Westbrook to DL, BenFran called up
The Indians, struggling along with offensive problems this season, ran into more trouble today when starting righthander Jake Westbrook was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left intercostal strain.
To replace Westbrook on the roster, the Indians recalled outfielder Ben Francisco, one of the last players cut at the end of spring training.
7 months ago
rolub
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Fancy term for a rib injury…
Let’s look at this as an opportunity for some guy to step up and establish himself in the rotation (like Fausto last year).
Yankees and Red Sox - MLB's Axis of Evil
(And ESPN is right in the middle)
by Spidey on Apr 22, 2008 1:48 PM EDT 0 recs
Left intercostal strain is something at the bottom of the rib cage. They must have discovered it when he was throwing between starts. I hope this isn’t one of those things that takes forever to heal.
I think that uses up Francisco’s options (I.e., they can’t send him back down), so either they’re going to dump someone when they call up a pitcher to take Westbrook’s slot (isn’t he scheduled to pitch the first game after the KC series?) or they’re going to try to get by with 4 starters for the next week or so. I suspect the former: maybe Michaels?
by peter m on Apr 22, 2008 1:49 PM EDT 0 recs
think that uses up Francisco’s options
i’ll do this so jay doesn’t have to. his option was used up at the end of spring training. they can send him up and down all year if they like.
by Brick. on
Apr 22, 2008 1:53 PM EDT
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This should honestly be at the end of the registration form.
“Welcome to LGT, here’s what an option means”
by supermarioelia on
Apr 22, 2008 6:26 PM EDT
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hmmm, so the question is, is bfran up until westbrook’s next spot in the rotation . . . or, could this signal the beginning of the end for michaels?
probably the former.
by macasson on Apr 22, 2008 1:50 PM EDT 0 recs
I looked at the schedule, and they have no off days for at least a week. So, they’re going to call someone up, I think. Michaels’ days are numbered. My guess is we see Laffey called up over the weekend (they just won’t do anything until they have to, in case someone else goes on the dl.)
by peter m on Apr 22, 2008 1:52 PM EDT 0 recs
Assuming they can send Francisco back down, they may not have to release Michaels (see post above). But, if Francisco plays and hits, they may have a dilemma anyway.
by peter m on
Apr 22, 2008 1:57 PM EDT
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Yep, they can call Ben Fran up and down all they want this season.
by Voltaire on
Apr 22, 2008 2:16 PM EDT
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HIRE LAFFEY
Sizemore-Shapiro 2008. The Official Red Bull of Let's Go Tribe Game Threads.
by Gradyforpresident on Apr 22, 2008 2:02 PM EDT 0 recs
ang?
Sizemore-Shapiro 2008. The Official Red Bull of Let's Go Tribe Game Threads.
by Gradyforpresident on
Apr 22, 2008 2:21 PM EDT
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i had one of these in highschool. not serious, but it kinda hurts and it’s tough to get rid of. stretching and strengthening the muscles in between the ribs is difficult.
i would think benfran would be eating up more of gutz’ playing time than michaels’. though he’s probably only up for a few days.
by emil minty on Apr 22, 2008 2:06 PM EDT 0 recs
I hate the intercoastal waterway. I mean, be a river already. Geez.
by NickFantana on Apr 22, 2008 2:13 PM EDT 0 recs
this is ironinc. i’ve been going around the office all morning talking about the remaining jet lag i have. “I had a great trip, but have a little left intercostal strain”
by Brick. on
Apr 22, 2008 2:26 PM EDT
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Not to be overly personal, but I’ve always felt you and I have a shared sense of ironiny, Brick.
by NickFantana on
Apr 22, 2008 2:48 PM EDT
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no doubt about it. or was that the other nick? that would be ironick.
by Brick. on
Apr 22, 2008 3:06 PM EDT
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So who’s on pace to take his spot based on rotation timing in Buffalo?
by Voltaire on Apr 22, 2008 2:18 PM EDT 0 recs
they need a 5th pitcher by Saturday
Laffey is ready to go Thursday, unless you want to hold him over to go against NY Friday or Saturday (on FOX)
by palcal on
Apr 22, 2008 3:03 PM EDT
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So if your Andy Marte, how good do you feel now? The only shot at more PT with Blake still playing is if Blake moves. And this says Blake isn’t moving, at least to the outfield.
by JK in CBus on Apr 22, 2008 2:31 PM EDT 0 recs
Unless Shap is on the verge of a deal, Ben will be back in Buffalo by Saturday. He’s only up so the roster spot isn’t wasted the next four days.
by SuddenSam on
Apr 22, 2008 2:38 PM EDT
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Yeah, but if Francisco plays and goes on a short-term tear, they will be in an embarrassing situation sending him down keeping guys who are hitting below .200.
