May 18, 2013

Indians Outfield Defense: How Improved Will It Be?

March 4, 2013 by 22 Comments

Michael BournI’m going to be honest with you: I have my misgivings about advanced defensive metrics—especially those that are publicly available to schmoes like you and me.  1   It’s not that I think the methodology behind these stats is flawed or that the approach itself is a silly one—it’s just that all these metrics seem a bit too reliant on two somewhat flimsy inputs.

First, there is the simple problem of sample size: it is unlikely that a single player will accrue enough defensive opportunities on different sorts of batted balls in a given year to give us a realistic impression of what his actual skills are.  It’s been said that you need three years of defensive data—I assume playing almost every day—to make up for this paucity.  [Read more...]

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  1. Craig just got back from the Sloan Analytics Conference, and I’m dying to talk to him about it.  One item I’m hoping to discuss is the movement toward proprietary, team-housed analytics, especially in regard to defensive valuations in baseball.  This is where it’s going, methinks.  There was a decade or so where the schmoes were outsmarting the teams, but I’m pretty sure that’s over now.  They’ve bought out the geniuses and their IP, and moved it behind closed doors.  The “Moneyball Era” was exciting.  But let’s face it: it’s over. [back]

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MLB News: Indians’ Shelley Duncan, Luke Carlin Elect Free Agency

October 11, 2012 by 6 Comments

Cleveland Indians outfielder Shelley Duncan and catcher Luke Carlin have elected to refuse their minor league assignments and enter free agency heading into the off-season which will bridge 2012 and 2013.

Duncan, in his third season with the Indians, was counted on to provide relief as a right-handed corner outfielder, but largely failed to add consistent value, hitting .203/.288/.676 through 81 games. Interestingly enough, he finished each of his three seasons with exactly 11 home runs and 29 runs scored. The 32-year-old was designated for assignement on August 29, capping off what was one of the worst months of baseball in recent history. The gaping hole in Cleveland’s left field remains largely unfilled.

Carlin, 31, managed to scratch the surface of the Indians’ big league roster in 2012, hitting .214/.214/.286 with two runs scored in just 14 at-bats.

[Related: Revisiting My Preseason Predictions (Or: Why Jon Shouldn’t Gamble)]

(h/t Jordan Bastian)

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While We’re Waiting… Pat Shurmur Being Compared to a Muppet

September 27, 2012 by 11 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.

“I don’t like the Browns because they make me feel good. I like them because they’re the Browns. The franchise is highly guilty of lacking the exalted, trebly end of bathos, but they’re not evil or a scam, they’re just shitty—just like me and lots of other people. It sucked when they moved to Baltimore in 1995—it sucked so much that Susan Faludi has a chapter in one of her books about the feelings of betrayal and loss that it inspired in Browns fans. We watched the press conference where Art Modell formally announced the move on a TV set in the middle of my 9th grade biology class. The new Browns are shittier than the old Browns, but it’s still a perfectly good football team. I was never happier in my football-watching life than when Eric Metcalf returned his second punt of the game for a TD against Pittsburgh in 1993, but when William Green, who later missed time when his fiancée stabbed him with a kitchen knife, uncorked a 64-yard TD against Atlanta in 2002 to clinch a playoff spot, the new Browns were the real Browns as far as I was concerned. Even though I dance aroundthe dumpster fire and mutter about abandoning the Browns a few times every year, I’m never going to leave. No amount of losing or cutaway shots to Pat Shurmur looking like Beaker from The Muppets made flesh, no bad draft picks, no anything can make me not a Browns fan.” [Pete Beatty/The Classical]

[Read more...]

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Indians Recall Jeanmar Gomez, Designate Shelley Duncan for Assigment

August 29, 2012 by 11 Comments

The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has recalled right-handed pitcher Jeanmar Gomez from Triple-A Columbus. To clear room on the 25-man roster for Gomez the Indians designated outfielder Shelley Duncan for assignment.

