About the Tribe ...
The first round of the amateur draft by Central Division teams, 1997-2005:
(Order of teams are Tribe, Tigers, Twins, White Sox and Royals, with overall selection in parentheses)
1997: Tim Drew (28), Matt Anderson (1), Michael Cuddyer (9), Jason Dellaero (15), Dan Reichert (7)
1998: C.C. Sabathia (20), Jeff Weaver (14), Ryan Mills (6), Kip Wells (16), Jeff Austin (4)
1999: None, Eric Munson (3), B.J. Garbe (5), Jason Strumm (15), Kyle Snyder (7)
2000: Corey Smith (26), Matt Wheatland (8), Adam Johnson (2), Joe Borchard (12), Mike Stodolka (4)
2001: Dan Denham (17), Kenny Baugh (11), Joe Mauer (1), Kris Honel (16), Colt Griffen (9)
2002: Jeremy Guthrie (22), Scott Moore (8), Denard Span (20), Royce Ring (18), Zack Greinke (6)
2003: Michael Aubrey (11), Kyle Sleeth (3), Matt Moses (21), Brian Anderson (15), Chris Lubanski (5)
2004: Jeremy Sowers (6), Justin Verlander (2), Trevor Ploufee (20), Josh Fields (18), Billy Butler (14)
2005: Trevor Crowe (14), Cameron Maybin (10), Matt Garza (25), Lance Broadway (15), Alex Gordon (2)
If you look at the top amateur draft picks of the Central Division teams from 1997-2005, the first response is what a waste of money. In some rounds, the teams had two first-rounders. I used only the highest selection. The point was to say these are the best guys targeted by the Central teams in each draft -- and given the most money. Just what did they get? For the most part, a lot of heartbreak considering you are looking at a list of $100 million worth of players, considering the ridiculous state of signing bonus for guys who never played a pro inning.
Breaking down nine years of No. 1 choices -- 44 in all as the Tribe had no pick in 1999 -- where is the meat? C.C. Sabathia (1998) and Joe Mauer (Twins, 2001) are the only real stars. Jeff Weaver (Tigers, 1998) has had a nice career, and Justin Verlander (Tigers, 2004) can be a star if he stays healthy.
You can do your own research on the individual teams and how they draft ... the point is the draft is ultimately disappointing for any team, and often, you can find good players in the later rounds who should have been first-rounders. I didn't play the "They should have taken this guy..." game, because every team can play that.
But what is discouraging for Tribe fans is Sabathia and Jeremy Sowers as their only current first-rounders on the roster. Jeremy Guthrie (2-6, 3.58) is with Baltimore, where he's throwing well and getting no runs. The Tigers only have Verlander from this group, the White Sox have Anderson. The Tigers had four picks in the top three overall, and only Verlander has made an impact.
As for the Royals, they have some players with major potential in Alex Gordon, Zach Greinke and Billy Butler to show from 2002-05. But their 1997 pick, Dan Reichert, has just been signed by the Tribe to pitch at Class AAA Buffalo. The 31-year-old right-hander was 3-1 for the South Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League, where one of the owners is Brooks Robinson. Former Indian Damian Jackson is also on that Blue Crab roster.
The best thing about Ryan Garko in the Texas series wasn't only going 11-of-20, but how he regained his old approach -- hitting the ball up the middle and to right field, and not swinging so hard with such a huge uppercut. Not sure if it meant anything, but it corresponded with Michael Aubrey being sent back to the minors -- and the Indians telling Garko, "Look, first base is yours, now hit like you can."
Raffy Betancourt is having some back problems. Remember that he does have some screws in his right elbow from a 2001 surgery. He's been with the Tribe since 2004, and 2007 was the only year he was not on the disabled list. If the Indians don't get Betancourt and the rest of the bullpen in shape, it really won't matter much if they start to hit. As Tiger manager Jim Leyland has said more than once, "Want a bad team? Have a bad bullpen." Heading into the weekend, the Indians have a bad one indeed: ranking 29th in baseball with a 4.61 ERA. The Tigers were 28th at 4.61. The first-place White Sox were No. 2 at 2.82.
http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/06/terry_plutos_talkin_about_brow_1.html
