It was quite a contrast last night.  In Milwaukee, CC Sabathia received a hero’s welcome as he won his debut with the Brewers.  In Detroit, his former teammates got a Casey Blake double and a Jhonny Peralta home run in the first to take a 2-0 lead.  Unfortunately, those would be the only hits the Tribe mustered in a 9-2 shellacking at the hands of the Tigers.  Get ready for more tough times ahead with Paul Byrd serving up homers tonight, and apparently minor league veteran Matt Ginter will pitch for Cleveland against the Rays on Saturday.  Ouch!

That being said, here are some more thoughts on Monday’s big deal. 

The Key to the Deal.  Yes, Matt La Porta provides a much needed power bat to the organization, but in many ways, the key to the trade is Fausto Carmona.  Before he injured his hip, Carmona had an inconsistent 2008 season, walking more hitters than he struck out (38/23).  The fact that he had an ERA of 3.10 despite these control problems is a testament to how good his stuff is.  If the right-hander can throw strikes, he would replace Sabathia as the ace of the staff, with Cliff Lee as the #2 starter going into next season.  The Tribe needs a Fausto Carmona closer to the 2007 model than the 2008 pitcher.

Scouting Problems.  The deal underscores the problem the Indians’ scouting department has had since the turn of the century.  They have been unable to draft a productive hitter.   Last year’s #1 choice, Beau Mills is hitting pretty well at Kinston (.276/.361/.492) with 41 extra base hits in 83 games.  Another left handed hitter at Kinston, Nick Weglarz, just 20 years old, also shows promise (.272/.398/.449).  However, both are 1B/LF/DH types.   3B Wes Hodges is doing well at Akron, and hopefully we will see him in Cleveland before the season ends.  However, there isn’t much at AAA Buffalo, outside of another left-handed hitter, 1B Jordan Brown.  Obviously, the need for a right-handed power hitter was dire for the Tribe.

Let’s Be Aggressive.  Watching the Red Sox’ game the other night, made me think that Jonathon Papelbon would never have been given the job as Tribe closer as a rookie.  According to the Indians’ thinking, you have to have a veteran in that spot.  Why?  Here’s hoping La Porta is moved to Buffalo after a good week at Akron, and then up to the big club if he has a couple of good weeks at the AAA level.  There is no reason to hold him back.  Also, let’s take a look at Hodges, and some more pitchers such as Jeff Stevens.  Why not give Stevens a shot at closing?  He might just do the job.

It Should Have Been Us Last Year.  The Brewers made the bold move the Indians should have made last season.  The Tribe did pick up Kenny Lofton to replace an injured David Dellucci, but Mark Teixeira was on the block, but the Indians didn’t pursue him.  Would they have won the World Series by making a deal for the slugging 1B?  Maybe not, but perhaps they would have.  The Indians are hesitant to deal prospects, but the players the Rangers would have wanted would have been guys like Adam Miller (now injured), Ryan Garko (struggling), and Ben Francisco (an okay player).  Over estimating their minor league talent is a definite problem for this organization.

The Heat Has Been Turned Up.  Ryan Garko, Ben Francisco, and Shin-Soo Choo should have a little more pep in their step today.  Matt La Porta was brought in because these guys have been less than overwhelming.  They have been handed regular jobs, but haven’t taken advantage.  Garko in particular has been a huge disappointment after solid seasons in 2006 and 2007.

The Indians need to give us a reason to watch them the rest of the season.  Trotting out Jeremy Sowers every fifth day doesn’t do it.  Neither does penciling Dellucci in at the DH spot.  If Mark Shapiro is serious in having a contending club in 2009, he needs to find out about some young players, and why not try something different by using some youngsters. 

KM

As the season sails away further and further with another blown save by Joe Borowski, the time to start the tryout camp for 2009 draws near.  The first bit of business for GM Mark Shapiro is C.C. Sabathia.  If the reigning Cy Young Award winner is interested in re-opening negotiations before the trading deadline, which is doubtful, Shapiro and the Dolan family have to make a determination they can sign him to a long-term deal.  If the big lefty doesn’t want to talk during the season, the Indians have no choice but to make a mega-deal. 

