WKNR’s afternoon host Kenny Roda has started a "Wedge Watch", marking time until the Tribe skipper is fired.  Of course, eventually Wedge will lose his job because all managers do, and Roda will beat his chest proclaiming how he is correct once again.  But, the reality is Eric Wedge is not going anywhere soon because of the trust GM Mark Shapiro has in him.

 

I feel Roda’s real problem with Wedge is that he won’t come on his "Happy Hour" show.  Reportedly, Wedge has made comments that he feels WKNR’s Tribe coverage is too negative.  It has been said that opinions are like noses (or some other body part), in that everyone has one, and certainly Roda is entitled to his.  However, it would be nice if that opinion wasn’t formed because one party won’t talk to the other.

 

The host insists that the main problem is the lack of fundamentals with the club, and Wedge is responsible for this area.  He may be right, but the team won 93 games last season with this being a problem area.  If you watch a lot of Tribe games (and other teams games) you will notice that most major league squads have problems getting bunts down, run the bases poorly, and miss cut off men.  It is hardly just a problem for the Tribe.

 

Roda keeps mentioning Tony Pena and Larry Bowa has possible successors to Wedge which is really frightening.  Pena won more than half his games just once in his 2-1/2 years in Kansas City, and last year when the going got tough for the Royals, he quit his team.  Bowa is a problem too.  Ask Phillie fans if they appreciate that Bowa basically ran Scott Rolen out of town and badgered Pat Burrell into a horrible year.  Bowa was canned in Philadelphia because his team hated him.  These are guys you want to lead the Tribe?

 

Guys with Wedge’s demeanor last a long time in jobs.  I’m not saying Wedge is as good as these guys because he hasn’t made a post season appearance yet, but skippers like Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, and Bruce Bochy last awhile because they can handle the different personalities on a ballclub. 

 

Roda also continuously criticizes the Tribe for not giving Bob Howry $4 million.  He didn’t sign for that amount, he signed for $12 million, that’s the committment the Cubs made.  If Howry has an ERA of 5.00 next season or blows out his elbow, then who’s stupid?  He has had numerous national baseball writers on his show who have said the Millwood and Howry contracts were ridiculous, but still he hammers the team. 

 

I am turning to music and WTAM (heaven forbid) on the drive home so I don’t have to listen to the ravings on WKNR.  My colleagues at Cleveland Sports Perspective feel the same way. 

 

JK

 

As the Tribe as struggled this season, the fans have been quick to point the finger of responsibility at several players and the management.  Usually, the players singled out are the new guys, those who were not on the team a year ago.  The chief whipping boys are starter Paul Byrd and leftfielder Jason Michaels.  Neither deserve the blame.

 

First, let’s take the case of Byrd.  He replaced free agent Kevin Millwood in the Tribe rotation.  I’m not going to compare Millwood’s stats last year to Byrd’s because last year is last year.  Here is how the two righties compare this season:

 

         Byrd                        6-5, 4.37 ERA    92.2 IP  52 K’s

         Millwood                  8-4, 4.47 ERA  106.2 IP  75 K’s

 

Now, Millwood’s numbers are inflated by pitching in Texas, a notorious hitters’ park.  In fact, his ERA on the road is roughly three runs a game less (3.00 vs. 5.98 in Arlington).  In Byrd’s favor is the fact he has a 2.44 ERA over his last seven starts.  The veteran righthander has held up his end of the bargain.  He has pitched very well since May 1st. 

 

Michaels takes a beating because he replaced fan favorite Coco Crisp.  But, since the former Phillie has been out, the Tribe has struggled to find someone productive to hit #2 in the order behind Grady Sizemore.  That should tell us that he isn’t a bad player.  Here is how Crisp and Michaels compare this season:

         

          Crisp                    .289   3 HR  13 RBI   .327 OBP   .428 SLG

          Michaels               .277   5 HR  25 RBI   .338 OBP   .393 SLG

 

Crisp did miss a great deal of action with a broken finger and kidney stones earlier this year, so his HR and RBI numbers are depleted.  But, Michaels is getting on base more than Crisp, and over the last two months, his OBP is over .350.  I would bet the Indians front office is getting exactly what it expected from their left fielder this year.

