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)

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.

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 Miss Out On Mets Sweep

The Indians took two out of three from this series against the visiting New York Mets and should really have completed the sweep. Behind a dominant Scott Kazmir the Tribe easily won Friday's opener 8-1, then took game two convincingly, winning 9-4 on Saturday. Sunday's contest was a closely fought battle and was tied 1-1 until Chris Perez blew the game in the 9th inning, and the Mets emerged victorious 2-1 to salvage some pride.

Right, I have next to no time this morning to wrap up this series so unfortunately you guys are going to get my series recap in bullet points. Here we go:

• Scott Kazmir. So much for that arm fatigue huh? He looked amazing on Friday, practically untouchable. Kaz pitched 6 strong innings, scattering 4 hits, didn't allow a run and didn't walk a single batter. To top it all off he had 12 strikeouts. 12! Scott was dialled in and it was easily the best game he's pitched this year, and probably one of his best games ever. 
• Nick Swisher. Dude picked a good weekend to get hot. Swisher had 5 hits in the series, including 2 home runs for a total of 6 RBI. His grand slam in the 8th inning of Friday's game was a thing of beauty, he absolutely launched that ball into the stands. I'm really hoping this was a sign of things to come from Swisher in September. Lately he's been playing like the player we all hoped he would be when we signed him. Keep it up Swish, and take home the Player of the Series award whilst you're at it.
• Congratulations must go to Jason Giambi, who recorded the 2,000th hit of his major league career late in Sunday's game. He blooped one into left field to reach the milestone and it's quite an achievement. Well done big guy! I was really happy to see him get it done, in what will almost certainly be his last season as a professional. He was replaced by pinch-runner Mike Aviles, who then proceeded to ruin the occasion by getting caught trying to steal second base, a totally unnecessary and frustrating move that late in the game.
• Drew Stubbs had a pretty awful weekend and continues to be the black hole in this lineup. He had 7 strikeouts over the course of this Mets series, including 4 in Sunday's game (the ol' Golden Sombrero). There are times he looks completely hopeless at the plate, like he is already consigned to defeat. I love what Stubbs brings to right field as a defender, he covers a lot of ground out there, but he has been a huge disappointment with his bat in 2013. This Mets series was yet another example.
• Speaking of disappointments, nothing can go right for Asdrubal Cabrera right now. Don't get me wrong, it's all his fault. Apart from smashing a welcome 3-run homer during Saturday night's win, Cabrera had an awful series. He got the only RBI of the game on Sunday, but that was only because he was hit by a pitch in his calf with the bases loaded. He had so many chances to bring runners home during this series and failed nearly every time. His worst moment was during the 8th inning rally on Sunday, when with 1 out and the bases loaded, he swung twice at a pitcher with known location problems, connecting the second time to result in an inning-ending double play. It was a complete joke and a perfect moment to sum up what an awful 2013 Cabrera has had.

Anyway that'll do it for me this morning, I gotta run. The Indians face the Royals tonight to start a three game series. The resurrected Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9, 3.79 ERA) takes the mound for the hometown team and will face KC's Ervin Santana (8-8, 3.33 ERA), who I always think looks like Snoop from The Wire.

Thanks for reading.

Indians Just Heavenly Against Angels

The Tribe come home from their West coast road-trip with a well earned series sweep against the Angels, and a sense of renewed optimism as well. The highlight of the series was undoubtedly Drew Stubbs' 14th inning 2-run homer on Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning (just after 8am here in the UK!) to cement the series win. It was another memorable moment for the Tribe and a just reward for all the fans who had stuck with the team Tuesday night. The Indians have now surpassed their win total from last year and we still have over a month of baseball left to play.

Let's take a look at some talking points from the last few days:

Guys Stepping Up When It Matters

This series certainly helped restore some faith and optimism in this Tribe team. And that was largely thanks to a few key guys who we expected to perform this year but haven't really delivered yet, stepping up in the big moments.

Lonnie Chisenhall, our young third baseman, played an exceptional series. He's had his fair share of troubles this season, at the plate and with the glove, but he was brilliant in Anaheim. Chiz's 2 run homer on Monday fuelled the Indians offense in their 5-2 victory, getting the series off to a hot start. He made some impressive plays at third base as well, snagging a sharp Josh Hamilton grounder in Wednesday's game to get Rich Hill out of the inning unscathed. I'm a big fan of Lonnie, he comes across as such a likeable guy, so I'm extra eager for him to have success with the Tribe.

