http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/4129 Recent articles about Thomas Mastny en-us With one swing of his bat, Victor Martinez shook off the 700 pound gorilla that has been on his back all season. In the bottom of the second inning tonight at Progressive Field, Victor hit a towering flyball to the home run porch in left - his first homer of the season. After playing the first two-and-half months with a sore hamstring and - eventually a sore elbow - Victor was robbed of his power at the plate and became a non-entity with a bat in his hands. All fixed and rested, Victor has had a hit in each of the three starts he's made since being activated, and tonight - for the first time all year - he went yard. The joy and relief Victor felt was plain to see. He stood at the plate and watched as he did what he used to take for granted for the first time in 2008 - send a ball sailing deep into the nighttime sky. His smile in the dugout afterward was a mile wide and his teammates - especially fellow catcher Sal Fasano - seemed to enjoy the moment as much as Victor. You had to assume that Victor's power would return with his health. I'm sure most of us felt that way. But it sure was nice to get a little evidence during the heat of battle. Having said that, it would also be nice to see a little consistency from Fausto Carmona. Fausto also has recently returned from a lengthy injury, and although he's shown flashes of his old self in his recent outings, he seems to be unable to put it all together for a full game. It looked like tonight might be the night, as Fausto had a shutout through 5. But in the sixth Carmona lost his control and his poise and allowed 3 runs before departing with two outs in the inning. In 8 starts since returning to the rotation, Carmona is 3-3 with tonight's decision still in doubt. He's thrown 41 2/3 innings and has allowed 31 earned runs. He's walked 22 batters in the process. For a guy who is being counted on as No. 2 next year, I sure hope we see a bit more of the good Fausto the rest of the way. Back to the good news. Raffy Betancourt continued his late-season resurrection, getting out of a second-and-third, two-out jam left for him by Carmona in the sixth and going on to pitch another 2/3 of an inning in the 7th before giving way to Raffy Perez, who was brought in to get Jim Thome. While Betancourt has been one of the poster boys for the Tribe's underachievement this season, his work since the middle of August has him looking like a decent bet to be a positive factor again next year. Continuing in the good-news-bad-news vein, the Tribe today said it will shut down Aaron Laffey for the year due to elbow soreness. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports and MRI showed no structural damage but the Tribe thought it best for Laffey to just call it a year. Six minor leaguers did get the call-up to the bigs - second baseman Josh Barfield, first baseman Mike Aubrey, right-handers Brian Slocum, Tom Mastny and John Meloan and left-hander Rich Rundles. Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:05:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/317401 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/317401 Well the Tribe is giving thier fans a break today, after the twin disasters in Tampa on Tuesday and Wednesday. There's no game tonight. Thank God! Even better, there's a Browns' preseason game to view - something to take our minds further away from the Tribe. What can you say about the last two games?. It's clear the Tribe has no bullpen to work with for next year. None. There is only one guy - Raffie Perez - who can be counted on for next year. (That's using that term loosely - since there were about six guys who could be 'counted on' in April for this season.) There are lots of other developments with the Tribe as well. Two new faces will be in Tribe uniforms when the torture resumes Friday night. Newly acquired Anthony Reyes will get his first start for the Tribe against the Jays in Toronto after two impressive outings at Buffalo since his acquisition from St. Louis. In addition, Brendan Donnelly - who has been rehabbing on the Tribe's dime all season long - will be joining the so-called bullpen. Donnelly has been impressive in eight minor league appearances since returning from elbow ligament surgery - which was done in 2007. The good news about Reyes is that his audition for next year will count for something. He is on a one-year contract, but his lack of time in the big leagues ties him to the Tribe for 2009. Donnelly, on the other hand, has no such obligation. The Tribe signed the former Angels standout prior to this season in the hopes that he'd be ready right about now to bolster the pen with a fresh arm as the team was heading into the playoff stretch run. Some stretch run. Hopefully Donnelly will do the decent thing and accept a position with the Tribe next year if they make a reasonably competitive offer. But