The second half of the 2009 baseball season starts tonight, at least symbolically since the Indians have already played 89 games this season.  More importantly for the Tribe, the trading deadline is just 15 days away.  Will more players be going prior to this deadline, and if so, who should be dealt away?

 

There are some players who are fairly obvious candidates to go, they being the players who are free agents at the end of this season:  Jamey Carroll and Carl Pavano.  Carroll would have some value to a team looking for a utility infielder, as he is a solid defensive player and has a high on base percentage.  He also has some speed. 

 

Pavano has pitched better than anyone could have expected, especially after his disastrous first start in Texas, when he gave up nine runs in one inning of work.  The veteran right-hander would be a nice addition to a contender looking for a back of the rotation starter.  Also, remember that Pavano has post-season experience with the Marlins in 2003.

 

There have been many rumors about the availability of two players who can be free agents following the 2010 season, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez.  The Indians will tell you neither will be traded, but if they don’t think Lee will sign after next season, they should consider dealing last year’s Cy Young Award winner. 

 

Why?  Because they will get more in a deal now than they will at next year’s trading deadline because the team that gets him will have his services for an entire year in addition to the last two months of this season.  However, you would have to get a major league pitcher in return, preferably someone younger and with potential.  The Tribe would also have to get at least two top tier prospects.  If they can’t get that in return, then they should pass on dealing him for now.

 

Martinez has expressed interest in staying and I would talk to him and his agent to see how serious he is about signing a long-term deal.  Martinez is the one guy I would portray as a professional hitter in the Tribe lineup.  His long-term future probably isn’t behind the plate, particularly with Carlos Santana on the way, but he could fit in at 1B or DH when Travis Hafner’s contract expires. 

 

No matter what, Martinez is a talent worth holding on to.

 

The other players I would consider moving would be Ryan Garko, Jhonny Peralta, and Kelly Shoppach though I don’t know what kind of market there is for these guys.  Garko has been the guy who has been jerked around by management over the years, but he is a 1B/DH type who doesn’t show outstanding power.  With Martinez around, and guys like Matt LaPorta, Beau Mills, and Nick Weglarz (who likely will wind up at first) all on the horizon, the future for Garko in Cleveland isn’t looking bright.

 

Peralta might be an even tougher sell, although he has a better track record.  I doubt there would be any buyers as a shortstop because his defensive shortcomings are well documented, and he hasn’t shown enough at the hot corner to have a team completely sold he can play there on an everyday basis.  This much is clear, Peralta most definitely needs a change of scenery to jump start his career.

 

The Tribe owes it to themselves to take another look at Andy Marte, who I may remind you is just 25 years old.  Marte is hitting better than he ever has at the Class AAA level, and he has always been a solid defensive third baseman.  The organization also has Wes Hodges (a defensive liability) and 2008 #1 pick, Lonnie Chisenhall in the pipeline.  Chisenhall is having a very good year at Kinston, and should be moved to Akron soon.  Scouts have commented about his smooth swing from the left side.  And he will turn 21 this October.

 

Shoppach had what appears to be a career year last season, and quite frankly doesn’t make contact frequently enough to be an effective offensive player on an everyday basis.  He’s a solid defensive catcher, and handles pitchers well enough, so with the paucity of good catchers at the big league level, he should draw some interest.  Plus, Shoppach makes an estimated $3 million next season, so moving his salary would also be something that would interest the ownership.

 

 A wild card to all of the trade speculation is Kerry Wood.  Wood has not had a lot of work, but he has been a disappointment so far this season.  Wood is under contract for at least one more season, and quite possibly two years depending on how many games he finishes.  He may be in demand by a contender at the deadline, and you would have to consider a deal if you can get some starting pitching in return, especially after the acquisition of Chris Perez as a possible closer down the line.

 

The front office has said there is no opportunity to see the team’s top prospects at the big league level unless trades are made for players currently on the roster, so one would have to believe GM Mark Shapiro is trying to get some things done.  If not, it looks like more of what we saw in the first half of this dreadful campaign.

 

KM

 

The Cleveland Indians are 19 games below the break-even point going into the All Star break.  That is the most important number regarding this ballclub.  However, looking at some other statistics there are some other remarkable numbers that stand out. 

