Indians GM Mark Shapiro just concluded a conference call with local media. Shapiro has been a strong proponent of replay, especially as it relates to home runs, and he said the umpires got the call right when they ruled Jorge Posada's ball went into the stands in New York on Sunday.
Between stating that the Indians need to get their bullpen and starting pitching working consistently together, Shapiro said he saw a TV angle of Posada's ball that clearly showed it going over Trevor Crowe's glove and into the stands. The feed came from the Yankees (YES) network.
"I can understand the umpire's ruling," Shapiro said.
He saw the replay today; it came from a camera in center field pointed down the fence toward right field. Indians Fans saw only a replay from SportsTime Ohio using a camera that pointed toward the outfield, and it did not show the ball clearly.
So … I guess I sit corrected regarding the umpires' call on that home run. It did go into the stands first.
Shapiro added that that call did not lose the game, and blaming the loss on the home run would be an "excuse."
Among Shapiro's other statements:
—The bullpen has been a problem in the early stages: "We have a multitude of guys in our bullpen who have not contributed positively. After Kerry Wood it's been marginal to poor performance from everyone else."
—Manager Eric Wedge has studied and pondered why the team gets off to slow starts. Wedge and Shapiro spent a good amount of time on Saturday discussing the April record, and their focus was on teams with the same market size and payroll. Wedge already has decided on some changes for next year's spring training.
—The schedule, which called for 11 games in a row following a day off on the second day of the season, did not help the pitching staff.
—The starting rotation's struggles early put a "huge burden on the bullpen." Add no off days and poor performance and things "just snowballed."
—Shapiro said Wedge's strengths are more evident when times are difficult. "Particularly behind the scenes and internally."
—On the team's hitting, he said: "I think we lead the American League in runs scored." Toronto has 87 runs in 14 games, the Indians 83 in 13. Toronto's per-game average is 6.2 and the Indians is 6.4.
Shapiro's key point: "Over the last eight games, we're trending better. We need to put things together more consistently. If we do that we're in the thick of things."
I don't want to be critical of Mark Shapiro and I do believe that the Indians are showing some signs of life, but it's hard to argue the Indians are a proficient run-scoring team when over 25% of their runs came in 1 game. Take out that game and they are averaging 5.1 runs per game over the other 12. I would love to see them improve their efficiency with a runner on third and less than 2 outs.
Did you sense any subtle signs of subterfuge when he refused to comment on his intent to trade Edwards and draft Crabtree?