this is 21st Century baseball, where there word 'loyalty' doesn't exist. The bullpen Donnelly will join is in its most chaotic state to date - having been beaten to a pulp in the final two games of the three-game series in Tampa. Raffie Betancourt got his head handed to him Tuesday. No big surprise. On Wednesday it was Ed Mujica and Masa Kobayshi's turn. Kobayashi has been decent in a set-up role but inconsistent (being kind) in the closer role. Mujica had been feted recently for his run of 10 or so good outings. But his first crack at the closer position blew up in his face. He had similar blowups earlier in the year in other roles (does anyone truly have a role in this pen?). So it kind of makes you wonder if his recent effectiveness was just a hot streak. As a result of the failures of Betancourt, Mujica and Kobayashi, Tom Mastny was sent back top Buffalo. Makes as much sense as anything else that has happened out in the pen this year, no? Actually, except for that one memorable inning in last year's ALCS against Boston, Mastny has shown little in the past three years. His act has worn thin and I really don't blame Eric Wedge for being hesitant to use him this season - which only added to his ineffectiveness. So what does that leave in the pen? Not much. We've been looking at the lame-duck portion of the schedule as a place to find answers for next year. In the case of the bullpen the answer is resoundingly negative. We would be remiss if we didn't mention Ryan Garko's indiscretion yesterday - standing at home plate, watching his foul dribbler turn fair. I didn't see the play, but right from coaches pitch league we are taught to run it out until the umpire says it's foul. That said, Garko's took the right tack after the game saying it was a stupid mistake that won't happen again and that he is fine with Wedge's decision to take him out of the game. Still, with Garko struggling to hold on to his position and his place in the Tribe's 2009 plans, it's the kind of move that sticks out in management's mind. The most ironic part about the whole Garko affair is the fact that Wedge finally called someone on the carpet publicly by removing Garko from the gain, but found himself forced to play Sal Fasano at 1B when an injury to Asdrubal Cabrera later in the game forced massive infield position changes to avoid the loss of the DH - the position where Garko started the game. Only 49 more to go!! Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:12:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302517 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302517 Tribe fans talk about next year's starting rotation and how thin it is. "We got Lee, Carmona and Laffey" they say. "After that who knows." Better put Aaron Laffey in the "who knows" category. On June 24, after holding the Giants to a run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings at the Jake, Laffey's ERA was 2.83. Five starts later, his ERA is 4.23, and he is 1-3 in those five starts. It's pretty difficult to add a run and a half to your ERA in five starts, but Laffey managed. Here's how: In the past five starts, Laffey has pitched 23 2/3 innings and allowed 22 earned runs. I don't even need my calculator to know that is darned near a 9.00 ERA. He has given up 38 hits and 12 walks during that stretch. Again, I don't need to my calculator to know that comes out to a WHIP of just over 2.00 and nearly 5 walks per 9 innings. Is his confidence rattled? Are his mechanics off? Has the league figured him out? That's hard to say sitting in my living room in suburban NY, but something is clearly out of kilter. So much so, that Tribe manager Eric Wedge wouldn't make any promises when asked whether Laffey might not be the guy to go down to Buffalo to get straightened out when Fausto Carmona comes back at the end of the week. After Laffey gave up 8 runs on 12 hits in just four innings plus in today's game in Anaheim, Wedge was non-committal when asked about the roster move coming up Friday - telling MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince: "We're not going to decide anything right now," manager Eric Wedge said. "We don't need to do anything until Friday night after the game, at the earliest. We haven't made any decisions just yet." Matt Ginter is the presumed odd-man-out, but he's put up two quality starts in two tries since joining the Tribe's rotation in what was supposed to be a cameo role. Jeremy Sowers, who has been a major disappointment this season could also go, but it is likely (at least I think so) that the Tribe - which has already farmed out Sowers this year for retooling - will want to keep him up in the hopes he can work things out on the big-league level between now and the end of September. Which brings us to the bullpen. I had planned to do a piece tonight about how the pen seems to be coming around and how it has been central to the Tribe's recent run of victories. An then today - and Tom