June 18, 2013

Buster Olney: GMs expect Indians to be busy in trade market

November 17, 2012 by 5 Comments

In his latest trade rumor report today, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes about some of the leading market forces in play with the major deals that have already happened or could happen this winter. His No. 3 point targets the Indians exactly:

3. The Desperate Team Syndrome
The teams that typically drive the winter market — the Yankees, the Red Sox, etc. — don’t seem to be playing that role. Rather, it’s the teams starved for success. The Mariners are thought by agents to be in this mode, aggressively shopping around at a time when they are under a lot of pressure to do a big move. The Indians are in need of a big shakeup, because of their search for good young starting pitching, which is why they are expected by other GMs to be in the middle of the trade market (Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Chris Perez).

It’s been heavily reported that all three of those players could be potential trade pieces this offseason. A likely target of the Indians then would be major league pitching, although the team is not expected to jump ship on all of those players in one mega-deal a la the Miami Marlins.

[Related: And You Thought The Dolans Were Bad…]

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And You Thought The Dolans Were Bad….

November 14, 2012 by 42 Comments

And you thought the Dolans were bad….

How would you like to be a Miami Marlins fan and/or season ticket holder today? After being raked over the coals and being held hostage for a new stadium by owner Jeffrey Loria and his obnoxious step-son Team President David Samson, you thought you finally had something other than the threat of your team moving.

The new stadium tax you voted for barely passed locally and the 80% tax-payer funded ($409 million) Marlins Park was erected. Then last winter, Samson told the baseball world that the days of Marlins cost-cutting would be over, a new era of Miami baseball was here, and they were ready to win now. So they went all-in, signing All-Star Shortstop Jose Reyes for six years, All-Star Starting Pitcher Mark Buehrle for four years, and All-Star closer Heath Bell for four years. This was in addition to trying to throw the kitchen sink at Albert Pujols, who smartly took less money than what Samson and Loria offered to play for the Los Angeles Angels. In total, they spent $190 million. Their payroll went from the $50 million range to over $110 million. Meanwhile, Reyes and Buehrle’s deals were severely backloaded, and when I say severely, I mean unlike others in baseball. [Read more...]

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CBS Sports: Dolan family listed as fourth worst MLB owners

November 14, 2012 by 40 Comments

The Dolans aren’t very popular in town, at least as owners of the Indians. They don’t garner much respect from the rest of the baseball community either. On the heels of Jeffrey Loria’s latest shenanigans in Miami, CBS Sports.com published a list of their five worst ownership groups in Major League Baseball. Guess who cracked the list-

“4. The Dolan family, Indians: Remember when the Indians used to go to the playoffs every year? It wasn’t that long ago, but it sure seems like it. The Dolans bought the team in 2000 and the Indians have made the playoffs only once since 2001. They have traded CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee since then, though. Cry small market if you wish, but Dolan bought the club for $323 million in 2000 and Forbes magazine values the club at $410 million now. Also, the Reds, Cardinals and Brewers play in smaller TV markets. They seem to do OK.”

Those owners listed ahead of the Dolans- David Glass (Royals), The Wilpon family (Mets), Jeffrey Loria (Marlins).

[Related: Podcast: Craig and Jon discuss the Marlins firesale]

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WFNY Podcast 2012-11-14 – Craig and Jon discuss Marlins firesale and what it means for baseball

November 14, 2012 by 11 Comments

The cool thing about the podcast is that when something happens and even before I have a chance to outline the issue in my brain, I can send Jon an email begging him to talk to me about it on Skype. Jon, who has a nightmare travel day and wasn’t going to be able to write about anything for today, let alone this breaking news, gives me a 30 minute window, throws the headset on and we talk through it together. We are in the future people. And I like it. [Read more...]

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MLB News: Carlos Lee Traded to Miami

July 4, 2012 by 6 Comments

Fans of the Cleveland Indians can cross another name off of their wish list of right-handed left fielders as the Miami Marlins have acquired Carlos Lee, along with cash considerations, from the Houston Astros for a pair of minor leaguers.

Marlins prospects Matt Dominguez, a third baseman, and Rob Rasmussen, left-handed pitcher, were ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, by Baseball America.

The Astros are expected to also pay the majority of the $9 million remaining on Lee’s contract. The 36-year-old is hitting .287 with five home runs, 29 RBI and an OPS of .747.

Lee, holder of a partial no-trade clause, had no say in this deal as the Marlins were not on the list. He recently turned down a trade that would have sent him to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but this had been rumored to be due to the desire to not play in a major television market. He will join the likes of Giancarlo Stanton and Hanley Ramirez in the Miami lineup, providing an upgrade over outfielder Gaby Sanchez.

