Record Report:
Actual Record: 47-60, Last Place—13.0 Games Back
Weekly Gain/Loss in division: No change with a 3-4 record
Pythagorean Record: 54-53, Fourth Place—7.0 Games Back
What’s Happening
Manager Eric Wedge stated Tuesday that injured catcher Victor Martinez will not return as a full-time catcher this season. He and Shoppach will split time, with Martinez getting some playing time at both first and DH.
I hadn’t thought about it until I saw this, but it is the right thing to do. The Indians may as well find out what they have in Shoppach while Martinez returns from elbow surgery.
Also on the inactive front, don’t expect Travis Hafner to return anytime soon. A scheduled strength test on his shoulder (that was last reported to be 65 percent) was delayed due to a family emergency.
It turns out that Hafer’s father, Terry, passed away from a battle with cancer. It surely has been a trying season for Pronk. Now with Martinez likely to get some DH time, Hafner may be out until the spring.
Back to Kelly Shoppach. He is certainly playing terrific baseball while filling in for the injured Martinez. It’s no wonder that the Indians want him to keep playing. Wednesday night, Shoppach had a game for the ages, and became the first American League player since Indians legend Lou Boudreau in 1946 to have five extra-base hits in a single game.
Shoppach went five for six (raising his batting average 17 points), with two home runs and three doubles. Since taking over for Victor nearly seven weeks ago, Shoppach is hitting .303 with nine home runs, 13 doubles, and 25 RBI in 35 games. Can we maybe say that Shoppach will be at catcher next season with Victor at first base? It is worth a thought.
Why did Franklin Gutierrez bat second in the lineup against a tough right-handed pitcher in Justin Verlander on Thursday? Please tell me. We all know that he cannot hit a right-handed pitcher to save himself, let alone an elite one.
I understand getting Grady a day off in the field and playing Gurierrez, but second in the lineup? He’s a career .237 hitter, with a terrible .281 OBP against right-handers. I will puke if I see that again. Although, to the benefit of the team and its future, it was not Dellucci, as usual, in that spot.
Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air...I mean Ben Francisco, broke out of his first real slump of the season with a four-for-seven performance against the Tigers, with two home runs. It was his first multi-home run game of his young career.
What were the odds? In back-to-back days, pitchers with ERAs above five would be doing their best Cliff Lee impersonations. Jeremy Sowers had a perfect game through five innings before the Twins broke through for two runs on three hits in eight innings on Sunday.
And Paul Byrd, on Monday night, threw 7.2 innings of shutout baseball, giving up just four hits. Nobody could have projected that to happen.
10 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Bob Salyer 11 months ago
Excellent article and very imformative.
A few comments:
Yes, when Martinez returns, I would use him as Shoppach's back up catcher and DH and play some 1B. And this might be the way things should be in 2009, depending on if Shoppach continues to hit the ball and cut down on his K's.
I can't give you an answer on why Gutierrez is batting second, other than ERIC WEDGE! Also consider that if it isn't Gut, then it is Dellucci. Unbelievable that you would have two guys with such low OBP batting second.
I believe that with Cabrera's improved play since his return, he should be batting at the top of the lineup, either first or second.
Juan Rincon? And we let Breslow, a LHP, go and bring this guy in?
Very good recap of the minors. One question, is Crowe ready to be called up and lead off for the Tribe, THIS YEAR?
What is holding Wedge back from putting Grady in the # 3 or #4 slot? We need to know what different players can do in different positions in the lineup now, not try to figure it out next season.
With this season being lost, we must not just keep doing the same things we have been doing. We need to experiment and find out what our guys are capable of.
CAN GRADY BAT 3RD?
CAN WE GET A LEADOFF HITTER?
WHO DO WE KEEP, CHOO OR FRANCISCO?
IS MARTE OUR 3B IN 2009?
CAN PERALTA PLAY 3B IF NOT?
CAN BARFIELD PLAY 2B FOR US WHEN HE RETURNS?
IS GARKO OUR 1B OF THE FUTURE?
SHOULD SHOPPACH BE OUR STARTING CATCHER?
SHOULD MARTINEZ BE OUR BACKUP CATCHER AND DO MORE AT 1B & DH?
WHERE SHOULD BE BAT FRANCISCO IN THE LINEUP?
And that doesn't take into account any thing that we need to find out about our pitching staff. Finding a true closer (not committee) should be our goal. Give our AAA guys a shot at one guy who can pitch lights out as a closer. I know it is easier said than done.
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Michael Taylor 11 months ago
Thanks for reading and commenting Bob! I agree that now is the time to find answers.
If things stay as they are right now with the 1B/C situation through the remainder of 2008 (i.e. Garko staying cold, Shoppach showing he is able to play everyday), I believe we will see Martinez at first next season. We need to understand that Shoppach will never be a good AVG hitter, but he should hit around the .250 mark with 20-25 home run potential, which is like gold behind the plate, especially with his defense. And really, is that much different than what he would be getting from Garko offensively at first, if not more? I still like Garko's ability and believe he could be a .270 hitter with some pop (around 20 HR), but with his less than average defense at first and putting a better defensive catcher behind the plate is definitely a positive. Victor may never be a great first baseman either, but I see it as an even trade defensively at first. Though to do this, Garko must remain on the roster as a backup plan should Shoppach struggle.
As for Crowe, I wouldn't say he is ready this year, although I guarantee that we will likely see him come September. Amazingly he has doubled hi HR total in like a week since being promoted to Buffalo. He is certainly an exciting player worth a look come spring training and he could earn a job to start '09 in the outfield. As a rookie I wouldn't lead him off yet, but should he be successful for a significant portion of the season, I could see the switch with Grady at some point next year. But that is a lot of ifs. Time will tell. Right now I still say Grady is the main man for leadoff. It is downright scary to think of anyone else on this team in that role.
