2000s

The AL Central went 5-0 against the NL West tonight, which is amazing considering that the games were played in NL parks.

Tonight’s game was giftwrapped by Khalil Greene; no doubt about it. But you have to at least mention Cliff Lee’s start, probably the best of his young career. He struck out 9 and walked two in his seven innings of work. The bullpen was excellent, and Wickman saved the game in his usual fashion. And, like usual, the Indians couldn’t put down a bunt when they needed one. This time, the culprit was Coco Crisp, who amazingly enough, got a bunt single earlier in the game. In situations where the bunt is absolutely called for, a guy like Coco has to put the ball on the ground.

Earlier in the day, the MLB Draft was held. For those who are unfamiliar with the process, the baseball draft is the complete opposite of the NFL’s hype-fest. Actually, this year the rules were changed so that teams have about 15-20 seconds to make their picks (obviously to increase fan interest). And the clubs make their picks via a conference line. The Indians had two extra picks in the first three rounds thanks to Omar Vizquel, and they mostly picked bats in the early going. Here’s a quick overview of the picks, but if you want more details, head over to Cleveland Indians Report.

OF Trevor Crowe: He’s a polished switch-hitter with good on-base skills. Isn’t that big, so maybe there’s a chance he could move to the infield. Looks like a leadoff hitter to me, although it should be interesting to see how his plate discipline holds up in professional baseball. Like Michael Aubrey two years ago, Crowe was probably college baseball’s best hitter when drafted. His ceiling is fairly low, but he should move quickly through the system.

OF John Drennen: A high school player with a good offensive game. He’s probably going to be a left-fielder as a pro, so you’re looking for power as he develops. A plus is his plate discipline, which combined with his power potential could make for an easier adjustment to professional baseball.

1B/LHP Stephen Head: The Indians drafted the Mississipi product as a first baseman, and unlike other players who get stuck at first base, Head is a good defender. His profile looks to me like Ben Broussard with a bit more power.

1B Nick Weglarz: This guy is huge; at 17 years old he’s listed at 6’3″ 205; who knows how big he’ll eventually get? Weglarz probably has the most “projectability” out of the first group of draftees, but at the same time his development into a major-league hitter might take some time. He’s a cold-weather kid (actually he’s from Canada), so that also may contribute to a slow move up the organizational ladder.

RHP Jensen Lewis: Jeremy Sowers’ teammate a year ago, Jensen is a right-handed finesse pitcher. He tops out in the low 90s, but has a good feel for his pitches, and can add or subtract from his pitches as needed. A low-ceiling pick, Lewis is probably a 4-5 starter at best in the majors, but the chances of flameout is pretty low.

Among the first five picks, I’d say Weglarz has the highest ceiling and Crowe is the closest to the majors. This draft was a pretty “safe” one for Scouting Director John Mirabelli; there isn’t the impact talent there was from the 2003 haul, although I like the overall picks compared to last year’s draft. But, we’ll have to wait 3-4 years to really know how this draft went.

During a weekend where the Indians dropped two of three to White Sox, a weekend where FOX gave us the wit and wisdom of Darrin Jackson during Saturday’s national telecast, and a weekend where Eddie Murray was fired, there are some good things going on with this team. CC Sabathia pitched well again, and although he doesn’t have the requisite win percentage to give him the well-worn monicker of “ace,” he’s been the team’s best and most consistent pitcher. But of course, he’s a slob and he wears his hat sideways….

Grady Sizemore, who avoids walks like the plague, had a very good series, raising his average from .257 to .274. But the center fielder has taken only 10 walks thus far, not exactly what you’re looking for in your leadoff hitter. His high strikeout-to-walk percentage is a red flag, especially given his propensity to swing at a lot of pitches. But otherwise, Sizemore has been as advertised; he’s a good defender in center, has pretty good speed, and shows the potential to hit for power.

Speaking of hitting for power, Coco Crisp has boosted his OPS to a respectable .828, higher (for the moment) than Manny Ramirez. He’s shown a surprising ability to hit home runs, something you wouldn’t believe seeing him for the first time. His cutoff of Paul Konerko’s single in the eighth inning was a fantastic play. He’s growing on me.

Although Alex Cora was brought in to provide some insurance for Jhonny Peralta, it doesn’t really appear that he’s needed. Peralta, who has been pretty decent in the field, ranks highly in most offensive categories among AL shortstops. Given that he’s up against guys like Miguel Tejada, Carlos Guillen, and Michael Young, that’s pretty impressive. Hopefully the Wayne Kirby treatment goes away quickly.

Aaron Boone showed a pulse today. He was hitting singles the other way on Saturday and Sunday, a first step towards getting some semblance of an idea at the plate. Now Casey Blake looks worse, although this type of competition isn’t one you want to see. Whoever had either on his or her HACKING MASS club has to be downright giddy right about now.

Offense hasn’t exactly been a problem for Buffalo, who lost on Sunday despite scoring twelve (12) runs. Jake Gautreau had five hits, including two doubles. Brandon Phillips has gotten his average up to .261 after a dreadful start, and Ernie Young is now hitting .328. Fernando Cabrera, the one Bison pitcher not to give up a run, lowered his ERA to 0.84; he’s ready.

In the upcoming series against the Padres, the Indians get to face the best pitcher you’ve never heard of: Jake Peavy. He’s allowed only 57 hits in his 76 innings, and may be one of the early frontrunners in the NL Cy Young race. The only thing that’s really missing from his resume is his win total; as Randy Johnson found out last year, voters like a large number of wins, no matter what your ERA says.

Whenever someone like a hitting coach or pitching coach is fired, it’s really difficult to point to the exact cause of their removal. A hitting coach is probably better termed as an “approach coach;” most players have their own batting stances, but a hitting coach, in my mind, should be a problem-solver, a mentor, and a good observor. How good at these things were Eddie Murray? Having no access to the inner workings of the team, I have no clue.

“But!” you might say, “He was fired because the team wasn’t hitting!” While that may be partly true, you have to separate cause from effect. Eddie Murray cannot go up to the plate and swing the bat. He cannot make Ronnie Belliard take breaking balls in the dirt. He cannot only tell Ronnie not to do so; it’s ultimately up to the player to execute. But when players fail to execute, the hammer falls on the hitting coach, and despite past success, Murray was fired yesterday. The firing didn’t seem like a snap judgment; the offense was pretty decent by this season’s standards. So the issue becomes less about the team’s performance and more about Murray’s approach and communication with the players. I just can’t believe that he was let go because the team wasn’t hitting.

Anything I say is going to be speculation; I have no sources (real or imaginary) within the team, and since I have never been on or worked with a major-league club, I don’t know exactly how a typical hitting coach operates. All I can do is to guess the reason. And my guess is that Murray was let go because of a lack of communication between he and the players. Murray, by all accounts, is not the type of hitting coach to initiate conversations with players regarding their swing. His personality, which perhaps is the reason he’s in the Hall of Fame, could have been the reason why he’s out of a job today. This isn’t a knock Eddie’s ability to understand how to hit, but how he communicates his knowledge is just as important in today’s professional sports as the knowledge itself. It’s unfortunate, but true.

Blaming the hitting coach for the team’s stuggles at the plate is a conveinient and safe course of action. But at some point, you have to point at least some of the blame at the players or the person who procured them. The best hitting coach in the world could not make the Buffalo Bisons lead the American League in hitting. If you have inferior offensive talent, then there’s only so much you can do as a coach. When the top two hitters in the order are getting on base less than thirty percent of the time, you won’t be scoring many runs. When you have a hitter whose OPS is less than Ryan Ludwick’s slugging percentage, then your offense will struggle.

On a side note, I propose that if the Indians insist on having a hitter who hits like a pitching in the lineup, then at the very least, that hitter should “help his own cause” like a pitcher. If someone’s on base and there are less than two outs, he bunts. After the fifth inning or so, he should be lifted for a pinch hitter (double switch optional).

Which is why I’m proposing a trade that would help this club immensely. It’s with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies Get:

2B/3B Placido Polanco

All of the players involved in this proposed trade are free agents at the end of the year. Polanco makes more than Howry and Hernandez combined, but not too much. The Phillies are looking for a “proven” setup man, and Howry fits that bill. The Indians need a competent third baseman and a top-of-the-order hitter, and Polanco fits that bill. If the Indians are out of the race by July, they could easily flip Polanco to another team for a prospect. David Riske would replace Howry in the setup role, and Fernando Cabrera, who’s been dominating AAA hitters, could be brought up to fill Riske’s previous role. Aaron Boone would get moved to the bench, or he could agree to accept an assignment to Buffalo, in which case Mike Kinkade would be brought up to fill Jose Hernandez’s role.

Essentially, both teams would get what they want without trading a prospect to do so. Will it happen? Probably not, because oftentimes the trades that seem to make the most sense don’t materialize because of other unknown circumstances.

Recalled RHP Jason Davis from Buffalo (AAA)
Optioned LHP Brian Tallet to Buffalo (AAA)

What does a guy have to do to get a shot around here? Granted, Brian hadn’t pitched in ten days, but his numbers for the Bisons were good enough to warrant at least a start. I had thought that Tallet would make his start today, then get shipped back down to Buffalo in favor of Davis, who would take over as the long man, at least until Kevin Millwood came off the Disabled List. I guess not.

I’d like to mention site a friend from the ESPN days has started: it’s called the Indians Clubhouse, and it’s a forum without the…problems..that the ESPN forums have.

Also check out Coco Crisp and Ben Broussard singing on “Oh Say Can You Sing?” Former Indians Omar Vizquel and Sean Casey also appear on the CD, and a portion of the proceeds goes to charity.

Finally, I’d like to share an e-mail I received from Rob:

Some schedule analysis:
I divided the teams that we, the Twins and the WSox play into 4 levels of competitiveness:

(1) Tough [Bos, Balt, LAA, LAD]
(2) Good [Tor, NYY, TX, AZ, SD]
(3) Fair [Det, Oak, Mil, Chi C, SF]
(4) Poor [KC, TB, Sea, Cin, Col]

Didn’t rate White Sox, Twins, Indians as we play each other equal amounts.[Note that Indians are 3-3 vs Twins and 2-4 vs WS so far. Twins are 0-5 vs WS which is a big contributor to the WS current lead]. You may disagree with some of these placements but you get the idea.

Then I evaluated the difficulty of the schedule to-date (through 5/11) and going forward (leaving out games among the 3 above). Here are the results [# games vs (1), # games vs (2), …]:

to-date: CWS [0, 3, 8, 11] Minn [6, 0, 5, 11] Tribe [5, 3, 6, 8]
Clearly the CWS have had the easiest schedule; although this isn’t a big enough difference to totally account for the current standings, but maybe things aren’t quite as bad as they appear!!

going forward:
rest of May – CWS [10, 6, 3, 0] Minn [0, 9, 3, 0] Tribe [3, 3, 3, 3]
June – CWS [4, 6, 6, 6] Minn [3, 9, 9, 3] Tribe [7, 6, 3, 6]
July – CWS [7, 0, 9, 6] Minn [13, 3, 4, 7] Tribe [3, 4, 6, 11]
August – CWS [4, 12, 0, 6] Minn [3, 3, 7, 10] Tribe [3, 9, 6, 10]
Sept/Oct – CWS [3, 0, 8, 6 ] Minn [0, 3, 9, 3] Tribe [0,0, 6, 10]

TOTAL -CWS [28, 24, 26, 24] Minn [19, 27, 32, 23] Tribe [16, 22, 24, 40]

It looks like the CWS have the toughest remaining schedule, then Minn and then the Tribe!
Some of this is driven by who the interleague opponents are (and how I rated them!). The CWS play the Cubs (6 times), COL, SD, AZ, LAD (3 times each). Twins play Mil (6 times), SF, SD, AZ, LAD (3 each). Tribe plays Cin (6 times), SF, SD, AZ, COL (3 each). So the Tribe gets those 6 games against CIN (which I rated the lowest) and 0 games against LAD (rated highest). If we can’t gain some serious ground with this schedule advantage, then we’re not as good as everybody hoped we would be! Of course, we have to win a fair share of our games with CWS and Twins.
First test of this starts now as the CWS have a tough remainder of May. Then June is a test for the Tribe. If we are in this thing at the end of June, then we have a real shot. July is Minnesota’s test. Etc.

Thanks for all the work, Rob (note he sent the e-mail on May 11th, so there were some changes between then and now). Anyway,this shows that if the Indians can hang around through the end of June, the road gets easier. But right now, the remainder of this 12-game road is critical, since the Indians are the ones who have the catching up to do. Losing to El Duque last night really hurt, because the other two pitchers faced in the series are Chicago’s best: Jon Garland and Mark Buerhle.

Outrighted OF Ryan Ludwick to Buffalo (AAA)

I have to admit I was a bit shocked to hear no one put in a claim for Ludwick. A right-handed outfielder with power, who could have fit on at least five teams’ bench, unclaimed? But I’m not complaining a bit; Ludwick will get to play every day in Buffalo, although it should be interesting to see who loses PT as a result. By the way, Ludwick couldn’t have refused the assignment, as this is his first outrighting.

A bit of a postcript to my comments about the offense. With the return of Coco Crisp and the return of Victor Martinez’s bat, there’s a good chance that the Indians won’t be the worst offensive team in the AL by the end of the season (heck, they have higher OPSs than four other AL clubs right now). But I point to the Casey Blake contract and his subsequent move to the outfield as a lack of perspective on Shapiro’s part. Blake is nice story, and he’s a pretty solid player given the right role. But in right field? Even if Blake returns to his career averages, that still makes him a below-average right fielder. I certainly can’t blame him for Aaron Boone’s nosedive, though Boone’s signing was what precipitated Blake moving to the outfield in the first place.

That’s what trying to construct a lineup is like these days for manager Eric Wedge.

Now generally you have one of two opinions on the cause of the Indians’ offensive malaise:

(a) It’s Wedge’s fault because he’s the one who’s putting the lineup together
(b) The players are the cause, because they aren’t hitting.

I’m of the opinion that managers generally have less to do with the outcome of games than generally thought. Because baseball is at its heart a one-on-one matchup, there is little a coach or manager can do except to fix a player’s mechanics, whether they are swinging or throwing. Finding a lineup, especially with the addition of several new players, is usually a gradual process, and by the end of the first month, you pretty much know where everyone’s going to hit. But what happens if virtually everyone in the lineup can’t hit? Well, you do what Wedge has been doing for the first two months and tinker. In many respects the lineup difficulties parallel what happened with the bullpen last year; there’s only so much you can do when pretty much everyone sucks. The order matters less when you don’t have the players to work with.

This year’s lineup has very few obvious fits. Travis Hafner has the team’s highest OBP, but you obviously don’t want him leading off. Grady Sizemore, who is the team’s stolen base leader, hasn’t been drawing walks. And Coco Crisp has been injured. In the second hole, Casey Blake is one of the most patient hitters on the team, a good attribute for your second hitter to have, but Blake hasn’t been, you know, getting hits. Add in regressions from Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, the complete absence of Juan Gonzalez, and the absolute suck of Aaron Boone, and you have a group of offensive players that wouldn’t score no matter how you placed them.

Now of course one argument for the importance of lineup construction states that because players are creatures of habit, sticking with one lineup for an appreciable amount of time, would result in the offense scoring more runs. I really don’t buy that argument; although some players get pitched differently based on who the next hitter is, you first have to have someone worth pitching around. Other than Travis Hafner at times, who would you tread carefully against on this team? Jody Gerut has the team’s highest OPS (.894), and that’s based on 43 at-bats. There are exactly two players slugging above .500. There are two players with an OBP above .350. Grady Sizemore is miscast right now as the team’s leadoff hitter, but who else is there? At some point you have to leave the abstract realm of form and get into the dirty world of function; it is there you will see that order is not the reason for the lack of runs; it’s the lack of production by the component parts.

It’s not all bad news for the team, though; they have started to hit better, today’s performance notwithstanding (They posted a .749 OPS in May, good for 7th in the league). Exorcising Casey Blake and eventually (please?) Aaron Boone from the everyday lineup should have some positive effect on the overall offense. Juan Gonzalez was supposed to have helped, but that isn’t happening. I still think Shapiro has to go out and get some help, because I don’t see much in the way of internal options. He grossly miscalculated the dropoff on the offensive side, and now that the two month barrier has been passed, his task to is to strengthen the, because it’s pretty difficult winning games when the offense scores four runs a game.

Giving Radke four inches on the outside corner should be criminal. Given Radke’s surgical control, he didn’t really have to throw a real strike all game, especially to left-handers. That Jody Gerut was able to single on an “outside” strike was a testament to how he’s swinging. The strike was the same for both pitchers, but Cliff Lee didn’t have the control to take advantage of it. Lee will lapse into stretches where he can’t throw his off-speed pitches for strikes, and against a fastball-hitting lineup, that’s a recipe for disaster. Of course, Ben Broussard’s physical and Lee’s mental error in the fourth inning probably cost the team four runs. Those four runs were more than enough for Radke and the Twins bullpen. Torii Hunter’s other two RBI came on a bloop “double;” the ball dropped between Jhonny Peralta and Jody Gerut in shallow left field. I thought Gerut should have made the catch, but Peralta was there to make the play.

Placed OF Juan Gonzalez on the 15-day Disabled List (hamstring)
Reinstated OF Coco Crisp from the 15-day Disabled List

Crisp is back after only 15 days, and is starting in center field today. According to Tom Hamilton, Coco is wearing a brace on his right hand, but is otherwise ready to go. That’s a huge boost to the lineup, because it makes Blake a backup.

And just I’m writing this, Coco Crisp just took Santana deep. Welcome back, Coco!

Well, sticking to last year’s script, the Indians have made it back to .500 after a bad start. This time, though, the pitching is what helped them there. Although I’m seeing some good things from the offense; Victor Martinez is starting to hit the ball with some authority, and Travis Hafner seems locked in again. Carlos Silva was leaving the ball up all night, and he really should have been charged with more runs than he allowed. But that’s what happens when you ground into four double plays. CC Sabathia, who never seems in control of his stuff to start a game, settled down after a couple of rough early innings to get the win.

And then there’s Juan Gonzalez, who injured his hamstring running to first base on his first at-bat of the season. No, you can’t make this stuff up. I would guess someone like Ernie Young comes up for a week or so until Coco Crisp comes back. More importantly, this means a steady dose of Casey Blake and Aaron Boone in the lineup. I’m wishing for a trade (Rick mentioned Jonny Gomes, who looks to be caught up in a numbers game in Tampa), and I’ve already shown support for bring Placido Polanco in. With Ryan Ludwick on the block, it’s time to get creative. Although Ludwick wouldn’t be enough to get any of those two players in a one-for-one deal, the Indians have enough prospects where they could get a deal done.

As for short-term fixes, a couple of Buffalo veterens might be sufficient. Mike Kinkade, who can play third, first, and the outfield, is hitting .295/.382/.511 for Buffalo with pretty good plate discipline (25 K to 16 BB). Ernie Young is having a great first half, hitting .316/.417/.612 with 13 home runs.

Tonight’s game (Lee vs. Radke) might mean the difference between a series win or loss, for the Indians have Scott Elarton going up against Johan Santana on Thursday.

When I heard that the Royals were interviewing bench coach Buddy Bell, I didn’t give it much thought. “After all,” I thought, why would the Royals hire a guy who was a complete bust during both of his coaching stints?”

It appears that I gave Royals management a bit too much credit; they have hired Bell as their new full-time manager, giving him a contract through 2007. Now don’t get me wrong, Bell is probably a great guy to have around a team. But you can’t tell me that he was the best option available. Grady Little, Bobby Valentine, or Davey Johnson would have been much better choices in my opinion. Ken Rosenthal summed things up nicely in regards to Bell:

Buddy Bell is a curious choice to manage the Royals.

Curious, because Bell was fired by the Tigers after growing frustrated in a low-payroll situation and engaging in a personality conflict with general manager Randy Smith.

Curious, because Bell reacted in similar fashion when his next team, the Rockies, went backwards, leading to a breakdown in communication with G.M. Dan O’Dowd and another dismissal.

In the article, Mark Shapiro said some nice things about Bell, but really, was he going to rip on him? For the role Bell played with the Indians, I didn’t have problem with him. Would I want him as the manager of the team? Hell no. I’d rather go with an organizational guy like Wedge or someone with a good record somewhere else.

In other, more predictable, news:

Reinstated OF Juan Gonzalez from the 15-day Disabled List
Designated OF Ryan Ludwick for Assignment

I understand why this move was made; however, I don’t like it. Ludwick, who probably isn’t a starting outfielder at this point, is a great player to have on a roster to play against left-handers or pinch-hit late in the game. Ryan wasn’t going to get a real opportunity anymore with the Indians, not with the current outfield situation, but that didn’t make him a bad guy to have on your bench. Instead, the Indians will probably make Casey Blake the fourth outfielder, and continue to trot out Aaron Boone everyday. Yes, Boone may be gone when Coco Crisp comes back, but the timing on the two moves should have been reversed; Boone should have gone first, and then Ludwick.

Will the Indians get anything for Ludwick? Probably yes, given what Ludwick can do. USS Mariner and Lone Star Ball both want their respective teams to claim Ludwick on waivers, and there’s a bunch of other clubs who could use Ludwick.

I’ve gotten a bit behind in the organization’s transactions, so here’s two weeks’ worth:

Placed RHP Kevin Millwood on the Disabled List (groin)

You never know with injuries like groin or hamstring pulls, but Millwood shouldn’t be out for an appreciable amount of time. Millwood has been impressive so far this season, and it should go without saying that he’s a key piece to any possible playoff push.

Recalled LHP Brian Tallet from Buffalo
Promoted LHP Billy Traber to Buffalo (AAA) from Akron (AA)

Tallet hasn’t pitched since his recall (although he has been seen throwing in the bullpen), but he should get a start sometime in the Chicago series. Jason Davis could take his spot, but Tallet’s numbers have been pretty good in Buffalo; he allowed only 36 hits in his 46.1 innings while with the Bisons. In 2003, Tallet and fellow left-hander Billy Traber went under the knife for Tommy John surgery; Tallet looks to be ahead of Traber, but Billy is now at Buffalo, taking Tallet’s spot in the rotation.

Promoted LHP Victor Kleine to Buffalo (AAA) from Extended Spring

Kleine now seems to be a full-time reliever. He regressed in 2004, posting a 4.95 ERA in Akron. He’s one of only six drafted in 2000 still with the team, and one of only three who have reached AAA (the other being Brian Tallet and Joe Inglett).

Reinstated RHP JD Martin from the Disabled List (AA)

Martin’s back from an “minor” elbow injury. JD, before landing on the DL, was in the midst of a breakout year, striking out 40 and walking 4 in 29 innings. If I had to redo my prospect rankings today, he’d be behind only Adam Miller and Fernando Cabrera as far as pitching prospects are concerned. Speaking of Miller, he’s been throwing in Extended Spring, and he should be pitching with the Scrappers when short-season ball starts. After that, I’d assume he’d go to Kinston or Akron. That’s good news.

Promoted RHP Tom Mastny to Akron (AA) from Kinston (A+)

Mastny has started only one game this season, so the Indians are probably trying to move him up the organization via the bullpen.

Placed Michael Aubrey on the Disabled List (AA – back)

Aubrey was posting decent numbers (.288/.345/.471) before the injury. It doesn’t appear serious, but when little injuries start piling up like this, it may be a sign a lack of durability. Aubrey missed the latter part of 2004 with a hamstring injury, and part of 2003 with a quad pull.

Promoted OF Brian Barton to Lake County (A-) from Extended Spring

Barton was an undrafted free agent from Miami (FL), and it appears that the Sally League is a bit too easy for him; he’s hitting .400/471/.667 in 60 at-bats.

Released LHP Derrick Van Dusen from Akron (AA)

And thus, the last link from the Brian Giles trade has left the organization. If you don’t recalled the entire chain, here’s a refresher:

1. OF Brian Giles traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for LHP Ricardo Rincon
2. LHP Ricardo Rincon traded to the Oakland Athletics for IF Marshall McDougall
3. IF Marshall McDougall traded to the Texas Rangers for LHP Derrick Van Dusen

Signed SS Jose Chavez and RHP Carlton Smith to minor-league contracts

Both are “draft and follow” signings, meaning that both were drafted in 2004 by the Indians, went to a junior college, and signed before the 2005 draft. Smith looks to be the bigger signing; he’s the younger brother of Corey Smith. Chavez looks like a good-field, no-hit shortstop to me.

And finally…now that I’ve gotten my hands on a 2005 media guide, I’ve added years of service, 2005 salaries, and other useful information to my Options/Salary page. It’s a geocities page, so just click on the “>>” tab to get rid of the advertisement. The page now includes everyone currently on the 40-man roster.