Sorry to interrupt the stream of bluebird updates for something so silly as professional baseball to "all" (how many of you are there anyway? I never get comments) who couldn't care less about grown men playing a child's game. But tonight is the All-Star Game and while it is not the mathematical mid-point of the season, it is the unofficial one. In a game so happy with statistics, I find it refreshing to think that the 1st half of the season is slightly longer than the 2nd but no one seems to care.
Before getting to the Indians, I'd like to welcome you all to listen to a very good interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. I've been listening to her for years now--I became a regular devotee when I lived in Columbus, OH back in '97. I worked nights, so during the day I would be driving around town going to libraries, the grocery store, etc and inevitably the show would be on. I still have a palpable memory of sitting in my old Camry in the Kroger parking lot until the show concluded because I was so engrossed. Aside aside, here's a link to a show with Michael Sokolove, author of The Ticket Out: Darryl Strawberry and the Boys of Crenshaw. Even if you are not at all interested in baseball, this interview is great and definitely worth listening to.
My mom sent me an email this morning letting me know that Cleveland has been named "The Most Tortured Sports City" by the folks at ESPN(2). Her message simply said "Just thought that you might want to know this if you don't already." Very well said, Mom, very well said. I know that I do not suffer nearly as much as most Land of Cleve fans since I loathe the Browns and dismiss the Cavs as a basketball-lite (yes, even with LeBron). And my sunny and hopeful optimism about life (this said solely for the purpose of people who truly know me to get a belly laugh) keeps me going through all the near misses that the Indians have had in the last decade. But every once in awhile, I feel my enthusiasm and patience waning. I want to win BIG, dammit! Paul thinks that I'm too tough on the players because I do occasionally unleash a torrent of fury on one of them. But he's a Cardinals fan. What does he know of torment? Sure they've lost heart-breakers, but those are more than evened out by the fact that they are one of the winningest baseball franchises. But that's the past? OK, how about this year. "Experts" said they'd have a decent year, but boy are they proving everyone wrong. They are kicking some serious ass over in the NL. Only the mighty Yanks have a better record and that hold is very tenuous. Unless they become injury plagued I see no reason why this team isn't headed for the playoffs.
Jealously aside, where are the Indians now that we're mid-way through the season? A whopping five players are All-Stars. They are 3 under .500 and 5½ games out of 1st place. They are talking about winning the division. They are better than average in the AL in batting in all major categories except for HRs. They are worse than average in the AL in pitching in all major categories period.
Here's what I think. They won't win the division without making some trades and it's questionable if they are going to do that. Second-half pushes for division titles can be costly in the long run and I wonder if the front office is thinking seriously about making a gamble like this. I'm a frugal person (some might say cheap), so I liked the trolling of the cast-offs in an attempt to put together a bullpen, but I realize now that we need to buy some experienced talent. I think that the Tribe has managed to home-grow some starting pitchers, but we need guys who can maintain leads or at least keep the surprisingly good offense in the game. Just like the teams in the '90s this team can make up deficits in the late innings. It doesn't help when they gain a couple of runs in an inning only to give up a couple.
But seriously, even with a good trade or two, I don't think that this is the breakout year of the Tribe. Don't get me wrong, they are much improved since last year. Even though they lead the AL in failed steal attempts, they are a lot more successful at getting free bases. Plate discipline has definitely improved in most players that needed to stop swinging at every pitch in the dirt (yes, Coco, I mean you). They look better defensively, but Casey Blake's recent clumsiness is worrisome and Jody Gerut still doesn't look comfortable out in right field. Belliard compensates for poor movement (read: he's out of shape) by playing in shallow right, but that makes it tough to turn double plays on weakly hit grounders unless the pitcher can get to the ball which is unlikely because they have a penchant for falling off the mound after each pitch.
I think that besides pitching keeping them out of the running (which, granted, can be amended by some trades), I think that the major reason that they won't become division champs (and I sincerely hope to eat these words): I doubt that they have staying power over the long haul. Most of them haven't played enough full seasons in the majors to be conditioned for it. Plus, there's always the wild card problem that is injury and who knows who will throw out their back or injure their bicep or tear a ligament. There are some hungry, hungry minor leaguers just itching for their chance to show off their stuff in the bigs (Peralta, Sizemore, Phillips) and they just might get their chance.
Bottom line: it'll be fun, it'll be a close race to .500, it'll be the pre-breakout season for this young team that is deserving of many compliments and happy futures. And again, I really do hope that I eat my words.
Posted by Elizabeth at July 13, 2004 02:36 PMDon't forget the ubiquitous groin pull :)
Seriously though, I realize my experience as a Cardinals fan can't come anywhere near the pain Indians fans have felt throughout the years....although, what about those "lean" years with Joe Torre as manager? Just kidding :P Of course, if you listened to sports talk radio in St. Louis (which I don't) I'm sure all you'll hear are diatribes against Tony LaRussa claiming that he represents everything unholy in the game when all he's done for the organization is win 4 division championships (yes, 2001 counts as a co-championship so stop your whining and piss off, Lance Berkman!) in his 8+ seasons in the Gateway City. While I don't always agree with the man's oftentimes wacky decisions, he ALWAYS makes the game interesting (read: nervewracking) and it's very difficult to argue with the results.
