tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post5411440952138735657..comments2024-03-16T08:21:16.037-04:00Comments on The DiaTribe: Tomahawks in the CactiPaul Cousineauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-55330782743095529312009-03-14T17:12:00.000-04:002009-03-14T17:12:00.000-04:00Garko is going to spend almost as many games in th...Garko is going to spend almost as many games in the outfield as he will behind the plate as the emergency catcher.. There may be "confidence building" words about what Gark has done during spring training in the OF by Eric Wedge and the front office.. but, let's be realistic.. IF an OF'er needs a day off.. it'll be Looch /Barfield / DeRo getting the call. If someone gets injured.. it won't be Garko to the rescue.. Even against particularly nasty left handed starting pitchers, Wedge would probably go with a lineup of Grady (L-CF), DeRo (R-LF), Vmart (S-1B), Jhonny P (R-SS), Ben F (R-RF), Jamie Carroll (R-3B) Droobs (S-2B) and Garko (R-DH) and Shoppach(R-C) The entire Garko "to the outfield angle" is a mistake, at worst.. humorous at best. <BR/><BR/>What say you?G'sonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00263455723344055198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-35561401496522438022009-03-14T16:37:00.000-04:002009-03-14T16:37:00.000-04:00G'son, "I say" that you have to remember that Vict...G'son, <BR/>"I say" that you have to remember that Victor was the clean-up hitter for the second half of that 2007 season, when the Indians ran away with the Central and injuries in 2008 prevented him from continuing that role. Peralta did do quite well in the #4 hole last year, but I'd still put Vic ahead of him based on the body of work.<BR/><BR/>As for the "Vic is our C" thing, that's where the Garko-to-the-OF goes against that thinking, because if "Vic is the C" and Garko is adding "versatility" to get in the lineup...who's playing 1B? The logical answer is that it's Martinez and a full off-season has led them to believe that more AB for Shoppach (at the expense of Garko) is the direction they're going - and I'm not upset about that. Like Cy said, if Kelly rakes like he did last year, he should be in there everyday and those AB are coming at the expense of Garko.<BR/><BR/>Tyler,<BR/>Now you have me nervous again, after I'd convinced myself that the lineup was "bulletproof". I'm not sure if Hafner and Martinez come back (though I think it's more likely with Vic this year), but I think that whether Choo, Shoppach, and Peralta carry over their 2nd halves of 2008 from Day 1 will probably determine how solid this lineup is going to be.<BR/><BR/>I'm also excited about an "adjusted" Cabrera to continue what he did when he came back to make it more of a 1 through 9 attack.<BR/><BR/>Of course, I thought the same thing last year with Garko and Gutierrez establishing themselves as legitimate offensive presences in the lineup...Paul Cousineauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-61603267962279765682009-03-14T11:27:00.000-04:002009-03-14T11:27:00.000-04:00Well, Paul, I'm sure (at least in part) that my co...Well, Paul, I'm sure (at least in part) that my concern stems from a dose of Cleveland skepticism. Everybody says the rotation's a concern, the bullpen's deep, and the offense is bulletproof? Then my first inclination is to believe the help will arrive to the rotation from unexpected places, the bullpen will be a 2007-ish contraption with 3 studs and a bunch of stiffs, and the offense will sputter like that Saturn I drove in high school. It's not scientific reasoning, but it's honest.<BR/><BR/>Thinking deeper about the lineup, I guess I depart from the common thinking that, hey, we were great from July on in 2008, and hey, we've got all those guys back, so, hey, we've got a stew goin'! The other side of that token is that most of these guys were part of the team that was sucking wind BEFORE July.<BR/><BR/>What changed? Injuries and pressure. As to the injuries, well, in the interests of making no assumptions, I'm not going to say Travis and Victor are "back" until they're actually hitting major league pitchers in games again. Unless and until then, we're still shopping for a middle third of a lineup as far as I'm concerned. And as for the pressure, I don't think it's an endorsement of these guys that they got their heads screwed on AFTER it became obvious that the season was over. I realize it's not very sabre of me, but these particular horses spit the bit right out of the gate last season. With the pitching situation as uncertain as it is, we're unlikely to have time to suck at the plate.<BR/><BR/>Put another way: I don't buy into the assumption that our second-half offense from last season is somehow our "real" offense, the one we're more likely to see in 2009. The crappy first-half offense was "real," too. There's a qualitative difference between being good for 60 games and being good for 160.<BR/><BR/>"I'll believe it when I see it," I think is what I'm saying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-48802863652995644082009-03-13T15:09:00.000-04:002009-03-13T15:09:00.000-04:00"In MLB, there aren't many that offer the type of ..."In MLB, there aren't many that offer the type of offense he does, so, it's a plus plus for the Indians offense." Thats correct, except one of the few that provide that type of offense happens to be Victor's backup and our other catcher.