Alright I'm in a worse mood this morning than I was last.
Okay I'm not really in a bad mood or anything, like yesterday. I'm just miffed.
If you are a 24 watcher, and I won't spoil it for those who may have not seen it, but it relates directly to what happened on last night's episode.
I'm not pleased, even though I get it and have been a fan of 24 forever and know this type of stuff is routine. But that sucked...
Now that I'm done talking around something and I've completely lost 90% of the universe with that, let's talk about the other reason I'm a little miffed, yesterday's loss.
[CARMONA ESTABLISHING RENEWED FORM]
You know as bad as this four-game losing streak has been to witness, I feel there is more to it.
Sure losing the past two the way we have isn't pretty, but just the mere fact that they've been in those games and in the other two they lost as well. Some things are there in one game and others are there in another. As Mike Redmond said, they just aren't clicking yet.
Redmond would add, that they will.... I really do hope so. Jamey Wright brought up a good point to this argument.
"We've been in every game," Wright said. "That's a good thing. But these games are the ones you need early. We need to pick it up."
Yeah you kind of do need the early ones because it goes along with that early start we talked about, but hey... This hasn't been the atrociously bad early start we've seen in the past where not a damn thing looked good. We've got many positives going forward.
One thing that is encouraging regardless of anything else is Fausto Carmona so far. This was the big hope coming into the year and so far, hope is looking very good. Carmona was good again yesterday and he got 13 ground ball outs, his specialty.
"It's very encouraging," manager Manny Acta said. "Especially after the way he pitched in Spring Training. We wanted him to take that into the season, and he's done that so far."
As Tim Belcher said, you had to see him go out there and not get a win, especially after eight innings, but them the breaks. Fausto is really settling in, two less walks and he had the ground ball working. Belcher says he's done a good job of "self-correcting" himself when he makes mistakes.
"To be honest with you, I stand behind Fausto when he's throwing his bullpens and count pitches," said Belcher. "When he's got good tempo, when he's got good mechanics as far as staying back over the rubber, I say, 'Good boy.' When he doesn't, I don't say anything.
Fausto said he was a little quick last week in his first start. That's always been another issue with him, but he obviously kept the tempo and threw more strikes this time out. And when he throws strikes, he can give up just two runs and go as deep as eight innings. If not he can give up four runs and only go six. The later isn't a bad start, but I think everyone would rather have the eight inning two run performance.
[PEREZ, BULLPEN STRUGGLING TO FIND THE ZONE]
I mentioned before the season started how the bullpen's struggle to throw strikes may be an issue to look out for.
Well it is now officially an issue. The first few games were good, they were able to overcome their issues. These past two games, oh boy. The problems have been magnified by the fact that they've given up the game, but to me, it is totally unacceptable to walk hitters as much as they are. You are relievers, you need to come in and throw strikes. Everyone needs to throw strikes, but the bullpen has to much more because they don't have time to settle in.
Tim Belcher seems to insist that both the relievers and the starters will start throwing strikes though and I'm probably a dummy for buying into that as well, but sooner or later it has to click, especially for someone like Chris Perez.
"Unacceptable," Perez said. "[The closer role] is probably not going to be mind much longer if I keep pitching like this."
Ahhh, Yuuup!
But let's be real here. As Acta said, he saved two games in Chicago and he was celebrated. So just as he's had two bad games, we're going to get on him... But until Kerry Wood comes back, there is no one else that I would rather have closing. Maybe Jensen Lewis, but I think everyone pretty much believes Chris Perez is going to be the closer of this team beyond the time we don't have Kerry Wood. So I think it's important for him to be in this role right now.
What's been the problem with him? Perez says he isn't hurt and his stuff is there.. I think both are clear. What I think is wrong is the fact that he just isn't going after hitters. He gets behind and then he gets in trouble. He's walked people on four pitches the past two games. He is just hesitant to go after them and that is causing him to nibble and miss the zone.
He isn't going to get calls if he is just around the zone like that. He has to go after the hitters. He's got a freakin 95 MPH fast ball and a crazy slider, why he isn't confident enough to throw them for strikes is beyond me, especially to people like Ramon Santiago.
