Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thoughts From a Disappointing Split with the Yankees
Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko looked God-awful in the series. Hafner is missing fastballs that are right down the middle and up in the zone. He keeps fouling them off. I don’t understand. Why aren’t meatballs ending up in the second deck in right? I know they used to end up there. Check this one out. I called this home run by the way. Yeah, I was 21 years old, still calling a home run on every pitch to the plate when my favorite players were hitting. (http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl_3_1.jsp?w_id=430232&w=2005/open/topplays/archive06/061405_colcle_hafner_hr_350.wmv&pid=mlb_tp&gid=2005/06/14/colmlb-clemlb-1&cid=mlb&fid=mlb_tp350&v=2) Hafner is in a 7 for 37 slump although Garko’s got him beat with his 0 for 23 streak. I promise to take some time over the next several days and analyze what I think Hafner might be doing wrong. Below are some other thoughts that hit me while watching the games from the Yankee series.
Yankee commentator Michael Kay loves to reference crappy television sitcoms:
“An interesting thing about Paul Byrd, he bears a striking resemblance to Kelsey Grammer, the star of the hit show Frazier.” Just moments later while the camera pans the crowd, a woman wearing glasses in the likeness of Drew Carey is spotted: “I think somebody stole Drew Carey’s glasses,” Drew Carey, star of the hit sitcom, The Drew Carey Show.
WOULD YOU STOP CALLING OUR FIELD THE PROG, Michael Kay? It’s bad enough the naming rights of the stadium were sold to Progressive Insurance but now we have idiots coming in calling it the Prog. Moments later, as if to drive an icicle into my eye, Kaye spits out this gem: “Welcome back to the Prog, that’s what they call it here in Cleveland now. I’ve listened to or watched 85% of the games this year and I have yet to hear this God-awful phrase. Even the radio voice of the Indians, Tom Hamilton rarely calls it Progressive Field. Nope, he likes to use the phrase, “At the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.” I love Tom Hamilton. This guy likes Tom Hamilton too: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bi9mRcjtICY
Despite giving up three monster home runs, Paul Byrd tightropes through 5 2/3 innings. Jhonny Peralta comes up big with a three run homer off a poor changeup from Andy Pettitte. Peralta’s homer masks another mediocre performace by the offense, but a big win nevertheless.
David Delucci, I mean Jeremy Sowers, is charged with three earned runs after Jorge Posada’s three run triple to left. Delucci’s poor read and route to Posada’s liner turns a lineout into the slow catcher’s first triple. It spoils a fine effort by Sowers who ends up with a no-decision. Any other runner and we would have had an inside-the-park grand slam. That would have been interesting.
The Tribe seems to be having better at-bats over the last several days. Joe Buck mentions that the Yankees have $45 million dollars on their bench. Ohh yeah, I’ll take Jason Michaels as our ace in the hole any day.
What’s wrong with HAFNER!? Ian Kennedy is throwing 90 mph fastballs up in the zone and he’s late on it. In ’05, he’d already have a homer and a double off this guy. All of a sudden, his contract looks like a disaster. Get pissed already Hafner.
Most inventive product pushed on us today: A Touch of Gray
I didn't realize that dying your hair “a little less gray” get you a “Summer of Love!” I wonder if I would see equal success were I to give the product a try.
Victor Martinez, the only guy who I really trust at the plate, wins a back-and-forth affair with a basehit to left. He’s such a good hitter. I rest easy when he’s up to bat. Although I’d be lying if I wasn’t a bit concerned by his inability to drive the ball thus far in 2008. He’s hitting .364 but only slugging .416. That’s four extra-base hits and zero homers.
Favorite part about Saturday’s game: Grady Sizemore hurting his ankle in the ninth inning. The trainer comes out and starts trying to lead him off the field. Sizemore refuses to leave the middle of the diamond. You see the trainer make this face as if to say, “Yeah right, you can stay in this game.” So Sizemore walks out to the outfield grass behind second base and starts doing sprints back and forth. The trainer leaves the field and Sizemore scores the winning run. He is so good.
Sunday
This loss falls squarely on my shoulders. If I blow off a birthday brunch for a friend, we scratch a run off Wang. This guy will never impress me. Sinkerballers are great but they are truly dominant. Wang is like a Derek Lowe, a guy who can pitch really well but who you really don’t feel that great about pitching in a big game. Although, I don’t know how the Tribe manages to strike out nine times against him. This offense is truly befuddling. At least, C.C. is back pitching well. Sizemore doesn’t play for the first time since 2004.
