Down on the Farm Report: Nick Weglarz

Last week it was announced that two Indians Minor Leaguers will represent the World Team in the 11th annual All-Star futures game on All-Star weekend on July 12 at Busch Stadium. The two players are catcher Carlos Santana who is the Indians number one rated prospect according to Baseball America and outfielder Nick Weglarz who was rated by Baseball America as the number 3 Indians prospect leading into the season. Both of which are teammates on the Indians Double A Akron Aeros squad. If you watched any of the World Baseball Classic this year you might remember the 21 year old Weglarz as he started in left field for team Canada. Nick also played for the Canadian team in the 2009 Summer Olympics in China as well.

The Indians selected Weglarz in the 3rd round of the 2005 Draft out of high school (Ontario, Canada). In his pro debut in 2005 at rookie level Burlington, at 17 years of age Weglarz held up well and hit .231 with 2 HR and 13 RBI in 141 at bats. In 2006, he played only one game for the rookie level Gulf Coast League (GCL) Indians as he was sidelined for the entire season with a broken hand. Weglarz is one of only a handful of players under 20 to have an OPS in the South Atlantic League of .892 or higher in the last 15 years. Here is what several sites have said about the young up and comer:

Indians Prospect Insider "Weglarz is a developed hitter with above-average hand-eye coordination, and he loves low pitches so he can extend through it either away or down and in. Weglarz has some flaws in his swing that will need to be tinkered along the way, but his long arms and good bat speed generate tremendous power."

Scoutingbook.com said he is, "A smart, savvy hitter with strong arms and developing power, Weglarz uses very fast hands to work the bat through the zone quickly, with line-drive power to all fields. His swing lacks the loft of a true power-hitter, though that may come soon as his large frame continues to fill out: In 2007 he produced 24 long balls in 127 games as a 19 year old in A ball. He took a step back when bumped up to high-A in 2008, but he's still a very young player with a lot to learn, so some growing pains are expected. A first-baseman in high school, the Indians have been using him in left field, though that experiment may soon end: his glove and arm are not better than average. While he continues to work on his power swing, his advanced plate discipline looks puts him firmly in the Future Youkilis Junior Achievers camp for now."

This year Weglarz started out the season playing for the Double A Akron Aeros as he spent all of 2008 in Single A Kingston. Although he started out slow by hitting below .100 in the month of April his numbers have really come around in the last two months as he has been on fire. Since May 1st he is batting over .320 for the Aeros. As of today he is hitting .261 and is leading the team in RBI's with 55. His OPS is .900. Furthermore, he was selected as the Eastern League Player of the week back on May 18th and then again this past week ending June 26th. Weglarz was at his best in the three-game series against Trenton last week. Weglarz hit .700 (7-10) in the series, homered in all three games, drove in eight runs, and collected his first four-hit game of the season Wednesday before becoming just the 12th player in franchise history to draw four walks in a game Thursday.

Since Weglarz is only 21 you can only expect more great things out of him. With the Tribe basically being all but out of it in 2009 it would be nice to see them bring up two other prospects from Triple A Columbus in Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta so they can get some big league experience. The Clippers have been playing Brantley a lot more in left field so hopefully this is a sign that he will come up and get some experience as I would rather watch him than Ben Francisco. Benny boy is just terrible and I am tired of watching him as he is a minor leaguer at best. Bruce Drennen talked about him last night on All Bets Are Off saying that Francisco might be a nice kid but he has to go. I will be amazed if he is on a big league club next year. With this in mind, if either LaPorta or Brantley get called up you can probably expect that Nick Weglarz will be on the first bus to Columbus to play for the Clippers.

Frowns Town: Tribe loses another series

More of the same from the Sons of Geronimo, as the Indians lost 2 out of three to the Reds. The series started off so well, with a 9-2 thumping Friday. Saturday and Sundays performances were a giant yawn with Cincinnati dominating their cross state rivals. If you want to relive this awful year, read this great article, it pretty much sums up everything. More random thoughts from a lost season.

• Just when you think Jeremy Sowers is dead an buried, he throws 7 shutout innings? I can't figure him out at all, but he probably has a place somewhere in the Indians bullpen potentially in 2010 as a long reliever.
• Tomo Ohka needs to be back in Columbus where he belongs.

David Huff's performance Sunday was a bit of a disappointment. I was sure he had settled into a groove, due to him stringing together some very good starts. Hopefully it is just a blip on the radar because the Tribe really need him the rest of this year and next.

