Category: Indians

It was certainly great to see Carrasco begin to make Terry Francona think about his starting rotation in a slightly different way. It might just be a bit more crowded with some quality than he thinks. There is no denying that Scott Kazmir is making a strong push to crack into the Tribe’s rotation, but Carrasco made a strong statement last night. He said “don’t forget about me”. That quote might not have come out of his mouth but it sure did from his arm.

Carrasco last night showed what every pitcher coming back from Tommy John surgery must show …. Command. It is always the last thing to come back after the surgery and wasn’t all there at first. Even in this outing. But it showed itself as the innings progressed to the point that he actually looked dominant. Now that may seem shallow given the lineup the Giants threw at him, but it is no less impressive if you watched the performance critically.

I had no radar gun so it is not clear what his velocity was to me, but he threw quality strikes in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings. This resulted, as it often does, with hitters not able to center up on the ball. Now I know Matt Carson saved damage with a couple of dynamite catches, but don’t we think the Indians outfield will do that from time to time this year?

Of course we should not be deceived, he needs to show this some more. And, if I were making the decisions, I would give him some time at triple A first to keep progressing. But I really feel Carrasco will have a major impact on the Indians this season and beyond. Good for him!

Winners and Losers last night: Winners

Matt Carson with two really fine catches to take extra bases away. He also hit the ball hard. But it is a harsh reality that this 31 year old reserve will likely play in triple A again. But that performance won’t hurt his chances with another team or us going forward.

Delvi Cid for having perhaps his finest moment as a pro with a two out, two on game winning triple. Another young man stuck in mud in the minors but has always had speed.

Rich Hill for continuing his dominance this spring. Tribe needs a solid left hander in the pen.

Carrasco. …. Of course

Lonnie Chissenhall by continuing to smoke the ball despite only 1-3 night.

Giambi. Another home run doesn’t hurt his chances.

Losers

Nick Haggadone. Despite getting the pitch he needed to get out of the inning, he skated by after marginal command got him into trouble. He still has a way to go.

Cord Phelps for continuing his maddening propensity for not being able to hit in the clutch in any Major League performance. Even Spring Training has not cured that malady. Also, he again was a part of a marginal play when a pop foul dropped between him and the first baseman. Not all his fault but …..

Ryan Rayburn. Cooled off a bit.

Matt Albers. Any marginal performance is not good for him right now. That’s what it was.

We will see how today goes. Catch ya later.

I have been continuously excited about the Tribe bullpen for two years. I was sitting on the bleachers at the practice field in Goodyear raving to my friend about Vinnie Pestano’s potential before he ever made a pitch for the Tribe. So my bias is definitely positive when it comes to the pen for Cleveland. I was also happy the front office brought in and traded for several solid potential additions.

I will be watching them all carefully this week because I am slightly concerned for 2013. We all know that the Indians starting pitching is the greatest question mark. But what if the Indians most consistent area for two years starts to crack? I don’t think you need much imagination to figure out the likely result.

Big league bullpens are notoriously inconsistent from year to year. Sometimes even when the pitchers are not changed the results can change. They are built from the back forward. So this year we have seen the closer go down for the second spring in a row and our lights out setup man be “lit up” in the WBC. Now I still am optimistic that the back end will come through in the end but I see some concerning cracks.

Chris Perez was pretty solid all season in 2012, but had some command issues along with some mental focus issues. The mental focus issues were reflected both on the mound and in his off field commentary about fans and management. I have been assured by a close source that his main focus is all about winning. If so, he should be fine. But spring injuries are not always easy to overcome so some questions remain.

Pestano, everyone’s favorite bullpen pitcher for the Tribe, had some quite bothersome command issues to finish last season and the WBC failure looked similar. As I said at the start, I too love Pestano. Spring Training performances generally should be overlooked. But the USA baseball meltdown is more of a psychological concern than a normal Spring Training outing. The key here is that Pestano must let this failure go like any bad regular season performance. It will not be as easy to do as some think. And Vinnie really cares. That is one of his strengths. So I will be watching Vinnie closely and all the candidates for the Tribe bullpen. They need to remain a strength for the Indians to compete in 2013.

I will continue my observations and commentary tomorrow after watching the game tonight.