Tribe Talk: Reflections from the AL Central Cellar

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Tribe fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the Indians each week throughout the season.

This week, as the Indians sit firmly in the AL Central cellar, we ponder whether the Tribe or the Royals are the worst team in the division, think ahead about long-term contracts we would like to see sewn up for some of our young players this winter, and wonder if things have gotten so bad this season that we just want to be put out of our collective misery.

I would like to thank this week's participant Dale Thomas for his contribution.

This discussion is open to all, so please feel free to comment below and pitch in your thoughts on the questions we're addressing this week.

Go Tribe!

1. After a brief period of improvement in late July/early August, the Indians seem to have reverted back to their blundering, first half form, losing 19 of their last 22.

The recent losing streak has landed the Tribe back in the AL Central cellar, in last place behind even Kansas City.

Can the Indians get out of the cellar before the season ends? Right now, who is the better team, the Indians or the Royals? When things are this bad, does it really not even matter?

And is there any chance the Indians don't even win two of the remaining 13 games, and thus suffer their first 100-loss season since 1991?

Dale Thomas: Since Kansas City has 12 wins in their last 20 games, I guess I have to say that for the moment, the Royals are the better team.

Then again, there was that run after the break where the Indians were the better team.

Wait! Kansas City has only scored 638 runs to Cleveland's 721. Cleveland is better. We have more home runs, too! Better. The Tribe has been hit by waaay more pitches! Better?

Let's see...what else? We dumped a Cy Young pitcher and the hottest hitting catcher in the league...better...better...ah...who am I kidding? Does it matter? Nah.

I think the Indians can win two more. We'll squeak in under the 100-loss wire, but I'm not sure that matters either.

Being better than the Royals is like...well, it's like that age-old expression: "It's better than nothing." The sad thing is that we are clearly not better than nothing. We may be the nothing that everybody else is better than.

Samantha Bunten: It's tough to say who the better of the two teams is when both are so incredibly bad compared to the rest of the league, so perhaps I should have phrased this question, "Which team is worse?"

There may be no joy in Mudville, but there is absolute misery in Cleveland and Kansas City. So I figure we can argue about who is in more pain or we can just suck it up and use our time in the dungeons of the AL Central to "sit and think about what we've done."

I suppose I'll say that Kansas City is the weaker of the two teams. Despite the fact that they are now one-and-a-half games ahead of the Indians in the standings, the Tribe took the head-to-head season series 10 games to eight.

The Indians will find a way to eek out two more wins and avoid the dreaded 100-loss tag, though they may very well lose 98 or 99.

As for getting out of the cellar, well, your guess is as good as mine. I don't think it really matters anyway. There's no prize for being the second-worst in the division, and at the end of the day, both Cleveland and Kansas City are still two really bad teams.

The real question is, who has a better shot of bouncing back next year? I'll put my money on the Tribe.

2. With a group of young players filling out most of the roster and the team in a rebuilding phase of sorts, it seems unlikely that the Indians will be very active in the free agent market this winter. However, the team will surely make some small moves to plug a few holes as best they can.

Relieving themselves of the salaries of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez through midseason trades has freed up at least a little room to maneuver in the payroll. What do you see the Indians going after in the free agent market this winter?

Dale Thomas: Hey! David Dellucci is available! Let's do that again! Or maybe we can find a free agent GM?

I do have one serious entry though, and I'm seriously serious about the seriousness of this entry: Aaron Boone.

Yes, I said Aaron Boone.

His value might not be such that he fills a team need backed up by statistical reference, but let's face the fact that somebody has to turn this jumble of wanna-be's into a team that lives and dies together come hell or high water.

Someone has to be a good dad and teach these guys concepts like picking each other up when they fall. How to feed off of another player's energy. How to support a pitching staff with small ball run support and good defense, or how to support an offense with solid relief pitching—when to swing for the fences and when to just get that bat on a ball.

When to high five your teammate and when to let him know he needs to shut up or step up. Someone to have a cookout now and then and share his life. Someone to help a troubled player deal with whatever, or someone to craft a player-driven plan necessitated by a sudden tailspin.

Our manager has proved over and over that he can't do this, his coaches can't do this, and the front office can't do this.

I also think Boone still has a few things to offer coming off the bench, and I think he would come in cheap. This way that money we are saving would go towards NOT dumping the players that we do sign instead of bringing in payroll to be traded or dumped midway through the season.

Intangible value is still value, and as I look at the long list of 30-somethings and what they would bring to the team for the money they command, this is the guy that stands out.

Okay, time for my meds...

Samantha Bunten: The joke, as always, is, will we re-sign Carl Pavano and do the whole thing over again? I'm guessing not, since most of us, the front office included, are beginning to lose our sense of humor given the way the season has gone.

Still, I think the sentiment behind the joke is correct—the few dollars the Indians can afford to allocate to free agent signings this winter will likely go to a one-year, incentive-laden contract for a veteran pitcher with something to prove. A pitcher who, like the Indians, has little to lose and everything to gain. 

I think this is a good move. The Pavano signing last offseason, in my opinion, was a smart one, and a similar move this offseason could be just as helpful.

Aside from that, I do think there is a possibility that we will see the front office bring in a veteran catcher to help out the young backstops and eat up some innings behind the plate as well.

Mostly though, the Indians should use the money that was freed up by letting Martinez and Lee go to lock up their young talent with long-term contracts.

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