It appears Indians fans were right to stay away from Progressive Field, not buying tickets and concessions nor into the team’s surprisingly successful first two months of the regular season.
You called it fans, the Tribe definitely doesn’t look like it’s for real – not anymore, at least.
What’s been holding the Indians back as of late is an anemic offense – without an injured Travis Hafner and with a slumping Shin-Soo Choo – that has struggled mightily with runners in scoring position.
Nearly everyone was a regular contributor when the Tribe flourished offensively over the first month-plus. Now, no one contributes. The hits and runs have all but dried up – Cleveland was shut out again Saturday (4-0 to the Yankees) – the fifth time in 15 games.
When the Indians do hit,  they can’t pitch. As manager Manny Acta put it after a recent loss: “We just can’t seem to put it all together.”
Truth be told, the Indians have been a mediocre bunch for close to a month. The rest of the Central Division was just playing poorly.
That’s changed, as both  Detroit and Chicago have caught fire to close the gap on the first-place Indians. The Tigers trailed by just a game through Friday, while the White Sox were 5½ games back.
So, maybe the fans who refused to frequent Progressive Field when the team was the best in baseball were on to something. They thought the Indians were merely posing as a first-place team, and at this point, it looks like they’re right.
The Indians have already squandered baseball’s best overall record and home mark, as well as the best record in the American League. With two more games left in New York, followed by a three-game series in Detroit, it seems a foregone conclusion that the first-place standing is up next.

Fausto’s follies

Fausto Carmona is looking like the pitcher who was banished to the minors a couple years back. His latest debacle was a four-inning effort Friday in which he allowed six runs in an 11-7 loss to the Yankees.
After an abysmal effort on Opening Day, it appeared Carmona had righted his ship with a flurry of positive outings, but he’s back on the skids with a 3-8 record and 5.71 ERA in 14 starts.
The Indians need all the help they can get and have received little from Carmona, who has arguably been the worst pitcher in the rotation during his first season as the full-time ace.
Carmona has been labeled a head case in the past and has lived up to that advanced billing on a number of occasions throughout his career. He appears to be settling into the role again.
So what to do? The Indians can’t send him down to the minors again, mostly because there is no one there that gives them a better chance to win.
They could skip his spot in the rotation, but what good will that do? Will Carmona get the message that he needs to pitch better? I think he already knows that.
Carmona isn’t going anywhere, unless he is traded to a contender at the All-Star break, and then he will undoubtedly flourish, as nearly every player does after leaving Cleveland. The Indians need to fix their broken ace or suffer the consequences.

Surprising switch

Orlando Cabrera wasn’t the only one shocked by the promotion of second baseman Cord Phelps, whose arrival means a platoon situation and less playing time for the veteran Cabrera.
While it’s true Cabrera has struggled in the field and at the plate recently, he is a favorite of Acta and probably the biggest and most influential leader in the clubhouse – a mentor to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.
Choo and Carlos Santana were allowed to play through slumps – Choo’s still doing it – but the Indians weren’t willing to allow Cabrera the same luxury. It doesn’t make much sense right now.
If this was for someone that was tearing it up in the minors, or for top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall, then all right. Phelps was having a nice season at Triple-A Columbus, but nothing that demanded he be called up.
Yes, the Indians need offense, but Phelps, a nice player with a potentially bright future, isn’t the answer. This seems like someone had a quick trigger finger, and one of the few veterans on the roster is paying the price as a result.

Weekly Power Poll

1. Philadelphia Phillies: Even when they don’t hit, their stacked rotation will always give them a chance.
2. St. Louis Cardinals: With Albert Pujols back to his home run-hitting form, the Cards are dealing.
3. Boston Red Sox: From worst to first, the Red Sox are rolling behind one of the best lineups in baseball and a top-shelf rotation.
4. Texas Rangers: The Rangers look like the team that represented the American League in the World Series
5. New York Yankees: The rotation is thin, but the Yanks keep outslugging the competition.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

NEW YORK — Yankees manager Joe Girardi was red in the face with anger, nose-to-nose in a screaming match with Cleveland counterpart Manny Acta after Mark Teixeira was whacked with a fastball.

Tired of getting hit by pitches — and losing to rival Boston — the fired-up Yankees took out their frustration on the skidding Cleveland Indians.

Alex Rodriguez hit a colossal home run, Curtis Granderson also connected and New York got back on track with an 11-7 victory Friday night in a game that quickly grew testy.

“Sometimes it doesn’t really matter if it’s on purpose,” Rodriguez said. “There’s no question, it was very important for us to bounce back and play our type of baseball.”

The Indians were unable to rebound from a 1-6 homestand that concluded Wednesday. Their once sizable lead in the AL Central remained at a game over Detroit, which also lost Friday. The Indians have lost 12 of 16.

Girardi and Acta got into a heated argument when both benches and bullpens emptied after Teixeira was hit behind the shoulder by a second-inning pitch from struggling Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona.

No punches were thrown and there appeared to be little pushing and shoving — if any. Plate umpire Dale Scott issued warnings to both teams, and there was no further trouble.

