Here’s What Tribe Won’t Do.

There is plenty of speculation on whether the Cleveland Indians will be buyers or sellers when the major league trading deadline comes around at the end of July.

Most likely, because of the division they are in, they will look to add to their current roster to stay in the AL Central Division race. It looks very much like around 85-88 wins will get you a division title and a trip to the playoffs. That means if they hang around the .500 mark for another month, which isn’t that absurd, they will definitely be in the thick of it.

It is funny to hear talk show hosts speculate on who the Indians would deal in order to improve the team. Here is a partial list of players who aren’t going anywhere.

Chris Perez
In the off-season, this was a possibility and one that was suggested here and by others. Now, it would be idiotic to deal a guy who is having a very good season, probably getting another All-Star berth.

Perez and Vinnie Pestano, another player it would be silly to deal, represent the only reliable pitchers currently in Manny Acta’s bullpen. If it seems like the Indians can only win when the duo pitch, it should. Perez has saved 10 of the last 13 victories for Cleveland.

When the Indians have the lead after seven innings, it’s a solid bet that Pestano and Chris Perez will close it out for the Tribe.

Any of the Indians Solid Hitters.
It makes no sense for GM Chris Antonetti to deal one of the few players currently hitting on the ballclub. This would mean SS Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B Jason Kipnis, CF Michael Brantley, and RF Shin-Soo Choo. Especially because all of them will be back in Cleveland for the 2013 season.

Think about it, it really doesn’t help the team by trading a player who is productive to fill another hole. That is unless there is someone to take that player’s spot.

For example, if someone was interested in Jack Hannahan (probably there isn’t a big market for him, no offense to him), you might consider dealing him because you have Lonnie Chisenhall.

Let’s say Antonetti dealt Choo for a right-handed power hitter. Who plays rightfield?

The object of a deadline trade is to strengthen the team as a whole, not fill one spot by creating another.

Trade Francisco Lindor
Last year, Antonetti dealt two of his best pitching prospects to get Ubaldo Jimenez from Colorado. We can debate the merits of the deal for hours, but unlike the time the Indians traded back-to-back Cy Young Award winners, they will not trade their top prospect two consecutive years.

So-called experts who talk about trading the shortstop currently at Lake County, are showing they are idiots.

Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein saw Lindor in spring training and said in a few years, people will wonder why he wasn’t the first player taken in last year’s draft. He’s playing and succeeding (making the Midwest League all-star team) in a full season league, and he won’t turn 19 years old until November.

Besides, the player you likely will get in any deal this year will be an older player (early to mid 30’s) who can still contribute. You don’t trade a player with Lindor’s future to get a guy like that.

Antonetti is looking for a right-handed stick (a familiar need) and some help for his pitching staff. The Tribe have some useful players in the minor leagues to get some veteran help.

However, he is unlikely to disrupt his major league roster or trade a guy like Lindor to help get players of that ilk. It’s simply too high of a price.

James May Win, But NBA Needs Likeable Stars

The folks at ESPN have to be giddy today with their chosen franchise, the Miami Heat, just one win from the title the network so wanted them to win last season.

The “Heat Index”, the site crafted by the four letter network, will be glowing in neon colors after the team that superstars put together hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Isn’t it odd that when the Lakers had two of the biggest stars in the history of the sport, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, ESPN didn’t have a website dedicated to them?

And with the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a very young team, you may be looking at the only title LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh get in Miami. With the experience gained in this year’s playoffs, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and crew could be a tough out in the post season for the next few years.

However, the commish, David Stern, has been a little surly lately. When Jim Rome asked him about the draft lottery being rigged, Stern was angry, asking the broadcaster when he “stopped beating his wife”, the question no acceptable response can be given.

Rome simply asked what many people believe, which, of course, is why he asked.

What is odd to us is Stern’s cavalier attitude (no pun intended) about these opinions. You would think that if a small percentage of fans thought the outcome of the sport was predetermined, the man who runs the league would be upset, and address those concerns. Stern doesn’t seem to care.

This is not to say games are rigged. It would take a whole lot of cooperation from players and officials to make that happen. But the commissioner doesn’t take opportunities to allay the fears of the fans.

For example, many basketball fans suggest official Joey Crawford is a tad overzealous in calls for the favored team. Would it kill Stern to cut back on his slate in the playoffs? He shows up at all the big games, game sevens, etc., and therefore his calls are magnified.

