A little bit of this and a little bit of that…
· I’m sure the C.C. Sabathia critics will be out in full force today after he allowed five runs in 2-2/3 innings last night in Philadelphia. In fact, Sabathia ranks second last all-time (behind Doyle Alexander) in ERA among pitchers who have thrown 25 innings in the post-season. I think it is a matter of fatigue for the big lefty. It was too much to expect him to keep being dominant on three days rest, and last year he threw 30 more innings than his previous career high. He needs to be kept to around 210-220 innings in the regular season, and he will do fine in the playoffs. He’s too good of a pitcher to have post-season stats like that.
· Remember in Game 5 versus Boston last year in the ALCS, the Red Sox led 2-1 at the end of the sixth inning. Sabathia should have been pulled then, but he was left in and gave up two more tallies. Let’s say the Tribe had scored four runs off of Josh Beckett instead of one, and then C.C. is a hero, pitching the Tribe into the World Series. The game wasn’t the big lefty’s fault; the reason the Indians lost was they ran into a hot pitcher.
· With this in mind, this is another weakness of Eric Wedge. Cliff Lee appeared to tire late in the season, and there were some games where the likely Cy Young Award winner was left to complete games when he probably should have been removed. I know the skipper had a shaky bullpen all season, but last year he didn’t and Sabathia still was gassed. He has to be more aware of the innings he is putting on his starters.
· Speaking of pitching a lot of innings, Tribe legend Bob Feller is one who talks about how today’s pitchers are babied. In 1946, Rapid Robert threw 371 innings, 30 more than his previous career high. He had 36 complete games. He also was never the same again, and never topped 300 innings in his career. You can look it up.
· The Tribe is evaluating their 40-man roster in order to protect some prospects from the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings. Look for the following players to be removed: Pitchers–Brendan Donnelly, Juan Rincon, and Brian Slocum; Position players–Sal Fusion and Michael Aubrey. Reliever Tom Misty and Andy Marta might also be released to create more spots on the roster.
· It’s hard to argue with people who say the national media is biased against Ohio State. The Buckeyes dropped to 14th in the polls after the beat down at USC, and didn’t really move up despite all of the upsets last weekend. Remember, the Bucks lost to the then #1 ranked team in the country, something that Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, and the Trojans cannot claim.
· It’s amazing how that loss to USC has destroyed everyone’s view of the Buckeyes. Most people are convinced they will get hammered at Wisconsin this weekend. Three weeks ago, these same pundits had Ohio State going to their third consecutive BCS title game. That one loss has people now expecting an 8-4 team instead of a National Championship.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 