Bench Ben Francisco

We are a Joke

2009-09-24T09:15:00.004-04:00

This is pathetic. It is one thing to lose a lot of games and have a bad season, it is another to get blasted night in and night out by the opposition. The 2009 Cleveland Indians are not even competitive anymore. We grinded. We "never gave in". We tried. Now, it is a punch line. THEY are a punch line. The first place Tigers have come to town the last two nights and outclassed the RWAB with ease. The Indians actually did not see Edwin Jackson or Rick Porcello at their best.. but it doesn't even matter. Same old same old. Half-hearted at-bats by some veterans. Lousy throws to the plate by the AAAA guys that GM Mark Shapiro has given four to five chances to. It is lame. How bad do you have to be to be in last place in this sorry division? Extremely bad. I don't need to give you all the stats and numbers, my boy Paulie C at http://www.thediatribe.com/ will do that for you. Bottom line, it smells.

This organization has ZERO clue on how to evaluate young pitchers. ZERO. The trades of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez so far have both graded out as F and F. That is based on thee most important aspect of the game: Pitching. Are we really supposed to believe that Justin Masterson or Carlos Carrasco are going to be big parts of the 2010 rotation? Neither can get anybody out! Ask the Tigers. Detroit's offense is one of the worst in baseball, yet, they rack around Masterson and tonight they likely will do the same for the second time to Carrasco. The CC Sabathia deal looks promising. Why? Because it is position players that are involved coming back from Milwaukee. I like Mike Brantley and the Gator (Matt LaPorta). I think they both can play. Can they pitch? Shapiro claims nobody forced him to move Lee and Martinez. Sure looks like it doesn't it? I hope Masterson pans out because he has some ability, but will it be as a starter? WE NEED STARTERS!!!

I've seen about enough of Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta. Can Pronk one time in his life in a key spot drive in a few runs with a solid shot either in the gap or over a fence? I'm tired of the bases loaded fielders choice and the sac fly. Tired of it. Peralta is in another one of his 0 for 25 slumps. Tired act. At least Jamey Carroll attempts to use all fields consistently.

Gross On All Fronts

2009-09-03T08:29:00.003-04:00

I do not enjoy going to see the Tribe play at Comerica Park. Not since Casey Blake departed (irony) have the Indians put up a good and consistent effort against the Tiger$ in that venue. Last night was no different, as the RWAB looked like a walking and talking (or in Jhonny Peralta's case NOT-talking) side-show. 5 errors? It was awful. Peralta's performance is to be expected, if you watch every game like I do. Jhonny is a mystery and certainly his bobble-fest last night was the reason the Tribe lost 4-2. You cannot blame Aaron Laffey, who shook it for a solid 6 and a third innings and pitched pretty well. He was out-done by 20 year old Rick Porcello, whom the Tigers (once again) over-paid for, but is well worth the investment. He is a stud. It is just unfortunate that the moronic fans inside that stadium last night don't really understand or appreciate just how good Porcello is and is going to be.

Back to Peralta. He plays sometimes like he is a first-timer out there. The 4 or 5 knowledgeable Tiger fans in the park were really letting him have it and it almost seemed to affect him. The dude has played in over 800 games in the majors!! 800! Yet at times, he plays like it is his 8th game. And we all knew what was coming in the 9th inning when he stepped to the plate against Fernando Rodney. A 3 error night for Jhonny would not be complete without a patented double-play ball to either third or short. Shockingly, Jhonny did not "roll one over" and hit it to the right side, but rather, grounding a ball to the very underrated Placido Polanco for the 4-6-3 to end the game. Lame. I turned to the folks I was with and told them three minutes earlier what was about to happen. I should have left early to beat the traffic. Jhonny left without talking to reporters. Same difference.

In Peralta's defense, he did not "half-ass" those plays, unlike Kelly Shoppach, who lolly-gagged down to first to backup a play in the 8th and allowed Gerald Laird to reach third on a throwing error. Nice hustle SLOPpach. Talk about lazy. Laird might hit 224, but at least he works his butt off and calls a good game. Shoppach cannot catch, throw, or hit and his effort is on par with his performance.

Finally, I have to call out the fans at Comerica Park. Detroit is a football town and a hockey town and I was told many years ago that once the Tigers got good, that it would be a "Baseball town again". WRONG. This team is in first place and is running away with the AL Central. The division is so horrible, and the Tigers really are not as good as they were in 2006, but, the fans act like they are watching the 1992-2005 edition. Spoiled brats. 3 people in my section asked aloud "who is #60"? They did not know who Wilkin Ramirez was. He is on their team. Apparently Jim Leyland cannot manage, according to these fans, and half of the lineup (their words) "SUCKS". Is the Detroit lineup a great 1-9? No. Heck, marcus Thames batted 5th last night. But give me a break! Oh.. and these fools do not ever sit down and stay in their seat at this stadium. Every inning. Up to get food. Up to get beer. Up to use the bathroom. We finally moved to the top of section 138 to an empty area of the seats so we COULD SEE THE GAME!!!

Great times last night.

Shame on Wedge

2009-08-23T20:48:00.003-04:00

We are now starting to see what we thought we should have seen back when it counted. Young players making an impact, receiving playing time and confidence, and subsequently, some wins. Nobody is a bigger backer of the Grind more than I am, but fingers must be pointed at Eric Wedge today. The Indians once again won another series, and once again are showing that they are not a pathetic doormat in the AL. Is it too little too late? Absolutely. The club is buried behind weak sisters Detroit, Chicago, and Minnesota, and it is a shame because this division is the worst in baseball history and so winnable for any one of the five teams that reside in it. Eric Wedge has a big hand in this and could have done things differently back when it counted.

The Grindpa of the RWAB could have phoned his boy Mark Shapiro earlier this year and told him to recall Matt LaPorta a lot earlier in the season. Wedge also should have played "Gator4God" every single day when he was recalled in early May. Instead, he played sporadically, got rusty at the plate, and sat behind the likes of Ben Francisco and Dave Dellucci. Unacceptable. The kid can hit, we all see it now (5 for 15 with 4 RBI this week), and in watching him in Columbus last weekend, he clearly has "it". Wedge also should have sent his GM a note and told him to send Kelly Shoppach down. It is clear that Wyatt Toregas has paid his dues, and I'd much rather see him behind the plate and at the plate than "Sloppach". Shop stinks and Shappy should have dumped him this off-season when his stock was as high as it will ever get. Not only is "K"elly a strikeout machine, but did you watch him catch on Friday? He cannot catch the ball, which is paramount for any backstop going back to.. uh.. fourth grade! Shoppach is sort of like Ralph Cirella, all or nothing. His hits are loud and big, just very sporadic and rare. These are small moves, but, manuevers that could have given this team a needed jolt back when it counted.

One other GrindMaster flash note: His handling of the young arms in the bullpen in April and May were atrocious. We are now seeing that he was not handed a lot of material, but, the likes of Tony Sipp and Jensen Lewis were not put in good spots. Lewis needs a defined role and Wedge needed to match Sipp up better his first time up with the big club. He overused him early, knowing full-well he had arm and confidence issues in the past. Now Sipp looks like a definite keeper. In defense of Eric, Kerry Wood barfed all over his carseat and Joe Smith and Raffy Perez also stained the sheets when the big lights were on. That is not on Wedge.

My Trip To Columbus

2009-08-17T09:59:00.003-04:00

It was time. Time to make a trek down 71 to see how our Columbus Clippers and also check out the new stadium, Huntington Park. With most of the AAA Wahoos already on the big club, my buddy J and I utilized saturday night to both get away from the grind and also hope to see something out of Matt "Gator4God" Laporta and Michael Brantley. Going in, we picked August 15th as the perfect day to drive down, but didn't realize we would miss both Carlos Carrasco and Hector Rondon. Turned out, we missed a lot more than just those 2 players.

So I get down to C-bus and arrive at the ballpark at 6:30 and for some odd reason (to me at least) it is PACKED! People all over the streets, especially in between Nationwide Arena and Huntington Park. I park the car across the street and on a beautiful, but, humid night, I did not realize that this spot was, as The Maestro would say, is "the place to be". J is running late, so I stroll over to the box office to purchase my seats and I see a sign: "Tonight's game is sold out. Standing Room Only". Huh? Sold out? It is minor league baseball! I was floored. Some dude sees that I am stunned and offers me up a couple of $6 lawn tickets. We chatted for a while and he alerted me that weekend games are always like this and I still could not believe it. I guess Columbus is a hot town right now, but still! Plus, the Clippers are not exactly winning a lot of games. Anyways, it is now 6:45 and the guy ends up giving me the lawn seats for free. I had those in my back pocket as a back-up. But I did not drive three hours to sit on some lawn.

I dialed up J and told him the situation and he had one message for me: Go to work. The last time J and I "had to" scalp for tickets was years ago in New York city and I got snookered into buying fake Knicks/Kings seats by some guy in an alley of a train station. I walked across the street from the ballpark and evidently it is okay over there to purchase seats from a scalper. There were cops everywhere, but none of them were looking in the scapers' direction, so I knew we were good. The first guy I talked to had a bunch of tickets in his hand and tried to sell me a pair of reserved seats for $25 each. Yeah right. Plus, these tickets looked like something my four year old would scribble together on a piece of paper. I walked away. Headed down to the corner where I parked the car outside of the left field gate and got two box seats for $15 each. I waited the guy out a little bit, because he asked for $20 each originally. It was now 6:55 and the guy knew he had to get rid of them soon. We were in!

The ballpark is just beautiful. When we walked in, Matt LaPorta was up to bat in the first and we watched him draw a walk from the left field porch. I glanced at the lineup on the big scoreboard, only to see no Brantley, no Jason Donald, no Lou Marson, no Jordan Brown. Ugh. Not exactly what I wanted to see. Good news, though, we sat third row behind the Indy dugout. I felt like I was on the field. We were on top of the action!

So with the scrubs on the field for the Clippers, Indianapolis torched Mike Gosling and crew to the tune of 7-0. LaPorta is a stud. You can just see it in his at-bats. He drew two walks and ripped a single to right center. Wes Hodges is not a major league baseball player. You can just see it in the way he moves at third, and there is something missing with him at the plate. I did like Frank Herrmann. He throws hard and his defense did not help him much at all on Saturday.

All in all, a quality night at the yard. They had a wide variety of t-shirts in the team shop out in left field, which made yours truly very happy. I really like how they label the food areas and the sight lines are fantastic. The right field wall is cool and the bar stool seats they have to the right of it add some intrigue too. There was even a hot dog race as well. I was impressed. With everything but the team.

Please Stay Quiet

2009-08-06T23:14:00.004-04:00

''If every four or five years we can have a shot at the World Series and contend for the playoffs at other times, that's as good as it gets for a team in this type of market.''

Paul Dolan. Today.

Please sir. Please. Stop. Talking publicly. Don't. Just don't.

You are a bright guy. But. Stop. Please.

What more needs to be said? Shut up. Stop. Don't feed your fan base rat poison one week and then spit on their family's mac and cheese at the viewing the next. Please don't.

So Sad.. And a Bad Trade Too

2009-07-31T18:21:00.003-04:00

I defended the Cliff Lee deal. I cannot defend the Victor Martinez trade. How do you deal your heart and soul and your leader for a pitcher who could not crack the Red Sox rotation and two prospects? Mark Shapiro can give us the "high-ceiling players" quotes until we are blue in the face, but to not acquire Clay Bucholtz or Daniel Bard or Mike Bowden as a part of this trade is unacceptable. I went to bat for Shapiro earlier this week, but I just cannot back him here. Sure, Victor is probably on the decline a little bit, but this trade smells. Shapiro said today that he woke up not thinking he would make a trade; I do not buy that. This one looks like it comes from the top, and a chance to dump more salary both now and in the future. I do like Masterson, and he better pan out.

As far as Victor goes, he is all man. A warrior and a true leader, unlike some of the soft tissue-like stars that remain on this team. Sad day.

The Boycott and Benny.. DONE!

2009-07-29T15:07:00.002-04:00

It looks like I did not have to wait for Ben Francisco to be benched, he was traded instead. PEACE!!!

The Wahoos continue the house-cleaning today and while I know most of the clueless fan base is posting comments on the internet ripping Mark Shapiro, I commend the ballclub for what it is doing. Here is why:

1. Cliff Lee's trade value will never be higher. He is leaving. You know it and I know it.

2. This organization's gross evaluation of pitching talent over the years has come back to haunt them. It is time to stockpile young arms and see which ones get outs and which ones do not.

3. This season is lost. It has been lost. At least they are admitting their failures and blowing it up to get younger, cheaper, and maybe better. Why pay the likes of Ryan Garko and Kelly Shoppach? Pointless. Get younger, swallow your pride, and also add some fresh blood. 2007 turned out to be a bit fraudulent.. fine.. good.. ok. Move on.

4. Mark Shagrindo is not done. I hope Victor Martinez stays, but isn't obvious that he will not be here after 2010? If Lou Marson and Carlos Santana both pan out, it gives us options.

5. The best players the Indians have? They have been acquired VIA TRADE. AC, Pronk, Choo, Grady, and even Valbuena all were brought in from other organizations. This is an indictment on the team's drafting, but at least they are now admitting to their mistakes and not overpaying for lousy free agents (Berea) and trying to spin it to fans to "be patient" (Berea).

6. The AL Central is god awful. The Tribe can win it next year. Why Not? The first place team right now has lost 7 straight road series with a monster payroll.

GRIND.

ULTIMATUM

2009-07-18T22:02:00.003-04:00

I am DEAD SERIOUS. This blog is temporarily shutting down. There will be no more entries or articles regarding the Indians UNTIL BEN FRANCISCO IS BENCHED! We here at "Bench Ben Francisco" have had ENOUGH. He sits for at least two straight games and then we will return with more scribbles. Until that time, we boycott! We stand outside of H and H bagels and we protest!

Francisco cannot hit. He is 1 for his last 21 and tonight, with a pair of runners on and two out in the eighth against the M's, he grounded weakly to short. That was the last straw. Your starting left fielder cannot just have a single home run since May 27th. Ours does. Bench Ben Francisco!

Hopefully this website will be up and running with updated columns soon. Until Benny's benching is made official, we say BYE FOR NOW.

Stick with the Stick Ownership

2009-07-15T18:05:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time since a Cleveland Indian hitter was so feared in an All Star Game that the opposing manager intentionally walked him. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit, but I laughed a bit when Vic "The Stick" Martinez was given a free pass in the 8th inning of last night's 4-3 AL win over the NL. How can you not love "The Stick"? I watched him handle both Joe Nathan and Mo Rivera with perfection last night and it really made me think: We CANNOT lose this guy.

Martinez is a true Clevelander. He's not pretty, he's sort of a truck when he runs, he is a hard worker, and he loves where he is. Last night, he even had his son in his arms as he was introduced at the mid-summer classic. I loved it. The guy is our leader, and while he may not be very vocal, he is the heart and soul of that clubhouse. Even with his recent struggles, V-Mart is hitting .294 with 14 homers and 59 runs batted in. We saw what happened to this club last season when Martinez got hurt, the RWAB needs him. And Victor says he wants to stay, telling Castro at www.indians.com ""I would like to stay [with Cleveland]," he said, "and hopefully retire as an Indian."

Keep "The Stick". Do whatever it takes. It is pretty obvious that he is the team's most valuable position player and he wants to be here. While Cliff Lee is also a must keep, CP seems to chuck his teammates under the bus and sulks on occasion. I hope he stays too, but you just get a feeling that he doesn't want to be here. With the lack of run support he has received, how can you blame him? I'm just saying that while the crowds are sparse and the organization is about to undergo some major changes, I am asking that someone step forward and commit to Victor.

One more thing. I agree with Terry Pluto of the PD who says that Matt LaPorta needs to be up here and playing left field every day. If they make him a first baseman exclusively, and the brass feels like Carlos "Juelz" Santana is the future behind the plate, what kind of message does that send to Victor? LaPorta should be in left and there should be a spot at first for Martinez down the road. The Indians need to be better in their decision making about placement of players, because the last two seasons have been careless messes with all of these lineups and players playing out of position. This aint "Hot Rod" magazine pal.

Huffin and Puffin'

2009-07-09T18:04:00.007-04:00

Seriously. Why couldn't we have just had a nice and easy blowout victory today in Chicago? The Tribe actually jumps all over a White Sock pitcher (a rarity lately) and looks like they are ready to cruise at US Cellular, only to have to squeak out just its 34th win of this putrid season. The Wahoos did a nice job at the plate, taking pitches and working counts against former Coach Carr backup Clayton Richard, and the "Pressure is Off Posse" of Ryan Garko, Kelly Shoppach and Jhon Peralta all swung the bats in the 10-8 win. But, we once again had to watch a former first round pick labor through five innings on the mound. It is getting old.

I've been underwhelmed so far by Dave Huff. The team's first round pick in 2006 is just 24 years of age, I get that, but I just trying to figure out if he will be anything more than a 4th starter. Today, Huff was handed a 9-2 lead, and could not make it out of the fifth. He was charged with 7 earned runs and only struck out two. Other than his dominant performance a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh, Huff has just been okay. His ERA fits in with the rest of the team (6.71) and his velocity also is nothing special. I thought today was a perfect day for him to give the Wahoos some length and battle thru it and he just didn't. I'm gonna be patient with David, but I'm definitely a bit let down by his performance so far. This is par for the course for the team's scouting staff at the college level. Props to the bullpen today. Kerry Wood actually showed some guys and Eric "Grindapalooza" Wedge going to Wood in the 8th for a 2 inning save was a good move. Also great to have the Realtor back. Loves me some Betancourt. He's an Indian, always will be.

I may go for a live grind tomorrow night inside of Comerica Park. We'll see.

Mark Shagrindo

2009-07-06T08:56:00.004-04:00

"Nothing has changed".

That was the quote yesterday from Tribe GM Mark Shapiro. The red-head kingpin has decided to sink or swim with his man "The Grinder". Eric Wedge and his staff are safe for the remainder of 2009. Ridiculous. Here is my take:

Why would you come out and secure the jobs of an entire coaching staff on July 5? The team actually strings two wins together against a punch and judy A's club and all of the sudden this is the move? I am a supporter of the "Grind" and I like Shapiro, but, this is a huge risk and also a lousy message to the fan base. If you want to guarantee Wedge is safe, fine. But the entire staff? Carl Willis and Derek Shelton both deserve F's on their mid-season report cards for 2009 and newly hired bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez also has flunked his mid-term test. Where is the accountability? Why is Mark so married to Eric or at least to the "entire staff". If this team tanks and loses 100 games, then what?

Shapiro says he wants to eliminate the distractions by making this announcement now. He added that he wants "to make sure there is accountability". Accountability? What a joke. Everyone has failed outside of a few guys and nothing gets done about it Mark! Just because you DFA Luis Vizcaino and Matt Herges doesn't show the fan base that there is accountability. 75 percent of Cleveland fans had never heard of those two guys anyways. Ben Francisco and Ryan Garko and Kelly Shoppach all keep trotting out there, where is the accountability for them? Demoting Josh Barfield ten times a season to AAA isn't good enough for me. That message is not loud enough for me.

The fans, errr, WE want to see some sort of action! This is the second worst team in baseball with ONE all-star and he isn't performing the last three weeks either! Yet, everyone is safe until the end of the season? On a holiday weekend, with beautiful weather, the Wahoos drew 19,000 fans on Sunday. This cannot make the Dolans very happy. Yet, they are the ones who could have told Shapiro to pursue a "real" left fielder this winter, and they stayed quiet. Just like the stadium yesterday.

The Message To The Fans: There Is None

2009-07-02T08:45:00.003-04:00

My eyes are wide open. I am starting to see it. No longer am I blinded by that red, white, and blue light. I have taken off the red, white, and blue glasses. My Victor and Choo and AC t-shirts remain in my closet. This is a joke. The angry fans and the ones that I have called out in the past for over-complaining about ownership, Shapiro, and of course.. The Grinder.. I join you today. The Cleveland Browns, errrrrr, Indians have become a league wide laughingstock. 3-14 in their last 17 games and nobody does a thing. Nobody throws a tantrum, nobody says "this is unacceptable", nobody gets fired, and you know what? Nobody, then, will come to the ballpark.

The quotes today are about as disgusting as the at-bats. Check out these doozies from this soft group:

"We're in a rut right now," said Wedge.

"After every game, it's quiet," said right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, "but the next day is always a new day. People are joking and laughing during batting practice. We're having fun."

Said Sowers on the sixth, "Thome hit a good pitch. Konerko hit a ball that was probably half a foot off the plate. It was a good piece of hitting. On the pitch to Castro, sometimes you do the right thing and don't necessarily get the appropriate result."

WHAT????? What is this? Where is the leadership? Is someone going to do anything or say anything? Phony rants that are contrived is not the answer, but, the one thing that Jim Leyland has done in Detroit and Ozzie Guillen has done in Chicago, is that they have delivered a message to the fans that losing is not acceptable and they will not stand for it. Apparently, the Wahoos just show up everyday and as Choo says are "having fun". Bulls__t. Total BS man.

If these types of streaks would have popped up in 2007, C.C. Sabathia and Trot Nixon would have put these fires out. In 2009, GM Mark "Foundation Building" Shapiro has put together a leader-less team and his roster is flawed and his decision-making grades out as an "F". In Mark's defense, injuries have been a killer, but he knew last winter that Jake Westbrook and Travis Hafner were not going to be Jake Westbrook and Travis Hafner. He leaned heavily on oft-injured Carl Pavano, Anthony Reyes, and Scott Lewis, and failed to have proper reinforcements in case they went down. Jeremy Sowers is atrocious.. as a starter. How come I know this cat cannot start in the bigs and actually may fit as a middle reliever? Wedge and Shapiro can finish each other's sentences? Well.. how come (Les Levine TM) they cannot finish this one liner: Jeremy Sowers cannot pitch more than.....? Answer: Four Innings! Shappy's bullpen is also a joke and his signing of Kerry Wood was a colossal mis-calculation.

I feel bad for "The G-Man" Chris Gimenez. He is hitting .276 and went 2 for 3 on Monday. Yet, he is not in the lineup on Tuesday or Wednesday. Instead, we get that light and fluffy meal of 4A soup, otherwise known on the menu, as Ben Francisco. ENOUGH. Benny and Ryan Garko everyday? Why? Is ownership this cheap that they do not want to start Michael Brantley's service time? And by the way, anyone check out Columbus' team ERA? 4.66. Dead LAST in the IL.

Make a move today for the fans Shapiro. If you want to fire Chuck Hernandez or Carl Willis, just do it already. Derek Shelton. Somebody has to be held accountable and the fans need to see some action. They are not seeing any action on the field.

June 27, 2009: The Night The Season Died

2009-06-27T23:09:00.003-04:00

It's official. RWAB GM Mark Shapiro has seen the light and the incoming train at the end of the tunnel and has surrendered. 2009 is now officially in the books as the Indians have just dealt glue-guy and 3B/LF/RF/2B/DH Mark DeRosa to the St Louis Cardinals for reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later. DeRo gave the Indians three quality months and while he started slow, he was consistent and professional and I tip my cap to him. The Cubs must be freaking out that their boy is now headed to the Arch City instead of Chicago. You knew something was amiss tonight when DeRosa was held out of the lineup and the automatic out, AKA Ben Francisco, was patrolling left field.

Should Shappy have waited a little longer to drive the price up for DeRo? Maybe. But I like Perez. He turns 24 on Wednesday and can really bring the gas. He is big and has a mullet and a wicked slider. The Cards have tried him a couple of times as the closer and he may not be ready yet for that role, but he is the future ninth inning man for this team and lets be honest, Kerry Wood should also be dealt. Here is some video of "Kid Chris".

Chris Perez

It is Saturday night and my kids have tired me out, so this is all you get tonight on this manuever. One more thing-- Michael Brantley was taken out of the Clippers/Durham game after two at bats tonight. You have to guess that he is on his way to the 216. Good. And while "Team Grind" is at it-- bring up Matt LaPorta too and send Ryan Garko to the NL for a PTBNL.

My Heart Can't Take Much More

2009-06-24T08:58:00.004-04:00

There really isn't a lot to say about last night's win in Pittsburgh. It was basically a microcosm of the entire season and I walked away from the win even more unimpressed with Kerry Wood. Great to see Grady back and it appears, at least for one night, that "The Greatest Player of our Generation" is on track and putting the bat on the ball in a positive way. I know the anti-grind faction is wondering why Dave Huff did not get the ball in the ninth inning? That crew needs to relax. If it was a very meaningful game in September, maybe he is out for the ninth, but Eric Wedge is right, you have to protect young pitchers, especially ones with a history of arm trouble. Huff was fantastic and Wedge went to the one guy in the setup role who had done a nice job in Matt Herges.

