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Indians Tidbits (2008 season)

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billmac91;1168308; said:
I'm not sure when the last time we got back-to-back multi run games. They really brought the sticks tonight. 5 hits.....that's like a hit every other inning. Solid. I'm not sure how much more you want. Damn this is a demanding fanbase.

Our team batting average might be the lowest in the majors, but Wedge says we'll start hitting. So it must be true.
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Yep, the pathetic state of the team has clouded by sarcasm detection. :lol:

Six hits, nine strike outs. When was the last time these chumps were on the positive side of that statistic?

Hate to say it, but it appears we're on the brink of another rebuilding process. At least we have the SP's to start around (Carmona, Jake, Laffey, Lee, Miller), but the starting lineup needs to be almost totally revamped. Get a compitent hitting instructor. Keep Grady, Victor, Pronk (no choice, really) and Francisco and start looking elsewhere. Aubrey should be starting over Garko right now. Garko's defense sucks and he's miserable against righties. Blake is done and should be nothing more than a role player, Peralta is too wildly inconsistant to cling too tightly to, Cabrera may be salvageable, Garko is just another cog, Gutierrez may be salvageable. Too far into the season to probably fix much of anything right now, but the front office has to at least start looking to the future. Trade C.C. at the deadline for some young position players, rebuild the bullpen, again (maybe give Miller a look at closer in Buffalo?) and start looking to the future because the last rebuilding effort has run it's course.
 
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NFBuck;1168311; said:
Too far into the season to probably fix much of anything right now
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I agree with most of that post except for the above. We're not that far out of it, there are still over 100 games to be played. Maybe I'm just being naive about it, but I'm still holding out hope. We just need to get the wheels moving here very soon...
 
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CincyBuck88;1168314; said:
I agree with most of that post except for the above. We're not that far out of it, there are still over 100 games to be played. Maybe I'm just being naive about it, but I'm still holding out hope. We just need to get the wheels moving here very soon...
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Understandable, but I can say with a large amount of certainty that unless they bring somebody in to work with these guys, nothing is gonna change. There has been no indication otherwise all year. This ain't a slump, these guys just cannot hit.

Sizemore still hasn't taken that next step into his 4th season. Peralta looks lost out there, well, lost or lazy. Pronk has shown flashes lately, but is still a shell of his former self and I really think he'd benefit from some time on the DL and a rehab assignment to retool his swing. Victor suddenly has no power. Garko cannot hit righties. Cabrera's average just drops and drops (is there a basement they're waiting for it to reach before optioning him down?). Blake is old and has no bat speed and huge holes in his swing. Gutierrez and Dellucci wouldn't start on most teams. It's just a big mess. At least Francisco and Aubrey have injected some life, but that's a big knot to try to untie.

On top of that, the bullpen is absolutely terrible and has no closer. Sure the division is weak, but i will be shocked if this team wins 75 games. For the long term benefit, it may be better to fall completely out of it so they can be free to make some moves at the deadline and hopefully get some help for the lineup in the future.
 
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Blake is old and has no bat speed and huge holes in his swing
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MPW-15520



seriously now though.... I will say this again like I've already said before. I just can't believe the management looked at this team and said "lets leave it as it is". Now I can understand not wanting to mess with a winning formula, but when you actually lose a hitter who was batting like .330 in the playoffs (lofton) and you replace him with jason michaels you're bound to have some problems.

The bottom line is this team LOST last year, and that means the team was obviously not good enough to beat Boston. That usually means you're one or two peices away from winning the WHOLE THING. Look at how this team has performed the past 4 years for god sakes and it should tell you a little something about this team. 2005 we almost win the division, 2006 we suck, 2007 we almost win the world series, and 2008 we suck again. The inconsistency should've also shown that this team might have gotten lucky or might need a little help.

I think management did too much guessing in the offseason rather than going out and doing their damn jobs. What I mean is this.... "Well I bet Haf will bounce back and hit 300 again" or "We can count on Cabrera to play as well as he did at the end of last year " or " We can bank on 25 Hr's and an improved perralta" or "Fransisco/Guets can replace kenny no problem". They should've planned for the worst and they did the opposite. They should've asked themselves What if the LF/RF's don't produce? What happens if our 2nd basemen had beginners luck? What if Hafner just isn't healthy enough to play ball? Is Blake really goind to be able to be as clutch as last year?

It was so glaringly obvious last year when they played Boston that this team desperately needed another bat or two. They couldn't even resign our best hitter for average last year in kenny lofton. Was it really going to brake the bank to bring him back?? By just having two moves this team's make up could be totally differnent and could've been avoided all together IMO.

Just adding kenny Lofton to the freaking line-up puts more pressure on other pitching staffs for god sakes. Kenny draws walks, he can still move on the base paths, and can still play the field. I can understand them wanting to play the younger outfielders if they truely would've shown us something last year, but none of them were able to show consistency.

You add Kenny, and IMO a 2nd basemen and you're in play. What bout Tad iguchi from colorado? could've went after him too... None of this addressed hafner/garko struggling as bad as they have been though. I just don't know if hafner is the answer anymore to be honest. Damn I just feel so bad for our pitching staff/bullpen because they have to be among the top in the leauge with Sabathia, Carmona, Lee, Westbrook, and Byrd. Oh well... Just shop CC now because no point in signing him to a huge contract if we're not committed to spending the extra money to better ourselves all around.
 
