The Cleveland Indians head into the All Star break in second place in the AL Central, but the leader in the wild card race by 2 games over the surprising Seattle Mariners. Unfortunately, they head into the break as losers of four of their last five on a road trip to Detroit and Toronto. The Tribe lost the rubber match of the series north of the border by losing 1-0, as the Indian hitters started their vacation a day early.
They say a team’s warts come into view in defeat, and if that is the case, the bullpen needs to have a large dose of Compound W applied to it. Eric Wedge’s lack of confidence in his relief corp was evident in all three games against Toronto. In the first game, Cliff Lee struggled and was removed trailing 6-5 after four innings. However, the up and down Fernando Cabrera gave up two more tallies immediately, and the Indians could not recover, losing 8-6. Even in the next day’s 9-4 win, Wedge used Rafael Betancourt for two innings in a game his team was winning by five runs because he has no confidence that anyone else could hold the lead, even one that large.
That meant when Wedge called on Betancourt again to try to preserve a scoreless tie in the series finale, he was coming off a two inning stint the day before. The fact he had to be used in a 9-4 game affected the next game. The Tribe skipper wanted to end a three game losing streak on Saturday, so he went with all three (Perez, Betancourt, and Borowski) of his reliable relievers. Unfortunately, he only has three, perhaps four if you count Tom Mastny, who had to pitch two innings Friday in a game the Tribe lost.
By the way, the talk shows were filled with people ripping Wedge for pitching to all star Alex Rios with first base open in the ninth. Had he walked Rios, Frank Thomas would have been the hitter with runners on first and second and one out. Thomas has hit over 500 home runs and is going to the Hall of Fame. If Thomas would have come through with the key hit, these same idiots would have blasted Wedge for walking someone to pitch to a Hall of Famer. You just can’t win in these situations if you’re a big league manager. I think the Tribe skipper made the correct move.
Over the weekend, Wedge hinted that changes would be made in the bullpen over the All Star break. Edward Mujica almost certainly will be sent back to Buffalo. It would not be surprising to see the front office give up on Cabrera as well. Aaron Fultz will return from the disabled list, and you keep hearing the name of Jensen Lewis from the broadcasters and by Peter Gammons. Don’t be shocked if the former Vanderbilt righty is in the bullpen Friday night against the Royals.
I think everyone would like to get another professional hitter. Having Jhonny Peralta hitting fifth is not the ideal spot for a guy who strikes out that much. I also think it’s a crime that Grady Sizemore whiffs as much as he does. He’s too good a player to be striking out 175 times per year. He needs to swing the bat, he takes far too many called third strikes. That said, the area that needs the most improvement as we head down the stretch is the bullpen. It just cost us two games in Toronto because it is not deep enough. Giving up a spare outfielder and a minor league arm for a proven set up man or closer, would be a good investment in the Tribe’s post season future.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 