The Tribe dropped two of three at Comerica Park to the Tigers with ace C.C. Sabathia getting hammered in a 12-3 loss yesterday. No need to panic, though as the Indians still have a one game lead heading into the last series before the All Star break against the Toronto Blue Jays. They are still playing .600 ball as their record is 51-34 through 85 games.
The Tiger offense was relentless yesterday as they belted three homers off the Tribe all-star left hander. In fact, the Tigers lead the American League in runs by a large margin over the Yankees and Indians. Cleveland ranks 3rd in the league in walks, while Detroit is ninth, so the Tribe is the more patient team. However, the Tigers are batting .290 as a team compared to the Indians .273 mark. The biggest reason is the Kitties don’t strike out as much as Cleveland hitters.
Both team have three batters who rank in the top 10 in the league in strikeouts. Ironically, both team’s leadoff hitters are in this group. In fact, Grady Sizemore leads the AL and Curtis Granderson is second. The other two Indians are Jhonny Peralta and Casey Blake, the other Detroit players are Craig Monroe and Brandon Inge. Here lies the difference. Blake hits second normally for Cleveland and Peralta hits fifth. The two Tigers bat eighth and ninth. The lack of contact hitters with some pop in the middle of the order hurts the Tribe offense at times.
The Indians also have two more hitters who rank in the top 50 in striking out, Travis Hafner and Josh Barfield. The Tigers do not have anyone else who is listed in this grouping. Thus, Cleveland has five hitters in the top 50 in the AL in not making contact. The Tribe ranks 2nd in the AL as a team in whiffs, behind only Tampa Bay. The Tigers rank 9th. Detroit’s 3-4-5 hitters, Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Guillen not only make contact, but they drive the ball. Cleveland’s heart of the order, Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, and Jhonny Peralta are prone to fanning, Martinez not included.
There is no question the Tribe’s method is to wear out pitchers, taking a lot of pitches, working counts, battling with every at bat. There’s a reason most starters don’t last seven innings against the Tribe, they make starters work, and work hard to get outs. It’s a good approach, good enough for Cleveland to be one of the AL’s best hitting teams. It does point out the need for one more professional bat for the Indians, a high average hitter with power. I understand those guys don’t grow on trees.
That’s the difference in the two teams on offense. The Tiger attack is similar to that of the Yankees when they had their great teams in the late 90’s, led by Paul O’Neill, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, etc. They hit for average and power. Those teams had great success offensively in the post season. If the Indians play in October, it may become important for them to change their approach slightly to make more contact.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 