Chris Ray Added

Looks like we added a couple of more Minor League Contract guys to the competition for Spring training, Chris Ray, and Chin Lung Hu https://twitter.com/#!/Kevin_Goldstein/status/157149548752551936
As we have all said before, a couple of guys who likely will never make the squad, but could in fact make an impact at very low costs... Not a bad days work, but most likely nothing special.

4 months ago AdaminFL 26 comments 0 recs |

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BUT CAN THAY PLAY FURST BAS AND HIT FOR PWOER?!?!

by JulioBernazard on Jan 12, 2012 4:34 PM EST reply actions

From Hoynsie’s twitter feed:

Heard this: #Indians like 1B Carlos Pena and went to ownership to see if they could make a deal work. No word on decision.

I’ll add…Pena is pretty obviously the best FA 1B available to the Tribe. I don’t see any real comparison to Lee or Kotchman.

by APV on Jan 12, 2012 5:36 PM EST up reply actions

Would this be the first time a team created a two-position platoon? Pena OPS’ed 892 vs. RHP last year, while Marson OPS’ed 793 vs. LHP.

by TheDanimal on Jan 12, 2012 6:20 PM EST up reply actions

They started 2007 with Trot Nixon and Ryan Garko platooning (with Blake moving back and forth), if memory serves. Then Marte got bitten by a cobra, or something, in the home opener, Blake moved to third, and the rest was history.

Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile

by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Jan 12, 2012 6:40 PM EST up reply actions

The snowed out game, haha.

by Roger Dorn on Jan 13, 2012 9:32 AM EST up reply actions

Is Peña waiting for Heavy P to set the market for 1B FAs?

by JulioBernazard on Jan 13, 2012 10:02 AM EST up reply actions

I would say that’s fair to assume, if he hasn’t said it directly. He’d be crazy not to unless he’s blown away with an offer.

Fear the Fedora.

by MooneysRebellion on Jan 13, 2012 10:14 AM EST up reply actions

I think Pena runs the risk of being the Ryan Madson of the 1B free agent pool, though

by APV on Jan 13, 2012 10:27 AM EST up reply actions

I think that’s true of all the 1B options below Fielder. Considering their skills and ages, I can’t imagine many teams throwing multi-year offers their way.

by callmrplow on Jan 13, 2012 10:53 AM EST up reply actions

That’d be good for the Tribe.

by JulioBernazard on Jan 13, 2012 4:31 PM EST up reply actions

Seriously. If he’s the Ryan Madson of hitters, then he’s signing in Ohio just like him.

by Jay on Jan 13, 2012 9:55 PM EST up reply actions

Cousineau is persuasive that, while all three of Pena, Kotchman and Lee are mediocre, Lee probably fits Tribe needs best.

by MTF on Jan 13, 2012 11:49 AM EST up reply actions

I’d prefer Lee, then Pena, and then Kotchman. With a big gap between Pena and Kotchman. I would think that everyone is waiting for Prince Fielder to sign.

by Ryan on Jan 13, 2012 12:09 PM EST up reply actions

Ditto on the order. We should start a campaign for Derrek Lee to change his mind on the Tribe.

Matt LaPorta is the bane of my existence.

by USSChoo on Jan 13, 2012 2:44 PM EST up reply actions

The things that push me in favor of Pena over Lee (aside from his age) are their respective BB/K and ISO last season. In the latter case, Pena has simply had more power than Lee for five years running and is still well above average in that category, whereas Lee has basically been just a hair above average since ‘07 excepting his ’09 season. Surprisingly, given Pena’s well-documented strikeout rate, he still has a well-above average BB/K ratio and one that actually has a modest upward trend the past two seasons. Lee’s plate discipline collapsed last year, largely because of a massive drop off in his BB%. I see Lee much closer to the end of career cliff than Pena, making the question of “fit” less of an issue. Pena just seems more likely to be a good player, however he is used, next year.

by APV on Jan 13, 2012 1:03 PM EST up reply actions

I agree. Lee scares me.

by JulioBernazard on Jan 13, 2012 4:32 PM EST up reply actions

Me three.

I was never impressed by Lee, but if his walk rate is declining, it’s because there’s a “new book” on him that says you can challenge him and not get hurt.

by Jay on Jan 13, 2012 9:56 PM EST up reply actions

(mostly likely)

by Jay on Jan 13, 2012 9:56 PM EST up reply actions

What differentiated Lee’s 2011 season from previous ones was how few 2-0 and 3-1 counts he faced, so either pitchers were unusually precise with him or they discovered there was no good reason to nibble at the corners. Bill James nonetheless projects the BB rate to go back up in 2012; don’t know why.

by YoDaddyWags on Jan 14, 2012 12:40 PM EST up reply actions