The referees don’t help Stern either. There are many fans who believe the Thunder are getting the short end of the stick from the zebras. And it’s not just people in Cleveland either.

Especially when you have a situation last night when Westbrook went to the basket several times, yet shot just three free throws. In the meantime, James went to the line after pushing James Harden out-of-the-way.

The Thunder may not win this season, but they will be among the favorites next season. The San Antonio Spurs have won four championships in the last 15 years. Stern will tell you this is proof that small markets can compete in today’s NBA.

However, ask fans in Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Denver if they think their teams will ever have a chance to be a team that matters in the NBA. They would sadly answer no.

That’s bad for the league.

In football, despite the troubles of the Browns, every team has a chance to win the Super Bowl with good talent evaluation and some luck. In the past few years, we’ve seen downtrodden franchises like the Saints and Cardinals get to the championship game.

Even baseball has seen more parity. Yes, the Yankees make the playoff in most seasons, but have only won one World Series since 2000. That’s the nature of the sport, the best team can lose a series to the worst team at any time during the season.

Stern believes in the power of superstars. He’s marketed the game around them since the time of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. However, he needs them to be likeable stars, which Bird, Magic, and Michael Jordan were.

The Heat trio are hated by most fans throughout the country, it’s not just a Cleveland thing.

Does David Stern realize this? He needs guys like Durant, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and others to pick up the mantle of great players who most fans like.

They may have to save the league again from the me-first guys on the Heat.

McCoy Trying to Get Out of Cleveland

By and large, fans of the Cleveland Browns have Colt McCoy’s back. He is the kind of athlete people on the North Coast like.

He’s works hard, seems like a good guy, etc.

They even want to believe that McCoy’s problems as an NFL quarterback come from the poor performance of the offensive line, a lack of a solid running game, and wide receivers that drop the football.

The Browns front office didn’t make the decision to draft Brandon Weeden in the first round because they wanted to sell more jerseys in the team shop. The coaching staff obviously saw things in practice and game films to show he can’t and won’t ever be able to succeed as a starting QB in the league.

Team president Mike Holmgren alluded to this in his press conference last week when asked about the Browns’ receiving corps, saying they were open more than you think. A not so veiled reference to the fact that McCoy couldn’t get the ball to them when they were open, maybe because he was already in check down mode, or maybe because he felt he didn’t have the arm strength to get the ball there on time.

Regardless, the organization has played it the right way, saying there would be an open competition for the starting spot, and speaking about McCoy’s toughness and his ability to grow with experience.

However, it is fairly clear that McCoy is trying to orchestrate his way out-of-town, and he is doing it through his family, which although they don’t want to admit it, is one of the reasons the Browns soured on him.

Last year, when the quarterback suffered his concussion against the Steelers, McCoy’s father, Brad McCoy went public with negative comments about the Browns training staff, and was upset that his son was sent back into the football game.

He was naturally upset that his son suffered an injury, which is fine, he should be, but he should have kept his beef out of the media and handled it privately.

He didn’t do Colt any favors, either. Here he is trying to be a leader of a professional football team, and his daddy is taking up for him in the newspapers. It probably started giving Holmgren and Pat Shurmur ideas that he didn’t have the toughness required to handle the sport’s toughest position.

Now, McCoy’s younger brother, Case, a quarterback at the University of Texas, commented on Twitter that his brother will go someplace else and the Browns will go downhill. The guess here is that the younger McCoy didn’t make that up out of thin air. His sibling is frustrated about losing his job, and although there is nothing wrong with that, once again, he’s not handling it correctly.

It appears that McCoy isn’t the naive young man his fans feel he is. There are still a good portion of Browns’ fans who feel the passer received a raw deal from the team. This is exactly the reason, GM Tom Heckert has to send him elsewhere.

The Browns can’t afford to have a substantial group of fans calling for McCoy the first time Weeden has a bad game. Which, if you listen to the McCoy zealots, will be exactly what happens.

On the same hand, McCoy has figured it would be best for him to change teams as well. That’s why he’s using his family to force Holmgren and Heckert’s hand.

All of this means that fans can pile their McCoy jersey on top of those of Brady Quinn, Kelly Holcomb, and Tim Couch. He’s probably thrown his last pass as a Brown. Here’s hoping the next team that employs McCoy gets just him and not his entire family.

Passive Tribe Need to Make Moves

The Cleveland Indians are a conservative organization when it comes to making roster moves during the regular season. It is difficult to tell whether that is the philosophy of GM Chris Antonetti or manager Manny Acta.