• My new favorite Indian Luis Valbuena is in a huge slump (1-22 i think). He needs a day off, but should still get a chance to play a ton for this last place club.


• The more I see Garko out in left, the more I realize he is terrible out there, but at least he gives effort and doesn't complain when he is benched for 3-4 days in a row. Garko is a good guy, just probably not an everyday 1st Baseman.


• So long to Mark DeRosa, we hardly knew you. You really didn't have a great glove at 3rd like you were supposed to, but you hit pretty darn well and played everywhere. I wish you the best!

Also, look for newly aquired reliever Chris Perez to be activated today with Josh Barfield riding the long bus back to Columbus.

The White Sox come to town Monday for a 3 game series. Don't miss it, because I am pretty sure most will.

DeRosa Traded to Cardinals

Mark DeRosa was traded today to the St. Louis Cardinals today for Chris Perez and a player to be named later. DeRosa was batting .270 with 13 homers and 50 RBI for the Tribe this season, playing all over the diamond (3B, 1B, RF, LF). It is ironic that he was traded for pitching because they gave up originally 3 pitchers to get him. Mark was a solid clubhouse guy and will probably be missed in the lineup as well. Look for Asdrubal Cabrera to take his roster spot tomorrow, with Perez possibly snagging Tomo Ohka's.

Chris Perez (pictured above)is a soon to be 24 year old who has went 1-1 with 4.18 ERA with one save in 29 games. The Right hander has stuck out 30 and walked 15 in 23 plus innings of work. He looks to be a pretty solid reliever the Indians are surely missing. The PTBNL is supposedly supposed to be a top prospect that the club will be tracking for the second half of the season (a la Michael Brantley). Look for that acquisition to happen after the season). By looking at his photo, he seems like a dude who likes to have a good time, which is always a welcomed addition.

I don't imagine that there will be many more trades by the Indians in trading off veterans. They don't really have that many assets available to be moved. Carl Pavano was a possibility, but he stinks right now and is probably hurt. This move should also stabilize the lineup a bit more, as Wedge won't have DeRosa anymore to move around the field and lineup each day.

Also, Jensen Lewis was sent to Columbus as Jose Veras was added to the bullpen from Hell. Lewis never could keep the ball down in the zone, resulting in 8 homeruns allowed. He will probably be back in a month. As for the team, they look to win their first series in 4 chances tomorrow with David Huff taking on Micah Owings.

Tribe drops 2 of 3 to the Pirates

Interleague play can't end soon enough for the Indians, as they have lost 8 of their last 9 games to their National League foes. The Pittsburgh series was a microcosm for the season, lose 2 games (one by the bullpen) and the only win you get, they almost blow it as well. Nothing real positive to say about this team right now, they are just floating along mired in the basement of an average division. With the Tigers rattling off 7 wins in a row, it is time for the Tribe to start building towards next season (a common occurrence in this town). With the Cavs getting Shaq and probably more, the Cleveland baseball team will struggle to get any attention in this town. T

here isn't a single move they can make to the moderate fans of the club interested, because if they trade Lee or Martinez, immediately they are considered cheap and worthless to watch. Trading Pavano (no one wants him) or DeRosa (should be able to garner some pitching) would let out a collective yawn from the fanbase. So what do the Indians do? Try and trade Francisco or Garko or both, they are not in the long term plans of this team, nor should they be. Go with a youth movement. Call up LaPorta and Brantley, move Laffey into the rotation, and let's see what they got (read this piece by The DiaTribe for more in depth moves, all of which I totally agree with).

Get guys like Matt Herges (pictured above) out of here and let whatever young relievers the system has (Rundles, Meloan, Herrmann) pitch up in Cleveland. We know that old man Herges will not be here in 2010, so get him out of here. I imagine the attendance is going to real tail off towards the end of August and in to September, so at least let what fans you have left see some young talent that may have a shot at the future, whatever that may bring.

I will be in attendence tonight as the Reds come to town. I sure am pumped to see 5 and Fly Jeremy Sowers throw. Only 108 games left in the season!

Trading Time: Aubrey to Orioles, Veras to Indians

Two minor trades were made today by the Tribe, as they shipped 27 year old first baseman Michael Aubrey to the Baltimore Orioles and received reliever Jose Veras from the New York Yankees for cash. Aubrey was a former 1st round pick by the Indians, but just never could stay healthy. He also was caught up in a numbers game as there are a plethora of 1st Baseman/Outfielders currently in the Indians' upper minors. Michael was hitting .292 with 16 doubles, a triple, five homers and 29 RBIs in 57 games for the Clippers. This transaction removes one more hurdle for Columbus Clipper Jordan Brown to finally make it to the big leagues in Cleveland, a promotion he has earned and deserves. Aubrey will best be known in Indians lore as the first baseman who just let Gary Sheffield charge the mound from first base without tackling him or intervening. Fausto still smoke Sheff in the face, but you gotta do something Mike, not just stand there like you usually do (see below).

