Tribe Needs to Keep Moving Forward

In the past few weeks, really since they were in the middle of their 11 game losing streak, the Cleveland Indians are playing for next season.

They’ve released four veteran players and replaced them with younger guys, trying to get a head start on talent evaluation for 2013. We’ve seen Corey Kluber have one good start and two clinkers, Chris Seddon (who’s actually kind of veteran, he’s 28) has had one good start and one so-so outing, and Ezequiel Carrera has shown Tribe fans that leftfielders can get hits every once in a while.

However, they shouldn’t stop there. When Travis Hafner went out with a back injury, manager Manny Acta said Shelley Duncan would get the bulk of the at bats at the DH spot. Why, exactly would the team want to do that?

Look, Duncan’s a hard worker, and Acta has a soft spot for him. But he’s 32 years old, and is 3 for 22 in the month of August. Wouldn’t it be better for the future if the organization gave those at bats to someone else?

For that matter, why should Casey Kotchman and Jack Hannahan continue to garner playing time. These two players, and Duncan, aren’t likely to be on the roster next season. And if they are, then the front office should have a lot of explaining to do.

The Indians keep looking for the player who batted .300 a year ago, but it’s quite obvious that guy isn’t showing up. His batting average continues to hover in the .220’s, and he shows no signs of having a hot streak.

Hannahan hit .250 a year ago, but he’s a lifetime .231 hitter, and his average this season is….231! And since May 1st, he’s batting just .205. Yes, he’s excellent with the glove, but he can’t hit big league pitching consistently.

It’s time to take a good look, not a September 1st call up, at players like Matt LaPorta, Russ Canzler, and Tim Fedroff.

We are stressing not waiting until the rosters can be expanded because of the baseball axiom to ignore what you see in April and September. Tribe management can get a good look at these players for almost 50 games.

On LaPorta, to be sure some of you are saying “not again”. But the Indians front office have to find out once and for all if he can be a productive big league hitter. He can garner almost 200 at bats the rest of the season.

If he hits, great. If he doesn’t, then the ballclub can release him with a clear conscience. However, they simply have to find out.

Canzler has been on fans’ wish lists since spring training when he hit the ball with authority. Dismissed by some as a “AAAA” hitter, he’s had just three major league at bats. Let’s find out if he can be a contributor in ’13.

Fedroff is 25 and has never reached the majors despite being a .297 lifetime hitter in the minor leagues. His problem is that he’s not a power guy with only 21 HR’s in five minor league seasons.

Along the same thought, it’s also time for Jeanmar Gomez to come back up and take a regular turn in the rotation. He’s 6-2 with a 2.59 ERA at Columbus, and had a better ERA in Cleveland than Josh Tomlin, Derek Lowe, and even Ubaldo Jimenez. For a team needing starting pitching next season, he should be getting an opportunity.

It’s probably something than Acta and GM Chris Antonetti don’t want to admit, but this season has set sail and it’s time to move forward to 2013. Giving these players a chance now would be helpful in that regard.

Tribe Has Much to Do Before ’13

A few weeks ago, we advocated that the Cleveland Indians be buyers to try to stay in the race for the AL Central Division title.

They were around 3 games out at that point.

We aren’t backing off that statement because if you are that close, you owe it to your ballclub and your fans to try to win and get into the playoffs.

That seems kind of ridiculous considering what has happened since the All Star break.

The purge has started with veterans Derek Lowe, Johnny Damon, Jeremy Accardo, and Jose Lopez all being jettisoned recently, and more moves are likely to follow.

So, if the front office is looking ahead, then we need to as well. And the future is very pretty, at least for 2013.

The lineup has just six players who figure to be in the Opening Day line up for certain: CF Michael Brantley, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B Jason Kipnis, RF Shin-Soo Choo, C Carlos Santana, and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall.

That leaves gaping holes at 1B, LF, and DH. Oh, and also, the Indians need a quality right-handed hitter to fill in at least one of those spots.

The starting rotation is a mess right now. Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez are the only for sures that have any kind of track record, and both are those hurlers have been inconsistent to say the least.

Josh Tomlin? He has marginal stuff and needs pinpoint control to win. He can’t be counted on.

