Unless you think like Joe who believes that trading Jason Donald will bring back a difference maker, the Indians simply are not going to trade for a 2-3 win player at the trade deadline unless they part with one, two or three of what I call the "prized group" of prospects: Jason Kipnis, Drew Pomeranz, Lonnie Chisenhall, Alex White and Trey Haley.

A player for the Tribe to consider is Michael Morse, who plays some first base and outfield for the Washington Nationals. Morse, 29, played little for Seattle and was traded to Washington in 2009. It was only last season that he hit .289 (.871 OPS) with 15 homers and 41 RBI in 266 at-bats. This season, he's at .306 (.886 OPS) with 15 homers and 49 RBI. Morse is attractive because he makes only $1 million and won't be a free agent until 2014. The price could be high for Morse in terms of prospects, but I'd be willing to talk about most guys in the system -- but not the "prized group." Morse is a right-handed hitter who makes more sense than 33-year-old Ryan Ludwick, who could leave at the end of the season. He's not a prime defender at any position, but he can play the corner outfield spots, first and third base.

Morse was traded to Seattle in 2009 in exchange for Ryan Langerhans, and spent a month slugging in the International League before getting a brief look as Dunn’s defensive replacement at first. The polar opposite of fellow utilitarian Wee Willie Harris in size, handedness, speed, and plate approach, at first glance Morse’s four-corner skill set seemed to mesh well with Harris's to complete some sort of Utility Player 3-D Cube Puzzle back in 2010, but according to most scouts, Morse's missing piece was power. He never consistently produced the sort of thunder you’d hope for from an infield corner, even in a reserve role, which presages a short shelf-life, even with the talent-starved Nationals.

However, the past two seasons saw Morse hit double-digit homeruns while playing in that reserved role.

If the Indians look to upgrade the offense, Morse might be the best fit when considering low-revenue contraints.

Roster Update: It was Jeanmar Gomez who was removed from the roster for the return of Fausto Carmona, which means David Huff will remain in the Indians starting rotation. The Tribe now has the normal 5 man rotation and 5 man bench.

Player of the Game

Lou Marson showed up on offense and won his first 'Player of the Game' in the last 65 games. Marson was a huge contributor to the Indians win, hitting a double and a home run and scoring twice. His final 'POG' score was 4.68. If anyone was wondering who had the largest total score on the day, it was David Huff, who won the award in the early game. Michael Brantley, Asdrubal Cabrera and Ezequiel Carrera all stood out as well as all three earned a score of more than 1.25 in both games. Brantley played especially well in the second game with 3 hits and 3 extra bases.

Feathers Up

That's what you call a Twin killing.

Ezequiel Carrera showed off his speed today as he turned in his first two steals of his career, one in each game. The second steal came off a pick-off move where Carrera was running on first movement and he still beat the throw to second. Zeke was a spark to the offense in both games as he turned a single, an error and two walks into 3 runs and an RBI. The Indians have made good use of Carrera's speed so far this time up as he has played in every game as either a starter or pinch runner.

The Indians scored 2 runs in the 5th by doing exactly what they needed to do. With two outs, Lou Marson on second and Carrera at first, both Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera had bloop singles just beyond the infield. Had either player tried to hit a home run the inning would have probably ended before a single run scored, but because they were willing to shorten their swings and just make contact, the Indians pushed two runs across the plate.

The Indians kept scoring late in the game to cement the victory, including some 2 out runs and two separate RBI singles by Travis Hafner. The last run, which was scored when Carlos Santana tripled in pinch runner Luis Valbuena, did make the game a 4 run game, taking a save opportunity away from Chris Perez, making that play a feathers down.

Feathers Down (AKA: Something bad Austin Kearns did)

Today Austin Kearns turned a single into a double when he didn't pay attention to Alexi Casilla running the bases. While Casilla was burning his way toward second, Kearns lightly tossed the ball to the cut off man without looking up. Later in the game Kearns was caught stealing because he is very, very slow and should never even attempt to steal. This ends "Something bad Austin Kearns did."

