Game 31: Tigers 4, Indians 0
by Ryan on May 9, 2009 11:52 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
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PrintEdwin Jackson has been a great reclamation project for the Tigers, and he's been very good all season, but the Indians just aren't having good at-bats. The offense was shut down for the second game in a row, and like last night, again wasted a very good start by their starting pitcher.
Fausto Carmona is getting a bit better with every start. When he pitched in the strike zone, he got consistent easy outs. The problem was he that wasn't always in the strike zone, and that was his eventual downfall. He walked the first two batters of the seventh inning, and after Brandon Inge sacrificed the runners over, the Tigers scored their first run of the game on a groundout to shortstop. The Tigers would tack on another run with a single back up through the box, and Carmona never regained his rhythm again.
I really have no opinion on whether the Indians should have bunted in the bottom of the seventh, but if Eric Wedge wanted to bunt the runners over, he should have put in someone who could have done it. Sacrificing one future David Dellucci at-bat is not much of a downside if you're bunting anyway, and there happens to be a promising young hitter on the bench that could have DHed the rest of the game if it came to that. Did that play make a difference in the outcome of the game? Perhaps, or perhaps not. But when a season's going poorly, these execution errors tend to get magnified. A single botched at-bat isn't going to decide the fate of a manager, but a consistent stream of them might.
Next Up: Reyes vs. Porcello, 1:05 PM
| Highest WPA | Lowest WPA | ||
| Shin-Soo Choo | .131 | David Dellucci | -.318 |
| Fausto Carmona | .057 | Grady Sizemore | -.117 |
| Mark DeRosa | .052 | Ryan Garko | -.110 |
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If you had told me that 2009 was going to be more disappointing than 2008, I’d have said that there was no possible way.
A year ago this week, I was in Mexico with my family, and we were actively seeking out a place to watch the Indians on TV in San Jose, because the Indians starters were stringing together an incredible streak of scoreless innings. And now here we are, ostensibly a better team, doing the exact opposite. It’s Mother’s Day and the season is rapidly ending. It’s not over, but it sure is heading that way.
Il faut d'abord durer.
Team is almost inert. Players only meeting tonite after the game.
Who are the leaders on the club? Are there any? Cliff has spine, and is the only one to visibly display his frustration. I’m pretty sure he has some things to say. Victor can be demonstrative, but he isn’t the tough guy type really. I recall last year he decided to kick a water bucket in the dugout to show some fire and got his foot stuck in it. All Grady and Haf could do was laugh at him good naturedly from the bench.
Kerry Wood and Derosa I can see having something to say, being highly regarded vets, but then again they’re the new guys.
I can’t see anything Wedge or any coach saying having any impact on the team. Anything from the top down has already been said a zillion times.
The players are going to have to get mad, at each other, at the other team, at their manager, at anything at all. Positive Mental Attitude is just not going to cut it.
by mcrose on May 10, 2009 1:45 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I know that baseball isn’t a matchup game, and that Grady is not directly competing with Granderson, but I would really like it if Grady could clearly outplay Granderson today, for once. Granderson has been kicking his in these Tiger-Tribe games.
Is it too late to change your son’s name?
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on May 10, 2009 7:34 PM EDT up reply actions
I think that a few heads are gonna roll by the end of the year. Its up to Mr. Shapiro to decide who they are. Both the hitting and pitching coach seem to be the most likely. As the season goes on, Wedge seems to be winding down his stay in Cleveland. The definition of insanity is doing the same exact activity, expecting a different result. Insanity of failure is already upon us.
Baseball fans are junkies, and their heroin is the statistic. - Robert S. Wieder
I mean, yeah, every year marks the end of the road for a few Tribe careers, and if the trends of 2009 persist, then there will be more departures than usual, on and off the field.
But please, nobody post the definition of insanity anymore. It’s appeared on this site at least a dozen times (in the past it’s been expressed drive-by types to tie up their rants). Since it’s become a customary way of emphasizing a critical statement, whatever profundity it once had wore off.
Wedge isn’t actually insane, he’s just one of several Indians who are apparently failing at their jobs.
Seriously, if I see the definition of insanity one more time… all these people doing the same thing over and over again. It’s insanity.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on May 10, 2009 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions
We have some one dimensional players, like Dellucci, Francisco and Garko who aren’t delivering (or only get lucky once every now and then). Unfortunately some of our best players are megasucking too. Peralta has been “disappeared” and I can’t bring myself to start booing Grady Sizemore, who will break out of this one day soon and resume his inevitable march to league MVP, and so I find it’s easy to displace my anger by booing Dellucci. He’s my utility boo-ee, and I’m glad he’s finally found a role on this team.
