General 2006 Season Thread

[BoofBonser26]

Hey Tribe fans! Let's try and get some discussion going here. Use this thread to post general observations on the '06 season, especially game-specific comments and musings.

[sschirmer]

Hey Tribe fans! Let's try and get some discussion going here. Use this thread to post general observations on the '06 season, especially game-specific comments and musings.


Well, I think Cliff Lee pitched pretty damn well yesterday to get saddled with a loss. Someone must've gotten on the offense pretty well, as the ten run explosion today shows.

[sschirmer]

BTW, it was nice to see the Tribe get 10 runs with Pronk managing "only" one single. Casey Blake has really been tearing it up so far. I may actually have to start liking him, if he keeps this up.

[BoofBonser26]

BTW, it was nice to see the Tribe get 10 runs with Pronk managing "only" one single. Casey Blake has really been tearing it up so far. I may actually have to start liking him, if he keeps this up.
Of the three B's, he's the one I've been down on the least. I like Garko too much to give Broussard any credit (unfair as that may be) and I want to see Marte soon too, but if Blake keeps it up I wouldn't mind seeing him hang around for another two or three years.

[sschirmer]

Of the three B's, he's the one I've been down on the least. I like Garko too much to give Broussard any credit (unfair as that may be) and I want to see Marte soon too, but if Blake keeps it up I wouldn't mind seeing him hang around for another two or three years.

I have to agree with you there. Though I will say this: Broussard doesn't make it too hard not to give him credit. If you know what I mean!
He did, however, go 3-4 last night, but let's face it, last night was BP for most of the Tribe. Boone was still able to grab an ofer though!

[BoofBonser26]

I have to agree with you there. Though I will say this: Broussard doesn't make it too hard not to give him credit. If you know what I mean!
He did, however, go 3-4 last night, but let's face it, last night was BP for most of the Tribe. Boone was still able to grab an ofer though!
Yep, and for a moment after that HBP I thought we'd be seeing Marte starting tonight. Now tonight we need to hope the Indians don't throw up their usual 1 or 2 runs to follow a rout.

[sschirmer]

Yep, and for a moment after that HBP I thought we'd be seeing Marte starting tonight. Now tonight we need to hope the Indians don't throw up their usual 1 or 2 runs to follow a rout.


How 'bout scoring NINE runs! Oh, but also losing by NINE runs! UUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!

[BoofBonser26]

How 'bout scoring NINE runs! Oh, but also losing by NINE runs! UUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!
I know. I need to be more specific. :(

How 'bout that bullpen? Yikes. Miller on the DL, Betancourt most likely headed there. We'll probably see your guy Karsay.

On a plus note, the Tribe just scored in the first thanks to some nice hustle from Michaels (or J-Mike, as I heard Wedge call him :crazy ). Let's hope they keep it up today. And keep the pitching down...

[cavalier1968]

The last 2 days the Tribe pitching has sucked! No way are they ready for the playoffs (as of now).......I know its early......and shame on our manager for leaving Westbrook in last night.......

Cav

[sschirmer]

I have to be honest, I had no problem with him leaving Jake in. Hell, no one after him could get anyone out anyway, so what's the difference. Besides, at the end of the day, Jake deserved that loss.

[cavalier1968]

ERa (as I speak) is a robust 9.15
Mr Paul BYrd


Nice pick up tribe

Cav

[BoofBonser26]

ERa (as I speak) is a robust 9.15
Mr Paul BYrd


Nice pick up tribe

Cav
I say give 'em time...but I wouldn't mind seeing one of the youngsters instead.

[BoofBonser26]

Anyone listen to the post-game radio interview? :eek:

[sschirmer]

No, but I can only imagine. Since their six game winning streak, this team has underacheived, big time. 2 of 3 to KC? Come on, they have to do better than that.

[Mattingly]

Sorry for the delay in getting here. This thread is being stuck, at the request of the thread starter. :)

[goboilers40]

Big game tonight, chance to take the series against the Red Sox. We need Byrd to have a good start so he can get back on track.

