Indians Yank Away Season Series: Michaels traded to Pirates

Winning each series has been a part of the Indians mantra for the past few years. The Indians did just that, taking two out of three from the Bronx Bombers. Neither team was at full strength health-wise, but both displayed some glaring weaknesses. The Yankees' starting pitching did the its job keeping their club in each ballgame, but they do not possess one clear cut number 1 starter. Also, not having A-Rod or Posada makes their lineup less menacing. The Tribe continued to struggle with the bats, Cliff Lee pitched another gem, and the starting nine changes by the day.

Amazingly, the team is only 1 1/2 games out of first place, as no team seems to be able to get on a roll. Victor Martinez has been out the past two games with a stiff neck, which will not help the run production. Travis Hafner has continued his downward spiral and looks completely clueless at the plate. No one is more upset with his lack of production than Hafner, so hopefully some of these mental health days will benefit his psyche.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Cliff Lee: 7 IP, 6 hits, 7 K's, 0 earned runs. Simply put, has been the MVP of this team so far this year and the best pitcher in the American League. Won all 6 of his starts.

Rafael Betancourt: 2 saves. I guess we have a closer again. Has not blown a save yet when the Indians have been leading in the 9th. We will see if he can continue rolling.

Rafeal Perez: 3 shutout innings, 4 K's. Raffy left is settling in as the new go to guy in the 8th. His consistency is paramount to the club, as the bullpen is constantly pitching in close games.

David Dellucci: 2-9, 4RBI, 1 game winning 3-run homer. Dellucci provided the biggest hit of the year so far as he jacked a dinger with 2 outs in the 8th off of chubby Joba Chamberlain. DD keeps raking, but is not a 3 hole hitter.

Ben Francisco: 4-11, double. The savior arrives! The team is 6-1 with him on the roster. Should help out the offense a little, definitely an upgrade.

Areas of Concern:

Paul Byrd: 6 1/3 innings, 8 hits, 0 K's, 5 earned runs. Paul's neck may hurt more than Victor's tonight as he watched the Yankees deposit ball after ball into the rightfield stands.

Travis Hafner: His at bat Wednesday with the bases loaded pretty muched summed up most of his season so far. Really need the big guy.

Ryan Garko: 1-8. Another batter who needs to dial it up a notch. Run production has been non existent for about three weeks now.

2nd Base: Although Jamey Carroll is a gamer, the team needs Asdrubal to become consistent or he will be back in Buffalo. Cabrera has not had a hit for a week.

Joba Chamberlain: His mound antics are ridiculous. He pumped his fist twice after striking out Dellucci Thursday, like he won the World Series. It is called class fat boy, learn some from your closer.

Two former Cy Young award winners square off in the upcoming four game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. CC Sabathia looks for his second win against Roy Halladay Friday.

Also, Jason Michaels and cash were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named. Good luck to the mullet, as he is probably a better National League player anyways.

Michaels gone, Francisco Up

As speculated yesterday, Jason Michaels will be designated for assignment tomorrow and Ben Francisco will be recalled. General Manager Mark Shapiro hopes this move will help spark the offense, but by no means he believes this will cure their hitting problems. Tribe Times has been rough on J-Mike this year, so I guess we will need to find a new whipping boy. It seems that management is realizing that a youth movement is necessary. Francisco provides more pop in his bat and is able to hit against righties and lefties. Although this move should have probably been made at the beginning of spring training, Ben should be here now for good.

Royal Beatdown, Francisco to the Rescue

There is not much to say about the punchless Indians. Collectively they have been unable to hit for most of the season, sans a few 8 to 12 run one game outbursts. The starting pitching has been outstanding over the past three weeks, yet the team has a 14-17 record. I don't know if fans should feel relieved that the Tribe is only 2 1/2 games behind front running Minnesota or not. It seems to have only masked the glaring weaknesses the club has shown, as in no consistent hitting. Most of the players have the batting approach to work the counts deep. Unfortunately too many times we have seen this team fall behind 0-2 and either take called strike threes or swing at balls in the dirt. This collective approach looks to be failing, as the batters are mostly guessing wrong instead of letting their instincts take over. The Indians have a track record of succeeding on this level, so trends would say they are due.

