Player of the Game

Justin Masterson pitched a masterful game as he ran away with today's Player of the Game. Masterson pitched 7 shut out innings, allowing just 5 singles, 2 of which were immediately erased by double plays. A majority of Masterson's outs were ground balls, as he only struck out 5 Toronto batters. Hopefully he can continue to look like the Indians Ace through the second half of the season. Masterson scored 8.35 PoG points, giving him his 9th award of the season.

Feathers Up

Travis Hafner enjoyed his rest during the All Star break. He was so rested that he came out swinging in his first at bat and hit a home run off a left-handed pitcher in just the second pitch he saw. Hafner gave Cleveland the early 1-0 lead, which was all that Justin Masterson would need.

Michael Brantley continues to tear apart pitching as he added 3 more hits today. Brantley currently has an 11 game hit streak and his batting average is inching up toward the .300 mark.

Chris Perez came back strong after blowing his second save of the season in his last appearance. Vinnie Pestano and Perez each pitched perfect innings, combining for 3 strike outs.

Milestone Alert: Pestano is now tied with Ricardo Rincon for 6th all time in Indians holds.

Feathers Down

As reporters and fans who no longer lives in the Cleveland (or Ohio) area, Burning River Baseball relies heavily on MLB.TV to watch or listen to every Indians game. Today, however, the MLB.TV program decided to have "issues," so that one could not watch or listen to the game. These issues were finally resolved in the 4th inning, but paying for a service and missing nearly half a game (including a Pronk home run) is very frustrating.

Play of the Game

Travis Hafner returns from the All Star break in style.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 1 - Toronto Blue Jays 0

The Indians have reorganised their starting rotation going into the second half of the season, in order to keep the cream on top. The new order will be Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Derek Lowe, Zach McAllister and Josh Tomlin. The main changes are that McAllister has been bumped ahead of Tomlin and McAllister, Lowe and Tomlin are being skipped for this turn in the rotation.

The Indians started the first half of the season against Toronto and will now start the second half against them as well. The first time around didn't go very well as the Tribe lost the first two games of the year in extra innings as they looked to set a new record for most innings played in a season. The first loss was Chris Perez's only blown save until he blew the last game of the half against Tampa Bay. He will certainly be in fine form and raging as he was kept out of the All-Star game and will be looking to make up for those two blown save. His beard may even catch on fire if he makes it into the opener.

July 13th, 7:07 EDT: Justin Masterson, RHP, 5-8, 4.40 ERA vs Ricky Romero, LHP, 8-4, 5.22 ERA

Masterson's goal for the rest of the season should be to make his win-loss record further away from his height (6-6) and get his ERA closer to his weight (250). Excelling in the land of snow and socialized medicine will be his first step in proving to management that he deserves their faith in him. Masterson was blown out in his last start, but the six prior to that were all good, so at this point we can assume the game against Tampa was an outlier. After facing Toronto this week he will have to pitch against Tampa again so these games should be a good show of whether it was a one game hiccough or something more serious.

Romero opened the season against the Indians (in fact this is a rematch of opening day) and allowed 4 runs in 5 innings. Although he didn't get a decision in that game, Romero went on to win 8 of his next 9 decisions. Since then he has lost three in a row and raised his ERA from 4.94 to 5.32. Going back slightly further, over the last 10 games he has raised it from 3.64. Overall the Blue Jays ace seems to be tanking a little bit as his rate stats (ERA, K/BB and WHIP) are all at their lowest point in his career since his rookie season. The walks are especially bothersome as he currently leads the league with 58. This is a great sign for a very patient Tribe team and should help the most selective hitters like Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner force him to throw pitches they like.

July 14th, 1:07 EDT:  Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, 8-7, 4.50 ERA vs Aaron Laffey, LHP, 0-1, 2.67 ERA

Jimenez has finally fixed his control problems and with it, the rest of his game has come around as well. He hasn't allowed 5 or more walks in a game since May when he did so four separate times. Going perfectly with that, he hasn't allowed 5 or more runs in a game since May either, when he allowed 7 twice. The opposite of Romero, Jimenez has been lowering his ERA and it is now at it's lowest point since his May 26th, 7 inning shut out of Texas. He has dropped it about 10 points in each of his last three games alone. Ubaldo should have no trouble dominating a team that has three of the American League's top 20 strike out victims in it's starting lineup.

