Hey Jeremy, don’t be mad at Miguel. You threw that crap ball.
Tigers 9, Indians 2 (Box)
Jeremy Sowers served up at least four pitches over the heart of the plate, and two of them went for homers as the Tribe got pounded by the Tigers. Literally taking Sabathia’s place in the rotation, Sowers made way too many mistakes in the strike zone. He simply doesn’t have the velocity to make those types of errors. If you are looking for a bright side…well he didn’t walk anyone. Reliever Brian Slocum gave up two solo homers himself in his second appearance of the year.
What was probably most disturbing is that the Indians managed only 2 hits in the game. Both of them came in the first inning when Casey Blake doubled and Peralta followed with a home run. Speaking of Casey Blake, he was at third base for the game. Were you surprised not to see Andy Marte out there again? Many fans and some media have said let Marte play the rest of the year and see if the kid has anything. He did play the Minnesota series, and so I was half expecting him to be in there as well. It probably was the right call though. That clubhouse is reeling as it is, and Blake is your top RBI man. Now, he could DH instead of Dellucci, but that’s another argument altogether I suppose.
Meanwhile in games that matter, the Crooked Cap took the mound for the first time in Brewers uniform. The sellout crowd was electric and the pressure on Sabathia to perform was high. It should come as no surprise to Indians fans that Sabathia struggled a little with his command given those circumstances. CC (see no periods anymore, he forgot to pack them) walked 5, but struck out 5 and worked his way out of a couple jams to get the win in his debut. Congrats CC. Does this mean we are pulling for the Brewers now?
In other Tribe news- Scott Elarton, who had asked to leave the team for personal reasons, was moved to the DL for a ”non-baseball medical condition.” I wouldn’t even want to speculate what that might be. To take his spot on the roster the Indians called up former Twin Juan Rincon from Buffalo.
