Trying to Avoid a Sweep

Tigers 5, Indians 2 (box)

Two games ago, the bullpen was responsible for the loss.  Yesterday, the bullpen didn’t even have a shot to make up for the previous implosion.  After falling behind 1-0 early, Jeremy Sowers tossed 90 pitches in only four innings of work – allowing five earned.  With an ERA of 2.08 for Triple-A Buffalo, Sowers has one just shy of seven with the big club.

Perhaps due to the fact that he’s called-up and sent back down in a matter of hours?  Perhaps due to nerves?  Or maybe he just isn’t ever going to be the starter that we thought we had a few years back when he tossed one of the better second halves in recent memory?  Either way, the result was another loss.  A loss to a team that has been worse than us (at least record wise) year to date, yet the same team that was supposed to be our rival at the top. 

Insted, we’re now 8.5 games out of first place, and are forced to read columns like this one. 

The Indians have a month or so to find an answer, but the suspicion is they already know where this season is headed. Their bullpen is near the bottom of the league. They don’t outhit their mistakes and rarely do they outhit the ballpark dimensions. […]

In fact, having $33 million tied up in a pitcher headed for Tommy John surgery should make re-signing Sabathia even scarier than before, and it was already chock full of fright for a team with the Indians’ budget and with the organization’s obvious need for quality hitters.

I had a feeling that the Westbrook extension would put a damper on the possible Sabathia contract extension.  Now it looks like we can blame a possible move on the fact that we’re just not winning games. 

The 9-1 Cliff Lee takes the hill tonight against Dontrelle Willis and the Tigers.  Willis will be making his first start since coming off of the DL with a knee injury.  The fact that Dontrelle has an ERA of 2.25 against us isn’t exactly a glaring benefit to our recent lack of hitting.  However, being that it is a first start and that Willis hasn’t exactly been the same since he stormed on to the seen a few years back, let’s see if this team can put up a few runs and actually hold a lead.  Is that too much to ask for?

Sadly, I think it is.  But stranger things have happened.

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