Cleveland Indians: Killing Me Softly With Their Bats

I feel like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day." Here's the script that keeps repeating:

• Another great pitching performance by an Indians starter.
• The Tribe offense unable to put up any crooked numbers to put the game out of reach. 
• A slim lead carried in to the late innings.
• Some soft, yet well placed hits by the opposition against a tiring starter and the front end of the bullpen.
• A slim lead turns into a slim deficit.
• The Indians hitters looking inept as they attempt to mount a comeback but are lucky if they manage one hit.
• Go to bed.  Wake up.  Repeat tomorrow.

Last nights script had C. C. Sabathia playing the hard luck loser to Kansas City's Luke Hochevar.  Yes, Luke F'N Hochevar.

No offense to Luke, but he is no Chien-Ming Wang, Jerk Beckett or John Lackey.  He's not even Brian Bannister. 

But big C. C. seemed to run out of gas in the seventh and Masa Kobayashi and Raffy Perez couldn't hold the game tied as the Royals dinked and dunked their way to a 4-2 lead.

So far this season, if you have been watching the Tribe religiously, or even sporadically, you knew that chances of a Tribe comeback were slim to none.

The one walk in the seventh and the 1-2-3 eighth and ninth for the Indians was as predictable as Bill Murray waking up at 6 a.m. every day in Punxsutawney. It's brutal enough to make you want to throw a toaster into a bathtub with you.

Grady Sizemore seems to have some pep in his step after sitting out for a couple days and Victor Martinez is driving the ball a little more as his hamstring begins to heal but other than that, there is nothing. 

In fact, the only other player I actually feel 50/50 about when he steps to the plate is David Dellucci.  Yes, The Looch.  He's hit in eight of his last nine games.  That is incredible for The Looch.

Travis Hafner is lost.  There are many theories as to what is wrong:  pulling his head too soon, not reading pitches, off the juice, etc.  I don't care what it is, but it must be fixed.  Without him they are up a poop creek without a paddle.

Ryan Garko is lost right now, and Jhonny Peralta has rediscovered his lust for sliders low and away and high fastballs.

Dear Jhonny, you can't hit either of those.

Every other spot in the lineup is a hole right now.  I know it was unseasonably cold in C-Town in April, but they Tribe needs to heat up and do it fast.

The starting pitching has been sick even, with Jake "The Snake" Westbrook on the DL.  Sabathia and the Byrd-man have worked out of their slow starts.  Cliff Lee just won AL pitcher of the month and still sports a sub-1.00 ERA. 

"The Joker" Aaron Laffey may only look like he is 12 years old, but he was tossing a no-no until a plethora of infield hits did him in.  All these efforts have gone wasted by the Indians offense.

Until they start to produce more than three runs a game, the Indians will continue to kill themselves (and Indians fans) softly with their bats.