Wahoo Roundup

Random thoughts from a less than active blogger...

Not much interesting going on with the Tribe, they are battling for last place, their most interesting youngsters are still years away from the bigs, and football season is almost here. It is hard for me to get too involved with this team on a daily basis with updates as it is just not that compelling. When Hafner and Martinez come back, that should infuse my fandom a bit again.

The Paul Byrd trade saved the Indians 2 million dollars, let's see them spend it next year.

Jensen Lewis' velocity is up and is closing now. He looks good, but can he pitch this way in April and May?

The 2009 Tribe thirdbasemen will not be Andy Marte.

Adam Miller will be in the bullpen in the Majors in 2009.

Francisco and Choo are a lock next season, unless one is traded.

Sal Fasano is still awesome.

Two pitchers between Laffey, Sowers, Reyes, and Huff will be in the starting rotation at the start of next year.

Asdrubal is hitting in August, can he hit in April?

Ryan Garko will be on this team next season.

The Kansas City Royals come to town in the battle for the basement tonight.

Tribe loses 10th in a row.

Wow what a finish! I actually thought the Indians would win tonight after they were up 6-0 in the fifth inning. The bullpen of nightmares continues to haunt my dreams. Why did Wedge only let Rafael Perez pitch to one batter in the eighth when he is clearly the best reliever on the team. I guess he wanted to boost Jensen Lewis' confidence by having him face the meat of the Tigers order in a tie game. Wedge has had issues all year with the gas cans out beyond the fence, but he needs to develop some type of continuity. Grady had three hits and two rbi's, while Jhonny continued his hot streak with 2 hits and 2 rbi's. Paul Byrd pitched well, but let 2 batters on in the seventh which ended up killing them. If this game was in April Wedge would have yanked Byrd after six, but the way the pen is, I can't really blame him. Striking out three times in a row (Choo, Garko, Marte) with the bases loaded didn't help either. Thankfully there is only 4 games left until the All-Star break. With Wednesday's loss, the Indians have now lost 10 consecutive games for the first time since 1979, when I was 7 months old. The record for most losses in a row was 12 set in 1931. Let's hope that record is not broken

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.

Giant Misses

6 runs in 3 games = 1 win. The lineup the Indians have been trotting out has been just plain terrible. I understand not having Martinez and Hafner hurt, but I never realized how much since watching the past 12 or so games. Besides Sizemore (who has had a down year also), the lineup has a severe lack of power. Batting Garko and Peralta in the four hole is unfortunately their only option, which is not a good one. Also, when Sowers and Byrd have been on the mound lately, it has resulted in a loss. They both pitched admirably after giving up runs in the first in their respective last starts, but they are no Fausto Carmona or Jake Westbrook. This team is unfortunately a bad one, with half of the season to go. Crazier things have happened (2007 Rockies), but I just can't see this team putting together any kind of winning streak. The hitting is weak, the bullpen is bad, and two of the starting pitchers are inconsistent. When you mix that all together, you have a team that is just not very good. The Reds come to town this weekend, another under .500 team the Indians will probably lose to.

The remaining 2008 season will be probably rough to watch. Trading CC seems to be the only interesting facet left, and that may or may not happen. The Indians may feel 2 1st round picks is a better option than any of the proposed packages they may receive. If that is the case, at least we will get to watch a great pitcher throw in an Tribe uniform for August and September. This is how I would manage the rest of the summer months. I am tired of seeing David Dellucci strike out so they just need to Trot Nixon him and glue him to the bench. Andy Marte has been ruined by the Indians, so might as well throw him out a 3rd for a few weeks to see if he can get that elusive first RBI. Stick Casey Blake at first base, he is more productive than Ryan (right knee in the dirt) Garko. Platoon Shin Soo Choo between DH and right field, and let Sal Fasano grow out his mustache. Ship Edward Mujica out of here because he is terrible and bring up Jeff Stevens. Finally I would get rid of Paulie Byrd (even though I said earlier we should keep him) and bring up David Huff to see what we got. The Indians literally now have nothing to lose, they have lost enough.

Good Grief

Sal Fasano is not happy with the way his new team is playing. The Indians were swept by the Colorado Rockies this week, subsequently ending any talk of contention this year. I know there is 90 games left, but with four of our best players gone for considerable time and the lineup looking amongst the worst in baseball, it is time to look toward 2009. Terry Pluto officially announced the Tribe season over today, so I will follow suit. Also the DiaTribe has a nice piece about which tough questions the Indians Management is asking themselves today. CC Sabathia is scheduled to start next Friday against the Reds, so buy your tickets today because I have the sinking feeling it may be his last home start ever as an Indian. Other players I feel will be dealt before July 31st are David Dellucci, Joe Borowski, and possibly Ryan Garko. I can't see Wedge allowing Casey Blake to be traded due to their man-bond, but he should be since he is a free agent and would be quite valuable as a utility player for a contending team. I am just sold on Garko being the long-term solution for the Indians at first, as he really isn't a power guy. Also watching him strike out while his right knee scrapes the ground drives me crazy. Jhonny could be traded to a team in need of a shortstop who can hit every other year and not field, maybe a team like the Orioles or Cubs. With Asdrubal playing everyday at shortstop, Jhonny''s future is either at 3rd or somewhere else. The 2009 version of the Indians will probably be drastically different than the past 3 with all of these questions flying around. One thing that will happen if CC and Byrd are traded are losses. This rotation will be instantly awful with not much in Triple A depth-wise. As for Highlights and Areas of Concern, I am going to put in my highlight video of 2007, dream of whip cream pies, and wonder why the Cleveland Indians successfully ruined my summer this year.

