June 19, 2013

Indians 6, Phillies 0: Bauer & The Raburn Show Help Tribe to Fourth Straight Win

Trevor BauerOver the last three games heading into last night, the talk of Cleveland sports has been the awakening of the Tribe offense. The 33-run, 48- hit explosion was just what the doctor ordered to heal the wounded psyche of the Wahoo Warriors. And while the bats have been rightfully praised, there has been a dirty little secret side story going on beside it – shhhhhhh don’t jinx it – the starting pitching has actually been solid!

Corey Kluber got things started Sunday when he pitched seven strong innings of two-run baseball. He struck out six without walking a single batter. A night later in Kansas City, with a winning road trip on the line, the much maligned Ubaldo Jimenez gave his signature performance in a Tribe uniform, completely shutting out the Royals for seven innings on just three hits. As the Indians returned home after an 11-day trip, Zach McAllister followed suit with seven innings of his own against the Phillies. Like Kluber, The Zach Attack allowed just two runs – both on solo homers. With the doubleheader played last Sunday, the Indians needed a spot starter to keep the line moving. 22-year old phenom Trevor Bauer would be summoned from Columbus. [Read more...]

Cleveland Sports Life Boat – Cleveland Indians Starting Pitchers

Indians Pitcher Life Boat

I am a huge fan of the Ron and Fez show on Sirius XM Satellite radio. They do a bit on the radio called life boat, and I’m borrowing it for Cleveland sports. Here’s how it works. There are four people and only three seats remaining on the life boat. You must work your way through the list of candidates and, unfortunately, someone is designated to try their hand at long-distance swimming.

A couple rules.

1. You MUST pick three people to ride in the boat. “Let them all drown!” isn’t an interesting answer and frankly, you’re not funny. It’s been done, so skip it.

2. Don’t use an overly silly premise for your answer. Life boat is a silly enough premise where you aren’t going to “wow” anyone with your take that you should “keep the fatter guy because at least when we turn to cannibalism, we’ll have someone tasty to eat!”

So, this Cleveland sports life boat is Indians starting pitchers. The candidates are:

Charles Nagy, C.C. Sabathia, Bartolo Colon, and Cliff Lee [Read more...]

While We’re Waiting… NFL Draft Ends, Weeden’s MLB Career, Indians in 1st?

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.

Some QB insight after a rare interview with Holmgren: “Judging by Holmgren’s comments, the Browns either thought about taking Weeden in the second round or considered trading back in the first round to take him. They ultimately drafted Weeden with the 22nd overall pick because they didn’t want to risk losing him. … I get the feeling that Holmgren wants to keep Colt McCoy as the backup to Weeden. He doesn’t think it would be difficult for McCoy to adjust to that role because he ‘is a special young man.’” [Jamison Hensley/ESPN NFL Nation Blog]

Looking back with a review for the Richardson pick: “There is some debate about whether it is wise to select a running back this early since you can find productive players at the position later in the draft. In fact, I am usually the first one to make that argument. However, if there is an exception to the rule it’s Richardson, who was one of the truly elite prospects in this class and the best running back to come along since Adrian Peterson. The Browns play in a rough and tumble division where the ground game is very important and Richardson will fit right in.” [Scott Wright/Draft Countdown]

Here’s a nice Friday story on the Yankees’ relationship with now-Browns QB Brandon Weeeden: “There is no major league draft as famous as the 2002 session, which has been immortalized in both a bestselling book and an Oscar-nominated movie. … But last night the spotlight turned toward a high schooler from that draft who never rose above A-ball. That is because a decade after the Yankees took Brandon Weeden with their top pick — the next-to-last selection of the second round — he was picked by the Browns with the 22nd pick in the first round of the NFL draft.” [Joel Sherman/New York Post]

Are the Indians for real? What’s next for the team? Stay tuned to look at what’s going on: “Are they tied for 1st Place? Are they tied for 1st Place? Yes…and it can certainly be argued that the Indians simply took advantage of a favorable schedule in the early going (and I’ll actually make that argument if you want to hear it) and that this is still ultimately a flawed team (again, no dissension on that point as they have a negative run differential)…” [Paul Cousineau/The DiaTribe]