Gomez, 24, has split the season between Cleveland and Columbus after opening the season in the starting rotation for the Indians. He was with the parent club thru June 23rd, going 4-7 with 5.18 ERA in 14 games/13 starts (73.0IP, 75H, 42ER, 26BB, 35K, .265AVG) before being assigned to Columbus. With the Clippers he has gone 6-5 with a 4.41 ERA in 11 starts (69.1IP, 75H, 34ER, 17BB, 54K, .273AVG).

Duncan has spent the entire season to date with Cleveland, hitting .203 (47-232) with 10 doubles, 11 HR & 31 RBI in 81 games. He was a part of the revolving door in left field; his designation means one fewer right-handed bat in the Indians bereft line-up.

[Related: Determining the market value for Shin-Soo Choo]

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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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Duncan’s Slam Wiped Out By Six Unanswered For Athletics

August 18, 2012 by 6 Comments

The Indians opened up a three-game set in Oakland last night against the relevant again Athletics. The Indians struck first in a big way, but their starting pitching failed them again as did the bullpen while the offense powered down after the fourth inning in a 6-4 loss.

Zach McAllister started out strong, and for the first three innings, pitched like the guy who has quickly become the most consistent and effective starter after being a Columbus Clipper for a good chunk of the first half of 2012. He scattered a few hits, but he was able to keep the ball on the ground and add a few strikeouts with that low-90′s fastball.

In the fourth inning, the Indians got their first three on base via a Carlos Santana walk, a Michael Brantley double 1 , and a Jason Donald single. Then, Shelley Duncan worked starter Jason Milone to a full count before he found a fastball to his liking, which he crushed for his first career grand slam. Just like that, Duncan had his 11th homer of the season, the Indians had their second slam of the season, and the Tribe gotten out in front with a 4-run lead. [Read more...]

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  1. Originally ruled an error even though Yoenis Cespedes lost it in the lights [back]

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Tribe 9, Jays 11: It Wasn’t As Close As It Appears, and That’s Ubaldo’s Fault

July 15, 2012 by 3 Comments

This one was a doozy. The Cleveland Indians obviously should have lost by quite a bit more to Toronto Saturday afternoon, and that’s all on Ubaldo Jimenez.

The former Colorado Rockies ace had his worst outing of 2012, exiting after just 2.1 innings pitched. Against the 18 batters he faced, he allowed eight runs on seven hits (including two homers and four doubles), along with four walks and just two strikeouts.

It was as bad as we’ve seen Jimenez in a Cleveland uniform, and that’s saying something, considering he has a 5.09 ERA in his 29-start CLE career. But in the meanwhile, despite facing an early 10-2 deficit, the Indians bats didn’t just lay over, and they fought back to make this an interesting game late.

[Read more...]

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Box Score: Blue Jays 11, Indians 9

July 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

So, after three innings, did anyone expect this to be a competitive contest? The Indians eventually stranded the tying run on first base in the top of the eighth, as Toronto Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen picked up the final four outs for the save.

This was Ubaldo Jimenez’s worst outing of the season, as he failed to get past a miserable third inning. But Cleveland later rallied back, as led by three-hit-and-a-homer days from Michael Brantley and Shelley Duncan. Reliever Esmil Rogers also deserves some kudos for his final two innings of shutout baseball.

Let’s just hope now that the White Sox and Tigers don’t gain a game tonight. Derek Lowe (8-6, 4.43 ERA) will be on the hill tomorrow afternoon as the Tribe looks for the series victory at the Rogers Centre.

Scoring Summary
Bot 1st: Toronto
- A. Lind doubled to right, C. Rasmus and J. Bautista scored
Top 2nd: Cleveland
- S. Duncan hit by pitch, J. Lopez scored, C. Santana to third, M. Brantley to second
- C. Kotchman grounded into double play shortstop to second to first, C. Santana scored, M. Brantley to third, S. Duncan out at second
Bot 3rd: Toronto
- E. Encarnacion homered to deep left, J. Bautista scored
- Y. Escobar homered to deep left, A. Lind scored
- J.P. Arencibia doubled to deep right center, K. Johnson scored
- B. Lawrie doubled to right, J.P. Arencibia scored
- A. Lind singled to center, B. Lawrie and J. Bautista scored, E. Encarnacion to third
Top 4th: Cleveland
- S. Duncan homered to deep left, M. Brantley scored
Bot 5th: Toronto
- E. Encarnacion homered to deep left center
Top 8th: Cleveland
- M. Brantley homered to deep right, C. Santana scored
- C. Kotchman homered to deep right, S. Duncan scored
- T. Hafner singled to shallow left center, A. Cabrera scored, J. Kipnis to second
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .295
A. Cabrera ss 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 .279
J. Kipnis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 .275
J. Lopez 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .267
    T. Hafner ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .237
    J. Hannahan pr-3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
C. Santana dh 3 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 .221
M. Brantley cf 4 2 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 .299
S. Duncan lf 4 2 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 .235
C. Kotchman 1b 5 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 .241
L. Marson c 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .293
 Totals 37 9 12 8 3 6 5 0 11
 Batting
2B – S Choo (27, A Laffey).
HR – M Brantley (4, 8th inning off J Chavez 1 on, 0 Out), S Duncan (9, 4th inning off A Laffey 1 on, 1 Out), C Kotchman (9, 8th inning off J Chavez 1 on, 0 Out).
RBI – T Hafner (26), M Brantley 2 (44), S Duncan 3 (24), C Kotchman 2 (36).
2-out RBI – T Hafner.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – A Cabrera 1, C Santana 1, L Marson 1.
GIDP – C Kotchman.
Team LOB – 8.
 Toronto
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
B. Lawrie 3b 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 .290
C. Rasmus cf 4 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4 .253
J. Bautista rf 3 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 .242
E. Encarnacion 1b 4 2 2 3 2 1 1 0 2 .295
A. Lind dh 5 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 .232
Y. Escobar ss 5 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 4 .254
K. Johnson 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 .247
R. Davis lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .243
J.P. Arencibia c 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .230
 Totals 37 11 13 11 3 6 5 3 15
 Batting
2B – B Lawrie (17, S Barnes); J Bautista (13, U Jimenez); A Lind (9, U Jimenez); K Johnson (9, U Jimenez); J Arencibia 2 (13, U Jimenez, S Barnes).
HR – E Encarnacion 2 (25, 3rd inning off U Jimenez 1 on, 0 Out, 5th inning off J Accardo 0 on, 2 Out), Y Escobar (6, 3rd inning off U Jimenez 1 on, 0 Out).
RBI – B Lawrie (34), E Encarnacion 3 (61), A Lind 4 (24), Y Escobar 2 (34), J Arencibia (42).
2-out RBI – E Encarnacion, A Lind 4.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out – B Lawrie 1, C Rasmus 1, Y Escobar 2.
Team LOB – 8.
 Base Running
SB – B Lawrie (12, 3rd base off S Barnes/L Marson), K Johnson 2 (9, 2nd base off U Jimenez/L Marson, 3rd base off U Jimenez/L Marson).
 Fielding
Outfield assists – R Davis.
DP – 1 (Y Escobar-K Johnson-E Encarnacion).
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
U. Jimenez (L, 8-8) 2.1 7 8 8 4 2 2 1.58 5.09
S. Barnes 1.2 3 2 2 2 2 0 1.85 8.31
J. Accardo 2.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 1.38 3.55
E. Rogers 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.59 1.76
 Toronto
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
A. Laffey (W, 1-1) 5.0 8 4 4 3 4 1 1.16 3.38
A. Loup 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00
J. Chavez 0.0 3 4 4 1 0 2 1.57 8.85
A. Carpenter 0.2 0 1 1 2 1 0 2.50 9.00
C. Janssen (S, 13) 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.87 2.21

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Indians All-Star Break Review: DH and Outfielders

July 13, 2012 by 27 Comments

As we do each summer at WFNY when the Cleveland Indians hit the All-Star break, we take a look back at the four facets of the team on the field. There’s been been a lot to talk about with this club. Their 44-41 record is good enough for second in the American League Central, but the team has shown some serious flaws. GM Chris Antonetti continues to tell us that the Indians have not played their best baseball yet. I hope he is right. Additions will need to be made and in-house improvements will be a must if the Tribe plans on playing October baseball.