Some clubs, like the Red Sox, are always tinkering with the last four or five spots on the roster, trying to squeeze out wins anyway they can. However, the Tribe prefers the patient approach.

The season has reached the middle of June and there are now less than 100 games remaining in the season. And we go with this theory when it comes to players: The “Can’t be Any Worse Theory”.

That being said, here are several moves the Tribe could make right now that do not involve trades (because you need a partner to do something like that).

1. DFA Aaron Cunningham, purchase the contract of OF Trevor Crowe.
Cunningham is hitting .185 with a 479 OPS. Acta has to find it difficult to give the outfielder any playing time outside of a defensive replacement for either Johnny Damon or Shelley Duncan. Crowe hasn’t shown anything but being a marginal major leaguer in his time in Cleveland, but he has a .245 lifetime average in 653 at bats. He’s been hurt, but is hitting .307 (849 OPS) in Columbus this year.

He can take Cunningham’s place as defensive replacement and back up CF easily, and provide at least some offense.

2. Option Josh Tomlin to AAA, recall Zack McAllister.
We’ve always liked Tomlin and advocated for his call up in 2010, but that season and most of 2011, he was a solid starting pitcher, going at least six innings in most of his starts, and allowing less than a hit per inning.

This year is a different matter. He’s given up 68 hits in 56-2/3 frames, and his consistency is no longer there. He’s had four solid starts in which is ERA is an excellent 2.54. In the rest of his appearances, he has an 8.58 ERA.

Tomlin has marginal stuff and has to be pinpoint in accuracy to get out big league hitters. Let him rediscover his control at Columbus.

Meanwhile, McAllister did a solid job in four starts in Cleveland and has a 2.98 ERA at AAA with 47 strikeouts vs. 18 walks. If he can keep the Tribe in the game most nights, then he should be up here.

DFA Shelley Duncan, call up Jason Donald or Russ Canzler
Again, this is another tough decision. The front office likes what Duncan brings to the clubhouse and we have always supported Dunc because he’s had a track record of hitting lefties.

However, he’s lost the plate discipline he had early in the year (13 walks in 19 April games, 5 walks the rest of the season), and he’s hitting just .222 vs. southpaws.

Donald’s defensive issues aside, he’s hitting .283 at Columbus (.383 OBP) and hit .318 in 39 games with the Tribe last season.

Canzler deserves an extended shot in the bigs after a 931 OPS last year in AAA. He’s hitting just .263 this season with the Clippers, but sometimes guys just get too comfortable (read: bored) at AAA after success there.

There are other moves the Tribe could make as well. Tony Sipp should be sent out, but the Indians just sent LHP Scott Barnes back to the minors, and they don’t have another lefty ready at Columbus.

And anytime the Johnny Damon experiment is ready to be ended would be alright too. It’s tough for Acta to have to put out lineups on a nightly basis where his LF and 1B are out makers.

As we wrote, the Indians are very judicious in making roster moves, so don’t look for anything soon.

The AL Central race looks to be one that goes to the wire, so you can’t give away any games. If you can make your roster stronger with even small moves, the Indians need to do just that.

Can A Manager Have Favorites?

With Jack Hannahan coming off the disabled list soon, it appears that Lonnie Chisenhall will be on his way back to Columbus when that happens.

The question is did the youngster get a fair shot while he was on the roster?

Chisenhall hasn’t set the world on fire since his recall on May 28th, hitting just .216 in 37 at bats. But is his lack of production based on the way he was used?

He came up and started his first two games, before being put on the bench in his third game with the big club. He was used as a pinch-hitter in that game.

He has pretty much been in the lineup for two days, then out the next since then. For a player used to playing every day in the minor leagues, you have to wonder why he wasn’t used that way in Cleveland.

Manager Manny Acta has sat him down against left-handers, even though Chisenhall has hit .271 with 3 home runs in 48 at bats vs. left-handed starters in his career.

Yes, Chisenhall has issues with the strike zone (54 whiffs vs. 8 walks in 249 at bats) in his young career, but shouldn’t he get the opportunity to be in the lineup everyday?

It could be because Acta feels more comfortable playing veterans like Jack Hannahan, Jose Lopez, and Casey Kotchman if it all possible.

Think about it, what young player did the skipper give a full shot to unless there was no alternative?

