Back in May, Indians' GM Mark Shapiro put manager Eric Wedge on the hot seat by vaguely supporting him for an unknown amount of time. Since then, he's said that he would make a decision on Wedge and his coaching staff when the season ends. And no one's really said anything since then, but since Wedge says no one's really approached him about anything, it really seems pretty likely that the Indians will be looking for a new manager when the season ends.
Wedge has managed the Tribe since 2003 with some mixed results. He very nearly stole the AL Central from the White Sox in 2005, took the Indians to Game 7 of the ALCS in 2007, and has finished .500 or worse in his other five years at the helm. The disappointing performance of the team since that ALCS berth in 2007 is probably what's most damning for Wedge.
MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Big ups to Prez for taking the PR reigns over while I was off last week. But we're back in the saddle, fresh out of the All-Star break and ready to incite you with our rankings. Also, I should point out that this is, relatively speaking, the "home stretch." Where even the most minuscule of mini-streaks can change a team's fate. Or something like that. Anyway, let's go to the list, where we'll find out if an attack on Jack Nicholson by the Phanatic and the addition of Petey was enough to vault the Phillies into the top spot of the Week 16 MLB Power Rankings. Cue drumroll.
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Well, I'll tell you one thing: baseball ain't boring, folks. At least if you're in the middle class anyway; the upper crust is (somewhat) starting to establish itself across MLB's ranks and the bottom portion of the league is certainly holding steady. But in the middle, well, goodness. We have a lot of would-be title contenders. How's your semi-crappy team faring in the all-important MLB FanHouse Power Rankings this week? Find out after the jump.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
"This concludes our test of the emergency attendance enhancement system. We now return to the regularly scheduled season."
Yes, the 13th season of interleague play wraps up Sunday, except for a Cubs-White Sox makeup game. We have survived six San Diego-Seattle games (that's more zeroes than an A-Rod paycheck).
We didn't learn much we didn't already know: the system has inherent flaws and the American League rules.
For the sixth straight year, the AL has had** the better record in interleague play – 129-108 going into today.
Take out Cleveland and Oakland, and the AL is 119-84.
"It probably is" as big a gap between leagues as in past years, one AL team official said, "until you get to the World Series. Then it doesn't matter."
One of the brightest moments of Wayne Krivsky's short career as Reds general manager was his heist of second baseman Brandon Phillips from the Indians for a player to be named later. Since the trade, he's provided Cincy with a good bat and a great glove at second base.
That trade was more than three years ago, but with a Cleveland-Cincinnati series looming this weekend, Phillips still has some harsh words for Eric Wedge, his manager in Cleveland and still the Tribe's skipper today. Without being specific, Phillips says that Wedge and the Indians, "Wouldn't let me be me." More of his quote (from the Dayton Daily News) is after the jump
This is my Mark Shapiro autograph. He signed it for me while I was at work, a month or so before the season began. I talked to him about baseball for a while, and he mentioned medical reports and how he thought Kerry Wood was going to be really healthy and strong this season. He shook my hand, and he is a gracious gentleman. I want to preface this post with this, because it is my job to stop making excuses now and start going WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO THE BASEBALL TEAM over the Internet.
I am not looking forward to buying a facetious, Detroit Lions-esque t-shirt about how great we were in the preseason or something when we finish the season 0-162. Tonight's Wahoo Messenger is after the jump. Tomorrow's Wahoo Messenger will just be a big picture of LeBron James.
Honestly, I'm not even sure we can call Shapiro's statement a vote of confidence. His exact words were, "Right now, I feel the answers are here with Eric, our coaching staff and these players." The key phrase here is, "right now." As in, maybe that's how Shapiro feels at the moment but if this keeps up, anything might happen.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what's ahead.
You Oughta Know... That the Giants suddenly don't look so awful. They've won five in a row, tied with the Cardinals for the second longest active winnings streak in the majors. (Yes, the Red Sox have won nine in a row, but unless you somehow missed the endless highlights on SportsCenter, you know all about their 16-11 victory over the Yankees.)
Randy Johnson failed in his bid for win No. 297, leaving down 2-0 after just 3 1/3 innings, but the Giants bullpen gave up one run the rest of the way, while the offense put together a decent performance. The Giants are 8-8, having righted themselves quickly after going winless on their first six-game trip of the year.
Despite Johnson's rough outing -- and he's been just inconsistent enough that this quest for No. 300 could take a while -- the Giants have won with pitching. Their ERA during the winning streak is 1.37, including a pair of dominant games from Tim Lincecum.
It's almost like he never existed. I moved to Ohio a few years ago, at the height of Pronkamania. Travis Haftner was the superhero of Cleveland, had his own candybar, and had just hit sixty-two grand slams in three games. Now you can go into any discount clothing store and find Hafner's jersey (in both "Hafner" and "Pronk" varieties) on the discount rack beside C.C. Sabathia and Casey Blake. It's not like he's injured, it's like he's gone. Like he never existed.
Well, it is 2009 and Project Donkey is back, ready to hit .117 with 0 homeruns and 2 RBI in 162 games! Tonight's Wahoo Messenger is after the jump! In PRONKVILLE~!
Look at the look on his face. Even he's thinking, "Ugh, why did you guys hire me? Haven't you been watching baseball for the last eight years?"
The sun rose this morning, and Kerry Wood hasn't taken the mound for the Indians since last weekend because of back problems, and I'm gonna go ahead and say he'll be out for the first two months of the season and 90% of September. This should come as a surprise to only newborn babies and the mentally incompetent, but hey, there's no reason to overreact. It's just a nagging back injury, and the Tribe is playing it safe by keeping him out. I'm going to skip the b.s. and just overreact now, so when Grady Sizemore misses the middle of the season with missing groin and Travis Hafner's foot falls off I can blame it on Wood and move on with my life.
Back in May, Indians' GM Mark Shapiro put manager Eric Wedge on the hot seat by vaguely supporting him for an unknown amount of time. Since then, he's said that he would make a decision on Wedge and his coaching staff when the season ends. And no one's really said anything since then, but since Wedge says no one's really approached him about anything, it really seems pretty likely that the Indians will be looking for a new manager when the season ends. 
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in 
One of the brightest moments of 
Now we're really rolling. April is over, the weather is getting nice, and managers are marching on to the hot seat in pairs. After 
Starting Five
It's almost like he never existed. I moved to Ohio a few years ago, at the height of Pronkamania. 
Look at the look on his face. Even he's thinking, "Ugh, why did you guys hire me? Haven't you been watching baseball for the last eight years?"
