This has been a fun past few games... I mean with the pies and everything... It just has become fun again. I really hope this continues. Obviously they won't win every game and there will be some more heart breakers, but if the fun sticks around all season, I think we'll all be happy.
How about this pitching though? From start until now, the rotation has been dynamite. Talbot and Westbrook threw up a few shaky outings but those weren't even that bad. Many people called this rotation horrible and that it would be the worst in the game. Well, they are only 18th in the entire majors in Starter ERA, but their BAA is 11th and they haven't given up as many ER as other teams in their range. The point is though, they've put in quality efforts just about every time out and for a team that was expected to have horrible outing after horrible outing, it hasn't been the case. Their six quality starts is good enough for eighth in the MLB.
Anyway, let's get to the notes and the quotes.
[TALBOT REBOUNDS, MATCHES HUFF]
I think it was Rick Manning that said after Huff's start that the Indians wouldn't see a better pitched game all year. He would hope they would, but what Huff did was pretty good and would be tough to match.
Fact of the matter is, Mitch Talbot not only matched him, he probably looked way more dominant than Huff did, which is scary because Huff looked in a zone. They both pretty much made just one mistake to Konerko and Michael Young... But Talbot was efficient and just hitting the outside corner spots of the zone like nobodies business.
"When the pitcher throws a lot of strikes, he makes you swing the bat," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We couldn't get anything going. Obviously, the momentum of the game went backwards."
Talbot didn't walk anyone, which was huge for Acta and ultimately, Talbot was happy to pick up his first career win. How awesome was it that turned out to be a complete game?
"It's awesome to get my first win in a complete game and against a pitcher like Mark," Talbot said. "I can't tell you how thrilled I am."
If you complained about Talbot after game one, how do you feel now? A little silly? Go ahead and kiss Talbot's ring. This is why you give people more than one chance before you start going crazy. Now this is by no means a reason to go opposite of that and start calling him the second coming or anything, or expect this every time out, but it certainly provides a lot of optimism if Talbot is going to pan out to be a viable option.
"He was probably a little nervous in that first start, and he put all that behind him," Acta said. "He has the stuff to compete for us every five days. That's why we got him in the trade."
[THE PIE IS BACK]
Jensen Lewis did a good thing by bringing back the pie. After he pegged good buddy David Huff with some shaving cream after his complete game, Huff returned the favor in a sort of way by pegging Mitch Talbot after his complete game.
Huff said he felt it was only right that he be the one to get Talbot.
Huff said it got to the nose because it was shaving cream. If you watched last night, Talbot had it shooting out his own nose. Kind of gross.
"I was definitely not expecting that," Huff said. "I'm probably still wearing some of it. It doesn't burn too bad. It definitely opens up the nostrils with all the menthol, but it's not too bad. It was a good experience.
It's just great to see the pie back. Who knows if this will become a staple of the team. It became predictable in 2007, so it would be nice if it maybe took a few breaks and only busted out for special occasions (Ya know, complete games, walk-off hits, special home wins) like the ones we've seen the past few nights. But it is good to just have the camaraderie around.
[BRANYAN AND WOOD COMING SOON]
Russell Branyan made his first start for Akron and played all nine innings last night. The plan is to get him to do that two days in a row and they could do it as soon as Sunday/Monday or Monday/Tuesday. The club said early next week, but with a 10:30 start against Altoona on Wednesday, you have to figure it is coming sooner rather than later.
Kerry Wood is also making progress with his rehab. He'll be throwing his third bullpen today and expected to pitch in a simulated game next week. The feeling is he won't need a rehab assignment, so Wood looks to be on a good schedule to get back.
[RANDOM RUNDOWN]
Why Austin Kearns yesterday and why not even Mike Redmond, who kills lefties? Brantley is in a little bit of a slump and as you can see from last night, Kearns rewarded Acta with a few hits. Redmond isn't in the position to take at-bats away from Marson yet because Marson still needs time back there. Redmond will catch Carmona every time out, but unless there is a day game following a night game, Redmond will sit, regardless of matchup.
Unless of course CC Sabathia is pitching, then I think he better make an exception. But Marson gunned down Pierre in that game last night, so he's showing some promise back there at times.
One more note on David Huff, he's keeping memorabilia back in his apartment, but the hat he wore for the game on Thursday may have to return. I have an issue with that though. Didn't it get a little dirty from the shaving cream and what if he makes his next start with the other alternate cap? Yeah think about that.
Jhonny Peralta continues to put up his usual April struggles as Paul Hoynes notes.
"Nobody wants to start slowly. I'm doing the best I can, working hard to make the adjustments."
Well let's hope he gets it going sooner rather than later. Especially if Acta is going to hit him in the cleanup spot. That is just a bad move in my opinion. Maybe if Peralta was hitting right now that I'd consider breaking up the lefties, but why why why why why go away from what you were staunchly standing behind? I just don't get it. Acta says he's going to do it against left-handed starters, which is sort of okay, but again, why with Peralta struggling? Acta maintains he didn't want to split them up late in the innings when a guy like Thornton comes in, but he appears to be willing to do it with a starter on the mound.
Speaking of hot hitting, Shin-Soo Choo has been really good lately and Manny Acta says he's 'worth the price of admission.'
And also on the subject of left-handed hitting, how about Luis Valbuena hitting the left-hander yesterday?
"I wanted to be aggressive against the fastball," Valbuena said. "I'm not looking to hit home runs. I'm looking to make good contact."
