Francisco told to meet team in New York
Could replace Michaels as reported in the Plain Dealer on Sunday.
2 months ago
palcal
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I don’t think anyone’s claiming Francisco will be our savior…just that he’ll be a positive improvement on what we’ve currently got going. And I’d be wary of his numbers so far this season as an indicator of his ability. At the risk of illiciting Jay’s ire, I’ll say that Francisco has been a very consistent hitter in the minors. His minor league numbers suggest he should, given consistent playing time, be able to put up something like a .275/.345/.455 line while regularly making solid contact.
by APV on
May 5, 2008 7:13 AM EDT
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what is this “solid contact” of which you speak? Having only watched the Tribe this year, I’ve never heard of it.
by JulioBernazard on
May 5, 2008 7:29 AM EDT
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I suppose if Asdrubal could provide a spark last year, anyone can…
by DixonCayne on
May 5, 2008 7:40 AM EDT
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I don’t think anyone’s claiming Francisco will be our savior
claiming? no. hopeing? maybe just a little.
can adam miller hit?
by Brick. on
May 5, 2008 10:04 AM EDT
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This is, at best, an “energy” move, but let’s not forget, promoting AbaCab last August was basically the same thing.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 10:06 AM EDT
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right. hoping the move coincides with everyone else waking up – not that he’ll lead the team in OPS
by Brick. on
May 5, 2008 10:09 AM EDT
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I already suggested that! He could hit clean up (he’d easily hit more homers than the clean up hitters have so far—total of 1).
by peter m on
May 5, 2008 10:18 AM EDT
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If this recent offensive rut causes us to lose a few games, but forces the FO to bring up Francisco on the team and play Marte at 3rd base. It’s probably worth it..
by Toxicadam on May 5, 2008 9:04 AM EDT 0 recs
palcal, I hope you don’t mind, I switched the link before promoting to the front page. The only “original reporting” in the MLB or PD articles was that Wedge wanted to make a move, plus a bunch of speculation and re-reportign. The fact that Francisco actually has been told to report was originally broken by the Buffalo News in this article, so I felt we should point people to the original source for the best detail.
by Jay on May 5, 2008 9:33 AM EDT 0 recs
i just don’t see how it can’t be michaels. i hope it means that blake will see some time in the outfield (if he has to see time) and marte and frisco get worked into the lineup periodically
by Brick. on May 5, 2008 10:01 AM EDT 0 recs
I don’t see that swapping out Michaels for Francisco will open up any time for Blake in the outfield.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 10:04 AM EDT
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While we’re all here, have we settled on Francisco’s nickname?
by NickFantana on
May 5, 2008 10:07 AM EDT
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I’ve always favored Generalissimo (often, in all caps with added exclamation marks).
by Toxicadam on
May 5, 2008 10:28 AM EDT
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Aren’t nicknames supposed to be shorter than the actual name though?
Maybe we can nickname the nickname. How about just Simo?
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 10:50 AM EDT
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The ‘Cisco Kid?
--
Right now, I'll take .500 and run. I'm a cheap happy.
by vbc3 on
May 5, 2008 4:06 PM EDT
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With respect to Alien Nation, how about just “Sam”
by DixonCayne on
May 5, 2008 5:42 PM EDT
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I’m going to suggest, humbly if I can, that we go with “Cisco.” It’s short and snappy.
It also happens that there’s a fictional character who was of African-American descent and quite fond of baseball …
... and that character’s name, incredibly, was “Ben Sisko.”
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 7:45 PM EDT
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Hell, that’s an even better reason.
Come on, man, Ben Sisko! Freaky coincidence, right?
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 10:00 PM EDT
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Oh, definitely. You’ve got me all geared up for a DS9 vs. B5 debate to boot.
by fleerdon on
May 5, 2008 10:31 PM EDT
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Aren’t nicknames supposed to be shorter than the actual name though?
Georgia Peach > Ty
Splendid Splinter > Ted
Charlie Hustle > Pete
Rapid Robert > Bob
by SuddenSam on
May 5, 2008 9:39 PM EDT
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I’m sure Chuck will confirm, nobody on LGT was typing out “Rapid Robert” back in the day.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 9:57 PM EDT
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I can’t speak for Chuck, but it sure beat chiseling “The Heater from Van Meter” on a stone tablet.
by SuddenSam on
May 6, 2008 12:48 AM EDT
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Any chance we should wait until he has actually done something in the major leagues before we give him a nickname?
Proud supporter of the Cleveland.
by fwembt on
May 5, 2008 2:14 PM EDT
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Well, the guy did hit a walk-off homer in his very first major league start. That’s something, right?
Next two games, he hit another home run and two doubles.
Game after that, he was sent in as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning and hit a game-tying home run.
It is no doubt this incredible first impression that has all Indians partisans, including me and possibly Eric Wedge himself, irrationally excited about his present and future with the team.
Nobody remembers, of course, that he had a 412 OPS for the next three weeks, and that had he looked at all like a big-leaguer over that stretch, we’d have never traded for Lofton.
