I know its the first week of spring training games, but a leader may have already emerged for the Left Field race. Because of the still head-scratching signing of Russell Branyan to be the everyday first basemen, the two main cogs of the CC Sabathia trade two summer ago – Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta – have been pitted against each other to be the everyday Left Fielder in Cleveland.
To the victor goes the spoils, and the major league experience. The loser gets a ticket down I-71 South to Columbus. GM Mark Shapiro and his trusty sidekick Chris Antonetti have said that both Brantley and LaPorta have to play every day, whether that be in Cleveland or Columbus. Why can’t they both play everyday in Cleveland? Oh that’s right, 34-year old Russell the Love Muscle has to be in the lineup.
So you sell us a youth movement all winter, then stick us with Branyan, who has a balky back and strikes out more than Kelly Shoppach? I know he hits titanic homers, including 31 last season (odds of repeating that this season? 75-1). But as I’ve said before, this is Jason Michaels and David Dellucci playing over Franklyn Gutierrez and Ben Francisco all over again. This is handing Jason Johnson a spot in the rotation. Oh, and isn’t LaPorta’s future with the Indians at First Base?
OK, I’ll move on.
With LaPorta recovering from offseason hip surgery and just now rounding into form, Brantley has been given an opportunity to show what he did in his September call-up was not a fluke. In 28 games, the 22 year old hit .313 in 112 AB’s. Unlike LaPorta, Brantley is an ace with the glove and has always been an outfielder. Sure, he doesn’t have the power that the Indians can get with LaPorta, but then again Brantley is the closest thing to a true leadoff man the organization has.
During yesterday’s 3-2 win over Arizona, the speedy kid led off the game with a triple and never looked back. He went 3-4 with an RBI, adding in a single and a double. “He set the tone with his first at-bat,” said manager Manny Acta. “We all know what the kid can do.”
Now its your move, Matt LaPorta.
Here is the thing, I like both of these kids and think they both have bright futures. But to have one of them held back in AAA for Russ Branyan really gets my goat. In the end, I think Brantley will come out the loser in this battle unless he continues on a torrid pace or LaPorta’s injury doesn’t allow him to be ready for opening day, which may I add is less than a month away.
Working against Brantley is something he has no control over – he is a lefty. I know this shouldn’t make the least bit of difference, but it came to light when the Indians decided to sign Branyan and hand him an everyday job. Of the everyday eight players – not including the winner of the Left Field sweepstakes – only Jhonny Peralta and Lou Marson hit from the right side. Imagine how easy it is for a manager to bring in a lefty to face Sizemore, Choo, Hafner, and Branyan? With only Jhonny in there to break that up, there is a huge need for a right-handed stick (yet another reason it made little sense to sign Branyan). That is what LaPorta would be.
There is a lot of Spring ball still to go, but it’s clear Brantley is taking the fight right to the favored LaPorta.
photo via cleveland.com
Author: TD
TD is a born and bred Clevelander who agrees with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt when he says "Ranch Dressing makes everything better except for cereal and ice cream." You can follow TD on Twitter http://twitter.com/WFNYTDTD has written 380 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
TD you like to cover the Tribe huh? I feel for you man I really do but I agree on your latest contribution 110% and I’ll go even further: Marson and Santana need to play too! I think I’d be better off getting tickets for Triple A as opposed to Regressive Field I know Akron was great the few games I saw down there.
Btw instead of signing Branyan the Indians should have given Dye a one year deal that is of course if they felt the need to satisfy their “older/veteran” slot on the team. Unlike Branyan who can only show the young guys how to swing for the fences and play bad defense Dye has actually had a pretty solid career. Just my opinion.
I consider the reason for signing and playing Branyan pretty obvious actually. Mostly, its a win/win situation for the tribe… how you ask… well:
1.) Branyan is a cheap vet and has the ability to hit 25-30 HR’s this season(this is the obvious part), why do the Indians care though? Because come mid-june and early-july when teams are looking to add a big bat for the playoff stretch the Indians will be able to dump Branyan for a prospect. This is what the team does every single year… they did it with DeRosa last year. So essentially, I view the primary reason for the deal as having Branyan start for 60 games trade him and get whatever you can for him then let the youngsters take over.
2.) This has already been stated, but even if Branyan collapses and we cant find a trade partner he will still keep Brantley out of arbitration for another season.
In the end, I think its all about the trade option come mid season.
Good piece TD.. I like what the Tribe is doing. Sign Russ to push the younger kids and to add depth. Mikey B and Gator4God need to be pushed. No free passes under Acta.
Interesting point Nick…I like it, but if Branyan stinks…do you have faith that the Tribe organization will actually sit him?
@NickPapa your #2 sent a cold shivver down my spine…”he will still keep Brantly out of arbitration for another season” is so hypocritical yet such a possibility for the $1 store Indians that it’s scary! Nothing would surprise me that an organization built on prospects would make the conscious decision to retard the growth of what appears to be one of their more promising young players in Brantley by keeping him in the minors. Who do they think they are the Rays with Evan Longoria?
