10 Things that need to happen for the Indians to have a "decent" season:

1. Veterans Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta, and Travis Hafner all need to bounce back from injuries and sub par seasons.
2. They need to sign 3 free agents: a backup veteran catcher, a veteran utility infielder, and a veteran starter that can eat up innings a la Dave Burba.
3. They need to develop the young staff over the course of the season and can't let guys like Luis Valbuena and Matt Laporta turn into the next Kelly Shoppach.
4. They need put Justin Masterson in the bullpen.
5. They need to make a decision on Fausto Carmona and Jeremy Sowers. Sowers could be a great long inning reliever but his days as a starter are numbered. Carmona is a complete mystery.
6. Play everyone at one position. With Wedge gone this shouldn't be an issue. (Never again will I watch the Indians get swept in a 3 game series in Milwaukee with Eduardo Perez as the starting rightfielder.)
7. Use Kerry Wood as much as possible in relief situations and hope you can trade him during the All-Star break.
8. Give Andy Marte a chance before making a decision on him, I would hate to see him perform well with another team. Again this is something that may already be taken care of with the removal of Wedge.
9. Decide quickly if C Lou Marson, P Carlos Carrasco, and IF Jason Donald are major league ball players. Given all the other question marks on the roster this it not the best environment for unproven talent to "settle in".
10. Put a lineup together in Spring Training and use it once the season starts. No more 162 lineups for 162 games.

October is around the corner, the Indians are not.......

"Highly" touted prospect Chris Gimenez continues to get at-bats over Andy Marte at 1st base. I really can't explain this. Marte has finally been destroying the ball in triple A for a full season. The Indians call him up after trading both Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko, one would think that this clear an apparent path for Marte to play 1st since manager Eric Wedge will not play him at 3rd base. But instead we get to see the likes of Gimenez.

Another blow to Marte:
Matt LaPorta finally got called up because of the injury to OF Trevor Crowe and Wedge stated that LaPorta would get regular playing time and see time at 1st base again pushing Marte to the back of the line.

It would be a shame to see Marte play well for another team, he is still young and has a decent amount of upside but one would never know unless he is given playing time.

What happened to Josh Barfield?????

Roster moves need to be made.

Grady Sizemore can't play centerfield everyday with his nagging elbow injury and surgery is still a very real possibility at this point(and if that's true then he needs to be shut down and operated on now, not at the end of the season). Given Sizemore's status the team needs Ben Francisco to play CF everytime Sizemore is the DH. On these days we get to watch Ryan Garko or Chris Gimenez play the outfield! This is ridiculous that this is still happening. Why is Matt LaPorta still in Columbus when he could be getting regular at-bats. Let Francisco be the fourth outfielder and play only when Sizemore is not in CF. LaPorta can then be the everyday leftfielder.

Bring up Andy Marte as well, Jhonny Peralta is in the same boat as Francisco right now. Given a starting job and doing nothing with it. Time to move on and get some other guys at bats since we are not winning anything.

I also think Josh Barfield should be up here instead of Luis Valbuena. I think it's interesting how much they love Valbuena but hated Brandon Phillips and Marte when they couldn't perform offensively. Why is Valbuena different???

Also, try and trade Carl Pavano. He won't be back next year.

I think Jamey Carroll should be signed for a couple more years instead of dealt. He provides a lot of insurance for a young infield with a lot of question marks. I have a feeling that the Indians are going to have a very weak offseason and pitching will be the main focus. So the position players will be almost what you see now, making Carroll that much more important. Plus he doesn't have an extremely high trade value since he is more of a piece and not an everyday player but one could assume that any National League team would love to have him on their bench.

Luis Valbuena

Luis Valbuena has found himself in the lineup everyday at short and 2nd base. He has never been a regular shortstop, ever. For whatever reason Wedge really likes this kid. The problem is he hasn't hit anything. Wedge says the numbers lie and that Valbuena is putting up good at bats but if your slugging, on base, and batting average are all under .300, along with 30 strikeouts(only 15 hits) in 80 at bats I would like to know how the numbers lie. He doesn't have one good offensive stat. I really think they are doing this just to spite Josh Barfield, who has seen less action than reserve 1st baseman/catcher Chris Gimenez.

