Baseball (Archive)

My original goal was to have this done before the completion of the World Series, so I’ll get this going a little faster:

2B Ronnie Belliard – Age 28
2004 Salary: $1.1M
2004 EQA: .265 (.282/.348/.426)
Contract Status: Arbitration Eligible (FA in 2005)

He’s an interesting player. Belliard has several nice abilities: he can mash left-handed pitching, he can turn double plays very well, and he has a good arm. Mark Shapiro lost out on Todd Walker last winter and ended up with Belliard, who was a much better player this season. Now Shapiro has an interesting decision to make. Belliard is still only arbitration-eligible, but will get a substantial bump in salary. There really aren’t that many good 2B options out there in the free agent market, and several teams are going to need a second baseman. This makes, in my estimation, Belliard a real nice trading chip. If Shapiro can turn Belliard’s career year into something useful, like a starting pitcher or a bullpen arm, he should go for it. Belliard’s defense is ok, as far as I can tell; he plays the deepest second base in the majors, and the mainstream defensive stats say he’s pretty average.

3B Casey Blake – Age 31
2004 Salary: $352,400
2004 EQA: .278 (.271/.354/.486)
Contract Status: Arbitration Eligible (FA in 2007)

Blake was originally slated to take over for Ben Broussard at first base next season, but since Broussard’s nice second-half showing, he’s going left on the defensive spectrum to second base. Of course the big question is whether Blake can play there, and I don’t think we’ll know that until next spring. What we do know is that Blake should be back in some capacity; he’s turned out to become a really nice pickup for the Indians, posting a very quiet .840 OPS this season. There was a time when I thought Blake would be a low-budget Joe Randa, but Randa never had as productive a season as Blake just had. If he can actually play second base, he’ll become that much more valuable. But that’s a big if.

RHRP Bob Howry – Age 31
2004 Salary: ~$400,000
2004 VORP: 15.8
Contract Status: Arbitration Eligible [Just signed to a one-year contract]

Chalk Howry up to the Indians’ burgoning rehab program. Howry was signed to a minor-league deal coming off arm surgery, and he came back after the All-Star Break and simply became the team’s best reliever. Re-signing him is a pretty big no-brainer for the Indians; he has the coveted Proven Closer^TM mantle so he could step and close if needed, and if the Indians keep Wickman or acquire a closer elsewhere, he’ll be pretty good in setup.

IF John McDonald – Age 30
2004 Salary: $324,400
2004 EQA: .194 (.204/.237/.344)
Contract Status: Arbitration Eligilble (FA in 2007)

McDonald had the misfortune of being drafted by an American League team. In the AL, defensive specialists like McDonald are used sparingly, and with John’s offensive ineptitude, isn’t going to be any kind of pinch-hitter. He should find a home in the National League, where double switches and the pitchers’ spot will allow for him to get more playing time. He’s either going to be traded or non-tendered; I’m betting on the latter.

RHRP David Riske – Age 27
2004 Salary: $1.025M
2004 VORP: 22.0
Contract Status: Arbitration Eligible (FA in 2006)

Riske’s 2004 has to be seen a step backwards from his stellar 2003 campaign, but he made enough progress in the last couple months of this season to warrant a return. He shouldn’t get a big bump in salary, even with arbitration. Now that Riske seems closing-adverse, he should settle down into a 7th/8th inning role for the forseeable future.

RHSP Jake Westbrook – Age 27
2004 Salary: $925,000
2004 VORP: 54.4 (1st among Indians starters)
Contract Status: Arbitration Eliglble (FA in 2006)

Jake is going to receive a very large bump in salary after what he did this season. You shouldn’t expect this every year from Westbrook; as with most ground-ballers, Westbrook allows a lot more balls to be put in play than your typical starter. That being said, the Indians should have a nice 3rd starter for the next couple seasons. It should be interesting to see if the Indians take this opportunity to sign Westbrook to a long-term contract, or if they are a bit leery of locking up a player with one good season following three mediocre ones.

The Seattle Mariners have chosen Mike Hargrove to be their new manager, signing him to a three-year contract.

It’s nice to see him get another chance; albeit with a team that’s a couple years away from contention. Hargrove was the fall guy after the 1999 ALDS loss, and maybe I’m one of the few fans out there that thought he was given a raw deal by John Hart.Yes, his LaRussan bullpen moves frustrated me at times, but overall I was impressed how he could deal with all the egos that inhabited the clubhouse in those days and get results out of the talent given him. Of course, it won’t matter who’s managing the Mariners if GM Bill Bavasi doesn’t improve the talent base, but Hargrove is a nice safe pick for them.