Generally I believe Steve Phillips is a moron, but today on Baseball Tonight I believe he accurately broke down Travis Hafner's hitting woes. ESPN split screened his 2006 batting stance and his 2008 stance. Back when he was mashing, his hands were higher, he was less crouched, and he kept his body back while he swung. Now he is severely crouched and his body is rotating severely through the zone before his hands. What does this all mean? Well when a crappy former GM who was ran out of New York can figure out why the Indians DH can't hit his way out of wet paper bag, why are we paying our hitting coach? Should Travis take a few games off, stand in front of a mirror, flip on a dvd of 2006 and see how he can get his stance back? I am not a hitting coach but this analysis by Phillips seems pretty dead on. Hopefully Hafner was tuning in instead of watching the WWE.

Back to the series, the Kansas City Royals, with their 12th ranked pitching staff in the American League just basically blanked the Tribe, if not for a Sizemore homerun and a wild pitch. Future Hall of Famer Jean Luke Hochevar baffled the Indians hitters, while Gritty Gilbert Meche left broken bats all over the field. At some point the position players will figure it out, but my prognostication of a super May did not begin so well. Thankfully Friday's game was rained out to spare us all the embarrassment of a possible three game sweep of the hapless Royals. With the Yankees on the horizon, (Pettitte, Wang, and Mussina) this floundering club will be put to the test.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Aaron Laffey: 7 IP, 4 hits, 5 K's, 0 earned runs. Has pitched back to back great games with an 0-2 record to show for it. Got better run support in Buffalo. He was the only highlight.

Areas of Concern:

The whole lineup, the bullpen, the defense, pretty much everything besides the starting pitching. They just look bad right now.

The Indians make there final trip ever to the dump they call Yankee Stadium Tuesday. Fausto Carmona takes on "The Schnoz" Andy Pettitte. At least the Cavs are in the second round.

Also, Ben Francisco was pulled from the Bisons lineup earlier today and told a Buffalo reporter that he would be returning to the Tribe for the upcoming three game series in New York. As of this post, no news has yet to come out who will be sent down, disabled listed, or otherwise. I imagine they will send down Tom Mastny as he has options. Other options is to designate Andy Marte for assignment, either he would be claimed by another team or he will clear waivers and go back to Buffalo. Or maybe they just sell Jason Michaels to Japan for some Wii's. Whatever the case, let's hope Francisco gets to play, as any spark in this lineup would be greatly appreciated.

Royals Swept Away

When in need to end a whole team slump, what better destination is there in the American League than Kansas City? The Indians played a nearly flawless 2 days of baseball, vaulting themselves into 2nd Place in the AL Central. Miraculously the Tribe has pulled within 2 games of .500 with the dreaded New York Yankees invading Cleveland tonight. Solid to outstanding starting pitching was prevalent all series. Hitters who have been struggling contributed, and the team made zero errors. With six games remaining, it is not out of the realm of possibility for the team to finish April 4-2, resulting in a 14-14 record. That would be an amazing feat considering how bad the Indians have played so far this year. Hopefully Progressive Field will be jam packed with Tribe for this upcoming four game series, but more than likely there will be many Yankee fans in attendance.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Grady Sizemore: 5-14, HR, 3 RBI. Had a great first game of the double-header, not so great the other two. He has tee'd off on average pitching as of late, but against tougher pitchers, he has struggled. Grady has become an outstanding mistake hitter, but his eye has been a bit off on breaking stuff in the dirt.

Casey Blake: 6-8, Grand Slam Homerun, 8 RBI. Casey collected almost 40% of his hits in two games, was aggressive as he usually is with first pitch strikes. Leading the team in RBI from the 9 hole.

