NFL Rumor: Lerner told Holmgren to get Robert Griffin III
April 9, 2012The Legend of Lester Hudson Lives On
April 9, 2012Step away from that ledge Tribe fans, its only one weekend. The first three games of the season in fact. Things aren’t always as good or as bad as they seem this early. Heck, the Tampa Bay Rays started 0-6 last season, as did the Boston Red Sox. Both finished with 90-plus wins. This weekend, the New York Yankees and the Red Sox were both swept. Of course, the sky is falling there, especially in Boston where the Bobby Valentine era has gotten off to an inauspicious start to say the least. Remember, the Tribe lost their first two to the White Sox last year and then went on a 31-13 run.
The Indians lost two of three to the Toronto Blue Jays, but in reality, they could have and probably should have swept the series. There were plenty of things to discuss after the home opening debacle 16 inning loss, Saturday’s 7-4 extra inning heartbreaker, and yesterday’s 4-3 win. There was GREAT starting pitching, a surprise power display with the struggling bats, and a closer quandary solved in one day.
The starting pitching carried the day (well, carried the days)
Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Derek Lowe wowed us all. The three combined to allow three earned runs in 22 innings pitched.
Masterson got it started with a one run, two hit, 10 strikeout performance on Thursday. We threw plenty of superlatives his way Friday morning. The biggest surprise though had to be the out of nowhere dominant look of Ubaldo. His Spring Training story has been well documented. The command was missing. He was not sharp. The concerns for what we would see from Jimenez went all the way to manager Manny Acta, who took the unusual step of calling him out in late March. After he was suspended from throwing at former teammate Troy Tulowitzki in his final Spring start where he walked five, nobody knew what they would be getting when he took the mound on Saturday.
Not only was he effective, but he was the best he has ever been in an Indians uniform. Ubaldo carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, then gave up his first hit which happened to be a two-out, two-run single to tie the game. But nevertheless he was terrific. “I felt good when I was warming up before the game,” Jimenez said. “I was able to use all my pitches. And I threw the breaking ball when I was behind in the count.”
Yes, this was one outing, but you have to be encouraged by the fact that the bright lights turned on, and Ubaldo came to play. The shame of it all was that both Masterson and Jimenez weren’t able to come out with the W’s with the team squandering both excellent starts. They wouldn’t do the same the next day.
Lowe, the sinker balling veteran, made his first start as an Indian Sunday and didn’t disappoint. Like his fellow rotation-mates earlier in the series, Lowe went seven innings and was in control the entire time, never getting into any real trouble. He allowed two runs (neither of them were earned) on just five hits and one walk. He was a ground ball machine and came as advertised.
“When he’s on, it’s really hard for guys to lift the ball. They beat it into the ground. He did a great job of getting ahead and then mixing in his slider. He’ll give us a lot of innings this year,” said Acta.
Here is the bottom line. Despite the offensive struggles, the Tribe will be in their fair share of games if they get quality starting pitching like this. As Acta put it best yesterday: “I’d rather have my offense struggle than my starting pitcher. I’ll take that every time. I know the offense will come around.”
Speaking of that struggling offense….
OK, they had a real hard time coming up with the big inning all series long and hit .153 as a team. But I think we all know that this team will go through its ups and downs with the bats. Acta put out the same lineup in all three games (what else was he really going to do? The bench isn’t exactly ripe with great options). Michael Brantley was 1-13 with two walks. Shin-Soo Choo was 2-13 with two walks. Shelley Duncan was 1-9 with two walks. Casey Kotchman was 1-16 and hit just one ball out of the infield. Jason Kipnis was 2-13 with a homer and two RBIs.
It is very early. The bats will warm up, but you have to obviously be a little concerned. Kotchman won’t hit for much power anyways, but he has been great at seeing pitches and getting on-base. At worst, you can be excited by the fact that he made several great scoops at first this series. It would have been nice if he would have driven in the game-winning run which was on third with one out on Thursday, but he will get his chance to redeem himself. I still would like to see someone come in and platoon in left with Duncan, but he is certainly better than the internal options available.