Perez was booed off the field on the opener. I don't condone that, I think it is mindless for the fans to do such a thing so early. I'm upset with him to and I'm going to scream and yell. Perez may be alright with the fans booing him, but I'm not.
"I've never been booed before," said Perez. "I'd boo too, based on my last two performances. I think there's some frustration based on the last two years. We had a good spring training. Now we're 2-5. I understand the fans' frustration."
Our frustration is no excuse to give you that reception. He's been not very good, but he isn't TRYING to be bad. There's a difference in not getting it done and not trying to get it done and not trying to get it done is the only reason I'd boo someone. So, stop it.
[WHATS UP WITH GRADY?]
No one is really sure to be honest, but Manny Acta believes three straight days off will be helpful to this situation, but the Indians are clearly not taking any chances to damaging Grady any further.
After what happened last year, I don't blame them. As we saw in the first five games, Grady Sizemore is much needed and if he hurts the back any further that would be bad.
So he gets Sunday and Monday off and the Indians have the off-day today on Tuesday. Let's really hope he's in there on Wednesday, it would really calm a lot of the nervousness that is around right now.
[RALLY BUCK]
We've had the rally squirrel, the rally pie, and infiltrations of seagulls and insects to help out the Tribe.
Now Mike Redmond introduces the Rally Buck.
It didn't really have much of an effect yesterday, but the Rally Buck is very much around and very much fake. Fake in a sense that it isn't an actual real buck.
Redmond says he might even throw a uniform on the former target practice animal made of plastic. I personally can't wait until he just sets Rally Buck in shallow right field and tries to pepper it during a session of naked batting practice.
Seriously, not that I want to see it, but we've heard so much about this legendary naked batting practice that he has to do it at some point. If Rally Buck fails, I see no other alternative.
I really like Redmond though. His efforts in the clubhouse will not go unnoticed though. Trot Nixon was huge for that team in 2007 and I see Redmond having the same kind of positive impact for the 2010 Indians in terms of teaching the young guys and being a nice source of energy.
Along that line, he's a great representative of hard work. He got absolutely destroyed behind the plate and his attitude was awesome. He said he signed up for catching and unfortunately, he loves it. That is awesome.
[RANDOM RUNDOWN]
Kerry Wood threw a 20-pitch bullpen session on Monday before the game. The decision on whether to start him right out of the gate in Cleveland or send him out on a rehab assignment has not been made. There seems to be a real hurry now to get him back after Perez's struggles. What happened to wanting to ship him off?
Russell Branyan took another step in his rehab assignment on Monday. He played seven innings at first base for the Clippers and went 0-4 with a strikeout. I think the next step is to play a full game after what will probably another off-day. I think he'll be ready when he is ready to play nine innings on back to back days.
Lou Marson was on the receiving end of a wicked collision at the plate on Sunday and Travis Hafner was on the delivering end of one on Monday. Taylor Teagarden was behind the plate and he knew trouble was coming.
"As soon as LaPorta hit the ball up the middle, seeing [Hafner] halfway to third, I knew I was going to get killed," Teagarden said. "If Julio made a good throw, there's no way that guy is going to slide around me."
Hafner reached the dish just as the ball did and it made for a great play on Teagarden's part and it really was a game saving type of a play considering the Indians didn't score and the Rangers didn't either. Good hard baseball on both parts the past two days with the collision with Kelly and Marson too.
Despite his base-running blunder (and Choo seems to make a lot of silly blunders, thankfully he only makes one of a kind once) Shin-Soo Choo had a good day against the Rangers offensively and it looks like he is starting to get into a better way at the plate.
I'll just wrap it up and say that Terry Pluto covers just about everything talked about here in little ways in his latest scribbles.. Read it, read it now.
I need to pass along this story. It is long and it may take you some time to get through, but I was completely captivated by it. Paulie C mentioned it in his latest Lazy Sunday at The DiaTribe and really, it is a great read. It's a comparison of the drastic situations that Andy Marte and Michael Brantley are in with the Indians.
