Series Preview: Indians at Astros 4/19-21

Written by Mike Melaragno on 18 April 2013.

Cleveland Indians (5-9) at Houston Astros (4-11)
Series 6, Games 15, 16 and 17
Minute Maid Park, Houston: 0.883*, Pitchers park

Series Overview

The Astros are probably the worst team in the American League, maybe in all of baseball. The organization, led by new general manager Jeff Luhnow and assistant GM David Stearns, trimmed the payroll to $26.1 million for the 2013 season, by far, the lowest in Major League Baseball. This is an obvious rebuilding campaign in which leadership has its eyes set on 2015 and beyond. For the rest of the American League, espeically the West, they are a welcome addition (to beat up on) for the next several seasons. Recently, the Athletics have had a taste of what it is like: sweeping them in three games. According to Elias, the A's scored six runs in the first inning and held on for a 7-5 win over the Astros on Wednesday afternoon. Oakland rode a six-run first inning to beat Houston in the first game of their three-game series on Monday night. Over the last 60 seasons, only four other teams have scored at least six runs in the first inning multiple times against an opponent in a single series: Houston vs. Cincinnati in July 2003, Detroit vs. Texas in July 2000, Florida vs. the Cubs in March/April 1998 and Milwaukee vs. Toronto in April 1982. Prior to their series against the Astros, the A's had scored at least six runs in the first inning only once over the previous three seasons combined (8 runs against the Angels on July 17, 2011). So even for a bad hitting team in the A's, even they had no problems with the Astros pitching staff.

The Astros have some good young talent, including former Athletic Chris Carter in left field and Jose Altuve at second base, but the starting pitching is awful. Hopefully, this is the series the Indians get the bats going on a consistant basis. If not, it could be a long season in Cleveland.

Friday, April 19 8:10 EDT (STO)
Brett Myers (0-2, 8.82 ERA) vs. Lucas Harrell (0-2, 5.63 ERA)

Formally a member of the Chicago White Sox, Harrell secured the #2 spot in the rotation in spring training, behind Bud Norris. Harrell throws his fastball around 92-93 MPH and touches 95. He leans heavily on his two-seamer, particularly against right-handed batters. The pitch has good sinking arm-side run and generates a lot of ground balls. His best strikeout pitch is a mid to upper 80′s slider that he commands well on the glove side of the zone. He also throws a solid 82-84 MPH curveball and an average 81-84 MPH changeup. Harrell commands all of his pitches pretty well and does a good job of keeping the ball downstairs, which could cause the Indians hitters trouble because they tend to anticipate balls up in the zone to drive. Overall, he does not miss many bats at all, but he keeps the ball on the ground and does not walk many hitters. He is a bad matchup for the Tribe, but hopefully they can score enough runs to beat him. As for Myers, he made one real mistake Sunday against the White Sox, giving up a two-run homer to Paul Konerko, enough to give him the loss. He gave up just those two runs on six hits and a walk, striking out four. This was a far cry from Myers' previous two outings, one of which was an odd relief appearance after Carlos Carrasco got ejected from a game. Minute Made Park is pitchers friendly, so let's hope this propels Myers to another good start.

Saturday, April 20, 7:10EDT (STO)
Scott Kazmir (0-0, 0.00 ERA, first start of 2013) vs. Philip Humbar (0-3, 2.89 ERA)

This will be the first start of the year for Kazmir after coming off the 15-day disabled list with a strained right ribcage muscle. It will be interesting to see how the injury to his "side" will effect his pitching mechanics, which have never really been polished. He saw improved command in the spring over his previous three seasons, so we will keep an eye out to see if that trend continues on Saturday. In Humbar's three starts so far this season, Houston's offense has provided only one run, with his line reading 0-3 with a 2.89 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 8:4 K:BB ratio over 18.2 innings. There is a guy who will be sitting in the other dugout that knows his pain: Justin Masterson. If one takes away the win-loss record of Humbar, we have the makings of a classic contact pitcher who should find his won-loss record improve over time, possibly this season. According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Indians have bashed him in seven career appearances - an 8.74 ERA and 22:11 K:BB ratio in 22.2 innings. Although many of the current Indians have not had a lot of at-bats against him (Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis both have ten at-bats against him), this lineup matches up well against Humbar.

