Travis Hafner’s two out, ninth inning home run spared the Cleveland Indians from clinching a losing road trip, their first sojourn of the season. The 4-3 victory squared the Tribe’s record at 4-4 on the young season, a pretty good mark considering the offense has been dormant since the second game of the season. For all of the Indians’ struggles, it could be worse. The Tigers, who I still think will contend for the division title, have started off 0-7, so the fact that Cleveland sits at .500 isn’t a bad thing.
However, there are some things that are cause for concern even though the campaign is very, very young. Notice, the word used is concern, because there is no time for panic.
Last year, Rafael Betancourt was dominant as the Tribe’s set up man. He was as automatic as death and taxes. This year, he has struggled. In his four games thus far, he has pitched 3-1/3 innings and has allowed nine hits! Remember, the even though Raffy Right picked up the win on opening day, he had to get out of a bases loaded, nobody out situation to do it. Saturday afternoon in Oakland, Betancourt gave up four hits in one inning, last year he wouldn’t have given up four hits in a week. This is just another example of how volatile a bullpen can be.
That’s not even mentioning Joe Borowski’s performance on Monday night. After the game, there was some question about the closer’s velocity, but Eric Wedge and Carl Willis said they know nothing about a possible arm problem for the right-hander. Borowski had a couple of games like this last year (in April against the Yankees and in May vs. the A’s), but recovered from them. The problem didn’t seem to be the speed of his pitches, but rather the location. He couldn’t throw strikes. He basically walked himself into a problem. If JoeBo throws strikes, he should be fine.
Another concern is the defense. The Indians kicked the ball all over the field on Monday. The Angels first run scored on Casey Blake’s error, and earlier Jhonny Peralta booted one. Kelly Shoppach had a couple of passed balls over the weekend in Oakland. Friday night, Paul Byrd should have given up one run in the fifth, not three. Yes, the Tribe starting pitching has been great, but the hurlers have to work harder to make up for the fielding behind them.
A bright spot, or a continued bright spot is the starting rotation. When the reigning Cy Young Award winner is pitching the poorest of any of the starters, that’s a good thing. Cliff Lee’s first start was encouraging, as was both of Jake Westbrook’s outings. Fausto Carmona has seemingly picked up right where he left off in 2007. If the bullpen can right itself, the Indians’ pitching will be just fine.
All in all, a win today gives the Tribe a .500 road trip, and an above .500 record on the young season. For all that hasn’t worked out so far, that’s not bad.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 