May 20, 2013

Rangers 6 Indians 4: At Least They Kept It Close, Right?

September 12, 2012 by 3 Comments

When you are a bad team like the Indians are, you have no margin for error. When your four through nine in your lineup reads Russ Canzler, Matt LaPorta, Brent Lillibridge, Jason Donald, Thomas Neal, Ezequiel Carrera and you are playing the Texas Rangers, you are going to need not to play perfect baseball, but you need a little luck as well.

So the Indians took that lineup to the field in Arlington, Texas against a first place club that features five All-Stars. Ubaldo Jimenez was on the mound and by the second inning, he was up to his old tricks, with a little help from his defense.

Donald, playing third base, took a grounder from Adrian Beltre and threw it across the diamond to Canzler. The throw was a tad up the line and Canzler dropped it. It was the first three brutal errors on Tribe infielders. Good teams like the Rangers know how to take advantage of extra outs. [Read more...]

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Indians Promote Russ Canzler and Scott Barnes

September 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Cleveland Indians today, per press release, announced the club has recalled Russ Canzler and Scott Barnes from AAA Columbus and purchased the contract Thomas Neal from AA Akron.

Canzler, 26, spent the entire 2012 Minor League season in Columbus where he hit .265 (129-487) with 36 doubles, 3 triples, 22 home runs and 79RBI in 130 games (.328OB/.487SLG/.815OPS). He led the Clippers in doubles, HR and RBI and is currently leading the International League in doubles, is 3rd in total bases (237) and RBI, 6th in HR, 8th in hits and 6thin slugging pct. (.487).  He appeared in 47 games at first base, 36 games in left, 11 in right and 8 at third base. He also hit .277 (38-137, .814OPS) off left-handed pitching and will be making his Indians debut wearing #4 after being acquired from Tampa Bay in January. In his Triple-A send-off last night vs. Louisville he went 4-for-5 with 2 doubles, a homer and 6RBI.

Barnes, who turns 25 on September 5, has spent most of the season at Triple-A Columbus where he has gone 2-3 with 2 saves and a 3.98 ERA in 31 games/3 starts (52.0IP, 37H, 23ER, 23BB, 67K, .196AVG).  As a reliever for the Clippers he has posted an ERA of 3.50 (36.0IP, 25H, 14ER, 16BB, 50K, .188AVG) and limited right-handed hitters to a .156 (19-122) average against for the campaign.  This begins his fourth stint with Cleveland in 2012, having gone 0-0 with an 8.10ERA in 7 relief outings (10.0IP, 12H, 9R/ER) over previous stints in May, June and July. Scott wears #51.

Neal, 25, has spent the entire season at AA Akron where he hit .314 (127-405) with 24 doubles, 1 triple, 12 homers and 51RBI in 117 games.  He also scored 77 runs and stole 11 bases (.400OB/.467SLG/.867OPS).  He currently ranks tied for 4th in the Eastern League in runs, 2nd in OPS, 3rd in on-base pct. and batting average and 8th in slugging pct. He has hit above .300 in every month of the season with the exception of April (.278) and since July 23rd is hitting .344 (42-122) with 5 2B, 4HR & 10 RBI in 36 games. He has hit .317 (92-290) off RHP, .304 (35-115) off LHP and appeared in games at all three outfield positions (32LF, 62RF, 13CF).  Thomas was acquired on July 30, 2011 from San Francisco in exchange for INF Orlando Cabrera and will be making his Major League debut wearing #36.

The Indians Major League expanded roster now consists of 28 players and the 40-man roster is now full.

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A’s 3 Indians 0: Small Attendance, Smaller Offense

August 28, 2012 by 37 Comments

If you were one of the alleged 13,018 in attendance last night, I salute you. You are a real diehard. The rumor is the Indians season ticket base is about 8,500 or so. When STO made the not so wise decision to show overhead or long view shots of Progressive Field, it looked as though there were 3,500, maybe 4,000 tops in the stands. The Dolan family, Mark Shapiro, Chris Antonetti, and the rest of the front office should prepare themselves for crowds like this not only the rest of the way, but into next season. When the product on the field looks like it did last night, or for the last five weeks for that matter, can you blame people for not wanting to come?