Travis Hafner and the Bullpen

Travis Hafner went 3 for 5 last night with a double, a homer, and no strikeouts. The guy looked good, let's hope this continues.

The likes of Greg Aguino, Luis Vizcaino, Matt Herges, and Rafael Perez in 2 and a third innings of relief work last night gave up: 8 earned runs, 6 hits (including 1 homerun), and 6 walks, along with 2 wild pitches. I don't know what else to say about this, the bullpen had been really good lately.......

Out of last place

If you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance, you haven't, the Indians climbed out of the cellar last night and moved ahead of Kansas City into 4th place in the AL Central Division.

If Aaron Laffey, Jake Westbrook, and/or Scott Lewis can return to the rotation by the end of June they might be able to get something going. I don't think they can rely on Tomo Ohka, David Huff, and Jeremy Sowers for the rest of the season. Sowers and Huff continue to show improvement but you can't wait and wait for one of them to break out this far into the season. If the Indians do not continue a steady climb in the AL Central standings prior to the All Star Break any hope will be crushed.

Jhonny Peralta

Peralta was out of the lineup on Sunday and is not in the lineup again tonight, plus we had an off day yesterday. I am wondering if he is hurt. With Asdrubal Cabrera on the DL you would think that JP would be in the lineup everyday at 3rd or short.

Fausto Carmona

Fausto Carmona was terrible again yesterday vs. the Twins. Tomo Ohka came in and ate up innings for a second time behind Carmona. How much longer are the Indians going to let this go on??? It's almost guaranteed that we are going to lose every 5th day. With 106 games left that means we would lose 21 of those games indefinitely.

With Aaron Laffey, Scott Lewis, and Jake Westbrook's returns on the horizon the clock will be ticking for Carmona. I wouldn't be surprised if they activate Travis Hafner today and option Carmona to Columbus and let Ohka take his turn in the rotation for the time being given that we currently have 8 relief pitchers.

The rotation should look something like this by mid-July: Cliff Lee, Carl Pavano, Laffey, Westbrook, and S. Lewis/Jeremy Sowers/David Huff.

Only time will tell if these guys are healthy enought to return to the rotation without any setbacks.

Is help on the way???

The following players could all potentially be back with the Tribe this month(June):
Travis Hafner - DH
Grady Sizemore - CF
Scott Lewis - SP
Asdrubal Cabrera - SS/2B
Joe Smith - RP
Jake Westbrook - SP

RP Rafael Betancourt and SP Aaron Laffey are listed to be back early July.

All of these players are key to the success of the Tribe this season, especially S. Lewis, Laffey, and Westbrook because they are starting pitchers. Smith and Betancourt would also be welcomed back to the bullpen with open arms and hopefully solidfy a bullpen that continues to get better, maybe they could be the final pieces.

Obviously having Cabrera, Sizemore, and Hafner back in the lineup would be huge since they are all batting in the top 4 spots of the lineup. Maybe they would move Pronk down in the lineup but he was hitting in the 3 and 4 spot at the start of the season. Maybe once these guys return Wedge will stop showing everyone's versatility and give some guys regular positions(wouldn't that be nice?!).

Today's Lineup

Once again I disagree with Wedge's Lineup. The order today features Shin-Soo Choo is left, Mark DeRosa at DH, Victor Martinez at catcher, Chris Gimenez at 1st and Luis Valbuena at 2nd. DeRosa and Jamey Carroll should be at 3rd and 2nd, Ryan Garko should be the 1st baseman, Martinez should DH with his banged up knee, and Choo in right.

What the heck Wedgie???

Wedge's lineup vs. my lineup:
1. Ben Francisco - RF 1. Francisco - LF
2. Carroll - 3B 2. Carroll - 3B
3. Martinez - C 3. Martinez - DH
4. Choo - LF 4. Choo - RF
5. Jhonny Peralta - SS 5. Peralta - SS
6. DeRosa - DH 6. Ryan Garko - 1B
7. Gimenez - 1B 7. DeRosa or Valbuena - 2B
8. Trevor Crowe - CF 8. Gimenez or Kelly Shoppach - C
9. Valbuena - 2B 9. Crowe - CF

Pitching, Pitching, and Pitching..............

