Westbrook Placed on DL, Francisco called up

In a somewhat surprising move, Jake Westbrook has been placed on the 15 day DL with a left intercostal strain. The Indians have not said yet when the injury occurred. Jake has been pitching great this season, so this adds to the quickly mounting issues for the Tribe. Ben Francisco will probably play the next four games as a sort of audition before the Indians need a starting pitcher for Saturday. Paul Byrd will now throw Friday, and I imagine Aaron Laffey will fill in Saturday. The developing situation will concern how well Francisco plays. If he is knocking the cover off of the ball, a move with Andy Marte or possibly Jason Michaels will be on the horizon.

Tribe Bats Go Back to Sleep

Travis Hafner was definitely not toasting his Budweiser to these last two games. Five runs in three games? That is all the Twins and Indians could muster over a three game series. The Twinkies took two of these pitching masterpieces, dropping the Tribe down to a 7-12 record. I understand teams go into hitting funks but this is borderline ridiculous. Pitching was finally not the issue in any game. This team looks flat and unable to string any momentum from game to game. The Cleveland media has said numerous times that GM Mark Shapiro will not make any drastic changes until the 40 game mark. If the offense continues to sputter, a change in the outfield corner slots or at second or third will become necessary. If I had an answer to this teams terrible play, I sure would not be blogging.

Here were some of the few highlights:

Cliff Lee: 8 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 8 K's, 0 earned runs. Pitched a gem, leading the AL with a 0.40 era, Has started almost half of the Indians wins. They are 4-12 when he does not pitch

Paul Byrd: 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run. Byrd has seemed to put his early season struggles behind him, producing back to back solid starts. The lack of run support hopefully will not get to him.

Victor Martinez: 4-12 1 RBI. Is consistently making contact, pounding out hits, still is slower than usual on the basepaths. Needs more chances with RISP.

Casey Blake: (Friday's Game) 2-4, HR, 3 RBI's. Provided the offense in the only win of the series. Also hit the lone homerun. Looked bad at the plate Saturday and Sunday, but so did the whole team.

Areas of Concern:

Eric Wedge: Why on earth did he pitch to Justin Morneau in the tenth? He is the best player, most legitimate RBI threat and they already dodged fate by getting him out in the 8th. Also leaving Rafael Perez in was a stretch, let's see what these other guys in the pen are made of. Andy Marte probably will be gone by May, but why not let him play in a few games? It is not like he could do any worse than a lineup that scored 1 run in 19 innings.

Grady Sizemore: 2-13, 0 walks. As a leadoff hitter he has to get on base more. Just struggling along like the rest of the team.

David Dellucci's Defense: The guy may be able to climb a wall, but he is not good in left. He has made two diving catches but that is more due to his lack of range. Dellucci's arm is like spaghetti, and he covers zero ground.

Travis Hafner: 1-8, one sore shoulder. Pronk says he is OK but his swings and approach look more like 2007, which will severely damage the lineup.

Jhonny Peralta: 1-7. The hitting rollercoaster that is Jhonny's 2008 rumbles on. Looking forward to some consistancy.

The Indians get a much needed day off tomorrow as they travel to Kansas City to take on the Royals. CC Sabathia takes on Gil Meche. Hopefully the Tribe can win their first series since April 3rd.

Cardboard Fuzzy Memories

special to the TTO

When I was a little kid, you always knew that spring was around the corner when the local Convenient Food Mart put out the first box of Topps baseball cards.

There was usually still snow on the ground when we'd stop at the store on our way to church so my dad could grab a cup of coffee and pick the three of us up a package of those little chocolate doughnuts that John Belushi famously kept on his training table to fight over while we made our way to our Lakewood parish.

The day he'd come out with a pack for each of us--warning us not to even think about putting the gum in our mouths until after mass--was a big treat. Usually, I'd find a way to cheat or steal the best cards of my brothers' packs to get a leg up on my collection.

I collected for 7 or 8 year stretch, covering what I consider to be the Golden Age of card collecting (1987-1990), until I found more important things to do with my time and money.

Back in the day, you had three choices: Topps, Donruss, and Fleer. We collected only Topps; even after the glut of sports cards hit the market in the late 1980s, we were strictly a Topps household.

During that stretch, my dad, brothers and I embarked on an ambitious plan to put together a complete Topps set for every year that my brothers and I had been alive (1979 and later). We were pretty much successful, missing only a few cards that were out of our price range from some of the early sets.

Now, with Baby-Neg due to make his Major League Debut this summer, I decided that I'd get a leg up on the collecting and start putting away a complete set for every year of his lifetime. Later, when he's older, we can collect them together and when he decides he's too cool for me, he can do it on his own.

I started off at Target. I grabbed two packages of plastic pages and took in the chaos on the baseball card racket--I was shocked.

First of all, there are only two brands of baseball cards left--Upper Deck and Topps. It figures that once the market hit rock bottom in the mid to late 90s that only a few companies would be left, and Topps and UD were always among the best. But, each brand had several different varieties of cards.

From what I saw on the shelf, Topps has at least 5 varieties cards on the shelf this spring: Topps Series 1, Topps Series 2 (due May 2008), Topps 2007 Updated and Highlights, Topps 2008 Opening Day, Topps Bowman Heritage, etc. It's ridiculous.

With a little help from the Internet, I figured that I'd stick with the Topps Series 1 and, later, the Series 2. They seem to be the most "basic" of the card sets--the closest thing to the ol' 792 card sets of our youth.

However, the Series 1 cards come in two separate types of packs: hobby packs and flow packs. Hobby packs are the easiest to find. Each pack (10 cards) comes in at a whopping $3--a lot different from the $0.40 per pack that 1987 Topps went for. Not to mention that there are about 104 different subsets and special cards that you can find in the Hobby packs. I think that you can even pull a card with a piece of A-Rod's jock strap built into it.

The flow packs are the way to go. The packs come in at 7 cards and a piece of gum for about $1-$1.25. Better, though, is that they only come with the basic cards--you cannot pull any of the special subset cards from the flow packs. Sure, I might miss out on a one-in-a-million gold leaf Daisuke Matsuzaka "Elite" card, but really, with all of the special cards out there, haven't these lost all meaning?

The worst part about the flow packs is finding them. You can buy them by the box online, but the shipping charges make them even more expensive than the Hobby packs. The only local store where I've found them so far is Dick's Sporting Goods, and they only had a few packs on the shelf. According to the guys and gals on the Topps Message Boards, though, that the packs "repeat" themselves, leaving you with tons of doubles and lots of holes in your collection.

So, I've bought a few packs and I'm off to a pretty good start. I'm short on Indians players (I've got Wedge, Barfield, Byrd, and a Sizemore ALDS card), but I've got some other big names. I think that I should be able to put together a complete set of the 330 Series 1 cards by June without dropping a ton of cash. I suppose I could have waited until August and bought a complete set for a fraction of what I am paying for trying to collect the set, but what's the fun in that?

by J-Neg

Tribe Bats Wake Up to Split Series

It is amazing what one game can do to revitalize your enthusiasm for a baseball team. Thursday's game was a polar opposite of Wednesday, reassuring the notion that the season is a marathon and not a sprint. The Tribe was aggressive from the first pitch, loading the bases in the first. Fausto Carmona threw 30 pitches in the top of the inning but was able to escape unscathed. Everyone in the lineup was able to knock out a hit which was probably the first time that happened all year. Going to a game in mid-April when the temperature stayed in the 60's while sitting behind the Indians dugout also helps as well. Don't get me wrong, this team is far from even playing satisfactory, but for one night the stars aligned above Progressive Field.

Here were some of the highlights:

Fausto Carmona: 6 2/3 innings, 7 hits 1 walk 1 earned run. Took the role of Cliff Lee in stopping the third 3 game losing streak. Battled through some high pitch count innings to come through huge. May be materializing as the Tribe's true ace.

Jamey Carroll: 2-4 2 runs 2 rbi's 1 triple. Played a great game, really adding a spark off the bench, is on base percentage on the season is over .500.

Ryan Garko: 10 game hitting streak, has been the most consistent hitter on the team so far this

season.

Jason Michaels: 2-3, 3RBI's (today), threw out Gary Sheffield at the plate. First time he has appeared on this list, deserves his just due.

Today's lineup: Everyone had a hit, played together with fire and purpose.

Areas of Concern:

CC Sabathia: 4 innings, 8 hits, 5 walks, 9 earned runs. Has pitched terribly all year, has not been able to hit the corners. May be tipping his pitches.

Asdrubal "slow as a" Cabrera: 0-3, 2K's. Looks overmatched at the plate. Carroll may be sneaking himself into the lineup more often.

Jensen Lewis: 1/3 innings, 2 Walks. Has been inconsistent all year, needs to step up his game for this depleted bullpen.

Jhonny Peralta: 1-8, the roller coaster season with Jhonny continues at bat and in the field. Needs to develop into a solid five spot.

Homestand Record: 2-5. Not acceptable at any point in the season, even during a slump. Hopefully the lowest point of the season is now over.

The Indians look to inch closer to the .500 mark as they take on the Minnesota Twins. Cliff Lee takes on Francisco Liriano tomorrow night.

5-9

The Cleveland Indians were swept by the Boston Red Sox, losing 5-3. Typically I have been writing recaps of the series as a whole, but the same problems have been happening each game. The hitting looks lethargic, the bullpen looks terrible, and the team overall looks dead. I know the Tribe brass will say it is only 14 games but they look uninspired as a team. Franklin Gutierrez had a bad game, booting a ball in right as well as getting picked off of second base with no outs. Michaelucci is chugging along looking unimpressive, Casey Blake cannot find his stroke, and Asdrubal Cabrera looks over-matched. Wedge seems to have no clue how to pitch his current relief staff. Jorge Julio has generally been the first guy out of the pen during bad starts, but today was the first time he pitched with a lead. Jorge promptly walked the first two batters and was yanked. Perez looked ok, but Lewis struggled through both innings. And to add insult to injury, the Tigers could leave Cleveland with a better record than the Indians.

Here were some of the highlights:

Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook pitched well in wasted efforts. Victor Martinez continued to mash, going 6-8 with 3 RBI's. That is it.

Areas of Concern:

Clutch hitting, bullpen, defense, special teams, 3rd line, 8 iron, back-up point guard, you name it they pretty much suck right now.

The Wahoo Warriors attempt to prevent having the worst record in baseball as they take on the Detroit Tigers for two. Armando Galarraga takes on CC Sabathia tonight at 7:05pm. At least the Chief is still smiling.

Tribe's Bats, Bullpen Cost Byrd a Victory

special to the TTO

Unlike his two previous starts of the season, Paul Byrd pitched well enough to get the W tonight.

Byrd gave up one unearned run--thanks to a bobbled ball in right by Franklin Guitierrez and a late, low throw from Cabrera to Garko while attempting to turn an inning-ending double play--over 6 innings tonight against the defending world champs. But the Tribe's failure to protect a lead late, as well as their failure to make the most of their offensive chances, cost the Byrd Man the victory.

Just like last night, the bullpen faltered late and gave up the lead. This time it was Jensen Lewis's turn to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by giving up a pinch hit homerun to 576 year-old Jason Varitek.

Don't get me wrong--I'm a big Lewis fan. I think he's really got the stuff to be a go-to guy in the 'pen this year. But he was in trouble in the 8th, with the bases loaded, 1 out, and the score tied at 3, until he got a fantastic play from Cabrera to turn an inning-ending DP. Yet Wedge didn't even have anyone else warming up for the 9th.

At least, we're spared Joe Blow for at least 15 days and perhaps as long as a month. He's on the DL with a strained triceps. He's actually lucky I couldn't jump through my TV screen, otherwise he'd be on the 60-day DL with a broken tailbone from me kicking him in the ass for that 82 mph fastball he threw Ramirez last night.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Indians brass has been keeping this injury on the down low since sometime in Spring Training. Way to go, Shapiro & Co--Borowski walks a fine line between success and failure as it is, yet you kept him out there even though he wasn't at 100%. Brilliant.

You've got to be happy with the starting pitching and long relief as of late. Byrd's 6 IP and zero earned runs are a dramatic departure from his first couple of starts of the season. Jake Westbrook looked great last night on a tough night to pitch and Cliff Lee was nearly perfect on Sunday--even after CC crapped the bed on Friday and Fausto's meltdown on Saturday night, the bullpen pulled together several good innings to give the bats a chance to get them back in the game.

We've got to hope that warmer weather will bring hotter bats. You can't expect to complete when you've got three guys in the starting lineup--four if you count BOTH halves of the Michaels/Dellucci dynamic duo--hitting right around $1.25. I don't have the official production numbers for the season on our 3rd basemen (Blake/Marte) and left fielders (Michaels/Dellucci), but I'd be willing to bet that even with all of their BAs added together, they're barely hitting .400. Combine that with Cabrera and Guitierrez, and that's almost half of our lineup that's not hitting.

And that's not going to get the job done.

