Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 25 of 96)

Believe it or not, it happened again. Close your eyes Indians fans because this is not pretty. Entering the ninth with a slim one-run lead, Fausto Carmona blew his third save in as many chances as the Tribe fell to the Tigers 4-3 at Comerica Park. The Indians only had four hits in the game but were still able hold a lead going into the ninth thanks to the fantastic outing by Paul Byrd. He allowed only one earned run in over six innings of work and Jason Davis did his job as the bridge to the closer Carmona. After the first batter got on base, Carmona was able to get the first two outs. It’s that 27th out that has proved to be so elusive for the Tribe’s new closer. Ivan Rodriguez came to the plate and, on the first pitch, ended the game with one swing of the bat. Travis Hafner homered for the fourth straight game and Casey Blake also went deep to provide the offensive punch for the Tribe.

As for Carmona’s future as a closer for the Tribe?

“We’re just going to have to take a look at everything and see what the best way to go is,” said Indians’ manager Eric Wedge about Carmona’s immediate future.

The season has gone belly up on the Tribe and many mistakes have been made. But getting rid of Eric Wedge is not the solution, according to ABJ writer Terry Pluto. Amidst the team’s disappointment and struggles, Shapiro says Wedge will definitely be back next season.

“It would be absurd” to fire Wedge, he said. “He was second in the voting for manager of the year last season. In his first three years, he took a team from 68 to 80 to 93 wins. This has been a horrific, painful year. All of us need to take responsibility and take a close look at what went wrong.”

“It’s too easy to make a manager a scapegoat — and at the first real sign of adversity, to fire him. We are all accountable, but I also think this season will make us all better.”

Pluto acknowledges that both Shapiro and Wedge have made their fair share of bad decisions this season. Shapiro’s errors include the signing of Jason Johnson, not signing Bob Howry, and the whole Boone situation. Wedge’s failures come from pushing Vazquez over Phillips and being too patient with his players. Shapiro and Wedge are in a “partnership” together and it doesn’t seem like anything will change that. As Pluto argues though, the team’s failures have more to do with talent than anything else.

Everything is pointing toward 2007, and the collapse of the team this season should do more than cause Shapiro and Wedge to revise some of their thinking. It screams for ownership to supply more money for the player payroll.

What this season shows is that the talent level wasn’t nearly as gifted or as deep as the Indians once believed.

The Indians’ bullpen is about as stable as the first little pig’s house right about now. It’s not a question of when a blowup will occur but who will administer it. It’s almost as if there is a pool of gasoline on the pitcher’s mound and it’s just a matter of which Tribe reliever will bring the matches to torch the game.

Cabrera, Betancourt, Carmona, Mota, you name it. Unless a Tribe starter goes a complete game, there’s no real reason to feel comfortable about the team’s pitching. Jason Davis, who got his first save the other day, is probably the only Tribe reliever you can feel good about at this point. And even he can have his ups and downs. When the time comes to relieve their starter, Eric Wedge and Carl Willis really have no solid option. They might as well throw all the bullpen members’ names in a hat and choose it that way. It would be about as effective as any method they’ve used thus far.

The confusing thing about this part of the team is that they really do have some tremendous arms out there in the pen. Carmona, Davis, and Cabrera all can throw in the mid to upper 90s and have above average secondary pitches. They have the stuff to totally dominate the opposition at the end of games. So, what’s the problem? Is it the pitchers themselves or is it the coach? Guys like Mota, Cabrera, and Betancourt have all been successful in the past and have gone to crap this season.

While the blame should mostly be placed on the shoulders of the players, is it reasonable to say that Carl Willis deserves some of the criticism as well? It sure isn’t Wedge’s fault because all he can do is call for a certain reliever. It is Willis who works with these guys as the pitching coach. At least he’s supposed to.

With the Tribe bullpen, no lead is safe. They built a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth but could not hold it as they lost 7-6 Friday night in Detroit. They have no problem getting off to good starts but finishing has been the issue. A three-run first gave the Tribe the early lead. In three of the last four games now, the Indians have scored at least two runs in the first inning. Travis Hafner hit another home run and Andy Marte ended his hitless streak by getting two hits and an RBI. Victor Marinez added three hits and Choo stayed hot, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Cliff Lee was cruising until he ran into some trouble in the sixth and seventh. Lee ran into a wall and couldn’t get out of the seventh, but the Tribe still held a 6-4 lead. Then came the always interesting Tribe bullpen. Rafael Betancourt relieved Lee and let up two quick singles to start the eighth. Fernando Cabrera then entered and, after giving up a sac fly, surrendered the game-deciding two-run homer to Craig Monroe.

“I made a mistake and I paid for that,” said Cabrera, after sitting facing his locker with his face in his hands after the game. “I was aggressive with him and I didn’t hit my location.”

The Tribe were able to split their four-game series with the Red Sox as they beat the Chowderheads 7-6 Thursday night. All seven Indian runs came from the long ball. Aaron Boone hit a solo shot, Travis Hafner hit a two-run bomb, and Shin-Soo Choo hit his first grand slam to propel the Indians to victory. Starter Jake Westbrook had to fight and battle his way through his eight innings of work. He gave up six runs and 15 hits but was helped out by the Tribe’s six-run sixth inning. Hafner appears as if he has worked his way out of his massive slump. Entering the game Wednesday, he had gone 3 for his last 28. Since then, he is 5-for-6 with two homers and five RBI.

Once again, the game was tight going into the ninth with the Indians grasping a one-run lead. Carmona, who has had a rough last couple of appearances, has pitched a lot recently and was given a night of rest. So, on came Jason Davis to attempt to close it out. Indians fans everywhere were crossing their fingers and holding their breath, hoping they wouldn’t witness another meltdown. Davis faced the heart of the Boston lineup and was able to retire them in order to earn his first career save.