Zack McAllister? No track record. He’s made less than 20 major league starts.

Roberto Hernandez? Another up and down pitcher, and he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues this year.

That’s not to mention other guys who haven’t proven anything in the majors like Jeanmar Gomez, Corey Kluber, and dare we say, David Huff.

That’s no way to go into next season expecting to win, having a starting rotation full of question marks.

So, from this view, the 2013 Cleveland Indians need at least one solid bat (same as last year), two other regular players, and two solid starting pitchers.

With a farm system without a lot of talent in the upper levels, how does the organization accomplish this?

Well, one way would be to fill a hole by signing a free agent. The Indians have a lot of money coming off the books this fall (Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore’s deals expire, among others), so there may be room to sign one. A reliable starter would be a good choice.

Another avenue to explore is to deal from strength, and the Indians have a pretty good bullpen. Perhaps dealing Chris Perez, who despite recent struggles has proven to be an elite closer, to fill some holes is a move that needs to be made.

Keep in mind what former Indians’ GM John Hart used to say, “closers grow on trees”, meaning they come in all different forms.

Vinnie Pestano is perhaps the game’s premier set up man. Can he close? No one knows for sure, but he is used to pitching in pressure situations.

Heck, for all anyone knows, Esmil Rogers might turn out to be the closer. Did anyone think Jose Mesa would be a good closer when he was a back of the rotation starter for the Indians in the early 90’s?

No matter how they do it, it isn’t just a piece or two that the Tribe needs to address for next season. It’s four or five pieces.

So, Chris Antonetti or someone else has a tall task.

If the Indians want to compete with the White Sox and Tigers next season, they have to do a lot more than they did last off-season.

Who Is Tribe Management Talking About?

As the Cleveland Indians’ season continues to fall into oblivion, one of the mantras GM Chris Antonetti chants consistently is the players currently on the roster have to do better.

That’s easier said than done.

However, who is Antonetti talking about? How many players on the current roster are underachieving?

Certainly, the starting pitchers have not done as well as the organization thought going into the season. Justin Masterson, in particular, looked like a guy who turned the corner in 2011, and has been terribly inconsistent this season.

Ubaldo Jimenez? He’s been up and down since coming over from Colorado last July. Has he under performed? If you compare him to his excellent 2010 season, yes.

But if the front office expected great things based on what we did last year, then they are crazy.

Josh Tomlin had a solid year in ’11, but he’s a control guy with marginal stuff, and struggled in the second half of last season. It can’t be a total surprise that he hasn’t been good this year.

On the offensive side, no one can complain about the job being done by SS Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B Jason Kipnis (although he’s slumped lately), CF Michael Brantley (a breakout player this year), and RF Shin-Soo Choo.

You can’t expect more out of those four players.

Carlos Santana has been a disappointment after last season. His minor league numbers show he’s too good of a hitter to be consistently around .240. He does walk a ton, and lately has started to be productive.

Even in a disappointing season, he still ranks third on the team in RBIs, behind Kipnis and Brantley.

So, what players are failing?

Travis Hafner is having a disappointing season, particularly with his batting average, but the truth is, he hasn’t been really productive since 2007. Why would the front office expect more?

Casey Kotchman is a journeyman 1B, who had a good season in ’11 with Tampa, hitting .306. However, he has a lifetime .263 batting average. It doesn’t take a great deal of vision to see he probably wasn’t going to hit that well this season.

What are the front office’s expectations for Kotchman? It seems they may be looking for too much.

Jack Hannahan? He’s a journeyman as well. He’s 32 years old and has had over 400 at bats in a season just once. Why? Because he’s not a good hitter.

Was the front office fooled into thinking he woke up one morning and became Mike Schmidt?

The management completely ignored the LF issue, unless you consider signing the oft-injured Grady Sizemore as a remedy. Most people, including the fans and media, thought that was a bad idea.

So, again we ask, who exactly has underachieved?

It appears it is the front office because they deluded themselves into thinking that players who haven’t been productive for several years, or who have no real track record for hitting were going to start hammering the baseball.

That’s foolish, and it’s one more reason changes need to be made on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

There aren’t many players on the Cleveland Indians who aren’t doing what was expected. The disappointment comes from a management team who was expecting the impossible from certain players, who weren’t capable of performing.

