In all fairness, I didn’t like the deal as it happened. I truly see Drew Pomeranz as a future ace or top number two starter. At the time, Alex White looked like a great mid-rotation option with strong strikeout potential and a great sinker. But regardless, they’re no longer Indians. And that’s a fact that fans who are still pining for Pomeranz and White need to accept.

Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Right now, I’m not sure what kind of future Alex White has at the Major League level. He was traded while on the DL with a finger tendon injury, and while the Indians’ brass claimed it wasn’t serious (and nowhere near to the degree of the health problems former top prospect Adam Miller suffered from), I have a gut feeling the effects of that will linger. The reason? He hasn’t been the same pitcher since the injury.

White breezed through the minors with ease while in the Cleveland organization, and had a solid showing in three starts with the big league club holding a 3.60 ERA, despite a high walk rate (5.4 BB/9). In Colorado, it’s been ugly. White made seven starts at the end of 2011 for the Rockies, and his walk rate was still too high (4.0 BB/9) and his K/9 rate was very low for his standards (5.9 K/9). This added up to a 8.42 ERA and ERA+ of 54. In his two starts in 2012, those peripherals haven’t changed much (4.2 BB/9, 5.1 K/9) and it adds up to a 6.75 ERA and ERA+ of 67.

Now, I’m not trying to go and call Alex White a bust after 10 starts, but he hasn’t shown us much at the Major League level. The fact that he wasn’t given a spot on the Opening Day roster was telling seeing as the Rockies instead went with pitchers with considerably less upside like Jamie Moyer and Jeremy Guthrie. To White’s credit, he did pitch well at Triple-A this year with a 2.92 ERA, 2.9 BB/9 and 7.7 K/9. But Triple-A stats mean nothing when you trade your ace for this guy.

Drew Pomeranz is a different story. He’s a guy I probably would have ranked ahead of Francisco Lindor as the top prospect in the Indians’ system this winter if he hadn’t been dealt. I’m a huge supporter of Pomeranz, and own him on all six of my fantasy teams (my addiction is a different story, alright?).

Kelley L. Cox-US PRESSWIRE

I believe the Rockies rushed Pomeranz last year, especially since they had no real reason to call him up, and it has become apparent he isn’t ready for the Majors. In nine MLB starts the past two years, Pomeranz holds a 5.01 ERA and an ERA+ of 90. Obviously, he has plenty of time to still improve and he’s currently at Triple-A to work on that, but this year he’s really seemed lost on the mound.

While his strikeout numbers were solid (7.8 K/9) with that devastating curveball he has he could strikeout closer to a batter an inning. His walk rate was the most concerning as it was 5.9 BB/9 in his five starts this year. He’s also given up a ton of contact (9.6 H/9 in his career). Pomeranz’s changeup was always his biggest weakness, and it has showed thus far. He really needs a lot more seasoning at Triple-A to hone that pitch if he’s going to reach his potential. If the Rockies expect him to succeed with just his fastball and curve, he’s probably only going to find success in the bullpen.

I don’t even want to factor in Jimenez’s struggles. He has shown flashes of his former self this year, while White and Pomeranz haven’t flashed their potential nearly as much. But even if he hadn’t, the fact of the matter is that Indian fans need to start supporting Jimenez as he works through his struggles if they want him to be a successful pitcher.

How would you feel if your parents said they would’ve preferred a child of the opposite sex instead of you? That’s what I think of when people tell me they would rather still have Pomeranz and White. What’s done is done, so everyone go out and buy a Jimenez jersey and show the guy the same love you would have if Pomeranz or White were on the mound.

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Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Seattle struck first in what looked at first like it would be another shaky start for Ubaldo Jimenez. Dustin Ackley and Michael Saunders led off the game with back-to-back singles, and a wild pitch to Ichiro put runners at second and third with nobody out. Jimenez gave up a run on Ichiro’s groundout to make it 1-0 Mariners, but he was able to limit the damage to that.

It didn’t take the Indians long to get to Hernandez. Three pitches into the inning Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Kipnis had already reached with base hits, and Hernandez then beaned Asdrubal Cabrera to load the bases with nobody out. A passed ball on a pitch to Travis Hafner scored Choo and moved everyone else over, and his RBI groundout brought in Kipnis.

Carlos Santana then worked a walk and Michael Brantley struck out to set the stage for one of the most bizarre plays of the season. Santana started off in an awkward delayed steal attempt; rather than try to throw him out at second, for some reason Mariners catcher Jesus Montero threw to third. His throw missed the mark and caromed into left field. Cabrera charged home from third and left fielder Chone Figgins‘ throw in bounced away from Montero. Meanwhile, Santana somehow managed to come all the way around and score to make it 4-0 Tribe.

Ackley’s two-run home run made it a one-run game in the third, but the Indians roared back in the fourth. Choo reached with a one-out single and took second on a wild pitch before scoring on Kipnis’ RBI double. The hit parade continued with two outs as Hafner and Santana’s back-to-back RBI doubles played two more runs and Brantley’s RBI single made it 8-3 and knocked Hernandez out of the game.

