Thursday, June 5, 2008

Texas-Sized Split


Just when you think the Indians potentially may string together a few wins... they don't. While hitting in The Ballpark in Arlington is similar to hitting at Softball World, at least the offense got going a bit. I will give the rotation a pass for the past 4 games as it must be extremely difficult to pitch there, but the bullpen is an utter mess. 11 pitchers have been used in relief and a total of zero of them have been consistent. General Manager Mark Shapiro laments the fact that bullpens are volatile, and he has never been more correct. If the Tribe's relievers were even average, this team would be over .500 and probably tied for first place.


This team is now at a crossroads. There are 102 games left in the season, so I would say the next 20 games will tell the tale of how management proceeds the rest of the season. If they tank, I say deal CC Sabathia when you have a chance to get value for him. Now I realize that they probably won't deal CC since Carmona and Westbrook are on the DL, but might as well try and build for 2009 while maybe pulling together something for the rest of 2008. If the Tribe can string any type of winning streak together over 4 games, they are immediately back in the race. I personally don't feel to encouraged right now, and here is why:


  • Victor is obviously hurt and not the same player. Just end his misery and place him on the DL.

  • No meat in the middle of the order. Garko had a great series, but he is not a clean-up hitter. The Indians have no legitimate middle of the order hitters.

  • Jhonny Peralta's inconsistency at the plate has been excruciating to watch. He flails away at the high fastball, waves at curveballs in the dirt, and has actually less range in the field than he did last year. I wrote back in early April that Jhonny was destined for a breakout year, boy was I wrong.

  • Injuries to Carmona, Westbrook and the myth Adam Miller has quickly dwindled the teams pitching depth. One more injury to the starting staff and guys like Jeff Harris and Matt Ginter are in discussions about starting. EESSHH.

  • Travis Hafner is also on the DL and hopefully he is searching for his stroke because it is gone. Along with Sizemore and Martinez, he is vital to the success to this team. Without him performing at least average, the Tribe has struggled mightily.

  • Guys like Blake/Dellucci/Carroll/Choo/Gutierrez/Cabrera have to over perform to make this team a contender, and they have not. This team lacks punch, and besides a few great single game feats of strengths, these guys have all collectively been well below mediocre.

  • The Bullpen as I stated before is awful. Nothing deflates a team more than the blown save, and this squad, (especially Betancourt) has blown a bunch. Names such as Bauer, Mujica, Elarton, and Slocum do not strike fear into the hearts of opposing batters, (all of which are actually sitting out in the pen). The Wahoos will not go anywhere this season without a decent bullpen, and that is looking less likely game by game.

The team did hit the past four days sans a 15 batter stretch Thursday. No lead is safe in that park, so with the Rangers pitching looking pretty terrible, I assume they will not be a contender in the AL West.


Here were some of the Highlights:


Ryan Garko: 11-20, 6 runs, 7 RBI's. The singles machine sure got some confidence back over the past 4 days. If he can consistently bat around .300 it will help this team immensely.


Ben Francisco: 9-20 HR, 5 RBI. One of the few consistent hitters on this team. Had some pretty bad at bats Thursday, but everyone is entitled to bad days. Will play everyday in this lineup as long as he continues to hit.


Casey Blake: 6-18, 2 HR 8 RBI's (7 in one game). Casey had a great Tuesday, would love to see him in a super sub roll instead of an everyday player.


David Dellucci: 6-10, 2 HR, 7 RBI's. Double D raked in his former ballpark, which was nice.


Areas of Concern:


Victor Martinez: 4-15, 5 RBI's. Drove in some runs, looks uncomfortable at the plate. I would stick him on the DL, looks like Victor will continue to "grind."


CC Sabathia: 6 IP, 4 earned runs, 9 hits, 3 walks, 8 K's. CC pitched ok but seemed to lose his composure after infield hits and defensive misplays (Choo). Needs to work through these situations and lose his cool.


Rafael Betancourt: (Thursday Game): 2/3 IP 2 hits. 2 walks, 3 earned runs. Has been up and down (mostly down) all year. Apparently he almost went on the DL a few days ago, might be there soon. Mr. Conquest was a main key to this team last year, and his terrible pitching this year is killing them.


Tribe Decision Makers (Shapiro, Wedge, Willis) I understand that the team was in a bind Wednesday with Westbrook going on the DL, but how could they have not known of this potential issue beforehand? Having to start a reliever in a major league game is inexcusable. They basically threw away the game and chalked it up as a loss. The way the Indians have played in 2008, can they really afford to do this? Call up a guy in Akron or Kinston, someone who can pitch more than 2 innings. If it means you may lose an arbitration year or a crappy guy like Elarton, Mujica or Slocum off of the 40 man roster, than so be it. This is not 2007, every game counts now after the proverbial hole they have dug for themselves being 6 games below .500.


I am not ready to kick dirt on the 2008 Wahoos, but am really close. They can't gather any momentum and seem to just float on by series by series. Since sweeping Oakland on May 15th, the team has went 5-14. That just is not going to cut it, even in a division as bad as the AL Central this season. Expectations were huge going into this season, as many pundits (including myself) predicted a World Series appearance. I knew I shouldn't have done it, since the last time I predicted such success was 2006, when the team fell apart. I predicted a 3rd place finish in 2007 which was smart since I wanted to avoid my self-inflicted jinx. This blog and my prediction may have jinxed the 2008 Indians, but who believes in such things? Every time the Tribe has people expecting big things, they fall on their face. I am now predicting the 2009 Cleveland Indians will finish in last place with the worst record in baseball.

Indians Select Infielder Lonnie Chisenhall with First Round Selection


The Cleveland Indians just selected with the 29th overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft shortstop/third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall Pitt Comunity College in North Carolina. Only 19, this left handed hitter projects to be a corner outfielder in the majors who has a crisp line drive swing with potential power. He was arrested as a freshman at the University of South Carolina on charges of burglary and grand larceny and was subsequently kicked off of the team. The Indians front office is very thorough in their background checks of players, so they must feel confident that Chisenall's past digressions are now behind him. With the lack of high ceiling position players in the minors, the Tribe was almost forced to go with a bat with this selection. Baseball America ranks him as the 74th top prospect so Shapiro and Company may be reaching here a bit. Minor League Baseball has an excellent write-up on him here, and also check out Cleveland Indians Minor League Insider with up to the minute draft news.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Breaking Blockbuster News: Mastny and Lewis sent down, Brian Slocum and Rick Bauer called up.

Can you believe it? I sure can't. In a move that is sure to change the Indians fortunes, Tom Mastny and Jensen Lewis were sent to Triple A. You cannot really blame Mastny for his performance Tuesday, but he was really, really bad. Lewis was more of an emergency call up as the front office still wants him to sort out his velocity issues. Rick "Jack" Bauer was called up and his minor league stats are impressive (1.55 era, 15 saves). Hopefully it will translate to the majors. Brian Slocum on the other hand has been getting pounded down in Sabres country, posting a 5.44 era in starting duty. Apparently that performances warranted a call up. Slocum is also apparently the clubs barber in Spring Training, so I guess with the way the economy is today, a player with multiple skills is a plus. Either one of these guys (or possibly Elarton or Mujica) will be sent down Sunday when Jeremy Sowers is called up to start. One of the strengths I felt going into 2008 was the bullpen. Boy was I wrong. Watching the army of arms toting the rubber last night gave me flashbacks of Mark Wohlers and Jose Jimenez, which is never a good thing. And by the way, Edward Mujica is horrible. Also, pictured to the right is Brian Slocum, I had no idea what he looked like so here he is!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Westbrook to DL again, Lewis back up, Mastny to start tonight


Jake Westbrook is being placed on the 15 day DL for the second time this year tomorrow with elbow issues. Jensen Lewis has been recalled, and Tom Mastny will start tonight in Texas. With the Rangers starting a minor league pitcher due to Vincente Padillas' family issues and the Tribe going with the pen, the score may resemble a beer league softball game. That puts three key guys on the Disabled List (Carmona, Hafner, Westbrook), and another hobbled (Martinez). They won yesterday, so let's make it two in a row for the first time in three weeks!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Mastny up, Aubrey down.


Tom Mastny has been recalled by the Cleveland Indians, and First Baseman Michael Aubrey has been sent to Buffalo. I understand sending Aubrey down because he has struggled for a week (along with the rest of the team), but bringing up a pitcher? I guess it really does not matter, but carrying 12 pitchers on a team who can't hit is kind of ridiculous. Another blockbuter move by the Wahoos.

Royal Rubbish

The Cleveland Indians have lost their fifth series in a row Sunday by losing to the hapless Kansas City Royals Sunday 6-1. Paul Byrd pitched terrible, the team continues not to hit, and the Tribe is barely even watchable. Apparently Manager Eric Wedge believes this team is close to coming out of it, but I have no idea how that is possible. The middle of the lineup looks pathetic, and the team collectively looks like they are going through the motions. Will they make a trade? Probably not until July, and unfortunately that will probably to dump CC. I predicted a successful May for the Indians, and I was way off. Oh well, better to be an optimist.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Grady Sizemore: 3 Homeruns, drove in 4 of the 8 runners who scored over the weekend. He single-handedly won the game Friday with his 2 homeruns and amazing catch to end the game. Only player on the team that strikes any fear within the lineup.

Areas of Concern:

Starting Pitching: Was less than stellar over the weekend. If they struggle at all, more losses will occur due to the utter crappiness of the hitting.

Hitting: What can possibly be said that hasn't been rehashed? They suck.

Victor Martinez: Wedge said yesterday that Martinez is still nursing a sore hamstring for TWO MONTHS! Great job by the Indians brass covering up these injuries, we could never figure it out. The guy has 0 homeruns and bats cleanup. Stick him on the DL so we don't have to watch him struggle anymore.

Cleveland travels to Arlington today to take on the Texas Rangers for 4 games. Aaron Laffey takes on Vincente Padilla. The beat goes on.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Pronk to DL, Choo to the Rescue

Friday the Indians placed Designated Hitter Travis Hafner on the 15 day DL with a shoulder injury. Hafner should be out for at least a month due to interleague play coming up in the middle of the month. This is the best case scenario for Hafner, as he has struggled all year. Hopefully he can heal and straighten out these massive batting struggles. Shin Soo Choo is back, and will be added to the various platoons going on throughout the lineup. We will get to see what type of hitter he is as he will be used 3 or 4 times a week. With Victor Martinez continuing his own personal power outage, the middle of the lineup looks bleak. Still the team is only 5 games out, so who knows.