I want to address one other issue. Following the game, I was in my car and tuned in to the postgame show on WTAM. The host (I won't give his name because that is what he and his right-wing faction wants) actually said that he started rooting for the Pirates to win in the ninth inning to just complete the deal. Memo to this Rush Limbaugh wanna-be: You are not a real fan, you don't know the game, and you are now where you belong in terms of time-slot. He rooted for the Pirates to win last night? They lost. Just like last November. I guess the host is 0 for 2 now. Palin in 2012! Loser.

Lawrence J. May Just Be Anti-Grind

2009-06-21T22:25:00.004-04:00

We all know that the ultimate circus in Northeast Ohio runs ten days a year live and direct from the lakefront. That high-wire act, with clowns and animals and a big top is stationed each and every day, though, in beautiful Berea. It doesn't matter who the ringmaster is: Policy, Clark, Savage, Crennel, and now "Man-Kok", it is a barrel of laughs and fun and its followers line the pockets of the absent and silent owner and those lemmings even dress up like clowns (or dawgs) themselves. As a die-hard fan of the Indians, I have never been one to ever even compare the two franchises because I do not believe that they belong in the same category. Then I read this gem from Paul "I'm Out to End The Grind Era" Hoynes in http://www.cleveland.com/:

When asked if he was considering a change, Larry Dolan said, "I'll talk to you later." When asked if that meant a change was being considered, Dolan said, "I just don't want to lie to you."
Sunday evening, Paul Dolan responded in a text message, "I spoke with my father. He refutes that the conversation with you was in any way a statement on Eric's performance."

My reaction?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

What on earth is that Mr. Dolan? Come on brother! As an owner of a big-league franchise, you HAVE to know your cliches! Thank goodness for the young and hipster Paul Dolan for coming to dad's rescue. If anyone has seen Paul D on Les Levine's show, the guy has his act together. Hopefully his conversation with daddy went something like this: "Hey Pop, saw your quotes in Hoynes' piece. Yeah. Uh. I'll do the talking from here on out okay? Last thing we need is you going all Hank Steinbrenner on our manager. Next time, just tell Hoynes that you have no comment or that Mark Shapiro makes those decisions."

I just don't want to lie to you? That is epic. Lying is what sports and media is all about Mr. Dolan! When your counterpart with the Berea Circus says "We are committed to winning", that is a LIE. When Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn says "I have no list yet of coaching candidates", that is a LIE. When the "Lord and Savior" Bernie Kosar's bankruptcy attorney says that his client is a victim, he is LYING! And when your own GM Shapiro says the farm system is "loaded with good-young arms", unfortunately, he is also not telling the whole truth. (If I see Jeremy Sowers make one more start I swear....sorry sorry.. off topic).

Just had to get that off my chest. Still grinding, and supporting our ownership.

Don't Blame The Grinder

2009-06-20T10:38:00.003-04:00

Look. Here is the thing. We all know that unless the Indians make some sort of miracle push to an AL Central Title that skipper Eric "Grind Master Flash" Wedge is going to get fired. I think he is a good manager and have defended him time and time again in this space. The Wahoos 29-40 record is disgusting and the performance of the bullpen has smelled even worse. Take Friday's 8-7 loss at Wrigley as your latest example; but somebody please tell me how that game's blood is on Wedge's hands?

Fans do not like Wedge's delivery. Fans always clamor for change when a coach or manager has been around seven years. Fans want a guy who will throw his hat in the dugout or run around the diamond chasing umpires. That is not Wedge. I really don't care what the fans want, because I believe most tribe fans never even knew baseball existed before 1994. I hate to sound like a snob, but where were all of you guys at the old stadium when I was a kid? My dad, brother, and I used to sit in the upper level, section 18, and on most Saturdays at the ballpark, we had the row and half of the section to ourselves. I am now off the tracks here, I apologize. My point is that fans want to replace Wedge, yet none of them have an alternative.

In Detroit, the Tigers just handed Jim Leyland a two year extension. This comes off of a last place season in 2008 and a 5-6 road trip this season with his team just two games ahead of Minnesota for first place in the worst division of all-time. Leyland is still managing this club because they respond to him and he has kept the ship afloat. Sound familiar?

If the Tribe players have quit, I don't see it. If they stopped listening to Wedge or "tuned him out" as Jim Ingraham suggested in the News-Herald, than how come they scored 12 runs the other night against Milwaukee and 7 in the early stages of yesterday's loss to the Cubs? What is Eric supposed to do up 7-2 in the 8th yesterday? Is he supposed to tell the umpires that HE will pitch the eighth instead of Joe Smith or Rafael Perez? (I would not have used Perez in that spot btw). It wasn't Wedge who went out and traded for Smith. The man has tried everything and now has gone to great lengths to even go public with some of his frustration with certain players. Good! Why not? We all see it. You can only use so much lipstick to try and dress up this pig.

I like the fact that this team plays hard day in and day out. I grew up watching some real dog teams and some real dog managers (John McNamara for one). Wedge makes mistakes, but I am sticking with him. I am not "giving in to the fight". Today he has to send Tomo Ohka to the mound at that bandbox in Chicago. I guess we keep grinding and pray.

Buh Buh Buh Benny and the Slumps

2009-06-17T09:21:00.003-04:00

Now that sweet Dave Dellucci is gone, and Casey Blake is knocking out solo homers in LA with the Dodgers, it is about time to rename this blog. For the past weeks, we here at Dump Casey Blake/Dump David Delucci have commented on the lame at-bats and feeble plate attempts by the Wahoos opening day left fielder. Ben Francisco is no longer a rookie. He is no longer a 24 year old wet-behind-the-ears young ball player. He spent parts of seven years in the minors and now we are seeing why. Benny is a decent player, and probably a quality fourth outfielder on a contending team, but he should not be playing every day. At 5 for his last 47 and 8 hits in his last 61 at-bats, we here at the Blog of Grind turn our attention away from the Artie Lange/Joe Buck controversy and focus on a new mission-- to "Bench Ben Francisco".

There is no way that Benny should be playing day in and day out. If Eric "Julian Grindel" Wedge can sit Jhonny Peralta for days at a time, why not Ben Francisco? The caveat here is that Grady Sizemore is hurt, so Francisco is his backup in center. I say "So What"? Francisco has not driven a ball to right-center in weeks. He is hitting .131 in June with 13 strikeouts in 14 games and 3 RBI. Ben has 2 extra base-hits in June. His last home run he struck that was not given up by Andy Sonnanstine of the Rays was back on April 28th against Boston. April 28th!!! For some reason, Francisco carves up Sonnanstine. If only there were more arms like his in the AL Central.

Francisco was a bright light in a dark 2008 season. He was given an opportunity to play a lot after the Dellucci/J-Mike platoon was rightfully blown up and he did very well. Francisco can hit a "get-me-over" fastball and it showed last year when he knocked 15 home runs in 121 games. But at second glance, Benny's numbers were not all that earth shattering. He slumped in September and finished at .266 with 54 RBI for the season. Tribe brass hoped that this year, at age 27, he would be a young and cheap everyday player who can hit, run, and bring energy. He is none of that.

Even clueless ESPN analyst Steve Phillips remarked on Monday night that Francisco is spaghetti in the batter's box. He doesn't draw walks, opens up his front side, and mostly lifts weak pop-ups to left and center. How many rallies did this dude kill last night against the Brewers? Enough is enough.

Our solution here at the now renamed "Bench Ben Francisco" is to bench Ben Francisco. The RWAB is still in this race (as laughable as that is) and they are playing better ball as of late. Francisco needs to play against some lefties and pinch-hit. Period. I don't see him as an every day player and once Grady comes back, Francisco has to be the odd man out. Play Mark DeRosa in left and Peralta at third and call it a day. If DeRosa is traded, I want to see Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley before I see Benny every day. For now, Wedge can play Jamey Carroll in center field some, and Trevor Crowe. We all know that T-Crowe cannot hit either, but at least he battles in his at-bats!

Sorry Benny. We did like your appearance, though, last year on the Jim Rome show.

Disgusting

2009-06-16T08:58:00.002-04:00

I am not going to waste the reader's time with a game recap of last night's debacle. What is the point? We all know that the Wahoos decided to become the "Walk-hoos" again and when you give free passes to the likes of Mike Rivera and Craig Counsell, you are going to lose. Period. End of story. The Tribe bats (other than Jhon Peralta and Ben "Spring Training Willie Mays Hayes" Francisco) were great and scored twelve runs. That should be plenty. It was nice to see Travis Hafner really square the ball up in his last two at-bats and his production is going to be needed. But, my god, the walks! Even the usually reliable strike-throwing Matt Herges got into the act. 261 bases on balls for this group! Worst in the bigs.

If someone has an answer on Rafael Perez I'd love to hear it. This dude is a total mess and it really makes no sense. There are some games that he is lights-out and can come in and destroy a left-handed hitter (David Ortiz earlier this season- three pitch K) and others like last night where he just gets torched. For those who want to send Perez down to Columbus, what is the point? He went down there three weeks ago and was Kenny Banya; he killed! An Eric the Actor ERA of "Zero Point Zero". He was lights out. On Monday night, he claims he wanted to throw a first pitch fastball to Prince Fielder low and away. Yeah. Right. That was a meatball. Even Ben "Pop Up Master" Francisco could have hit it out.

"I was trying to throw it down, and it just took off," Perez said. "I'm not frustrated. I've got to be ready to come back [Tuesday]."

You are not frustrated? Uh Raffy, WE ARE!!! To quote a famous manager in town, don't "give in to it".

I'm hoping to not see Palin, errr, Perez in a game the rest of this series, and I'm also asking for Josh Barfield in center tonight. Why not? If I get Trevor Crowe, I guess I'll be satisfied.

An Almost No-No For The Red-Ass

2009-06-15T08:47:00.003-04:00

You have to appreciate Cliff Lee. Some guys will always be number 2 or number 3 pitchers in this game, but not Cliff. The "Ultimate Red-Ass" has stepped it up this season, and as the Tribe's "ACE" he has once again delivered. A masterpiece at Dolan Field last night and a near no-hitter in the RWAB's 3-0 shutout win over the Cards. Lee's ERA is now 2.88 and just think if he had some run support! The dude could probably relax a little bit on the mound, but he really never does. He's kind of a jerk. He pitches angry and he snarles at his teammates on the field, yet, he's the true leader of the staff and I find it refreshing. Cliff was seen staring down Shin Soo-Choo in the eighth inning last night after Yady Molina's lead off double broke up the no-hitter. Hey, Lee thought Choo should have made the play and he's intense and wanted that no-no. If Fausto Carmona had that sort of attitude!

Think about where the Wahoos would be without Cliff. His ERA is below three. Do you know how many other Tribe starters have ERA's below five? None. This guy doesn't just eat innings, he owns them, and we just have to hope and pray he stays here. You cannot expect to contend without arms. Pitching is the name of the game and it is one of two reasons why the Tribe is not dead and buried yet. The other reason is this garbage division. Thank goodness the Detroit Tigers gave Dontrelle Willis that ridiculous contract and feel the need to have to prove he deserves it. The D-Train still pitching every fifth day is a travesty, just like these reports of Krispy Kreme possibly going under.

Finally, props have to go to Tribe radio man Tom Hamilton. The best in the biz last night did his job and did it well. Hammy elected to tell the fans throughout the night that Cliff Lee did have a no-hitter going, which is the right move. As the radio play-by-play guy, your job is to tell the listeners what they cannot see. There is some stupid unwritten code now among some baseball announcers that they should NOT jinx the pitcher by saying the words "no-hitter". Hogwash. Tommy did the right thing and his description and excitement is still awesome. I'll take Hammy over anybody in the game not named Vin Scully.

Fourth Place Feels So Goood

2009-06-10T08:58:00.002-04:00

This team is such a mystery. Playing without its center fielder, shortstop, and starters 3-5, the Tribe continues to grind away and now has escaped out of last place in the worst division MLB has ever seen. The RWAB buck the odds last night and score 8 unanswered to beat the fledgling Royals 8-4. Let us not forget that they really don't have an everyday second baseman, nor do they have a full DH (it is sort of a half of a DH). Its best set-up man is also on the DL. Somehow this club is only seven back and credit must go to the manager and the bullpen, which has really done a nice job the last few weeks. Pitching is still the name of the game and the crew in Chuck Hernandez's 'pen picked up Cliff Lee last night. The "Ultimate Redass" Lee did not get help from the umps last night (Teahan was out on the Choo throw to third.. not even debateable), yet he kept the team in the game long enough for the boys to rally.

A shout-out to Billy Butler of the Royals. Thank you very much for your gifts to us in the 6th inning. Two poor throws allowed the Wahoos to rally for 4 runs and tie the game. KC is now in last place, a half game behind the Tribe, and they have dropped 22 of their last 28.

I don't know what to think of Mark DeRosa. He seems like a very cool dude, who is just a baseball player. Every team needs a DeRosa, a jack-of-all-trades, who is given an assignment by the skipper and usually completes it. He goes granny last night to lift the boys to a win and for the most part, has really been thee most clutch hitter on this squad. "He's had a lot of big hits this year," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He's done everything we've asked him to do. He's played a lot of different positions and filled different spots in the order. He's a baseball player in every sense of the word." It was truly a "Grind Slam" for DeRo, who has not played well defensively and at times has looked bad at the plate against breaking pitches. But to his credit, he has been pretty consistent and has been a quality addition.

Look, this team has a run differential of just -5. This division is abysmal. I have watched the first three games of Tigers/White Sox this week and it is bad baseball at its finest. Detroit has two stud pitchers in Verlander and Jackson and two huge holes in their rotation. Sound familiar? The Tigers closer walked three batters in a row last night with a three run lead and had to be taken out of the game. This division is still winnable.

Fraud-sto

2009-06-04T18:19:00.003-04:00

You wanna send Fausto down to the minors? Fine. Who is going to come up then? Uh.. Hello? Bueller? Anyone?

Exactly. Fausto Carmona CANNOT be sent to Columbus to get his act together. If this continues in the coming weeks and Jake Westbrook is ready to roll, then fine. But now is not the time. For god's sakes, Jeremy Sowers pitches tomorrow night at U.S. Cellular Bandbox. Lord have mercy.

Fausto is a mess. Even Rick Manning pointed out today to Al TV that Carmona lacks confidence. He has the stuff and the sink to his fastball is still wicked at times, but he looks like a scared cat on the bump. Today Jason Kubel just mashed two homers off of him and Kubel acted like a bully in third grade taking lunch money. These were two "Crush Grooves". Someone needs to get with Fausto and wake him up. The Indians need him and lets be honest, this divison smells. Bad. For as poorly as the RWAB has played, and for as banged up as they are now, the boys find themselves just 7 back of Detroit! 7 back! What a hilarious notion. Grind.

Ban Francisco

2009-06-03T08:04:00.003-04:00

Enough already. I know you are supposed to be patient with young players. I know that many teams have given position players multiple opportunities to prove they are legit in this league (Clete Thomas, Adam Lind, Josh Hamilton, and Melky Cabrera are prime examples). I get all of that. How much longer do we wait for Ben Francisco? Corner outfielders are supposed to help carry your offense, they are supposed to have some power, and strike fear into the opposition. I don't see it with Benny. He seems like a good dude and a guy that works hard and can play all three outfield spots, but other than when Tampa's Andy Sonnanstine is on the mound.. when is this kid going to drive a ball over the fence? Francisco is no kid either, he will be 28 in October.

Last night the Indians lost Asdrubal Cabrera (their second best position player) to a dislocated shoulder. AC got the RWAB going in the first inning with a single off of Tribe killer Kevin Slowey. Here comes Ben, now batting second in Eric "Grind Theft Auto" Wedge's lineup, to promptly hit a hard grounder to second base. The Twins got AC out four to six at second base and he got hurt. As I watched the play unfold I said to myself.. lo and behold Francisco lines a ball into the gap and starts a big rally. Benny is seventh on the Indians in at-bats, yet TENTH in on-base percentage. His slugging percentage has gone down in each of the three years he has donned the chief on his hat. With all of the injuries the Tribe has sustained, it would be nice to see a guy like Benny step up, he hasn't done it. You know how many times in a game this season he has had three or more RBI? 3. That is it! And two of those three games were against Sonnanstine. I mentioned the Tigers' Thomas who has 13 rbi in 20 games, Ben has 20 in 46 games. How much longer do we play this guy everyday?

DD is gone, but DL is Name of the Game

2009-05-31T21:36:00.002-04:00

Do the Indians have enough healthy bodies to grind or not? This is ridiculous. Just as the squad is beginning to play a little bit better (not that hard to top April 1- May 20) and with the amazing news of Sweet Dave Dellucci getting the ziggy, the RWAB core all heads to the infirmary. Grady Sizemore to the DL. Vic "The Stick" fouls one off of his kneecap. The Realtor Raffy Betancourt shreds his groin today and is on the DL and it appears (shocking) that Travis Hafner's elbow hurts again. Don't forget that Scott Lewis is also hurt and could be used, same goes for Aaron Laffey. Ugh. After today's win over the John Sterlings, I checked the standings and still am amazed that the Wahoos are only 7 and a half games out!

I didn't watch much of todays game. I needed a break, plus, me and the kids and the love of my life went geocaching (look it up). As I was walking thru the woods and receiving texts from my brother with updates, I thought about the job that Eric "Amway Grind" Wedge is doing. His lineup today was putrid, yet, here his squad was going toe to toe with the high priced hotsters from NY. I was stunned the Wahoos put up a five spot, especially with the way Kelly Shoppach, Trevor Crowe, and others are swinging the bats. (Also a quick thank you to Brett Gardner for missing a steal sign). Wedge has kept this club above water, and while his detractors will say that he changes the lineup everyday, what do you expect? Benny aint no everyday LF. There is no everyday second sacker. Mark DeRosa and Ryan Garko don't have clear cut positions. I think Wedge is doing what he has to do. The problem is there are no young stud position players (other than Asrdubal) that have come up and claimed a spot. I'll give Choo the nod (Chris Berman TM) too. Who is pitching tomorrow for us? UH Boy.

CELEBRATE!!!!!

2009-05-29T13:24:00.002-04:00

It is Over!!! The dream has arrived!!! Dave Dellucci is going.. going.. GONE! Thanks to Paul Hoynes from the Plain Dealer for providing us with the news and this gem:

CLEVELAND -- David Dellucci, the man Indians bloggers loved to hate, has been designated for assignment to make room for left-hander Rafael Perez.

More to come later on the three year disaster.

Only This Team

2009-05-26T08:14:00.006-04:00

"Never give in to the fight".

"Seperate".

"Work thru it".

"Grind".

Eric Wedge is constantly repeating those phrases, both to his team and to the media, and last night the RWAB responded. Down 10-0 in the 4th inning to the Rays, the Tribe scores 11 unanswered to win 11-10. It was a crazy comeback, but very Tribe-esque because the boys were patient at the plate and got some help. Per usual, Team Grind hit into its share of double plays and stranded its share of runners in scoring position. But, they never quit and finally we saw some things we were supposed to see. Ryan Garko hit a couple of home runs (finally) and former number one pick Jeremy Sowers got some hitters out. Huh? What? Yep, I did see it. Sowers throws five scoreless innings!

Some might say that Garko and Sowers are terrific in that spot... a no pressure blowout game. Ryan should be driving the ball more consistently and Sowers.. well, he should just not be giving up three homers per outing. It is one game, but these guys aren't going anywhere so let us see what they have. I hope Wedge plays Garko tonight and Wednesday. See if he can get hot. Sowers? I'd love to leave him in the bullpen, but this rotation right now is "Pavano and Lee and Pray For the Next Three". It is brutal. Fausto Carmona is just a mess and I don't think he even knows where the ball is gonna go. The Tribe has to stick with him because they do not have anyone else, he has a nice meaty contract, and some innings he is unhittable. Last night in the first against Upton, Crawford, and Longoria he looked filthy.

Pitching is (as Wedge would say) the seperator. We can whine about the offense all we want, but the Tribe has scored the most runs of any team in the division, 244. It does look like Matt "Gator4God" LaPorta is not ready for the bigs just yet, and Benny Francisco and Mark DeRosa are good "bit" players and that is it. But the club has got to find some dudes that can get outs. Pitching is why the Tigers and Royals are on top of the division. I watched KC swing the bats against Justin Verlander yesterday and it wasn't fair. It was like watching Famous Dave's try to match wits with Pigfoot BBQ at the Rib Cook-Off. Mismatch. Who starts Wednesday and Thursday for the Wahoos? No answer yet, so we just keep grinding. It is what we do.

Wood Wimps Out, Grady Being K-dy, Another Loss

2009-05-20T09:28:00.004-04:00

I texted my brother after the top of the 8th inning last night and said "Cliff better finish the game". He didn't and the Tribe once again found a way to lose in Kansas City. I am resigned to the fact that the season is basically over on May 20, as sad as that sounds, yet I am not going to start throwing the remote. This club is what it is and everyone is to blame. Kerry Wood looked like a defeated man on the mound last night, but when you are making ten million dollars to get three damn outs, I don't want to hear that you only had one pitch. Chuck Hernandez is the team's bullpen coach and many fans believe the team now is cursed by Luis Isaac. Would Isaac have phoned back to the dugout during the top of the ninth to tell them that Wood doesn't seem right in the 'pen and to maybe have Cliff come out for the bottom of the ninth? I don't know. But I do know that Detroit's pitching right now is a lot better off without Hernandez than it was with him. The RWAB bullpen is basically "The Sal and Richard Show" in hats, jerseys, and spikes. Poor Cliff.

Wood failed and sounded like a baby afterwards. If you only have one pitch, then be a man and use it inside and outside and blow people away with it! Instead he just put it on tee for the light-hitting Royals and they knocked it around the yard. Those were not cheap hits against "One Pitch" Wood. Kerry would have had a bigger cushion than 5-2 if not for thee most overrated player in the game Grady "K-dy" Sizemore. K-dy continues to offer nothing at the plate and the fifth inning last night was no exception. Back to back bunt singles by Luis Valbuena and AC Cabrera and Brian Bannister looked rattled. Up steps the Wahoos new number two hitter and instead of dropping down a third bunt to move the runners or at least battle thru an at-bat and take a strike, K-dy fouls off a 1-0 slider and then chops a 1-1 curveball right to the first baseman for a double play (loved Valbuena's smashing of Olivo at the plate btw). First game in the two hole and this Rob Deer wanna-be still thinks he's gonna make it 8-2 with one swing of the bat? You can blame Wood all you want, but Sizemore should have done his job and moved those runners to second and third in that situation. .215? Disgusting.

I don't see the team winning a game the rest of this series. Zack Greinke pitches tomorrow and even if the club won tonight, it would be another two out of three series loser. It is just one of those seasons that happens to teams in baseball. No luck, no karma, and no pitching. In the AL Central, you CANNOT have seasons like this, yet folks, we got one.

If You're 4A and You Know It.. Wipe Your Brow

2009-05-13T09:41:00.004-04:00

Team Meetings, Vic Supports The Grind, and Jon Gosselin Denies Affair

2009-05-10T21:31:00.008-04:00

Drama. The Indians are turning into a soap opera, and a bad one at that after being swept by the average-at-best Tigers at Dolan Field. The RWAB managed just three runs all weekend, two of them gifts today courtesy of Fernando Rodney. We saw many truths in today's game when it comes to this team. More lazy at-bats, more weak popouts, more guys missing cut off men, more Sweet Dave Dellucci ground outs to the pitcher, more STO play-by-play men overemphasizing pitch-counts, and more Asdrubal Cabrera coming up big only to see the clean up man fail two batters later. The Tribe handed Detroit golden child and beatwriter boy toy Rick Porcello a five and fly win. It is a broken record and today, for once, we here at DDD take umbrage with "Grind Torino" Eric Wedge. I am a Grind-a-holic, an avid Wedge supporter, but he is failing to get it done.

