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Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report’s Cleveland Indians fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the club each week throughout the season.

With the Tribe’s disappointing 2010 season finally winding down, it’s time to take a look at each facet of the Indians’ play and take our best guesses as to what went so terribly wrong in each area specifically, and more importantly, why. 

I would like to thank this week’s participants, Lewie Pollis, The Coop, and Nino Colla, for their contributions. This discussion is open to all, so please feel free to comment below and share your thoughts on the questions we’re addressing this week.

Go Tribe!

1. What went so wrong with the defense?

Samantha Bunten: It boils down to two things: horrible, horrible errors at extremely critical points in games, and the three-headed monster known as “Nimartuena” wreaking havoc at third base.

Throw in the fact that the team’s two best defenders (Sizemore and Cabrera) were both seriously injured, and it’s not surprising the defense leads the league in errors. 

Nino Colla: Asdrubal Cabrera got hurt, Grady Sizemore got hurt, and the Indians were playing Jhonny Peralta and “Nimartuena” at third. Seriously, that’s what happened. 

Cabrera is the anchor of the infield, he makes everyone better. Sizemore is the anchor in the outfield and even when he was playing, he was hurt.

For my money, those are your two best defensive players and they missed time, one more than the other, but they still missed time. 

Then you try and make someone like Jayson Nix a third baseman and he undergoes what you should have expected, a period of adjustment.

Then you try and shuffle in Marte in random spots and how can you expect someone to play consistent defense when they aren’t playing consistently?

Then you have Valbuena, and I won’t even bother disclosing why that is a bad idea. 

For the most part, the defense was good early, then it just fell off the track. Making big errors in big spots was the biggest thing, then they just started coming in bunches as the two guys mentioned above started to drop off.

Lewie Pollis: FanGraphs’ Bryan Smith wrote a great article before the season about the Tribe’s “bold strategy” of having three natural shortstops (Cabrera, Peralta, and Valbuena) around the infield. The problem was, all three are poor defenders. 

For all his flash, Cabrera really needs to improve his range. I don’t want to relive the horrors of Peralta’s miserable glove, but it seemed somehow fitting when Jayson Nix made an error at third base the night after he was traded. 

The outfield is a mess, too. Aside from Choo (the only player on the team with a UZR over 4.0), Sizemore, Brown, Brantley, and Kearns have all left something to be desired. Then there’s Trevor Crowe’s -34.2 UZR/150 in center field.

The Coop: There’s an old adage that says good defenses are built up the middle, and if you believe that, then look no further. 

The revolving door that is the Indians’ infield is not very talented with the leather, and this is the biggest culprit for the Indians lackluster defense.

They’re not the worst I’ve ever seen, but when you grow up watching Carlos Baerga and Omar Vizquel, you have an understanding about what a good defense can do for a team. 

Stability has obviously been a problem, and that starts with the double play duo. At short, Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Donald have been awful. At second, Luis Valbuena is good with the glove, but he is disastrous at the plate, and this has kept him out of the lineup. 

Meanwhile, Donald is better than he is at short, but that’s not saying much. Even tossing in third base, Jayson Nix makes Jhonny Peralta look like Brooks Robinson. 

And of course, another major reason for the poor defense is the absence of Grady Sizemore. It certainly doesn’t help to have a Gold Glover out of the lineup, personal feelings aside.

2. What went so wrong with the offense? 

Samantha Bunten: An exceptionally slow start killed momentum early to such a degree that I’m not sure the Indians ever really came back from it. 

Injuries and a revolving door of slumping players resulted in large number of roster members not seeing consistent plate appearances, which made it difficult for many of them to settle in and find their stroke. 

As a group, their pitch selection regressed from last season, as most of the lineup waffled back and forth between not being aggressive enough and waiting on walks and flailing at anything within three feet of the plate.

Also, there was a glaring lack of power hitting from the middle of the order.

Nino Colla: Early it was bad and I don’t think anyone knows why. 

Okay, so Sizemore was gone and hurt, Branyan took awhile to get going after he even got back, Peralta was up to his usual early tricks, and Cabrera was sub-par early. 

It just didn’t click from the start and then you started replacing the pieces you were counting on to be reliable and that is when your offense goes to hell in a hand-basket. Simple as that.

Lewie Pollis: Every single position player the we’ve had has either plain-old played poorly, gotten injured, or both. I have nothing more to say.

The Coop: No power hitting. You can keep your small-ball if you want. I’ll take doubles, homers, and runs batted in. 

Sure, base stealing, moving runners, and taking extra bases is important. But for as much effort as it takes for a small-ball offense to manufacturer one run, a team with some power hitters can change an entire game with one swing of the bat.

Hey, you might not necessarily guarantee yourself a playoff spot with good power numbers, but you will definitely guarantee yourself mediocrity or worse without them.

Of the teams that rank in the bottom 10 of the majors in home runs and slugging percentage, only one (San Diego) is in a pennant chase right now. The Indians have absolutely no one who strikes fear in an opposing pitcher. 

They have three guys with double-digits in home runs and probably no one that will finish with more than 100 runs batted in, and no one with a slugging percentage over .500. That’s just not going to cut it.

3. What went so wrong with the starting pitching? 

Samantha Bunten: Let’s begin with the fact that the Tribe spent way too much of the season with two guys in the rotation who didn’t belong there.

At the risk of beating a dead horse, Masterson belonged in the bullpen. At the risk of beating a dead mule, Huff should probably never have been in the majors in the first place. 

That said, starting pitching wasn’t the team’s biggest problem. The starters for the most part did a fair job, except maybe for the lack of ability to go deep into games in terms of innings. 

A team with starters who can’t go more than five or six innings requires a far stronger bullpen than the one we had. The fact that the bullpen couldn’t back up them up was probably the biggest overall problem for the starters, aside from issuing too many walks.

Nino Colla:  I don’t think anything went wrong here. It went as well you could have expected things to go if you ask me. 

This was the doom and gloom part of the team and they ended up being one of the most stable units on the club from start to finish.

They had rough patches, but they were the only thing worth watching early in the season and right now, they are showing some promise with young guys like Jeanmar Gomez and Carlos Carrasco pitching very well. 