Joe Mauer is a hit machine and he rapped out 6 more in today's double header. The only thing good about that is the Indians still managed to win both games. Hopefully he got these 3 hit games out of his system early in the series and will slump during the next two games, only batting .350 or so.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 - Minnesota Twinkies 3

Player of the Game

In his first game this season, David Huff earned his first win since May 29th, 2010 and this game's 'Player of the Game' award. Huff pitched 7 innings allowing no earned runs, 5 hits and only two walks while striking out 5. Huff earned 8.07 'POG' points in the win with one of the better starts of any Indians pitcher this season. Hopefully Chris Antonetti will agree that he deserves a second start and he will not be removed from the roster before the night game. Asdrubal Cabrera (5.61 'POG' points) had a great day as well with his 3 run home run that provided the difference in the final score. Vinnie Pestano (1.77) also played well as the impromptu closer as he picked up his second save of the season in relief of Chad Durbin.

Feathers Up

Lonnie Chisenhall has slightly underperformed expectations, most noticeably with his batting average of .213, but he has still contributed to the scoring effort. The Chiz Kid has been on base in 15 out of his 17 games played including today when he was safe on an error and scored on Ezequiel Carrera's double. As far as the team is concerned it is better to allow Chisenhall to play everyday and struggle as Lonnie playing poorly is about the same as Jack Hannahan playing the best baseball of his career. It also should get this struggle out of the way early so he can reach his full potential in time for when the Indians really need him.

David Huff was very impressive in his 2011 debut, going 7 shut out innings. Huff was able to avoid a lot of the problems he had in 2010, most notably his control. While only walking 2, David also managed to avoid throwing any pitches straight down the middle of the plate. He did an especially good job of pitching around the Twins only real power threats, Jim Thome, Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young. These hitters went 1-8 against Huff with a walk and 3 strike outs. It was his third career shutout of 6+ innings and his first since 2009.

It ain't over yet. Stay tuned for game 2 coming up at 8:10. The Indians will need to make another roster move prior to the game as expected starting pitcher, Fausto Carmona is still on the disabled list. The most probable player to be sent down is Jeanmar Gomez as David Huff pitched so well today it would be very hard to not give him another start. Carmona will be pitching against Scott Diamond in his Major League debut.

Feathers Down

Seeing Jim Thome play in Twinstripes makes me long even more for the day that he could return to the Indians to end his career. I would love nothing more than if the Indians were able to trade for Thome to give him one more shot at a World Series championship as the Indians greatest all-time slugger.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 - Minnesota Twins 2

Summary:

The Indians started to do the roster shuffle Sunday morning when they optioned outfielder Shelly Duncan  to Class AAA Columbus so right-hander Jeanmar Gomez  could be activated and start against the Orioles. There will be even more moves before today's day-night doubleheader against the Twins. Left-hander David Huff will be recalled from Columbus and will start the first game. Fausto Carmona will start the second game, but he has to be activated from the disabled list. There are plenty of candidates, including utility man Luis Valbuena and outfielders Ezequel Carrera and Travis Buck. Grady Sizemore's bruised right knee suffered Sunday will influence that decision, don't be surprised if he is headed to the DL, again. The move to activate Carmona will probably be made between games of the doubleheader. Huff is likely to be sent back down because Acta said he anticipates Gomez staying in the rotation in place of injured Mitch Talbot. However, if Huff pitches well, don't be surprised if they go with the hot hand.

...The Indians have lost six straight at Target Field and nine of their last 12 games in Minnesota. They're hitting .224 (37-for-165) against the Twins this year. Michael Brantley leads the way at .368 (7-for-19) with one homer and three RBI. Carmona, Tomlin and Chris Perez are a combined 0-3 against Minnesota this year. 

... The Twins have won 10 of their last 16 games after Sunday's 4-3 win over the Royals. Twins are hitting .281 (47-for-167) against the Indians this year. They've outscored them, 23-13. Ben Revere is hitting .385 (5-for-13) against the Indians in 2011.

...In my own personal opinion, this series will decide whether the Indians are buyers or sellers at the trading deadline this year.

Pitching matchups:

LHP David Huff (first start) vs. RHP Anthony Swarzak (2-2, 3.38) Today at 1:10 p.m.

