Indians Confidential

You can take the Indians recent 4-2 homestand vs the Twins and Padres one of two ways - you can look as it as a step in the right direction that the team won two straight series’ and the offense is coming around, or you can simply look at it like they are just staying enough above water for Mark Shapiro and company not to pull the plug on the season and start looking to shop around players like C.C. Sabathia.

On a positive note, after being at and watching the last six games, if you don’t agree that Grady Sizemore is not one the five most exciting players in the game, then you don’t watch a lot of baseball. Sizemore almost lifted this team on his shoulders from an offensive standpoint over the last week, hitting .310 with 5 homers and 9 RBI. Sizemore simply took the offense to another level this week, and picked up the slack when the team needs it with Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner on the bench.

I enjoyed watching the youth of this team get going as well this past homestand, with players like Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez and Kelly Shoppach all having a part in winning games at the plate. The team scored 48 runs this past week, an average of 6.8 runs per game. That has got to be an encouraging sign to management and manager Eric Wedge.

Yes, there were moments of frustration, such as Paul Byrd having a poor outing on Wednesday night in the teams 8-5 loss to the Twins. Byrd is one player that has never got on track this season, and in his last five starts is 1-3 and has allowed 21 runs as well as 7 homers. One has to wonder if his time as a quality starter in the Majors is over. Byrd is a class act and has always spoken out when he has had poor outings, but if this team is going to make a run, his pitching simply has to improve, and he’ll be the first to admit that.

The bullpen continues to be the great unknown, as pitchers like Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, and Masa Kobayashi have to be on the verge of giving Wedge an ulcer. You never know how these players will respond in tough situations. In the Saturday night loss, the team got into the 8th with a 3-2 lead, and Perez gave up a homer on the second pitch after a good outing by Betancourt. Then in the 10th, Edward Mujica walked in what was the game-winning run, and then made matters worse by allowing a grand slam.

One beat reporter commented to me that he has no idea what the team sees in Mujica, as he has been terrible this season, allowing three homers in 6 games he’s pitched in, and has an ERA of 9.00. Add to that the 8.31 ERA in 13 innings pitched in 2007, and the reporter who made that comment to me has a valid point, and one that the team should look at.

Overall though, I’d have to say the week had more positives than negatives, and the team did gain a game on the Sox to move within 5.5 of first. With the Rockies, Dodgers, Giants and Reds up next, all teams under .500, this team seems poised to finally tell us once and for all if 2008 is going to be a season of hope, or a season of despair.

You had to know this was coming.  Despite the fact that the Indians have stated they really are in no mood to be trading players, at least not yet, today’s New York Times is just throwing it out there - the Yankees wouldn’t mind C.C. Sabathia.  The story goes is that with the latest injury to Victor Martinez, there is no way the Indians can win the Central, and they likely will look to move C.C.  Yes, that is a possible option for the team, but Mark Shaprio told us on Wednesday that he feels the Central is a wide open division, and that it’s no secret trading Sabathia means surrender.

Of course what the article does not point out is that Shapiro continues to say that the team still has hopes that Sabatiha will be a part of the team in 2009.  It’s going to take a mega-deal, but it’s hard to believe that any team is going to give up two or three top prospects for Sabathia for 3-4 months.  The Yankees have made numerous deals over the years that have put their farm system in skelton mode.  Where they get the prospects for Sabahia is anyones guess.

Bottom line - forget it NY…Sabathia is not coming your way anytime soon.

Yanks Would Have Interest in Sabathia

Tribe GM Mark Shapiro had a long media session today with the media at Progressive Field about 4:30pm. The topics were vast, including thoughts on the season to date, where the team is headed, trades, injuries, players that have stepped up and those that have not, the theory of doing things different this past offseason, and if this team can recover and win the AL Central.  Take some time and listen to the media session, its quite interesting to hear what the GM of the Tribe is currently thinking.

 

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Talked about this the other day and earlier today here on the site, and it was not much of a shock when it hit the wire that the Tribe cut Jason Michaels earlier today.  He was simply not living up to his part of the left field platoon that began the season between he and David Dellucci.  Maybe if the team was playing better, or if others on the team were hitting, having Michaels in a slump would not be as big as it was.  But, with the team barley hitting 31 games into the season, some moves have to be made.

“This one transaction is not going to solve all our offensive woes,” Mark Shapiro said Monday. “Jason Michaels was certainly not the primary cause. We just feel it’s time for us, where we can, to start to make some small moves that might help. But the answers to our offensive issues lie within. When you have five to seven guys up and down your lineup struggling, you are not able to make one move or two moves to solve those problems.”

Michaels is hitting .207.  Ben Francisco should be able to help the offense at least a little bit.  He was hitting pretty well in Buffalo, and last season hit .318, winning the International League batting title.  Bottom line is if he can hit .250 or better, he’ll be a welcome addition to the lineup.

You can do a lot passing the time waiting for a rain dealy to pass. While the delay never ended Friday night, I had the pleasure of dining with two of my favorite vets in the Cleveland media - Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer and Greg Brinda, sports talk host of ESPN 850 WKNR. While it was fun to trade some personal stuff with these solid vets, we also talked some Indians. Here is a quick set of highlights of our discussions:

Travis Hafner - We all agreed that the issues that are hindering Hafner are not issues that are going to be solved quickly. Travis’ problems that started last year are far and away a complete mystery as to not only why they started, but what he can do to get it turned back around. Hoynes compared Hafner’s sudden lack of power to fomer Indian Carols Baerga, whose issues off the field and lack of production eventually got him traded to the Mets in 1996.

The Closer Role - We all agree that putting Joe Borowski right back in the closer role is a risky call, but as Paul pointed out - could it get any worse than it is right now? We also all came to the conclusion that one wild card in the closer mix could be Masa Kobayashi, who seems to have adjusted nicely in the Majors. One thing appears for sure - Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez and Borowski don’t appear to be the answer.

Adding a Spark to the Offense - Hoynes thinks that Mark Shapiro is going to have to make a move and add a bat to the lineup, and I don’t disagree with that. Bringing up Ben Francisco and keeping him on the Major League roster is something that should be done soon. As far as some of the players that could be on the bubble of being sent elsewhere or even being shown the door include Jason Michaels (.207), Andy Marte (.077) and maybe reduced playing time for Jhonny Peralta (.229).

GM Mark Shapiro spoke to the media prior to Thursday victory over the Tigers, and it was more like he was trying to put out fires than anything else.  The one quote that is being bantered about here in the press box tonight is:  “After 15 games we’re not going to look at anything and say it necessitates action,” he said Thursday. “It necessitates concern, but not action, from a (roster) move standpoint.”

There was some other topics covered as well, and you can read the remainder of the article from Yahoo by clicking HERE.

Indians GM Mark Shapiro, pitcher Fausto Carmona, Agents Jorge Brito, Bean Stringfellow and Assistant GM Chris Antonetti speak to the gathered media about the new 7-year deal the team has given to the young pitcher. Click below to hear the entire press conference that took place today at Progressive Field.

 

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