Lazy Sunday Slip-Sliding Away

Reality is seeping in quickly here on the North Coast as disappointment is turning into a depression that this Indians’ team continues to flail away at the opportunities presented to it, turning victories into losses, wasting excellent outings by their starting pitchers, and sometimes just coming up on the wrong side of Lady Luck.

Nevertheless, soldier on we must despite the punishment that we’re exposing ourselves to as Indians’ fans, particularly when a much happier story and easier ride as a fan unfolds out every other night for the Cleveland team on the hardwood.

Soldiering on then, let’s get off on a Lazy One:
While this whole bullpen mess has the whole team reeling and wondering how it’s possible for a bullpen to potentially be sabotaging the third of the last four seasons, the question needs to be asked – how did it get to this?
How have the Indians been fundamentally incapable of piecing together a consistent bullpen year after year, watching pitchers thought to be as close to a “sure thing” as there might be fall of the cliff, over and over?

Terry Pluto addresses the bullpen and how we may have gotten to where we are bringing up multiple salient points from particular players’ performance to usage in games. The underlying issue he gets to is that elusive consistent bullpen and how they’ve tried different strategies to no avail to fix the leaky pen.

Yes, bullpens are volatile by nature because of the fact that relievers are inconsistent from year to year almost as a rule… but how do other teams cobble together bullpens, usually with home-grown relievers serving as the backbone of said bullpens, while the Indians continue to struggle, year after year, to maintain any level of stability?

It’s a question that Tony Lastoria and I got into during this week’s edition of “Smoke Signals”, and it’s the sentence in Pluto’s piece that struck me as the most compelling problem with the Indians. Pluto wrote that, “They have failed to develop relievers in the minors who can actually be effective for two years in a row”, which couldn’t be more true and I think it gets to the crux of what the issue with these ongoing bullpen problems have become as the Indians, as an organization, have ignored the importance of building their bullpen from within and by doing so find themselves in this position of attempting to cobble together a bullpen every year.

But why is this?
The Indians, as an organization, have always operated on a certain set of principles or guidelines…call it “The Plan” if you want or whatever, but the idea that keeping the farm system stocked with players who could fill holes on the MLB roster is a basic tenet of what they believe.
Remember the old “Waves of Arms” thing in terms of keeping the rotation stocked?

Think about how when every season starts, there seems to be a contingency plan for most every position in Cleveland somewhere on the roster or at least in the organization. When each season starts, you can usually identify who the 7th or 8th starter in the organization will be or you can accurately predict what would happen if, say, the 3B went down with an injury or was ineffective. Those built-in contingency plans are often fairly obvious and usually the Plan B is one that makes sense at a number of levels in that the drop-off isn’t too severe and it represents more than just hope…it represents an actual plan and foresight.

The concept is apparent everywhere on the roster at the beginning of each season – except in the bullpen that is, where the Indians continually attempt to find lightning in a bottle with veteran retreads or hope that some of their young players can emerge as viable relievers. Instead of ever having a bona-fide reliever option on the farm (as there often is elsewhere on the team), it always seems like the bullpen options are of the “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” variety.

Again, though, why is that…particularly for an organization that seems to plan out the minutia of every detail and seems to attempt to plan for every plausible scenario?

How in all of these years has the organization not developed at least a few relievers that project to the back end of the bullpen or at least are capable of remaining consistent?

As horrifying as it is to admit because it begrudgingly gives accolades to the Sawx, the Red Sox bullpen essentially lays out the exact way that the Indians’ bullpen should have been blueprinted years ago. Between Jon Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, and Justin Masterson (yes, I know he started the other night), Boston boasts three power back-end-of-the-bullpen guys, all of whom were developed by the Red Sox and put in the bullpen to thrive when the determination was made that the bullpen is where they may be most useful in the short-term as all three of those aforementioned names were minor-league starters moved to the bullpen, where they obviously found their niches.

So why are the Indians incapable of this?
Do they lack that talent or those power arms that seem to populate every other teams’ bullpen? How do the Twins and Royals ALWAYS seem to have these guys just hanging around their organization while the Indians give try-outs to Juan Rincon and Brendan Donnelly?

Is it strictly a talent thing?
Maybe (and if it is we’re talking about a much deeper organizational problem in terms of selecting and acquiring players), but I’d go at it in another way in that the organization places a high value on starting pitching and particularly on depth in their starting pitching ranks. That value may be too high when you look at how the Indians are often too reticent to make a move with some of these young arms (in the interest of “preserving that depth”) to the bullpen even if their ceiling is that of a depth starter or as a 5th starter…at best.

What the result of that “preservation of depth” does is mire some of these arms in AA or AAA until they’re suddenly 26 or 27, with no real shot at contributing at the MLB level, but also with too few bullets left in their arms when (or even if) the Indians decide to try them in the bullpen as a last resort. Due to those arms not making the conversion to becoming a reliever to see if a two-pitch or three-pitch mix suits them or to see if a trip to the bullpen adds MPH to their fastball, the Indians find their options for the bullpen to be lacking, forcing the signings of the veteran retreads and allowing the vicious cycle to continue.

Yes, there are instances that the Indians have converted a starter pitching in a level as high as AA to the bullpen with success (Jensen Lewis and Rafael Perez are the prime two examples), but this idea that this Front Office is smart enough to simply put together a bullpen in a patchwork fashion is dismissive of the notion that TALENT is needed in the bullpen and not simply being lucky enough to hit on a reliever in a year that he’s going to be effective.

Did the freefall of Fausto Carmona as a closer in 2006 and his ensuing renaissance in 2007 as a starter make the Indians’ THAT gun-shy on making that conversion, despite the fact that the only two other examples I can think of beside Carmona that made that transition (Lewis and Perez) have been two of the better bullpen options in the last five years or so?

In all of their plotting and planning, the bullpen remains the one component of the team that has been consistently overlooked and while it may not be the “closers fall out of trees” mentality of John Hart bearing itself out, there is fault here. The fault lies in this idea that the Indians can never have enough starting depth, regardless if some of that starting depth is NEVER going to see the mound in the 1st inning of an Indians’ game and the result is a dry pipeline for arms in the bullpen. The rotation as a strength of this team going forward from year to year has been emphasized to such a degree that the bullpen is left with the scraps off the table from the starting pitching depth and forced every year to get by on less talent and more hope.

If you want a flaw in “The Plan”, there it is – the inability of the team to effectively produce a stable of relievers from within the organization full of talent and consistency. For an idea of how to do it, simply watch the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings of a Boston game to see players who once represented starting depth for the Red Sox, but whose usefulness (and immediate usefulness) to the organization bore itself out in the bullpen and the move was made without overly affecting their starting pitching depth in the minors.

Is the talent level a factor here?
Sure, but really at this point who knows?
Who knows where Atom Miller would be if he would have been converted to a reliever in 2007 or if a guy like Brian Slocum would have done better with a full-time move to the bullpen before he was 27 and in AAA for his third year?

Ultimately, the blinders that the organization has had on to protect their starting pitching has affected the bullpen and its viability from year to year and the changes that the Indians are now making to load up their bullpens in the minor-league with talented, if not earth-shatteringly talented, arms is long overdue.

Am I suggesting that EVERY promising pitcher should be moved into the bullpen to fix these problems, as some have asserted that Hector Rondon may be able to help this team?
Certainly not, as starting depth IS important to this organization…but only to a degree that may be a little less than it is being seen as now. At some point, the appropriation of arms and of talent has to bear itself out to be spread out over both the rotation and the bullpen with some sort of discernment over which pitchers project as legitimate MLB starters and which would simply top out as depth starters and could make a more immediate and immediately effective impact on the Indians in the bullpen.

Maybe this organizational flaw is being corrected as the Indians have recently moved Zach Putnam (whom Chris over at Tribe Times has a nice write-up on) and Steven Wright to the Akron bullpen and Frank Herrmann to the Columbus bullpen.

If you’ve heard of all three of those guys prior to this week, congratulations on being one of the 100 or so people in the world that can make that claim; but if you haven’t, Putnam is a recent draftee who could move fast with a two-pitch mix and Herrmann and Wright have been in the organization now for a couple of years as starters whose best-case-scenarios you would charitably call “depth options”. All of them have hit 93 MPH in the recent past and may thrive in the bullpen being able to focus solely on a two-to-three pitch mix.

The question becomes, though, why these moves to the bullpen (particularly with Herrmann and Wright) weren’t decided upon before Spring Training this year so the Indians wouldn’t be sitting here at the beginning of May attempting to find out if Herrmann or Wright will thrive in the bullpen, because they would have a month of results from the Columbus bullpen instead of from the Akron rotation, where each of them spent the bulk of their 2008 season.

Why were those two put in the Akron rotation (again, after being there last year) to start the year if the bullpen could be in their future?

Whether they do thrive or not, let’s hope their movement to the bullpen is a sign of change in organizational thinking, one in which the bullpen no longer is an afterthought that can be “patched together” but a part of this team that is stressed in terms of player development…because we sure need it.

Off my bullpen soapbox and moving forward on this Lazy Sunday to this whole Manny thing, Bill Simmons has an interesting piece on how this news affects his feelings on the 2004 Red Sox Pennant, which begs the obvious question for Indians’ fans – how does this Manny bombshell affect your feelings on the mid-1990’s Tribe teams, especially in the context of the Simmons piece?

And I don’t mean just Manny, I mean - does what Simmons writes about Ortiz, Millar, Pete Martinez, and the like make you think back about those teams with Belle, Baerga, Manny, Thome, Sandy, and Lofton just to name a few?