I miss Aaron Laffey and wouldn't mind one bit if the Indians traded to get him back, even if they only used him for long relief. The Indians trading him to Seattle to make room for Chad Durbin on the active roster was one of the biggest mistakes in recent memory. Laffey started this season out of the bullpen, but was pulled to be a starter on June 26th. He has since made three starts and has pitched 6 innings in each and allowed a total of 5 runs. This could be a tough test for the Tribe as they generally fare poorly against soft throwing left handers, but as long as Lou Marson and Shelley Duncan (as they have in recent games against LHP) can pick up the slack, the Indians should be fine.

July 15th: 107 EDT: Derek Lowe, 8-6, 4.43 ERA vs Carlos Villanueva, RHP, 3-0, 3.05 ERA

Derk Lowe had a terrible June and things aren't particularly looking up in July, but it's possible the extra long break will give the old man's arm some time to rest. As I have been saying, the Indians need to keep Lowe on a very short leash and if he is struggling in the 6th inning at all, he should be pulled immediately. He doesn't have the stamina he once had and it has seemed this season that once it starts to go bad for him, it goes really bad.

Villanueva has also been in the bullpen most of the year and in fact had earned a hold and two wins in 22 relief appearances before being converted to a starter on June 26th. This will be his third start of the year, so it is hard to know what to expect out of him. He did start 13 games last season, but still pitched the majority of the time out of the bullpen. He does not have the control of a great reliever and he has allowed more than 1.30 base runners per inning this season.

At the half way point in the season, the Indians find themselves just where they were projected, between the White Sox and the Tigers. The unexpected part is that the White Sox are in first while the Tigers are in third. Cleveland is currently 3 games behind Chicago and a half game ahead of Detroit. The Indians will be able to decide their own fate this season, at least as far as Detroit is concerned as they will play each other in four more series. The Tribe also have two series against Chicago to end the year.

Overall the Indians have been very inconsistent this season, although the same could be said about every team in the AL Central. If this was not the case someone probably would have ran away with the division by now. One of Cleveland's biggest problems has been facing left handed pitching, where they have gone 9-16 compared to 35-25 against right handers. They seem to have made some advancements of late in this situation, winning their last two. In fact since I wrote this article (Lefties Suck, 6/4) they have gone 5-4. This change can most strongly be pinned on Lou Marson, who has not played much against righties, but has been starting against some left handers. At the beginning of the season he was basically an automatic out (.147 batting average in April and May), but recently he has played well enough to get his season batting average up to .297 and has knocked in 7 of his 8 RBI in his last 30 games. Shelley Duncan, Casey Kotchman and Johnny Damon have all also picked up their game slightly of late, leading to an increase in Indians run production all around.

Another issue the Tribe has faced and pulled through is the starting rotation. It will probably require some more tweaks as the season goes on, but things are much better now than they were in April. Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez are the team's two aces and are finally pitching like they belong there. Jimenez has about half his strike outs in the last month alone and each pitcher has lowered their ERA significantly, finally bringing them toward respectability. Josh Tomlin is still an issue and I have doubts that Derek Lowe will be able to finish this season, but Zach McAllister has performed admirably, giving the Indians at least three quality starters each time through the rotation. Tribe management acted quickly replacing Jeanmar Gomez with McAllister at the first sign of trouble and will hopefully do the same with either Tomlin or Lowe should they get any worse. The Indians AAA team is very deep in starting pitching including Corey Kluber (who threw out of the Indians bullpen late in 2011), former Twin Kevin Slowey, David Huff, Spring Training invitee Chris Seddon and the mustache himself Eric Berger. On a rebuilding team you can afford to allow young players some time to work out their struggles, but that isn't the case in a playoff chase.

