Wedge Watch

After watching the Tribe lose its sixth straight game and blunder away any hope to a surge this season, the Eric Wedge watch is officially on. Is he canned tomorrow? Does he last the season? Who will be his interim replacement? What about 2010? All of these questions are on the minds of Tribe fans today and is only the middle of June. As for the Windy City debacle, well the series was downright pathetic. I was originally planning on going this weekend, but I am sure glad I didn't because eventhough Wrigleyville is a great time, it would have taken a blacked-out bender to recover from these games. Random thoughts as always...

Luis Valbuena is looking more and more like the second baseman of the future.

There is really no way the Indians can trade Cliff Lee. He is literally the only starting pitcher the team has in the organization that could legitimately be in another MLB teams rotation. If he walks after 2010, then shake his hand and wish him luck. At least he gives you a shot to win every fifth day.

The Ben Francisco and Ryan Garko eras in Cleveland are quickly coming to an end.

Tomo Ohka is the 2nd best starter on the staff right now. That is really, really sad.

You can make the excuse that Kerry Wood is underused, but he still has to get it done. He is making 12 million dollars to pitch one inning and win your team a game. Just a joke.

What can be said about the bullpen that hasn't already been said. Nothing. Mike Gosling should not have picked the #20, it may be cursed by this guy.

Victor is in a bit of slump, which does not bode well for the club at all.

You will not see Jeremy Sowers in an Indian uniform in 2010.

If Wedge is canned, I would promote Clippers Manager Torey Lovullo into the interim role (along with his pitching coach Scott Radinsky). No coach on the current staff should even be considered, the team needs a new voice. Give the guy a shot this season with the promise that if he succeeds, he will be strongly considered for 2010 and beyond.

My 2010 Manager.... John Farrell. He is the pitching coach for a great staff in Boston and has plenty of knowledge of the Indians system.

Don't be surprised if Mark Shapiro steps aside either this season or before 2010 and becomes the teams President, allowing Chris Antonetti to take over. They may sound like clones, but I think Antonetti has his own ideas on some ways he would do things differently.

Trevor Crowe needs to be sent down immediately. I really liked what he did in spring training, but I have seen enough of him to know that he is a 4A guy and the Indians have way too many of those kind of players.

Kelly Shoppach may be on his way back to Triple A pretty soon. Being the personal catcher for Cliff Lee can only save your job for so long.

With the club currently 29-43 (most games under .500 all season), and reports that the Manager is possibly out the door, the question out there is who to blame? Let me know in the comments section below. The Wahoos are off to Pittsburgh to hopefully right this sinking ship.

Can the Indians Really Depend on the Pen?

This piece originally was posted March 23rd, 2009. This team currently has played 19 games since their last save. After today's bullpen debacle (blown 7 run lead), I just can't write anymore about this crappy relief corps. They suck.

Recent reports out of Goodyear have not been kind to Japanese import Masa Kobayashi. He currently is sporting a 14.40 ERA in 5 innings of work. Coupled with Easy Ed Mujica's 12.71 ERA, the duo is putting up stats reminiscent of the horrid bullpen of 2008 where a total of 6 pitchers who appeared in at least 14 games had earned run averages above 5.60! Thankfully young options (Sipp, Meloan, Jackson) to go with non roster guys (Chulk, Herges, Saarloos) are available to help sort out the final spots on the bench out in centerfield. The thought of those two toeing the rubber this season makes many Tribe fans quiver and for good reason. It seems as the Cleveland Indians bullpen goes, so does the teams' final record. Mark Shapiro has preached many times over the years that a teams relief corps is many times a crap shoot, and by looking at the corresponding ERA's with the Indians win totals, his analysis seems correct. Here is a breakdown of the past 5 years of Indians bullpens and how the club ended up.

2004 80-82 Third Place

Bullpen ERA 4.90 (Ranked 12th in AL) opposing batting average .271

Omar Vizquels' Indian career was ending, Grady Sizemores' was just beginning, and the Tribe Bullpen was just plain sucking. Bob Wickman started the season on the 60 day DL, so the team decided to begin the season with a closer-by-committee format. Boy was that a bad idea. In an attempt to bolster the clubs' holes in the area, they traded a quartet of future big league regulars (Ryan Church and Maicer Izturis to the Angels, Willy Tavares and Luke Scott to the Astros) for Scott Stewart and Jeriome Robertson. These ill fated moves, along with the signing of Jose Jimenez doomed the club from the outset. Here are their scary stats...

