What A Difference A Year Makes.

July 2nd, 2007. The Cleveland Indians were on top of the AL Central and practically the baseball world. GM Mark Shapiro was being hailed as the brightest mind in baseball for the way he rebuilt the team from the big-money stars of the mid-90's to the young guns of the 21st century that brought a new hope to the city that wins nothing. The team had tons of promise (yea, I said it) and was being predicted to do big things that year and many years to come. After their great playoff run which was stopped by the juggernaut that is any Boston area team these days, the team licked their wounds and vowed to come back and fight for a World Series next year. So what's happened since October?

Well, let's see. It all started in the offseason. Numerous times, Shapiro (the mastermind right?) assured fans that he would look to improve the tea but not at the expense of ruining the core that got the team to one win away from the Fall Classic. So what did he do? Well, there wasn't a splash for sure. When Dan Haren and Jason Bay were both on the block to be traded, Shapiro sat idly by, instead watching other teams bolster their lineups. Remember, we had a "core" that just needed a small improvement. So instead of a big-name pitcher that would add maybe 8-10 more wins or a hitter for maybe 2-3 more runs a week, our "splash" was Jamey Carroll and Masa Kobayashi. Yea, that's it.

Even with our lack of moving and shaking in the offseason, fans had hope. I mean, this was pretty much the same team that made it so far the season before. Yea, we lost the "Pie Man" in Trot Nixon and the "Ageless Wonder" in Kenny Lofton but this team had potential. So much so, Peter Gammons, the man when it comes to baseball, picked the Tribe to not only play the Braves in the World Series, but WIN IT! Yikes, talk about pressure. So how has the team lived up to that pressure?

Take a look at the numbers. As of July 2nd, 2008, my Tribe are 37-48, 12.5 games back of the White Sox and in last place (yes, behind even the Royals) in the division. Last year on this same date, the team was flying high with a 50-32 record. The team had a healthy 31-12 record at home and a respectful 19-20 record on the road. This year, how bout only a 22-22 record at the Prog/Jake and a miserable 15-26 record away from the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. The '07 Tribe also knew how to score, tallying 444 runs while only giving up 379. The '08 Tribe are scared of circling the bases, scoring only 375 runs. But in a sweet sign of hope, this year's team has given up less runs by this date last year....by 11 runs, giving up 368. Oh and here's a tidbit for ya. As you can see the team has scored more runs than they've given up. Only three other teams under .500 can boast that as well. They have much better records though. Atlanta, who is +31 sports a record of 40-45. Toronto (+29) is 41-44 and the Dodgers (+4) sit at 40-44. 

Oh, and here are some more numbers to look at. No one on the team is batting .300. Nope, not even Victor Martinez (on the DL), a career .300 hitter. Only 2 players have double-digit homers (Sizemore and Peralta). C.C. Sabathia has more homers (1) than Martinez (0) this season even though Victor led the team last season with 25. Kelly Shoppach, our back-up catcher, has more homers (6) than Hafner (4), our designated hitter (also on DL). Oh, and did I mention that more than $25 million of our payroll is on the DL (Add Westbrook and Carmona to our growing list).

Well, maybe we can attribute all of this to a lackluster spring that carried into the 1st half of the season. OR NOT. Martinez (.389), Gutierrez (.346), and Hafner (.333) were all faring well in March. Meanwhile, our batting average leader today Jamey Carroll (.289) batted a paltry .212 in the spring.

And comparing this team to the league is just scary. 14th in the AL in batting average (.247), 11th in OBP (.323) and 14th in Saves (14). What's sad is that we have 14 saves from a starting pitching staff that is 2nd in quality starts (49). The team is 2-8 in their last 10, 4-11 in their last 15 and 5-12 in their last 17.

So is there hope? Who knows? Don't ask Eric Wedge right now. He'll give ya a cliche answer of of course. As my friend Kevin Hunt pointed out, Wedgie is in a tough situation. In his own words, "It's just hard for me to focus on (being out of the race). If and when that day comes - it comes. Until it does, we just need to focus on getting better and winning ball games." Well, being swept by the White Sox could not have helped Wedge's feelings. In fact, losing two nights in a row by walk-offs probably brings that proverbial day he is talking about closer and closer.

So what's next for my Tribe? Well, how bout the hot as hell Twins for 3 games, the hot as hell Tigers for 2 and then 4 games against, you guessed it, the hot as hell Rays. The "glass half full" part of me still thinks this team can turn it around. I mean, just to match their 96 wins from last year, they'd have to go 59-18 down the stretch. Impossible? Yea, but I don't think 96 wins is needed. The Sox, Twins and Tigers are beatable and probably will implode somewhere down the line. If the Tribe can instead go maybe 52-25, that gives them 89 wins. Respectable enough for me.

What needs to be done though. Well, as K-Hunt said, time to move Grady down the lineup. At least to #2. I mean, Carroll is batting a respectable .289. Move him up to the top spot, Grady to #2, Francisco to #3 and Victor when healthy to the 4 spot. I love Gutierrez but Choo is a better hitter so until Hafner gets back, Choo in the 5 spot as DH is nice. Garko and Blake can flip-flop 6 and 7. Peralta is too inconsistent to bat higher than the 8 spot and Shoppach is quite fine batting last. Our pitching staff is fine. Even Sowers and Byrd pitch somewhat well every other start. Once Carmona gets back though, send Byrd packing. Joe-Bo can go too. Who closes? Who cares. If we hit the damn ball like we should, we won't even need one. Trust me, we weren't 29-24 in 1-run games because of Joe-Bo. We were because of timely hitting. Finally, should we trade C.C.? For once, I'll keep my opinion quiet and let the "mastermind" Shapiro decide.

Am I frustrated with the Indians? Obviously. The best part about being in Augusta, GA is that I can't watch them struggle anymore. But once they do start playing well (and they will...I think), oh how I wish I had STO again. For now though, HAKUNA MATATA...and go Braves (hey, a brotha needs to cover something good)