If it wasn’t bad enough during the summer, baseball’s winter meetings is just one more time that it is difficult to be a fan of the Cleveland Indians.
While other teams are dreaming of deals for players like former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke or 1B Adrian Gonzalez, the Tribe is signing veteran minor leaguer Jack Hannahan, and showing interest in utility infielder Nick Punto.
It makes you want to run down to Progressive Field or your local team shop and buy a bunch of tickets for next season.
It also makes you wonder if the Indians’ front office is interested in improving the team for the 2011 season.
Their approach regarding third base makes fans want to shake their collective heads.
At the end of last season, the incumbent at the hot corner was Jayson Nix, who batted .234 with 13 HR and 29 RBI’s in 306 at bats, with an OPS of 705. Add to those sterling numbers his defensive deficiencies and you have someone you need to replace.
However, the Tribe seems to want to replace him with someone who can field the position. Unfortunately, almost everyone agrees that the position is one you need some offense from.
First, they talked about signing Kevin Kouzmanoff, if he were non-tendered by Oakland. Kouzmanoff is the equal of Nix offensively, but has a better glove. The A’s decided to keep the former Indian, so that idea is out the window.
Now, it is said that new GM Chris Antonetti is looking at Nick Punto, who has played shortstop and therefore will provide better defense at 3B.
The problem with Punto is he makes Nix and Kouzmanoff look like Shin-Soo Choo offensively.
Punto, 33, has a lifetime OPS of 644. He has a lifetime on base percentage of .321. He’s a .247 hitter for his career with 13 homers and 198 RBI. The 13 dingers is a good month for some hitters, and the RBI total is a season and a half worth for Manny Ramirez in his prime.
Another alternative would be former Blue Jay Edwin Encarnacion, who was just non-tendered by Oakland, but the Indians don’t like him because he made 18 errors last season. They lived through Casey Blake making 20 errors a season, though.
However, he did hit 21 home runs with an 787 OPS. He’ll be 28 years old in January and has a lifetime OPS of 790. He also is not a whiff machine, with a career high of 102 strikeouts in 2006 with Cincinnati.
The Indians are spooked because Nix was so horrible defensively at the end of the year. That’s no reason to go with a guy who is all field, no hit.
It looks like that’s the Indian way these days.
Why not give rookie Cord Phelps the job at third and use whatever money you may have to sign a pitcher. Or sign Encarnacion, let Phelps compete for a job at second base and deal a couple of the middle infielders currently on the roster for pitching.
Instead, the Cleveland Indians seemed satisfied with mediocrity. We know Lonnie Chisenhall should be ready to assume the job in 2012, but that’s no reason to play a below average major leaguer at the spot next season.
And they keep alienating their fans. That is, how many of them that remains.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 