Perhaps Antonetti is deflecting attention from the inactivity that has plagued this organization over the past 12 months.

The only people who need to perform better are in offices at Progressive Field. For the most part, the players are doing exactly what should be expected.

A Few Suggestions for the Tribe.

It appears the last gasp of the 2012 baseball season for the Cleveland Indians was the four runs outburst in the seventh inning to beat Justin Verlander last Thursday night at Progressive Field.

It’s been downhill ever since both on the field and in the front office.

Fans of the Tribe are understandably both frustrated and infuriated as the organization sits back and does nothing while there are still a chance to compete for the division title.

Now, it appears very likely that the franchise will endure another season below the .500 mark, the ninth in the last 11 years under the Dolan/Shapiro/Antonetti stewardship.

The baseball season is over for the most part, and we can thank the inactivity of the front office, both in the off-season and during this season for that.

The funniest comment made yesterday by GM Chris Antonetti was that the organization learned in discussing trades was how other teams judged the Indians’ players.

The hidden message was opponents don’t think much of what the Tribe has on the big league roster and the upper levels of the minors.

So, what can the Indians do going forward to help repair their relationship going forward? Here are a few suggestions…

First, end the “what if” advertising campaign. With the lack of moves and winning, the commercials have become a source of ridicule for the organization.

Yes, the period from 1994-2001 may have been the best span in club history. It’s over! Showing us clips of Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, and Sandy Alomar Jr. just makes fans angry that the Indians refuse to compete now.

Focus on the present. Tell fans why they should come to Progressive Field now. And if you can’t come up with a good reason, that’s another problem altogether. Get better as an organization.

Second, it’s time to get better at player development. When support is written or said for the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, the main argument is that Drew Pomerantz and Alex White aren’t doing anything with the Rockies.

That’s an indictment of the scouting system since they were both first round draft picks.

This organization has just one drafted player (Jason Kipnis) among its starters, and another Lonnie Chisenhall, who would start if he wasn’t injured and the manager didn’t have a man crush on Jack Hannahan.

For a small to mid market team, that’s a recipe for disaster. And that’s why the Indians is consistently under .500.

If you look at the best prospects in the game, only one player from the Cleveland organization is on the list, 2011 first round pick SS Francisco Lindor.

The talent in the organization has to be improved, or the failure rate is going to continue.

The last thing Antonetti should do is start building for 2013 right now. We are echoing what several people have said already.

It is time for departure to players who aren’t going to be part of group that meets in Goodyear, AZ next spring.

That means good-bye to Johnny Damon, Casey Kotchman, Shelley Duncan, Derek Lowe, and Jack Hannahan.

Let’s take a look at some of the players from Columbus, who by the way leads the International League in batting average and runs scored.

We have said this many, many times. Russ Canzler, Matt LaPorta, Ezequiel Carrera, Tim Fedroff, Corey Kluber, and Chris Seddon can’t be any worse than the players whose place they would be taking.

They should be called to the big leagues immediately.

It would also allow for some players from Akron to be moved up. The Aeros have a lot of players repeating the AA level for the second time, and it’s time to see if those guys are prospects or not.

At least it would make the games somewhat worth watching for hardcore fans.

The Dolan family, Shapiro, and Antonetti have some fence mending to do. It may already be too late.

Tribe’s Message to Fans: We Don’t Care about Winning

Perception is reality. This is something the front office of the Cleveland Indians doesn’t understand, or else the fans are exactly correct about the management of the team.

They don’t care about winning.

They can bring out their spreadsheets and flow charts and mission statements all they want, but the perception of the people who buy tickets is that the only folks involved with the Indians who want to win are the players.

That’s their perception, and perception is reality.

The Indians finished below the .500 mark last season, but they were in contention until the beginning of September. The team that won the division, the Detroit Tigers, added a premier free agent, Prince Fielder, to their roster.

The Tribe basically did nothing.

On May 24th, the Tribe beat Detroit to run their record to 26-18 and had a 3-1/2 game lead in the AL Central Division. They still had weaknesses, getting no offense out of 1B, 3B, and LF. The front office didn’t feel the need to add to the roster.

