http://mvn.com/tribereport/ Cleveland Indians blog en Copyright 2009 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:50:20 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification

]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/06/10-ways-to-get-out-of-the-toilet-part-1.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/06/10-ways-to-get-out-of-the-toilet-part-1.html Chris Antonetti Cleveland Indians Eric Wedge Larry Dolan Mark Shapiro MLB Tribe Report Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:50:20 -0500 both of the common meanings apply well to the Indians. One meaning (an acronym for Mash Until No Good) refers the practice (common in software development) of making "repeated changes which individually may be reversible, yet which ultimately result in an unintentional, irreversible destruction of large portions of the original item."

That would apply to the Indians' outfield from 2005-09, wouldn't it? You start with Coco Crisp, Grady Sizemore and Casey Blake at the corner outfielder spots-- three guys who all have deficiencies, but also have strengths. Then it becomes Jason Michaels, Sizemore and Trot Nixon. Now we have Ben Francisco, Shin-soo Choo and Mr. Strikeout.

At third, there was Aaron Boone. who morphed into Casey Blake and now we have Mark DeRosa. Meanwhile, Andy Marte got 456 at-bats over three different years (hitting 9 homers and batting .219). He's now hitting ..343 with power in AAA, but everyone is so beaten down that nobody has the energy to try him again...
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/mung-14-25.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/mung-14-25.html A.L. East David Huff Eric Wedge Jamey Carroll Mark Shapiro Tampa Bay Rays Tribe Loss Cleveland Indians David Huff Eric Wedge Jamey Carroll Mark Shapiro MLB Tampa Bay Rays Tribe Report Sun, 17 May 2009 20:38:35 -0500
Human beings have a very strong urge to make connections between events. They create cause and effect relationships, even if they have no proof that the two events have anything in common. Jhonny Peralta doesn't play shortstop for three days in a row-- and then goes 11-17 in the next six games? You can say he needed a rest-- or that Eric Wedge put the fear of God into him by benching him.

Or you can say "OK, A did follow B-- but we have no proof that A was caused by B." Which is what the Latin quote at the headline means...]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/post-hoc-ergo-propter-hoc-14-22.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/post-hoc-ergo-propter-hoc-14-22.html A.L. East Aaron Laffey Eric Wedge Fausto Carmona James Shields Jhonny Peralta Tampa Bay Rays Tribe Win Aaron Laffey Cleveland Indians Eric Wedge Fausto Carmona Jhonny Peralta Matt Herges MLB Tampa Bay Rays Tribe Report Sun, 17 May 2009 01:35:05 -0500
As a result, I don't have much to say about this game. The Indians have historically beaten the daylights out of Mark Buehrle. Going into the game, he was 8-12 with a 4.85 ERA in 32 career starts. Even last year, he gave up 13 runs in 6.2 innings. So giving up 4 runs in 7 innings was Actually a good outing for him... or a reflection of the degree to which the lineup struggled.

Cliff Lee pitched very well-- and it was a very, very unusual outing for him...
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/indians-win-indians-win-13-22.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/indians-win-indians-win-13-22.html A.L. Central Chicago Whote Sox Cliff Lee Jermaine Dye Mark Buehrle Ozzie Guillen Tribe Win Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Cliff Lee Jermaine Dye Mark Buehrle MLB Tribe Report Sun, 17 May 2009 00:31:35 -0500
Much of it, I'm sure, stems from my upbringing. My aunts in St Louis-- the paramilitary psycho who lived down the street-- Gabe Paul and Phil Seghi. Guys like Sowers were always a part of the Indians' grand plan to win. Other teams coveted the guys who threw heat, or had the nuclear breaking pitches. Some clubs killed for guys who threw sinkers and got groundball outs.

But not my team. My front office was always looking for these 6'1", 180-pound guys who looked like a good breeze might rip them in half. They couldn't break a pane of glass and didn't have anything that a girl's fast pitch softball team couldn't clobber. It was one of the three most annoying things about the Indians in the 70's...
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/these-are-a-few-of-my-least-favorite-things-12-22.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/these-are-a-few-of-my-least-favorite-things-12-22.html A.L. Central Chicago White Sox Jeremy Sowers Tribe Loss Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Jeremy Sowers MLB Tribe Report Sat, 16 May 2009 15:58:15 -0500 Field of Dreams" on you,but baseball really is remarkable. You really can see something new every time you sit down.

On Monday, Gavin Floyd threw 107 pitches against Cleveland. Only 58 were strikes. That's a 54% strike percentage. I have been looking at pitch data and ball-strike breakdowns since 1986, and that's the first non-knuckleball game I can remember seeing a pitcher (a) cross the 100-pitch line, (b) not throw at least 66% strikes, and (c) not come close to either dividing line.

