The 2011 baseball season which started with all sorts of good feelings for the Cleveland Indians, is reaching a critical point. 

Going into tonight’s game against Texas, the Tribe has fallen back to four games behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central Division, which they once led by seven games way back in the month of May.

After the two games against the Rangers, the Indians come home for a six game homestand which starts against the Tigers, the first of twelve times the two teams will play against each other through the end of the season. 

It would be a good time for Cleveland to start playing well, if indeed they can recapture some of the magic that fueled the 30-15 start. 

In actuality, they have played pretty well on this current trip, beating Boston twice, and losing the other three games on the sojourn on their opponents last at bat.  They could just as easily be 5-0 on the road.

However, the bullpen, which has been considered the strength of the team is showing signs of cracking, perhaps from overuse. 

In Boston, only Carlos Carrasco could get through seven innings as a starter, with the other three pitchers going no more than six (Tomlin, Huff, and Masterson).  That puts a toll on the relievers, particularly with Manny Acta being hesitant to use two hurlers out of the bullpen, Chad Durbin and Frank Herrmann.

Add to that, the current struggles of closer Chris Perez, who has blown his last two save opportunities, including last night after getting the first two outs with a 7-5 lead (Note:  Michael Young’s homer would only have gone out in the Texas wind tunnel).  On the other hand, Perez has only had three save opportunities since the All Star break.

The offense has perked up on the road trip after struggling mightily on last week’s home stand. 

The story of this ballclub is if one of the team’s three constant hitters (Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner, and Michael Brantley) is slumping, the entire offense struggles.  No one else has emerged on a consistent basis.

As of late, Carlos Santana is starting to pick it up, and is now second on the team in homers and RBI’s, although his batting average continues to hover around the .230 mark. 

And as Boston showed, the Tribe’s left-handed dominant lineup is susceptible to southpaw relievers.  There is no right-handed hitting option to counter the situational lefties, as Austin Kearns and his .204 batting average is still on the roster.

After tomorrow night’s series finale against the Rangers, the Indians only have three games remaining against the AL’s three best teams (New York, Boston, Texas).  Most of the schedule consists of AL Central foes, with five games against Seattle and four more against Oakland, all at home, mixed in.

Unfortunately, the Tigers are also done with those teams as well, although they do have one more west coast trip remaining, a four game trip to Oakland in September.

It comes down to this.  There are 52 games left on the schedule for the Cleveland Indians.  If they want to make the American League playoffs by winning the Central Division, they do not need help.  They have plenty of games remaining against their main competitors. 

If they play well, they can win.  But it will take a total team effort:  hitting, pitching, and defense.  There can be no breakdowns.

MW

Over the past few years, there has been one constant on the Cleveland Indians offense, the strikeout. 

The players come and go, but the problem remains.  The Tribe hitters are prone to swinging and missing.

This year, the Indians currently lead the American League in fanning.  Last year, they finished second, and the year prior (2009), they ranked third in the league.

It would be one thing if Cleveland was a big power hitting team, belting 180-200 home runs per year, but they aren’t. 

They rank in the middle of the pack to the bottom in the AL in the power stats. 

This year, they rank 10th in home runs and 8th in slugging percentage.  In 2010, they were 11th in round trippers and 12th in slugging, and in 2009, the Tribe was 11th in circuit clouts, and 9th in slugging.

Strikeouts usually represent an all or nothing approach, but with the Indians, they are missing the “all” part. 

Therefore, what you have is a team that needs to do little things like moving runners, hitting behind runners, and having the ability to score runs with outs (ground balls, sacrifice flies, etc.), but they can’t because they don’t make consistent contact.

There are many baseball people who don’t mind strikeouts, and obviously the Indians have some of them in their organization. 

The thought process behind that is that it’s just another out, the same as a fly ball or pop up.  That’s true, except in situations when there are runners on base.

That’s when you need hitters to make contact and put the ball in play.  Like after a leadoff double, you need to hit a grounder to the right side to move him to third.

Understand, hitting a baseball is a difficult thing to do, so it’s not as easy as it looks.  Also, pitchers are trying to prevent hitters from doing what they want to do.

Teams can also overlook players who accompany the strikeouts with an equal, or close to equal amount of walks (Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner).  You can afford to whiff 100 times a season if you walk 80 times. 