Baby Louie really gave that one a ride yesterday. If he can do that against the lefties, he'll be in there more often than not.
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How about this pitching though? From start until now, the rotation has been dynamite. Talbot and Westbrook threw up a few shaky outings but those weren't even that bad. Many people called this rotation horrible and that it would be the worst in the game. Well, they are only 18th in the entire majors in Starter ERA, but their BAA is 11th and they haven't given up as many ER as other teams in their range. The point is though, they've put in quality efforts just about every time out and for a team that was expected to have horrible outing after horrible outing, it hasn't been the case. Their six quality starts is good enough for eighth in the MLB.
Anyway, let's get to the notes and the quotes.
[TALBOT REBOUNDS, MATCHES HUFF]
I think it was Rick Manning that said after Huff's start that the Indians wouldn't see a better pitched game all year. He would hope they would, but what Huff did was pretty good and would be tough to match.
Fact of the matter is, Mitch Talbot not only matched him, he probably looked way more dominant than Huff did, which is scary because Huff looked in a zone. They both pretty much made just one mistake to Konerko and Michael Young... But Talbot was efficient and just hitting the outside corner spots of the zone like nobodies business.
"When the pitcher throws a lot of strikes, he makes you swing the bat," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We couldn't get anything going. Obviously, the momentum of the game went backwards."
Talbot didn't walk anyone, which was huge for Acta and ultimately, Talbot was happy to pick up his first career win. How awesome was it that turned out to be a complete game?
"It's awesome to get my first win in a complete game and against a pitcher like Mark," Talbot said. "I can't tell you how thrilled I am."
If you complained about Talbot after game one, how do you feel now? A little silly? Go ahead and kiss Talbot's ring. This is why you give people more than one chance before you start going crazy. Now this is by no means a reason to go opposite of that and start calling him the second coming or anything, or expect this every time out, but it certainly provides a lot of optimism if Talbot is going to pan out to be a viable option.
"He was probably a little nervous in that first start, and he put all that behind him," Acta said. "He has the stuff to compete for us every five days. That's why we got him in the trade."
[THE PIE IS BACK]Jensen Lewis did a good thing by bringing back the pie. After he pegged good buddy David Huff with some shaving cream after his complete game, Huff returned the favor in a sort of way by pegging Mitch Talbot after his complete game.
Huff said he felt it was only right that he be the one to get Talbot.
Huff said it got to the nose because it was shaving cream. If you watched last night, Talbot had it shooting out his own nose. Kind of gross.
"I was definitely not expecting that," Huff said. "I'm probably still wearing some of it. It doesn't burn too bad. It definitely opens up the nostrils with all the menthol, but it's not too bad. It was a good experience.
It's just great to see the pie back. Who knows if this will become a staple of the team. It became predictable in 2007, so it would be nice if it maybe took a few breaks and only busted out for special occasions (Ya know, complete games, walk-off hits, special home wins) like the ones we've seen the past few nights. But it is good to just have the camaraderie around.
[BRANYAN AND WOOD COMING SOON]
Russell Branyan made his first start for Akron and played all nine innings last night. The plan is to get him to do that two days in a row and they could do it as soon as Sunday/Monday or Monday/Tuesday. The club said early next week, but with a 10:30 start against Altoona on Wednesday, you have to figure it is coming sooner rather than later.
Kerry Wood is also making progress with his rehab. He'll be throwing his third bullpen today and expected to pitch in a simulated game next week. The feeling is he won't need a rehab assignment, so Wood looks to be on a good schedule to get back.
[RANDOM RUNDOWN]
Why Austin Kearns yesterday and why not even Mike Redmond, who kills lefties? Brantley is in a little bit of a slump and as you can see from last night, Kearns rewarded Acta with a few hits. Redmond isn't in the position to take at-bats away from Marson yet because Marson still needs time back there. Redmond will catch Carmona every time out, but unless there is a day game following a night game, Redmond will sit, regardless of matchup.
Unless of course CC Sabathia is pitching, then I think he better make an exception. But Marson gunned down Pierre in that game last night, so he's showing some promise back there at times.
One more note on David Huff, he's keeping memorabilia back in his apartment, but the hat he wore for the game on Thursday may have to return. I have an issue with that though. Didn't it get a little dirty from the shaving cream and what if he makes his next start with the other alternate cap? Yeah think about that.
Jhonny Peralta continues to put up his usual April struggles as Paul Hoynes notes.
"Nobody wants to start slowly. I'm doing the best I can, working hard to make the adjustments."
Well let's hope he gets it going sooner rather than later. Especially if Acta is going to hit him in the cleanup spot. That is just a bad move in my opinion. Maybe if Peralta was hitting right now that I'd consider breaking up the lefties, but why why why why why go away from what you were staunchly standing behind? I just don't get it. Acta says he's going to do it against left-handed starters, which is sort of okay, but again, why with Peralta struggling? Acta maintains he didn't want to split them up late in the innings when a guy like Thornton comes in, but he appears to be willing to do it with a starter on the mound.
Speaking of hot hitting, Shin-Soo Choo has been really good lately and Manny Acta says he's 'worth the price of admission.'
And also on the subject of left-handed hitting, how about Luis Valbuena hitting the left-hander yesterday?
"I wanted to be aggressive against the fastball," Valbuena said. "I'm not looking to hit home runs. I'm looking to make good contact."
Baby Louie really gave that one a ride yesterday. If he can do that against the lefties, he'll be in there more often than not.
Original Story:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheTri...
