A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Courtesy of the good folks at the Dugout Sports Show (@DugoutSportsShow) and Waiting For Next Year, we can inform you that the Cleveland Indians have scheduled a 1:30 press conference, presumably to announce the firing of manager Eric Wedge.
According to Scott from Waiting For Next Year, the entire staff will finish out the year and then be replaced.
The Cleveland Indians, a choice by many including myself to rebound into 2007 form, and make this year’s postseason, fell into last place earlier this week. Yes, they now stand a game and a half behind the Kansas City Royals, who, like last September, have played good ball the final few weeks.
Since Labor Day, the Royals are 12-3, while Cleveland is a pitiful 1-13, losing nine in a row currently and more than ten games to KC in the standings. Has there been a better time to finally admit, despite the mid-season trades of a few key players and an injury or two (all teams have injuries), Eric Wedge has lost this team, as they sputter toward the worst record in the AL and potentially 100 losses?
Some say Cleveland has a “good young crop of players that will put them in contention for the future.” I disagree. For one thing, Columbus, the AAA affiliate of the Tribe, finished with the second worst record in the International League this season.
While the Indians have some decent prospects like 22 year-old Michael Brantley and 24 year-old Matt LaPorta, others have run their course, proving now in their mid to late 20s, they may not be the “answer”: Jeremy Sowers, Andy Marte, even 2007 hero Fausto Carmona, who’s arguably been one of the worst pitchers in the AL the past two seasons.
A great book on how the Tribe wisely rebuilt after 2001, planning for their runs in 2005 and 2007, is Dealing by legendary Cleveland sportswriter, Terry Pluto. Published in early 2008, it culminates with the miraculous 2007 run, leaving readers upbeat. Clearly, there is no expectation of the collapses of 2008 and 2009. Perhaps the book needs an updated edition.
Or perhaps, Eric Wedge finally must go!?
Major League Baseball’s first half of the season ended poorly for Ohio’s two teams.
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Hope has been gone since mid-April for the Cleveland Indians, and clearly, it’s only getting worse as the Tribe is looking at a 100 loss season if they don’t play decently the rest of the way. This from a team considered by many to be the favorite in the AL Central and by some to be a pennant contender. Thanks, Eric Wedge. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out — in October.
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The Cincinnati Reds limp into the break after a disastrous 2-5 east coast trip this week, which sent them fading into 5th place at 42-45. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo need to continue pitching as well as they have recently, while Johnny Cueto needs to forget July for the Reds to compete the rest of the way. Â
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Though the loss of Jay Bruce – and the continued absence of Edinson Volquez — for an indeterminate amount of time with a wrist injury won’t help matters, Cincinnati is still just a few games behind first place St. Louis. So despite needing to leapfrog many clubs, there’s still hope in the Queen City for the first playoff games in Great American Ballpark’s history.
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* – Indians fans photo credit: Clemson Girl Baseball
The calendar has flipped to July, trade rumors have intensified, and teams are preparing to start their final series before the All Star Break after getaway day on Thursday. That can only mean one thing: the Chicago Cubs are only a few months away from tacking another year of futility onto the ever-growing grand total (which you can now track on your iPhone!).
But it also means something else: it’s time to dole out some midseason awards.
Since our primary focus here at Midwest Sports Fans is, well, the Midwest, I am going to focus my award giving to just the Central divisions of the American and National League. Let’s get right to it.
NL Central 1st Half MVP: Albert Pujols, and I really don’t need to say anything else about it. His name itself is becoming hyperbole. I want to see a new version of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” commercials featuring Pujols. They could be called “The Most Dominating Presence in Baseball” and include lines like “he once struck out, just to see what it felt like” and “he’s seen less pitches than the World Cup, yet his goatee alone has hit more home runs than Ryan Ludwick.” Albert Pujols is amazing and is not just the NL Central MVP, but the MLB MVP for the first half of 2009.
AL Central 1st Half MVP: This one is not so clear cut. Let’s take a look at a few of the candidates (stats as of July 9th):
Obviously I really want to say JD, or even Scott Podsednik, and I think there is an argument to be made for them as their value has been highlighted by the injury to Carlos Quentin, but I have a hard time giving it to anyone other than Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer with the impressive stats both have racked up.
It certainly isn’t Zack Greinke, whose team becomes more irrelevant with each passing week. If his ERA was still 1.00, then maybe. But he hasn’t been as lights-out recently, which is to be expected since he isn’t the greatest pitcher in the history of mankind and all beings, as some have suggested.
