Is a recovering Jake Westbrook more marketable, now?
Cleveland, Ohio -- Detroit is 3-7 over its last 10 games, and lost three games of its four-game series against Oakland. Clearly, they're having a bit of trouble hitting and scoring runs. 
Jake Westbrook, who starts for the Tribe tonight against the Tigers in Detroit, is getting closer to being the pitcher he was before Tommy John surgery.
That's the good news. The bad news is that even with that sub-par record, the Tigers are still in second place in the AL Central, 71/2 games ahead of the Indians in the standings.
Sigh.
Cleveland begins a three-game series in Comerica Park at 7:05 tonight.
There are two ways to look at tonight's game, too. One is optimistically, as starting pitcher Jake Westbrook is very nearly back to where he was before undergoing Tommy John surgery two years ago. A cbssports.com blog from writer Danny Knobler points out the promising part of Westbrook's ongoing recovery.
His numbers (2-3, 4.78 heading into Tuesday night's start against the Tigers) aren't overly impressive. But Indians people have seen steady improvement through each of his first 10 starts, to the point where they say Westbrook isn't far away from being the pitcher who won 15 games for Cleveland in both 2005 and 2006 after making the All-Star team in 2004.
"He's really close," pitching coach Tim Belcher said. "Physically, he's great. He's really good physically. It's just a matter of more consistent command. And what tells me that he's getting there is I see less frustration on his face each time out."
Doctors told Westbrook, as they tell any pitcher coming off surgery, that the consistent command will be the final thing to come back. For a pitcher like Westbrook, who lived on his sinker (his ground ball/fly ball ratio in 2006 was 1.63), command is crucial.
Of course, since this is the Indians, there has to be a down side, also covered in Knobler's piece:
The way Belcher sees it, by sometime around the All-Star break, Westbrook should be the pitcher he once was. And while Belcher won't say it, that likely means that by the end of July Westbrook will be pitching for someone else.
Indians people have been telling other teams that they're open to anything, that they'll listen to trade proposals on any of their players. They'd love to find someone to take Kerry Wood, could certainly trade Russell Branyan, and have another available starting pitcher in Fausto Carmona.
But Westbrook, in the final year of a contract that pays him $11 million this season, figures to get potential trade partners most interested. And the potential to rid themselves of even part of the $7 million or so they still owe Westbrook would obviously tempt a Cleveland team that has averaged just 14,304 fans a game in the 21 home dates since the home opener.
"That's just kind of one of those things," Westbrook said. "For me, I'm just happy to be pitching again, and I'm going to worry about pitching."
Strangely enough, when Westbrook is on the mound, Starting Blocks doesn't worry that much about pitching. But when Rafael Perez is . . . Carumba!
A welcome respite?Could the Tribe's trip to Comerica Park be a good thing? Sportingnews.com has some verbiage that indicates there could be some joy in our local Mudville tonight, tomorrow and Thursday.
After reaching a season-high seven games over .500 on May 20, the Tigers (26-24) have dropped seven of nine -- including three of four at home against Oakland this weekend.
Detroit has been inconsistent offensively over those nine games, scoring its only run in Sunday's 4-1 loss on Austin Jackson's pinch-hit infield single. The Tigers have scored 16 runs in their past two wins, highlighted by a 10-2 victory Saturday, and 17 in their last seven losses.
"We just aren't doing much offensively," manager Jim Leyland said. "We had the one pretty good game yesterday where we blew it open a little late, but no, we aren't doing much. That's an understatement."
That trend could change against the Indians (18-31), who have posted a 6.79 ERA while losing 11 of 14. They matched their season high for runs allowed twice while during a four-game road series with the New York Yankees this weekend.
At this rate, the Washington Generals, the Harlem Globetrotters' traveling foil, could end up with a higher winning percentage than the Indians.
Mr. Pettitte, Meet Mr. Victory (Mr. Again)The Wall Street Journal is one of those newspapers that clings to the use of courtesy titles. In a way, it's kind of quaint. But in another, perhaps better way, it makes the 11-2 thrashing the Indians took at the hands of the New York Yankees on Monday sound a smidge more civilized.
As teammates with the Yankees in 1996, Joe Girardi caught for Andy Pettitte, who was then in his second year with the team and a rising star who would win 21 games that season. Mr. Girardi now manages the team, and Mr. Pettitte, at age 37, is still pitching, though he continues to evolve, impress and sometimes even dominate.
After Mr. Pettitte led the Yankees to an 11-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Mr. Girardi was in a reflective mood. He said Mr. Pettitte has become a more complete pitcher at this late stage of his career, a lefthander capable of controlling both sides of the plate with his cutter and flummoxing hitters with two types of fastballs.
"He's just a lot different," Mr. Girardi said, "than when I caught him."
It was meant as a compliment, a testament to Mr. Pettitte's durability and willingness to change as he fends off the corrosive effects of time.
And while it might sound as if it borders on hyperbole, perhaps he has never pitched better than he has this season. He ran his record to 7-1 and lowered his earned-run average to 2.48 with seven sterling innings against the Indians, who managed just four hits and one run--a solo homer in the second inning--against Mr. Pettitte, who struck out five and walked none.
"I feel real comfortable with what I've been doing," he said.
The Yankees, who slugged a season-high 18 hits, blew open a close game with six runs in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by a grand slam from Alex Rodriguez after the Indians pitched around Mark Teixeira to load the bases. That proved to be an error in judgment.
Gee, ya think? Honestly, doesn't it sound to you like the story was written on an old typewriter in one of those clubs where all the members are men, and all are wearing silk smoking jackets and puffing on Meerschaum pipes?
Situational hittingAbout that decision to pitch to A-Rod vs. Teixeira: Plain Dealer baseball writer Paul Hoynes' game story had perhaps the quote of the day, and it came from the guy who served up that grand salami, Tribe reliever Chris Perez:
"I guess [Rodriguez] struggled a little coming into this series with guys on base," said Chris Perez. "I guess he's not struggling anymore."
In other, equally earth-shattering news, the sun rose in the east this morning, night followed day and toilet bowls in the Northern Hemisphere continued to flush in a clockwise direction.
More from The Plain DealerHoynesie's Indians Insider includes a conversation with pitcher Jensen Lewis, who is back with the big club for now after having begun the year in Columbus. And Lewis is talking up catching prospect Carlos Santana. Hoynesie also said David Huff, smashed on the noggin by a line drive off the bat of Alex Rodriguez on Saturday, did well in his bullpen session and likely will make his scheduled start on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the troubles the Tribe is enduring has columnist Terry Pluto talking to himself, looking for future fixes and at past mistakes.