Also, stick with Jhonny at short, I wrote an article last week explaining why he should stay. He has shown significant improvement in the field this season and is at worst an average SS based on range. He also does not commit a ton of errors as others do, I believe he may have 8 all season. He is a valuable piece to the puzzle that is a proven SS, don't mess with that.
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Nino Colla 11 months ago
Haha CARLTON! THAT'S IT!! Exactly.. I've been trying to figure out who he looks like for a long time.
I'm all for Franklin trying at 2nd in the lineup. Shake it up, show some confidence in him, maybe he responds... But yeah, might be time to pull the plug on that one.. Like Bob said though, if it isn't him it's Dellucci and for that I'd rather have the young guy.
Beau Mills not only should start the year at Akron next year, he should end it this year.
Garko just.. I'm on Garko-strike for awhile.
I'm with Michael.. Keep Grady leading off until Trevor Crowe arrives. He is the closest thing to a lead-off hitter this organization has and we should wait till he arrives and is ready to make the move.
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Paul Peterson 11 months ago
Nice article Michael.
I'm a Twins fan, but I have liked the indians since the Manny/Belle days. Too bad the injuries and inconsistant play got the better of them this year. They were given the kiss of death this year because of the high expectations from the media.
No offense, but hopefully they can role over for my team this weekend. I got a bad feeling they are going to come in with a chip on their shoulder and take 2 of 3.
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Michael Taylor 11 months ago
We could only hope for 2 out of 3, I'd take that. Especially with Byrd, Sowers and Ginter pitching.
But the Twins are an excellent team and my pick to win the division. With Liriano coming back to replace Livan in the rotation (reportedly), the Twins will get an extra boost that Chicago doesn't have (even with adding Griffey). The Sox have real trouble in the rotation, which is right now a strength of the Twins. Anyway, thanks for reading and being a closet Indians fan :) I return the favor when we are not in contention. I respect the way the Twins organization plays the game.
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Bob Salyer 11 months ago
You are welcomed Michael.
If we keep Shoppach as our catcher and then have Victor be our 1B, I don't really see us hanging onto to Garko. I would think they would have the backup as a guy like Jordan Brown or someone who is a better fielder and more versatile than Garko. With the right hitting coach, Garko could become a 30 HR, .300 batter but it doesn't look like it will happen here. Sadly.
I guess my point with Crowe is why not bring him up and take a look at him. Yes, most young players don't perform real well at first (look at Sizemore's example) but then it can prepare that guy to take over the next year. Why have all of these questions when we COULD find out this season.
As far as Grady going to #3, what if things go really bad with him not leading off? First of all, I don't think it will be any worse but it could be much better and that we could find out if Grady could produce even better there. How do we know unless we try?
And Wedge, the 8 games in 2007 is not a long enough trial (besides, his numbers during that short run were not bad).
My theme saying this season has been: HOW GOOD COULD BE REALLY BE IF WE HAD A REAL MAJOR LEAGUE MANAGER? I would also include another one: HOW MUCH BETTER COULD GRADY SIZEMORE BE (AND THE TEAM) IF HE BATTED 3RD? No one really knows, so let's find out.
Yes, Michael, we should look at the balance of the season to find out as much as we can about these guys. The good thing is that they will be playing most games against teams still in the hunt so it can be a real good barometer on how different guys will perform. It is a golden opportunity that we need to take advantage of.
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Nino Colla 11 months ago
I think we will see Crowe this year. He JUST got to Buffalo so you don't want to push him.. Lets see if he cools off in Buffalo or if he continues to kill the pitching there, then move him up.
The real question should be why is Michael Aubrey sitting around down there? He's been decent in Buffalo since getting called down and he's out of options next year. You gotta find out what he's made of and quick. That or showcase his talents on a major league level in case some team is interested.
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John Nester 11 months ago
the closer is a situation that HAS to be addressed ASAP!
I read the Tribe is 12-12 when leading going into the 9th inning.
If a good closer could convert on 22of 24 then we'd be 10 games ahead in the standings.
We might not have been sellers at the deadline with a 10 game improvement.
If the Tribe was SOOOO GOOOD last year and expected to be soo good this year, then why do you break up the team like they have? Injuries would then have be the only reason for the lack of success this season. You don't break up a good contending team over injuries.. you get your guys healthy and compete the next season..
MANAGEMENT is admitting to kidding the fans with all the ballyhoo going into the season by breaking the team up. AND SHAPIRO is a failure until he finds a closer. If you can't win games with the lead going into the 9th, you'll likely never win. We evidenced a lot of that this season haven't we?
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Michael Taylor 11 months ago
Thats an interesting stat John. I hadn't really looked into that yet. I assumed it was somewhere around what you said, but that number is downright sad. It is no wonder that the Indians' Pythagorean record is seven games different than their actual record. This sounds awful similar to 2006.
Also, the Indians had to make the moves that they did. Blake and C.C. were only here for this season if the Indians were to contend. As much as I and the rest of us hated to see them go, they were moves that needed to be done to keep the Indians in contention in both the immediate future and beyond. Getting LaPorta was a big deal, and as far as I can tell Meloan will have a chance to impact the bullpen by the end of the season. Lets hope that the change of scenery will do wonders for Anthony Reyes so he can be a solid four starter next season and eat up some innings. The Indians need one more pitcher and a closer and they should be right back in the running for the division.
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Jeff Smirnoff 11 months ago
Why do you always write good stuff when I am out of town. I have nothing left to add that hasn't already been said.
I am glad Betancourt hasn't killed anybody? Is that enlightening?!?
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