Tomahawks Down the Stretch

With an off day (finally) after a 7-3 road trip that I would dub a little more than mildly successful, let’s catch up on some Tomahawks and let ‘em fly:
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Is there any doubt left that Jenny Lewis (wasn’t that the girl in the first season of Survivor) is the 4th reliever the Indians were waiting to emerge from the pool of Lewis, Mastny, Fultz, and the Bisons’ reinforcements?

He’s now sitting on a 2.91 ERA with 24 K to only 8 BB in 21 2/3 innings of work, and while his WHIP of 1.43 looks a little too high, he is easing very nicely into the 6th inning (when needed) role with a 1.69 ERA in 4 appearances in September with a much more impressive WHIP of 0.94 in those 4 starts.

If the Indians are content to ride the hot hand in terms of bullpen effectiveness, Lewis has certainly established himself as a viable option in a game when the Indians are holding onto a lead and a reliever above and beyond the Big 3 is needed.
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Serial commenter Cy Slapnicka attended Tuesday’s game at The Cell (where he obviously almost got into a few fights with the South Side’s finest) and took some pictures of Tribe players, all while wearing his new “Rally Pie” shirt, which he’ll tell you all about in the captions of the slideshow here.
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Is it too early to anoint Asdrubal as the best Middle Infielder on the Indians?
Yes, Jhonny Peralta remains a presence (despite the perpetual moaning about his lack of range and his recurring inability to hit a breaking pitch down and away), and Cabrera has all of 107 career AB, but Cabrera’s performance at the plate (and his approach from both sides of the plate) bode well for the future of the young Venezuelan.

Truthfully, his much-ballyhooed glove hasn’t shown the sparkle that I expected (though it has been tremendously solid at a brand new position and he turns the DP as fast as anyone this side of Jelly Belliard), but if his Modus Operandi in the minors was a great glove with spotty hitting, he’s already surpassed most people’s expectations as he’s riding an 11-game hitting streak.

Oh, and he also has an OPS of 1.078 from the 7th to the 9th inning, with 1 of his 4 HR and 4 of his 16 RBI coming in those three frames, so he certainly doesn’t wilt under the heat of the spotlight.

Answer honestly who you’d rather see up in a clutch run-producing situation with the game in the balance at the end of the game right now – Peralta or Cabrera?
Yeah, me too.
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Is anyone else completely thrown off by TBS moving the “Seinfeld” re-runs from 6 PM and 6:30 PM to 5:30 PM? Not sure who, exactly, wants an hour and a half of “Everybody Loves Raymond” everyday, but they don’t live in my house.

TBS’ airing of “The Office” on Tuesday nights from 10 PM to 11 PM is a small consolation, and a must-DVR hour nonetheless, and the just concluded season of “My Boys” was entertaining, but I don’t know what I’m going to do without Jerry and George eating dinner with the DiaTribers.
What do you mean, talk about my day?
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OK, the announcement trumpeting the Return of Pronk may have been a little premature as he seems to be back to swinging and missing at pitches that he would have NEVER swung at last year and having a lot of AB’s end with him sticking the bat out to meekly ground out to the 2B or Short Outfielder…I mean SS.

Maybe the shift has gotten inside his head and he’s trying too hard to go the other way instead of smashing laser beams right at it, infield alignment be damned. Whatever the case may be, that “locked-in” Hafner that we saw up in Minnesota appears to have been more of a mirage than an actual oasis in the desert at this point of the season.
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Bought my Playoff Tickets yesterday, with the Indians (thankfully) changing their policy of Season Ticket holders having to buy ALL of the possible playoff games (which was the policy in 2005) to allowing them to pick a few games in each series (the new policy).

While the idea of a “refund” remains foreign (you simply get a credit on your account for subsequent years for any games that you have tickets for that don’t happen), at least I don’t have to commit an outrageous sum of money for tickets to ALL of the games.

To illustrate how refreshing this is, in 2005, under the old policy, buying all of the tickets for the playoffs (of which, obviously, none were used) would have given me enough “credit” on my account to pay for THREE years of Season Tix. Thank God I didn’t go for that. Conversely, this year, the amount of tickets that I bought (if NONE of the games happen) doesn’t even equal the total of my 2008 Season Ticket Plan.

Huzzah for the Tribe for realizing the short-sightedness of the old policy and remedying the problem. I’m going to be like Ralphie in “A Christmas Story”, excitedly checking the mailbox every day for his decoder ring until those tickets are in my hands.
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In case you didn’t notice, The Scarecrow and Senor Slo-Mo now lead all AL relievers (who are not closers) in ERA with Perez at the top of the heap at 1.44 and Betancourt right behind him at 1.57. Considering that the names around them include Putz, Papelbon, Okajima, and Nathan, consider the 7th and 8th inning stalwarts of the Tribe among the best around.
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Some tremendously funny Tribe-related PhotoShop pictures, created by Tribe fan Chester Banaszak (who goes by the Carnegie and Ontario handle in the blogosphere) can be seen here.
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Finally, in case you’re keeping track at home, the Indians would have to go 6-10 over their last 16 AND the Tigers would have to go 11-4 over their last 15 for the AL Central to come into question.

No lead ever feels big enough and anything can happen, but those are some settling numbers to help you sleep at night.

Get down to the Jake this weekend to support YOUR first place Cleveland Indians and pick me up a Pronk WWE bobblehead (I can’t make it on Saturday) while you’re at it.

Under the Radar

Unbeknownst to most of America (and apparently most of Cleveland, as many tickets for next week’s series against Detroit remain), the Indians now stand a mere 2 ½ games behind the Red Sox in the race for the best record in the AL, and all of MLB. Their Magic Number to clinch (12) matches that of the Angels in terms of having the lowest number of cumulative wins, coupled with losses by the 2nd place team, to ensure a divisional title.

Why has this information escaped the everyday sports (and even baseball-centric) fan?

Because, according to most published reports and national broadcasts, the Red Sox and Yankees continue to fight it out for the right to represent the AL in the World Series. Despite results on the field that dictate otherwise, the preoccupation with the idea that meaningful baseball doesn’t happen outside the East Coast has not only taken over that network with 4 letters, it’s become the accepted line of thinking across the country.

Ask a baseball fan who Rafael Perez (54 1/3 IP, 1.49 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) is and see the blank stare that you get.
Now try Joba Chamberlain (14 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.77 WHIP).
Ask a baseball fan who Asdrubal Cabrera (.849 OPS, 3 HR, 16 RBI in 99 AB) is, then Dustin Pedroia (.843 OPS, 7 HR, 47 RBI in 459 AB).

The notion that the Yankees vs. Red Sox in the ALCS is some sort of rite of Autumn is so ingrained in the national consciousness that it fails to take into account that neither team has made the ALCS in the past two years…despite growing payroll and nauseating media coverage.

You know what, though?
That’s fine with me.
After years of frustration about the lack of knowledge (or even caring to know anything) and dearth of coverage from the national media about the Indians and their promise, I’m HAPPY that the Indians aren’t getting any kind of attention. Sure, Peter Gammons (perhaps the last truly knowledgeable person in Bristol) has devoted his last few columns to C.C. and how the Indians (and the Angels) are probably better suited for a playoff run than the “elite” of the AL East.

But, who cares?
Let Indians’ highlights show up in the last ½ of recap shows, let the Indians build up a giant chip on their shoulder to feel underappreciated and underexposed. Let the Red Sox go into the playoffs with giant expectations and watch the Indians play the perceived role of David (however inaccurate that may be) with Sabathia, Carmona, and Westbrook manning the proverbial slingshots.

And while you think that the lack of coverage or respect is just national, watch a local sports broadcast. The Indians are getting as much press locally as they were last year, when they were afterthoughts in the AL Central race. During the Indians-Tigers series (when the Tribe took 2 of 3) about a month ago, the lead story on most 6 PM sports segments was…Brady Quinn’s new haircut.

Despite the fact that the Browns have become irrelevant (once again) before the start of Week 2, the trade of Charlie Frye (how talent evaluation and organizational confusion can result in the starting of a QB, then trading him in less than 48 hours is beyond comprehension) and the Romeo Crennel Death Watch are the topics of conversation on Clevelanders’ lips.

Yet the Cleveland media keeps sitting, waiting, and wishing for the Indians to fall apart, ready to pounce on the Dolans, Shapiro and Wedge if the Ghost of 2005 rears its ugly head and sabotages the Tribe’s playoff push. While the waiting continues, the Indians remain an afterthought in the city, somehow still transfixed by yet another Browns’ debacle and the ensuing mess.

You have to wonder if the average Clevelander knows much about the current incarnation of the Tribe and the roll they find themselves on. You can almost picture Garko and Michaels going into a bar and letting on that they play for the Indians. The scene would mirror that of the dinner party from Major League:
Cleveland Bandwagoneer: You play for the Indians? You mean, here…in Cleveland. I didn’t know we still had a team. I thought the team disbanded when Thome, Omar, and Manny left.
Garko: No. We’re still here and it’s really great. We’ve got uniforms and everything. We’re actually in 1st place.

