Indians Confidential

For those that were wondering where the money is going on the Indians roster this season, consider the following when it comes to what the following players are making, and where on the club they rank:

1. Jake Westbrook $10 mil per year - On the DL for the rest of the year after major surgery, and may not be ready to go again till the summer of 2009.

2. Travis Hafer $8 mil per year - Has never hit the same after getting his new deal, and was struggling before that. Is on the DL with a shoulder issue that really has never been fully disclosed.

3. Paul Byrd $7.5 mil per year - 3-10 this year w/ a 5.53 ERA. Was the subject of a steroids scandal story in the ALCS, and since then he’s been cleared, but has never pitched as well as last season.

4. Casey Blake $6.1 mil per year - Having a solid season, batting .279 with 8 homers and 47 RBI, but likely will be traded before the deadline.

5. Victor Martinez $4.4 million per year - Tweaked his hamstring opening day vs the White Sox, and has not been the same. Lack of power alarming as he’s hitting just .278 with no homers and 21 RBI. Also on the DL.

7. David Dellucci $3.7 mil per year - Has basically been a bust in the two seasons with the team, hitting just .220 with 7 homers and 27 RBI, was hurt a good portion of last season, and will be gone when his contract is up.

9. Masa Kybayashi $3 mil per year - Has had good and bad moments in his first year playing ball in America. Has four saves and an ERA of 3.21. The team has hopes that he may eventually be the closer.

10. Jhonny Peralta $2.5 mil per year - Hitting .250 with 14 homers and 40 RBI. Still blasted by many for his shoddy play at short and lack of big hits, Peralta has never regained his 2005 form when he hit .292 with 24 homers and 78 RBI.

The other two players in the Top 10 not listed are Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore, two players that have lived up to or even passed expectations for this season.

1. Injuries: Jake Westbrook (elbow surgery) out for a year, catcher Victor Martinez (elbow surgery), Josh Barfield (finger surgery) out for a few months, Travis Hafner (shoulder) out for who knows how long, Adam Miller (finger surgery), Fausto Carmona (hip) having another “setback,” his return time is now the middle of July.

2. Bullpen: Currently ranks second worst in the American League in Earned Run Average. Once was a stable entity in the past. They are also last in the A.L. in saves.

3. Hitting: Indians currently sit last in the American League in hits and 11th out of 14 teams in the A.L. in on-base percentage. The injuries have taken there toll on the offense!

4. Void fillers: Guys like Peralta, Blake, and Garko have continued to struggle in the absences of Hafner and Martinez. In the past these players have stepped up when others were slumping, which has not been the case this year. None of these three players are currently hitting over .270.

5. Can’t win the Close ones: The Indians are currently 6-8 in games decided by one run. To be a contender these are the games you must win. (See Bullpen above)

6. Slow Start: With the high expectations for this team going into the year the Indians needed to jump out early. With the team being fairly young in age it was imperative for them to have some success in the early months of the season. March-May their record was 25-30.

7. Streaks: The Indians have gone on 2 runs this year in April they won 5 straight, however in May they lost 7 straight.

8. Struggling Ace: C.C. Sabathia has since turned his season around, but he began the season 1-5. His earned run average was 7.51 at that time and this did not bode well for the Tribe, nor the reigning Cy young Award Winner. His E.R.A. is currently 4.06.

9. Can’t Capitalize: The Indians are in the second worst division in all of baseball, yet they can’t seem to make ground on the other teams in the Central. The Detroit Tigers also came into the season with high hopes and they got off to an even worst start than the Tribe, but they now sit a game and half ahead of Indians in the standings.

10. Consistency: This team has not found any one thing that they are good at and consistent at. This has made Eric Wedge’s job more difficult and even more impressive.. If the team is good at one aspect of the game, then he could rely on that one thing and dwell on the many others. When it is all said and done, this could be Wedge’s best year in terms of managing because of the way that he has dealt with all of this teams obstacles.

In this latest audio interview, site editor Matt Loede talks with our newest staff member and host of the 10th Inning on ESPN 850 WKNR - Greg Brinda.  The pair talk about the season to date, the injuries, the outlook for the offense, and if the team is going to make any moves as the trade deadline nears.  Click below to hear this latest interview with ESPN’s Greg Brinda.