As it has been the last two years, the Indians bullpen is one of the best in baseball. Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez have teamed up to become some sort of dynamic duo inside the Bullpen Mafia. In Indians wins they both have ERAs under 1.50 (Pestano 1.24, Perez 1.01) and have combined for 3 wins, 24 saves and 22 holds along with 61 strike outs in 55.2 innings between the two of them. If the Indians can get a lead going into the 8th inning, they are almost unbeatable. The rest of the bullpen has been a little shakier although Joe Smith has been as reliable as always and Esmil Rogers has been a total surprise. The left handed reliever spot has become a bit of a worry for the Tribe and what was a very deep position for the Indians at the beginning of the season has become a trouble spot. Rafael Perez is still out with injury for an unknown amount of time and Tony Sipp (while better the last couple of weeks) has been a major let down this year. Nick Hagadone played well to start, but is currently shelved in the minors pending an attitude adjustment and Scott Barnes is his emergency replacement. From what he has shown already this year in Columbus and Cleveland, Barnes should have what it takes to be the main lefty out of the bullpen. Although his ERA may look terrible, keep in mind that 5 of his 6 runs allowed came in one game in Cincinnati that was already a blow out before he came in.

The Indians will have a tough race for the rest of the season, but there is no reason they shouldn't stay in it until the end. Starting pitching is weak in general throughout the division as the White Sox, like the Indians, also are limited by their two aces (Jake Peavy and Chris Sale) as far as quality goes and the Tigers just have 2011 MVP and Cy Young Justin Verlander. Almost certainly one of the three teams will make a move for a big name starting pitcher, while at least the Indians will be looking to improve offensively before the trade deadline. While it isn't necessary for a playoff run, it would certainly help if the Indians could trade for corner infielder or outfielder and a starting pitcher.

National League Player of the Game

Melky Cabrera was the National League Player of the Game, and therefore, Burning River Baseball's All Star MVP. Cabrera's score of 5.63 included a single, a home run, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBI. Close behind him with a score of 5.36 was Pablo Sandoval, who hit a 3-run triple in the first inning.

American League Player of the Game

With a score of -7.49, Justin Verlander was not the American League Player of the Game. The American League's performance was pretty pathetic tonight as they could not score a single run. Oakland pitcher, Ryan Cook, won the AL PoG with a score of 1.50 after pitching an inning and striking out 2.

Game Recap

Justin Verlander started for the American League tonight, and National League batters came out hitting. In the first inning, Verlander allowed a single to Melky Cabrera, a double to Ryan Braun, a triple to Pablo Sandoval, a single to Dan Uggla, and a couple walks. Verlander faced all 9 National League starters and gave up 5 runs in his lone inning pitched.

The National League added 3 more runs in the 4rd inning when Ranger's pitcher, Matt Harrison, gave up a triple to Rafael Furcal, a single to Matt Holliday, a home run to Melky Cabrera, and a triple to Ryan Braun. In the first 4 innings, American League pitchers surrendered 8 runs on 8 hits, including 3 triples and a home run.

After the 4th inning, the bats settled down for the NL and refused to heat up for the AL. It looks like the National League will have home field advantage in the World Series.

Asdrubal Cabrera

Asdrubal Cabrera entered the game in the 5th inning when he pinch hit for Derek Jeter. Cabrera approached the plate with 2 on and drew a 2-out walk to load the bases. The next batter, Ian Kinsler, flew out to end the inning, stranding Asdrubal on first. Cabrera struck out in his second and last at bat, but was allowed to stay in the game as the third string short stop, Elvis Andrus, was used at third base.

Chris Perez

It's a sad day, as 2-time All Star Chris Perez did not appear in the game today. Perez was slated to come in for mid-inning relief if it was needed, but after Harrison pitched the American League didn't have any more issues.

