Keys to tonights game #2- 1.) Be aggressive. In every aspect of the game... be aggressive. Pitching, hitting, base running, catching... from inning number one. We have to want it more, and we have to play like it. Last night, the boys came to win. And it was apparent. Everyone did their part- from the offense jumping on Jason Vargas early, to the defense playing clean throughout the game, and finally Danny Salazar pitching perhaps the best we have seen him all season. The pen also did a great job taking over after the rain delay. It was a team effort... and it paid off. Tonight we need to come out and play with the same sence of urgency. I have often said that it is better to play overly aggressive and have to real it in then to play overly conservative and regret it at the end of the game. It stands true today. As we witnessed last night- we can beat KC. Now lets do again. 2.) Pounce on streaky Shields. Starting for Kansas City today is right hander James Shields. He has a four pitch arsenal (fastball, cutter, change up, curve). When he has and keeps command, he is really very good. But he has been inconsistent this season- and in his last outing on August 25 against New York he struggled and lost after giving up six runs on ten hits in 6 2/3 innings. His achilles heel is giving up the long ball! So Santana, Walters and Gomes better be looking for balls left in the zone, and be ready to hit them out of the park. And of course... be ready to small ball him early. Get the early lead and help Bauer settle in... speak in of Bauer.... 3.) Bauer Outage! Bauer was able to bounce back from a rough outing against Minnesota and be dominate against Houston in his last outing. We need him to be just as lights out tonight. He needs to really strive to throw first pitch strikes and get ahead in the count... take control of the at bats. He also needs to avoid giving up runs in the first inning. Have command and control from pitch one...do not dig a hole which you then have to get out of. Bauer has had really strong outings... and he has had really poor outings. It seems to be one or the other. Lets hope Bauer shows up today ready to win. Who should he watch out for: Butler and Moustakas. They always seems to play well against the Tribe.. so be smart! You are only as good as your last win... it normally does not apply to baseball. With the long season... it is typically considered a marathon. But for the Indians... at this point... we are only as good as our last win. We have to keep playing...we have to keep winning... one game at a time.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 13:31:34 +0000
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