Ryan

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Who Knew?

Signed free agent 3B Aaron Boone to a two year contract with a vesting option for 2006 (monetary amounts undisclosed)

Placed 3B Aaron Boone on the 15-day Disabled List (knee)

Released RHSP Jeff D’Amico from Buffalo (AAA)

Placed RHRP Rafael Betancourt on the 15-day Disabled List (bicep)

Recalled LHSP Jeriome Robertson from Buffalo (AAA)

How did the Indians win tonight’s game? Can anyone tell me how the troika of Kaz Tadano, Rick White, and Jeriome Robertson (he of the 7.00 ERA in AAA) only allows 1 earned run in 11 innings against the Rockies?

If CC Sabathia’s tweaked shoulder is more than just a tweak, the season is unofficially over for the Indians. This team simply cannot sustain a loss of that magnitude and continue to win games. Hopefully the MRI taken tonight will reveal no serious damage. I guess all we can do as Tribe fans is just pray for now.

The good news tonight was the performance of Tadano in emergency relief. He looked like the pitcher we thought he would look like as he tore through the minors last year. Hopefully this can be a springboard for Kaz, just as was that relief performance by Jake Westbrook against the Tigers. If CC has to go to the Disabled List, you’d have to think Kaz would get the first shot in the rotation.

For now, I’ll pretend Jeriome Robertson’s performance tonight was a fluke. His numbers all season were unequivocably awful, so he’ll have to his work his way out my mental doghouse over his next few appearances.

The bullpen is in serious danger of imploding again with the team’s most consistant reliever, Rafael Betancourt, going on the Disabled List with an arm injury. David Riske looks like v. 2003, so that should help. But after him, I guess you just have to get lucky to win a close game.

Finally, about Aaron Boone. I guess I feel a little better knowing that the Indians feel he’s essentially a 2005 signing; he’s not going to really play until late August, and even then only sparingly. The 2006 option will probably kick in if Boone accrues a certain amount of bats, so the Indians are covering their bases if he reinjures the knee, or plays another pickup game this offseason. What’s still unknown is (a) How much the 2005 salary is and (b) how exactly they’ll configure the infield. Again, I reiterate; Boone is a nice player, and if used correctly, could really help the Indians next year. The problem the Indians face is getting to that point. I guess I’ll have plenty of time to examine this before the problem is ultimately resolved (or perpetuated).

And I simply have to mention the Buffalo Bisons. Yeah, they have a lot of minor-league soldiers in the lineup, but they are scoring runs at an unbelievable pace. Of note, fringe prospect Eric Crozier is making a case for a promotion, as is everyone’s favorite Russ Branyan. Grady Sizemore is cementing his case as the Indians’ everyday center fielder next April, and Brandon Phillips and Jhonny Peralta are already competing to become Omar Vizquel’s successor next year.

Tonight’s AAA box score

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Expensive Window Dressing is Still Window Dressing

The title sums up up my feelings on the matter. Yeah, this is a shining example to fans that Dolan will spend his money when warranted. But is this move really warranted? This is certainly not a move to help the Indians this year; Boone won’t be healthy until the end of July, and even if healthy, is he going to make much of a difference? He’s a quite average offensive third baseman (career .270/.327/.453), which Casey Blake has been for virtually the minimum this year. When he comes back, I would assume Blake moves over to first base to make room for Boone. So if you’re looking for a comparison, that should be from Blake to Broussard, who will be sitting on the bench or in Buffalo when Boone gets here.

Blake .275/.360/.475

Broussard .243/.352/.343

Yes, that’s definitely an upgrade. But this is still assuming Boone is going to come back after missing not playing for almost 10 months and hit his career average. That’s probably not happening. So under what circumstances is this move a good one? I can’t really think of one. Even though Ronnie Belliard is signed to a one-year contract, he still hasn’t accrued enough service time to become a free agent. So if the Indians want him back next year, he’ll be back. Although Boone might be a marginal upgrade at second over Belliard, the difference between his cost and Belliard’s cost will cancel that out. And need I even examine any comparison between Boone and Blake? Blake won’t even be eligible for arbitration next year by my calculations, so Blake will continue to be a bargain in 2005 as well.

No monetary aspects have been released as to Boone’s contract, but the fact that the Indians have supposedly outbid several teams doesn’t make the contract look like the $1M type of deal.

So what the heck do the Indians do with Boone? Blake doesn’t really hit enough to be a competent first baseman, so that might mean some kind of bizarre three-way platoon between Boone, Blake, and Belliard if all three stick around next year. All three are right-handed, although Blake and especially Boone have better success against right-handers, and Belliard has built his career on mashing southpaws.

Please don’t get me wrong about Boone’s ability; he’s a pretty average third baseman, and a pretty decent second baseman. But when you already have both on your team for relatively cheap contracts, Boone becomes nothing more than expensive window dressing. I’ll see how exactly Boone will be used when he joins the team in about a month, but my initial reaction to this signing is one of puzzlement.

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One of those games.

I don’t really like to talk about what happens on the major-league level other than strategy and long-term effects, because (a) you can very easily get recaps from the Intenet, and (b) concentrating on one game only as a measure of a team seems a bit short-sighted to me. I’m a big picture guy; I like to step back and see the team for what it has accomplished over the long-haul, and if certain players are going to successful because they have proven themselves over a sufficient stretch of games. In other words, I’m a big proponent of importance of sample size.

However, I have to make an exception for last night’s 11-9 loss to the White Sox. At least from my point of view, this game proved that the Indians are back. What does “back” mean? Well, it can mean that the Indians should no longer be thrown in with the also-rans; they now matter in baseball’s conscious. Does this mean that the rebuilding is now over? No way; in virtually any other division, talk of making the playoffs would have migrated into the realm of the fanatically optimistic. As of today, the Indians are 4 games back of the Twins and 3 games back of the White Sox. That’s an impressive feat considering how they started the season. That the Indians are a mediocre team in late June despite having the worst bullpen in captivity is a nice accomplishment.

Let me get back to why last night’s loss was important. To me, it showed that even though they threw Scott Elarton, a pitcher that may be looking for work in Indianapolis or Omaha soon, against one of the better pitchers in the American League, even though they were down 8 runs after three innings, they were capable of overcoming those mistakes to make the game interesting. Do I expect this to happen every time? No. But the fact that it is now possible for them to do this, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the game, gave me a real shot in the arm as an Indians fan.

Now I’m going to step back a little bit. What does Mark Shapiro do if the Indians are a .500 team at the All-Star Break and 4-5 games back of first place? More specifically, how do the Indians balance their short-term and long-term goals in a year when even management assumed that the Indians weren’t going to be a playoff team? My short answer is this: don’t even think about trading your star prospects, but go for marginal upgrades wherever you can get them. Try to get Kris Benson for simply the price of his contract and a marginal prospect. See if the Mariners want to dump John Olerud. Go after the Jason Grimsleys of the world, but don’t give up a Denny Batista in order to get him. In other words, be aggressive, but be smart. The plan is working right now; don’t stray from it just yet.

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The Promotions Begin

Promoted 1B Michael Aubrey, RHSP Dan Denham, and CA David Wallace to Akron (AA) from Kinston (A+)

Aubrey dominated the Carolina League to the tune of .339/.438/.550, and now is going to get a crack at the Eastern League. He’s the best prospect the Indians have in my opinion, thanks to a very good batting eye (27 BB to 26 SO), the emergence of home run power (10 HR in 218) and his defensive ability at first base. If he succeeds in Akron, the Indians might look to sign a one-year solution at first and let Aubery have the job in 2006. Ben Broussard is probably on his out of the organization after this year, and Aubrey is one of the bigger reasons why.

David Wallace has been a bit of a dissapointment, in that he just hasn’t hit at all. But he’s eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this year, and catchers who at least have the potential to hit for power and average are prime targets for clubs, especially since it’s extremely easy to hide a catcher on your roster.

Promoted OF Franklin Gutierrez to Buffalo (AAA) from Akron (AA)

I don’t really know if this is meant to give Ryan Ludwick some at-bats in Akron while rehabbing, or if this is a permanent move. But Franklin has been as advertised; Hitting 23 doubles 249 games is a real good sign that he’s going to eventually hit for some power. He has to improve on his strikout ratios, but that’s a fixable problem for a young power hitter. With Grady Sizemore heating up in Buffalo, the Indians will have some interesting decisions to make this offseason.

Promoted RHRP Todd Pennington to Akron (AA) from Mahoning Valley (SSA)

Demoted CA Javi Herrera, CA Armando Camacaro, and 2B Rodney Choy Foo to Kinston (A+) from Akron (AA)

Demoted CA Caleb Brock to Lake County (A-) from Kinston (A+)

Signed 2004 Draft Pick RHP Mark Jecmen (7) to a minor-league contract

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Transactions

Outrighted CA Sandy Martinez to Buffalo (AAA)

Major League Baseball suspended LHSP Cliff Lee for 6 games; Lee appealed the suspension

I really don’t like this at all. Lee made one pitch, without warnings being issued, that did not hit a batter, and he gets suspended for a start? This isn’t as bad as the Jaret Wright/Pedro Martinez fiasco a couple years ago, but I think it’s completely unfair just the same. I don’t know if Lee’s intention was to throw at Griffey, but the fact that it was Ken Griffey, Jr. standing in that batter’s box and not any other player on the Reds certainly made MLB’s decision to suspend Lee easier.

More on Blake vs. Boone

Andy Call of the Canton Repository nails the Aaron Boone situation:

A study of numbers indicates Boone would not be a significant upgrade from incumbent Casey Blake, especially not at the cost. Signing Boone would require a multiyear contract worth several million. Blake’s salary for 2004 is $352,400. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2005 season.

Now of course, if the Indians signed Boone to play second base (assuming you can’t re-sign Ronnie Belliard), he might be worth a multi-year contract. But if you’re looking at this from a cost-benefit analysis, replacing Blake with Boone doesn’t make much sense at all.

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More Transactions

Released IF Oscar Salazar from Akron (AA)

Received IF Scott Youngbauer from the Phillies to complete the Robert Ellis trade

Placed RHSP Andrew Brown (AA) on the Disabled List (“arm fatigue”)

Not a good sign to see Brown on the shelf with arm problems. He was probably going to Buffalo in the next couple of weeks, and might have been a September callup. Regardless, I’m hoping that this isn’t anything that requires surgery.

Scott Youngbauer looks like your standard minor-league utility infielder. He avoids walks like the plague, and has some power. But he’s 25 years old and in his first full season at AA, so you be the judge. Obviously, the Indians think he’s a marginally better player than Oscar Salazar, who they released to make room for Youngbauer.

It was nice to see Cliff Lee rebound last night and pitch probably his best game of the season. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out 7. However, he accomplished this against a lineup that yielded Randy Johnson’s perfect game and Ben Sheet’s 18 strikeout shutout in consecutive starts. Still you had to like his control, which is the key to his success. If Cliff can gain a little more control (he’s walked 41 in 82.2 IP), look out.

The short-season leagues are starting up. I’ve pieced together the Mahoning Valley roster, and the Burlington roster should be known later this weekend.

Finally, I don’t really see Aaron Boone as an upgrade if the Indians sign him. Casey Blake is a real nice value for the near future, and signing Boone for a couple million is in my opinion a waste of money. I’d rather the Indians simply wait until after the season to start adding contracts if Boone is the best available talent right now. Or explore some trades where teams are looking to dump contracts. The White Sox pretty much gave Billy Koch to the Marlins, as did the Astros in trading Richard Hidalgo to the Mets. I’m not saying the Indians should have been in on those particular deals, but in today’s economic climate, you could get a decent player for nothing more than taking their salary. The Indians aren’t really to the point where trading for Freddy Garcia and/or Carlos Beltran makes sense, but there’s no reason for them to look for marginal improvements when they can get them.

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Transactions

Designated CA Sandy Martinez for Assignment

Purchased the Contract of OF Raul Gonzalez (AAA) and Recalled him to Cleveland

Gonzalez provides a right-handed bat, which will be especially important for the upcoming National League road trip. Gonzalez was hitting .341/.391/.647 for Buffalo since he was signed last month.

And I can’t resist commenting on yesterday’s drubbing of Baltimore. To me, more important than John McDonald going 4-4 for the first time in his career was Jake Westbrook’s four-hitter. Those 9 innings of shutout ball gave Jake the American League lead in ERA. Think about that for a second. Just two months ago he was a little-used spot starter in the bullpen, and now he’s one of the best pitchers in the league. Will it last? I doubt it, but I think that Westbrook (finally) has figured out that his stuff is good, and all he needs to be successful is to throw strikes.

From my Spring Training Preview (2-29-04):

If Davis is overrated, Jake Westbrook is a bit underrated. He’s never going to rack up the strikeouts, but his pitches all have movement, and those are the types of pitchers who stick around for a while. Two full seasons removed from shoulder surgery, Jake should be able to go 180 IP if inserted in the rotation, and be a nice 4th or 5th starter.

Don’t believe me? Here’s Jake’s numbers, along with the numbers another low-strikeout pitcher who had a “great” season:

Westbrook 133.0 IP, 4.33 ERA, 58 SO, 9 HR, 6 UER

Anderson 197.2 IP, 3.78 ERA, 87 SO, 27 HR, 27 UER

The difference bewteen the two? Brian Anderson gave up almost three times the number of unearned runs Westbrook did, and it deflated his ERA enough so that he got a two-year deal from the Royals. If Westbrook can trust his sinker (and it’s a good one), he should be able to eat a lot of innings in the back of the rotation.