Apparently, while I was gone, the Indians managed to somehow take two of three from the Angels and not have the bullpen completely implode once.  The bullpen did, however, completely implode during the last two games of the Baltimore series, both losses, stopping the Tribe’s win streak at 5.

In other news, Matt LaPorta got beaned at the Olympics in what was clearly a dangerously bad display of sportsmanship by the Chinese team.  Apparently he has a mild concussion.  There’s no word on how available he will be for the rest of the games.

Pronk has not only taken batting practice, but appeared in Buffalo last night, helping the Bisons win by going 2 for 3 with a double.  Pronk talks after the game (video file).

The Browns got pummeled by the Giants last night.  The score is deceiving.  If the starters had been left in, it might have finished something like 52-10.  After taking a 30-3 lead, the Giants were on cruise control.  I thought the brown pants actually looked pretty good, but we might want to mothball them based on their inauspicious debut.  Derek Anderson’s concussion in the preseason is troubling, as is the just plain awful performance turned in by the defense, featuring penalty after penalty.  We should start calling the secondary the Charcoal Crew because they were burned so often.

• Game 1: Welcome aboard Anthony Reyes.  Reyes went 6.1 and Jensen Lewis closed a 5-2 win in the first game in Toronto.  After his gaffe in Terror at the Trop, Garko got some good bench time.
• Game 2: Age and Treachery v2.0 pitches a complete game and the Indians beat Roy Halladay.  Really.  I swear I am not making this up.  You doubt me, don’t you.  Go here, then, and see for yourself. Ryan Garko was let out of the doghouse and went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI.
• Game 3: Cliff Lee vs Scott Richmond.  Cliff Lee gets #16 as the Tribe rolls 4-0.  Broom time.  Garko’s good behavior continues - 2 for 4 with a RBI.
• Game 4: Back home to face the O’s.  Tribe pulls out to a 7-4 lead behind Fausto Carmona.  Fausto walks a few in the 7th.  In comes Eddie Moo.  Out goes lead.  Most of the runs, alas for my fantasy teams, are credited to Fausto.  However, Baltimore’s bullpen appears to be worse than ours, and the Indians score 3 in the 7th and another 3 in the 8th to put it away.  Final score is 13-8.
• Game 5: I’m sensing a pattern emerging.  Starter leaves, bullpen blows lead, Indians come back.   This time it’s Jeremy Sowers who pitches pretty well and leaves in the 7th with a lead, which Masa Kobayashi promptly comes in and blows, allowing Baltimore to tie the game before Rafael Perez is called in to put out the fire.  However, the new look resilient Indians scored 2 in the 8th and new closer Jensen Lewis recorded his second save for a 7-5 victory. 
• Since the Terror at the Trop, Ryan Garko is 7 for 15 with 6 RBI.  This is the Ryan Garko we expected at the beginning of the season.

Tonight its reclamation project Anthony Reyes versus our former castoff, Baltimore reclamation project and cause celebre for Shapiro haters, Jeremy Guthrie, as the Tribe tries to extend the win streak to 6.

Oh - we’re now in 4th place, a half game ahead of the Royals.  Right now, the kids are all right.

What Eric Wedge Must See When He Spins the Bullpen Wheel of Fortune

• Saving money - Byrd was due about $2 million over the remainder of the season to pitch meaningless games.  That money can now be spent next year.
• Blocking younger players - The Indians now have a rotation spot in which to evaluate more of their young pitching talent.  Most likely we will see either Zach Jackson (acquired in the Sabathia deal) or Aaron Laffey in that spot beginning tomorrow.
• Gives Byrd one more opportunity to be in a pennant race.  Byrd signed with the Indians, apparently over higher valued offers to pitch elsewhere, because he felt that the Indians had the best opportunity to contend.  Now that the Indians are playing out the schedule, giving Byrd the opportunity to pitch meaningful games down the stretch for another team (even the evil FEDBU-Lite) is the right thing to do for a good-hearted guy like Byrd.