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ABJ

Tribe's offense kicks bucket Martinez's frustration traps him in dugout. Byrd's no-hitter gets ugly in hurry
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Thursday, May 22, 2008
CHICAGO: When the Indians' game highlight is Victor Martinez getting his foot stuck in a bucket, you're pretty safe in assuming it was not a good night for the Tribe.
But at least the hitting didn't trigger the 7-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field. It didn't do much to advance the Indians' cause, either, but in analyzing the defeat, there was something else on which to focus.
For the first time in 19 games, Tribe pitchers gave up more than six runs. The Sox did their damage off three pitchers: starter Paul Byrd, who gave up five runs and five hits in 51/3 innings, Jorge Julio, who was charged with one run in 11/3 innings but let in two for Byrd, and Craig Breslow, who yielded a solo homer.
But enough of the nuts and bolts. It's showtime!

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ABJ

White Sox manager gives take on Tribe Guillen says slump won't last, rotation one of best
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Thursday, May 22, 2008

CHICAGO: Ozzie Guillen probably has something to say about nearly everything, certainly he is ready with a quip or an opinion concerning all aspects of baseball.
So it was no surprise that the Chicago White Sox manager had an observation about the Indians' season-long batting slump.
''I don't think it's just them, it's [all of] baseball,'' Guillen said Wednesday. ''They are going to come out of it. Hopefully, they will panic and won't come out of it, but I know they will.''
The White Sox have had serious hitting problems of their own. Heading into Wednesday night's game, their team batting average of .247 was 13th in the American League, one spot ahead of the Tribe's .234 mark.
However, Guillen has been fortunate to be guiding a club that ranks second in the league in home runs (54). Only the Rangers (55) have hit more. By contrast, the Indians, with 36 homers, rank 10th in the AL.
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CPD

White Sox homers pummel Cleveland Indians


Thursday, May 22, 2008Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Chicago -- Victor Martinez kicked the bucket and so did the Indians on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
Martinez perfectly captured the frustrated state of the Indians when he kicked his right foot through a white plastic bucket in the dugout during a 7-2 loss to the White Sox. The Indians have lost five straight for their longest losing streak of the season.
Foot met bucket in the fourth inning after Martinez, who has yet to homer this season, flied out to center field for the second out. Martinez slammed his helmet in frustration on his way to the dugout. After he entered the dugout, Martinez kicked a hole through a plastic barrel holding sunflower seeds. Bags of seeds went flying across the dugout floor.

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CPD

Borowski solid as Aeros get victory



Thursday, May 22, 2008
From staff and wire reports
Indians closer Joe Borowski gave up one hit in one scoreless inning of work as the Aeros defeated Altoona, Pa., 4-1, in a Class AA Eastern League game Wednesday night at Canal Park in Akron.
Borowski was pitching for the Aeros as part of a rehabilitation assignment as he tries to come back from a right triceps strain.
Meanwhile, the Aeros scored three runs in the first inning to give starting pitcher David Huff his fourth win of the sea son.




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CPD

BASEBALL HISTORYRhoads Joss

Hits uncommon at Tribe games in 1908, too



Thursday, May 22, 2008

On Monday, Boston Red Sox pitcher John Lester beat Kansas City, 7-0, and became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in 2008. The previous pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Red Sox teammate Clay Buchholz, who did it 261 days earlier on Sept. 1, 2007, in a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
A hundred years ago, the Indians - then known as the Cleveland Naps - had two pitchers throw no-hitters in the same season - and only 14 days apart.
Robert "Dusty" Rhoads threw his no-hitter on Sept. 18, 1908, a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox at Cleveland's League Park. It was the third no-hitter in Cleveland team history. The Boston run, in support of pitcher Frank Arellanes, came as a result of a walk, a sacrifice and a wild pitch.

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CPD

Defense keeps Cleveland Indians infielder Asdrubal Cabrera on roster


Thursday, May 22, 2008
Chicago- Asdrubal Cabrera says he doesn't even look at his batting average. It's a good thing or he may suffer sticker-shock arrest.
Cabrera is hitting .175 (22-for-126). It's the lowest batting average for an American League player among the 90 players ranked by ESPN.com. Under normal circumstances - meaning two or three Indians regulars were at or above lukewarm with the bats - Cabrera would probably be in Class AAA Buffalo, N.Y., right now correcting his swing.
The reason he isn't is his defense.

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bukIpower;1168346; said:
It was so glaringly obvious last year when they played Boston that this team desperately needed another bat or two. They couldn't even resign our best hitter for average last year in kenny lofton. Was it really going to brake the bank to bring him back?? By just having two moves this team's make up could be totally differnent and could've been avoided all together IMO.

Just adding kenny Lofton to the freaking line-up puts more pressure on other pitching staffs for god sakes. Kenny draws walks, he can still move on the base paths, and can still play the field. I can understand them wanting to play the younger outfielders if they truely would've shown us something last year, but none of them were able to show consistency.

You add Kenny, and IMO a 2nd basemen and you're in play. What bout Tad iguchi from colorado? could've went after him too... None of this addressed hafner/garko struggling as bad as they have been though. I just don't know if hafner is the answer anymore to be honest. Damn I just feel so bad for our pitching staff/bullpen because they have to be among the top in the leauge with Sabathia, Carmona, Lee, Westbrook, and Byrd. Oh well... Just shop CC now because no point in signing him to a huge contract if we're not committed to spending the extra money to better ourselves all around.
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It is rather obvious that you like Kenny as I did but who is he playing for now. I'm not sure but I don't think he is in the ML. Kenny was getting old and while I think he brought some maturity and enthusiasm (along with his hitting) to the team last year I don't think he would have provided much this year. He probably couldn't do any worse than Delucci but the Tribe brass would have never sat him down because of his salary and I would not like Kenny taking playing time away from Francisco/Gut.

I really don't think the front office thought they needed hitting because of the way the guys performed last year along with the bullpen. Unfortunately, that is not the case this year. We still have a ways to go in the season but I am beginning to lose hope already.
 
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