And of course, if you hit the long ball, your strikeouts are excused, such as Asdrubal Cabrera, who has fanned 81 times, but has 19 dingers.

With that in mind, here are the guys who should be cutting down on the whiffs based on the other parts of their offensive game:

Matt La Porta  (.415 slugging percentage):  62 K’s in 292 at bats, Jack Hannahan (.333):  60 K’s in 277 at bats, Shin-Soo Choo (.353):  65 K’s in 266 at bats, Austin Kearns (.307):  43 K’s in 140 at bats, and Lou Marson (.331):  34 K’s in 133 at bats.

Also disturbing are the strikeout rates by the two hot prospects currently on the roster.  Jason Kipnis has struck out 12 times in 31 at bats, and Lonnie Chisenhall has fanned 23 times in 76 times at the plate.

The strikeout frequency is the main reason the Cleveland offense struggles so much.  Manny Acta cannot send runners as often as he would like because of the lack of contact from his hitters.

When Jon Nunnally was removed by the Indians as hitting coach, Acta said one of the reasons was the strikeouts were starting to pile up. 

The situation hasn’t improved under Bruce Fields.

Also, when the Tribe was 30-15, and the offense was much more efficient, Cleveland ranked in the middle of the pack in striking out. 

Certainly, if GM Chris Antonetti wants to improve the hitting for 2012, an eye should be kept on players who make contact. 

Doing that alone might allow next season’s team to score more runs.

KM

Many fans of the Cleveland Browns are upset because the team wasn’t involved in the feeding frenzy that the free agent market became after the lockout was lifted.

These people want president Mike Holmgren and GM Tom Heckert to start throwing obscene amounts of money to fill the holes that exist on the roster. 

Most of this money would be given to people whose old teams no longer wanted them.

It’s instant gratification for supporters of the team, and it looks to everyone like the Browns are trying to win football games right now, but it’s not the right way to go.

For an example, look at Cleveland’s bitter rivals to the east, the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The Steelers don’t use the free agent market very often, and if they do, it’s for a piece to fill in for a year or two.  They don’t use the system to buy cornerstones.  That’s what the draft is for.

That opinion is shared by many other teams around the NFL, including the Browns. 

That is not to say another 5-11 record is acceptable here.  In fact, Pat Shurmur’s squad better come up with a 7-9 or 8-8 record this season, barring some catastrophic injuries. 

No one wants to hear any more talk about rebuilding processes or starting over.  It’s time to start winning.

But the path to winning is through the draft, not free agency.

Last year, Heckert drafted three players who started last season (Haden, Ward, McCoy) and three others who will play significant roles on the 2011 squad (RB Montario Hardesty, G Shawn Lauvao, and WR Carlton Mitchell).

An excellent draft without a doubt, at least for right now.

This year, you can project first round pick DT Phil Taylor as a starter, and it would not be a surprise to see second rounder DE Jabaal Sheard getting considerable time as well. 

Also, FB Owen Marecic will probably be starting fullback somewhere down the road, and it looks as though WR Greg Little will get on the field quite a bit as well.

The point is this, the draft lays the foundation for a good organization, and at this point in the Browns’ development, using the free agent market to get role players is the right move.

The signings of probable free safety Usama Young (26 years old) and RB Brandon Jackson (27) are good moves.  Both players will help the team, and Heckert isn’t breaking the bank to get them here.

When the Browns are at the point where they are on the verge of the playoffs, that’s the time to go out and get a high-profile, impact type of free agent.

Besides, paying bloated salaries to players who don’t deserve them cuts down on the amount of depth teams have. 

Instead, Heckert has used the stockpile of draft choices he has accumulated during his tenure to get some depth for the roster.  Trades like the one for OL John Greco do exactly that, and both are in areas where Cleveland needs it.

So calm down, Browns fans.  The guys in charge are building the football team the correct way, through the draft. 

Look at Washington Redskins, they are always signing one of the big time free agents, and look at the state of their franchise.

You build the foundation first and then add on the bells and whistles.  That’s what the Browns are doing.

Relax people.

JD

Whether or not you like the Indians trade of four prospects to the Colorado Rockies for right-handed starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, you have to admit this was a bold move by Tribe GM Chris Antonetti.

However, giving up four prospects, including the top two pitching prospects in the organization, is the type of deal that could come back to burn this organization in the next few years, but it does fit in with the new Dolan philosophy.

Last year, the ownership told the fans that the best we could hope for in Cleveland was to contend every few years.  With several of the Indians better players’ contracts coming up in 2013 (Hafner, Cabrera, Choo), the management decided the window of opportunity would be closing in the next two and a half seasons.

So, they are putting all the eggs in their basket right now.

The opposite view is that with Drew Pomerantz and Alex White, along with Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis, the Indians would have a very good opportunity to be in the mix for a division title for the next five years or so.

Which is why it seems Antonetti gave up too much to get the 27-year-old righty, who won 19 games for Colorado last season.

We know Jimenez is a better pitcher outside of Coors Field, at least this year.  His ERA at home was 5.55 vs. 3.38 on the road.  Opponents are hitting just .183 away from the Rocky Mountains, but .310 at Coors. 

For his career though, his ERA is roughly the same (3.67 at home, 3.65 on the road).  To be fair, he has held opposition hitters to a .216 average on the road vs. .245 at home.

The other unanswered question is why Jimenez has lost some velocity off his fastball this season.  He is undergoing a physical today, and if it comes up clean, then perhaps it’s a mechanical issue, and Tim Belcher can restore his overpowering fastball.

Dealing one of the top pitchers, either White or Pomerantz, would have seemed sufficient here.  Of course, the Rockies wanted more, but the Indians wanted, and probably should have got more for the two Cy Young Award winners they traded. 

In addition, the Tribe is throwing in Joe Gardner, a sinkerball specialist, who is also a top ten prospect for Cleveland.  That means three top ten prospects for Jimenez.  That’s quite a price to pay for someone who is 6-9 on the season, even though he did win 19 a year ago.

Yes, if he can regain his form of the past couple of years, Jimenez will help form a very good starting rotation which will include Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin, Carlos Carrasco, and hopefully a stable Fausto Carmona.  That would be one of the better starting fives in the AL, especially with Masterson showing his dominance this season.

There is depth in Jeanmar Gomez, Zack McAllister, and David Huff as well, but those guys are all more back of the rotation guys.

Antonetti did make a great move in dealing Orlando Cabrera to the Giants for OF prospect Thomas Neal.  Neal is one of San Francisco’s top prospects, and prior to this season has shown some pop in his bat.  He could be in the outfield mix next season.

Here’s hoping Jimenez can regain the velocity of his heater, and dealing potential for real production at the big league level works out. 

Still with the way the pitching staff has performed this year, if you are going to deal top prospects, it should have been for a bat.  That’s what the 2011 Cleveland Indians need. 

They may get one today, yet, but it’s unlikely to be an impact move.

MW

 

The good news is the Cleveland Indians made a deal with the Chicago Cubs for an outfielder.

The bad news is that it isn’t Reed Johnson.

Instead, the Tribe picked up Kosuke Fukudome for two minor leaguers, reportedly toolsy Kinston OF Abner Abreu and Columbus relief pitcher Carlton Smith.

Fukudome is 34, and hits left-handed, and he can get on base.  He has a lifetime .369 on base percentage.

However, he has little pop in his bat, with a .369 slugging percentage this year and a lifetime .403 mark.

He does hit lefties as well as righties, but hasn’t hit well away from Wrigley Field, batting just .214 with no home runs and 593 OPS. 

If the former Cubs is viewed as an alternative to Austin Kearns, Travis Buck, or Ezequiel Carrera, then it is a decent move. 

That’s not much of a standard though.

Seriously, Fukudome should be able to help because he gets on base.  It would make sense for skipper Manny Acta to put him in the leadoff spot or the #2 hole (behind Michael Brantley) in the batting order and drop Carrera to the ninth spot in the order. 

Buck was designated for assignment to make room for the former Cub.

Hopefully, there are more moves to come, because this one will have little impact in the grand scheme of things.

MW

Early in the season, Angels’ right-hander Dan Haren pitched a one hitter against the Cleveland Indians. 

Today, his teammate, Ervin Santana did him better by throwing a no-hitter against the Tribe to win the series, two games to one.

In a crucial homestand, with a trip to Boston and Texas coming up next week, the Indians have started out 1-4, scoring seven runs in the five games combined.

And don’t blame the pitching.  Cleveland pitchers gave up just seven runs in the three game series, and still got pinned with two losses.

What is just as disturbing about the series finale is the five errors made by Cleveland, giving them a weird line score of 1-0-5.  Don’t see that very often.

And the errors were made by veteran players, save for Lonnie Chisenhall’s miscue early in the game. 

The Indians didn’t make Santana work very hard in the game, as he threw just 104 pitches. 

David Huff took the loss in this one, but his defense didn’t help him as one of the runs he allowed was the result of a passed ball by Carlos Santana, and he had to throw several extra pitches in the fourth inning when he had to record five outs.

Let’s face it, the Cleveland Indians aren’t a very good baseball team.  Their hot streak lasted 45 games (30-15), and they’ve played 57 games since then going 22-35 during that span.  They’ve been bad longer than they were good.

Still, a quick check of the standings shows the Tribe just two games out of first place with 60 games to go.  They are in the race and the front office should be buyers instead of sellers, without a doubt.

Outside of Asdrubal Cabrera, Michael Brantley, and Travis Hafner, there are no consistent offensive threats.  Chisenhall has improved the offense at third base slightly, and the hope is that Jason Kipnis will do the same at 2B. 

Carlos Santana is too streaky at this point, but still would have to be considered on the plus side, since his OPS is second among all American League catchers. 

And despite commenting about the strikeouts when hitting coach Jon Nunnally was let go, Cleveland now leads the AL in failing to make contact at the plate. 

That’s why scoring runs is still akin to pulling teeth for this team.  They can’t play “action baseball” because they whiff so often.  Santana had 10 punchouts today. 

When people get hopeful about getting a B. J. Upton or Colby Rasmus (traded to Toronto today), they don’t understand this team needs someone who makes contact on a regular basis, not another guy who strikes out a lot, which both of those guys do.

Conversely, the pitching staff, which by the way is not among the top half of the AL in ERA (currently 9th), is second last in the league in striking out opponents.  That’s why GM Chris Antonetti is also looking at adding a pitcher. 

FYI:  Detroit has a staff ERA almost a quarter of a run higher than the Tribe.  And that’s with Justin Verlander.

So, what should this team do?

They are close so they should take a shot and try to improve the team as much as they can, but with an eye on the future as well. 

It’s not easy to do, but after today’s game, let’s face it.  There is nowhere to go but up.

KM

 

 

There hasn’t been a lot of football to write about since the NFL draft occurred in April.  We try to stay with on the field stuff for the most part, and with the lockout being in place, that means no football to discuss.

But the billionaires that run the sport finally settled with the players, and training camps will open this weekend.

The days leading up to those opening will be filled with a flurry of player movement, as teams can start signing their own free agents today, and can start talking to both undrafted free agents and veteran free agents in the next day or two.

The Browns aren’t expected to be major players, but should look to improve the defense through this process.

Cleveland’s front seven is very thin, especially with the switch to a 4-3 alignment by new defensive coordinator Dick Jauron. 

Yes, GM Tom Heckert’s first two draft picks this year were defensive linemen in DT Phil Taylor and DE Jabaal Sheard, but the only veteran certain of a spot is Ahtyba Rubin.  It is doubtful that the Browns want to go into the regular season starting two rookies on the defensive line.

At linebacker, the Browns are projecting D’Qwell Jackson as a starter, the same Jackson that has missed most of the last two seasons with a pectoral injury.  Plus, another starter, Scott Fujita was injured last season too, and when he was out, the defense dropped off noticeably. 

Heckert has to be looking to add some depth to the front seven, because right now, Cleveland is awfully thin in that area.

There are questions in the secondary too, although at least two starters are in place in CB Joe Haden and S T.J. Ward.  Veteran Sheldon Brown will probably start somewhere, either at corner or moving to free safety.  So, there is one spot open.

It doesn’t seem likely that the front office will re-sign S Abe Elam, a holdover from the Mangini days, although Elam did pick up his play in the second half of last season.

Also, the Browns have a decision to make on CB Eric Wright, who suffered through a dismal season in 2010.  Look for the team to keep Wright and hope he rebounds from an off-season.

On offense, don’t look for too much action from Heckert.  He may look for an experience offensive lineman, since OT Tony Pashos has been injury prone the last few years, and they don’t want to count too heavily on rookie Jason Pinkston.  Remember that Shawn Lauvao, a rookie last year, probably would have started had he not been injured just prior to the season opener.

