Trevor Bauer | WaitingForNextYear

Tribe splits with Yanks in front of larger-than-expected crowd

May 14, 2013 by TD 8 Comments

I attended last Thursday afternoon’s 9-2 Indians win over Oakland at Progressive Field. It was an absolutely perfect day; mid-70′s and sunny. We are talking shorts and t-shirt weather. Fast forward four days and I was breaking out the winter coat and gloves that I had put away about three weeks ago as the Indians and the New York Yankees played a traditional doubleheader.

There is certainly a buzz in the city about our Tribe. They entered this double dip winners of 12 of 14 and tied for first place in the AL Central. While the vibe was palpable, it had yet to translate into any real attendance spike.

Talking about attendance at Progressive Field is my least favorite topic. The Indians have been bad for five straight years. There hasn’t been a lot of trust between the fans, ownership, and the front office. The season ticket base had dwindled down to historic Progressive/Jacobs Field lows (though the Indians never speak on the subject, it is believed that the base is about 6,500). It takes years to build that trust back up. With Terry Francona and his shiny new toys on board, the Wahoos want to be more than just relevant in Cleveland again. They want to be the top dogs. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: David Phelps, indians, Jason Kipnis, Justin Masterson, Michael Bourn, New York Yankees, Trevor Bauer, Vidal Nuno

MLB News: Indians will call up Bauer to start Game 2 of Monday’s doubleheader

May 11, 2013 by Ryan Jones 4 Comments

According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com Terry Francona has confirmed Trevor Bauer will be making his return to the big leagues on Monday. Bauer is set to start the second half of Monday’s doubleheader against the Yankees.

Indians manager Terry Francona confirmed that RHP Trevor Bauer will be called up to start Game 2 of Monday’s double dip vs. the Yankees.

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 11, 2013

This will be the third time Bauer has been called up already this year, and once again it appears to be a quick trip for a spot start. In his last outing against Philladelphia, Bauer went five scoreless innings, walked six, and only gave up one hit. Only 98 times in MLB history has a pitcher had such a stat line, the last Indian being Justin Masterson back in 2010.

While Bauer’s six walks against Philly didn’t get him in too much trouble, his seven walks in his first start against Tampa Bay did. Bauer gave up three runs to the Rays in five innings, and became only the 51st pitcher in MLB history to start a season walking at least six batters in each of his first two starts.

Despite showing command issues, Bauer has also showcased his exceptional talents. While he hasn’t clicked on all cylinders for a whole start, the rookie has made big pitches in big spots.

“When he got into some traffic out there, he made unbelievable pitches. He attacked hitters when he had to with really good stuff,” said Francona following his start against Philly.

Bauer will get another opportunity on Monday to show why he’s regarded as such an exciting prospect for the Tribe, but then will most likely head back down to Columbus on Tuesday. The Indians will continue to be cautious with Bauer, holding him to a pitch count and restraining from throwing the 22 year old into the big league rotation just yet.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: indians, New York Yankees, Starting Rotation, Terry Francona, Trevor Bauer

WFNY Stats & Info: Putting Bauer’s early command issues into perspective

May 2, 2013 by Jacob Rosen 8 Comments

Trevor Bauer’s performance last night was just the 98th time in MLB history that a starting pitcher had the following stats:

– At least 5.0 IP
– No runs allowed
– At least 6 walks
– Max of 1 hit

Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore had a similar such performance on April 10 this season. No pitchers accomplished this feat in 2012.

Specific to the Indians, when with the Colorado Rockies, Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter on April 17, 2010 qualifies as he managed to walk six Braves despite allowing zero hits.

Justin Masterson was the last Indian to do so, on August 15, 2010 where he walked six Seattle Mariner batters in six innings of work.

Of all MLB pitchers with at least 10 innings under their belt in 2013, Bauer leads the pack with 11.7 walks per nine innings pitched. St. Louis’ Mitchell Boggs is second, a full three walks-per-nine-innings fewer than Bauer.

In MLB history, only 51 pitchers have ever started a season with at least six walks in each of their first two outings. Besides Bauer in 2013, Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey was the most recent to do so in 2009. Only five pitchers then advanced their streak to three games—Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan (1977) and Bob Feller (1941) are among this group.

