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The fact that Borowski is the first salvo tossed out by the Indians in re-making the team shows you the depths of how far this team has to go. The closer problems first surfaced when Borowski denied injury problems and then started throwing in the low 80s. That set off a chain of events that included the implosion of the rest of the bullpen.
But, believe it or not, when analyzing the problems of this team, who closes out games is down the list The team couldn't score runs, and much more often than not, the outcome was decided long before the game got to the closer.
Give Mark Shapiro credit. Unlike the man he replaced, John Hart, Shapiro is the first one to come front and center when things take a turn for the worse. Hart would be happy to make an appearance on national broadcasts when things were going well, as they usually did in his tenure, but was nowhere to be found when things got tough.
While the Indians opened a series on Friday in Minnesota, Shapiro was on a conference call with reporters and broadcasters who cover the team on a daily basis. He pointed out injuries to key players that couldn't be survived by any team. He talked about major-league options for some players, the future of veterans, such as Casey Blake, who are not under contract next year, and what they will be looking at over the next three months as they get ready to shape next year's roster.
What you didn't hear was an admission that somebody made a mistake in evaluating the 2008 roster. You didn't hear that Jason Michaels/David Dellucci was a bad idea from the beginning, especially with Dellucci's three-year, $11 million deal, and that Ben Francisco should have been the left fielder from Day One.
You didn't hear, as Jim Ingraham pointed out so well in his column on Saturday, the amateur draft has produced nothing in the way of position players in recent years. Or that trades for Andy Marte, Josh Barfield, Franklin Gutierrez haven't worked out, and that Ryan Garko has been a huge disappointment. And that they don't know what they have in Asdrubal Cabrera.
What you did hear is that the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins struggled last year but have turned themselves into contenders. Of course, the Twins lost Johan Santana and Torii Hunter, but they didn't use that as an excuse. After Friday's 12-3 win over the shell-shocked Tribe, the Twins pulled to within a game of the White Sox.
You can't have it both ways. If you don't admit anything is wrong, and that injuries are the reason for a wasted year, then you should stick with the plan. That, of course, would mean another year of Dellucci, Blake and Paul Byrd. And Jhonny Peralta at shortstop. And Eric Wedge, with one playoff appearance, who will finish this year with as many years on the job as Al Lopez, one less than Tris Speaker, and two less than Lou Boudreau.
Speaker and Boudreau, both player-managers, were the only mangers to bring a World Series title to Cleveland. If you admit mistakes, however, you are admitting the rebuilding didn't work and you've got to do it again. You won't hear that. Instead you'll hear the new buzz word ... "tweak."
Losing a Cy Young Award winner in the prime of his career is more than a tweak. Finding an effective closer, from outside the current roster, is more than a tweak. Finding three quality starters to replace C.C. Sabathia, Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook is more than a tweak. And finding a replacement for big-money DH Travis Hafner, if necessary, is more than a tweak.
Interleague thoughts
In the past week or so, I have heard several local broadcasters say that interleague play has been another success this year because of the attendance figures in those games. No kidding! The Indians had weekend home series with San Diego and Cincinnati in June, when school was out and the weather was nice. San Francisco drew better than average weekday crowds because of the return of Omar Vizquel. Go ahead, other than ex-Indians, name five players on either San Diego or San Francisco's rosters.
From the attendance figures alone, some naive people might say the lure of interleague play is the reason. Those same people would say the NL teams were a better draw than the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, who made their only appearance in town during April. That is what interleague play brings you, along with this coming week's only appearance of the best story in baseball this year, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sitting pretty
Cavalier GM Danny Ferry told me this week he thinks last year's team that took the Celtics to seven games in the playoffs was better than the team that lost in the Finals to San Antonio the year before. He also said, if no major changes are made, he would be happy to go into next season with the team as it is.
He has to say that, in case he is not able to pull off a sign-and-trade deal with some team. But don't believe for a minute that he and Dan Gilbert aren't looking to make a splash in the offseason. It is the next offseason when more creative things can be done, and just in time to help LeBron James make a decision on his future beyond 2009-10.
Smooth operator
Shock waves are sent through the area whenever James says anything that encourages the national media to boldly predict the end is near for him in Cleveland.
I'm not so sure even James knows what he wants to do when the time comes, but I do know this: He is having fun when he says things like New York is his favorite city and Brooklyn is his favorite borough.
He is having fun when he wears a Yankees hat, and tells people, depending on who he is talking to, that his favorite college is Ohio State, or Southern Cal, or even Florida State.
LeBron knows that anything he says will give hope to some region of the country. Which, by the way, helps sell a lot of Nike shoes.
How come ...
n The only team that was really dis-mantled was the Yankees, when Mickey retired?
n The Indians' bullpen has added so much fuel to the fire this year that scientists are studying it to develop more energy alternatives?
n If Sabathia forces a trade because he won't re-sign with the Indians, when he returns to Cleveland in a visiting uniform he will not receive the "Jim Thome treatment?"
n Seattle basketball fans are no longer 'Hooked on Sonics?'
n n n
Les Levine is the host of "More Sports & Les Levine," which airs Monday through Friday from 6 to 7 p.m. and is replayed from 11 p.m. to midnight on Time Warner Cable Channel 15.
msandll@aol.com