As for the position most fans fixate on, wide receiver, don’t look for any signings.  Once again, the Browns coaching staff and personnel people believe the current crew will be fine once they start to play in a professional passing game.

Everyone in Berea is high on second year wideout Carlton Mitchell, who barely touched the field last season for whatever reason.  Also, remember that Cleveland also used a second round pick on WR Greg Little, a big physical guy who can run after the catch.

The Browns may be active in the trade market, dealing some veterans who were favored by the previous regime for more draft picks in 2012.  It is apparent that Mike Holmgren and Heckert like to build through the draft and more picks mean more maneuverability.

Despite all the changes, it’s time for the Cleveland Browns to start winning football games.  A 5-11 or 6-10 record should not be acceptable.  The results have to start showing in the win column.

JD

A few weeks ago, we talked about how this was Indians’ skipper Manny Acta’s first foray in a pennant race.  He had been managing in the obscurity of bottom tiered teams during his career, and suddenly, he is involved a race to make the playoffs.

For the first time, all of his moves will be viewed with greater observation.

The biggest dilemma he has is at second base, where he has been playing veteran Orlando Cabrera most of the year. 

Acta will tell you how much leadership Cabrera has brought to a young team, and how he is 5th on the ballclub in RBI’s with 38. 

There is no doubt about the former and the latter statistic is a fact.

However, the Indians have brought up one of the prize plums of their farm system in 2B Jason Kipnis, and the Tribe ranks near the bottom in the American League in offensive production at the position.

Since the first of May, Cabrera has hit just .228 with 2 HR and 28 runs knocked in.  For the season, his OPS is 596, which is dismal no matter how you cut it. 

Yes, the veteran ranks high on the team in RBI, but he’s hitting just .230 with a 495 OPS with men in scoring position.  And his lack of production is compounded by the manager placing him sixth in the batting order, behind a bunch of guys who get on base often.  If you bat enough with guys on base, you’ll eventually knock a few in.

With Kipnis on the big league roster, he has to play almost every day.  It’s very difficult for a young player to come up and play one day, sit the next, play again.  They don’t get into a rhythm.  It’s very different from anything they’ve done throughout their minor league career. 

Ask Cord Phelps.  That’s the way he was used and he ultimately failed in his first go at the big league level.

If Cabrera is such a leader, and a great guy in the clubhouse, then he should know that diminished playing time is better for the team.  There were reports that he did a lot of griping when Phelps was brought up.  If that’s the case, then that’s not being a leader.

Most baseball writers have said using Kipnis at second is an automatic upgrade over what the Indians were getting offensively out of the position.  And they don’t mean Luis Valbuena.

And Cabrera is average to below average in terms of range at second, so it’s not like he’s going to win a Gold Glove.

Kipnis received the start in his first game in the bigs, but won’t play in game two because Cabrera is back in the lineup, mostly because he’s hitting .333  lifetime against White Sox starter Edwin Jackson.  However, that’s the past.  Right now, OC isn’t really hitting anyone.  And once again, Kipnis needs to play every day.

There is no question that Orlando Cabrera has meant a lot to the 2011 Cleveland Indians.  He’s been a mentor to Asdrubal Cabrera, who has responded with an MVP type season.  He’s also brought a winning attitude to the team, fostered from his consistent appearances in the post-season. 

Manny Acta has to make the best decision to win games.  And with a struggling offense lately, the best decision is to play Jason Kipnis everyday.  We need to find out if indeed he can contribute with the bat.

MW

Unless you are a baseball team located in a large market, the farm system has to be the life blood of your organization. 

Being able to scout, draft, and sign amateur players and then nurture them into major leaguers allows smaller market teams to be able to compete. 

Heck, the main reason the Cleveland Indians have produced just two good teams from 2002-2010 is because of the poor success they’ve had in developing players.  How many first round draft picks until Lonnie Chisenhall in 2009 are contributing in the major leagues?

Since C.C. Sabathia was picked in 1998, the only first rounders that made the major leagues were Jeremy Guthrie, Michael Aubrey, Brad Snyder, Jeremy Sowers, and Trevor Crowe.  None of those players are anything close to being all-star types.

