Thursday, June 01, 2006
More Indians Goodness
After that11-0 crushing loss to the WhiteSox things werent looking that good for the Tribe. But after a 4-3 win yesterday they followed it up with a 5-0 victory. The first time the Sox were shutout all year! Westbrook pitched like he did in 2004 and Grady continued to sizzle. A lot has been made of the big change in the Indians' defensive efficiency this year and it certainly is a concern. However, the defense hasn't had much of an effect on his performance when compared to last year. Westbrook is basically averaging the same numbers as last year, and the defense is much much worse this year. Therefore, the encouraging thing is if the Indians offense can get near the level they were last year Westbrook could fit nicely somewhere between 04 and 05.
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4 comments:
well where to start...the inconsistent hitting, the terrible bullpen, or the poor defense that includes throwing out a runner stealing once a month. When things get this bad, I know for sure you start at the top. Starting with one of the worst owners in pro sports: Cheap ass Dolan. I think he got off on the wrong page when he said that the fans need to pack the stadium for him to spend. Hmm...how often does that work in pro sports? It's easy to see how an owners IDEALISTIC thinking has failed Indians fans. Now generally when an owner puts money into a team, results follow. Look at NY, Boston, Chicago, the Angels. Winning follows and even if it doesn't, the fans in this town would still support an owner that TRIES and CARES. Last year the Indians won 93 games. Common sense says you were a pretty damn good team as is. So, what do we decide to do? Bring in more bargain basement, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle talent. Well, now you see the results...In stead of standing pat and making MINOR moves to an already great team, you lose your best setup man, a quality outfielder, and an above average #5, and trading a proven lefty for a pathetic role player(michaels)...Wait a minute, don't we already have enough useless role players...(vazquez,hollandsworth) Bottom line being, you get what you pay for. Everyone says oh well look at the A's, Billy Beane and Money ball. Okay and that's wonderful in the REGULAR SEASON, but how many championships has Oakland won??? ZERO, which is exactly where we are. The common fan is always fooled and made to believe we have the next best talent, and that we can compete with an owner that doesn't spend. When will these stupid fans stop believing about the next best prospect and bring back the team we had and trade prospects to get someone so we can WIN AT LEAST ONE RING BEFORE WE ALL DIE. Shapiro talks about multiple championships, well lets worry about ONE FIRST BUDDY. And you can do that by risking a prospect here or there for the sake of putting us over the top. When a team is so close like last year and you haven't won jack shit in so long you take the chance, get some balls and deal a prospect, and at least you know we gave it our best shot. The prospect game and "Dolan's Discounts" hasn't worked yet, so lets not go to any games this year, maybe he'll get the point or sell the team and we can get a real owner in there.
Well first of all Michaels certainly isnt a role player...Hes having a better year than Coco Crisp as of today.
Secondly, Shapiro made mistakes on his roster moves on the offseason for the most part. But with Andy Marte recently winning the player of the week and starting to hit homeruns right and left..Boone might be gone with Johnson.
And also I've never saw a worse manager in my life in Wedge. As Butch Davis wore out his welcome with the same approach, so is Wedge. When a team sucks as bad as the Indians and the Browns no one wants to hear," my guys played their hearts out and we'll get 'em tomorrow". We the same damn, weak piss-poor excuses every fucking day and it's getting old. Like the Browns finally did, they brought in an experienced, seasoned veteran coach who can teach fundamentals, command respect, and almost instill a sense of fear into the players. Look at the Tigers. I believe a huge reason to their success story has been Jim Leyland. Earlier in the year he ripped his team for not sweeping the Indians, and look what has happened since, there is something to that...Same with Guillen in Chicago. There are plenty of managers out there that fit the bill: Lou Piniella, Larry Bowa, and Tony Pena. Any of these three would make the Indians a much better team and they would cut down on the same, stupid mistakes the Indians make everyday. But once again, if we look at the top we see Dolan again, and he will NEVER pay two managers at the same time, let alone one superior manager who commands top dollar but gets the most out of each player...
You say all this, but didnt Wedge get the most out of his players last year? Bowa is a terrible manager and never led the Phillies to one division title with the heaps of talent they had their. Tony Pena and Guillen are similar in that they like to play smart or smallball...which I could give u articles and books that say how playing that way only minimizes your runs scored.
The Tigers are getting career years from some of their pitchers and are having great rookie breakouts. It has very little to do with the managing.
Ill agree Wedge makes some mistakes...but nothing Bowa, Pena, etc..wouldnt make and do it even worse.
Also, the whole Dolan paying 2 managers thing. Wedge's salary is so small I dont think that would be an issue whatsoever.
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