Tag: Travis Hafner

Cleveland Indians: Why the Tribe Are the Real Deal

Wake up Cleveland! There is a contender in town and I’m not talking about the Lake Erie Monsters, either!

After dropping their first two games to the Chicago White Sox, the Indians have been on fire, rattling off seven wins in a row—taking a broom to both the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners. Sure, this could be just a fluke, right? Both the Red Sox and Mariners have struggled early. Plus the Tribe are supposed to finish in the American League cellar, according to almost every sports writer in America.

I’m here to tell you to jump on the bandwagon before it leaves without you! Why, you ask? Because before the season even started, the Indians organization has said again and again from Chris Antonetti to Manny Acta to Shin-Soo Choo, that the Indians plan on contending in 2011. And they apparently believe it, too.

Ok. So you’re still skeptical right? You may be thinking about the 2002 Cleveland Indians. How they won 11 of their first 12 games and then finished 74-88 in September. How are these guys any different?

The difference is that Tribe team in 2002 marked the end of an era, this one is marking the beginning of a new one. In 2002 the future looked dim, most of the day-to-day lineup consisted of veterans either on their way out of Cleveland or out of the MLB all together. In 2011 you are witnessing the birth of a new era of stars in Cleveland. They are hungry and ready to prove they belong at the top of the AL Central.

In my opinion, there are at least five All-Star caliber players on the roster right now. All young guys who the Indians control for at least the next two years, if not longer. Shin-Soo Choo, Fausto Carmona, Asdrubal Cabrera, Chris Perez, and Carlos Santana. Not to mention guys like Michael Brantley, Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin who have already looked like seasoned veterans on the young 2011 campaign.

Then you have a guy like Travis Hafner who can really carry a team when healthy. I don’t know about you but that swing to drive home four in Seattle on Friday night looked pretty healthy to me! He may not get back to what he was doing four years ago, but 25 home runs and 100 RBI’s would go a long way if Pronk can stay healthy. Sure, you may say that is a big “if” but anyone who has watched the Indians over the past few years knows that something is clicking for Travis Hafner unlike anything we have seen from him for a long time.

Just think what can happen with a healthy Grady Sizemore as well. Manny Acta is going to have to make some tough decisions in the next week or two but trust me, he welcomes these “tough” decisions. Sizemore should be ready to join the club within the next 10 days and reliever Joe Smith isn’t that far behind.

The key to the Tribe’s success in 2011 will center around their starting pitching. The Indians won’t continue with seven game winning streaks all year. But with some consistent starting pitching, they can play around .500 and contend in the AL Central. Don’t believe me? Just ask Theo Epstein, he is still trying to figure out how a team with 1/3 of his payroll just swept his Boston Red Sox.

The answer is great young talent and the Indians have a lot of it!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


2011 Cleveland Indians Preview: Hope and Potential but Will the Tribe Contend?

It has been almost four years since the Indians last finished a season with record of .500 or better. The last time, in fact, was 2007, when the Indians won the AL Central with a record or 96-66. Since that time it has been all down hill for the Tribe,  81 victories in 2008, 65 in 2009, and 69 in 2010. Had it not been for a hot 7-3 finish the Tribe would have finished in the AL Central basement for the second consecutive season.

Bad news for Tribe fans: this season may not be much better than any of those.

Gone are the Cy Young Award winners and the sluggers of yesteryear. They have been replaced with the words; hope and potential.

The hope is that the potential will finally show this season.

Players like Matt LaPorta, Justin Masterson, Mitch Talbot, and Carlos Carrasco all have unlimited potential, but have only shown it in spurts.

LaPorta has been the most disappointing thus far in his short career. The key player in the CC Sabathia deal, LaPorta in 162 games as a pro (52 in 2009 and 110 in 2010), has hit 19 home runs with 62 RBI while hitting a lowly .232.

Masterson, who was the key to the Victor Martinez deal, is entering his second season as a full time starter, and has shown that he can be a very good starter at times though his 7-20 record with the Tribe would show otherwise.

Talbot and Carrasco will enter this season with a chance to prove that they belong as they will be full time members of the rotation.

There is hope though as players like Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana, and especially closer Chris Perez have shown the ability to be all-star caliber cornerstones.

With that here is a look at the way this 2011 campaign may go for our Tribe.

Projected Rotation

1. Fausto Carmona (2011 projection 14-15, 3.89 ERA)

2. Justin Masterson (12-15, 4.60 ERA)

3. Mitch Talbot ( 11-12, 4.01 ERA)

4. Carlos Carrasco (9-12, 4.55 ERA)

5. Josh Tomlin (10-12,  4.20 ERA)

Overview: The starting rotation may be the weakest part of the club. Carmona, the veteran of the group, may also be the most speratic of the bunch. After having a great 2007, where he went 19-8, he followed with 13 wins in the next two seasons combined. Last year, the 6’4” righty bounced back having a very good season, despite finishing with a 13-14 record. Masterson, as I stated earlier, is a wild card. He is very capable of establishing himself as a quality starter in this league, he just hasn’t quite figure out how to do it consistently, yet. Talbot began last season strong with a 3.99 ERA in the first half of the season, but was much less effective the second time around, with a 5.29 ERA in the second half. Carrasco, who was acquired from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee deal, will be given his first opportunity to be a part of the rotation for a full season, along with fellow righty Josh Tomlin who looked impressive at times with the big league club last season.

It seems that the key to improving the weakest part of the club is maturity, and with maturity, let’s hope consistency isn’t very far behind.

Closer: Chris Perez (2011 projection 4-1, 1.89 ERA 35 Saves)

Overview: Perez was lights out last season finishing with a 1.71 ERA. To put that into perspective, The Sandman, Yankee closer Mariano Rivera finished with 1.80 ERA. Perez has the ability to be a dominating closer in this league for years to come. He has the moxy, the make up, the insanity, and the arm to be a great closer in C-Town, and I project this will be a huge breakout year for the big righty out of The U.

As for the rest of the bullpen, Vinnie Pestano will be given his first chance to be a quality contributor to a major league squad, and will join Frank Herrman, Rafael Perez, and Tony Sipp in what could be a very good bullpen for the short and long term.

Projected Lineup

1. Grady Sizemore, CF (2011 projection .270 12 HR 50 RBI)

2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS (.310 9 HR 44 RBI)

3. Shin-Soo Choo, RF (.320 26 HR 95 RBI)

4. Carlos Santana, C (.299 27 HR 93 RBI)

5. Travis Hafner, DH (.266 19 HR 63 RBI)

6. Orlando Cabrera, 2B (.289 8 HR 45 RBI)

7. Matt LaPorta, 1B (.240 20 HR 60 RBI)

8. Jason Donald, 3B (.273 12 HR 59 RBI)

9. Michael Brantley, LF (.287 9 HR 41 RBI)

Overview: The lineup has many spots that, if potential is filled, can give the Tribe a formidable lineup for years to come (or until there is a good time to trade them). Sizemore and Donald will begin the season on the DL, and when they come off will immediately make the team better. In Sizemore’s absence Brantley will play CF, and hit lead off which will mean Austin Kearns will begin the season most likely in RF. Donald was well on his way to being the Indians opening day 3rd baseman (though prospect Lonnie Chisenhall outplayed him) during spring training only to have a hand injury shut him down for the immediate future, in his spot journeyman Jack Hannahan will get the reps at the hot corner. The 2-3-4 hitters, Cabrera, Choo, and Santana are the heart of the lineup with each player showing that he is highly capable of hitting over .300, while Choo and Santana have shown the power to hit 25 homers or more. The wildcard’s in the lineup are Hafner and LaPorta. Hafner who in 2006 hit 42 homers and had 117 RBI, has not come close to those numbers in the past few seasons, due to injuries and loss of bat speed. LaPorta, as I stated earlier, could break out this season, and the Indians are hoping that is the case, but he just has not shown the consistency to make me believe that will happen. The more I see LaPorta the more I believe he is AAAA player. The type you see who kill AAA pitching but struggle in the big show.