by peter m on
Apr 22, 2008 3:39 PM EDT
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Four days is pretty short term. If he sits next to Marte, Wedge may never notice he’s there.
by SuddenSam on
Apr 22, 2008 3:56 PM EDT
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He might spot Francisco by accident when avoiding looking at Marte.
by peter m on
Apr 22, 2008 4:29 PM EDT
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I can see Wedge playing Francisco over Michaels, just to rub it in to Marte.
by supermarioelia on
Apr 22, 2008 6:28 PM EDT
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i know jay’s had to explain it to me like three times.
by emil minty on
Apr 22, 2008 6:39 PM EDT
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Which is the point. The FO thinks they need some offensive help. So where do they look? To the bench? Nope. That guy hitting .208 in AAA is a better option.
by JK in CBus on
Apr 22, 2008 4:04 PM EDT
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I’m going to support rolub’s comment count because we went to high school together.
Il faut d'abord durer.
by CU Adam on Apr 22, 2008 3:32 PM EDT 0 recs
YES WE CAN ADAM!
(i apologize if my pilfered slogan strikes anyone the wrong way).
but seriously… Atom Millers’ link goes in FanShots, but Westbrook on the DL doesn’t?
this new SBN is weird.
You know Selig? Ombudsman.
by rolub on
Apr 22, 2008 3:50 PM EDT
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In the interest of justice, I have replaced the FanPost on the front page with this FanShot, which was both more timely and more appropriate. I apologize for the error.
by Jay on Apr 22, 2008 3:54 PM EDT 0 recs
if they didn’t plan on using Francisco, why wouldn’t they just call up another relief arm instead?
by ASP on Apr 22, 2008 3:58 PM EDT 0 recs
Good question. They did that maneuver repeatedly last season. Maybe they’re showcasing Francisco for a trade.
by Jay on
Apr 22, 2008 3:59 PM EDT
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Maybe the guy who goes when they need that fifth starter will be Jason Michaels.
Free Andy Marte!
by woodsmeister on
Apr 22, 2008 4:03 PM EDT
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Maybe Mark Shapiro is on a bender and intends to use Michaels’ and Francisco’s stats from the next 3 games as his only source of data in choosing between them and then he’ll sign the “winner” to a Longoria-contract or “Lon-tract” for short.
by NickFantana on
Apr 22, 2008 4:08 PM EDT
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only because Blake will get his chance at closing.
You know Selig? Ombudsman.
by rolub on
Apr 22, 2008 4:12 PM EDT
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the indians have hardly used Mastny, an 8th reliever would be used less than Marte
they need another starter by Saturday anyway
by palcal on
Apr 22, 2008 4:10 PM EDT
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Plus, which reliever would they call up? No one’s been doing much. My guess is they figure the team isn’t hitting, so why not bring up another bat—maybe he’ll do something and spark the team. Whether he sticks or not is irrelevant.
by peter m on
Apr 22, 2008 4:31 PM EDT
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Interesting – when the other thread was closed, I was unable to use “z” to mark comments as read. Odd.
by Voltaire on Apr 22, 2008 5:48 PM EDT 0 recs
At some point out luck has to turn. It’s gotta.
by supermarioelia on Apr 22, 2008 6:29 PM EDT 0 recs
I detect the hand of Dustin Pedroia in this.
--
Right now, I'll take .500 and run. I'm a cheap happy.
by vbc3 on Apr 22, 2008 6:38 PM EDT 0 recs
Paul Cousineau of TheClevelandFan.com thinks that either Michaels or Marte will be DFA’d to make room for Laffey. He doesn’t explain why it shouldn’t be BenFran going back to Buffalo, except to suggest without amplification that this would be illogical. I don’t spend time crawling through Tribe blogs, so I don’t know if what this guy says is worth reading.
by Fiddlesticks on Apr 22, 2008 8:00 PM EDT 1 recs
Paul Cousineau is the hackiest hack that ever hacked. Poorly educated, to boot.
by fleerdon on
Apr 22, 2008 8:09 PM EDT
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I have no idea what prompts this or if you’re serious, but Paul (better known as the Diatriber) is one of the very best Indians bloggers out there, if you ask me. You possibly are confusing/conflating him with some of the other writers on that site.
by Jay on
Apr 22, 2008 9:05 PM EDT
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I have to disagree with Paul, although Francisco’s callup is a curious choice. I’m not sure what would prompt the Indians to ditch a piece of their depth when they’re perfectly free to send Francisco back to Buffalo, losing nothing and costing nothing. And why should Westbrook going on the DL occasion any move with the bench?
Here’s one argument you could make in favor of this speculation, though. Ordinarily, you want to dump a guy, you basically have to DFA him and then work a three-day clock to get him traded. This situation gives them an opportunity to announce to potential trading partners, “We’re basically doing a seven-day DFA on this player. That is, if we haven’t already traded him in the next four days, we’re going to DFA him at that point to make room for a starter. So let’s get something done.”
In this way, they would get the positive effects of a DFA (the deadline prompts action) but a few extra days to work out the best possible deal. I think this ultimately amounts to over-thinking the situation … but I could see it.
by Jay on
Apr 22, 2008 9:11 PM EDT
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That’s exactly my thought process Jay, particularly because of Francisco being the “curious choice”. Why do they need a 5th OF with the same skill set (in theory) as Michaels, even for a few days? And the extra time before they need Laffey to start on Saturday!
Why, it’s just too perfect.
But, me…overthink? Never.
By the way, Tyler does jest. He’s turned me on to Boodles Gin among other things in the past few years, despite the fact that he attended the lesser Jesuit high school on the shores of Lake Erie.
by The DiaTriber on
Apr 22, 2008 9:50 PM EDT
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“Lesser.” Pfft. Don’t listen to him, folks. That’s one of the precious few things “this guy” says that isn’t worth reading.
by fleerdon on
Apr 22, 2008 10:27 PM EDT
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Lesser for sure, but shores of Lake Erie Walsh isn’t.
Il faut d'abord durer.
by CU Adam on
Apr 23, 2008 12:09 AM EDT
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the shores of wyoga lake doesn’t sound nearly as good though. regardless, tyler has the correct opinion here anyway – paul is apparently a confused soul. poor guy.
by Thommy on
Apr 23, 2008 6:46 AM EDT
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Sounds like some Titans in our midst.
I love the fact that a debate of the best Jesuit High School in Northern Ohio has sprung up…and that Thommy knows that WJHS is on the shores of Wyoga Lake, catching how I attempted to exclude them from the original equation.
by The DiaTriber on
Apr 23, 2008 8:25 AM EDT
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somebody please tell me why calling up our best (this year’s small sample size excluded) and most ML ready (but still a prospect) bat from AAA is a ‘curious choice.’ I don’t care if he’s our 5th outfielder, 6th starter, or 3rd catcher – just find me the best hitter you can and put him on the bus.
Occam, people. Occam.
by Thommy on
Apr 23, 2008 6:51 AM EDT
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Typically a team (and particularly the Indians) will bolster their pen rather than their bench. The bench is kept at a bare minimum of four, but those four are rarely needed. On the other hand, you never know when you’ll suddenly need to eat 6-7 relief innings, and an extra reliever keeps the pen from getting burned substantially.
In short, the fifth bench player is much less likely to contribute - not to get in a game, but actually to make a difference - than the eighth reliever. Now if that hideous long-relief event actually happens, they can switch Francisco out for a reliever, but they’d end up burning-then-demoting Mastny in that situation rather than someone who’s definitively only up for a cup of coffee.
by Jay on
Apr 23, 2008 12:57 PM EDT
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we’ll just disagree on this point. when you need an 8th reliever, the game doesn’t matter – it’s a blowout and you’re just looking to soak up innings – a role which mastny/juio/breslow can handle for a single game. when you need another hitter with power from the right side, though, that hitter can actually win the game. big difference in my eyes.
regardless, i don’t think either you or i are correct. they could go either way and shouldn’t be faulted for it. i mean if they were playing .700 ball right now – would we care?
by Thommy on
Apr 24, 2008 12:41 AM EDT
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It matters for the next game, possibly several, whether the mop-up guy is just some dude you don’t care if you ship off to Buffalo the next day, or one or two of your more significant bullpen guys that you’d like to be available the next two days.
by Jay on
Apr 25, 2008 2:11 PM EDT
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I think you have to look at their choices. They could call up a relief pitcher for whom they have no use or call up a starter who won’t pitch until the weekend. Why not call up a bat, especially since the team hasn’t been hitting? If that’s the logical move, it’s Francisco or Barfield. Calling up Barfield isn’t consistent with their plan for him, which is to have him really work on his approach at the plate over an extended period. He’d sit on the bench if he were called up. Francisco seems to be less important to them in the long-term (rightly or wrongly), so they called him up to give them another guy on the bench (pinch-hitter, maybe even to spell Gutierrez, since he’s hit righties well in the past). DFA’ing Marte seems really unlikely—would the team be comfortable with Carroll as the back-up 3rd baseman (what if Blake gets hurt?). I believe Wedge when he says Francisco will probably be sent back this weekend.
by peter m on
Apr 23, 2008 11:35 AM EDT
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