Tribe Fan in Yankeeland

Found: Tall right-hander, Answers to the name 'Fausto'

2009-08-23T23:49:00.002-04:00

Fausto Carmona - missing in action for nearly two years now - has been found.

And he was right where the Tribe left him - on the mound at Progressive Field (though it was Jacobs Field when he was last seen prior to Sunday).

For the past two seasons - we have learned - an impostor has been wearing Fausto's No. 55 and taking the hill for the Tribe.

It is rumored that Tribe manager Eric Wedge, being tied up with his self-challenge to come up with 162 different lineups in one season, didn't realize the impostor had slipped into Fausto's uni beginning in spring training 2008.

It is unclear where the real Fausto has been over the past 23 months.

One thing is clear - the "real" Fausto - or at least what the Tribe hopes is the real Fausto - made the start Sunday at Progressive Field.

This Fausto had a ball that moved, but just far enough out of the zone to entice Seattle hitters to put the ball into play, or in the case of eight Mariners - miss it altogether. He had poise and "stayed within himself," as the players like to say.

It made all the difference in the world.

In all Carmona went seven innings, allowing five hits, one walk and one run. He threw 116 pitches - 76 of them for strikes.

It was - no doubt - Fausto's best outing of the season.

Tony Sipp and Chris Perez finished things off quite easily over the final two innings, lending more credence to the rumor that some semblance of a bullpen has also been found - also after a two-year absence.

The guys who are likely to make up the core of next year's team - Travis Hafner, Jhonny Peralta, Grady Sizemore, Luis Valbuena and Matt LaPorta continued the team's hot hitting, making for a pleasant "family fun" day at the ballpark.

All of which is well and good, but the best piece of news to come down the pike in a while is that the real Fausto apparently has been found.

That, more than any other individual development in recent weeks, is key to the Tribe returning to respectability next season.

Why we still watch

2009-08-20T22:43:00.003-04:00

Wow. Wasn't that fun?

Just finished watching the Tribe take it to the Angels tonight.

If you're anything like me you ask yourself nightly, Why am I still watching these guys?

The games mean nothing for this season.

And, as we've learned the hard way time and again in the Wedgie years, what's happening now probably won't mean a heck of a lot for next year either.

But, we keep watching because nights like tonight keep the flicker of hope alive within us.

It's easy to picture Justin Masterson slicing up one of the game's best offenses next year, with a huge assist in a tight spot from Tony Sipp.

Sounds like a formula for a lot of wins in 2010, doesn't it?

And then there was that sixth inning, with everyone contributing - top to bottom.

The vets on the club contributed - with Travis Hafner doubling with two guys on, driving in one of the runs and later scoring on a sacrifice fly. He added an RBI single a couple of innings later.

You can just see Hafner, his shoulder in much better shape, knocking in runs in bunches next year.

Jhonny Peralta had three hits, with Sizemore, Cabrera and Choo each contributing two. Even Andy Marte had two hits, though one was a checked swing roller.

Matt LaPorta 2.0, making his first appearance since being recalled, had a key hit in the heart of the seven-run sixth, knocking in two and adding another ribbie later. And can't you just see LaPorta at the heart of many a rally next year?

It's hardly an every-night occurrence, this team hitting on all cylinders. But it has been happening more lately.

On the surface, Tribe fans - me especially - are curmudgeons and pessimists. But the truth is, with me - and I'm betting with you - way down deep inside we still believe that some day, some way, we will make it to the promised land and it's nights like this that contribute to what some might consider a delusion.

Why else would we be watching and then writing or reading about it when it's over?

(Full disclosure: I did spend an awful lot of time in the hot sun today.)

How's Wedgie doin'?

2009-08-18T23:47:00.006-04:00

It was the 4th of July weekend when Tribe GM Mark Shapiro went public with his promise that Eric Wedge and his coaches would be around at least until the end of the season, when all would be evaluated.

Since that time the Tribe has played 35 games and put up an 18-17 record. Better than they had been to that point, but hardly an exciting number.

But at the time Shapiro said the post-season evaluation would have less to do with wins and losses than with player development.

Specifically, Shapiro was looking for Wedge to polish off a few prospects to the point where they could be counted on to be a positive presence next season.

So, to borrow of a phrase from former NYC mayor Ed Koch, "How's Wedgie doin'."

Maybe the easiest way to do this is to take each of the youngsters one-by-one and see what type of progress they've made, or in the case of some how much regression there has been this season.

The dismal first half was a collective effort, with all facets of the team underperforming - except possibly for the ground crew and field operations folks who found a quick solution to the seagull problem that cropped up in the late spring.

But it was the pitching - especially the bullpen - that was most responsible for the disaster that the 2009 season quickly became.

So let's start up on the hill.

There are so many failures here a case can be made for many a player, but for argument sake let's just say Fausto Carmona was the biggest disappointment and the biggest drag on the team's success.

As you know, Fausto was sent to Arizona to have his hard-drive cleared and to start the season all over with a clean slate.

Carmona's made four starts since returning from his reprogramming. At first glance, it looks as if some progress has been made in remaking Carmona.

Going into his start Tuesday, Carmona had made 3 starts since his recall, pitching 17 innings and allowing just 5 earned runs - for an ERA of 2.65. But in those 3 starts, Fausto gave up 15 hits and 10 walks in 17 innings. That's a WHIP of 1.47. He'd averaged only 5 2/3 innings in those 3 starts, mostly because he was at or near 100 pitches by that time. He threw three 299 pitches in those three starts, with 172, or 55%, of them being strikes. Not good at all.

Granted tonight's start versus the Angels was against an offense that has averaged about 8 runs per game over the last 6 weeks or so, but it was perhaps Fausto's worst outing since his return. While he gave up just 3 earned runs in 5 innings, the outing was a lot uglier than those numbers indicate. Carmona gave up 10 hits and two walks over those 5 innings, which took him 110 pitches (66 of them, or 54%, strikes) to complete.

So far, Carmona has not shown he's anywhere close to the pitcher who won 19 games just two seasons ago. Better than he was in May, but with still a long way to go.

Aaron Laffey is another story.

Since returning from a mid-season injury, Laffey has made 7 starts and has put up an ERA of 2.93 in 47 innings. In three of those 7 starts Laffey was unscored upon. His 1.38 WHIP has been a little high, but for a groundball pitcher base runners can be easily erased two at a time.

Laffey is looking as polished as any one of the youngsters on the club and should be someone to be counted on next year.

Jeremy Sowers? A string of 3 starts in late July and early August in which Sowers actually survived into the 7th twice and had 3 so-called quality starts seemed to indicate he might be coming around. But in his last outing Sowers folded after 5 again, much as he has done throughout most of the season.

Has Sowers progressed this year under Wedge? I vote no.

Over 17 starts this year, David Huff has put up 6.55 ERA, a 1.65 WHIP and a .319 BA against. Having seen many of his starts on the dish, it seems like those numbers are a bit worse than Huff's actual performance. He has shown flashes at times. But has he developed as he should have this season? Nada.

You could argue that the utter failure of Raffie Perez and Jensen Lewis to perform up to expectations was an even bigger factor in the first half than Carmona's disappearance. I wouldn't give you much of an argument.

Perez has been up and down a few times and Lewis was sent back to Columbus for retooling. Has either been straightened out?

Four of Perez's 5 outings since his latest recall have been scoreless, which is encouraging. But I would hardly say he's been lights out, having allowed 9 base runners in the 5 innings he's pitched over those 5 outings. Still, there's hope Perez can show he's back on track over the next 6 weeks.

Jensen Lewis, like Perez, has had 5 outings since his recall, 4 of which have been scoreless over 7 innings. He too looks to be heading back in the right direction, but lets not forget he put up 13 saves during garbage time with the heat off last August and September as well.

Tony Sipp was most recently recalled in late June. He was horrid in June/July, giving up 7 runs in 7 2/3 innings over 12 outings and allowing 14 base runners in that time frame. August has been another story, as Sipp has allowed only 1 run and 4 base runners in 7 1/3 innings over 8 outings. Another guy who seems to be showing improvement of late.

Chris Perez has been as-advertised since coming over from St. Louis (excepting 2 bad outings in his first 3 appearances with the Tribe).

Jess Todd, the other pitcher obtained from the Cardinals for Mark DeRosa, is still getting his feet wet, but he hasn't looked good doing it - allowing 4 runs in 5 innings over 5 outings. Not much to go on with him yet though.

As far as position players go, there are fewer to be looked at, at least to this point.

Andy Marte continues to be hopelessly lost at the plate and at times (like tonight when he made a costly error and failed to cut off a throw to the plate that cost the Tribe an out) in the field.

Is Marte just lacking the intangibles that separate AAAA players from big-leaguers?

Is he unable to get anything going because Wedge stubbornly refuses to play him every day and he can't get his timing down?

Is he pressing because he knows Wedge won't play him regularly unless he starts to rip it up at the plate?

Who knows. But one thing is clear. When it comes time to look at players Wedge and his staff were charged with developing, this is their biggest failure.

Chris Gimenez? What is Wedge's infatuation here? And is Wedge retarding the development of others by giving Gimenez so much playing time?

Much like with Gimenez, Wedge apparently sees a lot he likes in Luis Valbuena.

In this case I agree with him.

Something about Valbuena's body language on the field, and the attitude he brings makes you feel as though he expects to succeed. And, despite a less-than-stellar .233 BA, he has a nice stroke and rips the ball into the gaps, allowing him to put up an .840 OPS in July and .768 so far this month.

The middle infield appears to be an area of little concern for next season.

We haven't seen enough of Wyatt Toregas to make an assessment yet, and just when it seemed like Trevor Crowe was getting a feel for things he came out of the lineup with an injury.

In September, there are likely to be some new youngsters for Wedge & Co. to work with. Hector Rondon seems like a sure call-up, as does Carlos Carrasco, who is 4-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 4 starts since coming to Columbus in the Cliff Lee deal. Just as important, he's walked only 5 and has struck out 27 in 28 innings at Columbus.

Looking forward to seeing what this duo will do at the big-league level, even if it will be just a September call-up for them.

Which brings us to the other likely call-up next month - Matt LaPorta. I say "likely" because there were three other times this season that I thought he would get recalled, and he remains - mysteriously - in Columbus.

Why LaPorta is not here now - especially since the Tribe has been forced to start Jamey Carroll in the outfield the past few games - is beyond me.

The only thing that makes any sense is that Shapiro was so unhappy with Wedge's indifference to playing LaPorta when he was up briefly earlier this year that he doesn't want to give Wedge another chance to sew seeds of doubt in the youngster's head.

And if that's the case, none of the rest of what I've written will matter. Wedge will be a goner.

And not a moment too soon.

The Cleveland Indians - forever riding in coach

2009-08-08T23:27:00.006-04:00

So how 'bout that Tomo Ohka?

OK. That's not really what I want to talk about.

It's been a few days since the Dolan family told us all that the hard reality of MLB in the 2000's is that Cleveland, and other towns like it, has to accept second-class status. At least as long as the sport's current economic system is in place, and it isn't likely to change any time soon.

So far, from what I can tell by reading reaction on a variety of online sites, Paul Dolan's comments are not being well received by most.

The comment by Dolan that pretty much said it all to Tribe fans, and brought home to many the distasteful position we are in as fans of a small market team, is the following:

"Every four or five years, if we can have a shot at the World Series like we did in '07 and compete for the playoffs like we did in '05, that's as good as it gets."

So those are the goal posts - one run for a playoff spot, one shot in the playoffs and three seasons of underachievement every five years.

It's a statement that is frank, and a reality that hits Tribe fans right between the eyes.

Dolan is right.

The truth is that under baseball's current system there really is no long-term run to be made by small-market teams.

Instead, they have to get rid of anybody that's worth anything to the big boys (or some other also-ran who happens to be having a hot year), load up with youngsters that will all mature at roughly the same time, and make a one- to three-year run sometime four or five years from now.

As hard as that is to accept. It is reality. And to make matters worse, the small market teams have to hit paydirt on virtually every one of their trades made in the dismantling period, or they will find themselves several players short for a serious run down the road and forced to rip things up yet again.

(See KC Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland A's - despite their reputation a few years back as a team that learned to beat the system - and now the Tribe).

The disparities between baseball's haves and have-nots are blatantly obvious at the big league level, but they go all the way down the minor league chain and right to the feeding of the system - the draft.

While most of the headlines from Dolan's presentation were about the projected financial losses for this season and next, and Dolan's assertion that playoff runs will - by design - have to be periodic, one of his points received less attention than I thought it deserved.

It's a point I try to argue with my Yankee-fan friends, neighbors and colleagues when they think they've trumped my argument that the team buys its success. They rattle off the names Posada, Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera and point out that this long-time core of the team was home grown.

But what few people know, or at least recognize, is something that Dolan pointed out this week. The system is skewed toward the big boys when it comes to acquiring young talent too.

While there is no pay cap at the MLB level, there is also no restriction on the amount of money a team can spend on draftee signing bonuses and foreign talent.

Dolan says that plays to the advantage of big-market teams.

"The larger market teams have managed to take their money and, in fact, manipulate the amateur draft situation so that not only are they bringing in the elite talent at the Major League level, but they're bringing in at a disproportionate basis the elite talent at the entry level of Major League Baseball."

While the have-nots typically go first in the draft by virtue of their awful win-loss records at the MLB level, it is not uncommon for teams to take not the best player, but the best player they think they can afford when it's their turn at the draft table.

Or, they can take a chance on the bigger talent and then watch the youngster say "no thanks" and go back to college and hope for a higher payday from a richer team a year later.

Did you know that the Tribe once drafted Tim Lincecum? It was back in 2005, but they couldn't get him to sign and he ended up with the Giants a year later.

It's happened close to home and it happens around the league every year. There's no way to prove that a team has passed on a better talent in favor of an affordable talent on draft day, but that could explain the dismal early-round performance of the Tribe in the past decade.

And then there's the role money plays in bringing in talent from Japan, Korea and Latin America.

Dolan suggested a world-wide draft with a slotting system as a way of helping to balance the disparity of teams at the MLB level by making things a bit more fair at the player-entry level.

The suggestion makes a lot of sense.

In the next round of collective bargaining the players are no more likely to accept a salary cap then they have been for the past 20 or 30 years. But the rank and file of the players union might be willing to throw the young, unknown and as yet undrafted players under the bus as long as they get to keep their unrestrained salaries at the MLB level.

That may be especially true if it starts to look like some of the small-market teams just can't make it work anymore - meaning fewer jobs at the MLB level.

But until something changes in the way MLB does business, as the Dolans have reminded us, we will have to be content to take a once-every-five-or-six-year run at things.

It's been the Florida Marlin way for years, and they've been reasonably successful at it.

The Tribe's first stab at it has been a bust and we now find ourselves in rebuild number two.

The life-insurance actuarial tables say I've only got four or five more rebuilds to go, And given the fact that I don't exercise or eat the way I should, it could be even fewer than that.

So let's hope the Tribe gets it right sooner rather than later.

(To check Top 50 TV markets based on figures provided by Nielsen Media click here and scroll down a bit. The numbers are from 2004 so there may - undoubtedly has been - some reordering of the markets.)

---

On the field, the Tribe has been looking a lot better lately. They're 11-6 in their last 17 games and over .500 (12-9) since the All-Star break.

We've gotten two decent looks at Justin Masterson - one of the major acquisitions by the Tribe in their recent fire sale - and he's looked quite solid both times out. It'll be fun to see what he does when he is stretched out enough to really take hold in the rotation.

Jhonny Peralta and Kelly Shoppach have started their "keep-me-on-the-team-next-year" hitting binges. Too little too late, but at least it makes the games a bit more fun to watch lately.

Trevor Crowe appears to be a different person in his third go-round with the Tribe.

Chris Perez has, for several appearances now, looked like what he was advertised to be when he was brought over from St. Louis as partial payment for Mark DeRosa. Jess Todd was a little later getting here, but it will be interesting to see what he adds to the pen as well.

Overall - save last night once Masterson left - the team has looked crisper and a lot less disinterested than they did a few weeks back.

All of this, one would think, would be a positive for Tribe fans.

But many fans seem to be worried that a second-half surge (or at least a surge-ette) will bolster the argument for Eric Wedge's return next year - something I feel comfortable in saying the vast majority of fans do not want.

In his chat with the media during the week, Paul Dolan addressed that as well.

It's difficult to say where he stands on the prospect of Wedge returning on 2010.

On the one hand:

"Eric and his staff have achieved a lot in their time here. I think fans tend to forget that. When he took over in '03, he took over what was, in essence, an expansion franchise. In a relatively short period of time, he turned it into a competitive team. He and others deserve a lot of credit for that."

But on the other hand:

"Despite that, we have not been successful the last few years with a team that should have been successful. We have to understand why that is. We also have to understand that sometimes fans want or need to hear a different voice."

My gut tells me that with a fan base as disgusted as Tribe fans are with the recent trades and the team's overall lot in life in MLB, that last point Dolan makes will weigh heavily in the Dolans' decision on Wedge. (It's theoretically Mark Shapiro's call but the Dolans will obviously have a big say in the matter.)

After telling the customers they'll have to eat lots of hamburger before they get even a whiff of steak, it just seems to me that Wedge will be the sacrificial lamb in the offseason. Something to satiate those thirsting for blood.

And that ain't necessarily a bad thing.

One last thought before I go.

Haven't we seen enough of Chris Giminez? The guy is not bad as a catcher, is a stiff at 1B and doesn't appear to be much of a hitter.

Can we PLEASE get Matt LaPorta up here, put him at 1B, and see what he can do? Why is the Tribe so reluctant to bring him topside?

At the very least let's get Andy Marte in there every day. I still think he's a bust, but let's give him an every-day job so he can - once and for all - show what, if anything, he has to contribute.

Is it Rocky Colavito all over again?

2009-08-03T19:01:00.005-04:00

The past week or so has been depressing and difficult for Tribe fans. This fan included.

That is especially true coming, as it does, on the heels of last year's forced dumping of CC, and his eventual donning of pinstripes.

Cleveland fans are justifiably angry by the team's performance, and even more so by it's dismantling.

Fans, for whatever reason, become emotionally attached to the guys wearing their city's colors - much more so than the other way around.

But with Victor Martinez, that was clearly not the case. His emotional goodbye and just the pride on his face each day as he wore the Tribe colors seem to prove that the fondness the fans had for Victor was felt equally strongly by our now-departed hero.

With the trading of Victor and Cliff Lee, and to a much lesser degree of Ryan Garko, Raffie Betancourt, Ben Francisco and Mark DeRosa, the hue and cry from the fans has been loud and long.

Again, justifiably and understandably so.

I was 3 1/2 years old when Rocky Colavito was traded to the Tigers on the eve of the 1960 season, so I'm not going to pretend to know the level of fan outrage at the time. But as we have all read (and some experienced), it was considerable.

(The PD's online archives go back only to 1991 at this point but the above link is a clip from a paper called the Eugene Register-Guard. I can only assume the paper is from Eugene, Ore. If you double-click on the link to open it, then left-click and hold on the clip itself, you can move the page around and find that even in Eugene, the trade was big news and that one of the articles was about the fan reaction to the deal in Cleveland).

It wasn't until at least the following season, and maybe the one after that, that I was old enough to have any tangible memories of the Tribe or any real understanding of what was going on on the field. But I do remember the bitterness of the fans that pervaded the city for most of my formative years.

In my own family it was tangible. My grandpa would wear his wishbone-C Tribe cap, but would almost always have a funny, yet sarcastic, comment about the team and those who ran it. My uncle and older cousin would go to several games a year and bring me along with them - but we expected the worst and were rarely disappointed.

Anger at the Indians for the Colavito trade lasted a long time in Cleveland and shaped the attitude of an entire generation of Tribe fans.

We were serious fans, with hope every April, but with the deep-down knowledge that no matter how many game-winning hits Gomer Hodge had in the first two weeks of a season, the bottom half of the standings is where we were heading before the year was out.

Just as with the trades of Lee and Victor, Tribe fans have threatened many times to boycott the team - or at the very least just follow them on the radio, or TV. But in the early 1960's, these anger-induced declarations turned out to be more than idle threats. And they may or may not play out again in the 2010's.

In 1959, the year Colavito won the HR crown wearing a Tribe uniform, the Indians drew 1.5 million fans to Municpal Stadium, compared to an American League average of 1.1 million.

In 1960, the year the Colavito deal was made just before opening day, 951,000 fans came to the stadium, compared with a league average of 1.2 million.

By 1961, Tribe attendance was down to 9,000 a game, or 726,000 for the season. The league averaged 1 million fans that year. Attendance cratered in 1963 at 563,000, or just under 7,000 a game.

(Attendance numbers are rounded for easier reading.)

So, in the year of the trade, attendance at Tribe games dropped 36.5% from 1959. The following year it dropped 52% from Colavito's last year on the team (the first time around). And at it's low ebb - in the fourth Colavito-less season of 1963 - attendance was off 62% from 1959.

During roughly the same period as the Colavito trade, the Indians traded off other eventual stars in the big leagues - among them Stormin' Norm Cash (also to the Tigers for Steve Demeter) and Jim Perry (for Jack Kralick) and Mudcat Grant (for George Banks and Lee Stange) to the Twins in separate deals.

During the years mentioned above, the team's record dropped with the attendance. The team ended 1959 with an 89-65 record, but finished a few games short of .500 every year after that until 1965.

Fans, of course, blamed the trade(s) for the big drop-off and stayed away in droves.

There were rumors of the team being moved because attendance was so low and the fan base so turned off.

The team, run then by Gabe Paul, was so desperate to turn things around with the fans (and resurrect the attendance and revenue levels) that they reacquired Colavito by trading two youngsters - Tommy John and Tommie Agee.

While Colavito (league-leading 108 RBI) and the team (87-75) had a solid season in 1965, it was a hefty price to pay to say the least. John won 288 games and played another 20 seasons (minus the years recouping from the surgery named after him) and Agee was rookie of the year in 1966 and a chief cog on the Mets' 1969 World Series championship team.

Still attendance did increase dramatically that season (43% from the prior season) as the fans came back to see The Rock. The team - for the first time since 1959 - outdrew the league average.

So, while the threats of angry fans who say they aren't coming back, - that "they're done with these bums" or will never again put money in an owners pocket - have often been idle threats, history shows that it has happened here in the past - at least for a long-enough period to be quite damaging.

The question is whether the anger pouring from Indians fans now is deep enough to allow history to repeat itself.

It is certainly understandable that it would be, and I hold at least some fear that this current generation of Tribe fans, like their grandparents, may have been pushed too far too often.

Coping with life after Victor

2009-07-31T22:56:00.004-04:00

It's taken me a bit of time to get something up on this site tonight because I've been struggling to put into words just how I feel about the latest punch in the stomach - the Victor Martinez trade.

I was wild-eyed angry the other night with the trade of Cliff Lee.

I was angry that Lee was gone, but what really lit my fire was the realization that the deal meant another gutting and rebuild - with the next move sure to involve Victor.

So with Victor gone, I'm feeling an odd mixture of emotions, and anger is at the low end of list.

Sadness is probably the most prevalent feeling for me tonight.

How can you watch Victor's post-trade chat with reporters and not feel it?

How can you think of the 2007 season and not feel it?

How can you look at the unrealized expectations of the 2009 season and not feel it?

How can you see the latest core of players you thought might take us where we want to go, then see it broken up over the past 12 months - starting with CC -and not feel sad?

It's not an emotion really, but I'm also feeling a little sick to my stomach having just listened to Mark Shapiro during the Tribe game move up his contention-expectation clock to 2010. It was an obvious, and shameless, attempt to neutralize some of the venom being spewed by Tribe fans who are clearly not up for another rebuilding period that they just didn't see coming.

(I'm also feeling some nausea listening to Matt Underwood during the interview with Shapiro planting a big one right between the GM's two butt cheeks, but that's really beside the point I'm trying to make here.)

I would be lying if I denied the tiniest spark of curiosity about the new direction the team was forced into over the past few weeks. I would say the feeling stops well short of excitement, but I have already found myself mentally moving people in and out of the rotation, pen and starting lineup and trying to convince myself that there might just be enough new blood around to fill lots of holes.

We'll talk about that in detail at another time though.

Let's get back to the Victor deal.

As I said I have had two days to process all the anger that came with the Lee trade, and the realization that the plug has been pulled and some bleak days are ahead.

Unlike the night of the Lee trade, there was no surprise tonight.

I mostly just feel an emptiness that comes with knowing the heart and soul of the team - a real Cleveland Indian, the way Thome and Vizquel were real Cleveland Indians - has been sent packing.

It's not a feeling I haven't felt before and it's a feeling I'm sure to feel again, being a fan of a small-market team in a flawed system that stacks all the cards against teams like the Tribe.

So what is there to do but suck it up and see what we got for Victor?

My initial reaction to the deal was much like my initial reaction to the Lee deal - we didn't get the guys everyone else was looking for. In this case it was starter, and top prospect, Clay Buckholz and reliever Daniel Bard, both currently with the Red Sox.

While that is true, the Tribe did get Justin Masterson - a pitcher already up in the bigs and ready to step into the rotation once he gets stretched out after pitching in the bullpen with the Sox.

LHP Nick Hagadone is also a key piece for the Tribe, and the guy with the highest upside in this deal for Cleveland. He's a flame thrower who Shapiro said was clocked recently at 99 by Tribe scouts. More routinely, he's at 94-95 with what is said to be an exceptional slider. There is the little matter of TJ surgery less than a year ago, but based on what he's doing this year, it appears the operation was a success.

In his TV appearance tonight, Shapiro said Hagadone will either be put on an accelerated track to the back of the Tribe's bullpen, or a much slower track to the front end of the rotation. If he is put on the starter track, Hagadone's development will be slower because he will be on an innings limit due to to the surgery.

Bryan Price, like Hagadone, is pitching at Class A after being the 45th player picked overall in the 2008 draft. He's not looking so good so far, but he too has mid-90's capabilities.

Maybe it's the 48-hour cooling-off period since the Lee trade, or the encouraging outing tonight by Fausto Carmona, or maybe even the three Yeunglings I had with my burger tonight, but I'm starting to come to terms with the reality that the Tribe - again - is rebuilding.

Most of the Tribe's players have played poorly this season. Eric Wedge has been even worse as a manager. And the front office has failed for years to produce homegrown players to add to those they've acquired in trade.

There's a lot wrong with the organization from top to bottom.

There will be time to deal with front-office and management issues when the season ends. But the time to start fixing the talent shortage was now.

Time will tell if the pieces picked up by Shapiro were the right ones. But - after thinking things over the past few days - I began to see some merit to the argument that there was not enough talent at the top end of the organization to make a serious go of things. And since the Tribe can't just go out and buy the two top pitchers on the market and the top bat or two - like another team we know - this is how it has to be done.

My original sentiment was to just chuck it all and get a hobby like gardening for the summer. Many of you are threatening yourself with the same thing - giving up on the Tribe and baseball.

But I know myself too well, and I know that I can't do that.

I don't have to be happy about it. And I will continue to bitch about just how broken baseball's system is. But I will go through yet another rebuild with the Tribe and enjoy whatever good moments come along as this new group of Tribesman evolves into our next great hope.

In the meantime, can I have another Yeungling please?

Tribe trades Lee, Francisco; Pulls plug on this year and next

2009-07-29T19:25:00.022-04:00

(Updated at 10:39 PM EDT with Shapiro comments)

"We had some lack of conviction with the team's ability to be a definitive contender next year. If felt we could contend with zero additions, we definitively would not have made this deal."

And so we hear from the man himself.

Tribe GM Mark Shapiro - at a news conference officially announcing the trade of Cliff Lee to Philadelphia - essentially said the front office has no illusions that the team it created will contend in 2010, so key pieces of "now" are being shipped for possible pieces of "future."

Even more depressing for the fan base, Shapiro said at the press conference that he's been told by the Dolans that they will not pony up for additions to the roster over the winter. So, having determined that without experienced reinforcements the team will go nowhere again next season, the fire sale's biggest piece of merchandise was moved, with an equally big piece about to be shipped.

Now it's wait until 2011 - at least.

But if you've followed this team long enough, you know that tomorrow (in this case 2011 or 2012) never comes.

It is awful as a fan to always be on the butt end of these kinds of trades - where you get the prospects and watch one of your team's guys go off and help fulfill some other fan's dreams.

But it's even harder in cases like this one, where the deal fails to bring in return even the promise of something better down the road.

Shapiro, as you might guess, thinks he got a pretty good haul in this deal.

"The value was compelling. It had to be compelling. We received three players who can contribute [soon] in a meaningful way, as well as one player with high upside."

I suppose he couldn't say, "Look, the Dolans are pulling the plug on this thing and I had to get something for Lee."

But how else can you explain what Shapiro settled for?

At face value, the Tribe got four of the Phillies top 10 prospects.

They got an 18-year-old pitcher who throws in the high 90's in Jason Knapp.

The other pitcher coming to the Tribe in the deal, 22-year-old Carlos Carrasco, was seen by many as the soon-to-be-No. 2 man in the Phillies rotation.

So Shapiro got what he was looking for, right? Pitching, pitching and more pitching.

Well, maybe not so much.

Knapp, the 18-year-old supposed center piece of the deal from the Tribe's standpoint, has been on the DL since July 11 with a "tired" shoulder. Arm troubles already - at age 18

As for Carrasco, he was considered the No. 1 or No. 2 pitching prospect in the Phils' organization before this year began. But this season Carrasco is 6-9 with a 5.18 ERA at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He's struck out 112 and walked 38 in 114 2/3 innings. Quickly doing the math that's pretty much exactly one walk every three innings. Carrasco was a guy the Tribe was offered last year when they were peddling CC Sabathia, and they didn't bite. And given his numbers, Carrasco's stock has dropped around the MLB this season, except maybe in one front office where a salarly dump is the main objective.

The two position players in the deal - catcher Lou Marson and SS Jason Donald - leave me equally underwhelmed.

The SS, Donald, is hitting .236 at Triple-A this year, and just got back from a stint of several weeks on the DL after knee surgery.

And Donald appears to be a utility infielder in the making.

Keep in mind these words about Donald - quoted by MLB.com - are coming from Phillies assistant GM Chuck LaMar, the guy doing the selling:

"He can be an everyday player. Like anyone with his skill set, he's got to prove it at every level."

Talk about your feint praise.

"Like anyone with his skill set, he's got to prove it at every level." Translation: He doesn't have terrific tools but he's a grinder who may find his way to a big-league bench through hustle and determination. Can anyone say Jamey Carroll?

And what does the Tribe need with another SS prospect anyway? They seem to have a young middle-infield combo they are happy with right now in Luis Valbuena and Asdrubal Cabrera. I'm not sold on Valbuena - at least at the plate - but Wedgie seems to love him to death (which, of course, may not mean anything come October).

Then there's the catcher coming the Tribe's way - Lou Marson. His numbers for the season at Triple-A: .294 BA, .370 SLG, a pedestrian .751 OPS and 1 dinger. Exciting. Especially in an organization that already has about six viable catchers (soon to be one less).

You have to assume Marson's arrival will be followed by someone's departure. With the Dolans edict on offseason spending and Shapiro's conclusion that next year is already a super long-shot, that somebody will be Victor Martinez.

Shapiro's take on Marson? Well he doesn't suck, or words to that effect:

"We're really impressed with his receiving, game-calling and leadership skills. Combined with his bat, he could be at least an average everyday Major League catcher."

(While he may or may not think it, I sure am glad my boss never called me "average.")

What's not to get excited about there? We get an "average" catcher in this deal.

The Blue Jays pulled out of talks with the Phillies because they couldn't get minor leaguer Kyle Drabek - the No. 1 MiLB pitching prospect in the Philadelphia system - or AJ Happ, already doing well for himself in the bigs. In fact, the Tribe didn't get any of four players the Jays were targeting.

The Jays walked away.

Maybe the Tribe should have done the same, unless of course the chief objective was to gut the payroll and at least get something for Lee.

Earlier this week I did a post that picked up a quote from an annonymous MLB executive who said he expected the Tribe to cut its payroll down into the 50s next season - a mammoth jump from this season.

A couple of you questioned whether the Dolans would ever think of cutting that much, and I have to admit I had my doubts too.

But the quickness with which this trade was made, and the seemingly poor return, does make it appear that the chief objective was to get Lee's salary off of the books for next season. And that the same priority will prevail in the now-very-likely Victor Martinez deal.

If the Dolans think Regressive Field is too empty now, let me use a phrase that we Cleveland fans have heard a lot from the guys who have run our sports teams over the years.

Wait 'til next year.

Oh, and just one other thing before I go.

Wasn't Andy Marte brought up to play every day in a do-or-die final audition with the Tribe? I know I must have just glossed over it, but I didn't see his name in today's lineup - only the second game played since his recall.

Bodies on the move, as the Tribe's future hangs in the balance

2009-07-27T23:47:00.002-04:00

Wow.

Went away for a few days - down to Virginia to help my brother-in-law celebrate a milestone birthday.

And while I was away sampling pulled pork in like seven different varieties of barbecue sauce - and darting from car air conditioner, to home air conditioner, to hotel air conditioner - the Tribe was plenty busy on the field and off.

As I was packing my bags to go, so was Raffie Betancourt. And just about the time I was pulling into the driveway this evening - souvenir ham and peanuts in tow - Ryan Garko was being given an all-expense-paid trip Frisco.

To add to all that, the Tribe also announced the PTBNL in the Mark DeRosa trade of a few weeks ago.

As the dust settled, the Tribe found itself with two high-ceiling, class-A starting pitchers and two candidates for the back end of the bullpen for this year and beyond (including Chris Perez who is already with the club).

Meanwhile, while I was away from my satellite dish, the Tribe had its best weekend of the season on the field, winning three times in Seattle and putting up 31 runs in the process - and getting good pitching to boot.

Perhaps the biggest news of all was the fact that Jeremy Sowers got past the fifth inning with his head still intact on Saturday night.

On Sunday the Tribe announced they picked up reliever Jess Todd - 24 saves and 2.20 ERA at Memphis - from St. Louis to complete the DeRosa deal. Todd should come up (I would hope sooner than later) and get his feet wet on the big club some time this year. With Chris Perez getting his act together in his last five outings or so, it looks like the Tribe got a decent haul for DeRosa and has taken a first couple of steps to repair the bullpen for next year.

From the Rockies, in return for Betancourt, the Tribe got Class A right-handed starter Connor Graham. He's at Class A, so who who knows. But he's got 87 Ks in 80 innings this year. At 6'-7" though, he has control trouble - having walked one batter every two innings. He'll remain a starter this year, but with only a two-pitch arsenal he could be considered for a bullpen role as well. But not if the walks keep up at their current pace.

Which brings us to tonight's deal - Garko for Class A lefty starter Scott Barnes. Again, he's Class A so we've only got numbers to go on and a lot can go wrong as he moves up the ladder. But Barnes this season is 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA.

As distasteful as it is to keep sending major leaguers away for guys who may never see Progressive Field, to this point I'm on board.

That is, I was on board as I made the obvious assumption that last-year's big name acquisition in the CC Sabathia deal - Matt LaPorta - would be heading to the coast to join the Tribe in Disneyland.

What's that you say? Andy Marte is going to be making that trip instead of LaPorta? Good one! Oh, you're not kidding.

While I, in recent weeks, have advocated giving Marte one last shot with the Tribe in this lost season, 1B is not what I had in mind. I realize Jhonny Peralta has been smashing the ball during my four-day hiatus, but what is the point of playing Marte at first?

Makes you wonder if Shapiro and crew have seen something that makes them a lot less excited about LaPorta than they were a year ago at this time.

This would seem to be the perfect time to bring him up, and it does beg the question - just what is the front office's hesitation with LaPorta?

Apparently while I was away, there were also rumors of a blockbuster deal that would send Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee to the Dodgers, with names like Clayton Kershaw and James Loney tossed around as being among those players who would be coming this way.

The Dodgers have flat out denied the rumors - started by FOX sports - and MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger reported Sunday that the fantasy-baseball-like deal appears to be just that.

Still the New York Post's Joel Sherman reports the vultures continue to circle above the carcass that is the 2009 Cleveland Indians hoping to come away with Victor, or Lee - or both.

Sherman quotes one MLB exec (unidentified) who says deals for Victor and Lee are likely - and will be forced by the Tribe's need to cut payroll nearly in half next season because of all the empty seats at the home ballpark.

One club executive said he would bet "1,000 percent" that Cleveland moves Lee and Martinez because of financial reasons. This executive said that the economy has hurt the Indians as bad as any club and noted that the three players who make the most for the Indians next year are Travis Hafner ($11 million), Jake Westbrook ($11 million) and Kerry Wood ($10.5 million).

"That is $33 million for three players they can't trade and know are going to be part of their team next year when they will probably have to lower their payroll into the $50 million range," the executive said. "How do they get to that number with Lee ($8 million in 2010) and Martinez ($7 million) on the team, also?"

If it is true that a payroll cut of that magnitude is in the offing for the Tribe next year, and with the fan base as bitter as it is already, questions about the viability of the franchise would be the next thing to swirl above the heads of the Tribe.

Tribe spinning their wheels in a pointless second half

2009-07-19T15:50:00.005-04:00

Not sure what the exact quote was, but as the All-Star break was coming to an end Eric Wedge made the comment that he was looking for stability in his lineup in the second half.

And then there's the one about the bishop, the priest and the rabbi...

In the four games since the break the Tribe has used the same lineup exactly - nunce. Not at all. Four games, four different lineups.

Not that I expect that - at this point - a stable lineup would make any difference on a team that is playing their games with one eye on the calendar - waiting for it to flip to October. But the disconnect between Wedge's talk and his action is just another example of him no longer having a clue about what to do with this team. It's also the reason no one - fans or players - put any stock in anything he has to say anymore.

Of course there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for the decisions by the front office as to who is one the big league team anymore either.

The team has a youngster like Luis Valbuena up, but not playing everyday. What is the point there?

At the same time, the roster is full of retreads on the pitching staff, like Tomo Ohka and Winston Abreu.

I tuned in to the pregame show today just in time to hear the conclusion of an interview with with assistant GM Chris Antonetti, who said the goal of the organization at this point is to win as many games as possible while developing the young talent on the roster.

Huh?

How do these two things go together. Either you put the young guys in and let them play in the hope that they get comfortable and get better - W's and L's be damned - or you put your best lineup out there day in and day out to rack up as many wins as you can.

This team is so confused right now they can't even decide what is in their best interest for the rest of the season.

GM Mark Shapiro indicated the team is in no hurry to bring up youngsters like Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley because: "we are doing some very good development work with a lot of these guys" right where they are.

From where I sit though, why lose with Ryan Garko, Ben Francisco and Tomo Ohka, when you could be spending the remainder of the season at least getting some sort of idea of what guys like Brantley, LaPorta and even Hector Rondon can contribute next year? (Unless you don't want the major league staff - which has proven itself inept at developing talent - anywhere near these guys.)

Perhaps things will change at the end of the month, when we find out who, if anybody, the Tribe has sent along to greener pastures, and which youngsters they get in return.

No one wants to watch the same old thing for the next two months. No one gives a damn anymore. The only way to make anything out of this wasted year is to see if there's any help down below that can be counted on for next year.

The current team is simply unwatchable and it serves no purpose for the Tribe to keep spinning its wheels.

Give us something to care about.

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

2009-07-11T21:41:00.010-04:00

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.

Tribe "Quotes of the Day"

2009-07-08T11:32:00.001-04:00

There's nothing really new to say about the Tribe after last night's disaster - which featured the usual middle-inning disappearance by Jeremy Sowers and a huge blowup by the Tribe's two newest relievers, Chris Perez and Winston Abreu.

So I though I'd just have a little fun instead dissecting (alright, taking out of context) some of the quotes from various members of the team after the game and adding the thoughts that were going through my head as I read each one.

From various articles in the Plain Dealer and on Cleveland.com:

Tribe pitching coach Carl Willis on starting three straight, and very similar, lefties against the White Sox:

"We've got four lefties in the rotation. It's hard to break them up." Can't argue with the math.

"At the break, we'll put the rotation back together." All the king's horses and all the king's men...

"I think a lot of teams would like to have four good left-handed starters." I'm sure the Tribe would like four good ones as well.

Eric Wedge on his choice of poison in the sixth inning as Jeremy Sowers was melting down again.

"Normally, in that situation, you give a guy a chance to get through it. But time and time again he's struggled to get through that so you go to the bullpen and that doesn't work either." No comment necessary.

"We're going to have to see what our options are with Jeremy." Firing squad anyone?

Winston Abreu:

"I threw sliders to Ramirez and Konerko. I tried to throw them down, but they were up. That's baseball. Sometime you do good, sometimes you do bad." Geeze, don't take it so hard Winston.

From MLB.com

(Wedge) "There's never been more opportunity than there is in that bullpen right now, and there's never been more opportunity in our starting rotation than there is right now." Really?

Aaron Laffey on being activated by the Tribe:

"I'm ready for a regular start - something that means something." Join the club Aaron, and 'wait 'til next year.'

Wedged in for the foreseeable future

2009-07-05T19:39:00.006-04:00

Finished up my trip to the home front on the 4th with a visit to the MetroParks Zoo. The last time I was there, my cousin and I were pulling around our now-20-something kids in a red wagon.

I ran into a big flock of seagulls while I was there (non-residents). Apparently they too got bored with the Tribe and are seeking entertainment elsewhere.

I was pretty much incommunicado the whole way home today. Not much in the way of radio in the hinterlands of northern PA.

But when I got home I read the news that Tribe GM Mark Shapiro gave manager Eric Wedge and his coaching staff a public assurance that they will be around 'til the end of the season - at least.

As unwelcome as that might be for many of us, the news was hardly a surprise.

Repeating his oft-stated mantra of the past month or so, Shapiro said that basically everyone in the front office and on the field is responsible for the disaster that is the 2009 Cleveland Indians.

No argument here. And as I've said many times before, we're well past the point where a change of managers might have sparked a rally by the club and a return to the race.

The only good that would come of releasing Wedge and his cronies at this point would be the knowledge that they won't be back next year. With today's announcement, that remains a possibility as Shapiro said the team is still in evaluation mode.

MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince speculates that Wedge's future may be decided less by wins and losses the rest of the way than by his staff's ability to develop the Tribe's many youngsters so they are ready to contribute next year.

If that is the case, I might be calling the realty company right about now if I were Wedge.

The list of current and former Tribesmen who either failed to progress or regressed under the tutelage of Wedge & Co. is long. Here are just a few names;

Fausto Carmona, Raffie Perez, Kelly Shoppach, Josh Barfield, Andy Marte, Jeremy Sowers, Jhonny Peralta, Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez, Brandon Phillips, Jeremy Guthrie, yada yada....

On the plus side we can put Grady Sizemore, Shin-soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera and Victor Martinez.

Can Wedge and the boys get Fausto straightened by the end of September? Will their new favorite, Luis Valbuena, be hitting with any consistency by the end of the year? Will Raffie Perez snap out of it? Will they EVER bring up Matt LaPorta, and if so will he produce under the watchful eye of Derek Shelton?

If that's the bar that has been set, I wish Wedgie and friends good luck.

On one other topic, the PD's Terry Pluto wrote today that he believes LaPorta's return to the majors is being delayed by the injury to Sizemore, saying the Tribe brass needs to keep Ben Francisco around to play CF when Sizemore's balky elbow won't allow him to play.

Pluto further reports the Tribe wants to keep Chris Giminez around because they consider him a utility player of some value. Last time I looked, Gimenez and LaPorta play the same positions. Wouldn't LaPorta's presence make Giminez expendable?

But wouldn't LaPorta need a place to play everyday, you ask? Sure. He can play LF and Francisco can sit, except when needed to cover for Sizemore.

Pluto was clear to point out that he was just reporting the Tribe's thinking, not necessarily his own. From reading his piece, you get the idea that Pluto might make a different decision.

I certainly would.

Another Tribe head scratcher

2009-07-02T23:41:00.005-04:00

I want to write something positive.

I desperately do. You have to take my word for it.

But again tonight I find myself with nothing good to say about the latest Tribe development - minimal though it may be.

The Tribe added another warm body to its bullpen today. A 32-year-old righty who doesn't even qualify at the level of journeyman, unless the journey through the minor leagues counts.

Winston Abreu, the guy picked up from Tampa Bay for 25-year-old reliever John Meloan, has pitched all of 42 innings at the big-league level, for three teams. He spent last season in Japan before getting a shot in spring training with the Rays.

Abreu has spent most of the season in AAA Durham, posting a 3-0 record with 10 saves and a 1.41 earned-run average, in 23 games. Triple-A batters hit .128 against him and he struck out 49 in 32 innings.

That performance prompted a call up by the Rays nearly three weeks ago, and in that time he managed 2 outings before being DFA'd. His lifetime ERA is 6.43 in just 42 MLB innings, with three different teams - and again he's 32 years old.

Sounds like he'll fit right in here in Cleveland.

In return, the Tribe sent to Tampa Meloan - a guy who created at least a mild stir around the Tribe corner of the blogosphere when he was acquired in the Casey Blake trade last year.

Granted, Meloan's numbers at AAA Columbus this season have been shockingly bad - a 5.52 ERA in 42 innings - but he is 7 years younger than Abreu, who - at his advanced age - has yet to establish himself in the bigs.

I'm not saying this trade will bring down the already-teetering organization.

The deal, like the team itself, prompts little more than a yawn.

But it's clear Abreu has shown he is not a major leaguer; his 6.43 lifetime ERA, and minimal big-league service time is all you need to know.

Maybe Meloan will never amount to anything either. But he is 25 and at least has a little while longer to figure things out before he can be declared a bust.

I know I've been advocating change. But trading a 25-year-old, ineffective reliever for a 32-year-old ineffective reliever is not exactly the change I was looking for.

Smells like a move for the sake of making a move to me.

Traumatized? Or just bored to death?

2009-07-02T13:32:00.001-04:00

This year's summer trip back to Cleveland has been a nostalgic one for me to say the least.

It started with a wake for a boyhood friend of mine, which reunited me with neighborhood "kids" I hadn't seen in 30 years or more.

Then there was last night's trip to Progressive Field, which transported me back to the days of Municipal Stadium.

The crowd was minuscule, mostly disinterested and definitely disgusted with a home team that seemed equally disinterested and mostly inept. I felt I was back in the late '70s.

The announcement of the starting lineup for the Tribe was greeted by a response that could only generously be called a smattering of cheers. The place was dead from start to finish of another get-it-over-with performance from the home team.

Even John Adams could barely gather enough enthusiasm to whack his big bass drum more than three or four times during the game.

The Tribe went down to a methodical defeat before the sun had even set completely

In an ESPN.com article by Jerry Crasnick, posted two days ago, Tribe GM Mark Shapiro says Tribe fans are "traumatized," which, from the context of the article, I took to mean shell-shocked from all of the disappointment we've taken in the past from all of our home teams.

But the current mood of Tribe fans, I think, has little to do with the town's checkered sports past.

Tribe fans are not "traumatized." Some are angry that a team that was one win from the World Series two years ago has devolved into an unwatchable mess. Others are saddened by the same phenomenon.

A number of other fans are turned off by seven years of the same old same old, with the same faces in charge and very little to be happy about during that time period and a questionable future staring them in the face.

Others - and I think this applies to a large chunk of the fan base - are just plain bored.

The result is the same night after night. An offense that has recently taken to going through the motions, knowing full well that at some point - be it in the early innings by a starter or the latter innings at the hands of the bullpen - the pitching will collapse and the team will notch another "L"

In CYA fashion, the front office members quoted in the ESPN article attempted to dial down markedly fan expectations.

Shapiro: "I truly believe in my heart that we're going to be back in the playoffs again in the next three years."

Three years? Aren't we in year seven of a five-year rebuilding program already?

And from assistant GM Chris Antonetti, these thoughts about the success of 2007 and where the team stands today:

"Any time you have the opportunity to advance in the postseason and get that close, there's some level of disappointment when you don't reach your ultimate goal of winning the World Series. We valued that at the time. We understood that for teams in our market size, with our resources, it's exceptionally challenging to repeat and sustain that level of success."

Which means what? Don't expect much any time too soon? He makes it sound as though smoke and mirrors are a necessary set of tools for a team like the Tribe to do anything more than make an accidental appearance, every so often, in the playoffs.

No wonder the team is drawing so poorly smack dab in the middle of the summer. There seems to be a general lack of hope, which has led to a general lack of interest.

There are some things the team can do to spike interest enough to at least keep the die-hards from defecting.

A new manager would be a start, but it has become abundantly clear that that won't happen - at least until the offseason. Right now a new appointee would likely be an interim choice to finish the season anyway.

But there are some other things the team can do in the area of player personnel.

As much as I like the way Jamey Carroll plays ball, the Tribe needs to get Luis Valbuena in the lineup every day to see what he has and to allow him to get needed experience.

Then there's Matt LaPorta. Why is he not up with the big club and in the lineup every day? Put him either at 1B or LF. With the trade of Mark De Rosa the Tribe has a more glaring need in LF than at 1B right now, but I think LaPorta is more likely to be a 1B long-term so I would play him there.

Which brings us to Michael Brantley - he of the 30 SBs in 33 tries at Columbus. Why not let the fans have a glimpse of him rather than more than they ever want to see of Ben Francisco?

There are other moves that could be made, and perhaps will be made, if some of the dead wood can be cleaned out before the trading deadline. Presumably some young talent will be headed in our direction if trades are made.

But from what I saw tonight - the deadest I've ever seen Jacobs/Progressive Field - some kind of shakeup is in order or the fan base will tune out the Tribe altogether before too long.

The Tribe - dead on my arrival

2009-07-01T00:55:00.003-04:00

Made the long trek Tuesday from suburban New York to Cleveland for the annual summer visit with the family.

As often seems to be the case, the Tribe is pretty much at its worst as I come to town to make my once-a-year trip to the local ballpark.

That's scheduled for tonight, and with any luck the rain will be a bit more definitive tonight than it was Tuesday and I can be spared an in-person glimpse of this lifeless, directionless bunch.

Other than the final score, there is no statistical proof to back this up, and three games - I will admit - is a small sample. But is it a coincidence that the Tribe has played three of its worst games of the year since Saturday night, when the team either a) threw up the white flag, or b) (to paraphrase Kelly Shoppach) made a trade to better the team right now, unlike last year when the trades were made with the future in mind?

Three games. Three lopsided losses.

Sunday 8-1 to Cincinnati; Monday 6-3 to the White Sox (6-zip headed into the bottom of the ninth); Tuesday 11 -4 in a game mercifully ended early by the second round of thunderstorms to move through downtown Cleveland during the game.

As I said, beyond the final score, there is no statistical evidence to show that the team is playing this way because the DeRosa trade has taken what little starch they had out of them. It could just be a case of bad pitching making things too ugly too early.

But you can tell by watching the games that the Tribe showed a noticeable degree of listlessness in the past three games. Except for Monday's too-little-too-late ninth-inning rally, the team has shown no life whatsoever over the last three games.

To this point, the defense of Eric Wedge has been that the team is still playing for him.

Again, it's just three games. But it bears watching over the next week or so whether the lifeless, go-through-the-motions approach continues.

If it does, what then is the excuse for keeping the manager around?

(If the game gets played tonight, look for me in the bleachers. Myself, my brother, two of his sons and my cousin will be the five people sitting out there. Make it six with John Adams - seven if you count the drum.)

The Tribe on a treadmill

2009-06-28T20:39:00.006-04:00

Well, ‘that time of year again’ has come a few weeks early this year.

It’s the time of year when we as Tribe fans are supposed to get all excited because we ‘stole' one of somebody’s best prospects.

And we’ll probably be doing it again sometime over the next five weeks.

And isn’t it wonderful that we now have this great big bundle of potential under our control for X number of years minus 1, the ‘minus 1’ being this soon-to-be superstar’s ‘walk’ year.

Or since he’s with the Tribe, his ‘trade’ year, since the team knows if they don’t deal him when that time comes he is sure to walk a few months later.

At the right time, we can always deal him for a couple of more big bundles of potential that will be under the team’s control for x -1 years, until they too get peddled in yet another use-it-or-lose-it trade.

Anybody think this is like watching your nutcase dog chasing his tail?

Mark DeRosa was around long enough to impress as a hitter, a hustler and a good teammate, though his “super utility” tag seems to me to be a bit misleading since he was underwhelming at four different positions in the field for the Tribe.

His bat and his presence will be missed, though his trade to St. Louis doesn’t have any emotional sting, unlike many similar trades in the past, because DeRosa wasn’t around here long enough for the fans to get attached to him.

The only emotion it stirs with me is anger, and not because I think it was a bad move. I am just sick and tired of being on the “prospect” end of these deals year after year after year. Just once I’d like to be sending a few of these ‘can’t miss’ guys to some other team for a sure-thing veteran to help the team in its quest for the post season.

The last trade we made that even resembled that was the Kenny Lofton deal two years ago. And he was a difference-maker, right up until one member of the current brain trust held him up at 3B.

Prior to that I can’t remember when the Tribe was on the seasoned-veteran end of one of those deals, but it goes all the way back to when Charlie Manual – that old fart baseball guy who just couldn’t get into the sabermetrics thing (but did manage to win a World Series last year) - was still managing the team.

Looking at the DeRosa deal at face value it’s hard to argue with.

DeRosa is free to sign anywhere this winter, and even if the Tribe were to be inclined to spend some money this offseason I doubt it will be on a bat. It certainly won’t be on a super utility guy with some pretty good pop and a clanky glove. DeRosa would be nice to have around, but any money the Dolan’s pony up this year will be sorely needed to fix the mess on that bump in the middle of the infield.

Chris Perez is the first “off-season” move made to fix that ugly situation. He has struck out 30 hitters in 23.2 innings this year, but he’s also walked 15, which is somewhere between 4 and 5 per 9 innings. His numbers from last season pretty much follow the same pattern. He throws in the mid-90s, but his strikeouts are said to come on his wicked slider. But, like so many Tribe players, there’s not much of a track record and since even those pitchers on this team who had decent resumes have all regressed alarmingly, I’ll wait more than a little while before I get excited.

As I look over the Tribe’s roster, it’s hard to say who may be the next Tribesman to head out of town for a piece of promise. Only Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez fit the classic mould of a difference-maker being sent packing for prospects. But they are not in their walk years until next year and to trade either one of them would send the message that the situation is too hopeless right now to even consider next season to be a possible success. It would kill off what little flicker of fan interest that remains.

There’s talk that the Tribe would trade Lee if they are overwhelmed, and the package includes a young, major-league-ready, potentially top-of-the-rotation starter. But why would anybody trade a guy like that for Lee? And even if somebody does, that word “potential” is still part of the above description. Once again the Tribe would be chasing two birds in the bush for the one they have in hand.

As far as Victor goes, I think the Indians brain trust would be killing off baseball interest altogether in Cleveland if they trade Martinez, even next year. Every team has to have at least one guy that the city can rally around – to call their own. Victor may be the guy the Dolan’s will have to pony up for if they want to keep the flicker of interest in the Tribe burning.

The rest of the veterans, I would presume, are not guys that there is a clamor for.

Somebody might bite on Ryan Garko. But please don’t offer him around as a part-time left fielder. It’s stretching it a little bit to say he’s a first baseman.

Peralta seems to have some value as a 3B, and no doubt Eric Wedge would like to see him gone. But how much would you get for him based on his performance this season and his slacker reputation?

Travis Hafner is damaged goods with a big contract. He is untradeable.

Jamey Carroll would seem to be about the most appealing bit of trade bait on the club right now.

Except for Lee, there’s almost no one who is of any interest on the pitching staff.

Any trade of Kerry Wood would fit into the same giving-up-on-next-year category that Lee and Martinez are in. I continue to believe that Woods’ problems would disappear if he were pitching on a team that presented him with a save situation more than once every 10 days or so.

So we will spend the next five weeks combing the Internet for trade rumors, hoping for the Tribe to find several diamonds in the rough. But I really wonder how effective we can expect that strategy to be.

In the ‘90s, the Tribe grew enough of its own players (Thome, Nagy, Ramirez, Belle to name a few) that the addition of prospects from other teams (Mesa, S. Alomar, Omar, Lofton) were enough to provide a team full of talent for several years. So the misses on people like Reggie Jefferson and Glenallen Hill were less consequential.

With the farm system producing next to nothing on its own over the past several years, every trade for prospects has to hit pay dirt for the team to have enough talent to win. While Grady Sizemore, Lee, Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-soo Choo can be considered successes, there’s not enough talent coming from within to overcome the trade market misses (Jesse Barfield, Andy Marte, and Anthony Reyes to name a recent few).

With such a failure to develop home grown talent, or to properly develop that talent, pretty much every player acquired in these veteran-for-prospects deals has to pan out for there to be enough talent in the organization to field a playoff-potential team.

Without a highly extraordinary success rate on these deals, they amount to little more than the aforementioned tail chasing.

So excuse me if I fail to get to overly excited about another selloff of veterans in the next few weeks.

It’s just that time of year in what has become just another part of the schedule for the Tribe.

Wake me when enough of these prospects come together at the same time, with something important on the line and live up to their acquisition-day billing.

The questions continue to mount for the Tribe and the Dolans

2009-06-23T22:25:00.001-04:00

Let's start with the positives - things it was good to see tonight.

It was simply good to see the Tribe win a game again.
It was great to see Grady Sizemore back in the lineup again, chasing balls down in CF and coming out of the box hitting the ball. (Added bonus - no Ben Francisco)
It was a huge relief to see someone other than Cliff Lee throw a good ballgame. David Huff was outstanding - finally pitching the way you had an inkling he could based on his work in the minors last season. He has, in fact, shown steady improvement in recent weeks, and that's a good thing for sure.
It was good to see Jhonny Peralta hit the ball - including an opposite field dinger. Too bad he has to be benched for two or three games every few weeks to remind him to put max effort into what he's doing and to play smart.
It was good to see Josh Barfield is still alive, since we never see him on the field.
And it was nice to see Pirates LF Nyjer Morgan wear his socks the way they are supposed to be worn - stirrups showing and white sanitaries underneath.

Now on to the unpleasantness.

Despite looking like a real ball team tonight (at least for 8 innings), the Indians remain too many games under .500 and too many games out of first for the rest of this season to provide much excitement.

That has Tribe ownership concerned, especially since the Tribe has drawn just three-quarters of a million fans so far this year with little reason for throngs of fans to show up in the second half of the season.

And so the Dolans will meet with Mark Shapiro in the near future to discuss changes that will give Tribe fans a reason to tune in and turn out in July, August and September.

At the top of the list is the status of manager Eric Wedge. It's quite possible the Dolans have seen enough of Wedge, or - possibly - that they feel the fans have seen enough. And so Wedge may become the sacrificial lamb any time now. If it's going to happen, I'd look for it during the All-Star break.

We've been through this before at this site. Wedge has had seven years to show he can lead this team to consistent success. He's fallen short of that mark. I wouldn't shed any tears if Wedge is shown the door, but as I said in my previous post, from a baseball standpoint it would be a pointless move at this juncture. It would have made more sense a month ago - before this team was dead and buried.

If he were to be fired, Wedge would likely be replaced with an interim, and probably somebody from the organization - an organization sorely in need of new blood and new ideas. If it were me, at this point I'd keep Wedge around and go in a completely different direction over the winter. No Money Ball wunderkinds need apply.

If Wedge gets the ax, the only purpose it will serve at this point is to placate the fans in the hope that they'll show up in the second half.

I'm certain that Shapiro and the Dolans will also talk about trades that can be made. It's obvious at this point that the Tribe will be sellers as the trading deadline approaches.

First on my list would be Peralta. Although he looks decent over at 3B, in general his act has worn thin here. A guy who has been around as long as he has needs to be more consistent, and, frankly, he needs to care about what he does a bit more. Let's face it. He dogs it, or is at least mentally absent, way too often.

While I really like the guy, I see the sense in trading Mark DeRosa. It would be nice to have him around for next year, but he's not signed and they might as well get something for him. (It would be best if he were to be traded to an AL team so my AL-only fantasy team won't take a hit.)

If Carl Pavano proves to be healthy and effective after skipping a start, he will likely be gone too and I guess I feel the same way about him as DeRosa. He'd be nice to have but without any guarantees for next season, you might as well trade him.

Kelly Shoppach? If anyone wants the K machine I'd send him packing for sure.

Ryan Garko? If you're not going to use him (even though he tends to drive in runs) you might as well deal him as well.

As far as Lee and Victor Martinez go - trading either would signal a complete capitulation not only for this year, but next season as well. They should not be going anywhere.

One thing the Dolans and Shapiro will likely not talk about is Shapiro's future as the top baseball man in this organization. But it is Shapiro who built this wreck of a club, through poor drafts questionable free-agent signings and - to give credit - an ability to pick off some of the prospects that other teams have found and developed without giving up a lot in return.

No, the Dolans won't be discussing that topic with Shapiro when they meet in the next few days. But it should be something the Dolans discuss around the Thanksgiving table (if not sooner) when this disaster of a season has long been in the books.

(By the way, I started writing this piece with the Tribe up 5-zip and Wedge adroitly going to his bullpen to start the top of the ninth. As I typed the paragraph preceding this one, the bases were loaded, the score was 5-4, Kerry Wood was looking like Rick Vaughn, and just by chance a lazy fly ball ended up in the glove of Mark DeRosa to end the ballgame.)

As another Tribe season crashes and burns, change at the top should be on the agenda

2009-06-21T18:44:00.006-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the fasten-seat-belt signs as Cleveland Indians Flight 2009 is in its final descent into oblivion.

Another season dead well before its time.

In one of the most depressing weeks in the history of the franchise, the Tribe just completed an 0-6 week that has sealed their fate for this season and quite possibly the fate of their manager as well.

Anyone who has been paying any attention at all knows the bullpen found every conceivable way to lose a ballgame this week, even relying on their leader, closer Kerry Wood, when the rest of the bullpen just couldn't muster up a loss on their own on Friday and Saturday.

The week also saw the defense come apart in key spots, the manager and his new 3B (or is he a SS? - depends on who you ask) sniping at each other, stand-up players like Victor Martinez and Kerry Wood blowing off the media (perhaps so stunned at the magnitude of the awfulness of this week that they just couldn't bring themselves to talk about it) and mind-boggling decisions by the manager that smack of desperation.

The week ended with one of the most lifeless performances this team has turned in this year, and that's saying something.

At this point it appears the manager has lost his patience, his ability to think clearly and make sound decisions and his ability to rally the troops one more time.

And it sounds as if he may be about to lose his job.

Here's an excerpt from a story posted Sunday afternoon on Cleveland.com, written by the PD's Paul Hoynes:

When asked if he was considering a change, (Tribe owner) Larry Dolan said, "I'll talk to you later." When asked if that meant a change was being considered, Dolan said, "I just don't want to lie to you."

The argument can be made that Wedge's players - at least those who don't throw the baseball for a living - are still playing for their manager. They held a number of leads this week, only to see the pitching staff - primarily the bullpen - flush their work down the toilet.

There is some truth to that. The "grinders" among the position players still seem to be giving it their all most days. But for a lot of the other guys, the effort seems rote, the concentration lacking and the fundamentals out the window.

That falls to the manager.

Oddball lineups seemingly picked from a hat don't help much. Not one player on this team comes to the ballpark on any given day knowing what position he will be playing, or if he'll be playing and where he'll bat in the batting order. That type of uncertainty weighs on a player's mind and makes consistent, day-after-day performance much more difficult.

That also falls to the manager.

The starting pitchers never seem to make it out of the fifth inning and the bullpen is lethal in the eighth. That you can't lay at the manager's feet because every button he pushes blows up in his face. That falls to the general manager and his staff, and their seeming inability to judge pitching talent and find people who can get outs.

Blind loyalty to the manager falls at the feet of the GM as well.

It seems as though Eric Wedge is about to walk the plank. The ownership has to do something to make it look like they're trying with a half-season's worth of tickets still to sell.

A few weeks ago, when there was still a chance to save this season I was all for giving Wedge the boot. The stats say it doesn't usually work, but managerial changes do sometime spark a change of fortunes. There was nothing to lose in trying.

Now it won't make any difference either way, and I could care less whether it's Wedge or one of the other organization kool-aid drinkers who runs the team the rest of the year.

But once this season finally draws to a close, the ownership of this team must deal not only with the question of who will manage things on the field long-term, but also - and more importantly - who should be the steward of this organization.

I for one vote for a new voice at the top. One with a real baseball pedigree, doesn't wear khakis and loafers and is not so married to the Money Ball principles that have led this team nowhere for nearly a decade now.

A Tale of Two Ballgames

2009-06-15T23:17:00.002-04:00

It was the best of games and then the worst of games.

With apologies to Charles Dickens, that pretty much sums up the Tribe's two-night stand on ESPN.

Sunday night, of course, Cliff Lee and Chris Carpenter were slinging.

Lee, as we all know, was throwing a no-hitter into the 8th inning. Carpenter, after a slow start in the first inning, pretty much kept pace with Lee pitch by pitch. The fielding was crisp. The time of the game was 1:58. I could have sworn I was watching Drysdale Vs. Gibson in the mid-60s.

Then, of course, there was tonight's "slugfest."

It was much more a walk-and-hit-by-pitch-fest, as the two teams scored 26 runs on 26 hits. That's either some pretty efficient hitting or the pitchers were letting a lot of guys on base gratis. Perhaps it was a bit of both

There were 12 walks, one HBP and four wild pitches.

One Brewer batter - I can't recall who off the top of my head - was so desperate to see a pitch he could hit that he swung and missed on a pitch that was so wide it eluded the catcher and went all the way to the backstop.

There were times during the 3-hour 56-minute crapathon, particularly when Greg Aquino and Luis Vizcaino were on the mound, when watching this game felt like undergoing root canal and a colonoscopy simultaneously - with no anesthesia administered at either end.

Raffie Perez, shell-shocked by his first-pitch, game-losing grand slam to Prince Fielder, was so bad for the rest of the inning he looked like he had never stepped on an ant hill, let alone a pitcher's mound, before.

Perez has quickly regressed to his pre-demotion self. And Indians fans, that aint good.

The bullpen was so horrible - 4 innings, 8 runs, 6 walks - it almost makes you forget that our No. 2 starter Carl Pavano was awful for the second straight time.

The Indians, have won 12 of their last 21, and for this team that qualifies as a making a run.

But these last two games were a microcosm of the Tribe's season to date (except for the 5 game losing streak to open the season). One step forward, two steps back.

Luckily, that seems to be enough to keep them in the Central Division race.

Back in the basement

2009-06-10T22:08:00.000-04:00

Well the flirtation with fourth place didn't last too long.

The Tribe has fallen back into the Central Division basement - with a huge THUD!

The somewhat re-energized team we've seen over the past few weeks was not in evidence at Progressive Field this evening.

In fact all the facets of the horrible first several weeks of the season were on display tonight.

Horrible starting pitching - though Carl Pavano seemed to just have one of those nights. Cliff Lee was off a bit last night too, so let's just hope this is not the start of a new and disturbing trend and just a bad trip through the rotation instead.

There was some bad defense (though Shin-Soo Choo redeemed himself for butchering a line drive to right by eventually throwing out the hitter of that line drive (Tony Pena) at the plate a couple of batters later.

And the strikeouts - Oh the strikeouts! Eight of them through the first four innings by Gil Meche. And 12 by game's end.

Really, not much to be happy about tonight. In fact, I can't think of a single thing.

A few other thoughts...

It has been well-noted that Jhonny Peralta was benched for a couple of games. But has anyone noticed that Ryan Garko seems to have disappeared. He hasn't been in the lineup for the past four games. Meantime Kelly Shoppach has been seeing more time behind the plate. With a .207 BA, and 43 Ks in 111 at-bats heading into tonight, you have to ask why.

Call me suspicious, but with the Tribe's recent history of hiding injuries, one wonders if Shoppach hasn't been playing more because Victor Martinez is still suffering from his meeting a while back with a nasty foul ball off the knee.

The other explanation is Shoppach is playing on merit. Can that really be it?

Anybody like what they see of Luis Valbuena at SS?

Boy I sure do.

If the hitting comes along for Valbuena it looks that - along with Asdrubal Cabrera - the Tribe will have the middle of the infield plugged pretty well for the next few years.

Well, lets just hope tonight's return of the April Indians is short-lived and the Tribe takes the series finale - and moves back out of the basement tomorrow.

Is it time to start thinking about punting on this season?

2009-06-06T14:10:00.009-04:00

I won't be able to watch the Tribe on TV today.

FOX monopolizes Saturday afternoon TV rights and, even though I do believe the Tribe-Sox game might be on where you live, I am forced to watch the Yanks, Mets or Red Sox most Saturday afternoons.

When it's not one of those three, it's the Phillies - as is the case today.

I guess I won't complain too much though about the FOX baseball package, since the people who run FOX are the very same people - as of a year-and-a-half ago - who pay my salary.

So I thought I'd take a few minutes just to jot down some things going through my head about the Tribe, and the viability of the team for the rest of this season.

We've heard the trade rumors involving Mark DeRosa, and even some hopefully far-fetched ones about Victor Martinez.

The DeRosa rumors began shortly after he was moved from 3B but well before Asdrubal Cabrera was put on the DL, possibly for up to six weeks. Jamey Carroll could fill in at 3B while Cabrera is out and Jhonny Peralta is forced back to SS, but Carroll now has a finger issue that he may or may not be able to play through.

DeRosa has proven not to be the 3B the Tribe would like him to be, although he has been a presence - especially recently - in the lineup.

But he is expendable and I can see him being traded. The question is whether he'd be traded for someone that would help right now or down the road.

There is some question about which would be wiser, as the team stands 9 games under .500 but also only 6 games out of first.

To this point, the team seems to be making moves for the benefit of the current season, trying every imaginable warm body to repair the bullpen - even to the point of changing starters to relievers in the minors with the thought they might be needed later by the big club.

The most notable of those changing roles was Hector Rondon, down at AA Akron. But he was quickly moved back into rotation and left his most-recent start with a sore bicep.

Still, the moves made a couple of weeks ago imply the Tribe is looking to do something this year.

That could be changing though with the injuries to Asdrubal Cabrera, Grady Sizemore and Rafael Betancourt, who had become the most reliable guy in the pen in the past month or so.

MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, on his blog CastroTurf, reported last night there are some hints the Tribe may be thinking about throwing in the towel for this year:

The Indians are, as you might imagine, bracing themselves for the possibility that this season simply isn't going anywhere. As much as the Indians have been through this season, they entered tonight a reasonable seven games back in the AL Central. But when you factor in the injuries, the inconsistencies and the general snake-bitten nature of this club, it's hard to imagine a comeback.

In talking with general manager Mark Shapiro today, I got the sense that he's coming around to that concept, too. He didn't repeat the mantra that the Indians are "one good week away" from being back in contention. Rather, with regard to the still-developing trade market, he said the Tribe is "on the sideline" right now, "keeping a pulse" of what's going on.

Don't know about you, but I'm having trouble deciding which way to go on this one.

The team was playing well below expectations before the epidemic of injuries hit, and the list of the injured is sooooo long. So you have to wonder if there's any reason to entertain hopes for this year.

But then there's that number - 6. As in 6 games out.

And there's the fact that Aaron Laffey, Scott Lewis and Jake Westbrook will be back before too long to fill the many holes in the rotation. Again, I don't know about Westbrook, or even Lewis, but I expect Laffey to provide much-needed help. And an arm could be added in a deal for DeRosa (and probably others if the arm is attached to a pitcher of decent value).

Then again, I'm writing this on a day after a win, and I'm always more optimistic on such days.

I suppose if I were in charge, I'd make my moves as if the team were still alive this year, especially after being forced to abort last season. When the time comes to punt, it will - or should - be more obvious than it is right now.

And if/when the time comes for a sell-off, Victor Martinez is not someone who should be added to the Buyer's Guide to Available Cleveland Indians.

Unlike CC last season, Victor is not in his walk year until next season. Selling him off now would be admitting to the paying public that the team management has little hope not only for the rest of this season, but also the next.

That kind of damage to the gate is not a risk the team should or would take - one would think.

Time to farm out Fausto

2009-06-04T21:30:00.002-04:00

He started the season as the No. 2 starter.

He was supposed to be the Tribe's next ace.

But so far this season Fausto Carmona has proven that 2007, not 2008, was the fluke.

And today it has become more than evident that Fausto needs to go back to Columbus to figure out just what the heck has gone wrong for him since his storybook season in 2007.

Carmona got blasted again today, allowing 7 runs in just two innings - including two three-run jacks to Jason Kubel - in the Tribe's 11-3 loss to the Twins.

The home run ball is not his only problem.

Carmona walked three batters in just two innings, while striking out only one. For the season he's walked 41 and struck out just 36.

In his last three starts he's pitched a total of 7 1/3 innings, allowing 19 runs in the process.

His ERA for the season sits at 7.42 and he has allowed 69 hits in 60 2/3 innings. Add in the 41 walks and that works out to 110 base runners allowed in those 60 2/3, for a WHIP of nearly 2.00.

All the numbers aside, Fausto is just plain lost.

He hasn't a clue.

And it is time to send him to Columbus to figure out just what has gone wrong and to fix things away from the spotlight of the majors.

The only argument that can be made against sending Carmona down is the fact that there is no one you really want to see in a rotation that already includes David Huff and Jeremy Sowers.

But what sense is there in sending Carmona out every five days to get pounded?

Tomo Ohka has replaced Fausto after Carmona's early exit in his last two starts. He's pitched five innings and given up three runs in each of those outings. Not exactly sterling work, but enough to keep the team in the game.

And it's not like Ohka would be in the rotation for too long.

By the end of the month, if not sooner, Aaron Laffey, Scott Lewis and Jake Westbrook will come off the DL and could serve as replacements for Ohka, Sowers and/or Huff.

I don't expect much out of Westbrook because he'll need the rest of the season just to rebuild strength, velocity and control. But certainly Laffey should make the rotation better and Lewis offers some hope as well.

One thing is clear though, Carmona needs a break from the big time and needs to get his head together - something that he won't be able to do if he keeps getting it bashed in every five days.

My guess is the Tribe, which currently has eight pitchers in the pen, will activate Travis Hafner sometime Friday, move Ohka to the rotation for now and send Carmona down.

I know that is what I would do.

Good riddance to the Yankees

2009-06-02T11:49:00.005-04:00

This most recent Tribe-Yankee series didn't have the same feel as many others in the past.

Sure Yankee TV play-by-play guy Michael Kay (nearly two years after they first appeared in the playoffs) went on and on about the midges - as did the rest of the media, as you can see from the photo to the left.

Kay in fact claimed to have done research on the midges and discovered that they are eaten by seagulls, the presence of which at Progressive Field was an equal fascination for Kay.

And, as many past series have gone, the Tribe played it close for most of the games, but you just had that feeling that things would tip the wrong way in the end - as they did three out of four times over the extended weekend.

But the atmosphere where I live - in the middle of Yankee country - was different this time.

I didn't get harassed at all.

I went to my grandnephew's Little League game Saturday. His grandpa - my brother-in-law Roger -was there. Roger is typically pretty good with the needle, and the Yanks of course had won Friday night. But not a peep out of him during a two-hour conversation.

The Tribe had dropped to 0-2 in the series by the time my around-the-corner neighbor Glenn came driving by while I was watering the lawn. When he pulled his car over to the curb, I was sure the usual ribbing was coming. Instead we talked about our sons' work plans for the upcoming summer, and a bit about the swim club our families both belong to.

The weather was too cold here over the weekend to visit said swim club - which for me is usually a venue for baseball-related putdowns, especially when there is a Tribe-Yanks series in full swing. Since I didn't go there, I guess the weekend wasn't a true test of local sentiment. But for some reason I feel I probably would have gone unscathed had I paid my swim-club buddies a visit.

I looked high and low in the media for the usual condescension or Cleveland put-downs. None were to be found.

Even Kay, and his sidekick John Flaherty on the YES Network broadcasts of the game, had little negative to say - save the constant harping on the midges.

I'm not sure if it is a case of everyone here in Yankeeland suddenly putting aside their usual baseball arrogance, or something much worse.

I'm beginning to think that the Yankee faithful just don't see the Tribe as any kind of threat this year and simply not worth their effort.

Any other readers from this area notice the same thing this weekend?
---

The Yankee series marked the end of the Tribe's battles with A.L. East opponents until late August. This fact was pointed out by the best of the Cleveland sports bloggers - The DiaTribe's Paul Cousineau - in a post late last week.

In making his point that the first one-third of the Tribe's season has been loaded with games against the East - thought by most to be baseball's strongest division - Cousineau was attempting to sound a hopeful note for the rest of the schedule.

After all, there are only 10 games left against the East - six against Baltimore and the rest against the Red Sox. So it is natural to think that the schedule may get easier as the season wears on. I read that, and was heartened, I admit.

But then I did some checking.

In their games against the East so far this season, the Tribe is 12-14, for a .462 percentage.

That means against the rest of the league they are 10-17, or .370. And they are playing .415 ball overall.

So you really can't blame the preponderance of games against the East for the position the Tribe finds itself in at the moment, nor can it be used as a way to assure ourselves that things will get better.

A win for the Tribe, a Wedgie for Pavano

2009-05-31T16:24:00.004-04:00

Jhonny Peralta drove a ball past 3B with one out in the 9th today, giving the Tribe an exciting first victory of the weekend against the dreaded Yanks.

It was Perlta's third ribbie of the day, putting him and starting pitcher Carl Pavano in the spotlight. Pavano didn't win the game, but he should have (more on that in just a second).

Peralta's base hit picked up the ball club today for sure. But more than anyone, the hit picked up Tribe manager Eric Wedge.

Wedgie, working his usual magic, nearly turned this afternoon into another disaster.

Back a couple of weeks ago, before the Tribe's recent hot streak and when they were about as low as they could go, there was a spike in the talk about firing the manager.

Those who pooh poohed all the the talk argued that the manager can't do the hitting or the pitching and it's up to the players to get it done on the field.

Except, sometimes the manager is the problem and today the players saved the manager's backside.

Is it the player's fault when he's sailing through the hefty Yankee lineup - 2 runs, 89 pitches in 7 1/3 innings - and the manager comes out (after a weak infield single) and takes the ball out of his hands?

I don't care what the post-game blather coming from Wedgie will be, there is no explanation for taking Carl Pavano out of the game when he did today.

Derek Jeter's infield hit was apparently enough to send Wedgie thumbing through page 1 of his "How to Manage the Bullpen" book.

It was at that point (again just 89 pitches thrown by Pavano and the Tribe up 4-2 in the 8th) when Wedge decided he simply must bring in lefty Raffie Perez (the same Perez who has blown up so many games already this season) to pitch to lefty Johnny Damon.

Damon, of course, lashed a double to right field and the demise of Pavano's victory was underway.

To be fair, no one anticipated that the next guy in, Raffie Betancourt, would leave after a couple of pitches with what looked like a leg injury. But the more often you roll the dice, the bigger the chance that you get a bad result.

It was obvious that Wedge was going to go with both Raffies in the 8th once he took Pavano out. Why roll the dice twice more, especially when one of the gambles involves Raffie Perez - who so far this year has had a great season at Columbus?

In addition to taking a win away from Pavano and making a very questionable strategic move, Wedge put himself in a position to burn through four relievers in less than two innings, leaving himself vulnerable for any extra innings that might have been ahead today and for tomorrow's game as well - a game that will be started by the unreliable Jeremy Sowers.

Please don't tell me that it's the players who play and the manager doesn't matter.

Win or lose today (and thank God it was a win!), Wedgie had a major negative effect on the proceedings.

To boo or not to boo, as CC returns to Progressive Field mound

2009-05-30T13:49:00.011-04:00

CC Sabathia will take his first trip to the hill at Progressive Field since being traded last summer to Milwaukee.

He'll be doing it in a Yankee uniform and if you will excuse me for a moment while I lose my lunch, I'll pick up from here.

That's better.

Now back to CC.

When it became apparent two off-seasons ago that Sabathia was not going to resign with the Tribe because of the lopsided, unfair economics of today's MLB, I reluctantly accepted that fact.

I thought, "Well, he'll take us to one more shot in the post-season and then do what he has to do."

Once it became obvious the Tribe was going nowhere last season, I girded myself for the inevitable mid-season deal that would send him away - the best home-grown Tribe pitcher since God knows when.

The trade came down, the Tribe got a nice haul in return (still to be proven, but seemingly so), and I was happy to see that CC went to Milwaukee - another small-market team that was taking its one big shot at the brass ring.

I watched nearly every one of CC's starts with Milwaukee on the dish and rooted him on along the way. Then, when the Brew Crew's run ended and the bargaining began, I was OK with all that - unless CC landed in one place in particular.

Of course, as we all know, CC ended up in that very place, and as a Tribe fan living here in Yankeeland I had to watch it all first-hand. And listen to Yankee fans and the NY media talk about "CC", as if they were old buds on a first-name basis for years.

That is when it all began to turn for me.

Seeing CC on the local TV news in his first spring workout as a Yankee, I got a sick feeling in my stomach.

When he pulled on the pinstripes for the first time for real back in April it stung even more.

Seeing him playfully chatting with Victor Martinez during batting practice at the new Yankee Stadium - the former battery mates each wearing a different uniform - was almost too much to watch.

And tonight, CC will be wearing the garb of the Evil Empire when he steps on the mound of the Tribe's home field.

So the question has become, will CC be booed (a la Manny, and Jim Thome) when he takes the hill, or cheered for his past contributions to the Tribe (see Omar Vizquel).

If I were going to the game tonight, it's hard to say what I would do when CC takes the mound. But if I had to say right now what my reaction would be, I'd say I would boo - long and hard.

And for those of you with tickets tonight, I suggest you do the same.

For me though, the boo would not really be directed at CC himself. He would simply be the vehicle for the message I would be trying to send to all the powers that be in MLB - the union, the league, the owners and broadcasters, all of whom stand to gain under a system where most of the best players eventually make their way to the teams that can generate the most dough for everyone simply because they are in cities where there are more paying customers.

People argue that small-market teams make their marks in the playoffs year in and year out, and that success can come anywhere when there is smart management.

But there are at least two things wrong with that argument.

For one, while it is true that every small-market dog (except maybe Pittsburgh) has it's day, it is also true that that is about how long it lasts - a day. Or one season, two or three if you are really lucky, and smart.

Then it becomes time to kiss all the fan favorites and the team's stars goodbye, wish them well (or not) in their big-media market and try to start again from scratch.

Some point to the Tribe's long string of success in the '90's (success even though no championships were won by the way) and say it can be done in the small markets if done correctly.

The problem with that argument is that the former owners of the team, the Jacobs family, ran that team as if they were in a big market. That is, they ran it that way until they saw the revenue boost from the excitement of the new stadium would be wearing out soon. Then they were smart enough to sell out to the Dolans.

The Dolans have been running the Tribe like a small-time operation pretty much since taking it over.

Cleveland is not the only place where the odds are stacked high against prolonged success.

Detroit took its shot at the big-time last season, but injuries and a decline in its pitching staff ruined those plans. The effort seems to be revived this year, but how far beyond this season will their current crop of talent take them? Especially as the Detroit economy worsens and the payroll has to shrink.

When was the last time they had a good team in Pittsburgh? Or a sustainably good team in Oakland, or San Diego or just about any place that is not New York, Boston or Los Angeles.

Because they play in divisions full of small-market teams, the two Chicago teams (especially the Sox) can low-ball it and still not stand out as ragamuffins in their respective divisions.

KC and Milwaukee currently are having a little run. But this is their "window." In a few short years the young, talented players they are developing will move on to greener pastures and the success of these small-market teams will fade again

The big-market teams can spend to their hearts content on the best talent. That is obvious. What is less obvious is they can also take chances that the smaller teams can't. "Well, let's sign three of these big-name pitchers and if even one works out big-time, we'll be all set." And, in the case of the Yankees, "let's sign the best hitter available out their as well."

At the same time, the best the little guys can do most off-seasons is put their money down on a Mark DeRosa and hope that it makes some sort of difference.

Baseball's system is broken, and has been for a while. At least for those who truly appreciate real, fair competition.

With the economy in sad shape right now, the unfairness of the system is beginning to manifest itself as people with very little discretionary income are beginning to realize that spending it to watch a sub-par baseball team may not be the best use of their money.

That will only exacerbate the gap between baseball haves and have-nots.

So, if you decide to let out a lusty boo for CC tonight, I hope you'll do it in the right spirit.

CC just played the system the way any smart, talented person would play it.

It's the system that deserves a great big Bronx cheer.

Tribe win streak at four as retreaded bullpen puts brakes on Rays

2009-05-28T19:53:00.008-04:00

When the Tribe announced the signings this winter of journeymen pitchers Matt Herges, Greg Aquino and Tomo Ohka, I paid about as much attention to those signings as I did to the wispy snow flurries that were probably falling outside my window at the time.

Which is to say, I paid them very little mind.

After all, with the bullpen that had already been assembled I doubted any of those guys would be seen in a Tribe uniform once the team left Arizona.

As we sit here today, all three are on the Tribe's active roster - Ohka being the latest to join the club today.

The other two - Herges and Aquino - have been important additions to a revamped bullpen which has been at the center of the Tribe's recent mini renaissance.

The team has won four straight - all against the Rays this week at Progressive Field - and 7 of their last 10 going back to the series they took in KC - 2 games to 1.

Just as the bullpen was instrumental in the success the Tribe had on the latter half of its road trip last week, so too did the Retread Relief Corps play a big role in the Tribe's only series sweep of the season so far.

Of course the offense did more than its share during the Rays series, overcoming a 10-zip hole on Monday and a 5-0 deficit and 7-run outing by starter and once-again-minor-leaguer Zack Jackson last night.

But in both of those games, as well as in today's 2-1 win - which saw starter David Huff toss 4 shutout innings only to be shut down by a long rain delay- the pen had to come in and hold the fort so the offense could do its work.

Virtually everyone in the pen - except for Jensen Lewis, who allowed 5 runs Monday and 1 today - has been up to the task.

Herges, Aquino and recent free-agent signee Luis Vizcaino have led the way with Herges getting the "W" today and Aquino getting last night's win with a 3-inning save by Vizcaino.

Excluding Lewis, the Tribe bullpen went 16 2/3 innings in the 4-game series without allowing a run and picked up 3 of the 4 wins and 2 saves.

Two guys expected to be key parts of the pen - Kerry Wood and Raffie Betancourt - also contributed 2 scoreless innings apiece during the 4-game series. Both pitchers, getting regular work of late, in roles they expected to be in, have shown the effectiveness the Tribe had been expecting out of them.

Wood's last 4 outings, going back to KC, have been scoreless, as have 5 of his last 6 going back to mid-month. He looked particularly nasty in the 9th inning today, protecting the 2-1 lead.

Betancourt hasn't allowed a run in his last 6 outings and 8 of his last 9, allowing just 1 run in 11 1/3 innings in his last 9 trips to the mound.

In winning 7 of its last 10, the Tribe has improved its record to 7 games under and 7 games out (with the Tigers playing as I write this) - still rather woeful, but definitely heading in the right direction.

Raffie Perez, who hasn't allowed a run since being sent to Columbus to find himself, may be back soon and Joe Smith will be on a rehab assignment soon and may also be back with the team in the near term.

If you ask me, when Perez comes back the Tribe would be wise to give Lewis the same opportunity to get his act together in Columbus.

Judging from comments made after today's game it appears Ohka is headed for long relief, with Jeremy Sowers heading back to the rotation and Huff staying there - at least for the next trip around the rotation.

So the Indians appear to be getting hot at just the time I most like to see them on a roll - with the hated Yankees heading to Cleveland for 4 this weekend.

Tribefan In Yankeeland - of course - will be keeping a close eye on that one.

Now that was fun !!!

2009-05-25T22:02:00.005-04:00

Seems I picked just the right game to end my week-long break from the Tribe.

Most of you saw it so I won't go into too much detail, but MAN I haven't had this much fun all year.

Down 10-zip early the Tribe battled back - including 7 runs in the ninth - to hand the Rays their worst blown lead ever.

The Tribe wins it 11-10.
The alarm clock is going to go off in a little over 6 hours so there's no point in rehashing the whole thing. But there are a few guys who need to be mentioned.

Victor Martinez - of course - ending an 0 for 18 slump with a bases loaded single in the 9th, knocking in runs 10 and 11 for the Tribe win.

Ryan Garko had the first huge hit of the inning, with a 3-run blast - his second homer of the night - to make it 10-8. (Wonder if Wedgie will have him back on the bench tomorrow to keep him fresh?)

And then there was Jeremy Sowers who pitched 5 scoreless innings of relief (the last 5) to get the win. Of course that means the Tribe needs a starter for two games now in the middle of the week, but we'll worry about that another time. (Looks like they'll have no choice now but to give David Huff another shot.)

All of that though is food for thought on another day.

Tonight it is simply time to savor the most exciting victory of the year and perhaps the most impressive (except maybe for the Yankee blow out.)

It's a heck of a way to start off the homestand and it should be the type of win that kick-starts a 7 of 9 stretch, or something along those lines.

I guess we'll find out about any carryover tomorrow.

But, for once, let's just keep watching the post-game replays and savoring the kinds of wins that used to be commonplace when the ballpark was known as Jacobs Field.

(By the way, there's also a fresh post below this one with my thoughts on the Tribe's past week while I was away - the best of which I think are on the possibility of trading Mark DeRosa, and on a big gamble being taken by Mark Shapiro out of loyalty to Eric Wedge. So scroll on down to the post below.)

Damn that was fun!!!!!!!!!!!

Same old, same old - more or less

2009-05-25T16:02:00.006-04:00

Well, it's been a week of wetness for me. Soaked is the better word as Orlando had between 10 and 11 inches of rain in the five days the family and I darted from one covered area to another at the Magic Kingdom. Still we managed to get on every coaster-type ride in the main four parks at least once.

Seems the Tribe remains on their roller coaster ride into oblivion as well. Win one, lose one, give one away.

The Tribe lost three of the six games they played while I was gone.

I guess it could also be said they won three of six.

When I left they were 11 under and 7.5 back. As I write this, they are 11 under and 8.5 back, with the first-place Tigers well ahead in their Memorial Day game against KC .

At face value it seems little has changed.

The rotation, the bullpen, the defense and the up-and-down offense each had a hand in the losses that turned what could have been a good week into more of the same.

The lineup shuffling continues - producing little, except for more and more questions in the minds of several players who don't have a clue where they stand or what glove to bring to the park on any given day.

If you look a little beyond the surface, you can find a little bit to hang your hat on though - at least where the bullpen is concerned.

The pen was 2 and 3 with 3 saves over the six games from Tuesday through Sunday. So they were responsible for all three losses. That looks, at first glance, like more of the same.

But they also were responsible for 2 of the 3 wins last week and saved all 3 victories.

That is change for the better.

Excluding Kerry Wood's Tuesday night meltdown, the pen pitched 21 1/3 innings last week and allowed 4 earned runs - an ERA of 1.69.

Even better, most of the good work was spread around among four pitchers - Raffie Betancourt, Greg Aquino, Matt Herges and Luis Vizcaino. Yes, Vizcaino lost Sunday's game, but he was pitching for the third straight day and was gassed.

So things may be looking up at least a little in the pen.

Several other major developments occurred while I was busy riding Test Track and The Rockin' Roller Coaster, and drying my sneakers off with the hotel hair dryer.

Aaron Laffey - who helped stabilize both the starting rotation, and then the bullpen - pulled the old oblique. Based on past history with CC Sabathia (two or three times) and Jake Westbrook, that usually turns into a 4 to 6-weeker.

The same night - Friday I believe - Anthony Reyes came out of the game early and headed straight for the DL with a sore elbow. Apparently his pitching had become less effective as the elbow got more sore over the past several games. Finally, on Friday, he had to call it quits. It's not clear yet just what the extent of that injury is.

(UPDATE: Shortly after this posting the word came down that Reyes is likely to require major surgery on the elbow and is likely out for the season.)

What is clear is that the Tribe is very short on starters.

David Huff has shown nothing in two starts so far and Jeremy Sowers is back with the club by default.

Which brings us to the last major development during my week in the rain forests of Orlando.

Mark DeRosa trade rumors.

With DeRosa playing 1B like a man who has played there only a dozen or so times in his career, three other more capable first basemen on the roster and a crying need for pitching, it appears DeRosa may be on his way out.

I like DeRosa's bat, but he doesn't have much of a glove and he clearly can't play 1B. So unless the Tribe decides to put him at 2B - his position with the Cubs - and send Luis Valbuena down to Columbus, I think it is a matter of time before he is traded.

If it were me, I wouldn't even bother with DeRosa at 2B. Defensively it can be covered better by Valbuena, Jamey Carroll or Josh Barfield.

I think DeRosa is our best chip to land some pitching and he has no obvious place to play in the field.

The team will miss his bat, but pitching is a much more urgent need at the moment.

Finally, before I go off to watch my first Tribe game in seven days, I'd like to address the Eric Wedge situation one last time.

It has become painfully obvious that Mark Shapiro has decided that Wedge doesn't deserve the bulk of the blame for yet another disastrous stumble from the gate.

Certainly Shapiro must know a fair amount of the blame goes in his direction and he appears unwilling to throw Wedge under the bus. It is an admirable stance by Shapiro. But it is a chancy one too.

If the team continues to stumble and bumble its way through the remainder of the year - as I believe it will - than both men at the top may find themselves under ownership's gaze at year end.

I don't think Wedge has shown the type of leadership this team needs to pull itself up, and more importantly, I think he makes matters worse with his constant shuffling and reshuffling of the deck chairs.

But when it comes time at the end of the year to start throwing things overboard, Shapiro may find himself right ahead of his buddy Wedgie.

Frankly, I've never bought into the moneyball, supercomputer, Wall Street-speak way that many modern baseball teams are being run. I think a player has to be judged on more than obscure stats run through forty different spread sheets. His smarts, his ability to motivate himself, his level of self-confidence and his natural abilities all have to be added into the mix.

I just don't think you can create a baseball team by crunching numbers and spouting biz speak.

Maybe it would be best for Wedge to stick around for the rest of the year. That way maybe he can take Shapiro with him when he heads for the door and a fresh look from a new management team might lead to better days.

(I've removed the "should Wedge be fired" Tribe poll that has been up the last 10 days or so. Just FYI 77% of those who responded said that Wedge should indeed be let go, while 23% said he should not.)

Taking a vacation from the Tribe

2009-05-17T18:43:00.004-04:00

Going to be gone for a week - a well-deserved vacation if I must say so.

No Tribe for a week would seem like vacation enough, but we'll be doing Disney - my daughter's pick for her senior-year family getaway.

So it should be a good time.

But before I go, there are number of things to go over.

A week that started out with a bit of promise - the team scoring runs and winning three of four - ended with the Tribe at the low point of a dismal season, at 11 games under .500 and 7-1/2 games out.

The roster moves continue (David Huff and Greg Aquino arriving, Masa Kobayashi and Tony Sipp departing), but the results are the same. No one can pitch. No one can field. No one (except Victor) can hit consistently.

David Huff's MLB debut was one to forget. Seven hits, four walks and seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. One performance does not a career make, but he appears to lack an out pitch - even after getting ahead of hitters. A lot like Jeremy Sowers. You have to give him a few shots, but so far it seems the search for a No. 5 starter - and a No. 4 for that matter - continues.

Two long-time MLB retreads - Aquino and Matt Herges - kept the Rays at bay the rest of the way (with a one-out assist from Kerry Wood). I'll take it, but I wouldn't count on it going forward.

Today's outfield was a joke; Ryan Garko in LF, Ben Francisco in CF and Shin-soo Choo in RF. Is it any wonder the Rays had a bushel full of extra-base hits?

Did Grady Sizemore need the day off? I guess probably so as he's been below the Mendoza line (.167 to be exact) over the past 11 games. But do we have to see Garko out in LF on a day when Grady is not in CF?

I've got a better question. Do we ever need to see Garko in the outfield again. He was awful out there today on balls hit over his head. That's a tough play for many outfielders but Garko wasn't close to making those plays - one of them hit for a double by Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine. He did manage to catch one in the 7th after an awkward chase back to the wall - but that one might be filed in the "blind squirrel finding a nut once in awhile" category.

Another thing that is becoming quickly obvious is Mark DeRosa is about as good at 1B as he was at 3B - perhaps worse. The question of where to stick him in the field is becoming a bigger one each day. The Cubs felt his best position was 2B (or at least that's where he played most of the time for them). But I can't help but think that putting him there would just reopen as many holes as were closed by putting Asrubal Cabrera at SS and moving Jhonny Peralta out of the middle of the infield. They need DeRosa's bat, which should become more consistently good at some point. But the question remains, where does he play?

The Rays did all they could to help the Tribe today by sending out a lineup card that had two 3B on it, meaning that Evan Longoria - who actually was supposed to DH and bat third - had to come out of the lineup and Sonnanstine had to hit in No. 3. So the league leader in RBIs comes out and is replaced by the pitcher in the three hole.

Of course that didn't turn out to be as rosy as you might think for the Tribe, as Garko played a can of corn to left into an RBI double for Sonnanstine. Yes Garko was playing well in, but a decent leftfielder has enough time to get under that ball.

And the game was full of controversy. A horrible call on a ball that hit the top of the wall in left took a double away from the Tribe in the top of the eighth. (Click link to see video)

And then there was the bench-clearing shout-and-shove, precipitated by two Kerry Wood pitches- one behind B.J. Upton and one just off his letters. It was supposedly retaliation for a base running indiscretion earlier in the series.

If you are thinking with your head, that's not such a good idea when your down only two and there's a runner already on first . But if you're thinking with the part of the body that puts testosterone into the blood stream, it probably wasn't such a bad move. Something to rally the team a little. Not that it did.

It is becoming very obvious that this organization does not have enough pitching to get the Tribe through this season. You can switch guys from the rotation to the pen or vice-versa at all levels of the organization. But the bottom line is there are just not enough effective big-league arms to go around.

It is time to face facts. This pitching staff, even if it at some point starts to perform at a level closer to what should be expected, is not the kind of staff that allows a team to rip off 9 of 11 or 19 of 25. And with the team already 11 games under .500 that's what it will take to put the team back into serious contention.

I just don't see that happening.

Have a good week otherwise. I should be back online next Sunday or Memorial Day at the latest.

Are we having fun yet?

2009-05-15T23:25:00.002-04:00

Long about the top of the fourth inning of Friday night's game, just about the time Shin-soo Choo blasted his two-run homer giving the Tribe a 7-0 lead, I began to think - "I'm finally having fun."

The baseball season is just about six weeks old now, and not one of those weeks has brought any enjoyment to Tribe fans.

That started to change this week.

Going into Friday's game, the Tribe had won 3 of their last 4 games, put together their first winning streak (2 games) since mid-April (also 2 games) and had whittled their deficit in the A.L. Central to 4 1/2 games.

And for the first 3 1/2 innings Friday, they were blowing out Scott Kazmir and the Rays.

And then all the ugliness of the first five weeks returned.

The offense shut down completely, putting up just two hits in the final 5 2/3 innings.

Starting pitcher Anthony Reyes was unable to get out of the sixth.

The bullpen - which seemed to be getting itself together at least a bit recently - took a sharp turn back toward hideous.

Tony Sipp, brought in to get out one lefty, walked that lefty.

Jensen Lewis followed, getting smacked for 3 hits and a run over 1 inning and leaving a mess for Raffie Betancourt in the seventh.

Betancourt came in with one out and runners on second and third and the Tribe still clinging to a 7-6 lead. A strikeout, an intentional walk and a popout later and it looked like maybe things might be OK.

Until the eighth inning, when Betancourt gave up a dinger to the first batter of the inning - Ben Zobrist.

And then the ninth inning when Luis Vizcaino - making his Tribe debut - gave up a blast to B.J. Upton - the first batter Vizcaino faced as an Indian - and we were right back where we've been for the past five weeks.

There was a time when this game was fun. I swear it. Sometimes it feels like it will never be that way again.

Gathering my thoughts on the Tribe

2009-05-14T11:58:00.001-04:00

Missed a day of posting yesterday as my oldest arrived for a visit for the first time since setting off to make his way in the world in January.

A lot of things have happened since my last post just two days ago. Not surprisingly, I have a few thoughts on many of them.

Most importantly, Mark Shapiro gave Eric Wedge and his coaching staff a vote of confidence. A lot of blogs have been using the term the "dreaded vote of confidence," meaning that's the last step before a firing. But I really think Shapiro - right now - is committed to sticking it out with Wedge.

I say "right now" because that phrase preceded Shapiro's comments on the matter. Still, at this moment, I really do believe Shapiro intends to stay with his manager. Let's see how this road trip goes, at the very least, to see if the sentiments remain the same.

Shapiro has lots of time to pull the trigger if it comes to that, because no matter how badly the team has played, the rest of the division seems to want to keep the Tribe on the party invitation list. They are only 5 1/2 games out, so that buys Wedge and Shapiro some time.

One thing that can be said about the two of them, unlike last year, they are not taking the disappointing performance lying down. They are pulling out every stop I can think of to try to turn things around while everyone else in the division is treading water.

In his recent comments on the state of the club, Shapiro - correctly - said the biggest issue is to straighten out the bullpen. His most significant move to date has been to move Aaron Laffey from the rotation to the pen. Many have criticized this as robbing Peter (the rotation) to pay Paul (the pen). While that is true, I thought at the time - and still think now - that it was a move that had to be done. The bullpen was hemorrhaging runs at the time. At least the blood flow has slowed a bit since the Laffey tourniquet was applied.

The second bullpen move at the major league level has been to bring up Matt Herges and send Vinnie Chulk on his way. To me it seemed like six of one, half-dozen of the other. So far Herges has been okay, though in limited duty.

A third move came today, when Luis Vizcaino was added to the roster, with Jeremy Sowers being sent to the minors.

Vizcaino was effective with the Cubs (four scoreless appearances) and was kind of shocked to have been cut there. I remember him from 2007 when he joined the struggling Yankees mid-season and helped to settle their pen down. He is up and down and has been throughout his career. But when he is hot, he's nice to have around. He's a gamble worth taking for sure.

Although Sowers was the one sent packing today, the Tribe will need another starter soon. That figures to be David Huff. When that need arises, someone from the bullpen will be gone. The general feeling is that Masa Kobayashi will be the one sent packing.

Soyonara!

Kobayasha - if he hadn't already done so by his pitching and his early retirement at the end of last season - likely punched his ticket out of town when he pretty much said earlier this week that MLB hitters are better than what he was used to seeing in Japan and that he - essentially - is over matched here.

There's more going on with the bullpen below ground - or at least at levels below the major leagues. The Tribe has transferred three minor league pitchers from the starting rotations of various clubs to the bullpen. The most notable among these is Hector Rondon, who was moved from Akron's starting rotation to its bullpen. The first returns were not encouraging as Rondon gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits over two innings and took the loss in his first relief outing Tuesday night.

This move is not unlike the move of Laffey in that it weakens the depth of the stable of starters throughout the organization. Normally, that is not something I would be happy about. But it seems the organization is truly taking a win-now approach to things (finally), and that is welcomed in a year in which the division winner in the Central may not see 90 wins.

Like Laffey, Rondon can always be put back on the starter track - either later this year if some members of the original pen regain their form, or next season when the Tribe undoubtedly gives the pen another face lift in the off-season.

Some have argued that it would have made sense to put Sowers in the pen (since he's effective one or two time through the lineup) and keep Laffey in the rotation. On the face of it that sounds logical, but the Tribe was so desperate to restore at least some order to the pen that they had to go with someone who seemed to be a reasonably sure bet.

Which brings us to some of the changes going on in the lineup.

We can only hope that we've seen the last of David Dellucci as a regular and that we'll be seeing a lot more of Matt LaPorta. Both Shapiro and Wedge have led us to believe as much in the past couple of days. But we'll see.

There are also strong indications that Jhonny Peralta will be playing at least some 3B (hopefully a lot of 3B) in the days ahead. That leaves 2B open for Luis Valbeuna and Jamey Carroll. An infield with either guy at 2B, Asdrubal Cabrera at SS and Peralta at 3B would seem to be a significant step up from the current lineup.

I would hope Wedge would give Valbuena fist crack and keep the versatile Carroll on the bench for late-inning duty, but Carroll may see a lot of playing time if Wedge decides to move lead-off hitter Grady Sizemore down in the lineup. (More on than in a minute.)

Mark DeRosa will, and should, still see regular duty under the new alignment, either at 1B, the outfield or giving Peralta a rest at 3B. I still see him playing every day because he has a good stick - even if he hasn't shown it yet.

LaPorta may end up being given regular time at 1B. I'm fine with that, as long as he gets regular time somewhere for long enough to prove he belongs or that he needs to go back down to see a little more Triple-A pitching. There is no justification for the in-between status that has been his until two days ago.

One final thought, on Sizemore being moved down in the order. Until this year I was against the suggestion every time it came up. But his strikeout ratio, batting average and OBP have been so bad this season it's hard to keep him in the No. 1 hole. His propensity to drive in runs (though he's left a lot on lately) would also seem to call for a spot in the middle of the order.

My only problem with all of this is who will lead off? Cabrera has been a perfect fit in the No. 2 hole. Will he put added pressure on himself if he is moved to the leadoff spot? Does Carroll bring enough to the table to be an everyday player?

No one else comes close to fitting the bill that I can think of. Do any of you have any thoughts?

Getting regular, or why La Porta is still on the bench

2009-05-12T11:31:00.004-04:00

Eric Wedge has taken heat from pretty much everywhere for allowing rookie Matt LaPorta to rot on the bench while David Dellucci continues to play - and not hit.

Last night, the fourth night in a row La Porta sat in favor of Dellucci, Wedge explained his continued reliance on Dellucci - saying that after the players-only meeting over the weekend he wanted to give his "regulars" a chance to back themselves up.

Here are his comments as quoted by MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince:

"These guys got together and looked each other in the eye the other night, and I want to give them a chance to stand behind it and do something about it."

I suppose it is admirable that Wedge is trying just about everything as a motivational tool - this being the latest.

But I have a few questions.

Can this team, which has probably used two-dozen or more lineups in 33 games so far this season, be considered to have "regulars"?

Even if they do, why is Dellucci - who went oh-for-3 again last night leaving 5 runners on base - considered one of them? He missed the entire first month of the season.

In addition, Dellucci is playing not only at LaPorta's expense, but also at Ryan Garko's. Shouldn't Garko, last year's RBI leader, be considered a regular?

I don't want every post on this blog from here on out to be about Wedge's decisions or his future.

But in this case, I just had to ask.

By the way, we've added a Tribe Fan Poll seeking your vote on whether Wedge should stay or go. You'll find it in the right-hand column of your computer screen..

Show Wedge LaPorta

2009-05-10T16:10:00.001-04:00

I have already written that I think it is time to show Eric Wedge the door, but while he's still here would someone please introduce him to la porta - as in Matt LaPorta.

The Tribe has played 9 games now since LaPorta and fellow rookie Luis Valbuena arrived from Columbus. The Tribe is 2-7 in that time. They've fallen to 10 games under .500 and 7 1/2 out of first, with division leading KC still to finish up for today as I write this.

In those 9 games we've seen Matt LaPorta in the starting lineup exactly 4 times.

As the Tribe was busy scoring 3 runs over the 3 games this weekend against the Tigers, we saw LaPorta exactly - not at all.

Since the roster shuffle we have seen Valbuena in the starting lineup all of three times.

Does this make any sense to anyone?

Meanwhile, in the 9-game period we're talking about, David Dellucci has been in the starting lineup 7 times. He's 4 for 25 during the period. with no ribbies and no extra base hits.

Ben Francisco, since May 1 - the day of the big "shakeup" - is hitting .257. He's 9 for 35 -all singles. He's driven in 1 run so far this month, and scored four.

Again, can someone please explain to me why LaPorta was called up if he's not going to play?

Was the "shakeup" just a sham? Just a move to make it look like the front office was taking action?

Although I don't necessarily feel this way, Valbuena's absence from the lineup could be slightly more defensible, since his primary position is 2B - one of the few spots where the Tribe has someone getting the job done already. In addition, it could be argued that the team needs Jhonny Peralta to get back to being the 20-HR guy he has been and that he needs to play (his 2-game benching aside) to get it going.

But from where I'm standing, no one is in LaPorta's way.

What is the point of playing Dellucci, or even Francisco, over LaPorta? Whatever success Dellucci has had in the majors, it is well behind him now. Francisco appears to be nothing more than a fourth outfielder.

More importantly, how is it helping LaPorta by having him sitting on the bench?

If LaPorta truly is going to be used as Dellucci's caddy against lefties, why is he still here?

More importantly, why is Wedge still here?

Time for Wedge to go

2009-05-09T15:14:00.005-04:00

Every dog has his day.

Some even have six years and a month or so.

For Eric Wedge, his day has come and should now be gone.

It is time to fire the manager.

Back on April 20 I wrote that it was time to seriously consider firing Wedge, who is in his seventh season as Tribe manager.

I suggested Mother's Day as a good time to take another look and to pull the plug on Wedge by then if there was not a vast improvement in the Tribe's play.

Obviously there has been no improvement. In fact, some of the most galling defeats of the season have taken place during the period from April 20 to now, and the Tribe has put up a 7-10 record during that time period.

Obviously, the position-player roster shake-up has only been in place for a little over a week now. And the revamp of the bullpen has only begun (we hope). But do you really see much of a difference in the days and weeks ahead with the same manager and coaching staff running the show?

Wedge has had more than six years to show he is the guy to get this team into the World Series. So far, all we've gotten is a couple of exciting regular seasons and two huge choke jobs - in 2005 in the final week of the season , and 2007, when a 3-games-to-1 lead over the Red Sox in the ALCS was coughed up.

In addition, 2006, 2008 and 2009 were seasons of high expectations - not only from the local partisans, but also the national media.

2006 and 2008 turned out to be disasters of major proportions. 2009 seems is heading that way too.

On top of that, the awful breaks from the gate have been duly chronicled time and again. No reason to go into details here.

A manger's job is to prepare his team to play, and get the most out of the players he has. Often, especially in the early years, Wedge didn't have much. The bullpen he was provided in 2006 did him in that year and last year you could lay the blame on the injury bug. So it seemed fair to give Wedge one more shot. But it's clear he's let things get away from him again this year.

I've heard it argued that Wedge isn't the one striking out with runners in scoring position, or pouring gas on the fire from out of the bullpen.

That is true.

But the players on this club have mostly all shown they have the ability to play much better than they are playing. It is the manger's job to pull it out of them.

The loudest of Wedge's critics get on him for his apparent laid back attitude.

They get on him, essentially, for not getting on his players - for tolerating hitters who strike out once every three or four at-bats or who fail to hit in the clutch.

They don't like his uninspiring presence on the bench. His half-assed arguments with umpires when some good old-fashioned Earl Weaverishness would seem to be in order.

But and argument can be made that baseball players are most effective when they are playing relaxed. To me the Tribe seems to be just the opposite. They seem to play tight all the time (at least until the front office officially pulls the plug midway through the season and then they play relaxed and well).

I don't know if it just the personality of the current nucleus of this team that they can't play when the heat is on, or if Wedge has his own way of applying excess pressure - a way that is clearly not visible to the fans but may happen in the clubhouse.

Either way, the bottom line is the team does not produce.

Fair or not, the manager ultimately has to take the fall.

Wedge is in the middle of his seventh year of not getting the job done. Managers have been fired for much, much less.

It's time to clear the stale air around this team.

It's time for new ideas and a new approach.

That won't happen with Wedge, or anyone else currently on his staff or in the organization in charge.

We need someone from the outside to take over.

And we need them now.

Shake-up Part Two - The Bullpen

2009-05-07T11:18:00.010-04:00

Woa!!

Vinny Chulk DFA'd just 5 weeks into the season?

Who saw that coming?

Ah, but for every Vinny Chulk, there's a Matt Herges.

The Indians, as you probably know by now, shook up their moribund pen a little last night, designating Chulk for assignment and farming out Raffie Perez.

To fill their spots in the pen, the Tribe recalled righty Matt Herges from Columbus, moved lefty Aaron Laffey from the starting rotation to the pen and brought up Jeremy Sowers to replace Laffey in the rotation.

That move paid off last night, as Laffey tossed three scoreless innings of relief against the Red Sox to pick up a save. He got the save for holding a lead for three innings, not by protecting a slim lead as the game ended 9-2.

So what to make of this?

The general plan I like. They needed to move someone who was getting people out into the bullpen. That turned out to be Laffey. It's not a choice you like to make, but - in this instance - it's one you had to make. There was no real bullpen help down below and the bleeding has to be stopped.

But Matt Herges? I guess they went for experience on that one. Or they just figured he is one more die to roll. Herges' ERA is nearly 6 and teams - International League teams - are hitting .316 against him.

Hey, I guess we can't knock it 'til we try it. But if I'm forming an opinion now, I think Herges goes the way of Chulk sooner rather than later. Herges' life-time MLB ERA is just about 4 and his last good year was 2007 (5-1, ERA 2.96; WHIP 1.01). That's sounds good, but the only season prior to that where he comes close to those numbers is in 2003, with San Francisco and and San Diego.

No one else was lighting it up in Columbus, so let's say we give the nod to experience and see what happens - while telling ourselves not to expect much.

The other move, filling Laffey's spot with Jeremy Sowers, also probably has to do with experience - as in at least he's been up here before. Sowers was off to a good start in Columbus, 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA. But we've seen his act before and we know what we are likely to get. Adequate at best.

While I don't really knock the move, I would have liked to see what David Huff could do instead.

Huff (4-0 with a 3.21 ERA and 23 Ks in 28 innings) was touted by the front office late last year as someone who could have an impact on the parent club this year, This might have been a good time to find out exactly what kind of impact.

As for Perez, it was obvious he had to go and get his head straightened out outside of the limelight.

Still, with all the moves made since Friday, lets give the brain trust an A for effort. At least they are not sitting on their hands like last year while the season melted away.

Do I expect these changes to turn things around? If been around this team too long to get my hopes up. But let's just say I'm still watching the games every night, so there must be some hope there.

Will last night's win provide a jolt?

2009-05-05T11:32:00.006-04:00

Last night's win over Toronto (despite the continued failings of the bullpen) provided all the makings of a season-turner. Or at least a road-trip turner.

Three times the Tribe overtook the Jays for the lead. Fortunately they only gave it back twice - while trying very hard to give it up a third time in the 12th.

You might think this game, which saw the Tribe being no-hit through six only to score 9 runs eventually, might be the kind of game that would jump-start their season - or at least their week.

I thought the same thing last week when the Red Sox handed the Tribe a victory after they had been down 5-1 early. (remember the fumbled pitch to first base allowing the game-winner to score?). But, the Tribe went on to lose the next night in their typically maddening fashion, and have gone 2-3 since the "season-changer" against the Sox.

So, we'll find out starting in an hour or so if last night's win provides any kind of spark.

I'm on my lunch break again, so I just have time to scribble a few thoughts.

The Tribe management is all excited about the new versatility it has following Friday night's roster shuffle. It's only versatility if the guys you are moving around can actually play the positions you are moving them too.

Last night's defensive alignment (based on the way they played) at the end of the game reminded me of my days as a little league coach - trying to get every kid at least an inning or two in the infield, even it was a threat to his own safety and the team's well being.

On the should-have-been double-play ball that should have ended the game, Jhonny Peralta - playing 3B - cut to his left pretty well, then made an iffy throw to 2B. Luis Valbuena made the play and then an even iffier throw to 1B, which happened to be manned at the time by Mark DeRosa. The throw was a one-hopper and a little off the bag, but an experienced first baseman makes the play and ends the game.

Similarly, in the ninth, with Kerry Wood looking very shaky in trying to notch his 6th save, Josh Barfield (making his first appearance in left field) misplayed a likely out into a two-run single that tied the game at 6. Barfield also bobbled a bouncing ball to his right (no harm came from it) and his throws from LF were sub-par.

I guess we need to see more from all parties, but this "versatility" idea is off to a bad start.

Anyone seen enough of DeRosa at 3B? He misplayed another ball last night that eventually cost a couple of runs. Need a DH? DeRosa's your man.

Nice to see Matt LaPorta's first (of many we hope) MLB dinger.

I'm sure I had other thoughts to put here, but the workload at my desk is calling.

Let's hope the Tribe can extend their latest one-game winning streak to two this afternoon.

The guy next door who also happened to manage the Tribe

2009-05-03T14:04:00.002-04:00

I could write once again about how the Tribe's bullpen stinks and about how the season may once again be sabotaged by morale-deflating, late-inning losses night after night.

Or, I could go on ad nauseum about the Friday night overhaul and where those four new players are going to play (quick summary - La Porta and Valbuena are not on this team to sit on the bench).

But others in the blogosphere have touched those bases, most thoroughly at The DiaTribe, and with quite a bit of negativity at MVN.

My main thought is that it's a good thing the Tribe brass isn't watching with the same rose-colored glasses they seem to have donned last year - doing virtually nothing to shake things up or repair the holes before the air was out of the season.

Bottom line though, until they do something about the bullpen in the 7th or 8th inning, I don't think the changes will matter much. They may have to make a trade for a real, proven set-up man.

In the meantime (and they obviously can't do this every night, but they have to consider it at least a time or two per week) maybe they can go back to the old Sparky Lyle days and ask their closer to get 4 to 6 outs instead of just 3. No point in spending $10 million on the man so he can watch save opportunity after save opportunity disappear as he remains squarely on his backside on the bullpen lounge chair.

So let's go where I'd like to go today.

If the Tribe is going to continue to play like it's the early '80's, we might as well take a fond look back at the period, and the man who led the Tribe at the time.

He was the friendly older guy next door, and he was the Cleveland Indians manager.

I'm talking about Dave Garcia.

The New York Times today had a profile on Garcia, a guy the writer of the piece calls one of baseball's tribal elders.

Garcia - now 88 - has been in baseball since signing with the St. Louis Browns in 1937, when Rogers Hornsby was a player-manager for the team that is now - and has been for decades - the Baltimore Orioles.

Oddly, Garcia still works as a part-time scout for the Cubs although he can barely see these days due to the eye condition know as macular degeneration.

“I can’t see the ball leave the pitcher’s hand,” he told the Times. “I can’t see where the pitch is when it was hit. But for some reason, when it is hit, I can pick it up.”

Despite that seemingly major hurdle, Cubs front office official Gary Hughes tells the Times Garcia still has it when it comes to assessing opposing players.

“I just pick his brain, really. We talk about comparisons. He’s way more of a source than he thinks he is.”

Garcia lives in San Diego and goes to almost every Padres home game, checking out the players who come to town. According to the Times story he still gets to the park at 4:30 for every night game. Just like the days when he managed the Tribe - from 1979 through 1982.

That's where Garcia and I intersect.

Back in 1979, when Garcia took over the helm from Jeff Torborg about 100 games into the season, I was a young radio reporter who did news as my "real job" during the day and then covered the Tribe at night for my radio station in Painesville.

(Mostly I did it because I loved the game, loved the Tribe and could get a free meal in the press room and a free seat in the press box.)

Garcia had a grandfatherly way about him, patient with his players (many of questionable ability) and with young reporters who tend - on occasion- to ask stupid questions.

He also had a way with words, kind of like Yogi Berra without all the notoriety.

Back in Garcia's day, the mainstays on the club were Rick Manning, Duane Kuiper, Mike Hargrove and Andre Thornton. But his clubs over the years also had names like Ron Pruitt, Paul Dade, Mike Fischlin and Larry Milbourne - not to mention Bill Nohorodny.

The Orioles and Yankees were the class of the A.L. East during Garcia's tenure, and although the Tribe skipper kept his questionable team near .500 through his tenure (247-244 overall), he just couldn't keep up with the big boys.

At the end of the 1980 season (79-81) I happened into Garcia's tiny office at the old Cleveland Stadium after the last home game of the year. The usually chipper Garcia looked warn out and ready for an off-season rest back on the West Coast. No other reporters were in the office and we chatted a bit about the year.

In his best - unwitting - Yogi imitation, Garcia sighed, turned to me and - just as inadvertently - made a comment that sounded like a critique of his managing rather than the regrets about the state of the franchise at the time (which he had intend).

"You know," he said, "Here I am trying to match wits with Earl Weaver and Billy Martin - and I don't have anything to match them with."

I tried to suppress my smile, but it snuck to the surface anyway. It took a second, but Garcia realized the meaning of what he had just said, and we had a good laugh.

Garcia's post-game eating habits were a bit legendary with the young group of media types who covered the Tribe at the time.

He would often greet reporters with a sausage or hot dog in a bun, with ketsup, in one hand. And another - no bun and mustard - in the other hand. Not to mention the Fritos dipped in ketsup. Best of all, he'd chomp on one sausage or the other throughout the post-game interview, rendering most of his comments (at least for the radio guys) pretty much useless.

Garcia was then, and apparently still is, a man of simple tastes. Just like the older guy that lives next door.

I called him at his San Diego home late in the winter following his "matching wits" comment - to get an interview on the upcoming season.

His wife Carmen, in a friendly, older-lady-who-lives-next-door voice - explained,
"He's not here right now. He's at the grocery store. He should be home soon, he just went to get a few things." Sure enough about a half hour later- finished with his wife's "honey do" list - Garcia called back to talk about his favorite topic - baseball.

Dave still has his baseball (though it's more than a little fuzzy for him with his eye condition), but - as the Times report mentions - his wife Carmen has been gone a long time now.

But, as you might expect from Garcia, he told the Times he keeps his wife with him every day.

“In my home, I have 18 pictures of my wife, in every room except the bathroom. And I kiss that picture, 18 of them, every morning when I get up and every night when I go to bed. And I tell her something that happened that day."

That is the warm, friendly man I remember running the Tribe back when I was cutting my teeth as a journalist.

As I finish this post, the Tribe has struck out 9 times in 4 innings against Justin Verlander. Wasn't this pleasant memory of the Tribe's past better than going on about the troubles of the present?

It's The Looch, and maybe more

2009-05-01T17:24:00.011-04:00

UPDATE:

The PD and MLB.com report the Tribe will make another roster move after tonight's game.

Anthony Castronvince of MLB.com thinks it will be Luis Valbuena - who can play 2B, SS and 3B. That could mean he could be the utility infielder and that Tony Graffanino could be gone.

I doubt Valbuena would be called up to sit and watch. Is it possible the Tribe is already tired of the swiss cheese left side of the infield and that Valbuena will take over at 3B, with DeRosa moving to the outfield?

That would put Trevor Crowe and Ben Francisco on the bubble.

The Tribe has 5 outfielders currently, which would make one wonder if they'd bring up a 6th in Matt LaPorta. But it's clear LaPorta has the big-bat potential the Tribe was hoping DL'ed Travis Hafner would provide.

LaPorta's arrival also would put Crowe or Francisco at risk.

There's also some talk the new arrival could be Josh Barfield. Not sure how he fits in, unless he goes to 2B, Asdrubal Cabrerra goes to short and Jhonny Peralta moves to third - once again putting LaRosa into the outfield and jeopardizing Crowe and Francisco. But that seems like too much futzing around, especially because it would add another hurdle for the seemingly befuddled Peralta to overcome.

If it comes down to Crowe or Francisco who go, I'd say it has to be Crowe. He seems to need more time at Triple-A and he would also benefit from regular playing time.

LaPorta is the obvious choice if the Tribe perceives the need to replace Hafner's power. Valbuena would be my choice if the thought is that the infield's need for shoring up is more important.

Whatever the case, if another player is indeed on the way, the criticism in the post below - written earlier today - is no longer valid.

-----------------

I don't remember the exact quote but when the Indians brought up Rich Rundles to replace Travis Hafner on the roster, skipper Eric Wedge was clear that Rundles was a one-night deal.

But there was talk about turning over every stone and taking their time to make some decisions (plural) with the day off on Thursday. It sounded like something of decent size might be happening.

Would there be more than Rundles bidding adieu? Might Trevor Crowe be on his way to Columbus? Or Ben Francisco - although he hit the ball well on the very night Wedge starting talking about changes (plural) and scouring the system.

Might we see Matt LaPorta? Or Luis Valbuena?

Heck, Mark Shapiro even said on a TV interview during the game the other night that the team might consider going from 14 pitchers back down to the usual 12. Sure sounded exciting.

Of course Shapiro also said in the same interview that we would "get LaPorta up here this year for sure." Translation: not gonna happen now.

The Tribe boss also stated that David Dellucci - also hitting well at Triple-A- would be back sooner or later - but you new from his words that it would be sooner.

We all knew it would be the Looch coming up today. The management loves veterans, and this one in particular. Plus they owe him $4 million this year and they've gotten nothing out of him in the first 2 and 1/6 seasons of his 3-year deal so far.

There's no surprise that Dellucci is back with the Tribe.

My only question is why tease us with talk of "taking everyone into consideration" and making "decisions" (plural) on the just-completed off day.

Maybe The Looch can fill the cleanup hole too. Wedgie tried it last year.

We had a few moments to daydream about change. Instead, we got more of the same.

Food and some thoughts

2009-04-29T11:21:00.002-04:00

The Tribe game ended pretty late last night so I didn't have time to post (my alarm goes off at 5:00).

So I figured I'd tick off a few quick thoughts while on my lunch break

Good thing I wasn't eating while watching last night's game. It was butt ugly, beginning with both starting pitchers. Neither the Tribe's Anthony Reyes nor the Sox' Brad Penny got out of the third inning, yet they gave up a combined 14 runs (11 earned) in 4 2/3 innings - tossing 175 pitches between them. Wow! The umpire had a postage-stamp zone, but still.

The Red Sox made three costly errors that led to runs, including the game winner in the ninth. In all, only 4 of the Tribe's 8 runs were earned. Making the game even uglier, the Tribe left 12 runners on base, 6 of them in scoring position with two out. Despite scoring 9 runs, you could argue the clutch hitting still wasn't there.

One bit of irony. I blasted Ben Francisco and Mark DeRosa on this blog Monday night as guys I was losing patience with. DeRosa went 4 for 5 Tuesday with a game-tying homer in the 7th. Francisco went 2 for 4 with a 3-run jack, which also - temporarily - tied the game in the 3rd. Let me just say this - Jhonny Peralta you're a bum.

Tony Sipp looked solid again last night. Really tough on lefties. Three Ks in 1 1/3 innings. Raffie Perez also looked good, allowing just 1 hit over 1 2/3 innings. They could be quite a duo if Raffie can get himself back together and Sipp keeps slinging it. Very few teams have the luxury of two solid lefties in the bullpen. Not saying we're there yet, but it's a pleasant thought right now.

As I mentioned in response to a comment Monday, it's beginning to look like David Dellucci will be arriving soon - and not Matt LaPorta. The PD quotes manager Eric Wedge as saying Dellucci may be up with the Tribe as early as this weekend. Can't wait.

Will it be Trevor Crowe or Ben Francisco who goes? My money is on Crowe, who looks like he could use more AAA time.

Well, now that the Tribe has put together its 6th one-game winning streak, let's see if they can make it two in a row for a change. With Wild Man Carmona going up against the most-patient team in the league at the plate, I don't like the chances. (Let's hope the TFIYL affect work as well with Fausto as it did last night with DeRosa and Francisco.

Tribe one-game streak screeches to a halt

2009-04-27T22:09:00.004-04:00

The Boston Red Sox came to town on a 10-game winning streak.

The Tribe entered tonight's game on a 1-game streak - their fifth 1-game winning streak of the season so far, and just one win shy of their longest winning streak of the year.

Something had to give.

I'll give you three guesses.

Well, we'll just go out and start a new streak tomorrow.

There was something a little different about tonight's loss though.

The Tribe sprung a new leak. One of the only working parts on the team so far this season sputtered.

Tonight Kerry Wood spit the bit - giving up a three-run jack to Jason Bay to spoil the night for Cliff Lee, who had held the mighty Sox offense at bay (if you will) for 8 innings.

Hey, these things happen, and I'm sure we won't see too much of that out of Wood this season. But it seems like every night something new goes wrong - except for the offense which has been wronging us for nearly 10 days now.

No wonder Eric Wedge is angry and frustrated. He verbally slapped his club again this afternoon - the everyday players in particular - saying they are leaderless, they are in their prime and they are playing like rookies.

Wedge managed to get himself tossed from tonight's game by arguing two calls on subsequent pitches in the fourth inning. It appeared Wedge was wrong on both calls, and they ended up being of no consequence. But you can't blame the guy for blowing off a little steam.

Now, if he got himself tossed on purpose to fire up his team - well, it didn't work.

Seems as though nothing works.

I can understand Wedge's annoyance with his club. Nobody expected what we are seeing. But he's starting to look desperate - which in fact he may be.

In chastising his team for lacking leaders, Wedge is quoted by the PD this afternoon as saying the following:

"Make no mistake. I'm the leader of this club. But I'm the manager, not a player. . .what a player can do for another player is, to rob a phrase, priceless."

He is saying his leadership alone apparently is not enough. While there's some truth to that, and it's not really a capitulation, it is only about three steps or so away from Chris Palmer's "runaway train" comments 10 years ago, back with the reborn Browns.

Sounds like Wedge is not too sure where to turn next.

----

A couple of other thoughts before I go.

Is anyone else growing tired of watching Ben Francisco. Anybody think it might be time to get a look at Matt LaPorta, who is tearing up Triple-A?. (Maybe that's one place Wedge can turn?)

A last thought (and I sure hope this feeling goes away soon - as I think it ultimately will). Does anyone else look out at Mark DeRosa at 3B and wish it were Casey Blake instead? Please tell me that feeling will pass.

Hot under the collar

2009-04-26T15:02:00.003-04:00

Don't know what it is like where you are, but today - for the second straight day - the thermometer is flirting with 90 degrees here in the northern suburbs of NYC.

I waited as long as I could because I can't really accept turning on the AC in April, but with the inside temperatures hitting 84 (with the windows open) I had no choice.

Speaking of hot.

Seems the Tribe skipper got a little steamed last night for the first time that I can remember. Seems he's sick of watching the Tribe's offense flail away at anything and everything that comes anywhere near the vicinity of home plate. Join the club Wedgie.

Since their celebrated blowout of the Yankees last Saturday, the Tribe offense has been awful. No need to go over the details. They've been written about elsewhere and Matt Underwood dutifully regurgitated them incessantly for the first several innings of today's game. And, if you've been watching, you know.

After last night's game Wedge told the assembled press (quoted here by the PD):

"What bothers me more than anything is we're not making good outs. Outside of a couple of guys, our approach has been very poor. It's something we pride ourselves on and work hard at it. There's just no excuse.

"Whatever the hell it is, we better figure out it pretty damn quick because I'm not going to sit around and watch what we've been watching.

"We're beyond all this. They aren't kids anymore."

To illustrate that he was not blowing smoke along with the steam, Eric Wedge put a new-look lineup on the field today.

Among the changes:

Mark DeRosa started in right field, and Trevor Crowe in left - putting Ben Francisco (BA .216 OBP .286) on the bench. He gave Tony Graffanino a start at 3B and moved Asdrubal Cabrera into the No. 2 spot, while dropping De Rosa to seventh. Shin-Soo Choo (at DH) hit cleanup and Jhonny Perlata was dropped to No. 7.

The Tribe responded by pounding out four runs in the first three innings. But the bats were pretty much in hibernation the rest of the way (two singles and double).

"We're beyond all this. They're not kids anymore." Truer words have never been spoken and it seems to underscore a point I have tried to make many times in this space.

There may come a time - sometime soon - when the Tribe may have to admit that there is some basic flaw in this team. Something that prevents them from playing up to their collective ability - at least until the season is lost and the pressure is off.

Is it the manager? Does he have too easy a hand on the throttle producing mentally lazy players? As I've said before, I don't think that's it.

Does he turn the screws too tightly, putting the team on edge? Baseball is not played well by someone who is uptight. It hardly seems so, though we don't know what goes on in the clubhouse.

Maybe it's neither.

Maybe this particular generation of Tribesman is made up of guys that put too much pressure on themselves and can't perform.

This team has the talent to keep up with any other in the Central.

Whatever it is that's keeping them from performing like it, as Wedge says ""we better figure it pretty damn soon."

Maybe the manager is feeling some heat being generated by something other than the early spring heat wave.

Maybe that's a good thing.

Baby steps for the Tribe as they take the Royals series

2009-04-23T19:26:00.005-04:00

It's not exactly a reason to kill the fatted calf, but the Indians have their first series victory of the season to hang their hats on today.

A three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth by Grady Sizemore gave the Tribe a 5-2 win today at Progressive Field and their first series victory - two games to one.

Given that it was a series within the Central Division, it kind of takes a little bit of the sting out of the fact that the Tribe split the series in New York, when they could have easily swept the first-ever series at the New Yankee Stadium.

The offense, until very recently, has been the only reason for optimism for the Tribe. They still have their nights of K's and LOB's, but for the most part they've done the job.

The big difference lately has been the Tribe's starters.

In the last eight games, starting with the final game in KC last week, the Tribe is 5-3. The ERA for the starting pitchers in those games is 2.92 and 5 of the 8 met the (admittedly weak) standard to be considered a "quality start." The stretch started with Aaron Laffey's first appearance of the year, in Kansas City, and runs through today's fine outing by Anthony Reyes.

In the stretch, Cliff Lee has gotten things righted, Fausto Carmona has shown he at least still has some concept of how to pitch, Laffey has had two good starts in two tries, Carl Pavano had his bullpen-ruined gem in New York on Sunday and Reyes has been solid.

The only thing missing now is some longevity.

Over the past 8 games, Tribe starters have gone 49 1/3 innings, or just over 6 innings per start. A far cry from the early blowouts in the first 8 games, but still leaving plenty of room for improvement.

In the last four games the starters have gone 27 innings, 1 shy of an even 7 per start - and one might argue (as I already have) that Carl Pavano should have been allowed to go that one more inning on Sunday.

So things are looking up in the starting pitching department, even to the point where it's not quite clear just where Scott Lewis will fit in when he comes off the DL.

Anybody have any thoughts on that?

Which brings us to the bullpen - which three weeks ago was being heralded as the strength of the club.

Let's start with the good.

How much fun is it watch Kerry Wood come in and just blow people away? One might say it's worth - oh - $10 million bucks.

No more walks, singles, 3-2 counts and gnawed-off finger nails in the 9th. For the first time in a decade.

True enough Wood provided some drama Tuesday, giving up a two-run homer with a three-run lead, but I'm giving him a pass on that one. The inning was prolonged by an infield hit and the dinger barely made it over the wall in right field. He dominated four of the five guys he faced, though one did manage to eke out that single.

The other slight ray of hope presented itself last night, with the arrival of Tony Sipp. The just-recalled rookie lefty made his debut with a perfect inning, which included a K. Sipp - from the few pitches he threw - seems to have a decent fastball with serious movement, and a big slow breaking ball. The movement on both pitches, and the drastic changes in speed made him look tough to hit. If he can hold down the fort against lefties until Raffie Perez gets it back together, or grab the reins himself in the late innings, the huge hole in the pen will seem just that much smaller.

Jensen Lewis slammed the door on a bullpen-induced rally by the Royals Monday night with his best outing so far this year. But, while he pitched two scoreless innings today that 8th inning was still pretty shaky. Still, his last two outings have been an improvement, so there's reason for hope there.

I suggested the Tribe try Joe Smith in a bigger role. My bad. Smith had difficulties Monday night and he and Masa Kobayashi nearly blew a 6-1 lead in the 8th. He needs to find a way to get lefties out or he will be limited to that rarest of roles - the righty specialist.

Let's not take the pen off the feeding tube just yet.

Still, after starting the season at 0-5, the Tribe is taking baby steps in the right direction.

My first trip to the new Yankee Stadium; Why it may be time to fire Wedge, and a few other passing thoughts

2009-04-20T19:07:00.002-04:00

My first trip to the new Yankee Stadium ended up much the same way as so many trips to the old park did - the Tribe holding on to a lead late into the game, only to be done in by a bad call, a bad bullpen, bad fielding, lousy clutch hitting, stupid managing, or just bad karma. Sunday it was at least five out of six of those factors that did in the Tribe.

The most talked-about moment of the game of course was the fan interference / two-run homer that put the Yanks ahead to stay in the seventh inning.

From my $350 seats (no I did not pay for them - we'll get into that later), I was an entire baseball field away from the chief action of the day. I clearly didn't have the angle - though from my seat it looked like Trevor Crowe had the ball in his glove and then lost it on his way back to earth.

My next-door neighbor, the biggest Yankee fan I know (that's saying something) and who just happens to have Sunday-plan tickets on the right field porch, said, "From my angle, slightly to the left, the ball was over the wall/on top of the wall, very close and the fan’s hands were above the players glove."

How's that for definitive.

After getting home and watching a replay on YES - the Yankees broadcast channel - it looked like a homer. Until I saw another replay, which clearly made it appear the fan was reaching into the field.

The point is, the argument is pointless. Plenty of things went wrong from the seventh inning on - and a split-second decision by an umpire was not one of them (I don't think).

Back to those other five things.

Let's start with lousy clutch hitting. With the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, the Tribe had Mark DeRosa and Vic Martinez coming to the plate. With those odds they should have squeaked across at least one run through osmosis. If Cleveland gets one or two more runs there, maybe Carl Pavano gets to go another inning. At the very least the bullpen would have more margin for error.

Though clearly, by what happened the rest of the way, there is no such concept where the Indians bullpen is concerned.

Our "lefty specialist" comes in to face two lefties. A single, a double - he's gone. Nice job Raffie.

Jensen Lewis - the one pitching this April like last April's version, instead of the August-September guy - is brought in to give up the controversial dinger. Having had to stand around for nine minutes while the umpires watched the replay, Lewis had to come out of the game - yielding to Raffie Betancourt, who fared no better.

Which brings us to the bad fielding, and more bad relief pitching.

After finishing off the seventh inning for Lewis with two Ks, Raffie Betancourt manged two quick outs in the eight, with the Tribe still down one. A double, 2 walks (one intentional) and something scored as a double in the box score made it 7-3 and Betancourt was gone. The three runs scored on a sky-high fly ball to left that Shin-Soo Choo apparantly gave up on as foul (some say he lost it in the sun) or was just not adept enough to get to for whatever reason. The ball dropped near the line in left filed (on the fair side) and the game was out of reach. (I love his bat, I like his arm, but oh that glove!)

Which brings us to bad managing.

Those of you who have read this blog over the years know that I am not a blame-the-manager-first type of guy. But Raffie Perez? With just a two-run lead? You can't just go by the long-term track record. Sometimes it is smart to ask, "what have you done for me lately?" Perhaps the 14.00-plus ERA should have served as a reminder to Wedge that Perez hasn't been getting it done so far this year. Jensen Lewis has been nearly as bad - so of course let's bring him in next.

Any thought of letting Carl Pavano (89 pitches through 6 innings) come out for the seventh instead?

Anybody ever heard of Joe Smith? He comes in two or three times, gets his one right-handed batter out then disappears. Might Wedge have rolled the dice and brought him into the game, even if it meant he would have had to face two, or dare we say it, three hitters? Seems like a better bet than what Lewis has been giving us lately.

Maybe Smith could have gotten us through seven, and Kerry Wood - who has pitched all of three innings in 13 games - might have been pushed for a two-inning save (especially with an off day coming up).

Do we need to try something different?

Didn't someone once say the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?

I don't say this lightly. But since he is so firm in his ways - ways that seem to backfire on him regularly - maybe the something different we need to try is a new manager. Before this thing gets out of hand.

I say that not because I would have handled yesterday differently, or because the bad managing came on a day that I had tickets and am ticked because we lost.

There have been many times over the years I've been tempted to say it's time to pull the plug on Wedge, but then I think it over and say maybe not.

Well, he's been around for six-plus years now and where has the Tribe gone with him?

The first years were rebuilding years, so we'll look past them. In 2005, the Tribe was one of the big surprises in baseball. But when they needed just one win in the last week of the season to make the playoffs, they couldn't get it done. We can chalk that up to a young team that felt the pressure.

In 2006 there were, justifiably, some rather large expectations. Followed by an awful season. Again, we can say the guys were young. They weren't ready for the pressure.

In 2007 lots of things fell into place and the Tribe made it to the ALCS. They had a 3-1 lead in the series in fact. And then, like a guy on the high wire who makes it three-fourths of the way across before he mistakenly looks down, the Tribe got woozy and choked against the Red Sox.

Last year, again, was a year of high expectations. The season was over by Mother's Day. Once the heat was off, the Tribe managed to right the ship and finish at .500.

And now with most observers giving them at least an equal chance to anyone else to win the Central Division, they've started the season once again with a swan dive.

Are we picking up a pattern here?

Why can't this team play when there is something to play for?

Fans criticize the team's motivation and the low-key approach of the manager. I think this team has heart - but not stomach. They can't handle the pressure that comes with expectation, or moderate success.

Whatever the case, this manager has proven time and time again he can not get the most out of his players when the heat is on.

The Tribe has played 13 games. They have 19 to go before Mother's Day (an arbitrary choice perhaps, but one that seems to be at about the right point in the season). If there has not been a significant change in the team's fortunes by then, Wedge should be gone before the season can't be salvaged.

In the meantime, some quick decisions need to be made about how to get this thing going. Who needs to go. Who needs to replace them. Who should do what in the bullpen.

That said, let's get back to a more pleasant topic.

My first trip to the new Yankee Stadium yesterday was a lot of fun, despite the final score.

As you probably know, the park - on the outside - looks pretty much just like those grainy films you've seen of the original Yankee Stadium, prior to its refurbishment. The nostalgia rush is terrific.

Inside, as much as I thought the old place was fine, the new place is definitely a significant improvement.

At seat level, if you let your mind wander even a little bit, you feel like you are still at the old stadium. The dimensions are the same. The fans are the same, the "feel" is the same. Those of you who are local will be happy to know that even Freddie - the frying pan man - was able to make the transition to the new place.

The biggest improvement of all is in the concourses. The wide, open concourses. At the old place, they were narrow, dirty and tunnel-like. At game's end, with 50,000 people filing out you could scarcely move. In the new stadium there's plenty of room for everyone, you can see the field from the concession stand lines (many of them anyway) and the bathrooms are habitable by human beings after the third inning (something that was not true across the street.)

Still, with all of the improvements and amenities, I'll take Progressive Field and Camden Yards over the new Yankee stadium because they feel more "homey" or intimate. More like ballparks than a stadium.

As it turns out the first ticket I got to the new Yankee Stadium will likely be the best I'll ever have.

The face value on the ticket for the seat I was in was $350. It was nine rows from the field and to the right of the Tribe dugout, about even with the on-deck circle. Since there was no screen to contend with, as there is for seats right behind the plate, I, arguably, had the best seat in the place, especially when you consider that the seats in the first eight rows (in front of a five-foot walkway that separated my seat from those), were selling (or in this case, not selling), for $2,650. Yes, that is for one seat.

I was invited to the game by a friend of mine, Yank Poleyeff, who works for a big corporation in the city and who also is a long-time writer for the magazine Indians Ink. Yank and I met over the winter through this blog and now can depend on each other to jointly weather the slings and arrows that come the way of a Tribe fan at Yankee Stadium, rather than going it alone. (There's a long story about how he got the nickname Yank, but trust me he's a Tribe fan.)

Yank's buddy, Mike Francesconi, drove from well upstate New York (five hours each way and he got there in time for Tribe BP) to join us.

Thanks to the two of them for a great day of talkin' Tribe. A special thanks to Yank for the tickets and to Mike for taking the photos that accompany this posting.

It's been some time since I've posted. For those who have been checking back regularly, I thank you. I've had some issues intervene over the past few months that have made posting very difficult. I'm hoping to be able to pick it up in the days ahead. Please pass the word that the Tribe Fan In Yankeeland is back.

My doubts about the Tribe as camp is days away

2009-02-09T11:59:00.008-05:00

Before I get into the Tribe, let me just say - as you can tell by the photo to the left - that, pre-preseason or not, NY tabloid headline writers are in mid-season form. Unless you've been in a cave the last four days or so, you know what that cover of today's NY Post is all about, so let me get down to the business at hand - The Tribe.

I've been mostly absent from this site over the winter. A switch in duties and schedule at work has - unfortunately - left me with less time and energy to think and write about the Tribe.

So I've been saving up most of this for quite some time.

I'll start first with my thoughts on how I think the lineup and pitching staff will shape up and then explain why I'm not as optimistic as most about the Tribe season ahead.

I guess I'll start with what I consider to be the Tribe's Achilles heel - the starting rotation. Does anyone see anything but question marks beyond one member of the rotation - Cliff Lee.

Last year's Cy Young winner is the only "sure thing" in the rotation. And even Cliff can't be counted on to repeat last year's performance - since it was off-the-charts good, just as the previous season was off-the-charts bad for Lee. Expect a more "typical" season from Lee - about 16 or 17 wins with an ERA in the low-4.00's.

Beyond Lee, uncertainty abounds.

As high as the No. 2 spot in the rotation, there are serious questions to be asked. Which Fausto Carmona will we see? Will he be the 19-game winner of two seasons ago, or the Wild Thing who took the hill - when healthy - last season?

No 3. is Carl Pavano. I did a piece last month saying I thought Pavano was a good gamble on an incentive-laden pact. The operative word in that piece was "gamble." If he's healthy he can slot nicely into the No. 3 hole. He's no better than that if healthy, but he is talented enough fill that role if his body holds up.

Nos. 4 and 5 will likely be Aaron Laffey and Anthony Reyes. Both had injury issues last season and Laffey had performance issues as well. Are they sound? Who knows.

The good news is the Tribe has Jeremy Sowers, Dave Huff, Zack Jackson and Scott Lewis waiting in the wings to respond to the liklihood that at least one the four question marks above will be answered with a negative.

Of this group, I have little confidence that either Jackson or Sowers can be effective in the four hole or even as an acceptable number five. Scott Lewis had a great few weeks with the Tribe at the end of last season, so he offers hope. Dave Huff, in my mind, should and will be in the Tribe rotation this season - and probably right from April.