 

·          Victor Martinez leads the Indians with 34 extra base hits.  Shin-Soo Choo is second with 32, but Grady Sizemore is third with 30, despite having 45 less at bats than the two players ahead of him.  Sizemore’s slugging percentage ranks 4^th on the team.

 

·          The team leader in slugging percentage is Travis Hafner at .556 in only 135 at bats.  This shows that if and when Hafner is in the lineup, he most definitely is still a productive hitter.  He has also drawn 20 walks compared to 25 strikeouts on the year.

 

·          Luis Valbuena has more extra base hits in 155 at bats (18) than Ryan Garko has in 208 at bats (17).  Valbuena shows good pop for a middle infielder, but Garko’s total for a 1B/DH player is horrible.  Hafner has 18 extra base hits in 135 at bats.

 

·          Just about everyone agrees that Ben Francisco has had an awful year with the bat.  However, his OPS of 714 is higher than that of Jhonny Peralta’s 710.  Kelly Shoppach is worse than both of them at 697.

 

·          Choo leads the Indians in both walks (54, tied for 4^th in the AL) and strikeouts (85, tied for 7^th in the AL).

 

·          Martinez is the only other Tribesman in the top 25 in the Junior Circuit in walks, while both Peralta and Sizemore join Choo in the top 25 in strikeouts.

 

·          As a team, Cleveland ranks 5^th in the league in runs scored, 4^th in walks, and 3^rd in striking out.

 

·          The Indians designated Matt Herges for assignment with an ERA of 3.55.  In the last few weeks, they have added Chris Perez (12.46 ERA), Winston Abreu (10.80 ERA), and Jose Veras (5.68 ERA) to the roster.

 

·          Rafael Perez ranks 2^nd on the Indians in appearances with 31, behind only Kerry Wood’s 34 games pitched.  He has appeared in this many games despite having an ERA of 8.88.

 

·          Cliff Lee (6.7) and Carl Pavano (5.9) are the only Indian starters who average more than 5-1/2 innings per start this season.  And you wonder why the Tribe bullpen is taxed?

 

·          The biggest difference on the staff in comparing hits to innings pitched (less hits than innings) belongs to Tony Sipp, who has pitched all of 13 innings this year, allowing just five hits.  The next best figure belongs to Rafael Betancourt, who has pitched 28-2/3 frames allowing 24 hits.

 

·          The only starter who has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched is Aaron Laffey, who has pitched 40 innings and has allowed 39 hits.  Of course, the southpaw has walked 21, while striking out just 20 batters.

 

·          The only relievers who have a strikeout to walk ratio of better that 2 to 1 are Betancourt, Jensen Lewis (who allowed nine homers in 39 innings), and the aforementioned Herges, who couldn’t find a place in this bullpen.

 

·          Raise your hand if you thought Pavano would have almost 23% of the Indians wins (8 out of 35) at the All Star break.

 

Looking at these numbers, I’m very happy the front office has decided to ride this thing out through the end of the year.

 

MW

 

It was one week ago that Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro said that Eric Wedge’s job is safe at least through the rest of the season.  The ballclub responded by losing its next three contests, and four out of six overall.  Obviously, the constant talk about the skipper’s job status was affecting the team’s play, because now that they knew what was happening, they relaxed…and played exactly the same way they have all year long.

 

Wedge’s status is temporary, because I can’t see any scenario where the Dolan family signs off on another year of this manager and his coaching staff.  By the end of the year, it is likely that Wedge will have a below .500 career record with only two winning seasons on his seven year term.  Not even his most ardent supporter, which is Shapiro, can argue with those results. 

 

Now that the manager’s status has been cleared up, can this organization look forward to 2010?  In some regards they have, and in others, let’s just say it’s a little frightening how they think.

 

For a team whose bullpen has been awful this season, it would seem odd to deal the most reliable reliever you’ve had for the past five seasons.  However, that’s what the Indians might do because of Rafael Betancourt’s $5 million option for 2010.  Outside of an off year in 2008, Betancourt has been the model of consistency since being called up in 2003.  If the Dolans want to cut salary, then deal players who are unproductive.  Year in and year out, Rafael Betancourt has been one of the better set up men in baseball.  Why don’t the Indians trade someone like…

 

Jhonny Peralta, who has been a underachiever for much of his time here since his breakout season in 2005. The Plain Dealers’ Terry Pluto wrote what he have advocated for a month now, that Peralta should be moved and he is more tradable because he is under contract through 2010.  Yes, the Tribe mishandled him this year, as he should have been moved to 3B in spring training, but Peralta fails in the mental part of the game.  He is slow to make adjustments, and has appeared listless when things are going bad.

