Find New Whipping Boys

 

As the Tribe as struggled this season, the fans have been quick to point the finger of responsibility at several players and the management.  Usually, the players singled out are the new guys, those who were not on the team a year ago.  The chief whipping boys are starter Paul Byrd and leftfielder Jason Michaels.  Neither deserve the blame.

 

First, let’s take the case of Byrd.  He replaced free agent Kevin Millwood in the Tribe rotation.  I’m not going to compare Millwood’s stats last year to Byrd’s because last year is last year.  Here is how the two righties compare this season:

 

         Byrd                        6-5, 4.37 ERA    92.2 IP  52 K’s

         Millwood                  8-4, 4.47 ERA  106.2 IP  75 K’s

 

Now, Millwood’s numbers are inflated by pitching in Texas, a notorious hitters’ park.  In fact, his ERA on the road is roughly three runs a game less (3.00 vs. 5.98 in Arlington).  In Byrd’s favor is the fact he has a 2.44 ERA over his last seven starts.  The veteran righthander has held up his end of the bargain.  He has pitched very well since May 1st. 

 

Michaels takes a beating because he replaced fan favorite Coco Crisp.  But, since the former Phillie has been out, the Tribe has struggled to find someone productive to hit #2 in the order behind Grady Sizemore.  That should tell us that he isn’t a bad player.  Here is how Crisp and Michaels compare this season:

         

          Crisp                    .289   3 HR  13 RBI   .327 OBP   .428 SLG

          Michaels               .277   5 HR  25 RBI   .338 OBP   .393 SLG

 

Crisp did miss a great deal of action with a broken finger and kidney stones earlier this year, so his HR and RBI numbers are depleted.  But, Michaels is getting on base more than Crisp, and over the last two months, his OBP is over .350.  I would bet the Indians front office is getting exactly what it expected from their left fielder this year.

 

The overall pitching is the reason for the Indians’ problems this season.  Last year, Cleveland led the AL in ERA and bullpen ERA.  This year, they rank 11th in that category.  The offense has been streaky, but that is due to having several hitters who are either hot or cold.  Ben Broussard is the poster boy for that type of player.  He is either red hot or cannot buy a hit. 

 

Tribe fans are picking on the wrong guys when they jump on the anti-Byrd or anti-Michaels band wagon.  They aren’t the problem.  There are others who haven’t held up their end of the bargain for the 2006 Tribe.

 

KM