A Few Steps Backwards…

Last night, home plate umpire Doug Eddings had an inconsistent strike zone. Enter the Cleveland Indians who had an inconsistent reaction to the strike zone, both on the mound and at the plate. C.C. Sabathia couldn’t get a strike call above the belt and he struggled to graze the bottom part of Edding’s strike zone. C.C. was in and out of trouble through 6 innings but a gutsy pitching performance coupled with his excellent fielding kept the Royals scoreless until the 7th inning.
Travis Hafner looked mesmerized by some low strike calls. Casey Blake swung at most pitches out of the strike zone and looked at pitches down the center of the plate.
The Royals held the Indians to 4 hits and struck them out 8 times.
Last night’s game was #30 in the Mark Shapiro 2008 experiment of not reacting until we reach 35 to 45 games.
With all that failed last night, it must be extremely difficult not to react just a little.
It must be so difficult for pitching coach Carl Willis to sit in the dugout and not help C.C. make adjustments during the game.
It must be so difficult for batting coach Derek Shelton to keep from helping Travis Hafner make the necessary adjustments to the strike zone during the game.
It must be so difficult for manager Eric Wedge to keep from taking Casey Blake to Sears Optical today after Blake’s embarrassing swings and lack of swings last night. It kind of makes you think of Wild Thing in the movie "Major League"…
Lou Brown - “Now take Ryan over there…”
Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn squints...
Lou Brown - “Never mind Ryan, I want you to read these letters."
(Vaughn squints even more)
Lou Brown - "You can’t see them, can you?"

Can we all wait 5-15 more games or is time long past for a reaction?

Isn't it long past time to pry Andy Marte out of the valuable space he is taking up on the 25 man roster?
What does Ben Francisco have to do to get on this team, win a minor league batting championship? Have a great spring training? Get hot in Buffalo? Go 2 for 6 in a brief stint with the big league club a week ago? Uh, he did all that!
Why does it take Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer to identify mechanical issues with C.C. Sabathia and Travis Hafner before they are addressed?
Can we get Jhonny Peralta to explain the benefits of lasik surgery to Casey Blake?
Just because no team seems to want the American League Central Division is no reason to stand by and hope this team heals itself.