Indians Series “Preview”
By Wally Fish
The Cleveland Indians are 25-34 on the year and are in last place in the AL Central. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games, 12-14 at home and 13-20 on the road.
The Kansas City Royals are 24-32, in 4th place in the AL Central, and 6.5 games back of the division-leading Detroit Tigers. They are 1-9 in their last 10 games, 15-15 at home and 9-17 on the road.
Team Rankings:
Indians
Pitching
Royals
5.23
28th
ERA
4.31
15th
243
29th
BB
192
t-9th
377
21st
SO
386
18th
1.53
29th
WHIP
1.41
t-18th
317
28th
Runs Allowed
264
t-14th
Indians
Hitting
Royals
.269
t-10th
BA
.246
27th
.352
t-5th
OBP
.314
t-28th
.426
8th
SLG
.394
23rd
64
t-8th
HR
46
23rd
35
t-13
SB
28
25th
230
7th
BB
170
27th
465
27th
SO
376
14th
308
3rd
Runs
222
28th
Indians
Fielding
Royals
.985
t-12th
FP
.982
t-21st
.6964
24th
DER
.6913
t-27th
33
t-13th
E
37
t-21st
The Pitching Matchups:
6/9 RHP-Brian Bannister (4-3, 4.97) vs. LHP-Cliff Lee (3-6, 2.96)
6/10 RHP-Gil Meche (2-5, 4.08) vs. RHP-Carl Pavano (6-4, 4.63)
6/11 RHP-Zack Greinke (8-2, 1.55) vs. LHP-Jeremy Sowers (1-3, 5.40)
Thoughts:
Well, the Royals have already split the first two games by the time I am finishing this up. The Royals are hitting .347 (25/72) thus far in the series. It is hard to say if the offense is finally starting to wake up, or the Indians pitching is so bad that KC can’t help but hit well. I’m inclined to think it has more to do with the Indians pitching than the Royals offense, but it would be near impossible for the offense to stay as bad as it has been the last several weeks.
A positive sign from the series is that last night and tonight David DeJesus was atop the Royals lineup. Last night Coco wasn’t in the lineup, but tonight he is. Maybe Trey has come to the proper conclusion that DJ should bat leadoff and Coco should be the number 2 hitter, or maybe Trey’s random lineup juggling has resulted in what I want to see. I guess we will find out next series if he has finally figured out.
In other lineup related news, Callaspo is hitting 5th tonight, Brayan Pena is the DH again, and the left side of the infield consists of Willie Bloomquist at 3B and TPJ at SS. Anyone still believe the Royals are going to compete this year? Trey’s options are severly limited right now, but I’d like to see Guillen in the DH slot with Maier in RF when Greinke is pitching. I don’t know how much more offense B. Pena gives the Royals over Maier, but it isn’t enough to offset the defense they lose with Guillen playing RF over pretty much anyone else on the roster.
DeJesus just collected his 2nd hit of the night to drive in the Royals 1st run of the game. DJ is now 4-8 the last 2 nights hitting leadoff. I hope Trey realizes that it’s not just a coincidence.
In the next few days, look for more coverage of the Royals draft selections as well as the preview for the Reds series and the new and improved weekly edition of Pitching Perspectives.