Whew!

...............

Axford throws the ball hard but so far his fastball shows little movement. Straight as an arrow for hitters to hit. To get away with that you need to be able to place the ball up- down, left-right. His walks show that he cannot do that. Callaway needs to work on his grip or teach him a cutter so he would get some movement, that might just make him a closer.

I almost forgot, Kudos to Francona for having the guts to take a closer out when he is burning we used to let them burn and crash.

Well loufla, Tito is doing more than that


John Axford - R - Indians

John Axford has been removed from the Indians' closer role.

Indians manager Terry Francona made that announcement on Saturday evening. Axford has an ugly 4.91 ERA and 1.77 WHIP in 14 2/3 innings this season, and will pitch in mid-relief until he can get back on track.

Francona said the Tribe will use a ninth-inning committee made up of Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Marc Rzepczynski, and Scott Atchison. Allen is probably the best guy to pick up in fantasy.

Pitching continues to be really good.

TWO big changes pay dividends right now. Nyjer Morgan and Josh Tomlin.

Shaw closes game. That's news!

On the Indians site they say Axford took some time to clear his mind by going to a museum. If I remember correctly he likes film also. Now if he only took an interest in developing a new grip perhaps we might have a really well rounded player.

...............

If the bullpen can benefit by simply swapping Shaw's and Axford's role, then no big deal.

That's what happened yesterday, as Cody stayed in his 8th inning role.

Lots of good depth in the bullpen. Chen Lee could move into the hold-a-lead corps, too, although Outman and Carrasco belong in the lets-not-get-too-much-farther-beyond department. Carlos has shown a nice ability in first couple bullpen outings of letting inherited runners score.

Where is Joel Skinner when you need him! How many runners have we had thrown out at the plate this year?

The TV announcers made a big deal about how Toronto's catcher was blocking the plate without the ball when Santana was thrown out. But the Indians didn't appeal.

From Bleacher Report write-up on the play:

"Francona came out to ask plate umpire Jordan Baker if Thole blocked the plate, but the umpires did not initiate a review. In that situation, only the umpires can ask for the play to be reviewed, while the manager can use a challenge to review the safe or out all.

Before the game, Francona was talking about MLB's plans to clarify the rules regarding home plate collisions and what catchers can and can't do when it comes to blocking the plate.

"I thought the ball was going to hit Carlos," said Francona. "I think Carlos was more having to dodge the bat than anything. I think the throw took Thole toward it there."

As for why he went to the plate to talk to Baker, Francona said, "I just wanted to make sure that he got it right. There's no reason to not ask."

While Francona talked to Baker, he got the high sign from his dugout that replays showed Santana was out.

"The bat was in the middle (of the baseline)," said Santana. "I couldn't try to slide inside or outside the line and do a slap tag because the bat was in the middle."

Asked if Thole gave him a path to the plate, Santana said, "Maybe yes, maybe no. Cabrera made a great throw. I tried to be safe. It was a big time in the game and a big play. Next time I'll try to do better."

Moot point if Francona would have pinch run with Jose Ramirez. Looks like everyone is having brain farts, even the manager. What better time to pinch run?? You have to tie the game before you can win it. If Francona won't use Ramirez in that situation, best send him to Columbus where he can get his playing time in.

Old second guesser Joe Z.......