Final Score: National League 8 - American League 0

The Indians will be sending two players to the midsummer classic this year, a lot like last year when they sent the exact same two players. They are actually the only two players on the current 25 man roster that have any All-Star experience at all. The Indians are lucky to even have two players going as 6 of the last 10 years they have just sent one representitive. The Indians did have a few more deserving players as the Tribe currently holds the best offensive shortstop and second baseman along with the top closer and set up man. It would have been nice to see Jason Kipnis and Vinnie Pestano also get picked for this year's team, but being the best at your position has nothing to do with getting into the All-Star game. Just like hitting home runs has nothing to do with the Home Run Derby. Right Robbie Cano, don't ya know?

Last year Asdrubal Cabrera started at short stop after Derek Jeter stepped down and didn't even go to the game after being voted in. This year Jeter will not make the same mistake and will be starting, with Cabrera the reserve short stop. Elvis Andrus is also on the team as a back up short stop so each player will likely get 3 innings a piece or less. Cabrera has been far more productive offensively than Andrus with 10 more home runs and 7 more RBI (on a team that scores less runs) so he should be the first short stop in the game after Jeter.

Chris Perez threw a scoreless inning of relief in the 2011 All-Star game and you couldn't have asked much more out of him. In a game where starting pitchers only pitch from 1-3 innings, it's amazing they let a closer get more than one out. Perez struck out one and allowed a hit in that inning. This year along with Pure Rage are relievers Ryan Cook (Oakland), Joe Nathan (Texas), Jim Johnson (Baltimore), and Fernando Rodney (Tampa Bay). Before his last game out, Perez was by far the leader of this group and should get enough respect to get his inning in this year's contest.

Enjoy the game and remember, this one kind of counts.

Same rules as last time, here are another 10 outstanding Indians minor leaguers. Included this time that were not in May are players from the Dominican Summer League Indians, Mahoning Valley Scrappers and the Arizona League Indians who had not started play yet when the last one was written.

1. Chun-Hsiu Chen - C/1B - AA Akron - International Free Agent 2007

Chen is currently second on the Aeros in RBI behind only 8 year semi-pro Nick Weglarz. Unlike Weglarz however, Chen is on his way up, rather than going back down. Chun-Hsiu is currently in his second season with the Akron and has been working this season on transitioning from his original position of catcher into becoming a full time first baseman. The added time in AA has aided Chen offensively as well as he raised his batting average in 2012 to .317 from .262 in 2011. If Chen continues his progress this season he will likely reach career highs in runs (currently has 49), hits (99), doubles (25), steals (4) and walks (45). In addition to all that, he will likely make his way to Columbus by seasons end and could be in Cleveland as early as September 2013 depending on their need.

2. Jeremie Tice - OF - AA Akron - Drafted Round 6 in 2008

Jeremie Tice played well enough in Advanced A to make the All-Star team, but wasn't going to stop then. Before the game was played Tice had moved on to Akron and has picked up his game even more. Combined between the two levels Tice has 36 extra base hits and 58 RBI this year. Most impressively he has actually hit at a higher rate in AA (.333 in 52 games) than he did in A+ (.282 in 52 games). Tice has played some at first base, right field and left field, but has seen the majority of his at bats at designated hitter. He will likely finish out 2012 and begin 2013 in AA. The earliest Indians fans should expect Tice would be late in 2014.

3. Jesus Aguilar - 1B - A+ Carolina - International Free Agent 2008

Aguilar was one of just two Indians farm hands in the Future's Game, the other one being Francisco Lindor (who was covered in the May edition) and it was well deserved. He leads the Mudcats in doubles (21), hits (83) and runs (50) and is second in batting average (.305), RBI (45), and home runs (11). His rate stats (OBP and AVG) are his highest since he was in the Dominican Summer League in 2009. With Jeremie Tice moved on to Akron, Aguilar is the most dominant offensive force left in Carolina. 

