I'm conflicted.
I want to like this trade, I really do. But I just don't know that I can yet.
I mean, the Indians just don't do this! We trade our best guys for prospects, not the other way around. Never the other way around. At least not since the John Hart era.
Okay, did I want a big trade? Yes. Did I say I'd like Ubaldo Jimenez in an Indians uniform? Yes. But did I want to give up Pomeranz in the process?
Hell no.
Okay, yes we got a pitcher who blazed through the league in the first half of last season, but he has been a little more than human since July 19 of last season. After going 15-1 with a 2.13 ERA before that date, he went 4-7 with a 3.70 ERA the rest of the way. And then this year he started out April with a 6.75 ERA and went through May with a 5.45 ERA. I'm usually in favor of giving a guy the benefit of the doubt based on past services, but to give up your top prospect who has done nothing but gas guys in the minors, someone who projects to be in the rotation (maybe even the front of the rotation!) by next June, it just seems like a little too much to me.
Terry Pluto wrote it in his Sunday column, and I really agree with him that if the price was just White, Huff, and some others make the deal yesterday. I like that because you're giving up a RH starter and getting a RH starter in return. The problem is that we're not in a situation where Ubaldo is at the end of his contract, or only has one year left on it like when we traded CC and Cliff Lee. Because of that, the notion that we got less for both of those guys than we gave up for Ubaldo is correct -- and it should be since we have contractual control of Ubaldo for the next two seasons.
Regardless, it really doesn't matter if I like the deal or not, it's going to happen if Ubaldo passes his physical. Based on what I've heard about how he's lost significant velocity on his fastball (down from averaging 96mph to 93mph), I don't think it's a done deal that he will pass it with flying colors. I remember years ago, the Indians were going to trade Omar Vizquel to Seattle for Carlos Guillen and the deal fell through because Guillen didn't pass his physical. Granted, we'd probably have a good bat that the Tigers wouldn't have if that deal had actually gone through, but it just goes to show that the Indians take these physicals very seriously -- and they really should if they're going to have to give up their best pitching prospect.
This deal says a lot about what the front office has learned from the past decade of Indians baseball: Contention is not guaranteed. Remember what happened in '06 after the Indians finished with 93 wins in '05? Flameout. Remember what happened in '08 after the Indians were one game away from the World Series in '07? Flameout again. So only being 1.5 games out with two months to go, the Indians are treating this opportunity like it may not come again next year, and I think that's good.
Still, trading away a prospect -- even if that's all Pomeranz is -- who has a 1.98 ERA, 112 Ks and only 38 walks in 91 innings in his first full season is a tough pill to swallow. Unless Ubaldo can be like CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee after we traded them and carry us to the postseason, this trade could be questioned for a very long time to come.
~MAS
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
A Look At... Indians Trade Possibilities
I could rant until the cows come home about the Indians 5 errors today (YES 5 ERRORS, UGH), but I won't do that. Being no-hit is bad enough, although I will say that Ervin Santana is a great pitcher and Mike Hegan repeatedly said on the radio broadcast that he'd never seen Santana pitch so well. However, we've got to play good fundamental baseball if we want to make it to the playoffs. This division is weak, and if we get back to playing good ball again, we'll be just fine. But this team is definitely flawed right now.
But this post is supposed to be about trade possibilities, so I'll get to that now. A lot has been written by a lot of different people about who the Indians could trade for but I'd like to talk about who I'm willing to trade. It looks like Carlos Beltran is not going to be one of those people we could acquire, but based off of the report that the Indians were willing to take on Beltran's salary and give up a "good player," I'd be surprised if we didn't make a deal by the deadline. Colby Rasmus (LH outfielder) is also off the board as he's been traded to the Blue Jays. So, that leaves BJ Upton, Hiroki Kuroda, Ryan Ludwick, Coco Crisp, and I believe Aaron Harang as players the Indians are maybe considering. At least from most reports. (UPDATE: Apparently, the Indians are in on Ubaldo Jimenez too, and are strong contenders to land him. Me likey.)
So let's get to it, who would I not mind the Indians trading?
Well, unless they're offering up one of the best players in the league, we better not give up Kipnis, Chisenhall, White or Pomerantz. These guys are huge keys to our future, especially since we have drafted so poorly from the 90s until really '08, when we drafted Chisenhall in the 1st round. I know GM Chris Antonetti has said that no player is "untouchable" but honestly, I don't think those guys are going anywhere.
That brings us to the next level of prospects that we have, and I think we have some really good ones. We have a three headed monster of B-level starters in Jenmar Gomez, Zach McAllister and David Huff. All three of those guys have had great years at AAA, and I'd be more than willing to trade two of them -- if not all three for the right deal (*Ahem* BJ Upton). I know we need starters and Huff is currently in the rotation and has pitched quite well in his two starts, but I just don't think he factors into the rotation in 2012 and beyond.
Think about it, the first three spots in the rotation are locked up for next year -- Masterson, Tomlin and Carrasco. Even though he's not coming back in the rotation this year, Alex White would appear to at least be penciled in for the 4th spot. And then you have Fausto Carmona for the 5th spot. You'd have to expect that Drew Pomerantz would follow a similar tract to that of White and find himself in the rotation too by mid-season, and at that point you have to get rid of somebody (probably Carmona...). Of course, you need starting pitching depth, but as long as you've got one of Huff/Gomez/McAllister, for next year, I think we'll be alright. So that's why I'd say we can trade at least two of those guys and be alright.
For infielders, I'd say we could stand to lose Cord Phelps, Luis Valbuena and -- this one might surprise you -- Matt LaPorta. Phelps has had a pretty good year in AAA, but he's a second baseman -- hello Jason Kipnis. He was sort of being groomed to be a utility player, but his defense looked abysmal in his stint in the majors earlier this season. We also have Jason Donald down in AAA, also being groomed to be a utility player. Because Donald is more proven at the major league level, I'd say Phelps is expendable (but, Donald is too by that same token).
If you looked at any of the games the Indians played against Minnesota last week and saw Valbuena play in the outfield (which was an incredible emergency situation) you know why he's expendable. He's actually had a great year in AAA, so if someone wants a LH second baseman, then they can have him. I'm sure of that.
Now, Matt LaPorta. If anybody wants him, I'd say that they can have him. I don't even care about getting a first baseman back. Here's the deal, Carlos Santana has been really bad behind the dish lately, and -- as Hammy said on the radio today -- it's getting harder to let Sweet Lou Marson sit on the bench when he's a much better defensive catcher. When LaPorta was on the DL earlier in the year, Santana mostly played first base while Marson caught and I just don't think Santana has been as comfortable back there since then. So, since LaPorta has only hit .238 with 9 HR and 35 RBI this season, and only plays average defense, I think we could stand to trade the former '07 first round draft pick. He just can't seem to put it together up here, and at this point I would rather have Santana at first and Lou Marson behind the plate every day.
So that's what I think. Hopefully we will see the Indians make a move int he next few days. Who they'll get, I'm not really sure, but I'm hoping for BJ Upton. The fact that we'd have him under contrat for next year makes him a very attractive player to me. We will see Tribe fans.
~MAS
But this post is supposed to be about trade possibilities, so I'll get to that now. A lot has been written by a lot of different people about who the Indians could trade for but I'd like to talk about who I'm willing to trade. It looks like Carlos Beltran is not going to be one of those people we could acquire, but based off of the report that the Indians were willing to take on Beltran's salary and give up a "good player," I'd be surprised if we didn't make a deal by the deadline. Colby Rasmus (LH outfielder) is also off the board as he's been traded to the Blue Jays. So, that leaves BJ Upton, Hiroki Kuroda, Ryan Ludwick, Coco Crisp, and I believe Aaron Harang as players the Indians are maybe considering. At least from most reports. (UPDATE: Apparently, the Indians are in on Ubaldo Jimenez too, and are strong contenders to land him. Me likey.)
So let's get to it, who would I not mind the Indians trading?
Well, unless they're offering up one of the best players in the league, we better not give up Kipnis, Chisenhall, White or Pomerantz. These guys are huge keys to our future, especially since we have drafted so poorly from the 90s until really '08, when we drafted Chisenhall in the 1st round. I know GM Chris Antonetti has said that no player is "untouchable" but honestly, I don't think those guys are going anywhere.