But, again, who cares?
Let the bandwagoneers fill up on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario with people who will break their Tribe gear out of mothballs after 10 years of sitting in their closet. Let the Tribe “fans” hop on for the ride.
We’ve been on this ride for a while and it’s been a hell of a lot of fun.

Who cares if nobody else has noticed this, or if everyone’s attention is diverted elsewhere?

See the perceived disrespect fuel The Hefty Lefty and his boys through October.
You can almost hear C.C. saying, “We’re not sneaking up on anybody. We knew we were this good. I told you that we would win the division. I told you we were a good team. It’s YOU who didn’t care to know that we ARE this good...and that’s on you, not me”

The Indians aren’t surprising anyone who’s been paying attention and the fun is only beginning.

Lazy C.C. Sunday

After having lost two straight in Anaheim…I mean Los Angeles…let’s just say Orange County, the Tribe needed a victory on Saturday night to stop the Halos’ momentum and put a halt to the tiny slide (of course, coinciding with a resurgent Tigers’ team) that they suddenly found themselves on.

They needed a player to take control, they needed a player to put the team on his back, they needed a leader to step up and say, “I’m not going to let this tailspin continue and I’m going to single-handedly win a game for this team”.

They needed their ace – capable of twirling a virtuoso performance from the mound, keeping the pesky Angel hitters at bay, saving the bullpen, allowing the offense enough time to figure out Ervin Santana after two nights of facing the best Orange County had to offer in Escobar and Lackey.

Enter (stage right) the Hefty Lefty.
All the Crooked Cap did was throw a complete game 5-hitter with just 103 pitches, letting up 1 run, and allowing the Tribe to have a chance to go for the split tonight on the network that has become a 4-letter word in some parts.

Take into account that Howie Kendrick was using him for target practice (hitting him with come-backers twice in the game, causing Sabathia to vehemently wave off the trainers and just get more locked in) and that he was so utterly in command that the Angels never even really mounted a serious threat, and the maturation of C.C. – that “final step” that, prior to this year, was always in question – is unquestionably complete.

He is the best pitcher I’ve ever seen in an Indians uniform (I’m 30, so hold off on the Bob Feller comments) and has established himself as a selfless leader on this club. Earlier this season he was quoted as saying that the Indians were going to win the division (remember this is when the Indians were, shall we say, taking their good old time scoring runs) and that anyone in the clubhouse who didn’t believe that shouldn’t be there.
Since that time he’s backed it up.

But he hasn’t stopped there, continuing to put the team ahead of his individual accomplishments. As reader R.M. Jennings quoted in the comments section, C.C.’s thoughts on winning 20 games or the Cy Young, “I don't think about that. If I can just stay healthy and help this team get a ring, that's all that matters.”

Not impressed by the Big Fella’s perspective in that quote?
How’s this comment about the drought of 20-game and Cy Young Award winners in Cleveland, “We haven't won a World Series in about 50-something years. That's a longer drought than any of those other two. So that's all I'm going to hear about, honestly.”

I don’t care if contracts or guaranteed years or purported greed are going to cloud some people’s perception of C.C. in the next 18 months, C.C. Sabathia is the best player on this Indians team and the biggest reason that the Indians have a legitimate shot to go deep into the playoffs.

He’s a fearless ace, a pitcher who wants the ball in a big game, a player not scared by pressure situations or the spotlight. He’s something that we haven’t had in Cleveland, on a winning team in about 50 years.
Choose your weapon as the playoffs start.
Give me my aCCe, and I like my chances.

With that love letter completed, let’s take a quick look at a Lazy Sunday:
Terry Pluto (thank God he’s at the PD and brings some sanity to those pages) reflects on the effectiveness versus the efficiency of the Big Borowski as well as providing some of his regular insightful, well-thought out comments.

By the way, I thought that the Pluto hiring would mean less of Bill Livingston and Bud Shaw, yet the Brothers Grimm continue to bring their stormy disposition (not to mention horrible writing) to my front porch. I suppose that’s on me as much as anyone for continuing to subscribe, but can I get an Estimated Departure Date for the Brothers Grimm? Please?

Paul Hoynes rips off and dumbs down my “Promoting From Within” a few days later, although I guess he throws in a Shapiro quote. Actually the best thing from the Hoynes column is that Bert Blyleven thinks that Frank the Tank reminds him of a “thinner Juan Gonzalez”. Keep…blind optimism…in check.
Just keep those hamstrings intact, Gutz.

Stephanie Storm’s blog on the Aeros continues to entertain and keep the ABJ relevant in the wake of Pluto’s trek up north.

Finally, a nice piece on everybody’s favorite fan, John Adams, in today’s New York Times.

Tribe’s on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball tonight.
Try not to get too upset at the ignorance of Joe Morgan, his lack of knowledge about the Indians and stubbornness to discuss anything relevant or say anything rational. Actually, when you’ve had enough of him, pause the game and visit the brilliant Fire Joe Morgan website for some laughs (please note, parental discretion advised).

Oh yeah, and there’s something else happening this afternoon on the North Coast that’s going on that will cause me to break out my Chris Spielman jersey…um, William Green jersey…um, generic Browns gear with no mention of any player past or present.

Enjoy a nice, long Lazy Sunday and cheer the Browns and Tribe onto victories!

The Future's So Bright...

Watching this team congeal and accelerate going into the post-season, it’s important to remember that this team is built for long-term success, not a quick look at contention followed by a return to mediocrity. The Tribe is built on young stars playing with long-term contracts (for the most part), giving the team a backbone on which the body of the roster can be fleshed out.

The likes of Sizemore, Hafner, Martinez, Carmona, Westbrook, Garko, Peralta, and Perez (plus Gutierrez, Cabrera, and Laffey) aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and figure to serve as the bedrock for the Indians team (now just showing the flashes of brilliance which promise to shine brighter for years to come) that we are seeing emerge this season.

How deep-rooted is the roster?
Subscribing to the idea that you can never have too many arms too choose from and that there’s no such thing as a sure thing (Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers, Atom Miller), let’s assume that the Tribe picks up the options for Byrd ($8M option), Borowski ($4M option), and Fultz ($1.5M option) for the 2008 season. With those three presumably in the fold, the only Free Agent on the roster after this season is Trot Nixon.
Let me write that again (in another format) so everyone can do their Dance of Joy.
FA after 2007
Trot Nixon

Everyone who wants The Trotter to become scarce in the Tribe clubhouse (veteran leadership, awesome and ever-changing facial hair, the occasional Ultimate Warrior eye-black, and pie recipes notwithstanding) will have their wish granted in the very near future.

Of course, if Nixon helps (in ANY way) the team get fitted for rings or for a certain flag to be raised high above the Jake, I’ll take his contributions (obviously unseen by the public) and assume that the Dolans can do some sort of tax write-off as paying his $3M salary is essentially charity.

The fact that he’s the only player on the current roster not signed for next year shows the foresight that the Indians’ Front Office has shown to lock up and stabilize the “core” of this roster, keeping the current players (at known salary numbers) for the foreseeable future.

But it doesn’t stop just by looking at the potential Free Agents next year. How about those that would be locked down until the end of the 2008 season?
FA after 2008
C.C. Sabathia
Casey Blake
Paul Byrd
Joe Borowski
Aaron Fultz

That’s it.
And while that’s a pretty big Matzo Ball hanging out there at the top of the list, the farm system has plenty of time to develop replacements for the other four (if it hasn’t already).

Rather than dwelling on C.C.’s contract negotiations and whether he will continue to anchor the Tribe rotation (call me crazy, but I think that he will…go ahead, do it…“you’re crazy”), consider that with the bevy of arms that the Indians boast (I believe the oft-used term is “waves of arms”) you would think that one (or two) starter(s) and two relievers could emerge to fill the pitching staff out. Throw in the projected maturation of Rafael Perez, Aaron Laffey, or Jensen Lewis as well as the possibility of a rebound for guys like Jeremy Sowers and Tom Mastny and the pieces may not be far away at all.

On the non-pitcher related front, while some would scoff that Casey Blake has little value on the team going forward and could be replaced by any AAAA player, consider that Blake can play four to five positions, can be moved around the lineup, and can grow a beard like few who have ever donned the Chief. Essentially, he may not be as replaceable as some would like to think. Thus, it is entirely feasible that Blake could be re-signed to serve as the Super-Utility player for a few more years if that suitable replacement is not obvious or even on the horizon. It’s not likely that it would take too much to convince Blake to remain with the first team that gave him a chance, where he can launch verbal cannonballs across Pronk’s bow, and where he shares an Alumni Card with the manager.

That must be it, right? After 2008 is when the team falls off the cliff?
FA after 2009
Rafael Betancourt
David Dellucci
Jason Michaels

Depending on how the back of the bullpen situation plays out, it’s conceivable that Senor Slo-Mo could be given a few years on a contract (though hopefully not too many, due to the volatility of relievers in general). Regardless, he’s here for another two years…at least, giving the organization more time to churn out suitable replacements.

