For all of the talk about how bad Jason Johnson has been recently, the struggles of another Tribe starter has gone under the radar. Jake Westbrook has been very bad as of late as well, and he takes the hill tonight against the White Sox. Somebody has to be moved soon because Fausto Carmona and Jeremy Sowers are on the horizon, so it would behoove Westbrook to pitch well tonight.
Save for a six hit shutout against the Royals, the right hander has allowed 22 runs in his last 28 innings of work, a nifty 7.07 ERA. Even with that game versus KC, his ERA is over 5.50 for the season. He appears to have reverted to the same problem he had early in his career: nibbling. He gets ahead in the count and then nibbles allowing the hitter to get back in the count.
His woes are part of the reason for the Tribe’s struggles, not the manager. C.C. Sabathia and Paul Byrd have held up their end of the bargain, but the other three starters (Westbrook, Lee, and Johnson) have been bad in four of their last five or six starts. That’s 12 bad starts in a 18 game span. These guys are not giving the team a chance to win, that’s the chief problem.
Yes, the ballclub has appeared lackadaisical. Yes, the baserunning and defense have been problems. However, the starting pitching has been the main problem. For the most part, when the starters pitch well, the Indians win. I know that’s simplistic, but sometimes the answer is simple.
I also think Wedge has blown up at the team behind closed doors. The fact he has been a little critical in the media is probably the proof. Normally, he says nothing bad in public.
Speaking of Sowers, the lefty has taken over the top spot on the Baseball America Hot Prospect list. In fact, three Indian farmhands are currently in the Top 10. The others are Akron 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, who is the only minor leaguer hitting over .400, and last year’s top draft pick, Trevor Crowe at Kinston. Supposedly, Crowe will be converted to 2B this winter.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 