Tribe failure favors Florida

Boos followed the team that looked as if it had turned its season around.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- A crowd of reporters huddled around Jose Jimenez to hear a story that's been told countless times.
Standing in front of his locker late Tuesday night at Jacobs Field, Jimenez looked downcast, as if his dog had just died.
Instead, the relief pitcher had just destroyed the Cleveland Indians' chances of preserving a late-inning lead against the defending world champions.
Jimenez, whom manager Eric Wedge entrusted as the Indians' closer, gave up two home runs in the ninth inning to erase Cleveland's 5-4 lead and finalize the Florida Marlins' 7-5 victory.
Reaction
"That's kind of a shocker," Indians third baseman Casey Blake said in an empty locker room after the game.
"You think you have the game won and, boom, you're tied."
Ironically, both home runs -- by Miguel Cabrera and Damien Easley -- were hit off Jimenez sinkers, and both balls carried through the warm nighttime air until clanging against the left-field foul pole.
What followed was a chorus of boos for a team that looked as if it had turned its season around, especially after winning three straight games in Anaheim.
"It's very hard for us, especially for me," Jimenez said of another late-game collapse. "I've been feeling great, but I just left a couple of pitches up and paid for it."
Still, nobody seemed to be pushing the panic button following Tuesday's game.
"It's frustrating, but what are you going to do?" Blake said.
"Things happen in baseball, and that's one of them.
"You can't dwell too much on it," he added. "You go home, get a good night's rest, get up and go after it tomorrow."
Jimenez added, "Whatever happened today is in the past; tomorrow's another day. You have to make adjustments and get them [batters] out."
Partner in crime
Jimenez wasn't the only guilty member of the Indians' bullpen Tuesday. Rafael Betancourt gave away his team's 4-3 lead in the eighth on Easley's double and Mark Redmond's RBI single.
"He's a guy who has to mix his pitches," Wedge said of his reliever. "He got behind on guys, and he put himself in a tough position."
One night after showing his paintings at the Butler Institute of American Art, Omar Vizquel rescued the Indians (25-30) in the bottom half of the eighth with an RBI single that provided a 5-4 lead.
But Jimenez couldn't hold that edge for the Indians, who wasted 2-0, 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4 leads throughout the game.
"We played a good game tonight," Wedge insisted. "We put ourselves in a position to win, but we didn't get it done in the back of the bullpen. It's not the first time that's happened."
The anticipated pitching match-up between youthful sensations Dontrelle Willis of Florida (33-25) and Cleveland's Cliff Lee became an afterthought.
Both weren't factored into the decision after each pitcher left with the score tied 3-3.
"Cliff battled. He got us deep into the game," Wedge said. "That's the thing with Cliff. Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he's able to compete. He did a good job of that tonight."
No let-up
Victor Martinez continued to find comfort in the clean-up position. The Indians' catcher went 3-for-5, with a double and a seventh-inning single that provided the 4-3 lead.
Since moving to fourth in the batting order on May 3, Martinez has been slugging the ball impressively.
The former Mahoning Valley Scrapper is hitting .325 (39-of-120) in that span, with 13 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 36 RBIs in 30 starts.
richesson@vindy.com