Clean
Juan Gonzalez' season is now in question, and one would assume, his career also. I'm sure the Indians and many of their fans will pine for Ryan Ludwick, wondering why the Tribe designated him for assignment for a hobbling 35-year old.
The Indians like Ryan Ludwick, they say, it was just a matter of numbers.
I don't buy it.
Look, the Indians acquired Ryan in the late summer of 2003. At the time, as a writer for the Lakewood Buzz, I opened a thread about the deal that cost us Ricardo Rodriguez.
Maybe Ludwick was in the plans then, who knows.
But last season he was injured, and this season, the Indians showed no real interest in getting him playing time.
This is what is irritating about the "We like Ryan, but we couldn't find a spot for him," talk.
How could they not find a way to get him more than 41 at-bats? Casey Blake is hitting .201, and Aaron Boone has not been able to make anything happen, yet THEY got lots of at-bats.
Blake is playing because they gave him a lucrative deal. Boone is likely playing for the same reason. I know that like Ludwick, they are right handed hitters.
But 41 at-bats for the guy? I could understand it if Brian Giles were roaming in right, but Casey Blake?
Ludwick hit four homers. That's an average of one shot every 10-plus at-bats. Would he have kept that up? No, probably not. But he was at least worth a look.
And when will Cleveland come to the realization that Blake is nothing special. I still contend he's not as good as his past numbers, but the Indians seem convinced he's a core guy.
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People will somehow pin this on Juan. It struck me as funny yesterday when Tribe broadcaster Tom Hamilton said "If Juan didn't want to play, he wouldn't have gone through all the trouble."
That's true.
But last year, in a game against the Royals, with the Tribe way ahead, Hamilton couldn't resist a slap against the slugger.
Gonzalez was on third, and a ball was hit to the outfield. Hamilton thought Juan could have tagged, but he remained at third.
"Maybe his hamstring flared up," said Hamilton, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
But now that Juan plays for the good guys, Hamilton is full of praise.
The current team of tribe broadcasters make me miss Herb Score like never before. Herb made mistakes, but he was positive about the Tribe, and positive about the other teams and other players. He wasn't critical of the play on the field, because he knew how hard it was.
That's missing now.
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Juan Castro is underrated. If he played in New York, we would never stop hearing about what a great defender he was. In my opinion, he's the best defensive infielder in baseball right now.