Cleveland Indians vs. Texas Rangers

The brilliant Jeff Daniels once said, “You know Lloyd, just when I think you couldn’t get any dumber, you go and do something like this . . .  and TOTALLY redeem yourself!” That’s how I feel about the Tribe this year. Just when I think they’re going to implode, they deliver a dominating sweep against consistent contender Texas (everything’s bigger in Texas). The series featured good offense, better defense, and dominating pitching. After two lackluster series to start the second half, the Tribe needed this. Their next seven games are against the White Sox and Marlins. If they are going to make up ground before their next series against Detroit, now is the time. 

Indians 11 Rangers 8 (11 innings): This game went from virtual lock, to disaster, to dramatic win. It felt like the mid-90’s again. Back when the Indians were a model franchise, these are the wins they were known for. As soon as it looked like they were down and out, they rallied in dramatic fashion. Corey Kluber continued his miracle run with another quality start and the Indians gave him a 7-1 lead thanks to Michael Bourn and his new found ability to drive in runs. Unfortunately, Cody Allen and Joe Smith imploded and the Rangers tied the game 8-8 in the eighth inning. This was particularly concerning because these two have been the most consistent pitchers in an otherwise shaky bullpen. The Indians were able to stop the bleeding until the eleventh when Ryan Raburn came up with two men on. Continuing another miracle season that no one saw coming, he delivered a game winning, three run homer. Amazing. Not a great win because it should have been an easy win, but a momentum building win. Momentum is everything down the stretch in sports. Wins like this have been known to propel teams to the postseason. 

Indians 1 Rangers 0: On the second pitch of the game, Bourn took Yu Darvish deep to right. That was the only run either team would score for the rest of the night (that rhymed, I should be a rapper). Justin Masterson dominated a very dangerous Texas line-up and out dueled their ace and his fellow All-Star. If this is the Justin Masterson we will be seeing down the stretch, this season just became that much more interesting. Two years ago we saw his potential, last year he regressed, and this year he looks like he’s finally figured out how to harness his ability. When he came over from Boston, he was a reliever because the Red Sox thought he couldn’t pitch to lefties. His first couple of years here he proved them right. He was terrible against lefties. Now he finally seems to have figured them out. His slider continues to develop and impress. He went from a ground ball pitcher to a strike out machine in two years. The future is bright at the front of the rotation. 

Indians 6 Rangers 0: Two years ago, almost to the day, the Indians traded their best two pitching prospects to Colorado for their struggling ace, Ubaldo Jimenez. To say they were disappointed with what they got back would be an understatement of Biblical proportions (seriously). For a while it looked like the only saving grace of the trade was the fact that those prospects (Alex White and Drew Pomeranz) have been the wooooorst. Seriously. We dodged a bullet there. They stink. Anyway, this season Ubaldo has been better. Yesterday, he was dominating. Eight shut-out innings? Be still my heart. This was the 1-2 punch the Tribe thought they were getting two years ago. Offensively, clutch hitting and more Bourn magic propelled the Tribe to their league leading 14th shut-out this season. What? Doesn’t seem possible. 

Reasons for Optimism

The starting pitching: Three games, three quality/dominating starts. At the start of the season everyone said, quite correctly, that the Tribe would only go as far their pitching carried them. Well, here were are eight games over .500 and three games out of the division lead. Masterson, Kluber, Jimenez, and Scott Kazmir have exceeded all of my wildest dreams. I thought they might be alright. I did not see dominating on the horizon. So long as they can keep this going, the Tribe will stay in the race. 

Michael Bourn: I thought the Tribe was done signing players after the Nick Swisher deal and the Shin-Soo Choo trade. Then, just before camp opened, Mr. Bourn came to Cleveland. He was a top free agent and those guys usually avoid Cleveland like the plague. This is why:

Ugh. The worst. Who would want to live here? No one! I digress. When he finally signed, it came out of nowhere. Many commentators were critical, but I was excited. This is the first real lead-off guy they’ve had since Kenny Lofton. That’s right. Not Grady Sizemore. Don’t get me wrong, he was great, but he was a power hitter who could run. That’s the only reason he hit first. Bourn has had a great season. He gets on base and has even been driving in runs. He doesn’t have nearly as many steals as he has had in the past, but he was a National League guy his whole life. The lack of a DH gives the National League a drastically different style of play. I have been impressed. 