Filed Under: Headlines, WFNY Stats & Info Tagged With: indians, Justin Masterson, Trevor Bauer, Ubaldo Ji, WFNY Stats & Info

Indians 6, Phillies 0: Bauer & The Raburn Show Help Tribe to Fourth Straight Win

May 2, 2013 by TD 27 Comments

Over the last three games heading into last night, the talk of Cleveland sports has been the awakening of the Tribe offense. The 33-run, 48- hit explosion was just what the doctor ordered to heal the wounded psyche of the Wahoo Warriors. And while the bats have been rightfully praised, there has been a dirty little secret side story going on beside it – shhhhhhh don’t jinx it – the starting pitching has actually been solid!

Corey Kluber got things started Sunday when he pitched seven strong innings of two-run baseball. He struck out six without walking a single batter. A night later in Kansas City, with a winning road trip on the line, the much maligned Ubaldo Jimenez gave his signature performance in a Tribe uniform, completely shutting out the Royals for seven innings on just three hits. As the Indians returned home after an 11-day trip, Zach McAllister followed suit with seven innings of his own against the Phillies. Like Kluber, The Zach Attack allowed just two runs – both on solo homers. With the doubleheader played last Sunday, the Indians needed a spot starter to keep the line moving. 22-year old phenom Trevor Bauer would be summoned from Columbus. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Asdrubal Cabrera, Cliff Lee, Drew Stubbs, indians, Mark Reynolds, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Raburn, Trevor Bauer, Yan Gomes

MLB News: Indians recall prospect Trevor Bauer from Columbus

May 1, 2013 by Scott 3 Comments

The Cleveland Indians have officially recalled starting pitcher Trevor Bauer from Triple-A Columbus. He will start on Wednesday night against former Indians ace Cliff Lee and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Bauer is making his second start for the Indians after making his debut on April 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays. In said start, Bauer lasted five innings, allowing just two hits but walked seven. He also had an at-bat following an injury sustained by catcher Lou Marson.

During his time in Triple-A, Bauer has made three starts, going 1-0 with an ERA of 2.50. He’s thrown 15 innings, allowing just five earned runs to go with 24 strikeouts and just six walks. Would-be hitters have been held to a .242 average.

To make room for Bauer on the 25-man roster, the Tribe optioned left-handed reliever Nick Hagadone. Hagadone has appeared in eight games with the Indians, recording an ERA of 2.45 without a decision.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: indians, MLB News, Trevor Bauer

Sunday Indians Notes: Beau Mills, the rotation and prospects

April 21, 2013 by Jacob Rosen 1 Comment

Beau Mills and his bucking bulls: The Indians scoring 19 runs was not the strangest news I saw yesterday. No, not even close. It began with a pair of tweets from @Indians (here and here) sharing pictures of a young bucking bull named Tuve (after Astros infielder Jose Altuve) that happens to be owned by Indians third-base coach Brad Mills and his son Beau, Cleveland’s 1st-round pick in 2007.

I couldn’t believe it. The Mills family just owns a bull, named it after a Houston player and had it in front of Minute Maid Park on Saturday? So I Googled. And found the Plain Dealer‘s Paul Hoynes’ report from Friday night: It was true. Mills, the 26-year-old first baseman who the Indians pitched away to Cincinnati in June 2012, officially has retired from baseball and is raising several young bulls for a living. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Akron Aeros, Beau Mills, Brad Mills, Carlos Carrasco, Chun Chen, Clippers, Danny Salazar, Houston Astros, indians, minor league prospects, MLB, T.J. House, Trevor Bauer, Ubaldo Jimenez

Tribe Weekend Recap: Baseball Is a Strange Game

April 8, 2013 by TD 32 Comments

We’ve waited a long time for the much anticipated 2013 Cleveland Indians season to begin. The complete makeover of the team, a culture change if you will, has been universally lauded across our fair city. It starts with manager Terry Francona. I think it was a good thing that the Indians started on a tough six-game road trip to AL East beasts Toronto and Tampa Bay. Because of how things would shake out, they would see arguably the two best starting rotations in the American League right from the jump. The question was how would the new, deeper lineup respond.

