2008 Woodie Awards
Under-achieving prospect hopes to finally catch on for the Indians
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Sports
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) - With Andy Marte out of options, the Cleveland Indians are almost forced to not run out of patience with him.
Marte, the key player acquired in a trade with Boston in January 2006, likely will be on the Indians' Opening Day roster again, but in a much different role.
Unless manager Eric Wedge makes a surprise decision to keep someone else, Marte will be the 25th man on a roster of 25 when the Indians open at home Monday against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. A year ago, Marte started at third base in the opener in Chicago.
"He's had off-and-on moments, good days and bad," Wedge said yesterday, one day after the 24-year-old had both in a spring game against the New York Yankees.
In the early innings, Marte looked tentative in making two errors, nearly a third and bouncing into a double play. In the eighth, he stepped up and delivered a go-ahead three-run homer.
Such erratic play not only has the Indians scratching their heads and wondering, but confounds Marte.
"I try not to get frustrated, but I do," Marte said. "Maybe I'm thinking too much."
Marte worries about fulfilling the expectations put on him ever since he hit 21 homers with 105 RBIs in Class A ball in 2002 in the Atlanta Braves system. Three years later, at age 21, he had 20 homers at Triple-A and got called up to replace the injured Chipper Jones in Atlanta.
Marte flopped, batting .140 in 24 games. Before he knew it, he was traded to Boston in December then to Cleveland a month later.
"It was a crazy time for me," Marte said. "I didn't know where I was, who wanted me or not. The Indians really did and I want to play for them, show them they were right."
The Indians painfully recall going down this road before with a top prospect. In 2002, general manager Mark Shapiro acquired multi-talented infielder Brandon Phillips from Montreal. Phillips hit only .208 a year later in Cleveland and was sent back to the minors. He sulked, fell out of favor, and eventually ran out of options.
Marte, the key player acquired in a trade with Boston in January 2006, likely will be on the Indians' Opening Day roster again, but in a much different role.
Unless manager Eric Wedge makes a surprise decision to keep someone else, Marte will be the 25th man on a roster of 25 when the Indians open at home Monday against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. A year ago, Marte started at third base in the opener in Chicago.
"He's had off-and-on moments, good days and bad," Wedge said yesterday, one day after the 24-year-old had both in a spring game against the New York Yankees.
In the early innings, Marte looked tentative in making two errors, nearly a third and bouncing into a double play. In the eighth, he stepped up and delivered a go-ahead three-run homer.
Such erratic play not only has the Indians scratching their heads and wondering, but confounds Marte.
"I try not to get frustrated, but I do," Marte said. "Maybe I'm thinking too much."
Marte worries about fulfilling the expectations put on him ever since he hit 21 homers with 105 RBIs in Class A ball in 2002 in the Atlanta Braves system. Three years later, at age 21, he had 20 homers at Triple-A and got called up to replace the injured Chipper Jones in Atlanta.
Marte flopped, batting .140 in 24 games. Before he knew it, he was traded to Boston in December then to Cleveland a month later.
"It was a crazy time for me," Marte said. "I didn't know where I was, who wanted me or not. The Indians really did and I want to play for them, show them they were right."
The Indians painfully recall going down this road before with a top prospect. In 2002, general manager Mark Shapiro acquired multi-talented infielder Brandon Phillips from Montreal. Phillips hit only .208 a year later in Cleveland and was sent back to the minors. He sulked, fell out of favor, and eventually ran out of options.
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