We started by looking at the starting rotation. Next was the bullpen. Yesterday we examined the infielders, and today, the last of our four part series, will delve into the DH and the outfield.

The best laid Indians outfield plans were shelved before Spring Training even started. The decision to bring back Grady Sizemore for another year was good in theory. But the Indians should have known better. While preparing for the season, Sizemore hurt his back so severely that he needed surgery. The team doctors didn’t want to put a timetable on his return, but the earliest we were told we’d see him was mid-June. At this point, the free agent market was completely barren.

The injury began a chain of events which hamstrung the team’s offensive plans. Instead of Sizemore in center, flanked by Michael Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo, Brantley would move back to center (where he belongs by the way), and left field would become a contest between Shelley Duncan and a bunch of former Major League castoffs on Minor League deals. Nobody stepped forward to claim the job other than Duncan, who showed some power in Goodyear, but hit under .200. He was given the job by default. [Read more...]

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Indians Weekend Wrapup: Heading Into the Break With a Thud

July 9, 2012 by 7 Comments

Oh what should have been. All of the momentum of ending the first half of the baseball season on a high crashed down on Sunday. Ironically, it was the Indians two All Stars – shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and closer Chris Perez – who were the culprits in the 7-6 defeat. But fear not, Tribe fans, this team still split the series with the Tampa Bay Rays and head into the much needed All Star break at 44-41, just three games out of first place in the AL Central. Starting tomorrow I will have a four-part series, recapping what we saw from the Indians infield, outfield, starting rotation, and bullpen during this up and down first half.

Over the weekend, two starters continued their ascension towards consistency and reliability, an offense did what it needed to do to win, and the bullpen showed its lack of depth and its first true chink in the armor since opening day. As we do every Monday morning at this time, lets take the weekend pulse of what went down in Wahooland. [Read more...]

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Ubaldo Steps Up Again, Tribe Tops Rays

July 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Despite nobody but the 20,000+ in attendance seeing it live, Ubaldo Jimenez’s hot streak of the past two months did continue, as he went up against another solid team and shut them down for six innings. With one major mistake on the day, Ubaldo helped lead the Tribe to a 7-3 victory to take game three of a four game swing heading into the All-Star break.

The turning point for Jimenez in this period has been his command of the strike zone. In 97 pitches, 60 of them found the strike zone and he walked just one batter. Other than losing a pair of fastballs in the fourth to Ben Zobrist for a double and then Luke Scott for a two-run homer, Jimenez seemed to have command of all his pitches and got half of his eight strikeouts via the changeup.

It’s no secret that I’ve been one of the most vocal critics of the Ubaldo Jimenez trade executed last July by Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti. I remain concerned that Drew Pomeranz will in time turn into a top-flight left-handed force in Colorado or someone else’s starting rotation for years to come. However, it would be foolish for me not to at least eat a bit of crow regarding the way that Ubaldo Jimenez has pitched in the past 7 starts. If this is the Ubaldo that we primarily have for the next year and a half and the Tribe can parlay that into a playoff appearance or two, my concerns are foolish and I am entirely wrong in my objections to this trade. I hope I’m wrong, because this version of Ubaldo Jimenez is quite tolerable and, dare I say it, enjoyable to watch. When Jimenez isn’t his own worst enemy with falling behind in counts and walking people, he’s quite difficult for opposing hitters to square up and hit. [Read more...]

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Box Score: Indians 7, Rays 3

July 7, 2012 by 7 Comments

No TV. Full array of bench players in the lineup. No problem. Ubaldo Jimenez was impressive yet again as he notched eighth win of the season as the Tribe won 7-3 at Progressive Field. The Tribe struck early with multiple runs in the second and third innings. These runs came thanks to five doubles and some strong situational hitting with two RBI groundouts. From there, Ubaldo made one mistake on a home run ball to Luke Scott in the fourth. Other than that, the Tribe starter was nearly spotless, walking one and striking out eight. The Indians look to take three out of four tomorrow afternoon in the final game before the All-Star break as Zach McAllister faces James Shields.

 

Scoring Summary
Bot 2nd: Cleveland
- L. Marson doubled to left, M. Brantley scored, S. Duncan to third
- J. Hannahan grounded out to shortstop, S. Duncan scored, L. Marson to third
- A. Cunningham doubled to shortstop, L. Marson scored
Bot 3rd: Cleveland
- M. Brantley grounded out to shortstop, A. Cabrera scored, J. Lopez to third
- C. Santana doubled to deep right center, J. Lopez scored
Top 4th: Tampa Bay
- L. Scott homered to deep center, B. Zobrist scored
Bot 8th: Cleveland
- S. Duncan homered to deep left, C. Santana scored
Top 9th: Tampa Bay
- B.J. Upton homered to left
 Tampa Bay
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
D. Jennings lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .231
C. Pena 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .197
B. Zobrist rf 3 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 .249
B.J. Upton cf 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 .253
J. Keppinger 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .307
L. Scott dh 4 1 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 .200
J. Molina c 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .190
B. Conrad 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 .195
S. Rodriguez ss 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .221
    E. Johnson ph-ss 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .277
 Totals 32 3 6 3 2 2 12 0 8
 Batting
2B - B Zobrist (18, U Jimenez).
HR - B Upton (7, 9th inning off E Rogers 0 on, 0 Out), L Scott (11, 4th inning off U Jimenez 1 on, 2 Out).
RBI - B Upton (29), L Scott 2 (40).
2-out RBI - L Scott 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Pena 1, J Keppinger 1.
GIDP - J Molina.
Team LOB - 4.
 Fielding
E - S Rodriguez (11, throw).
DP - 2 (C Pena-S Rodriguez, J Molina-B Conrad).
 Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .297
A. Cabrera ss 3 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 .291
J. Lopez 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .272
M. Brantley cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .282
C. Santana 1b 2 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 .222
    C. Kotchman 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234
S. Duncan dh 3 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 .222
L. Marson c 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 .297
J. Hannahan 3b 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 .247
A. Cunningham lf 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 .193
 Totals 30 7 8 7 1 6 5 0 10
 Batting
2B - J Lopez (13, M Moore); M Brantley (23, M Moore); C Santana (13, M Moore); L Marson (6, M Moore); A Cunningham (4, M Moore).
HR - S Duncan (8, 8th inning off W Davis 1 on, 0 Out).
RBI - M Brantley (42), C Santana (30), S Duncan 2 (21), L Marson (8), J Hannahan (20), A Cunningham (6).
2-out RBI - A Cunningham.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Choo 1, J Hannahan 1.
GIDP - S Choo.
Team LOB - 5.
 Base Running
CS - S Choo (4, 2nd base by J Howell/J Molina), A Cunningham (3, 2nd base by J Howell/J Molina).
 Fielding
DP - 1 (A Cabrera-C Santana).
 Tampa Bay
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
M. Moore (L, 5-6) 4.2 5 5 5 5 3 0 1.45 4.42
B. Badenhop 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.36 3.50
J.P. Howell 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.23 3.99
W. Davis 1.0 1 2 2 1 1 1 1.24 3.12
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
U. Jimenez (W, 8-7) 6.0 5 2 2 1 8 1 1.51 4.50
T. Sipp (H, 9) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.24 5.72
V. Pestano (H, 22) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.00 1.80
E. Rogers 1.0 1 1 1 0 2 1 0.60 2.02
Pitches-strikes - M Moore 96-54; B Badenhop 13-11; J Howell 24-15; W Davis 16-9; U Jimenez 97-60; T Sipp 13-7; V Pestano 16-10; E Rogers 13-9.
Ground balls-fly balls - M Moore 6-6; B Badenhop 2-1; J Howell 2-1; W Davis 1-2; U Jimenez 7-4; T Sipp 0-2; V Pestano 1-1; E Rogers 1-1.
Batters faced - M Moore 23; B Badenhop 4; J Howell 4; W Davis 5; U Jimenez 23; T Sipp 3; V Pestano 4; E Rogers 4.
Game Details
Umpires: HP–Scott Barry. 1B–Jerry Meals. 2B–Gary Darling. 3B–Paul Emmel.
Weather: 90 degrees, clear.
Wind: 4 mph, in from center.