Sunday, April 21, 2:10EDT (STO)
"Where Is?" Ubaldo Jimenez(0-2, 11.25 ERA) vs. Eric Bedard (L) (0-1, 7.04 ERA)

First off, this game has the potential to be the best little league game you watch this season. You know, the ones where the pitchers can't throw strikes, the fielders can't catch the ball and the lineup bats through a few times before it reaches the limit? Why?

Bedard's first start of the year was a relative success, but his second one could be compared to how Ubaldo Jimenez pitched against the Red Sox, maybe even worse. He walked four batters, let a run score on a wild pitch, and was finally taken out of the game after Nate Freiman blasted a three-run homer to extend the A's early lead to 6-0. Bedard will try to get back on track on Sunday afternoon against the Indians. If he turns in another performance like Monday's, the Astros will have to consider dropping him from the rotation, even if the team lacks a suitable replacement, which they certainly do. If you are an avid prospect follower, you associate Bedard with a lot of talent in your head when he was with the Baltimore Orioles, and a lot of that talent’s still in there, even after all the injuries he has faced in his career. Bedard’s 2012 season numbers were just fine for a back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, even with the limited stamina. Where this starts to make a little more sense is in considering what Bedard has done lately, and in considering that he hasn’t reached 130 innings since 2007.

What I just wrote about Bedard can also be written about Jimenez; especially the former.

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Series Preview: Red Sox at Indians 4/16-18

Written by Mike Melaragno on 15 April 2013.

Boston Red Sox (8-4) at Cleveland Indians (5-6)

Series 5, Games 12, 13 and 14
Progressive Field (2012): 0.899*, Pitchers park.

Series Overview
The Red Sox make their only trip to Cleveland for 2013. It should be a fun series, as the Red Sox seemed to have re-tooled after last season. A new manager and a revamped bullpen can do wonders for any organization...

Closer Joel Hanrahan is day to day because of a sore right hamstring that may be contributing to throwing off his mechanics on the hill, according to new manager John Farrell. Expect Andrew Bailey to receive the call to save out a game or two. It has been 11 days since rookie phenom Jackie Bradley Jr. had his last hit, a second-inning single in the Rogers Centre off Blue Jays pitcher Josh Johnson. Entering Tuesday’s game, Bradley has gone hitless in 20 at-bats since then, his average falling to .097 (3 for 31). According to ESPN Stats and Info, only four American League players (25 plate appearances or more) have a lower average.

The weather looks okay for the series. I do not expect any rain-outs.

Tuesday, April 16 7:05 EDT (STO)
Ubaldo Jimenez (0-1, 6.97 ERA) vs. Felix Doubront (L) (0-0, 5.40 ERA)

According to scouts and videos I have watched via youtube, Doubront has a deceptive over-hand delivery. He has a three-pitch mix that includes a fastball in the 91-93 mph range. The pitch runs in on left-handed batters therefore breaks a lot of bats. His change-up is above-average with a chance to be a good major league pitch. He throws is in the low-80s and gets good downward action. He also flashes a high-70s curve. This pitch still needs work but could become average.

Wednesday, April 17, 7:05EDT (STO)
Justin Masterson (3-0, 0.41 ERA) vs. Alfredo Aceves (0-0, 6.75 ERA)

Aceves, in the rotation for an injured John Lackey (biceps), pitched effectively enough in his last start to earn a win. It was Aceves' first start since June of 2011 and it was a solid outing for him. Lackey will miss at least a couple of starts, so Aceves will continue to occupy his spot in the rotation. Aceves is an interesting guy, as addressed here.

Masterson should be the AL Pitcher of the Month, as his 0.41 ERA is very impressive. A bad matchup for Masterson will be Will Middlebrooks, as the Boston third baseman is very good at hitting sinkers.

