Mid-term grades

The first game of the July 4 doubleheader against the Tigers marked the 81st game of the Indians' season. After winning the game 9-3, they were 45-36, in third place in the American League Central, and a game behind Minnesota for the wild-card lead.
It's a long way from the 11-18 record this team had after 29 games. I shudder to think what my mid-terms would look like if the Tribe had continued on that track. But like a professor who manages to wake up a disinterested class and gets them to turn in their homework on time, I am much more pleased with the mid-terms I now get to hand out.

Following is my grade sheet for the season's first half, sorted by position. Stats are as of Monday morning, when I started writing this post:

Catcher: Victor Martinez, C-plus, and Josh Bard, C-minus.
Martinez's batting average hovered around .200 for most of April and May. He'd have one good series, then go back to beating ground balls in the dirt for the next two weeks. His recent resurgence, including a 14-game hitting streak, has bumped his grade signficantly. He was hitting .245 entering play Monday. If he stays this productive for the remainder of the season, he'll get a solid B at the end.
Bard's .175 average should denote a D or F, but backup catchers get leeway with their offense. Bard is a solid defensive catcher, enough to get him a couple steps out of the doghouse.

First base: Ben Broussard, C.
What you see is what you get with Broussard. A .263 average with nine homers and 34 RBI. He's a streak hitter. He'll get hot for two weeks, then spend a month making you wonder how he got to be an everyday major league first baseman. Unfortunately, teams with 40-odd million dollar payrolls will have guys like Broussard. Ideally, you'd want more power and production out of first base. The Indians could do better than Broussard. But they could also do worse.

Second base: Ronnie Belliard, B.
This is a guy who pulled himself out of the Dumpster. He was headed for a C-minus or D until he started punching base hits like he did for the first four months of last year. His average is up to .292 and he's fourth on the team with 75 hits. No all-star berth for Belliard this year, but with his quick bat and surprisingly nimble defense, he's a very solid second baseman. I hope Mark Shapiro can ink him up for another couple of years.

Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta, B-plus and Alex Cora, C.
As scores of fans poured their wrath out on the Indians for letting Omar Vizquel leave, Peralta has become a rock-steady hitter, and one of the Indians' best clutch hitters. With a .283 average, he is showing signs that he will be a very nice offensive addition to the infield in the coming years. His defense isn't stellar, but after a slow start, he's become more than adequate at the infield's most important position.
Cora was signed as an insurance policy in case neither Peralta nor Brandon Phillips proved ready to be an everyday big-league shortstop. Like Bard, Cora would probably be hitting at a better clip if he was playing everyday. He's hitting .213. Bench players need to do one thing well, and also like Bard, Cora excels at glovework. Unfortunately, in the AL, bench players aren't needed as often, and Cora might get a handful of innings of work each week.

Third Base: Aaron Boone, F.
This is a failed experiment. At 31, Boone has struggled to come back from his second reconstructive knee surgery. When the Indians signed Boone last June, Shapiro wasn't sure if Casey Blake was a long-term solution at third. Then Blake finished strong, was signed to a multi-year deal and shoehorned into the outfield. Boone's presence has forced Blake to be a corner outfielder, which he isn't. Boone has responded with a .193 average, 28 RBI (somehow) and spotty defense. Boone is the kind of guy you root for (unless you're a Red Sox fan), but I think this offense is at its best when Blake is at third.

Outfield: Grady Sizemore, A; Coco Crisp, A; Jody Gerut, B; Casey Blake, C; Ryan Ludwick, D; Juan Gonzalez, F.
Criticize manager Eric Wedge's facial hair and managing style, but his decision to put Sizemore and Crisp at the top of the order started the domino effect that has led to the offense being effective again. Sizemore is hitting .296 and Crisp .291. Both have shown an ability to get on base, providing the baserunners guys like Martinez and Travis Hafner have desperately needed to drive in runs. Sizemore and Crisp have the two highest hit totals on the team (88 and 78, respectively).
Gerut has rebounded from knee surgery, making a May season debut and hitting a solid .283 since. His presence completes an outfield devoid of big boppers, but high on defense, hustle and contact hitting. Gerut's Stanford-caliber brain is evident as well. He is a heady player who seldom makes a dumb mistake.
Blake gets brownie points for moving to a position he is not suited for without a word of complaint, and doing well defensively at his new position. He has sputtered with a .227 average, but has hit 10 home runs. As a third baseman, he is OK. As a corner outfielder, spare me.
Ryan Ludwick created the most waves this season when he was designated for assignment to make room for Gonzalez. He somehow cleared waivers and is playing in Buffalo, where he stands to spend most of his time for the remainder of the season. Ludwick hit .220, but hit four homers in 41 at bats, a fairly high home-run-to-at-bat ratio.
Gonzalez had one at-bat, re-injured his hamstring, and is done for the year. That was an awful signing for Shapiro, and he should have known it at the time.

