Bleacher Report - Articles by Nino Colla

Sandy Alomar Returns: Manny Acta and the Tribe Throw Fans a Bone

Nino Colla — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:18:45 -0500

Conducting his second television interview in as many days, Manny Acta sat on the set of All Bets Are Off with Bruce Drennan knowing full well he was about to drop a bombshell.

The idea was brought up in the past few weeks and was even denied by Mets general anager Omar Minaya. However, when push came to shove, the idea was about to become a reality much to the delight of the entire city of Cleveland.

To anyone who loved the Indians of the 1990s, which is just about everyone in Cleveland that remembers those glory days, an idea like this one makes you pleasantly giddy.

Even fans that love to think with their head more than their heart like myself can't help but get excited about this thought.

Drennan introduced Acta and immediately prompted Acta for the news he was about to break. One could tell the host of the popular call-in show on SportsTimeOhio had no clue what was about to happen, but he did know Acta was about to say something of note.

Why else would Manny Acta make an announcement about his coaching staff on live television? Do you really think the announcement that Jon Nunnally would be the next hitting coach of the Cleveland Indians is something that is worthy of breaking on the Indians own television network?

So it makes perfect sense that when prompted, Manny Acta uttered the following announcement: "We're pleased to announce that we've hired Sandy Alomar, Jr. to be the first base coach of the Cleveland Indians."

Even Drennan himself squealed with joy and raised his arms up into the air as Acta pleased thousands of Tribe fans, especially the ones watching live like myself.

Sandy Alomar Jr. is coming home, back to the city that adores him.

Back to the team that he went to the World Series with two times. Back to the ballpark that he was the MVP for the 1997 All-Star Game. Back to the club that he made the All-Star team with six times. Back to the organization that brought in him from San Diego and gave him the start to his career.

Alomar has spent the past few seasons coaching in New York, the place he ended his career with just a few years ago.

As Alomar got older, the list of his former teams grew and the Mets were his final stop. He then made the transition to coach, and why wouldn't he?

Catchers are almost born to be managers and with his own father on the Mets staff, he was aligned to be in this position.

And he must have taken quite well to it as Omar Minaya adamantly stated that Alomar would be going nowhere this offseason. It sounded as if Alomar was a diamond in the rough, and the Mets would do anything they could to prevent the Cleveland Indians from talking to him.

Or perhaps they knew the moment they let that happen, Sandy Alomar, Jr. would be re-donning the cap that sports the Chief Wahoo. Sandy sure did as he told reporters on a conference call this past week.

"I talked to Omar [Minaya] relentlessly. At first he was skeptical, but I was persistent. When he gave me the opportunity to talk to the Indians, he knew I wasn't coming back."

There is a genuine love that Alomar holds for the city of Cleveland, the organization and its passionate fans, and you can plainly see it in that statement. Knowing full well this was the place he wanted to be, and he could make it happen if he just has the opportunity.

Mark Shapiro is not one for making the fans feel good. He's ripped their hearts out on more than one occasion, including his two most recent moves in which he shipped off this decade's Sandy Alomar, Jr., Victor Martinez. However, although they won't admit it, the Alomar hiring was one to make the fans happy.

That wasn't the main reason though.

No, that reason was just a bonus.

In the grand scheme of things, you are trying to accomplish two things as a Major League Baseball franchise: Win and make money. Sometimes you can't do one without the other. A lot of the times they go together but other times, they do not.

Fundamentally, Sandy Alomar, Jr. is a great hire. If we got the same coach, yet his name was Steve Smith, the Indians would not only have two coaches named Steve Smith, they would have made a great hire.

This is no publicity stunt or move designed especially to get the fans all happy once again. Sandy Alomar Jr. isn't going to prevent the Indians from losing money next year, because they will unless ticket sales go up, which doesn't happen unless they win.

And even then, selling tickets is a bit of struggle.

Early indications are that Alomar has put together quite the plan for the Tribe's catchers. This is a top of the class instructor when it comes to the catchers, and one day he may be a class manager.

Manny Acta has hired a coach for every position on the diamond, and catcher was the one position he had not covered prior to Alomar's hiring.

It made perfect sense in the perfect world. The idea of filling every coaching spot with a specific position is all inclusive of Manny's idea for a baseball team. The term I'm calling it is "Actavision."

Actavision is precise.

This offseason, Acta has spun his words to get someone like myself all riled up. He's doing everything you want him to do, or at least he's saying so. And so far, Actavision is holding true by delivering on the idea of filling a coaching staff that, as he terms it, covers all the bases.

Steve Smith is coaching the infielders.

Tim Tolman and Acta himself will handle outfielders during the regular season.

Scott Radinsky, a former relief pitcher himself, will be the bullpen coach, and Tim Belcher is overseeing the starting rotation.

And now Sandy Alomar will guide the catching core, and eventually, the Indians' young prized prospect by the name of Carlos Santana, one of the top players in all of the minor leagues.

On the surface it will make fans happy that they brought back someone from the glory days, but this is all a part of Actavision and its goals. The fan appeal is just a bonus in the grand scheme of things and might I add a welcome bonus.

For once it is good to see the fan base back something the organization does 100 percent. There is not a fan in the world that I've seen bash this move. No one can because to the rational fan, it is a strong baseball move. To the passionate casual fan that longs for the glory days, they couldn't be more excited.

Now all they have to do is sign Omar Vizquel to be their utility player. Now there's someone that can get you out of the red.

Cleveland's New Act: Manny Acta Was the Best Choice For the Tribe

Nino Colla — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:25:41 -0400

Mark Shapiro and Manny Acta won't win many popularity contests together in the city of Cleveland, but that doesn't mean they can't be a match made in heaven.

With the announcement of Acta being hired as the new manager of the Cleveland Indians, the entire fan base shook the ground they gathered on, by jumping up and causing a seismic shock of unrest.

The ones who wanted Eric Wedge gone didn't get their guy.

The ones who didn't want Eric Wedge gone think Acta will do no better.

The ones who did want Eric Wedge gone also think keeping Wedge would have been better.

In other words, Mark Shapiro was in a no-win situation hiring Acta to manage his team. I believe he could have even hired the Easter Bunny and someone would get upset.

It should be clear to everyone that has paid attention to this situation, even remotely. The group that the Indians got to choose from was far from mind blowing. Anyone they picked, even Bobby Valentine, would have been met with disdain from the fans.

But even if he had a chance to make a popular hire, why would Mark Shapiro do that? Just to fill in some seats in what will be a season with lackluster expectations?

That doesn't benefit the Indians in anyway, but in the very, very short term. Shapiro had to, once again, make an unpopular move, with hopes that it would eventually pay off and earn him praise despite the initial backlash.

Mark Shapiro's job is not to please the fans and listen to their every desire. His job is to give them a championship by following a plan that he believes will do just that. If that means hiring the man he thinks is right for the job, then that's what he is going to do. He isn't sitting in his office thinking up ways to annoy his fans, or anger them, he's thinking of ways to improve the team.

With all of this in mind, can it still be justified that Acta is the right man for the job?

The simple answer is we don't know, but that doesn't mean the Indians made the wrong choice.

Acta was the right pick for Cleveland in the current situation they are in, and what they had to choose from. He makes sense on too many levels for the Indians to have passed up on.

Let's start by him being the only candidate the Indians had among their finalist that met some of their more important criteria.

He has major league and managerial experience. Only two candidates that the Indians had fit both of these qualifications, and the one they didn't hire had a very poor grasp on the Indians situation.

Acta worked as an analyst for FOX on the Spanish side of things during the 2007 playoffs. He got a good look at the Tribe then, and after he was fired from Washington, he admits he spent a lot of time watching baseball, and a lot of time watching Cleveland.

The details he went into about the team's players and prospects made him sound like someone who's been in the dugout for the past year. He specifically mentioned the final two start of Fausto Carmona as something the struggling pitcher can use to build off of.

This is someone who not only did his homework, but paid attention to places he thought might have an opening, just out of hope that he could contend for that job right away. A bit of a genius move with a little hard work and dedication mixed in.

The next thing you need to look at with the hiring of Acta is how much of a commodity he was despite the failures in Washington. Cleveland wasn't the only team after his services, with Houston even offering him a contract.

Not just that, but everywhere you turn there was some "baseball guy" talking very highly about him. Not just the usual "Hey, yeah he's a good guy, knows his baseball," type of comments that you expect. He received comparison's to the next Terry Francona, comments that what happened in Washington was not to be directly related to Acta, and high praise about what an excellent communicator he is.

Manny backed it all up too during his press conference, and initial media session after his interview.

What the Indians got in Manny Acta was someone who was not only committed to them the minute he walked in the door, but someone who could back up that commitment.

When asked if he was going to start making an effort to reach out to current players when winter started to roll around, Acta quickly interrupted and said the process begins now. His job started Monday and as soon as Tuesday he would be reaching out to his new group.

Bobby Valentine did not display that to the Cleveland media, and if he did to the Tribe brass, they certainly were not as in with it as much as they were with Acta. You are looking at someone who was willing to pass up his dream job to handle a team he believed was a better fit for him.

The Indians are also hoping their Latin-group of players feel like they better fit in the club with the presence of Acta. The Tribe's new skipper is bi-lingual, and he got that way by teaching himself the language with a little help from his wife along the way. The overall idea is that Acta will better relate to the likes of Jhonny Peralta and Fausto Carmona, by giving them a little bit of comfort.

It would also be a benefit to the young prospects that are bound for Cleveland at some point to see a good role model in someone like Acta who was willing to learn the language himself to better his career.

I dare say Acta had a better grasp on the English language better than some people who grew up learning it do. He was a wizard with words and phrases, and even managed to be naturally funny to the group of reporters that were grilling him.

One of his funnier moments brought one of his basic reasons for giving him another chance to manage a baseball team in the major leagues.

Right now, Manny Acta is just a little shot in terms of managers. He isn't Joe Torre, or Tony LaRussa, and no one should expect him to be that. But every Torre and LaRussa got their shot, and even their second shot. This is Acta's second shot, and it's with a club that is going to support him far better than the one in the nation's capital did.

They said he didn't have much discipline on his team, but that is kind of hard to do with knuckleheads like Elijah Dukes roaming the outfield.

They said he didn't manage the bullpen well, but that is kind of hard to do when you are shuffling three or four players into it on a regular basis.

They said his teams regressed in Washington year after year, but progressing is hard to do when the management doesn't have a defined goal in mind.

Cleveland has a commitment to high-character people, a plan in place, and the desire to build a strong team all around. While Washington is probably a set up for most people to fail, Cleveland may just be a set up for Manny Acta to succeed, and he at least deserves a chance to do so.

A Case for Torey Lovullo Heading the Cleveland Indians

Nino Colla — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:53:23 -0400

You could say that things are going ahead of schedule for Cleveland and their search for a new manager. So much so, Mark Shapiro may add one or two more final candidates.

At least that is the latest word out of Cleveland as they prepare to interview one of their own on Friday.

Thursday, Bobby Valentine faced the media after his sit down with Shapiro and assistant general manager Chris Antonetti. What he said is for another day and another article, but let's just say he disappointed and leave it at that.

With the elimination of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Indians final candidate Don Mattingly, could probably schedule his interview for sometime early next week before the World Series even starts.

And because Shapiro is doing his due-diligence and wants to get the right guy, he could take that extra time and incorporate a few more candidates into the race. One of the names being floated around is former Rockies' skipper Clint Hurdle.

Friday is Torey Lovullo's day though. Originally left off the final listing in favor of another Indians minor league manager Travis Fryman, Lovullo is currently the manager of Cleveland's Triple-A Columbus affiliate.

He's spent years in the system working his way up and has interviewed for major league managerial jobs in the past. He's no stranger to this party and he's quietly been waiting for his opportunity. I truly believe Lovullo is destined to be a major league manager someday.

The question now becomes, will it be for the Cleveland Indians or someone else?

Familiarity Equals Comfort

There is one thing that Torey Lovullo holds above every other candidate for this job.

It's familiarity with the system, the coaches, the players, the management, the city, the fans, the way of doing things.

He's been to many spring trainings with the big leaguers and the minor leaguers. He's seen a majority of the Indians players that are currently on the active roster come through his stops in Buffalo, Columbus, Kinston, and Akron. He's spent time with the big league club after the minor league season ends as an extra coach.

The Indians know him and he knows the Indians.

Now that can be an advantage or a disadvantage, but knowing the way Mark Shapiro works, he'll only look at in a positive manner. Where I think Shapiro is going to get concerned about Lovullo with is the parallels with Eric Wedge.

Lovullo is very much in the same position Eric Wedge was when he got hired to manage the Indians. Everything points to Lovullo being a good manager and even a good fit for this type of situation.

All of the players know him, as mentioned. There's a certain comfort level that they can have knowing that a complete outsider isn't coming in and shaking a ton of things up. Whatever moves Lovullo is going to make, they've seen him before and know what he's about.

Shapiro can hire Lovullo knowing full well in what he's getting as far as a motivator and instructor. He should have no worries as far as what he's getting as a manager and a teacher.

That works to his advantage and if you think otherwise, you are crazy.

What could work against him though is something that Lovullo has no control over, at least not now.

The one downfall with Eric Wedge when he was hired was the lack of big league experience, not necessarily big league managing experience, but just flat out big league experience in any role.

Lovullo matches that situation, someone who has not been in the major leagues as a manager or coach. He's been in the Indians minor league system since the start and while he's interviewed for big league jobs, he hasn't even been a third base coach.

That may have worked for Eric Wedge, because the Indians were already in the process of blowing things up. The team Wedge was dealing with was not expected to win immediately; the concept was that he'd grow with them.

Lovullo is coming into a situation where they may not be expecting to win this year, but there is a core already established. There is sort of a mold that has already been sculpted by Wedge and Shapiro and Lovullo would have to either change that or grow into it.

How does someone who has not managed on the big league level do such a thing?

When you manage in the minor leagues, you are more of a teacher and a groomer. The big leagues are a new game and that is something Lovullo would have to learn on the job.

There isn't to say anything is wrong with that though. The familiarity he has erases so many of those issues. Another time and another place, Lovullo is probably the perfect candidate because of this singular reason.

Other Ways of Convincing

We've talked about his absolute best reason and probably his one downfall. Unfortunately his one downfall is something he can't control. The precedent has been set and Shapiro's goals have been as well.

Shapiro made it a point that he wanted big league experience. While it isn't the only thing he's basing his decision on, it is a huge factor into his decision. There isn't anything Lovullo can do about that.

What he can do is continue to display the other attributes that has made him a success at the minor league level.

Lovullo is a class communicator, something a good manager needs to be successful. It’s part of the reason that I have no doubts about him eventually getting a shot at a big league job.

The players respect Lovullo because of the relationship he fosters with his players. He'd call his players into his Columbus and Buffalo offices and talk to them if they didn't get the call when there was a shot they would or if they did.

And he'd talk to them about it.

Lovullo is a guy who can relate very well to the minor leaguer. His career was one of a journeyman, playing the majority of his professional career for teams like Buffalo and Columbus, teams he would later manage at the minor league level.

Shapiro saw the potential in Lovullo as a manager or coach even when Lovullo was still playing. When Shapiro was in the lower levels of the Indians organization himself, he brought Lovullo on as a player in 1995 to play for Buffalo. He knew eventually he wanted to get Lovullo as a teacher after his playing days were over.

And Lovullo eventually warmed up to such an idea and took it head on.

This is someone who has everything you need to be a successful manager. He has the communication skills, the drive, the knowledge, the personality, and the understanding to relate with players.

The one thing he lacks is something that he's trying obtain.

If Lovullo loses out to someone else, which is looking like a real possibility because of his lack of major league experience, I think the time has come to give him that experience in a different way.

If you don't hire Lovullo, bring him onto the staff anyway. Get him up here and start the process that needs to be started. Bump him up a rung in preparation for what eventually will be his one day.

It may not be the Indians job, but there ever comes a day that something needs to happen, Lovullo will be ready.

A Case for Bobby Valentine Heading the Cleveland Indians

Nino Colla — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:14 -0400

Chiba Lotte's fans wanted Bobby Valentine back in Japan for yet another year. Chiba Lotte management didn't want to pay him.

I don't know what budget the Marines are on, but surely an MLB team, even one as cash-strapped as Cleveland, could afford Valentine's asking price.

In Mark Shapiro's quest to hire a new manager, he has said that money won't be an issue. However does that mean money won't be an issue because they won't think of hiring someone that costs a pretty penny or they would shell out the cash for the right guy?

No one really knows and on that same confusion, no one really knows why Valentine would take an interest in Cleveland.

It isn't the ideal spot for someone who has gained the respect he has to actually consider. Cleveland is not a team ready to compete for a World Series in 2010 and maybe not even in 2011. That isn't to say Bobby Valentine has one interest in winning now, but it is surprising to some that Valentine would want to bother with a team that isn't ready to win.

Or you could look at it as the Indians being the best situation for any manager out there looking for a job this year. You may not win in 2010, but you won't have a job in 2010 either. Valentine though, as we all widely know, has ESPN as his safeguard.

Either way though, Valentine is set to interview with Cleveland Thursday, with Torey Lovullo going Friday and perhaps two more candidates next week. One is considered to be Don Mattingly and now that the Dodgers are eliminated, that could happen sooner rather than later.

Valentine is going to be the second man up in the process. You would think given his experience he would be the favorite and really that's the whole basis for his case to be the next Indians manager.

Experience to Last a Lifetime

When Mark Shapiro set out his guidelines for hiring a new manager there was one point he seemed to be aiming for. There was one trait he wanted his new manager to have no matter what and given the finalists, that is evident.

He wanted someone with major league experience. Sure his preliminary list had two coaches within the organization, Lovullo who is a finalist and Akron manager Mike Sarbaugh, but it was also filled with guys who have been to the big show.

It also appears Shapiro is looking for someone who's done the big job before.

Bobby Valentine has certainly done the big job and he's done it well at times.

Valentine just isn't an experience big league manager. He isn't just a big league manager either, as mentioned in the very beginning, Japan has had the pleasure of the witnessing the Bobby V experience.

He's someone who's managed at the minor league level, the major league level and the international level. He knows baseball like the back of his hand and he's seen a lot and done a lot. The guy knows what he's doing, point blank.

What argument do you have against that?

There is no argument against experience, unless of course the experience has been nothing but bad. But Valentine has won in the past. He won, briefly, at Texas, in New York and in Japan.

The winning in New York and Japan was brief, not as brief as in Texas. but the man has a knack for taking over a team and doing good things. He knows the game in and out, he has an eye for talent and he can flat out run a clubhouse.

The Indians wanted experience. They can settle for minimal managerial experience in Manny Acta or a good chunk of major league experience in Don Mattingly. Or they could grab the guy that has more experience as a professional manager than any of the other candidates combined.

No learning curve, no mistakes, none of that stuff that one of the other candidates may go through. Valentine will come in and bring that "I know what I'm doing, so listen to me" attitude. And if he can press that confidence and swagger onto the players, the team might even be more successful in 2010 than more people think.

Other Ways of Convincing

You know you are popular when the first auto-result that comes up when you start typing your name in Google is followed by something unique.

In Bobby Valentine's case, the term "bobby valentine disguise" is the first term that comes up after you complete typing his name. It doesn't stick at "Bobby Valentine or go to "Bobby Valentine managerial record" or "Bobby Valentine Mets." No, his popularity is so high because of that one moment in which he returned to the dugout in a disguise after getting ejected.

Experience is great, but popularity speaks for itself. It would be splash of all splashes to sign someone like Valentine to manage the Indians. There would be a buzz in Cleveland that might just generate enough interest.

How does that work on the baseball side?

You can make plain arguments, but I'd rather just leave it at that.

From a baseball aspect though, there is plenty to pick from.

Valentine would bring a fresh set of eyes to the Cleveland organization. As someone who's dealt with developing talent and has been around the game for so long, Valentine knows what works and what doesn't.

There are legendary stories about things he's done and how spot on he's been about players. And being the outspoken man he is, if he sees someone or something he's going to tell Mark Shapiro.

This is an organization that is to believed to be cohesive in their thinking. Most fans think Mark Shapiro had Wedge around as some sort of a "Yes Man" to agree with all this moves. Of course, whether that's true or not, Shapiro disputed that notion and said that he and Wedge did not always agree.

We don't really know the inner-workings of Shapiro's brain or his intentions. We also don't know why Bobby Valentine has had problems with Tatsuro Hirooka, the general manager of Chiba Lotte, and former Mets general manager Steve Phillips.

So how would a guy who is presumably looking for a "Yes Man" work with a guy who's had past issues with two of his bosses?

I don't buy into the Shapiro notion, so I personally don't see an issue here. I think Shapiro would be open to bringing in someone as much as an outsider as Bobby Valentine is. The question is does he want to bring in someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and stick to it to the very end?

Again, I don't think he would care if it betters the team. Valentine would be someone who could come into the meetings and challenge the thinking the Indians have had. Has their thinking worked? In some ways it has, in other ways it has failed miserably. Shapiro has shown he's willing to change in the past and I don't see how this would differ.

He's shifted his player scouting and development personnel, also known as the people scouting and drafting players after numerous failures in the MLB Draft. Many thought he would not fire Eric Wedge, even after this season, yet he did it. When the issues with the bullpen arose early in 2009, to continue a continual problem, Shapiro took a radical approach to changing things.

People may not want to hear it out of their disdain for him, but Shapiro is willing to change for the team to be successful and Bobby Valentine would be one radical change in an effort to do that.

You cannot argue with the success that Valentine has had in every stop he's gone to. Has it always ended on the best terms? Arguably, no it hasn't. But Valentine has made a different everywhere he's gone. If it turns out to be something that isn't long term, but has some short term success, then it would be a good hire.

A Case for Don Mattingly Heading the Cleveland Indians

Nino Colla — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:36:32 -0400

With the Dodgers chances of advancing to the World Series dwindling with every loss, the chances of the Indians getting their hands on Don Mattingly increase.

Among the finalists for the Cleveland Indians managerial post, are Torey Lovullo, Bobby Valentine and Manny Acta, none of which are currently active. Don Mattingly however is busy with this thing called the postseason.

And this is perhaps why his name was initially left off the list of finalists when they were first leaked by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. After some digging though and the mention of another candidate currently fulfilling other obligations, it became clear Mattingly is in the running.

With an off-day for the NLCS on Tuesday, the same day the Indians met with one candidate in Acta, it was a belief that would be the perfect time for the Indians to get Mattingly in for a visit.

That did not happen though and wouldn't have if possible. The Indians plan to make every candidate available to the media.

Even though it isn't clear when, if, or how Mattingly will interview, one thing has become clear: Cleveland has it's final four and he's in it. As promised though, I said I'd make a case for each managerial candidate the best I could. Tuesday I ran down Manny Acta's case, now we cover Mattingly's.

Despite previous reports, it appears Lovullo us a finalist, not Travis Fryman as originally thought on Tuesday.

A Star Learning From One

They often say star players don't tend to make good managers, in much of any sport. How many Hall of Fame players end up being Hall of Fame coaches as well?

People love pointing out names like Wayne Gretzky's failures as coach for the Phoenix Coyotes in the NHL.

In baseball, guys like Joe Torre have the most success. Being a catcher is a popular trait for most successful manager, but so is not lasting long or not being very successful in the major league game.

Cleveland's previous manager had close to zero major league success. Eric Wedge was as unknown in his time as Wyatt Toregas was to the general baseball public.

So that's the main thing going against Don Mattingly when you think of him as a manager.

However let's not hold that against him. Everyone is a different person and just because Mattingly was a successful first baseman, doesn't mean he won't be a successful manager if given the shot.

For one, I couldn't think of a better person to learn from than Joe Torre. If anything, sitting behind him for as many years as he has, he had to have picked something up. Being both a bench coach for a year and a hitting instructor under Torre he's received a chance to learn from one of the greats.

However, Torre's teams have dealt mainly with high-priced veterans and getting egos to mesh, at least lately. Mattingly has only experienced the Alex-Rodriguez-spend-till-you-drop era of Yankee baseball and two years of Dodger baseball.

Perhaps though, maybe that's what makes this as good time as any for him to get his shot. He's learned how to deal with two different types of teams. The current Dodgers are ones of a really different ilk as those Yankee teams Torre managed the past few years.

They've got youth to them and Mattingly has had to do a lot more with the younger group of hitters than he did in New York.

Versatility is the name of the game and perhaps a big reason why Mattingly brings a lot to the table. There is no question he can teach given the work he’s done in the Yankees organization for seven years before joining Torre’s staff and what he’s done for the Dodgers.

But being a manager involves a lot more than just teaching hitting and not everyone can do it. It doesn’t hurt that he learned from one of the best though.

