Don't sleep on the Indians

 

posted: Thursday, March 2, 2006

 

When spring training begins, the teams that have the buzz are the ones that spent the most money or made the most moves. Like Toronto. The Mets. The White Sox. It's only natural.

The Braves now are used to lowered expectations, as ownership does not spend for the club the way it did five years ago, and still they find a way to win division titles every year, at least dating back to when Dan Quayle was vice president and Deion Sanders was a backup outfielder.

 

With the Indians, it is a little different. A year ago they charged to win 93 games, two fewer than the Yankees, more than any team in the three-division era that did not make the playoffs. But because of the convergence of a number of factors, attendance at The Jake has not come back to the way it was in the wild 'n' wonderful era of Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, et al.

 

So because they could not go out and spend the money necessary to get a proven closer like Billy Wagner, or enough to get Trevor Hoffman to leave home, conventional thinking says they took a step back. They had to settle for Bob Wickman. They lost two starting pitchers -- the AL ERA leader, Kevin Millwood, and Scott Elarton -- who were a combined 20-20. They lost Bobby Howry. They traded one of their best and most popular players, Coco Crisp, for what they hope will be a future star (Andy Marte) and a power arm for the bullpen (Guillermo Mota).

 

But if they stay healthy, the Indians can be every bit as good as they were last year -- OK, the record might not show it because Minnesota and Detroit might be better and they might not dominate interleague play as they did -- and challenge Chicago if its pitching in any way breaks down. The two core players in the middle of Cleveland's lineup, Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner, are in their primes (at 27 and 28, respectively) and top-of-the-game offensive players at catcher and DH, with Martinez emerging as a team leader.

 

Grady Sizemore is on the brink of stardom, third in OPS among AL center fielders a year ago. Jhonny Peralta might be the most overlooked offensive player in the game, with 63 extra-base hits and a .886 OPS at shortstop at age 23. Aside from Peralta, Ronnie Belliard had 54 extra-base hits and, despite his Manny look, turned the double play as well as anyone. What the Indians need is for Jason Michaels, as he did in Philly, to give them 450-500 at-bats in the two hole behind Sizemore and in front of Peralta; for Aaron Boone to bounce back; and for first baseman Eduardo Perez to give them power against left-handers. And who knows? By August, they might get contributions from one of their two impressive young outfielders, Brad Snyder or Franklin Gutierrez, or Marte.

 

"Last winter I was rehabbing," says Boone. "This winter I could work out and prepare for the season. I feel totally different. I remember I was hitting .151 in the middle of June."

 

But typical of Boone, he volunteered to be Marte's mentor. "That's what we hope we have working here," says manager Eric Wedge.

 

The front three of C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook won 48 games in '05. GM Mark Shapiro went out and signed Paul Byrd and Jason Johnson to replace Millwood and Elarton and to eat innings and time until the next wave of starters arrives, led by Jeremy Sowers. And it will not be long with Sowers. The sixth pick in the '04 draft out of Vanderbilt has an uncanny ability to throw pitches wherever he wants whenever he wants. The staff even believes he might be better in the majors because he is so capable of executing game plans.

 

They always worry about Wickman, but the depth around and in front of him should be every bit as good as last year's crew, which led the league in bullpen ERA. Rafael Betancourt only has a 159-35 strikeout-walk ratio the last two seasons. Fernando Cabrera, Mota, Scott Sauerbeck, Matt Miller and perhaps Andrew Brown (who hit 97 on the gun Tuesday) are potential setup men, and Steve Karsay and Danny Graves have shown promise in their comebacks. Graves has shown flashes of his old sinker.

 

"I'm throwing better than I have in years," says Karsay. "It's amazing what not throwing during the winter can do."

 

The Indians, like the Braves, will not rely on flashy trades or signings to refuel. In the next 12 months, they will get their energy from within, from Marte, Snyder, Gutierrez, Sowers, Fausto Carmona, et al. Like Bobby Cox, Wedge has the attention of his players, in whom he has tried to instill the values of playing the game the right way.

 

Do not sleep on the Indians. They will be very good again, and, if healthy, for the foreseeable future.

