Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

76
Cleveland Indians' pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Tomlin have ups and downs in 6-5 loss to Angels
Published: Thursday, March 08, 2012, 5:31 PM Updated: Thursday, March 08, 2012, 6:24 PM
By Bud Shaw, The Plain Dealer

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Ubaldo Jimenez finished better than he started. Josh Tomlin started better than he finished.

Meanwhile, the Indians rallied from a 6-0 deficit at Goodyear Ballpark but lost 6-5 in front of 3,469 fans who saw Albert Pujols in the uniform of the L.A. Angels of Anaheim.

Jimenez, who will pitch No. 2 in the rotation behind Opening Day starter Justin Masterson, threw 31 pitches and allowed two runs in the first inning. One Angels run scored on a wild-pitch.

Jimenez was much more efficient in the second inning, retiring the side in order on eight pitches. The first-inning pitch count, though, cost him a chance to go his scheduled three innings.

Tomlin replaced Jimenez and breezed through the Angels' third but allowed three runs in the fourth inning on four consecutive hits. Tomlin retired Pujols on grounders to short in his first two innings but allowed another run in the fifth on two more hits. Overall, he allowed six hits and four runs in three innings.

The Indians rallied in the fifth on a two-run single by Ezequiel Carrera and a sacrifice fly by Shin-Soo Choo. They added two runs in the sixth on a home run by Jose Lopez, who hit 25 home runs and drove in 96 runs in 2009 for Seattle.

Tony Sipp pitched a scoreless sixth. Jeanmar Gomez , a candidate for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, pitched out of trouble in the seventh and eighth innings to keep the Angels from adding to their lead.

Lefthander Chris Seddon pitched a scoreless ninth for the Tribe, picking an Angels' runner off first base.

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

77
Uneven pitching performances vs. Angels: Cleveland Indians chatter
Published: Thursday, March 08, 2012, 7:52 PM Updated: Thursday, March 08, 2012, 8:01 PM
By Bud Shaw, The Plain Dealer

Score: Angels 6, Indians 5.
Spring training record: 2-3-1
Attendance: 3,469 at Goodyear Ballpark.

For starters: Uneven performances all around for No. 2 starter Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez, a candidate for the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Gomez was the only one to get away without allowing runs, but he had to pitch out of trouble in the seventh and eighth innings.

Answering the call: Left-handers Tony Sipp and Chris Seddon provided relief. Sipp pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out two. Seddon, who pitched out of the bullpen in 14 games for Seattle last year, threw a scoreless ninth.

Left-field race: Shelley Duncan got the start and hit cleanup, going 0-for-3. Ryan Spilborghs replaced him and struck out twice. Aaron Cunningham, who started in right field Thursday, singled in two at-bats.

Rally cry: The Indians trailed, 6-0, before coming back to within 6-5. They had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth. But Angels' pitcher Ryan Brasier struck out Spilborghs and Russ Canzler to end the threat. Canzler, the International League MVP last year at Durham (Tampa Bay), can play a couple different positions but in this camp is getting a look mostly at first base.

The other Albert: The Indians got their first look at Albert Pujols in an Angels' uniform. The former St. Louis Cardinals slugger went 0-for-2 with a walk.

Third base race: Lonnie Chisenhall got the start. He walked and struck out in two plate appearances. He dropped a high pop in foul territory but wasn't charged with an error.

Utility men: Jose Lopez, who had 25 home runs and 96 RBI for Seattle in 2009, replaced Chisenhall at third base and hit a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 6-5. Jason Donald went 1-for-2 with a double.

Center stage: Ezequiel Carrera started in center and struck out twice. But his fifth-inning single in the fifth brought home two runs. Shin-Soo Choo followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3.

Next up: Right-hander Derek Lowe gets the start at Milwaukee today against left-hander Randy Wolf.

-- Bud Shaw

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

78
Jimenez stumbles for second time
by SHELDON OCKER on MARCH 8, 2012 - 6:51 PM


GOODYEAR, Ariz.: Ubaldo Jimenez failed to complete his assigned three innings this afternoon, as the Indians lost to the Angels 6-5 at Goodyear Ballpark.

Throwing 31 pitches (only 15 strikes) in the first inning, Jimenez gave up two runs, two hits, two walks and heaved a wild pitch before retiring the side in order in the second, throwing eight pitches.

“”In the first inning, my fastball was moving way too much,” he said. “”I just didn’t have good control. When I threw the ball low, it was too low, it was sinking way down.”

