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April 8, 2010Cavs to Play Today, Rest Tomorrow
April 8, 2010There was so much to like while watching the Indians take their first game of the 2010 season. The 5-3 win over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field displayed many of the aspects of “Acta Ball” and the positive things to come from this young team.
There was clutch hitting, solid starting pitching, better relief work, and stellar defense. Now if we could only bottle that up for the next 160 games. I would be remiss if I didn’t start with Fausto Carmona. After a spectacular spring in which he walked just two batters in 26 innings, Carmona managed to tie that feat with the first two hitters he faced! All I could think was “here we go again.” I literally, at that point, was thinking this season could be completely shot. Because the truth is, if Fausto reverts back to his form of the last two years, the Indians are sunk. Even Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was thinking the same thing: “The way Carmona started, I thought we were going to get something going,” Guillen said. “I didn’t think he would last that long early.”
Luckily, the game of baseball is more than just the first two batters.
Carmona not only settled down, but he allowed just one hit over six innings of work. That was the good news. The bad news was that one hit was a two-run homer off the bat of Paul Konerko, who’s eyes light up every time he sees Wahoo Red, White, and Blue. Oh, and Fausto walked six during his six innings. That’s right folks, he walked six.
In all fairness, home plate umpire Bill Hohn was about as consistent as Antawn Jamison at the free throw line. There was one at-bat in particular where Sox starter threw the exact same pitch to Michael Brantley twice in a row. The first one he called a ball, the second a strike. But I digress.
Even though he walked six, it seemed as though he re-focused after each one and got the outs he needed. On a cold, damp night, Carmona gave his team a chance to win. “Under the circumstances and all the walks, he did a tremendous job just keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win,” Manny Acta said.
While Carmona was doing his part, the offense rose from the opening day slumber and put together a series of great at bats. Most notably, Brantley, Matt LaPorta, and Grady Sizemore.
Trailing 3-0 in the fourth, the Tribe broke through against the former NL Cy Young award winner Peavy. Jhonny Peralta blooped a double to left to open the frame. LaPorta followed with a single to put runners at the corners. After Luis Valbuena K’d, backup catcher Mike Redmond was down in the count 0-2 before leaning into a Peavy pitch. It turned out to be a huge play as Brantley lined a 2-2 pitch right up the middle to drive in the Indians first run. Asdrubal Cabrera popped out to short, bringing Sizemore to the plate in a key RBI situation.
I had tweeted earlier in the night (plug – follow me on Twitter @WFNYTD, I need more followers!) that Grady had been up three times in the first 12 innings with runners on and hadn’t gotten a hit. Luckily, this was the time where he broke through with a big two-run single to right, tying the game at three. Shin-Soo Choo then walked, before Travis Hafner ended the rally with a fly out. But now the game was on; the game was tied and the Indians patient approach gassed Peavy. He departed after five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out five. Peavy threw 106 pitches.
“We put some good at-bats together against a very good pitcher. We ran his pitch count up. Those are things you want to do,” said Acta.
It became a battle of the bullpens entering the seventh inning. Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen smartly went to lefty Randy Williams to face the bevy of Indians left-handed bats in the sixth. He came back in the seventh and Choo greeted him with a leadoff single. After retiring Hafner and Peralta, LaPorta doubled home Choo to put the Tribe ahead 4-3. He got a cookie to mash on a full count and took advantage. “It was a good at-bat by Matt,” Acta said. “He got ahead in the count and made the pitcher throw the ball over the plate.
Now with Carmona in line for a win, Acta went to his pen. But who knew where he would start? With Chris Perez now closing, the bridge to the 9th is going to be an open competition. The first guy up was lefty Aaron Laffey, or as he will now be known, “Everyday Aaron.” You saw why Acta and Mark Shapiro decided to move him to the pen for the start of the season. He was dependable there last year when called upon and so far in the first two games of 2010, he is doing the job.
Laffey worked a scoreless seventh and started the eight by getting the left-handed hitting Juan Pierre. Out came Acta, who called for the right-handed matchup guy, Joe Smith. The side-winder easily retired Gordon Beckham and Carlos Quentin.
The offense got a key insurance run off of Sox closer Bobby Jenks in the top of the ninth (on an Andy Marte RBI groundout) to give Chris Perez some additional breathing room. Though he walked Mark Kotsay, Perez closed out the game with a little help from a diving stop by the defensive replacement Marte, giving Manny Acta his first win as Indians skipper.
Now the Indians look for a series win tonight as Justin Masterson takes the hill against the Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd.
photo via AP
19 Comments
GO TRIBE!!!!!
Hopefully this is the start of the comeback for fausto….at times he looked really sharp. But 6 walks is too much especially when a few of them came with two outs in the inning. Good win against a tough pitching match up tho. go tribe!