[BoofBonser26]

Not a great start, but the start to getting back on track. And he's getting plenty of offensive support. Sweet slam by Benny in the first! :dance

[BoofBonser26]

Paul Byrd is leading the team in wins.




Welcome to the Twighlite Zone...*bah-bah-bah-bahhhhhh*

[Ytown Tribe fan]

The Tribe scored 158 runs this April. Is that a team record for that month?

[BoofBonser26]

The Indians are running themselves stupid on the basepaths. How does a team so suddenly forget the basics? Not that their running was ever great, but the past week has been ridiculous.

[sschirmer]

OMG, this bullpen is going to drive me insane. I can't take this much longer.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

This just goes to show ya.

We had injury-free pitching last year, and we feasted on the pathetic NL-West in interleague play. That gave the illusion of contention.

Now we have our share of injuries, and we are gonna get a shot at St Louis, Houston, etc.

Good luck.

[yankillaz]

Men, i've always loved the Cleveland Indians. In fact, i pick them to be the only serious threat to the hated Chicago White Sox. But there's something pissing me off:

Where's Johnny Peralta??? The most hyped ss in the majors, i picked him in my fantasy and i've been forced to bench him, because he's dissapeared completely. Your thoughts...

[BoofBonser26]

Some excellent pitching today by Sabathia. The Tribe seems to have turned things around. If they can beat up on the NL like last year, and carry the momentum back into the AL, they should be in good shape.

Regarding Peralta...give him time. It's only his second full season.

[sschirmer]

Boof, I see your name sake made it to the show. Congrats.

[sschirmer]

Men, i've always loved the Cleveland Indians. In fact, i pick them to be the only serious threat to the hated Chicago White Sox. But there's something pissing me off:

Where's Johnny Peralta??? The most hyped ss in the majors, i picked him in my fantasy and i've been forced to bench him, because he's dissapeared completely. Your thoughts...

The most hyped SS in the Majors? I would expect someone named "Yankillaz" would know that Jeter gets about 185 times as much pub as Peralta.:ughh

[BoofBonser26]

As I type, the Indians are knocking Santana around for 5 runs, having taken the lead! Sweet win if they can hold off.

[Yankee Legend]

8-0 in 3rd inning Ouch!!!

that hurts

[alwaysnextyr.]

I know that there is much more baseball, but this is sickening to me. 11-0, 2 hits and Thome. How much more torture can we bear?? Shapiro you should have convinced your boss to spend the money on another quality starter and Bob Howry. Oh and by the way was anyone scouting the Tigers? so much for the old "We play ball in the central we should have no problem winning the division and advancing in the playoffs retoric" Right. We have yet to have won the central since we blew up the tired old team of the 90's. Dolan do us a favor can the fireworks displays, bobbleheads, 6-packs, by a whopper get one free ticket etc, buy some quality vets that can pitch, hit, field, etc. and you will have no problem getting people in your seats. Other than C.C., Cliff Lee, and Bob Wickman we need help pitching wise. Boone waste of money, Better sign Belliard, I dont see much in the old farm system coming up at second, maybe Shapiro will find someone elses retread platoon player for second, or will move one of our scrub infielders to second. Whatever, this team is lacking Veteran winning leadership, and it shows. And someone pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase wake up our manager, push the panic button someone have a melt down get emotional I could go on all nigh but I will stop here.

[sschirmer]

I know that there is much more baseball, but this is sickening to me. 11-0, 2 hits and Thome. How much more torture can we bear?? Shapiro you should have convinced your boss to spend the money on another quality starter and Bob Howry. Oh and by the way was anyone scouting the Tigers? so much for the old "We play ball in the central we should have no problem winning the division and advancing in the playoffs retoric" Right. We have yet to have won the central since we blew up the tired old team of the 90's. Dolan do us a favor can the fireworks displays, bobbleheads, 6-packs, by a whopper get one free ticket etc, buy some quality vets that can pitch, hit, field, etc. and you will have no problem getting people in your seats. Other than C.C., Cliff Lee, and Bob Wickman we need help pitching wise. Boone waste of money, Better sign Belliard, I dont see much in the old farm system coming up at second, maybe Shapiro will find someone elses retread platoon player for second, or will move one of our scrub infielders to second. Whatever, this team is lacking Veteran winning leadership, and it shows. And someone pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase wake up our manager, push the panic button someone have a melt down get emotional I could go on all nigh but I will stop here.

I can honestly say that I agree with almost none of this, save for the part about Thome.:crazy

[Ytown Tribe fan]

And now Scott Sauerbeck has been arrested for being stupid. 'Cause you just can't have enough problems with your pitching.

[BoofBonser26]

:hp Can you say "Sowers"? :hp

[wildthing121675]

I'm a die-hard Indians fan myself, have been since I was a kid, and when they were playing in that dank, dark, canaverous Cleveland Municipal Stadium. I love my team, and always will.

WHAT WENT WRONG?!?

This year looked good, and now... we are starting to become Kansas City, no offense to Royals fans, but as an Indians fan, what went wrong? What are your thoughts, do you all blame GM Mark Shapiro and owner Larry Dolan as I tend to do sometimes?

wildthing121675

[Solair Wright]

Well, be glad your next oppenents are the slumping Cardinals. They're not doing much better, besides being in first place.

[BoofBonser26]

What are your thoughts, do you all blame GM Mark Shapiro and owner Larry Dolan as I tend to do sometimes?
wildthing121675
Yes, I blame Shapiro for completely rebuilding the club and trading for Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Travis Hafner, and signing Victor Martinez, Hafner, and Peralta to long-term deals and drafting Jeremy Sowers. It's all his fault.

:crazy

[BoofBonser26]

Grady Sizemore was named to the All-Star team last night, and Travis Hafner was named one of the five final candidates on the Final Man ballot. Vote Pronk!

In other news, I like the trade of Perez. He's a vet whose value will be about zero in a year or so, so getting a highly developed prospect is great. The guy they got apparently doesn't have much of a bad but can field spectacularly.

I'd also like to see Marte called up after the ASG and see Boone put in a utility role or traded.

[BoofBonser26]

Continuing the fun I had in the '05 RC thread, here are the Tribe's Runs Created so far through '06 (I know it would make more sense to do this at the All-Star break, but oh well ;) )

Hafner 71
Sizemore 69
Martinez 44
Belliard 42
Blake 42
Broussard 39
Peralta 36
Michaels 32
Boone 29
Perez 19
Hollandsworth 13
Gutierrez 3
Shoppach 3
Garko 1
Merloni 1
Laker 1

All other players contributed less than 1 run (mostly the pitchers). Notably, Vazquez has contributed 0 runs in his 44 at-bats.

[BoofBonser26]

Marte Marte Marte.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Here's how Tribe regulars compare to other AL regulars in batting, fielding and pitching, through 7/10/06:

C: Martinez tied for 4th in batting, 23rd in fielding, tied for 6th overall.

1B: Broussard 7th in batting, 14th in fielding, 6th overall.

2B: Belliard 6th in batting, tied for 7th in fielding, tied for 6th overall.

3B: Boone 13th in batting, 14th in fielding, tied for 11th overall.

SS: Peralta 9th in batting, 3rd in fielding, tied for 7th overall.

OF: Sizemore 13th in batting, 4th in fielding, 12th overall; Blake 24th in batting, not in top 40 in fielding, 21st overall.

DH: Hafner 2nd overall (Thome first).

SP: Sabathia tied for 24th; Westbrook tied for 24th; Byrd tied for 32nd, Lee tied for 37th.

RP: Carmona tied for 40th.

[BoofBonser26]

Sabathia as valuable as Westbrook? No thank you.

[BoofBonser26]

Indians lose again last night. But anyway. I'd like to comment on the catching situation here.

