The Indians announced a significant change to their coaching staff today following an 11-game losing streak that all but eliminated the team from playoff contention. They have replaced pitching coach Scott Radinsky with Ruben Niebla on an interim basis. Niebla had been the pitching coach at Triple-A Columbus since 2011 and has worked in the Cleveland organization for 12 years. Here are more notes on the Indians from Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer…
- Indians CEO Paul Dolan told Pluto that the team’s recent losing streak was “so dismal” and "the most disappointing stretch of baseball" since the Dolans bought the team before the 2000 season.
- The Indians rank last in MLB in attendance (they average 20,321 fans per game) and their finances are “not particularly good” this season, Dolan acknowledged. The Indians are open to minority investors, but the franchise is “not for sale,” Dolan said.
- Indians president Mark Shapiro and general manager Chris Antonetti never brought up the subject of firing manager Manny Acta, Dolan said. However, the CEO declined to comment on the future of Acta or others beyond 2012. "We assess everyone at the end of every season," Dolan told Pluto. "As painful as this has been, I don't want to get into some knee-jerk reactions.”
- Antonetti recently told reporters Acta would return in 2013, but there’s no guarantee of that right now. Dolan wants to see how the team performs between now and the end of the season.
- Shapiro has a contract through 2013 and it’d be a shock if he were replaced, Pluto writes.
- Antonetti’s contract isn’t up at the end of this season, Dolan said. Pluto has heard it runs at least through 2014.
- In case you missed it, the Indians will release Johnny Damon and Jeremy Accardo today.
Acta is welcome to rejoin the Nationals as our 3rd base coach next year after Bo Porter is hired on as a manager somewhere. Acta is a great coach, great baseball guy, but a terrible manager.
I don’t know. Tribe is still beating their expected win total by 5 games, so either they are extremely lucky (Cleveland teams are never lucky) or Acta is getting the most out of his players. Acta also got the Indians to vastly overachieve last year based on their talent.
Could argue that the next time Acta manages a talented team will be a first…
I think Acta is an excellent manager. He knows when to bunt, understands and uses sabermetrics, and in Cleveland he really has had his team overachieve.
By no means do I think Acta is a “good” manager but at the same time, look at the the pitching staff he had. He can’t demote Jiminez. Masterson has regressed some. Derek Lowe was being Derek Lowe. He’s not the GM and he has to play the players given to him. Get him a Greinke, Dempster, Garza or Josh Johnson type and I’m pretty sure his managerial “skills” would be a whole lot better.
Sell the team!!! Dammit!!!
To who? People aren’t lining up to buy the Indians. Not with this fanbase.
To anyone not named Dolan!
An 11 game losing streak is much more disappointing than going 295 – 353 since having a young team winning 96 games in 2007.
I bet a lot of Indians fans wish Dick Jacobs was still around
Hmph..
Some of us Red Sox fans (probably Pirates also) wish Dick Stuart was still playing ball (as a DH in Boston) for his massive RH power as well 🙂
Actually is Dolan.
Gobby pls
Ironically, Dick Pole’s staying at least ten feet away from that pitching coach job.
As someone who remembers Dick Pole’s pitching career? i wish he would have stayed 10 feet (at least) from Fenway park, or been banned from it.
Don’t touch him with a 10 foot one!
As for Manny Acta, I see him being fired the day after the season ends.
Both glad and sad to see Radinsky go. He NEVER should have been given the pitching coach job this winter. He needed to stay in the bullpen where he was a phenomenal bullpen coach. He’s a former MLB reliever. Tribe’s pen ranked 5th in the AL last year…this year it’s dead last 14th in the AL, with mostly the same group.
Rotation hasn’t been much worse (10th last year, 12th this year). Overall Tribe ranked 10th last year as a pitching staff, they are 13th this year. Not sure many pitching coaches would do better, but team did get worse so someone takes the fall.
Hopefully with Radinsky out of baseball for the time being, maybe Pulley will tour outside of California during the offseason.