ESPN v Ohio State: The Lawsuit and What It Means
July 12, 2011Remembering The 1999 Indians and Wade Boggs’ 3,000th Hit
July 12, 2011The Indians head into the All-Star break a surprising 47-42 and a half game out of first place in the AL Central. Many experts think they have done it with smoke and mirrors. I believe they have gotten this far thanks to Actaball- a combination of great pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting. Regardless of how they have gotten to this point, during the break from the action, WFNY will take a look at the four cogs of this roster, how they evolved during the first half, and where they look to be going forward through the rest of the season. Yesterday we assessed the outfield and DH positions. Today in the second of our four part series, we will move to the infielders and catchers.
Regular Starters: 1B Matt LaPorta(.243 BA/8 HR/32 RBI/.304 OBP/.725 OPS)
2B Orlando Cabrera (.247 BA/4 HR/34 RBI/.279 OBP/.609 OPS)
SS Asdrubal Cabrera (.293 BA/14 HR/51 RBI/.347 OBP/.836 OPS/12 SB)
3B Lonnie Chisenhall (.267 BA/1 HR//2 RBI/.313 OBP/.779 OPS/9 games)
C Carlos Santana (.230 BA/13 HR/41 RBI/.363 OBP/.781 OPS)
Entering 2011, there were many questions pertaining to the infield. Would Matt LaPorta finally take that next step and become the power hitting right-handed bat this lineup sorely lacked? Would Orlando Cabrera be able to handle the transition to second base despite never playing a single game there during his 14-year career? Would Asdrubal Cabrera get back to where he was before losing most of 2010 with a broken forearm? Who would handle the third base position until Lonnie Chisenhall was ready to come up? If that man was going to be Jack Hannahan, would he hit enough to stick?
Let us tackle these questions position by position.
LaPorta is an enigma to me. He came over in the CC Sabathia trade as the “big name” prospect from the Milwaukee Brewers. He was one of the top power prospects in the game and was to become a fixture in the middle of the Indians order for years to come. Its now been almost three years since we’ve first seen LaPorta, and we still don’t really know what we have.
During the first half, LaPorta spent most of his time in the bottom of the order and teasing us from time to time with big hits. Most players on this year’s Tribe have a moment or two I can point to, a highlight if you will. I honestly can’t say that about LaPorta. I think his problem is that he is a victim of high expectations not reached. He is now 26 years old and should be entering his prime. Projecting what he has over 600 at-bats translates into about 24 homers and 80 RBIs. I guess I would sign up for that.
A big issue for the Indians is their inability to hit left-handed pitching. LaPorta is essentially the main right-handed bat in the lineup, yet he hits only .191 (9-47) against southpaws and .257 (43-167) against righties.
Defensively, he has improved his game dramatically from last year, but still has some issues with the throw to second from time to time. The bottom line with LaPorta is we are halfway through the season and we still don’t know what we have in him long term.
When Orlando Cabrera was signed just before Spring Training, I thought it was a real coup. He started the season hitting sixth as the only other “regular” true right-handed bat and Manager Manny Acta seemed hesitant to have LaPorta in that spot, so he put the veteran behind Travis Hafner. In April, OC was one of the main reasons the Indians jumped out to a hot start. He drove in a team-tying high 16 runs and handled second base quite well considering it was a completely new position for him.
On May 16th, he went 3-4 in a 19-1 blowout win in KC and was up to .287, but then went into a prolonged funk. His range at second base had become a problem and his lack of patience at the plate had reared its ugly head. With the Indians offense in the tank, the front office decided to call up Cord Phelps and hand him regular at-bats against righties. Instead of handling it the right way, OC went to the press to express his dismay. He said he was OK with it, but it was clear that itwasn’t. Acta gave him more playing time as a stop-gap option at third base, but that wasn’t a great solution.
Phelps’s recall was actually the best thing that happened to Cabrera. It woke him up. The rookie came up and looked overwhelmed at the plate. Other than his walkoff homer on Fathers Day against the Orioles, Phelps did very little with his bat. Defensively, he was worse, committing five errors in 12 games. Meanwhile, Acta began to lose faith in him while battling to stay in first and started giving the majority of the playing time back to Cabrera.
From June 26th to July 2nd, OC went 12-23 and Phelps was sent back down to Columbus.
Naturally since then, Orlando has gone into a 2-25 slump. With Jason Kipnis and Jason Donald both ready in Columbus, second base could again be in flux during the second half of the season. OC may be best suited as a super utility man down the stretch.
The one infield spot nobody is worried about shortstop. Asdrubal Cabrera is one of, if not the biggest breakout star in baseball this season. Though the team has gone through its ups and downs offensively, AC has never stopped hitting. The first-time All Star is clearly the team’s half-season MVP and its most consistent performer. Asdrubal credits Orlando for helping get his mind in the right frame in terms of his power stroke. Entering this season, he had 18 career home runs in 1415 at-bats. In 2011 he has 14 in358 ABs.
But its not just the power, Asdrubal is hitting for average and driving in runs. He leads the team in both categories, as well as homers, runs, hits, doubles, total bases, and OPS. Oh, did I mention he is playing gold glove caliber defense? Asdrubal has made more “web gems” than any other player in the game this year, and has flat-out looked “Omar-esque.”