The Tribe added another insurance run in the sixth as Hafner went yard against Hisashi Iwakuma, but it was more than enough to back Jimenez’ quality start and shutdown innings from Jeremy Accardo, Tony Sipp, and Jairo Asencio as the Indians won, 9-3.

Source: FanGraphs

The Good: Huge kudos to the Tribe’s lineup. Anytime you score nine runs on 14 hits (21 baserunners) you’ve done well, especially against one of the best pitchers in the game. The Indians made Hernandez pay for every mistake pitch he made, and that’s how you beat a good pitcher. Well done. Travis Hafner had the best day, going 2-for-5 with a double, a homer, and three RBI, but Shin-Soo Choo went 3-for-5 with a double and Jason Kipnis, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Michael Brantley also had mutlihit games.

Eric P. Mull-USPRESSWIRE

Ubaldo Jimenez had a nice outing, too. Three runs on five hits in six innings means a quality start, and his fastball had more life than we’ve generally seen this year. Four strikeouts is still less than we’d ideally see him from and he seemed to lose his command for a bit in the third, but overall he was solid.

Finally, Jeremy Accardo also had a great Indians debut, getting a strikeout and taking only 10 pitches to get through a perfect seventh inning. It’s only game, but he already seems like a huge upgrade over Dan Wheeler.

The Bad: Casey Kotchman was the only player in the starting lineup to be held hitless (he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk). It’s nothing to worry about—even if you want to overreact to small sample sizes, he hit very well in Minnesota—but it’s always sad to see all but one player get a hit.

The “Huh?”: In the eighth inning, Mariners manager Eric Wedge swapped theretofore left fielder Chone Figgins and third baseman Alex Liddi for no discernible reason. He didn’t bring anyone else into the game and Liddi had never played outfield in the majors before, but some reason Wedge decided to make the swap. Not sure what Seattle got out of it.

Interesting Tidbit: Wednesday was the first time the Indians scored more than eight runs against a former Cy Young winner since they lit up Frank Viola for 10 runs on April 28, 1996 in a 17-3 victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto. (hat tip: It’s Pronounced ‘Lajaway’‘s Ryan McCrystal)

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WAHOO’S ON FIRST: Entering Tuesday the Mariners are in third place in the AL West. Can they stay out of the basement all year?

HARRISON CROW: Really, the Mariners aren’t a .500 team. The Angels have too much talent to finish below the Mariners, should they continue playing as badly as they have been it’s going to be such a story the likes of baseball has never had. I believe it’s only a matter of time before they eventually eclipse the Mariners over a full 162 games. (Note: Harrison was right, the Mariners fell to the basement Tuesday night.)

As for the Athletics, who are similar a similar team, they aren’t terrible but they aren’t good either. So it’s hard to say what really comes from this season. I don’t expect the A’s to be a .500 team, but I didn’t expect them to end April above .500 either. It’s a great story line to watch the rest of the season.

The Mariners have had some ups and downs and it’s been a Jekyll and Hyde type season. The M’s could very well walk into Progressive Field and sweep the Indians or they could just lay down and be swept. It’s about what hitters decide to show up.

WAHOO’S ON FIRST: How have the Mariners matched up with your preseason expectations so far? When do you see them getting back into contention?

HARRISON CROW: They haven’t quite lived up to expectations. But it’s early and I think we all expected a few road bumps a long the way. Part of the problem is the Mariners’ offense is dependent upon line drives and luck. They aren’t a team that are going to hit a ton of home runs. They aren’t the most power deprived team out there but certainly aren’t among the better teams.

The Mariners are going to contend when their pitching returns to being among the best in the league and they are able to start getting a little extra from this offense (i.e. Justin Smoak, Jesus Montero and Dustin Ackley).

Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE

WAHOO’S ON FIRST: Dustin Ackley is off to a slow start this year. Are you worried about him?

HARRISON CROW: I think that’s a fair question as he came out on a rocket start last year and now this year his numbers as a whole have stepped back. But, if you look his BABIP is down but he’s making more contact and still driving the ball plenty. Right now, I’m alright with just marking it up to some bad luck.

WAHOO’S ON FIRST: Who’s pitching for Seattle and what should Tribe fans look for from them?

HARRISON CROW: Mariners will be sending out Felix Hernandez and Hector Noesi.

Obviously you all have seen Felix. Well, this version of Felix has learned that he doesn’t need elite velocity. Just a great four seam fastball, power curve, and has recently developed what is argueably the best change-up in baseball. Should be a fun start.

Noesi, a piece of the Montero-Pineda trade earlier this season, has been working in the #3 spot and while he’s not quite been good he looks like he’s showing signs of life. A huge part of that is regaining his command over his fastball and using it to get ahead of hitters. Then finishing them off with the change-up and slider rather than using his curve.

WAHOO’S ON FIRST: What’s your prediction for the series?

HARRISON CROW: I think the Mariners take at least one and likely two. They got the pitching to do it, it’s about the hitting and if it shows up.

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