News
Future uncertain, Wedge focuses on now
Indians will evaluate manager, staff at end of season
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
09/03/09 1:43 PM ET
DETROIT -- Eric Wedge's fate with the Indians remains unclear, but he expects some clarity by the Oct. 4 season finale in Boston. The Indians are expected to evaluate Wedge and his coaching staff as part of an organizational review at season's end. It's very possible that changes will be made, given the disappointments of the past two seasons. While Wedge came under heavy fire in the media and among the fan base at midseason, general manager Mark Shapiro told reporters that Wedge and his staff were safe through the end of the year. Now that the end is near, it is time for ownership and the front office to evaluate the past seven seasons under Wedge and decide whether he's the right man to guide this team for 2010, which happens to be the final year of his contract. "I'm hoping for some resolution by the end of the season," Wedge said. "If they told me tomorrow that I'll be back or that I'm not going to be back, I wouldn't handle anything differently, either way. My job is to put us in the best position to be a better team, regardless." Wedge was asked whether doing that job has been made difficult by the uncertainty of his circumstance. "It's a discipline," Wedge said. "It's part of being a professional. It comes with the territory. You take the good, the bad and the ugly. I've got thick skin and broad shoulders." The Indians are 554-550 under Wedge, with an American League Central Division championship in 2007 and no other postseason appearances. The club entered '08 and '09 with high hopes of contention, but the club went 41-53 in the first half last season and 35-54 in the first half this year to kill any contention hopes. Last year's team rallied with a 40-28 record in the second half to reach the .500 mark at season's end, and this year's club entered Thursday's series finale against the Tigers with a 23-20 record in the second half. Between the injuries that besieged the '08 team and the rampant ineffectiveness of the starting rotation and bullpen in the first half this season, Wedge wasn't dealt the best of hands. Still, the majority of the fan base is unmistakably in favor of a managerial move, as team president Paul Dolan acknowledged in a recent sitdown with reporters. "Every four or five years, if we can have a shot at the World Series like we did in '07 and compete for the playoffs like we did in '05, that's as good as it gets, and that reflects well on our personnel," Dolan said. "That said, we believe we've had the talent the last two years, and we haven't gotten it done, and we need to understand why. And we'll make the changes we need to make." The Indians might feel pressure to appease the fan base after the highly unpopular trades of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez in July. On the other hand, viewing things primarily from a baseball standpoint, it's clear that neither the '08 nor '09 teams gave up on Wedge and his staff after major trades, as the Indians played their best baseball down the stretch. "I would never plead my case," Wedge said. "I've been here seven years. These guys know what I'm all about." Wedge, 41, is set to make more than $1 million next season, regardless of whether he remains with the team.Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
