The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 10/05/10
October 5, 2010Cleveland Lot Now Charging Pedestrian Tailgaters
October 5, 2010
In our second installment of our Tribe 2010 season review, we will look at the second, third, and shortstop positions, also know as “The Revolving Doors” in 2010. With no real everyday option at second, a major injury at short, and a trade coupled with a lack of depth at third, we saw many a player come through those spots as the season progressed. Lets examine a bit more closely.
Second Base
Opening Day Starter – Mark Grudzielanek (110 AB’s, .273 BA/0 HR/11 RBI’s/.328 OBP/.600 OPS). Projected 2011 Starter – Jason Donald (296 AB’s, .253 BA/4 HR/24 RBI/.312 OBP/.690 OPS) or Jason Kipnis (355 AB’s at AA Akron – .311 BA/10 HR/43 RBI/.385 OBP/.887 OPS)
The Wahoo Warriors came into the season with a Grand Canyon size hole at second base. Many (me included) were ready to hand it over to Luis Valbuena, who last year in limited duty showed a knack for hitting line drives the opposite way and showed some pop. Unfortunately, Sweet Luis turned sour almost from the get go.
His spring was not great and he was forced into a platoon with Grudzielanek, a 40-year old re-tread. Here’s how bad Valbuena’s season; on April 17th, he went 1-2 to raise his average to .207. He would never see the positive side of the Mendoza line again. He was destined to spend the majority of the season in Columbus, but Asdrubal Cabrera went down for two months with a broken forearm and the Indians had no choice but to keep him with the big club. At that time, the Indians options to play middle infield were Grudzielanek, Valbuena, and rookie Jason Donald, who was recalled to replace AC.
So Donald came up, started at short and began to play every day. Another member of the Cliff Lee trade brigade, Donald was in Columbus learning to play second base. He had been a career shortstop. Donald would end up being an every day guy at either short or second the rest of the way.
While his numbers won’t wow you in any way, he is a scrappy kid. He never looked overmatched in the majors the way many rookies can, and he showed solid versatility. To me, he is a David Eckstein type. The downside for Donald is his glove. I can give him a pass for some of the errors he made because he was learning a new position on the fly, but some of the errors he made (even at short) were just brutal. His glove is average at best.
Donald may enter 2011 as the opening day second baseman, but the upside for him just isn’t there, the way it is for the two guys will will most likely push him for the job. To me he is the perfect extra infielder and should be that for the Indians in the years to come.
Coming hard from the minors are a pair of prospects, Cord Phelps and Jason Kipnis. Phelps (273 AB’s in AAA, .317 BA/6 HR/31 RBI’s/.386 OBP/.892 OPS) isn’t the top grade of prospect that Kipnis is, but he isn’t far behind. In fact, Phelps will be playing third this winter in hopes that he can be the answer at the hot corner. Kipnis has impressed at every level. The former second round pick from Arizona State is the long term future of the position. He made a successful switch from the outfield and will at worst be up mid-2011 with the big club.
My prediction is he wins the job out of Goodyear with a great spring. Another prediction – we will no longer see Luis Valbuena in the Indians again.
Shortstop
Opening Day Starter – Asdrubal Cabrera (381 AB’s, .276 BA/3 HR/29 RBI’s/.326 OBP/.673 OPS) Projected 2011 Starter – Cabrera
I am fully in the tank for AC. I’ll be the first to admit it. 2009 was his breakout year and 2010 was supposed to be another building block. Instead, a horrific broken forearm injury robbed him of 50 plus games right in the middle of the season. It’s almost hard to judge exactly what kind of season Cabrera had.
The numbers don’t look impressive, but he was at the .300 mark the week he went down. Coming back after such a long layoff, you just knew he wouldn’t be the same. The other move that I think hampered him was the move to the leadoff spot. I understand why Manny Acta made the move; putting Grady Sizemore in more of an RBI spot, but it didn’t really work. Cabrera is a natural #2 hitter. He makes good contact and hits from both sides of the plate. Next season, like the last couple of months of 2010, he will be in the second spot behind Michael Brantley.
Defensively, Cabrera regressed a little. I think much of that had to do with his time off. He clearly had put on some weight and didn’t move like he should have. That said, he still has amazingly soft hands. AC will be at short next year and for the foreseeable future, backed up by Donald.
Third Base (aka The Black Hole)
Opening Day Starter – Jhonny Peralta (Pre-Trade – 373 AB’s, .246 BA/7 HR/43 RBI/.308 OBP/.689 OBP) 2011 Projected Starter – ???????