That brings us to the next level of prospects that we have, and I think we have some really good ones. We have a three headed monster of B-level starters in Jenmar Gomez, Zach McAllister and David Huff. All three of those guys have had great years at AAA, and I'd be more than willing to trade two of them -- if not all three for the right deal (*Ahem* BJ Upton). I know we need starters and Huff is currently in the rotation and has pitched quite well in his two starts, but I just don't think he factors into the rotation in 2012 and beyond.
Think about it, the first three spots in the rotation are locked up for next year -- Masterson, Tomlin and Carrasco. Even though he's not coming back in the rotation this year, Alex White would appear to at least be penciled in for the 4th spot. And then you have Fausto Carmona for the 5th spot. You'd have to expect that Drew Pomerantz would follow a similar tract to that of White and find himself in the rotation too by mid-season, and at that point you have to get rid of somebody (probably Carmona...). Of course, you need starting pitching depth, but as long as you've got one of Huff/Gomez/McAllister, for next year, I think we'll be alright. So that's why I'd say we can trade at least two of those guys and be alright.
For infielders, I'd say we could stand to lose Cord Phelps, Luis Valbuena and -- this one might surprise you -- Matt LaPorta. Phelps has had a pretty good year in AAA, but he's a second baseman -- hello Jason Kipnis. He was sort of being groomed to be a utility player, but his defense looked abysmal in his stint in the majors earlier this season. We also have Jason Donald down in AAA, also being groomed to be a utility player. Because Donald is more proven at the major league level, I'd say Phelps is expendable (but, Donald is too by that same token).
If you looked at any of the games the Indians played against Minnesota last week and saw Valbuena play in the outfield (which was an incredible emergency situation) you know why he's expendable. He's actually had a great year in AAA, so if someone wants a LH second baseman, then they can have him. I'm sure of that.
Now, Matt LaPorta. If anybody wants him, I'd say that they can have him. I don't even care about getting a first baseman back. Here's the deal, Carlos Santana has been really bad behind the dish lately, and -- as Hammy said on the radio today -- it's getting harder to let Sweet Lou Marson sit on the bench when he's a much better defensive catcher. When LaPorta was on the DL earlier in the year, Santana mostly played first base while Marson caught and I just don't think Santana has been as comfortable back there since then. So, since LaPorta has only hit .238 with 9 HR and 35 RBI this season, and only plays average defense, I think we could stand to trade the former '07 first round draft pick. He just can't seem to put it together up here, and at this point I would rather have Santana at first and Lou Marson behind the plate every day.
So that's what I think. Hopefully we will see the Indians make a move int he next few days. Who they'll get, I'm not really sure, but I'm hoping for BJ Upton. The fact that we'd have him under contrat for next year makes him a very attractive player to me. We will see Tribe fans.
~MAS
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Series Review - Tribe @ Baltimore 7/14-17
So I think this series can be summed up in that it started out quite well and then just crapped out at the end. Offensively, I was pretty disappointed with the last two games, even with the out pouring in the 9th on Saturday. Pitching wise? There was just nothing to write home about at all this weekend. Since that's the bigger area of concern to me, I guess I'll start there.
Consider this, against a team that had lost seven in a row coming into the series, Indians starters could only muster one quality start. One. And you know who that was? Nope, not Justin Masterson if that's who you were thinking. It was Carlos Carrasco in the loss on Saturday night. I, admittedly, did not watch the first game of this series because I went to a midnight showing of Harry Potter (which was awesome in IMAX 3D, by the way. Totally worth the price of admission) and was in line during game time, but the fact that we only had one quality start is always going to be a problem with me, I don't care how many runs we score. That being said, Masterson did only give up 4 runs, and I don't think he'll give reason for concern as we continue into the second half of the season.
A lot of credit has to go to Tomlin for his start on Saturday, as he was getting knocked around a whole lot but battled well enough to go his usual 5 innings. I tweeted this, but something that always bothers me is when the team goes out and gets a lead and then the pitcher gives it right back. That's just not doing your job. Still, the offense came through for Tommy and my personal favorite pitcher on the Indians staff got his 11th win of the season.
Carrasco also had to work to get his 7 innings, and he did it without unraveling. I think this is one of the most important things to come out of this series, especially after how hard Carrasco was shelled in his previous couple of starts. I really think we should've won Saturday night, but the Bullpen Mafia just didn't come through. If they had, I just don't think Carrasco would've gotten the loss. Maybe this is obvious, but I don't think he deserved it.