For years in the 1990s, we had all the hitting in the world, but we just didn't have good enough starting pitching to get the job done. Now, with the best starting rotation Cleveland has seen since 1954, we're not holding leads or scoring enough runs to win games.

What a waste.

by J-Neg

Borowski Placed on DL, Mastny Recalled

As speculated earlier, Joe Borowski has been placed on the disabled list with a strained right triceps muscle. Tom Mastny has been recalled from Triple A Buffalo. Unless Borowski is able to rehab the injury, the Indians will be in search of new closer. Rafael Betancourt is probably going to fill in the roll, but don't be surprised if we see Adam Miller in the near future. Even though Joe has been pitching horrendous, this does make the bullpen a bit depleted as everyone must move up a spot. Rafael Perez needs to step up and fill Betancourts' former roll.

Hopefully the next move will be to get Ben Francisco up here and move Michaelucci out of here. The last 3 hitters went 0-11 yesterday and this offense needs a spark.

Last Meltdown for JoeBo?

The Indians may be a team without a closer. Joe Borowski was clocked at 82 MPH and by listening to his post game interview, he seems to have no answers. JoeBo said that he feels great pitching some days, but others he feels like he is pitching through water. Borowski must have felt like he was pitching at the bottom of Lake Erie tonight. I would have to believe he will be put on the disabled list before he pitches in the closers' roll again. Borowski will not be cut, due the respect the Indians front office has for him. Manager Eric Wedge stated that he will talk to Joe on Tuesday in regards to how he feels. Kobayashi, Julio, Lewis, Betancourt, and eventually Adam Miller all seem to be the internal candidates for the immediate future.

The game was lost unfortunately in the fifth due to our closer situation and Jake Westbrook's pitch count. The Cleveland Indians had just taken a 4-1 lead and loaded the bases with one out. Julian Tavarez came in to struck out Ryan Garko. The same Julian Tavarez who enjoyed these. The real sad part of this game was having to pinch hit for Jason Michaels in the 5th inning! Wedge's move right there sums up the state of the Indians Left Field platoon. Shockingly, Dellucci came up and struck out as well. He later played an important defensive role out in left, looking slow and showing no arm.

Most Tribe fans knew it was over in the 9th. The minute David Ortiz dropped in a single to left in front of Dellucci, we all had that sinking feeling the game was lost. Manny Ramirez may decide to hire Joe Borowski as his batting practice thrower for the Homerun Derby because he deposited an 82MPH fastball deep into the bleachers. It resembled a coed-softball league pitch.

The Indians look to avoid being 4 games under .500 with Paul Byrd facing Tim Wakefield. This matchup may produce a beer league-type score. With Betancourt pitching the last two games and JoeBo potentially done, who knows who may close today.

Mediocre Monday

Losing the last three series's has been frustrating. The Cleveland Indians have been struggling since game three, not doing anything particularly well. It took Cliff "the stopper" Lee to end a second consecutive 3 game losing streak. Yesterday's game was the first since the second game of the season that the Tribe actually had a lead in the early innings. Stringing a few wins in a row at home would go a long way in providing momentum to a lackluster ballclub. The good news is at least they aren't playing as bad as the Tigers.

Here were some of the highlights:

Cliff Lee: 8 innings, 1 earned run, 2 hits, 8K's. Clifford pounded the strike zone consistently, broke lots of bats, came up huge again when the Tribe needed him. Had No-hitter type stuff.

Ryan Garko: 4-10 2RBI's, 2BB's. Has been on base every game this season, consistently produced solid numbers, has a .325 batting average.

Grady Sizemore: 4-12 4RBI's. 2 hits with runners in scoring position yesterday, made an unbelievable catch on Friday. Is the catalyst in the Indians order.

Jamey Carroll: 1-1 2BB's 1HBP, 3 runs scored. Played a great game, plays solid defense, adds a spark. Huge upgrade over Mike Rouse.

David Dellucci: 3-9, 2 runs, 4 RBI's. Seems to have a solid stroke going. I imagine he will be taking time away from this guy.

Areas of Concern:

CC Sabathia: 3 1/3 innings, 12 hits, 2 BB's 9 earned runs. Pitched really bad, didn't go to his fastball when he needed it, too many 2 strike change-ups. The talk of him worrying about his contract is absurd. Even if CC pitched terribly this year someone will give him a huge contract due to him being young, left-handed, and a Cy Young under his large belt. CC just needs to start blowing people away again or the Tribe will be in trouble.