Mastny and Jensen Lewis - happened. The duo combined to give up 6 runs over three innings in relief of Mastny, rendering moot any effort the Tribe's offense made to make a game of it. And that doesn't even count the 3 runs of Laffey's that Mastny gave up on a grand slam by Angel's catcher Jeff Mathis. In Mastny's defense, he last pitched 10 days ago. I've said it time and again this year and in the past, I don't know how Wedge expects his 4-7 relievers to be of any value whatsoever when he pitches them once every leap year or so. But still, Mastny was awful and Lewis wasn't much better. But the bullpen has been strong in the past 9 games before today - a stretch which saw the Tribe go 7-2. During that run, the pen has tossed 28 innings allowed 6 earned runs, 17 hits and 7 walks. That's an ERA of 1.92 and a WHIP of 0.86 (I'm not going to let the stats I dug up go top waste). Exclude one 4-run blowup by Juan Rincon, and the Tribe's bullpen ERA during the 9-game run is 0.64. Masa Kobayashi has 2 saves and Mastny, of all people, has the pen's lone win during the Tribe's recent hot streak. More importantly, a few key pitchers seem to be settling into roles. Raffy Perez, back firmly in the set-up role where he excelled last year, threw 7 innings in four appearances over the 9 games and did not allow a run. Kobayashi had the 2 saves and has pitched well in general since taking over the closer's role. Edward Mujica threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings during the stretch as he has begun to make a move toward the latter innings of games. The roles being established now though appear to be nothing more than an attempt to wrestle this season under control. While impressions will be made the rest of the way, it's doesn't appear as though anyone will be locking up their role for next season. In another piece for MLB.com, Castrovince reports that Wedge sees the bullpen situation as - shall we say - fluid. "The roles are wide open," Wedge said. "But I do see signs. We've got plenty of time to continue to look at these guys. They're going to have an opportunity to step up and figure out if they can play a prominent role in this thing." Still, in the same piece, Castrovince reports the Tribe doesn't think it will find its 2009 closer on its 2008 club, again quoting Wedge: "A lot would have to happen with the people we have down there now for us to not go out and get somebody," Wedge said. "Somebody would have to grab the role, really lock into it and prove that we can count on them. That's a lot to happen in two and a half months." Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:41:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294667 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294667 I'm heading to Cleveland for a long weekend in an hour or so. Contrary to what you may think, I have not been invited to participate in the big pow-wow being planned for today by the Tribe brass. Tribe manager Eric Wedge and his coaches will be meeting, and Wedge will also participate in a conference call with GM Mark Shapiro and other tie-wearing types. Wedge of course is in Minnesota while the front office is - in the front office, back in Cleveland. This is supposed to be a wide-ranging meeting to discuss where to go from here on the player front. First up will be the bullpen. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports the entire pen may be in for a shakeup - starting with the closer role. But, Castrovince reports, the closer spot is not the only one under scrutiny. "Other changes might come simply in the way Wedge uses his relievers. He wants to back off Masa Kobayashi, Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez a bit, as all three rank among the league leaders in appearances. -Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com." Revamping of the bullpen would mean more work for Edward Mujica, Rick Bauer and Tom Mastny. It could also mean the recall of Jensen Lewis and Brian Slocum. Slocum has a 0.69 ERA in seven appearances since being converted to a reliever at Buffalo. Wedge tells MLB.com he likes what he sees from Slocum. "He's coming on strong. He's always had a good arm. I think the move to the bullpen will help him out. His performance has been high on the radar." And, MLB.com reports, Jensen Lewis' return may be near, according to Wedge. "I don't want to put a timetable on [Lewis' return]. But he's starting to show some consistency and his arm strength is better. He's starting to locate the ball." I have no problem with any of this. It is time for experimentation. What I do have a problem with is Wedge's refusal to use these guys earlier. It has been his pattern to use just the top three or so guys - heavily - while letting the rest of the relievers rot in the pen. The impression is Mujica, Mastny and Bauer suck. When they get in the games it sure seems that way. They may in fact suck. Or could it be that it's difficult to pitch when