Kuzul

The start of the baseball season is always highly anticipated.

Not only does it signal the end of winter, but fans can finally watch the game they love.

The shout of “Play Ball” is even more sought after in Cleveland this year.  Fans no longer want to hear about the doldrums of the NFL lockout, and the only thing worse than the Cavs’ record is their effort. 

Tribe baseball will also be a great vacation from the Jim Tressel woes and the disappointing early exit from the tournament for Buckeyes’ basketball.

While experts are not counting on a highly successful season for the Cleveland Indians, diehard fans are chomping at the bit to go to Opening Day. 

A new season brings optimism, hopes and dreams of Grand Slams, hot dogs and beer on a sunny day and winning baseball.

It is hard to know exactly what to expect from the Indians this season.  The Tribe only won 69 games in an injury-plagued rebuilding 2010.  Most likely, 2011 will act as a set-up year for the Indian’s real chance to compete in 2012. 

But there will be plenty of storylines to look for this season.

Wahoo fans are anxiously waiting to see how Carlos Santana and Grady Sizemore bounce back from their injuries.

Santana’s rookie season ended on August 2 with a scary left-knee injury on a play at the plate.  He is healthy and ready to go, but it will be interesting to see how long it will take him to regain his great natural hitting form.  Not to mention how will he hold up at the demanding catcher position on his knee. 

In a lineup that lacks a lot of punch, Santana’s offense will be needed as soon as possible.

Grady Sizemore is making a comeback of his own.  The popular center-fielder will start the season on the DL, but if all goes well, he should be back by the end of April.  How he performs after microfracture surgery is the million-dollar question. 

The club won’t push Grady’s return, but they will need him to play well once he is back full time.  

One thing to look forward to is the double-play combination of Asdrubal Cabrera and Orlando Cabrera.  Just what will the play-by-play on that sound like? 

It will be a lot of fun watching the smooth shortstop and reliable veteran at second base do their magic.

Get the highlight reel ready.  This will be a huge upgrade from the porous infield of last season.

The club also wants to see big strides from first baseman Matt LaPorta and outfielder Michael Brantley.  This is a huge year for both players to prove they were worthy of being the return goods of the CC Sabathia trade.  Both need to become the offensive weapon that the Tribe brass thought they were acquiring.

The pitching rotation to start the season will be Fausto Carmona, Carlos Carrasco, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Mitch Talbot. 

Sorry fans, no Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn on the mound. 

Besides the gritty Carmona, the starting pitching staff is highly unproven.  But on paper, the young staff does have a lot of long-term potential.  And more arms in the minor leagues are a quick call-up away if needed. 

It is going to be very interesting to watch the progress of the starters, and to see how many of them stay in the rotation all season.

And don’t get your feathers in a bunch, Tribe fans—it is only a matter of short time before Lonnie Chisenhall is called up to show off his pure hitting talent in June or July.

Overall, the Cleveland Indians will have the youngest team in the Majors in 2011.  That is a benefit for the future, but it will also bring some more growing pains this season.

As a fan, I cannot wait for the start of the season, and I will be at Opening Day for the sixth year in a row. 

I think it will be an up and down year for the Tribe.  It is a very important season, as they must show improvement and show they do have the core players to compete in the very near future. 

I am guessing 77 wins in 2011, but hoping for more. 

Baseball is back, FINALLY.

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Today is a day that all Tribe fans have long been hoping for, but thought would never come.  Jhonny Peralta is no longer a Cleveland Indian.  Peralta was just traded to the Detroit Tigers.  

Tribe fans are now feeling like a little kid waking up on Christmas, or a teenager on their last day of school.  In Cleveland, the summer wind feels sweeter,  and the water taste better.  Umm scratch the water, this calls for a celebration, so crack open the beer or Champagne.

2010 was the last year on Peralta’s contract with the Indians, and there was no way the team was going to pick up the seven million dollar club option for 2011.

There was very little trade market for Jhonny Peralta this summer.  That is until Brandon Inge of the Tigers was hit by a pitch, and fractured his left hand on June 19th. 

Inge,  Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Guillen are all on the DL, putting Detroit in a desperate situation.  The injuries forced the Tigers to make the trade for Peralta, and send Left-handed starter Giovanni Soto to the Tribe.

The 28 year old Peralta is hitting only .246 with 7 homers, and 43 RBIs this season.
Soto is listed at 6’3″, is 19 years old, and is 6-6 with a 2.61 ERA in 82 2/3 innings for the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps in 2010.  He will report to Class A Lake County for the Indian’s organization.

So why is Jhonny Peralta so disliked by Cleveland fans?  I can not remember a Tribe player that has been so disliked or who has brought so much frustration as Peralta. 

After all, he actually is a very nice person, has never been in any off-field trouble, and has been on the team a long time.  But of course the answer to the question is his poor performance on the field.  

In 2005, his first season as a full time player, Peralta had a breakout year.  But since then, he has greatly underachieved, and has not been able to produce for the team.  

Things looked promising after the 2005 season for Peralta.  He finished that season with a .292 batting average, 35 Doubles, 24 Home Runs and 78 RBI’s.  Very good numbers for an infielder in his first full season.  Sadly, 2005 was the best season of his career.

Since that point, his strike outs have increased and his production has gotten worse or stayed flat.  From 2006 to 2009 he averaged a .264 Batting Average, 33 doubles, 17 Home Runs and 78 RBI’s.  Peralta had a miserable 2009 as he hit .254 with only 11 homers, and  is having a similar run this season.

Throughout his career Peralta has been in the top 10 of batters to hit into double plays. 

Another frustrating point about Peralta is that he has never been a clutch hitter.  A lot of his offense comes with nobody on base, or when it doesn’t count. 

Also he is a notoriously slow starter—he does not start hitting until June or July.  And to say that he is a streaky hitter, would be the understatement of the year.

Peralta’s personality and style of play also makes him an easy target for criticism.  It always looks like he is in slow motion and not hustling.  This may just be an illusion, but it is a constant complaint from most fans. 

Also, he is a very quite guy and does not get worked up or show emotion when he is struggling.  This also irritates hard working Cleveland fans who are so desperate for a winner.  Some of the criticism in these two areas may not be totally justified, but that is all part of being a professional athlete these days.

Any expectations for Peralta to produce have been gone for several years now.  Personally, I do not like to highly criticize Tribe players or to give up on them, but  I think Peralta brought that out of all Indians fans. 

So enjoy this night everyone! 

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There will be no 4th of July fireworks for Shin-Soo Choo who leads the Cleveland Indians with 13 Home Runs.  Fan favorite Choo was placed on the 15 day disabled list retroactive to July 3rd.  He suffered a Right thumb sprain while attempting a diving catch in right field Friday night against the Oakland A’s.

Michael Brantley was called up from Triple A Columbus to fill the outfield spot.

Choo was likely to be the Indians lone All-Star pick for the 2010 season.  The Indians right fielder was batting .286 with 48 runs scored, 13 dingers, 14 Doubles, 2 Triples and 43 RBI’s in the 78 games this season.  

Now who can represent the Tribe in the Mid-Summer Classic?  Is there anyone worthy?  Or will we just be sending a body there to fill the role.  And should MLB change the rule that each team must have 1 player on the roster?  All questions that can be debated over and over.  

Possible replacements will be Austin Kearns with his .272 BA, 7 HR and 34 RBI’s.  Fausto Carmona who has a 7-6 record and 3.68 Earned Run Average or Mitch Talbot with 8 wins and a 3.86 ERA.  While none of these stats will light up the sky, one of them may be going to Anaheim for the All-Star game on July 13th.  The Tribe’s best offensive player Carlos Santana only has 67 At-Bats otherwise he would be the clear choice, and worthy of the pick.

