http://www.yardbarker.com/content/team/8 Recent articles about the Cleveland Indians en-us So, it's late July and your baseball team sucks. My team, the Tribe, really really sucks. Not like poor Cecilio's Scribe's beloved New York Metropolitans, who lead the NL East by 1 game (although to hear him tell it, they should be competing in the International League). How dare you CS, get back to me about how terrible the Mets are when they drop at least 10 games below .500. Football is still a month away so football coverage currently consists of nothing but endless jibber-jabber on who might be good or who might be bad this year. I don't even waste my time with that crap anymore. We don't know jack sh** until they start playing the games so it's a waste of time to even speculate (by the way, I'm pretty confident that the Browns are going 19-0 this year). There's no Tiger in golf this summer. The Olympics are coming up, but who gives a crap? I guess it'll be entertaining when it gets here, but not that entertaining. So how's a guy supposed to get his sports fix? Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:22:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295089 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295089 Another off-day, another Photoshop fun day. Today, The Tribe Time Report makes fun of Cleveland Indians pitcher Jeremy Sours... I mean, Jeremy Sowers.. AKA The Sour Pitch Kid. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:25:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295067 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295067 Okay, get ready to mark this one down in the "are you kidding me?" column. It wasn't all that long ago that we were the GM for Shin-Soo Choo, where more than 80 percent(!) of you said to either let him ride, or give him a contract extension. He's since started hitting the ball very well; getting on base and driving in runs. But with that said, would this force you to change your mind? Choo, a South Korean, must serve two years in the military. He says the deadline for entering the military is 2010. "I try not to think about it," he said before the Indians' 14-11 loss to the Angels on Wednesday. Two years. By 2010. Meaning that one of our young, run-producing outfielders may have to forgo his peak seasons as a professional baseball player? Unreal. Apparently, there is a clause that allows South Korean athletes to be excused from service if they win any Olympic medal. But hold the phone. Choo's problem is South Korea won't take baseball players for its Olympic team if they're on the 25-man roster of a big-league club. And assuming that isn't enough of a groin kick… "The Indians couldn't send me to the minors [to be on the Korean team] because I'm out of options," said Choo, who added "There's too much stress to worry about it now." This blurb has been out there for a few hours now, and I'm surprised it hasn't picked up more steam. You have to wonder how much consideration that the Tribe is giving this issue, as, let's face it, this is two whole years that we're talking about. Trying to "not think about it" can only last so long. At some point, this will need to be dealt with - and as a fan, I have to say that it is pretty irritating. Surprising? Not at all. Irritating? You bet. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:34:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295036 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295036 As the trade deadline looms, baseball writers everywhere have been consuming themselves with the seemingly endless list of players that could be on the move before it is all said and done. Since dealing CC Sabathia, the Indians have fallen out of the trade spotlight a bit, since names like Matt Holliday and Mark Teixeira have vaulted to the top. But while we do not have any power sources like the two aformentioned, we do have a few names that have apparently continued to stir interest among the MLB ranks. From Tim Brown's recent article at Yahoo!: After moving Sabathia, the Cleveland Indians remain in sell mode and are listening to offers for Blake, Paul Byrd and Jamey Carroll, and they could be convinced to discuss shortstop Jhonny Peralta. The Dodgers, who would prefer to acquire a true shortstop and move Nomar Garciaparra to third base, are in on Blake and McPherson, the former Angels prospect who is healthy again and has hit 32 home runs in Triple-A for the Florida Marlins. The Dodgers also need help in the bullpen but are not believed to be interested in Street. The Tampa Bay Rays would love to have Blake cover right field for them, but so far no one has met the Indians' price. Now given the recent play by Peralta (as well as his very, very friendly contract), I would assume that it would take one heck of an offer to pry the (gulp) shortstop from our fingers. But the one part of the above that caught me by surprise is that no one has "met our price" for Casey Blake thus far. What could our price be? Aside from the Rays, the Mets have reportedly expressed interest in the third baseman/right fielder/first baseman. We're obviously not asking for an Evan Longoria in return here, but if the demand for Blake's services continue to rise (read: Twins, Dodgers), we could be seeing a case of last-minute moves with this one even though he did not play in yesterday's game. But given the fact that Blake will be a 35-year old free agent at the end of the season, and would likely demand something more than his current deal of $6.1 million, what sort of market is there? If we hold him, and he walks, we get a first-round supplemental draft selection. But so would any team that would acquire him - increasing his value. He sees over four pitches per plate appearance - something teams love. He can play a bevy of positions - always a plus. Focusing on Tampa Bay, their rotation is going to be full of young, very good arms. Perhaps they would be willing to give up one of their minor league arms? I doubt we can nab Jeff Niemann for Blake, given the whole one-year thing. Other names that have been floated around message boards and rumor mills have been Reid Brignac (a 22-year old shortstop) and Justin Ruggiano (a 26-year old outfielder with speed). Ruggiano fits the "lower level prospect" mold that could garner someone like Blake. Brignac is typically considered a top-five prospect within the Rays' system, so that may be a bit tougher to pull off without adding a few more pieces on our side. What's good to see is that Shapiro isn't just shelling out chips to anyone who makes a phone call. While the Indians are definitely on the sell-side of things, we continue to look for the best offer out there. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:52:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294906 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294906 Why Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro should take a chance this off-season and make a run at Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:20:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294880 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294880 Why Shin-Soo Choo's military commitment could interrupt his career with the Cleveland Indians, plus more Casey Blake chatter and could Aaron Laffey be sent down come Saturday? And Paul Byrd's battle with the HGH controversy. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:05:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294872 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294872 Why don't you have to vote for Cleveland Indians minor league prospect Jeremie Tice for the NY-Penn League All-Star Game? Plus Kelvin De La Cruz's successful debut with Kinston and TJ Burton readies himself for Team Canada and the Olympics. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:01:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294869 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294869 Indians weekly injury update Cleveland Indians Name Injury Status Josh Barfield, 2B Surgery, left finger - out 6-8 weeks on 15-day DL (6/12) Fausto Carmona, P Left hip strain on 15-day DL (5/24) Scott Elarton, P Non-baseball medical condition on 60-day DL (6/30) Travis Hafner, DH Right shoulder strain on 15-day DL (5/26) Victor Martinez, C Right elbow surgery - out 6-8 weeks on 15-day DL (6/12) Jake Westbrook, P Right elbow surgery - out for season on 60-day DL (5/29) Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:59:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294841 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294841 Cle 11 FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Indians 2 0 0 2 2 0 1 3 1 11 14 0 Angels 0 2 0 3 5 2 2 0 x 14 19 2 TV: FSN West LAA 14 Recap | Game Trax | Box Score | Play by Play | Depth Chart | Head-to-Head | Cleveland Indians BATTER GAME SEASON AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB CS TB BB K LOB AVG OBP SLG G Sizemore CF 5 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 1 2 3 .272 .377 .544 D Dellucci DH 5 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 .225 .293 .386 B Francisco RF 5 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 .284 .346 .459 J Peralta SS 5 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 .267 .311 .488 S Choo LF 4 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 .252 .349 .449 R Garko 1B 5 2 3 4 0 0 1 0 0 6 0 1 3 .243 .317 .359 A Marte 3B 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 .186 .233 .278 a-C Blake PH-3B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .287 .364 .464 S Fasano C 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 .300 .391 .350 b-J Carroll PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .274 .351 .345 A Cabrera 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 .186 .282 .249 Totals 41 11 14 11 3 0 2 0 0 23 3 9 21 - - - a-flied out for A.Marte in 8th b-singled for Fasano in 9th BATTING 2B: D Dellucci (14), B Francisco (21), S Choo (11) HR: G Sizemore (25, 8th inning off O'Day 0 on, 1 out), R Garko (8, 4th inning off Lackey 1 on, 0 out) RBI: G Sizemore (56), D Dellucci (33), J Peralta (52), S Choo 2 (23), R Garko 4 (49), A Marte (4), S Fasano (1) 2-out RBI: D Dellucci, R Garko 2, A Marte, S Fasano Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: D Dellucci, B Francisco, A Marte, C Blake, S Fasano, A Cabrera Team LOB: 10 Scoring Opportunities: 5/17 FIELDING DP: A.Marte to A.Cabrera to Garko PITCHER GAME SEASON IP H R ER BB K HR PIT B-S BFP ERA Opp AVG A Laffey (L, 5-7) 4.0 12 8 8 2 2 0 77 31-46 25 4.23 .281 T Mastny 1.1 3 4 4 2 2 1 34 17-17 9 14.90 .348 J Lewis 1.2 4 2 2 0 2 0 35 14-21 9 4.71 .288 J Rincon 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15 7-8 3 6.15 .284 Wild Pitches: A Laffey Hit by Pitch: A Cabrera (by J Lackey), D Dellucci (by D O'Day), B Francisco (by D O'Day) Ground Balls: A Laffey 11, T Mastny 1, J Lewis 3, J Rincon 1 Fly Balls: A Laffey 4, T Mastny 3, J Lewis 2, J Rincon 1 Los Angeles Angels BATTER GAME SEASON AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB CS TB BB K LOB AVG OBP SLG C Figgins 3B 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .269 .368 .317 C Kotchman 1B 5 1 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 .289 .331 .433 E Aybar SS 5 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 .286 .315 .402 V Guerrero DH 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 .283 .342 .484 J Rivera RF 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 .248 .313 .376 R Willits RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .185 .308 .231 H Kendrick 2B 5 3 4 3 3 0 0 0 0 7 0 1 1 .341 .361 .514 G Anderson LF 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 .266 .305 .398 G Matthews Jr. CF 3 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 .233 .311 .346 J Mathis C 5 2 4 6 1 0 1 0 0 8 0 0 0 .228 .304 .389 Totals 42 14 19 13 7 0 1 0 0 29 4 7 20 - - - BATTING 2B: C Kotchman (24), E Aybar (11), H Kendrick 3 (23), G Anderson (15), J Mathis (5) HR: J Mathis (8, 5th inning off Mastny 3 on, 0 out) RBI: C Kotchman (48), E Aybar (25), H Kendrick 3 (32), G Matthews Jr. 2 (36), J Mathis 6 (34) Runners moved up: E Aybar, J Rivera, G Anderson2 2-out RBI: C Kotchman, E Aybar, H Kendrick 2, J Mathis 2 Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: C Figgins 2, V Guerrero, J Rivera GIDP: E Aybar Team LOB: 8 Scoring Opportunities: 7/19 FIELDING E: J Lackey (3), J Rivera (3) DP: PITCHER GAME SEASON IP H R ER BB K HR PIT B-S BFP ERA Opp AVG J Lackey (W, 8-2) 5.0 8 6 6 2 5 1 99 32-67 27 3.02 .245 J Speier 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 12 4-8 3 5.09 .248 D O'Day 1.1 3 4 4 0 1 1 30 12-18 9 3.89 .285 J Arredondo 1.1 3 1 1 1 2 0 27 9-18 8 1.33 .186 F Rodriguez (S, 42) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0-1 1 2.18 .176 Intentional Walks: G Anderson (by A Laffey) Ground Balls: J Lackey 5, J Speier 0, D O'Day 2, J Arredondo 1, F Rodriguez 1 Fly Balls: J Lackey 7, J Speier 2, D O'Day 3, J Arredondo 1, F Rodriguez 0 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:56:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294838 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294838 My next Cleveland Indians report will not be as long as the firs one was thank you Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:45:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294831 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294831 Tribe fans talk about next year's starting rotation and how thin it is. "We got Lee, Carmona and Laffey" they say. "After that who knows." Better put Aaron Laffey in the "who knows" category. On June 24, after holding the Giants to a run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings at the Jake, Laffey's ERA was 2.83. Five starts later, his ERA is 4.23, and he is 1-3 in those five starts. It's pretty difficult to add a run and a half to your ERA in five starts, but Laffey managed. Here's how: In the past five starts, Laffey has pitched 23 2/3 innings and allowed 22 earned runs. I don't even need my calculator to know that is darned near a 9.00 ERA. He has given up 38 hits and 12 walks during that stretch. Again, I don't need to my calculator to know that comes out to a WHIP of just over 2.00 and nearly 5 walks per 9 innings. Is his confidence rattled? Are his mechanics off? Has the league figured him out? That's hard to say sitting in my living room in suburban NY, but something is clearly out of kilter. So much so, that Tribe manager Eric Wedge wouldn't make any promises when asked whether Laffey might not be the guy to go down to Buffalo to get straightened out when Fausto Carmona comes back at the end of the week. After Laffey gave up 8 runs on 12 hits in just four innings plus in today's game in Anaheim, Wedge was non-committal when asked about the roster move coming up Friday - telling MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince: "We're not going to decide anything right now," manager Eric Wedge said. "We don't need to do anything until Friday night after the game, at the earliest. We haven't made any decisions just yet." Matt Ginter is the presumed odd-man-out, but he's put up two quality starts in two tries since joining the Tribe's rotation in what was supposed to be a cameo role. Jeremy Sowers, who has been a major disappointment this season could also go, but it is likely (at least I think so) that the Tribe - which has already farmed out Sowers this year for retooling - will want to keep him up in the hopes he can work things out on the big-league level between now and the end of September. Which brings us to the bullpen. I had planned to do a piece tonight about how the pen seems to be coming around and how it has been central to the Tribe's recent run of victories. An then today - and Tom Mastny and Jensen Lewis - happened. The duo combined to give up 6 runs over three innings in relief of Mastny, rendering moot any effort the Tribe's offense made to make a game of it. And that doesn't even count the 3 runs of Laffey's that Mastny gave up on a grand slam by Angel's catcher Jeff Mathis. In Mastny's defense, he last pitched 10 days ago. I've said it time and again this year and in the past, I don't know how Wedge expects his 4-7 relievers to be of any value whatsoever when he pitches them once every leap year or so. But still, Mastny was awful and Lewis wasn't much better. But the bullpen has been strong in the past 9 games before today - a stretch which saw the Tribe go 7-2. During that run, the pen has tossed 28 innings allowed 6 earned runs, 17 hits and 7 walks. That's an ERA of 1.92 and a WHIP of 0.86 (I'm not going to let the stats I dug up go top waste). Exclude one 4-run blowup by Juan Rincon, and the Tribe's bullpen ERA during the 9-game run is 0.64. Masa Kobayashi has 2 saves and Mastny, of all people, has the pen's lone win during the Tribe's recent hot streak. More importantly, a few key pitchers seem to be settling into roles. Raffy Perez, back firmly in the set-up role where he excelled last year, threw 7 innings in four appearances over the 9 games and did not allow a run. Kobayashi had the 2 saves and has pitched well in general since taking over the closer's role. Edward Mujica threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings during the stretch as he has begun to make a move toward the latter innings of games. The roles being established now though appear to be nothing more than an attempt to wrestle this season under control. While impressions will be made the rest of the way, it's doesn't appear as though anyone will be locking up their role for next season. In another piece for MLB.com, Castrovince reports that Wedge sees the bullpen situation as - shall we say - fluid. "The roles are wide open," Wedge said. "But I do see signs. We've got plenty of time to continue to look at these guys. They're going to have an opportunity to step up and figure out if they can play a prominent role in this thing." Still, in the same piece, Castrovince reports the Tribe doesn't think it will find its 2009 closer on its 2008 club, again quoting Wedge: "A lot would have to happen with the people we have down there now for us to not go out and get somebody," Wedge said. "Somebody would have to grab the role, really lock into it and prove that we can count on them. That's a lot to happen in two and a half months." Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:41:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294667 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294667 The Cleveland Indians lost a good old fashioned offensive battle against the Los Angeles Angels. Ryan Garko's big day wasn't enough to overcome the struggles of the Tribe pitching staff and starter Aaron Laffey. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:27:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294587 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294587 After completion of the recent C.C. Sabathia deal, Indians GM Mark Shapiro implied that the team still isn't far off from contention in 2009. In order to make that a reality, one can reason the Tribe would need to add a right handed middle of the line-up bat (LaPorta anyone?), find at least one starting pitcher who can pitch towards the front of the rotation, and figure out how to acquire a closer to settle the bullpen. Are we asking for much? Of the above mentioned needs, typically the most difficult area to address is to find a good and reliable closer. Nothing would delight me more if Mark Shapiro found a way to fung shway the Indians' bullpen with a closer. One potential fit on the trade market is Oakland A's closer Huston Street. While the A's won't publicly state whether Street is actually on the market, it has been reported that the Dodgers, Mets, White Sox, and Brewers may have some active interest in the (almost) 24-year-old closer. So why not the Indians? Why not act now to make a deal for next season? Street is a proven closer who has 93 career saves, 245 strikeouts in 243 career innings, and has an ERA in at 2.85. While he has been knocked around a little bit this year (4.09 ERA and 5 blown saves), this is a guy who can be an immediate upgrade for the Indians pitching staff by default. So what excuses could the Indians have for not going for him? Oh yea, money. Street is currently playing on a one year deal and, though he's not eligible for free agency next year, has been looking for a long term contract. Then here's the Indians chance to use some of that Sabathia money they saved and find some arms for the bullpen. The unpredictability of the Indians seasons over the last four years have a direct link to the bullpen. If the Indians were to spend some money on a linchpin for that area of the roster, they will have shortened the road back to contention in 2009 and beyond. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:45:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294382 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294382 A quality start by 31-year old Matt Ginter, where the righty allowed seven hits in six innings was all for naught. Granted, one of the hits was a home run by catcher (and .211-hitting) Jeff Mathis. However, the Indians provided two runs of support on seven hits. And that, folks, rarely gets the job done. The K's continued to roll in for the Angels, as 10 Indians went down on strikes. We struck out 11 times in the previous game, bringing our total to 21 with only four bases on balls. Not a great ratio by any means. Especially when you leave nine guys on base. Good news for the Tribe is that the bullpen joined Ginter in a solid night of pitching. Rafael Betancourt and Ricardo Rincon combined for two innings of one-hit ball. It just so happens that Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez combined for two innings of no-hit ball with four strikeouts. Showoffs. I'd like to take a second to question one thing: the ninth inning. With the bottom of the order coming to bat, Eric Wedge attempted to become the chessmaster. With the .217 average of Franklin Gutierrez coming to bat, Wedge decided to pinch-hit. Who did he send up to the plate? The .225-hitting David Dellucci. Result: Strikeout. Though recording two hits on the night, Asdrubal Cabrera grounded out to Rodriguez on the mound. Two down. Grady Sizemore walked, bringing Jamey Carroll (.270) to the plate - who was quickly swapped for Ryan Garko (.236, .194 in July). Garko proceeded to strike out swinging, thus ending the game. Am I missing something here? Carroll is batting .292 over the last 37 games. Granted, he has nary a home run, but are we looking for a long-ball at this point? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. At that point, it was like trying to build a house with toothpicks - I get that. What I don't get is taking the bat out of the hands of one of our better on-base guys (.348, 3rd on the team) for a guy that is slumping for an entire season. So, what say ye? Please fill me in… Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:22:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294344 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294344 Who are the prime suitors for Cleveland Indians everything man Casey Blake? Is Jhonny Peralta available? Fausto Carmona gets cleared to start on Saturday and Paul Byrd's unusual gift to closer Masahide Kobayashi. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:17:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294312 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294312