May 25, 2013

Tigers 5, Indians 1: Scherzer Shuts Down Hot Tribe

May 22, 2013 by 57 Comments

Miguel CabreraI write these recaps four to five times a week. Over a full baseball season, some of them are so much fun to put together and they write themselves. Then there are others where you have to grasp at an angle because nothing really exciting happened. Then there are the ones with one or two obvious story-lines  Last night falls into the category of the latter.

It was another nice night down at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario as the Indians, winners of 18 of 22, welcomed their Central Division rival Detroit to town. The Tigers have led the division most of this young season, but have been overtaken by the Tribe during this three weeks of baseball heaven here in Cleveland. With a two and a half game lead entering this short two-game set, no matter what happens, the Tribe will stay in first.

While the Tigers payroll is near the top of the league, the two teams are pretty evenly matched. The Tigers rotation is superior to the Tribe’s, there is no doubt about that. However, the Indians pen dwarfs Detroit’s. Both teams have loaded lineups, but it is not hard to see where the Tigers trump the Indians there. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder hit third and fourth. It is a 1-2 punch that is the envy of all of baseball. [Read more...]

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Indians 10, Phillies 4: The Return Of The Big O

May 15, 2013 by 7 Comments

Asdrubal CabreraI know none of you were really concerned about the offense after the last three games, right? I mean, what you can’t forget is that there was a time earlier in the year where they were shut out back to back games in Tampa and then followed it up by dropping a 13 spot on the Rays. Make no mistake about it, this was a tired ball club. It is also a very streaky ball club offensively. These types of hot and cold streaks will probably continue most of the year. You just hope that the cold spells don’t last very long.

After scoring just three runs in three games Monday and Tuesday, the Tribe had a quick turnaround afternoon tilt against tough lefty Cole Hamels and his Philadelphia Phillies. It was their seventh game in the last six days in three different cities (Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia), so another bat slumber could have easily occurred. Then again, this is a new era of Tribe baseball. ActaBall is dead. Long live TitoBall.

One of the things you come to learn while watching years and years of baseball is that on the mid-week “getaway day” games, you often see both clubs give “getaway-day at-bats.” Guys swing early in the counts and strike-zones seem to be more liberal.  However in this one, the Indians approach against Hamels was the opposite. They were set to work the lefty deep into counts and wait for him to make mistakes. [Read more...]

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Tribe win streak snapped: Tigers 10 Indians 4

May 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

Corey KluberHaving won 10 of 11 and fresh off a four game sweep of Oakland, the Tribe headed north to the Motor City looking to stay hot for a weekend series against the AL Central leading Tigers. The Tigers however wanted no part of succumbing to the Indians’ winning ways and thumped the Tribe 10-4 with Max Scherzer getting the win and Corey Kluber picking up the loss.

The Indians jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 1st with a two out double from Nick Swisher, scoring Jason Kipnis who also doubled earlier in the inning. The lead didn’t last long as the Tigers tagged Indians’ starter Corey Kluber for three runs in the bottom half of the second.

Prince Fielder extended Detroit’s leadto 4-1  in the forth with a monster solo shot off the brick wall passed the stands in right center. ESPN Stats Inc. measured the homer at an astounding 460 feet.

The Tribe answered back thanks to Swisher’s one out triple in the top of the fourth and Santana’s ground out that scored him. Swisher would finish the day with 3 hits, a home run shy of the cycle.

In the bottom half of the inning with Detroit leading 4-2, last year’s Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera clubbed a deep three run homer extending the Tigers lead to five. The lead would move to six as Alex Avila singled in Johnny Peralta in the fifth, giving the Tigers runs in four straight innings.