In his first outing of the spring last Sunday, Jimenez gave up five runs (four unearned because of an error), five hits and a walk in one inning, his pitch count forcing him to forgo the second inning,

“”It’s the same thing for just about every power pitcher in his second outing,” manager Manny Acta said. “”It takes them a little longer to command their fastball.”

Josh Tomlin also struggled, giving up four runs on six hits (two doubles) in three innings.

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

82
Yep! What Sea said!

As all know, I have a strong fondness for the fundamentals of this game.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

83
In my opinion, it's the manner in which teams win or lose that counts. Execution! Execution! Execution!
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

84
How's this manner of winning or losing:

Tribe trails 10-0 after 6. Now make it 11-0 in the bottom of the 7th. Brewers have outhit 'em 13-1.

Hafner and Kipnis leading the offense with 2 K each. Christian Guzman with the only hit. Can't locate the pitching lines, fortunately. We know that Jiminez, Tomlin and Gomez didnt' work. Maybe Masterson? Huff? Slowey?

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

85
Tribe rallies, loses only 12-2.

Lowe was the ineffective starter. Various other ineffective pitchers, none of them essential, although Wheeler and Hagadone seemed like leading options for the bullpen.

Code: Select all

CLEVELAND (2) AT MILWAUKEE (12)

 CLEVELAND        AB  R  H BI  MILWAUKEE        AB  R  H BI
 M Brantley cf     2  0  0  0  C Gomez cf        2  1  1  0 
 F Pie cf          1  0  1  0  N Aoki cf         2  1  1  1 
 J Kipnis 2b       3  0  0  0  N Morgan rf       3  1  1  1 
 C Phelps 2b       1  0  0  0  C Gindl rf        2  0  1  0 
 C Santana c       3  0  0  0  R Braun lf        2  0  0  0 
 M Hernandez c     1  0  0  0  L Schafer lf      2  0  2  1 
 T Hafner dh       3  0  0  0  T Ishikawa dh     3  2  2  1 
 N Weglarz ph-dh   0  1  0  0  M Rivera c        1  0  0  0 
 A Cunningham lf   3  0  0  0  M Gamel 1b        3  1  1  2 
 T Neal lf         1  0  0  0  T Green 1b        2  0  0  0 
 C Kotchman 1b     3  0  0  0  B Conrad 2b       3  2  2  2 
 M LaPorta 1b      0  1  0  0  E Farris 2b       1  0  0  0 
 C Guzman ss       3  0  1  0  J Lucroy c        4  2  3  2 
 J Diaz ss         1  0  0  0  A Rivas p         0  0  0  0 
 J Hannahan 3b     3  0  0  0  Z Braddock p      0  0  0  0 
 A LaRoche 3b      1  0  1  2  Z Wheeler 3b      4  1  1  0 
 R Spilborghs rf   0  0  0  0  C Izturis ss      2  0  1  2 
 C Huffman rf      2  0  0  0  J Bianchi pr-ss   1  1  0  0 
                               R Wolf p          0  0  0  0 
                               J Perez p         0  0  0  0 
                               F Rodriguez p     0  0  0  0 
                               M Parra p         0  0  0  0 
 TOTALS           31  2  3  2  TOTALS           37 12 16 12

 CLEVELAND                 000 000 002 --  2
 MILWAUKEE                 021 232 11x -- 12

 E--C Izturis. DP--CLEVELAND 1. LOB--CLEVELAND 7, 
 MILWAUKEE 5. 2B--L Schafer 2, J Lucroy, T 
 Ishikawa, F Pie, A LaRoche. 3B--C Izturis. HR--B 
 Conrad 1 (1) (off D Wheeler), J Lucroy 1 (1) (off 
 Z McAllister), M Gamel 1 (2) (off C Ray), N Morgan
 1 (1) (off C Ray). SB--C Gomez 1 (2), B Conrad 1 
 (1). CS--C Gomez. SF--C Izturis.
                                   IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
  CLEVELAND
 D Lowe (L,0-1)                     3   4   3   3   3   0   0
 D Wheeler                          1   2   2   2   0   1   1
 C Ray                              1   3   3   3   0   1   2
 Z McAllister                       2   4   3   3   0   2   1
 N Hagadone                         1   3   1   1   0   1   0
  MILWAUKEE
 R Wolf (W,1-0)                 2 2-3   0   0   0   2   2   0
 J Perez                        1 1-3   0   0   0   0   1   0
 F Rodriguez                        1   0   0   0   1   2   0
 M Parra                            2   1   0   0   0   3   0
 A Rivas                            1   1   0   0   0   1   0
 Z Braddock                         1   1   2   2   2   0   0

 WP--D Wheeler, D Lowe. SO--CLE: J Kipnis 2, T 
 Hafner 2, C Phelps, C Santana, C Kotchman, C 
 Guzman, M Brantley. MIL: T Ishikawa, C Gomez, T 
 Green, C Gindl, R Braun. BB--CLE: R Spilborghs 2, 
 N Weglarz, M Brantley, M LaPorta. MIL: T Ishikawa,
 R Braun, C Gomez. T--2:47. A--4,508.

