Left my Broom in San Francisco

Upon completion of their first sweep of the season (Omar's Giants in 3), the Tribe is looking at a favorable schedule over the next two weeks in the friendly confines at Prospect & Ontario. The next 12 games, all at home, are against Colorado, Arizona, Boston, and Cincinnati. Let's say the Tribe takes 3 of the 4 series (and that is the WORST case scenario), they end up 38-35. Let's be honest though, with the state of the Rockies and Reds this season and Boston's pitching troubles, I'm looking for 40-33 coming out of the homestand. It's time to stop scoreboard watching, wondering how long the White Sox can keep this up, and take care of the business in our own ballyard.

Watching the Giants' series was a pleasure. This is how the season was supposed to be: good pitching, timely hitting, an occasional bullpen hiccup (Howry on Saturday night), but solid enough to beat up on inferior opponents. A 7-5 trip is not that bad, figuring in the way that they started in Minnesota and Chicago. Seriously, this team is a Broussard error away from two consecutive sweeps. That being said, it's time for this team to take off, with the starting pitching continuing to lead the way and the lineup producing enough runs to get W's.

I know that one man cannot be to blame for the early season struggles, BUT the Tribe is 6-1 since Murray was fired, and I agree with TB in that multiple career years in 2004 probably unjustly saved Eddie's job. The team seems more patient and more aware of situational hitting. Also, they're finally settling into a lineup that feels right (it only took about 55 games):
CF Sizemore
LF Crisp
DH Hafner
C Martinez
1B Broussard
RF Gerut/Blake
2B Belliard
3B Boone
SS Peralta

The platoon of Gerut and Blake suits me just fine, and an occasional Alex Cora sighting is welcome; but please, no more Hernandez! He's a windmill who's taking up a roster spot. Casey could play 3B, 1B, and OF; Cora can play 2B and SS; that leaves an open spot where someone else (Ludwick?) could take some strain off of the OF's. Send Hernandez to the NL where he can "murder lefthanded pitching" for someone else.

Cliff Lee IS the Indians' All Star, no question. During today's outing, he has never been in a better rhythm and was in complete control (despite Jhon going Ankiel/Knoblauch a few times). He's become a solid 3, at least, with the possibility of developing further. If Lee finishes this season strong, look for the Indians to give him Westbrook money and a long-term deal.

To those Indians' "fans" who were rooting for Omar over the Tribe (there were multiple callers on Friday to radio stations who claimed that Vizquel was "wronged" by the team and wanted to see him exact his revenge), know this: Omar is playing for the Giants because he wanted and took more money and security than the Tribe (wisely) were willing to pay him. When his contract expires, he will be a 40 year old playing SS, while the Indians will be light years ahead of the geriatic Giants. Knowing the way that Omar played his hand to seem like the victim in this whole deal makes watching his team struggle ALMOST as pleasurable as watching Thome not be able to play DH to rest his back (Shapiro 2, Just About Everyone Else 0).

Jason Davis is still not a starter and nobody will be able to convince me otherwise.

I'm trying to design my own #41 jersey with "The Stick" on the back, but it's one letter too long. Maybe a #48 "Le Pronque" or #48 "Shrek" would suffice. The other option is to get #52 with a "CC XL".

C.C. slide was phenomenal. Thank God for my new DVR as the slide was rewound about 10 times.

I appreciate your return to the Diatribe after some time away. Trust this, with all of these Tribe thoughts flowing through my head and the weather heating up, it's on. So bookmark this or mark it down as a favorite, or do whatever you want; because this is starting to get good.

Boom Goes the Dynamite.

Fresh off a Rehab Stint

After a wild week and a half, it's time to talk Tribe (despite the 2-4 start to the road trip). A few thoughts as I've been watching the last few games:

• The Juan Gonzalez thing was a fiasco only in that the media had hyped him up to be the savior of the offense. Had the offense been playing RELATIVELY decently, it would have merely been a blip. It was ridiculous though, to see him pull up lame on his first at-bat! I was watching the game and had just finished saying something to the effect of, "if he could only stay healthy." Manning's reaction was classic with an understated "Oh, no..." as the camera wasn't even on Gonzalez. Manning's always good for an articulation of what Joe Fan is thinking. Even my bride said, "Did that really just happen?"
• It sounds like there's more to this Eddie Murray thing than meets the eye. Ever notice that Easy Eddie NEVER sat with the "Brain Trust" of Wedge, Bell, and Willis (if you can call that triumverate a "Brain Trust")? He was always off near the camera bay with his big head, surly disposition, and great mustache. I don't think he ever got along with Wedge, but was protected by his friendship with Shapiro (Shapiro's father was Murray's long-time agent). The season had reached a breaking point with the offense, though, and changes had to be made. It's not like Luis Isaac (who I think still throws BP) was going to get the blame.
• The loss of Buddy Bell doesn't concern me that much (remember we did OK after he left in the 90's), though I'm still not 100% confident in the Atomic Wedgie as a manager. I understand that the bunt is discouraged in the Moneyball world of the Tribe front office, but NOBODY can execute a simple bunt. One huge difference between the White Sox and the Tribe on offense (both are near the bottom of the AL in team offense) is that the White Sox do the little things to manufacture runs. I know that these are terms heard often, particularly this year, but the series in Chicago could not have made it more obvious.
• I'm becoming more resigned to the fact that the Indians are the 3rd best team in the Central. They were beaten by both the Twins and the White Sox, with a lot at stake this early in the season. All of the games are close, but they don't count ties, close games, or moral victories in the standings.
• I think that changes are still to come. My buddy Dozer thinks that a trade needs to be made to shake things up. But who? Nobody wants Boone or Blake, and I can't see Shapiro trading one of the players who is actually producing (Broussard, Gerut, Belliard), so I don't know what can be done. It's not as if the team is one bat away from ripping through the month of June; the problem is deeper than that. Unless Derek Shelton turns out to be the hitting coach equivalent of Leo Mazzone, I don't see this offense doing a 180 anytime soon.
• To Shapiro's credit, he recognized the need for a RH bat this offseason. Let's go through the checklist and the results: Boone (oops), Gonzalez (ouch), Blake to a long-term deal (oh man). Who's going to be the right handed stick in this lineup? Belliard? Peralta? Everyone is either a lefty or a switch hitter.

That's enough venting for one post, though there's still a lot on the table here. I know that the tone was rather negative, but it's hard not to be when you watch the good ship Wahoo go down like this.

Editors' Note

I would be remiss if I didn't point out my mistake yesterday that Wayne Kirby is not Buffalo's Hitting Coach, he is Akron's hitting coach. Thus, Terry Kirby's brother, a career .252 hitter with 119 career RBI's, would be bringing his huge lips north on I-77, not on I-90.

The Buffalo Hitting Coach is...are you ready for this? FELIX FERMIN! "El Gato", a career .259 hitter with 4 HR and 207 RBI in 903 games, is teaching the Herd's AAAA (Andy Abad, Mike Kinkade, Ernie Young...I know, who?) players how to hit. I guess that he had to work at his hitting to be a good hitter. He did only strike out 147 times in 2,767 career at-bats, so maybe he knew what to do, he just couldn't do it himself.

So, to rectify the past statements about a possible replacement for Eddie Murray, Felix the Cat (and his El Guapo mustache from Three Amigos) would be making the westbound trip on I-90 if needed. I'm rooting for it only so when they show Fermin on TV, I can say "Heffe, what is a plethora?"

Maybe I should reserve judgement on Eddie. I know that great hitters do not make great hitting coaches (see Mattingly, Don), but to put Murray's career accomplishments in perspective, he had more RBI than Kirby and Fermin combined by 1980 (his 4th year)! Keep in mind that 15 years after that, he was still a cog in the 1995 Tribe lineup. Plus, he has a head that a baseball hat simply cannot fit onto. Someone explain that to me.

Nice game by Woody last night. I hope that C.C. takes it as a challenge to put up some 0's on the scoreboard.

