The Sports Guru

It has started, probably too late.  With the Indians announcing the designation of Jason Johnson they have begun my master plan outlined in my last post.  Johnson has been horrendous, as seen last night when he got crushed by the light hitting Cubs.  This is surely only the beginning and hopefully signals the beginning of the Jeremy Sowers era at the Jake.  There are other options, but Sowers is the best one. 

Will they do it?  Probably not.  By sending Jeremy Guthrie back to AAA he can get a start under his belt before coming back to start in Johnson’s place next week.  That is my guess as to what will happen.

The shake-up has started, and even though it is too late to salvadge this season, the Indians can fully focus their attention on the future, meaning 2007. 

That’s it, I quit.  I throw in the towel.  I am waving a white flag of submission.  I cannot stand to watch this team any longer.  I officially have given up on the 2006 Cleveland Indians.  I only have myself to blame.  In my heart of hearts I knew this team was flawed.  I knew there were too many holes, in Right, at First and Third and in the rotation. I knew that young players who had great seasons last year could possibly take a step backward as the League adjusted to them.  But I listened to the media instead, all filling our heads with dellusions of grandeur.   ESPN even had the Tribe ranked #1 in their pre-season power rankings.

Who could blame any of us?  We wanted to believe the hype, wanted to drink the kool-aid.  Now that the truth has been revealed, it stings like the dickens.  The Indians are not a good baseball team.  In fact, they are a bad baseball team.  Name one thing they do well.  Starting pitching has been erratic at best.  The bull-pen has returned to it’s 2004 ways.  The offense has been all-or-nothing too often.  Weaknesses in Eric Wedge’s ability to manage a game have continued to be magnified by better managers within the division.  Did I leave anyone out?

I think as I look back at the season so far I underestimated the impact Coco Crisp had on this team.  Not so much on the field but in the locker room.  The Indians are missing the “mojo” they had last season and Crisp is a big reason for it.  I was all for the trade when it happened, and I think it will still be a good one for the Tribe in the future, but for 2006 it was a negative.

Things haven’t all been bad.  Grady Sizemore has proven that he will be a dominant player in Center for the next decade.  Travis Hafner is one of the most feared hitters in baseball.  Slider has been nominated for the Mascot Hall of Fame(Vote Here!).  The bad had outweighed the good, however, and when you are trying to win and worry about the future, things are going to go poorly more often than not.

So now what?  As painful as it may be, the Indians need to pull the plug and get some of the young players some game action.  They also need to come to some sort of consensus about some guys on whether they are a long term part of the future.  Here are my steps….
          

1).  Start working the phones — The Indians do have some talent that will interest teams in the race.  Look for Eduardo Perez, Bob Wickman, and even Jason Johnson and Paul Byrd to be moved by July 31.  If someone called about Ronnie Belliard or Aaron Boone I’d definitely listen as well.  None of the guys I mentioned are a part of the future.

2).  With Perez gone, Ben Broussard can play every day at 1st.  We need to see if Benny is any more than just a platoon player.  He has had a great season so far, but I am stlill not convinced.  Ryan Garko is waiting in the wings, and we need to decide if it is time to get him up here.

3).  Get the Young Studs in the rotation.  It’s time for the two Jeremy’s(Sauers and Guthrie) to be in the rotation.  One, if not both, should have been there to begin this season.  Sure, they may struggle, but better this year than next year.  Sauers has the look of an ace.  He has been successful at every level and there is no reason to believe he won’t be at the top.  Sauers is the Anti-Jason Davis.  A soft thrower, but with impeccible control.  Guthrie struggled early in his Pro career, but has come on of late.  Even though he has been used out of the bull pen he is much more effective as a starter.

4).  Let Andy Marte play everyday at 3rd and Franklin Gutierrez in RF.  This may mean we need to trade Boone and Blake, but I say DO IT.  Blake has had a solid season and would definitely have value.  Boone could as well.  Again, neither is part of the future of this team, so they are only holding other guys back.  Both Marte and Gutz are Major League ready right now defensively.  Get them the At-Bats they need now, so that the learinging curve shortens for next year.

5).  Fire Eric Wedge.  The Indians need a new voice, one with passion.  How great would Jim Leyland or Ozzie Guillen look in the dugout?  Two very different guys, but with one thing in common.  They hate to lose, and if they don’t like what they see from their team, they let them hear about it.  My pick would be Tony Pena.  He reminds me alot of Ozzie, and has had the chance to recharge in NY. 

The moves mentioned above will also have another key impact.  Lowering payroll.  It will give Mark Shapiro some flexibility when it comes to adding players.  Shapiro learned a tough lesson this season.  You can’t shop at K-mart for bullpen guys.  3 years in a row he has tried the bargain basement, and it has now failed twice.  2/3 is enough for me!

We are all to blame for the unreasonable and unrealistic expectations placed on this team.  Let’s not worsen the mistake by waiting too long to try and fix the situation.  Besides, Cleveland fans are well versed at saying these four wordds — “Wait ‘Til Next Year!”