The Day the Indians Died

The Monday of June 15th, 2009 was an optimistic one for Tribe fans. Their team had just won 6 of 9 games and just witnessed their reigning Cy Young award winner no hit the first place St. Louis Cardinals for 7 innings, pulling to a record of 29-36, the closest to .500 they had been for a long time. The Indians carried a 12-7 leading heading into the 7th inning over a solid Brewer ball club. Then, as after the bullpen had been somewhat solid for a few weeks, the group of all former 2009 Columbus Clippers gave up a collective 8 earned runs over their collective relief duty and retrospectively finished the teams' chances for a comeback season (fittingly it was Major League the movie Monday, were all fans got Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn bobbleheads). Wedge went to his bullpen five times that night, and these are the folks (in order) who came out and what they did.

Greg Aquino 1 IP 2 H 2 ER 1 BB

Luis Vizcaino 1 1/3 IP 0 H 2 ER 3 BB

Matt Herges 0 IP 1 H 2 ER 1 BB

Rafael Perez 0 IP 3 H 2 ER 1 BB

Joe Smith 1 2/3 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB

Smith did a good job, but that was after Prince Fielder hit a line shot Grand Slam and took the air out of the Indians sails. Perez caught the WBC disease in early April and has been a trainwreck ever since. Looking at the first three names, would you really think any team that hoped to contend for a division would be trotting out these losers? I thought so. Why do I bring this game up? Because it started a string of 15 winnable games for the Tribe, and ended today with a loud thud. The Indians are 2-13 over those contests and look like a pathetic, hapless ball club. Their pitching staff is just terrible, and their hitters seem to be going through the motions over their latest 5 game losing streak. For all the Eric Wedge bashers who believe he should be canned, I can't disagree with you totally, but just look at this roster. If you look to the glorious (and looking like last in a long while) AL Central Division Championship season, their rotation was as follows...

2007

Sabathia/Carmona/Westbrook/Byrd/Laffey (with Lee down in Triple A trying to re-find himself)

2009 current

Lee/Pavano/Huff/Sowers/Ohka (with Lewis and Reyes done for the year and Carmona figuring things out in the minors)

Can anyone expect a team to win with that rotation, coupled with the abomination going out in right-center field? The team does struggle early every season and that could be attributed to the coaching staff. The knock of Wedge moving guys around in the field and the lineup is a 50/50 problem. If the team had guys capable of playing everyday and performing consistantly, the manager would not be forced to do that (I will go over the Pros and Cons of Wedge later this month, probably more cons). Injuries cannot be made as an excuse in 2009 because they stunk when they were healthy. Would I fire the Manager? No, because it really doesn't matter right now, they are going nowhere. If he is brought back in 2010, most fans will be up in arms, so I imagine the Indians will be forced to move in a different direction.

Most of the blame should be put on GM Mark Shapiro for feeling like his staff would be able to compete at previous levels. Besides Lee, there were no sure things in the rotation since Fausto struggled in 2008 and the Pavano/Reyes/Lewis/Huff/Sowers/Laffey poo poo platter contained way too many hopes and iffs. The real key to baseball is Starting Pitching, and no rotation guy(besides Lee) on the Indians has an ERA under 5. If the Indians ever want to contend again, Starting Pitching has to be the focus. Bringing in has-beens like Pavano or bright flashes of success like Reyes and Lewis only mask the real inadequacies in your ballclub (no wonder why Hector Rondon was moved so quickly BACK to starting duty). They need as a front office to come up with a plan today to infuse more upper echelon pitching into Double A and above that can be effective in the next 2 seasons.

After reading Paul's article over at the DiaTribe about Cliff Lee, I am now in the camp of moving him this season. Go get some stud pitchers that may develop into something in a few years, because contending next season seems like a pipe dream, even in a winable division. If they do play better, well then that is a bonus because Lee and Martinez will likely walk the following year, so changes would have to be made. Trade Cliff now when he has his highest value. It's not like attendance is going to drop, this City gave up on the Indians back in May.

