...a tradition of hope, passion, and misery
Dodgers 4, Indians 3 (box)
It’s never good when there is action in the bullpen during the first inning. Such was the case yesterday afternoon when Paul Byrd gave up four runs before even recording an out.
I bet Byrd would like that inning back, because from the second inning on, we saw a completely different pitcher – allowing two hits from that point on. Still, it wasn’t enough for the bats to overcome, as the Tribe’s one inning of runs simply couldn’t trump that of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Rockies 10, Indians 2 (box)
“It just didn’t happen for us,” [Indians pitcher Paul] Byrd said.
Us, Paul? Not to point fingers, but Byrd has now given up 10 earned runs over the past two outings – totalling seven innings pitched. On a team that has been plagued by a lack of offense and the occasional bullpen meltdown, you simply cannot afford your starting pitcher to allow five earned runs in four innings pitched.
Byrd allowed two more home runs last night, taking his total to 19 – the most in the American League.
06/14: Padres 8, Indians 3 (box)
06/15 : Indians 7, Padres 3 (box)
Had this post been made a day ago, it likely would have been littered with talks of former Tribe players coming back to haunt us as well as the bullpen blowing yet another lead. Instead, we get to put two games in to one post, and in turn, we get to talk about how the Indians have now came out on top for the second series in a row.
While dropping Saturday’s game in extra innings is nothing to be proud of, we need to temper ourselves if we’re hoping for sweeps each time out. Taking two-of-three against the Twins and now the Padres is hopefully enough to get these guys going.
Twins 8, Indians 5 (box)
While the “LeCharles Bentley is Back” post went by the wayside, we can officially welcome back the return of closer Joe Borowski. While Scot Elarton, Rick Bauer and Rafael Betancourt combined for five innings of one-hit ball, including five strikeouts, JoBo came in for the ninth inning and promptly allowed the following:
- C. Gomez singled to shortstop
- C. Gomez stole second
- A. Casilla singled to right center, C. Gomez scored
- A. Casilla stole second
- J. Mauer flied out to deep left center, A. Casilla to third
- J. Morneau doubled to deep left, A. Casilla scored
2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors. Not a good day at the office.
Indians 4 Tigers 2 (Box)
Paul Byrd finally got his 100th win. He’s been sitting at 99 since May 13th. For his career he is 100-86. Not bad numbers for a career 4th or 5th starter. He was good Friday night. Good enough to go 7 complete innings and only throw 80 pitches, a far cry from the Tribe’s totals in Texas. (I’m sure they are happier than us to be out of that ballpark.) Offensively the Tribe got 2 hits from Gutierez, and one hit apiece from Sizemore, Martinez, Garko, Blake and Peralta. Blake had the big hit, a two run double in the 4th. Garko finally broke free from the singles he was hitting on the trip and launched a pitch down the left field line that just missed the foul pole and landed in the stands for his 5th homer of the season. He nearly had to take a knee on the pitch to hit it, but he got it. Joe Borowski had a relatively uneventful ninth, he gave up 1 hit, you know because he’s allergic to 1-2-3 saves. [Read more...]
(05/31) Royals 4, Indians 2 (box)
(06/01) Royals 6, Indians 1 (box)
One weekend. Two games. Three runs. That about sums up the last 48 hours for the Cleveland Indians.
Saturday night saw the Tribe strand 12 men on base. C.C. Sabathia had one poor inning, the line-up had nine. They had the chance on several occasions, only to allow KC to get out of the jam. At least they’re doing something consistently.
Unlike Sabathia, Paul Byrd wasn’t exactly helping the team’s cause on Sunday. Though once again, the Tribe bats were held under three runs (for the 21st time this season), all six allowed runs were earned. Byrd allowed nine hits in four and a third innings – three of which were for extra bases.
Shhhh…don’t tell them, but the Indians will wake up Thursday morning a half game ahead of Minnesota for first in the Central.
The Indians are 2 games over .500 for the first time since game 2. On May 5th, the Tribe was 14-17, and found themselves plummeting to 17th in ESPN’s power rankings. Since then, all the Indians have done is gone 7-2, winning series against the Yankees, Blue Jays and A’s by a combined score of 38-13. In short, the Tribe has pitched their way into first.
Wednesday night was no exception. Sabathia was dominant once again, going the distance for the shutout, the Tribe’s league leading 7th of the season. The Hefty Lefty struck out 11 A’s en route to a 2-0 win. The numbers that you have probably seen in game recaps are staggering. Tribe starters have gone 43 and a third consecutive innings without allowing a single run. Not even an unearned run. Zip. Zero. Goose egg. How about a little perspective on the streak-
The consecutive scoreless streak is the longest by an Indians starting staff since they tossed 47 scoreless innings in August 1948. [Read more...]
Sure, Paul Byrd served up a few long balls. Sure, Byrd allowed eight hits in six and one-third innings. Sure, Byrd struck out nary a batter in yesterday’s 6-3 loss. How can’t it be his fault that the Tribe didn’t pull a sweep of the Bronx Bloated Wallets?
Look no further than the top of the Cleveland batting order. A three-run fourth inning is a lot easier to overcome when your one-through-four hitters do not combine to go 1-for-16 in the game, with five strikeouts. And the strikeouts doesn’t seem like that much until you realize that they were the only Indians to strike out on the day.
In fact, the three strikeouts via Mike Mussina actually tied Moose’s high for strikeouts in a game. [Read more...]
1992. The Cold War officially came to an end. NAFTA was signed. Bill Clinton elected President for first term. Stamps cost .29. Silence of the Lambs wins Oscar for Best Picture. Duke beats Michigan to win the Final Four. The Redskins beat the Bills in the Superbowl. And the Indians win the season series against the Yankees 7 games to 6.
Why bring up all that fascinating trivia about 1992? Because that series win over the Yankees was the last time the Indians have beat the Yankees for a season. Seriously. Those great teams of the 90′s? They didn’t beat the Yanks for the season. We had a couple of playoff series wins, but when it comes to the regular season, the Yankees absolutely own the Indians. That’s why yesterday’s win over Wang and the Yankees felt so good. After Lee’s superhero like performance, the Tribe goes for the first 3 game sweep of the Yankees in New York since 1989. That’s nearly 20 years ago! But what better way to say goodbye to that crappy stadium than to sweep their way out.
Paul Byrd throws for the Indians today against Mike Mussina. Byrd has been effective as of late, but doesn’t have much to show for it. In his last 4 starts, he has given up 5 runs, but has only a 1-0 record in those starts. That win came against the Yankees in Cleveland, though Byrd gave up 4 runs in the win. [Read more...]
But since starting the season with an 0-2 clip, Byrd has been nothing short of stellar, allowing five earned runs over his last four starts. For comparison purposes to his start, last night’s appearance was 7.2 innings of four-hit, shutout ball. The down side to all of this: The fact that Paulie has one win to show for all of this work. Ironically, said win came against the Yankees just last week.
Fausto was less-than-dominant in the first game, but came away with the win thanks to a four-run fourth. For all of the focus that has gone on about C.C. Sabathia’s walk-rate, Carmona’s is a bit alarming. The kid wasn’t a big strikeout guy last season (137 Ks, 215 innings), but to have 22 walks and only 11 strikeouts in 28 innings thus far in the season has to strike a nerve with a few people.
Hopefully, those people are in the coaching ranks, because I would hate to rely on the double-play ball all season long – otherwise that 2.89 ERA may be a bit on the unsustainable side.
Indians Waste Another Stellar Pitching Performance
What a summer of discontent this is shaping up to be. April is barely halfway over and already the Indians are baffling all of their followers, as well as themselves, as the team has now frustratingly sputtered to a 7-12 start this year. Sunday was just par for the course, as the Indians dropped yet another game and yet another series as they fell to the Twins 2-1 in 10 innings.
After taking the opening series against the division leading White Sox, the Indians had not won another series since. The closest had been a split of a 2 game series with Detroit, but overall they had dropped or tied 5 straight series. So Sunday was a big game for the Indians as it was the first game they had which could clinch a series since April 9th against the Angels (a game they also lost, of course). Paul Byrd was outstanding again for the Tribe, as he pitched 7 innings of 6 hit ball, and just gave up one run on a solo home run to Brendan Harris in the bottom of the 3rd. Byrd walked zero and struck out three. [Read more...]
Only one day after Cliff Lee tossed another masterful eight innings to shutout the Minnesota Twins, the team from the Twin cities returned the favor as the Tribe’s bats went quiet in a 3-0 defeat. Now sitting at 7-11 on the season, game three will be in the hands of Paul Byrd as he looks to pick up right where he left off during his last outing, looking to pick up his first win of the year.
I’m cautiously optimistic about today’s game, as while the Tribe failed to score yesterday, they had men on base in nearly every inning – simply unable to put together a solid string of hits. The down side of this was the fact that you simply cannot hit into four double plays when you get men aboard. Not to mention when two of such GIDPs were off of the bat of Dave Dellucci – whom I was just starting to come around on. [Read more...]
Boston: 5, Cleveland 3
The box score of the Tribe pitching staff says it all.
