What has been a strength for the Indians so far this season has doomed them the past two nights. The Tribe’s bullpen couldn’t hold a lead as they lost to the Mariners in the rubber match Thursday night, 9-5. Jason Johnson left the game in the sixth with a 5-3 lead but the bullpen was unable to sustain it. Indians pitchers as a whole walked nine Mariners in the game.

“We put them in position to win,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “It’s uncharacteristic of guys who are usually aggressive over the plate and throw strike one, strike two.”

Our relievers have not been sharp recently which has led to our two-game losing streak.

LeBron’s sprained ankle forced him to sit out his first game of the season but the Cavaliers, with the help of a late fourth quarter surge, topped the Knicks Thursday night 91-87. Larry Hughes may have finally found his rhythm, scoring 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. In his sixth game back from injury, Hughes provided the offensive spark in the second half and made several key plays down the stretch. Ilgauskas and Marshall each added 17 points.

“It took awhile,” Marshall said. “It feels good to come back, not just without LeBron. We don’t want to go stumbling into the playoffs, but playing good ball like we have most of the year.”

Somebody had to step up in LeBron’s absence and it’s great to see Larry get back on track. He struggled in the first half but took control in the fourth when the Cavs needed a push. Larry is still fighting to find his shot but as long as he continues to take the ball to the hole and play solid defense he will be fine.

An old friend came back to haunt the Indians Wednesday night. With one out in the sixth, Richie Sexson launched a Danny Graves pitch over the wall in left for a grand slam to blow the game open. The Tribe battled back but fell short to the Mariners, 11-9. The Indians’ win streak came to a halt at six. Paul Byrd had a rough outing, giving up six runs in 3 2/3 innings. Offensively, once again, there were many bright spots. Pronk went yard for the seventh time in the last seven games. Casey Blake seems like a totally different hitter from last season. He went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and raised his average to .429.

Though he got the win in his first outing, Paul Byrd has not looked sharp in the early going. However, he is a veteran and I’m not too terribly concerned at this point.

The Detroit Pistons showed why they are the best team in the East, laying an old-fashioned beatdown Wednesday night, defeating the Cavs 96-73. Cleveland couldn’t do much right on either end of the floor and the Pistons were getting whatever shot they wanted. In part to some poor shooting, the Cavs only scored 29 first half points and could never recover. To make matters worse, LeBron James sprained his ankle in the second half and had to undergo X-rays after the game. He is listed as day-to-day.

“It’s sprained pretty good, but nothing serious,” said James, who had 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting. “You never really know until the next day, but I’ve had them before, and this is nothing that bad.”

Let’s hope LeBron knows his body and it isn’t too serious.