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Do IT this week: Layering
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 12:28 a.m. EDT, Apr 15, 2009
KANSAS CITY, MO.: Carl Pavano isn't bragging about his 16.71 earned-run average, but it sure beats the figure he was stuck with after his first start of the season.
Pavano lugged that embarrassing 81.00 ERA around for only five days, but it probably seemed like five months since he gave up nine runs and retired three batters last Thursday in Texas.
His first chance to rehabilitate his reputation came Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium, making giant strides by giving up four runs in six innings.
''I'm not even looking at that start,'' Pavano said. ''That was 10 days ago [not really]. Out of sight, out of mind.''
Not that Pavano was in danger of breaking his arm by patting himself on the back.
''It's tough for me to have a positive attitude the way the season has started for us,'' he said. ''We lost, and I didn't do my job. They gave me two runs. That's who's got to bear down, the starting pitcher. We got two runs to tie, and I have to shut them down right there.''
Pavano allowed two runs in the fifth, giving the lead back to Kansas City after the Tribe scored twice in the top of the inning.
But Pavano's inability to hold the tie was hardly the thing that sunk Cleveland's ship. The Royals took advantage of horrendous relief pitching by Rafael Perez and Vinnie Chulk in the eighth inning to turn a one-run game into a 9-3 rout.
Four runs in six innings has been as good as it gets for anyone in the Tribe rotation this year. The only other Cleveland starter to match Pavano was Anthony Reyes on Sunday in an 8-4 win over the Blue Jays.
''Carl was a lot better tonight,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''It was good the way he ran through the first inning and got himself some momentum. He had more on the baseball this time, and he gave us every chance to win the ballgame.''
Among the eight hits Pavano (0-2) yielded, five went for extra bases, including a solo homer off the bat of John Buck. That's what happens when a pitcher throws 90-mph fastballs down the middle of the plate between the thighs and waist.
''Sometimes you get away with pitches and sometimes you don't,'' Pavano said.
Pavano did not walk a batter, and he struck out eight, something he hasn't done since he started for the Marlins against Tampa Bay on June 27, 2004.
The Indians struggled early against Kansas City starter Kyle Davies, who gave up three runs in 52/3 innings.
Davies (0-1, 2.13 ERA) retired 11 batters in a row before allowing Ben Francisco's leadoff single in the fifth. The Tribe tied the score that inning with help from the Royals. Francisco stole second and continued on to third on Buck's throwing error, and with one out, Trevor Crowe reached when he was hit by a pitch.
Asdrubal Cabrera singled to score Francisco, and Mark DeRosa hit a hard grounder in the shortstop hole that Mike Aviles knocked into the outfield trying to make a diving stab. And when Cabrera attempted to score from first on the play, he was thrown out at the plate.
After Victor Martinez doubled to lead off the sixth, Shin-Soo Choo's bloop single to right brought him to the plate, but with runners on first and third and two outs, Crowe struck out.
For the fourth time in five appearances, Perez offered aid and comfort only to the enemy by giving up an insurance run, then loading the bases with one out and leaving the mess for Chulk.
Chulk made it worse by giving up Buck's second homer of the night and the second grand slam of his career.
''Perez has had some early season struggles before,'' Wedge said. ''He hasn't had his same command. His ball is up a little. Obviously, he's a very important guy for us, and we have to get him back on track.''
With Aaron Laffey being called up from Columbus today to start for injured Scott Lewis, a roster move had to be made. But instead of a reliever being demoted (Chulk was summoned as the eighth man in the bullpen), it is Josh Barfield who will pay for the relievers' incompetence.
''We'll be carrying an extra pitcher for the short term,'' Wedge said, explaining Barfield's latest visit to Triple-A. ''Josh hasn't had a chance to play much because of the way we've started.''
Barfield, who held down one of two utility infielder spots, had not appeared in a game. His absence will leave Tony Graffanino as the lone infielder on the bench.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
KANSAS CITY, MO.: Carl Pavano isn't bragging about his 16.71 earned-run average, but it sure beats the figure he was stuck with after his first start of the season.
Pavano lugged that embarrassing 81.00 ERA around for only five days, but it probably seemed like five months since he gave up nine runs and retired three batters last Thursday in Texas.
His first chance to rehabilitate his reputation came Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium, making giant strides by giving up four runs in six innings.
''I'm not even looking at that start,'' Pavano said. ''That was 10 days ago [not really]. Out of sight, out of mind.''
Not that Pavano was in danger of breaking his arm by patting himself on the back.
''It's tough for me to have a positive attitude the way the season has started for us,'' he said. ''We lost, and I didn't do my job. They gave me two runs. That's who's got to bear down, the starting pitcher. We got two runs to tie, and I have to shut them down right there.''
Pavano allowed two runs in the fifth, giving the lead back to Kansas City after the Tribe scored twice in the top of the inning.
But Pavano's inability to hold the tie was hardly the thing that sunk Cleveland's ship. The Royals took advantage of horrendous relief pitching by Rafael Perez and Vinnie Chulk in the eighth inning to turn a one-run game into a 9-3 rout.
Four runs in six innings has been as good as it gets for anyone in the Tribe rotation this year. The only other Cleveland starter to match Pavano was Anthony Reyes on Sunday in an 8-4 win over the Blue Jays.
''Carl was a lot better tonight,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''It was good the way he ran through the first inning and got himself some momentum. He had more on the baseball this time, and he gave us every chance to win the ballgame.''
Among the eight hits Pavano (0-2) yielded, five went for extra bases, including a solo homer off the bat of John Buck. That's what happens when a pitcher throws 90-mph fastballs down the middle of the plate between the thighs and waist.
''Sometimes you get away with pitches and sometimes you don't,'' Pavano said.
Pavano did not walk a batter, and he struck out eight, something he hasn't done since he started for the Marlins against Tampa Bay on June 27, 2004.
The Indians struggled early against Kansas City starter Kyle Davies, who gave up three runs in 52/3 innings.
Davies (0-1, 2.13 ERA) retired 11 batters in a row before allowing Ben Francisco's leadoff single in the fifth. The Tribe tied the score that inning with help from the Royals. Francisco stole second and continued on to third on Buck's throwing error, and with one out, Trevor Crowe reached when he was hit by a pitch.
Asdrubal Cabrera singled to score Francisco, and Mark DeRosa hit a hard grounder in the shortstop hole that Mike Aviles knocked into the outfield trying to make a diving stab. And when Cabrera attempted to score from first on the play, he was thrown out at the plate.
After Victor Martinez doubled to lead off the sixth, Shin-Soo Choo's bloop single to right brought him to the plate, but with runners on first and third and two outs, Crowe struck out.
For the fourth time in five appearances, Perez offered aid and comfort only to the enemy by giving up an insurance run, then loading the bases with one out and leaving the mess for Chulk.
Chulk made it worse by giving up Buck's second homer of the night and the second grand slam of his career.
''Perez has had some early season struggles before,'' Wedge said. ''He hasn't had his same command. His ball is up a little. Obviously, he's a very important guy for us, and we have to get him back on track.''
With Aaron Laffey being called up from Columbus today to start for injured Scott Lewis, a roster move had to be made. But instead of a reliever being demoted (Chulk was summoned as the eighth man in the bullpen), it is Josh Barfield who will pay for the relievers' incompetence.
''We'll be carrying an extra pitcher for the short term,'' Wedge said, explaining Barfield's latest visit to Triple-A. ''Josh hasn't had a chance to play much because of the way we've started.''
Barfield, who held down one of two utility infielder spots, had not appeared in a game. His absence will leave Tony Graffanino as the lone infielder on the bench.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
Comments
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Bethesda, MD
Posted 06:38 AM, 04/15/2009
Sheldon, Pat, et al,
Is there any, any, any indication at all, that Wedge's job is in trouble? Please say "yes."
Alliance, Oh
Posted 06:51 AM, 04/15/2009
What will the "hope" be for this year after they are out of the race before the Cavs are done? Last year, it was they didn't quit and finished .500. This year, it'll probably be look how good we did in interleague (if they can at least be .500 in that category). This is the third time in five years they "think" they are gonna do something, only to start out with about a .333 winning percentage. The last question is will the Cavs win more games in an 82 game season than the Indians in a 162 game season?
Posted 07:21 AM, 04/15/2009
1-7...Is Manny still pondering?
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 07:38 AM, 04/15/2009
Just another loss on the way to 100 losses.
Cheapskate Dolan - please sell the team to an owner who cares about winning at all cost.
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:39 AM, 04/15/2009
Paging the baseball guru swami! Where you at genius? Your BOYS are falling faster than sky lab, still want to bet on 94 wins oh great one?
Stow, OH
Posted 07:39 AM, 04/15/2009
You have to blame the ownership and Shapiro on this mess. Yes baseball needs a salary cap for sure,but Dolan has to stop worrying about how many hotdogs he is selling and pump money into the team.You make your money on baseball franchises at the sale of the team not filling seats. That is why you need an owner with deep pockets,and tightwad Larry is not it. You can't lose a Cy Young pitcher and replace him with minor league junk and expect to win ball games.Dolan should have never paid what he did to buy this team and expect to make money on just filling seats because they are going to be half empty most of the year now .
akron, oh
Posted 08:29 AM, 04/15/2009
It takes a team effort to win and lose.
baytown, TX
Posted 08:37 AM, 04/15/2009
This is a simple game - You throw the ball, You hit the ball, You catch the ball. YOU GOT IT!!!
Lolly-gagers.
Posted 08:42 AM, 04/15/2009
Again bad approach cost this team. Grady, in a crucial situation, took a fast ball down the middle, and then swung at two out of the zone. Choo swung at two balls out of the zone avoiding a walk. The decision by Skinner to send Cabrera home with Martinez on deck ended a rally. I could go on and on. Last year good starting pitching kept us close until the hitting appeared. No such help this year. It's going to be a long season with poor management of the game and subpar performances.
Posted 09:29 AM, 04/15/2009
I agree with rruss. Bad at bats and poor managing decisions are hurting this team just as much as the pitching. I can't believe they tried to send Cabrera home. It wasn't even close.
Bethesda, MD
Posted 09:57 AM, 04/15/2009
I'm just checking to see if they fired Wedge yet.
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:57 AM, 04/15/2009
Division titles cannot be won April but they sure can be lost! Mission accomplished!! Now the team can battle to get back to .500 for the rest of the year and all will be good again. Meanwhile Im going to go watch "Groundhog Day"
Posted 10:44 AM, 04/15/2009
Just like the days at the old stadium. No pitching,
no timely hitting and looking ugly doing it.
Our season is done, the bullpen is a joke.
Way to go guys!
Farragut, TN
Posted 10:54 AM, 04/15/2009
I can't help but wonder what the team was doing during spring training. We know that they lost a lot of exhibition games, but what (if anything) were they learning to do during their time in Arizona? There is absolutely no evidence that they are likely to get much better than they are right now. Hope is about all Indians' fans have left.
Port Saint Lucie, Fl
Posted 12:17 PM, 04/15/2009
Cleveland is a good example that a good many players in the Big Leagues do not belong there.The Indians are loaded with minor leaguers,period.