Reynolds and Brantley would each knock in runs for Cleveland in the 7th, but the Indians two runs were matched by the Tigers who chipped in a run in both the 7th and 8th giving Detroit the 10-4 win. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Ranking Kyrie’s value, the Tribe’s rotation, and Browns rookie camp

May 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com


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“Let’s see … Irving missed 26 of 37 games at Duke, then 15 of 66 games as a Cavs rookie and 23 of 82 games this season. In three years, he’s played 121 games and missed 64. So far he’s torn ligaments in his big toe; sprained one shoulder; broken his hand; suffered a concussion; broken a finger on his non-shooting hand; broken a bone in his jaw; hyperextended a knee; and sprained the other shoulder.

Was that a series of fluke injuries … or a more ominous pattern that spells out the words, “KYRIE CAN’T STAY ON THE COURT”? Durability is really 25 percent luck and 75 percent DNA. You can’t do anything about Patrick Beverley slamming into your knee as you’re calling a timeout; that’s in the 25 percent. Mike D’Antoni playing you too many minutes until your 35-year-old body breaks down; that’s in the 25 percent. But grinding out 36 to 38 minutes a game for six to eight months per year, fighting off nagging injuries and bringing it year after year after year? That’s in your DNA. That’s the 75 percent.

My favorite example for this topic: John Stockton and Kevin Johnson. Before he saved the Kings and turned himself into Seattle’s Archenemy, KJ was an absolutely devastating offensive player; nobody could stay in front of him. He’s one of the few guards I can ever remember who made good defenders start backing up just by making it seem like hemight make a move. Stockton didn’t have that first step or KJ’s power around the rim, but he mastered everything that went into playing point guard — specifically, setting up teammates, running fast breaks, picking his spots and doing everything in the most efficient way possible. [Read more...]

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Tribe Weekend Recap: Streak ends, but series Tribe takes series

May 6, 2013 by 7 Comments

Jason KipnisRemember back just eight short days ago heading into the night-cap of the double-header in Kansas City, the Indians looked completely lost. They were sunk. They couldn’t hit. The couldn’t get any semblance of quality starting pitching outside of Justin Masterson. They were banged up and sitting in the basement of the AL Central. And then, with one big win, the light switch just turned on.

A four-game winning streak (two against Kansas City and two against Philadelphia) had energized the club and had them riding high into the weekend, primed to go over .500 for the first time since the first week of the season. The Indians welcomed the Minnesota Twins to town, who look like a shell of the team that spent close to a decade at or near the top of the division. While Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are still there, there isn’t much else to speak of outside of these two and Josh Willingham. With the way the Tribe has been playing, you had to like their chances to take the series and potentially keep the winning streak going.

The Wahoos ended up taking the first two games of the series behind more big time offense and stellar starting pitching, but the six-game winning streak came to an end yesterday as Minnesota’s Mike Pelphrey of all people finally shut them 4-2. But it is all about winning the series, and that is exactly what the Tribe did. But how did they do so? As we always do, let us take a look back on the weekend that was in Wahooland. [Read more...]

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Tribe Weekend Recap: Boom-or-Bust Offense Concerning

April 29, 2013 by 8 Comments

Mike Aviles
This road trip can’t end soon enough for the Tribe. Yet, here they are, eight games in with one game remaining, and they are 4-4. All things considered, that is pretty astounding. There is little doubt that the Indians are a flawed team. You look at the roster and it is considerably better than it was last year. The bullpen is still loaded with options. The lineup is solid to to bottom. The rotation? Well, that is an issue that doesn’t seem to be going away, but the real concern right now has to be the boom or bust offense.

The rains certainly have not helped the Indians cause. Twice this week, the Wahoos were washed out. These guys are professionals, but they are also creatures of habit. They have their routines and they don’t like to get to far out of whack. While it is resting the bullpen, the rotation situation keeps changing. Friday night’s rainout caused a Sunday day/night doubleheader in Kansas City. Because of this, two Tribe starters are now on the same schedule and a spot starter is needed for Wednesday night’s game against Philadelphia.  [Read more...]

