Hannah's Three Keys
1.) Step away from the panic button!!!
Tonight will be game 27 of the 2017 season. Game 27 out of 162 (Editor's note: this means the season is only 16.7 percent completed). Of course we want to see our team dominate each and every opponent, especially when the opponent is the Detroit Tigers. The last two games have been frustrating offensively. Too many missed opportunities, to many left stranded on the bases. We saw our pitching stumble, and our defense struggle. But we cannot press the panic button now, 27 games into the season, while we are 14-12 record. I am not saying that I don’t understand the temptation to panic. We are fans of Cleveland sports teams, panic is basically past down from generation to generation. It is not for the faint of heart… but I beg you, step away from the panic button. Keep perspective. It is going to be a long season, you throw in the towel now and you may miss out on another great season.
Tonight will be game 27 of the 2017 season. Game 27 out of 162 (Editor's note: this means the season is only 16.7 percent completed). Of course we want to see our team dominate each and every opponent, especially when the opponent is the Detroit Tigers. The last two games have been frustrating offensively. Too many missed opportunities, to many left stranded on the bases. We saw our pitching stumble, and our defense struggle. But we cannot press the panic button now, 27 games into the season, while we are 14-12 record. I am not saying that I don’t understand the temptation to panic. We are fans of Cleveland sports teams, panic is basically past down from generation to generation. It is not for the faint of heart… but I beg you, step away from the panic button. Keep perspective. It is going to be a long season, you throw in the towel now and you may miss out on another great season.
2.) Shut down their offense
So far this season the Tigers have done very well against Indians pitching. They have scored 30 runs in 5 games against us. Eesh. That is no good. But perhaps the pitcher that has had the best results so far is Carlos Carrasco. He last faced the Detriot on April 16th, where he allowed just 2 earned runs on 4 hits in 6 2/3 innings of work while walking 5. On the season, Hot Sauce is 2-2 with a 2.04 ERA. He has been our most consistent starter, despite slightly struggling with his command at times. He has got to keep the ball down! We look to him to quiet the Tigers bats, keep them off the board and give our offense a chance to score some runs. Speaking of that…
3.) Score some runs
At the end of the day, it does not matter how well our pitcher pitches. If our offense cannot score runs, we cannot win ballgames. Our offense has struggled to figure out Detroit so far, and it is time for that to change. Matthew Boyd takes the mound for the Tigers tonight. He has put together a nice start to the 2017 season, with a 2-1 record and a 3.86 ERA. He faced off against the Tribe once this season, giving up 1 run on 7 hits, walking 2 and striking out 3. His change up has been his bread and butter pitch. I would assume he is going to rely heavily on it tonight. If we can make adjustments so to avoid whiffing at those pitches, we will find success. Small ball is key… get back to the fundamentals and start scoring runs.
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