Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Family found dead in Ohio home
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Sex-toy study at Duke University raises some eyebrows
Robbers order bar patrons to empty pockets
Akron man turns himself in after authorities turn up heat
Man appears alive at own funeral
Take comfort in knowing Browns could be bigger losers
Blogs:
Pets:
Not 101 Dalmations…but close!
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your perusal
Akron Zips:
The morning after
Tribe Matters:
Tribe makes roster moves
Cleveland Browns:
Lewis doesn't like boycott
Kent State Sports:
Kent State falls to Akron, 20-28
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Knicks
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Wrestling, bowling teams prepare for season
All Da King's Men:
If It Looks Like Islamic Terrorism…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Dems Message To Women: Don't Enjoy The Sex
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (62) The Stupak Amendment
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Perfect Weather for an Autumn Drive
Let's Talk Real Estate:
RUMORS: Downtown Restaurant Explosion
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
Getting rid of Indians manager wouldn't solve bullpen problem
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Sunday, Jun 28, 2009
Why do so many Indians fans and virtually everyone in Medialand with access to a computer or a microphone want to fire Eric Wedge?
Simple: His team can't lose games fast enough; he has not won a World Series in his six-plus years as manager; he was responsible for running off Brandon Phillips in 2006; his shifting of players from position to position drives people nuts; he didn't play Matt LaPorta every day when he was called up from the minors; and he reveals as little to the public (through the press) as he can get away with.
Oh, and I forgot the three primary reasons to fire Wedge:
• It's time for the Tribe to go in a different direction.
• The club needs a fresh voice in the clubhouse, because players have stopped listening to his.
• Wedge refused to use the next day's starting pitcher as a late-inning reliever to stave off a defeat, something that Casey Stengel would have done. (I actually heard a caller say this on the radio less than two weeks ago.)
Fans and the media love to assess blame and exact punishment when the expectations of their team go awry. If it works that way in baseball, why not in real life?
So how many mistakes did you make at work last week? C'mon, I won't tell your boss. Besides, he probably knows already.
I confess to making five blunders last week, including asking two dumb questions of a player who doesn't speak English, being three minutes late on deadline, crediting the wrong person an RBI in my game story and misspelling the word cat (I never know if it's a C or a K).
Nobody asked me to resign. How about you?
As for Wedge, I didn't count the mistakes he made during the Tribe's disastrous trip to Chicago and Pittsburgh. Maybe he pushed some buttons I thought were wrong, but I'm not really certain. You, of course, are sure that he messed up all sorts of situations, because the Indians lost five out of six.
What's my point? Maybe the process of assessing blame should be used to figure out why it all went wrong so it doesn't happen again rather than to get rid of the manager.
Does that mean I think a manager should never be fired? Of course not. A manager should walk the plank for any one of four reasons:
• The players have stopped paying attention to him and don't buy into his grand plan.
• He thinks he invented baseball and makes moves for the sole purpose of showing how smart and inventive he is.
• His personality turns off so many players, they would rather lose than play hard for the guy.
• He doesn't get along with his boss, the GM.
Do any of these criteria fit Wedge? Not that I can see.
The team has been beaten down time after time with crushing late-inning losses, yet the players show up the next day ready to give it their best effort.
Some fans think the players have turned Wedge off. Far from it. Why do you think the Indians rank fourth in the American League in runs? It's certainly not because of their lethal lineup, which for significant stretches has been without Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore.
Despite leading the league in strikeouts, the Tribe is second in drawing walks. Why are hitters who are not among the most feared in the league able to draw walks? Because Wedge insists, demands plate discipline, and his players have seen the value in this.
Do I think Wedge has made errors in judgment? Absolutely, and probably more than usual.
I don't like the way he has buried Ryan Garko and Josh Barfield. Generally, I don't object to players learning more than one position, but I don't think Mark DeRosa or Garko belong in the outfield.
It was a mistake — and I thought so when it was proposed at the end of last season — to give Kelly Shoppach more playing time just because he hit 21 home runs in 2008. Shoppach strikes out far too often (once every 2.6 at-bats for his career and this year) to come to the plate 400 or more times a season.
Moreover, Shoppach got the subliminal message. He knows why he has been given more playing time, so he is swinging even harder than usual.
It is not Wedge's fault the Tribe is in last place. In addition to the extraordinary run of injuries that has plagued the team, the man most responsible for the club's collapse is Mark Shapiro, the general manager, and I don't think he should lose his job, either.