Veras (pictured right) pitched pretty poorly for the Yankees in 2009. In 25 appearances out of the New York 'pen this season, the 28-year-old Veras was 3-1 with a 5.96 ERA. He walked 14 and struck out 18 in 25 2/3 innings of work. He pitched a lot better in 2008, going 5-3 posting a 3.59 ERA in 57 + innings while striking out 63 and only walking 29 in 60 appearances. The Yankess designated him for assignment, so he would have had to clear waivers to stay in New York's organization. It will be interesting to see who is jettisoned off of the 25 man roster because Veras is expected to join the big league club sometime this week. He can't be any worse than what is currently out there. Can he?

Sizemore activated, Sipp recalled, Crowe sent down, Vizcaino sent packing

The Indians finally received some good news today, as All-Star Centerfielder Grady Sizemore was activated off of the 15-day DL. Hopefully Grady is fully healthy because his stats so far in 2009 have been less than stellar (.223 (46-for-206) with nine homers and 31 RBI, 25 BB and 52 K's).

To make room, Trevor Crowe was sent down to Columbus to work on pretty much every aspect of his game. Crowe hit a dismal .169 and did not display much confidence out in center field. He needs to work on a bunch of things in Triple A to even have a shot at a bench spot for the future. Look for Mark DeRosa to take over in Left, while Ben Francisco takes a seat on the bench for the foreseeable future.

Tony Sipp returns for a third time to Cleveland, where he has had some success (3.12 ERA). His main problem was walks, which he had 10 while striking out 10. Walking batters is a team wide issue, so he will fit in nicely. The Luis Vizcaino (or what I refer to him, as "The Rally Starter")experiment is now over, he sure showed us why the Cubs dumped him after only a few weeks. His 5.40 ERA in 11 games was a lot worse than the stats tell, because he walked 12 guys and always was teetering on the brink of disaster when he didn't blow the game entirely.

Hopefully these are some of the first moves in going with more young players, because this season is about over. Hopefully Sizemore and Sipp can help bring an end to the worst stretch of losing the Indians have experienced all year.

Down on the Farm Report: Hector Rondon

With the 2009 Cleveland Indians season quickly trickling down the drain, it is time once again to look to the future, because the future is all Tribe fans' got. The current starting rotation at the big league level is pretty weak, so don't be surprised to see Top Prospect Hector Rondon sometime later this summer donning an Indians uniform. Rondon was selected last season to the Futures All Star game at the tender age of 20 and hurled three shutout innings in big league camp this past spring training. The young Venezualan is just 21 years old and has had success at each level in the minors. Rondo sports a plus fastball that hovers in the 92-94 MPH range that can top out at 97. He primarily likes to throw the hard stuff, but also mixes in an improving slider with a curveball and changeup that he is trying to improve upon. Hector recently had some arm issues, but they have seemed to be nothing major.

Right-handed Hector Rondon has successfully returned from right bicep tendinitis, returning to action this past Sunday to go four shutout innings. When Rondon left his start early about two weeks ago there was a lot of concern up and down the Indians' organization for their prized right-hander, but thankfully the injury was not serious and he essentially missed one start and did not even have to go on the disabled list. As a precautionary measure, his pitch count was limited on Sunday, which is why he only went four innings. Indiansprospectinsider.com

That must have been a big sigh of relief to the organization as there really is a lack of top quality arms anywhere close to making the majors by 2010. Rondon is a lanky 6'3, 160 lbs, so he has plenty of room to fill out his slim frame. He is currently 6-4 with a 2.85 ERA in 60 1/3 innings. Those stats may be a bit inflated due to his brief stint in the bullpen. With the Big League Tribe's bullpen in shambles back in May (and even worse now), the Indians brass looked to Rondon as a potential impact arm to help this season. The experiment did not work out well. Here is more from indiansprospectinsider.com from Ross Atkins about why Hector was returned to starting duty...

