Kuzul

According to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com, the Cleveland Indians have agreed on a one-year contract for corner infielder Mark Reynolds. The deal is valued at $6 million, but could be worth as much as $7.5 million if he reaches certain performance bonuses.  Though the Indians now have a first baseman for next season (also an experienced designated hitter and third baseman), allowing for 24-year-old Lonnie Chisenhall to take over at third base, the Tribe definitely paid too much for Reynolds' services in 2013.Reynolds is coming off of a year where he saw his power numbers take a dip, batting a mere .221 with 23 home runs and 69 RBI.  He owns a lifetime .235 batting average, and though he has some good pop to his bat, he has struggled to bat over .221 the last three seasons.  If you ask me, a guaranteed $6 million dollar contract doesn't warrant the numbers ...

As a devoted Detroit Tigers fan and follower, I probably should not be discussing the Cleveland Indians. But sometimes my love for the greater game of baseball takes precedence over my own biases. I sure am going to miss watching Cleveland Indians slugger Travis Hafner play once he decides to retire, because Hafner has been one of my favorite ballplayers to watch over the past decade. This 34-year-old North Dakota native did not attend a major college baseball pipeline, he attended Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, Kansas.   But do not tell that to opposing big-league pitchers who swallow hard fear whenever Hafner swaggers to the plate amidst heavy rock music. At 6’3”, 240 pounds, Hafner is built as if he is the spiritual being sparking fear in bulls darting through the streets of Pamplona. Sometimes when I watch Hafner, it seems more like a WWE wrestler just ...

Mark Shapiro is one of the most polarizing GM’s in professional sports. ‘Shap’ took over as Cleveland’s GM following the departure of John Hart, a man many identify as synonymous with the winning Tribe baseball of the 1990s.Shapiro’s arrival and tenure as Indians GM coincided with the team’s sale to the much-maligned Larry Dolan. As Shapiro will forever be linked to Dolan, many Tribe fans are quick to associate words like “cheap” and “rebuilding” as hallmarks of his legacy.Shapiro has the dubious distinction as being the only GM to trade away successive reigning Cy Young winners. The trades of CC Sabathia in 2008 and Cliff Lee in 2009 will live forever in Cleveland Indians infamy.Cleveland fans were encouraged to remain patient after both deals were made, as the Tribe obtained a total of seven prospects for Sabathia and Lee. Three and four years removed from both trades, however, only Michael ...

Cleveland was, once upon a time, a baseball town, featuring a team on the cusp of the World Series and perennial All-Stars like CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez.Those days are a distant memory.Since the Tribe's home opener, which is always a sell out, the Indians have drawn record low attendances at Progressive Field. The Tribe has played in front of crowds of less than 10,000 fans four times already this season, including Tuesday night's game that saw only 9,137 fans.Ticket prices in Cleveland have fallen dramatically. On StubHub's website, tickets for the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals range from only $2-10. Tickets into the stadium would cost less than a hot dog and a beer for the typical baseball fan to enjoy.The Indians front office saw the major drop-off in attendance start last year and it has carried over into this season. But not because of ...

It's that time of year again in Major League Baseball.Division leaders and Wild Card hopefuls dominate the headlines as fans across the nation begin to anticipate the excitement of October pennant chases. September is where legends cement their place, managers justify their contracts, role players previously shrouded in obscurity make their names known, MVPs and Cy Young winners bring home their hardware, headlines are stolen and franchise-crippling collapses are immortalized. The most exciting month of baseball's regular season is where the pretenders and the contenders are finally separated as W's, X's, Y's and Z's begin to finalize the standings, granting a select few ball clubs the ever-so-elusive invitation to the sport's most exclusive dance.Lost in the hype, however, as disgruntled fans of hopeless teams begin to switch the channel over to football are their first glances at a brighter future. For those of us not lucky enough to construct our hopes around the ...

Derrek Lee, 1B Baltimore Orioles (26 percent owned in Yahoo, 28.8 percent in ESPN)Current Stat Line: .247 AVG/26 R/5 HR/19 RBI/2 SBLee has certainly not lived up to expectations so far in 2011, but his bat seems to be coming alive. In the past seven games, Lee has hit .438 with five XBH and six runs.He has been shuffled between the fourth and sixth spot in the lineup, so if he can stay healthy, he should help your team in AVG and RBI.Projection (rest of season): .283 AVG/39 R/11 HR/44 RBI/2 SB Alexi Casilla, 2B/SS Minnesota Twins (28 percent owned in Yahoo, 55.6 percent in ESPN)Current Stat Line: .260 AVG/32 R/2 HR/15 RBI/11 SBCasilla has been on fire for the past month. Since May 24th he has hit .327 AVG/9 R/2 HR/11 RBI/8 SB. Casilla is currently batting second for the Twins and he should stay there. I don't expect him to hit .327 for the rest of the year, but he should be a solid contributor in AVG, ...

J.J. Hardy, SS Baltimore Orioles (23 percent owned in Yahoo, 37.1 percent ESPN)Current Stat Line: .288 AVG / 19 R / 6 HR / 19 RBI / 0 SBHardy has been a monster the past 14 days hitting .375 AVG, 11 R, four HR, seven RBI. It seems like everyone has forgotten his '07 and '08 seasons with the Brewers when he hit .280 AVG, 167 R, 50 HR, 164 RBI. I am writing off last year as a fluke because Target Field is a tough place to call home. Now he is in a park that is very friendly to right-handed hitters.My Projection: .279 AVG / 80 R / 20 HR / 65 RBI / 2 SB Michael Brantley, OF Cleveland Indians (49 percent owned in Yahoo, 83 percent in ESPN)Current Stat Line: .293 AVG / 35 R / 5 HR / 26 RBI / 8 SBYou Yahoo people need to get with the ...

Surprisingly the Indians are seventh in baseball in ERA, led by the strong performance of the starting rotation. Arguably Josh Tomlin has been the Indians' most consistent pitcher this season, behind Justin Masterson, after throwing another quality start against the Royals last night. His ERA currently sits at 2.33, and his WHIP sits at a stunning 0.89.The question that remains is whether Tomlin has changed his approach and if he can keep pitching at this level. Well, let's take a look at Tomlin's approach in 2011 compared to last season.In 2010 Tomlin pitched to a 4.56 ERA in 72 innings with a 5.30 K/9 and a 2.34 BB/9. Tomlin pitched to an extreme fly-ball rate (50.4 percent), and his ground-ball rate (28.6 percent) was close to his line-drive rate (21.1 percent). He also had a favorable .271 BABIP, showing that Tomlin got some breaks, but not enough to affect his performance. His ...

Winning. Did anyone who remotely follows baseball predict that the Cleveland Indians would be in first place in the AL Central for even one day?  Through 14 games, the Tribe is tied with the Kansas City Royals atop the AL Central standings. Did they get an injection of tiger blood?  One can only wonder how long the young and inexperienced Indians (and Royals, for that matter) can maintain their stellar play.   Let's consider some numbers.  The Cleveland lineup is batting .259 on the year, middle of the road in the AL.  They rank no higher than fifth in any major offensive category.  Thus, one can safely say that the Tribe's lineup is not on a gigantic hot streak that accounts for the winning.   Now, let's look at the pitching staff.  The staff ERA is at 3.34, fifth in the AL.  The eye-popping stat is that their batting average against is ...

Dear Clevelanders, I hope I don't jinx anything, but the Indians are playing some good ball right now.  They have won five games in a row, and have done it in different fashions, showing their versatility.  I don't harbor any World Series illusions, but a little support for these guys couldn't hurt.  Hear me out before saying you hate Dolan and Shapiro and write off the idea of attending a game. The Tribe are sitting at 5-2 right now, when many expected them to have three wins at the most through their first seven games.  The starting pitching has had five straight quality starts.  The hitters are showing versatility to not only score in bunches, but also to get the clutch hits (or squeeze bunts) when needed.  The bullpen, led by the Perez boys, has been in lockdown mode.  The question is: Is anybody watching?  The poor attendance at Progressive ...