Speaking of great defense, you have to give mention to third baseman Jack Hannahan. He won the open third base competition out of Goodyear when the odds on favorite, Jason Donald, went down with injury. He never recovered and Hannahan had a great spring. The future, Lonnie Chisenhall, made quite an impression with his bat, but the Indians brass never had any intention of starting the season with Chisenhall on the big club.
Hannahan arrived with an all-glove, no-bat reputation. During the month of April, the Tribe looked like they had a steal on their hands. Not only was Hannahan playing the best defensive third base we’ve seen here since Travis Fryman, but the journeyman hit .273 with four homers and 14 RBIs. By contrast, the team’s alleged best player, Shin-Soo Choo, hit .250 with four homers and 15 RBIs.
Then in May, reality set in. Hannahan’s defense stayed superb, but the bat went straight south. He hit just .184 in May with three RBIs and .180 in June with four RBIs. Acta and GM Chris Antonetti tried everything they could to get this offense going, even moving Orlando Cabrera to third. But there was only one way to go at the hot corner – calling up the kid, Lonnie Chisenhall.
The Chiz made his Major League debut June 27th in Arizona and immediately paid dividends. He went 2-4 with a clutch RBI in a 5-4 win. Its nine games into the Chisenhall era and so far he has looked as advertised at the plate. He missed the final three games of the Toronto series after being hit in the face by Blue Jays righty Carlos Villenueva. He suffered a broken nasal bone, but is expected to be back at third when the Indians start the second half in Baltimore.
The catching position has been handled by two men who should be fixtures for the foreseeable future – Carlos Santana and Lou Marson. With the injury to LaPorta and the Indians on the constant search for offense, Santana has played plenty of first base, giving Marson ample time behind the plate.
Many people will say that Santana, the one-time top hitting prospect in the Indians system, has been a disappointment at the plate. He has always hit for high average, but this season, Santana has watched a lot of pitches go by. Carlos has such a sweet swing, but often times falls in love with the walk.
He leads the team in on-base percentage and walks, but as the Tribe’s regular cleanup hitter, he has to be driving in more runs. Yes, he is on pace for around 25 homers and 80 RBIs, but he hasn’t even scratched the surface with his vast talent. I would like to see more from him in the second half, especially without Choo in the lineup. Carlos must step up his game at the plate if the Indians are going to win the AL Central. He has been so up and down. Just look at his batting average by month:
April: .198
May: .263
June: .221
July: .267
Defensively, Santana is still a work in progress behind the dish. He has a solid arm, but I would call him average at handling the staff. When Marson is behind the plate and Santana is at first, the pitchers get an added advantage. Lou is one of the best defensive catchers in the game with a cannon for an arm. Nobody should run on Marson – he has thrown out 18 of the 37 would-be base stealers. As a hitter, Lou doesn’t do much. However, he hasn’t been as big of a black hole as many have thought he’d be. He is hitting .241 with eight RBIs in 116 ABs.
It should be interesting to see how Acta juggles the infield the rest of the way. There are many things for him to consider: With the catcher and first base spots, which way will he go considering how good Marson is defensively coupled with Matt LaPorta’s inability to hit lefties at first base? Also, don’t be shocked if the right-handed bat the Tribe could chase before the trade deadline is someone who plays first base. How long will they stick with Orlando Cabrera every day with Luis Valbuena now up and Kipnis and Donald ready in AAA? At third, Chisenhall is here to play. Hannahan will stick as a late inning defensive replacement and will get starts against tough lefties. But what happens if the right guy becomes available as a right-handed hitting stick at third base?
We will see what happens.
6 Comments
it’s funny that of IF/C the only position nobody is worried about is SS. and that in the OF, the only position nobody is worried about is wherever Brantley is lined up for the night.
so, that’s 2/3 spots in the OF and 4/5 spots in the IF where people are legitimately worried to varying degrees. and yet, here we sit 0.5GB of first.
did I mention that I love the AL Central 🙂
Cord Phelps walk off home run was against the Pirates not the Orioles
I wouldnt say im worried by any means about the IF. C is definitely under control by Santana/Marson, though getting Carlos hitting up is a definite must. 3rd is in a good spot with Chiz/Hannahan. And 1st/2nd base isnt holding anyone back. Getting Kipnis up to 2nd might be the best option, but still, nothing they cant fix “in-house”. OF is a different story tho..
@bobby – let me clarify that I meant “this season”
all your points are valid, however Chisenhall and Kipnis/Phelps can’t really be counted on to solidify the spots ‘this season’ as rookies tend to have rollercoaster seasons their first time up. C/1B could be solved this season if Santana/LaPorta start hitting better or if Santana goes to 1B more and we live with Marson at the plate to get Marson behind the plate. Still, ‘this season’ there are major questions.
Going forward, I agree. We are pretty set fixing things in-house everywhere except 1B (unless we decide that’s where Santana should end up).
Only complaint with the article is that Cabrera’s defense is no where near “Vizquel-esque”, other than his amazing plays he seems to pull off once a game or so. His range still rates out from average to well below average by most metrics. Which is why if we do sign him to a long-term deal and Lindor develops according to plan, second base could still be his future position. Obviously both big ifs, but the point being that a “Vizquel-esque” SS would have no chance of being moved off the position.
It might not be “solidified” but Chiz/Jack and Kipnis/Phelps/Ocab if properly managed- which Acta has been able to do for the most part thus far- will be fine. just get the hot people in the line-up.