Still, if we're actually going to win this division, Carrasco, Tomlin and Masterson have got to be able to give us quality starts in probably 75-80% of their starts the rest of the way. (That percentage is just my own made up thing based off of nothing but my opinion. Don't try to look it up anywhere).
I don't want to spend a lot of time on Jeanmar Gomez, simply because he just wasn't as effective as he needed to be. 5 runs in 5.1 innings? Mitch Talbot could've done that. The Indians need Gomez to be ready. I mean, this guy was about to start the AAA All-Star game after going 9-3 with a 2.40 ERA in the first half for the Clippers. I'm pretty sure this is his 3rd stint with the big league club -- it's time for him to take a rotation spot and keep it and not be a AAAA player. Unfortunately, giving up 5 runs just ain't gonna cut it.
I'm sure a lot of people are going to rip the bullpen for their mistakes this weekend, but I think it's important to remember that they never gave up a lead -- they just made the deficit worse. We've still got the best 'pen in the league, people, don't panic about that.
What we should panic about is our outfield situation.Krady Grady Sizemore went down with another right knee contusion, the same knee he 'contused' (if that's a word) earlier in the season. He was starting to get hot in this series too, so that's definitely not great. That means we're now without 2/3 of our starting 3 outfielders. There's just no way we can contend with a platoon of Buck and Kearns in RF, Carrera in CF and Brantley in LF.
That's no knock onthe Porsche Carrera or Brantley, but the Buck/Kearns situation really needs to end. I think Buck would be a fine fourth outfielder, but Kearns is officially washed up. I know he hit that home run against the Yankees, and that was a nice little moment, but what else has he done this year? I believe the crickets are telling me the answer. We need some pop out of at least one of the three outfield spots, and without Grady, we just don't have any. With Grady we didn't have that much, since he's been hitting .230, but that's another story.
I'm going to say this here for the first time, and will probably repeat it a bunch over the next couple weeks -- If we are going to contend in this division, we have to make a trade for a RH outfield bat. I would've said that before Grady went down, but it's especially true now.
In other offensive news, it was nice to see how we just didn't quit in Saturday's ballgame, even though we had been completely shut down byspinach Alfredo Simon most of the game. Here's a fun fact, Simon is currently the subject of a murder investigation in the Dominican Republic and had to go back there for a court date after his start. I guess he wanted to make a lasting impression in case he has to go to jail. I just couldn't believe that when Matt and Rick were talking about it on STO. Yikes.
Anyway, that whole being shut down by Orioles pitchers thing was a bit ridiculous, but I always love when our hitters just refuse to quit. You've got to enjoy seeing A-Cab, Hafner and Santana all work walks to knock out the O's closer and then O-Cab delivering a bases clearing double. If the Indians do, in fact, end up making the playoffs, it's going to be because of veterans on this team like O-Cab, Hafner and -- I'll even venture to say -- A-Cab. Asdrubal was on this team in '07 when we went to the ALCS, he knows what kind of fight that takes as was Hafner. With O-Cab, the guy just gets on playoff teams wherever he goes. That 'never say die' attitude is going to be key down the stretch.
Now that is a lot to take in, so let all of that marinate as we get a twin billing tomorrow in the Twin Cities with a Twins ball club that has won 7 of their last 10 ballgames. Huff and Carmona will take the hill for the Tribe in the games tomorrow. Both starts are important for both pitchers, as I firmly believe the Tribe brass would love to move Huff in a deal and Fausto really just needs to get his you-know-what together. But it's an important series in general, as the Indians have got to start beating their divisional opponents if they're going to end up taking the Central crown.
Until next time, Go Tribe!
~MAS
Consider this, against a team that had lost seven in a row coming into the series, Indians starters could only muster one quality start. One. And you know who that was? Nope, not Justin Masterson if that's who you were thinking. It was Carlos Carrasco in the loss on Saturday night. I, admittedly, did not watch the first game of this series because I went to a midnight showing of Harry Potter (which was awesome in IMAX 3D, by the way. Totally worth the price of admission) and was in line during game time, but the fact that we only had one quality start is always going to be a problem with me, I don't care how many runs we score. That being said, Masterson did only give up 4 runs, and I don't think he'll give reason for concern as we continue into the second half of the season.
A lot of credit has to go to Tomlin for his start on Saturday, as he was getting knocked around a whole lot but battled well enough to go his usual 5 innings. I tweeted this, but something that always bothers me is when the team goes out and gets a lead and then the pitcher gives it right back. That's just not doing your job. Still, the offense came through for Tommy and my personal favorite pitcher on the Indians staff got his 11th win of the season.
Carrasco also had to work to get his 7 innings, and he did it without unraveling. I think this is one of the most important things to come out of this series, especially after how hard Carrasco was shelled in his previous couple of starts. I really think we should've won Saturday night, but the Bullpen Mafia just didn't come through. If they had, I just don't think Carrasco would've gotten the loss. Maybe this is obvious, but I don't think he deserved it.
Still, if we're actually going to win this division, Carrasco, Tomlin and Masterson have got to be able to give us quality starts in probably 75-80% of their starts the rest of the way. (That percentage is just my own made up thing based off of nothing but my opinion. Don't try to look it up anywhere).
I don't want to spend a lot of time on Jeanmar Gomez, simply because he just wasn't as effective as he needed to be. 5 runs in 5.1 innings? Mitch Talbot could've done that. The Indians need Gomez to be ready. I mean, this guy was about to start the AAA All-Star game after going 9-3 with a 2.40 ERA in the first half for the Clippers. I'm pretty sure this is his 3rd stint with the big league club -- it's time for him to take a rotation spot and keep it and not be a AAAA player. Unfortunately, giving up 5 runs just ain't gonna cut it.
I'm sure a lot of people are going to rip the bullpen for their mistakes this weekend, but I think it's important to remember that they never gave up a lead -- they just made the deficit worse. We've still got the best 'pen in the league, people, don't panic about that.
What we should panic about is our outfield situation.
That's no knock on
I'm going to say this here for the first time, and will probably repeat it a bunch over the next couple weeks -- If we are going to contend in this division, we have to make a trade for a RH outfield bat. I would've said that before Grady went down, but it's especially true now.
In other offensive news, it was nice to see how we just didn't quit in Saturday's ballgame, even though we had been completely shut down by
Anyway, that whole being shut down by Orioles pitchers thing was a bit ridiculous, but I always love when our hitters just refuse to quit. You've got to enjoy seeing A-Cab, Hafner and Santana all work walks to knock out the O's closer and then O-Cab delivering a bases clearing double. If the Indians do, in fact, end up making the playoffs, it's going to be because of veterans on this team like O-Cab, Hafner and -- I'll even venture to say -- A-Cab. Asdrubal was on this team in '07 when we went to the ALCS, he knows what kind of fight that takes as was Hafner. With O-Cab, the guy just gets on playoff teams wherever he goes. That 'never say die' attitude is going to be key down the stretch.
Now that is a lot to take in, so let all of that marinate as we get a twin billing tomorrow in the Twin Cities with a Twins ball club that has won 7 of their last 10 ballgames. Huff and Carmona will take the hill for the Tribe in the games tomorrow. Both starts are important for both pitchers, as I firmly believe the Tribe brass would love to move Huff in a deal and Fausto really just needs to get his you-know-what together. But it's an important series in general, as the Indians have got to start beating their divisional opponents if they're going to end up taking the Central crown.
Until next time, Go Tribe!
~MAS
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tribe Mid-Season Report: Part Deux
Why hello there loyal blog reading Cleveland sports fans! As I said I'd try to do, here is part two of the Tribe mid-season report, which is going to focus on hitting.
Obviously, with the amount of crazy statistics that are around these days, batting average and the amount of home runs and RBIs someone has sometimes don't carry the weight that they used to. This isn't the worst thing in the world, but I sometimes think people get too caught up in all of those stats and don't get down to business. I think of all of the "sabermetrics" that exist, the most important one is the OPS -- on base percentage plus slugging percentage. It's pretty much how much people get on base combined with how many extra base hits they get, so I find it pretty useful. Although I don't think bating average is outdated, I sometimes find that on-base percentage is just as important, if not a little bit more, because it factors in walks.
I think OBP is particularly important in looking at Carlos Santana. If you look at his AVG/HR/RBI line alone, it looks pretty bleak at .230/13/41. That .230 is pretty bad for a cleanup hitter, but his on base percentage is .363. Considering his batting average, that number is excellent. Everything I've read and heard has said that Santana's high OBP is because he is such a patient hitter. He is one of the league leaders in pitches per at bat as he sees 4.41 every time he steps up to the plate. Being that as it is, I'd like to see Carlos really get it going in the second half. I feel like if he could bring that average up to the .250-2.60 level, it would really help take some pressure off of Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis Hafner to carry the offense.
Speaking of Hafner, how awesome was this game winning grand slam last week? I was watching the game, and when he came up I said to a couple of my friends something to the effect of, "This is exactly the guy you want up there if you're the Indians. I might walk him if I were the Blue Jays..." Needless to say, I'm glad they didn't take my advice.
But here's the thing, besides the obvious Asdrubal Cabrera, Hafner has undoubtedly been the offensive MVP for the Tribe so far this season. This was never clearer than when the Indians went through their horrendous June swoon with Hafner on the DL, which ultimately resulted in batting Jon Nunnaly being fired. Ouch. I'm not sure that new coach Bruce Fields has been that much better, but having Hafner back with his .325 AVG, 8 HR and 35 RBI is absolutely huge. I was absolutely an advocate for getting rid of the man formerly known as Pronk before the season started, but I feel like the Indians are actually getting their money's worth for him this year. I guess he can stay.
Now here's my favorite whipping boy, Krady Sizemore. That's right, he's no longer Grady since he strikes out in 30% of his at bats. 30 freaking percent! Are you kidding me?! He has 72 Ks to 15 BBs. That's a disgusting ratio, and I don't even want to try and calculate it. Krady also doesn't get the same excuse for OBP like Santana, since his average is only .231 and his on-base is stuck at .295. Boo. His only redeeming quality is that on those rare occasions when he doesn't K, it's usually an extra base hit as he has 9 home runs, 19 doubles and a triple. But other than that, it's Ks galore.
There are a multitude of other problems on the offense, most notably the lack of production from the right field position, but I honestly believe that GM Chris Antonetti is going to improve that via trade. Dave Huff and Luis Valbuena should have their things packed and ready to go to any team, because the way I see it they are both trade bait in the biggest way...
That's all I've got for now, hopefully the Tribe can get the 2nd half started out on the right foot against Baltimore this weekend!
Go Tribe!
~MAS
Obviously, with the amount of crazy statistics that are around these days, batting average and the amount of home runs and RBIs someone has sometimes don't carry the weight that they used to. This isn't the worst thing in the world, but I sometimes think people get too caught up in all of those stats and don't get down to business. I think of all of the "sabermetrics" that exist, the most important one is the OPS -- on base percentage plus slugging percentage. It's pretty much how much people get on base combined with how many extra base hits they get, so I find it pretty useful. Although I don't think bating average is outdated, I sometimes find that on-base percentage is just as important, if not a little bit more, because it factors in walks.
I think OBP is particularly important in looking at Carlos Santana. If you look at his AVG/HR/RBI line alone, it looks pretty bleak at .230/13/41. That .230 is pretty bad for a cleanup hitter, but his on base percentage is .363. Considering his batting average, that number is excellent. Everything I've read and heard has said that Santana's high OBP is because he is such a patient hitter. He is one of the league leaders in pitches per at bat as he sees 4.41 every time he steps up to the plate. Being that as it is, I'd like to see Carlos really get it going in the second half. I feel like if he could bring that average up to the .250-2.60 level, it would really help take some pressure off of Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis Hafner to carry the offense.
Speaking of Hafner, how awesome was this game winning grand slam last week? I was watching the game, and when he came up I said to a couple of my friends something to the effect of, "This is exactly the guy you want up there if you're the Indians. I might walk him if I were the Blue Jays..." Needless to say, I'm glad they didn't take my advice.
But here's the thing, besides the obvious Asdrubal Cabrera, Hafner has undoubtedly been the offensive MVP for the Tribe so far this season. This was never clearer than when the Indians went through their horrendous June swoon with Hafner on the DL, which ultimately resulted in batting Jon Nunnaly being fired. Ouch. I'm not sure that new coach Bruce Fields has been that much better, but having Hafner back with his .325 AVG, 8 HR and 35 RBI is absolutely huge. I was absolutely an advocate for getting rid of the man formerly known as Pronk before the season started, but I feel like the Indians are actually getting their money's worth for him this year. I guess he can stay.
Now here's my favorite whipping boy, Krady Sizemore. That's right, he's no longer Grady since he strikes out in 30% of his at bats. 30 freaking percent! Are you kidding me?! He has 72 Ks to 15 BBs. That's a disgusting ratio, and I don't even want to try and calculate it. Krady also doesn't get the same excuse for OBP like Santana, since his average is only .231 and his on-base is stuck at .295. Boo. His only redeeming quality is that on those rare occasions when he doesn't K, it's usually an extra base hit as he has 9 home runs, 19 doubles and a triple. But other than that, it's Ks galore.
There are a multitude of other problems on the offense, most notably the lack of production from the right field position, but I honestly believe that GM Chris Antonetti is going to improve that via trade. Dave Huff and Luis Valbuena should have their things packed and ready to go to any team, because the way I see it they are both trade bait in the biggest way...
That's all I've got for now, hopefully the Tribe can get the 2nd half started out on the right foot against Baltimore this weekend!
Go Tribe!
~MAS
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tribe Mid-Season Report
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| A Pool Table in the Indians "Fan Cave" |
To say that the Indians have been a surprise might be the understatement of the year. I mean, sure I said that they'd go 82-82 and finish 3rd in the season Start Me Up post, but I thought I was being wildly optimistic. Turns out we can achieve that and more, and I think the credit for that largely belongs to the three people representing the Indians at the All-Star game in Arizona.
I think it's fairly obvious that Manny Acta, Asdrubal Cabrera and Chris Perez have been the cornerstones of this team. That's not to say that other people haven't been significant contributors, but when it comes to coaching, offense, defense and pitching, those three have been some of the best in the league. Even though Acta was asked by Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington to be on the staff in Spring Training, I'd say he's more than earned the selection by having the Tribe a half game out of first place at the All-Star break. For Cabrera, there hasn't been a better offensive or defensive shortstop in the AL this season. Period. And Chris Perez has been automatic this season, converting 21/22 saves.
Now, given that all of those players will be talked about till the cows come home on some other sites, I'd like to take a look at some of the other players who have been huge contributors and a couple who might need to find pink slips in their lockers soon...
Let's start with the pitching -- starting pitching. Josh Tomlin and Justin Masterson have become the best 1-2 punch the Indians have had since '07 with CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. Tomlin is tied for fourth in the league in wins with 10, and his ERA ranks 27th among AL starters. Granted, those numbers don't sound the best, but throw in the fact that he's pitched 30 starts in his career and all 30 have gone 5 or more innings, and I think you can see why I love this guy. He's not a flame thrower, but he can throw all four of his pitches for strikes. Quality strikes, not just the "get me overs" that Carlos Carrasco can sometimes throw.
Next, Masterson has been a huge victim of a lack of run support, which is why he only has a record of 7-6. You can really see how he's been victimized when you look at his ERA at only 2.64, above juggernauts like CC Sabathia, Felix Hernandez, and Jon Lester. If the Indians can ever get their mess together on the offensive side for him, he could get maybe 15 wins before the season is over. That is, if his arm holds up and he pitches to his potential every time. Something not exactly likely to happen.
On the flip side, we have a tale of two Carrascos, Fausto's pitching-from-the-stretch troubles, and a really bad Mitch Talbot. I remember reading at some point in spring training Manny Acta had said, "He has the stuff to be one of the best in the American League. Period." Carrasco definitely had a string of starts in June where he showed that to be true, but once the calendar turned to July, he went just got shelled. Hopefully the All-Star break will be good for him.
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| Fausto Carmona in Center Field today at Progressive Field |
The same thing goes for Mitch Talbot, except he's been worse. Sure, Fausto has a 5.78 ERA, but Mitchey sees that, and raises him to 6.33. 6.33 runs per 9 innings. That's just awful, and if you're a first place team, you just can't have that. That's why it looks like Gomez is being called up to replace him, according to this story in the Plain Dealer. I think it's definitely a good idea. We don't have nearly the amount of time, money and support invested in Talbot as we do with Fausto. Think about it, we traded Kelly Shoppach for Talbot, so it's no big loss if we have to designate him for assignment and get nothing in return. At least in my opinion.
That's a lot to take in so I'll just leave it at that for now. At some point in the near future (I'm shooting for tomorrow!) I'll take a look at the offense. Until then, enjoy the All-Star game, Tribe fans!
~MAS
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