I am a firm believer in the “can’t do any worse” theory, particularly in sports.  For example, since I have mentioned Joe Borowski, why doesn’t Eric Wedge try Masa Kobayashi as the closer, since he “can’t do any worse” than JoeBo’s four blown saves in 10 opportunities.  He certainly could do the same as the man who led the AL in saves last season, but it is virtually impossible to do any worse.  The added bonus is you might find out that Kobayashi can do the job better. 

With that in mind, there are several moves the front office can make prior to a possible huge trade involving Sabathia.  The first involves the DH spot, where David Dellucci has proved to be a bust.  Giving the 34-year-old extended at-bats doesn’t do anything for the Tribe’s future.  The veteran received the benefit of the doubt last season because of injuries, but his numbers this year should not earn him any more playing time.  Why not bring up Michael Aubrey to take these opportunities, or maybe even Jordan Brown who has been hot at Buffalo?  A left-handed hitter, Brown is up to .290 at Class AAA.  He has just three home runs, but has banged out 20 doubles.  As an added bonus, he doesn’t strike out a lot, whiffing just 37 times in 238 at-bats.

Besides making Kobayashi the closer, there are some moves to make with the bullpen as well.  Why not take a look at Jeff Stevens, the pitcher acquired from the Reds in the Brandon Phillips transaction?  The right-hander had his first bad outing at Buffalo the other day, which raised his ERA to 5.40 at the AAA level.  However, he has struck out 22 batters in 13-1/3 innings, and opposing batters are hitting just .204 against him.  Why not give him a shot at closing?  Heck, last night, the Rays used Twins reject Grant Balfour to close out a win against the Red Sox.

Besides C.C., another Indian that should be popular on the trade market is 3B Casey Blake, who is having a solid year and can play four positions.  That would leave an opening at the hot corner, and apparently the management has no intention of filling the spot with Andy Marte.  One possibility that should be looked at is moving Jhonny Peralta to 3B, and replacing him with Asdrubal Cabrera, who has a better glove.  Peralta drives people crazy, but will provide the team with 20 HR, and his lack of range shouldn’t be an issue at third.  Wes Hodges, who is hitting over .300 at Class AA Akron, is another option.

The Cleveland Indians are sitting at 10 games below the .500 mark, and 11-1/2 games out of first place.  They are in last place in the AL Central Division.  The management of this team needs to stop wasting time wishing that it is still 2007, and start looking at some alternatives.  The fans would also enjoy seeing new people try to succeed rather than watching another summer rerun.

KM

There is no question the Cleveland Indians season has been a disappointment.  After coming within one game of the World Series last season, the Tribe finds itself tied for fourth place in the AL Central Division, 9-1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox.  Injuries have played a part in the fall, but they are by far not the only reason for the poor first half of the season.  What individual players have been the biggest disappointments for the 2008 Indians?

Rafael Betancourt.  GM Mark Shapiro knows that the most volatile part of a baseball team is the bullpen, and he tried to fortify this area of the squad by signing Masa Kobayashi.  However, no one could have predicted the decline of Betancourt from 2007 to 2008.  Last year, the righty had arguably the best season by a set up reliever in history, and this year he has been dreadful.  In 2007, hitters batted only .183 against him, in 2008, they are teeing off at over a .300 clip.  His ERA is 4.5 runs higher than last season, and is over 6.00 overall.  His ineffectiveness has contributed to making the Tribe bullpen one of the game’s worst.