• The Indians split 4 with the Motor City Kitties, who are looking increasingly dysfunctional and in danger of being passed by the KC Royals for third place in the division.  Among the highlights of the series:
  • Kelly Shoppach had 5 extra-base hits, including a game-tying home run in the 9th, and the Indians still lost Game 3 14-12 in 13 innings. The Indians had many chances to win the game, and the bullpen had many opportunities not to blow several leads.
  • Age and Treachery v 2.0 with his new look noon-windmill windup shut out the Kitties in Game 1.
  • Matt Ginter looked like Matt Ginter, losing Game 2
  • Fausto looked more like Fausto in winning Game 4
• The Non-waiver Trading Deadline passed and the Indians made no more moves.  Manny is now being Manny in LA for the Dodgers, though and it is only a matter of time until we hear Chris Berman refer to Jason “Back” Bay, as he is now a member of FEDBU-Lite.
• The Tribesmen lost 2 of 3 to the Twinkies in the Abomination Dome.  The executive summary
  • Sowers was perfect through five in Game 1 - then he lost.  Once again, the Indians were befuddled by Nick Blackburn for no good reason.
  • Age and Treachery v 2.0 pwned the Twinkies in Game 2.  David Dellucci starts to look like he’d like out before the August deadline, falling a triple short of the cycle.
  • Matt Ginter looked like Matt Ginter and Francisco Liriano looked like Francisco Liriano in Game 3.  Twinkies 6, Indians 2
• The Indians managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory to lose 2 of 3 to the Rays in St. Petersburg.  The executive summary:
  • Game 1 looked like the continuation of everything that went wrong for the Rays in the Tribe’s 4 game sweep in Cleveland.  Cliff Lee continued his season of excellence and David Dellucci and the Beaded One both homered.
  • Game 2: The Devil Rays find their mojo, with a little help from yet another home plate umpire squeezing Fausto Carmona, who walked 5 in 4 innings.  Andy Marte singled to end an 0 for 20 slide.
• Game 3 deserves its own bullet point:  Perhaps the weirdest game so far this season (and folks, that is really saying something).  Among the noteworthy events: 
  • Franklin Gutierrez, leading off and playing centerfield while Grady got the day off, led off the game with a home run. 
  • Jhonny Peralta had 5 hits. 
  • Ryan Garko failed to run out a groundball (in fact, failing to leave the batter’s box) and was pulled from the DH spot in favor of Andy Marte, who got hits in his first two at bats. 
  • In the fifth inning, Eddie Mujica was called to warm up in the bullpen.  He tripped on the mound and fell flat on his face.  (Foreshadowing - your key to quality literature.) 
  • The Beaded One injured himself entering the field of play (I am not making this up) in the sixth inning.  This required Andy Gonzalez to move from first base to third base and Jamey Carroll to go to second base.  Why not insert Marte at third base?  He’s now the DH, so inserting him into the field would mean the Tribe loses the DH and the pitchers would be required to hit.  So, who goes to first base?  Our Pal Sal, of course, who moves from catcher to first base with Kelly Shoppach put in to catch.  
  • Meanwhile, the Indians have managed to enter the ninth inning with a 7-4 lead, and when Eric Wedge spun the Bullpen Roulette Wheel of Fortune, the little ball plunked into Eddie Mujica’s slot.  Eddie Moo, given his first opportunity to close out a game, promptly repeats his earlier bullpen effort by giving up two doubles and then a tying home run to Gabe Gross (yes, Gabe Gross).  Tie game.
  • Eric Wedge is forced to once again spin the Bullpen Roulette Wheel of Fortune, and this time it came up Kobayashi.  The first batter, Iwamura, was awarded an infield single by the first base umpire who claimed that Kobayashi failed to touch first base after fielding a toss from emergency interim first baseman Sal Fasono on a weak chopper to first base.  Kobayashi then walked Ben Zobrist and surrendered a three-run game-winning bomb to Carlos Pena.
  • Ninth inning summary: 6 batters, 6 runs, No outs, 15 pitches.
  • Luckily, the team has an off-day to dwell on this amazing collapse.
• Free Andy Marte Update: Marte finished July with a  .224 / .278 / .403  line, impacted by the aforementioned 0 for 20 slide.  His August start: .167 /.211 / .278.  Ouch. 
• Some transactions of note:  After Wednesday’s Terror at the Trop, Matt Ginter is now headed for the DL with an “injury”, Anthony Reyes was summoned to Cleveland after his second straight outstanding start for Buffalo.  Brendan Donnelly, the Goggled One, has also been called up in an attempt to find out whether financing his rehab was worth it and to add another name to the Bullpen Roulette Wheel of Fortune.  He takes over Tom Mastny’s slot on the Wheel, as Mastny was returned once again to Buffalo.
• The Indians Dome of Horrors Tour continues with three games in Toronto beginning tomorrow, when we throw Anthony Reyes into the fire.
• FWIW, the Terror at the Trop finally pushed the Indians into a run deficit position on the season.  They have scored 527 and given up 529 runs, for an expected record of 56-57.  The Indians’ actual record is 49-64, an underperformance of their Pythagorean Record by 7 full games.

