3 Out of 4 Ain't Bad (Neither is 3 out of 3)

Hey crimestoppers,

Coming at you from New Jersey, where I'll be on business for a couple days.

The Tribe has scratched and clawed its way to .500 (well, briefly over .500) since my last post, carrying 3 of 4 from Toronto.

Good things:

• Unassisted Triple Play by The Beaded One!
• Knocking out Roy Halladay with a 6-spot in his shortest outing of the season.
• Going into the 10th inning of the nightcap of last night's doubleheader, the Indians had held Toronto scoreless for 31 straight innings.
• Complete game shutout for Fausto Carmona.
• Aaron Laffey went 7 scoreless to get a victory
• Cliff Lee went another 9 scoreless innings
• Craig Breslow sighting! Craig Breslow sighting! (2 scoreless)
• Grady Sizemore goes berserk on Grady Sizemore Fleece Night, knocking two out of the park, along with a double for 5 RBI. It may be time for a Travis Hafner fleece night.
• The starting pitching has been so good that Tom Mastny has not been seeing enough innings to stay sharp, so they sent him down to put some work in and stay ready.
• First homer of the year from the Beaded One.
• Shin Soo Choo has started his rehab assignment in Buffalo.
• Andy Marte sighting!

Not-so-good-things

• Tribe's bats silenced by Shaun Marcum in doubleheader nightcap and Senor Slow came on in the 10th to blow the game after Cliff Lee gave the Tribe 9 shutout innings. Rafael Betancourt's appearances are looking less and less like sure things. I can't believe this, but if He Who Shall Not Be Named really gets back what little velocity he had, he may actually be a better closer for this team. (Ack - I can't believe I just typed that, but there it is.) Betancourt does not look like the same guy in the 9th and 10th with the game tied now that he's The Closer.
• Jason Tyner called up to replace Mastny - and he started the second game of the doubleheader. Apparently our outfield logjam isn't so severe that we can find at-bats for a slap hitter like Jason Tyner in one of our corner outfield spots (career OPS - .637). I suspect he's just roster filler until He Who Shall Not Be Named or Shin-Soo-Choo or Westbrook is ready, but geez - do we have to start him? Late-inning defensive replacement for the Looch? Sure. Pinch-runner? Sure. Starting a game in place of someone who can actually hit? Please, no thanks.
• For those just looking at the box score, who see Andy Marte batting .091 on the season, with 3 LOB in the doubleheader nightcap, it's easy to wonder why he's still on the team. Those of us who are Andy Marte apologists will say that it's hard to get in a groove when you play only once a week. Those who are not will insist that any faith in him is not justified - look at his batting average. I keep waiting and hoping for Andy's Big Bustout, because I think it's coming, but for now, I'll have to be content with him playing better defense than Casey Blake and seeing a lot of pitches.

The beat goes on - Age and Treachery goes tonight against Duchsherer with the A's in town for 3.

More of the Same

The Tribe lost last night's game to the Mariners (7-2) the same ways they've been losing them all season. Let's run down the checklist, shall we?

• Adequate starting pitching wasted by anemic offense? Check
• Lack of clutch hitting? Check
• Fielding mistakes turn into unearned run(s)? Check
• Late bullpen collapse by the closer? Check
• Failure to pound inferior opponent starting pitcher? Check
• Bad luck on balls hit in play by the Indians, better luck by the opposition? Check

FWIW, the domain firederekshelton.com was available when I checked last night. Anyone game?

That's all I've got. It's too disheartening now to elaborate.

Andy Marte Watch:

Andy Marte played. He made several really fine barehanded plays, but ole'd a hard-hit ground ball that led to a run. He went 0 for 4 at the plate and hit the ball hard twice right at people and hit the ball weakly twice. He was not asked to bunt, nor was he pinch-hit for. SUMM played first base in place of Garko, who was given a mental health day.

Cliff Lee Saves a Nearly Lost Weekend

After the Tribe's ace and ace-in-waiting both turned in forgettable performances, last year's scapegoat Cliff Lee stopped the bleeding with a shut-down performance in the snow. On to the quick hits:

Game 10: Cleveland 7, Oakland 9

I didn't see the game. I was visiting friends in the Cincinnati area. CC got pummeled, giving up 9 runs on 12 hits in 3.1 innings. The Indians added 6 pretty meaningless runs in the 8th to make it respectable. The good news is that the bullpen shut Oakland down for the last 5.2 innings. Jhonny Peralta homered.

