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Well ... we were down 11-3 going to the 9th .... and it's now 11-7 with 2 on and 2 out .......

At least we're going to make it interesting. lol

Well ..... so much for the rally.

Still one helluva nice job coming back.

I am officially, extremely worried about Carmona.

You're only just now getting worried about Carmona? I've been concerned for the past two seasons. He just 100% does not have it mentally. I'd deal him to a team where he's not expected to be an ace.

Actually, I've been concerned about Carmona for some time now. (My concerns are in the previous Indians threads)

Players who I wouldn't care if they were gone tomorrow: Fausto Carmona, Raffy Perez, Carlos Santana, Matt LaPorta

when I was a kid, they called this the Tribe's annual "June swoon"....they are completely lifeless

There are probably about twenty-five teams who would gladly take Santana from the Indians.

Terry Pluto on Fausto Carmona, in today's PD:

1. After Friday's debacle in New York, I received emails from fans wanting to trade Fausto Carmona. Now would be the worst time to do that -- it's like selling a stock on the worst day of the market. It's a good way to end up with some bad prospects. My first impulse was to think about sending him back to the minors because he needs to work on his mechanics and confidence, but Carmona does not have any minor-league options left.

2. Carmona's record is 3-8 with a 5.71 ERA. Here are his ERAs by month: April (5.15), May (5.45), June (8.71). In his last six starts, he is 1-5 with an 8.64 ERA. In those 35 innings, he has served up nine homers and 42 hits. So it's getting worse, not better.

3. A few more interesting numbers: The batting average against Carmona with no one on base is .212. With runners on base, .343. With the bases loaded, batters are 5-of-7. Yes, it is a matter of controlling emotions and confidence.

4. In the past, Carmona had major problems with lefty hitters. But this season, it's .255 vs. lefties, .276 vs. righties. From 2008-10, it was .296 vs. lefties, 2.41 vs. righties. Nor is his control been poor in terms of walking hitters, but his pitch location is a problem. Look at those nine homers in the last 35 innings.

5. My guess is the Indians may keep starting Carmona, but if this continues -- how can he continue in the rotation? Jeanmar Gomez is 5-1, 2.36 ERA and pitching very well at Class AAA. Guess they could put Carmona in long relief. Remember, this is a guy who went from a 19-game winner in 2007 to the minors and learning how to pitch again in 2009. He is very hard to figure.

6. Carmona's contract pays him $6 million this season. He has three more years, all club options: $7 million (2012), $9 million (2013) and $12 million (2014). The Indians can pick up or decline each option at the end of a season. The contract would make him attractive to some teams because it's not guaranteed, but it's hard to imagine them receiving much in return.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2011/06/terry_plutos_talkin_about_a_yo_1.html

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Its unfortunate the Indians did not listen to offers after last season for Carmona. He was actually much better than his 13-14 record. To be fair, if they had, most fans would have called it a cheapskate move to reduce salary. But now that he has completely imploded, his value could not be much lower. Right now, they have to think about the team - we're still contending for the division - and bring up Gomez to start, with Carmona taking over Durbin's long relief role in the bullpen. Maybe he'll find it again out there, but I doubt it.
Dave

Despite sucking the tailpipe once again today, the Featherheads remain in first place. In the Yankees 5-run inning today, the Indians' defense gave them at least 6 outs, with misplays (but not errors) by Choo, Laporta, and Kearns on balls that should have been fielded.

Stat of the day: in their last 10 games, the Indians are 6-for-68 with runners in scoring position.

They're not even competitive. They look like the worst team in the league. The only positive is, hafner will be back soon, and this is the toughest part of their schedule. It really lightens up for them after the all-star break. If they could hang around until then, it will be interesting to see if they try to make a few trades.

Its probably not gonna get better over the next few days ... we get AJ Burnett tomorrow, then Verlander, Penny, and Scherzer in Detroit. We may not score again until July.