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.

Tribe Wins Series, Dodge Beanballs

The Indians finally won a 3 game series, beating the Minnesota Twins yesterday 12-2. It was their first since mid-May. Two outstanding pitching performances led to victories, along with an offensive explosion Thursday. Manager Eric Wedge showed some vigor as he exchanged multiple profanities with Twins manager Ron Gardenhire after Andy Marte was hit with a pitch, apparently in retaliation of Alexi Casilla being plunked the inning earlier, which was in retaliation of Jamey Carroll being plunked even earler. The next series with Minnesota will be more interesting than usual. With the rash of injuries plaguing the team, maybe they can come together and win a few. The White Sox were swept by the Tigers, so it shows you that this season is long from over. If I were to tell you names like Haad, Tyner, Elarton, Velandia, Mujica, Snyder, Aubrey, and Bauer would all be on this team before July, you would have probably laughed or punched me in the face. Although the batting order looks downright bleak at the moment, stranger things have happened. You figure some of the hitters are due. If the bullpen can straighten themselves out (they are due too), the Tribe could be .500 before the All-Star break! Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Here were some of the Highlights:

CC Sabathia: 9 IP, 5 Hits, 0 earned runs, 5 K's. Who said we should trade CC? Continues to prove why he is on of the top pitchers in baseball. Need his consistency more than ever now with Westbrook and Carmona on the shelf

Grady Sizemore: 5-14, 2 HR's, 4 RBI. He is now the greatest threat in the Indians lineup. Can the team afford to keep in the leadoff spot? Time will tell.

Jamey Carroll: 8-9, 2 RBI. Continues to slap base hits around the yard, raised his batting average like 50 points in 2 days.

Areas of Concern:

Paul Byrd: 3 IP, 6 Hits, 5 earned runs, 0 k's. He got absolutely shelled. I sat behind home plate for his last start and the ball Jason Kubel hit for homerun was the loudest crack I have ever heard. It was like a firework going off. Paulie has been pitching good one game, bad the next for a lot of 2008.

Joe Borowski: 1 IP, 2 earned runs. He should really only pitch in save situations, this tends to happen often when Wedge brings him out when the team is losing.

Victor Martinez: Apparently Victor had a bum elbow to go along with his bum hamstring. Why the Indians insist to keep these things quiet is beyond me. If he is hurt, put him on the DL. He may have overcompensated for his early hamstring injury and put too much pressure on his elbows/arms when swinging. I understand he is a "gamer" but we have a capable backup (Shoppach). 80% of Victor as we apparently were watching for most of 2008 is not as good as 100% healthy Victor. Hopefully he will heal and be back sometime in August.

Interleague play starts up again as the San Diego Padres come to town for a three game series. Jody Gerut makes his triumphant return to the NorthCoast, so buy your tickets today!

Tribe Splits with Tigers

You win one, you lose one. That has been the theme of the Tribe for about one month. The Indians latest series split with the Tigers was nothing spectacular, just the same old story that has been told all season long. Spotty hitting and a shotty bullpen has been popping up all year long. The total self-destruction of Dontrelle Willis also aided in the series split, as he was downright horrible Monday. The Tribe again attempts to win its second game in a row since May 15th.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Ryan Garko: 3-12, 2 HR, 7 RBI. At least someone in the order is driving in some runs finally.

Shin Soo Choo: 3-7. I like his bat, his defense is not too great. His best fit is as a platoon player.

Paul Byrd: 7 IP 4 Hits, 2 earned runs, 0 Walks, 2 K's. Paulie is a gamer.

Cliff Lee: 5 IP, 6 Hits, 2 earned runs, 2 Walks, 5 K's. Cliff is now 10-1 and one of the few bright spots on this team.

Franklin Gutierrez: Made an unbelievable catch on Sunday to save Betancourt from serving up yet another homerun. His defense is outstanding, but his bat seems to be just average.

Areas of Concern:

Rafael Betancourt: (Saturday) 1 IP, 4 earned runs, 1 Grand Slam. Killed the potential winning streak Saturday, I sure miss the 2007 version of Raffey. CONQUEST!!!

Ben Francisco: 1-14 4 K's. Benny cooled off considerably over the weekend, as did the rest of the offense. Has real trouble with the outside fastball. If he can start seeing and taking that pitch the other way, he could be even more dangerous.

Jeremy Sowers: 4 IP, 7 Hits, 5 earned runs, 2 Walks, 2 K's. Never had any flow to the game, his long 7 day layoff from his previous start in Buffalo may have got to him.