Nick Swisher has also been on form of late, and it looks as if he's starting to turn the corner a bit. It's safe to say many fans and critics have labelled Swisher's debut season in Cleveland as disappointing. He hasn't produced at the level most of us expected. However he had a fine series in Anaheim, hitting 2 home runs in the series to take his season tally to a respectable 15. They're not amazing numbers by any means but it does now at least appear that Swisher has gotten some heat into his bat finally. Long may it continue.

But the most important man for the Indians during the series was probably Drew Stubbs. The right fielder was the hero of the series thanks to his extra-innings heroics on Tuesday night. His 14th inning 2-run homer nudged the Indians ahead and ended up earning the series win, an invaluable victory in our late season push for the post-season. It was past 3 am for the Indians fans watching in Cleveland and the East, and just after midnight for those very vocal supporters left in the stadium in Anaheim. I actually woke up just before 8 am here in England to start getting ready for work. I did my usual routine of turning on MLB TV and I saw to my disbelief the Indians were still playing. Luckily for me I had awoken just in time to see Chisenhall reach base with a line drive single into centre field, and then Stubbs smashed that 2-run shot off LA's poor Joe Blanton. It was a euphoric moment and I was jumping around the room like a lunatic, possibly the most active and energetic I've ever been at 8 am. A great moment and I'm happy for Drew that he could contribute with his bat. We all know he's a quality defensive player but too often he fails to impress at the plate, so it was great to see him come through in a clutch situation, and in style too.

Dice-K Released

So last week I entertained the idea of Daisuke Matsuzaka being promoted from AAA to fill out a spot in the rotation, should the opportunity arise. He's been very solid in Columbus over the last couple of months and I thought he could possibly contribute something to the Indians pitching staff, bring a veteran presence if you will.

Well that concept was put to bed pretty quickly, with the news on Tuesday that Matsuzaka has been released by the Indians. Apparently he spoke to the front office, who made it quite clear to him that his chances of making the big league club were limited between now and the end of the season, and so he requested his immediate release and the club granted his wish. Daisuke's goal now will be to sign on with a different team and hope his efforts in Columbus since the All Star break were enough to sway a team to take him on. I wish him luck in his search to find work elsewhere and just hope he doesn't sign on with a team that could directly harm us in our push for the post-season. Mike Axisa at CBS has written an interesting article pondering where Dice-K could end up.

I was really excited when I first heard the news he had signed with us in the winter, since I was an admirer of his during his hey-day in Boston in 2007 and 2008. So I was looking forward to his first start in an Indians uniform. But it just wasn't to be obviously, and thankfully the Indians should have sufficient cover for starting pitching even with Matsuzaka leaving. Josh Tomlin has been progressing nicely in his rehab outings and is set to make his first start for Columbus on Thursday, almost a year to the day since his Tommy John surgery. With that in mind, I'm sure Chris Antonetti felt pretty comfortable allowing Dice-K to go.

Player Of The Series

It's got to be Drew Stubbs for the reasons I've previously stated. Honourable mentions must go to Nick Swisher, Lonnie Chisenhall, Zach McAllister and my boy Justin Masterson, for picking up his 14th win of the year.

The Indians return home now for a quick three game series against the Twins before jetting off on another road trip (a difficult one too, facing Atlanta and Detroit). The Indians have today to rest before Ubaldo Jimenez (9-7, 4.00 ERA) faces off against Minnesota's Samuel Deduno (7-7, 3.82 ERA) on Friday. Let's hope we can keep the momentum going and build on this hot streak.

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.

Losing Streak Over, But Series Lost To LA

Okay then. After the dreadful Detroit series last week I really wanted the Tribe to come out all guns blazing against Anaheim. It didn't really work out like that unfortunately. In fact, it got so bad that at one stage the Indians' losing streak had grown to 6 games. Finally the team saved some dignity and won yesterday's final game of the series, rallying from behind to beat the Angels 6-5. It's been a pretty miserable week for the Tribe, and with the Browns back in town and having a successful first pre-season game, the Indians are going to have to turn on the form to keep the fans flocking to the park (not that they really were before, but that's a whole other conversation). The team are going to need all the help they can get in the push for October baseball.

I don't have too much time this morning, plus I don't have a great deal to say either as I got the chance to watch exactly zero minutes of Tribe baseball over the weekend. The MLB.com highlights just do not do the game justice at all, so I'm not going to go into a big re-cap today based on the highlights I saw. Instead, here are some quick-fire points I'd like to make about the series:

• Nick Swisher. The guy had a pretty consistent series overall and his 2 run homer really got us back into yesterday's game. Hopefully he can start to produce like this a lot more often as we go forward.
• The errors. Guys, come on, sort it out! Still the defensive errors are costing the Indians dearly. Did you all see that abysmal throw attempt to 1st base by Ubaldo on Saturday? He never stood a chance.
• Speaking of Ubaldo, he actually had the best outing by our starting pitchers over the series. Kazmir got shelled in Friday's start for 5 runs in just the 1st inning, creating a hole the Indians could not dig out of. Masterson had a really off day yesterday, surrendering 4 runs in the first 2 innings and letting Angels get on base at will. Thankfully the team did rally back that time. But Ubaldo's solid if unspectacular 6 and a 1/3 innings of work on Saturday turned out to be the best performance out of all three starters, despite Jimenez losing that game. He kept the Tribe in the game and that's all you can ask from him.
• Credit must go to Carlos Carrasco. Recalled from Columbus for this series against Anaheim, he was called into action earlier than I'm sure he thought he would be. After Kazmir was pulled after 3 innings on Friday, Matt Albers managed to pitch an inning in relief before turning the ball over to Carrasco. The 26 year-old right-hander pitched 5 shutout innings to keep Tribe hopes alive but the offense never got the key hit to pull close to the Angels. It was a very positive outing for Carrasco, who has had a very poor year every time he's pitched in Cleveland (he's often been fantastic down in Columbus though). Carrasco can have my Player Of The Series award for his troubles too. 
• As another reward for Carrasco's efforts on Friday, Francona announced he will be the starter on Wednesday against the Twins. It gives Scott Kazmir a well needed rest, who apparently is suffering from fatigue, a dead arm kinda thing. Fair enough, Kaz hasn't thrown this many innings in a season in years so it's better to be safe and not wear him down.

That'll be it for today. Cleveland travel to Minnesota now for a three game series against the Twins. The Tribe have to use yesterday's win as a springboard to break out of this slump they've been in. It's got so bad lately that I'm no longer paying much attention to what the Tigers are doing. No, I'm more worried about the bloody Royals, who sit just a 0.5 game behind us now. Kansas City have been on a tear lately and the Indians must start winning again before we end up stuck in third in the division, let alone how many games behind in the wild card. 

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.

Unstoppable Tribe Sweep White Sox

The Indians made a bit of history last night, defeating the White Sox 4-0 to achieve a four-game series sweep in Chicago for the first time since 1948. Why is this important? Every Tribe fan knows why but I'll elaborate nonetheless: 1948 was the last time the Cleveland Indians won the World Series, led by Tribe heroes like Bob Feller and Bob Lemon. A good omen? We hope so.

The Indians could not have picked a better time to get hot, as our AL Central foes in Detroit have slipped somewhat of late. Their loss to the Rays last night coupled with the Indians fourth win in Chicago means your 2013 Tribe have vaulted back into first place (we're tied, but hey it's still first). I did not think we would get back on top this quickly after the dreadful start the Indians made to the month of June, but there you go, that's baseball and credit to the team for putting together this wonderful run lately.

Here's a quick re-cap of the series in Chi-Town:

Offensive Explosion Powers Tribe

The Indians kicked off the series with a double-header on Friday which became the longest 18 inning double-header in major league history. And it was oh so sweet for the Indians, who won both games thanks to our powerful offense putting the White Sox pitching staff to the torch.

Cleveland took the first win by a score of 19-10, with every Indians batter getting at least one RBI except for Asdrubal Cabrera (who still collected 3 hits and 3 runs). It looked like the Tribe were in for a long night after Trevor Bauer, making a spot-start from Columbus, got absolutely annihilated in just 2/3 of an inning, giving up 6 hits, 2 of which were home runs, for 5 earned runs before he was pulled. It was the worst possible way to start a double-header, where the preservation of your bullpen is key. Luckily it didn't bother the Indians in the slightest, as guys like Ryan Raburn (4 RBI), Drew Stubbs (3 RBI) and the King of June Jason Kipnis (2 RBI) fuelled the offense and carried the Indians to a dominating victory.