On Hector Rondon: "When we considered him as a bullpen option and talked about who the best arms are in the system who could help the major league team now, he was the clear choice. I think what we did was exhaust the process in thinking about is this best for the organization, and while we were considering that he was a viable candidate and a more immediate candidate having thrown out of a bullpen in a professional setting. It was two outings, and he pitched well and threw well and was better than his lined indicated. As we took time to further consider that while moving him and pitching him in the bullpen we also considered what it meant long term for him and what it meant long term for our organization and ultimately decided that Hector can help us in either role, be it starting or in relief as he continues to [work out of the starting rotation]. I think we are looking at it now from a more global perspective. By no means is he not a bullpen option. I think what he is now is just an option as a major league pitcher. Hector will continue his development, and we could see him at some point this year or next year, it is difficult to say. He has handled it exceptionally well, which was one of the reasons that we decided to try it because we knew he would be able to handle it and it wouldn't affect him negatively."

Or they realized that this guy may need to be in the rotation by season's end. Rondon apparently did not do too well warming up so quickly out in the pen, due to his regimen having to change from transforming into a reliever from his regular starting duties. His velocity was not as good and his control was erratic. One of the outings he came in with runners on, forcing the Aero to pitch immediately from the stretch. The Tribe went ahead and fast-tracked last years 6th round pick Zach Putnam to the bullpen (which has had mixed results) and promptly returned Rondon to beginning games from the mound.

His 61 strikeouts over 60 1/3 innings stands out, as well as him only walking 13 batters. Currently on a strict pitch count, Rondon threw 4 plus shutout innings Sunday to lead Akron to another win. With clearly being the ace of the staff, I imagine that this 21 year old phenom will be promoted to Columbus as soon as the Indians management feels he is ready to be extended to his maximum throwing potential. If he mows'em down in Clipperville, look for Hector Rondon to be added to the rotation to see if he is a viable option for 2010.

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?

Tribe Designates Aquino, recall Gosling

On June 5th the Cleveland Indians signed LHP Mike Gosling (pictured to the left sporting a huge boner) to a Minor League contract just a few days after the 28 year old was released from the Minnesota Twins. He had a 7-1 record with a 4.37 ERA in 21 appearances at Triple A Rochester this year. Since being in Columbus he has thrown 8 innings giving up one run and striking out eight. With this in mind, it did not take the Tribe long to recall the newly acquired lefty as the Wahoo's bullpen is, to put it nicely, struggling and in need of a makeover. This just goes to prove my point in the last post that we really have nobody that is ready to be called up. I guess we have resorted to picking up some has been's (Vizcaino) and now this guy named Gosling.

Greg Aquino was optioned back to Triple A Columbus in the move to bring up "The Goose". There is only one team I would even consider putting Aquino on right now and it is this. I hope he takes his crooked hat back down to Columbus and figures it out.

Clippers Clips: The future of the Indians Bullpen?

After attending the Columbus Clippers game today against the Rochester Red Wings I could not keep from thinking about how HORRIBLE the Cleveland Indians pitching is...especially their bullpen. With this in mind, Aaron Laffey (his wife pictured front row center here) made his first rehab start today with the Clippers which is a good thing because it seems like he has been on the DL forever. I have to admit I was pretty excited to see him pitch today because god knows we need some help up in Cleveland. More on Laffey in a bit. The Clips ended up loosing today 4-2 in 10 innings. Although the Clippers seemed to have picked up the "Tribe Fever" in loosing 6 of their last 8 games there was one good thing that happened today. I can proudly report that your favorite Clipper Andy Cannizaro hit a two run homer giving the Clips their only runs of the game. I noticed Cannizaro warming up along side of Matt LaPorta today so I am guessing LPort is rubbing off on the little guy. On a side note A-Can is now hitting second in the lineup and they are still playing Notorius B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize" when he comes up to bat.

