Things looked bright just a couple days ago for the Cleveland Indians, but not so much now after dropping their last two games against the Oakland Athletics. The All-Star game festivities received a soft launch in the form of the All-Star Futures game, Bradley Zimmer gives some hope for the future of the Tribe's outfield, and Johnny Cueto threw a big league hissy fit.
Here are your morning news and notes for July 13, 2015.
Indians 0, Athletics 2
It is no longer surprising to see Corey Kluber receiving no run support in each of his starts -- at this point it's almost expected. It happened again last night when Klubot pitched eight solid innings of baseball only to be thwarted by a snoozing offense shut down by A's ace Sonny Gray. Read our own recap from Andrew Kinsman, or check out Jane Lee and August Fagerstrom's take from Indians.com.
Indians news & notes
Twenty-two-year-old Bradley Zimmer didn't look great in the All-Star futures game (0-for-2), but luckily that does not really matter. When it comes to things that do matter, the Indians are enamored with their top prospect, and for good reason. (Indians.com)
The last few days before the All-Star break are normally prime time for giving stars a break. For the Indians, this meant putting Jason Kipnis at DH and letting the struggling Brandon Moss take a day on the bench (although he wound up pinch-hitting anyway). (Cleveland.com)
It's going to be a few lonely days without baseball, but what does the future hold when the sport returns? It holds Trevor Bauer, for one. He'll be the starting pitcher when activities resume on Friday when the Tribe take on the Reds. (Cleveland.com)
David Laurita over at FanGraphs discussed the Tribe's first-round pick of 2015, Brady Aiken, and his potential coming back from Tommy John surgery. (FanGraphs.com)
Around the league
Keep your eyes on the ball! A woman who took a ball to the dome (admittedly on a shot that was too fast to react to) this past Friday is recovering well. (Cleveland.com)
Curious as to who that random Kansas City Royals player that got voted into the All-Star game is? MLB has you covered with an interactive roster. (MLB.com)
Johnny Cueto sucked in the Reds 8-1 loss to the Miami Marlins yesterday, and he threw a fit when he was pulled from the game. (ESPN.com)
More of an interesting tidbit than news, but Grady Sizemore currently has a higher batting average than on-base percentage. Sacrifice flys are a beautiful thing. (Imgur.com via reddit.com)