Tribe Bullpen Not Saving

Last night, the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen had another bad game, bringing the problem to the forefront once again.

Leading 6-5 with two outs in the eighth inning, Joe Smith served up a homer to Chad Tracy, now hitting .145 on the season, on an 0-2 pitch. The next inning, Vinnie Pestano gave up a game winning gopher ball to Anthony Rendon, his first big league circuit shot.

Rendon is a top prospect, but his blast followed miscommunication between Nick Swisher and Jason Kipnis, which resulted in his foul pop up dropping harmlessly to the ground. However, that doesn’t excuse Pestano serving up a meatball to the rookie.

The Tribe bullpen, considered a strength coming into the season, is leaking oil. Outside of Scott Barnes’ three inning save against the Red Sox in a 12-3 blowout on May 23rd, the last time an Indians’ reliever picked up a save was over a month ago, on May 12th vs. Detroit, when Cody Allen came in and recorded the last out in an extra inning win.

That was Mother’s Day. Today is Father’s Day. The only save recorded between the two days honoring our parents was a “rule” one, because Barnes’ went three innings.

Now, losing 16 of 20 contests drastically lowers your chances of getting saves. They don’t award them in losing efforts. But, there were several games in the losing skein that the bullpen could have changed the outcome.

Most famously, there were the two games in Boston where Terry Francona’s squad were winning late.

On May 25th, Cleveland was leading 4-3 in the eighth inning, when Pestano allowed four runs to the Boston, the last two on a another pop up that dropped in with Asdrubal Cabrera trying to catch it.

The very next day, Chris Perez blew a great start by Corey Kluber in the ninth, turning what looked to be a 5-2 win into a 6-5 defeat.

On Memorial Day, which was the day after Perez’ struggles, Nick Hagadone came into a 2-2 games and promptly allowed a two run shot by Joey Votto to give Cincinnati a lead it never relinquished.

Hagadone was victimized again early this week against Texas, when he allowed another tie breaking HR, this one to Lance Berkman.

Perhaps we should have seen this coming. The last game before the Indians entered the losing period, the relief corps allowed game tying home runs in three consecutive innings against Seattle in a game the Tribe would up winning 10-8. The culprits were Pestano, Perez, and Smith, who earned the win when Yan Gomes belted a three run dinger in the 10th inning.

All in all, Cleveland relievers are last in the league in saves, with just nine on the season. To show that saves aren’t the be all, end all for a team, the next two lowest bullpens are Boston (13) and Detroit (14), both of whom reside in first place in their respective divisions.

However, the Tigers have the second best ERA in the American League, which a great starting rotation, and the Red Sox are seventh. The Indians are 13th in that category.

The problem has arisen in two areas: The left-handers (primarily Hagadone and Rich Hill) have been terrible, and the late inning guys, most notably Pestano and Perez have allowed a lot of long balls (a combined eight in 34-2/3 innings).

Smith has a 1.48 ERA, allowing just four runs for the season, but two of them were game tying home runs.

The middle relievers (Matt Albers, Bryan Shaw, Allen, and even rookie Matt Langwell) have been solid.

Perhaps it is time to use them in later game situations.

The Indians have not had a lot of save chances so far in 2013, the problem is, when they have had them, they haven’t done the job. This has to make Francona wonder why he wanted to manage again.

Left-Handed Relief Not There for Tribe.

Many fans of the Cleveland Indians have been concerned about the bullpen recently, mostly because of the health of closer Chris Perez and set up man Vinnie Pestano.

Yes, there was that weekend in Boston, when on consecutive days both Pestano and Perez blew games, which made for crushing defeats. But for the most part, the back end of the Tribe bullpen has been fine.

However, there is bigger problem for the Terry Francona’s bullpen, and that is the need for an effective left-handed pitcher to work late in games.

Right now, Nick Hagadone and Rich Hill have been a disaster in relief.

This past weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays scored 20 runs in the three game series. Thirteen of the runs were charged to Hagadone, Hill, and another lefty Scott Barnes, who was sent back to Columbus Saturday after giving up five runs on Friday night.

Barnes looked good in his two previous appearances, a three inning save against the Red Sox and a one inning stint against the Reds. In his appearance on Friday, he came in and gave up a pair of two run homers to left-handed hitters Matt Joyce and James Loney.

The other two guys, Hagadone and Hill have had problems throwing strikes consistently, a must for relief pitchers.

Hagadone is a power arm, but falls behind in counts and then when he comes into the strike zone, the batters smash the ball. He was last seen yesterday giving up a bomb Rays’ SS Yunel Escobar, currently batting .246.

When he can get ahead of hitters, Hagadone can be lethal, capable of striking out the best left-handed batters. But he has walked 11 in 15 innings this season, way too many, and that doesn’t count the hitters he puts into good hitters’ counts.

Nine of those walks have come against right-handed hitters.

Hill is more of a situational lefty, someone who specializes against tough left-handed hitters, the David Ortizs and Robinson Canos of the world, players who will not be pinch hit for when a lefty comes into the game.

To be fair, Francona has had to use him in some blowout games to save his main relievers, so Hill has seen more right-handed hitter than he should. He has faced 40 hitters from that side of the plate, more than Francona probably wants him to.

Those hitters are batting .353 against Hill with a 925 OPS, which means every right-handed hitter the southpaw faces turns into Miguel Cabrera.

However, Hill has walked six left-handed hitters and has allowed two home runs to them as well, meaning he isn’t exactly shutting down those guys either.

This is developing into a huge problem for Francona and pitching coach Mickey Calloway, because they need someone who can get those tough left-handed hitters out consistently.

If Hill and Hagadone can’t do the job, then it will be up to GM Chris Antonetti to find someone who can.

If you watch the games, it really isn’t Perez and Pestano that are killing the Tribe consistently it is the left-handed pitchers.

Too many walks and home runs allowed by the set up lefties can blow up an entire bullpen.

Tribe Takes a Good Risk in Choo Trade

When the rumors of Shin-Soo Choo being traded to Cincinnati for OF Drew Stubbs and minor league SS Didi Gregorius started yesterday, our immediate reaction was a sickening feeling.

Trading one of the team’s best hitters, even though he would be a free agent at the end of the year, for a minor leaguer (when your farm system is loaded with prospects at that position) and another strikeout machine with a low batting average, isn’t very attractive.

However, dealing Choo for a potential big time starting pitcher is a good move.

Getting Trevor Bauer, Arizona’s top pitching prospect, a guy who is among the top ten prospects in all of baseball, for a player who wasn’t going to be with the Indians after 2013 has to be considered a win for GM Chris Antonetti.

In order to get back to the top of the AL Central, the Tribe needs to improve their starting pitching, and getting one of the best prospects in the game has to be viewed favorably.

And it was done without trading SS Asdrubal Cabrera, which had been rumored over the last month.

Bauer will be 22 next season and last year went 12-2 between AA and AAA with a 2.42 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 130 innings. He did make four big league starts, going 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA.

That’s what you call a small sample though.

Antonetti also received a couple of hard throwing bullpen guys in Mitch Albers and Bryan Shaw to increase depth in the relief corps. Perhaps one of those two or a guy like Joe Smith can be used in another trade.

The other players the Tribe gave up were superfluous. Jason Donald never looked to be more than a platoon player and his best defensive position was 2B. He was stuck behind newcomer Mike Aviles anyway.

Tony Sipp was a key part of the Indians bullpen the past few years, but with Nick Hagadone and Scott Barnes on the roster, he was a candidate to be moved.

And Lars Anderson was a throw in.

Do the Indians still have work to do? Of course. The loss of Choo leaves a huge void in an offense that already struggled to score runs last season. Stubbs and his low batting average (he hit .214 last year) and ton of strikeouts, doesn’t come near to replacing him.

They also still could use a proven starting pitcher to go along with Justin Masterson. That would put Carlos Carrasco, Ubaldo Jimenez and Bauer in the mix to be the fourth and fifth guys in the rotation to start the year.

Meaning Jimenez could be expendable.

As for Cabrera, the trade rumors that swirled around him at the winter meetings may have been the Indians sending him a message.

The past two seasons, he has either came to spring training heavy or gained weight during the season. The organization may have been telling him to get his act together, and Terry Francona may be saying it is time to realize his talent.