Condolences to Pronk from Pronk Needs You! and Indians fans and baseball fans everywhere.

Friday

Instead of beating Livan Hernandez like a rented mule, the Indians allowed him to impersonate Houdini, escaping for 8 innings despite giving up 5 runs in the first 2 innings.  Cliff Lee left with a 5-2 lead, handing the game over to Kobayashi in the 9th, who did everything he could to give the game back to the Twins, surrendering 2 runs and leaving the tying run on second base without getting an out.  Rafael Perez was called on, and with some sterling defensive help from Ryan Garko, who snared a sinking liner in a drawn-in infield, he managed to get 3 heart-pounding outs and save a 5-4 victory.

Saturday: 

Fausto Carmona was welcomed back from the DL by the Twins in rude fashion, surrendering 6 runs in the first inning, capped by a Brian Buscher 3-run homer, and 9 runs overall in 2.1 innings as the Tribe fell 11-4.  Andy Marte homered and walked.

Sunday:

Jeremy Sowers pitched 8 innings of excellent baseball, giving up 2 runs in 8 innings and leaving with the game tied at 2.  If not for the heroics of Denard Span, making an improbable catch of a David Dellucci line drive in deep left-centerfield, he would have left with at least a 3-2 lead and a chance at victory instead of a no-decision.

However, Dellucci also factored into Rafael Perez’ meltdown in the bottom of the 9th.  Noodle Arm was playing deep and shaded to left center in the No Doubles Defense, when with Rafael Perez on to pitch and one out, Alexi Casilla blooped a high pop down the left field line that (surprise, surprise!) fell in just in front of the Noodle and bounced into the stands for a ground rule double.  

The rest of the inning devolved into farce.  After Mike Redmond struck out, the Indians chose to pitch to Justin Morneau.  Perez grooved one, and Morneau hit a line drive about the same place as Dellucci hit one in the 8th inning.  The problem with this was that Grady Sizemore was sitting on the Indians bench, watching, because he was the Indians’ DH.  Franklin Gutierrez, where was he?  He was sitting on the bench as well, perhaps next to Grady, as he had been lifted for David Dellucci in the 8th inning.  Who was chasing down this prodigious clout?  Ben Francisco was approaching from one side and Noodle Arm David Dellucci was approaching from the other.  Of course, neither one was capable of running this ball down, and when the smoke cleared, Justin Morneau was standing on second base and Casilla had scored the go-ahead run.  There are those who might ask why Perez pitched to Morneau with a base open and two outs.  That would be a good question, and, alas, one I cannot answer.  To add insult to injury, Delmon Young was intentionally walked and then Jason Kubel hit a soft line drive up the middle that just scooted by a diving Beaded One that scored Morneau, giving the Twins an insurmountable 2-run lead.  Joe Nathan came on in the bottom of the inning and did what a real closer does.

Let’s run down the checklist:

• No Doubles defense gives up double that leads to winning run?  Check.
• Bullpen implosion after a tremendous performance by starting pitcher?  Check
• Headscratching managerial moves?  Check
• The Twinkies continue to be one of the damn-luckiest teams in MLB?  Check

Just another typical day at the ballpark, crimestoppers, 2008 style.

Oh, and Andy Marte got another hit, raising his season line to .192 / .243 / .308   and his July line to .265 / .321 / .490.