Scott Stewart 23 games, 13 2/3 innings pitched, 7.24 ERA
Jeriome Robertson 8 games, 14 innings pitched, 12.21 ERA
Jose Jimenez 31 games, 36 1/3 innings pitched, 8.42 ERA

Another star of the bullpen was Chad Durbin, who may have set a record (later matched by Fausto Carmona in 2006) in giving up 3 walk off homeruns in the first 28 games of the season. If there ever were a bullpen from hell, this was it as 20 pitchers threw in relief for the Indians, headlined by such names as Lou Pote, Jack Cressend, David Lee, Jake Robbins, Rick White, Matt Miller, and catcher Tim Laker. Let's just say the Indians knew things had to improve for the team to compete in 2005.

2005 93-69 Second Place

Bullpen ERA 2.80 (Ranked 1st in AL) opposing batting average .224

What a difference a year makes! After starting the season slow, the Indians charged hard over the last two months and missed the playoffs by a mere one game. The team resigned Bob Wickman to close (45 saves, 2.47 ERA), acquired veteran lefties Arthur Rhodes (2.08 ERA) and Scott Sauerbeck (4.04 ERA), and got an amazing year out of reclamation projects Bob Howry (2.47 ERA in 79 games) and Rafael Betancourt (2.79 ERA in 54 games). The worst regular reliever was probably Jason Davis, and he wasn't that bad (4.69 ERA). This was a bullpen built for the playoffs, but unfortunately the young supporting cast fizzled at the end of the season. Shapiro and Co. may have taken the success for granted.

2006 78-84 Fourth Place

Bullpen ERA 4.73 (Ranked 11th in the AL) opposing batting average .274

As Joni Mitchell once wrote, "Don't it always seem to go. That you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone," could very well have been the mantra of the 2006 bully. In a desire to strengthen the position player depth in the organization, the Tribe included David Riske (3.01 ERA in 2006) in the Coco Crisp trade (Josh Bard too) that netted the team top prospect Andy Marte, Kelly Shoppach, Randy Newsom and Guillermo Mota. In a seperate move to augment the loss of Crisp, the Indians also shipped Arthur Rhodes to the Phillies for the immortal Jason Michaels. These two moves, along with the loss of Bobby Howry to free agency really put the bullpen in a state of confusion. Now granted, Rhodes and Riske were no where near as effective in 2006 then they were a year earlier, but maybe keeping the guys together out there who led the league in ERA in their same respective roles may have been a good idea. Wickman got hurt, Mota was horrible (6.21 ERA), Fernando Cabrera (5.19 ERA) and Rafael Betancourt (3.81 ERA) were tired from their appearances in the WBC, Scott Sauerbeck got drunk and hid in some bushes with a woman not his wife (6.23 ERA), and a guy named Brian Sikorski (4.58 ERA) had to be purchased late in the season FROM Japan. This Bullpen of Horrors almost claimed Fausto Carmona as well. After Bob Wickman was traded the Braves, the Tribe stuck the young Dominican into the closers role In the span of seven days (from July 30 through August 5), Carmona recorded four losses and three blown saves for the Indians, including wall off home runs surrendered to Boston Red Sox David Ortiz and the Tigers' Ivan Rodriguez. Thankfully he was returned to his original role as a starter soon thereafter. The lone bright spot was eventual call up of Rafael Perez, a future bullpen star.

2007 96-66 First Place

Bullpen ERA 3.75 (Ranked 4th in the AL) opposing batting average .254

Mark Shapiro made it a priority to rebuild the 2007 pen by signing a quartet of pitchers (Keith Foulke, Joe Borowski, Roberto Hernandez, Aaron Fultz) to compete for the many open spots in the bullpen. Foulke never made it out of Spring Training, so Joe Borowski assumed the role as closer. As much as JoBo made Tribe fans' hold their collective breaths all season, he pitched with guts, saving an AL leading 45 games (as well as game 4 of the ALDS). His 5.04 ERA was a cause for concern, but that will be discussed later. Rafael Betancourt had a downright magical 2007 season posting a 1.47 ERA in 68 games, while Aaron Fultz (2.92 ERA) pitched well in the first half of the season. Aging veteran Roberto Hernandez was a bust (6.23 ERA) but a pair of young pitchers really helped the Tribe make a run to the playoffs. Lefty Rafael Perez (1.78 ERA in 44 appearances) and righty Jensen Lewis (2.15 ERA in 26 games) provided stability and excitement after the All-Star break. Ultimately, it was the starting pitching that did in the Tribe in the ALCS, but the bullpen was a huge strength and looked to be one in 2008.