Ryan Garko.  Garko had a good first year as regular, hitting .289 with 21 HR’s and 61 RBI in almost 500 at bats.  That followed a partial season in 2006 where he hit .292 with 45 RBI in less than 200 plate appearances.  It was thought he would be a solid component in the middle of the Tribe order.  However, he has been anything but that.  His average has dipped to .242, and he has just 6 HR.  His walks have almost exceeded last year’s total, but maybe that patience at the plate has taken away his power.  He may want to go back to his style of hitting from last season.

Franklin Gutierrez.  After hitting around .270 in his first two seasons, although in limited at bats, Gutierrez was expected to blossom as an every day player this season.  He received the bulk of the time in RF down the stretch last season and was the star of training camp.  However, he has not progressed in strike zone judgment and has looked lost at the dish in 2008, hitting just .227 with 3 HR.  His strikeout rate is down from a year ago, but so is his walk rate.  At this point, he looks very much like a fourth outfielder that is an excellent defender.

Paul Byrd.  After last season’s 15 win season, some people (this blog) advised the front office against picking up Byrd’s option, citing his good year, bad year career.  The veteran has been a huge disappointment after some early success, with a 3-9 record and an ERA of over 5.00.  He has been giving up home runs at an alarming rate, particularly to left-handed hitters.  He has been prone to the big inning, and his ineffectiveness has ruined any chance for a winning streak after following Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia in the rotation.

Jhonny Peralta.  Peralta appears to be an odd year player.  He had solid years in 2005 and 2007, but 2006 was a downer, and 2008 has been the same.  His batting average is .244, but that’s a high water mark for the season.  His on-base percentage is under .300.  His strikeouts are down, but so are his walks.  His defense is average at best, and if he’s not a key contributor offensively, it is tough to live with his shortcomings with the glove.

Excuses.  This team has had injuries to key people, but enough using those injuries as excuses.  The Red Sox have lost David Ortiz and Daisuke Matsuzaka; the Tigers have lost Gary Sheffield, Jeremy Bonderman, and now Magglio Ordonez.  Eric Wedge talks about grinding it out all the time, but he and the front office haven’t done that.  It’s time to play some different people.  It should start with the release of David Dellucci and the call up of Michael Aubrey or a red hot Trevor Crowe.

KM

Cleveland is a conservative sports town.  The fans are thirsting for a winner, a championship, and the front office people of two of the city’s professional teams are very, very cautious.  The Indians missed a World Series appearance by one game a year ago, and GM Mark Shapiro’s big off-season acquisition was Jamey Carroll.  Last night, Cavs’ GM Danny Ferry picked J.J. Hickson from NC State, a player who likely will not be a contributor next season.  Thank goodness for Phil Savage.

The Browns’ GM saw that his team missed the playoffs by one game in 2007, so he went out and traded his draft picks for proven veterans.  The goal is to get back to the post-season in 2008.  Getting Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers to upgrade the defensive line, a major weakness for the Browns, is a bold step in winning the AFC North.  There is no question Savage is taking a gamble.  He traded a starting cornerback in Leigh Bodden to get Rogers, leaving that spot weaker than last year, even more so with the injury to Davin Holly.  Still, you have to like that Savage is going for it this season after being so close the year before.

Contrast that to the Indians, who seem to be in a constant state of inertia.  It was obvious to most people the Tribe needed another reliable hitter coming into the season.  They talked about players such as Miguel Cabrera and Jason Bay, but were reluctant to give up prospects.  I understand that the ballclub has suffered injury problems this year, particularly to their #3 and #4 hitters, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, but the offense has struggled mightily, even before the disabled list called for Pronk and Victor.  Meanwhile, highly touted farm products like Franklin Gutierrez and Jhonny Peralta have regressed and no longer have the value they did a few years ago.

The Cavaliers did pull off a huge deal at the NBA trading deadline last season, moving half of their roster to pick up Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and Joe Smith.  However, it feels like that deal was done more to rid the team of Larry Hughes’ bad contract and sour attitude.  That deal did not bring the second star than LeBron James and the franchise desperately need to win an NBA Championship.  Perhaps Ferry will make that move prior to the start of the season, but he didn’t do it last night. 