<BR/><BR/>if kelly hits like he did last year, getting only 300 ABs for him is criminal. especially if those ABs are going to a Garko, unless Garko reclaims his nickname that I'm too lazy to type right now.<BR/><BR/>what say you?Cy Slapnickahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10109399114263980881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-51930404726039482562009-03-13T12:49:00.000-04:002009-03-13T12:49:00.000-04:00Paul..Cleanup hitters are few and far between.. wh...Paul..Cleanup hitters are few and far between.. when you get one that performs.. you keep him!<BR/><BR/>Flipping Jhonny P and Vmart in your stated order would accomplish the same "handedness" you described.. and we all saw how well Jhonny P settled into the clean up role. There doesn't appear to be a good reason to change that, or, "...don't fix what ain't broke.." If anything, you might see Choo moved down to PRONK's spot (if he's raking) thereby giving PRONK more AB's. <BR/><BR/>It looks as if you have a slight bias toward VMart playing more and more 1B and giving Shoppach more and more playing time behind the plate. Wedge is as conservative & traditional as any manager you'll see. He's stated in several interviews that VMart is the starting catcher. We all know that it'll extend Vmart's career by not "donning the tools of ignorance", but, VMart is first and foremost the Indians starting catcher. In MLB, there aren't many that offer the type of offense he does, so, it's a plus plus for the Indians offense. You could project Vmart to be behind the plate in 95-110 games, leaving Shoppach the rest, or 52-67 games. There will be times that the Indians will use Kelly as a DH against particularly nasty left handers (CC Sabathia, as an example). Overall, Kelly should be able to get a minimum of around 300-325 AB's for the coming 2009 season, and possibly as many as 350. This will keep both Vmart and Shoppach fresh for October baseball. <BR/><BR/>what say you?G'sonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00263455723344055198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-67794947198609907432009-03-13T11:36:00.000-04:002009-03-13T11:36:00.000-04:00Tyler,Good to hear from my favorite Law Student in...Tyler,<BR/>Good to hear from my favorite Law Student in Northwest Ohio...because I know so many, apparently.<BR/><BR/>I think that Garko's on the roster as he's at least shown that he's a competent bat, but I just don't see him in the long-term plans, with those long-term plans starting very soon.<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't be surprised if LaPorta makes the trip up I-71 to take this role that Garko seems to be carving out on the roster at some point this summer. That is, if LaPorta crushes AAA pitching, I could see him coming up to DH when Hafner needs a day off and to sometimes play LF or 1B, which is precisely what Garko figures to do out of the box.<BR/><BR/>As for the pitching, I don't disagree with you that there are a lot of possibilities to fill out that rotation, but most of them are just guys, with your comparison of not knowing what we'll get from these "guys" akin to how relievers work being pretty accurate. My fear (which I think you alluded to) is the amount of time the process of discerning who should ultimately going to be in the rotation is going to take.<BR/><BR/>Like you said, "somebody's got to be winning games for us while we're figuring out the arm situation" and I just don't know who that's going to be and how the Indians are going to overcome the growing pains of that process.<BR/><BR/>I'd like to hear why you're worried about the offense, which is actually probably above even the bullpen in terms of areas of the team I'm comfortable with.Paul Cousineauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-1077539951979603162009-03-12T21:51:00.000-04:002009-03-12T21:51:00.000-04:00Hey, PC, long time no comment. Got some responses ...Hey, PC, long time no comment. Got some responses to this guy, though.<BR/><BR/>RE: Garko's versatility, remember that both of the guys gunning for his roster spot, LaPorta and Brantley, play a decent first base. I think the Indians would prefer not to option down Garko or Francisco for mere roster management, but neither of the AAA young guns are going to get called up just to sit, so if Garko couldn't play some outfield and somebody was hitting his way out of Columbus, Garko's positional inflexibility would sort of make the Indians' decision for them, no? Long story short, he's playing for his roster spot right now, and I think he knows it.<BR/><BR/>RE: The rotation, I'm less worried than most, if only because there are SO MANY guys. With the exception of true top-tier starters, I'm beginning to believe they're really not that much more predictable, season-to-season, than relievers are. So why not employ the same philosophy with starters that we use with relievers? Get lots, use the ones who are throwing well. Still -- damn it all, Jeremy Guthrie, you couldn't break out ONE YEAR SOONER?<BR/><BR/>No, I'm mostly worried about the offense. The problem with this whole 35-man-deep pitching staff is that there's lag time in decision making for player evaluation and roster management. Somebody's got to be winning games for us while we're figuring out the arm situation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com