Yeah, Josh Phegley is probably right. The White Sox are a major reason why the Indians are knocking on the entranceway to the playoffs.

But we could flip it around and say that’s not our fault that they stink.

You have to play the teams on your schedule, and the Indians won’t complain for the breaks in it when you’re only a game over .500 against everyone else (67-66). Every contender needs some open road in between the speed bumps of it, but going 15-2 (with two more remaining to close out the home slate next week) is absolute domination.

It takes a bit of the sting out of a disappointing series against the Royals. The guys knew that they had to put their foot down on them and luckily for us, they seemed all but willing to lay down.

With the Indians now fully in control of their own destiny (the Rays and Rangers begin a huge four-game series tonight), every game from here on out is crucial. The Indians can also put Kansas City’s hopes on life support. Get it done, boys.

Breaks in the schedules are one thing, but you still need the horses to pull it off. With all the consternation and grief that came with the news of Justin Masterson’s side injury, the most unlikeliest of things happened along the way.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Ubaldo Jimenez tremendous amounts of credit for stepping up in the second half in the wake of Justin Masterson’s oblique injury and being the ace that the Indians have been waiting for. It’s a remarkable transformation and one that should make Mickey Callaway very happy.

If you’re the guy who figured out the labyrinth of Jimenez, then you deserve every accolade you can get.

Jimenez deserves credit for being the stabilizer at a time where things could have gone sideways. Without him, it probably wouldn’t have mattered what the Indians do against the White Sox. Now the Indians have to bring him back. And the crow I’m now eating for wanting him gone tastes mighty good. May I have some more, please?

 

 

2 Comments

  • Gvl Steve says:

    Ubaldo has been terrific, but he’s far from alone on that pitching staff. Everyone is contributing. And it is the emergence of Nick Swisher and Asdrubal Cabrera that is driving things offensively, plus Carlos Santana having another good 2nd half since being inserted into the cleanup spot. And then there’s that stud, RABURN!!!! His numbers are Pujolian.

  • shaun says:

    i don’t think we’re really missing masterson which to me demonstrates that our team really is a team where no one individual is enough to affect the course