A month later, on June 24th, the Indians record was 37-34, meaning they went 11-16 in the last 30 days. They dropped out of first place, but were just a half game out of first.

The same weaknesses remained and Derek Lowe’s season started to go south. The Indians needed to get some starting pitching along with help to cover up some of the other flaws, but the front office still did nothing to help out a group of players trying to keep their heads above water.

On July 24th, the Indians beat the Tigers to improve their record to 49-48, meaning they went 12-14 over the last 30 days. The dropped to third place, but were just three games of the pace.

The weaknesses remained, but the front office did nothing outside of replacing the 25th man on the roster, replacing Aaron Cunningham with Brett Lillibridge.

It the meantime, the White Sox traded for Kevin Youkilis and Brett Myers, and the Tigers got Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante.

The Indians’ front office claimed it was a slow trade market.

What they are really telling you is that they don’t care about winning.

Whether it’s the ownership holding the purse strings tight, and not allowing president Mark Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti to add to the current roster, or it’s the executives not feeling this team needs help, the end result is they don’t want to win.

The disinterest has even seeped down to the dugout where Manny Acta seems void of emotion.

Three more blown calls which hurt the Indians were made in the series against the Twins with the skipper glued to his seat.

The one that occurred yesterday was protested vehemently by SS Asdrubal Cabrera, who seemed to be close to an ejection. Acta sat there like a statue while one of his best players argued.

Acta has done a good job keeping a team with more holes than swiss cheese around the .500 mark, but you have to wonder if he’s losing his team because he doesn’t seem to have their backs.

The perception, there’s that word again, is that Acta isn’t fighting to win, he isn’t defending his team.

Look, a manager can’t get kicked out of every game, but every once in a while, he needs to go out and show his team and the umpires that the Cleveland Indians aren’t going to be pushed around.

The entire organization seems slow to react to problems, slow to argue calls, slow to bring in more talent.

Then they wonder why fans are slow to show up to games.

It’s because the message they send is the Cleveland Indians do not care about winning.

Tribe Management Gun Shy?

With last night’s win over the Detroit Tigers, the sixth in seven meeting against the Motor City Kitties this year, the Cleveland Indians are now just three games out of first place in the AL Central.

This means even if they were to drop the last two games of the three game set, they will be only five games out of first place as we hit the last weekend of July. Where we come from, that’s being in the race.

And don’t pay attention to folks who point out all the teams ahead of the Tribe in the wild card race. That might be a factor if this were the beginning of September, but the schedule still has over 60 games remaining, so there is plenty of time to pass all of those teams.

So, why isn’t GM Chris Antonetti making any moves to help a team this close to first place?

It may just be the sins of the past catching up with the organization.

Last year, Antonetti was aggressive going out and getting Ubaldo Jimenez from the Rockies for a slew of top ten prospects in the organization. Although Jimenez pitched well in the series opener last night, that trade hasn’t worked out as well as the GM probably anticipated.

To be sure, the Indians thought Jimenez was a top of the rotation starting pitcher with swing and miss stuff. He would be classified as the #2 starter for Cleveland right now, but he would be lower on most American League teams.

He currently leads the league in walks allowed and is tied for 10th in giving up home runs, never a good combination.

His lack of success may have the front office a little gun-shy go out and obtain another big name guy.

And of course, because of that deal, the Cleveland farm system is not as deep as it was in 2011. Several publications have the Indians ranked in the bottom 10 in all of the major leagues.

Still, there are some positions in the organization where there is some depth, most notably middle infielders (particularly at the lower levels), catchers, and relief pitchers.

Another factor that makes the organization hesitant to trade young players is the success of Brandon Phillips. We are all familiar with then manager Eric Wedge’s non-favorable opinion of the second baseman, which led to his trade, and ultimately a few all-star appearances in Cincinnati.

Cord Phelps is a good example of what happens now. The third round pick in ’08 reached the AAA level in 2010 hitting a combined (with Akron) .308 and an 825 OPS.

Last season, he didn’t hit in a cup of coffee in the majors (he was used sporadically), but put up a .294 batting average and 868 OPS in his time at Columbus. It would seem someone looking for a 2B might be interested, especially since the emergence of Jason Kipnis has made him an expendable commodity.