David Dellucci: 3-9, 3 runs, one huge late inning homerun, 3 RBI. David has broken the left field curse (even though he misplayed a double in the last game of the series). If utilized correctly, can be a huge part of this team against right-handers.

Ben Francisco: 2-6, double, 2 runs, 1 RBI. He's Back!! Even though it looks like his stay will be short, he proved in the first game yesterday that he should be on this team at least plattooning in left field. Great slide, good at-bats, should not be in Buffalo anymore.

Masa Kobayashi: 1 1/3 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs. Masa pitched in a semi-pressure situation in the first game yesterday and pitched well. Has elevated himself into the 7th/8th inning role.

Cliff Lee: 9 innings, 3 hits, 9 K's, 0 earned runs. Cliff has been the best pitcher in baseball this year, now posting a eye-popping 0.29 ERA. Lee will come back to earth sooner or later, but has been the one stable force on this team all year.

Areas of Concern:

Aaron Laffey/Jeremy Sowers pitching 2 out of the next 4 games: Hopefully one of them can hold serve against the dreaded Yankees.

Jason Michaels: Had 2 hits yesterday, 1/3 of his season total. Needs to be jettisoned off the team so Ben Francisco can help this team progress. I asked my friend Kyle why most Tribe fans hate him like I do, and he said, "Who likes a chubby curly-haired blond guy anyways?" So true.

Jensen Lewis: Fastball is below 90 MPH, has been struggling most outings. Seems to have pitched himself out of the 7th/8th inning, making the bullpen a bit weaker.

The Evil Empire invades Cleveland tomorrow. Andy Pettite will take on Paul Byrd in a battle of the HGH hurlers.

Westbrook Placed on DL, Francisco called up

In a somewhat surprising move, Jake Westbrook has been placed on the 15 day DL with a left intercostal strain. The Indians have not said yet when the injury occurred. Jake has been pitching great this season, so this adds to the quickly mounting issues for the Tribe. Ben Francisco will probably play the next four games as a sort of audition before the Indians need a starting pitcher for Saturday. Paul Byrd will now throw Friday, and I imagine Aaron Laffey will fill in Saturday. The developing situation will concern how well Francisco plays. If he is knocking the cover off of the ball, a move with Andy Marte or possibly Jason Michaels will be on the horizon.

5-9

The Cleveland Indians were swept by the Boston Red Sox, losing 5-3. Typically I have been writing recaps of the series as a whole, but the same problems have been happening each game. The hitting looks lethargic, the bullpen looks terrible, and the team overall looks dead. I know the Tribe brass will say it is only 14 games but they look uninspired as a team. Franklin Gutierrez had a bad game, booting a ball in right as well as getting picked off of second base with no outs. Michaelucci is chugging along looking unimpressive, Casey Blake cannot find his stroke, and Asdrubal Cabrera looks over-matched. Wedge seems to have no clue how to pitch his current relief staff. Jorge Julio has generally been the first guy out of the pen during bad starts, but today was the first time he pitched with a lead. Jorge promptly walked the first two batters and was yanked. Perez looked ok, but Lewis struggled through both innings. And to add insult to injury, the Tigers could leave Cleveland with a better record than the Indians.

Here were some of the highlights:

Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook pitched well in wasted efforts. Victor Martinez continued to mash, going 6-8 with 3 RBI's. That is it.

Areas of Concern:

Clutch hitting, bullpen, defense, special teams, 3rd line, 8 iron, back-up point guard, you name it they pretty much suck right now.

The Wahoo Warriors attempt to prevent having the worst record in baseball as they take on the Detroit Tigers for two. Armando Galarraga takes on CC Sabathia tonight at 7:05pm. At least the Chief is still smiling.

Tribe's Bats, Bullpen Cost Byrd a Victory

special to the TTO

Unlike his two previous starts of the season, Paul Byrd pitched well enough to get the W tonight.