While everyone is salivating over Mauer, and don’t get me wrong — he has been great since returning from injury, Morneau has been producing at a high level for 24 more games and over the span of almost 100 more ABs than Mauer. Plus, batting average is an overrated stat, so Mauer gets no bonus points from me because he’s making everyone dream about .400. Both are great candidates, and by the end of the year such a difference in games won’t be so magnified, but right now I have to go with Morneau, who has been the most consistent run producer in the division over the course of the entire first half.
NL Central 1st Half Cy Young: I see two primary contenders: Adam Wainwright of St. Louis and Yovani Gallardo of Milwaukee. Here are the stats:
Pretty damn close based on the numbers (and you could probably throw Ryan Franklin in the mix here too, who has been great as the Cardinals’ closer). My first instinct when comparing Gallardo and Wainwright is to go with the guy pitching for the team in first place, but it’s hard to use team record as a tie-breaker considering the Cardinals are only one game up on the Brewers in the standings. Or is it? With two pitchers this close, sometimes it comes right down to head-to-head battles.
Thus far in 2009, Wainwright has absolutely dominated Milwaukee. He is 2-0 in two starts against the Brewers, going 15.1 innings and giving up just a single run while striking out 18. Gallardo, on the other hand, has struggled somewhat against his team’s primary competition for the division title. Despite having a better overall ERA and WHIP than Wainwright, Gallardo is 0-1 against St. Louis. Sure, he pitched 8 innings of shutout ball while only giving up 2 hits in the teams’ May 25th battle, so you can’t blame him for the no decision there, but that game was not head-to-head against Wainwright like the July 7th game was. In that battle, Gallardo lasted only five innings and gave up four runs in a 5-0 loss for the Brew Crew.
So maybe that one game difference for the Cardinals is the difference between Wainwright and Gallardo. I’m giving the 1st half Cy Young for the NL Central to Adam Wainwright.
AL Central 1st Half Cy Young: Lots of legit contenders here. Let’s list them out with stats:
If we were giving this out to the pitcher who has been the most generous to opposing hitters and teams, Fausto Carmona would win in a landslide. And yes, this is the same Fausto Carmona that went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 2007. But obviously I only listed Carmona here to throw more salt in the multitude of open wounds Cleveland’s start has given its fans. More on him later.
Back to the subject at hand. Zack Greinke obviously has the best numbers, but I just don’t believe in handing out awards to players whose teams are not in the playoff race. There is a different level of pressure when your team is expected to win and when games are meaningful. If the award were Most Outstanding Pitcher, it’s Greinke by a landslide. It’s not, and it clearly states in the fine print of my own personal Cy Young and MVP criteria that last place teams (Cleveland sucks so bad they don’t count anymore) cannot have Cy Young or MVP winners, so we’ll let Willy Wonka tell Zack Greinke what he’s won:
(By the way, credit goes to Hugging Harold Reynolds for tweeting that video yesterday. I hadn’t seen that in forever, but always loved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie Bucket is a golden god.)
Honestly, I can’t find a whole lot to separate Buehrle, Verlander, and Jackson. All three have had excellent seasons. I’d give the edge to Buehrle because he owns the Tigers and Verlander sucks against the White Sox, and both have more wins than Jackson, but it’s really splitting hairs between those three.
My 1st half AL Central Cy Young goes to Joe Nathan, who has just be out-of-this-world awesome. The Twins’ pitchers (other than Nick Blackburn, who is having a very good yet under-the-radar season) have struggled this season. Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, and Kevin Slowey have all dealt with injuries and bouts of ineffectiveness. The one constant (throughout all the years Ray, has been baseball) has been Joe Nathan at the back end of the bullpen making sure that when the Twins do have a late lead, they do not surrender it.
I’m not a huge proponent of giving Cy Youngs to closers who typically pitch less than a third of the amount of innings a top-line starter does, but Joe Nathan has given up only 18 hits in 33.1 innings and is 22-24 in save opportunities. He has been beyond dominant and there is no way the Twins would be as close to first place as they are without him. It’s a competitive field, but Nathan is the choice.
NL Central Manager of the 1st Half: Tony LaRussa, and I don’t think it’s close. Ken Macha has done a nice job in Milwaukee keeping the Brewers in the race without C.C. Sabathia or Ben Sheets, but LaRussa has the Cardinals in first place with one legit hitter in his lineup. Yes, that hitter is the great Pujols, but look at the rest of the team’s offensive stats. Putrid. And it’s not like their pitching has been lights out. Ryan Franklin has been a revelation in the bullpen, and getting Chris Carpenter back has helped, but this is still a rotation that counts on guys like Kyle Lohse, Joel Piniero, and Todd Wellemeyer. That LaRussa has the Cardinals in first place is a testament to his managerial genius (and to Pujols’ utter dominance, of course
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AL Central Manager of the 1st Half: I really want to say Ozzie Guillen, and I think that he’s done a great job, but my vote goes to Jimmy Leyland of Detroit. It’s not just that the Tigers are in first place, it’s that they’ve been able to rebound from last season’s disappointment with a far less potent offensive attack and without the benefit of an above-average bullpen. Leyland has navigated his way through the struggles of Dontrelle Willis and Armando Gallarraga, plus had to deal with Magglio Ordonez’s sharp decline. Leyland essentially has a lineup with only three hitters who have been consistent producers (Miguel Cabrera, Brandon Inge, Curtis Granderson), yet there the Tigers sit, a couple games up and eight games over .500.
2009 has been an excellent rebound season for Detroit, and Leyland deserves credit as the man steering the ship. He also deserves credit for having one of the most hilarious old school baseball cards ever. The hat, the mustache, the sunburned face…I’m not sure if he’s at Spring Training, a train conductor, or working at a carnival.
And with that, let’s transition into a few “alternative” awards for the first half.
NL Central Least Valuable Player of the 1st Half: Milton Bradley wins this one. Signed in the offseason after putting up terrific numbers in Texas, The Angry One has only gotten 203 ABs so far this season and hasn’t done much with them. He’s hitting .236 and, even worse, is slugging only .374. Ouch. Plus, he is being his usual distracting self and getting into public pissing matches with his manager when he’s not forgetting how many outs there are in an inning. Like most things having to do with the Cubs, you just get the feeling that this is not going to end well.
AL Central Least Valuable Player of the 1st Half: Fausto Carmona of the Indians. We touched on his stats above, and they really say it all. This guy has just gone straight downhill since 2007 and the Indians have to be wondering if he’ll ever be able to recapture the ability that made him appear to be one of the bright young pitching stars in the big leagues. Despite a rough 2008, a lot was expected out of Carmona this year. Well, the Indians have gotten a lot out of him…it’s just all been bad.
AL/NL Central Worst Manager of the 1st Half: Hands down Eric Wedge. You need look no further than this site, where our very own AJ Kaufman calls for Wedge’s head in pretty much every article he writes. The Indians were expected to contend for the AL Central crown, yet they are 13.5 games out and 19 games under .500 already.
AL/NL Central Manager with the most potential to give his kids truly awful awesome names: Eric Wedge. If he had any sense of humor he would name his kids Orange, Potato, and Cheese. No such luck though. As it is, he and his wife named their kids Ava and Dalton Cash. Oh well.
Come to think of it though, Dalton Cash Wedge is a pretty sweet and unique name. The kid is either going be a scrappy middle infielder/#2 hitter in the majors or the lead actor in his generation’s version of Dawson’s Creek. Well done Eric. (See, we don’t always criticize you on Midwest Sports Fans.)
AL/NL Central Quote of the 1st Half: This one is easy and goes to (who else?) Ozzie Guillen. And there were a few of them, all of which were gloriously derogatory towards the team from the North Side.
“But one thing about Wrigley Field, I puke every time I go there. That’s just to be honest. And if Cub fans don’t like the way I talk about Wrigley Field, it’s just Wrigley Field. I don’t say anything about the fans or anything now. But Wrigley Field, they got to respect my opinion. That’s the way I feel…I don’t care if they hate me. They don’t feed my kids. If they hate me, that’s cool.”
That’s just a great quote, although the part about Ozzie not talking about Cubs fans may not be entirely true. Ozzie also had this gem:
“…our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans.”
AL/NL Central Home Run Call of the Year: Hawk Harrelson, two days ago. Hell yeah!
That’s all I’ve got. Sorry for not even mentioning your teams Reds, Astros, and Pirates fans…they’ve all been pretty uninteresting so far this year, at least as far as I’m concerned. But feel free to add your own midseason awards in the comments.
The White Sox bring out the brooms again tonight, and then play the Twins in a pivotal pre-All Star Break series. As Hawk might say, I loooove baseball.
* – Jim Leyland baseball card image credit: Vinewood Sports Cards
* – Albert Pujols photo credit: Urban Shocker
Apparently, Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro is no admirer of President Harry S. Truman. That is, when it comes to results and accountability, the “buck (does not) stop here,” as in, with the man at the top.
It was reported Sunday that, despite a team that was a pennant contender in April having the AL’s worst record most of May, June and July, manager Eric Wedge will serve out his term the rest of 2009, and perhaps beyond.