The Cavs needed someone to be able to contribute in the 2008-09 season, and instead drafted a project.  Hickson has some skills, as scouting reports have said he has a nice touch inside, something the Cavs need with the lack of offensive skills of Wallace and Anderson Varajao.  However, he is 19 and probably isn’t ready to play the type of defense that Mike Brown requires in order to actually earn some playing time.  Therefore, LeBron still has no Robin to play opposite his Batman.

Ferry still has three months before training camp opens to make a move.  Here’s hoping he follows Savage’s lead rather than Mark Shapiro’s.  The wine and gold need the rare Cleveland bold move to return to the NBA Finals and bring this city their first championship since 1964.

MW

Despite being eliminated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers are probably a better team than they were a year ago, even though they lost in The Finals in 2007.  The mega-trade at the deadline made the wine and gold a much-improved team come playoff time, although they struggled down the stretch of the regular season.  However, there is still work to do.  The Cavs still need to get better to compete for a title in the upcoming 2008-09 season, and that makes tomorrow night’s draft a big night for GM Danny Ferry.

Traditionally, the night of the NBA Draft is where the biggest moves of the off-season are made.  Last year, the Celtics put the first piece of their championship puzzle together when they acquired Ray Allen from Seattle.  The Cavaliers are also over the salary cap, so signing free agents probably is not an option, they need to make a deal to make a quantum leap, and more than likely that deal will happen tomorrow night.  The asset that the Cavs have is expiring contracts, and those of Wally Szczerbiak and Eric Snow could come into play.

The team has plenty of places were it can improve.  They definitely need someone else who can create his own shot.  Too many times, LeBron James gets the ball with less than five seconds on the shot clock while being double-teamed.  Having another creator would ease the burden on LeBron, and also allow him to finish at the rim more.  It would be nice if that player was a point guard, but because Mike Brown does not like smaller guards, Ferry needs to find someone in the 6’3” range to play the point.

The Cavs also need to get younger, particularly at the center and power forward spots.  Anderson Varajao is the only big man getting playing time that is under 30 years old, and he is a free agent at the end of the year, and likely to leave.  Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert has been rumored to be available at #19, and he certainly is a physical specimen at 7-2.  He was under-utilized in the Princeton style offense he played in college, sometimes going long stretches of time without getting the ball inside.  He could be a diamond in the rough for the Cavaliers, because he should be good fundamentally on the defensive end.

Of course, the prize would be a trade for Milwaukee’s Michael Redd, who turned the wine and gold down in free agency a few years ago.  Redd is a proven 20 point scorer, and he has shown the ability to take the ball to the basket as well.  The downside is injury problems the past few years, notably a knee injury suffered in a game against the Cavs two seasons ago.  However, he’s good enough to play on Team USA this summer, and is most definitely the all-star type player the Cavaliers need.

Tomorrow’s draft is an important day for the Cavalier franchise.  Picking a project type player, one who won’t be able to contribute for two or three years is not an option.  If Ferry stands pat, and doesn’t make a trade, he cannot use the 19^th pick on a future star.  The wine and gold need to get better now.  They are built to win now.  This is not a time for patience.

JK

Since the beginning of May, Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia has pitched like the reigning Cy Young Award winner.  Although his record is just 4-4, his ERA is 2.42 over that span, and he has struck out 74 and walked just 13 in 74 innings.  You can make the argument that he has been the best pitcher in the American League in that time frame.  He even belted a tape measure home run Saturday against the Dodgers.  However, it’s time for the big lefty to put his money where his mouth is.

During the radio broadcast of Saturday’s game, Tom Hamilton remarked that C.C. would like to stay with the Indians.  This thought was reiterated in Sunday’s The Plain Dealer.  It occurred to me that there is one man who has the ability to make this happen.  That man would be the same person who made the comment, Carsten Charles Sabathia.  It seems simplistic, but if the big man let his agent know he wanted a deal to get done with the Indians, I’m pretty sure the Dolan family would be willing to do the deal.