The Indians will be juggling outfielders for the next 15 days.  The starters will mostly be Brantley, Trevor Crowe, and Austin Kearns.  With Shelley Duncan providing back-up.   The teams 3 best defenders are all on the DL,  gold glove Center fielder Grady Sizemore, Short Stop Asdrubal Cabrera and now, Choo.

Michael Brantley started the season in the Bigs, but struggled and was sent down to Triple A Columbus on April 19th.  Since then he has hit .315 with 9 Doubles, 2 Triples, 3 Homers and 26 RBI’s in 59 games along with 11 stolen  bases.  

It was just a matter of time before Brantley joined the major league team again, but the Indians did not want it to be because of an injury.  Now it will be up to Brantley to prove that he belongs here full time.

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The Cleveland Indians have come under intense scrutiny for trading away three All-Star players in the past two seasons.  While the majority of the criticism is valid, as the talent the Indians received back in those trades looks weak so far, the Tribe can be praised for luring away right handed starter Mitch Talbot from Tampa Bay for catcher Kelly Shoppach in December 2009.  

At the time of the deal, it didn’t seem like much.  So far, Talbot has proven to be a diamond in the rough.  Nobody was really sure what to expect from him, but he has been a solid addition to the starting rotation and a bright future ahead of him.

Shoppach impressed with his power numbers during the 2008 season, one of four seasons he spent with the Indians. Throughout his Indian career, however, he also proved that he was not an everyday catcher; his hitting and defense really slid in 2009.  He never hit above .261 and struck out too much.  Even in 2008, when he hit 21 home runs, he stuck out 133 times in just 112 games.  

Shoppach’s defense decreased as his playing time increased.  He went from above average at throwing out runners in 2006 and 2007 (37%) to well below average in 2008 and 2009 (22%).  

After a terrible 2009 season in which Shoppach batted .214, I was completely surprised that we got a player above single or double A for him.  I figured a bag of baseballs, a few cases of hot dogs, and some cash would be sufficient for the oft-wiffing catcher. Instead, we received a Major League ready starter who was just 26 years old.  Yes, Talbot was unproven, but at least we didn’t have to wait for yet another prospect; he could come in and start pitching right away.  

Mitch had a solid spring training which has carried into the season thus far.  He is tied for 3rd in the AL with seven wins (7-4) with a nice 3.54 era in 11 starts.  Perhaps more importantly, he has kept the team in most of his starts and is averaging 6 and 2/3 innings per outing.  

Talbot is not a dominant pitcher. He relies more on consistency and an exceptional slider that breaks hard and late.  In addition, The Utah native throws an average fastball, a decent change up, and a good cutter that dives in at left handed hitters.

In just his second start of the season, Mitch threw a complete game as the Tribe beat Mark Buehrle and the White Sox 6-2.  He allowed 6 hits and only 1 earned run, which came off a Paul Konerko home run in the second inning.  After that, he was in complete control.  He did not walk a batter and frequently pitched ahead in the count.  68 of his 97 pitches went for strikes.  The cutter and slider were working well, leading to 17 ground ball outs.

Many first year pitchers struggle with their command. Luckily for Talbot, he’s displayed composure and mound presence throughout his inaugural season.  He’s been especially good at working his way out of trouble with little or no damage.

Of course, it is too early to predict the type of pitcher Talbot can become in the future, but he shows a lot of promise. For what it’s worth, he is on pace to win 18 games.  

It will be interesting to see how Mitch Talbot’s career progresses.  So far, the fans cannot complain.  After all, we only gave up a 30 year old catcher for a 26 year old starting pitcher winning games at the major league level-that is a STEAL.  

It is ironic that after trading two Cy Young pitchers in Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia and an All Star catcher in Victor Martinez, the trade of Kelly Shoppach may have yielded the best talent for the Cleveland Indians.  We may be saying the same thing about the Casey Blake trade for Carlos Santana soon.

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