4. Preston Guilmet - RP - AA Akron - Drafted Round 9 in 2009

The Aeros closer has arguably been the best in the Indians organization outside of Pure Rage himself. Guilmet has earned 11 saves already even though the Aeros have tended to spread around the opportunities with 6 other pitchers earning a total of 14 saves. Preston has only allowed 7 runs in 30.2 innings (2.05 ERA) and has kept runners off the bases with a WHIP under 1.00 as well. He also has a very impressive K/BB rate of 26/9. Guilmet has finished 20 of the 28 games he has pitched in and will look to start finishing games in Columbus by the end of 2013. 

5. Jorge Martinez - 2B - R AZL Indians - International Free Agent 2010

The Arizona League Indians have just recently started playing, but Jorge Martinez has started just about as hot as you can. The Indians second-baseman slash stats are .415/.456/.717 and he has knocked in 11 runs in 12 games to boot. The 19 year old is in his third year in Rookie ball, but will likely advance soon as he has finally figured something out. He is just one home run away from his career high at this level and is about half way to most of his other highs at just a quarter of the way through the season. Martinez is still a long way away, but he is still very young and could develop into something good.

6. Luis DeJesus - SP - A(SS) Mahoning Valley - Drafted Round 11 in 2011

Dejesus started 2012 in 'A' ball with the Lake County Captains and didn't impress, but joined the Scrappers as soon as their season started and has dominated. DeJesus had only pitched in 13 professional games prior to this season so he probably should have been in Single A the whole time. So far in Mahoning Valley he is 2-0 in four starts with an ERA of 0.82. In his short career across three levels, Luis has struck out 71 batters in just 80 innings pitched. While he is still far away from the bigs, it is promising to see such a late round draft pick doing so well already.

7. Dorssys Paulino - SS - R AZL Indians - International Free Agent 2011

This promising young (17) shortstop has already started excelling in his first professional season. Paulino has already hit a couple home runs and is batting .327 through 13 games. While he has had some struggles defensively (5 errors), it is unlikely he will ever be a starting short stop for the Indians. Between Asdrubal Cabrera and Francisco Lindor after him, the Tribe is pretty set up the middle for the next decade. The Indians however, are not deep at some other positions like second base and third base that could be possibly fits for the young up comer.

8. Carlos Diaz - SP - R DSL Indians - International Free Agent 2011

In 5 games pitched (4 starts), Carlos Diaz leads all Dominican Summer League pitchers with a 0.90 ERA. Through 20 innings Diaz has 21 strike outs and has only allowed 2 runs on 11 hits. Unbelievably his WHIP of 0.95 is fourth on among the incredibly strong pitching staff for the DSL Indians. Every starter on the team with more than three starts holds an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP under 1.15. Diaz and any of the other pitchers who perform beyond expectations will likely see their way to either the AZL Indians or Mahoning Valley by 2013.

9. Cody Allen - RP - AAA Columbus - Drafted Round 23 in 2011

Cody Allen has moved faster up the Indians minor league system faster than any other player in recent memory. The extremely late round draft pick from just last year passed through four MiLB levels in just 46 games during his first season. This year he has seen time in Carolina, Akron and Columbus and has combined for a 2.01 ERA in 29 relief outings. Most impressively he has struck out 51 batters compared to only 9 walks. Seeing how fast he has already risen combined with the Indians struggles with the lower part of their bullpen, Allen could possibly see time in Cleveland this season and more likely in 2013. There are quite a few pitchers in Columbus right now with Major League experience, but the only pitcher that has been better than Allen (Chris Ray) was just released.

10. Jordan Smith - RF - A Lake County - Drafted Round 9 in 2011

Smith is in just his second professional season for the Indians and has excelled at two levels. In 65 games last season for Mahoning Valley, Smith knocked in 47 runs and scored 36. This year he has increased his power output, hitting a team high five triples along with four home runs and 16 doubles. He has also knocked in another 33 runs and scored another 36 in 2012 while keeping a very consistent .301 batting average. Jordan Smith could be just the left handed light hitting outfielder the Indians need. Look for Smith in Akron next season.