Good ole’ Jhon. This was his last year as an Indian one way or another. He had a team option for $7.5 million for 2011 that was never going to be picked up and the Indians hoped that he would at least show something where they could trade him at the deadline. Instead, we got more of the same from him – lack of range, lack of clutch hitting, still couldn’t lay off the low and outside breaking stuff. But then, the Tigers swooped in and actually offered a decent A ball prospect for him and the Indians jumped at it.
The problem for the Tribe was that there was literally no good options ready in AAA or at the Major League level. The future at third base is Lonnie Chisenhall. But Lonnie was in his first year at AA Akron and the Indians were in no rush to bring him to the majors. In fact, I don’t expect we will see The Chis until 2012. So for the last 60 games or so, we were treated to the triumvirate of Andy Marte, Jayson Nix, and Sweet Luis.
While Nix showed some stick, defensively he was a train wreck. I’m talking Derek Anderson-bad. He made 11 errors in 39 games at the hot corner. On the plus side, he did hit 13 homer (one more than Travis Hafner) in 282 AB’s with the Tribe. Perhaps the most telling stat about the 2010 Indians is that Nix was claimed off of waivers in late June and he was hitting fifth regularly over the last two months of the season, despite hitting .173 in September.
Nix may be on the team next year as an extra guy – he does have value there – but he is not going to be the everyday answer at third.
Do we really need to discuss Marte? Nice guy, absolutely. But as a player he has been a disaster. The one top prospect the Indians have stuck by has failed them miserably. You can’t say he hasn’t had his chances. He’s been on the Indians for five years. FIVE! In said five years, his HIGHEST batting average was .232 last year. His career numbers tell you all you need to know.
838 AB’s, .218 BA/20 HR/96 RBI/.277 OBP/.635 OPS
I can say with good authority, that we will never see Andy Marte in an Indians uniform again.
As for who plays third next year for the Indians? Its as big of a mystery to the brass as it is to us. There is no question they will look to the free agent market for a one-year stop gap bridge to Chisenhall. But with the limited resources at their disposal, I wouldn’t get to excited about the Tribe’s ability to sign anyone of great significance.
8 Comments
Wouldn’t the Indians keep Kipnis in the minors until June (Carlos Santana style)to delay the start of his arbitration clock?
Was such a long season… I forgot Mark Grudzielanek was on the team earilier this year.
Goodbye Marte, Goodbye Valbuena. (I hope).
For a middling organization, there seems to be a lot of “this position is waiting for this prospect to be ready.” Hope they’re not saying this to the kids. Don’t want third base being kept warm for Chisenhall. Understand it might point to a paucity of position prospects, but how ’bouts some honest competition? Maybe the winner will be mentally tough enough to stay and improve. So many of our guys look meek when they up get here. Thinking of how Franklin Gutierrez often looked so scared in the batter’s box with us.
Hafner came out of nowhere six or seven years ago when he had to beat Broussard every spring. Handing LaPorta, Marte, Valbuena the positions has not seemed to do them or the team any favors. The pitchers aren’t geting annointed in advance and seem to be progressing better.
I think they have to go get someone in the F.A. market next year to play third, along with bringing in a legit #2 or #3 starter. Neither will run them too much, and getting the payroll over $70MM will be a step in the right direction for the Dolans.
I know that often the simplest answer is not right, but why not spell Santana at catcher by moving him back to his original position 3B! Have him catch 90-100 games and play around 50 games at 3B. The position is not too physically demanding (believe me I played it for quite a few years) and considering his stature 5’11 might not be the ideal player for 1B anyway. Strangely I feel better with Lou Marson playing 50-60 games especially against lefties, then any other the 3 blind mice we currently have playing the hot corner having to play the 50-60 games Santana would make up for playing 3B.
I can’t believe no one is mentioning that Marte had a .773 OPS in the 2nd half – and that is with playing 1-2 a week and at two different positions.
The guy sucks – but his glove is better and his bat is equal to any of our other options. If Phelps and Goedert don’t pan out next spring Marte would be a great place holder until Chis is ready.
Just what the heck ever happened to Marte anyway? He was supposed to be (and I thought so too) a can’t miss. At first I thought he got Wedgie’d with inconsistent playing time, position moves, Wedge mind games, et al, however when he did get the chance for consistent playing time he just never developed or improved or even returned to the form of a player we thought we were getting. Wonder if it is the Brandon Phillips syndrome or he was just a minor league mirage?
hey, Shapiro can always sign Branyan to play 3B until we can trade him in July. i’m not sure which Shapiro likes better: re-signing Branyan or trading him away.
so, Phelps/Goedert at 3B next year? Hmmm, was hoping next year would be the year of ‘the Chis’ and to pair him with Kipnis at 2B starting in June. give these guys a year in the majors to get ready for a playoff run in ’12.