Now, back to the Indians. Is Wedgie on the verge of asserting some managerial prowess? Let's hope so.
Posted by: Paul at July 13, 2004 03:00 PMNothing like a dig at the Cardinals to bring Paul out of the woodwork, eh? If I knew who was reading this, I could do the same for you :)
Anyway, yes, I appreciate the mention of the importance of managers in the whole scheme of things. Papa LaRussa is quite a guy and certainly does give a lot of fodder for the talk shows (boy, would they miss him if he left). I think that the current team is winning completely independently of him. I mean, with a team like this one, a T-ball coach could take them into the postseason! I'm sure that Steve "Mr. Middle Finger From the Bullpen" Kline would agree with me here.
The Indians' fate, on the other hand, does seem to rest in the unseasoned hands of Eric "Wedgie" Wedge. Can this Hoosier assert his vision for this team and is it a good one? I know that he has two BIG things working for him. One, management respects him. Mike "Grover" Hargrove had to put up with Albert Belle even though management knew that he was problematic to him. But that's Larry Dolan for you--loves those bats no matter who is swinging them. Mark Shapiro is as green as Wedgie and I think that it puts him in a very valuable position for a new manager. They traded Milton Bradley despite his star quality play because of repeated problems, a move that most clubs wouldn't have considered doing. And in doing so, Wedgie solidified the second big thing going for him: the respect of his players. Most of these guys played under him at the minor league level so not only does Wedge understand them, he's not an unapproachable demi-God arbitrarily playing with their fates.
That said, I don't think that respect for a manager wins pennants. The manager needs to make crucial decisions, often on the fly, at key times throughout a game as well as maintain a realistic vision of the team long-term. He needs to read his players, understand when to pull pitchers, know who to rest, know who to demote and who to bring up. Granted, his job is *a lot* easier than Papa LaRussa and the rest of the NL managers because of the DH, but with a team with so many variables, it can't be an easy job.
So far, I'd give Wedgie a positive review. I think that he lingered over a bad bullpen a little too long--I mean just how many games can Stewart and Jimenez blow before you dump them? I think that sending Escobar and Davis down were excellent moves. I think that he needs to do the same with Gerut and Broussard soon if they don't turn it around.
Bottom line: whether or not they win the division or end up above .500 is not entirely up to him; there are just too many things he can't control. So, I pay him possibly the highest compliment by saying that he's very flexible and I think that it should see him through the rest of the season.
Posted by: Elizabeth at July 13, 2004 03:52 PMI have to disagree with you on LaRussa not having much of an influence on the Cardinals' success this season. He was the one who assembled (along with GM Walt Jocketty) and has managed the bullpen that, with the exception of the first 2 or 3 weeks of the season, has been outstanding. If the 2003 Cards had this bullpen, there's no way the immature bears would've even come close to winning the division. Personnally, I think that the pitching for the Cards has been all the difference this year. Of course, the starting pitching (in-game bullpen mgmt. largely being Papa LaRussa's domain...or at least a joint effort, anyway--you have to view these two as attached at the hip, really) has been largely a result of Dave Duncan's magnificent work with rehab projects such as Jason Marquis and Chris Carpenter.....now, if he could just turn Morris' home-run-happy-ass around ;)
NOW, when it comes to the Cardinals' offense I can't argue with you. This bunch of guys could be managed by an inanimate carbon rod! That said, I have to say that I still get nervous seeing Marlon Anderson, Hector Luna, and Roger Cedeno patrolling the corner outfield positions. I think it's time to start playing So Taguchi and Ray Lankford (I realize he's been slumping, but he's a HELL of a lot better defensively than the aforementioned trio) a lot more instead of two middle infielders (Anderson and Luna) and a sub-par defensive outfielder (Cedeno). Ah well, if the left field position is all I have to bitch about, then I guess I don't have it too bad.
Now, back to the Indians again :) I, too, think Wedgie has done a great job so far. Standing up to Milton Bradley surely did a lot for his standing with the players.
Posted by: Paul at July 13, 2004 04:44 PMYes, agree that LaRussa has done a lot of good work with the team since last year, but how much has gone on during the current season? I am honestly asking here because I don't follow the transactions of the Cardinals closely enough to know. To me, here's how the season has gone.
They hop out of the gate quickly then all of a sudden the bullpen completely collapses. I watch Cody "I'm Here Because My Dad's A Base Coach" McKay, backup catcher, pitch an inning of stunning relief throwing knuckleballs with better accuracy than his throw to 2nd base. The Cards "slump"--the bullpen spells doom for the team. Immature Bears smell blood in the water. Skip ahead 3 weeks and the bullpen has turned it around. Now they look like All-Stars (hey, why aren't they?)
Is the bullpen a completely different set of players now? Except for Simontacchi, I don't know of any demotions. If they are the same players, doesn't that have more to do with the pitching coach than LaRussa?
Good thing that I just bait with my Cardinals comments, eh? I obviously know next to nothing beyond the obvious about that team. One is hard enough to keep up with!
Posted by: Elizabeth at July 13, 2004 05:07 PM