Battered and frustrated, Tribe heads into break with lots to do

Ahhh, the All-Star break.

Where does the time go?

Seems like only about six years ago the Tribe began the season (with a loss) in Texas, and now, here we are, already at the break.

And if a team ever needed the break, this one does.


If a fan base ever needed a break, this one clearly does.

Many of the more casual fans have moved on to other pursuits, but if you are still reading a blog about the Tribe (or, say, writing one) you definitely need some time off.

Eric Wedge has gone off on his club - uncharacteristically so - about a half dozen times in public. Who knows how many times he's done so without reporters around.

The tension seems to be getting very much thicker among the players as well.

Take Friday night for instance. Cliff Lee, who, to his credit, has sucked up agonizing defeat after agonizing defeat this season, could barely hold back the anger he must be feeling about a team that seems to go to sleep on him nearly every time he pitches. Friday, Lee pitched 7 innings, allowing 3 runs. The Tribe managed 1 run for him. After the game he didn't seem too happy, at least in this quote of him in a PD story.

"Print the same thing I said the last time. It's the same story."

Lee also was apparently irked by Ryan Garko's failure to catch a line drive down the right field line - good for two runs. Again according to the PD, Lee was asked if he thought the ball should have been caught:

"Do you? I don't pass judgment on that. I throw the pitches. Where it goes it goes. It's not up to me to move the outfielders or infielders. All I do is pitch. It did seem like it was in the air a long time. I don't know if they had him shaded the other way or what. You'd have to ask him or Wedgie."

Which is exactly what the press corps did.

Garko, also showing he may be reaching a boiling point, took offense to the questioning:

"Sometimes I think because it's me, I don't make a play, and it becomes a big deal. If [Shin-Soo] Choo's out there, it's a double and it doesn't become an issue. I got a good jump on the ball, went all out. I just didn't make the play."

If I may interject here. It is true that a big deal is made out of it because it is you Ryan. And rightly so. Even the most casual fan can see you are not an outfielder and people criticize not you and your willingness to take on this new challenge but your manager who should also be able to see that a guy with your plodding foot speed should not be playing in the outfield at all, let alone one the size of the outfield in Detroit.

After coming out of the game, Lee could be seen on the bench chatting (mutually muttering, apparently in agreement) with Victor Martinez, a teammate with whom Lee has had at least one public run in.

Friday the two seemed to be sharing their frustrations about the way the team goes about its business.

Victor, in fact, seems to have been in a funk now for about a month - about the same amount of time his BA has been dropping like a rock.

It's a chicken-egg thing going on.

Is Victor frustrated because of his deep and lengthy slump, or is his BA melting away because of his frustration with teammates who don't seem to be really into what they're doing?

Purely a guess on my part, but from what I hear and read about Martinez, I'd say his offense has fallen victim to his frustration boiling over, and not the other way around.

Perhaps the best thing for the guys on the team is that they get away and not see each other's faces for three days.

AFTER THE BREAK

After everyone has had a few days to simmer down, it will be time to get back to work.

The first thing Wedge has to do is get the following notion out of his head:

“We’re a long shot. I understand that. But this is a crazy game. Stranger things have happened. Just look at some of the comebacks in September, let alone with more than two months to play.”

He said that? He really did! Or at least the Beacon Journal's Indians blog Tribe Matters said that he said it.

In another - more coherent - moment, Wedge talked about being vigilant about keeping on top of guys who just might find themselves, shall we say, motivationally challenged in a meaningless second half.

“I think you have to have a heightened awareness of that in the situation we’re in."

Okay, so maybe he isn't delusional after all.

The Tribe Matters post goes on to talk about how Wedge and the brain trust must continue to evaluate what they have in the remaining months, but then focuses on Ben Francisco and the aforementioned Garko, saying Tribe officials don't seem to have made a final decision on them and their abilities.

Let me save you some time.

You get offered anything more valuable than a bag of balls for Francisco prior to July 31, you take it. He's a backup outfielder. No more. No less.