I also hope that Mike Hegan smokes a whole pack of cigarettes before the game, because he is more insightful than usual when he's got a nice nicotine buzz going. On a related, but equally ridiculous note, does Manning wear a piece?

Time for Some Action

Taking instruction from the immortal B-Real of Cypress Hill, it's time to figure out why the Indians are 12-18 and 11 1/2 games back of the White Sox. I know that I said that I would reserve judgement until we hit the quarter pole (40 games), but something's gotta give.

Things that need to happen now

• Scott Elarton (or as he has been dubbed - "my boy") needs to be given his walking papers. He was picked up off of the scrap heap from Colorado and was a nice story, while certainly never blowing anybody away, but his time has come and gone. Let's call Brian Tallett up from the Herd (where he's pitching extremely well to the tune of 1-0, 2.10 ERA) and let him pitch every 5th. Giving Elarton the ball every fifth game was a message to the team and to fans that the Indians will never rip off more than 4 in a row. Elarton, to me, at best is a no decision; and at worst, a lopsided loss. If Tallett struggles, there are other options at Buffalo, just please no more Elarton.
• Send Jason Dangerously to Buffalo to give him one thing to focus on. It's time for the Indians' brass to decide if he's a starter or a reliever. This kid's getting signals from the Mariners dugout in the Naked Gun. They're coming fast and furious and they make no sense. Call it the Baez Syndrome, they're not sure where he should go, so they just keep him confused. He pitches 1 inning...He pitches 3 1/3 innings...He's a spot starter, etc. Enough. Send him to Buffalo to start or let him pitch in the 8th or 9th inning. My preference would be to make him a reliever in AAA. Let him get comfortable with a routine, get some confidence in a few pitches (not the 8 he tries to master as a starter) and ease his psyche into the idea that this is his future. Call Matt Miller back up to reward him for swallowing his pride and pitching well in Buffalo (2.08 ERA, 3 hits in 4 1/3 innings). There's still enough depth at Buffalo (Tadano: 2.22 ERA in 24 innings, Cabrera: 2.13 ERA with 18 K's & 1 BB in 12 2/3 inning) that if someone goes down, reserves are available.
• The offense is not as easy, though I'm through saying, "It's just a matter of time..." Wedge needs to set a lineup and stick with it. If that means Belliard leads off and plays every day, so be it. Let's get back to Hafner 3, The Stick 4, and maybe Broussard 5. I don't like seeing Broussard batting 3rd. I'll give the offense about 10 more games, and if we're still scuffling - well then,

Things That Can Happen at the 40 Game Mark

• Coco Crisp, unless he improves, will become the 4th outfielder that everyone thought he would always be. He can't hit consistently (particularly for power), he doesn't walk, and his arm is weak. Not your prototypical left fielder. The guess here is that whoever is ready to come back first (Gonzo or Jody G.) will come back to right, Blake will go to left, and Coco will become the 4th outfielder/pinch runner/Ruben Amaro type. I cannot believe that I just wrote that I'm holding a spot in the lineup for one of the Rehabbers, Juan Gone or Gerut.
• Ryan Garko may get a look. Where? I don't know, but he continues to tear apart every level that he plays at (.929 OPS in Buffalo). Maybe he platoons with Broussard, maybe the Indians work him into another position on the farm. Maybe I'm jumping the gun.
• Boone and Blake either need to step up or step aside. I'm not sold on Jose Hernandez playing 3rd, but what about Cora at short and Peralta at third? That would've been a ridiculous premise at the beginning of the season, but when my mom thinks that Boone should be cut, things are close to rock bottom.
• If nothing gets better, Eddie Murray takes the bullet for this team's struggles. I know that last year's team hit like crazy, but something has to change. Maybe Wayne Kirby can bring his batting acumen and huge lips on westbound trek on I-90 to try to save this sinking ship.

Maybe I'm grasping at straws, maybe I'm overreacting, but I can't listen to Hamilton call the play of this team, "just awful, in every sense of the game," and not have a reaction.

They're killing me softly.