After that marathon opener, the Tribe had another game to win and they delivered in dramatic style. Carlos Carrasco took the mound for us and managed to save the bullpen a bit better than Bauer did. Carrasco wasn't very good but ground his way through 5 and 2/3 innings, surrendering 10 hits for 6 runs. He wasn't doing too bad, until a 4-run 6th inning proved to be his undoing. Chicago tacked on 2 more runs in the 8th inning off reliever Matt Langwell, leaving the Indians trailing 8-5 and with a considerable hole to climb out of in the 9th. It didn't faze the Indians one bit as they roared back to tie the game on a Kipnis sac-fly before Nick Swisher redeemed himself for his recent batting woes with a monster solo home run to right field off White Sox closer Addison Reed. That made it 9-8 to the Tribe and they never looked back, Vinnie Pestano getting his 6th save of the season.

Swisher was enjoying his return to Chicago, where he spent a pretty miserable season in 2008, and wasn't finished with his Friday night heroics. Swish was torturing White Sox fans again Saturday night, getting the game winning hit in the 8th inning to bring home Cabrera to put the Tribe on top 4-3. Chris Perez made his return to the closer's role and pitched a clean 9th inning (do not adjust your screen, it is true) for his 7th save of the season, cementing the Tribe's series win.

The cherry on top of this delightful series was delivered by Justin Masterson on a sunny Sunday afternoon. In a battle of the team's aces, Masterson out-duelled Chicago's Chris Sale in a 4-0 complete game shutout to seal the series sweep. Sale was very good as usual, giving up 3 runs over 8 innings with 10 strikeouts, but Masterson was in a different class altogether. Facing just 3 batters over the minimum, our tall right-hander cruised through 9 innings, giving up 6 hits and a single walk, to go along with 8 strikeouts on his way to his 10th win of the season. It's the third time in Masterson's career he's reached double digit wins with the Indians and he's just 2 away from equalling his career best 12 wins (in 2011). He still has half a season to achieve that and just 3 more wins to break his career high. If he continues to pitch like this in the second half of the campaign, we could be looking at Masterson becoming a 20 game winner. It'll be a very difficult task for Justin but he's half way there already and as long as he stays healthy, there's always the possibility. With Masterson's fantastic outing yesterday, he surely has cemented his spot on this year's All Star team and he fully deserves it. It was the perfect way to end what was a wildly successful series for the Indians, putting us right back in contention in the AL Central.

Player Of The Series

This is a difficult one since there were so many outstanding contributors over the last four games. But my gut feeling has to give it to Nick Swisher. After my last post about his recent struggles in the Orioles re-cap, Swisher answered his critics in style in Chicago. Despite being rested for yesterday's game, Swisher collected 4 hits in the series, including a double and his game winning solo home run on Friday, for 4 total RBI, as well as scoring 4 runs and earning 4 walks. A very successful series altogether, with two memorable game-deciding hits produced from his bat. As impressed as I am with his performance, I'm almost more impressed with his mental fortitude to get out there and keep plugging away. It would be easy for a player to let his recent woes at the plate get him down but Swisher shook that off during this series and got a measure of redemption against the White Sox. Honourable mentions must go to Jason Kipnis, who is still on fire at the plate and had a terrific series, and Justin Masterson of course, whose complete game shutout was his third of the season, currently leading the league. But the way Swisher responded to adversity earns him the award for this series. Those game winning hits helped too. Congrats Nick.

The Indians ended June victorious and begin July with an off-day before travelling to Kansas City for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday. Corey Kluber (6-5, 4.16 ERA) will take the mound for us, looking to rebound from his disappointing start in Baltimore, and will face the Royals' Luis Mendoza (2-4, 4.16 ERA). I'm starting to enjoy this winning thing, let's just hope we can keep it up and ride this great form into the All Star break. Until next time...

Thanks for reading.

Indians Earn Split in Baltimore

A series split? I'll take that. Before this series in Baltimore, I was a bit worried that the Orioles would destroy us, like they have with so many other teams this year. We've had a rough time of it against those boys from the AL East, the most stacked division in the league (every team is over .500, now the Jays have had a resurgence). So to take away two wins is fantastic in my book. It's too bad the Indians couldn't get the win last night (they lost 7-3) to take the series outright, but you can't have everything your way I suppose.

