We just finished reading Terry Francona’s book (written with Dan Shaughnessy) about his days with the Boston Red Sox.
First of all, we recommend that all Tribe fans read the book, because it gives tremendous insight on how the skipper relates to players, and to what kind of players he likes.
It is no surprise after reading the book how much Francona values Jason Giambi in his clubhouse.
Francona also talks about his managerial philosophy in regards to handling players in the media. Basically, no matter how upset he is with a player, he handles it privately and publicly backs the player in question.
The reason we are bringing this up is today’s announcement that the Indians will bring up Danny Salazar to start Wednesday night’s contest vs. the Tigers, a big series for Cleveland. While it’s probably not make or break because it is the beginning of August, it is more important than the series at the beginning of July because it’s later in the season.
Still, the Indians need to show the Tigers they can beat them, and there are only seven games remaining between the two teams.
Although Francona always speaks in positive tones about Ubaldo Jimenez, his actions tell us something else.
The manager couldn’t have been pleased at Friday night’s performance where the right hander threw 107 pitches in four innings, making Francona have to use his bullpen for four innings.
This after arguably Jimenez best start of the season, an eight inning effort against the Rangers where he didn’t allow a run.
It says here that’s the problem for the skipper, Jimenez is inconsistent and can’t be counted on to pitch well.
Yes, the error by Asdrubal Cabrera on a possible double play ball in the first, a mistake the shortstop took full responsibility for, made the pitcher throw a lot more pitches than he would have had to without the bobble. However, it was still first and second with one out against a Marlins’ team that isn’t known for swinging the bat.
Jimenez allowed three more hits in the inning (to be fair, one was a bloop double by Logan Morrison), and had to throw 23 more pitches. But he threw 34 more pitches in the second inning and allowed another run before Cabrera’s second error of the game.
You would think that after shutting out Texas for eight innings and facing a poor hitting Miami team, Jimenez would come out and be aggressive, challenging the hitters. He didn’t, and that has to drive Francona and pitching coach Mickey Calloway crazy.
Francona cited Jimenez poor results against Detroit this season (1-2, 6.93 ERA) as the reason for the move, and said he would make his next appearance against the Angels on Friday, but more likely the real reason is his lack of confidence in having Jimenez pitch well in a key game against the division leaders.
Certainly, the desire to see more of Salazar, who has been dominating in AAA, striking out 78 in 59-1/3 innings of work with the Clippers, and allowing just two earned runs in his last 33-1/3 frames.
If the kid throws another good game against Detroit, it could lead to him staying and being used out of the bullpen for the rest of the season. Imagine him coming in every third or fourth day for two or three innings.
This is a bold move by Francona and GM Chris Antonetti. Regardless of how it works out, you have to commend them for making the move.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 