Love him or Hate him, Albert Belle is funny

Hoynesie over at the PD posted an interesting article today about a conversation he had with former Indian Albert Belle about steroids and this terrible team.

Albert's time with the Tribe was tenuous; he was moody, unpredictable, aggressive and a damn good hitter. Since the topic of steroids was part of the call Hoynes had the cajones to ask Belle if he ever used banned substances. Hoynes, of course, was risking a serious beat down from a big man, but Belle reaffirmed my love for him when he responded to the accusation that perhaps his outbursts were related to 'roid rage.

Said Belle, "No, I was just an angry black man."

I love it! What a good sense of humor this man has, let's get him in a commentary box. He'll scare the annoying "back, back, back's" right out of Chris Berman.

Other than that Belle had a couple astute comments about former teammate Manny Ramirez and his failed drug test. Albert rhetorically asked what the point of drug testing was if none of the statistics from the guilty player are nullified.

It's a good question, one that I would love to see put in front of commissioner Bud Selig.

On the subject of Manny, he reminded us that he is such a good player that he could do without the steroids and still hit the ball a mile. It reminds of his early days with the Tribe, in which he hit just as well as he did in Boston or L.A. without the extra bulk.

Well, enjoy the All Star Game friends, I am.

Talkin' Trades: Victor wants to stay, Cliff should want to go

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Everyone has an opinion about the Indians right now, and many of them are good. Unfortunately many of them are not, and that is why I don't read comments of other blogs or message boards.

Now for my own comments.

In this article from the PD Victor Martinez committed himself to the Tribe for life, or at least in theory.

"I can't see myself in another uniform," said Martinez. "We'll see what happens."

That is really the best thing I have heard all season. Honestly, I never really gave the Martinez trade rumors much credence, considering his contract and his importance to the team.

Martinez, a career .298 hitter, is the cornerstone of the lineup and (when healthy) is the most consistent player on the team. This is evidenced by his inclusion as the lone Indian in the All Star Game.

His numbers at first base are not terrible, and not much worse than his numbers behind the plate. Because first base is traditionally a hitters position he looks to be secure there for many more years.

However the problem that arises is that his contract is up at the end of the 2010 season and the team will face a worsening payroll situation after such a terrible 2009 season. It is unclear whether or not the team will be able to hang on to him, but hopefully his statements indicate a willingness to accept a hometown discount to stay in a Tribe uniform.

The other name being thrown around in trade talks is that of Cliff Lee, the staff ace. Also under control through next season, Lee has stopped short of committing himself to the Indians, and it has been surmised that he will be very likely to test those free agent waters.

If this brilliant DiaTribe article is any indication he has every right to want to leave.

After his latest loss he issued a thinly veiled criticism at manager Eric Wedge's decision to play Ryan Garko in right, which resulted in a costly error.

Asked if he felt the ball should have been caught, Lee said, “Do you? I don't pass judgment on that. I throw the pitches. Where it goes it goes. It's not up to me to move the outfielders or infielders. All I do is pitch. It did seem like it was in the air a long time. I don't know if they had him shaded the other way or what. You'd have to ask him or Wedgie.”

He's absolutely right kids. Garko has no right being in right, or anywhere else in the outfield for that matter. The Wedge-Shapiro brain trust has made questionable decisions such as this (letting Brandon Phillips go, keeping Andy Marte on the roster all year, not firing Wedge/stepping down, etc.) many times and I can only imagine the polarizing impact it has on the team.

The same frustration can be seen in Jhonny Peralta, who clearly needs a change of scenery (or manager) to resolve his issues.

If I were Cliff Lee I would be asking the Indians to find a new team for me to play for, and if I were the Indians I would take him up on that.

I understand that trading Lee leaves the team without a legitimate ace for '10, but trading him halfway through the season next year does the same thing, and it seems as if that is bound to happen anyway.

Right now the return for Lee is going to be highest because of his low cost and length left on his contract. Should a Neftali Feliz or Clay Buccholz become available, I believe the Indians have to listen.

Personally, I prefer the Red Sox as a trading partner because it would be easy to send Kelly Shoppach back to their catching strapped club in order to get deeper returns and clear the way for Wyatt Toregas and later Carlos Santana.

These next few weeks will be interesting for these two players as well as the fans. I believe that the team has to make some kind of move, but I am not sure either of these cornerstones will be moving. We may be waving goodbye to Pavano or Carroll soon, however.

Check back soon for Futures Game thoughts and reactions.

Onward and Up...er...onward.

Well, Eric Wedge has a couple more months as Chief in Cleveland. That's not what I'm writing about though, that horse has been beaten to death.

I want to talk about the positive, because here at the Wahoo Blues we like to look at the good side of following a last place team.

Grady Sizemore hit two home runs tonight, further improving his status out of the leadoff spot. Choo followed his lead and put one out of the park continuing his offensive explosion and giving fans something to be happy about.

Tomorrow night Aaron Laffey is making his first start since being injured early in the season. It will be good to see his return and hopefully it will give our bullpen a much needed rest. Prior to being sidelined Laffey was 3-1 with a 3.93 ERA in four starts and six appearances out of the bullpen.

