Tribe Weekend Review: Banged Up Tribe Takes Two From Twins

Lets start with the good news. Your Cleveland Indians took the first two games over the weekend against the Minnesota Twins with their spectacular pitching leading the way. Chris Perez closed back to back games for the first time since in June.  Shin-Soo Choo returned from the DL after a six-week hiatus. They have won four of five and gained a half game on the first place Detroit Tigers, who lost 8-5 yesterday in  Baltimore.

On the flip side, as Choo comes back, Michael Brantley’s sore wrist has kept him on the shelf. Worst of all, it was revealed yesterday that Jason Kipnis is battling a side injury which kept him out of the lineup Saturday and Sunday’s rainout.  So what did we learn this weekend?

“If you’re scared, get a dog.” That’s what set-up man Vinnie Pestano said when told the Indians would now play 45 games in the last 44 days of the season, including three doubleheaders. Sunday’s rainout, which should have never been started in the first place, will end up being rescheduled when the Twins come in September 23-25, the last weekend home series of the season. During that week, the Tribe will be playing nine games in seven days, as a makeup game with the White Sox is already scheduled as a part of a day/night doubleheader on Tuesday September 20th.

Meanwhile, the people in charge of deciding when to start a game are the Indians themselves. For the second time this week, the decision was made to start a game that had no business being started in the first place. On both days, a storm was clearly moving into the area and would be arriving just after first pitch. Yet for some reason, the decision was made to start these games. Anyone with a pulse who saw yesterday’s radar knew that starting at 1 PM was not a wise decision. There was no window to get this game in for at least two hours.

Yet, for reasons unknown to anyone, David Huff was sent out for first pitch at 1:05. By 1:35, the grounds crew was rolling the tarp over the field. The game was called shortly after 4:15 PM. Naturally, the rains stopped around 4:30 for the rest of the evening.

The roster move that didn’t have to be made. The rainout wouldn’t normally be a big deal, but the decision to start the game forced the Indians to make a roster change to bring Huff back into the rotation. The Tribe waited until the last minute to activate Huff and the corresponding move was to send Shelley Duncan down to AAA.

Had the game never started, Huff wouldn’t have been added to the roster and with the day off today, his rotation spot wouldn’t have been needed. Duncan’s right-handed bat could have stayed for the three game set in Chicago (where they will face lefty Mark Buehrle Wednesday) and the opener in Detroit on Friday (they have three left-handed relievers).

Instead, the only true right-handed bats currently are Matt LaPorta (who hits righties better than lefties), Lou Marson, and Jason Donald. They lost the roster flexibility with that poor decision yesterday.

Choo returns with a bang. It was so nice to have Shin-Soo Choo back in the lineup over the weekend. With Michael Brantley’s wrist still bothering him and Grady Sizemore on the DL, the Tribe brass was staring at a three-man outfield of Duncan, Kosuke Fukudome, and Ezequiel Carrera. Choo was rehabbing in Lake County, so they decided to cut his assignment short, and plug him right back into the lineup.

He went 1-7 over the weekend,  but his at-bats were encouraging and hit the ball hard. Sunday’s rainout washed away his first inning RBI single. You will also see a difference defensively with Choo in right and Fukudome moving to center. Despite his many adventures in right earlier this year, Choo still possesses one of the best arms in the game and Fukudome has been a solid defender thus far.

The Brantley and Kipnis injuries. What scares me the most is that we are getting a lot of run-around information with the injuries to these two key performers. It seems as though the Tribe can’t catch a break. They have battled one injury after another all season. Once one guy comes back, another guy seems to go down. This time it was Choo’s return coinciding with Brantley’s sore wrist.

You could see on Tuesday night, every time he swung the bat he was visibly in pain, but fought through it. He hasn’t started a game since and only appeared once, on Friday night as a pinch runner. Had the Indians not used him there (he scored the game-tying run, so it was worth it), he could have been DL’d retro-active to Tuesday. The Indians are hoping the weekend off, plus Monday’s off day will give him enough time to heal. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we didn’t see Brantley play in the first two games in Chicago Tuesday and Wednesday.

As for Kipnis, the Tribe’s hottest hitter (.333/6 HR/10 RBI in his last 12 games) is battling a side injury that was disclosed for the first time yesterday. He didn’t play Saturday and wasn’t in the lineup yesterday, replaced by Donald.

“We’re going to take the necessary steps,” he said. “I anticipate being back soon. It’s going to take a lot to keep me out of the lineup.” He said the side was “sore and stiff.”

The injury comes at the worst time for Kipnis, who returns to his native Chicago this week for the first time in his short career. The Arizona State product is from the northern suburb of Northbrook, Illinois.

Here is the statement that concerns me the most:   “Hopefully, by Tuesday, with all the rest we’ve given them, they (Brantley and Kipnis) should be ready to go,” manager Manny Acta.  “If not, we’ll have to make a decision.”

This off day will certainly help the Indians, but mentally, they need to stay tough the rest of the way. Every game is meaningful from here to the end . All 45 of them in the last 44 days.

(AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)