Indians sign Ensberg

Here are his numbers:

by APV on Jun 17, 2008 1:06 PM EDT 0 recs

Championship!

by NickFantana on Jun 17, 2008 1:12 PM EDT 0 recs

In all honesty, this is pretty clearly a move to try and set the single-season DFA record. It’ll give us something to cheer for in September.

by NickFantana on Jun 17, 2008 1:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

Hey, this makes the Jason Tyner signing look a lot better now.

by Toxicadam on Jun 17, 2008 1:14 PM EDT 0 recs

something about marte.

by Brick. on Jun 17, 2008 1:18 PM EDT 0 recs

Something about BABIP. Bathrooms and kitchens.

Steel Nick

by nickjs21 on Jun 17, 2008 6:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ah good. Here’s an example of what Hafner could look like in a year (if you follow the chuck line of thought that Hafner is degenerating, which certainly has its merits).

by hans on Jun 17, 2008 1:24 PM EDT 0 recs

so you think they signed him so that Hafner can look at him in the Buffalo dugout and think happy thoughts?

by APV on Jun 17, 2008 1:25 PM EDT up 0 recs

Well they can probaby meet up for a couple of beers somewhere in between Buffalo and Cleveland (lets say that ole’ bright spot on the map…Youngstown, OH) and share a few beers talking about the old days when the homeruns flowed like wine.

by hans on Jun 17, 2008 2:04 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ensberg has been bearded before, Casey might get jealous.

by KevinV on Jun 17, 2008 1:26 PM EDT 0 recs

He appears to be doing ‘the twist’ in that picture. Desperately.

by peter m on Jun 17, 2008 1:27 PM EDT up 0 recs

I do see the fear in his eyes.

by KevinV on Jun 17, 2008 1:30 PM EDT up 0 recs

Oh please. Casey’s beard is a professional. That beard is merely semi-pro.

Hard truth: Your eyes lie.

by AngG on Jun 17, 2008 2:26 PM EDT up 0 recs

True, but everyone knows what a beard-hound Wedge is. Casey’s just trying to keep his man.

by KevinV on Jun 17, 2008 2:30 PM EDT up 0 recs

WTF?

Burn on, big river, burn on...

by Turkmenbashi on Jun 17, 2008 1:37 PM EDT 0 recs

W WTF?

It’s a minor league signing. Just because Ensberg recently was not a washed-up vet doesn’t mean he isn’t a washed-up vet now — and signed to an appropriate deal.

by Jay on Jun 17, 2008 3:32 PM EDT up 0 recs

Admittedly quick with the trigger finger there, didn’t realize it was a minor league signing. Meh.

Burn on, big river, burn on...

by Turkmenbashi on Jun 17, 2008 3:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

Well, BP projected Ensberg to have a .249/.368/.457 line at Petco, and a .256/.377/.489 line in an uber-neutral playing environment, with a 43% improve rate, a 33% attrition rate, and a 27% collapse rate. So I guess it’s fair to say that he’s fallen a bit short of expectations this year, but at least PECOTA still sees some upside in him. He’s only making $1.7 million this year, so I think I officially like this move.

Does this mean Marte has reached the end of the line?

by Cap'n Snegiryov on Jun 17, 2008 1:42 PM EDT 0 recs

I think his salary is all picked up by the Yankees. I would assume we signed him to a new deal, probably for the minimum.

It seems like maybe it’s insurance at first what with Aubrey on the DL. If they trade Garko, who’d they play there right now? Jordan Brown? Cause it certainly won’t be Blake.

by NickFantana on Jun 17, 2008 1:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

That’s a good point. I forgot about the Aubrey situation.

Wonder if we are shopping Garko? I wouldn’t be surprised.

by Cap'n Snegiryov on Jun 17, 2008 1:50 PM EDT up 0 recs

We could be shopping Blake too. Last year of his contract, no way do we resign him. If we are selling pieces, why not?

by KevinV on Jun 17, 2008 1:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

Blasphemy … Wedge will have your head for such a suggestion.

(me, I’d love to have Blake traded too, I just don’t see it happening; not to mention we’d have no more Wedge/Blake photoshop pics to look forward to)

by talonk on Jun 17, 2008 2:10 PM EDT up 0 recs

I disagree. The photoshops woudl just change from romantic comedies to stories of love lost.

by KevinV on Jun 17, 2008 2:19 PM EDT up 2 recs

See? There’s plenty of opportunity with or without Blake on our actual team.

by KevinV on Jun 17, 2008 9:53 PM EDT up 9 recs

so. so. wrong.

by Brick. on Jun 17, 2008 11:25 PM EDT up 0 recs

+1 on the “Music by John Adams” and “Grit by Industrial Blake and Carrol.” Maybe I’m just a movie geek.

by Pronk33 on Jun 17, 2008 11:47 PM EDT up 0 recs

Can you unsee things?

