Clippers | WaitingForNextYear

How good of a starting prospect is Danny Salazar?

May 9, 2013 by Jacob Rosen 22 Comments

The Cleveland Indians must have seen something in Danny Salazar before everyone else — and their early belief has paid off in a big way.

After the 2011 season, Cleveland’s organization surprised a lot of people by placing the 21-year-old right-hander on the official 40-man roster. Salazar actually had only made 15 starts in the previous two years because of Tommy John surgery and still hadn’t made it past the Single-A Midwest League with Lake County.

Yet, nearly 18 months after being protected from possible Rule 5 poaching, Salazar is rewarding the Tribe with the hottest start of any pitcher in professional baseball. In fact, following his fourth straight magnificent performance for Double-A Akron on Monday, he announced his own promotion to Triple-A Columbus on Twitter. And now, it’s time to wonder if he might be the best home-grown Cleveland pitching prospect in years. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Akron Aeros, Clippers, Danny Salazar, fausto carmona, Francisco Lindor, indians, minor league baseball, MLB, pitching prospects, Roberto Hernandez

Sunday Indians Notes: Beau Mills, the rotation and prospects

April 21, 2013 by Jacob Rosen 1 Comment

Beau Mills and his bucking bulls: The Indians scoring 19 runs was not the strangest news I saw yesterday. No, not even close. It began with a pair of tweets from @Indians (here and here) sharing pictures of a young bucking bull named Tuve (after Astros infielder Jose Altuve) that happens to be owned by Indians third-base coach Brad Mills and his son Beau, Cleveland’s 1st-round pick in 2007.

I couldn’t believe it. The Mills family just owns a bull, named it after a Houston player and had it in front of Minute Maid Park on Saturday? So I Googled. And found the Plain Dealer‘s Paul Hoynes’ report from Friday night: It was true. Mills, the 26-year-old first baseman who the Indians pitched away to Cincinnati in June 2012, officially has retired from baseball and is raising several young bulls for a living. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Akron Aeros, Beau Mills, Brad Mills, Carlos Carrasco, Chun Chen, Clippers, Danny Salazar, Houston Astros, indians, minor league prospects, MLB, T.J. House, Trevor Bauer, Ubaldo Jimenez

Trevor Bauer, and the Indians’ starting pitching outlook

December 13, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 9 Comments

Trevor Bauer is a game-changer. Yes, the new Cleveland wunderkind is only 21 (he turns 22 in January) and has just 4 (bad) games of MLB experience under his belt, but his sheer presence drastically changes the starting pitching algorithm for the Cleveland Indians going forward.

Obviously, there’s a certain amount of risk associated with Bauer. I’d be amiss if I didn’t address that. According to all the reports out there, he’s eccentric, stubborn, abnormally intelligent, a bad rapper, practically revolutionary and thus, seemingly was at odds with Arizona’s upper management, which is why the No. 3 overall pick in 2011 was on the trade block at all. He could not become the star many expect him to be. That’s possible, and you always have to address that fact when dealing with a very limited MLB sample size.

But, undoubtedly, the UCLA product has more upside and MLB-readiness by far than any other starter in the entire Indians system. He could immediately slot into the starting rotation from day one — but it’s not exactly certain if that will be the case. Either way, with the Indians owning his rights through 2018 (at least), and the fact he’s dominated AA/AAA batters, he’s the bright future of the Indians pitching outlook for many years to come. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Akron Aeros, arizona diamondbacks, Carlos Carrasco, Clippers, Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar, David Huff, Dillon Howard, Edwin Jackson, Felix Sterling, indians, Indians starting pitching prospects, Jacob Bell, Jake Sisco, Jeanmar Gomez, Justin Masterson, Mason Radeke, Shaun Marcum, Trevor Bauer, Ubaldo Jimenez, Zach McAllister

Box Score: Cavaliers 108, Clippers 101

November 6, 2012 by Andrew 17 Comments

The Cavaliers came out in this one sloppy, sluggish, and looking almost confused. It was an alarming start and most fans watching braced themselves for a long night. Little did we know how great of a game we were in for.