Garko has proven (despite his protestations of being judged too harshly) over the past several years that he is a decent DH. Period. At least on a team that has several options at 1B. And as everyone who watches the team seems to agree (except for Wedgie), he is not an outfielder. There's no way for me to know this, but I get the feeling Garko is fed up with being something less than one of Wedgie's favorites and, unless there's a change in managers at the end of the season (a likely scenario), he would just as soon be playing somewhere else. He should be accommodated.

Shapiro should also be looking to dump a few others in the weeks ahead - starting with Jhonny Peralta.

Peralta has turned out to be a decent 3B. He's much better there than at SS, even though he refuses to see it. As for his attitude, which has shown itself to be less than stellar in the past, he seems to be in an even worse place this season - the switch to 3B the likely culprit. The move was good enough for A-Rod and for Cal Ripken, but not Jhonny Peralta!

A perhaps more valuable piece for a contender would be Jamey Carroll, since he has a good attitude and some versatility. He's also used to performing off the bench. The Tribe might be able to get a decent prospect for him.

Contenders can always use another arm.

You have to assume Carl Pavano will pull a Kevin Millwood. That is, take advantage of the Tribe's need for bargain-basement pitching options to re-establish his career, then take off for the biggest bucks after the season. So you might as well get something for him now.

Raffie Betancourt - and his option of nearly $5 mil for next year - should be shopped if he proves himself healthy over the next few weeks.

Joe Smith? Not sure if the Mets shipped us the right Joe Smith, but the one wearing the Tribe uniform currently would not be missed.

Which brings us to Kerry Wood. I am still of the notion that his ineffectiveness this season is due to rust. The Tribe has no need for a closer this year, but we can hope and pray they will need one next season. Why go through the whole closer hunt again this off-season? I would keep him, but I think there's a decent chance he will be traded. The Yankees need a bridge to the 9th. They could care less about the $10 mil they'd have to pay him next year. And who knows when Mariano Rivera's wizardry might give out. Wood could be an insurance policy if age catches up to Rivera next season.

In the 'good luck with that one' department, Kelly Shoppach should be on the "get-rid-of" list. I doff my cap to those who clamored for the Tribe to sell high on Shoppach last winter. I thought he might be capable of being an everyday player, which would allow Victor to save his body at 1B. I thought wrong. Unless someone's starting catcher goes down, I can't see anyone giving up much for Shoppach.

There are three other names on the deadwood list - Winston Abreu, Jose Veres and Tomo Ohka. Since they would bring nothing in return, they might as well be kept around until all the trading dust settles and the Tribe checks out its hand. If they have enough MLB-ready players to go around, they should dump the trio. If not, they're warm bodies to play out the string.

Two things the Tribe should NOT do before July 31 - trade Lee and Martinez. There has to be something to start with when putting together next year's team. Neither guy breaks the bank in their option year. They both seem to give a damn about winning and losing and trading them would mean the turnstiles getting even more rusty next season.

Which brings us to the guys who need to play in the second half.

It does little good to have Luis Valbuena play every other day. If he's the choice at 2B, let him play. I still think Josh Barfield has talent, but his mind has been fried by the way he was used here, and I don't think he'll make any progress until he goes elsewhere.

Matt LaPorta should be up and playing 1B everyday. Michael Brantley should be up, and playing left field - center when Sizemore needs to rest is elbow.

If Peralta is traded, what harm can come of trying Andy Marte one more time? My guess is he is the classic 4-A player who lacks the confidence to make it over the hump, but there's no harm in giving him one last shot during this lost season.

David Huff must pitch every five days. They need him anyway since the numbers at SP are very thin, but he has shown some flashes of ability as he as pitched more innings (his last outing notwithstanding).

In September, I'd give Hector Rondon about 5 or 6 starts to get his feet wet.

And the Tribe must find a way to get Aaron Laffey, Fausto Carmona, Jensen Lewis, Raffie Perez and now (apparently) Chris Perez pitching back at their ability levels. I'm not all that optimistic about many of them, but the field staff has to try. And if they can't resurrect these guys, all the more reason to dump the whole staff come October.

Which brings me to the final two things Shapiro must do in the second half - scour the baseball world and come up with a short list to replace Wedge, and polish up his own resume just in case the ownership has the guts to start the management overhaul where it should start, at the top.