Thursday, April 18, 7:05EDT (STO)
Zach McAllister (1-1, 2.19 ERA) vs. Jon Lester (L) (2-0, 1.42 ERA)

Thus far in 2013, Lester, much like the Indians, has already outdueled and beaten some former Cy Young Award winners: CC Sabathia, R.A. Dickey, and David Price who he beat last Saturday in a duel at Fenway Park, which Red Sox fans were treated to a 2-1 Red Sox win in 10 innings. The southpaw lowered his ERA to 1.42, which is more than seven runs lower than it was after three starts in that 2010 run when Lester himself finished fourth in the CY Young award race. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Lester has thrown his cutter 31 percent of the time this season, his highest rate in the last five seasons. Hitters are slugging .250 off Lester's cutter, the lowest since the aforementioned 2010 season.

Nick Swisher is hitting .326/.429/.587 with two homeruns and six doubles in 46 at-bats against Lester.

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Series Preview: White Sox at Indians 4/12-14

Written by Mike Melaragno on 12 April 2013.

Chicago White Sox (4-5) at Cleveland Indians (3-5)
Series 4, Games 11, 12 and 13
Progressive Field (2012): 0.899, Pitchers park.

Series Overview
In my opinion, the White Sox are the best team in the central division this season. I have taken some heat for declaring this as the Tigers, on paper, seem to be the behemoth of the American League. From top to bottom, the White Sox have the ingredients to make the playoffs and go deep in October. Chris Sale, who will throw Saturday, knows how to truly pitch, even when tired. Now, if he could actually be strong enough to maintain his best stuff for a full season, he’ll be in annual Cy Young conversations. Paul Konerko continues to be as smart a power hitter as you’ll find, with an undervalued great, short swing. With a short compact swing, it is unlikely he will have a regression year. Alex Rios played hard, attentive, composed and smart last season. He also possesses all the athletic skills to continue that upward track. Jake Peavy stayed healthy enough to earn trust as a solid number two starter. Adam Dunn rebounded last season to reach the acceptable bottom performance levels of a three true outcome hitter, and I bet he’ll stay just about there again. Much like the Indians, their bullpen is pretty stacked. It’s a very strong part of the White Sox. If Jesse Crain or Matt Thornton fail in a defined 8th inning role, manager Robin Ventura is not afraid to try a Matt Lindstrom, or a Donnie Veal. Nate Jones can throw as well and Hector Santiago as a long reliever is a luxury.
The White Sox are a team that is poised and built to win the world series this season. A good showing from the Indians this series will boost my confidence level in the team moving forward.
The weather looks a little better this weekend although still very cool, damp, and mushy. We should get all three games in though.

Friday, April 12, 7:05 EDT (STO)
Justin Masterson (2-0, 0.69 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana (L) (0-0, 11.25 ERA)

Masterson looks like the ace everybody thought he would be this season through his first two starts. The only concern has been his command problems, particularly with his fastball. Considering his WHIP in 2012 was a hefty 1.45, the seven walks so far this season are something to keep an eye on. Signed as a six-year minor league free agent last winter, Quintana was very good in a nine-start, 2.77-ERA, 1.17-WHIP performance in for Double-A Birmingham. This earned him a trip to The Show last May, where he continued his dominance to the tune of a 1.25 ERA in his first eight appearances (six of which were starts) into a more permanent rotation spot once John Danks was lost for the year. Quintana relies upon command to succeed as his stats show, thrived to a 2.04 ERA behind a 3.70 strikeout-to-walk ratio before the All-Star break, but slipped to 5.01 when his K-to-walk rate was 1.38 after it. He is a pitcher who must hit his spots but with the free-swinging Indians, he could certainly give them headaches.

Saturday, April 13, 4:05EDT (STO)
Ubaldo Jimenez (0-1, 6.97 ERA) vs. Chris Sale (L) (1-0, 1.84 ERA)

Sale's command did not include its typical pinpoint control in his last start against the Mariners, as he served up a two-run homer in the first inning off the hot bat of Mike Morse, marking his first extra-base hit allowed of the year. A former member of the back-end of the bullpen, Sale's arsenal seemed suitable to starting: His fastball still averaged 91.7 mph and could touch 97, his slider remained as filthy as ever, and he leaned more on his change-up to handle the larger share of right-handed hitters he faced. It's that skill set which presents him an excellent chance at a repeating as a dominate starter, even an ace, as a starter this season.