After taking two of three in Toronto where they scored 15 runs in three games, the Wahoo attack looked extremely sleepy Friday night, where they were completely befuddled by hard-throwing lefty Matt Moore. They only managed two hits – both by Michael Bourn – in a 4-0 loss. The Indians didn’t get into the Tampa are until 4 AM Friday morning, that certainly didn’t help matters. But they figured to get back on track a night later against second year righty Alex Cobb. Instead, the bats extended their slumber a second game, as Cobb and two relievers blanked the Tribe 6-0. They could only muster six singles in this one. The Tribe faced a sweep yesterday as the Rays sent Cy Young Award winner David Price to the mound. It looked like quite the daunting task. But days like Sunday are what makes baseball such a great game. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Carlos Santana, indians, Justin Masterson, Lou Marson, Mark Reynolds, Tampa Bay Rays, Trevor Bauer

Rays blank Cleveland again, Tribe falls 6-0 in Bauer’s debut

April 7, 2013 by Ben 9 Comments

Trevor Bauer’s Indians debut could’ve been worse. It sure could’ve been better. But all things considered, it could’ve been much worse.

Bauer battled through five innings, giving up three runs on two hits and seven walks. It wasn’t pretty, but Bauer worked himself out of some (self inflicted) jams and gave the Tribe a chance to stay in the game. Bauer began his evening by walking the bases loaded and forcing himself to deal with Evan Longoria. After getting ahead of Longoria 1-2, the Tampa slugger worked the rookie, fouling off numerous pitches and eventually earning the walk and forcing home a run. Bauer got James Loney to foul out and then Yunel Escobar lined one to Ryan Raburn, who gunned down Matt Joyce at home. Bauer escaped heavy trouble, but the damage was done. Tampa Bay and Alex Cobb had all the run support they’d need.

This was the second night in a row that the Rays’ pitchers have baffled the Indians’ bats. Cobb followed up Matt Moore’s 6.0 inning, two hit performance on Friday with a 7.1 inning, four hit gem of his own. The Tribe just couldn’t get anything going and have now managed just seven hits over the last 18 innings.

The bullpen did no one any favors. Matt Albers relieved Bauer to start the 6th and immediately gave up a hit to Yunel Escobar, who stretched the single into a double. Sure, Jason Kipnis applied the tag directly to Escobar’s foot a good three feet or so before he hit the bag, but it’s not like 2B umpire CB Bucknor was in position to see it. Albers proceeded to give up a hit to former Indian Shelley Duncan, plating the runner. Cody Allen worked the 7th and 8th innings and gave up four hits and two runs.

After winning their first two games of the season, the Tribe’s record now stands at 2-3. It would be a real shame if they came back home from this early road trip at 2-4. But unfortunately that’s a realistic scenario as the Tribe faces David Price (only the reigning AL Cy Young award winner) on Sunday. I’m sure seeing him will get them out of their funk. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, Trevor Bauer

MLB News: Trevor Bauer to start on Saturday versus Rays

April 4, 2013 by Scott 10 Comments

The Cleveland Indians will promote prospect starting pitcher Trevor Bauer on Saturday to take the place of injured starting pitcher Scott Kazmir. Reported out of Toronto this afternoon, Indians manager Terry Francona said that 22-year old Bauer will get the nod while Carlos Carrasco serves a six-game suspension.

Kazmir will miss up to three starts after being placed on the disabled list with a right rib cage strain. Off during the first two nights of the season, the Indians are greeted with 13 straight games without a night off so it is conceivable that Carrasco would be promoted at some point after his suspension — stemming from an incident in 2011 — has been served. Bauer and Carrasco were in competition with Kazmir and others for the final spot in the Indians’ rotation this spring.

Bauer was 12-2 with a 2.42 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 157 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings in 22 starts among Double-A and Triple-A last season in the Diamondbacks organization. He was the main piece of the trade which sent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati this past offseason and is considered a top-20 prospect in all of baseball.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Indians, MLB News, Scott Kazmir, Trevor Bauer

Sunday Indians Notes: Bullpen depth, backups and prospects

March 24, 2013 by Jacob Rosen Leave a Comment

Spring Training is finally on its final leg and the MLB season begins for the Cleveland Indians in just nine short days. It certainly has been an exciting offseason, for once, in Cleveland, so Opening Day at Progressive Field another six days later should be a delight.