2008 Season: Slowly slipping away as the Indians are 8 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox.

The Minnesota Twins invade Progressive Field Tuesday as Scott Baker takes on CC Sabathia.

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.

Royal Rubbish

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

Here were some of the Highlights:

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

Areas of Concern:

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

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

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

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

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.

What a Stretch!

To say that the Indians have been getting good starting pitching is an understatement, as they took 3 straight from Oakland. For a starting staff to yield 1 earned run over the past 7 games is down right mind-boggling. The bats won't need to come out of their coma if this keeps up. The Tribe, with winning 8 of their last 10, has vaulted into sole possession of first place in the AL Central. The offense has had a lack of forming any type of consistency and Rafael Betancourt has looked shaky at best, but who really cares when your pitchers are throwing shutouts. With the Tigers struggling mightily and the White Sox and Twins hovering around mediocrity, the Indians may be able to put some games between them and the rest of the division. Over the next 19 games, they face the Rangers 7 times, the White Sox 6, and the Royals and Reds 3 times each. Look for this team to continue it's roll as the weather warms up. Sweeping the Athletics was a huge step in this team putting their bad start behind them.

Here were some of the Highlights:

Starting Pitchers (Byrd, Sabathia, and Laffey): 23 1/3 IP, 15 hits, 0 Earned Runs, 3 walks, 24 K's. What can you say? They starting staff has been unbelievable and the best in baseball. If they continue to pitch anywhere close to this good, 2008 will be another season to remember.

Masa Kobayashi: 2 IP, 1 hit, 3 K's, 0 earned runs, 2 saves. Shows emotion and excitement everytime out. I have a feeling he will be our future closer sooner than later.

Ben Francisco: 4-7, 4 runs, 1 RBI. Ben has been playing great defense and mashing the ball consistently as well. Frankie G will be loosing time if B-Franc keeps it up.

Ryan Garko: 3-11, 2 HR, 5 RBI. Drove in 5 of the 10 runs scored in the series. Hope he has ended his batting funk finally.

Areas of Concern:

Rafael Betancourt: Another rough outing for Raffy, loaded the bases in the 9th of Thursday's game. May have pitched himself out of the 9th inning entirely.

Franklin Gutierrez: 0-8 4 K's. Does not like the curve ball much. Needs to get it going or will be a defensive replacement rather than a regular starter.

Casey Blake: 0-4. Casey likes to only hit when runners are in scoring position.

Andy Marte: 1-4. Picked off of first, I know the front office does not want to cut him due to depth reasons, but he really has no future on this team.

The Indians invade Cincinnati this weekend for a 3 game series. Jeremy Sowers takes on Johnny Cueto. Look for Pronk to play probably one game in the field, and for a lot of pinch hitting.

Also, for anyone thinking that the Indians are going to trade Peralta and Laffey to the Colorado Rockies for Garrett Atkins, you are a moron. TTO contributor Frisky told me he heard this rumor on the Munch show on WKNR Wednesday. Besides Greg Brinda, the whole station could care less about Indians baseball until September so that tells you a bit about their quality of sportscasting. I can't imagine the Tribe dealing Laffey with the impending free agency of CC and Byrd. Starting Pitching is too valuable to deal a guy you can control for the next 5 years. If anyone will be traded, I would assume it would be Sowers, but that may be a stretch as well. The Tribe does need a bat, but I believe they would trade lower level starters (Lofgren, Huff) before dealing Triple A depth. It is a long season and you never know when a starter may get hurt. I am now off the soap box.

Defense Wins Championships (or games)

Most pundits believed going into the 2008 season that the Tribe's defense would be average at best. Those pundits should be slapped in the face, because the Indians are flashing the leather. Asdrubal Cabrera made an eye popping diving catch, Dellucci made a great grab against the wall, and Sizemore gunned down the fleet footed Frank Thomas while also making a great diving snag. All of these factors, including another gem of a start from Paul Byrd, and Ryan Garko finally delivering on a 3 run homerun led the Tribe to defeat the Oakland A's Tuesday, 4-0. The team has now won 6 of their last 8, and the starting pitching has hurled 34 consecutive shutout innings. If the bats ever decide to wake up, this team could become scary good.

Also while attending the game tonight, my wife and I sat in front of two dudes who's Tribe knowledge was deplorable. These were some of the 9 inning conversation highlights:

• The drummer bangs his percussion instrument every inning with two outs.


• The Indians last won the World Series in 1964


• The Indians have been to the ALCS 6 or 7 times in the past 44 years.


• The Indians made it to the World Series in 1995 and 1998.


• Jose Mesa retired in 1999.


• They missed the days of Mesa, Lofton, Baerga, and Thome. Wish they were still here.

Why do I mention this? Because it seems like every other game I tend to sit in front of these type of morons. They laugh loudly at their own jokes and have no idea what they are talking about. I am not saying that everyone should be a dork like me and have their own blog, but at least try and attempt to get your facts straight. I never hear anyone saying they wish we had Chad Ogea and Charles Nagy on the mound. The late 90's are over, let's move on.

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.

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.

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.