caulfield12

In fact, this game "felt" over just with the fact that Lillibridge was leading off. It's one of those games where we wasted our two big scoring opportunities, but we're still not out of it if we get to face Brandon Lyon b4 we get to Rodney. Unfortunately, not much patience in that inning, so Galarraga will get the 7th now as well. Hopefully, this is the last game Lillibridge starts in a week and Getz can get back and prove effective leading off. If not, we've still got a huge problem, as Pods or Owens are not the answer either...certainly not long-term. Lillibridge should spell Ramirez every couple of weeks at SS (or Sundays) and PR. That's it. He's not capable of anything more. Realistically, they should send him to Charlotte and work on his stroke and putting the ball onto the ground more often...same issue as Jerry Owens.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 01:45 PM) It sucks knowing that with an extra 10 mil to spend, we could have signed Hudson to play 2B and have Swisher in CF this season. Those two holes are so glaring. Would never want Swisher in CF. Hudson in CF would have been fine with me...although I don't think he would have signed here in the tougher league and having to play a new position on a one year contract while waiting for the economy to improve.

We don't deserve to win this game, honestly. We really didn't deserve to win Monday's game with all those walks, either. The only way he can win this game is with homers or beating their pen. We turn that DP or we have an average RFer in terms of speed and we're out of that inning. It doesn't show up as an error in the box score, but it prolongs the inning and gives Polanco another pitch to take advantage of, and Polanco won't fail twice in one game with runners in scoring position. Not against the White Sox at least.

Well 28 MLB rightfielders would have had that ball I think.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 01:34 PM) Who knows, consistent playing time may get him comfortable enough to where he shortens up enough and stops forcing things. But he has such a rigid and mechanical swing. It would be a competition with Borchard for worst overall swing mechanics...Borchard is one of the few lefties that really looked ugly up there swinging the bat. Hawk is right, though. This game would feel a lot different for Jose at 2-0, 3-0 or 4-0. The offense is really putting the pressure on him.

Bring in Corky Miller as "Pinch Catcher." Too late.

Anderson played in around 100 games last year...quite a few of them as a defensive replacement/PH. If JOSH Anderson gets on base you, here you put him on 3rd base with one out. Fortunately, he is like Granderson with no power...

Lillibridge at 1/13 Ramirez 4/27 Anderson 1/7 6/47=.128 Hard to get much done when your 1/8/9 is so horrific. Anderson will never be able to succeed if he can't lie off those breaking balls down and away. Not even Felix Hernandez will throw him another FB. For that matter, Ramirez needs to adjust to, but at least he's flipped a couple of curves for hits this year, one on Monday down the LF line.

If Ray Searage can pitch for 15 years and Jamie Moyer for 20...well, even Alan Embree's still hanging on somewhere, right? Tony Fossas, anyone? Sidney Ponson has mowed down the Indians 1-2-3 in the first.

Just for a few innings, it's reminding me of when Jose wouldn't care about the few baserunners he allowed, because he was so confident he could get out of any situation with his forkball/split and 93-97 MPH fastball. He's lost a lot off that fastball, but he can still be very effective at 90-93...especially if he can get back the split and get ahead in counts. Ramirez, you need to get your head out of your a--.

Harrelson got punkd by Stone on that ball Alexei went too far on...he just let it go, thankfully, but Stone was right. DJ would never have challenged him on that kind of stuff, he'd just let Hawk go on and on and on about umpiring. We just had bad luck not getting to face Porcello. We usually tee off on pitchers with that big fastball, like Verlander...you can't EXPECT to beat a 1/2 starter on the road with your 4/5 starter more than 20-25% of the time, so I'm okay with whatever happens, as long as Jose improves on his performance from last time out (which he has so far).

But who in God's name would we be starting today at leadoff? Anderson against a RHP? Ramirez, when he's struggling mightily? Fields? 95% of the time, Fields would be 2/2 right now...

Fields has always been that size. There aren't very many "small" 3B...ever since he was a QB at OSU, he looked pretty much the same. Joe Crede wouldn't have dreamed about a triple there. We really need Getz back in the line-up. Lillibridge just doesn't make enough contact to be effective. Let him leadoff all season at Charlotte.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 10:36 AM) Not a fan of this righty dominant lineup, as Galarraga is one of the toughest pitchers in all of baseball against righties. This would have been a good game to get Betemit in the lineup, but I guess he's going to only start against LHP (yuck). You really want to sit Betemit or Konerko the way they're hitting? Otherwise, you're benching Thome against a RHP...or playing Betemit at 2B/SS, leaving the leadoff hitter as? I don't think we want to see the Betemit defense at SS. Lillibridge is the only one who should replace Alexei.

In the newspaper, they said Getz was supposed to be ready to go today...guess not.

Lastings Milledge is a centerfielder like a dog is an iguana. ... By the time we reach the end of 2009, we might regard the Nats' pitching staff as some kind of frothing goat-mongoose hybrid sent up from the depths of hell to disgust us with its impertinence. ... Any day the Nats take Elijah Dukes out of the lineup is one on which they have a smaller chance of winning. If there's an even half-sane rationale for sitting him, I'd love to hear it. from Larry Dobrow's CBS Power Rankings (White Sox move from 23rd to 13th)

Looks like the rain has completely cleared out of the state of Michigan. Should get started on time from the looks of it...