Yeah, sure, the Indians have had trouble getting their investment back from the Cliff Lee trade, but is another recent trade similar? “Time has proved that the Indians were burned to a crisp in the Cliff Lee trade. The Yankees, to date, have merely had their fingers singed in the acquisition of Michael Pineda from Seattle. Burned is burned, but the pain comes in degrees.” [Paul Hoynes/Cleveland Plain Dealer]

And, finally, a new 11W writer picks up on the SEC’s impact on the NFL Draft and how Urban Meyer might bring that to Columbus: “Well, guess what? Urban is known to recruit at the same capacity as our SEC brethren and we have seen the high caliber talent he has scooped up in his 2012 class and the 2013 class thus far. OSU commits are beginning to choose the Buckeyes over the Alabamas and LSUs. It’s pretty safe to say that it is only a matter of time before Chris Berman starts dropping OSU and Meyer-bombs and the B1G begins to prosper at draft time because of The Ohio State Buckeyes. Wait, would ESPN really let that happen?” [David Sokol/Eleven Warriors]

Only Losers Live Here: Re-imagining What Might Have Been In The Cliff Lee Trade

It is a sore subject for Tribe fans as it should be.

Back on July 29th of 2009, the Indians sent Cy Young award winning starting pitcher Cliff Lee to Philadelphia. At the time, the Phillies were streaking towards the postseason while the Indians were in full regression mode. It was the second consecutive year in which the Tribe dealt their best assests to reload with prospects. Lee was their biggest chip and it was of the utmost importance that they cashed in on him big time.

The Phillies were flush with top tier prospects. In 2009, everyone knew their best guy was AA starting pitcher Kyle Drabek. Next on the list were a pair of outfielders, Domonic Brown and Michael Taylor. The Indians tried everything they could to hold out for Drabek, but the Phillies refused to include him. Brown and Taylor were intriguing, but at the time, the Tribe thought they were set long-term with Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, and a soon to be ready Michael Brantley in the outfield. They wanted arms. So they settled for the next best options.  [Read more...]

While We’re Waiting…Feeling Kinda Sunday

I think the Browns are going to look good on offense throughout the game, but the Bengals’ defense isn’t one we can just walk all over. Cleveland’s running game is a bit questionable right now because we didn’t get to see it on display during the preseason much, and the offensive line is shaky too. Dalton is going to have a tough time to start off the game, and I see Cleveland jumping out to an early two-possession lead. From there, I expect Cincinnati to grind things out on the ground and Dalton to start hitting a couple of throws to put the pressure back on Cleveland. The Bengals will score with a couple of minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Cleveland will close out the game from there.” [Chris Pokorny/Dawgs by Nature]

[Read more...]

Is David Huff a New Pitcher? Maybe So.

I’ve not always done a good job of hiding my contempt for the sort of pitcher David Huff became over the last several years.

After flirting with some real upside early in his MLB career, he appeared to settle into the sort of mediocrity that has been typified most notably by Jeremy Sowers.  That is to say, he seemed destined to be a 4A pitcher who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) make the adjustments necessary to succeed at the Major League level.  This was particularly frustrating to watch, because we all could see that while Sowers might never have possessed the talent to succeed in MLB, Huff appeared to lack the drive.  He seemed to resent his coaches.  He seemed to avoid using his fastball, incorporating instead a steady diet of changeups and curves that hitters could whack with varying degrees of delight all around the park.

Whether it was a lack of talent, a lack of composure, or (probably most likely) some combination of both, David Huff struggled more significantly and for a longer time than any pitcher I can remember.  It’s just not that common for a pitcher to be given as many chances to fail as we gave Huff over the last two years: usually after 150-plus innings of terrible results, a team will just give up on a guy.  The fact that we didn’t has less to do with a prescient front office than with a dearth of reasonable alternatives, but that’s a story for another day. [Read more...]

What the Big Three Trades Have Meant to the 2011 Indians

In 2008, the front office started the long and arduous process of ripping my heart out.

In July of that year, they admitted what I wasn’t ready to: the team wasn’t good anymore.  Whether it was due to injury, poor luck, or simple regression didn’t matter.  Only that the team wasn’t good enough to win the division, and that it wasn’t likely to get better before we lost our biggest pieces to free agency.

Once that was established, the front office worked to cut costs, ship out talent, and roll the dice on the trade market.  This process culminated with Victor (and me) crying on an otherwise beautiful July afternoon in 2009.  For me, that was the most devastating sports loss of my life: watching a guy that wanted nothing more than to play for my team, a guy I loved watching and rooting for without condition, a guy who was everything that was right about caring about sports, be sold for parts, chop-shop style. [Read more...]

