The Cleveland Indians are not swinging the bats in June.  This was very much in evidence over the weekend in Washington where the Tribe bats were asleep for all but the ninth inning of Saturday’s game when Victor Martinez’ three run homer salvaged one game against the lowly Nationals.  Outside of that one mighty swing, the Indians scored one run in each game against a pitching staff which was just raked over the coals by the Tigers earlier in the week.  Someone should pick up an alarm clock for the bats.

 

Despite the sleeping bats, the Indians are still 10-12 in the month of June.  The offense reminds people of last year’s edition, scoring large numbers in some game, and struggling to cross the plate in others.  The biggest culprit?  The lack of extra base hits.  The Indians are usually a doubles machine, but since June 1st have hit just 30 two baggers in 22 games.  Their opponents have banged out two per game in the same period.  Ryan Garko, Travis Hafner, and Trot Nixon all have just two extra base hits for the month.  It appears the team has become too patient at the plate, taking a lot of strikes instead of driving the ball.  Look at yesterday’s game when Jason Simontacchi fanned six Tribe hitters in six frames.  This is the same pitcher who was bombed in his previous start on Tuesday night. 

 

The left handed hitters in particular are troubled.  Hafner is SLUGGING .227 for the month with just two doubles, and Nixon is at .188.  In terms of average, both are below the dreaded Mendoza line, Pronk at .197 and Trot at .146.  Among the right handed swingers, Garko has followed up a great month of May with a .164 average and two home runs.  The failure to get any offense out of this trio is causing the lack of pop.  Hafner and Nixon both hit into key double plays in the National series, the former’s with the bases loaded.

 

These are the times when the manager earn his money.  Manager Eric Wedge needs to bunch the players who are hitting together and hide or limit the playing time of those who are not.  Josh Barfield is hitting .338 in June, Jason Michaels is at .341.  Victor Martinez remains consistent at .329 in June.  Wedge needs to start giving Michaels more time while he is swinging the bat well.  Although Michaels has platoon tendencies, he is hitting righties better than Nixon at this point.  Since the right handed hitters don’t have the pop of the lefty swingers, the skipper should be playing some small ball, using the bunt and the hit and run a little bit since the three run bombs won’t be as plentiful.

 

The Tribe lead the division by 4-1/2 games early in the month, and now trail the Tigers by two games.  Where the Indians’ bats have gone cold, Detroit’s have gone white hot with seven hitters sporting OPS of over 900.  Michaels, Martinez, and backup catcher Kelly Shoppach are the only Indians in that lofty range.  However, it’s a long season and the Tiger bats won’t stay that hot for the rest of the season.  Nor will the Tribe sticks stay this cool. 

 

When a team goes through this kind of period, it has to get great starting pitching and manufacture some offense to get through it.  The fact the Indians are still 10-12 for the month is a good thing.  But, the bats need to get going, a task made more difficult by playing the A’s in a four game series this week.  Oakland has one of the game’s best pitching staffs.  Look for Michaels and Gutierrez to play the outfield regularly to get more defense in play to help the hurlers, and also because Gutierrez is swinging the bat well.  Eventually, Hafner will start hitting.  His track record is too good to expect anything else. 

 

The key is to finish strong going into the All Star break.  With the Tigers and a huge series looming on the Fourth of July, the Tribe will need to start hitting.  Hopefully, they can create a few runs against Oakland.  Sometimes doing the little things leads to bigger and better things.

 

KM

 

 

 

 

 

The expectation for Cavaliers fans heading into the 2007-08 season will be a return trip to The Finals and the first championship in franchise history and the first for the city since 1964.  For once, the expectation of the fans and the owner of the team are the same.  Dan Gilbert is always looking to go one step beyond, and in this case, that would be a championship.  The question is:  Can Danny Ferry improve this team and how can he do it?

 

The Cavaliers have no cap room because of the large contracts given to Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Donyell Marshall a couple of years ago.  They do have a mid-level exemption which is worth about $6 million, and they have a $2 million trade exemption.  Gilbert has told his GM that money is not an object, and if the Cavs have to pay the luxury tax to improve the team, he will sign off on it.  That’s the financial aspect of the situation. 

 

However, it is unrealistic to think the wine and gold can make a big splash in the trade market by picking up a Kevin Garnett.  Minnesota is not going to take our collection of garbage in exchange for the Big Ticket.  No team is going to give you a good player who can contribute for a menagerie of Marshall, Eric Snow, and Scott Pollard.  It is also doubtful that anyone will take the contracts of Hughes and/or Ilgauskas to give you an All-Star type player in return.

 

Therefore, in order to get something, you will have to give up some young talent.  This means guys like Anderson Varajao, Sasha Pavlovic, Boobie Gibson, and maybe even Drew Gooden would have to be involved to get someone who can help the Cavs take the next step.  Somebody may also be intrigued by Shannon Brown’s potential as well.  Depending on who you get in return, Ferry would be tempted to do a deal like this.  When you are this close to a title, you have to be willing to trade potential for proven talent.  Unless…

 

You don’t want to take on someone else’s bad contract, or pick up an aging player so you have the same problem you have now in two or three years.  For example, Andre Miller is now 31 years old and you have to wonder how many more years he will be a productive player.  Earl Boykins is the same age as Miller, and at 5’5" is a defensive liability for a coach who lives and dies with defense.  He’s also a guy who is probably most effective getting 20-25 minutes a night.  Mike Bibby is 29, and would be worth a shot but not for a five or six year contract. 

 

Ferry’s best option might be a young guy who hasn’t had a chance to play thus far, such as Sergio Rodriguez at Portland or Carlos Arroyo with Orlando.  Either guy has good point guard instincts and are young enough to continue to get better. 

 

Don’t get me wrong.  I would love to get Kevin Garnett from the Timberwolves.  A combination of Garnett and LeBron would get a title to Cleveland.  I just don’t think the Cavs have what Minnesota would be looking for.  Then again, Kevin McHale isn’t the league’s smartest GM.  Look at the state of that franchise.  Just don’t be disappointed when the wine and gold doesn’t get another all-star type player.  Most teams aren’t letting them go.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

 

The Cleveland Indians are winning.  They are currently tied for the top spot in the American League Central Divison with the Tigers, and would make the playoffs for the first time since 2001 if the season ended today.  However, the team currently ranks 23rd in attendance around the major leagues, and in the AL is ahead of a trio of teams with poor records:  Baltimore, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay.  The question needs to be asked, "Where is everybody?"

 

I realize it was a "perfect storm" of circumstances that lead to the 455 consecutive sellouts that occured from 1995-2002.  The Browns weren’t here, the Cavaliers weren’t good, etc.  However, prior to the ’95 Tribe, fans always echoed the sentiment that if the Indians won, they would come out in droves.  They did in those years.  What is happening now?  The Indians are winning, and although they are drawing well on the weekends, where they are averaging over 30,000 per game, they are not drawing for weekday games. 

 

Among the more ridiculous notions used for not going is that fans do not like the current owners, The Dolan family.  The dislike comes from the perception they always take the cheap way out.  Are these idiots really saying they would prefer the Dolans to spend more money and have a team that is not a contender?  I don’t think so.  The Royals are spending more than the Tribe, yet they are languishing in last place in the division.  Is that better? 

 

Others point out there is no identity with the current crop of Tribesmen.  This too, is not valid.  The core players (Shapiro term) such as Hafner, Martinez, Sizemore, Sabathia, Westbrook, Peralta, and Blake have been here for four seasons now.  The 1995 team started putting the pieces in place in 1990-91.  So to say the fans can’t identify with these current Indians is not valid. 

 

This team deserves your support.  They have played almost half a season and they are in first place, playing at almost a .600 pace.  You wanted a winner, and you have it.  The so-called "best sports fans" in the country have no excuse to not support the Cleveland Indians.

 

On the field, some changes may be coming for the Tribe.  David Dellucci hurt his hamstring last night, and will be put on the disabled list.  Since Shin-Soo Choo is currently hurt, it appears that Ben Francisco will be recalled from Buffalo to fill his spot.  Another option might be to bring Andy Marte back and move Casey Blake to left field, but the former move is probably the way Mark Shapiro will go.  It would not be surprising to see Roberto Hernandez cut loose after last night’s debacle against the Phillies.  Eric Wedge wasn’t happy after the game, and can’t have any confidence bringing the veteran into a game. 

 

Jason Stanford will likely be designated for assignment when the team activates Jake Westbrook prior to Sunday’s game against the Nationals.  However, the Tribe should be able to make a deal for the lefty.  He pitched well in his two starts with the Indians, with the bullpen hurting his outing last night.  With the lack of decent starting pitching in the bigs, Shapiro shouldn’t have any problem getting something useful for Stanford. 

 

KM

 

 

 

With all the hoopla regarding the Cavaliers first trip to the NBA Finals, the focus of the sports fan in Cleveland (as well as Cleveland Sports Perspective) has been on the wine and gold.  However, our baseball team is in first place, too.  The Tribe currently holds a one game lead over the defending AL Champion Tigers in the Central Division, despite a recent slump that has seen a 6-9 record in their last 15 games.  Don’t look now, but the Indians are contenders.

 

There are several reasons for the Tribe’s recent struggles, but the biggest one is that the hitting has gone into a collective slump.  In fact, the only Indians who have swung the bat consistently in June are Victor Martinez, Casey Blake, and Josh Barfield.  Travis Hafner hasn’t had this much difficulty since he emerged as one of the game’s top sluggers in 2005.  Ryan Garko is in a 2 for 37 slide.  The left handed outfield platoon of Trot Nixon (3 for 35) and David Dellucci isn’t contributing, except for a couple of big hits by the latter in Cincinnati and Miami.  The big banging Indians have hit just three home runs in their last eight games.

 

What has kept the Tribe afloat has been the dominant performance of C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona.  When the offense isn’t clicking, you need to win the 1-0, 3-2 games and those two starters have done that often enough to keep Cleveland in first place.  Jason Stanford also gave the team a huge lift holding the Marlins to one run in six innings to defeat Dontrelle Willis, 3-2.  Good starting pitching keeps you away from long losing streaks, and that’s what has occurred for the Tribe.

 

One thing Eric Wedge can do to cure the offense is to bunch up the players who are hitting.  It may just be the time to move Barfield into the #2 spot in the order, behind Grady Sizemore.  Since the second baseman has been hitting over .300 since the middle of May, it would be a natural fit despite Barfield’s free swinging ways.  It would also put two speedsters at the top of the order.  The Indians also could give more playing time to Jason Michaels and Franklin Gutierrez who have been hitting better than the left handed counterparts.  One has to be concerned about Nixon in particular because of his back problems and the declining production over the past few years.

 

The bullpen continues to be a concern as well.  If the Tribe continues its winning ways, Rafael Betancourt’s arm may fall off by August.  Betancourt is the only reliever Wedge will trust in a key situation.  The only other guy the skipper has any faith in is Tom Mastny.  The rest of the ‘pen is a question mark, although lefty Rafael Perez has done a great job in long relief.  I think Wedge wouldn’t mind using Matt Miller, but he’s a Buffalo because he has options remaining.  GM Mark Shapiro is furiously looking for more relief help and here’s hoping he will find a solution by the July 31st trading deadline.

 

Hafner and Garko will start to hit because their track record says so.  However, how long can Martinez continue to put up numbers like he has.  He will cool off at some point, as will Casey Blake.  The pitching will hopefully get a boost when Jake Westbrook returns to the rotation, but the organization has to be a little nervous the way he has hurled in his rehab starts.  The outfield and the bullpen are the biggest areas of question for the Cleveland Indians.  Keep an eye on what happens in those spots.  They will determine how far the 2007 Indians can go.

 

MW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The San Antonio Spurs completed their sweep of the Cavaliers last night at the "Q", winning 83-82.  Even though the wine and gold finally took a fourth quarter lead in the series for the first time, it was too much Manu Ginobili down the stretch as he poured in 27 points to lead the Alamo city boys to their fourth title in nine years.  Tony Parker, who was unstoppable for the entire series, was named The Finals MVP, and deservedly so. 

 

The Cavs simply could not make big shots, or any outside shots on a consistent basis.  LeBron James seemingly couldn’t score unless he drove through the entire San Antonio defense to get to the basket.  He lacked confidence in his mid range jumper, and why shouldn’t he, I don’t think he made more than one or two in the series.  The best thing I heard after the game was James’ admission that he needs to get better.  He wasn’t satisfied by getting to the Finals, nor was he happy with his game.  When he can make that 15 footer jumper on a regular basis, he will be impossible to defend.

 

Game 4 pointed out the Cavaliers’ biggest problem.  They have too many players who are one dimensional.  For example, in the fourth quarter, Mike Brown went with Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall to try to spread out the floor for King James, so he could get to the basket easier.  However, the trade off was that the two veterans are not strong defenders and it allowed Ginobili driving lanes which caused havoc for the Cavalier defense.  It was written here at the beginning of the season, had Shannon Brown been used early in the year, he may have been able to contribute in the playoffs.  He didn’t, and perhaps the wine and gold could have used another perimeter defender. 

 

The other problem was the complete lack of outside shooting by Cleveland in the Finals.  Although the Cavs are not a great shooting team, they were down right dreadful in this series.  Marshall made some inside hoops in the last stanza yesterday, but couldn’t spit in the ocean from the edge of the boat.  Daniel Gibson hit some shots in Texas, but apparently left his shot there.  Sasha Pavlovic hit some shots here and there, but mostly there.  In fact, the best shooter the Cavs had in the series might have been Drew Gooden, and he wasn’t in at crunch time last night, because Brown doesn’t have confidence in his defense of the pick and roll.

 

Where do the Cavs go from here?  First, this is a very good defensive team and that is a credit to their head coach.  However, Danny Ferry needs to find a point guard, so LeBron can be a finisher.  It was nice to see the Cavs finally put James in the post against a smaller defender, because it is one more area in which he can be unstoppable if he works on that area of his game.  Next, Brown needs to bring in an assistant coach who has an offensive concept.  The team needs some set plays that they can lean on when they need a hoop.  The spread the floor and let James take his defender doesn’t work against good teams.  We just saw four games as an example.

 

The also need to remove some of the dead weight from the roster.  Since Ira Newble has only one year left on his deal, he could be a nice chip for a team looking to clear cap space.  It will be hard to unload Jones and Marshall, but both are limited and aging.  The team doesn’t have a draft pick this year, but since Brown played so little this year, he could almost be considered a new player.  It would be nice to get another big man who can play, since obviously the staff has no confidence in Scott Pollard. 

 

There’s no need for a celebration.  The Cavaliers didn’t win the NBA title.  They will get to add a banner to the rafters signifying an Eastern Conference Championship.  However, the headline in The Plain Dealer this morning was wrong.  It read "Final Chapter", it should have read "First Chapter".  The beginning of hopefully a long run as a title contender with LeBron James as the main character.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

The good news is the Cleveland Cavaliers did a better defensive job against the Spurs’ big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, holding them to just 34 points.  Unfortunately, the wine and gold picked a horrible time to go ice cold from the three point line, hitting just 3 of 19 from behind the arc, and two of those were in the last three minutes of the game.  The end result was a 75-72 loss, leaving the Cavs one game away from elimination.

 

Counting on the three is a dangerous offensive strategy, but many of these looks were wide open ones.  Even Daniel Gibson, the unsung hero of the playoffs, couldn’t hit his open shots from three point range.  The story of the game was San Antonio hit 10 3’s to the Cavs 3.  End of story, and likely the end of the series will come Thursday night.

 

Defensively, Mike Brown devised a scheme to cut down on Parker’s penetration and it worked for the most part.  The Spurs’ point guard put up more outside shots than in the first two games, and was held to just 17 points.  In order to stop Parker from getting into the lane, Brown gave up defending some of the Spurs’ role players on the perimeter, and they answered the call.  Bruce Bowen hit four of five from behind the line, and Brent Barry (a good shooter) and Michael Finley chipped in with some big shots as well.   San Antonio hit over 50% of their three point attempts, a tremendous percentage.

 

Offensively, once again the Cavs’ lack of structure cost them down the stretch.  They had open threes, but after hitting just 1 of their first 15, they probably should have taken the ball to the hoop more often.  The biggest gaffe was Anderson Varajao’s ill advised attempt with 14 seconds remaining.  Varajao got the ball because LeBron James had no where else to go, and LBJ wanted it right back.  Instead, the Brazilian forced up a ridiculous attempt with the game in the balance.  The lack of an offense allows the players to do the thinking, and in this case, it was the wrong thought.  I doubt Francisco Elson would have taken a similar shot in the same situation for San Antonio.  He would have known to get it back to Parker.

 

LeBron wound up with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, and likely would have had more had his teammates hit some of those open threes.  James tried to will the Cavs to victory by driving to the basket repeatedly in the closing minutes, but he hasn’t found the range on his mid range jumper, missing all of them last night.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas grabbed 18 rebounds, 10 on the offensive end, and played good defense on Duncan.  However, Drew Gooden committed two dumb fouls down the stretch leading to Varajao being in the game at the end.  The bench didn’t contribute much, except for Eric Snow’s defense on Parker.

 

It is very likely the series will win Thursday night with a Spurs’ sweep, and I don’t want a celebration for winning the conference championship.  However, no one thought the Cavs would get this far this year, so in fact, the wine and gold overachieved this season.  So I don’t want to hear how Mike Brown is an idiot, or how LeBron isn’t Michael Jordan.  Instead, let’s concentrate on how the Cavaliers can get back to The Finals next year.  The experience gained in this series will be a huge benefit if they can get back in 2007-08.

 

JK 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night’s Game 2 of the NBA Finals was one of those games that was not as close as the final score indicates.  The margin of victory for the Spurs wound up being 11 points, but San Antonio dominated the game in every way until the final six minutes.  Once again, the Cavs had no answer for the Spurs’ big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, as the trio combined for 78 of their team’s 103 points in the 103-92 victory, putting San Antonio up 2-0 in the best of seven series.

 

Mike Brown simply has to find some way to slow at least one of these guys if the Cavaliers have any hope of winning one game in the series, let alone four.  It must start with stopping Parker, who is on his way to the Finals MVP trophy, with another incredible performance.  His penetration at will is causing breakdowns all over the place in the wine and gold defense, as they resemble the boy sticking fingers in the dyke to stop the flooding.  Brown put LeBron James on Parker to start the game, since Larry Hughes cannot stop the lightning quick guard, especially with his foot injury.  The best hope might rest in a combination of Eric Snow and Daniel Gibson, with Snow using his brain and Gibson his quickness to stop Parker.

 

Although I never liked the thug tactics of the "Bad Boy" Pistons, or Pat Riley’s Knicks, one thing the Cavs have not tried against Parker is a hard foul.  The point guard waltzes through the paint like he’s on a Sunday stroll down the boulevard, with no fear of getting mugged.  Perhaps Parker is too quick to catch for a hard foul, but none of the Cavs’ big men have dared to knock him on his butt on one of his forays to the hole.  The wine and gold have to send a message that this will no longer be allowed, and also to give Parker a second thought as he goes to the basket.

 

Offensively, the Cavs’ lack of a set offense is killing them against an excellent defensive team.  One way to combat good defense is running crisp sets, but the wine and gold doesn’t have that option.  San Antonio is doubling and tripling James, and recovering quickly enough to contest shots when LeBron finds open people.  Gibson is the only consistent shooter when left open, and he continues to impress.  It makes you wonder why he didn’t play more in the regular season (Brown’s love of veterans).  Many are calling for Hughes to lose more and more time, but how about Donyell Marshall, who outside of Game 6 against New Jersey has contributed nothing in this playoff run.

 

Eric Snow is challenging his teammates to match the Spurs intensity, but so far only a handful have listened.  The Cavaliers have the look of an intimidated team.  It doesn’t help that the Spurs execute offensively and defensively with the precision of a surgeon.  At least the next three games are in the friendly confines of the "Q", which should help some guys play with more confidence.  The Spurs have the look of a team wanting to get a ring, many of the Cavs look like they are dazed by the bright lights.

 

It would help if Mike Brown treated the games more seriously.  This is not a regular season game.  Holding the King out for nine minutes in the first quarter while he had two fouls is an inexperienced coach’s mistake.  As soon as the Spurs started building a lead, James should have been put back in.  Cleveland has no chance unless LBJ is best player on the court.  That’s impossible if he’s seated next to the coach.

 

San Antonio is the better team, one of the league’s best.  However, the Cavs are not the worst team ever to get to The Finals, the Allen Iverson Sixer team and the Knicks who had the 8th seed in the strike season are worse.  They just need to play stronger and harder on defense.  Down 0-2, it would be okay for Mike Brown to make some changes.  Give Gibson more time, and perhaps some minutes should be given to Ira Newble as well. 

 

Most of all, the Cavaliers need to realize this is for the championship.  Without smarter and harder play, this series will never go back to the Alamo City.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

During this playoff year, the Cavaliers have done a good job of defending the opponents’ star players to gain victories.  For the most part, if one big gun was scoring, the defense held the other two in check.  However, last night San Antonio’s big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili scored 67 of the Spurs’ 85 points as the wine and gold lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 85-76.

 

The biggest night was by Parker, who scored 27 points, mostly in the paint.  The lightning quick guard broke down the Cavs’ defense repeatedly and if he wasn’t scoring, he was finding the open man, leading to easy buckets by Duncan.  As we said in a previous blog, if Cleveland cannot control Eva Longoria’s husband to be, it will be a short series for the Cavs.  They simply must make Parker beat them with outside shots.  Yes, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry hit a couple of threes, but if 80% of the opponents’ points are coming from their three best players, a defensive adjustment must be made for Game 2.

 

Offensively, LeBron James had a bad shooting night, hitting just 4 of 16 shots, scoring only 14 points.  Mike Brown has to feel that the King will play better the rest of the series.  Daniel Gibson continued to stay hot, leading the wine and gold with 16 points.  Sasha Pavlovic was agressive going to the basket, something that has to continue if the Spurs are going to concentrate on stopping James.  The big men have to be stronger inside, powering the ball to the basket and drawing more fouls.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas went 1 for 8, missing from outside and inside.  These guys have to make Duncan work harder on defense, which may take a little steam off of his offense.

 

The Cavs lost the first two games to Detroit, but the Spurs are most definitely a better team.  Mike Brown has to make adjustments to try and stop the penetration that killed the Cavs last night, and make Parker shoot from outside.  The Frenchman is too quick for Larry Hughes, so Gibson may get more time because he is quicker on defense, than his hot shooting.  Brown has shown he can make those changes, so it will be interesting to see what happens on Sunday night.

 

Cleveland was missing shots when they were open, so you have to have to think at least some more will fall in the next game.  If they do, the Cavs can stay in the game longer and make it come down to the final possessions.  That’s where having LeBron gives the Cavaliers the advantage.  Brown also has to get James running off of some screens, because if you can rub Bruce Bowen off some picks, it will free him up.  I would also post up James and see if Bowen can handle him in the post (I don’t think he can), but it will cause the Spurs to bring some help.

 

The Cavaliers now know what the Finals is all about.  They need to be better offensively and defensively in Game 2.  If they don’t show that improvement, the Spurs will cruise to their 4th title in nine years. 

 

JK

 

 

 

 

With all of the excitement in town regarding the Cavs first appearance in the NBA Finals, the success of the Cleveland Indians has gone under the radar.  Still, the Tribe sits in first place in the AL Central with a 35-21 record and have a 3-1/2 game lead over the Tigers after last night’s 1-0 victory over the Royals.  At this time, GM Mark Shapiro’s moves over the off-season has worked out.  The 2007 Tribe has more depth in hitting, but still there are some question marks. 

 

Bullpen.   Joe Borowski is among the AL leaders in saves, and Rafael Betancourt and Tom Mastny have done a good job for the most part in setting up, but the bullpen still is a large question mark.  Aaron Fultz was very good early in the year as the left handed specialist, but recently has developed the nasty little habit of walking guys with the bases loaded.  Roberto Hernandez and Fernando Cabrera have struggled to throw strikes, so Eric Wedge has to be hestitant to bring either into any game that is close.  Lefty Rafael Perez has been effective in the few games he has hurled, but hasn’t been put into a tight spot as of yet.

 

What to do?  If Hernandez doesn’t start throwing strikes, he could wind up being released.  Cabrera showed signs in his last outing that he might be able to start finding the plate, but his performance has to be evaluated on an outing by outing basis.  Matt Miller has been throwing well lately at Buffalo, and considering he would have made the team out of spring training if not for an arm injury, he could rejoin the big club soon.  I would have like to have seen Edward Mujica get more of a shot in his brief time here, but Wedge did not have the confidence to bring him in in anything but a mop up role.

 

Utility infielder.  Mike Rouse is a left handed hitter.  That’s about the only thing he has going for him at this point.  Nobody expects him to hit .300, but .200 would be nice.  Rouse is currently batting .122, which is pretty close to being an automatic out.  He simply has to hit better than that to hold a major league job.  Eric Wedge has to hesitate to give Jhonny Peralta, Josh Barfield, or Casey Blake a rest with Rouse hitting like he is currently.

 

What to do?  The only options would be lesser defensive players, which I don’t think the organization wants.  Joe Inglett is a switch hitter and can provide a little offense, but can’t handle SS defensively.  Hector Luna has proven he can hit at the big league level, but he has been a mess defensively no matter where they put him.  Luis Rivas started for the Twins at 2B, and has played SS at Buffalo, but hasn’t played third base recently, if at all.  My guess if any move is made, it will be for Rivas.

 

Starting pitching.  The first three starters have been outstanding.  C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, and Paul Byrd have combined for a 21-3 record.  After that, the starters have been disappointing.  Jake Westbrook will probably be out until late June, and you have to hope he will be better than he was before he was injured.  Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers have become lefties that Wedgie hopes he can squeeze 5 or 6 innings out of.  Neither have shown the command they showed in the past.

 

What to do?  Sowers is the likely candidate to be sent back to AAA when Westbrook returns.  He might already be there if Adam Miller had not injured a finger.  Lee will likely remain in the rotation as the fifth starter, but needs to change his pitching patterns.  He might be trade bait if the Tribe can find someone to upgrade the bullpen.  Sean Smith has also been pitching well at Buffalo, and perhaps the team might give Perez a start, since he was starting at Buffalo. 

 

Minor problems, sure.  However, in the tough AL Central, once again the best division in baseball, these things need to fixed in order to stay ahead of the pack.  Remember, the depth of the farm system could be a key in taking care of these problems.

 

KM