Nick Swisher and Astrubal Cabrera: They switched spots in the order and it has been paying off so far. Swisher just isn’t a clean-up hitter. He excels as a second hitter protected by bigger bats behind him. That’s where most of his success came in New York. He’s finally starting to hit. Hopefully he is also finally getting healthy. As for Cabrera, he isn’t really a clean-up hitter either, but he’ll do for now. I wish Carlos Santana would take over the spot full time. Maybe next year. Cabrera is finally starting to hit and we really need it. 

Reasons for Cynicism

Jose Veras: The Tigers got their closer. For those of you who have been following this blog since I started it, you know how much I’ve been fearing this. If they have a decent bullpen down the stretch, they will win the division. The only saving grace here is how bad Veras can be. He once pitched in Cleveland and was the worst. He’s been great in Houston, but with no pressure. They stink. We’ll see how he does when he is thrown into a pennant race. Hopefully it’s an Eric Gagne to the 2007 Red Sox situation where a guy who has been pitching well on a bad team pitches poorly on a good team. Keep your fingers crossed . . . or don’t. It’s a free country. 

The Roaring Royals: They have won six in a row, are back to .500, and are only seven games behind Detroit. The Royals were a dark horse pick to win the division and they certainly have the talent. We really need a cliche Royals Hidenburg impression right now. They are a very scary team lingering in third place. 

Cleveland Indians at Seattle Mariners

Two more games of little to no offense squandering two good starts and a blow out win supporting an amazing start. Not exactly what I was hoping for. Concerns about a second half cliff dive are very real right now. I know it is harder to win on the road than it is at home, but a 2-4 road trip against Minnesota and Seattle isn’t going to cut it. They have to beat the teams they’re supposed to beat to have any shot at the playoffs. Ugh. This is making me angry. Let’s get to the recaps.

Overview

Mariners 2 Indians 1: Home runs by Kendrys Morales and Mike “I’m a person?” Zunino sunk an otherwise decent start by Ubaldo Jimenez. Still, he only made it 5 2/3 innings, throwing 110 pitches. He’s been doing this all season. Six innings makes a quality start, but he never makes it six innings. Even when he’s pitching well, his pitch counts jump to borderline shenanigans. Seriously. He’s going to single handedly kill the bullpen. As for the “offense”, a first inning Nick Swisher homer is all they could muster against Aaron Harang (I thought he retired five years ago). Swisher was finally moved out of the clean-up spot and moved to second in the order. That’s never a good sign. 

Mariners 4 Indians 3: Welcome back, Zach McCallister! He looked a little rusty, but it could have been worse. That bum Zunino singled home the winning run in the third and then both teams forgot how to hit and the game ended 4-3. The offense managed eleven hits, but only the three runs. No bueno. 

Indians 10 Mariners 1: The bats woke up! Michael Bourn delivered his first career grand slam, Carlos Santana had two RBI doubles, and Astrubal Cabrera scored four runs and drove in three. Scott Kazmir pitched eight innings allowing only one unearned run! He looked great for the second straight start. He sat around 95 mph on his fastball the whole day. He continues to be an amazing story and the surprise of all surprises. He looks like a pitcher who finally figured out how to pitch. When he was an All-Star in Tampa, he pretty much just threw hard. Very hard. Now many of his strike-outs come with his slider instead of his fastball. When a pitcher learns how to make outs with his other pitches, he ascends to a an entirely new level of awesome. 

Reasons for Optimism 

Scott Kazmir: Pretty much said what I had to say above. If he can continue pitching like this, the Indians will stay in the race. The big question now is: Is he for real, or is this a mirage? Looking ahead to next season, there are many question marks in the rotation. It is unlikely Ubaldo will be brought back and eventually Danny Salazaar and Trevor Bauer will be expected to take spots in the rotation. So, do they bring back Kazmir knowing his history with injuries? It is hard to say. What will likely happen is some big market team will offer him a ridiculous contract that the Indians won’t match. Hopefully that ends up being a Jaret Wright/Carl Pavano to the Yankees situation. Hopefully. 

