The way the Indians offense has performed of late, I’m actually a little surprised it took them this long to be no-hit. Not to take anything away from Ervin Santana; his fastball was great today and his slider was nasty (he also had a 10/1 K/BB ratio). It’s kind of fitting that this is the pitcher that managed to no-hit the Tribe; lifetime he was 0-6 against them and had his disastrous Major League debut in Cleveland on May 17, 2005 (4 innings, 6 earned runs, 2 home runs). The Indians have plagued him through much of his career, but Santana got the last laugh today, at least.
Right now, the Indians look like a pretty bad team. Five errors are absolutely inexcusable; even the reliable Asdrubal Cabrera had an error in this one. When Austin Kearns made his error in the 4th inning, I was listening to the game on the radio (it wasn’t on the television locally until the last few innings). Since I didn’t see the play for myself, I can’t say this with 100% accuracy – but didn’t Kearns make a similar play recently (and possibly at other points this season?) A standard single that he either bobbles, or takes his time getting the ball into the infield; all of the sudden a single becomes a double. When he’s not contributing much of anything at the plate, he can’t afford to give up runs through inept defensive maneuvers.
The trade scene finally started to take shape, as Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen leave Chicago and it appears that Carlos Beltran is heading to San Francisco. I’m not sure if the Indians can do enough to improve the offense through just one move. Granted, I’m taking a very negative outlook after this series with the Angels, but I don’t have a lot of hope that a trade will really save them at this point. If you happen to remember 2007, the Indians called Asdrubal Cabrera to the Majors and with his strong finish, he was almost equivalent to an acquisition via trade. I hoped this would be the story line with Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis, but they have yet to catch fire. It’s a good thing they fired hitting coach Jon Nunnally; things have really improved since he left. (That’s sarcasm, if you couldn’t tell).
You know what I’m embarrassed to admit? By about the 8th inning, I started to cheer for Ervin Santana. (Actually, to be honest I’m only a little embarrassed…last night’s game and today’s really angered me.) The way the Indians’ offense has performed lately, they deserved this. And the way the Indians have beat upon Santana over the past 6 years, he deserved a bit of revenge.
Heard anything about a Hunter Pence possibility? This guy would be absolutely loved in Cleveland.
I’ve heard Atlanta is very interested in Pence, but I’ve heard nothing so far in regards to Cleveland. I like Pence; from what I understand, it would take a top pitching prospect to pry him loose. I’m guessing they’d ask for Drew Pomeranz or Alex White along with some lesser prospects.
We can afford to give them Alex White. Hell why not?
According to Jon Heyman, it’s looking like Pence may not be traded now: http://twitter.com/#%21/SI_JonHeyman/status/96379868996050944
Of course, he could be wrong. I also heard that the Dodgers may listen on Andre Ethier…I wonder what it would take to pry him loose?
Thanks for that. Here in Indians land, we like to look at the before 5/23 versus after 5/23 Indians. Well in this case, Michael Bourn would be like a bizarro Indian if he were to be acquired. He is hittng .328 since 5/23 and was hitting 50 points lower before that date. Also note that he has stolen 38 bases this season and has 2 gold gloves.