Month: August 2008

Don't Stop Making Moves!

 
The Cleveland Indians will never be mistaken for road warriors.  They started a nine game road trip this weekend by dropping two out of three to the Minnesota Twins.  Looking at the Twins’ roster, it is hard to believe they can contend for a division title.  They give considerable playing time to guys like Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, and Mike Redmond, all journeymen players at best.  I understand they have two great players in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, as well as solid, young pitchers, but it’s a tribute to their fundamental soundness and the managing of Ron Gardenhire.
 
Obviously, the Indians made several moves before the trading deadline by dealing CC Sabathia and Casey Blake, but the bullpen is still a shambles for the most part, so I hope the moves haven’t ended.  Eric Wedge is back to his certain guys pitch with the lead mode, so it appears the only hurlers he trusts are Rafael Perez and Masa Kobayashi.  Edward Mujica is on the fringe and is the guy the skipper will go to if either of the others isn’t available.  Therefore, there still should be some shuffling in the relief corps.
 
If Perez is going to be used in save situations, which it appears he will, the team needs another lefty in the bullpen.  Rich Rundles is a southpaw who has pitched well at Buffalo this season, even making the AAA All-Star Game.  He should be given a shot at being the situational lefty the Tribe bullpen needs.  He could be brought up at the expense of either Jensen Lewis, who continues to have troubles throwing strikes, or the Juan Rincon expirement (he gives up pretty much a run per inning) could end at any time.
 
Don’t forget the Tribe also has veteran Brendan Donnelly, who is recovering from arm surgery, on the Buffalo roster, and I’m guessing he has to be brought up soon.  He was a highly successful set up man working for the Angels for many years. 
 
The shuffling shouldn’t end in the bullpen either.  After his first appearance for the Indians, Matt Ginter has allowed 12 runs in 16 innings.  That’s a 6.75 ERA for those mathematically challenged.  With Anthony Reyes firing eight innings and allowing just one run at Buffalo yesterday, he can’t be far from getting a start with the big club soon.  The front office needs to look at him because he is out of options after the season. 
 
The main thing for GM Mark Shapiro and the rest of the management team is to get a look at as many people he can the rest of the season.  It has to be done while allowing guys like Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore to continue to excel.  It also appears some of the injured players, notably Victor Martinez and Josh Barfield will be back soon.  The lineup will have to be shuffled to get those guys back in there.  Wouldn’t it be nice to see a Ben Francisco hitting sixth or seventh on the 2009 version of the Tribe.  Getting back Martinez and Travis Hafner would make that a reality.
 
KM

Tribe Thoughts From Tiger Series

 

The Cleveland Indians salvaged a split of their four game series against the Tigers yesterday by beating Detroit 9-4 behind Fausto Carmona’s fine performance and good bullpen work by Rafael Perez and Masa Kobayashi.  They got the job done despite their second straight horrible defensive game, as the Tribe has made seven errors in the last two contests.  The good work of Perez and Kobayashi was a sharp contrast to the horrible outing on Wednesday night, when the team blew leads of 8-1 and 11-7 to drop a 14-12 decision.  With that in mind, here are some comments on the Tiger series:

 

Wouldn’t you just love to swap out the entire Tribe bullpen right now?  All right, you can exempt Perez and Kobayashi, who have been good for most of the year.  And Tom Mastny didn’t pitch in the debacle Wednesday, so he gets a pass too.  The rest of them…yeesh!  Jensen Lewis drives you, me, and probably Eric Wedge crazy with his inability to throw strikes consistently.  Rafael Betancourt has been a mess all year long.  Just when you think Edward Mujica is improved, he gives up four runs after two are out, and why Juan Rincon continues to be on the roster is a mystery. 

 

Here is a list of players on the Indians’ roster that would be less suited to bat second than Franklin Gutierrez.  Sal Fasano.  That’s it.  I understand that Jamey Carroll, who has been the most successful Indian in that slot, is having hamstring problems, but putting a player with a .257 on base percentage after your best hitter is wrong for many reasons.  First, it gives him more opportunities for at bats than anyone else on the team except for the leadoff hitter, Grady Sizemore.  That gives him more chances to make an out. 

 

Also, in a situation with men on base, why in the world would anyone pitch to Sizemore?  On deck is a hitter who makes an out almost 75% of the time.  The only player on the roster with a lower on-base percentage is Andy Marte, and he has been better since getting more playing time for the last month.  Seriously, virtually anyone on the roster would be a better choice to bat second than Franklin Gutierrez.  The management has to find out in he can play, but he doesn’t have to hit in the #2 hole.

 

It was good to see Fausto Carmona throwing strikes yesterday, walking just one in 6-1/3 innings.  If not for the fielding miscues, the big right-hander would have easily gone seven innings.  It could be that the hip injury bothered Carmona all season and hampered his control.  When he gets ahead of hitters, his stuff makes him one of the best pitchers in the American League.  You had to be a little concerned when he walked three in the first inning of his first start back against the Twins last Saturday.

 

It’s back to the road for a nine game trip to Minnesota, Tampa, and Toronto for the Indians.  The scheduled starters for the Twins series are Jeremy Sowers, Paul Byrd, and Matt Ginter, but something tells me another starter will be used in one of those games.  I would not be shocked if lefty Zach Jackson pitched instead of Ginter.  Meanwhile, David Dellucci continues to get at-bats…go figure.

 

KM