Victor Martinez's handling of the Pitchers...

[Alex]

Game by Game, there seems to be one guy on the opposition that goes 4-5, 4-4, and usually is the reason we lose the game. I can't ever recall such a string of big hits, night after night, by one hitter on the opposition.

Isn't it Vic's responsibility to figure out who has the hot hand after the second time through the line-up and figure out a way to pitch to the hot hand?

[Alex]

I'm beginning to wonder if we should try Platooning Vic and Tim Laker. Keep Vic in the game as long as the starter is pitching, and then switch to Laker for the relievers.

I'm not advocating this as a long term solution, but maybe Laker could do a better job of pitch selection against hitters that are now up for the third and fourth time.

I just feel that as a shake-up, why not try it? It may just be superstition, but what the heck, what if it got results?

[The RotoTribe]

This on the surface seems like a good idea (of course you would need a 3rd string catcher). But we should look at how the batters did during games where Laker started. If there are guys going 4-4 or 4-5 when he starts, it's probably not Martinez poor pitch calling. Rather, it's probably poor ball placement on the part of Tribe pitchers.