I mean, I've seen 101-pitch outings where the guy had 64 pitches  And I've gone back and looked at some of the records from the 60's and 70's, before anyone paid attention to this stuff and had my eyes boggled (Nolan Ryan had a bunch of them).

But I've never seen a manager of a non-expansion team let the starter throw 100 pitches when he couldn't get the ball over the plate. Thanks, Ozzie-- you made my day...
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/thank-you-ozzie-guillen-12-21.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/thank-you-ozzie-guillen-12-21.html A.L. Central Aaron Laffey Carl Pavano Chicago White Sox Gavin Floyd Rick Manning Tribe Win Carl Pavano Charlie Manuel Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Gavin Floyd Mike Hegan MLB Ozzie Guillen Rick Manning Tribe Report Sat, 16 May 2009 14:52:20 -0500
When the Indians lost 5-3 to the Tigers-- completing a 3-game sweep-- it was the 887th day since "Trader Mark" Shapiro signed David Dellucci and proclaimed "Mission Accomplished. " It was the fifth consecutive day that Dellucci had been in the lineup

Dellucci's single during this game brought his average up to .059 (1-17) during that period. He obviously had no extra base hits-- but he also had no walks and 4 strikeouts. Because he grounded into one double-play during that stretch, Dellucci managed to remove as many baserunners as he added.

In that five games, Matt LaPorta started one game. He went 1-3-- duplicating Dellucci's hit total. Because he walked, he managed to reach base twice as many times and Dellucci-- and did not hit into any double-plays.

And the Indians wonder why they're not scoring runs... ]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/on-day-887-david-dellucci-gave-to-me-11-21.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/on-day-887-david-dellucci-gave-to-me-11-21.html A.L. Central David Dellucci Detroit Tigers Eric Wedge Mark Shaprio Matt LaPorta Tribe Loss Cleveland Indians David Dellucci Detroit Tigers Eric Wedge Mark Shapiro Matt LaPorta MLB Tribe Report Sat, 16 May 2009 10:45:05 -0500
The Indians have also been held to one run five times. They've had four games in which they scored wither two or three runs. That makes 12 games-- more than 1/3 of the games played this year-- where the offense has given the pitching virtually no chance to win-- even with a well-pitched game.

Less than six weeks ago, some usually-reasonable people believed that the 2009 Indians were a playoff team. Maybe not a 95-win powerhouse, but at least an 86-win, "best of a pretty weak-ass division" winner.

But these guys have played like they knew they weren't that good-- and they intended to prove it to everyone. It's taken them 30 games, but they've finally made believers of just about everyone...
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/zero-for-two-11-20.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/zero-for-two-11-20.html A.L. Central Detroit Tigers Tribe Loss Asdrubal Cabrera Cleveland Indians David Dellucci Detroit Tigers Fausto Carmona Mark DeRosa MLB Shin-Soo Choo Tribe Report Sun, 10 May 2009 00:47:39 -0500 In baseball,                is 90% of the game. If the person answers "pitching", it is safe to ignore anything else he or she has to say.

The correct answer is "Nothing". There is no single factor that determines a team's success or failure 90% of the time. If such a skill existed-- if a team could assure its success 90% of the time by outperforming the opponent in that area-- every team in the league would move heaven and earth to achieve expertise in it. A team that could do that would win 90% of the time.

If you spend a fair amount of time studying all the different numbers generated in the course of a baseball season, you would eventually come to the conclusion that the three factors-- hitting, fielding and pitching-- are all about equally valuable.

But there is another good answer...]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/for-want-of-a-nail-11-19.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/for-want-of-a-nail-11-19.html A.L. Central Detroit Tigers Tribe Loss Cleveland Indians Cliff Lee Detroit Tigers Grady Sizemore Justin Verlander Kelly Shoppach MLB Tribe Report Fri, 08 May 2009 22:12:45 -0500 that strategy pay out in spades? What a brilliant, brilliant idea: Take Aaron Laffey out of the rotation and put him in the bullpen, then bring up Jeremy Sowers and put him in the rotation. Dump 30-year-old journeyman Vinny Chulk and his 3.75 ERA, and replace him with Matt Herges-- a 39-year-old journeyman who took banned substances and still stunk..

In spring training, I christened the Indians' GM "Trader Mark"-- after former GM "Trader Phil" Seghi-- because I saw some similarities between the guy currently in charge of the team, and the one who mismanaged it between 1973 and 1984.

But I never would have imagined that the nickname would fit like a glove. Because what has transpired in the last 72 hours is exactly the sort of nonsense I spent 25 years watching...
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/trader-mark-robs-peter-pays-paul-11-17-and-11-18.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/trader-mark-robs-peter-pays-paul-11-17-and-11-18.html A.L. East Boston Red Sox Tribe Loss Aaron Laffey Boston Red Sox Cleveland Indians Jeremy Sowers Mark Shapiro MLB Thu, 07 May 2009 21:39:24 -0500 Understatement of the Millennium Department: "What's happening here right now is unacceptable."-- Eric Wedge, discussing the bullpen, after the game.