Byrd gave up one unearned run--thanks to a bobbled ball in right by Franklin Guitierrez and a late, low throw from Cabrera to Garko while attempting to turn an inning-ending double play--over 6 innings tonight against the defending world champs. But the Tribe's failure to protect a lead late, as well as their failure to make the most of their offensive chances, cost the Byrd Man the victory.

Just like last night, the bullpen faltered late and gave up the lead. This time it was Jensen Lewis's turn to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by giving up a pinch hit homerun to 576 year-old Jason Varitek.

Don't get me wrong--I'm a big Lewis fan. I think he's really got the stuff to be a go-to guy in the 'pen this year. But he was in trouble in the 8th, with the bases loaded, 1 out, and the score tied at 3, until he got a fantastic play from Cabrera to turn an inning-ending DP. Yet Wedge didn't even have anyone else warming up for the 9th.

At least, we're spared Joe Blow for at least 15 days and perhaps as long as a month. He's on the DL with a strained triceps. He's actually lucky I couldn't jump through my TV screen, otherwise he'd be on the 60-day DL with a broken tailbone from me kicking him in the ass for that 82 mph fastball he threw Ramirez last night.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Indians brass has been keeping this injury on the down low since sometime in Spring Training. Way to go, Shapiro & Co--Borowski walks a fine line between success and failure as it is, yet you kept him out there even though he wasn't at 100%. Brilliant.

You've got to be happy with the starting pitching and long relief as of late. Byrd's 6 IP and zero earned runs are a dramatic departure from his first couple of starts of the season. Jake Westbrook looked great last night on a tough night to pitch and Cliff Lee was nearly perfect on Sunday--even after CC crapped the bed on Friday and Fausto's meltdown on Saturday night, the bullpen pulled together several good innings to give the bats a chance to get them back in the game.

We've got to hope that warmer weather will bring hotter bats. You can't expect to complete when you've got three guys in the starting lineup--four if you count BOTH halves of the Michaels/Dellucci dynamic duo--hitting right around $1.25. I don't have the official production numbers for the season on our 3rd basemen (Blake/Marte) and left fielders (Michaels/Dellucci), but I'd be willing to bet that even with all of their BAs added together, they're barely hitting .400. Combine that with Cabrera and Guitierrez, and that's almost half of our lineup that's not hitting.

And that's not going to get the job done.

For years in the 1990s, we had all the hitting in the world, but we just didn't have good enough starting pitching to get the job done. Now, with the best starting rotation Cleveland has seen since 1954, we're not holding leads or scoring enough runs to win games.

What a waste.

by J-Neg

Last Meltdown for JoeBo?

The Indians may be a team without a closer. Joe Borowski was clocked at 82 MPH and by listening to his post game interview, he seems to have no answers. JoeBo said that he feels great pitching some days, but others he feels like he is pitching through water. Borowski must have felt like he was pitching at the bottom of Lake Erie tonight. I would have to believe he will be put on the disabled list before he pitches in the closers' roll again. Borowski will not be cut, due the respect the Indians front office has for him. Manager Eric Wedge stated that he will talk to Joe on Tuesday in regards to how he feels. Kobayashi, Julio, Lewis, Betancourt, and eventually Adam Miller all seem to be the internal candidates for the immediate future.

The game was lost unfortunately in the fifth due to our closer situation and Jake Westbrook's pitch count. The Cleveland Indians had just taken a 4-1 lead and loaded the bases with one out. Julian Tavarez came in to struck out Ryan Garko. The same Julian Tavarez who enjoyed these. The real sad part of this game was having to pinch hit for Jason Michaels in the 5th inning! Wedge's move right there sums up the state of the Indians Left Field platoon. Shockingly, Dellucci came up and struck out as well. He later played an important defensive role out in left, looking slow and showing no arm.

