Morning Update: Wedge REALLY should bite someone

And I'm dead serious when I say that.

This computer is still having its fan thing and it's annoying.. It's hot in here and he needs to bite someone.

I've got a lot to do, so I'm kind of scrambling around here without a breakfast, so maybe that's why he should bite someone.

I don't know, but a good tirade right now might spark this team. He's also looking for some leadership, which he knows this team has.

"We'll find out," Wedge said. "If it hasn't, we'll do whatever it takes to make sure it does. We're not a young team anymore. A lot of our guys are right smack dab in the middle of their career. There are some things happening that shouldn't be happening."

"We're still coming together as a team," he said. "You always want leadership within your players. There's no team that doesn't need that."

One might point to DeRosa and some might say, well they have to be vocal. As DeRosa says though, that isn't the case.

"It's playing the game the right way," he said. "It's the little things -- running the bases right, putting up good at-bats, knowing the game situations. When you're not doing those things, that's what frustrates managers. As far as leadership goes, we definitely have leadership guys here. It's just a matter of getting a feel for our identity as a team and having guys stepping up and taking that role."

People, just stick to the course here. This team has showed their good signs. They just need to put it together at once. Stop getting all hissy over everything. I'm frustrated just as many fans are, but rash decisions are not the answer.

But it only makes sense Kerry Wood felt the frustration of this season. Because really he's the only one not to so far.

"Cliff [Lee] throws 110 pitches and holds them scoreless," Wood said. "I'm in for 12 pitches, and it's 3-0."

"It doesn't matter how hard you throw it," Wood said. "If you miss your spot at this level, they're going to hurt you."

Wood said he missed his spot, simple as that and he feels bad for Lee's start being wasted.

Back to Eric Wedge and him getting pissed last night. He explained himself, and I'd have to agree with him on this one, on why he felt Bucknor was wrong.

"It's not [Bucknor's] call right there," Wedge said. "Even if the ball was in front of the bag, the third-base umpire was closer and had a better view of it. It was just a bad call."

The third base ump did call it a fair ball and the inning would have been over. It was Bucknor who then came in and called it a foul ball. He's 100% right, so he wasn't arguing just to blow of steam, he had a legit beef.

Ryan Garko said Wakefield's knuckler was for real last night.

"When you see him striking guys out on balls in the zone, that's when you know he's got a good [knuckleball] going," Garko said. "If his pitches aren't in the dirt, that's when you know he's got the good one."

Yeah I hate those nights. It's a helpless feeling watching guys swing at this 67 MPH pitch and miss or just chop it foul. For what it's worth, they seemed to make him work or at least make contact, so it wasn't a complete foolish night.

Now back to DeRosa, who is totally fine with the move down in the order. He is showing some of that leadership by saying, hey it helps the team by me moving down, I'm not hitting well right this minute.

"There are a ton of pitchers I am seeing for the first time and getting a feel for," DeRosa said. "But to be honest, the pitcher has been inconsequential right now. I'm battling some demons in my own head. I need to stop doing that and start simplifying the game."

"I think it helps the team," he said. "I don't think it helps me. I expected it. It didn't come as a shock. [When the team is struggling], you can't keep running out the same lineup if it's not producing runs."

Meanwhile, Asdrubal Cabrera, the one who took the second spot isn't thinking about the switch. He's just continuing on. Which is great to see. He's really earned the move up.

Oh yeah.. Cliff Lee, I almost forgot. Jason Bay can attest to it, and he probably had the best night against him, he had the Cy Stuff Going.

"That was the Cy Young guy from last year, no question," said Bay. "He had good life on his fastball. The radar gun says it's 92 mph to 93 mph, but it's got some life to it. It plays a little harder than that."

And Aaron Laffey.. Why are the Indians 3-0 in his starts this year?

"I'm recognizing why it feels good this year," said Laffey. "I'm being a little more analytical. Usually you go through your check points in your bullpen [session], but now I'm getting to where I can do it in the game."

That's good.. That's the growth of a pitcher. Hopefully it sticks. I've had Laffey pegged as one of the guys to end this year in the rotation, even after he lost the spot. So it's good to see things coming together for him.

Perhaps I should have found a picture of Jensen Lewis and did the LOLTribe picture I did with Masa.

"I lost my voice watching the NFL Draft," Lewis joked. "I was yelling at the Browns every time they traded down."

Really though, Lewis is just trying to find himself. He knows the lenght of the season and he is just waiting for it to click.

"It's more about adjustments for me," he said. "Guys have seen me now, so they have a better idea of what I'm trying to do. And I think teams are approaching our bullpen differently. They don't want to face Kerry [Wood] in the ninth, so they have to attack us."

If you still don't know why Travis Hafner was out of the lineup for the second straight game, it was because of the Knuckleball. Wedge didn't want Hafner to screw up his swing and all the progress he's made trying to hit that thing. That didn't stop Jeff Datz for pinch hitting for him last night against Wakefield though. The 0-9 against Wake probably had a factor in that too.

As you can see up there at the top of the page, Grady Sizemore got his Gold Glove last night. He also got his silver slugger.

Oh and Wedge credited Carl Willis and Chuck Hernadnez with the possible fixing of Rafael Perez, who could join Tony Sipp to form a solid late inning lefty combo.