you come in once every nine days and try to pitch three innings in a game that your team is already losing? It's pretty difficult to stay sharp that way. Wedge has always done a horrible job of keeping everyone fresh and useful in the pen. Bauer was an effective closer in Buffalo. If he were to be used like a closer (an inning a day in 4 or 5 out of every 7 days) might he pitch like a closer, or at least something resembling a closer? Maybe now is the time to find out. Kobayashi doesn't seem to be the answer. Overall he seems to have been effective, but he blows up nearly as often as Borowski. The only difference is his blowups come as three-run seventh innings that put the game out of reach, rather than ninth-inning blowups that end ballgames. Borowski's disasters - as numerous as they are - stab you in the heart and are more easily remembered. Tom Mastny - out of desperation - closed games toward the end of 2006 and did a decent job. I don't think he's closer material, but if he pitches regularly in spots that matter in the 7th or 8th inning, he is likely to be more consistent than he has been in the past. Maybe Jensen Lewis was sent to Buffalo to boost his fastball because he is the fallback position at closer. Just a thought. And it certainly is a thought worth taking a look at. The last two months must be about giving some of these other arms a chance, just to see of they are of any real use to the team for next year. They can't be any worse. Of course today's meeting will not stop at the bullpen. The organization will undoubtedly be discussing names they know are available for CC Sabathia. The names that Shapiro has actually discussed with other GM's, not necessarily the names we've seen all over the papers and the blogosphere. There would, I would guess, be some discussion about an infield realignment, with Asrubal Cabrera coming up to play shortstop and Jhonny Peralta moving to third. That is pure speculation on my part, but I know I would not only discuss it, but do it. Then you have some idea if Peralta can actually play the position when making plans for next year. Failing a move of Peralta to 3B, I'd put Andy Marte there for the rest of the year and let him make or break his opportunity. Either move would displace Casey Blake, but that is not a problem. Blake is probably being sought by more than a few teams and could very easily be gone soon. If not, he should get the bulk of the time at DH unless and until Travis Hafner gets back. He can also play 1B and the outfield, as you know, so he wouldn't be hurting for ABs. Since I wasn't invited to today's meeting, those are my thoughts. I was in Cleveland on my annual summer visit on the day of the big Robbie Alomar deal and the Carlos Baerga deal before that. Just happenstance. Could lightning strike a third time? Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:48:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285517 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285517 Maw call the kids! Here's a chance to witness a bit of the old days. An actual single-admission, one-right-after-the-other twi-night doubleheader. Thanks to the Mother's Day rainout at Progressive Field today, the Tribe will play an honest-to-God twin bill. We'll get a chance to bring out all the old cliches that used to be uttered every Sunday (or really every Monday in the paper). Words like the aforementioned twin bill, or the 'nightcap,' meaning the second game of the doubleheader. Of course since Monday's doubleheader is not on the original schedule and a bit of a surprise, there will probably be about 300 people in the stands for the start of first game - which will occur when most folks are at work. Anyway. The rainout was a disappointing end to a great weekend. When the Tribe is scoring runs in bunches, you kinda want to have the games continue. So far this series, the Tribe has scored 18 runs on 21 hits in two games against the No. 2 starting rotation in the AL - the A's being No. 1 and the Tribe No. 3. The offense has come pretty much from all parts of the lineup, although the usual contributors - Victor and Grady - led the way. Sizemore, in fact, had a two-dinger game on Saturday. If anyone's going to hit a homer, it might as well be your leadoff hitter I always say. Casey Blake keeps getting hits when they count. Blake is the club's RBI leader with 25, on 25 hits. I guess that's the definition of clutch hitting, but very unlike the Casey Blake we have gotten to know over years. Ben Francisco is hitting some since being called up and Ryan Garko looked a little better in the past couple of nights, though he got whacked in the wrist in his last at bat Saturday. Travis Hafner had two hits on Friday, and even though one was a dunker they both were to the opposite field and I thought that may be an indication he has started to wait back and hit what the pitcher is giving him. But he went back to his new old self again Saturday and his