As we watch the Indians waste opportunity after opportunity to win the division, we all notice the mistakes Wedge is making. It's too much to ask of any one person to keep track of all of his blunders. And we all need an outlet to vent. So, here's your chance to get what's bothering you off your chest. If you have anything you'd like to talk about, please send your comments to firewedgenow@yahoo.com.
Here are this week's submissions:
Dave Yahr, Beechwood, OH:
Hey - nice blog there. But, you didn't even mention anything about him bringing Borowski in for the 10th inning. I mean, the guy is pretty much guaranteed to give up at least 1 run every time he pitches, and that's really all the Tigers would need to win with the Indians offense.
But in true Indians spirit, they get the first 2 guys on base and then Grady tries to pull a pitch low and outside and grounds weakly to first. And what's the deal with Martinez? I thought maybe he was out of his slump when he got 3 hits the other day, but he looked horrible at the plate tonight. In his first at bat he tries to pull a low outside pitch and he grounds out weakly to first. Then with runners on later, he strikes out on a pitch in the dirt. And even in the 10th with 2nd and 3rd and 1 out, he almost gets a hit down the right field line and then strikes out on an 84 mph fastball. He was nowhere close on that swing. I mean, all he had to do was put the ball in play and at least get a cheap RBI to pad his stats and he couldn't even do that. And don't get me started on Hafner. Getting called out on a pitch right down the middle and then arguing about it? The ump was really horrible tonight, but that pitch wasn't one of his screw ups.
I was at the game on Friday when Peralta drops a pop-up and they don't give him an error. Then he misses a grounder he should have got. The Yankees shouldn't have had any runs then, but thanks to Peralta, they had 2, and with the Indians, you know that's enough to beat them. And the guy has been striking out even more than usual -and mostly on pitches nowhere near the strike zone.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention Barfield. Earlier in the season when he was struggling for hits, he at least was decent when he came up with men on base. But for the last few weeks he's really looked awful at the plate. It's almost as if someone has taught all the Indians hitters how to swing at pitches out of the strike zone, especially when they have 2 strikes on them. Hard for me to believe that any team has struck out more than they have, although I hear that Tampa Bay has. But you were right about the Indians leading the league in strikeouts when they have men on base.
Dan Grill, Eastlake, OH:
I am a big Indians fan, and have been all my life, but I a totally frustrated with our manager situation. Eric Wedge does not know how to win close games, doesn’t know how to bunt people into scoring position, doesn’t know when to pinch hit for someone, and doesn’t know how to deal with players doing stupid things. There is more that he doesn’t know how to do, but there is not enough time to write about it.
Let’s start with today’s game (Sunday) against the Yankees. The bottom of the 7th inning, Peralta walks, then gets pick off of 1st base. We are down 4 runs, the bases are loaded, nobody out, a lefty is on the mound, no where for Peralta to go. How and why does he get picked off 1st base. Then after getting picked off he should have been yanked from the game.
Next in the 8th inning, runners at 1st and 2nd, Blake batting and in my opinion should be bunting to move 2 runners into scoring position with our best hitter coming to bat, but instead he fouls out to the catcher, then Martinez gets a base hit, and we end the inning with the next batter only scoring 1 run.
Next in the 9th inning, we start off with 3 hits, score 1 run, and have runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs, and we have a hitter up that has only been in the majors for a week, and we have Lofton, and Nixon on the bench, and the Yankees have one of the best closers in the game on the mound. How do we let Cabrera bat in that situation? I realize we did not have anyone to put in to play 2nd base, but you could have moved Blake to 3rd, and Gomez to 2nd, and have your pitcher bat. You don’t have to worry about your defense if you don’t tie the game.
Among other things I never saw a manager switch his lineup around as much as this idiot does. Your 1 thru 5 hitters should stay consistent, unless someone needs a day off. When you are playing the Yankees you should have your best lineup in the game, and I did not see that today. I love Casey Blake, but his not a #2 hitter. Lofton should be playing every day, batting lead off, and I would move Sizemore to 3rd. I’m not really sure who should bat 2nd, but I would be willing to give Barfield a shot, 1 because he can bunt, 2 he has great speed, 3 he has been our best clutch hitter. One game Lofton bats 2nd, the next games he is 7th, the next game he is not in the line-up. Your 1 – 5 hitters are supposed to be your run producers, and I don’t see switching them every game. It makes no sense to me. The Indians don’t win because of Wedge, they win in spite of him, and he needs to go.
Thanks for writing (and inspiring this post)!!