Paul Byrd tosses six solid innings, nearly cutting his ERA in half, and the bullpen proceeds to allow four runs in three innings. Special shoutout to Jorge Julio who will look to actually retire a batter during his next appearance, with both batters which he faced crossing home plate.
After this one, what are all of your thoughts on the closing situation? Kobayashi was warming up, but never made it out. Betancourt was unavailable. Does Lewis have the make-up? If not for that Lugo grounder, he could still be out there trying to get out of the eighth inning.
Before the seventh inning, the Tribe had ten men left on base versus Boston’s five. The final tally was Boston: 18, Cleveland: 17. Boston had an amazing 13 baserunners in the final three innings. That’s just unacceptable on every level. We have a ton of work to do against the Tigers this week. Dropping 9-of-12 is not a streak we need at any point in this season.
Let’s hear it in the comments.
One of the bigger issues to come from last season’s playoffs with the Red Sox was the Paul Byrd HGH scandal, but as reported on MLB.com, there will be no suspension handed down to the veteran pitcher. Byrd, in the midst of a 0-2 record with an ERA north of 11.00 obviously feels good about the decision from the top floor.
“I didn’t think it was bothering me that much, but it really was,” he said. “I felt a lot of relief when I found out. It was bothering me.”
No word on if the league decided that Byrd could not be punished due to a “lack of effect,” but all I know is that our fourth pitcher needs to get his act together and quickly. His option for this season wasn’t exactly cheap, but given the season he had last year, it was more than earned. Hopefully, his issues thus far have been mental, and that a few more innings of suspension-free pitching will allow him to get back on track.
Byrd is slated to start Tuesday’s game against Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox. I’m thinking that some revenge is in order on this one.
Obviously, the expectations for today’s offense were not too high. It didn’t help that Paul Byrd gave up six earned runs in only three innings on the hill. But regardless of who’s pitching, to give up four home runs (one of which was a grand slam) is rarely going to win you baseball games. No exception was today’s loss to L.A.
Mike Napoli, the eigth-hitting catcher, took Byrd deep with the bases juiced to give the Angels a 4-0 lead before the third inning even started. And while I was hating on our 6-7-8 combination coming into the game, it was the bottom of the order that did all of the damage for the Tribe. Jhonny Peralta apparently got the invite to the start of the season, going 3-f0r-5 with a huge home run to left field, and David Dellucci went 2-for-4, scoring once as well. [Read more...]
Just checking the lineup for today’s game, set to square off in about 15 minutes. In a non-surprising move, Victor Martinez will be given the day off. Not only is this a day game that following a night game, but the veteran Paul Byrd will be taking the hill. Thus, Kelly Shoppach will be behind the plate, batting ninth.
Those with weak stomachs, or small children in the room, may want to tune out every third inning or so. With Ryan Garko moving to the clean-up spot, our 6-7-8 hitters will be Jhonny Peralta, David Dellucci and Jason Michaels. Those three have combined to go 9-for-56 on the season – a .160 clip for the non-math types.
A’s hitters had little trouble picking up Byrd’s pitches, but not quite like this
The Indians made few changes to this year’s roster. There is a saying, “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.” The strengths of this team remain, but after the first week of the season, the weaknesses are glaring.
The left field platoon of Jason Michaels and David Dellucci remain hitless. Yes, as in 0 hits between them. Casey Blake hit that three run double in the first game to help give the Tribe the game, since then- 1 hit. Travis Hafner hit a home run in the ninth inning last night, but hasn’t looked real strong at the plate either. Last year this offense was very streaky, and it looks like we are in for more of the same. [Read more...]
Bottom of the 9th inning, two runners on, one out. The Tribe still doesn’t have a hit, but coming to the plate is Travis Hafner. First pitch down and away for ball one. Travis is in the driver’s seat against the young Braves pitcher. Second pitch low and now the count is 2 balls no strikes. Third pitch comes in low, but it has the inside of the plate and Hafner decides to take his cut. He drops the head of the bat down and attempts to go the opposite way with the ball. He succeeds, or at least he sends it as opposite field as Hafner can. The ball slices just left of center field and drifts right into the glove of the center-fielder, about medium deep. Hafner fails to deliver.
Obviously we’re talking about an early spring training game. Nobody is pointing to this at-bat and pressing a panic button. Unfortunately for this Tribe fan, the first baseball that I got to see reminded me a little too much of the last time the Indians were on the field. A series in which Hafner hit .148 with 12 strikeouts and 2 RBI. Hafner’s ’07 season certainly was a disappointment for him, and one that he is looking to put behind him. [Read more...]
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