Other Ways of Convincing

I'll make no secret, the previous reason is both the biggest reason I don't like Mattingly and the biggest reason I do like Mattingly. I know it seems weird to think about it, but it really is the only way to describe it.

What better way to learn than from Joe Torre? However look what he was learning about. It's a double-edged sword in my eyes.

There are things about his candidacy though that I really think would make him a good hire.

Start with the fact that he's a total professional in every way. During his career he was a professional hitter, now he's a professional hitting instructor and as a guy, Mattingly is professional all the way through.

There would be no transition or fear for the Indians in replacing someone like Eric Wedge, who was class all the way, with someone like Don Mattingly. It would be a smooth effective change.

Perhaps that could work against him. I liked Eric Wedge, I thought he was a good fit for this team and I thought his personality worked well. So quite frankly if Mattingly is the same type of person, I'd have no problem with that.

But for a team that needs to change things up a little, is Mattingly different enough?

Fans will like this hire because it's a big name. It's a borderline Hall of Famer that played first base for the most storied franchise in the game. However what the casual fan doesn't realize is that Mattingly has a lot of the same personality traits that Wedge had and many fans did not like Wedge because of his personality.

Again, I have no problem with it, that's something I like.

But you just have to wonder how tolerable the fan base would be to some of the same things that they hated with Wedge, only difference being; this manager is a bigger star.

Cleveland Indians: A Case for Manny Acta Heading the Tribe

Nino Colla — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:19:16 -0400

With the League Championship Series halfway through, the self-imposed deadline of installing a manager into the Cleveland Indians dugout is looming.

Mark Shapiro and company conducted eight to 10 phone interviews since the end of the regular season, the names of those interviewees still a mystery. Names have been thrown around, but three are for certain as the Indians have named three finalists for their vacated post.

The first is Manny Acta, who will be in Cleveland Tuesday for his sit down interview with the organization. The other two known names are Bobby Valentine and Travis Fryman. However, uncertainty is still the name of the game as Shapiro made it entirely possible that they would have three to five final candidates.

Throughout the week, I'll make a case for each finalist and give each candidate their ringing endorsement for why they should be named manager of the Cleveland Indians. It all starts now with former Nationals manager, Manny Acta.

Dealing with Young Frustration

Every manager deals with frustration.

But not every manager knows what it's like to deal with young frustration.

Frustration is when you can't get your team to hit for a stretch, or your best pitcher is going through a cold streak and making it difficult on your team to win games.

Young frustration is far more different and far more of a challenge to deal with, especially because it occurs on a day to day basis.

Has anyone had more dealings with young, inexperienced, and even perhaps unqualified talent as Manny Acta? When you head up the Nationals of the past few years, you are truly dealing with a plethora of young frustration.

And that's what young frustration is. It's the inexperienced, the unknown, the sometimes downright bad aspect of a team. The Nationals were horrible and everyone and their distant cousins knew this, including Acta. But what could he do about it? Nothing, and that is the frustration in it all.

His teams were so young and so bad, that there was just a slight amount of talk that Stephen Strasburg could go directly into the rotation after he was drafted No. 1 overall and signed by Washington in the 2009 MLB Draft.

That's an organization just looking for talent, let alone experienced talent. That is frustration that you know you can do nothing about, as hard as you try.

Why does all this matter?

For one, the Indians are going to be a very young team from the outset of things in 2010 and probably a few years after that with the talent they are expecting to bring up. There are people out there that can welcome the challenge of dealing with young players and not get frustrated themselves, and Acta is one of them.

If there is anyone that could be suited to handle what the challenges of being Cleveland's skipper are going to be, Acta would be one of the few.

This isn't a team that is going to be rebuilding, but it is a team that is expected to be infusing a lot of young talent into what already is a solid core. Players like Shin-Soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Aaron Laffey are expected to be guys that have established somewhat of a base to build off that into something better.

Yet there are pieces around them that have been added, are expected to be added, or will be added in the coming years that are not quite there. So while the situation isn't one that will take an enormous amount of time, it is one that will require a period in which things will most definitely get rough.

Provided that the young enthusiasm that he brought over to Washington when he got his first managerial shot, I can't see Acta failing in the aspect of gaining the trust and love of his players. This was not a hard clubhouse to win over in Cleveland and that has nothing to do with Eric Wedge, but it's a fact that Mark Shapiro has established an organization of talented players, with the principle that they have good character.

There are managers in the game suited to win now or undertake a certain situation or apply a certain type of attitude. There are certain situations in which that type of candidate should be chosen.

It may be one of those times for one of those teams to hire one of those guys.

There are very few Ron Gardenhires in the world, someone you can count on to handle any situation given to him. There are very few organizations in the world where they need to go out and hire a guy that can undertake any situation.

Cleveland is not one of those teams looking for any situation at this juncture and unless they can find someone they are absolutely positive can be anything they need him to be, they aren't going to be hiring anyone like that.

Acta fits the situation and he fits the needed answer to the situation. Sometimes it just makes too much sense to not go with that line of thinking.

Other Ways of Convincing

While Acta's main reason surrounding his prior experiences in a situation similar to what just went down, that isn't the only reason that makes him suitable to handle Cleveland.

Let's start with a big positive that is working for him. The fact that he is bilingual and a relatively well-known figure within the Latin baseball community is something you cannot over look.

With three out of four infielders, three big prospects (one being a catcher), and two struggled pitchers all being Latin, there are plenty of reasons for the Indians to want someone like Acta who can relate well to these players.

Acta managed the Dominican Republic team for the World Baseball Classic in 2006. That just goes to show you what kind of respect the Dominican community has for him in terms of the game. Fausto Carmona, Jhonny Peralta, and Rafael Perez, all of whom struggled these past two years, could use someone from their country in their corner.

Not to mention, Peralta's been one to have a little bit of an issue communicating these past few years, especially with Eric Wedge. That could be totally beneficial in the aspect that Peralta is one of the Tribe's best hitters when he's playing well.

One of the criticisms that was brought up when Eric Wedge fired bullpen coach Luis Isaac after the 2008 season was his bond with the Latin players in the clubhouse. That bond would be restored heavily and it might even play positives towards getting guys like Fausto Carmona and Rafael Perez back on track.

When you boil things down, everyone's best baseball is always played when they are comfortable. Nothing makes a player more comfortable than knowing their manager understands them and he understands his players.

The Latin players wouldn't be the only one's gaining something out of this marriage. The boss of them all, Mark Shapiro, would be getting something he desires in hiring Acta.

Shapiro is part of the new-age of general managers in the game. He likes his excel spreadsheets and using his Ivy League education to determine a lot of his front office moves. He isn't a full-on sabermetric, money ball, Billy Beane-type mastermind that does things based largely off numbers.

But he does use them to his advantage and he does take a lot of stock into the numbers aspect of the game. This is something that Acta is said to embrace, something he is not afraid to employ when looking at the game.

This is someone who reads publications like Baseball Prospectus, someone that is very much new-school for a young team.

Many will try and put down the idea of Acta because of his failures with Washington. Reasons being given such as, "Washington was worse than Cleveland, what did he exactly do that Eric Wedge didn't?"

Acta did good things for a team that was not supposed to be good in his first year with the Nationals. Things went bad, but the talent got worse. There is such a thing as learning from your mistakes or learning from the past and Acta might be able to take what transpired with the Nationals and do something with it.

He's a few years older than he was when he got his first managerial job in the majors, but he's still a young guy in the realms of skippers at this level. So he had some learning to do. If anything though, he's a fresh face that seems to possess a lot of the ideals Mark Shapiro wants, yet someone who will also try and challenge a new way of thinking in the organization.

The case for Manny Acta is a strong one and it's no wonder he's one of Cleveland's favorites.

The Cleveland Indians Should Target These Chief Managerial Candidates

Nino Colla — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:03:36 -0400

With Eric Wedge's ousting in Cleveland, Mark Shapiro has to use this October and find himself a new skipper. Shapiro plans to have a replacement in by the end of the World Series, but he's going to formulate a list of about ten candidates to interview over the phone. From there he'll narrow it down to a few candidates, make them public and then pick from there. It would behoove Shapiro follow up on his wishes of hiring someone that possess a lot of the qualities Eric Wedge did. He wants someone that won't conform to his opinions every time out, like Wedge did, but someone he can get to buy into the ideals of the Cleveland Indians organization, like Wedge did. He also is being pressured to hire someone with some major league experience. Someone who will command respect immediately from the young players and veterans like Grady Sizemore on the team. Eric Wedge's shortcomings were largely debated, but one thing that beefed a lot of people when he was hired was his lack of major league experience. With that, I've put together a list of ten candidates that Mark Shapiro will no doubt at least think about. Whether they are on his final list to contact and pursue is another story.

Begin Slideshow

2009 MLB Playoff Contender Rankings

Nino Colla — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:39:33 -0400

Last year, on somewhat of a whim, I put together a group of rankings called the Contender Rankings. I took 11 different categories that I believed were crucial to playoff success and ranked each postseason contender in each category. It accumulated into one combined ranking that was supposed to tell us something.

Well, in the end, the top two teams were eliminated in the first round and the eventual World Series champions ended up sixth out of nine teams.

This year, I’ve waited till all playoff teams were set and ranked all eight in 10 of the same categories. I’ve eliminated the 11th; “Most in need of a World Series” because I’ve realized that shouldn’t have much bearing on a team winning it this year. While it sparked most of the debate last year, I think it’s better to nix it.

In fact, the Rays and Phillies finished in the bottom three of that category last year, so we make adjustments.

I also got rid of the factor I rated least important, “Short series danger” and replaced it with “Momentum.” It’s something that is hard to grasp, especially when the playoffs come around, but I believe it’s more inductive to postseason success than a team being dangerous in a short series.

As with most formulas or rankings, repetition and tweaking yields the best results, so I’ve applied one suggestion from last year. I’ve weighted the categories in terms of importance.

Instead of just getting the same amount of points for having the best lineup and the best bench, teams with the better lineups will get more points for a better lineup and less for a better bench.

This will be explained with more details in the Power Ranking portion. For now, here is how each team stacks up in each category, at least according to me.

Lineup x9

Yankees
Phillies
Red Sox
Cardinals
Angels
Dodgers
Twins
Rockies

I’m not one to argue with eight hitters collecting at least 18 home runs this season. The Yankees led the entire MLB in runs scored, so I’d be crazy to pick another team. Philadelphia topped this list last year and they are right up there again with their stout top-to-bottom order.

Bench x5

Red Sox
Dodgers
Phillies
Yankees
Twins
Rockies
Angels
Cardinals

This is the playoffs, so it’s a given that we have a lot of good teams. But I’m starting to realize just how well-rounded all eight participants are after studying the benches. The Red Sox haven’t decided on Rocco Baldelli’s status yet, but Jed Lowrie is a starter coming off the bench.

With Orlando Hudson not starting, the Dodgers are strong in the extra-player instance. Even though he’s got poor hitting stats, I think the Phillies will miss Eric Bruntlett’s versatility in the first round. I really like the backups Minnesota and Colorado have, but I don’t think I can put them higher.

Small Ball Capabilities x3

Rockies
Twins
Dodgers
Angels
Cardinals
Phillies
Red Sox
Yankees

I really believe not starting Orlando Hudson impacts the Dodgers here, but not too much. The Rockies however are a team built to do a lot of that manufacture-runs type baseball with all their speed.

The Twins are a NL Team in an AL Team’s body and the Angels' manager loves to deploy the same tactics as well. The ultimate decider when it came down to last place was the amount of sacrifice flies the Red Sox have produced. In the end, they both had close sacrifice hits as AL teams, but the Red Sox know how to get runners in and use their outs wisely.

Defense x6

Twins
Angels
Red Sox
Phillies
Rockies
Dodgers
Cardinals
Yankees

Is there any two teams more sound defensively than the Twins and Angels? Fundamental baseball preached by their managers gets these two teams at the top of the list. Boston and Philadelphia are right there with them as two teams who have good versatility and defense at just about every position. None of these teams however are atrocious defensively, which should make all these games relatively clean.

Starting Rotation x9

Cardinals: Carpenter, Wainwright, Piniero
Angels: Lackey, Weaver, Kazmir, Saunders
Phillies: Lee, Hamels, Blanton/Martinez
Yankees: Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte
Red Sox: Lester, Beckett, Buchholz
Dodgers: Wolf, Kershaw, Padilla, Billingsley
Rockies: Jimenez, Cook, Hammel, Marquis
Twins: Duensing, Blackburn, Pavano, Baker

With a few unknowns, such as who’s the third starter for the Phillies and will some teams go four deep, I had to work with what I was given. I hate to put the Twins last, but they are pretty much the one team that couldn’t set things up the way they would have liked.

The Cardinals in my mind are the slam-dunk number one, with the Angels talented group right behind them. Really, those two and the Phillies are probably as close as you’ll get.

Bullpen x8

Dodgers
Yankees
Twins
Red Sox
Cardinals
Phillies
Angels
Rockies

The Dodgers for the second straight year top my list of top bullpens. In the end, they’ve got the closer and arms leading up to him and the numbers to back it up. The Phillies are ultimately hurt by having unrest at the closer position where as the top five teams all have closers you can rely on. Remember though, this just isn’t about the closers, it’s about the entire pen.

Manager x8

Joe Torre, Dodgers
Terry Francona, Red Sox
Tony LaRussa, Cardinals
Charlie Manuel, Phillies
Mike Scioscia, Angels
Ron Gardenhire, Twins
Jim Tracy, Rockies
Joe Girardi, Yankees

Remember this encompasses postseason experience just as much as anything else. I’ll start off by saying this was by far the hardest category to rank because of all the top managers included in this years postseason. Five of these managers have won it all and two of them are slam dunk Hall-of-Famers. Really, I wouldn’t have a problem if anyone had a beef with this ranking. It was not easy. Ron Gardenhire sixth? As if he wasn’t underrated enough.

Home Field x2

Twins
Yankees
Red Sox
Rockies
Angels
Phillies
Dodgers
Cardinals

This category has a mix of different factors, from home records to just overall quirks of the ballpark. The three quirkiest parks are right at the top with the Twins and their dome, the Yankee Stadium right porch and the green monster in Fenway. Boston and New York hold the best home records as well. No one wants to play the Rockies at Coors because they’ve got the best home record amongst National League playoff participants.

Clutch Hitters x4

Albert Pujols, Cardinals
Ryan Howard, Phillies
Mark Texieira, Yankees
Victor Martinez, Red Sox
Joe Mauer, Twins
Andre Ethier, Dodgers
Kendry Morales, Angels
Todd Helton, Rockies

It’s a new breed of clutch hitters. Gone are Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Not to say they aren’t clutch, but they have been outdone by some teammates this season. On top this list is no doubt Albert Pujols, who was avoided like the plague this year by pitchers with 44 intentional walks.

Due to his continued walk-off winners, Andre Ethier gets the slight nod over Ramirez. Here’s something to chew on. Kendry Morales led the entire majors in RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs. That is the most clutch-hit in baseball you can get.

Momentum – x2

Twins
Rockies
Yankees
Angels
Red Sox
Phillies
Dodgers
Cardinals

Is there any argument that the Twins have the most momentum going forward? The team always fighting for the lives till the very end is in a battle mode. The Rockies have been lighting the world on fire and have to feel good about their chances as well. The Yankees didn’t just end up the best team in the game; they ended the best team in the second half as well. The Cardinals aren’t entering the season on the best note, but they should be fine.

Power Rankings

Red Sox (308)
Phillies (290)
Dodgers (273)
Yankees (265)
Cardinals (262)
Angels (240)
Twins (236)
Rockies (142)

If a team ranked first in a category, they received eight points and so on and so forth. From there, each number was multiplied by the number I’ve put next to the category. So for instance, in momentum, the twins received 16 points, the most you can receive. In lineup, they received 18 points, the second least you can receive in that category.

After all these numbers were calculated and multiplied, each team had their scores in each category added up and those were the results. Boston tops the list by 18 points over the Phillies. The Rockies come in very low with just 142 points and the team with the best record, New York comes in right at the center of it all.

I’m far from a numbers guy. But when you can combine personal opinion and rankings and all that fun stuff I love to do, then I’m game for anything. But one thing to take into consideration here is that you can tweak these numbers to say whatever you want. I can go in and change a few things and end up with Boston and Philadelphia being much closer.

I don’t know how much you can expect this to be accurate after last year. I know the two teams that finished fifth and sixth went to the World Series and strangely enough, out of pure coincidence, the teams that I picked for the World Series are fifth and sixth this year.

Because I only had quick comments on certain rankings, I encourage anyone to bring up any disagreements. Such as, “Why did you have this team at the bottom in a certain category?” I’m always willing to defend something and go into greater detail behind my madness.

MLB 2009 Postseason: Top Storylines

Nino Colla — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:48:56 -0400

We're still waiting on one last playoff contender for this year's postseason festivities, but the story machine is already churning for most outlets. Can you see the possibilities?

I'm pretty sure big media markets like Boston, New York, and Los Angeles can.

Every year the MLB postseason can provide some of the most intense drama you'll ever witness. What makes it so special is the storylines that surround these moments.

Questions are answered when all is said and done, but the fun is seeing how they are answered. Storylines are fulfilled, but the intrigue is seeing in what way they are fulfilled.

So here are the top ten storylines you should be following as the playoffs unfold.

10. How Dangerous Are the Tigers in a Short-Series? How Far Will "Dome Magic" Take the Twins?

Coming in at tenth to start the list off, is a tie between storylines involving two teams that are not officially in the playoffs as of this article being created.

Let's start with the Tigers, who've got that label some teams get before the postseason starts.

"The most dangerous team in a short series."

This is often given to the team that has two dominant starters, and nothing more. If the Tigers make the playoffs, the attention will turn to Justin Verlander, and the hope that Tiger fans will put on him being dominant.

If the Twins face the Yankees, then the dome lives on, for at least another game.

They'll play two games in New York, but the Twins are guaranteed one more game at the storied Metrodome before they move into Target Field next year.

And if they get one more game in the dome, they have the opportunity to work its magic into more.

9. The Angels Battle with the Boston Monkey

King Kong is jumping around Anaheim, and he's got a big giant hat with a "B" on it, especially at this time of the year.

The last four Los Angeles playoff appearances have ended with elimination. Three of them have come at the hands of Boston in the ALDS.

And here we are again, Boston and Los Angeles, in the ALDS.

Will the Angels finally breakthrough and defeat Boston in the postseason, something they've failed to do this decade?

In fact, the Angels have only won one postseason series since winning the World Series in 2002. They've managed to make the playoffs regularly, but have had numerous shortcomings, especially in the past few years when they've had talented teams.

Teams that have been talented enough to win it all in my opinion. Last year was their best shot as any after wrapping up the AL West relatively early.

However, this year they are flying very low under the radar, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they finally knocked the monkey off their back, and put on an extended postseason run.

8. How Will Rotations Shape Up?

I don't think I can remember a year in which there was as much discussion as to rotation alignment and situation as there has been this year.

Starting in Boston, where you have Daisuke Matsuzaka coming back at the best possible time to let the Red Sox know they can count on him. Sure they're going to pitch Beckett and Lester, but who do they go with behind them?

Clay Buchholz has struggled the past few times out, a few weeks ago it looked like he was a lock for one of the spots. But, now Matsuzaka being healthy provides the Red Sox with an interesting choice to make, or a very good backup plan.

Moving onto New York, if they Yankees were to advance, is Joba Chamberlain going to be in the rotation or the bullpen? And with still not knowing their opponent, they've yet to select which series they want, and that will ultimately decide how they assemble their rotation in this series. So there is still some unknown there.

In Colorado, the injury to Jorge De La Rosa provides some issues to the Rockies plans. Do they rest him and not risk putting an injured pitcher out there in a short series? Ubaldo Jimenez has thrown in a few clunkers in the month of September, while Aaron Cook's freshness is a big bonus for the Rockies.

Philadelphia has solid arms, but in what order do they line them up? Do they give Pedro Martinez the third spot behind Cole Hamels or is it Joe Blanton? Is JA Happ, who co-led the team in wins, bound for the bullpen?

Just about every team has a deep rotation, and the Angels are not excluded. In fact, they may have one of the deepest rotations. With the acquisition of Scott Kazmir, they've got a plethora of options.

And, of course, the Dodgers have everyone coming together at the right time. Where do they go for their first series? Billingsley, Garland, Padilla, Wolf, and Kershaw are all viable candidates, but not all of them can start.

And whoever faces the Yankees already has a mangled rotation, they just have to go with who's fresh. I don't think the Tigers will be happy about having to use Porcello just to get into the playoffs, but that's their own fault for not clinching sooner.

So many questions and intriguing issues to resolve, as far as the rotations go.

7. Not Your Mother's Boston Lineup

This isn't 2004, it's not even 2007.

It's 2009, and this Boston lineup is drastically different from the ones that won World Series titles back in 2004 and 2007. Manny Ramirez is gone, David Ortiz is not a central figure, and middle of the road players like Coco Crisp and Gabe Kapler are not pieces of this puzzle.

In fact, it may be a more balanced group of Red Sox hitters than in the past.

From top to bottom you've got skilled players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Jason Bay, and newly acquired Victor Martinez.

Ortiz is just a player, not the man in the lineup, but he's still dangerous. The world might open their eyes to just how good of a pure hitter Martinez is. Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis have had their postseason moments in the past.

Many don't realize this, but it was Jason Bay that did a lot of the heavy lifting in the postseason last year. JD Drew has suddenly gotten hot to end the season and this team's bench, not half bad compared to others.

6. How Far Can Two Very Good Pitchers Carry the Cardinals?

The idea of the Tigers' danger in a short series with Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson, pales in comparison when you stare down Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright in a five game series.

Carpenter and Wainwright have dominated the opposition this year, plain and simple.

The last time we saw Wainwright in the postseason, he closed the door on a World Series title. You don't think he can't handle the pressure of the postseason?

Chris Carpenter was 3-1 back in 2006 in the Cardinals last run.

And these two guys are pitching at least three out of the five games in the first series if it comes down to that?

Thanks, but no thanks.

5. Dodger Potential World Series Matchups: California Series, Manny vs. Boston, Torre vs. Yankees

No one is rooting for the Dodgers as much as FOX is right now.

There are odds of having a marketable storyline go through the roof if the Dodgers make it to the World Series. You can create just about any sort of storyline with them involved.

If they face the Angels, then you've got an in-state rivalry. It might not be incredibly appealing to the East Coast, but its way better than Dodgers-Twins.

Then you've got two current Dodgers with the possibilities of facing their old teams and re-visiting their old stomping grounds.

Joe Torre back in New York? Manny Ramirez makes his long-awaited return to Boston?

FOX and ESPN couldn't ask for bigger matchups to promote and talk endlessly about.

4. The Struggles of CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez in the Postseason

The highest paid position player in the major leagues is a career .279 hitter in the postseason.

The highest paid pitcher in the major leagues has a career postseason ERA of 7.92.

That isn't what the best money pays for, and the Yankees shouldn't expect it to. So you can bet with every pretty penny they've spent on both players, that both need to come up at some point in this year's postseason run.

If Sabathia goes out and lays an egg in the first game, and Rodriguez strikes out twice and goes 0-for-4, there will be no end to the talk of disappointment. They need big performances more than anyone.

Rodriguez now has Mark Teixeira hitting next to him, which should surely make things easier for one of them, and it seems as if there is very little talk surrounding Rodriguez this year, which will make things easier from a pressure aspect.

Sabathia doesn't have the excuse of being exhausted to hinge on like he did last year. He was dead-fatigued by the time Milwaukee got to the postseason in 2008. They used him as their workhorse just to get there, and when they finally did, he was done.

This is Sabathia's chance to show everyone that 2007 was just a fluke and he can pitch in the big games.

3. Rocktober Again in 2009?

When it was the Colorado Rockies making a postseason run in 2007, many fans were shouting, "Welcome to Rocktober."

Is it going to be Roxtober again in 2009?

What is Rckxtober?

It's basically any time the Rockies go on an incredible run and streak into the postseason, and play meaningful October baseball.

And then run through their on-comers with the same perseverance they did for the past few months of the regular season.

This team has been on a rip since they fired Clint Hurdle and it doesn't look like they are slowing down for anyone.

Consider first phase of Roxtober done, and the second phase underway. The Phillies are going to be a tough opponent, but they are far from flawless. Pitching and hot play can carry any team, and the Rockies certainly have the first, and the capability, to do the second.

There isn't a more surprising aspect of the 2009 postseason than the fact the Rockies are in it, despite being left for dead a few months into the season.

2. Nick Adenhart's Impact on the Angels

This is the most emotional storyline in this year's MLB postseason, by far. Last year it was the story of John Challis and his impact on Joe Maddon and the Rays.

