The bad news is, the Indians lost to the Yankees last night, 9-2. We won the first game in the series, they won the second. The Yankees are one of the strongest teams in either league, loaded with the best players money can buy, so yeah, they’re tough to beat.
Slightly worse bad news (is that redundant?) is that Asdrubal Cabrera sprained his ankle in the 3rd inning and left the game in the 4th inning. He’s listed as day-to-day. If we’re lucky, the Indians will rest him over the next few days. While it’d be great to have him for the last game in the Yankees series, it’s only one game. This weekend, we have a four-game series at home against the Toronto Blue Jays, who are 42-45 (.483). While it won’t be a cakewalk, chances are we could still take three out of the four games without Cabrera. We lost Cabrera for six weeks last season when he fractured his left forearm. He had a leg cramp that took him out of a game in spring training, and he dislocated his left shoulder in 2009. I don’t think he’s delicate by any stretch of the imagination. Given the incredible plays he makes, it’s a wonder he isn’t pulling muscles, spraining ligaments, and breaking bones left and right. To me, that’s all the more reason to make sure the ankle is solid before putting him back in the lineup, where you know he will be running hard and throwing himself after every ball hit his way. While I’m happy he’s been named to the All-Star team, I won’t be upset if he doesn’t play. As the primary vinter of Late Inning Magic, vintage 2011, we need a healthy Asdrubal Cabrera for the second half.
I don’t know that it’s good or bad news that rookie Cord Phelps bounced a relay throw to first base on what should have been a double-play. It just is. He wasn’t charged with an error, but it was a key play in a bases-loaded situation. Phelps is batting .196 after 55 plate appearances and has 5 errors in 12 games (100 innings) on the field. Maybe the bad news is that he’s not quite ready for prime time. I guess the good news is that he’s still an excellent prospect and we can always bring him back up.
Is there good news? I don’t know. We’re still in first place. Detroit has lost 4 out of 5 games since July 1. If nothing else, there’s always schadenfreude.
Time to send Phelps back to Columbus and bring up Kipnis. Kipnis has been hitting extremely well of late, and it’s time to see what he can do. Phelps needs to work on his defense before he get’s another chance.
LaPorta is back in the lineup tonight, so that is some good news.
I just moved and don’t have cable hooked up yet, so I couldn’t watch the game yesterday. What happened to Carrasco in that second inning?
Let me give you the good news first: Following the Yankee win Wednesday night and going 4-2 so far this month against two winning teams, the rest of July is shaping up as the “easiest” month remaining this year, a make-or-break time for the revitalized Tribe. Of the 20 remaining July games, only 3 (vs. LAA at home) are against a winning team. The bad news: a couple of teams (CWS, Jays) are near .500 while I have a hunch the Twins might be a jinx team for the Tribe this year.