Kyrie Irving absolutely willed his team to life. In a breakout 1st quarter, Irving had 16 points to wake his team up and spark energy and belief into his team. And all of this against Chris Paul none the less. It was blossoming leadership and it was inspiring to watch.

The bench unit sans Luke Walton would actually manage to sustain the lead and when the starters took over, they were able to carry a 7 point lead into halftime.

In the 2nd half, though, it was the Dion Waiters show. The rookie went 7-11 from three to lead all scorers with 28 points. Waiters showed supreme confidence and star quality throughout the 2nd half. Kyrie Irving, who finished with 24 points of his own, seemed content to ride the hot hand in Waiters and again, showed great leadership in not trying to take the offensive focus away from Waiters.

There were so many positives in this game. Kyrie Irving’s clutch 3 to ice the game. Anderson Varejao with another double-double with 15 points and 15 boards. Tyler Zeller with a breakout game (15 points, 7 rebounds) before having to leave after taking an elbow to the face. CJ Miles with a big 10 points off the bench and some strong defensive plays. I could go on and on, but we’ll save it for tomorrow’s recap. For now, just enjoy this one, Cavs fans.

Cleveland

Starters	Pos	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	+/-	Off	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	BS	BA	PF	Pts
K. Irving	G	37:20	8-23	4-8	4-5	+8	1	3	10	3	1	0	4	1	24
D. Waiters	G	32:15	10-17	7-11	1-1	+3	0	3	1	1	0	0	0	2	28
A. Varejao	C	36:06	7-10	0-0	1-2	+5	5	15	1	1	3	1	0	3	15
A. Gee	F	33:33	2-8	0-2	4-4	+8	3	3	4	4	1	0	1	2	8
T. Thompson	F	31:48	0-6	0-0	1-4	+5	4	8	1	3	3	1	3	5	1

Bench	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	+/-	Off	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	BS	BA	PF	Pts
Totals		40-92	14-29	14-22		18	43	24	17	12	2	13	18	108
Percentages		.435	.483	.636		Team Rebounds: 14
T. Zeller	24:12	6-10	0-0	3-6	+1	4	7	2	3	1	0	0	3	15
D. Gibson	20:20	1-5	1-4	0-0	+4	0	3	3	0	1	0	2	1	3
C.J. Miles	14:27	4-7	2-3	0-0	-1	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	1	10
D. Sloan	6:05	1-4	0-1	0-0	-1	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	2
S. Samuels	3:54	1-2	0-0	0-0	+3	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	2
O. Casspi	DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Leuer	DNP – Coach’s Decision
L. Walton	DNP – Coach’s Decision

LA Clippers

Starters	Pos	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	+/-	Off	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	BS	BA	PF	Pts
C. Paul	G	34:18	6-10	1-4	4-4	-9	1	5	9	2	1	0	1	4	17
W. Green	G	21:08	3-4	1-2	2-2	-9	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	3	9
D. Jordan	C	29:23	5-7	0-0	0-1	-4	1	6	0	3	0	5	1	2	10
B. Griffin	F	35:24	9-14	0-1	2-2	-11	0	6	5	5	1	3	0	2	20
C. Butler	F	21:45	4-9	3-6	0-0	-3	0	1	2	1	0	0	0	3	11

Bench	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	+/-	Off	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	BS	BA	PF	Pts
Totals		39-74	9-25	14-16		9	38	23	25	7	13	2	24	101
Percentages		.527	.360	.875		Team Rebounds: 2
E. Bledsoe	25:38	3-10	0-2	5-6	+5	2	5	5	2	4	1	0	0	11
J. Crawford	25:05	7-13	4-8	1-1	-4	0	0	1	4	0	0	0	2	19
M. Barnes	16:06	0-4	0-2	0-0	-1	1	8	0	3	0	0	0	4	0
R. Turiaf	13:44	0-0	0-0	0-0	-1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
R. Hollins	13:29	1-1	0-0	0-0	-3	4	5	1	2	1	1	0	1	2
L. Odom	4:00	1-2	0-0	0-0	+5	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	2

