Just a Suggestion
During the 05-06 offseason a series of Roundtables were conducted for each AL Central Team. Questions were answered by each of the ALC SBN team moderators, which was a good way to gauge how we felt about our Tribe going into the season versus the opinions of our rivals. I think with the "new" cross-site system this could be even better nowadays. Jay and Ryan, are there any plans to reinstate this series? Or is The Cheat too scared?
about 3 years ago
kwoog
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Personally, i would love to see not only what other bloggers had to say about us, but also what Jay and Ryan had to say about other teams. Also, I am dying for some baseball anything. ANYTHinG . . PlEAse!!
Don't forget to pay your parking ticket.
by TheVanillaGorilla on Jan 30, 2009 5:23 AM EST reply actions
Bell’s Expedition Stout. Do not drink an entire six pack or you will become retarded.
Don't forget to pay your parking ticket.
by TheVanillaGorilla on Feb 1, 2009 1:10 PM EST up reply actions
Jesse of Twinkietown: There are two acquisitions I see as beneficial to the Indians organization. One is Andy Marte who, if he sees any time at all, will have every chance to steal the everyday job at third base.
Fail.
Carmona for Cy Young 2009
If Andy does OPS 1.10 this ST, all that means is that it will be harder to pass him through waivers. I could see somebody picking him up if he gets hot this spring and actually shows some power.
by woodsmeister on Jan 30, 2009 9:53 AM EST up reply actions
So we’re all cheering against Andy this spring then?
by supermarioelia on Jan 30, 2009 5:54 PM EST up reply actions
I suspect that being picked up by another team and getting a chance to start over with a different franchise would be the best thing that could happen to Andy Marte. It seems clear that he may never get out of Eric Wedge’s doghouse as long as he’s with this team.
by woodsmeister on Jan 31, 2009 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
yep. this is where i’m at.
i’m at my parents house this weekend and happened to notice an old AIM away message that read: “I love Andy Marte.” It’s from spring training 2006.
Anti-Ben Fran before it was cool.
by Gradyforpresident on Jan 31, 2009 3:13 PM EST up reply actions
OPS looks weird with only two decimal places…
by Logodaedalus on Jan 30, 2009 11:03 AM EST up reply actions
Marte sucks. End of story.
Burn on, big river, burn on...
by Turkmenbashi on Jan 30, 2009 12:12 PM EST up reply actions
I’m making no judgments as to how good he used to be. I think we never gave him a fair shot. I think he could have been great.
He was good. He could have been great. He is awful.
Burn on, big river, burn on...
by Turkmenbashi on Jan 30, 2009 4:42 PM EST up reply actions
Uh, no offense, but was this written before the start of the 2006 season, or at the latest, the start of the 2007 season?
Last time I checked, we’re about to start the 2009 season – this would be dubious at the beginning of the 2008 season. I’m just wanting to make sure i didn’t enter a time-warp here. :-)
The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.
because I really don’t want to make a whole post about this, and i feel free to spin off the “just a suggestion” title to this thread…
…if we could get him for what we gave Pavano ($1.5M guaranteed + incentives), would we have an interest in Andruw Jones? He was big pile of stinking poop bad in LA last year, but…
- he’s still an above average defender in CF
- presumably he could be a better than above average defender at either corner spot
- he’d provide protection for any outfield injuries, particularly in CF
- he was injured last year and presumably has quite a bit of room to bounce back
- he’s logged 11 games in the Dominican Winter League and, in that admittedly small sample, he has looked good (OPS over 1.000)
- wouldn’t he be a more valuable use of a roster spot than David Dellucci?
I ask because spring training is just two weeks away and Jones is still without a major league deal and one of the guys at THT suggested you’d be an idiot to give Jones any guaranteed money at all. But really?
I’m going to disagree about the “above average CF.” He was atrocious last year, just terrible.
Now he said he had knee problems and he’s only 32. If he can be had for a Pavano deal, why not do it?
Don't be stupid. PUT IN MELOAN.
You LOVE criticizing outfield defense. It’s your number one hobby.
by NickFantana on Jan 30, 2009 12:00 PM EST up reply actions
i want to snag someone out of this heap of guys still out there for a 1-year. let them help us win the W.S. and then they can get a big multi-year payday next offseason. win-win, literally.
I would love to get one of the OF’ers still out there. And every day that passes when Manny, Dunn, Abreu, Garret Anderson, Jones, Griffey are still out there, I hold out hope that Francisco will not be our only option in left to start the season. How long will these guys wait until they consider a one year or deeply discounted deal?
Jones might be a good choice because of the potential for a team friendly contract and his ability to play CF.
by Ryan Kelsey on Jan 30, 2009 10:45 AM EST up reply actions
NOOOOOOO NO NO.
Travis Hafner is overrated. Clarity is underrated. David Dellucci is David Dellucci.
