On the road again...
All is not right at the Jake, well at least with the Tribe. They have lost six of the last 10, including two games vs. the lowly Royals.
Some have predicted the Indians to win their division, even over the defending World Champion White Sox.
They have a decent nucleus of young talent with Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore leading the way. They have out scored their opponents, but overall their record is a mediocre 10-9.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer suggests part of the problem could be found in the pen. The Indians have had numerous injuries and are relying on some youngsters and two veterans (Danny Graves and Bob Wickman) to pick up the slack. Last year Cleveland's relievers were stellar. So far this year, they have allowed almost three more runs a game.
Ohio.com reports the Indians' swagger is gone.
Not what you want to hear if you are an Indian fan. With their confidence shot, they return home to face one of the toughest pitchers in baseball - Curt Schilling.
Schilling has been on fire. He has yet to lose a game. His ERA (1.61) is second only to Chicago's Jose Contreras. He leads the league in wins (4) and ks (23).
But I'm a little worried about this matchup. After witnessing Josh Beckett struggle against the Jays, I can only hope that Schilling doesn't let his guard down. As Beckett goes so goes Schilling.
Tribe Tracker, a blog that, well, tracks the Cleveland Indians, is lamenting the loss of Brandon Phillips, losing to K.C. and the upcoming home-stand.
Where's the optimism? I suppose I'm as bad. Let's face it, for a while the Indians have been the laughing stock of baseball (Ever seen Major League?) until, they traded Manny and built Jacob's Field.
Now, they are building a solid franchise. If they could ever have luck go their way, they may even win their division,. Until they find a tourniquet for the pen, it will be extremely difficult to do this year.
Speaking of Major League, I wonder how long Jon Papelbon will keep his hair looking like Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn. It will be interesting to see how Indians' fans respond? I'm guessing not so well; Cleveland is pretty die-hard.
It's a shame that the Sox are going to be without Coco Crisp when they face Cleveland. I believe players love to face their former teams. Crisp won't get his chance this time around, still on the disabled list. The good news, he could return to the lineup by mid-May.
E-mail this entry to a friend