The Oakland Athletics, a team constructed the same way as the Indians (i.e. low payroll) rolled into town as one of, if not the, hottest teams in baseball. Look up and down their lineup, and it won’t impress you. Their biggest name is Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes, who is essentially toiling in anonymity because he plays in Oakland. Next to him, the biggest name you know is Coco Crisp. The difference between these two teams is simple – the A’s have terrific young starting pitching, while the Indians don’t. [Read more...]

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

August 12, 2012 by 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:

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).

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

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

June 27, 2012 by 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.

[Read more...]

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Indians Spring Training Battles: Left Field

March 27, 2012 by 30 Comments

Remember when it was supposed to be the dream outfield of the Indians brass roaming that giant patch of green grass to open the 2012 season at Progressive Field? Yes, the Michael Brantley, Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo triumvirate was supposed to be healthy and together from day one. Of course, that never came to fruition. Even before the team played one inning of Spring Training ball, they were thrown for a complete loop when the oft-injured Sizemore came up lame and required back surgery. (Please don’t make me rehash my feelings on this signing. Please. I beg you).

With Grady unavailable until June at the absolute earliest, the Tribe was forced to go with Plan B – moving Brantley to center field and holding a mass tryout for the left field job. Of course had the Indians not gone after Sizemore in the first place or at least protected themselves knowing his injury history they wouldn’t have been in this predicament in the first place. So without a real great option, the Indians left themselves with Shelley Duncan, the newly acquired Aaron Cunningham and Russ Canzler, along with minor-league free agents Felix Pie, Ryan Spillborghs, and Fred Lewis. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… Getting to Know Randy Lerner, Irving 4th Best Rookie and Buckeye Scholarships

February 2, 2012 by 9 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.

 

OUTSTANDING profile of Randy Lerner done by WFNY friend Vince G.- “Not to belabor the point, but the Browns and Randy Lerner believe in what they are doing. “We are not beleaguered, we are not going to lay down, this is not business as usual,” says Lerner. “We are working hard to turn around this f****** nightmare.” When offered the opportunity to share a message with the team’s fans, Lerner says only this: “It’s a massive privilege to be in the position I am with the Browns. A massive privilege.”

Browns fans just hope that Lerner has it right this time, that he can finally wake his team and his city from the nightmare that never seems to end.” [Grzegorek/Scene] [Read more...]

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MLB Trade News: Indians Acquire Russ Canzler from Rays

January 31, 2012 by 34 Comments

The Indians have imported a right-handed batter that plays a plethora of positions.  Last season in Triple-A, Russ Canzler played 41 games in right field, 33 games in left, 40 games at third and 17 games at first.  He is now a member of the Cleveland Indians.  From the Indians’ press release…

Canzler, 25, was named International League Most Valuable Player at Triple-A Durham in 2011 where he batted .314 (149-474) with 40 doubles, 4 triples, 18 home runs and 83 RBI in 131 games (.401OB/.530SLG/.931OPS).  He also drew 67 walks and scored 78 runs for the Bulls and hit .356 (63-177) w/17 2B, 8HR & 30 RBI in 47 second half games (1.034OPS).  The International League midseason and postseason All-Star led the IL in doubles (40) and slugging pct. (.530), finished tied for second in runs (78), third in hits (149), fourth in the IL in batting average (.314), fifth in RBI (83) and second in on-base pct. (.401) and total bases (251).

This isn’t a big splashy move for the Indians as they traded “cash considerations” for the 25-year old.  Still, it is a nice risk for a team in need of a right-handed bat that can play both outfield and first base.  It isn’t Prince Fielder, as we all know, but he could very well end up having a bigger impact than Carlos Pena or Casey Kotchman.  Let’s just hope he can have a bigger impact than Matt LaPorta and Austin Kearns did a season ago.

[That Sinking Feeling: On Matt LaPorta and Moving On]

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