 

The overall pitching is the reason for the Indians’ problems this season.  Last year, Cleveland led the AL in ERA and bullpen ERA.  This year, they rank 11th in that category.  The offense has been streaky, but that is due to having several hitters who are either hot or cold.  Ben Broussard is the poster boy for that type of player.  He is either red hot or cannot buy a hit. 

 

Tribe fans are picking on the wrong guys when they jump on the anti-Byrd or anti-Michaels band wagon.  They aren’t the problem.  There are others who haven’t held up their end of the bargain for the 2006 Tribe.

 

KM 

 

The Cleveland Indians dropped another series this weekend, this time to the Cincinnati Reds, which dropped their record to 33-41, 17 games behind the Detroit Tigers.  The offense has now joined the problem list as the Tribe scored just six runs in the three games.  Aaron Boone and the recently benched Ben Broussard are in dreadful slumps, which combined with playing Franklin Gutierrez or Todd Hollandsworth and Joe Inglett or Kelly Shoppach has really shortened up the line up.

 

But, does it really matter anyway?  For the second straight season, a team has set a blistering pace in the AL Central Division.  Last year it was the White Sox, this year the Detroit Tigers.  The fact that this year both teams are playing at a remarkable pace is the reason the Indians should start worrying about 2007.  Let’s put it this way, the Red Sox would be 5 games out in our division.  The Yankees would be 7-1/2 out.  The Oakland A’s would be 9-1/2 games behind. 

 

Even the Twins who have been red hot as of late and climbed four games over .500 are still 11 games behind Detroit.  This is not to excuse the Tribe for its lackluster play, but if they were in the AL East they would be 12 out, and they would be 7-1/2 behind in the AL West.  Nobody wants to hear this, but part of the Indians’ problems is the play of the Tigers and White Sox. 

 

Both Detroit and Chicago are on pace to win over 100 games this season.  The fact both are so hot means either the Red Sox or Yankees have to be sweating, because one of them will not make the playoffs.  Only once since the three division format started in 1994 have two teams in the same division won over 100 contests (2001–Seattle and Oakland). 

 

The point is this, even if the Indians would have won 90 games this season, they probably wouldn’t have made the playoffs.  They ran into two buzzsaws in the Central Division this season.  Last year, they only had to contend with one.

 

I keep hearing about rebuilding, but that to me means a three or four year process.  I don’t see that.  However, the Tribe should start looking at 2007 by getting rid of those players who will not be here next year.  With the core players the Indians have (Sizemore, Martinez, Hafner, Peralta, Sabathia, Lee, etc.), a major overhaul is not needed.  If a player can help the team win in ’07 (Byrd, Michaels, Perez),  he should stay.  If not, move the player and get more prospects or pieces of the puzzle.

 

The roster doesn’t need to be gutted, just tweaked.  That’s the job for GM Mark Shapiro for the rest of this season and over the winter.  The players job is to play better and win as many games as possible.

 

MW   

 

I realize many fans are appalled at C.C. Sabathia’s admission that he gave up in Wednesday’s 9-2 loss to the Cubs after defensive misplays by Ben Broussard and Ronnie Belliard.  His own manager, Eric Wedge responded to the big lefty’s comments by saying he wished more of Sabathia’s teammates would be so forthcoming about their performance.  If Sabathia never lets that happen again and he learned from the experience, I have no problem with what happened.  And I agree with Wedge on the rest of the Tribe.

 

What I would like to see tonight is Belliard and Broussard on the bench and not in the starting lineup.  Play Joe Inglett at 2B, and either Eduardo Perez or even Travis Hafner at 1B.  Perhaps the last weapon Wedge has is to take playing time away from those who play with their head up their ass.  I understand that this is the big leagues, and that players have worked a long time to get there, but it might just send a message.

 

Many coaches and managers have said they can tolerate physical errors, but not mental ones.  The mistakes made in the third inning were most definitely mental.  What could Broussard have possibly be thinking about when the ball was hit to him.  The play was right in front of him.  A simple look at third would have told him the Ronny Cedeno was not going.  Plus, Phil Nevin is slow and Broussard could have easily beat him to the base after looking back the runner. 