The Indians, meanwhile, continue to search for at least one right-handed bat to help produce runs over the second half of the 2012 MLB season. Current left fielders Johnny Damon and Shelley Duncan are hitting .201 and .221, respectively.

[Related: Memo to Chris Antonetti: Go Get Carlos Lee]

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Tribe Weekend Wrapup: The Pure Rage Edition

May 21, 2012 by 15 Comments

Wow. What an interesting 48 hours it has been in Wahooland. Here the Indians sit atop the AL Central division, two and a half games ahead of the Chicago White Sox and three in front of the Detroit Tigers. They have won four of six and are in the midst of a big homestand. The starting pitching has been great. The bullpen for the most part has been solid. While the offense continues to be up and down, there have been some encouraging signs from the likes of Shin-Soo Choo and Casey Kotchman. Over 82,000 fans filled Progressive Field on a beautiful weekend by the shores of Lake Erie. Yet all of a sudden, there is this prevailing negative vibe over the ballclub.

That is because Indians closer Chris Perez opened his mouth and let the truth fly. The comments and his subsequent refusal to back off of what he said after Saturday’s 2-0 win, have dug an even deeper hole with a fan base that, right or wrong, already didn’t seem crazy about him. But hey, there were games to be played against the Miami Marlins, who came to Progressive Field hovering just over the .500 mark, but playing much better of late. Since the Perez story has dominated the Tribe landscape, the majority of this post will dedicated to it. So let us jump right in, as we do each Monday morning in this space. [Read more...]

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Box Score: Marlins 5, Indians 3

May 20, 2012 by 2 Comments

After all the drama of the past 12 hours, the Indians and Marlins actually played a game, wrapping up their interleague series on Sunday afternoon. The Marlins took the finale by a 5-3 margin. A three-run 8th inning rally turned out to be crucial for the Fish, as Nick Hagadone and Jeremy Accardo were roughed up. The Tribe would add two runs in the 9th, but the Miami insurance runs made it too little, too late.

Miami
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
J. Reyes ss 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .247
B. Petersen cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .143
H. Ramirez dh 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 .232
G. Dobbs 3b 4 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 .271
G. Stanton rf 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 .278
L. Morrison 1b 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 .250
B. Hayes c 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 .300
C. Coghlan lf 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 .105
D. Murphy 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .100
 Totals 35 5 10 5 0 3 3 1 10
 Batting
2B - J Reyes (8, D Lowe); G Dobbs 2 (3, D Lowe, N Hagadone); L Morrison (3, J Accardo).
S - B Petersen.
RBI - H Ramirez (27), G Dobbs (8), L Morrison (10), B Hayes (1), C Coghlan (3).
2-out RBI - G Dobbs.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - H Ramirez 1, G Stanton 1, B Hayes 1.
Team LOB - 7.
 Base Running
SB - J Reyes (11, 2nd base off N Hagadone/L Marson).
CS - C Coghlan (1, 2nd base by J Accardo/C Santana).
 Fielding
E - G Dobbs (1, field).
DP - 2 (L Morrison-J Reyes-J Johnson, L Morrison-J Reyes).
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 2 .267
J. Kipnis 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .256
A. Cabrera ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .309
T. Hafner dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 .238
C. Santana 1b-c 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
M. Brantley cf 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .255
J. Damon lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .172
J. Lopez 3b 4 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 .277
L. Marson c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .074
    C. Kotchman ph-1b 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 .208
 Totals 33 3 7 3 0 3 5 2 13
 Batting
2B - J Lopez 2 (4, J Johnson, H Bell).
RBI - J Lopez 2 (8), C Kotchman (14).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Choo 1, T Hafner 1, C Kotchman 2.
GIDP - J Kipnis.
Team LOB - 7.
 Base Running
SB - S Choo (6, 2nd base off J Johnson/B Hayes), M Brantley (4, 2nd base off J Johnson/B Hayes).
 Miami
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
J. Johnson (W, 2-3) 7.0 5 1 1 2 4 0 1.51 4.82
R. Choate 1.1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0.87 0.71
H. Bell (S, 5) 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.16 8.16
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
D. Lowe (L, 6-2) 6.0 6 2 2 1 2 0 1.41 2.15
N. Hagadone 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 0.95 2.13
J. Accardo 1.0 2 2 2 1 0 0 1.12 6.75
J. Asencio 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.12 4.43
HBP - A Cabrera (by R Choate).
Pitches-strikes - J Johnson 104-66; R Choate 23-12; H Bell 11-8; D Lowe 94-55; N Hagadone 24-14; J Accardo 12-7; J Asencio 10-8.
Ground balls-fly balls - J Johnson 12-6; R Choate 4-0; H Bell 1-2; D Lowe 16-4; N Hagadone 1-2; J Accardo 2-2; J Asencio 2-1.
Batters faced - J Johnson 27; R Choate 7; H Bell 3; D Lowe 25; N Hagadone 6; J Accardo 5; J Asencio 3.