By far, the best and biggest move of the off-season was the signing of Kerry Wood to anchor what looks to be a solid-to-spectacular bullpen.

Jensen Lewis and the two Raffies - with the closer situation settled - should make the eighth inning as air-tight as the ninth should be in Wood's hands. Add Joe Smith to the mix and Eric Wedge has plenty of switches to flip to lock down the last three innings of the game - something that will be necessary with the questionable starting rotation.

To further illustrate just how much better the pen is this year, Masa Kobayashi - who was a key cog (or meant to be anyway) in last year's pen - will be called upon to do a lot less this - a good thing since he ran out of gas at the All-Star break last season.

And I haven't even mentioned Adam Miller, who - if healthy - could push his way into the late innings as he and the season progress.

In the second half of last season the Tribe's offense - once rid of the defective parts that Eric Wedge kept sending to the plate until they could no longer swing a bat - started to click. It was among the best offenses in the league in the post-All Star period. Some may say the attack was helped by the pressure of a pennant race being no longer a factor. That could be. But I tend to think it had more to do with the fact that impostors wearing Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner unis were counted on for way too long.

Martinez is (the Tribe says) as good as new heading into this year. Travis Hafner remains a very big "if".

The Tribe added a legitimate No.2 hitter in Mark DeRosa - something that has been missing since Omar left town.

While most people say the success of the offense depends on Hafner returning to his former self, I say that is only partially true.

Ben Francisco - currently slated to start in left field - had a lousy second half last season and it makes you wonder whether the league had him figured out, he tired in his first full-time big-league season, or he's just a fourth outfielder playing the role of starter.

Shin-Soo Chu also has to be considered something far short of a sure thing in right. But of the two, I have much more confidence in Choo. Still, with Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantely, not to mention Trevor Crowe, waiting in the minors, I'm less concerned about the outfield than I am about the starting rotation - both parts of the team that are loaded with question marks.

No I did not forget David Dellucci. I just couldn't bring myself to mention him.

As far as the infield goes, the only real question is how they will line up, not who they will be or whether they will perform

My preference would be Kelly Shoppach behind the plate, Victor Martinez at 1B, Mark DeRosa at 2B, Asdrubal Cabrerra at SS and Jhonny Peralta at 3B, with Travis Hafner at DH. There's enough versatility in the C-1B-DH roles that plenty of ABs can also be found for Ryan Garko, if he proves himself to deserve those ABs. I think he went a long way in the second half of last season to redeem himself, but if he gets pull happy early he may see lots of time on the bench. Still, it wouldn't hurt to give Victor, Hafner and Shoppach a day off or two each week to keep them fresh. Maybe only one a week for Victor.

Despite what I think, I would say the reality is that Victor Martinez will catch at least half the time. I have no problem at all with Victor behind the plate, I just think 1B is a better place for a banged up player to play and I'd rather see more of Shoppach and less of Garko - something that won't happen if Victor plays a lot behind the plate.

I think it is more likely that I might see my preferred defensive alignment at 2B-SS-3B. But that is a question that should be settled in spring training. Moving three people to new spots during the season is not advisable, but lots of experimenting in training camp is something I would like to see. I can't stress enough how much I would rather see Cabrerra at SS than Peralta.

One other note about the roster. I keep hearing that Josh Barfield could be kept as a utility player. The term utility player implies that a guy can play more than one position. I still happen to like Barfield, but I just don't see him with a role, even on a team that has a lot of versatility.

Now to my thoughts as to how all this will play out.

Mostly pointing to the inactivity of the other teams in the division, the Tribe is being picked by many as the team to beat in the Central Division and - from what I read online anyway - the hopes are high in Cleveland.

I just can't see how a team with four question marks in a five-man rotation can be picked as a favorite. Gun to my head, I suppose I would pick the Tribe to win the division, but I think in reality it can be won by four of the five teams, with the Royals excepted. The winner will be the team whose many questions are answered with positive results.

That said, there's the post-season grind to work through. That, even more than during the Central Division race, will be where the iffy rotation will hurt the Tribe.

There should be plenty of fun ahead this season, and I can understand the optimism many feel about winning the Central Division. But if it is the brass ring you are hoping for, 2009 will not be the year - not unless that rotation is bolstered at the trade deadline.

Carl Pavano - a gamble worth taking

2009-01-06T19:02:00.006-05:00

My Yankee-fan co-workers will be laughing in the morning.

In fact I'm certain they are laughing right now, but I'm not within earshot at the moment so I can't hear them.

They are laughing because, while they signed CC Sabathia (just for starters), the Indians have inked a deal with Carl Pavano to help fill out their rotation.

Yankee fans HATE Pavano. And now the lowly Cleveland Indians - one of baseball's many Bob Cratchit's (I know the seasonal reference is a little late but it is still Three Kings Day after all) - have had to go panhandling and came up with the despised Pavano.

His crime?

He signed a four-year, $40 million deal with the Yankees and then had the audacity to get injured - several times - and pitch virtually not at all over the four-year period.

He was a big mistake, a big Yankee mistake, and so it all goes on him, not Yankee management.

Typical Yankee-fan stuff.

Well, now he's ours and Yankee fans can laugh all they want as they plunk down $375 for a seat 20 rows behind third base at the new Yankee Stadium.

They'll tell me how smart their organization is because they identified the two best pitchers and the best hitter on the market and threw wads of money at them. Such genius.

While my Yankee-fan friends are laughing, I'll be smiling to myself.

At least I follow a team that will have earned (by smarts and talent, not money spent) any success they have.

The Indians' front office identified its greatest need - the back end of a bullpen - and threw what money it had in that direction, signing Kerry Wood and trading for Joe Smith.

They got one of the better infielders available (Mark DeRosa) for prospects that would not impact this year's roster.

And then they went to the scrap heap to find someone for the rotation and just may have found someone useful in Pavano.

I am under no illusion that Pavano is a sure thing, or anything close to it. But I do remember myself thinking late last season - as Pavano was coming back from his latest injury and tossed a few games for the Yanks - that he would not be welcomed back in NY, and that he should be someone Cleveland should at least look at.

When it became clear that, with no more money to spend, the Tribe would either have to trade Kelly Shoppach or go to the thrift store for another starter, I began to think once again that Pavano would be worth a look on an incentive-laden deal.

And so, they have taken the gamble. But it's a small gamble and the only kind the Tribe can afford to take.

And that is what my laughing Yankee-fan friends don't get - that for most of us, we just can't buy our way to the top.

Tribe gets reliever, 2B prospect for Gutierrez

2008-12-11T08:20:00.003-05:00

The Tribe was one of the teams involved in a three-team, 12-player trade agreed to last night. It's complicated. The Tribe gets reliever Joe Smith from the Mets and 2B prospect Luis Valbuena from Seattle and sends outfielder Franklin Gutierrez to Seattle.

It's too busy on the job for me today (the one I get paid for) to write much more on this. But my other home in the blogosphere - MVN's Tribe Report - has a bit more information about the guys coming to the Tribe. It's penned (keyboarded) by Michael Taylor. Check it out.

The one thing I didn't want to see this winter

2008-12-10T08:39:00.008-05:00

The ink has not yet been applied - let alone dried - on a Kerry Wood contract with the Indians and a little bit of the joy of the likely signing has been zapped.

Zapped by the following headline found this morning on the New York Post Web site:

CC SABATHIA PICKS YANKEES

Although it didn't make most of today's editions of the Post's ink-on-paper product, the tabloid's Web site reports Sabathia has agreed to the Yankees six-year, $140 million offer to play in the new Yankee Stadium.

The agreement apparently came after Yankee GM Brian Cashman slipped away from the winter meetings in Las Vegas and went to Sabathia's SF-area home yesterday evening to talk with the big guy about playing in the Bronx.

I had no illusion that Sabathia would be back with Cleveland. It was never even a thought.

But as a Tribe fan living in the New York area it is going to sting to watch CC pull on the pinstripes or road grays every fifth day for the Yankees.

As time passed, I became increasingly hopeful that Sabathia would just say no to all the bucks and take someone else's money. The Dodgers or Giants would have been nice. Out of site (out on the West Coast) out of mind. Milwaukee would have been fine too - a small market team making a splash is something I could root for.

But knowing that CC will be pitching for the Yankees just because they have the most money to throw around, and just because they decided he's the guy they wanted and they can do whatever they decide, that is the hard part.

The Yanks are said to also be among the final suitors for A.J. Burnett - willing to top a four-year, $60 million offer from the Braves - and Derek Lowe.

Suddenly Chien-Ming Wang becomes their No. 4 starter - or at least No. 3.

Just in case they don't get Burnett and/or Lowe, they've also been in on Ben Sheets, and they have Andy Petttite twisting in the wind. Pettitte likely would retire if he's not offered a chance to come back to New York.

And, for No. 5, the Yanks have Joba Chamberlain. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy - two-fifths of last year's start-of-season rotation - would be toiling in the minors as insurance.

With Sabathia averaging $24 million, and Burnett and Lowe being offered something a little north of $15 million per, the Yankee starting rotation (even though Wang and Chamberlain have not hit the free-agency bonanza yet) would still come in north of $60 million. Throw in $15 million for Mariano Rivera out of the pen and you're already higher than some teams' total payroll.

The worst part about this news is that Yankee fans will be back at full smugness this season, as their store-bought (Tiffany's) rotation likely returns them to the post-season and their fans will act as though their GM is a genius, just because he - like everyone else in baseball - knew who the best three free-agent pitchers were this winter.

Who Wood of thunk it? Tribe has real closer. (maybe)

2008-12-09T19:01:00.008-05:00

If MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince is right, the Indians are about to sign former Cubs closer Kerry Wood.

No details yet beyond the fact that the two sides are far along into the talks.

So, after months of deafening silence from the Tribe's front office, there's something more than made-up, or sketchy rumors to talk about.

And who would have thought when the Tribe entered the market for a closer with several other teams this fall that they would come home with - perhaps - the second-best option available.

The Mets reportedly have signed the biggest name in the pool - Francisco Rodriguez.

After that an argument could be made for Wood at No. 2, but you might also put Brian Fuentes, Trevor Hoffman or JJ Putz in that second slot.

Putz would have cost Tribe some players they can now trade elsewhere to fill other needs.

Hoffman would have probably come at only one year (Wood is said to be getting two from the Tribe), but at 41 you never know.

Fuentes also would have come without costing players, and he was actually the one I thought the Tribe might get. But he was seeking $10 million to $12 million a year for too many years, which should have been a clue that he would not be wearing a Tribe uni next season.

But Wood is just fine with me. He's not as lights-out fast as he was before his many injuries, but he can still be dominating in the 9th, and when is the last time the Tribe had a closer you would describe as dominating.

Ya. I don't remember either. I guess it would have to be Jose Mesa a dozen years ago.

The news is particularly welcome because, for the most part, all we've heard so far out of the front office is "we looked at these guys at that position, but they cost too much; then we looked at other guys at another position, but they cost too much."

I was beginning to think this year's off-season was going to be a redux of last year, and you see where that got us.

Now at least, I hold out some hope that the Tribe will indeed do what's needed to get back into a very winnable Central Division race.

So far - at least from what we're reading, they have taken the first step.

CENTRAL ISSUES: The Tribe's Bullpen

2008-11-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

With the off-season action beginning to heat up, it's time for a reincarnation of the series we started last winter - Central Issues, which looks at not only rumors about the Tribe but also its competitors in the Central Division.

To kick things off we'll put the Tribe front-and-center. Specifically, the Tribe's search for a closer. The outlook on that got a lot brighter this week when the San Diego Padres more or less told Trevor Hoffman - a guy the Tribe nearly snagged a few years ago - to take a hike.

My colleague James Pete at MVN's Tribe Report makes a pretty good case for the acquisition of Hoffman by the Tribe and some thoughts on why that may be more than just talk.

Meanwhile, although he was officially traded to the Colorado Rockies this afternoon, Huston Street seems like he's still a definite possibility for the Tribe, if they are willing to part with some talent. The Rockies reportedly told Manny Corpas that he is still their closer. The Tribe has also been interested in Rockies 3B Garrett Atkins, so there seems to be at least the possibility of a semi-blockbuster there.

Speaking in the blockbuster realm, SI.com reported recently the White Sox are quiety entertaining offers for their closer Bobby Jenks. Why? God only knows. And who knows if it's true, but that would be some catch. Add in the fact that the Sox are also shopping outfielder Nick Swisher (who can also play 1B), and the imagine runs wild.

That is likely to be a pipe dream though since a.) I'm skeptical the Sox have Jenks on the market, b.) they would be unlikely to trade him to a division rival, and c.) I can't imagine what all the Tribe would have to give up and they are not big on passing along young talent.

Still, it makes for a fun daydream at this time of year.

Two other items of (mild) interest: The Twins' Pat Neshek is set to go under the knife for TJ surgery, putting the reliever out for all of 2009; and the Tigers remain in the market for a SS, figuring that Ramon Santiago is not the man for the job on a full-time basis.

(Photo credit: SD DIRK/flickr)

A fond farewell to Herbie

2008-11-11T17:41:00.001-05:00

"Two runs, three hits, one error, and after three we're still scoreless."

Said as only Herbie could say it.

Herb Score took to the mic at Indians games for the first time late in the 1963 season, when I was six, about to turn seven. Back in the days when utility infielder Jerry Kindall was my favorite Indian because he was the first one whose baseball card I was able to obtain.

Herbie remained behind that mic, with one partner or another, for 34 more years - the one constant as I made my way through grade school, high school college and on to New York as a twenty-something.

Herb Score is my first and most-lasting image of the Tribe. He introduced me to baseball, talked me through the horrible years of the 70s and 80s and came along with me when I left the Cleveland area nearly 25 years ago.

In those days - 1984 to be precise - there were no mass-produced satellite dishes, and no MLB Extra Innings package. I had to wait for the sun to go down (not until the 6th or 7th inning during the heart of the summer) to pick up Herbie on my Walkman radio. His voice would come crackling into my suburban New York home from "Radio Free Cleveland," as my wife would tease.

My Walkman, newspaper clippings that my brother would send religiously every week, and Herbie were my only connections to the Tribe for about a decade, giving way only when I became the first on my block to have a satellite dish and my new connection to the Tribe.

Still, with the picture beaming in loud and clear, I'd find myself turning down the TV sound late in the game, turning on my Walkman and tuning into that familiar voice who made me know I was indeed watching an Indians game, no matter how well that team with Chief Wahoo on its cap was playing. Hearing Herbie describe the action I was seeing on my silenced TV set helped me to believe that those great teams of the mid-90's were indeed the team I had been living, and mostly dying with for all those years.

Today we hear the news that Herbie is gone.

No need to recap Herbie's great career both on and off the field. The Plain Dealer does a fine job of it here.

Instead let me just tip my cap to the man who was the Cleveland Indians for me and pretend I can hear one last "thwow to first, back safely" for old-time sake.

That name again is Casey Blake

2008-11-04T13:35:00.012-05:00

Call Casey Blake,
that's the name:
That name again
is Casey Blake

I saw the story in today's Plain Dealer about Casey Blake being under consideration to fill the Tribe's hole at 3B this winter.

For some reason that old jingle from an old Simpson's episode - the one where Homer starts a side business as a snow plow operator - came to mind.

Although I knew it was possible, I still can't quite believe Tribe fans may be seeing that name again in the Tribe's batting order.

Another famous television toss-away line comes to mind here as well (at least for those of us over 40). The one used by Major Hochstetter every time the exasperated Gestapo officer saw the mischievous Colonel Hogan on the old sit-com 'Hogan's Heroes.'

That line would be: "Vut Iss Diss Man Doing Heeeere!?"

Taken in their abstract Blake's numbers aren't so bad as 3B go (.274, 36 doubles, 21 homers and 81 RBI).

But, much like the unfounded Mark Teahen rumors of a week ago, the prospect of resigning Casey Blake to play 3B for another couple of years excites me not at all.

Blake is like the old living room couch that has indentations in all the right places. He's a comfortable fit. But you're tired of looking at him.

In this time of financial crisis you probably stick with the old couch. And Lord knows the Tribe seems to always be on the brink of financial crisis no matter what is going on in the larger economy. At least to hear them tell it.

Here's one man's wish that the Tribe resists the urge and keeps looking for the overstuffed leather model, with attached recliner and built-in cup holder on one end.

An honest-to-God Tribe trade rumor

2008-10-27T14:53:00.003-04:00

No one will argue that Opening Day is the best baseball day of the year, but for me - and other Tribe fans who have played the 'wait-'til-next-year' game all their lives - the start of the off-season trading season brings about almost as much anticipation.

That season got underway officially - and just a touch early today - with the Plain Dealer reporting about talks between the Tribe and Royals involving 3B Mark Teahen.

According to the report by Paul Hoynes, the Royals need a CF. Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez and Trever Crowe were mentioned as possibilities.

With a glut of outfielders at the major and minor league level, and Andy Marte as the only guy with a 3B officially next to his name on the Tribe's current roster, the gut reaction is to say this makes plenty of sense from the Tribe's point of view.

But lets look at a few things before we jump to any conclusions.

Teahen has been in the outfield the past couple of years, but he broke in with the Royals at 3B. He moved to the outfield to make room at 3B for Alex Gordon in KC. He played some 3B, 1B, and all the outfield spots for the Royals in '08, but mostly he played right field. Still, I would have no problems with his defense at 3B.

He hit only .255 with 15 HRs and 59 RBIs. His OPS, a lackluster .715.

The Indians shed a 3B with better numbers (a certain fellow who ended the season with the Dodgers and who may be seen again in NE Ohio once he officially becomes a free agent shortly after the World Series.) They also have another corner infielder, Ryan Garko, who despite a penchant to hang himself by swinging for the fences, put up numbers that eclipsed Teahen's at least by a little.

Still it is true the Andy Marte is - at the moment - the Tribe's only 3B. And they do have outfielders of a similar quality to one-another coming out of their ears.

Tribe fans, like fans of most teams, tend to overvalue the young, developing players in their organization. Franklin Gutierrez is one of those guys whose ceiling may not be as high as many seem to believe it is. With his lackluster performance at the plate in '08, Gutierrez' star is falling - at least as I view it. That defense and that arm would be hard to part with. But outfield defense - especially with Grady Sizemore roaming center field - is a secondary asset for a corner outfielder. Gutierrez, in my book, is expendable.

Ben Francisco came up a little short of expectations in '08 as well, and in fact his final numbers were not unlike those of Teahen. Francisco tailed off in the second half of the year, which might be attributed to his playing pretty much his first full year in the bigs, and to the pressure of batting third due to the plethora of injuries the Tribe had in the middle of the lineup last season. But, it could also be that the league figured out Francisco and got the better of him in the second half. No way to say for certain if that was the case. Nor is there any way to be sure he will readjust and be a seriously productive hitter. While I'd be less likely to deal Francisco, it's not out of the question.

With the addition of Michael Brantley from Milwaukee in the CC deal, Crowe becomes someone the Tribe could deal as well.

Nabbing Mark Teahen might make some sense, as the Tribe would be dealing from surplus to fill a shortage. But I would wait a while to make a move on this deal, until the Tribe can figure out if the player that would be traded for him might better be used in a package to acquire someone more exciting to play third, or second - or to pitch (starter or reliever).

If the Tribe waits and Teahen is snapped up by someone else (doubtful) then what have we lost really? A younger Casey Blake. If the off-season drags on and no solution at 3B is evident, than maybe you make a deal.

The best part about the Teahen story is that it gets the ball rolling on what will hopefully be an off-season full of rumors and - more importantly - real action.

Isaac gone, problems solved

2008-10-01T16:07:00.013-04:00

The off-season ahead is going to require lots of activity by the Tribe's front office if the team is to make a strong run at the Central Division next year.

The moves are already underway. The first one - I must say - is not one I had anticipated.

Bullpen coach Luis Isaac has been whacked. We're going all the way now.

Luis Isaac has been in the Tribe organization for 44 years.

Have we won a championship in those 44 years?

Case closed.

I have no way of knowing what goes on in the Tribe bullpen, in coaches meetings and in the locker room in general.

So perhaps the firing is justifiable.

But Isaac seems to have been able to do whatever job was put before him for four decades.

He's worked for numerous managers and managements. I've never read anything but good things about Isaac.

In a Plain Dealer story about the firing, Isaac took the dismissal in stride, and one of his former charges - possible 2009 closer Jensen Lewis - had good things to say.

"Louie was like a father to all of us in the bullpen. Last year down the stretch and in the playoffs we really leaned on him. He was always steady, always calm. You could ask him anything."

Again there may be reasons why the first move of the off-season was to get rid of the old guy who carries the catchers mitt around in the bullpen.

And Tribe manager Eric Wedge sure gave Isaac every chance to find another job - firing him pretty much the minute the plane touched down on the last flight of the last road trip of the season.

But to me, this move seems rather Yankee-esque.

Someone's head should roll, why not Isaac's?

Speaking of Wedge, he talked of plans for next year with the Plain Dealer. There weren't too many surprises.

He expects another solid year out of Cliff Lee next year and that Fausto Carmona - who never got it together this injury-plagued year - will be back on track next year. The rest of the rotation - in addition to a likely acquisition of a veteran from someplace - will come from the following group: Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, Scott Lewis, Anthony Reyes, Zach Jackson and David Huff.

The Tribe will look for a closer, but is thinking of Jensen Lewis as a Plan B.

Wedge also said Jhonny Peralta's position will be determined by whether the team is able to get a second baseman or a third basemen during the off-season. Again, no surprise.

The manager also said Josh Barfield will get another shot at 2B, if there's an opening there.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of the interview is the depth to which Ryan Garko apparently is still in the Wedge dog house:

"Instead of saying, 'I had a great year, I tied for the team lead in RBI,' he needs to say, 'I did OK, but I need to do better.' I think he's capable of being a part of this. He can be an everyday player or a role player, depending on which guy shows up. . . . It's nothing I haven't said to him."

Ya think Garko's name will be uttered on the Tribe's end of any trade talks?

An incredible closing day for baseball

2008-09-28T16:59:00.009-04:00

It was an incredible "closing day" today.

It was especially so if you take off your Tribe-fan hat and view the day as a baseball fan. Or if you have some allegiance to the Milwaukee Brewers, or CC Sabathia.

First the Tribe.

The Indians finished the year with a rather ho-hum 5-1 loss, but that doesn't really tell the story.

They finished off the season at 81-81 and 7 games out of first.

In April, no one expected that kind of finish. We expected much more.

Back in July no one expected that kind of finish either. We were looking at finishing last and about 20-25 games under.

The Tribe was mugged early by injuries, but even more so by underperformance by a number of players and a horrid bullpen.

To the credit of the players and their manager, they turned the chicken crap of a first half into a chicken salad of an ending. Not quite as good as a big, juicy playoff cheeseburger, but at least a digestible ending.

With their play in the second half, the Tribe players managed to offer themselves and their fans a good deal of hope for next season. Eric Wedge should be credited with keeping the team up, and playing hard. And, after sitting out the off-season and helping to put an early kibosh on this season, Mark Shapiro should be credited with getting some legitimate talent to further bolster hopes for next year.

We'll look back - and ahead - at the Tribe in more detail in the next few weeks. But let's get back to an incredible final Sunday.

This will be a day that Brewers fans in particular, and real baseball fans in general, will remember for a while.

Tied with the Mets for the N.L. wild card spot heading into the day, the Brewers were tied 1-1 with Cubs in the 8th in their own park. CC Sabathia was through 8 innings, with 7 Ks and having allowed only 3 hits. But he was due to bat first in the bottom of the eighth and was already well over 100 pitches. The obvious move was to pinch hit for Sabathia.

But, with the season on the line, Breweres interim manager Dale Sveum went against the book and let CC bat so he could pitch the ninth. CC struck out, but three batters later Ryan Braun launched a bomb to left to give the Brewers a 3-1 lead.

At virtually the exact same time at Shea, two different members of the Mets bomb-squad bullpen gave up back-to-back homers in the bottom of the 8th, allowing the Florida Marlins to take their season from them for the second season in a row.

In Milwaukee, with a raucous crowd going nuts, CC finished off the Cubs in the 9th - putting up his 11th win for the Brewers and launching them into the playoffs.

I've watched a fair number of CC's starts since he was traded by the Tribe to Milwaukee, and I've been rooting for the Brewers - because of their small-market kinship with the Tribe- to make it into the playoffs. In spectacular fashion this afternoon, they did.

In the battle for the A.L. Central, which was also up for grabs on the final day, both the White Sox and Twins won rather routine games against the Tribe and Kay-Cee respectively.

