While We’re Waiting… AFC North Predictions, Scouting Taylor Mays, DAs Long Strange Trip
September 10, 2009Michael Jordan and the Cleveland Cavaliers – A Labor of Hatred and Love
September 10, 2009(Today, we outsource our Indians recap. The following is brought to you by WFNY commenter Macnip. Many thanks to him for taking the time. Do enjoy.)
Now, I have always thought it would be great to start writing for a site like WFNY but lets just say that my talent could be considered Quadruple-A at best. With that said, it looks like even I am getting my opportunity before Jordan Brown. I am sure he is getting valuable Minor League experience though while the Indians ride out their miserable season. Oh, the Clippers are done? Well then…
In case you didn’t know, there actually was a game yesterday and the Indians were looking to avoid the sweep by the Rangers and end their two-game losing streak. The Tribe had also managed to give up 21 total runs in said two losses. This meant two things for yesterday’s game: Things probably couldn’t get worse and the Tribe needed a solid start to give the bullpen a rest.
I mean, the Indians are going to need to rely on their solid bullpen for the stretch run so they could use at least one night off after two days of extended work. And the best way to give your bullpen a rest is to send out your ace and slam the door. So out strolled C.C. Sabathia Cliff Lee Fausto Carmona to get the job done. The Rangers were missing Josh Hamilton and Michael Young so it at least seemed somewhat plausible that Fausto could be somewhat successful against a watered down Ranger lineup. Well, Carmona almost made in through the entire first inning before getting pulled. His official line was 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2 HRs given up. At least it looks like he was throwing strikes.
Wedge decided to take a page out of the Romeo Crennel school of coaching and played his veterans yesterday in attempt to grind out a win (young guys don’t need major league at bats to develop anyway). At least that is the only justification I can come up with for having Kelly Shoppach, Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta in the lineup. A veteran’s experience is invaluable at this point in the year and some wins are needed if Wedge is going to save his job. Well, the veterans did go 2-for-12 (.167) in the game which is actually better than the young guys who went 3-for-21 (.143) so maybe Wedge does know what he is doing?
Needless to say, with the excellent pitching performance from Fausto and the clutch hitting from the entire team the Indians lost 10-0. That makes 31 runs given up in three games and a sweep by the Rangers (who are now only two games back of Boston in the wild card race).
As for Wedge and the Indians, there is still hope. The Indians can still finish at .500 if they just can go 21-2 to finish out the season. They’ll get their shot at breaking the losing streak tomorrow against Zack Grienke. Yes, that Zack Grienke. Any chance the Aeros are coming into town for a 23 game series?
—
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
13 Comments
Niuman Romero at 1B instead of Jordan Brown? I don’t know what this organization is doing.
I was at the game and while a 10-0 loss sucks, going to a baseball game on a nice day sure beats being at work.
I think Wedge is trying to see if he can manage so poorly that no one will show up to watch the team
Even Eric Wedge FINALLY pointed out that Fausto’s issue is his DELIVERY (aka mechanics). To the poster who suggested I was wrong, observe. It’s patent admittance that the Indians are a wreck of a player development organization. Want more examples?
Boom-what’s not to like about giving AB’s to Niuman Romero and Chris “Uber Utilityman” Giminez instead of a prospect like Jordan Brown? After all, Niuman is a 27 year old .250 minor league hitter-why would you object to Shapetti’s massive insights?
This post needed to be almost entirely in capital letters.
Great writeup nipster.
I sent it to Scott in all caps. He must have edited it
@5
How can I get one of these outsourcing gigs? They must pay a lot, eh?
I heard you can download hip music on the Nipster.
@6 – I am actually retiring tomorrow because of the gig…it’s that lucrative
Nice piece Nip. Good lord, 2/3 of an inning? Let’s hope we can get someone in here this off-season that can teach Fausto how to pitch.
With the NFL and college football back in the swing, I have to admit I have been ignoring the MLB as of late (hard to believe, I know). Could someone please explain, who the hell Niuman Romero is, how he got on this team and better yet, why is he playing 1B????
Hey, the Indians are trying to do the Rangers a favor so they can catch the Redsox in the wild card. I’m personally all for that.
@8
Ah you’re a lucky man!
Well, this was definitely one of the uglier series of the year. The Fausto thing is just sad. The question becomes what you do with him. I imagine that he gets stashed at AAA next season unless he has a dominant spring training next year.
Now I would probably agree that the coaching staff has been a bit of a mess, though it’s hard to speculate because all I see as a fan are results, not the actual coaching itself. That said, Fausto seems like a real headcase at this point. I’m not sure that even a reputedly great pitching coach (Duncan or Mazzone, for instance) could salvage him.
If it’s any silver lining, at this point we’ll be getting, what, the fifth pick in next year’s draft? That’s not really much of a silver lining at all, come to think of it, but it’s some kind of plus….
[…] here from Cleveland: Although you might have thought the Indians were grinding it out and still posted a solid post-All Star break record, think again. The team is now just 29-31 since […]