PS: I’m building a shrine to Victor and Cliff in the back yard. Playing well in the midst of this trial is practically a miracle.
At this point I want Wedge fired, but this is my heart, not my head speaking. Intellectually I have no idea whether Eric is a good manager or a tyrant, whether he’s a victim of circumstances, bad chemistry, or if this is a team that really isn’t that good.
I want Wedge fired not because I have any proof that someone else can do his job better, I want him fired because I’m selfish: I’m sick of failure, sick of waiting, sick of believing we are contenders and watching that belief trampled like a worm on a sidewalk every year. I want a scapegoat.
My choice for a successor is Mike Sarbaugh, but I would settle for Skinner for the rest of the year.
The true insult is we really don’t even have a Sabathia-deadline-deal auction to look forward to this year. What… I’m supposed to get stoked about the Derosa sweepstakes?
G. Sizemore cf
A. Cabrera 2b
V. Martinez 1b
S. Choo rf 0
M. DeRosa 3b
D. Dellucci dh
B. Francisco lf
J. Peralta ss
K. Shoppach c
No LaPorta again.
So… a full series? Is this a fireable offense?
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on May 10, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I signed on just to post about this.
The Indians have scored 2 runs in the past three games and LaPorta has been given one start. Not only that, he’s been on the bench in favor of Ben Francisco and David Dellucci. And it’s happening again today.
Surely, there’s plenty of unmeasurables that go into the job of manger, but you can measure this, and I’d fire him just for this. LaPorta should have started two of three at a minimum. Fire Wedge.
by NickFantana on May 10, 2009 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Hard to figure why LaPorta was brought up.
by LeftyCatcher on May 10, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
First off, let me say I would’ve liked to have seen him start today. He doesn’t need to sit an entire series.
But it’s very obvious to me why he didn’t play him this weekend. In his debut last Sunday, he was completely overmatched by Verlander. Yeah, you might say he wasn’t alone, but not to that degree. Overmatched to the degree that it looked like he couldn’t have a competitve AB. After that game, I’m pretty sure Wedge decided he didn’t want to expose him to power righties right away. And who did the Tigers throw this weekend? Verlander? Check. Jackson? Check. Porcello? Check. Zumaya and Rodney in the bullpen? Check.
Wedge likes to protect his rookies, particularly against power arms from their hitting side. Peralta, Hafner, and Sizemore all went through it. Is it better to play him and have him go 1-12? I don’t know, you can argue either way. I agree that LaPorta needs to play more than half the time to justify him being here right now, but it’s pretty obvious to me why he sat this weekend.
Porcello was in the low minors a year ago. If Detroit had a legit option instead of him he’d be in AA or AAA at best right now and Laporta (well since we aren’t using him anyways) would have been down there facing a guy like him. I agree about Verlander, I’d put him out against Jackson and Porcello though.
If we are going to be afraid to play LaPorta against power righties for the time being, then he needs to go back to AAA
“Completely overmatched” in every AB against Verlander?
LaPorta had a 7 pitch AB where he fouled off two pitches and was called out on a highly questionable 3rd strike (high and inside). The bases were loaded at the time in the 7th inning.
Also, he had an 8 pitch AB that ended in a groundout against Verlander. .
Which, by the way, is one more pitch than Shoppach saw in all 3 of his AB’s.
I always think it’s a better idea to start a young player against a knuckleballer like Wakefield than to let him try to hit fastballs, don’t you?
If you watched it, you couldn’t come to any other conclusion. The last at-bat was better, I agree.
The foul balls from the early AB were on very late swings, if you could call them that. Let’s just say he wasn’t “on” any pitch that he saw that day.
Man, LaPorta isn’t in there tonight either. He did say it would be against lefties, and he would play 4 times a week…both of those can’t be right.
Adam, I’ll also say that I’m not equating being overmatched to having a bad at-bat. He was competing and hanging in there, but he wasn’t in a position to hit a ball hard on that day.
Of course not. He’s batting .154.
LaPorta’s going to have to show them something if he wants more playing time.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
Is this ironic, Jay? You’re basing LaPorta playing time off of that few PAs?
Sometimes, I just like to b****.
He looks over-matched at the big league level. I saw him smiling and talking to the third base coach after popping out. Disgrace
Also, I always heard that LaPorta was an adequate but challenged defender in the outfield. But now that I’ve actually watched him make four plays, I am certain that he is the worst defensive player I’ve ever seen, at any position, in any sport.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
Hamilton’s been all over his case, too. So I’m sold.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on May 10, 2009 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Really? Hmmm. My impression is he’s more athletic than I thought he was and is tracking balls better than I thought he would. Maybe I’ve missed too much since all I’m doing is speed-watching on the DVR…
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