Tribe Takes Two of Three and The Grind Continues On

How about them apples Tribe fans? The real story of the weekend was not the Indians taking two of three from the Oakland A’s. No, the real story were the quotes from GM Mark Shapiro saying that manager Eric Wedge and his staff is safe for the rest of the season. “As I said all along the responsibility for the disappointments of the season don’t rest on one person,” said Shapiro. “The responsibility is spread equally throughout — the players, the front office, Eric and his staff.”

“This is not a vote of confidence, nothing has changed,” said Shapiro. “I have the ability to be decisive about this right now. I want to eliminate distractions and make sure there is accountability.”

So for all of you Wedge haters out there, enjoy the rest of the season of Grind, because things aren’t changing. I can’t say that I am shocked, but I will say this – Mark Shapiro could be making a colossal mistake, one that could cost him his job, by continuing to hitch is wagon to a manager who more than likely won’t be around after the season. The longer Shappy sticks with Wedge, the less credibility he has.

With his team languishing in last place in possibly the worst division in baseball, Wedge inexplicably continues to have the support of the front office after seven years. Seven years and one playoff appearances. I actually am starting to consider that maybe Shappy actually wants out and this is route he is taking – sticking with Wedge come hell or high-water. That can’t possibly be true, can it?

Shapiro says he wants to take away the distractions of the season. Fine, I get that. But in the end, one of the most important factors in a market like this is attendance figures. They can make or break an organization like the Indians. This year’s $80 million payroll was essentially told to be stretched to the gills and based on projections of 2.2 million fans. With the season spiralling downward from opening day, they have no shot of reaching two million, let alone 2.2. Realistically, the best ownership can hope for is about 1.8.

Essentially what I am getting at is this is an angry fan base right now. I’m not saying that the Dolan’s and Shapiro need to do what the fans want them to, but in reality, the paying customers want some sort of repercussions for this abomination of a season. I do credit Shapiro for stepping up as always, being open and honest, and saying that the blame is not just on Wedge, but on him, and the players as well. But the truth is, Shapiro is losing steam with many of his ardent supporters.

Wedge and his staff getting the free pass for the rest of the season tells me two things:

1. There are clearly no other managerial options on the staff that are worthy of taking over. The Grinder has assembled a staff of guys that all work in lock-step with his day to day approach. Don’t forget, he hand-picked Carl Willis to be his pitching coach during his first season after the man he was given by the brass, Marty Brown, wasn’t on the same page with him. Brown was literally let go at the end of Spring Training, and Willis was promoted from AAA. But seriously, who would you like to take over from this staff? Derek Shelton? Stop-Sign Skinner? Jeff Datz “what I’m talkin’ about?” Luis Rivera? Maybe Wedge is smarter than we think he is.

2. The Dolan’s have zero interest in bringing in someone from the outside now, like say a Mike Hargrove-type, and having to pay two managers at the same time for a last place product. Who can blame them?

All I know is that we all must continue to grind, not give into the fight, and take it one game at a time the rest of the way.

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As for what happened on the field over the weekend:

-I was lucky enough to spend July 4th with the family at the Jake to take in a quick two and a half-hour, Indians 5-2 win. Carl Pavano was solid in his 6.2 innings of work. Tony Sipp and Joe Smith provided a solid bridge to Kerry Wood who recorded a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save. Not only did my two and a half year old son see a win, he managed to stay for the entire game, watch his first fireworks spectacular, and eat a piece of pizza, chicken strips, fries, and ice cream. Isn’t that what July 4th is all about? How much more American does it get than baseball, family, and greasy food?

-During Saturday night’s game, Ben Francisco went 3-3 with a home run and two RBI. Ryan Garko had four hits over the weekend as well. Vintage. My brother texted me and said “Benny and Garks – the pressure is off twins.” Meanwhile, I read in this morning’s paper the following quotes from Shappy:

“There’s no opportunity for young guys to play right now,” said Shapiro. “If there are guys pushing to get up here from Triple-A or guys traded off the big-league team, we’ll react appropriately.”

No opportunity? Why, because Benny and Garko are such all-star caliber players? So in other words, forget about seeing Matt LaPorta or Michael Brantley up here any time soon. We get to watch more of guys like Francisco and Garko! Wahoo!!!!

-I know it was only one outing and it came in a blowout, but it was nice to see Chris Perez bounce back Friday after his disastrous opening act earlier in the week.

-There hasn’t been much to get excited about this season, but can we please give some more love to Shin-Soo Choo? The kid is a player. Friday night’s 4-5, two homer, seven RBI game is just more evidence that he has been a real find. For the season, Choo is hitting .301 with 12 HR’s and 53 RBI’s. He also sports a solid .889 OPS and a cannon for an arm in the outfield. I’ve been giving Shappy the business for the back to back horrific seasons in the light of big expectations, but give credit where credit is due – he stole Choo from the Mariners for Ben Broussard.

-Matt Herges was designated for assignment over the weekend. While “Old Man Matt” was never going to be a long-term solution here, he pitched as well as he possibly could have and had a solid month run where he was pitching in the set-up role. In addition, Herges was always at his locker after every game, good or bad, answering every question that came his way, and always stayed positive. He was definitely a presence in the locker room. Hope he lands somewhere on a major league roster soon. Herges is good people.

-Isn’t it funny – After Rafael Betancourt and Aaron Laffey went down with  injuries, Herges, Luis Vizcaino, and Greg Aquino became the key set up men. Fast forward to July 4th – all three have been designated for assignment.

-Speaking of “The Realtor,” Betancourt pitched a scoreless inning of work in Columbus yesterday to start his rehab assignment. In the strange but true category, the game was started by Fausto Carmona who went five innings, giving up one run on six hits, striking out five, and waling one. Betancourt followed. The last three innings were pitched by Jensen Lewis (two) and Masa Kobayashi (one). All four were mainstays in the Tribe opening day pitching staff.