Tribe Talk: The Perils of Playing In The Worst Division In Baseball

I'd give the current Indians defense a B-. Saturday's Chicago game isn't the only one they've given away this year because of lousy defense, but injuries are killing the continuity.

For the second part of the question, Mr. Prosecutor, I present : Exhibit A: Carlos Baerga. Great clutch hitter, lousy on defense. If you are giving away a run and helping score a run, you are a wash. Offense and defense go hand in hand. You can't give good teams more than 27 outs in a game.  As far as the Tribe's defensive woes go, I'd say injuries and lineup tinkering have combined to add to the poor defensive showing. People are in different positions with regularity and not playing every day. It is not easy to get into offensive or defensive rhythm under those conditions.

The Coop: See my answer to the last question. The Tribe’s defense is not the worst I’ve ever seen, but it’s not exactly the team’s long suit. Errors are a part of a game, but so are fundamentals. I’ve seen the Indians miss cut-off men, not be aware of how many outs there are, forget to cover bases…

 To me, this is indicative of more of a lack of focus and preparation rather than poor skill. I’m talking to you, Eric Wedge!

There is definitely less of a premium put on defense these days compared with the past. Gone are the days of slick shortstops with crazy range and hard-nosed, dependable catchers that hit .220. Nowadays, as long as a guy is a threat to go deep, consistently drive in runs, and isn’t a total liability in the field, he’ll be in the lineup.

It’s a sad commentary on how the game is played in the “Steroid Era.” I mean, would you rather have the greatest defensive left fielder in the history of baseball who is a singles-hitter, or Manny Ramirez? I am a huge proponent of fielding a fundamentally-sound team, but no one can tell me ManRam hurts his team with his glove more than he helps with his bat. In the end, I guess it’s just important for teams to know the make-up of their club. If you have trouble scoring runs, you’d better have a damn good defense.

3. With Grady Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera both on the DL, how do you feel about Ben Francisco filling in as the Indians' lead-off hitter? Is there someone else you would rather see at the top of the order?

If you were the Indians' manager,  how would you change the batting order to adjust to the loss of injured players? (Keep in mind that Hafner's lingering injury keeps him from playing every day).

Nino Colla:

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