With winter hammering the North Coast, and people chiseling ice of their windshields and driveways, what a better time to think about baseball.
Pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear two weeks from today, February 17th. Warmer weather has got to be just around the corner.
It has been reported that the Tribe is interested in signing free agent pitcher Jeremy Bonderman to a minor league contract. Actually, this would be a very good move.
First of all, Bonderman is just 28 years old even though it seems like he’s been around forever. He came up at the tender age of 20 in 2003 after being acquired by the Tigers in a trade with Oakland.
Last season was his first complete season since 2007 and he threw 171 innings for Detroit, compiling an 8-10 record with a 5.53 ERA.
He missed most of the 2008 and 2009 seasons with a blood clot in his shoulder, which no doubt is serious, but he didn’t have any muscle tears.
Opposing hitters batted .277 against right-hander (Justin Masterson’s average against was .278), which isn’t a ridiculously high figure, and his strikeout to walk ratio wasn’t bad either (112 K’s to 60 walks).
The negatives would be that his second half was much worse than his first half, but that could be due to fatigue after not pitching much during the previous two years.
Bonderman is not an aging veteran with a track record of failure. This means he is not the usual guy the Tribe front office takes a flyer on. He’s been an inning eater who has pitched over 170 frames five times in his career, and has won 14 games in a season twice (’05 and ’06).
Bonderman is still relatively young and has upside. It’s not a stretch to think he could go back to being the guy who pitched 180 innings with an ERA of around 4.00. That’s a middle of the rotation starter.
Now the Tribe has to use the same type of thinking with their lineup. Last week, it was reported that the team had some interest in 1B Casey Kotchman, who wound up signing with Tampa Bay.
Kotchman, 28, was being looked at as a possible platoon partner at first base with Matt LaPorta. Why? He hit .217 with the Mariners last season, and is a lifetime .259 hitter and has a slugging percentage under .400 (.392) for his career.
He’s a singles hitter who plays a power position. Why would want to take time away from a young player (La Porta) who you need to see play everyday?
LaPorta is now 26 years old and it’s time for the organization to find out if he can be a regular. He is potentially (hate that word!) a power hitting right-handed bat on a team that desperately needs one.
If Kotchman were brought in, Manny Acta would give him at bats against some right-handers, and let’s say he gets a few hits. So, he starts getting more time in the lineup.
However, ultimately he will go back to being Casey Kotchman, which is to say, not good enough to be an everyday player.
The result is lost at bats for LaPorta. That’s something this organization can’t afford.
It’s what happened with Jayson Nix. He came in after being picked up on waivers, he a few dingers, and soon some people in the Indians’ front office think he’s a player.
The problem is, he’s still Jayson Nix and the Tribe should be finding out if Cord Phelps, Jason Donald, or Jason Kipnis are better than him.
You can always find someone like Kotchman or Nix if you need to have one in an emergency.
Pick your spots on bringing in guys to rehabilitate their careers. Jeremy Bonderman is a good gamble because he’s young and a starting pitcher. T
Take a pass on mediocre hitters.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 