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Congratulations to Shelley Duncan and Family on Birth of Twins

July 5, 2012 by 4 Comments

Shelley Duncan wasn’t in on the hit parade yesterday. Today, he got a double.

Shelley and wife Elyse welcomed twin boys (William and Walker) today. According to the team, mom and babies are doing fine.

 

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Indians 9, Angels 5: Offense Explodes Through The Rain Drops

July 4, 2012 by 3 Comments

Baseball is such an amazing game. As I wrote yesterday, the beauty of the game is that there is no need to dwell on a loss because another game will be there before you know it. Last night at Progressive Field, 24 hours after looking like a they were attempting to hit a golf ball from Jeff Weaver, the Indians offense veered back into the Baltimore series mode and knocked around Angels starter Dan Haren, who entered the game undefeated with a 1.80 ERA in five career starts in Cleveland.

In front of 29,292 fans who were waiting to see postgame fireworks, the offense decided that would provide them earlier then expected for their faithful. It didn’t take long. Shin-Soo Choo, who is hotter than Kate Upton these days, greeted Haren with a leadoff triple. He came across on Jason Kipnis’s RBI single to center. It was just the beginning of a nine-run, 14-hit barrage that none of us saw coming. In the second, the Tribe added two more on a sac fly from Shelley Duncan and a two-out RBI double from Jack Hannahan. Duncan added more to the fun with an absolute titanic blast way up the bleachers in left.  [Read more...]

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Box Score: Indians 6, Orioles 2

July 1, 2012 by 8 Comments

Something tells me the Tribe’s bats will sad to leave the friendly confines of Camden Yards.  Shelley Duncan hit his second home run in as many days, Aaron Cunningham hit his first homer of the season, and Justin Masterson scattered five hits over seven innings to get the win 6-2. All-Star Chris Perez pitched a scoreless 9th (not a save situation!) for the Indians, who improved to 40-38 on the season. Future statue Jim Thome went 0-4 with two strikeouts in his Baltimore debut. The Indians amassed 32 runs and 55 hits over the four game series, which they took from the Orioles three games to one.

The Indians begin a seven-game homestand on Monday against the Angels (three games vs Anaheim, four games vs Tampa Bay). Jered Weaver will start the opener for Anaheim while the Wahoos will counter with Ubaldo Jimenez. First pitch is 7:05 PM.

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 11 1
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 6 0
WP: J. Masterson (5-7)
LP: B. Matusz (5-10)
 