contribution to the club still is very much in doubt. Still, it was fun to watch the Tribe put some runs on the board two nights in a row. On another subject, the Tribe finally sent Tom Mastny back to Buffalo to get some work. The move makes sense since Eric Wedge apparently had no stomach for putting Mastny into the game. The recall of outfielder Jason Tyner to replace Mastny is, however, more than a little bit of a puzzle. He's hitting about 240 in Buffalo, with a bunch of stolen bases. Why Tyner? And why now? The outfield is getting a little crowded no? I just don't see where Tyner will be of any more use to the Tribe than Mastny was. They can't even use him for mop up. One other thought. Wasn't it a heck of a lot of fun watching Asdrubal Cabrera play SS Saturday, with Jamie Carroll at 2B. Granted, in a 12-0 game it didn't matter that much that Cabrera made about four plays that Jhonny Peralta makes only in the middle of the night, flat out on his bed and snoring comfortably. Not sure what to do about that, with Peralta clogging up the works, but it seems to me that a team that is pegging its fortunes on pitching might do better with a couple of vacuum cleaners in the middle of the infield. Maybe Peralta and a pitcher could bring us a major bat that could be used elsewhere? Sun, 11 May 2008 15:29:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265774 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265774 If you had told me before the Indians' final regular season series ever at Yankees Stadium that the Tribe would take two out of three, I'm quite sure I would have taken that deal. With two games in the bag heading into this afternoon I tried to tell myself that a win today would be the "eating it too" part of that cliche' about the cake. Even as I sat down to write this post I was going to go with the Meatloaf angle - you know, 'two out of three aint bad.' But frankly, if the one loss comes at the end of the series, than two out of three sucks. Especially against the Yankees. Do you have any idea how much mileage I would have gotten at the office out of a three-game sweep? And wouldn't it feel a whole lot better if the Tribe was sitting at .500 instead of two games under, even though it doesn't make a damn bit of difference at this juncture? After the first two or three innings today you could tell that some of those flyballs the Yankees were hitting off of Paul Byrd were eventually going to leave the park. It was just a question of how many and how full the bases would be at the time. As it turns out, three of them made it out of the yard, good for four runs. Not a great outing for Byrd but the kind of game you know will come up fairly frequently with an old-goat fifth starter who uses nothing but his head and the tips of his fingers to stay in the game. The real problem today, as always, is you have to be able to expect more than three runs out of your offense. Unfortunately, three seems to be about all we're gonna see out of this group. I liked the idea of seeing Ben Francisco and Franklin Gutierrez in the same outfield. But at this point - at least while he's hot - David Dellucci should play too. I have no problem with Dellucci DHing a few more times until he cools off. Right now Travis Hafner is a seemingly irretrievable mess. So what is there to lose by keeping him on the bench? I'm not say give up on him, but a week off might not hurt. Ryan Garko is nearly as hopeless right now as Hafner. Frankly I would like to have seen Andy Marte in there again today, with Blake at 1B if you really feel the need to have him in there. I've said it before, I'm not a believer in Marte but while the team is hitting this poorly you might as well take a couple of weeks to see if he's got anything. He had a hit last night, and a fly out to the deepest part of Yankee Stadium. So I'm not sure Eric Wedge did much for his confidence by pinch-hitting Hafner for him with a three run lead and the bases loaded in the ninth. It wasn't a max-pressure spot and a hit there might have lifted him up a little. Today Marte found himself back on the bench. If they are not going to use the guy, they might as well pull the plug on him. Why waste the roster spot? Which brings me to my next point. Why are Tom Mastny, Jorge Julio and Crag Breslow on this team? In the FIFTH inning Wedge had Jensen Lewis up throwing. Was he really going to use him that early? Especially with Raffie Left pitching two nights in a row already in the series? You can't make it through an entire season using three or four relievers. You have to expand beyond the Raffies, Lewis and Masa Kobayashi. At least if you want them to be able to pitch beyond the All-Star break. Julio did get in today for the last inning with the Tribe down three. Wedge has to either show a little more faith in the middle-inning guys or he's got to farm them out and bring someone in who he does have confidence in. I realize with this team every run counts, but