RHSP Scott Elarton – Age 28
2004 Salary: ~$400,000
2004 VORP: 19.2
Contract Status: Free Agent

What you saw this season from Elarton is probably the best you’re going to get from him. He’s a flyball pitcher, and that’s not necessarily a horrible thing for someone who pitches in Jacobs Field; the Jake has been a fairly neutral park for home runs over its first 10 seasons. Unfortunately for Scott, his previous stop was Coors Field, which offered the double whammy of flattening his curveball and turning lazy flyouts into home runs. Does his time in Coors excuse all his bad numbers? Absolutely not; but it appears that Elarton can be an acceptable 5th starter now that he’s regained at least some of his confidence. Contrary to what I thought about him when the Indians signed him, he should be brought back if the price is right. Given that the Indians gave Jason Bere and Jeff D’Amico $1M contracts with worse credentials, Elarton’s worth at least that much.

RHRP Rick White – Age 35
2004 Salary: ~$400,000
2004 VORP: 2.7
Contract Status: Free Agent

This is a situation where you say thanks to White for being a replacement-level reliever when you didn’t have any in your bullpen, but part ways because he’s a replacement-level reliever. The term that’s thrown around describing these types of guys are “fungible,” meaning easily replaceable. Of course there’s a problem if Mark Shapiro can’t get any better relievers than White next season, but that would be more an issue with Shapiro’s performance than with White’s.

Next up: Arbitration-eligible players

Site Update

I’ve finally given up constructing a player page for each player in the organization; now when you click on a player, you’ll be taken to their page at The Baseball Cube. I’ve also linked to their draft page, as you can access every single one of the Indians’ drafts via one page. I will however continue to update the Depth Chart, Transactions Page, and Options Page myself.

Uh, he’s pretty good.

It’s nice to see Beltran finally getting the national recognition that most fans in the AL Central thought he deserved. If Beltran isn’t a true five-tool player, I don’t know who is; he’s simply an amazing talent.

And he’ll become a very very rich man in about a month. He’s one of four free agents who the Indians won’t even think about signing, the others being Adrian Beltre, Pedro Martinez, and Carl Pavano.

C Tim Laker – Age 34
2004 Salary: $450,000
2004 EQA: .194 (.214/.262/.308)
Contract Status: Free Agent

In 1992, his rookie season, Tim Laker pinch-ran for Gary Carter in the Hall of Famer’s last game. Since then, he’s had the career of a backup catcher, bouncing from organization to organization. After arriving in Cleveland, he’s been a backup to first Josh Bard, then Victor Martinez. Now that both are healthy and not going anywhere, there’s no room for him on this team, and he’ll probably find work elsewhere; besides, who can resist the allure of a veteren backup catcher?

RHRP Bob Wickman – Age 35
2004 Salary: $5.3M
2004 VORP: 6.7 (4.25 ERA)
Contract Status: Free Agent

On November 5th, 2001, the Indians re-signed Wickman to a three-year extension. At the time, not much was said about the re-signing, since Wickman was coming off two pretty good years as the team’s closer. But later that season, Wickman injured his elbow and missed essentially two years recovering from arm surgery. Suddenly that contract was lumped in with other bad deals (Lawton Gutierrez) as evidence against Shapiro’s “transitioning” plan. Wickman finally appears healthy, but now that three-year extension has run its course. Bob now is pondering retirement, and he does so, the Indians are pretty much forced to go out and get a closer. If he decides to play another season, he would be a stopgap (aren’t most closers stopgaps?) until the team finds an internal solution.

Wickman isn’t a typical closer; he relies on his sinkers instead fastballs to get hitters out. Wickman is at his best when he throws strikes, because he’ll allow his share of base hits. Now that the label of “proven closer” has been planted indelibly on him, Wicky should have a job waiting for him as long as his arm is all right and he’s collecting some 30-odd saves a season; never mind his ERA.

I’m starting my player reviews with players that may not be around much longer.

SS Omar Vizquel – Age: 37
2004 Salary: $7.50M
2004 EQA: .262 (.291/.353/.388)
Contract Status: Free Agent

“I ain’t what I used to be, but who the hell is?”
-Dizzy Dean

Omar has become an icon in Cleveland, especially in the past couple of years. During the magical run beginning in 1995, Vizquel was simply a small cog in a large machine, the slick-fielding shortstop who a could steal a base and bunt for a base hit. As Belle and Murray, Ramirez, Lofton and Alomar, and finally Thome left the franchise, fans concentrated their admiration on Vizquel, partly becuase of his smile and his defense, but also because he was the remnant of those Indians of renown, those teams which won 6 division titles and two American League pennants. But wistful remembrances can’t affect the future.

While Vizquel probably has a couple more season in him, he’s become a different player in the last couple seasons. No longer is his defense Gold-Glove worthy, and a lot of his value has come from the offensive side of the ledger, posting an EQA of .262 this season. Peralta, at age 22, posted a translated EQA of .256 in Buffalo. The difference between Vizquel and Peralta isn’t enough to justify re-signing Vizquel; even if you assume that Vizquel at age 38 is the better fielder, Peralta’s offensive positives and salary make Omar (gasp!) expendible. Had the two players in question been between a similar player like Mike Bordick and Jhonny Peralta, would the outcry be as loud? Please don’t take this as a slam on Vizquel; he’s been a very nice player for the Indians for a long time. But it’s time to move on.

Declined the 2005 Option of RHRP Bob Wickman ($5M)

Like Vizquel, this doesn’t do anything to damage the chance of Wicky coming back. I think the biggest issue right now is whether Wickman wants to play another season or not. If not, the Indians will explore some of the other closer options, including guys like Troy Percival, Armando Benitez, and John Smoltz. If you’ve read my blog previously, I don’t place much stock in spending a ton of money on the bullpen. That being said, if Benitez can be had for $3M, I think the Indians would be crazy not to go for it. The good thing is that a lot of the larger market teams have closers under contract, so the Indians might find a couple bargains via free agency.

Outrighted IF Lou Merloni and C Tim Laker; Both elected free agency

Laker is gone, but Merloni will most likely be back. Wedge made silk out of a sow’s ear platooning Broussard and Merloni at first base most of the season, but now that Josh Phelps is around, Merloni should be able to go back to being a nice backup infielder. If Casey Blake does in fact play second base next season, Merloni might fit into an offense/defense platoon at second. Maybe he’ll be Jake Westbrook’s personal second baseman.

Purchased the Contract of LHRP Scott Sauerbeck

The Indians picked up Sauerbeck earlier this season; he had major shoulder surgery in the winter after no team showed any interest in him. According to this article, Sauerbeck pitched with a torn labrum most of the 2003 season, and injured his rotator cuff after being traded to Boston in July. Given the other left-handed options (or lack of thereof) the Indians have in the bullpen, Sauerbeck looks like a nice low-risk gamble. In 2002, the season before his shoulder injury, Sauerbeck struck out 70 batters in 62.2 innings pitched. He’s tougher against left-handed hitters (.201 BAA) than right-handers (.268 BAA), but I think using him strictly as a LOOGY wouldn’t be using him efficiently. Unfortunately, if he’s the only left-hander in the bullpen next season, Eric Wedge may try to shoehorn him into that role. I don’t really like when managers do that; Mike Sciossia found out about that the hard way when he brought in Jarrod Washburn (removing Francisco Rodriguez) to face David Ortiz in this year’s ALDS. If a guy has good stuff, it shouldn’t really matter who he’s facing, barring a really uneven platoon split.

Reinstated RHP Joe Dawley from the 60-day Disabled List; Outrighted him to Buffalo (AAA)

Dawley made two starts for the Indians when the back end of the rotation was a revolving door. He injured his elbow after two starts, although it doesn’t look like he’s going to have Tommy John surgery. He can become a minor-league free agent shortly, and should be in someone’s camp next spring.

Re-signed RHP Kenny Rayborn to a minor-league contract (2005)

Rayborn should spend most of 2005 in Buffalo; he’s put up decent numbers in AAA, but his strikeout (4.73) and hit (8.88) ratios don’t predict major-league success. He’ll be 30 in November.

Released RHP Evan Thomas from Buffalo (AAA)

I’ve gone with a semi-liquid layout (the blog shifts to fit your screen size or screen resolution), so those who have had trouble viewing this site at 800X600 pixels before should be able to now. Those who have larger resolutions shouldn’t notice anything much at all. As far as browsers go, I think the site looks the best on Mozilla/Firefox and Netscape 6.2 (or later). It looks decent on IE 6.0 as well, so if you have any of those browsers you should be ok. If you are using another browser, let me know how it looks.

Declined the 2005 Option of SS Omar Vizquel ($5M)

This is nothing shocking, and it doesn’t really have any impact on whether Vizquel returns. Declining the option means that Vizquel will receive a $1M buyout. The Indians have until December 7th to make a final decision on keeping Omar, but they’ll more than likely have made up their minds long before that. Judging by the reactions from both camps following their post-season meeting, I think Vizquel’s agent was asking for too much money. Or maybe Shapiro would rather just cut ties now and go with Jhonny Peralta or Brandon Phillips from here on out. Either way, Vizquel is probably playing for somebody else next season. Despite all the hand-wringing that will result from Vizquel’s departure, I really don’t think the Indians will suffer that much.