Did you just find out that Toby is working in the Office again?
by Chief WaDrew on Jan 30, 2009 2:07 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t think Dellucci is going anywhere, but even if the brass decided to, I wouldn’t pick Jones as my first option to replace him. I think he might be able to bounce back to his 2007 offensive levels, but I think the defense is likely to get worse. The conditioning is an issue, so is the attitude. I’d rather see them sign Emil Brown.
I don’t think Emil Brown is bad; he doesn’t have Andruw Jones’ name recognition, but I think Brown could be a more consistent offensive threat (i.e. higher BA, fewer strikeouts, more consistency) than Jones.
I don’t think Brown can play CF, but then again, Jones isn’t what he once was in CF either – putting him out there in the event of a Grady injury (let’s hope not) will still be quite a dropoff; can he play CF better than Choo, who did log some decent time in the Mariners’ OF as a CF (albeit not a great CF, but passable)?
Just my 2 cents.
The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.
I’m sorry, what $1 million CF free agent is your first option?
by world dictator on Jan 30, 2009 2:50 PM EST up reply actions
Prior to acquiring DeRosa, I didn’t think keeping Dellucci was the right call, but with his ability to play the outfield, I think keeping Dellucci is the right play. To replace Dellucci, we have to eat his salary and pay the new person’s salary, all while potentially upsetting the clubhouse. Within our budget, I don’t believe there is anybody out there that is worth doing that.
I am not really concerned with acquiring a player capable of playing center for our 25 man roster. I think Choo or Ben can play center in a pinch and Crowe is long-term depth.
I think letting Crowe be the 4th OF right now is worth cutting Dellucci. Not to mention Brantley or LaPorta. Or Dunn. Or Jones. Or a half dozen other possibilities for Dellucci’s roster spot.
Crowe needs the reps. We would have no reason to play him in Cleveland more than once a month. The defensive upgrade isn’t worth it.
My point is that Dellucci is a waste of space and it doesn’t take much rationalization to get rid of him.
Our 4th OF will get more than one appearance per month. Besides defensive replacement and pinch running duties, I could see giving Choo a day off against a lefty here or there. Also, Francisco doesn’t necessarily deserve to start every game. Throw in giving Grady a day off in the OF once a month and I can see 20+ ABs in a month.
by Ryan Kelsey on Jan 31, 2009 11:16 AM EST up reply actions
Your point is that getting rid of Dellucci is your #1 priority. The idea that Crowe is likely to hit better than Dellucci is dubious. The idea that Crowe is better off in Cleveland is not credible. The only purpose this serves is that you don’t have to see Dellucci anymore.
I love it how no one has taken to the crackpot idea of Garko in the OF since it was brought up that one time. There was a small chorus of “huh?” followed by collective dismissal.
I wish there were a way to gauge the frequency of name-drops. It seems to me that Garko’s name has gone way, way down as an article of discussion this offseason.
I actually find it deeply disturbing. Talking about all the stuff with Blake and Marte, or benching Jhonny, you could at least legitimately tell yourself, maybe Wedge knows what he’s doing and I’m the crazy one.
But the idea of putting Garko in the outfield so as to get his “bat” in the lineup shows the depth of his analytical derangement. There is no amount of incredible leadership that can compensate for that level of completely missing the big picture.
by Jay on Feb 3, 2009 1:45 AM EST up reply actions
really? i’m pretty sure ben francisco has been mentioned maybe 3 times this off-season
Anti-Ben Fran before it was cool.
by Gradyforpresident on Feb 3, 2009 3:13 AM EST up reply actions
The frequency of Garko mentions has gone down as we come to accept that he sucks. Somewhere recently I read a quote from Garko, about how he had a poor first half, but was pretty good in the second half, and I thought, No Ryan, you had a good fortnight, and a rotten first half. Is he regarded as a leader?
I made the argument that Garko is a good bet to bounce back this year, in part based on the observation that he was actually the hitter we’d expect him to be (ok) in the 2nd half of the season. Jay disagreed that he was decent in the 2nd half.
by APV on Feb 3, 2009 9:10 PM EST up reply actions
Hoynes, Plain Dealer, January 31:
Lukewarm: Ryan Garko on his 2008 performance, “My season was a story of two halves. Not very good in the first half. I was able to bounce back after the All-Star break. I put up an OK season, but I need to be more consistent.” Garko hit .241 with seven homers and 45 RBI in the first half. In the second half, he hit .319 with seven homers and 45 RBI. He tied Grady Sizemore for the team lead with 90 RBI.
- The idea that 7 HR can remotely indicate a good second half is seriously warped.
- 733 OPS from the break to Sept 12. That is not a bounce-back, it’s eight weeks of merely bad, coming on the heels 12 weeks of terrible.
- Major league first basemen collectively had an 816 OPS in 2008.
Even at the drive-by level this is weird comment by Hoynes. Re-read the second half of the statement starting with ‘Garko hit’ and remove the averages from the sentences. The production numbers make the comment comical.
