June 18, 2013

MLB Free Agency Rumors: Tribe in mix for Edwin Jackson

December 19, 2012 by 8 Comments

While the Cleveland Indians attempted to recruit free agent outfield Nick Swisher as if he were a high schooler looking to name his collegiate future, it appears that their conquests do not end there.

FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that Chris Antonetti and company are eying up veteran starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, potentially adding to a rotation that recently added power prospect Trevor Bauer from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rosenthal adds that Jackson would likely command a four-year deal that would eliminate the chances of the team adding Swisher.

The 29-year-old would immediately add talent and durability to a rotation that has otherwise been bereft of both qualities — has averaged 199 innings over the past five seasons and produced an ERA-plus slightly above league-average. Jackson fanned 168 and walked only 58 batters in 189.2 innings with the Nationals in 2012. He is compared to Anibal Sanchez who recently inked a five-year, $80 million deal with the Indians’ rival Detroit Tigers.

12/20/12 Update:

[Related: The Pitch To Swish]

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Trevor Bauer, and the Indians’ starting pitching outlook

December 13, 2012 by 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...]

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Indians Fall to White Sox 8-3 in Front of Record Crowd at Progressive Field

April 2, 2011 by 14 Comments

With the forecast calling for 34 degrees and light snow, the crowd for Saturday afternoon’s matinee between the Tribe and White Sox was expected to be small.  It turned out to be the smallest in Progressive Field history at 9,853.

As was the case in the opener, the Indians fell behind early as the White Sox jumped on Tribe starter Carlos Carrasco.  The Sox struck for 7 hits and 5 runs in the first two innings and it looked as if Carrasco might not make it out of the second if not for the glove work of Jack Hannahan – the second time in as many days that the 3rd baseman has picked up his starter.  Carrasco would settle down and cruise through the middle innings but the damage had been done.

The Indians bats turned around in the bottom of the 2nd to strike for 3 runs, getting right back in the game.  Travis Hafner led off the inning with a solo homer to right.  Hafner has had two hits and an RBI in each of the first two games of this season.  [Read more...]

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White Sox 4, Indians 3: I’ve Seen this Movie Before (with a Masterson note!)

September 1, 2010 by 19 Comments

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.  The Indians’ offense struggles for most of the game—down three runs heading into their last at bat.  They rally to come back, but ultimately fall short, losing a game to Ozzie Guillen’s White Sox.

Yes.  I’m sure I’ve read something like this before.  Like, yesterday.

Let’s get to the lowlights, because I’ve got some stuff on Justin Masterson designed to blow your mind.

The game was scoreless into the bottom of the seventh, behind strong outings from both Masterson and Chicago starter Edwin Jackson.  Then, David Shelley Duncan smashed a solo home run to the porch in left, putting the Tribe up 1-0. [Read more...]

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