Ray Farmer: “It’s always about finding the best players to make your team better”
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April 23, 2015Except for Carlos Carrasco’s happy reunion with the mound on Tuesday night, there were no warm and fuzzy feelings produced by this fifth series of the season for the Cleveland Indians. This was their second consecutive Lost-Won-Lost series and all three games were played in mid-40s temperatures with wind-chill factors that made one glad to be indoors and not at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.
Monday night’s game, a rematch between John Danks and Trevor Bauer was won, hands down, by Bauer. Unfortunately the White Sox insisted on getting their last at bats in the ninth. Bauer pitched an impressive seven shutout innings, giving up only four hits and two walks. Hagadone and Shaw combined to pitch a hitless eighth and Cody Allen began the ninth with a 3-0 lead. He struck out his first batter. Except to say that the White Sox won it in the ninth 4-3, there’s not much point going into the grisly details again here. Let’s just say, on Monday night, Cody Allen was out there without a net … Without a backup parachute … And without a clue.
It’s been the case for quite some years that major league managers feel entirely justified in using as many pitchers in a game as it takes, as many as are available … And more and more seem to be available. Pitchers coming out of the bullpen constitute a growth industry. So far this season, there have been only three complete games pitched in the major leagues. Using a reliever to face only one or two batters in a match-up situation is as common nowadays as a five-member starting rotation. But the all-hands-on-deck strategy ends after the eighth inning. Sorry, Mr. Closer, you’re on your own.
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Pitchers coming out of the bullpen constitute a growth industry.
And then there are those other times when a team has an extremely good set-up man (or two) who buzzes through the eighth inning like he’ll never again give up a hit. Nine pitches, three strikeouts. Wow! is that guy “on” tonight! Too bad we can’t just let him pitch the ninth … It’s against the law.
Not saying those circumstances necessarily applied exactly like that on Monday night, just suggesting that sometimes, conventional wisdom is just convention.
But Carrasco’s successful return to the mound Tuesday evening briefly took the chill off. You have to hand it to Terry Francona. He was intent on putting Carrasco back in the saddle again, which is what Carlos wanted. But he was also intent on giving the tough love treatment to Cody Allen. Get out there, Allen. No time to waste feeling sorry for yourself. When Cody entered the game for the bottom of the ninth, the Indians had a 6-2 lead, so, technically, it wasn’t a save situation, unless you count saving the wounded psyche of your young closer. Cody Allen retired the White Sox in order to preserve the 6-2 victory.
Carrasco, with five innings and sixty pitches, got the win. He’s now 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA. His late-season 2014 form, it seems, has not left the ball yard.
Wednesday’s afternoon game, which the White Sox won 6-0, was significant primarily because it featured an Indians starting lineup that included five players with batting averages under .200: Bourn, Moss, Murphy, Chisenhall and Ramirez. Michael Brantley, with a .250 average, was the only starter above .230.
Corey Kluber, still looking for his first win of the season, took the loss, giving up six earned runs and 13 hits. He also uncorked two wild pitches. Was it the cold temperatures or was Corey taking out his frustration on the ball by trying to strangle it?
Right-handed Jeff Samardzija got his first win as a White Sock. He went 6 innings and 113 pitches, yielding six hits and two free passes but, thanks to the Indians’ 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position against him (and 0-for-10 in the game), zero runs.
Samardzija is an interesting acquisition for the White Sox. He was named to the NL All-Star squad last year while pitching for the Cubs but was traded to Oakland prior to the all-star game. What do you then? Let him pitch for the NL All-Star team? Put him on the AL All-Star team? Samardzija just got left out. He seems to have as many pitches in his repertoire as Trevor Bauer. He was an All-American wide receiver for Notre Dame and, initially, he considered trying to play in both the NFL and in Major League baseball but decided to stick with baseball. Let’s see, longer career, fewer injuries, more money, longer lifespan … OK, I pick baseball.
The Indians’ record is now 5-9. Today is an off-day and, OK, there’s a joke to be had there about every day being an off-day for the Tribe offense.
Miscellaneous observations while simultaneously thinking about Ray Farmer’s press conference:
- The Indians are dead last in the American League with 44 runs scored. Their team ERA is 4.09, sixth best of the fifteen American League teams.
- The Indians have played five of their first fourteen games against the White Sox and after two wins and three losses against them so far, the only person who wouldn’t mind another one right now is Ryan Raburn. He went 4-for-6 in the series with a home run and three RBIs. In his limited role as a platoon player he’s batting .364, 8-for-22.
- Recently promoted backup catcher, Brett Hayes, gave Roberto Pérez a day off on Monday, catching Trevor Bauer. And the right way to serve as a backup catcher for the Tribe, is to hit, right? So he hit a home run.
- The Indians have committed six errors thus far in 14 games, tied for third in the AL with a fielding percentage of .988.
Next up: Friday, Saturday and Sunday against the Tigers in Detroit, followed by a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday series against the Royals in Cleveland. Both the Tigers and Royals are 11-4. Weekend weather in Detroit is predicted to be in the low to mid 50’s but for today’s Tigers’ game against the Yankees, they may get snow. So far this baseball season it’s been great football weather.
6 Comments
Yes, each of the last 2 series, we lost game1 when it should have been won causing us to lose the series. Those losses sting the most (add in the Kluber start in the Detroit series to that pile).
Fire Ty Van dersloot or whatever our batting coach’s name is.
Except for Sands and Raburn. He can be their personal guy.
Cle taking the series this weekend vs Det. I see them taking 2 of 3 but a chance to sweep. Bats wake up and we score 16 runs.
Did you forsee this the same way Doc Brown envisioned the flux-capacitor? (aka smacked your head on the crapper)
perhaps