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The Offense is Offensive.May 22nd, 2008
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Hey, remember that time when I wrote about the Indians offense being bad? What’s that you say? That’s all I’ve been writing about recently?
Well, I hate to sound like a broken record, but: the Indians still can’t hit. And, with the pitching staff seemingly coming back to earth after that absurd 23-runs-given-up-in-a-14-game-stretch, the Indians have now lost five in a row and have dropped from first to third in the standings.
So what’s the remedy? Without rehashing old ideas too much, here are some ideas:
Fire Derek Shelton: Look, I already wrote about it here, but enough is enough already; it’s time for someone to get blamed. Maybe it sends a message and fires the players up, or a new guy comes in and the players respond to the new authority. Or, maybe nothing happens because the hitters are beyond repairable. However, I do know this: statistically speaking, they can’t be any worse than they are right now, so the whole don’t-fire-a-guy-unless-there’s-someone-better-to-replace-him thing doesn’t really apply. It’s time to make a change.
Shuffle the lineup: This is something Manager Eric Wedge has tried, and the results have been equally as poor as the offense. In the last 10 games, Wedge has filled 9 different lineup cards. Ben Francisco has hit 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 8th; Jhonny Peralta has hit 2nd, 3rd, and 6th; Franklin Gutierrez has hit 5th, 6th, and 8th; David Dellucci has hit 3rd, 5th, and 6th; I could go on, but you get the idea. And remember, this is just in the last 10 games. Maybe you could blame Wedge for not sticking to a lineup that works (except none of the seem to work), or blame him for not trusting his players in specific lineup spots (he trusts they’ll be bad in all the spots), or even for not providing the players with lineup and playing consistency (even though none of them deserved it), but you can’t blame Wedge for not trying something different. Even if it’s different every single game.
VORP: VORP is a statistical term for Value over Replacement Player, which measures how many runs a player is adding to the team compared to a AAA-replacement player. Here’s the thing about VORP: like runs, VORP is a counting stat, and should increase with the more plate appearances a guy has. Never mind that Grady Sizemore, who leads the Indians in VORP with 11.9, isn’t even in the top 50 in the majors, and ignoring that Asdrubal Cabrera is currently ranked 665th (out of 669 qualifying) in VORP, but look at this: the second best Indian in terms of VORP is Ben Francisco, who is actually a triple-A replacement player himself. Like, he’s the RP in VORP. Of all the bad offensive stats the Indians are currently taking part in, this has to take the cake. Let me clarify: only one Cleveland Indian has a better VORP than an actual replacement player. Further, Michael Aubrey, a recent call up with only 8 plate appearances, has a higher VORP than Casey Blake, David Dellucci, Kelly Shoppach, Franklin Gutierrez, Jason Michaels, and obviously Asdrubal Cabrera. And remember, this isn’t like batting average or OPS, where one good game puts you ahead of everybody in the league; it’s a counting stat. In just two games, Aubrey has already proved himself more valuable than half of the damn team.
I’m sorry, I didn’t even get to the “idea” behind VORP: how about, since so many of the players aren’t providing any real value, the Indians start calling up AAA guys. I mean, technically they should have a VORP of around 0, and seeing as how 6 current Tribe hitters have VORPs under 0, I don’t see how it could hurt us. (As a side note, I cannot wait for Shin-Soo Choo to get healthy again. Also, if Cabrera is like the worst player in the majors right now, why don’t the Indians call up Josh Barfield yet? Just a hunch, but I think Barfield would hit better than .175 and OPS higher than .509.)
Make a trade: You had to know this one was coming. The Indians currently have the deepest pitching staff in the majors and the worst hitters in the majors. Um, … ? How about a trade? Of course, I wrote about it before, but what position do the Indians fill? 3B? LF? RF? 2B?
Well, now that Francisco has solidified himself as an everyday outfielder (for the time being anyway), and with Choo set to join the Indians outfield sometime in the near future (and Barfield at second? Please?), I think it’s safe to say the biggest need right now for the Tribe is third base. Which brings me to a guy I’ve heard floating around in possible trade rumors: Garrett Atkins. Right now, Atkins is hitting .332 with 7 home runs and 28 rbi for the Colorado Rockies, who are tied for the second-worst record in the majors. For the Indians, his numbers would be second on the team in home runs and batting average, and first in RBI. I think it’s safe to say, he’d be a welcome addition, and with 3B prospect Ian Stewart waiting in the wings in Colorado behind Atkins, anything could happen. Especially since, oh yeah, the Rockies are desperate for pitching. (They are currently 15th in ERA and quality starts, 14th in WHIP, 12th in BAA, etc. So yeah, Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, and Adam Miller look pretty damn good to them right now.)
Well, there you have it: all the Indians have to do is fire their hitting coach, find the right lineup, call up guys from the minors, and make at least one trade. Oh, and then everybody will magically start hitting well again. If only it were that easy…
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May 26th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
It’s really terrible, because I was just getting excited to watch some tribe ball (I have been in Law School, and finals have ended recently), but I just have no desire to watch a train wreck. It’s not even really in slow motion, because the wrecking starts early on (I mean, score more than 3 runs, and you’ve beat the Indians…)
Sucks.
May 26th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
PS
Michael Aubrey who???