The Truth About Trades

Justin Masterson takes the mound tonight for the Indians, looking to improve his record to 3-0. He has given up just 2 runs in over 13 innings of work this season, for a 1.35 ERA, with a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Carlos Carrasco bounced back from a bad first start, and has pitched well enough to win his last 2 starts, even though his defense let him down against the Angels. He is second on the team with 13 strikeouts. Michael Brantley will be leading off and playing centerfield, with a .311 batting average and an OPS of .773. Matt LaPorta has struggled to begin the season. He has struck out more times (9) than he has had a base hit (7).

Why bring those players up? Because they were of course the centerpieces to the deals that sent Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez out of town. Their performance on the field will determine if the deals made were ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Regardless of contract status, public perception of the trades necessitate that these players turn into shadows of Sabathia, Lee and Martinez and lead the Indians to the World Series.

I say it has to be a World Series, because I believe the trades of Victor, Cliff and CC will never be viewed as ‘good trades’ otherwise. I think that sports fans are conditioned to believe that the only ‘good trade’ is the type where my team fleeces your team. [Read more...]

Are the Indians Suffering From a LeBron Hangover Too?

One of the worst parts about LeBron James leaving Cleveland was for season ticket holders.  As everyone knows, Cleveland Cavaliers fans needed to be speculators and try to guess if LeBron was going to come back or not and make a decision whether to re-up before free agency completed.  I’ll give Cavs fans credit. For such a raw deal, I haven’t heard a ton of complaining.  Make no mistake though, it was a raw deal in terms of value.  Many of those fans who dutifully trudged to the Q this year to watch the Cavs will make or have made their decision whether to keep supporting the Cavs with season tickets next year.  Has their bad experience with Cavs tickets ended up costing the Indians as well?

Don’t think for a second that this is one of those “LeBron James is responsible for every negative thing in the world” types of posts. I want to look at this more like a scientist.  The fact remains that other than the Browns who are immune to everything, the Cleveland sports fan landscape is inter-related.  As a community of sports fans there is tons of crossover between Cavs fans and Indians fans.

When I lived in Boston it was different.  You had some sports fans who were religious about all the teams like any other city.  At the same time there were fans who were definitely Bruins fans first.  In fact, before Tom Brady became one of the best quarterbacks of this generation there weren’t really that many Patriots fans other than the die-hards.  The town had enough fans to have almost distinct die-hard fan-bases for each individual sport and then the people who were fans of all the sports filled it out. [Read more...]

Acquiring Young Talent through Trades—Part One: The Pitchers

On Tuesday I tried to make you feel good about the 2011 Indians.  I told you how if things go just right, this team can compete in the AL Central.  It was a shiny, happy day.  Today I might end up making you feel sort of crummy about the 2007 Indians.  Yes, it’s a weird exercise, but bear with me.

Let’s start with the sell-off that was precipitated by those 2007 Indians underperforming in 2008, taking a team from within one game of the World Series to competing with the Royals for last place.  By and large, there seemed to be two major reactions to the moves of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, and Victor Martinez.

The first reaction was one of alienation from MLB as a whole and the Indians in particular.  Any system that encourages the sort of talent-exodus that took place in Cleveland cannot and should not be supported, or so the argument went.  [Read more...]

Was the Bartolo Colon Trade the Best Trade Ever?

Now that free agency is in full swing, we’ve seen some insane contracts (*cough*Jayson Werth*cough*) and some public posturing (Derek Jeter, anyone?). But, there’s probably not a more coveted free agent this off-season than pitcher and former Indian Cliff Lee. There’s a rumor that the drunken sailors running the Washington Nationals are pushing hard for Lee in the neighborhood of seven years and $140 million. It’s important to note—to me, at least—that had Lee not been part of the Colon trade, he’d have been in the Nationals organization from the jump.

And, that got me to thinking: remember when Mark Shapiro traded Bartolo Colon for three guys most of us had never heard of before? Looking back, can you ever remember another baseball trade so talent-laden—and potentially lop-sided—in hindsight? I know, I know… two of the three players we got went on to success in other cities, though with Lee we at least got a taste of what he was capable of, 2007 notwithstanding. But, I want to make it clear: I’m not arguing this is the most lopsided trade in favor of the Indians. I’m only talking about pure talent and performance going both ways. Why? I don’t know. Why not?