Sunday, April 14, 1:05EDT (STO)

Brett Myers (0-1, 12.19 ERA) vs. Jake Peavy (1-1, 5.56 ERA)

Myers was supposed to start last Wednesday's game, but the Indians opted to just use him to eat innings Tuesday, sparing the bullpen which is a key element in Terry Francona's managerial philosophy. He has now surrendered 14 earned runs over 10.1 innings this season. Myers pitched the final 5.1 innings of Tuesday night's game, giving up seven earned runs on 11 hits, after starter Carlos Carrasco got pounded for seven earned runs before being ejected after throwing at Kevin Youkilis in the fourth inning. Peavy's previous start this season was awful, giving up six earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out seven over 5.1 innings Tuesday against the Nationals as he was facing perhaps the most dangerous lineup in baseball. This start has skewed his overall numbers slightly, as his first start of the season was excellent. Look for him to bounce back Sunday against the Indians as no current Indians batter has had much success against him, with the exception being Jason Kipnis who has two home-runs off Peavy in only eight at-bats.

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Series Preview: Yankees at Indians 4/8-11

Written by Mike Melaragno on 08 April 2013.

New York Yankees (2-4) at Cleveland Indians (3-3)

Series 3, Games 7, 8, 9 and 10
Progressive Field (2012): 0.899*, Pitchers park.
*Park Factor compares the rate of stats at home vs. the rate of stats on the road. A rate higher than 1.000 favors the hitter. Below 1.000 favors the pitcher.

Series Overview

The New York Yankees help open up Progressive Field for the first time this season for a four game series. However, these are not the typical Yankees we are used to fearing. Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira will all miss an extended period of time due to injuries. For at least a little more than a month, the Yankees are going to have a lot of money and a lot of star power on the disabled list, something the organization has not had to deal with a lot. The team still stands to earn a playoff birth, as all three of these players will return this season. Thankfully, it will not be this week in Cleveland.

It would be easy to dismiss this as an argument that the Yankees are going to be okay because they’re the Yankees. Given how often the Yankees have wound up playing in October, one now expects them to be there, but that isn’t the main point. The Yankees won’t be okay because they’re the Yankees; the Yankees look like they’ll be okay because they still have quality players, and neither Granderson nor Teixeira should be out all season long.

It was interesting to see Ben Francisco crack the Yankees opening day lineup at DH when the Indians did not have room for him on their roster. With Travis Hafner and Francisco on the Yankee roster, its nice to be able to say to a Yankee fan "...the Yankees are the triple-A team for the Indians!"
Sort of.

The weather for this series looks awful, a cold rain every night.

Monday, April 8, 4:05 EDT (STO, WKYC, MLBN)

Ubaldo Jimenez (0-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (0-1, 13.50 ERA)

In his first start of the season, Kuroda suffered a bruised right middle finger after he was hit by a line drive through the middle hit by Shane Victorino in the second inning of a 7-4 loss to the Red Sox. Kuroda faced three more batters, hitting two of them and walking the third, before he was removed from the game. He threw 36 pitches in a bullpen session on Friday and said he was "...not 100%." But he will make the start, so we'll see. The current Indians have not had a lot of success against Kuroda; Michael Bourne and Mark Reynolds have the most at-bats (26) and are .192/.192/.231 and .192/.222/.308 respectively. Michael Brantley does have a home-run against him.

Tuesday, April 9, 7:05EDT (STO)

Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte (L) (1-0, 1.13 ERA)

The consensus among most fans and writers was that Carrasco would head to Columbus after serving a six-game suspension to start the season, but with the injury to Scott Kazmir, Carrasco will step in to make his first big league start since 2011. Carrasco had a decent spring, posting a 6.00 ERA and a 6.5 K/9 in five games (four starts) this spring. From what we have seen of him in the majors, Carrasco has improved his control/command from when he pitched in the minors. He only had one season (2010) when his BB/9 was below three when had at least ten starts in the minors. Carrasco has already had two seasons with a BB/9 below three since reaching the majors. Let's hope that trend continues. He missed the entire 2012 campaign recovering from September 2011 Tommy John surgery.

