While We’re Waiting… Terrelle Pryor’s Tat, Hawks Fall Flat, and Tribe Tunes At-Bat
May 6, 2009Round Two Game One Numbers and Words
May 6, 2009This one was bad, even by the 2004 Bullpen From Hell – Part Deux standards. You remember that year don’t you? When the Wahoos went into the season with Jose Jimenez, Scott Stewart, and Rick White as the back-end of the pen to start the season? Change the names on the back of the jerseys to “Perez,” “Chulk,” and “Lewis” and you felt like you were right back in those bad old days. I’ve got news for you – we are right back there.
You flat out cannot win ball games when your bullpen brings a torch to the mound every single freaking night. This team has become a shell of what it should be. You can call out manager Eric Wedge all you want, but he isn’t the one out there on the mound dousing the fire with gasoline.
I will take umbridge with one thing he did during Tuesday afternoon’s 10-6 loss in Toronto. After the Tribe bats scratched across four runs in the top of the seventh, he yanked starter Anthony Reyes after three runs and 92 pitches. Wedge will say he is protecting the brittle elbow of Reyes, but you have to win games when you have the chance. He knows that he cannot count on anyone in the bullpen right now until the ninth inning. You have to squeeze another inning out of your starter there.
Well, he didn’t.
He started the inning with Rafael Perez. He faced three batters, giving up two hits and his one out only came from a lucky hop off the mound that ended up in the glove of shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Up next was the Vinnie “the regrettable” Chulk. He faced two batters – a walk to Marco Scutaro and a single from the bat of Aaron Hill. Out went Vincenzo, in came Jensen Lewis.
Jenny’s two strike hanging breaking ball to Alex Rios was shot back up the middle, scoring Scutaro to tie the game at six. After inducing a Vernon Wells fly ball for out number two, Wedge went to his fourth pitcher of the inning, lefty Tony Sipp.
Keep in mind Sipp had pitched the night before. The PD’s Terry Pluto said last night on More Sports and Les Levine that he has been told by three separate members of the Indians brass that Wedge was under strict instructions NOT to use Sipp in back to back games. The Grinder, clearly trying to get that one out against left-hander batter Adam Lind, was clearly just trying to get out of the inning.
Once again, that was a bad move by a manager who clearly is starting to lose his mind thanks to a pen full of junk. Lind crushed a three-run shot, putting the Jays up 9-6. Scott Rolen followed him with a jack of his own. That was it.
Totally up the tally from that seventh inning disaster by the numbers:
Three: The amount of runs the Indians led by heading into the bottom of the seventh
Four: Pitchers used by Wedge to get three outs. Also the deficit they faced after getting those three outs.
Seven: Runs allowed by Tribe relievers Rafael Perez, Vinnie Chulk, Jensen Lewis, and Tony Sipp.
Six: Hits allowed in the seventh.
Eight: Blue Jay base runners in the seventh.
Ten: Blue Jays that came to the plate in the seventh.
15.19: Rafael Perez’s ERA as of this morning.
A clearly befuddled Eric Wedge had this to say after another Tribe loss that should have been a win, if not for the horrific bullpen performance:
“We have to keep working hard to figure out how to get the guys that are here going again. We’ll continue to make changes. We’ll continue to try people whether they’re in Triple-A or not even in this organization. We’ve going to do whatever we have to do to get people down there that we can count on. What’s happening is unacceptable.”
You have to feel for Wedge at this point. No matter who he trots out there between the starters and Kerry Wood for the most part has been a failure. Yesterday in the seventh, he panicked by going to four different guys. Every move he makes is normally well thought out and calculated. His managing in the seventh was the antithesis. But what was he going to do, really?
Probably the best option right now is Rafael Betancourt, who was unavailable yesterday. But even The Realtor is sporting a 5.14 ERA. Lewis sits at 5.93. Perez 15.19, and Joe Smith, who was supposed to be another late-inning option, is on the DL. Masa Kobayashi is unusable, Vinnie Chulk is still Vinnie Chulk, and while Tony Sipp looks very promising, he is still a rookie.