This year, his numbers have dropped at AAA to a .263 average and a 781 OPS, thus lessening whatever trade value he may have. His career has grown stale.

Maybe the Indians tried to deal Phelps over the winter, but there was no market for him because of his struggles (.155 in 71 at bats in Cleveland last season), but that seems unlikely. There was usually teams looking for middle infielders with a little pop.

Phelps might be able to play, but you never hear his name in the trade rumors which swirl at this time of year.

The Indians can’t afford to be this conservative. They need to trust their talent evaluators and go out and get some players who can help a team very much in the post-season race.

Come to think, maybe that’s the problem. They don’t trust themselves to get the right players. And if that’s true, that’s a bigger problem for the Indians’ front office.

The Tribe Shouldn’t Sell Right Now

After losing the first three games of a four game set against the Baltimore Orioles, the rats are jumped off the S.S. Tribe very, very quickly.

There are people even saying that perhaps the Indians should now be sellers at the July 31st trading deadline instead of trying to improve the team.

As horrible as the Indians have looked since the All-Star break, and they have been bad, especially on offense scoring just 31 runs in 10 games with 19 of those occurring in two contests, they remain just 4-1/2 games out of first in the AL Central Division, and a mere 3-1/2 games off the pace for the second wild card spot.

A few people have mentioned how many teams the Indians would have to climb over to get the latter spot, but that would only hold water if there were a couple of weeks remaining in the season. However, there are more than 60 games remaining, more than enough time to pass a number of teams.

That’s why GM Chris Antonetti cannot start trading his most marketable people in the next eight days. In fact, he still should be looking to help the current roster, because it is obvious the Indians cannot make gains in the standings with its current personnel.

While everyone wants the team to make a huge splash, dealing for an all-star type player, that may not be necessary. Improving the roster could involve cutting bait on players who haven’t been productive for the Tribe from day one.

That would mean finding replacements for the deadwood currently on the team, guys like Casey Kotchman, Aaron Cunningham, Jack Hannahan, and yes, even Travis Hafner. Replacing two of them could have an impact.

The same would be true getting another starting pitcher, even replacing one with someone from Columbus. Who knows? You might just catch lightning in a bottle.

The other night saw a rumor saying the Indians were close to getting Phillies OF Shane Victorino, a free agent at the end of the season. That’s not a sexy pick up, but Victorino is a switch-hitting outfielder, who has been productive in the past.

Let’s say the Indians get him. They would no longer have a need for Cunningham because Victorino is a CF by trade. Victorino could play LF for the Indians, upgrading the OF defense.

It strengthens the bench because Johnny Damon or Hafner would no longer be in the lineup everyday, and it adds another right-handed bat (and a productive one, he’s hitting .318 with a 981 OPS vs. lefties) when facing a southpaw.

And it would also allow Michael Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo to get an occasional day off, keeping them fresh.

It would also lengthen Manny Acta’s batting order, where production ends after the cleanup hitter usually bats (although with Carlos Santana starting to hit a little, it would be after the 5th spot).

It’s one smaller type move, but it should make a decent impact on the team.

Plus, it would also show the players that the front office believes in them, and is concerned with winning baseball games.

Two or three more moves like that could make an even bigger impact, and we’ve been advocating making these subtle moves for over a month.

Yes, the White Sox have lost five straight, but look at the immediate impact Kevin Youkilis made upon his arrival. By the way, does anyone else think it’s odd that the Red Sox wanted either Josh Tomlin or Zack McAllister from Cleveland, but accepted Brett Lillibridge (since released) and Zach Stewart (in the minors) from Chicago?

We’ve always thought you are in the race if you hit Labor Day five games or less out of first. There’s still five weeks or so before that holiday and the Indians have a smaller deficit.

It’s not the time to sell right now. Antonetti needs to help his team, not take it apart.

Tribe Front Office Needs to Look in Mirror

The news broke yesterday that the local television ratings for the Cleveland Indians are down significantly from last year. This shows the interest in the team is definitely waning, and they are starting to lose even the hard-core fans.

This can’t be good news on the corner of Ontario and Carnegie.