Original Story:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheTri...
Okay I'm not really in a bad mood or anything, like yesterday. I'm just miffed.
If you are a 24 watcher, and I won't spoil it for those who may have not seen it, but it relates directly to what happened on last night's episode.
I'm not pleased, even though I get it and have been a fan of 24 forever and know this type of stuff is routine. But that sucked...
Now that I'm done talking around something and I've completely lost 90% of the universe with that, let's talk about the other reason I'm a little miffed, yesterday's loss.
[CARMONA ESTABLISHING RENEWED FORM]
You know as bad as this four-game losing streak has been to witness, I feel there is more to it.
Sure losing the past two the way we have isn't pretty, but just the mere fact that they've been in those games and in the other two they lost as well. Some things are there in one game and others are there in another. As Mike Redmond said, they just aren't clicking yet.
Redmond would add, that they will.... I really do hope so. Jamey Wright brought up a good point to this argument.
"We've been in every game," Wright said. "That's a good thing. But these games are the ones you need early. We need to pick it up."
Yeah you kind of do need the early ones because it goes along with that early start we talked about, but hey... This hasn't been the atrociously bad early start we've seen in the past where not a damn thing looked good. We've got many positives going forward.
One thing that is encouraging regardless of anything else is Fausto Carmona so far. This was the big hope coming into the year and so far, hope is looking very good. Carmona was good again yesterday and he got 13 ground ball outs, his specialty.
"It's very encouraging," manager Manny Acta said. "Especially after the way he pitched in Spring Training. We wanted him to take that into the season, and he's done that so far."
As Tim Belcher said, you had to see him go out there and not get a win, especially after eight innings, but them the breaks. Fausto is really settling in, two less walks and he had the ground ball working. Belcher says he's done a good job of "self-correcting" himself when he makes mistakes.
"To be honest with you, I stand behind Fausto when he's throwing his bullpens and count pitches," said Belcher. "When he's got good tempo, when he's got good mechanics as far as staying back over the rubber, I say, 'Good boy.' When he doesn't, I don't say anything.
Fausto said he was a little quick last week in his first start. That's always been another issue with him, but he obviously kept the tempo and threw more strikes this time out. And when he throws strikes, he can give up just two runs and go as deep as eight innings. If not he can give up four runs and only go six. The later isn't a bad start, but I think everyone would rather have the eight inning two run performance.
[PEREZ, BULLPEN STRUGGLING TO FIND THE ZONE]
I mentioned before the season started how the bullpen's struggle to throw strikes may be an issue to look out for.
Well it is now officially an issue. The first few games were good, they were able to overcome their issues. These past two games, oh boy. The problems have been magnified by the fact that they've given up the game, but to me, it is totally unacceptable to walk hitters as much as they are. You are relievers, you need to come in and throw strikes. Everyone needs to throw strikes, but the bullpen has to much more because they don't have time to settle in.
Tim Belcher seems to insist that both the relievers and the starters will start throwing strikes though and I'm probably a dummy for buying into that as well, but sooner or later it has to click, especially for someone like Chris Perez.
"Unacceptable," Perez said. "[The closer role] is probably not going to be mind much longer if I keep pitching like this."
Ahhh, Yuuup!
But let's be real here. As Acta said, he saved two games in Chicago and he was celebrated. So just as he's had two bad games, we're going to get on him... But until Kerry Wood comes back, there is no one else that I would rather have closing. Maybe Jensen Lewis, but I think everyone pretty much believes Chris Perez is going to be the closer of this team beyond the time we don't have Kerry Wood. So I think it's important for him to be in this role right now.
What's been the problem with him? Perez says he isn't hurt and his stuff is there.. I think both are clear. What I think is wrong is the fact that he just isn't going after hitters. He gets behind and then he gets in trouble. He's walked people on four pitches the past two games. He is just hesitant to go after them and that is causing him to nibble and miss the zone.
He isn't going to get calls if he is just around the zone like that. He has to go after the hitters. He's got a freakin 95 MPH fast ball and a crazy slider, why he isn't confident enough to throw them for strikes is beyond me, especially to people like Ramon Santiago.
