fathom

No excuse to lose a Hernandez/Elarton match-up. Elarton was throwing meatballs tonight, and we couldn't give ourselves a big enough lead because of some stupid managerial decisions by Ozzie. Everett should never, ever be in the outfield. Oh well, we're going to have to start hitting better at the Cell, because Jacobs Field was playing like Yellowstone this week, and saved us a lot of Indians homers.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 01:50 AM) I am glad that neal is growing up and settling into the majors into year 3. No he is pretty much the same crap he was last year. The only member left of the craptacular trio from last year(thriller, kock and he) His wildness really cost us in the bad 6th inning. Without the wild pitch and walk, Cora's unlikely to have that smart hit. A good reliever has got to have solid control.

QUOTE(robinventura23 @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 01:45 AM) Damn, Dye is in a major slump. Hernandez could have caught his hit tonight He's not driving the ball at all. He has no balance at the plate, and is swinging all arms.

Another positive today.......Konerko looks as good at the plate as he did bad in the last few days. He's been hitting rockets all over the field. We need to pick up the hitting, because the Cell won't be playing like a pitcher's park, which Cleveland has definitely been this week.

Something that will hurt down the road is that the Indians and Twins have lefty long relievers that are consistent like Mulholland and Sauerbeck, while we have Mr. Inconsistent Cotts. That's a huge advantage for our rivals.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 01:36 AM) Ha, so you'd rather you have experimenting later in the season when the pressure is more intense. Some of you will find anything you can to blame a loss on Ozzie. I agree, if you're going to experiment, you do it early in the season. However, it seems like Ozzie picks one game to do all the experimenting. I don't blame him for the Cotts thing, it was the right move. I have a much bigger issue with Everett in the outfield, and Gload batting 2nd.

If we can't rely on our long reliever, we're in a lot of trouble. It's not like we have 5 Buehrles on our staff that can go late into each game. Also, Hermanson, Vizcaino, and Marte can't pitch every game. Some day, Ozzie will realize that a reliever would rather start the inning than to have to come in with a guy on base. This is now 2 straight games in which Ozzie waited a batter too long to take out the starter. He did this way too often last season, and I'm hoping to see some better timing by Ozzie.

On the bright side, assuming that Everett isn't seriously hurt, hopefully this game showed Ozzie that he's a disaster in the outfield. With Frank's return seemingly being pushed back everyday, Everett will get plenty of at-bats at DH.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 01:30 AM) Good night folks we didnt bring it tonight This felt like the 2nd game of a doubleheader in which you just mix and match different players in the field and in the batting order. Anyways, I'm very content with a 6-3 start (assuming we lose) considering we could easily be 2-7.

I've seen enough of Cotts already this season to say he hasn't improved. Time to send him down and see if he can develop another pitch. Until then, he's a well below average pitcher.

Should have been strike 3 on Hafner.

Holy cow, that was a very dumb play by Uribe there. Cora's too smart of a baseball player to pull that s*** on.

I never understood how you can rely on a reliever that is just as prone to have no control when he comes in as he is to have good control? It's a shame that Kevin Walker looked like crap at the end of spring training.

QUOTE(DonkeyKongerko @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 01:24 AM) AJ has had a poor series defensively. Yeah, he's not moving very fast back there. He seems to be stabbing at pitches instead of catching them.

f***ing Cotts. Same lousy control as always.

Watch the bunt here!

Hernandez is going to struggle in the cold, I have a feeling. A lot of the good curveball pitchers I've seen so far have a tough time gripping the ball in cold weather. You could tell Hernandez had a better feel for his pitches in the dome.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 01:17 AM) Not a great ab for Harris, but again productive. He moved Uribe into scoring position. 2 outs for Perez. 2 productive outs in an inning is not a recipe for scoring runs, especially when the first "productive" out is leading off the inning. It was nice to see Uribe draw a walk though.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 01:14 AM) Dear Mr. Crede, Please learn from Mr. Olivo in 2003. Resting your bat on your shoulder only to lift it right before the pitcher starts his motion doesnt help your swing. If your bat is so heavy, please see the equipment manager for a lighter bat. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I really would like to see Crede try a new load mechanism for his entire swing. He just doesn't get the bat through the zone quick enough on a consistent basis. A new timing mechanism, like what guys like Sosa have, could work to speed up his swing.

QUOTE(daa84 @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 01:11 AM) i hate when people say that...was it a great AB? certainly not, he got out. for an Ab that he got out in, it was a good AB I agree. Crede has some GREAT pitches to hit that AB. He made good contact, but it was still a routine flyout.

Hernandez should get to stay in until Crisp comes up. Then, Cotts should come in to face him.

Thank you Jose Hernandez. He's stranded 5 runners his last two AB

Hernandez's slow curve has not been effective tonight. Indians have a much better approach against him than the Twins did.

Hernandez against a lineup full of lefties is a difficult match-up for him. He has to rely a lot more on his fastball against lefties, and that's not a strength in his repetoire.

QUOTE(ZeroHour @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 12:29 AM) Not necessarily off topic becaue it was brought up but...our 3b "situation" Im going to say it again. Ryan Freel. The guys a scrapper and definitely stuck on Cincy's bench. Im a little less high on him now with that DUI business, but you have to admit that he would be a nice fit statistically. Freel has a drug problem. In the minors, he had a problem (this was like 3 years ago).