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Tribe Weekend Recap: Getting Healthy in Houston

April 22, 2013 by 20 Comments

Carlos SantanaThe Indians were a reeling bunch heading to Houston this weekend. They had just been swept by the Boston Red Sox and were essentially dominated for three games on their home field. Thursday night’s loss was a microcosm of the series; it was one missed offensive opportunity after another. Hitting the road sometimes is a good thing, especially for a team like the Indians who are still attempting to find themselves early in the season. Their next opponent, it seemed, was just what the doctor ordered – the sad-sack Houston Astros.

However, despite the optimism, the Tribe started the series without the DL’d Michael Bourn and with their three back-end starters slated to go. Brett Myers, Scott Kazmir, and Ubaldo Jimenez are not exactly Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Halladay. But this is what the Indians rotation is in its current state. Naturally by the end of the weekend, the rotation picture has gotten even more cloudy. The Tribe did end up taking two of three in Houston, which you will take all day. But make no mistake, it was a struggle against an Astros team that resembles a AAA ball club. But hey, a series win is a series win.

So let us dig right in as we do every Monday morning with the weekend that was in Wahooland. [Read more...]

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Brett Myers to DL, Kluber to Rotation, Nieve Called Up

April 21, 2013 by 1 Comment

It didn’t look good when the Indians sent starting pitcher Brett Myers to Cleveland after Friday night. That concern was confirmed when the Indians placed Myers on the 15-day disabled list this afternoon with a right forearm injury. Corey Kluber, last night’s winning pitcher with four solid innings of relief work to close out the game, will assume Myers’s spot in the rotation on Wednesday against the White Sox. Myers has allowed 10 home runs in 4 games (3 starts) and is 0-3 with a 8.02 ERA.

To fill the roster spot occupied by Myers, the team called up Fernando Nieve from Columbus for long relief help. In 3 games (1 start), Nieve has allowed two earned runs and 10 hits in 13 innings for the Clippers, walking 4 and striking out 17. Last season, the 30-year-old right-hander was 7-9 with a 5.96 ERA at Triple-A Albuquerque in 25 games (24 starts). With Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound this afternoon and given his recent struggles, the Tribe decided to continue carrying 13 pitchers for the time being. With Asdrubal Cabrera day-to-day after falling in the dugout before last night’s game, the team has only 11 available hitters, one of them being Jason Giambi, who would likely only play the field in an emergency.

Related: Sunday Indians Notes: Beau Mills, the rotation, and prospects

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Red Sox 6. Indians 3: Sox Plan Baffles Masterson

April 18, 2013 by 16 Comments

Asdrubal CabreraThere was rain in the forecast the last two nights in Cleveland. It is too bad it never arrived.

I sound like a broken record and we are only two weeks plus into the season, but the Tribe’s starting pitching is obviously a big concern. The thought was that with their best on the mound, Justin Masterson, the bleeding could be stopped. Actually the Indians starters pitched well in the Chicago series over the weekend, but what’s most fresh in our minds was Tuesday night’s comedy show starring Ubaldo Jimenez. The over-taxed Indians bullpen figured to get some relief with the Tribe’s ace on the mound. Just in case, Corey Kluber was called up as a long man, taking the place of CF Michael Bourn who was placed on the 15-day DL earlier in the day.

Masterson entered the game with a 19-inning scoreless streak in tow. The Red Sox came to the plate in the first inning with the perfect approach. They were patient with Masterson and took almost everything the other way right from the jump.  Four of the first five Red Sox singled the other way. The one who didn’t, Shane Victorino, was hit by a pitch. It was 3-0 before you could open your bag of peanuts. Justin managed to get through the rest of the inning unscathed, but the Red Sox knew they were on to something. [Read more...]

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MLB News: Michael Bourn hits the 15-day disabled list

April 17, 2013 by 2 Comments

The Cleveland Indians have placed center fielder Michael Bourn on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 15, due to a lacerated index finger.

Bourn suffered the injury sliding into first base in the 8th inning on Sunday versus the Chicago White Sox. This is just his second career stint on the Major League disabled list (the first since 2007). On the young season, Bourn is hitting .333 (14-45) with four doubles, a triple, two home runs and two runs batted in. He is currently tied for 10th in the American League in extra base hits (seven) and 15th in OPS (.975).

Taking Bourn’s place on the 25-man roster is right-handed pitcher Corey Kluber who is recalled from Triple-A Columbus. Kluber has made two starts with Clippers this year (12.1IP, 14H, 9R/ER, 1-1 record) and was with the Indians last week (April 10-12), but did not appear in a game due to multiple rain-outs.

Presently, Scott Kazmir and Ubaldo Jiménez are scheduled to pitch on April 19 and 20, respectively. Jiménez recently allowed seven earned runs in just 1 1/3 innings and is a candidate to be skipped if needed. Kazmir is returning from an abdominal injury and could be skipped if he is not 100 percent. Kluber will slot in as the long man in the bullpen given the work they received on Tuesday night untilneeded in the rotation.

[Related: The Diff: Baseball attendance in April, sellout streaks]

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Cleveland Indians option Trevor Bauer, Scott Barnes and Corey Kluber to minors

March 21, 2013 by 8 Comments

The Indians today optioned several players to the minors, including three pitchers who were vying for the fifth spot in the rotation-

Scott Kazmir was certainly the leader in the clubhouse for the fifth spot, but with the moves today optioning Trevor Bauer, Scott Barnes and Corey Kluber, it all but guarantee the spot belongs to Kazmir.

Bauer of course was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Choo to the Reds and netted the Indians Drew Stubbs and Bauer. In his spring start yesterday, Bauer was roughed up a bit by the Angels. He struggled mightily in the third inning and did not come back out for the fourth, though he was scheduled to pitch five. He gave up four runs, three of them earned and walked three.

Bauer has not had the consistency that the Indians would have needed to see for him to make the opening day roster. For the spring he has a 4.5 ERA with 9 strikeouts and 4 walks. Kazmir has been lights out this spring. He has yet to give up a run in Cactus League play.

Scott Barnes has also pitched well this spring. He will start the season in Columbus and certainly get an opportunity to fill in as the Indians need starting pitching down the road this season.

[Related: The Ubaldo Problem]

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Trevor Bauer, and the Indians’ starting pitching outlook

December 13, 2012 by 9 Comments

Trevor Bauer is a game-changer. Yes, the new Cleveland wunderkind is only 21 (he turns 22 in January) and has just 4 (bad) games of MLB experience under his belt, but his sheer presence drastically changes the starting pitching algorithm for the Cleveland Indians going forward.

Obviously, there’s a certain amount of risk associated with Bauer. I’d be amiss if I didn’t address that. According to all the reports out there, he’s eccentric, stubborn, abnormally intelligent, a bad rapper, practically revolutionary and thus, seemingly was at odds with Arizona’s upper management, which is why the No. 3 overall pick in 2011 was on the trade block at all. He could not become the star many expect him to be. That’s possible, and you always have to address that fact when dealing with a very limited MLB sample size.

But, undoubtedly, the UCLA product has more upside and MLB-readiness by far than any other starter in the entire Indians system. He could immediately slot into the starting rotation from day one — but it’s not exactly certain if that will be the case. Either way, with the Indians owning his rights through 2018 (at least), and the fact he’s dominated AA/AAA batters, he’s the bright future of the Indians pitching outlook for many years to come. [Read more...]

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Pitchers’ Duel Crumbles Into Chicago Slugfest

October 2, 2012 by 7 Comments

I’ve had the pleasure 1 of recapping several of Corey Kluber’s starts this season. For nearly six innings tonight, it was his best start of the season by far as he held the potent White Sox offense in check. But, those pesky pale hosers broke through with two outs in the sixth and struck for four runs. The Tribe had no answer for that, mustering just two hits of their own, as they went on to lose this final series opener 11-0.

Kluber had command early in this game and navigated through the first five innings allowing just two hits while walking one and striking out five. His changeup was effective, and in addition to the K’s, he was jamming the White Sox for lots of easy grounders and shallow fly balls. In the first five, his biggest threat was in the second when he surrendered two leadoff singles and a passed ball by Santana moved up the runners. Then came the sixth.

