For the latest rants from the Cleveland Indians
Hopefully April Showers will Bring the Tribe May Flowers – 5-12-08
Will the clouds break and stop raining on the Indians ’08 parade?
April was not kind to the Indians, but the sun has shined a bit so far in May. The Tribe is 6-4 since we turned the pages of the calendar, but this team still has a lot of winter rust to work out.
It’s been tough, but nothing is lost. The hitting should come around and having many pitching options instead of trading them away has proven again to be a valuable asset. Plus, no one else has exactly run away with the division to this point.
There are some issues that need to be worked out, and there are some grumbling and griping generated by fans and media that should be addressed.
First of all, the man they call Pronk should not be banished to the bench. From 2004-06, Travis Hafner was as feared as anyone in baseball. He pressed a bit last year, and his stats dropped. He started off slow this year and has pressed even harder to compensate. Sliding him down in the order is the correct move while he works through his swing and his timing. It’s too early to give up faith on our big slugger.
With that in mind, the Tribe needs to do everything they can to keep Victor Martinez, Hafner’s perfect counterpart, in the lineup. Currently leading the AL in batting, he is more of a gap hitter that could truly compliment Hafner’s pure power when he finds his touch. But getting him days off and starts at first base will be imperative so that he stays healthy.
With Hafner’s struggles, someone needs to step up and fill that void in the three-hole. With the offense struggling, why not slot Grady Sizemore into that role? Speculation over the years that he will eventually be a heart of the order guy has led to this. He currently leads the team in home runs (6) and the lineup would look pretty fierce with Sizemore before Martinez. David Dellucci, Jamey Carroll or Franklin Gutierrez can hold down the leadoff role for the time being. It would be an interesting experiment to try out for a week or so.
Ben Francisco should be in a Tribe uniform the entire season – period. He has nothing else to prove in Triple-A. He brings pop and a steady glove to any outfield position – just the kind of spark they need right now.
Keeping him on will be more difficult when Shin-Soo Choo comes off of the DL though. Choo may return in the coming weeks, and the already crowded outfield will get that much more congested. Choo is out of options, but it shouldn’t be Francisco that is sent back down when Choo arrives in Cleveland.
Andy Marte – also out of options – will most certainly be shipped out of town by that time. He was once a “can’t miss” prospect. Then two organizations traded him, and he eventually landed in Cleveland. Since that time he has done nothing to show that he deserves the hype as he has hardly played in the last season and a half, leaving many to believe that it just isn’t meant to be. Casey Blake isn’t getting any younger, but he still has a few quality years left, and won’t be sat down in favor of Marte anytime soon. It’s time to get the player to be named later out of him that will inevitably come when Choo is back.
It’s painful to say this, but Asdrubal Cabrera could use sometime in Buffalo. He’s down to .194 with no home runs. Carroll has played decent, and certainly Josh Barfield could benefit from a confidence boost on the big-league club. Cabrera needs to get back to what made him great last year, and the Indians don’t have the time to let him to continue to struggle while he makes the adjustment.
The rotation, while up and down at times early on, has started to settle in. C.C. Sabathia after loosing his first five decisions has impressed in his recent starts. Fausto Carmona has been solid, and Aaron Laffey has proved why it is important to not trade away young pitching depth. And Cliff Lee, the April Pitcher of the Month, has been as solid as any hurler in baseball. He along with Martinez, have been the two bright spots on the club. Paul Byrd (1-3, 4.28 ERA) hasn’t been exactly sensational, but trade talks are certainly premature. He is still a stable force in the bottom of the rotation, and is a victim of circumstance in that his ERA is respectable but is pitching for a team that isn’t scoring many runs.
The bullpen has been equally rocky at times. Here is the solution: never, ever let Joe Borowski close a game again. Joe-Bo’s unstable, quivering facial expressions and jittery, nervous actions in the ninth inning are enough to make Tribe fans squirm. Masahide Kobayashi has been solid, and if he could assume the role, that would straighten out the rest of the bullpen. Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez would all fit back into the roles they were successful in last year.
Lastly, please trade Jason Michaels…oops, forgot to check this off the list.