MLB movers and shakers: Bats brewing in Milwaukee
By Ted Sevransky
Indians shake up the staff
The Cleveland Indians arrived in Boston for their series with the Red Sox sporting a truly ugly 6.49 ERA from their bullpen. The Tribe have seen more blown saves from their relievers (seven) than actual saves (six). Tuesday against Toronto, Cleveland’s bullpen was ripped for seven runs in the final three innings of an ugly home loss to the Blue Jays.
General Manager Mark Shapiro had seen enough following the debacle against the Blue Jays, making a series of roster moves to shake up the Indians pitching staff. Struggling starter Aaron Laffey got demoted to the bullpen. Struggling reliever Rafael Perez got sent down to Triple-A Columbus and reliever Matt Herges and starter Jeremy Sowers got called up.
Shapiro made it very clear that Cleveland will not stand pat as the last place team in the AL Central.
“We’ve reached a point right now where we’re going to make the moves that help us right our bullpen,” he told reporters.
Cleveland’s bullpen was perfect last night in Boston, as Laffey pitched three innings of scoreless baseball in relief of Carl Pavano to clinch the win.
Sowers went 4-9 with a 5.58 ERA for the Indians last year, but he’s been very good at Triple-A to open the 2009 campaign. In four starts with the Columbus Clippers, Sowers had a 2.25 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 24 innings of work. He got his first opportunity as Cleveland’s No. 5 starter against the Red Sox Thursday, coughing up seven runs on seven hits in five innings of work for a 13-3 loss.
Brew Crew Offense Keys Turnaround
Milwaukee scored nine runs last night in Cincinnati before Reds starter Bronson Arroyo could notch a single out in the second inning. This is nothing new for the Brew Crew, who went on to earn a 15-3 road victory. Milwaukee was awful for the first few weeks of the season, starting 4-9 thanks to a convergence of poor hitting, poor starting pitching and lousy bullpen work.
But since that 4-9 start, the Brewers have gone 12-3. Since the turnaround began back on April 22, Milwaukee ranks third in the majors in runs scored and second in home runs. The key has been significantly improved plate discipline that has resulted in an on-base percentage improvement of 23 points from last year, despite a batting average that hasn’t really improved at all.
Free agent busts in New York
The Yankees spent big bucks in the offseason, bringing in high priced veteran free agent talent like C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira. The moves were no surprise to long-time MLB observers, after the Bronx Bombers failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in 14 years in 2008. In addition, the Yankees were desperate to create some excitement and enthusiasm surrounding their new $1.5 billion stadium.
All three big free agent signings have been early-season disappointments. Sabathia has a 4.85 ERA, Burnett’s ERA stands at 5.26 and the duo have only three wins in a dozen starts between them. Teixeira is batting .209 with only 15 RBI. Wednesday Night, Teixeira delivered the game-tying, three-run double in the eighth inning. But Teixeira couldn’t come through when it counted most, unable to get the runner from third base home with one out in the tenth when he flied out to shallow right.
The high priced Yankees are now a sub-.500 team, mired in the midst of a four-game losing streak, matching their longest losing streak from last year. The Yanks will certainly get an offensive boost with the expected return of cleanup hitter Alex Rodriguez into the lineup this weekend.
But the biggest story for bettors has been the wind patterns at the new Yankees Stadium, making the short porch in right field even shorter. We’ve seen broken-bat pop ups to right turn into warning track fly balls, and everything hit with any degree of power seems to find the seats in right center field.
The Bronx Bombers are living up to their moniker for total bettors. We saw 36 home runs in the first ten games of the new stadium, a major league record. And those dingers came despite some nasty early season weather and a bevy of solid starting pitchers taking the hill. The Over is 8-3-1 in the first dozen games in this park, a trend worth following as the Yankees lineup gets their biggest bat back and the weather heats up in the Bronx.