The Free Agent Ex’s

Ah, the 2007 Indians. So close to winning a World Series. If only CC and Fausto hadn’t wet themselves in Games five and six. If only Joel Skinner didn’t hold up the stop sign on Kenny Lofton. If only Casey Blake hadn’t hit the next pitch for a 5-4-3 tailor made double play….

UGH!!!!

I promise I will get over it one of these days, but that team seemed to be the one who was finally going to put us out of our decades of misery here in Cleveland. Looking back to the core of that team, its become a who’s who of the free agent market over the past few seasons. Lets check in on the best of the best from a team one game away from the World Series. [Read more...]

While We’re Waiting…Cliff Lee’s Rangers go to first World Series

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
 
Rangers hope World Series run keeps Lee in Texas:  ”As his teammates doused each other with ginger ale on the infield, Lee said he’s never felt more at home on a team than right now. Only part is that is Texas’ proximity to Lee’s native Arkansas, where his family still lives.

“I love this situation. I love my team. I love my teammates,” Lee said. “It’s been a fun ride. It’s been an unbelievable experience. But free agency is stuff that I’m going to worry about when the season is over. Right now, I’m worried about giving this team a chance to win when I take the mound and us playing as a team and pulling for each other.”

Lee said before the playoffs started that winning a World Series could heavily influence his decision. He stands by the statement while stressing that it’s premature to discuss at this point.

“I would like to hope so, but I’m not too worried about that stuff right now,” said Lee, who went 3-0 with an 0.75 ERA and 34 strikeouts during the Rangers’ run through the AL playoffs. “I’m more worried about us getting that ring. That’s the ultimate. Free agency and that stuff is going to take care of itself later. Right now, we want to be standing at the end with the trophy.”   [Tim MacMahon / ESPN Texas]

[Read more...]

Updating What We Got For Sandy Koufax

Anyone else enjoy watching Cliff Lee absolutely dissect the New York Yankees last night? That was a Picasso that ole’ Cliff painted  in the Bronx. No runs, two hits, 13 strikeouts, and just one walk against the best lineup in baseball? Can you believe what we are watching?

I think we all knew that Lee was good, but can anybody have imagined that he would turn into Sandy Koufax? That’s what he is folks. He is the best left-handed pitcher in the game and it’s not even close.

The Yankees gave CC Sabathia seven years and $161 million when he hit the market two winters ago. Cliff’s game dwarfs his right now and CC is an All Star. Consider their postseason records after last night:

Cliff Lee – eight starts – 7-0, 1.26 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 67 K’s, seven walks, 1 HR allowed

CC Sabathia – 12 starts – 6-4, 4.79 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 64 K’s, 38 BB’s, 10 HR allowed [Read more...]

While We’re Waiting… Cavs Preview, Leon Powe, Eric Wedge Interviews

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

Previewing the rocky situation for the Cavs this season: “The question of whether the Cavaliers are worse off after losing LeBron James is not debatable. Of course the franchise is worse off — today, tomorrow and possibly forever. The question is how far will Cleveland fall, and how long will it take to recover.

The latter is a bit misguided in the sense that Cleveland’s recent performance (at least in the regular season) is so rare it’s hardly regularly achievable. The Cavaliers won 66 games last season, becoming only the fourth team since 2000 to do so.” [Bethlehem Shoals and Tom Ziller/FanHouse]
[Read more...]

Indians Acquire Zach McAllister; Jason Knapp Stars with Lake County

Right-handed pitcher Zach McAllister is the newest member of the Indians organization after being acquired as a player-to-be-named-later from the New York Yankees. The 6’5″ starter completes last month’s Austin Kearns trade and he began the year as the fifth-best Yankees prospect. He still has upper-level potential despite a rough 2010 season in the Triple-A International League.

He will turn 23 years old in December and is 8-10 with a 5.09 ERA for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre so far this season. McAllister should immediately transition to the Columbus Clippers rotation and is highly regarded because of of his youth and previous dominance. He was 7-5 with an League-leading 2.23 ERA for Double-A Trenton in 2009, winning NY Yankees Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors.

