CLEVELAND – Despite receiving a vote of confidence from his players, Indians manager Eric Wedge threw himself under the bus for the team`s dismal performance thus far.
“I`m the manager. It is my fault,” Wedge said during his pregame interview session Monday. “I`m not out there playing but there`s no other way to say it than I take full responsibility for this ballclub.
“The bottom line is we`re a better team than we`re showing. That has to be a reflection on me. There`s no way around it.”
Though Wedge is in the second season of a three-year contract extension and has a strong relationship with general manager Mark Shapiro, his seat is as hot as it has ever been during his six-year-plus tenure in Cleveland.
He was asked if he thought his job was in jeopardy.
“That`s not something I spend time on,” said Wedge, whose club entered Monday 10 games under .500 and trailing the first-place Royals by seven games in the Central Division standings. “My entire energy goes into trying to get this team back on track. I don`t think about that.
“I`m smart enough to recognize where we`re at as a ballclub, though. I know that comes with the territory.”
Wedge has made changes in an effort to spark his team, but returned to his regulars after players called a team meeting, following a second straight shutout loss to Detroit on Saturday.
“I want to give them a chance to stand behind (the meeting) and do something about it,” he said.
That approach might not last long. The Indians have Matt LaPorta on the roster and the prized outfield prospect has begun working out at first base. Wedge said even three-time All-Star Grady Sizemore is subject to being bumped from the leadoff spot if his offensive struggles continued.
“I think right now we have to consider everything,” he said.
The Indians have gotten quality efforts from certain areas of their club, but rarely on the same occasion. Wedge thinks there is still time to put it all together.
“It`s a tremendous challenge,” he said. “But if these guys figure it out and have a good week, we`re right back in the middle of the division. But it has to happen now.
“If that`s pressure, then so be it. It`s the big leagues. Hang with `em.”

Relief work

The Indians continue to search for assistance in their struggling bullpen, signing right-hander Blaine Neal to a minor league contract Monday and assigning him to Triple-A Columbus.
Neal, 31, a veteran of five big league seasons, has not pitched in the majors since 2005, spending the last two years at the Triple-A level. He went 1-0 with a 1.21 ERA and 26 saves in 38 games for Detroit`s Class AAA affiliate Toledo in 2008.
The Indians are still deciding what to do with reliever Luis Vizcaino, who reportedly signed a minor league deal with the team and has been auditioning at Progressive Field over the past few days.
Wedge said Vizcaino, an 11-year veteran, has not been officially signed but that the club was considering whether to send him to the minors or add them to their big league roster.

Wounded Wahoos

Head trainer Lonnie Soloff met with reporters Monday to provide an update on the laundry list of injured Indians:
• Travis Hafner (right shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Columbus on Friday, taking batting practice at Progressive Field in the meantime.
• Jamey Carroll (left hand) continued his rehab assignment Monday, scheduled to play nine innings for Columbus at second base. Wedge said the utility infielder could be activated within the next couple days.
• Reliever Joe Smith (right shoulder) has begun playing catch and is expected to begin a rehab assignment in 10-14 days.
• Opening-day fifth starter, Scott Lewis (left elbow), experienced a setback a week ago while throwing from the mound in Goodyear, Ariz., but has returned to playing catch.
• Jake Westbrook (right elbow) pitched two-thirds of an inning (20 pitches) Monday in an extended spring training game against the Dodgers. He is still on track to return from Tommy John surgery in mid-to-late June.

Television times

SportsTime Ohio Indians broadcaster Matt Underwood missed the recent series with Detroit, but he was not suspended, as has been speculated.
Though Underwood and the team`s cable station confirmed that the announcer used an expletive on the air, he was absent over the weekend on a planned vacation and not due to disciplinary measures.
Thinking he was off the air, Underwood, said he used the expletive in regard to an NHL playoff game that he was watching on a television during a commercial break. The incident occurred during Cleveland`s extra-inning victory in Toronto on May 4.

Minor details

Class A Kinston`s Lonnie Chisenhall (first-round draft pick 2008) was named the Carolina League batter of the week, hitting .533 (16-for-30) with two homers and 12 RBIs from May 4-10.
• Single-A Lake County left-hander T.J. McFarland (fourth round, 2007) was named South Atlantic League pitcher of the week (May 4-10), posting a 0.82 ERA in two starts that covered 11 innings.

Roundin` third

The Indians entered Monday having been outscored 105-72 from the sixth inning on.
• The Indians are 7-7 when they commit an error, 4-14 when they don`t.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

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