Why on earth does this man trot out Sweet Dave and Ben Francisco every game of this Detroit series? Here the Tribe is playing meaningful division games, and these two jamokes (TD tm) are in the lineup each day! DD fails to get a bunt down the night before.. Wedge should bench him. Francisco misses the cut-off man today and pulls his usual 1-4 routine, he better be watching tomorrow against Gavin Floyd. That is on Wedge. Haven't we seen enough of Dellucci? What is the point? Poor Matt "Gator4god" LaPorta. I hope the dude didn't read the paper the day Wedge said "He's not up here to sit". Dude sat all weekend! Come on Grinder! How about Josh Barfield giving Mark DeRosa a damn day off? DeRosa is the right handed Grady, just cuttin and struttin back to the bench with his .238 average. He could use a day to rest, and Barfield did perform quite well in Toronto last week, give him a shot. 11-21? Good Gracious.

After today's defeat, Tribe leader and best player Victor Martinez defended his manager. "It's not his fault," Martinez said. "It's not Wedgie's fault. We take all the blame. He's not the one playing. We are the ones playing the game." I give Vic credit, and it is not all Wedge's fault, he's right, but, shake up the deck. This team isn't talented enough to make the mistakes they make and overcome them. The talent issue is on Mark Shapiro. Dellucci, Francisco, Ryan Garko, DeRosa, and Kelly Shoppach.. these are not big time talents. It is still early and this division is absolute puke, but ten under 500 is ridicurous (Donna Chang tm).

Time To Blow It Up

2009-05-09T22:16:00.003-04:00

May 9, 2009. Season is over.
UNLESS. The following changes are made with this baseball team and ASAP.

1. David Dellucci is released. Enough said. He cannot, ahem, CANNOT play. Never could. Can't lay down a sac bunt tonight? Buh and Bye.

2. Ben Francisco to the bench. I've seen enough EVERYDAY of him. Good guy, has some skills, but EVERY DAY? Why?

3. Matt "Gator4God" LaPorta plays EVERY DAY. Eric Wedge (who will be fired if the Wahoos lose tomorrow I can feel it) said we didn't bring the kid up here to sit and all he does is sits. Why? How can you justify calling him up and sitting him behind DD and Benny and Ryan "Singles Deluxe" Garko. Anyone see Matty's home run in Toronto last week? PLAY HIM!

4. Grady Sizemore OUT of the leadoff spot. Dude cannot hack it there anymore. You see how the Tigers move Granderson in and out of that spot and contact guy Josh Anderson led off tonight and reached base twice? The Windmill Sizemore can swing for the fences hitting fifth for me.

I am tired of this garbage. Nobody can lay down a bunt. Guys getting doubled off of the bases. 0-2 pitches down the middle of the plate. ENOUGH.

New Formula: Use Only Starting Pitchers

2009-05-07T08:57:00.005-04:00

A fun-filled day for Tribe fans on Wednesday. The team shakes up its pitching staff and then goes out and polaxes ESPN's favorite team 9-2 at the Fens. It is pretty obvious that Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge are fed up with what they have seen from the bullpen, so they get active. Refreshing. In the fall, the local football team doesn't do that, they just fool the fans into buying tickets and they trot out the same guys week after week. If Braylon Edwards played for Shappy and "Fred Grindy" (Wedge), his butt would have been designated for assignment just like Vinnie Chulk. At least they are trying something, and it was certainly the right move putting Raffy Perez in Columbus. I could hit his fastball right now. I hope the team can keep Chulk, because he is serviceable.

Aaron Laffey was great last night. Three scoreless inning and at 7-2 in the 7th, he came in and got outs. A five run lead is like a two run lead (I'm being nice here) with that RWAB bullpen right now. When I first heard the news of Laffey being sent to the 'pen and Jeremy Sowers recalled from Columbus, I did not like it. Laffey is a better pitcher, period. He seems more confident on the mound and when his sinker is working it is deadly. I can't say the same for Sowers, who has been extremely unimpressive the last three seasons. Remember, this dude threw back to back shutouts in 2006. That seems like decades ago. Jeremy's ERA was 2.25 at AAA so far, so hopefully he has his confidence back. I saw him pitch at Comerica Park last summer and he was being laughed at by the fans; it was like watching batting practice. Sowers will start tonight against the Sox.

We can complain about the lineup. I can complain about Grady Sizemore and another 0-4 night (now hitting .233.. how about a night off?). Bottom line is pitching. If the Tribe can hold people down, I think they can get on a nice roll. Asdrubal Cabrera and Victor Martinez are winning players. They just are. You find out what you have when the road is bumpy. These guys have driven right over it with no problems. Hopefully the arms can follow their lead.

Oh Grind-Ada

2009-05-05T08:23:00.005-04:00

I am not sure my health can take an entire summer of this. But I am smiling this morning after last night's 9-7 come from behind win over AL beast Toronto. The Tribe showing a ton of toughness and grit in snagging this win, despite more bullpen issues and lousy early game at bats. I really don't know where to start, but tip your cap to Josh Barfield who actually came up with a big hit and also to the Indians most clutch player, Asdrubal Cabrera. AC is a tough as nails kid and when he is at the plate with two outs and a runner in scoring position, I am very at ease. He usually delivers and he did last night to send the game to the bottom of the ninth.

Show of hands, how many of you were ready to throw the remote when ETG, "Eric the Grinder", pinch hit Dave Dellucci for Matt LaPorta to start the ninth? I was none too pleased at the time, but Sweet Dave did his job and got on base. Meantime, LaPorta's first big league hit and home run was a clubbing. High and away and he turned on that slop from Brian Tallet, whom the Tribe made look like Warren Spahn for six innings. Grady Sizemore's at-bats against Tallet were abysmal, and to be honest, the guy needs a day off. I know "The greatest player of our generation" delivered later in the game (finally), but you can tell he is scuffling. Wedge says he thinks Sizemore is trying too hard, one thing we know about the RWAB, they always grind and never give in to the fight (Wedge TM).

"A team can come back once or twice," said Wedge, "but to do it three times at this level ... it's almost unheard of. I don't think you're ever going to see as much fight in a ballclub as you saw in our guys tonight."

Props to Rafael Betancourt, who was locating his fastball beautifully. I am not that angry at Kerry Wood, who got squeezed in the bottom of the ninth. His 2-2 pitch to that Bautista guy was strike three, and the hit by Bautista should have been caught but Barfield made a horrible break on the ball.

Hopefully today Anthony Reyes is getting ahead of hitters and the Wahoos can take a pair in Toronto. I still love this team.

Frustrating Day at Illitchville

2009-05-02T21:22:00.004-04:00

I am too tired to write a complete sentence recap of todays events here in Detroit. Yes, the King made his way down to Comerica Park today to see the Wahoos do what they do best: Dig an early hole, grind back, strand runners, and the bullpen implosion. All in all, about what I expected today. A few thoughts.

1. The eighth inning is becoming a running joke. Those comment posters on cleveland.com can write "Fire Wedge" all day and night, but how is it "The Grind Wizard's" fault when Rafael Betancourt throws a meatball right down the plate belt-high to Curtis Granderson? And to make matters worse, I viewed an angry Realtor (Betancourt) yelling at Asdrubal Cabrera not once but twice after AC's throwing error after the fact. I love Betancourt, but his act was lame today. Tribe has been outscored 35-12 in the eighth inning. Pathetic.

2. The middle of the lineup is not getting it done. You saw today the kind of prescence that Miguel Cabrera has in the middle of the Tigers order. It is scary. You sense it in the stadium when he comes to the plate. The Tribe's 4-6 hitters have to be better. Shin Soo-Choo did his part today, but it would be nice to see someone drive a ball over the fence, especially with runners on.

3. I am excited for Matt LaPorta's invasion. Hopefully "Gator4God" can provide the big bat that is sorely needed. But, this team did score 7 runs today. That should be enough, especially in pitcher friendly Comerica Park.

Here's One For You: Pavano and Dellucci Lead Tribe to Victory

2009-05-02T06:50:00.004-04:00

I know, I can't believe that headline either. We here at DDD obviously are no fans of the washed-up, one dimensional left-handed stick who we believe is robbing the Dolan's blind at $4 million in the last year of his three year deal (yeah!). But we have to give David Dellucci credit on this day. His 4-5 night straight off the DL was exactly what the moribund Tribe offense needed in their 6-5 win.

While corner outfielders Ben Francisco and Shin-Soo Choo were leaving men on base as if it were their job (13 combined), DD was actually spraying the ball all over the field. We also saw a potential awaking of Jhonny Peralta, who had an RBI single in the first and hit his first pizza of the year (took long enough). The real hero of the night however was "The American Idle" himself, King Carl Pavano. The man who once bedded Samantha Miceli was "the boss" in Kramerica Park last night, taking a three hit shutout into the eighth with no walks and three K's. "They put the ball in play and the guys made great plays behind me," said Pavano. "On both sides of the diamond, we played pretty well."

Of course the RWAB pen did their best to choke the lead away. Raffy Left came in and gave up singles to both of the batters he faced, then Jenny "soon to be in AAA" Lewis gave up a three-run jack to Miguel Cabrera, his seventh allowed in 12.2 IP. That is completely unacceptable. If not for "The Realtor," Raffy Betancourt, the Indians may not get out of the 8th inning with a one run lead. Kerry Wood's slider was $$$$$$ in a 1-2-3 ninth to give the Tribe a 6-5 win. Its nice to have a REAL closer, isn't it? It's also nice when your dog doesn't wake up at 6:15 AM on a Saturday morning.

In other big Tribe news, sources close to DDD say that the crown jewel of the system, Matt Laporta, will be up and with the club before Saturday's game, which is a shocker to me. They lose an extra year of his control if he is added to the 40-man roster before June 4th. Looks like they are desperate enough with Francisco struggling and Hafner on the DL. Lets see if Laporta can do for the Wahoos what Evan Longoria did for the Rays last year.

EDIT: Matt Laporta, Luis Valbuena, and Josh Barfield have been recalled from Columbus. Tony Graffanino was designated for assignment, Joe Smith goes on the DL with a strained rotator cuff, and Trevor Crowe was optioned back down to AAA.

Bad Loss, But This is Who They Are

2009-04-30T08:14:00.007-04:00

I got upset for a few minutes. I didn't stew over this one like I normally do. My girlfriend didn't even give me her usual rap of "Uh boy.. Not again with you" after last night's crushing loss to the Red Sox 6-5. Wanna know why? Because this Indians team is what it is right now. A jack-of-all-trades master-of-none crew that has the same problems it had a year ago. And in 2006. Too many strikeouts, too many guys hitting in spots that they do not belong in, and players playing out of position. It all adds up to a blown chance of taking two out of three from a very good Red Sox team and taking some momentum to the road.

Even STO asked the fans in its text poll last night what they think the Tribe's record will be on this upcoming seven game trip. The fans said 3-4. Best part of that was Rick Manning just destroying broadcast partner Matt Underwood for trying to spin it positively. Manning, who is the best analyst in town bar none, knows. Changes need to be made for this club to really compete. I think it can happen.

The first change I would make is to take Grady Sizemore out of the leadoff spot for good. Why is he there? He is NOT a lead off man. Once again, K-dy Sizemore is fifth in the AL in strikeouts with 23. Only Chris Davis, Carlos Pena, Jhonny Peralta (who needs an entire weekend off), and Josh Fields have more punchouts than K-dy. None of these guys I mentioned are leadoff hitters or even close. They are power strokers who reside in the middle of lineups. The Tribe desperately needs someone who can put the ball in play at the top of the order, Sizemore cannot do it. He can't. Sorry RWAB slappies, he is what he is. Grady is not an MVP candidate and he is not thee "Greatest player of our generation". I can attempt to get all statistical and break it down from that perspective, but I am not the master at that like Paul at http://www.thediatribe.com/.

The "Grind daddy of them all" Eric Wedge has moved Asdrubal Cabrera to the top of the order because he puts the ball in play. Move him up one more spot. Move Grady to the 4 hole and call it a day. Sizemore is still a terrific player, but he is not a leadoff man.

One other minor move I would make is announce that Victor Martinez is the captain of the team. Put a "C" on his jersey because he is the only leader we have. Victor shows fire, Victor is clearly our best player, so I say reward him. Plus, it sends a message to certain others that they can follow his lead (and you know who I am talking about). Last night, Mark DeRosa showed some stones with this comment: "I put this loss on me," said DeRosa. "Raffie [Betancourt] comes in and gets a double play ball. It's got to be turned." Marky Mark is right. He makes that play, it is a different game. Certain others, though, fail to step up when the mic is in their face and "put the game on them". Maybe with an announced captain like Vic, it will become commonplace in that clubhouse.

Windmill Express

2009-04-28T08:15:00.003-04:00

I am tired of a lot of things. I am tired of hearing about how elegant and sweet Beth Ostrosky Stern is. I am tired of the orange barrels all over the roads and it is not even summer yet. I am tired of C.B. Bucknor deciding that fans pay to see his pathetic ass umpire night in and night out. And oh yeah, I am tired of watching Indians hitters fail to make contact when the big lights are on.

The Tribe is now 7-13. 7 and freaking 13? I know, the Red Sox are in town and they are playing good baseball, but still, 7-13?

Ninth inning and Johnny Papelbon is in and obviously doesn't have his best stuff. The Windmills, errrr, Wahoos do scratch across one run. They fight and grind, but only could get one. Tired of it. Both Jhonny Peralta and Kelly Shoppach get down in the count 0-2. As Cosmo Kramer said in Frank Costanza's billiard room ("The place to Be") "You know where its goin". Strike 3. 152 damn times now this season, these guys have struck out. Tops in the AL. Peralta and Shoppach were two guys in 2007 that looked like clutch performers, especially in the post season. Now they, along with others, look like cheap alternatives as the attendance dwindles. But when you score 6 runs the weekend before, what do you expect? Plus, most Cleveland fans are suffering like everybody else in this economy and they have to save their money for those precious ten dates in the fall for the Berea Circus. OOOOOH, can't give up those Circus tickets.. NO NO NO!

The "Grind Wizard" Eric Wedge has seen enough. He called out his players before the game for lack of leadership. He even got tossed for arguing with Bucknor, thee worst man in blue in MLB. It is not even a debate. Good for Eric, but, the way KC pitches and Detroit has added on this off-season, Wedge's club looks clearly to be the least motivated of the five in the AL Central and that is on him. It doesn't help when your left fielders cannot hit either. It took a late rally just to win one series so far, and I still believe it is early and the Tribe can make a run, but it better be soon.

Short and Sweet

2009-04-25T22:26:00.002-04:00

VERY SIMPLE.

HIT THE BALL.

GET RID OF TONY GRAFFANINO AND MASA KOBAYASHI.

6 AND 12 IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Grind Time

2009-04-23T21:35:00.005-04:00

Holiday. Celebrate. The Tribe finally gets its first series win in dramatic come from behind fashion over the KC Hillmans 5-2. The Wahoos could not touch Gil Meche for 7 plus innings, yet somehow found a way to get it done. It had the makings of a CTL, classic tribe loss, with bonehead mistakes, lazy fly outs, and strikeouts. Yet, Team Grind perservered and two of the leaders stepped up in Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore. Pronk with a key hit to get Benny Francisco to third in a wacky eighth inning, and then Grady's absolute rocket shot to S-City. The Tribe needed this win badly and now lets hope they can use this momentum to bowl over Minnesota.

Props go out to Anthony Reyes. The right hander battled thru 6 innings and did not receive the defensive support he deserved. I like Tony. The guy seems to know how to pitch and has shown he is tough. In the fourth inning, Francisco dropped a routine fly ball loading the bases with no out. Reyes got out of it and it saved the game. "I want to pick up my teammates," Reyes said. "If they make an error, it's my job to pick them up." Jenny Lewis also picked it up. Finally a reliever who strings together back to back scoreless innings. Lewis got it to Kerry Wood in the ninth and then it was howdy doody time.

One side note. Trevor Crowe is a ball player. he is. But he may not be a major leaguer just yet. At times, Crowe looks overmatched at the plate. I still refuse, though, to call for a return of DD.

First Impressions: The New Yankee Stadium

2009-04-20T14:48:00.002-04:00

Here at DDD, we love to share as much of as up close and personal experience as we can. With that said, our good friend Seth, a native New Yorker and a realistic Yankees fan, wanted to share with you his first impressions of the "House That Jeter Built" as he calls it. He was at the opener Thursday.Take it away Seth....

April 16th, 2009 was circled on my calendar ever since MLB released the 2009 schedule. I am an "old school" NY Sports fan. I root for the Yankees, the NY Football Giants, the Rangers, and the NBA team that plays at MSG.(or should I say NIT team that plays at the Garden, but that could be for another post) The excitement that was generated for the opening of this $1.5 BILLION stadium was unreal. But did the Yankees really need a new stadium? Was the cathedral that was known as Yankee Stadium antiquated? The answer is a resounding No and No!! Yes, the old stadium had very few luxury suites; Yes, the parking situation was awful.....But every time you got off the 4 train and saw " The House that Ruth built" you knew you were in for a treat. It really was a cathedral...There was a certain buzz and aura...And the seats behing home plate were at 100 % capacity, something lacking at the new Stadium.

So, I arrived Thursday at the NEW Yankee Stadium(the house that Jeter built) at 1130 for a 1pm game. The Yankees asked everyone to be in their seats at noon sharp, for the pregame festivities. That left me plenty of time to get my hot dog (or 2) and soda and settle into my seat. Well....I waited on line for 35 minutes for 2 Nathans hotdogs, a soda, and a water. Not a bad deal for $21...Wow!! And, the guy in front of me was told they wouldn't have hamburgers ready for another 15 minutes. At 1210, the festivities began. They started by thanking the man responsible for all of this, George Steinbrenner. In my OPINION, Steinbrenner was the greatest owner in all of sports. He spent his own millions, putting it into his baseball club. He also made every other owner rich. Plenty of MLB owners, including Kansas City's, are worth alot more than Steinbrenner. However, they put the $$$ into their pockets, not their pitching staffs. Thank you George!! The Yankees then paraded ex-stars onto the field and John Fogarty gave a nice rendition of Centerfield. Bernie Baseball then got 10 minutes or so to blast out take me out to the ballgame. After both clubs were introduced, it was time to play baseball.

However, things seemed weird, almost anti-climactic. I felt like I was at an amusement park. There was a lavish steakhouse in the ballpark...A Hard Rock Cafe, An Audi Club, and scores of other novelties. If I wanted to go to an amusement park, I can go to Six Flags. The Stadium itself was silent. When CC Sabathia had 2 strikes on a batter, the crowd did not stand in unison, as it usually does. When Mark Teixeira hit his 1st Yankee Stadium HR on Friday, there was no curtain call. During the 5th inning, I texted my buddy and said this is one of the most boring games I have ever witnessed. It seemed baseball was taking a back seat to the billion dollar 7th wonder of the world.

I am also baseball purist. I do not mind the long ball, but watching routine pop-ups sail into the bleachers is a joke. 20 home runs in 4 games...this is not Coors Field. In short, the new Stadium has a ton of issues that need to be rectified. I know nothing can probably happen until next season, but here are a few things to consider:

1) Once they tear down the old Stadium down, the wind currents might change

2) The Yankees may have to consider moving the fences back in right field....I know the dimensions are the same as the old Stadium, but Melky Cabrera should not be hitting tape measure shots

3) They should give away the $2000 lower level seats to charity if they are going to remain empty. It looks ridiculous on TV.

If I were Danny Sheridan, the old Stadium would be a 7 1/2 point favorite over the new Stadium!!

A Split at Williamsport

2009-04-19T22:07:00.004-04:00

Little did the Tribe realize they would be playing four games this past weekend at a little league stadium. The RWAB earning a split of the set at the New Yankee Stadium, which soon will have circus-like nicknames attached to it. The new yard is an absolute farce and a joke and good luck to Yankee pitchers this season who will have to endure pop ups to right leaving the building. The Indians bats were alive on Thursday and Saturday, the bullpen did its usual tanking, and we saw Jeffrey Maier revisited on Sunday. Why even have any sort of 'fan interference' rule in this sport? Oh yeah, it is run by Bud Selig, forget it.

I am not pleased with a split in NY. The Indians had every opportunity to sweep these high priced antiques, and they did not. I do like the speedy Brett Gardner, Tex is a player, and A.J. Burnett also was a fine pickup this winter. Other than that, I see a third place old team wearing pinstripes, with a ballpark that little leaguers would love. Johnny Damon cannot throw my buddy Seth out. Or his son Cooper either and he is in diapers. One of the goats of the weekend, Jenny Lewis, did point out today after he served up the go-ahead homer to Jorge Posada quote "It was a pop fly," Lewis said of Posada's homer. "Again, in any other ballpark in the country, it's an out. When it gets up in that jet stream, it just blows out. I'm definitely ready to leave here."

Lewis served up two pop fly dingers this weekend. 20 total in four games. 20! Give me a break. New Yorkers will say: "Well.. its the same dimensions as the old stadium". Yeah. So. The concourses are so wide that there is a jet stream running out to right. Anyone see AC's grand slam on Saturday? He fisted it to right and it was gone. By the way, Asdrubal is a stud. A 23 year old witch right now, who is aggressive on the base paths and doing it all.

This bullpen, outside of Kerry Wood, is abysmal. I still believe that Joe Smith is gonna contribute and Jenny Lewis will be fine. But the others look brutal and it would be nice to see someone come in and put out a fire for once. Where is that devastating Rafael Perez off-speed pitch?

One more thing. It appears Carl "The American Idle" Pavano is showing a pulse. Dude pitched a whale of a game today. Many will question Eric "Grind over Matter" Wedge and his decision to pull Carl after 89 pitches, but even Pavano says he was just happy Wedge kept him in to face Nick Swisher (slapdick alert) in the 6th with the bases loaded. I'm not gonna go nuts over that one. Bullpen has to do its job.

Bronx Grinders

2009-04-17T08:11:00.003-04:00

Whatever Grind Master Flash (Eric Wedge) said to his men that don the red, white, and blue before Wednesday's game in KC worked. The Indians have bounced back from a horrid 1-7 start to win back-to-back games and yesterday's certainly was impressive. A 10-2 drubbing of the Yankees spoiled the new stadium party and showed that when the Tribe pitches and plays a solid all-around game that they can compete with anybody.

Cliff Lee did his thing and finally used all of his pitches to get the win. The Yankees are notorious for seeing a lot of pitches, yet Cliff was patient and got a ton of weak ground balls and fly outs. Wedge decided to go with an obscure mostly right handed lineup against CC $abathia and it worked. Sort of. The big man pitched in and out of jams and was gassed after 5 plus innings. Yankee skipper Joe Girardi (who wont be there long) allowed CC to throw 122 pitches. 122! We knew why just 20 minutes after $abathia left the game. Bullpen. It is the great equalizer and one of the reasons why this Tribe slappy is still not jumping for joy over this two game win streak. The Tribe pen still needs a lot of work, starting with the two Raffy's who are allowing way too many base runners.

It was still fun to see the fellas get it done and get some national attention on Sportscenter and the like. Oh, and Matt LaPorta homered again for Columbus.

TD Rates The Wahoos: "We Stink"

2009-04-14T07:58:00.005-04:00

It has gotten so rotten with the RWAB, that even noted Tribe shill TD of www.waitingfornextyear.com fame says they stink.

The Indians are 1-6 and last night they strand 12 base runners in a 4-2 loss to the Royals. It is not like the Tribe is playing Boston or Anaheim or Tampa Bay, its Texas, Toronto, and KC folks. Disgusting. Chance after chance going by the boards against Zack Greinke and then in the ninth inning Joakim Soria, the greatest closer in baseball history if you listened to Matt Underwood. Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta left 8 runners on base each, Pronk's at-bats were weak; at least Peralta fouled a few pitches off. Lame.

This team made things happen in 2007 for many reasons. One of them was that when they went on long win streaks and runs, they put the ball in play and made the other team field it. The Indians should move to Kansas City for the simple fact that when you spell the city, you start with a big "K". This is all these guys do is strikeout. 11 more last night, 68 strikeouts in their first 7 games, only lowly Washington is worse in major league baseball. After the game, Eric Wedge said "It's early. We'll get better". What he should have said is "I'm gonna start playing guys that put the damn bat on the ball".

The Tribe is not dead at all. The contrary. This division is so bad, that "Team Grind" is only 3 games back of first place. The pitching has been brutal and if the starters don't get their act together, than it will be over early. I am calling for Josh Barfield to play tonight, why not? try anything and everything.

Now We Need to Go Streakin'

2009-04-13T08:57:00.002-04:00

First one is out of the way... finally. Tribe gets back to its winning ways and I am glad the Blue Jays have now left town after they spent the weekend throwing elbows in our groin (Ray Allen trademark). Pitching is still the name of the game and Anthony Reyes delivered in a big way. People forget that this dude is only 27, and pitched Game 1 of the World Series against the Tigers and in that game retired 17 consecutive hitters. The Indians desperately need a solid power arm like Reyes and with help from Jensen Lewis, at least for today, nobody is laughing in our direction.

How about Jenny Lewis? All week we have seen relievers trot in and struggle. Lewis grabbing the bull by the horns and delivers in the clutch in a one run game in the 7th with runners at second and third. His punchout of Marco Scutaro may be the biggest sequence of the young season. Scutaro? This pest wears us out. Always has.

Kerry Wood in the ninth. Bam. Period. End of story.

Now its on to the "home of the technique" Kansas City. The RWAB has to face Zack Greinke, who has been tremendous so far this spring. Defense is gonna be key. Tribe must stop losing balls in the sun or in the lights.

Quick side not, Matt Laporta left Saturdays Columbus finale of a doubleheader with an injured rib cage, but says he is fine. Thank goodness.

What is This? 0-5?

2009-04-11T15:48:00.005-04:00

The ultimate blog for all things Tribe is back and it is out of desperation. As the RWAB looks like a team going absolutely nowhere just five games in to the season. 0-5 after a 5-4 loss to the all-of-the-sudden- contending Blue jays. There are NO positives. None. Well, maybe Travis Hafner, but that is it. This club looks over-matched, sloppy, and lame. There is no stopper in the rotation, heck, there is no rotation right now. And now that Scott "The problem Solver" Lewis is hurt, nobody has a clue who the fifth starter will be. Cliff Lee's era is 9.90. Hey Cliff, you wanna mope around about the Tribe tabling contract extension talks? Try bringing the ball down first. Today the team needed him to go toe to toe with Roy Halladay or at least stay in the same building and Lee could not do it. Yes, it is early, but Cliff is going hear the other "F" word thrown at him all spring: Fluke.

The bullpen is not good. Poor Kerry Wood, this guy can't even get into a game with any meaning at all. The best reliever that the Wahoos have right now is Vinnie Chulk. Masatime has run out, Raffy right and left both look exhausted, and so far Joe Smith has been very ordinary. These guys have been asked to step up with the starters struggling and they haven't. It doesn't help that the defense has been weak. I love Jhonny Peralta, but it is time to move him to third and be done with it. We know it. They know it. Why wait? Moronic thinking by this organization. It is about winning, who cares if Jhonny doesn't like it? Cal Ripken, A-Rod, and Michael Young have all been moved to the hot corner-- Peralta should be next.

Offensively this club cannot get a big hit. It has gotten so bad that Matt Underwood is forced to go to his "D" material in the ninth inning to alert us as to how many pitches per at bat Ryan Garko saw today. I know the boys today did make a valient effort against B.J. Ryan, but it should not have come down to that. Choo should have scored on Peralta's double earlier in the game. Asdrubal Cabrera can't hold on to a diving attempt that cost us the fifth Toronto run. It goes on and on and on.

I have been a staunch Eric Wedge defender. I am all about the grind. But, this club (Wedge admitted himself) was dry and stale cornflakes this spring and it now shows when the big lights are on. Unacceptable.

2008-09-20T07:59:00.000-04:00

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Get on the I-71 Express

2008-09-18T14:53:00.003-04:00

In a surprise to absolutely nobody, your Wahoo Warriors will have a new AAA affiliate, right down I-71 South in the capital city of Columbus C-Bus, here we come! Good news for all of your lovers of the Red, White, and Blue, you will get to watch the development of future Tribe fixtures Matt Laporta and Wes Hodges. You may get to see a rotation that includes the likes of stud prospects “14 scoreless” Scott Lewis and David Huff (if they don’t make the big club). You may even get to feast your eyes on the making of a future closer in the fire-balling Adam Miller.

We will definitely miss Buffalo, Dunn Tire Park, and the pronunciation of the team nickname the “By-zons.” But its a complete no-brainer for the organization. Now is when the geniuses (ha ha) behind STO should capture the Columbus market and fill all of that empty paid programming and poker-show time with Clippers games and content in step with the Indians games and shows.

Here is another idea for the STO folks: how about a roundtable of local sports bloggers/writers like yours truly and the boys at The Cleveland Fan, which currently provides STO with all of their website content? Sign us up.

Victor Victorious

2008-09-17T09:15:00.002-04:00

In a season of frustration and injury, Victor Martinez finally got his moment. Too bad it took until September 16th to do so. Stepping to the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning, Vic the Stick sent the 2,000 0r so fans still remaining at 11:30 home happy, with a three-run, walk-off blast to center off of Twins closer Joe Nathan. It was his second homer of the season and since his return from a three-month stint on the DL.

Amazingly, this was the first game-ending Home Run Nathan has allowed in an astounding 428 appearances (thanks to the PD’s Paul Hoynes for that factoid). Nathan also has owned the Indians for years. He came into the game lifetime against the Tribe 3-0 with 28 saves in 29 chances. As Victor rounded third and headed towards home, he was grinning like a Pacman Jones at a strip club. He slid into his awaiting teammates who piled on him in celebration. Said Martinez after the game “I felt just like a little kid running the bases.”

The Vic crush job put the ending on what was one of the more wild games of the year. The Tribe jumped out 8-1 in the first three innings and chased starter Francisco Liriano, thanks to a three-run slice from Ryan Garko and a solo shot from Asdrubal Cabrera in the second, followed by four more runs in the third capped by an Andy Marte RBI single. You know its not your night when Marte is beating you.

It seemed all good and even with The Zack Attack on the mound, an 8-1 lead seemed safe. That is why the play more than three innings and that is why Zack Jackson is nothing more than a spot starter/long man at best. Before you knew it, it was 8-5 after five. The Attack clearly had nothing left, yet Eric Wedge sent him back out for the sixth. Maybe it was because he was still evaluating the kid, maybe it was that he had no faith in his bullpen. Either way, The Attack gave up back to back singles to start the sixth before giving way to a plethora of Tribe relievers who came from the bullpen with gas cans in tow.

Juan Rincon gave up a two-run single to bring it to 8-7. In the 7th, Brendan Donnelly loaded the bases with one out and was bailed out as Carlos Gomez’s line shot went right at Marte who stepped on third to end the inning. Rafael “The Realtor” Betancourt looked about as good as a salad does to Artie Lange in the 8th. He walked four and gave up two runs before giving way to Moo-Heeks (Eddie Mujica). Raffy left after throwing 33 pitches (painstakingly slow in his delivery), only 13 of which were strikes.

That is when the fireworks began.

Grady Sizemore hit a one out, solo bomb off of the right field foul poll that deflated Twins reliever Everyday Eddie Guardado in the eighth. Then I sat and witnessed one no-name reliever after another on both sides get key outs. Ever heard of Jose Mijares before? Me neither. He pitched a scoreless 10th for Minnesota. Thomas “Nasty” countered with a two K top of the 11th. He was rewarded with the W thanks to the Victor blast.

What a strange night down at the Jake (I still refuse to call it Progressive Field). Interestingly, it was another up and down night for me and my Tigers/Tribe Flemings bet. At 10:45 PM, the Tiger led the Rangers 4-2 heading into the ninth and the Tribe trailed 9-8 in the eighth. I was livid over an easy blown win. The next thing you know, Fernando Rodney was failing to get an out for the Kitties and the Rangers had come back for a 5-4 win and the Tribe ended the night a 12-9 ”victor.”

Now the Tribe is 3.5 games ahead of the Tigers in the race for steaks.

As a wise man once said “ohhhhh loveittttttttttttttt.”

Who is This Kid? He's the Problem Solver

2008-09-16T09:02:00.007-04:00

Tribe-Nation knows all about Adam Miller. Wahoo fan can tell you a lot about David Huff by now. Even a casual RWAB follower knows a tiny bit about Chuck Lofgren or Jeff Stevens; but who out there actually thought we'd see a dominating Scott Lewis here in September? Where did this young lefty come from and is this for real?

For the second straight outing, the soon-to-be 25 year old OSU product pitched a shutout as the Tribe topped the second place Twins 3-1. Lewis once again baffled the opposition by moving the ball all over the place and changing speeds and he rarely topped 87-88 mph on the radar gun. If you watch him pitch, he looks like a more confident Jeremy Sowers and reminds me of Scott Kazmir without the heat and David Wells without the beef. 14 scoreless innings in his first two big league outings and he has not done this against chopped liver. The Twins offense ranks 3rd in baseball in team batting average and the Orioles are ninth.

In January, Baseball America had him rated as the 7th best prospect in the Tribe organization and Tony Lastoria even had him as low as 14th. Right now I'd say you can move him up the list. With Sowers and Aaron Laffey having inconsistent seasons, why not put him in the mix for 2009? Again, health is a concern with this kid. Tribe "Top Men" will only give him one more start and then likely shut him down.

While "The Problem Solver" dazzled us once again, Travis Hafner continues to be a shell of himself. I know I know-- Pronk is just getting his feet wet again in the bigs and is going to need time getting used to playing every other day, but, he is 3 for 17 in his four games back with 4 strikeouts and 0 RBI. Last night, Travis came to the plate in the 8th inning with the bases loaded and nobody out. I sat there and said to myself "Come on Pronk.. hit it hard somewhere" knowing full well he would not. Does that make sense? I was trying to will him to a warning track sac-fly and instead he chopped one weakly to Justin Morneau at first and nearly was doubled up 3-2-4 at first. I just hope in March he is pounding the ball again and ready for the 2009 season because he is vital to the team's success. Hitting 198 against righties is not going to cut the mustard.

Next thing you know he will be opting to kick field goals instead of going for the end zone and we cannot have that.

The Kansas City Technique

2008-09-15T16:52:00.001-04:00

What the hell, since the Browns and the Buckeyes dominated the local scene with two bad losses, why should the Indians fly under the radar after a completely lost weekend against those heavy-hitting Kansas City Royals.

As bad as the Buckeyes were, the Tribe may have been worse, looking like a bunch of dogs who wanted to be sleeping curled up on the couch, rather than to be out in the rain. Friday night’s tilt looked like the start of a big weekend. The Tribe bats were hotter than Alicia Sacramone, putting a 12 spot on the board in a 12-5 win.

Saturday’s day/night double-dip turned into a 3:35 back to backer where Wedge’s crew fell asleep at the wheel. They gave up a combined 16 runs on 31 hits, thanks to the likes of such stalwarts as Bryan Bullington, Masa “I should have been shut down two months ago” Kobayashi, and the seemingly lost Fausto Carmona, who has been doing his best Cliff Lee 2007 impersonation.

Sunday was no better. Jeremy Sowers, who seemingly pitches every single home Sunday game, lasted only three innings as the Tribe was blasted 13-3. Eddie Mujica, AKA Mr. 4A, got two outs in the fourth, then allowed five straight base-runners and took the loss. Tom “Nasty” Mastny continued his miserable campaign, allowing four runs in an inning to bring his ERA to 12.18. The lone bright spot on Sunday was seeing Fat Sal Fasano get a start behind the dish. Man, I love that fu-manchued fat man.

Notes from the weekend:

1. What has exactly happened to Carmona? He became so frustrated with himself after being yanked during Saturday afternoon’s loss that he chucked his hat and glove into the stands. The 19 game winner a tear ago has become a shell of his former self. The injury to his hip cost him seven valuable weeks and his confidence has never seemed to resurface. Last year, opposing hitters couldn’t lay off oh his nasty sinker. This year, the book seems to be out on him, lay off the sinker and sit on the fast ball. Fausto has to get back to his ‘07 form if the Tribe is going to contend in ‘09

2. Cliff Lee won his 22nd game Friday night and coasted into the ninth before he fell into a little trouble and Jenny Lewis had to close it out. Has there ever been a season in Tribe history where a player came in with so much baggage, so much to prove, and came in and just blew the entire league away with his abilities? The man I dubbed “Stiff Lee” in ‘07 have stuck it right to me and all of his other critics and is a lock Cy Young winner in the American League.

3. Not that anyone has noticed, but Shin-Soo Choo has become Tribe most consistent performer, and that includes Grady Sizemore. He ended the weekend hitting .300 with 39 extra base hits and 49 RBI in 273 at bats. Add in his cannon-arm and it makes for an everyday starter in right field you can count on.

4. Watching the Tribe bullpen arms this weekend makes it easy to remember this unti has to be re-built this offseason. As nicely has Jensen Lewis has filled in as the closer in the last 30 games or so, money must be spent on a top flight closer you can count on. Only Rafael Perez has shown any semblence of consistancy all year. Who knows what Masa will come back with next year. Rafael Betancourt’s nightmare season most likely won’t be repeated, but not even he can be counted on. Guys like Juan Rincon, Brendan Donnelly, Mastny, and Mujica? I saw way too much of them this weekend and know these four are not answers for 2009.

5. Bryan Bullington was really the #1 pick in the entire MLB draft in 2002? Really? Seriously? Guess who drafted him? The Pirates. Tells you all you need to know.

6. The Indians smartly did not bring up prized left David Huff to start the game Bullington did. No need to give him a taste yet. Our spies tell us that in the pecking order of Tribe pitching prospects its Huff #1 and then everyone else. Scott Lewis gets his second start tonight against Minnesota. Lets see what he has in store for us.

7. Congrats to Asdrubal Cabrera who was named co- AL Player of the Week. AC hit .455 with eight RBI including three multi-hit games. The kid keeps getting better and better. With Andy Marte falling off the table, it would surprise nobody if Cabrera is moved to his natural position of shortstop with Jhonny Peralta moving to third this offseason.

Scott Freaking Lewis

2008-09-10T21:20:00.003-04:00

That was a man-sized Major League Debut if I have ever seen one. Dude absolutely cruised to victory, making it look easy. Zero walks, three hits, and no runs in eight innings? I mean, are you kidding? Is there any end to the depth of starting pitching in the Tribe's system? Lewis is behind guys like David Huff, Adam Miller, and Aaron Laffey in the pecking order, yet he made a serious case for himself tonight with a dominating performance against the Orioles in the 7-1 win.

Speaking of this Orioles, they looked like they had licked the stamp and mailed it in the last two nights. One weak at bat after another, swinging early in the counts, not drawing walks, etc etc. I mean, its not as if they faced Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona, it was Jeremy Sowers and his 5.97 ERA and Scott Lewis who was making his first career appearance.

Enough about the O's. Tonight is a celebration of the kid from Ohio State. The Tribe's third round pick in the 2004 draft, was mixing speeds all night long and never let Baltimore hitters get comfortable. Shame on Eric Wedge for not letting him make the attempt for the complete game shutout. Lewis threw 96 pitches and was masterful. The Orioles never had two men on in any inning while the kid was dealing. He deserved a chance to finish what he started.

Naturally, Masa The Gas Can Kobayashi came in and immediately gave up three hits and a run. Masa has had no bullets left in his gun for two months. Luckily for The Grinder, the offense did. How about the Shop Vack? Two more pizza's for the best backup catcher in baseball, bringing his season total to 19.

Asdrubal Cabrera continues to prove the demotion to AAA was the smartest move the Tribe brass made all season. He had two more hits and three more RBI's. He was hitting .186 when he returned from his demotion July 18th. Right now, AC is up to .245 and has started the month of September on a 15-28 tear.

Back to Lewis, he was only supposed to be up here making one start in place of the sore-elbowed Anthony Reyes. I for one have got to see more of the young lefty.

Only 3,000 People Or So Cared To Be There

2008-09-09T22:21:00.000-04:00

Did you see the crowd tonight in Baltimore? Peter Angelos must be spinning in his grave, the friggin guy isn't even dead yet. He gets what he deserves. I don't care what the attendance will say in the morning, there couldn't have been more than 3,000 people at Camden Yards watching the sad sack Orioles get schooled by Jeremy "Ziggy Sobotka" Sowers, he of the 5.97 ERA. (SIDE NOTE: That is a reference to season two of HBO's The Wire. Sowers and Ziggy - separated at birth)

Just how bad was it for The O's in the 6-1 loss? The Indians got RBI in consecutive innings from Michael Aubrey, David Dellucci, and Andy Marte. That's like getting beaten by a knife in a gun fight. Tonight also marked the return of Pronk. Travis Hafner actually looked good at the plate, getting hits in his first two at bats with solid line drives. He hadn't stung a ball like this once in the first two months while playing through a bulky shoulder.

Another thing - I know I am beating a dead horse and I know he had an RBI triple, but please explain to me why Dellucci got the start in left field and hit second? I mean seriously Wedge, what are you trying to prove here? Why should Benny Francisco and Franky G lose at bats this late in the season to this scrub dog who has no future with the club? The only explanation is they are trying to showcased him for an off season deal. There isn't any other single reason to play him. He is slow, he is old, he is a terrible outfielder with a pop-corn arm, and is hitting .244.

Do I say this every single week? I swear I do. I think the only dumber move in Cleveland sports right now is a certain football coach who elects to kick field goals down 21 points in the fourth quarter rather thank going for it on fourth and three.

Meanwhile, my Tigers/Tribe bet is coming right down to the wire. The Indians were percentage points ahead of Detroit entering tonight. I've got a steak dinner at Fleming's for four riding on this. I figured I'd be battling it out for first place, not third.

Another quick note - Tommy Hamilton said something on the radio tonight that made a ton of sense. The guy who would look great in a Tribe uniform next year is Orioles 2B Brian Roberts. Think about it. Here is the perfect #2 hitter. Great on base percentage guy with speed. He's an allstar caliber player and has a contract that ends after the 2009 season. The Orioles would love to snatch some of the Indians pitching depth and having Roberts in the lineup would settle the infield with Asdrubal Cabrera moving to SS and Jhonny Peralta to third. How does this lineup sound?

CF Grady Sizemore

2B Brian Roberts

C Victor Martinez

3B Jhonny Peralta

DH Travis Hafner

LF Ben Francisco

RF Shin-Soo Choo

1B Ryan Garko

SS Asdrubal Cabrera

Mix in Kelly Shoppach, Franky G, and Jamey Carroll regularly and I think you can contend if Pronk and Victor return to form. Two people I do not want to see in that mix are Dellucci and Marte. I'd say there's a good shot I'm gonna be right. Call me too optimistic, but it's not that crazy of an idea.

Ho-Hum Another Road Kill

2008-09-07T18:30:00.002-04:00

While clueless Romeo Crennel kicks field goals down by 21 points in the fourth quarter, the Indians just keep grinding out wins. While the Brownies try to be all sexy with their high powered offense and national tv hype, the Tribe pitches and fields and wins. While Braylon Edwards talks and drops balls, Cliff Lee shuts down the opposition en route to a 21-2 record. While fans search to see if #95 is even near the play EVER, Victor Martinez returns from a major injury to drive in 3 leading the Wahoos to a win over KC. While Sean Rogers and the high priced defensive line fail to touch Tony Romo, the Royals cannot touch the law firm of Perez-Betancourt-Lewis.

Looking Back On the Fake Trade

2008-09-04T11:19:00.004-04:00

While we are winding down on the season of disappointments galore, all we can do is look back and scratch our heads with what-ifs. But one thing is for certain, the trade of my favorite whipping boy Casey Blake have excellent early returns. What sparked this way of thinking for me was an article I came across in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times. Columnist TJ Simers wrote a laughable piece saying that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti "the best GM in the baseball," and that he "stole Blake" from the Indians.

Or really?

How do you consider it a theft when you gave up a future star catcher who at age 22, was the MVP of the Class A California League without even playing the last month of the season? Don't miss these numbers in his combined Inland/Kinston season:

.329 BA, 20 HR's, 112 RBI, 39 doubles, 89 walks, in 455 At-bats.

Don't forget a rocket arm behind the plate to boot. He instantly became a top-five prospect in the Indians system and should start next year as the everyday catcher in Akron. I can guarantee you will see him in Cleveland at some point in the next couple of years. It's been known that the Dodgers have talked about moving Catcher Russell Martin back to third base in the future, and now they are left without that stud catcher to do so.

Reliever Jon Meloan in the meantime was on the fast-track to the majors, before Colletti and his people tried to make him into a starter. When that failed, they dealt him to the Tribe, who smartly, put him back in the pen. This was a kid who according to Dodger blog Fire Ned Colletti Now on July 11 "has dominated at pretty much every level he's been at," and "Meloan's ceiling as a reliever is an elite setup man that has the toughness to work out of any situation."

Since coming over, he was working in the late innings in Buffalo (may they rest in peace). He has received a September call-up to the big club and will definitely be in the mix for a spot in 2009.

Not a bad little haul for a guy who was a free agent at the end of the year and the Dodgers may never see again after this fall. How can Simers judge this trade as such a success without knowing if this team can win, let alone even make it to October baseball? True, he is also talking about the Manny acquisition, a deal which can be considered a steal, but to lump these two together is poor journalism and shows a lack of research. Are Fake's numbers all that great? .277, 8, and 20 in 141 AB's. Solid yes, spectacular, no.

By the same token, me calling the trade a winner for the Indians this early is playing right into the same hypocrisy that Simers has fallen into. For all I know, Santana never makes it big and Meloan turns out to be 4A. That said, you can look at Shapiro's move as the right one.

It has given the Tribe brass an opportunity to play Andy Marte every day at third base without anyone impeding his progress. He has proven that he isn't the future, so now in the offseason, Shappy, Chris Antonetti, and company can evaluate the market and see if the want to move Jhonny Peralta to third, or acquire a quick fix until prospect Wes Hodges is ready. Hodges won AA Eastern League's 2008 Rookie of the year, hitting .285 with 16 HR's, and 91 RBI.

It also gives them another option for the beleaguered pen, which you have to believe will be in a state of flux next season. Other than Raffy Perez, Rafael Betancourt, and Jenson Lewis, nobody else is even close to assuring themselves a roster spot.

Lastly, the trade got Casey Blake out of my hair once and for all....unless the bring him back in '09. My worst nightmare.

Cliff's Rollin on 20s.. With the Top Back

2008-09-02T08:22:00.003-04:00

How does this happen? One year ago at this time, the Indians were giving Clifford Lee a courtesy recall from Buffalo knowing full well he was not going to help them down the stretch. Today, this all-man lefty is a 20 game winner and he took a bite out of the White Sox last night, chewed them up and spit them out and taunted them too. Lee goes the distance on a complete game five-hit shutout; the Tribe wins 5-0 and in the process Lee just about wraps up the AL Cy Young Award. 20-2!!! Wow!!

Cliff threw two pitches all night long last night and the first place Shysox could not touch his fastball or breaking ball. Mild-mannered all season long, we saw a very intense and even nasty side to Kristen's hubby last night as he stared down AJ Pierzynski (stunner) and even barked at the Chicago dugout after DDT'ing them. I was listening on the radio and would have liked to have heard a mention of this sidebar. Regardless, good for Cliff. When you win 20 and become the first Indian since Gaylord the Cheater in 1974 to do it-- go ahead and talk junk.

Quick note: I heard Mark Shapiro on the air during the game with H and H and he said some very interesting things. The team will try and get a closer and an infielder this off-season for sure, and he also made it a point to really tell the listeners that he liked Choo and especially Franky G a lot. Take that for what it is worth. My opinion? Franky didn't hit for us last year during the playoffs or when it mattered this year.

Back to the Bad Old Days

2008-08-31T21:42:00.004-04:00

Isn't that just like the 2008 Cleveland Indians? They played with packages just for fun, winning 10 in a row. They got us so excited as if maybe, even though late, they had finally turned the corner? They found themselves a closer to fortify their biggest problem area (by a mile by the way); they started hitting one through nine, they way their leader, The Grinder himself, has always wanted it? Victor Martinez is back from more than two months off.

What else could we have asked for from this lost season?

The worst team in the American League, the lowly Seattle Mariners of course show up for a three game series, and promptly return the Indians to what they really are; a team that cannot score runs to save their lives, and strand runners as if it was it was their job.

How exactly did this happen? Well, first off, we witnessed a seemingly endless string of putting runners on first and second with less than two outs, following up with a tailor-made double play ball. We saw trademark 2008 Tribe luck. In yesterday's extra-inning 4-3 loss. Closer Jensen Lewis allowed a run to put the M's up 3-2 with a men on first and second and one out. A DP ball heade right to second basemen Asdrubal Cabrera. The runner, Adrian Beltre, reached his hand out as to be hit ball the ball intentionally, causing a dead ball. A sure DP should have been ruled by the umps otherwise. With the extra out, backup catcher Jamie Burke single home a second run, to put the Mariners up two.

