June 19, 2013

Giovanni Soto Pitches No-Hitter for Akron Aeros

July 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

Giovanni Soto, a 21-year-old left-hander, pitched a no-hitter today in a 2-1 victory for the Double-A Akron Aeros over the Altoona Cruve.

Soto struck out six and walked three, while a run scored on a ground out in the sixth inning following a two-base error. He needed 104 pitches to pull off Akron’s first individual no-hitter since Jeanmar Gomez’s perfect game in May 2009.

Entering today’s game, Soto was 5-6 with a 4.09 ERA on the season, but had been 0-4 in his last six starts. The tall Puerto Rico native is a decent prospect for the Tribe, as he was ranked 39 in the system by Indians Prospect Insider’s Tony Lastoria before the season began.

He was originally acquired from the Detroit Tigers for Jhonny Peralta in July 2010. Kudos go out to Soto for the huge individual accomplishment today, and it’s really cool to see that it happened at Akron’s Canal Park.

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

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It’s All Hindsight: Missing Jhonny Peralta

September 13, 2011 by 9 Comments

Here is a piece I thought I never would be writing.

The Indians being a little left-handed heavy in their lineup is like saying Rush Limbaugh is a tad to the right politically. When they are completely healthy (yeah, like that has ever happened in 2011), the Tribe’s core of top position players all swing from the same side. The outfield of Michael Brantley, Grady Sizemore, and Shin-Soo Choo; the current DH duo of Travis Hafner and Jim Thome; second baseman Jason Kipnis; third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall (and the great Jack Hannahan). Catcher Carlos Santana and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera are both switch hitters.

The key to the lineup being successful was the right-handed stick who was handed the first base job – Matt LaPorta. We all know how that turned out. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Asdrubal Cabrera to Start MLB All Star Game, Massaquoi in Jeopardy, MLB Trade Market

July 9, 2011 by 6 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

Asdrubal is your ASG starter and his predecessor Jhon Peralta now joins him on the team – amazing: “Asdrubal Cabrera is where he belongs. Cabrera will start at short stop for the American League at Tuesday NIght’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game after Derek Jeter, voted to the starting spot by the fans, pulled out of the game due to injury. Jeter returned earlier this week from a 3-week stint on the disabled list with a calf injury. Jeter has also been worn down by his quest for 3000 hits.” [John Bena/SB Nation Cleveland]

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MoMass being edged out? “The numbers however are a bit misleading, Massaquoi has disappeared for games on end and has lacked any real consistency, while Robiskie finished the 2010 season visually and statistically more impressive.  The end of last year, for Robiskie, has not gone unnoticed by second-year general manager Tom Heckert…Down to one spot left on the roster. Since Cribbs, Little, Mitchell, Haggerty and Norwood all seem to be in favor of the Browns’ brass, this leaves a choice between Massaquoi and Robiskie to fill that final spot.” [Samuel Ingro/National Football Authority]

[Read more...]

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Tigers or Indians: Stronger Roster Going Forward?

June 14, 2011 by 18 Comments

I would be lying if I said that I saw what transpired in New York this weekend coming.  It’s hard to predict something that awful and impotent.  Unless of course you’re talking about this man.

But I did think there was a good chance that we’d enter our game this evening in a virtual lock with the Detroit Tigers.  We were going up against the best offense in baseball while the Tigers got to beat up on the Seattle Mariners.  It seemed that we’d likely lose our slight lead over Detroit that we had going into the Yankees series, shifting a new sort of focus on the competition between the Indians and Tigers—competition that seemed silly to discuss just four weeks ago.

Which, in some ways, is really exciting.  This series is hopefully going to be the beginning of a season-long back-and-forth between two good (yet flawed) teams. [Read more...]

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Cleveland Indians Motivational Posters

February 10, 2011 by 28 Comments

It may be a bit on the hack side, but you can’t help the thoughts that enter your brain.  This morning as I was swimming, I thought about the parodied motivational posters that they do at despair.com and for whatever reason, I started thinking of Cleveland Indians players.  So, I got started, asked the rest of the WFNY team for some help and these are what we came up with.  Scott and DP collaborated beautifully on the Platoon one, so make sure you give them “attaboys” for that one.

Remember.  We kid the Indians because we love them and hope to love them even more.

[Read more...]

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Get Your Parade Floats Waxed: Victor’s Comin’ HOME!!!

November 23, 2010 by 16 Comments

To the AL Central, that is.

It’s being reported by Ignacio Serrano from ESPN Deportes (no relation to Pedro) that Victor Martinez is on the verge of accepting a four-year, $50 million contract from the Detroit Tigers.  For you non-polyglots out there, here’s the story in English.

Perhaps Detroit’s crumbling infrastructure and corrupt politicians just remind these guys of where they cut their teeth, but Victor would be the second former Indian to end up signing with the Tigers in the past few weeks.*  Jhonny Peralta (after his option was declined) signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract earlier this month.

*There were some grumblings about Shin-Soo Choo wanting to play for the Tigers eventually as well, but I’ve written several times why that won’t be an option for him anytime soon, and frankly, I’m tired of the story.  But for the record, those comments were reported not by Choo, but by Peralta who, I can only assume either now speaks fluent Korean, or was having a conversation in English in which neither participant was particularly well-versed.  I’m going for the latter. [Read more...]

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The Free Agent Ex’s

November 11, 2010 by 12 Comments

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...]

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Tigers Decline Jhonny Peralta’s Option, Sign Him For Two More Seasons

November 8, 2010 by 10 Comments

Many Indians fans – especially around these parts – have been anxiously awaiting to see what the Detroit Tigers were going to do with their mid-season acquisition in one Jhonny Peralta.  The Tribe offloaded the infield staple of the late 2000′s to the Tigers as both parties were staring at a $7 million club option.

The Tigers, as any team with the ability to watch Peralta play would, declined his lucrative option just last week.  Instead, they Motor City Kitties locked him up for at least two more seasons in a deal that is reportedly going to net Sir 20/20 Vision $11 million with a third-year option for the team. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… NFL Halfway Point, Bucks Win Again, LeBron Halloween

October 31, 2010 by 3 Comments

While We’re Waiting serves up a breakfast buffet of WFNY-esque goodies from across the web. Got something else you think we should link to here? Send us an e-mail at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

Similar to what I did yesterday, here is a detailed breakdown of where the Cleveland Browns stand today: “Because of injuries, they have had to play three quarterbacks. Now they appear to be getting at least one back. Still, 2-5 is 2-5.” [Tony Grossi/Cleveland Plain Dealer]

Providing even more positive reports for the rest of 2010: “1. One of the reasons for optimism as the Browns enter the second half is they believe key players Joe Thomas, Josh Cribbs, Eric Wright and Shaun Rogers have all played well below their normal production. None are dealing with major injuries. They are challenging those players to simply play better — and believe most can do just that.” [Terry Pluto/Cleveland Plain Dealer] [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… Tribe Defense, Starting McCoy and Coach Mike Brown

October 12, 2010 by 8 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

Tribe defense was offensive: “First, the good news. The Indians were very good at throwing out runners from the outfield. Grady Sizemore’s absence helped some, but Shin-Soo Choo was the main driver; the Indians’ Right Fielders by themselves were +5.1 in ARM. The Indians were also about break-even in turning double plays compared to expectations, pretty good considering how many double play combinations the Indians were running out there.

