Morning Rundown: From Ewwwbaldo to U-Bad-O

And this week, Ewwbaldo put me to sleep. I'm not kidding. I fell asleep watching him pitch. No, no no, really... His pitching bored me to sleep. I was so disinterested, I fell asleep.

May 1st, 2012

Cleveland Indians - 2

Chicago White Sox - 7

W: Chris Sale (3-1) L: Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2)

I'm telling you, I fell asleep. I watched two innings and I fell asleep. The four-run third could have been a nightmare or it could have been the television being on. It was neither because I was out. I woke up just in time to see the score, and made the executive decision that this isn't worth it.[BOXSCORE]

And maybe we've reached that point with U-bad-o Jimenez. I for one am I tired of watching the guy pitch. What makes matters worse is what we were treated to on the second day of the season. What happened to that Jimenez? Why is he so bad? Why does he look the way he does? It's clearly not a matter of talent. I mean, if you look at that game and then remember what he did in 2010, he's perfectly capable of being good.

He's not the some pitcher he was on that Saturday afternoon or in 2010 and I don't really even want 2010 Ubaldo, I just want that Ubaldo from Saturday April 7th, 2012. It's not mechanics, so don't even go there. I think it's motivation and I think it's a lack of desire to pitch. I keep beating this drum every time he starts, but he looks slow, he looks lethargic, he looks like he could care less where the ball is going. He takes his good old time as if he's just out there watering the grass with no care in the world.

Saturday against the Blue Jays on April 7th, 2012? He looked like he had business to take care of and that he had to catch a flight after. He looked like he didn't want to be bothered with that Blue Jays lineup, so he just mowed them down, reared back and gave them his best. 

This is going to continue to be a problem though, because Manny Acta was not really in this mood after the game. He was more upset at the defense. And granted, the defense was not good, but someone needs to light a fire under the guy's you-know-what. Jimenez has to come to the realization and the only way that is going to happen is if someone slaps him across the face in some verbal sort of way. Acta seems like he's the one that needs to do it, preferably behind closed doors.

I guess you can't heap the entire amount of blame on Ubaldo on this one, considering it was a poor defensive game, but the way he's pitching is still there. If he's not giving up home runs to A.J. Pierzynski and Gordon Beckham (um, wow), then there is no smoke to cloud the infield.

But let's talk about that smoke shall we? How bush-league is it that the White Sox don't know where to shoot off fireworks? And how many freaking fireworks did they shoot off? 

Let me preface this rant by saying that if people can come into Progressive Field and complain about the seagulls and wildlife that the Indians HAVE NO CONTROL over, then I can rip the White Sox for this.

It's incredibly unfair that the game continued under those circumstances. I don't care if you have to delay the game again, Manny Acta should have not let his team play with that smoke everywhere. It's completely unfair for either side to be playing with clouds of firework smoke blinding the hitters, pitchers, and defenders. 

The White Sox are incredibly bush. Is that the result every time they shoot off fireworks? I don't know but after the Pierzynski one, I might have opted NOT to do it again after Gordon Beckham hit one to lead off the third inning. Oh no, they did and it created even more smoke while Ubaldo was pitching, just making matters worse as Viciedo sent a harmless pop up to the infield that went for a DOUBLE because no one decided to stop the game.

"It's very unfortunate," Donald said following the Indians' 7-2 loss to the White Sox. "I remember thinking, 'If a ball gets in the air next pitch, nobody is going to have any clue where it is.' That goes for the infield or outfield."

Donald went on to say that after they paused the first time it happened, you'd think they would pause for that one.

Nope instead they continued right on playing. And the first pause wasn't even a long pause, it was not even a minute and the smoke was still there, perhaps the first time being the worst.

And it is very unfortunate. Now don't get me wrong, this isn't the reason the Indians lost the game. It just was not a well-played game overall and after I ripped Ubaldo, I had no visions of him pitching a gem, even if the defense didn't let him down.

"We just didn't play good defense -- period," manager Manny Acta said. "We didn't catch a ball up in the air. We didn't catch a ball on the ground. We didn't cover the bases when we had to. Plain and simple, we can't afford to play that type of defense with the offense that we have." 

"In no way was I thinking about retiring," said Damon, wearing his new Indians gear as he sat inside the visiting dugout at U.S. Cellular Field. "I do want to keep on playing. I feel like I have a lot to give, whether it's on the field or my experience. I know I can play and I want to play.I'm glad the process brought me here to be a Cleveland Indian," he said, "and brought me here to the Windy City of Chicago."

"Other than the .350-plus on-base percentage that he has lifetime?" Acta said. "Other than that? And the close to 3,000 hits he's got? And the fact that over the last three years he's hit lefties even better than righties? What, the beard? The hair? What else do you want me to give you?" 

Choo and Damon were both available as bench options on Tuesday, but of course, no need for either of their uses.

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