For the latest with the Cleveland Indians
Sellers or Buyers – 6-17-08
The Tribe will be in the market for trades, but will they be looking to add or unload?
There hasn’t been a lot to cheer about, and little has gone right in 2008. At 33-37, they would be sunk already in other divisions, but are only 5.5 games back of Chicago in the Central Division. Many have made labeled them as “done” though.
It still may be a little early to completely write them off. First of all, the division is very mediocre. Chicago and Minnesota were supposed to be average, and they have both played only a little better than that. Detroit is still a scary team if that lineup could heat up, but they are behind the Indians, so they are currently a moot point.
Second of all, Cleveland has begun to show signs of life, as they have won their past two series (Minnesota and San Diego). Ryan Garko (.345, 16 RBI), Casey Blake (.340, 11 RBI), Ben Francisco (.323, 12 RBI), Jamey Carroll (.400), Shin-Soo Choo (.342, 11 RBI), and Kelly Shoppach (.267) have turned a page so far in June. Grady Sizemore has been the most encouraging. With Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez on the shelf, he has become the leader. He has been more vocal and has set the table for everyone else at the top of the order. In June, he is carrying a .310 average, .741 slugging percentage and has belted 7 homers.
There is no questioning this team has been hit with injuries, thus making it even harder to make a run. Jake Westbrook out for the season hurts more than anything. But it’s time for Jeremy Sowers to prove and Aaron Laffey to continue to prove why they were not tradable commodities last offseason.
The C.C. Sabathia situation will be interesting. There is no question, there will be many teams chomping at the bit to get him. There is also little question that he won’t be back in Cleveland next year. So it is time to shop him around.
And does parting with C.C. through a trade inhibit the Tribe from still making a run? No. Consider me crazy, but the rotation would still be better than average with Laffey, Fausto Carmona, Cliff Lee securing it and having Paul Byrd and Sowers in the last two spots. Mark Shapiro should start getting the feelers out there and see what’s available. Worst case is we go through the stretch run with the reining Cy Young winner – it’s not like they have to trade him.
It’s time to see if the depth that was valuable to Shaprio will pay off when it matters most. Guys like Francisco, Laffey and Shoppach will play a major part in what happens in the stretch run, and they’ll do it for the majority of time without anchors Westbrook, Hafner and Martinez.
Let’s see how this patchwork group handles the rest of the month of June before we dub the season over. They have a honey of a draw with their Interleague Play this year, battling with four sub-500 teams this month (Dodgers, Giants, Rockies, and Reds). Then they take a trip to Chicago as the calendar flips to July. Let’s wait and see where they’re at then before we say their goose is cooked.
Sincerely, an ever-faithful Cleveland fan.