Season Projections:

  • Carlos Santana will pick up where he left off and have a very productive season
  • Santana and closer Chris Perez will be All-Stars
  • Hafner will start slow but then show improvement down the stretch
  • Prospect Lonnie Chisenhall will start at 3rd for Tribe by August
  • Sizemore will look like the Grady of old, but not until late in the season
  • The team will finish 76-86, fourth in the AL Central

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


2011 Cleveland Indians Season Preview: Tribe Goes With Youth Movement

Three years ago, the Cleveland Indians were one win away from appearing in the World Series before the Boston Red Sox came back to win the 2007 American League Championship Series, four games to three.

In subsequent years, the Indians unloaded their potential World Series roster with a series of blockbuster trades.

Over the next two seasons, the Indians traded away starting pitchers C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee, third baseman Casey Blake and starting catcher Victor Martinez. In exchange, Cleveland added a wealth of young prospects, the likes of which may not be felt for this year, but at some point down the road.

Through their trades, the Indians added outfielders Matt Laporta and Michael Brantley as part of their deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for C.C. Sabathia. Laporta, the seventh overall pick from the 2007 Major League Draft and the No. 1 rated prospect for the Milwaukee Brewers at the time of the draft, is expected to start at first base this season, allowing Travis Hafner to start as the designated hitter.

In dealing pitcher Cliff Lee, who was coming off of a Cy Young season the year before, the Indians added the Philadelphia Phillies top prospect at the time, pitcher Carlos Carrasco.

As part of the Casey Blake deal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Tribe added stud-catcher Carlos Santana (no relation to the musician), who entered the 2009 season as the Indians No. 1 prospect in the minors.

The Santana deal allowed the Indians to trade away their best player, catcher Victor Martinez to the Boston Red Sox. In that exchange, the Indians ended up with hard throwing pitcher Justin Masterson.

In two season, the Indians unloaded most of their best players, electing to hold onto Gold Glove outfielder Grady Sizemore and first baseman Travis Hafner, who from 2004 through 2007 batted in over 434 runs.

Since then however, Hafner has just 123 RBIs in the following three seasons.  

Sizemore, who was considered by many to be one of the best young players in baseball hasn’t been healthy the last two seasons, only playing in 33 games in 2010 before a knee injury ended his season.

The Indians middle infield is solid as Asdrubal Cabrera and Luis Valbuena return for their third season together.

With injuries and unproven young stars, the Indians best player may be outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, who last season homered 22 times and drove in 90 runs while hitting .300 in 144 games. Choo has batted .300 or better each of the last three seasons.

The ace of the Tribes pitching staff, Fausto Carmona, who last season was awarded with his first All-Star appearance, was the subject of heavy trade rumors and may be again this season.

The rest of the Indians staff remains young, full of potential, and for the most part, untested. Masterson, Carlos Carrasco and a combination of Aaron Laffey, Mitch Talbot, David Huff and Josh Tomlin all could push for the fifth spot in the rotation.

After coming off of a 34 save season in 2008 for the Chicago Cubs, the Indians signed Kerry Wood to a two-year deal. Halfway into his second season with the Indians, Wood was traded to the New York Yankees. In a season and a half with the Indians, Wood managed just 28 saves.

This year; however, the Indians will enter with Chris Perez as their new closer. Last season, Perez finished with 23 saves and gave up just 12 runs in 63 innings of work, good enough for a 1.71 ERA, third best in the league for players with over 20 saves.

The 2011 Cleveland Indians are young, talented and unproven, yet the the Tribe have some good reasons to look toward the future.

From 1994 to 2001, the Indians made the playoffs six times and appeared in the World Series twice.

After a rough rebuilding period, the Indians were one win away from making their third World Series appearance since 1995.

If history has shown us anything, it has proved that the Cleveland Indians will once again be contenders in the near future.

It’s only a matter of time.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Johnny Damon and 12 Other AL Players Who Would Struggle in the NL

The Designated Hitter—home of the offensively talented and the defensively challenged players. By not having to play the field many players have been able to prolong, or even make, a career through offensive contributions alone. 

American League teams use the DH position for a variety of different reasons: from protecting a player’s health to finding a role for an aging player and everything in between. Despite the variety of reasons a particular player is used as a DH most of these players have a common trait—they can all hit but, usually, they are also a major liability in the field. 

Unfortunately, NL teams are not afforded this luxury; since there is no DH in the National League every player in the lineup must be on the field (so instead of a DH, who takes the place of the pitcher, in the NL, the pitcher must hit for himself). Because of this, NL teams must be more judicious in deciding which players to carry on their 25-man roster. 

Even if a player can undoubtedly contribute offensively he may not make a NL team because he will either not get many at bats (if he is used solely a pinch-hitter so to avoid him playing the field) or he becomes a major weakness in a team’s defense (if he is put in the field—either as a starter or to play more than a few innings…Pat Burrell started for the Giants in 2010 but when the Giants had a lead past the sixth inning Burrell would usually be pulled from the game for a defensive upgrade).

While some NL teams opt to have these type of players on their roster (Prince Fielder of the Brewers and Pat Burrell of the Giants, for example) most of these type of players are found in the American League. 

To help us look at fielding abilities, I use the sabermetric stat of Range Factor Per Nine Innings (I use this stat, rather than Range Factor Per Games so playing nine innings versus playing one inning is waited more equal). 

Let’s take a look at some American League players who could not, and should not, play for a National League team because their poor defensive would hurt the team more than their offense would help. 

Begin Slideshow


Cleveland Indians: 10 Players That Won’t Help The Indians Win The World Series

As sportswriter Bill Simmons would put it, the Indians are in life or death territory, as in whenever an Indians fan dies, you count back to see if they got to be alive during the last World Series win. Since that last win came in 1948, there are far too many Indians fans dying before they get a chance to see their team on top.

With that in mind, the Cleveland Indians need to be doing everything possible to win the World Series. Rebuilding is a necessary part of this, but the current Indians roster is littered with players that aren’t going to help the Indians get back on top.

Only Chicago Cubs fans have suffered longer than Indians fans. To prevent this suffering from going on any longer, the Indians need to go into this rebuilding process 100 percent, make some bold moves and get the fans what they want, a World Series.

Note: Projections for players came from Baseball-Reference.com’s similarity scores. Similarity scores compare a player’s statistics to all other MLB players from all time, allowing us to see what they will likely become. This is not an exact science, but it is a projection. Just because a player is not projected to do well does not mean they can defy the projection, but it is unlikely. This list is based off of these assumptions, which could be wrong, but likely are right.

Begin Slideshow


Is Trading Travis Hafner on the Horizon for Struggling Indians?

In the midst of a clearly dismal season for the Cleveland Indians, a complete overhaul of the organization is well underway.

After trading key players like CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, and Victor Martinez last season, the Indians entered the 2010 season with a sense of optimism and many new faces filling out the roster. Those good feelings from opening day seem like years ago for many fans who have watched the Tribe fall to a disappointing 21-36 on the year.

Among the many disappointments the Tribe faithful have seen this year is the resurgence, or lack thereof, of DH Travis Hafner to be near the top.

After two injury plagued seasons in 2008 and 2009, many Indians fans hoped that Travis would return to his old “Pronk” form.

But that has just simply not been the case.

So far this season, Hafner is hitting .243 with only four home runs and 18 RBI, including a miserable .088 average over his last 10 games.

So where has the Hafner of old gone? Travis has simply not been the same ever since his amazing 2006 season where he hit .308 and tallied 42 home runs.

In 2007, Hafner signed a four-year, $57 million contract extension that keeps him in Cleveland until the end of the 2012 season.

With Cleveland focused on rebuilding and Hafner’s lack of production, many are beginning to wonder if he will be the next big name shipped out of town.

Because of his large contract, moving Hafner would be difficult even if the Indians wanted to. A team would have to have great faith in Hafner to believe that he can turn his numbers around and take on his financial burden.

Travis is scheduled to make $11.5 million this season and next season, and does not have near the amount of trade value he once held years ago. Cleveland’s inability to trade Hafner over the last few seasons directly leads to other valuable contracts being shipped out by the organization. 