Wednesday, April 10, 7:05EDT (STO, ESPN 2)

Brett Myers (0-1, 12.60 ERA) vs. Ivan Nova (0-1, 7.71 ERA)

Myer's debut with the Indians did not go exactly as he had planned; he allowed four homers and failed to record a strikeout. Myers will obviously have to turn things around after a mediocre spring and bad first start. Ivan Nova's curveball and slider are among the league's best. According to ESPN Stats and Info, opponents batted just .200 against them last season and struck out 130 times, the third-largest total in baseball. He did not face the Indians last year, and most hitters on the roster do not have many at-bats against him. Carlos Santana has hit a HR against him.

Thursday, April 11, 7:05pmEDT (STO, MLBN)

Zach McAllister (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. Phil Hughes (0-1, 6.75 ERA)

McAllister looked good Friday night in Tampa despite getting the loss. He threw 66 strikes in 103 pitches and did not walk a batter over six innings. Third baseman Mike Aviles had a two out error on a grounder in the fifth which led to the pair of unearned runs. But McAllister came back for a perfect sixth to close out his evening. Hughes is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, with his 50.8 percent rate in 2012 and 48.9 percent rate from 2010 to 2012 combined both being the highest in baseball. Hopefully, the wind is blowing out towards right.

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Series Preview: Indians at Rays 4/5-7

Written by Mike Melaragno on 05 April 2013.

Cleveland Indians (2-1) at Tampa Bay Rays (1-2)

Series 2, Games 4, 5, and 6

Tropicana Field (2012): 0.874*, Slight pitchers park. (Dome)
*Park Factor compares the rate of stats at home vs. the rate of stats on the road. A rate higher than 1.000 favors the hitter. Below 1.000 favors the pitcher.

Series Overview

The Rays, despite winning 90 or more games for four of the past five seasons, failed to make the playoffs in 2012. The front office responded this off season by being fiscally conservative and dropping payroll by 2.7% from last season. They traded all-star starting pitcher James Shields to the Kansas City Royals, cutting $10.25 million from the operating expense category for 2013. Unlike the Indians, the Rays decided to keep quiet on the free agent market this past off season, as their talented group of core players take another shot at the AL East crown. The organization has earned respect since Stuart Sternberg took over the ownership of the club in 2005, taking on the financial behemoths of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and making the postseason three times with a much lower payroll. This will be the Indians second straight series playing on an artificial surface; it will also be their last one for 2013. Luckily, the roster is more athletic than in years past so that "turf-toe" should be a non-issue.

Friday, April 5, 7:10EDT (STO)

Zach McAllister (0-0) vs. Matt Moore (L) (0-0)

In Moore's final start of the spring, he pitched four scoreless innings allowing only one hit while walking one and striking out five against the Tigers. He showed great improvement in his final start of the spring, needing only 54 pitches to work through the outing and 37 of those were strikes. In his rookie season in 2012, he had two starts against the Tribe; back to back starts with the all-star break in between. In each of those starts, he did not make it to the sixth inning. In fact, he only had four starts all season where he walked more batters than he struck out; two of them came against the Tribe.

Saturday, April 6, 7:10EDT (STO)

Trevor Bauer (0-0) vs. Alex Cobb (0-0)

A rough outing for Trevor Bauer on March 20th vs. the Angels (three earned runs on five hits and three walks over three innings) consequently ended Bauer's bid for a spot in the rotation. But, with Scott Kazmir's abdominal injury, he will get his opportunity to showcase his skills in the regular season for the first time. He is a smallish pitcher, with a bit of an unconventional motion, but his quirks are not the flaky flamethrower type, they're more of a dazzling "bag-of-tricks" variety. While he can reach 100mph if he wishes, he doesn't actually pitch there, preferring to stay down around 94mph with great and varying movement on his selection of sliders and cutters. If there is one game you decide to watch this series, make it this one. He will face a pitcher in Alex Cobb, who threw his change up 34 percent of the time last season, the highest rate of any pitcher with at least 20 starts. Batters chased 50 percent of those change ups out of the zone, the second-highest rate among those pitchers, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