In typical Sunday fashion, I’ll break down a handful of items that have been on my mind recently when it comes to Tribe talk. In a fitting sense, none of the three items are that sexy, but could mean quite a lot to the 2013 Tribe. Let’s start with a much-hyped strength:

– The stout bullpen: Quick trivia question — Out of the 30 MLB teams from 2011-2012, where did the Indians bullpen rank in ERA? How about out of the 14 American League teams? One would normally think that with the impressive back-end of Chris Perez, Vinnie Pestano and Joe Smith, that the Indians would logically rank fairly high. Wrong. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Chris Perez, Cody Allen, Danny Salazar, Dorssys Paulino, Francisco Lindor, indians, Indians Prospects, Joe Smith, Jose Ramirez, Michael Bourn, MLB, Nick Hagadone, Nick Swisher, opening day, Trevor Bauer, Vinnie Pestano

Cleveland Indians option Trevor Bauer, Scott Barnes and Corey Kluber to minors

March 21, 2013 by Rick Grayshock 8 Comments

The Indians today optioned several players to the minors, including three pitchers who were vying for the fifth spot in the rotation-

Indians have optioned Scott Barnes, Trevor Bauer, and Corey Kluber to minors. Also reassigned Giovanni Soto to minors

— Tony Lastoria (@TonyIBI) March 21, 2013

Scott Kazmir was certainly the leader in the clubhouse for the fifth spot, but with the moves today optioning Trevor Bauer, Scott Barnes and Corey Kluber, it all but guarantee the spot belongs to Kazmir.

Bauer of course was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Choo to the Reds and netted the Indians Drew Stubbs and Bauer. In his spring start yesterday, Bauer was roughed up a bit by the Angels. He struggled mightily in the third inning and did not come back out for the fourth, though he was scheduled to pitch five. He gave up four runs, three of them earned and walked three.

Bauer has not had the consistency that the Indians would have needed to see for him to make the opening day roster. For the spring he has a 4.5 ERA with 9 strikeouts and 4 walks. Kazmir has been lights out this spring. He has yet to give up a run in Cactus League play.

Scott Barnes has also pitched well this spring. He will start the season in Columbus and certainly get an opportunity to fill in as the Indians need starting pitching down the road this season.

[Related: The Ubaldo Problem]

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Corey Kluber, indians, Scott Barnes, Trevor Bauer

An early look at Cleveland Indians prospect rankings

March 3, 2013 by Jacob Rosen 5 Comments

With Spring Training underway out in Arizona, there’s plenty of excitement back in Northeast Ohio about the Cleveland Indians. And although many of us will not see the Tribe play in person until Opening Day on April 8, there’s a whole lot of minor league news that’s worth unwrapping as well.

And that’s where my rankings and numbers come handy. Throughout most of the 2012 season, I was breaking down all the news and notes with my WFNY Wednesday Wahoos reports. At the end of the year, I then shared my thoughts about how the Indians’ drafting still maybe hasn’t improved in the last few seasons.

But criticisms and arguments aside: What are the prospect rankings looking like thus far this offseason? Obviously, there was the high-profile acquisition of Trevor Bauer from the Diamondbacks, but how does he stand in comparisons with reigning No. 1 Tribe prospect Francisco Lindor? And is there anyone else emerging from the rest of the “mess” of the organization?

In as easy of a format as I can muster, I’ll share the answers to those questions and more. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Danny Salzar, Dorssys Paulino, Francisco Lindor, indians, Jesus Aguilar, Jose Ramirez, minor league baseball, Mitch Brown, MLB, prospect rankings, spring training, Trevor Bauer, Tyler Naquin

The Weekend That Was in Wahooland

February 25, 2013 by TD 18 Comments

The weekend in Wahooland saw the games beginning in Arizona. We have been hearing about how great the vibe is in camp and how loose yet focused the Indians have been under new skipper Terry Francona. Now it was time to see how that translated into Spring Training games. The results in these tilts are meaningless, but the Tribe won all four, including two split-squad games Sunday afternoon. There was lots to like. Here were some of the takeaways:

