Eric Wedge is not a terrible manager.
Cleveland Indians fans may have trouble typing, speaking or believing that statement, but it’s true.
Wedge is a product of his environment. He manages a small market team run by a GM who gets two-out-of-three important personnel decisions wrong.
The Indians abysmal play is not Wedge’s fault, but he has done nothing to help it.
He hasn’t been believable the few times he has called out his players and some of his situational decisions have been suspect.
This makes all the grumbling about Wedge being fired frustrating, yet warranted. He hasn’t earned the right to continue to manage this team for the simple fact that he continues to defend players he has no right defending – no matter how much he likes them.
Don’t speak positively about your players after they give up six runs in an inning to cost you a game. Don’t say they just had a bad night when they are striking out every three at-bats.
Simply put, don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt when their poor performance (for which you can’t ultimately control) is going to cost you your job.
Wedge is not a terrible manager, but it doesn’t matter.
He’s loyal to a fault and doesn’t learn from his mistakes; which is why you shouldn’t expect him to survive as manager of this team for the rest of the season, let alone the next couple of days
For the Indians, success won’t come until there is a complete attitude and philosophy overhaul.
That isn’t happening with this management team.
That isn’t happening this year.
But until it does, expect more of the same garbage from this team every night.
June 18th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Wedge is far from the problem with the Indians. The bottom line is that this team has been put in a position to win many more games than it has and has failed to seal the deal (mostly due to a pathetic bullpen). It isn’t the manager’s job to seal the deal, just put his team in a position to win, which Wedge has done many times this season alone. With the amount of injuries we’ve sustained and the fact that this team still competes day in and day out is a testament to Wedge’s abilities. When the team’s top player and leader(Martinez) sticks up for the guy, it says that the players still respect him and want him around. I’m still convinced that once we get healthy and maybe acquire another lefty in the bullpen, we can win the Central. The bottom line is this: Wedge is a player’s coach and one of the youngest managers in the game. If we would get rid of him, don’t be surprised if he reappears somewhere else down the road and tears our hearts out as an opponent. Go Tribe!