Bang the Drum… The Indians win again

The Indians were losing by three in the 8th and tied it.
They were losing in the 11th and won it.

Once again, the players who contributed were not exactly stars.
And yes, they beat the Mariners who aren’t exactly pennant contenders.

But these wins count.
They are 3 games up on the Tigers in the loss column. And the key to being a surprise playoff contender is to win all the games you are supposed to win.

I still have no clue what to make of this team.
But they are winning. That can’t be bad.

Keep on drumming.

  

Is every Adam Jones homer a big one?

Soon it will be late May and the Orioles are still tied for first place. Even a 4 game winning streak by the Rays couldn’t knock them out of a share of the top.

And it seems like Adam Jones is a big part of every win.
I’m not saying he is! Those of you about to fling a crap load of stats at me proving he’s only the 7th most valuable Orioles, don’t bother.

I’m just talking as a casual observer who mainly catches the Orioles on highlights. It just seems like whenever there is a Baltimore win, Adam Jones makes his way onto the highlight reel.

Last night he started the game 0-6, which sucks no matter which stats you use.

Then in the 15 inning, he homers, it puts the Orioles on top and he’s the lead part of the story and the big hero.

I am sure there were people who had better games than Adam Jones’ one swing of the bat, but he’s the one I am typing about.

He’s got 12 homers so far and I’m better 13 of them have tied the game or given Baltimore the lead.

I’m pretty sure about that stat.

  

Maybe the Angels DID need a new hitting coach

Look, I’m not going to bad mouth former Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. The guy was a major leaguer. He hit 2 homers in the 1988 World Series including one that had one of the most hyper home run trots ever.

And he was a hitting coach for the Angels forever.
He was fired and who knows why?

I mean I know it had nothing to do with Albert Pujols becoming a low batting average hitter with no power and 9 years left on the deal. That’s a coincidence.

Since then the Angels bats have gone nuts.
Albert Pujols has hit as many homers under Eppard’s eye as wtih Hatcher’s tutelage.

Not sure what advice Eppard gave him, other than “Christsake, you are embarrassing yourself Pujols.”

If Eppard’s arrival means trading Lousy Pujols for Awesome Pujols, then it was the right move.

Vernon Wells homered as well.
Turning HIM around? That’s a damn miracle worker to make Vernon Wells worth at least some of his dough.

Pujols and Wells will be teammates until the end of the 2014 season. They need to squeeze something out of them.

And Eppard should get a percentage of Wells and Pujols’ paycheck.