Most Tribe fans knew it was over in the 9th. The minute David Ortiz dropped in a single to left in front of Dellucci, we all had that sinking feeling the game was lost. Manny Ramirez may decide to hire Joe Borowski as his batting practice thrower for the Homerun Derby because he deposited an 82MPH fastball deep into the bleachers. It resembled a coed-softball league pitch.

The Indians look to avoid being 4 games under .500 with Paul Byrd facing Tim Wakefield. This matchup may produce a beer league-type score. With Betancourt pitching the last two games and JoeBo potentially done, who knows who may close today.

Westcoast Unkind

Sporadic hitting, shaky defense and a shoddy bullpen were aplenty during the Tribe's series loss to the Angels. Exiting California with a 2-4 road record is not good, but it could have been worse. The Indians never had command of any game in either series, winning on a bases-loaded walk and a two out top of the ninth homerun. The good news is they have only played 1/18th of their season and are 3 games up on the Tigers. Hopefully some home cooking will help wake up the bats and CC can get back to being CC.

Here were some of the highlights:

Jake Westbrook: Complete Game win giving up 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 4. What a gutsy performance, made one mistake to Vlad, shut the door in the ninth. Got the win when the Tribe really needed one.

Jhonny Peralta: 5-9 2 doubles, 2 homeruns, 3 rbi in two games! Played a little shaky defense but showed discipline in going to right field Monday. Desperately need him to find consistency for the lineup to produce any type of solid output.

David Dellucci: 3-6 2 doubles 3 runs scored. He was on base 5 times in two games. Amazing to see his name here, but hit well today. Should be our 4th outfielder to "spell" Gutierrez and Francisco. Hopefully Shapiro can trade Michaels and let Dellucci take on that role, a role he is more suited for.

Victor Martinez: 3-9 1 double. Having Victor back in the lineup makes the team considerably stronger. Had issues throwing runners out Monday, is a major key and the catalyst of this team in 2008. Looked to be taking it easy on the bases. Great to see him back.

Areas of Concern:

Joe Borowski: Blew a save by giving up a grand slam. His fastball is topping out at 85 mph, which is like throwing batting practice to major league hitters. I see a DL stint in his near future if he strings together a few of these implosions.

Grady Sizemore: 3-13, 5 K's. Looks to be trying to take walks instead of trying to drive the ball. He took some pretty good pitches for called strike threes.

Franklin Gutierrez: 1-8 3K's. He seems completely out of whack at the plate, wish he had options so if this continues on he is not glued to the bench. His spring training success seems forgotten.

Jason Michaels: 0-8. Can't get a bunt down, seems to be an albatross in the lineup. Good 4th outfielder who should never get consistent at bats, as proven after July 31st of last year. Needs to be moved on to another team since he has some tradeability.

Paul Byrd: Gave up 3 homeruns (one a grand slam) 6 runs in 3 innings. Needs to find his command or the Indians may have a 7 million dollar long reliever.

The Wahoos look to rebound at home this weekend as the take on the Athletics. Friday's matchup is a good one, pitting Joe Blanton against CC Sabathia.

Awful in Anaheim

Last nights' game was a microcosm of what can go wrong in baseball. When a team can't field consistently, or string together consecutive hits, they typically lose. The Cleveland Indians mustered one run and committed two errors (Garko missed a foul ball too,) through eight innings. But they were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

The team coasted through until the ninth, when an apparent victory was ripe for the taking. Hafner led off with a walk, Cabrera pinch ran, and then victor took the first pitch of Frankie Rodriguez down the right field line for a double. Dellucci then came in to pinch run for Victor, a postition where it is difficult for him to strike out in. Jhonny Peralta followed by stroking a double to right field. He then tried to take 3rd on an overthrow by Vladamir Guerrero, but was beaten to the unoccupied bag by K-Rod. This was a bigger out than most think, as the Indians were able to load the bases later in the inning. Skinner was yelling at Jhonny to run, but Jhonny hesitated. He is not the fleetest of foot. The baserunning blunder added to a long list of bad plays for the Tribe. Sizemore struck out by taking two close strikes with one out and the bases loaded, and Brett Michaels did what he does, grounded weakly to second base.

