Kipnis can be no worse than Valbuena , Kearns and Buck with the glove in the outfield.

Valbuenas' arm strength from the outfield makes Grady look like Clemente.

Time to get creative.

BTW- Masterson was still dominating when Manny pulled him.

You let him finish that inning and go in the ninth until someone reaches base.

Valbuena, playing the 'no doubles' defense in the ninth inning, was standing so deep he could have grabbed a beer from a vendor.

BTW- The 'Glue' had 2 horrid ABs tonight, one in the first inning and then with the bases juiced.

CP is averaging about 4.5 walks per 9 IPs.

Dangerous .

I wasn't watching the game when Masterson got taken out.

Was he hacked off?

BTW- Nothing is more by the book managing than pitch count dictating who is on the mound.

Pirates now have less losses than the Tribe.

Tribe lineup tonight looked like a casting call for another 'Major League' sequel.

BTW- Where's Belcher in the ninth?

Masterson was taken out after 104 pitches and 7 2/3. Sipp got the next guy, and Masterson hit the showers with a not too taxing on his arm night.

For a complete game Masterson would have been coming out in the 9th at likely a 110 or plus pitch count.


Acta had to believe in Chris Perez for the 9th. All of us would.


I don't have much problem with that as maybe Acta is thinking about playing ball into The Fall and preserving his dependable starters.

kenm wrote:What I dont understand is if you start throwing a bunch of balls and blow the game why do you have any right to go nuts in the dugout You just played like crap and wasted your starters exellent effort. Not a time to throw stuff in the dugout. What a crappy line up acta was running out there tonight. We blew this game in the 5th. Does santana ever get a hit?

Perez went nuts because his Won-Loss record reads a now not too pleasant for contract negotiations 2-5.


Despite his overall excellent work in 2011 to date.

He'll be pissed next time he pitches. I like that.


If I were him and facing his former room mate again, I'd back it down to 85 mph and hit him in the rump. But that's just me.

Orlando Cabrera will be clutch in October.

I didn't see the last few innings, but it does seem like Acta is perhaps a bit too rigid lately.

I also had exactly rocky's reaction to the lineup when I saw it at the start of the game. Sometimes, though, that's the kind of lineup you have to run out there, on a getaway day, or the night before a getaway day, or (for the current Tribe) against a lefty. But it is a shame that a win nonetheless was within grasp and it got away.

I disagree on Valbuena playing the ball as well as he could. For crying out loud, he was playing almost on the warning track.

Where the hell was Acta. Someone should have told Valbuena where to be.

And why couldn't Brantley play one frickin inning?

Indians closer Chris Perez gives up winning hit to college buddy Valencia, Tribe loses 2-1

Article by: JON KRAWCZYNSKI , Associated Press Updated: July 20, 2011 - 6:13 AM


MINNEAPOLIS - Chris Perez dreamed of this scenario many times while living with Danny Valencia at the University of Miami.

Bottom of the ninth. Bases loaded. Game on the line. Perez on the mound and Valencia in the box.

The outcome wasn't quite what he had in mind.

Valencia hit a two-run single off Perez in the ninth inning, sending the Minnesota Twins to a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

Perez's pitch on the inside corner broke Valencia's bat, but the third baseman had just enough on it to bloop it into left field, scoring Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer, and giving the Twins a much-needed bounceback victory.

"Of course," said Perez, who lived with Valencia for two years in college and has known him since they were 17-year-old high schoolers in South Florida. "At least I got the bat. You can't be too happy about that hit. He's happy because they won, but I'll take that swing every time. It just fell in there."

The Indians were looking to take an eight-game lead over the fourth-place Twins in the AL Central when Perez (2-5), the All-Star closer with 22 saves in 23 chances, took the mound.

But the right-hander was a little off from the start, walking Mauer with one out and giving up a bloop hit that Cuddyer stretched into a double. Jim Thome was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Valencia came to the plate for the long-awaited showdown.

"I thought I made some good pitches to Mauer," Perez said. "One of the four that he called balls, are strikes to 90 percent of the league. But that's baseball, too. So, I didn't make pitches when I needed to."

Valencia was in Perez's wedding, and said he was waiting for a slider.

"I'm sure he wants to throw a slider because he's always said that's what he's going to strike me out with," Valencia said. "Luckily enough he couldn't get ahead and he gave me a pitch I could hit good enough to get to the outfield and it fell in there."

It was huge emotional lift for Minnesota, which was swept in a day-night doubleheader to start the series on Monday.

"He's a guy who's been pretty much money for us since last year, especially in one-run situations," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "So, they just got to him with those couple of well-placed singles."

Cleveland fell into a tie with Detroit for the division lead. The Tigers rallied to beat Oakland 8-3 at Comerica Park.

Perez's night didn't figure to get any easier when he left the ballpark. He planned to spend the night at Valencia's place in Minneapolis.

"I will be tweeting a picture of me and him," Valencia said. "We're just going to be watching the highlight over and over again."

Perez figured he at least deserved something out of the deal.

"He's buying dinner," Perez said.