2008 81-81 Third Place

Bullpen ERA 5.13 (13th in the AL) opposing batting average .280

With the success of the relievers experienced in 2007, Shapiro felt only minor tweaking needed to be done. He brought in Japanese closer Masa Kobayashi and veteran Jorge Julio to compliment his strong corps of arms. Kobayashi would serve as a type of insurance in the case of injury or major meltdowns like years' past. It may have been an omen of things to come when Aaron Fultz was released in Spring Training, making the Indians eat his $1.5 Million Dollar contract. The GM should have and probably internally did project the eventual decline of Joe Borowski (18 games, 16 2/3 innings, 7.56 ERA while showing at best 85 MPH fastball), but no one would have thought that the guys who had so much success in 2007 would fall completely on their face. Julio was a flop (5.60 ERA in 15 games). Betancourt looked terrible from the beginning (6.00 ERA in 42 games befor the All-Star Break) and never looked comfortable in closing games after Borowski was removed. Jensen Lewis's velocity was way down early and was eventually sent back to Buffalo (he rebounded late in the season, assuming the closers' role and saving 13 games). Kobayashi showed glimpses of being average, but eventually tired and posted a 10.32 ERA over his final 15 games. Here is the list of the over 5.60 ERA for the season club...

Edward Mujica 33 games, 38 2/3 innings pitched, 6.75 ERA
Juan Rincon 23 games, 27 1/3 innings pitched, 5.60 ERA
Joe Borowski 18 games, 16 23 innings pitched, 7.56 ERA
Jorge Julio 15 games, 17 2/3 innings pitched, 5.60 ERA
Brendan Donnelly 15 games, 13 2/3 innings pitched, 8.56 ERA
Tom Mastny 14 games, 20 innings pitched, 10.80 ERA

Those have got to be some of the worst stats a bullpen has put up in the history of baseball. I wouldn't want any of those guys autographs, let alone them pitching for my favorite team. The team did play quite well over, going 34-21 after July 31st. That success can be attributed in part to the stability of the closers' role (Lewis) and the lack of appearances of the jobbers listed above.

2009?

What will the 2009 bullpen look like and perform? The signing of closer Kerry Wood in the off season should solidify the Closer Role (assuming no lingering injuries), allowing the younger pitchers to settle into their respective spots in the Pen. The acquisition of sidewinder Joe Smith should help as well in providing depth and a different look. If the Cleveland Indians can compete with a better than average bullpen day in and day out, the statistics above support a better record and a most probable return to post season. Unfortunately as Shapiro has learned, Relievers are probably the most unpredictable positions on the diamond. The 2005 and 2007 seasons showed that having a guy finish games (Wickman and Borowski) effectively most of the time correlates into wins. Wood is saved 34 games in 40 chances and reportedly topped 98 MPH on the radar gun in the National League playoffs. Lewis and Perez have been lights out this spring, and Betancourt seems to be getting things together.

If these five guys can find consistency in their respective roles, 2009 should see a return to greatness for the Indians. It is also an odd year, which for some reason has proved to be good thing for these guys. From Jim Poole to Jose Mesa, Tribe fans have suffered through some excruciating performance from the last line of defense. Hopefully this season, Tribe fans can smile and not hold their breaths when the gate swings open out in centerfield at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

*Note... As of June 19th, the Indians bullpen had 15 guys throw at least 1 inning through only 79 games and is the worst in all of Professional Baseball. Guess which place they are in?

Walking Disaster

The Bullpen walked 14 batters over the 3 game series. These guys (above) can't believe it.

The Indians were swept today by the Milwaukee Brewers in just agonizing fashion, losing 9-8 in 11 innings. The bullpen gave up six runs in six innings. The only guy to not give up a score was Kerry Wood. The Tribe rallied for four in the ninth to tie the game, but Ryan Garko was tagged out after delivering a bases loaded double by rounding second too widely, twisting his ankle, and finally collapsing to the ground in a big heap. Even when the Indians do something good, they manage to look bad doing it. It just adds the misery that has been the first half of the 2009 season, the Season of Bullpen Nightmares.

