Hello Tribe fans everywhere!

Just when the Indians have a great opportunity to win a series from the Yankees, they let two games get away. Worse, they scored a total of just 2 runs in the final two games. Grady Sizemore is still nursing a bad ankle, Ryan Garko and Travis Hafner can't hit a lick, and Cleveland's offense continues to spiral down the toilet.

Yes, I know the Tribe reeled off five wins in a row before these two disappointing setbacks, but most of the hitters have struggled mightily in recent weeks. Thank goodness Cleveland's starting pitching has been so good, of this club would be wallowing down in the cellar with the Tigers.

What's making me so grumpy is the Indians' refusal to take steps to solve the problems. Why can't Victor Martinez move to first for a while to give Garko a chance to pull himself together? If they don't want to uproot Martinez from behind the plate, why not shift Casey Blake to first and put Andy Marte on third for a couple of games. Marte is just rotting on the bench, and the Indians still don't know if he can play or not. If they've decided he can't play, them ship him off someplace else.

Mostly, what the club could use is some speed to shake things up. They need to promote Ben Francisco, put him in the outfield and leave him there until he proved he can't do the job. Jamey Carroll is not the answer at second base. The boldest move of all would be to shift Jhonny Peralta to third, put Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop, and call Josh Barfield up from Buffalo to play second base.

Francisco and Barfield can run, which means they might be able to give the offense a spark. Hafner is a major concern, too, although nobody hits particularly well when the weather is so cold.

It's not good enough, however, to sit and twiddle your thumbs, with players like David Dellucci and Jason Michaels in your starting lineup. The Indians can do better. They have the players available now to give it a shot. I suggest they make these moves now before I throw my TV set through a window.

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The answer to yesterday's quiz is: Harvey Kuenn was the "steak" Frank Lane traded "hamburger" Rocky Colavito for.

Today's quiz: Which one of the following never worked as an Indians broadcaster on radio or TV:
Herb Score, Bruce Drennan, Mike Hegan, Vern Fuller, Rocky Colavito.

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-- Kevin Cuneo