Fausto Carmona: 3 1/3 innings, 2 hits. 3 earned runs, 8 WALKS. Fausto may have been overthrowing a bit, trying to prove his new contract. It is not like the A's put the ball in play much. Carmona may struggle more against patient hitting teams like the A's and Red Sox.

Casey Blake: 0-8. batting .143 on the season. Is just not looking good at all at the plate or in the field.

Victor Martinez: 1-11. Tough series for Victor, may still be experiencing tightness due to the cold weather.

Andy Marte: 0-2. He just is not very good. Looked clueless striking out with the bases loaded.

The Indians try to get a 2 game winning streak going tonight against the Red Sox. Jon Lester takes on Jake Westbrook.

Tales from the Teepee Volume 4: Jack Morris

Veteran Right-Hander Jack Morris was supposed to be one of the key off-season acquisitions for the Cleveland Indians in 1994. A 5-time All-Star and 4-time World Series Champion, he was brought in to provide veteran leadership along with Dennis Martinez and Eddie Murray. Morris posted a solid mustache and a solid 10-6 record, but yielded a hefty 5.40 era. A fiery competitor, he once told a female reporter in the locker room, "I don't talk to women when I'm naked, unless they're on top of me or I'm on top of them." Jack must not have liked his teammates too much either, as he often left the team during his one season with the Indians. Between starts he would fly back to his farm in Montana to tend to his wheat crops. His seed growin' led to his subsequent release on August 9th, a week before a baseball players' strike would end the season and cancel the 1994 World Series. Morris retired in 1995, but will always be remembered by Tribe fans as "Jack Morris pitched for the Indians? Really?"

Joe Borowski Update

Words cannot possibly describe how funny this ad is.

Fausto Carmona signs 7 year deal

Paul Hoynes is reporting that Fausto Carmona has signed a 7 year deal with options for the 2012-2014 seasons. This locks up the young right-hander until his 31st birthday. The Tribe tends to lock up their core young players most of the time to eliminate the arbitration years. Also, the signing allows Fausto to make more money in the years before arbitration. He has started off masterfully this year, throwing 13 innings while only giving up 1 earned run. An excellent move by Shapiro and company, this locks up a future ace for years to come.

Westcoast Unkind

Sporadic hitting, shaky defense and a shoddy bullpen were aplenty during the Tribe's series loss to the Angels. Exiting California with a 2-4 road record is not good, but it could have been worse. The Indians never had command of any game in either series, winning on a bases-loaded walk and a two out top of the ninth homerun. The good news is they have only played 1/18th of their season and are 3 games up on the Tigers. Hopefully some home cooking will help wake up the bats and CC can get back to being CC.

Here were some of the highlights:

Jake Westbrook: Complete Game win giving up 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 4. What a gutsy performance, made one mistake to Vlad, shut the door in the ninth. Got the win when the Tribe really needed one.

Jhonny Peralta: 5-9 2 doubles, 2 homeruns, 3 rbi in two games! Played a little shaky defense but showed discipline in going to right field Monday. Desperately need him to find consistency for the lineup to produce any type of solid output.

David Dellucci: 3-6 2 doubles 3 runs scored. He was on base 5 times in two games. Amazing to see his name here, but hit well today. Should be our 4th outfielder to "spell" Gutierrez and Francisco. Hopefully Shapiro can trade Michaels and let Dellucci take on that role, a role he is more suited for.

Victor Martinez: 3-9 1 double. Having Victor back in the lineup makes the team considerably stronger. Had issues throwing runners out Monday, is a major key and the catalyst of this team in 2008. Looked to be taking it easy on the bases. Great to see him back.

Areas of Concern:

Joe Borowski: Blew a save by giving up a grand slam. His fastball is topping out at 85 mph, which is like throwing batting practice to major league hitters. I see a DL stint in his near future if he strings together a few of these implosions.

Grady Sizemore: 3-13, 5 K's. Looks to be trying to take walks instead of trying to drive the ball. He took some pretty good pitches for called strike threes.

Franklin Gutierrez: 1-8 3K's. He seems completely out of whack at the plate, wish he had options so if this continues on he is not glued to the bench. His spring training success seems forgotten.

Jason Michaels: 0-8. Can't get a bunt down, seems to be an albatross in the lineup. Good 4th outfielder who should never get consistent at bats, as proven after July 31st of last year. Needs to be moved on to another team since he has some tradeability.

Paul Byrd: Gave up 3 homeruns (one a grand slam) 6 runs in 3 innings. Needs to find his command or the Indians may have a 7 million dollar long reliever.

