June 18, 2013

While We’re Waiting…Indians Bullpen Improving, Assessing Tom Heckert’s Work, Slimmed Down Samardo Impressing

July 21, 2012 by 3 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.

Bullpen rounding into form for the second half? “Now, it seems the pen is at least close to getting back to full strength and may not be something to worry about by July 31. That would be big for Cleveland to be able to focus on just the bat and/or starter in a trade.

It’s also big for Cleveland because the team is totally different with the bullpen going strong. The Tribe has the ability to pull out close games, late. If the middle reliever can keep a game close, the late-inning guys are a safe bet to do the same. Now, instead of seeing blowouts, you’ll have your Indians with a shot to win down the stretch of a lot of contests.

The bullpen is on the right track toward regaining its dominance of 2011. If it can get there, look out.” [Craig Gifford/DidTheTribeWinLastNight?]

[Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , ,

WFNY Wednesday Wahoos: Indians Minor League Weekly Review 7/18

July 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Each and every Wednesday, I try to bring you all of the news and notes from the Cleveland Indians minor league system. Enjoy.

Last Thursday, I traveled off to Lake County to get the scoop on the Captains. Also included in this week’s edition of the Wahoos is the latest on some top prospects’ hot streaks, a no-hitter, some reliever promotions and a rehabbing lefty on his way back to Cleveland soon. We’re officially less than two weeks away from the trade deadline, so stay tuned next week for plenty on more on possible trades. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

June 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Every Wednesday, I bring you all the highlights from the week that was for the Cleveland Indians organization, along with some added insight on what it means for the major league squad.

Over the last couple weeks, we’ve seen quite the flurry of roster moves by the MLB team. Following injuries to RHP Josh Tomlin, C Carlos Santana, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, DH Travis Hafner and even a brutal HBP suffered by C Lou Marson, we’ve had a bit of revolving door with AAA Columbus lately. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Catching Up With the Clippers

April 17, 2012 by 7 Comments

I for one miss our old friend DP. He left us for greener pastures, but his legacy lives on. No, I’m not going to talk about the Columbus Blue Jackets, but with the Tribe on an off-day yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to check in with DP’s very own AAA Columbus Clippers. With the expected offensive struggles of the big club, Tribe fans should always be keeping on eye on the Clippers. There is some talent down I-71, but there are also a lot of 4A specials who are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. So in an ode to DP’s former weekly column “Da Clip Show,” we now take a gander at what’s goin’ on down south. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clippers, Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Spring Training: Indians Option Phelps, Re-Assign Crowe

March 22, 2012 by 4 Comments

The countdown to Opening Day stands at ’14′ and the Cleveland Indians are preparing to return home.

Alas, their latest transactions involve optioning right-handed pitcher Zach McAllister and second baseman Cord Phelps to their Triple-A affiliate Columbus Clippers. In addition, pitcher Chen-Chang Lee and outfielder Trevor Crowe have been re-assigned to minor league camp.

The Cleveland Indians roster stands at 46. With only 31 players presently on the 40-man roster, nine of the remaining 15 non-roster invites are looking at a spot with the team.

[Related: Player Profile: Josh Tomlin and the Other Shoe]

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: , ,

Some Thoughts on Jock Straps, Orlando Cabrera, and Intangibles

May 13, 2011 by 23 Comments

Over this past weekend, Trevor Crowe said something that made me think:

The first thing it made me think: Trevor Crowe has an iPad?  That’s really neat.  Maybe I should get me one of those…

It also made me think: Why the quotation marks?  Does Trevor Crowe not believe that numbers actually exist?  That they are so ethereal they must be referred to with scare quotes?  Have numbers become, after all this, scary?

Then I got down to the meat of his comment.  Namely, that people like me are dorks who don’t wear jocks.  At least not for their intended purpose.  And for that reason, no one should be casting any aspersions on Orlando Cabrera’s play this season. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , ,

Jon & Paul Plus Baseball: Filling out the Roster

February 24, 2011 by 6 Comments

Every year around this time, I tell myself that I’m not going to waste too much time and energy poring over the last few roster spots for the Indians.  I have a tendency to forget how little these spots end up mattering in the long run, and consequently manage to convince myself that the difference between winning the division and last place is sure to be the defensive acumen of our utility infielder or the baserunning skills of our swing-man out of the bullpen.

So I spend February and March telling myself to be rational: the periphery of the roster means very little compared to a team’s core players.  It’s silly to get worked up over a few minor details.  Right?

But then I read a piece like this by Tony Lastoria, suggesting that the front office is considering keeping Orlando Cabrera, Jayson Nix, Trevor Crowe, and Luis Valbuena on the MLB roster while sending Jason Donald, Cord Phelps, Lou Marson and the rest of the youngsters back to Columbus.  And I go nuts all over again, unable to follow the logic.