This year, it's the Angels taking the memory of their fallen teammate and seeing how far it can emotionally push them.

Maybe it will even be enough to get the aforementioned monkey off their back.

There was some controversy over the way the Angels celebrated with Adenhart's jersey after they clinched the AL West. I personally don't have a problem with it, and think it was truly a special moment.

I can only anticipate what they would do to honor him if they advance at each level of the postseason, and I hope I get to see it. This is one story, I'd be glad to root for.

1. The Brad Lidge Situation

To me, this is the biggest storyline going in baseball right now.

For one, if it's Brad Lidge and both the Phillies and Cardinals advance, you can expect overdrive by the media's intrigue vehicle.

There is a lot riding on who will be closing for Philadelphia. They've got all the other pieces in place. They've got dual aces in Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels atop their rotation, a stellar lineup from top to bottom, and good pieces in the pen leading up to Lidge.

But the one constant in Philadelphia’s team last year, is the one non-constant this year. It's mind-boggling how far he's fallen and had he just been half as consistent as he was last year, the Phillies would be the hands down favorite to take it all.

So is Charlie Manuel going to stick with the guy who can be great, and toy with the very real possibility that he could be burned very badly, or does he try something else?

Ryan Madson hasn't worked out and who knows if Brett Myers can step in with just a few games under his belt since his return. Had they took the time to convert him into the role, I'd almost suggest throwing Pedro Martinez's name out there.

If Lidge is the man though, and both the Phillies and Cardinals make it to the NLCS, Lidge's worst nightmare is lurking. You know he'll have to face Albert Pujols with the game on the line at some point, and that alone will be worth the price of admission.

Oh, and if Lidge were to somehow miraculously regain invincibility and lead the Phillies to a repeat? Then that's just what the postseason is all about: unpredictability.

Fail to the Chief: Cleveland Manager Eric Wedge Should be Remembered for Class

Nino Colla — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:02:20 -0400

"What took so long?"

"About time!"

"Good, now Shapiro must go!"

"Not shocked at all."

All common responses from Cleveland Indians fans at the news that Eric Wedge has been let go as the manager.

After seven seasons as the skipper for the Tribe, Wedge departs with the club that gave him his first managerial job back in 1998 with Low-A Columbus.

He takes with him good memories, such as the success of a 2007 ALCS run and the rough and many lessons learned.

Wedge won't be the only one taking this as a learning experience; many fans of the Cleveland franchise, the ownership of it, Mark Shapiro, and the players should do the same. However, the biggest thing they should take isn't a lesson Wedge had to learn.

What everyone should take from this situation is the fact that one man is not responsible for the success or failure of a ball club. The kind of man, not manager mind you, that Eric Wedge is will tell you that he takes responsibility for the situation.

But in his heart, in all of our minds, that is absolutely false. This is a team game with players playing, managers managing put together by groups of people, with people paying the bills.

When I look back at the tenure of Eric Wedge, I will not think about the day he was fired or the times I was upset with him. I'll remember the good traits and the bad traits, but I'll forever look back at his time and come back to one word: respect.

This isn't about being upset that he rarely applied the strategy of small ball or never got upset and kicked dirt in a fit of rage at an umpire.

This is about the respect that Wedge not only had for the game of baseball, the team he was managing, and the fans he was upsetting, but the respect one should have for a person like Eric Wedge.

Someone in my position can sit up here and talk about all the reasons he should be fired. It's not about that. It's not about taking Shapiro out of the picture with him or saying, "Finally! That bum of a coach is out and can't screw things up anymore!"

Yes, there are people out there that refer to him as a coach that clues you in to just how much they don't know about the game.

The very game that Wedge respected and made his players respect. He'd sound like a broken record and a bit of an annoyance for terms like "respect the game" and "grinding it out," but that's what made him unique. And quite frankly, it's the reason that I respect him and always will.

Awhile ago, it became evident that Eric Wedge was managing on borrowed time. A week ago, it became apparent that even though Wedge might have known this, he wasn't going to quit. At that point, I said a lot of the same things I'm saying now, only more in a managerial sense.

The same things apply here to Wedge as a person.

A hard worker who put in his time, did the job to the best of his abilities to the very end and never complained. Where other managers may have blew their top and said something irrational, Wedge never did so and always kept his head up.

Now I may sound like I'm just doing nothing but praising the guy for getting fired. In a way, that's exactly what I'm doing. Wedge deserves a lot more respect to do anything else though.

There will be a time and place to talk about his replacement, the flaws, and everything else that goes along with the firing of a manager. Right now, this is about reflecting on the good things he did and what led up to this decision.

The first thing that comes to mind is quite simple. How did this team go from being on the brink of a World Series, to firing their manager in just two seasons?

That's a loaded question if I've ever asked one though.

Let's put it the way I said it earlier. There is no one person to blame. Many parties have been involved in this collapse.

A better question is, is the move justified and why now?

Let's start with why it happened when it happened.

According to Anthony Castrovinnce, Wedge knew his fate a few days before the rest of the staff knew it and they knew a day before the world knew it.

Wedge and Shapiro informed their coaches during the rainout of Tuesday's game with Chicago and obviously the public knew Wednesday morning.

Eric Wedge went on record of saying he'd rather know his fate by the end of the season, not after it, but he would finish the job until the rest of the season, regardless of the decision.

That's exactly how it played out. If anything, it was respectful of Shapiro and the Dolans to give Wedge a proper time frame, on the last home stand and a few days before the media and everyone else knew.

There is so much respect shared between both sides and the way this was handled oozes with class.

It also gave the fans a chance to give him a fair send off on the final home stand of the season. Sure, there might have not been a sell-out sending him off, but he managed the game knowing it was his last at Progressive Field and that's all that matters.

The justification for the move falls right in line with sharing the blame, but in terms of why they did it now and didn't bring him back is simple.

Mark Shapiro, who is very articulate and different in his reasoning, for the first time that I can remember, was very straight on and even went on to the point of using a cliché.

The timing was just right.

It's simple; the move had to be done. Now, Mark Shapiro will tell you what he told you and I fully believe every word he says about it. But there is more to it, more that cannot be said.

The main reason that Shapiro can't give is the business aspect of it all. Eric Wedge is gone for the same reasons Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee are. This is a business and if Wedge returned in 2010, the business aspect would take a considerably large hit.

I'm still going to the ball park, most of the season ticket holders that can afford it are going to continue to go to the games. Fans will still go, but considerably less number of them will show up, even in the peak areas of the season.

Most casual fans, that blurt out random things about Wedge being fired are going to stray away because of their unhappiness.

And it's not just about attendance or making money, it's about support. Too many people are really upset about things and they want a scapegoat.

Fair or foul, Wedge and his entire staff is that scapegoat. Shapiro isn't going anywhere, the management believes in him enough to keep him around so Wedge becomes the main choice.

Fans were mad and they want a chance and at one point, you have to actually please the fans to some extent before you alienate them.

Business became the ultimate underlying reason, it's the same reason Martinez and Lee were dealt. It hasn't just caused the trading of superstars, but it has also caused the firing of the club's criticized figurehead.

Wedge will end up on the staff of some team in the game. He brings ideals to the table that you'd be crazy to pass up on.

Opinions on him from the fan vary from both extremes, but if I had to pick, I think more would rather side with the "not in favor" of him rather than the "in favor" of him side.

But I think the majority viewed Wedge as someone they could live with. I certainly fit into that category. I've actually grown to like Wedge more as time progressed, but I was never ready to confess my ultimate dedication to him

I think though, in the end that's what it boils down to. Eric Wedge isn't horrible, but I think there is skepticism if he can really be a "championship manager" in a sense of leading teams to the promised land and being considered as one of the guys up there with the models people look up to today as managers.

I'm ever grateful to Wedge for all the good memories he's given me as the skipper. In a way, I sort of grew up as a baseball fan with him at the helm of my favorite team.

I'm constantly quick to point out that while I remember the team's of the 1990's, I was far too immature in a baseball sense to realize what was going on.

Eric Wedge was the guy there for my maturation process. He'll be the first manager I ever identify with and I'm happy to say it couldn't have been a better man.

There may be and hopefully, there will be, better managers in my time for the Cleveland Indians, but I can't ever forget the good things Wedge has done.

From the grooming of young talent into AL Central Champions in 2007 to being able to poke fun at his aging facial hair, I respect the guy to no end and everyone else should do.

He's a class act who worked hard for this team, this city, and the fans and he never spoke one bad word about any of them.

He stood up in front of the media on Wednesday and not only took the blame for everything, but did in stride.

For the past seven seasons, Wedge took the same attitude he did into the games he managed the same day it was announced he would be let go and the same attitude he'll take in the final few for Cleveland.

Thank you Eric Wedge, for everything. The good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, the joy and the frustration, the comedy and heartbreak. I wouldn't have wanted one without the other.

You deserve every bit of respect you get, for all the respect you've given us.

What's Making Me Talk: The Farewell Edition

Nino Colla — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:32:39 -0400

Right at the All-Star break of this 2009 season, I took a break from doing my weekly summing up of baseball happenings.

It became too exhausting because of work and after a few weeks of telling myself to start back up, I couldn't muster it up.

Now with more time on my hands and not feeling so exhausted, I'm wishing to have that space back. I'd go through the four to five pages of notes I'd scribble throughout the week and put them into a coherent thought, rather than just "filthy Elvis play" under "6/15."

I'm not sure what next year has in-store for me, but I know I want to keep up with the weekly happenings, so I'm going to return to my laboratory, also known as a quiet spot in the library where I get bored and think, and think of something easier for all parties involved.

But it wouldn't be right to end the series of things that make me talk with no farewell tour. So one last time, in the old fashioned way I started doing this last season, here are the things in baseball that are making me talk.

$10,000 Home Run Ball

I've got a soft spot for all minor league players, especially the journeymen who might never make the major leagues.

Sure, I'll make fun of Vinnie Chulk every good once and awhile, but these guys work hard for what could potentially be a dead end.

We've got Matt Carson, a seven year minor leaguer, hitting his first career home run this past week for Oakland. A joy for any ball player is to get that first at the big league level. No doubt he's going to want the ball as a memory, as most players would.

Well he can't have it unless he forks over $10,000 to the fan who caught the ball.

Fan? Given the situation, I'd be hard pressed to label this guy a fan.

Carson obviously isn't giving into these demands and the Athletics’ policy isn't to pay for milestones, but rather trade for apparel and autographs. Why should a 28-year-old have to pay for a baseball that he hit?

I have a big problem in general with people demanding things for a measly baseball. Given the Chris Coghlan situation touched up in Big League Stew's story, we've got people out there wanting more than they deserve.

I get it, these are paying fans, they spent their hard earned money on those seats, and they definitely should get something in return. But let's not get carried away here. I'd be happy just to meet whoever hit the ball, maybe that's my love for the game, but am I crazy for not expecting any more than a signed bat or ball in return for giving the milestone back to the player?

This type of stuff ticks me off the most. You've got players like Sal Fasano, fighting for just a few more years because of his son's medical bills. Then you have greedy fans holding these guys trying to make a living for ransom.

Hey, you want to hold Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez ransom, I probably won't put up a stink about it. But you start trying to take advantage to a hard-working individual who's just looking for a break, I've got issues.

Minor league players, the hard workers without the big bonuses at least, are out there trying to make a living for years. Kevin Dixon was a minor leaguer in the Cleveland Indians organization that had to give up the dream this past offseason. He had a family to think of and even though he was at the Double-A level, time was running out.

You realize that these guys work so hard and in the end, it may not even work out. They better have some sort of a plan B in place, or they are in trouble.

I really hope this guy reconsiders and just does the right thing. He probably won't, but you start to wonder where people's heads are at with situations like Carson's.

One Last Farewell to the Non-Contenders

Last year, I gave one last parting shot to the teams that were not going to be in the postseason. There's one week to go, so some teams are still alive, but this is the farwell edition. This has to be done!

In no particular order, unless you count lowest winning percentage as an order.

I've completely bagged on the Washington Nationals all year, so why would this be any different? Unfortunately, I couldn't find a creative way to mix a "Natinals" joke with 100 losses, a busted international prospect case, a superstar number one pick, and the fact they spent a whole lot of money On Adam Dunn and still ended up in dead last.

I just can't wait to see the million dollar arms of Dinseh Patel and Rinku Singh reach the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Standings be damned, that day cannot come soon enough.

The Baltimore Orioles are probably the most misfortunate team in the entire MLB. Toronto may not be far behind, but at least they've got Roy Halladay.

Speaking of misfortunate, I'm highly disappointed in the Kansas City Royals. One, for not reaching that third place status I thought they would and two for trying to get a lower draft pick than the Indians.

My string of awesome segues will come to an end with the Cleveland Indians. There will be nothing to translate from this thought to the next because I have no thoughts about the Tribe. If I were to elaborate any further, this would turn into an Indians piece.

How many of you thought the New York Mets would be sixth worst team in the game a few months ago? If they didn't have the most expensive and star-studded disabled list in the history of the game, I'd be floored.

It's pretty sad that I not only put a ton of faith in Cleveland, but the Arizona Diamondbacks as well. Two of my playoff teams in the bottom 10 of the entire game. That's a poor ratio that would make most people give up.

If there is a team I'm proud of that has a losing record, it would be the San Diego Padres. I thought this team would be the Nationals this year and they're better than seven other teams in the game and with one more above-water week, that number could go up.

I mentioned how the Toronto Blue Jays are probably the second most misfortunate team in the game. Well that's so untrue. Any team that could do what they did with the shoelace and gum rotation they had deserves fifteen medals.

Seriously, how did it take this long for the Houston Astros to fire Cecil Cooper? They have to be the most prideful franchise out there the way they try to stick in the race and not make sudden movements. I respect that.

I picked the Cincinnati Reds to finish third in the NL Central. If that division was normal, they'd be in second to last place. Still, I was one place off and not by many games.

It would be current to talk about the latest Ozzie Guillen rant when concerning the Chicago White Sox. However I would be wasting this space by not saying I want Ozzie Guillen to be the White Sox manager forever. In-division entertainment as it's finest.

I remember how I talked about the Oakland Athletics getting Matt Holliday in order to flip him at the trade deadline. I can't believe that actually happened; along with Toronto, the only below .500 teams with positive run differentials.

The only team that has a chance to avoid a below .500 record is the Milwaukee Brewers. I picked them to finish fourth in the Central but brought up the idea of finishing last and got yield at. There’s a fun fact for you there.

The Tampa Bay Rays meanwhile are one of two teams with a realistic chance to fall below the .500 record. This isn't a team that matches their record though, which makes me rethink naming Baltimore the most misfortunate team in the game.

Is there a cooler story out there than the one of the Seattle Mariners? Don Wakamatsu and all those boys in the emerald city deserve a huge pat on the back. Actually they deserve a lot more.

Since we aren't saying good bye to the Cardinals, I'll steal the Chicago Cubs space to say that I wish I picked them to win the NL Central like I thought they would. Man, the Cubs, always getting disrespected. I shouldn't have picked you Chicago!

I'm making the bold assumption that the Florida Marlins aren't going to make the playoffs, which makes me very sad. You may or may not know that I'm the genius that decided to make the Marlins this year's Tampa Bay. I'm fully expecting them to win the World Series in 2010 after I pick them to finish fourth.

I'm making the equally bold assumption that the San Francisco Giants are also not making the playoffs. This too makes me sad because I was excited for the run they were putting together. If only they could have convinced Colorado to keep Clint Hurdle.

I've skipped a a few teams because they are technically still in it, but there is one team that has quite the record that is pretty much done. How about the Texas Rangers? I was one of the few to latch onto the idea of Mike Maddux helping the pitching staff, but I'm shocked something that I latched onto actually worked.

One more week!

The playoffs are so close, can you feel it? I may not have loyal die-hard rooting interest like the fan bases of eight other teams will, but I'm as ready as they are for the playoffs to get here.

Part of it has to do with putting the misery of the Cleveland Indians 2009 season behind me. The other part of it has to do with the pure joy of watching playoff baseball.

With that, I'd like to thank everyone who's ever taken the time to read or comment on this monstrosity of a somewhat weekly series, at least when it was a weekly series. I know it didn't get a ton of views and it was a pain to read because of it's usual exhausting length but I do remember a few people saying, "Hey that was pretty good," so thanks again.

Baseball is a joy to watch and follow and that's what I tried to do, combined with the pure love of the game. I've been serious and ridiculous in these pieces, sometimes both in one week's edition because that's how I watch the game. I take the light and the serious and I enjoy both parts and that's why I wrote this.

Sure, I'll probably return with a catchier or worse sounding title that incorporates a lot of the same shtick into whatever I have planned, but this is a definite end to the things that make me talk. Thanks once again.

Nino Colla was Talking every Monday of the baseball season, now he has no clue what he'll do.

Eric Wedge Might Get Fired, But He's Not Managing Like It

Nino Colla — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:46:16 -0400

Being fired is the last thing you'd think Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge would be the way he is finishing out a disappointing 2009.

It probably goes against every fiber in Wedge's being to consider giving up or taking a day off. That's the type of person and manager Eric Wedge is. Sure his job is in serious question, but why would that stop him from living and managing by his own beliefs?

No matter the situation, your record, how much you hurt, what team you play for, what team you play against, whatever the circumstances are, you must always grind it out.

Eric Wedge never said those words, but if Wedge were to sum up his ideals about the game, I believe that's something close to what it would look like.

There are a lot of "Wedgeisms" out there and the most popular and criticized one is the idea of "grinding it out."

Everything that has to do with baseball must be "grinded out." Your at-bats, your base running, your tough losses, your big wins, whether you’re pitching bad or good, your errors and your brilliant plays, your injuries, and everything else that involves the game.

It's a constant grind in Wedge's eyes and as his beard has noticeably turned gray as the years have passed, why would he not grind out these final few weeks of the Tribe's season?

Does Eric Wedge have a thought in the back of his head that his job is in jeopardy? I think the subconscious is there and that's something he can't fool, but his demeanor is also something that he can't fool. His demeanor and his drive tells him that he was signed to a contract to do a job.

And as far as Eric Wedge is concerned, that job isn't finished.

You can say what you want about Eric Wedge's management style, the slow starts, and the frustration of disappointing team after disappointing team two years removed from being one game away from the World Series.

However, I dare you to find one Cleveland Indian fan that does not respect Wedge's good qualities as a manager.

The one thing that I think all managers need to have, that Wedge does real well, is have accountability for his players. The fact that they might not hold themselves accountable all the time is not his fault.

Wedge expects each and every one of his players that puts on that Indians' uniform to go out there and fight for every at-bat and every pitch. Whether you succeed or fail doesn't change his opinion of you if you give it your all.

Unless your name is Ryan Garko, of course, but that's a different story for a different day.

It's why he tends to gravitate towards the Casey Blakes of the world, the over-drive mentality to not only give it your all, but give it more than your all is. That's something that Wedge appreciates.

Now of course there is a flaw in that mentality that if Casey Blake sucks and Wedge is still sticking with him, that's not good baseball. This is commonly known as giving David Dellucci one too many chances.

Granted, Wedge was not the one who signed Dellucci, so I'm not sure if that's fair in any right.

But that is all beside the point.

Is he a terrible manager? Is he a fantastic one at that?

No, to both questions. You could do far worse than Eric Wedge, but you can probably also do better. That's not to say Eric Wedge will never win a World Series either, he could be a championship manager if he gets the breaks.

Even in the light of what is sure termination of the job he's finishing out, Wedge hasn't given up. He's taken that responsibility that he bestows upon his players of working hard and laying it all out on the field until you have to no longer and has applied it to his own situation.

How many managers that were on their way out called for a players meeting with ten games left in a season that has been an absolute disaster?

Making an argument that he is trying to save his job doesn't really work. Ending an 11 game losing streak and following it up with a 10 game win streak isn't saving anyone's job.

Maybe a month or so ago, when he could have rallied these players into another second half turn around. Maybe it would have given management some confidence that he still had the ears of his clubhouse.

But not now.. For the first time in his tenure as manager, his team has given up on him and the season as a majority of the club is just going through the motions.

You've still got youngsters, like Mike Brantley, working hard trying to prove themselves for beyond this year. But I don't think I've seen a team managed by Wedge give up, even when they were out of the race.

This team has given up; they've showed Wedge they no longer want to grind it out.

I'm not sure what Mark Shapiro is thinking as the 2009 season winds down. I know he and the fan base wants to put this entire debacle of 2008 and 2009 behind them and move on to a new era.

But can he do that with Eric Wedge leading the charge? Can he trust him to win back the clubhouse for the 2010 season, a clubhouse that will have most of the players that make it up now?

I don't hold the answers to those questions and I can't even begin to think about the possibilities, especially when you deal with Mark Shapiro's game plan. He's one of the toughest guys to read and while I've picked up on his tendencies, he's still not predictable in anyway.

For all we know, Eric Wedge could be back for the final year of his contract and Shapiro will justify it better than you would have thought he could. That's just the way he works.

But it's clear to many and even Shapiro, despite what he may or may not do, that Wedge's team has given up on him, but he hasn't given up on them. And to me, that's the biggest thing that I'll respect Eric Wedge for, manager of the Indians or not.

He's gained dislike from many fans of the Tribe and even I have grown angry with some of his practices. But you have to respect what he stands for, regardless of the situation, despite the circumstances.

Don't bother telling Eric Wedge he's on the verge of being fired, that won’t stop him from trying to squeeze every last bit out of his team and himself.

MLB Power Groupings: Thanks for a Race, Minnesota

Nino Colla — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:38:15 -0400

I feel myself acting more hostile towards my team lately. I’ve ignored watching the Indians on several occasions and have found myself actually hoping they’d continue to lose.

Even though I still get miffed every time it happens. I think it’s that, "never want to lose a game" mentality battling with the opinion that winning now does absolutely nothing to benefit the team.

They keep winning; they climb up the draft order and increase the chances of Eric Wedge returning. Not that I’m really pulling for Eric Wedge to be fired or anything, but I’m of the opinion that a change needs to be made for the sake of the club’s future.

Is it bad for us as fans who are devoted to these baseball teams to take this type of mentality? I know Pittsburgh fans are probably ruined for life with that attitude for the past decade, so I have no room to complain here.

But when I sit down and think about it, this attitude is mildly depressing.

I guess the bright side in all this is that the depression is almost over. That means only a few weeks of Natinals and firing Eric Wedge until we can talk playoff baseball.

I’m as excited for that as I’m depressed about the bad teams. In other words, I’m ecstatic.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, Seattle, Washington, New York Mets, Cincinnati, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Pittsburgh, Arizona, San Diego

I talked about how depressing this was last week.

Well it doesn't get any more depressing than a 100-loss season! The Washington Nationals are on the brink of that and I'm almost positive they'll hit the big number. I mean it's taken them 149 to lose 98, I think they'll lose two in 13 games, right?

Then we have Pittsburgh who has lost 91 games. They are a little more unlikely to reach the big one-zero-zero, but stranger things have happen.

In a more worst case scenario note, we have my Cleveland Indians who have 88 losses on the year, but are playing so horribly that 101 losses is still mathematically possible. Yes, that means they'd lose all 13 games they have left.

That probably won't happen, but I'm hoping for a top three draft pick. I don't know if the Indians will make a high-priced pick with the slot, but a boy can dream. Why play for nothing when you can lose for something, am I right?

Or Baltimore should just give Cleveland their pick. What do they need with it? They've got Matt Wieters and who knows what else they've drafted in the past few years.

I'll back off though, because there is a three-game series coming up between Baltimore and Cleveland. The Orioles can do their part by sweeping Cleveland this weekend. Unfortunately, I don't have anything else to say about Baltimore, but that's a good thing for them.

Something said is nothing good and nothing said is something...okay I swear that was going somewhere.

Either way, Houston fired their manager and that is not good, reason why I mentioned it. Can you believe that all four managers that have been fired have been from NL teams?

Let's Have Some Fun

Kansas City, Oakland, Texas, Milwaukee

Their playoff chances are pretty much shot, sitting even farther out from the wild card than their division. But that doesn't mean Texas is a disaster.

There are still teams in that group who aren't a disaster, but Texas has earned the status no matter their current state of play. Many didn't think they'd be able stick around all year like they did with their pitching.

But Mike Maddux changed the way things worked in Texas with their pitchers and it set them up for success not just in 2009, but beyond. Be worried about Texas in 2010.

Two of the other teams in here made their mark in the playoff races this past week. Kansas City pulled back Detroit and set Minnesota up with a shot to hack into their division deficit while Oakland pretty much destroyed the above mentioned team's playoff hopes with a sweep.

Oakland also swept Cleveland in a four-game series, so they've been especially hot lately.

I also included Milwaukee and their win-streak. However, let's take in mind they only split with Chicago and swept Houston. At this point though, I'm ready to take any positives.