That 1990’s run was a fun ride, but couldn’t that Simmons’ piece be written about, say the 1995 Indians with the same effectiveness?

As for how I feel about the Manny revelation and suspension, my feelings are effectively (though not surprisingly) put into word form better than I could compose by Joe Posnanski.

Keeping with topics initiated by Bill Simmons (who actually decided to put forth some well-thought out pieces this week), he has some interesting insight as to what the evolution of access to athletes is doing to how we digest information on our sports teams and whose opinion we really should want to know.
Is it really that of the athletes?

If not, and you’re more interested in the process by which those athletes come to wear the same laundry as you do, Vince Grzegorek at ’64 and Counting has a tremendous piece on Keith Woolner, the Indians’ Manager of Baseball and Research, on how the Indians come to the decisions they do in terms of particular players and what role statistics and analysis plays in those decisions.

Additionally, here’s the transcript of the Q&A with Vince and Keith with my usual proclamation that if you’re not reading ’64 and Counting…you really should be.

Back to what’s happening on the field, Baseball Prospectus took a stab at what the final standings of the AL Central might look like, based on a couple of different formulas, the first one looking like this:
MIN – 84-78
CHI – 82-80
DET – 81-81
KC – 80-82
CLE – 77-85

The second one, using the Odds Record, puts the Indians in third place at the end of the year, with their projected standings looking like this:
DET – 86-75
KC – 81-81
CLE – 77-85
MIN – 76-86
CHI – 75-87
Why is this interesting?
Essentially, because both projections have the Central being won by a team with 86 wins or less and, while the Indians may not look the part right now, things may not be as bleak as they may seem, as Adam Van Arsdale of LGT points out very well, summarizing in a great piece entitled “Taking a Step Back” that:
The Indians 7 game hole is real and presents them with a significant challenge. But that the two most important parts of the team, starting pitching and offense, are doing at least passably well, is significant. If the team can play .500 ball over the next three weeks and begin to stabilize the bullpen, I think the season will still be alive. I would not go so far as to say we're in a good position. No. We are in a terrible position. But perhaps there is hope for Indians fans that in baseball, it is better to fall behind early in the season than late in the season.

If that bullpen is incapable of stabilization, let me just point out what Ken Rosenthal wrote on the D-Backs’ recent managerial change after the firing of Bob Melvin:
The D-Backs needed a change; I get that. Bob Melvin was the 2007 National League Manager of the Year, but the team seemed to have gone stale; the offense stunk, the young players were developing too slowly and the Dodgers' fast start put the team in an 8-1/2-game hole. General Manager Josh Byrnes and ownership had grown increasingly frustrated. New voices might help.

A little rough on him as Melvin certainly didn’t acquire the players and certainly wasn’t the one failing in the field. But that’s what the manager does, right…takes the blame when things aren’t going well?

Well…read that again with some changes made by yours truly in bold:
The Indians needed a change; I get that. Eric Wedge was the 2007 American League Manager of the Year, but the team seemed to have gone stale; the bullpen stunk, the young players were developing too slowly and the Royals’ fast start put the team in an 7-game hole. General Manager Mark Shapiro and ownership had grown increasingly frustrated. New voices might help.

At this point, does that look like it’s something you could read in the next couple of weeks?
Not sure if you’re aware of this, but this is how each team has fared from the time that each went League Championship Series in 2007 to the day that Melvin was fired:
AZ – 2008: 82-80
AZ – 2009: 12-17

CLE – 2008: 81-81
CLE – 2009: 11-18
Just throwing that out there…

Finally, my favorite sentence of the week comes to us via Castrovince:
It was reported by the Plain Dealer this week that Fausto Carmona is no longer talking with reporters this season after he was ignored by reporters following Monday's game in Toronto. But Fausto assured me today that he was only joking.
I’ll let you know when that same information shows up in my PD.

Happy Mothers’ Day everyone, enjoy the day by telling your mother and the mother of your children (if applicable) how much they mean to you, then settle in with something tasty from Bell’s Brewery (seriously, go find some…NOW) for some afternoon baseball with the hopes that these pink bats put some life into the Indians’ offense.

Four Angry Men

The conversation you’re about to read is fictional, the names have not been changed, nor has the subject matter, but the accuracy of who said what and when has been changed to protect the innocent:

The lights go up on a conference room with four men in Polo Shirts and Khakis sitting around it. There is a quiet desperation visible on all of the men’s faces and paper is strewn throughout the table at which they sit.

The man at the head of the table crosses his arms and speaks first:
Mark Shapiro – All right folks, we’re at DEFCON 2 here with this bullpen and we’re one more blown lead away from a full-out DEFCON 3. I don’t care if May just started or how bad this division is, something has to be done and the answer isn’t obvious to me as it feels like all of these contingency plans that we thought to be in place when we left Goodyear aren’t even viable. We’re about as low as we can go, people and anything you’ve got…anything you’ve even entertained as a possibility needs to come out of your mouth right now because, frankly, I’m out of ideas. So, let’s go around the table and do a little brainstorming as to how we might be able to fix this

John Mirabelli – Perez and Lewis are a mess, get them out of here…get them down to AAA and all up Rundles and Meloan in their place. There’s your start.

Ross Atkins – You want a mess? Meloan has been a mess, particularly recently. If you want to promote Meloan, now is not the time to do it. Maybe at some point down the line and I know that he could probably go out there and pitch better than some of these relievers, but we need to get Meloan right in Columbus so when he comes up he’s contributing in a meaningful role and not riding the “Columbus Shuttle”.

Shapiro – You know, at some point, we have to stop coddling these guys and just throw some things against the wall to see what sticks, but point taken on Meloan.
So right now we’re on replacing Rafael Perez with Rich Rundles?

Chris Antonetti – You know, Rundles hasn’t been that great in Columbus and I feel like we have all these other arms in Columbus that have had some semblance of MLB success; maybe we should cycle through those first seeing as how we’re not married to any of them for the long term.

Shapiro – So, start seeing if we have anything worthwhile among these veterans that we’re not that high on before we get into the younger guys that we’re not that high on? I suppose it couldn’t hurt if we give these veterans two weeks or so to show us something with no strings attached to them…who were you thinking about?

Antonetti – I don’t know, pick a name out of those retreads to see if we can catch lightning in a bottle…how about Herges?

Shapiro – Herges, huh? Why not, we can pull Salas off the 40-man and get him up here…any dissenters?
(Silence)

Shapiro – OK, so Perez down, Herges up…but, COME ON people, Matt Herges isn’t going to save this bullpen. How about some out-of-the-box thinking here?

Sheldon Ocker (poking his head in from the hallway) – What about seeing if Choo can pitch, wasn’t he a pitcher back in South Korea?

Shapiro (whirling around to the door) – SHELDON! How did you get in here? Get out of here!
(Sheldon Ocker slinks out of sight, furiously writing in his notebook.)

Shapiro – How did he get in here? Is he gone? Um…anyone think there’s anything to that idea?

All – NO!

Shapiro – OK, OK, just thought I'd give that one a chance…I guess it’s kind of telling when that makes sense to me at some level. Seriously people, we’re taking on water and promoting Matt Herges isn’t going to prevent this season from sinking.

Atkins – Here’s a crazy idea…what if we moved a starter to the bullpen? Laffey’s worked out of the bullpen before in the minors and if the issue we’re having with him is aggressiveness and walks, maybe coming out of the pen will get him back to that aggressiveness. Lord knows even if it doesn’t that he’d be more effective than the litany of relievers we’re seeing now.

Antonetti – Wait…you’re talking about taking a guy who’s probably been the second or third most consistent starter for us on a rotation still full of question marks and putting him in the bullpen? The guy whose promotion to the rotation seemed to settle the whole mess with the starters a couple of weeks ago, and move him to the bullpen to become what…the long reliever?

Atkins – No, what I’m saying is that the bullpen options in Columbus stink right now and Akron isn’t much better, while the rotation in Columbus has a couple of guys that are pitching well. If starting depth is what we have right now and Laffey’s shown that he can work out of the bullpen in the past, why not call up a guy like Huff or Sowers to get into the rotation, move Laffey into the bullpen to try to settle it, and see what happens.

Antonetti – This is lunacy! Here’s a question – Laffey going six effective innings every five games or going two effective innings every three games, which is more valuable to you?

Atkins – At this point, even when Laffey goes those six innings, the victory isn’t guaranteed because, in case you forgot, NOBODY IN THE BULLPEN CAN GET ANYONE OUT!
Which is more valuable in a vacuum? The six effective innings every five games.
Which is more valuable to this team right now? The two effective innings every three games.

Antonetti – I can’t believe I’m hearing this…after all those years that we kept ALL of these guys as starters because starters are infinitely more valuable than relievers, we’re talking about taking a middle-of-the-rotation starter, who just turned 24 two weeks ago, and moving him to the bullpen at the BEGINNING OF MAY…for what? To give us one or two innings every other day or every third game…is it really that bad?

Shapiro – Yeah, it’s that bad and…yeah, that’s exactly what we are looking for. If you have a better idea, throw it out there as long as it puts a pitcher as effective as Laffey into this bullpen mix.

Antonetti – But we’re talking about a drop-off from Laffey to Sowers in the rotation being the net result of a couple of innings out of the bullpen…isn’t that a big enough dip in expected production from the rotation to prevent us from making this move?

