Moohead Radio

Eric Wedge:

“I don’t think these guys are happy, and I don’t think they should be. This is when you have to be tough. This is when you have to stand up and take it.”

Paul Byrd:

“We want to do better. We know we’re a better team than we’ve showed. But you don’t get better by pressing and panicking and trying to do too much. That’s what I did tonight.”

Victor Martinez:

Martinez, who has yet to homer this season, flied out to center field for the second out. Martinez slammed his helmet in frustration on his way to the dugout. After he entered the dugout, Martinez kicked a hole through a plastic barrel holding sunflower seeds. Bags of seeds went flying across the dugout floor.

Jorge Julio:

Martinez engaged in an animated conversation with reliever Jorge Julio on the mound in the sixth during Chicago’s game-winning five-run rally. Julio appeared to be upset after relieving Paul Byrd, giving up a RBI double to Joe Crede and intentionally walking Nick Swisher to load the bases. Martinez went to the mound and gestured with his hands to Julio.

Wedge’s explanation?

“I don’t know what was going on,” Wedge said. “I don’t think they were on the same page. I think Jorge was frustrated after giving up the double [to Crede]. Then we had to walk Swisher.”

Well Eric…you better figure out what’s going on. And it better be more comprehensive than “toughing it out”.

BTW: Franklin Gutierrez is the new whipping boy along with Ryan Garko. Here’s what Wedge says about Gutierrez:

Right fielder Franklin Gutierrez, counting Wednesday, has missed five straight starts. What happened to him?
“Ben Francisco happened to him,” said manager Eric Wedge. “Benny has come up and swung the bat well and taken some time away from him.”

Just 10 days ago, Wedge said that Francisco would NOT be a regular everyday player. In last night’s game, Wedge refused to pinch hit Gutierrez against a lefty, opting instead to let Dellucci hit against the lefty. Why?

“Right handers were hitting .152 (5-for-33) against Thornton,” said Wedge. “Dellucci was 2-for-4 with a homer. I know David hasn’t done much against lefties. But with history like that, and such drastic splits (batting averages by lefties and righties againt specific pitchers), I felt like staying with David right there.”

A strategy based on 4 career at bats. That’s percentage baseball.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 8:31 am and is filed under Indians. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.