joez - what's your take on Bourn now?

That's the Masterson we want to see more of.

Masterson has looked good for a few starts in a row.


Peter Gammons ‏@pgammo 1h

That Justin Masterson has crept up by 3 MPH to 92.9(touching 95) last night good sign for free agency, or possible deadline deal

And after the lousy first three innings, Masterson turned masterful.

I was very surprised that Shaw came in a 3rd straight night. And not surprised he wasn't sharp.
Allen had Sunday off and was sharp in finishing the game with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Bourn is in a zone right now. He's a streaky player. If he keeps this up through the all-star break, I'll say he's starting to earn his keep. I still can't see giving Bourn top dollar though. Bourn, Swisher, and Santana are making a lot of money for being average to a little above average ballplayers. Hopefully Swisher and Santana can repeat Bourn's efforts when they get back from the DL.

Indians jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first.

And after the lousy first three innings, Masterson turned masterful.

I was very surprised that Shaw came in a 3rd straight night. And not surprised he wasn't sharp.
Allen had Sunday off and was sharp in finishing the game with a 1-2-3 ninth.

I totally agree. With Masterson cruising and barely over 100 pitches, I would have let him go 1 more inning then straight to Cody.

Instead he used a burned out Shaw who got taken deep. No reason to remove their horse Masterson in that situation IMO.

Santana and Swisher = addition by subtraction???

Is Axford nursing an injury, seems he has not been used as much as he could have.

Carrasco has been getting plenty of nap time, too. He has had 8 days rest.
Axford with 1 inning worked in the past 10 days.
Tito is relying too much on the "top tier". I understand why but it's having adverse consequences.

Rzep did not do his job yesterday, nor did Atchison. Bullpen is getting much less dependable. Overuse?

So......if the hot streak continues, who do you dump in favor of Santana? Got some good chemistry going on right now. Dump Aviles?? He's been riding pretty high during this win streak. Chisenhall?? The man with the .364 batting average?? David Murphy?? He's only hitting .320 in his last 10 games. Yan Gomes is only hitting .250 in his last 10 games (average is 100 points higher than Santana. I hate to break up a good thing.

I would guess Giambi will suffer another injury as soon as Santana comes off the DL...

Pitching has been winning most of the games.

I would guess Giambi will suffer another injury as soon as Santana comes off the DL...

Probably not until Swisher, unfortunately, returns. Kotteras can be DFAd again for Santana.

I suppose Chis will go back to DHing when Swisher returns but it could distort the batting order. Is there any timetable on Swisher's return? Don't hear anyone regretting his absence.

I stayed up through 11 innings. I couldn't make it any longer. Too bad. Just one more inning. Well, I hope Francona sticks with the current lineup cards. The players are starting to put "fun" back into baseball. If Santana has to play, he should not bat any higher than 8th until he can prove he can hit again. Same with Swisher. I hope Francona does not bat any of the guys higher than 7th. If they prove they can hit again, then juggle the lineup. It will be tough to mess with the lineup at this point in time.

The win was the sixth in a row for Cleveland (30-30), which last had a .500 record on April 24, when the team was 11-11. The victory also helped the Indians pull to within 3 1/2 games of the first-place Tigers in the American League Central, after the Tribe sat 10 1/2 games back of Detroit on May 18.

This is a shock to me. I was hoping for the team to pull within 5 games by the all star break. This is a very pleasant surprise.

"I know Mujica," Cabrera said. "I know what kind of pitcher he is and what he likes to throw. He threw what I was looking for, and I hit it pretty good. ... I think we're playing really good games right now. This week here at home, we won all six games. That's a good start for getting back [on track]."

12 of 15 teams in the AL have between 27 to 31 wins so far this year. Only Oakland has more.

10 of 15 teams in the NL have between 27 to 31 wins so far this year.