Designated hitter: Travis Hafner, A.
Hafner is the only Indians hitter with an average above .300 heading into Monday (.303). He is the team leader in home runs (14) and RBI (51). His production, like Jim Thome's, is the product of a combination of aggressiveness and patience. His 55 strikeouts is tied for second on the team, and he is far and away the team leader in walks with 40.

Utility player: Jose Hernandez, C-minus.
Hernandez is probably better suited for the National League. He is a made-to-order pinch-hitter who can play both corner infield and outfield positions. Hernandez has some power, but is proving to gather rust getting inconsistent at-bats in the AL. His batting average is a meager .237. He is a strikeout magnet going way back, and his eye-jarring walks-to-strikeouts ratio (four-to-29) is proof.

Starting pitchers: C.C. Sabathia, B-minus; Cliff Lee, B; Jake Westbrook, B-minus; Kevin Millwood, B; Scott Elarton, B.
Like in previous years, Sabathia has shown dominant ability, but has been unable to harness it over the long term. When he can't spot his fastball for well-placed strikes, it seems to throw his whole game off. He has little else to go to.
Lee quiety put together a solid first half yet again. Like last year, he leads the staff in wins (nine). Until he proves otherwise, I'll chalk up last year's second-half fade to inexperience. Lee has a very complete major-league reperatoire. When he throws strikes, he is a legit front-of-the-rotation pitcher.
Westbrook's stat line gives him a raw deal. He actually has put together a solid season, less a few starts against the Tigers and maybe one or two others.
Kevin Millwood did some time on the disabled list, but when he's been on the mound, he has shown no signs of the elbow trouble that allowed him to fall into Cleveland's price range this winter. He by far has allowed the fewest earned runs of any Indians starter (29).
Scott Elarton was a rare gem rescued from the scrap heap. Last year, his career was in tatters after being released by the Rockies with a winless record. This year, he has shown the form that made him a front-of-the-rotation guy in Houston during the 1990s. In the aftermath of major shoulder surgery several years ago, he has to "save his bullets" (in his words), but his resurgence has helped create a Cleveland rotation with no major drop-off points in production. Right now, he's as good of a fifth stater as you will find.

Bullpen: Bob Wickman, A-minus; Arthur Rhodes, A; Bob Howry, B; David Riske, B; Scott Sauerbeck, B; Rafael Betancourt, B; Matt Miller, B; Jason Davis, B.
Wickman is the star of the show and the most indispensible part of the bullpen. If he succumbs to injury again, this unit is in trouble. He is Cleveland's lone all-star with 22 saves, and is pitching on borrowed time at age 36 with a reconstructed elbow. Hopefully the sand doesn't run out of the hourglass before the end of this season.
Rhodes is a born set-up man. After a disastrous year trying to close games for Oakland, Rhodes is back in his comfort zone, and is arguably the majors' best set-up man in the season's first half.
Howry has emerged as the bullpen's workhorse, leading the unit with 28 appearances. Riske's appearances dropped off after he went on a homer-coughing binge in June. Sauerbeck, like Howry and Elarton, appears rejuvenated after arm surgery and is staring to regain the form on his sweeping breaking ball.
Betancourt basically has only one major-league caliber pitch, his fastball, but has used is effectively enough to work as a long man and middle man this year.
Davis has made a handful appearances as both a starter and reliever. He still struggles with command at times, but has done enough to be effective. Above all, his emotions appear more in control than last season.

Manager: Eric Wedge, B.
He spent the first few months of the season with a caterpillar attached to his upper lip. He leaves pitchers in too long. But Wedge has also managed to hammer home to a team that lacks an abundance of all-star talent the importance of hustling and fundamentals. If I remember back to the Indians teams of the '90s, I remember one of the chief complaints was the team lacked fire and made too many mistakes. They don't have the raw talent of the John Hart Tribe, but this team plays the game "the right way" that so many fans professed to crave in their ball club not five years ago.

General Manaer: Mark Shapiro, B-plus.
Give credit where credit is due. Shapiro dug through the thrift store bin and came up with Elarton, Howry, Sauerbeck, Miller, Belliard and yes, even Casey Blake.
Ironically, his higher-profile signings like Gonzalez and Boone have been the ones that haven't worked out. When he couldn't sign Matt Clement, Shapiro took a flier on Millwood that has worked out so far. He got decent talent for the bench in Hernandez and Cora, even if Hernandez really isn't suited for this team. The decision to forego re-signing Vizquel to give Peralta a shot is working well enough.

Owners: Larry and Paul Dolan, incomplete.
This team is beginning to prove itself worthy of additions to bolster itself for a playoff run. This is where the owners come in. Will the Dolans open up their pocketbook wide enough for a more productive third baseman? A right-handed power bat? A contract extension for Millwood or Belliard? This team has a lot of pieces in place to win right now. When the Yankees, Orioles and Twins make additions for the stretch run, how will the Indians respond? Throwing in the towel sends a very bad message to the ticket-buying public.