Where do we stand?
We’re 29-25 (.537)  and half a game out of first place.

Most pleasant surprise this month
There was a lot to be happy about this month. The two biggest pleasant surprises:  Going 16-8 the first four weeks of the month and the solidification of the starting rotation. Going into this season, the biggest question mark was the starting pitching. We had Masterson and Jimenez, and only the former seemed to instill confidence in most fans at the beginning of the season.  Brett Myers went on the DL early on, but Jimenez has had far  more good starts than bad while Corey Kluber and Zach McAllister have stepped up in a big way. They’re both maturing and improving incredibly fast (and not a moment too soon). Scott Kazmir hasn’t quite made his a storybook comeback, but he’s had some good outings.

Biggest disappointment this month
Oh, that bullpen.

Biggest challenge for upcoming month
Keeping the momentum going.

Bonus question
Will there be fist fights when they run out of Albert Belle bobbleheads today?

7 Comments

  • Seattle Stu says:

    big props to whoever was defending Giambi a week or so ago….still something left in the tank…go tribe.

  • DP Roberts says:

    Here’s a question for you: what does June bring for Lonnie Chisenhall? He was sent down to AAA to work on his swing. He’s been tearing the cover off the ball, with 5 homers, 3 doubles, and a triple in 15 games, batting .371 (and .463 over the last 10 games). How long are the Indians going to keep him down there, and who do they move if they decide to bring him back up?

  • ndills says:

    Roberts I don’t believe chisenhall is going to come back up. we have a much better lineup with out him and the only foreseeable person to go down is gomes and he isnt getting sent down because he is clearly our best catcher. chisenhall had his shot and isnt better than anyone on this team

  • Sean Porter says:

    I’d guess one of the thousand relief pitchers we have on the roster gets demoted… Scott Barnes comes to mind immediately.

  • Steve Alex says:

    Chisenhall will probably get his second chance pretty soon. That way, the team will have a full month to see what he can do before deciding whether they need to trade for a 3B (Aramis Ramirez?). Reynolds and Aviles have been solid but it cuts into their versatility to have them playing 3rd all the time.

  • Sean Porter says:

    With the Indians in a battle to the death with the Tigers currently, you think they are going to audition him again NOW Steve Alex?

    He’s mashing down at AAA now (and apparently fielding with his bat too, six errors in twelve games) but I think NOT having him on the roster makes the Indians a more versatile team, not less of one. Having Reynolds either playing 3b or DH allows Santana to play 1b more, which allows Gomes to play more often. In my humble opinion, bringing up Chisenhall at the expense of Gomes’ playing time is a net loss for the team.

    I will admit, and maybe its clouding my opinion on this, I’m not a fan of Chisenhall’s ability. I see a guy who will occasionally hammer a fat fastball for extra bases, but is a complete liability vs lefties, doesn’t walk, and is average at best defensively. Basically, a slow, less defensively-adept Drew Stubbs.

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