The one thing that I think did go wrong overall was David Huff. The way his season played out was not ideal and definitely opposite of what I expected.

I thought he was going to play a major part in this rotation and establish himself as one of the guys for this team now and in the future. Now his status is in serious doubt after he’s put himself in Acta’s dog house and consistently denied doing things the organization’s way. 

I’m worried about his future because I think he has the potential to be a part of this rotation, but he may be damaging the relationship beyond repair.

Lewie Pollis: The rotation’s collective 5.3 K/9 rate was the lowest in baseball, and our 3.5 BB/9 rate was the worst in the AL. The solution is simple: throw some strikes.

The Coop: More than anything else, I believe that pitching (and getting good at pitching) takes time, patience, and experience. So at the risk of breaking your rule about not blaming youth and inexperience anymore, I believe that this is the only thing that held the Indians back. 

Other than that, I would say the starting pitching was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal year. They are definitely talented, so I think the future is very bright for the Indians’ rotation in years to come.

If I had to place blame on anything, I would say that David Huff was a major disappointment, and that the team has wasted time on having Justin Masterson in the rotation and not the bullpen (c’mon, you knew it was coming).

4. What went so wrong with the relief pitching? 

Samantha Bunten: First of all, “Kerry Wood” and “Good Bullpen” are two mutually exclusive entities. The Indians rode the sinking ship that is Kerry Wood far too long, and they ended up drowning. 

Generally speaking, the biggest problem was the ungodly number of walks issued late in games. With an offense largely unable to overcome any sort of deficit in the late innings, the last thing the bullpen should be doing is issuing free passes. 

Throw strikes. Force your opponent to swing and put the bat on the ball well enough to earn their way to first base. The Indians’ bullpen doesn’t post nearly enough strikeouts to cede as many walks as they have. 

Nino Colla: Early on I think they had no stable chain of command. Even though Perez was a semi-stable option early, the lead-up to him was weakened by him moving to that closer’s role. 

Believe it or not, whether you like him or hate him, Wood returning to the role sort of stabilized everything because Perez moved back and made the chain stronger.

Now Perez is back in the role and the options leading up to him are much stronger, which is why I think the bullpen has been very successful since that point Wood was traded. 

Particularly, Jensen Lewis and Jess Todd’s outcomes were not pleasing. I think the club mistreated Lewis and I think that situation isn’t going to end ideally. Todd’s progression in Columbus was disappointing, and I expected more from him in the major leagues.

Lewie Pollis: When a team’s closer posts a 6.30 ERA and the bullpen combines to walk almost a batter every two innings, what do you expect? 

Really, though, for a rebuilding team with no hope of contending, this shouldn’t have been where we put our resources anyway.

The Coop: Geez, it should be easier to be critical with a team this bad, but I’d say the relief pitching wasn’t too bad this year either. 

The biggest problem was that the Indians held onto Kerry Wood too long (obviously in an attempt to get some trade value for him, which now remains to be seen). However, this year’s bullpen was definitely an upgrade over the past few years. 

Depth might be the biggest “problem” with this unit. I said at the beginning of the season that I wanted Chris Perez to be the closer, and he has done a very good job with the opportunity.

I think he’s the closer of the immediate future, until a certain current starter is moved to the bullpen and groomed for the job. 

As for the other guys, Tony Sipp and Rafael Perez are certainly capable major league relievers. This is another group that I think has potential for the long-run.

5. What went so wrong with the base running? 

Samantha Bunten: This is by far the least concerning area of the Indians’ game. The base running wasn’t that bad, and it was also sort of hog-tied by the lack of hitting in that if our players can’t get themselves a single or a walk in the first place, then they won’t be getting a good jump off the bag or stealing second. Duh. 

I look at it like this: I’m all for small ball and manufacturing runs, but in order to do that successfully, you need to have the kind of lineup that boasts hitters top to bottom who consistently get themselves on base. 

And let’s face it: if anyone could actually hit the ball out of the infield with any sort of regularity, then runs would cross the plate whether the base running was exceptionally good or not. 

At the end of the day though, we can always blame Trevor.

Nino Colla: I would say this was a stronger part of the team. It is an overlooked aspect, but this club was good in this department. 

It was good to see Acta employ some tactics like hit and run and moving base runners and it was good to see some execution on the club’s part.

Of course, a lot of that had to do with the type of talent on the club vs. the talent that used to be on the club, but Acta seems like the one to do this stuff regardless. 

Choo’s aggressiveness got him into some boneheaded situations, but overall, nothing to complain about. Steve Smith seems like a solid guy at third. I would like to see Brantley run more, but he has to get on base, which is the biggest issue for him not running as much as you would like.

Lewie Pollis: I don’t think the baserunning has been that bad. Sure, Lou Marson and Matt LaPorta look like they have refrigerators on their backs while they sprint, but this is far from my biggest area of concern.

The Coop: Nothing. Jhonny Peralta had an inside-the-park home run. That trumps anything negative that you could possibly say!

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Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report’s Cleveland Indians fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the club each week throughout the season.

This week we discuss the fate of the Tribe’s 2011 arbitration-eligible players, project next season’s payroll, wonder what’s wrong with Mitch Talbot, and share our thoughts on possibly playing spoiler for the Twins or the White Sox this month.

I would like to thank this week’s participants, Dale Thomas at Dan Tylicki, for their contributions. This discussion is open to all, so please feel free to comment below and share your thoughts on the questions we’re addressing this week.

Go Tribe!

1. This winter, Shin Soo Choo will be eligible for arbitration. There hasn’t been much talk of signing him to a multi-year contract, at least that we know of. 

Do you think the Indians will avoid arbitration and sign him to a multi-year deal this offseason? What do you think is a reasonable contract length/dollar amount? 

Is there any chance the Tribe signs Choo for a deal longer than three years that not only avoids arbitration but goes into the beginning of his free agency?

Samantha Bunten: There’s no way they’ll avoid arbitration with Scott Boras involved. I expect they’ll make an offer to buy out his arbitration years anyway, but I don’t see them trying to push anything that goes into his free-agent years. 

