The Indians are currently sporting the worst record in the American League; their loss to the Cubs today dropped them to 29-42 on the season and 10 games out of first place in the AL Central. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer takes a look at the decision that owners Paul and Larry Dolan face with Eric Wedge. Hoynes writes:
General manager Mark Shapiro doesn't feel that Wedge should lose his job, and actually takes more of the blame himself for the bullpen he assembled this offseason:
"'Part of the bullpen's performance is tied to the inconsistency of our starting rotation and not having three-fifth of the rotation we opened the season with.'"
Shapiro added, 'If anyone is to blame, it's me.'"
The Indians have also dealt with injuries to Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Asdrubal Cabrera, Aaron Laffey, and Anthony Reyes, just to name a few. Fausto Carmona completely imploded, and Jake Westbrook's recovery from Tommy John surgery has been slowed.
Wedge doesn't shy away from criticism though:
The Indians have had their share of injuries and a faulty bullpen to blame for their last-place ranking this season. There's certainly plenty of cases that can be made to defend Eric Wedge, but we've seen managers fired for a lot less than this, and typically someone has to take the blame. So should Wedge stay or go?