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Box Score: Indians 2, Marlins 0

May 19, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Indians came back to get Game 2 of their interleague series against the Miami Marlins on Saturday afternoon, winning 2-0. Jeanmar Gomez was spectacular for the Tribe, pitching 6.1 innings of shutout ball before handing it over to a bullpen that kept the Fish off the board. Asdrubal Cabrera’s bomb to right proved to be the difference in the 4th inning, but Jason Kipnis added some insurance when he brought home Shelley Duncan on a sac fly one inning later.

Miami
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
J. Reyes ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .242
O. Infante 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 .326
H. Ramirez 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 .233
G. Dobbs rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .236
G. Stanton dh 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .277
L. Morrison lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 .248
G. Sanchez 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .197
B. Petersen cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
J. Buck c 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .186
 Totals 28 0 3 0 0 2 8 0 9
 Batting
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - H Ramirez 1.
GIDP - H Ramirez, G Sanchez.
Team LOB - 4.
 Fielding
DP - 2 (J Reyes-O Infante-G Sanchez, H Ramirez-O Infante-G Sanchez).
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .266
J. Kipnis 2b 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 .262
A. Cabrera ss 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .316
T. Hafner dh 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .246
C. Santana c 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .261
M. Brantley cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .255
J. Lopez 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .233
C. Kotchman 1b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .211
S. Duncan lf 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .202
    A. Cunningham lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .213
 Totals 28 2 7 2 1 2 5 0 13
 Batting
HR - A Cabrera (5, 4th inning off A Sanchez 0 on, 0 Out).
SF - J Kipnis.
RBI - J Kipnis (24), A Cabrera (18).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Kipnis 1, T Hafner 1, J Lopez 1.
GIDP - M Brantley 2.
Team LOB - 6.
 Fielding
DP - 2 (J Gomez-A Cabrera-C Kotchman, A Cabrera-C Kotchman).
 Miami
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
A. Sanchez (L, 2-2) 7.0 7 2 2 2 4 1 1.07 2.32
E. Mujica 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.18 3.86
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
J. Gomez (W, 3-2) 6.1 3 0 0 2 4 0 1.09 3.19
J. Smith (H, 6) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.20 2.95
V. Pestano (H, 10) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.02 2.70
C. Perez (S, 13) 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1.10 3.31

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Box Score: Marlins 3, Indians 2

May 18, 2012 by 2 Comments

The Indians four-game winning streak was snapped on Friday night in an interleague opening loss to the Miami Marlins. The Fish took the one-run lead in the 8th without getting a hit. Bryan Petersen drew a lead-off walk against Tony Sipp and was sacrificed over to second by Jose Reyes. He advanced to third on a throwing error by Joe Smith, and was then knocked in on a Hanley Ramirez sacrifice fly. That was enough for the Marlins, who clinched the series opening 3-2 win.