The Indians are no longer in the habit of buying that far into the future unless the player comes at a serious bargain price, which no one repped by Scott Boras ever will. 

If they’re smart, and if Boras agrees to play ball, they should look at a deal in the neighborhood of three years, $16-18 million. 

Dale Thomas: I’m not too worried about Boras pushing Choo into free agency, and I don’t think the Indians will attempt a long-term deal. Let’s call it the “Hafner lesson.”

I think they will try to buy out his arbitration years with a low-ball offer. Maybe $15-20 million. 

He is in his offensive prime right now and will be 31 years old at the free-agency stage. That’s typically when a player’s performance might begin to decline, so I don’t think free agency will be all that kind to Choo. I figure a three-year deal, then the Indians will cut him loose.

Dan Tylicki: They probably will not avoid arbitration, given that he’s a Boras client, but I hope they do and sign him to a multi-year agreement. 

He’s earned a pretty hefty contract with his play, I’d say in the $5 million per year range. I’d go higher but this is the Indians we’re talking about.

I don’t see anything beyond a three-year deal happening, though.

2. Another core player who will be eligible for arbitration this winter is Asdrubal Cabrera. 

What do you think is a reasonable offer of years/salary for Cabrera? Any chance the Indians lock him up for longer than just his arbitration years by giving him a contract that extends into free agency? 

Now for the really tough question: If the Indians are only willing and/or able, financially speaking, to give a long-term contract to either Choo or Cabrera but not both, which one do you think they should choose? Why?

Samantha Bunten: Cabrera is a far better candidate for a long-term deal than Choo given his age and representation. 

Moreover, the team’s needs should also make Cabrera the stronger candidate. The system is full of outfielders. Obviously, it would hurt to lose Choo in the future, but it would be easier to absorb than losing Cabrera. 

I would try to go six years with Cabrera, back-loaded with a club option on the last year. 

The Indians are also in a better position to negotiate with Cabrera than they are with Choo, given Cabrera’s injuries, unproven consistency on offense, and relationship/attachment to the team. 

Dale Thomas: Cabrera is a lot like Choo in that they both had breakout seasons in 2009 and both continue to improve…except Cabrera is way younger, and is a great candidate for a six-year deal.

They could probably get a discounted price early on in the deal then jack it up toward the later years. 

It could look something like this: 2011, $2 million; 2012, $3.5 million; 2013, $6 million;  2014, $8 million, 2015, $9.5 million; and 2016, $10 million (club option.) This would lock him up for his best years.

Dan Tylicki: Cabrera is probably an easier case to lock up past arbitration, since he’s emerged as a leader, and due to his injuries, the Indians may be able to get a bit of a break money-wise. Not sure how much he’d get, but he deserves a good contract as well. 

He’s more likely to get the longer deal that goes into free agency, but again I think this is unlikely. 

The second question is a tough one indeed. Do you pick the clubhouse leader-infielder, probably the only spot in the infield that’s actually nailed down, or do you pick the most productive player at a position we’re deeper in, who’s a Boras client? 

If they had the same agent, I’d go with Choo just because we need that spark in the lineup, even though based on need right now, Cabrera seems the more urgent player to get signed up.

3. On a related note to the above, the Indians payroll this season was about $61 million. Roughly $27 million of that has or will come off the books this year, putting the total going into next year at about $34 million. 

Obviously that number will go up from $34 million in 2011 (through players entering arbitration and scheduled raises for players under contract if nothing else), but how much do you think it will go up beyond that? 

What do you estimate the Indians’ payroll entering 2011 to be? Do you think the projection is a reasonable amount for them to spend given the team’s revenue and chances of contending?

Samantha Bunten: The total for payroll will likely end up about the same, let’s say about $58 million. Not much will change. The Indians will spend about the same amount, they’ll rank about the same amongst other MLB teams in terms of payroll, and they won’t contend.

They’ll bring in a stopgap third baseman on a one-year deal, give the same sort of deal to a veteran low-risk, high-reward pitcher, say the word “rebuilding” a lot, and then finish last in the Central. 

Business as usual. At least we know what to expect.

Dale Thomas: Payroll will end up about where it is now, then they will complain about it. I honestly don’t feel that they are ‘building’ a team. 

It’s more like they are becoming adept at tearing the team down. Deconstruction specialists, so to say. 

Yeah, they’re obligated to raise certain salaries, then obliged to dump those same salaries and thumb their noses to the general public while explaining how “we don’t understand”. 

Sadly, contending has come to mean ‘not coming in last.’ How many Walmart TVs do you have to get before you realize that your audience doesn’t want to watch a blank screen? 

Our ballpark is empty for a reason and it doesn’t take a brilliant analyst to figure out why. Everyone knows you have to invest first to get the dividend later. Ownership has sunk to buying lottery tickets with the hope of getting lucky.

Dan Tylicki:  I think we’ll finish somewhere in the neighborhood of $56-58 million. It will remain near the bottom, and it will look like they won’t contend. 

Factoring in Choo and Cabrera, there wouldn’t be too much more for others, and as usual, Cleveland will take the low-risk, high-reward route, finding a one-year third baseman and perhaps another player or two.

4. Mitch Talbot was a hugely pleasant surprise the first half of the season, pitching far better than anyone expected and making the Kelly Shoppach trade with the Rays look like a complete steal. 

These days, he’s the poster child for how quickly things can start to go down the drain. 

Initially Talbot’s struggles landed him on the DL, but it’s only gotten worse from there. Upon returning to the team, he gave up 12 runs in his first three starts, and was touched for five runs in the first inning last week by the anemic Oakland offense. 

So what exactly is wrong with Talbot? Why do you think he was able to pitch so well in the first half of the season but then took such a dramatic turn for the worse? 

Do you think Talbot can adjust and return to his early season form? Do you think this is just a bad spell for Talbot that he’ll eventually emerge from, or do you think his success at the beginning of the year was just a fluke?

Samantha Bunten: There doesn’t appear to be any sort of mechanical issue or flaw in his delivery, though I think there’s a strong possibility he could be tipping, even if it’s only in such a way that it nets opposing batters more walks/an easier go at pitch selection rather than allowing them to tee off on him. 

