Indians Journal

May 8, 1948 at Griffith Park
Indians 6, Senators 1  (8-4)

Gene Bearden made his first major league start today and it was a good one. He pitched the Indians to a win and he gave up one run on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.  The only run against him didn’t come until the ninth inning.

Larry Doby hit a monster shot eighth inning.  His homerun hit the loud speaker in centerfield, which is 408 ft. away from home plate and 35 feet high. It was the first homerun to straight away centerfield since Babe Ruth did it in 1920.  Thurman Tucker had a nice game and he singled three times and scored a run.

May 7, 1948 at Griffith Stadium
Indians 8, Senators 0  (7-4)

The Indians ended their four game skid in grand fashion with a 8-0 beatdown over the Senators.  Bob Lemon got the win and he was impressive in a four hit shutout.  He walked two and struck out five in the impressive start.

Lemon also helped out his own cause at the plate with three hits.  Joe Gordon had a nice game and he singled, doubled, homered, drove in three and scored twice.

May 6, 1948 at Shibe Park
Athletics 8, Indians 5  (6-4)

Bob Feller was touched up for eight runs in 4 1/3 inning in the Indians fourth straight loss.  He gave up the runs on eiht hits and five walks.

Ken Keltner belted a homerun and he drove in four runs.  Dale Mitchell and Hank Edwards both had a pair of hits.

May 4, 1948 at Shibe Park
Athletics 8, Indians 6  (6-3)

In April, the Indians couldn’t lose.  Now in May, they can’t win as the dropped their third straight as they hit the road to take on the Athletics.  Neither pitcher was very effective as the two teams combined to score 14 runs on 24 hits in the ten inning game.  Butch Wensloff gave up a two run shot in the bottom of the tenth and he took the loss.

Thurman Tucker had a nice day at the plate and he went three for five with two runs and an RBI.  Eddie Robinson went deep and he drove in a pair.

May 2, 1948 at Cleveland Stadium
Tigers 4, Indians 2  (6-2)

Just one day after suffering their first loss of the season, the Indians dropped their first series as they were doubled up by the Tigers.  Bob Lemon took the loss despite having a nice day at the plate.  He gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Lemon provided most of the Indians offense with a single and a solo homer.  Lou Boudreau drove in the other Indians run with a solo shot of his own.

I said it Wednesday, Travis Hafner is not playing up to the standards of what he is being paid. It was almost like he read my post and took a little offense on Thursday in the game against the Mariners (pardon the pun).  Hafner went 2-4 with a walk and two extra base hits and the Indians won. I believe that this is no coincidence, and that the Indians feed off of Travis Hafner and are much stronger when he is in playing to his potential. I have to give credit to Eric Wedge for giving Hafner a break and then putting him into a less stressful spot in the batting order. It really paid off and the Indians may roll with this.

May 1, 1948 at Cleveland Stadium
Tigers 10, Indians 3  (6-1)

Larry Doby made three errors and the Indians as a team made six as they suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Tigers.  Bob Feller took the loss and he was touched up for five runs in 4 2/3 innings. 

Thurman Tucker singled and doubledin the loss.  Jim Hegan went two for four.

Travis Hafner is the highest paid position player on the Cleveland Indians and it is about time he started playing that way. He is a career .286 hitter and is well below that thus far in 2008 with a minuscule .210.  Hafner sat out the game tonight and hadn’t had a hit in his twelve previous at-bats. Hafner is a huge part of the Cleveland offense and if he can get himself going, he can about 100 RBIs to the Indian’s offense, a much needed bonus.

The Indian’s bullpen has been anything but spectacular this year. The Last game against the Yankees for instance when the bullpen gave up three runs in the ninth to lose the game. Though the bullpen has struggled, the starters have been great. This means that when the relief shows up, the Indians will be able to string a lot of wins together. Games like tonight, against the Mariners prove that the bullpen is capable of holding leads and when the offense, the starting pitchers and the relievers start clicking in unison the Indians will be a definite force to be reckoned with in the American League Central.

April 29, 1948 at Sportsman’s Park
Indians 5, Browns 2  (7-0)

The Indians closed out the month of April with a perfect record and in this one, you had a great individual performance at the plate combined with some solid pitching.  Lou Boudreau racked up four hits including a double and a homerun and he drove in three and scored twice. 

Bob Lemon got it done on the mound and he improved to 2-0 on the season.  He gave up the two runs on eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts.