Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 81 of 96)

Kevin Millwood gave up a couple of homers, the offense checked out and the Tribe lost 7-2. Ugly. The only bright spot was Jhonny Peralta’s line: 2-4 with his 10th homer, pushing his average up over .300 for the first time all year. This kid’s the real deal offensively and, as the Alex Cora trade yesterday proves, the Indians feel the same way about their young shortstop. Unfortunately, Peralta’s night wasn’t enough to overcome the Yankees. This is a series the Indians have to at least split, with the Yanks sitting one game behind the Tribe in the wild card standings. Cliff Lee goes for the Indians tonight, Elarton’s slotted for Saturday and Westbrook closes out the first half Sunday against Randy Johnson. With the Unit scheduled to pitch the final game of the series, you’d love to see the Indians win tonight and tomorrow to ensure a series split, no matter what happens Sunday.

Travis Hafner has been lighting up opposing pitchers, hitting .345 with eight homers and 29 RBI last month and, in his last 22 games, he’s hit .402 with 10 homers and 34 RBI. While Hafner’s hot streak didn’t earn him a spot on the AL All Star team, it did net him the AL Player of the Month award for June. With the way he’s currently swinging the bat, Hafner may well be on his way to a repeat performance in July.

Jake Westbrook gave up three early runs and the Indians were shut down by Detroit starter Mike Maroth in a 3-2 loss Tuesday night. Jhonny Peralta hit a solo homer in the ninth off closer Troy Percival to make it a one-run game but, with two on, two out and a full count, Grady Sizemore swung at ball four for the final out of the game. Westbrook only lasted five innings but the Indians’ staff was saved by young Fernando Cabrera, who struck out four in three scoreless innings after being called up earlier in the day.

Bob Wickman? That’s it? Really? Sure, if you look at one grossly overrated stat, Wickman deserved his All-Star selection, but not over Grady Sizemore and certainly not Travis Hafner.

Roster limitations and the every-team-must-have-a-representative rule always play a large part in the All-Star selection process, and if AL manager Terry Francona needed another bullpen arm, Wickman’s 22 saves would understandably catch his eye. What didn’t catch his eye, though, is the spark Sizemore provided the Indians when he was inserted as the team’s leadoff hitter in May. Grady’s overall numbers are outstanding (.296, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 50 runs, 11 steals and a .349 OBP) but his numbers from the leadoff spot are even better (.303, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 7 steals and a .364 OBP), and his numbers in June were downright filthy (.377, 4 HR and an unreal .455 OBP). Not coincidentally, the Indians went 17-10 in June and catapulted into the wild-card race.

Of course, not all of the credit goes to Sizemore. After a slow start to the season, Travis Hafner is now one of the hottest hitters in baseball, currently standing at .314 on the year with 17 homers and 57 RBI, numbers that currently place him in the AL’s top-20 in all three categories, and his .583 slugging percentage is good for fourth in the AL. Meanwhile, Toronto’s Shea Hillenbrand is hitting .304 with 8 homers, 37 RBI and a .447 slugging percentage…and he’s going to the All Star game. And you can’t even use the “Toronto needed a representative” argument because Jays’ starter Roy Halladay was also selected. Let’s hope the snub propels Pronk to a monster second half.

With a 9-4 victory over Baltimore, the Indians completed a very successful road trip that has kept them in contention for the wild card. The Tribe took 2 of 3 from Boston and 3 of 4 from Baltimore, two teams that could be competing with the Tribe for that wild card playoff berth. The offense bounced back after getting shut out the night before, as Ben Broussard and Travis Hafner blasted home runs.

Maenwhile, Bob Wickman was the only Indian named to the All-Star team. That’s shame, since guys like Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner also deserved consideration, but Wickman certianly deserves it.