Perez was booed off the field on the opener. I don't condone that, I think it is mindless for the fans to do such a thing so early. I'm upset with him to and I'm going to scream and yell. Perez may be alright with the fans booing him, but I'm not.
"I've never been booed before," said Perez. "I'd boo too, based on my last two performances. I think there's some frustration based on the last two years. We had a good spring training. Now we're 2-5. I understand the fans' frustration."
Our frustration is no excuse to give you that reception. He's been not very good, but he isn't TRYING to be bad. There's a difference in not getting it done and not trying to get it done and not trying to get it done is the only reason I'd boo someone. So, stop it.
[WHATS UP WITH GRADY?]
No one is really sure to be honest, but Manny Acta believes three straight days off will be helpful to this situation, but the Indians are clearly not taking any chances to damaging Grady any further.
After what happened last year, I don't blame them. As we saw in the first five games, Grady Sizemore is much needed and if he hurts the back any further that would be bad.
So he gets Sunday and Monday off and the Indians have the off-day today on Tuesday. Let's really hope he's in there on Wednesday, it would really calm a lot of the nervousness that is around right now.
[RALLY BUCK]
We've had the rally squirrel, the rally pie, and infiltrations of seagulls and insects to help out the Tribe.
Now Mike Redmond introduces the Rally Buck.
It didn't really have much of an effect yesterday, but the Rally Buck is very much around and very much fake. Fake in a sense that it isn't an actual real buck.
Redmond says he might even throw a uniform on the former target practice animal made of plastic. I personally can't wait until he just sets Rally Buck in shallow right field and tries to pepper it during a session of naked batting practice.
Seriously, not that I want to see it, but we've heard so much about this legendary naked batting practice that he has to do it at some point. If Rally Buck fails, I see no other alternative.
I really like Redmond though. His efforts in the clubhouse will not go unnoticed though. Trot Nixon was huge for that team in 2007 and I see Redmond having the same kind of positive impact for the 2010 Indians in terms of teaching the young guys and being a nice source of energy.
Along that line, he's a great representative of hard work. He got absolutely destroyed behind the plate and his attitude was awesome. He said he signed up for catching and unfortunately, he loves it. That is awesome.
[RANDOM RUNDOWN]
Kerry Wood threw a 20-pitch bullpen session on Monday before the game. The decision on whether to start him right out of the gate in Cleveland or send him out on a rehab assignment has not been made. There seems to be a real hurry now to get him back after Perez's struggles. What happened to wanting to ship him off?
Russell Branyan took another step in his rehab assignment on Monday. He played seven innings at first base for the Clippers and went 0-4 with a strikeout. I think the next step is to play a full game after what will probably another off-day. I think he'll be ready when he is ready to play nine innings on back to back days.
Lou Marson was on the receiving end of a wicked collision at the plate on Sunday and Travis Hafner was on the delivering end of one on Monday. Taylor Teagarden was behind the plate and he knew trouble was coming.
"As soon as LaPorta hit the ball up the middle, seeing [Hafner] halfway to third, I knew I was going to get killed," Teagarden said. "If Julio made a good throw, there's no way that guy is going to slide around me."
Hafner reached the dish just as the ball did and it made for a great play on Teagarden's part and it really was a game saving type of a play considering the Indians didn't score and the Rangers didn't either. Good hard baseball on both parts the past two days with the collision with Kelly and Marson too.
Despite his base-running blunder (and Choo seems to make a lot of silly blunders, thankfully he only makes one of a kind once) Shin-Soo Choo had a good day against the Rangers offensively and it looks like he is starting to get into a better way at the plate.
I'll just wrap it up and say that Terry Pluto covers just about everything talked about here in little ways in his latest scribbles.. Read it, read it now.
I need to pass along this story. It is long and it may take you some time to get through, but I was completely captivated by it. Paulie C mentioned it in his latest Lazy Sunday at The DiaTribe and really, it is a great read. It's a comparison of the drastic situations that Andy Marte and Michael Brantley are in with the Indians.
Original Story:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheTri...