Always a relief to get the 1st win. I think it was game 5 or 6 last year before we got one. How bout Choo stealing 2nd and then 3rd? That guy’s a ballplayer in every sense of the word.
TD-
I love the recaps you write. I am living in the northeast for the year and I can’t watch or listen to the games. Your descriptions of the games are way way better than Hoynes’s or — shudder — the AP’s. I love the facts, the commentary, and the context.
Thanks and go Tribe!
@ #3… I loved that! It’s always more exciting when people steal, and for Choo to do that in that situation was great. Hopefully it’s a sign of our aggressiveness on the basepaths this season.
That ump was ridiculous. Peavy isn’t known for massive control issues and he was pitching pretty well before the explosion, but his pitchcount was still really high early on.
So I’m saving anny Fausto pronouncements until at least his next start.
But it was nice to see some clutch hitting from the Tribe. Brantley has especially made good contact on most of his at bats so far. And we are going to send this guy down for Russell because…
Fausto looks like hes got his stuff again, but I still maintain hitters know that if his pitches start waist-high, to not swing at em…95% of them tend to be called a ball as they dip out of the zone late…and when they start high and dip, theyre just fat pitches…
thru the first inning, he looked tight and herky-jerky…as he relaxed later into the game, his delivery changed to where he was a bit smoother, and was lower to the ground…his slider was pretty nice though…looks similar to his sinker out of his hand, but move the opposite way…hes got good stuff, just needs to work on consistantly driving thru the delivery…and not throwing so high from his hip early on…
was a good game to watch…the team honestly looks like theyre not afraid or worried…the bats know they can hit, and the pen doesnt look all that bad…granted, its 2 games in…so everything is fluid and subject to change, but it was a good game against a pretty decent White Sox lineup and pitching staff…Jenks is on borrowed time…hes looking like Wickman in stature more than Wickman…it might just be from the cold, but he really looks like someone who’s bout to have Tommy John surgery soon with how unflexible the shoulder is and how much stress hes putting on that elbow…I’ll be surprised if Jenks makes it thru the year…
Acta made a nice move bringing in Marte, who looks loose and understands the pressure is no longer on him…
Hafner hit the ball well and pretty hard…was nice to see…
Choo seems to be fishing at the plate a bit…
Laporta still makes me think of a younger Konerko – he seems like a keeper…let him play 140+ games and see what he can do…
Peralta still frightens me at third…
The OF from last night looks like they can cover ALOT of ground…lots of speed out there…
@Eli – completely agree…was horribly inconsistant…pitches that were called strikes were somehow balls…there was a pitch 4-5 inches outside against LaPorta that was a strike…Pitchers on both sides seemed puzzled…
I agree with PNR (#4). Being out of OH, these kind of recaps are really meaningful.
I loved seeing Redmond at the plate, 0-2 in the count, and knowing how to take one for the team.
I missed the first inning but didn’t think Fausto looked terrible the rest of the time. If I remember correctly though, he’s never been very good in col weather. Hopefully his control will improve in his next outing.
for those outside of OH.
MLB-Pass is free this week.
Eat it up while you can. I missed the first game, which is why I think the Tribe decided to not start the season until game2.
Good write up TD. It was definitely a good way to get the first win. I think it will really help Carmona’s confidence that on a night he walks 6 guys, he gives up 1 hit and shuts down the White Sox offense. Marte as a defensive sub was a good move, and it payed off pretty well… I don’t think LaPorta would have made that play to finish the game, and he got the insurance RBI.
i’ve used the indians.com site to listen to the games before…its relatively reasonable…
@ErieSoldierZach- Marte was actually brought in the game as a pinch-runner. Can’t believe I’m writing this, but I’m somewhat excited about this team.
Hey TD is your bro on “More Sports and LL” as we speak? If so man did he drink the Indians Kool Aid. It run in the family? 😉
For those with iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad might want consider the MLB app for $14.99. the one time fee gives you access to all 162 games via radio broadcast. I love listening on my iPhone while I exercise or do some work. Since I live in Dallas, this is perfect for me.
it’s still early, it was cold, Fausto will be okay. the biggest thing to take away is that the he came through mentally after a shaky start. Fausto circa 2007 did that, Fausto 2006, 2008 and 2009 did not.
It’s already evident that this team is better coached than last years. Pitchers throw strikes, situational hitting is better and they seem to be more mentally into the game. this team will out-perform people’s expectations.
I was great to see especially against the White Sox since I am a Tribe fan in exile in Chicago. As many of these games that there will be there will ones like against the Tigers the last two days. That’s why I have a hard time seeing even a .500 season. That being said maybe there is som light at the end of the tunnel… as long it is not a oncoming train.