As for the White Sox series, well it was awful. The Tribe was only really in the first game, but they didn't even score a run until the ninth when they were already trailing 6-0. Sizemore still looks hurt, Martinez is in a slump, the rest of the guys looked disinterested, and the pitching continues to be piss poor. They should use the Rick Vaughn bobblehead as a "JoeBoo" to exercise the demons that are this season. It is going to be a long 3 months out at Progressive field, so let's hope to see some more of the young guys and see if they are worth a look for the future. 2011 isn't that far away, is it?

Win a Series, Gain some Momentum

The Indians won their second series of the year Wednesday, beating the Chicago White Sox 4-0. Cliff Lee look superb again (7 IP, 0 ER, 9 K's), and the long ball returned with Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko both going deep. It was a good team win, but the Tribe needs to put some back to back wins together if they want to ever even consider rejoining the race for the AL Central. GM Mark Shapiro had a impromptu press conference before Tuesdays' game and pretty much said more roster changes are imminent and that he is putting his full support behind Eric Wedge. No surprise pertaining to the manager, but it will be interesting to see what other moves are going to be made.

Apparently, the addition of Luis Vizcaino is close to happening, so a pitcher will need to be jettisoned off the roster. The PD believes it to be Masa Kobayashi, but Castroturf said he was on the plane to Tampa. If Kobayashi has lived to see another day, look for Herges, Sipp, or Sowers to get the ticket back to Columbus. If it is Sowers (WTAM Mark Schwab said on STO that Sowers was talking to the travel guy after the game), look for Aaron Laffey to possibly return to the rotation or David Huff possibly making his Major League Debut Sunday.

As for the offense, Victor Martinez continues to rake, Grady has continued to slump at the plate and on the basepaths (5-11 SB's) and Matt LaPorta actually got some playing time (2-5, double, 2 walks in the last 2 games). The Tribe heads to Tampa for a four game series against the Rays. Let's push for another series win, this team need all the momentum they can get.

Hector Rondon moved to the Bullpen

Tony Lastoria of Indians Prospect Insider has reported that Indians phenom Hector Rondon (pictured left) has been moved to the Akron bullpen (supposed to start today) and may be moved up to Cleveland shortly. With Jenmar Gomez poised to take over the young latin ace roll for the Aeros, maybe the Tribe has decide to move their top arms through the system more quickly. This is a huge decision by Tribe brass as Rondon looks to be the highest upside potential pitching-wise in the organization. Does that mean they will move Laffey back into the rotation? Will Rondon be a late inning or multiple innings reliever? Why move your best pitching prospect into the pen when you are 9 games under .500 and your other starting pitchers aren't very good (Reyes, Sowers, Pavano). This is a move that will be scrutinized for years to come and be compared to when they moved Fausto Carmona to relief work back in 2006. I am sure Tony and Castroturf will have much more on this soon. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Shapiro in the booth tonight to discuss all of the lineup and various roster shuffling.


Update: Rondon did not fare to well in his relief debut, pitching 2 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) 1 walk and 2 K's. Not a good start.

Carroll back up, Barfield sent down

If you are Josh Barfield, you have to be pretty annoyed. You go 3-3 in limited pinch hitting duty and then are promptly sent down a week and a half later. Jamey Carroll makes his triumphant return to the Wigwam tonight, and probably will be in the lineup. Carroll is a good solid utility guy, but hopefully the "stubborn" Wedge lets him play only 1-2 times a week. The teams' future second baseman is already on the roster (Valbuena), so any time he spends on the bench besides against a tough lefty is time wasted. Everyone's favorite Italian David Dellucci has lived to see another day in Cleveland, even though he is 1 for his last 20. At this point in his career, Double D is a pinch hitter at best. With the Tribe carrying 12 pitchers and a bunch of question marks around the diamond, Dellucci will hopefully ride the pine until Hafner comes back.. His inevitable release (along with Kobayashi's) adds to the list of broken down veterans signed to bad contracts that the Indians waited way too long to release (see Jason Johnson, Jason Michaels, Roberto Hernandez, etc.) Then we will see if Shapiro has the wherewithal to cut bait with one of his biggest contract mistakes.