After Wood's scoreless 9th, the immortal Greg Aquino walked some guys like he usually does, and then a sac fly got home the go ahead run. The Wahoos did get runners on first and second with one out, but Shin Soo Choo struck out in an actual good at bat, and finally Ben Francisco (playing due to Garko's injury) stuck out on a ball slider that would have loaded the bases. The team could have pulled within 5.5 games, but slid back into what they are, a last place team. Now for some random thoughts...

Here is the understatement of the century.. The bullpen blows. Besides Wood, they all stink, every single one of them. 18 runs in the 16 innings they threw in the series. This is probably a good thing that the pen had to pitch so much as it exposes them to what they really are, a bunch of fringe major league jobbers. The Triple A train better be bring back Tony Sipp and possibly Vinnie Chulk (another stiff) because they really really are awful. Just terrible.

Ben Francisco is completely lost and needs to be either sent to Columbus or glued to the bench. Bring up Michael Brantley to play center if Grady is out for an extended time. He can't be any worse than what is currently on this team.

Why not let Kerry Wood throw another inning. I know the "plan" says Wood has had arm trouble and is only to throw one inning, but he only threw 13 pitches. The team only had Greg Aquino left, so you know he is bound to give up a run. Most managers extend the guy, the Indians are too afraid.

Why do the Indians keep babying Travis Hafner? I know they have been saying 2 games, 1 day of rest, but the club is going to play National League ball the next six games and Hafner will have plenty of days to rest his shoulder as he will be limited to pinch hitting duty. At least have him pinch hit for Shoppach, who is also lost.

Trevor Crowe (pictured left) was terrible today. Misplayed 2 balls in center, ran to third base when the ball was hit in front of him and was subsequently thrown out. He is a 4th outfielder at best and is way overmatched. He also seems to be scared to communicate with his fellow fielders (ask Grady Sizemore). Having the pleasure of watching Sizemore man center, (and even Franklin Gutierrez last year), Crowe is average at best.

Jhonny Peralta is a moron. He fielded a ball in the first and had an easy throw to home to get Craig Counsell, and for some reason he went for the out at first. Just a nightmare. How many to the Indians lose by?

Laptop Manager Eric Wedge played Ryan Garko in left and Mark DeRosa in right. Combined with Trevor Crowe-hop, that is a scary outfield alignment. I guess Wedge wanted to rest Choo and have him DH, but Jesus, Ryan Garko? Let him DH and give your pitchers a chance. Garko was nowhere to be seen when Crowe layed out for a ball he had no chance at in the first.Jeremy Sowers and David Huff's 5 inning and fly routines just aren't going to cut it with this Disaster of a bullpen. Coupled with Hot Carl looking how we expected (not good), the starting staff is also at fault for the bad bullpen because they are forced to pitch so much. With Tomo Ohka scheduled to throw Saturday because Pavano has apparently a shoulder injury, but he is fine? OK. Join the club.

Batting Chris Gimenez after Travis Hafner Tuesday was not a good idea Tuesday. The Brewers intentionally walked Pronk twice and Gimenez struck out with the bases loaded and looked overmmatched. I know Wedge is always trying to send messages (benched Peralta that game), but make those mental moves after you look at your lineup and noticed you have Gimenez/Francisco/Barfield as your 7-9, you may have already lost.

The Brewers lineup is really impressive, similar to an American League Club. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are the real deal, and Corey Hart, Matt Gamel, and Casey McGehee will be part of their core for a long time. If they can add a few more starters, Milwaukee will run away with the NL Central.

As for positives, I really like the way Luis Valbuena plays the game. He makes hard outs, works the count, and plays a great shortstop. This kid is definitely a player to watch.

Martinez/DeRosa/Choo are all saving the offense. Batting DeRo second is actually a very good move by Wedge because it at least gets the best hitters up to bat more often. Besides those three, the lineup is not good at all (Hafner does not count yet).

These past three games were some of the worst baseball I have seen the Indians play in a long time. Monday's debacle just led to more ugly things to come. It will be practically impossible, as bad as the AL Central is, for the Tribe to stay competitive if their pitching continues to be this bad.

Thank God Cliff Lee pitches Friday at Wrigley to hopefully save this team from slipping into the depths of sucktitude.