In the momentum shifting sixth, Kluber retired Gordon Beckham on a groundout before Dewayne Wise bunted his way on base. Kluber bounced back to strike out Kevin Youkilis before squaring off with Adam Dunn. During Dunn’s AB, the Tribe battery tried to keep tabs on Wise, owner of 17 steals in 98 games. But, when Wise took off on a 1-1 count, Santana’s throw was too late and to the wrong side of the bag. 2 Of course, Dunn made them pay as he took a vanilla 91 mph slider with too much of the plate and served it into center to break the scoreless tie. After a Paul Konerko walk, Alex Rios followed that up by banging one high off the left field wall, plating Dunn and dispatching of Kluber. Joe Smith then gave up a pair of singles to A.J. Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo before recording the final out of the inning. [Read more...]

___________________________________

  1. Tongue-in-cheek here. [back]
  2. Carlos also had two passed balls. I agree with the STO guys, it looked like Santana was a little lazy behind the dish. [back]

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Box Score: White Sox 11, Indians 0

October 2, 2012 by 3 Comments

While the White Sox claimed a big victory today, the Indians already had knocked Chicago out of playoff contention last week. Detroit’s Monday night victory clinched the AL Central for the Tigers, accomplishing an impressive September comeback to win the worst division in baseball.

And, oh yeah, the Indians lost badly on Monday. They managed just two hits and one walk while striking out 12 times against the fearsome trio of Hector Santiago, Jesse Crain and Leyson Septimo.

Only two games remain now for the Tribe (67-93) in 2012, who secured their third season with less than 70 wins since 2009. They’re one of only 5 MLB teams (Kansas City, NY Mets, Pittsburgh, Houston) to not have a .500 record or better during these four years.