Over the past month or so I have noticed people posting on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, various other blogs, etc. that the Indians should ship their whole bullpen back to the minors and bring up some other guys. Having thought about that I decided to look up some International Leauge (Triple-A) stats to see where the Clippers players ranked in pitching. The International League has a ranking of the leagues 45 best pitchers. Guess how far down the list you have to go to find a Columbus Clipper? Three down on the list? Nope! Ten down on the list? Nope! You have to go all the way down to number 43 before you find a Columbus pitcher. That's right number 43 is Columbus Clippers right handed pitcher Kirk Saarloos (pictured right). The 30 year old Saarloos was drafted in the 2001 amateur draft by the Houston Astros in the 3rd round and he made his major league debut one year later. Over the past 7 years he has played for the Astros, the A's, and the Reds. Furthermore, his Major League ERA has never been below 4.17. In his 12 games played for the Clippers this year his ERA is 5.65. Saarloos has pitched a total of 71.2 innings giving up 86 hits, 31 walks, and has struck out 43. He was signed by the Indians in January of this year and according to Indians beat writer Anthony Castrovince, Saarloos spent most of '08 posting mediocre numbers in Triple A as a member of the A's organization. Sooo, that being said, seeing that Saarloos is already a washed up "has been" who never could cut it in the majors the Indians don't have many more guys they can bring up from Columbus (please note I am only refering to Columbus as I realize we have some studs still developing in Double and Single A) Next on the IL list of leaders is actually another Columbus player in Jack Cassel (his younger brother is Matt Cassel of the Kansas City Chiefs). Cassel has an ERA of 5.75 and has pitched in 13 games (76.2) innings. I could put down some of his stats over the years however I am not much of a stats person. I have watched Cassel several times this year and let's just say he is not a viable option up in Cleveland. The only two other guys that would be options that have not already been up to Cleveland this year are 2005 Indians Non drafted free agent Frank Herrmann and 2004 fourth round pick Chuck Lofgren. Neither of these two guys has enough experience yet and it would be worthless to bring them up for on the job training. With this in mind, to all you Wahoo Maniacs out there saying bring bring up some new blood, my question to you is, Who?

So seeing that we have nobody (pitching wise) that is quite ready to see "The Show" just yet we have to rely on what we currently have. As mentioned before, Aaron Laffey made his first rehab start today in Columbus. He pitched 3 innings giving up 5 hits 1 walk and a run. He topped out at around 88 which is all he really throws anyway. I was neither impressed nor unimpressed about his outing. I'd like to say he needs about three more starts/appearances before the Tribe consisders bringing him back up. They have waited this long to throw him, I just don't hope they rush him like they did with Rafael Perez. Ol' Raffey was down in Columbus for awhile but believe me he was not near ready to head back up to Cleveland. It seems like the Indians finally got it right by sending Fausto Carmona down to Rookie League Arizona. I sure hope they break him down and build him back up into the player that he should and can be. Now I just wonder if they have any room down their for a couple more guys?

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

PATHETIC!!

That is the only way I can describe last nights 14-12 lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, oh and if I could make the letters any bigger I would have. The five pictures you are looking at are 5 guys that had absolutely no clue there was a baseball game last night at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. OK, maybe Joe Smith should not be on here but I put him on anyway because he is part of this rat pack of a bullpen the Cleveland Indians have. I went to bed right after the game last night and I was hoping to god that CKTRIBE would have wrote an article last night because I knew I did not want to have anything to do with it. Well, I woke up and there was nothing posted. To be honest, I don't even blame him because there is no words to describe last night. Soooo, that being said, I am going to try and put my words to what I witnessed last night. I am merely going off my head as I don't remember everything exactly...I actually don't want to remember anything to tell the truth.

Carl Pavano started the night out with another so so.. not so great start. Yes they were winning when he came out, however he barely was able to finish the 5th inning without getting yanked and besides...he gave up 6 runs in 5 innings so he was crap last night. After the 5th inning the score was 8-6 Tribe and that is when it just falls apart. Greg Aquino came in and gave up one run in the 6th however the Tribe bats put up a 4 spot to make the score 12-7. Things were still looking pretty good for the Tribe...not really. Aquino came back out to pitch in the 7th and walked Ryan Braun who moved to second on a wild pitch then easily stole third. Braun finally scored on a Corey Hart sac fly and the Indians still got out of the 7th with only giving up one run making it 12-8 Tribe.

For this next paragraph I wish I could use the words (Parental Discretion Advised) however I can't so I will make it as nice a possible. The 8th inning was the worst inning of baseball I have ever watched....in my life and your life too for that matter. It took the Tribe 4 pitchers (FOUR) to get out of this inning. Oh yea, and when they finally got out of it, they were loosing 14-12. Vizcaino walked two batters then the Tribe brought in 57 year old Matt Herges and he walked one. With the bases loaded Ryan Braun hit a grounder in the hole that Luis Valbuena made a nice play on but could not make the throw to second base for the force out and the Brewers scored making it 12-9. Then Wedge brought in the worst pitcher in the major leagues. I was sitting there saying to myself please don't bring in Perez, he is terrible against left handers and he should still be down in Columbus, or even Mexico for that matter. So obviously Wedge could not here me yelling at my TV. With this in mind, I can't do anything but watch Rafael Perez give up a first pitch GRAND SLAM to Prince Fielder. How can these guys call themselves Major League Pitchers? All I could could do was laugh. What a great night to pay tribute to the 20th anniversary of the 1980's movie Major League and have Bob Ueker honored at the game. This was truly a "Major League" moment. On a side note the Tribe's bats were really hoping last night and it was fun to see them put some numbers on the score board. Our offense really came to play yesterday....our Bullpen...well, I don't even think they know the season has started!

