Comebacks

Yesterday afternoon I made my way down to the stadium for the first time this season and was rewarded with a win that was filled with great signs from players who have been struggling. The first came from Robinson Cano, who entered the game as arguably the worst hitting regular in the American League. In retrospect, it's pretty obvious that his performance wasn't going to remain so terrible. Beyond the fact that he's just too talented a player for that to happen, his .165 BABIP is just too low to be anything but horrible luck. It's one thing, however, to know that he'll turn it around and another thing altogether to see it happen. He had two hard hits with the double and the home run, and the flyout he made in the third inning was hammered as well. He's now hitting .273/.304/.591 in May, and I think we can declare this slump officially over.

Also making a comeback is Wilson Betemit who hit a solo home run right after Cano's. He's now got two hits in as many games since coming back from the DL, and has looked solid at third base. It's a far cry from how he performed while struggling with corneal ulcers in April, and proof that sight is a valuable tool for a baseball player. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Then there were the rebound performances of Joba Chamberlain and Ross Ohlendorf. On Tuesday, Chamberlain revealed that he's some kind of strike throwing cyborg sent from the future by blowing the lead and picking up the loss. Yesterday he showed that, while he is human, he's a resilient one, striking out the man who hit the big home run against him, David Delucci, as he retired the top of the Indians lineup in order. Ohlendorf, meanwhile, continued to show that the beatings he took in the last half of April really were the product of overwork. He threw two efficient, scoreless innings, and as long as he doesn't have to continually throw three or more innings at a time, I think he'll be very dependable.