29-39, 10 games under .500. Instead of being 3 games back in the win column behind Detroit, they are in sole possession of last place in the worst division in baseball. I am now going to bang my head against my keyboard

40 Game Mark

"Every time you think the Indians have hit rock bottom, they find another level." These were the words uttered by Indians play-by-play voice Tom Hamilton after the Tribe blew another game, 6-5. Here comes the rants...

• 14-26. Worst record in the American League.
• Worst bullpen in the history of baseball.
• Team looks completely defeated.
• Off Season acquisitions (Wood/DeRosa) severely under performing.
• Closer really showed his intestinal fortitude tonight, blowing an easily winnable game when the team really needed a victory in the worst way.
• Star Centerfielder batting .212.
• DH hurt all the time, broken down, and signed through 2012.
• Best 2 players (Lee/Martinez) free agents after 2010 season.
• Manager refuses to throw best pitcher 9 innings when he is at 101 pitches because "That is what you are supposed to do."
• Manager is truly managing like a laptop computer.
• Manager needs to pick a lineup and stick with it.
• Manager probably needs to be replaced.
• To win just 88 games, the team would need to go 74-48.
• Finds a new way to lose each and every way possible.
• No one in this town cares about the team anymore, becoming a joke.
• Who really believes they can turn this around with the mind numbing loss they have absorbed? Position players never feel safe With a lead.

As Paul Cousineau wrote earlier today , I hate this team.

Two ways to go

If there were ever a game to jump start some sort of sustained winning streak, today's game would be it. It was excruciating to watch, you never felt comfortable with any lead, and you figured the Indians would somehow blow it in the end. Well, the Tribe won Monday, but it is tough to feel good about it. How should we look at it?

Cons

One reliable bullpen member crapped the bed (Wood) another looks downright lost (Perez), and one final member came in with the winning run at the plate who has yielded 6 homeruns in 25 games. Also, your offense was no hit for 6 1/3 innings by a junkball lefty who normally pitches in middle relief. Your uninterested shortstop (Peralta) seems to be swinging a pool cue instead of a Louisville Slugger. Your key offseason infield acquisition (DeRosa) boots the ball more than Aaron Boone. Lastly, your superstar centerfielder seems to be unable to get a big hit with runners in scoring position to save his life (we all know who).

Pros

Starting pitching was solid (Carmona). Rookie reliever pitching great (Sipp). Rookie stud outfielder tied the game with a bomb (LaPorta) Were able to tie the game with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth with 2 strikes (Cabrera). Pinch hitters/late inning replacements came up clutch (Dellucci/Barfield). Struggling reliever saved the game with winning run up and one out (Lewis again). Never gave up.

Time will tell us if this game made any difference in the 2009 season. They could go out tomorrow and lose ugly. I will give it the Indians, when they win (and it has not been often) they do it in exciting fashion. Let's just hope it isn't a once every three day occurrence.

All of Ohio is a Winner

Quick game recaps from the Minor League affiliates of the Indians today as all 4 Ohio teams won. Many stars of the game for each team so let's get right into it...

Indians win 6-5 over the Tigers

A win is a win, even though my heart was pounding out of my chest, which is very unnecessary for a May 1st game. Maybe The Tribe just needed to get through that pesky month of April, put their crappy performances behind them, and move forward. Let's forget Jensen Lewis meltdown and slow bus trip to Columbus (along with Perez) and focus on the positive. Saturday may be a pretty exciting day for some Major League Debuts.

• Carl Pavano: 7 1/3 IP, 2 ER 5 Hits, 0 Walks, 3 K's. Hot Carl pitched a gem, making his longest start since 2005. Pavano commanded his pitches and was able to keep his stuff low in the zone. I believe he will be up and down all year, but I think he may be better than I think as his best buddy on the team (Cliff Lee) may be a good positive influence on him. He also could get bombed for 9 runs against Red Sox next week. What do I know (see below)
  
• David Dellucci: 4-5, 2 doubles. Double D came back with a bang. If as the DiaTribe refers to him as (the Looch) can be a positive bat off the bench and fill in for injuries, he may be able to salvage his Tribe career. One game does not make a season, so I will watch with cautious optimism. Give Davey some credit, but hold the applause until mid June.


• Jhonny Peralta: 2-5, HR, 2RBI. Jhonny woke up today and stopped over thinking at the plate. It's May so Peralta is happy April is over.