The first lineup we saw will be something close to what will be on opening day, barring injury. Francona’s Friday nine was Michael Bourn, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Kipnis, Nick Swisher, Michael Brantley, Carlos Santana, Mark Reynolds, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Drew Stubbs. If seeing that batting order, with nine real legit major league ball players, didn’t make you feel better about the team, then nothing will. A full year of bottom fours that included the likes of Shelley Duncan, Jack Hannahan, Casey Kotchman, and Brett Lillibridge will make you wonder how your team can compete. This year’s one through nine looks to have no holes in it.

In that first game, the Indians trailed 5-0 after the top of the first, but struck back to take a 7-5 lead by the end of the third. All of the damage was done by those starters. The highlights a the two-run blast from Chisenhall, two doubles from Brantley, and an RBI single from Swisher in his first at-bat as in Indian. The Tribe won 11-10 on a walk-off bases-loaded double off the bat of Mike McDade. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: Carlos Carrasco, Daisuke Matsuzaka, indians, Nick Swisher, Ryan Raburn, Scott Kazmir, Terry Francona, Trevor Bauer

Spring Training: Matsuzaka, Kazmir, Bauer shine in Indians debuts

February 24, 2013 by Jacob Rosen 7 Comments

On the first Sunday of Spring Training out in Arizona, the Cleveland Indians competed in two different intrasquad games. With half the team in Goodyear against Cincinnati and the other half in Maryvale against Milwaukee, three new Cleveland pitchers stole the spotlight.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, 32, pitched the third and fourth innings against the Reds. He needed only 10 pitches to do, walking one batter but retiring the other six he faced. His effort spurred the Indians to a 3-0 win with 7 pitchers combining on a 1-hitter. Despite Dice-K’s positive peripheral stats, there were some conflicting scouting reports of his performance. Per Tom Withers of the Associated Press:

Matsuzaka did not top 89 mph on any of his pitches. Scout told me he was having trouble locating fastball. Same scout unimpressed.

— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) February 24, 2013

Matsuzaka likely is a long-shot for a consistent rotation spot with the Indians in 2013. He doesn’t have much of any long-term prospects with the organization, although certainly his pre-existing relationship with new manager Terry Francona will help. Meanwhile, over in Maryvale, two other new pitchers provided nice outings as well.

Lefty Scott Kazmir, 29, arrived in relief of starter Carlos Carrasco, 25, who allowed four runs in a chaotic first inning. Kazmir restored order: He struck out one batter and allowed one hit in two scoreless innings. He had just 9 pitches, all strikes. This all is good early news for the former strikeout champion who hasn’t pitched in the majors since one outing in 2011. Reports indicated he was feeling good afterwards too, per the Chronicle-Telegram’s Chris Assenheimer:

Kazmir said he feels better now than he did during his best years. Threw 94-95 in winter ball. #Indians

— Chris AssenheimerC-T (@CAwesomeheimer) February 24, 2013

Trevor Bauer, 22, then replaced Kazmir. The highly touted prospect, named No. 17 in baseball by MLB.com, punched out two batters and allowed two hits in his two innings of work. All 12 of his pitches were strikes. Unsurprising, Cleveland writers already were taken aback by his quirky warmup routines. Per 1100′s Nick Camino:

Trevor Bauer does crazy throw on his 1st warm up pitch every inning. Starts behind the rubber and throws as hard as he can to catcher. Wow!

— Nick Camino (@CaminoTribe) February 24, 2013

Obviously, this is just one of the many premature Spring Training storylines for the Tribe (hello, Ryan Raburn). We probably won’t have any clear indication about the leader for No. 5 rotation spot for at least another 2-3 weeks. For now though, this all was good news for new pitchers that have arrived in the last few months.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Daisuke Matsuzaka, indians, MLB, Scott Kazmir, spring training, Trevor Bauer

On the 2013 Indians starting rotation and narratives

February 23, 2013 by Jacob Rosen 4 Comments

Last year, in spring training, I remember the WFNY crew was banging our heads against a wall trying to come up with Indians content. There ain’t no shortage of narratives and storylines this year. And that’s fun for everyone. Positives!

