A quality start by 31-year old Matt Ginter, where the righty allowed seven hits in six innings was all for naught. Granted, one of the hits was a home run by catcher (and .211-hitting) Jeff Mathis. However, the Indians provided two runs of support on seven hits. And that, folks, rarely gets the job done.
The K's continued to roll in for the Angels, as 10 Indians went down on strikes. We struck out 11 times in the previous game, bringing our total to 21 with only four bases on balls. Not a great ratio by any means. Especially when you leave nine guys on base.
Good news for the Tribe is that the bullpen joined Ginter in a solid night of pitching. Rafael Betancourt and Ricardo Rincon combined for two innings of one-hit ball. It just so happens that Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez combined for two innings of no-hit ball with four strikeouts. Showoffs.
I'd like to take a second to question one thing: the ninth inning. With the bottom of the order coming to bat, Eric Wedge attempted to become the chessmaster. With the .217 average of Franklin Gutierrez coming to bat, Wedge decided to pinch-hit. Who did he send up to the plate? The .225-hitting David Dellucci. Result: Strikeout. Though recording two hits on the night, Asdrubal Cabrera grounded out to Rodriguez on the mound. Two down. Grady Sizemore walked, bringing Jamey Carroll (.270) to the plate - who was quickly swapped for Ryan Garko (.236, .194 in July). Garko proceeded to strike out swinging, thus ending the game.
Am I missing something here? Carroll is batting .292 over the last 37 games. Granted, he has nary a home run, but are we looking for a long-ball at this point? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. At that point, it was like trying to build a house with toothpicks - I get that. What I don't get is taking the bat out of the hands of one of our better on-base guys (.348, 3rd on the team) for a guy that is slumping for an entire season.
So, what say ye? Please fill me ina€¦
The K's continued to roll in for the Angels, as 10 Indians went down on strikes. We struck out 11 times in the previous game, bringing our total to 21 with only four bases on balls. Not a great ratio by any means. Especially when you leave nine guys on base.
Good news for the Tribe is that the bullpen joined Ginter in a solid night of pitching. Rafael Betancourt and Ricardo Rincon combined for two innings of one-hit ball. It just so happens that Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez combined for two innings of no-hit ball with four strikeouts. Showoffs.
I'd like to take a second to question one thing: the ninth inning. With the bottom of the order coming to bat, Eric Wedge attempted to become the chessmaster. With the .217 average of Franklin Gutierrez coming to bat, Wedge decided to pinch-hit. Who did he send up to the plate? The .225-hitting David Dellucci. Result: Strikeout. Though recording two hits on the night, Asdrubal Cabrera grounded out to Rodriguez on the mound. Two down. Grady Sizemore walked, bringing Jamey Carroll (.270) to the plate - who was quickly swapped for Ryan Garko (.236, .194 in July). Garko proceeded to strike out swinging, thus ending the game.
Am I missing something here? Carroll is batting .292 over the last 37 games. Granted, he has nary a home run, but are we looking for a long-ball at this point? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. At that point, it was like trying to build a house with toothpicks - I get that. What I don't get is taking the bat out of the hands of one of our better on-base guys (.348, 3rd on the team) for a guy that is slumping for an entire season.
So, what say ye? Please fill me ina€¦
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