Ryan

Let’s start out with Milton Bradley. A recent Los Angeles Times article sheds some light on what happened behind the scenes during Milton’s turbulent 2004. There’s some interesting tidbits in the article, including Bradley’s relationship with CC Sabathia:

Former Cleveland teammate and close friend C.C. Sabathia had a candid discussion with Bradley on Super Bowl Sunday, saying he was still angry because Bradley’s behavior prompted the trade to the Dodgers before last season.

The final incident in Bradley’s tumultuous 2 1/2 years in Cleveland came at the end of spring training when Manager Eric Wedge thought Bradley did not run out a pop-up.

“C.C. is like my brother and when he said, ‘You left me and I’m still upset,’ that was real,” Bradley said. “We wanted to turn Cleveland into a powerhouse, and I see now that my actions were wrong and hurt people.”

When the Dodgers traveled from Vero Beach, Fla., to Winter Haven to play the Indians in spring training, Bradley made sure he was one of the few regulars to make the two-hour bus ride.

“By trading me they made a big statement about the direction the organization was going,” he said. “I understand they had to do it. I needed to go to Winter Haven to talk to some people. I needed to go for closure.”

This obviously is a markedly different outlook than the one he had immediately after the trade. I guess it’s easy to be cynical with Bradley, considering all the other times he’s appeared contrite. But I still hope that Bradley can finally put aside his emotional issues and have a stellar career in baseball.

Next is Albert Belle. Justice B. Hill’s piece on Albert is right on the money; for all his well-documented flaws, Belle was the best player of the mid-90s Indians, and it’s not even close. Belle was one of the most feared hitters in baseball during the peak of his career; unfortunately, his ability as a player was often overshadowed by his persona. It never helps your image when you don’t talk to the media, and undoubtedly a lot of baseball writers took shots at Albert because he didn’t to them talk after games. Belle wouldn’t defend himself, so the only view of Belle the fans saw was the intense player on the field, and broken thermostats and rebuffed Trick or Treaters away from the diamond. Obviously there were players who were liked more, but Belle was simply the best player on those teams. Hill sums up his article thusly:

Hate him for his surliness; that would be just. But realize, too, that no player out of that class of talent in the 1990s produced as much when it mattered as Belle did.

I have no doubts that whenever Belle is up for the Hall of Fame, a lot of writers won’t vote for him because of who Albert Belle was; an intense, surly, sometimes confrontational superstar. I still remember him as a phenominal baseball player, whether I was watching him in Canton or in Cleveland. Unfortunately, separating the persona from the athlete isn’t something sportswriters do well.

Hey, let’s talk on-the-field issues!

• The Indians beat the White Sox 8-6 last night, no thanks to Ben Broussard and a kid sitting in the left field corner. Broussard frittered away a run because he didn’t step on the bag, while the kid interefered with Grady Sizemore’s fifth inning double. Aaron Boone would have scored from first if the ball wasn’t touched. Fortunately, neither run made a difference in the game, as the bullpen once again slammed the door shut, preserving a victory. Credit also has to go to Alex Cora, who made several exceptional plays in the field, as well as “bunting” a base hit through the left side, setting the stage for a three run sixth. Thus far, both Cora and Hernandez has been as advertised.
• Both Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez look to be back on track, but Aaron Boone still looks lost at the plate. Ryan Ludwick has gone 0-for-the-season so far, which is huge since Casey Blake is still out with a hamstring tweak. Well, there’s Juan Gonzalez and his hammy as well, but I guess there no point in mentioning him considering that Juan’s hamstring injuries are usually of the season-ending variety.
• Walking Willie Harris (lifetime .305 OBP) and Timo Perez (lifetime .306 OBP) to get to Paul Konerko is just asking for trouble, and that’s what Scott Elarton got.
• Grady Sizemore’s opposite-field double in the fifth illustrates his potential. I think he just needs more playing time.
• I really have no idea who gets sent down when Sabathia is activated for Sunday’s game. Neither Betancourt and Miller deserve a demotion, and I’d like to see Jason Davis to remain on the roster to provide some length to the bullpen. Maybe Scott Sauerbeck gets some tendinitis between now and then. I guess you’d rather have these decisions to make then the pitching moves the Indians had to make last year at this time.

Signed 1B Travis Hafner to a three year, $7M contract with an option for 2008

The contract essentially buys out his arbitration years; the contract is timed so that Hafner will be able to file for free agency after the 2008 season.

First of all, let me say that I like Hafner; he’s a tremendous talent. That being said, I think this a mistake. Not a huge mistake, given the dollars involved, but a mistake nonetheless. Hafner is as about as close as you can get to a full-time DH, and if Michael Aubrey progresses as planned, that’s where Pronk will stay. Designated hitters are fairly easy to come by, and although Hafner’s 2004 was an MVP-caliber season, his value to the team wasn’t as much as Victor Martinez’s was. Martinez plays a position where any offense is a bonus; locking him up is a great idea. Locking up Pronk is more questionable. I’ll have more on this in the coming week.

Placed 2B Danny Garcia on the Disabled List (AAA – shoulder); Recalled IF Jake Thrower from Extended Spring

It looks like it’s bad karma to be the Bisons’ starting second baseman. Warren Morris injured a finger in Spring Training, and now Garcia is out with a shoulder problem. Thrower is a AAA veteren, though this is his first time in the International League.

Placed OF Ben Francisco on the Disabled List (AA – thumb); Promoted OF JJ Sherrill to Akron (AA) from Kinston (A+)

Promoted OF Ricardo Rojas to Kinston (A+) from Lake County (A-)

I’ve been hammered with projects and papers recently, but the end is in sight! Well, at least I can see a speck of light in the tunnel I’m currently in.

• Even with the six runs off Jeremy Bonderman in the first inning today, the Indians’ bats have really been quiet. The team is ranked near the bottom in several offensive categories, including batting average (13th), OBP (13th), Slugging percentage (14th), and hits (14th). The defense has been even worse than the offense; the team is ranked last in fielding percentage.

  So how did the Indians go 3-3 on the road trip? This may come as a shock to most of you, but it’s mainly because of the bullpen. The bullpen’s ERA the first week of the season was 2.63, good for 3rd in the league. Tribe relievers are holding opposing batters to a .516 OPS, and they sport a very good K/BB ratio of 4.00.

  Of course all of these numbers are subject to the sample size rule, and things can (and probably will) change drastically in the next couple of weeks. Bob Wickman bounced back from his horrendous outing against the White Sox to save two games this weekend. Jake Westbrook will probably bounce back after laying an egg this past Saturday. Jhonny Peralta will settle down in the field. Making too much of one week’s worth of games is a very easy trap to fall into, especially since that one week is the only piece of evidence you can relate to. Terry Pluto, as usual, is the voice of reason, commenting on Peralta’s early defensive struggles.

• Sheldon Ocker is out with a Dolan is Cheap!^TM column, calling out ownership for possibly letting CC Sabathia walk two years from now. These two paragraphs taken together are quite humorous:
  

  With insurers limiting coverage of players’ contracts to no more than three years, and pitchers being more vulnerable to serious injury than position players, the wisest course might be to limit a proposed contract for Sabathia to three seasons, maybe with a fourth-year club option.

  But Sabathia is 24. He would be only 29 after the option season ended, and Shapiro would have to start all over again — and next time he would be forced to offer stratospheric money.

  So which is it? Should they only give him a short-term deal because of health concerns, or should they try to lock him up for longer? The rest of the article goes back and forth in the same fashion. Here’s my take: now is the time to get an extension in place, probably an extra two years would be the best they could do. Use the recenet extensions of Freddy Garcia and Johan Santana as templates. If he wants to test the free agent market, then there isn’t much you can do; if he wants to pitch in the Bay Area, there isn’t much you can do. I do think it’s very possible to get an extension done through 2008; the team is heading in the right direction, several similar deals have been signed, and the team and Sabathia has gotten along well. Beyond that, you just have to see how things work out. Cleveland isn’t a market where you can pay many players top dollar; that’s just part of the current financial status of baseball.

