A Giant Friendship

San Francisco's most gripping story isn't on the baseball field. It's up in the broadcast booth, where one of the team's most popular and enduring figures is fighting an epic battle ... with a little help.


Outside the Lines
by Steve FainaruPhotographs by Deanne Fitzmaurice


ONE RECENT AFTERNOON, about three hours before first pitch, Mike Krukow, the San Francisco Giants broadcaster, sat in his condo beneath a ceramic moose, playing an up-tempo version of "Play With Fire," the Rolling Stones classic, on a 98-year-old mandolin. Krukow, a tall man with a full head of silver hair and a permanent air of mischief, was accompanied by his wife of nearly 40 years, Jennifer, and their 29-year-old daughter, Tessa, who strummed a guitar and sang harmonies that carried through the door onto 2nd Street.

Well, you've got your diamonds

And you've got your pretty clothes ...

"Music is my therapy," Krukow said. "Baseball is my life."

Around 4:30, a golf cart driven by a Giants employee pulled up on the sidewalk. Krukow, who is 62, grabbed a silver REI walking stick and began the short commute to his office -- AT&T Park, a waterfront ballpark that evokes the Disneyland slogan, "The Happiest Place on Earth," except that here Willie Mays is Mickey Mouse. AT&T has a 10-ton mitt and four slides encased in a Coke bottle behind the left-field bleachers and, on the field, a team that's won two of the past four World Series and is headed back to the playoffs Wednesday as a wild-card team. Krukow broadcasts the games on TV with his best friend and former teammate, Duane Kuiper; together they're known as Kruk and Kuip. In recent years, they've become as beloved in San Francisco as the crooked street and are recognized, by many, as the best local broadcasting team in baseball.

Their secret is the same effortless chemistry that characterizes their long friendship: Night after night, they deliver rare insights devoid of pretentiousness, mixed with the kind of whimsical Bay Area humor made famous by Robin Williams.

The two have been inseparable since they met as Giants teammates in 1983. Krukow, a 6-foot-5 right-hander who won 20 games in 1986, had been acquired after a short stint with the Phillies and a long one with the Cubs. Kuiper, who started at second base for the Indians for seven years, was reaching the end of his career. Between Krukow's starts, the two would sit at the end of the bench and perform profanity-laced broadcasts to entertain their teammates. After they took their act into the booth in the early '90s -- a gig that brings them together some 200 days a year -- they continued to hang out during the offseason and to vacation together, with their families.

One typical December morning, Kruk and Kuip spoke by phone around 8. "I talked to him again at noon, and then talked to him again at 5," Kuiper said. "At that point, my wife looked at me and she said, 'Are you guys sleeping together?'"

A good day for Kruk and Kuip comes with a Giants win and at least a half-dozen "horselaughs," as Krukow calls them. These are a reaction to many things: a new catchphrase, a hilarious fan shot on TV, memories.

One year, Kuiper and his wife, Michelle, took up in-line skating. The Giants had an upcoming road trip. "So I tell Mike, "Look, I'm gonna take my Rollerblades to Chicago and we'll go,'" Kuiper said. Krukow, who collects life experiences the way some people collect art, had never in-line skated.

"We're going down Lake Shore Drive," Krukow said. "He's doing figure eights and pirouetting, going backwards. And I don't even know how to stop!" Krukow then made the sound of a man careening out of control: "Ahhhhhhhh....Ahhhhhhhh....."

"He was going round and round, like a helicopter!" Kuiper said. "You know how you see a center fielder going to make a diving catch -- he was that high off the ground. He went down right on his side." Krukow had two cracked ribs.

"The next year, we're going by the same spot, and he had taped it off, like it was homicide!" Krukow said. "A--hole. I was black and blue from my belly button all the way down to my knees, and he tapes off the scene! What a d---. Now every time we go by there it's like, 'Hey, that's the spot where Kruk fell.'"

Dropping into Kruk and Kuip's world -- filled with baseball and music and horselaughs -- you feel as if you want to stay awhile, maybe even move in. But the longer you stay, you see that there are deeper forces at work. And you realize that, as the Giants return to the postseason, their most gripping story isn't on the field. It's up in the broadcast booth, where, with humor and grace, Krukow, one of the most popular and enduring figures in franchise history, is fighting an epic battle that threatens the two things that -- besides his family -- give him more pleasure than anything else in life: playing music and broadcasting San Francisco Giants baseball.



Mike Krukow, the color commentator for the San Francisco Giants, is battling a muscle disorder that weakens his arms and legs.

IT STARTED WITH his golf swing, almost 10 years ago, when Krukow was in his early 50s.

For years, Krukow lived near the San Luis Obispo Country Club. In the offseason, with a college buddy, Jon Silverman, he played a form of warp-speed golf they called Michigan Warball. Krukow and Silverman played three balls at a time, betting on every shot, and raced around the course on Krukow's modified golf cart, which "hauled ass" at nearly 30 mph. Krukow would be out the door at 10 and home by lunch. But he began to notice that he had lost about a hundred yards off his drive.

In the manner of most athletes, he blew it off -- not for months but years. As the weakness progressed, people close to him, including Jennifer and the kids, occasionally would ask him what was wrong. "Old ballplayer injuries," he'd shrug. Krukow secretly feared he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, "but I didn't want to know. I didn't have the balls." Finally, in 2011, after he could no longer snowboard, he went to the Giants' neurologist, Donald Kitt, who sent him to a neuromuscular specialist, Jonathan Katz (Krukow has two neurologists, Kitt and Katz).

Krukow sat in the waiting room, terrified, surrounded by terminal patients with various stages of ALS. "I'm sitting there thinking to myself: Is this gonna be me?" he said. "I'm sitting there for a while. Your mind goes crazy."

Katz looked at him and said: "I can tell you what you have. You've got a muscle disease. It's not life-threatening."

"I thought I had won the lottery," Krukow said.

“I TALKED TO HIM AGAIN AT NOON, AND THEN TALKED TO HIM AGAIN AT 5. AT THAT POINT, MY WIFE LOOKED AT ME AND SHE SAID, 'ARE YOU GUYS SLEEPING TOGETHER?'”

- DUANE KUIPER

The diagnosis was something called inclusion-body myositis, or IBM, a blandly corporate-sounding disease that, for reasons that are unclear, attacks specific muscle groups, causing them to atrophy. Kitt said he has seen perhaps a half-dozen cases in 26 years of practice. Of the .000008 percent of Americans who get it, most are men older than 50. IBM affects the quadriceps -- the muscles in front of the thighs -- and the flexor muscles around the hands. There's no cure. The disease isn't life-threatening, although it sometimes impedes swallowing in the later stages.

"The funny thing is, it's profoundly sad what's happening with him physically, except when you're around him it's as if it's not happening at all," said Jon Miller, the Giants' Hall of Fame radio voice. "It's only sad when you talk about it with other people. And then you start realizing, 'Geez, it's so sad.' But when you're with him, there's none of that. He's the same as he always was."

Following Krukow around the country with the Giants, from San Francisco to Chicago to Washington to Los Angeles, there's an odd disconnect that occurs. He is battling an insidious disease that, if not fatal, almost certainly will put him in a wheelchair. Yet seemingly he's never been happier. "Look, I'm pissed I can't do a lot of things," he said one afternoon at his condo. "But I gotta really work at being pissed off. Seriously."

Krukow is so relentlessly upbeat it obscures a hard reality: His body is failing him. With some regularity, maybe a couple of times a month, he'll fall "straight down, like a turd from a giraffe." These flash falls are tearing Krukow up. Earlier this year, he stepped off the team bus in the carport at the Ritz Carlton in Denver and collapsed onto his right shoulder, damaging his rotator cuff. Now he can barely lift his arm. During the All-Star break, while moving his family's offseason home from San Luis Obispo, California, to Reno, Nevada, to be closer to his grandchildren, Krukow was standing in the street when he collapsed and found himself on the pavement, alone. "It was like 98 degrees in Reno that day; well, the street was 120," he said. "I'm burning my hands and my knees. I've got a pair of shorts on. It was brutal. Nobody saw that one." It took him five minutes to get up. Later that day, hanging out by the pool, he went down again.

Krukow is acutely aware of where this is headed: "You go from a cane to a walker to whatever you need to do. I'm on the cane process right now."

Mike Krukow calls best friend Duane Kuiper his "Sherpa." Deanne Fitzmaurice for ESPN

Kuiper is at his most self-deprecating when he is asked to explain how he is helping his friend. "I don't really do anything," he said. But that isn't remotely true. As Krukow's condition has worsened, Kuiper has quietly taken it upon himself to make sure his partner makes it through the day without taking the kind of catastrophic fall that drives him out of the game. The obstacles that could trip up Krukow are endless -- TV cables, garden hoses, cracks in the sidewalk. Kuiper walks ahead of him, calling out "land mine!" whenever he spots one. "Kuip wants to be the person who makes sure that Mike doesn't just get sick of it and say, 'This is too much,'" said Dave Flemming, Miller's radio partner.

Last offseason, Kuiper arranged for the Giants to alter the broadcast booth at AT&T, installing a railing and replacing the step-up riser with a ramp. Krukow is terrified of being knocked down in crowds, so Kuiper persuaded the team to send the golf cart to shuttle Krukow between the ballpark and his condo before and after games. Krukow's biggest challenge is getting off of the Giants' plane, which unloads on the tarmac. In the routine that they've developed, Kuiper takes Krukow's bags -- including his mandolin -- then walks down the stairs "like he's carrying two pails of milk," said Krukow, who follows.

Because his thigh muscles are so weak, Krukow can no longer descend stairs facing forward. Instead, he turns around and eases himself down like a man slipping into a cold pool.

"Kuip's my Sherpa," Krukow said.

In August, a few days before the Giants traveled to Wrigley Field, Krukow remarked that he might need a cart to navigate the 100-year-old ballpark.

"Already taken care of," said Kuiper, who had made the arrangements three weeks earlier without informing his partner.

The cart was waiting when the team bus pulled up on North Sheffield Avenue. Except for ticket takers and concessionaires, the ballpark was mostly empty and smelled like mildew, fried onions and rain. The cart ferried the broadcasters along the lower concourse and up a ramp, depositing them on the second deck behind home plate. It was another 20 steps up to the press box. "I'll see you up there," Kuiper said. Krukow took the service elevator. There were three more steps down into the visitors' TV booth. Krukow, using his arm strength, gripped the railings and lowered himself down, like a gymnast struggling with a pommel horse.

The booth was cramped, sweltering and crawling with spiders; one fell on the back of Kuiper's neck in midcall. The first night, the skies opened up with the Giants losing 2-0 in the fifth. The Cubs, forever lame, had sent home about half the grounds crew to save money. The remaining crew left part of the infield exposed while rolling out the tarp, then tried to dry it out with leaf blowers. After a four-hour, 34-minute delay, the field was ruled unplayable and the victory awarded to the Cubs. The decision was reversed the next afternoon -- the first time a protest had been upheld in 28 years. But with the game scheduled to resume the next day, it poured again.


Krukow was clearly hurting. On level ground, using his walking stick, he often looks like a prosperous man out for an evening stroll. In fact, he has to "calculate every step. It's like a gas tank: You get depleted. Then you're vulnerable." The second delay lasted about two hours. After hauling himself in and out of the booth for three days, Krukow stood at the top step, peering down anxiously like a man on the edge of a cliff. He never complained, but everyone understood: "I walked out of there pissed at Wrigley," Flemming said.

Kuiper brought Krukow a present to cheer him up: a Zippo lighter embedded with the Chicago Bears insignia.

"I haven't had a Zippo lighter in my hand in 20 years," said Krukow, flipping it open as a hard rain fell over the field.

"I don't buy my wife gifts, I buy you gifts," Kuiper said. "If I tell my wife, she's gonna go, 'Really? Really? You got Kruk a gift?'"

"She thinks we spoon on the road, man," said Krukow, laughing. "She thinks that's true."



KRUKOW'S CONDITION BECAME public July 22, in a front-page article in the San Francisco Chronicle by columnist C.W. Nevius, who spotted Krukow leaving AT&T in his cart and asked him what was going on. By then, Krukow's condition was widely known among the Giants and his fellow broadcasters, but he finally agreed to discuss it openly.

For Giants fans, the news was no less of a shock than if they had learned Buster Posey had a career-threatening illness. "These two eternally youthful guys who you figured would be with you your entire life, you suddenly realized, 'Oh my God, they may not be calling games forever,'" said Brian Murphy, a talk show host on the Giants' flagship station, KNBR.

Giants president and chief executive Larry Baer stated the obvious: Kruk and Kuip have become "bigger than most of the players." Their value to the team is incalculable. In 2008, Comcast SportsNet started televising the Giants postgame show, which includes Miller and Flemming and is so informal Kuiper sometimes can be seen eating. Ratings for the show went up 112 percent. The team sells Kruk and Kuip jerseys at its dugout store and holds bobblehead days in their honor, including one this year commemorating Kuiper's lone career homer in 3,754 plate appearances -- the most by any major leaguer with a single home run. (Writer Joe Posnanski, who grew up in Cleveland idolizing Kuiper, flew out for the occasion and marveled for NBCSports.com: "Yes, the Giants and San Francisco fans love him so much, they are giving out bobbleheads of Duane Kuiper wearing an old CLEVELAND INDIANS uniform)."

"At the end of the day, I think they are as important to the team's success as the ballpark," said Corey Busch, the former Giants executive vice president who brought them together in the broadcast booth.
video


WATCHING BASEBALL WITH Kruk and Kuip is like sitting at a neighborhood bar with two best friends who happen to be hilarious ex-players and want nothing more than for you to enjoy the experience as much as they do. The two could hardly be more different. Krukow, the analyst, grew up in Pasadena, the son of a captain in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Even now, he has the fidgety restlessness of a teenager. During games, Krukow grips a baseball (swapped out when the Giants lose), which he says calms him like a "5 ounce Quaalude." He occasionally fumbles it onto the hollow floor, making it sound as if a grenade has been dropped in the broadcast booth. Kuiper cranks out wry observations in the smooth baritone he inherited from his father, a Wisconsin dairy and cattle farmer who moonlighted as an auctioneer (As a kid, Kuiper would shout "yep!" and "over here!" while his father practiced in the barn). Kuiper is so laid-back and laconic, particularly when slouching over the mike during the postgame show, you could picture him with a cigarette and a tumbler of scotch, hanging out with the Rat Pack (Kuiper quit smoking years ago, but as a player, to amuse his teammates, he would sit frozen on the team plane with a Vantage between his lips and his Zippo lighter cocked, waiting for the no smoking sign to go out). Kuiper sometimes answers to "Smoothie," a nickname he claims to have given himself one day while filling out a Giants questionnaire.

Kruk and Kuip have their own patois and ever-expanding vocabulary, drawn from their playing days, life experiences and whatever pops into their heads. These "Krukisms" have been widely anthologized and often end up on T-shirts sold outside the park. Several years ago, the camera panned to a group of women, whom Krukow referred to as "Gamer Babes." There are now several Bay Area Gamer Babe chapters; Napa Valley's has 300 members who walk in parades and raise money for charity. (A pregnant woman recently showed up at AT&T with a "Future Gamer Babe" T-shirt stretched over her stomach). In 2010, as the Giants ripped off one excruciating win after another en route to their first world championship since 1954, Kuiper closed out a broadcast by sighing: "Giants baseball ... Torture." Soon signs started sprouting up around the ballpark.

"Uh, where are you guys going with this?" Staci Slaughter, the Giants' senior VP for communications, asked Kuiper one day. She was understandably skeptical about a marketing slogan suggestive of Abu Ghraib.

It was too late. "Torture" became the rallying cry of the entire historic season. "If we had any brains at all, we'd think this stuff up and copyright it. But that's no fun!" Kuiper said. Krukow likes to use the telestrator to "eliminate" people, drawing an X through Dodgers fans, any appearance by Tommy Lasorda, "tools" who won't give foul balls to their dates and so on. The gag became so popular Comcast sold advertising around it. That ruined it. "When you start to force it, it doesn't work," Krukow said. His signature strikeout call -- "Grab some pine, Meat" -- is an extension of his playing career, when all rookies were called "Meat," and conversations around the house.

"He's called me Meat since I was a little kid," said his son Baker, a 31-year-old salesman for an electrical supplies company. "I didn't even know my name was Bake until I was 10."

For many fans, the thrill of watching Kruk and Kuip is waiting to hear what comes out of their mouths. This is especially true of Krukow. In 2012, centerfielder Angel Pagan fouled a pitch off his crotch and collapsed, writhing. "That's a massageless injury," Krukow explained. Once, describing 6-foot-10 pitcher Randy Johnson, he said on the air: "You know why he's called the Big Unit? Because he has a big unit." Every season, Krukow is good for at least three or four over-the-top rants that create local headlines. During the Wrigley Field flood, he accused the Cubs of "premeditated" sabotage to get a rain-shortened win. (He later retracted the charge after Miller, who was doing TV that night, chided him: "You can't make an accusation. You don't know.") In 2007, Krukow called Curt Schilling a "horse's ass" after Schilling criticized Barry Bonds over his steroid use.

Occasionally things get lost in translation. Krukow's expression for a pitcher who mindlessly chucks fastballs is: "Brain Dead Heaver." One indignant viewer asked how he could be so insensitive as to call a major leaguer a "Brain Dead Hebrew."

"We're all getting fired, all of us!" Krukow will occasionally tell Jim Lynch, who has directed Giants broadcasts since 1987.

"You're untouchable, dude! You can say whatever you want," Lynch replies.

Kruk and Kuip's range extends from the arcane to the absurd.

During one typical three-inning stretch at Denver's Coors Field recently, they discussed the effect of the altitude on Sergio Romo's slider; a double-play grounder that was botched by the arc of the shortstop's toss; the old Clint Eastwood version of "Paint Your Wagon"; and the lyrical sound of Colorado left-hander Yohan Flande's name.

"I am Yo-han Flandaaay, hairstylist to the stars," Krukow ad-libbed, in an accent that sounded vaguely French.

More than anything, Krukow and Kuiper seem determined to not allow Krukow's affliction to get in the way of a good horselaugh. When they first started, at Candlestick Park, they routinely shoveled paper out of the window and let the jet stream carry it into the visitors' broadcast booth. When Flemming, who's a quarter-century their junior, first broke in, they hazed him mercilessly. They called him Phlegm or Phlegmlord -- unfortunate nicknames for a radio announcer. Then, after someone referred to the Giants broadcast team in a letter to the editor as: "Krukow, Kuiper, Miller, et al.," they started calling him "Et Al." Back then, Flemming toted around a comically large roller bag, so Kruk and Kuip stuffed it with a watermelon and a 12-pack of Diet Coke one day, then sat back and howled as Flemming wrestled it off of the ground and cracked it open.

"They'd talk about me on the air," said Flemming, laughing. "But in a subtle way it told the audience that I was part of the team. I was somebody who could be trusted. I was their friend. It was definitely on purpose."

One warm evening recently, as the Giants played in Washington, D.C., Krukow stared out at the field. The Nationals were staging one of those absurd races in which people wearing big-headed costumes -- sausages, Hall of Famers, whatever -- circle the field. In D.C., naturally, it's dead presidents, and Krukow looked on, bemused, as Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt scampered by.

He was curious about the fifth participant, who seemed out of place.

"Why Taft?" he asked Kuiper. Smiling, Krukow grabbed his walking stick, carefully avoiding the land mines, and ambled off to the bathroom.

Kuiper chuckled and removed his headset.

"Can you believe they pay us for this?" he said.



JENNIFER KRUKOW HAS noticed that, before IBM robs her husband of his favorite activities, he attacks those activities with even more intensity, trying to squeeze out every last ounce of enjoyment before it's gone.

Lately, Krukow has been playing music night and day. He recently bought two $4,000 mandolins -- one for himself, with the Giants logo inlaid on the headstock in mother of pearl, the other for Jennifer's birthday, inscribed with her name. Krukow keeps his mandolin within arm's reach of their bed. "There are nights when I can't sleep, and I'll just pick it up, start playing," he said. "It is relaxing, it's incredibly relaxing. You don't think about anything else but playing that thing. It's like playing golf. When you play golf, you don't think about anything, right? When you're swimming, you're only thinking about your stroke. I can't do those things anymore. So really this has become more important to me."

Strewn around Krukow's condo are about a dozen guitars, mandolins, banjos, bongos and even a ruan, a Chinese string instrument Krukow picked up in Chinatown. All the Krukows -- Mike and Jennifer, their four boys, and Tess -- play instruments; every family get-together is a jamboree. For years, the Krukows have tossed around potential group names: The Special K's, the Tools of Ignorance ... "There's another one," said Tess, laughing and slightly embarrassed as she held the guitar. "Only it's not really appropriate. My dad came up with it."

"Dad's Sperm Trio," Krukow said.

“WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO HAS LIVED EVERY DAY TO ITS FULLEST AND GETS THE
BEST OUT OF PEOPLE, AND THE BEST
OUT OF THEMSELVES -- THAT ENERGY, THAT LIFE --
HE HAS THAT. THAT'S WHAT
I ASPIRE
TO BE.”

- WESTON KRUKOW, SON

Krukow takes his mandolin on Giants road trips and spends afternoons in his hotel room, playing it and watching the Food Network. "He just knows that his time is short," Jennifer said. "There are times I don't want to listen to the banjo, really loud, and I'll say, 'Honey, I don't know if I can take that right now.' And then I feel really bad about that because I understand. He has said this at times: He doesn't know how long he has to play."

Krukow can't play as long as he used to because his fingers become weak. His youngest son, Weston, said he has noticed that Krukow "has become obsessed with drums. He's playing the drums in a really wonderful way, and the muscles you use for that are different. He's gonna be fine. He'll never stop playing." Weston, a dancer with San Francisco's Smuin Ballet, said he and his father sometimes watch games together and compare and contrast the movements required of their respective professions. Krukow, while he sleeps, sometimes dreams up dinners he wants to cook or songs he wants to play. Once he dreamed up a dance routine about a boy who starts out performing to a lushly stringed version of Beethoven's Ninth, then pulls an air guitar from a case and dances to a rock version of the same symphony. Weston later staged the routine in Iowa with one of his students.

Weston said he idolizes his dad. "When you see someone who has lived every day to its fullest and gets the best out of people, and the best out of themselves -- that energy, that life -- he has that," Weston said. "That's what I aspire to be."

Krukow's biggest fear is that he'll become so impaired he'll become a burden to the Giants. More than in any other sport, the travel required by Major League Baseball is relentless -- a seven-month, 45,000-mile circus of buses, planes and luxury hotels. "It's a herd, and you gotta keep moving," Krukow said. "You don't want to stand out because of special needs." The fall coming off the bus in Denver was as embarrassing as it was painful because it happened in front of the team. Krukow and Kuiper were both shaken: It was a terrifying glimpse into a future neither is eager to face. Kuiper was especially upset because he had walked ahead and wasn't able to prevent it. That night, Kuiper called his younger brother Jeff, who produces the Giants broadcasts for Comcast. If and when Krukow can't travel anymore, Kuiper wanted to know, was it possible for them to do the games from different cities -- Krukow in San Francisco and Kuiper on the road?

"I've been thinking a lot about this," Jeff said. A third Kuiper brother, Glen, the youngest, broadcasts the A's on Comcast. They all consider Krukow their fourth brother. "I don't see why not," Jeff told Duane.

Krukow was nursing his wounds in his room. Kuiper told him what Jeff had said.

"I felt better," Krukow said.

For their part, the Giants have told Krukow they'll do anything to make it work. "I view it this way: Mike is part of the soul of this franchise, and he and Duane will be the soul of the franchise, quite frankly, as long as they've got a pulse, as long as they're breathing," said Baer, the CEO. "As long as he wants to go, we'll do whatever we can to accommodate him."

Krukow says he thinks he has several more years in him, but of course nobody knows. He and Kuiper don't much talk about it. Doing so would force Krukow to dwell on it, which is basically the opposite of what he wants to do, the opposite of a horselaugh.

"We gotta keep him around," Kuiper said. "I'm not ready to break in another guy."

Steve Fainaru is a senior writer for ESPN. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveFainaru).

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Hey, let's go out and get Kershaw

Good idea! I hadn't thought of that.

Ranking the 2014 year-end roster: Part two

Choosing between Kluber and Brantley is essentially impossible

By Jim Piascik

October 3, 2014

The 2014 season may have ended with some disappointment with Cleveland missing the playoffs, but finishing with an 85-77 record and being in contention until the last weekend of the season is not all that bad.

Before looking forward to 2015, first IBI is going to look back on 2014. Personally, that starts for me with these roster rankings before transitioning to the IBI Awards next week.

As a reminder, these rankings only represent a player’s performance in 2014 and do not account for bad luck, coming regression, etc. Players with more playing time are given some preference to those since performing decently for a whole season is harder to do than being great in limited time.

#46 Ryan Raburn, OF (Previous Rank: 16, 24, 25, 43)

Ryan Raburn (Photo: ESPN)Following a .200/.250/.297 line, -1.1 fWAR, and -1.4 rWAR in 74 games, the combination of poor performance and playing time leaves Raburn as the lowest-ranked player who donned a Cleveland uniform in 2014. How much of that poor performance was due to lingering injury issues -- he only played four games in September due to undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery -- remains to be seen, but with a guaranteed contract for 2015, clearly the organization will be hoping for a comeback similar to what Raburn experienced in 2013.

#45 Mark Lowe, RHP (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 38, 39)

Though Lowe did not ultimately perform well while in Cleveland, there is always a need for relief depth in an organization. Lowe was not called upon other than the seven innings he spent in the majors, but having him available in Columbus all year was still beneficial.

#44 Bryan Price, RHP (Previous Rank: NR, NR, NR, NR)

Price made his major league debut down the stretch, tossing 2.2 innings while allowing six runs, three home runs, and hitting two batters. A couple bad innings should not define Price’s career, but looking ahead to 2015, the right-hander will need to take some steps forward in the offseason to make the opening day roster.

#43 J.B. Shuck, OF (Previous Rank: NR, NR, NR, NR)

Shuck only had 26 plate appearances while with the organization, but he managed to be worth -0.5 fWAR and -0.5 rWAR due to posting an .077 on-base percentage and .077 slugging percentage (as in no walks, no extra base hits). However, like Price, 26 plate appearances probably will not overwhelm Shuck’s status as a pre-arbitration player with minor league options.

#42 Elliot Johnson, INF/OF (Previous Rank: 24, 33, 39, 42)

Johnson’s status ended up similar to Lowe’s in that his brief major league time did not go well, but the 30-year-old was still available if needed down the stretch. The utility player finished the season with a roughly average bat in the International League, though it was still not quite good enough to earn him another shot in the majors.

#41 Chris Gimenez, C/1B (Previous Rank: NR, NR, NR, NR)

A desperate need for depth in mid-August led to Cleveland acquiring Gimenez, a role the 31-year-old filled well. He ultimately only appeared in eight games with 10 plate appearances -- in which he went 0-for-9 with one walk -- but Gimenez was still present on the roster just in case for Terry Francona.

#40 Jesus Aguilar, 1B (Previous Rank: NR, 31, 32, 37)

Though Aguilar got called back up to Cleveland in September, he was not trusted much while the team was still in contention. That might have been for the best given Aguilar’s -0.5 fWAR, -0.5 rWAR, and 0 wRC+ in 38 plate appearances, but it does leave the first baseman as a question mark heading into 2015 due to his lack of experience at the major league level.

#39 Jason Giambi, DH (Previous Rank: NR, 32, 37, 41)

Jason Giambi (Photo: ESPN)Giambi spent most of the year on the disabled list, only accumulating 70 plate appearances over the entire season. Without any defensive value and a bat that is continuing to slip with age, that probably worked out for the best. It would seem Giambi’s next role will be as a coach somewhere, though given I would have said that was going to be the case after last season as well, it is entirely possible the 43-year-old will run it back again next year.

#38 Blake Wood, RHP (Previous Rank: 25, 29, 35, 35)

The hard-throwing Wood is still trying to right the ship following Tommy John surgery, as his control has been spotty both with Cleveland and Kansas City. Wood’s fastball is still averaging around 96 miles per hour, however, so the right-hander will continue to get chances.

#37 Austin Adams, RHP (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 42, 36)

Adams and Wood’s performances in 2014 are similar, but the future looks a little brighter for Adams. The right-hander’s strikeout prowess did not show in his seven-inning major league debut this season, but the fact that Adams cut down on his walks this year while still throwing in the upper-90s should make him a useful part of the bullpen going forward.

#36 Justin Sellers, INF (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 34, 40)

Just like many other players down here on the bottom of the list, Sellers did not have much major league time but served as a useful utility depth piece. He does not hit very much, but having players with the capability to fill in all around the diamond (and who are able to be sent to the minors) is quite helpful for an organization.

#35 Vinnie Pestano, RHP (Previous Rank: 22, 30, 31, 34)

Pestano was much better for the Angels after he was acquired in an August trade, posting a 0.93 ERA and 3.03 FIP in 9.2 innings. Of course, the right-hander is still the same pitcher who posted a 5.00 ERA with continually declining fastball velocity in 9.0 innings with Cleveland, so time will tell if Pestano turned a corner with the Angels or if this is more of a random hot streak.

#34 Nick Swisher, 1B (Previous Rank: 9, 20, 24, 38)

Nick Swisher (Photo: ESPN)The goal for signing Swisher to a long-term contract before the 2013 season was definitely not to have 33 players ranked ahead of him at the end of the season, but that is what a -1.6 fWAR and -1.0 rWAR will get you. It seems possible Swisher will bounce back in 2015 -- if not likely given his long track record of success -- but the worry would be that entering his age-34 season, the injuries that held him back this year will keep cropping up throughout the six-month major league baseball season.

#33 Zach Walters, OF/DH (Previous Rank: NR, NR, NR, 33)

Where he will play, how much contact he will make, and whether the strikeouts will overwhelm him are all open questions, but one thing for certain regarding Walters is that he will hit the ball hard when he makes contact. With a .261 isolated power and 34.0 percent strikeout rate in 30 games with Cleveland -- a combination that conjures up memories of Ryan Howard, Rob Deer, and Bo Jackson -- Walters is an exciting go big or go home hitter to watch at the plate.

#32 C.C. Lee, RHP (Previous Rank: NR, 22, 30, 27)

Lee is certainly better than he showed at the major league level in 2014 -- where his 4.50 ERA and 4.28 FIP in 28.0 inning left him as a replacement-level reliever at best. The ability is still there for Lee, though he is still looking to translate it from Triple-A (where he posted a 3.30 ERA and 2.42 FIP in 30.0 Columbus innings this year) to the majors as he enters his age-28 season.

#31 Chris Dickerson, OF (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 29, 31)

Chris Dickerson (Photo: ESPN)Dickerson was another depth player for the organization this season, though the difference with the 32-year-old was he spent quite a bit of time on the field for Cleveland. That time did not prove to be well-invested, however, as Dickerson played at replacement level for those 112 plate appearances, raising the question as to whether giving that time to someone like Tyler Holt might have yielded better short-term and long-term benefits for the organization.

#30 Nyjer Morgan, OF (Previous Rank: 21, 15, 28, 30)

The season started well for Morgan, with the 34-year-old putting up some good value in 15 major-league games, but injuries knocked the man better known as Tony Plush down and ultimately ended his season essentially before it began.

#29 George Kottaras, C (Previous Rank: NR, 27, 27, 29)

Over the course of his career, Kottaras put up about 2.0 WAR per 600 plate appearances -- a perfectly average amount -- but the 31-year-old is still looking for a starting job and a permanent home. Extrapolating his WAR out over a full season looks good, but at some point, the way seven major league franchises have treated him over the last three years tells the story.

#28 Tyler Holt, OF (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 41, 32)

Despite a .307 on-base percentage, 32.9 percent strikeout rate, 3.9 percent walk rate, and .028 isolated power in his 76 plate appearance major league debut, Holt’s defensive value allowed him to yield average value to the team. That defensive value is obviously good, but what would help Holt even more is seeing his plate discipline look more like it did in the minors (16.5 percent strikeout rate, 14.3 percent walk rate in 272 Triple-A plate appearances) which would go a long way toward helping the 25-year-old buck his current label of fourth outfielder.

#27 Josh Outman, LHP (Previous Rank: 20, 21, 26, 28)

Outman did not throw much for the Yankees after being acquired on August 28 -- tossing 3.2 scoreless innings -- and the left-hander saw himself designated for assignment by a second team when New York did so in late September.

#26 John Axford, RHP (Previous Rank: 18, 26, 21, 25)

Unlike Outman, Axford is still pitching for his new team, as he performed well for the Pirates down the stretch. Not allowing a home run in 11.0 Pittsburgh innings helped, though those home runs were not something he was able to control while he was in Cleveland (1.2 HR/9) and really torpedoed his value.

#25 Justin Masterson, RHP (Previous Rank: 4, 7, 14, 24)

The Cardinals were hoping to get a nice bounce back from Masterson after acquiring him at the trade deadline, yet what they ended up with was a pitcher even worse than the one that struggled in Cleveland (5.51 ERA, 4.08 FIP in 98.0 Cleveland innings, 7.04 ERA, 5.84 FIP in 30.2 St. Louis innings). Masterson’s falloff should have sunk Cleveland’s rotation, yet as we all know, breakouts nearly across the board helped the team survive their #1 starter’s struggle and trade.

#24 Josh Tomlin, RHP (Previous Rank: NR, 17, 12, 17)

Josh Tomlin (Photo: ESPN)Tomlin and Masterson ended up with around the same value when weighing ERA and FIP the same, though there is some hope for the right-hander if you have faith in his BABIP to regress toward the mean (which is likely) and his ability to limit his home runs (which seems unlikely given his past issues with it). After posting a career-high 8.1 SO/9 in 2014 (shattering his previous mark of 5.3) to go with a 1.2 BB/9, Tomlin owned a 3.16 xFIP, a mark that regresses his home run rate to the mean. However, home runs have always been Tomlin’s kryptonite, but even with them, expecting the right-hander to post numbers similar to his 4.01 FIP leave him as an adequate fifth starter or long man heading into the future.

#23 David Murphy, OF (Previous Rank: 12, 11, 22, 22)

Michael Brantley’s breakout was huge for Cleveland, but the other two primary outfielders left a lot to be desired in 2014. First up in these rankings is Murphy, who was below replacement level in 462 plate appearances in the first year of his two-year deal. The offense did come back for Murphy, as he posted league-average numbers despite another power drop due to a BABIP bounce back, but his rough defensive performance dragged down his overall line. Murphy is likely not actually this bad defensively, but that still does not change what happened on the field in 2015.

#22 Zach McAllister, RHP (Previous Rank: 10, 5, 19, 26)

McAllister’s strikeouts rose in 2014 compared to 2013 from 6.8 to 7.7 SO/9, his walks dropped from 3.3 to 2.9 BB/9, his home runs fell as well from 0.9 to 0.7 HR/9, and his groundball rose from 37.1 to 42.1 percent. So why did his ERA jump from 3.75 to 5.23? He suddenly stopped stranding runners, with his left on base rate falling from 72.6 to 61.3 percent. Luckily, strand rate tends to be fluky and fluctuates from year to year, giving hope for McAllister’s future. Entering his age-27 season with strong peripherals, it seems like a good bet the right-hander will do well as a back-of-the-rotation starter next year.

#21 Roberto Perez, C (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 40, 23)

Roberto Perez (Photo: ESPN)Much like Holt, Perez is so good on defense he can add value to the major league team before coming out from behind the plate to hit. But in his major league debut, Perez actually hit close to league average, giving him WAR totals approaching All-Star levels. The .379 BABIP will not last and he could use some improvement on his plate discipline, but again, having such value on defense gives Perez some leeway on offense. At worst, Perez is a great backup option behind Yan Gomes. At best, his defense will combine with some decent offense to give Cleveland another starting-quality backstop.

#20 Mike Aviles, INF/OF (Previous Rank: 14, 6, 16, 21)

Mike Aviles (Photo: ESPN)Aviles seems to just be what he is at this point: a player capable of filling in basically anywhere on the field but not good enough offensively to be more than a replacement-level player. That defensive versatility is nice to have on the bench, but given Cleveland’s other versatile options coming up through the system (Jose Ramirez after Francisco Lindor presumably takes the shortstop position, Tyler Holt’s ability to play all three outfield positions, Zach Walters to some extent, etc.), it may not be enough to justify exercising Aviles’ $3.5 million team option at a time when cash is tight for the organization.

#19 Nick Hagadone, LHP (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 36, 20)

We still cannot be 100 percent certain that Hagadone’s outstanding 23.1 innings in 2014 mean more than his not-so-outstanding 67.2 before that, but this season was certainly a step in the right direction for the left-hander. Hagadone still throws hard, and now that he is getting more strikeouts and fewer walks, he looks like a force to be reckoned with. He will still likely slot behind Kyle Crockett and Marc Rzepczynski, but Hagadone is pitching well enough to force Cleveland to carry three left-handers in the bullpen in 2015.

#18 Michael Bourn, OF (Previous Rank: NR, 19, 17, 15)

Michael Bourn (Photo: ESPN)Bourn ranks much higher than Nick Swisher due to posting a positive WAR total, but the 31-year-old still disappointed in 2014. He saw a drop in his steals again, as he went from stealing a base every 3.2 games before coming to Cleveland to stealing one every 5.7 games in 2013 to stealing one every 10.6 games in 2014. Paired with his drop in steals, Bourn rated out negatively again in center field, furthering the case that he just is not the same defender he was a few years ago. Bourn’s offense is still essentially at the same level, but without his value on the basepaths and on defense, the center fielder just is not the same player.

#17 Asdrubal Cabrera, SS (Previous Rank: 8, 4, 7, 10)

Cabrera sliding in these rankings is no reflection on his performance down the stretch, as he had 0.6 fWAR in 49 games with the Nationals as they won the National League East and enter the playoffs. But that value means nothing here since it did not come in Cleveland, leaving Cabrera stagnant while the rest of the roster moves up around him.

#16 Danny Salazar, RHP (Previous Rank: 5, 18, 23, 13)

The 2014 season did not start out well for Salazar, but ultimately, the right-hander settled in and pitched pretty well. Weighing runs allowed and peripherals equally, Salazar’s 4.25 ERA and 3.52 FIP in 110.0 innings left him as a roughly average starting pitcher. The hope for Salazar is that his ERA will regress down a bit toward his FIP, which could be the case given his .343 BABIP in 2014, but even if it does not, the right-hander is already a decent pitcher. Having a decent pitcher in the rotation with the upside for much more is a pretty good place to be and that is where Salazar is.

#15 T.J. House, LHP (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 18, 14)

T.J. House (Photo: ESPN)You could have gotten really good odds before the season if you wanted to bet on House finishing ahead of Salazar here (as you can tell by looking at the previous rankings), yet here we are. In his first taste of the major leagues, House posted a 7.1 SO/9, 2.0 BB/9, and 60.9 percent groundball rate, marks that leave the left-hander as a well-rounded starting pitcher. It does not seem likely that House will run a 3.35 ERA, 3.69 FIP, and 3.10 xFIP over the long haul as he did in his first 102.0 innings, but those marks still establish the 25-year-old as someone worthy of a major league spot in 2015.

#14 Trevor Bauer, RHP (Previous Rank: NR, 23, 9, 8)

Walks are still holding Bauer back, as his 3.5 BB/9 mark is still a little high and is part of the reason his 4.18 ERA and 4.01 FIP remain high, but 2014 still serves as a big step forward for Bauer. After last season’s refining of his pitching motion and rough results, seeing Bauer as a serviceable major league pitcher is huge. For now, Bauer is getting a bit of a bump in these rankings for pitching 153.0 major league innings, but considering the right-hander is throwing around an average level, he will need to perform better in the future to be more than a middle-of-the-road starter. Still, like Salazar, being a solid pitcher with the capability for more is not bad at all.

#13 Kyle Crockett, LHP (Previous Rank: NR, NR, 20, 19)

At only 22 years old and in his first full professional season, Crockett already established himself as a good major league reliever. In his first 30.0 major league innings, Crockett struck out nearly a batter per inning, posted a 2.4 BB/9, and ran a meager 1.80 ERA. His current profile is technically that of a LOOGY -- he posted a 1.91 FIP against lefties and a 5.22 FIP against righties -- but Crockett is still young enough that he could learn to get righties out in time. Crockett is a very good pitcher and should figure into the major league bullpen for a long time.

#12 Jose Ramirez, INF (Previous Rank: NR, 28, 33, 18)

Jose Ramirez (Photo: ESPN)Sure, as a pure hitter, Ramirez’s .262/.300/.346 line and 85 wRC+ does not stack up as much. But coming from a shortstop at a time when the average shortstop posted a .251/.306/.363 line and 87 wRC+, Ramirez’s offense is actually league-average provided it comes while he is at the shortstop position. Plus, after posting some very strong defensive marks and garnering praise for his defense at the hardest position on the field, it seems like Ramirez could hold his own as a shortstop in the majors. Expecting him to put up All-Star level WAR totals over a whole season still seems a little much, but after he did it in 266 plate appearances in 2014, it suddenly does not seem that outrageous.

#11 Marc Rzepczynski, LHP (Previous Rank: 19, 16, 15, 16)

Cleveland’s resident #1 left-handed reliever walked more batters this year (his 2.9 BB/9 in 2013 rose to 3.7 in 2014), but the 29-year-old paired that raise with a 59.7 percent groundball rate and 0.2 HR/9 to once again get stellar results. Rzepczynski’s ultimate value is still capped by his struggles against right-handed batters (4.55 FIP in 2014, 4.79 FIP for his career), but there will always be a place for a LOOGY in a major league bullpen. With a 2.56 career FIP and a 1.79 mark in 2014, Rzepczynski is definitely still someone Terry Francona can rely upon to neutralize a left-handed batter.

#10 Jason Kipnis, 2B (Previous Rank: 1, 12, 8, 12)

It certainly was not a good year for Kipnis, yet it still is hard to fully give up on the 27-year-old. His strikeout and walk rates remained essentially the same, with the big dip in his offensive value coming from a dip in power and BABIP. Obviously the BABIP is something likely to come back to his norm, but it is also possible the two issues are related in some way. Possible lingering effects of Kipnis’ oblique injury -- either physically, mentally, or mechanically -- could have harmed the second baseman’s ability to make hard contact, making it entirely possible we will look back on 2014 as the fluky year of his prime.

#9 Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B (Previous Rank: 11, 10, 4, 5)

Lonnie Chisenhall (Photo: ESPN)The consistency was not there for Chisenhall -- as evidenced by his 163 wRC+ in the first half and 68 wRC+ in the second half -- but the end result was a solid-average season with a 121 wRC+. The poor defense drags down Chisenhall’s value -- he was about a full win below average this year, which is right in line with his career norms -- but the bat might be for real. Third base may be a spot Cleveland looks to upgrade in the offseason, but assuming Chisenhall can find some consistency entering his age-26 season, he could be a valuable member of the team heading forward.

#8 Bryan Shaw, RHP (Previous Rank: 15, 8, 10, 7)

Shaw is not an elite reliever in the mold of an Aroldis Chapman or Craig Kimbrel, but the right-hander has done nothing but get results in his career. On top of his 2.59 ERA and 3.42 FIP in 2014, Shaw’s 3.01 ERA and 3.44 FIP for his career paint a portrait of a quality, trustworthy reliever. A note of caution regarding Shaw, however, is that Francona rode the right-hander hard in 2014, pitching him a league-high 27 times on no days rest. We do not know much about pitching injuries other than it happens to just about anyone, but given the volatility of relievers, it is something to keep in mind.

#7 Scott Atchison, RHP (Previous Rank: 23, 13, 13, 9)

Further proving that relievers can come out of nowhere, the 38-year-old Atchison came into camp on a minor league contract and ended up as the second-highest rated reliever in these rankings. Atchison does not blow hitters away, but he makes his 6.1 SO/9 work thanks to a 1.8 BB/9 and 58.8 percent groundball rate. Just like how he came out of nowhere, Atchison could fade away in 2015, but given his 3.44 ERA, 3.59 FIP, and 2.4 fWAR in his 327.0 career innings, the right-hander has a history of performing and has been pretty good in three of the last four years. Atchison may not be young, but it looks like he still has plenty left in the tank.

#6 Carlos Carrasco, RHP (Previous Rank: 17, 25, 11, 11)

Carlos Carrasco (Photo: ESPN)Oh, the wonders of baseball. After posting 1.3 fWAR in 238.1 innings prior to this season, Carrasco put up 3.2 fWAR in 134.0 2014 innings and looks like a top-of-the-rotation starter to pair with Corey Kluber for years to come. Carrasco was a different guy this year, with an ERA (2.55), FIP (2.44), and xFIP (2.66) all below 2.70. The list of other starting pitchers to accomplish that feat in 2014: Kluber, Clayton Kershaw, and Felix Hernandez. We do not know if Carrasco will be able to maintain this level of performance while in the rotation full time and for more than 134.0 innings, but being able to pitch this well for two-thirds of a full season likely means the right-hander will be able to pitch at least decently in the future.

#5 Carlos Santana, 1B/3B/C (Previous Rank: 2, 14, 5, 4)

It may not be superstardom, but Santana’s fWAR totals over the last four years are all consistently in the same range: 3.3; 3.2; 3.5; 3.1. But while this past year only rates out as in the same consistently above-average range Santana has settled into to this point in his career, there is actually some hope for the 28-year-old to take another step forward in 2015. Santana’s overall offensive output was right on his career average, yet he accomplished that with a terribly low .249 BABIP. Even a little positive regression will raise Santana’s line up, which will help him meet the offensive demands of his new position: first base.

#4 Cody Allen, RHP (Previous Rank: 13, 9, 6, 6)

Cody Allen (Photo: ESPN)Like Shaw and Atchison, Francona called upon Allen frequently in 2014, though that is what you do when you have a reliever with a 2.07 ERA and 2.99 FIP. How the work affects Allen long term will be known in the years to come, but for now, the right-hander is a flamethrowing reliever with a stellar 11.8 SO/9 and a decent 3.4 BB/9. Allen’s 3.72 ERA and two blown saves in 9.2 September innings down the stretch did hurt Cleveland’s playoff chances, but in the big picture, the team probably would not have been in contention deep into the season without the right-hander.

#3 Yan Gomes, C (Previous Rank: 3, 3, 3, 3)

And a year of #3 rankings for Gomes comes to its logical conclusion with the 27-year-old coming in as the third-best player on the roster this season. Gomes’ walk rate fell a bit from 2013 to 2014 (5.6 to 4.6 percent) and his strikeout rate rose (20.8 to 23.2 percent), but thanks to continuing power (.194 isolated power) and above-average defense, the catcher remained quite valuable even while playing a full season. It may not seem like it based on a quick look, but Gomes finished in the top-30 in fWAR, ahead of such names as Victor Martinez, Justin Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury, Yoenis Cespedes, and Hanley Ramirez. Gomes is a very good player and has the catching position in Cleveland locked down for years to come.

#2 Michael Brantley, OF (Previous Rank: 7, 2, 1, 2)

#1 Corey Kluber, RHP (Previous Rank: 6, 1, 2, 1)

Michael Brantley (Photo: ESPN)Taking you behind the curtain as to how I compile these rankings, I look at how far above average each player is in terms of WAR (2.0 for hitters and starting pitchers, 0.7 for relievers) and playing time (600 plate appearances for hitters, 200 innings for starting pitchers, 70 innings for relievers). After ranking those just based on the numbers, I then analyze what the numbers are telling me and make corrections as needed, especially when the numbers are close.

So how close are Brantley and Kluber?

Kluber: 7.1 WAR (355% of the league average), 235.2 innings (118% of the league average): 473% of the league average overall

Brantley: 7.0 WAR (348% of the league average), 676 plate appearances (113% of the league average): 460% of the league average overall

Despite Kluber exceeding Brantley’s totals in both category, both marks are definitely close enough that picking Brantley is defensible.

Personally, I am going with the player with a serious argument for the AL Cy Young over the guy who will definitely finish behind Mike Trout in the MVP vote (though there is a good case for him finishing second). But if you want Brantley, no argument. Cleveland was blessed with two truly elite players in 2014; in the end, enjoying and appreciating that is all that matters.

If you want to follow Jim on Twitter, he’s @JimPiascik. If you want to e-mail him, you can do so at jpiasci1@gmail.com. If you want to read his Master's thesis on college athletes and Twitter, you can do so here.

I thought Jose Ramirez had a nice two months of baseball his second go-around this year. I guess that critique above indicates just how well he did at shortstop being a natural second baseman.

Like I said, I would think pretty hard before getting rid of him.

Even top rated rookies have injuries and shortcomings. Some don't live up to the expectations. It's always nice to have a solid bench player and backup around just in case.

It took us years (the time between Brandon Phillips and Jason Kipnis) to fill that second base void. I'd hate to see that happen again especially when we are so close to better things.

Whoever did those rankings sure rates Raburn! Ranking him below Mark Lowe, Shuck, Giminez, Bryan Price. Ryan was terrible but that's going a little far.

He also overdid with relievers (Atchison #7?, Rpcz #11) vs starters (Bauer-House-Salazar #14/15/16). The latter are much more crucial to the team and although none of the three are proven they all made strides.

of course, the value of relievers was once again proven by their total failure yet again for Detroit

5 losses from the 2014 season over which the Cleveland Indians are kicking themselves

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ss ... eason.html

J.R. wrote:5 losses from the 2014 season over which the Cleveland Indians are kicking themselves

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ss ... eason.html

Note that in half those games (to include the honorable mention) 3 runs or less were scored.

Need hats for bats.

CLEVELAND—Three years ago the Indians nearly released T.J. House, thinking the lefthander was too soft to pitch at the major league level.

“Back then he’d kind of struggle with any adversity in a game,” Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. “An error would lead to bad pitches. A bad call from an umpire might lead to some body language issues on the mound . . . That led to a very tough conversation at the end of (the 2011 season) talking about those kinds of things.”


Now the rookie is becoming a mainstay in the Indians rotation since a May promotion. Through 97 innings, House had a 3.43 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 22 walks. But back in 2011, House had just wrapped up his second season at high Class A Kinston on a sour note, losing his last six decisions.

“I knew they were serious (about the possibility of being released),” said House, who signed for $750,000 as a 16th-round pick in 2008. “So I went into the offseason thinking, ‘Man, there’s a lot of things I need to change—on and off the field.’ So, I lost about 30 pounds and Mickey and I got to work.”

House’s first break came the following season after the Indians had moved the Kinston franchise to Carolina.

“I started the season again at Carolina, where they were going to put me in the bullpen,” House said. “But I got an opportunity to start on a fluke. The starters were supposed to go six innings, but one only went three on day. (The coaches) were like, ‘Hey, can you throw three innings?’ ”

House allowed just one hit over three innings and was granted another chance to start. With his newfound dedication to his craft, he quickly began to advance up the organizational chain. More recently, House has been aided by the use of a GoPro digital camera on top of the catcher’s mask.

“I’ve been able to see things from a different viewpoint,” he said. “I’m able to analyze myself much better mechanically.”

October 4, 2014

V-Mart Ready To Cash In


BALTIMORE -- Victor Martinez has a number in mind for his pending free agency, a number he won't reveal. It's not dollars (though, clearly, those count) but years.

Statistically superior enough to still feel spry, yet old enough to understand the inevitable, Martinez said his next contract will be his last.

"I don't think I'm going to want to play at 40," he said. "That's going to be time for my family, my kids."

It says something, though, about both the state of the offensive side of the game and the talent of the Tigers' No. 4 hitter that Martinez, who will be 36 years old on Opening Day next season, is probably the best pure hitter - and, ergo, possibly the most expensive hitter, in terms of average annual value -- hitting the open market this winter.

Unfortunately for Martinez, the winter looks to be all-too-fast approaching, with the Tigers in an 0-2 hole in this American League Division Series against the Orioles. If they don't recover, are we witnessing the final hours of Martinez in Motown, or are the Tigers going to go to great lengths to keep him?

The 34-year-old Nelson Cruz -- Martinez's cleanup counterpart in this best-of-five set -- is also a pending free agent, coming off a year in which he was the only Major Leaguer to go deep 40 times. Nobody, though, supplied the total package like the man they uncreatively call V-Mart: second only to Jose Altuve in average (.335), second only to Andrew McCutchen in on-base percentage (.409) and second only to Jose Abreu in slugging percentage (.565).

Again, at 35 years old.

"Age," he said, "is just a number. If people thought that you couldn't play at this stage, then they would kick you out at 33, 34. Simple as that. This game is about producing. If you're still producing, what are they going to do? I've seen guys at 25, not producing. What happens? You're out. You keep producing, you keep playing."

Martinez's production this season put him in rare territory. Only 26 times in the modern era, per Baseball Reference, has a guy in his age-35 or later season posted an adjusted OPS+ equal to or higher than Martinez's 168 mark this year. Mark McGwire accounts for one of those seasons (1999), and Barry Bonds accounts for five of them (2000-04).

If we remove those guys from the discussion (for, ahem, obvious reasons), this is the list:


Honus Wagner (1909)
Nap Lajoie (1910)
Ty Cobb (1922, '25)
Tris Speaker (1923)
Babe Ruth (1930-33)
Bob Johnson (1944)
Mel Ott (1944)
Ted Williams (1954, 1956-58)
Stan Musial (1957)
Hank Aaron (1969, '71)
Chipper Jones (2008)

Johnson, you'll no doubt note, is the only guy on that list not in or headed to the Hall of Fame. When Jones put up a 176 OPS+ in that 2008 season (the year he turned 36), he got a three-year, $42 million extension from the Braves.

Beyond any (potentially unwarranted) concern about his age, Martinez's value will be inherently limited by two factors: his relegation to DH duties and the qualifying offer the Tigers are sure to offer him, necessitating the surrender of a Draft pick by whoever signs him.

The industry assumption is that the Tigers won't let Martinez get away, that they'll do anything in their power to preserve what is arguably, if not easily, the best 3-4-5 combo in the game in Miguel Cabrera, Victor and J.D. Martinez.

Then again, as we noted earlier this week, the Tigers do already have five guys making a combined $92.8 million next year, with an arbitration raise looming for Davis Price ($14 million salary this season) and needs in the bullpen. Max Scherzer, who is poised to hit the open market, might be well out of their price range. But if they do somehow re-sign Scherzer, they might not be in position to keep Victor, too.

As you might imagine, team president, CEO and general manager Dave Dombrowski isn't touching the contract conversation, but his praise for Martinez's continuing middle-of-the-order value is effusive.

"He's just a tremendous hitter, he keeps growing and he works so hard," Dombrowski said. "People talk about that all the time, but he really takes it to another level. Every pitch, he grinds out. He has not declined at all. He is just a premium hitter."

When Martinez had both microfracture surgery and a UCL reconstruction on his left knee before the 2012 season, it was easy to assume his career, like so many others for guys in their early 30s, was trending downward. Last season's success (a .301/.355/.430 slash line) was primarily backloaded to the second half (.361/.413/.500) because Martinez spent the first essentially getting his legs back under him, and that second half was undoubtedly encouraging.

But if you knew it was the precursor to the best season of Martinez's career, you're smarter than most of us.

How does such a thing happen? Well, two ways.

Well, even if Martinez were dealing with slowed bat speed at his age (and if his .611 slugging percentage off fastballs is any indication, he's not), his damage off breaking balls has been taken to another level. Last year, he had a .402 off the breaking stuff. This year, it was a .568 mark. Victor's always had a keen eye to read pitches, and he's elevated the impact of that skill this season.

Consider the scouting report an AL Central pitcher gave MLB.com just before the postseason.

"I don't know how to get him out," the pitcher said. "I'm serious. I have no idea. I threw him a slider that almost hit his back foot, and he hit it for a homer."

There's also that little matter of plate discipline. When Martinez struck out twice in Game 1 of the ALDS, it wasn't quite lunar eclipse-level rare, but it was close. It marked just the fourth multi-strikeout game of a year in which Martinez had just 42 strikeouts in the regular season.

"It's amazing," teammate Ian Kinsler said. "If you had a video game where you have ratings for strike-zone discipline, he'd be maxed out. And the thing that's special is he's doing it from both sides, so there's never a matchup problem. There really isn't a guy in the game that can do it from both sides of the plate like he does."

Martinez is fearless. His .928 OPS in two-strike situations this season was the best in baseball -- by 135 points. He said his trust in himself in those situations boils down to his days spent behind the plate, when he would note how many pitchers simply didn't know how to put a batter away. This, again, is an area where age -- and the wisdom it provides -- is a strength, not a weakness.

All of which is to say Martinez is going to fare well in free agency. Most likely with the Tigers, but maybe somewhere else. Even with his market limited to AL clubs and even if we acknowledge that the odds state he'll never be quite this good again, his discipline, his work ethic, his ability to read breaking balls are all assets that figure to age gracefully and ensure he'll continue to be paid handsomely.

He knows precisely how many years he still wants to do this, and he's not sharing that number right now. Nor is he willing to delve into the dollar amount he feels he's entitled to.

"My career is there," he said. "My numbers are there. So you can judge it."

All he knows is that this next contract will be his last. And it looks like Victor Martinez is going out with a bang.

*****

Anthony Castrovince is a Sports on Earth contributor and MLB.com columnist. Follow him on Twitter @castrovince.

Why Cleveland Indians should and should not sign free-agent-to-be Victor Martinez
Victor Martinez

Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group By Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group
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on October 08, 2014 at 6:00 AM, updated October 08, 2014 at 6:07 AM




CLEVELAND, Ohio – Detroit's early exit from the postseason courtesy of a three-game sweep by the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Division Series means the question can be asked earlier than anticipated.

How would Victor Martinez look hitting in the middle of the Indians' lineup for the next three or four years?

A rhetorical question, indeed, seeing how Indians' cleanup hitters batted .237 with 26 homers and 92 RBI this year. Martinez, meanwhile, hit .335 with 32 homers and 101 RBI as Detroit's No.4 hitter.

Overall, Martinez hit .335 with 33 doubles, 32 homers and 103 RBI. He struck out only 42 times and drew 70 walks in 641 plate appearances. If it wasn't for Mike Trout of the Angels, Martinez would be writing his AL MVP acceptance speech right now.

Martinez, 36 on Dec. 23, can be a free agent after the final game of the World Series. The four-year $50 million deal he signed with the Tigers after the 2010 season has expired.

Why Cleveland? The switch-hitting Martinez has roots here.

He was signed and developed by the Indians before being traded in a 2009 salary dump that brought him to tears. Martinez reportedly told friends that he'd like to re-sign with the Indians, but that was well before he produced a career season in his walk year. It has made him nearly indispensable to the win-today Tigers, who have captured four straight AL Central titles, but can't seem to win a World Series no matter how much they spend.

Here are four reasons why the Indians should and should not sign Martinez.

Pros

1. OK, even if you take away Martinez's numbers against the Indians in 2014 (.319, seven homers, 15 RBI), he's an offensive dynamo.

How much do you think Martinez could have helped this year when the Tribe scored three or fewer runs in half of its 162 games?

Despite averaging 3.71 runs per game after the All-Star break, the Indians weren't eliminated from the postseason until game No. 159. Imagine how Martinez, who hit .344 after the break and .378 in September, could have altered the Tribe's path?

2. The fire sale of 2009, when the Indians traded Martinez and Cliff Lee to help stop the flow of red ink, is one of several reasons fans continually cite for giving owner Paul Dolan and the team the cold shoulder when it comes to attending games at Progressive Field.

Bringing Martinez home could mend fences and put some fannies in the seats at the Tribe's beautiful, but empty ballpark.

3. The Tigers will almost certainly make Martinez a qualifying offer. If the Indians signed him, they would have to forfeit their No.1 pick in the June draft.

Surrendering a No. 1 pick would sting, but the Indians would also damage the team they've been chasing for four years in the AL Central. Miguel Cabrera, the two-time MVP, would lose his second talented bodyguard in as many years.

4. If 2014 was Jason Giambi's last as a player, Martinez could easily assume his role as a clubhouse leader. What's more, Martinez would be able to lead as an everyday player with a lot more pop in his bat than Giambi.

Manager Terry Francona was Boston's manager when the Indians traded Martinez there in 2009. Martinez loved playing for Francona and Francona has a great deal of respect for Martinez.

Cons

1. Martinez can play a little first base, but he's basically a DH.

The Indians already have an aging switch-hitting DH in Nick Swisher, whose season ended in August with not one, but two knee operations. Swisher will make $30 million over the 2015 and 2016 seasons. If he gets 550 plate appearances in 2016, and passes a physical at the end of the year, a $14 million option for 2017 kicks in.

The only way the Indians could sign Martinez is if they were able to trade Swisher. No one is going to take Swisher – regardless of how much of his contract the Indians swallow – without knowing he can play following his knee surgeries. Swisher would have to prove that in spring training and probably through the early part of the regular season.

Martinez will be signed, sealed and delivered long before then.

2. If the Indians felt confident that they could win the AL pennant next year, signing Martinez would make sense. But after getting shortchanged on the front end of four-year deals to Swisher and Michael Bourn, is it really good business to give another veteran a truck-load of money for three or four years?

3. Martinez had a career season this year at 35. He led the AL with a .409 on base percentage and the big leagues with an .974 OPS.

To think he's going to improve on his 2014 season, or even maintain it, at 36, 37, 38 and 39 is a big gamble. It is especially true in MLB's post-steroid era.

4. V-Mart would cost too much money.

This winter the qualifying offer for free agents is a $15.3 million one-year deal. Any team signing Martinez would have to pay him more than that annually over three to four years to land him. Unless a player like Bourn could be traded over the winter, there's no way ownership would approve that kind of contract not to mention finding enough playing time for Martinez and Swisher.

The Indians' payroll at the start of the 2014 season was about $85 million. It hasn't been that high since 2001 when it was $93 million in the second year of the Dolan ownership.

It's expected to be between $80 million to $85 million in 2015 as well.

The chances of the Indians signing Martinez are slim. The money involved and the manipulation that the roster would have to undergo make it improbable. But it's clear the Indians need to do something to improve their offense.

I posted this at Minor Matters, but actually this is about a current major leaguer.

Here's a scouting report of a player rated No. 24 for his organization. Impressed? [The previous season he didn't make the BA Top 30 for his team at all]

He played so well in his return to low Class A last year that he was jumped to AA at midseason. He is a patient hitter who has a gameplan at the plate and waits until he gets what he wants. He hits balls where they're pitched and doesn't offer at much out of the strikezone. He's a reliable contact hitter who draws walks and is a threat to steal any time he reaches based. The problem is that he doesn't profile well at any position. His plus speed doesn't translate well to his OF play. He often gets bad breaks on balls and has a below=average arm which makes him more of a left fielder than a CF. With just two homers in three pro season, he doesn't have the power to play regularly in left. He also handled himself well around first base when he was given some exposure there, but more power is required at that position. Ticketed for a return to AA, he looks like a fourth OF who can be a useful pinch-hitter.

Are we suppose to guess the player ?

Well, that was sort of the idea. Participation is voluntary, however.

Michael Brantley