Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

[Mac]

This is awesome, another game with bases loaded and less than 2 outs and can't get a damn run home. These guys look like they don't know how to play the game

 

[LitlBuck]

It's OK the sooner we are totally out of the running we will see if the front office will make any moves. Relax and enjoy the summer:)it's not going to get any better:(

 

[NFBuck]

Sowers doesn't look like a big league pitcher...I just don't see the "stuff"

He isn't. He's a junkballer that shouldn't be pitching anything more than batting practice to ML hitters...oh, wait...I guess that's what he's doing.

 

[buckeyemania11]

He isn't. He's a junkballer that shouldn't be pitching anything more than batting practice to ML hitters...oh, wait...I guess that's what he's doing.

yep

I wonder how many beatings it will take for the staff to realize that he is no good

 

[NFBuck]

yep

I wonder how many beatings it will take for the staff to realize that he is no good

Look no further than Rafael Betancourt's continued use for your answer. They're either totally oblivious or completely inept. I'm not sure which would be worse.

 

[buckeyemania11]

Looks like we may be seeing David Huff in the majors soon

Fantasy Baseball Breaking News - Rotoworld.com

Indians prospect Huff moves up to Triple-A

David Huff - S - CLE - Jun. 7 - 3:41 am et In his first start for Triple-A Buffalo, David Huff allowed one run in six innings on Friday.
Huff was 5-1 with a 1.92 ERA, 44 h and 62/14 K/BB in 65 2/3 innings for Double-A Akron. He's another lefty with middle-of-the-rotation potential for an organization that seems to be developing them in bunches. Jun. 7 - 3:41 am et

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Good at not good enough Indians waste scoring opportunities again in loss to Tigers
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Monday, Jun 09, 2008
DETROIT: It was a game in which the Indians' mastery was clearly in evidence. Through injuries and slumps, unexpected setbacks and disappointments, the Tribe has become expert at playing just badly enough to lose.
So it was at Comerica Park on Sunday, as the Detroit Tigers went ahead two games to one in the four-game series with a 5-2 win.
Jeremy Sowers pitched just poorly enough to dig a big hole ? but not too big ? for the offense, and the hitters wasted just enough chances to avoid having to catch up. All in all, it was a bravura performance for a team that is attempting to resist the urge to win. Unfortunately for the Indians, that is not their objective.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians lose to Detroit Tigers

Detroit downs disappointing Tribe again
Monday, June 09, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Detroit -- In a race to decide the most disappointing team in the American League, the Indians have a good chance to catch the Detroit Tigers. It didn't cost them $139 million to fall on their face as it has the Tigers, but it's been just as painful.
That being said, and taking into account Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park, not a lot has gone right for the Indians in the first 63 games of the season. It's one of the reasons Jeremy Sowers, activated from Class AAA Buffalo, N.Y., before the game, started and lasted just four innings against a Tigers club that has been an even bigger offensive mystery than the Indians.
Sowers replaced Jake Westbrook in the rotation. Westbrook will be out for at least a year once he has Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians closing in on making hard choices for rest of season


Monday, June 09, 2008Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
The Indians asked one ques tion about pitcher C.C. Sa bathia after he cut off negotiations: How could trading him make them a contender for 2008? It couldn't in General Manager Mark Shapiro's mind, so they didn't.
Given the way they've played, a slight twist in the conversation is in order. How can keeping him make any difference at all now?
The Indians have a month or so to find an answer, but the suspicion is they already know where this season is headed. Their bullpen is near the bottom of the league. They don't outhit their mistakes and rarely do they outhit the ballpark dimensions.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge believes reliever Rafael Betancourt will bounce back


Monday, June 09, 2008
Detroit- Rafael Betancourt is embarrassed by the way he's pitching. Manager Eric Wedge doesn't think that will last long.
"Betancourt has been our most consistent reliever for the last four or five years," Wedge said before Sunday's 5-2 loss to Detroit. "He's pitched in different roles and handled things well. He's struggling right now. But he'll figure it out."
Last year, Betancourt ruled the eighth inning. He was 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA. He struck out 80, walked five and allowed four homers in 79 1/3 innings.

Cont..

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Un-armed Tribe falls further back
Monday, June 9, 2008
BY JOSH WEIR
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

DETROIT Step up to the wheel of misfortune and give it a spin.

How exactly is the Tribe going to lose next?

Maybe some faulty bullpen work. Maybe the anemic offense.

It was the starting pitching's turn during Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park. Jeremy Sowers struggled through four innings as the Indians dropped to seven games under .500 and 81⁄2 games behind Central Division-leading Chicago. Both figures are season highs for futility.

This 11-game road trip is taking on the look of a funeral procession. Sowers took the rotation spot of Jake Westbrook, who's headed for Tommy John surgery. Fausto Carmona is at least three weeks away from pitching in the big leagues. Travis Hafner's progress is being measured by "strength gains," not run production. With apologies to Scott Elarton, who threw three shutout innings of relief Sunday, the bullpen is a mess.

Only 99 games left Tribe fans.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Bullpen problems perplex Tribe manager
Monday, June 9, 2008
BY JOSH WEIR
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

DETROIT Rafael Betancourt stood at his locker in a state of numb confusion a couple of days ago.

"I don't really have the words to say how bad this really is," Betancourt said after melting down in Cleveland's loss Saturday.

While Betancourt's problems are the most pronounced, his statement could be applied to the entire Tribe bullpen.

Cleveland's relievers are the story that's been overlooked because of the team's pathetic hitting for the first two months of the season. In fact, while most of Northeast Ohio worried about offensive productivity, Manager Eric Wedge's main concern has always been the bullpen.

A group that was one of the best in baseball last year has become a guessing game: What will Wedge get next?

If he can't trust guys in certain roles, Wedge really can't manage. "That's when you start rolling the dice," he said.
Cont..

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Westbrook to miss at least a year
Sunday, June 8, 2008
BY JOSH WEIR
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

DETROIT Jake Westbrook's season is over.

The Indians' 30-year-old right-hander will have Tommy John surgery on his elbow, ending this season and putting him out for a full calendar year.

Dr. Lewis Yocum recommended the procedure after evaluating Westbrook on Friday, which confirmed the recommendation of Indians team physician Dr. Mark Schickendantz.

"It's torn enough that both Schickendantz and Yocum feel that his best chance to return to a high level of baseball activity is going to be with reconstruction, as opposed to a conservative physical therapy program," Indians Head Athletic Trainer Lonnie Soloff said.

Westbrook experienced discomfort after throwing five innings against the White Sox on May 28. When the problem didn't improve, the Indians put him on the disabled list Tuesday. Soloff described the injury as cumulative, not something that happened on one pitch or in one game.

"If you pitch long enough on a high level, you're going to experience some sort of arm breakdown, whether it be shoulder or elbow," Soloff said.
Cont...

 

[Piney]

Here is an article from Jayson Stark about the AL Central. The interesting part is the notes later in the article about CC.

ESPN - Season of opposites in AL Central - MLB

Ready To Rumble

? OH SAY CAN YOU C.C.: C.C. Sabathia to the Red Sox? Our spies say the Indians have "got their soldiers out, looking at other clubs with depth and prospects," just in case they decide to put their ace on the market. And one organization they've been scouting most heavily is (yep) the Red Sox.

As we mentioned earlier in Rumblings, the Indians are still traveling down duel paths, hoping to charge back into the race but also letting teams know that if that doesn't happen, they're willing to listen -- on Sabathia and others. An official of one curious club says the price of an ace is "three quality pieces," which can be either young big-leaguers or advanced prospects.

Meanwhile, an executive from another club says Cleveland "would have to do better than two first-round draft picks" to justify trading Sabathia. Meaning, he said, "this would have to be a sign-and-trade."

But it's tough to envision Sabathia foregoing his free agency without a humongous, Johan Santana-esque payoff. And those kinds of deals rarely happen in July.

First off, said the same exec, "why would you give up three top-notch guys when you can wait two or three months and sign him without giving up any of them? And if we're talking seven years, I'd have a hard time with that. Considering his size now, what's his body going to look like in the sixth or seventh year? I'd go four years, but I wouldn't go six or seven. If you're talking seven times $20 million, whew. That's wrong."

Nevertheless, an official of a third team said, "Can you imagine C.C. in the same rotation with [Josh] Beckett and Dice-K? He'd change the whole complexion of the postseason."

? MORE C.C.: The other question about Sabathia we're often asked is this: Why couldn't the Indians try to trade him for a bat or bats that would help them this year while still attempting to win with the arms they'd have left?

Because "I don't see those trades out there," said an official of one team. "If the idea would be to get back major-league players, I don't see that being the market anymore. Look what the Twins got for Johan Santana. Look at the Dan Haren deal. Good young major league players just don't get traded anymore."

 

[LitlBuck]

I think the Yankees are in desperate need of starting pitching and they always want to make a run so as much as I hate to do it I would see what they have to offer.

When does the Browns camp begin