“I have respect for Manny. I actually had a nice exchange with Manny at 3 o’clock today,” Girardi said.

But that doesn’t mean there’s not some feistiness in me and when my guys are getting plunked, I’m going to protect them,” said Girardi, who gestured angrily at Carmona on the field. “I told him I thought he did it on purpose and I didn’t like it.”

Carlos Santana homered for the Indians in the opener of a four-game series that was the first meeting this season between the teams. It didn’t take long for both sides to get heated.

One pitch after Granderson hit his team-high 19th homer into the second deck in right to give New York a 4-0 lead, Carmona threw a pitch that was headed straight for Teixeira’s upper back.

Teixeira ducked down and was hit squarely behind the right shoulder as he crumbled to the dirt. The slugger slammed down his helmet, then yelled and gestured at Carmona as he got up.

“It’s just disappointing when you have a guy who gives up a long home run and is getting hit around a little bit and decides to throw one close to your head,” Teixeira said. “Anytime it’s a purpose pitch up near my head, near my neck, I don’t like that. … You want to send a message, just throw the ball low.”

Carmona declined to speak with reporters after the game.

The right-hander, who threw 14 of his first 18 pitches for balls and walked three in a 40-pitch first inning, motioned back following Teixeira’s response.

“I haven’t seen him so divorced from the strike zone as he was today in the two years I’ve been here,” Acta said. “His loading the bases in the first inning did him in.”

Girardi was the first Yankee out of the dugout, rushing onto the field to usher Teixeira toward first base and away from a potential fight. Soon the benches and bullpens had emptied as players streamed onto the field.

Both sides milled close together between the mound and first base. Acta moved into the fray and was trying to assure Girardi that Carmona did not hit Teixeira intentionally. But the managers quickly got into a heated, face-to-face argument as an umpire attempted to keep them apart, and Acta could be seen cursing at Girardi on a television replay.

“Normal baseball stuff. Heat of the moment. He’s defending his man and I’m defending my guy,” Acta said. “My goodness, the guy couldn’t throw 50 percent of his pitches for strikes. The other pitches, he just didn’t hit anybody, but he couldn’t throw strikes. I didn’t think there was anything to it.”

Five walks and four hits allowed by inexperienced relievers in New York’s injury-depleted bullpen prompted Girardi to bring in Mariano Rivera for the final two outs. He gave up a two-run single to Matt LaPorta, then closed it out.

Notes

Indians 2B Orlando Cabrera went 0-for-4 and remains one hit shy of 2,000. He was ejected by Scott for arguing a called third strike in the eighth. … Granderson is 17-for-39 (.436) with three homers against Carmona.

CLEVELAND — An 0-for-4 performance may look bad on paper, but second baseman Cord Phelps learned something from each at-bat during his major league debut Wednesday afternoon and put on a defensive clinic during the Indians’ 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Second baseman Cord Phelps takes the throw Wednesday at Progressive Field as he gets ready to turn a double play in his major league debut. (AP photo.)

Facing veteran Carl Pavano in his first major league at-bat in the second inning, Phelps swung at the first pitch and sent a grounder to Twins second baseman Matt Tolbert for an easy out. In his second at-bat, he struck out on four pitches — all were 82 mph — after swinging early at three of them.

“I try to be aggressive, but I think Pavano took advantage of that,” Phelps said. “He threw me those change-ups in the second at-bat — like four change-ups in a row — and I just didn’t adjust to it. But he’s been around for a long time and he knows what to do.”

Phelps hasn’t been around for any time, but he began to figure it out as the game wore on. In his third at-bat in the seventh inning, he watched the first two pitches — a ball and a strike — and fouled off another fastball before again grounding out to the second baseman.

His final at-bat came in the ninth with one out and nobody on base. He took a fastball strike, fouled off three consecutive fastballs — ranging between 93-95 mph — watched two balls to even the count and then made good contact on a 94 mph fastball that Twins left fielder Jason Repko tracked down.

“I felt like I had a couple good at-bats, the second one not so much,” said Phelps, who got into Cleveland at 2 a.m. Wednesday after driving up from Columbus. “As I went on I felt a little more comfortable and was able to see the ball a little better. I guess I wasn’t as anxious and ready to swing.”

Phelps said the biggest downer of his debut was that he left a pair of runners in scoring position during his first two at-bats. Shin Soo-Choo was stranded at third base in the second, and Carlos Santana was left on second in the fourth.

“It’s the first day … not very much judging going on,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “Obviously he was excited. He played good defense and hit a couple of balls hard and had a very good at-bat on the last one.
“But it’s just one game.”

Phelps’ defensive play was solid, and needed. Acta said that the rookie will probably platoon at second base with veteran Orlando Cabrera, who has made several recent miscues in the field despite winning multiple Gold Gloves in his career.

Phelps got involved early, providing the tag on Danny Valencia when the Twins third baseman tried to steal second base in the second inning. He also tracked down a high popup in shallow right field in the fourth, rushed the ball in the infield grass to beat Delmon Young in the fifth and made a diving snare of a line drive by Luke Hughes in the seventh that saved a run.

