Eric Wedge won't return in 2010

Trying to catch up on current events while computer issues remain …

The Indians announced that Eric Wedge would not be back next season, a nice way of saying he’d been fired. This produces a lot of ambivalent feelings.

I’m not as virulently anti-Wedge as many folks seem to be. I don’t get all that upset about things when a really good guy does his best and things just don’t work out. It happens sometimes. I’m big on the quality of the person. It seems that kind of person deserves a lot of leeway – provided his decisions aren’t consistently preposterous.

Wedge made some head-scratchers, yes. Ryan Garko in the outfield. The constant juggling of lineups. Brandon Phillips. The complete regression of guys like Rafael Perez and Fausto Carmona.  The thing that always surprised me was how few moves were made during games, aside from monitoring pitchers. Once the lineup was posted, the game took over. At least that the way it seemed. Wedge didn’t do a lot of bunting, didn’t employ the hit-and-run a lot and didn’t have his guys aggressively running the bases. Yes, this could have easily been a result of the kind of player he had.

When he ha d a full deck, Wedge had two good years in three. That led to a Manager of the Year Award. Two bad years later and he’ll be looking for a job. GM Mark Shapiro and owner/president Paul Dolan both believe Wedge will manage another team soon, and do well. Shapiro even went as far as to say that Wedge probably will be more embraced and appreciated by fans now that he’s gone.

One thing was clear: Had Wedge communicated and expressed himself with the passion and feeling he did on Wednesday, he’d be viewed differently. Wedge was at his best during the farewell news conference; anyone who heard it had to be impressed (Perhaps I’ll try to post a transcript of some of that news conference here later).

One thing that was unfortunate was the way Wedge was judged on his appearance, his personal quirks, his little statements. Grinding. Separating. That kind of thing. The bottom line about the guy was that he worked hard, he cared and he represented the team and city well – and he made sure his players did the same. That matters.

Wedge isn’t made for TV. That’s clear. But if the guy can manage that shouldn’t matter. We always cry about character and that kind of thing, and then a guy who fits the values of a town perfectly comes along we cry because we don’t like his mannerisms. This does not seem completely fair.

The entire scenario about Wedge finishing the season seems a little odd, but that’s Wedge. He wanted to finish, and he believed it was the best thing for his players and the team. That’s actually a pretty admirable trait. And Wedge has a lot of admirable traits.

That being said, there are times when a team simply needs a change, when a new voice is needed. The tone of the news conference Wednesday indicated that Shapiro did not believe that time had arrived, but owners Paul and Larry Dolan did. So the move was made.

The fact that it produces ambivalent feelings might say enough about the situation. You’d like to be passionate about the manager, and Wedge did not produce passion. Not from me at least.

But … he did produce respect, from many quarters. Decry all the moves you like, but Wedge deserves our respect in return. And our thanks for doing everything he could every day to try to make it work. If it doesn’t work because of machinations and manipulations and mind games (like in Berea), that’s one thing. If it just doesn’t work despite honest effort and communication, that’s another.

Wedge is a good man who had a good run. With a new corps of young players coming along, his time simply came due.

Tagged as: Eric Wedge, Mark Shapiro