 

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As if playing shorthanded is not bad enough, the news went from bad to worse for the Indians this afternoon, as not only has catcher Victor Martinez been placed on the DL, the team also announced today that he will be arthroscopic surgery tomorrow to remove loose bodies from his right elbow joint.

Word is that Victor will be out 6 to 8 weeks, and that now the duties of the catcher role will be for Kelly Shoppach (.225 3 homers 7 RBI) and Yamid Haad, who was called up from Buffalo. Martinez has had a tough 2008, first he hurt his hamstring on opening day vs the White Sox and missed a few games, and now the elbow injury. So for now, here is the list of those hurt for the Indians:

C Victor Martinez
2B Josh Barfield
DH Travis Hafner
P Fausto Carmona
P Jake Westbrook (done for the year)

Hate to say it, but the winds of despair are blowing more than ever at Progressive Field, and morale has got to be on life support at this point after the news today.

From: The Indians

The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has placed CA VICTOR MARTINEZ (right elbow inflammation) & INF JOSH BARFIELD (left long finger sprain) on the 15-day disabled list.

To assume their place on the Major League roster the Indians purchased the contract of CA YAMID HAAD & INF JORGE VELANDIA from AAA Buffalo. The Indians will announce two moves relative to the 40-man roster this afternoon.

Haad has spent the entire season at AAA Buffalo after attending Major League camp as a non-roster invitee this spring. He has hit .159 (10-63) with 3 doubles and 3 RBI in 25 games for the Bisons this year. He joined the Indians organization last May and hit .301 (34-113) in 35 games for the Bisons in 2007. Over his 14-year professional career, he has appeared in 18 Major League games for San Francisco (2005) and Pittsburgh (1999), the last appearance coming on October 1, 2005. He will wear #59.

Velandia, 33, was signed by the Indians as a minor league free agent on May 26 and has appeared in 16 games for the Bisons (.235, 16-68, 2B, 2RBI). He spent the first part of 2008 at AAA Syracuse (Toronto) where he hit .287 (27-94) with 3HR and 12RBI in 28 games and later appeared in 2 games with the Jays in May (0 for 7, both games vs. Cleveland on 5/10, 5/12). In his Major League career, Velandia has hit .182 (43-236) with 2HR and 23RBI in 166 Major League games with San Diego, Oakland, New York-NL, Tampa Bay and Toronto. He will wear #11.

While the pitching staff has had its share of injuries as of late, now the injury bug has spread to more position players - including catcher Victor Martinez. The Tribe’s catcher is set to have an MRI today for inflammation in his right elbow. Victor is already suffering from a tweaked hamstring that he suffered way back on opening day vs the White Sox at Progressive Field. There was plenty of discussion with GM Mark Shapiro and Wedge Wednesday about the thought of putting Martinez on the DL, and while both said it wouldn’t happen, now the elbow may force the issue.

Wedge told the media postgame on Wednesday that the elbow pain is something that Martinez has been playing through for sometime. It has become more obvious that it’s also a reason why he is having an off season at the plate, hitting .278 with no homers and 21 RBI. If there is one thing about Martinez, it’s that he’s a hitter, and now more than ever the team should explore putting him on the DL and giving him a rest to see if he can come back and be his old self again.

Another position player that may find himself on the DL is second basemen Josh Barfield, who has a sprained finger. It took place on a check-swing Tuesday night that forced him to leave the game. Wedge said that its not all that uncommon of an injury, as when you check-swing your fingers continue to move forward, causing the sprain. Barfield will get looked at again today, and he may be headed for a trip to the DL.

Asked if that means Asdrubal Cabrera will find himself back on the MLB roster if Barfield is put on the DL, Wedge said that does not appear to be the case, but declined to reveal who would be brought up in his place. It would likely open the door to see more of Jamey Carroll at second base until Barfield is ready to play.

Eric Wedge said Sunday that the lack of power for Indians catcher Victor Martinez can be traced to a hamstring injury suffered back on opening day March 31st.  Martinez, who has a career average 25 homers per year in his MLB career, has no homers in 168 at-bats heading into tonights game at Texas.  Right now Martinez is mired in a 10-for-57 slump that has dropped his average to .292.  39 of 49 hits in 2008 are singles.