Indians closer Chris Perez had an awful outing on opening day. After a gem from Justin Masterson, in which the Indians opening-day starter struck out 10 while allowing only two hits and one run in eight innings, Perez coughed up a three-run lead while only getting two outs.
Since then it's been near-perfection for Perez. In 20 outings since opening day, he is a perfect 16-for-16 in save chances with a 1.44 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.
His latest save came Thursday afternoon in a 2-1 Indians win ... over Justin Verlander. The victory marked a sweep over the Tigers and gave the Tribe a four-game lead in the AL Central -- six games over the division-favorite, high-priced Tigers.
Leading the AL Central on May 24 isn't new to the Indians. Last season, they held a six-game lead. They didn't fall into second place until June 14 and were last tied for first on July 20. And then they got blown out, finishing a distant 15 games behind the Tigers.
So this group will invariably be questioned until it proves this season is different. My advice is for the entire team to take on the persona of its closer. Remember, Chris Perez called out the Royals earlier this season on his Twitter account and recently bashed Indians fans for the lack of home attendance. I don't think the latter incident in particular is productive, but the attitude in general might be. Going with an "us against the world" mantra is not even close to original, but it can still bind teams together.
You can crunch all the numbers you want, but confidence and togetherness can't be measured. They can help, so long as the team has good talent -- which the Indians do.
Perez has a swagger -- and a bit of a chip on his shoulder -- when he pitches. He looks angry a lot of the time, yet harnesses it into productive performances. If the rest of his teammates, particularly the younger ones, can bring the same kind of fire, this could end up being a special season on Lake Erie.
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