Naturally, The Indians countered with one in the bottom of the 10th, and lost 4-3.

The same thing occurred today; extra outs killed the Wahoos. The Zack Attack was struggling enough with his command, but a wild fielding error started his trouble in the five run fifth. The Attack's pick off attempt by Martinez at first allowed a run to score, moved runners to second and third with one out. In typical form, Yuniesky Betancourt hit what have would have been an inning-ending DP, but instead got an RBI single out of it, moving the Mariners to a 3-1 lead.

But there was still one more out to get thanks to the bone-headed mistakes by The Attack and Victor. Zack didn't get it. The biggest 2008 Indian killer, Raul Ibanez hit the next pitch right up the middle for an RBI single, and Beltre's two run shot ended Jackson's day for all intents and purposes.

You want more of a C-tease? The Red, White, and Blue rewarded you gladly in the seventh, eighth and ninth. In all three innings, the Tribe loaded the bases. In the seventh, it was Victor popping out with two out. In the eighth, all the boys had to show for a bases loaded, nobody out situation, was a Franky G fielder's choice and subsequent Jose Lopez throwing error scoring two.

The ninth was the ultimate. Down two with the bases loaded yet again and one out. Ryan Garko smacked one that looked like it was going right up the middle to tie the game, but reliever Roy Corcoran reached back and got a bare hand on the ball, deflecting it right to Betancourt at short, who started the game--ender. Just your garden variety 1-6-4-3 inning ending DP.

For the weekend, the Indians left 26 men on base, went 3-29 with RISP, and lost three games by a combined four runs. Wedge put it best after the game: "it seemed like all weekend we were one hit away."

Just when I got all excited again, this weekend blows like a hurricane (no pun intended) and its as if the team forgot everything they did over the past two weeks.

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One bright spot has to be the play of Shin-Soo Choo, who like Kelly Shoppach is forcing his way onto the field with his stellar play over the past month. He hit .309, with 4 HR, and 16 RBI in 81 AB's. His projections over a full season you'd take all day; around .275 with 44 doubles, 20 homers and 80 plus RBI.

The more he plays, the less DD does. And that is always considered a plus.

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Meanwhile, it seems like as much as I didn't want to have to deal with it, the last month of the season is meaningless. Wedge has been quoted as saying he'd like to go to a six-man rotation with Aaron Laffey joining Fausto Carmona, Cliff Lee, Anthony Reyes, Jeremy Sowers, and the Zack Attack.

Speaking of Cliff Lee, he goes for #20 tomorrow night against the White Sox. It's been said 1000 times, but Cliff is trying to become the first Indian since 1974 to win 20 games. I was -2 at the time. Maybe even more amazing, is that no Indian since 1982 has even started a game with a chance to win 20. The fact that it's Cliff Lee doing this makes even more astounding after the year he had in 2007 and how he was dangled all winter as trade bait.

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Imagine if Cliff was this good last season? Would there have been any doubt we'd all be ring holders right now?

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, and if Mesa doesn't shake off Sally (I know its Sandy, but I think he is the most overrated player in Indians history)....If Fernandez doesn't make that error.....If Dave Burba doesn't get hurt in game three of the '99 series with Bosotn.....If Hargrove pinch hits for Jim Poole.....If Cory Snyder and Joe Carter hadn't been on the cover of SI....If Willie Mays doesn't make that catch off the bat of Vic Wertz....

And if my grandmother had balls, she'd be my grandfather....

Ten in a Row Biatch!

2008-08-28T10:21:00.003-04:00

First I'd like to quote The Diesel from yesterday's "In the Dugout" show on Detroit's AM-1130 WDFN: "Remember when Shaq rapped to Kobe "tell me how my ass tastes?" We'll I'd like to say to Mr. Illitch, Dave Dombrowski, and the $130 million Detroit Tigers a question; How you likin' fourth place?"

Seriously, our beloved Wahoos, losers of 10 in a row at the end of May, a team that traded its #1 starter (CC Sabathia); lost its #3 starter to Tommy John Surgery after just 5 starts (Jake Westbrook); lost its #3 and #4 hitters for more than three months each (Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez); traded it's third basemen during a career year (Casey Fake); and traded it's #5 starter in the midst of his best stretch of the year (Paul Byrd); have rattled off 10 straight wins while putting themselves just two games below .500. They have jumped 1.5 games ahead of the Motor City Quitties.

Remember those days in April and May where it seemed every game was lost 3-1 or 2-0? They seem like they happened in a different season. Rick Manning on last night's STO telecast pointed out that in the offense was ranked last in the AL through the all-star break, yet in the last 42 games, is averaging over six runs per. Remember when we all said this team had no power? In the three game sweep of the Tigers, the Indians hit nine homers.

Kelly Shoppach has 17! That would be the same number of pizzas as David Ortiz has in 34 less at-bats. Or Ken Griffey Jr has in 142 less at bats. What about Magglio Ordonez having 16 HR's in 173 more AB's tan the Shop Vack? Or Bobby Abreu's 16 dingers in 225 more at-bats? I could go on and on.

More numbers to chew on came in Paul Hoynes' PD game story:

-They've won 16 of 19 to climb from last to third in the AL Central.

-They are 28-16 since trading Sabathia

-It's the closest they've been to .500 since May 21st when they were 22-24

-The 10-game winning streak is the first of it's kind since April of 2002

You can say it's much easier to perform when there is no pressure. You can say that the Indians have caught bad teams on the downslide during this run (Royals, Texas, and Detroit), but 10 straight is impressive, no matter who is on the field against you. Six of these 10 wins were on the road. Zach Attack Jackson started two of these games. David Dellucci was in the lineup for six games, Andy Marte for seven.

Need we say more? We've said this before and we will say it again, where was this in May and June?

A Bunch of Quitters

2008-08-26T20:10:00.004-04:00

I won't even wait until the end of the game. I am blogging this in the bottom of the third inning. I have watched 13 innings in the last two nights of the Indians and the Tigers; two teams going in opposite directions. While the Tribe plays with spunk, like a team trying to win every game despite their current situation, Jim Leyland's club has licked the stamp. It's mail in time at Comerica Park.

If I am a fan of this team, I am sickened. $130 million pays for this load of crap? The mental and physical errors on a nightly basis are astounding. Once they fell out of contention, the Tigers have completely quit. The at-bats I have witnessed are laughable. Magglio Ordonez, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen, and Gary Sheffield are playing like a bunch of guys planning their offseason tee times in Arizona, yet it is still August. They are first pitch swingling like they have a plane to catch, not working the count, and generally looking disinterested.

Last night it was Zach Attack Jackson on the hill for the Red, White, and Blue, yet the Kitties treated him as if he were Cy Freakin' Young. Jackson is 4A to the core. The book on The Attack is that he struggles with his control. Not that Tiger bats cared; failing to work the count even once, The Attack struck out six and walked ZERO. Then Mr. August Franky G ended things with his solo slice off of the great Gary Glover in the 10th. The Tiger at bats against Jensen Lewis in a 1-2-3 ninth were forgettable.

Move to tonight. Rookie Chris Lambert is making his major league debut for Detroit. After the first two innings, he fell apart. Yes, he did give up back to back jacks to Jamey Carroll (his first of the year) and The Shop Vack (a bomb to the left field seats), but his porous defense let him down and didn't allow him any room for error.

Lambert hit Asdrubal Cabrera. A Roger Dorn "Ole'" from the third baseman Ryan Rayburn started it off, allowing AC to score. Error #1. With two out, Jhonny Peralta's single to left was booted by noted dog Marcus "Home run or nothing" Thames allowing Franky G to score all the way from first. Error #2. Next up was our boy Double D Dellucci, who hit a fly ball to center that was completely misplayed into a double by Granderson, scoring Jhon. I don't care what the box score says, it was Error #3. Carroll finished off Lambert with a bloop job that fell in front of the jogging Mags in right for his second hit and second RBI on the inning.

Six Runs, Five Hits, Two Physical Errors, Two Mental Errors. One team tanking.

If I'm Jim Leyland I'm quitting after this season. He is too old and too wise for this shit. He has tried everything to light a spark under this team and nothing has worked. At the end of the day, they are a bunch of overpaid, old, quitters who have decided to mail it in once times got tough. This was a bad mix from the start.

SIDE NOTE - Benny Francisco just went deeeeeeeep. Two run shot. 8-0 Tribe.

Now GM Dave Dombrowski and owner Mike "Massah" Illitch have been letting things float in the press that they want to cut serious payroll this offseason. Easier said than done boys. Who wants Gary Sheffield at $12 million next year? Or Carlos Guillen at $11 million? What about that three year extension given to Dontrelle Willis in the Spring for $30 million? Dude can't even find the plate anymore and looks like he has Steve Blass Disease. Don't forget about Nate Robertson's three year, $29 million deal signed before the season as well. Seen him lately? That would be in the bullpen as he has been banished thanks to an ERA well over six.

Also not to be overlooked was the complete dumping of their farm system to trade for guys like Edgar Renteria (Jair Jurrjens who would look great in their rotation right now), Willis and Miguel Cabrera (Cameron "OF of the future" Maybin and Andrew Miller, who would also be in the rotation today). The only guys that are even on the scouts radar are RHP Rick Porcello and 1B Jeff Larish, who has been up and down this year. Porcello graduated high school in 2007.

As far as I'm concerned, it couldn't happen to a finer organization. Free, wild spending flat out hasn't worked Mr. I. Terrible chemistry + bad pitching + worse contracts = a recipe for disaster.

That my friends, is your 2008 Detroit Tigers in a nutshell.

Get Em On...Get Em Over...Get Em In

2008-08-25T08:42:00.003-04:00

Looky Looky. Our beloved boys in Red, White, and Blue just went into Arlington and swept the Rangers, thanks to some clutch hitting and actual decent relief work. It was all capped off by a gritty, one run win in last night's finale. Things that we thought we'd see all year, we are finally starting to witness now. Like say, doing the little things to win. Take the top of the ninth for example:

With Raffy Perez and Jensen "2009 closer" Lewis unavailable, Juan Rincon failed at his shot to preserve an eight inning 3-1, allowing two runs, the last coming on a bases loaded walk by noted Indian killer "to see" Ramon Vasquez from Rafael Betancourt. Ryan Garko led off the top of the ninth with a single. He was replaced by pinch runner Andy Gonzalez. Kelly Shoppach layed down a beautiful sacrifice bunt, moving Gonzalez into scoring position. Franklin Gutierrez hit Eddie Guardado's next pitch back up the middle to score Gonzalez and put the Tribe ahead for good 4-3.

Get em on, get em over, get em in.

Betancourt closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth. Talk about things we haven't seen much of this season. There were so many positives to take from this series in that joke of a stadium in Texas. Saturday night, Jeremy Sowers threw a clunker after being forced to warm up three times due to a one hour-14 minute rain delay, yet the forgotten 4A special, Eddie Mujica, came in and threw two and 1/3rd scoreless relief. Meanwhile, the offense, trailing 7-1, kicked into high gear following Texas's six run fourth with a six run fifth, capped by a three-run pizza from The Shop Vack. Jamey Carroll's pinch hit RBI single in eight won it. Perez, Betancourt, and Lewis pitched three more scoreless innings for the much-maligned Tribe pen. Lewis even K'd the side for his sixth consecutive save.

Gutierrez continued his stellar play with the game-winning single in the ninth last night, as well as a 14 pitch at-bat that resulted in a double which gassed starter Vicente Padilla in the fifth. Ryan Garko, who has been absent most of the season, has 17 RBI in his last 15 games.

The Tribe brass may have struck gold in dealing for starter Anthony Reyes, who has been a rock of consistency since coming over from St. Louis. In his four starts as an Indian, he is averaging six innings, and has an ERA of 2.22. Last night he battled through seven innings, providing a huge lift to the taxed bullpen. Fausto Carmona seems as though he is finding his old groove once again, allowing just two earned runs in his last two starts. Cliff Lee is still being Cliff Lee.

What cannot be overstated is how important having a dependable closer is. Since turning the ball over to Jenny in the ninth, the Tribe is on a 12-3 streak, including the current seven-gamer, which Lewis has saved four. Says Mr. Grind-ball: "Jensen Lewis at the back end of the bullpen has been a key. It allows you to put your bullpen together." With the starters seemingly going 6-7 innings every time out, getting the ball to Perez and then Lewis gives the Tribe a chance to win every night.

Again, something we haven't seen all year.

With Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner (I'm not holding my breath here) on their way back, a .500 record is in sight. As are the third-place, $130 million Detroit Tigers, who are up next for the Wahoos. Most people could care less, but to your friends at DDD, this is a huge series. Two months ago, the Tribe was 10 games behind the Motor City Kitties, and now they sit just 1.5 games back. More Wedge-speak: "This means a great deal to us," Wedge said. "We want to finish with the best record and as high in the standings as we can. It's about pride. It's about competitiveness."

Don't expect a win tonight. The Zach Attack is on the hill for the Tribe and with the game ending at 11:30 EST last night, the boys most likely didn't arrive in Detroit until 3 AM. Armando Gallaraga, he of the 12-4 record and dominance over the Tribe this year (3-0), goes for the Tigers. Smells like a loss. The good news is, DDD's own King Diesel will be in the house tonight, not spending a dime toward's Illitch's pockets. Not to worry though, Jim Leyland is trotting out 4A supreme Chris Lambert Tuesday night against Cliff Lee. Fausto and Justin Verlander wrap up the three game series Wednesday night.

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Lastly, MAD PROPS to our fellow blogger over at The Diatribe, Paul Cousineau for the much-deserved credit from The PD's Terry Pluto in his Sunday column about the Tribe minor leaguers. Paul does about the best and most in-depth coverage you will ever want to read. No cookie cutter b.s. Congrats buddy!

Da Franky G Show

2008-08-21T09:43:00.003-04:00

Zach Attack Jackson was handed a 3-1 lead and couldn't hold it. He drilled poor Mitch Maier in the face, causing multiple facial fractures. Kelly Shoppach's two home run night looked like it may go all for naught. Then, Royals Manager Trey Hillman, who the night before pitched to Grady Sizemore with a man on, one out, and first base open, lifted Gil Meche after retiring 17 straight. Genius move Trey! I don't care of he had thrown 103 pitches. What are you saving him for?

Shoppach crushed his second homer off of Ramon Ramirez, Shin-Soo Choo walked, and AC bunted him over. Desperate to get an out, he went to closer Joakim Soria for a five-out save. This is a guy who is second in the majors in saves, and came in sporting a 1.48 ERA. (SIDE NOTE - I heard on the Tribe pregame show that he was a Rule 5 draft pick and was scouted by the epitome of 4A former Indians - Luis "Funky Cold" Medina). He walked Grady and then Franklin Gutierrez stepped to the plate. The red-hot Franky G hit an improbable, three-run shot to left field putting the Tribe up for good. Then to close out the game, Franky made a spectacular diving catch in right-field to give Jensen Lewis his fourth straight save.

How about Lewis's fourth save is the longest streak of consecutive saves for any Indian pitcher this year. Its August 21st!

Back to Gutierrez. I have wanted to see him succeed in the worst way. He is hands down the best defensive outfielder we have had in Cleveland in 20 years. The thought was he would step up big time at the plate in 2008 and take the next step. That hasn't happened. For the season, he still sits at .234, 7 HR, and 31 RBI. However, he is having a great month of August, hitting .346 with three homers, and 10 RBI. His last seven games he is on a .412 tear. This is the kind of stuff we've been expecting to see all year.

Meanwhile, Lewis got the Royals 1-2-3 in the ninth, something rarely seen by a Tribe closer. Cliff Lee goes for #18 today at 12:05...DDD will be in the house for the potential sweep.

Time To End The Experiment

2008-08-20T15:34:00.005-04:00

A while back I wrote that I had seen enough. No. Really. I have SEEN ENOUGH! Andy Marte cannot play third base every day for a major league franchise and gosh dang-it, it is time to take a big bite out of this reality burger and spit Marte out into the Tribe trash.

The young third sacker is hitting 187. ONE EIGHTY FREAKING SEVEN! He ranks 269th in the AL in hitting, counting guys that do not qualify in terms of number of at-bats. 269th. Wow. The Braves said sayonara and sent him to the Red Sox and Theo even discarded him to the Wahoos. If Andy could play, wouldn't he still be in the ATL or in Beantown? Now, in his defense, he was behind Larry Jones (Chipper) in Atlanta and Boston has always been chock full of third baseman (Billy Mueller, Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell to name a few).

But Andy cannot cut the mustard. If Coach Wayne Hissler told him to rub some dirt on it and get back out there, it wouldn't matter ("Johnny Be Good" trademark). Donnie Murphy and Jason Smith, two dogs with fleas, are hitting for a higher average. Marte has 40 strikeouts and 10 RBI. Heck, Mike Mussina and Jeremy Guthrie, two pitchers, even have a higher BA. Marte hit 224 in July and maybe was finally starting to show a tad bit of promise; but in August he is back being Andy with a 205 BA and no home runs (zero.. point ZERO...).

Time to cut the cord.

Marte does have some value because his glove at third base has been very solid and he is only 24. There is still time. Maybe. Just not here. Move Jhonny Peralta to third base now and let him man the hot corner for September. See how he does. Why not? Andy seems like a nice kid, but let him give it a try someplace else. The Tribe needs better players and he aint better.

Not What We Want To See

2008-08-19T10:45:00.003-04:00

Is this photo scary enough for you, Tribe fans? Yesterday afternoon King Diesel emailed me that #1 prospect and the man we are all hoping can save the franchise from more years of punch and judy corner outfielders and first baseman, Matt Laporta, was intentionally thrown at by the Chinese Olympic team during Team USA's 9-1 win. Laporta was alert and awake, but was taken to the hospital and made to stay overnight for precautionary measures after receiving a concussion.

Apparently, Laporta was being thrown at after his home plate collision knocked catcher Wang Wei out of the game. There is a right and a wrong way to retaliate, not that the Chinese National team, who is only playing because they are hosting the games, would know what that is. Funny, their manager, Jim Lefebvre is American, a longtime baseball man, who knows the unwritten rules. Their pitching coach is Steve Ontiveros, another American who played in the Majors in the 80's. These two should be forced to lose their citizenship. Said Lefevbre: "We do not throw to hit people. We do not teach that in China. We don't teach it in the United States. He tried to throw the ball inside and it got away from him."

He shouldn't be selling that bullshit, because nobody is buying it.

Meanwhile, Laporta was put at risk. The first thing I thought of was this is true Cleveland luck. He will probably never be the same again. But evidentally, he is a gamer. Our source in Beijing tells us "He (Laporta) actually wanted to stay in
the game but Davey (Johnson) said no."

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In other Tribe news, Travis Hafner debuted in Buffalo last night and had two hits in three at-bats, including a ringing double off the wall in a 5-1 Bisons win. Future rotation member and former #1 pick David Huff continued his fast-track season with the win, striking out eight in five 2/3rds. Josh Barfield continued his rehab, going 0-2 with a sac fly. Bisons fans will get a bigger treat tonight as Victor Martinez joins the Herd and continues his rehab assignment. He is scheduled to play six innings.

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Then you have David Dellucci. The man we want to drop like a stone has decided that what is going on in Cleveland for him just isn't good enough. In today's PD, he was quoted as being frustrated by his lack of PT of late.

"It's difficult for any player to be the best they can be when they're sharing time," said Dellucci, who has a year and $4 million remaining on his contract. "Any player that gets to see live pitching consistently is going to be better off. But I understand the process that's going on over here, and I'm pulling for the guys that are in the game when I'm not."

Memo to DD - you should be thankful that your agents were smart enough to convince Mark Shapiro to give you a three-year deal, because that is the only reason you are still here. Now he has the gall to say "oh, I'm not getting in a groove because I don't get regular at-bats." What a a deuche. True, Dellucci has been hitting the ball much better of late (15 for his last 34), but its not like he is sitting out every game. He has been in the lineup no-less than Franklin Gutierrez or Shin-Soo Choo.

Do you hear these two young guys complaining?

Nope. And these two are essentially playing for their jobs, while DD can do nothing and sit back and collect his $4 million a year. The only difference between Dellucci and Jason "K-Mike" Michaels is that third year on his contract.

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Finally, Terry Pluto put it down perfectly in print today: "it's not happening for Andy Marte." We've been saying it all year; he isn't a major leaguer. He has finally gotten his chance to play every day and he flat out can't hit. The numbers don't lie. Per Pluto: He has been the regular third baseman since the All-Star break and is batting .188 in that span. In 164 at-bats this season, he has only 10 extra-base hits (three home runs) and 10 RBI. On the year, his on-base percentage is .230. In August, he's batting only .190, so it's not like he's figuring it out. Most alarming, the right-handed batter is at .157 vs. right-handed pitchers.

Battling To The End

2008-08-17T20:24:00.003-04:00

Take away the three-error, 13 LOB abomination of Saturday, and the Indians went toe to toe with the best team in baseball and came away victorious in the series; capped off by a 4-3 win in Sunday's finale. This was the first series the Angels have lost to an AL team since losing to Tampa May 9-11.

True, the Tribe left nine men on Sunday, but you come to expect that these days when you see a bottom of the order which looked like the Buffalo Bison: Franklin Gutierrez (.231), Andy Gonzalez (.208), Sal Fasano (.314 - I love Fat Sal by the way, but the facts are he has been around more than Pam Anderson), and Asdrubal Cabrera (.222). Just compare the two teams and the Angels have the Tribe beat in every aspect of the game:

Starting Pitching: Who would you rather have, a rotation that boats five guys with 10 wins already including All Stars John Lackey, Joe Saunders, and Ervin Santana or a rotation that has Zach Jackson pitching every fifth day? Angels

Relief Pitching: Lets see, the Angels have the best set up man in the game (Scot Shields), a young fireballer heir apparent to the closer with an ERA of 1.10 (Jose Arredando), a veteran lefty specialist (Darren Oliver), and a closer who will easily break the the single season save record (Francisco Rodriguez). The Tribe has gone through four closers and other than Rafael Perez, has nobody who can consistently get outs. Angels

Lineup: One team has former and current all stars LF (Garrett Anderson), CF (Torii Hunter), RF (Vladimir Guerrero), 1B (Mark Teixiera), and on the bench (Gary Mathews Jr). A speedy third basemen in Chone Figgins, and studs up the middle in Howie Kendrick (.313 BA) and young Erick Aybar. The other has Andy Marte and David Dellucci playing regularly. Angels

Its no contest. Yet, I watched the Tribe scratch and claw and out-do the mighty team of The O.C. Eric Wedge has this undermanned team playing hard every single night. He has decided to go to Jensen Lewis as the closer and so far its worked. Jenny did pull a Jobo today (putting two guys on), but has saved three consecutive tries since Wedge went to him last weekend in Toronto. One of those hits was because of the no-doubles defense (which is so stupid, I get the concept, but why not play regular so BASE RUNNERS don't get aboard?). I like Lewis' grit. You can tell he wants the ball in the ninth. You never got that feeling from Masa or Rafael Betancourt.

Props also to Jeremy Sowers for another solid outing. He has his usual bad start, allowing two runs in the first, but settled down nicely, going six and 2/3, allowing three runs, one of which was unearned thanks to a Fasano passed ball. We ripped him good a few weeks back, but the former first round pick looks like he has a place at the #5 spot in the rotation. It was like old times for Sowers and old Vanderbilt teammate Lewis. "This was just like college," Lewis said. "Jeremy would start and I would finish. I told him during the anthem, 'I'm going to come in and save it for you. But if he doesn't pitch like he did, we don't have the chance to win. He did a great job."

Good to see Raffy Perez bounce back after his last long-overdue shaky outing. He retired all four men he faced, striking out three. Raffy Left needed just 14 pitches, 12 of them were strikes.

I've gotta say no matter how far out this team is, I still love watching them every night. Lets catch those Tigers for third place boys....We will be back tomorrow, an off day, to give you the story of my son's first Tribe game, which he attended Saturday,.

AC's D is the Key

2008-08-15T23:21:00.003-04:00

Cliff Lee was a master of dodging trouble on Friday night. He went the distance to pick up his AL-best 17th win in the Tribe's 3-2 win over Disneyland's finest. It was the four double plays and the magnificent glove of Asdrubal Cabrera. AC made two spectacular plays, the first robbing Torii Hunter in the sixth, and then ending the game by going to his right, jumping and throwing out Garret Anderson from short center. The kid also had the game-winning RBI on a bases loaded walk in the seventh.

The Wahoos even managed to get to unhittable Jose Arredando, who came into the game with an 0.92 ERA. He faced four batters and didn't record an out. How Eddie Mujica of him!

We sound like a broken record, but Eric Wedge has to be credited for this team's mini-resurgence. They have played better baseball since the all-star break, and that is without CC Sabathia, Casey Blake, Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Jake Westbrook, and any semblance of a bullpen outside of Rafael Perez. Cabrera has come back up from Buffalo humbled and looks like the fresh-faced energy booster of 2007.

A few notes:

-Victor went 0-2 as a DH in his first game of a rehab assignment in Akron tonight. 2B Josh Barfield starts his tomorrow night, also in Akron.

-Former overrated Tribe manager Mike Hargrove gets inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame tomorrow. He met with the media today and says he is re-energized and wants to manage again, after burning out and quitting on Seattle last season in the middle of a pennant race. Grover is a nice guy, but one of the worst in-game managers I've ever seen. I've got two words: Jim Poole

The Purging Continues - Byrd Flyes to Boston

2008-08-12T15:56:00.004-04:00

Almost three full years in a Tribe uniform has come to an end for Paul Byrd. The crafty right-hander was all heart, guts, and guile during his stint with the Indians and was rewarded by being dealt to the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash. If ever anyone has made themselves into a hot commodity faster than Byrd, I'd like to see it.

After struggling mightily most of the year, the Byrd man completely re-made his season after a talk with Bert Blyleven about a month ago. He hasn't lost since. During that span, he has gone 4-0 in 28 innings pitched, allowing just four earned runs. I was at his last home start where he shut out the Tigers into the eight inning. After walking off the mound for the last time at the Jake, I wrote:

my respect level for the Paul Byrd reached an all time high. When he left with two outs in the 8th, I was one of the 24,000 strong giving him a well deserved standing ovation. In what could have been his final start as a member of Wahoo Nation, the Byrd Man was brilliant, throwing 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the team with the second largest payroll in the game.

Here is the bottom line, now is the time to say goodbye to the Byrd Man. His market value will not get any higher than it is right now. He seems to have righted himself and a pitching-starved contender like the Phillies, or maybe the Diamondbacks who are watching Micah Owings get lit up light a Christmas tree each outing could use a crafty, playoff tested pitcher like Byrd. Lets not forget that while C.C. and Fausto floundered against the Red Sox in the ALCS, Pauly won his start in a pivotal game four. Remember who started, and won the clincher against the Yankees in the Bronx? Paul Byrd.

That is something I will always love Byrd for. During the playoffs, he came up big when our twin 19 game winners couldn't. Both have filthier stuff, but didn't have the mental capacity of old #36.

Take a bow and a victory lap, Pauly. You earned it and you will be missed.

Four Straight - Two Entries for the Price of One!

2008-08-12T07:24:00.003-04:00

Sorry we were MIA this weekend, King Diesel took over for a filler while the fam took the truckster for a roadie to Chicago, aka the best summer city in America. While we were gone, the Tribe pitching dominated the sad sack Toronto Blue Jays (prediction - Jays GM J.P. Richardi gets the ax at season's end) to the tune of a three game sweep. The Byrd man won his fourth straight start since talking to Twins broadcaster Bert Blyleven and simultaneously getting national props from ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, who for weeks now has been saying on his radio show that Byrd is the guy contenders should be trading for and he can't understand why this isn't happening.

Back at the Jake last night for the start of a four game set with Baltimore, it was the Tribe bats who carried the evening, putting up a 13 spot while battering around Dennis Sarfate, Rocky Cherry, and Jamie Walker (meanwhile, this clown turned one good season in Detroit into a three-year, $12 million deal. Only Peter Angelos!). Five Indians drove in two runs a piece, including Fat Sal Fasano and Andy Gonzalez of all people. Gonzalez, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Benny Francisco all homered for three of the Tribe's 13 hits. At this point, the goal should be third place and beating the Tigers in the standings, Well, at least it is for me as I'm trying to collect my steak dinner at Fleming's for the second consecutive year from my boy from the D.

While the offense was Adrianna Lima-hot last night, Fausto Carmona's third poor star in his last four almost spoiled a beautiful evening at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Opponent's have wisely layed off his devastating sinker and he continues to walk too many guys. Last night it was four in six and 1/3 IP. Couple that with six hits, and Eddie Mujica's gas can, and the 7-3 lead he once had was ghost. Mujica came in with the bases loaded in the seventh and Nick Markakis unloaded them with one swing. Lucky for 4A Eddie, the offense bailed him out.

In Eric Wedge's everlasting search to find anyone who can get outs in the bullpen, newest Indian Brendan Donnelly was handed the ball in the 8th. While he did put two men on, he pitched a scoreless inning. Jenny Lewis closed out the 9th. This means the Indians actually won a game where Rafael Perez actually didn't have to be summoned!

What did we learn last night? Masa Kobayashi is apparently in Wedge's doghouse, not having pitched since the debacle in Tampa last Wednesday. Not coincidentally, this was last time the Tribe lost. We also learned that Andy Marte isn't a major leaguer at the plate. Oh yeah, we knew that already. Only he could manage to look so pathetic and go 0-fer when the rest of the team was battering around Oriole pitching. Fausto Carmona still has a ways to go to get back to where he was last year. If he is going to be our #1 guy, his control problems have to be curbed. Lastly, Jenson Lewis looks comfortable in the ninth. Yes, its only been two games, but he has the stuff and the demeanor for the role.

We will be down at the Jake tonight for Sowers/Olson. Not exactly Maddux/Clemens.

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How crazy is it that T and I both penned entries today, but here goes.

Tribe fans this summer will remember the opportunities lost. The countless games where the men that don the Chief on their caps would strand runner after runner and never score. The summer that died early because of injuries and certain young players who failed to prove that they are everyday major league material.

Monday night was a different sort of evening at Dolan Field as the Wahoos pounded Baltimore 13-8 and even blew a lead at the same time. Heck, Eddie "Demon Drop" Mujica served up four runs on four pitches and still got the win! This guy is an absolute mess most of the time and then other times actually commands his pitches pretty well. Regardless, it is nice to see the squad battle night in and night out. Andy Gonzalez, another 4A supreme, hit his first jack as a member of the RWAB.

Asdrubal Cabrera looks like he is coming around. The young shortstop, errrrrrrr, second baseman homered and then doubled in the go-ahead run in the 7th. I like the fact that he hit the ball hard from both sides of the plate and we have to hope and pray that his stint in Buffalo was as short as Artie Lange's trip to a rehab facility. AC is a keeper and will be an important part of this team next season. He has a swagger about him and does not talk much to reporters, which is fine. You cannot have a clubhouse full of the same types of cats. Just ask those Detroit Tiger$, whose mix is about as effective as "The Tonight Show" crew of Leno, Eubanks, and Melendez. Keep grinding Tribe.

One other note, this blog wants to give a shoutout to Tribe beat reporter for mlb.com, Anthony Castrovince. I like his stuff at http://castrovince.mlblogs.com/. Check it out.

New Closer.. I Got Your Number

2008-08-08T22:47:00.003-04:00

(Drumroll Please For Our New Closer)

Jenny Lewis.

The Pride of Skyline Chili Town (Cincy) mows em down (sort of) in the ninth tonight in Toronto and the RWAB garner in a 5-2 win over the Jays. Lewis earning his first career save and Anthony Reyes gets his first Tribe W. A solid pitching effort all around, including Raffy Perez. I like that Reyes threw strikes and his fastball has some late movement.

Benny Francisco and Shin Soo-Choo get it done with two out ribeye steaks. Twice for Benny.

Sidenote of the night. Lewis walks the leadoff man in the ninth and the STO crew starts telling the fans that they understand if they go into heart attack mode. I enjoyed it. Not sure if Paul Dolan did.

Bloody, Bloody, Bullpen

2008-08-06T20:44:00.002-04:00

If you want to know what the best way to kill a season is, just ask the 2008 Cleveland Indians for the answer. A BAD BULLPEN. Not just a bad bullpen, a historically bad bullpen. And to think back in April, we all thought this was the strength of the team. As bad as some of the bullpen's the Indians have had since the millennium, this has to be hands-down the worst. Today, we may have even reached "The Bullpen from Hell" status, with apologies to charter members Jamie Easterly, Rich Yett, etc etc.

It was such a shame too. We should be talking about Jhonny Peralta's five-hit explosion and how he is as locked in as we've ever seen him. Or how Eric Wedge benched Ryan Garko for not hustling. Or the RWAB's 13 hit attack. Or how Rafael Perez was lights out yet again in his two innings. Nah, instead it's all doom and gloom thanks to Eddie Mujica and and Masa Kobayashi's complete and utter disaster of a ninth inning that cost the Indians a game and a series.

With the Tribe up 7-4 in the ninth and Perez, aka the ONLY Indian reliever capable of getting anyone out, already done after two scoreless innings, Wedge decided to see what Mujica could do. How does, double, double, two-run Pizza sound to start the inning?

Just like that, the three run lead evaporated. Out went Mujica, in came Masa. An infield single in which Masa forgot to step on the bag started his day. A walk came next, and then a three-run homer off the bat of Carlos Pena ended an epic comeback by the Rays and a sickening choke job by the Tribe. The final Rays 10 Indians 7.

Mujica's line: 0 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER

Masa's line: o IP, 2 hits, 1 Walk, 3 ER.

The Rays scored six runs on five hits and a walk while Mujica and Kobayashi failed to record a single solitary out. Yankee and Red Sox fans everywhere are ready to kill these two. When I say the Indians bullpen is historically bad. I'm not joking. They are ranked last in the majors in saves, save percentage, and bullpen ERA. Take Perez out of the mix and imagine how bad it could really be.

Mujica, a four A special, looked terrible when he first came up, and then followed it with a 10 2/3rds scoreless streak. He became "Steady Eddie" for three weeks. That came crashing down in two of his last outings, where he has allowed seven hits and seven earned runs in 2/3rds of an inning. The coward was "nowhere to be found" after today's debacle according to the Plain Dealer.

Masa? He has been a model of inconsistency. He is single-handedly proving that great Japanese relief pitchers aren't translating. Did this guy really save over 200 games in his career before coming over? He is very Paul Shuey-like. One game, he is unhittable. The next, he couldn't get my grandmother out.

Rafael Betancourt, the best set-up man in the majors in 2007 has turned into David Riske. Put him in a tight spot and he wets himself. On Tuesday night, he was in trying to keep the Rays at bay and Evan Longoria crushed one that hasn't landed yet. He like id so much, that he let Cliff Floyd do the same thing two batters later. "The Realtor" is being foreclosed on. He is in love with his fastball and everyone knows it. It's all equaled up to a 6.27 ERA and 11 HR's allowed. Last season, he allowed just four in almost double the innings pitched.

Jenson Lewis went from a guy who looked like the 7th inning bridge to Betancourt and Perez and the heir to the closer job. Now, he is a guy still searching for his velocity who seems to be handling the 5th/6th inning middle relief job just OK.

The rest of the bozos like Juan Rincon (can you say "Steroids" and "finished"), Tom Mastny (I wish the Nasty one was better, but he isn't), Rick Bauer (peace), Craig Breslow (late), Jorge Julio (pair of ones), and Brian Slocum (4A), have ridden the Buffalo shuttle with little to no success. Now word comes that Mastny is out, Brendan Donnelley is in. Matt Ginter has moved out of the rotation and onto the DL, replace by Anthony Reyes.

It's a friggin' disaster, the whole season. But you can't win games without a decent pen. Decent isn't even in the vicinity these days for our boy Wedge and his trusty lieutenant Carl "what chu talkin' bout" Willis.

Lastly, off subject - props to Wedge for benching Garko for a lack of hustle after his first at bat. These guys are still playing hard for "King Grinder" and he did the right thing with the Garko incident. Garko even agrees: "I made a big mistake right there," said Garko. "It's the first time it's happened and it will be the last."

Give Wedge The Nod

2008-08-05T07:48:00.005-04:00

I have my kids all week so heavy-duty Tribe viewing is on the back burner. However, I did catch the final four innings of the RWAB's 5-2 win over the Rays and I think it is time to give our skipper some "dap". Eric Wedge played a hunch and kept Rafael Perez in the game to pitch the 9th and it worked. Raffy-left had his good tight slider working last night and he baffled Tampa Bay hitters in the 8th and 9th innings for his second save of the season. Wedge let him go and too many times does not get the credit for a move like this.

"He was so efficient in the eighth, that I sent him out for the ninth with the lefties coming up," Wedge said. Even our main dog Dave Dellucci helping the cause with a 2 run bomb to right that excited the heck out of my son who nearly woke up his sister with his screaming downstairs.

Eric Wedge has kept this ship afloat. The Indians have been a gigantic downer this season and last place is still last place. You are what your record is... 49-62 is 49-62 and it is unacceptable. But.. BUT, the Tribe manager has done a very good job this season. These guys "grind" every single day. Most of the time the at-bats are battles and some of the younger players have improved (not many.. but some) and I do not think it is Wedge's fault that his entire bullpen collapsed on him and guys went in the tank. Last night Wedge managed to win and could have easily given Masa Kobayashi the ball in the ninth for a closer's role tryout again. I respect that.

Lets Talk Shop

2008-08-03T13:47:00.003-04:00

Honestly, is there anyone hotter than Kelly Shoppach right now? Last night's back-breaking two out, two run homer off of Kevin Slowey was a thing of beauty on several levels. Slowey has been the Twins best pitcher of late, coming off a complete game shutout in his last start. If you saw the homer, the pitch was spotted well, low and away, but Shop went with it and took it over the baggie in right, putting the Tribe on top for good 3-1 on their way to a 5-1 win. Coming into the game, The Shop-Vac was hitting .389 since the all-star break, good for fifth in the AL. He has four pizzas in his last five games, and his batting average now sits at a healthy .277 (through Saturday), up 27 points July 21st.

The natural talk these days is that with the Tribe getting little to no production from their bevy of first base options (Ryan Garko, AAA Michael Aubrey and Jordan Brown who hot for little power)and Casey Blake now gone to the left coast, Victor Martinez could be headed to first with Shoppach becoming the regular catcher in 2009. There is no doubt that Shop is forcing the hand of the Indians brass. He clearly is an everyday major league catcher. If you look at the position throughout MLB, you find me 10 better catchers than Kelly Shoppach right now. Here's a quick list of guys in the conversation:

Yankees - Jorge Posada and Pudge The Cancer - Yes, they are both better players, but long-term, you'd rather have the younger Shop than two guys who are at the end of their careers.

Red Sox - Jason Varitek - I don't care what Red Sox Nation says about the impact of Varitek in the clubhouse, they'd take Shop over Tek right now 100% for 2009.

White Sox - AJ Pierzynski - Having a career year. Probably has the edge over Shop on experience. He's a veteran, but not old.

Twins - Joe Mauer - Next.

Braves - Brian McCann - An offensive young stud.

Cubs - Geovanny Soto - A Rookie All-star. Age 25, hitting .275, 17 HR, 60 RBI. But who's to say Shop couldn't do the same if he were an everyday catcher in that Cubs lineup?

Pirates - Ryan Doumit - Like Shop, finally getting his first taste of everyday action. Showing his raw-power. He and Shop may be a wash.

Dodgers - Russell Martin - Like with Mauer, No contest here.

So what do the Indians do in 2009 at the catching position? A lot of it falls on what else happens in the offseason. There is no doubt that wholesale changes must be made. There are huge holes at 1B, 3B, and at least one corner OF spot. But if you can get a guy like an Adam Dunn for left field, there is no reason for Shoppach to be catching four-five games a week, with Victor at first, also serving as a two-game a week guy behind the dish.

Some will say Vic the Stick loses value as a first basemen, which is a statement of merit. He goes from being a top three player at his position (Catcher) to Casey Kotchman, high average, not enough power guy, at his new position (1B). But does that matter if Victor is back to his pre-injury form as the most clutch hitter the Indians have? A guy who will hit over .300 and drive in 100 runs?

Just some thoughts...The beauty of this is that Kelly Shoppach is forcing his way onto the field with his play. Something Mark Shapiro and his crew only wished they could see from guys like Shin-Soo Choo, Andy Marte, Ryan Garko, and Franklin Gutierrez this season.

The Rest of it....

2008-08-03T13:43:00.003-04:00

Here is the rest of our appearance on More Sports and Les Levine...Sorry for the ghetto production.

Here is Part One

2008-08-01T16:42:00.003-04:00

You will have to pardon the video/audio on these clips. I know it's kinda g-h-e-t-t-o. But the people at the production compnay were no help and I had to fend for myself. So this is the best I could do. Fast forward about 40 seconds to start. Enjoy part 1:

Just a Taste

2008-08-01T09:06:00.001-04:00

For some reason, I still haven't been able to get get my hands completely on the segments in file form to put them up on youtube. The only thing I have is two large files (which cannot be condensed, or at least I haven't figured out how to do so), and the last 2 minutes of the show, which I put up. I'm hoping to get the rest today, but here is a little snippet of the show from Wednesday night with yours truly and Paul Cousineau from The Diatribe.

Marte Sux, TD Does Not

2008-07-31T09:31:00.007-04:00

I think I have seen enough of Andy Marte and I want to see more of TD. In case you missed yesterday's installment of "More Sports and Les Levine", the blog's own T did an amazing job filling in on the show as the host and talking Tribe. TD was comfortable and conversational and he and The Diatribe's Paul Cousineau did an excellent show. Too bad the Tribe could not celebrate the program by getting us a win. The 140 million dollar payrolled Tigers survive 13 innings to outlast the RWAB 14-12. Two teams with disgusting bullpens, one team with a disgusting third baseman. I've seen enough of Andy Marte. He cannot perform at this level. Period. End of story.

Marte is definitely good enough to be playing everyday in Buffalo and that is where he should be. Last night in the bottom of the 12th and a 1-0 count with the bases loaded and the infield mostly-in, Marte takes a 1-0 meatball against the great Casey Fossum and ground weakly to SS for an inning ending double-play. Nice Andy. All he had to do was a drive a ball to the outfield OR take a damn strike and work the count against a guy that had just walked two that inning. But he didn't and you want to know why? Because he is Andy Marte. He is not good enough. He wilts under pressure and he has 6 RBI in 118 at-bats. SIX!!!!

The decision should already be in. Next season the team needs to either move Jhonny Peralta or Josh Barfield to third base or they see what Wes Hodges can do and let him have some growing pains. Marte? Ship him to JP Richardi or some other sucker. Andy can be their problem.

EDIT FROM T - Thanks for the kind words from King Diesel. Ater last night's show, they handed me a DVD copy, but it wasn't in chapters, therefore I couldn't get the show up on youtube as their allow on 10 minute videos. The file format cannot be mainpulated by Windows Movie Maker, so I have put out the feelers to the people at Time Warner to email me the files in segments. I should be getting them early evening and the show will be posted as soon as I get the files.

In the meantime - Kelly Shoppach is a friggin beast. Ties the MLB record for most extr-base hits in a single game with five. Hits two jacks including that bomb to tie the game in the ninth off of Fernando Rodney. That bat flip on the Todd Jones Pizza was EPIC. Almost as epic as the fact that those pussy-cats from the D didn't throw the next pitch at Shop's head.

Watch Us Tonight

2008-07-30T12:24:00.001-04:00

Just a reminder - tonight yours truly is hosting More Sports and Les Levine with the great Paul Cousineau of The Diatribe as my guest. We will be breaking down the Tribe, the trade deadline, blogging, and whatever else pops up. Channel 23 on Time Warner Cable.

I've been told it will be available on youtube tomorrow and we will post the embedded links on here as soon as we can.

Wish us luck....

Bye Bye Birdie???

2008-07-29T09:22:00.006-04:00

I was down at the Jake last night, and I have to say, my respect level for the Paul Byrd reached an all time high. When he left with two outs in the 8th, I was one of the 24,000 strong giving him a well deserved standing ovation. In what could have been his final start as a member of Wahoo Nation, the Byrd Man was brilliant, throwing 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the team with the second largest payroll in the game. The 5-0 win on a gorgeous night in C-Town was a ray of light in a season of clouds and rain.

Byrd did what he usually does, pound the strike zone. But since he tinkered with his windup three starts ago, he is 2-0, allowing just four earned runs in 19 innings and hasn't give up a home run, something he hadn't been able to avoid. He had allowed 11 in his previous seven starts.

Here is the bottom line, now is the time to say goodbye to the Byrd Man. His market value will not get any higher than it is right now. He seems to have righted himself and a pitching-starved contender like the Phillies, or maybe the Diamondbacks who are watching Micah Owings get lit up light a Christmas tree each outing could use a crafty, playoff tested pitcher like Byrd. Lets not forget that while C.C. and Fausto floundered against the Red Sox in the ALCS, Pauly won his start in a pivotal game four. Remember who started, and won the clincher against the Yankees in the Bronx? Paul Byrd. In 2005, he made three postseason starts for the Angels and in 2004 he made two for the Braves.

Even a mid-level prospect for Byrd would be a wise investment. It would clear some money and you never know with a prospect. Had any of you honestly heard of Coco Crisp when the Indians got him from the Cardinals for Chuck Finley? Losing Byrd would mean Aaron Laffey would step back into the rotation, no real loss there. Yes, Laffey has been struggling, but he is the future. Let him work it out with Carl Willis up here. He has been humbled with the recent demotion.

It's a no-brainer.

Reminder...tomorrow night at 6 PM on channel 23 Time Warner on the East Side and channel 17 on the west side, yours truly and Paul Cousineau from the Diatribe will be on More Sports and Les Levine.

Stealing...As if Our Name Was Kenny Lofton

2008-07-28T13:35:00.006-04:00

Fellow Friends of the Feather were abuzz over our controversial statement comparing that the day Casey Blake was dealt to the birth of my son. People, please. It's called exaggeration for effect. Yes, we have been Casey's biggest critic for years and we were glad to see him go, but he was a good solider here during his tenure and will be missed...Just not by us.

Keith Law of ESPN.com made it sound as though the Tribe made off with quite the haul for Fakey Fake in snagging Catcher Carlos Santana and Jonathan Meloan: In total, it's a great return for Blake, who at most would have fetched two draft picks this offseason, and could have fetched just one, with the players selected with those picks much further from major league value than Santana and Meloan. When you consider that Cleveland signed Blake as a minor-league free agent on a one-year deal in 2003, received almost five years of big-league production and flipped him for two prospects, the ROI on the original deal must be off the charts.

More good news per Law regarding Meloan: Long term, he should be an above-average short reliever, maybe even an unconventional closer because he can miss so many bats in spite of the average velocity.

The same day Fake was dumped, another Tribe deal flew under the radar. GM Mark Shapiro acquired former pitching phenom Anthony Reyes from the St. Louis Cardinals from Minor League reliever Luis Perdomo. Local and national experts think this was a very smart move by Shappy. Don't forget that as recently as two years ago, Reyes was the #1 pitching prospect in the Cardinals system, who started Game 1 of the 2006 World Series. One of our compadres over at The Cleveland Fan, Tony Lastoria (who also runs a terrific Indians Minor League Blog) has some solid insight:

This could be one of those trades where the Indians are banking on a change of scenery helping Reyes. We all know what that did for Brandon Phillips when they traded him to Cincinnati, or for Jeremy Guthrie when he moved on to Baltimore, so there is obvious hope here the Indians are able to have some luck go their way for once. Plus, the Indians have had a lot of success recently with sinker-ballers like Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, and Aaron Laffey, so it is possible some of that success could rub off on Reyes.

With Reyes, the Indians also acquired a player who should be under their control for at least another four years. Let's face it, the upper levels of the Indians system lacked anything that they could really rely on to help their starting pitching needs in the short term, specifically in 2009. Left-hander David Huff is the only pitcher who appears ready to help the team next year, and if right-hander Adam Miller can remain healthy or is not moved to the bullpen he is the only other option. Others like left-hander Scott Lewis, right-hander Frank Herrmann, right-hander Kevin Dixon, and left-hander Ryan Edell are all good depth options, but none of these pitches are ready to impact the Indians and become stalwarts in the rotation anytime soon, if ever.

