Don't Call It A Comeback

Ok, go ahead, because it really was one hell of a comeback.  I am not ashamed to admit that I fell asleep round about the time that Joe Smith sent the M's down in the 7th.  I'm not particularly pleased about it, but neither am I ashamed.  Fortunately, I like to sleep with the TV on, so when I woke about 7 hours later, I was able to enjoy the wonder of a Chris Perez 9th.  Yes, I am well aware that a huge part of bullpen consistency lies in clearly defining the roles to the individual pitchers, but how does it outweigh sticking with a closer whose WHIP is over 2 and has walked more than he has struck out?  It's not as if these are new issues.  In 2011, CP ranked the 5th worst in WHIP (1.21) of the 19 relivers who saved more than 30 games and dead last in K/BB (1.50).  That last bit might be explained by his #18 rank in strike% at 61.  Maybe I'm just a touch angry about how Perez singled handedly ruined my Opening Day, but perhaps Vinnie Pestano is a better option.  Over the past two seasons, Pestano's numbers (1.02 WHIP, 3.83 K/BB, 65% strikes) are indisputably better than the man that Manny Acta refuses to displace.  In fact, Perez needs to send a fruit basket and a thank you note to John Jaso.  There is no way Chris escapes the 9th unless Jaso allows the moment to get the better of him and pop out on the 7th consecutive ball that Perez had thrown.

So that sucks.  Let's talk about something good: Welcome Nick Hagadone!  Not only has the big left hander arrived in the bigs for what will likely be the last time, but the Washington native looked damn good in his 2012 debut.  After a walk and an error (we'll talk about Jack in a second) gave Seattle runners at 1st and 2nd with nobody out in the 5th, Hagadone buckled down and fanned back-to-back hitters to get out of trouble.  Most impressive was how Nick did so on two completely different pitches.  Brendan Ryan failed to catch up to a 94 MPH heater at his eyes and Jaso flailed meekly at an 82 MPH slider away.  While Raffy Perez did his job in the 6th, both he and Tony Sipp will have to pitch without incident for the next 6 days to keep their respective jobs in the Mafia.

Oh, right, Asdrubal Cabrera is not currently with the team.  He has been placed on the Bereavement List due to a death in his family and will not rejoin the team until it returns home on the 24th.

I am in no way worried about Jack Hannahan's defense.  Although it does feel odd to refer to him by only his legal name (sort of like a parent scolding a child), I have every confidence that Jack's defense will progress back to the norm.  Despite the fact that he has 4 errors (of the Indians' 7) in the early going, 2 of those have come at short (by which I mean with the shift on) and the ball yesterday had perhaps the most bizare spin that I have ever seen on a shot to the hot corner.  It may sound as if I'm making excuses for Captain Jack, but the ability to play defense does not just disappear.  Consider: (a) despite the E5's Jack's rTot is just -2, a number that will easily climb back into the black & (b) about 18 years ago (in fact, exactly 2 days more than that) I was in attendance as Omar Vizquel made 3 errors against the Royals.  Shit happens.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I did not know where Johnny Damon (who took BP and fly balls in Goodyear) would play when he joins the Indians.  One thing that should not happen is for Shelley Duncan to lose any PT.  Duncan leads the Tribe with an 1.106 OPS and leads the American League with 10 walks and a .514 OBP.  He has also played solid D and posted a +1 rTot.

Just how bad was Justin Masterson's start last night?  8 is the highest number of earned runs he has allowed since July 30, 2010, the 3 and 2/3 his shortest start since August 14, 2009 (excepting a September 2010 start just before he moved to the 'open in which he allowed no runs).  The only ray of sunshine is that the team is hitting and Bat might not have carry as much of the load as we imagined.

Lastly, have you noticed that Carlos Santana looks just a smidge more restrained as a left handed batter this season?  Well, he's not.  Big Smooth's K/BB ratio against right handed pitching is 2.33 in 2012 versus 1.68 a year ago and his OBP is down from .315 to .292.  Still, his OPS is a robust .911, up nearly 200 points over 2011 (.736), and he straight yoked his 3-run bomb yesterday.  Better than any of that?  That the lone chick in the Indians cap coming away with the ball.  Nice.

I'll try to stay awake tonight.

Cheers.