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

? Bobby Cox: "Given the team he's pitching for, my pick for the American League Cy Young is Josh Beckett."

 

 

? My favorite TV ad is the Wheaties one with Vin Scully's immortal "the impossible has just happened," but I love David Wells on the motorcycle in the ESPN phone commercial.

 

 

 

? Lastings Milledge had a homer, double and single in the Mets' intrasquad game. He has grown into a beast, and if you watch the Mets-Puerto Rico game on ESPN Sunday, you'll see three great prospects: Milledge, RHP Mike Pelfrey and OF Fernando Martinez, a 17-year-old outfielder and potential superstar whom the Mets signed away from Boston. His Fenway Park workout is legendary.

 

 

 

? One scout says Angels rookie second baseman Howie Kendrick "is the best young hitter I've seen since Edgar Martinez. He squares everything."

 

 

 

? Jeff Francoeur: "In retrospect, I'm very fortunate that I signed to play baseball and didn't play college football (at Clemson). I think I would have had to bulk up too much. I rely on quick-twitch muscles for my bat speed, and when you go to college to play two sports, you're always subject to the football program. I think the football conditioning would have tightened me up, and you can't play baseball for four or five months and really develop."

 

 

 

? Omar Minaya thinks the shoe designed for Pedro Martinez eventually will pay off, but that Pedro will have to change his conditioning program, because Martinez is a fanatical runner.

 

 

 

? One National League owner is telling employees that MLB has a plan to contract four teams, with a contraction draft already drafted.

 

 

? Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC is my favorite show, but the two hours of Chris Matthews' "Hardball" and Olbermann's "Countdown" are never to be missed.

 

 

 

? What I worry about is how much Barry Bonds can play on his knees. He's still has to play the field, he'll still have to stand around on the bases, and whether or not he can play 100 games remains to be seen.

 

 

 

? One of those "oh my goodness" prospects is mammoth Braves catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Braves people think he can catch, but he has a chance to be a monster power hitter, and the Braves already have one of the best young catchers in the game in Brian McCann, who is also a big-time bat.

 

 

? Billy Beane is overjoyed at the possibility that Frank Thomas might be ready for Opening Day. "Frank's in unbelievable shape and is a man on a mission," says Beane. "He could be doing a lot more now, but we want him to take it easy."

 

 

 

If Thomas stays healthy and Milton Bradley stays on the field, their combined right-handed presence should result in bigger years for Eric Chavez and Dan Johnson. The latter should be on any list of potential breakout players.

 

 

 

So Beane admits he will have a tough time signing Barry Zito at the end of the year. Unless the A's fall out of the race in July -- and they're hoping to make a run at 95-100 wins if they're healthy -- then why would he trade Zito? Beane went through final seasons with free agents Jason Giambi, Jason Isringhausen, Johnny Damon and Keith Foulke, trying to win. "I have not had one call on Barry," says Beane, "nor have I made any inquiring about interest."

 

 

 

? The Devil Rays still are thinking about a Joey Gathright-for-Scott Olsen with Florida.

 

 

? At this point, no one knows who's going to be playing for the Marlins, except for Miguel Cabrera at third, Jeremy Hermida in right and Josh Willingham somewhere, either catcher or, more likely, left field (with Miguel Olivo behind the plate). "We don't just have good arms; we have great arms," says new manager Joe Girardi, whose energy and organization have wowed players who watched him do pole running drills with the pitchers. Expect Josh Johnson, Scott Olsen, Sergio Mitre, Ricky Nolasco and Yusmeiro Petit to all get shots at the rotation this spring, as well as Travis Bowyer and Anibal Sanchez. Harvey Garcia, acquired with Sanchez, Jesus Delgado and shortstop Hanley Ramirez in the Beckett deal, has opened eyes. "He's got an incredible arm," says GM Admin Beinfest.

 

 

Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Nate Bump and Lenny Harris are the four Marlins with the longest service time, and Cabrera already has been questioned this spring about off-field problems than got him suspended for a game last September. Girardi and Beinfest are not worried, pointing to the fact that Cabrera is 22. "He's a good kid and the most talented player I've ever played with," says one ex-Marlin. "But he's got to watch it. There are no veterans there except for Lenny. There are no Latin coaches. He and Hermida won't have any protection, either."