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: basketball, Box Score, cavaliers, cavs, cleveland, Clippers, Dion Waiters, Kyrie Irving, la, Los Angeles, NBA, scores

Cavaliers Look to Shake Off Rough Weekend with First West Coast Game of the Season

November 5, 2012 by Andrew 17 Comments

(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

It was a rough weekend for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they dropped both of their games Friday and Saturday night.

The Cavaliers showed us two very different types of losses, though. Friday night against Chicago was a reprise of the song we heard so many times last season. The Cavaliers fell behind by 16 in the first quarter and never really appeared too interested in playing and fighting back.

Here’s an example of how bad things were Friday night. With 4:41 left in the 1st, Kyrie Irving hit a 10 foot jumper to pull the Cavaliers to a 19-15 deficit. Here’s how the remaining first quarter possessions for the Cavaliers went:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cavaliers Tagged With: basketball, cavaliers, cavs, cleveland, Clippers, CP3, griffin, irving, kyrie, la, Los Angeles, NBA, paul, varejao

2012-13 NBA Blogger Previews: Pacific Division

October 8, 2012 by Andrew 1 Comment

For the past several years, the great Boston Celtics blog CelticsBlog.com has hosted an annual NBA Bloggers Preview. Basically, every day leading up to the start of the season, one team is previewed by some of the best writers on their team blogs, and then once the division is done, we will post the links to all the previews.

The Cavaliers preview day is tomorrow, so check back then for our preview of the upcoming season. In the meantime, though, check out all the excellent links below to start getting your fill of NBA goodness before the season starts.

Can Andrew Bogut stay healthy this season, and if so, what will his impact on the Warriors be?

Indians recall RHP Frank Herrmann

September 2, 2012 by Ben Leave a Comment

The Tribe recalled 28 year old RHP reliever Frank Herrmann from Triple-A Columbus. Herrmann, 0-0 in four appearances with the Tribe (giving up 3 runs in 5.2 innings), was 2-2 with 8 saves in 42 relief appearances with Columbus. Herrmann has a career 4.64 ERA in 106.2 innings.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Clippers, Frank Herrmann, indians

Indians Roster Notes: Lopez Released, Tomlin to Have Arm Evaluated

August 12, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 7 Comments

For the fourth time this month, the Indians announced today they have released a veteran player DFA’d 10 days earlier. This time, it was utility infielder Jose Lopez, following in the footsteps of, chronologically, Johnny Damon, Jeremy Accardo and Derek Lowe.

Indians beat writers, who had a nice Twitter fling with Lopez throughout the season, were saddened by the announcement:

#LopeyTime released by the #Indians officially.

— Nick Camino (@CaminoTribe) August 12, 2012

LLLLLopey has been released by Indians.

— Dennis Manoloff (@dmansworldpd) August 12, 2012

In other notable Indians roster notes, recently-converted reliever Josh Tomlin will have his right arm examined in Cleveland this week. He was originally rumored to see well-known specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum while the team is in Southern California this week, but supposedly the doctor is unavailable.

According to various Twitter reports, Tomlin has fought elbow soreness dating back to last season, possibly resulting in his poor performance to date this year: 5-8 with a 5.82 ERA in 20 games (16 starts).

It’s very possible that Tomlin will be moved to the DL this week to make room for Roberto Hernandez, who is scheduled to start Wednesday. It is also possible that lefty Chris Seddon or righty Corey Kluber also could go back to Columbus, while outfielders Matt LaPorta or Russ Canzler could be activated from the Clippers roster (h/t @MLBastian).