The only one you can name is Jason Kipnis, who seemed to be an everyday player from the moment he was called up to the Indians.

Carlos Santana might qualify as well, but Lou Marson was hitting .191 at the time of Santana’s big league debut, so Acta didn’t have a huge choice.

A lot of managers have preferences in terms of playing time, but most of them have to do with production. As the season plays out, we will see if this is true for Manny Acta.

It would appear to most fans that Acta doesn’t care for the games of Matt LaPorta and Chisenhall. Granted, neither one is knocking down fences with the regularity of Babe Ruth, but the Tribe have some guys currently getting a lot of playing time without production.

For example, LaPorta’s career stats (.237 batting average, 697 OPS) are better than what Shelley Duncan is doing this season, .208, 649 OPS). Wouldn’t you give the former a legitimate chance to play LF, 1B, and DH?

Instead, he was sent back to Columbus today.

This is not to suggest that LaPorta is the answer to the Tribe’s right-handed hitting woes. It is merely to suggest he may be a better alternative than Duncan right now.

The Hannahan situation could be resolved by playing him at first base and shelving the Kotchman experiment. We are now 60 games into the season, and the veteran glove man is still hitting .215 with a 605 OPS.

Why not let Chisenhall play third regularly with Hannahan at 1B, and give Lopez some at bats at DH?

Hannahan is a good glove and should be able to do a solid job defensively at the other corner.

Again, we aren’t saying this move would vault the Tribe to the best record in the AL, but shouldn’t the manager be thinking of ways to put the best lineup on the field?

Remember, we had to watch a month of Orlando Cabrera hitting like a pitcher last season, while Cord Phelps couldn’t play more than one day in a row.

It’s alright for a manager to have guys he can turn to when the going gets tough, but stifling the development of young players at the expense of average players isn’t good for the organization.

Looking for Right Handed Bats?

As the baseball season approaches the middle of June, it looks more and more that the American League Central Division is very much up for grabs, meaning the Cleveland Indians have as good a shot as any team.

Right now, the pitching has been the biggest problem, ranking 12th in the league in ERA, but if recent outings by Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson are any indication of the future, that area may take care of itself.

Jimenez has begun to throw strikes, throwing 13-2/3 innings in his last two starts, walking just one batter. Keep in mind, prior to those two outings, he led all AL pitchers in allowing bases on balls. Clearly, whatever Scott Radinsky worked on in delaying the big righty before these starts worked.

Masterson hasn’t received any run support, but has pitched well in his last two efforts, allowing just 4 earned runs in 13 innings.

If these two have turned the corner, it means the biggest need for the Tribe is a right-handed stick.

It doesn’t figure that the Indians are going to get Albert Pujols, or someone of that ilk. In order to figure out who may be available, the first thing to look at is who has fallen out of contention.

A quick look at the standings show three teams currently more than 10 games out of first place, and all three are in the National League: Chicago, Colorado, and San Diego.

The next thing to look at is the players contract situation. It’s unlikely a team will deal someone with a reasonable deal for a short-term. That’s why the Josh Willingham trade rumors don’t make sense, unless the Twins can get a boatload of high level prospects.

Looking at the Cubs’ roster, the name that stands out is Alfonso Soriano, now 36-years-old, but with two more full seasons on a bloated contract. The more a team assumes dollar wise, the less they will have to give up in terms of prospects.

Soriano isn’t a high batting average or on base percentage guy (lifetime .274, but hasn’t hit that high since 2008), but he does hit for power, with ten straight 20 home run campaigns. And he looks like he’s on his way to an 11th with 12 HR’s this season.

It’s unlikely the Indians would want to add those kind of dollars for 2013 and 2014, but remember Travis Hafner’s deal comes off the books at the end of this season. Oh, and Soriano happens to play LF, a gaping, sucking hole for Cleveland.

A lower cost option from Chicago could be OF Reed Johnson, who can play all three OF spots. He’s a lifetime .283 hitter, whose average against lefties is .310 for his career with an 823 OPS. He would fit in nicely as a platoon player.

The Rockies don’t look like a good fit for the Indians, because the guys they might be looking to deal are left-handed hitters (Todd Helton, Jason Giambi) or in Michael Cuddyer’s case, just recently signed.

The Padres have two intriguing possibilities in OF Carlos Quentin (formerly of the White Sox) and utility OF Chris Denorfia.

