June 19, 2013

SABR-Toothed Triber: Bunts, Steals, and Acta Oh My

April 9, 2010 by 13 Comments

(Editor’s Note: Apologies for the delay on this, as we try to run this feature every Thursday.  My fault – not Jon’s.  Thankfully, given last night’s win, this piece is timed impeccably.  Enjoy!)

Off-seasons are notorious for banal story lines, and while the Indians made their share of big-time player acquisitions this off-season (Mike Redmond, anyone?), most of the talk this winter has dealt with Manny Acta and how he might leave his stamp on the 2010 ball club.  It seems the unanimous chorus from the Cleveland faithful was something along the lines of: “Hey, he’s not Eric Wedge!  YAY!”

But now that we’re playing baseball games that actually count, I thought we might get a bit more specific than his non-Wedgian status and take a look at some of Acta’s thoughts on in-game managing decisions.  Let’s start with his thoughts on the sacrifice bunt.  Here’sActa: [Read more...]

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Grady Sizemore: 100/100

July 9, 2008 by 9 Comments

Grady Sizemore - 100 HR, 100 SB 

If you can bring yourself to ignoring the fact that the Tribe has dropped nine straight, it should be mentioned that Grady Sizemore stole his 100th base of the season his career in last night’s loss.  Coupling this with his home run on July 5, Sizemore is now officially the second player in the history of the team to eclipse the 100/100 mark. 

And as laid out here, Grady is under wraps until 2012.  It can get excruciating to watch an entire team for only one or two guys, but it may have to be the case this season.  Oh, and if you had not heard, Sizemore will be partaking in this year’s Home Run Derby.  Let’s just hope he doesn’t go all Abreu…

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Grady Sizemore: History In the Making

July 3, 2008 by 7 Comments

Grady SizemoreWe’ve already waived the white flag, and even went on to punctuate it.  If we could photoshop a giant fork into an Indians logo, we would.  But as many losses as this team racks up in what is turning out to be one of the most frustrating seasons on record, you can’t help but cheer on the guys that are actually doing their job.  They are easy to name, as there are only a handful: Cliff Lee, C.C. Sabathia (despite the rough start), and Ben Francisco would be easy candidates.  But one that needs instant credit is Grady Sizemore.

I don’t want this to turn into a male-written version of the Grady’s Ladies Sisterhood, but the way this kid has been swinging the bat will make any sort of snubbing of an All-Star appearance an absolute shame.  Though leading off for this team over the entire year, Sizemore is leading the league in home runs (21), third in total bases (174), seventh in slugging (.534) and eighth in steals (20).  He’s currently the only player in the AL to have the ever-popular 20/20 mark.

For his career, Sizemore sits at 99 home runs and 99 stolen bases.  Which means that while he’s having one heck of a first half, he’s one shy of each statistic from being the second player ever in franchise history to ecclipse the 100/100 mark.

Any guesses on the other guy?

[Read more...]

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