Cleveland Sports Forum

Who were some of the veteran free agents who did not picked up by teams in 2011 largely in part to the MLB minimum youth movement?

I think Jermaine Dye maybe still wanted to play but couldn't get a contract.


Weren't there others?

Manny's 100 game suspension ends in less than a month.

As I understand it, if Manny "unretires," he would still have to serve a 100 game suspension before he could play.

Shoot, there goes my big hope.

Tribe moves on to Plan B
Buck, Kearns to step up during Choo's absence; Acta to keep eyeing Triple-A

By Sheldon Ocker

SAN FRANCISCO: Plan A might not work well enough to keep the Indians' offense and defense humming in the wake of Shin-Soo Choo's absence with a fractured left thumb.

Manager Manny Acta said Saturday that in the short term, left-handed batter Travis Buck and right-hander Austin Kearns, plus righty Shelley Duncan will play right field while Choo is on the disabled list.

But what if that turns out to be an inadequate solution?

''We will continue to look externally and internally at Triple-A,'' Acta said. ''It's kind of early, so it might be tough to make a trade. But we have some other options if this [Kearns, Buck] doesn't work out going forward. We have [Ezequiel] Carrera and [Chad] Huffman at Columbus.''

Neither Buck nor Kearns has impressed anyone with his prowess at the plate this season, but there are mitigating circumstances. ''It's tough to ask them to produce when neither one has been a bench player,'' Acta said.

Now both will receive more playing time, which might make a difference. Buck, on his way back from Columbus, was batting .228 with two home runs and nine RBI in 32 games before he left for Triple-A; Kearns is batting .198 with no homers and two RBI in 32 games.

''We eventually might have to look at Plan B, C, D, E and F,'' Acta said.

Choo's injury happened in the fourth inning of Friday night's loss to the Giants, when he was hit with a pitch by Jonathan Sanchez, who went on the DL on Saturday with left-arm bicep tendinitis.

''He's going to fly to Cleveland to see Dr. [Tom] Graham Monday,'' Acta said. ''They will discuss the possibility of surgery. I would say he'll be out anywhere from one month to what — 90 days?''


At this point, it's too early to tell. After Choo's examination at the Cleveland Clinic, Acta will have a more accurate time frame for Choo's recovery.

It is believed that the fracture is displaced, that is, the two parts of the bone do not fit perfectly together. That means there's a possibility a pin will be inserted in the thumb to speed the healing process if surgery is the treatment of choice.

Choo realized immediately the injury was serious. For one thing, the ball cut his hand so severely, he needed stitches to close the wound.

''I've been hit enough times that I knew right away,'' he said. ''As soon as it hit me, I was thinking, 'This is something bad.' ''

Obviously the loss of Choo is critical to the Tribe.

''It's not only his offense,'' Acta said. ''To me, he's the best right fielder in the American League. He's also a big plus running the bases. He's a complete player. It's a big blow, and that's an understatement.''

And how to deal with crisis No. 2, or maybe this is actually Crisis No. 1


Tribe might be forced to act
If Carmona fails to get back on track, he could be replaced in rotation

By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer


SAN FRANCISCO: Speculation that the Indians might soon be forced to remove Fausto Carmona from the rotation continues to be met with a stony glare and an immediate denial by manager Manny Acta.

''We're not even thinking about that,'' is his usual response.

But it would be irresponsible for Acta, General Manager Chris Antonetti and pitching coach Tim Belcher not to be talking about the what ifs of replacing Carmona.

That doesn't mean it will happen, but should he persist in stumbling along with the second worst earned-run average among all major-league starters, the Tribe's deep thinkers will have no choice but to act, if nothing else, to save the season.

The situation would be different if the club was 12 games out of first place and trying to claw its way to .500. But the Indians remain players in the Central Division race, and at this point — considering the quality of their rivals — there is no reason to believe the Tribe's status will change. At least if they own five viable starters.

Finding a pitcher who can keep the team in games for five to seven innings consistently might not be as difficult as figuring out what to do with Carmona, who has a track record of success, erratic though it has been.

Jeanmar Gomez, Zach McAllister and David Huff, all at Triple-A Columbus, are reasonable possibilities as substitute starters. And if that doesn't work — it would take time to find out — Alex White should be off the disabled list in four to six weeks.

Despite denials by Carmona and Acta, this season is beginning to look like 2009 all over again. Two years ago, Carmona got off to a bad start and ended up in the minors by early June.

He returned to the big leagues at the end of July and pitched relatively well for seven starts (4.05 ERA) before falling off the earth in his last six (7.30 ERA). He finished the season with a 5-12 record and a 6.32 ERA.

This is the same guy who pitched every bit as well as his lodge brother, CC Sabathia, in 2007, when Sabathia won the American League Cy Young Award with a 19-7 record and 3.21 ERA. Carmona, then a virtual novice, was 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA.

That's why the Indians have no current plans to give up on him. Carmona is only 27 and has the kind of arm that you find on 20-game winners. The problem is Carmona's fragile psyche, which is the reason you will hear as little criticism as possible from Acta, who doesn't want to lose him.

I don't blame the manager. If Tribe staffers can fix Carmona's mechanics and stabilize his ego (if the mental part is repaired, the physical part will follow), he will return to being the dominant pitcher he was in 2007.

But why didn't Carmona's success that year trigger a permanent change in his emotional makeup? Why does he continue to suffer frequent meltdowns, particularly when he has to deal with a misplay in the field, an umpire's unpredictable strike zone, a bad bounce, almost any minor adversity?

Maybe it's related to the way Carmona starts a season. In 2007, he pitched poorly in his initial outing (41/3 innings pitched, six earned runs) but reeled off eight consecutive impressive appearances (6-0 record, 2.17 ERA). Two years ago, he struggled from the outset and never recovered, posting a 2-6 record and 7.42 ERA in his first 12 starts.

During that stretch, even when Carmona pitched well (twice giving up two runs in 62/3 innings), the results were bad. He took the defeat in one game, and the team lost both.

But the pattern this year has been different. His worst outing was his first, when he gave up 10 runs in three innings to the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day. But in his next three starts, he allowed a total of three earned runs in 212/3 innings to the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles.

After that Carmona tanked against the Minnesota Twins but recovered against the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics and Angels before going into the slide that culminated in his unacceptable performance against the Colorado Rockies on Monday, when he gave up seven runs in 42/3 innings, six of them in a fourth-inning rally that began after two were out.

Even if there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the way Carmona begins a season and his effectiveness over the entire schedule, what good does it do? There's no way to orchestrate a fast start for a pitcher.

What is needed is to change Carmona's mindset, his confidence level, his ability to deal with stress. And keep in mind that he has to do all this on a public stage. Accomplishing this is approximately as easy as flying to the moon in a helicopter.

Sending Carmona to the minors is out of the question. He has no options and would have to clear waivers to be outrighted. There are plenty of teams that would love to have his arm on their side, and they would be willing to take a chance on his makeup.

Morever, the guaranteed part of Carmona's contract expires at the end of the season. What is left are three club options (It will be interesting to see if the Tribe wants to continue dealing with Carmona's idiosyncrasies). He is eligible for arbitration, but I wouldn't want to be the guy who argues his case. That means he'll be relatively cheap to keep for another team.

What else can the Indians do? They can put Carmona in the bullpen and get rid of someone who is currently doing his job.

But there's a potential problem: Can Carmona be effective as a reliever? Even if he's in the bullpen temporarily, Acta doesn't want to go to war with six relievers during a pennant race.

One general manager suggested that the Tribe might trade Carmona for another club's problem player. But don't hold your breath for that to happen. Finding a fit would be a long shot. So the Indians are left with running Carmona out there tonight and at least one more time (my estimate) in the hope that he will turn his season around. Who knows? Maybe he will, but I wouldn't bet on it.

My solution: A 10-day all-expenses paid (by the club) vacation in Maui.

Several miscues very costly to Tribe
Two errors by Phelps, Sipp's balk in 7th hand Giants game's only run

By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published: June 26, 2011 - 02:30 AM

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson, left, walks off the mound after being replaced by a relief pitcher by manager Manny Acta, right, in the seventh inning of an interleague baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Saturday in San Francisco. The Giants won 1-0 and Masterson was the losing pitcher. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Several miscues very costly to Tribe June 26,2011 07:30 AM GMT Sheldon Ocker Beacon Journal

SAN FRANCISCO: With the likelihood that Shin-Soo Choo will be on the disabled for several weeks, if not two or three months, the last thing the Indians need is another problem.

Unfortunately for them, they have discovered a new way to lose, by shooting themselves in the foot, a lethal activity that led directly to Saturday's 1-0 defeat to the Giants at AT&T Park.

Two errors by second baseman Cord Phelps, combined with a balk by Tony Sipp sunk the Tribe, which for the second consecutive game could not get a timely hit against the San Francisco pitching staff.

''Justin Masterson did a very good job matching [Matt] Cain inning by inning,'' manager Manny Acta said. ''That's what you want to do against a good pitcher, but we beat ourselves with two errors, a walk and a balk. We also didn't execute offensively with a runner on third and less than two outs. And we had the guys up there we wanted.''

On Friday night, two errors by Carlos Santana led to three unearned runs and a 4-3 defeat.

Nate Schierholtz led off the seventh for the Giants with a long drive to center, but what looked like a sure triple ended up being the first out of the inning when Schierholtz fell between second and third and was tagged out in a rundown.

''Lucky me, I caught a break,'' Masterson said. ''I was thinking, 'Throw a few sticks over there [for Schierholtz to stumble over].' ''

But Miguel Tejada followed with a bouncer to the right of Phelps, whose throw to first pulled Jack Hannahan off the bag for his first error. One out later, Masterson looked like he was in the clear with the pitcher coming up, but Cain slapped a ground ball to Phelps, who bobbled it for error No. 2.

''I just didn't make the play,'' he said. ''Those are plays I make, but I didn't make them today. You have to play good defense to win, and I didn't do that.''

But the worst was yet to come. Acta went to the bullpen for Sipp, who walked Andres Torres to load the bases. And before he could get the third out, plate umpire Bob Davidson called a balk, allowing Tejada to score from third.

How did Sipp balk? As he was about to get a new sign from the catcher, he lifted his left hand an inch or two. That was enough for Davidson, who is reputed to call more balks than the norm.

However, Sipp also thought it was a balk, saying: ''I pulled my hand up a little. I don't know how much, but I could feel it. I barely moved, but I knew it was a balk.

''Both umpires called it, the guy at first [Hunter Wendelstedt] and at the plate. It was a mental lapse that should never happen. I would rather give up a home run and make a physical mistake than a mental error.''

Acta didn't commit himself on the balk issue.

''I would never say it was a balk if it's my guy,'' he said. ''I guess they felt he started [his windup] then stopped.''

Regardless of the validity of the balk, Acta correctly refused to say that mistake beat the Indians. A team has nine innings to score and ought to be able to overcome a one-run deficit.

''We didn't lose because of the balk,''' the manager said. ''We put ourselves in that position with the two errors and the walk.''

Cain didn't give up much, but the Tribe had chances to score.

Michael Brantley (who had three hits) and Phelps singled to start the game, but neither was able to advance. In the sixth, the Indians put a runner on third with one out but failed to score. In the eighth, they had runners on second and third with one out and didn't get the job done.

Suffice it to say that Asdrubal Cabrera stranded five runners, and Grady Sizemore left seven.

Masterson (5-6, 2.98 ERA) was charged with one unearned run, four hits and two walks in 62/3 innings. He hasn't won in 11 starts, dating to April 26. ''We know how good he's pitched,'' Acta said. ''We don't grade guys or look that much at wins and losses, because there's only so much they can do.''

Was it Masterson's best performance of the season?

''Kind of, yeah,'' he said. ''It was the least number of runs, but it's kind of consistent with what I've been doing, except for a couple of starts.''

Masterson summed up the defeat when he said, ''It was one of those unfortunate losses: so close but just out of reach for us to take it.''

Masterson may well never win again. It's two months without a win although he's pitched just about as well and as consistently as ever. ERA 2.98. He and Carrasco are a nice solid top of the rotation. Tomlin is a reliable back of the rotation starter.

Correcting Terry on Josh Judy: 36 walks in 28 innings. Yesterday he was bombed for 5 runs in one inning; all unearned but 90% his fault.

What Do The Indians Need?

By Tim Dierkes [June 27 at 11:04am CST]

The Indians have been exploring trades, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, but the market remains undefined with so many teams still in contention. Bastian adds that he expects the team to lean toward internal moves for upgrades at primary positions. He believes they could make deals for backup-type players, with high-priced acquisitions unlikely. The Indians are one game back in the AL Central after being swept by the Giants over the weekend.

A pair of Indians position players are currently on the DL in first baseman Matt LaPorta and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo. LaPorta, who is recovering from a sprained ankle, will rejoin the team for batting practice on Friday and is eligible to be activated on July 4th. Choo is expected to need surgery on a broken thumb and might be out until mid-August. The Tribe will go with an Austin Kearns/Travis Buck platoon in right field initially. If they eventually look outside the organization, guys like Reed Johnson and Laynce Nix could merit consideration in my opinion.

The Indians rank eighth in the AL with 4.28 runs scored per game. Second and third base are potential areas of upgrade. As we've discussed, the Indians are giving Cord Phelps a shot at second now and still have Jason Kipnis in the minors. They could get more offense than what Jack Hannahan has provided at the hot corner, though top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall hasn't been amazing at Triple-A. The biggest offensive upgrade could come from Baltimore's Mark Reynolds, but he's more than a rental. A more reasonable alternative might be Kansas City's Wilson Betemit, though both players would represent defensive downgrades from Hannahan. Another option could be to acquire Colorado's Josh Fields and use him in various spots as the Sky Sox have been doing.

How about the rotation? Fausto Carmona has struggled all year. Should he eventually be considered for a long relief role, options abound at Triple-A, as outlined by MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Another reinforcement could come perhaps in August if Alex White recovers from a finger injury. So it appears the Indians will go the internal route here as well. If GM Chris Antonetti does explore the trade market, a few of these starters will be in the mix. There's no ace in the group, so Antonetti won't be switching to the buying side of a Cliff Lee or C.C. Sabathia type deal.

The Tribe's bullpen may lack household names, but with an AL-best 2.94 ERA Antonetti probably will not be in the market for relievers.

Antonetti probably will not be in the market for relievers.

Astute analysis

Oh, other teams want a Tribe reliever? Fine, fine, send Durbin, put Carmona in the garbage time role, and bring up one of these AAA possibilities we hear about.

I too would like to see that scenario.

I second that emotion.

Shin-Soo Choo undergoes surgery on thumb; lost to Cleveland Indians for 8-10 weeks
Published: Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 2:36 PM Updated: Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 3:17 PM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer
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Shin-Soo Choo had surgery today on his injured left thumb.
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Indians right fielder Shin-Soo Choo had surgery on his left thumb Tuesday morning. He will be out eight to 10 weeks, which means if he is able to rejoin the Indians, it won't be until late August or September.
Hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham performed the surgery at Cleveland Clinic. He stablized the fracture with a screw and metal plate and aligned it.
Choo was hit by a Jonathan Sanchez pitch Friday in the fourth inning against San Francisco. Sanchez was placed on the disabled list the next day with biceps tendinitis in his left shoulder.
Choo escaped a serious injury to his right thumb last year when he strained it attempting a diving catch. He was not so fortunate this season.
Manager Manny Acta is rotating Austin Kearns, Travis Buck and Shelley Duncan in right field to try and replace Choo.
Choo was hitting .244 (65-for-266) with 30 runs, 10 doubles, five homers and 28 RBI in 72 games at the time of the injury. It was a slow start for the left-handed hitting Choo after being the Indians best player in 2009 and 2010.
Before Choo flew back to Cleveland on Sunday he said, "I'm being tested. I'll play again this year. Even if it's just for one game. I don't want my year to end like this."