While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com
“What the Lonnie Chisenhall promotion means is that the current Indians’ Front Office (not the previous one helmed by the current Team President) has acted quickly and decisively now to add their top prospects – ready or not – to the parent club as the opportunity afforded to them by their fast start is something that they’re trying to capitalize on. Maybe you wanted to see Cord Phelps sooner (and I did) or maybe you wonder what took the Indians so long to jettison Adam Everett, but the fact of the matter is that the calendar has not yet flipped into July and the Indians have promoted The Chiz, Al White, and Bobby Phelps (among others like Gomez, Zeke, and Judy) as they pushed the fast-forward button on ingratiating their top young talent at the MLB level.
While you may say that this doesn’t represent anything different than what happened in 2007, remember…Asdrubal didn’t arrive in 2007 until August and Rafael Perez and Frank the Tank had spent time on the parent club in years past. The Indians have an opportunity in front of them (…still, thanks to the struggles of the AL Central) and they’re promoting from within to see if answers can be found internally before perhaps exploring the trade market…if the Indians are still in contention at the end of next month.” [Cousineau/The DiaTribe]
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The interview the internet is buzzing about- “Sheen: I didn’t like the haircut because it generated so many comments in bars. I’ve got enough of that already. Add that to the mix and it’s a recipe for a fistfight. I was already bitchy because—let’s just say that I was enhancing my performance a little bit. It was the only time I ever did steroids. I did them for like six or eight weeks. You can print this, I don’t give a f—. My fastball went from 79 to like 85.” [Sports Illustrated]
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Omar’s bid for 3000 hits- “Now of course, Vizquel was never an All-Star nor an elite player because of his bat; he has never had a 200-hit season (the closest being a 191- hit campaign in 1999). So his quest for 3,000 hits (he is currently 172 hits shy) would be without that magic number. I assumed that if he reached that goal, he would be the lone 3,000-hit man without a 200-hit season. Besides, reaching 3,000 would mean averaging 150 hits over 20 seasons. And seeing that most hitters tail off toward the end of their careers, they would need some high hit totals to meet that average.
And a quick glance at the 3,000-hit club shows players who were regulars in the batting race and elite offensive players. So I actually began writing this piece with the premise that Vizquel’s 3,000 hits would be unique. It’s a good thing I actually did some research. As of this writing, there are 27 players in the history of the major leagues who have 3,000 hits. Once Derek Jeter comes back and gets six singles, it will be 28. Of those 28, five never had a 200 hit season. And their names caught me off guard.” [Sullivan/Hardball Times]
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Does Lerner’s MIA status bother you?- “Some NFL owners treat their franchises like family, others like a bank account. Read the quotes from Steelers players about their owner Dan Rooney at the top of this post, and how can we start to think we could ever make up for the disparity? Is there anything more depressing about being a Browns fan than this? How can Lerner even look at himself in the mirror? He can’t be such a bad guy. What if he just sold the Browns to an owner the franchise deserves, or even just anyone in the gaping screaming canyon that exists between himself and Rooney on the spectrum of ‘people who should own an NFL franchise.’” [Cleveland Frowns]
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On Grady Sizemore- “Statistically, the problem is quite simple: He’s striking out more and walking less than ever before in his major league career. He’s actually hitting for decent power, but it’s very possible that he’s selling out for that power, because he’s swinging and missing more than ever before, far above the league average rate, and that’s leading to a lot of those whiffs. Perhaps he’ll feel more comfortable at the plate as he gets used to being healthy once more, but he’s certainly not locked in. Whether or not his iffy plate discipline is linked to his frequent bouts of injury, he won’t be able to help the team offensively until he can command the plate the way he once did. Right now there are simply too many holes in his swing.” [Remington/Big League Stew]