Yan Gomes: Is he ready to be an everyday catcher? The Indians seem to think so. I think so. So, where do we go from here? Carlos Santana is the catcher right now and he’s a great player. Where does Gomes fit in? If it were me, I would rotate the two of them between catcher and DH . Get Jason Giambi’s corpse out of the line-up and split the starts between these two. Plus, both can play first base to give Swisher a day off. I think Gomes is going to be a big time player. Now we need to find him a permanent spot. Boy, this Esmil Rodgers for Gomes and Mike Aviles trade is looking like a major rip-off pulled by GM Chris Antonetti. Well played, sir. Well played.

Astrubal Cabrera: He’s finally showing some life out there. The past two seasons strong first halves made him an All-Star. This season he had far more valleys than peaks. If he can get it going and solidify the clean-up spot, than good things will happen. If he struggles, they have to move him down in the line-up and Michael Brantley takes the clean-up spot? I love Brantley, but he’s not a middle of the order hitter. God speed, Astrubal. 

Reasons for Cynicism

Struggles with runners in scoring position: The two games they won on this road trip, they hit with runners in scoring positions. The games they lost, they didn’t. Even Jim Bowden could see that pattern and he’s the worst. This is why I keep harping on the clean-up spot needing to be . . . cleaned up (Ha! That’s funny. I’m funny). They need someone to step up and drive in runs. Their line-up is so much better than last year, but they’re still missing the guy who can drive in runs when they really need them. I hoped that would be Swisher, but he just hasn’t adapted to that role. 

The ever changing line-up: Every day I go to ESPN to see what line-up Terry Francona has drawn up. It is never, literally never, the same two days in a row. I understand he has to get at-bats for everyone, but he needs to be more consistent. Guys need to know their role in the order. People who have never played baseball probably don’t understand the difference between hitting second and sixth, but they are monumentally different. A more consistent line-up should lead to more consistent results. 

Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins

At the onset of starting this blog I thought it would be good to post after every game. However, I work three jobs, so, you know, c’est impossible. Not sure how I overlooked that one. With that in mind, I’ve decided that posting after each series is the way to go. Sure, I’ll throw some other posts in the mix from time to time, but I will definitely be posting after each series. Now enough set up, let’s get to the first series of the second half  . . .

Overview

Game One Twins 3 Indians 2: The bats came out of the box flat. Michael Bourn had two hits and the only two RBI’s. Outside of that, the Indians could only muster two other hits (one each from Michael Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall). Scott Kazmir had a great start. Six innings, two runs. He remains the surprise of the season. The only mistake he made was giving up a two run single to Trevor Plouffe. I have no idea who this goofball is, but he is slowly but surely turning into a thrown in the Indians side. The funny thing about baseball is that some guys always seem to perform against certain teams. Terry Steinbach killed the Indians for most of his career in Oakland. Somehow, some way, he always seemed to drive a dagger into their hearts. Anyway, a Joe Mauer single in the eighth off Joe Smith gave the Twins the first win of the series. 

Game Two Twins 3 Indians 2 (not a typo): Another great start wasted. Corey Kluber delivered five solid innings, striking out seven, before leaving with an injury. That’s not good. However, it seems to be a minor injury. He might miss a start, which isn’t that bad considering it might give us another look at pitching prospect Danny Salazaar. A Jason Kipnis home run was the only offense the Indians could muster. Then a Chisenhall error and Rich Hill’s presence doomed the Indians to a second straight loss. Seriously. Why the hell is Rich Hill allowed to pitch? He has a 6.75 ERA and he’s the only lefty reliever we have? No bueno. I know Terry Francona loves him, but apparently the baseball gods hate him. Please, please go get Oliver Perez.

Game Three Indians 7 Twins 1: A win! Thank God. Getting swept by the Twins would have been a nightmare start to the second half. Justin Masterson was brilliant! He had a perfect game through six innings and recorded his eleventh win of the season, equalling his win total from last season. Kipnis had another home run and Brantley delivered a clutch three run triple. If the Indians are going to make a push to the postseason, they will need Masterson and Kipnis to carry them there. Last year they tanked when these two started to slump. While the team is better than it was a year ago, a major league team can only go as far as their best players take them. 

Reasons for Optimism

The starting pitching was brilliant in this series: Now that Zach McCallister is off the DL, we’ll finally get to see the best the Indians have to offer in the second half. If Kluber and Kazmir can pitch like this down the stretch, the Indians will be in the race until the end. Even the great Indians teams in the mid to late 90’s didn’t have consistent pitching from the back of the rotation. Guys like Chad Ogea, Mark Clark, and Dave Burba won a lot of games, but the offense also scored billions of runs. I could have won ten games pitching on those teams. Since the Great Rebuild of 2002, the front office has put much more emphasis on pitching over offense. While there are still so many question marks, I feel a little better going forward if these are the guys who are rounding out the rotation. Still, we’ll see what the second half has in store. 

Jason Kipnis: He struggled mightily down the stretch last year as the Indians plummeted down the standings. A good start to the second half is needed especially given the struggles of some of the other top hitters (what’s the deal Astrubal Cabrera?). Coming off a great at-bat in the All Star Game, Kipnis turned in a solid series. Now that he has an elite table-setter ahead of him in Michael Bourn, I expect great things from Kipnis is the second half. 

The second half schedule: They end the season with 20 games agains the Royals, White Sox, Astros, and Twins. They only have to play seven more games against the Tigers. There is not excuse to fall out of contention this year. Unfortunately, it’s the Indians. The impossible is not only possible, but likely. Alas. Such is life.

Reasons to be Cynical

The law firm of Swisher and Reynolds: I know Mark Reynolds strikes out a lot. I knew he would at the start of the season. I thought he would hit more homers. He started the season off so well, but he looks lost at the plate. Ugh. He is the WORST. At any moment he could either hit a moon shot or strike out on a pitch that Mr. Magoo would know was out of the strike zone. As for Swisher? He must be hurt. It’s too bad. I’m sure the pressure of signing the largest contract in team history is also weighing on him. He has brought some much need swag to the clubhouse, but we need him to be more than the Jean Ralphio of Cleveland. 

Rich Hill: I feel for him. He thought he was coming into to be a lefty specialist, but he’s now the only lefty option out of the pen. Still, he stinks. They need to trade for another reliever and only let Hill pitch when they’re ahead or behind by at least five runs. 

All is quiet on the trade front: I haven’t seen much of the Indians in the rumors lately. Except for Jim Bowden’s insistence that they should trade Cabrera to the Cardinals. Seriously, Jim. Shut up. They are in contention, why would they trade a key player for prospects? Francisco Lindor is at least another year away from the majors. You are the Matt Millen of baseball. If you’re so smart, then why did you get fired as GM from both the Reds and Nationals? And why on is the “Controversy” section of your Wikipedia page so much longer than the “General Manager” section? Oops. Went off on a rant there. It happens. Lost my place. Oh, right, it’s lame that I haven’t heard much about the Indians making trades. That’s all I really wanted to say here. 

The Deadline Looms

One summer I was glued to the TV for two straight days. Randy Johnson, arguably the greatest pitcher of the 90’s, was going to be traded. The Indians were a team that kept popping up in the rumor mill. This was long before I discovered the beauty of ESPN’s Rumor Central, so TV and newspaper (remember those?) was all I had. The deadline came and went with Johnson being traded to Houston. Too bad. The 1998 Indians really could have used him. They pushed the ’98 Yankees (one of the greatest teams ever assembled) to six games in the ALCS. Imagine if they had Johnson starting twice in that series instead of Chad Ogea. Alas. It was not to be. Both the ’98 Indians and Johnson were doomed to watch the World Series from home that year. All things considered though, it was fun to sit at the TV and watch the entire trade deadline. It is a feeling that all baseball fans can relate to. If they can’t, they aren’t really fans. Ugh. Here I go getting all mushy. What the hell happened to me? I blame my time on the west coast for all these nostalgic feelings. The worst. Anyway, here are some trades I would consider.