The ninth was a disaster. JoBo opened up a gas tank and decided to spray the contents all over the field, loading the bases with one out. My Cleveland upbringing told me the game was over. As Torii Hunter's bat went sailing into the air, I kept thinking back to the top of the ninth when the Tribe left the bases full. It is a bad omen when you root for you team to have a four run lead in the ninth so your gas can of a closer won't come in to fire 75 MPH curveballs down the middle of the plate.

The Indians didn't deserve to win last night, but they did show resilience. For 8 innings they looked terrible, but still put themselves in the position to win. Would Joe Borowski be able to pitch the 7th and 8th innings with a 5 era? Will Michaelucci be replaced soon after batting a combined .040 (1-25)? Probably not but Shapiro and Wedge will stick with "the plan" for the time being.

The Indians look to bounce back with Jake Westbrook facing Ervin Santana.

Tribe Barely Avoids Sweep

Pitching saved the Cleveland Indians from being swept this past weekend, and this is how Casey Blake celebrated today's 2-1 win. The Tribe batted a crisp .204 for the series, played spotty defense, and really only pitched well in one game. Teams go through hitting slumps from time to time as the Indians did in 2007, but it is extremely annoying to watch. The Lineup has a fever, but I don't believe the prescription was batting Dellucci, Michaels, Marte and Shoppach in a row. Manager Eric Wedge does believe in his veterans, so we may be stuck with Michaelucci for the month of April. Taking two out of three from the Angels will salvage a .500 road trip, which wouldn't be terrible, since the Detroit Tigers have been struggling mightily. Victor Martinez is expected to be back behind the dish tomorrow, so hopefully he will give the team a much needed boost. Here were some of the highlights:

Ryan Garko: Went 4-10, slugged a homerun and had the game winning walk today. Looking very solid in the field as well.

Grady Sizemore: 4-11 2 walks, one of the few Indians hitters who look comfortable at bat.

Cliff Lee: 6 2/3 innings, 4 K's, pitched a great game when the Tribe needed it, spotted his fastball and mixed in some off speed stuff as well. Looked confident as bailed his team out.

Craig Breslow: 2 innings, no runs. Solid debut for second lefty out of the pen.

Joe Borowski: Gave up just a walk in his save today, slowed the fans collective pulse down considerably.

Areas of Concern

The Collective Lineup: Struggled together, strung 2 hits together only once the whole series in the 7th inning today, need to find some slump busters in Anaheim.

Michaels/Dellucci: 1-11 look terrible at the plate, can't wait to look back in September and laugh that they were our starting left fielders. My friend Jon refers to Michaels as the Rock of Love.

CC Sabathia: 5 1/3 innings 4 earned runs, only 2 K's. Needs get back to finishing off batters on 2 strike counts. Seems to be overthrowing a bit.

Franklin Gutierrez: 0-9, 3 K's, hit the ball hard a few times, needs to be consistent on the road. Played a tremendous right field on Friday night.

Jhonny Peralta: 3-12, got 2 hits today, showed questionable range and made a few errors. Was cold but not an excuse, needs to keep his head in the game.

Fausto Carmona takes on Joe Saunders tomorrow night in Anaheim.

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

International recording artist Meat Loaf wasn't much of a baseball player, but he was one hell of a songwriter. What does this have to do with the Indians? I'm not sure but the tribe heads west with a 2 and 1 record. It was cold and lonely in the deep dark night Wednesday, as a little over 17,000 watched the Tribe prevail 7-2 over the pale hoes. The Indians must have left their bats by the dashboard lights though, as they were only able to scrap 2 hits off of lefty John "Danks for the noon time start." Both of these teams looked ready for a plane flight out of Cleveland, and who can blame them. Game time temperatures in the 30's for two straight days can be an adjustment from the tropical paradise known as Spring Training. Here are some of the highlights...

