Finished up my trip to the home front on the 4th with a visit to the MetroParks Zoo. The last time I was there, my cousin and I were pulling around our now-20-something kids in a red wagon.I ran into a big flock of seagulls while I was there (non-residents). Apparently they too got bored with the Tribe and are seeking entertainment elsewhere.
I was pretty much incommunicado the whole way home today. Not much in the way of radio in the hinterlands of northern PA.
But when I got home I read the news that Tribe GM Mark Shapiro gave manager Eric Wedge and his coaching staff a public assurance that they will be around 'til the end of the season - at least.
As unwelcome as that might be for many of us, the news was hardly a surprise.
Repeating his oft-stated mantra of the past month or so, Shapiro said that basically everyone in the front office and on the field is responsible for the disaster that is the 2009 Cleveland Indians.
No argument here. And as I've said many times before, we're well past the point where a change of managers might have sparked a rally by the club and a return to the race.
The only good that would come of releasing Wedge and his cronies at this point would be the knowledge that they won't be back next year. With today's announcement, that remains a possibility as Shapiro said the team is still in evaluation mode.
MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince speculates that Wedge's future may be decided less by wins and losses the rest of the way than by his staff's ability to develop the Tribe's many youngsters so they are ready to contribute next year.
If that is the case, I might be calling the realty company right about now if I were Wedge.
The list of current and former Tribesmen who either failed to progress or regressed under the tutelage of Wedge & Co. is long. Here are just a few names;
Fausto Carmona, Raffie Perez, Kelly Shoppach, Josh Barfield, Andy Marte, Jeremy Sowers, Jhonny Peralta, Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez, Brandon Phillips, Jeremy Guthrie, yada yada....
On the plus side we can put Grady Sizemore, Shin-soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera and Victor Martinez.
Can Wedge and the boys get Fausto straightened by the end of September? Will their new favorite, Luis Valbuena, be hitting with any consistency by the end of the year? Will Raffie Perez snap out of it? Will they EVER bring up Matt LaPorta, and if so will he produce under the watchful eye of Derek Shelton?
If that's the bar that has been set, I wish Wedgie and friends good luck.
On one other topic, the PD's Terry Pluto wrote today that he believes LaPorta's return to the majors is being delayed by the injury Grady Sizemore, saying the Tribe brass needs to keep Ben Francisco around to play CF when Sizemore's balky elbow won't allow him to play.
Pluto further reports the Tribe wants to keep Chris Giminez around because they consider him a utility player of some value. Last time I looked, Gimenez and LaPorta play the same positions. Wouldn't LaPorta's presence make Giminez expendable.
But wouldn't LaPorta need a place to play everyday, you ask? Sure. He can play LF and Francisco can sit, except when needed to cover for Sizemore.
Pluto was clear to point out that he was just reporting the Tribe's thinking, not necessarily his own. From reading his piece, you get the idea that Pluto might make a different decision.
I certainly would.
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