But today, I hope to tackle one specific topic from Jon’s “optimism” article earlier this week: the starting rotation. It’s a topic that divides a lot of fans’ and analysts’ opinions regarding the potential of the 2013 Indians. And while I know there could be millions of other arguments, I wanted to do a three-step piece today.

First, I’ll share an debate as to how exactly the Indians were “historically” bad in 2012. Then, I’ll share some intriguing narratives behind three of the starters. And finally, overall about narratives and the upcoming season.

This won’t necessarily be all stats-y, again, but that’s how it will start off for now. I’d love to hear your thoughts and expectations in the comments as well. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: baseball stats, Brett Myers, Carlos Carrasco, David Huff, indians, Justin Masterson, Mickey Callaway, MLB, Scott Kazmir, Starting Pitching, Trevor Bauer, Ubaldo Jimenez, Zach McAllister

Shin-Soo Choo to Indians: “I will always be thankful”

February 23, 2013 by Jacob Rosen 6 Comments

It’s easy to dismiss some of the meaningful stories that can occur with success in baseball. For Indians fans in February 2013, filled with optimism after the signing of two high-profile free agent outfielders, that means the amazing ascent to relevance by former fan-favorite Shin-Soo Choo.

In a fairly emotional article by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that just posted early this morning, Choo made public a letter that he sent over to Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti this offseason shortly after the trade that landed him in Cincinnati and Trevor Bauer (among others) in Cleveland.

Choo’s letter said: “I want you to know that my family and I will always be thankful for this opportunity and want you to know how much I will remember the chance I was given in Cleveland … Because I firmly believe that without this opportunity, there is no Shin-Soo Choo and I would not be remembered.”

Rosenthal’s article also shared Choo’s initial reaction (shock) when he heard he’d be playing center field for the Reds. Among the other quotes related to Antonetti and the Indians, this also was very touching: “You have a lot of young and talented players … but most importantly … players that will listen and follow your leadership … As a result, I know you will get great performances and results in the near future.”

Of course, going to the way-back time machine as you might recall, Choo was one of several Mariners prospects the Indians somehow poached in the mid-’00s. Acquired along with Shawn Nottingham for Ben Broussard and cash in July 2006, he appeared in only 14 MLB games with the Mariners.

With more steady playing time in Cleveland, the now-30-year-old South Korean then blossomed into one of the better outfielders in the American League, as highlighted by back-to-back 5+ WAR seasons in 2009-10. He is likely to reel in a huge payday this coming offseason after his potential one-year rental stint with the Reds.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Chris Antonetti, Cincinnati Reds, Indians, MLB, Shin-Soo Choo, Trevor Bauer

Indians’ Trevor Bauer releases a diss track

February 14, 2013 by Scott 65 Comments

(Update: Apparently, this track was recorded in December and the release date was just coincidentally timed around the recent incident. The team has reportedly met with the pitcher. Bauer stated that the song, despite the lyrics, was aimed at “Twitter haters” and not Montero.)

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer has fired a shot across the bow of ~~Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero~~ Twitter haters through what may be the most intriguing manner in recent Cleveland sports history — a diss track titled “You Don’t Know Me” wherein the chorus includes a line about “hiding behind a mask.”

Bauer was the recent target of criticism from former teammate and catcher Miguel Montero. Following a brief stint in the majors with the Diamondbacks, Montero and Bauer had a well-documented difference of opinion. Just this week, Montero wished Indians catcher Carlos Santana “good luck” in dealing with the 22-year old Bauer — “When you get a guy like that and he thinks he’s got everything figured out, it’s just tough to commence and try to get on the same page with you.” The song was reportedly recorded in December, but was released on Wednesday.

Upon the acquisition of Bauer, we opened the lid on Bauer’s rapping career with the group “Consumate 4sight.“ We have embedded the recently released track for your listening pleasure, complete with Bain’s introduction. We’ve also snipped a few choice lines.

Your fifteen minutes, I guess I get that.
With that, its time to get back to all these fans that I’ve been losing due in part to the rumors moving about that that I refuse to listen
So people get this vision of me, no one goes up hitting for me
I swear I’ve never been gifted nothing

[...]

