Ex-Indians take aim at the current Tribe roster when the Twins visit Progressive Field tonight.
View full sizeFormer Indian Carl Pavano, who is on the hill tonight for Minnesota, has owned the Tribe since being traded to the Twins last year.And now? Well, here come the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. First up on the mound for 'em? Ex-Indian Carl Pavano.
Uh-oh.
Here's how cbssports.com tells it:
(Carl Pavano is) 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA in four starts against the Indians (57-83), winning 7-2 at Progressive Field on Aug. 7 - a year to the day after Cleveland traded him to Minnesota.
"He's been huge," manager Ron Gardenhire told the Twins' official website after Pavano held the Indians to two hits over seven innings. "I think a lot of our guys are learning from him. He's not afraid to speak his mind in the clubhouse, which is good. He knows how we like to play and he expects the best out of his teammates."
Minnesota hopes to have another former Indian available Friday. Jim Thome was a late scratch Wednesday due to an abdominal strain, and he's considered day to day.
Thome had four homers in his past three games, hitting the 586th of his career Tuesday to tie him for eighth all-time with Frank Robinson.
The slugger is batting .474 (9 for 19) with four homers and nine RBIs in his last seven games in Cleveland.
At this stage, the 57-83 Indians are probably glad Rocky Colavito's playing days are over ... and Colavito might be considering a comeback.
A bright spot
All is not lost in Tribeland. Well, yes it is, for this year. But if 2010 was all about auditioning the kids in the system, it's been a successful one. Catcher Carlos Santana is going to be a star. Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta have shown flashes of what they could be. And what could be most important in this game where "good pitching will beat good hitting every time," Chris Perez has emerged as a potential star.
Here's how letsgotribe.com states the case:
You can hardly be any better than Chris Perez is right now. In a banner year for pitchers, Perez's 1.91 ERA is, perhaps, overstating his case a little bit. It's "only" 15th among relievers. Still, bear in mind that Chris Perez is only 24 years old, a pitcher still developing. His progress has been evident this season and manifests in his season statistics. Since participating in the bullpen explosion in New York on May 31 (hey, all the other kids were doing it!), Perez has posted a 1.17 ERA, gone 14/15 on save attempts, struck out a batter per inning, and held batters to a .506 OPS. On the season, Perez has a 206 ERA+, the best for a regularly used Indians pitcher since the brothers Raffy both went nuts in 2007. The young fireballer has exclusively used his plus fastball (94.5 mph on average) and effective slider (83.3 mph) to great enough effect that he could be traded for ten Mark DeRosas at this point. This is, as far as I can tell, the most clear cut "win" for the Indians in a trade since (Shin-Soo) Choo or (Asdrubal) Cabrera.
The starting pitching has been decent this year, if not stellar. Hitting and defense are where the Tribe has fallen short. If those faults can be fixed -- or at least alleviated -- the 2011 season could be competitive, at least.
From The Plain Dealer
Writer Dennis Manoloff talks about one of those ex-Indians -- Jim Thome -- who will be in town tonight with the Minnesota Twins. Dman goes into great detail about Thome's career, including the fact that 334 of his 586 career home runs were hit while wearing an Indians uniform.