Because Baseball Never Stops!

My traveling, combined with two short two-game series, makes me sympathize with Newman, just replace baseball blogger for Postal Worker.

Jerry: What do you do for a living, Newman?
Newman: I'm a United States Postal Worker.
Jerry: Aren't those the guys that always go crazy and come back with a gun and shoot everybody?
Newman: Sometimes.
Jerry: Why is that?
Newman: Because the mail never stops. It just keeps coming and coming and coming, there's never a let-up. It's relentless. Every day it piles up more and more and more! And you gotta get it out, but the more you get it out the more it keeps coming in. And then the bar code reader breaks and it's Publisher's Clearing House day!

Correct me if I'm wrong but coming into this series the Tribe had won four straight at that place they use to call SkyDome.

Monday's game one was a wild one. I'll let the fangraph tell the story.


So yeah, the Tribe rallied three times. Unfortunately, to rally you first kind of have to be losing. So all those ups and downs on the graph are me listening to Tom Hamilton get disappointed, only to be happy again. Boy is this season already getting to Mr. Hamilton. Kerry Wood got his first blown save, possibly caused by having a slightly confused Josh Barfield, who found himself in the outfield during a critical moment in a major league game. Luckily for Barfield he later hit in the go ahead run, so as Harry says in Dumb and Dumber "Just when I think you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this…and totally redeem yourself!" Rafael Betancourt picked up the win after pitching two good scoreless innings, the tenth and eleventh, and Jensen Lewis picked up his first save. Tribe (10-16) win 9-7.

Game two was a wild one. I'll let the fangraph tell the story.


See how long that seventh inning is? Well imagine me having a pretty long work-related discussion, only to come back to hear the Indians were bringing in their fourth reliever of the seventh. Yeah four pitchers were used to limit the Blue Jays to seven runs in the bottom of the seventh. Perez 0.1 innings and two runs, Chulk 0.0 innings and two runs, Lewis 0.1 innings and one run, and finally Sipp 0.1 innings and two runs. That was a demoralizing inning, no doubt about it. The only real good news is Jhonny Peralata had a three-hit day with two runs batted in. If you thought the Indians were bad today's game might be exhibit A. Tribe (10-17) lose 6-10.

Random stuff I thought of or heard Tom Hamilton say

- In these first 27 games the Tribe have given up 26 runs in the seventh and 35 runs in the eighth. How are you supposed to win with relief like that?

- The Blue Jays pitchers threw a lot of off-speed stuff, which included the Indians being no-hit through six by Brian Tallet. If Billy Traber was still in the majors I think he could no-hit the Tribe for at least four.

- I've never mentioned it on this blog, but if you haven't noticed, Hafner is on the DL with that shoulder issue again. Not cool. Still, not even 2006 Hafner could save us right now.

- This team has only once this season won two games in a row.

- Adrubal Cabrera is hitting .315 with an OPS of .812 and and OPS+ of 111

- Betancourt, Perez and Lewis have each appeared in 13 games this year. Each of them passing 70 appearances is not a good thing.

- Perez again looked not good today. Hamilton had a few choice words for his WBC participation.

- Mark DeRosa and Jhonny Peralta have each struggled mightily this first month and both of them are on the FCF fantasy team. I guess that's what I get for drafting Indians. I should have just drafted the entire Yankee team and been done with it.

- Matt LaPorta had his first major league hit Monday night, a two run home run.

- Luis Valbuena and LaPorta were brought up because there are plenty of at-bats available on a team performing this poorly. It's like AAA but with better accommodations!

After splitting this two-game series with the Blue Jays of Toronto, the Indians head to Boston for another two-game set. At least the Indians have the advantage of playing a day game today. The Red Sox-Yankees game is a night game, so let's hope the team from Boston is a little hungover from their time in the Bronx.

Game 1: Carl Pavano, RHP (1-3, 7.46) vs. Justin Masterson, RHP (2-1, 4.37)
Game 2: Aaron Laffey, LHP (2-0, 4.09) vs. Tim Wakefield, RHP (3-1, 2.91)

Our bullpen is currently in a situation where no one, and I mean no one, is a dependable option. Sipp has been good, but today he was called on to pitch two days in a row and couldn't find his usual stuff. Without a viable option in relief, what the starter is capable of is irrelevant, unless they go seven or even eight innings. Unfortunately Laffey is our best pitcher and he is going up against Wakefield. Remember what I said about off-speed stuff killing the Tribe in Toronto.

Go Tribe!

REUTERS/Fred Thornhill (CANADA SPORT BASEBALL)