Monday
The Indians decided they were content with a split when they woke up this morning. The team had every opportunity to pound Mike Mussina into oblivion and they let him off the hook and handed him a generous victory. The Yankees score four runs in the top of the sixth and manage to hit the ball out of the infield once. Our left side of the diamond, Peralta and Blake are where “deer and antelope play” and infield hits too. This team is driving me insane. That five game winning streak from last week seems like a mirage. This team is not hitting. Let’s fire our hitting coach. It worked in 2005. http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050604&content_id=1075793&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
Labels: baseball, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland sports, MLB, New York Yankees, Travis Hafner
Friday, April 25, 2008
Bob Walcott and the Yankees
Shall we revisit October 10, 1995? The scrubby right-hander had loaded the bases on three straight walks to start Game 1 of the ALCS. The next four hitters included a surefire hall of famer, two hitters with hall of fame credentials, and another whose candidacy was ultimately derailed by injuries. The four hitters? Albert Belle, Eddie Murray, Jim Thome, and Manny Ramirez. Walcott escaped the inning unscathed. I find that as amazing today as I did when I was 11 years old, watching it. Wednesday night, it's 2 a.m. and I'm wide awake, not thinking about life-changing decisions, but rather Bob Walcott's 7 inning gem in the fall of 1995. Nobody can debate the insanity of Manny Ramirez but I really think that if you mentioned Bob Walcott's name to him, he'd remember his effort at the Kingdome.
Anyway, big series tonight. It's the Yankees only visit to the Jake (ohh wait, it's called Progressive Field now) in 2008 and something tells me there'll be about ten thousand empty seats for it. I don't see any scenario in which the Indians can take 3 of 4 with Byrd, Sowers, Sabathia and most likely Aaron Laffey pitching in the series. Nice to see the Indians grind out a win last night in the second game. David Delucci is starting to string together some good games. I'll take a .275 batting average with fifteen to twenty homers.
Just a reminder that Grady Sizemore is good.
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Labels: Cleveland Indians, cliff lee, Grady Sizemore, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Rethinking Game 4 of the ALDS
So as we go to the top of the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium, both the Indians and the Yankees must start looking ahead to Game 4. But first, let us reflect on Eric Wedge’s management of his pitching staff tonight. Against a potent Yankee offense, SP Jake Westbrook skated through his first four innings thanks in large part to four double plays. In the fifth things fell apart as the Yankees strung together four straight hits, concluding with a three-run home run from Johnny Damon.
Eric Wedge faced a difficult decision in the bottom of the sixth: bring Westbrook back for one more inning or go to the pen and try to keep the game within striking distance? Hoping to sneak him through the sixth and save the pen, Wedge let the starter start the sixth. He induced a groundball off the bat of Alex Rodriguez that Johnny Peralta failed to turn into an out, to put it nicely. Curiously, Wedge yanked Westbrook and handed the ball to Aaron Fultz. Fultz proceeded to give up a base hit to Jorge Posada. A sacrifice bunt by Doug Mientkiewicz and an intentional walk to Hideki Matsui followed. Robinson Cano hammered a single to right that RF Trot Nixon misplayed allowing three runs to score. To all intents and purposes, the outcome of the game was decided.
I can respect the fact that Wedge faced a very difficult decision. Should he use his best relief pitchers in a game with the series at 2-0 with a likely Game 4 on the horizon the very next night? There isn’t a right answer. But if you are going to try to sneak Westbrook through an extra inning, he might as well have stuck with him than bring on Fultz. And once the bases were loaded, he needed to go to his best relievers. Even if LP Rafael Perez had given up the hit to Cano, you could have gone to a less important reliever in the later innings with the game out of hand. To leave Westbrook out there and then go to Fultz was poor management.
Now the question that ought to be considered by Wedge is whether to bring ace C.C. Sabathia back Monday night on three days rest for Game 4 Monday night? Even if Indians were to lose Game 4, Fausto Carmona would still be available on Wednesday on full rest in Game 5 at Jacobs Field. It would be a gutsy decision for Wedge to go with Sabathia instead of scheduled starter Paul Byrd. But Byrd is a soft-thrower who the Yankees hit hard earlier in the season and while Byrd has been with the Tribe. In three starts against
An interesting side note has arisen since I started this article: why is the Yankees most valuable reliever other than Closer Mariano Rivera in the game with a five run lead? Now, Joba Chamberlain has thrown thirty-eight pitches tonight and one must wonder about how long he’ll be able to go if needed tomorrow night.
