Baseball in Fort Wayne

Eric Wedge will be back with Cleveland for 2009 after a disapponting 2008 that ended strongly. While he may have the whole off-season to plan, he’s wasting little time.

During a news conference today, he had plenty of reasons to point the finger, but refused to place blame.

“In essence, we lost our Nos. 2-, 3- and 4-hole hitters from ’07, our closer, our bullpen — which really went south on us — and two of our starters,” Wedge said. “It’s tough to overcome that. “But nobody cares about that in the end, you know. What they want you to do is play out with the expectations that were in front of you.”

He was also quick to respond to the bullpen woes by firing longtime Cleveland bullpen coach, Luis Isaac, who had been in that position since 1993 and a member of the club for much longer. One of the key things that will be pursued over the course of time leading up to Spring Training is to locate a closer. Jensen Lewis showed some promise near the end of hte season, but he’s no sure thing. Beyond the closer’s role, there will be a search for additional arms and some power bats.

Should be a busy offseason for Wedge and the Tribe.