The best part of this move means that Tomo Ohka will no longer be starting and (very?) soon Jeremy Sowers will also be out of the rotation. Ohka, to his credit, pitched well in a few outings, Sowers, however, never really lasted well through five innings. Sowers has gone 2-6 in nine starts allowing 33 earned runs in 52 innings pitched.

If there is a silver lining in those poor numbers it's that perhaps Sowers will be a viable bullpen option. I expect the lefty to be sent to Columbus over the All-Star break where he will get an extended look in the 'pen. Should he be able to continue pitching strong early in his appearances there is no reason to believe that he could not contribute in some manner down the road.

Fausto Carmona will be getting one more start at AAA before coming back to the big club. On Friday he will take the rubber for Columbus against Memphis, and should things go well I would expect him to be a part of the break rotation shuffle.

That shuffle could bring an improved looking rotation, lining up something like: Lee, Pavano, Laffey, Carmona, Huff and you have to believe that Jake Westbrook is not far behind.

Of course, who sits when Westbrook comes back? If Huff continues to pitch well it will really put the heat on Aaron Laffey to earn his spot. Right behind him in AAA is the newly promoted Hector Rondon who will be looking to make an impact in Cleveland in the not-too-distant future.

Also tearing up the diamond in Columbus is third baseman Andy Marte who was named the International League Batter of the Week for the second week running. He hit .458 with two homers, six RBIs and eight extra-base hits last week and is currently tied for second in the league in batting average.

Though Marte may not have a spot (or be wanted) in Cleveland, his numbers put him in prime position to become part of a trade before the July 31st deadline.

Other young guns who are proving their worth are Nick Weglarz and Carlos Santana, whom I will be watching play in the All Star Futures Game. I hope to be able to post pictures sometime after the weekend.

Since we're not dwelling on the bad we won't discuss Chris Perez giving up a grand salami to Konerko, or the fact that the team traded a 20-something, unproven reliever for a 32 year old reliever with a spotty record. We just won't.

Stay strong Tribe fans. There's a whole half a season left to contemplate how 2010 will go.

Pavano Gets Nothing and News Roundup

So Pavano wasn't so bad last night, everyone else was, however. Including new boy Chris Perez. It's only been one game for him, so pump the brakes Cleveland doomsayers.

In other news, Fausto is going down low again, this time for AA Akron. After only allowing one hit over 6 1/3 innings in his last start for Class A Lake County the righty has been given another chance in his reclamation excursion through the minor leagues.

The key for Carmona is not to throw a perfect game, but to prove to the Indians brass that he can at least control the ball and make outs against tougher competition. A good outing for Carmona would be wonderful and meaningful for a team ravished by injury.

From the "News that will surprise no one" department, manager Eric Wedge has placed fourth in a players poll of managers they would least like to play for. The survey will be in the issue of Sports Illustrated that hits newsstands this week.

Cubs skipper Lou Piniella, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and Cards boss Tony LaRussa are the only managers to receive higher marks than Wedgie. Of course the difference between the other three managers and Wedge is that each has a history of winning. We could discount Sweet Lou because he coaches the Cubs, but the other two have won World Series titles in the past five years, Wedge has two winning seasons in the last seven. The other coaches may have a more abrasive style of coaching, but what we don't know about Eric may be the worst part of him. The players may be on to something.

Back to Pavano, last night we got seven innings with two runs, five hits, no walks and six strikeouts from him, not to mention that he induced eleven ground ball outs. That is pretty damn good to be handed a loss. Of course, Eric Wedge did get ejected trying to argue to keep the Indians out of that rough inning, but it wasn't enough.

It's good news nonetheless to see Pavano pitching well again, and with some of our ailing pitchers on the recovery trail maybe the Tribe can win a few before the season is over.

Laffey Poor in First Rehab Start

The Indians got pounded again today. No big deal, just business as usual.

The real problem that I have with the club today is the horrendous start that Aaron Laffey posted in a rehab assignment for Akron.

Lasting only 3 and 1/3rd innings Laffey gave up five hits and three runs, all earned. The worst parts of this outing for Laffey is that he gave up 6 walks in his short outing and was even afforded a slim lead prior to blowing up.

I guess he was just trying to emulate the other Indians pitchers (except good ol' Clifford).

Though this was just Laffey's first start since being sat down with a strained right oblique muscle more is expected of the young lefty. I won't dismiss the competition at the AA level, because the Indians have two players (Carlos Santana and Nick Weglarz) who I believe could compete at the big league level very soon.

Hopefully Laffey is not still hurting and will be able to rebound nicely and show the stuff that brought him to Cleveland.

In other news some more information has been revealed about the deal that sent Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals. Specifically about the PTBNL.

According to St. Louis Post Dispatch writer Bernie Miklasz's Twitter account the determination of the PTBNL will hinge upon whether or not the Cardinals are able to sign DeRo beyond the '09 season.

