Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 44 of 96)

Starter Jason Johnson could not follow up the strong outing he had previously against Detroit. He was tagged for eight runs in 3 2/3 innings of work in the Tribe’s 9-6 loss to the Pirates Saturday night. Six of his runs came off of three Pirate homers. Jason Bay went yard twice in the ballgame and had four RBI for Pittsburgh. Johnson’s poor pitching gave the Pirates a large cushion and put the Indians in a hole early, one that they could not battle out of. Some credit has to be given to Fausto Carmona who kept the lead where it was. In his first major league relief appearance, Carmona pitched over three scoreless innings. Grady Sizemore had three RBI and homered for the third straight game and the fourth time in the last five games.

After his first few starts of the season it looked like Shapiro found a gem in Jason Johnson. However, it has gone downhill since then and Wedge expressed some displeasure.

“I think there is some reason for concern,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “We saw what he was capable of in his first three or four starts. Right now, Jason is in our starting rotation. It’s early in the season. We believe in sticking with guys, but he needs to make some adjustments and give himself and our team a chance to win.”

We can’t have Johnson go out and continue to give away games with his horrible performances. I know we have him under contract and he was brought here to be in our rotation, but meanwhile, we have prospect Jeremy Sowers totally overmatching hitters and dominating in AAA. Hmm…

The Indians and C.C Sabathia continue to roll. The big lefty was superb in the Indians’ 4-1 victory Friday night, going the full nine innings while allowing only three hits and striking out nine. Since returning from the disabled list C.C is 3-1 with an astounding 0.90 ERA.

“He’s been a real big boost for us,” manager Eric Wedge said of his ace. “You never know what to expect when a guy comes off the DL. But we knew he had worked hard to get himself back to his routine.”

Grady Sizemore continued his power surge, slamming his seventh homer in the first inning. Eduardo Perez had two RBI and also added a home run in the eighth. The Indians are finally starting to get victories against teams that they should beat.

Albert Belle, the ex-Cleveland Indian, had the world in his hands while playing baseball for the Tribe. He is now under arrest for stalking his ex-girlfriend. Belle was a very good player that Cleveland supported through thick and thin.

He chased money and fought off injuries before retiring from the Baltimore Orioles in 2000. The years after playing in Cleveland were rocky as he continued to find himself in trouble with the law. Albert will look back on his career and have more “what ifs” than any player that has hit over 350 home runs in their career.

Casey Blake continues to be locked in. He had two RBI and extended his hitting streak to 15 games as the Tribe beat the Royals 6-5 Thursday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep. Kansas City opened an early 2-0 lead but the Indians climbed on top with the help of RBI singles by Blake and Broussard in the third. Everyone in the lineup recorded a hit for the Tribe.

Doubles by Reggie Sanders and Tony Graffanino in the seventh got the Royals back in the game but Bob Wickman saved it in the ninth for his seventh of the season. Cliff Lee got his third win of the season, giving up four runs and striking out seven in six-plus innings. The Indinas are starting to play much better baseball.

“Some good things were happening out there,” Wedge said. “Overall, we’ve had a more consistent approach. That’s really where it all starts for us. Guys are fighting through at-bats and getting knocks when we need them.”

It seems like the Indians are getting back on the right track. I don’t know what was going on with them last week but they are playing much more relaxed now.

In the Indians’ 5-0 win over the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night, they managed only three hits. But with the help of seven walks and Travis Hafner’s third inning grand slam, the Tribe was able to put up five runs on the board and win their second straight. Jake Westbrook pitched his best game of the season by far, surrendering only six hits in his complete game shutout. The sinkerballer did was he does best, recording 18 ground ball outs.

“Jake had it working,” manager Eric Wedge said. “He didn’t just do a good job of being aggressive early in the count, but he also stayed aggressive late. He really commanded the ballgame.”

Man, if Jake pitches like this for the rest of the season we’ll be in pretty good shape.