I know this is posted as an article but thought it would be a good topic too!

The First Week In Review
by Twisted

ByrdWith a hard six games in California the Tribe finally get to come back home. A much needed off day if given to them tomorrow then they take on the Oakland As for three and then Boston and Detroit for two each.

We have had our Tribe back for a week already so let us look at the good and the bad so far.

Good

Fausto Carmona

Pitching great in his first two games, Carmona is looking towards a good year. With a 0.69 ERA, so far his sinker has been dominating. However, he needs to get his control down pat so far with nine walks given up. If he continues to pitch like this he will distant himself as a CY Young favorite.

Grady Sizemore

With the stalled starts of Travis Hafner and injured of Victor Martinez, Sizemore's .306 average and .405 on-base percentage through Wednesday makes him the Tribe's best hitter. If Grady can stay consistent, this looks to be a good year for him. Now if only those 10 strikeouts were not there?

Victor Martinez

When Martinez pulled his hamstring; the offense went in the dumper. Martinez is, quite simply, the most important bat in the Tribe's lineup. In his 12 at bats he has 5 hits. His bat was on fire until he took a tumble!

Ryan Garko

So far, with a .300 average, four RBI and eight walks drawn, he's been getting on base. If this continues we may see him and Hafner swap spots in the line up to set Victor the cleanup man with more scoring possibilities.

Rafael Perez

Too bad he is so dang valuable as a set-up man, because he'd be a dynamite closer. Through Wednesday, he had three strikeouts, two walks, a hold and no earned runs in four appearances.

Jake Westbrook

Six hits and two earned runs in his first start, covering 7 1/3 innings. I'll take it. However, seeing him throw a complete game his second outing was much better. His 2.76 ERA is showing he is ready to play this year

Not Good Yet but Getting There

Jhonny Peralta

Coming around from the Oakland series. He is seven of his last thirteen with two doubles, two homeruns, and three RBI.

Cliff Lee

One start is just that -- one start. But knowing how badly Lee struggled in 2007, to see him pitch 6 2/3 shutout innings in his first '08 start warms the heart..

Too Quick To Judge

C.C. Sabathia

Reigning Cy Young winners get the benefit of the doubt. He throws hard and shows flashes of brilliance, so when he struggles, it is largely viewed as a blip on the radar. Nevertheless, even with last year's brilliant April-to-September performance, his postseason flameout reminded us all that C.C. has the stench of inconsistency on him.

Franklin Gutierrez

He still needs to prove he can hit righties. He still needs to prove he can hit for at least reasonable power. He brings the defense, but through a little over a week, .154 and one homer just ain't cutting it at the dish.

Rafael Betancourt

ERAs can be a misleading stat for relievers, but any way you slice it, three earned runs and nine hits in your first 3 1/3 innings of work isn't good. If Betancourt crashes back to Earth this year, the Tribe's bullpen is in deep trouble.

Travis Hafner

Eleven strikeouts in his first 34 at-bats? He might recover to post solid numbers this year, but I'm beginning to wonder if the days of .300 and 40 homers from Pronk might be over.

Casey Blake

He's 34 and will turn 35 before the end of the season. He has never been an ultra-quick hitter, never able to make the last-nanosecond adjustments to foul off a nasty pitch. As he inches up through his 30s, he will only get slower at the plate. So far this year the .185 AVG is proving my point.

Asdrubal Cabrera

No surprises here. Pitchers have adjusted, and now Cabrera must either adjust back, or adjust back to life in Buffalo.

Masa Kobayashi

Two appearances spanning 2 1/3 innings, five hits, and one run. Already, he's better than Joe Borowski.

Craig Breslow

Two innings of work through Monday, one hit surrendered, one strikeout, no walks. But keep in mind that Aaron Fultz started out well last year, too.

 

Wow What?s That Smell?

Paul Byrd

Bad karma alert. Any time you get caught up in baseball's steroid/HGH controversy, its bad medicine. Byrd got hammered in his second start giving up three homeruns and six runs total. His two games give him a (drum roll please) 11.05 ERA. *Ring* Hello, This Is Eric Wedge, Torey Lovullo can you send Jeremy Sowers up to me?

Jason Michaels and David Dellucci

Playing Dellucci against lefties, Michaels against righties, Dellucci against righties, Michaels against lefties, Michaels during the day, Dellucci at night, Michaels on cloudy days, Dellucci on sunny days, NONE of it will make this a good platoon situation. No matter how hard Eric Wedge tries.

Joe Borowski

A bit harsh to place him on the scrap heap? Maybe. But the legendary general manager Branch Rickey once said that the key to being a successful GM is to get rid of players one year before you have to. I don't think Shapiro did that with Borowski, who already has a walk-off grand slam on the books.

Very nice review! 

All in all it wasn't a terrible week.  It could be worse, we could have had the Tiger week.  We do have some areas of concern.  Borowski has me very concerned.  Michallucci ( <---  Brilliant name  Kevin, I love it) has been virtually a waste of space. 

I think Hafner is playing OK.  He producing, it would just be nice if he could produce a little more.

Twisted, that would be interesting if Garko did in fact move in the 3 spot.  He is getting on base and he has shown to be a pretty good hitting in tough situations as well as a good 2 strike hitter.  We'll see if that happens. 

We're not in bad shape but we need to improve.