While the Indians were trying to pay Hafner’s large salary, the contracts of Martinez, Lee, and Sabathia became more expendable, which ultimately resulted in their departure.

Cleveland is going to continue to have a rough road with Hafner as long as his production remains sub-par.

Many Tribe fans, including myself, have been waiting patiently for the return of the “Pronk” we once knew. If those numbers don’t return within the next two seasons, it is possible that we may see another big name shipped away from Cleveland.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Tribe Talk: Now Casting The Role Of Team Scapegoat

 

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report’s Tribe fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the Indians each week throughout the season.

This week, we compare the Tribe’s performance to our expectations for them after the one-month mark, point fingers at our chosen scapegoats, and volunteer our baseball playing services to the Tribe, in case they’re so desperate that they’re looking for walk-ons with no professional experience.

I would like to thank this week’s participants: Dale Thomas, Scott Miles, and Jon Sladek for their contributions. This discussion is open to all, so please feel free to comment below and pitch in your thoughts on the questions we’re addressing this week.

Go Tribe!

 

1. This week we officially pass the one-month mark of the 2010 season. Everyone had their opinions during Spring Training about whether the Tribe would be good, bad, or ugly this year.

At this point, where is the Tribe relative to where you expected them to be? Is this team better, worse, or exactly the same as you predicted?

What player or group of players on the Indians is better than you had expected, and which is worse?

Finally, how indicative do you think the Tribe’s current level of play is of how they will fare over the full season ?

Samantha Bunten: Looking just at the Indians record, they are only a little worse than I expected. Unfortunately the overall caliber of play I’ve seen has been much more disappointing. The things that strike me most are the preventable mistakes made by players with enough experience to know better, and the glaring power outage this team is having. 

While the defensive blunders and pitching woes aren’t good, much of that has been as I expected. To me, the element of this team that is far worse than I imagined is the offense. This team was supposed to, if nothing else, be able to put runs on the board. 

Right now they’re having an appallingly difficult time moving runners and even more difficulty showing any power or any speed. You expect a struggling team to lack either speed or power, but you don’t expect it to come up so short in both areas. 

As for who is better than I expected, Kearns and Carmona are the stand-outs. I’m also generally okay with how the rotation is faring. 

I think this team will get better as the season progresses because the young guys on the squad will surely continue to learn and grow as players. What is more uncertain is whether our veteran guys can improve enough just to play the way that they should have been playing from the start. 

Dale Thomas: By win/loss record as of Tuesday night, the Tribe is just a little worse than I expected them to be. I expected them to be next-to-last, but alas….they are in last place by a game. Looking at Chicago and Kansas City, I would expect the standings to continue to waffle around as each game is played. 

Kearns has been a pleasant surprise, as he is better than I expected him to be, and appears to be our best hitter at .333 with a whopping two dingers. Cabrera and Choo are performing well, each hitting over .300, which I expected, but then you get to the entire remaining roster which is under-performing even by my extremely low expectations. 

Sizemore is at .221 with 26 strikeouts. Hafner is at .208, Branyan is at .207, and Valbuena is at .167…I mean Jeez! This lineup couldn’t even hit Indians pitching. It’s horrible for a team that was supposed to be all about offense. 

And Pitching? Holy cow…Talbot is our leader? I didn’t expect this at all, but he has the best ERA and is tied for most wins with Carmona. I’ve actually switched my thinking from focusing on winning games to just scoring a run.

Jon Sladek: Just fair warning, the gloves are coming off this week. 

I’m appalled at what I have witnessed the first part of this baseball season. Nobody expected the Tribe to contend for the Central, but the brand of baseball we have witnessed is unacceptable. Mitchy Talbot is about the only guy who has exceeded expectations. The list of underachievers is too long to name here. The current level of play is indicative of a long, uninteresting season.

Scott Miles: Though the record is probably about what I figured, maybe a shade or two worse, the season has been full of individual surprises for me. 

