I've thought about the Tribe's inactivity at today's trade deadline for quite a while now, and I've come to the conclusion that Mark Shapiro gets a failing grade.
It is true that those who got pitching paid a steep price. It is also true that a number of teams looking for relief help came up empty.
You could also make a case for looking down the road a bit and keeping people like Ben Francisco or Franklin Gutierrez rather than going for broke in a season when a deadline deal might not do enough to fill the holes on the team. That last argument I might entertain. Maybe there are too many holes on this team to go for the big prize this year.
Then came tonight's game. You can (and should) blame the Tribe's offense for this loss, but the late innings of this game provided a preview of what we are likely to see too many times for the rest of the year.
Whether the offense begins to produce again and the score is 7-5, or it continues to slumber and the score is 3-1, we are going to see the Tribe involved in a number of one- and two-run games down the stretch. If they're ahead, they have the Raffies and Joe Borowski to try to hold the late leads.
But there will also be a number of games where the team is down by just a run or two and the team's fate is placed in the hands of Jensen Lewis. And when the bases start to fill up, we'll look in the bullpen and see Edward Mujica warming up. Or Tom Mastny. It worked tonight (sort of), but do we really want that? I know I don't.
Something needed to be done to add a late-inning arm to help out the Raffies. It didn't happen. It was Shapiro's call. I think he blew it.
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What do you think? Respond by clicking the "comment" button below or voting in our new Tribe Poll on the right-hand side of your screen. (or both)
It is true that those who got pitching paid a steep price. It is also true that a number of teams looking for relief help came up empty.
You could also make a case for looking down the road a bit and keeping people like Ben Francisco or Franklin Gutierrez rather than going for broke in a season when a deadline deal might not do enough to fill the holes on the team. That last argument I might entertain. Maybe there are too many holes on this team to go for the big prize this year.
Then came tonight's game. You can (and should) blame the Tribe's offense for this loss, but the late innings of this game provided a preview of what we are likely to see too many times for the rest of the year.
Whether the offense begins to produce again and the score is 7-5, or it continues to slumber and the score is 3-1, we are going to see the Tribe involved in a number of one- and two-run games down the stretch. If they're ahead, they have the Raffies and Joe Borowski to try to hold the late leads.
But there will also be a number of games where the team is down by just a run or two and the team's fate is placed in the hands of Jensen Lewis. And when the bases start to fill up, we'll look in the bullpen and see Edward Mujica warming up. Or Tom Mastny. It worked tonight (sort of), but do we really want that? I know I don't.
Something needed to be done to add a late-inning arm to help out the Raffies. It didn't happen. It was Shapiro's call. I think he blew it.
---
What do you think? Respond by clicking the "comment" button below or voting in our new Tribe Poll on the right-hand side of your screen. (or both)
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1 comment:
OK I am back after a few days off due to "technical difficulties" A 3-7 homestand is "el stinko" offense was bad when pitching was good - pitching was good when offense was bad. well the patient is not dead as maybe westbrook finally has it back together. And what is wrong with the Tigers. This is a big series against the twins cause if they loose 3 of 4 the twins are back in it. nothing worse than a 2-2 trip. Unfortunately the bridge catastrophe in minny takes away some of the fun of the game. My hearts and prayers go out the victims and families.
regarding the indians - game 2 of the texas series was bad. Gave up 2 leads and I agree more expereince is needed in bullpen.
Shapiro said he did not want to trade francisco - why - there are lots of young OF in Buffalo and Akron. Since cleveland plays OF by committee losing Franciscso would not have been so bad. If the Indians do not make the playoffs - Shapiro will again be remembered as doing NOTHING -
Stay cool -
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