More problems – there is nothing in AAA that resembles a guy ready to take the next step. Jon Meloan, who came over in the Casey Blake deal, would be the next option, but he has a residence in struggle city right now. In 10 games, the right-hander has allowed 11 earned runs in 18 innings – good enough for a 5.50 ERA. His WHIP is a porous 1.50. Guys like Matt Herges (5.40 ERA)? Forget it. It would just be more of the same.
Interesting that for the first time, The Grindmaster General mentioned options for the pen ” not even in this organization.” Who knows if that will actually come to fruition. Meanwhile, the Tribe offense scored 15 runs in this series and yet again came away with just a split.
Now we get to go to Boston, who just worked over the Yankees yet again. The two game series opens with Carl Pavano (1-3, 7.46 ERA) matching up with Justin Masterson (2-1 4.37 ERA). The blood bath may continue.
15 Comments
Since Anthony Reyes will only pitch six or maybe seven innings tops, having him in the rotation is a huge liability, with our bullpen as awful as it is…but then, this bullpen is abnormally awful.
Might as well call up guys like Meloan. If it will enable someone else to “get back on track” in AAA, I’m all for it. Meloan can’t do worse than who he’d be (temporarily?) replacing. And who knows? We could get a surprise and he’d take advantage of the opportunity and fill in well.
I was thinking the same thing about Wedge. He may not always have made the best judgment in choosing relievers, but as you note, his options have thinned. He’s not to blame and is evidently angry and desperately seeking a solution to the imploding bullpen. I was quite impressed by the rare verbal vigor he has shown of late.
I know the guys in AAA aren’t pitching well… but shouldn’t we give them a shot anyways? They can’t do any worse than our current bullpen is doing.
I’m very upset that Wedge was told not to pitch Sipp on back to backs and he did anyways. I’ve said it all along, we’re not good this year, so don’t hurt anyone who has a chance to be good next year.
How about moving Reyes to the pen when Westbrook comes back?
“We’ll continue to try people whether they’re in Triple-A or not even in this organization.”
Kudos to Wedge on this quote. If these guys dont want to get it done, ship their a**es out. Get some players that get the job done.
Actually TD, I think the Jays scored 7 in the 7th, not 6. This team is a cruel, cruel joke.
🙁
AMC – i flipped flopped the runs and hits…fixed…thanks!
” … whether they’re in Triple-A or not even in this organization.”
And which team will trade their effective relief pitchers to the Indians at this stage of the season? This falls squarely on Shapiro’s shoulders. I’ve been a big Shapiro supporter, but it might be that the effective bullpen in 2007, with Betancourt “careering,” was an aberration and the 2006 and 2008 pens are more indicative of his ability to judge relief talent. Letting Howry go rather than giving him an extra year was a mistake, as was signing Kobayashi, as was counting on young guys with no track record. I understand that bullpens are fickle, but this type of across the board failure may mean something more than bad luck. The next thing which will inevitably occur is that the hitters will start really pressing when they see the only way to win a game is to score 8 runs.
Sure the bullpen is in shambles but what about the fact that of the the Tribe has three guys (Grady, Jhonny and DeRosa) among the AL leaders in strikeouts (all three in the top 10)?
I GOT AN IDEA.
Lets all chip in some $$$ and get Mr. Dolan and Mr. Gilbert a gift card to grab lunch…maybe Panini’s, who knows…and have Mr. Gilbert talk to Mr. Dolan about how spending money on a team actually does something worthwhile.
Sigh…..I wish the tribe were better. TD you are right, this team is a shell of its former self.
After watching the whole Boston-Cleveland series and Detroit-Cleveland series this past week, I decided to skip the Blue Jays series due to this “bullpen” and I’m happy I skipped it since I just saved 6 hours of my life of what would ended up in dissapointment.
It’s going to be nice to give boston a chance to get a look at the highest level of their farm system, aka the indians
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