Andy Marte Watch:



Game 11: Cleveland 3, Oakland 7

I didn't see this game, either. My wife and I were at the symphony. At any rate, I'm glad I didn't see it. Fausto Carmona didn't have it. He gave up 3 runs in 3.1 innings, walking 8. The bullpen stopped the bleeding and kept the Tribe in the game until the 7th inning, when Rafael Perez gave up a 3-run shot to Bobby Crosby which broke the game open. The A's ran Lenny DiNardo out to the mound and the Tribe only managed 2 runs in 5 innings. If you can't beat a AAAA pitcher like Lenny DiNardo, you deserve to lose.

Andy Marte Watch:



Game 12: Cleveland 7, Oakland 1

Cliff Lee posted his second solid effort in a row, pitching 8 innings of 2-hit baseball in a game which featured windy, cold conditions, including swirling snow. The Tribe manufactured three runs early in the game, and then broke it open with 4 runs in the 8th.

Andy Marte Watch:

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Indians manager Eric Wedge seems to be trying his darnedest to screw up Andy Marte. Marte started at third, and came up in the third inning for his first at bat after Jamey Carroll got hit by a pitch. Here's a potential power hitter that you're supposedly trying to get untracked, and hasn't played in a week and in his first at bat, Wedge asks him to bunt. Marte fouled off two bunt attempts, and then swung meekly at a breaking ball, striking out.

In his next at-bat, in the fifth inning, Jamey Carroll led off the inning with a single and then it's deja vu all over again! Eric Wedge asked his young power hitter to bunt. Again. This time, Marte got the a good bunt down and pitcher Chad Gaudin threw the ball wildly down the first-base line, allowing Carroll to advance to third.

Marte came up in the sixth inning with the bases loaded in two outs, and was finally allowed to swing the bat for the first time in the game. He struck out.

The next time Marte came up, in the 8th inning, the bases were loaded with one out in the 8th. Here's a great chance for your young power hitter to swing the bat and gain some confidence. The bases are loaded with a chance to break the game open, it's the 8th inning, and your pitcher is rolling. Nothing to lose, right? Let the kid swing the bat. Instead, Wedge pinch-hit The Beaded One for Marte. The Beaded One struck out. Grady Sizemore and David Dellucci followed Cabrera with back to back doubles to break the game open.

How are we going to know if Marte can hit in the clutch if Wedge pinch hits for him in nearly every clutch situation. How is Marte going to get in any kind of groove or make any kind of adjustments to the major leagues if he plays once a week, and when he plays, he's not really allowed to swing the bat in meaningful situations? Wedge is mishandling Andy Marte. Badly.

Mojo Watch:

CC Sabathia: Right now, CC has no Elvis. If he wants somebody to show him the money, he needs to start being money on the mound.

Fausto Carmona:
The Indians showed Fausto the money, and he rewarded them in his first game as a rich man by spreading the love, giving everybody a free ride on the Walk To First Base Express. He'll come around.

David Dellucci: Dellucci seems to be coming around. His average is up to .273, and he's put up some clutch hits in the last couple days.

Jason Michaels: Still ain't got any Elvis. He has lots of hair, though. Michaels had a hit Saturday to increase his batting average on the year at .111.

Pronk: Pronk went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI.

Ryan Garko: Garko is batting .325 on the year so far, with OBP of .460., including 10 walks. So far, he's been the Tribe's best offensive weapon, slugging .500 with an OPS of .960 with 1 homer and 6 walks. If we could get guys on ahead of him, we might score some runs.

SUMM: Since his Opening Day heroics, Super Utility Mountain Man Casey Blake has let his average drop to .143 and he's already made 3 errors.

The Indians continue their homestand with the only visit of the year from Boston, who comes in for a two-game set. Yes, the Red Sox only play two games here, while we play 4 in Boston in September. This is just one example of how the people who make the schedule for MLB have gone to great lengths to hose the Tribe, loading them up with home games in the coldest months of the year, in addition to giving them fewer home games against a rival with whom they may be competing for a playoff spot.

All told, considering how poorly the Indians have played at times, they are fortunate to be sitting at 5-7, and only 2.5 games out of first place. In the schadenfreude department, Sunday's win puts them three games ahead of the Motor City Kitties, who are now 2-10. It's no more Mr. Nice Guy from Detroit manager Smokey McChimney (aka Jim Leyland), who apparently went nuclear following their latest loss, an 11-0 spanking by the Whine Sox. The Motor City Kitties have scored 33 runs through 12 games and given up 78.

Travel Day

Sorry, crimestoppers, but real life has kept me from posting regarding the last two games until now. If only I could find some way to get myself paid for doing this. Anyway, today is a travel day for the Tribe, as they come back from a dramatic 2-4 West Coast swing, having split the last two with the Angels.