He was also part of the game’s lone double play — which ended the eighth — to finish with four putouts and three assists.

“It’s nice to be able to contribute any way you can,” Phelps said. “I was happy I was able to get to that ball (in the seventh) and keep the runner at second, for sure.”

Now it’s onto Yankee Stadium, where his family will join him. One of his sisters made it to Progressive Field to see his debut, but he expects his parents, his older brother and both sisters to see him in action against New York.

“Most of my family is on the West Coast, so they couldn’t make it today,” he said. “But I called them (when I got the call-up) and everyone was really excited for me.”

To make room for Phelps on the 25-man roster, the Indians optioned Shelley Duncan to Triple-A Columbus. To make room on the 40-man roster, the team transferred pitcher Alex White from the 15-day to the
60-day disabled list.

Phelps, who hails from Stanford, Calif., was selected in the third round (No. 107 overall) of the 2008 draft following his junior season at Stanford. He split time between the Double-A Akron Aeros and the Clippers last season, and batted a combined .308 to finish as the fourth-best hitter in the Tribe’s farm system.

This season at Columbus, he hit .299 (63-of-211) with 31 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples and seven home runs in 55 games. He also had 40 RBIs, a .391 on-base percentage and a .488 slugging percentage.

The loss and being shut out at the plate did nothing to temper Phelps’ enthusiasm after playing in his first major league game.

“It was amazing … everything I thought it would be,” he said. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was little and it’s amazing that it actually happened. I don’t know if it’s set in yet.”

Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

CLEVELAND — The magic act the Indians produced for the first two months of the season is running low on tricks these days.

No more dominating record and walk-off wins at Progressive Field.

No more consistently strong outings from their rotation.

No more clutch hitting for an offense that is doing little in general.

And very few wins.

A highly disappointing homestand wrapped up Wednesday afternoon with the Indians losing for the sixth time in seven games, a 3-2, 10-inning decision in the rubber match of a three-game series with Central Division rival Minnesota — the worst team in baseball.

Cleveland has lost 11 of its last 15 games, including eight of its last nine at home.

In a cruel twist of irony, the Indians actually mustered one of their few big hits in weeks — a tying solo home run from Jack Hannahan in the ninth inning — only to watch closer Chris Perez blow it in the 10th.

“It was a very poor homestand,” said manager Manny Acta, whose club owns a 11⁄2-game advantage over Detroit in the division standings, despite leading by seven games on May 24. “Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong on this homestand.

“We’re just going to have to go on the road and try to get things together.”

The most glaring thing tearing the Indians apart these days is a staggering offense that can’t produce in the clutch — something Cleveland had a knack for throughout its hot start.

The Indians went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, extending their anemic effort in the department to a 1-for-40 clip that dates to last Thursday.

“It seems like if we don’t hit a home run, we don’t score runs,” said Acta, whose club scored 12 runs during the homestand, which started with a four-game sweep from Texas. “Guys are expanding the strike zone and we’re having poor at-bats.”

Season-long slumper Shin-Soo Choo had the opportunity to end the futility in the bottom of the 10th Wednesday, but grounded back to the pitcher with a runner on second for the final out.

“We’re not getting the big hit. It’s not a secret,” said leadoff hitter Michael Brantley, who went 3-for-5, but popped to the catcher with a runner on first to end the ninth-inning rally. “Obviously, we have to put hits together at the same time.

“We just need that clutch hit. I think once we break that barrier, we’ll be fine.”

The lack of support made for another hard-luck outing for Indians starter Justin Masterson, who has pitched well but hasn’t won since April 26 (eight starts) after beginning the season 5-0.

“It’s not (frustrating) personally,” said Masterson, who allowed just two runs on nine hits over eight innings. “As a team you get frustrated because you didn’t win. Personally, you can only do what you can do, and try to keep it close.”

“I see a guy that’s giving us an opportunity to win every five days,” Acta said. “He’s been very consistent. That’s not forgotten.

“It was very deflating today, because of the way Justin battled on a very hot day.”

Deflating didn’t begin to describe the finish to Cleveland’s latest loss.

After climbing back on a surprising homer from Hannahan, the Indians called on Perez, who despite some shaky moments had saved 15 of 16 games entering his 26th appearance. He got the first two outs before allowing a double to Drew Butera.

Butera, who entered the at-bat hitting just .145, came back to burn Perez and the Indians by scoring the winning run on a single to left-center from Ben Revere.

The Indians are undoubtedly reeling as they prepare for a four-game series against the Yankees that begins Friday in New York. They’re going to need the never-quit attitude they have displayed for much of the season to rescue this capsizing ship.

“I think we’re very much mentally into this,” Brantley said. “We’re not hanging our heads low. It’s going to be a tough season. We’re going to go through our ups and downs.”

“I don’t think there’s any worrying here,” Masterson said. “What made us good before has been kind of missing. You’re going to hit a rough stretch. We just have to continue to fight, but I like our mind-set.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.