Red Sox @ Indians, 4/15/08

Surprisingly enough, last night's loss didn't bother me. I mean, it did, but not any more than a normal loss would bother me. While it might not do anything to alieviate my concerns about our bullpen, I'm willing to give Jensen Lewis and Jorge Julio the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure that's more than they deserve, but that's where I'm at.

And let's look at the positives: Paul Byrd threw a good game. I had very little faith in him going into last night, but clearly he made some kind of adjustment, which is a good sign going forward.

Assuming, as I am, that our bullpen works itself out (a big assumption, I know), the main focus falls squarely on our offense.

It seems like the bats we expected to be there -- Sizemore, Hafner, Martinez, Peralta, and Garko -- will be there as the season progresses. Sure, Pronk and Sizemore still strikeout too much, but Hafner seems to be getting hits when we need them and Grady is as Grady does.

But what about the rest of the order?

Franklin Gutierrez showed why he could be so great: he can steal bases. We don't have a lot of speed on the base paths as it is, so Gutierrez getting aboard could be a great weapon for us. The problem there, of course, is that he actually has to get on base.

My dad had a good point the other day about Gutierrez: shouldn't there be a point where we send him back down and bring Ben Francisco up? I'd never considered that option before, but what's the worst that could happen? You'd give Franklin a chance to work on that strikeout problem of his and you'd give Ben Francisco (who is just starting to warm up in Buffalo) a chance at hitting on the major league level.

You also have to wonder about Casey Blake. It's not that I don't expect him to turn around, but the theory is that Andy Marte is our third baseman of the future, assuming he can step up and earn it. Why not give him that shot? What's the worst that could happen, he hits .150? Because that's what Casey is hitting.

And while I've often defended Wedge, coming out of the Oakland series David Dellucci had really begun to heat up. In fact, since FINALLY getting his first hit against the Angels, he's hitting .350. Which begs the questions: why so much inconsistent hitting, why bench a guy like that? Because he's not supposed to hit against lefties? Why not? And, again, what's the worst that came happen if you let him hit against lefties? He hits .097? Because that's what Michaels is hitting.

What I think I (and many others) forget is that each aspect of the team affects the others. I can only imagine that the bullpen is putting extra stress on itself knowing that once the Tribe scores four runs, that's it. There's no more water coming from that well, so if you give up that fourth or fifth run towards the end of the game, you've lost the game. And imagine what that does to the starters!

The reverse is also true. Imagine the outlook for the hitters if the starter gives up five runs in the first two innings. Imagine how the offense feels when we're up by one and ball is handed to the bullpen.

Tonight should be interesting. Our "ace" versus some kind no one has ever heard of. While I thought the Red Sox series was a big one, the next two nights could be even bigger.