Game 150: Athletics 11, Indians 4

by Ryan on Sep 20, 2009 7:41 PM EDT in Game Recaps

I suppose the one saving grace of this hideous September is that it will force major changes in the Indians organization. The Indians are now tied for last place in the AL Central, and just one game ahead of Baltimore for the worst record in the American League. Now they aren't just losing close games, but being blown out of games. Thanks to an awful starting rotation, a complete deterioration of the offense, and other unquantifiable aspects, the Indians are going to end the season falling at maximum velocity.

Fausto Carmona did pitch very well for a portion of today's start, but when you give up nine runs in the surrounding innings, that stretch is for all intents and purposes meaningless. He did, for once, make the opposing team earn their runs; he walked one, but gave up ten base hits and faced an incredible 29 hitters in his 5.2 innings pitched.

So, what's next for this team? After getting swept by a team playing out the string, a series against a team that has everything to play for. See you on Tuesday, if your stomach is strong enough.

290920111_indians_athletics_142765290_lbig_medium

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Michael Brantley	.054	Fausto Carmona	-.333
Trevor Crowe	.006	Wyatt Toregas	-.062
		Shin-Soo Choo	-.049

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Comments

Seeing my first home games of the season this week. It’s a little late for this, but…let’s go Tribe.

by cleveland teamer on Sep 20, 2009 8:14 PM EDT reply actions

i really only have three things to say for the rest of the season:

fire wedge

fire antonetti

fire shapiro

that’s all. i mean, is there anything else to say about any of these remaining games? i find a silver lining in the fact that we aren’t finishing the year on a tear, because 1) no false hope for next year/saving grace for the current regime, and 2) at least we’ll pick in the top 5 of the draft. hooray.

If you don't respect Aaron Laffey, I will fight you.

by Cap'n Snegiryov on Sep 20, 2009 8:21 PM EDT reply actions

horrible Fausto contract I’m afraid. 0 confidence he will ever regain any shade of 2007 form. A shame.

by ASP on Sep 20, 2009 8:47 PM EDT reply actions

You didn’t see the game. He pitched into horrible luck in the second inning, and he did a whole lot of things right before he got gassed after three times through the lineup.

by Jay on Sep 20, 2009 9:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I like the headline at least, try to brighten things up in here a little bit.

*sigh*

by zempf on Sep 20, 2009 9:45 PM EDT reply actions

Agree. My initial thought “Awesome, we came back!”

-Erik

by drerikbrady on Sep 20, 2009 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions

I was like “WE WON!”

What a letdown after suffering through that Browns game.

by Roger Dorn on Sep 20, 2009 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions

100 loses, here we come !

by Denarchy on Sep 20, 2009 9:47 PM EDT reply actions

No, but we’d have to go 9-4 now to get to 70 wins. Which means I won’t lose my bet!

by Jay on Sep 20, 2009 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Hopefully a bet you’d want to lose if we scratched our way to 70.

by Roger Dorn on Sep 20, 2009 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah. I was foolish to leave 70-75 wins in the no-push zone.

by Jay on Sep 21, 2009 1:44 AM EDT up reply actions

The 75-82 range would have been very interesting.

by Roger Dorn on Sep 21, 2009 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions

Personally I think that saving grace is a godsend. I was truly worried that a good ending to the season would keep Wedge and and the status quo in place for next season. Every september loss makes it that much more difficult for Shap to make the case you know he feels obligated to – that he and Wedge have unfinished business as partners in leading the organization.

That “equal partnership” should never have been made, and any empirical evidence that contributes to its ending is fine with me.

This is not reloading, its rebuilding – albeit with more talent ready to go than the most recent time. Hopefully the circumstances are such that the Dolans and Shap are forced to be on the same page for what needs to happen to make that change.

by mcrose on Sep 20, 2009 10:41 PM EDT reply actions

I’m not concerned about wins and losses at this point. I’m simply glad to finally see Andy Marte every day.

by tabler84 on Sep 20, 2009 10:51 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs

I get it. You can move through time and you posted this two weeks ago. At least that’s the only way your post makes sense to me. Marte hasn’t had a start in five days and hasn’t had regular playing time since the double-header with the Rangers. That would be 10 days ago. He’s basically been a non-entity the last two series.

My uncle says you've got a screw loose.
Your uncle molests collies.

by gorilla_baller on Sep 20, 2009 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Beat me to it.

Chugga-chugga chugga-chugga, Choo Choo!

by USSChoo on Sep 20, 2009 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions

He’s most assuredly being sardonic.

by Brad D on Sep 21, 2009 12:26 AM EDT up reply actions

This had not occured to us, Dude.

Chugga-chugga chugga-chugga, Choo Choo!

by USSChoo on Sep 21, 2009 12:32 AM EDT up reply actions

What, you and Andy go to the same karaoke bar?

by mcrose on Sep 20, 2009 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions

I can’t wait to see the fireworks after the season ends. Who goes? Who stays?