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Chris Seddon, Clippers, Corey Kluber, Derek Lowe, indians, Jeremy Accardo, Johnny Damon, Jose Lopez, Josh Tomlin, Matt LaPorta, MLB, MLB roster moves, Roberto Hernandez, Russ Canzler

Contention Windows and Depth Charts: Analyzing the Cleveland Indians’ Future

August 11, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 3 Comments

The youth movement is underway in Cleveland, or so we think. With the Indians now 52-61 and out of playoff contention here in 2012, the focus of the organization and fans has turned to the future.

The WFNY crew was debating recently about how bright that future looks. As the resident minor league guru, I took it upon myself to analyze the organizational depth chart, from Akron through Cleveland, along with all guys listed on the 40-man roster and 60-day disabled list.

This experiment should provide some basic knowledge about how competitive the Indians might be in 2013 and possibly 2014, and what some areas of need are in the upcoming offseason. Share your comments below about what’s on your mind concerning the Tribe’s future. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Akron Aeros, Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana, Carolina Mudcats, Clippers, Depth Chart, Francisco Lindor, indians, Justin Masterson, Lonnie Chisenhall, Michael Brantley, minor league baseball, MLB, Shin-Soo Choo, Ubaldo Jimenez, Zach McAllister

Indians Bullpen Moves: Cody Allen Up, Scott Barnes Down

July 20, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 1 Comment

The Indians announced another swap in the bullpen this afternoon, with young righty Cody Allen coming up from AAA Columbus to replace lefty Scott Barnes:

RHP Cody Allen promoted from AAA Columbus. Has a 1.87 ERA in 31 games this year (43.1IP, 25H, 9ER, 9BB,53K) w/a .166 (25-151)average against

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 20, 2012

Allen was selected in the 23rd round of the 2011 draft out of High Pt Univ (NC). Is just 2nd member of 2011 draft class to reach MLB (Bauer)

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 20, 2012

Allen, 23, hits in the mid-90s with his fastball and also has a good slider. He also was drafted by the Indians in the 16th round in 2010, but failed to sign. After starting in High-A Carolina in April, he has shot up through the system and emerged as one of the organization’s top prospects.

Barnes, 24, was acquired in the Ryan Garko trade with the San Francisco Giants in 2009. He had an 8.10 ERA in 7 bullpen appearances for the Tribe, allowing 12 hits and seven walks against 10 strikeouts in 10.0 IP. He was just recently converted to the ‘pen in May with Columbus, and went 7-4 with a 3.68 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) last year for the Clips before tearing his ACL in July.

This now means that Tony Sipp is the lone lefty pitcher for Cleveland. Meanwhile, rehabbing lefty reliever Rafael Perez (lat strain) pitched a scoreless inning for Columbus on Wednesday and could be back in Cleveland by next week.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Clippers, Cody Allen, indians, MLB, Rafael Perez, Scott Barnes, Tony Sipp

WFNY Wednesday Wahoos: Indians Minor League Weekly Review 7/11

July 11, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 1 Comment

Each and every Wednesday, I try to bring you all of the news and notes from the Cleveland Indians minor league system. Enjoy.

It’s officially the all-star break, which means trade rumors are just starting to heat up. In my closing word today, following the usual prospect update and quick hits, I’ll share some of my guys to keep an eye on as possible trade pieces if the Indians are buyers over the coming weeks. Also featured this week: A brief Futures Game recap, info on some recent draft picks set to make their debuts, the scoop on some intriguing recent promotions and I’ll share my take on LHP Nick Hagadone’s peculiar injury situation. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Akron Aeros, Chris Ray, Clippers, Cody Allen, Francisco Lindor, indians, Jesus Aguilar, Joseph Wendle, Matt Packer, Minor Leagues, Mitchell Brown, mlb trade rumors, Nick Hagadone, Shawn Armstrong, Ubaldo Jimenez

WFNY Wednesday Wahoos: Indians Minor League Weekly Review 7/4

July 4, 2012 by Jacob Rosen Leave a Comment

Each and every Wednesday, I try to bring you all of the news and notes from the Cleveland Indians minor league system. Enjoy.