Btw maybe this is why Carlos Santana is supposedly going to start in the minors and not because of his lack of English. I mean with the coaching staff now on the Indians plus the fact that not alot of English is required, certainly the English spoken in Cleveland isn’t that much different then that used in say Akron, to put down 1 finger for fastball, 2 for curve, etc. etc. oh well it’s the Indians, the team that trades away it’s Cy Young pitchers not years after they are over the hill but the year after they win the award. I’m hoping Santana tears the cover off the ball this spring because I want to see what the Indians braintrusts say then.
The only reason Branyan was brought in was because the Tribe doesn’t want to start Brantely’s arbitration clock. Unfortunately, MLB’s lack of any salary cap puts teams like the Tribe at significant disadvantage. Most likely Brantely will be in Triple A regardless of his spring (I believe LaPorta’s time has already begun to run so no use in sending him down), with a late season call-up.
@7 The Indians are “saving” Brantley for their World Series run! I’m laughing so hard I can barely type right now unfortunately I think you and NickPapa are probably, as sad as it might be, correct. Not sad that you guys might be right but sad because it might be true.
TD is the guy who watched and wrote up almost every Indians game last season. Even when it became worse than pulling teeth and it was hard to even read the writeups.
Articles with titles like “Tribe drop 7th in a row: Sowers gives up 300 runs in the 5th” and “Grindmaster Flash watches movie Platoon too many times, keeps playing Dellucci”
@Eli I know Mr. TD has a fondness for the Indians I feel his pain I just don’t care anymore. It’s not that I don’t care because they are losing it’s because I can’t stand all the BS loyal fans are fed by this organization, mostly excuses, for bad personnel decisions and well cheapness. It’s been proven you don’t win without spending especially in baseball factor that in with the bad personnel decisions and it’s no wonder people feel like they do. It’s borderline criminal.
Brantley will start the year in Columbus, mainly to save his service clock. It’s less pushing back arbitration than it is extending the Tribe’s control of him. By keeping him in Columbus until around mid-May, they push back his free agency eligibility a year. It’s a similar situation to what the Rays did with Longoria.
With the Tribe out of contention this year, I have no problem with them ensuring that Brantley stays an additional year down the road.
@11 Makes sense but I still don’t like it unlike Tampa Bay who was playing the system when it came to Longoria I feel like Cleveland isn’t as smart. That being said Brantley hasn’t progressed to anywhere near the level Longoria was at when the Rays did that so I can understand it. I just like Brantley because it looks like not only does he have the physical tools but the mental as well. Mickey should be proud!
For me, while the fact that long-range financial calculations are clearly driving roster decisions is totally understandable and defensible from Indians front office standpoint, it just kills my interest in the team.
The deck is just so stacked against the Indians under baseball’s current fiscal regime, I just can’t bring myself to follow them. And as recently as two years ago, I was absolutely as die hard an Indians fan as anyone I’ve ever met. I mean I wrote articles on the Indians for BTF, I made prospect lists and read box scores daily from rookie ball on up to AAA (it goes without saying I was watching every game the major league team played)… and now where there used to be all that passion for this team, there’s just nothing. I feel nothing for the Indians anymore. Man, that sucks.
@ Lloyd: pushing back arbitration is the same thing as extending club control. After three full years of MLB service time, he’s eligible for arbitration. Three years after that (unless he’s a Super 2), he hits free agency.
I agree that the main reason they’re (likely) sending him back down is to extend club control, but it’s not as if we’re dealing with the greatest prospect ever here. I mean, the guy bat .267 last season with NO power against AAA pitching. Basically, those are Trevor Crowe-type numbers (albeit at a younger age). Brantley might need to learn a few things about his swing and AAA competition before we slot him into a major league lineup everyday–not to mention the leadoff spot. Brantley’s a fine player, but he has yet to prove that he belongs on an opening day roster. (Unless, of course, three hits in a spring training game counts…)
No one is beating the Yankees again. It won’t even be close. Like, at all. Baseball’s business model is stupid.
I hope it dies.
TD… couldn’t have expressed my feelings about this situation better. Mine would’ve had a lot more cursing though. Great write-up.
The comments here make this the most heartening tribe post I’ve seen in months, because everybody gets it.Ignore all Shapiro-speak, future contention talk,etc. and just follow the money. Down to the last Shrute Buck the final Dolan Kopek. Here’s a silver lining: a team with little salary obligation is easier to sell!
(Mumbles prayer)
@boogeyman
I agree, I would love to watch Brantley play and think he can really be an impact player. However, I do think the Tribe’s front office is smart enough to play the system. With the Tribe’s financial constraints they have to do everything in their power to maximze their assets. Part of that is ensuring that guys like Santana, Brantley, Chisenahll, Rondon, White etc… come up around the same time and that the core players are all under club control at the same time.