 

Belliard had two options on the jam shot hit to him, either force the runner at second or throw the batter out at first.  He picked neither, electing to eat the ball.  It should have been no worse than a 3-1 or 4-1 game at the end of the frame, instead of 9-1. 

 

This team will not make the playoffs, but it could finish the season over .500.  Sitting people who have given up on the team is necessary for that to happen.

 

JK 

 

The influx of youth has begun for the Cleveland Indians with the word that Jeremy Sowers will start Sunday’s game against the Reds at Jacobs Field.  Hopefully, there are a few more moves to come to replace players not performing up to standards.

 

I know the front office may believe that bringing up some of the youngsters in an admission the Tribe cannot win this season.  I think fans view it differently.  They look at the arrival of Sowers and perhaps soon an Andy Marte to be an upgrade over the horrific production they received out of Jason Johnson and Aaron Boone.  I looked at the games that Johnson started as a loss, and would be very surprised if the Indians won those games.  Any scoreless frame the righty put up was looked at with relief.

 

Fans look at Boone in the same manner.  They look at his lack of power, plate discipline, and poor defense and they think could Marte be any worse?  At least with a Marte, there is the promise of getting better.  Putting Marte in the lineup would create a curiousity with the ticket buyers, not a thought the team is giving up.

 

As for the bullpen, why not try Edward Mujica?  Again, it’s not like he could be appreciably worse than the other guys in the ‘pen.  It looks like they’ve got a keeper in Fausto Carmona, who now is being used as a set up man.  If Fernando Cabrera can get straightened out and learn to throw strikes, that would give the Tribe several power arms in relief.  The veteran haven’t done the job, so let the kids get some experience.

 

It isn’t giving up the season, it’s making an effort to improve some weak spots.  After 69 games, it looks like Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge are finally starting to admit there are things that need to be fixed.

 

KM

 

With the three game sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, the Cleveland Indians have dropped to 31-37, 14 games behind the Tigers for the AL Central Division lead, and 12-1/2 behind the White Sox for the Wild Card.  It would take a remarkable hot streak by the Tribe to climb back into serious contention for a post-season berth.  I’m not advocating gutting the club like the front office did in 2002, but it would be appropriate to get the team ready for 2007 right now.

 

Aaron Boone has hit for a much better average this year (.266) than he was hitting last year, but he is not a productive player.  His on base percentage is just .323, and his slugging percentage is below .400 as well.  At 33, he is simply not going to get better.  So, it’s time to bring up Andy Marte to play the hot corner.  Marte is on a tear at Buffalo, and the time he will get this season will help him when he is the regular in 2007.  This was the same scenario the club used for Grady Sizemore in 2004.

 

The same is true with 2B Ronnie Belliard.  Belliard’s extra base pop has disappeared this season, and since he is not signed for next year, GM Mark Shapiro should gauge if there is interest in the veteran.  Rumors have the Mets and Blue Jays as possible trade partners.  This is a tricky spot for the Tribe since they have no heir apparent like Marte at 2B. 

 

It’s also time to bring up Kelly Shoppach and catch him at least once a week.  Victor Martinez needs more rest than the team is giving him, and many (including us) think he should be playing first base next season.  The team has to find out if Shoppach can be a regular at the big league level.  They know if can do it at Class AAA. 

 

The first move in the pitching staff would be to end their ridiculous obsession with Jason Johnson.  If they don’t want to bring up Jeremy Sowers (1.27 ERA at Buffalo), then start Jeremy Guthrie, who has pitched exactly 0 innings since being recalled a week ago.  In fact, I’d have Guthrie warming up at the first sign of trouble for Johnson against the Cubs tonight.

 

Lastly, I would see if any contenders are interested in Bob Wickman, and let Fausto Carmona try closing.  First, Wickman is really an average closer.  Secondly, teams like the Red Sox give opportunities to youngsters as closers, so why shouldn’t the Tribe. 

 

The primary players are still there for the Tribe to make a run next season.  The foundation of this team are guys like Hafner, Martinez, Sizemore, Sabathia, Lee, Peralta, and I think even a Paul Byrd and Jason Michaels can be contributors on a very good team.  I’m also not saying the Tribe should tank games.  Keep pressing.  Get over .500.  Win 85 games.  Build the foundation for next season.  Climbing over the Tigers and White Sox is too tough a task for this edition of the Indians.