Happy Fourth of July everyone! For this edition of the Wahoos, I’m going to spare you my usual introduction. Instead, I’ll later be passing the baton to some of the other great baseball writers out there with a new link roundup section. I’ve also got tons of details on Francisco Lindor’s struggles, another Jesus Aguilar hot streak, how some local guys are doing in the system, the amazing Akron bullpen and much, much more. Click forward for all the info. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Akron Aeros, Alex Lavisky, Anthony Gallas, Carolina Mudcats, Clippers, Dillon Howard, Francisco Lindor, indians, Jesus Aguilar, luigi rodriguez, Minor Leagues, Nick Hamilton, Ronny Rodriguz, Thomas Neal, Tony Wolters, Tyler Naquin

Indians Roster Moves: Vinny Rottino claimed off waivers, Chris Schwinden DFA’d

June 27, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 3 Comments

We saw some moves coming up soon, but this likely isn’t what we were looking for.

The Indians made a pair of small moves today, as they claimed IF/OF Vinny Rottino off outright waivers from the New York Mets. The versatile 32-year-old journeyman is expected to join the AAA Columbus roster and, of course, will be on the 40-man roster.

In 511 career AAA games, he’s a .294/.360/.436 hitter. He’s notched plenty of time at catcher, right field, left field, third base and first base over the years. A right-handed bat, he’s just at .188/.282/.319 in 44 career MLB games with Milwaukee, Florida and the Mets dating back to 2006.

In a corresponding move, the Indians DFA’d RHP Chris Schwinden, a starter for the Clippers. He actually had been picked up off waivers from the Blue Jays just a few weeks back. In three starts for Columbus, he was 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA, striking out five batters against six walks in 15.1 IP.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Chris Schwinden, Clippers, indians, Minor Leagues, New York Mets, Vinny Rottino, waiver moves

WFNY Wednesday Wahoos: Indians Minor League Weekly Review 6/27

June 27, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 3 Comments

And we’re back on normal time this week. As usual, every Wednesday I bring you all of the news and notes from the Cleveland Indians minor league system.

Last night was exciting in the ninth, but it doesn’t hide the fact the Indians have lost four straight by a margin of 28-7. Yikes. So, since the Indians declared they’re likely to make improvements from within, what possibilities are there down on the farm? General manager Chris Antonetti shared some names yesterday and I’ll provide some insight on those now.

WFNY Friday Wahoos: Indians Minor League Weekly Review 6/22

June 22, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 5 Comments

Oops. For the first time since I started out the WFNY Wahoos, I missed my Wednesday goal. So today, even though it’s Friday, enjoy your weekly dose of Cleveland Indians minor league news and updates. No Tribe game last night, so this is your morning substitute.

Yes, the Indians remain 36-32 entering this weekend’s series against the Houston Astros. Yes, Cleveland still has a slight half-game lead over the Chicago White Sox and a 2.5-game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, and appears on the verge of possibly entering July in first place. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Akron Aeros, Beau Mills, Bo Greenwell, Carolina Mudcats, Clippers, Cody Allen, Dillon Howard, Ezequel Carrera, Francisco Lindor, indians, Jordan Henry, Lake County Captains, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, minor league baseball, Mitch Brown, MLB, Nick Weglarz, Tyler Naquin

While We’re Waiting… A Tale of Two Cities, Matt LaPorta’s Future, Will Barton, Rivalry BBQ

June 15, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 7 Comments

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.