Fox Sports Jon Paul Morosi cites "an official with knowledge of the transaction" who has mentioned a few possibilities from within the Cardinals organization that may be available to the Indians in the coming months. Specifically mentioned are hard-throwers Jess Todd and Francisco Samuel.

Future Redbirds lists the upside to Todd beginning with his fast ascension from college ball through the lower levels of the Cardinals system. Todd has two plus pitches: a 90-94 mph four-seamer and a hard mid-80's slider that he uses as his out pitch. He also has throws an average or below upper-80's two-seamer and a circle change that moves like a splitter. Long term Todd projects to be a reliever according to the blog, overall he seems to be a hard-throwing pitcher that could impact the club soon.

Samuel is a reliever currently pitching for the Cards AA affiliate. Through 31.2 innings he has gone 4-4 with a 4.55 ERA and earned 18 saves. His strikeout totals are impressive with 39 already this season and 85 in 56.1 innings last year at the high A level. Though he is small, listed at 150 lbs., he throws a hard fastball, clocking in at 94-96 mph. St. Louis Cardinal Scout expects to see him reach the AAA level before the end of the season, making him a viable bullpen arm for a big league club in the near future.

Obviously it will be a long time before we find out the results of this deal, but with Chris Perez donning the Tribe cap for the first time tomorrow night, hopefully we'll see some upside quickly.

DeRo Out for Perez and PTBNL

Everyone knows by now that Mark DeRosa has been traded to the Cardinals. Old News. So let's do what bloggers do and break down the numbers! (It's all we have really.)

In 71 games this season DeRo has hit .270 with 13 doubles, 13 home runs and 50 RBI. His OPS stands at a respectable .799 and he does have 1 stolen base so far this season. Clearly the Cardinals are getting a quality veteran who can help them in their run for the NL Central crown, and I'm happy that he gets that chance. I don't need to extol the virtues of DeRo's versatility because everyone already knows.

On to how good Perez is!

Chris Perez started the year in AAA Memphis and was quickly promoted to the bigs to help out the Cards 'pen. While in Memphis he pitched four innings, notching two saves and a win while posting a 0.00 ERA.

Since being called up he has gone 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and my favorite stat a .195 opponent average against. The kids throws flames, he consistently hits the mid-90's and has been known to reach back and toss a 98+ heater at times. So far this season he has notched a 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio, with 30 and 15 respectively.

My best bet would be that the young righty (he turns 24 on Wednesday) will be the new eighth inning guy to set up Kerry Wood. Though a few more rough outings from Kid K might make everyone call for a role swap between the two. Perez will join the team on Sunday in Cleveland and be activated on Monday. With Carl Pavano listed as the probable for Monday's game against the White Sox it seems like Perez will be able to jump in to the American League right away.

The other part of the trade is the infamous Player To Be Named Later (or PTBNL, stay with me folks). The Indians are notorious for making this move work in their favor, bringing in the likes of Coco Crisp and Michael Brantley by way of the PTBNL.

The most interesting part of this PTBNL is that we have no idea where the player could come from or what stipulations surround the picking of said player. This, of course, means many blogs will be devoted that exact question. Last year the Tribe got to pick Brantley because of a clause that dictated that should the Brewers make the playoffs the Indians would be given the right to select the player. We'll know more in the near future but I would love to see such a clause again because the Cardinals seem very likely to make the playoffs in the weak NL Central.

As for now no Cardinals officials would comment on the PTBNL. Not even so much as what level the player could be selected at, or if he was on the 40 man roster. Just more fuel for the blogging fire.

Stay tuned.

Down Low with Fausto

Fausto Carmona returned to the mound last night for Class A Lake County and pitched 6 no hit innings before giving up a single to open the seventh. In an article for MLB.com he recounted his experience, explaining that he felt good.

"It was good to get back to normal," Carmona said through translator Julio Rangel. "I was able to throw everything for strikes."

The rest of that article can be found here.

What I have to wonder is how important this start really was. I will not say that it is completely unimportant because what he did was impressive at any level. However, it's not at a level that really matters.

There is where the problem lies. It should be easy for a pitcher with proven major league talent to retire 18 straight players from the Class A level. Most players at that level are only a few years removed from high school or possibly coming right from the collegiate level.

I agree with Carmona that he should feel encouraged that he was able to throw strikes, but I believe that he still has a lot to prove. We watched as he fell apart on the mound in big league parks. He struggled to find the zone, and when he did often it was a mistake, thus pushing him further into his frustration and self-loathing.

I'm not sure if a couple weeks in the desert helped him to correct these issues of immaturity, but I certainly hope that they did. I hope to continue to see this progress from the Dominican pitcher and to see him soon in a Tribe uniform, pitching the way he did in '07.

Once again Wedge seems to have the right idea:

"There are certain things we want to see when he's out there pitching," he said. "If he proves to himself and us that he's getting beyond some of these things, then we'll continue to move him [up]."

There is a lot that still needs to be seen from Fausto and there is a lot of potential that still needs to be tapped. Hopefully the club can prove that they have personnel to develop their own talent, and bring Carmona back as the new, old pitcher that we knew.