 

Besides, it’s time to give Andy Marte another look.  I was as down on Marte as everyone else after last season, but he is hitting better than he ever has in AAA ball, and deserves another look.  Remember, he still is only 25 years old. 

 

Hopefully, the team will bring up Matt LaPorta and perhaps Michael Brantley as well, and allow them to play the bulk of the time with the rest of this season being dedicated to ’10.  There is no need to continue to play Ryan Garko in the outfield, as he compromisizes the defense too much.  Also, Ben Francisco has shown he’s not an every day player, and the team needs to find a regular LF for next season.  With the pitching staff the Indians have this season, defense has to be a priority, particularly in the outfield.

 

I would also like to see Hector Rondon get a look as well.  I’m sure the front office is going to limit Rondon to about 160 innings this season, and I would like to see him get a start or two before the September call ups and more teams are playing out the string.

 

Let’s stop playing guys who’ve been given numerous chances without producing.  That’s what the rest of this season is all about.  Start finding answers for what went wrong in 2009.

 

KM

 

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a big splash the day of the NBA draft by picking up Shaquille O’Neal in a trade with the Phoenix Suns.  They added another all star to their lineup without giving anything significant in return.  Now, the big name free agents are signing all over the league, and seemingly the wine and gold remain idle.  Should fans be concerned?

 

Remember that the Cavs went 66-16 last season, so a major rebuilding project was not needed.  The team needed an inside presence both on offense and defense, and that’s why O’Neal was brought in.  Adding a big ticket free agent would have brought more big headlines, but it wouldn’t have made a huge difference in the teams’ win-loss record.

 

So, GM Danny Ferry sat back and waiting for lower priced players who will help the squad with the weaknesses that showed up against Orlando, that is, a big man who can play on the perimeter, and more size in the backcourt.  That’s why he went after Anthony Parker, who the team coveted for several years.

 

Parker is been around for awhille, a veteran of the European league before spending the last few years with the Raptors.  He is a solid defender, and at 6-6, gives the backcourt some much needed size.  He is also a good threat from beyond the three point arc.  Much like Mo Williams, he has been a thorn in the side of the wine and gold for quite some time.

 

The Cavs also kept Anderson Varajao, keeping the youngest player in the frontcourt rotation for the next six seasons.  Varajao has emerged as one of the NBA’s best defensive big men, and he moves without the ball well enough to be the recipient of many a LeBron James pass for easy baskets.  With the addition of O’Neal, the wine and gold front court has some age.  Keeping Varajao was essential not only for next season, but for the future as well.

 

So, the only move left for Ferry is getting a "stretch" big man to defend the Rashard Lewis types that play the power forward spot.  That spot could go to Channing Frye, a former #1 pick with the Knicks, who has had injury problems the past few years.  Remember, the Cavs aren’t getting Frye to play major minutes.  He would be a role player, so there isn’t a need to spend big cash.

 

Also, remember this.  At this point last year, the Williams trade hadn’t occurred yet. 

 

Perhaps the most important move remaining for the wine and gold is finding a replacement for assistant coach John Kuester, who appears to be the next head coach of the Detroit Pistons.  Coach Mike Brown’s weakness has been offense, and the attack cannot go back to the stagnant one that was run before last season.  With James and O’Neal on board, there is definitely pressure to have an efficient offense, one that can go deep into the playoffs, and can succeed against excellent defenses.

 

JK

 

On Sunday night, June 14^th, Cliff Lee took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Since that 3-0 victory, the Cleveland Indians have lost 13 out of 15 games.  Obviously, the season has gone south since then, and right now nothing is going right for this team.  Here are some comments about this ballclub—

 

·          One of the things that is said to support manager Eric Wedge is that his team never quits.  Watching this team since the Mark DeRosa deal on Saturday night, that can no longer be used as an argument.  The Indians have gone through the motions since the deal was made.

