Weird Moves in the Wigwam

 

The Cleveland Indians sit at 22-22 and in third place in the AL Central standings, meaning they are still 118 games remaining in the season.  The real reason the Tribe sits 8 games back is their performance against the Royals.  They are currently 4-5 versus KC.  If they had won seven of nine instead of four, they would be 25-19 good enough for one of the best records in the league.  But, if my aunt had…

 

Still, some moves made in the last week signal some signs of panic from management.  Obviously, the Tigers great start has worried Eric Wedge and Mark Shapiro, causing some strange things to occur.  Such as–

 

Demoting Kelly Shoppach.  The reason the brass gave for sending Shoppach out was they didn’t want to see his skills erode.  There is a simple solution for that.  Play him more!  The workload given to Victor Martinez is crazy, there is no need for him to play 140 games behind the dish.  Let Martinez DH once a week with Travis Hafner either at 1B, or getting a day off.  Martinez looked like a tired player last week, and it’s only May.  Plus having Tim Laker on the roster does nothing for the ballclub.  He’s a journeyman at best.

 

Changing the rotation.  Wedge altered the rotation to start Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia against the Twins, by passing Jake Westbrook.  This means Sabathia will not start against the Tigers this weekend, and probably ensures Westbrook will not be sharp vs. the Motor City Kitties on Friday.  It’s a little early to start manuvering the rotation.  If you are going to adjust the starters, you might want to do it with the teams ahead of you in mind, not Minnesota. 

 

Flip flop on Johnson.  After Jason Johnson’s latest lathering on Saturday night, Wedge said no changes would be made.  The next day, Wedge announced Johnson would be skipped since the squad had two days off this week.  Yesterday, Mark Shapiro said they are not calling up Jeremy Sowers, who is 6-1, 1.07 ERA at AAA Buffalo.  There has to be a decision made soon on Johnson, who’s most disturbing stat is giving up 72 hits in 48 innings.  It’s apparent why the righty is 40 games under .500 for his career.  Tell Larry Dolan he has to eat Johnson’s contract, and bring up Sowers or put Fausto Carmona back in the rotation.  They couldn’t do any worse.

 

Wedge favors veterans, which is okay as long as the veterans produce.  He and Shapiro went longer with Aaron Boone than anyone else last year, and it paid off.  But, Boone had a better track record than Johnson.  It’s obvious the skipper didn’t have confidence playing Shoppach, either, but Tim Laker cannot help your ballclub win games. 

 

I hope it’s not panic, but it looks as if fear is spreading in the front office.

 

KM