But by beating the Sox two of three this weekend, the Tribe exacted revenge from the Sox and their wise ass manager Ozzie Guillen.

The Tribe not did not allow the White Sox to clinch against them, and they sent them into next week still a half game behind the Twins and having to beat both Detroit (in a make-up game) and the Twins (in a tie breaker) to get to the playoffs.

Good enough for me.

It's been a pleasure following the Tribe with you this season. Thanks to all who clicked on this site and especially to those who kept coming back.

Even though the season has ended, we aren't going anywhere. There are some important decisions to be made by the front office between now and the holidays and we'll be around to report and comment on those moves.

Hope you will stick with as the leaves fall and the snow starts to fly.

And hey, remember one thing. It could always be worse. You could be a Mets fan tonight.

Finally, something to play for

2008-09-26T19:06:00.004-04:00

For anyone who has been watching the Indians for at least the last three years, there's no explanation needed as to how the headline of my post and the picture to the left fit together.

It was three years ago, the Tribe was making a surprising run for a wild card playoff birth.

All they needed was one win to get in.

The White Sox, already assured of the Central Division crown, were in town.

They were loose. And they were cocky - just the opposite of the young, uptight Tribe.

We all know what happened, and we all know just how much White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen rubbed it in.

Well, this weekend there's a chance for the Tribe to prove the old truism: "what goes around comes around."

The Tribe is in Chicago with a chance to shove the apple further down the throats of the Sox, who already have begun to choke away their shot at the playoffs after having been swept in a three game series by the Twins, who now lead the ChiSox by 1/2 game in the A.L. Central.

For months now the Tribe has been playing games that, while not meaningless, were only important for what they could mean for next year.

Virtually every position except center field is up for grabs next year and players have been auditioning for those parts.

With each player making their best case to win a spot for next year, the Indians have managed to put up an excellent second half, which brought them from their low-water mark of 16 games under .500 to their current mark of 1 game below breakeven. (They were 2 games above .500 until running into the Red Sox this week.)

So, with the other team in town seemingly dead in the water after three games, the Tribe has given Cleveland fans something to live for this weekend.

Sweet revenge.

It's not the playoffs, but it will certainly do - for this year at least.

By the way, one of my dreams has come true, though it took an injury to Andy Marte to make it happen. Jhonny Peralta is being moved to 3B for tonight's ballgame. Let's hope that is a precursor of what is to come next spring.

Well I'm off to find a loose floorboard to hide what little money I have left. I suggest you do the same.

A last father-daughter trip to Yankee Stadium

2008-09-16T18:19:00.008-04:00

I made my last trip ever to Yankee Stadium last night, and it brought back memories of my 25 seasons of watching baseball at the game's greatest ballpark.

It was also a night that had the potential to be a moment for a father and his daughter to share a special memory. That part was not to be - but we'll get to that.

Most New Yorkers have their own special memories of Yankee Stadium.

There's Reggie Jackson's three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

Roger Maris' 61st home run in 1961.

Lou Gehrig's last day at Yankee Stadium and his long-remembered speech.

Also not to be forgotten are Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, and other, more-recent, no-nos by David Wells, Dave Righetti, Doc Gooden and Jim Abbot.

But last night, in recalling my trips to Yankee Stadium while sitting in those blue seats one last time, I found that - other than Don Mattingly Day (which honored the only Yankee I ever really liked) - all of my Yankee Stadium memories are Tribe related.

The details are a little fuzzy and these are in no particular order, but my most-vivid memories of being at Yankee Stadium are quick blips of rather unremarkable occurrences, especially when compared to the huge moments that have made the stadium so rich in history.

I recall an afternoon game, for instance, sometime in the 80s after I had moved to NY from Cleveland. Brett Butler came to the plate with the go-ahead runner on base either in the 9th inning or in extra innings, put up an at-bat that had to be about 13 pitches long and then lashed a single up the middle for what would be the game-winner. The game meant little in the standings, but the memory remains fresh for me.

I remember a newly promoted Manny Ramirez, taking his first cuts as an Indian, lashing hits all over Yankee Stadium.

I can also recall going to an early-April game at the stadium in the early 90s. My parents were visiting from Cleveland and my dad and I went to the game.

My dad was already a bit frail, at too young an age.

On this night, the intermittent rain was as cold as ice. My dad's hands were shaking violently from the cold, but he insisted we stay - because he knew I wanted to.

We left midway through the game but stayed long enough to see a young Jim Thome loft one high into the upper deck in right field. About 30 seconds prior to that my dad said something like "everybody says this guy is going to be so good, but I don't like him much."

Dad - who came to his interest in baseball late in life - was not such a great judge of talent. But he was a great dad.

I can also recall, in roughly the same time period, a newly recalled Russ Branyan slam a line drive that hit the facing of the middle deck in right field at the stadium - taking about a second and a half to travel from home plate to the seats. He sure can hit, when he can hit.

I can remember some pretty majestic shots against the Tribe as well, not the least of which came off the bat of someone you would not expect.

It was a night game in 1987 - Indians and Yanks. Steve Carlton - in the getting-lit-up-every-night stage of his career - was pitching for the Tribe and was heading for trouble. The pitching coach at the time - whoever it was - came out to talk with Carlton who nodded dismissively. Seconds later, Yankee catcher Joel Skinner (yes, that Joel Skinner) launched a slop ball (probably Carlton's diminished fastball) so high and so far into the black, batter's-eye seats, that it nearly hit the back wall of the stadium in center field.

While I don't remember any single game or hit that stands out, I had the vague recollection that Brook Jacoby, the Tribe's 3B in the 80s did a lot of damage at Yankee Stadium. In looking it up, I find I was partially right - Jacoby had a .303 lifetime average against the Yanks, his highest BA against any team, But he also had an unremarkable 8 homers and 42 RBIs in 107 games lifetime against NY.

The Stadium, as we all know, has a reputation for rowdiness - well-deserved in the 70s and 80s more so than now, though it still has its moments.

One of those "moments" I happened to be there for:

Throw-Your-Yankee-Mini-Bats-At-Albert Belle Night.

That was the night the field was evacuated by the Tribe until they could be assured that that lovable left fielder could get through the rest of the game without that night's giveaway striking him repeatedly about the head.

Then there is the ever-present menace, which I have experienced in every one of my 25 years of attending ballgames at Yankee Stadium: Drunken 22-year-olds, not sober enough to even control their ability to speak, putting their nose to my face and spitting out "Cleveland sucks" just because I happened to be wearing a Tribe cap. That happened virtually every time I went to Yankee Stadium with my cap on, even when the Indians were not the opposition.

Then there was the one day that was - hands down - my single worst day at Yankee Stadium.

My town, in the northern suburbs, was sponsoring a trip to Yankee Stadium, again sometime in the 90s. The Tribe was the opposition that day and I showed up for the pre-bus-ride picnic dressed in my Tribe jersey. The folks from the town had their fun with me and we headed off to the game.

It was well into the 90s outside, and the humidity was up there too. One of the most uncomfortable weather days I can remember. That was the least of it.

Pretty much before I could down my first Coke, the Tribe was down by about 16 runs. The fans around me (not the ones I came with) were brutal - one peppering me with pieces of hot pretzel (WITH MUSTARD). About 19 and a half hours later, the game ended, the Tribe lost 20-something to 1 and I vowed never to return - a vow I kept until the next time I got my hands on some tickets.

My final trip to Yankee Stadium will be memorable to me for what didn't happen.

My 17-year-old daughter has idolized Derek Jeter for her entire baseball-watching life. They came to the Yankees together in 1995. Jeter as a rookie player and Katy as a six-year-old fan. She has been starstruck for Jeter ever since.

The first "real" book Katy read from beginning to end was Jeter's autobiography. And her room is a shrine to the Yankee SS. (Those of you with daughters in Cleveland, think Grady Sizemore.)

As you can imagine, Katy was thrilled when she learned on Sunday that Jeter had tied Lou Gehrig for most career hits by a player at Yankee Stadium. She was happy that Jeter tied the record, but thrilled that we had tickets for Monday night - the night he could (in her mind, would) break the record.

Her new digital camera in hand, my daughter snapped a shot of every single pitch thrown to Jeter last night - pitches that would result in 2 Ks, a pop out to 3B and a screaming liner that found its way into Orlando Cabrera's glove.

After the eighth-inning pop out, and with the Yanks up by two, the writing was on the wall. My daughter and Derek's brush with history was not to be. Her silence all the way home was deafening, and sad.

There are times, as a father, when you have to step in and make things right.

There are times when you know you could step in, but you also know it is better not to.

And then there are times as a dad when you just don't have the power to make it happen.

Last night was one of those times, and our shared father-daughter memory was not to be.

Tribe baseball is fun again

2008-09-12T21:33:00.006-04:00

Long time no see.

And I apologize for that.

The last two weeks have been a zoo on the job and at home - where every conceivable appliance and consumer electronic in my home has given up the ghost.

Just this week I spent three nights on the phone with my satellite provider - their technician trying to guide me through the process of sticking various wires into various holes to make my TV picture come back. After three nights of trial and error, I was able to watch the Tribe tonight.

And what a night to rejoin the fun.

The Tribe put an 11 spot on the board and Cliff Lee put up win No. 22.

I have an e-mail argument going with a colleague of mine in Toronto who is backing Roy Halladay for the Cy Young award - touting his eight complete games (for whatever that's worth in today's game.)

But even my Toronto pal - before tonight's game - admitted Lee would have to have a complete collapse in his last four (now three) starts to even have a chance of blowing the award.

If Lee doesn't win the Cy, regardless of what happens in his last three outings - than the post-season awards count for jack.

A lot has happened since I last posted.

Travis Hafner has rejoined the team. He's 3 for 8 since coming back - all singles. He also is still unable to play DH in consecutive games. And he still has that stiff, awkward swing we got used to seeing in the early part of this season. You've got to say Hafner is very much a worrisome question mark for the Tribe next year.

The same can not be said for Victor Martinez, even though he is hitting just .222 since coming off of the DL late in August. He's a little rusty, but he seems to have healed up nicely and has shown at least a little power since he has come back.

Some other thoughts on the Tribe, in no particular order.

Kelly Shoppach has more than proven his ability to play everyday, with his 20 dingers in what amounts to a little over half a season of at-bats. He's also got a .973 OPS for the year.

The only question is which team will he be starting for next season? Starting catchers who can hit are hard to come by. The Tribe has two. Shoppach could bring a solid starting pitcher, or quite a haul in a package.

In addition, the Tribe has Carlos Santana - or Victor Martinez Jr. - working his way quickly through the minors. He should be ready to take over for Victor when it becomes clear the time has come for him to move to 1B.

Those are good reasons to consider trading Shoppach. But, if the Tribe intends to contend next year, I would be strongly in favor of keeping Shoppach, letting him catch most of the time and putting Victor at 1B - where wear-and-tear on his knees, hammy and elbow will be drastically reduced.

Two other Tribesman who have shown themselves deserving of a starting spot next season are Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Carbera - both playing key roles in the Tribe's second-half resurgence.

I would start Choo regularly next season and I think the Tribe would do fine to head into 2009 with the same outfielders they have right now. Eric Wedge has done a good job of mixing and matching out there and I see no problem with keeping the same approach next year so long as Choo is out there most of the time. A big bat would be nice, but there are too many other holes to fill (and don't forget Matt LaPorta will be coming on soon enough).

I think the Tribe has the right idea about adding a bat in the infield. My preference would be at 2B, which would force them to move Cabrera to short and Jhonny Peralta to 3B. Peralta has turned himself into a hitter who gets it - all the time - this season and my criticisms in the past of his offensive approach appear no longer valid. But I sure would love to see Cabrera's glove plugging up the SS hole.

The next comment will come as no revelation. I think we've all seen enough of Andy Marte. Wave bye bye Andy!!

We've seen a lot of good things from the starting rotation in recent weeks. But that key part of the club is fraught with concerns.

Is Fausto ever going to find the plate consistently again?

Anthony Reyes has been quite a find. Can we trust the Tribe when they play down his current injury? I'll believe Reyes is OK when I actually see him in the rotation next season.

Sowers? Laffey? Two question marks for sure. Especially given Laffey's late-season injury, I'd put more money down on Buffalo's Dave Huff for next season. It seems more than clear the Tribe will sign or trade for (or both) an experienced middle-of-the-rotation guy. That is if they are serious about next season.

The best news in recent weeks out of the bullpen has been the resurgence of Raffy Betancourt. With the two Raffy's looking to be on track and Jensen Lewis acing his test at closer, the bullpen cupboard does not look quite as bare as it did a month or so ago.

I would think the Tribe will try to find a proven closer for next season, but I'd feel better going into next year with Lewis as the closer than I did heading into this season with Joe Borowski in that role.

Victor goes yard!!

2008-09-02T21:48:00.007-04:00

With one swing of his bat, Victor Martinez shook off the 700 pound gorilla that has been on his back all season.

In the bottom of the second inning tonight at Progressive Field, Victor hit a towering flyball to the home run porch in left - his first homer of the season.

After playing the first two-and-half months with a sore hamstring and eventually a sore elbow, Victor was robbed of his power at the plate and became a non-entity with a bat in his hands.

All fixed and rested, Victor has had a hit in each of the three starts he's made since being activated, and tonight - for the first time all year - he went yard.

The joy and relief Victor felt was plain to see.

He stood at the plate and watched as he did what he used to take for granted for the first time in 2008 - send a ball sailing deep into the nighttime sky.

His smile in the dugout afterward was a mile wide and his teammates - especially fellow catcher Sal Fasano - seemed to enjoy the moment as much as Victor.

You had to assume that Victor's power would return with his health. I'm sure most of us felt that way. But it sure was nice to get a little evidence during the heat of battle.

Having said that, it would also be nice to see a little consistency from Fausto Carmona.

Fausto also has recently returned from a lengthy injury, and although he's shown flashes of his old self in his recent outings, he seems to be unable to put it all together for a full game.

It looked like tonight might be the night, as Fausto had a shutout through 5. But in the sixth Carmona lost his control and his poise and allowed 3 runs before departing with two outs in the inning.

In 8 starts since returning to the rotation, Carmona is 3-3 with tonight's decision still in doubt. He's thrown 41 2/3 innings and has allowed 31 earned runs. He's walked 22 batters in the process.

For a guy who is being counted on as No. 2 next year, I sure hope we see a bit more of the good Fausto the rest of the way.

Back to the good news.

Raffy Betancourt continued his late-season resurrection, getting out of a second-and-third, two-out jam left for him by Carmona in the sixth and going on to pitch another 2/3 of an inning in the 7th before giving way to Raffy Perez, who was brought in to get Jim Thome.

While Betancourt has been one of the poster boys for the Tribe's underachievement this season, his work since the middle of August has him looking like a decent bet to be a positive factor again next year.

Continuing in the good-news-bad-news vein, the Tribe today said it will shut down Aaron Laffey for the year due to elbow soreness. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports and MRI showed no structural damage but the Tribe thought it best for Laffey to just call it a year.

Six minor leaguers did get the call-up to the bigs - second baseman Josh Barfield, first baseman Mike Aubrey, right-handers Brian Slocum, Tom Mastny and John Meloan and left-hander Rich Rundles.

Lee ends 34-year drought with 20th win

2008-09-01T21:39:00.004-04:00

Cliff Lee, with another dominating performance tonight at Progressive Field, became the first Tribe hurler in 34 years to win 20 games.

Lee boosted his record to 20-2 on the year, tossing a five-hit shutout - getting 21 White Sox in a row from the first inning through the first out of the eighth after giving up two singles to lead off the game (there was on DP thrown in making it 22 OUTS in a row).

Lee has won 9 of his last 10 starts - with the other being a no-decision - going back to mid-July. His best month of the season was April when he won all five of his starts and had an 0.96 ERA. August was just about as good - as Lee went 5-0 with a 1.96 ERA.

The worst month of the season for Lee - June 3-0, 3.41

Gaylord Perry was the last Indian to win 20 - going 21-13 with a 2.51 ERA for the Tribe in the 1974, the year this blogger graduated from Cleveland Central Catholic High School.

Perry's brother Jim was back with the Tribe that year, contributing 17 wins of his own, with a 2.95 ERA.

Unfortunately everyone else in the rotation was above 4.00, which for the time period was a sub-par number. The Tribe finished the season at 77-85, in fourth place in the A.L. East, 14 games behind the division-winning Orioles.

In addition to Perry's outstanding season there were a number of other noteworthy events in 1974.

There was, of course, 10-cent beer night, on June 4 of that year.

About six weeks later, on July 19, Dick Bosman - the only other starter on the team with a winning record at 7-5 - threw a no-hitter against Oakland at Cleveland Stadium.

Chris Chambliss started 1974 as the Tribe's first baseman. But he didn't make it through April, having been traded to the Yankees along with Dick Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw for Fritz Peterson, Steve Kline, Fred Beene and Tom Buskey.

Tidrow found a home eventually in the bullpen of the Yankee pennant winners later in the decade and we all know what Chris Chambliss did for the Yanks.

Buskey became the Tribe's closer in '74, posting 17 saves. Fritz Peterson was famous for trading wives with former Yankee teammate Mike Kekich and not much good came from Freddie Beene or Kline.

1974 was also the year The Big Mon - Rico Carty - joined the Tribe, after rehabbing his career in the Mexican League.

And, Frank Robinson was picked up late in the season as a precursor to his taking over the club next year as baseball's first African American manager.

I took this little trip in the memory mobile to help illustrate just how rare the 20-win season has become in baseball.

So hats off to Cliff and hope you've been appreciating each and every outing Cliff has made this year.

Hafner's sore shoulder and other Tribe matters

2008-08-25T23:20:00.000-04:00

They're saying Victor Martinez will be back up with the Tribe very soon.

That's the the good news.

The not-so-good news - Travis Hafner's shoulder is barking again.

According to the Plain Dealer's Web site, Hafner was kept out of the lineup down in Buffalo yesterday and today because of pain in his shoulder.

This would seem to be a setback by any definition of the word.

But that just ain't so, said Tribe skipper Eric Wedge to the PD.

"I wouldn't call it that at all. He's moving forward, but we're still trying to build a foundation for him. He hasn't played [in the majors] in 10 weeks. It's part of the process. He's been building up. We want to find that mixture of work days, batting practice, whatever it might be, and playing."

How can you call it a setback? He's perfectly fine - at least for the first couple of innings each night?

"He feels good early in the game, but he needs to feel better later in the game. He didn't swing a bat for a long time, but he definitely feels better than he did before."

I don't know about you, but I'm convinced. I'm especially confident that everything's fine because the Tribe has been so forthcoming about injuries so far this season.

Anybody besides me think that maybe it would make sense just to shut Hafner down for the rest of the year and hope to God a full off-season of rest will make him a viable option for next year?

Anybody getting the feeling that that is anything but a sure thing?

--
While we're talking about shutting folks down, shouldn't the Tribe consider it for Masa Kobayashi?

The guy has made 5 appearances this month and hasn't been effective in any of them, including tonight when he allowed the Tigers to tie the game at 3-3 in the 7th after taking over for Zack Jackson.

Kobayashi is clearly out of gas and one has to wonder if it made sense to sign a guy whose history has him pitching a lot fewer innings than the typical MLB late-inning reliever pitches each year. Maybe he'll fight his way through the wall he's hit and be ready to take on a full MLB work load next year. Maybe, and maybe not.

--
Just watched Jensen Lewis put up his 7th straight save and the Tribe put up their 8th straight win. This game can still be fun.

--
Which brings us back to Zach Jackson, who had his best outing so far for the Tribe, scattering 7 hits and allowing 3 runs (thanks in part to Kobayashi) over 6 1/3 innings. The outing brought Jackson's ERA down to 4.91, though he is still looking for his first win with the Indians. Tonight certainly makes you wonder if there's something to this Jackson guy, but based on his mediocre body of work in the minors you have to still assume that he's not on the A-list of prospects.

--
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Grady Sizemore - with two homers tonight - joined the 30-30 club. He's at 31 homers and 34 SBs. Is 40-40 possible? It would be fun, no?
--

I'll be heading down to DC for the next three days (with a quick stop at Camden Yards tomorrow night). So this will be it until the weekend. Let's hope the streak is at a dozen by then.

Watching the trees, missing the forest

2008-08-24T21:03:00.005-04:00

Since the Tribe bagged the season about a month ago with the CC trade most of us have been watching the team through a microscope rather than a wide-angle lens.

It only makes sense.

This season is shot.

The only thing that matters is who is making a case for themselves to be on the squad next year, when - hopefully - enough holes will be filled to put the Tribe back in a pennant race, if not the post-season.

We've been busy examining how each individual player is stacking up against his perceived competition for next year. Or worrying about certain positions where no one seems to be stepping up. (Yes Andy Marte we're talking about you.)

Terry Pluto has done a lot of that recently in the Plain Dealer, including today's paper. The same can be said for Paul Hoynes in his offering today.

On the national Web sites, Ken Rosenthal is among those who have been looking into the future of the Tribe and other teams. His most-recent offering about the Tribe examines where the pitching staff may be heading.

In the blogosphere, Paul Cousineau of the The DiaTribe has two pieces this week that deal with the future makeup of the team - one here, and the other one here.

We've delved into it ourselves recently.

It is only natural that anyone with an ounce of foresight and curiosity would try to relieve the current unpleasantness by looking ahead to see how things might work out a little better in the future.

But while we're busy worrying about whether Ryan Garko has shown enough to either get back into the picture for 1B next year or bring something valuable in trade, or whether Anthony Reyes is good enough to be a No. 3 or No. 4 starter next year, we're missing some of the best team baseball the Tribe has played since last October.

So I just wanted to take a moment to look at the entire forest. The first half of this season was so miserable to watch, we owe it to ourselves to enjoy what we've been seeing lately, even if it comes under the category of cheap thrills.

The Tribe, heading into Sunday's game, was on their longest winning streak of the year - 6 games. They've won 12 of their last 15 games and 14 of 21 so far this month.

In August, the Tribe has scored 116 runs - an average of 5.5 a game. They're scoring 6.1 runs a game in the 12 of 15 stretch and 7.6 runs/game during the 6-game winning streak.

Save one player (yes Marte, you again), the Tribe is getting offensive output across the board.

Some of those who struggled earlier in the year are making the biggest contribution in August.

Franklin Gutierrez .317 (BA) .567 (SLG) .936 (OPS) 11 RBI
Ben Francisco .316 (BA) .447 (SLG) .805 (OPS) (we should expect better power from the corner)
Ryan Garko .320 (BA) .467 (SLG) .840 (OPS) 17 RBI
Cabrera .292 (BA) .462 (SLG) .835 (OPS)
Choo .279 (BA) .508 (SLG) .888 (OPS) 8 Doubles 10 RBI

And stalwarts Grady Sizemore and Jhonny Peralta have contributed 16 and 14 RBIs respectively, with Peralta at .877 (SLG) and 4 HR. Sizemore has been dragging a bit this month with a .758 (SLG).

The Tribe's starting rotation is contributing as well, after adjusting to the loss of CC and Paul Byrd from their ranks. Largely thanks to Cliff Lee and newly acquired Anthony Reyes, the rotation is 10-5 in 21 starts. The rotation's ERA (not counting Sowers' debacle Saturday night) is 3.56 this month.

As far as the overall bullpen is concerned, it's hard to say it has gotten better. But it is fair to say that the back end of the pen has solidified somewhat, with Jensen Lewis making the most of his audition for the closer spot.

In August, the pen is 4-2 with 6 saves (all by Lewis), but it is sporting a bloated 5.04 ERA.

The good news is Jensen Lewis is 6 for 6 in save situations and has a 0.89 ERA with 9 Ks in 10.1 innings this month.

Raffy Perez is 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA, but if you eliminate two outings in which he gave up a total of 6 runs in 2 innings, his ERA for August is 0.66.

Perhaps the best news of all is the month being put up by Raffy Betancourt. After giving up 3 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning in his first August outing, Raffy Right has made 5 scoreless appearances covering 7 innings and has looked a bit like his old self.

So instead of wondering if Ben Francisco will provide more pop from the corner, or whether Peralta should play 3B or SS next season or whether the Tribe would be better off starting Kelly Shoppach at catcher or trading him for a starting pitcher let's take just a minute from our squirrel-like planning ahead and smell the roses growing at our doorstep in recent weeks.

Our own Indians hall of fame

2008-08-18T09:30:00.006-04:00

On the weekend of the Indians' Hall of Fame festivities, my brother - Greg Vallo - put together a little slide show of Tribies from year's gone by.

How many can you name?

I'd say I got 95% of the ones after 1960.