Thoughts on the Tribe After a Quarter of the Season
The Cleveland Indians once again stumbled out of the gate to start the season. The team lost their first five games this season and haven't been much better as of late. The team has yet to go on a sizable winning streak and may already be dead in the water. The Tribe's party line has been that they are only 8.5 games back, but the fact of the matter is that they are in last place. If the team wants to compete, they have to start looking at moves to make. The Chicago White Sox, not as bad as the Indians but still swimming upstream, tried to better their team by trading for 2007 Cy Young winner Jake Peavy. Luckily for the AL Central rivals, Peavy opted to use his no trade clause to veto the deal. The point that the White Sox made by trying to acquire Peavy was clear however. They are not ready to give up on the season. The Indians just deal in rhetoric regarding their state of losing baseball. Here is what I think that the Indians could do to better themselves as we head to the make or break portion of the season.
The Indians have two catchers which is arguably the most important position in the field. Victor Martinez is hitting around .400 and looks like he is back after an injury plagued season in 2008. Kelly Shoppach is underused and has had only 71 at bats this season. Keep in mind that Shoppach hit 21 home runs in less than 400 bats in last season. Trade either Shoppach or Martinez in exchange for relief help. There is always a market for a high quality catcher and the Indians could probably also get a top prospect along with an arm that can help right now in the bullpen.
Pitching help is the biggest need of the team. No one would argue that it's not. Two high quality arms still are out in free agent land. One, Paul Byrd, has been lobbying for teams to bite. He is well respected within the clubhouse and if he would accept a job in the bullpen to work an inning here and there and could do wonders for the team. Another player that may be worth looking at is Greg Maddux. Yes, Maddox retired last season but didn't Roger Clemens retire about 8 times in his career. Maddox is probably getting bored playing golf every day and wouldn't mind answering a phone call about helping a team out and working some innings. On the farm, Jeanmar Gomez might be able to make the quantum leap to the big leagues as he is completely dominating at Double-A. Before you say he is too young, take a look at Tom Gordon's stats with the Kansas Royals in 1989 a year removed from A Ball. In all honesty, you could probably get a bum off Euclid Avenue and they would be more effective than what they have been getting from the latest incarnation of the "Bullpen from Hell".
While the offense hasn't been the problem for the club, they look a lot better with Grady Sizemore in the second slot in the lineup. Manger Eric Wedge says often that Sizemore is more comfortable in the leadoff role. I don't care if he is comfortable or not its not good for the team. Sizemore should be hitting third in the lineup with his power. I don't know if Asdrubal Cabrera starting things off is the answer either but I don't have a problem seeing him try to grow into that role. Wedge letting Sizemore leadoff for so long is head scratching and the fact that Mark Shapiro didn't address the role of a real leadoff hitter (a Chone Figgins type player who could play corner infield would have been the perfect fit) befuddles me.
Back to Wedge. How can his job be safe? This is the second straight year that the team has failed to meet expectations at the start of the season. We went through the 2006 meltdown. Then the 2007 collapse against Boston. Both those seasons looked like we were destined to be World Series champs in the middle of September, and it was so close in '07 that Tribe fans could taste it. Last season's slow start was understandable as the air was out of the balloon after being so close the year before. 2009 now looks like the beginning of a trend of a downward spiral. If you let Wedge off the hook for the poor start it sends a message that the team is not committed to winning. It is time to get a fiery manager in the dugout to whip the players into shape and maybe salvage the season and start filling Progressive Field before we become a laughing stock in Major League Baseball.
