Carmona

Jim Ingraham
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
Well, the question now becomes, much as it did with C.C. Sabathia, what in the world has happened to Fausto Carmona?
How could a pitcher who won 19 games in the regular season, a pitcher who figures to get lots of Cy Young Award votes, a pitcher who is acclaimed league-wide as being, even at this young age, one of the best in the business, how could a pitcher like that pitch this poorly in the postseason?
Carmona only lasted two innings in Game 6 Saturday night. He threw 36 pitches in the first inning and 63 in two innings. After loading the bases in the first inning with no outs, he got the next two batters and it appeared as though he was going to pull off a miraculous escape act.
But then he left a pitch over the center of the plate, and J.D. Drew, the Boston hitter who already has gained a reputation as the worst clutch hitter on the team, pounded it over the wall in center field for a grand slam that not only changed the game, but basically ended it.
Carmona did have that one spectacular start against the Yankees in the bug game at Jacobs Field. But in his two starts against Boston Carmona has awful.
I’m no pitching coach, but to me he looks like a pitcher who seems intimidated by his first trip into the postseason. In particular Carmona seems unable to handle the atmosphere in Fenway Park, which can be one of the most intimidating places to play in the major leagues.
Remember, his outstanding start against the Yankees came at Jacobs Field. His two starts vs. the Red Sox both came at Fenway Park. Fenway Park is also where Carmona suffered two of his three meltdowns as a closer last year, giving up two walkoff hits in a couple of spectacular blown saves.
It looks to me like Carmona is having trouble handling not just the pressure of the postseason, but the pressure of facing a very good Boston lineup in a very difficult ballpark in which to pitch.
Maybe a year from now, if the Indians make it back to the postseason, Carmona’s experience in the playoffs this year will help him. But that hasn’t helped any this year. And if the Indians lose Game 7 in the ALCS to Boston tonight it won’t be because of anything that happens in that particular game.
It will be because the Indians started Carmona and C.C. Sabathia in Games 1, 2, 5 and 6 _ and they didn’t win any of them. Had they just won one of those four games started by their two aces, there never would have been a seventh game.