Part of me really wants to feel sorry for Wedge right now. With two exceptions-- his glass-armed closer who'd worked the day before, and the guy who gave him two scoreless innings in the same game-- he ran through every reliever he had tonight. The only guy who came even remotely close to doing his job was Masa Kobayashi, who came in to close the barn door.

All managers take losing hard-- and losses like this are absolutely unbearable. But to a guy like Wedge-- who absolutely refuses to let anyone see him react-- this is especially brutal. An Ozzie Guillen or Jim Leyland has the release of throwing a temper tantrum. Wedge keeps it all bottled up inside.

But there's one catch: A fair amount of what is happening is his fault...
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/kill-em-all---let-god-sort-em-out-10-17.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/kill-em-all---let-god-sort-em-out-10-17.html A.L. East Toronto Blue Jays Tribe Loss Anthony Reyes Cleveland Indians Eric Wedge Jhonny Peralta Joe Smith MLB Tony Sipp Toronto Blue Jays Tribe Report Zach Jackson Tue, 05 May 2009 23:59:35 -0500 three times. On the first two occasions, the guys on the hill piddled it away-- and they came disturbingly close to doing it a third time.

This really should be a "feel-good" win, in many respects. Fausto Carmona continued his gradual drift towards adequacy. He allowed two runs in the first six innings-- and If Vernon Wells hadn't singled with two outs and men on second and third in the seventh, he'd have had a pretty good day.

Of course, it was the fourth different inning that Carmona had allowed runners to get into scoring position, so it's not like he was an innocent victim. He looks to be about 75% of the pitcher he was in 2007, and he needs to get another 10-15%. About once an inning, he has a bad at-bat-- can't get anything over or he throws something fat when Martinez is set up on the corners. He doesn't look that far away, however....
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/third-times-the-charm-or-you-cant-lose-them-all-10-16.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/third-times-the-charm-or-you-cant-lose-them-all-10-16.html A.L. East Toronto Blue Jays Tribe Win Brian Tallet Cleveland Indians Fausto Carmona Kerry Wood MLB Toronto Blue Jays Tribe Report Mon, 04 May 2009 23:38:34 -0500
But I did do my homework before I said that. Verlander, in 15 starts against Cleveland, is 4-10 with a 6.70 ERA.  All four wins were games like this. He usually loses because a couple of guys kill him-- Victor Martinez (30 at-bats) hits .300 with four homers and two doubles. Grady Sizemore (39 at-bats) hits .282, with 6 hits for extra bases and 8 walks. Shin-soo Choo is 5-14 (3.57).  Both Travis Hafner (.222) and Ryan Garko (.217) don't hit many singles, but they've combined for 4 homers and 9 walks in 50 at0bats.

Against him today, the first three guys didn't hit him (Choo walked twice) and the other two weren't playing.  In case you're wondering...
]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/he-or-thee-9-16.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/he-or-thee-9-16.html A.L. Central Detroit Tigers Tribe Loss Cleveland Indians Cliff Lee Detroit Tigers Eric Wedge Justin Verlander Matt LaPorta MLB Tribe Report Sun, 03 May 2009 17:22:54 -0500 Editor's Note: For some reason, this got saved as a draft 17 hours ago. Sorry.

Let's give 'em credit... Yesterday, I mentioned how hard it was to have to write the same sort of story day after day: "The Indians jumped out to a lead, the starter was cruising along-- then the hitters stopped hitting and the bullpen-- assisted in large part by the defense-- blew the game."

Today was something new-- The starting pitcher was really bad; the lineup evened the score. The bullpen gave up the lead; the lineup took it back. Then the bullpen and the defense blew the game.

So there are a few new things to say...

]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/a-change-of-pace-9-15.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/a-change-of-pace-9-15.html A.L. Central Detroit Tigers Tribe Loss Aaron Laffey Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Eric Wedge MLB Rafael Betancourt Ryan Garko Tribe Report Vinny Chulk Sat, 02 May 2009 23:51:42 -0500
For the last week or so, I've been hoping the Indians would act decisively and intelligently. Unfortunately, I'm still hoping. These moves don't make any sense. They look like panic moves-- and badly-thought out ones at that.

Let's start by setting up the depth chart, based on how the Indians have been using these players...]]> http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/do-i-hear-the-cavalry---or-is-that-f-troop.html http://mvn.com/tribereport/2009/05/do-i-hear-the-cavalry---or-is-that-f-troop.html AAA Cleveland Indians Trade Rumors Cleveland Indians Eric Wedge Mark Shapiro Matt LaPorta MLB Tribe Report Sat, 02 May 2009 12:18:13 -0500