He’s also relatively young and doesn’t have a ton of major league experience, so he may have had a few bad outings that were just part of the way things go for everyone but was then unable to get past them mentally. 

Ultimately, I think Talbot will be fine. It may just be an issue of getting his confidence back. If not, we can always just ship him off to Arizona. Hey, it worked for Fausto. Sort of. 

Dale Thomas: I think the long ugly season wore him down and he just doesn’t give a sh** anymore. Oh wait! Maybe that’s me…

Dan Tylicki: I wish I could say it’s because of the teams he’s faced, but he’s played against the Athletics and Mariners and got torched by both, so that’s clearly wrong.

Looking through his stats doesn’t show anything other then him just pitching worse, so I’m quite certain it’s mental. These kinds of slumps are what separates the good and the bad pitchers. If he can shake this off and return to form, he’ll be worth keeping. If he’s even worse in September, then it will be a problem. 

I don’t think his early success was a fluke, he’s just someone who still needs to develop at the major league level. I think he has the tools to snap out of it, but I don’t know if he will.

5. Fun Question of the Week: Beginning this week, the Tribe still has six games each left with division contenders Chicago and Minnesota before the end of the season. This leaves them with a chance to play spoiler for someone’s playoff chances. 

Given the choice, whose season would you rather the Tribe ruin, the Twins or the White Sox? Realistically, which of those teams do you think the Tribe has a greater chance of victimizing in an effort to play spoiler?

Samantha Bunten: Since Torii Hunter is no longer with the Twins and around to run his mouth off about how much he hates the Indians, the choice is pretty easy: Chicago, all the way. 

We can make the choke sign at Ozzie Guillen like he did to us a few years ago. We can ruin AJ Pierzynski’s winter. We can keep Mark Buehrle from getting additional chances to hit yet another batter in the head and then refuse to apologize for it. That’s right, Chicago—what goes around comes around. 

Dale Thomas: White Sox get my vote, but I hope we don’t have to vote on whose season we wreck next year.

Dan Tylicki: Hmm, who would I rather see beaten by the Tribe, Manny or Thome? Probably Manny, since Thome was with the team longer, so I’d rather spoil Chicago. 

We’re 8-5 against Chicago and 5-7 against Minnesota, so I’d say we have a better shot against Chicago.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report’s Cleveland Indians fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the club each week throughout the season.

This week, we discuss the Tribe’s terrible luck with injuries, Fausto Carmona’s All-Star Game nod, and the long-awaited emergence of Matt LaPorta.

I would like to thank this week’s participants Lewie Pollis, The Coop, and Nino Colla for their contributions. This discussion is open to all, so please feel free to comment below and pitch in your thoughts on the questions we’re addressing this week.

Go Tribe!

1. First it was Grady. Then it was Asdrubal. Now it’s Shin-Soo Choo who is headed for a lengthy stint on the DL. 

Choo sustained a sprained thumb last Friday diving for a ball. What at first appeared to be a minor injury is now believed to potentially require surgery and could keep the right fielder out until September. 

Are the Tribe EVER going to catch a break? 

Do you really think Choo will be out until September, and if so, how will this impact the team’s performance? How do you think the adapted outfield of Crowe in left, Brantley in center, and Kearns in right will fare? 

One more thing: At the risk of being a harbinger of doom, who’s next? Will we lose another important roster member to the DL soon?

Samantha Bunten: As a Cleveland fan, it’s tempting to meet this question with a blank stare and mumble something like, “Catch a break?” What does THAT mean? The only thing the Tribe seems to be catching this season is the injury bug, and yes, I did also mean that as a knock on our abysmal defense. 

We lost our two best defenders in Sizemore and Cabrera, and our best hitter in Choo. That would be tough for any team to absorb, but the Tribe’s lack of depth has made the impact of the injuries even more glaring. 

As far as the outfield in its current state, Brantley has improved but still has a long way to go, Kearns has cooled off, but is certainly still doing his job, and Crowe…well…you all know how I feel about that. 

Who’s next? Well, if the pattern continues, you have to assume it will be Mitch Talbot or Chris Perez. And the shot to the head LaPorta took from Elvis Andrus on Monday was eerily ironic given LaPorta’s recent impressive improvement.

Nino Colla: Oh boy…This is just deflating to see. Not just the injury but the fact he’ll be out for the next two months? Man, just man. 

I don’t know if they are ever going to catch a break, but this is certainly annoying to continue to see year after year. Just once, even if the team isn’t going to compete, you’d like to see your best player have a good season from start to finish. 

I don’t know how it will impact the team, but it certainly isn’t going to help. They’ll have to depend on Carlos Santana, Travis Hafner, and Matt LaPorta to carry the offense, and that is a tough task for those three with the supporting parts right now. 

The outfield will be fine for now. I want to see Jordan Brown now though. If he isn’t up at some point, there is something really wrong. They have the space, and if they trade Kearns they will have no excuse not to give him a shot.

Lewie Pollis: I don’t think there’s much to say about this besides that it sucks. Though the image of Trevor Crowe having some job security makes me want to vomit.

The Coop: I can only assume your question about the Indians ever catching a break is rhetorical, because the next break any Cleveland team catches will be the first one. 

Regardless of whether or not Choo needs surgery, the most important thing is that the Indians do not rush him back. Put him on the shelf for the rest of the year if you have to, but there’s no sense in jeopardizing the future and long-term health of one of the best players on the team. 

As far as the team is concerned, anytime you lose a guy who means as much to his team as Choo means to the Tribe, there’s going to be a painful drop-off. Let’s not forget there was a reason Brantley was sent down before May. 

My only hope is he has become a better player after suffering through his early season struggles. His latest stint in Columbus might be just what he needed to regain his focus and confidence. Plus, with the Indians out of it, he should feel a lot less pressure. 

And for the record, I fully expect Fausto Carmona to incur some sort of freak injury while attending the All-Star Game, putting him on the DL for the rest of the year. Tendinitis in the elbow from holding his video camera during the Home Run Derby, perhaps?