Labels: AL Division Series, American League Playoffs, Cleveland Indians, Game 4 ALDS, New York Yankees
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Ten Visions for the 2007 Division Series
If the game between the Rockies and Padres are a sign of things to come, we could be in for one fantastic month of baseball. Before we get into some scenarios I foresee in the first round, I'll start with the Rockies game.1. Does anyone else feel that Tim McClelland should be made to offer his side of the story of what sure looked like a terrible call last night when Matt Holliday attempted to score on Jamey Carroll's flyball to right field? His delayed call left me and I'm sure countless others feeling a bit hollow at the end of one of the most dramatic games in recent postseason memory. If that call had been made against New York or Boston, I can't help but think that public outrage and media attention would have forced a statement by McClelland.
1A. Where were all the cameras last night? It's the playoffs and we can't see a definitive angle on a close play at home and a disputed home run? A bad omen.
2. Red Sox/Angels - Vision 1. Boston jumps out to an early lead and feeds off the Fenway Faithful taking the first two games behind strong starting pitching and the bullpen that performs as they did back in May and June. Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia prove to be the bane of the Angel pitching staff by working counts and getting on base while Ramirez and Ortiz get the key hits.
3. Red Sox/Angels - Vision 2. Angels earn a split in Boston and head home where they managed the best home record in baseball. Angels play small ball and the Red Sox fail to execute in key situations similar to the 2005 Division Series against the White Sox.
4. Yankees/Indians - Vision1. Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, and Jorge Posada continue to foul off pitches from Cleveland pitchers' Sabathia and Carmona. Each leaves after 5 plus innings, putting the strain on the Indians middle relievers. Yankees get key knocks and take care of the young Indians who struggle against Wang and Pettitte. 4A. Insert Yankee hitter here _________ hits game-winning home run in Games ____ and ___ off Indians closer Joe Borowski, breaking the hearts of Indians fans everywhere.
5. Yankees/Indians - Vision 2. Yankees and Indians split the first two games, the Indians behind a dominant pitching performance, the Yankees by way of clutch-hitting late. They split in New York in two heart-stopping one-run games. Game 5 sees Sabathia dominate and the Indians pull off a thrilling series win.
6. Phillies/Rockies - Vision 1. Phillies jump the emotionally-drained Rockies in front of a raucous home crowd and win the series in a slugfest. Neither team's starters produce a win as the Phillies patchwork pen finds a way to get it done against Colorado.
7. Phillies/Rockies - Vision 2. Colorado manages a split in Philadelphia and returns home to magical Coors Field. With a starting staff of unknowns, the Rockies hold the psychological edge against the Philly pitchers at home. The offense continues to produce with Troy Tulowitzski and Matt Holliday, propelling Colorado into the NLCS.
8. Diamondbacks/Cubs - Vision 1. Behind sterling starting pitching from Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly, the Cubs shock the Diamondbacks in the first two games. On offense, the Cubs take advantage of a few mistakes up in the zone against Brandon Webb and Doug Davis. Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez lead the Chicago offense. Arizona can't overcome some tough luck and even tougher losses.
9. Cubs/Diamondbacks - Vision 2. Brandon Webb sets the tone in Game 1 with a scintillating performance, shutting down the hit-or-miss Cubs offense. Arizona starters' Doug Davis and Livan Hernandez battle the Cubs starters to a draw in Games 2 & 3. The Diamondbacks bullpen holds the Cubs in check while the offense scratches out a couple of runs against Ryan Dempster and Chicago's pen. Diamondbacks win a tight series as Cubs fans experience heartbreak once again.
10. I have a heart-attack watching Joe Borowski pitch in the ninth inning of Game 1 against Alex Rodriguez with the bases loaded and the Indians clinging to a one run lead. Thus, I am unable to witness any of the events above. At any rate, as I said before, we should be in for a thrilling month of baseball.
Labels: AL Division Series, American league division series, American League Playoff Hunt, American League Playoffs, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, MLB Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, NL division series