RHP Fausto Carmona (4-10, 5.78) vs. RHP LHP Scott Diamond (first MLB start) Tonight at 8:10 p.m.

RHP Justin Masterson (8-6, 2.80) vs. LHP Francisco Liriano (6-7, 4.76) Tuesday at 8:10 p.m.

RHP Josh Tomlin (11-4, 4.03) vs. RHP Nick Blackburn (7-6, 3.99) Wednesday at 1:10 p.m.

Twins Injuries:

• RHP Scott Baker (flexor strain) left the July 5 game, and he was scratched from his scheduled July 10 start. He was placed on the disabled list July 17, retroactive to July 7.

• CF Denard Span (concussion) went on the disabled list retroactive to June 7. He was playing catch as of June 23. He had a setback over the July 2-3 weekend and cut back on his workouts. He began working out again July 4, and he took batting practice for the first time July 5. He began a rehab assignment with Class AAA Rochester on July 17.

• OF/DH Jason Kubel (sprained left foot) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 31. He began a rehab assignment with Class A Fort Myers on June 28, but he re-injured his foot June 30, irritating his plantar fascia. He resumed his rehab assignment with Class AAA Rochester on July 17.

• 1B Justin Morneau (herniated disk in neck, strained left wrist) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 10 because of the wrist problem. He had surgery June 29 to fix the neck problem. He was cleared to being non-baseball workouts in mid-July, and he hopes to return sometime in August.

• RHP Kevin Slowey (strained abdominal muscle) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 21. He made rehab starts for Class A Fort Myers on June 25 and June 30, and he started for Class AAA Rochester on July 5, July 10 and July 15.

Twins News/Notes:

• RHP Joe Nathan was moved back to the closer spot Saturday and earned his first save since April 8 in a 4-3 victory over Kansas City. He recorded another save on Sunday in another 4-3 win over the Royals, the 251st save as a Twin. He's one shy of Rick Aguilera's team mark.

• RHP Matt Capps has gone 0-2 with two blown saves, two saves and an 11.11 earned-run average since blowing a three-run lead in an 8-7 loss to Milwaukee on July 2.

• RHP Scott Baker was placed on the disabled list after Sunday's 4-3 victory over Kansas City because of a flexor strain. The move is retroactive to July 7, when he missed his last start. Baker was scheduled to pitch Game 1 of Monday's double-header with Cleveland; instead, the Twins called lefty-hander Scott Diamond up from Class AAA Rochester to take his place.

  Diamond, a Rule 5 draft selection last summer, will be making his major league debut. He is 4-8 with a 4.70 ERA in 17 starts with the Red Wings.

• INF Matt Tolbert was optioned to Class AAA Rochester so the Twins could call up another pitcher for today's double-header today.

• LHP Chuck James was recalled from Rochester to take a spot in the bullpen. James, 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 26 appearances with the Red Wings, tossed five scoreless innings for the Twins earlier this season.

• CF Denard Span and OF Jason Kubel began rehabilitation assignments with Class AAA Rochester on Sunday night. Manager Ron Gardenhire said he doesn't want them back until they are hitting.

  Kubel has been out since spraining his left foot on May 30; Span hasn't played since June 6 because of a concussion.

• 1B Justin Morneau said he still has a numb forefinger, but the strength in his left arm has improved since having surgery June 24 to repair a ruptured disc in his neck.

  Morneau said he hopes to start doing light baseball activity on Monday but must be cleared first by doctors. He is expected to be back in mid-August.

The Indians must play well this series... or... ehem...

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Player of the Game

Jeanmar Gomez did not win today's 'Player of the Game' with a score of -4.51. It is not his first of the season after allowing 5 runs in 5.1 innings and taking a loss. In fact, Carlos Santana won the 'Player of the Game' with his mammoth solo home run in the first inning along with a single later on in the game. It is his 4th award of the season and he scored 3.48 points for the game. Santana is now third on the team in total points for the season behind only Asdrubal Cabrera (149.5) and Michael Brantley (115.6) with 107.3.