2. On Sunday, Fausto Carmona was selected as the Indians’ representative for the 2010 All-Star Game. 

Do you think Fausto deserves to be an All-Star? Was he really the best choice to represent the Indians in the Midsummer Classic?

Who would you have chosen to represent the team? Why?

Samantha Bunten: The nod should have gone to Choo, no question. As it stands, he’s the only player on the team who by rights might belong on an All-Star roster without that “every team has to have one player on the squad” designation attached. 

Given Choo’s unfortunate injury though, I like the pick of Carmona. I’m not sure he truly has given the performance necessary to be nominated, but you have to love that a guy who was so bad that he was banished to rookie ball just one year ago has improved so much he’s now an All-Star representative. 

Nino Colla: Is Fausto an All-Star this year? I don’t really think so. I think it is awesome that he made it, and I’m glad there will be an Indian in the game after all. 

However, other pitchers in the AL got left off the roster for him being on it. Jered Weaver is one name that comes to mind, but I don’t think it was a huge travesty that Carmona did make it over a few other AL pitchers. 

Shin-Soo Choo should have been this club’s representative. It sucks he won’t get the honor and it sucks he got hurt and wouldn’t have been able to play anyway, but he deserved to at least have the honor attached to his name. Choo has the best offensive numbers in virtually every category and he deserved the nod.

Lewie Pollis: It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that I’m not Carmona’s biggest fan, but since we can’t have Choo, I can’t really justify being angry. 

He absolutely doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star over, say, Francisco Liriano, but he’s probably the best the Indians have to offer.

I had one other possibly crazy idea that I think merits consideration: Carlos Santana. He’s been absolutely insane; his .436 wOBA would rank third in the game if he had enough at-bats to qualify. 

The main argument against him would be his lack of playing time, but given that he’s produced more in 28 games than All-Star John Buck has in a full season (1.4 to 1.3), I don’t think it’s the smallness of the sample size that matters.

The Coop: The last time I spoke on who the Indians’ All-Star representative should be, I thought it was obvious, so I didn’t name anyone. But a few other people didn’t necessarily agree with my choice of Choo, so maybe I should have clarified. 

Hands down, Shin-Soo Choo should be there. Obviously, his injury could not have happened at a worse time. But to me, there isn’t any debate on this topic. Austin Kearns? Seriously? Since when does .260 / 7 / 35 get you to the All-Star game? 

Is Fausto Carmona the next best choice? Maybe, maybe not. Sure, his stats aren’t exactly reminiscent of Nolan Ryan, but considering he’s come back from the depths of hell (Rookie Ball) to be among the team leaders in virtually every statistical category is enough for me. I hope that this opportunity increases his confidence and helps him return to his 2007 form for good. He deserves it.

3. Since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus after Russell Branyan was traded to the Mariners, Matt LaPorta has been a pleasant surprise.

With a .236 average and just four home runs on the season, LaPorta obviously still has a long way to go before he can reach the level of play he’s reportedly capable of. Still, you can’t deny LaPorta is finally looking like the guy we thought we were getting from Milwaukee way back when we sent them CC Sabathia in 2008.

Over the last week, LaPorta is hitting .360 with 3 home runs and seven RBIs. Do you think LaPorta is finally having his breakthrough? What do you think changed since his last stint in the majors at the beginning of the season?

How much do you think it will help LaPorta to have the bulk of the at-bats at first base, as opposed to having to share time with Branyan as he did before? Do you think LaPorta is finally here to stay, or is there a chance he lands back in Columbus again before the end of the season?

Samantha Bunten: As much as I’ve been glad to see LaPorta’s breakthrough, I’m more relieved than impressed. The Sabathia trade looks a little better now. 

I don’t mean to take anything away from LaPorta though—he clearly took his demotion seriously and made good use of his time back in Triple-A. 

He still strikes out too much and looks like he’s swinging for the fences on pitches where he should just be trying to make contact, but he does appear to have found his power stroke and while it still needs work, his pitch selection has definitely improved. 

I do think he’s here to stay, and I don’t think he’ll be ceding too many of the at-bats at first base except for routine days off. The pressure will be on LaPorta to perform now though; with the Branyan trade, there really isn’t anyone on the roster who can absorb some of the at-bats at first, which made it that much scarier for the Tribe when Elvis Andrus tried to kill LaPorta on Monday. 

Nino Colla: I think Matt LaPorta just got some confidence and support. Just knowing you are going to be in the lineup every day and knowing you are also going to be playing one certain position each day does a lot for the mind. 

I think this is finally Matt’s time to shine. He has regular playing time, the team is backing him and trading Branyan proves that. He’s confident, and he appears to be healthy. He’s got everything on his side right now. 

He’s not trying too hard like he was earlier in the year and things are just coming easy for him right now. I think he’s here to stay and would be shocked to see him back in Columbus at any point.

Lewie Pollis: Now that’s more like it. If nothing else, this should be a confidence boost for the Tribe. Consistent playing time at an easier position can only help LaPorta. Obviously a surge this strong won’t last, but it sure is nice to see him finally doing something.

On the other hand, there are still some things to worry about—namely, his plate discipline. He’s hacked at over 30 percent of pitches out of the strike zone this year, and hasn’t done particularly well with them, with an O-Contract rate under 62 percent. 

His strikeout rate has actually been worse since his promotion (27 percent) than it was before he got sent down (21 percent).

The Coop: By all accounts, LaPorta is finally healthy, comfortable and not worrying about re-injuring himself. If that’s all it took for him to look like the prospect the Indians thought they were getting, then that’s great. 

But I’m actually sensing a common theme here. The Indians have seemingly found guys with the right attitude. My guess is LaPorta, like Fausto Carmona, used his time in the minors to refocus and regain his confidence. You can trot out all the statistics and sabermetrics you want; there’s no way to truly measure these intangibles. 

Giving LaPorta that bulk of the playing time at first base is going to be great for him. Like Brantley and most other young Indians, the pressure should be off. Now, these guys can relax and work on becoming better players each day, so they can contribute to the long-term success of the organization. 

