Spring training is nearing an end, and the Cleveland Indians continue to pare down its roster to the Opening Day limit of 25 players. However, are they making the correct decisions?
We have been critical so far of the organizations unwillingness to give its top prospects more of a look in training camp. Perhaps the team feels pressure to get off to a good start, so they are concentrating on getting veterans ready for the regular season. But maybe the Tribe keeps getting off to poor starts because they continue to bring the wrong 25 players north.
Let’s focus on the bullpen, which has been a large factor in several of the team’s poor Aprils. Josh Judy was recently sent back to the minors despite allowing just one hit in 5-1/3 innings. The front office said that Judy had turned some heads in camp but needed more experience.
Perhaps Judy needs experience like Jamey Wright, who has a lifetime ERA of 5.03 in 420 big league games. Or experience like Saul Rivera, who had a 6.10 ERA in 30 appearances last season. Or experience like Jensen Lewis, who allowed 13 homers in 62 innings last season.
All three of those guys are likely to be in the bullpen at the start of 2010, while Judy will toil for the Columbus Clippers. Experience is only a good factor if the experience is a positive one.
When the Indians lose some games early in the season because of bullpen struggles, keep an eye on who is having problems. That’s not to say that these three guys haven’t had success at the big league level, but when you see a guy getting people out in exhibition games, why not give him a shot to make the ballclub.
The new organizational catch phrase is "finishing guys off" at the minor league level. That’s why all of these high level prospects are being sent back to AAA. However, how do they explain Carlos Carrasco, who pitched all of 2009 at the AAA level.
Carrasco has been impressive in his last two outings, throwing nine scoreless frames, and overall this spring has pitched 12 innings, allowing just three runs with three walks and eight strikeouts. Yet, apparently he has been eliminated from the race for the starting rotation. You have to wonder at what point will the young right-hander will be ready for the majors. One would think the brass would want to give him the benefit of the doubt since he came over in the Cliff Lee trade.
Granted, fitting him in would be a challenge because all three of the candidates for the 4th and 5th starter spots (Aaron Laffey, David Huff, and Mitch Talbot) have done well, but wouldn’t you think Carrasco would still at least be in the mix?
Instead of making some changes, the Indians seem content to put the same people out there who "contributed" to a 65-97 record last season, and the second worst ERA in the AL at 5.06. Obviously, there’s nothing broken, so why fix it?
Perhaps some of these decisions are made with an eye on keeping service time to a minimum, thus pushing eligibility for arbitration until after the player’s third season. If that is the case, it’s just one more black mark against the Dolan ownership. The object of the front office and manager should be to win games, not save the owner’s cash.
If players are ready for the major leagues, they should be in the big leagues. Otherwise, they are being wasted. Just think, if the Tigers’ Rick Porcello were in the Tribe organization, he would be preparing for life in Akron right about now.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 