Jon… our team is basically a AAA team. So that counts, right?
It doesn’t matter WHO owns this team. We can never compete with the Red Sox and Yankees. They will be eternally good. Television rights, advertising, and marketing have changed things forever.
They LOSE money every year. But their value always goes up so they keep shelling out the cash. Even if we developed good young talent with a rich owner, teams like the Yankees would still pluck that talent away by doubling the asking price and offering the lore and legend of the that organization.
Die, baseball. Die!
Note: I know I’m exaggerating…
Santana is still in Akron b/c he isn’t able to call a game. He is major league ready when it comes to offense, but not defense or calling pitches.
Other than what’s stated above, let’s also remember this:
1) Injuries happen. LaPorta is coming off of hip & toe surgery. Branyan has a bad back, and Hafner has a bad shoulder. Sizemore is coming off a few little injuries. Unless Lonnie Soloff has the healing touch of Jesus H Christ, people are going to get hurt, and Brantley will get his chance, since he’s essentially first in line to back up in LF, CF, 1B and DH because of the flexibility of where they can play him and LaPorta
2) Spring training doesn’t mean everything. It very well could be that Brantley needs some more seasoning. Young guys often do really well at the end of the season (like Brantley did last year) because pitchers haven’t seen them before, and the pitchers they’re facing might also be AAA call-ups. Same goes for spring training. So let’s not assume he’ll absolutely be batting .300 if he’s in the lineup this year from the start.
At this point, I’m just wondering who will be traded this year. Westbrook, Wood, Peralta and Branyan all seem likely. I wouldn’t be sad to see any of them go.
Jack: hate to start this argument up again, but you asked for it: St. Louis, big payroll, at their strongest since the ’80s. Arizona: huge market? Minnesota: soon to double our payroll, Detroit: contracting now only after a few years of enormous payrolls. Do the Yankees and Sox have a sizable advantage with their revenue stream? Of course. But we could compete if our owner didn’t have a bad case of the shorts that makes it hard for them to meet even a moderate payroll. The system is bad; our current ownership makes it much worse.
I think I’d be better off getting tickets for Triple A
Who has two thumbs and has a 20-game Clippers ticket package and writes a Clippers column for WFNY?
/points thumbs at self
THIS GUY!!
The best thing about Branyan is that I’ll be able to watch one of the good, young Indians OFers in person when they come to visit the Durham Bulls in mid-May.
Puke.
D’oh. Misread the schedule, the Clips don’t come to Durham till mid-late July, when all the geriatric junk will have been traded away and the future will be starting in Cleveland. Ok, there’s no positive to Branyan now – dump him, Shapiro.
@Lloyd makes sense but I still don’t like it! I’m just done when it comes to excuses for the Indians the whole market thing isn’t completely bogus the problem is they use it like a crutch. The fans showed here they would support this team by selling out Regressive Field but why should people spend their money on a hobby when the owner of the team can’t even do it?
I liked Shapiro at one time but his act has run out. Not only that but the fact he could can Charlie Manuel yet let Eric Wedge survive as long as he did sealed the deal for me.
@Boogeyman,
I am not a Dolan/Shapiro defender by any means.
However, it is worth mentioning that the ’07 Indians, who Shapiro put together, would have played in the World Series (and probably won) had C.C. and/or Fausto (their two aces) pitched at least one decent game.
That being said, it is pretty unreal how quickly the team fell apart after that.
@29 No reminder necessary trust me that choke job was historic in fact I think it was worse then “The Drive” or even “The Fumble” because of all the things that went wrong including those performances by CC and Fausto.
I can see how CC and Fausto’s performances are worse than the Drive and the Fumble. The Fumble was one play in a long game and even if Byner scored, the game only would have been tied. As for the Drive, that only tied the game the too. Browns had the chance to win in OT.
CC and Fausto laid, collectively, 4 eggs that led to 3 losses (the Tribe bats bailed out Fausto in Game 2).
SEND MICHAEL TO THE N.Y.YANKEES NOW !!! WE COULD USE A VERY YOUNG OUTFIELDER WITH A GREAT UP-SIDE!! HIS DAD HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP TO HIM AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. YOU CAN HAVE ANY OF OUR OLD FELLOWS FROM LAST YEAR.. MAYBE EVEN A PITCHER COULD GO TOO. SEND US YOUR YOUNG TALENT AND WE WILL SHOW YOU WHAT YOU GAVE UP ON SO -SO SOON… WHAT A WASTE TO SEND ALL THAT TALENT DOWN TO THE MINORS…
[...] is healthy and the cream will rise to the top out of Brantley and LaPorta. The issue I had (and I wrote last week) was that all winter we were sold a youth movement, and now we are subjected to Branyan six-seven [...]