A Wedge of Truth Reveals Greater Meaning for Tribe
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by user Ross K.
Last night Eric Wedge made a statement about Cleveland Indians first basemen Ben Broussard's error that led to the Detroit Tigers five-run first inning.
Wedge said, "That was some kind of bad."
Wedge, who in June had a 21% fan approval rating on ESPN.com making him fourth from last (and in the company of the last two Cleveland managers Mike Hargrove (4%) and Charlie Manuel), may have thought he was just commenting on Broussard's error but in fact, it describes the Tribe's entire season thus far.
The way Cleveland has taken a 90-win team, changed only a few pieces and ended up with a possible 90-loss team competing with the Kansas City Royals for last place can't be just called bad. It's "some kind of bad." A kind of bad that hasn't been defined yet.
The Tigers are of course a suprise, no one saw that coming. The Chicago White Sox are defending champs, so they're expected to be good. The Minnesota Twins usually make a run at things for awhile, but they're usually not a legitmate threat. The Royals, well, they're the Royals.
I think what the Indians didn't see coming - and what they weren't prepared for - is the AL Central becoming a competitive division. The entire division used to be "some kind of bad" and winning year after year wasn't a problem for Cleveland. They could get by with either a mediocre offense or defense as long as the other was great.
They also could get by with subpar management.
MLB has been a little different this year with no big manager firings (yet). A few teams - the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs in particular - both don't want to deal with interim managers so Manuel and Dusty Baker are staying put. Maybe that's the reason Eric Wedge has a job at this point to. Yes, his team won 90 games last year, but I think that in spite of Wedge, not because of him.
The Indians need a manager that can put a fire under these young guys' butts and get them inspired. Not someone that is comfortable sitting back and saying a play was "some kind of bad." Wedge should have come down hard on Broussard an made an example of him. Wedge has the worst (I think) defense in the league and all he's got is "some kind of bad"?
The Tribe hasn't had a rah-rah manager since I can remember. They need to find one fast before the "some kind of bad" turns into "some kind of worse than the Royals" and Tribe fans start spending their money on "some kind of better entertainment."
Date
Tue 07/25/06, 8:37 am EST
