The Cleveland Indians are 8-11 since their six game winning streak ended in Detroit on July 4th. They likely will be starting a rookie next week against the Rangers in Aaron Laffey, who will replace Cliff Lee in the rotation. The best hitter the past three seasons, Travis Hafner, is in a slump that has lasted three months. The New York Yankees will win the conclusion of a suspended game today to close within four games of the Tribe in the wild card race. Even an optimist like me is getting concerned.
I am not a big critic of managers, and I particularly don’t like second guessing. I watched last night’s game and there would have been no way I would have let Lee take the mound to start the fifth inning. The score at the time was 4-1, Boston. Lee had walked the first two hitters in the fourth, and was lucky Josh Barfield made a great stop on Julio Lugo’s bullet or it would have been 6-1. Jason Stanford has not pitched in long relief in a while, so why not replace Lee down only three runs and your team still in the ballgame. Three hits, a walk, and an error later, the score was 7-1, and the Red Sox extended the lead to 9-1 by the end of the fifth, thus putting the game out of reach.
Now, I understand that Stanford could have gotten bombed, and I know the Indians put the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the inning. But the skipper put the importance of getting innings out of his starter ahead of winning the game. After losing two out of three to start the series, the Tribe needed to get a split. Sending a struggling Lee out there was not the correct decision.
Look at the upcoming schedule. After this homestand concludes with three against the Twins and Rangers, the Tribe hits the road for four more with the Twins and three against the White Sox. Then the Yankees and Tigers come to town. No breathers there. The club needs to pick it up if they want to remain as a leader in the playoff derby.
It’s quite obvious that Franklin Gutierrez should be in the lineup everyday. With dingers the last two nights, he now has seven for the season, or the total that David Dellucci and Trot Nixon have contributed, combined. He’s also hitting over .300, although he has just a little over 100 at bats.
More on the Tribe offense. This team has developed patience. They work counts, and most starting pitchers cannot make it through seven innings because this team makes them throw many pitches. It’s a trademark of a good offensive team. The Yankees of the late 90’s excelled in this area. The Cleveland hitters must take the next step, though. That would be to execute when the extra base hits aren’t coming. That means hitting behind the runners and making contact to score runs with outs. That’s what the Tigers do, and the Red Sox as well. This will continue to be an inconsistent attack until that occurs.
The trading deadline is just a few days away. If getting a relief pitcher like Octavio Dotel costs you a Ben Francisco, I think you have to do it. A one-two pitching punch like Sabathia and Carmona is something the Indians haven’t had going into the post season since 1954. If they can get there, those two guys could make it a lengthy trip.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 