• There’s good news and bad news from Extended Spring Training. Jody Gerut has been cleared for game situations, but 2004 draft pick Scott Lewis is on the shelf with shoulder soreness. Lewis, who underwent shoulder surgery while at Ohio State, is on a “non-throwing” program, so hopefully simple rest will be enough.

Well, Shingo Takatsu decided to do his best Bob Wickman imitation yesterday, serving up three home runs in the 9th inning. While Casey Blake is a decent power threat, the fact that he gave up taters to both Coco Crisp and Ronnie Belliard suggests that Takatsu was just throwing “hit me” fastballs.

Cliff Lee was horrible in his first start of the season. As usual, his problems stemmed from his lack of control. Yes, he only walked one batter, but he also fell behind almost every hitter he faced, and when that happens, even the best get hit hard. Lee’s great stuff make outings like these so frustrating; you know he’s *this* close to being a very good starting pitcher, but a simple lack of control is keeping him from making a giant leap forward.

Of course the good news is that after Lee left the game, the White Sox didn’t score again. Betancourt looked outstanding, striking out four in his 2.2 innings, as did Riske, Howry, Rhodes, and Miller. The only two that didn’t pitch in the game were Bob Wickman and Scott Sauerbeck, who may have some arm issues. The best stat (at least by my tastes) is this: after Lee left the game, Indians pitchers did not walk a single batter. Making hitters earn their way on base is a key to successful bullpen, and the five pitchers today followed it.

The Indians did benefit from some of White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen’s moves earlier in the game. He used three relievers in the seventh inning, which left him short after the Indians sent the game to extra innings. Luis Vizcaino was the last arm available by the 10th, and after the Indians had scored 6 runs in the 11th, backup catcher Chris Widger was warming up.

I didn’t think it was possible to give up four runs that quickly.

Kevin Millwood didn’t look that good, but pitched around a lot of jams. Miller and Rhodes looked outstanding. But it was all for nought, for Wickman came into the game in the 9th and threw BP to the White Sox. Suddenly a lineup that had been effectively shut down for 16 innings looked like the 1927 Yankees.

Enough of that. I sure don’t want to talk about it anymore.

The terms of Victor Martinez’s five-year extension were released on Wednesday. The Indians have an option for 2010, which could keep Victor around an extra year, since he’d be eligible for free agency by then. As with these types of contracts, both management annn player take big risks. Giving a five-year deal to anyone is risky, and the Indians are on the hook for $15M through 2009. Of course Victor will be vastly underpaid if he continues to play at an All-Star level through the balance of the contract. Here’s the breakdown by year of the dollars:

Signing Bonus: $1M
2005: $500,000
2006: $800,000
2007: $3M
2008: $4.25M
2009: $5.7M
2010: $7M Club Option (or $250,000 buyout)

My early take is that this is an absolute bargain for the Indians, provided Victor stays healthy; they have the option of buying out a free agent year to boot. But remember that these types of contracts don’t always work out: see Joe Mays and Jaret Wright.

The next target for an extension should be CC Sabathia. The difference with Sabathia is that he has much more leverage than Martinez did. CC is eligible for free agency after the 2006 season, and given the exhorbitant contracts given out to starters last offseason, he could cash out in a big way if he tested the market. For the Indians, the Johan Santana signing may provide somewhat of a roadmap to get a deal done. Santana received a four-year contract worth $40M from the Twins in the offseason two years before he could test the free agent waters; obviously the Indians aren’t going to go as high as that, but at least it gives the club something to work off of.

What about Travis Hafner? I don’t think there should be a rush to lock him up. Wait a year, see if he can repeat his tremendous 2004 effort this year, and begin negotiations then.

