Tribe Weekend Recap: How Does First Place Sound To You?
May 13, 2013Yan Gomes, Miracle Worker
May 13, 2013I speculated about him this morning in the weekend recap, but the Indians have decided not to wait any longer to see if the struggling Lonnie Chisenhall would come around.
With the need for a long reliever during this doubleheader day, the Tribe’s third baseman of the present and the future was sent down to AAA Columbus this morning. Left-hander David Huff was promoted and added to the 40-man roster, which sat at 39. Huff offers protection with a team playing three games in two days.
As for Chisenhall, his .213/.253/.351/3 HR/11 RBIs was not cutting it and with the Indians train rolling along, they are in a win now mode. Yesterday’s mistakes on the basepaths and defensively didn;t help his case. Their best lineup right now would feature Mark Reynolds at third base with Mike Aviles as his backup. It wouldn’t shock me to see the two sharing the position with Reynolds and Jason Giambi getting the DH at-bats.
The doubleheader with the Yankees starts at 12:05. Reynolds is in the lineup at third base.
19 Comments
More Aviles, please.
Absolutely the right move at the right time for a team that considers itself a contender right now. If a guy looks good in the minors and in spring training but in meaningful regular season games winds himself this tightly into dysfunction, a serious organization has to let the game’s cruel Darwinism do its thing.
Hopefully, the LaPorta-Marte era of endless chances to salvage past FO mistakes is over. They’ve coached Chiz up through the minors, given him a starting spot, and been patient through his initiation. Now its time for the player to toughen up mentally and let his talent flow at this level, or not. Your move, Chiz.
We want more, we want more!
Reynolds will do alright for awhile but he’s far better at 1B. I’m guessing you might see Raburn play some 3B as well.
Chisenhall is just 24. You haven’t even given the kid 500 PAs, so no, you really haven’t been that patient. And telling him to sink or swim on his own now is only a little smarter than having done so with Phillips.
They spent the whole offseason acting like they were fine with Chisenhall as a starting 3B this season, with a right handed hitter to fill in when necessary. If their evaluation of him has changed so quickly, I have to question whether their ability to evaluate his talent in the first place.
…or that’s just what they ‘acted’ like while their evaluations were internally different. You wouldn’t go out and tell the world that your 3B of today wasn’t the best for the spot
Pretending that your option is fine when in reality you know it is not affects no one but you, and it only hurts you. I’m not sure any form of management could do something much dumber.
Remember when Chisenhall v. Hanrahan was a legitimate and intense conversation?
you just don’t want me to bringup the fact that Giambi may be pushed into near-fulltime DH duty
(oh, and yeah, Reynolds was terrible when Baltimore tried to play him at 3B)
but they already added resources to fix the OF, 1B, and utility positions. they didn’t have enough to fix 3B as well, so, yes, you have to say you are okay with 3B.
in reality, I think they were just hoping Chisenhall took steps forward. he didn’t, so they are putting him in AAA to work on his approach/mechanics/confidence. it’s not like they traded him for a fringe RP. if he starts hitting at AAA, then he’ll be back with the team for another shot.
Of course I don’t want you to bring it up. That would be a terrible situation. But it’s not going to happen. Giambi has a defined role on this team, and it ain’t full-time DH.
“Now its time for the player to toughen up mentally and let his talent flow at this level, or not.”
You forgot to include “shave” in that “to do” list. Worst mustache in baseball. Perhaps the world.
yeah, I hope not. I’m hoping our depth (Gomes, Aviles, Raburn) continue to do well enough to keep it from becoming one as well.
…but the sky isn’t falling in your narrative. This is Cleveland. It HAS to fall.
Yes, but you do see how that is quite different than what MallaLubba suggested, right?
You meant Hannahan, Jack Hannahan! You can call me CP dude.
right. I’m not at all suggesting they dump him, or give up on him. I’m suggesting they give him reasonable opportunities to show he can relax and adjust. Francona sat him down and it didn’t work. The team is no longer so desperate for offense that he should be sinking here.
depends on how hard-lined he was being. he merely could have meant the same things I said. FO deciding they would take a chance at Chisenhall developing further because they didn’t have the resources to do anything else about it.
Yanks just made a similar move… sent down Brennan Boesch after the early game in favor of a pitcher for the 2nd game. (I know, I know, Boesch and Chisenhall may not be a great comparison).
Francona has essentially turned five lineup slots into a cha-cha line. He’s got eight players in Aviles, Giambi, Gomes, Rayburn, Reynolds, Santana, Stubbs, and Swisher that move in and out of five positions: C, 1B, 3B, RF and DH.
Personally, the odd-man out here is probably Stubbs. Sure he’s a great defender, but in RF, his bat isn’t good enough.
I predict Swisher and Rayburn will see the most at-bats in RF. Gomes gets more time catching and will DH more often to keep his hot bat in the lineup a la Rayburn. This means Santana will catch less and play 1B more often — probably more often than when he’s DH. I’d like to see Aviles as the everyday starter at 3B, but Reynolds will get a lot of time, as well, with how crowded 1B is. Giambi’s playing time probably won’t see any change.
Overall, I think it’s awesome. You can’t really go wrong no matter how you do it.