• Tuesday night the Indians took some measure of revenge for Toriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Hunter's walk-off slam of the night before when Pronk smashed a two-run shot in the top of the 9th off the Angels of Orange County Which is Kinda Close to Los Angeles closer Justin Speier to win 4-3 behind a complete game from Jake Westbrook. This game was notable for an Andy Marte sighting. Marte came in to play the field after Ryan Garko was lifted for a pinch runner, which slid Casey Blake to first base.


• Wednesday afternoon, Paul Byrd thought the early start time meant that he was throwing batting practice instead of pitching in a game that really counted. Age and Treachery could not fool the Angels who teed off on him for 3 homers, including a Denny's signature breakfast from Mike Napoli. The Indians were down 6-nil before they suddenly came to the realization that instead of a good pitcher, they were facing Dusin Moseley, and beat him up for 4 runs in the 6th to at least make the game interesting. That didn't last very long as Jensen Lewis gave up a three-run shut to Vlad the Impaler in the 7th. After that, it was all over but the plunking, as Justin Speier, in a blatant display of poor sportsmanship, hit Pronk on his bad elbow in the 9th inning. We shall see if the Indians have the cojones to return the favor when the Angels of Orange County Which is Kinda Close to Los Angeles come to town later this year.

In other news, even as I write this the Indians are holding a press conference to announce that they have locked up Fausto Carmona to a contract extension guaranteed through 2011 with three club option years that will likely keep Carmona in Cleveland until 2014. Huge. Totally Huge.

Oh, and no more lolcats for the near future. The Motor City Kitties have finally won, to up their record to 1-7.

Mojo Watch:

Mark Shapiro: Fausto Carmona through 2014! Enough said.

Travis Hafner: The game-winning shot off Justin Speier was a huge display of Pronkitude, and perhaps getting hit by Speier in that last at-bat will reawaken the Incredible Pronk.

Age and Treachery: Right now, Paul Byrd, like Michael J. Fox, has got No Elvis.

Jake Westbrook: If the Tribe could have managed more than 1 run off John Danks last week, Westbrook would be sitting at 2-0.

David Dellucci: The left field position is now off the schneid, with Dellucci registering 2 hits to raise his average over the Mendoza line to a smokin' .231.

Jason Michaels: Michaels right now has No Elvis. In order to see his .048 batting average, you need one of these:

Franklin Gutierrez: Since his incredible opening day, Frank the Tank is 1 for 22. He was benched in Anaheim for Jason Michaels - against a right handed pitcher.

Andy Marte Watch:

Game 8:

Mop up duty. Field only, 9th inning no at bat. Started nifty double play.

Game 9:

Game 2 - Indians 7, Whine Sox 2

Indians win with a solid effort from Fausto Carmona, whose sinker was sinking. Some quick hits:

• The Indians are going to score a lot of runs when the top 2 hitters (Sizemore, The Beaded One) each get 3 hits.
• I got to sit in front of my glorious new 32" Sharp Aquos TV watching the Tribe in HD. It just doesn't get much better than that.
• Even when his command isn't that great, Fausto's stuff is so amazing that he's just a ground ball away from getting out of trouble. Groundball outs: 16. Flyball outs: 1
• Masa Kobayashi's debut was less than auspicious. He needed bailing out by Rafael Perez. Nowhere to go but up for Kobayashi.
• Pronk got a couple hits, including, in what is a really good sign, a line drive smoked into the alley in left center that Nick Swisher made a really good play on to hold it to a single. His other hit was a grounder up the middle. His other two at-bats - Ks.
• Gutierrez got plunked in his first at bat after going 3/3 with a three-run homer the previous game. Coincidence? You be the judge. Gutierrez later went on to score the game's first run.
• Jorge Julio gave a very Joe Knows Closing like performance to finish the game, allowing a homer to AJ Punkzynski among 2 hits and walk. Given that Julio is pretty much known for throwing hard, I was a little disappointed that he didn't plunk Punkzynski, just to let the Whine Sox know that we hadn't forgotten that they plunked Gutierrez.
• Home plate must look like a postage stamp to Mike MacDougal. I'm amazed that he still has a major league pitching gig. How great is it that the Whine Sox bullpen is so bad that they have to keep MacDougal employed and bring him into critical situations in games?
• American League teams with more wins than the Detroit Tigers: Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Toronto, FEDBU, FEDBU-Lite, Kansas City, Minnesota, Orange County/Anaheim/Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland, Texas. Teams with as many wins: Chicago. Teams with fewer wins: 0 - can't have fewer than 0 wins.

Mojo Watch

Pronk:

Fausto Carmona:

Masa Kobayashi:

The Beaded One: 3/5 with a double and 2 RBI. He sure looked good in the #2 slot.

Grady Sizemore: 3/4 with a triple, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.