As for the other two, they may not be here at the start of 2008 depending upon how the OF situation plays out. Both were given contracts that were too long and are unlikely to see the end of those contracts with checks still coming from the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, particularly with Frank the Tank seizing his opportunity in RF and the likes of Ben Francisco, The BLC (Choo, assuming he’s still around), Brian Barton, Jordan Brown (the dark horse candidate who won his 2nd consecutive MVP award in Akron this year, after winning the League MVP in Kinston last year), and even Brad Snyder and Trevor Crowe (both of whom have REALLY fallen off of the prospect map) in the pipeline with the hopes that at least one will separate from the pack.

That means the rest of the team stays intact for another TWO years and while the names of the prospective Free Agents look a little bigger going forward, take note of who’s NOT on the list:
FA after 2010
Cliff Lee
Victor Martinez
Jake Westbrook

FA after 2011
Josh Barfield
Jhonny Peralta
Kelly Shoppach

That’s right, Sherlock, you haven’t seen Fausto Carmona (FA after 2012), Grady Sizemore (FA after 2012), or Travis Hafner (FA after 2013) even show up on the list.

The most important factor in all of these players being locked down is that the Indians figure to face few true off-season question marks. With most of the pieces already in place and the holes (hopefully) filled by youngsters, the Tribe isn’t beholden to overpay on the Free Agent market.

Sure, this off-season promises to be full of spirited debate about what the makeup of the infield should look like, who will play LF, how the bullpen will shake out, who the 5th starter will be, or something having to do with a heavyset fellow from the Oakland area and how many zeroes should be on his biweekly checks, or…well, actually that’s it. The question marks don’t figure to be as large as most other teams face (and most other teams face HUGE question marks every off-season)

The stability and the “known quantities” that are making this playoff push so impressive and so very important is reminiscent of a comment made by Orel Hershiser after the 1995 season. He said, in effect, that the young players on that Indians team didn’t understand that this (ridiculously winning games like you were playing a video game) isn’t how it always worked in MLB…that your team just didn’t win every year. But they did, and that experience, and the resulting swagger, is what carried the Tribe to the unparalleled success in the late 90’s.

This group of youngsters is gaining that same invaluable experience, confidence, and an education in September and October baseball, with the hopes that it continues to translate into perennial success. When (not if) this group makes a push for the next few years, they’ll look back on this, the first year of true success as a building block.

How large a building block it turns out to be will be determined in the next two months, but the team is learning how to compete (and win) within a divisional race.
Here’s hoping the building block is shaped like a ring.

The Return of the Incredible Pronk

As a humble representative of all the Featherheads on the Reservation, I’d like to welcome Pronk back to the Cleveland Indians’ clubhouse. I don’t know where he was, nor do I care to know where he has been for the last 4 months.
The only thing I care about is that he’s back, baby!

Perhaps the Indians should pay for Mr. & Mrs. Hafner to travel with the Indians for the rest of the season if this is the effect that they have on their son when attending games. I’m all for it if only to see Pronk’s dad, a mountain of a man in a plaid button-up from the Big & Tall Shop in Sykestown and an askew Tribe hat who couldn’t look anymore like a farmer from North Dakota if he tried.

Last night, it was Pronk’s turn (as one of the Indians’ pillars) to put the team on his shoulders (C.C., Grady, and Victor are sore from doing it all season) with 2 HR, including the improbable BLAST in the 9th off of Joe Nathan with 2 outs to tie the game.

In all, Hafner went 2 for 4 with the 2 aforementioned HR and 4 RBI, including the go-ahead RBI in the 11th thanks to another prodigious drive that plated Frank the Tank after Torii Hunter tracked it down.

In the last 10 games, Pronk has a .978 OPS with 3 HR and 12 RBI.
Seeing as how those HR and RBI totals equal his June totals (yes, the whole month of June) and nearly match his totals from July (4 HR, 16 RBI…again, for the whole month), and realizing fully that 10 games a season does not make, it’s time to welcome Pronk back into the fold.

This Indians’ team was peaking and starting to score runs with Pronk still on the side of a milk carton, replaced by some joker named Travis.
Now, somebody must have made Bruce Banner…er, Hafner mad, because Pronk is back and his return to a hot Indians team just may be the final piece of the puzzle to get the Indians truly going on all cylinders, if they weren’t already.

7 full games up with the Magic Number down to 18.
The Indians are (finally) running and hiding with the AL Central…and Pronk has come back to enjoy in the revelry of a playoff chase.

A New Sheriff in Town

Twice in the past five days, C.C. and The Great Santana have squared off against each other, with the Crooked Cap besting the 2-time Cy Young winner both times, winning 4-3 last Wednesday and 5-0 Monday afternoon. Perhaps in the last week, we have all witnessed a changing of the guard in regards to the top starter in the AL Central, and possibly in all of the American League.

Before the cries of blasphemy and homerism start, consider the numbers of C.C. over his past 10 starts:
2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 4.25 K for every BB (51 K to 12 BB)

Did I mention that he hasn’t given up more than 2 ER in any of those 10 starts with 8 of the 10 being 7 innings or longer, all coming with the Indians making a giant push for the playoffs?

C.C. is now tied for the AL lead in Wins with 16, leads the AL in Innings Pitched with 219, is 6th in the AL in ERA at 3.24, and is 4th in the AL in K with 182. Granted, Santana comes in above the Hefty Lefty in ERA and K; but with the Indians in the pennant race, C.C. has put the team on his back and has given the Indians a chance to win every game he has started (assuming they can score 3 runs, which is no given) over the last month and a half.

Santana now sits at 0-5 against the Tribe, with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in 6 starts against the Featherheads. Obviously, some of the onus falls on the Twins’ offense for not getting Santana a W, but the Indians’ hitters (Jhonny Peralta excluded) seem to have figured out the once-unhittable Johan.

But that’s bound to happen anytime a pitcher logs 5 decisions against a team in one year, right? The hitters get a chance to see how a pitcher approaches different situations, have seen the arsenal of pitches, and can adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the pitcher.

If that’s the case, explain how C.C. is now 4-1 against the boys from the Land of 10,000 Lakes with a 1.51 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Again, some of that falls on the hitters for the Twinkies, but it shows how C.C. has embraced the adjustments that the elite pitchers in the league have mastered. While the Twins have seen the aCCe in 5 starts, they either have yet to make the proper adjustments to hit him or C.C. has stayed a step ahead of them, mixing his pitches and keeping hitters off-balance.

Whatever the case is, confidence in the Tribe ace grew as the games wore on in both Sabathia-Santana match-ups and the feeling that the Indians used to face (utter hopelessness) when drawing the Johan straw from the Minnesota pool settled into the Minnesota dugout.

That feeling of hopelessness found in the Twins’ clubhouse cannot be unique to the AL Central rivals though as it must be the same feeling that permeates AL lineups when the 290 pounds (plus about…oh…35 pounds) that is C.C. strides to the mound this year.

C.C. may not have a chance to go for 20 wins this year, depending upon how the last week of the season shakes out and how the Indians want to (fingers double-crossed) set up their playoff rotation. But Sabathia has undeniably taken the step that we’ve been waiting for.
He’s an ace. And a homegrown one at that.

Save all of the talk about contracts and trades and MTV Cribs for a while.
The Indians are in a pennant race (sitting pretty at 6 games up) and their aCCe is making a statement throughout the league every time he takes the ball.

I'll Have the Lazy Sunday on A Roll, Please

Well, the hitting has come around (Mr. Dolan, the bats have woken up) and the streak is on. Sitting 5 ½ up, getting complete game 4-hitters from the #4 starter, baking pies in the clubhouse in anticipation of another win, this team has found its stride and couldn’t have done it at a better time.

The lineup appears to be locked in.
The starting pitchers are all pitching like they don’t want to be the one to stop the streak.
The bullpen (JoeBo’s theatrics considered) is falling into place.

What more do you need to make a wonderful holiday weekend?

A Lazy Sunday, perhaps? Ask…and you shall receive:
Terry Pluto brings his knowledge north to the PD (where it was SORELY needed), commenting on…well, exactly what I’ve been talking about here about the Tribe.
Maybe Terry has this page bookmarked? Regardless, welcome back Terry.

Cliff Lee (and Francisco, Rivas, and Koplove) all have joined the parent club and Lee still doesn’t seem to get it. Lee (obviously) is headed to the bullpen but doesn’t understand why. Quoth Mr. Five and Flee, “It's a concern. I thought I had a pretty set role, now it's not there anymore. I'm kind of curious what the future holds for me here. That's a question I really can't answer."

Um, Cliff? I’m pretty sure you flamed out in the Tribe rotation and didn’t exactly set Buffalo afire. So, if I understand this right, you should have your spot in the rotation, just sitting there for you to occupy? Be happy that you got called up and are on the team, in any role.
Nice to see that Cliff’s thinking about the name on the front of his jersey and not the back.
Here’s the answer to the question that you refer to in your quote. Buh-bye, Cliffie

As for the other call-ups, Rivas was a surprise as he’s a redundancy on a roster full of middle infielders and Rivas doesn’t bring anything obvious to the table that the current Indians lack. Francisco looks like a defensive replacement and pinch runner, as other RH OF exist in front of him for playing time and pinch hitting. Koplove could be the sleeper, though, as he did perform very well in Arizona a few years back (19 holds in 2004) and could work his way onto the postseason roster if he’s able to prove that he could add more to the team than, say, Tom Mastny.

No link for Sheldon Ocker as his relevance in Tribe-related matters belongs in the funny pages, on a good day.

Tribe goes for nine in a row and another sweep today with Jake taking on Contreras. On paper, it looks good for the Erie Warriors, but that’s why they play the games.

Somebody get the thermometer…I think I’ve got a case of Indian Fever!

Promoting From Within

Heading into the weekend’s series with the sinking ship that is the White Sox (with Cap’n Ozzie not exactly lauding the efforts of his crew and possibly going down with the ship), taking a look at the evolution of the current construction of the Indians’ roster is nothing short of unprecedented.

Consider for a moment how this team looked coming out of Winter Haven for Opening Day:

Sabathia
Westbrook
Byrd
Lee
Sowers
Davis
Cabrera
Hernandez
Mastny
Fultz
Betancourt
Borowski
Martinez
Shoppach
Garko
Barfield
Peralta
Marte
Rouse
Blake
Nixon
Sizemore
Michaels
Dellucci
Hafner

The players not on the active roster are in bold and if you’re counting at home, that’s 8 players from the Opening Day roster not on the team (yes, I know Dellucci is hurt and is allegedly returning soon – but for all intents and purposes, he has not been contributing for some time); so that means that nearly 1/3 of the 25-man roster is different today than it was on Opening Day.

When turnover like this on a roster takes place it usually means that either the injury bug has hit the team hard (thankfully, not true) or the team is out of contention and has moved the veterans to play youngsters to see what they have (like the Tribe did late in 2006). Since neither of those things have taken place (the team is healthy and firmly in contention), the turnover in roster is amazing. Even more amazing than that is the fact that Dellucci has been the only player lost to a significant injury (everybody knock on wood…now…and hard), as both Lee and Westbrook returned from oblique strains and Pronk’s lingering “issues” (there has to be some) have not been catastrophic for this team.

Now, look at the list above again. The Indians are also no longer getting significant contributions from Mastny (although I know he’s still on the team because I keep seeing him warm up during Borowski’s tightrope walks), Fultz, Barfield, Nixon (pies notwithstanding), or Michaels.

Adding those 5 to the 8 in bold above and the number of players not playing a vital role on the current team from Opening Day is a staggering 13! That’s over 50% of the Opening Day roster that finds themselves either elsewhere (like Buffalo), on the DL, glued to the bench, or remain in the dark on how to work the lock on the bullpen door.

Yet, this team has firmly established itself as the leader in the AL Central and is (arguably) playing their best baseball as the calendar flips to September.

Additionally, seeing as how the only players that the Indians currently use that were outside of the organization at the dawn of the 2007 are Kenny Lofton and Chris Gomez, these facts speak volumes about the depth and quality of the Indians organization and talent evaluation of young players.

Essentially, the lion’s share of replacements that are fueling the current team’s run didn’t come via trade or from other organizations. They came from nurturing the crops down on the farm. The list of players called up and contributing is long and illustrious with Carmona, Laffey, Perez, Lewis, Gutierrez, and Cabrera playing enormous roles in the club’s current surge.

But four players have distinguished themselves this season, some with a nice career progression, and others out of nowhere to put the team where it is today – sitting atop the AL Central with (as of today, courtesy of Baseball Prospectus) an 86% likelihood of making the playoffs:

The Faustastic One
Going into the season, Carmona was thought to be the all-important 6th starter with the hope that the train wreck that was his 2006 season wouldn’t ruin his confidence (remember the stuff was ALWAYS there as he was a ridiculously good set-up man before imploding as a closer) and that he could rebound into a fill-in if an injury happened.

Now if those are the expectations (to simply be able to rebound and become a serviceable MLB starter), Fausto just sunk your Battleship because he’s blown everything you thought you knew about baseball out of the water en route to a Cy Young-caliber season, in effect saving the rotation as Westbrook, then Lee, suffered through injuries and ineffectiveness and somebody exposed Jeremy Sowers to Kryptonite.

What Carmona has done is nothing short of extraordinary, acting as the 2nd ace of the staff, propelling the team to victory after victory. Carmona, too, is doing it with a pitching arsenal that has been described as “filthy”, “nasty”, “not fair”, and “makes you feel like you’re hung-over”, as he has complemented his sinking fastball with a slider and a change-up. Carmona’s learning curve has been so quick that he’s already arrived as a PITCHER, and not just a thrower. How long did we wait for Bartolo Colon or C.C. to make that transition?

Interestingly, the pitcher that I keep hearing as the comparison for Carmona is Kevin Brown – another sinkerballer who complemented his nearly-unhittable sinking fastball with secondary stuff that generated some phenomenal years. Brown was nothing short of dominant for those years with the Marlins, Padres, and Dodgers as his average year from 1996-1999 looked like this:
17-6, 2.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP

Um..yeah. I’ll take that production over the course of a few years.
But Brown didn’t post these gaudy numbers until he was 31, so it could be argued that it took him the 7 previous seasons in a starting rotation to perfect his arsenal. By comparison, the maturation for the 23-year-old Carmona (yes, 23) has taken about 4 months.

American League hitters, be afraid…be very afraid.

The Scarecrow
For some quick perspective, the list of relievers (not on the 25-man Opening Day roster) thought to be ahead of Rafael Perez in the organization breaking Spring Training:
Matt Miller
Mike Koplove
Edward Mujica

You might even put a guy like Tony Sipp ahead of Perez in the organizational depth chart (though not likely) to show how Perez certainly wasn’t widely thought to be a viable candidate to become a regular contributor in Cleveland this year, much less one of the most important players on the team.
By the way, don’t even ask where Jensen Lewis started the season on the organizational depth chart in April. It’s not on the first page, maybe not the second.

But back to the skinny LHP with the wicked slider, who really solidified the back end of the bullpen as much as the success of Borowski and Betancourt did. What Perez’s emergence did was shorten the game to 6 innings as he grabbed that 7th inning role and ran with it.

At the beginning of the season, that 7th inning role was seen as up for grabs and we sat and watched Hernandez age before our very eyes, Aaron Fultz proved to be effective only when starting an inning and a disaster with men on base, and Tom Mastny proved to be…well, Tom Mastny.

Perez worked his way up the bullpen ladder from garbage innings-eater to match-up lefty to dominant reliever. Not limited to only facing LH, Perez has proven to be effective against all comers (note the 3 swinging K’s in the 8th inning of Thursday’s game against LH Jose Guillen, LH Raul Ibanez, and RH Adrian Beltre) and has been nothing short of a lockdown reliever in tight spots with runners on base.

His development as a pitcher, and possibly as a future option as a closer, will be an interesting storyline to watch as most of the other relievers developed and nurtured by the Tribe have flamed out (CaBBrera, Jason Dangerously) at some point, forcing the Indians to rely on retreads and reclamation projects to fill the bullpen. Perez could be the trailblazer for a line of solid relievers to emerge from the Tribe’s farm system and could turn out to be the one that they all eventually hand the ball to when the 9th inning rolls around.

Frank the Tank
Entering 2007, Gutz was a bit of an enigma to the organization, with his talent and tools not yet translating to Big League success and stagnating in Buffalo. Coming out of Spring Training, the depth chart for OF in the organization broke down like this:
Sizemore
Michaels
Dellucci
Blake
Nixon
Choo
Francisco
Gutierrez
That would be Frankie, #8 on a list that mans 3 positions.

But something happened to the Tribe’s well-intentioned plans coming out of Winter Haven. Andy Marte struggled at 3B, then got hurt, moving Blake out of the OF mix. Choo was called up, then Francisco was in early May, but both were sent down days later as Frank got the call on May 6th. A mere 13 days later, he was sent back to Buffalo when Marte was ready to return. As Marte continued to struggle, Andy was sent packing and Gutierrez returned on May 31st.
Following all of these roster moves?

This time Gutz was in Cleveland to stay…just not necessarily to play. He kept himself busy splitting time with Trot Nixon in RF, logging 54 AB in June and 49 AB in July. Through his success in limited time (.882 OPS in June, .891 OPS in July) and some success against RHP (his HR against Beckett in the 1-0 win particularly stood out), Gutierrez did what every organization wants their young players to do – force their way into the everyday lineup with solid and consistent play.

When finally inserted into the everyday lineup, Gutz drastically improved outfield defense with his speed and arm while providing more power, speed, and athleticism to bottom of lineup than the Trotter could bring to the ballpark every day.

Gutierrez has continued his excellent play, particularly in the field and with his speed on the basepaths, and has claimed a legitimate stake on the RF job every day for 2008 and beyond. While the Indians certainly must have HOPED that this would have been the step that Gutz would have taken in 2007, his presence and consistency has laid the Oliver Stone OF (Platoon…get it?) to waste and has contributed to a stable lineup and a huge upgrade in speed, athleticism, and defense – something sorely needed for the playoff push.

AstroCab
If the players above constitute “pleasant surprises” and “talent realized at an opportune time”, Cabrera would fall under the category of, “who’s?…doing what?…”.
Realizing fully that you’re completely tired of seeing depth charts from 5 months ago, consider the ladder that Drooby Drooby Droo climbed in regards to Middle IF:
Peralta
Barfield
Rouse
Rivas
Inglett
Luna
Cabrera
You could even throw Keith Ginter in there above Cabrera if you’re just talking about possible Utility IF.

Consider now that the Indians went outside of the organization to add Chris Gomez (and that there are all of two positions for Middle IF to play) and Cabrera’s ascent into the #2 hole in the lineup and a crucial role on this contending team’s stretch run is worth a double take.

When Cabrera was acquired for Eduardo Perez (who said the other night, tongue firmly in cheek, on Baseball Tonight that the Tribe got the best of the deal to nab Cabrera from Seattle), he was thought to be a great glove, no hit player who had been rushed through the Mariners’ organization as he had just turned 20 and was playing at AAA Tacoma. The Indians assigned him to Buffalo, where he played like you would expect a 20-year-old in AAA to play – inconsistently.

Going into 2007, the Tribe decided to start him in Akron to let him get his feet wet and earn his way to Buffalo (which, remember, was the halfway house for retread MI Rivas, Inglett, and Luna). Seeing as he was still 20 (turned 21 on August 8th of this year, by the by), it was a decision that couldn’t really be argued.

But, all AstroCab (this supposed reincarnation of Felix Fermin – smooth glove, spotty bat) did was hit. He posted a .310/.383/.454 line in 96 games in Akron with 23 doubles, 8 HR, and 54 RBI. With the Mighty Rouse struggling to put bat on ball (and put glove on ball, truthfully), the Tribe decided to see how he would handle Buffalo this time around. Showing remarkable consistency, Asdrubal posted a .316/.350/.395 in his 9 games as a member of the Herd.

With the Indians no longer able to handle Rouse’s inconsistency on the roster (and the Buffalo Blowhards not doing anything to impress), the Tribe called up Cabrera, mainly to spell a struggling Barfield and for the ability to have a dependable late-inning defensive replacement. Of course, soon after Asdrubal arrived, the Indians decided to bench Barfield and give Gomez and Cabrera a shot.

In effect, the situation could not have been better for Asdrubal. If Murphy’s Law is “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong,” maybe Asdrubal’s Law is the opposite as everything fell neatly into place for him to get his chance. And he has certainly seized it, providing a spark to a (at the time) listless offense and providing steady glove work in the field. He shows no signs of being overwhelmed by adjustments or of being intimidated by his new surroundings (the HR against Santana being the clincher), so he’s acting and playing like he belongs and that he has no plans of making the return trip East on I-90 to Buffalo. Watching him play, it’s hard to argue that he should even consider it.

But, as exciting as AstroCab’s performance on the field has been, the incredible thing about Cabrera’s success (albeit in a very small sample size) is his age. Again, he just turned 21 three weeks ago, and looking at recent Middle IF who made their first real contributions in MLB at either age 20 or 21, it is a pretty impressive list with players like Alan Trammell, Roberto Alomar, Lou Whitaker, Willie Randolph, and Ozzie Guillen offering a range of players with varying degrees of success.
Expand it to age 22 and the list doesn’t have much of a drop-off, with the likes of Barry Larkin, Omar Vizquel (yes, Omar), and Ryne Sandberg dotting the high end.

Of course, you’ll also run into the likes of Mark Lewis, Jerry Browne, Miguel Cairo, Luis Rivas, and D’Angelo Jimenez as young infielders that debuted at a young age but never progressed much past being a Utility IF (or worse).

With only the early returns in, it looks like Asdrubal is the Real McCoy, exhibiting a nice approach at the plate (though that BB number could be higher) and a smoothness and fluidity in the field not seen here since (gulp…should I say it…dare I throw these expectations on this youngster) Omar.

Regardless of where he ends up playing (2B or SS) or what we say about him 10 years from now, Asdrubal (by the way, I’m getting a lot of flak for AstroCab and a movement is gaining ground that he could be the next first-name-only-player – like Omar, Manny, Grady, Victor, C.C., Fausto, etc. before him), his inclusion on this team and his accomplishments to date are above and beyond what even the most optimistic prognosticator would predict.

Had anyone predicted in April that these four players (plus Lewis and Laffey) would be playing a vital role in the season, you likely would have scoffed in disgust that all that would mean is that the Indians were experiencing a lost season.

Had that same person predicted that these players would be playing crucial roles in a playoff race, playing for a team sitting on top of the division by 4 ½ games as August draws to a close, you would have laughed at their blind optimism.

Yet, here we find ourselves, getting contributions from players we certainly didn’t see coming (for the most part) as the Indians find themselves relying on a bumper crop of youngsters produced by the farm system, and perhaps more talented than players available via Free Agency to make their push for the postseason.

Baseball’s a funny game that way, the unexpected (regardless of how unexpected) is often the norm and the smartest baseball people are right as often as the guy calling the sports-talk radio show (best example I can think of for the dumbest people in the world).

The future is now for the Indians, the Minor Leagues are producing quality players that are arriving at fortuitous times, and youth is being served on the North Coast.

Pie Me

As the Indians pull victory from the jaws of defeat, they’ve now won 6 straight, put the Mariners a little deeper in the hole, and keep the momentum going.

With Jason Michaels receiving the rally pie (not alone as Underwood and Manning got them in the STO booth simultaneously), it’s time for the out-of-towners (or those that don’t make it down to the Jake) to see the Rally Pie Video they show on the JumboTron.
Garko getting the pie when looking for the low-five is the highlight.


Much more coming on the hot streak and the way that this team is peaking at the right time, regaining their confidence and swagger (I know I can’t just keep posting a picture and 3 lines and keep everyone happy); so stay tuned.

Are You Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot?

5 in a row, 10 of 13 and...4 1/2 up in the Central.



Looking good, Ryan!
Feeling good, Joe Bo!

Armed and Dangerous

Good pitching beats good hitting.

At least that’s what has been said for years, whether it be 1995 as the Braves’ Three Aces shut down the historically great Tribe lineup, or watching the D-Backs ride Schilling and the Big Unit to a 2001 championship over a stacked Yankees’ lineup, or even the Cardinals’ riding a suddenly, and inexplicably, hot rotation to a 2006 World Series Championship.

Conventional wisdom dictates that a team receiving consistent, and consistently excellent, starting pitching puts the aforementioned team in a position to win most games, regardless of offensive output in the regular season and particularly in the playoffs.

So, if strong starting pitching truly is what carries a team into the postseason and dictates the postseason success of that team, how do the Tribe starters stack up against the rest of the AL contenders’ rotations?

Considering that much of pitching is recent performance (to wit, Jake Westbrook is 4-7 on the season, but is the hottest pitcher in MLB), the August statistics for the top 4 starters on contending teams in the AL with more than 20 IP in the month break down like this:
Cleveland
Jake Westbrook – 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP
C.C. Sabathia – 2.50 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
Fausto Carmona – 2.75 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
Paul Byrd – 5.35 ERA, 1.49 WHIP

Boston
Josh Beckett – 2.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIP
Tim Wakefield – 2.45 ERA, 0.97 WHIP
Curt Schilling – 3.75 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
Daisuke Matsuzaka – 3.81 ERA, 1.27 WHIP

Los Angeles
Kelvim Escobar – 2.38 ERA, 1.12 WHIP
John Lackey – 3.63 ERA, 1.47 WHIP
Joe Saunders – 4.22 ERA, 1.38 WHIP
Jared Weaver – 4.85 ERA, 1.38 WHIP

Seattle
Jeff Weaver – 3.14 ERA, 1.05 WHIP
Felix Hernandez – 4.09 ERA, 1.18 WHIP
Jared Washburn – 4.22 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
Horacio Ramirez – 7.00 ERA, 1.78 WHIP

New York
Andy Pettitte – 2.06 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
Chien-Ming Wang – 5.46 ERA, 1.55 WHIP
Phil Hughes – 6.11 ERA, 1.29 WHIP
Mike Mussina – 8.87 ERA, 2.01 WHIP
* Roger Clemens does not make the cut for the qualifications having pitched less than 20 IP in his 4 starts in August averaging less than 5 IP per start, but is sitting on a 5.79 ERA with a 1.66 WHIP in those 4 starts.

Detroit
Nate Robertson – 3.97 ERA, 1.32 WHIP
Justin Verlander – 5.08 ERA, 1.48 WHIP
Chad Durbin – 6.53 ERA, 1.60 WHIP
Jeremy Bonderman – 7.11 ERA, 1.71 WHIP

Not too surprising that Boston’s talented rotation is the class of the AL in terms of how deep the quality of starters goes, but the Tribe’s Big 3 of C.C., Carmona, and Jake compares extremely favorably against all of these teams.

Out West, it looks like the Angels have a deeper rotation with more consistency than Seattle, but the Mariners’ rotation looks like the Tribe teams of the early 1950’s compared to what their Wild Card rivals New York and Detroit have been trotting out to the mound in the past few weeks.

Looking at the numbers for the Yankees and Tigers, both of those teams appear to be banking on bludgeoning their way into the postseason because of the dearth of quality or consistency in their rotations.

Back to the Tribe though, as throwing Carmona, Sabathia, and Westbrook (in that order, to break up the RHP and the sinkerballers with a pretty vicious LHP) would have to be seen as a distinct advantage in any playoff series. Whether the Tribe went with a 3-man rotation in the playoffs (the games are very spaced out and sinkerballers have historically been better on short rest) or they added the Byrdman (who had great playoff success with the Angels in the 2005 ALCS) or hoped that Aaron Laffey channeled his inner Jaret Wright (circa 1997, not 2007) as part of a 4-man rotation, one would have to like the Indians’ chances in the playoffs, based on their starting pitching.

Of course, getting to the playoffs is the focus right now as it doesn’t matter how well your starting pitchers are going if they’re sitting at home or on the golf course when the playoffs start.

But, the way the rotation is going, where the “weak link” (Paul Byrd) is 4-1 in the month of August, the Indians have momentum going and a legitimate shot to go on a sustained run to pull away in the AL Central. That momentum could carry into the playoffs, due to the phenomenal performances of the Tribe starters, for this team that seems to be cresting at the right time.

Triple Your Pleasure

If you haven’t seen the triple play from last night’s victory, here’s the ESPN game wrap page that has the video.

I’m not sure if AstroCab even touched the ball or if he pulled one of those slight-of-hand magician’s tricks where the ball just immediately changes directions and redirects towards 1B. To me, his transfer was the key to the whole thing being pulled off.
Chalk another game-changing moment up for the Droob.


By the way, the Indians lead all of baseball in Quality Starts (6 IP or more with 3 or less ER) with 78, including 11 of the last 12 being categorized as “Quality”.

The white-hot Jake (August ERA – 1.50) and always dependable C.C. (August ERA – 2.50) are scheduled to go for the final two in the Twins’ series.

Anyone else feel like this thing is gaining momentum?

Don’t…Stop…Thinking About Tomorrow

With Sunday’s scintillating win in KC (the AstroCab jersey is en route…seriously), the Indians have won their last 3 series, all on the road. It hasn’t been pretty, but guess who’s won 4 of their last 5 and 7 of their last 10?

YOUR first place Cleveland Indians!

Consider that the three losses have all been by 1 run (4-3, 2-1, 2-1), and the Tribe is starting to crest at the right time of the year.

Sadly, not much to go on for a Lazy Sunday, unless you want to read Sheldon’s Mailbag with the title “Ocker, you pompous idiot!” (if you don't believe me, click the link) or read the first Bill Livingston column in a year that doesn’t mention that he was once a young beat reporter in Philly when Dr. J was a 76er, giving him proper perspective on all things sports. I think that the Livy article was about Carmona, but won’t link it as it only eats up about 5 minutes of your life that you’ll never get back.

Rather, with the Tribe moving in the right direction (and many of the current issues evaluated in the past few posts), I thought it was a good time to bring up some questions about the team that may or may not be answered in the last 33 games of the season regarding the future of the makeup of the roster.

Regardless of how premature it may seem in the middle of a pennant race, here’s some food for thought about the long-term decisions facing the Indians:

The question has come up before, but the Indians hold options on Paul Byrd, Joe Borowski, and Aaron Fultz for 2008 – which options do the Indians pick up?

If they pick up Byrd’s option and 80% of the rotation is effectively spoken for, where does that leave Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers?
As trade bait?

Has Aaron Laffey leapfrogged both Lee and Sowers in the pecking order?
Will a strong finish to 2007 for him put him squarely in line for a spot in the 2008 rotation?

Where does Atom Miller (assuming he’s healthy) fit into that mix?

Has Frank the Tank done enough to earn a starting spot in the 2008 OF?

If Gutierrez does get the RF job next year, who plays LF?
Does Dellichaels stay in the mix?
Could Dellucci get moved despite 2 more years on his contract?
What about the BLC or Francisco?
What about the possibility of a Free Agent outfielder?

Will 2008 be the year that Casey Blake fills the Super-Utility player role most people think he is best suited to occupy?

Where do Josh Barfield and Andy Marte fit on this team going forward?
How has the recent performance of AstroCab (albeit in a VERY short timeframe) affected their future, as well as that of Peralta’s at SS?

What does the organization do if Hafner’s slump is more than just a slump?
What if an injury is found that is more serious than anyone thinks it is right now?

Are the pieces already in place (or at least in the organization) to allow this offense to recapture the success of earlier this year?

Will the team get anywhere with C.C. at the negotiating table?
Will C.C. cut off talks and pitch his way into Free Agency if a deal isn’t reached in Winter Haven?
How will a possible playoff run affect the negotiations?

Will the bullpen need it’s annual overhaul or are dependable arms finally emerging?
Has JoeBo earned another year of closing?

With Trot Nixon the only outgoing Free Agent (and he WILL be outgoing) after the season, how much roster turnover can be expected going into 2008?

Again, it’s entirely premature to have fully formed answers any of these hypotheticals (and I could legitimately commit 1,000 words to each), but they are questions that may be answered as the team continues to evolve through the end of this season. Seeing as how the shape of the Indians for years to come may be determined by the next 2 months (September and October), their first REAL pennant race (in 2005, they were really just playing an incredible game of catch-up, coming up just short) and possible playoff appearance, they’re still questions that need to be asked.

A very hot Minnesota team arrives in Cleveland Monday for a quick series with C.C. scheduled to go against Santana in the finale on Wednesday night.

Cleveland, welcome to the 2007 Pennant Race.

Happy Tomahawks

How’s THAT for tense, playoff-caliber baseball!

For all of the crying about how the Indians have missed the opportunity to run away with the AL Central due to lack of offense with the ridiculously dominant starting pitching that we’ve had, the Indians now have a record of 18-20 since the All-Star Break. In fact, in their first 16, they were 8-8. In their first 27 since the break, they were 13-14.

Is it a great model of consistency to play around .500? Certainly not and surely it would have been nice to run and hide with the division while the Tigers really struggled. But it’s not like this team is suddenly losing 2 of every 3 games since the Break.

Oh, and 2 ½ up in the AL Central feels like a pretty good perch today.
And with that, release the happy ‘hawks:
____________________

The announcement came earlier in the week that Aaron Laffey will get the start on Friday as the 5th starter over Clifton Phifer Lee, and it’s hard to argue with it if the Indians are adopting the idea of putting the best players on the field, regardless of age, experience, or contracts (please tell me that they are).

Laffey went 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in two starts since being sent down, while Lee has been less impressive, going 0-1 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP over his last 3 starts for the Herd. Laffey’s pitching with more confidence and with more of a sense of purpose than Lee, so it’s right for the Tribe to hand the ball to the hot pitcher and ride it out.

If The Taffyman struggles, Lee’s there to take his place and probably with a bigger chip on his shoulder than before. But, if Laffey continues at the rate he’s going, unaware that he’s pitching in MLB (Jair Jurrjens, anyone?), the Indians just found their 5th starter for the stretch run.
____________________

Speaking of the stretch run – looking ahead, here’s the breakdown of anticipated starts for the rotation for remainder of the season, including Laffey’s Friday start:
Sabathia – 7
Carmona – 7
Westbrook – 7
Byrd – 7
Laffey – 7
Spot Starter for one game of September 26th doubleheader – 1

With Carmona, Sabathia, and Westbrook going like they are, I'll take my chances. In August, the top 3 starters have combined for a 2.11 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and 3 times as many K as BB over their 13 starts.
I think that Eck said it best - WOW!
____________________

Not sure if anyone is as into Arrested Development as I am (probably the funniest TV show of all-time for me…yes, Seinfeld considered), so excuse me if I begin to refer to Franklin Gutierrez (who already is sitting on a few nicknames) as Franklin Delano Gutierrez.
Consider it homage to the puppet from Arrested Development fame.

If you’re not familiar with Arrested Development, this isn’t funny to you.
But if you are, here’s a montage of clips, including a video of the recording of “Franklin Comes Alive”, thought to be Franklin and GOB’s best work together.
____________________

Amazingly, September 1st is rapidly approaching and rosters can be expanded to help the parent club. MLB rules dictate that, for a player to be promoted for September, the player must already be on the 40-man roster.
So, who’s on the 40-man roster, but not on the current 25-man active roster?
Pitchers
RHP Mike Koplove
LHP John Koronka
LHP Juan Lara
LHP Cliff Lee
RHP J.D. Martin
RHP Matt Miller
RHP Brian Slocum
LHP Jeremy Sowers
PLUS whoever gets sent down when Laffey is called up for Friday's start (likely RHP Edward Mujica)

Not much to look at here, though Matt Miller could help eat some innings and Cliff Lee could serve as the long man/spot starter (particularly for one of the games of the September 26th doubleheader).

Of course, it’s possible that Lee could be kept in Buffalo so Victor can keep his sparring gear in his locker, but the Indians are going to need the possibility of having some length out of the bullpen and will need someone to start a game on September 26th, so Lee would probably return.

It’s likely that Sowers would stay in Buffalo to continue starts and stay on pace for his inning count progression. The rest of these guys are just filler, although Koplove does have MLB experience…ahem, Voltaire.

Position Players
1B Michael Aubrey
MI Joe Inglett
3B Andy Marte
OF Shin Soo-Choo
OF Ben Francisco
OF Brad Snyder

Position player-wise, with Dellucci’s return being pushed back, as he’s not even able to make a rehab appearance), it’s extremely likely that the BLC will make a return trip to Cleveland to add a LH bat off of the bench and some defense and speed. Francisco would do much of the same from the right side of the dish, existing primarily as a late-inning defensive replacement or pinch runner.


Inglett could get promoted, I guess, though his role is already being filled by Chris Gomez). Inglett can come up only if he promises not to shave his mustache. Marte, Aubrey, and Snyder (of whom Marte is really the only one who could still be called a promising prospect, and that’s pushing it) will likely stay in Buffalo to maximize plate appearances.

Beyond that list are players not yet on the 40-man roster that will have to be added to it in the off-season to avoid being eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. With these players, it’s possible to add them to the 40-man now and get rid of some of the excess baggage (Koronka, Lara, etc), then add them to the Tribe.
The players who will be Rule 5 eligible after this year:
Pitchers
RHP Adam Miller
RHP Sean Smith
LHP Mariano Gomez
LHP Scott Lewis
RHP Randy Newsom
LHP Shawn Nottingham
LHP Reid Santos
RHP Jim Ed Warden

Position Players
C Wyatt Toregas
C Chris Gimenez
1B Ryan Mulhern
MI Rodney Choy Foo
MI Argenis Reyes
OF Brian Barton
OF Jon Van Every

Again, not much jumps out here, particularly if the Indians want to keep Atom Miller on a regimented schedule in low-risk situations. Ryan Mulhern might get a look as a RH power hitter, as might Barton – but both would fall pretty far down the list of options. They could always add another catcher to the mix (whether it be Toregas or Gimenez or just call up some AAA body) to give the added insurance of carrying a 3rd catcher.
____________________

The lack of a viable 4th reliever out of the bullpen still has me a little worried about the stretch run; but that is a discussion for another day.

For today, let’s enjoy the view from the top.

Unlikely Sources

With the team looking for that clutch hit and that big hit, raise your hand if you thought that AstroCab (the 2-out hit to start the rally in the 4th) and Frank the Tank (the 3-run bomb in the 5th) were the players in this lineup that would come through in the clutch.

Whether Frankie’s HR started the FRANK THE TANK, FRANK THE TANK chant in Comerica, I’m not sure.
I am acutely aware of one place where it WAS happening.

Look, I didn’t care who it was going to be.
I was ready to suggest giving Big Daddy Jeff Datz a look in pinch-hit situations (forget 25-man roster rules) to give this lineup a shot of adrenaline.

But the icebreakers proved to be two youngsters from Venezuela who started the season in Buffalo and Akron, respectively. The 21-year old and 24-year old Venezuelans performed on a night that the players that we’ve expected to break through and haven’t (Vic, Pronk, Grady) continued to scuffle as the game progressed. After Tuesday night’s loss, the offense was under the microscope like never before and the troika of Tribe stars started off much like they have for the past month stranding 13 runners (Grady - 4, Victor - 4, Hafner - 5).

Enter “Los Muchachos” (or “The Boys”, for those who didn’t take Spanish in High School), who took the burden off of the lineup to get the team over the hump in terms of getting clutch hits, which then came in bunches. Apparently unaware that they’re playing in Detroit (and not Toledo), Gutz and Droob calmly went about their at-bats and produced, setting the tone for the night and taking the onus off of the lineup to press and grip their bats a little too tightly. Seemingly unburdened by having to be “The Man” to get the hit, Hafner and Shoppach came through with two run-producing doubles in the 8th, cushioning the lead for the Erie Warriors, which came in handy at the end of the night.

One offensive explosion certainly doesn’t mean that the slump is over, but it’s nice to see some double digits on the board. The fact that they were led by two young Venezuelans should loosen the team up a little bit, as the main cogs (term used loosely) of the offense can perhaps relax and not try to do everything on their own going into the Detroit finale and the Royals’ series (while the Tigers have to face the Pinstriped Ones in Motown).

It’s well past time for the Indians to put the best players on the field, regardless of age, experience, or committed dollars. Count Frank the Tank and AstroCab in that category for the foreseeable future.

Viva Los Muchachos!

Groundhog Day

If ever a microcosm for the last month of baseball was needed, simply look to the 2 hours of Tuesday night as the Tribe dropped the first game of the series to Detroit:
Great Pitching + Zero Offense = Another Frustrating Outcome.

Fausto was tremendous, outstanding, marvelous, superb, masterful, phenomenal, and on and on and on. The superlatives don’t do justice to an 8-inning, 77 pitch, 3 hit, no walk, and 5 strikeout performance put up by the Faustastic One.

Carmona has a 1.80 ERA since the All-Star Break, and has gone 4-4!
The problem, obviously, is that Fausto is not the only getting burned by getting no offensive support. The dreadful approach (can it really be called an approach?) resulted again in few hard hit balls, many strikeouts, and me banging my head against the wall.

The widespread disease of swinging splinters has gone beyond epidemic as we’ve reached the point that I’d like to head into the Tribe clubhouse in one of those big yellow biohazard suits, put all of the Indians’ bats in a big box, and simply cart them out of the room…all without saying a word.

The Indians mustered one hit against a pitcher two starts removed from a AA pitcher and showed the same awful at-bats that have become the norm, not the exception.

No patience at the plate…
Trying to tie the game with one swing…
Not working the count…
Poor pitch recognition and selection…

At this point, it seems that Wedge could make the lineup card out on a dartboard and the result might be better.
If there was ever a night to tear things apart, it is tonight.

Flip the table, Eric.
Put the post-game spread on the floor.
Wake these guys up...NOW.

If you’re not willing to do it, maybe someone should check Jim Mora’s availability.

I Invented the “It’s Not You, It’s Me”

Coming to you live from the satellite office in Milwaukee (OK, my father-in-law’s computer room), it’s time for a confession – it’s not you, it’s me.

After attending two games of the Yankees’ series (obviously both losses) and the Tigers’ loss on Monday at the Jake, I loaded up the family truckster and headed west for the annual trek to Milwaukee’s Irish Fest. As I made my way out of town on Wednesday night (whoever said that driving through the night with an infant was a good idea should have their head examined), Carmona dazzled in a victory over the Tigers to split the 2-game set.
So the “jinx” left town and the Tribe thrived.

But here’s where things get weird - on the way to Wisconsin on Wednesday, we passed the I-75 exit off of the Turnpike (which can be taken to get to Detroit) just as Borowski retired the last out of the 9th. Good…great…grand.

Was there something to my location at the time of the end of the game, though?
Continuing west on the Turnpike, we hit Chicago just as the Reds’ Josh Hamilton hit a 2-run HR in Wrigley to beat the Cubs (after a long rain delay). Again, perhaps my mere presence was causing teams to drop like flies as the trip across the Midwest continued.

Those are isolated incidents, you say?
Consider, then, that the day I arrived in Milwaukee is the day that the Brewers lose (again) and the Cubs win to overtake the Brew Crew for 1st place in the NL Central, which is where they remain.

The Indians, meanwhile, seemingly released from whatever awful aura I bring to a ballpark or a city, promptly go to Tampa and take 2 of 3 from the Devil Rays behind (what else) strong starting pitching.

Maybe the Cleveland Sports Paranoia has gotten to me.
Maybe the lack of sleep and overabundance of Guinness (we are here for Irish Fest, after all) has sabotaged my ability to reason rationally.
Or maybe something larger is at play here, something larger than you or me.

Regardless, anyone know a place that I can stay in Detroit for about a month and a half?
I’ll get that out of the way first before I book flights for possible trips to Boston or Anaheim.

And with that, a quick Lazy Lazy:
Paul Hoynes examines how the Carlos Zambrano deal may affect the C.C. negotiations.
To me, between the recent Buehrle deal (4 years/$56M) and Big Z’s deal (5 years/$91.5M), the comparables are there for something to be worked out with Sabathia and the Tribe. As long as C.C. doesn’t come in looking for a guaranteed 6th, 7th, or (gasp) 8th year, the Indians may be able to work something out similar to the framework of the Zambrano deal.

I think it’s pretty apparent that the negotiations with the Hefty Lefty will come down to years, not annual salary. If he’s willing to take fewer years (4 or 5, with a player option) and hit the Free Agent market again when he’s in his early 30’s (as Zambrano’s contract is obviously geared to do), the Indians may be willing to give him money around $18M annually.
Don’t think that guaranteed years are the most important aspect of a starting pitchers’ salary? As much as Phil Rogers regularly comes off as a blowhard, here’s a fantastic read on how starting pitchers and long guaranteed contracts go together like oil and vinegar.

Hoynes also touches on Andy Marte’s future with the team and how Peralta’s role would be affected, Barfield getting benched, and Fernando Cabrera becoming a Free Agent (again, like Stanford, how much did Indians’ fans overvalue F-Cab?).

The Sheldon Ocker Mailbag Extravaganza returns this week and Shelly replies to a well-thought out question on the attendance at Indians games and the way that opposing fans have been able to make quite a bit of noise at the Jake with this wonderful retort – “Dear Bob, who cares?”.
And the ABJ printed it!
You’re a gem, Sheldon.
Keep it up, as you’re making the internet (and not traditional media like newspapers) a destination for more and more fans every day to get their Tribe fix.

Even though Terry Pluto writes about the Browns this morning, I would still encourage ANYONE who hasn’t read his “Dealing” to order it today. I read it in about a day and a half and learned more about the organization and the business of baseball than I had in any book since “Moneyball”.

Andy Call comes through with his nice weekly look around the Bigs. The great thing about Call’s column is that, while none of the stories directly reference the Tribe, all of them have some angle that indirectly has something to do with the goings-on in the Reservation.

Jim Ingraham checks in with much of the same.

Heading home tomorrow, though if anyone knows a spot in Detroit that I can set up shop for the week as the Tribe faces the Tigers for 3, I’m all ears.

Making the Pitch

After Detroit’s win in the Bronx last night, the Tribe finds itself again looking up at the Tigers. But, fear not, for the foreseeable future is rosy for our beloved Featherheads and it has nothing to do with the continued struggles of the offense.

The Indians are currently running on a 4-man rotation and will continue to do so until August 25th, when either Cliff Lee or Aaron Laffey will be called up to make a start (interestingly AstroCab and…wait for it…Barfield are listed as the players “on the bubble” when the 5th starter is needed). The four pitchers, then, that the Indians will throw every game until that point (and really for most of the remainder of the season) are the reason that the Tribe figures to stay in this neck-and-neck race, regardless of what happens with the offense.

Consider the four current Tribe starters’ numbers since the All-Star Game:
Carmona
1.73 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 38 K, 16 BB, 7.4 IP per start
Sabathia
3.21 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 43 K, 9 BB, 6.8 IP per start
Westbrook
3.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 21 K, 17 BB, 6.6 IP per start
Byrd
4.89 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 12 K, 11 BB, 5.8 IP per start

Every pitcher, save Byrd, is sitting on an ERA under 3.75 and a WHIP under 1.30. Take away Byrd’s last start against the Yankees (which, I understand, is like saying that Earnest Byner had a great 1987 AFC Championship Game, except for…), and his ERA improves to 3.27, while his WHIP drops to 1.30 and his average start bumps to 6.6 IP.

The consistency and depth of the rotation have kept the Indians in games that they had no right being even in a position to compete. Additionally, the length of the starts has taken the still-very-apparent problems in middle relief out of the equation as starts that go into the 6th or 7th innings allow the Indians to trot out the Scarecrow, Senor Slo-Mo, and JoeBo (knocking firmly on anything that resembles wood) combination to pitch the last few innings of a game.

What this team, and rotation, have been built to do is keep the Tribe in games, regardless of the performance of the offense. If the offense was thriving and the pitching was spotty, the team would be constantly trying to bash their way out of the pitching staff’s mistakes, forced to win games 10-8 or 9-6. With the rotation performing like it has, though, the offense just needs to produce a few runs to get this team in the win column.

If (yes, I know, it could certainly be IF) the offense is able to attain some semblance of consistency and knock out 4 to 5 runs a game, the pitching is in place to go on a nice sustained run. At this point, with Carmona (who, you get the feeling could throw a no-hitter every time he takes the bump), C.C., and Jake dealing, the Indians have a chance to legitimately win 3 of every 4 games, with a solid Byrd outing simply acting as icing on the cake.

For years, Tribe fans complained that, while bashing opponents’ heads in was nice to the tune of a 13-11 game, strong and deep starting pitching was the key to making a steady playoff push without hoping that the likes of Dave Burba or Jason Bere could hold it together for 5 innings.

Well, here it is, a team built on the bedrock of a starting rotation with shoulders broad enough to put the team on its back to win games 4-2 or 3-0, if necessary. Obviously, a nice old 9-1 game would keep the blood pressure down and keep the TUMS in the medicine cabinet. But, irrelevant of the offense and its ability, or inability, to produce runs, the starters should give this team a chance to win on a nightly basis.

Heading down the stretch on a playoff push, that’s really all you can ask for.

Serenity Now...

The stage was set with a playoff-like feel as the Tigers and Tribe were ready to duke it out. The Jake was filled (admittedly, mostly with people blissfully unaware that they sell Sugardale hot dogs, Stadium mustard, and buns at Giant Eagle, more than happy to stand in line for 45 minutes for $1 Dog Night) with an electric atmosphere as nobody sat down from the 7th inning through the bottom of the 9th.

All night, the situation was ripe for the picking:
Grady adjusted quite nicely to the 3 hole with a 1st inning HR to go up 2-0.
C.C. pitched marvelously, allowing just 2 runs in 7 innings.
Betancourt locked down the Tigers for the next 2 innings.

But, (stop me if you’ve heard this before as I feel like a broken record) the offense sputtered and squandered opportunity after opportunity (0 for 10 with RISP), letting down the team in a game they should have won.

Serenity Now…
Serenity Now…

The death of the 8th inning rally wasn’t the burr under the saddle as Granderson’s catch of a sinking ball to his right was superb and there’s no guarantee that the Indians win even if the soft blooper falls to put them ahead going into the 9th.

Ah, the 9th…
Serenity Now…
Serenity Now…

Chris Gomez leads off with a double, so he’s standing on 2B with nobody out. The air is thick with the smell of Rally Pies being baked as the Jake crackled with anticipation of another walk-off winner as surely somebody, anybody, could put the ball in play to advance the runner and get Gomez home.

Not much is needed.
A simple grounder to the right side of the infield.
A sacrifice fly to medium-deep outfield.
Anything to advance the runner!

Instead, we are treated to 3 consecutive strikeouts as Gomez stood like a man on an island as the inning came to an end. Even if someone puts down a bunt to get Gomez to 3B, it doesn’t matter because the last two batters failed to put the ball in play.

Serenity Now…
Serenity Now…

The deflating sound that was actually audible was the departure of hope from the denizens of the Jake. The feeling of, “that was it, that was our shot”, was only exacerbated by the debacle of the 10th inning.

Serenity Now…
Serenity Now…

The Tigers stole a game from the Indians that the Tribe should have won going away if somebody (again, ANYBODY) was driving in runs.

The loss, like so many before it, sits squarely on the offensive players’ shoulders. All of the players, who better collectively right themselves, and quickly, before these games scoring two runs or less become the norm and not the exception.

It has to get better or Lloyd Braun's prophesy will come to fruition.
Serenity Now…Insanity Later.

If It Takes Puking in the Clubhouse...

Since I don’t have access to any live chickens, I’m following the lead of fictional 3rd Base Coach Pepper Leach (wish I could be wearing a Leach jersey while doing it) and dropping off as many buckets of KFC as I can near the players’ parking lot on my way to the Jake.

Hopefully I run into the Trotter at KFC (meaning he’s not in the lineup) so they can “sacrifice” as many chickens as possible before the game because we’re “looking for some extra power tonight”.

Also, if you’re planning on bringing down golf club covers…you know to “keep bats warm”, the players’ parking lot is at the corner of E. 9th and Carnegie.
See you there.

On an unrelated aside, a DVR (or if you haven’t upgraded…a VCR) Alert as the 2006 Cleveland Browns’ highlight video will be on ESPN on Wednesday (8-15-07) at 1 PM. So if you want to catch the annual rose-colored video that can put a positive spin on ANYTHING to get hyped up for your 2007 Browns, set the DVR/VCR tonight.

If the Tribe bats remain in hibernation tonight, I’ll take it upon myself (having also attended 2 of the 3 Yankee games) to keep my jinx away from this team.

C.C. vs. Bondo tonight.
I'd like to see a couple of these “fired-up C.C.” shots at some point tonight.

Indians Fever…Remain a Believer!