 

 

? Scott Spiezio is in camp with the Cardinals, 37 years after his father had such a great spring for the world champion Cards that he earned a Sports Illustrated headline, "Ed Spiezio, Won't You Please Pop Up?" "I have my dad's number (26)," says the former Angel. "How many other father-son tandems each have two World Series rings? Something to shoot for."

 

 

? I would love to have seen that Norfolk AAU team with David Wright at third, B.J. Upton at short and Wright's best friend, Ryan Zimmerman, at second. "We didn't recruit Zimmerman out of high school because he weighed 150 pounds," says one ACC coach. And now Zimmerman looks like Troy Glaus.

 

 

? New Reds GM Wayne Krivsky wisely has tried to build the core strength of the organization instead of making helter-skelter deals. But he sees one encouragement. "Eric Milton's legs are much stronger now that he's further (removed from his) knee surgery," says Krivsky. "Last year he had no strength and was pitching up and down. Now he looks much stronger and can get much better leg drive. It can only be a lot better for him."

 

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog...peter#20060302

 

 

Would the Fish be one?

Four teams?!? LOL. My ass.

4 teams?

 

what nonsense. :lol

 

 

and nice thread title.

So who's the fourth team?

 

The first three obviously being the Marlins, Twins and Athletics.

 

The Royals?!?

 

:lol :lol :lol

4 teams contracted would doom MLB for a long time.

So who's the fourth team?

 

The first three obviously being the Marlins, Twins and Athletics.

 

The Royals?!?

 

:lol :lol :lol

 

 

Could you imagine the talent in the "contraction draft" if those 3 teams (and the royals 3 or 4 nice prospects) were contracted? Holy jesus. Three of the top farm system in baseball, and the other two of them have playoff calibre teams.

 

Top 5 picks

 

Santana

Cabrera

Harden

Dontrelle

Mauer? Hermida? Liriano? Chavez? Barton? Uggla?

There is no way MLB is going to have four teams contracted. To report such is lunacy. I did agree with one part of this article, though:

 

Bobby Cox: "Given the team he's pitching for, my pick for the American League Cy Young is Josh Beckett."

4? Well, that would increase competition for the next round of expansion, which everyone whose anyone has suggested will follow contraction. Oh, and one requirement of winning an expansion team: a new publically-financed stadium.

 

For fans of MLB in South Florida who may not be necessarily committed to the Marlins, there may be something to this plan to support. Get out of JRS/PPS/DS and into a new stadium with a fresh start.

 

Nice in theory, but could it work?

Honestly, it's probably better for Miami/South Florida if the Marlins are contracted rather than allowed to leave.

 

At least it leaves the door open for a new expansion sooner because MLB would probably be more willing to work it's way back up to 28 or 30 before going to 31 or 32.

For what it's worth, my friend that works for MLB hasn't heard anything and it would have been made at least known in the offices because of marketing deals, at least as a contingency stating that MLB could go from 30 to 28 or 26 markets, and nothing of that sort exists.

Wouldn't Tampa be a top contender for contraction.

Wouldn't Tampa be a top contender for contraction.

 

 

Tampa's got something like a 40 year lease at the Trop...buying that out would prove costly.

 

The A's, Marlins and Twins aren't in the same situation.

To contract the teams MLB would have to pay upwards of more than 1 Billion dollars to get rid of 4 teams. I doubt that would happen.

4 teams contracted would doom MLB for a long time.

 

As long as the Yankees or Red Sox aren't contracted, I doubt the MLB would be doomed.

Top 5 picks

 

Santana

Cabrera

Harden

Dontrelle

Mauer? Hermida? Liriano? Chavez? Barton? Uggla?

 

 

 

Love how you stuck your boy Uggla in there...

 

:whistle

So who's the fourth team?

 

The first three obviously being the Marlins, Twins and Athletics.

 

 

Nationals.

Marlins

Pirates

Rockies

Twins

Marlins

Pirates

Rockies

Twins

 

 

:lol

 

With their ballparks, those two aren't going anywhere.

pirates just got a new stadium and could have a good team next year