On top of that, left-handers Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey have struggled this year. This is clearly an attempt to fill a starting pitching need next year and potentially beyond with a young pitcher who has loads of talent that has only been shown in spurts at the major league level. With how expensive pitching is in free agency - average pitching at that - taking a gamble on a guy like Reyes may not only be a gamble that pays off from a performance perspective, but from a cost-efficiency perspective as well.

As for losing a top guy relief prospect like Perdomo, Lastoria brings in the Blake trade, pointing out that when it comes being major-league ready, Meloan fills the loss of Perdomo in the Reyes trade, and is actually a much better relief prospect than Perdomo.

If you want a long, brilliantly written break-down of both trades, check out our friends at The Diatribe. A great take from their piece:

The real winner in the Blake deal, in the short term at least, is Andy Marte as NO even somewhat legitimate reason exists for him not to be in the everyday lineup. Unfortunately, with the number of games remaining being such a small percentage of the season, I’m not sure how much we’re going to learn about Marte or what numbers he would have to put up to stake a claim on 3B for himself.

If he goes out there and struggles, there’s no way they go into 2009 with him as the everyday 3B…because they could have done that back in May or June without much of a problem. If he thrives down the stretch (and by that I mean he would just have to crush everything to get back into good graces), I think he’d be an option at 3B for 2009 with no guarantee that his name would be written in permanent ink on a 2009 lineup card.

To a lesser degree, this trade benefits Ryan Garko as Gark has the opportunity now to salvage what looks like a lost season for him. His situation is different than Marte’s because of the body of work that he has already established in MLB (Garko has 979 MLB AB to Marte’s 378) and the fact that he has achieved some modicum of success prior to 2008 means that a solid final two months of the season could put Garko right back into the mix for 1B for 2009, whereas that ship may have already sailed for Marte. Of course, if Garko doesn’t turn it around to close out 2009, he could just be greasing his way out of the regular 1B spot for the coming years.

Both players will be given the opportunity to force their way into the plans for 2009 and beyond with Blake not taking AB away from anyone…that is, unless Michael Aubrey or Victor come to play some 1B or the Indians decide to see if Peralta can play 3B now instead of waiting for Winter Ball for a verdict.

Speaking of which, your pal T will be guest-hosting "More Sports and Les Levine" on Time Warner Cable (channel 23 on the East side, trying to find the channel for Akron/Canton and The West Side). Our guest will be Paul Cousineau, the man behind The Diatribe. King Diesel will also be making a phoned-in appearance to talk RWB baseball.

CASEY BLAKE....DUMPED!!!!!

2008-07-26T13:34:00.006-04:00

Top three days of my life:

1. February 28, 2007 - the day my son was born

2. April 6, 2008 - the day Kansas won the national championship getting me my first ring

3. July 26, 2008 - THE DAY CASEY BLAKE WAS TRADED!!!

The man I have hated and bashed for the last five years has finally been taken off our our hands. On ESPN.com right now, is this article: Dodgers send a pair of prospects to Indians for Blake. Seriously, I feel some movement in my shorts. The Tribe is getting A ball catcher Carlos Santana and AAA pitcher Jon Meloan. Meloan is a throw-in. Santana is hitting .323 with 14 home runs. He essentially replaces what Max Ramirez was in the organization, after he was dealt at the deadline last year for Kenny Lofton.

The Tribe could have received a pair of tube socks for Fake and I'd have been this giddy.

And so it ends, the Casey Blake era. Five years of this guy has been way more than enough. I have to give him credit though; this season he has been very solid at the plate and in the field. He has turned himself into a very hot commodity because of his versatility and likable personality. Nobody has anything bad to say about him as a teammate and person. Look at the stroke job by Dodgers GM Ned Colletti:

"Casey Blake is a gamer. His experience and character will be a plus as we head down the stretch in the final two months of the regular season."

I just can't believe my dream has become a reality. Truth is, I will miss having him as a whipping boy. It doesn't matter what he has done this year, when the team is in the tank and there is no pressure. I can never forgive him for his awful first pitch 5-4-3 double play in the 7th inning of game seven in Boston, followed by his brutal error which started the opening of the flood gates which led to the loss.

But today is not a day to look back. Its a day to look ahead to brighter days filled without #1 in Red, White, and Blue. To quote Bill Ray Valentine in Trading Places "What a happy day! What a happy day!"

14-2 For Cliff? Perez as a Closer?

2008-07-25T22:19:00.007-04:00

What bizarro universe do we live in where Cliff Lee can go from a clubhouse cancer who gets sent to the minors one year, then goes 14-2 and is the all star game starting pitcher the next? Lee was dominant again in the 5-4 win, but it was almost blown by current and soon to be former Closer Masa Kobayashi.

Cliff's line: eight innings, two runs, six hits, and 10 K's.

Masa's line: ZERO innings, two runs, three hits.

Raffy Perez had to save the day and was magnificent. With the tying run at second and nobody out, he retired Mike Lamb, Brendan Harris, and Nick Punto in succession to get his first save of the year. Will he get the next shot at attempting to be the Tribe Closer?

I was in the car during the beginning of the 9th and Tom Hamilton was classic. He sounded so bitter after Morneau took Masa deep. Here was his quote "you can bet the first thing the Indians will do this offseason is shop for a closer." It was vintage Hammy. Sometimes I think he wants it more than the players do.

As for Masa. His stuff was flat tonight. That happens way too often for someone counted on to finish games. I've said it many times, give me a flame-thrower at the back end of my bullpen. We haven't seen anything but soft-tossers since Jose Mesa, aka the Devil.

Meanwhile, watching Tigers closer Todd Jones give up a two out, two run pizza in the ninth to Jermaine Dye to blow a huge game against the division leading White Sox was just as enjoyable as watching Perez's magic act. Somewhere in Vegas, King Diesel was smiling. Nobody despises the Tigers more.

Can This Dream Become a Reality?

2008-07-22T17:54:00.003-04:00

Per the great Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.com:

Indians' Blake: The right alternative?

The Indians continue to draw significant interest in third baseman Casey Blake, whose defensive versatility makes him an alternative to Nady and the other available right-handed hitters.

The Rays are one of the teams pursuing Blake, though he is not an ideal fit. Blake, who turns 35 on Aug. 23, has not played the outfield regularly since 2006, and the Rays would use him mostly in right.

The Mets would have the same concern, and ideally they want more of a difference-maker than Blake. If they can't acquire a hitter as accomplished as, say, the Mariners' Raul Ibanez, they could turn to Class AA outfielder Fernando Martinez, who does not turn 20 until Oct. 10. Martinez, a left-handed hitter, might already be with the Mets if he hadn't missed six weeks with a hamstring injury.

One of the great days of my life is soon approaching...

West Coast Wrappers

2008-07-22T09:17:00.006-04:00

What is going on here? The Wahoos go west and the ball keeps flyin' out of the yard. The Tribe has won 7 of its last 8 and last night beat up on the best team in the game the Angels with three bombs in a 5-2 win in Anaheim. Not sure what was more painful to watch, the Halos inability to get any hits with RISP or LA announcer Rory Markas (god awful).

Paul Byrd switched up his wind-up a bit and actually got into a nice groove going 5 and a third for the win. Raffy Perez had a huge night, bailing out the Byrd Maaaaaan in the 6th by getting noted RWAB killer Chone Figgins to ground into a 6-4-3 double-play to end the inning. It was a great scene in the dugout after the play with Byrdie going over and hugging Perez for having his back. I will say this about the Byrd Maaaaaan; he is a great teammate and one of the leaders of this squad. Win or lose he is a guy you want on the construction site.

As far as the bats go, our favorite whipping boy Casey Fake knocked a two run shot off of all star Ervin "Juelz" Santana (thanks for the text Seth). Jhon got into the act with a solo slice as did Andy Marte. That is now 16 homers for the boys in their last 17 games. Once again, though, Eric Wedge had Dave Dellucci in the lineup and I am not sure why? Ryan Garko has played ONCE since the all star break and Shin Soo-Choo is for 4 for his last 8- play those cats before DD.

Masatime in the ninth was enjoyable as he struck out the side with some nasty breaking stuff. I can't believe I stayed up for the whole game last night, but I did.

Why is This Man Still Playing?

2008-07-21T15:48:00.003-04:00

....let alone hogging up a roster spot? Eric Wedge said the other day "We've got to get Dellucci going."

Why?

"Big Dave" played in two of the three games in Seattle this past weekend, DH'ing both times. Who needs to see a 34 year old DH who is hitting .225 and has ZERO future in this organization getting regular at-bats, which could be going to young guys like Ryan Garko, Franklin Guiterrez, or Asdrbual Cabrera?

GM Mark Shapiro tells us that the rest of the season is to evaluate the young players to see what we have for next year and beyond, yet Wedge still gives Dellucci regular AB's? It's bad enough he is soaking up an unwarranted roster spot and stealing an undeserving $4 million this year and next year (we'd have to put this deal ahead of the three year, $11.5 million contract given to Ricky Gutierrez and just behind the four year, $28 million deal given to Matt Lawton as Shapiro worst free-agent signings.)

The odds of the Tribe winning this series in Anaheim this week are about as good as the odds that Charlie Frye will once again be a starting QB in the NFL again one day. The Angels are the league's first 60-win team and the Wahoos send out Paul Byrd, Matt Ginter, and Aaron Laffey over the next three. Meanwhile, the Tribe has to see 11-3 All Star Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, and one of the best pitchers in the AL in John Lackey. I'll be thrilled to take one out of three. At least Fausto Carmona should be back this weekend.

As long as Dellucci is on the bench, I'm all good....

DCB Second Half Thoughts

2008-07-17T10:59:00.003-04:00

As we all know by now, the Indians are sellers in the trade market (which by the way ends two weeks from today) and for all intents and purposes are out of contention in the AL Central. Or are they? Let's not get too excited. A four game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays has Eric Wedge's Grinders thinking positively heading into the second half of this disastrous 2008 campaign.

There have been some interesting Tribe takes in the past few days. The PD's Paul Hoynes gave his 10 suggestions to help repair this season. Captain obvious listed this one which we have been saying all year:

4. Make a decision: The Indians had an entire first half to find out if Andy Marte could play and wasted it. After trading Sabathia and retiring as a contender, Marte finally started to get some playing time at third base, but only because Ryan Garko was so far in that tank that Wedge was forced to move Casey Blake to first base.

What took so long?

It's time to play Marte and see what he can do. If he doesn't do it in the second half, then the Indians can part company with him and have a clear conscience.

The great Terry Pluto brilliantly broke down exactly how it all went wrong for the 08 Tribe. More of my favorite subjects came in this column. Including this nugget:

.000: That's Dave Dellucci (0-of-10) vs. lefties. For his career, it's .204. Since coming to the Indians, he is a .230 hitter with 12 HR, 50 RBI in 399 at bats. He has a horrible arm in left field and is 34 years old. Why is he playing when the Indians have young outfielders such as Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Francisco and Gutierrez during this lost season? And to think they have Dellucci under control through 2009.

The best sports blog in the business, The Big Lead, gave their second half American League predictions yesterday and said:

*The Indians finish less than six games out in the Central, prompting many to wonder what might have been with Sabathia.

CBS Sportsline's lead Baseball writer Scott Miller wrote about each team and gave his Midseason Report Card. The Tribe received a"D."

The combination of disappointing seasons and injuries to core players doomed the Indians early. In hindsight, it has been downhill since the discovery of Paul Byrd purchasing Human Growth Hormone before game 7 of the ALCS last October. Nothing has gone well since.

We found another interesting bunch of takes from the Columbus Post Dispatch's Rob Oller, who says the Indians should tinker, what do they have to lose? In addition to the usual "give Marte a full time shot at third" and "move Grady Sizemore down to third in the lineup," this take is right on target:

Move sure-handed Astrubal Cabrera from second base to shortstop. Jhonny Peralta's recent improvement at the plate makes him a nice trade option; maybe the Tribe could find itself a reliable closer?

Yes, the first half was a nightmare. Yes, they are out of it. But that only means Shappy and his boys have ample time to evaluate. This is the last chance for guys like Franklin Gutierrez and Ryan Garko. Here is what I would do:

1. First things first - DUMP CASEY BLAKE. His value will never be higher than it is now. He's been a good solider and deserves to be dealt to a contender to be a jack of all trades guy.

2. With Peralta heating up, he should spend time at DH for now (see #3).

3. Bring up AC and play him at SS. Let Marte play 3B every day, giving him enough rope to hang himself. Once they see (which we all know already) that he isn't an everyday major leaguer, you start the transition of Peralta at 3B.

4. While this is going on, Garko mans 1B and given a shot to show more pop. You've got guys like Aubrey, Jordan Brown, Stephen Head, and Matt Laporta all waiting to take their shots at 1B. If he fails, you've got plenty of other options next Spring. Turning Victor Martinez into the regular 1B next year isn't that far out of the question. Kelly Shoppach has shown he can handle being the everyday starter behind the dish.

5. Designate David Dellucci for assignment. Why is he still here getting at bats? These AB"s should be spilt between the three young OF's - Gutierrez, Shin-Soo Choo, and Ben Francisco. The corner OF spots should be rotated between the three, with Francisco getting preferential treatment.

6. See if Masa Kobayashi can be the full time closer. If it fails, so be it. Move on to the next guy, Rafael Perez.

7. Find someone, anyone, who can pitch in the 7th and 8th innings not named Perez. I figured it would be Jensen Lewis, but he can't seem to regain last year's form. Eddie Mujica has been decent of late, but I'm still not sold. Who knows what is wrong with Rafael Betancourt. I'd like to see Jeff Stevens or Randy Newsom up here at some point, though Stevens has been named to the Olympic team.

and that is that.....

Sweeping Into the Break

2008-07-14T09:16:00.004-04:00

Just when you think you have figured this team out, they go out and sweep four straight from the team with the best record in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays. And how they did it was just as strange. The Gang that can't hit straight outscored the Rays 31-8. They won games started by Matt Ginter and Jeremy Sowers. Sunday's victory featured five perfect innings by Tribe relievers Tom Mastny, Eddie Mujica, Rafael Perez, and Masa Kobayashi. The Nasty One got the W, his first of the season. We have officially seen it all now - Andy Marte hit a solo pizza over the high wall in Left, his first jack since April of 2007. Marte, who started all four games in the series, claims now he is getting in a groove and "it's nice to get my timing back."

So the boys go into the break on a high note, winners of four in a row directly after losing 10 in a row. That is the good news. The bad news is that Jeremy Sowers and Matt Ginter are still in the rotation. We feel more for Ginter these days than Sowers, who continues to show us nothing. Yesterday he walked SEVEN in four innings. That is not what you want from a so-called "finesse" pitcher. I don't care that he K'd a season high eight, because that brings his season total to 26. He nibbles on the corners and when he does challenge guys, he gets lit up. I've ripped him enough at this point. The bottom line is he is not worthy of a rotation spot.

However, it was nice to see the pen step it up (for once). Mujica has been solid of late. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 7 2/3 innings pitched (seven appearances). Mastny woke up from the dead with two perfect innings which were a much needed bridge to Mujica and Perez. It was Masa time in the ninth. The pen is obviously a work in progress. Who knows what is wrong with Rafael Betancourt these days, Jensen Lewis is up and down, and Juan Rincon is fresh from Buffalo after the Twins dropped him for being so ineffective.

Offensively, you never know what is going on from day to day. After scoring 31 runs in four games, they could easily score five in the next four. Benny Francisco and Jhonny Peralta are scorching hot going into the break. Peralta has taken to the cleanup spot, hitting .353 with five Homers and 23 RBI over the last month. Benny has raised his average .22 points in the last nine days and sits at .294. Casey Blake has been playing himself into prime trading position. Coming off a .366 month of June, Fake is hitting .300 in July, playing both First and Third.

The second half starts in Seattle, the worst team in the American League. Now, I'm not saying they Indians have any shot, but wouldn't it be nice if they continued this little run they are on and showed more life? As King Diesel said, Eric Wedge deserves credit for keeping this team together. One thing you can't complain about as fans is the lack of effort with this bunch. Lack of talent, maybe, but not lack of effort. That is not on Wedge or the players.

That is on the front office.

Who You Gonna Call? Matty Ginter

2008-07-12T22:26:00.007-04:00

Good Lord.

The Tribe has all of the sudden risen up from the dead and taken three in a row.. YES.. THREE in a row from MLB's top team, Tampa Bay. Tonight, the RWAB had every reason to throw this game away because journeyman Matt Ginter was getting an emergency start and recalled from Buffalo where he was 6-6 with an earnie of 4.14. The man had not won a big league start since 2004, yet here he was mowing down the all-of-the-sudden weak hitting Rays for five scoreless. Tribe gets a rare show of "Ryan's Hope" as Garko homers, doubles and drives in five. Indians 8 Rays 4. I am speechless.

I actually hit up Warren B. tonight on a text and asked him what would happen if the Wahoos went on a Houston Rockets/Colorado Rockies type run and somehow got back in it? Highly unlikely, but I cannot give up on this team. It is an addiction. The season IS done and to his credit, Eric Wedge is thee only one who doesn't believe that theory. Bill Livingston should step back from his Nachos Bell Grande for a second and maybe pen a column propping up Wedge for at least keeping this ship afloat. Yes they have had their meltdowns and yes they are playing the likes of Jamey Carroll and Kelly Shoppach daily, but give the skipper some credit. They don't quit. They don't make excuses (well at least not all of them) and they "grind". Watch the Tigers and their 140 million dollar payroll for a week straight and you won't see much grinding. If Jerry Sowers is masterful tomorrow, then something IS really wrong with Dave Wills' Rays.

This Headline Gives Me a Partial

2008-07-09T15:58:00.006-04:00

Have you ever seen something so good? We haven't had a smile this big since the clock hit 0:00 in San Antonio the evening of April 7th.

Eight Men Out

2008-07-09T10:20:00.005-04:00

You know what the funny thing is, its probably going to get worse! As each passing day flies by, GM Mark Shapiro's talent evaluations going into 2008 (hello David Dellucci and Jason Michaels in Left!) look worse and worse. Let us for once, not dwell on the pathetic offense we've watched all year (two runs on two hits last night, both in the first-inning). Remember at the beginning of the year when we heard all about the eight-man rotation and the best bullpen in baseball? Lets examine where we are today:

The "Eight -Man" Rotation

CC Sabathia - traded to Milwaukee. Started poorly and then came back into Cy Young form, with an ERA just over 2.00 since April 22. Never to be seen in an Indians uniform again.

Fausto Carmona - A 4-2 start was marred by a control problem (1.59 WHIP) and has been on the DL since May 25th with a hip injury. Should be back after the All-Star break.

Jake Westbrook - The rock of the rotation, beginning the first year of his three-year, $33 million extension, blew out his elbow and is out until next August after having Tommy John Surgery.

Paul Byrd - The master of control and not walking anyone, leads the Majors in Home Runs allowed (23), is 3-10 overall and was horrific in June, going 1-5 with a 7.47 ERA. Would be bounced from the rotation or even released if the Indians had any other options.

Cliff Lee - Who saw this one coming? 11-2, 2.43 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 99 K's to 19 walks? Looks like the All-Star game starter for the AL. Imagine how bad this rotation would be without the man we once referred to as"Stiff Lee."

Aaron Laffey - The 23 year old is a keeper. Looks even better than his solid 2007 finish where he saved the rotation when Lee melted down. Deserves better than his 4-5 record (3.45 ERA). Will be your #3 guy in '09.

Jeremy Sowers - The former #6 overall pick is the only Indians first-round pick in the last 10 years on the roster. Not that he deserves to be. With all of the injuries to the rotation, Sowers got his chance and has failed miserably. In eight starts, he is 0-5 with a 7.81 ERA. He doesn't strike anyone out (18 in 40 innings), gives up jacks (10), and loves putting guys on base (1.86 WHIP). In short, a soft-tosser with no command who looks 4A.

Adam Miller - The Indians top Pitching prospect, dubbed "Atom" Miller by our friends at The DiaTribe, continues to battle the injury bug. This time, it's a finger injury that has him out for the year and has ruined yet another year of development. No doubt he'd have been up by now, either in the bullpen or in the rotation, leading with his trademark 97 MPH heater.

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So on July 9th, the rotation has a finished Byrd, a guy who shouldn't be in the majors in Sowers, a re-tread to be figured out at some point in the next day or two (looks like Matt Ginter - yikes), Laffey, and Lee. CC is gone. Fausto is DL'd, Jake is out for over a year, and Miller is out for the year. No team can overcome this, especially when your bullpen is currently ranked dead last in the AL and the offense puts the "P" in putrid.

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And what about that bullpen? It currently sports such 4A specials as Edward Mujica, Brian Slocum, and Tom "Nasty" Mastny. It's been a revolving door of such winners as Rick Bauer, Craig Breslow, and Jorge Julio. Joe Borowski, aka Jo-Blow, has been rightfully dumped after showing us his 83 MPH fastball on a regular basis, and they wondered why he couldn't get the job done again this year. They tried Rafael Betancourt as a closer - didn't work. Masa Kobayashi has been given his shot, after his previous stint earlier this year failed (remember the Adam Dunn walkoff jack in Cincinnati that still hasn't landed?).

Jensen Lewis has been on the Buffalo shuttle since losing his velocity from a year ago. Betancourt, the most dominant set-up man in baseball a year ago, has been a shell of himself, posting an ERA of 5.67, walking 12, and allowing seven HR's in 39.2 IP. Last year, he walked just nine and allowed just three HR's in 79.1 IP. Lefty Rafael Perez has been OK, but far from the spectacular work we saw in '07.

The one constant is inconsistency with this group. More good news, its probably only going to get worse. It's going to be one long summer in C-Town.

From Can't Miss to .150

2008-07-07T16:00:00.005-04:00

Everyone seems to be extremely jacked over the prospect Matt Laporta, who looks like he is a can't miss guy? But you know who else was once a can't miss kid? Our very own Andy ".150" Marte. Don't believe me? Check out this amazing find by our own King Diesel, who came across this beauty from December 8, 2005, the day Marte was acquired by the Red Sox for Edgar Renteria:

DALLAS -- The Boston Red Sox gave up on Edgar Renteria just one year after lavishing a four-year, $40 million contract on him, trading the shortstop to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday for third base prospect Andy Marte.

The move left Boston without a shortstop, but Red Sox senior adviser Bill Lajoie denied a much-rumored deal that would wheel Marte to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Julio Lugo. Lajoie said he expected to see Marte play for the Red Sox this year, putting him in the outfield or first base if it's necessary to get his bat in the lineup.

"We want to keep that player. ... He's ready to have a good year," said Lajoie, one of four Boston executives at the winter meetings in the absence of a general manager. "He would be one of the five players you would want to start a ballclub with."

Do you believe what you just read? Because I know I didn't when the Deez sent it my way. Lets hope Laporta isn't another Marte....

Send In The Clowns

2008-07-07T14:03:00.003-04:00

After watching todays Mark Shapiro press conference, I came away with one image. Kevin Keane is a total knob. What on earth was that today? Here is the Indians GM having to face the media on the day he just traded the club's best pitcher since Bob Feller and the poor guy is being questioned by a rambling-foaming at the mouth-pea brained- tool. Keane of AM 1100 WTAM went into a diatribe about his talk-show callers and even phrased the Tribe as "we" at one point.

Spies tell DCB that Keane was wearing an Indians hat as he asked the questions. Seriously! What reporter shows up to a major presser wearing that team's swag? Keane wanted to know about the "emotional" side of the trade and how Shapiro should explain to the fans about "losing one of their own". You could tell Shapiro had no answer to what were two very ridiculous and poorly worded questions. Heck, were they even questions? This comes from a guy (Keane) who places "hot chicks of the day" on his webpage; http://wtam.com/pages/keanepage1.html. I need folks' comments on this. Do you agree?

See-Ya C.C.

2008-07-06T20:08:00.004-04:00

It's a sad day in Cleveland. A boy we watched grow into a man before our very eyes has now, like all other home-grown Indians, has now moved on. In a deal that seemingly has been finalized, C.C. Sabathia is now a Milwaukee Brewer. Coming over to the Tribe is the gem of the Brewer farm system, AA Power-hitting OF Matt Laporta, who is hitting .288 with 20 HR's, and 66 RBI in 81 games. Supposedly two others are involved as well, but at this time the details are sketchy.

We will have much more on this story later and tomorrow.