 

MW 

 

Former Indians infielder Brandon Phillips is the new cause celebre for the talk show circuit.  How could Mark Shapiro unload this potential Hall of Fame talent?  Isn’t he exactly what the ballclub needs right now?  Let’s look at some reality regarding the Reds’ 2B.

 

After Omar Vizquel left as a free agent following the 2004 season, the Tribe had two options to replace him, Phillips who hit .303 at Buffalo in ’04 and the MVP of the International League that same season, Jhonny Peralta.  Peralta won the job in training camp and was the everyday starter for the Tribe last season, hitting .292 with 24 HRs and 78 RBI.  Phillips went back to Class AAA and had a bad season, batting just .256 with 15 HR and 46 RBI while striking out 90 times.  He whiffed just 56 times the year before.

 

Then there was the incident.  It was reported that Phillips screamed at farm director John Farrell when he was not given a September call up after Buffalo ended their season.  That was probably the last straw for the front office. 

 

Phillips is currently having a good season for the Reds, batting .303 with 7 HR and 38 RBI this season.  Meanwhile, Peralta is stuggling through the first prolonged slump of his career.  But looking closer at the numbers, Phillips is putting up huge numbers at Great American Ballpark, a hitters’ paradise.  He is hitting .347 there.  He has also done most of his damage against the Milwaukee Brewers, tatooing the Brew Crew pitchers at a .447 mark (17 for 38). 

 

Removing those numbers would make Phillips a .270 hitter with 4 HR and 27 RBI for the season, comparable except for the average to Peralta’s number this year.  If you do not think piling up big numbers against a specific opponent is meaningful, remember Jody Gerut’s rookie season when he feasted on Tiger pitching.  Where is he now?

 

This is not to say Phillips is a bum, nor was the situation handled well by the Tribe.  If they wanted to trade him, they should have done it over the winter, not right before the regular season started.  But, if Brandon Phillips is hitting .250 next season, won’t all the people hailing him feel a little foolish?

 

Update on the farm:  Jeremy Sowers threw seven shutout innings yesterday to raise his record to 8-1 with an ERA of 1.27 on the season.  Keep trying to convince me he is not a better alternative than Jason Johnson.  Also, Andy Marte remains hot with his 7th HR yesterday.  He has belted 5 dingers in the last week and a half. 

 

MW

 

As the Cleveland Indians continue to struggle this season, I’m hearing many fans referring to the team as horrible, awful, and terrible.  The Tribe’s record this season is 30-33, a few games below the .500 mark, so while the squad is definitely disappointing, they are clearly not horrible.  If you are my age, you have seen awful teams and this isn’t one of them.

 

Since I started being a fan of the Indians in the mid sixties, there have been four seasons where the Wahoos lost 100 games or more:  1971, 1985, 1987, and the 1991 campaign when they lost 105 games.  Those teams were god awful.  At least the ’91 team featured some of the players who won two American League titles in 1995 and 1997.  Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar, Albert Belle, and Charles Nagy were on the team that year, and Jim Thome was a late season call up.  The ’85 and ’87 ballclubs could hit, but the pitching was truly terrible.  The 1971 team was a great building block for the Yankees, as it featured rookie Chris Chambliss and 3B Graig Nettles, both cornerstones of the late 70’s New York champions.

 

The current edition of the Tribe is not a horrible team, it’s mediocre for sure, but they are not 100 loss bad.  Most of the venom dripping from fans lips has to do with the expectations of the team after they won 93 games in 2005.  We include ourselves in expecting more, since we thought this would be the year the Tribe returned to the playoffs. 

 

Are there any encouraging signs that the Indians can turn it around this season?  One thing is Cleveland’s record in blowout games, that is games decided by five runs or more.  The Indians are 16-7 in these games and historically, good teams have good records in these types of games.  You don’t see a Kansas City winning a whole bunch of blowouts and losing all kinds of one run games. 

 

The other good sign is the Wahoos run differential, as they have scored 35 more runs than their opponents this year.  Based on this statistic, the Indians record should be 35-28, five games ahead of where they currently are in the standings.  This shows the Cleveland Indians are not a horrible team.