Scoring Summary
Bot 2nd: Cleveland
- C. Kotchman doubled to right, J. Damon scored, C. Kotchman to third advancing on throw
- S. Choo singled to shallow center, C. Kotchman scored, J. Lopez to second
Top 3rd: Miami
- O. Infante grounded into fielder’s choice, B. Petersen scored, J. Reyes out at second
Top 6th: Miami
- G. Dobbs hit sacrifice fly to shallow left, O. Infante scored
Top 8th: Miami
- H. Ramirez hit sacrifice fly to deep center, B. Petersen scored
 Miami
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
J. Reyes ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
O. Infante 2b 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 .326
H. Ramirez 3b 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .232
G. Dobbs 1b-lf 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 .255
G. Stanton rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 1 .281
L. Morrison dh 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .252
E. Bonifacio cf 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .268
    G. Sanchez 1b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .202
J. Buck c 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .191
B. Petersen lf-cf 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 .125
 Totals 27 3 6 3 0 4 7 1 8
 Batting
2B - H Ramirez (10, J Masterson).
S - J Reyes.
SF - H Ramirez, G Dobbs.
RBI - O Infante (20), H Ramirez (26), G Dobbs (7).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - G Stanton 1, J Buck 1.
GIDP - H Ramirez.
Team LOB - 4.
 Base Running
SB - G Stanton (1, 2nd base off J Masterson/C Santana).
CS - O Infante (1, 2nd base by J Masterson/C Santana), E Bonifacio (1, 2nd base by J Masterson/C Santana), B Petersen (1, 2nd base by J Masterson/C Santana).
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 .258
J. Kipnis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .268
A. Cabrera ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .316
T. Hafner dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .250
C. Santana c 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .261
M. Brantley cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
J. Damon lf 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .167
C. Kotchman 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 .208
J. Lopez 3b 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .225
 Totals 31 2 4 2 0 5 3 0 12
 Batting
2B - C Kotchman (5, C Zambrano).
RBI - S Choo (15), C Kotchman (13).
2-out RBI - S Choo, C Kotchman.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Kipnis 1, T Hafner 1.
Team LOB - 7.
 Fielding
E - J Smith (1, throw).
DP - 1 (A Cabrera-J Kipnis-C Kotchman).
 Miami
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
C. Zambrano (W, 2-2) 7.0 4 2 2 5 2 0 1.07 1.96
R. Choate (H, 7) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.79 0.79
H. Bell (S, 4) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.20 8.56
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
J. Masterson 7.0 6 2 2 3 5 0 1.50 5.04
T. Sipp (L, 0-2) 0.1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1.53 5.65
J. Smith 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.25 3.06
V. Pestano 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.09 2.87
Pitches-strikes - C Zambrano 110-52; R Choate 15-8; H Bell 10-6; J Masterson 111-65; T Sipp 8-4; J Smith 12-10; V Pestano 11-8.
Ground balls-fly balls - C Zambrano 9-7; R Choate 2-0; H Bell 1-0; J Masterson 13-2; T Sipp 0-0; J Smith 1-1; V Pestano 1-1.
Batters faced - C Zambrano 30; R Choate 3; H Bell 3; J Masterson 26; T Sipp 2; J Smith 3; V Pestano 3.
Game Details
Umpires: HP–Ed Hickox. 1B–Angel Hernandez. 2B–Chris Conroy. 3B–Mark Carlson.
Weather: 66 degrees, clear.
Wind: 8 mph, in from center.

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Ozzie Guillen, Apologies and Freedom of Speech

April 10, 2012 by 61 Comments

Freedom of speech just means that the government can’t enact a law infringing on citizens’ rights, but an employer is well within his/her rights to do what they want with an employee that represents them. This is a true statement and I agree with it whole-heartedly. If this is where the conversation regarding freedom of speech begins and ends for you, then you should probably stop reading further. For me, it goes beyond that. Freedom of speech is covered in the first amendment to the Constitution, but it is also a cultural ideal with a life beyond the simple confines of law and government. If you want to talk technicalities as if this is some kind of contractual law case, then we’ve exhausted it already.

This isn’t exactly in our wheelhouse because Ozzie Guillen is now managing the Miami Marlins. Still, Ozzie feels kind of like a related story because he was so involved in the American League Central for so long as the Indians battled his White Sox teams year in and year out. This might also miss the WFNY wheelhouse because it is also twinged in politics and we kind of avoid divisive stuff like that because comments almost always devolve into a left vs. right, black vs. white, up vs. down kind of debate where polar opposites claim that the other side is wrong without ever looking for any kind of common ground. That’s O.K. when we’re talking about Eric Mangini, for example, but not so much on a sports site when lightly talking about politics. We should be safe on this issue though because in the end, I don’t want to discuss what Ozzie Guillen said as much as I’d like to discuss the culture surrounding what he said. All disclaimers finished I’ll get to the point. [Read more...]

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Report: Indians One Of Six Teams With Interest In Yoenis Cespedes

January 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

According to a report from Dionisio Soldevila of ESPN Deportes, the Cleveland Indians are one of six teams showing interest in Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes is an OF prospect who projects as a center-fielder with above average power. He is believed to be 26 years old. I say believed to be, because as we’ve seen with prospects coming out of Cuba, you can sometimes add a couple years to the total. The six teams reported to have interest are the Marlins, Cubs, WhiteSox, Orioles, Tigers, and Indians.

Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York wrote that the Yankees were out of the picture because they weren’t interested in spending $30-$50 million that they think it would take. If that is the case, I can’t imagine the Indians are truly ‘in’ on him either.

Clay Davenport of Baseball Prospectus wrote the definitive guide to Cespedes.

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