On a mild Sunday afternoon at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, Tribe starter Fausto Carmona jumped into his own personal time machine and set the clock to 2007. He gave himself, and the fans who came out to Progressive Field a real treat in the Indians 6-1 win over Seattle. Fausto, who hasn’t won a game at home all season, pitched an absolute gem. Mixing his change-up in to perfection with his power sinker and fastball during his seven innings of work, Carmona struck out eight and walked just one – which has been his biggest issue over the last two seasons. Only a Ken Griffey Jr. home run kept him from a shutout.
Quite the turn of events considering this was an on paper mismatch with the inconsistent Carmona facing off with Mariners ace Felix Hernandez.
Speaking through interpreter Luis Rivera, Fausto said “It has been a long time. It was my best game this year. I got ahead of hitters, was aggressive and walked only one. While I was in the minors, I learned to use my change-up,” he said. “That’s why I’m able to use it with more confidence now.”
It was a thing of beauty to watch Fausto return to his 19-game winner form, even though it was just one game. The possibilities for the Indians future in 2010 jump ten-fold if the big right-hander can maintain this level of performance. “Fausto’s stuff has always been good, but he’s doing a better job of monitoring himself,” Eric Wedge said. “He controls his emotions. He was more of a thrower two years ago. Now, he’s more efficient.”
A night after Sweet Luis Valbuena’s walk-off homer, the offense put together just enough to beat King Felix, with a little help from the porous Mariners defense. Jhonny Peralta had the Indians first two RBI’s – the second on serious bomb to the left field bleachers off on Hernandez in the fourth – putting the Tribe on top 2-1. But the game changed in the sixth. With one out, Peralta hit a routine grounder to second, which Jose Lopez booted. The Wahoo bats capitalized on the error.
Travis Hafner singled, moving Jhon to third. Valbuena brought him in on a single of his own to right field. Rookie Matt LaPorta, seeing his fourth consecutive start in left field, doubled past Ryan Langerhans in left, scoring both Hafner. After Wyatt Toregas’s sac fly drove in Sweet Luis to put the Indians ahead 5-1, Andy Marte added an RBI single to essentially end King Felix’s day.
Fausto and the bullpen took it from there. Carmona retired the last nine men he faced, while Tony Sipp and Chris Perez once again pitched scoreless relief to slam the door shut on a series win. The star on offense was again Peralta, who had two hits and drove in two. The third baseman has really hit his stride since the all star break. Sure, the pressure is off, but Jhonny stopped whining over his move to third base and has concentrated at the plate. The key has been his ability to spray the ball the opposite way. Since the break, Peralta is hitting .324 with 29 RBI’s in 34 games. Pretty impressive numbers.
‘Nothing is different, except that I am trying to be patient at the plate and look for a good pitch to hit. That’s the only thing” said Peralta about his recent hot streak compared to his slump that mired his first half.
Meanwhile, LaPorta has impressed since his call up on Thursday. He has hit safely in all four games and has driven in four. He looks more more ready for action this time around. It certainly helps when you know you don’t have to share your at bats with David Dellucci. ”I think he’s more under control,” Wedge said of LaPorta. ”But it’s early. There’s no need to be evaluating him yet.”
“That will take off some of the pressure to know if you have one bad game, you can come out the next day and have a great game,” LaPorta said. “But you still have to continue with the right approach and right focus. That’s my main goal.”
The Grinder’s goal should be to see how many consecutive games he can play LaPorta the rest of the way. Talk about a no-brainer. Of course his team is playing its best ball of the season with a record of 18-15 since the break. I know that three games over doesn’t seem like a feat, but considering the massive roster purge, its pretty impressive.
Will it be enough to save his job this off season?
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(image via Plain Dealer)
Author: TD
TD is a born and bred Clevelander who agrees with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt when he says ""Ranch Dressing makes everything better except for cereal and ice cream."TD has written 253 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
Fausto is what, 25 years old? Kid has great great stuff……he’s been terribly mishandled by this sham of a player development system. Nice job Fausto in fighting through this, trust your stuff.
By the time Fausto gets his act together as he will……..he’ll be traded for A/AA suspects. What’s he got……3 or so years he before that happens?
he is locked in for at least three more years if memory serves correct. We gave him that extension a couple of years ago.
I can’t believe that there are those that are getting all optimistic about this. We go through this every year it seems. I knew with out a doubt we would go on a meaningless run. Its what wedge teams do.
If you want a good laugh, read the first item in the Plain Dealer’s Monday Moaning column on page A2. This crank is hilarious.
ATTENTION EVERYONE…ISIS HATES THE INDIANS ORGANIZATION AND CONCLUDES THAT FAUSTO’S PROBLEMS ARE CAUSED BY POOR COACHING, NOT HIM LACKING THE ABILITY TO CONTROL HIS OWN PITCHES.
whoa…what was that…almost like something took control of me and made me say that…
anyways…Fausto is coming around to the point that everyone in baseball said he needed to get to, even when he was a 19 game winner…which is CALMING HIMSELF DOWN and throwing relaxed…they’ve known that for years with him, and its not something that is coached all the time, as you cant be him…its something he has had to learn as is evident with his own remarks…maybe hes starting to get it..which is more than I can say for one or two guys that post on here…
GO TRIBE!!!
All WFNY editors/writers:
Was hoping to set this at the top of a comment section but real life gets in the way. Just a quick off-topic comment with your permission.
Thank you for this great website, and the unbelievable amount of effort and time it takes to operate it. I feel guilty pausing at work just to to check this five times a day, so cannot imagine what it’s like to operate it and simultaneously earn a real living and maintain a personal life. Thanks also for the civil tone of your articles that also you try to enforce with comments. This thing you created really is just right, for this city in this era.
These things need to be periodically said. OK, now I’m ready to slam the next post or comment I don’t agree with.
“which is CALMING HIMSELF DOWN and throwing relaxed”
I watched this kid eat a midge while staring in for the sign while Joba Chamberlin lost his composure, so I knew he had it in him.
DK….if you knew anything about baseball you’d understand something called mechanics. You’d also understand how and where mechanics issues are developed and handled. You’d also have seen several others with similar mechanics issues. Anyone who understands such knows specifically that Fausto has been falling to the first base side at his release point-check the tapes from now and 2007. Mechanics…..not “calming”.
But since you don’t understand, you’ll chalk it up to “calming” himself.
eat a midge? he didnt need to have his aftergame meal that day…haha…
Fausto’s stuff is almost too good to control…so much movement…just wish he would throw some more curveballs and/or changeups…people key in on that sinker and they lay off it when its at the thighs because they know it will probably dip too low and out of the Strikezone…
actually, Isis, I played minor league baseball as a reliever in the Phillies organization after playing baseball in college..so yes, I do know much more about mechanics than you will ever HOPE to know…
the problem with Fausto is not that he is falling off to the side, nor is it his arm slot or angle, as THIS IS HOW HE GETS MOVEMENT ON HIS PITCHES…for the same exact reason Masterson gets his movement, Fausto does as well…
mechanics are handled in a much different way for professionals, as they would not do any sort of major overhauls on someone’s delivery THAT GOT THEM TO THE BIG LEAGUES…if we are talking low minors, then yes, it is possible to do this, or if it is someone coming off an injury…and even then…its VERY minor…
and by the way, why on earth do you suppose when Vic or Shop are catching him, they continually give him the “settle down, relax, calm down” motions over and over and over and over…hmmm…wonder why that is…because when he gets all worked up, he tends to overthrow (too hard) his sinker, which leaves it flat and it then sits on a plane at the waist, or pulls his front hip open too quick, which makes his arm drag too far behind, which results in the wild sinker that dips and runs WAY too much, as opposed to letting his arm remain heavy with good snap which allows for the center of the spin (rotation) of his ball to remain at about 15-25 degrees off the top, which gives him that incredible down and in action, while remaining controllable…
but yah, youre right, I dont know ANYTHING about pitching…
Well, I agree that he’ll probably pull himself together just in time to get traded for prospects, anyway. Just like CC and Cliff did.
#6
Mega-dittos
HAHA! Isis just got his butt kicked
Viva la PWNED!
I keep forgetting Isis knows everything…silly me…
Chances are he read that Carmona is falling off to the first base side in the paper and figures if it was printed, then it HAS to be true…why would the grumpy guys at the Plain Dealer steer him wrong? It’s typically where he gets his “insights” from anyways…
Isis, I’m pretty sure DK would like you to tell him how his @$$ taste.
So what everyone is saying is that Isis is 100% wrong, all of Fausto’s problems were due to his temper, and absolutely none of his turnaround is due to a fix in a mechanical issue?
Omega –
I am not saying he 100% wrong, but the issue with Carmona has been the fact that he gets himself out of his motion when he gets overly amped up or upset…when he has shown his flashes of brilliance, its been because he is ready and relaxed…
when they sent him to the minors earlier this year, they said that they were going to work on some things with regards to his preparation and in between starts work…the quote I recall was “Fausto Carmona Demoted to the Desert to Straighten Himself Out”
he doesnt look all that different to me as far as delivery, and his movement on his pitches are the same…he still tends to overthrow at times, but I still maintain that the league caught on to his sinker in the collapse against Boston…they knew that if they saw it start at the thigh, it would not be called a strike…so they waited for him to elevate it, and thus seemed to start his struggles…when he elevates it, he throws it harder, which makes it less controllable…when its elevated, it gets his harder…the key to the sinker is to have it chased, or to beat it into the ground…
also, the indication to me was that he was not preparing as much as he should, nor was he taking the steps necessary to get better in between starts…
just my opinion…
NO for Wedge. NO.1 for Carmona.
DK….if you knew anything about baseball you’d understand something called mechanics.
If Isis knew half as much about baseball as he claimed nobody else knew, he’d be working as a coach/scout/GM.
Isis = Chris Antonetti gunning for Shapiro’s job??
Anyone else notice that since Laporta has been called up, not only he but Marte also has hit in every game? Wonder if there is something to it, or just a fluke. Anyone know if they were close in the the minors? Maybe making Marte relax a little having someone he knows better here with him?
[...] OPS) with five doubles, four home runs, and 10 RBI. While one of those four home runs came this past weekend – the walk-off variety – another one came last night with the Indians down [...]
@ 21 – Yeah, I think there’s this thing in a locker room called “chemistry” (see Red Sox, Boston – 2004). It may be coincidence…but, Marte and LaPorta have spent the whole year together.
@ #23
I under stand chemistry, which is why I wondered if anyone knew they got along or not. I also realize the spent time together down there, but you post, other than a bad attempt at mocking my post presents no new information.
Thanks though!!!