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Game 136: White Sox Shut Out Indians Win Streak

By James Pete | September 3rd, 2007

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The Cleveland Indians had their eight game winning streak ended abruptly, as the Chicago White Sox and Jose Contreras shut out the Tribe 8-0. It just wasn’t pretty.

Jake Westbrook, the hottest Tribe starter (and that is saying something), gave up 11-hits in his five innings against the American League’s worst hitting teams. He gave up only four runs, three of them earned. He was a fighter last night, but repeatedly left his pitches up high. He’s most effective with the slider low, and he just didn’t have it consistently. I like this pitching staff because it wins. But more than that, this staff is loaded with guys that can make bad situations not so much. If the offense had been there early, Westbrook did enough to keep the Tribe in the game.

Cliff Lee made his debut as a reliever, and gave up two hits and a walk, to go with an earned run in his inning of work. Lee has already been making waves about the direction the Indians are going with him. I just don’t see how this guy stays with the club. Over and over you hear how he just went to Buffalo and did his thing. Over and over again, you hear him complaining about it. He certainly didn’t look like a guy you want in the pen. As a matter of fact, Lee looked an awful lot like the Phifer Lee of old. He couldn’t command his fast ball, and he got hit. So much for that experiment. The guy needs a good psychiatrist.

The bullpen as a whole was terrible, with Mastny and Koplove giving up five hits and three runs over their three innings pitched. It was in a game going bad anyways, and it was actually a good performance by Mastny standards(which may say more about how bad he’s been than anything), but I would like to see more from Koplove, who’s trying to show he can be useful on the club. He wasn’t so much, last night. They were useful though in the end. Dos Rafael and Joe Borowski got another day of rest. It’s been a nice little break for them.

Cleveland’s offense, which has been awesome of late and perhaps coming off their best game of the season, had five singles against Contreras. Contreras had given up 12 runs in his previous 20 innings pitched. Cleveland had more walks (7), than hits (5). It did leave you scratching your head.

But they had opportunities.

In the third inning, Cleveland loaded the bases with two outs, and Travis Hafner striding to the plate. Hafner popped out to end the inning. In the fourth inning, Cleveland loaded the bases with one out. Trot Nixon walked up to the plate, and I nearly threw up my lunch. Trot made that ugly feeling in my stomach come true by hitting into a double play. Well done Trot. Let me just say this. If there is anyone on the planet that wants Trot Nixon gone more than I do…well…good for you. You are on the right page.

Terry Pluto, who has transitioned over to the Plain Dealer seamlessly, has some thoughts on the matter himself. What makes Pluto so special is that he can temper the bad play with what a player has to offer, and wants to offer. I haven’t been the best at that over the year, so I’ll just leave it to Pluto to do it for you. The Plain Dealer just moved a bit closer to respectability.

There was the Asdrubal Cabrera play, that may have started the downfall, although Westbrook was already struggling. With runners on first and second, Danny Richar hit a dribbler up the middle that appeared to bounce up and hit Andy Gonzalez, who was running to second. Cabrera had reached out for the ball, and the umpire thought it hit Cabrera’s glove first. It didn’t. The bases were loaded. By the time the inning was over, Chicago had score three runs. What would have happened had the play been called right? Who knows. You combined that with the stranded bases-loaded scenarios, and you have a game that could have been one way, go another.

Lost a bit in the shuffle was Victor Martinez behind the plate. Ozzie G tried to run on VMart, four different times. VMart threw out two of the four. Overall, he’s 24 for 89, at a near 30% clip.

You really want to know why the Indians are winning? Well, you and I both know there are a bunch of reasons, but here’s one that might be overlooked. Asdrubal Cabrera had an error yesterday in the fourth inning. It was the first error for the Indians in 11 games. Hmmmmm…..

I just don’t like the club losing a game on a travel day. It screams of looking forward. I don’t know that it is what they are doing, but it does make you wonder. With Johan Santana on the horizon, followed by a four game series with the Angels next weekend, it’s hard NOT to look forward. What we need is Jim Leyland to lay them out on their asses. Still…great homestand, and here’s to a better road trip.

Detroit lost yesterday, and snatched defeat out of victory. Cleveland’s lead stands at 5 1/2 games.

Can the Indians beat Johan Santana for a fifth time in six starts? I’m not sure I like the percentages there, but I do like C.C. on the hill. Here’s to a good start to a good road trip.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 10:03 am and is filed under Mike Koplove, Terry Pluto, Tom Mastny, Asdrubal Cabrera, Cliff Lee, James Pete, Jake Westbrook, Victor Martinez. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “Game 136: White Sox Shut Out Indians Win Streak”

halifax says:

September 4th, 2007 at 7:14 am

SABATHIA FORCES HIS WAY INTO CY YOUNG DISCUSSION —

Looking at the pitching performance that he just dropped on the Twins, CC Sabathia just pushed himself into the limelight for anyone considering Cy Young candidates.

No, he doesn’t pitch for Boston or New York, so you won’t even see the game mentioned on ESPN’s main page or even their main MLB page, but considering who his opponent was (again) and in the context of the way he has pitched over the last month and a half coupled with the pennant race, CC has to be considered a favorite.

He’s tied for the American League in wins (16), leads the league in innings pitched (211 already), ranks fourth in strikeouts (182) and is in the top 10 in most every other category.

Josh Beckett, Dan Haren and Baltimore lefty Eric Bedard are Sabathia’s main competition for the award, but Haren has stumbled lately as his team has faded and Bedard is currently on the DL with arm problems. CC’s teammate Fausto Carmona is also pitching well enough to be considered, but his track record, or lack thereof, probably won’t allow that to happen.

Basically, going forward from here it will be a sprint to the end of September, as whoever finishes with a flurry will probably command the award. Seeing as Haren is really slowing and the A’s aren’t in the playoff hunt, I’m putting him down for the third slot, just ahead of Bedard, who’s DL stint probably did him in. Whoever comes out of this with most wins between Sabathia and Beckett likely will take home the goods in my book. Hopefully, voters will consider CC’s string of excellence when his team gave him almost zero run support for eight consecutive starts.

I guess only time will tell.

It’s funny how Johan Santana didn’t merit a mention until now. Five losses to one team in a season will do that for you.

Going back to the CC theme, this is his seventh year pitching in the major leagues and he’s going to surpass 100 wins at the tender age of 27. His ERA has steadily dropped almost every year and his strikeouts are trending back up.

It is clear that over the last few years Sabathia has matured as a pitcher. No longer does he unravel on the mound after bad calls or defensive blunders. He’s not just a thrower anymore, the man can pitch. And being 27 and left-handed, he’s going to be the most coveted 2008 free agent pitcher along with Santana. He’s also going to command a ridiculous amount of money, and ridiculous may end up being upwards of $23-25 million a year.

We all know the Indians aren’t going to pony up that kind of cash, nor should they. The real question will be what to do this off-season or at next year’s trading deadline. The outcome of this season and the development of other young Tribe arms.

One would guess Sabathia would like to end up on the west coast, pitching either for San Francisco or the Angels (whatever they may be called by 2009). But the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox will surely be hovering about with their huge coffers of cash waiting to lure him their direction.

So, what to do if you’re Mark Shapiro? Wait out the season and then see what transpires, you might get more than you bargained for.
Charlie says:

September 4th, 2007 at 8:05 am

If it comes down to CC and Beckett and the numbers are as close as they are now I fear that the the award will go to Beckett due to the east coast influence … CC has a large number of no-decisions where he pitched well but got no support, otherwise he could easy have 20 wins … not at the end of the season, but right now.

As for trading him … we need to do everything in our power to keep him if he’s willing to stay. CC has been the key to our season, period. At the All-Star Break we had some prognostications saying that if Pronk doesn’t hit 40 home runs we’d be in 3rd behind the Tigers and Twins. Well, guess what … Pronk’s on pace for 22 homers and we’re still 6 up on the Tigers. Without CC though … we really would be in 3rd. *If* we have to trade him, we have to do it in the offseason because we can’t trade him at the trade deadline given that the Tribe will likely be in the pennant race again next year. And if we trade him, even if we get some ready-to-play-now youngsters, we have to admit that the odds of the Tribe winning a World Series this decade got much, much smaller. I don’t want to hear about “potential” and “prospects” … the time for this team to win is now. Losing CC to trade or injury now or next year would be devastating to this team’s chances of winning.
Charlie says:

September 4th, 2007 at 8:11 am

But really … can’t we wait to have this conversation until the offseason? We’ve been waiting for this kind of season for the better part of a decade … let’s enjoy it!
kevin says:

September 4th, 2007 at 8:33 am

Simple answer. Kepp CC this year AND the entire next year and try to win 2 world series rings. then try hard to sing him as best you can. if you can’t let him go free agency and get the top end draft picks as compensation.

it would send a terrible message to the tribe fans to trade CC at any point the next two years unles you are completely blown away by a trade offer. I don’t think that trade offer exists out there.
halifax says:

September 4th, 2007 at 9:12 am

But, if they were to make a legitimate offer to him in the off-season for something like 4-5 years at $18 million/per, then he turns it down, taking offers would be a diligent move. You can’t sink 1/3 of your payroll into one guy, especially one who plays every five games.

If they were to deal him (and keeping him for possibly a second series run MAY be the best option), it would HAVE to be for a stud bat and possibly a good young arm. You don’t make that move for prospects.

The fact is the Tribe needs a really good hitter coming out of the corner OF spots and/or 3B. As good as the Indians’ young outfielders are in Gutz and Francisco with Crowe on their heels, they don’t offer the kind of power you need from at least one position out there. Also, as good as their young arms are (Carmona, Miller, Lee, Sowers and Laffey), you really have no idea what you’re going to get. So the depth makes you think CC is dealable, and the young OF talent makes you think maybe they don’t really need help there, but they really do.

So the Indians are in quite a quandary. It would’ve been nice for Miller to have been healthy this year, because he could’ve taken that opportunity and ran with it and you’d have a much better idea of what you have heading into next year.

As much as Paul Byrd has stabilized the rotation this year, there is something to be said about taking his $8 million option and going after a good FA hitter and letting one of the young guys take over his spot and keep CC. Then you get the best of both worlds — for one year.
Lou says:

September 4th, 2007 at 10:04 am

somebody please refresh my memory… with cc’s last contract, did he give us a hometown discount? i seem to remember that he did and he did so over and above the suggestions of his agent???

if this is true, then i think our chances for signing him are good. you have to look no further than the contracts that buerle or even carpenter with the cardinals. they are both legitimate top of rotation guys and gave their clubs discounts.
halifax says:

September 4th, 2007 at 8:49 pm

Pardon me for not mentioning Wang from NY. Just realized he won his 17th tonight. He’s got a good ERA and a lot of wins, but the rest of his peripherals don’t get it done. He is the Yankees’ version of Fausto Carmona.

Plus, he plays for the Yankees . . . c’mon.
rick (Halftime Adjustments) says:

September 4th, 2007 at 10:15 pm

Hey James, you said you would give some link love? Where are your links?