One overriding failure has cast a pall over this team: the lack of a viable bullpen and the inability of Shapiro to adequately prepare for adversity in the event the relievers did not live up to their high expectations.
Did I think co-setup men Rafael Perez and Jensen Lewis would suffer meltdowns? I did not, but I realized it was possible, given the fact that both are young and relatively inexperienced.
Should Shapiro have been able to predict that Joe Smith never would get untracked, and that Rafael Betancourt would lose a month because of a strained groin? Obviously not, but he should have planned for bad things to happen, nevertheless.
He did make sure to have three viable starters ready at Triple-A Columbus — Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, David Huff — in the event the rotation needed help. But there were no (I mean none) such quality arms at Columbus to rescue a stumbling bullpen.
Matt Herges, Greg Aquino, John Meloan, Rich Rundles, Vinnie Chulk, Luis Vizcaino and Zach Jackson are just guys, pitchers who never were or fringe performers who had their 15 minutes awhile ago.
Shapiro even got lucky with Herges, who might not have much left in his arm but knows how to pitch and gave the club three solid weeks the first time the bullpen situation looked grim.
A manager cannot manage without a minimum of four solid relievers. Can't be done. It is a manager's worst nightmare. And Wedge has not even had one reliever he could count on from Day 1.
If a culprit needs to be identified, Shapiro is the guy. But he had help. I generally agree with Larry and Paul Dolan's policy of fiscal responsibility. But selectively, they need to open the vault more often.
If the owners don't give Shapiro more resources, depth deficiencies will keep happening. The vast majority of the time, shopping in baseball's bargain basement is an enterprise doomed to failure. On the other hand, how could Shapiro spend $6 million on Masa Kobayashi?
That said, the GM has been forced to take too many risks because of budget restrictions. Shapiro knew that Anthony Reyes was damaged goods. That's why the St. Louis Cardinals traded him, but Shapiro took a chance and crossed his fingers.
The GM took another gamble with Carl Pavano, who was limited to 26 starts in four years because of injuries. But he came cheap, so Shapiro held his breath and hoped for the best. Shapiro acquired 40 percent of the rotation knowing he had to get lucky for it to work.
There are lessons to be learned by all of the Indians' deep thinkers, and firing the manager would only serve to obscure the real problems.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
tallahassee, fl
Posted 07:44 AM, 06/28/2009
well stated and on point!
Posted 07:47 AM, 06/28/2009
Yea , there is a lot of blame to go around. However, Wedge has made too many mistakes, and some blame has to fall on the pitching coach. Send them both packing!
Marion, Oh
Posted 08:34 AM, 06/28/2009
You miss the point almost entirely Sheldon. You are looking at just this one year. Correction; it's been SEVEN years of below average baseball. It's been seven years of much of the same things... slow start, bad bullpen, underperforming players, can't develop the young players... good players regressing year by year..
The same things year after year. How many managers or coaches get seven years? You can point out 2007 if you wish, but I wanted Wedge fired after choking away a 3-1 lead against Boston, so don't use that excuse either. I'm also very sick of the injury excuse. ALL teams have injuries. Take the Reds for instance. The have good pitching but NO hitting but yet are in the race. They have more injuries than the Indians do. How about other teams with more injuries but are still in their races?
Stop with BS please. Both Shapiro and Wedge need to hit the road.
Canton, OH
Posted 09:18 AM, 06/28/2009
WEDGIE NEEDS TO GO. . .
medina, oh
Posted 09:28 AM, 06/28/2009
Trade proposition:
Wedge, Shapiro, and 10 players (any except Martinez) to the Red Sox for Theo Epstein.
Throw in Ocker to to the Boston Globe for free!
Richmond, VA
Posted 10:33 AM, 06/28/2009
The Indians are middle of the pack in major league salary despite being one of the smallest markets in the country. Dolan is not the problem. The free agent market is only a reasonable solution for the teams in New York, Chicago and L.A. And we spent $10 million/year on Kerry Wood.
The problem is that the Indians have spent a lot of money on drafting and developing players, and have not seen enough in return. I think that's because we've drafted polished players who lack the potential to become all stars...it seems like we always draft pitchers who throw 88-91 mph and hitters who are light on athleticism. The inability to draft and develop players of being more than 5th starters or utility guys is a front office/coaching problem. And not even a whole host of great trades for other team's better prospects can make up for that.
