Last year, we experienced such a wonderful "Indian" Summer that the midges covered the Yankees at the Baseball Park then known as Jacobs Field. This year, the midges cover doorways, cars, windows, and spider webs everywhere.
Well, with about 183 days to go before the start of the season, no sense in worrying now. That’s up to G.M. Mark Shapiro and the Dolans.
That’s also up to Manager Eric Wedge to give his input and expectations of the players on the team, as well as give his input on needs.
To be honest, I feel better about this team this season than I did after the ALCS last season. Last off-season, the Indians, under the leadership of Shapiro, practically were motionless in acquiring any help for this team to get beyond the Red Sox.
This off-season, there needs to be a concerted effort to obtain one strong starting pitcher and shore up the bullpen. Other than that, we are good to go!
Think about it…
Grady Sizemore rules center field everywhere…solid!
Shin Soo Choo has earned a shot at playing everyday in the outfield. (Now if we can only figure out his South Korean military obligation.)
Ben Francisco and Franklin Gutierrez round out the outfield. Francisco has proved that he can play and hit in the majors. Gutierrez is an excellent outfielder who must hit consistently.
Now for the infield that helped Eric Wedge be so creative with so many different line-ups.
Out is 3rd baseman Andy Marte, the "Marte Experiment" is over. Package him in a bundle for some pitching and hopefully the team on the other side of the deal will not notice they are getting him.
Jhonny Peralta has proven himself as a reliable power hitter. He is destined to move to 3rd base for the Cleveland Indians. Don’t fight it Jhonny, take 3rd and play everyday, working on your power.
Ryan Garko has tremendous heart and certainly is a fine fielding 1st baseman but he was handed the position and could not sustain himself as an everyday player. Garko is a bench player and a pinch hitter/DH.
Victor Martinez must play most of his games at 1st base. When healthy, he is our best hitter and he will not stay healthy behind the dish.
Kelly Shoppach has earned the right to be the everyday catcher. He must cut down on his strikeouts, especially called!
Asdrubal Cabrera moves to short stop. This is his natural position and he is the best infielder on the team. He has poise, speed of hands, and great instincts. He must hit consistently.
Who wouldn’t agree that Jamey Carroll should get a shot at playing everyday? He can play 2nd base and be the little offensive spark that makes this team hum.
Travis Hafner believes that he will be 75% healthy by Spring Training. Hafner should not play until he is 100%. (When will we know the truth about Hafner?) The DH spot allows Wedge to rotate his big guns, Peralta, Martinez, Shoppach, Sizemore, and Garko with a day off in the field but still have their presence in the batting order.
This very team was 16 games under .500 at the All Star Break and finished the season at 81-81. They were one of the best teams in all of baseball in the second half. They can and will contend with a strong balance of speed, power, and timely hitting while they continue to be one of the top defensive teams.
The big question and big need…pitching.
2 more games to play, boys. Let's see what tomorrow and Sunday bring!
Congratulations to Victor Martinez on his 3-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning last night at the “Pro.” Although we tried desperately to give the game back to the Twins by relinquishing 8 unanswered runs with an 8-1 lead, it just made for a fantastic finish, the likes of which we haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing this year. 
What about Ned Yost?!
Enter Scott Lewis, up from AAA ball. At Class AAA Buffalo and Class AA Akron this year, he was a combined 8-4 with a 2.53 ERA. With Anthony Reyes needing to rest a sore arm, Lewis was brought up to "fill-in" as the Tribe's starting pitching was in need of a respite. Lewis more than answered the challenge, beating the Orioles 7-1. Lewis pitched 8 strong shut-out innings, giving up only 3 hits with no walks and 3 strike-outs. 
So, why wasn't he out for the 9th inning to preserve his shut-out? SportsTime Ohio commentator Rick Manning was upset that after the bottom of the 8th inning, Lewis was getting the congratulatory high 5's and pats on the back. "He's done!" said Manning, "Oh, I'm disappointed!" So were we, Rick. He had thrown 96 pitches and breezed through the 7th and 8th innings. To add insult to injury, Masa Kobayashi couldn't hold the shut-out in the 9th. When will he go away??????
Congratulations to Cliff Lee on win #21!
Another congratulation goes out to Grady Sizemore on being the 2008 Indians’ nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award. How does Grady feel about the nomination? "He (Roberto Clemente) was one of those guys who paved the way for Latin players and was a good role model for all baseball players," Sizemore says, "There wasn't anything he couldn't do -- not just on the field but also off the field. He was an icon, so it's an honor to be a part of something like that."
It was great to see Cliff Lee reach win #20 last night. He has been so focused this year on winning that he has been over-powering at times. He truly had great command of all of his pitches last night as he pitched a 5-hit, no-walk, complete-game, shut-out. You have to wonder what got Ozzie Guillen and A.J. Pierzynski all fired up last night before the game. Cliff had a little ritual that he performed before his warm-up pitches each inning, perhaps the boisterous Sox manager and catcher took exception to Cliff facing second base and throwing a phantom pitch prior to his warm-ups. But before the game even got underway, before Cliff took the mound, Ozzie could be seen mouthing off and making gestures to the Cleveland dugout.
Who (Indians’ fans) could ever forget Ozzie giving the Cleveland fans the choke sign at the end of the 2005 season? Rather than stoop to their level, perhaps the Indians can just play good, hard baseball and help to take the Sox out of contention in the 5 remaining games we have with them and no choke gesture will be needed, just implied. 
Again, congratulations to Cliff Lee on reaching 20 victories and getting closer to the 2008 American League Cy Young Award!
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