And that helpless feeling sends me inexorably to the old electronic mail machine to converse with Paul Cousineau, founder of the DiaTribe.   [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Tribe Season Review: The Outfield

October 6, 2010 by 4 Comments

In part three of our series, we will examine the outfield. What should have been a pretty set threesome from opening day on, turned into Shin-Soo Choo and two other guys to be named that morning. In the end, we will be back to where we were on opening day, but how we got there was a long and winding road.

Left Field

Opening Day Starter – Michael Brantley (297 AB’s, .246 BA/3 HR/22 RBIs/.296 OBP/.623 OPS/10 SBs) Projected 2011 Starter: Grady Sizemore

We will get to the 2011 starter thing in a minute. Coming into Spring Training, the Indians had signed Austin Kearns and Shelley Duncan to minor league deals, and Russell Branyan to be the first baseman. This opened up the Left Field job to a competition between Brantley, Kearns, Trevor Crowe, and Matt LaPorta. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , ,

Tribe Sweeps Double Dip To Close Out Home Season

September 30, 2010 by 8 Comments

What a nice way to close out your final homestand. The Indians headed into Wednesday night’s doubleheader on a four game winning streak. The weather broke on what turned into a beautiful night, and our beloved Wahoos played about as well as they have all season, taking both legs of the double dip and sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the process.

With yours truly and my three-year old son in attendance for the first game (pounding popcorn and pizza like it was going out of style – my son, not me!), Mitch Talbot suddenly found himself for seemingly the first time in months. The man who went from “The Fury” to “The Itch” after the All-Star break, went seven scoreless innings leading the way for the Tribe’s 4-0 victory. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Indians 7, Royals 1: Still Avoiding AL Central Division Last Place!

September 26, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The end of the baseball season means that you have to find small things to cheer about. If you are still contending for the playoffs, it’s about making sure you can secure that spot before resetting the rotation. For the Cleveland Indians however, it’s just about finishing above whomever possible.

Thanks to yet another offensive display courtesy of Shin-Soo Choo, the Indians helped their cause again Saturday night with a 7-1 victory over the Royals. The club is now 4-2 against the Royals in the month of September, leading by a slim half game for the AL Central Division’s fourth place.

Only seven more games now remain in the 2010 season and although certainly playoff chances are entirely over, the Indians are finding their own unique competition. Belting 11 hits in less than four innings against Zack Greinke alone, the Tribe moved back into the drivers seat for not-last place. Follow along after the jump for more news and notes:
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A’s 5, Indians 0: A Diary of Fail

August 25, 2010 by 8 Comments

This was a bad game by a bad team having a bad season.  I’d like to end the recap there, as that more than explains what we need to know, but the WFNY bylaws require some elaboration.  So be it.

Let’s recap an Evening of Outright Fail™.

Starting Pitching Fail: After Coco Crisp led off the first inning with a single and a stolen base, Fausto recorded five consecutive outs—giving him two out in the top of the second.

Then came a healthy dose of fail.  Rajai Davis singled to center, and Jeff Larish homered to right for a 2-0 lead.

This was clearly an insurmountable deficit, as the Indians only had eight innings left to score. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , ,

Indians 4 Orioles 1: Gomez Does It Again

August 13, 2010 by 4 Comments

After two frustrating nights down at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, the Indians were in danger of being swept by the lowly Baltimore Orioles. Did they fret? Nope. They just turned to the old adage that has won baseball games for decades – pitching and defense.

Almost of out nowhere, the Indians have discovered a 22-year old “stopper,” Jeanmar Gomez. In his fourth start of the season, he again showed a mastery of the strike zone and pitched six innings of one-run ball, leading the Tribe to victory. They have yet to lose a game in where Gomez was the starter. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , ,

Tribe Trade Tracker: The Review

August 2, 2010 by 14 Comments

I know I know, the Dolan’s are cheap. The Indians can’t contend. Baseball is sunk in Cleveland. The system stinks. All the Indians do is sell of their best players. Yada, Yada. Yada. I get it. But here is the thing, Tribe fans – the trades I am about to discuss were all the right calls. There is zero point in keeping around guys like Kerry Wood, Jhonny Peralta, and Austin Kearns (Jake Westbrook, still had value to this club in terms of leadership). Lets get it straight and out there in the open: in the situation the Indians are in, this was absolutely the right thing to do. So lets review the deals to put this into better perspective. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Indians 10 Twins 4: That’s Five

July 20, 2010 by 14 Comments

One team sits two games out of first, the other 12 games out. One has a lineup full of all stars, the other, well, doesn’t. One team has a ballpark filled to the brim with loyal fans, the other, well, doesn’t. But who is playing better baseball right now?