It don’t matter how many Xs or Os you draw
I plan to get that, bro
You’re a mouse in a cat’s game
Get where I’m at, man
I ain’t playing tic-tac-toe

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: indians, Miguel Montero, MLB News, Trevor Bauer

WFNY Podcast – 2013-02-11 – Scott and Craig talk Bourn, Flacco, Haslam and Mike Wallace

February 12, 2013 by Craig Lyndall 1 Comment

Scott and Craig were going to discuss the Browns, but then the Bourn deal was announced and we called an audible.

Bourn!!!
Now that the Indians signed Bourn and Swisher, is the Choo deal any less justified?
Is this team building exercise the reason that Terry Francona decided to come to Cleveland?
How many of these acquisitions have Terry Francona’s fingerprints on them?
How close does this put the Indians to competing in the division?
Jimmy Haslam’s move back to Pilot Flying J and it if really matters at all
Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns per Peter King
Is Joe Flacco elite?
Is Joe Flacco worth the money plus two first round draft choices?
Mike Wallace and the Browns?
Is it going to take Vincent Jackson money?
Would that kind of money be OK for Mike Wallace to be the Browns’ best wide receiver?

Listen at Stitcher

—————-

Subscribe on iTunes

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Chris Antonetti, Indians, Jimmy Haslam, Michael Bourn, Mike Wallace, Nick Swisher, Terry Francona, Trevor Bauer, Vincent Jackson

Miguel Montero on Trevor Bauer: “Good Luck to Carlos Santana”

February 12, 2013 by Jon 32 Comments

It’s not news that the Indians were able to pry Trevor Bauer from the Diamondbacks due to some personality conflicts in the clubhouse—especially between Bauer and his battery-mate Miguel Montero. Evidently Bauer chose not to partake in the tutelage proffered by Montero, and this rubbed the veteran backstop the wrong way.

Montero, wanting to make sure this was still a story, reiterated his concerns about Bauer at the Diamondbacks’ FanFest event on Saturday:

When you get a guy like that and he thinks he’s got everything figured out, it’s just tough to commence and try to get on the same page with you.

-snip-

Since day one in Spring Training I caught him and he killed me because he threw about 100 pitches the first day.

-snip-

[T]he next time he threw I saw him doing the same thing. He never wanted to listen […] Good luck to Carlos Santana.

Also, BREAKING: SOMETIMES 21 YEAR OLD KIDS ARE HEADSTRONG AND EGOMANIACAL.

Carry on. Soon enough there will be Spring Training games to overreact to. Can’t hardly wait.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: 21 year olds dude, Carlos Santana, Miguel Montero, Molehills, Mountains, Trevor Bauer

Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer and Francisco Lindor among top-20 MLB prospects

January 30, 2013 by Scott 6 Comments

Following a season wherein the Cleveland Indians farm system was fairly barren, it should be refreshing for Tribe fans to see that shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Trevor Bauer are named among the top-20 prospects in all of baseball per MLB.com.

Lindor, 14th overall, slots in right behind the games’ top prospect, Texas’ Jurickson Profar, at the shortstop position. Still multiple years from seeing the big leagues, the 19-year-old Lindor is coming off of a season with the Lake County Captains that featured 24 doubles, 27 stolen bases and 83 runs scored — exceeding expectations at the plate – to go with superb glove work that continues to make the team’s front office salivate.

“His ability speaks for itself,” Atkins told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. “I think the fact that he dealt with some of the ebb and flow of a natural season the first time [was good]. The most games he’d ever played before last year was in the 40s, and last year he played close to 200 if you count the two instructional leagues. It’s really unbelievable.”

Bauer, listed 17th, is likely to crack the big league lineup from Day One, the target of the big offseason trade that involved long-time right fielder Shin-Soo Choo. He went 12-2 with a 2.42 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2012, but had subpar results though his four outings with the Diamondbacks. Earlier this month, Bauer told WFNY that he does not expect to be handed anything in terms of a spot in the starting rotation and that he hopes to capitalize on the opportunity provided.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Francisco Lindor, Indians, Top Prospects, Trevor Bauer