There are a few players who deserve mention for their minor league exploits, even though the Indians have removed their prospect titles and changed them to pros. Juan Diaz was considered good enough to take Asdrubal Cabrera's role in Cleveland while the All-Star was out with an injury, but he isn't good enough for AAA as he was sent back down to Akron following the call up. He has 7 home runs and 37 RBI already this year despite the interruption. Matt LaPorta also deserves recognition as he will likely set career highs in home runs and RBI this year in AAA as the prototypical AAAA or replacement player can't seem to earn a spot on the big league club.

#9 is #5 on this month's list.

Joe Gordon is a recent inductee of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame (2009) and the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame (2008) as well. While he was inducted as a Yankee for his 7 years of service there, he contributed enough to the Indians that he deserves recognition here as well. Gordon was the rare case of an amazing player being traded from the Yankees to another team. In 1946 the Indians made the deal in exchange for Allie Reynolds following top 25 MVP finishes in 7 of Gordon's 8 seasons and seven consecutive All-Star game appearances. 

When he came to Cleveland he picked his game up even more, earning career highs in home runs and RBI in 1948. That same season he lead the Indians to their second World Series championship as their starting second baseman against the Boston Braves. Gordon was the top offensive player on the Tribe for both 1947 and 1948 when he lead the team each year in home runs and RBI. 1949 saw the emergence of Larry Doby as a powerful force and 1950 brought around the advent of Al Rosen, but Gordon continued to produce through his entire time with the Tribe, hitting at least 19 home runs every year, including 1950 when he only played 119 games. Even though his time in Cleveland was short, he still managed to hit 100 home runs for the Indians, one of only 23 players to accomplish that feat.

Gordon was also a successful manager for the Indians, taking over for Kerby Farrell in 1958. Gordon is currently ranked 20th all time in wins by an Indians manager while his winning percentage is ranked 5th. Joe Gordon died in 1978 at the age of 63.

Roster Update: The Indians sent Nick Hagadone down to Triple-A Columbus yesterday, leaving an empty spot on the 25-man roster. To fill that spot, they called up reliever Scott Barnes. Hagadone was placed on the Minor League disqualified list because of a self-inflicted injury to his pitching hand. He reportedly punched something in the stadium after Friday's game resulting in the hand injury that will sideline him for quite some time.

Player of the Game

Zach McAllister had an outstanding outing today. He pitched 5.2 innings and did not allow any earned runs. He gave up 4 hits and walked 3. He struck out 8 Tampa Bay batters and at one point had recorded 5 consecutive strike outs. He did not allow any hits until the 5th inning. His score of 5.86 wins him his 1st PoG of the season. Close behind was Casey Kotchman with a score of 5.44.

Feathers Up

The Indians took advantage of errors and a hit batter early in the game. Travis Hafner was hit by a pitch in the 2nd inning and came around to score the Tribe's first run. Johnny Damon led off the 3rd inning with a triple and quickly scored after a James Shields throwing error during a failed pick off attempt. The Indians scored another run in the 3rd inning after a fielding error allowed Travis Hafner to reach safely and Jason Kipnis to score.

Several players had multiple hits in today's game. Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Kipnis, and Johnny Damon each had 2-hit games and Michael Brantley and Casey Kotchman added 3 hits each.

The bullpen was dominating once again. Joe Smith and Tony Sipp each pitch flawlessly today. Should-be All Star, Vinnie Pestano, came into the game for the 8th inning and struck out 3. He now leads the Majors with 23 holds.

Hit Streak Update: Going into the All Star Break, Shin-Soo Choo has a 7 game hit streak and Michael Brantley has a 10 game streak.

Feathers Down

Asdrubal Cabrera had a bad game offensively, but that does not even compare to his defensive miscues in the 6th inning. Zach McAllister was charged with an infield single when Carlos Pena reached safely. This hit could have been avoided if Asdrubal Cabrera did not misjudge the amount of time he had to throw to 1st base. With one out in the inning, Jason Kipnis fed a ball to Cabrera at 2nd for a fielder's choice, but Cabrera dropped the ball. Zach McAllister went on to give up a few doubles in the inning, leading to 4 Tampa Bay runs, all of which were unearned.