The Wahoos look to rebound at home this weekend as the take on the Athletics. Friday's matchup is a good one, pitting Joe Blanton against CC Sabathia.

Awful in Anaheim

Last nights' game was a microcosm of what can go wrong in baseball. When a team can't field consistently, or string together consecutive hits, they typically lose. The Cleveland Indians mustered one run and committed two errors (Garko missed a foul ball too,) through eight innings. But they were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

The team coasted through until the ninth, when an apparent victory was ripe for the taking. Hafner led off with a walk, Cabrera pinch ran, and then victor took the first pitch of Frankie Rodriguez down the right field line for a double. Dellucci then came in to pinch run for Victor, a postition where it is difficult for him to strike out in. Jhonny Peralta followed by stroking a double to right field. He then tried to take 3rd on an overthrow by Vladamir Guerrero, but was beaten to the unoccupied bag by K-Rod. This was a bigger out than most think, as the Indians were able to load the bases later in the inning. Skinner was yelling at Jhonny to run, but Jhonny hesitated. He is not the fleetest of foot. The baserunning blunder added to a long list of bad plays for the Tribe. Sizemore struck out by taking two close strikes with one out and the bases loaded, and Brett Michaels did what he does, grounded weakly to second base.

The ninth was a disaster. JoBo opened up a gas tank and decided to spray the contents all over the field, loading the bases with one out. My Cleveland upbringing told me the game was over. As Torii Hunter's bat went sailing into the air, I kept thinking back to the top of the ninth when the Tribe left the bases full. It is a bad omen when you root for you team to have a four run lead in the ninth so your gas can of a closer won't come in to fire 75 MPH curveballs down the middle of the plate.

The Indians didn't deserve to win last night, but they did show resilience. For 8 innings they looked terrible, but still put themselves in the position to win. Would Joe Borowski be able to pitch the 7th and 8th innings with a 5 era? Will Michaelucci be replaced soon after batting a combined .040 (1-25)? Probably not but Shapiro and Wedge will stick with "the plan" for the time being.

The Indians look to bounce back with Jake Westbrook facing Ervin Santana.

Tribe Barely Avoids Sweep

Pitching saved the Cleveland Indians from being swept this past weekend, and this is how Casey Blake celebrated today's 2-1 win. The Tribe batted a crisp .204 for the series, played spotty defense, and really only pitched well in one game. Teams go through hitting slumps from time to time as the Indians did in 2007, but it is extremely annoying to watch. The Lineup has a fever, but I don't believe the prescription was batting Dellucci, Michaels, Marte and Shoppach in a row. Manager Eric Wedge does believe in his veterans, so we may be stuck with Michaelucci for the month of April. Taking two out of three from the Angels will salvage a .500 road trip, which wouldn't be terrible, since the Detroit Tigers have been struggling mightily. Victor Martinez is expected to be back behind the dish tomorrow, so hopefully he will give the team a much needed boost. Here were some of the highlights:

Ryan Garko: Went 4-10, slugged a homerun and had the game winning walk today. Looking very solid in the field as well.

Grady Sizemore: 4-11 2 walks, one of the few Indians hitters who look comfortable at bat.

Cliff Lee: 6 2/3 innings, 4 K's, pitched a great game when the Tribe needed it, spotted his fastball and mixed in some off speed stuff as well. Looked confident as bailed his team out.

Craig Breslow: 2 innings, no runs. Solid debut for second lefty out of the pen.

Joe Borowski: Gave up just a walk in his save today, slowed the fans collective pulse down considerably.

Areas of Concern

The Collective Lineup: Struggled together, strung 2 hits together only once the whole series in the 7th inning today, need to find some slump busters in Anaheim.

Michaels/Dellucci: 1-11 look terrible at the plate, can't wait to look back in September and laugh that they were our starting left fielders. My friend Jon refers to Michaels as the Rock of Love.

CC Sabathia: 5 1/3 innings 4 earned runs, only 2 K's. Needs get back to finishing off batters on 2 strike counts. Seems to be overthrowing a bit.

Franklin Gutierrez: 0-9, 3 K's, hit the ball hard a few times, needs to be consistent on the road. Played a tremendous right field on Friday night.

Jhonny Peralta: 3-12, got 2 hits today, showed questionable range and made a few errors. Was cold but not an excuse, needs to keep his head in the game.

Fausto Carmona takes on Joe Saunders tomorrow night in Anaheim.