So much to talk about, so little time.

First of all, fantastic performance by Westbrook. The Konerko double was the only real mistake of his outing, but it ended up costing him the win. Unfortunately for Westbrook, Mark Buerhle pitched just as well; the two pitchers looked to be doppelgangers of each other. Both were throwing strikes, working quickly, and getting ground ball after ground ball.

Peralta’s muffed attempt allowed Konerko to score; I don’t think there’s any question that if he fields the ball cleanly, Konerko, who’s one of the slowest runners in the game, would have been out at the plate. That Peralta was one who made the error was too bad. I’ll pretty much guarentee that at least one of the beat reporters say something to effect of “Vizquel would have made that play” in tomorrow’s papers While they have a valid point, Peralta also made a play earlier in the game that Vizquel couldn’t have made; he went to his right to field a ground ball in the hole, and forced the runner at second. Vizquel can’t make that throw at this point in his career. But for Peralta, every error he makes is going to dredge up Vizquel references, and it really can’t be helped.

Aaron Boone looked good at third base. It doesn’t appear that his knee is bothering him, which is promising. But for goodness sakes, he needs to hit farther down in the order. Blake needs to be hitting fifth against left-handers and second against right-handers if Sizemore isn’t going to be hitting second.

Last season Belliard’s deep positioning at second base didn’t really cost him. Today he was out position on Pierzynksi’s dribbler; it didn’t cost the team a run, as Westbrook induced Joe Crede to hit into a double play, but it’s something I’ve been watching since Belliard joined the team.

Now the good news: it looks like the Indians have locked up Victor Martinez through his arbitration years. Shapiro termed the contract “historic” compared to other deals to players with the same amount of service time. I would guess that means Martinez’s deal is going to be more than the extension signed by CC Sabathia, but considering that the Indians have locked up players like Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome at similar points in the players’ careers, the statement piqued my interest. My hope is that the deal allows the team to keep Martinez past his free agent eligibility, which would probably be after the 2009 season. Martinez would be 30 in 2009, which puts him a bit past his prime, especially considering the his position. So regardless of how long he’s signed, the Indians will probably be getting the best six years of Victor’s career. Now it remains to see just how much they’re paying him.

Thirty-eight minor-league players have been suspended by MLB for testing positive for steroids. There were no Indians on that list, but all of those mentioned train in Arizona. I’d have to imagine the Florida results will be announced in a couple of days.

Is it me, or should the first Monday of the baseball season be a national holiday?

Anyway, I’ll be stuck in class today while the Indians play; actually I won’t be able to watch the entire Chicago series, which sucks.

The depth chart has been updated. Keep in mind that the Akron roster is a guess; the Aeros, like usual, haven’t posted anything in regards to their roster. The rest should be fine.

I should be back tonight.

Placed OF Juan Gonzalez on the 15-day Disabled List (hamstrings)

Well, who knew that the chewing gum and baling wire holding Juan together would deteriorate this quickly? Well, perhaps they held him together just long to make the team and then, exhausted with relief, fell apart. Hamstring injuries don’t go away easily, and can linger for a long time. Pedicting 200 at-bats for Juan this season is probably optimistic.

Recalled OF Grady Sizemore from Buffalo (AAA)

By “Buffalo” I mean the next baseball field over in Winter Haven, because that’s where he was playing. At least he didn’t have to put any extra miles on his car while driving to Cleveland. It looks like Grady will be eased into the lineup, sitting against some left-handers (for example, against Mark Buerhle on Monday), but otherwise should be playing in center field every day. I think it’s worth a shot to bat him second against right-handers, with Belliard replacing him against southpaws. Unfortunately, Aaron Boone looks to be miscast in that role. Boone doesn’t walk much (.332 career OBP), and isn’t a contact hitter (his 162-game strikeout average is 103). The lone justification for hitting him second might be his speed, but the Indians don’t run often enough to take advantage of it; besides, why run when you have Hafner and Martinez up? Boone is a useful hitter, but he belongs farther down in the order. Heck, Casey Blake is a much better alternative, given his prowess against right-handed pitching and patience at the plate.

April Fools

A great read today is Mistake by the Lake’s April Fools columns, one for each Cleveland team. Check out the Indians section, where Corey gives a pretty convincing argument why the Indians are destined to fail this year. Now I know why the Yankees signed Tony Womack in the offseason…

Released LHP Graeme Lloyd and OF Darren Bragg

Because of a tighter allotment of visas, the Indians couldn’t keep Australian citizen Lloyd in their organization; he may have a tough time finding another one. Bragg should latch on with a AAA team near you.

And In with the New

Tomorrow we should know for sure who’s playing where in the organization. I’ve take the liberty of guessing where the top prospects are playing, so take those with a grain of salt. I’ll tackle completing the rest of the Depth Chart this weekend, so it should be all done by game time on Monday.

I dislike making discrete win-loss predictions, and I try to stay away from predicting division winners, because I don’t follow other teams to the degree I follow the Indians. Just think of this as a movie review without an arbitrary star rating.

The Indians are a better team than last season. There are less question marks on the roster, though they all haven’t disappeared. When you have one of the lowest payrolls in the league, it’s impossible NOT to have question marks. But the good thing about this roster is that there is little dead weight. Gone are John McDonald and Tim Laker, roster filler. Ryan Ludwick is a better fourth outfielder than Alex Escobar. Jose Hernandez is a better 1B platoon option than Lou Merloni. The bullpen (on paper) looks better, although I said the same thing last year. Kevin Millwood should improve the starting rotation, although an expected regression by Jake Westbrook may cancel out any gains brought about by the addition of Millwood.

Conceptually, what the Indians have done since June 2002 has to be considered a success; three years after dismantling an aging, overpriced team, they enter 2005 a young, exciting, and (most importantly) talented club. The real obstacle is still ahead, though. Getting to .500 isn’t too difficult; going from a .500 team to the playoffs is. For this team to make the playoffs, some things have to go right. Run prevention has to get better, because I don’t see this offense scoring 858 runs again. The bullpen has be an asset, not a liability. And players have to stay healthy, especially guys like CC Sabathia and Victor Martinez. While the farm system once again was ranked among the top 10 in baseball by Baseball America, depth can’t patch the size of hole that Martinez or Sabathia would leave if injured. Of course, you could say this about any organization in baseball, so maybe it’s redundant. But I think it’s at least worth mentioning.

Juan Gonzalez, the Injury Time-Bomb, is less important. Yes, he’s a nice guy to have hitting behind Martinez and Hafner, but the team can manage without him thanks to the presence of Ryan Ludwick and/or Grady Sizemore. Alex Cora is a nice insurance policy to have in case either Ronnie Belliard or Jhonny Peralta land on the shelf. This major-league depth probably represents the largest improvement over last year. If all goes well, it should allow players like Belliard and Martinez to stay fresh through the summer months, and gives manager Eric Wedge better late-game options.

Bob Wickman is expected to anchor the Indians’ bullpen, and if he stays healthy, should keep it functioning. I’m definitely not saying Wickman is a great closer, but his presence should allow players to succeed in roles they’re comfortable in. Relief pitchers are the most volatile of baseball players, so I’d be lying if I expected the seven players who made the club to be on the roster by early October. Players like Jason Davis, Fernando Cabrera, Andrew Brown, Brian Tallet, and Jake Robbins may have to contribute if someone implodes. Again, this is where having a deep roster should help.

Do I believe the Indians are a “championship-caliber team?” No. There’s too may weak spots on the roster for me to say that. I do think they’re capable of winning the division, and I do believe that they’ve set themselves up for better things and lofter goals in the coming years. Considering where this team was in 2002, being able to say that represents a massive improvement for the organization, and a lot of optimism for Tribe fans everywhere.