Morning Update: Fire... It's hot; Vizcaino means someone's gone

The Luis Vizcaino deal could or could be official by the time this is actually posted. But it will happen and it will happen for the Cleveland roster, not Columbus.

The Indians have told Vizcaino he's going to the major league roster and he'll be on it either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Now the Indians have made a move to get Randy Newsom off the Columbus roster, so that tells me Masa Kobayashi isn't getting released.

But it doesn't mean he isn't getting sent down and I'd probably make that move.

They could send him, Jensen Lewis, or Tony Sipp down to Columbus to make room for Vizcaino.

We'll see where it goes. AC said that he thought Kobayashi would be released at the expense of Vizcaino, but he could get called down to the minors if he agrees to it, if not they'd have to outright release him and eat his salary.

AC also mentioned he believes whenever Jamey Carroll is ready, it will be David Dellucci getting the ax. That's just a guess from him though, but I'd go with that.

Back to Kobayashi, he discussed why he was having issues.

"I feel comfortable in the clubhouse and with my teammates," he said through interpreter Ryo Shinkawa. "I feel comfortable off the field. I'm not homesick or any of that."

"To put it simply, the level of the players is different," he said. "It's the main reason I'm having trouble compared to Japan."

Alright down to business.

What's wrong?

"The energy," Martinez said. "And the fire. That's what we're all missing."

And who's fault is that? Wedge's?

"It's not his fault," Martinez said. "It's not Wedgie's fault. We take all the blame. He's not the one playing. We are the ones playing the game."

"When things aren't going the way you want, sometimes we get down on ourselves," Martinez said. "We try to do too much at one time."

What did Wedge have to say? Again....? Then we'll get to discussing this.

"I know we're a better team than this," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "This is one heckuva gut-check for us right now."

"I care about all these players, and I really care about the fans," he said Sunday. "I know how disappointing and discouraging this is. It's my responsibility, and I take full responsibility for it. But the players have got to go out and play."

All of that said.....

What the hell do we do?

Wedge says he takes the responsibility for the disappointment, but the players still have to go out and play and Vic pretty much agrees with him.

I mean..

Pheeewwwwwwwwwwwwww..

I'd fire Derek Shelton at this point..

I mean really. I want to say wait a week, because that's what I think the Indians might do.. But I'd do it now, right after this home stand ends on Wednesday. They are going on a 10 game road trip and you leave home and don't take Mr. Shelton with you.

I just can't fire Eric Wedge right now. I can't.

I know you can put the lack of fire and energy on someone like Wedge, but really, this team has gotten their fire and energy from other people in the past because that isn't Wedge's game.

So really, you tell me, what is so different, aside from wins and losses than from the past experiences?

Victor, someone in that locker room, there needs to be a spark. Wedge only does so much. He has what you need, a great trust with his players. That's essential in a good team and there is that with Wedge. I hate to lose that.

It's tough.. Okay.. It's really tough. I don't feel like firing Eric Wedge in the first month and a half of the season is the answer. I just don't... It screams last resort move.. It screams panic.. I don't think we are in panic mode yet.

I'd go with Shelton first.. It screams, we need a spark and a bit of a change.

If that doesn't take, then I think you can start looking at Eric Wedge.

If you want a date... I'd fire Shelton now and see what it does for this offense. The pulling of pitches, the wasting chances with runners on scoring position, the "work the count" mentality that Derek Shelton has.. I just can't get behind it.

Here's the thing about Shelton, and I've said this a lot.

Some pitchers he can kill with that strategy... Most pitchers they can get out of the game with that strategy.

But it can also just kill the offense at some times.. There is a lot of inconsistencies and it just doesn't work for me.

So.. With that said.. I fire Shelton after the home stand ends. ESPECIALLY if the team continues to struggle offensively.

After that... Given the state of this silly Central Division.. Late June.. I know... It seems like a long time, but things can happen. I don't know if someone is capable of busting out of this division and making enough ground for me to give it a sooner date.

Anyway.. Let's just get away from this firing talk.. Shapiro will not fire Wedge mid-May. You can kick and scream and shout you want, but it won't happen. We can just hope something is done with Shelton, because while I don't think that will be the answer, I do think it will at least be good for this team long-term from an offensive approach stand-point and maybe that can get us back in the race and making people forget about this horrific start by Late-June.

Wedge did talk about a few things though on the field though, mainly the offenses' problem and he kind of pinpointed what I was failing to put my finger on yesterday.

"We're not squaring up pitches we need to square up," Wedge said. "There's a lot of just-missed foul balls or popups that we need to square up and throw a few more line drives out there."

"I'm a big believer in making good outs," Wedge said. "Of late, we've had some bad outs. Strikeouts are always going to be part of it, but the consistency of what you're doing around those strikeouts and how you strike out is what you have to be concerned about."

They were putting some DECENT swings on the ball. They looked good at times, but they fell short as well. I think a lot of that goes with not hitting the ball quite right.

He also took note of Francisco's awful decision in the field.

"He air-mailed it," Wedge said. "You've got to throw down through the cutoff man. You can't do that."

A few statistical notices worthy of mentioning..

Rafael Betancourt will pass George Uhle with his next appearance for 10th on the Indians all-time list.

The last time before Friday and Saturday that the Tigers recorded back-to-back shutouts in Cleveland was 1908. That's a streak you would rather not haves seen end.

We got some more quotes on the meeting, but nothing from the meeting.. But I guess this will do.

"Sometimes you just need to rally the troops and make sure everybody is on the same page," outfielder David Dellucci said. "I think a team gathering is always helpful in tough times and good times. This is a game of negatives. There aren't a lot of positives. So when the negatives start to take over, it's good to discuss it and get back to the positives."

Victor said 'everybody' participated and since it lasted 40 minutes, I'd say that would be a true statement.

Finally.. The pink bat phenomena was in full-force yesterday. Everyone pretty much used them, at least once.. It used to be just people who wanted to did, but yesterday it was a league-wide thing. Vic sums it all up with a great quote though.

"This is a day for the ladies who brought us into the world," Martinez said. "They deserve it."