The Indians dropped their second game in a row today in Minnesota, losing 10-3 to the Twins. While two losses in a row may not seem like a big deal to most, many Indians fans are starting to worry. Immediately after the game was over, numerous comments on the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s website were blasting the Indians. One person predicted over 90 losses while another called for a players only meeting.
Let’s calm down here Tribe fans. I know we don’t handle success very well. And I know most of us have just been waiting for the extended losing streak to bring the Indians 2011 record back to what we thought it would be. Yet, I really don’t take too much stock in these last two losses.
The loss Thursday night in Kansas City may have been painful, but it was also understandable. The Indians had a 2-run lead going into the 8th. It was raining and cold in Kansas City. Not exactly ideal pitching conditions. Chris Perez blew the save in the 9th, giving up two runs on a single by Melky Cabrera. The two earned runs off Perez were the first runs of the year for him in over seven innings of work. I am far from worried about him.
Today, the Indians got lit up by the Twins in Minnesota. Fausto Carmona looked off from the first inning. It was Fausto’s third loss of the year in five starts. But looking at those starts deeper makes them look a lot better. His ERA is inflated because of his opening day blowup against the White Sox. Today he also gave up a lot of runs. However, in his other three starts he only gave three earned runs total.
Carmona’s two terrible starts had a common theme: extremely cold temperatures. It is well known that Fausto is a warm-weather pitcher, as are most sinker ball pitchers. Today’s start wasn’t a sign that Carmona is lost again, it was just a product of the rain out yesterday and the weather today. Nothing to get too worried about.
What we should take away from these last two losses is the positives. Alright, I admit, there wasn’t many positives to see today, but at least Grady Sizemore homered again. Thursday night, we saw Josh Tomlin throw an absolute gem. He has looked fantastic so far in 2011. Today, the Twins got a lot of perfectly placed hits. They had some bloopers that fell in and some infield hits that were near impossible to field. Those things are always inconsistent.
The Tribe can still win tomorrow and go 3-3 on the road trip, a trip in which they should already have their three wins because of the rain-induced blown save in K.C. on Thursday. Even if they do lose again tomorrow in Minnesota with Carlos Carrasco pitching against Carl Pavano, they will still be 13-8 coming home for six games against the Royals and Tigers.
The Indians have lost two games in a row, I realize that. We, as Indians fans, tend to panic as soon as any little thing goes wrong. If someone would have said back in March that the Indians would be five or six games over .500 after 21 games, many Clevelanders would be jumping for joy. Let’s not panic yet. Let’s go out, hope for a win tomorrow in Minnesota, then come home to Progressive field and win at least four of the six games against the division rivals K.C. and Detroit.
If the Indians come home and lose more than four games out of the six to the Royals and Tigers, then it may be time to consider the first few weeks a fluke. But, hey, look at the bright side, the Indians do avoid Justin Verlander next week in Cleveland, who always looks good against the Tribe,so maybe the luck is turning around already and the Indians can keep up the hot start and carry it into May.
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