Now the bad news. The Indians had a negative ErrR, or Error Runs, which should not be surprising. Whenever you hear announcers mention the Indians’ defensive rank, they’re referring to fielding percentage, or errors made. In the grand scheme of things, though, actual errors were not the big problem for this defense. Which is a lead-in to…

The ugly news: the Indians were the worst team in baseball, by a rather large margin, in RngR, or Range Runs. If you include all the National League teams, only the Pirates (-49.6) are close. Range was a major, major, problem for this team, especially in the infield, and specifically second base and shortstop.” [Let's Go Tribe] [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Wrapping up the Tribe’s year, Cavs season predictions, Namath rips Braylon

September 18, 2010 by 3 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

Vince with a Dear John letter to the Tribe: “Dear Cleveland Indians, I’ve recently been informed that you are still here. If I seem taken aback by that news, it’s because I distinctly remember kicking you out earlier this year.  You remember, don’t you? It was May 17, to be exact.  In fact, it was the specific moment on May 17 when Jhonny Peralta lumbered his way up the middle, in the awkward and unathletic manner of which only Jhonny Peralta is capable, and collided with Asdrubal Cabrera, breaking Cabrera’s left arm and sending him to the disabled list and operating table.  It was the perfect literal and figurative emblem of the season: Old fat shortstop vs. new young shortstop, one of the last vestiges of old Tribe continuing to ruin the promise of the new Tribe, a guy on the field that no one wanted to see going above and beyond the normal miscues of errors and strikeouts to physically maim a guy everyone wanted to see and screw the team over in a whole new way.”  [Vince Gzegorek at Big Leauge Stew]

[Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… Cribbs Adjusting, Delhomme Ready and Edward Mujica

September 11, 2010 by 1 Comment

While We’re Waiting serves as a breakfast buffet (even on weekends) of WFNY-esque information for your early morning viewing pleasure. Have something else you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

This could be a huge boost for the re-made CLE offense this season: “Browns receiver Josh Cribbs watched himself on film the day after the Detroit preseason game making a 30-yard sideline catch and felt like he was having an out-of-body experience. ‘I definitely looked at that play when I caught the ball and I was like, ‘Hey, look at him! Look at that guy!” Cribbs said.” [Mary Kay Cabot/Cleveland Plain Dealer]

While this is always important, it will be interesting to see if the rest of the team can catch up: “Can he keep it going? That’s the main question Browns fans are wondering as the team embarks on the 2010 season. Jake Delhomme did everything asked of him in the preseason, as he posted a 110.5 QB Rating. He was 38-for-48 passing for 345 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.” [Fred Greetham/The OBR]
[Read more...]

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Someone Loves Him Some Jhon

August 18, 2010 by 9 Comments

Here at WFNY, we receive links/tips to articles and columns that our readers think would either be perfect for our While We’re Waiting daily 9 am open , or would spark a good piece for one of us to get at. This morning, our Detroit spy sent us something that is so laughable, it deserves its own post.

You remember Jhonny Peralta, don’t you? The guy who had zero range in the field; had to be moved to third base because of said range; stopped hitting for average; stopped hitting for power; couldn’t lay off the low and away breaking pitch. Yes, that guy. Well, you will recall he was dealt to the Tigers for Class A pitcher Giovanni Soto around three weeks ago. [Read more...]

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

August 5, 2010 by 7 Comments

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...]

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Tribe Trade Tracker: The Review

August 2, 2010 by 14 Comments

I know I know, the Dolan’s are cheap. The Indians can’t contend. Baseball is sunk in Cleveland. The system stinks. All the Indians do is sell of their best players. Yada, Yada. Yada. I get it. But here is the thing, Tribe fans – the trades I am about to discuss were all the right calls. There is zero point in keeping around guys like Kerry Wood, Jhonny Peralta, and Austin Kearns (Jake Westbrook, still had value to this club in terms of leadership). Lets get it straight and out there in the open: in the situation the Indians are in, this was absolutely the right thing to do. So lets review the deals to put this into better perspective. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Browns QBs, Delonte to Lakers, Jhonny’s Big Debut