Sunday, April 7, 1:40EDT (STO)

Justin Masterson (1-0) vs. David Price (L) (0-0)

Price went six innings Tuesday, giving up two earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four and getting a no-decision against the Orioles in his first outing of the season. He wasn't as sharp as usual as he needed 100 pitches to get through six innings, but he was in line for the win until Jake McGee gave up five earned runs in the seventh inning. Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds are two of the Indians batters with 1.) the most at-bats (34 and 22 respectively) against Price and 2.) the most success facing the southpaw: Swisher is .353/.500/.500 and Reynolds has belted two home runs.

I hope the 1:40pm start does not disrupt the time you eat your lunch.

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Opening Day: Pregame

Written by Joseph Coblitz on 02 April 2013.

The Indians open up the 2013 season in a dome in chilly Toronto as a high of 35º and a possibility of snow is expected. The Tribe will be throwing out a brand new lineup, featuring at least four players who have never taken an official at bat as a member of the Cleveland Indians. As a whole, it is the strongest lineup on paper that the Indians have fielded in years and a whole lot would have to go wrong for them to perform worse than last year's unit. The line-up is as follows:

CF: Michael Bourne
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera
2B: Jason Kipnis
1B: Nick Swisher
LF: Michael Brantley
C: Carlos Santana
DH: Mark Reynolds
3B: Lonnie Chisenhall
RF: Drew Stubbs

Justin Masterson will be starting for the Tribe with an eight man bull-pen ready to go behind him if he falters. Facing Masterson will be a Blue Jays lineup that was even more revamped than the Indians.

SS: Jose Reyes
LF: Melky Cabrera
RF: Jose Bautista
1B: Edwin Encarnacion
DH: Adam Lind
C: J.P. Arencibia
CF: Colby Rasmus
2B: Emilio Bonifacio
3B: Maicer Izturis

With their increased power along with the retention of perennial MVP candidate Jose Bautista the Blue Jays look to compete in the AL East for the first time since they won two World Series in the early 1990's. Knuckle-baller R.A. Dickey will be starting for Toronto, another offseason pick-up after he won the NL Cy Young last season with the Mets.

While opening day is not technically more important than any other game of the year, it is emotionally more important and this one will feature two of the teams expected to increase their win totals the most from last year. Opening day should be a very interesting match-up as both teams try to learn how to mesh with their new teammates.

Pure Rage will lead the Bullpen Mafia into Toronto.

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Series Preview: Indians at Blue Jays 4/2-4

Written by Mike Melaragno on 01 April 2013.

Cleveland Indians (69-94) at Toronto Blue Jays (73-89) *Records are 2012.

Series 1, Games 1, 2 & 3

Roger Centre Park Factor (2012): 1.008*, Very slight hitters park.
*Park Factor compares the rate of stats at home vs. the rate of stats on the road. A rate higher than 1.000 favors the hitter. Below 1.000 favors the pitcher.

Series Overview

The Indians and Blue Jays both made significant overhauls to their roster this past off season. Looking at the win-loss records of both these teams, the changes were welcomed by the fan bases in both cities; each of whom are starved for a winning product. The trades and free agent acquisitions brought players in to win now, as both organizations view themselves as being at the peak of the win curve. The Jays are trying to seize the opportunity to take advantage of an AL East division where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox no longer reign as kings. A fast start to the season could be a good prescription.

Tuesday, April 2, 7:07EDT (STO)

Justin Masterson vs. R.A. Dickey

Michael Bourn has 28 at-bats against Dickey, the most of any current Indians player. In his career, he is batting 321/.355/.429 against him and most of these number came last season. However, more at-bats against knuckle ball pitchers does not necessarily increase the likelihood of future success; even the catcher has little knowledge on what the pitch will do after it leaves the hurler's hand. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Dickey threw 490 knucklers 80 mph or faster in 2012 and opponents batted .146 against them with a .407 OPS, 92 of his 230 strikeouts coming on those pitches. That helped widen Dickey's arsenal, giving him effectively an extra pitch to go along with his "soft" (sub-75 mph) knuckler and mid-80s fastball.