Feathers Up

Travis Hafner hit a home run in the first inning, but was then overshadowed as the next hitter, Carlos Santana hit an even bigger home run, knocking it straight out of the stadium to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

Early in the season I said that all the Indians would have to do to make the playoffs would be to win 50% of their games for the rest of the season. Since June 12th they have done the absolute minimum amount of winning necessary to stay in first place and they remain the 5 games over .500 that they were on that day. Since then, the Indians have never won or lost more than 3 consecutive games.

Feathers Down

The Tribe had a bunch of two out run scoring opportunities, but were only able to take advantage once, when Travis Buck hit a 2 out double in the first inning. Overall the team left 11 runners on base.

As go Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera, so go the Indians. Today, their combined 0-10 leaves little surprise to why the Indians were only able to score 3 runs. The lineup after those two (outside of Lonnie Chisenhall) all played well, but for some reason were unable to knock in each other. Also, with no runners on base, Oriole pitching was able to work around Travis Hafner, not giving him a good pitch to hit after his home run in the first inning.

It took a squeeze bunt to ruin Joe Smith's scoreless streak as the Orioles ended his 27 straight games without allowing an earned run. Smith gave up a double, a ground out and a bunt to give up the run.

Grady Sizemore hurt his leg turning around first base on a double in the first inning. Grady was noticeably limping before he slid into second and was immediately removed with what was called a knee contusion. Of course it seems very improbable that he bruised his knee while running, but since the Indians never tell the whole truth about injuries, this is all we have to go on for now. Hopefully he will not need to go on the disabled list for the third time this season as the Indians are having major problems with outfield depth at the moment.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 - Baltimore Orioles 8

As expected the Indians brought up Jeanmar Gomez for today's start and dropped one of their 6 bench players. The interesting part is who they decided to drop (it was Shelley Duncan). Moves like this are what prompt me to say that the Indians do not have winning as their number one goal. Shelley Duncan is unquestionably better than Austin Kearns in every facet of the game. He is better defensively as both have no speed or range, but at least Duncan has a better arm. He's also available at first base if absolutely necessary. Offensively, there is no comparison. Duncan his batting more than 20 points higher and is slugging 100 points more (Kearns .300, Duncan .400). In 6 less games and 20 less at bats he has 15 more RBI and 2 more home runs. He has also only struck out 28 times while Austin has struck out 40. There is no issue of roster versatility as Travis Buck is an almost identical player to Kearns (although slightly better, Buck has an OPS of .642 while Kearns is at .604). The only reason the Indians made this move is so they don't have to pay Austin Kearns not to play, which they will have to do if they release him, while Shelley Duncan, Travis Buck and others still have minor league options left. You don't win championships making moves to save money, you win championships making moves to win baseball games. The prolonged stay in AAA of Lonnie Chisenhall was also based on financial motives as the point was to keep him around for one more season before he is arbitration eligible. As soon as upper management and team ownership figures out that increased attendance follows closely with increased winning percentage, maybe they will stop making stupid baseball moves and start trying to win.

Player of the Game

Today’s player of the game was Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera stole the award from Brantley with his bases clearing double in the 9^th inning, giving him a “POG” score of 4.06. This was Cabrera’s sixth “POG” this year, tying him for 5^th among active players on the team.

Feathers Up

After a couple of horrible starts, Carlos Carrasco pitched well today in his 7 inning performance. Carrasco gave up only 3 runs on 5 hits and struck out 6 Birds.

Ezequiel Carrera showed off his arm today on a relay throw that nailed Derrek Lee at the plate. Carrera hit the cut-off man, Orlando Cabrera, setting up an accurate throw to Lou Marson to prevent another Oriole runner from scoring in the 4^th. 

 The Indians showed great plate discipline in the 9^th inning, drawing three straight walks with one out, bringing the tying run to the plate. This set up for a bases-clearing double by Orlando Cabrera, bringing the Indians within one run.

The 6-man bench was put to use for the third game in a row. Grady Sizemore and Matt Laporta were used to pinch hit late in the game after they had both been given the day off.

Feathers Down

 The Bullpen Mafia was not too intimidating tonight. Rafael Perez had a rough outing, retiring only one batter and surrendered 1 run on two doubles. His relief, Frank Hermann, walked two batters and gave up a double. In total, the two gave up 3 runs on 3 hits with 2 walks.