Rick from Waiting For Next Year has asked why, in my Midseason Mojo Update I gave Marte two Elvi and gave no Elvi to Gutierrez, Garko and Dellucci. Let’s look at how each of these folks has performed at the plate since July 1:

• Dellucci: .229 / .231 / .354
• Garko: .208 / .208 / .358
• Gutierrez: .174 / .191 / .370
• Marte: .265 / .321 / .490

I ask you, folks, which of these lines represents someone with some mojo right now and which of these lines represents someone without enough mojo to successfully transact the cash purchase of bratwurst from a street vendor?

At one time Reyes was supposed to be the next big thing with the Cardinals but he’s had difficulty living up to expectations there.  This seems like a change of scenery move, one that clears a spot in Saint Louis for Chris Carpenter to come back from rehabbing after TJ surgery.  More later as details become known. 

Initial reaction - can’t have too many arms, can you?

Additional roster moves update (5:43 p.m.)

• To make room for Fausto Carmona, Aaron Laffey has been sent down to Buffalo.
• To take Casey Blake’s roster spot, Andy Gonzalez has been brought up from Buffalo.
• Travis Hafner is now on the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Reyes, who apparently report to Buffalo.

• Carlos Santana is a 22-year-old catcher who has been beating the high A California League like a rented mule, with a line of .323 / .431 / /563 with 14 home runs and a staggering 88 runs and 96 RBI through 99 games.  He’s hit 14 home runs.  Apparently, according to those who know, he has always been a solid defensive prospect, so his explosion this year with the bat has kicked his prospect status up a notch.
• Jon Meloan is a 23-year-old pitcher, currently in AAA that has had significant success as a reliever, but whom the Dodgers have been trying to turn into a starter.  Last year, he had a cup of coffee with the Dodgers.  Most likely, the Indians put him back into a reliever spot at Buffalo, perhaps to groom as a late-inning guy.  Baseball America had him rated as the #8 prospect of the Dodgers before the season.

This looks like a really impressive haul for a 35-year-old rent-a-player, even one having as impressive a season as Casey Blake with RISP.  Most likely, Blake will get to butcher third base for the Dodgers, giving Torre the type of veteran player he seems to prefer for the stretch run, and putting Blake DeWitt and Andy LaRoche back on the bench.

Andy Marte is now the starting third baseman, most likely to be spelled by Jamey Carroll and perhaps even on occasion by Jhonny Peralta.  It also means we will be seeing more of Ryan Garko at first base, at least until Victor Martinez is ready to come back.

In other baseball mover, it appears that the FEDBU have traded for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, bolstering their pen for the stretch run and getting an outfielder to replace Hideki Matsui, who is down with knee problems.  I’ve seen two different packages going to the Pirates in return, but both have Jose Tabata and Will Ohlendorf in them.

Here are some places that Pronk’s Mojo may be lurking.

• Tampa Bay: Really, is there any other explanation for their performance so far this year?  Well, I suppose you could talk about the years of high draft picks they’ve been piling up finally paying off, but I think that’s a cop out.  They have to be receiving help from Pronk’s Mojo.
• Greg Norman: Wow, quite a performance at the British Open for an old guy.  And to land Chris Evert as well!  He’s always had mojo to spare, but I think Pronk’s Mojo may have helped.
• Josh Hamilton: Pronk’s Mojo was truly with him during the Home Run Derby.  Boo to you, Justin Morneau, for being the piranha at the party and spoiling all the good work of Pronk’s Mojo.
• Rafael Nadal: I believe that it was Pronk’s Mojo that finally put him over the top at Wimbledon earlier this month.
• Dara Torres: She’s 41, she made the Olympic swim team - she’s definitely being aided by Pronk’s Mojo.
• The Spanish Men’s National Soccer Team - it had been 44 years without a major title before they won Euro 2008 over the mighty Germans.  The reason - they had Pronk’s Mojo.  And spiffy red uniforms.
• With this woman
• With the people who finally caught this guy

Places Where Pronk’s Mojo Has Not Been:

• Cleveland
• With this guy
• Seattle - first they lose their basketball team, and then the Mariners play like crap.  At least they don’t have Bavasi to kick around anymore.
• With this guy
• A-Rod & Madonna