So glad that Mike Hargrove was inducted into the Tribe Hall of Fame. He's a class act who has lived in the area since 1980, even after he was fired in 1999 and then managed in Baltimore and Seattle. In seven seasons with the Tribe, he was a .292 hitter on some very awful teams. As a manager, he is the only man to take the Indians to a pair of World Series appearances. Like Al Lopez in the 1950s, the job he did for the Tribe will never truly be appreciated.
AGREED. He'll be appreciated in this corner. 
It's encouraging to see what infielder Asdrubal Cabrera has done since returning to the Tribe from Class AAA Buffalo, N.Y., after the All-Star break. He's hitting .290 in that span with a .385 on-base percentage and .841 OPS. (That's on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, and anything over .800 is excellent, especially for a middle infielder.) His defense is superb. I'd still love to see him as a regular shortstop with Jhonny Peralta moving to third in 2009. Cabrera batted only .184 before being sent to Buffalo in June. In 80 games between second and short, Cabrera has only five errors. His internal stats (kept by the Tribe) rank him near Gold Glove-caliber, especially at second base.
Yes, Peralta at third, because it's not happening for Andy Marte. He has been the regular third baseman since the All-Star break and is batting .188 in that span. In 164 at-bats this season, he has only 10 extra-base hits (three home runs) and 10 RBI. On the year, his on-base percentage is .230. In August, he's batting only .190, so it's not like he's figuring it out. Most alarming, the right-handed batter is at .157 vs. right-handed pitchers.
It's official: We got screwed on the Coco Crisp trade. 
Outfielder Ben Francisco is batting .305 vs. righties. The right-handed hitter is batting .345 in August. For his major-league career, he is a .286 hitter with 15 homers, 57 RBI and 30 doubles in 406 at-bats, and a solid .814 OPS. He is a keeper. While he won't hit a ton of homers, he hits doubles and is improving in the outfield. The strange thing is how he has hit worse vs. lefties (.238 in 2008) for most of his pro career.
It seemed like utter desperation when manager Eric Wedge moved Peralta into the cleanup spot, but he's been hitting .326 (59-of-181 with eight homers, 35 RBI) with a .957 OPS. Consider that Peralta was only a .221 hitter in 151 at-bats as a fifth batter this season. With 19 home runs and 76 RBI, he's headed to a career year.
Casey Blake (.288, four homers, 12 RBI in 80 at-bats) is playing well for the Los Angeles Dodgers. I was concerned that he'd press -- a problem for him in the past -- after the trade. But he has been an impact player for the Dodgers.
Which brings us to Carlos Santana, picked up from the Dodgers in the Blake deal. At Class A Kinston, N.C., he's batting .361 (1.043 OPS) with four homers and 11 RBI in 72 at-batsd. He was hitting .323 with 14 home runs and 96 RBI (.993 OPS) in the Class A California League before the trade. The switch-hitter looks like a natural. The other player in the deal, John Meloan, has a 3.86 ERA in 91/3 innings at Buffalo. He has been switched from starting to the bullpen, where had he worked before this season. A year ago, he was a combined 7-2 with a 2.03 ERA and 20 saves between Class AA and AAA, fanning 91 in 67 innings.
Don't know if Jensen Lewis will be the closer in 2009, it's just nice to see someone save a few games now. Lewis has a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings since the All-Star break and is 3-of-4 in save opportunities. If nothing else, he looks more like the guy who really helped the Tribe in middle relief in the second half of 2007. A good sign is lefties (.270) and righties (.267) are hitting about the same, a key because a right-handed closer has to be able to deal with lefty hitters.
The Jeff Weaver experiment at Buffalo is going nowhere as he has a 7.11 ERA. But Aaron Laffey is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings since being sent back to Buffalo. So he can return to the Tribe soon, if needed.
That's like 34+ years of games.
That's like 34+ years of games.
Now if Yost isn't stupid enough to burn him out before the playoffs, we'll be ok.
However, your point about Marte is quite valid.
And now we're in 3rd place! 