At this point, there would be virtually no reason to send him back to Columbus. The Indians need to find out what he can do in the big leagues, plain and simple. We all know what he can do in the minors.

4. In just one week, we will have reached the midpoint of the 2010 season. 

While we knew this would be a tough year for the Tribe, so far the team has struggled even more than we thought they would. 

Please list 5 things you think the Indians have done wrong, or have been a central cause of their struggles this season.

Samantha Bunten:

1. Unproductive players like Luis Valbuena were allowed to hang around the roster way too long before being ousted. Jhonny Peralta has been violating this one for years.

2. Horrible, horrible defense. The kind that loses games all on its own. 

3. Having to utter the phrase “Andy Marte is the best option” when asked who should be starting at third base.

4. Sizemore, Cabrera, and Choo are all on the DL, while Crowe and Peralta stubbornly refuse to hurt themselves. 

5. The complete vanishing act of the fan base. I want to get mad about this, but really, can you blame them?

Nino Colla:

1. Signing Russell Branyan was a mistake, no question.

2. Injuries to guys like Cabrera have made it a necessity to hold onto guys like Anderson Hernandez, but I’d still like to see Josh Rodriguez at some point.

3. Early season hitting woes were surprising.

4. I think Kerry Wood being out hurt the bullpen depth early.

5. Luis Valbuena and Lou Marson.

Lewie Pollis:

1. Miserable defense. Our collective -36.8 UZR is worst in the game, by a mile.

2. Giving regular playing time to Jhonny Peralta.

3. Strike some people out. The Indians staff has the lowest K/9 rate (5.6) in baseball. The difference between us and No. 29 is greater than the difference between No. 7 and No. 19.

4. Throw some strikes! Our 3.8 BB/9 rate is also the worst in the league.

5. Jhonny Peralta gets to be mentioned twice.

The Coop:

1. Lack of a true No. 1 starter (too bad the Indians can’t find a guy who can win a Cy Young Award).

2. No power hitting (unless you think one guy with double-digit HRs is good).

3. Improper use of Justin Masterson (move him to the ‘pen!).

4. Mark Shapiro still has a job (seriously, does this guy have pictures of the Dolans?).

5. Injuries (not an excuse, but definitely an explanation).

5. Despite the overall disappointment and those struggles mentioned above, things haven’t been all bad this season. 

Please list five things the Indians have done right, made a positive contribution to the team’s success, or have just pleasantly surprised you thus far this season.  

Samantha Bunten:

1. The potential of the Tribe’s young talent is still very apparent; it’s just taking a little longer to manifest than we expected.

2. Mitch Talbot—they gave us this guy for Kelly Shoppach? Mark Shapiro finally did something right!

3. Carlos Santana—The hype was legit. His contributions on the field are already making a difference. And he’s the kind of player who will increase ticket sales. 

4. I’m not sure whether Manny Acta is truly a winner yet, but he’s infinitely less frustrating than Eric Wedge. His charisma and enthusiasm (not to mention his in-game management skills) are a refreshing change from Wedge’s “manager in a coma” style.

5. Despite his early struggles, I still love Michael Brantley. Yes, I know he’s still hitting .143, but his bat will come around, and his defense is already there. 

Nino Colla:

1. Starting Pitching has been a pleasant surprise, namely Talbot and Carmona.

2.  Chris Perez has been the brightest spot in a bullpen that has had its moments of hope.

3. Sticking with Justin Masterson has been something that the Tribe deserves some props for. People wanted to oust him after the first few starts.

4. Their aggressive promotion within the minor league system has been refreshing. Bryce Stowell is in Triple-A, Alex White is in Akron, and Joe Gardner is in Kinston. Give them some credit for changing that and their draft strategy as well.

5. Carlos Santana.

Lewie Pollis:

1. Chooooooooooooooooo!

2. Letting Masterson work through his struggles.

3. Moving Sizemore out of the lead-off spot (boy, I’m really reaching here).

4. Not raising the price of Kosher dogs.

5. Playing Muse’s “Uprising” before the game.

The Coop:

1. Jake Westbrook (though pretty mediocre, his five wins are about four more than I thought he’d have).

2. They have good-character guys who have struggled but fought to make it back to the big leagues and contribute (exception: Jhonny).

3. Chris Perez (just make him the closer already).

4. Mitch Talbot (no one saw this coming).

5. Carlos Santana (dude is for real).

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Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report’s Tribe fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the Indians each week throughout the season.

This week, we wonder if we should buy what the Indians are selling based on last week’s successful run, discuss the possibility of Jake Westbrook being moved, and contemplate how much an off-day is really worth.

I would like to thank this week’s participants Dale Thomas and Jon Sladek for their contributions. This discussion is open to all, so please feel free to comment below and pitch in your thoughts on the questions we’re addressing this week.

Go Tribe!

1. Last week the Tribe won consecutive series against the Royals and Orioles, marking the first time this season that they emerged victorious in back-to-back series.

Winning just two series in a row is not normally an accomplishment of any significance, but when your team is playing under .500 ball, you take what you can get.

That said, can we really put any stock into this small success? Does the Tribe winning two consecutive series indicate that perhaps they’re beginning to turn it around, or was it merely the product of playing two teams who may be even worse than the Indians?

Do you think the Indians did anything differently last week that enabled them to be successful, or were they merely the better of two bad teams on the field?

Samantha Bunten: A win is a win, especially when you only have 15 of them on the season, so I don’t want to complain too much that the team finally got it right, even if that only lasted for a week. 

That being said, like we’ve talked about before in this column, the front office sold this as a rebuilding year, but that’s just not what it looks like. Mostly this looks like a team that is spinning and has a total lack of focus and direction. If the Tribe wants to sell us hope based on one good week, they’re going to have to cut the price if they want us to buy. 

What happened last week probably started off as a fluke, but success breeds more success, so I’m guessing that once the team got rolling, it was easier to keep the fire going. 

The idea of staying motivated and giving maximum effort like that is really what this team both needs and lacks in a general sense. Despite their lack of success, the Indians are still not as bad talent-wise as their performance thus far in the season has indicated. 

