Ohio.com - Nary a peep, Yankees sweep

[Rat Bat]

Look at it on the bright side, better to choke and miss the playoff now rather than on the last day of the season. Can't handle a repeat of '05.

Tomorrow night Indians Vs. Tigers. Who's going to watch...er I mean...enjoy Dollar Dog Night?

[Following the Tribe]

You're not going to see Wedge manage through the media. What he's saying to his players should remain among them. If he's not communicating STRONGLY at this juncture then all the criticisms of him are justified. I certainly agree that he has too much faith in Blake. Casey's work ethic is admirable, but basically he's a super utility player (3B, 1B, RF, and probably more) and should be used as such when a steady third baseman is established. THe key word in that sentence is WHEN. Where's Waldo... er, Marte?
What's with Sizmore's K's? I can't imagine that Grady doesn't care, so what's happened to his ability to make contact consistently?
Might as well beat the ol' John Adams drum: this team is so fragile at the plate that if Hafner doesn't return and produce RBI's consistently it's all but over.
The old Walter Alston Dodger teams put great pitching on the mound and won a lot of 1-0 "boring" games. That might be the Indiians' last hope, but the batters & defense has to do their part, and in today's AL I just don't see it.

[East Side Joe]

The issue is who they started the season with, like the bunch of guys in right field, and Casey Blake at third. Left field wasn't too hot as well.

Following the Tribe wrote:

Credit Shapiro for what he DIDN'T do--trade away Francisco, Guitierrez, and other arriving Tribesmen for a temporary fix--unless you prefer seeing Nixon and Delluci out there. Cleveland has some terrific young talent. Question is--always is--will it stick around to win or will we see the good players depart just as they are hitting their peaks, on to stardom with another team?

[John]

Following the Tribe wrote:

You're not going to see Wedge manage through the media. What he's saying to his players should remain among them. If he's not communicating STRONGLY at this juncture then all the criticisms of him are justified. I certainly agree that he has too much faith in Blake. Casey's work ethic is admirable, but basically he's a super utility player (3B, 1B, RF, and probably more) and should be used as such when a steady third baseman is established. THe key word in that sentence is WHEN. Where's Waldo... er, Marte?
What's with Sizmore's K's? I can't imagine that Grady doesn't care, so what's happened to his ability to make contact consistently?
Might as well beat the ol' John Adams drum: this team is so fragile at the plate that if Hafner doesn't return and produce RBI's consistently it's all but over.
The old Walter Alston Dodger teams put great pitching on the mound and won a lot of 1-0 "boring" games. That might be the Indiians' last hope, but the batters & defense has to do their part, and in today's AL I just don't see it.

I agree with you about Blake, he really is a super utility guy, who probably makes the most out of his ability. Blake is there best option at 3rd currently, I just don't want to see him batting 2nd. I don't think Marte is going to work out at 3rd, so wonder what they will do about 3rd base in the offseason. Maybe Peralta gets moved to 3rd and Cabrera plays SS, depends on how well Cabrera does with his opportunities. It has been very frustrating to see so many good pitching performances negated by their recent putrid offense. If Hafner can return to the form of his previous three years with the tribe that would be great, but have seen little indication that he is going to turn it around this year.

[Ralph]

I was actually looking forward to the series. You'd think at my age I would know better. When Peralta was at first he looked like he was waiting for a bus.

[John Zampino]

They are toast! Well DONE!!!

[John Zampino]

Wedge can sugar coat it all he wants too,.....They are playing as though the season was over!....And it will be very soon!!

[OldManGrump]

Kenyon wrote:

What the Indians' offense is lacking is the big superstar bat that provides the big RBIs and power hits in the middle of the order, and around which the offense turns. I'm sure Wedge and Shapiro (and the Tribe fans) thought we had that covered. You can trace the offense's collapse to Hafner's collapse, starting in June. And, unfortunately, while Shapiro might be able to add roll players through trades, nobody trades the Big Bat for less than either your whole roster of farm system prospects, or your ace or closer, or a combination of the three.

Tribe is cheap cheap cheap !!! Too cheap to buy that bat for 1/2 season. Cheap cheap cheap !!!

Fire the Dolan's too. Jacobs sure jewed them on the deal to buy the Tribe.

[Following the Tribe]

Ralph wrote:

I was actually looking forward to the series. You'd think at my age I would know better.

Ralph, I share your endlessly thwarted optimism and your pain. Following the Indians has become an exercise in self-torture.

[Bronx Bomber]

Can we play you guys for the rest of the season? You call that major league baseball? What a joke!