 
Scoring Summary
Top 6th: Chi White Sox
- A. Dunn singled to shallow center, D. Wise scored
- A. Rios singled to left, A. Dunn scored, P. Konerko to second
- A.J. Pierzynski singled to right center, P. Konerko scored, A. Rios to third
- D. Viciedo singled to right, A. Rios scored, A.J. Pierzynski to third
Top 8th: Chi White Sox
- A. Ramirez singled to shallow center, A.J. Pierzynski scored, D. Viciedo to second
Top 9th: Chi White Sox
- A. Dunn singled to shallow right, D. Wise scored, K. Youkilis to second
- P. Konerko singled to shallow right, K. Youkilis scored, A. Dunn to third
- D. Viciedo homered to deep left, J. Danks, R. Olmedo and A.J. Pierzynski scored
 Chi White Sox
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
D. Wise cf 6 2 2 0 0 0 3 1 2 .262
K. Youkilis 3b 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .235
    J. Lopez 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
A. Dunn dh 4 1 2 2 0 1 2 0 1 .206
    J. Danks pr-rf 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P. Konerko 1b 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 .299
    R. Olmedo pr-3b 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
A. Rios rf 5 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 3 .304
    L. Septimo p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A.J. Pierzynski c 4 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 .278
D. Viciedo lf 4 1 2 5 1 1 1 0 2 .252
A. Ramirez ss 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 .265
G. Beckham 2b 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .234
 Totals 42 11 15 11 1 4 11 1 18
 Batting
HR - D Viciedo (23, 9th inning off S Maine 3 on, 1 Out).
RBI - A Dunn 2 (96), P Konerko (73), A Rios (91), A Pierzynski (77), D Viciedo 5 (75), A Ramirez (73).
2-out RBI - A Dunn, A Rios, A Pierzynski, D Viciedo, A Ramirez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Dunn 1, A Ramirez 3, G Beckham 1.
GIDP - A Rios.
Team LOB - 8.
 Base Running
SB - D Wise (18, 2nd base off C Kluber/C Santana).
 Fielding
DP - 1 (H Santiago-G Beckham-P Konerko).
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .284
    T. Neal ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217
J. Kipnis 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .256
    C. Phelps ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .241
A. Cabrera ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .273
    B. Lillibridge ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .197
C. Santana c 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 .253
R. Canzler dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .291
M. Brantley cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .287
M. LaPorta 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .241
L. Chisenhall 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 .271
V. Rottino lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .111
 Totals 28 0 2 0 0 1 12 0 7
 Batting
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Santana 1.
GIDP - C Santana.
Team LOB - 4.
 Fielding
E - L Chisenhall (5, throw).
PB - C Santana 2.
DP - 1 (L Chisenhall-J Kipnis-M LaPorta).
 Chi White Sox
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
H. Santiago (W, 4-1) 7.0 1 0 0 1 10 0 1.34 3.33
J. Crain 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.08 2.44
L. Septimo 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.08 5.54
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
C. Kluber (L, 2-5) 5.2 5 4 4 2 6 0 1.49 5.14
J. Smith 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.18 3.00
S. Barnes 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.33 4.50
C. Allen 0.2 2 1 1 1 1 0 1.53 3.77
E. Rogers 0.1 4 4 4 0 0 0 1.12 3.12
S. Maine 1.0 2 2 2 1 2 1 2.67 10.50
HBP - T Neal (by L Septimo); A Cabrera (by H Santiago).
Pitches-strikes - L Septimo 11-6; H Santiago 108-78; J Crain 13-8; C Kluber 97-62; J Smith 16-11; S Barnes 5-3; C Allen 28-19; E Rogers 22-14; S Maine 30-17.
Ground balls-fly balls - L Septimo 2-1; H Santiago 8-3; J Crain 2-0; C Kluber 6-4; J Smith 5-0; S Barnes 0-0; C Allen 3-0; E Rogers 0-1; S Maine 0-2.
Batters faced - L Septimo 5; H Santiago 23; J Crain 3; C Kluber 23; J Smith 6; S Barnes 1; C Allen 5; E Rogers 5; S Maine 6.
Game Details
Umpires: HP–Tim Welke. 1B–Paul Schrieber. 2B–Mike Everitt. 3B–Laz Diaz.
Weather: 61 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, in from right.

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Kluber Spoils Afternoon For Sox, Perez Spoils Win With Postgame Comments

September 26, 2012 by 11 Comments

Poor Corey Kluber. The Indians rookie right-hander gave his signature performance yesterday in a big spot and all people want to talk about this morning are the comments made by closer Chris Perez.

Playing spoiler is something that nobody wants to be in position to do, but the Indians are in that spot. Over the first two games in this series against the Chicago White Sox, you can argue that the Indians have completely outplayed the team currently occupying first place in the AL Central. They have looked like quitters at times over the last two months, but something has gotten into them this week.

A few weeks back, the White Sox organization decided to move up the time of the game to 1:10 local in observance of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. It was quite a coincidence that they now have Kevin Youkilis on their team, who is Jewish. Youk had said that had it been a night game, he would not have played. In the end, the decision didn’t help as the Sox came out completely asleep.

Kluber is not exactly the second coming of Roger Clemens and for the most part, hasn’t really done much to impress in his 11 starts since taking a spot in the rotation. In fact, the Tribe lost nine of his first 10 starts.

However yesterday, the righty had the Sox completely baffled. Kluber had the longest outing of his short career, seven innings. Other than the two solo homers to A.J. Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo in the fifth, The Sox couldn’t touch the kid. [Read more...]

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Box Score: Tigers 4, Indians 0

September 14, 2012 by 3 Comments

So this one was pretty much over in the first inning, right? Justin Verlander against Corey Kluber isn’t really fair, and after Detroit scored 2 in the first, then 2 more in the second, this one was over.

Kudos to the bullpen — Chris Seddon and Frank Herrmann — at least, for settling the score at that. But Verlander went a very solid seven innings and the abysmal Indians offense couldn’t muster anything.

