Phil Watch: He's Baiting Me

Lazy offering today from Phil.

Why? Steve Bartman's name is in the first paragraph.

I'm not going to repeat this. Bartman did NOT lose that series. The Cubs did.

And basically, he does the equivalent of whipping up a casserole from all the leftovers in the fridge.

After collecting all the information for his Sabathia article eight days ago, he tosses everything he didn't use into today's column. Does he have a hard-on for the Indians and, in particular, Jake Westbrook?

Let's see:

Like the Red Sox and Yankees, the Indians have one of the best rosters in baseball. Unlike those two teams, however, they have not won six World Series since 1996.

Um, okay. The phrasing of the sentence makes one think that Phil believes the Indians have one of the top three, maybe four, possibly five best rosters in baseball.

I will list teams that, in my opinion, are better. See if you disagree:

Red Sox

Yankees

Mets

Angels

Tigers

Phillies

Diamondbacks

And then the Indians, tied with the Rockies.

That's eighth-best, making them "good", not "one of the best".

Why? Still no proven second baseman. Blake's nothing more than serviceable at third. Hafner seriously regressed last year. Outfield of Michaels-Sizemore-Gutierrez is average at best (I can name at least 12 outfields that will outproduce them). Westbrook was 6-9 on a team that was 30 games over .500 last year. Paul Byrd is Paul Byrd (and a bit juicy). 15-8 will not be duplicated. Betancourt pitched completely out of his gourd last year and Borowski was absolutely brutal and is in line to close again this year.

(take a breath, Christo) In other words, they have issues. They got hot. That's all.

The Indians may regret not having done something to prevent Cabrera from going to Detroit or even Nick Swisher going to the White Sox.

Wait a minute. I thought Swisher thing was a bad deal. And where exactly would Swisher play on the Indians? First base has Garko-Martinez-Hafner and center has Sizemore. The corner outfield spots were given over to prospects last year that show promise. The Indians should have gotten Swisher to prevent the Sox from getting him? What? How? Who?

And your whole article makes the point that Shapiro built his club on depth (Earl Weaver - all that crap) and youth. Why in God's name would Shapiro have traded the farm for Cabrera in your eyes?

Make a focused point, please. Don't hedge your bets and hide behind the mays, coulds and mights. You're a columnist. It's what you're supposed to do.

With Sabathia, Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook healthy, and Curt Schilling not healthy, the Indians have as much pitching as any team in the AL. Shapiro would not trade pitching to upgrade the lineup, perhaps knowing he always can go out and get another guy like Kenny Lofton in July.

JHC! Jake Westbrook is a fucking career .500 pitcher. Put the tissues away. Okay, he pitched brilliantly in game 3 of the ALCS and pitched okay in game 7. Again, 6-9 on a team that was 30 games over .500. If we're using postseason numbers to equate a pitcher's spectacularness, Sabathia was 1-2 with an 8.80 ERA in the playoffs last year. Chew on that.

And 'Curt Schilling not healthy'?! How the fuck does that matter? The inherent goodness of the Red Sox staff does not rest on Schilling. He's 98 years-old and was borderline brutal in the second half of the season. And the Angels have far superior pitching compared to the Indians.

And..and...Kenny Lofton?! He's 99! Somebody explain the Kenny Lofton love to me. Please. I need to know why he is the answer. Phil is truly a Cubs fan.

Shapiro and the Indians lead the majors in one category—conviction.

jasdklfjopisifuw0-pfjasdflfkjadsfophjaffewvfdaflkjfoewa!!!!!!!!!

He did not fucking write that. I did not see it. It did not happen.