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August 25, 2009AFC North Pre-Season Week 2
August 25, 2009While Franklin Gutierrez is having a productive season with the Mariners (especially when playing against the Indians), Luis Valbuena has really started to produce since the All-Star break. In his 94 at-bats since the mid-summer classic, the 23-year old Valbuena has hit .298/.365/.521 (.887 OPS) with five doubles, four home runs, and 10 RBI. While one of those four home runs came this past weekend – the walk-off variety – another one came last night with the Indians down 5-4.
The three-run shot off of the flame-throwing Joakim Soria put the Indians up 7-5. They would not relinquish the lead, ultimately winning 10-6.
Sweet Luis was not alone in his production via power as everyone’s favorite overpaid designated hitter also fared well. Hafner finished the night 3-5 with a three-run homer of his own, as well as a two-bagger that plated Shin-Soo Choo.
Typically, a 10-run game is an easy win for whomever is pitching. It was not the case, however, as the Tribe did not pull ahead until late in the game. Jeremy Sowers lasted seven innings, gave up five earned runs on six hits, but managed to escape with the “W” thanks to the longevity of his appearance. In typical Sowers fashion, everything was roses early on. But the wheels fell off a bit in the fifth inning where he allowed four runs on three hits and a sacrifice fly.
Thankfully, Sowers regrouped for a one-two-three sixth and ended the seventh by picking Yuneski Betancourt off at first base.
Asdrubal Cabrera, Choo and Jhonny Peralta combined to go 7-for-14 with four runs scored and two RBI. When you factor in that these three hit in front of Hafner and Valubuena, it is just what the Indians needed to come from behind and take out the division basement dwellers.
I know that things are not exactly how they were back in the mid-90s (okay, they’re nothing like they were back then), but taking a look at current batting averages, we have our two-through-five hitters all north of .280. Valbuena hit sixth last night, and his numbers are referenced above. Ideally, you would want your leadoff hitter to be better than .245, but I won’t be greedy given how the rest of the season has gone.
Justin Masterson takes the hill tonight against All-Star starter Zack Grienke. Let’s see if they can keep this going.
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(photo credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
22 Comments
Valbuena has promise-he puts the barrel of the bat square on the ball with power. Quit the platooning…….leave the kid in the lineup every day.
I’m one of the few who has consistenly backed Sowers. Lefties often take longer to develop. The kid has a consistent approach and Jamie Moyer type stuff. I’d leave this kid in the 4th/5th spot in the rotation, rather than see him pitch another 15 years in the league for others.
Was that really a positive Indians related post from Isis???????????
And to be fair to Sowers, if he could just get rid of the 1 “action-packed” inning, he’d actually be a very solid starter. It has to be a mental block for him — if it was the hitters figuring him out, wouldn’t they be killing him in the first couple innings by now?
It seems like Wedge isn’t shuffling the lineup as much, and is playing the kids a little more. It’s nice to see guys get some playing time that deserve it. And what do you know? They’re taking advantage of it.
Now I hope Jhonny keeps playing well so we can trade him in the offseason.
Can we talk for a minute about how Wedge is basically giving the Indians organization and its fans a big F you by continuing to insert Kerry Wood into games like last night’s for no good reason, virtually assuring that Wood’s option for the third year will vest?
It seems that Sowers tricks hitters the first time through the lineup, but they start to zero in the second time through. That’s why he always seems to struggle in the fifth inning or so. It really makes it look like Sowers would be a really, REALLY, good long-man out of the pen.
The few times I got to see Luis in Columbus before he got the call-up, he did hit the ball hard almost every time he hit it. He didn’t always have a ton of hits, but he always hit it hard.
If Sizemore can get healthy in the off-season (it still baffles me that they’re playing him everyday with an elbow issue when he’s such an important cog), their OF next year could be a thing of beauty if LaPorta can continue to build and Choo doesn’t drop off or get pressed into military service.
I really like the way the ball flies off of Valbuena’s bat. It seems that even when he makes outs, he made solid contact. Can he handle lefties enough to play every day? That’s the question.
LaPorta has a hit in every game since he’s been back up. Nice work, Wedge, playing Delucci in front on him back in May.
Boom-we’ll never know if Valbuena can hit lefties until he plays against them. There is absolutely no reason NOT to play him everday-it’s just a matter of experience. Nothing against Jamey Carroll…..but he’s gone next year, it’s a total waste to not give all of the 2B AB’s to Luis.
Jim Thome (and many others) struggled early on against lefties; that is until they were given everyday AB’s to work it out. The good ones always do. Platooning does nothing other than retard a young players growth.
Like Luis, but too scarred by past rookie call-ups to get overly excited. Next year will tell. Let’s see how, or if, he can adjust once teams scout him and games count. Shiny rookies in late August in a down-the-drain year is fool’s gold.
@Isis #8 – Choo is also an example of that this year, as well. He’s not tearing it up against lefties or anything (.271 in 144 ABs), but he certainly has improved this year. Coincidentally, he is not platooning with Gutierrez this year. Hmm.
One of the key problems with Sowers is that he doesn’t have the ability to get many strikeouts. It is possible to succeed without great stuff, but it’s hard. I’m more optimistic about Laffey, who also isn’t much of a strikeout pitcher, because he’s limited opponents to four home runs all year. I’m more optimistic about Huff because his minor league strikeout numbers are considerably better than those of Sowers — of course, whether those numbers eventually translate to the majors is another story entirely.
I’ll be the first to admit that this is just one amateur stathead picking at numbers with a stick to try to make some sense of the Indians’ 2010 pitching options — a tall order even for those far more knowledgeable than me. From what I see, though, Sowers would have to dramatically improve his command to be a viable big league option for a contending team. This is certainly possible, and I am the type of person who will always root for lefties with middling stuff; nonetheless, the odds are not good. If he can pare back his walks and home runs allowed, maybe he can be a Paul Byrd type; if not, well, I can’t see him as much more than a long-man and emergency starter.
Now all that being said, yesterday’s game was fun to watch. It is nice to see Hafner contribute. It’s nice to see signs that the next crop of players are coming into their own — hell, possibly even Andy Marte? I look forward to more zany antics tonight, because the Royals really are a stunningly bad team. Of course, Grienke is starting tonight, so all bets are off — but the Royals are so bad that he’s 11-8, so there is hope.
I find it very interesting to see that Valbuena has this line when he hits line drives, as opposed to grounders or fly balls…
Line Drives 48 ABs 34H 16 2b 0 2hr 10rbi .708 BA .708 OBS 1.167 SLG 1.875 OPS 56 TB
seems like when he gets power happy and wants to hit homeruns (flyballs) he tends to struggle…same with grounders, but that is more a product of the pitcher than flyballs…especially with a lefty batter…
thru his career, he has not really been a .300 hitter, but thru the minors, he has been a .250-.260 hitter, with 10-12 HRs a year, and bout 20 sb’s…so he isnt necessarily going to light it up against lefties regardless, but he should be capable of the .250 range, which is where he currently stands…
I dont think it is as much the fact that Valbuena cant hit lefties, he has two HRs against lefties this year, but I think its more that they just want to work him in gradually, as thru his career, he hasnt played more than 120 games in a season…theres nothing wrong with getting a few days off here and there, and if Carroll can step in and give you a couple knocks, then I am all for it…I really dont mind Carroll at all…hes a good clubhouse guy and seems to enjoy teaching the kids..
I think Valbuena is adequate at second, but I dont know that I see him as a future all-star type…nothing wrong with that…and I could very well be wrong…i would be happy to admit it if I was, and Luis turned out to be another Pedroia type guy…smaller, but packs a punch and plays solid D…
Doracle…..I’ll bet you that Sowers is around in ten years, while Laffey will be long gone by then. Huff will be gone within a year…….horrific stuff, no movement, and no moxie.
on the other hand, I can’t wait for them to get rid of Sowers…he seems like the long-reliever type to me…he has good stuff for a couple innings, but I dont think he has good enough stuff to be a starter…he would work in mop up duty pretty well…he just strikes me as the type who might be a good cagey veteran in AAA for the rest of his career, but I dont see him being in the mix next year…hes just not good enough…
I’ll take that bet Isis…that is if you mean he will be around Cleveland….selling me cars from a used car dealership…
DK-I hear ya on the Valbuena stats. What I’m saying is that with GOOD COACHING he can become what I think can be a decent batting average hitter with good 2b power. He’s shown the stroke and ability to get the head of the bat on the ball………he’s definitely a project. I wouldn’t be surprised if he develops into a .280 type hitter with gap power, a commodity at 2B. The caveat is good coaching, and it’s not on the current staff at all.
You’re on DK……..years after you forget about this Sowers will be pitching in somebody’s rotation. He’ll end up being a 15 year 4/5 starter and eat innings.
for reference…
Jeremy Sowers career stats – 4 Seasons 66G 17 28 5.09 46HRsA
Aaron Laffey career stats – 3 Seasons 43G 16 12 4.00 16HRsA
I know which one I would take…
I wouldnt say he will become a platoon type of guy, and I do think he should be a decent second baseman for the future…I think he just needs to do what Laporta learned while he was sent back to the minors…that is to shorten the swing, and concentrate on driving the ball with a line drive stroke as opposed to the long uppercut swing (think marte)….sending LaPorta back down was a good idea, even though I wanted to see him all year…he even said in an interview that he made adjustments and the biggest thing was staying thru the ball rather than trying to elevate it…
I think Luis gets a little power happy when he really tags one…and recently it seems like he is starting to get it…he doesnt need to be the hero, but he needs to stay thru the ball…he already is a good player regardless of coaching…the changes that he and Shelton worked on right before the all-star break, with him bringing his hands down and back a bit, has eliminated the hole he had in his swing and has allowed him to effectively turn on inside pitches with authority…
I think a big thing in player development is giving guys a place in the lineup and in the field and giving them enough rope to hang themselves with. Keep Valbuena hitting in the 6 or 7 hole and playing every day, and he’ll get an idea of what he needs to do to be productive. Give LaPorta and opportunity to drive in runs with some protection, and see what he can do. Same goes for all the young guys – give them a spot and let them go.
I would like to highlight one stat:
Jeremy Sowers is LAST in the AL in K/9 Innings for pitchers who have thrown at least 60 innings this year. To be frank, I’m not sure that Laffey, Huff or Sowers will be around in even five years — at least not as anything more than marginal big pitchers floating between AAA and ML.
I don’t know about “moxie,” but Sowers hasn’t impressed me with either his movement or his stuff (nor has Huff for that matter). I’m intrigued by Laffey simply because he seems to keep the ball on the ground, though I’m far from sold on his long-term potential.
But then, it seems we’re mostly quibbling about back of the rotation fillers. If we don’t develop power arms to anchor the rotation, we’re pretty well screwed whether Huff, Sowers, or Laffey come through as big league innings-eaters.
That last post was in response to Isis #13, by the way.
Again, I love me some soft-tossing lefties, but I just don’t see it happening.