Heartaches, Headaches, and Head Scratchers

At least the Indians finally hit a triple! The Tribe's record now stands at a disappointing 8-14 after dropping 2 of three to the Boston Red Sox when they had a legitimate shot at winning all three. The team collectively went 2-32 with runners in scoring position, which is down right embarrassing. Every aspect of this team needs to be dissected and critiqued heavily. Here are some rants without any raves.

• Peralta is lost, needs to be sat down for a few games to figure some things out.
• Why a team carrying 14 pitchers trots out a reliever who is prone to the gopher ball (Lewis) for his third consecutive inning is a mystery. Why not throw the guy (Rundles) who gets lefties out against the lefty (Van Every)?
• The Indians blew a golden opportunity for a win when the Red Sox decided to sit Youklis, Drew and Lugo on the bench in favor of Bailey, Van Every, and Green. I don't care that Van Every hit the winning homerun, they are all jobbers.
• Shapiro better find 7 pitchers to throw out of the bullpen that he believes in because a major league team can not have a bench of 2 or 3 guys when the starting 9 is incredibly slow and not versatile.
• Lee and Carmona pitched great and have nothing to show for it.
• Reyes' fastball topping out at 85 MPH was not a good sign.
• Putting a closer in a tie ball game when he had pitched the night before makes no sense to me. I can understand if Wood hadn't thrown in awhile but it works like 50% of the time. I understood Wood throwing Tuesday as there really wasn't anyone left.
• Moves I would make tomorrow. Cut Kobayashi, Demote Graffanino, and Rundles, and call up LaPorta, Valbuena, and Barfield. Make Shoppach your backup catcher again, sit Peralta down a few days, and stick LaPorta at DH with an occasional spot start in left. What is worth more, LaPorta losing a year of arbitration or your team losing an entire season? Barfield, Crowe, Shoppach, and Peralta make up your bench for the time being. Send Barfield down when Carroll comes back. I don't even want to get started on Dellucci.
• If and when Pavano and Reyes keep sucking, ship the worse one out and call up Rondon from Akron. Would bring excitement and a guy who throws heat.
• I need not watch Friday's game or my blood pressure will become a health problem.
• I have a horrible feeling that the same old moves will happen tomorrow (Dellucci up).
• When is the point in the season when the team decides the core of this team just is not working together as a cohesive unit?
• What will be the club's excuse for their bad start this year? Hafner on the DL? The WBC? The Swine Flu?
• Should I feel optimistic that they are still only 3.5 games back?
  

The Tribe is thankfully off Thursday, but moves the train wreck on up to Detroit where Carl Pavano (0-3 9.50 ERA) takes on Armando Gallaraga (3-0 1.85 ERA). Who you got? Are you still in the Tribe?

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

As the Tribe Turns.....

I have been on a self-imposed writing ban over the past week to see if the teams fortunes would change. Well they haven't as they have lost 5 of their past 6. I will update here probably still about 3 times a week but with less about the day to day games and more about roster moves, minor leaguers, and teepee tales. The season is officially over, so I am more interested in potential trades and young call-ups than discussing a crappy bullpen and an anemic offense. Here are just a few random thoughts about the Tribe in bullet point form.

• Jeremy Sowers is really bad, I don't think the Indians can count on him in 2009.


• I am going to read Paul Byrd's new book (Free Byrd). hopefully it won't eject itself from my backyard like his fastballs.


• Grady Sizemore should be an All-Star this year because he leads the league in Homeruns and has had to play with this crappy lineup all year.


• The Indians boast the ERA leader and Homerun leader in the American League but still are 11 games under .500.


• Speaking of Cliff Lee, I am truly amazed at how good he is this year, his command has been unbelievable. Between him and Carmona, we now have 2 aces for 2009.


• Shin Soo Choo is a fourth outfielder, nothing more, nothing less.


• Ben Francisco is a solid everyday outfielder, just not a guy who should bat in the 3 hole.


• Kelly Shoppach strikes out too much for an everyday catcher.