Quentin, 29, is signed to a one year deal, and has had the Tribe’s interest before. Then GM Mark Shapiro tried to get him from Arizona after the 2007 season when he was eventually dealt to the White Sox.

In 2008, Quentin was a legitimate MVP candidate until he broke his hand late in the year against the Indians.

He has belted 2o home runs every year since that 2008 campaign, and although he doesn’t hit for a great average (.255 lifetime), he gets on base good enough via walks and getting hit by pitches (he’s been hit at least 15 times in each of the last four years).

Denorfia can play all three OF spots and is a lifetime .274 hitter (743 OPS). However, against left-handers, he’s a .306 hitter with a 798 OPS. He’s another guy who could fit in a platoon situation.

What can the Tribe give up? They do have good organizational depth in the bullpen and the middle infield. They won’t consider dealing last year’s first round pick and top prospect SS Francisco Lindor, but they do have two players at Class A Carolina in Tony Wolters and Ronny Rodriguez who have good futures.

And don’t forget 2B Cord Phelps, who continues to put up solid AAA numbers, but is blocked by Jason Kipnis.

More teams will drop out of contention by the end of July as the trading deadline nears. But if GM Chris Antonetti wants help right away, he can find some nice possibilities on the three teams mentioned here.

Some Random Opinions

School’s out for summer as Alice Cooper so famously sang, and people will start vacationing soon. Father’s Day is next week, and the guys at Cleveland Sports Perspective had some things to get off their chests.

The Heat Thing.
Tonight is Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals (apparently now called the ECF by the NBA marketing folks), and most people in this town are hoping for an elimination of the Miami Heat.

Most people nationally (read…ESPN) think folks in Cleveland feel that way because LeBron James left the Cavaliers in free agency. At least for us, that’s not the case.

That is still a sore subject, but it’s more than that. It’s the way the Miami players carry themselves. They act like rock stars, even though, they’ve won nothing as of yet. The whole party after the signings of James and Chris Bosh was gauche.

The four letter network’s Doug Gottlieb, who is an excellent basketball analyst said yesterday that fans should “get over it”. Why? When people act like jerks, and never acknowledge it, why should we forget. Because they are good?

It’s the old school people who can’t stand the Heat, because they represent the “AAU mindset” in basketball. All purists who love the sport, not just those from Cleveland, hope either the Celtics or Thunder deprive the Heat, with the love they receive from ESPN, a title.

Those teams have great players, but they arrived via trades or the draft. It’s the same reason most baseball fans hate the Yankees, no one likes the perception that you can buy a championship.

Interleague Play in Baseball
If one more person tells you there is more strategy in the National League game, please feel free to slap them in the face. It’s simply not true.

If there is less than two out and a runner on base when the pitcher comes up, the manager is going to have him bunt. What’s the strategy there? It always happens.

Oh, and the argument that when to take the pitcher out of a game doesn’t hold water either. An American League manager has to make a decision, the NL skipper is forced to pinch hit late in a game he is trailing in. That kind of makes the decision for him.

Fans of the Senior Circuit seem to think you need a PhD from M.I.T. to pull of a double switch. In reality, you just take out the guy who made the last out and put him in the pitcher’s spot.

It’s not rocket science, and watching a guys who have batting averages of around .125 hit instead of a legitimate hitter isn’t entertaining. The whole world of baseball uses the DH except the National League. Why should everyone else conform.

The Leadoff Man
Heard some people arguing today about whether or not Michael Brantley should return to the #1 spot in the batting order, now that he’s hitting.

Why? Because he’s fast and plays centerfield?

The job of the leadoff hitter is to get on base. Shin-Soo Choo does that almost 38% of the time. Brantley does it 32.5% of the time. Why would you make a change?

The argument would seem to be the Choo can hit homers and drive in runs.

However, Brantley’s slugging percentage is three points higher than Choo’s, and he has 11 more RBI’s than the rightfielder.

Traditional baseball people might flip-flop the pair in the batting order, but right now Manny Acta has it correct. Shin-Soo Choo should hit first, and Brantley in the middle of the order.

JK/MW/KM

Tribe Hanging In After Another Benchmark

After last night’s game with the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Indians hit another benchmark on the 2012 season. They have played one-third of their scheduled games and sit with a 29-25 record.

That puts them on a pace for a record of 87-75 for the entire season, which could very well be good enough to win the AL Central Division.

It’s also time to look at the team and the current state of the ballclub.

While everyone came into the season claiming the pitching was solid, so far the results are just the opposite, ranking 12th in the AL in ERA.