Proud supporter of the Cleveland.

by fwembt on Jun 18, 2008 9:57 AM EDT up 0 recs

Holy -

by Voltaire on Jun 18, 2008 3:40 PM EDT up 0 recs

I must be getting old, I was able to contain myself from making a play off “Wedge will have your head for such a suggestion.”

And I disagree, because instead of romantic comedy parodies we could use DRAMA!

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/411/coldmountainwedgeblaketa1.jpg

And the only reason I got beat to this punchline is I was doing the photoshop… alas.

by danvail on Jun 17, 2008 3:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

by danvail on Jun 17, 2008 3:23 PM EDT up 5 recs

When did Larry Dolan ever win an AL pennant?

by Jay on Jun 17, 2008 3:31 PM EDT up 0 recs

Eh, in fantasy land. I needed a tagline.

by danvail on Jun 17, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

Casey does have some real value as a super-utility guy—a lot of teams would appreciate his ability to play four different positions and provide league average offense. Definitely one of our more tradeable pieces.

by Cap'n Snegiryov on Jun 17, 2008 2:20 PM EDT up 0 recs

I absolutely agree. Shapiro got Asdrubal for Perez, he should be able to get something good for Blake.

by KevinV on Jun 17, 2008 2:31 PM EDT up 0 recs

But Bill Bavasi got canned.

Free Andy Marte!

Pronk Needs You

by woodsmeister on Jun 17, 2008 3:07 PM EDT up 1 recs

... so what you’re saying is that the GM who gives us something for Blake will lose his job in June 2009 …

The 2008 Cleveland Indians: Home of the Triple Steal, Unassisted Triple Play, and not a heck of a lot more.

by westbrook on Jun 17, 2008 7:30 PM EDT up 0 recs

We’re definitely paying him the minimum — in fact, we’re probably paying him the minor-league minimum until/unless he gets to the majors, at which point it’s the major league minimum. The over/under on what he’ll cost is something like 120K.

by Jay on Jun 17, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

that’s actually quite wonderful.

I suppose that not only does this open up the possibility of a Blake trade, but it could also open up the possibility for Blake moving back to the OF or super-sub role if we decide to include Frank or one of our other OF in a trade.

by Cap'n Snegiryov on Jun 17, 2008 3:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

I guess, if you think Ensberg is actually good enough to play regularly in the majors. I’m not so sure of that. I think this is a low risk/high reward move, banking on the off chance that Ensberg regains some semblence of what he used to be. Its not a bad move, but i doubt it has anything to do with any future moves where Ensberg ends up playing a significant amount of time at any position. This does however give us some depth at 3B (although Ensberg was terrible this year in RZR at 3B for the Yanks) in the minors if they do end up trading Blake (or Marte) and going with only one 3B on the major league roster (I imagine Carroll can play there in a pinch if an injury occurs during a game).

by hans on Jun 17, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

If it’s ultimately a sell-off year, though, you don’t really care about a guy’s razor—as Shapiro said of the 3B after 2002, “If we’re not contending, then it’s not a hole, it’s a gap.” That gap’s name was Casey Blake.

by Jay on Jun 17, 2008 5:21 PM EDT up 0 recs

I am picturing right now the fanpost we will get from the unsuspecting fans of a team that just traded for Blake. So what is the LGT opinion of Casey Blake, how will he contribute to our club?

by Roger Dorn on Jun 17, 2008 7:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

We tell them we’ll be disappointed if Blake isn’t wearing his Indians uniform while posing for his HOF picture.

by elsandito on Jun 17, 2008 7:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

The Bisons web page confirms this. He’ll be active tonight. The catcher they recalled when Aubrey was put on the DL was sent back down. Sounds as if he was called up just to keep a seat warm for someone else.

http://buffalo.bisons.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080617&content_id=418626&vkey=pr_t422&fext=.jsp&sid=t422

by peter m on Jun 17, 2008 2:04 PM EDT 0 recs

i’ll add the link now

by APV on Jun 17, 2008 4:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

I always thought Ensberg was under-valued during his prime. Therefore, I like this move for emotional reasons, no-matter his current value.

by Voltaire on Jun 17, 2008 3:00 PM EDT 0 recs

Because of the limited money, I agree it’s not a bad move. But in his prime he was playing in Miniature Made Park. I wonder what his home/road splits look like in his best years.

"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter

by Denver Tribe Fan on Jun 17, 2008 5:08 PM EDT up 0 recs

2005 looks to pretty easily be his best year, and his splits were:

I Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip sOPS+ tOPS+ Split
--—-——---—---------—---—---—--—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-——-+
Home 75 72 300 249 40 72 12 1 20 49 45 6 55 5 0 1 1 6 2 2 .289 .407 .586 .993 .297 158 110 Home
Away 75 75 324 277 46 77 18 2 16 52 40 3 64 3 0 4 1 6 4 5 .278 .370 .531 .901 .303 144 91 Away

THAT’s a mess. Here’s the link.

