Opinion

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Tribe fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the Indians each week throughout the season.

This week we debate how to divvy up the blame for the season between Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge, how Shapiro’s strategy of cobbling together a team from spare parts has backfired, and what players should and shouldn’t say to the media.

I would like to thank this week's participants Dale Thomas, Scott Miles, and Jeff Smirnoff for their contributions.

Don't get me wrong, I like the direction the Giants are taking.

I like the fact that GM Brian Sabean has finally wised up and has stayed away from his usual dumb tactics.

Overspending on players and filling position needs with aging veterans past their prime seems to be a thing of the past.

Now, Sabean is giving shots to the young guys, the up-and-comers who were bred in the Giants farm system. It's a nice thing to see. It's nice to see players succeed for the Giants that come from our own organization, and not from some other team in the league.

It's July 2. Currently, the Philadelphia Phillies sit in first place in NL east.

Read the last sentence alone, and it's exactly what you would want as the GM.

Now let's add in some more facts. The Florida Marlins are only a half game back, the New York Mets are hanging around at two games back, and the surprising Atlanta Braves are only three games back. One bad weekend and the Phils might be fighting for the wild card.

Sprinkle in some misfortune; Brett Myers unexpected injury has affected the entire pitching staff, and not in a good way.

After watching his club trade away three more players on Tuesday, Jack Wilson questioned when the continued practice of trading proven players for "good prospects" was finally going to pay off.

"The biggest question is, when do things start turning around? It's hard for guys who have seen these exact kinds of trades happen before and seen it do absolutely nothing," Wilson told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  "For nine years, I've seen these trades two or three times a year, every year, and we still haven't had a winning season."

Wednesday, for the first time all season, the Minnesota Twins ascended to two games over the .500 mark. It is hard to believe that, given this situation and the fact that there are only nine more games before the All-Star break, the team would be looking to buy at the deadline.

Usually, if a team has stumbled around the .500 mark for the entire first half of the season, they are looking to sell and rebuild for next year. However, with the rest of the AL Central playing below expectations as well, the Twins are right in the thick of the fight. 

So, Lou Piniella is finally starting to show signs of the manager we all thought he was.

He's sent troubled Milton Bradley home. He's sat down struggling Alfonso Soriano. He's even gotten thrown out of a game—Wednesday versus the Pirates on what appeared to be a bad call at first base.

But he needs to continue to be the tough guy and continue to sit Soriano. Sadly, it's not likely.

Now, I don't say this simply because Soriano's replacement, Sam Fuld, had a great game on Wednesday. I say this because Soriano has hit below the Mendoza line in June.

The NL East has proven to be the free-for-all many thought it would be. The Atlanta Braves are in fourth place, but are only three games out of first place on July 1.

The New York Mets are injured and their roster is depleted, yet they broke out of a five-game losing streak against Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo on Wednesday.

The Florida Marlins have shot up the standings to within a half-game of first place after a 17-11 June.

The Philadelphia Phillies hit the skids in June with an 11-15 mark, but are still at the top in the division.

The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners 8-5 Tuesday night in the Bronx to move 12 games over .500 for the first time this season.

Yankees' hurler Joba Chamberlain (4-2, 3.89 ERA) yielded three runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings to help the Yankees notch their sixth straight victory in the no-decision.

Bombers manager Joe Girardi said he is pleased with Chamberlain’s efforts to date, and he insinuated that he is not worried his precocious ace will cower under pressure and begin to smoke meth with his estranged mother, Jacqueline Standley.

Taking a look into this baseball season many fascinating stories have developed. Zack Greinke has showcased his stuff early and Josh Johnson has turned from a dynamic prospect into the real deal.

Who has been the best so far though? You have the big names at the top of starting rotations like Johan Santana and Roy Halladay. Then you have the surprising names like Edwin Jackson and Tim Wakefield.

Teams are banking on these proven veterans and their young guns to hold their own in the second half of the season.