you just can't keep throwing the same guys out there day after day as early as the fifth or sixth inning. Not if you want them around in September. Thu, 08 May 2008 16:56:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264947 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264947 I never thought I'd be writing that headline this season. After last year's performance and the addition of a few seemingly useful bodies over the winter I thought the closer position might be the only problem with the pen this year. But it seems to be a much larger problem. I knew the relief corps had been getting slapped around a bit so far this season, but I didn't realize the extent of it until I checked the numbers. Through 14 games the pen is 1-3 with 2 saves and four blown saves (two by Joe Borowski and two by Raffie Perez). The Tribe is 1-3 in games tied after 7 innings. Here's a real grabber. The bullpen has allowed 9 homers in 41 1/3 innings pitched. Of the seven guys in the pen, only Craig Breslow and Masa Kobayashi have not been taken deep, and the two of them have pitched only a combined 8 1/3 innings. Tribe relievers have allowed 75 base runners in those 41 1/3 innings - 49 hits, 21 walks and 5 hit batsmen. For those of you even less gifted in math than I, that's darn near two base runners per inning. The pen has given up 26 earned runs in 41 1/3 innings, for an ERA of 5.66. Not exactly the kind of stats you want from a group of guys paid to put out fires. It has been cold and mostly ugly during the first 2 1/2 weeks of the season and that makes it tough to pitch. But it also makes it tough to hit. The players and manager are still sorting out roles, an issue made more complicated by the shelving of Borowski and the short- and long-term uncertainty around the closer position. But the kind of performance we've seen so far indicates deeper problems than the usual getting-it-in-gear-early-on troubles. The real problem is there are no quick fixes immediately visible, but the Tribe can find itself in a redux of 2006 (when early bullpen failure doomed the season) if the magic bullet is not found pronto. That has me a little worried. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:12:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/239134 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/239134 Onto our next Tribe Poll Question: Which Indians' reliever deserves the seventh and final spot in the bullpen? The three pitchers battling for the slot are believed to be Scott Elarton, Jorge Julio and Tom Mastny. All three pitchers bring something unique to the Tribe pen, but have their question marks as well. Here's a look at the three challengers: Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:27:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/221486 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/221486 Unless David Delucci's arm falls off tomorrow, the Tribe's 25-man roster is set. Tom Mastny has been sent to the minors, meaning that newly acquired Craig Breslow will take the final spot on the pitching staff as the second lefty in the pen. Talk about stepping into it. Breslow got cut from Boston at just about the time the Tribe came to the conclusion that Aaron Fultz wasn't getting it done. "Voila!" Instant roster spot. All he had to do was show up and pitch one perfect spring inning for the Tribe. I can't argue with this decision too much. Mastny has been decent, but not great over the past couple of seasons with the Tribe. He had a decent spring except for one horrible outing. And there was that one glorious inning in the ALCS against Boston that turned the series in the Tribe's favor - at least for a while. But a second lefty is nice to have and Mastny has not been good enough to have been considered a lock, especially considering the number of new arms brought into camp this spring. Delucci went 3-for-5 in today's game against the Astros. More importantly he played for the second day in a row since he began complaining of a sore forearm. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports Delucci will make the Tribe's roster and be a part of the left-field platoon with Jason Michaels as long as his arm isn't barking at him tomorrow morning. That would mean Ben Francisco will begin the year at Buffalo and - no doubt - make his presence felt in the bigs later this summer. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:20:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/219099 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/219099 Andy MartEE is seeking the final spot among the position players on the Tribe's roster. With the Tribe tabbing Jorge Julio for a spot in the pen and sending Scott Elarton to Buffalo today, newly arrived lefty reliever Craig Breslow is in a similar situation out in the pen - battling Tom Mastny for the last musical chair out there. Both MartEE and Breslow are out of options, meaning they would be subjected to waivers if the Tribe tried to send them to the minors. That fact is not hurting their chances of making the final cut. Neither is Breslow's left-handedness or the late-innings heroics from both players today. MartEE hit a three-run shot today to put the Tribe ahead to stay in the eight inning of their 7-5 win over the Yankees. Breslow, making his Tribe debut, pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out two and picking up a save. MartEE's homer helped the troubled infielder make up for two more errors in today's game, giving him six for the spring. When he arrived in the Coco Crisp deal, MartEE was considered a top-notch third baseman. With his awful spring in the field this year, you have to assume that MartEE's confidence has taken a nosedive or that he has been confused and distracted by the Tribe's efforts to turn him into a utility player, working him out at 1B and in the outfield. MartEE also came with the reputation of being a potential impact hitter, albeit one who is streaky. He sure has been just that this spring. He has five homers in Florida. But if you eliminate today's game, and a game against Washington in which he hit two homers and had six RBIs, MartEE is hitting .204 this spring. A guy who can't play one position in the field, let-alone several, and who is a streaky hitter unlikely to do well coming off the bench cold, is not an ideal candidate for the utility player role. But that is what you are likely to see with MartEE. You have to assume Breslow will get a couple more innings in the Tribe's last four games to give the Tribe's brass something to go on. But his trump card is the team's desire to give Eric Wedge two lefties to play with out of the bullpen. The roster had been expected to be in place by Thursday, when the Tribe breaks camp. But Wedge now says final roster decisions may not come until this weekend. So maybe it's not as cut-and-dried as it seems. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:59:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/218377 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/218377 Those of you who drafted Aaron Fultz as the sleeper lefty for you fantasy team, time to pull the plug. The Tribe realized it was plug-pulling time today, telling the lefty reliever he would not make the 25-man roster. They will either eat his $1.5 million salary or designate and trade him. Fultz was somewhat useful as a lefty out of the pen in the early part of last season, until a pulled muscle in his rib cage kept him out of action for five weeks. After that he was, at best, unreliable. (I'm in a mood to be kind). This spring he was just plain awful. I'm fine with the decision to cut Fultz. It's the decision on how to replace him that I'm not sure about. Craig Breslow, put on waivers by the Red Sox and picked up by the Tribe yesterday, is expected to be handed a spot on the roster, primarily because he is left-handed. He's already 27 and has had only two cups of coffee in the majors. The Tribe hasn't said Breslow will make the club for sure, but you don't pick up a guy in the last week of spring training with no minor league options left, and then create a hole in your bullpen, unless you're planning to hand the job to the guy you just picked up. I can't comment with any degree of credibility on Breslow, since I know virtually nothing about him beyond what the numbers tell us. Breslow went 2-3 with a 4.06 ERA in 49 games for Triple-A Pawtucket last year. He struck out 73 and walked 25 in 68 2/3 innings pitched. I can say this. I work with lots of Red Sox fans and they all snickered when mentioning the Tribe's pickup of Breslow. I guess we'll find out soon enough. The final spot in the pen will go to Tom Mastny, Scott Elarton or Jorge Julio. My money is on Julio for his back-of-the pen experience. Meanwhile, the Tribe did make a final decision on its starting rotation. Cliff Lee - as expected - took the fifth spot, with Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers headed for Buffalo. Still, Mark Shapiro remains impressed with Laffey: "When he came into camp this year, it was the first time he came in with expectations and people knowing who he was. It took him a while to get comfortable with that. As he got comfortable in camp, he was the same guy, just throwing ground balls, relying on his strengths and competitiveness." Ditto Jeremy Sowers: "It was as good an arm strength as we've seen. His command of his secondary pitches needs to keep getting better. If it does, we have a guy who can definitely impact our big league rotation this year. I'm really excited about where Jeremy is right now." The good news is the Tribe is at least seven-deep in starters, while the big bashers from Motown are having trouble finding five guys to throw out there. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:43:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/216769 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/216769