Atkins – Sowers has a 2.25 ERA in Columbus right now with a WHIP of 1.17 and he’s struck out 22 with only 5 walks in 24 1/3 innings pitched…if not now, when with him?

Antonetti – Spare me the AAA success, we’ve heard it before with Sowers…”he’s really turned the corner, he’s showing improvements in AAA, his velocity is creeping up, he’s ready to re-capture that 2006 success…blah, blah, blah”. Then he comes up here and shows why we see his ceiling as that of a 5th starter…which is to say, we can’t see why we called him up in the first place. Are we forgetting that Sowers’ ERA over the last two years in MLB is 5.88 with a WHIP of 1.51, this after he thrived in AAA? Remember last year, when he posted a 2.08 ERA in Buffalo with a WHIP of 1.20 and his best K rate since 2005, then came up to Cleveland and couldn’t do anything right?
This…THIS is the best idea, without getting into the roller-coaster ride we’re putting Laffey through?

Shapiro – Look, at some point we’re going to have to find out if Sowers can ever get back to that 2006 success in the Bigs and we can give him a shot for four or five starts. If he falls on his face, that’s it – we move onto Huff or have Scotty Lewis at the ready to come in and take his spot. It’s a month long audition for Sowers to show if he’s going to stick in this organization.

Antonetti – Fine…whatever, I’ll give you that we need to find out what we’ve got in him at some point this year and now, I guess, is as good of a time as any. But what about what this does to Laffey?

Mirabelli – It’s starting depth we have and relievers we need.

Shapiro – Exactly, and this is as good an idea as any that we have right now.

Antonetti – But what about Laffey? First we make him work his way into the rotation after having him not break camp with the team, he pitches well, and THIS is his reward. How do you sell that if I’m not even buying it?

Shapiro – I think that we just have to frame it that this is where we need him now and this by no means is a permanent move, but that his most useful role on this team right now would be as a reliever. Maybe he goes out there and becomes a legitimate set-up guy or late-inning option….at this point, anything’s possible.

Antonetti – Wait, are you saying that he’s going to the bullpen for good this year?
What does that mean and are we endangering his long-term health by bouncing him around like this?

Shapiro – I’m not saying anything other than we have NO idea what to do and that he could be in the bullpen for the rest of the year as easily as he could be back in the rotation by the All-Star Break. The bottom line is that the season is slipping away because of the bullpen and we need to fix this bullpen RIGHT NOW with whatever means that we use.
Is Laffey the answer…who knows? But at least it’s an arm that we can use and have some confidence in during the late innings.

Mirabelli – OK, so if Sowers is coming up, who goes out? Lewis…Masa?

Atkins – At this point, I guess it’s a question of which is the least of all of the evils out there in the bullpen…Lewis is a mess, Masa hasn’t been used in a high-leverage situation in weeks, Chulk is walking guys left and right. Do I need to continue?

Antonetti – Here’s a salient question in response to that question – if Sowers is coming up and he, Reyes, and Pavano are capable of throwing up a two-inning, seven-run disaster seemingly at any time, who’s the long man to eat innings? It’s not Laffey, is it?

Shapiro – No, if we’re moving Laffey to the pen, it’s not to eat innings. I suppose the real question is, if the game is ostensibly lost by the 3rd inning, who do we care LEAST about in the long-term in terms of just throwing them out there on an island and saying, “you’re going 3 innings…good luck.”

All (in unison) – Kobayashi.

Shapiro – Right…at this point with Kobayashi, let’s just use up all the bullets in that arm until somebody from the minors forces himself into the picture or hope that Perez can right himself and add to the depth of what we hope can become some form of a bullpen.

Atkins – “Bullets in that arm”…Kobayashi? Don’t you mean “blanks”?

Shapiro (stifling a laugh) – Sure, but we could probably get Chulk through waivers and Lewis at least has a track record of success to the point that he may be able to still become a viable option. Masa has no usefulness on this team, so let’s get some innings from him in mop-up duty. Let’s at least get something for our money.

Antonetti – You really think we can get Chulk through waivers?

Shapiro – I think so…who wants to guarantee Vinnie Chulk a spot in their bullpen right now? And even if somebody does, will there legitimately be any tears in this room for that?

Mirabelli – He has been one of the more effective relievers on this team.

Shapiro – “More effective”? Sure, but look what he’s being compared to right now…this bullpen needs an overhaul and if there’s a chalk outline around Vinnie Chulk in the process, so be it.

Atkins – Wait…did you just say, “Chulk outline”?
(Hysterical Laughter)

Shapiro (wiping his eye) – Wooo…thanks, I needed that laugh.
So, we’re going with Herges for Perez and Sowers for Chulk with Laffey going to the bullpen. I’ll talk to the scouts to see if Luis Vizcaino is worth a look.
Everyone convinced that the bullpen is now saved?

Atkins – Um…no.

Mirabelli (still laughing from the “Chulk” joke) – What was the question?

Antonetti – Harrumph…

Shapiro – Come on, people…let’s get behind this.
A new day is dawning, the bullpen will be saved, we’re being pro-active, no stone unturned, we’re being creative…
Oh hell, who am I trying to kid? I guess the fingers are crossed at this point unless someone else has any other ideas to throw out on the table.

Ocker (poking his head in from the hallway) – Has anyone thought of Luis Isaac?

All – GET HIM OUT OF HERE!

The lights dim and…scene.

Reliever Russian Roulette

Another day, another disaster for the Erie Warriors as the Indians somehow found a new way to lose another game, this time with the Blue Jays hanging a 7-spot on the scoreboard, laying waste to a decent outing by Ant Reyes and making sure that the elusive roll that this team is still looking for remains in hiding.

There’s not much to the analysis of what’s gone wrong with the Indians as it’s fairly obvious to anyone who has been forced to witness a game any time after the 6th inning recently that the bullpen, which was once thought to be a major concern, has passed “major concern” status and is closing in on Three-Mile Island territory. The Blue Jays’ two-game set put the final two Indian relievers that had been moderately effective (Wood and Sipp) among the list of the affected as the disease of allowing runs in the bullpen is airborne and infecting the bullpen…and by that I mean, everyone.

What’s most disappointing about this continued descent into what now looks like a bottomless abyss by the bullpen is that the Indians have actually started to piece together some consistency on offense and their rotation is showing signs of being able to put together a string of games worthy of wins. After the beginning of the season for the rotation, that’s a good thing, seeing as how their first Quality Start occurred in the 14th game of the season, with the Indians sitting on a 4-9 record.

Since that first Quality Start on April 21st, the Indians’ rotation has actually settled into some semblance of effectiveness, based on the number of Quality Starts from that time. While a Quality Start is a fairly arbitrary way to differentiate a good outing from a bad outing, it at least gives us some guidelines to put on a starter going 6 innings or more and allowing 3ER or fewer, in terms of establishing the game as one that the offense and bullpen merely need to contribute more than 3 runs and the bullpen simply needs to record 9 outs or fewer (usually) to finish off the victory.

But even with the rotation started to show signs of settling, the bullpen was (on more than one occasion) not able to simply record those 9 outs or fewer to finish off the victory for a starter deserving of one.
To wit, here are the Quality Starts over the last weeks, with the performances of the starters and the bullpen listed as such:
4-21 vs. Kansas City (8-7 win)
Laffey – 7 IP, 1 ER
Bullpen – 2 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 1 BB

4-22 vs. Kansas City (2-0 loss)
Lee – 8 IP, 2 ER
Bullpen – 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB

4-23 vs. Kansas City (5-2 win)
Reyes – 6 IP, 2 ER
Bullpen – 3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB

4-26 vs. Minnesota (4-2 win)
Laffey – 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER
Bullpen – 2 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB

4-27 vs. Boston (3-1 loss)
Lee – 8 IP, 0 ER
Bullpen – 1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB

4-29 vs. Boston (6-5 loss)
Carmona – 6 2/3 IP, 2 ER
Bullpen – 3 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 0 BB

5-1 vs. Detroit (6-5 loss)
Pavano – 7 1/3 IP, 2 ER
Bullpen – 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB

5-3 vs. Detroit (3-1 loss)
Lee – 7 IP, 3 ER
Bullpen – 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB

5-3 vs. Toronto (10-6 loss)
Reyes – 6 IP, 3 ER
Bullpen – 2 IP, 7 ER, 6 H, 1 BB

The good news is that after not getting a Quality Start in their first 13 games en route to that 4-9 start, the Indians have received 9 Quality Starts in the last 14 games.

The bad news is that they’re 6-8 in those 14 games and only 3-6 in those 9 Quality Starts because of the bullpen putting forth an effort that earned them a collective 14.79 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP following those 9 Quality Starts.

Think about it this way – how many times has an Indians’ starter contributed a Quality Start, left the game with a lead, and watched the game being closed by scoreless IP from bullpen?

Before giving this answer, remember that the Indians have now played 27 games…ready yet?
1 time.
1 time over 27 games has an Indian starter thrown 6 or more innings, allowing 3 or fewer earned runs, left with a lead, and watched the bullpen close out the game without allowing a run.

In case you really care, it’s the 4-2 over Twins on April 26th when Laffey went 6 1/3 IP, giving up 2 runs, followed by the bullpen (Lewis, Sipp, Betancourt, and Wood) throwing 2 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball.

Think about that for a moment…obviously the game of baseball is full of uncertainty and winding avenues of how victories and losses occur, but the scenario above means that the starter goes deep into the game while the offense builds a lead and the bullpen comes in to simply close the door by notching 9 or fewer outs without letting up a run.
The Indians have pulled that off once this year…once.

Obviously, the offense holds some culpability in the struggles of this team as consistency has not been a strong suit, but the bullpen has now blown 6 saves in 11 opportunities, laying waste to lead after lead handed to them by the starters, particularly now when the performance of the starting pitchers SHOULD have allowed this team to have a better record than 3-6 in 9 Quality Starts over the last 14 games.

The bullpen implosion is near completion as, at this point, there’s no confidence in anyone down in the bullpen and reservations abound about everyone in the bullpen…and that includes Kerry Wood, whose control has been less than stellar.

What’s disconcerting about this development (or Arrested Development, if you will) of the bullpen is that this was supposed to be the one area of the team addressed in the off-season, after the train-wreck of the 2008 bullpen. The idea was that the addition of Wood allowed the Indians to FINALLY have that lock-down closer in the 9th, resulting in the roles of the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings to fall into the laps of Lewis (who some people wanted to hand the closer role to after 2008), Perez (inarguably the Indians’ best reliever over the last 2 years), and Betancourt (whose finish in 2008 seemed to portend a return to effectiveness).
Remember how we thought the Indians’ bullpen was going to shake out in terms of roles?

Look at how we thought it WOULD look and how each of those principals has performed:
Closer – Wood – 7.20 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 16 K, 5 BB, 5 saves in 6 opportunities
8th – Perez – 15.19 ERA, 2.63 WHIP, 5 K, 9 BB,
7th – Lewis – 5.93 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 13 K, 6 BB, 1 save in 5 opportunities
6th – Betancourt – 5.14 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 15 K, 7 BB, 0 saves in 1 opportunity
ROOGY – Smith – 7.11 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 6 K, 5 BB
Middle Relief – Kobayashi – 3.72 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 4 K, 4 BB
Long Man – Jackson – 5.79 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 6 K, 0 BB
The numbers among the players who were thought to be most counted upon when the season started have been the most inconsistent and, thus, the most destructive on the overall record of the team.

Just when you think that one of the relievers has turned the corner, an implosion occurs for that reliever. It doesn’t seem to matter what situations these guys come in to, the results always seem to end up abysmal.
Who do you have confidence in right now to get outs from the bullpen?
Wood…Sipp…anyone else?

The selection of which reliever coming out of the bullpen has turned into a game of Russian Roulette, where you know the kill shot is eventually coming…you just don’t know where it’s coming from.

That’s what so frustrating about this bullpen, as the Indians are 9-10 since the dreadful 1-7 start with the bullpen completely sabotaging game after game.
What’s so frustrating about that (apart from the obvious stomach acid aspect of the bullpen) record for the Indians?
Here’s the AL Central over the last 21 days:
Kansas City – 10-8
Detroit – 10-8
Minnesota – 9-9
Cleveland – 9-10
Chicago – 9-10

The Indians are right in with the rest of the AL Central over the last 3 weeks of so, this despite the well-documented failures of the bullpen and the fact that the Indians’ offense is only now starting to finally show some signs of life, looking more complete and more versatile after the promotions of last Friday.

So, if the bullpen is the problem on more than one level, even too much for a rejuvenated offense lighting up the scoreboard to overcome, what can be done?
Does anyone REALLY think that Rich Rundles or John Meloan is going to come up and be the answer? I suppose it couldn’t be much worse, and it certainly looks like Rafael Perez and Jen Lewis could use some time out of the spotlight to work out whatever issues seem to be lingering with them.

At this point, anything would be an improvement over what we’ve seen in the past few weeks from the bullpen in terms of pitchers…but how about something different?
If the issue this off-season with the bullpen was supposedly fixed by getting a “new voice” in the bullpen (that is, one not belonging to Luis Isaac) and the results of that “new voice” belonging to new bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez has been…well, this…maybe it’s time for an “old voice”.

No, no, no…I’m not suggesting that the Indians lob a call to whatever OTB Luis Isaac is sitting at watching the ponies, what about getting rid of Hernandez and bringing Columbus bullpen coach Scott Radinsky up to work with some of these younger pitchers that he’s had success in developing like Perez and Sipp to see if he can right whatever has gone wrong with them.

Remember when Jenny Lewis went down to Buffalo last year when the train came off the tracks for him at the beginning of 2008 and re-emerged from his stint in Buffalo (with Radinsky) with the momentum that carried him to 13 consecutive saves? Maybe Radinsky can come up to Cleveland and right these guys without anyone having to be sent out.

Would the change do anything?
Who knows…who even knows what a bullpen coach does?
But, at this point, the bullpen is laying waste to any chance of a sustained run of success and until that bullpen is settled (and at this point, the Indians should be all ears…on any suggestions), the team will continue to tread water or, even worse, slip a little further under the water on their way to the bottom.

Lazy Sunday after the Shake-Up

Anyone else having a recurring nightmare?
It goes like this – the Indians try and try and try to win a game, but something always prevents them from doing so, be it a horrible start, a stagnant offense, or a gas-can wielding relief corps…

What do you mean, I’m awake when these things are happening?
Trying to convince myself that “this is all just a bad dream” let’s get rolling on a Lazy Sunday in the aftermath of the promotions of Friday night:

Does anyone else find it fascinating to see the disparity among the beat writers as to how the promotions of Friday night were covered and what impact the promotions figure to have on the Indians’ lineup going forward with LaPorta and Valbuena, in terms of who is going to play where and when?

Leading the charge for the “let’s take the Indians’ at face value for what they’re saying” is the PD’s Paul Hoynes who writes that:
LaPorta, at the very least, will start against left-handers. Verlander is a right-hander, but Toronto is starting lefties Brian Tallet and Brett Cecil on Monday and Tuesday at Rogers Centre. He'll play left and right field and first base. LaPorta played first base Friday night for Columbus.

That’s it…there’s your capsule analysis of when LaPorta will play, with the “at the very least” leaving it open for more…I guess.
This, of course, goes along with the absurd idea that LaPorta is here to be a “complement” to Dellucci as the presence of one has very little bearing on the presence of another. If you REALLY think that Dellucci and LaPorta are here to be some sort of LF/DH platoon, you haven’t been paying attention to how many AB are now available and why those AB are available.

Someone a little more in-tune with the likely usage of LaPorta is (not surprisingly) Anthony Castrovince, who wrote in his initial piece after the promotion that:
Wedge said he also feels comfortable using LaPorta in the corner outfield spots, and he is, of course, a candidate to get starts at DH. With left fielder Ben Francisco off to a slow start and Hafner on the DL, LaPorta should have plenty of opportunities to prove himself early on. The Indians are careful to get their top position player prospects consistent playing time, and they wouldn't be calling LaPorta up if he was simply going to sit.
"He's coming up here for a reason," Wedge said.

In full disclosure, the bold was added by me and effectively points out that Castrovince understands the significance of the LaPorta call-up and recognizes that he’s not making a trip to the Big Leagues to be a “platoon” player.

Which one makes more sense to you and which one goes a little more in-depth than just taking a cursory glance at the situation?
Yeah…I know.

It doesn’t stop there though, as the coverage of the topic of how often Valbuena will play is treated to the same superficial vs. in-depth coverage from the two writers:
Hoynes:
Valbuena, 23, will probably see most of his playing time at second and third base. He'll also play short. He made his big-league debut with Seattle last year, hitting .245 (12-for-49) with one RBI. He's a left-handed hitter with some speed. The Indians didn't say it, but they probably consider him an upgrade over veteran Tony Graffanino. To make room for the new arrivals, Graffanino was designated for assignment, Joe Smith was placed on the disabled list and Trevor Crowe was optioned to Columbus.

Castro:
As far as how quickly LaPorta and Valbuena will get into the mix, Wedge wouldn't reveal his plans for Sunday. But it's safe to assume LaPorta will get his fair share of at-bats and Valbuena could play more than the average utility infielder.

Meanwhile, Jhonny Peralta's ongoing struggles might put him in more of a fight for at-bats. Wedge could start Valbuena at second base and move Asdrubal Cabrera to short. He can also use Valbuena to spell Mark DeRosa at third...The Indians don't view Valbuena as a long-term utilityman but rather as a potential starter. So his presence, like that of LaPorta, has potential to impact the lineup going forward.

Again, the bold was added by me…but which piece takes you a little more into the thinking of why these moves happened and what’s coming?

The Indians make a major move in terms of how this Front Office has handled the promotion of their young players that fast-tracks the evolution of the Indians, putting the 2009 season squarely in the balance for the next month or so and you’re thirsting for insight and analysis from the writers that travel with these teams and are paid to know more than you and I – so…which coverage strikes you as more complete?

It’s been said before here, but if you’re not on Castro for your everyday Indians’ info and for superb pieces like this on Tony Sipp in addition to the everyday info, you’re not getting all of the information and analysis that you can.

As for what impact the impending returns of Carroll and Hafner would mean to the newest Indians, wouldn’t it stand to reason that the Indians can see how much Valbuena is playing (and how well) before summarily relegating him to AAA again, particularly with Barfield’s main purpose on this team to be a pinch runner and nothing more, meaning that a roster spot would still essentially be available if Valbuena proves himself to be worthy of one? Additionally, when Hafner returns, wouldn’t he just take the place of Garko or Dellucci as the DH with each of them remaining on the roster as potential PH?

I don't agree with what Terry Pluto says that he's hearing from the team in that he says that the organizations' current plan is that LaPorta "probably will got back to the minors when Hafner is healthy, but if he hits ... that can change" because I'm not sure how one affects the other if LaPorta's going to be playing LF and 1B and not, as Terry is hearing from the Tribe on the their plans for LaPorta:
The right-handed batter is hitting .353 vs. lefties, .328 vs. righties and .333 with runners in scoring position. For his career, he is at .314 vs. righties, .237 vs. lefties. This season, all five of his homers are against righties. He looks like a strong, all-around hitter and has done a very respectable job in the outfield. Look for him to platoon with Dave Dellucci at DH, and see some time in left. He probably will got back to the minors when Hafner is healthy, but if he hits ... that can change.

Actually, when you look a little closer at what Pluto writes here as to what he's hearing (and, remember, Pluto's Sunday "notes" are often what the team is saying, not his opinion unless stated as such), the “platoon” at DH with The Looch makes less sense as LaPorta has a career average of .314 this year against RHP with all 5 of his HR coming against RHP this year. Conversely, he’s hitting .237 against LHP…the same ones that Dellucci can’t hit. He also includes the fact that LaPorta is hitting .353 vs. LHP this year and .328 vs. RHP this year…so where does this “platoon” idea make sense at all if LaPorta has experienced success against both LHP and RHP in Columbus?

Doesn’t it make more sense to platoon Dellucci with a guy like Shoppach in the lineup as Shoppach has struggled against the same RHP that Dellucci thrives against?
True, they don’t play the same position, but isn’t this relatively easy to figure out?
Against LHP
Sizemore – CF
Cabrera – 2B
Martinez – 1B
Choo – RF
Garko - DH
Peralta - SS
Shoppach – C
LaPorta - LF
DeRosa – 3B

Against RHP
Sizemore – CF
Cabrera – 2B
Martinez – C
Choo – RF
Garko – 1B
Peralta – SS
Dellucci – DH
LaPorta – LF
DeRosa – 3B

Would the lineups look EXACTLY like that?
No, but the idea of “platooning” Dellucci and Shoppach isn’t that hard to figure out and it likely becomes part of the idea that it’s time to start moving this bottom 2/3 of the lineup around to find the right mix, taking advantage of the versatility of DeRosa in the process. Beyond the guys listed above, Valbuena moves into the lineup when Peralta or DeRosa take a day off or are playing elsewhere, playing either 3B or 2B, which moves Cabrera over to SS. Francisco becomes the late-inning RH pinch-hitting option and Barfield becomes the designated pinch runner.

Certainly, it’s not a perfect lineup, but you can see now with the different positions that these guys can play that the pieces to the puzzle can finally be moved around with the insertion of LaPorta into the everyday lineup and with the upgrade in depth with Valbuena, who can essentially fill in for whoever is struggling or needs a day off with the hopes that he asserts himself as a viable everyday contributor.

With these moves, I think what you’re going to see is an experimentation process with the lineup in terms of a lot of pieces suddenly being flexible in terms of which position they play to maximize effectiveness and to, quite frankly, try to finally find that right mix of players to put enough runs on the board to overcome the bullpen.

Moving on from the moves that were made and rolling on with what has suddenly become quite a convoluted Lazy Sunday, here’s an interesting piece from the new blog SABR Tribe on how the defense of the Indians is as much of a problem as everything else that is so visible to the blind eye. If you’ve not yet checked out SABR Tribe, David over there does a very good job of going into the numbers on the Indians and, while it can be heady at times, it offers a unique perspective not previously available as a singular concept.

In terms of his whole “Grady is the problem” issue that cropped up earlier this week, Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports (but more notably of The Hardball Times) points out the absurdity of the “debate” pretty succinctly in terms of where Grady falls in the list of things going wrong with the Indians this year.

Elsewhere in the blogosphere, Indians’ RHP Vinnie Pestano, who is the closer at Akron, started a blog post over at Tony Lastoria’s website, submitting his first entry. Pestano is a name you may or may not have heard of, but he’s a name certainly worth watching (and one that serial poster Tyler has already pinned his hopes on to perhaps save the bullpen) in terms of what relievers on the farm may legitimately have a chance to help the Indians’ atrocious bullpen in the near future.

If you’re not familiar with him, he’s posted a 2.70 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP as the Aeros’ closer, limiting opposing hitters to a .592 OPS while piling up 9 saves in the young season.
Is that reaching for answers to the bullpen?
You bet…but anyone else have any ideas to save a bullpen that has two pitchers who inspire any kind of consistent confidence?

Finally, to end on the lighter side of things, Vince Grzegorek’s tremendous ’64 and Counting takes a stab at the absurdity of the Plain Dealer actually running an interview with the owner of XO Prime Steaks and why that restaurant is so popular with Cleveland athletes by…naturally going to the gloriousness that is the Harbor Inn and asking the owner of the Harbor Inn why his place SHOULD be so popular with Cleveland athletes. It’s a great piece of video and make sure that you look at the comments under the PD “interview” to see how this whole “let’s find something for Branson Wright to do at the PD” thing is going.

The “interview” was posted to the PD website at 2:25 PM on Monday afternoon and the comments were closed about 30 minutes after it was posted because…well, because the comments pretty much lay the piece to waste in those 30 minutes. Yeah, that seems to be working out real well and thanks to Vince for brilliantly skewering the absurdity of it…and, of course, for taking us all into the Harbor Inn to meet Wally.

Anyone else opposed to see if Wally from the Harbor Inn can make it up to Detroit by…oh, the 6th or 7th inning and see if he can solve the bullpen problems?
At this point, does that sound like THAT bad of an idea?

Pardon Our Dust

It was coming…we all knew it – the Indians’ roster in 2009 was built to evolve over the course of the season as what was called the “best layer of upper-level talent since the mid-90’s” sat at the ready when the season dawned to, at some point, augment the parent club and inject talent into the 25-man roster. With the level of talent in AAA and the questions that needed to be answered on the Opening Day roster…we all knew it was coming.
Quick show of hands…who had May 1st?

That’s right, the evolution of the Indians in 2009 began for all intents and purposes after Friday night’s game with the promotion of Matt LaPorta, Luis Valbuena, and Josh Barfield after David Dellucci was promoted earlier in the day to replace TAFKAP (that’s “The Artist Formerly Known as Pronk” if you’re keeping score at home). The returns of The Looch and Barfield are ancillary in the grand scheme of things, as neither figures too prominently in the club’s future, but the promotion of BOTH LaPorta and Valbuena, with one stroke of the brush, has a much deeper message than the Indians simply promoting two of their top prospects on May 1st, both of whom happened to be thriving in AAA.

First and foremost, the promotion of LaPorta now, and not in about a month, presupposes that the Indians will make LaPorta a Super 2 player (assuming he’s here to stay) and ultimately will result in the Indians paying LaPorta somewhere in the range of $6M to $12M more than the team would have had to in the years before he becomes eligible for FA by promoting him on Friday and not a month from now.

Not too much money…at least when you spread that over the course of more than a few years, right? Maybe, but all the Indians had to do was wait for about another month to promote LaPorta to AVOID incurring that extra cost. Essentially, this month of games with LaPorta will, in the long run, cost the organization a number probably somewhere in the range of $10M. They could have kept him in Columbus, managed his service time for another month and saved the $10M by simply keeping him for a month.

But they didn’t and the fact that they didn’t gives a pretty clear glimpse into what the Indians think about what the next month of their season means to this 2009 season. By that I mean, the Indians promoted LaPorta fully aware of the implications; but making the decision based not on long-term ramifications, rather on short-term impact, with the hope that the presence of LaPorta in the next month prevents this season from slipping away.

It’s a decision with big financial ramifications, but one which the Indians must have felt was necessary to put the best team on the field today, future worries aside. For those of you who pine for the “best team, regardless of age or financial obligations” – here it comes, starting Saturday.

The move screams of the importance of not simply letting the 2009 season slip away with an eye toward 2010 and beyond as, again, one more month of LaPorta in the minors saves the Indians millions of dollars over the next few years. What it means is that the Indians are not going to simply wait to see “how this whole thing shakes out”, but rather they are identifying deficiencies on their team (and well ahead of that 40-game mark that everyone points to as the “evaluative period”) and are attempting to improve on those deficiencies by putting what they think is the best ball club on the field today…for the Indians.

Beyond the overall scope of the move, how do the promotions affect this team on a day-to-day basis?
For sure, the every day starting OF will usually look like LaPorta, Sizemore, and Choo with LaPorta’s absence in LF meaning that he’s playing 1B or DH’ing, as they didn’t make this decision to sit him on the bench, regardless of how The Atomic Wedgie spins the promotion as a “complement to Dellucci”. LaPorta is on the Indians to play every day and the presence of Dellucci should not (and will not) prevent that.

What that means for Francisco is that he’ll be relegated to the role of 4th OF (or even 5th if you think DeRosa’s going to morph into more of a super-utility guy with Valbuena’s promotion…which I do) and will likely see an occasional start in the OF, but more than likely will be used as a pinch-hitter.
This…this is not a bad thing for the Indians.

Valbuena (whose promotion is unfairly overshadowed by LaPorta’s) figures to fill in as a “utility” player, but not in the Mike Rouse sense, more in the “play 4 or 5 times a week” sense as his versatility to play 2B, SS, or 3B can be utilized with the versatility of DeRosa, Cabrera, and maybe Peralta to mix and match these guys around to put a strong lineup together in a number of different variations.

Valbuena ostensibly becomes the fill-in-the-gap infielder that Graffanino was, except that he’s not Tony Graffanino and represents a viable option, both offensively and defensively that should be utilized to optimize match-ups or give certain players days off when they are needed without the drop-off to a Graffanino-esque player being the result. It’s more than likely that Valbuena figures to be on the team until Jamey Carroll comes back as his permanent spot on the team is not as obvious as LaPorta’s is…yet. Given Valbuena’s performance in Columbus, it’s possible that he turns into a pleasant surprise and the evolution of the infield that we all saw happening after this year gets fast-tracked by Valbuena’s success.

So if that is how LaPorta and Valbuena are likely to fit, who gets affected by these moves?
Well, obviously Trevor Crowe, who showed that his bat is not ready for MLB and that he needs to prove quite a bit at AAA to merit another legitimate shot at playing even in a part-time role, Tony Graffanino, who may make his way back to Columbus to…um, well to be in Columbus, and Joe Smith, who can hopefully take this time on the DL with his “injury” to ready himself for the bullpen and to be a solid contributor to a bullpen so badly in need of one instead of just being another inconsistent option.

Beyond the guys that were actually involved in the move, as I stated before, Francisco and DeRosa are likely to find themselves in new roles with Francisco filling the role of the 4th or 5th OF with Josh Barfield while DeRosa could move into more of a super-utility in the way that Casey Blake never was in his time as an Indian.

With Francisco, it’s a welcome change and one that revealed itself very obviously in his 2009 start. With DeRosa, it’s a role that he thrived in with the Cubs last year, becoming the essential “glue” guy that can play 3B, 2B, 1B, LF, and RF and essentially play to take the place of a slumping player or to give a guy a day off. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still more the everyday-3B than anything else, but the presence of Valbuena means that the infield configuration could be such that it does or doesn’t include DeRosa and not see the drop-off it did when the likes of a Graffanino played.

Of course, the moves can be taken as the team essentially spinning its wheels as LaPorta and Valbuena aren’t going to suddenly solve the unsettled pen or pitch every fifth day in the rotation. While that may be true on the surface, what it does is improve the offense in terms of balance and particularly depth to the point that the added firepower may be enough to make those 10-8 shoot-outs that we talked about a couple of weeks ago that are looking like they may be the rule and not the exception fall in the Indians’ favor and not against them.

All told, the Indians have just entered May and the contributions from players that started the year in AAA have already been significant with Laffey and Sipp looking like cogs in this machine going forward. What Friday’s moves did furthered that reach into the Indians’ AAA pocket as they now have promoted their top prospect in AAA to fill a hole in LF and have augmented their weak bench by promoting a player thought to be firmly in the team’s 2010 plans a little early to signal that the team is not ready to wave the white flag on the 2009 season, regardless of how early the calendar tells us it still is in the baseball season.

Starting today, the “all hands on deck” philosophy begins with more help possibly coming in the near future as the imminent evolution that was expected to occur throughout the 2009 season already looks to be in full swing.

Tomahawks from the Mezz

Another day, another aspect of the team to turn a victory into a loss and I was there to witness the whole bloody mess from my perch in the Mezzanine with trusty Bob the Beer Guy nowhere to be found for the third straight game down there and me looking to drown my sorrows in some $7 beers.

Alas, let’s fire some Tomahawks from the Mezz the way that the new Progressive SUV in right-center field fire T-shirts (at least, I think they’re T-shirts) out of the car doors after an Indians’ HR…no, seriously – you have to see this thing that looks like it came straight off the “Transformers 2” set after a HR to believe it…and I don’t mean that in a good way.
__________

Going into the 2009 season, one of the great mysteries was which Travis Hafner would appear in the Indians’ lineup and how frequently he would be able to appear in it, due to the lingering issues in his right shoulder. There were two “worst-case scenarios” with Hafner – one being that he had a clean bill of health, but was simply ineffective, and the other being that the underlying and mysterious issues in his shoulder would prevent him from contributing on anything close to an every day level.

While the first three weeks of the season seemed to answer the question of whether he could be an effective hitter, sore shoulder or not, as he posted a almost “Pronkian” line of .270 BA / .370 OBP / .540 SLG / .910 OPS, news that “shoulder soreness” has placed him on the 15-day DL could mean that the second “worst-case scenario” may be unfolding before our very eyes.

What does this “shoulder soreness” mean and why is he going back to see Dr. James Andrews after the Indians had stated that he essentially had a clean enough bill of health to break camp with the team and play for three weeks?

In the Indians’ cloak and dagger world of injury disclosure…who knows?
But if this “shoulder soreness” is what it sounds like, the Indians are facing the very real possibility that this right shoulder situation is a chronic condition that only rest seems to remedy, meaning that he’ll have to be coddled and managed almost as a part-time player so this “fatigue” and “soreness” doesn’t result in a 15-day DL stint every month or to from overexertion. Even if it is a “two-week” thing as The Atomic Wedgie hopes, this avenue to and from the DL could become a well-worn path for Hafner if his shoulder issue is something that’s not fixable and is simply something that the Indians will have to live with and manage.

I suppose you can wonder which is worse – a “healthy” Hafner who plays every day but can’t contribute too much at the plate or a “fragile” Hafner who is able to play 3 or 4 times a week and may or may not be a solid contributor in those sporadic starts?

Maybe I’m being overly pessimistic, but since you could make an argument that either option could fall under the “worse” category, the ramifications are pretty grim…particularly for a player guaranteed to make $37.5M over the next three years (not counting 2009) for the Tribe. For an ineffective everyday player or for an effective, but part-time player, any way you slice it, it’s not good news…
__________

Regardless of the long-term effects on the Indians, what does the Tribe do now with Hafner’s spot on the 25-man roster?
Don’t you dare suggest this 14-man bullpen abomination…13 is too many, 14 is a joke.
In the short-term, the Indians will call David Dellucci up (sorry, folks, that’s what it’s going to be) to take the place of Hafner as a LH DH to play sporadically against RHP.

The lineup is probably going to have more than a few moving parts over the next four weeks until LaPorta gets the call up at the end of May/beginning of June as Garko and Shoppach are likely to see more time in that DH spot to the point that the breakdown will probably shake out like this:
C/1B – Vic the Stick
C/DH – Show Pack
1B/DH – Garko…Polo

Dellucci will likely be used as the DH against certain RHP or could be used as the LH complement to Shoppach in a DH platoon as Shoppach’s numbers against RHP this year have been underwhelming (.200 BA / .250 OBP / .333 SLG / .533 OPS), small sample size considered. Shoppach’s career OPS vs. RHP (.719) against his career OPS vs. LHP (.990) suggests that a happy balance may find some AB for The Looch for a few weeks while Shoppach can be put into positions in which he may be able to succeed and get back onto the roll that he rode throughout the second half of 2008.

Of course, a promotion of The Looch would mean that the Indians have 5 OF on the roster with two other players (DeRosa and Garko) who can also play OF, but you can’t really look at Dellucci as an OF anymore and this upcoming stint is more as a DH than anything else.

As unappealing as three or four weeks of Dellucci may be, in terms of him getting regular AB, you have to think that he’s fighting for his spot on this team as the reinforcements are going to be poised to emerge from Columbus in about a month and The Looch holds his own fate in his hands.
_________

As for other roster moves, you want a little outside of the box thinking?
How about calling up Luis Valbuena?
Valbuena’s hitting at a .329 BA / .447 OBP / .529 SLG / .976 OPS clip in Columbus and would add some versatility to a lineup that sorely looks to be in need of it, in addition to finally adding a LH bat at the bottom of the lineup.

The idea would be to periodically give Valbuena some starts at 2B, move Cabrera to SS on those days and have Peralta either play some 3B or DH with DeRosa maybe taking some games in LF, moving Francisco to the 4th OF role.

It looks more confusing than it really is and what it really does is allow the Indians to play someone NOT named Tony Graffanino to utilize the versatility of DeRosa and give Peralta some time to himself…at a time when he certainly looks like he needs it.

The net effect of the move could be to move DeRosa into more of a super-utility role filling in for a slumping player. DeRosa could either stay at 3B with Cabrera and Valbuena to his left or could go to LF, assuming Peralta can handle 3B every so often and it wouldn’t throw off his already-fragile confidence, where he could at least take some AB as the LF and relegate Ben Francisco to more of the 4th OF role that his numbers suggest he is best suited for.
Don’t believe me that Frisco isn’t a viable everyday player?
Ben Francisco’s first 19 games in 2008
.365 BA / .397 OBP / .619 SLG / 1.016 OPS in 63 AB

Ben Francisco since those first 19 games
.247 BA / .317 OBP / .368 SLG / .685 OPS in 440 AB

Want some perspective on those last 440 AB by The Ben Francisco Treat?
Remember how everyone HATED how little production the Indians got from the LF platoon of Jason Michaels and David Dellucci, affectionately referred to as Dellichaels?
Dellichaels from 2006 to 2008
.252 BA / .314 OBP / .389 SLG / .702 OPS in 1,333 AB

But I digress…
Calling up a guy like Valbuena may be a move to see if shaking things up might put some life into the offense and could allow the Indians to utilize the versatility to play where the current hole exists, be it staying at 3B if Peralta continues to struggle or if LF if Francisco continues to struggle.

One issue that may prevent a move like this would be the thinking to keep Valbuena getting everyday AB in Columbus…but, last time I checked Tony Graffanino has started 6 of the 16 games he’s been an Indian and…well, he’s almost like the “nobody else is available” option – so I think that regular AB could be there for Valbuena. Maybe not every day AB, but enough to keep him busy.

Maybe that’s overthinking the whole mess or tinkering a little too much and not relying on a more patient, level-headed approach…but at least it would add some versatility and depth to an offense that is certainly in need of some.
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Speaking of call-ups, if you’re still thinking that a LaPorta call-up is still happening before that magical date sometime at the end of May or beginning of June, here’s a little back-and-forth at LGT between Jay Levin, myself, and a few other savvy Tribe fans about why, ultimately, LaPorta being called up a month earlier than that date doesn’t make sense.

As much as we want it to make sense and as much as our heart tries to pull rank on our head…it just doesn’t make sense.
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I’m not sure if anyone had a chance to make it to any of the Red Sox games, but having gone to two, let me just say this…yeah, the attendance this year…that’s going to be a problem and a developing story.

I know it’s the end of April, kids are in school, the weather is supposed to stink…but the Red Sox in town for their only series of the year, with Monday looking like mid-July and THAT’S the turnout.

It’s pretty telling when I can get off of the InnerBelt onto East 9th Street on both Monday and Wednesday (not even tapping my brakes once for traffic) at 6:45 PM for a 7:05 PM start, be in the parking garage at E. 9th and Bolivar less than 3 minutes later and be in the stadium a solid 10 minutes before the beginning of the game.

All I could think of as I passed over Carnegie on E. 9th (with no cop directing traffic because it simply wasn’t necessary) was what an emerging issue the attendance (or lack thereof) at these Indians’ games is going to be.

It could be a long, lonely summer at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario…especially for me in the Mezz if I can’t find Bob the Beer Guy soon as the other vendors in the Mezzanine don’t know the 3-inning pattern…you know, be there in the 1st, 4th, and 7th for my perfect game enjoyment.
What do you mean, you didn’t know about the 3-inning pattern?
__________

Finally, to end on a lighter note, I know that a lot of people are planning on making the trip to Wrigley for that weekend series against the Erie Warriors on June 19th, 20th, and 21st. I have tix for all three games and am definitely attending Friday and Saturday with Sunday up in the air at this point as the Indians’ games are only part of the greater trip to Milwaukee for a week to hang with the in-laws.

Nevertheless, I floated the idea of some Tribe folk getting together on Saturday either before or after the game and our ol’ friend Cy Slapnicka took the proverbial bull by the horns and contacted Sheffield’s, a bar three blocks away from Wrigley (far enough to converse with people, but not too far) that serves Great Lakes Brewing Company’s finest.

Cy did ask, though, if we could get some sort of early head count so he can see if we could even get a space reserved or get some drink special, or just to let them know how much Dortmunder Gold they should be ordering.

So, long story short, if you’re making the trip that weekend, or live in Chicago and are just going to the game and would have an interest in something like this, just shoot me an e-mail at cousinpt@hotmail.com or put a comment down to express some interest and see if we can pull this thing off, considering we’re approaching it early enough…for once.

Also, maybe we can finally put that Facebook page to use and get some details on it once we figure out the time of the game and whether a pre-or post-game is more feasible for everyone who does express an interest.

Every Which Way

With Kerry Wood giving up a three-run jack to Jay Bay to ruin what was otherwise a wonderful night of tremendous baseball at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario on Monday night, I think it’s official – the Indians have lost games in every conceivable way in 2009…and the calendar has not yet flipped to May.

What’s disconcerting about that fact is that the Indians are not looking at one specific component of their team that is epically failing night in and night out; rather the blame is being shared by all three components of the team (rotation, bullpen, offense) with the wealth being spread pretty evenly. That is to say, if the starter does well, the bullpen or offense stink. If the offense puts up some runs, the starter is dreadful or the bullpen blows it.
Et cetera, et cetera…ad nauseam…

The team can't put together a complete game, despite the fact that the performances seem to be there from all three components (rotation, bullpen, offense)...just not on the same night. Does that mean that this is a “classic bad team”, as some prevailing thinkers seem to think, where the team simply isn’t talented or consistent enough to put together all the parts needed for the sustained winning needed to stay in any divisional race?

I suppose that’s a possibility, although it could be looked at in a very different manner in that maybe the way they’re losing isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the cylinders all seem to be working, just not all at once, particularly when you look at the different components of the team in certain time frames instead of on a game-by-game basis.

I know that I’ve already hit on this rebound by the rotation, but it’s important to look at this from a broader sense now that other aspects of the team seem to be crumbling:
Rotation’s First 8 outings
37 1/3 IP, 42 ER, 53 H, 18 BB, 31 K
10.12 ERA, 1.90 WHIP in 8 games with an average of approximately 4 2/3 IP per start

Rotation’s Last 13 outings
86 2/3 IP, 34 ER, 83 H, 30 BB, 45 K
3.53 ERA, 1.30 WHIP in 12 games with an average of approximately 6 2/3 IP per start

Considering that the 13-game stretch above includes a 2 inning, 7 ER effort from Reyes and a 5 inning, 5 ER effort from Pavano, you see that the rotation has shown significant signs of improvement, thanks to C.P. Lee remembering what he did in 2008 and to The Babyfaced Bulldog for his mind-boggling “ability” to induce GIDP.

If the rotation was the greatest concern going into the season, and the first week or so seemed to justify those fears, the leaps and bounds that the rotation has made (and rather quickly) are more than encouraging, particularly given that Lee, Carmona (whose last start finally looked like a replay of his 2008 may not be happening), and Laffey all look to be settling in at the top of the rotation.
With the calendar still reading “April”, isn’t that what we were looking for out of the rotation – at least a couple of pitchers establishing themselves while the back-end-of-the-rotation sorted itself out?

However, with the starters playing appreciably better, how has the team not taken off, given that the rotation is what was holding them back when the season started?

The answer is pretty simple…not too long after the rotation started to post Quality Starts and settled into some semblance of consistency, the other two components blew up. First up was the bullpen, whose struggles are well-documented and remain the great disappointment in the young season:
Bullpen in 2009
6.34 ERA – 26th out of 30 MLB teams
.916 OPS against – 30th out of 30 MLB teams
1.69 WHIP – 27th out of 30 MLB teams

While those stats don’t include Tuesday’s game, in which they were forced to clean up a Reyes mess and attempt to rein in the runaway locomotive that is the Red Sox offense, you get the idea on this. Think about the fact that two relievers in the bullpen have an ERA under 3.00 (Sipp and Chulk) and one reliever on the roster has a WHIP under 1.40 (Sipp)…and neither of those guys was on the team on Opening Day. Considering that Sipp’s only thrown 1 2/3 innings, what we’re watching is a epidemic in the bullpen of not being able to record outs with any consistency that is only finally finding a vaccine.

Of course, the bullpen may be finding some consistency with the excellent debut of Tony Sipp, the potential corrections being made by Rafael Perez, and the emergence of Rocky Betancourt, whose seemingly-high ERA is skewed by a Choo non-play in the Bronx. To this point, all the Indians have needed was some consistency from one or two pitchers out of the bullpen and it FINALLY started after the relief corps tried to give away last Wednesday’s game after Laffey’s brilliant start against KC.

In fact, from last Thursday’s victory to Kerry Wood’s 9th inning on Monday, here is what the Indians’ bullpen put forth over 5 games:
13 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 4 BB, 14 K
That’s a 1.31 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and a 3.5 K/BB ratio for a bullpen that looked to have finally turned it around. Yes, it’s still a work in progress (any bullpen is)…but positive signs are just that and should be recognized as such.

But still the Indians failed to put a winning streak together, despite an improved rotation and a settling bullpen…must mean that the offense fell apart, right?

Unfortunately, yes…as the offense’s ineptitude sabotaged the turnaround of the rotation, then the bullpen by putting up these numbers from the 22-4 rout to the mastery of Tim Wakefield’s knuckler on Monday:
.218 BA / .304 OBP / .321 SLG / .625 OPS with 5 HR, 27 BB, and 49 K in 8 games

That’s 2.5 runs a game when your starters have turned the corner and your bullpen is finally showing signs of life. That’s going to be an anchor for any team…and I don’t mean anchor in a good way.

Obviously, the Tuesday outburst helps, but it almost feeds into this notion of not putting together a complete game as the offense contributes on a night that another component of the team (on Tuesday, the rotation) makes sure that the team falls short of putting forth a complete game.

That’s what has been so frustrating about this team, in that every game seems to only present the team with another opportunity to see which aspect of the team will fall short of that nice, clean victory. Honestly, how many games this year have been those nice, relaxing experiences when the Indians build an early lead with an assist from a quality start then go to the bullpen come in to quietly put the game away?

Why is it that the rotation sabotaged the beginning of the season, only to right itself, then to see the bullpen give away leads while the offense pounded out runs?
Why is it now that the rotation has settled in, with the bullpen showing positive signs that the offense has disappeared?
When the pitching is there, the offense is not…
When the offense is there, some component of the pitching is not…

Is this a sign of a bad team, with too many holes to overcome on a nightly basis, or simply a team still attempting to put together all three components of the game, simply waiting for that extended run after everything comes together?

I still tend to believe the latter (although in full disclosure, I’ve been called a pie-eyed optimist more than once) only because the pieces all are there for the Indians to go on a sustained run to put them squarely in the mix in the AL Central. If the Indians get all three components running at full capacity, with the offense putting up consistent numbers on the scoreboard while the rotation contributes 6 quality innings, handing it over to the progression of relievers that finally seems to be developing, the Indians can very easily build some momentum towards working their way back into the race without much difficulty.