In It to Win It

Minnesota, Atlanta, Florida, San Francisco

Boy howdy, I can't believe I just said boy howdy.

With some help from Kansas City and some awfulness by Cleveland, the Twins are now right there. Better late than never I guess.

With a few weeks to go, the Twins are just three games out. Unfortunately for them, the Tigers get the advantage they had early last week with a three game series against putrid playing Cleveland.

Kansas City is playing better ball lately and that's half the tandem the Twins get this week, Chicago being the other half.

If they can hack a game or even two off this week, they're set up with a pivotal four-game showdown with the Tigers early next week. It's make or break time.

Meanwhile, our trio chasing Colorado and the Wild Card are still hanging in there. They are a little behind the eight-ball, despite San Francisco winning a series against Colorado and Atlanta's hot play.

If there is any time for any of these teams though it would be now for Atlanta. They've got six games against NL East punching bags Washington and New York.

Here We Are, Where We Should Be

Boston, New York Yankees, Detroit, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Colorado, Los Angeles Dodgers

Here are the eight current playoff teams if the regular season would end today.

I'm only talking about four of them though. Detroit is not one of them; they don't deserve it, because they don't respect the carrot.

At this time of the year I start to look at the teams getting hot at the right time. Did the Yankees use their hot streak at the right time? Is Boston hitting their stride when it's most important?

Those are the types of questions I ask myself as these final few weeks wind down. Boston's looking mighty scary right now and it goes to show you that all the panicking from a month or so ago was silly.

On the NL side, it looks like the Phillies are starting to hit that stride, and you can ask them about that as they seemed to do it last year, too. The Phillies won 13 of their final 16 to end the regular season and you can't tell me that didn't go a long way in them winning the World Series.

Or maybe the Dodgers have learned from last year and are hitting their marks at the right time. Don't look now but they've won 12 of their last 18 and get to warm up on some teams like Pittsburgh and Washington before entering the postseason.

Never underestimate the confidence of ending your season on a high-note.

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on Sept. 21.

MLB Power Groupings: Detroit Has the Carrot, but They Can't Stop Running

Nino Colla — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:58:53 -0400

We've reached the point in the season where baseball has become secondary for a lot of people, especially the fans of those teams that are no longer playing for much.

It's nice for the people of St. Louis to have a baseball team to rely on in the Cardinals as the Rams start what is sure to be another down season.

I legitimately feel bad for my Cleveland Indians brethren, as they go from one disaster to what is looking like another one. I cannot share their pain as my football team plays for the neighboring state, and for that I'm not well-liked.

But to those of you who think hope is lost and are ready to not watch baseball, if you are going to depart, at least rejoin us in the second week of October.

Nothing is more intense than postseason baseball. I've experienced it with my team, and there is nothing more nerve-wracking than watching your team, pitch by pitch, play for the greatest honor in the game.

But I still get those anxious feelings watching other teams play for that honor, and it's still exhilarating to watch as a fan of the game.

My plea to you as football starts is this: You don't have to stick around, but at least come back in a few weeks and share a great experience that comes around as often as Christmas and every other holiday.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Tampa Bay, Toronto, Cleveland, Oakland, Seattle, Washington, New York Mets, Cincinnati, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Arizona.

I just realized how depressing this section is to write. I never do it first, because then I'm in a negative mindset the rest of the article. Sometimes I'll do it after I do a few groups, but this time is the first time I saved it for last.

Maybe my subconscious is telling me to just throw everyone off to the side and forget about it, just write more about the good teams, or just don't write any more period—you already write too much.

Or just take up this group's spot with how much you are thinking about taking up this group's spot, rather than expressing yourself about some of the teams clearly.

By now, I've thoroughly confused you, but that was the point.

You are no longer thinking about how bad Oakland or Pittsburgh is. I know the frustration with Cleveland has been passed over, but that might be the college football talking to me.

I guess that's all we have now as fans of teams that have nothing left to play for, football, and Kanye West making a fool of himself. For the first time all year, I didn't watch two Cleveland games in a row. It was not by choice; however, I was rather indifferent about having to miss two games.

However, I do feel out of the loop, so let's make an effort to get into that loop before I fall off and land on my head.

We need to highlight the most awful of this past week and look no further than Tampa Bay, losers of 11 straight games. What everyone really wants to know when you get down to it is what happened.

I know Carlos Pena broke some fingers and they traded Scott Kazmir, but is there a team that fell harder and faster this season than Tampa Bay other than the Nationals at the outset of 2009?

That was a rather cheap one for Washington, especially after I promised myself I'd lay off.

Really though, Tampa Bay was in contention a few weeks ago. It may have not been serious, but they went from having a shot to completely falling off the map. However, I will say this about their management and their commitment to the plan: It's heady and very refreshing.

They know they'll be in the race next year and the year after that, so they aren't about to give that up for a run that might just end up failing. If it happens, it happens, but they aren't going to force it. My hat is off to Tampa for sticking to its plan.

Let's Have Some Fun

Baltimore, Kansas City, San Diego.

In an effort to get some recognition to spoiler teams and some sanity to their fans, I've created this group.

San Diego remains from last week after another decent week of baseball.

But the job that Baltimore and Kansas City did last week is the reason this group is around.

First off, let's start with Baltimore and their series win against the Yankees. This was just the second series lost since the start of August for New York. They've been playing unbelievable ball since the start of that month, and no team other than Texas was able to take two games from the Yankees in a three-game series.

They aren't really impacting the playoff race much with this win, but it says a lot for them to win two out of three from a hot team.

Kansas City did something a little more possible but a lot more impactful with their sweep of Detroit. The problem was directly with the teams chasing Detroit, and of course, that has to be addressed.

Not Out, but Let's Be Real, AL Central

Chicago White Sox, Minnesota.

I was getting ready to end it this week. I really was.

But apparently that wasn't meant to be in 2009, at least not this late in the season.

First of all, as I noted with Kansas City, Detroit got swept last week. They also lost two out of three to Toronto. You'd think that would be enough to get any team back into the race.

Wrong. We're dealing with the AL Central here, remember?

Minnesota dropped two each to Oakland and Toronto, while Chicago had a little better week and had a chance to gain amazing ground. But like Minnesota, they failed to do much at all. If you only win two or three more games than the leader does, you aren't going to make a big dent.

I'm not ready to pack it in, but like the title of the group says, let's be real here. The frustration of not being able to muster up something when the team you are chasing falters has to be boiling over in Minnesota and Chicago.

In It to Win It

Texas, Atlanta, Florida, San Francisco.

I'm just going to be straight up here with Atlanta and Florida.

They aren't dead, not by a long shot.

It's time to end contender or pretender junk and get to the fact that it's mid-September and Florida and Atlanta are still there. Atlanta is only a game ahead of Chicago, who I have technically out of the race.

Look, they are a dead team walking with the schedule they have left. Atlanta is not with the likes of the Mets, six games, and the Nationals, seven games. Don't sleep on these two going into the stretch. Colorado might be streaking their way into October, but Florida and Atlanta are not out of this by any means.

Then we've got Texas just trying to survive and keep pace with the suddenly not so disastrous Red Sox. Again, a team you can't count out, but unlike Atlanta and Florida, I've got less confidence in any sort of comeback.

San Francisco is on the downs while Colorado is on the ups. It's the reason that Colorado has built the lead they have and San Francisco is ever so close to falling behind even Florida. This week is crucial for the Giants as they've got their final stab at Colorado and two of their big guns in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain going.

It's never been bigger for San Francisco to put on a run of good ball.

Here We Are, Where We Should Be

Boston, New York Yankees, Detroit, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Colorado, Los Angeles Dodgers.

What did I say last week about the carrot?

In case you forgot, I said Detroit finally got the carrot they were chasing after. The fact that I hadn't put them in this group reserved for playoff contenders was sort of the thing separating them in my mind from wandering around with the rest of the AL Central and winning it.

Well, I gave them the carrot, and they went ahead and went against my wishes.

They quit, metaphorically speaking.

With a sweep at the hands of suddenly hot Kansas City and two losses to Toronto, with one game being salvaged on Sunday, it just was not a good week for the Tigers.

I haven't mentioned Boston lately, which is probably a good thing. It means everyone's calmed down about the Red Sox, and they are back on track like we expect them to be: a businesslike week for them with two wins against Baltimore in two games and a sweep of Tampa Bay.

I've mentioned in the past the heat Colorado had started to put on Los Angeles, and it is only getting hotter. Colorado seems to just keep putting together these strings of wins that have inched them ever so closer.

Los Angeles isn't playing badly by any stretch, at least not in the last week. However, their hot first half of the regular season hasn't translated into the second half quite like you'd hope. Well, you'd hope for it, but that doesn't mean it is realistic.

The Dodgers are playing more up to average good-team standards. That isn't a bad thing, but the incredibly hot play of Colorado has put them in a situation no one thought they'd be in.

I guess what I'm saying is perhaps there was an overreaction to the gap that has been closed between Colorado and Los Angeles. But make no mistake about it, that shouldn't stop the Dodgers from turning things up here in the final few weeks.

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on Sept. 14.

So Long, Chief: The Indians' Snub of Jordan Brown Signifies End Before It Begins

Nino Colla — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:46:32 -0400

You'd be hard pressed to find a player in the minor leagues that doesn't have a dream of playing baseball on a major league level. Many of those players don't ever get to live that dream and that number is higher than the players that actually do.

As a regular watcher of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, I couldn't help but put on an ear-to-ear grin when O'Brien had Little League World Series winner Chula Vista on his program. I often go along with the notion that baseball is a kid's game and should be played with child-like joy, so when I see a bunch of wide-eyed kids on a talk-show look like they are living the dream, I get excited.

At one point in the interview, Conan asked who on the team wanted to play in the Major Leagues and unanimously, they all raised their hands to signify that they did in fact have that goal. Not one of those players believes they won't ever make it either. They are all very good players in their respective areas and they all love the game.

And heck, they just proved they are the best team in the entire world as far as their age-range goes, could you blame them?

At this point, you are probably wondering what the Chula Vista team appearing on Conan O'Brien has to do with Jordan Brown, who is directly mentioned in the headline of this article.

Quite simply, Jordan Brown has that same dream, one that is shared by many other ball players from Little League to the college ranks. That dream is being delayed and many are wondering why?

According to the Cleveland brass, via director of player development Ross Atkins, there just are not any plate appearances for Brown to merit a call to realize his dream. In all reality, Atkins and the Indians are pretty on-point here, something would have to give.

Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta have entrenched themselves in the outfield with Grady Sizemore out for the year. Andy Marte's hot bat has warranted a look for the rest of the season at first base, and Travis Hafner is still taking up a majority of the time at the designated hitter spot.

The Indians believe Brown is destined to be an outfielder, at least if he's going to play for the major league team, mostly because of LaPorta's future at first base and Beau Mills not being far behind. However, I don't believe Brown's position is the question at hand; I think his status with the organization is.

With the sudden abundance of outfielders, Brown's move to the position complicates things for his future with the Indians. If not now with Brantley, but in the future with Nick Weglarz making his rise up the ranks, the position is crowded.

I'd be shocked to see Jordan Brown ever don the Indians uniform and play on a major league field with it.

It was assumed that when Columbus' season had ended on the seventh of September, Brown would be the final Clipper called up and added to the 40-man roster.

It was also assumed Brown would be one of the minor leaguers that would get added to that same 40-man roster an offseason ago. That didn't happen and neither did his call-up.

The fact that he wasn't added to the 40-man roster has nothing to do with service time or anything that would benefit the Indians and their control over Brown in the long run. His time with this club is ticking in more ways than one.

If they don't add him to the 40 man this offseason, he's surely to be taken in the Rule V draft this coming December. There are 29 others teams that will not pass on the International League's batting champ for 2009 and a two-time MVP at the minor league level.

There are teams that will have nothing to lose, especially in the National League, that can stash him on their roster for a year as someone they can give regular plate-appearances to as a pinch-hitter as they work on his defense. And it's not like his bat isn't major league ready, it's most definitely time to see if he can sink or swim with the bat at the next level.

If the Indians do add Brown to their 40-man roster, which is unlikely in my opinion, given the treatment in this situation, then they've got a little more time with him, but not much more. Brown is still someone who will need to be given a chance. His defense in the outfield still needs work, but how much longer can you keep him at the Triple-A level?

Next season, Jordan will be 26 and with the talent ahead of and behind him both being younger, the time to move is now.

There aren’t enough words left in this article to go through what Brown has with the Indians organization in his career. But let's put it at this. He's given a lot to the club, has performed with the stick at every level when healthy. He deserved a shot to get called to the big leagues and added to the 40 man roster to complete his dream.

Of course, as Atkins said, the Indians aren't in the business of rewarding players with roster spots, this is about what's best for the organization and in their opinion, the player in their organization. But to me, there is no reason to not call him up and give him a look, even if there may not be as many at-bats for him.

There's nothing wrong adding him to the roster, especially if you believe he belongs in the organization and he's in your plans. Let him get late pinch-hitting appearances, spot starts at first and in the outfield when needed. Or even just get him to Cleveland to sit in the crowd and do homework. It's something the Tribe has done before with young players.

Get him used to the situation, let him soak up the energy of being at the big leagues, with the club, in the clubhouse, around the big timers.

But apparently, the Indians don't see it that way.

Or maybe they do.

Maybe that is the plan they'd take if they really had plans for him long term. This leads me to believe they don’t have any plans for him.

Sure they could add him to the roster this offseason and stash him back at the Triple-A level again next year, but that's just wasting his and the Indians time.

Most likely, Brown is not going to be rostered when the time comes to protect players. He'll either be traded, which the Indians would be wise to do if they were to rid themselves of him. Or he'll be taken in the Rule V draft by another team.

And don't think the Indians can't trade him. They've got plenty of room on their roster to add him, so teams can't be convinced they can just get him in the Rule V if they wait long enough. Brown has trade value, the Indians have a motive to trade him, but they don't necessarily have to.

Now this is all coming from the fan that screamed his head off when Niuman Romero was given the call over Brown. However I understand the circumstances and reasoning the Indians have given, so I'll be the first to admit my initial reactions were made in the heat of a decision.

But what's been found in the underlying meaning of all this is clear as day. Cleveland may like Jordan Brown on the field, but there are other players they like better. And there is nothing wrong with any of that. It happens all the time, especially in Cleveland when you constantly have pieces that you trade for younger ones.

There are players in the organization that you think are going to be the guys you eventually rely on for awhile and then the team makes a trade and all of a sudden, someone else is there.

What upsets me though is the way the entire situation has been handled. It seems as if Brown hasn't gotten the deserved channel of communication that he deserves as a hard working baseball player trying to make a living and his dream.

Of course, though, the Indians certainly don't owe Jordan Brown anything, they've got a business to run and he and everyone else should know that. But that isn't the Indians organization that I know and that isn't how they operate.

Brown has every reason to be upset with his club and while he's voiced his disappointment, he deserves all the credit in the world for not acting like a rotten apple in the middle of a big tree. Even more credit to him if he takes this as even more of a motivating factor.

In the end though, I can't see Jordan having a future with this club. I think Cleveland has made clear their agenda without actually saying it. He's a good player, but there are better players around him.

MLB Power Groupings: L.A. Dodgers Playing the Slacker Role in Hollywood?

Nino Colla — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:23:47 -0400

Things got so busy this summer that I neglected my much loved mash-up of MLB thoughts that I put together and posted every Monday.

It was a place for me to talk about random things, like Shin-Soo Choo meeting the South Korean girl band the Wonder Girls and even dancing with them and bullpen catcher Dave Wallace. I could also bring up random things, like how Curt Schilling wants to run for a Senate seat, and comment, "Hey, seek attention much?"

It also gave me the platform to mention career milestones, like Lance Berkman's 300th career home run. Then I'd sneakily congratulate David Ortiz for hitting his second home run of the season—at the beginning of June.

I'm starting to think the Dodgers got so exhausted that they've just stopped. I don't want to say they've given up, because that implies that they're done winning and they'll choke and miss the playoffs. I'm not saying any of that.

It's like they put so much into the first half of the season, the second half is just them trying to finish out the race. But really, I was contributing a low-read weekly baseball column with a lot of nonsense. You're contending for an MLB division.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle, Washington, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Pittsburgh, Arizona

It wouldn't be a disaster unless we talked about Pittsburgh locking up their 17th consecutive losing season.

As someone who lives rather close, has family that works there, has been there numerous times, and is a Steeler and Penguin fan, I have no joy in seeing the Pirates fail. This is not just the longest streak in baseball history; it's the longest streak in baseball, football, hockey, and basketball. It's downright sad.

However, I can say in good faith, with whatever baseball knowledge I have, that this streak isn't going to carry on much longer. In fact, it would not shock me to see it come to an end with this season being the last. They've got a good core of young players coming together with a good mix of pitchers.

Get a few veterans in there, like the Pirates have been willing to do in the past few years, and there is hope in a rather up and down NL Central. St. Louis is the class of it this year, but every year they've got someone different in the mix, be it as a division winner or a wild card. Houston, St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee have all had their shots in the past few years.

Anyway, let's not concern ourselves too much with the Pirates at this point; there will be plenty of time to gush over the unknown potential. There are other bad teams.

We officially welcome three teams, even though one has sort of been in this position. I've waved the white flag for Tampa Bay as they are seven out of the AL Wild Card race, and to me, that's four games too many.

Not only are they not playing the best baseball, they also only have three games against the Red Sox to help them make up ground, and they've got seven against the Yankees to help them lose it. On top of all that, Carlos Pena is out for the season with broken fingers.

The Cubs are here, the Cubs are here, the disaster zone is complete! Sorry to Chicago, but there is no coming back, not with all the teams ahead of you and just four games against any of those teams combined. It's not like you are chasing after a division.

I've also formally added the Mariners, who are remarkably on track for a winning record; hats off to them on a season so far that was not expected.

Let's have some fun

Cincinnati, Milwaukee, San Diego

One team in this grouping has taken this group to its meaning and has actually had some fun.

So it would be wrong to hold them out, regardless of record.

You really have to be having fun to do what the Brewers did on Sunday, despite being out of the playoff race and at the tail end of a long season. To collectively fall down when Prince Fielder jumps on home plate is probably something that I'll never forget as long as I'm living and watching the sport of baseball. It's unique, it's fun, and if someone has a problem with it, tough.

This is a team that likes to have fun. Let's remember this is a kid's game after all, and when you do something as harmless as having some fun, you are playing a kid's game the right way.

Anyway, other than having some fun at home plate, there was some fun on the field with Cincinnati and San Diego. Typically I'm looking for the spoilers, and the Reds and Padres did just that. The Dodgers and Braves are not appreciative of their efforts to make their playoff race much tougher.

These two teams took it upon themselves to play the role of spoiler, and the Rockies are especially grateful for the services of San Diego as they chase Los Angeles.

Not out, but let's be real, AL Central

Chicago White Sox, Minnesota

Why have I not pulled the plug on these Central clusters of confusion?

Pity, I guess.

I guess I wanted to give them one more pep talk. Here it goes:

Look, you guys are on the outside looking in. The Tigers have just put together a run we've been waiting the entire year for, and it was better than the one Minnesota put on last week. There is an expiration date on this whole contention thing, and it will be next week. You're either in or you’re out.

If Detroit's heat carries on, there will be nothing for you to do, but if it doesn't, it's up to you to find one last push. Well, maybe a second push, since there really haven't been many pushes all year.

Minnesota didn't exactly have a horrible week, but dropping a series to Cleveland after they got swept by Detroit isn't exactly keeping up with the Joneses. I like them more than Chicago if I was to pick one, but I wouldn't be optimistic here. I expect them to be grouping with the disasters.

We might be contenders

Atlanta, Florida

Now even though few games separate teams that I've eliminated and these two NL East players, I feel as if both are still chasing something that is attainable.

First of all, Florida is just as far out of the NL East crown as they are the wild card. Philadelphia put together a shaky week, but we'll get to them in a second. I figured one team would separate themselves with the four-game series, but of course, they split. The Braves separated things by getting swept by Cincinnati though.

I like Florida more than I do Atlanta, more because they're ahead and they've been a team I've been in the corner of all year. They're also two games ahead of Atlanta—I'm not that unaware. So Atlanta probably has a week left, but I'm willing to be that nice about it since Philadelphia didn't run away like I thought they would.

In it to win it

Texas, Colorado, San Francisco

Can we give Texas some credit? Just about everyone on that team has been injured at some point in the season. I mean, Hank Blalock has played in more games than all but four players. That's saying something.

Yet here they are, still sticking in the race for the Wild Card. You've got their MLB writer, T.R. Sullivan, proclaiming that Omar Vizquel is both the best second and third baseman in their franchise's history, Scott Feldman making a crazy transition to the rotation and being their best starter at that, and what seems like a new outfielder every month.

Over in the West, we've got Colorado making a hard charge towards the Dodgers. What's funny is that they've got a week filled of teams that are towards the bottom, but both of them are teams I just highlighted as being spoilers, Cincinnati and San Diego.

San Francisco could use this as an opportunity to make things as close as possible for the clash with the Rockies next week. It will be the most important series of the season for both clubs.

Here we are, where we should be

Boston, New York Yankees, Detroit, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Los Angeles Dodgers

I went ahead and did it.

It felt like, with the assumption that Detroit reads my weekly thoughts, I was dangling a carrot in front of the team by not pushing them over the edge. I've rewarded them though by having the week that most of us have been waiting for.

I mean, even the Angels and Dodgers have smaller leads than Detroit as I view the standings. They finally put together a week to pull them away from their AL Central trailers.

Just because you have the carrot, though, doesn't mean you quit.

Just ask the Dodgers, who seemingly had their division wrapped up before anyone else did.

Now they're just about the only team that has their division left to fight for, it seems. Given that their win percentage isn't behind too many teams though, it has a lot to do with the Rockies just playing extremely hot baseball, but San Francisco is also closer than they were months ago.

If the Dodgers haven't been worrying in the past few weeks, they better start soon, or they're going have a race on their hands that is totally unnecessary given the position they were in at the All-Star break.

Philadelphia is a team that I thought was going to be the second team, right behind the Dodgers, as a group that was just going to end things early. But for some reason, there's a little inconsistency in there that holds them back just a bit. They've got this division in good hands, but they're still not out of the woods.

This is the week for them though. They've got six games with Washington and New York, and if that isn't an invitation to put an end to their race, then I don't know what is.

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on Sept. 7.

Michael Brantley Debut Ignites Love For Speed and More Questions

Nino Colla — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:11:30 -0400

When the Cleveland Indians re-acquired outfielder Kenny Lofton during their run to the ALCS in 2007, the city was buzzing about baseball louder than it had been in a long while.

You can say what you want about chicks digging the long ball and the summer of 1996 bringing the game back to the forefront of sports.

But speed thrills, and it excites the diehards.

Cleveland is an easy town to win over, but they're also a fanbase that is easy to alienate. Travis Hafner was beloved a few years ago. Now he's a bum-joke that needs to pay the Indians back every cent for getting hurt.

If you can steal a base, you likely won't lose that ability as a baseball player. Even if you aren't as fast as you used to be, if you have the base running awareness and knowledge of a Kenny Lofton or Grady Sizemore, you are always going to produce.

If you can put bat on ball and beat out numerous infield hits because of the speed you have, again, you will always produce.

Is it any wonder that Kenny Lofton stuck around as long as he did? In baseball, if you aren't producing, you aren't going to hang around the major leagues. Just ask the many players who've had short stints of absolute greatness and have then gone on to disappear into an absolute oblivion.

"Kenny, Kenny, Kenny!" was erupting from the crowd every time the center fielder stepped to the plate in the two playoff games I attended back in 2007.

You produce in Cleveland; you will not be forgotten or betrayed.

Kenny Lofton did that and he used his skill set effectively, even in his third stint, to win over the crowd. So don't be shocked if Michael Brantley's quick debut results in mass love from the Cleveland faithful.

And I'm in no way saying Brantley is going to be a reincarnated version of Lofton, he's the complete opposite in the clubhouse for one thing, but his skill set makes you believe he's going to be around for awhile.

Eric Wedge is already thinking of using Michael Brantley in the leadoff spot, especially if the club decides to have Grady Sizemore shutdown for elbow surgery.

For a fan base that hangs on every word Eric Wedge says, even in a lost season, that's like flaunting a bleeding limb in front of a pack of sharks.

Apologies for the angry visual, but I think the comparison is accurate.

Brantley has only played in one series, three games, but for the Cleveland fans, that's enough to want more. He's already used his speed in more ways than one to get on base, advance when on, and eventually score in a situation that some other players might not.

And if Brantley is as fast as the 46 steals in Triple-A Columbus indicate, he'll be burning up a trail behind him to add to that Cleveland fire.

More Brantley, more speed, more reason to put Sizemore in the three hole. Talk about opening Pandora’s box.

The mature-beyond-his-years Brantley sure does have the skills to succeed, make no mistake about it. Along with that mature attitude that he brings at the young age of 22, Brantley's also baseball mature.

The son of former major league Mickey Brantley, Michael has plate discipline beyond his years. With 258 career minor league walks compared to just 190 strikeouts, he's the ideal leadoff hitter.

He doesn't strike out, he waits for his pitch, he is willing to walk, and when he gets on he can turn a walk into a double or even a triple. Not only that, he's willing to do the small things like bunt and use his speed to get a hit.

And why wouldn't a youngster with those wheels be ashamed of getting the majority of his hits by just putting bat on ball and getting out of the box quickly?

I love speed. I've always been critical of the Indians for not having enough it. I love Travis Hafner, unlike some people, Ryan Garko, and all the other extra-base hitters.

But aside from Grady Sizemore, the past few years, the Indians have lacked someone with not just the speed, but the great base running repertoire.

Now all of a sudden, this is a team filled with talented base-runners who can not only advance things a little quicker, but also swipe a few bags in the process. Shin-Soo Choo's been caught just twice out of 20 attempts this year. Asdrubal Cabrera has flashed his wheels more often as well.

Throw a Michael Brantley into the mix and maybe Trevor Crowe as a fourth outfielder, there is some legit athleticism and base-running prowess on the team now.

Don't fear, because if things go as they are now, the Indians will still have the power of Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, hopefully Jhonny Peralta, and Matt LaPorta to balance things out.

Now Brantley's sudden emergence and good play, even if it's just three games, opens up a lot more discussion about roster moves with one month left in the season.

Jordan Brown is expected to join the team once the Columbus season is officially over. By that time, the Indians could decide to put Sizemore on the shelf in order to open up more at-bats.

It's still a bit of a log-jam though.

Matt LaPorta, Brantley's partner from the CC Sabathia trade, has established himself as someone who cannot sit on the bench anymore. Andy Marte, the other hot-hitting former Clipper, is doing special things at first base in the past few weeks. You can't possibly sit him either since a choice will have to be made about his future.

So unless Travis Hafner is shut down as well, which doesn't seem like a possibility given Hafner's health, there will be some serious shifting and movement among the day-to-day lineup.

Now Hafner might continue to get the day off at least once a week which will be beneficial, but that isn't a perfect solution.

So what's going to happen for the future and in the offseason?

Well that's a complex question, given all the decisions the Indians will face once October's final game is played.

There were expectations that Brantley wasn't going to get called-up immediately, and that was probably going to come to fruition had Crowe not gone down with an injury.

But now he's here and putting himself into the race for a roster spot next year, right from the get-go.

The offseason is where you make your deals though, especially if you hope to get your best return, at least when you are dealing young players.

Is Jordan Brown the odd man out?

Will the Indians decide to give Andy Marte a long-term shot with this sample size proving to be a success so far?

Is Jhonny Peralta someone you want to deal as an easy to move, cheap piece, in order to clear up at-bats for younger players?

Would Trevor Crowe net the Indians anything of value? And really, that is just the beginning of it all.

One thing is for sure. If this Michael Brantley is the one we can expect on a daily-basis as a major league player, he definitely needs to be a part of the Indians present and future because quite frankly, Brantley can play.

Maybe eventually, we'll be hearing chants of "Mikey, Mikey, Mikey!" erupt in Game Three of the ALCS.

The rabid Cleveland fans and I can only hope.

MLB Power Groupings: Out with Summer, in with September

Nino Colla — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:45:15 -0400

Is it really September?

If your team is still alive for a playoff spot, you need to be pretty happy. The baseball season is a long and grueling process, and if you hang in there until there is one month to go, you are doing something right.

But there still is a month left, and while some of the division races look like they might be over, you just never know.

I'm pretty confident we've got wild card chases that are going down to the final week though. There's a lot of stiff competition, and there is a lot of competition point-blank, especially in the National League.

It's officially the stretch run though. Gear up because the best baseball has yet to be played.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Toronto, Kansas City, Oakland, Washington, New York Mets, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, San Diego

I weeded out some of our teams, and in one group you will see where they have gone.

So that narrows it down a little as to who I get to talk about, but I'm still going to pick my battles.

I'm going to pick on myself for a second. What pound sledgehammer hit me over the head before I made my decision to pick the Royals to come in third in the AL Central?

On second thought, I think I'm along the norm with most AL Central picks. If you got the correct order when all is said and done, you are more of a genius than most of us are numbskulls.

I need to send this plea out to the New York Mets before they do something they might regret.

Please do not bring back anyone this season, especially David Wright. There's no telling what black cloud will appear above Citi Field and completely ruin your franchise. This season just isn't going your way, and someone is trying to tell you that politely.

Don't test that someone.

Quick shout-out to Cincinnati, who seem to be the playing the best out of this group lately.

Let's have some fun

Cleveland, Seattle, Houston, Arizona

You're probably thinking to yourself, just when I thought he was done screwing around with new group names, this happens.

Quite frankly though, we need to have some fun, and that's what this group is doing.

These teams aren't full-blown disasters anymore, or they are playing very well as we speak. They could be right back in the disaster bin the next week, or they could remain here the rest of the season.

The beauty is, like all the groups, I decide who should be in here. However, this one is just randomly based on good play and weird whims.

Cleveland is playing too hot to be a disaster. They are beating teams more than they are losing to them.

Seattle is still in that middle range where they aren't contending, but they aren't horrible.

Houston is sort of in the same boat, but I still don't like them.

Then we have Arizona, who isn't the complete mess-up they were when I demoted them to the dungeon months ago. Congratulations to both them and Cleveland for turning it on when it doesn't count.

We might be slipping

Tampa Bay, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee

Hello Chicago!

The Windy City now has both of its teams close to the edge. The White Sox finally made a move, and it wasn't the good kind.

Minnesota has overtaken them for second in the wacky AL Central—and it may be for good. With complications coming up with Jake Peavy's rehab, things are looking rather disheartening. Now they've traded Jim Thome and Jose Contreras; perhaps they've given up.

And then we have the Cubs. Dropping a series to the Nationals? Come on now, really?

At least you didn't get swept by the Cincinnati Reds, which is what happened to Milwaukee. It actually may not be as bad as losing a series to the Nationals, but it certainly cripples their playoff chances even further.

Expiration date set to the eighth of September. You have one week.

We might be contenders

Minnesota, Atlanta, Florida

Look at the Twins roll!

They finally took off, and with three games against Chicago, they can really deliver the knockout punch to the Sox.

After this week, they've got four games with Toronto and three with Oakland, the perfect chance to take advantage of basement dwellers and make ground on Detroit. They need to maintain or improve on that number they trail the Tigers by this week though.

Atlanta and Florida have a serious chance to really separate themselves from each other with a four-game set this week. Whether they make up wild card ground is up to San Francisco and Colorado, but this series is huge.

In it to win it

Detroit, Texas, Colorado, San Francisco

As you can see, I moved the Rockies back a group.

Truth is, Colorado and San Francisco are meant to be together. The past two series the teams put on were just amazing.

The Rockies did win three out of four the first time around, but then the Giants came back and swept the Rockies over the weekend.

Back and forth we go, and unfortunately just one more series between the two.

Is Detroit feeling the heat yet? Somehow they've got a four-game lead in the division; how I don't know, but they just seem to do it.

Texas has returned in the group that's in it to win it. Not that they aren't where they should be—they are on the outside looking in right now.

Here we are, where we should be

Boston, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Yankees have won seven of their last 10 games. Seven of their next 10 games are against Toronto and Baltimore. It just keeps getting easier.

The Angels picked a fine time to struggle, as Texas is playing no better than they are. Sometimes you need those breaks.

I'd like to take the next three paragraphs to talk about the rampaging St. Louis Cardinals. They've been beating up on the teams they should be beating up on—the San Diegos and Washingtons of the world. No mercy at all.

They've got a few series against the wild card contenders—four to be exact—but other than that, it's a lot of Milwaukee. They are definitely on a hot streak, but if that continues in this stretch of contenders, they are going to be a force in the playoffs.

Extra Bases: Monthly Awards

August AL MVP: Kendry Morales, LAA—What planet is this guy playing on?

August AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia, NYY—You pay the big bucks, you definitely need to get a return on that. The big guy delivered this past month.

August NL MVP: Matt Kemp, LAD—Man, did Kemp keep this team afloat at the end of August or what?

August NL Cy Young: Ubaldo Jimenez, COL—A big reason the Rockies are so dangerous? Their pitching, led by young Ubaldo Jimenez and his fabulous August.

August AL Unknown: Julio Borbón, TEX—Josh Hamilton, David Murphy, Marlon Byrd, and Nelson Cruz are all there, yet he's found a way in the lineup.

August NL Unknown: Chris Coghlan, FLA—Wake up, Florida's found another random player that's contributing in big ways.

August Web Gem: Casilla the Magician—I basically would like to echo Bert Blyleven: How did he do that?

August Oddity: B-52 Night in Tampa—I didn't know this group was still around. I find it comical that Carlos Pena thought that'd be an unforgettable night.

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on Aug. 31.

Problem Child: Andy Marte Putting Heat on Tribe Brass with Hot Play

Nino Colla — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:33:27 -0400

Metaphorically speaking, he was left for dead on the side of the road with his owner having little to no hope left in what was possible.

But Andy Marte had some life left, at least enough to get up and find his way home, and now he's making the Indians relatively happy that no one else found him.

In spring training earlier this year, needing a roster spot for the newly claimed Juan Salas, Mark Shapiro attempted to end the Andy Marte once and for all by designating him for assignment.

Many, including Marte himself, believed that he'd be claimed by some other team in need of a third baseman. It was still spring training after all; surely there was a 40-man roster spot available for a once highly-regarded, but still young, prospect.

Apparently not.

Twenty-nine other teams passed on taking a chance with Marte even in spring training.

That's quite the kick to the gut if you are 25-year-old that had so much promise not even two years ago. Marte was even thinking big picture, perhaps a new team, a fresh start, somewhere with no pressure. He was thinking he'd be gone, at least from what he told reporters, including MLB.com writer Anthony Castrovince.

"I want to be with the Indians, but I've got to think about what's best for me in my career."

A week after clearing waivers, Marte returned to big-league camp as a non-roster invitee. Not much was being said, but it was evident that Marte was a little miffed, not at the Indians, but perhaps at himself.

Maybe the fact that he wasn't on the big league team wasn't Cleveland's fault. Maybe the fact that no one else had claimed him or believed in him had something to do with the guy swinging the bat.

Who knows if any of that went through his mind? But it was evident that maybe he was turning the corner. Marte was someone who kind of kept quite. He was in the Jhonny Peralta school of thought.

Year after year he'd come into camp, sort of rebellious, not losing weight at the request of manager Eric Wedge, and sort of going at his own rate. He was the top prospect in the Braves organization, could you blame him?

But of course, if you don't get humbled at some point in your life, you are going to learn the hard way. Perhaps going unclaimed was the start of that.

"I can't control that. I was waiting to see what happened. I thought somebody might pick me up, but it didn't happen."

To his credit, when Marte was originally placed on waivers, he said he'd come back to Cleveland if no one took a chance on him and work hard.

And to his credit even more, he followed through on that statement.

Not only that, but you have to take a look at what he had to do to follow through to understand how hard he actually worked.

For one, he had all the odds against him at the outset. Sure he was in Columbus, a level below Cleveland. But he had hot-hitting prospect Wes Hodges ahead of him on the depth chart at third and a massive platoon of promising players at first.

Michael Aubrey, Jordan Brown, Stephen Head and Matt LaPorta were all in line to get starts at designated hitter and first base before Marte.

Looking at his situation, could anyone really say they expected to see Andy Marte hit a go-ahead two-run home run for the Indians in late August, in the top of the ninth inning against Baltimore?

Um, what?

Exactly.

He had a fan-base against him for being a waste in a trade that sent fan-favorite Coco Crisp to Boston, an organization that pretty much didn't believe in him anymore, and all he had was a backup spot in minor league baseball.

Those are some hefty odds, with not a lot of support.

He had just 22 at-bats in the month of April and everyone's thoughts became confirmed, he was an afterthought.

Michael Aubrey and Jordan Brown both got off to hot-starts with the bat but an injury to Stephen Head might have given him a little hope, still odds were against him.

Then Wes Hodges started battling injury issues of his own and Marte got his shot.

In the month of May he played in 28 games and hit five home runs. By June he had the first base job to himself with Hodges sidelined and even when Hodges began his comeback, Marte was the starting third baseman.

Hodges back wasn't good enough to play third full-time, but even if it was, Marte was hitting to well and his glove was far better for manager Torey Lovullo to make the switch.

His July was scorching hot, hitting with the likes of LaPorta, Marte belted nine home runs and knocked in 24 runs in just 78 at-bats.

It was cut short because Marte had received a call, and for once, it was the Indians with some good news. Ryan Garko had been traded to San Francisco and the Indians needed a first baseman.

His July proved that the months of May and June were no flukes and that the shortened swing he's been using is working. Not to mention, as Lovullo would tell the Columbus Dispatch, all the hard work has paid off.

"He's come a long way since being taken off the roster this spring. A lot has happened since he was the No. 1 prospect for the (Atlanta) Braves (in 2004). He could have shut it down this spring. He never did. He attacked the 2009 season to prove that he belonged in the big leagues."

Credit to the Clippers hitting coach John Nunnally for getting Marte to hold his hands higher and straighten up his stance. It resulted in a shorter stroke that produced the most RBI for the Clippers at the time of Marte's promotion.

Armed with that new swing and a new found confidence, Marte was ready to prove he belonged in the big leagues once and for all. His attitude had changed, things were a lot more serious and dare I say he looked a little more trim than usual.

As he told Castrovince and the media, he wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"My mind was going crazy at that time. I thought I was done. But I've got a family to take care of. The only thing I know how to do is play baseball. That's why I didn't stop."

If his mind was going crazy then, what's it doing now?

Down to his last strike, and the Indians final out, Marte stared down Orioles' closer Jim Johnson and he knew what was coming.

Fastball pitcher, Grady Sizemore on deck, 3-2 count, let's let it rip.

He said he didn't know if it would go out, but he definitely hit it to where the tyring run was going to score. As the ball sailed over the fence and the glove of left fielder Nolan Reimhold, Marte reached second base and smacked his hands together.

Could you blame him if he was a little excited?

If you think this was just one sudden outburst, you aren't looking at the numbers.

Marte's carrying an eight game hit-streak with eight RB and surely as his confidence grows, so does his vision at the plate.

And now he's got Matt LaPorta hitting right next to him, freshly called up from Triple-A himself, the Clipper bash-brothers are back in business and with one month left in the season, it's going to be hard to take playing time away from Andy.

This now presents a delightful problem for Mark Shapiro and the front office.

What to do with Marte at the end of this season?

There are no options or anything left for him to be sent down. He's either on the major league roster or with another club, because he won't clear waivers yet again, not after what he's done this season.

And had he remained on the Columbus roster to end the season, he’d be a minor league free agent and he’d gain the ability to sign with any club he desired.

With Jhonny Peralta entrenched at third base, perhaps unwillingly, and numerous options in the outfield, does Marte fit the bill at first? Matt LaPorta surely has a spot on the 2010 roster, but is it at first or in left-field?

With Jamey Carroll's contract up and the lack of promise Chris Gimenez has shown with the stick, someone will be needed to back Peralta up at third, does a bench role suit Marte?

All these questions reserved for the people who make the decisions. But I'm sure the people making those decisions didn't think they'd be acting on an Andy Marte outburst when the 2009 season started.

Then again, they didn't think they'd be acting on many the decisions they've already made when the 2009 season started.

MLB Power Groupings: Whatever Happens, At Least You Have This Moment

Nino Colla — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:46:29 -0400

I look at the groupings, as far as the names go, and wonder, where was I when I made them up.

I'm going to be the first to admit that I'm a weirdo. There really is no way around that. So it happens.

But I look at the Rockies and realize this team was basically labeled as a disaster, by myself and myself alone.

Now I'm sure many of you thought the Rockies were in fact done. But did you label them as a disaster?

I did, and now I'm labeling them as a team where they should be. How does that make any sense?

It doesn't, but we had someone end a game on an unassisted triple play last week and as I've said many times before, you really have no clue what you are going to see, it's baseball after all.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Toronto, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Washington, New York Mets, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Arizona, San Diego

Boy oh boy, who will be my victims this week?

Let me start with my beloved Cleveland Indians, who are continuing to break my heart, even after they've already broken it.

You see, once you've given up all hope, you kind of have no reason to cheer for victories. Let's be honest, there is no joy in finishing .500, because there is no prize.

Give me the draft pick.

But no, Cleveland is a lot more difficult. They've got Baltimore and Kansas City this week, there's no telling how many games they are going to end up winning.

Speaking of... Actually, forget it; why even bring up the Royals and Orioles? What have they even done?

And the Nationals aren't trendy anymore, since they are back to normal.

The Mets are always fun to pick on. How bad is their luck? It only makes sense though. Since this is the team that has the worst luck in the world this year, it only makes sense that the unluckiest thing would happen to him.

Be honest for a second. Isn't an unassisted triple play all luck? Right place, right time.

And it's probably the most unlucky thing that can happen in the game, let alone at the end of the game with the winning run at the plate.

It just fits this year, it just fits.

We might be slipping

Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Seattle, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Milwaukee

As a good friend with a red mask and boxing gloves would say, "Holy Freakin' Crap."

That was directed to the Chicago Cubs, who single-handedly found themselves in the same position as their NL Central-mates with just one week's worth of work.

And I know the Cardinals are ridiculously hot, but why does it seem like the Cubs went from right there, to being completely behind the eight-ball.

The good news is that there is more than a month left, so there is still time, but the Cubs might be better off setting their sites on the wild card.

In fact, all of these teams, outside the Twins, who are playing for the default wild card that is known as the AL Central, are probably looking to get in by other means.

Tampa Bay can probably bet on that, with the Red Sox looking like they too are out of the race for the AL East. Never say never, but the Rays have even more ground to gain. Hope is not over for the defending champs though.

We might be contenders

Chicago White Sox, Atlanta, Florida

I still don't get what the White Sox and the rest of the AL Central is doing. At this point, the Indians might be able to catch one of these teams.

Atlanta and Florida are in the same boat as the other NL Central teams. Philadelphia went on a run that might have ended things once and for all.

However the East teams are in a better position because, they have better records, what a concept!

The wild card will probably come from the West, but don't discount the Marlins or Braves, they've both got talent as far as pitching goes and that's all you need down the stretch. It can carry a team.

In it to win it

Detroit, San Francisco

So this group got a little bit smaller.

I cut the group in half for reasons you'll learn about in a little bit.

San Francisco has been hanging around, and even getting closer to the division. However the dangerously hot Rockies have found that fire once again and are threatening to make it a two-team race for two spots with Los Angeles.

Let's hope the Giants can keep it up again.

Do the Tigers and White Sox play each other rather soon? This stagnant positioning with the two teams is rather boring.

End of snarky AL Central comments, promise. Only because there are no more AL Central teams.

Here we are, where we should be

Boston, New York Yankees, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Texas, Dodgers, Colorado

We had yet another lovely series between the Yankees from New York and the Red Sox from Boston. This time it wasn't a sweep, but it was damn painful for Boston fans the way it went down.

Sure they got a win, but the Yankees put up a lot of runs, embarrassed them in one game and made their ace look silly in the other.

With six out of their last seven lost, the Red Sox proved that you can't win a division in May and that you can never count out a team, even if they've lost nine or so straight to that division leader.

Still, don't end Boston just yet; they've got realistic time to make up ground.

The Yankees fit into the section with Philadelphia and St. Louis. These are division leaders that are just trying to run away and hide from everyone. They are really going their best to not make the end of the season interesting.

Let's get down to business though.

I'm officially declaring my belief in the two additions to our higher group.

I'm buying into Texas. It only took me the entire year, but I'm ready to say they are in it for the rest of the season. The Angels may take the West, but the Rangers aren't going down fighting and they will take the Wild Card race and make it interesting all the way through.

Then we have Colorado. This was a team that was left for dead, literally, at one point in the beginning of the season. I had them crossed off and ready to consider as an afterthought.

And here they are where they probably didn't think they would be.

Ultimate respect goes out to the players for not giving up and Jim Tracy for turning the boat around.

If they don't end up getting into the playoffs, it doesn't matter. They've got this moment. The moment that I said, this is a team that was in the trash heap group at one point and then a contender by the end of August.

It's no pennant, but it's still damn good, at least in my eyes.

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on Aug. 24.

MLB Power Groupings: Sorry, New York, Did I Do That?

Nino Colla — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:00:04 -0400

I don't have a theme this week.

Sorry to disappoint you, but my theme goes along with being exhausted. Honestly though, you are probably just thinking to yourself, “Good, we hate your stupid themes anyway; you aren’t funny.”

I've reached a point in the year, in the season, in the summer, that I'm just so exhausted from a combination of things that no theme can be thought of in the little time I have to present you with this week's power groupings.

So with a lack of energy, but not a lack of heart, I present to you, with a shorter intro than usual, which is for the better, this week's MLB Power Groupings.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Toronto, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Washington, New York Mets, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Arizona, San Diego

Boy, was my timing on the Mets to the disaster zone just right on or what? I do that and David Wright, the last remaining soul in Citi Field to be standing, goes down.

It's like clockwork, and now with Wright sidelined, the Mets should pretty much just pack it in and wait for 2010. It's sad, but it happened.

Washington's 15 minutes of fame is coming to an end, but it's become about 20 thanks to the impending deadline to sign 2009 draft picks. The Nationals, of course, are trying to sign first round phenom Stephen Strasburg, who may or may not be a National by the time you read this.

I'll just say, though, that it's sad that in August, two cellar dwellers like Cleveland and Washington are playing the best baseball according to the records. Even Arizona went on a little bit of a run.

I think I speak for everyone, though—at least the fans of teams like Cleveland and Washington—in that winning at this point in the season does nothing but anger people. It angers me, I know that.

While I love to see the Indians win baseball games, I hate to see us win for no reason and lose draft position.

So what if we don't execute drafts correctly? It's time to get critical. Stop winning and making us think that if we did this a month earlier, things would be different. False hope is really disappointing.

We might be slipping

Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Seattle, Houston, Milwaukee

After some ushering from the Seattle faithful and a week of sticking around, I've righted a wrong by placing Seattle out of the group that claims them for dead.

However, the Mariners and the company they hold are fading quickly.

No one is fading quicker than Tampa Bay. Probably the team second most hurt by the Yankees spree is Tampa Bay. Sure, they aren't that far behind in the wild card chase, but they are all but out of the division picture.

If Chicago or Detroit would just put together a decent run, even half of what the Yankees did, the Twins would be looking around confused. Yet here they sit inching back, rather than falling back.

They could really steal things if they could put something decent together.

As for our two NL Central teams, they are just as far as back from the wild card as they are their division. They are in a bit of no-man's land.

We might be contenders

Chicago White Sox, Atlanta, Florida

I think we'll give a little props to Chicago and Atlanta here, but what I really want to do is just talk about Florida.

Can I just say that, despite the fact that their dismantle and build for one or two quick runs mentality cost my beloved Cleveland Indians franchise a very precious World Series trophy, I'm rooting very hard for the Florida Marlins?

How could I do such a thing? The answer is simple.

I picked them to win the NL East. Now I know that sounds like a stupid thing to do, but I'm sticking by my dark horse. They may not win the East, but they've got as good a chance as any to win the wild card.

In it to win it

Detroit, Texas, Chicago Cubs, Colorado, San Francisco

Let's give it up for the Texas Rangers. They've now unseated the Red Sox from a playoff spot and have endeared themselves to many Yankee fans.

There's my weird joke of the article there.

With the Cardinals starting to build ground, the Cubs are probably more focused on their battle with fellow "In it to win its" Colorado and San Francisco.

Both Colorado and San Francisco continue to flip around and most likely will continue to do so.

Here we are, where we should be

Boston, New York Yankees, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis, Los Angeles Dodgers

A little home cooking against the Tigers did the Red Sox well, but it was back on the road against yet another playoff foe. After falling behind the East race, the Red Sox went ahead and lost the wild card spot last week.

They now find themselves in a position they aren't used to—the outside looking in. I've got a lot of confidence in this team though, despite their issues. You can't count out the Red Sox and all they have.

I have to give the Cardinals a lot of credit. A big reason that the Tigers or White Sox or anyone in the Central hasn't run away with things is that they can't beat the teams they need to beat and beat them a lot. The Cardinals did just that.