The Indians have all bat, no glove Victor Martinez in the majors. They have all bat, no glove catcher Ryan Garko at AAA. They move Garko to 1B, presumably thinking Martinez can work things out at MLB. He can't, so he starts going to 1B. Now Garko's path to the majors is blocked again at his new position - by the same guy. Then, the Indians trade Wick for a *drumroll* all bat, no glove catcher.

:noidea

[BoofBonser26]

Tribe puts up a 7-spot in the 1st! :gt

C'mon, let's get the Tribe discussion going again. Sschirmer, cav, you two seem to be the only ones other than me who post here regularly...and new thoughts on the Tribe?

And to those many people sporting Tribe avatars around Fever I never see here...talk some Tribe! :hp

[cavalier1968]

I dont mind the Tribe getting rid of players (who will be gone after this season) for younger players. The Belliard one perplexes me.......


any thoughts

Cav

[shoe686276]

I agree, I don't see how Luna is an upgrade in the future. Seems like the same guy, just younger and thinner. Maybe it was done to get Inglett some time on the field in a platoon with Luna.

It's not like Ronnie was old...

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Exactly. Belliard was not old, he was part of the "rebuilding phase" of 2003. So they dumped his salary, along with a few other so that they could begin the "rebuilding phase" of 2007.

Now there's talk about bringing Belliard back next year if Luna doesn't work out.

I want to believe. I want to believe more than Fox Mulder did.

And, unlike the perennial "five-year-plans" we saw in the '70s and '80s,we have signed a few good players to longer contracts; but only a few.

We want to contend every couple of years, maybe make the playoffs sometimes if everything goes right -- that's the best-case scenerio. But if we can't afford Belliard, who was part of the rebuilding phase of 2003, and we end up having to sign him again in the off season, then WTF?

I'm 50 and like a lot of you, I've seen this "plan" in action before: throw AAA players out there until you find some who stick ... sign 'em for as long as you can afford 'em ... hope to get enough of 'em together to contend once in awhile ... repeat as necessary.

Well, we got the best DH in baseball, another DH who we hoped would be a catcher, a centerfielder who could be a real star and a fat pitcher. Everyone else is being tried under fire right now. There is not much we can do in the offseason that will improve our chances next year, unless everything goes right and all the youngsters have miracle seasons.

[shoe686276]

I don't know that a lot of the hitters can perform much better. If many of them are having average seasons this year (as of this second, 4th in runs scored in MLB), I will take that, hoping one or two do improve (like Peralta) offensively.

When they eventually do dump Boone's contract and I assume Byrd "flies the coop" after this year, this should free up money to make a run at some of the better pitchers (both starting and relieving) available this offseason. I remember the good ol' days of '95 and '97 when the starters were servicable and we had the bullpen everyone wanted.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem, I think, with this team (and projecting into the future) is that the guys hitting also have to play positions in the field.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Julio Franco is available this offseason.

[shoe686276]

My point, I guess, is that I don't really expect the defense to get exponentially better next year, just better with experience. There is no reason to overhaul the lineup.

If enough money is free after signing any of the players the organization expects to be the core ove thenext 3-5 years as, one would hope, they make a run at the AL Central (which is no longer the joke that the West Divisions are now) they should try (easier said than done) to improve pitching because their offense seems to be, for the most part, in order.

I think this Boston series (although this series and the rest of year will be more like education than competition) is a pretty good example of what the Indians weakness has been this year.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

I'm gonna guess that the AL race is going to be wrecked by the Tribe this September. As usual, they are red hot and everything is jelling for the team, at long last.

The Tribe has 7 games against the Chi Sox and 4 vs the Twins and the A's, with other series against the Royals, Rangers, Blue Jays and D-Rays. They could go 21-10 the rest of the way, ending with an 83-79 record. That would be a real achievement, considering. They may in fact finish better than that.

We are not gonna catch any of the three teams ahead of us in the division, but we sure could ruin the postseason plans of at least one of them.

[VTSoxFan]

As per request, I'm un-sticking this thread.

[BoofBonser26]

Thanks. :)