Scoring Summary
Top 2nd: Cleveland
- S. Duncan homered to deep left center
Top 3rd: Cleveland
- A. Cunningham homered to deep left
Top 4th: Cleveland
- S. Duncan doubled, J. Lopez scored
- C. Kotchman doubled to deep right center, S. Duncan scored
- L. Marson grounded into fielder’s choice, C. Kotchman scored, J. Donald out at second
Bot 5th: Baltimore
- R. Flaherty singled to shallow center, A. Jones scored
Bot 6th: Baltimore
- A. Jones doubled to shallow right center, J.J. Hardy scored
Top 9th: Cleveland
- J. Kipnis singled to shallow left, A. Cabrera scored
Cleveland
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Choo rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .287
A. Cabrera dh 5 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .300
J. Kipnis 2b 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 .275
J. Lopez 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .257
    J. Hannahan 3b 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .248
S. Duncan lf 4 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 .220
    M. Brantley pr-cf 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .280
C. Kotchman 1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 .224
J. Donald ss 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 2 .191
L. Marson c 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 3 .286
A. Cunningham cf-lf 4 1 1 1 1 0 3 0 5 .171
 Totals 34 6 11 6 2 7 7 2 20
 Batting
2B - A Cabrera (19, M Gonzalez); J Lopez (10, B Matusz); S Duncan 2 (8, B Matusz, M Gonzalez); C Kotchman (9, B Matusz); J Donald (1, B Matusz).
HR - S Duncan (6, 2nd inning off B Matusz 0 on, 1 Out), A Cunningham (1, 3rd inning off B Matusz 0 on, 0 Out).
SF - L Marson.
RBI - J Kipnis (47), S Duncan 2 (17), C Kotchman (28), L Marson (6), A Cunningham (4).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Choo 2, S Duncan 1, L Marson 1, A Cunningham 1.
GIDP - J Kipnis, J Lopez, C Kotchman.
Team LOB - 9.
 Base Running
SB - J Kipnis (20, 2nd base off M Gonzalez/R Paulino), L Marson (3, 2nd base off B Matusz/R Paulino).
 Fielding
E - J Donald (3, field).
DP - 1 (L Marson-J Donald).
 Baltimore
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
B. Roberts 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .182
J.J. Hardy ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .236
C. Davis rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .271
A. Jones cf 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 .302
J. Thome dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 .000
W. Betemit 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .274
R. Flaherty lf 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .193
R. Paulino c 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .263
R. Andino 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .231
 Totals 33 2 6 2 0 0 11 1 8
 Batting
2B - A Jones (18, J Masterson).
RBI - A Jones (42), R Flaherty (6).
2-out RBI - A Jones, R Flaherty.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Thome 1, W Betemit 1, R Andino 1.
GIDP - R Flaherty.
Team LOB - 4.
 Base Running
SB - A Jones (11, 2nd base off J Masterson/L Marson).
 Fielding
Outfield assists - C Davis.
PB - R Paulino 2.
DP - 3 (R Paulino-J Hardy-W Betemit, J Hardy-B Roberts-W Betemit, B Roberts-J Hardy-W Betemit).
 Cleveland
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
J. Masterson (W, 5-7) 7.0 5 2 1 0 7 0 1.29 3.92
V. Pestano (H, 19) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.00 1.97
C. Perez 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1.02 2.67
 Baltimore
IP H R ER BB K HR WHIP Season ERA
B. Matusz (L, 5-10) 4.0 7 5 4 3 2 2 1.71 5.42
M. Gonzalez 4.1 4 1 1 3 5 0 1.29 2.31
K. Gregg 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.57 4.43
WP - J Masterson.
IBB - M Brantley (by K Gregg).
Pitches-strikes - J Masterson 97-65; V Pestano 11-7; C Perez 14-11; B Matusz 79-50; M Gonzalez 82-50; K Gregg 6-1.
Ground balls-fly balls - J Masterson 11-5; V Pestano 1-0; C Perez 1-1; B Matusz 6-8; M Gonzalez 4-4; K Gregg 1-0.
Batters faced - J Masterson 26; V Pestano 3; C Perez 4; B Matusz 21; M Gonzalez 19; K Gregg 2.
Game Details
Umpires: HP–Rob Drake. 1B–Joe West. 2B–Sam Holbrook. 3B–Mike Estabrook.
Weather: 95 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, left to right.

 

 

 

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Indians Weekend Wrapup: A Conclusion To An Unimpressive Week

June 4, 2012 by 21 Comments

Is anyone else sensing trouble here in Wahooland? This was supposed to be the week where the Tribe got fat on the AL Central bottom feeders. The Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins each came to town for a three-game series. It seemed to be the perfect tonic for the banged up Indians. Instead, they lost four of six and fell two and a half games behind the first place Chicago White Sox. Maybe the best tonic is for this team to leave town. But one this is for certain, the Indians seem to be in a heap of trouble.

