A veteran speaks out and it works ... for the Chicago White Sox, who proceed to pummel the Indians, 7-2.
Justin Masterson has a potentially record-breaking streak going ... and he'd just as soon not see the mark: His 11 consecutive losses, counting the one Monday night against Chicago, are two away from tying the Tribe record.
Cleveland, Ohio -- What's the secret of – TIMING – comedy? Exactly.
The Indians' record is no joke, though. That's why there are more tears -- and jeers -- at Progressive Field than laughs and giggles.
And now, the Indians have run into the resurging White Sox, a team they handled earlier in the season. More accurately, the ONLY team they handled earlier in the season.
Veteran Chicago pitcher Jake Peavy, the National League Cy Young winner in 2007, gave his team a talkin' to, and they responded with a 7-2 win over the struggling Tribe on Monday night at Progressive Field.
Chicago Tribune reporter Mark Gonzales tells the tale:
"There ain't no ifs, ands or buts about it," Peavy said before the Sox cruised to their third win in their last four games. "(Cleveland) has a few injuries. We have to win this series. I'm not sugarcoating anything. Hey, we've got to play good baseball. We've got to beat teams that we feel like we should beat.
"That's not a knock against the Cleveland Indians. They're hurt right now, they're not playing their best baseball. If we want to be where we think we need to be, you have to win series."
The Sox (19-25) took a step forward while cutting their deficit to seven games behind American League Central leader Minnesota.
"I hope we're going in the right direction," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "We just got to keep winning games."Peavy intimated there is no better time for the Sox to start playing better and gaining ground.
"We're going to Tampa this weekend," he said. "You look at going into the best team in baseball and you try to go 2-2 and win the series here and you come off the road 4-3. We have a favorable schedule over the next month.
"We still believe in this team, and I'm happy to be in a situation where, from the owner to the general manager, they're going to try to win. There's not going to be, and Kenny reiterated it, 'Listen, we're not mailing it in; we're trying to get better.' I'm excited to be a part of that."
After this seven-game trip, the Sox open a nine-game homestand against Texas, Cleveland (currently without Grady Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera) and Detroit, followed by nine games against sub-.500 teams -- the Cubs, Pittsburgh and Washington.
"I'm hesitant to say we have a favorable schedule because big league ballclubs are big league ballclubs, and anything can happen on any given day," Peavy said. "But we feel like we can get going."
The White Sox definitely have the horses to get back into the hunt for the AL Central crown. And the Indians?
Hmm. OK, these 25 Indians walk into a ballpark . . . and fall down.
Not very funny, is it?
Oh, boyJustin Masterson pitched that masterpiece for the Tribe Monday night. His line? Four innings, five runs (all earned) and three wild pitches.
There is an up side, though: The spiel Tribe management spewed when Cleveland acquired him from Boston in the Victor Martinez trade makes great fertilizer. Farmers sell it by the wagonload.
Bob McDonald, writing for clevelandleader.com, put it in perspective:
Last year, Cleveland Indians management made a pretty big deal about the prospects they were given in the trades they had made. Many fans called them a salary dump. The Tribe front office then threw a bunch of stats out.
One of those prospects with tremendous upside, the Indians believed, was Justin Masterson, who they got in the Victor Martinez deal to Boston. With so many good pitchers in the Red Sox rotation, it was thought that Masterson, who was coming out of the bullpen at the time, would have been better served on a roster where he could get work in as a starter.
So, it was time to move on, and after a one-game stint in relief, Masterson was put in the starting rotation. His career as an Indian has been rather unspectacular. Sure, he picked up his first win on August 20th against the Angels. But he hasn't won since.
It's been 11 decisions later, and Masterson is still winless in 2010, most recently getting blasted by the Chicago White Sox. To be fair, his last opportunity to win a game against the Kansas City Royals was destroyed by the ever-reliable Indians bullpen.
But at this point, you have to wonder if either Masterson isn't ready for primetime or if the Tribe didn't do enough to make him ready. Wasn't new pitching coach Tim Belcher supposed to fix this? Or is Masterson the victim of the lack of offense that's dogged the Indians all season?
Masterson's 11 consecutive losses put him only two away from tying the team record, so at least we've got that to look forward to.
We can relateEven though their team is heating up right now, Chicago players are dealing with the trade talk sparked by being seven games out of first place a quarter of the way into the season.
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that six Pale Hose have now been mentioned as potential trade bait: Bobby Jenks, Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski, Mark Buehrle, Andruw Jones and J.J. Putz.
"Obviously, we know if we were eight games up we wouldn't be hearing these types of rumors about guys going anywhere," Putz said. "Basically it's just rumors, so I don't know how much there really is to look into. I think more in the offseason rumors are the ones that have more momentum behind them."
Not that some of these rumors with the Sox aren't building momentum.
One National League scout said Monday that there were more teams than just the Philadelphia Phillies interested in Sox relievers, as bullpen problems seem to be springing up all over baseball.
The point would seem moot for now, especially after general manager Ken Williams told the players last week in a team meeting that there were no plans to trade anyone.
At least not yet.
When did Larry Dolan buy the White Sox?
From The Plain DealerFor his game story about the 7-2 loss Monday night, venerable PD beat writer Paul Hoynes talked about Masterson's losing streak with manager Manny Acta.
When asked if Masterson would stay in the rotation, Acta said, "We'll see. When we make that decision, it won't be a knee-jerk reaction right after the game."
Aaron Laffey relieved Masterson and allowed one run on two hits in three innings. Asked if Laffey was a candidate to replace Masterson, Acta said "Anyone in an Indians uniform is an option. Does that narrow it down for you?"
Whoa, a bit testy there, eh?
In his Indians Insider column, Hoynesie actually found a few positives for the Tribe: Between them, relievers Tony Sipp and Chris Perez have 29 games without allowing an earned run. Oh, and catcher Lou Marson may be hitting a paltry .212, but he's thrown out 33.3 percent of the baserunners he's faced, Hoynesie said. That's good for No. 2 in the AL.