If you believe it's just a game, you're also probably wondering why Santa keeps skipping your house every year.

by LeftyCatcher on Sep 21, 2009 9:37 AM EDT reply actions

And $1 hot dogs, too.

by odradek on Sep 21, 2009 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions

I know this goes against how I always felt about Ben Francisco and the immediate small sample size stuff, but I really want Brantley to start the season with the big league club next year.

by Roger Dorn on Sep 21, 2009 2:11 PM EDT reply actions

Thinking about your post, I kept thinking that it points to another reason why letting Marte rot on the bench is a bad idea. Wedge more or less said that LaPorta is going to play 1B next year (he’s got the “inside track.”). That means we need a left fielder. Crowe is clearly a fourth outfielder at best, so this forces us to keep Brantley in the majors. I agree that it would be cool if he made the team, but what if he doesn’t (or if he’s terrible in April and May). What’s the option?

A far more logical plan would be to see if Marte can play 1B consistently, with LaPorta in left. If this looks promising, Brantley then becomes an option — you don’t HAVE to rely on him. If he blows you away, Marte goes to the bench. If he doesn’t, you actually have a plan B that isn’t Trevor Crowe.

by peter m on Sep 21, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I’d go along with this more if I didn’t believe Jhonny was a goner this off-season, and that Marte will at least get a look while place-holding third. I guess I mean, you’re forgetting that we punted next season. The wins will be accidental.

by fleerdon on Sep 21, 2009 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Speaking of Marte and Wedge…. the Astros fired Cecil Cooper today.

Captain of the SS [DO NOT TRADE] CHOO

by westbrook on Sep 21, 2009 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m less sure than you that Jhonny is a goner. He has the worst OPS of all “qualified” AL 3rd basemen and really hasn’t improved that much since mid-season (his OPS rose about .5 since mid-June). Beltre, Crede and Mora are worse, with insufficient AB’s, but that’s hardly a recommendation. He’s solid defensively and he’s not over-priced, but it’s not clear to me what his value in a trade would actually be.

He’s started every single game since June 17, despite a truly horrendous September (.509 OPS). If the Indians were really serious about giving Marte a look at 3B, you’d think they would have played him there occasionally THIS year.

Maybe you’re right and, once Wedge is gone, the reluctance to play Marte will go away. But, it’s also possible that Jhonny will be the placeholder next year. He will only get 4.6 million, which isn’t a ton. If he plays well, he makes himself far more trade-able. It might actually make sense for the Indians to keep him for now, even if he’s not the long-term solution.

by peter m on Sep 21, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Could go either way, I guess. “Only” $4.6MM? Coming off a down-year? Might make him a good buy-low bet, especially if you’re an NL team with a short wall in right-center. My take is that moving his salary could be more attractive than you’re making it out to be.

by fleerdon on Sep 21, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes, that’s possible. I guess it depends if they’re in full salary-dump mode ir if they’re trying to restock the farm system (“only” 4.6 million does sound odd; but, if he has an average JP year, that’s not a bad price, really). They can certainly find a taker for him; the question is what they’ll get in return.

by peter m on Sep 21, 2009 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions

At this point, Marte has to be hurt, right? Even Wedge couldn’t play this game as long as he has.

The once and future

by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Sep 21, 2009 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I’d be hurt if Wedge treated me that way.

by peter m on Sep 21, 2009 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I think they are done evaluating Marte, which possibly is a good thing. They weren’t trying to amass a significant statistical sample, which would be impossible anyway. They were just trying to re-evaluate him as he faced major league pitching, to see if he’s really any different than he used to be.

I think clearly he is different, but how different is another question. He’s more selective, but not selective enough to draw walks. He has plenty of power, but it’s all to left field — only one of his homers even got over to left-center. So he still looks pretty vulnerable, leaving open the persistent question, how well could he adjust over the long haul?

by Jay on Sep 21, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I think you’re right. I think they have placed a greater importance on watching LaPorta at 1B for the remainder of the year over getting at-bats for Marte. I would’ve just liked to have seen Marte for a few more games to see if he could’ve gotten out of the nosedive he was in.

This also says they place a greater importance in looking at Crowe than Jordan Brown. Not that I really care.

by TribeJay on Sep 21, 2009 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Is there a rule that says Marte can’t be the designated hitter?

by odradek on Sep 21, 2009 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Nope…when Hafner sits and Peralta DH’s, there’s also no rule against him playing 3B.

by TribeJay on Sep 22, 2009 8:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Actually, there is apparently a rule about that.

by Jay on Sep 22, 2009 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Even Paul Hoynes has noticed that Andy Marte has not been playing!

"But people are stupid, and their memories are short." - FredOx

by woodsmeister on Sep 22, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions

I can’t believe a professional journalist started a topic with this:

If Justin Masterson was still with Boston, he’d be getting ready for his second straight trip to the postseason. The Red Sox have a healthy lead over in the AL wild card.

Captain of the SS [DO NOT TRADE] CHOO

by westbrook on Sep 22, 2009 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions