Hey, let's sign Omar, Carlos, Albert, and put Sandy back in the lineup. That will solve all the problems, b/c they will all play like it's 1995 again!

It's the first day of Spring Training! Is anyone optimistic about the Indians? Anyone feel good that baseball is back again?

no the part about the fact that his signing induced the other one and dont say we dont like cheaters because we like that guy we used to call fausto.


no no optimism here

kenm wrote:
no no optimism here

What a shock!

JR give me a reason to be optimistic. Oh I know the dolans will spend when the time is right.

Ya gotta believe!

Indians, Pirates and Diamondbacks have plenty of optimism for 2012
By Christian Petrila on January 17th, 2012 at 10:36 am

It seems as though every 10 years, there is a baseball season that is truly captivating.

In 1991, baseball treated fans to Ricky Henderson breaking the stolen base record and Nolan Ryan’s seventh no-hitter on the same day, a pair of worst-to-first teams making it to the World Series and one of the most legendary games in World Series history in Game 7.

In 2001, Barry Bonds captivated fans with an astonishing 73 home runs, the Cleveland Indians had a historic 12-run comeback against a Seattle Mariners team that tied the Major League record with 116 wins and arguably the most emotional World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees after the attacks Sept. 11, where late-inning drama ran high.

In 2011, the trend didn’t miss a beat, as team grabbed headlines right out of the gate.

After a mammoth spending spree during the offseason that included additions like Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, the Boston Red Sox found themselves starting the season 2-10. Such a slow start grabbed national headlines on a daily basis, and it seemed impossible to escape the news.

Cleveland Indians showed fans shades of the Indians teams of the mid-to-late 90s, winning games in dramatic fashion on what seemed like a daily basis. In just the third game of the season, the Indians turned a triple play that served as a springboard for the next month and a half, treating fans to dramatic, late-inning heroics from every corner of the lineup.

Whether it was Carlos Santana or Travis Hafner hitting walk-off grand slams, Jason Kipnis beating the Los Angeles Angels with a walk-off single for his first career hit or Cord Phelps hitting a walk-off home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates for his first career home run, fans had reason to return to Progressive Field for the first time in years.

Fans also had a reason to flock to the ballpark in Pittsburgh, as the Pirates became the MLB’s “feel-good” team after 18 years of futility. For the first half of the season, the Pirates were in first place—something fans all over America couldn’t believe—and suddenly competing in a division that eventually sent two teams to the playoffs.

Pittsburgh’s play was, in large part, due to star centerfielder Andrew McCutchen and breakthrough pitchers Joel Hanrahan and Jeff Karstens. But, the Pirates magical run came crashing down in Atlanta in late-July in a marathon game between the two clubs.

In the 19th inning, Jerry Meals became one of the most-hated men in the Steel City by calling Braves Julio Lugo safe at home plate in a play that Pirates catcher Michael McKenry clearly tagged Lugo out and giving the Braves a 4-3 win. Pirates entered the game with a 53-47 record but finished at a mediocre 72-90.

But, for the first time in years, Pirates fans have reason to be optimistic going into 2012.

Out west, the Arizona Diamondbacks flew under the radar for most of the year despite eventually becoming the National League West champion. Led by first-year manager Kirk Gibson, the Diamondbacks came out of nowhere to win a division in which many experts had them finishing last.

Offensively, Justin Upton had a terrific season, making his second All-Star appearance and winning his first Silver Slugger award. Starter Ian Kennedy also had a breakthrough, finishing with a 21-4 record and 2.88 ERA for fourth place in the National League Cy Young voting. After the great strides they made in 2011, the future is very bright for the desert snakes.

Setting the Lines for the 2012 Indians
February 10, 2012
I like very much when people take firm and decisive stands on things. For example, “I don’t drink. It’s against my religion.” Or “I’m a vegetarian; it’s the only ethical stance to take.” Or “I believe that Gremlins are real and breeding in the sewers of Montreal.”

I bring this up not because I am one of these principled folks—only that I admire them. For example, as silly as I know gambling to be from an analytical perspective, every time I end up in Vegas I find myself sitting for hours at a black jack table—even though I know it to be an illogical pursuit that will slowly drain my wallet. I wish I had the fortitude to take a stand, walk past the degenerates, and enjoy the sunshine.
Turns out, I don’t. I belong with the degenerates.

So today I thought we’d talk about gambling and the 2012 Indians a bit. Unfortunately, when I started poking around to see if I could find any interesting lines to write about, I could only find one: the Indians are currently running at 60-1 to win the World Series this year. I suppose that’s interesting, but not enough for a whole nuther weblog entry on the subject.

That’s why I decided to make my own lines up, and discuss what each one would mean to the 2012 season. We’ll come back and revisit all these after the season to prove how wrong I was. Feel free to add any of your own fake lines in the comments.

6.5 – Position players to appear in more than 100 games
That sounds ridiculously low, right? I mean, we’d only need 7 players to appear in—at any position including DH—at least 100 games. That shouldn’t be so hard. Except that last year the Indians had only five such players, and two of them (Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta) might have lost some playing time this offseason. Couple that with a few more issues the team might run into: (1) potential platoons at both 3B and LF; (2) Grady Sizemore, starting CF; (3) Pronk. And that’s not even counting those injuries we don’t see coming. I’ll take the over here, but only because February is cruel and unrelenting, and we need some optimism.

7.00 – Strikeouts per nine innings for Chris Perez
Again, it sounds silly until you look at the numbers. Through his 2009 season, Chris Perez had never struck out fewer than nine batters per nine innings at any point in his professional career. In 2010, he saw a slight dip to 8.71, but nothing to worry about, right? But last season came the cliff, and he fell right off it, all the way down to 5.88. No closer in the American League had a lower K-rate than Pure Rage in 2011. And it’s not just the strikeouts: his fastball averaged barely over 93 mph in 2011, down more than 2 mph from his career high. I’m going under, and praying I’m wrong.

0.5 – Games started for Roberto Hernandez
The elephant in the room. With Hernandez, the rotation looks fairly set–you could even call it “robust” and I wouldn’t argue with you. Without him though? We open the fifth starter spot up to either Slowey (about whom I wrote here), or the troika of Huff, Gomez and McCallister. I’m not sure if you agree, but
I’d rather have Hernandez than any of those guys—even if he is three years older than we thought. Unfortunately, my gut is telling me that his problem might get worse before it gets better. If it gets better at all. I’ll take the under. (And yes: I miss writing “Fausto” already.)

.360 – Carlos Santana’s On Base Percentage
Lest you place too much emphasis on batting average, let me remind you that Carlos Santana had a great year last year, despite the .239 batting average. Not only did he appear in more games than any other Indian (155), but he led the team in WAR, wOBA, walk-rate, and home runs (minimum 200 plate appearances). He was second in slugging percentage (Dunc-A-Dunc) and OBP (Pronk). I’m still a big believer, and despite the relatively high line (.330 OBP is about average), I’m still going with the over.

20.5 – Games started by Matt LaPorta
I don’t even know anymore: would it be optimistic or pessimistic to take the over? Either way, I tend to think we’re going to see a bit more of LaPorta than everybody might be planning for. Over.
0.5 – Tweets from Raffy Perez (@Raffyperez53)
UNDER.

160.5 – Home Runs
Last season the team ranked 10th in the AL in home runs with 154. I would think (and hope) that number goes up, and Choo’s return to normalcy along with Kipnis replacing Orlando Cabrera should take care of most of the bump. On the other hand, do you think we’re getting 25 home runs from Asdrubal again? Or 11 (!) from Matt LaPorta? As a reminder, Casey Kotchman had 10 HR last season, despite amassing nearly 200 more plate appearances than LaPorta. I’m taking the over, but see the note about February Optimism above.

81.5 – Wins
I wrote earlier this off-season that the Indians scored and allowed runs last season like a 75-win team, not the 80-win team that they ended up as. The hot start last season, coupled with the years of mediocrity since 2007 might have left us thinking more highly of the Indians than an objective observer should . I think that’s probably still true. On the other hand, lots of things went wrong last season to contribute to that bad run differential. Shin-Soo Choo disappeared. Grady Sizemore did too. First base was a black hole. Carlos Santana’s BABiP was unsustainably low. Mitch Talbot somehow threw 70 innings with a 6.64 ERA. Orlando Cabrera existed. That’s a lot of crummy luck for one team to endure, and if we’re even marginally less decimated in 2012, there’s a decent chance for the team to win 85 games. You didn’t honestly expect anything else from me, did you? I’ll take the over.

Sheldon Ocker: Three questions for Indians spring training

By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published: February 19, 2012 - 12:02 AM | Updated: February 19, 2012 - 05:53 PM

Sheldon Ocker: Indians can’t mask that Tigers have more bite
WHO’S ON THIRD? — Maybe the Indians’ most intriguing dilemma this spring is to figure out whether Jack Hannahan or Lonnie Chisenhall will open the season as the everyday third baseman.

The competition shapes up as a classic battle between Hannahan, the career underdog who got a chance to blossom last year, and the hotshot prospect, Chisenhall, who made a favorable impression in his 2011 big-league debut.

Hannahan was the Tribe’s unsung hero, playing spectacular defense and contributing key hits early and late in the season. Overall, Hannahan, who will be 32 in March, batted .250 with 16 doubles, eight home runs and 40 RBI in 320 at-bats.

Chisenhall, only 23, batted .255 with 13 doubles, seven homers and 22 RBI in 212 at-bats after being summoned from Triple-A June 27.

Unfortunately, both players bat from the left side, which precludes an easy solution to providing each player with at-bats.

WHO’S NO. 5? — Without Fausto Carmona (aka Roberto Hernandez) and the recuperating Carlos Carrasco in camp, one vacancy must be filled in a rotation that includes Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Tomlin and Derek Lowe.

The primary contenders are veterans Kevin Slowey and Jon Garland, if he passes a physical when he reaches camp.

Slowey had the worst season of his career in 2011, posting an 0-8 record and 6.67 ERA as he fought two injuries. However, in the four previous years, he was 39-21 with the Minnesota Twins.

Garland is coming off a shoulder injury that limited him to nine starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the previous season, he won 14 games and twice has racked up 18 wins in a season.

Jeanmar Gomez and David Huff also will be in the mix of contenders, though both are long shots.

WHO WILL BE LUCKY NO. 7? — Five spots in the bullpen already are wrapped up: closer Chris Perez, setup man Vinnie Pestano, Joe Smith, Rafael Perez and Tony Sipp.

By virtue of his mid-90s fastball and his experience, Frank Herrmann is the favorite to win the sixth slot, though he is not assured of a place on the staff if he cannot show mastery of a second pitch.

There will be at least four serious contenders for the final bullpen job. In addition to Nick Hagadone, who made his big-league debut last year, the front office brought in several non-roster pitchers on minor-league contracts, some of whom have had success in the majors. In this group are Robinson Tejeda, Dan Wheeler, Jeremy Accardo and Chris Ray.

— Sheldon Ocker

Gaylord - after 65 years, it's hard to believe.

Sheldon Ocker: Indians can’t mask that Tigers have more bite

Sheldon Ocker: Three questions for Indians spring training

Top-level Indians personnel from General Manager Chris Antonetti to manager Manny Acta to senior vice president of public affairs Bob DiBiasio have been working the media lately, making the case that the club is a potential division champion.

OK, so it’s an election year and politicians tend to overpromise when they’re on the stump. But these men are not running for office, they are campaigning for the sporting public’s attention and money. Nothing wrong with that. It’s the American way.

But can the Tribe actually become a realistic predator of the Detroit Tigers, who won the American League Central Division by 15 games after trailing the Indians almost every day through July 20?

Can an Indians rotation headed by Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Ubaldo Jimenez outpitch Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, Doug Fister and Rick Porcello? With the signing of Prince Fielder to go with Miguel Cabrera, Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta, the Tigers would seem to have far superior firepower than the Indians, whose top four hitters are Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo and Travis Hafner.

Or should Hafner even be on the list? He contributed 13 home runs and 57 RBI to the cause last year. First baseman Matt LaPorta, who probably will be deposed by Casey Kotchman in spring training, which begins Monday, hit 11 homers and drove in 53 runs.

Which brings up another issue: offseason moves. Kotchman was by far the biggest name brought in by Antonetti. His claim to fame was to compile a career-best batting average of .306 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI in 500 at-bats in 2011 for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yet, the guy Kotchman is likely to replace, LaPorta, hit more home runs and amassed more RBI in almost 150 fewer at-bats. So is Kotchman a significant upgrade? Antonetti will point out that Kotchman is a superior first baseman. No argument about that. His batting average was 59 points higher than LaPorta’s, and Kotchman strikes out only once every seven at-bats.

These are pluses. But what the Tribe announced as its crying offensive need (for the third consecutive year) was a right-handed batter who can drive in runs. Kotchman neither hits from the right side nor is likely to become a significant run producer. He is more adept at hitting left-handed pitching than many left-handers, but he does not hit left-handers as well as right-handed batters hit lefties.

Kotchman’s batting average benefited from playing on the artificial turf of Tropicana Field. He hits lots of ground balls, and fewer are likely to get through the grass infield of Progressive Field.

On balance, Kotchman can be a dependable contributor. But by the Tribe’s own description of its requirements, he is not what the offense needs. Antonetti is trying to make apple pie using oranges or blueberries. They taste great, but they don’t belong in apple pie.

Antonetti also re-signed Grady Sizemore, a move that set off all kinds of negative vibrations among the fans and media. Sizemore was rendered all but useless the past three seasons because of injuries, three requiring surgery. But to replace him on the free-agent market would have cost $10 million a year for three or four seasons. To most franchises, that is a reasonable expense. To the Indians, it is an inaffordable luxury. Increasingly, the team’s motto seems to be, “If a ’68 Nash Rambler can still get you there, why buy a Cadillac?”

How about a trade? Which players do teams want that Antonetti can afford to give up? Jason Kipnis or Lonnie Chisenhall? Chris Perez or Tomlin? Masterson or Choo? Ain’t going to happen, nor should it. There’s no benefit in filling one hole by creating another.

So signing Sizemore for $5 million guaranteed plus a bunch of incentives makes sense. After all, there is no rule that says he has to get hurt again. And if he’s healthy, he has a chance to be make some noise. That’s what he did early last season before ramming his knee into second base. He wouldn’t be the first player plagued by injuries who rebounded to have a productive career (See Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the Cavaliers).

Maybe the most overblown problem of the winter was caused by the discovery that Fausto Carmona wasn’t Fausto Carmona. Instead, it appears that when he was a teenager, Carmona (or his unofficial agent) purchased the identity of a kid that was three years younger, which is the way things have been done in the Dominican Republic for decades.

It turns out that Carmona is really Roberto Hernandez Heredia. The consequences of Carmona’s actions? He might not be able to secure a work permit from the U.S. government. At the very least, it will take awhile. Nobody knows how long, but Carmona could miss the entire season and a $7 million paycheck.

So what? Antonetti and Acta (plus Eric Wedge before him) have been waiting for Carmona to live up to his potential for years. Great arm, but makeup issues keep holding him back. Even before the identity crisis that added three years to Carmona’s age, this probably was the last year the club was going to wait. And now that the GM knows Carmona is 31 and not 28, he will have to perform (if he can join the team at all) or prove himself with another club in 2013.

What is the Tribe losing if Carmona can’t set foot on American soil this year? In 2011, he was 7-15 with a 5.25 ERA. Surely, Antonetti can find someone to do at least as well.

Only a few days after Carmona’s indiscretion became public, Antonetti made what might be his best move of the winter, acquiring Kevin Slowey from the Colorado Rockies for mid-level prospect Zach Putnam, a reliever. On his 2011 record, Slowey was even worse than Carmona, posting an 0-8 record and a 6.67 ERA with the Minnesota Twins.

But there were mitigating circumstances. Slowey suffered through two injuries, pitched only 14 times and complained when he was relocated to the bullpen. In his four previous seasons, Slowey posted a 39-21 record and a 4.41 ERA. Not All-Star numbers, but his four-year, pre-2011 ERA is lower than four of Hernandez’s six years in the big leagues.

Slowey has not been guaranteed a spot in the rotation. He will have to fight it out with another offseason acquisition, Derek Lowe, who has had a distinguished career but spent a fitful season in 2011, compiling a 9-17 record and 5.05 ERA with the Atlanta Braves. The question is whether he can bounce back at age 39 (in June).

One area that the Indians can claim equality, if not superiority, over the Tigers is the bullpen. It would be difficult to imagine the Tribe relief corps being as effective across the board as it was in 2011. On the other hand, every important member of the crew is young and has a chance to add polish to his game, from closer Chris Perez and setup man Vinnie Pestano to Joe Smith, Rafael Perez and Tony Sipp.

So can the Indians keep pace with the Tigers?

Injuries decimated the Tribe outfield and ate away at other positions last year. The club must keep the disabled list short if it is to have any chance of staying in the race. If the Indians can stay healthy, they should win more than half their games, whether they contend or not.

But 83 or 84 wins won’t be enough to capture the division title, and it’s difficult to construct a realistic scenario that would boost the total to 90, which probably is what it will take. If an additional wild-card entry is added to the postseason schedule this year, the Indians might have a chance to make the playoffs, but that has not yet been determined.

Then again, maybe the Tigers will get their own reality show with the Kardashian family and all move to Hollywood.

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

I'm going with Husker on this one Gaylord.

Of course if the Indians do well then Joe Z will hide in the corner like last year.

Ken, the 36 million dollar contract had nothing to do with it. He would have played for nothing to play with Manny. Dreamworld !

Mr. Personality.......Clueless as ever

rusty2 wrote: Ken, the 36 million dollar contract had nothing to do with it. He would have played for nothing to play with Manny. Dreamworld !

Was kenm implying that the Cespedes signing had anything to do with the Manny signing? That is truly off the wall!