The Cards have played three series, nine games, against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and San Diego, three bad teams, in the past two weeks. They've lost just one game. That is what you call taking care of your own business.

Both the Phillies and Angels did some winning last week, and they've given themselves a nice little edge heading into the stretch of August.

I really can't believe the Dodgers. They went from having the most demanding lead to having a mediocre one. There was every division up for grabs and then the Dodgers and the West. Now it's all open, and we've got the Dodgers to blame for that.

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on Aug. 17.

MLB Power Groupings: Hide the Wife and Kids Because the Nationals are Streaking

Nino Colla — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:47:52 -0400

It just goes to show you that, your season might be over, but that's no excuse to secure your fate of drafting Bryce Harper.

The Nationals, a week away from either gaining or losing Stephen Strasburg are still in a position to draft number one overall, but have put their status as supreme-awful team in the MLB under uncertainty.

Last year, for some odd reason, I wanted Cleveland to make a run at a .500 record; I bought into the idea that the end of last year is momentum for this season.

Let me just say, for the record, that I'm an idiot.

It's a five-plus month layoff, what kind of momentum is that? If my team is in a position that will not net them a playoff appearance, then heck with a .500 record and winning games, give me a better draft pick.

Unless you get pick No. 1 though, does it really even matter with the way teams pass on talent due to signability?

I guess not. But it's still the principle of the thing and as I've clearly learned, there is no such thing as end of the season momentum for next year. That, my friends, is all bogus hogwash.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Toronto, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle, Washington, New York Mets, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Arizona, San Diego

The group of feeble baseball teams with no chances this 2009 season has grown yet again.

We'd like to welcome the New York Mets to the Disaster Zone. The sad thing is, if there was ever a real disaster of a baseball team, it would be the Mets.

Now Washington was born a disaster, but as far as a team having everything go wrong at the same time, that would be the Mets. The Indians had a lot of injuries this year, but nothing comes near the Mets.

I held out a little hope for them, but this is just too much with no hope on the horizon and more players dropping like flies.

So I light a candle for the 2009 New York Mets. A team with too many injuries but could probably still beat the Nationals.

For all the bagging I do on the Nats, I can at least stop calling them the Natinals after they ran off eight straight games and brought their record to a little bit more respectability. They're still in last place, which is remarkable in itself, but dreams of a 110 loss season probably have fallen by the wayside.

Speaking of bad teams making runs, it seems like a lot of our bad teams made significant runs. Arizona was also playing hot baseball until they ran into the buzz kill that is Nationals baseball.

The Diamondbacks had won seven out of their last eight before getting swept by Washington. They've already started to regain themselves with another series against New York though.

Cleveland is a team on inconsistent fire, if that makes any sort of sense. The Tribe has lost games, even two in a row at times, but they've taken two out of three from each AL Central contender the past two weeks. Minnesota, Detroit, and Chicago can all rest easy knowing they all lost two games to the Tribe, and no one gained or lost any ground when the Indians were involved.

Just don't muck around with the Royals.

This group has grown so abnormally large, that I'd rather not talk about every team, every week. So we're going to cut it off there. Maybe if you go on a really awesome win-streak or tank really bad, I’ll throw you a bone, San Diego.

We might be slipping

Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Houston, Milwaukee

Gone is the center after one week of split groups.

In is my version of contenders and pretenders.

In the group that is losing ground is a fascinating mixture of clubs.

Might as well start with Tampa Bay, who is in this group by no fault of their own. They've now fallen eight back of the division with hot play from the Yankees. Thankfully, Boston is six back, which means they're only two and a half back of the wild card.

So all is not lost for the Rays, but the Yankees certainly did some damage that will be hard to make up.

As I mentioned with Cleveland, none of the AL Central teams have been able to gain or lose significant ground, but Minnesota is still in that mid-range zone that has them ready to fall out of the race, or ready to establish themselves. They've yet to do either though.

Houston is about a week away from falling off, especially with their visit to Florida and a trip to fellow NL Central slipper, Milwaukee.

The Brewers were the darling child of the first half, or at least most of the first half. I was like, "yeah they're playing well now, but trust me man, they're not long for this." I refused to totally buy in and I'm glad I didn't because they're proving me right.

A decent team, but not a true contender. They could remain here all year, but is this really significant?

We might be contenders

Chicago White Sox, Atlanta, Florida

The Sox that are pale got a bit of good news with Jake Peavy ready for his rehab stint and with their good play; they've pushed ever so close to Detroit. They took three from the Yankees and two from the Angels in seven games, but then went ahead and dropped three to Cleveland.

If only they had maintained course.

Atlanta has kicked it up a notch to join Florida as teams hot on the trail of Philadelphia and the Wild Card leaders. Both teams are playing good ball, with Florida sweeping the Phillies and helping out both teams, and the Braves taking three from the NL-best Dodgers.

However, Florida was the other team that fell victim to the buzz-killing Nationals and the Braves have a quick two-gamer this week. At least it's only two games, imagine if it was four.

In it to win it

Detroit, Texas, Colorado, San Francisco

The Tigs are feeling grateful that their series against Cleveland was awhile ago. However, now they're dealing with an angry mob of Red Sox players that just got swept out of New York.

Hopefully the teams facing the rest of the AL Central can help them out, like they've seem to all year. The Tigers could fall into a bad spot, but they always seem to keep their head above water. Good placement and timing this year by Detroit, hopefully for them, they can keep it up.

Texas better have sent a very large greeting card to the Yankees for bringing them so close to Boston in the wild card chase. With the Angels making ground, it's looking more and more like the wranglin' folk from Texas are only getting in via the wild card.

I call them the Wild Western Brothers. San Francisco and Colorado are sticking together and probably will all season. They continue to lead the NL wild card chase and will do so for the rest of the season. Come hell or high water, both of these teams keep finding players to play and they're winning.

Colorado might hold onto the lead for awhile, then maybe give way to the Giants at some point for a bit. Either way, I'm fairly certain, and very hopeful, that this comes down to the final game.

Here we are, where we should be

Boston, New York Yankees, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, Los Angeles Dodgers

I always get tired when Boston and New York meet up for one of their seven billion in-season games. Call me if they meet in the playoffs. Sure, the games are meaningful; the Sox are now a whopping six-plus games back.

However, this is a team that had beaten the Yankees eight out of eight times prior to that series. Did that seem to matter? No, because it's a long season. Things even out if they're supposed to and they did.

Boston will be back in the hunt sooner or later; the Yankees haven't vanquished anyone yet. They sent a very large statement, but don't declare them the winners. There are still a little less than two months to go with games going into early October.

Is there any division leader as hot-cold streaky as the Phillies? I mean, they can go from leading the division by fifty games to five. See what I mean about it being a long season?

It's good to see the team that I've blindly jumped onto the bandwagon of putting some distance between them and the field in their division. I believe the Cardinals are better than clustering together with the Cubs and friends, especially with their beefed up lineup.

Hey, LA! Wake the heck up! In case you didn't notice, your lead is now down to five-and-a-half games. Never thought I'd see the day, but with that being on par with just about all the other divisions, the Dodgers have some worrying to do. The lead they worked so hard for is now gone.

Perhaps though, cruising into the playoffs is never a good thing, as the other Los Angeles team has showed us in the past. And if I'm them, I want Texas to push me as much as they can until the end.

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on Aug. 11.

Mark Shapiro's Power Pitching Reformation in Cleveland

Nino Colla — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:11:49 -0400

I wasn't there the day Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro realized things went wrong and the only one who probably was, was his wife, if anyone really was around.

But I can imagine it right now.

I don't know about most of you, but my deepest thoughts about anything come when I'm lying in bed before I go to sleep. Often times, if it's something that has me nervous or excited, it keeps me up at night.

I've heard Mark Shapiro mention sleep deprivation before, so it wouldn't surprise me if this nightmare of a bullpen kept him up at night.

Not just the bullpen either, but the pitching staff as a whole, all the way from Cleveland down to Mahoning Valley. Shapiro sitting in bed, maybe next to his wife, or on a couch in his Progressive Field office, thinking about what went wrong.

Can you blame him?

Let's start from the beginning when Shapiro added not one, but two arms to his major league bullpen in attempt to solidify it.

Closer Kerry Wood to the end and side-arming right-handed specialist Joe Smith to buddy up with Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, and maybe Masa Kobayashi to form some sort of a bridge from starters to Wood.

Yeah none of that really worked, for one reason or another. Let's not get into it.

But the failures of the bullpen got Mark Shapiro thinking and got him probably tossing at night.

Something is wrong here, nothing is working, so maybe we should change our ways.

So in early May, when maybe the Indians believed they still had a chance, but things were still very wrong, Shapiro vowed to change.

Turn-around or no turn-around, the way the Indians evaluated their pitchers and the type of pitchers they acquired, would soon change.

And when I mean soon, I mean, like immediately that day.

I'll continue to paste this quote into blog entries and articles as long as I live in the Mark Shapiro era, because it will either define his turnaround or be the point in which he tried to make a change in his final years as the man making the decisions.

"I think what's most troubling is that the inconsistency in the bullpen continues to be an issue. We've got to take a deep look at it and be thorough in how we examine it.

"We got to examine how we construct it, pick our players, we got to examine our performances, our coaching, everything. We've spent time doing that already, but we need to continue to do it and we need to do it more in depth."

Shapiro cited a sense of urgency at this point and actually made moves to display that urgency. He moved Aaron Laffey into the bullpen in an effort to save the season. That move was short-lived after Laffey injured himself.

He's since returned and gone into the rotation, proving that the move was just out of desperation to get outs after the starters were done.

He also made moves that were probably more destined to happen further down the road, but were sped up due to Shapiro's desperation.

He moved minor league starters Zach Putnam and Frank Herrmann into the bullpen, spots that many scouts and prospect gurus believed they were eventually headed for.

Shapiro complimented their moves with a bump up to higher competition, Herrmann going to Triple-A Columbus and Putnam to Double-A Akron.

The Indians love to stretch their relief pitchers out. Most of their relievers start their careers in the Indians organization as starting pitchers.

Rafael Perez pitched most of his minor-league career as a starting pitcher. Perez actually started in the Triple-A Buffalo rotation in 2007 and when he was called up, made a straight transition to the bullpen.

The idea behind this method is to get the pitchers more innings and more work in a year and also to make them durable. But I have to wonder, given Perez's recent struggles if that really is the smart thing to do?

Jensen Lewis started the entire 2006 season in the rotation and it wasn't till 2007 that he was moved to the pen. He, too, followed the Indians method of having their more highly regarded relief pitchers spend time as a starter.

If the Indians don't have those relief pitchers in the starting rotation, they certainly don't put them in a closer's role. In fact, the ones the regard as future closers are ones they just don't put in the role.

When the Indians acquired Jess Todd, assistant general manager John Mirabelli said that the Indians simply don't use prospects, like the caliber of Jess Todd, in the closer's role.

However, Todd followed that same pattern that the Indians use, he was a starter in the Cardinals organization for the start of his career.

So if things go right with Todd, he's had a little bit of both contrasting styles to the point where you don't really know where to praise.

The overall point here is simple. Will the Indians continue to utilize these methods with their change in philosophy?

How about with the arms they acquired in the flurry of deadline deals they made?

They acquired a lot of arms, so they've got some decisions to make on some of them. But the difference between these arms and some of the ones the Indians have had in the past favors their method a little more.

They can get away with starting a player like Bryan Price and eventually converting him to a relief pitcher.

For one, Price, acquired from the Red Sox, was a relief pitcher at Rice when he went to college. Second, he throws harder than some of the players the Indians are used to getting.

In an era in which they've drafted soft-tossers like Jeremy Sowers, the Indians have lacked drafting those power arms.

So it was of no surprise to me that Alex White was their pick earlier this year in the first round of the MLB Draft.

And that pick had Shapiro's hands written all over it. If you don't know, Shapiro isn't the main say in who the Indians draft. Sure he'll have a large hand in the higher picks, but does anyone honestly think Shapiro is pulling the strings on a 45th round draft pick?

He hires the guys in place, but the guys in place are the main cogs in the player drafting and development process.

Previously mentioned assistant general manger John Mirabelli oversees the scouting operations. Brad Grant and Ross Atkins are the other main players, with Grant involved in amateur scouting for the draft and Atkins the go-to-guy for player development.

However, I could envision Mark Shapiro busting into the war room with the Indians on the clock and demanding the club select right handed flame-thrower Alex White out of North Carolina.

And White fits that mold that Shapiro acquired in all his deadline deals.

Let's take a look at those names and just how hard they are said to throw.

Alex White - First Round Draft Pick out of North Carolina

Sits in low 90's but can ramp it up to 95, which will come in handy if they decide to move him to the bullpen.

White's future is still a bit uncertain, but with a few weeks before the deadline, the Indians don't expect to pitch him at all the rest of this season.

They originally said the plan was to move him to the pen, but he could start out as a starter.

His power definitely makes the possibility of a bullpen role a more likely status right now.

Connor Graham - Traded from Colorado for Rafael Betancourt

Baseball America says that Graham throws a mid-90's fastball.

Connor Graham has already made a few appearances for Double-A Akron since coming over and he's displayed the same characteristics that he did with Colorado's minor league clubs.

He's got relief pitcher written all over him with his shaky control and lack of pitches. Throw Graham in the back end and just let him rip it. He can throw his fastball as hard as he wants and can let the hard slider that he has just go.

He's running out levels to refine his pitches and with the other arms the Indians received, Graham will probably end up in the bullpen.

Scott Barnes - Traded from San Francisco for Ryan Garko

Here is one pitcher the Indians acquired with full-intent on keeping him in the rotation. He simply doesn't have the tools to be a relief pitcher.

His fastball can reach the low-90's, but Barnes is a pitcher who relies on changing speeds and using his command.

He is the one pitcher in all the deals the Indians made that doesn't have a fastball that can light up the radar gun.

Carlos Carrasco - Traded from Philadelphia in Cliff Lee Deal

Carrasco is already in the rotation and has been in the Philadelphia organization and the Indians say he could have a late audition sometime this year.

So scratch any bullpen thoughts, at least for now.

Carrasco is straight starter, but he can throw hard. He's a consistent low to mid-90's fastball with the ability to get 96 mph on the gun.

He can compliment that with the stuff he has and the issues with Carrasco fall between the ears.

Jason Knapp - Traded from Philadelphia in Cliff Lee Deal

Consistent mid-90's fastball with the ability to reach as high as 100 mph at some point.

How can someone acquire the ability to reach 100 mph?

Well he's only 18, so he's got room to grow and Baseball America says the Phillies believed it was a possibility at some point.

A guy who's touching 97 as a starter, I wouldn't doubt it.

Knapp is one of those players that looks like he'll be a top of the line starter in a rotation or a back-end bullpen guy. He's got the pure heat to come out of the bullpen and blow people away if he doesn't learn how to be a starter and manage his pitches.

If you are keeping count, that's now three pitchers the Indians have received that could be a starter or a relief pitcher. However, Knapp may be the best one so far and out of the ones I've still yet to mention.

Chris Perez - Traded from St. Louis in Mark DeRosa Deal

The one thing Shapiro mentioned when they acquired Chris Perez was that he throws hard.

That was probably the starting and ending point when discussing the acquisition. He's a straight relief pitcher that throws hard.

So began the fascination with hard-throwers for Mark Shapiro.

Perez can hit 95 on the gun and has with the Indians in the bullpen. He's starting to settle in as a back-end option and it looks like the Indians are pleased with the addition.

Jess Todd - Traded from St. Louis in Mark DeRosa Deal

We've been over Todd earlier as one of those pitchers who's transitioned from starter to relief pitcher.

"The Todd" can hit mid-90's as a relief pitcher and after his debut on Wednesday, the bullpen looks to be his settling spot.

Nick Hagadone - Traded from Boston in Victor Martinez Deal

Nick Hagadone's fastball sits mid 90's as a starter, or at least it did before Tommy John surgery.

However, Hagadone's progress has been so rapid, the Red Sox had to slow him down and everyone feels he'll regain that power in his fastball, if he hasn't already.

The potential to hit at least 98 mph is there, especially if, as you would guess it, he is moved into the bullpen.

Right now he's set to make his Indians debut Thursday night for Low-A Lake County in the rotation.

But as the case with just about every other pitcher, Baseball America has scouts that say he could fill important roles in the rotation or bullpen.

Bryan Price - Traded from Boston in Victor Martinez Deal

As I went over earlier, Price is a former relief pitcher turned starter with ability to return to the pen at some point.

His fastball is anywhere from low to mid-90's with the addition of sink to it. That description reminds me of 2007's version of Fausto Carmona.

Carmona was a pitcher the Indians tried in the bullpen, but he didn't have the chops to close.

Price does and he's done it at Rice before being drafted in the supplemental round by Boston.

Again, another pitcher that will probably get his future dictated by his performance and the need of the big league club. The fact that he throws hard enables that possibility.

Justin Masterson - Traded from Boston in Victor Martinez Deal

And the final piece of the Martinez trade has already acclimated himself to that switch-a-roo role.

Justin Masterson won't be flip-flopping for long though.

Masterson's first Cleveland appearance came out of the bullpen, but as a part of a plan to re-acclimate him to starting.

Masterson's fastball was as high as 97 mph in his first outing against Detroit, and my own eyes saw that fastball hit that speed with downward movement.

He'll make likely one, possibly two more appearances out of the pen. Either way, the stay will be short as the Indians want him in the rotation.

If Masterson becomes a mainstay, that's one less rotation spot for a Knapp, Hagadone, Price, or Graham to take, which means some of these arms will likely end in the bullpen.

Hard throwers are a rare breed in Cleveland.

Before this year, Cleveland barely had anyone that threw as hard as Bryan Price, let alone Jason Knapp.

This was an organization filled with less stellar Scott Barnes-type pitchers.

Jeremy Sowers had magic working for awhile, but the jig was eventually up and hitters have caught on.

Adam Miller was this organization's hardest thrower, and all that hard tossing led to injuries, a move to the bullpen, and more injuries.

Aside from Miller, David Huff was one of the Indians more regarded pitching prospects and he was looked at as a poor man's Cliff Lee, with a high 80 to low 90's fastball, barely. Huff's game is all about control though.

Further along Kelvin De La Cruz and Hector Rondon are more in the low to maybe mid-90s molds with their fastballs and high school picks T.J. House and Trey Haley probably fall in the same category.

Fast, but not drooling fast like Jason Knapp can throw.

When the words "sits" are usually preceding 95 mph, that pitcher is probably sitting there and ramping up even higher.

Aside from Miller, most of the pitchers the Indians have are sitting below that and occasionally reaching around 95 mph.

Mark Shapiro was dead-serious looking back at it now.

He didn't just want to look at the way the Indians brought along their talent, it seems as if he wanted to also look at the talent they brought in.

And it looks like Shapiro's mentality changed as he's probably brought in more power pitchers this year than he has his entire tenure.

He acquired nine pitchers in trades, eight of whom I regard as predominantly power arms. Throw in Alex White into the equation and you have nine.

Eight of those are all pitchers who have had experience doing both starting and relief work, or are said to have a future in either.

Off the top of my head, I can name, Adam Miller, CC Sabathia, uh...Bueller?

It sort of just dies as far as pure-power pitchers that Shapiro has gone out and brought in. You can even throw Kerry Wood into the mix, but he's no prospect.

So, a new mentality, a new breed of pitchers, and maybe new sleeping habits for Shapiro. For his tenure’s sake, I'd hope it all works.

MLB Power Groupings: Wait, What Exactly Did We Do Again?

Nino Colla — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:09:26 -0400

In the end, I'm glad that the Mariners decided to take up my advice by becoming sellers.

Sort of, I guess.

I find it hilarious that no one really knew if the Mariners were going to be buyers or sellers, even themselves, and we still don't know what they exactly did.

They traded Jarrod Washburn, a move only a seller would do. But then they went ahead and traded for Jack Wilson and Ian Snell, a move a buyer would typically do.

The losing has pretty much dictated them as a team who's done this year, but it still makes me laugh that the trade deadline really did nothing to help us with this situation.

The deadline did provide a nice little shakeup in the groupings though. As always, we'll use that as the theme.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Toronto, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle, Washington, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Arizona, San Diego

It's official, this group is too big.

With the new additions, I feel it's getting a bit cramped up here and that isn't a good thing considering the real characters we've got here.

I mean look at this cast of misfits!

First we've got Baltimore who go on some of the most roughest stretches of baseball I've ever seen. Yet they're still not as bad as Kansas City, Cleveland, or Oakland. How is this possible in a division like the AL East?

Then we've got the other basement dweller in that division that refused to give up Roy Halladay. That's an adventure in itself, but I'm sort of on the surprised side. I thought J.P Ricciardi was all talk and no walk, but he proved me wrong.

Cleveland did deal their best pitcher and team leader and the media and fans are ready to feast on Mark Shapiro's still living body. That's all I'm going to say about that.

I don't understand how Kansas City is behind Cleveland. They must really be bad, because I regard Cleveland's play this year as awful.

They were going to make a movie about Oakland; do I really have to explain anything here to you? Matt Holliday comes in for three players, Billy Beane flips him when the team tanks for prospects. Just as I thought.

One of our new additions in Seattle is a team I cannot make fun of anymore. I already said they were going to be one of the worst the AL had to offer this year and I dedicated the intro to them. All my assessments on them have been wrong, they've got some fight.

I'm not even going to resort to a "Natinals" joke or saying something like,"Washington, Hahahah, funny isn't it?", like I did the one time. I'm just going to bring up the fact that this team is 27 games back and that's only going to grow. Cleveland fans are lucky they don't root for the Nationals.

I hear Cincinnati is ready to pack it in for next season too as they've heard their ace is going to have Tommy John surgery that will pretty much wipe out most of 2010 as well as the rest of 2009.

That isn't going to stop them from acquiring Scott Rolen.

I heard a good joke on Pardon the Interruption about the Pirates when Mike Wilbon asked Tony Kornheiser about Andrew McCutchen's future as a Pirate. Kornheiser shrewdly mentioned that it was great that he hit the three home runs in one game, but he'll be traded by Thursday.

It's sad, but this is what the Pirates have been reduced to, a punch line to silly jokes.

I hear Arizona wanted to try and trade a few of their pitchers, yet failed. Pretty much the story of their season thus far.

Can someone explain to me how San Diego got away with trading an injured pitcher for four pitchers? They should just put Kevin Correia on the injury report and see if they can get anything for him. No luck with Cha Seung Baek?

Teetering on the Brink of Disaster

New York Mets

Well well well, look who's surviving with one side of a cardboard box and half a bag of stale Lays.

That's all that the Mets really have left at this point and they're just trying to survive the storm until they get back some of their players.

They were a bad week away from being placed in the group that no one wants to be in. As we saw with Seattle and Cincinnati, the trade-deadline almost forced them into the disaster zone along with their bad play.

The Mets didn't sell anything though; they aren't in a position to. They've just been struck with the injury bug.

Things aren't the end of the world though. While the division is a long shot, they aren't that far out of the Wild Card race, especially if they can play decent ball until they get the likes of Jose Reyes and John Maine back.

They all need to hurry though, I don't know how much the Mets can last with that stale bag of potato chips.

I like the middle, where the center is warm: The Bad Group

Minnesota, Atlanta, Houston, Milwaukee

You're probably wondering, "Hey Nino, why did you do this? As if I wasn't confused by your silly group names to begin with." Well the answer to that confused statement slash question is simple.

There are teams that are in the middle that are playing well and or in a good position while there are teams in the middle that are not.

This is that bad group. Not to say this is a bad group, but these teams are just not the flavor of the week to me. And considering that spell check tells me my name is spelled wrong, I deserve this moment.

I love the addition of Orlando Cabrera, he fits what the Twins are about and I think they'll make enough strides to actually be involved in the AL Central race more than they have.

They haven't been playing that kind of ball quite yet though.

Ditto Atlanta and the moves they've made, but they're a few games back of the Florida Marlins right now. They are capable of more, but right now, they are on the downswing.

Then we have the two NL Central teams in Milwaukee and Houston.

Not only are they not playing well, neither of them made a move of significance at the deadline.

I don't really blame either of them though, especially the Brewers who took their shot last year with CC Sabathia. They're probably not fit to make a big move, especially with St. Louis showing the aggressiveness they did with the Matt Holliday add.

Milwaukee hasn't been the same team they were for most of the first half these past few weeks. Something isn't the same and if they don't pick it up soon, they could just be stuck in the middle for the rest of the year.

With Houston, really, it's just a matter of time if you ask me.

I like the middle, where the center is warm: The Good Group

Tampa Bay, Chicago White Sox, Florida

Ah the good students in the middle classroom, I welcome you.