First, three unpleasant surprises: 

1. Grady Sizemore: .220 average, zero HR. Not comfortable in two-hole? 

2. Valbuena and Brantley: They should be young cornerstones of team. Both are batting below .175, with Brantley already back in Columbus and Valbuena single-handedly murdering Wednesday’s game. 

3. Matt LaPorta: zero HR, one RBI…umm, what? 

Now, the pleasant: 

1. Mitch Talbot: 3-2 with a 2.88 ERA? If he could stop walking so many hitters, whoa. Very impressive. 

2. Fausto Carmona: He’s baaaaaaaaaack. (Hopefully). And echo the comment about walks with Talbot. 

3. Austin Kearns: Capitalizing on his playing time opportunity. Only consistent bat in the lineup besides Choo and Cabrera. 

You’d expect Grady to bounce back, although off of an injury, who knows. The failure to develop young talent was probably the biggest knock on Eric Wedge, and Manny Acta is finding it a tough go as well. Maybe they’re not just as good as billed? I don’t know. And if Talbot or Carmona can’t keep up this production, the Indians might lose 100 games this year.

2. Like the rest of Eric Wedge’s staff, Derek Shelton was let go from his position with the Indians when they made a management regime change last fall.

Shelton is currently the hitting coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, who as a team are 20-7, sitting atop the fiercely competitive AL East, and are one of the best hitting teams in the league.

The Rays have scored the most runs in the AL, the Indians have scored the least.

Perhaps this is merely the product of Tampa Bay having more offensive talent on its roster than the Indians, but is there any chance that perhaps the Tribe made a mistake in letting Shelton go?

How much credit do you give to Shelton for the Rays’ success this season? Do you feel the Indians would be performing better offensively under the guidance of Shelton than they currently are under Jon Nunnally?

 

Samantha Bunten: If you have a lineup that includes Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, and Carl Crawford, I don’t care who your hitting coach is—your team is going to score a lot of runs. Slider could coach that group and they would still be among the best hitting teams in the league. In other words, maybe who the hitting coach is isn’t our problem. 

Regardless, I really liked Shelton. I think he was good at guiding young hitters and at getting the most out of every player which that individual had to offer. He did it in Cleveland and now he’s doing it in Tampa Bay. The only difference is that working with the Rays, the amount of talent the hitters each have to offer is far higher. 

Shelton’s dismissal was inevitable, as when the manager goes, generally his whole staff goes with him. Still, I would take Shelton back in a heartbeat, given the opportunity. That being said though, I don’t blame Jon Nunnally for most of the Tribe’s hitting woes. No matter how you swing it, the hitting coach is probably not the problem here.  

Dale Thomas: First off, Derek is from Carbondale, Illinois. I grew up there. Go Salukis! 

This of course has no bearing on anything, but with that said, each season since Derek Shelton arrived in Cleveland, the Indians have finished at least in the top half in the league in runs. 

During his first two seasons, the Indians offense was among the best in baseball. Although he’s had a couple misses (Josh Barfield, Jhonny Peralta), the rest of his record stacks up well, especially given the circumstances in 2008 and 2009. 

Yes, I think the Rays are far better for having Shelton. Yes, I think the Indians are far worse for not having Shelton. As for Nunnally? I think his 2010 record is screaming at the top of it’s lungs something like, “We suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck” (echo, echo, echo).

Jon Sladek: I could sit here and blame Jon Nunnally for the hitting woes, but at the end of the day, these guys are professionals, for goodness sake. 

Is Jon Nunnally making Sizemore continually flail at strike three or Hafner look at the first pitch fastball right down the middle, EVERY AT-BAT? I doubt Nunnally is instructing guys to strike out with one out and the bases loaded. 

Its beyond time to start holding guys accountable for their undisciplined approaches. Grady Sizemore struck out too much under Shelton and does the same under Nunnally. Perhaps the coaches aren’t the problem here.

Scott Miles: The Rays have more proven hitters in their lineup. You could probably start and stop the conversation with Evan Longoria (.374, 7 HR, 20 RBI). Throw in Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Ben Zobrist, etc. and that’s a pretty potent order, even if some of those guys are hitting below their usual averages. 

The Indians’ lineup doesn’t have that much margin of error. It’s a mixture of young, unproven guys and guys coming off injuries or prolonged slumps (in Pronk’s case, both). 

I always thought Derek Shelton was pretty solid—the Tribe always had one of the top scoring lineups in the AL and wasn’t putrid at the plate last year even after trading Victor and with Grady and Pronk out—so the Indians might be a tad better with him back this year. But until the light bulb goes for some of the youngsters, it won’t matter who the hitting coach is.

3. Baseball is a team sport, and no single player’s struggles can be blamed for the team’s overall inability to succeed.

But the beauty of being a sports fan is we can assign blame to whatever individual we feel like anyway. If you had to pick one or two players whose performance you believe is personally responsible for the team’s struggles, who would those player(s) be?

What position on the field (other than starting pitcher on a given night) do you feel has the most potential to impact the outcome of a game based purely on the individual at that position’s performance?

(Note: The second part of the question is purely theoretical and meant to address baseball in general; it need not be the position occupied by a Tribe player who you believe makes the most difference to our team specifically, whether in a positive or negative sense).

Samantha Bunten: Aside from Sizemore and Hafner, both of who seem to be unable to make up their minds as to whether they’re going to be power hitters or contact hitters and hence have failed at both, I feel I have to point fingers at the mess on the right side of the infield. 

With Valbuena at second and either LaPorta or Branyan at first, the defense on the right side has been horrendous, and no one over there is exactly making up for it at the plate. 

I’ll give LaPorta the rest of the season to sort things out with his bat (though I think defensively, he’s a lost cause), but Branyan and Valbuena are out of excuses. Sometimes I don’t know why we even bother sending either of them out there. 

The most important position on the field for any team is the catcher. This player has the hardest job on the field physically speaking, and is also expected to be the brains of the operation, the team’s leader, and the in-game therapist for the unfailingly fragile psyches of pitchers. 

It’s a demanding, difficult, and thankless job that calls for an ability to multi-task that isn’t required for other positions. Most first basemen can’t even walk and chew gum at the same time.

Dale Thomas: Personally responsible for the team’s struggles? The two players names are: Hafnersizemorevalbuenaperaltamartebranyanredmondbrantleymarsonlaporta AND Mastersonwestbrookhuffsmithperez. 

I wish I could have mentioned more than two names here, but rules are rules. 

The most impactful position on the field with regard to influencing the outcome of a game? The catcher. From calling pitches and defenses to working with pitchers and umpires, catchers have a wide range of responsibilities that require intelligence, tact, baseball sense, and above all, leadership.

Jon Sladek: Hafner and Sizemore. Simply put, these are two guys the team was counting on for the bulk of offensive production and they have both been abysmal. One is a DH that doesn’t “H,” the other somehow forgot how to hit home runs. Did anyone imagine Sizemore homerless a week into May?

Scott Miles: It would have to be Grady Sizemore, no? I’m not entirely sold he’s 100 percent healthy, but he either needs to start hitting or just sit and rest. For someone who was a 30-30 player two years ago, he can’t have a homerless, two-steal month. He just can’t. 

I think there are three “dynamic” positions on the field—first base, third base and left field. These are where your premier hitters, particularly in terms of power numbers, play. LaPorta and Branyan have combined for zero HR and three RBI in 103 at bats. Peralta is hitting .216 with two HR and ten RBI. Only Kearns in left field is holding up his end of the bargain, but with a smaller sample size (.343/2 HR/12 RBI in 19 games).

 

4. In spite of our complaints that the Indians defense is awful this season, they’re actually far from the worst-fielding team in the AL. As of Monday they had made just 14 errors this season, good for 4th place in the league.

Does this mean that the Tribe’s defense is actually much better than we perceive it to be, or does the number of errors not tell the whole story?

Aside from Jhonny Peralta’s notorious multi-error play against Detroit which cost us a win, how much do you believe the Indians’ defense has impacted their success in either a positive or negative way?

Samantha Bunten: First, I think it is important to note that the above defensive stats come from just two days ago when I wrote these questions. Things have gotten worse since, with the error tally up to 17 and our ranking among AL teams significantly lower. 

