The Tribe ended their west coast trip at 3-3, losing the series to the Los Angeles Angels despite getting well-pitched games in two of the three contests. Still, the way the Indians have played on the road this year, a .500 trip should be considered a success. The ballclub returns home for three with the Twins over the weekend, featuring the return of Fausto Carmona, and then four more with the Tigers, the last game being played the same day as the trading deadline. Here are thoughts on the Angels series:
Eric Wedge and Carl Willis should shoulder part of the blame for the 14-11 loss in the rubber game of the series. After losing a pair of two run leads (2-0 and 4-2), there is no way Aaron Laffey should have been sent out there again once Cleveland took a 6-5 advantage. The bullpen was rested and there was an off day on Thursday. The skipper could have put Tom Mastny out there to start the inning, or even Jensen Lewis, and tried to get them through the sixth. If they held the lead, the Tribe still had Edward Mujica and Masa Kobayashi to finish up.
I understand the staff is trying to find out about some young guys, but it doesn’t hurt anyone to try and win a game while you are doing it. Laffey had allowed eight hits in four innings, and clearly didn’t have it. He had already blown two leads, and if I were managing there would have been no way he would have had a chance to blow a third. Bringing Mastny in with the bases loaded also was unfair to the young reliever, particularly since he hadn’t pitched since July 13th.
Going back to looking at young guys, if this is true, then how come the manager pinch-hits for Andy Marte at pretty much every clutch situation? I understand the young 3B has just 4 RBI’s on the season, and has struggled with men in scoring position, but any time he comes up in a last game situation with men on base, Wedge goes to the bench. He can’t have it both ways, if the management wants to take a look at the young guys, then Marte needs to bat in clutch opportunities.
On the positive note, in the first two games of the series, the pitching was very good. Paul Byrd raised his trade value by allowing just one run in 5-1/3 innings, and more importantly kept the ball in the park. He could be an attractive piece for a National League contender looking for back of the rotation help. Matt Ginter also threw well, allowing three runs in six innings. It will be very hard to send the veteran back after the two outings he’s had for the Tribe. At the very least, he’s kept his team in the game in both starts, which is better than Laffey and Sowers. However, the management needs to make judgments on these two southpaws.
The situational hitting continues to be a problem. The Indians have to lead the league in having a man on third with no one out, and not getting him in. It happened again on Wednesday afternoon. Either the hitters are too anxious and swing at a borderline first pitch, or they are too patient and get themselves into a hole. Contrast that to the Angels’ hitters, who many times swung at the first pitch and hit the ground ball to the right side to move a runner. Part of the Tribe’s problem is too many hitters are prone to the strikeout.
The next ten games are against Central Division contenders, Minnesota and Detroit. The big things to look at this weekend are Cliff Lee going for win #14, and of course, the return of Carmona to the rotation. His return may help stabilize the starting staff a little bit.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 