We did get to see Scott Kazmir pitch a gem, taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning on Wednesday, before the Indians nearly threw it away and lost the game. Thankfully they rallied in the 9th with 2 RBI groundouts to win it 4-3 and save their blushes. Kazmir was electric, allowing just a single hit. It was a superb performance and very comforting to see him string together back-to-back good games.

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

The People Versus Nick Swisher

Okay, I had the idea to do a piece on Swisher earlier this week. Then two of my fellow bloggers beat me to the punch, TD at Waiting For Next Year and Tom at Red Right 88. Both are excellent articles and deserve your attention, but I felt I could still share my thoughts on the Swisher situation.

We all know that Swisher was the marquee signing during the off-season and was immediately made the face of the franchise, the image of the Indians' new beginning behind Terry Francona. All the homecoming stuff was great and you could see Nick's enthusiasm was genuine; he actually wanted to play here and his energy and excitement helped restore some faith in the organisation. The 32 year-old switch hitter had never been "the star" during his career in the major leagues but he came to Cleveland hailed as one.  Unfortunately, Swisher hasn't produced like a star on the field and has yet to find his offensive groove in 2013.

As I type this, Swisher is batting .229 for the season with 7 home runs and 25 RBI. His OBP is .330 and his OPS is .713 (pretty far behind his career average of .822). He's having a really rough month, batting just .125 in June with 5 RBI and no home runs. In fact, the last time he hit a home run was May 26 at Fenway Park. Yes, that's over a month ago. To say Swisher is struggling is an understatement and he obviously hasn't delivered on the expectations we had before the start of the season.

He's been hampered by injuries this year, most recently a problem in his shoulder which must be hindering his play on the field and at the plate. So I can cut him a bit of slack there, it can't be easy playing hurt every day. Still, it's alarming to see how the fans have turned on him. His love of Ohio and being a nice guy around the club is surely holding back some of the fan's venom, but how long will it last? How much more sub-par play will the Tribe faithful put up with before they really turn on him?

Personally, I find it difficult to boo my own players and shower them with intense criticism. It's not a British thing, we boo our guys just like they do in the States and all over the world. Maybe I'm just a glass half full kind of guy? So that being said, I'm not going to start hating on Swisher and I'm not going to jump on the "trade Swish bandwagon", not that that's a realistic option anyway. I drafted him on my fantasy team for pete's sake, I'm not going to give up on that investment just yet. And neither should Tribe fans (in real life, not fantasy. Do what you want in fantasy!). I have to believe that Swisher will turn things around in 2013. The Indians front-office are paying him a lot of money to do just that. If you thought the Indians were getting a powerful 30 HR+ 100 RBI+ first baseman in the winter, you were mistaken, he's not that player anymore and never has been (closest he got to those numbers was 2006). However, I can understand the fan's frustration because I know we all expected more than what we're getting. Nick Swisher of all people knows this and I'm pretty sure he's trying his damn best to correct it.

Player Of The Series

The complete opposite to Nick Swisher offensively at the moment? Why it's back-to-back Player of the Series winner Jason Kipnis of course. Kipnis has continued his blistering hot streak at the plate lately and torched Baltimore for 5 hits, one in each game to continue his 9 game hitting streak, 2 home runs and 4 RBI.

It's amazing how well Kipnis is playing at the moment, showing us his immense talent on a daily basis. He's hitting .398 in June, that's the best average in the league this month amongst players with over 80 at-bats (that's better than Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera). In his current form, Kipnis is outperforming both Robinson Cano and Dustin Pedroia in nearly every category. He has more RBI this month (Kipnis 19, Pedroia 17, Cano 10), more stolen bases (Kipnis 7, Pedroia 3, Cano 3), more home runs (Kipnis 3, Pedroia 2, Cano 2), more hits (Kipnis 33, Pedroia 26, Cano 18), and a far higher batting average (Kipnis .398, Pedroia .277, Cano .231). Is that not enough for people to realise that Kipnis deserves a spot at the All Star Game next month? I'll admit, overall he's probably not as good as Cano and Pedroia over a full season but right now, Kipnis is the best second baseman in the league. Make it happen people, lets make Kipnis an All Star.

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.