• David Dellucci is washed up and I hope he is released so we can stop watching him play every year.


• Casey Blake may be on the Indians in 2009, and that not be a bad thing. He also has more range at shortstop than Jhonny Peralta.


• Ryan Garko kind of sucks this year, should he be the first baseman of the future? I say no.


• The Andy Marte experiment was over in 2007.


• Edward Mujica sucks.


• Jhonny Peralta should start taking ground balls at third base today.


• Jamey Carroll is a grinder.


• Asdrubal Cabrera should be playing everyday in Cleveland, at shortstop.


• Franklin Gutierrez is a great defender, but an offensive hitter.


• Jorge Velandia and Sal Fasano should never be on a contending team, and they are not.


• Joe Borowski should retire.


• Raffy Left is way better than Raffy Right.


• Masa Kobayashi shouldn't worry so much about stretching his back, he should worry about stretching his neck.


• I excuse Mark Shapiro for this team's injuries, but I don't excuse the inactivity of the offseason.


• I don't excuse Mark Shapiro for overvaluing his existing talent.


• Eric Wedge says grinding way too much.

Supposedly the management and Wedge are having meetings today. Hopefully moves will be made because this team is pretty much unwatchable. Also props to North Olmsted High School product Adam Russell gaining his first 2 major league wins against the Indians. As a fellow alum of the baseball program, I couldn't be happier for him, but I just wish he didn't pitch for the White Sox.

Also, check out The Tribe Time Report for daily updates on the Indians. I give him big props for doing a great job writing and linking daily as I can't bring myself to do that for this crummy season. My RSS feeds do update frequently, which is nice.

Indians take 2 out of 3 from Padres, off to Colorado

Winning a series will always bring hope to a struggling team. Winning consecutive series's may unfortunately bring false hope. If the Indians would have went 2-4 or 1-5 over the past homestand, I believe the "trade CC" talk may have been elevated to sooner rather than later. Now that the Tribe is only 5 1/2 games back, I imagine Sabathia will be around until the end of July. This is in no way inferring that I want the Indians to lose. I just think the front office really has no idea what path to take with the remainder of the 2008 season.

If they trade CC, they are telling the fans that they are raising the white flag and giving up. If they keep CC, they risk not getting anything for him besides two first round picks next year which won't help the big club for 4-5 years. Is this team good enough to contend with four of their top six players on the disabled list? My answer is I have no idea. The team has hit better, and I attribute it to Hafner and Martinez being OUT of the lineup. They were obviously hurt and not the best option at their respective positions everyday. Once they were removed, a healthy nine seemed to take pressure off of each other instead of relying on Victor and Travis.

These injuries should ultimately make the rest of the lineup stronger as guys like Francisco, Choo, Shoppach, and Carroll are racking up major innings played and confidence. The way this team is currently constructed, I don't think they can win the AL Central mainly due to the inconsistent bullpen and Jeremy Sowers pitching every fifth day. If I were a betting man, I would wager the CC is an Indian for the rest of the season, due to the fact 2 1st rounders may be more valuable than medium grade prospects and Mark Shapiro relationship with Sabathia. They are very close and I believe Mark may still feel he has a chance to resign him (a pipe dream at best.)

Here were some of the Highlights:

Grady Sizemore: 3-12 3 HR's 4 RBI's. Grady is second in the A.L. with 17 homeruns. He is just mashing right now, but I would keep him in the leadoff spot because, well he likes hitting there. Why mess with a good thing?

Jamey Carroll: 5-12. Scrappy Doo is a solid utility guy, I will have to admit. Now I wouldn't keep him as out starting 2nd Baseman for more than a month, but he is playing extremely well.

Shin Soo Choo: 3-10, 3 RBI's. I like Choo as a platoon option in right and DH. He drives the ball pretty wll and has a good approach. I don't think he will ever be an everyday guy, but a very useful 4th outfielder on a contending club.

CC Sabathia: 8 IP, 3 earned runs, 10 K's. The hefty lefty pitched another gem. Every time out he has been outstanding, increasing his trade and free agent value along the way.