Sources: Indians agree to trade Sabathia to Brewers for Minor Leaguers - ESPN.com

Brewers, Indians, agree on Sabathia - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal

Later Loser

2008-07-04T17:08:00.001-04:00

Happy July 4th to every one...... Nice parting gift from Joe Blow....a final blown save....He has finally been designated for assignment and we have been put out of our misery.

Enough With Joe-Blow

2008-07-02T09:26:00.004-04:00

Haven't we seen enough of this guy by now? I mean seriously, did the Tribe brass really think a career journeyman who had 45 saves last year where the majority of them were done with smoke and mirrors was going to repeat that? I know I didn't. Yet it seemed OK coming into 2008...or did it?

Joe Borowski is finished. Has been since the day he set foot onto the field in April. Did we not see him topping out at 82-83 MPH? True story - I was at the Red Sox/Indians game on April 14th. The Tribe took a 4-3 lead into the ninth and before the inning started, I said to the person I was with "we are outta here after the bottom of the eighth." He looked startled and asked why we would do something like that. My response was simple: "do you really want to be here when Borowski blows it? I know I don't." Sure enough, Julio Lugo led off with a double, Coco Crisp bunted him to third, Dustin Pedroia sac fly'd Lugo home, David Ortiz singled, and of course Manny Ramirez hit one that still hasn't landed yet for the Sox 6-4 lead. Kevin Youkilis then doubled before Joe-Blow was put out of his misery by Eric Wedge.

What struck me that night was not that he blew the game, as was expected. Rather, it was something Tom Hamilton said as the 9th inning dragged. He mentioned from the first pitch that "something clearly isn't right with Borowski." Then noticed he wasn't hitting more than 82-83 on his fastball. That's just not going to cut it for a long reliever, let alone your supposed closer. Yet, the Indians trotted him out there to close a game, knowing he had nothing, against the team that stole their World Series title from them less than a year ago.

So they put Joe-Blow on the DL a day later with and elbow injury. The thinking from all sides, except for the Indians brass of course, was that Borowski was finally done, at least done closing for that matter. Nah...not our with our Tribe! On May 23rd, he was activated and put right back into the closer's role. Not that it has mattered much.

Last night was a prime example. The Wahoos were desperate for a W, any kind of W. Our boy Casey Fake (who by the way is having a very nice season and should attract a bunch of trade offers) hits a solo pizza in the 10th to break a 1-1 tie (how about those Tribe bats!) and Wedge again turns it over to his closer, who was hitting a whopping 86 on the gun. I bet you can't guess what happened? Yep, with two outs, he gave up a solo shot to Alexei Ramirez (not exactly Jim Thome), a single to pinch-hitting great (ha ha) Dewayne Wise, who then promptly steals second, and "closes" it off by giving up a game-winning RBI single to Orlando Cabrera. Tribe loses 3-2.

Not like Joe-Blow had to face Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, and Joe Crede! He was handed a one run lead and the bottom of the order and couldn't deliver. What is the friggin point in trotting this old man out there any longer? The season is over. There is no closer in 2009. So lets see if we can invent one over the last three months. As John Hart used to say "closers grow on trees." Bring up Jeff Stevens from AAA and hand him the job. See what he can do. Or why not try it with Jensen Lewis (why is he still in Buffalo while Edward "4A" Mujica and Rick Bauer are still up here?). What about Akron closer Randy Newsom? Dude is 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA 24 saves.

Try anything, but please, Shappy, for the love of your loyal fans like myself, enough with Borowski. And while your at it, same thing goes for David Dellucci, Andy Marte, and Jorge Velandia.

How Low Can You Go?

2008-06-30T21:48:00.004-04:00

Just when you think it can't get worse, out comes Jeremy Sowers with his gas can and torches the place. The game is still in the 6th inning with the Tribe trailing 8-2. More poor at-bats by the Tribe and worse pitching by Sowers, who clearly has lost his luster as a top prospect, marred another ugly evening.

And you thought rock bottom came with the three stooges (David Dellucci, Andy Marte, Jorge Velandia) hitting 7-8-9 on Sunday.

Sowers gave up a three-run pizza in the first to Jim Thome and a grand slam to Nick Swisher in the third. Eight earned in three innings. Not what the Tribe brass is looking for from a their once-prized prospect and first round pick. As for Sowers, here is the bottom line - he is a soft tossing lefty who at best is a fifth starter in this league. He is a mirror image of the team he plays for; a guy with no margin for error who can't seem to get his act together.

His value peaked last year and Mark Shapiro should have dealt him this spring for a bat. Wouldn't Carlos Quenton look good in left for the Red, White, and Blue right now? He was acquired by White Sox GM in the winter for a A ball first basemen who isn't hitting his weight this year. Quinton, a former top power hitting prospect and came into Monday night leading the AL in homers with 19, fourth in RBI with 61, and hitting .285.

Meanwhile, the Indians went into the season with a platoon of Big Dave Dellucci and K-Mike in left, that lasted a month and a half before the K-Mike was dumped and DD was relegated to pinch-hitting duty while the Indians fell out of contention. Since he stole from us on the Marte is the only player with zero RBI line, we will steal right back from a certain fat-man PD columnist, who dropped this gem line about DD - Dellucci was 15 for his last 27 going into the game. That's 15 strikeouts, not -- don't be silly -- hits.

Mark Shapiro has gotten a lot of heat of late for this poorly constructed roster and rightfully so. I mean come on, are Jorge Velandia, Andy Marte, Sal Fasano, Rick Bauer, Edward Mujica, and David Dellucci all really on this roster at the same time? I don't care about the injuries. This is supposed to be a contender!

But Shappy isn't the only one who deserves blame, what about the men who are in charge of the amateur draft? Of the Indians first and second round picks of the last 10 years, only one, Sowers, is on the current major league roster. For deeper info on how brutal these drafts were, read this. That is a sad, pathetic state if affairs. Want to know why the Diamondbacks and Rays are in first place? Look at their drafts. Arizona, in successive years from 03-05, took starters Connor Jackson, Quenton, Stephen Drew, and Justin Upton. Tampa has seen the careers of first rounders B.J. Upton, Delmon Young (who turned into SP Matt Garza), and Evan Longoria all blossom into studs.

That's a far cry from the likes of Corey Smith (00- out of baseball), Dan Denham (01- still in AA), Alan Horne (01 - didn't sign and is now in AAA with the Yankees), Jeremy Guthrie (02 - a one year wonder struggling in Baltimore), and Brad Snyder (03 - can't get above AAA and can't hit). Nice run. No wonder the cupboard is so bare.

This is precisely why the Indians MUST trade C.C. Sabathia and not allow his to walk for two draft picks. Because lord knows what they will do with said picks!

Seriously, we are running out of ways to describe how this season has become a complete and utter disaster. Since Sowers was the first round pick in 04, we figured we'd go that route. Don't fret, I'm sure we will find more things to pick at over the coming weeks.

oh, by the way, isn't it nice watching Brandon Phillips destroy you one day and Jim Thome the next?

Dellucci, Marte, and Velandia

2008-06-29T14:40:00.003-04:00

They are in todays lineup and that is all you need to know about this baseball team. The season is now over and watch out, because now that playing the JV is over (National League) it will only get worse. Not that this team can beat anyone from the NL. Pathetic. Someone explain to me why Andy Marte is even on the roster? Dave Dellucci? Explain it to me. Yes, Franky G is bad, but at least he can run a ball down or two in the outfield.

Last Place Rules!

2008-06-26T10:09:00.006-04:00

From the department of redundancy department, the Indians lost last night because they couldn't score runs and couldn't deliver with runners in scoring position. Only the 2008 Tribe, picked to win the World Series by both ESPN's Peter Gammons and Buster Olney, would get completely shut down by Barry Zito, currently the worst starting pitcher in the league.

Consider the following:

-The former Cy Young winner and the reason nobody will give C.C. Sabathia a seven-year deal, came into the game with a sterling 2-11 record and a 6.32 ERA.

-His last outing, he lasted two innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits and four walks.

-His previous four starts, he gave up 25 hits and walked 17 hitters in 17 innings.

Yet, the sad sack, pathetic, boring, dull-ass Indians offense watched and flailed away for Six and 2/3 innings, collecting just one run on four hits. ZERO WALKS. Nice approach. The guy couldn't beat the little sisters of the poor, and Eric Wedge's offense only gets on base four times against Zito?

We are running out of ways to describe the lack of offense at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Can it get any worse? Good news Wahoo fans - we haven't reached the half way point in the season and your team resides in LAST PLACE at 35-43. The Indians haven't been in the cellar this late in a season since 1993. What's amazing about it is the starting pitching still ranks 4th in ERA at 3.79.

The highlight of the night was watching Casey Blake play SS in the 9th. Solid showcase move by Eric Wedge. Another thing - we may have to change the name of the site to "Dump Andy Marte." He is beyond worthless. Nice pinch-hitting effort last night.

I'm done for the day. What an embarrassment.

Another Night, Another Bad Loss

2008-06-25T10:03:00.005-04:00

I will say this, the pre-game Omar tribute gave me the chills. They gave #13 a beautiful video tribute highlighting his spectacular moments during his 11 years as an Indian, and then I had to sit in my seat, bored to tears, watching a putrid offense barely register a pulse and blow yet another great pitching performance for one of its starters in a 3-2 loss.

Every year it seems like its one pitcher in particular who doesn't get run support. This year, while it seems to be all of them, the biggest loser seems to be lefty Aaron Laffey. In his 11 starts, the Tribe has scored three runs or less seven times. Last night was no different. He left with two outs in the seventh allowing just one run on four hits. Nothing like a 4-4 record with an ERA of 2.83.

Back to the offense. How many more 1-9 with RISP can we take? Kelly Shoppach was especially brutal last night as well. Not only did he K three times, including one with two on and two out in the ninth, but it was his awful throwing error that allowed the game-winning run to score in the eighth. More negatives:

Andy Friggin Marte - Enough with this guy already. I know he has only 50 at bats this season, but he went 0-2 with the bad strikeouts, moving his batting average to .14o. Not to mention the fact that he still hasn't driven in a run the entire year. I can't find the stat, but he has to be the only position player who made an opening day roster who hasn't spent any time on the DL and has yet to have an RBI next to his name.

Shin-Soon Choo - Don't look now, but Choo is in a massive 3-20 slump.

Kelly Shoppach - Is he getting exposed by playing everyday? All of a sudden, his defense has fallen off the table. Said manager Eric Wedge. "He's been erratic. He just needs to dial it in a little more."

Closer, We Need One - I know he looked shaky last night, but did you see the smoke young Giants closer Brian Wilson was throwing last night? Dude was touching 97 regularly in the ninth and picked up his 20th save in 22 chances. Enough with the garbage of the Wickman's and the Borowski's of the world, give me a hard-throwing dude all day long.

At least last night "Little O" got his due. The crowd of over 29,000 gave him several standing ovations, and he made two vintage-Omar plays: he laid down a beautiful suicide squeeze in the ninth to bring home the Giants third run and made a beautiful back-handed stop and jumping throw to second to get the second out in the ninth.

It was a perfect evening for Omar. Jhonny Peralta had to be miserable.

But is it Really Over?

2008-06-24T14:22:00.006-04:00

The Tribe takes two of three in LA and the White Sox get swept by their North Side brethren and can't seem to win on the road (that is 9 straight after Sunday night). The Twins are still the Twins and while they are 40-36 and doing it with smoke and mirrors, does anyone really think they will be sticking around come September? Then there are the Motor City Kitties. They have been feasting on that joke of a division that is the NL West. They sit 36-39, five games back of the Chi-Sox.

What does all of this mean for the Indians?

In fourth place at 35-41 and six games back, do they still have a realistic shot to get back into this race? You know "The grinder" himself Eric Wedge thinks so. The same problems remain. To paraphrase GM extraordinaire Shappy: "we are without our #2 and #3 starters, our #3 and #4 hitters, and our bullpen is a mess."

Don't forget about the fact that Jhonny Peralta is a statue at SS barely hitting his weight, Ryan Garko trades months where he is hotter than baked clams one week than colder than my ex-sister in law the next. Second base has gone from Asdrubal Cabrera (fighting to get to the Mendoza line before getting sent down to Buffalo) to Josh Barfield (one game, broken finger) to Jamey Carroll (best used as a utility man, he is 34 after all). Franklin Gutierrez has been a disappointment at the plate and is now in a platoon with Shin-Soo Choo. David Dellucci and Casey Blake are still David Dellucci and Casey Blake.

The point of all of this is that with everything that is going on, the question remains if the Indians are truly out of it. Here is what the plan should be for the next three-four weeks:

1. Play Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Francisco, and Franklyn Gutierrez in the two corner OF spots and leave them there in some sort of rotation. Francisco's bat and Franky G's glove are too valuable, as is the total package Choo is offering. There is ZERO reason for Double Deez to see anything other than pinch hitting duty.

2. Get Jensen Lewis back up here and let him throw in the seventh. Is it just me or do you think the arms of Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, and Masa Kobayashi will fall off by mid-August. Luckily for them, the Indians have had plenty of blow outs in the opponents favor, leaving ample innings for long man Scott Elarton and "No-Dick" Rick Bauer. As Terry Pluto wrote on Sunday "I think we've all seen enough of Edward Mujica." Also, like they did with Jenny last year, give me Jeff Stevens and prepare him in the middle innings. Pluto calls the player to be named later int he Brandon Phillips debacle as "the best reliever to come through Akron since Rafael Betancourt."

3. Get Morgan Ensberg up here, give him starts at 3B and let Fake play some 1B. When Garko is slumping (like he has been for the last week), his at-bats are brutal. Andy Marte is worthless, as is Jorge Velandia. At least we know Ensberg used to have some game.

4.Wait a week, dump Velandia, and bring back AC. Play him four-five days a week at SS, while DH'ing Jhonny Peralta. Cabrera is hitting over .370 in close to two weeks in Buffalo and playing "sensational" defense, according to his current manager Torey Lovullo. This will help both players thrive. Jhonny's range rivals my 94 year old grandmother these days.

5. Consider dumping Paul Byrd for prospects while there is still a market for him and bring up former first round pick David Huff. Lets see what a rotation of five lefties looks like. Remember the days of the five-righty rotation where unless you got spot starts from memorable names like John Smiley, Brian Anderson or Jason Jacome, you wouldn't see a lefty until Paul "The Ass Man" Assenmacher came trotting in form the pen? (I loved the Ass Man, but was more partial to Al Morman.)

Up next is another of the soft-underbelly of the NL West, the San Francisco Giants. This signals the return of one of Cleveland's favorite sons, Omar Vizquel. I will be down at the Jake tonight to give Omar a standing "O." Through all of the big bopper years, Omar may have been the most beloved of the red, white, and blue. He flashed the leather, and his million dollar smile, on a daily basis and never seemed to ruffle any feathers, unless your name is Jose Mesa. It's funny how now people talk about Omar as if he were a God, yet most Tribe fans were pushing him out the door '04for the younger Peralta. Now, all you hear is "Omar would have made that play with ease."

That is the truth. With apologies to Ozzie Smith, Omar is the best defensive shortstop any of us will probably ever see. It was a pleasure to watch him work his magic here for 10 years and it will be a pleasure to see him take the position he owned tonight.

Season's Over- Time For Thomas

2008-06-20T06:33:00.004-04:00

A few years ago at Thanksgiving at my uncle's house, many members of the family joined together in the basement to play with the kids. My son was very enthralled with Thomas the tank engine at the time; Thomas is a big blue fictional locomotive that lives on the Island of Sodor and kids just are infatuated with him. Anyways, he was playing pinball and when he got done he turned to me and my brother and said "Game's over it's time for Thomas". Now we can all say together that it applies to our Tribe, cuz it is time for Thomas.

The Indians were swept in Colorado yet again. They were swept on the road in interleague yet again. They are now 33-40 and 8 and a half games back of first place Chicago. The season is over. Read the quotes from Mark Shapiro in todays Monolith: "We do understand the reality," said Shapiro. "We are without our No. 2 [Carmona] and No. 3 [Westbrook] starters. We don't have our No. 3 [Hafner] and No. 4 [Martinez] hitters. It is what it is."

Last night exposed the Tribe. No speed, yet the Rocks have it with Willy Taveras (whom the tribe dealt to Houston for basically nobody). Brutal defense up in the middle, led by ski-boot wearin Jhonny Peralta at SS, a lollipop armed CF in Grady Sizemore, and a backup catcher turned regular right now who is a passed-ball machine and cannot throw anyone out in Kelly Shoppach. No true cleanup hitter. It is not Travis Hafner, healthy or not, neither is it Victor Martinez nor Ryan Garko, whose at-bats in Colorado this week were very lame.

Thank goodness Mr. Clutch himself, Casey Blake, is heating up. His 3 for 4 night last night including a solo thin slice will only up his trade value. I cannot wait until he is dealt to a contender soon.

Summer has not yet officially started and our boys are already done. Bring up Wes Hodges, because no matter what-- I will still watch every game.

On a side note, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer agrees with us in his morning column. In big bold print in the middle of today's PD it says "A Season Beyond Repair - 08 Tribe is Done." Terry knows what's up

Back to Reality?

2008-06-19T09:00:00.003-04:00

Is this the real Cleveland Indians we are watching and was the last 4-2 homestand the aberration? One would think going out to Colorado would only enhance the Tribe's offensive upswing. Oh contrare, mon frair (no clue how to spell that). The Wahoos went back to what they do best; forgetting to come through in the clutch. Rally's seem to die with a whimper, and after another 4-2 loss, the Indians now sit in fourth place, 7.5 games out of first. I feel like I sound like a broken record when I say "does this team EVER get a big hit?"

With two on and nobody in the 7th and Jason Grilli on the hill, Eric Wedge went to the bench and lefty David Dellucci in the pitcher's spot. Good move. Unless that pinch-hitter is a scrub dog like Dellucci who K'd badly without swinging at the two pitches that were right down the middle, yet checking on the 2-2 pitch that was way out of the strike zone. Naturally, the only run the Indians could manufacturer in the 7th was on a passed ball and a Shin-Soo Choo sacrifice fly. Heaven forbid someone would drive one to the gap.

Meanwhile, the Indians lack of speed on both sides of showed of the ball yet again last night. While former Tribe prospect Willy Tavares was wreaking havoc on the basepaths (his infield single, stolen bases, etc) and with running down seemingly every fly ball hit in the spacious gaps of the Coors outfield, Wedge's boys continue to be a station to station club with zero speed; not to mention Jhonny Peralta's lack of range at shortstop continues to frustrate everyone.

You can live with Jhon's porous defense as long as he is hitting. After taking the collar again last night, Peralta sits at .231. He came to the plate in the 6th with two on and two out, and flied out. He is now hitting .188 with runners in scoring position. Who does he think he is, Fake? That was one run right there. On the other side, with two out in the 6th and noted Tribe killer (this series at least) Jeff Baker on second, Omar Quintanilla blooped one to short which 95% of the major league shortstops get too, but not Jhonny. The ball went over his head and a key run was pushed across. What about the 7th - Tavares' leadoff infield single? Jhonny's slow feet getting to the ball allowed the speedster to get on base. He eventually scored. (SIDE NOTE - it's not like they are getting beaten by Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, and Todd Helton - it's Tavarez, Baker, and Quintanilla).

If you are scoring at home, that is two runs Jhonny cost the Indians on defense alone.

One can only wonder how much longer they can leave Asdrubal Cabrera in Buffalo and Jhonny as the everyday SS. When AC plays short, it really made you realize just how bad Peralta's range truly is. As we stated before, you can live with it when Jhonny is hitting .280 with power. But its getting real late, early, and the time for re-evaluation of everything may soon be upon us.

We are setting the over/under on how many more days C.C. Sabathia is wearing Tribe Red, White, and Blue at 30.

Grady's Back

2008-06-16T09:09:00.003-04:00

Great to see the Wahoos take back to back series against teams they should beat at home. The Indians are not dead yet and neither is Grady Sizemore. DCB took a swipe or two at "the greatest player of our generation" a few weeks back and with Travis Hafner and Vic Martinez on the shelf, Grady has had to step up and he has. Sizemore with 9 homers in his last 16 games. He is hitting 317 over his last ten games and has four multi-hit performances during that span. His 17 jacks rank his second in the AL behind Josh "alright" Hamilton of the Rangers.

It is not an easy task to ask Grady to see pitches and try and get on-base as opposed to what he really is: a run producer who tends to strikeout. MSM'ers are debating whether or not Sizemore should stay in the leadoff spot or not and my opinion is he should stay where he is-- for now. This club needs a true leadoff man, but it is obvious that person is not on the roster currently or even down on the farm. Jose Reyes would be perfect, but as si.com's Jon Heyman wrote if the Tribe wants to deal for the five-tool SS, they would have to send Grady to the Metropolitains.

One other note as pointed out by my homey Warren Bremerton: No Dave Dellucci= Wins. Big Dave is 7 for his last 31 with 7 K's. Keep him on the bench.

Now What?

2008-06-13T08:14:00.002-04:00

The Tribe bats go off for 12 runs and a season-high 18 hits. Aaron Laffey pitched six strong innings, but there is a lot of doom and gloom in the Wahoo Nation. With the news that Catcher Victor Martinez will miss the next 6-8 weeks after having surgery to clean out his elbow, the Indians probably picked the worst time to have to make a run. The White Sox were just swept by the Tigers and the Indians have taken won three of four with a favorable schedule of NL West teams and the Cincinnati Reds ahead of them.

They have to make the run now, and they will have to do it without their captain. He's been giving his all, playing hurt with hamstring and shoulder injuries all year, but clearly Victor was not the same guy. "He wasn't hurting every single day, every single at-bat, every single throw," said Wedge. "It was here and there. . . . Until it becomes a daily thing, and the guy is strong enough to go out and play, you want him to go out and play. And he wants to do that.

"He knows we're better as a ball club with him at 80 percent, especially when you have other injuries to other key players." The good news is this means more AB's for the best backup catcher in baseball, Kelly Shoppach. The bad news is that Yamid Haad currently sits on a roster that already possesses Jorge Velandia and Andy Marte. Nice bench!

Now we are looking at an everyday lineup essentially without you #3 and #4 hitters (Travis Hafner, or whoever that guy is who wears #48 these days also sits on the DL). With Jhonny Peralta barely hitting his weight (.225), where does this team go for offense? Ben Francisco has to keep mashing the way he has since he has come up from Buffalo. Last night's four-hit game was a clinic in line-drive hitting, something Travis Hafner hasn't done all year. Ryan Garko will continue to bat cleanup and will have to continue this hot streak. Believe it or not, Casey Blake becomes that more important to this offense, which has shown some signs of life in the past few weeks. Another man to watch is on-coming OF Shin-Soo Choo (three-run pizza last night), who like Francisco, has done nothing but rake since being activated from the DL.

The reality? This season is cooked. Without your main cogs in the lineup, on a team which has such a small margin for error, is missing 40% of its starting rotation, and has a bullpen in shambles, the time is now to trade C.C. Sabathia. Start the bidding. The earlier you deal him, the better the offers will be.

CC Shows Off

2008-06-11T09:24:00.004-04:00

Not a bad performance from the ace last night huh? CC Sabathia just flexes in a complete game, five hit shutout of the Twins last night 1-0. It is both cool and sad at the same time. Cool that the Indians triumphed and actually won two in a row for the first time since mid-May; sad because it may be one of the final times we see this from CC in a red-white- and blue uniform.

"I don't know what his record says this year," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, "but I think the home-plate umpire [Joe West] made the statement saying that's the best he's seen him throw this year or the last two years. That says a lot, because he did win a Cy last year."

I am one of those Wahoo fans that is always thinking positive and hopes somehow, some way, that CC can remain here. But lets be real, he's gone and likely will have to be traded before the deadline.

When CC is on his game it is extremely fun to watch. He is the leader of our team and has always represented Cleveland very well. It must have eaten at him throughout the game that his teammates continue to strand runners and pop out weakly to the Twins outfielders. The Tribe is a strikeout/weak flyout squad. I saw it first hand in Detroit on Monday. We do not make a lot of loud outs, that is for sure.

One dude that needs to get some love is Ryan Garko. 436 average over his last 10 games and 15 RBI. His at-bats are tremendous and he no longer looks like he is trying to pull the ball every time up. He needs to play everyday as does Shin-Soo-Choo. This race is not over yet, but the Tribe is definitely teetering on the brink of big trouble. One run on nine hits is unacceptable. Bad hammy or not, Victor Martinez has got to start delivering hits with RISP.