Everything about it is dumb, although hitting 45 RBI in the “second half” is better than hitting the same number in the “first half,” as “half” usually refers to pre/post-All-Star Break rather than 81 games, and the pre/post split is more like 91/71 than 81/81. Having said that, tying the leadoff hitter in RBI is never a good thing, even if it is Grady, if you’re a first baseman batting in the heart of the order.
by Jay on Feb 4, 2009 5:24 PM EST up reply actions
Well, what I meant by the Crowe example was that if he was on the 25 man instead of Dellucci, the Indians would be a better team. I think Crowe could come close to his offensive numbers while being an upgrade in left and have the ability to play center or right.
I don’t think, given the other three outfielders, that it will make much difference who is in that roster spot. I would not expect Crowe to do much better than Dellucci has, but Dellucci himself just might.
Hello DaytonDogg,
I think the Indians’ line of thinking, at this point at least, is that they keep Dellucci around, hope his bat comes back enough where he looks viable to trade him away (wouldn’t be much, but for something or for “future considerations”), and then trade him away.
They see that as being better than rushing Crowe, LaPorta, or Brantley up here, being that all three (and especially the latter two) could play key roles on the Indians in the coming years. After all, as Jay mentioned, replacing Dellucci with Crowe would lead to Crowe playing very sparingly in the same role; if Crowe is going to show any consistency as being a top-of-the-order guy or even a decent, speedy offensive presence in the bottom of the order, he’d be likelier to achieve that by playing everyday in Columbus than playing a few times a month at most up in Cleveland.
Granted, I don’t hold high hopes for Dellucci either, and it’s possible the Indians will just cut him at some point and bring one of those three (Crowe being the closest as of right now, based on his having the most AAA experience and being able to play all 3 OF positions), but the Indians don’t see an overpressing need to let go of Dellucci and pay his salary regardless while either bringing someone else (Dunn, Jones, Abreu, etc.) to play LF regularly (instead of Francisco) or to bring Crowe up to play as sparingly as Dellucci is projected to – that won’t help Crowe’s development, and he’d be more useful if he could develop some more at AAA, a realistic possibility if he remains there and plays everyday in 2009.
Just my 2 cents.
The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.
I see several problems with Andruw:
1. He has repeatedly said that he is a CF and does not want to play LF. While Andruw (in his prime) was the greatest CF I have ever seen, he is no longer as good as Grady so he wouldn’t have anywhere to play if he refused to play LF.
2. By my count, the Tribe’s 40 man roster is full, and there isn’t an “easily cuttable” player on it. There wouldn’t be room for Andruw until Westbrook hits the 60 day DL.
3. Andruw told a former teammate (whom I believe to be DeRo) that he wasn’t interested in a minor league “make good” contract, even with the Braves.
4. Andruw still believes that he can succeed as strictly a pull hitter and that he doesn’t have to make any changes.
5. Andruw is still overweight.
6. Andruw’s agent is Scott Boras.
Other than that and Looch’s $4M guarantee, Andruw is a perfect fit.
"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007
well, all these, and he can’t even hit in the DWL. (Disclaimer: small sample sizes are misleading)
In 16 AB’s in the Dominican, he’s “hitting” .188, no xtra base hits, 6 BB, 8 K. I mean, Edwin Encarnacion has 3 HR in 8 AB’s and JR Towles has 2 doubles, 2 BB and 2 K in 17 AB’s for pete’s sake.
This is the same league that features Julian Tavarez as the 6th best pitcher – sporting a nifty 4.61 ERA. And Andruw is “hitting” .188
I’d rather they spend $1 mm on a nice golf cart shaped like an Indians hat to help injured guys off the field.
Hello DeRoMyHero,
- is a big problem for me – if he can’t consistently use the whole field (at least be willing to cut down on his swing with 2 strikes and go the other way), I wouldn’t count on him being a consistent offensive force again (certainly not that 50-HR season he put up, and I wouldn’t hold my breath on 30 HRs; heck, 20 HRs may not even be that likely). At this point, he doesn’t even look like that sure of a bet to get a BA of over .200.
In fact, in some ways, he sounds like a mature, ML-version of Andy Marte – do we really want to add a hitter like that to this lineup, never mind the fact that he isn’t the CF wizard he once was (and likely won’t be again)? Having Boras as an agent just adds icing on the cake to pass in my opinion.
Just my 2 cents.
The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.
I agree. If I were Mark Shapiro, I wouldn’t sign Andruw to anything more than a minor league contract. If he rejected the idea that DeRo (probably) suggested of using a minor league contract to re-establish value (something DeRo did after he tore up his knee in 2004), then I have to seriously question his desire to play.
I saw him play once last year, and his defense — while no longer gold glove level — is still significantly above average. His bat? I’d rather have Jason Marquis or Carlos Zambrano up there.
"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007
To answer the question directly, there are no specific plans to do this, but it would tend to happen in March anyway.
Indians fans are a little oblivious to this, but this has been a bizarre offseason, and most other teams are still thinking they might add one of the 100 still-available free agents between now and the end of spring training. So while our roster is extremely well set — and preview-able — the same can’t be said for all the other clubs.
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