Lee Masters Cardinals, Tribe wins Season-Best 3rd Series in a Row

Cliff Lee successfully no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals for 7 innings Sunday, bringing the Indians to within 6 games of the first place Detroit Tigers. Lee was utterly brilliant, using just 93 pitches (70 strikes) to dispose of the redbirds while cooling off the red-hot Albert Pujols (0-3, BB). Even more amazing, Lee threw first pitch strikes to 26 of the 32 batters he faced. He stuck out six, gave up three hits and 2 walks while shutting out St. Louis, lowering his ERA to 2.88. I didn't even realize that he was flirting with the no-no until the 6th when the crowd began to cheer louder after each out. Clifton really has solidified his place among baseball's elite, proving that his 2008 Cy Young campaign was no fluke. His starts have vaulted into the category of must-see events, hopefully getting him onto the All-Star team despite his 4-6 record that is definitely not his fault. Here are some of the highlights below...



The bats were not really around for the past 2 games, scoring just four runs total over Saturday and Sunday. I would say that the lineup is finally settling down, with Jhonny Peralta seemingly positioned to man the hot corner most of the time. Luis Valbuena has been outstanding in the field at short, but his bat has not progressed as quickly. He has been getting robbed of hits a bunch over the past week. Wedge said that he plans to stick with him.

Kelly Shoppach needs to be given some major credit in the starting staffs' revival. He is currently the personal catcher for Lee, Carl Pavano, and lately David Huff. All seem to be really comfortable with him behind the dish. Shoppach has struggled at the plate lately, but went 2-3 with a homer and a double Sunday. The offense may look a little weaker with Valbuena and Shoppach in the 8 and 9 hole, but the defense and game managing more than makes up for it. When Asdrubal and Grady comeback hopefully soon, look for Valbuena to platoon with Jamey Carroll and Shoppach to play at least 5-6 days a week. These moves will definitely cut into the regular playing time (with DeRosa your Left Fielder) of Ryan Garko and Ben Francisco, which really isn't a bad thing.

The Milwaukee Brewers come to town Monday for a 3 game series. Here are the pitching matchups...

David Bush vs. Carl Pavano Monday
Yvonni Gallardo vs. Jeremy Sowers Tuesday

Jeff Suppan vs. David Huff Wednesday

The Tribe has a real shot to get back in this the way the schedule is shaping up with 12 of their next 18 games at home with a short 6 game roadtrip covering just Chicago and Pittsburgh. If they can get to 4 or less games back by the All-Star break (when the team should be at full strength) this season just get a bit more interesting.

Pujols beats Tribe

Tomo Ohka pitched 7 strong innings (2 solo shots by Albert Pujols), Victor Martinez drove in the Tribe's lone run (got subsequently thrown out at second with 0 outs), Rafael Perez wild pitched the third run home, and Josh Barfield had another base running blunder that collectively led to a 3-1 for Cleveland to the Indians. The Tribe scattered 6 hits and really never had a rally going besides the third inning when Jamey Carrol reached on an error and DeRosa walked. The lineup is hurting right now with only a few guys real threats to make a game-changing impact on the game with their bat. Ohka did earn the opportunity to start at least one more game before Westbrook and Laffey return from the DL. Tomo may have even earned a spot in the bullpen.


Getting the opportunity to watch Pujols live is a site to see. He hit his second home run half way up the bleachers, the farthest home run I have seen since the days of Mark McGwire. Pujols pretty much single handidly beat the Indians, going 3-4 with 2 jacks and a double. The Cardinals first baseman is definitely, hands down the best hitter in baseball today.

Here were the highlights...

Blitzcorner Cardinals beat Indians 3-1

I was able to attend Saturday's game and was really excited about the retro 80's jerseys, even though it was hard to see them up in the mezzanine. More importantly, it was my 6 month old son's first game at Progressive Field. He did pretty good, no major meltdowns or anything. I also got him his first autograph at the game (David Huff). The Indians lost the game, but gained a little fan for life. More on the Cardinals series after tonight's prime time matchup of Chris Carpenter vs. Cliff Lee.