Who's Next Off the Island?

by woodsmeister on May 6, 2008 1:43 PM EDT

Those of you who voted for Jason Michaels to be the first thrown overboard (42%) - congratulations! Your prognosticating skills are mighty and prodigious.

Now that the easiest scapegoat and most spare of spare parts Michaels is gone, who's next?

Casey Blake - could be relegated to super utility duty
Derek Shelton - if the batting funk continues
Abacab - Still has options left, might profit from some time in Buffalo
Eric Wedge - Change begins at the top?
Stil too early to shake it up again?
Andy Marte

Poll

Who's next off the island if the troubles continue?

0 recs | Comment 24 comments | Add your comment

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Comments

You should know the drill by now. Who did you vote for and why?

Free Andy Marte!

Pronk Needs You

by woodsmeister on May 6, 2008 1:54 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Casey makes another game changing error this week, he’ll be splittin’ time with Marte

by JK in CBus on May 6, 2008 1:59 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

I voted for Asdrubal. Blake may lose PT, but Asdrubal won’t be benched. He’ll be sent down if he continues to hit poorly so he can regroup and play regularly in Buffalo. i imagine they’d call up Barfield, although it’s possible they could call up Gonzalez and play Carroll regularly for a while to see which of Barfield/Cabrera shows progress.

by peter m on May 6, 2008 2:01 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

my line of thinking exactly

by DocNo on May 7, 2008 3:49 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Blake – only because it is so awkward trying to sell people on the Indian Uprising with Casey Blake as your leading RBI-man.

by steincat on May 6, 2008 2:02 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Next guy off will be Francisco. He will be optioned back to Buffalo when Choo is ready to play. .... Unless he OPS 900 for the next 3-4 weeks.

by talonk on May 6, 2008 2:06 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

blake, though it won’t happen.

Sizemore-Shapiro 2008. The Official Red Bull of Let's Go Tribe Game Threads.

by Gradyforpresident on May 6, 2008 2:09 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

The two obvious choices seem to be Shelton and Cabrera. I can’t see Shelton just because Shapiro emphasizes again and again the importance of an organizational approach to hitting and Shelton seems to be a big part of that. But maybe I’m over-valuing his role in that process. I can’t see Cabrera because we have no one to make up for Cabrera’s middle-infield defense and we start 2-3 extreme groundball pitchers every week. So out of default I voted Blake…but I think things would have to get VERY bad for that too happen.

by APV on May 6, 2008 2:12 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

I chose Cabrera, but would have voted for none of the above. I really think our next move is a trade giving up someone valuable not on this list, but not Asdrubal.

by Roger Dorn on May 6, 2008 2:13 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Asdrubal makes the most sense. But I think this (current) team will plug along until the trade deadline and something big will happen.

by Toxicadam on May 6, 2008 2:15 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Asdrubal – Carroll takes over at second and we trade one of our second tier pitching prospects for a utility infielder or pick one up off the waiver wire.

"the most vehement Yankee-hating guy I know" - Jay

by mauichuck on May 6, 2008 2:23 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

If he doesn’t have an instantaneous turnaround, I think it’ll be Blake. The most likely scenario is that’ll he’ll continue sucking for another 2-3 weeks. Shapiro’s patience will expire at that point. He’s had the biggest decline among the guys with little upside, and he has backup. Carroll over Asdrubal is less likely in my mind. It’ll be a very bad omen for Wedge.

by jhon on May 6, 2008 2:32 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

marte. he’s going at some point, we all know it, might as well be next.

by emil minty on May 6, 2008 3:51 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

No point in sending down Cabrera if the alternative is Jamie Carroll, unless you’re making the argument that Cabrera is performing so badly, he’s hurting his own confidence blah blah blah….

Or, unless the Indians are going to go out and get themselves some Brian Roberts. But Roberts is only signed through next year, is pricey (though affordable) and it’s going to take big talent to get him.

by xrickx on May 6, 2008 4:33 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

I think that would be the argument for demoting Cabrera - he’s a guy who could become a really good major league middle infielder, but he’s young and may be a level too high at this point in his career and may be going backwards (that was the logic for sending him to Akron last year - to allow him to get his feet under him and really get going). It seemed to work.

by peter m on May 6, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Way too early for Derek Shelton to be fired. This team has come to far under his control. A bad start will not get him fired.

by gahnki on May 6, 2008 4:58 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Um, how far exactly? No one really improved appreciably under Shelton. Yes, a mid-season funk under Eddie Murray was broken up, but I haven’t exactly a player other than 2006 Peralta really take a big step forward under Shelton. That said, I’m not exactly sure how you evaluate hitting coaches. But I know this – if the entire team is in a funk, the hitting coach is doing SOMETHING wrong.

NBR (No Borowski Run): Refers to that run which puts the Indians up by 4 over an opponent, thereby drastically reducing the chances of Joe Borowski pitching in a game.

by crazymoloh on May 6, 2008 5:36 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

I think it’s more his impact on the whole organization rather than what he’s doing as our current hitting coach that is preventing him from being fired. From what I understand he did a ton of work revamping our organizational approach, and Shap is probably hesitant to get rid of a guy who’s done so much for him.

by supermarioelia on May 6, 2008 6:35 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

his 3rd anniversary is June 4

by palcal on May 6, 2008 6:27 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

I’m writing in Luis Isaac. He just has a lousy attitude. Have you seen the way he holds that clipboard in the bullpen? And this crap is contagious. Our hitters cannot be expected to focus on scoring runs as long as Isaac is allowed to remain on the team.

by elsandito on May 6, 2008 6:10 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Not to mention the Kangol hat!

by ken from alexandria on May 6, 2008 6:50 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Wedgie—His usefulness (if there ever was one) has passed. He doesnt manage the game well in general, his ability to connect with the younger players is less in play now with an older team with at least one Bona Fide leader (Victor), and he plays some major favorites (Blake, JP over B. Phillips, J. Mich for too long a streach). It will not happen as long as Shapiro is there but it should!

by JoeyBelleRedux on May 6, 2008 8:55 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Hey, new guy … get your facts straight.

We still have a very young roster, with 19 of 25 guys in their 20’s and only one guy (Byrd) over 34.

JP over BP? What the hell are you talking about? JP won his starting job by outplaying BP decisively in Buffalo in 2004 — I don’t think Wedge had any say in Peralta being named International League MVP — and then hit 23 HR essentially as a rookie in 2005. Wedge may not have liked BP very much, but JP was the better player of the two by far during BP’s time with the Indians.

by Jay on May 6, 2008 10:58 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Because I can’t go with Mastny, the obvious choice… I chose Shelton. Blake obviously stays, and barring a trade for a 2B, we don’t have anybody better than AssC as an everyday player. Carroll is good, but he’s not an everyday player.

The Disabled List just called ... it was trying to unload Joe Borowski. I offered a bagel but balked at giving up a ham sandwich. It wanted to keep Westbrook.

by westbrook on May 8, 2008 11:43 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs