As frustrated as I am about the outcome of this game, the Indians probably wouldn’t have been in a position to win without several Twins miscues. The offense, yet again, missed a number of prime opportunities to put a big number on the board – they got a boost from the Ben Revere error in the outfield in the 4th, and the passed ball by Drew Butera in the 6th. Even though there were no Indians players officially charged with errors, you have to think that some of those Twins runs wouldn’t have scored in the 8th inning if someone else was playing left field.
You can’t even really blame Luis Valbuena for the issues in left. It’s not his regular position and he probably didn’t feel very comfortable out there. This is the second game in a row where his defensive presence likely cost the Tribe the game. All one can hope is that either Michael Brantley has recovered from his stomach ailment by the weekend, or that the Indians find an alternative solution for the outfield. Like the Baltimore series, this is a series that the Indians feasibly could have swept. (If Orlando Cabrera’s arm was about 3 inches longer he could’ve nabbed Danny Valencia’s single – that could’ve helped stop the bleeding in the 8th as well.)
Josh Tomlin didn’t seem to have his best stuff again today (it sounded like he left some pitches out over the plate, and was getting squeezed by the umpire). Despite this fact, he yet again gave the Indians a chance to win and stayed in the game for 6 innings – his 5+ innings pitched streak is up to 30 starts. He’s pitched 5+ in every Major League start of his career.
Few random stats, facts and links:
– Despite the number of runners the Indians strand in scoring position (which today, they were 0-9 with RISP), entering today’s game they were hitting .417 as a team with the bases loaded.
– On the Indians radio broadcast today, they were discussing Chris Perez and Danny Valencia’s friendship. Despite Valencia hitting go-ahead single off of Perez yesterday, Perez still crashed at Valencia’s apartment after the game.
– It was over 100 with the heat index in Minnesota for much of today’s game; it must have been miserable for both fans and players. The other night, Fausto Carmona changed his undershirt every inning, and his jersey several times during the game due to the heat and the amount he was sweating.
– Entering today, the Indians and the Pittsburgh Pirates were both in first place. This was the first time since 1921 that both teams have been in first place at the same time. Neither team won the pennant in 1921, but the Indians were fresh off their 1920 World Series win.
– I wanted to share a few good articles with you. First Chris Jaffe has a couple of great articles on Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven at The Hardball Times, in honor of their upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame: Robert Alomar Career Highlights and 10 Things I Didn’t Know About Bert Blyleven. Joe Guzzardi also has a great article that may be of interest to Indians fans at Baseball Past and Present: 1954 All Star Game: Al Rosen Plays With Broken Finger, Slams Key Homer.
Here’s one thing that I know about Bert Blyleven: what his naked rear end looks like (about what you’d expect).
I used to work for a tire company. One of my colleagues there–let’s call her Cheryl–was related to one of the players on the Indians (it wasn’t Bert). Cheryl once showed me an outtake from a team photo. At first glimpse, it looks like every other team photo you’ve ever seen, until you notice that Blyleven has his pants down around his ankles, his bare ass pointed toward the camera, and a huge grin on his face. What a prankster.
“If Orlando Cabrera’s arm was 3 inches longer…” or if we had Brandon Phillips out there!
2 caught stealing today and second in a row for Carrera. Isn’t he supposed to be fast?
One minor correction to the post. Valencia did not hit a home run off of Perez yesterday, it was a soft single in front of Valbuena.
Is the outfield today of (from left to right) of Valbuena, Carrera and Kearns, perhaps the worst in the history of the Tribe, doubly so for a team fighting for first place?
Oh crap…Mark you’re right, I’m not sure what I was thinking. (I’ll blame the heat for making part of my brain melt!) I’ll have to fix it later, I’m on my phone at the moment and it’s not letting me edit. You’re right about Brandon Phillips though; someone with more athleticism would’ve had that play. And I’m not sure what Austin Kearns was trying to do in stealing…he doesn’t strike me as a particularly fast runner! On the radio they said that Carrera had a terrible jump…if true, I guess all the speed in the world probably won’t help much.
TJ…today’s outfield makes me want to weep. I know there are tons of injuries right now, but still…yikes!
Vern, that cracks me up! As soon as the first line, all I could think of is, “how does he know what Blyleven’s rear end looks like?!” I’m glad you explained!
That should read “as soon as I saw the first line.” I’m really not doing so well today!
sorry gang, refuse to believe we cant come up with better outfielders in AA than what we’ve seen last two nights w/ valbuena and carerra…you’re in the majors? you make those plays….tonight’s bullpen boob is pestano….let’s see you get up 1-2 in count on future HOF’er valencia, having made him look sick on sliders and you throw him a fat fastball up and over the plate….time for jersey shore vinnie…but you get high marks for your sprint in from the bullpen….dork.
Can we please get Beltran already, and also I read Kipnis was just called up today, so hopefully he will provide a spark.