While We’re Waiting… Paul Kruger’s ceiling
August 6, 2013NFL News: Officials poised to crack down on celebrations
August 6, 2013I was thinking about this on my drive home from Progressive Field last night. Should I immediately go to the computer and start firing in anger or should I sleep on it and see how I felt in the morning. I took the mature path. However, I was up in the middle of the night not once, but twice, for a solid two plus hours thinking about what I had just witnessed down at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario (and the screaming moron directly behind me who didn’t stop for nine innings). If it bothers ME this much, imagine being a member of the Indians after last night’s absolutely gut-wrenching, heart-tearing, sickening 4-2 loss to the hands of the first place Detroit Tigers.
This one should have felt so different. Corey Kluber, the Indians completely-out-of-nowhere stopper, came out and put up zeroes for seven plus innings before handing things off to the bullpen. The defense behind him was absolutely superb thanks to a pair of web gems from second baseman Jason Kipnis, the arm of Michael Brantley in left, and the crazy wheels of Michael Bourn in center. After a one-out single by Ramon Santiago in the eighth, manager Terry Francona made the decision to go and get Kluber with the top of the order due up. We all rose as one to give Corey the standing ovation he deserved. Again, he was a strike-throwing machine, giving up six hits and just one walk while striking out six. The sinker was once again on display.
On came Joe Smith who created a jam of his own, but was able to work his way out of it thanks to plain old fashion dumb luck. After Austin Jackson’s infield single put two on with one out, Torii Hunter sent a line drive directly at right fielder Drew Stubbs. It looked as though Stubbs would come in and make the catch, but he got caught in between and took the ball on a bounce. Jackson, the runner at first, saw the ball land, take a quirky bounce towards Stubbs and proceeded to over-run second base. Stubbs was able to recover and throw behind Jackson, who was eventually tagged out on this way to third. At the time, everyone inside of Progressive Field thought the Indians had just caught the biggest break of the game. Still, there was one more big out to get in the form of Miguel Cabrera.
With new life in him, Smitty got Cabrera to ground out to second to end the inning. The bullet was dodged, Cabrera was now behind them and wouldn’t be coming up in the ninth, and a gigantic collective sigh of relief came from the 24,000 plus in attendance. However, baseball is a nine-inning game.
Before I get there, the offense needs to be taken to task as well. Save for two, two-out RBI hits from Jason Giambi in the second and Carlos Santana in the fourth, there wasn’t much to talk about. With that said, the Tribe narrowly missed two extra runs by a few feet. After Giambi’s single put the Tribe up 1-0, Lonnie Chisenhall hit a ball deep to center field that Jackson jumped up and snared to save a home run. Santana’s double looked like a no-doubt homer off the bat, but it hit the top of the center field wall. Even the person in charge of sound effects at Progressive Field thought it was gone as the home run siren rang through the stadium. If both balls are hit a foot higher, its a different ball game.
The offense has put up just eight runs in their past four games. That is just not getting it done.
And speaking of not getting it done……
Indians closer Chris Perez has not enjoyed himself much this year. He had a rough start, a DL stint, and an arrest for marijuana possession. Afterwards, he decided that he no longer was going to speak to the media. Once he emerged from the disabled list, Perez pitched like an All-Star. Heading into last night, the closer had allowed just two earned runs in his last 18 appearances and had not blown a save since May 18th. He came on to pitch the ninth for the third consecutive day. Francona said he had no problem bringing him on after back to back days of work. He had done it twice before this season and recorded three saves and two wins without allowing an earned run. This time would be different.
You could see after the first two batters he faced – Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez – that Perez didn’t have his command or his regular velocity. The veteran sluggers produced a double and a single to start the ninth, cutting the Tigers deficit in half. But still, the Tribe had a one-run lead and three outs to get. Walking Andy Dirks on five pitches also should have been a tell-tale sign for Francona, who had Cody Allen warming behind Perez. But he stuck with his closer who had converted his last 11 save chances.
When asked if he considered pulling Perez in that spot, Francona said “If you’re going to start doing that, you’re going to get a revolving door going and create a mess. He’s shown the ability to wiggle out of those a lot of times.”
The next Tiger was Alex Avila who took a 1-0 meatball over the high-wall in left-center for the ultimate blow. The three-run, opposite field home run from a guy hitting under .200 on the season was a dagger to the heart. Francona came out to get Perez, who left to a chorus of boos. CP has been so good since his return in June, but he could not have picked a worse time to not have it.
The most incredible fact of them all – Perez has blown saves against the Tigers three consecutive years on August 5th.
