Pen fails after early Byrd removal

This loss falls squarely on the shoulders of Wedge. I swear the guy has no feel for his pitching staff. Byrd is cruising and has 78 pitches so he yanks him to bring in Julio who promptly walks 2. Enter Perez who gets into a groove after the hard luck bunt and 85 hop single. Perez also known as rubber arm who has been a starter throughout his career is only allowed to face 5 batters when he had great stuff! If Byrd pitches through the 7th like he should have and Perez pitches innings 8 and 9 since Betancourt wasnt available, then last night is a win.

Yes, hindsight is 20-20, but I thought at the time it was a bad decision by Wedge to remove Byrd after 78 pitches.

Ramon...couldn't agree with you more on this loss falling primarily onto Wedge. There was no reason whatsoever to replace Byrd at the top of the 7th. None! He was having a great outing. But once again, another great outing is wasted by our bullpen. Heck, it only took him 13 pitches in the 6th inning.

Especially since our pen is not what it should be, the starters should be used as long as they are able if they are having a good outing. At the end of the game, Byrd was ticked and was just hanging on the rail in the dugout for a few minutes after the game.

The pain for us Indians fans continues. It really looks like the Indians are tanking early. Because cheap__A$$ Dolan did not sign a closer, 3B, or LF in the offseason, the Indians may finish 4 or 5 in their division if this continues. Wedge has few strings to pull. I hope Borowski never returns. 5-9 is no way to start a new season when we are all thinking WS Championship after their playoff run last year. Sitting on one's hands was the wrong thing to do and it is now showing. I can only hope they turn it around.

GO TRIBE !!!

The loss sucked, but at least Byrd is coming around. Shame they pulled him early. I agree with Ramon. They should have had that one in the bag.

Old Man Grump April 16 wrote:

The pain for us Indians fans continues. It really looks like the Indians are tanking early. Because cheap__A$$ Dolan did not sign a closer, 3B, or LF in the offseason, the Indians may finish 4 or 5 in their division if this continues. Wedge has few strings to pull. I hope Borowski never returns. 5-9 is no way to start a new season when we are all thinking WS Championship after their playoff run last year. Sitting on one's hands was the wrong thing to do and it is now showing. I can only hope they turn it around.
GO TRIBE !!!

148 games to go. Quit bithing all day every day about the Indians. Shouldn't you be a Pirates fan since you love the Steelers so much you A$$ clown!!

John wrote:

Yes, hindsight is 20-20, but I thought at the time it was a bad decision by Wedge to remove Byrd after 78 pitches.

John,

It is not hindsight when Wedge clearly knew Betancourt was not available last night. I was screaming at the moment Wedge walked to the mound to grab Byrd. Let alone when he grabbed Perez! If I didn't know better one could think Wedge is on the take!

Old Man Grump April 16 wrote:

The pain for us Indians fans continues. It really looks like the Indians are tanking early. Because cheap__A$$ Dolan did not sign a closer, 3B, or LF in the offseason, the Indians may finish 4 or 5 in their division if this continues. Wedge has few strings to pull. I hope Borowski never returns. 5-9 is no way to start a new season when we are all thinking WS Championship after their playoff run last year. Sitting on one's hands was the wrong thing to do and it is now showing. I can only hope they turn it around.
GO TRIBE !!!

First of all, you are not a fan. You are a bandwagon riding idiot. Just like everyone else in Northeast Ohio is.

Secondly, last year, after 14 games, we were 7-7. Look how many we wound up winning last year. The season is only 2 weeks old.

It was nice to see Byrd pitch well last night. Wedge has been over managing his pitching staff for years. I don't think that's going to change any time soon.

Jack wrote:

<quoted text>
First of all, you are not a fan. You are a bandwagon riding idiot. Just like everyone else in Northeast Ohio is.
Secondly, last year, after 14 games, we were 7-7. Look how many we wound up winning last year. The season is only 2 weeks old.

I am a fan, and have been a fan for 50+ years back to the days of trader Lane & the old stadium. The problem is the Indians have disappointed forever in my lifetime. Even in '95 and '97 when they got to the WS, they disappointed. They had a real chance this year to shine by doing the right thing and didn't. That's what's so disappointing.

Good to see Byrd pitch well. Hope to see better play but I'm not optomistic.