[OldManHUH]

OldManGrump wrote:

<quoted text>
Tribe is cheap cheap cheap !!! Too cheap to buy that bat for 1/2 season. Cheap cheap cheap !!!

And do you think he should dig into his OWN wallet to get players? This is a business just like any other one out there and most owners will not dig into their own wallet. I certainly wouldn't -- I'd expect the market to help me do that.

[chiflado13]

I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU NEVER SAW THIS COMING...I mean, they were just squeaking-by in April and May, winning by 1, maybe 2 runs at best, when many of the other teams were just coming out of hibernation. Then came June, we saw the Tribe begin to reveal their true caliber...they went from a club not able to hit GOOD PITCHING---to a club not able to hit ANY PITCHING. AND YOU ALL kept waiting for them to emerge from THE SLUMP! That wasn't no slump, people...sadly, it's obvious y'all don't know the difference between a slump and a team's combined talent pool (or lack thereof!).

Now, since the All Star break, the Tribe is ONLY sitting as well as they are in the ALC because the Tigers and Twins are still playing sloppy. That will change soon, make no mistake about it---the Tigers and Twins CAN hit the ball, and that's why these two will battle for the AL Central, the Yanks will take the East, the Angels will take the West, and Boston will get the Wild Card---GUARANTEED. And the Indians will end their .450 season.

And quit blaming Wedge, he's not out there hitting the ball. You wanna blame somebody? Start by blaming the loyal fans that buy the tickets, the jerseys, the ball caps---the day you stop supporting this team is the day the owners will learn to understand you, THE FAN, and that you are serious about wanting to win a championship. That's exactly what happened during the early-mid 90's, that's why the Indians were always contenders. And unless that day ever comes, you might as well get used to the Indians fielding a triple A team for you.

[Matthew]

I have to disagree about two things that some of you are saying:

1) Eric Wedge: This guy absolutely is a horrible manager. His lineup sucks every night, he is too much of a sissy to hurt his players feelings by making a good decision, and he never plays small ball to score runs. I swear that every time I see runners at 1st and 2nd with nobody out I know they will still not score because nobody on the Indians will bunt.

These guys are major leaugers and they can't bunt? Give me a break! If I were the manager then everyone would know how to bunt and would bunt. I hate when people say you can't take the bat out of someone's hands. That is ridiculous. A great hitter only gets a hit 30% of the time.

And that shift they put on Hafner, if he would just bunt to third then he would get a hit every time and they would have to stop playing the shift.

2) The Indians do have good talent. The problem is they do not have any confidence. We should know that everything in life is about confidence. If you have none, you will not accomplish anything. The difference between the Indians and Yankees is confidence and nothing else. The Yankees believe they will win because they are the Yankees. The Indians believe they will lose to the big bad Yankees.

[NEOH Beemer Rider]

The Indians have been building a team of 'nice guys' for the past few years, while the Yankees have systematically been building a team of hardcore, mentally-tough, players for DECADES. Sure, we have some talent, but the mental fortitude is not there. Team 'chemistry' built around a bunch of good-Joes is a team built to lose. Team chemistry built around a bunch of players with some Moxie is a team built for winning. It was on display this weekend.

Mark Shapiro needs to go now. This debacle lands squarely at his feet. He couldn't recognize a WINNER if the guy landed a solid right cross against his jaw.

[DC Dave]

Give it up home run/no-run Indians.

This team doesn't know how to run 90 feet. If the ball doesn't clear the fence then runs don't score. Sadly, this has been obvious for the last two years. Very effective against bad to mediocre pitchers, but completely inept against average or better. And let's also recognize their pathetic record against brand new rookie starters.

The other thing you will never see is someone on this team giving it up for the team. There is no spark with this bunch -- never has been and never will be.

Time to rebuild while some of the players may have some value. It makes no sense to keep a bunch of underachievers together.

And CC, dear CC, you deserve better than this bunch. Don't tie your career or legacy to a bunch of oafs that approach an at bat like batting practice swinging for the fence without any plan to attack the pitchers.

Finally, has every big check on this team bounced? What has Nixon done? And Hafner sure has snapped out of his "slump" - or is he really a 0.250 hitter? And what's the record since Wedge's contract extension?

It isn't going to work with this bunch. Time to start the whole thing over again.

[NEOH Beemer Rider]

Eric Wedge needs to go now too. When a SS can't put down a bunt to move a runner over to third with NObody out, then that points squarely at the manager's failure to impart fundamentals upon his squad.
Goodbye Eric. It's time to take your underachieving mindset to another team.