• Kerry Wood: Picked up his 5th save in 5 save opportunities. Went 1,2,3 and threw some wicked sliders and curves. They had a great gameplan against Laird and Inge to not show the fastball too much. He is worth every penny of his $10 million dollar salary (that's for you Jonny).

The Columbus Clippers rattled the Durham Bulls today 14-1, scoring 10 runs in the last two innings. Andy Marte hit a grand slam as the Clips wave goodbye to three of their starters (more on that later)

• David Huff: 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 4 k's, 0 earned runs. Is setting up to be the next starter called up to Cleveland


• Luis Valbuena: 2-4 BB, HR, 3 RBI. Continues to mash in Columbus and will be a welcomed addition to the big league club.


• Jordan Brown: 4-5 HR, 3 RBI. Guy hits everywhere he goes, just unfortunately for him be with the Indians.


• Chris Gimenez: 3-5 HR, 3 RBI. Has been raking as of late after his early season struggles. Will be an option for the Tribe sometime this summer.

The Akron Aeros won in extra innings today 8-6 to improve their record to an amazing 17-4.

• Chuck Lofgren: 5 IP, 4 hits, 4 walks, 1 earned run, 3 K's. Lofgren is slowly getting back on the organizations' radar with every quality start.


• Jerad Head: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI. Big late inning homerun to propel Akron to victory for the infielder.


• Nick Weglarz: 3-5. 2 doubles, HR, 2 RBI. Finally had a breakout game as he has been struggling mightily all season. The Canadian is a top 10 prospect and will bounce back to his usual form. Still only 21.

The Lake County Captains had a big win tonight against Kannapolis 8-3.

• Nate Rechnagel: 4-5, double, triple. The Wolverine has been crushing the ball at a .370 clip.


• Abner Abreu: 3-5, triple, 2 RBI. 19 year old right hand hitting Dominican is one to watch for the Captains and is ranked 15th best Indians propect by Indians Prospect Insider.

Tomorrow is another day, but let's enjoys these performances for what they are, a day in the life of a long baseball season.

Wraping up Arizona: Spring Training Reflections

As the Tribe officially moves out of their home away from home in Goodyear and on to two meaningless paid exhibition games with the Houston Astros, it is time to take a look back of the long adventure that was Cleveland Indians Spring Training. With the second installment of the WBC this season, the Cactus League was extended by two weeks and many, many games. The pitchers "got their work in". The position players "took it a day at a time". And manager Eric Wedge used countless other analogies to describe baseball games in March that don't count. Here were some of the highlights and low lights of the Spring that was...

Lowlights:

Cliff Lee's 12.46 ERA.

I never know how to judge a pitcher in exhibition baseball. Are they working on certain pitches? Is the Arizona air misrepresenting the flight of the hit baseballs? Do the pitchers really try? Besides one solid outing against the Rockies (6IP, 2ER), Clifton was shelled, but he wasn't the only one. Wedge opinioned about the pitching in general here. A few of his starts he was apparently just working on spotting his fastball, while others he said he just didn't have it. Lee seems to be the kind of guy who really gets focused on each and every start through scouting and mental preparation, so obviously his normal in season routine is fairly different. I am not too worried about Cliff, just a bit concerned especially when he has his first start in the band box that is The Ballpark at Arlington.

Shin Soo Choo .118 batting average.

Choo was gone for three weeks of camp due to the glorified exhibition that was the WBC. Even though his actual at bats were of more significance than a normal Cactus League game, they were far to infrequent. When Choo experienced some tightness in his left arm (where he had Tommy John surgery), the Indians asked the Korean team to use him strictly at DH. That seems to have made the right fielder a bit rusty, making mental mistakes out in the field and over swinging on high fastballs. Choo should be fine, but don't be surprised to see him sitting a few days a week against left handers in favor of rookie Trevor Crowe.

Masa Kobayashi 12.27 ERA in 11 innings.

When a soft tossing reliever can't keep his 85 MPH down in the zone, it may be time for his team to move on from said pitcher. Masa has been a disaster this spring, basically supplying batting practice for the various teams out in Arizona. If he wasn't on the hook for more than $3 million this season, he would have been jettisoned just like Tomo Ohka earlier in March. The way Wedge has been describing Kobayashi in the media ("Masa's pitches were flat and up," ) I wouldn't think it would take too many more clunkers to have him jettisoned off the club. The pen seems pretty solid with Wood, Perez, Lewis, Smith, and Betancourt. The other two roles may be a revolving door most of the season.