The standings tell us that they’ve played 21 games now and they are already looking at a mountain to climb to get back to .500 at that magical 40-game mark that is looked upon as a point in the season when legitimate evaluations can be made on individual players and changes made.

So if evaluations and changes aren’t imminent and the Indians seem only to need to put together a level of across-the-board consistency to put together a run, the question comes flying out – when is that run coming…and at what point does “relax, it’s early” start morphing into “it’s getting late”?

Right now, it’s a question without an answer…though that run would certainly be a welcome surprise as it would mean that the Indians would be winning games every conceivable way, instead of losing them.

Lazy Sunday as Frustration Mounts

As Cleveland collectively wonders how “Massaquoi” will look on the back of a Browns’ jersey and how passing on Rey Maualuga will haunt them…oh, about twice a year when they face the Bungles, it’s time to get going on a Lazy Sunday on the other team who nobody can figure out…YOUR 6-12 Cleveland Indians:

If you think that frustration is creeping in for you on your couch, how about The Atomic Wedgie eschewing his tried-and-true post-game Wedgisms to unload this on what I can only picture as an unsuspecting press corps:
“What bothers me more than anything is we're not making good outs,” said manager Eric Wedge, referring to the offense. “Outside of a couple of guys, our approach has been very poor. It's something we pride ourselves on and work hard at it. There's just no excuse.
“Whatever the hell it is, we better figure out it pretty damn quick because I'm not going to sit around and watch what we've been watching.
“We're beyond all this. They aren't kids anymore.”
For a guy that is painfully careful about keeping an even keel and measures what he says about his team, this quote is about as candid and angry as you’re going to see Wedge publicly.

What does that translate to behind closed doors?
I don’t know, but let’s hope that a post-game buffet was being cleaned up by janitorial services at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario and not being enjoyed by a listless losing team.

Unfortunately, these days for the Indians, there hasn’t been one aspect of the team that can be consistently blamed for everything as each of the three components have already played the role of spoiler for the team. At the beginning of the year, it was the starting pitching…then it was the bullpen…now, it looks like the offense is stuck in neutral.

Yes, I think that this team will start firing on all cylinders as the talent is there, but it looks like it’s going to be a bumpy transition from the inconsistency of April to what we can only hope will be some semblance of continuity once June rolls around.

Speaking of continuity, Terry Pluto has a piece that hits on all of the spots in the rotation and how nearly every pitcher currently in the rotation has shown signs of coming around. I’m not quite as optimistic on Reyes as Pluto is as a fair share of his “ability to get out of jams” has to be chalked up to luck as much as it does “grit” and once that luck runs out, Reyes could be looking at some big numbers on the scoreboard at the end of some of these innings in which he’s getting into trouble. Reyes to me looks to be too “lucky” with his BABIP at .167 and has now walked more batters than he’s struck out, which is not a good thing; so I hope I’m wrong, but if Reyes falls off of that tightrope he’s been walking, it’s not going to be pretty.

Pluto also mentions that Jake Westbrook is still targeting June 12th as the return date to the rotation and, while it certainly would be a boon to the team to add a consistent starter like Westbrook to the rotation that early, the date does seem a little optimistic and I’d rather for Westbrook to come back as close to 100% as possible instead of him focusing on making his return on an arbitrary date like June 12th (the one year anniversary of his surgery) that holds significance only for him.

Finally, with Pluto, he touches on Matt LaPorta crushing the ball in AAA and how close to Cleveland he may be. After I wrote something similar in the last Tomahawks piece, I received an e-mail from astute reader Rich Schumacher, who pointed out that the Indians may be delaying LaPorta’s ascension to MLB because of the service time that he would accumulate by being called up now, which would allow him to enter arbitration a year earlier by being what’s called a “Super 2” player.

Essentially, what “Super 2” means is that if LaPorta accumulates 86 or more days of service time this year, he’ll be eligible for arbitration at the end of 2011 as opposed to being eligible for arbitration at the end of 2012 if he accumulates less than 86 days of service time.

If the Indians are, in fact, looking to limit that service time, the date that you’d be looking at to manage his service time and to keep him under club control, without going to arbitration would be (with a hat tip to Jay at LGT) at the end of the first week in June and technically on June 5th.

From a cost control standpoint and from a player control standpoint, this management of service time makes sense, but to me with a guy like LaPorta, who is already 24 years old and has proven that his bat is ready for MLB, this is almost over thinking the process. If you’re talking about managing a 21-year-old’s service time, that’s one thing, but with LaPorta, you’re keeping him under wraps when he’s a better option right now in LF because of concerns that you may have to pay him three years from now or holding onto him for another year and simply doing so because the best-case scenario (that LaPorta is a stud) is the only option that you can envision.

In case you were wondering, after another HR and a 3 for 3 night on Saturday, here’s LaPorta’s updated line for the season:
.404 BA / .447 OBP / .789 SLG / 1.266 OPS with 5 HR, 3 2B, and 2 3B in 16 games

If you want to promote a guy who’s seeing the ball well and riding a wave of confidence to improve the parent club, there’s your guy…service time issues considered.

Moving on, I’m not really interested in this created “story” about Cliff Lee possibly being traded as, if you’ve read the initial “article” that caused the firestorm, you’re aware that there’s nothing to the story other than wild speculation and citing sources “familiar with the organization”…which means what exactly?

The way it was picked up, though, by all of the “legitimate” media outlets was pretty sad, though, as anyone with an ounce of sense could read the original “article” (which I’m not going to link as that would only legitimize it in a sense and you can find it pretty easily if you haven’t already seen it) could know that the piece was just some guy sitting there thinking, “hey…maybe the Indians would trade Cliff Lee”, then getting some vanilla, anonymous quotes to “back up” his position, failing to mention that trading Lee (who has an affordable option for NEXT YEAR) now would be trading him at his lowest point of value since…well, I don’t know, since he was left off of the playoff roster in 2007?

Overall, it was “journalism” at it’s very worst and the fact that it was picked up by mainstream media sources (The PD’s dreadful “Starting Blocks linked it with a title of “Will the Cleveland Indians ‘pull a CC’ and trade Cliff Lee at midseason?”) is beyond embarrassing…for them, I mean.

Back to the sanity of solid journalistic work, the always spectacular Joe Posnanski goes “Around the Horn”, dissecting the idiocy of Brandon Phillips asserting that on-base percentage doesn’t really matter all that much as well as naming Grady Sizemore his AL MVP…after two weeks.
Time to make room on that trophy shelf, Grady…

Posnanski also regales us with the return of “Banny Log”, which chronicles the life and times of Royals’ pitcher Brian Bannister, who happens to be JoePos’ favorite player since Duane Kuiper and also happened to lock the Indians’ lineup down on Wednesday’s game just after being called up from AAA.

Vince Grzegorek at the terrific ‘64 and Counting has an interesting look at the Cavs’ run in the playoffs and the impact it may have on Indians’ attendance while said playoff run in going on. Vince does a good job of dissecting what an extended run into the playoffs by the Cavaliers (which I think we all assume to be nearly a given) could mean to the Indians and don’t think that the Indians aren’t wildly aware of said impact on their attendance and their revenue.

Moving on, while I know that I, in fact, have a Twitter feed (though I’m really not sure what that means), it seems that Matt LaPorta also does, though again, I’m not really sure what that means or why it is compelling to anyone.

The best thing that I can say about Twitter is that “The Soup” brilliantly lampooned the week that Twitter may have collectively “jumped the shark” in terms of overexposure to people who (like me) have no idea what it is, but think that it’s the hot, new thing to do.
Quoth Joel McHale, “It’s the digital Macarena”…

Apropos of nothing having too much to do with the Tribe (or Twitter), it seems that Milton Bradley believes that the Chicago media is trying to make him “snap”:
"I'm just not into negativity," he said. "I can see already I'm going to be that guy that since nothing else is going on in here, 'We're going to harp on Bradley all year and see if we can get him to snap.' I'm not going to go for it. You can't get a good story if I don't talk to [the media]. You'll make something up, like you always do."

"If I talk to you, you're going to make something up, and if I don't talk to you, you're going to make something up. So just go ahead and make something up and leave me out of it."

Yeah, this is not going to end well…
Not even close to the end of April (23 AB total) in the first year of a 3-year deal and already paranoia is prevailing with Milton?
Given that most Cubs’ fans saw the signing of Milton Bradley as the direct result of the Cubs’ trade of DeRosa to the Tribe (the thinking being that the DeRosa trade freed up payroll to add the switch-hitting GameBoy to a RH-heavy lineup), it’s going to make DeRosa’s return to Wrigley all the interesting in June as Cubs’ fans will be treated to what they had…while being reminded of what they now have.

Finally, I posted last week how unbelievable it was to sync up the FOX feed of the 22-4 rout in the Bronx with Hammy and Hegan on the radio (yes, that was just last Saturday), and my brother-in-law sent me this link to SportSync, a piece of equipment that may actually make such an accomplishment possible for every game without too much effort.

Now, if you’ll excuse me…I need to order my Brett Ratliff jersey so I can one day add it to the rag bin of jerseys graced with the words “COUCH”, “WYNN”, “McCOWN”, “FRYE”, “ANDERSON”, and “DORSEY”.

While I wait for it to arrive, I’ll hope that The Atomic Wedgie did more than put a burr under this team’s collective saddle and wake these guys up into playing a full game, with all aspects of the team contributing instead of watching 2/3 of the team set the team up for victory only to be sabotaged by that wayward other 1/3.