They’ve caught some bad breaks, sure, but what is really costing them is their failure to maintain effort and enthusiasm on a consistent basis. Last week the Indians did well because they saw a lot of really bad pitching, but that won’t be the case most of the time. 

Staying motivated and working hard isn’t going to turn this team into a contender this year, but it will improve the win-loss record for more than just one week. 

Jon Sladek: I see no sign of this team turning anything around except fans who considered heading to the ballpark for a game. 

They have all the traits of a horrible baseball team: blown saves, stranded runners inning after inning, ill-timed errors. They find a way to turn wins into losses. I was not doing doing back-flips when they took a couple series’ last week.

Dale Thomas: I’m not going to run right out and put a down payment on my World series tickets, but for now, I’ll take heart in some incremental improvements. 

It looks like Westbrook is coming around, and it was great to see him go the distance against Baltimore. Talbot has been very steady and continues to impress. Carmona has shown us good things, and I haven’t given up on Huff just yet. Our relief is still really a scary thing though, so I’ve found it better to experience the late innings with my eyes closed and my fingers crossed. 

Our offense is just sputtering along as usual in my opinion, and has shown no real signs of sustained improvement. For example, in Saturday’s win over Baltimore, we were scoreless through eight. I’m used to this. Then they bring in their relievers and we just light ’em up. 

This is just the result of facing bad pitching, although I give Kearns credit for his three-run blast, which was good enough to win that game. However, with Redmond and Crowe accounting for two runs apiece, I have to look to terrible pitching from Simon and Meredith for giving the Tribe those freebies, all in the ninth. Yikes! 

Bottom line is we’re apparently not as bad as those guys. These days, that’s quite a compliment to the team.

2. On a related note to the above question, one victory in the aforementioned series was the Tribe’s 8-2 win over Baltimore on Saturday night in which they scored eight runs in the ninth inning for a huge come-from-behind victory.

This would seem to indicate that the offense, which we’ve criticized so heavily for failing to live up to our expectations, is at least capable on some level of the ability to score runs that we believed they had.

Do you think this means the offense has finally gotten it together? Does it make you happy that they finally had a true breakout game, or are you just that much more frustrated that they’ve proven they’re capable of such a feat after all but have failed to live up to their potential on all but this one occasion?

Samantha Bunten: I don’t think there was ever a doubt that the offense had the potential to blow up like they did in the ninth inning on Saturday night, which really just makes it all that more frustrating. It just evokes a vision of a team that has the talent, but not the determination, to put a lot of runs on the board. 

The Indians have a run differential of -36 and the Orioles have a run differential of -56, so do the math. The Tribe pounded out a huge inning against a team even more likely to allow eight unanswered runs than they are. 

If the Indians were getting blown out every day, it would be one thing, but generally they lose by a handful of runs, resulting in a negative run differential that has slowly progressed to being pretty far to the wrong side of zero. 

Sure, this could have been a breakout game if the Indians had used it to keep their momentum going, but they didn’t. We all know this team can score runs, but until they actually do so consistently, that doesn’t mean much.

Jon Sladek: Take a good, long look at the Tribe’s batting order one through nine. Do you honestly think any of those names scare anybody? They will be fortunate to have one 20-homerun guy this year. They have used Austin Kearns, Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner in the clean-up role. What else needs to be said?

Dale Thomas: Maybe I can be more succinct on this one: No. 

Whereas I’m always happy when we hit the ball, and happier when we get to put a toe on home plate, I didn’t consider this to be a breakout game. 

We played a bad team for one thing, got some freaky hits off poor relief for another, and we continue to struggle with offensive consistency as always, since we do have to account for those first eight innings. 

I think I’m just frustrated to the regular amount, which is a lot already, so this didn’t make it any worse…wait a sec…actually it was really really cool that the Indians won while the Cavs were blowing up into total rubble. Go Tribe!!

3. The fact that the Indians would very much like to move Kerry Wood if possible has been crystal clear for a long time. More interesting is the recent buzz that it might be both possible and in the team’s best interest to look into trading surprise success Jake Westbrook.

Westbrook is one of the highest paid players on the roster, but may also be one of the most movable, given his solid performance thus far in the season. The only thing that might deter potential suitors is his injury history.

Do you think that the Tribe will want to move Westbrook, and if so, do you think they can draw enough interest from other teams to get a fair return for him?

If you were another team looking to pick up a pitcher, would you consider Westbrook, given his salary and injury history? About how much would you be willing to give up in return for him?

Samantha Bunten: At the moment, Westbrook would be one of the easiest guys on the whole team to trade, if the Tribe were inclined to make such a move. 

The Indians, who have a proven track record of willingness to sell low in general, would surely give Westbrook away for a discount in order to move his salary since he’s relatively expensive for our payroll and not really part of the long-term plan. 

His injury history and mediocre overall success rate might give teams pause, but at this point he’s doing well enough (and will likely come cheap enough) that he should get a lot of looks from contending teams looking for a solid fourth or fifth starter. 

I expect he could fetch a B-level prospect in return, especially if the Indians were willing to eat a portion of his salary. That said, I’d rather the Tribe hung on to Westbrook for the time being. He’s been a bright spot and a helpful contributor to our success this year among a team of underachievers, and could likely be re-signed for a short-term, financially modest contract that might allow the Indians to get a few more years out of him. At this point, that might be worth more than what they would get for him in trade.

Jon Sladek: Westbrook is a quality starter and if he finds a little more consistency, he could surely help a contender down the stretch.

Dale Thomas: Well if I were another team, I’d trade for Westbrook in a heartbeat. I’d be willing to ante up my Victor Martinez bobble head with the attachable chest protector AND the mitt, plus a pocket fisherman, my buttoneer and half a sham-wow…well, maybe not the sham-wow, but I’d throw in a small box of jujubes cause everybody likes those. 

What I mean is, here’s a 33-year-old guy cobbled together with nuts and bolts and rubber bands with a lifetime ERA of 4.30 to compliment his ‘under .500’ win-loss record. His best season was back in 2004 when he went 14-9, followed by a couple of years of 14-15 wins, but equal losses. 

