully I'll be back Sunday night/ Monday with a re-cap on our travels in Houston. Until next time...

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.

Book Review: 'Francona: The Red Sox Years'

Given Francona is the Tribe's new manager and I can never turn down a new baseball book, I picked up his new book just over a week ago and raced through it. It took me just over a week, which is pretty damn quick for me.

Like the majority of Tribe fans I was excited at the announcement of Tito as our new skipper and his influence has already completely re-shaped the team. Players are keen to play for him and his hire as manager really helped recruit those big free agent acquisitions like Swisher and Bourn. Whisper it quietly but I've always had a soft spot for the Red Sox (except when we play them of course) and they have kind of become my second team of sorts, if that sort of thing exists. So I was excited to read about Terry's years in Boston, from the 2004 and 2007 championships to that unforgettable collapse in 2011.

It's definitely an interesting read, no doubt about it. Co-written with Boston scribe Dan Shaughnessy, who had his fair share of issues with Francona during his reign in Beantown, the book flows seamlessly from year to year, written chronologically. At times it feels a bit like a book written about the Red Sox rather than Francona, with quotes dropped in here and there by Terry. However the third person style is effective and the focus is still on Terry as you'd expect. A lot of the time the book is pretty funny, Terry dropping F bombs during hilarious locker-room anecdotes.

The book has made quite a splash in the media due to the controversial words about the Red Sox owners, John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino. Francona and Shaughnessy don't hold back as promised, with John Henry in particular coming across as a rather cold human being and Lucchino looking foolish most of the time (although at least he contributed to the book, unlike Henry). Ex-GM Theo Epstein was clearly very close with Francona in Boston and this shines throughout the book, Epstein coming through unscathed. Players like Pedroia and Lester are given lots of room, two obvious favourites of Francona. There are plenty of good stories involving those two and some touching moments with Lester especially. Manny Ramirez does not come off as well unfortunately (for him). Manny is painted as the ego-driven diva we all expected him to be. To Francona's credit he doesn't fully bash Manny but just tells it like it was and the stories speak for themselves. All very interesting from my point of view, there was plenty of stuff I didn't know before.

Overall I enjoyed the book and definitely feel like I know the Tribe's new manager a lot better now. Here's hoping that Francona leads us to a world championship or two and he writes a sequel with a more upbeat ending. One can dream right?

Rating: 4/5

Thanks for reading.