July 31, 2010 by 6 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

Delhomme and DA both make the list of worst offseason signings: “The Browns will pay Jake Delhomme $7 million in 2010, a stunning reward for one of the most dramatic falls from grace any quarterback has experienced. Making the move even more puzzling is that, with the exercise of patience and the application of a poker face, the Browns eventually could have gotten Donovan McNabb for the same deal that the Redskins cobbled together in early April — a second-round pick now, and either a third-round or a fourth-round selection next year.  Some Browns fan may defend the move by explaining McNabb is 33, and he could soon enter a decline. Meanwhile, Delhomme is 35, and he’s already skydiving without a parachute.” [Sporting News/Mike Florio]

[Read more...]

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The Tribe’s Third Base Problem – Is There An End In Sight?

July 29, 2010 by 15 Comments

The Tribe made two moves this week that further echoed an ongoing problem since the club drafted and brought Jim Thome to the big leagues as a third baseman: since that time, other than the lightning-in-a-bottle Matt Williams year in 1997 and his subsequent trade to Arizona which brought in Travis Fryman prior to the 1998 season, the Indians have had a gigantic black hole at third base from top to bottom in their organization.

In reverse order, the Tribe sent current 3B Jhonny Peralta to Detroit for a minor league pitcher on Wednesday, and on Tuesday designated minor league 3B Wes Hodges for assignment, all but ending his tenure with the Tribe. At one point, Hodges was considered a bona-fide third base prospect, but as his 26th birthday approaches in September, it was becoming more and more clear that he was never going to be an option for the major leagues.

And now, as the under-achieving Andy Marte most likely picks up a chunk of the playing time at third in the short term, this triumvirate of suck at third base shines a bit more light on what has been a large problem for the organization for a long, long time. Buckle up… here comes a long, long list of bad, bad things, post-Fryman. [Read more...]

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So Long, Jhon

July 29, 2010 by 25 Comments

For years, nobody was a bigger Jhonny Peralta defender than me. When so many complained about his rise to the majors kicking Omar Vizquel out of town, I was convinced it was the right move. I still think it was. Of course, I miss Omar and wish he was here as our utility man (where he is doing a great job in Chicago), but the Peralta era had to begin in 2005.

Yesterday, that era came to an end as the Indians third baseman was sent to Detroit for A ball pitcher Giovanni Soto, who by the way, happens to be a decent prospect and not some throw-away.

It was obvious Peralta had no future here. His numbers have steadily declined since 2007 and he has never approached the 2005 season where he starred, hitting third for a 93-win team. That season, Jhonny set career-highs in batting average (.292), homers (24), and OPS (.886), while driving in 78. At that time, nobody was pining for Omar’s return.

Sure, Jhonny was never the most graceful shortstop, but nobody cared about his defense because he was hitting. Then, the hitting stopped. [Read more...]

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MLB Trade Rumors: Jhonny Peralta a “Potential Fit” in Colorado

July 26, 2010 by 14 Comments

Turning into a Major League Baseball version of the Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns, the Indians could once again be entering into a deal with the Colorado Rockies.  Troy Renck of The Denver Post has deemed Tribe third baseman Jhonny Peralta as a “potential fit” in the mile high city due to his team-friendly contract and ability to play multiple positions.

Though the note is titled “Jhonny Be Good,” Renck does hit on key points while mentioning the history between the two teams.  [Read more...]

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Rays 4, Indians 2: This is What Happens, Justin, When You Walk an Aybar in the Second

July 26, 2010 by 10 Comments

I know we just finished losing two of three to Tampa, but if you weren’t paying attention this weekend (and judging by the attendance…), the Indians continued to play some decent baseball.  And yesterday was no exception, despite the outcome.

After Justin Masterson sent the Rays down in order in the top of the first, the Indians jumped out in front on a Carlos Santana sac fly to score Michael Brantley.  The top of the second started much the same way, with Masterson retiring both Carlos Pena and Matt Joyce on weak ground outs to second. [Read more...]

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