Chris Perez failed to record his 25th save after blowing his 1st save since opening day. Perez struck out the first batter he faced in the inning, then gave up a home run, triple, and 2 singles, allowing 3 runs in the 9th inning. This was his worst game of the year.

Play of the Game

Chris Perez gave up an RBI triple to Carlos Pena in the 9th, which tied the game for the Rays.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 - Tampa Bay Rays 7

Roster Update: The Indians released former closer Chris Ray from AAA Columbus today to allow him to try to find a Major League job elsewhere. He was signed as a Spring Training invitee, but was beaten out for a roster spot by Jairo Asencio and Dan Wheeler, both of whom have since been designated for assignment.

The Indians also announced today that Nick Hagadone was sent down prior to today's game and the Indians played the game with a 24 man roster. It is expected that Scott Barnes will return to the big league club for Sunday's game.

Player of the Game

Shelley Duncan capped off a good night by hitting a two run home run in the 8th inning, bringing his Player of the Game score to 5.17. Duncan walked earlier in the game and scored then as well. Ubaldo Jimenez was a close second with a score of 4.55 as he pitched 6 innings and only allowed 2 runs to score. Jimenez earned the win and struck out eight.

Feathers Up

An umpire changed an on the field decision for the first time in Manny Acta's career. In what seemed an impossible outcome, first base umpire, Jerry Meals actually asked the home plate umpire for help on a blown call and reversed his decision. The play changed a Jose Lopez ground out into a Jose Lopez safe error. This solution was so simple and if umpires did this more often and were a little more flexible in admiting what actually happened instead of what they thought they saw for a split second, but were obviously wrong about, there would be a lot less talk about instant replay in baseball. Thank you umpires. It's a good thing this game was in Cleveland and not New York.

Indians hitters said today, "who cares what arm a pitcher throws with," for one of the first times this year. A slightly changed lineup with Jason Kipnis and Travis Hafner on the bench had no problem hitting doubles against Matt Moore and scoring 5 runs before knocking Moore out in the 5th inning.

Feathers Down

For some reason Fox and Major League Baseball feel it is necessary to keep fans from watching the game they want to in an effort to get them to watch the game they want them too. Thanks to Fox and MLB for allowing me to listen to Tom Hamilton instead of actually seeing what was happening.

Shelley Duncan hates the Rage as he refused to let him get into the game today with a two run home run in the 8th inning. What a punk. Over the last ten games, Perez has only finished three, while Esmil Rogers has finished four, including today's matchup.

Play of the Game

The Jose Lopez out call that was reversed, marking a new age in umpiring.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 7 - Tampa Bay Rays 3

Roster Update: Shelley Duncan returned from his paternity leave and Jason Donald was optioned to AAA Columbus.

Player of the Game

Shin-Soo Choo runs away with tonight's Player of the Game. Choo contributed 2 singles, an RBI, and a run scored in tonight's loss to the Rays. His score of 2.57 gives Choo his 5th PoG award of the season.

Feathers Up

After losing 2-0 before batting, the Indians tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the 1st inning. Shin-Soo Choo scored on a double play ball by Travis Hafner and Asdrubal Cabrera scored from 3rd on a balk.

Feathers down

Justin Masterson got to a rocky start in tonight's game. He gave up a lead off single to Desmond Jennings, who advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jennings later scored on a Ben Zobrist home run, giving the Tampa Bay Rays an early 2-0 advantage. He gave up 2 more runs in the 3rd inning after allowing 2 more singles, a walk and another wild pitch. Masterson only pitched 4.1 innings before giving up 8 runs on 9 hits and walking 4. On a positive note, Masterson struck out 7 Tampa Bay batters.

Nick Hagadone entered the game in the 5th inning in relief for Justin Masterson. His appearance was not any better than Masterson's. Hagadone  pitch 0.2 innings in which he gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs.

Play of the Game

Asdrubal Cabrera makes a nice bare-handed catch and throw to first.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 - Tampa Bay Rays 10