Areas of Concern:

Jeremy Sowers: 4 1/3 IP, 9 Hits, 4 earned runs. Now I know he had to sit for like 3 hours during Friday's rain delay, but don't you just have the feeling he is nothing better than an average 5th starter? He is a guy who relies on hitting spots, so when he doesn't, he immediately becomes batting practice. Looking forward to Fausto coming back sooner rather than later.

Edward Mujica: 1 IP, 3 hits, 2 Walks, 5 earned runs. He just plain sucks, always has, always will.

Ben Francisco's Defense: He looked like he was getting better in spring training but he has seemed to regress. He is adequate at best in left, and a total nightmare in right. He sure can mash, though.

Jhonny Peralta's eye commercials: No one will go and get Laser eye suregery at the Cole eye institute of the Cleveland Clinic off of Mr. Peralta's recommendation. He claims he see better than 20/20 now. I would prefer him batting better than .220.

More interleague play for the Tribe as we get to watch Paul Byrd bat tonight! Woo Hoo! He takes on Colorado Rockies' ace Scott Reynolds. At least Scott believes he is an ace.

Sowers Called Up, Slocum sent down, Tribe loses again.

The Indians lost Sunday 5-2 to Detroit. As it stands today, they are currently 8 1/2 games out of first place and 7 games under .500. Barring a miraculous winning streak, the 2008 version of the Cleveland Indians looks about done. With all of their major extension signings on the DL (Westbrook, Carmona, Hafner), the starting staff looking vulnerable, the bullpen crapping the bed, and the offense mired in a season long slump sans one four-day stretch in Texas, it is becoming increasingly painful to watch them play day in and day out.

The papers today are pondering the question of whether or not to trade CC Sabathia. I say might as well, it would be better than letting him walk in 2009 and he has more value now than at the trading deadline (July 31st). I would consider hanging onto and then resigning Paul Byrd next year if he is looking for a modest 1 year deal with a club option (like $4-5 million per season). Although he does have the propensity to allow the big innings, the guy is a workhorse and really enjoys being an Indian. As a 5th starter I cannot think of better guy to have on this club.

The Indians future is still somewhat bright, but this is the time for GM Mark Shapiro to make some key decisions. His free agent track record has been sub par, so trades have been one of his only avenues of player acquisition success. We fans need something to talk about concerning the Tribe, or the next 2 months will be extra long until Training Camp begins for the Cleveland Browns.

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.

Not So Indian Summer

I will not be doing a recap of the Rangers series because who really wants to discuss anything about this lifeless team anyways. The Indians are a bad baseball team right now in need of some help. Minor league moves like promoting Shin Soo Choo or Josh Barfield will not do the trick. Some sort of impact bat is needed for the immediate future to help ignite the smoldering offense. With Travis Hafner sucking and now apparently having some sort of shoulder injury, the middle of the order has no power threat whatsoever. You may say, "Jhonny Peralta has 10 homers!" He also has driven in only 7 runners besides himself. The stat line of 10 HR, 17 RBI looks video game-esque.

The Tribe still has a pretty deep minor league system, especially when it comes to pitching. I would hope GM Mark Shapiro would stop sitting on his hands and make the impact trade for major league talent that he has yet to make in his seven years as general manager. They can ill afford to be afraid of dealing a potential top prospect anymore, this team is on the cusp of disaster.

I really do feel for Eric Wedge. People can blame him for lineup issues or relief pitching matchups, but really what can he do at this point? With the extreme lack of clutch hitting, it taxes the bullpen and starters. The pitchers can't give up any runs or the game is over. He could pull a Jim Leyland and swear up a storm, but that would go against everything Wedge's character as manager.

Mark Shapiro and company must let the fans know what their focus is for the rest of 2008 and beyond. GM speak is getting old quickly, so if he feels that this year may be a bust, then it his duty to cut bait (trade CC, Byrd, Blake) and focus on the future.

If I were GM for a day...

