The Cleveland Indians needed to come home after being swept by the Detroit Tigers, and win a whole lot during an eleven game homestand.
It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
The Indians lost the first game to a Seattle team that had nothing to play for when their offense took another siesta, and their closer melted down coming into a 2-2 game in the ninth. He hit the first two batters, and made an error on a sacrifice attempt to load the bases with no one out.
In today’s day/night doubleheader, manager Manny Acta decided to let starter Justin Masterson stay in the game with a 4-3 lead going into the ninth. despite having thrown over 100 pitches. Granted, he might not have wanted to use Chris Perez after he threw almost 40 pitches the night before, but he could have used Vinnie Pestano or Tony Sipp.
Masterson gave up two hits, and then Perez came on and gave up a two run double to give Seattle the lead.
Luckily for the skipper, the Mariners’ closer, Brandon League, gave up a leadoff double to Ezequiel Carrera, and ultimately a game winning home run to Shin-Soo Choo.
In the second game, Acta watched his rookie starter give up ten runs, eight of them earned, before relieving him in the 4th. The score at that point was 8-2.
Zack McAllister gave up five runs in the previous inning, but the manager didn’t take him out until he gave up three more? He should have been yanked after the first sign of trouble. This wasn’t some game in the middle of June, so the rookie had to soak up some innings to save the bullpen.
The Tribe needed a win, especially since Felix Hernandez is throwing for Seattle tomorrow afternoon.
A win by the Tigers would put the Indians six games back, and they are just a half game ahead of the White Sox.
Barring a horrific slump by Detroit or a prolonged hot streak by the Indians, a season which held so much promise in May, will likely be all over.
Yes, the injuries are a factor. Losing Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and Choo for long periods of time was tough. However, the first two have been battling injuries for several years, so it would have been a stretch to predict injury free seasons for either.
The health problems even extended to rookie Jason Kipnis, who had to be shut down for a couple of weeks right after he had started to give the offense a spark.
As it was, the hitting attack was far too dependent on Asdrubal Cabrera, who is showing the fatigue of a guy who has carried his team most of the year. When the all-star shortstop wasn’t hitting, the Indians had trouble scoring runs.
Choo was just starting to hit a groove after a terrible start when he went on the DL after a Jonathan Sanchez pitch crushed his left thumb. He’s starting to look like the Choo of 2009-10 now, but it looks like it’s too late.
GM Chris Antonetti tried to help the surprising contenders, dealing for Ubaldo Jimenez and Kosuke Fukudome to help out, but other holes sprung up, like closer Chris Perez’ struggles over the last month.
The Indians gave it a good run, and may have done it a year earlier than expected. Hopefully, everyone, including the manager, has learned from this experience of playing meaningful games in August, and carry it into next year.
However, no one should rest on laurels. This team has played 15 games below .500 for a good chunk of the season. That shouldn’t be forgotten.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 