Getting Hafner back will be nice, but it won't magically make Choo, LaPorta and Santana start hitting and fielding their positions competently. It won't make Carmona suddenly remember how to throw the ball over the plate (8+ ERA in his last three outings). It won't make Raffy Perez stop turning 6-run leads into save situations in the 9th inning, although when was the last time the Indians had a 6-run lead?

Seriously, the trio of Choo, LaPorta and Santana is killing the Indians. None of them can hit to save their lives, and they're all playing totally mediocre defensively. They've combined for 13 errors. Those three are supposed to be the meat of our batting order, and they're collectively batting .234. None of them has an OPS over .760, including Choo's abysmal .662. LaPorta's .756 is good for 40th in the AL. I think we got sold a bill of goods on him. He's been an everyday player this season and is barely hitting above his career numbers, which are dismal for a guy who needs to be able to hit the ball in order to play in the majors because he can't do anything defensively except play 1st.

Agree with you about Laporta, he's a defensive liability with holes in his swing. Brantley is the saving grace for the Sabathia trade at this point. He has proven me wrong - I was underwhelmed by his bat last year - I thought his swing was too long and too slow - but he has made the adjustment to major league pitching that Laporta hasn't been able to make.

We should of got the live chicken.

and still after all of that, they're still in 1st place. Baseball is a long year. They definitely have hit a rough spot, but the season isn't lost yet. Do I think they could win the division with the current roster?? No, but I think they could hang around to make some trades to get better. The division stinks for the most part, and we do play weaker opponents in the 2nd half. Time will tell.

Tied for first place, on a four-game slide against a horrible Twins team and a struggling Yankees team, and about to play 3 games with the team they're tied with. My guess is Detroit's up by 2 by the end of that series.

Just want to point out again that Santana has been hitting pretty well since the last week of May. let's not lump him in with LaPorta and Choo because he's started getting out of his slump (unlike those other two).

We also have to remember with Santana, is that he doesn't even have 1 full season of PT under his belt yet.

and he's only twenty-five years old.

Quote:

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If you would have told me we're be tied for first on June 13th back in March, I would have been elated beyond belief. So, even with the bad streak, we're in a helluva position.

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I agree but with this young team that isn't used to winning and isn't used to playing together and isn't used to coming out of slumps, I have to believe their confidence is at all time low now.. they need to find a way to stop the bleeding and win a few games in a row and get some of that mojo back.. This season so far has been all high, high, high.. CRASH. They need too plateau, get in a good groove of winning 3 out of every 5 and realize there is still a lot of season left to go.

Mixing it up tonight:

Today's LIneup: Sizemore-DH, Santana-1B, Brantley-CF, A.Cabrera-SS, Choo-RF, Buck-LF, Phelps-2B, Hannahan-3B, Marson-C, Carrasco.

It sure can't hurt.

Nice to get back on the winning track tonight.

Carrasco with a well pitched game, and the Tribe with an offensive explosion to win it 1-0 ...... lol

Hey .. a win is a win.

Yep, good to get a win but damn, at some point they have to start scoring some runs again.

We can use this upcoming series against Detroit to regain a 3 game lead in our division

3-0 Det and Verlander is Perfect thru 4.

Yes, I'm trying to jinx him!

Lets Go Tribe!

Verlander isn't perfect. Hit batter in the first. Got a no-no going though.

Thanks for the info. I tuned in late and just looked at box score. no hits and no walks and I got nervous.

Uhggg, he still has are number tho.......

Anybody got any numbers on the Indians offense before the last 20 games and then during the last 20 games? Are we even averaging 3 runs a game over the last 20? My goodness we couldn't hit a beach ball if you put it on a tee.

well, Carmona is pitching tonight and his ERA over his last 6 starts is 8.91. so there's that.

Back to Verlander ... he was unhittable last night. He was spotting his fastball wherever he wanted at 99 MPH, even in the 8th and 9th innings and mixing in a 78-79 MPH 12-to-6 curveball. Thats ridiculous separation. He could throw a no-no at any time with his stuff. He might have the best arm in baseball.

Scored 6 tonight to knock off the Tigers.