Just when you think things can't get any worse, they are. The Indians 7-2 loss to the first place White Sox was there fifth in a row, slipping two games under .500. Since the majority of the Indians offense was produced by Ben Francisco and Michael Aubrey, both minor league call ups, these are some of the moves I think Shapiro should make over the next few days.

Send down Asdubal Cabrera and call up Josh Barfield. Now I know J-Barf hasn't exactly been tearing up Buffalo, but Cabrera looks totally lost at the plate, almost hoping for a walk. Barfield cannot possibly due worse, since his .177 batting average places him 90th out of the 90 eligible batters in the AL, 23 points behind 89th place Robinson Cano (.200).

Cut Craig Breslow and activate JoeBo. Although I cringe every time Borowski toes the mound, Breslow has no role on this team and has shown nothing. Need to keep as many hitters on the roster as possible.

Cut Jorge Julio and bring up Adam Miller. With Jorge arguing and shouting at Victor Martinez tonight, get him out of here, he is a stiff. Miller has been lights out in Buffalo and would bring some excitement to a dull team when he pitches.

Trade Paul Byrd to the Braves for infield hitting prospect. Byrd is a gamer and a great clubhouse guy, but he has some value to teams in contention. Paul is a free agent next year, so we may have to pick up some of his salary. Thanks for being a gamer Paulie, it is time for a youth movement.

Cut Andy Marte, activate Jake Westbrook. Marte is a corpse on the bench of the Indians. He is only 24 but his best days will not happen in a Tribe uniform.

Cut David Dellucci and bring up Shin Soo Choo. Choo is raking in Buffalo, Dellucci is who he is. Eat his contract and cut bait.

These moves won't make the lineup menacing, but it may give this team a spark it so desperately needs. The roster changes also may send a message to the team that complacency is not tolerated.

*Note: I know this moves can't all happen in a day, but a fan can dream.

CC See Ya?

Being a fan can be an excruciating experience. You watch a player grow up on your favorite team, mature into a superstar, and then worry that the front office will be able to keep him well into his thirties. Most Cleveland fans share this impending feeling of nervousness, but it probably is about LeBron James's contract being up in 2010. My nausea comes from the thought of the Tribe's very own hefty lefty CC Sabathia rockin' a crooked hat of another team in 2009.

Why should I worry about him leaving? No one stays an Indian. Look at Belle, Thome, and Ramirez. His ERA is over 5! All of these questions and statements provide merit, but Sabathia provides that extra oomph to an already outstanding starting staff. Looking at the American League so far this year, the one constant has been good pitching will beat good hitting, which was evident in the last series the Indians had with the Reds. CC has been the Tribe's stopper for the staff over the past 8 years. 103 wins is no fluke. His early season struggles are a thing of the past. CC seems to generally want to be on this team for the long haul, so why the paranoia?

The Tribe is really in a tough spot when it comes to the 2007 Cy Young Award winner. They love his make up as a pitcher and as a person, but the funds just not be there. Shapiro & Company would like nothing else but to offer Sabathia a contract comprable to his market worth, somewhere around the Peavy/Zambrano contracts (5 year 90 million). The problem is Sabathia will get pressure from the MLB Players Association to shop his wares to all of the other 29 clubs in order to gauge his maximum worth. If this occurs, the Indians will not enter into a bidding war, Cleveland's market size just can't justify an outrageous contract. It would restrict all future roster opportunities (free agents, trades) the Tribe would be able to make, virtually eliminating any payroll flexibility down the road. Cleveland is unfortunately a mid market team, so GM Mark Shapiro is forced to reinvent his ballclub every few years.

The Minors seem to be ripe with pitching talent, as the names of Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, Adam Miller and David Huff hopefully bring potential prosperity to the big league club. Whether they maintain a track record of excellence is up for debate. As a suffering Tribe fan who has yet to see a World Series Champion, give me a CY Young award winner anchoring my starting staff for the next five years any day of the week.