Wednesday, April 3, 7:07EDT (STO)

Ubaldo Jimenez vs. Brandon Morrow

Colby Rasmus and Jose Reyes have had mild success against Jimenez from playing in the NL; Rasmus with a .632 SLG with 3 doubles in 19 at-bats and Reyes with a homerun and 4 RBI's in 13 at bats. Jose Bautista has struggled a little: .077/.143/.154 also in 13 at-bats. Brandon Morrow's last two grapefruit league outings were not good. He gave up 11 earned runs over 10 innings, striking out eight while walking five, but there's a reason why a lot of people say spring training stats don't matter, especially for a pitcher with no injury and no loss of velocity. Nick Swisher is only batting .160/.250/.280 against Morrow in 25 at-bats.

Thursday, April 4, 7:07EDT (STO)

Brett Myers vs. Mark Buehrle (L)

Mark Buehrle's pitch-to-contact method has caused havoc to past Indians teams, especially Eric Wedge's. One of the main factors why those teams had trouble with Buehrle was that they were patient, always waiting for a pitcher to make a mistake up in the strike zone; something Buehrle rarely does. So, when they would swing at a pitch knee high, the ball ended up on the ground and rolling conveniently to a White Sox infielder. Two things have changed since those days: Buehrle's command has faded a little (although it is still above average) and the Indians have become a more aggressive offense. Jason Giambi will get his first opportunity to mentor the hitters on how to attack Buehrle. Giambi is a career .414/.500/.931 with 4 home-runs and 12 hits in 29 at-bats against the southpaw.

R.A. Dickey will take on Justin Masterson on Opening Day.

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Series Preview: White Sox at Indians 10/1-3

Written by Joseph Coblitz on 01 October 2012.

The White Sox have completely collapsed, a huge part of which was the Indians last series win over Chicago. Unless both Cleveland and Detroit get swept this week, the Sox are officially out of the playoffs in 2012.

The Indians seem to have a newfound motivation with the introduction of Sandy Alomar, Jr. as manager. This team, which has struggled all season scoring runs, has won two of their last three by scoring 8, 6 and 15 runs respetively. Even the pitching staff seems to have rebounded under Alomar (with the exception of Scott Maine, who apparently was a fan of Manny Acta). This series could be a sign of things to come if the Indian stick with the guys they have now (Alomar, Russ Canzler and Shin-Soo Choo are all unknowns in 2013) so enjoy this last series before the long offseason.

October 1st, 7:05 PM: Hector Santiago, LHP, 3-1, 3.69 ERA vs Corey Kluber, RHP, 2-4, 5.02 ERA

October 2nd, 7:05 PM: Jake Peavy, RHP, 11-12, 3.37 ERA vs Justin Masterson, RHP, 11-15, 5.03 ERA

October 3rd, 7:05 PM: Gavin Floyd, RHP, 11-11, 4.47 ERA vs David Huff, LHP, 3-0, 2.86 ERA

Anyone remember Ozzie Guillen in 2005? How about 2006?

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Series Preview: Indians at White Sox 9/24-26

Written by Joseph Coblitz on 24 September 2012.

One more series, one more win as the Indians continue their path to mediocrity. As they continue to lose two out of every three games, the goals for the rest of the season are dwindling.

End of Season Goals:

Masterson to .500: with a loss in his last game, Masterson is now not able to get back to .500 this year. He will still lead the team in wins by season end, but a teams ace should be able to win more games then he loses during the season.
43 Saves for Pure Rage: Another Indians win without a save opportunity leaves Perez still needing 7 to reach 4th all time as an Indian. With such a small market for error (just nine games left this year) this goal needs to be made a little more modest again. Perez needs just 4 more saves to tie Mike Jackson for 5th all time in single season saves. At this point, something that was once slightly exciting has turned into another hum-drum event.
Not losing 100 Games: Everyone get your party streamers and silly string out. The Indians beat the Royals yesterday to get to that ultimate plateau of 63 wins, keeping them from losing 100 games in a season where they lead the Division for almost half the year.

