Series #1 in Review April 2-5

Well the first series of the season is over, and the Indians got off to a fairly good start, finishing 2-1 against the White Sox. The  offense showed its explosiveness on Monday and Wednesday, and the bullpen was strong in helping secure an 8-7 win in the series’ second game. The defense was ok, the Indians’ made a total of three errors in the series. I was slightly discouraged by the inability to get key hits and the inability to move runners along in crucial situations. The team definitely needs some work, but obviously it is incredibly early.

I have a problem with the lineup. Now, I’ll preface this by saying that I am probably as big of a Casey Blake fan as anyone. However, Blake batting in the five spot in the order is absolutely laughable to me. He is not going to be nearly effective enough to stay  in this slot, and hopefully Garko will settle in somewhere down the road. Batting Blake fifth will allow teams to easily work around Martinez, especially with runners on. I also think that Blake should just be permanently put in right field, he is a good defensive outfielder and hes basically just being wasted standing at first base, where hes not even that great defensively. Basically, I don’t really think that Blake should be an everyday player, but instead someone who can play a variety of different positions effectively when called upon.

Player of the Series: This category is definitely probably between Martinez and Sizemore, and I think I will actually go with Martinez in this case, not because of his 6 hits, but because of the fact that he threw out Scot Posednik twice in the series.

Most Worthless Player of Series: Ok everybody, get ready to be seeing these names in this category a LOT this season, and I am willing to guarantee that. This category comes down to two finalists, with Josh Barfield finishing in third. David Dellucci and of course, Andy Marte. Dellucci just did nothing, managing only a double in 12 at bats, while Marte hit a 2 run home run in the Tribe’s 8-7 win on Wednesday, and struck out, well, a lot. Not only did Marte strike out, he just looked lost swinging his massive bat, even when he hit the homer, it looked like it was totally by accident. However, I’m going to have to give the most worthless player of the series to Dellucci, mostly due to his incredibly high BLAH factor.

Wedge’s Best Move of the Series: Sending Grady Sizemore in the eighth inning of the Indians’ eventual loss on thursday. Jason Michaels was locked up in a 3-2 count and eventually hit a double to the gap in right center, allowing Sizmore to score and momentarily tie the game.

Best Pitcher of the Series: No idea, lets just give it to Aaron Fultz. The pitching will improve.

Best Dumb Chicago fan moment of the Series: Some jackalope chanting “overrated” at Travis Hafner on opening day. Wow.

Next Series: vs. Seattle Mariners April 6-9

Game 3 Observations

I’m too pissed to ramble about this game, so I’ll probably focus more on negatives than positives from the concluded series against the White Sox. I think the 2006 Indians took the field today, by this, I mean they couldn’t get a key hit in the late innings, struck out too much, had key defensive lapses, and lost a one run game. Roberto Hernandez’s abomination of 9th inning lead to the Indians’ first loss of the year 4-3. Jeremy Sowers pitched 6 semi-strong innings, giving up 2 earned runs on only 1 hit, but walked 5. Sizmore had 2 hits and again lead of the game with a homer, but Hafner and Martinez had dismal days with bad at bats. The bottom of the order was also pathetic, with Josh Barfield and Andy Marte waving at pitches all day long.

The most encouraging aspect of the game was Aaron Fultz’s strong appearance in the 8th inning. He retired the side in order, striking out Konerko and Thome to end the inning. Unfortunately, Roberto Hernandez was thinking more about what he was going to buy with his social security check then he was thinking about retiring hitters. This is the only time I am going to say this all season, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PICK SOMEONE OFF OF SECOND BASE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH INNING. Making that throw is absolute suicide, nothing good is ever going to come from it. Tomorrow is the Home Opener against the Seattle Mariners, the game starts at 4:05 p.m. It should be an awesome game, around 30 degrees with Paul Byrd pitching. Hooray!!!!

2-1

Game 2 Observations

Well, apparently Joe Borowski got acquainted with his role of closer by watching game film of Bob Wickman. The Tribe’s 8-7 win was capped with a nerve racking 9th inning that culminated with a falling catch by Jason Michaels. The player of the day has to be Grady Sizemore, who hit a key homer in the 7th inning that helped the Indians take an 8-7. The Indians were able to do just enough offensively to overcome Jake Westbrook’s shaky five inning outing, one that wasn’t helped with the home plate umpire’s inconsistent strikezone. The bullpen was able to come through as well, pitching four innings of scoreless ball, although plagued with walks.

The main daily concern was the team’s inability to get a big hit late in the game, especially in the eighth inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Chicago reliever Aaron Aardsma struck out Michaels, Peralta, and Marte (I know, surprised) to end the inning. Another large concern was the amount of strikeouts today, a total of 13. For now, I’ll attribute this to the fact that it was only the second game of the season.

2-0

Cleveland Indians, Game 1, my observations

Yes, the Indians took game 1 of the 2007 season from the Chicago White Sox, beating them 12-5. My player of the day is Jhonny Peralta, for a key piece of hitting with two outs in the first inning. Hopefully, Jhonny continues to go to the opposite field more often this season. You also cannot overlook Grady Sizemore for setting the tone for the season by leading off the game with a homer. It was also good to see that Trot Nixon was in good shape, in good enough shape to get 3 hits in his Indians debut. In his post game interview, he also praised the Indians strength and conditioning staff for getting him back into playing shape after his back injury. This is an interesting pointbecause the conditioning staff has been receiving much praise over the years for their masterful work with players recovering from injuries, especially pitchers Kevin Millwood and Bob Howry. So overall, it was good to see a slimmer Jhonny peralta hit the ball well, and see that Trot Nixon may be able to contribute to the team, especially batting in the crucial number two spot in the lineup.

My daily concern for opening day 2007 is the apparent limited defensive range of second baseman Josh Barfield. When we traded for him, we were told that he was above average defensively, which he may be, but he definitely suffers from a lack of range. In the game today, a ball was hit up the middle and Barfield got to it and was able to knock it down but not able to make the play. The grounder looked fairly routine, and Ronnie Belliard probably would have made that play easily, so we will have to continue to see if Barfield can increase his range and cover more ground on the right side of the infield.

Choo Choo: RF Looks to make club out of spring training

Shin Shoo Choo, the 24 year old RF acquired from the Seattle Mariners in last seasons trade for Ben Broussard, will have a lot of competition in spring training this year. At this point, because of the acquisitions of Trot Nixon, David Delucci, and the resigning of Jason “King of blah” Michaels, it looks like he will be at Buffalo to start theseason. To me, this is pretty unfortunate as Choo, who hit .295 in 45 games with the Tribe last year, is definitely ready to at least be a sufficient fourth outfielder in the major leagues today. He is pretty similar to Ryan Garko in fact, and could easily be called another victim of circumstance. I look forward to seeing if Choo can prove himself this spring training, as I love his defense in right, and especially love his arm strength and ability to take good routes to fly balls (something the “King of Blah” should work on). I’m really starting to wonder if Mark Shapiro overrates experience, as he continues to sign these players simply due to the amount of years they’ve been in the league. My philosophy is quickly becoming let the young players play, especially if they can play defense.

Garko’s a Victim of Circumstance

Even though highly disappointing, the 2006 season saw a series of pleasent surprises and meteoric rises to major leagues success. One of these success stories was Ryan Garko, a highly touted prospect who lived on his reputation as a possibly impact major league hitter. As the season started to slowly fade into the sunset, Garko, although not excelling at Buffalo, got his chance to make his mark on the big league club. He definitely did make his mark, as he had a good year playing in 50 games, batting .292 and driving in 45 runs. Garko did a tremendous job in exceeding expectations and seemingly solidfying a starting role at first base for the 07 season. I was shocked to hear in early 2007, however, that Garko was not slated to start at first, with the team instead penciling in right fielder Casey Blake to man first base. Initially, I thought that this was a bad move, and I still have reservations about it, but I have come to realize there are multiple things to take into account when considering placing Garko at first base.

 Defensive abilities and impact on team defense

 A converted catcher, Garko is definitely not going to be winning any gold gloves. The common view on the decision to bench Garko is STRICTLY because of his lack of cohesive defensive skills, a view that touches on a part, but not the whole reason Garko will not be starting. Upper management believes that defense is one of the two main reasons (the other obviously being the bullpen) that the team underachieved in 06, and this is clearly a need of the team. It seems that the Tribe has enough offensive firepower already to sacrific another offensive minded player in favor of one who is defensive minded. Garko’s offensive skills cannot be overlooked however, and his OPS and power hitting skills will come into handy if the offense struggles, especially out of the gate. My main fear regarding the Indians is that upper management sees Garko as the heir apparent to Hafner, and will let Hafner go in free agency and plug gark into the DH spot.

How he fits into lineup

I frequently bitch about how the indians have too many mismatched pieces, and this is definitely something that I believe is true. Team Speed, the lack of a true leadoff hitter, and the lack of athleticism is something that scares me, and Garko does not really have what it takes to properly complement the current Indians lineup. Where would he bat? I guess a common answer would be 5 or 6, depending on where Wedge plugs in Vic, but I think with hafner, martinez, garko, peralta, etc. batting consecutively, your creating a too one-dimensional lineup. The fact that he bats right handed, however, is something that will always help him in the Indians organization, as the club craves a true right handed power hitter.

My skepticism

Even with all of these questions, if I was running this team, I think that I would start Garko at first out of spring training. This is almost as much because of Casey Blake as it is Garko, because I love Blake staying and consistenly starting in right field (signing all of these bland veteran outfielders just baffled me, and the thought of platooning both corner outfield positions makes me absolutely sick. Why in the world did we re-sign Jason Michaels?!) I would also love to see Choo have a good spring and distance himself from the old blahness behind him. The fact is, I would just rather see Garko play and develop his skills as a first basemen than watch Trot Nixon try to relive his glory days.

Conclusion

Last season showed us that the keys to a successful team are pitching and defense, so maybe not initially starting Garko at first isn’t such a bad idea. Hopefully we can build a strong defensive foundation at the beginning of the season, and can eventually integrate Garko into the lineup later in the season. Its hard to write this without starting to go off topic and bitch about how we have too many players that play the same positions, but I will leave that for a later post.

 

Former Tribe Starter Builds Time Machine

Yes, its absolutely true. Jason Stanford, the Indians’ fifth starter out of spring training in 2004, is back. This time, he has appeared in the form of a non-roster spring training invitee, and even better, he brought his pitching arm with him. Three years of injuries spawning from ligament damage and Tommy John Surgery have sent Mr. Stanford into a world of mediocrity and few innings worked, and this year, he’s here to try and make the roster in any capacity that he can. Althought I’m surprised the man can even throw the ball, manager Eric Wedge seems to think Stanford has a snowball’s chance in hell of making the roster. “I think he has actually put himself back on the radar”, says Wedge. Stanford is definitely going to be an entertaining one to watch in camp, and his story is one that almost makes you pull for him.

C.C.C. – Spring Training Report for Monday, February 19

No its no typo, I’ve added another C to the end of Carlston Charles. Why? Lets take a look at this photo…..

 The man looks big to say the least, I think he may partake in John Kruk’s offseason workout program.  In other news, apparently all but 6 players have reported for camp, a deadline which looms on the 22nd of February. One of these players is Jhonny Peralta, who has “devoted” himself this offseason to improving his physical condition, his range, and his defense. Lets hope he didn’t spend any time with C.C. this winter. Thanks to cleveland.com, and a big thanks to you, the reader. Hey, the first spring training game is 10 days away!!!

  

Closer Situation

Well I guess i could say that I’m surprised Keith Foulke retired, but really that would be like saying I’m surprised that the Browns lost a game. This retirement, although not expected, isn’t totally shocking. At least Foulke retiring is better than him getting injured, something that seemed a huge possibility, for the rest of the year and the team being thrown into a bullpen frenzy so early into a promising season. So I guess in that sense it is good. The move saves the club some money, and we are in a position where we can make deals at the deadline if we need to bolster the bullpen. I’m really hoping that Fernando Cabrera steps up this year, he has such promising stuff. Hopefully the WBC screwed him up last year, and this year he can take a promising step towards a future setup role and possibly even a role as the everyday closer. I am praying that Borowski isn’t consistently injured, because I don’t think that I can take Roberto Hernandez closing for very long. Heres hoping that the bullpen stays together, cause it is THE key in helping us win the division.

The Spirit

 Interesting Video I found with Slider engaging in battle with two other lame “mascots”, just trying to figure out how to post video. Enjoy.