Saturday, September 02, 2006

Q & A

The Tribe finished 18-10 in the month of August (with 5 Blown Saves mixed in, as has been mentioned), which begs the question – where has this been all year?

While we’re in the inquisitive mood, here’s a few things to ponder over the weekend, while enjoying the OSU game:

Should the Indians have gone with these young players to begin the season (Sowers, Garko, Marte) and used the money spent on Johnson and Perez to fortify the bullpen, rather than hoping that Cabrera or Betancourt stepped up to the set-up role?

Is Eric Wedge a more effective manager with a young team that may be more receptive to his style than one that might have more veterans on it?

Had C.C. started the season healthy, Byrd effective, and Johnson nowhere near Cleveland, how would the Indians season have started?

Is Andy Marte the 3B going into Spring Training next year? What about Garko at 1B? With Kouzmanoff being the other option at 3B (and possibly at 1B), will Shapiro bring in a veteran 1B or give these youngsters a chance?

Now that Aaron Boone has apparently given Ryan Garko his nickname (Fred Flintstone, which is apropos), has nobody else noticed that he resembles a young John Belushi?

Can the Indians get to .500 by the end of the year?

Who will start in place of Jeremy Sowers when he gets shut down for the year (after 1 or 2 more starts)? Carmona? Guthrie? Adam Miller (unlikely, but tantalizing)?

Is Jason Michaels on this team next year, in a platoon with Choo? Or does Michaels settle into the 4th OF role, or simply find himself elsewhere next year?

No answers, just questions right now.

4 comments:

t-bone said...

1. I really dont fault any signings but Johnson, but it could be argued we should have started the year with these youngins.

2. Clearly yes.

3. We would be in the wild card hunt (and the sad thing, were we in the NL, we'd only be 4.5 games out of the wildcard).

4. Yes, it should be Marte's job to lose. Garko should probably be first shot at first, I am puzzled as what to do with Kouz. Garko and/or Kouz to RF? Who knows. I do not think we need to bring in a veteran 1B though.

5. I guess...

6. Yes, we will.

7. Fausto should get his starts and be kept there. We do not need him to turn into another Jason Davis.

8. I dont mind some kind of Michaels/Choo platoon, unless we find the RIGHT corner OF guy, and dont have to overpay too much for him. I'm under the belief that these bats can get it done, and while it would be nice to add a big one, we just need to overhaul the pen.

Rockdawg said...

Ryan Garko already has a nickname. dammit.

Cy Slapnicka said...

apparently aaron boone hasn't had the pleasure of having the name "Ryan Garko-my-god-did-you-see-how-far-he-hit-that" roll off his tongue. it sounds a whole lot better than the phrase "he's a good clubhouse guy". boone should stick to what he's good at, leaving runners in scoring position, remembering everyone in the clubhouse's b-days and starbucks orders and getting the other guys' cars washed.

t-bone said...

i echo your boone statements, but let's also give credit where credit is due. one thing boone is also good at is bagging former playmates (google laura cover and see for yourself). but then again, so are tim couch and jeff garcia.

at this point, i am firmly convinced this fact is the sole reason aaron boone is still on the 40-man roster, so she can be around the family room/family section.