Tribe Talk: Eagerly Awaiting Fausto Carmona's Return, Or Dreading It?

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Personally, I am in favor of shutting down Sizemore now because the earlier he can get the surgery over with, the more time he will have to recover completely before the 2010 season, but I do not see the Indians choosing to pursue this course of action.  

Dave Wiley: I don't think the Tribe should shut down Francisco. I do think it might be a good idea for LaPorta to fill in for Grady Sizemore and give him a chance to "get himself right." LaPorta deserves another shot. If that is considered foolish, I'd say it fits right in with letting Wedge hang around the rest of the year. Let's just hope another movie isn't made about the Indians.

The Coop: I’m not going to call it “foolish.” I can really see both sides of the argument. I think Ben Francisco still has the potential to have a solid major league career. But unfortunately, like many of the Indians’ big prospects over the last several years, his development has not been nearly as quick as one would hope.

Still, I’m not sure sending him back to Columbus is going to do any good at this point in his career. Francisco’s days in Cleveland are numbered if he doesn’t start producing consistently, and if he doesn’t know that, then he is not too bright.

This could be putting some undue pressure on him, but the reality of the situation is that Matt LaPorta is going to get plenty of shots with the Indians with the hope that it will justify the CC Sabathia trade. And presuming the Tribe hangs onto Shin-Soo Choo and Sizemore for the foreseeable future, there won’t be too much playing time up for grabs down the road.

Bringing up LaPorta won’t help the Indians make a playoff push (although it might help sell some tickets!), so having him stay in AAA and polish his game is fine with me. I’m sure he’ll be a September call-up and he’ll get more experience during the last few agonizing weeks of the season.

Shutting down Sizemore makes a lot of sense, but the front office will probably let Grady make the decision, which means surgery won’t happen until after the season. If Sizemore does call it a year, I’d just as soon have Ryan Garko replace him (Garko to left, Francisco to center).

3. One of the biggest problems for the Indians' offense this season has been the inability to move runners in an efficient, consistent manner. Small ball is a much more common strategy among NL teams, but has proven to be successful in AL baseball for teams like the Angels and the Twins.

The Indians are not traditionally a "small ball team", but do you think this approach could work for them to help solve the problem? Do the Indians have the type of players and sense of strategic play to render them capable of executing this approach successfully?

Nino Colla: No, no, and no. Small ball doesn't work for this team. The Angels are the only team in the American League that really use this method anyway. This talent is not set to do it.

I'd like to see a little more running and putting the runners in motion with guys like Choo on base because he's a smart base-runner. The same goes for Cabrera and for Francisco when he plays. I think the running game will also improve whenever Brantley arrives. But no small ball tactics.

The occasional hit-and-run and base stealing is fine, as this team has some fast players, but they don't have many burners. They've got a pair of smart base-runners in Grady Sizemore and Choo, and that leads me to favor occasional stolen base attempts.

The problem with the offense isn't the lack of small ball. The problem is their approach. You know how a team takes on the personality of their manager? Well a team's hitting approach takes on the personality of their hitting coach’s approach, and his approach is to draw walks and work counts.

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