Grady Sizemore: 4-12, 1HR 4RBI Looks to be a breakout year for The Ladies Man

Franklin Gutierrez: 3-9, 1HR 3RBI Killer opening day, shows glimpses of greatness

Asdrubal Cabrera: 3-12, 3RBI one good game offensively, two stinkers, looks great in the field

Casey Blake: 2-10 3RBI on one swing, broke up the no hitter, won a game with clutch hit

Fausto Carmona: 7 IP 1ER 4K 1 Win Fausto looked great, silencing any ALCS hangover ideas

Jake Westbrook: 7.1 IP 2ER made 2 mistakes, pitched a superb game, no offensive help at all


Some Areas of concern:


Travis Hafner: Had 3 hits but stuckout 5 times. Still looks uncomfortable up there

Jhonny Peralta: batted .154, hates the cold weather, should be fine on the west coast

Jason Michaels: Looks terrible at the plate, may be pressing due to the platoon, had 1 good catch

CC Sabathia: Had issues with Thome and the sixth inning, struck out 7 in a no decision

The Bullpen: Not solid in the first 2 games, will settle into their roles.

Victor Martinez getting injured was a negative, but he pinch hit today so it seems nothing serious

The Tribe is off to Oakland for a 3 game series, Paul Byrd takes on Justin Duchscherer tomorrow night at 10:05 est. Remember Saturday's game at 4pm will not be televised due to some stupid FOX rule so tune into Hammy and Heagan. Hopefully the boys will be able to retrieve their bats out of Hell.

Ben Francisco to Start Season in Minors

The Plain Dealer has reported that Ben Francisco was optioned to Buffalo this morning. The roster is all but set. Andy Marte will probably be the 25th player unless a trade happens. Francisco had an outstanding spring, batting .362 and belting 3 home runs with 9 rbi. Ben will be the first player recalled if the Left field Michaelucci platoon does not work. His path to stick with the Cleveland Indians will be similar to Franklin Gutierrezs' from last year. You definitely have not seen the last of Ben Francisco.

Left (out) field

Today, Paul Hoynes reported that teams have been asking about certain Indians outfielders. With the way Ben Francisco has hit pretty much throughout spring training and his minor league career, one would assume he would be on the 25 man roster. Indians Manager Eric Wedge has had encouraging things to say about Francisco, but the conversations usually end with Wedge saying he needs to work on his defense. What Wedge really means is Ben has an option and the Indians have two veterans and a 3rd base project blocking his way to the majors. The intrigue will be if Shapiro pulls the trigger on trading Jason Michaels to create room for a David Dellucci/Ben Francisco platoon. Wedge loves his veterans, so there may be some confrontation on this issue. Dellucci is virtually untradeable having 2 years and $7 + million left on his deal. Also entering the crowded ring in May will be Shin-Soo Choo coming off of Tommy John surgery. He is out of options so a decision will have to be made rather quickly, similar to the Marte situation now.

Exiting Michaels may be the best alternative instead of waiting around for an injury or experiencing substandard corner outfield production. These sort of issues have conveniently sorted them selves out for the tribe, though, over the past year. The bullpen last year started off with hillbilly Jason Davis and El guapo Roberto Hernandez. Davis was out of options and successfully pitched himself off the team. Hernandez was flat out terrible, so in came Rafael Perez and Jensen Lewis. Dellucci got hurt and Nixon was garbage, so the Tribe inserted Franklin Guitierrez and traded for the ageless Kenny Lofton. The play on the field sorted out the lineup for Wedge, eventually placing Michaels on the bench in the playoffs next to him. Michaels is a useful player, but so much as to block potential offense firepower the Indians may need in a beefed up AL Central.