For the Indians, completing this trade adds yet another high-level pitching prospect to the fold, a common trend over the past year. It certainly won’t hurt to have his name in a competition with Jeanmar Gomez and  Josh Tomlin among others while one other top young prospect stuck out Friday night in Lake County.

[Read more...]

Deadline Deals Provide Even More Tribe Pitching Prospects (Part 2)

Both the Columbus Clippers and the Akron Aeros are having impressive seasons thus far, but there is also a movement growing in the lower levels of the Indians system. Assisted by last year’s moves at the trade deadline and then cemented in July 2010, Cleveland is now stacked with pitchers up and down the minor leagues. From dominant starters to shutdown relievers to potential situational lefties, there is certainly no shortage of arms for the future in the Indians system.

These two posts will introduce folks to new names thriving this season as well as updates on well-known entities. There are certainly enough studs and serviceable MLB parts to really give Cleveland an above-average pitching staff, at the least, within the next year or two.

Lower Levels: This feature concludes today with a look at several players currently playing at the Single-A level or below. Many of these are products of the recent drafts by the Indians, which could hopefully turn out to be the best in decades. The early results are very positive and here’s to hoping the success moves up the system in the next few years. [Read more...]

Be Careful What You Wish For

Rebuilding isn’t really all that fun as a Tribe fan.  How many of you thought that our “window” would be somewhere in the neighborhood of five years after a rebuild?  I did.  So, on second thought, how does two years sound to you?  Instead of a great big picture window in the front of our house, as a Cleveland Indians fan it feels like we replaced the mail slot with the tiniest little pane of glass which is our window to compete.  In some ways this year’s Indians team is exactly the one I clamored for over the last decade.  I am sure that makes me sound absolutely insane to a lot of you.  Well, just so you know, it makes me feel insane to the point that I am wondering if there is any philosophy that a fan can have with the Cleveland Indians that will make sense most of the time.

My philosophy was a well-reasoned reaction to history.  The Indians went from competing at a top level every single season with almost no economic realities in play to constantly playing catch-up while coming to grips with the size of the market that Cleveland truly is.  I could deal with that.  Or so I thought.  After watching Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome walk out the door for giant dollars, I vowed that the Indians should never do that again.  They should always trade players like that so they could replenish the farm system.  That is exactly what Mark Shapiro did over the last two years.  Maybe it is even working.  The Indians do seem to have a lot of younger players who might eventually allow the Indians to compete at a high level again.  For whatever reason, though, even when I said that is what the Indians should do, I haven’t had the patience or maturity to really deal with the process.   [Read more...]

SABR-Toothed Triber: Vetting the Other Carlos

It’s not like we have anything else to think about in Cleveland sports, right?  Let’s talk Indians’ prospects and math!

The Indians have had only six starting pitchers this year.  Depending on your perspective, that’s either a promising development or one of many reasons we’re in last place.  Either way, the consistency in the rotation lends itself to some fairly straightforward assessments.  For example, not a single starter has a K/BB ratio of 2:1—typically the benchmark for MLB success.  Masterson leads the team with 1.78 K/BB.  Aaron Laffey (of all people) leads the rotation in K-rate at 8.16 per nine innings pitched.  Carmona leads the starters with 3.69 ERA that he has parlayed into an All-Star appearance. [Read more...]

SABR-Toothed Triber: We Get an All-Star Representative?

Yes.  We do.  For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the Cleveland Indians will send a player to the All-Star Game to help determine home-field advantage in a World Series they have no chance of playing in.

To be honest, the Game has become a bit of a farce.  It sort of matters, but it’s played like it doesn’t.  Sure, the managers would like to win, but not at the expense of real effort or keeping any reserves on the bench.  This magic combination of blah and blasé team up to deliver you one of the most forgettable moments in the modern baseball season: the Midsummer “Classic”.  At least the NBA All-Star game knows what it is: an exhibition.  The MLB version seems confused about its raison d’etre, and often leaves me wondering why we have one at all.

But each team is guaranteed one representative (until Bud Selig dies or retires), and it’s my job to vet the Indians’ candidates.  Rest assured: none of these players has the slightest chance of actually being voted in, so whoever represents the Indians will be the choice of the AL manager, Joe Girardi.  Without further ado, here are the Tribe’s mostly like candidates with some SABR-analysis attached to each one. [Read more...]