Here is the thing. Blown saves happen all the time. This one just happened at the most inopportune time. The Indians had the Tigers on the ropes, ready to take the first of the big four-game set with the team they are chasing in the AL Central. Instead, they headed into the clubhouse with arguably their most demoralizing defeat of the season. This, along with the two bullpen meltdowns in Minnesota coming out of the All-Star break, will be the ones we look back on should the Tribe narrowly miss the playoffs.
As for Perez, he skipped out of the clubhouse quickly after the game, leaving his teammates to do the talking for him. In years past, he was the first guy to be accountable for his actions on the field. He would face the music after a blown save. But, he hasn’t spoken to the media since May and he kept that up. I had no problem with him deciding to keep his mouth shut earlier this season, but last night is not the time for you to dip out on your teammates. They deserve better than that. It was an extremely weak move.
Judging by the meltdown on Twitter last night, you would have thought Perez killed someone’s dog. He blew a save. I’m sure at some point he will blow another at some point. But because of his past transgressions, the fan base has given him zero leeway. I’ll say this – there is still nobody else currently on the roster that I would trust more in his closer role. It is not like the rest of the guys in the pen haven’t done the same thing lately. This one is just more magnified because of the opponent and the timing. He will be fine. The guy has pitched six of the last eight games and had an off night.
The good news is that there are still three more games in this series and we get right back at it tonight with a dandy of a pitching matchup. Justin Masterson (13-7, 3.33 ERA) will match up with Detroit’s Justin Verlander (11-8, 3.88 ERA). The reigning Cy Young Award winner has not been himself this season and sports and ERA of 5.82 in three starts against the Tribe this year. Masterson has been a true ace since the break, going 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA.
(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
104 Comments
OK, I get it, I’ve been duly smacked down. So if it isn’t Papelbon, then get aggressive with someone else. I’ve never been the Perez hater that others are, but I believe he has worn out his welcome in Cleveland, blown saves being the last thing on that list. His mouth, the drugs, leaving his teammates high and dry last night… Take the opportunity to cut ties and spend some serious coin on an established closer. Are there even any pending free agents that are closers? I don’t know, but I stand by my assertion that our improvement on the field this year is at least partly related to the pursestrings being loosened (and I would include Tito in there, as well). If the Dolans are going to continue to spend with a little more aggression, address the closer spot. All I’m saying.
Not exactly right either. You can be ahead as by many as five and still get a save.
The official scorer shall credit a pitcher with a save when such pitcher meets all four of the following conditions:
(a) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his team;
(b) He is not the winning pitcher;
(c) He is credited with at least ⅓ of an inning pitched; and
(d) He satisfies one of the following conditions:
(1) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning;
(2) He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on base or is one of the first two batters he faces); or
(3) He pitches for at least three innings.
What is Perez going to make next year in arbitration? 9 mil? So Paps makes 13 mil the next two seasons and we have the Phillies eat some of that salary to get them to dump him. Let’s say 5 mil each year for a total of 10 mil, which in turn would have the Tribe only paying him 8 mil a year.
Obviously that’s wishful thinking, but Pap has become more hated than Santa Claus in Philly and a change of scenery in a pennant race could definitely change things for him. He obviously doesn’t want to be in Philly and his performance of late shows that.
the best closers for teams tend to be the fireballers from their own minor league systems like Mujica for the Cardinals, Kimbrel for the Braves, and even Perez for us (yeah, trade from Cardinals, but still).
Carrasco might not be a bad idea to try out for next year. We already know he’s crazy.
also, as a philosophy, I don’t think spending the $$$ on a closer is the right way to do it. If we are going to spend more $$$, there are plenty of other areas to address that should garner more overall wins.
I’ve never been a Perez fan regardless of his off field issues. I’ve just really enjoyed him being a moron. That being said I think there are plenty of other issues with this team and areas that need to be improved. Whether it’s a legitimate ace or better bullpen arms or a legit power hitter i.e. more then 20 HRs then I’m all for those being addressed first. If Perez was the biggest problem this team would be sitting pretty right now.
Mujica is a fireballer from OUR minor league system.
Damnit.
Perez never entered a scenario (2) or (3) in those 18 appearances though. I stand by my statement.
Mujica the ex-Indian hell ex-just about everyone? Carrasco as a closer just sent a shivva down me spine. I really think he needs to be moved to the ‘pen but not as closer in training.
Wow. I completely agree with everything you said.
Ugh, can’t decide if too much coffee or not enough…
Stand by what you want, I just want to cite baseball canon law.
To be fair that was awhile ago and after a few other stops along the way. The Cardinals just do what they do. Look at Matt Carpenter. Allen Craig. I mean David Freese hasn’t even been hitting until late and their offense is insane.
for whatever reason, the crazy ones tend to be the closers. Tabasco seems to be as crazy as anyone else we have 🙂
Upvotes all around!
and it’s appreciated.
we all need them today
Shocking huh? Hey I have my moments just because I’m the Trevor Bauer of WFNY and you all cannot grasp the natures of my way doesn’t mean I don’t have the stuff. 😉
Yeah, I know, and somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better this morning.
Ah that shouldn’t bother you really. If not for Motte getting hurt and his possible replacement who’s name escapes me melting down Edwin would still be a setup man.
Pap smear isn’t the same closer as he was with the might BoSox and I’m lovin’ it. He’s not worth that IMO.
Boggs
You complete me…ah yes Mitchell Boggs that’d be him.
I really do think in all seriousness Carrasco would be ideal for the bullpen. Let him work 1-2 innings then get him out. He has the stuff he just can’t maintain it. Kinda like what Pittsburgh has done with ex-Indian Jeanmar Gomez.
terry made 2 huge mistakes last night. he never should have pulled kluber in the seventh after only a 105 pitches in favor of a bullpen that has struggled all season. just a bad decision. smith got lucky to get out of that mess. and then the second mistake was leaving perez in after the walk when it was clear he couldn’t control either of his pitches and was only topping out at 92. you can get away with 92 but you’ve got to spot it on a dime. and those back to back sliders right down the middle to victor when he was ahead in the count just baffles me. he also refused to throw the ball inside and they were sitting middle away. too easy.
I like the Carrasco idea for next year, because I really don’t think he has a future in our rotation. If Brett Myers ever wanted to pitch this year instead of just collecting his millions chatting up Sandy on the bench, he could even be a closer option.
Paps at 8 miil a year if Philly eats that much salary is still better than any internal option we have. Perez is done after this year regardless.
Also, the first statement is not true, and you kind of screwed your argument with including Mujica. Yeah, there are a lot of good closers that come from team’s systems, but most of the time it’s random.
Here are the top 7 relievers this year:
Jansen (system), Uehara (journeyman), Melancon (journeyman), Kimbrel (system), Mujica (journeyman), Holland (system) and Grilli (journeyman).
An emotionally devastating loss. It’s only “just one loss” if that’s what the team believes. But if hitters come out trying too hard, as can happen when a team believes their bullpen is unreliable, if the team as a whole is clenching or flat because Perez just ripped their hearts out and they can’t recover for a week, then it is in fact way much more than “just one loss.”
We’ll know tonight how important this was. None of us know right now.
Screw pitching, we need hitting. The offense needs to step up so that we aren’t chewing our fingers off every 9th inning hoping we can stretch 1 or 2 runs into a W.
Here’s my problem with that, inherent to the “closer” position. It’s 19 innings. You can go down the pitcher list league wide and find scores of truly mediocre to minus pitchers with stats just as good over a little stretch like that. Over a period of time like that MOST pitchers either look like amazing world beaters or total chumps. Very few look like what they are. Take 4 plus defensive plays away and all of a sudden the numbers are ordinary, Change 4 more borderline calls and the numbers are suddenly bad. I go by how his pitches look and what the contact looks like. He’s had a few very good outings since the break, more has been pretty shaky stuff that has fallen his way.
Chris Perez is a one trick pony. Either the hard slider is working and the location is acceptable, or it’s not, and he’s a potential bottomless pit. Part of that is his often tactically destructive hardheadedness where he keeps shooting for corners no matter what the situation and won’t give in an inch. That feast and famine is not a great recipe for a closer. I don’t think I would ever put him in up 3 runs. I can’t think of a guy on the team more likely to give up 4.
He’s an asset to the bullpen, for sure, we’ve got little else. But you can’t confuse small-sample stretches with reality. Chris Perez is a mediocre pitcher with high variability both ways.
i didn’t make my argument well at all. a closer tends to come from a reliever that the team has rather than going out and paying big $$$ to acquire one.
Where’s Ripley when we need her?
It would be nice who knows Justin V goes tonight maybe he’ll continue to be off and the Indians can do some damage.
I feel I must interject here and mention that I used Grilli as a closer a year ago in MLB2k12 and was great. Forward thinking people, forward thinking!
