There is an old saying in sports that a team is never as good as it looks when it is winning, and never as bad as it looks when they are losing. The 2006 Cleveland Indians are not as bad as they played this week, and the good news is this: They still have 124 games remaining to make up for it.
Still, they need to get their collective acts together. They get hitting and no pitching and lose. They get good pitching and can’t score and lose. Perhaps this is the start to getting the pitching in line. They got pretty good starts against the Tigers, but still were swept. Cliff Lee was pitching very well Friday night, but as soon as the Tribe tied it up, he gave up three and put the Indians behind 5-2. This is a growing area of concern for the staff, the inability to shut down the opposition after Cleveland puts runs on the board.
This team needs to get hot. A good eight wins in ten games would do the trick. It would also be nice if the Wahoos followed up this weekend’s pitching with a good performance against the Royals and Pirates. Jason Johnson’s outing was acceptable yesterday, but Jake Westbrook needs to get it going. He has pretty much been awful since his first two starts of the season. He could be sent to the ‘pen if he doesn’t get it going, because he can be effective for two or three inning stints.
The Indians called up Fausto Carmona to pitch in relief and designated Danny Graves for assignment. Although Carmona might be sent down shortly. Saying Graves was ineffective is an understatement. Apparently, Rafael Betancourt will be activated tomorrow, giving Wedge another option in the seventh and eighth innings. That would move Jason Davis, another shaky proposition earlier in the game. I have to believe that Scott Sauerbeck is still hanging by a thread as well.
The lineup is still producing almost six runs per game, but Aaron Boone has been a disappointment again so far. His defense seems to have eroded, as he booted a ball hit right at him on Saturday night. The ABJ’s Terry Pluto advocates bringing up Andy Marte now. I can’t say I disagree with him. Pluto theorizes that Marte’s slow start in Buffalo is a result of being disappointed at being there.
There are seven games remaining on this current home stand. The Indians need to win five to start turning the season around. There is a long way to go, but the Tribe’s year is teetering. It’s start to start playing good baseball. Right now!
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 