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

86
The big bats pound out 3 more hits today.

Pretty windy today in the valley. Brewers must have batted when the wind was blowing out. Tribe was against the wind.

Pitching staff put on a fine display. I hope there was some spagetti with the meatballs they were serving up.

Hey, it's only Spring Training.

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

87
Cleveland Indians see everything go wrong in 12-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers
Published: Friday, March 09, 2012, 5:31 PM Updated: Friday, March 09, 2012, 5:55 PM
By Bud Shaw, The Plain Dealer

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Well, at least they weren't no-hit. And they did manage to avoid getting shut out.
That's about the only saving grace for the Indians on a day they lost 12-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park.

Indians' starter Derek Lowe allowed three runs in three innings. He walked three, threw a wild pitch and allowed two stolen bases. And then it got worse.

Milwaukee hit four home runs, two of them off righthander Chris Ray who gave up three hits and three runs in a single inning of work.

No Indians pitcher got away unscathed.

Righthanded reliever Dan Wheeler allowed two runs on a home run and double. Zach McAllister, a longshot candidate for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, allowed a single, double and triple in the sixth, then gave up a solo home run in the seventh.

Lefty Nick Hagadone pitched the ninth, allowing a run on two singles and a double -- all to lefthanded hitters.

The Indians didn't manage a hit until the seventh when Christian Guzman singled with two out. Felix Pie also singled in the eighth. The Tribe finally scored with two out in the ninth inning on a double by Andy LaRoche.

Milwaukee outhit the Indians, 16-3.

Opening Day starter Justin Masterson makes his second start of spring training Saturday in Goodyear against the San Diego Padres and righthander Dustin Moseley.

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

88
Tribe pitchers have a rough day against Brewers: Cleveland Indians chatter
Published: Friday, March 09, 2012, 7:31 PM Updated: Friday, March 09, 2012, 7:38 PM
By Bud Shaw, The Plain Dealer

Score: Brewers 12, Indians 2, at Maryvale Baseball Park.
Spring training record: 2-4-1
Attendance: 4,508.

For starters: Derek Lowe, who will either work as the No. 3 or No. 4 starter this season, allowed four hits and three runs in three innings. Lowe walked three and threw a wild pitch.
Zach McAllister, a long shot for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, also gave up three runs on four hits.

Answering the call: Make that "not answering the call." Milwaukee pounded out 16 hits, including four home runs. The Brewers beat up the Indians' bullpen, victimizing Dan Wheeler (two hits, two runs, a home run), Chris Ray (three hits, three runs, two home runs) and Nick Hagadone (three hits, one run).

Left-field race: Aaron Cunningham got the start and reached base once on an error. Ryan Spilborghs, who started in right field Friday, walked twice. Felix Pie subbed for Michael Brantley in center and had one of the Indians' three hits.

Familiar faces: Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta, the centerpieces of the CC Sabathia trade to Milwaukee, renewed old acquaintances. Brantley started in center and went 0-for-2. LaPorta walked in his only plate appearance after replacing Casey Kotchman at first base.

No no-no: Shortstop Christian Guzman broke up a no-hitter with a two-out single in the seventh.

Rallying cry (sort of): The Indians didn't score until they had two outs in the ninth.

Third-base race: Jack Hannahan got the start and went 0-for-3.

Utility update: Andy LaRoche delivered the only runs of the game for the Tribe with a two-run double.

Next up: Opening Day starter Justin Masterson starts in Goodyear Saturday against the San Diego Padres today at 4:05.

Re: SPRING TRAINING 2012!

89
I didn't last for the whole radio cast, but my one take away was the Gomez kid from Milwaukee practice laying down a bunt attempt in the early innings, and then attempting two steals to get his timing down for the real season.

On a good note, our Carlos Santana obliterated him on one attempt, with Carlos throwing a hard strike to second from his knees that had the Milwaukee announcers saying "Wow!."