You have to feel good right now if you are Tampa Bay. So far, this team has stuck to their blueprint and hasn't gone out and given the farm for a player and at the deadline, the Red Sox were really the only team to make a move, it was only one move.

They aren't out of this race by any means either. They've got the same talent that got them on top of the division last year and to them that's enough.

Whether it will be is another story though. They are playing decent ball lately, and have yet to really go on that big run, which could be around the corner for all we know.

Chicago made the biggest splash at the trading deadline by surprisingly resurrecting the deal with San Diego for Jake Peavy. However, Peavy won't be an immediate contributor, and some don't even know if he'll contribute at all. While he probably will, Chicago still has to get to that point.

Maybe just the mere thought of the management showing faith in the current team by adding a big arm like that though will be enough motivation. Detroit had a forgettable series against Cleveland that has brought the Sox ever so close.

Florida went out and got themselves an extra bat in Nick Johnson and they've been playing good ball that has thrown them into the Wild Card race. The Phillies haven't completely run away yet, but the realistic goal for the Marlins at this point is the spot that they've won both their championships from.

In it to win it.

Detroit, Texas, Colorado, San Francisco

This group keeps shrinking for whatever reason and they've now lost another member. It was a promotion for the Cubs, but we still have four teams hanging in there as contenders.

All of these but Texas went out and made a deal to get stronger and probably no team made more of a important deal that Detroit. By getting Jarrod Washburn, they established that they want top-notch pitching to get them that AL Central title.

They've fallen on a little rough patch against Cleveland, but this team is still good and now they've got one of the best pitchers in the AL Central this year, Jarrod Washburn. Also, party at Clete Thomas' house!

Colorado really impacted their bullpen with the addition of lefty Joe Beimel and setup man Rafael Betancourt. It was their most glaring weakness and they took care of it. Unfortunately their main competition for that last playoff spot in San Francisco did the same.

So really these two teams are on equal footing and I'd expect that remain for the rest of the year.

Texas was said to have tried to put together a package for Roy Halladay, which would have made them serious winners, but if there was such a thing, it fizzled. The red-hot Angels are going to be tough ones to catch, even if they had snagged Halladay, but this team is still in the mix for the division and the Wild Card.

Here we are, where we should be.

Boston, New York Yankees, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, Los Angeles Dodgers

In New York, the Yankee fans are quivering about the addition of Victor Martinez. As if the Red Sox needed a bat like this in the middle of their lineup. It was the one thing the Yankees could say they had the Red Sox number in.

In Boston, the Red Sox fans are quivering equally at the addition of Jerry Hairston Jr.

I'm sorry, that was really lame and not as funny as I thought it was going to be.

In all seriousness, the Martinez addition gives the Red Sox a major boost with their pitching depth. Losing Justin Masterson might hurt, but we're talking about a very deep staff beyond the rotation and into the bullpen.

I really expect the rest of the year to be filled with streaks by these two teams, alternating the division lead.

Philadelphia ran away in the month of July and will spend August looking for a good hiding spot from Florida. That's all I really have to say. Cliff Lee knows a few good ones, which should just increase their likelihood of finding one. Get the little thing I was trying to do there?

Some might get on the Angels for not making a big move, but I don't think they have to. Their pitching just needs to get healthy. They're always finding bullpen pieces while their rotation has the talent as is.

They get healthy there and they don't need refined. This is a team that is still playing well offensively despite losing Torii Hunter and Vlad Guerrero.

I had the Cubs up here for the division title, so this was expected. Now that they've played better baseball and put their team right there for the division lead, they are deserving of this status.

However I'm still a big fan of the way the Cardinals are playing this year. It seems as if things are on their side and now with the addition of Matt Holliday to hit behind Albert Pujols, look out.

I do like the small addition the Cubs made to get John Grabow though. It may not be a real exciting move, but they just need to get healthy and get better performances out of their current players. The consistency from Rich Harden and Alfonso Soriano is a good start.

Oh the Dodgers again? I mean, are we still talking about this team?

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on Aug. 3.

MLB Monthly Pulse: Yankees and Phillies Dominate July

Nino Colla — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:04:57 -0400

Welcome to the MLB Monthly Pulse here at Bleacher Report.

The MLB Monthly Pulse is a new monthly survey taken by myself to get a consensus for many of the different awards and monthly topics.

If you missed out participating for July, you can still do so for August and September. Just be on the look out for a link in the Community Leader box on the MLB section of Bleacher Report about a week before the month ends.

A big thank you to this month's participants: Colin Means, Patrick Murray, Christian Karcole, Bret Bledsoe, John Parent, Daniel Abbas, Cameron Britt, Shanan H., Nick Rall, and Danny Penza.

The survey asks each participant for the basic MVP and Cy Young awards up to this point in both leagues, a team of the month in both league, a web gem from last month, a team that is about to get hot in the following month, and for a little bit of site flare, a MLB article that stood out to them here on Bleacher Report.

Here's what this month's results gave us.

American League MVP: 1B Justin Morneau, Minnesota

Votes: Morneau 3, Ichiro 2, Bobby Abreu 2, Mark Teixeira 1, Joe Mauer 1, Erick Aybar 1

The might have been some confusion as to this being a monthly award or a cumulative award.

Other than that slight mishap, all on my part for not specifying in a better way, Morneau edged out Ichiro.

Justin Morneau is the current leader in both runs batted in and home runs in the American League. While all the attention is on Joe Mauer and his relentless hitting, Morneau is the one producing a lot of offense.

National League MVP: 1B Albert Pujols, St. Louis

Votes: Pujols 6, Yunel Escobar 2, Derrek Lee 1, Jimmy Rollins 1

No confusion here, Albert Pujols runs away with things in the National League MVP vote.

Pujols leads the entire free world in home runs and is just one behind Prince Fielder in runs batted in. He's fallen into a slump, for him at least, in the past week or so with just five hits in his last seven games.

Still, what is a slump for Albert is a good week for many players, so I don't think he's too disappointed.

American League Cy Young: P Jarrod Washburn, Detroit

Votes: Washburn 3, Mark Buehrle 2, Josh Beckett 2, Brett Anderson 1, Zach Greinke 1, Roy Halladay 1

If Jarrod Washburn ends up winning the real Cy Young, then we would have seen what we didn't last year when CC Sabathia got movement to win the Cy Young award despite being traded to another league.

It won't be as hard for Washburn though as he gets to keep his statistics and now he's on a playoff contender.

Shanan H. said not to laugh at the pick, but no one's laughing as two others agreed, Washburn right now is right up there behind Zach Greinke in the lead for ERA in the American League.

National League Cy Young: P Tim Lincecum, San Francisco

Votes: Linececum 6, Dan Haren 1, Wandy Rodriguez 1, Matt Cain 1, Jason Marquis 1

As there was with Albert Pujols, no doubt about who everyone likes to win the NL Cy Young right now.

Tim Lincecum has as good as chance as anyone to win it and repeat. He trails teammate Matt Cain in ERA by just .06 points and it should surprise no one that he leads everyone in strikeouts.

And now that the Giants are in playoff contention and he's at 12 wins, a 20-win season isn't out of the realm of possibility.

AL Team of the Month: New York Yankees

Votes: New York 7, Texas 1, Boston 1, Los Angeles 1

When July started, the Yankees were two and a half games back of Boston and were in the midst of a seven game win-streak.

As we stand now, they are just a half game up on their division rivals, but thanks in large part to going 18-9 in the month of July, they've closed that gap and put a bit of a scare into Boston.

The Yankees had their biggest run output this year with 146 runs scored as well.

What's concerning is that the Yankees have started to cool off and Boston is starting to heat back up with the addition of All-Star slugger Victor Martinez.

Still, you'll be hard-pressed to find a team that played better ball last month, except for one.

NL Team of the Month: Philadelphia Phillies

Votes: Philadelphia 4, Chicago 2, Atlanta 1, Colorado 1, Houston, Los Angeles 1

Talk about putting up some distance.

The Phillies started the month just a half game up on the hard-charging Florida Marlins.

Now, they are five games up on the Fish and seven up on the Braves.

This was the team that played better than the Yankees in the month of July. The Phillies were virtually untouchable and the pounded their opponents in just about every way.

They laid 153 runs on their opponents and only let 97 cross the plate to lead them to a 20-7 month. That's a .741 winning percentage.

They had a 15 game stretch in which they lost just one game, a 4-3 nail-bitter that saw Brad Lidge give up a tie-game in the top of the 9th.

Can you blame them? This was one night after they put 22 runs up on the Reds, Cincinnati was angry and something had to give.

Web Gem of the Month: Dewayne Wise saves Mark Buehrle's Perfect Game

Honorable Mentions: Garrett Jones and Delwyn Young's kick and catch, Pablo Sandoval's series against the Rockies where he robbed Dexter Fowler, Daniel Murphy's diving stop

One of the highlights of July was the perfect game that was thrown by Mark Buehrle.

And there was a highlight within a highlight that will probably live on forever in terms of meaningful regular season catches.

It was the spectacular and heart-stopping grab made by Dewayne Wise.

The way Wise catches up to the ball is just something itself, then to bobble the ball around as a perfect game hangs in the balance. In Wise's mind, I'm sure that moment lasted longer than a second.

Where There's Smoke: San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Rays

Mentioned: Cubs, Yankees, Twins, Cardinals, Rangers

Two people agreed that both San Francisco and Tampa Bay were about to get hot.

Tampa Bay stands a few games back in the division lead and with that just a half game less for the Wild Card, so a big run would really help them right now. They need to be closer by the end of August, or the AL Champs probably won't get a chance to defend their crown.

The Giants meanwhile have been looking up at the Dodgers for the division lead all year. However they now find themselves in a stiff battle for the Wild Card spot with their division-mates in Colorado.

Don't forget about Florida and Atlanta though. With Philadelphia starting to run away from the rest of the East, the two teams still alive must set their sites on the Wild Card now.

The Giants though just added second baseman Freddy Sanchez and first baseman Ryan Garko for extra punch in the lineup, so maybe they're ready to make that run.

B/R MLB Article of the Month

Obviously, with 10 different voters and possibly more next month, and with infinitely more articles submitted, it's hard to get a consensus.

The majority decided to leave this blank, as I made this an optional field for everyone. But three people did submit links to MLB articles.

The first is a slide show by Joel Barker that gives five reasons that umpire Bill Hohn should be thrown out of baseball. His actions might be deserving of punishment, but his mustache deserves a promotion.

The next article is by Mike Kent, in which he picks a song for each MLB Team's first-half. Very cold with giving the Indians Heartbreak Hotel 56, Mike. Sadly though, I would have picked something that described more of a disaster. Yes, I'm even more cold.

The final article that was submitted was Daniel Abbas' NL Midseason Report Card. It really was the midseason report card to end all midseason report cards. Great work Danny.

Trade Deadline Groupings: Giants Make Moves For Stretch Run

Nino Colla — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:43:07 -0400

The trade deadline has come and gone and as usual, you want to know who the winners are and who the losers are.

“Losers” is such a negative term though.

So why not just group everything like I always do. Well, not that I group everything, but I know I group teams.

So without further overuse of the word group, let's group the trades, from most impactful to all the way down. Or I guess, to build suspense, from least impactful all the way up.

Low-Impact

Chicago Acquires IF/OF Mark Kotsay from Boston

A low-end move for the White Sox to pick up Kotsay, who was designated for assignment recently. It's worth noting that the White Sox sent speedy outfielder Brian Anderson to Boston in return.

Anderson is headed to Triple-A Pawtucket for Boston, while Kotsay has been added to Chicago's active roster.

The White Sox aren't exactly killing for left-handed bats, but he is certainly a defensive upgrade at first base for late in games.

Cincinnati Acquires 3B Scott Rolen from Toronto

I'm kind of confused here to some degree.

Scott Rolen might help the Reds in 2010, the year his contract expiresl. But as far as 2009, for a fifth place Reds team that is almost ten full games back of first place, I don't understand the significance.

It looks as if Rolen was traded for what is only being described as personal reasons, but none of this has any impact on the stretch run of the MLB season. Cincinnati will get some help with the remainder of Rolen's contract this year, but it looks as if they are on the hook for the $11 million he's due in 2010.

Toronto is also out of the race, so Edwin Encarnacion isn't much of a help to them. But I wonder how the move away from the Great American Ballpark will impact his performance.

Seattle Acquires SS Jack Wilson and P Ian Snell from Pittsburgh

This is a low-impact deal for the Mariners, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. Seattle is basically a seller—with the Jarrod Washburn deal—and so are the Pirates, so the deal has little significance this year.

Jack Wilson has a club option for 2010, which makes him more than a half year rental. That is rather important given that the reason this deal is low-impact is because Seattle isn't going to be contending the rest of this season.

However the Wilson upgrade at short will be great for what Seattle is planning on doing next season. Add in Ian Snell, who will attempt to rediscover himself in a new location, this is a very sound deal for the Mariners.

It won't provide much immediate impact, but Wilson is another good clubhouse guy that fits into the new Seattle way of operations. Giving him an extra few months and a full offseason to get acclimated to the team is very cunning.

New York Acquires UTIL Jerry Hairston Jr. from Cincinnati

Teams like New York are looking to make luxury additions if they can't add a big name like a Roy Halladay.

That's exactly what Jerry Hairston Jr. is, a luxury addition. Hairston is a jack of all trades player that can play multiple infield and outfield positions. He also provides some late inning defense or speed if needed.

The move won't win Brian Cashman executive of the year, but it is one of those deals that could silently pay dividends late in the season, especially if an injury pops up unexpectedly.

Colorado Acquires P Joe Beimel from Washington

The Rockies had been using Franklin Morales as a lefty out of their bullpen in the month of July.

The acquisition of Rafael Betancourt gave them a legit late inning relief pitcher that the Rockies needed.

Joe Beimel gives them a legit left-handed relief pitcher for late in the game.

The Rockies biggest weakness heading into the last few weeks of the deadline was relief pitching and they got two arms that will help that weakness.

Moderate-Impact

Chicago Acquires P John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny from Pittsburgh

The Pirates gave up another once-successful pitcher in Tom Gorzelanny in a package that sends one of their current pieces to a team that was looking for some help. The Cubs weren't in dire need of a bullpen arm, but adding Grabow is just icing on the cake for the Cubs ninth ranked bullpen.

Grabow gives the Cubs two left-handers along with Sean Marshall, giving them a very strong upper hand with late-inning matchups and flexibility. Grabow's experience in the setup role also allows Lou Piniella to go easier on Carlos Marmol’s number of innings.

The Gorzelanny addition isn't one for the stretch-run, but a name to keep an eye on. We'll see if the Cubs can cure what ails the former Pirate starter.

Florida Acquires 1B Nick Johnson from Washington

What does Nick Johnson bring to Florida? One word: stability.

Johnson has a higher on-base percentage than teammate Adam Dunn, who's notorious for being a high on-base type of a player with the amount of walks he garners.

The Marlins have just two players with a OBP above .350 with at least 100 at-bats, Johnson gives them a third.

The Marlins have a middle of the road offense when you boil the numbers down though. So any offensive addition for them is a welcomed one.

Detroit Acquires P Jarrod Washburn from Seattle

The Tigers went out and got themselves one more arm for their tight AL Central battle with Chicago and Minnesota.

Every successful team that is going to contend in the playoffs needs three solid starting pitchers. Jarrod Washburn gives the Tigers that arm. Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson have been the rocks for the Tigers seventh ranked pitching staff, but Washburn is the scale-tipper.

His addition gives them three bona fide starters at the top of the rotation that teams are going to have to deal with. If they draw all three in one series, it's going to be a rough time.

While Detroit could have probably used an upgrade on offense in some way, Washburn is an impact player for this team.

Minnesota Acquires SS Orlando Cabrera from Oakland

With just 14 RBI combined from Brendan Harris and Nick Punto, who share duties at shortstop and sometimes third base, the Twins needed an infield bat.

Cabrera fits the bill for Minnesota who could use a No. 2 hitter at the top of their lineup. This allows them to move Joe Mauer out of that spot.

Cabrera is also quite the defensive player, so he also fits the Minnesota mold of player.

Los Angeles Acquires P George Sherrill from Baltimore

Another already strong bullpen got bolstered with the addition of George Sherrill to the Dodgers. LA's bullpen is ranked in the top three in ERA. They are also have the second most worked pen in the game behind San Diego and they've got injuries to boot.

Cory Wade and Ronald Belisaro, two of Los Angeles' most important parts in the pen behind Jonathan Broxton are both on the rehab trail at different spots. They both should be back, but without them, Ramon Troncoso and Guillermo Mota are all the Dodgers have to lead up to Broxton in the ninth.

You shouldn't need that many arms, but with the amount of innings the Dodger starters pitch, they rely heavily on the bullpen. Dodger starters have pitched the fifth least amount of innings in the league, making more arms in the pen a necessity if Roy Halladay or any other starter is too pricey.

In addition to that, with Will Ohman's status uncertain, Sherrill provides a look from the left-side that the Dodgers could really use in their pen. He also has experience closing games and with youngsters like Belisario and Troncoso, a reliable eighth inning man is a plus.

High-Impact

Philadelphia Acquires P Cliff Lee and OF Ben Francisco from Cleveland

There probably isn't a move that put a team more over the top than the Phillies acquisition of Cliff Lee. So how come it isn't the highest impact?

Quite frankly, the Phillies have a strong hold on the NL East right now. This move is more about solidifying their World Series hopes more than their playoff hopes.

Lee's addition to a National League club is drawing comparison to CC Sabathia's addition to Milwaukee last year. Not just because he's a former Cy Young winner for the Indians, but because Lee dominated the superior offensive league last year.

They needed to help their middle of the road starting rotation by adding and ace, and they did so with Lee. But they had enough talent to make the playoffs to begin with.

This deal has a large impact, but not larger than some of the other deals as far as the stretch run goes.

Chicago Acquires P Jake Peavy from San Diego

The biggest surprise of this deadline was the sudden resurrection of this trade.

Peavy is currently recovering from an injury, and it is unknown as to when he's going to contribute to his new ball club.

So while this move has high-impact attached to it, it comes with a very large question mark. I can't see the White Sox acquiring him at this point if he isn't going to be able to help them this season. They could have always waited until the offseason rather than pay more for him at the deadline.

So with the assumption that Peavy is going to contribute to the White Sox this season, this deal is of very high impact.

However just how healthy and effective Peavy will be makes this a low-end high-impact deal compared to the other names exchanged. We'll soon find out just how much Peavy will do for Chicago, but if he's healthy, his addition changes a lot in the AL Central.

Boston Acquires C/1B Victor Martinez from Cleveland and 1B Casey Kotchman from Atlanta

Boston needed to get an extra bat in their lineup to help their already deep pitching staff and they did just that with All-Star catcher Victor Martinez.

The plus for Boston is that Martinez can play first base as well, which enables the Red Sox to move Kevin Youkilis to third if they want to give Mike Lowell a day off or if he just happens to break down physically.

You can also look at the .239 average of Jason Varitek and look at is as a upgrade at the catchers spot on certain days as Martinez is more of a polished hitter at this point in his career.

Throw in the addition of Casey Kotchman off the bench, who can also provide some great late-inning defense at first, and the Red Sox really bolstered their crew for a tough battle with New York and Tampa down the stretch run.

St. Louis Acquires OF Matt Holliday from Oakland

They got Mark DeRosa to hit second and play a multitude of positions, but that wasn't enough. The Cardinals and all their pitching needed one more bat, someone to make opposing teams pay for pitching around Albert Pujols.

Matt Holliday is that guy and he's already showing what a brilliant addition he is in just less than a week. In every game so far for the Cardinals, Holliday has had a multi-hit game, scored a run, or knocked in a run.

Holliday automatically makes the Cardinals mediocre offense very potent with a run-producer like Ryan Ludwick hitting behind him, the best hitter in the game ahead of him, and then a solid on-base man in DeRosa ahead of Pujols.

If they get their pitching to stay consistent down the stretch, this team is going to be a force in the NL Central.

San Francisco Acquires 1B Ryan Garko from Cleveland and 2B Freddy Sanchez from Pittsburgh

To me, the team that made the most impactful moves is San Francisco.

This is a team fighting for that last playoff spot in the National League and they need all the help on offense that they can get. They've just added two players that are going to immediately impact that lineup in two different ways.

Only three teams have scored less runs than the Giants have in 2009 and both Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez will help that number improve at a faster rate.

Freddy Sanchez is a former batting champion who should help the Giants at the top of the order. He replaces Juan Uribe, who's actually having a good season, but Sanchez will take over the problematic two spot in the order, which is a lot more important to the team than the sixth or seventh spot that Uribe hit from.

That would let the Giants put Randy Winn in the leadoff spot and give them a solid one through five in the lineup.

Ryan Garko will be that five guy and he provides legit run production punch that the Giants need. Garko's ability to go the other way and not try to do too much with a pitch will play to the nice gaps at AT&T Park.

Garko is a run producer that just needs playing time to be consistently reliable for a team. He'll get that chance in San Francisco and combined with Sanchez atop the lineup, the Giants are prone to score more runs for their dominant pitching staff.

Both of these guys combined make it a high-impact get for the Giants, probably the highest impact of the deadline because of the quantity they impacted at their weak positions.

Caught Looking: Why the Cliff Lee Trade Isn't as Bad as It Seems for Cleveland

Nino Colla — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:51:02 -0400

Immediate reactions are never good.

I've never been a fan of my immediate reactions and probably never will be.

As I sat at work and found out about the trade, I immediately jumped to the nearest computer to find out the return for the Indians' reigning Cy Young award winner.

Pitcher Carlos Carrasco—I can dig.

Younger pitcher Jason Knapp—okay, that's more pitching that I like.

Catcher Lou Marson—what is going on here?

Shortstop Jason Donald—wait a second now.

Combined thought: Oh my dear lord, we just traded our biggest chip for two pitchers and two position players at positions we don't even need, present or future.

That's the clean version and also the real version. Had I been in my car or in a secluded area of the earth, I'd have used a lot more violent and vulgar words.

Immediate reactions suck, and they are based off firsthand knowledge, which is never very deep when you deal with prospects. The best opinions happen when you've been educated and can evaluate something for more than 10 minutes.

Which is why I'm glad this reaction is being written a day after the trade for Cliff Lee and not 10 minutes.

Here's my best attempt at organizing my thoughts on the deal in the best way I can.

The Circumstances: What's the motivation?

The motivation for this is sketchy and was even sketchier before the Lee trade came through.

But now Mark Shapiro has addressed the trade in full and has given us all more of a concrete idea to sink our teeth into.

When it comes down to it, Shapiro was faced with a grim realization after talking with the Dolan ownership.

They weren't giving him extra cash to go out and improve the team through free agency or even increase payroll with trades.

In fact, payroll might even have to be cut.

With that in mind, Shapiro went to work on trading his ace, and his idea was a rather different one.

I've seen Billy Beane trade for Matt Holliday with the hopes of putting together a run this year and then end up trading him to St. Louis when that run inevitably fell through.

That plan was pretty sound because he knew that even if Holliday wasn't having a spectacular year, and he wasn't, he could still flip him to a team that wants a big bat and still get good talent in return.

His plan, at least in my opinion, worked. It was crazy, but he didn't fail in his idea. It was rather innovative.

Mark Shapiro's plan is innovative, and definitely crazy, but I'm not sure if it's going to work.

So what is the plan here?

The Indians acquired four players in this deal, three of which are at the Triple-A level and bordering on major league impact.

Shapiro is trying to kill two birds with one stone. He wants to compete in 2010, but he knows he has to add pieces by also cutting payroll.

In logic, this is a fantastic idea and even better execution. He's just acquired three near major league-ready pieces for one, he cut payroll, and if those pieces pan out, he could have his team in contention for the division.

Maybe Shapiro will trade Victor Martinez and a package of the remaining luxury pieces like Carl Pavano, Jamey Carroll, and Kelly Shoppach for one or two more major league-ready pieces.

But not even the most optimistic fan can get behind the idea of a Florida Marlin-like run.

Florida Marlin-like runs are usually unexpected, so you can't really expect them.

Shapiro mentioned that specifically, ending any thought of that.

But that's his motivation. Be it his actual opinion or just his cover story to get fans to keep the faith, we'll never fully know.

The Returns: A Penny For the Future

There are four players in this deal, three of whom I just mentioned above as being close to major league-ready.

One of them is not.

His name is Jason Knapp; he's a pitcher, and probably the most prized piece of talent in this entire deal other than Cliff Lee himself.

A fireballer who can reportedly reach as high as 96 to 99 mph on the radar gun, Knapp is very young and very raw.

When you make a deal of this magnitude, trading a pitcher like a Cliff Lee, you always must grab a player or two that is in the lower levels with very high upside. A pitcher is even more of a must when you trade a pitcher, and grabbing Knapp in the deal was the right choice for Shapiro.

