New Indians manager Manny Acta met with the media at baseball's winter meetings in Indianapolis this past week. Obviously, I was not there, but MLB provided a transcript of the interview. Here are a few highlights from Acta, and he spoke before the team announced the injuries to Carlos Santana and Adam Miller.
His hopes for the Indians for 2010:
"… we play in one of the most balanced if not the most balanced division in the Big Leagues, which if you look at it over the last three, four years, a different team has won it. So hey, we're going to Spring Training thinking why not us?"
On whether those hopes are realistic:
"Obviously we were in the middle of the pack without having Grady for the whole season and Travis Hafner. So we're very excited about our potential."
The main team needs:
"It's pretty clear that we do need better pitching. That was kind of the problem last year, and I think it's a general problem. I think a lot of people are looking for pitching. But we do have some guys, Jake Westbrook is coming back, and he's a solid guy when he's healthy. We're hoping to help Fausto back, and Masterson is going to be in full season in the starting rotation."
Who plays in left field:
"We have options. We can use Michael Brantley, and LaPorta can also play left field. We have those options. Jordan Brown is having a really good winter ball in Venezuela, so we have options. Trevor Crowe, that's another guy who's going in to compete for a spot. We like our options out there."
Who plays first base:
"If the season were to start today and everything was normal, we're looking at guys like LaPorta, Jordan Brown, but we're also looking through the free agent market to see if we can find a first baseman. You know, we have a few months to go yet, and some guys are going to be out there. In the ideal world, we'd probably want guys to get those at‑bats."
Where does Andy Marte fit:
"He's going to come to camp and we'll have to make a decision. He's one of our options (for first base), too."
On Fausto Carmona:
"Fausto is pitching in winter ball. He just threw three innings two days ago, and we got good reports. He threw the ball well, and he's going to continue to pitch through the winter. He felt that that helped him in the past, and he wanted to go work on some things. We're going down there next week and watch him pitch and talk to him and get him in the right frame of mind."
On Travis Hafner:
" … our plan is he's going to get days off here and there but nothing as he was in the past where he couldn't play a certain amount of games in a row. Our plan is we need this guy. This guy is a bat in the middle of our order. If he's fine, I'm looking to have him out there as many games as possible."
Who pitches the eighth and ninth innings:
"Kerry (Wood) is without a doubt is our closer. Well, the plan that we're designing right now with Belch (pitching coach Tim Belcher) is that we're anticipating having a better start and playing good. So even when we hit a rough spot, we're not going to let (Wood) sit for, let's say, more than three days at a time, and also talking to Belch, it's not going to be a problem. Woody is a guy who's going to be able to get the four‑out save and stuff like that. So that's our plan going in. Use him not only in save situations but when we have to try to keep him sharp. And Chris (Perez) obviously pitched very well the second half of the season. And going into camp, we're counting on him to handle that eighth inning there."
On Grady Sizemore's pictures that were circulate on the internet:
"I haven't seen them, because that's really not going to help me win one more game. (Laughter). I've never seen them. Why would I want to see them? If I want to see any of my players, I'll just walk in the showers after the game. I think it's sad, people using stuff like that to basically get into people's private lives. But you have to be aware of it."
On the Indians overall:
"They need what the other 29 need, pitching. I mean, you talk to everybody here in the lobby, and everybody is looking for pitching. It doesn't take a rocket scientist. If you finished last in pitching, you're not going to win. You just can't shrug people away in the Big Leagues."
This sounds like Browns-speak and it scares me. A total disconnect from who you really are leads to poor short term decision making. If you believe your team is going to win the division, then you make very different moves than if you are thinking this is a rebuilding year. And if you are thinking it is a rebuilding year but saying otherwise, then that leads to a lot of upset fans and PR damage that could easily have been avoided.
Hey, I am actually interested in the Tribe this year. I think if they could get some real solid pitching from all the bodies they have, then the lineup will be good enough to win some games (but likely not the division)—maybe. But I sure as hell would not be planning on that if I were the Indians. I'd be planning on developing the young guys, and then if we end up surprising and contending, great. But I sure wouldn't be making any moves based on that premise, and I damn sure would not be telling the fans that we have a good chance to win our division, because lying to your customers (or yourself) is never a good idea.
Be honest and the fans will deal with it. Blow smoke and they will crucify you. The Tribe should take a lesson from the Browns, who are finding out all about that now after all the BS they spewed in the off season about this team being closer to the 2007 team than the 2008 team (when it turns out they were closer to the 1999 team). The Browns lied to the fans, or were clueless about who they were, and the fans are justifiably pissed off about that. It means they are either liars or incompetent. But had they been upfront and prepared the fans for a long season, things might not be nearly as ugly as they are right now.
It would be a shame to see the Tribe go down the same road, because I still believe that Mark Shapiro is a good judge of talent and can turn things around. I think he's done a great job for a guy working with one arm tied behind his back because of payroll. So, it would be sad to see the Indians generate fan enmity when there is no reason for it. No one is expecting contention this year, so why not let us be pleasantly surprised rather than bitterly disappointed (again)?