 

I don’t mean to come off as a stat geek, because 11 games out is 11 games out.  The Tribe has to get it going, and needs to do it right now.  But, is this a horrible team?  No.  Should they be doing better?  Absolutely!

 

KM

 

The Indians headed into the ninth inning at US Cellular Field last night with a 10-2 lead, no problem right?  Wrong.  The Tribe barely held on for a 10-8 win over the White Sox to salvage one game out of the three game set, thanks to Jason Davis spraying gasoline on a open flame. 

 

Once again, the Wahoos are making a curious roster decision.  Davis obviously is not a reliever, most, if any success he has had at the major league level is as a starter. Yet, he remains in the bullpen.  Send him back to Buffalo to be used in the rotation, let him build up some value and deal him.  Maybe you could get a slick fielding middle infielder in return.  Which brings us to Ramon Vazquez…

 

Vazquez was recalled from Buffalo prior to yesterday’s game to give Jhonny Peralta some time off to cure whatever is ailing his bat.  The former Padre promptly made three errors in his first game back.  I’m not going to invoke the name of Brandon Phillips because I personally do not think he is as good as he has showed in Cincinnati thus far, and I don’t think he would have been happy sitting on the Tribe bench.  But, can’t we find someone who can handle the middle infield defensively and isn’t as offensively inept as former Indian John McDonald? 

 

There was a Todd Hollandsworth sighting in the game last night, as he replaced a struggling Casey Blake and went 0 for 5.  At least, Eric Wedge remembered he was on the team. 

 

On another note, another bomb for Andy Marte yesterday, his second in two days.  Maybe his bat is finally heating up.  Now the Tribe heads to New York to take on the Yankees, which version of Sybil will show up in the Bronx?

 

JK

 

Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro likes to say that he and Manager Eric Wedge are partners.  They share the same opinions on most baseball matters.  However, it is apparent that the make up of the roster isn’t one of them.  Wedge plays with a 20 man roster.  No, the Tribe still has 25 men wearing the Chief Wahoo logo.  The manager hamstrings himself by not using everyone.

 

This came to light during yesterday’s game with the White Sox, when it was mentionned on the radio that the skipper doesn’t have the confidence to use relievers Jason Davis or Guillermo Mota with the game in doubt.  I can understand the reluctance to use Mota, but if you don’t want to use Davis, then Shapiro needs to fill the roster with a more useful player.  Heck, Davis is in his mid 20’s and throws in the high 90’s, I’m sure you can get somebody who has ability in return.

 

In fact the list of guys Wedge doesn’t want to use is as follows:  Todd Hollandsworth, Davis, Mota, Tim Laker, and now rookie lefty Rafael Perez.  Hollandsworth didn’t even pinch hit in the ninth inning of Friday’s loss to the Sox against Booby Jenks.  Now, Wedgie will probably tell you the veteran didn’t have a chance since he hasn’t played recently, but who’s fault is that?  The manager let struggling Jhonny Peralta bat against the flame thrower and where is the logic in that?

 

By contrast, Ozzie Guillen isn’t afraid to use anyone on his roster.  I don’t like Guillen and I feel he has a short shelf life as a manager because of his abrasive style, but he doesn’t leave himself short players.  With Casey Blake scuffling at the plate, why can’t Hollandsworth get some at bats.  There is no reason Aaron Boone has to play every game.  And you know our feelings on the Kelly Shoppach situation. 

 

It seems the whole organization is caught with this type of thinking.  In today’s Plain Dealer, it is mentioned the reason lefty Jeremy Sowers hasn’t been brought up is the brass doesn’t think he would be any better than Jason Johnson.  That might be true for right now, but Sowers will get better, and Johnson is what he is.  How long does Kevin Kouzmanoff have to hit .400 at Akron before he is promoted? 

 

One other thing.  The Tribe was the subject of an article on Baseball Prospectus.com a few days ago.  The article addressed the team’s defensive woes.  One player scoring higher on defense this year than last year was Peralta.  The two biggest drops were Ronnie Belliard and Aaron Boone.  Andy Marte’s bat is warming up at Buffalo.  Let see him in a Tribe uniform before he hits his 30th birthday.  Maybe at that point, Eric Wedge will have the confidence to use him.

 

MW