The starting pitching in particular has been problematic, with only Derek Lowe (7-3, 3.06 ERA) providing consistent quality performances.

Justin Masterson (2-5, 5.09 ERA) has been up and down, and last night notwithstanding, Ubaldo Jimenez (6-4, 5.31 ERA) has been mostly disappointing.

Josh Tomlin (2-3, 5.32 ERA) has not pitched like he did early last night when he put up a string of quality starts. Really, prior to his last two starts, Jeanmar Gomez (3-4, 4.42 ERA) might have been the second best starter for the Tribe this season.

It was said during spring training and it is still true, Jimenez is the key to the success of the Indians, and right now he is joined by Masterson. If they cannot give Manny Acta good performances on the nights they start, it will be difficult for the Tribe to stay in the race.

The bullpen has been solid, but Acta seems comfortable using only lefty Nick Hagadone, and right-handers Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano, and Chris Perez is games the Tribe is leading. That could create a tired bullpen going down the stretch.

Someone else needs to step up and give the team quality innings late in games. Acta seems to want veteran Jeremy Accardo to be that guy.

If the starting pitching can be more consistent and can get deeper into games, the bullpen will be more rested, and probably more effective.

That’s starts with Jimenez and Masterson.

Offensively, the Indians are right in the middle of the pack in runs scored, ranking 8th in the AL. This has been done despite holes in several positions, many of them spots traditionally known for offense.

Left field has been a mess with neither Shelley Duncan nor Johnny Damon doing much with the stick. Outside of a two-week span in May when he was respectable with the bat, Casey Kotchman has been a disaster at first base.

Yes, yes he has a good glove, but good teams need hitting at that position.

While Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis have been consistent and productive at the plate, CF Michael Brantley has been a surprise, hitting .283 and has knocked in 25 runs for the year as well, even though he hasn’t homered.

He does have 19 extra base hits (16 doubles, 3 triples) though, and is even starting to steal bases effectively (9 of 13). If he starts drawing more walks, he can be a very good offensive player.

Shin-Soo Choo (.379 OBP) has been very good since moving into the leadoff spot, providing a solid top of the order with Cabrera and Kipnis.

Unfortunately, outside of Brantley, the rest of the batting order has struggled. Carlos Santana has just 5 HR and a slugging percentage of under .400. He needs to provide some pop.

Travis Hafner is hurt again, out until the All-Star break. Jack Hannahan hit well early, which likely wasn’t going to last, but he’s been hurt for basically the last month.

The hope is that 3B Lonnie Chisenhall can provide some power, and he’s hit 2 HR’s since being brought up a little over a week ago.

Matt LaPorta was brought back up to help at first and in left, and probably could be an upgrade over the players in those spots now, but he’s not going to be a middle of the order presence.

If the Tribe is going to contend, they need Santana and Chisenhall to provide some power or GM Chris Antonetti will need to make a deal.

Once again, a third of the season has been played and the Indians are still in contention. If the starting pitching can step up, the Tribe can stay in the race into September.

Acta Shorthanded With His Bench

With the Cleveland Indians struggling since their sweep of the Detroit Tigers, the weaknesses fans have been concerned about all year have started to raise their ugly heads.

The starting pitching has been the main culprit, as in those nine games (the Tribe has gone 2-7 in those contests) only Derek Lowe’s performance against Minnesota in which he pitched 6-2/3 innings and allowed one run, can be considered very good.

The struggles of the starters has forced the Indians to play from behind quite a bit, and with their lack of power, that is not a good situation.

The Tribe is 8-18 in games they haven’t hit a home run. More to the point, they are 20-7 when they do hit one over the wall.

The Twins’ series was a perfect example. Friday night, Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis went deep in a Cleveland win. There were no round trippers the rest of the weekend, and the Indians dropped the final two games of the weekend.

And of course, the last problem area to show up again is the problem the Tribe has against southpaws. Scott Diamond started for the Twins Sunday afternoon, and the Cleveland bats took a nap, losing 6-3.

However, the roster construction doesn’t do Manny Acta any favors. Right now, there are two players on the pines who are there because they play a certain position. That is their only qualification for being on the team.

Aaron Cunningham is here because he can play CF if something happened to Michael Brantley, and Juan Diaz is on the roster because he can play shortstop.

GM Chris Antonetti hasn’t been able to develop or acquire a legitimate fourth outfielder or a utility infielder.