The powers to be in the front office will probably issue the usual spin they put on things, and try to bamboozle the fan base with corporate babble and say the numbers are incorrect based on their research.

Much like they did when Forbes Magazine said they made a tremendous profit last season.

What Mark Shapiro, GM Chris Antonetti, and the Dolan family aren’t hearing is their fans are fed up with the way things are with this franchise.

It’s time they looked in the mirror and realized their “process” isn’t getting it done.

First, if the Indians finish under .500 in 2012, that will be 9 out of the last 11 seasons that has been the case. Sounds a lot like the 1960’s and 70’s, doesn’t it?

The front office will freely admit they have drafted poorly over these years, with just one first round draft pick, Lonnie Chisenhall, that was drafted prior to 2011 still being in the organization.

Moreso, only one home-grown player, Jason Kipnis, can be considered a regular right now, and Josh Tomlin is the only starting pitcher originally drafted by Cleveland.

For a small market team that doesn’t attract free agents, that’s completely unacceptable.

The people who pay tickets realize it’s just a matter of time before Shin-Soo Choo will be dealt away or leave as a free agent, and the same is true for Asdrubal Cabrera.

That’s based on history.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds, at least a similar size market (most likely smaller) decided to pay their best player, Joey Votto, so he will spend the majority of his career with the team.

How can they do it?

That’s the question Tribe fans keeping asking and they are dissatisfied with the answers they are getting. They feel betrayed by an ownership and front office that does nothing more than offer excuses and reminds everyone that they are losing money at very opportunity.

At some point, doesn’t someone stand up at a staff meeting and say this isn’t working? Right now, that won’t happen because the organization is loath to hire someone from another team.

Yes, the organization has made some good moves, but name one from recent vintage? Is signing Jose Lopez, a limited bench player really a success?

The front office blew it in the off-season by not getting the right-handed bat it sorely needed, and they made a huge mistake in handing $5 million to the oft-injured Grady Sizemore.

They complain about attendance, but tickets are sold in the off-season, and the team did NOTHING in the winter to spur interest in the team. That’s not something that can be blamed on the fans, that’s on the guys who run the Indians.

They need to do something that excites the fans. If that takes spending money, then so be it.

Fans are tired on the same old, same old.

After last year’s great start, a season in which the team was in contention for most of the year, they didn’t capitalize, and the people buying tickets found something else to spend money on.

Perception is reality, and the reality is the fans don’t trust the Dolans, Shapiro, or Antonetti. That’s why fans seem to cater to the Cavaliers, they trust Dan Gilbert.

They believe he wants to win. They don’t have that same feeling about the Indians.

Change for change sake usually isn’t a good idea. After 11 years of mostly mediocre baseball, it’s time for an internal audit.

That last comment is something the corporate front office of the Indians might understand.

Will Tribe Do Something?

The more and more the front office of the Cleveland Indians talk about the July 31st trading deadline, the more and more it appears they are setting up their fan base for inactivity.

Team president Mark Shapiro tweeted yesterday about how difficult the trade market is in 2012 with the inclusion of an extra wild card in this year’s playoffs.

The other night they informed us that 11 teams in the American League were over .500 for the first time in league history, showing us how many teams feel they are still in contention.

It seems the mantra of the front office is “when in doubt, make excuses, and oh, throw in that we are losing money too”.

If the Tribe wants to see attendance figures decline even more, then it would be a good idea not to improve the roster before the end of the month.

This team is currently just four games out of first place, and just a half game out of the second wild card spot.

It’s pretty clear they cannot reach the playoffs with the roster currently in place, no matter how optimistically the powers that be look at it.

However, this is the same front office that needed a right-handed power bat after the end of last season, and did nothing to address that problem.

In fact, 90 games into the 2012 season, that is still a need for the Indians.

The rumors are out there already that the White Sox and Tigers are trying to add to their teams before the deadline. As for the Tribe…nothing.

They did have a chance to add Kevin Youkilis a few weeks ago, and many fans and media people talked about how it was a bad idea. We said if the cost wasn’t particularly high (it wasn’t), he would at least be an upgrade over the Jack Hannahans, Shelley Duncans, and Johnny Damons on the roster, and there is no harm in getting him.

