Somewhere, both Chris Antonetti and Mark Shapiro were smiling last night as newly acquired utility man Brent Lillibridge and the Indians defeated Red Sox on Saturday, 5-2. After a slow start to the ballgame, the Tribe bats warmed up late scoring four of their five runs over the last four innings of the game.
The Indians ran into a tough pitcher last night as Clay Buchholz was on his A-game and threw a complete game two-hitter in a 3-2 Red Sox win. The Indians actually got a surprisingly solid start from lefty Chris Seddon, probably his last before Roberto Hernandez is activated this week. Jim Berdysz provides his second thoughts on the game.
It's amazing what happens when you get quality starts from your starting pitcher. The Indians have now received three straight quality starts and won the last two (and should have three wins in a row), the most recent of which being last night's 5-3 win over the Red Sox. Jason Ruggiero steps in and provides his second thoughts on the game.
Today the Cleveland Indians announced that Triple-A Columbus pitching coach Ruben Niebla has been named interim Major League Pitching Coach and has replaced Scott Radinsky who has been dismissed from his post. Niebla, 40, is currently in his 12th season in the Indians organization, having spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons as the pitching coach at Columbus.
Every streak has to come to an end. Even for the Cleveland Indians. Losers of 11 straight, it did not look good for the Tribe heading into Wednesday's third and final game in a three game series with the Minnesota Twins. Thankfully, outstanding pitching coupled with some nice, timely hitting helped the Indians avoid tying a franchise record for futility.
With the recent acquisition of Lars Anderson from the Red Sox, the Indians have stockpiled an amazing nine players from Baseball America's 2009 Top 100 prospect listing. But not all nine of those players have panned out and it just goes to show that prospects, even the highly touted ones, are simply just lottery tickets. Jeff Ellis breaks down all nine players in his latest.
Okay, this is starting to get a little scary. Whatever can go wrong, is going wrong for the Bad News Indians of late as costly errors and poor pitching by Chris Perez sealed the deal on their 11th straight loss, 7-5, to the Twins. The carpet has been pulled right out from under the season, and Adam McGavin is here to provide his second thoughts on another frustrating loss for the Tribe.
As Keith Jackson used to say...."Whoa Nelly!". That's the feeling many have as this Indians slide continues to get worse and worse with every game played. The Indians lost last night to the Twins 14-3 thanks to a 10-run second inning, and lost for the 10th straight time. Adam McGavin chimes in with his "second thoughts" on another bad night at the ballyard for the Tribe...
Early Monday afternoon the Indians roster shuffle continued as they announced that they had claimed minor league right-handed pitcher Fabio Martinez off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. Tony provides some information on the Indians' newest member of the organization.
There is really not a lot more that can be said about the Indians fall of late. It has been rough to watch, and has really made a lot of people question the Tribe. I think the biggest non story that this rough stretch has brought to my attention has been how Jason Kipnis has been awful since May. He was merely below average in June, but has been horrid since then.
The Indians beat Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers on July 26th in their most stirring victory of the season. It gave them a 7-3 record against the Tigers, and gave them the springboard to start their first major win streak of the season. Of course, they then lost eight in a row. Join us, won't you, as we dive right into the Indians collapse, 2012 style. Don't worry, we talk about some good in there too...
The Indians lost their seventh game in a row, and are now 8 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox. Their run differential is the worst in the American League (fourth worst in all of baseball, behind Houston, Colorado and Miami) right now at a crazy -88 runs, and the big league club is beginning to look a lot like the Columbus Clippers did back in April. Check out Jim B. and his Second Thoughts, after the jump...
Chris Antonetti threw up the white flag on the 2012 season this past Tuesday when they failed to make any moves leading up to the trade deadline. While many consider this to be a smart play, it goes directly against the move made during last season's trade deadline. Are the Indians taking the correct path? Join Jim Pete at the Corner of Carnegie for his look at the Indians' crossroads...
The Cleveland Indians designated Johnny Damon for assignment today, ended a fairly controversial tenure that forced the former all-star outfielder into the field after two seasons in the DH-role. To say it was even a moderate success would be the overstatement of the millennium, and that's definitively not hyperbole. Good luck to you Johnny Damon in your quest to latch on to a playoff contender.
And the losing streak continues. After being swept by the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals this past week, the Indians dropped their seventh game in a row to Detroit on Friday night, 10-2. It marked just the third time the team was defeated by the Tigers in 10 games this season.
The Indians went down early, fought back, then found a way to lose in the end. Just another day in the life for Cleveland fans. There were some good moments, like Carlos Santana's continued resurgence and Corey Kluber's ability to dig deep after a rough 1st, but that's little consolation. Join Jason Ruggiero as he gives his second thoughts on a tough loss last night in Kansas City.
The 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!
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