Page 138 of 357

Manager Eric Wedge’s postgame comments the other day seemed to fuel the listless Tribe. At least for a night. A day after Wedge went off on his team for its overall sloppy play of late, the Indians came out and acted like they were on a mission. Behind ace C.C Sabathia and Travis Hafner, the Tribe shut out the Baltimore Orioles 9-0 in the first game of their three-game series. Sabathia arguably pitched his best game of season. He went the distance, allowing only three hits and fanning seven. Hafner made major league history Friday night as he became the only player ever to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break. His bases loaded blast in the second inning off Kris Benson was his seventh of his career. Hafner is one the most dangerous power hitters in the game and the fact that he was once again left off the A.L All-Star roster is simply ridiculous.

“It’s unbelievable,” Sabathia said. “He’s probably got better numbers than anyone in the Home Run Derby. It’s a joke. He’s been one of the best hitters in the game the last three years. For him to get snubbed three years in a row and no one to make a fuss about it is a joke.”

It’s games like this that force you to scratch your head. The Tribe gets thumped the previous two games and come back to win in a blowout. It has happened almost on a weekly basis it seems like. Inconsistency has been and probably will continue to be the theme word for the season.

Sloppy defense. Poor fundamentals. Lack of focus and concentration. Manager Eric Wedge was fed up with all of it following Thursday night’s series finale with the Yankees.

“Ultimately,” Wedge said, “if you’re not ready to make the play, regardless of what excuse you come up with, it doesn’t matter. Either you make the plays or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re gonna lose.”

“I’ve yelled, I’ve talked, I’ve reasoned,” Wedge said. “I’ve taken every approach I can take. If they want to point a finger at me, it’s my responsibility and I welcome that. But the bottom line is everybody’s got to feel that way. Twenty-five guys have to come to the park every day and work to get better.”

Wedge is finally taking a stand. I’m glad he aired out some of his frustrations and I give him credit for doing so. He has been patient with this club long enough and it’s about time he gets on his players a little bit. Nobody else on the team seems to care or show any emotion when they lose. Wedge has taken a rather passive approach to a team as fundamentally poor as the Indians have been this season and it is refreshing to hear the ranting side of Eric because somebody has to take some accountability for the way they’ve been playing defensively. It simply is pathetic and Wedge may make some changes in the near future.

“We’re close to making some adjustments,” he said. “I’ll say that. That’s not a threat. It’s a fact.”

I know Peralta isn’t the quickest on his feet and can’t get to every ball but if it is within a step of you, the play MUST be made. Thursday’s botched ground ball by Peralta makes me wonder what in the world is going on inside the kid’s head. Whether the multi-million dollar contract is filling his brain or not, he needs to start taking his job seriously. Lack of focus has been a problem all season with Peralta. Getting his attention by benching him is an option, but that has already been done this season and his defense still has not improved. He may never make the spectactular plays but all we need is for him to make the routine ones. Peralta can still be a key player in the future of this team because he’s young and has great upside offensively, but if he continues to play lackluster ball on the defensive side, the club may have to reconsider their plans with him. Defense in any sport is the key to winning and in baseball, winning teams absolutely need to have solid defense up the middle.

The Indians enjoyed a rare week where they played solid, fundamental baseball. They even were able to string together a four-game winning streak. However, what has haunted the disappointing Tribe all season long has returned for the last two games of the New York series. More errors and sloppy play partly led to the Tribe’s 10-4 loss Thursday night. Starter Cliff Lee gave up seven runs in six innings but only four were earned as Jhonny Peralta and Franklin Guitierrez each committed an error in the fifth, leading to three-run inning for the Yanks. Peralta somehow let an easy double play ball scoot right under his glove and Guitierrez missed a liner in the outfield. As New York was able to open up a big lead, Randy Johnson was on his game and beat the Indians for the second straight time. Jason Giambi and Derek Jeter each had three RBIs in the game.

At least the All-Star break is only a few days away because this team needs a breather.

The Yankees took out some frustration from Tuesday’s shellacking and did some beating up of their own. The Tribe got pounded 11-3 Wednesday night, ending their four-game win streak. Paul Byrd, who has been very effective as of late, gave up a fourth inning grand slam to Melky Cabrera and lasted only 3 2/3 innings. To his defense, the eight-run fourth the Yanks put up wasn’t all his fault. Aaron Boone made two errors in the inning on routine ground balls and Byrd was unable to stop the bleeding from there. Boone’s ugly day continued in the seventh when he dropped a foul ball for his third error of the game. Only four runs were charged to Byrd.

“Like I’ve heard all my life, if you play long enough, you’ll have a day like that,” Boone said. “I had that day, and it’s not a lot of fun.”

Boone needs to go and we need to see Marte in Cleveland ASAP. It’s not a knee-jerk reaction based on Wednesday night’s performance but a move that is critical for the future of the team. Boone is getting older and has no future with the Indians. With the season all but over, the team needs to get a look at Marte now at the major league level and break him in and get him some seasoning for next year.