2000s

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.

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.

Transactions

Promoted RHSP Sean Smith to Kinston (A+) from Lake County (A-)

Reinstated RHSP Blake Allen (A-) from the Disabled List

Transactions

Purchased the Contract of RHRP Scott Elarton and Recalled him to Cleveland

Optioned OF Alex Escobar to Buffalo (AAA)

I didn’t see this coming. The Indians don’t have an off day for a couple more weeks, and, by optioning Escobar down, they’ll be playing with essentially three outfielders. Lou Merloni can play the outfield in a pinch, but he should be at first base tomorrow against Cory Lidle [EDIT: Lidle is obviously right-handed. Merloni will probably be playing instead against Eric DuBose on Monday]. Obviously Sandy Martinez is going back to Buffalo when Victor Martinez is healthy, but Escobar can’t be recalled for 10 days. So I’m thinking that S. Martinez will be DFAd and either Mark Little, Raul Gonzalez, or Ernie Young will be added to the team as the 4th outfielder. All three are career minor-league outfielders, and have put up good numbers for the Bisons. This would now allow Alex Escobar to play every day, and gives Coco Crisp (possibly) one last extended shot to show he can play everyday.

“So”, you say, “What about Grady?” I don’t think the timing is right. Sizemore has been on a roll lately, and after a slow start has started to heat up. Nevertheless, there’s absolutely no reason to rush him to the majors. Also, with Ryan Ludwick getting close to returning, the Indians have to decide who among their outfielders have a future with the club. Ludwick will not be playing at first base, at least for this season, so he’ll be taking at-bats away from either Crisp or Escobar. So now’s the time to see if Coco Crisp can become that leadoff hitter the Indians thought they were getting from the Cardinals. Sizemore is probably going to be the Indians’ starting center fielder next year, and unless Matt Lawton is traded, one among Crisp, Escobar, or Ludwick won’t be with the organization in 2005. Escobar and Ludwick have no option years left after 2004, and Coco Crisp just has just one left, I believe.

Nevertheless, the rebuilding process is really beginning to get exciting. We’re starting to see some of the pieces fall in place, and there’s more on the horizon. And of course, the team is winning some games.

Signed 25th Round Pick CA Wyatt Toregas, 29th Round Pick OF Charles Hiser, and 35th Round Pick LHP Charles Knippschild to minor-league contracts

Nothing earth-shattering here. All three are college players, so you should see them in Niles this summer. Hiser looks like an interesting player; he hit 21 home runs for the Panthers this season and was 19-19 in steals. He also has a decent arm.

Transactions

Traded IF Todd West (AA) to the Arizona Diamondbacks for IF Mayobanex Santana; Assigned him to Kinston (A+)

Signed 6th Round Pick RHP Cody Bunkelman to a minor-league contract; Assigned him to Burlington (R+)

Cody is probably not going to be rushed through the system; he’s a *really* raw 19-year-old pitcher (he’s only played baseball for two years) who has a 95+ mph fastball, but not much else.

Promoted CA Javi Herrera to Akron (AA) from Lake County (A-)

Promoted CA Brian Luderer to Buffalo (AAA) from Akron (AA)

Purchased the Contract of CA Sandy Martinez and Recalled him to Cleveland

Designated RHRP Lou Pote for Assignment

I certainly don’t like the looks of this move. If Victor’s ankle was day-to-day, you’d think the Indians might just manage with just Tim Laker for a couple days. Of course, maybe they brought S. Martinez up to catch Saturday’s or Sunday’s game. Whatever the case, the Indians lineup takes a huge hit without Victor in it. Victor has established himself as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball, and it’s a big drop between him and Tim Laker.

As for Pote, he’ll probably clear waivers and join the dozen or so ex-Indians in the Buffalo bullpen. He was reportedly acquired from Oakland for $1, and I doubt two weeks have changed the opinions of the other GMs in baseball.

This also clears a 40-man roster spot for Scott Elarton, who is (unofficially) going to make a start this series. Kaz Tadano will probably be sent down to make his scheduled start in Buffalo.

Transactions

Placed IF Kevin Orie (AA) on the Disabled List

Reinstated 2B Joe Inglett (AA) from the Disabled List

Promoted IF Luis Cotto to Lake County (A-) from Extended Spring

Promoted SS Brandon Pinckney to Akron (AA) from Lake County (A-)

The Draft

Out of all the four major sports, baseball’s draft is the least relevant to the team in the short-term. But that doesn’t mean it can’t make or break a team’s farm system. The Indians had awful drafts in the late 1990s, and therefore had an awful farm system in 2001-2002. That’s one of the reasons why Mark Shapiro decided to gut the Indians in 2002 and start over. The biggest reason why the Atlanta Braves have stayed successful since 1991? Excellent drafting and excellent player development.

So with that in mind, let’s take a cursory look at the first couple picks in this year’s draft. If you want a more in-depth look at who the Indians picked, I suggest you look at the always excellent Cleveland Indians Report.

Jeremy Sowers isn’t what I’d term a “sexy” pick. He’s not going to throw 95 mph. He isn’t some high school phenom with huge upside. But Sowers is the biggest bet among the pitchers in the draft to become a solid major league starter. In a draft where the talent wasn’t what it had been in the past couple year,(Contrary to popular belief, Jered Weaver is in no shape or form the next Mark Prior), getting Sowers is a nice pick for the Indians. He’ll move fairly fast through the system (He’s projected to at least see Kinston this year).

Round 2 saw the Indians take another college arm from a strong conference. Justin Hoyman is a sinkerball pitcher that should also move fairly fast through the system. I don’t really know if he’s any more than a 4th starter in the majors, but again, the success rate for draft picks is so small that I’ll definitely take it. For reference, Zach Sorensen was the 2nd Round pick of the Indians in 1998.

The pick I’m really excited about is LHP Scott Lewis in Round 3. He dominated the Big 10 in 2003, and would have been a first round pick had he not been injured. He’s healthy now, but didn’t pitch enough inning this year to get first round consideration. If the Indians sign him, he could be a steal.

And finally, the Indians went for upside when they picked Chuck Lofgren in the 4th Round. He was scouted as both a pitcher and an outfielder, but the Indians want to make him a pitcher.

Transactions

Placed RHSP Joe Dawley on the 15-day Disabled List (elbow)

Recalled RHRP Kazuhito Tadano from Buffalo (AAA)

Reinstated RHRP Kane Davis (AAA) from the Disabled List

Tadano will probably only be in Cleveland until Sunday, when a starter (most likely Scott Elarton) will be recalled. Elarton has an “out” clause if he isn’t in the majors by June 28th, so the Indians will give him a shot. If he doesn’t work out, no big loss.

Whitney Returns

Promoted 3B Matt Whitney to Lake County (A-) from Extended Spring

Demoted IF Luis Cotto to Extended Spring from Lake County

Juan Gonzalez’s going away present (supp. round, 2002) returns after a freak accident in Spring Training of 2003. Although his injury wasn’t as noted as Alex Escobar’s, it may have been more damaging. Whitney may have been playing third base for the Akron Aeros tonight instead of DHing for the Captains, Hector Luna may have been protected over Corey Smith, and the Indians might have been content to stay with Casey Blake until Whitney was ready. Well, the last part may still happen, but Whitney’s timetable for the big leagues has been set back just about 2 years because of the injury.

How special was Whitney before the injury? Baseball Prospectus has a Similarity Index on their PECOTA cards that measures their “historical uniqueness”. The lower the score, the more unique the player is. Anything below 20 is historically unusual. Whitney rated a 2. Yes, he’s pretty special.

I doubt that they’ll do anything drastic with Whitney this year. 2004 is meant only for Whitney to get back into playing shape.

Transactions

Traded LHRP Matt White to the Kansas City Royals for a Player to be Named Later

White’s trans-continental travels continue. Last year, he spent time with in Seattle and Boston, before being returned to Cleveland as a Rule 5 pick. This year he was selected again in the Rule 5 draft, this time by Colorado. He was then claimed off waivers by the Indians and outrighted off the 40-man roster. He’s spent the first couple months of the season in Buffalo. Now he’s off to Omaha. The Indians should receive some type of useful minor-league player for White, as he’s left-handed and fairly young still. But being a southpaw will take White only so far, as he hasn’t been able to get AAA hitters out, allowing an astonishing 45 hits in 31.2 IP.

Back to the majors for a bit. I think we can safely start to identify who should be part of the 2005 contending Indians. These are the players who could conceivably be good enough to be a contributing member of a playoff team. I have the list at 7:

LF Matt Lawton

CF Jody Gerut

CA Victor Martinez

DH Travis Hafner

SP CC Sabathia

SP Cliff Lee

RP Rafael Betancourt

Now of course, some players currently on the roster will most likely still be around. Ronnie Belliard might be re-signed. Casey Blake may become a bench player. And I’m not including injured players like Josh Bard, Ryan Ludwick, and Billy Traber. Brandon Phillips is most likely going to be the shortstop next year. David Riske should be part of the bullpen if he continues to improve. And someone from the group of Jason Davis, Jake Westbrook, Jason Stanford, and Kyle Denney might be the 4th or 5th starter in next year’s rotation.

As we get closer to the end of the season, I’ll explore which potential free agents might fit with the Indians.

Who Are These Guys?

I can’t figure out who the Indians are.

Two weeks ago, they swept the Devil Rays at home.

One week ago, they got swept by the Devil Rays, and eventually lost 7 straight.

This weekend, they beat Oakland in games started by Barry Zito, Rich Harden, and Tim Hudson. The Indians starters were Cliff Lee, Joe Dawley, and Jason Davis.

Looking past the events of the weekend, which don’t really say much about how good the Indians are, what’s more encouraging is the apparent renaissance of Jason Davis as a big-league pitcher, and the real strength of this team, the first five hitters in the lineup. And Ronnie Belliard against left-handers.

Baseball Prospectus lists VORP (Value over Replacement Player) by position. Here’s where Lawton, Vizquel, Gerut, Martinez, Hafner, and Belliard rank among American League players for their position:

Matt Lawton – 17.3 (4th)

Omar Vizquel – 14.2 (4th)

Jody Gerut – 14.7 (2nd)

Victor Martinez – 15.5 (4th)

Travis Hafner – 19.5 (3rd)

Ronnie Belliard – 20.9 (2nd)

Note that Gerut for this exercise is still considered mainly a right fielder.

Now, I’ll delve a little deeper into these top five hitters.

Versus right-handed pitching, the first five in the Indians’ order is a nightmare:

Matt Lawton – .342/.410/.556/.966

Omar Vizquel – .350/.447/.427/.874

Jody Gerut – .349/.444/.594/1.038

Victor Martinez – .333/.388/.618/1.006

Travis Hafner – .330/.414/.670/1.085

But against left-handed pitching, the nightmare is on the Indians:

Matt Lawton – .274/.343/.355/.698

Omar Vizquel – .233/.256/.329/.585

Jody Gerut – .192/.292/.256/.549

Victor Martinez – .176/.295/.333/.628

Travis Hafner – .259/.348/.345/.693

So, you see why the Indians have the major’s worst record versus a left-handed starter. The obvious conclusion is that the Indians absolutely positively need a lefty-masher. In theory, that shouldn’t be too difficult to come by, and the Indians have recently acquired two of them in Ryan Ludwick and prospect Franklin Gutierrez. But Ludwick is probably out until after the All-Star Break, and Gutierrez is a good 2 years away from any meaningful contribution. A guy who was supposed to help, Alex Escobar, hasn’t really provided anything at all. So you’re left with Ronnie Belliard, Lou Merloni at first (!), and pray for rain.

Thank goodness Kenny Rogers pitched on Sunday.