It is doubtful the Tribe will deal him now, because that would mean having to find two good offensive players to replace him and Choo.

Forget about Stubbs, if can figure out how to make contact, he will be an asset. He is an excellent defensive outfielder and can steal a base if he can get to first.

His lack of contact, as well as that of Mark Reynolds, who figures to be the Indians’ first baseman will not help the offense. Although the Tribe did need a guy who can score a run with one swing of the bat.

If Reynolds can hit 30 HRs, he will help. But make no mistake, he’s an all or nothing hitter. If he’s hitting in the 7-8-9 spot, that’s okay.

The reason to be excited about this deal is getting a potential ace like Bauer. The Indians haven’t been able to draft a top of the rotation pitcher since C.C. Sabathia.

They may have got one yesterday for a player who was going to leave after next season.

Tribe Hanging In After Another Benchmark

After last night’s game with the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Indians hit another benchmark on the 2012 season. They have played one-third of their scheduled games and sit with a 29-25 record.

That puts them on a pace for a record of 87-75 for the entire season, which could very well be good enough to win the AL Central Division.

It’s also time to look at the team and the current state of the ballclub.

While everyone came into the season claiming the pitching was solid, so far the results are just the opposite, ranking 12th in the AL in ERA.

The starting pitching in particular has been problematic, with only Derek Lowe (7-3, 3.06 ERA) providing consistent quality performances.

Justin Masterson (2-5, 5.09 ERA) has been up and down, and last night notwithstanding, Ubaldo Jimenez (6-4, 5.31 ERA) has been mostly disappointing.

Josh Tomlin (2-3, 5.32 ERA) has not pitched like he did early last night when he put up a string of quality starts. Really, prior to his last two starts, Jeanmar Gomez (3-4, 4.42 ERA) might have been the second best starter for the Tribe this season.

It was said during spring training and it is still true, Jimenez is the key to the success of the Indians, and right now he is joined by Masterson. If they cannot give Manny Acta good performances on the nights they start, it will be difficult for the Tribe to stay in the race.

The bullpen has been solid, but Acta seems comfortable using only lefty Nick Hagadone, and right-handers Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano, and Chris Perez is games the Tribe is leading. That could create a tired bullpen going down the stretch.

Someone else needs to step up and give the team quality innings late in games. Acta seems to want veteran Jeremy Accardo to be that guy.

If the starting pitching can be more consistent and can get deeper into games, the bullpen will be more rested, and probably more effective.

That’s starts with Jimenez and Masterson.

Offensively, the Indians are right in the middle of the pack in runs scored, ranking 8th in the AL. This has been done despite holes in several positions, many of them spots traditionally known for offense.

Left field has been a mess with neither Shelley Duncan nor Johnny Damon doing much with the stick. Outside of a two-week span in May when he was respectable with the bat, Casey Kotchman has been a disaster at first base.

Yes, yes he has a good glove, but good teams need hitting at that position.

While Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis have been consistent and productive at the plate, CF Michael Brantley has been a surprise, hitting .283 and has knocked in 25 runs for the year as well, even though he hasn’t homered.

He does have 19 extra base hits (16 doubles, 3 triples) though, and is even starting to steal bases effectively (9 of 13). If he starts drawing more walks, he can be a very good offensive player.

Shin-Soo Choo (.379 OBP) has been very good since moving into the leadoff spot, providing a solid top of the order with Cabrera and Kipnis.

Unfortunately, outside of Brantley, the rest of the batting order has struggled. Carlos Santana has just 5 HR and a slugging percentage of under .400. He needs to provide some pop.

Travis Hafner is hurt again, out until the All-Star break. Jack Hannahan hit well early, which likely wasn’t going to last, but he’s been hurt for basically the last month.

The hope is that 3B Lonnie Chisenhall can provide some power, and he’s hit 2 HR’s since being brought up a little over a week ago.

Matt LaPorta was brought back up to help at first and in left, and probably could be an upgrade over the players in those spots now, but he’s not going to be a middle of the order presence.

If the Tribe is going to contend, they need Santana and Chisenhall to provide some power or GM Chris Antonetti will need to make a deal.

Once again, a third of the season has been played and the Indians are still in contention. If the starting pitching can step up, the Tribe can stay in the race into September.