Egbert would be the best bet right now to replace MacDougal or Carrasco...just when you think DJ is about to lose it and implode completely, he sneaks out of the situation somehow, and pretty consistently.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 10:25 AM) If the White Sox started off 1-7, there would be just as much talk around here as there is in Cleveland right now. In fact, when the Sox dropped to 1-2 or 1-3 someone projected the record through the next couple of series and it was beyond brutal. Cleveland has problems just like every other team. If they win 4 or 5 in a row all of their pessimism will turn to optimism. You really don't have to be all that stellar to compete in the AL Central this year. That was me, haha. I think I wrote down 5-11 or 6-10. Now, going on our continued problems in the Trop, to expect the White Sox to be MUCH over .500 is pushing it...and I don't think anyone would be shocked if lost today or lost 3/4 in TB. We SHOULD win 2/3 in Baltimore with their pitching/starters, but the Birds are playing really well and it's on the road. So 1-2-3 games under .500 is certainly not out of the question after this trip. We weren't anything close to that mark on the road last year...so there's no reason to expected marked improvement. OTOH, the Indians are heading for Yankee Stadium after today. They'll probably sweep!!!

Posted by VAIndian on 04/14/09 at 11:55PM I hate to echo the comments of my learned posters who have gone before me. So, in essence, I won't (to a point). The comment has already been made that the Indians were (are) not ready for the season to start. That is an understatement. I have been a faithful follower of Cleveland Indians baseball for 50 of my 66 years. I can't, in recent memory, recall a season's start when there was so much B...S... spread around by management concerning the future of team for that particular year. Smokescreen???? Of course. Just go back and read Professor Wedge's comments about his pitchers every time they threw the ball in Spring Training. Always the same. Always non-committal. Always dripping with B...S.... I have to give Shapiro credit for signing Wood and trading for DeRosa. Both will be excellent acquisitions. The rest of the team, however, with few exceptions (Sizemore, Martinez, J. Lewis, and maybe Lee and Carmona if they come around) are no more prepared to play baseball at the major league level than a Little League team. We could hire the cast from the movie "Major League" and have better prospects. Maybe there are some better players on the team. If so, they have not been given the chance to show it due to a joke called Spring Training. Position players not prepared. Pitchers who have forgotten how to pitch due to poor, poor, poor preparation. Unfortunately, by the time someone wakes up and realizes that the problems are not necessarily with the players, the season will be in the dumpster. Lets get rid of the bush league mentality and holod the players accountable. Stop coddling them. Make them perform. There's an old saying which goes "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got". It's time for Cleveland Indians baseball to give up what they've always done and start playing baseball the way it should be played. No more coddling. No more "Gee, you tried hard". No more "Get'em next time". No more paychecks for those responsible. Make the players play ball. Make the manager hold them accountable. Make the manager accountable. Make the General Manager accountable. If we have to replace 75% of the team, so be it. If we need to replace the manager, so be it. If we need to replace the GM, so be it. If we need to replace the owner, hallelujah - maybe we found the problem. Sorry guys for being so long winded. I just get so frustrated when I see the quality of play from - a major league? team. http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2...ansas_city.html For more fun reading...page down.

http://www.weather.com/maps/geography/midw...ndex_large.html Looks like they should be able to play eventually...there's a band of rain all the way across Michigan, but hopefully it will clear out in the next six hours...then there's a "window" to the west. The game might be delayed an hour or two, but they should be able to get it in eventually. Not too crazy about Contreras pitching in these conditions, though. Obviously it affected Floyd quite a bit. It's no surprise both teams moved back Porcello and Danks, you don't want your best pitchers subjected to those type of conditions if you can prevent it, and it makes sense for Guillen to break up Contreras/Colon at the back of the rotation with another pitcher, especially since Colon and Contreras are throwing at almost the same exact speed with their FB's.

QUOTE (joejoedairy @ Apr 14, 2009 -> 08:55 PM) Did you just say Gordon Beckham? If Beckham wins a GG, it will be more for his offense (like a Michael Young or Ian Kinsler type of situation) than because he's the best "pure" defender, like a Uribe or Vizquel. I think he can be a solid/above-average MLB SS, but to project a Gold Glove type ability on him at this point is stretching it a bit.

"Brian Anderson will dictate how much he's going to play," manager Ozzie Guillen said before Tuesday's game at Detroit was postponed because of rain." This might be Anderson's last shot to prove he can be an everyday player after he was selected in the first round of the 2003 draft. Anderson lost his starting center fielder job after batting .192 in the first half of his rookie year in 2006, and then was demoted to Triple-A Charlotte at the end of April in 2007 before making the Opening Day roster in 2008 as a dependable backup. Anderson, 27, replaced Wise in the middle of Monday's game and drew two walks and stole two bases. "I don't expect Brian to hit .350," Guillen said. "A lot of people forget we give Brian all year long [in 2006] and he never [kept the job]. Now he's mature, he's a better player and he knows what he's doing. I don't expect him to be comfortable with being a backup outfielder. He should be better than that. He has an opportunity, and we'll see how he handles it." chicagotribune.com/sports

Jose has pitched some very good games against the Tigers in the past, even since 2005/06. I remember he pitched an excellent game in DET that reminded everyone of the "glory" days. Is it official that Danks is also scratched from tomorrow's start? I don't think either pitcher began to warm up today. (Yes, I see where Jose will start, then Danks against LH line-up in TB and then Colon, with Danks separating the two). As far as why the White Sox are not going to see Porcello, I think the Tigers learned with Verlander not to overexpose their young starters to the White Sox...and that we tend to rip young fastball-dominant pitchers. Great, Swisher hit another homer...oh, well.

We have Beckham and Ramirez that could play SS well offensively and (probably) defensively...and we don't have any certified CFer that can play everyday, so the answer to that is obvious. It's not only hard to find a CFer, we're TRYING to find a centerfielder than can lead off and alleviate some of the pressure on Chris Getz as a rookie to fulfill the expectations of that role. We could throw Viciedo out there at SS.