Tribe Bats Go Back to Sleep

Travis Hafner was definitely not toasting his Budweiser to these last two games. Five runs in three games? That is all the Twins and Indians could muster over a three game series. The Twinkies took two of these pitching masterpieces, dropping the Tribe down to a 7-12 record. I understand teams go into hitting funks but this is borderline ridiculous. Pitching was finally not the issue in any game. This team looks flat and unable to string any momentum from game to game. The Cleveland media has said numerous times that GM Mark Shapiro will not make any drastic changes until the 40 game mark. If the offense continues to sputter, a change in the outfield corner slots or at second or third will become necessary. If I had an answer to this teams terrible play, I sure would not be blogging.

Here were some of the few highlights:

Cliff Lee: 8 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 8 K's, 0 earned runs. Pitched a gem, leading the AL with a 0.40 era, Has started almost half of the Indians wins. They are 4-12 when he does not pitch

Paul Byrd: 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run. Byrd has seemed to put his early season struggles behind him, producing back to back solid starts. The lack of run support hopefully will not get to him.

Victor Martinez: 4-12 1 RBI. Is consistently making contact, pounding out hits, still is slower than usual on the basepaths. Needs more chances with RISP.

Casey Blake: (Friday's Game) 2-4, HR, 3 RBI's. Provided the offense in the only win of the series. Also hit the lone homerun. Looked bad at the plate Saturday and Sunday, but so did the whole team.

Areas of Concern:

Eric Wedge: Why on earth did he pitch to Justin Morneau in the tenth? He is the best player, most legitimate RBI threat and they already dodged fate by getting him out in the 8th. Also leaving Rafael Perez in was a stretch, let's see what these other guys in the pen are made of. Andy Marte probably will be gone by May, but why not let him play in a few games? It is not like he could do any worse than a lineup that scored 1 run in 19 innings.

Grady Sizemore: 2-13, 0 walks. As a leadoff hitter he has to get on base more. Just struggling along like the rest of the team.

David Dellucci's Defense: The guy may be able to climb a wall, but he is not good in left. He has made two diving catches but that is more due to his lack of range. Dellucci's arm is like spaghetti, and he covers zero ground.

Travis Hafner: 1-8, one sore shoulder. Pronk says he is OK but his swings and approach look more like 2007, which will severely damage the lineup.

Jhonny Peralta: 1-7. The hitting rollercoaster that is Jhonny's 2008 rumbles on. Looking forward to some consistancy.

The Indians get a much needed day off tomorrow as they travel to Kansas City to take on the Royals. CC Sabathia takes on Gil Meche. Hopefully the Tribe can win their first series since April 3rd.

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

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.

Do You Smell What the Shapiro is Cookin' ?

The Indians are apparently interested in Freddy Garcia. GM Mark Shapiro is always looking for depth and this inquiry is similar to when the Tribe were interested in Mark Mulder half way through the season. Pitching is always the key to a championship team, but this seems to be more of an Aaron Boone-type situation where they would sign Garcia to basically a 1 1/2 year deal. Maybe Shapiro is looking at every alternative just in case CC Sabathia decides to pitch elsewhere in 2009, and Paul Byrd is a free agent and getting up there in age. Probably management is just looking for an acquisition to help stimulate DH Travis Hafners' bat, since he loves the WWE and Freddy has an uncanny resemblance to "The Game Plan" star Dwayne Johnson.

Julio Promoted, Elarton, Barfield to Buffalo

Paul Hoynes has just reported that Jorge Julio will be the sixth member of the Tribe bullpen for 2008 and Josh Barfield and Scott Elarton will start the year in Triple-A Buffalo. This isn't any big news, but this means the last spot in the pen is down to Tom Mastny and Craig Breslow. As speculated earlier, you would assume Mastny will be sent down as Breslow pitched a shutout inning today to earn a save. Also, with Barfield being sent down, the last utility spot is probably down to Andy Gonzalez and Andy Marte. Buster Onley of espn.com said on the Mike and Mike show this morning that the Cleveland Indians were the deepest team in the majors. These demotions help illustrate the fact the Indians will have many viable options if and when injuries occur to the big league ball club. Shapiro has said that he would like to get the 25 man roster set by Friday, so we shall see.