I need a new thesaurus

September 22, 2012

It’s hard to write about yet another Indians loss because, well, there have been so many lately that it’s increasingly challenging to find a new way to talk about the Tribe dropping another one. And tonight they did it again, getting beat by the Royals 5-3. This defeat raises several questions for me.

1) How is it that Ubaldo Jimenez only has an ERA of 5.55? It feels like it should be somewhere around 8.50. Or 37.0.  He had two bad innings tonight, allowing 2 runs in the 1st and then loading the bases in the 5th before getting yanked and replaced by Chris Seddon. Three more runs scored, all charged to Jimenez.  He threw a bit over half (55%) of his pitches for strikes–not wretched horrible but certainly not good. Not good enough to avoid another licking by the Royals. We’ve now lost 7 in a row to them (and 8 of our last 10 against KC).

2) Why pinch hit Casey Kotchman for Thomas Neal? We’ve had all season to see what Kotchman can’t do at the plate. Neal has had only 16 at-bats in five games since we bought him up September 1st. How are you going to determine how he handles major league pitching if you don’t play him?

3) Speaking of Kotchman, while it’s been great to have confidence in the glove at first base this season, he hasn’t been much of a hitter for us. And he’s another lefty in a lineup rotten with left-handers. Then along comes Russ Canzler, a big ole’ right-handed hitter who seems to get the groove of major league hitting from the get-go and has a decent defensive track record at first base as a minor leaguer. So, yeah, I’d like to see more Canzler.

4) In the top of the 9th, why the hell did Shin-Soo Choo try to stretch that hit to a double?

5) What will we do with Cord Phelps next season? He has a lot of potential and seems to be in the team’s long-term plans. However, we already have a second baseman, and we like him just fine. This is one of the few “good” problems facing the Indians. Would that we had too many talented left fielders too.

This latest thumping gives the Tribe a 62-90 record. There are 10 games left in the season. A 100-loss season is still possible. That’s too depressing a thought to leave you with, though. Here’s a picture to make you feel better. It’s of a stinking cute Corgi  jumping over a hurdle.

You’re welcome.

 

7 Comments

  • Steve Alex says:

    Perhaps you could write about how consistent the Indians have become. The starter gives up runs in the 1st inning to put the team in an early hole, allows the opponent to regain the lead immediately after the offense scores, and the team goes hitless with RISP and totals only three runs. That describes at least half of the team’s games since the all-star break. You can almost script it.

  • joey says:

    i bet that corgi could track down some balls in left field…probly could hit as well as are left fielders…oh wait…nevermind…he looks like a left handed hitter.

  • SeattleStu says:

    Remember when I was the only one with a bad attitude….maybe 50 losses ago?….man do we suck. At least we’ve got Ubusto.

  • Steve Alex says:

    Here’s a telling statistic: On the heels of their historic August, the Indians have won seven games in September. All of them were by one run. The Indians haven’t won a game by more than one run since August 25. So even when they do manage to squeak out a win, it is by the skin of their teeth. And the first order of business in the off-season might be to trade our closer away? Think about it.

  • Jeff says:

    If we can trade Perez for several pieces to fill the many holes on this team, we gotta go for it. Pestano can close. Perez wants out anyway, give him his wish and trade him while he has maximum value. Same with Choo and Asdrubal. Choo is leaving after next season anyway, and we have plenty of very good shortstops coming up in the minors to replace Asdrubal. Trade all 3 and get 6 or 7 pieces that could help next year and beyond. This team ain’t going anywhere, bust it up and start over. (and while we are at it, release Ubaldo and let the door hit him on his way out)

    • Steve Alex says:

      I agree, Jeff. A total rebuild is in order. Trade everyone within two years of free agency and rebuild around a core of Kipnis, Chisenhall, Santana and Brantley. Decline the options on Jimenez and Hernandez. The pitching is just too horrendous to patch up and expect miraculous turnarounds. I just hope that whoever makes the calls on who to trade for knows what the hell he’s doing this time.

  • Swift says:

    Nice dog. You should do the little Queen Elizabeth wave to go along with it. 🙂