I go with my beloved Wahoo Warriors, who used a whopping 20 hits to take down the Minnesota Twins 10-4 in brand new Target Field for their fifth straight win. Nine of the 10 Indians who had an at-bat had at least one hit, including four from Trevor Crowe and three from Jayson Nix. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Tribe Sweeps Doubleheader with Tigers; Jeanmar Gomez Makes Debut Today

July 18, 2010 by 1 Comment

In a Saturday marathon, the Cleveland Indians won two two more times against the visiting Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. A clutch comeback was the key in game one while a nearly two-hour rain delay preceded an 11-inning classic in the finale. The bullpen and entire pitching staff continued their hot streak while a few key hitters provided the winning strokes.

After All-Star Fausto Carmona allowed three runs in the first inning of the afternoon session, the Tribe started a rally with a pair of runs in the third. Detroit ace Justin Verlander continued to avoid damage but his wild pitch brought home the tying run in Shelley Duncan during the sixth. Now against reliever Phil Coke, Trevor Crowe plated the eventual winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to provide for the final 4-3 margin.

Starter Mitch Talbot then struggled with his control during the night game but the bullpen held strong as the rain halted action with a 1-1 score in the top of the ninth. A walk-off single by Austin Kearns eventually sealed the deal past midnight as five relievers delivered five shutout frames while allowing only two hits and no walks.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Indians 8, Tigers 2: Welcome to the Second Half of the Season

July 17, 2010 by 4 Comments

In typical fashion, the Indians started off the second half with a bang Friday night, smashing the Detroit Tigers 8-2 at Progressive Field. Jake Westbrook looked like he was on pace for a off night after allowing an RBI single to Miguel Cabrera in the first, but the Tribe offense responded quickly to take over the game.

Trevor Crowe started his impressive night with a run-scoring triple in the second before later scoring on a fielder’s choice and even though Detroit tied the game in the fourth, the Indians still had plenty of time for the blowout. A two-run home run and a massive sixth inning later, and the Indians claimed victory over the over the second-place Tigers.

Follow along with the rest of the starts, notable highlights and some minor league action in dash form after the jump:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indians All Star Break Analysis – Outfield and DH

July 13, 2010 by 11 Comments

In the second of a four-part series, WFNY will take a look at your last place Cleveland Indians. This afternoon, we will take a look at the outfield. It was supposed to be a position of strength when the season began, but today, things have changed.

On opening day, the outfield was something that you looked to and said “we are set.” For now and for the future I believe. Young Michael Brantley was in left, Grady Sizemore in center, and Shin-Soo Choo was in right. All three were poised for breakouts of sorts.

Again, the best laid plans….

When Shelley Duncan has seen regular time in one of the corner spots, you know something is amiss. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , ,

Rangers 12 Indians 1: Scary Fall Overshadows Game

July 7, 2010 by 4 Comments

While the Indians were in the throws of a 12-1 loss where they were beaten in every facet of the game, one of the more scary things you will ever see at a baseball game happened.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Rangers OF Nelson Cruz fouled off a pitch to the right field side. A fan, attempting to grab the ball, fell backwards from the second deck on four people below. If you were watching the game, you could see the scary reaction from home plate umpire Chris Guccione. Tribe left fielder Trevor Crowe saw the entire thing right in front of him. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , ,

SABR-Toothed Triber: The One about Bad Defense

June 25, 2010 by 12 Comments

Coming into this year, we all knew there would be some holes on the 2010 Indians.  The lineup was a bit heavy on left-handers and looked young.  The rotation was full of question marks and back-end types.  The bullpen was…well, the bullpen in Cleveland is always a shaky proposition.  Yes, there were certainly reasons to temper levels of enthusiasm regarding this team.

But I had no idea the defense would be this bad.

Before we get to the more advanced statistics, let’s look at some of the basics—if only to underscore how they don’t quite work.  The Indians have lost eight of their last nine games, dating back to the Mets series.  Over that span, they’ve committed eight errors that have resulted in four unearned runs.  After the jump, I put together a little chart to map these games out:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Tribe Weekend Recap: Santana, Strasburg, and Actual Fans!

June 14, 2010 by 16 Comments

What a weekend it was down at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. The new face of the franchise, Carlos Santana, arrived with his full offensive arsenal on Friday night. He didn’t get a hit, but his team won its third straight game. A day later, his bat did all the talking and led the Tribe to their fourth straight win in a game that lasted just two hours and five minutes. Finally to close the series, the Indians got to face the phenom of all phenoms, Stephen Strasburg, and play on national TV in front of 32,000 plus.

For the first time since 2007, there was an actual buzz around the stadium all weekend. A major part of that was Santana and Strasburg. Lets call a spade a spade; fans were not coming to the park in droves to see Russell Branyan and David Huff. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
«Older Posts