Old Man Grump April 16 wrote:

The pain for us Indians fans continues. It really looks like the Indians are tanking early. Because cheap__A$$ Dolan did not sign a closer, 3B, or LF in the offseason, the Indians may finish 4 or 5 in their division if this continues. Wedge has few strings to pull. I hope Borowski never returns. 5-9 is no way to start a new season when we are all thinking WS Championship after their playoff run last year. Sitting on one's hands was the wrong thing to do and it is now showing. I can only hope they turn it around.
GO TRIBE !!!

Again, OMG, I ask you: Who should they have thrown millions at to close?? Tell us!

The bullpen is starting to look more like the one the Indians had in 2006 than the one they had last year. Bringing Mastny up from Buffalo basically added nothing at all. When he's at his best, he's shaky. An undependable bullpen and an everyday lineup lacking punch---what a terrific formula for long-term success. Not!

Garko Polo wrote:

<quoted text>
Again, OMG, I ask you: Who should they have thrown millions at to close?? Tell us!

The solution is already here - Betancourt or Kobyashi (who they did throw millions at). Shapiro and Wedge are to arrogant to admit they made several mistakes with this roster so the basement will be a familar location for this team. Mistakes include; joe blow, casey fake, anyone in left not named Ben Francisco, Peralta would be better served at third where his suspect range would be minimilized, Martinez to play more first and Shoppach to catch more making garko a platoon player, Cabrera to short and Barfield back at 2 makes the infield better by a lot. None of this will happen so the losing will continue - write it down.

Kbadm11 wrote:

<quoted text>
The solution is already here - Betancourt or Kobyashi (who they did throw millions at). Shapiro and Wedge are to arrogant to admit they made several mistakes with this roster so the basement will be a familar location for this team. Mistakes include; joe blow, casey fake, anyone in left not named Ben Francisco, Peralta would be better served at third where his suspect range would be minimilized, Martinez to play more first and Shoppach to catch more making garko a platoon player, Cabrera to short and Barfield back at 2 makes the infield better by a lot. None of this will happen so the losing will continue - write it down.

I, too, would like to see Blake and his errors eliminated from the lineup/team. I'll never understand Wedge's and the Press'(read S. Ocker) love affair with this guy. Unfortunately, I'm not sure Peralta's fragile psyche (intelligence level) could handle switching positions again. It IS where he started though.
Can anyone truly explain the logic of using J Mike as a PH? OK, I understand the righty-lefty matchup thing but the guy is hitting .103!! Come on!
Borowski peaked last year and earned the spot for this year. He has now failed and it's time to move on. Perez...what to say about this guy? He's not who he was last year, and does not do well with inherited runners. If he comes on in his own inning he's often OK. I wish he'd get his stuff together! Martinez was out there last night showing him the right arm slot to use, Carmona lost his arm slot over the weekend. Can Carl Willis get this under control, please?

14 games do not a season make, right now it s*cks watching this team play, I have a hard time getting excited about investing 3-4 hours per night of my time on them.

And as for Kobayashi, he's the only one on the team who seems to be having any fun out there. Do you see how giddy he gets everytime he finishes an inning. Eventually the team concept will sink in and he'll be up and trying to close.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team would benefit from chilling out a bit. Do we need Trot Nixon's pies again?

Garko Polo wrote:

<quoted text>
Again, OMG, I ask you: Who should they have thrown millions at to close?? Tell us!

Maybe because instead of 5-9 they would be 9-5 and in 1st place instead of 4 blown saves so far this season.

Someday I'll have the willpower to quit hopping on these message boards... someday.

As horribly as the Indians have been playing, they've been competitive in every game, their offense isnt even close to where it will be a month from now, and the bullpen is in shakeup mode. I would rather have the bumps in the road in April rather than June thru September, would you all agree?

The ship is not sinking, the sky is not falling and the Indians are not cruising... YET. Calm your fairweather a$$e$ down a notch, k?

Old Man Grump April 16 wrote:

<quoted text>Maybe because instead of 5-9 they would be 9-5 and in 1st place instead of 4 blown saves so far this season.

He said WHO, not why you f'in moron? WHO should they have signed as a closer?

Josh, your patience is commendable, but your fortune telling may need some adjustments. What is going to cause the Indians' offense to improve significantly in a month's time when there are four gigantic black holes in it? Also, what is going to cause the bullpen to improve when it is populated by several unknown (Kobayashi) or suspect (Mastny, Borowski, Lewis) performers? Optimism can be a good thing, but it should be based on something substantial. Please detail how you see the Indians turning things around.