1. Jose Ramirez and Luigi Rodriquez for Oliver Perez: Two prospects full of potential for a top lefty reliever. Ramirez is a second baseman and Rodriquez is a centerfielder. Jason Kipnis is currently the Indians best player and Michael Bourn just signed on for four years, the Indians are pretty set at those positions going forward. In Perez they would get the lefty set-up man they have so desperately needed since Rafael Perez forgot how to pitch. While they probably need a starter more, I would be fine with them shoring up the bullpen. 

2. Ronny Rodriquez, Tyler Naquin, and Mitch Brown for Bud Norris: They really need a starter. Scott Kazmir looked good last night, but how long can it really last? In Norris they would be getting an immediate upgrade in the number three spot in the rotation for more than just this year. His numbers have never been very good, but he’s played on some truly terrible Astros teams. Nolan Ryan couldn’t win with these chuckleheads the Astros are marching out there. Naquin was our top draft pick a year ago, but he figures to be a centerfielder. Bourn has that locked down. He also is a lefty and we have plenty of those up and down the line-up. Top prospect Francisco Lindor is one of the highest rated prospects and a shortstop, so no need for Rodriquez. And Brown? He’s an 18 year-old pitcher. Who the hell really knows his upside? 

3. Tyler Naquin, Ronny Rodriquez, Dorssys Paulino, and Luigi Rodriquez for Matt Garza and James Russell: This would fill two key needs in the rotation and bullpen. Garza would probably be a rental player (there’s no way they have the money to lock him up long term), but he would come in and immediately add tremendous depth in the rotation. He has playoff experience and spent most of his career in the AL East (the best division for the last ten years). Russell would be the lefty reliever needed to round out the bullpen. The only hesitation here would be Paulino. He can play 3rd base and who knows if Lonnie Chisenhall will every realize his potential. Then again, his first name is pretty silly, so . . . you know . . . there’s that. 

4. Every prospect we have and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for Cliff Lee: This could only work if Philly agreed to swallow a chunk of his contract. There’s no way they would, but man it would be sweet to see him back in Cleveland uniform. Only the Indians would trade a pitcher away the year after he won the Cy Young Award and trade him they did back in 2009. He would come in and immediately be the ace of the staff. A one-two punch of Lee and Masterson would elevate the Indians to World Series contenders. Too bad it will never happen. Stupid Phillies. 

State of the Union 

I hope to God they can avoid another implosion of epic proportions like the last two seasons, but fool me 50 times shame on you . . . meh. You get the idea. Every year could be the year and until it actually is the year, I feel more comfortable being cynical. Perhaps whole heartedly believing they can’t actually do it will make it that must sweeter when they do . . . right? And that, dear reader, is cynical optimism. It is the only way to be an Indians fan. We have to believe they’re going to win the World Series during our lifetimes, but we have to accept that they probably won’t. Seriously. My dad is 56 and has never seen them win a World Series. Yeah. Let that sink in. He has to believe they’ll win eventually, why else would he follow them so religiously? I digress. Here are some thoughts on the second half . . . 

Surprises

Ubaldo “The Enigma” Jiminez: Coming into the season I was terrified by the prospects of Ubaldo Jiminez as our #2 starter. He lost 17 games last year. 17! Not only did he lose all those games, but he looked completely lost on the mound. When the ball left his hand, he no idea where it was going to land. Neither did his catcher, apparently, because he lead the league in wild pitches. This year he still looks lost at times and throws way too many pitches, but he has won seven games. He also isn’t walking an offensive number of hitters. So, he’s got that going for him . . . which is nice. All things considered, it could be worse. A lot worse. With that in mind, I’m saying Ubaldo has been a pleasant surprise.

Justin Masterson: Another pitcher who looked lost at times last season. He lost 15 games last year. Yes, the offense was anemic and it spoiled a few really great starts, but an ace pitcher can’t lose 15 games. They just can’t. This season, Masterson has been on his game. He’s 10-7 with a 3.72 ERA. He made the All-Star team for the first time and has become a true ace pitcher. We haven’t had one of those since Cliff Lee in 2009. All great teams need an ace. Good thing we didn’t trade him this offseason (stupid Jim Bowden).