September 24th, 8:10 PM ET: Zach McAllister, RHP, 5-8, 4.31 ERA vs Chris Sale, RHP 17-7, 2.82 ERA

With 17 wins and an ERA under 3.00, Chris Sale is still very in the American League Cy Young race. His biggest competition currently include Justin Verlander, David Price and Jered Weaver, all who have lower ERAs than Sale while all but Verlander have better records. A strong win against the Indians would help pad Sale's stats giving him even more motivation before this game if trying to win the division is not enough.

September 25th, 2:10 PM ET: Corey Kluber, RHP, 1-4, 5.36 ERA vs Francisco Liriano, LHP, 3-1, 5.09 ERA

Kluber will have two more starts this season to impress the Tribe enough to earn a Spring Training invite next season. His last start was pretty good as he allowed just three runs over 6 innings, but his overall seasons' performance has been unimpressive enough to make the Indians miss Derek Lowe (that is an overexaggeration, the Indians will never miss Derek Lowe). There are always mid-low level starters available in the free agent market or for trade (see Kevin Slowey last year), so Kluber needs to work hard just to be considered for next year.

Make sure to note the starting time for this game (1:10 PM CT) or you could miss this great match-up.

September 26th, 8:10 PM ET: Justin Masterson, RHP, 11-15, 4.97 ERA vs Jake Peavy, RHP, 11-12, 3.40 ERA

In the battle between pitchers who were better at some point earlier in their careers and have been disappointments this season, who will win. Who will care that this game is even happening. Spoiler Alert: Question 1: The White Sox. Question 2:The Detroit Tigers.

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Series Preview: Indians at Royals 9/21-23

Written by Joseph Coblitz on 20 September 2012.

Just like the series against the Twins, this upcoming series will be almost completely meaningless. While the Indians do have some player evaluations to do for next year, there is little to be learned in series against teams in the same situation as the Indians. Both the Twins and Royals are also evaluating young talent, making these games more like the AAA games that most of these players were playing in a month ago.

End of Season Goals:

Masterson to .500: Justin's start in game one of this series will be his third to last on the year, meaning he must win all three starts to get to .500
43 Saves for Pure Rage: This one is still possible, but he hasn't made any progress over the last two series as each of the Indians wins has been a walk-off.
Not losing 100 games: At 62 wins, the Indians are almost to the point of being safe from losing 100 games. They only have to win one more game of their last twelve to do so and since they haven't lost 12 in a row all season, they should probably be able to handle this. As soon as they win one game, the new goal should be to move ahead of the Twins in the standings to end the season in fourth place.

September 21st, 8:10 PM ET: Justin Masterson, RHP, 11-14, 4.93 ERA vs Luis Mendoza, RHP, 7-9, 4.50 ERA

The Indians continued on with their winning of a single game each series with a final game win against Twins. If they are going to continue that trend, this will be the game to win as the Indians have their best pitcher going and the best match-up against the opposing pitcher. In four games against the Tribe in his career, Mendoza has allowed 15 runs (11 earned).

September 22nd, 7:10 PM ET: Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, 9-16, 5.14 ERA vs Will Smith, LHP, 5-8, 5.08 ERA

Smith will be making his second start against the Indians this year. He won his first start which took place during the time of the year when the Indians were struggling against left-handed pitching (April through September).

September 23rd, 2:10 PM ET: David Huff, LHP, 1-0, 2.61 ERA vs Jake Odorizzi, RHP, 11-3, 2.93 ERA (AAA)

This will be Huff's second start of the year after being fairly awful in his last outing. Huff will get two more starts this season, including this one and you can't really expect him to get any better. He has been hanging around for years at this point and the Indians have to have already seen everything they need to from the lefty.

The top Royals pitching prospect, Odorizzi will be making his Major League debut after a great year for the Omaha Storm Chasers. He was a first round pick in 2008 by the Milwaukee Brewers and came to the Royals in the Zach Greinke trade. The Royals have a lot of hopes laying on his shoulders as they plan on contending in the near future.

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