By the way, that pinch-hit home run? He was pinch-hitting for Jason Michaels.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 5:04 PM EDT
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first base? i feel like this has to be more complex than francisco will start when lefties face us and everything esle stays the same…
by Brick. on
May 5, 2008 10:08 AM EDT
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Francisco could also DH against lefties if they really decide Hafner needs to sit. I doubt it, but there would be less howling than there would be if you substituted Michaels for Hafner, I suspect.
By the way, other than letting Marte play, why would we WANT Blake to play the outfield at the moment? Is he really so crucial to the team’s success that he needs to turn it around? As a third baseman, yes (since they don’t have a good option). But, if he doesn’t play third regularly, he’s a spare part, I think, similar to Carroll.
by peter m on
May 5, 2008 10:24 AM EDT
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who said they wanted him to? not me. i said if he has to see time – which unfortunately he ususally seems to.
by Brick. on
May 5, 2008 10:32 AM EDT
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On another front, it’s interesting that the Tigers seem to be just as frazzled as the Indians. Leyland is threatening big lineup changes after they got swept by the Twins and Willis did something to his knee, delaying his return. Chicago too—Ozzie says he won’t fire the hitting coach and is complaining about all the suggested line up shuffles. Sounds like we’re not alone. That doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better or make the Indians more fun to watch. But, I guess a deep breath might be in order.
by peter m on May 5, 2008 10:41 AM EDT 0 recs
All the great teams in the AL Central the past few years have given way to crap.
by gahnki on
May 5, 2008 11:48 AM EDT
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Right now , the Twins look like the most stable team and that is without Santana and Liriano. Go figure.
by Toxicadam on
May 5, 2008 12:04 PM EDT
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One of their starters, Scott Baker, has some kind of injury requiring an MRI, so the Twins juggernaut may also be vulnerable!!
by peter m on
May 5, 2008 12:08 PM EDT
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woo hoo – we can win the division at 82-80!
The Disabled List just called ... it was trying to unload Joe Borowski. I offered a bagel but balked at giving up a ham sandwich. It wanted to keep Westbrook.
by westbrook on
May 5, 2008 12:22 PM EDT
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its a groin injury, but he’s not expected to miss more than one start.
by hans on
May 5, 2008 2:15 PM EDT
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From the version now up on the Indians website:
Francisco had a brief stay last month with the Tribe after Grady Sizemore hurt his ankle, but Francisco, who was 2-for-6, didn’t do much more than sit. “I guess those 10 days weren’t the right time for me,” he told The News.
In other news, Andy Marte has 13 ABs so far this season. “I guess those 35 days weren’t the right time for me, either.”
by Fiddlesticks on May 5, 2008 11:13 AM EDT 0 recs
This rankles me a bit, there’s a tinge of entitlement to it. Maybe he’s reading too much into his Triple-A batting title, which puts him in not-the-least-bit-rarified air with the likes of Jacob Cruz. This guy has not hit his way into the bigs, he’s merely a reasonable option who is evidently well liked by his manager.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 11:30 AM EDT
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IMO, going off press clippings rarely gives you a true idea of what a person is like.
by gahnki on
May 5, 2008 11:49 AM EDT
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I’m not making a final judgment on the guy, but it seemed like an arbitrary and snippy thing to say. Yes, Ben, we were not dying to have you and your .260 slugging on our roster for the last ten days, crazy as that may sound.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 12:50 PM EDT
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Well, to me, that statement suggests he is bored with Buffalo and believe it is his time to get a shot in the majors. Something I can’t disagree with at all. We’ve all seen players who have spent a long time in the minors get bored of it. This may be the case with Francisco.
by gahnki on
May 5, 2008 4:42 PM EDT
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Yeah, I know … it’s only Phillips and Marte who aren’t allowed to be “bored with Buffalo,” it’s totally fine for Garko and Cisco.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 5:07 PM EDT
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I think Marte was bored as well.
That’s why his numbers declined in his last season there.
by gahnki on
May 5, 2008 5:08 PM EDT
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Don’t forget Barfield, who is probably popping AAA-Ritalin as we speak.
by fleerdon on
May 5, 2008 8:10 PM EDT
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So who is going to go? I think almost everyone here hopes to see Michaels go, but somehow I just don’t see it happening.
I don’t know that Marte is a viable solution at the moment—can we stick another bat in the lineup that’s hitting low .200s? (Though I suppose he’d just be replacing Blake). Keeping Michaels over Marte would be the first move this team makes in a while that upsets me a lot; no doubt they know more than me about all things baseball, but from where we all sit, Marte hasn’t been given a chance at all, and Michaels is a known commodity and all signs are showing that he’s well on his way down. Not that he’s an odds-on Brandon Phillips situation, but it’d be frustrating to watch him go elsewhere and have any sort of success with a new team.
Il faut d'abord durer.
by CU Adam on May 5, 2008 11:39 AM EDT 0 recs
Keeping Michaels over Marte wouldn’t make much sense. We’d have six outfielders and no third basemen on the team.
by hans on
May 5, 2008 11:42 AM EDT
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beautiful! this is exactly the discourse I was looking for with my original comment. Blake may occasionally line up near the third base bag, but that must just be poor spacing of our four outfielders that Wedge keeps putting out there every game
by hans on
May 5, 2008 2:12 PM EDT
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It’s impossible to say Marte would turn out like Phillips, but if they were to DFA Marte, it would be the exact same scenario we went through and a major error in the evaluation process. I would be shocked if we go through it again.
by Roger Dorn on
May 5, 2008 12:12 PM EDT
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Well the difference is that BP put up great numbers in his trip back to AAA. Marte didn’t.
But it’s not really fair to compare those two fellows, as they have completely different circumstances around why they are riding the pine.
by Toxicadam on
May 5, 2008 12:28 PM EDT
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I’m hoping this is an ironic post, but in case it’s not (if it is, I apologize for being tone deaf):
Phillips’ stats from his last stint in Buffalo in 2005: 15 HR, OBP .326, SLG .409, OPS .735. I wouldn’t call those “great numbers;” Barfield has a chance to do that this year if he keeps hitting as he has been.
by peter m on
May 5, 2008 12:33 PM EDT
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Agreed. BP did not put up anything resembling “great numbers” in Buffalo at any point, and particularly not in his last year. Which is why no team was willing to give up anything more than a fringe reliever prospect in order to get him—not to mention, it’s the only reason we were willing to give him up.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 12:53 PM EDT
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Man, I didn’t even check. I had read from someone else that he came back to AAA and was doing well enough for a callup.
by Toxicadam on
May 5, 2008 1:04 PM EDT
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neither was handled as poorly as the ryan ludwick situation.
by Brick. on
May 5, 2008 1:04 PM EDT
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It’s got to be Michaels. If Blake continues to play like this, other than Marte, there’s no reasonable, immediate available option to play third base on a full-time basis. I’d rather take my chances with Marte than Andy Gonzalez.
by xrickx on
May 5, 2008 1:01 PM EDT
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I actually hope Michaels is not the guy to go. Who is saying it couldn’t be Breslow or Mastny?
The Disabled List just called ... it was trying to unload Joe Borowski. I offered a bagel but balked at giving up a ham sandwich. It wanted to keep Westbrook.
by westbrook on May 5, 2008 12:26 PM EDT 0 recs
This is a good point, but I think even a mediocre bullpen arm is more valuable than a platoon outfielder with poor numbers, even if he is good defensively (we’ve got a few of those already.)
Il faut d'abord durer.
by CU Adam on
May 5, 2008 12:46 PM EDT
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I don’t think Breslow has been bad enough to DFA, and he’s out of options.
Mastny could be (re-) optioned to Buffalo, but the Indians rarely go with a six-man bullpen, and never for very long.
by Jay on
May 5, 2008 12:54 PM EDT
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You know, I looked up Michaels recent numbers, and was surprised: in the last 7 games he played in, he’s 7 for 20 with 3 doubles (no walks, 4 K’s). If Francisco did that, we’d be relatively happy. Apart from shaking up the team a little, replacing Michaels with Francisco doesn’t do much. So, maybe there’s something else in the works?
by peter m on
May 5, 2008 1:44 PM EDT
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In the spirit of a small sample size, i will remind you that one of those doubles was a pop up that gritted its way in between 3 confused defenders. 6/20 with 2 doubles just doesn’t do it for me.
¡Free Chan Perry!
by TheVanillaGorilla on
May 5, 2008 3:34 PM EDT
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Well, if everyone on the team had gone 6 for 20 (plus one lucky hit), we’d have won virtually every game in the last week. This isn’t to defend Michaels or argue we should keep him, since he’s clearly a marginal player. But, it is to point out that substituting Francisco for Michaels, by itself, isn’t going to do much (unless it lights a fire under some other guys or something like that).
by peter m on
May 5, 2008 3:37 PM EDT
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There will be so much more gel to go around. Don’t underestimate the impact this could have on clubhouse chemistry.
¡Free Chan Perry!
by TheVanillaGorilla on
May 5, 2008 3:44 PM EDT
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I think they’re just bringing in Francisco to get Garko going.
by CBusSteve on
May 5, 2008 3:57 PM EDT
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I think we’re going to have to straight up release Michaels if he’s the one to go. Brad Wilkerson was recently released and unless you really needed a right handed bat, versus a lefty, I don’t know why you’d trade for Michaels when you could just sign Wilkerson. Thoughts?
FYI:
Wilkerson career OPS+107
Michaels career OPS+98
by Nat on May 5, 2008 1:01 PM EDT 0 recs
No…I’m just saying it will be that much more difficult to trade him rather than outright release him
by Nat on
May 5, 2008 4:48 PM EDT
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Castrovince confirms that it is Michaels who will be designated for assignment to make room for Francisco.
by mplswahoo on May 5, 2008 3:15 PM EDT 0 recs
Since Atlanta just acquired Greg Norton (Greg NORTON!!!!!) for a player to be named later or cash, it’s still possible the Indians will be able to get something for Michaels. But, I wouldn’t count on it, to be honest.
by peter m on
May 5, 2008 3:23 PM EDT
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