Top 1st: Detroit
- D. Young singled to shallow center, M. Cabrera scored, P. Fielder to second
- B. Boesch singled to shallow center, P. Fielder scored, D. Young to second
Top 2nd: Detroit
- A. Jackson doubled to shallow right, A. Avila scored
- M. Cabrera singled to shallow center, A. Jackson scored
 Detroit
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
A. Jackson cf 5 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 .307
A. Dirks lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .313
M. Cabrera 3b 4 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 .329
P. Fielder 1b 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
D. Young dh 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 .271
B. Boesch rf 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .247
    A. Garcia rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .294
J. Peralta ss 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 .253
A. Avila c 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 .242
O. Infante 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .255
 Totals 34 4 8 4 0 2 10 0 7
 Batting
2B - A Jackson (25, C Kluber); B Boesch (22, C Kluber).
RBI - A Jackson (58), M Cabrera (119), D Young (63), B Boesch (53).
2-out RBI - M Cabrera, D Young, B Boesch.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Young 1, J Peralta 1.
Team LOB - 6.
 Fielding
DP - 1 (J Verlander-J Peralta-P Fielder).
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 .280
J. Kipnis 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 .253
C. Santana c 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250
R. Canzler lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .262
C. Kotchman 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .227
L. Chisenhall 3b 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 .289
M. LaPorta dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 .233
E. Carrera cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 .255
J. Donald ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .191
    B. Lillibridge ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .187
 Totals 32 0 6 0 0 2 7 0 18
 Batting
2B - C Santana (27, J Verlander); L Chisenhall (3, J Verlander).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Choo 1, C Kotchman 2, E Carrera 1, J Donald 2.
GIDP - C Santana.
Team LOB - 8.
 Fielding
Outfield assists - R Canzler.
 Detroit
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
J. Verlander (W, 14-8) 7.0 6 0 0 1 6 0 1.05 2.82
J. Benoit 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.09 3.30
J. Valverde 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.22 3.56
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
C. Kluber (L, 1-4) 5.0 8 4 4 2 5 0 1.67 5.48
C. Seddon 2.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1.37 4.10
F. Herrmann 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.03 3.86
HBP - J Donald (by J Verlander); P Fielder (by C Kluber).
Pitches-strikes - J Verlander 110-77; J Benoit 19-12; J Valverde 11-6; C Kluber 92-55; C Seddon 24-20; F Herrmann 24-16.
Ground balls-fly balls - J Verlander 10-7; J Benoit 1-1; J Valverde 0-3; C Kluber 9-5; C Seddon 2-1; F Herrmann 0-4.
Batters faced - J Verlander 28; J Benoit 3; J Valverde 4; C Kluber 25; C Seddon 6; F Herrmann 6.
Game Details
Umpires: HP–Wally Bell. 1B–Mike Winters. 2B–Mark Wegner. 3B–Brian Knight.
Weather: 63 degrees, clear.
Wind: 6 mph, in from center.

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Indians 3, Tigers 2: Kluber Ends a Potential “Streak III”

September 4, 2012 by 5 Comments

If you are my age or older, you have grown up with the Indians being relegated to playing “spoiler” over the last month of the season more times that you’d like to remember. See, what all of you in your born in the 90′s don’t realize was that September baseball was meaningLESS more than meaningFUL before Jacobs Field was born. It wasn’t all just Albert Belle home runs, Kenny Lofton stolen bases, and Manny Ramirez gap shot doubles. My September’s as a kid had expanded rosters galore and the likes of Luis Medina, Carmelo Castillo, and Kevin Rhomberg getting those late season at-bats to try and thwart the Toronto’s,  Detroit’s, and Kansas City’s of the world from making it to the playoffs.

In essence, we are watching 1983 or 1984 or pick any year of my late 70′s and 80′s youth baseball right now. Insert Corey Kluber for Roy Smith. Kluber is one of the Indians “young arms” that they are taking a long look at over the last month and a half of the season. He’s not considered a top prospect by any means and essentially he is here because of the failures of the projected rotation. He jumped the line this year (well, you can’t really say it was an impressive line to begin with when it is three people deep and one of them is David Huff) and made his sixth start yesterday in Detroit and against the hated Motor City Kitties. [Read more...]

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Response Runs Do Tribe Starters In Again

August 30, 2012 by 2 Comments

Just like our beloved Indians, we’re scraping the bottom of the roster here at WFNY. Instead of the incomparably talented TD or Jon, I will be bringing you a recap of last night’s game. I do hope you enjoy.

For all you moviegoers who’ve seen “The Dark Knight Rises”, you might recall the line, “There cannot be true despair without hope.” I’ve tried to maintain some level of hope, an optimistic eye on the horizon, but it’s getting more difficult with each inning, and I think it’s safe to say I’ve sunk into despair. Quality starts are hard to come by in the last 20 games from the four starters not named Justin Masterson. The defense is something out of a startup beer league. The bullpen is now giving up runs. The offense is, well, offensive. The Indians lost their fourth straight in front of close friends and family last night 8-4 as Corey Kluber was unable to keep the A’s off the board in the fourth as Oakland struck for three and grabbed the lead.

What we have on display in this series is two teams in similar scenarios when it comes to market size, spending, success over the past decade, and attendance. The Athletics dealt or parted ways with Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Andrew Bailey, Josh Willingham, and Kurt Suzuki in the past year. Both teams have plenty of flaws (Oakland’s offense is relatively toothless when not facing Tribe pitching, after all). The difference is that the Athletics have found ways to win close games 1 , they’ve had some luck go their way in acquisitions, and their pitching has carried them into contention heading into September.

[Read more...]

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  1. As the Indians were doing in the first half [back]

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Bartolo Colon Easily Handles Tribe Bats

August 19, 2012 by 4 Comments

Some 13 years ago, I had a Nintendo 64 and “All-Star Baseball 2000″. I got my parents’ money’s worth on that game dozens of times over as my dad and I would play for hours on end. In that game, based off the 1999 roster, Bartolo Colon was the Indians’ ace. He sported a fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup. That fastball I vividly remember: 98, 99, 98, and so on as I retired hitter after hitter. I probably pitched with Colon half the time as he was a dominate hurler and made winning quite easy.

Fast forward to present day (and real life), and Bartolo Colon is a 39-year-old who no longer has the blistering heat. Instead, his heater sits in the high-80s and low-90s, but it still has plenty of movement and deception. That deception was more than enough to solve the 10-piece puzzle that is the Indians offense right now. Colon lasted 8 innings and made one mistake to Carlos Santana, as the Indians came up short with a ninth inning rally and lost 8-5 to the A’s. [Read more...]

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Indians Roster Notes: Lopez Released, Tomlin to Have Arm Evaluated

August 12, 2012 by 7 Comments

For the fourth time this month, the Indians announced today they have released a veteran player DFA’d 10 days earlier. This time, it was utility infielder Jose Lopez, following in the footsteps of, chronologically, Johnny Damon, Jeremy Accardo and Derek Lowe.

Indians beat writers, who had a nice Twitter fling with Lopez throughout the season, were saddened by the announcement:

In other notable Indians roster notes, recently-converted reliever Josh Tomlin will have his right arm examined in Cleveland this week. He was originally rumored to see well-known specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum while the team is in Southern California this week, but supposedly the doctor is unavailable.

According to various Twitter reports, Tomlin has fought elbow soreness dating back to last season, possibly resulting in his poor performance to date this year: 5-8 with a 5.82 ERA in 20 games (16 starts).

It’s very possible that Tomlin will be moved to the DL this week to make room for Roberto Hernandez, who is scheduled to start Wednesday. It is also possible that lefty Chris Seddon or righty Corey Kluber also could go back to Columbus, while outfielders Matt LaPorta or Russ Canzler could be activated from the Clippers roster (h/t @MLBastian).

[Related: Contention Windows and Depth Charts: Analyzing the Cleveland Indians’ Future]

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