Needles, CA
Posted 10:41 AM, 06/28/2009
fire wedge as soon as possible (today would be good). he does not utilize his pitching staff properly. he should know his personnel by now but he constantly leaves pitchers in longer than he should. sure the bullpen has be ineffective so instead of constantly waiting until the bases are loaded and runs have already been scored bring in the reliever with a clean slate at the start of an inning with less pressure. even if the pen has a good showing 1 or 2 good innings he insist on leaving them in until a positive situation has been turned into just another failure. fire WEDGE NOW.
Hilliard, OH
Posted 11:44 AM, 06/28/2009
I say fire the owner. Larry Dolan is a joke for a owner.He is from the same town as I am Chardon Ohio
He needs to sell the team to some who will spend money. It wasn't so long ago we sold out every game.
akron, oh
Posted 01:42 PM, 06/28/2009
I think when you have an oriental banjo hitter for your cleanup man, your team sucks. Ocker, this mess stinks from the top down. I wouldn't hire Shapiro to run a Speedway gas station, based on his work making this team a contender. The 20 mil spent on Wood could have been spent on a couple GOOD players. This turkey is the second coming of Keith Hernandez[except in Wood's case he has at least played a few games].
Akron, OH
Posted 02:16 PM, 06/28/2009
Shapiro & Wedge need to go...and go now!
Akron, Oh
Posted 06:21 PM, 06/28/2009
The point that has not been made is Wedge has the worst W - L record among active managers over the the 7 years in the month of April and when their players are NOT on the injured reserve list. This team is never ready to play when the season begins. That is why Wedge needs to be replaced.
copley, oh
Posted 07:14 PM, 06/28/2009
Why did we ever get rid of Mike Hargrove anyone have a clue.All he did was win.
Akron, OH
Posted 07:40 PM, 06/28/2009
There's a red moon rising
On the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
There's a red moon rising
ON the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
There's an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
There's an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
Cleveland city of light city of magic
Cleveland city of light you're calling me
Cleveland, even now I can remember
'Cause the Cuyahoga River
Goes smokin' through my dreams
Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on
Now the Lord can make you tumble
And the Lord can make you turn
And the Lord can make you overflow
But the Lord can't make you burn
Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on
Paradise, Oh
Posted 08:04 PM, 06/28/2009
If firing Wedge is not THE answer, it is one very good one. The only thing this idiot hasn't tried yet is Hafner in center and Victor in right.
Wedge should take some time off and then just coach Little League for a few years. Everybody plays everywhere every day and everybody's happy.
Paradise, Oh
Posted 08:15 PM, 06/28/2009
One other thing... Sheldon is treated like royalty at the Jake. Free eats and a free seat for his working life. Do you think he's going to rock the boat and mess up his cushy gig?
(This is a rewrite of a post that either wouldn't go on or was deleted.)
The, US
Posted 10:44 PM, 06/28/2009
what exactly has Wedge every accomplished?
LOSERS!
Munroe Falls, OH
Posted 02:55 AM, 06/29/2009
@HuggieHall-you took the words right out of my mouth
Posted 08:06 AM, 06/29/2009
Sheldon, Wedge is going, going, gone. His GM gets a pass until end of year.
Mansfield, OH
Posted 09:27 AM, 06/29/2009
I agree Wedge isn't the best manager in baseball, but the problem is the ownership. These guys are trying to consistently contend with no budget. By the time our best players reach free agency, they bolt.
They can't develop a good bullpen because they're pulling from the scrap heap.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:06 AM, 06/29/2009
Good thing we just got rid of one of our best hitters.
Ravenna, OH
Posted 12:08 PM, 06/29/2009
I went to the game yesterday. They need a start with a new batting coach. I saw one batter swing at a pitch that was so far outside, he was off balance reaching for it. If you fans want a high salary team, go on the Yankees' site and see if you are ready to put your money where your mouth is. Dolan is NOT the type of owner who can afford to lose money each year to win a championship. Money is not always the answer or the Yankees would win the world series every year.
Posted 02:38 PM, 06/30/2009
Hey Sheldon:
Way to give Shapiro and Wedgie a pass. You represent what is so wrong with the Cleveland / Akron area media.
Let's look at Shapiro's body of work over the past seven years as GM starting with his scouting, draft choices, and player development. Since all of these departments go through him, he should be held to the fire for the results.
Jeremy Sowers with the 6th overall pick in the draft in 2004. When was the last time under Shapiro's helm we drafted and developed a "difference maker" in our farm system?