There is no question the Indians’ ownership has financial restraints.  However, they are not going to offer Sabathia a five-year contract worth $50 million.  That’s a low-ball offer, and they understand that.  The Indians would be willing to go as high as $18-19 million per year and as many as five year guaranteed.  Obviously I don’t know that for sure, but the front office was willing pay market value for Jake Westbrook and Travis Hafner, so why would the big lefty be an exception.

Listen; if Sabathia wants the last dollar, he has to realize he is not going to get it in Cleveland.  The big market teams such as the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, and etc. can put together a very lucrative package for the pitcher.  There is no question about that.  But, the Tribe’s offer won’t be cheap either.  If C.C. wants to stay with the team “he grew up with”, he can take that deal, stay an Indian, and still be a very, very rich young man.

If Sabathia is going to go out on the market following the season, he needs to stop telling the media and the fans that he wants to stay.  He should say nothing and go out and pitch to the best of his abilities.  It hurts the loyal Tribe fans more to hear one of their stars tell them how much they love playing here, only to take the money when free agency comes calling.  It would be better for all involved for the big lefty to be quiet.  Everyone would like to make an extra $2 million per year, but again, it’s not like C.C. will be a pauper if he takes the Indians’ offer.

Sabathia often talks about how the Indians looked out for him and his arm when he was a young pitcher.  They didn’t put undue stress on him, kept his pitch counts down, and he believes that is one reason he has managed to stay relatively healthy thus far.  He also talks about how he grew up here, and how much he likes and respects his teammates.  If he wants to remain in Cleveland, he is the person who controls that decision.  His agent works for him, not vice-versa.

MW

On May 15^th, the Cleveland Indians headed to Cincinnati with a 22-19 record and sitting in first place in the AL Central Division.  Since that date, the Tribe is 11-21 and has fallen 8-1/2 games behind the first place White Sox.  A combination of a poor offense, a leaky bullpen, and injuries has turned a team that had pennant aspirations to a squad looking forward to 2009.  It’s an amazing turnaround in a short period of time.  Equally amazing is the stubbornness of the manager and front office.  Here’s a top five list to ponder:

1.       Not using the entire roster.  This is probably Eric Wedge’s biggest weakness as a manager.  The team acquired Craig Breslow from the Red Sox before spring training ended as a second left-hander, and he rotted from non-use.  Today, he’s pitching for the Twins, a team ahead of the Indians, and has an ERA under 2.00.  The skipper is doing the same thing with Rick Bauer, who is pitching once a week.  It’s hard to maintain any type of consistency without pitching on a regular basis.

The same is true for the everyday roster.  Before getting Sal Fasano (doesn’t that make you excited) yesterday, the Indians were playing with a 22-man roster.  This is because the manager refuses to use Jorge Velandia, Yamid Haad, or Andy Marte.  If these guys are major leaguers, they should be able to play.  If not, get rid of them.  And in Marte’s case, if the GM thinks he should play and the manager doesn’t, there is a bigger problem.

2.       The batting order.  Is there any reason why Jhonny Peralta continues to hit in a prime spot?  We have been critical of Casey Blake in the past, but why isn’t he hitting fifth against the Rockies the past two nights.  Blake leads the team in RBI’s, and the Tribe SS hasn’t had a hit with a runner in scoring position seemingly all year long.  Peralta should be in the lower third of the order until he shows some sign of life.

3.       Asdrubal Cabrera.  The Indians played the young infielder a good month after it was clear he was struggling mightily at the plate.  Wedge believed Cabrera’s defense justified his inclusion in the lineup, but we will agree to disagree on this one.  Anyone batting less than .200 cannot be an everyday player.

