Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 29 of 96)

Jhonny Peralta’s third inning indecision gave the Twins new life and a second chance as they went on to beat the Tribe 3-1 in the series finale. With the bases loaded and two out, Peralta fielded a grounder and couldn’t make up his mind whether he wanted to throw the ball to second or first. When he finally threw it to first base, the runner was safe and the Twins went on to score three in the inning. Jake Westbrook and the Tribe bullpen couldn’t get much help from the offense either.

Indian hitters once again had the tough task of facing Francisco Liriano. The phenom made it impossible for the Tribe to beat him twice. Liriano struck out 10 in five innings and the Indians as a team were fanned 17 times. Each Tribe hitter in be starting lineup saw at least one K in their row in the scorecard. They set a team record for most strikeouts in a game, beating the old mark of 16 in 2004 against the Cardinals. The lone Indians run came courtesy of Jason Michaels’ RBI single in the fifth. Liriano was downright filthy against the Tribe, who were lucky to beat him the first time. Indian hitters saw first-hand why this kid is a star in the making.

“He threw some pitches that were flat-out unhittable,” Wedge said of Liriano.

After performances like this, Indians fans can easily see why the organization made Jeremy Sowers their first-round pick. Sowers pitched a complete-game four-hit shutout as the Tribe walloped the Twins 11-0 Saturday night. The last Indians rookie pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout was Billy Traber in 2003 against the Yankees. Mixing his 90 mph fastball with his above average off-speed pitches, the 23-year-old totally overmatched Twin hitters all night.

“It helps a lot for my confidence,” Sowers said. “My first four starts had some good moments, but also some bad moments. This start, I was able to put a complete game together.”

Even though he didn’t need much, Sowers received plenty of run support from his offense. Travis Hafner hit home run #29 and Grady Sizemore and Joe Inglett each had three hits and two RBI. All three of Sizemore’s hits were doubles. Jason Michaels added two RBI and even Ramon Vasquez had two hits. As much as the offense put on a show, the game was all about the rookie pitcher.

“He controlled the ballgame,” said manager Eric Wedge, “from the first inning on.”

Just when you thought the Tribe’s young ace was getting back on track, physically and mentally, C.C Sabathia throws a poor game and gets tossed. After his June 22 start against the Cubs when he admitted quitting and losing focus, Sabathia really started to pitch with a newfound purpose. He apologized to his team and the fans and moved on. Owning up to your mistakes is part of what a leader should do and Sabathia made a step in that direction.

Then came Friday’s game. He got himself into a similar situation and once again lost control. He wasn’t getting any help behind him and the eight-run inning should have never even happened if it weren’t for Boone’s and Martinez’s miscues. However, Sabathia was all over the map and it was apparent that the errors were affecting him. He failed to bear down and throw strikes. As an ace of a pitching staff, when things are going south, you have to be the stopper. Sabathia let his emotions get the best of him Friday, something that has happened all too often during his Indian career.

Sure he’s only 26, but he’s been in the league long enough now to know how the game works and what it takes. The huge inning was not all Sabathia’s fault by any means but may not have reached the point it did if C.C would have kept his composure. He lost control of the situation and as an ace, that cannot happen. If Sabathia really wants to be a leader on this team, scenes like what happened against the Twins need to stop occurring.

C.C Sabathia has seen this before. Back in June in a game against the Cubs, Sabathia was on the mound when Chicago put up an eight-run third inning. Sabathia must have felt some sense of deja vu Friday night, as the Twins scored eight in the fourth inning to romp the Tribe 14-6 at the Jake. Because of an Aaron Boone error, only three of the eight runs given up by Sabathia were earned. Boone bobbled a grounder with the bases loaded, allowing everyone to move up a base. Then on a line drive to Casey Blake, Victor Martinez couldn’t hold on to the ball as a runner was tagging up from third. Sabathia, who only lasted only 3 2/3 innings, was by no means sharp. He walked four, including one with the bases loaded, and hit a batter. As he was being yanked by Eric Wedge in the fourth, C.C had some words for the home plate umpire and was ejected on his way to the dugout. Some birthday for Sabathia.

“I tried to keep my emotions in check,” Sabathia said. “But it just boiled over.”

The Tribe fought back and temporarily made a game of it when they closed the Twin lead to three in the fifth. Minnesota, who pounded out 18 hits to the Tribe’s 16, quickly pulled away in the following inning and put the game to rest.

Wickman’s departure pretty much signals the end of a dismal season for the Tribe as they start building for the future…again. According to Shapiro, additional trades are possible with the Indians so far back in the standings.

“Most likely this will be the trade of the biggest magnitude,” said Shapiro, “but when you talk to this many teams, the possibility of a bigger deal is not out of the question.”

Next on my list to see go would have to be Aaron Boone, no question.

As far as the player they received in return, Max Ramirez won’t be of help for the Indians for a couple of years. Ramirez’s stats and why Shapiro chose him:

The right handed-hitting Ramirez is a 21-year-old converted third baseman still in the low minor leagues. Last year at rookie-level Danville, he was named the co-Player of the Year in the Appalachian League after hitting .347 with eight home runs and 47 RBI. He was named the fifth-best prospect in that league by Baseball America. This year, in 267 at-bats at Rome in the South Atlantic League, Ramirez is hitting .285 with nine home runs and 37 RBI.

“We like this kid,” said Shapiro. “He’s very athletic and has been successful everywhere he’s played. Although he’s a converted third baseman, he threw out 38 percent of attempted base stealers last year.”

Shapiro said the Indians and Braves discussed a variety of players the Tribe might get in return for Wickman, including some Class AAA and Class AA players.

“We took the player we wanted, and sometimes to get a player with a high ceiling, you have to go down to a lower level,” said Shapiro. “This kid is still young, far away from the big leagues, with a lot of work ahead of him. But he’s got the tools and the bat to be a very good major-league prospect.”

The Indians seem to be very fond of drafting or trading for converted catchers. With so many former catchers on the coaching staff, you would hope they would be able to teach the art of throwing out a baserunner.