Literature and summer baseball. What could be bad? “To that end, I’ve been reading Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities, to be specific. It’s a gorgeous novel about love, both unrequited and not, about sacrifice and atonement. The plot of the book revolves around the French Revolution of 1848. It is not a baseball novel. Now you may ask what A Tale of Two Cities has to do with the Indians 12-5 loss to Cincinnati. As it turns out, there are a number of surprising parallels.” [Susan Petrone/It's Pronounced "Lajaway"]

WFNY Wednesday Wahoos: Indians Minor League Weekly Review 6/13

June 13, 2012 by Jacob Rosen Leave a Comment

Every Wednesday, I provide tons of updates from the Indians minor league system. Today’s a special edition with a new top 10 ranking and some special insight on the MLB Draft. Enjoy.

For now this season, I hope you all have enjoyed my six or seven editions of the WFNY Wednesday Wahoos. They’ve been a great deal of fun to write each week, and I’m looking forward to continuing it for the rest of the season. Today’s post is a bit of a special one, as with the middle of the minor league season approaching quickly, I decided to expand a bit with some new features.

LaPorta Recalled, Damon Placed on Paternity List

June 3, 2012 by Jacob Rosen 1 Comment

Many people have been calling for this for days and weeks, and it’s finally here. Although it’s likely not how people expected it. Matt LaPorta will make the move from AAA Columbus to Cleveland today, replacing Johnny Damon on the active roster. Here is the news from Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Left fielder Johnny Damon will to leave the Indians and go on the paternity list after Saturday night’s game. His wife recently had twins.

With Damon leaving the club, Matt LaPorta will be recalled from Class AAA Columbus to replace him. FOX TV, which broadcast Saturday night’s game, first reported the news. …

A player cannot stay on paternity leave for more than three games.

So it appears that LaPorta will get at least a three-day tryout with the big league club. Of course, he was hitting .307 with 14 homers and 42 RBI in 46 games for the Clippers, but struggled during most of the month of May. Who knows how this factors into the long-term situation, but it should be interesting to see how the offense performs over the next few days.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Clippers, indians, Johnny Damon, Matt LaPorta, MLB

Catching Up With the Clippers

April 17, 2012 by TD 7 Comments

I for one miss our old friend DP. He left us for greener pastures, but his legacy lives on. No, I’m not going to talk about the Columbus Blue Jackets, but with the Tribe on an off-day yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to check in with DP’s very own AAA Columbus Clippers. With the expected offensive struggles of the big club, Tribe fans should always be keeping on eye on the Clippers. There is some talent down I-71, but there are also a lot of 4A specials who are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. So in an ode to DP’s former weekly column “Da Clip Show,” we now take a gander at what’s goin’ on down south. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clippers, Indians Tagged With: Clippers, Kevin Slowey, Lonnie Chisenhall, Matt LaPorta, Nick Hagadone, Scott Barnes, Trevor Crowe, Zach McAllister

Indians Minor League News: LaPorta raking early

April 9, 2012 by Craig Lyndall 26 Comments

Matt LaPorta’s defense hasn’t been missed in Cleveland so far as the Tribe faithful have enjoyed every minute of Casey Kotchman’s glove at first. At the plate though, Kotchman hasn’t impressed just yet with his one hit in 16 at-bats. While it is early, for Kotchman, it is also early for Matt LaPorta who is off to a hot start in Columbus.

.375 (6-for-16), 3 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, 1.287 OPS

After four games, LaPorta leads the team in just about every offensive category, including hits, home runs, runs batted in and slugging percentage… One positive, besides the tangible results, are that both of his home runs were to the opposite field. He has had the habit of trying to pull almost everything, as most young hitters do. But at age 27, he’s not so young anymore…

As I said, it’s early. Obviously much too early to make any kind of decision on Kotchman or LaPorta. Except for their defense, of course. I am more than willing to make that decision today. Kotchman’s glove is a breath of fresh air vs. having to hold my breath every time LaPorta went to throw.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Casey Kotchman, Clippers, indians, Matt LaPorta