The starting pitching was a little better over the weekend, but not good enough. The lineup is still without big guns Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner. The clutch hitting has disappeared. I know, I sound gloomy, but the fact remains that the Indians have lost seven of nine since riding high after the sweep of the Detroit Tigers less than two weeks ago.

So what went wrong this weekend? What can be done to improve the offense (I don’t know)? Lets take our usual Monday morning look back on the weekend that was. [Read more...]

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Royals 6 Indians 3: Another Average Start Does Them In

May 31, 2012 by 7 Comments

Remember a week ago at this time we were all so high on our Cleveland Indians? They were completing a three-game sweep of their rival Detroit Tigers, the pitching was great. The hitting was just good enough. Outside of Jack Hannahan, the Indians were healthy. All seemed well in Wahooland.

Fast forward seven days and all of a sudden the Indians look like they could be in some trouble.

Carlos Santana is on the seven-day DL with a concussion. Travis Hafner is going to miss the next four to six weeks after needing a knee scope. Hannahan came back for one game and then was placed on the 15-day DL with a calf strain. Asdrubal Cabrera just returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing three games. If we know anything about this year’s Tribe, it is that they do not have the depth to sustain a glut of injuries. Without the likes of the aforementioned starters, Jose Lopez became the cleanup hitter, Casey Kotchman was moved up in the order, guys named Juan Diaz and Luke Carlin have been seen regularly. Even Aaron Cunningham got a start.

Yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals capped a really rough six-game stretch for the Tribe. The hope was that they could salvage the afternoon tilt to take the series and temporarily right the ship.  Yes, they had to face another lefty, veteran Bruce Chen, but they would have plenty of chances to get to him. [Read more...]

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The Left Field Fiasco

May 22, 2012 by 31 Comments

Tribe off-days seem few and far between. With a 21-game in 20-day stretch now over and the 40-game mark now surpassed, we can take a look at some hard truths about this this team. Last year the magic number was 45 games, where the Indians were 30-15 and the darlings of the majors. Things fell completely their way during that stretch. The pitching was spectacular, both rotation and bullpen. It was a different hero every single night. Heck, Orlando freaking Cabrera (Obie!) was being hailed as a guy who was a great clubhouse influence (insane I know) who helped Asdrubal Cabrera find his power stroke. Everything clicked.

This season we have another first place team at essentially the same point in the season. Once again, the pitching has been very good, but not quite as good as a year before.  During that hot start, the 2011 club looked a lot better offensively than what we have seen from this current group, yet both teams are in first place. The 2012 offensive limitations have been known since the start of Spring Training.

[Read more...]

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When it Comes to Credit, Indians Collectively Pass the Buck

May 8, 2012 by 17 Comments

Not long after Shelley Duncan drove a 94-mile-per-hour fastball from the hand of Chicago reliever Matt Thornton to the left field wall in Progressive Field, plating what would ultimately serve to be the game-winning run in a rain-soaked outing with a depleted bench, the Cleveland Indians left-fielder wasted no time in handing the credit to those who came to bat ahead of him. For if not the two hard-fought bloop singles which landed in shallow right field prior to his plate appearance, Duncan’s line drive would have meant little if only to further amplify just how much success he has against those with a southern paw.

[Read more...]

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Matt LaPorta: We Won’t Get Fooled Again…Will We?

May 1, 2012 by 45 Comments

Matt LaPorta clubs one of his two home runs on Monday

He’s doing it again, folks. And so many of you are falling for it.

Good old Matt LaPorta. The one-time top-10 MLB prospect who was the crown jewel of the CC Sabathia trade back in 2008 is dominating Triple-A pitching once again and trying to make his way back to the big leagues. He’s on his last legs in the organization that wanted him badly four years ago and he’s doing his best to make the most of it.

Don’t get too excited.

LaPorta is an enigma. The 27-year-old has been given every chance to be the starting first baseman and the middle of the order, right-handed power bat that the club still doesn’t have. They don’t have that bat because LaPorta never developed at the Major League level. Yet for the fourth different time, he is killing it AAA.

[Read more...]

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