The result? Not that much of a pronounced split at all. In fact, it’s probably about normal.

by Voltaire on Jun 17, 2008 6:55 PM EDT up 0 recs

Actually, you can tell how normal it is from the next-to-last line, sOPS+, which compares this player’s numbers for that split against the rest of the league for that split. So Ensberg was 58% above-average at home and 44% above-average away. Not a huge difference considering the sample, but definitely a difference. But then again, it’s not his fault his home-park was a bandbox, and he was still 44% above-average in the other parks.

by Jay on Jun 18, 2008 12:41 AM EDT up 0 recs

Thanks for pointing that out – I keep forgetting things such as sOPS+ exist. Is there anyplace I can find what a “normal” home/road split is? I’ve actually never seen a reference to it.

by Voltaire on Jun 18, 2008 3:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

I don’t see this as a terrible move.

by mjschaefer on Jun 17, 2008 3:07 PM EDT 0 recs

This does remind me of a pre-trade, reinforce the depth move. Too bad I can’t think of a specific example right now…. Oh, and [obligatory Marte comment].

by Pronk33 on Jun 17, 2008 3:08 PM EDT 0 recs

DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING

by Jay on Jun 17, 2008 3:31 PM EDT up 0 recs

The Blake thing, which always seemed counter-shapiroan – just getting his value up so we can sell high? This has been how I’ve comforted myself for the past few months.

by joeee on Jun 17, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

Don’t tease me, Joe. /excited anyway

by fleerdon on Jun 17, 2008 3:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

Blake to the Giants would make perfect sense if he was a few years older. But Sabean was on record a few weeks back saying when he looks around, he sees a team that could finish in third place. If Casey Blake can’t get them to third place, I don’t know who can.

by xrickx on Jun 17, 2008 4:06 PM EDT up 3 recs

New SF Giants chant: We’re Number 3!! We’re Number 3!!

by elsandito on Jun 17, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

POTW.

by Jay on Jun 17, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

+1

"It's hard to win when you don't score." Cliff Lee, 9/28/05.

by Harry Doyle on Jun 17, 2008 5:21 PM EDT up 0 recs

How about Casey Blake AND Paul Byrd. There’s a better recipe for third place.

The 2008 Cleveland Indians: Home of the Triple Steal, Unassisted Triple Play, and not a heck of a lot more.

by westbrook on Jun 17, 2008 4:29 PM EDT up 0 recs

Just so the masses know that I was telling the truth about Sabean.

by xrickx on Jun 17, 2008 6:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

So did I win the Alex Escobar autographed ball or the lifetime supply of Stadium Mustard?

by Pronk33 on Jun 17, 2008 9:02 PM EDT up 0 recs

At a position which we’ve not gotten much production this year at the major-league level and for which we don’t have a viable AAA replacement option we signed a guy for next to nothing who is 2.5 years removed from being a valuable major leaguer. Morgan Ensberg will not prevent a Wes Hodges (our best AA option) Buffalo promotion if he suddenly starts OPSing 1.100 (which he’s not doing in Akron now). Ensberg may turn out to be Russell Branyan 2.0 (3.0, 4.0…?), but we give up as near to nothing as is possible. What’s not to like? And at least there’s one more player of interest in the Bisons boxscore now.

by APV on Jun 17, 2008 4:33 PM EDT 0 recs

Ensberg. Droobs. Brown? Linden?

by ken from alexandria on Jun 17, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up 0 recs

I think I would rather have Russell Branyan and his 7 HRs and 20 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances thus far this year for MIL.

by hans on Jun 17, 2008 4:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

We had him for a day last year in Buffalo. And oh, what a glorious day it was!

Free Andy Marte!

Pronk Needs You

by woodsmeister on Jun 17, 2008 4:59 PM EDT up 0 recs

Buffalo gets all the good players

by hans on Jun 17, 2008 5:02 PM EDT up 3 recs

In what way does Ensberg compare to Branyan?

by dgcambridge on Jun 17, 2008 6:51 PM EDT up 0 recs

Let’s see…when we signed Branyan last year he was 31 and coming off a major-league season in which he’d split time between several clubs, showing a terrible batting average (.200something), decent on-base skills considering the average (.300something), and decent power as a primary skill (.400something). Ensberg meets everyone of those criteria except that he’s 32 instead of 31.

by APV on Jun 17, 2008 6:56 PM EDT up 0 recs

Sorry if that came off snotty (or “fratty”? did I use that right?), just wondering what point you were making.

But honestly, I had totally forgotten about Branyan’s return tour with the organization. Did I mention that I was once the proud owner of a Branyan jersey?

by dgcambridge on Jun 17, 2008 7:31 PM EDT up 0 recs