He’s reborn with the White Sox, which is a knife to the back of the Indians.

Heck, the Tribe doesn’t even try to help its roster by getting players from Columbus.

(Note to Indian lackeys: Don’t sell Russ Canzler as nothing more than a “AAAA” player. He’s had three big league at bats, he’s done nothing to show he can’t hit in the majors).

It boggles the mind that the front office doesn’t tinker with the current roster. Why do they seem to have so much loyalty to guys like Duncan, Damon, and Casey Kotchman?

It seems like they are afraid to cut them loose and/or bench them for not hitting.

Are they trying to be nice? If so, the handling of the Nick Hagadone situation contradicts that theory.

Look, it would not be in the Tribe’s best interest to deal the best prospects in an already thin farm system, but there will be players who could be available a lower cost who can help this team.

Getting players who are even marginally better than the non-producing players helps the Indians.

Why the front office can’t see this, who knows?

Instead, they seem to be grasping at straws, taking a good two-week stretch by one of the struggling players as proof they can do the job. However, 20 good at bats followed by 40 poor at bats doesn’t make you a good hitter.

If GM Chris Antonetti does nothing in the next two weeks, look for more disgust and disdain from the Indians’ fan base. It will be just another example of trying to do everything needed to put a winning team on the field.

Odd Facts on Tribe Stats

The second half of the season started Friday night with a 1-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays ending a four-day stretch without the Indians playing. It gave us some time to examine some numbers for the Tribe.

Some of the numbers will surprise you and others will back up the need for improvements for the balance of the 2012 season.

With all of the fans complaining about 2B Jason Kipnis not making the All Star game, it was certainly a little odd to see to the great variance in the OPS for Kipnis and his double play partner Asdrubal Cabrera, because the two-time all-star has an 821 OPS compared to the second baseman’s 764.

Kipnis’ style of play has won over the paying customers, but his on base percentage and slugging average are both less than Cabrera’s, mostly because the latter has 10 more extra base hits.

That’s surprising because Kipnis has led the Tribe in home runs for much of the season, but now is tied with Cabrera for the club lead, one ahead of Shin-Soo Choo.

In fact, Kipnis ranks just fourth on the club in extra base hits behind the other two, and also behind Michael Brantley.

Kipnis is having a fine season and will be an all-star soon, perhaps next year, but there is no question here that Cabrera deserved the honor more in 2012.

Most everyone would agree that Shelley Duncan is having a mostly disappointing season with a .222 batting average, 8 HR and 21 RBI, correct? But did you know he has the same number of long balls and just four fewer runs batted in than Travis Hafner in just seven more at bats?

It’s another reminder that Hafner is not the same player he was up to 2007, but the management of the Indians treat him like a panacea for what is troubling the offense. He can still contribute, but is no longer a presence in the middle of the order.

Another player that takes a lot of criticism is Carlos Santana. Fans are understandably frustrated with him after he hit 27 homers last year, and the internet commentators want him traded, which is ridiculous. He’s having a down year.

Still, the catcher has as many extra base hits as Casey Kotchman, and a higher OPS than crowd favorite Jack Hannahan.

Other numbers to note:

Brantley is having a fine season, but his OPS (755) is over 100 points less than Choo’s (866). Choo has a higher on base percentage and a better slugging percentage. He’s given the Indians the best leadoff man since Grady Sizemore’s heyday.
Since the end of April, Hannahan has gone 20 for 97, with just 2 HR and 6 RBI, and since returning from his back and leg problems, he’s just 9 for 54 (.167).
Jose Lopez has 27 RBI in 161 at bats. He has more ribbies than Hafner, Duncan, Hannahan, and Johnny Damon.
It has been said a good starting pitcher allows fewer hits than innings pitched and strikes out twice as many as they walk. The Indians have one such pitcher: Justin Masterson. They also have one that does neither, and surprisingly it’s Derek Lowe.

Most of these stats talk about offense, but the most meaningful team number is 13. That’s the Indians’ rank in ERA in the American League. Unless they improve in that area, by getting a starter and another reliever, it will be tough to keep pace with the White Sox and Tigers in the AL Central.