The Indians batters were only able to get one hit through the first five innings of the game. Mchael Brantey reached on the first Indians hit of the day in the 4^th inning, but was immediately erased on an Asdrubal Cabrera double play ball.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 5 - Baltimore Orioles 6

Player of the Game

Grady Sizemore won tonight's player of the game after accounting for 3 of the 6 Indians runs in what ended up being a one run game. Grady hit a double and home run, scoring twice and knocking two in. For those who think the math is wrong a 2 run home run counts for 2 RBI and a run, but only 2 runs for the team. Grady scored 5.66 'POG' points giving him more than one point in each of the Indians last four games. It is Grady's 5th of the season. Asdrubal Cabrera (4.20 'POG' points) and Matt LaPorta (2.91) each had great games as well as did the entire bullpen (7.04 combined score).

Feathers Up

It may seem repetitive to keep mentioning the bullpen night after night, but if a player hit a home run every single game it would be worth mentioning and what the Bullpen Mafia is doing is helping the team win a lot more than a single home run. Yet again the bullpen, tonight consisting of Chad Durbin, Rafael Perez, Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez, kept the opposition from scoring a single run to maintain a perilous one run lead for 4 innings. Every relief pitcher tonight got a decision with the first 4 getting holds and Chris Perez getting a save.

The Indians had a 6 man bench available for the second night in a row and will have it for tomorrow's game as well as only 3 starting pitchers are currently on the roster. Of course everyone is well rested right now so it isn't really necessary and the 6 players, have had a total of one at bat in the last two games. Hopefully Ezequiel Carrera will at least get one start before he's removed from the roster either for Jeanmar Gomez or Fausto Carmona.

The Indians grabbed a tie for first place in the Central Division last night and maintained first tonight by beating the Orioles. If they can just win every game for the rest of the season, they will be all set as the 2011 Central Division Champions.

They are who we though they were. The Orioles score a lot of runs and have terrible pitching. Not many surprises so far this series.

Feathers Down

We've mentioned this before on BurningRiverBaseball, but it may be time to move Carlos Santana down in the lineup. One spot lower would have helped today as Grady Sizemore had a great game from the 5 spot and the Indians probably would have scored a few more runs without Santana's 0-4 performance. Santana left two runners in scoring position and struck out twice. This is not to say he is not a good hitter, just that he isn't as good as Sizemore and could benefit from a position in the lineup with less pressure.

Josh Tomlin made it through 5 innings to keep his record going, but just barely. Tomlin allowed 3 home runs (his only weakness this season) for a total of 5 earned runs. The first home run came off a 3-1 count where one of the balls was called for Tomlin going to his mouth while on the mound. It is possible that the combination of his poor control and his distress over being called for a free ball lead to the meat ball pitches he threw to Matt Weiters and Nolan Reimold that turned into home runs in the second inning.

Orlando Cabrera was thrown out stealing by 5 feet after getting a great jump. Might be time to get some younger wheels in there at second base. Off the top of my head, maybe someone like Jason Kipnis. Just a suggestion.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 - Baltimore Orioles 5

Player of the Game

Carlos Santana hit a home run, a double and knocked in 3 to win tonight's 'Player of the Game' with a score of 6.01. This marks the first time that Justin Masterson didn't win this award in his last 4 starts. It is just Santana's third 'Player of the Game' of the season.

Feathers Up

The Indians came back strong and well rested after the All-Star break, scoring 8 runs for the first time in the last 10 games. They started off especially strong with both Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana hitting home runs for a quick 3 run lead that the Indians would never relinquish.

Lonnie Chisenhall was back in action after having his face destroyed a week ago with the aid of a new batting helmet. Lonnie and his new helmet went 0-3, but it's just good to have him back in the lineup.

The Bullpen Mafia had another strong showing tonight, especially Vinnie Pestano and Tony Sipp who pitched a perfect 8th and 9th innings, striking out 5 of the 6 batters faced.

Feathers Down

Justin Masterson allowed more than double his usual amount of runs by giving up 4 in 6 innings. He also allowed 8 hits, including 4 doubles. On a positive note, he struck out 8 batters in those innings.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 8 - Baltimore Orioles 4