“As I’ve said all along, the responsibility for the disappointments of this season don’t rest on one person,†Shapiro said. “The responsibility is spread equally throughout the players, the front office, Eric and his staff.”
Really? In most jobs, or in politics, the man at the top is rewarded or punished for the company’s or his administration’s successes or failures. In sports, it is often the same, especially in baseball. But apparently, not on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Who knew?
On the surface, sure, the team has been doomed since mid-April after they lost eight of their first nine games, so why bring in an interim skipper at mid-season?
On the other hand, why not? It might spark the team, help them avoid an embarrassing 100 loss season, and maybe that interim manager might stick, as they occasionally do?
In fact, many Indians’ fans believe Joel Skinner, who took over for Charlie Manuel when the current Philly manager was fired seven years ago this week, deserved the job over Wedge, who took over at the outset of the 2003 season.
It’s easy to argue that Wedge’s hire was a mistake at this point. He had a great team built for him to contend for years after the bad 2002-2004 stretch, and has just a .500 record to show for it, one playoff appearance (2007) and three very disappointing seasons (2006, 2008 & 2009.)
Shapiro, disagrees, and has cashed in 2009:
“I thought it was important for the second half to remove a potential distraction that exists from that speculation,” he said.
He then spoke in clichés:
“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.”
Sure, Mark.
Actions speak louder the words.
And what a shame for a city desperate for a winner.
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In other non-Indians news…
I should add that, while we all know all-star selections are silly, if Ryan Howard made the NL reserves, so should Adam Dunn or Mark Reynolds, who have better statistics with about 10% of the talent around them.
This is not opinion, but fact. It’s laughable only because it was predictable.
ESPN was so confident and biased toward Ryan that earlier this week they were talking to him about how many ticket requests he had, not about whether or not he deserved to be chosen.
* – Mark Shapiro / Eric Wedge photo credit: AP via MLB.com
The Cleveland Indians blew a six run lead Monday night versus Milwaukee, and then today, in a debacle, predictably blew a 7-0 lead, losing 8-7 in ten after Kerry Wood was one out from putting Chicago away at Wrigley Field, 7-6.
Eric Wedge is frustrated, has lost the respect of his players, and his team has underachieved in remarkable fashion three of the past four seasons. They currently ride a four game losing streak after a nice win this past Sunday night vs Saint Louis on ESPN.
There is nothing left for him to ruin here.
Injuries are part of the game, so that is no excuse. And since Eric’s a good, humble, honest man deep down, he won’t use that as a cop out either. He’s done a poor job and needs to pay the price, just like anyone in business.
This should have been done six weeks ago; it should have been done three weeks ago, and it sure as heck should be done now, Mr. Shapiro.
* – Eric Wedge Photo Credit: Ohio.com
Despite the carefree days of summer kicking off, these are not happy times for sports fans in northern Ohio. The Cavaliers followed the lead of Cleveland teams before them, with a debacle the past fortnight, falling to the Orlando Magic in six games — all of which they could easily have lost. With 66 wins, Cleveland’s hoops squad was the NBA’s best team all season, but as this excellent analysis says of their series with Orlando, they were “never even in it.”
Most honest folks with whom I’ve spoken lay primary blame on head coach Mike Brown. Personally, I wonder if a coach of the year has ever been fired the ensuing offseason. Doubtful this will occur, but now would be the fairest time, as the Cavs won’t go anywhere with this guy “in charge.” I use quotes because he does not coach, lets his assistant draw plays (this was clear to anyone watching the series) while he chats with fans and allows Lebron to do whatever The King chooses. I’ve never seen two offenses look so different. Stan Van Gundy sets up plays and coaches his team. It’s clear Mike Brown rarely does.
Of course, few in the media castigated Brown. The generic opening of the aforementioned piece is:
“There was no drama and no last second suspense. The Orlando Magic came out of the locker room ready to advance to the NBA Finals and they took no prisoners. It was the Cavaliers who gave the Mickey Mouse effort and they paid for it with their playoff lives as the Magic won going away 103-90.”
Somehow, the article fails to call out the coach.
Long-time Cleveland columnist Terry Pluto, one of the best in America, also seems reticent to point his finger at Brown, though he does a bit at the end of this otherwise sound write-up. Other local media members rightly refuse to call the loss a choke (it was not, as the better TEAM clearly won), but still barely mention Coach Brown’s lack of any adjustments through six grueling games.
To no one’s surprise, the politically correct national media, like Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel, gets generic by focusing on Lebron and “the future,” with little analysis other than the mundane cliché of “Cleveland had the best player in this series. Orlando had the next four.” I heard that sixteen times on my 25-minute ride to work Friday morning, Dan. I didn’t even bother to read what sophomoric essay ESPN would have. Let’s just hope “witty” self-aggrandizer Rick Reilly’s not involved. {Ok, he isn’t yet, but irresponsible ESPN did focus on Lebron, naturally}
Speaking of bad “leaders” in Cleveland, despite my pleading three weeks back, Eric Wedge still has a job, regardless of his very-talented Tribe occupying the cellar in a bad division. It seems he’ll be the skipper the rest of 2009 and beyond. Too bad for fans of the Tribe. And now, Indians star centerfielder Grady Sizemore hit the DL this weekend
“The Indians say Sizemore has struggled with elbow discomfort for most of the season.”
There’s always an excuse. Sizemore, who is on the Disabled List for the first time, is having a terrible first
eight weeks. It happens. I’m not so sure he’s hurt or he would have hit the DL earlier. Additionally, Travis Hafner has “suffered a setback” in his rehab. This I believe, since he was tearing up the minors prior and is injury prone.
It’s been a tough season for Wedge and his club, but other teams, like St. Louis, somehow persevere through bigger challenges year in and out. 2008 Cy Young winner Cliff Lee has been solid of late but has little to show for it. Cleveland is still waiting for Fausto Carmona to be the 2007 version rather than the ’06, ’08 or ’09 version. And while Carl Pavano has been adequate, especially Sunday versus his former team before the piteous bullpen coughed up his lead despite Cleveland’s eventual triumph, Jake Westbrook cannot return soon enough.
On the opposite end of I-71, the Reds, once off to a strong start, fizzled this weekend in Milwaukee. And now their best player, Joey Votto, is out for mysterious reasons. Psychological injuries are often worse than physical ones. This could hurt.
The Reds still sit a few games over .500; they have a dynamite pitching staff sans fifth man Micah Owings (headlined by Johnny Cueto, 12 wins already from Bronson Arroyo & Aaron Harang, and the return of Edinson Volquez), and one of the best road records in baseball. But they also play, as of May’s end, in the NL’s premier division and arguably the best in baseball, so it’ll be tough. I’m no fan of Dusty Baker’s managerial skills either, as Chris Dickerson seems to be this year’s Corey Patterson (a guy who should be in the minors but is playing nearly daily and killing the team), and Baker could not care less.
Thankfully, it’s a long way to October.
[Editor's Note: And to add to the misery of the state of Ohio this weekend, the Ohio State Buckeyes' baseball team played a couple of games this weekend in the College World Series. To say that they did not go well would perhaps the understatement of the century.]
The Cleveland Indians were a trendy pick by many self-styled experts to not only win the mediocre AL Central this season, but to potentially win the American League pennant.
However, after five weeks, the team has the worst record in not only the AL, but all of baseball. We’ve already seen Arizona Diamondback skipper Bob Melvin removed for a slow start in Phoenix, so it would not be capricious for Indians GM Mark Shapiro to bounce Eric Wedge as early as today.
With Shapiro known for occasionally being knee-jerk, we can only hope.
However, since Shapiro also likes Wedge very much and made an absurdly “knee jerk” move during the summer of 2007 when he gave the then-39 year-old Wedge a generous contract extension, no one should count on anything.
In that 2007 season, the Tribe went on to cough up a 3-1 ALCS lead to Boston, and were a major disappointment in 2008, as they had been in 2006. This season has obviously continued the underachieving to put it mildly. There’s also little hope on the horizon. The central is somewhat suspect, but Cleveland is already seven back of surprising first place Kansas City and eight back in the loss column of archrival Detroit.
With the potential championship run of the neighbor Cavaliers, the Indians can also expect attendance to be dismal the next month or so. Depressing is a kind word.
I want to mention it’s tough for me to pen this column, as I like the laconic Wedge. His quick rise was admirable and impressive. In his press conferences and conversations, he’s to the point, optimistic and humble. The media hates him for that, but he is what he is.
And, like in 2005 when Cleveland won 93 games out of nowhere, Eric Wedge surprised them before. Shapiro has too, with incredible trades like acquiring Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Philips for Bartolo Colon in 2002. (Sizemore is one of the league’s best players, while Lee won the 2008 Cy Young and Brandon is a star in Cincy.)
Wedge’s players, like Victor Martinez (third in AL in hitting), back their skipper. But his pitching staff has a team ERA near six, no hurler has an ERA under four or more than two wins, and the bullpen has been brutal. The numbers don’t add up to much positive.
Wedge should go. Now is the time. It’s not getting any better. Make the move, Mark.
