Game Forty-Six: Rangers 13, Indians 9

by Ryan on May 24, 2008 7:08 AM EDT in Game Recaps

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Grady Sizemore	.131	Fausto Carmona	-.371
Ben Francisco	.106	Jorge Julio	-.245
Jamey Carroll	.091	Kelly Shoppach	-.054

This time, it wasn't the offense that was the culprit; it was everything else.

Fausto Carmona not only got ripped early, he left the game in the third with an injury. Carmona's bugaboo continued to be control; his two free passes in the first inning lead to a four-run Ranger outburst. He settled down in the second inning, but two batters into the third, he strained his hip after making a pitch to David Murphy. With Jake Westbrook not far from returning to the rotation, losing Carmona shouldn't be a huge deal if the injury's not serious, but in the long-term, the Indians are going to need Carmona pitching at the top of his game to make any run at the playoffs. And it isn't just a matter of him returning to the mound, but figuring out whatever mechanical problem is dogging him. That's going to take time, and now that Carmona is on the shelf, it's going to take a lot longer.

Jorge Julio game into the game inheriting two runners and poured gasoline onto the already blazing fire, walking the first two batters he faced, then served up a grand slam to Jarrod Saltalamacchia. By the time the inning was over, the Indians were down 11-3, and if you've been following this team, the Indians scoring 11 runs in a week would have been considered an offensive outburst, let alone one game.

But the Rangers' pitching wasn't a whole lot better, and the Cleveland offense took advantage of it. Kason Gabbard couldn't stay in the game long enough to qualify for the win thanks mostly to control. He walked six in 2.2 inning, and left after Grady Sizemore hit a three-run homer to cut the Rangers lead to 11-6. The game felt like a vintage 1999 game, when decent pitching was optional and scoring early and often was required. The two teams used eleven pitchers between them, and not until the late innings did anyone make an appearance without giving up at least a run.

The wackiness continued in the sixth, when Ben Francisco became the latest major-leaguer to have a home run taken away by an umpire. Francisco's ball obviously hit above the yellow line, but was called a double by third base umpire Damien Beal and later confirmed by the entire crew. Eric Wedge was understandably irate, and was tossed after arguing the call. The botched call cost the Indians two runs, and while those two runs weren't the difference in the game, who knows what would have happened with a three run deficit with three innings to play.

The Indians' seven-game losing streak is already three more than the longest streak last year. They certainly aren't out of things as far as the division is concerned, but things have to turn around now.

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by SuddenSam on May 24, 2008 11:04 AM EDT reply actions

Last year, we used pictures to count down the magic number. This year, we use them to count up the losing streak?

"A good body with a dull brain is as cheap as life itself."

by Fiddlesticks on May 24, 2008 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Alas.

But you can also read it as suggesting a certain attitude.

by SuddenSam on May 24, 2008 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Or an explanation of your name. The Sudden Samurai.

by Denver Tribe Fan on May 24, 2008 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, here’s hoping we score lots of Rans.

by SuddenSam on May 24, 2008 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I could do this all night (we’ve reached The Lower Depths and have experienced both High and Low-or Heaven and Hell, depending on your preferred translation-but we still have a Hidden Fortress of grit which will help us achieve our Dreams) but I won’t until I can figure out a way to include Dersu Uzala.

"A good body with a dull brain is as cheap as life itself."

by Fiddlesticks on May 24, 2008 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I considered suggesting that Wedge doesn’t play Marte because it’s not his style to rush a man.

by SuddenSam on May 24, 2008 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions

well, that’s one point of view

by macasson on May 25, 2008 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Groan.

"A good body with a dull brain is as cheap as life itself."

by Fiddlesticks on May 25, 2008 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions

More bullpen questions to ask…

So, do ya think that the Tribe brass is finding out why Jorge Julio has spent the past 4 seasons in five different MLB organizations? You can’t trust him, period. He’ll look real good in some outings and then he’ll completely take you out of the game in others. I was ok with them breaking camp with him and using him in low-leverage situations. Wedge didn’t have much choice last night, though.

Here is the recap of the 13 batters Mr. Julio faced last night:
3 walks
3 doubles
2 singles
1 grand slam home run
1 strikeout
2 fly balls to the center field warning track, including one that almost killed Grady.
1 line-drive smash that turned into a double play on a hit-and-run.

I must say that this might represent the worst 13-batter stretch that I can recall in recent memory. Yeah, I guess he “didn’t have it.”

Second question…why is Jensen Lewis coming into the game throwing 82-mph fastballs? He amped it up to 86-87 in his last two innings, but he was throwing 82 in Cincy as well, including during the bases loaded walk to Dunn. They had mentioned that Lewis had been regaining his velocity recently, but that is not the case now. He is not getting better. He is getting WORSE.

