Cleveland Sports Forum

Kerns???

Think we'll miss the 0 HR and 2 RBI he produced.

Yankees knew he was done.

Indians didn't.

Well the Yankees did have to give up Zach McAllister to the Indians before figuring out that Kearns really wasn't that good.

The Indians badly need a guy that can hit left handed pitching. Sadly Kearns ain't it.

And he can't even handle left field adequately.

So does Phelps use up one of his years that count towards free agency?

seagull wrote:Kerns???

Think we'll miss the 0 HR and 2 RBI he produced.

Yankees knew he was done.

Indians didn't.

Just hilarious.......

Are Kearns' problems physical, or mental, or what? We have two guys with DUI clouds hanging over their heads and with reduced production. I'd like to think that these guys could put that sort of thing to the side, but maybe not (and I know I wouldn't be able to; but, hey, I could hit below .250 WITHOUT having to have legal issues). Is Kearns really done? Is Choo?

Newest Indian Cord Phelps will platoon at second base wth Orlando Cabrera -- for now
Published: Wednesday, June 08, 2011, 9:41 AM Updated: Wednesday, June 08, 2011, 12:12 PM

By Dennis Manoloff, The Plain Dealer


Chuck Crow / The Plain Dealer
Cord Phelps will be in the starting lineup for the Indians today. Shelley Duncan was sent down to Columbus to make room.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Newest Indian Cord Phelps will be part of a platoon at second base with struggling veteran Orlando Cabrera -- at least for the time being.
Phelps, a switch-hitter, was promoted from Class AAA Columbus on Tuesday night and officially joined the Tribe on Wednesday. He makes his major-league debut at second base and bats seventh against the Twins and right-hander Carl Pavano.
Phelps also can play third and short, but he was drafted as a second baseman in the third round out of Stanford in 2008.
"The kid's going to get an opportunity to play, and we're going to have to see if he'll take advantage of it,'' Indians manager Manny Acta said. "For now, he's going to play second base, and we're going to give him the opportunity to play the majority of times against right-handed pitching.
"Orlando's been there, done that. You can't rule out Orlando coming back and playing every day. But this kid deserved a shot based on the way he's played the last two years at Columbus.''
Phelps, 24, was hitting .299 in 55 games for the Clippers. Last season, he hit .317 in 66 games for them after being promoted from Class AA Akron.
Cabrera, signed as a free agent in the offseason, hit .283 in April but has faded. He hit .230 in May and is at .143 (3-for-21) in June.
Cabrera is hitting .246 overall, 228 against righties.
"Orlando understands what's going on,'' Acta said. "He took (the news) very well, as well as he could. He was very professional. Obviously, he's disappointed because that's human nature. He's a competitor and always has been an every-day player.
"Nobody's saying he's not going to be an every-day player again. This is not a done deal. Orlando's still going to get playing time against left-handers and some right-handed pitchers, too.''
Just to be clear, Acta said: "It's very early. This is not a slam dunk.''
Phelps needed to be added to the 40-man roster. The Indians optioned Shelley Duncan, who hit .222 in 29 games, to Columbus and transferred righty Alex White from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list.
Duncan is well-respected in the clubhouse, but he had not been swinging the bat well recently and had options.
Closer Chris Perez tweeted: "Sad to hear the news about Shelley Duncan, great teammate.''
In Tuesday's 1-0 victory over the Twins, Duncan drove in the run with a grounder.
"We're only facing two left-handers over the next almost two weeks, so it makes a lot more sense for us to keep a left-handed batter or send Shelley down, because that's where his playing time comes in -- against lefties,'' Acta said. "He handed it very well. He understands his role. I'm anticipating he'll be back. He's been part of what we've done here and hopefully be part of what's coming.''
Phelps was told he is coming to Cleveland after the Clippers' 5-1 victory over Rochester on Tuesday night in Columbus. He arrived in town about 2 a.m. and checked into a hotel.
"I haven't gotten much sleep,'' he said in the clubhouse before the game, "but I don't think it's going to be a problem. I'll rely on adrenaline to carry me.''
Phelps was in a 5-for-27 slide at the time of the promotion.
"It's one of those things that happens with the ups and downs of baseball,'' he said.
Phelps has played predominantly shortstop for the Clippers this season because Jason Kipnis is at second and Lonnie Chisenhall is at third. Phelps also has played second and third and been the designated hitter.
At 9 a.m., Phelps admitted he was nervous.
"But nerves are a good thing,'' Phelps said. "There would be something wrong if I didn't have any.''
Among the first to greet Phelps in the clubhouse were Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti and Orlando Cabrera.

I guess we're fishing for another Zach McAllister we can get for Kearns this year.

Kearns will probably be gone when Nick Johnson is ready.

I think June 16th is the date where free agent signings can be traded. Don't know whether Kerns lasts that long or he just gets released and we eat the remainder of his contract. Seems like if he's tradable,on June 16th, the Tribe would have to pick up most, if not all, of his remaining salary to get any kind of prospect back.

I think you are making a big to do about something that is not that important. If the Indians had a legit option they would just designate him for assignment.

Shelley Duncan - DH - Indians

Indians manager Manny Acta expects Shelley Duncan, who was optioned to Triple-A Wednesday, to be back with the major league club before long.
''We're going to face only two left-handers the next two weeks, and that's where most of his playing time comes,'' Acta said. ''He understands. I anticipate that he will be back here at some point. He's been a big part of what we've done and hopefully what we're going to do.'' Duncan is hitting just .222/.247/.370 this season, but he's capable against left-handed pitching and the Indians value is clubhouse presence.

Twins 3, Indians 2 (10): No one's home

Published: Thursday, June 09, 2011

By Jim Ingraham
JIngraham@News-Herald.com

Travis Hafner is hurt. Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana are doing nothing.

That, in a nutshell, is why the Indians have lost 11 of their last 15 games — including a quiet 3-2 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday that dragged a manhole cover over a pungent 1-6 homestand that now has the Indians on the brink of relinquishing first place in the Central Division for the first time since April 6, the fifth day of the season.

"A very poor homestand," said Manager Manny Acta. "Very deflating."

At the start of the homestand, the Indians had a five-game lead over second-place Detroit. By the end of the homestand, the lead was down to 1 1/2 games, following the Tigers' 7-3 loss at Texas. To make matters worse, the Indians' next seven games are against the Yankees and Tigers — all on the road.

We're about to find out if the Indians are contenders or pretenders.

The needle will continue to lean toward the latter if the Indians' big hitters don't start hitting big.

"We're not getting big hits. It's not a secret. I need to do a better job of getting big hits, and so does everybody else," said Michael Brantley, who had three of the Indians' 10 hits Wednesday.

"It seems like if we don't hit a home run, we don't score," said Acta.

Both of the Indians' runs Wednesday came on solo home runs — by Grady Sizemore in the sixth inning and a dramatic game-tying, two-out homer by Jack Hannahan in the bottom of the ninth.

However, in the top of the 10th, closer Chris Perez gave up a two-out double to .153-hitting Drew Butera and an RBI single to Ben Revere.

The Indians have now lost eight of their last nine home games, but still — incredibly — own the best home record in the American League at 20-12.

But this is a free fall that isn't going to be halted until the players the Indians count on to do the heavy lifting start flexing their muscles.

Hafner was, but he's on the disabled list — and the Tribe's offense has vanished without him.

Consider the following:

-- The Indians are 8-13 since Hafner got hurt. In those 13 losses, the Indians have scored 18 runs, an average of 1.4 per game.

-- At the time Hafner got hurt — his last game was May 17 — the Indians were averaging 5.4 runs per game. Without Hafner, they are averaging 3.2 runs per game. Throw out a 13-9 win and a 12-4 win, and in the other 19 games they've played without Hafner, they are averaging 2.3 runs per game.

-- Perhaps most astounding of all: The Indians have been shut out five times in the 21 games Hafner has missed, and in 13 of the 21 games they have scored two runs or fewer.

"We're getting very poor at-bats," said Acta. "People are expanding the (strike) zone and trying to do too much."

As a result, the Indians are doing too little — especially de facto No. 3 and 4 hitters Choo and Santana. With each passing loss, Acta seems to lose a little more patience. He now refers to them as "the two guys in the middle of the lineup."

Choo is hitting .240. Santana is hitting .228. Choo and Santana are being counted on to be big run producers, but with runners in scoring position, Choo is hitting .172 and Santana .163. And it's June 9.

"We continue to struggle in the middle of the lineup, and it's snowballing," said Acta. "We need those guys to start swinging the bat."

In the meantime, the Indians are wasting a lot of good pitching. Wednesday, it was Justin Masterson's turn to wait for the offensive support that never came.

Masterson was terrific again, pitching eight innings and holding the Twins to two runs while not walking a batter. Forget winning, he had to be satisfied with avoiding the loss.

Masterson hasn't won a game since April 26. In eight starts since, he has 3.79 ERA — and no wins. He's 0-4 in those eight starts, during which the Indians have scored just 16 runs.

"It's frustrating, but for the team, not for me personally," said Masterson. "We just need to start getting a couple clutch hits here and there and we'll be back in it."

That seemed to be the prevailing opinion after the final loss in a homestand on which, said, Acta, "Everything that could go wrong went wrong."

Said Brantley, one of the few Indians not in a slump: "We're missing that clutch hit, that big hit to get us going. Once we break through that barrier, we'll be fine."

Some good stat work by Ingraham.

Acta has plan for Phelps
by Sheldon Ocker on June 8, 2011 - 12:21 pm


ShareCLEVELAND: Now that Cord Phelps is here, what is manager Manny Acta going to do with him?

“”He’ll play the majority of the time at second base against right-handers,” Acta said. “”Hopefully, he can give us a spark. The big thing is that our offense is struggling, and we’re trying to maximize every position on the field, especially with Travis (Hafner) not being here and a couple of other guys not swinging to their capabilities.”

That refererence was aimed at Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana, who have been mired in season-long slumps.

Phelps batted .299 with seven homers, 40 RBI and 31 runs at Columbus. He played 28 games at shortstop and 13 at second base. He had to move from second to make room for Jason Kipnis.

There was obvious regret in optioning Shelley Duncan to Triple-A.

“”We’re going to face only two left-handers the next two weeks, and that’s where most of his playing time comes,” Acta said. “”He understands. I anticipate that he will be back here at some point. He’s been a big part of what we’ve done and hopefully what we’re going to do.”

Duncan was batting .222 with two homers and 17 RBI in 81 at-bats. He was the club’s best pinch hitter with four hits in seven at-bats and seven RBI.