Obviously Cliff Lee and Carl Pavano have been the bright spots in the rotation thus far. Jeremy Sowers continues to be up and down but looks like he might turn the corner and provide a quality start sometime soon(hopefully). David Huff has also pitched "ok" in his last 2 starts. The biggest problem is Fausto Carmona who is really struggling to get outs and continues to give up walk after walk.

Here are some extremely alarming stats for Carmona: In 58 innings he has given up 64 hits (7 homers) and walked 38, while only striking out 35. I guess you can say that at least he's healthy.

I'm hoping that Jake Westbrook, Aaron Laffey, and/or Scott Lewis can return to the rotation sometime soon. I think Westbrook and Laffey are the real keys here, we still don't know that much about S. Lewis yet. If any of them can return to the rotation I'm guessing Huff would be the first to be sent back down unless he really pitches well in his next couple of starts, unless the Tribe surprises me and sends Carmona down.

The problem with Laffey and S. Lewis is that they are similiar pitchers and you can throw Sowers into that mix. They are all left handed finesse pitchers that don't throw hard. Although I'm sure the Tribe will take anything right now just to eat up innings and field a team.

Let's move on to the bullpen. Who would have ever thought that Matt Herges, Greg Aquino, and Luis Vizcaino would be the ones to stabilize the 'pen. We can't complain here, these guys came in and solidified the relief corps. Those guys are going to be needed to continue to play key roles while Rafael Betancourt and Joe Smith are on the DL, and until we find out which Rafael Perez and Tony Sipp shows up. Both lefties have shown hints of greatness but also have had extreme meltdowns. Kerry Wood and Jensen Lewis have been borderline consistent but not terrible so we'll take it. Guys like Tomo Ohka, Zach Jackson, and Vinnie Chulk are going to continue to travel between the Cleveland and Columbus.

Victor Martinez should be the DH!!!

Once again Victor Martinez played 1st base instead of DH'ing. Chris Gimenez went in for Martinez at 1st base in the 9th inning........I don't get this at all. Martinez is a little dinged up and the Tribe was up by 8 runs from the 7th inning on. There is no reason for Martinez to be in the field right now especially with Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and Asdrubal Cabrera all on the disabled list. You would think that Wedge would want to preserve and protect Martinez like he is on the endangered species list. Especially with Garko just sitting on the bench, Garko is the the team's 1st baseman, use him there.

Another problem I had with the lineup tonight vs. the Twinkies was the use of Mark DeRosa in rightfield and Shin-Soo Choo in left. Numerous times scouts and Indians officials alike have stated that Choo is best suited for RF because of his arm and he has a hard time in left overall judging balls.

Why can't each player just have one god damn position?

I know it's tough with all the injuries but still guys like Garko and Choo should be easy to pencil everyday at the same position day in and day out. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lineup featuring LF Garko, RF Chris Gimenez, CF Josh Barfield, 1B DeRosa, and 3B Luis Valbuena. I really hope Eric Wedge doesn't read this and get any idea's from it........................

I'll never forget the summer that I had to watch Eduardo Perez play 3 games in a row in rightfield at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI. Man was that ugly. I know Wedge remembers that because you don't forget something like no matter how hard you try to block it out. He put him out there 3 days in a row for crying out loud!

"Versatility" is going to kill this team, write it down.

Offense takes another "hit".

Asdrubal Cabrera was taken out of yesterdays game in the 1st inning with a separated shoulder. Cabrera just recently took over full shortstop duties and the leadoff spot in the order with the injury to Grady Sizemore. The lineup, much like the rotation, is going to look thin without the likes of Sizemore, Cabrera, and Travis Hafner. Although Hafner is expected to return to the roster today or tomorrow since his rehab assigment expires today. My guess is that the team will Make Jhonny Peralta the everyday shortstop for the time being and then use Jamey Carroll, Mark DeRosa, and Luis Valbuena at 2nd and 3rd. DeRosa will also get his share of time in left and rightfield with Ben Francisco bouncing between left and center to makeup for the loss of Sizemore. I doubt minor league OF Trevor Crowe will see too much of the field. Don't forget that Victor Martinez is also dinged up after fouling a ball off of his knee.