Now a pre-emptive question. So if JoBo supposedly has better velocity than he did in April, but not quite up to where he was last year, does that mean he will be not quite as “effective” as last year? Oh boy. I hope his first couple of save opportunites come with 3-run leads (of course, this means that the Tribe starter will have to throw a shutout in the first 8 innings).

Last one – even if JoBo does not have 100% arm strength, will his return help the rest of the bullpen?

by TribeJay on May 24, 2008 11:04 AM EDT reply actions

The bullpen has been just as much of a culprit as the offense this year, if not more so. It seems like it is always like this in even numbered years. Why?

by oxforddave on May 24, 2008 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Just when I was at an emotional low, this made me feel a little better, for some reason:

“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again…”

If a guy can play catch with his ghost father in the middle of Iowa, then why can’t the Indians be good again, this year?

by steincat on May 24, 2008 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

Because they can’t hit and the bullpen sucks.

by odradek on May 24, 2008 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m sorry you hate freedom.

Hard truth: Your eyes lie.

by AngG on May 24, 2008 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been Andy Marte. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. Andy Marte’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But Andy Marte has marked the time. This field, this Andy Marte, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again…"

by SuddenSam on May 24, 2008 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

At this point, playing Andy Marte might be a disaster. I mean, what if he really does suck. The Mood-Meter at LGT would never recover. At least with Marte on the bench we have the sense that we are smarter than Wedge.

Il faut d'abord durer.

by CU Adam on May 24, 2008 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I just like how well that quote works with Andy.

I don’t consider myself smarter than Wedge. I’m sure there is something amiss about Andy. But, according to World B., I mean, Justice B. Hill:

Shapiro said he’s not missed talking to any team that might have a player who could improve his offense. He said he’s not overlooked any scenario—internally or externally.

There’s an obviously overlooked scenario. It’s just such a mystery.

It’s also a pretty dead horse.

by SuddenSam on May 24, 2008 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Nah, we could still say “We told you all along that you had to play him to be sure he sucked, now we can move on”.

by elsandito on May 24, 2008 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions

How do you tell when Wedge is irate? I know this sounds like the beginning of a joke, but seriously.

Now THIS guy wrote the book on irate: http://www.youtube.com/v/kl-4FSRYagc

by Denver Tribe Fan on May 24, 2008 11:54 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

Thanks for posting this. Earl was the greatest.

And you can see by the scoreboard it was the 1st inning. This reminds me of Ron Luciano’s story, when he was managing in AAA and he tossed Earl in each of the first three games of a four-game series. Going to the park on the day of the fourth game, Luciano swore to himself that, no matter what happened, he was going to stay cool, he would not toss Earl today. He tossed him during the lineup exchange.

by SuddenSam on May 24, 2008 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

wowza! pure gold, DTF!

“you’re a big liar”
“no, you are. liar”

“you’re no good”

“you’re no good either”

and then this (!):

“you’re gonna be in the Hall of Fame? for what? for f-in up World Series?”

by macasson on May 24, 2008 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Earl: I’ve won more than I’ve lost.
Ump: No you haven’t.
Earl: Yes I have. Games, count games, stupid.

Earl was 1-3 in Series, 11-13 in WS games.

by SuddenSam on May 24, 2008 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Our bullpen pitchers sucking it up could help us out actually. Our offense seemed to loosen up after we were down by 6 runs in the third inning or whatever it was. Being in 2-1 games for 7 innings seemed to make them tight. Being blown out early loosened everyone up and we finally did something. Or this theory could be completely wrong and we will revert back to boring offense.

by gahnki on May 24, 2008 2:11 PM EDT reply actions

Had to delete two more comments for profanity.

We need to take this back in the other direction. There is no profanity allowed, the Ground Rules are plenty clear on this. We have been lax on enforcing this in the Game Threads, but the result seems to be now that people just feel free to swear here.

Well, it stops today. I’m deleting all profanity, excepting only the actual moment when something totally awful is happening, live, in the game. A little self-control is not that hard, except for the very worst moments.

Discovering that Andy Marte is not in the lineup does not qualify as something awful happening, especially since it happens every day. I think a modest little “WTF” goes a long way anyway.

by Jay on May 24, 2008 3:51 PM EDT reply actions

I should add, I know I haven’t been a perfect role model on this.

by Jay on May 24, 2008 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

I had to look back to see if you deleted my link to the Earl Weaver video. Indirect links to profanity ok? Particularly when used to illustrate Wedge’s complete lack of passion?

by Denver Tribe Fan on May 24, 2008 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions