Lazy Sunday Jumping Back Into Things

Fresh off a two-day Bachelor Party in Atlantic City (where a Dayton win AND a Cleveland State win did much more than just brighten our Friday), let’s roll right into a Lazy Sunday before my body goes into convulsions as it rejects what has gone into it over the last 36 to 48 hours.

Off we go…
Terry Pluto comes correct with his usual bag of Sunday goodies that he’s hearing from the Indians. The high points include an explanation of Dave Huff being among those who found himself re-assigned earlier this week, how Tony Sipp could be a valuable contributor in the bullpen at some point this year, how The Zach Attack could be headed for the bullpen (which, as I’ve said, I think is where the 7th bully spot goes), how Josh Barfield STILL isn’t hitting, and how the Indians might eat Kobayashi’s contract.

The biggest tidbit of the Spring thus far came out this week, courtesy of Paul Hoynes, who slipped this news into a simple “notes” column:
Scouting Pronk: Travis "Pronk' Hafner singled in four at-bats Tuesday. The Rangers, like Seattle, used the infield shift against him.
Scouts who watched Hafner on Monday against the Mariners said his bat looks slow. He couldn't get around on an 88 mph fastball and fouled it off.
Hafner is hitting .182 (4-for-22).

Not getting around on an 88 MPH fastball?
Isn’t that what we saw last year when Hafner’s pitch recognition was there, but was undermined by the slowness of his bat speed, resulting in harmless pop-ups and weak grounders?
Hopefully, this is still just an “adjustment” period for Hafner, but the longer this goes on and the longer his struggles continue, the more it becomes apparent that what Hafner did in 2005 and 2006 isn’t going to re-appear and even his 2007 season may be unreachable if Hafner’s shoulder prevents him from playing back to back games with an injury that a DL stint isn’t going to do much for. The more that this stuff comes out, the more I think that the Indians are really going to be picking their spots in terms of when Hafner plays, and not just to protect that shoulder and the lineup…to protect Hafner from what is surely going on in his own head.

At this point, there has to be a lot of hand-wringing when it comes to Hafner as his chronic shoulder injury (which rest and rehab didn’t heal last year and surgery doesn’t seem to have fully repaired), his inability to play anything but DH, and his contract status is putting some serious doubt as to how much of an albatross his contract will be in the coming years…if not this year.

As for the other major injury news of note, just to bring this Atom Miller finger injury to a head, here’s a fascinating and expert prognosis from the LGT, where one of the board members posted his dad’s take on Miller’s finger.
By the way, his dad has been an orthopedic microsurgeon with a specialty in hands for 30 years so while I can’t personally vouch for the validity of this information, yeah…this is about as good as you’re going to get without actually seeing Miller’s chart.

Sticking with the LGT for a moment, Jay Levin has posted the first of his three-part series (or something like that) detailing his conversation with Assistant GM Chris Antonetti. A good portion of the interview was published in The Indians Annual 2009, that I was happy to contribute to, but this gives you a pretty in-depth look as to how the Indians make decisions and how involved those decisions are. While Antonetti (obviously) doesn’t delve into specific players too much, the depth that he gets into with Levin offers a glimpse into conversations that are likely had on a daily basis at corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Moving on, if you were holding out hope that the WBC would be the way for The BLC to get that military exemption, think again as it looks like a law that granted exemptions became “extinct” in 2007 and it’s unlikely that the military of Korea to make an exception right after the law became “extinct”.
While I still think that this isn’t too much of a concern as nobody in the Indians organization seems too worried about it, my favorite part of the linked article, however, is this beauty:
“…Choo, who has been limited to four games in the tournament due to the Cleveland Indians meddling in his inclusion on the team, has not lived up to his billing as a U.S. Major Leaguer, going 1-for-9.”
The nerve of those “meddling” Indians who want to make sure that Choo’s not injured…

On the topic of Indians still in the WBC, Ken Rosenthal has an interesting piece on how Mark DeRosa is fitting in where the US needs him to fill in, this time at 1B. Not a great indication of how important the WBC is for the US that Mark DeRosa is playing 1B for them when only one 1B got hurt. Not to take anything away from DeRosa (who is likely to fill the same “fill-the-gaps” role with the Indians), but he’s the back-up plan at 1B?

Moving on to minor matters, Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman counts Matt LaPorta (perhaps a potential replacement for Hafner’s AB later this year) as one of the many prospects who has made quite an impression, saying about LaPorta (and other newly minted Tribesmen):
The biggest name coming back in the CC Sabathia trade hit .296 this spring (.514 slugging). Outfielder Michael Brantley, the second piece in the deal, also got big reviews and hit .360 this spring. Switch-hitting catcher Carlos Santana, who came for Casey Blake, is considered one of the best catching prospects in baseball.
The infusion of talent from what looks like a loaded Columbus team (Adam Miller or no Adam Miller) is going to be one of the interesting developments to watch this season as the length of rope the Indians give some of these players in terms of performance in MLB before they find themselves out of the rotation could be pretty short, particularly if players in AAA force themselves into the discussion by thriving for the Clippers.

For now, it’s time to fire up the March Madness On Demand to catch both the UD and CSU games at the same time from the comfort of my own home as going to a bar to watch both games after the last two days in the Trump Plaza and a place in AC called “Game On” would be tantamount to madness…and there’s going to be enough madness going around when BOTH the Flyers and Vikings punch their dance cards to the Sweet 16.

The Culture of Nomenclature

In the process of rambling and prattling on about all things related to the Indians, the use of nicknames is prevalent in this space, often to keep things light and to humor…well, mainly myself. However, to people not “in on the joke”, I understand that this can be a little confusing, based on some of the e-mails that I get that start with, “Who in the world is…?”

Thus, to clarify the players to whom I refer when “The BLC”, “Stomp” or “Les Beaux Moulins” is used without any other indication as to which player is the subject of the thought, I present a quick (well, not really quick) reference guide to nicknames for current Indians players, with some explanation of said nicknames.

To be fair (and with the lesson learned from last year’s exercise when proper attribution for some of these nicknames was debated), I should note that these nicknames are not even close to being my creations, but are instead a conglomeration of ideas that have come from me and others to bestow terms of endearment on these players. Ideas and names have come from Jay Levin of Let’s Go Tribe and his merry band of posters (notably Tyler Chirdon, Scott Bricker, Adam Van Arsdale, and Andrew Humphries, among many others), TCF’s own Steve Buffum, serial posters at The DiaTribe like Cy Slapnicka, other posters on TCF’s message boards, Anthony Castrovince’s reporting, and from various sources and crevasses in my head too numerous to mention. Just to reiterate and to clear up any notion that I’m taking credit for creating all of these names, these names are the ones that I like the best, regardless of their origin.

Taking my lawyer pants off (and what a nice feeling to be free of the restrictions of pants), let’s get this going with a few ground rules and comments on players you may not see here. First off, there will be NO hyphenated names, made infamously popular by A-Rod, that lack both creativity and soul. So if you’re looking for “V-Mart” or “B-Fran” or “A-Laff”…you’ve come to the wrong place. Baseball’s history is full of great nicknames and none of them have ever relied on the absurdly uncreative process of taking the first letter of a person’s first name and matching it with the first syllable of their last name, then putting a hyphen between them. No, the nicknames here tend to be a little more off-the-wall, where an explanation is generally necessary, but usually makes the process a little more fun and giving those aware of the explanation a feeling of being “in on the joke”.

Interestingly, there are a number of players who have played for the Indians for more than a few seasons that don’t really have staple nicknames. For as much as people bring up the misspelling of Jhonny Peralta’s name, most still refer to him as just “Jhonny” (sometimes pronouncing it Ja-Honny, if that counts), much as Jake Westbrook is pretty much just called “Jake”, despite the fact that he’s been in the rotation for more than a few years. Similarly, players like Anthony Reyes, Masa Kobayashi, and Jamey Carroll are usually just referred to by either their first or last names, with no widely accepted nickname for any of them taking hold the way that they have for other players. Maybe those are still coming (particularly for Reyes), but nothing has ever really jumped out at me for any of them.

Beyond that layer, there are a couple of players who are still a little too new to have a nickname in Joe Smith, Carl Pavano, and Mark DeRosa. Sure, it seems that any adjective with the “g” being replaced by an apostrophe should fit at the front of Smith’s name (like Sidearmin’ Joe Smith or Flingin’ Joe Smith), but it seems a little premature to roll anything out there, seeing as how I really have yet to see Smith pitch. Regarding Pavano, yes…I have been using the “Hot Carl” tag for the time being, but I’ll give the guy the benefit of the doubt and even refrain from using “American Idle” for him until his body of work reveals itself in Cleveland. For DeRosa, he comes from Chicago with a bevy of nicknames, ranging from the wildly unimaginative (but strangely accepted) DeRo to “The Pulse”, a reference to an irregular heartbeat that took him to the ER last Spring. While “The Pulse” isn’t bad, I’m holding out hope that something better emerges once he starts taking his cuts in the 2 hole.

Finally, before we get into the list (I know, I know…its coming), let’s bid a fond farewell to the players no longer on this list as they are no longer on the team. To the players who have left us and taken the nicknames that I loved with them – whether it be Brodzoski (The Close), The Big Borowski, JoeBlo, Frank the Tank, Franklin Delano Gutierrez, Gutz, aCCe, The Crooked Cap, The Hefty Lefty, Lacey Cake, Kasey LOBlake, Byrdie, Nasty Boy Tom Mastny, AAAAndy MAAAArte (that’s 4A), Goldilocks, Dellichaels, or Smoke ‘Em Brian Slocum – let us say adieu and segue that into this year’s version:

Grady Sizemore – SuperSizemore
Seeing as how the Indians ran a promotion (seen above) last year on the basis of this one, I would venture to say that the inference that Grady is some sort of superhero is on its way to wider acceptance. Of course, an MVP trophy on the mantle (and not just a “trophy” of another kind on his arm) would help.
AKA - St. Grady

Shin-Soo Choo – The BLC
What began as in earnest as Big League Choo quickly evolved into “The BLC”, if only because it was easier to type, and it remains a kind of inside joke that either people get or are completely lost by when “The BLC” is referenced. Granted, it sounds like something you would have for lunch, or what McDonald’s spin on said sandwich would be, but I like it.
AKA - SS Choo, CHOOOOOOOOOO!

Ben Francisco – The Ben Francisco Treat
For the player whose name sounds oddly like the 13th most populous city in America, we harken back to those old Rice-A-Roni commercials, with a moniker that ekes out “The Frisco Kid”.
AKA- Frisco, Sisqo

David Dellucci – The Looch
Enjoy it while you can folks, as “The Looch” (not to be confused with the bully that haunted Arnold in “Diff’rent Strokes) is not likely to haunt us with his contract and his fielding for too much longer.
AKA - Double D

Victor Martinez – El Capitán
While he may not wear a “C” on his chest like his brother-in-the-tools-of-ignorance in New England, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Victor is the leader of this team and would wear that “C” if anyone on the team would.
Ah capitán, mi capitán…
AKA - Vic the Stick

Kelly Shoppach – Show Pack
While the easier-to-explain “ShopVac” has been more popular, I’ll always go with “Show Pack” as the origin comes from a trip I took last summer to visit my sister and brother-in-law in California (which happened to coincide with when the Tribe faced off with the Dodgers). While we baby-sat for our newborn niece on Friday night, my sister and brother-in-law went out to dinner to get out of the house for the first time in months, while we stayed back and watched the Indians-Dodgers game. During the game, Kelly Shoppach hit a HR while they were out and, upon the return of my sister and brother-in-law, my brother-in-law excitedly asked me if I had seen the HR by “Show Pack”, which he caught on the TV at the bar while waiting to be seated. As I worked my way through who, exactly, “Show Pack” was, I bit my tongue (with an elbow in my side from my wife to keep my mouth shut) and added the name to the rolodex of names for the Indians’ backstop.
AKA - ShopVac

Ryan Garko – Garko…Polo
Since his 2008 prevented any legitimate use of the old “Ryan Garko-my-God-did-you-see-how-far-he-hit-that”, I’m going with this one (which makes more sense if you imagine the two words being spoken alternately by two groups…preferably in a pool) as it reminds me of a game involving searching for someone.
Let’s hope that Garko’s searching for his pre-2008 self.
AKA - Gark the Shark, Gonnie Garko

Asdrubal Cabrera – Droobs
Admittedly, I’m not real high on this one as I almost prefer just “Asdrubal” in the way that simply “Omar” worked for all of those years; but after a stellar defensive play or a shot to the gap, we need something to yell and “DROOOOOOBS” is as good as any.
AKA - AstroCab

Travis Hafner – TAFKAP (The Artist Formerly Known as Pronk)
As much as I'd like to simply put “Pronk” up there, I just can’t do it in good conscience after the last 18 or so months. Perhaps Hafner turns back into the monster known as Pronk that terrorized MLB pitching in 2005 and 2006, but he’s going to have to earn that one back…and this from a guy whose season tickets are in Pronkville.
AKA - Le Pronque, Half-Ner, That Travis Guy Wearing #48

Matt LaPorta – The GateKeeper
Loosely translated, LaPorta does mean “The GateKeeper” in Italian and anything that allows me to link Rick Moranis in “Ghostbusters” (or casually type the name “Pete Venkman”) is going to have some pretty long legs in these parts.
Not sure who “The KeyMaster” is yet…
AKA - Prime Time, Matt the Hopple

Beau Mills – Les Moulins Beaux
Remaining “Lost in Translation”, I’m not sure why the spelling of Mills’ first name intrigues me so or why it harkens me back to French class in high school. If you don’t speak French (and with the Frank Drebin classic line in mind), here’s a little culture for you in regards to the young 1B/DH to impress your friends with.

Cliff Lee – C.P. Lee
Prompted by the fact that Cliff Lee’s full first name is NOT Clifford (a mistake that seems to be made far too often), but is instead Clifton, the initials of his tremendous full first and middle name (that would be Clifton Phifer) give just enough mystery for the reigning Cy Young Award Winner.
AKA - Five and (f)Lee (ed. note – this moniker was shed in 2008)

Fausto Carmona – Faustastic
The superlatives that described the young sinkerballer’s 2007 season are what I’m trying to recapture here as, after having watched the Indians’ episode of the MLB Network’s “30 Clubs in 30 Days” which included footage of an unfazed-by-midges Carmona whiffing Alex Rodriguez in the 2007 ALDS, because getting Carmona to build on his 2007 (not 2008) goes a long way in 2009.
AKA - Our Focused Fausto, El Diablo, ¡FAUSTO!

Aaron Laffey – The Babyfaced Bulldog
There’s no question that Laffey looks like a 12-year-old choir boy (though the revelation that he’s covered in tattoos not visible when wearing his uniform, a la Brian Anderson, threw me for a whirl), but his approach in pitching is more like a hardened veteran as he attacks hitters and induces contact to render groundball outs.
AKA - Laffey Taffey

Jeremy Sowers – Sweet ‘n Sowers
Given that we’ve seen two different versions of Jeremy Sowers in his brief MLB career, this one is pretty appropriate as his 2006 was pretty sweet; but what has followed has been nothing but sourness.
AKA - The Vandy Dandy, Whisky Sowers

Scott Lewis – SLewis
About as close as I’m going to the abomination of simply shortening a player’s name, but this one makes it because “SLewis” actually just sounds like one word, instead of the hyphenated atrocities that aren’t really “short” for anything.
AKA - Scotty Lew

Dave Huff – The Huffstache
If you haven’t yet picked up your IA2K9 (and, really, why haven’t you), you’re not aware of the picture on page 46 that shows Dave Huff, in his Buffalo jersey last year…sporting a full-blown mustache. It’s a phenomenal picture, complete with the caption, “Huff and his mustache mowed down minor league hitters in ‘08”. The fact that he rolls with a mustache (and apparently, may do so again) furthers the argument that Dave Huff is my favorite-player-in-waiting.
AKA - Huff ‘n Stuff

Adam Miller – Atom
Not quite sure what to say here as “Atomic” in the good sense (dynamic, energetic, etc.) is very close to being replaced by “Atomic” in the bad sense (infinitesimally small, like the chances he may ever contribute) or the very bad sense (catastrophic) as the finger injury lingers…and lingers…and lingers…

John Meloan – Mayday Meloan
The spelling on the last name may be different, but there was another reliever (albeit fictional) with this last name…went by the name of “Mayday”. Hopefully, the performance of the hard-throwing reliever netted in the Lacey Cake deal doesn’t call to mind Sammy Malone’s (fictional) career or Sammy’s old “Slider of Death”.
AKA - Bones Meloan

Juan Salas – Johnny Living Rooms
Knowing absolutely nothing about the late addition to the 40-man roster off of waivers from the Rays, he gets the “Joe Table” treatment as the translation books get opened again, only to find out that “Salas” means “Living Rooms” in Spanish…or thereabouts.

Zach Jackson – The Zach Attack
Playing off the name of the fictional band in the “Saved by the Bell” episode when VH1’s “Behind the Music” was all the rage, the southpaw from the CC deal gets to forever be linked with a fake band from a live-action Saturday morning show.
AKA - Zachson

Rafael Betancourt – Senor Slo-Mo
Not much to explain on this one, assuming that you’ve ever seen a game grind to a halt when Betancourt enters a game. While I’ll still reserve use of the “Fist of Steel” (to be used in tandem with Rafael Perez’s “Fist of Iron” because “if the left one doesn’t get you, then the right one will”) in the chance that Betancourt rediscovers his 2007 success, it’s still out there.
AKA - Rocky

Rafael Perez – The Scarecrow
With his tall, slender build, long arms and legs always akimbo, and his hat pulled down low, it always remind me of a Scarecrow on the mound when Perez goes into his wind-up as Perez guards a Tribe lead like any good Scarecrow guards a field.
AKA - Fist of Iron (see Betancourt, Rafael)

Jensen Lewis – Stomp
His funky, deceptive delivery ends with a violent plant by his left foot as it hammers into the pitcher’s mound…hence the “Stomp” as he hurls the ball towards the plate.
AKA - Jenny Lew

Kerry Wood – The K-Man
Yes, it nearly goes against the cardinal rule of the list, but for the pitcher known as “Kid K” after his rookie season, incorporating a Seinfeld reference into his predilection for strikeouts is where I’m going with it. Ultimately, it’s an attempt to incorporate Kerry’s favorite letter (or what I believe it to be) into something a little more intimidating than “Kid K”.
AKA - “K is for Kerry”

Hopefully this little exercise helps out in the clarification of who I’m talking about when names like “The Scarecrow” or “Mayday” are thrown out there. Obviously, these names will evolve as new and better ones are created and adopted for wider use, but to keep myself sane to and feel like the creative juices are still flowing, these names will continue to appear for YOUR 2009 Cleveland Indians.

Fun in the Sun from SLewis to Kerry

The Spring Training games roll on and our boy Larry Jones of Lazy Lightning Media was there on Sunday afternoon for the Indians’ tilt with the Brew Crew. In this installment of wildly colorful action shots, we are treated to Scotty Lew in action, a shot of the Shoppach bomb literally milliseconds after it leaves the lumber, Les Moulins Beaux taking a cut with The GateKeeper looking on in what I hope to be a harbinger of years to come with those two sitting in the middle of the lineup on the North Coast, some shots of Prince getting buzzed, then knocking one out, and finally our goateed hero in the bullpen.













As usual, all images are the property of Lazy Lightning Media, all rights reserved.

A Lazy Sunday Rundown

In the middle of college basketball taking up most of our time as we all get ready to fill out brackets and prepare ourselves for the Madness that is March, let’s take a quick break between conference championship games and the Selection Show to get off on a Lazy Sunday:

Starting where we often do, Terry Pluto comes forth with some tidbits of what he’s hearing from the Indians, highlighted by news that Hafner’s shoulder pain has yet to show itself (please, oh please, oh please…), that Josh Barfield’s defensive versatility has impressed the Indians (which is really likely all they’re looking for as a plate appearance for Barfield this year will mean that he’s the last guy who has yet to hit and they need a player), that some names to watch in terms of reinforcements this year could be Michael Brantley and Chris Gimenez (who may top the list, along with Matt LaPorta, in terms of being able to contribute significantly from the position player side at some point this year), and handicapping the still-early bullpen and rotation spots.

On the bullpen, it looks like Wedge has issued a public warning to Kobayashi to shape up after his last lousy outing. While I think that Kobayashi will still break camp with the team, I’ll stand by my prediction earlier this week that he’ll be the first veteran to find himself off of the roster. More important than Kobayashi’s guaranteed money, the fact that most of the NRI’s signed contracts that includes language that they’ve already accepted an assignment to Columbus if they don’t make the team out of Goodyear, wich means that guys like Vinnie Chulk and Matt Herges will remain in the organization, regardless of whether they’re on the Opening Day roster. If that were not the case and if any of the NRI’s who are outperforming Masa had a clause that allowed them to become a FA if they didn’t make the team out of camp, the decision to carry Kobayashi out of Arizona would be tougher; but since the Indians can stockpile those arms in AAA and ostensibly give Kobayashi another chance in the Bigs (hopefully in rare appearances and on a very short leash), there’s no reason for him not to make the team out of Spring Training. How long he stays on it is up for debate and, obviously, contingent on his performance, but I think that 6th spot in the bullpen is still his out of camp.

As for the 7th spot, I do see the Tribe going with Zach Jackson out of the gate (if camp were to break tomorrow), given his ability to provide length out of the bullpen, the fact that he’s LH (with 3 of the 5 starters being RH and everyone in the bullpen not named Rafael Perez being RH), and the fact that he has those options remaining that allow the Indians to play with that 7th spot as needs on the parent club arise.

For the rotation, after a strong outing by Aaron Laffey, I’d put the Babyfaced Bulldog back at the top of the list (if he ever really left) with Sowers and SLewis fighting to be the first guy out of the gate when (not if) something goes wrong in the rotation (whether it be injury or ineffectiveness) with Dave Huff readying himself to be the pitcher who could perhaps make the biggest impact when he comes topside, probably later in the year.

As a quick aside on the rotation, anyone else notice that Carmona motored through 4 innings in his last outing giving up only 1 hit, getting 8 of his 12 outs via the groundball, coming on the heels of Laffey pitching his 4 perfect innings, getting 8 of his 12 outs via the groundball?
Get Westbrook and his groundball tendencies back in there (and I think that all of this talk that he’s feeling good still feels premature) maybe in the second half of the season and you’re going to have some busy Indians’ infielders come August and September.

Moving on to players that won’t start the season in Cleveland, but could help at some point this year, Jerry Crasnick has a nugget about how highly-thought-of the Indians’ top “layer” of young players is looking, highlighting Mike Brantley in particular, writing “‘that kid can really play,’ one scout said of Brantley. ‘Every at-bat is a quality at-bat.’”.
That sound you hear is me salivating, Homer Simpson style…mmm, Brantley…

On the topic of those young players, SI.com’s Jon Heyman has an interesting piece chock-full of information, noting that a deal involving that Indians’ newly created hitting depth (particularly with the glut of 1B/DH types like LaPorta, Mills, etc.) could be a way that the team augments their rotation, this after Heyman takes a look at who to believe when it comes to the this year’s White Sox, the stat geeks at Baseball Prospectus (who pick them last in the Central) or GM Kenny Williams (who has a much more optimistic view).

Speaking of stats geeks, the tremendous Joe Posnanski has a commentary on a discussion that took place on the MLB Network between Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds, Barry Larkin, and Sean Casey on which is more important, stats or scouts. It’s a fascinating read as the “argument” laid out by the ex-players is one that those who dismiss stats often use, with Posnanski tackling each part individually.

Posnanski follows that up with a hilarious commentary on the art of translation and uses Eric Wedge (which, while it is fabricated is essentially every post-game interview he’s ever done) to illustrate how he might sound if he were working through a translator.
Here’s Posnanski’s take on what the Wedge post-game interview (which anyone who’s ever heard more than twice could probably almost dictate themselves) might sound like with a translator:
Reporter: Looked like Lee pitched well.
Eric Wedge: Yeah, he had good fastball command.
Translator: “Yes. He ennobled himself with a performance of the highest rank.”
Reporter: You think Hafner snapped out of his slump?
Wedge: Hope so. The club needs him.
Translator: “His erstwhile performance had brought ignominy upon his family and the glorious and stately stature of the Cleveland Indians. However, his double today suggests the resurrection we have awaited impatiently.”
Reporter: Can you talk about the bunt in the fifth inning?
Wedge: Their guy was throwing good. We needed to try and get something going there.
Translator: “I feel strongly that the ever-changing nature of this virtuous game demands responsibility and honor, and it is incumbent upon a leader to ask for sacrifice in those difficult moments when the righteous opponent executes his duty with maximum excellence.”
Wedge: All right? We good?
Translator: “I must take my leave. Fare thee well, noble scribes.”

My favorite part of this is the reporter “questions” that are precisely what is “asked” in the manager’s office after a Tribe game.
Great stuff.

Apparently, the glowing reviews that have been coming out of Goodyear regarding the new park and the new facilities aren’t unanimous as the Arizona Republic reports that fans are upset with how inaccessible the Indians players are, particularly compared to the access that was apparently available in Winter Haven…which doesn’t really concern me too much for my trip as…um…I could care less about getting autographs or rubbing shoulders with these guys.

I just want to see some baseball under the hot sun that has eluded me for too many months now on the North Coast as the trip out to the desert with The DiaBride is now less than two weeks away and I still couldn’t be more excited. Of course as we sit there and peruse our IA2K9, now available at many fine local bookstores, like the Books-A-Million at Westgate in Fairview Park, where The DiaBride snapped off this beauty:

If you end up going there, the stack will be decidedly smaller as The DiaBride halved that stack with the intentions of sending one off to family and friends, Tribe fans or not.

For now, I’m going to don my CSU gear (if I can find my one of my old “Kevin Mackey Basketball Camp” T-Shirts, whether it be the version from 1986, 1987, or 1988) in the rag pile to ready myself for the excitement of a #13 seed for the Vikes and anticipating a #13 seed upsetting an unsuspecting #4 seed later this week.

Finally, don’t forget that the MLB Network's “30 Clubs in 30 Days” series will turn toward Goodyear for the Indians’ preview, airing Monday at 5:30 PM on the MLB Network. Most of the previews to date have been pretty good, full of interviews from Spring Training and some pretty even-handed analysis (with former Tribe GM John Hart often providing said analysis), so it should be something to catch.

Tomahawks in the Cacti

As the temperature dips below the freezing mark again on the North Coast…I mean, come on…let’s imagine ourselves in Arizona, sitting under the sun looking at all of the cacti that surround us. Now, let’s imagine ourselves hurling tomahawks at those cacti because it’s time to release the first tomahawks of 2009.
__________

While Spring Training stats are just that, who else is excited that Jhonny Peralta has continued the momentum from the end of his 2008 season into swinging a hot bat in Arizona? With questions still legitimately surrounding how frequently Hafner is going to play (and how effective he’ll be when he does), Peralta’s bat may play a huge role as middle-of-the-order presence with a healthy Victor and a full season of a (seemingly now healthy) S.S. Choo.

Everyone knows about the second-half emergences of Choo and Show Pack last season, but how about Jhonny, whose production took off once he was inserted into the #4 spot? Starting on June 22nd (his first appearance in the clean-up spot), Peralta posted a line of .306 BA / .365 OBP / .512 SLG / .877 OPS with 12 HR, 28 2B, and 59 RBI with 68 K and 30 BB in the 378 plate appearances over his final 86 games.
What number stands out there? And don’t you dare say RBI, Mr. and Mrs. Garko.

How about 28 Doubles in his final 86 games in 2008, when Peralta had 28 Doubles over 149 games in 2006 and 27 Doubles in 152 games in 2007? Over the course of a season, that pace puts Peralta at about 52 Doubles, a number reached by two Indians since 1926 (Sizemore with 53 in 2006 and Belle with 52 in 1995).

So much is made of where Peralta figures to play on the diamond, what’s overlooked is that Peralta looks to have fully recaptured the magic of his breakout 2005 season to become an excellent offensive player, regardless of what patch of dirt his cleats dig themselves into on the infield.

While Jhonny isn’t likely to continue the phenomenally torrid pace he’s setting in Goodyear (and does anyone else feel like someone should pull him aside and tell him to save for games that count), slotting him in the #5 hole behind Victor allows the lineup to stretch out in terms of quality.
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Speaking of the lineup, is anyone else interested to see how the names are going to appear 1 through 9 when the games count? It’s assumed that Sizemore and DeRosa will hit first and second and that Victor will hit in the clean-up spot, but where do the Indians go with the #3 hole?

Are they really convinced that Hafner should sit in that #3 hole or would they be better served to give The BLC the first shot at it, allowing Hafner to work his way back into the groove without the added pressure (real or imagined) that he’s being counted on to carry a good deal of the offensive burden from Day 1?

If you were to ask me right now, I'd say the lineup should look like this:
CF – Sizemore
3B – DeRosa
RF – Choo
C/1B – Martinez
SS – Peralta
DH – Hafner
C/1B – Shoppach/Garko
LF – Francisco
2B – Cabrera

In that lineup, the first redundancy of handedness doesn’t come until the #7/#8 spot with Shoppach/Garko leading into Francisco, all of whom are RH. Otherwise, the lineup balances out the hitters pretty well and allows Hafner to ease into the mix, with the unused portion of the Garko/Shoppach combination taking Hafner’s spot in the lineup when Hafner needs a day off to rest his shoulder.
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Does anyone else see where this “versatility” for Garko that we keep reading about is going?

The Indians keep talking about how Garko’s looked good in LF, about how they might take a look at him in RF, and how they want to “keep his bat in the lineup”…but why wouldn’t it be in the lineup seeing as how there’s not an “obvious” everyday 1B that figures to take playing time away from him?

I don’t think I’m telling any secrets to say that the answer is pretty simple – the Indians are going to be playing Victor at 1B a LOT more than they’re letting on, allowing Shoppach to get as many AB as the catcher as his 2008 merited. While the Indians have publicly commented that ShopVac will catch C.P. Lee and that Victor will catch Carmona, the fact that they’re so interested in adding “versatility” to Garko’s bag of tricks is telling. It’s telling because a decent amount of AB look, at least on the surface, to be available for Garko if he and Shoppach are truly in a convoluted platoon at C and 1B and Hafner’s going to need days off, making AB available at DH.

That is, unless, the Indians are figuring that Kelly and Victor figure to be getting the bulk of the playing time from the C and 1B positions (and last time I checked, Shoppach isn’t a 1B) and the Indians are figuring that Garko will see his plate appearances only at DH when Hafner’s taking a day off or in the OF.

It may be too much to say that Victor’s going to be playing 1B every time Carmona’s not on the mound, but Garko’s time in the OF means that the Indians are going to be getting Shoppach’s bat in the everyday lineup (and rightfully so) as much as possible and the player on the outside looking in if Shoppach’s going to get the bulk of the playing time is Garko.

Take that assumption that Victor’s going to see a lot of time at 1B this year and throw in the fact that DeRosa figures to really be the 4th OF out of camp and you have to wonder where and how often Garko’s going to find himself in the starting lineup this year.

Hence, the outfield experiment…that is, until the likes of LaPorta and Brantley are ready to emerge (perhaps at some point this year) to further muddy Garko’s role on the team going forward.
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If you asked me to guess right now who the first veteran would be that would find himself off the Indians’ 2009 roster, my answer wouldn’t be David Dellucci.

I'd pick Masa Kobayashi, whose second-half performance last year, combined with the arms in camp in Goodyear that are making good impressions, might lead the Indians to make the decision to eat Kobayashi’s salary and go in another direction as they’ve shown they’re not hesitant to do with relievers in the past few years.

With that in mind, it makes the performances of the guys that figure to start the season down in Columbus this Spring and when in AAA that much more important as the faces and names that make up a bullpen are in a constant state of flux and spots are sure to open up as the season reveals itself. The impressions that some of the NRI’s (like Chulk) are making as well as what the youngsters (like Sipp) are doing in Goodyear could go a long way in determining who gets the call to join the parent club if a pitcher like Kobayashi is sent on his merry way.
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As much hand-wringing as there has been about the middle-to-back-of-the-rotation (admittedly by me), I still think that the key to the Indians’ season is which Fausto Carmona shows up in 2009.

Throw out the best case scenarios for the pitchers who figure to round out the rotation after Lee and Carmona:
Even if Anthony Reyes continues the effectiveness that he enjoyed at the end of last year and stays healthy…
Even if Hot Carl Pavano recaptures the success that he hasn’t seen in too many years to count…
Even if whichever young pitcher emerges as the 5th starter as competent from Day 1…

If ALL of that were to happen, if Carmona doesn’t put his 2008 season completely behind him and is ineffective out of the gate, the already thin rotation (where a lot has to go right behind Carmona) goes on a crash diet.

To put it another way, imagine Lee continuing his 2008 season and Carmona recapturing his 2007 form…makes you feel a lot better about those spots behind them because you’re looking at two legitimate aces going 40% of the time in the rotation. Take an effective Carmona out of the mix and turn him into the question mark that he was last year and the Indians are looking at Anthony Reyes potentially as their second best starter and, while the early returns on Reyes last year and the reports this Spring have been favorable, that’s a pretty scary notion and an awfully big obstacle for a team that’s supposed to contend in the Central to overcome.

Which Carmona will show up and when we will know is the great question for me once the season starts as the difference between Carmona v.2008 and Carmona v.2007 showing up this year has the potential to be a huge factor in the difference between an AL Central Championship and irrelevance by the All-Star Break.

It’s an answer that should be fairly obvious after the first few starts by Carmona this year once the season starts, so until then, let’s sit back and watch more players “get their work in” while willing the Indians to stay healthy as this prolonged Spring Training rolls on.

Woodworking in Arizona

Kerry Wood made his Spring Training debut against the Halos yesterday and Larry Jones of Lazy Lightning Media was right there to capture all of the action. Today, he sends some shots of Kerry Wood on the mound (with the first picture looking like he’s in those Cubs uniforms that they started wearing recently that are more navy than Cubbie blue) sporting some serious chin fur, Jered Weaver and his perpetually wet hair, The Looch “motoring” around the basepaths, and finally some shots of our beloved #3 and #4 hitter handling the lumber.

Nothing of Scott Lewis imploding in the 7th inning of the game, likely at the same time I was writing, “the 5th starter spot may fall into his lap before the team breaks camp for the regular season” in yesterday’s piece.

I kid…I kid…here are those beautiful shots under the sun:
















All images are property of Lazy Lightning Media, all rights reserved.

Battlestar Goodyear

With 35 games scheduled for the Indians to play this Spring and Monday’s game against the A’s constituting the 12th game this Spring, we’re a little more than 1/3 of the way through the Spring games. That being said, most of the players are still easing their way into the Spring, in terms of working on the team wants them to work on and building strength and endurance, particularly for pitchers. Nevertheless, now might be a good time is there to examine the performances of the main candidates in the “position battles” that need to find an answer in Arizona.

When you’re talking about “position battles” for the Indians, there are really only two spots on the roster overtly at play – that of the 5th starter and that of the 7th reliever. Anther interesting subplot exists, as to whether the team will go with The Looch out of the gate or if they’re more inclined to go with the versatility and speed that Trevor Crowe would offer them as either would be the 4th OF. There is little that Dellucci adds to the team in the outfield and on the basepaths is little to nothing whereas Crowe can play CF (something that Francisco and Choo can “allegedly” do) and provide the athleticism off the bench that Dellucci cannot. The replacement of Dellucci on the roster, likely with Crowe, is going to happen at some point this season; but the importance of it happening out of Spring Training isn’t too high as the playing time for whichever player fills that 4th OF spot is minimal at best because of DeRosa’s versatility.

As for the other “position” that is supposedly in play (that of the 13th position player), it’s time to acknowledge that Josh Barfield is likely to be the 13th position player on the roster because the Indians are attempting to increase his versatility for the parent club and because sending him back to AAA would only block Luis Valbuena, who seems to have vaulted ahead of Barfield in the 2B food chain.

There’s really nothing compelling to monitor on the position player side as the two players that fill those two spots (4th OF and 13th position player) will play sparingly given the versatility of the players ahead of them, so instead let’s focus on the two spots that are there for the taking in terms of the pitching staff. Before getting into this, let’s first accept the assumption that Reyes and Pavano, if healthy and even mildly effective, are in the rotation because of Reyes being out of options and because of Pavano…well, because the Indians pretty much guaranteed a healthy Pavano a spot in the rotation.

In addition, let’s assume that even if Atom Miller gets the go-ahead to start throwing later this week (and I’m not holding my breath), he’s too far behind everyone else to make enough of an impression, with enough innings, to legitimately still be considered an option for the 7th spot in the bullpen out of Goodyear.

With all of that being said, we’re essentially back to those two aforementioned spots that a number of pitchers are angling for, the 5th starter spot in the rotation and the 7th reliever out of the bullpen. Since everything that we hear from the Indians regarding Spring Training evaluations have to do with “getting better” or “progressing”, each individual outing is listed separately, though the whole body of work this Spring for each player follows their name.

5th Starter Candidates
Aaron Laffey – 12.60 ERA, 2.80 WHIP in 5.0 IP with 2 BB and 4 K
February 26th vs. ARI – 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
March 2nd vs. TEX – 2.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 7th vs. KC – 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
If the 5th spot was Laffey’s to lose entering Spring Training, he sure is doing everything he can to lose that spot. Obviously, it’s early and Laffey can right his ship to regain the “favorite” tag that so many placed on him as the team arrived in Goodyear, but the results thus far have been very discouraging for a player that simply needed to perform adequately to net the first shot at the 5th spot out of the gate.

Jeremy Sowers – 5.40 ERA, 2.40 WHIP in 5.0 IP with 3 BB and 5 K
February 25th vs. SF – 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
March 1st vs. COL – 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
March 6th vs. MIL – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
More of the same from the pitcher once lovingly referred to as “The Vandy Dandy”, who hasn’t looked dandy since 2006 as Sowers continues to get pounded as he attempts to figure out how to become even back-end-of-the-rotation MLB fodder that looks miles away from him right now.

Scott Lewis – 2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP in 4.0 IP with 2 BB and 4 K
February 28th vs. OAK – 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
March 4th vs. CHC – 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
With each start that Laffey and Sowers struggle in while Lewis continues to pitch with moderate effectiveness, the Ohio State product pushes himself more prominently into the discussion of legitimate options for the 5th spot out of Goodyear. He’s on the 40-man and experienced some success in his four starts for the Tribe last year, so the 5th starter spot may fall into his lap before the team breaks camp for the regular season.

Zach Jackson – 3.86 ERA, 1.42 WHIP in 7.0 IP with 3 BB and 2 K
February 25th vs. SF – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
March 1st vs. COL – 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
March 7th vs. KC – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
While Jackson’s spot on the roster may present itself in the bullpen instead of the rotation, he’s performed adequately if not spectacularly in his appearances in Arizona. “Adequate, if not spectacular,” is about as good as a description as you’re going to find for Jackson, who likely isn’t going to vault ahead of Laffey, Sowers, Lewis, or Huff for the 5th starter spot but whose versatility and left-handedness may put him squarely in the mix to break camp as the final reliever…but more on that in a bit.

Dave Huff – 9.00 ERA, 2.50 WHIP in 2.0 IP with 1 BB and 1 K
February 27th vs. SD – 2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
If ever the opportunity is there for Huff to assert himself into the rotation mix, the early struggles of Laffey and (to a lesser extent, Sowers) give him the chance to push his way onto the Opening Day roster with a strong Spring. He’s only pitched in one official ST game, with him scheduled to go later this week, and the Indians may be more inclined to have him start the season in AAA to manage his service time; but if Huff comes out over the last few weeks of the Spring and distinguishes himself as the best option out of Goodyear, the Indians should take a long, hard look at heading to Texas for the Season Opener with Huff on the plane.

Kirk Saarloos – 10.80 ERA, 1.95 WHIP in 6.2 IP with 5 BB and 3 K
February 26th vs. ARI – 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
March 1st vs. COL – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
March 3rd vs. KC – 1.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
March 7th vs. OAK – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Saarloos, who pitched very well against his former mates on Saturday, doesn’t have a shot of making the rotation. While his name is fun to say and the pair of double vowels is fun to see on the back of a jersey, so much would have to happen for Saarloos to jump ahead of all of the other names listed above, he figures to represent a depth option if needed in Columbus.

So, 1/3 of the way through Spring Training games, where does the race for the 5th spot stand? It’s probably still Laffey’s to lose, though Lewis and Huff could make some headway on the spot if either separates himself from the pack while Laffey and Sowers continue to struggle. Jackson could, in theory, still pitch his way into the rotation; but at this point, the more likely avenue for him onto the 25-man roster is in the bullpen.

As a final addendum to the first look at the 5th starter “position battle”, here are the 2008 Spring Training numbers from the pitcher that emerged “victorious” in last year’s battle for the 5th spot:
8.31 ERA, 2.42 WHIP in 8.2 IP with 4 BB and 5 K
That’s the 2008 Winter Haven line for one Clifton Phifer Lee, Mr. Cy Young.
Spring Training stats, meet your grain of salt…

Bullpen
Ed Mujica – 19.64 ERA, 2.73 WHIP in 3.2 IP with 1 BB and 1 K
February 25th vs. SF – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
February 28th vs. OAK – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
March 3rd vs. KC – 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
With Miller realistically out of the mix, one could make the argument that the 7th spot is Mujica’s to lose because he’s out of options; but with each appearance, the loss of that 7th spot for him grows more likely. Unless something drastically changes with Mujica, it’s highly unlikely that he makes the team out of Goodyear and only a little less likely that a team would claim him off of waivers, given his MLB body of work and his performance this Spring. See you in Columbus, Eddie!

John Meloan – 9.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP in 3.0 IP with 2 BB and 2 K
February 27th vs. SD – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
March 2nd vs. TEX – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 8th vs. OAK – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
The other hard-throwing RHP, besides Miller, that the Indians have high hopes for in the bullpen, Meloan has pitched decently in his few appearances and is still making the transition back to the bullpen after an ill-fated attempt by the Dodgers to make him a starter out of the gate in 2008. Because of that transition, and because the Indians think too highly of Meloan’s future in the bullpen to bury him in that 7th spot (where the frequency of appearances will be sporadic, at best), it’s likely that “Mayday” Meloan will be sent out to AAA to get back into the rhythm of being a reliever and to be at the ready when (not if) a reliever is needed for the parent club.

Juan Salas – 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP in 3.0 IP with 2 BB and 1 K
March 2nd vs. TEX – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 4th vs. CHC – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
March 7th vs. KC – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
An intriguing late addition to the mix, Johnny Living Rooms (“Salas” is “Living Rooms” in Spanish) could be a wild card in this bullpen mix as the Indians can use him infrequently as an innings-eater without worrying too much about his development as a reliever (the way that they would about Meloan or Sipp) and move him up and down between Columbus and Cleveland because of his one remaining option. By most accounts, he has a live arm and might simply be a placeholder out of Goodyear until a better option reveals itself from the mix that figures to start the season in Columbus.

Zach Jackson – 3.86 ERA, 1.42 WHIP in 7.0 IP with 3 BB and 2 K
February 25th vs. SF – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
March 1st vs. COL – 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
March 7th vs. KC – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Back when some (OK…me) thought that Jackson was out of options, his inclusion on the 25-man roster as a long man made sense as he’s unlikely to ever represent much more than a depth option in the rotation and he has the versatility to be the long man/spot starter that is missing in the bullpen. Now, with Miller (the prohibitive “favorite” when camp started) not likely to be an option, doesn’t that same logic hold for the Zach Attack to break camp with the parent club? His purpose would be to absorb innings and serve as a multi-inning option for the first month of the season while the relievers in Cleveland and Columbus slot themselves with performance with the Indians able to use his last remaining option to shuffle some arms back and forth until the right mix is found.

Rich Rundles – 18.00 ERA, 2.75 WHIP in 4.0 IP with 2 BB and 5 K
February 26th vs. ARI – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 1st vs. COL – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
March 3rd vs. KC – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 6th vs. MIL – 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
March 8th vs. OAK – 0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Rundles’ numbers are misleading this Spring (even more so than those of the others with these painfully small sample sizes) as Rundles has been facing all comers for the most part this Spring instead of just facing LH hitters, which is the LOOGY role that he would find himself in for the Indians. Spring Training stats are hard enough to find and compile, so don’t expect me to know what Rundles’ splits look like this Spring. Just know that if the decision is made to carry a LH-specialist in the bullpen (because Raffy Perez can’t be pigeonholed as one), Rundles will be that 7th reliever to break camp with the team.

Tony Sipp – 4.50 ERA, 0.50 WHIP in 2.0 IP with 0 BB and 3 K
March 3rd vs. KC – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 7th vs. KC – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
“If the decision is made to carry a LH-specialist in the bullpen…Rundles will be that 7th reliever to break camp with the team – what? What about Tony Sipp?”…am I hearing that right? Yes, as talented as Sipp is and for as much as I think he’s going to play a role in this bullpen this year, the logic of breaking camp with Sipp as the LOOGY is counter-productive. Sipp is still not far removed from serious injury and, when healthy, has displayed the ability (like Perez) to thrive against both LH and RH hitters. So why would the Indians keep him on the roster as the LOOGY, when a larger role will exist for him later in the season as attrition and injury force this bullpen to evolve? Like Meloan, Sipp should start the year in Columbus and attempt to slot himself as the first reliever called up when reinforcements are needed in a more important role in the bullpen.

Greg Aquino – 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP in 3.0 IP with 1 BB and 4 K
February 27th vs. SD – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
March 2nd vs. TEX – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 7th vs. KC – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Probably one of the more intriguing of the NRI’s, Aquino is still relatively young (31) and has had moderate success in MLB recently (106 ERA+ in 2006 over 42 games with the D-Backs). That being said, the likelihood of Aquino forcing his way onto the 40-man roster, much less the 25-man, would take some pretty dominant outings from Aquino and more than a total collapse from the pitchers listed above (all of whom are on the 40-man) for that to happen.

Vinnie Chulk – 3.38 ERA, 0.75 WHIP in 8.0 IP with 2 BB and 6 K
February 25th vs. SF – 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 1st vs. COL – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
March 3rd vs. KC – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 6th vs. MIL – 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
March 9th vs. CHI – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
If Aquino’s age and recent performance intrigue, Chulk’s age (also 31) and recent performance (124 ERA+ in 2007 over 57 games with the Giants) should slot him ahead of Aquino in terms of legitimate options for that 7th spot. But, like with Aquino, Chulk would have to impress ALL of the right people (though his Spring performance thus far is a good start) for Chulk to be a truly legitimate option.

Matt Herges – 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP in 5.0 IP with 3 BB and 7 K
February 25th vs. SF – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
February 27th vs. SD – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
March 2nd vs. TEX – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
March 6th vs. MIL – 1.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
March 9th vs. CHI – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Nearly 39, Herges has the best track record in MLB of any pitcher on this list as he’s averaged nearly 58 appearances over the last nine (yes, nine) seasons and was a key component of the Rockies’ bullpen in their 2007 playoff push. This Spring, he’s had one very bad appearance, three excellent appearances, and one marginal one to put himself probably at or near the top of the NRI ladder…if such a ladder exists. Herges would have to make an impression on a group of guys not seen since Helen of Troy to make this team out of Goodyear and it’s more likely that he heads off to Columbus (assuming he accepts the invitation) in an attempt to pitch his way back into MLB relevance.

Jack Cassel – 9.39 ERA, 1.70 WHIP in 7.2 IP with 0 BB and 3 K
February 26th vs. ARI – 1.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 1st vs. COL – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
March 3rd vs. KC – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
March 7th vs. KC – 2.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
The best thing that can be said about Cassel is that his brother is the new QB of the Chiefs. Other than that mention, this will be the last time that you’ll see Jack Cassel’s name in this space.

Again, now that we are 1/3 of the way through the Spring Training games, have yet to see an Atom Miller appearance, and look to be back where we were before Miller started buzz-sawing through hitters in the Dominican Republic, what does the competition for that 7th spot in the bullpen look like? To me, it really depends what the Indians are looking for out of that spot as Zach Jackson provides the innings and versatility of a long man/spot starter (which is lacking in the bullpen as presently constructed) while Rich Rundles would perform the role of a LOOGY (which, again, is lacking in the relievers slated #1 through #6 in the current Tribe bullpen). If the Indians are looking for a reliever whose development won’t suffer from the infrequency of use in that 7th spot that they can still shuttle back and forth between Cleveland and Columbus, Juan Salas fits that bill.

As for the two most exciting names on this list, the wisdom of breaking camp with either Meloan or Sipp seems counterproductive as both need to continue to become comfortable as relievers, in terms of routine and approach and starting both in Columbus makes more sense to have either ready to contribute in more significant situations at some point later in the season. Beyond those 40-man options, and pertaining to the veteran NRI’s, the likelihood of any of them realistically breaking camp with the team decreases significantly with each decent outing by players already on the 40-man roster.

Still lots of baseball left to play under the Arizona sun, but the wheat is starting to separate itself from the chaff as the Indians look to fill out the back end of the rotation and the bullpen from the arms that will continue to labor in the desert heat.

Springing Forward on a Lazy Sunday

Spring Training rolls on and having lost an hour of sleep to the clock, let’s get going on a Lazy one so I can make plans for an afternoon nap on a rainy afternoon while feigning interest in the WBC on TV.

Starting where we often do, Terry Pluto has a piece that asserts that Ben Francisco may improve on his 2008 numbers as he generally performs better in his second full season at a particular level. It’s a nice thought, and certainly an optimistic one that Francisco, whose best minor-league season was as a 25-year-old repeating AAA will show more at the plate than he did last year as an Indian.

There is some logic behind it as Francisco is entering the season at an age (27) during which most players peak and the idea that Francisco can sit at the bottom of the lineup, instead of in the #3 hole, may take some pressure off him, but Pluto’s assertion that Francisco “wore down” in the second half doesn’t hold water when you take a look at Francisco’s complete body of work.

Pluto correctly points out that The Frisco Kid hit .294 with 8 HR and 35 RBI before the All-Star Break last year, only to bat .236 with 7 HR and 19 RBI after, pointing out that Francisco started to really drop off starting August 27th, after which he hit only .165 with 1 HR and 4 RBI in 75 AB. Maybe there is something to Francisco “wearing down”, resulting in a steady decline in his numbers.

But those pre-All-Star Break numbers are inflated by Francisco’s phenomenal debut in the everyday lineup. As long as we’re picking dates to base Francisco’s season, here are a couple that will open your eyes:
April 24th (1st Start) to May 24th
.371 BA / .403 OBP / .629 SLG / 1.032 OPS with 2 HR, 10 2B in 62 AB

May 25th to All-Star Break
.267 BA / .340 OBP / .424 SLG / .764 OPS with 6 HR, 9 2B in 172 AB

All-Star Break to End of Season
.236 BA / .306 OBP / .396 SLG / .702 OPS with 7 HR, 13 2B in 212 AB

Those pre-All-Star break numbers are colored by the 18-game stretch at the top there, with Francisco’s season line excluding those games looking like this:
May 25th to End of Season
.250 BA / .322 OBP / .409 SLG / .731 OPS with 13 HR, 22 2B in 384 AB

To be fair, if we’re taking out Francisco’s hot start, let’s take out the dreadful end, using Pluto’s date of August 27th as the stopping point:
May 25th to August 26th
.272 BA / .334 OBP / .443 SLG / .777 OPS with 12 HR, 16 2B in 305 AB

If you want a sense of what can reasonably be expected for Francisco, that’s the set of numbers to look at as it falls pretty much in line with what he’s done in the Minors and pegs him as an average MLB player.

Could he improve on those numbers?
Certainly, though a huge increase from those would be quite a surprise as Francisco doesn’t have one skill that separates him or excites anyone, nor does he have one glaring deficiency (his tendency to pull and his bad routes in the OF aren’t “glaring”) which adds up to an “average” player who is now 27.

Is that a bad thing?
Not if you remember the days of Dellichaels…and many people do, which is probably why even the average production of Francisco is looked upon so favorably.

But The Ben Francisco Treat is, at this point, a place holder on this team – holding down LF until Matt LaPorta or Michael Brantley can prove themselves to be ready to assume the everyday LF job, allowing Francisco to become the 4th OF, a position that best utilizes his ability to play multiple positions. That’s not a knock on Francisco, as he did provide some much-needed stability in LF last year, it’s more of an indication that Francisco is what he is and doesn’t have anything on his body of work that portends a big “breakout” season or slots him as much more than a nice placeholder in the OF, with his ideal place on the roster being a 4th OF on a good team.

Players like that are valuable and Francisco will have every opportunity to have that “breakout” season as he’ll play every day in LF and hit in the bottom 1/3 of the order, but to think of Francisco as much more than a minor complementary piece in terms of the roster as a whole is something that would need to be proven pretty forcefully this year.

Speaking of corner OF, there’s quite a bit of hulabaloo and politicking going on with one Mr. Big League Choo as his left elbow (the one that had TJ surgery) is aching and Choo’s across the Pacific playing the WBC. It looks like an agreement has been reached between the anxious Indians and the South Koreans, thrilled to have a MLB player on their roster in The BLC, as Choo will DH only in the 1st round of the WBC before he returns stateside (where he can be examined by Tribe doctors) with his national team for the 2nd round, assuming his team does advance.

It’s an interesting balancing act for the Indians, who want to stay in the good graces of the South Korean government, with Choo’s military obligation still over their heads (though there are ways to avoid it), and with very real concerns about the health of Choo, who should be a fixture in the middle of the Tribe lineup this season. Given that The BLC should be coming back to the US soon, let’s hope that the Indians’ doctors check it out, declare it fit for play, and have it fade into the background of Spring Training.

On the topic of aches and pains, the most troubling injury item to come out of Goodyear is the news that Atom Miller will remain idle because of issues with the same finger injury that robbed him of his 2008 and most of his 2007 season. At this point, this finger injury (which first became an issue in early 2007) is closing in on two years and each passing day that keeps him on the shelf because of “concerns” or “caution” severely limits any thought that Miller will make an impact in the organization, much less this year.

With Miller, then, presumably out of the mix for the bullpen spot, this is kind of like the prohibitive favorite in a race not even making the starting gate, giving new life to the rest of the contestants. If Miller isn’t an option (and, really, how could he be even if he were to come back healthy in mid-March enough to merit his inclusion on the 25-man), the relievers who still figure to be in that mix for the 7th bullpen spot remain Mujica (who has just been shelled every time out), Meloan, Jackson, Rundles, Juan Salas, and maybe even a healthy Tony Sipp. It’s possible that one of the NRI’s in camp gets a cursory look, like Greg Aquino, Vinnie Chulk, or Matt Herges, but with Miller essentially out of the equation, it’s looking like a wide-open race again.

Speaking of wide-open races, Aaron Laffey (the assumed favorite for the 5th starter spot) got shelled again yesterday in Arizona and, while we’re told over and over that stat lines in Spring Training are meaningless, the fact that he gave up 4 hits and 3 runs in one inning yesterday can’t be good for the “progression” that these players are supposed to be doing. Of course it’s early, but Laffey’s last start ended with a line of 2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, so his status as the front-runner for the spot is being tested.

The best non-story of the week came from Paul Hoynes, who took the leap of faith in thinking that (seeing as how Alex Rodriguez is injured) the Yankees are likely to be looking for a 3B…and Andy Marte is there for the taking for them!
I know that not much is happening in Goodyear, but this is pretty absurd as the piece is highlighted by the phenomenal lead-in and quote from Shapiro:
GM Mark Shapiro said the Yankees have not called about Marte. Shapiro added, "If they call, we'll listen."
What’s the point of even writing that?
Was anyone expecting Shapiro, when asked about the 3B who was passed by every team in MLB after his removal from the 40-man, to suddenly say that Marte was “off-limits”?
Next up is the piece that the Twins are thinking of acquiring Eddie Mujica as insurance in the chance that Joe Nathan’s shoulder injury is more serious than originally thought.

Moving on, a nice addendum to the “Point of Contention” piece that I did last week comes to us via The Baseball Analysts, who use a three-year body of work to see which teams netted the most victories in that time-frame with what payroll. The piece comes to the conclusion that only the Twins outperformed the Indians in terms of payroll efficiency from 2006 to 2008, which only gives more credence to the fact that the Indians have been the most efficient team in maximizing payroll since 2005.
That is, take a look at the year that I included (2005) that was not included in The Baseball Analysts piece, in terms of the records and payrolls of the Indians and the Twins:
2005 Cleveland Indians – 93-69 – Total Payroll - $41,502,500
2005 Minnesota Twins – 83-79 – Total Payroll - $56,186,000

Regardless, the piece from The Baseball Analysts is a nice complement to my piece, as it illustrates how successful the Indians have been against the backdrop of the whole league by including all of MLB and not just the top ten teams in terms of records from 2005 to 2008.

If you do happen to be making the trip out to Goodyear this year (and my bags will be packed to head out there with The DiaBride for some fun in the sun at the end of this month), here is a tremendous look at the Indians’ new facility, as well as a quasi-visitors’ guide, with restaurant, hotel, and airport information pertaining to Goodyear and the surrounding community.

If you’re heading down to Goodyear, now would be a perfect time to be sure that you’re taking the IA2K9 for some reading in the sun. The issue is apparently almost sold out in terms of their stock set aside for on-line sales, though the Annual should be available at various drug stores and bookstores across the North Coast until the stock is exhausted.

Looking for Pronk in the Desert

Friday’s game against the Brew Crew featured the Spring debuts of the reigning Cy Young winner and The Artist Formerly Known as Pronk, and Larry Jones of Lazy Lightning Media was there to catch all of the action. Today, he provides us shots of Clifton Phifer, a beefy Prince, and some action shots of Hafner…with the final shot showing Hafner’s weak pop-up leave his bat.











All images are property of Lazy Lightning Media, all rights reserved.
See you soon for a Lazy one.

Hot Carl and Les Moulins Beaux

With more Spring Training games come more phenomenal images from Larry Jones of Lazy Lightning Media, who sends along some pictures from Wednesday’s battle with the North Siders. Today, we have the American Idle on the mound and with El Capitan and young 1B/DH Beau Mills hammering his first Spring HR, followed by his triumphant return home.







Viva Les Moulins Beaux!

Point of Contention

In December of 2001, the trade of Roberto Alomar to the Mets signaled that the rebuilding process was officially underway in Cleveland as the team that had gone to the playoffs 7 out of the previous 8 MLB seasons from 1995 to 2001 had evolved into a bloated, unproductive roster full of overpaid veterans and middling prospects. GM Mark Shapiro, at the press conference announcing the trade, famously pronounced that the Indians’ rebuilding plan would not be in earnest and the team would contend in 2005, with sustained contention beyond 2005 being the goal. While Shapiro likely had many days and nights between that December afternoon and 2005 in which he probably wanted those words (and more notably that defined timeframe) back, the Indians somehow found themselves in contention in 2005, making Shapiro look like a soothsayer…if a lucky one.

Now, a full four seasons later, a body of work has been put forth substantial enough that the idea that the Indians would begin a stretch of steady contention can be examined. Obviously, the season to season roller coaster is well known – the playoff push of 2005 that fell just short to the unfulfilled expectations of 2006, from the “oh-so-close” 2007 to the unmitigated disaster of last year – but looking at it in a broader sense, how have the Indians performed as a whole using that 2005 “year of contention” as a starting point? To truly judge that in the proper context (and removing the emotional ups and downs of each season), how does their performance over the last four years compare to the rest of MLB?

Using cumulative records from 2005 to 2008, here is how MLB teams rank in terms of winning percentage with the applicable playoff appearances and World Series championships shown:
MLB Records – 2005 to 2008
LAA – 378-270 (.583) – 3 Playoff Appearances
NYY – 375-273 (.579) – 3 Playoff Appearances
BOS – 372-276 (.574) – 3 Playoff Appearances, 1 World Series Championship
NYM – 357-291 (.551) – 1 Playoff Appearance
PHI – 354-294 (.546) – 2 Playoff Appearances, 1 World Series Championship
CHW – 350-299 (.539) – 2 Playoff Appearances, 1 World Series Championship
CLE – 348-300 (.537) – 1 Playoff Appearance
STL – 347-300 (.536) – 2 Playoff Appearances, 1 World Series Championship
MIN – 346-303 (.533) – 1 Playoff Appearance
TOR – 336-312 (.518)
OAK – 332-315 (.513) – 1 Playoff Appearance
HOU – 330-317 (.510) – 1 Playoff Appearance
MIL – 329-319 (.508) – 1 Playoff Appearance
DET – 328-320 (.506) – 1 Playoff Appearance
CHC – 327-320 (.505) – 2 Playoff Appearances
LAD – 325-323 (.502) – 2 Playoff Appearances
ARI – 325-323 (.502) – 1 Playoff Appearance
ATL – 325-323 (.502) – 1 Playoff Appearance
SDG – 322-327 (.496) – 2 Playoff Appearances
FLA – 316-331 (.488)
TEX – 313-335 (.483)
COL – 307-342 (.474) – 1 Playoff Appearance
CIN – 299-349 (.461)
SEA – 296-352 (.457)
SFG – 294-353 (.454)
TAM – 291-357 (.449) – 1 Playoff Appearance
WAS – 284-363 (.439)
BAL – 281-366 (.434)
PIT – 269-379 (.415)
KCR – 262-386 (.404)

Looking past the alarming parity on display (20 of the 30 MLB teams have been to the playoffs in the last four years), I hope you’re seeing the line in bold – the 348-300 record that puts the Tribe 5th out of the 14 AL teams in terms of cumulative record from 2005 to 2008 and 7th out of all 30 MLB teams. Not too bad, considering the teams that appear on the list above and below them, include nearly all of the heavy hitters in terms of dollars spent. The inclusion among the “big boys” then becomes an interesting subplot to this when you consider how much money, in terms of payroll, was spent by each of the top ten teams on this list from 2005 to 2008.

Using USA Today’s Salary Database, here are the total payroll numbers for those top ten teams (of which the Tribe is 7th) with the average annual payroll:
Team Payroll – 2005 to 2008
LAA - $429,664,988 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $107,416,247)
NYY- $801,690,518 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $200,422,630)
BOS - $520,021,198 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $130,005,300)
NYM - $451,415,823 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $112,853,956)
PHI - $371,493,426 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $92,873,357)
CHW - $407,789,832 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $101,947,458)
CLE - $238,177,333 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $59,544,333)
MIN - $247,954,272 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $61,988,568)
STL - $370,909,476 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $92,727,369)
TOR - $297,371,200 Total Payroll (Average Payroll - $74,342,800)

Seeing the ten most successful teams over the last four years in that context, how about the fact that only the Twins and the Blue Jays even come close to the Indians in terms of getting the most bang for their buck?

This exercise, though, isn’t meant to be an in-depth look at payroll disparity or to laud the Indians’ management for getting good returns overall on a limited payroll or to intimate that had the Indians spent more money that “World Series Championship” would appear in the list at the beginning. No, it’s merely an attempt to judge how successful the Indians have been since the seeds that they sowed in the rebuild that started in the winter of 2001 started to bear fruit in 2005.

When that rebuild began, the Indians stressed that the team would be built on starting pitching and how “waves of arms” would crest every year from the minors to combat the attrition and departures that plague pitching staffs from year to year. The idea went past the premise that the team would sit on the pillars of a strong pitching staff, as it would be augmented by a steady, if unspectacular offense (getting away from the “All-Star at every position” strategy of the late 1990’s), finished off with a bullpen cobbled together with a mix of veterans and youngsters that wouldn’t cost the team too much, in terms of money or committed years.

Lo and behold, in those four years, the Indians have relied on starting pitching to be the bedrock of the team, boasting consecutive Cy Young Award winners and always sitting (at the very worst) in or near the top third of MLB in terms of ERA for starting pitchers from year to year:
Indians’ ERA by Starters – 2005 to 2008
2008 – 4.16 ERA (6th in AL, 11th in MLB)
2007 – 4.19 ERA (1st in AL, 2nd in MLB)
2006 – 4.31 ERA (3rd in AL, 7th in MLB)
2005 – 3.96 ERA (5th in AL, 10th in MLB)

That starting pitching also was consistently supported by a steady offense that has finished among the top 8 in MLB, which essentially puts them always in the top quartile in the league as they posted a remarkably consistent number of runs from year to year:
Indians’ Runs Scored – 2005 to 2008
2008 – 805 (6th in AL, 7th in MLB)
2007 – 811 (6th in AL, 8th in MLB)
2006 – 870 (2nd in AL, 2nd in MLB)
2005 – 790 (4th in AL, 7th in MLB)
Two goals, two realized goals, right?

Here’s where we get to the portion of program where “steady contention” becomes impossible, despite the best-laid plans. Despite the success of the rotation and the offense, the team’s success or failure has been dictated by the performance of their bullpen:
Indians’ ERA by Relievers – 2005 to 2008
2008 – 5.13 ERA (13th in AL, 29th in MLB)
2007 – 3.75 ERA (4th in AL, 6th in MLB)
2006 – 4.73 ERA (11th in AL, 25th in MLB)
2005 – 2.80 ERA (1st in AL, 1st in MLB)
See the two years they had a good bullpen and the two years they didn’t?

Perhaps this is oversimplifying things to simply break the team down into three parts and say that everything’s fine with the rotation and the offense and lay blame 2006 and 2008 on the bullpen, but the idea that the Indians were to be built on a strong rotation and a steady offense have held suit for all four years since that magical date of 2005. The X factor that seemed to have determined the season for the Indians seems to have been the bullpen at an admittedly cursory glance.

The lesson there, I think, is how the Indians approached this upcoming 2009 season as Shapiro made a clean break from the credo of John Hart (the GM at whose knee Shapiro plied his trade) that “relievers and closers grow on trees” as Shapiro aggressively pursued Kerry Wood and netted Joe Smith from the Mets in a trade. He continued to throw arms into camp to see if one might stick or to provide some AAA depth when (not if) things go awry at some point in the 2009 bullpen.

But the construction of the 2009 team differs in another way from the versions from 2005 to 2008 as, for the first time in five years, the starting pitching (previously and without exception designed to be the bedrock of the team’s success) holds the most question marks…even more than the notoriously volatile bullpen. Perhaps the Indians’ brass feels that the sheer number of possibilities, if not certainties, in the rotation will shake itself out as the season progresses. But that’s a sharp departure from years past, when the rotation was Priority #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 with the idea that the rest of the team would take the lead from the player at the center of the diamond for five to seven innings.

Whether the 2009 season will represent another step in the road to steady contention is anyone’s guess as the construction of the team differs from the models that have compiled the 7th best cumulative record in MLB since the 2005 launch date. However, assuming that the augmented bullpen figures to be a steadying factor and not a disruptive one and that the rotation (in whatever combination of arms) continues to remain a given, the Indians should continue their winning ways, with more success and contention on the horizon.