Still, I don’t think that poor defense in general is the problem. The Tribe’s issue seems to be that the errors always seem to come at critical points in the game. I would be willing to bet that while we currently rank in the middle of the pack in terms of the number of errors committed per number of chances, we are probably at the top of the list for games lost as the direct result of a defensive error. 

Regardless, the bottom line is that the defense isn’t as terrible as we think. The problem is that they have no margin for error because the team can’t score any runs. If this team was consistently putting runs on the board the way it should, I’m guessing the errors wouldn’t really be that noticeable at all. 

Dale Thomas: Clearly the defense is better than perceived (by the comparative numbers), but let’s face it, our blunders have been huge when we have them. 

Last night I saw one of our guys move all the way around the bases due to errors and wild pitches from Toronto. The Jays still won that game. Errors can and will hurt a team, but they don’t often kill a team in terms of wins and losses. Scoring the most runs wins games. Pitching shutouts positions teams to win games, such that the “most” runs might be just one. Everything else is the delightful drama in between.

Jon Sladek: The stats may say the Indians are playing decent defense, but the errors all seem to be at such crucial points of the same (see Luis Valbuena’s 5-hole job Wednesday). I would love to find out how many of those errors came in the late innings of close games. It’s just another example of a team that has no focus out there.

Scott Miles: The Tribe’s defense has been solid, apart from Peralta and Valbuena’s butchering of two games. You have three legit stars in the field between Sizemore, Choo and Cabrera, and Lou Marson has settled down and thrown out 5-of-14 base stealers. 

I think the overall defensive improvement can be attributed to the focus on fundamentals Acta stressed in spring training. Now, if only that could translate into the batter’s box…

 

5. Fun Question of the Week:

Every dedicated baseball fan has a dream of actually playing for his or her own team at the big league level.

If you truly had the chance to play for the Tribe, what position would you like to play? Where would you like to hit in the order?

Based on your own baseball skill set, no matter how much experience you have actually playing the game, what would be your greatest strength and greatest weakness as a player? 

Samantha Bunten: During my mostly-mediocre career on the diamond as a kid, I always hit leadoff because my strengths were speed and being a decent contact hitter. Other than that, it always helped that I was left-handed, though I think I mostly got by due to being the kid on the field most willing to hurt herself to get the job done.

Like every kid, I called shots in pick-up games Babe Ruth-style, only to watch the towering home run I envisioned land somewhere between the pitcher’s mound and second base. Suffice it to say my biggest weakness was a total lack of power, followed by a tendency to stop ground balls with my face. Hey, at least I stopped them. 

Position-wise, I’m primarily an outfielder, though in my mind, I’m definitely a catcher. 

Dale Thomas: I’d play lead guitar and lead vocal…oops, wrong forum…I’d play shortstop and hit in the one-slot. 

Forget that my baseball career ended in the ninth grade; that still left me with a nine-year career at short, hitting .315 with two championships. My strengths were putting the ball in play and a solid glove between the bags. My weaknesses were arm strength (some close plays at first, that drove my coaches nuts) and I never hit one out…ever.

Jon Sladek: I would love to be a left-handed middle reliever because as Raffy Perez has shown, you don’t even have to get people out to hold down a spot on the Tribe’s roster.

Scott Miles: I was fortunate enough to pitch an inning at Jacobs Field in a high school game my senior year, and I’d die for that opportunity again. 

I came out of the center field bullpen with the biggest grin on my face. It felt like it took five minutes to jog to the mound. My Solon Comets were up one on Euclid in the sixth when I came in, and I had so much adrenaline going I plunked the first kid in the head with my first pitch. Oops. 

I gave up a hit and then our shortstop botched a double play ball, so I had bases loaded with nobody out. Somehow I settled down and after a sacrifice fly tied the game, I got a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning. We won it in the bottom of the seventh with a suicide squeeze play and everyone rushed the field. Just an incredible experience, and I’d give five years off my life to go through it again.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Copyright © 1996-2010 Kuzul. All rights reserved.
iDream theme by Templates Next | Powered by WordPress