Hopefully the injury issues recently aren't going to be a problem for Knapp, because he's a very important piece to this deal.

The Returns: A Replacement for the Now

A must for me in a deal like this not only is a young player with high potential, but also a player that can maybe replace the one you are trading away in a quick fashion.

Carlos Carrasco is no Cliff Lee, and he won't replace him, but if you are giving up a pitcher that was occupying a spot in your rotation, you better get one that could at least fill that spot, next year at the latest.

Carrasco can do that. He's spent his entire 2009 in Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the Phillies, and while the numbers aren't flattering, he's a strikeout machine that used to be the best the Phillies had to offer, as recently as this year.

Before the Kyle Drabek mania, it was Carrasco who was a rumored target when CC Sabathia was being shopped by the Indians last year. The Phillies would not budge on the inclusion of Carrasco in the deal.

Coming into 2009, Baseball America rated Carrasco as the best pitcher the Phillies had and the second overall prospect in their system. One bad half-year has changed all that?

Now his makeup is one that suggests something like this coming, as the words soft are often used to describe his pitching style when things get tight; he can let the bad things snowball.

Those are things that are fixable though. If the Indians have acquired a guy with legit stuff, as many seem to agree Carrasco has, then they can do what they need to do to have him tap into it.

The description of the 22-year-old righty in BA's handbook reads a lot like a young Cliff Lee before he went to Triple-A and refined himself in the offseason.

I believe though, that if this deal is going to be a success, Carrasco is an even bigger key than Knapp is. He must be able to come in and take a rotation spot and contribute.

In order for Mark Shapiro's plan to be a success, Carrasco's performance, next year especially, is very important.

The Returns: Unexpected and Unusual Fits

The two strange pieces of this deal to me are the inclusion of catcher Lou Marson and shortstop Jason Donald, as I outlined in the opening lines.

I'm good with acquiring pitching, regardless of the names. I'm not going to rage at Shapiro for not getting Drabek over Carrasco or Knapp.

What I'm not good with is getting Lou Marson out of the blue with Victor Martinez on the team and Carlos Santana in Double-A.

I'm also hesitant of Jason Donald, a shortstop with ability to play second and maybe third, with Asdrubal Cabrera on the team and the long-term answer.

It's already settled though; Donald is competing with Luis Valbuena next year for the second base job.

Which is okay, but you acquired this kid to compete with another youngster, and the loser of that position is basically going to be your infield utility player?

I don't really look at a No. 4 prospect in an organization and think utility player. I think that this guy is going to be a major league starter for the long term, not what some say is a player who is capable of having a long major league career with success.

For me, there is no doubt that a utility player can have long-term success. I just don't think that should be the fourth prospect in a deep system.

What's even more baffling is Marson being added, with five—yes, five—catchers on the 40-man roster, and all five being in Double-A or higher.

Now unless Marson, and even Donald, are just parts of another deal that is in the works, I don't see the point of adding them.

Or unless, of course, one more of the catchers the Indians have on the 40-man is on his way out.

Be it Victor Martinez or someone else, adding Marson can't just be the only move. Martinez would let Marson bridge the very small window that the Indians will have open until Santana is ready, but then you are still paying Kelly Shoppach to be a backup.

If I'm Mark Shapiro, as much as Martinez would net me big returns, I'd much rather trade Shoppach and use Marson as a low-cost backup.

Or even just make him my starter with Martinez at first full-time, sharing backup duties with the other catcher that is on the active roster, Chris Gimenez, who is a jack of all trades.

When it boils down to it all, Marson is the most puzzling part of this deal, which means there must be something else in mind to make it actually make sense. For now, I'll refrain from an opinion for that reason.

But I will say that I like Marson as a player with his skill set. He is the anti-Kelly Shoppach with his bat, as a catcher who focuses on making contact and being a disciplined hitter rather than swinging with all his might and either hitting a long ball or striking out.

The Follow-Up: Make It Make Sense

As I said, in order for the Marson part of the deal to make sense, something else has to give.

Shoppach stands to make more money than the Indians should be willing to pay a backup catcher that strikes out to much, which could mean he is the next one to go.

Or the Indians could just trade Martinez to the first team willing to give them a stud pitcher that they desire, on the level of a Clay Buchholz.

Not much has been said, though, about the outgoing parts of this deal from Cleveland, and we might as well start with Ben Francisco.

His inclusion is very random, but perhaps much needed on the Phillies' part; they can afford to go after a luxury like Francisco, who is just depth for a team with three All-Star outfielders.

In Cleveland, since the trade of Mark DeRosa, Francisco has been playing every day and pretty much has done what we know he is capable of. He's a streaky hitter that can get hot and be very dangerous for chunks of time.

But he's only serviceable with the bat. He can play all three outfield spots, provide a good strong arm, and some nice speed on the base paths. All of that only amounts to a fourth outfielder though, especially on a team like Philadelphia. But with all the young talent the Indians have in the system, on their team, he equals out to that as well.

However, with Trevor Crowe, one would believe that the Indians have someone who can be a fourth outfielder. Crowe was indeed called up to take Francisco's spot, both on the roster and most likely in the lineup. But Francisco's inclusion in the deal opened up my eyes in a different area.

The immediate thought for me was Matt LaPorta's time had come.

Of course, that isn't the case, at least not right now, which is very disappointing. You would figure Francisco's hot play was the only thing keeping LaPorta down. With the Ryan Garko trade and the promotion of Andy Marte, that was one less spot as well that LaPorta was dealing with.

I believe that it should be LaPorta's time, but it looks as if the Indians brass does not agree.

The other part of this deal is of course lefty Cliff Lee, whose addition to Philadelphia is thought to give them the bona fide ace they need to return to the World Series and repeat.

None of what I'm about to say really has anything to do with the deal or the current state of the team or anything like that.

Lee is one hell of a story, period.

Look at where he came from at one state in his career and what he's done to get to this point.

The Indians almost traded him to Arizona for Carlos Quentin. This really, in hindsight, would have been a pretty big win-win all round given the impact Quentin had in 2008.

But we're still talking about a starting pitcher that won the Cy Young, so I'd have to say the Indians would have felt really stupid.

Lee had to fight just to win a rotation spot in spring training, and he didn't even win it convincingly over two young pitchers, Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers. Now he's being traded for a large haul of prospects after winning a Cy Young award.

Did anyone think all of that was possible?

I certainly didn't, and all of that has given me the mind to never doubt Cliff Lee ever again.

That is what I'll miss most about Lee and his tenure with Cleveland—these past few years and the joyride he took us on as a pitcher who went from trash heap to top of the heap.

Emotionally, losing Cliff Lee hurts. But in the grand scheme of things, I now understand the position Shapiro is taking.

However, I don't have to like or agree with it, and I don't for the most part. I support it though, because this is the plan Shapiro has decided to take. He wanted to trade Lee in hopes of being able to contend in 2010 and beyond, and also cut payroll.

If we went off first thoughts and emotions, nothing would ever make sense—which is why the reaction to Lee is almost laughable a day after. Some of the thoughts that the Indians received garbage players in return that won't ever help the team is absolute hilarious.

These pieces aren't the Phillies' unwanted trash; they were legit prospects in their minor league system.

Is it the best package Shapiro could have received? I don't know, and frankly, I don't think anyone ever will. But the point of the matter is Shapiro has a plan in the works here. You may not agree with it—I don't to some extent—but you have to at least give it a chance.

MLB Power Groupings: Some Deadline Thrills and Playoff Chances Killed

Nino Colla — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:43:52 -0400

The trade deadline is upon us, and that means some teams might practically wave the white flag even though they might not belong in the worst grouping of them all.

I look at a team like Seattle, which seemed to very much be in the thick of the AL West race until last weekend rolled around. Its sweep at the hands of Cleveland put the Mariners a little farther back in the division and gave them some thoughts about trading some of their pieces.

Had they not been swept, who knows what we might be saying about the Mariners right now?

It's true, you can't win a pennant in April, but you can lose it. You also cannot win it at this point in the season with one hot streak, but you sure can knock yourself out of the race.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Toronto, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Washington, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Arizona

Toronto is still five games better than their feathered division rivals in Baltimore. But they are a good 12-some games back of the division going into Monday's play. They've made it very clear Roy Halladay can be had, and to me, that's good enough to say they are done.

Cleveland did indeed sweep Seattle, which got a few crazy people thinking this team isn't dead. They are—get over it. Rafael Betancourt was dealt, and a few more pieces could be next. The question is, will Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez be the names of those pieces?

The Royals have absolutely hit rock bottom. They are now officially the worst team in the American League, and given the past for Cleveland and its second-half surging, they are going to remain in the AL Central cellar.

I have to credit the Pirates. I didn't think they'd break up the brothers LaRoche. But they did it, and it was yet another move in their youth movement.

I don't know if anyone I haven't mentioned in this group is worth talking about. The 120-loss season watch is on in Washington. We know you can do it—you're the Nationals!

Teetering on the Brink of Disaster

Cincinnati, New York Mets, Seattle

You can no longer have shifty eyes, in my eyes.

You're either feeling good about your chances or you are pretty much near completion, if not already completed.

The Mets and Reds were pretty much locks for this space anyway. Seattle could have probably been shifty eyes, but with the trade deadline looming and their willingness to trade Jarrod Washburn increasing, they might as well be close to that breaking point.

I've never felt good about the Mets, but I'm starting to really feel for them in general. They are a few games away from being done, and if they don't get their big guns back soon, they will be.

Rumors are swirling about the Reds being sellers. They might as well be with Edinson Volquez already on the disabled list and now Micah Owings joining him.

I like the middle, where the center is warm.

Tampa Bay, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota, Atlanta, Florida, Houston, Milwaukee

Does the AL Central ever end? These buggers are sticking around. At least it's only three teams now, I guess.

Chicago and Minnesota seem to love just sitting there and not making moves. I don't think Minnesota is ever going to do it this year. On the other hand, I have some faith Chicago might make a move.

I just feel bad that Tampa Bay can be nine games above .500 and be third in a division while Chicago is three games above and just two games back in theirs.

You'll notice we have a new member, the Milwaukee Brewers. You see, the Brew Crew has been struggling as of late, and a team that is farther back in the wild card than their division isn't really in it to win it, are they? Hope is not lost, but for now, Milwaukee doesn't deserve their previous status.

In it to win it.

Detroit, Texas, Chicago Cubs, Colorado, San Francisco

You will have noticed this group shrunk considerably.

Well, between a promotion and the Milwaukee demotion, yeah, there has been some movement.

I think it's the same old same old for most of these clubs. I'll pass on ripping on the Tigers; it's just not challenging to bring them up. I don't really know what I'm talking about.

I want to speak about the Cubs, though. I thought was pushing them a little too much at first, but hey, if they did good last week, then there would be no arguments as far as their ratings.

Now they’re leading the NL Central. Granted, it's still the NL Central, but it's good. They did lose two out of three to the Phillies, but at least they swept a team they should have in Cincinnati.

Here we are, where we should be.

Boston, New York Yankees, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis, Los Angeles Dodgers

Well, look what I have gone and done now.

Sox and Phillies, Angels, Dodgers, and Cardinals—it's the usual suspects.

And we have the Yankees!

Well, I finally gave in to the evil empire's side. It was nothing they did, but I didn't want to hold the kid in the Yankee hat back any longer; time to see if they can run with the big dogs. They are, after all, leading the AL East, the best MLB has to offer.

So why not tip our hats to the Yankees? With any luck, this jinxes them enough for them to drop back a rung.

Not that I have anything against the Yankees. No really, I don't.

Okay, I sort of do, but that's beside the point, because the Cardinals and Red Sox have been making moves.

Philadelphia believes one move, for Halladay, would put them as the team to beat not just this year, but for next year as well.

I look at the Cardinals, though, and see a team ahead of the game. They already obtained Mark DeRosa to fit into the two hole and play multiple positions.

Now, they've added Matt Holliday, a bona fide slugger in the outfield to hit behind Albert Pujols.

Their offense is now on par with most of the teams out there, especially in the National League.

Add that all to a good rotation and bullpen—man, that speaks volumes.

*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on July 27.

Here's The Plan: Trying to Fix The Cleveland Indians, Part II

Nino Colla — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:24:54 -0400

This is part two of a two part series on what needs to be done to fix the Cleveland Indians.

To see how we got to this point, who I benched, traded, and released with the season winding down, you can visit this link.

Here is the conclusion of the plan to fix the Indians.

Start Offseason, End Game

It's game over for Eric Wedge as his firing would be the first move that I would make after the season.

There's nothing left for him to do but get the ax. While I've got so much respect for the job he's done and the person he is, and even the manager he is, it's time to turn the page.

With a new manager comes a new pitching and hitting coach. As much as I love Carl Willis, again, it's time for a chance. Let the new boss bring in his own people.

The only coaches I'd bring back would be first base coach Luis Rivera for his relationship with the Latin players, Joel Skinner, and I'd consider Jeff Datz, but not as a bench coach. Again, let the new boss make his changes.

I look at Don Wakamatsu in Seattle and think, “Man a fresh face would really be nice.” I want to see someone who hasn't had a job as a big league manager, but has been in the big leagues and is itching for a shot.

I want someone who will bring his guys in, someone different from Eric Wedge.

Someone who might change the culture a bit, sort of like Wakamatsu did.

Now it wasn't all with the manager. Seattle's general manager Jack Zduriencik also brought in a few veterans to help change that idea. A few underrated moves helped, but a lot of it has to make sense.

I think the world of Mark Shapiro and he's gained my trust with the past.

But maybe, just maybe, it's time to elevate him (a promotion for what?) and let Chris Antonetti take over.

That's a little bit of an off-thought, not something I'd do, but it's something to consider. Elevating him seems like a stupid move given the past two years, but it's more about getting Antonetti his shot at running the player-personnel part of the team.

Mark Shapiro is still too much of a valuable asset to let go completely.

I just termed Shapiro as an asset, something he does often. How cool am I?

Narrow Down the Candidates

Now I'm not going to sit here and go over possible candidates and say who I would hire. Fact is, it's just too much of a hard process.

Torey Lovullo, Columbus' manager is on my short-list because one day he will be a major league manager. But I'm not sure I would hire him after my recent love for the job Wakamatsu has done.

I try and get someone in that mold, not connected to the Indians, in the major leagues, and just chomping at the bit to get a managerial shot.

And that guy needs to bring in new blood to fix the pitching staff, both the starters and the bullpen, and a new hitting coach that will change the philosophy of this club.

Who's Sticking Around?

Now that the season is over and we've evaluated everything that's happened, not everyone is coming over to the new era.

The following are players I'd bring back.

CF - Grady Sizemore

SS - Asdrubal Cabrera

C - Victor Martinez

RF - Shin-Soo Choo

DH - Travis Hafner

3B - Jhonny Peralta

1B - ?

LF - ?

2B - ?

Bench: Josh Barfield, Chris Gimenez, Ben Francisco/Trevor Crowe, Ryan Garko

Who fills the first base slot? It all depends on who fits the left field gap to me. If Matt LaPorta doesn't fill left, he'll fill first base.

Who could possibly fill left field?

It's up to Jordan Brown really. If he does well, I think I give him a shot next year to win the spot. If he wins it, then I'd shift LaPorta to first.

If he doesn't do well to end the year, I think I'd look into seeing what Mike Brantley brings to the table.

I think I end up starting LaPorta in left and putting Garko at first to start the year though. Nothing wrong with having both Brown and Brantley start 2010 in Columbus, especially now that both are on the 40-man roster and have options.

The last spot is second base and Luis Valbuena. Quite honestly, I think Valbuena has the potential to be the starting second baseman of the future, but I've yet to see anything that warrants him getting that starting spot for 2010, so it remains a question.

The pitching staff is a whole different animal.

Rotation: Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Carl Pavano, ?

Bullpen: Kerry Wood, Rafael Perez, Chris Perez, Jensen Lewis, Tony Sipp, Joe Smith

The rotation should get a lift from Jake Westbrook's re-addition from Tommy John surgery. He should return by the end of 2009 and give us a good idea of where he's at.

Hopefully Fausto Carmona isn't a total disaster like he was in the first half and he can become at least a viable rotation option.

That leaves two spots. Now if we follow my method, Carl Pavano would occupy one of them and the last one is open up to competition and or acquisition.

If we don't, then two spots are open.

Going into the next season with virtually the same bullpen seems like a suicide mission.

Fact of the matter is, there really isn't much of a choice. I think Joe Smith and Tony Sipp can be a right-left combo for match-up purposes in the middle to late innings.

Chris Perez has the "stuff" to be a late inning relief pitcher. The Indians traded Mark DeRosa for him though, so we have to go with it to see what he has.

Rafael Perez has way too much talent to be this bad forever. He's been downright dominant at points in his career, for longer stretches too, he needs to be given another chance.

Then we have Jensen Lewis who is a little bit of a toggle piece. You could have him start in Columbus next year if you find another piece, but I don't know how much more money the Indians are going to put into the bullpen this offseason.

It all depends on what he does to end 2009 I guess.

The spare parts remaining are Jeremy Sowers, David Huff, Aaron Laffey, Chuck Lofgren, Hector Rondon, Frank Herrmann, Zach Jackson, and Rich Rundles.

The last rotation spot or spots, depending on your method, comes down to the first five names in that group above, or additions of course.

Herrmann, Jackson, Rundles, and yes, Sowers and Laffey are also in the mix for the other bullpen spots.

I'm moving Sowers to the pen full-time either way. I've lost all faith in him going through the order more than two times.

A lot of questions will be answered by the time the season is over. We'll know if David Huff can go at it next season in the big league rotation. We'll have an idea if Hector Rondon is ready to challenge for one as well.

Many other answers will be provided.

But the planning stages for the Indians starts now.What Do We Have?

Well, I'm not sure if we have even more of a mess than we started with, or at least some clothes thrown into the closet.

If we can at least see the floor and some desk space, our room should be fine.

And I think I at least did that.

The main thing this team needs to do is establish an identity. They have none right now.

I'd stop short of blowing this entire team but, but rather find a new manager, and make some cunning moves that might pan out.

Go out and get a Franklin Gutierrez that is spiraling down with his current team and just needs a new start.

Stop toying around with the likes of Jeremy Sowers and just get someone who can go six innings without gacking all over themselves with one out to go.

I don't have all the answers and I don't think anyone expects Mark Shapiro to pull them out of his back pocket.

But if want to find that lost remote, you are going to have to roll up your sleeves and dig around for it for more than a half hour. It takes some time and effort, especially if the place is a complete mess.

It may seem like I didn't change much. I kept a good core of players around, especially in the bullpen where things were very bad. But again, I come back to finding an identity.

Getting some new blood in there that will bring a different perspective to the team.

If things go right with an Andy Marte, I'd consider trading Jhonny Peralta. His attitude not being one that I want to fit into my team's new identity.

You've got a guy like Wes Hodges on the cusp and maybe you bring in a cheap veteran for backup in the minor leagues.

It's a matter of being smart and cost-effect with this club and the falling economy. They took their chance with Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa and unfortunately things fell apart around everything else for any of that to matter.

Get back to the basics. Simplify it all with cheap alternatives added to your already decent core of players.

Change something within, bring a new attitude, and maybe more of the bad will turn into good.

And when that happens, then a lot less needs fixing than you actually thought.

MLB Power Groupings: A Laughable Look at the League

Nino Colla — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:21:51 -0400

I told you there would be a shake-up.

Okay, maybe I didn't tell you, but I implied it by saying I'd keep the wild card standings in mind starting this week.

I thought to myself at one point last week, how much could these standings really change with only a few games being played since the last groupings came out?

You might be wondering the same thing, but trust me, there's been plenty of change.

My theme this week does nothing but make small wisecracks about every team, good or not.

Welcome to the Disaster Zone

Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Washington, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Arizona

Baltimore really mucked it up on Monday night getting two players thrown out at home plate. This putdown makes itself.

Cleveland and Kansas City are in what Cleveland papers are calling "The Race out of the Basement." I have a feeling both teams are going to hit their heads multiple times on the jut-out ceiling part and fall down the steps before they ever reach the top.

I can't make fun of a team that just had a 10-run comeback. Oakland, you survive.

I got a good one built up for Washington if you are ready. Ready? They are the Nationals! Get it? I kill myself!

I've already taken pity on one team, so I can't really do it with the Pirates, even though I want to. If not for Garrett Jones, though, they'd be in even more trouble.

The Padres finished 21 games out of first place last year at the end of the season. This season, they are already 22 games out of first place.

Arizona is 20 games out; that's even worse if you ask me. Why? Well, you're only two games better than the Padres, and that isn’t saying much.

Teetering on the Brink of Disaster

Toronto

I need to be serious about Toronto for one second. This team is dangerously close to having the most epic midseason collapse I've witnessed.

Because the Yankees and Red Sox lead the division together, one is the wild card. So with one being the wild card, the Jays are an equal amount away from both the division and the wild card. I consider 10 games to be the danger zone, and they are teetering right on that line.

Shifty Eyes

Cincinnati, New York Mets

Whoa! This place went from being the most happening place to being a ghost town. I almost eliminated everyone here, but Cincinnati to me isn't quite on that disaster line, but they certainly are also not in the middle. The Mets are holding on to wild card dreams, or else they'd be almost toast.

The Mets' disabled list. That's the joke. Really, it is.

A joke about the Reds? I really have nothing, which leads me to believe this theme was a mistake.

I like the middle, where the center is warm.

Tampa Bay, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota, Seattle, Atlanta, Florida, Houston

So the hard-charging Rays used to be the Nationals. I could have just said ha, it's the Devil Rays, and you'd laugh at my clever use of their situation. Now it's not so easy, so I'm just going to pass rather than make fun of Joe Maddon's glasses.

Ozzie Guillen's jokes are better than mine. I'll pass at the expense of him making fun of me, even though he doesn't read this column. Or does he? No, he doesn't.

On a side note, is it any surprise Guillen was the first name I punched in to find an image? The first picture was of him laughing too.

I'm continuing the run of my cop-outs, as I have sympathy for the Twins for losing the game on a blown call Monday night. Can I technically have sympathy for two teams in the same game, especially when one of them won the game?

In all seriousness, Minnesota and Chicago have snuck up to Detroit, and things are about to get interesting in the AL Central.

This isn't a wisecrack, but it's funny to me. Indians television announcer Matt Underwood said he saw Ichiro and Ken Griffey Jr. goofing around before a game last weekend. Now I knew Griffey and Ichiro have bonded and Junior has gotten Ichiro to come out of his shell a little. But Griffey physically tackling the hit king and whaling on him as if he was his little brother? I need a video of this.

I'm scared of Tommy Hanson's pitches; they frighten me in my dreams. I did mention these little jokes didn't have to be about the teams, right? I did now.

Most people thought my pick of Florida to win the NL East was a joke. Well, maybe, but at least they are still alive.

Houston makes me want to stop this theme, because they've discouraged me long enough to not think of anything. I could just scream something like EL CABALLO! That would make me a SportsCenter anchor.

In it to win it.

New York Yankees, Detroit, Texas, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee, Colorado, San Francisco

Did you see how excited Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Melky Cabrera got about Hideki Matsui throwing his helmet off after he hit the walk-off home run?

Hey Detroit, you guys better wake up. Did Jim Leyland take the All-Star break to do what he actually said he was going to do? And if so, did he like, wake up? WAKE UP!

I've been saving this one up. Texas' joke is their home ballpark. Cue the rim shot!

I need to be serious about one team once in a while, and Chicago is that team. All of a sudden, they are in second place and just two games back. Despite the comedy that was Ted Lilly's performance on Monday, the Cubs are playing well.

The Brewers are in the same position as the Astros, but they are in a better group. What's this mean? Well, it means I have more faith in Milwaukee. Wow, I hope I don't pay for that statement.

If I said Colorado is leading the NL Wild Card race a few months ago, that would have been funny. Now? Not so much.

Kung Fu Panda always gets a few chuckles. So I might as well utilize it, right?

Here we are, where we should be.

Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis, Los Angeles Dodgers

Times have changed, but there really wasn't much to laugh about the Red Sox a few months ago either. Unless of course you looked at David Ortiz's home run total. I've probably exploited that several times too much.

If there's one thing I've learned over my life span, it's to not screw around with a team that has won nine straight games, especially one that has Chase Utley. Why Utley? Why not, I say.

I really have nothing to say about a team that acquired a player like Mark DeRosa and saw him almost immediately hit the disabled list. That's a cruel joke itself.

The easy way here would be to talk about Manny Ramirez, but I'm not going to do it. I'd rather say nothing at all. It's that or joke about how they're still 15 years ahead of every other team in their division.

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*All statistics, standings, and opinions were based off their states going into action on July 21.