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He does it well, so Wedge will keep him in the role. Sabathia takes AL honor
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
Every time Grady Sizemore hits a home run, someone asks manager Eric Wedge if the center fielder should be moved to the middle of the Indians' lineup rather than stay in the leadoff spot.
''That's a question I'll probably always get,'' Wedge said. ''I mentioned the other day that everyone has short-term memory about that. I tried it last year for two weeks, and with [Travis] Hafner and [Victor] Martinez [in the lineup]. It didn't work.''
More to the point is how Sizemore performs at the top of the order. Two years ago, he led the American League in runs; last year, he was fourth. The primary job of a leadoff hitter is scoring runs, which puts Sizemore in an elite group.
''Grady likes it up there, and he's one of the best in the game,'' Wedge said. ''I don't see why you would want to take one of your greatest areas of strength away? Someone would have to replace him, and you're not sure it will work [Sizemore batting third, fourth or fifth].
''As long as he's getting on base and scoring runs, that's the bottom line.''
That said, there is nothing wrong with a leadoff hitter going deep. Sizemore has 17 home runs and is on pace to hit 39, 11 more than his career best.
''I still need to be more consistent and hit the ball in the gaps,'' Sizemore said. ''If I do that, the home runs will come.''
Sabathia honored
C.C. Sabathia has been selected as American League Player of the Week after winning both his starts and compiling a 1.59 ERA.
Since April 22, he is 5-5 with a league-best 2.22 ERA. He leads the league with 97 strikeouts.
Not the right time
If the Tribe falls out of the race in the next three weeks, General Manager Mark Shapiro will have to decide whether to trade Sabathia, who can be a free agent at the end of the season.
Is Sabathia thinking about it?
''If I started thinking about that stuff, I wouldn't be any good,'' he said. ''It would be like the beginning of the season.''
In his first four starts, Sabathia compiled a 13.50 ERA.
Interleague dilemma
Before designated hitter Travis Hafner got hurt, Wedge annually was forced to determine whether to keep Ryan Garko at first or move Hafner to first and send Garko to the bench when the Tribe lost its DH at National League ballparks.
This week, the Indians play three games in Colorado and three in Los Angeles, and with Hafner sidelined, Wedge will face a different question.
''We'll take it game by game, depending on the matchups,'' Wedge said. ''We'll look at who we have pitching and who they have pitching.''
If it's only a matter of keeping the DH on the bench, Wedge probably won't have a problem, because left-handed batting David Dellucci, now the DH three-fourths of the time, has been struggling at the plate.
Other stuff
With 10 strikeouts Sunday, Sabathia has 1,239 for his career, passing Charles Nagy (1,235) to rank fifth in franchise history. . . . Over his past 10 starts, Sabathia has a 2.39 ERA, but is only 4-5. . . . Grady Sizemore is batting .320 in his past 12 games. . . . In his past 19 games, Jamey Carroll is batting .391.
Farm facts
Asdrubal Cabrera raised his average to .358 with two more hits in Buffalo's 5-3 loss to Durham. Dan Reichert threw five scoreless innings, allowing four hits. . . . Hector Rondon (4-3, 3.80 ERA) pitched five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out seven, in a 5-0 victory over Lynchburg. Jason Denham homered for the second time this season.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
Every time Grady Sizemore hits a home run, someone asks manager Eric Wedge if the center fielder should be moved to the middle of the Indians' lineup rather than stay in the leadoff spot.
Get the full article here.
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