Indians continue losing

I know what you're probably thinking when you look at that headline. Duh, right? Well, yeah. The Indians have lost a season-high six straight, and several of those games have been particularly painful, including the one my lovely fiancee and I attended Wednesday, on my birthday. (For the record, the Indians haven't won since I was 37.)

The key problem has been the bullpen, as we know, though the starting rotation hasn't been great either. A quick review of the relievers' performance against the starters' in the six-game stretch:

* 6/15, vs. Brewers: Carl Pavano had one of his worst starts of the year, giving up six runs in five innings, but left with an 8-6 lead. The Indians go on to lead 12-7 before a six-run eighth inning at the expense of Luis Vizcaino, Matt Herges and current minor-leaguer Rafael Perez gives the Brewers a 14-12 win. The relievers gave up eight runs in four innings.

* 6/16, vs. Brewers: Jeremy Sowers took the loss in this one, but still only gave up three runs in his five innings of work, and left with the score 3-2 in Milwaukee's favor. Jensen Lewis did all right in his first two innings of relief, but went on to give up three runs in the eighth. The Tribe came back to score two in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't make up the deficit in what turned out to be a 7-5 game. The bullpen gave up four runs in four innings.

* 6/17, vs. Brewers: This is the game we went to, and it started late because of rain. Not that that's important, but I'm just sort of thinking out loud, as it were. It's my blog, and I'll think out loud if I want to. Anywhat, starter David Huff struggled through five innings, but still only gave up three runs. It was tied at three going into the seventh, but Joe Smith was in his second inning, and couldn't hold them. Smith, Herges and Vizcaino gave up five runs over the last four innings of regulation. After the Indians sent it to extras with a stirring four-run bottom-of-the-ninth comeback, Kerry Wood pitched a perfect tenth, and current minor-leaguer Greg Aquino was lucky to get out of the 11th with just one run scored. The Indians weren't able to get a run in the bottom of the 11th, and it was a 9-8 loss. The bullpen gave up six runs in seven innings.

* 6/19, at Cubs: The Indians gave starter Cliff Lee a 7-0 lead to work with, but he started to let the Cubs creep back in, giving up a solo homer in the fifth and another one in the sixth. He left with a 7-2 lead after giving up a leadoff single in the eighth, and that runner would score with Smith on the mound. So Lee went seven and gave up three. From there, the bullpen completely imploded. Smith gave up three of his own (two were unearned), and Wood blew his third save in his much-anticipated return to Wrigley Field, forcing another extra-inning game. Vizcaino was the loser after walking Alfonso Soriano, letting him steal second, and then giving up an RBI single to Ryan Theriot. The bullpen gave up five runs (three earned) in 2 2/3 innings.

* 6/20, at Cubs: Starter Tomo Ohka struggled, but battled, through six innings, giving up four runs, but left with a 4-3 deficit. For once, Lewis, Herges, Smith and Perez held them tough while the Indians tied it in the seventh, then scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 13th in their third consecutive overtime game. But Wood totally imploded in the bottom of the 13th, blowing his fourth save of the season as he gave up the tying run on a single and the winning run on a wild pitch, which is the second-worst way for a pitcher to lose a game (after a bases-loaded walk). The bullpen gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings.

* 6/21, at Cubs: This one was the starter's fault. Sowers gave up six runs in 4 1/3, and the offense was punchless against rookie Randy Wells. The bullpen gave up zero runs in 3 2/3 innings.

So during the six-game slide, the starters' ERA is 6.96, and the bullpen ERA is 8.44. And that's why the Indians have lost six games in a row.