That is troublesome because it doesn’t give the skipper a lot of flexibility.

Neither player has shown he can hit, particularly with the limited at bats they receive, and on a team that has difficulties hitting left-handed pitching, that’s tough to digest.

Cunningham can play all three outfield spots, but there has to be someone within the organization that can provide better hitting and has the ability to play centerfield.

The same is true for Diaz at SS, although he is here because the guy whose job he has, Jason Donald, didn’t hit, and is having trouble defensively at short in Columbus.

The problem is Acta cannot have any confidence putting either of these guys in a lineup when needed. And if that’s the case, a change needs to be made.

The same problem is occurring in the bullpen with lefty Tony Sipp. The reliever has done a good job the past few years, but this year is struggling.

He came in Saturday with the team trailing 5-4 to face two left-handed hitters, Ben Revere and Joe Mauer. A single and a home run later, the score was 7-4.

This isn’t to bury Sipp, but he needs to go back to the minors to work on getting back to where he was in 2010 and 2011.

Right now, it is doubtful that Acta can find any situation in which to use him except in a blowout situation.

That’s not fair to the manager.

Most major league managers need a 25 man roster to work with, especially those who pilot small to mid-market teams.

Right now, Manny Acta has a 22 man team because his roster is littered with players like the three mentioned.

Maybe Acta’s the one who wants these guys, but that’s doubtful.

The front office needs to upgrade this roster, and the sooner they do it, the better the Indians can hang in the race to win the AL Central.

Another Chance to Add Talent for Cavs

Now that the ping-pong balls have dropped and the conspiracy theorists have spoken, the Cleveland Cavaliers now have the fourth pick in this year’s NBA Draft, which coincidentally, they had last year.

Now we can start the speculation as to who the Cavaliers will take with the selection, as well as the other three picks they will have in the top 34 choices.

Here’s what they won’t do. They will not trade F Tristan Thompson to move up to the second pick in the draft. If you have watched NBA basketball over the years, you know the biggest leap a player takes is from his first year to the second season.

Players learn what the NBA is all about, how to condition their bodies for an 82 game schedule, and have a full summer to work on the things the coaching staff and front office want them to improve on.

It is probable that Thompson will come to training camp in October a much better player than he was at the end of the 2011-12 campaign. Think about how much he improved during his rookie year, particularly on the offensive end.

GM Chris Grant should look for someone who can put the ball in the basket, especially since the team lost second leading scorer Antawn Jamison after the season as his contract expired. Coach Byron Scott needs to make up for the 18 points per night Jamison contributed.

That’s why the choice should be between Florida G Bradley Beal, rated by most to be one of the top five players, or UConn guard Jeremy Lamb, a key contributor on the Huskies 2011 national championship team.

There is no question the top pick will be Kentucky C/F Anthony Davis and likely Kansas F Thomas Robinson will be picked in the top three, leaving them unavailable for the Cavs.

A couple of players we will hear plenty about are Connecticut C Andre Drummond, classified as a guy who could be Dwight Howard or Kwame Brown, and North Carolina F Harrison Barnes, who was hyped as a first team pre-season All-America choice before he played his first collegiate game.

Keep in mind, more mistakes are made in the NBA draft on big men than any other position. Yes, a good one is difficult to find, but Grant needs to get a guy who can play the game, not someone Scott will have to prod and cajole in order to get production, which may be the case with Drummond.

As for Barnes, it is difficult to think of any collegiate game that he was part of in which he was a dominant player.

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist may be available at #4, but he’s more of a solid player, a guy who does a lot of things well. He has been compared to players like Gerald Wallace and Andre Iguodala, both very good players, but not scorers.

Beal may not be a great leaper or stunning athletically, but he’s a scorer. In watching Florida lose in the NCAA tournament to Louisville, you wondered why the Gators didn’t get the ball to Beal when they were struggling down the stretch.

Lamb is thin, but can shoot off the dribble, can handle the ball, and has a beautiful mid-range game, hitting 60% of his shots inside the three-point arc.

Either would be perfect fits for the Cavaliers and would team with rookie of the year Kyrie Irving to set up a very good backcourt for the future.

The Cavs still need size, but they still have three more picks (although they will likely trade one so they don’t bring four rookies into camp) to beef up the frontcourt.

Once again, Grant’s ability to judge talent will be the key to any progress made by the wine and gold, and also whether he will have an NBA GM position five years from now.