Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 41 of 96)

Young Angel starter Jered Weaver, brother of Jeff Weaver, followed up his major league debut with another dominant performance as the Angels trounced the Tribe 10-3 in the first game of the series. He gave up only two runs and struck out eight in a little over six innings of work. On the flip side, Jason Johnson reverted back to his inconsistent ways, surrendering four runs and walking four in five innings. Johnson had trouble locating the ball all night long, which led to getting behind in the count. Mota relieved him but did much worse in a shorter period of time, giving up two homers and five runs in only 1 1/3 innings. Ben Broussard, Ronnie Belliard, and Jason Michaels each had an RBI for the Tribe. Michaels homered for the second straight game, extending his hitting streak to 11 ballgames.

Why Wedge insists on using Mota is beyond me. We have Carmona sitting in the pen and he hardly ever gets any work. Perhaps it’s time to give Mota some time in AAA to iron out his issues. I’m not sure if he has any options or exactly what the rules are in his case whether or not it’s possible to send him down to Buffalo but whether it’s health problems or mechanics, something is wrong with him.

As for Johnson, he can never seem to string together more than one quality start. I wish Wedge and Shapiro would stop being so stubborn and realize what they have under their noses in Buffalo. Get Sowers and bring him up now. So what if Johnson is making $4 million or whatever a year. It’s Jeremy’s time and he needs to be up here sooner rather than later. Hell, he can’t do any worse than Jason. After the game, Johnson got a little testy with reporters.

“It’s you guys who are putting me under the microscope,” he said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with me. If that’s what you guys want to do, that’s fine. I don’t care what anybody else thinks.”

Jason, you’re 3-5, you have one win in your last eight starts, and boast a 5.92 ERA. You must have some pretty thin skin if you can’t take a little heat from the media.

The Tribe outlasted the White Sox in a wild and thrilling seesaw battle Thursday night at the Jake. The 12-8 win by the Tribe featured five lead changes and multiple big innings by both teams. The Sox scored four in the third off Paul Byrd and opened up a three-run lead. After getting a run back in the bottom of the third, the Tribe put up four of their own in the sixth to take a 7-5 lead. However, the fun was just beginning. After Scott Sauerbeck walked two in the seventh, Fernando Cabrera came in to face Jermaine Dye, who hit his second homer of the night to give the Sox a one-run lead. Then, as they had done all night, the Indians returned the favor and scored four more in the bottom of the inning with the help of Ronnie Belliard’s three-run home run off Brandon McCarthy.

“There were so many emotional swings, but when Ronnie kept fouling off those pitches, I think everybody on our bench just knew — just felt — he was going to come through. But to end that at-bat with a home run, that’s just incredible,” Jason Michaels said.

With the exception of Jhonny Peralta, pretty much the entire Indians lineup contributed to the wild victory. Ben Broussard had four hits, amazingly one shy of the whole Sox team. Usually dominant, Jose Contreras was rocked for six runs in five innings. This was one of the biggest wins of the season for the Tribe, especially considering who was on the mound for the White Sox. A win like this can be a huge boost for a ballclub. With the way the game was going and how the Indians’ bats were on fire, it just seemed like there was no doubt they were going to come back and win. It’s three in a row now and slowly the Tribe is getting it’s swagger and confidence back. What a great game to be at!

Jake Westbrook rebounded from his last ugly start as he pitched seven shutout innings in the Tribe’s 5-0 win over the White Sox. It was the first time Chicago has been shut out all season. Jake only surrendered six base hits and did not walk a batter as he got his fifth win. The Tribe end the month of May right at the .500 mark with a record of 26-26.

“My changeup worked well,” Westbrook said. “A lot of times it’s not what I rely on to get outs, but I use it to set up my sinker. That’s what I did tonight.”

The top of the Indians’ lineup led the way. Grady Sizemore continues to be locked in at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a triple and two RBI. He has now hit safely in 19 of his last 22 games. Jason Michaels stayed hot as well, adding a double and two RBI. Ben Broussard gave the Tribe the early lead with a solo homer in the second on a 3-o pitch.

Jake really had his sinker working Wednesday night and pitched much more effectively than his last outing when he left most of his pitches up in the strike zone. As for Grady and Michaels, they are starting to light up the top of the order.

The Indians got another great performance by ace C.C Sabathia as they edged the White Sox 4-3 Tuesday night. He allowed only two unearned runs in six innings and got his fifth win of the month. The White Sox were able to take an early lead with a Jermaine Dye solo homer in the first. They were able to add two more in the second, partially due to Victor Martinez’s throwing error to first base. However, the Tribe came right back in the bottom of the inning and scored four. Jhonny Peralta had a two-run line drive home run and Travis Hafner and Martinez both followed with doubles. The Tribe bullpen did a superb job holding the one run lead and Bob Wickman picked up his eighth save of the season.

“That was awesome,” Sabathia said of the performance of the much-improved ‘pen. “If we can get that every night, the starters will be a lot more comfortable coming out of the game after the sixth.”

Sabathia was really impressive in a couple of situations. In the fifth when the Sox had two on, C.C battled with Konerko and ended up striking him out. The next inning, Sizemore, Michaels, and Peralta had communication problems on a high fly ball that dropped between the three to put runners on first and second with one out. With the game being tight, C.C really focused following the blunder and retired the next two hitters. The old Sabathia would have gotten upset when his defense would make a mistake and would let it affect his performance. The new and improved C.C did not let it go to his head and just did his job. The game was close and he showed great poise on the mound in those two innings.

You can’t make this stuff up:

Cleveland Indians pitcher Scott Sauerbeck was arrested early Tuesday after he and a woman fled from his vehicle and were found hiding behind bushes, police said.

Sauerbeck, 34, of nearby Avon, was the passenger in his car, which a patrolman saw weaving. The vehicle pulled into a driveway and the driver, Lily Miller, and Sauerbeck got out, walked into the backyard and jumped a fence, according to a police report.

The owner of the house reported hearing voices outside and police found Sauerbeck and Miller hiding between the home and some bushes.

Miller reportedly blew a 0.253, more than three times the legal limit, and faces DUI and obstructing official business charges. Sauerbeck, meanwhile, was charged with obstructing official business and wrongful entrustment, apparently for allowing someone who was shit-canned drunk to drive his car.

All of which makes you wonder: If letting Miller drive was the best option available, exactly how smashed was Sauerbeck?