Now it’s not like the guy is a total schlock, not at all, but he does pose several risks to any suitor and we all know Shapiro can’t be trusted to get more than the bobblehead in a trade. No way he’d bring home the sham-wow or jujubes.

And speaking of Martinez, we got no pitching for him, no pitching for CC and no pitching for Lee (and Marson isn’t a major league catcher either). 

The Tribe’s best bet here is to get Jake to sign for a downsized, way-less-money two-year deal, or get a fan to do the player evaluations for a trade. 

All that said, I expect the Tribe to send him off to a competitor since he can still throw a decent game, and get zilch in return… I mean jeez, Asdrubal had to break an arm and Grady had to bat blindfolded and blow up a knee to stay off the trading blocks. 

In the mean time, I figure since the pitching mound is pretty close to third base, Peralta will find a way to crash into Westbrook while fielding a bunt. Peralta will see this as showing enthusiasm, while Westbrook will see stars and birdies twirling around his eyes.

4. The baseball season is a long, arduous, 162-game grind where often the last man standing is merely the one who managed to hang on the longest.

The Tribe is currently in the midst of a 16-game stretch without an off-day, and will be hit with a 20-game stretch without one going into the All Star Break.

Players and managers often say the team is tired and “needs an off-day”. But what exactly is an off-day worth? Can one day off really give players adequate rest if they need it, or help a struggling team to right itself?

Do you think the Tribe’s performance will suffer significantly during these long stretches without a break, or are big stretches without an off-day merely a part of the game that won’t affect a team’s overall production?

Samantha Bunten: An off-day, just like one consistent player on a mostly inconsistent team, is a small thing that can help the cause in some way, but isn’t going to perform miracles. 

I think off-days can be very useful in giving a player who is a little sore a brief respite, in restoring a bit of energy to a tired group of ballplayers, and in helping a team that has had a bad stretch right their ship. What it can’t do is heal an injury, change a team’s overall attitude, or turn a loser into a winner. 

Baseball is a game of little things, and one off-day is one more little thing that can help a team that knows how to use it. Being forced to play these long stretches without a day of rest will be rough on the Tribe, but it won’t be any rougher on them than it is on every other team, and every squad faces stretches like this at some point during the season. It won’t hurt the Indians any more than it hurts any other team unless they let it. 

Jon Sladek: In the name of all that is holy, I shudder at the thought of the Tribe’s current performance “suffering significantly.”

Dale Thomas: If you’re kind of beat up and all your muscles ache and that kind of stuff, then I think a day off is pretty valuable…IF you spend that day off resting. 

If you’ve got a nagging injury, then a single day off probably won’t help you much. It might even tighten things up for you and risk further injury based on that theory that it’s easier for something in motion to stay in motion than it is for something that’s stopped to restart its motion. 

Aside from that, it’s probably safe to say a player might be in a better mood for having a day off. I mean we DO care about that at the pro level, right? 

I don’t think it will hurt overall performance during those long stretches unless you are Peralta, who would consider having a ball hit to him in three straight innings a total abuse of his right to nap. 

Dairy farmers, for example will work 365-day stretches followed immediately by another 365-day stretch, for…let’s say 30 years straight. A Bull, of course, is required to keep the herd going, so they also have to account for being charged and stomped…thus the Peralta factor also applies. Cows rarely get traded, but there’s lots of manure to shovel up, so now we’ve accounted for the Shapiro factor. 

All summed up, if a herd— I mean a baseball team— can’t play a game where you sit on a bench for half the length that game for 20 days straight, then they simply have no fortitude.

5. Fun Question of the Week: It’s time to play favorites.

Sometimes our favorite players aren’t the best guys on the field. Unless you’re a front-running fan, you probably are partial to certain players in spite of the fact that they aren’t the most productive on the field.

Given that we’re Indians fans it’s probably safe to say that none of us are front-runners, so tell us: which player(s) on the team are you hopelessly attached to despite the fact that they really aren’t any good?

On the other hand, are there any players on the team who are doing well, but you just don’t like anyway?

Feel free to make irrational decisions on who you’re partial to; after all, we’ve accused our own front office of doing the exact same thing on multiple occasions.

Samantha Bunten: I realize that Grady Sizemore isn’t a favorite among many fans these days, but it wasn’t so long ago that he was everybody’s hero. His attitude, enthusiasm, and effort haven’t changed. He caught a bad break with injuries, which snowballed into a lack of confidence and loss of plate discipline. I guess what I’m saying is, let’s cut this guy a break. 

Going on the DL may be the best thing for both him and the team, other than the fact that this means we’ll have to see Trevor Crowe more often, which leads me to the second part of the question…

I hate, hate, hate Trevor Crowe. His effort level is far below what it should be for a player whose career average is .246. The fact that he’s hitting .350 in five games since being recalled this year doesn’t impress me. He’s the antithesis of Sizemore, Cabrera, Kearns, and uh, whoever that one other person on the team is who appears to actually be trying. 

Bottom line: I’ll give players who struggle but work hard a million chances, but if you’re not going to bring your A-game, whether you’re batting .100 or .300, I’d rather you just stayed home. 

Jon Sladek: I like Mike Redmond. Even though he is a career journeyman and his best days are behind him, he does play the game the right way and gives you everything he’s got. 

Guys I don’t like? Wow, lets start with Sizemore, who is the most undisciplined hitter I have ever seen. Russell Branyan hits homeruns, but I have always hated his “all or nothing” approach. I hate guys that wildly wave at pitches and strike out too much, so basically, half the team.

Dale Thomas: I’m a total fan of Grady Sizemore and have been since he arrived. He’s always had such a great attitude, and seems to truly enjoy the game. 

He works extremely hard and throws himself around for the team. He doesn’t even think about being close to the wall or whatever. You can tell the guys who do because they look…and look again…then miss the ball. 

He runs hard to first each and every time, even though it may be pointless. He turns doubles into triples and he doesn’t do a lot of “look at me” dancing when he makes a great play. 

He signs stuff for fans, and always looks inward when he doesn’t do well. I hope, for him more than any other player, that he heals up and finds his stroke again. He’s a good guy and he’s good for baseball.

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