Today's lineup should look something like this:
1. Jamey Carroll - 2B
2. Ben Francisco - LF
3. Victor Martinez - DH
4. Shin-Soo Choo - RF
5. Jhonny Peralta - SS
6. Mark DeRosa - 3B
7. Ryan Garko - 1B
8. Kelly Shoppach - C
9. Trevor Crowe - CF

Don't be surprised to see Martinez and/or Hafner in or not in this lineup. Although if Martinez isn't in the lineup I would guess that you would DH Garko and put DeRosa in at first with Valbuena at 2nd and Carroll at 3rd. This way you can move DeRosa around in case god forbid someone else goes down with any injury. With Cabrera and Martinez hurting and having 8 relievers in the bullpen that really only leaves rookie C/1B/cOF Chris Gimenez as the only healthy bench player............scary for a major league baseball team 10 games under .500.

I think it's important to play Garko more and we should never see DeRosa at 1st again the rest of the season, especially since he is going to pick up more time with the injuries to Sizemore and Cabrera. Why did Martinez play 1st last night over Garko, Martinez should have been the DH.

The Disabled List/Columbus

Here are your 2009 Cleveland Indians:
(All of the players listed below are on the DL, in the minors, or have been released but have spent time on the major league roster at some point).

Rotation
1. *Aaron Laffey
2. *Anthony Reyes
3. *Scott Lewis
4. *Jake Westbrook
5. Zach Jackson

Bullpen
*Joe Smith
*Rafael Betancourt
Vinnie Chulk
Rich Rundles
Masahide Kobayashi
John Meloan
Kirk Saarloos

Lineup:
1. *Grady Sizemore - CF
2. Josh Barfield - 2B
3. Victor Martinez - C (Not on DL but listed as "Day to Day")
4. *Travis Hafner - DH
5. Matt LaPorta - LF
6. Michael Aubrey - 1B
7. Andy Marte - 3B
8. David Dellucci - RF
9. Tony Graffanino/Jamey Carroll(started season on DL) - SS

*Indicates on DL

The Outfield

David Dellucci finally got released, I wonder if anyone will pick him up??? (He could always go to Houston and platoon with Jason Michaels!!!) Rafael Perez was called up to replace Dellucci on the 25 man roster for the weekend series against the Yankees. I'm guessing Tomo Ohka's stay will be short lived in the majors, especially if Travis Hafner is expected to come off the DL on Monday.

The Indians need to call up a 4th outfielder from Columbus with the subtraction of Dellucci and Grady Sizemore's arm trouble. That leaves Trevor Crowe, Ben Francisco, and Shin-Soo Choo. This would prevent Wedge from using guys Ryan Garko, DeRosa, and Jamey Carroll in the outfield. If Sizemore doesn't get better he really should be placed on the DL.

Josh Barfield needs to fill in the utility role. I would ratherBarfield be called up instead of Clipper's outfielders Matt LaPorta or Michael Brantely, they need more time in the minors and Crowe is alreay on the squad. Plus LaPorta was just up and he shouldn't be bounced around, he did that all last season with the trade, the olympics, and moving between double A and triple A.

Garko finally got to play 4 games in a row and whaddya know, the Indians won 4 games in a row. Although Garko went 0-3 on Thursday with 3 strikeouts while playing leftfield he was very productive in the first 3 games including 3 homeruns in 2 consecutive games. What does this tell us??? Give Garko more regular at-bats at first base, don't play him in the outfield. Also stop playing DeRosa in the outfield, play at him 2nd base and send Luis Valbuena to Columbus where he can play everyday.

Barfield and Carroll would be great to have on the bench together since they can play a lot of positions and are faster than the rest of the team.

Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore

The Indians say Travis Hafner might be ready to return to the lineup on Monday officially coming off the disabled list. Hafner stated that the set back in his rehab assignment was not a back issue as reported earlier but actually a "dislocated" rib. He said it's nothing to worry about and that its happened to him before. I hope its not serious if he is coming off the DL.

I wonder what will happen to Grady Sizemore since he has been DHing lately with Hafner's return. It's hard to imagine Wedge pulling the trigger and putting Sizemore on the DL. Otherwise look for Luis Valbuena to get sent down and Mark DeRosa to become the everyday 2nd baseman.

Injury Update

Anthony Reyes (SP): Pending diagnosis but most likely out for the season.
Scott Lewis (SP): Starts rehab assignment soon.
Jake Westbrook (SP): Starts rehab assignement in a week.
Aaron Laffey (SP,RP): Out 4 - 6 weeks, this is a huge blow to the pitching staff.
Joe Smith (RP): Starts rehab assignement in a week.
Travis Hafner (DH): Set back in rehab with back stiffness.

If any of these guys can return to the big league roster healthy and ready to play it would be extremely beneficial to the entire team. Look for Aaron Laffey and Jake Westbrook to go back to the starting rotation in replace of the likes of David Huff, Jeremy Sowers, and Zach Jackson.

Roster Moves

In order for the Tribe to be successful Eric Wedge needs to do the following:

- Make one lineup and stick to it, its ok to give people days off and what not but switching the batting order and positions on a daily basis is getting us no where fast.

- Send Luis Valbuena back to Triple and recall Josh Barfield. Valbuena is in the same boat as Matt LaPorta, if he's not playing everyday in the majors he shouldn't be on the team. Let the kid develop.

- Make Jhonny Peralta the 3rd baseman, Asdrubal Cabrera the shortstop and Mark DeRosa the everyday 2nd baseman. We went into the offseason looking for a 2nd baseman, we got a 2nd baseman, DeRosa was a 2nd baseman, and then we move him to third. Cabrera is the best defensive shortstop on the team let him play the position. Peralta and DeRosa on the left side of the infield equals too many errors.

- Put Grady Sizemore on the DL, I don't care if he is Superman, he's hurting. Didn't we learn anything from Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez playing hurt last year???

The lineup should look something like this:
1. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
2. Mark DeRosa - 2B (Jamey Carroll)
3. Victor Martinez - C/1B/DH
4. Shin-Soo Choo - RF
5. Jhonny Peralta - 3B
6. Ryan Garko - 1B/DH (Kelly Shoppach - C)
7. Ben Francisco - LF
8. David Dellucci - DH/LF
9. Trevor Crowe - CF

Tonight's Lineup (May 27)

Eric Wedge never ceases to "amaze" me. He continues to play Grady Sizemore as the DH in the #2 hole of the lineup. Wedge himself has stated that he has concerns about Sizemore's ailing elbow. Sizemore has not been producing much lately, especially not enough to make the DH and bat him 2nd. What is Wedge thinking??? Let guys like Jamey Carroll and Mark DeRosa bat 2nd and let guys like Ryan Garko and Victor Martinez DH for the time being, heck you could even use David Dellucci against right handed pitching.

I also find crazy that Wedge wanted to keep Luis Valbuena on the roster instead of Josh Barfield stating that Valbuena offers a left-handed bat. Well tonight against the Rays Andy Sonnanstine, a RHP, Valbuena is on the bench.

In all Wedge has 3 left handed hitters on the bench in Dellucci, Valbuena, and Trevor Crowe, a switch hitter (who was called up to help fill in for the ailing Sizemore no less). For whatever reason Wedge wants all 3 of these players on his 25 man roster but refuses to play them in the roles they are intended for. I am not a big fan of Dellucci or Valbuena (over Barfield that is) but if they are the team he should use them for what he says he is going too.

I get the Matt LaPorta move, he wasn't getting regular at-bats but tonight they have Mark DeRosa in left with outfielders Crowe and Dellucci on the bench, again against a RHP.

Make a fricking lineup and stick to it. Winning takes a little consistency!