It was interesting to see how the long ball came into play for the Tribe in this series. Last year, we always lamented their lack of power. Yet in the first three games, the Tribe used the long ball pretty much extensively to bring in runs. Jack Hannahan’s three-run blast in the opener, Kipnis’s two-run jack and Asdrubal Cabrera’s solo homer Saturday, and Carlos Santana’s two-homer game yesterday (on his birthday no-less) accounted for nine of the team’s 12 runs over these three games. That will most certainly change.
The Closer Situation
After Chris Perez’s opening day meltdown, many of you were calling for his head. You wanted Vinnie Pestano to take over the ninth inning and move the shaky Perez to a set-up or middle relief role. You know who else blew saves for their teams on opening day? Mariano Rivera and Jose Valverde. One guy is the greatest relief pitcher who ever lived and the other went 49 for 49 in saves last season.
Give Acta credit. As Saturday’s game went to extra innings, he went right back to Perez and Pure Rage mowed down the Blue Jays in order. His velocity was back up to 93-94 and his control was much improved. And you know who gave up the tying run in Saturday’s game in the eighth inning? Pestano. So let us not get too far ahead of ourselves here.
Acta also did not hesitate to get Perez back out for a save chance yesterday. This time, he walked the tightrope, but it wasn’t his doing. With one out and a runner on first, he induced former Indian Ben Francisco into what should have been a game-ending double play. But Cabrera booted the ball at short. Perez got a key second out before walking Kelly Johnson to load the bases for all-everything stud Jose Bautista. In the end, Rage did his thing and got Bautista to pop out to end the game, preserving the Indians’ first win of the season.
“It’s a funny game,” Acta said. “You blow one up by three and then you can save one with the bases loaded and Jose Bautista at the plate. That’s why we play this game. We love it.”
Perez will be just fine and the bullpen will once again be a strength of this team.
Up Next….
In comes the new look Chicago White Sox, who lost two of three to the Texas Rangers over the weekend, for a three-game series. Josh Tomlin will get the ball from Acta and look to keep the string of great starts going. He will be faced by 23-year old lefty Chris Sale, who spent his rookie season in the pen, but was moved to the rotation for 2012.
(photo via Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)
58 Comments
Because he’s run out of the few facts he had to begin with, and just wants to complain.
Gentlemen, you’ll thank me someday when I and my fellow believers finally convince the baseball establishment that the 100-pitch threshold is complete fallacy, myth, voodoo, and bushwah.
To remove a guy who is throwing a 2-hitter and just mowin’ ’em down is beyond stupid, and always will be.
I’m going to the game tomorrow night. It should be Masterson’s turn — that is, unless Acta thinks he’s just too exhausted from his 99-pitch ordeal Thursday.
If Masterson does start tomorrow night and Acta even comes near him in the dugout, I’m gonna be all over him.
My fellow believers and me shall not rest until the world comes to its senses and sees this our way.
I don’t get this, is this a “back in my day” type of thing? Last year, Masterson topped, not just 100, but 110 pitches 13 times. Acta is willing to give the guy plenty of rope but, just like every other manager, not in a guy’s first start back in cold weather.
You keep saying the other side is stupid, but don’t really address their arguments, somehow I don’t see how that is going to end up getting the world to come “to its senses”.
The failure wasn’t on the part of Acta, but on Perez. The Indians had a win expectancy of 97% at that point. Wheeler, or any other major league reliever, should be expected to get through that inning without giving up 3 runs. You’re acting like Acta went gave up a huge advantage on the odds or are just reacting in hindsight. The former is incorrect, the latter is just whining.
Nice strawman. Where did I ever say anything about a 100 pitch threshold?
I was just pointing out that comparing NFL QBs to MLB starting pitchers is like comparing apples and orangutans.
Yea cause that is the perfect comparison.
That last sentience was pretty immature.
But if I’m understanding your logic correctly you know more than every manager in the MLB? Because the other 29 would have done the exact same thing.
You’re right, and while we’re comparing the NFL to the MLB (since they’re the same thing) why don’t the Browns just spend more than the Steelers and Ravens ala the Yankees and win the division next year!?
Problem solved.
“Mr. Holmgren, there’s a man on line 1 who says he has the answer to all of your problems…..”
just wanted to note that the starters did all this against a Blue Jays offense that many think will be very, very good this year.
reaching for anything to hope on, so I’m not going to mention the hitters 🙂