4.       More bullpen issues.  Do you have more confidence in Tom Mastny or Edward Mujica?  Mastny has an ERA of under 2.00 at Buffalo, and based on his performance last year, he should be on the major league roster.  Also, Jeff Stevens has pitched well at Akron and Buffalo; why not give him a shot at the big league level.  Also, Rafael Betancourt’s performance does not merit him pitching in the 8^th inning, but he keeps going out there and giving up runs in that situation.

5.       Move the young guys up.  The Tribe finally moved C Chris Gimenez up to Class AAA Buffalo after he hit .339 with 6 HR and 26 RBI at Akron.  He has an OPS at the AA level of 1.024, an excellent figure.  3B Wes Hodges is hitting .316 with 9 HR and 54 RBI at Akron.  Considering the marginal prospects in Buffalo, why can’t these guys on the fast track?  The organization values plate discipline (although it seems like they don’t care at the big league level), and Gimenez has a strike out to walk ratio of 33/52, and Hodges is 51/29, an acceptable figure.  Let’s let these guys get some time at Buffalo, and if they do well there, let’s take a look at them.

It’s probably a good thing the Indians didn’t make the World Series last year, since they seem to have an inability to beat National League teams.  They are now sitting at 2-7 in interleague play this season, five games behind the 7-2 marks of the White Sox and Royals, who are now just 2 games behind the Tribe.  That means the Indians would be just 3-1/2 games out without the games against the Senior Circuit.

Now the it’s the Dodgers, Giants, and Reds before it’s back to familiar surroundings.  In the meantime, enjoy the Sal Fasano era.

KM

The Boston Celtics won their 17^th NBA Championship last night, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.  The Celts actually put away both the Pistons and Lakers in six contests, after a tough seven game series against the Cavaliers.  Now, we are not going to proclaim that the wine and gold is the second best team in the NBA since the Cavs took them to a seventh game, a game in which Cleveland could have won, but you can easily imagine LeBron James and company getting back to the Finals if they had gotten past Boston.

The reason for the success the Cavs had against the World Champions was their defense.  There is no question that after they eliminated Cleveland, the green breathed a sigh of relief that they were finished with Mike Brown’s defensive schemes.  Even Mike Fratello said in an interview on “The Jim Rome Show” that the Celtics were happy to be done with the Cavalier defense.  For example, look at Ray Allen.  He was a total non-factor against the Cavs, but played and shot very well against Detroit and Los Angeles.

This is not to suggest that the Cleveland Cavaliers are an elite team, nor should they stand pat this off-season.  It does point out how good the wine and gold is defensively.  It also shows that the Cavs were indeed pretty close to a return trip to The Finals.  With the correct moves and/or a solid draft pick, one can definitely envision the Cavs playing for a title as early as next season.  The Celtics will be a year older, and so will the Pistons.  The Magic and Hawks could be up and coming teams, but do not have the experience that Cleveland has.

GM Danny Ferry needs to improve the offense.  He needs to get another dependable scorer to go along with his superstar, LeBron James.  Getting that piece of the puzzle, together with the dependable Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and hopefully, the continued improvement of Daniel Gibson, will give the wine and gold a more balanced attack.  As much as the management thinks they don’t need a point guard, getting someone who can run the offense well will help the team in the times where the attack bogs down.

The Cavs have expiring contracts in Eric Snow, Wally Szczerbiak, and Damon Jones to dangle to teams looking for salary cap relief.  Rumors have been rampant since the team was eliminated in the playoffs that Ferry is interested in using these playoffs to get the second scorer the team so badly needs.  It is doubtful he will include the Cavs’ pick at #19 unless he can secure another first round pick in exchange.  The front office believes, and rightly so, that choice is needed to bring in a young player to develop for the future.

A total rebuilding process is not needed.  The Cavs cannot win a title as they are currently constituted, but they aren’t that far away either.  They took the champions to a seventh game, and could have won that game.  Defensively, they are good enough to the title, so it is clear that the front office and coaching staff have to get some help when they have the ball.  This team needs a second scoring option, and they need it before the 2008-09 season starts.

JK