Highlights:

Mark DeRosa .367 batting average, 3 HR, 9 RBI.

Another WBC casualty, DeRosa was able to make an impact in limited time (30 AB) spent in Goodyear. He also led Team USA in RBI's, where he played like 5 positions. The former Cub has assimilated himself to the club very nicely and has immediately become a big threat in the 2 hole this season. This will provide much needed protection to Grady Sizemore in the order. In only a few weeks with his new mates, DeRosa has become a team leader and eventual fan favorite. Cubs fans sure were.

Kerry Wood/Rafael Perez/Jensen Lewis/Joe Smith Combined ERA 1.87 in 33 2/3 IP, 37 K's

If these guys pitch like this in the regular season, the Indians will be in contention all year. Newcomers Wood (0 ER in 6 IP) and Smith (12 K's in 7 2/3 IP) look like excellent acquisitions, while Perez (3.00 ERA, 9 K's in 9 IP) and Lewis (1.64 ERA, 10 K's in 11IP) picked up where they left off last season. Normally relief pitchers feed off of one anothers' success so hopefully their performances will spill into the regular season. Guys like Jackson and Kobayashi won't be relied upon as much and the fans can start putting last seasons' bullpen from hell out of their memories forever.

Trevor Crowe .304 batting average, 7 stolen bases, eventual David Dellucci Replacement.

With David Dellucci and his 3 year $11 million dollar contract hovering over the Indians like a buzzard, it was nice to see a guy go out and really compete for an outfield spot who has more than one discernible skill. The former first rounder and top prospect amassed 56 at bats this spring and played all three outfield positions very well. Double D will start the season on the 15 DL with probable time spent in Columbus, opening up a roster spot for some new blood. Nothing against The Looch, but with the current make up of the corner outfield having question marks, a guy like him with his skill set (left handed pinch hitter) does not fit well on this current club. If Crowe hits, runs, and hustles like he did in Arizona, he will find himself on the roster as a guy who can play center field, switch hit, and run. Look for Trevor to play a few times a week also.

Many other positives (Young guys in Columbus, steady Grady, Victor, Fausto) came out of camp as well as other questions (Scott Lewis' last 2 starts, Shoppach's K's, fielding issues) popped up as well. The team as a whole hit extremely well and pitched pretty poorly. The only real answers will come as the season plays out an Opening Day begins a new year of baseball. Cliff Lee takes on Kevin Millwood Monday, finally putting to rest all of the reflections, prognostications, and hyperbole. Let's PLAY BALL already

Winter Wonderings with Wedge

As the visions of Wood dance through the heads of Tribe fans everywhere, my thoughts have immediately move towards the infield. After viewing STO's Matt Underwood interview Eric Wedge about everything Indians, some items up for debate have become clearer.

• Basically said if no infield moves were made, Peralta would remain at Shortstop which can't be good for Barfield.
  


• When asked about Shoppach/Martinez/Garko First Base/Catcher situation, Wedge said that Shoppach's role would increase behind the dish, but the league will adjust to him at bat. He stated that he won't commit to anything at the moment, leading me to believe that they are shopping him hardcore (with 3 catchers on the 40man) for a middle infielder.

• The team is looking at probably after January 1 for a starting pitcher but Shapiro and Antonetti have been kicking the tires on every possibility.

• Tribe is exploring everything at closer (trade/free agent) so it seems they are coming up with a back up plan if the Kerry Wood deal falls through.

The skipper seems pretty optimistic about the Indians addressing the needs of the team. I am relieved to know that Wedge doesn't see a Cabrera/Barfield double play combination in 2009. The next 48 hours may paint a more clearer picture of what team will be taking the field come opening day

Would Wood Work in Cleveland?

Indians.com is reporting that the Tribe is close to signing Free Agent closer Kerry Wood to a two year deal with an option for a third. Now I would prefer the Indians to utilize the little cash they have on an infielder, the signing of Wood solidifies the bullpen, a major problem in 2008. With this signing, you can probably pencil in either Josh Barfield or Jamey Carroll in at second base this year, which is not good for the offense at all. As for another starting pitcher, there is word that Shapiro may be interested in Kris Benson on a minor league deal. As long his contract is not guaranteed the move would be fine with me, plus his wife is crazy hot, well more crazy than hot. Hopefully we wouldn't have a repeat of this guy with his significant other.