Game One: Indians 12, White Sox 5

I listened to the game on XM, which means I had the Chicago feed.  After the game they interviewed Andy Sisco who alluded to the fact that it's hard to get a good feel for your breaking pitches in Arizona because the air is so dry.  He was happy to get to the "humid" air in Chicago. He also discussed coming into games as a reliever in different situations, and how hard it is to stay focused when down by a few runs.

It's nice to hear a player say something intelligent in an interview for a change.  

• Second pitch of the game made me feel better about the team, the upcoming season, and my day. I can't believe that it didn't have a similar effect in the dugout.

• Barfield looks great, but you can already see why he doesn't walk much. He swung at 2 ball fours. I can't wait until he gains a little more patience and takes the 2 spot in the order for good. He looks really good running the bases, very quick and alert - the idea of Grady and him taking leads as Haf steps to the plate is, well, a good idea.

I agree about Peralta - he looks more like the 2005 version (both offensively and defensively - sharper in both aspects) and if that's true, I think that's a very good sign for the Indians in 2007.  May it continue.  

It's nice to see Barfield drive the ball the opposite way with some pop - I could see him getting many extra base-hits - always a nice thing, especially in the bottom part of the order.

Dellucci looked a bit lost to me at the plate - just looked like he was confused or wasn't seeing the ball well, as he looked a bit off.  Hopefully, he'll find it on Wednesday.

Regarding Dellucci in LF, I didn't see much of a problem; arguably, I thought he did better than Ozuna, who looked like he had a chance to catch that ball that he short-hopped, but didn't pick up the ball right away.  Then, he nearly missed the one that went to the warning track, scrambling and twisting all over the place until he finally got in position to make the catch.  To me, Ozuna looked quite shaky in LF for the White Sox (may that continue.  :-)

Regarding Sabathia, I wouldn't worry too much - at least he had a quality start - guys like Santana, Schilling, Millwood, Kazmir, and Carpenter DID NOT in their first starts.  Other guys like Halladay, Bonderman, Glavine, and Meche (yes, I said Meche,) did!  So, Sabathia is already ahead of the game on some quality pitchers; if CC improves from this point on, he'll likely be fine.

Just my 2 cents.  :-)

Hello everyone,

We've had past discussions on whether Lidge would be a good choice; if his 2007 debut is any indication (and I know it doesn't tell the whole story,) then I think it's wiser if we don't look into Lidge unless it comes at a "cheap" price - he gave up the tying HR to Nady of the Pirates yesterday, a game the Astros went on to lose.

Ever since that HR to Pujols, Lidge doesn't seem the same to me, nor to the others in this MinorLeagueBall thread.

Just my 2 cents.  :-)

Hello fwembt,

Thanks for the info. - greatly appreciated!  That could explain it; I think the WBC didn't help Fernando Cabrera either - I feel he'd probably be further along than he is right now (i.e. would have had a much better 2006 than he did.)

Personally, I hope there is major reform for the WBC - really, they should move the time it is played, but I doubt that that will happen, so they need to make some adjustments of another kind (like how they prepare for it, etc.) in order for it to not adversely affect the players who play in it; after all, the MLB fans want their players and teams to be at their best; I'm not sure that many care whether the US wins the WBC (it would be nice, but I think most MLB fans would rather their favorite teams win the WS, and the WBC didn't seem to help those teams who had players play in the WBC in that regard.)

Just my 2 cents.