The Cleveland Indians ended their 10 game road trip with a disappointing loss today in Oakland. Here are my thoughts on today's game:
- Cliff Lee was not sharp today and was obvious he didn't have really good stuff today on the mound.
- Joe Borowski blew his second save with the Indians today. I must say when he blows them he blows them in a big way. But I'm not ready to give up on the guy he has been pretty consistent.
- Another excellent game by Ryan Garko today. He just really looks locked in at the plate.
- Pronk looked more comfortable than he did on Friday, hopefully this will help him get out of his slump.
- The rest of the bullpen was pretty effective again. I get the sense that Wedge is becoming much more comfortable with Mastny than he is with Hernandez.
- As I'm typing this now the Tigers are losing so hopefully the Twins can beat them tonight so were still only 1.5 games behind. But if we would have managed to hold on for the win we would have only been a half game behind. The Tribe rebounded in a big way the last time Borowski blew a save so hopefully the same thing will happen.
- Big home stand coming up with a Minnesota team that is leaking oil, a sub par Cincinatti Reds team and a payback game with the Mariners. So hopefully we can get back on a nice winning streak during this home stand.
The Indians will play Minnesota on Tuesday with Paul Byrd facing Ramon Ortiz.
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Intensity: Your Offensive Line
They perform an interesting dance during practice. While the offensive skill position players go through their paces, and the defensive players break into pieces and recite the repetitiveness of mastering X's and O's, the offensive line does its thing.
Off to themselves, the linemen have a series of ritualistic moves in synchronicity as coach Juan Castillo barks instructions and encouragement.
We take this all for granted now, this outstanding offensive line, but it is very much the product of days like these, days when the linemen may want to turn to Castillo and tell him to get lost. He is on them every second of the way, a father to a son, a teacher to a pupil, a coach to a player.
It all works ...
It will continue to work, because work is what defines Castillo. You remember the story of how he convinced Andy Reid he should be the offensive line coach, right? Castillo started with the Eagles in 1995 as an offensive assistant, then became the tight ends coach and moved to the offensive line under Ray Rhodes in 1998.
In an otherwise forgettable season, Castillo did some good things with a rookie left tackle named Tra Thomas and a young veteran named Jermane Mayberry. The Eagles, despite an awful 3-13 season, had some promise up front.
But there was going to be a coaching change in 1999, and Castillo didn't want to fall through the cracks. Once he learned that Andy Reid would be named head coach, Castillo drove to Green Bay and parked in the Packers' parking lot, waiting for the young assistant coach there, Reid, to emerge from the training facility.
Castillo caught up to Reid and explained to the soon-to-be-Eagles-head-coach why he, Castillo, should remain the team's offensive line coach.
Reid bought it. Reid appreciated the passion and the vision from Castillo.
OG Shawn Andrews has matured into one of the game's best
So here we are, nine seasons later. Castillo has produced three Pro Bowl players -- Mayberry, Thomas and Shawn Andrews. All three were first-round draft picks and Castillo has smoothed the rough edges and provided motivation and gotten the most from those high picks.
He has taken a high-dollar free agent like Jon Runyan, who came from a drive-blocking background, and helped him become an all-around right tackle who has been voted to the Pro Bowl.
Castillo has worked with non-drafted players like Hank Fraley and Jamaal Jackson and helped them earn long-term contracts and more playing time than they ever dreamed possible.
And Castillo has taken players like Todd Herremans from small schools to rising players with financial security.
Castillo has done it his way. He drives his players hard. He gives them love and kisses and kicks in the rear end. All Castillo needs is a player with good feet and athletic ability and he can make something of him.
Something.
Anything.
And they usually become pretty good offensive linemen.
"Juan has meant so much to my career," said Herremans. "He has developed me from a raw player to a starter. He was a Division II guy just like me, so I don't know how many other people would have given me a chance, but he believes in me.
"I know he has passion for what he is doing. When you have someone who has that kind of passion for what he is doing, you're going to listen to him and respect him a little bit more. Juan can sometimes be over the top. He rides us. He has stepped it up a notch, and Juan has taken my game to the next level.
"He is very persistent in what he is doing."
No doubt about that. The linemen spend most of their time as a group during these post-draft mini-camp practices. They partner up, seven groups of two players. Castillo moves from group to group and the goes nose to nose with the players as they work on their hands, and the arch of their backs, and the footwork. Always the footwork.
In seven-second bursts, the couples take turns dancing. Castillo provides immediate feedback, instructing the players to position their hands differently, or keep their shoulders back or punch with more effectiveness.
It is frantic and beautiful and necessary.
"He works you, but it's hard to argue with the results," says Andrews, the emerging superstar right guard who is now a svelte 335 pounds. "He really doesn't stop, and he doesn't expect us to stop. Juan knows how to bring out the best in each of us."
Any Eagles fan older than a teenager remembers those days when the offensive line was a patchwork affair and when the pieces just didn't quite fit. Now there are some who think the line is the best in the league.
The Eagles have veteran tackles in Runyan and Thomas, they have Andrews and Herremans at guard and they have Pro Bowl-caliber center in Jackson.
Also, there are quality players in reserve, and they are perfect for Castillo: Winston Justice is a backup left tackle who was a second-round draft pick last year, guards Max Jean-Gilles and Scott Young were mid-round draft picks in recent years, and Nick Cole and Pat McCoy were not drafted last year but they developed so quickly that the Eagles were hungry to keep both on the active roster.
Add in a couple of non-drafted rookies and the Eagles have a group they think can compete against any in the league. It is built for the here and now and it is built to be good for many years to come -- Herremans, Jackson and Andrews have long-term contracts and the young kids in reserve have yet to bite into their NFL contracts yet.
In the middle of it all is the tireless Castillo, pushing, pushing, pushing. Always pushing.
"He has his way," says Runyan. "It works for us and it works for Juan, so I don't see why he would change. That's the way he is. I'm used to it by now. I know what to expect. You come to work and you're going to work hard. There is no letup."
TWO DAYS OF PRACTICE AND ...
Linebacker Takeo Spikes, I am convinced, has absolutely no problems running. He has been around the ball all weekend and his play on Sunday breaking up passing in seven-on-seven drills was outstanding.
Cornerback Rashad Barksdale is raw and he needs work, but I saw a play on Sunday that demonstrated why the Eagles like him: Barksdale ran with Hank Baskett down the field on a post route and leaped up and broke up a pass against the leaping Baskett. Very nice.
What makes wide receiver Kevin Curtis so good is the way he accelerates from his first step to his second step. Curtis is very quick and catches everything. Speaking of wide receivers, Jason Avant had a great two days of camp.
Dirk Johnson and Saverio Rocca have both kicked well and I have graded them as basically even to this point. Rocca has had more booming punts and his upside is far greater than Johnson's. Johnson has more leg now than he had last year. This one will go down to the wire.
The defense is much bigger in the front seven, and I think Jim Johnson is going to sub his linebackers and linemen a lot. You are going to see a bunch of packages. Jeremiah Trotter is the starting middle linebacker, but Omar Gaither is going to play a lot in this defense. And I think the linebackers will blitz quite a bit this year.
You see Tony Hunt and Nate Ilaoa struggle learning the X's and O's, as all young running backs do. They need to show they can pick up the blitz sufficiently before they play.
Kevin Kolb has a lot to his game. He knows where to go with the ball and he gets the ball out. The kid is off to a good start.
C.J. Gaddis really gets after it on special teams. Rory Segrest wants to emphasize to the team how important it is going to be to play physical football on special teams. I think Segrest will run a physical training camp. Gaddis has a tenacity about him. I like it.
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