 

·          Did anyone else find the note left by DeRosa to Ryan Garko interesting?  He told Garko to “keep grinding”.  Was this a jab at Wedge and his mantra?  And if so, does it mean that the veterans on this team finding the managers’ clichés tired and played out?

 

·          GM Mark Shapiro apparently doesn’t like comparisons to the Tribe teams of the 90’s.  Too bad!  Do you think the Yankees’ Brian Cashman likes hearing about not winning a World Series since 2000?  Shapiro has it easy here from both the fans and the media.  He needs to quit making excuses and take action to put together a contending team.

 

·          That said, it is ludicrous to say the GM is living off the Bartolo Colon trade.  Doesn’t anyone remember he traded for Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo?  I also think Luis Valbuena will be a good player down the road.

 

·          Is Wedge incapable of changing an opinion about a player?  Let’s use Josh Barfield as an example.  Barfield was given the 2B job in 2007, and couldn’t hold it, forcing the call up of Asdrubal Cabrera.  It seems Barfield will never be given an opportunity again from the current manager.  It’s the same with Rafael Perez.  He was the lights out southpaw out of the bullpen for the past two years, and he continues to be put into tight situations despite his struggles this year.

 

·          It’s crazy that the reliever with the second most appearances on the team (R. Perez) has an ERA of over 9.00 for the season.

 

·          Do we really need to see more of Ben Francisco and Kelly Shoppach?  I understand Shoppach catches Cliff Lee, but why doesn’t Victor Martinez catch the rest of the time?  As for Francisco, if you’re not Andy Sonnanstine, he can’t hit you.

 

·          Chris Gimenez had two hits on Monday playing LF, and didn’t play on Tuesday against a southpaw.  Why?

 

·          Don’t look now, but this team is on pace to lose 100 games!  Even the biggest critic of the Indians’ management would not have figured that. 

 

·          The Tribe’s handling of their prospects should also be questioned.  With Columbus pitching Kirk Saarloos, Jack Cassel, and Ken Ray on a regular basis, can anyone explain why Hector Rondon is still at Akron?  Or why Lonnie Chisenhall is still at Akron?  Or why Nick Weglarz is still at Akron.  Rondon pitched well in spring training, and he should be at Class AAA by now with all the pitching problems this organization has had.

 

All in all, this has developed into a huge mess.  Sure, it’s not all Eric Wedge’s fault, but I believe his handling of the bullpen contributes to the poor performance.  Still, how can the Dolans expect the fans of this team to watch another 80 games or so with the team playing like it has over the past three weeks. 

 

Tribe fans deserve better.  Whether or not they get it is up to management.

 

MW

 

The Indians’ trade of Mark DeRosa was another case of the team trading a potential free agent for prospects.  Chris Perez is a power arm out of the bullpen, a 24-year-old right-hander who has the ability to make hitters swing and miss.  DeRosa was acquired by the team knowing he was going to be a free agent at the end of this season. 

 

However, it brings into question how the Indians deal with potential free agents, and do they make the correct decisions in regards to which ones to keep?

 

A few years ago, the Tribe knew three key components were about to be free agents after the 2008 season:  C.C. Sabathia, Jake Westbrook, and Travis Hafner.  As of the end of the 2006 season, these three players represented the team’s best power hitter, the ace of the pitching staff, and a solid #3 or #4 starter. 

 

A staff ace is the most important thing on a pitching staff, and remember, this was before Cliff Lee emerged as a top of the rotation starter.  At this point, Lee was a solid #2 or #3 starting pitcher, and had combined for 32 wins over the past two seasons (2005 & 2006).  Still, the management chose to hold off on signing Sabathia, and instead focused their attentions on Hafner and Westbrook, who they deemed to be more signable.

 

Did the Indians try to ink the big lefty to a multiyear deal after the 2006 season, before his Cy Young Award season the following year?  Only C.C. and his agent can vouch for the legitimacy of any offer.  However, it was clear that Sabathia was coming into his own, and would have signed for much less than he received from the Yankees following his 2008 campaign.

 

Instead, the Indians turned their attention to Westbrook, and inked the sinkerballer to a three-year contract extension.  Once again, this is not to denigrate Westbrook, but he’s an innings eater who will have years where he is very good, and also years where he is mediocre.  Could the $10 million or so given to Westbrook have been used to sweeten the proposal for Sabathia after he won the ’07 Cy Young Award? 

 

The Tribe signed Hafner while he was struggling during the 2007 season.  There is a limited market for Pronk because he is a designated hitter, which eliminates all of the National League teams.  Also, the large market teams all have DH’s, like Boston (David Ortiz), New York (Hideki Matsui), and Los Angeles (Vlade Guerrero).

 

It is clear that Sabathia was the free agent to keep out of that trio, and that should have been determined after the 2006 season.  If he was not at all interested in signing a long-term deal after the ’06 season, then the Tribe should have traded him, and they would have received more than the prospects they received when dealing him last season.  This is because the club trading for him would have had him for two years guaranteed.

 

I’m rehashing all of this because of the rumors that Cliff Lee is on the trading block.  I understand that it would have been a huge gamble signing the lefty to a long-term deal after last season because he was coming off a terrible 2007 season.  However, Lee has shown that last year was not a fluke, and he is indeed one of the better pitchers in the major leagues.

 

This organization has to change the way they handle potential free agents, particularly with elite players.  Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore are both getting close to their free agency years, and the front office needs to deal with both of these guys at least two years before their current contracts end.  Talking to them a year before their deal ends is too close in terms of time.  The players figure they went that far already, they might as well see the process through.

 

Would this team be better off with Sabathia instead of Westbrook, the latter’s elbow injury notwithstanding?  Of course, they would.  However, Shapiro attacked the free agent he had the best chance of signing.  It’s more of the unwillingness to take a risk that has hampered the organization.

 

Trading Cliff Lee would be another blow to the fans of the Cleveland Indians.  However, if Lee and the Tribe can’t get close to a deal in the off-season, then the ’08 Cy Young Award winner should be dealt before the beginning of the ’10 season in order to get major league talent, not prospects, in return. 

 

The Dolans want to review the entire organization?  The Indians’ fans already have, and they will be voicing their opinion by staying away from Progressive Field.

 

KM

 

The Cleveland Indians made the first move in what is becoming its annual fire sale, dealing Mark DeRosa to the St. Louis Cardinals for reliever Chris Perez and the infamous player to be named later.  This leaves the disappointing Jhonny Peralta, whom Eric Wedge went out of his way to praise after Friday night’s game, as the regular third baseman.  Things just keep looking up for the Tribe.

 

DeRosa was mishandled from the moment the Indians acquired him.  When GM Mark Shapiro traded for him, most people thought the former Cub would play 2B with Asdrubal Cabrera going to shortstop and Peralta going to third.  However, as usual, the Indians were smarter, putting DeRosa at third, where he had some defensive issues.

 

When they finally moved Peralta to third, it left DeRosa without a spot in the infield.  Over the past month or so, he spent most of his time in LF or RF.  However, he was still productive with the bat, hitting .270 with 13 homers (2nd on the team) and 50 RBI (also 2nd on the team). 

 

In return, the Indians get a power arm out of the bullpen in Perez, who will turn 24 this week.  The relief corps is the achilles heel for Cleveland, so from the standpoint of upgrading a weakness, it’s not a bad move.  It will be interesting to see who will be erased from the ‘pen when Perez reports tomorrow, especially after Jensen Lewis was sent back to Columbus to make room for Jose Veras.  The easy way out would be to send Tony Sipp back, but it terms of effectiveness, Rafael Perez or Joe Snith should be the one that goes.

 

Cabrera was activated to replace DeRosa on the roster which means the team has a million infielders and no outfielders.  Ryan Garko is playing LF today, and no one wants to see that on an extended basis.  So, who is going to replace DeRosa in left?  Will Matt LaPorta be brought up?  Or will it be Michael Brantley?  The ballclub cannot continue to put Ben Francisco in that spot on an everyday basis.  He has proven he is not an everyday player.

 

Again, dealing DeRosa was the easy way out.  Wedge can talk up Peralta all he wants, but dealing DeRosa will make it harder for this team to score runs.  Peralta simply has not become the player he was projected to be after his breakout 2005 season.  It’s four years later, and we still see the same ups and downs you would associate with a guy just up from the minor leagues. 

 

The front office is selling yet another season down the river, and the general manager’s staunch defense of his manager is getting tiring.  The Cavaliers made a bold move this week trying to win a championship, meanwhile the Indians are considering having a meeting to discuss the organization.  The White Sox’ Ozzie Guillen is right, meetings are for losers.  And so is trading for prospects.

 

MW 

 

 

 

It was an eventful day for the Cleveland Cavaliers even before the NBA draft started, as GM Danny Ferry pulled the trigger to bring Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland in exchange for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46^th pick in the draft and cash considerations.  In terms of the talent changing hands, it is a no-brainer decision. 

 

As we’ve stated before, Pavlovic has talent, but doesn’t bring it to the floor every night, making him a nightmare to coach.  Wallace is a shell of the player he was when he was winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards.  O’Neal was still third team all NBA last year at age 37, and made the All Star team.  He’s not the Shaq he was earlier in the decade, but he’s still a productive player.

 

I see O’Neal definitely being on the floor when LeBron James is getting his rest at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters, with the Cavs feeding the low post and having the offense run through him.  O’Neal will be a starter, but my guess is Mike Brown will limit his minutes to around 24 to 27 per night, with the big guy getting some games off on back to back nights.  This will keep him fresh for the playoffs.

 

When the two megastars are on the floor together, O’Neal is an underrated passer who will definitely benefit from having a player like James cutting to the basket.  And if James is double teamed, how many players can stop Shaq one on one in the post? 

 

Defensively, O’Neal can put his massive body on a guy like Dwight Howard and make it difficult for the Orlando big man down low.  There shouldn’t be a need to double team in the post for the Cavs now that O’Neal is defending down there.  No, Shaq doesn’t play the pick and roll well, or at all.  But on the defensive end, the Cavs are getting him to guard guys like Howard.

 

The Magic even reacted to the Cavs’ move by trading for Vince Carter, who is far from the player he once was.  Carter is soft and not mentally tough, so I can make a very good case that this makes the Magic not as strong of a team as the one that beat Cleveland in the conference finals, particularly if they lose Hedo Turkoglu to free agency.

 

As for the draft, I can’t explain what the Cavs were doing in picking Christian Eyenga with the 30^th pick, unless another deal is coming.  Eyenga will not play for the wine and gold this season, and it is an odd pick, especially with Sam Young, Patrick Mills, and Derrick Brown still on the board.  Danny Ferry had a chance to upgrade the talent level of the team, and get a bigger wing player (Young or Brown) with the pick and whiffed on it.

 

I do like the second round pick in North Carolina’s Danny Green.  Green is a big guard and you know he learned about playing defense playing for Roy Williams.  He could very well make the team next season, but probably will not contribute much because he won’t get the playing time.

 

All in all, it was a good day for the Cleveland Cavaliers.  However, the front office can’t stop here, and I don’t believe they will.  More moves have to be coming to get wing players with length, because if the Cavs don’t get better in that area, getting Shaquille O’Neal alone won’t bring a title.

 

JK

 

 

With possible changes in the news for the Cleveland Indians, pretty much everyone in the organization is taking heat, from owner Larry Dolan to the coaching staff.  Some criticism is well founded and based on good information; other stuff doesn’t have a lot of basis in fact. 

 

One such criticism is that the Tribe just doesn’t have a lot of talent.  While it is true that the team has had problems securing talent in the draft, they have acquired good players in other ways.  For example, look at the everyday lineup of this year’s team. 

 

If we assume Victor Martinez is the first baseman for these purposes, and we use VORP (Value over replacement players) as the criteria, the Indians actually have some very good players.  Take Martinez, for example.  I don’t think anyone would argue that Martinez is a quality major leaguer; in fact, he will probably make his third all-star appearance next month.  His 942 OPS lead the regulars, and he has a VORP of 28.4.

 

In fact, the Indians have four regulars with a VORP over 10.0.  Besides Martinez, Shin-Soo Choo (21.8), Asdrubal Cabrera (15.4), and Mark DeRosa (12.9) also are in this category.  Travis Hafner (11.8) is as well, but I didn’t include him because of his limited availability because of injury. 

 

As a comparison, the Boston Red Sox have six everyday players who have VORP’s of over 10.0, just one more than the Indians.

 

The lowest ranked players who have seen significant playing time for Cleveland are OF Ben Francisco (-0.5), Kelly Shoppach (-0.9), and Grady Sizemore (0.3).  Sizemore has his elbow injury as a reason for his struggles, and if that has been a problem since spring training, it could explain his poor season.  MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds showed how Sizemore released his hand from the bat when swinging at an outside pitch, probably because of the pain involved in trying to hit that pitch.

 

With Luis Valbuena showing he can play a little bit, second base isn’t a problem spot either especially with Jamey Carroll on hand to back up.  Jhonny Peralta (4.4) is doing an average job at the hot corner. 

 

This means the two weak spots in the lineup are C (Shoppach) and LF (Francisco).  These positions can be easily remedied by putting Martinez back behind the plate more often (he has caught less games than Shoppach), and playing Ryan Garko (2.2) more often at first.  Garko isn’t doing much, but he is a better hitter than Shoppach.

 

With Hafner back at least two games out of three; DeRosa can play LF on an everyday basis, thus putting Francisco on the bench.  The point is, the Tribe puts a pretty good lineup on the field everyday, so saying there isn’t a lot of talent is wrong.

 

What there isn’t is a lot of pitching, which as its rank of 13^th in the American League in ERA shows, is dreadful.

 

The only starting pitcher, and in fact, the only pitcher who has toiled for the Indians this season and is doing a very good job is, of course, Cliff Lee (34.3).  The only other pitchers who have VORP’s of over five are Matt Herges (8.5) and Aaron Laffey (7.5).  The worst hurlers are really no surprises:  Fausto Carmona (-15.0) and Rafael Perez (-9.9). 

 

It makes sense too.  Carmona was the key member of the starting rotation, and he has been a bust so far, undermining the entire rotation.  If not for Carl Pavano, the rotation would really be a mess. 

 

Perez’ struggles have led to the overwhelming problems the team has had in the 8^th inning.  The Tribe figured they had three options for the eighth in Perez, Rafael Betancourt, and Jensen Lewis, who went 13 for 13 in save opportunities last season.  Betancourt has been hurt, and the other two have been complete failures.

 

The point is that Mark Shapiro and the Dolans said this team was going to be built on pitching.  Instead, the pitching has been horrendous, and the alternatives brought up from the minors apparently aren’t there.  It’s this facet of the team that is the chief culprit in the disastrous season the Indians are having.  First, it was the starters, and over the last two months it has been the bullpen. 

 

However, there is talent on this big league roster.  That’s another reason this season could have been salvageable with a move here or there.  Instead, it looks like Shapiro fiddled while his team burned.

 

MW

 

After Saturday’s debacle at Wrigley Field, Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro deflected criticism of manager Eric Wedge by telling the media that the team’s losing is as much as fault as anyone else’s.  While it is true that the formation of the roster, and the problems with the drafts are his problem, the easiest thing to do is change the skipper. 

 

And it’s not just this season that is the issue with Wedge.  Speaking as a fan, we are tired of many things in this regime…

 

We are tired on poor April starts putting the team into a hole right out of the gate.  A poor first month of the season every other year would be bad luck.  Six bad Aprils in seven years points to the lack of preparation for the Indians as they head into the regular season.

 

We are tired of the poor fundamentals, which plague this team every season.  I’m not talking about bunting, which is the key word for fans in discussing how to play the game.  I’m talking about hitting behind runners, moving runners with outs, scoring runs with outs, throwing to the right base, and hitting the cutoff man.  These are all things that have been lacking over the past seven seasons.

 

We are tired of players getting chance after chance after chance despite no track record of success. 

 

We are tired of certain players getting a longer rope than others when it comes to performance. 

 

We are tired of pitchers nibbling at the strike zone and hitters having no clue what is a strike and what is a ball.

 

We are tired of coaches who have no accountability for the performance of the players.

 

It doesn’t stop with the manager, either.

 

We are tired of a scouting department that hasn’t drafted and signed (remember the Tribe drafted Tim Lincecum) an impact major league player in over ten years.

 

We are tired of prospects being moved through the system at a snail’s pace.

 

We are tired of excuses about injuries and bad luck.

 

We are tired of the arrogance of the front office that there is only one way of putting together a winning ballclub, their way, despite evidence to the contrary.

 

We are tired of our summer being ruined. 

 

We are tired of following this baseball team.

 

The last one should scare the Dolan’s most.

 

KM