Random is the operative word here. Closer=tiny sample size=whoever gets a little hot/lucky is the new “dominant closer” with “incredible mental makeup”
I say just bring up the closer for Columbus and give the lie to this thing.
I seem to recall most of that expedition meeting an untimely end. Ripley seems to mostly be bad luck for those around her. It’s a wonder they kept signing her up for more tours of duty.
the small sample size is always tricky when it comes to relievers. if we go back to his last 4 seasons, then we get a SP year worth of pitching in 216IP:
2.96ERA, 189SO, 84BB, 166Hits
but, that isn’t really fair as alot can change with a pitcher from season to season.
as far as being a 1-trick pony and having high variability, well that is true of almost all closers. otherwise, they’d be starting.
Tragedies and Cleveland sports go hand in hand.
Theres also the crowd that watched that happen the last 2 seasons. I don’t think it’s unreasonable.
Anybody know what time the Browns start time is on Thursday?
Yeah, it’s hard to do the numbers at all since Perez clearly isn’t physically the same guy he was in 2010, which was his best year by far. All I mean to say is just watching him I feel he’s a bottom 10 closer league wide, and not the kind of guy you put on auto pilot and forget. I feel he’s a very bad choice by the numbers when you’re up by more than 2 (not the case last night of course.) And when you can see he doesn’t have it, you need to forget the closer politics and just go get him.
He’s an asset, but he needs to be treated like what he is– an overall o.k. pitcher with HIGH variability. As high a potential to explode as anyone on the staff.
He pulled Kluber in the 8th, not the 7th. The Tiger hitters were starting to hit rockets that Cleveland fielders were making great plays on. The guy was tiring and was on his fourth time through a dangerous lineup and it was just a 2-run game. It’s not a bad decision because it didn’t work.
Re leaving Perexz, he could have done that, but I don’t see many managers pull their closers while they still have the lead, especially when that closer is known to work in and out of trouble, lose his control and suddenly find it. It’s very easy to second guess today.
I think pretty much our entire lineup needs to be bunting down the line every time up if they play miggy at 3rd again. That guy simply cannot run right now. He can barely jog.
and that is where I will fight you on. he is not a bottom10 closer.
just want you to know: love the name (and the reference)
Let me look and see if I really believe that….O.K. on quick glance here http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/closers I’d say yeah, bottom 10 in just about every category there, bottom 5 in WHIP which is probably my highest-stock stat.
I guess it’s still a fairly small sample and we can say injury is part of that maybe.
it’s fair, but the last game before his DL stint really skews those numbers. my argument was that since he’s been back he’s been back from the DL, he was excellent until last night.
we’ll see. regardless, I don’t want to be paying a closer what he will command in arbitration, so I’m all for shopping him in the offseason.
Hopefully the next couple days go well and Thursday is to climb back within a game of the division. Till then, enjoy.
What of the 2013 Tribe reminds you of the 2011 or 2012 Tribe?
The glass is half-full. The Tigers didn’t beat the Indians last night; they beat Chris Perez. In all facets of the game other than the ninth inning, we outplayed them. We put up good at-bats and scored 2 runs off Anibal Sanchez who had a combined ERA under 1.00 in the 3 games before yesterday’s contest (and this doesn’t count Chiz’s blast, which was over the yellow line when Jackson caught it). Our Number 4 starter, Cory Kluber, shut out the Tigers lineup for 7.1 innings. Even Joe Smith got out of a jam for the first time in a month. All in all, not a bad performance from the vast majority of the team.
Further on the bright side–the Tigers’ lineup is not nearly as fearsome with Cabrera banged up and Peralta suspended. They lost a TON of power in 2 spots of a lineup that is otherwise not remarkable for its speed or athleticism once you get past the first 2 spots.
Finally, I don’t think we have to worry about a mental carryover from last night for one reason: Francona. This is a guy who led 2 teams back from 3-0 and 3-1 deficits in 2 ALCS in 4 years. He’ll have the guys ready. It will not shock me at all if we come back to split this series and gain ground on a weakened Detroit in the next few weeks.
perez didn’t have it. it was obvious and he couldn’t get an out and should have been pulled. i was second guessing before he gave up the homer since he had zero control. you don’t leave a guy in if he doesn’t have it simply because he’s your “closer” and known to get out of jams. with that kind of reasoning you can make a case for keeping kluber in too
swisher is killing this lineup. he has been terrible all year. 33 RBI for an everyday player and its AUGUST! unacceptable for a suppossedly high caliber player. he could turn into a hafner-type situation with that contract and it would be devastating for our organization.