Ryan Raburn: Sure. He’s a backup outfielder. He also has 10 homeruns and has provided a consistent right handed bat off the bench. We haven’t had one of those since . . . Kelly Shoppach? And he wasn’t even that good. On top of that, Raburn looked like a bottom of the barrel, take a chance player the Indians so famously love to sign every year. For once it worked out. Imagine that.

The Artist Formerly Known as Scott Kazmir: Another bottom of the barrel signing. This guy wasn’t even in the majors last year. He was an All-Star with Tampa about six or seven years ago and then he just lost it. Injuries and mental blocks got him out of baseball. Now he’s back and providing some consistency at the back of the rotation. Not sure if he can keep it going, but I didn’t even think he would make it this long. Go Scott Kazmir!

Corey Kluber: At the onset of the season I figured he would be in Triple-A the whole season. At best he might come up and become a long-reliever. I absolutely did not see seven wins and a couple really dominating starts. Earlier this year I went to a Tribe came at Fenway Park. I was heartbroken that Kluber was pitching. Then, he pitched. He throws hard, but has learned to mix in his other pitches. It was pretty amazing to watch it unfold. He’s been roughed up a couple times this year, but that happens to even the best back end pitcher. I’ll take that in exchange for him looking like an ace every three starts or so. The only concern I have with him is his innings. I doubt he’s ever had to throw as many pitches as we need him to throw in order to make the playoffs. Fatigue is a definite concern.

Disappointments 

Attendance: In the mid-90’s the Indians set the attendance record. The past couple of seasons no one has gone to see them. Don’t get me wrong, I get it. I wouldn’t have paid money to go see Shelly Duncan’s creepy Shrek face or Johnny Damon’s ghost short arm throws from left field. Yet, this year was different. The front office actually went out and spent the money and put a legit major league team on the field. If I lived in Cleveland, I would be down there every chance I could. Of course, then I would also have to live in Cleveland . . . gross. Anyway, if you live there, get your butt down to Jacob’s Field! (That’s right ownership. I’ll never call it Progressive Field. You can’t make me!)

Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer: The biggest reason I never thought Corey Kluber would be in the rotation is because I figured one of these two would take the first open spot. Bauer has been alright when he’s pitched in the majors, but he walks too many batters. He’s so used to fooling minor league hitters with his breaking pitches that he tries to pull the same stuff in the majors and it doesn’t work. Come on, Trevor. These guys are in the majors for a reason. They aren’t going to get fooled by cheap parlor tricks. Throw the ball over the plate. Carrasco has been a disaster. He can’t throw strikes, he got suspended in his first start for throwing at someone, and even when he throws strikes he gets hit . . . hard. Too bad because he looked like an ace a couple years ago before having Tommy John surgery.

What Must go Right 

Consistency, consistency, consistency: So far this season we’ve seen an eight game losing streak, a stretch of winning something like 18 of 24, and another five game losing streak. It has to end. They have to get hot and stay hot. They can lose a couple here and there, but they have to avoid the long losing streaks. The pitchers need to get in the habit of trying to pitch at least six innings and avoid epic collapses. No more four or five run innings. The hitters have to try and cut down on the strikeouts. Just put the ball in play Mark Reynolds. And, for the love of God, stop swinging at pitches in the dirt.

Get a lefty for the bullpen: No more Nick Hagadone. No more Rich Hill in clutch situations. Flip some low level prospects for Oliver Perez and call it good.

Hope and pray Detroit doesn’t get a closer: If the Tigers get anything close to a legit bullpen, the Indians are cooked. On paper, the Tigers are so much better than the Indians. Their bullpen in the only thing holding them back from running away with the division.

Zach McCallister: Two months ago he went on the DL for “a couple weeks”. We haven’t seen him since. He’s our second best pitcher, without him we stand no chance.

Terry Francona magic: The guy won two World Series in Boston. 86 years of futility overturned when he was hired. If he could win in Boston, why not Cleveland?