Payback...And How

An ugly night that began with Westbrook just not having his sinker working as he simply wasn’t able to make the offensive output hold up.
Some random thoughts while sitting on the couch:

Is anyone else pleased to see Matt Miller come in (immediate HR notwithstanding) rather than Danny Graves? Miller always seems to give up a hard hit, then settle down; which should dictate that he would start an inning, rather than trying to bail an inning out. But, any way that you look at it, at least Graves didn’t come in to throw some BP. After typing that, Miller leaves the mound holding his always-tender right elbow. How quickly can Andrew Brown get to Baltimore?

Now Rocky Betancourt leaves the mound with an injury. Let’s hope that Andrew Brown and Brian Slocum get along, because they’ll be in the car for a while together.

If I know that Aaron Boone is going to be pitched away, particularly with 2 strikes, can someone on the Indians’ coaching staff let Boone know?

Grady seems to get to EVERY ball in the outfield. I don’t know if it is the “line” that he takes to the ball, or his speed, or his instincts – but he is always right there. I think that the falling backward catch of Monday night was my favorite so far this year, though the one on Opening Day when he hit the wall wasn’t too shabby.

Speaking of Grady, just when I thought that SuperSizemore was not hitting a lot of extra base hits, and seemed only to be hitting hard grounders, he goes off and hits an opposite field shot and a few doubles.

Danny Graves may not be able to get out of a high-school game without giving up a hard hit.

At least Major League was on HBO when things got ugly. We could've used Eddie Harris' Vaseline Ball tonight.

Here’s some good news:
How are these for some numbers through 14 games?
Player – BA – HR – RBI – OPS
Hafner - .373 – 7 –12 – 1.343
Blake - .447 – 2 – 14 – 1.217
Martinez - .418 – 2 – 12 – 1.095
Broussarez - .345 – 3 – 12 - .914
If you didn’t figure it out, the 1B platoon will heretofore be known as Broussarez.

Not to be outdone, here are some numbers for the players of interest in Buffalo:
Player – BA – HR – RBI – OPS
Gutierrez - .380 – 2 – 6 – 1.046
Merloni - .364 – 1 – 4 - .993
Garko - .375 – 1 – 15 - .959
Inglett - .278 – 0 – 2 - .727
Marte - .250 – 0 – 1 - .690
The reason I put Merloni and Inglett in there is that they represent the first option if Ramon Vazquez continues to strike out at an alarming rate. Neither player is on the 40-man, though, so the Tribe would have to make a roster move to call either up. Look at Garko's RBI numbers...very solid.

How about the pitchers in Buffalo, you ask? Ask and you shall receive:
Pitcher – Won/Loss – ERA – WHIP – K/BB
Sowers – 2/0 – 0.47 – 1.14 – 11/5
Guthrie – 1/0 – 0.00 – 1.00 – 7/4
Brown – 2/0 – 1.08 – 1.44 – 6/9
Slocum – 0/0 – 1.23 – 0.55 – 10/1
As if these numbers aren’t obvious enough, the staff at Buffalo is thriving. Look at those numbers for Sowers and Guthrie, and the K/BB ratio for Slocum. Throw in Fernando Cabrera on a rehab start (he struck out 3 in 2 innings, mere days after going on the DL), and you wonder how Buffalo is going to lose over the next two weeks. With the injuries to Miller and Betancourt, expect to see Brown and Slocum, or maybe even Ben Howard (though that’s less likely because Howard’s not on the 40-man).

A little further down the line, here’s how some of the youngsters from Canal Park are faring:
Player – BA – HR – RBI – OPS
Jonathon Van Every (OF) - .395 – 3 – 7 – 1.279
Ryan Mulhern - .315 – 3 – 12 - .882
Brad Snyder - .269 – 2 – 7 - .826

Pitcher – Won/Loss – ERA – WHIP – K/BB
Adam Miller – 2/0 – 2.04 – 0.85 – 15/3
Tony Sipp – 1/0 – 1.64 – 1.09 – 17/3
Nick Pesco – 0/0 – 1.64 – 0.91 – 7/3
Edward Mujica – 4 saves – 0.00 – 1.14 – 4/5
Does everyone understand how deep this organization is yet?

Don’t be surprised if the series finale (Carmona vs. Bedard) is a low scoring one, but not for the reason you think (both teams already shot all of their bullets). Thursday’s game is precisely the type of game that baseball writers have targeted as a game that will be affected by the new testing for amphetamines. The day game after a night game, on a weekday no less, is the kind of game that players (allegedly) used to get amped up for by popping some “greenies”. Worn down after a few night games, the players will have to rely on coffee, Red Bull, and Mountain Dew to get ready for the game.

Baltimoran, please make a sign that reads “FauSTO, FauSTO” in a blatant attempt to get on STO during tomorrow’s day game, while lauding the young right-hander. I’ll have the TiVo going.