Over the last three seasons, the farm system has been slowly built into one of the game’s better ones.  They don’t have a lot of potential superstar coming up through the ranks, but they are considered to have many major league caliber players at various levels.

After years of a farm system drought, there is finally rain on the horizon.  Players such as Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis, Adam White, Drew Pomerantz, Cord Phelps, Chun Chen, Zach Putnam, Josh Judy, and others at Kinston and Lake County have given the Tribe depth in the organization.

That’s why it is strange to hear many fans saying the Indians should deal a prime prospect for a hitter or pitcher who might wear a Cleveland uniform for two months.

It just doesn’t make any sense.

Do the Indians need to improve their big league roster?  Of course, particularly if they have designs on making the playoffs this season, which they have a legitimate chance to do.

But you can’t start dealing players who should be everyday players or big league rotation starters in a year or two.  That’s why Chisenhall, Kipnis, White, and Pomerantz have to be considered off-limits.

There isn’t any question that most scouts consider these four players to be big league ready for next season.  Chisenhall is already with the big club, and a lot of people think Kipnis should be in Cleveland. 

White already made a handful of starts for the Tribe before spraining a finger on his pitching hand, but showed he can handle getting major league hitters out.  And Pomerantz was just moved to Akron, following the same path as White in his first year of professional baseball. 

If he continues that path, he’ll be in Cleveland next season.

Large market teams can afford to trade high prospects because they can always fill a hole on their major league roster by signing free agents.  Organizations like the Indians cannot do that.  They have to fill holes within, or get very lucky that a lower tier free agent makes a quantum leap. 

That usually doesn’t happen.

Should the Indians dip into their rich system to get a player who can help them in the stretch drive?  Of course.  Dealing a player like Phelps, who really is blocked by Kipnis, seems to make sense.

In addition, the Tribe has a lot of serviceable arms at Columbus that a rebuilding team might be interested in.  Think about hurlers such as Jeanmar Gomez, Zach McAllister, and David Huff. 

Also, there are some live arms at the Class A level, and swapping one of those guys for a useful big league part this year isn’t a huge gamble because those guys may need two or three more years of seasoning. 

GM Chris Antonetti understands this.  He knows the farm system is of major importance for a franchise like the Indians. 

Trading one of the team’s elite prospect for a rent-a-player would be foolhardy.  Even dealing for a guy who won’t be a free agent for two years doesn’t make sense. 

The elite prospects could be here for six years, not two.

Plus, there is no guarantee that a player like Carlos Beltran or Hunter Pence puts the Indians in the playoffs anyway.  It’s a gamble not worth the risk.

KM

The Cleveland Indians continue to be a resilient bunch. 

After a disappointing weekend in Baltimore, losing the last two games to the Orioles after winning the first two, the Tribe went into Minnesota on Monday and swept a day-night doubleheader from the Twins, and now lead the AL Central by one game over Detroit.

This was after getting the news that Grady Sizemore once again injured his right knee and had to be put on the 15 day disabled list.  Sizemore joins Shin-Soo Choo and Alex White among key Indians currently on the shelf.

Yet, the team continues to win, coming up with big victories just when you think the season in starting to come apart at the seams.

Yesterday’s unlikely hero was left-hander David Huff. 

Huff was terrible last season, going 2-11 after winning 11 games as a rookie in 2009.  In spring training, it seemed like Huff would pitch well once around the batting order, but then follow that up by giving up a big inning and taking his team out of the game.

But there he was, throwing seven shutout frames in a big game on the road, in a place where the Indians won just once in the past calendar year. 

He even earned a spot on the big league roster.  Huff was expected to make a spot start only, but his performance, coupled with a poor outing from Jeanmar Gomez on Sunday, forced the front office to keep the southpaw and send Gomez back to Columbus.

Another key contributor in the sweep was CF Ezequiel Carrera, who contributed an RBI single in the first game, and stole two bases in the twinbill.  Carrera was picked up from the place which seemingly is part of the Cleveland farm system, Seattle, in exchange for Russell Branyan. 

You can add Carrera, a great defensive outfielder, to Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera as players picked up from the Mariners for marginal major league players.  He’s probably a fourth outfielder in the long run, but he has great speed and makes contact.  If the Indians want to stay in the race, they can’t rely on Carrera to replace Sizemore.

Still, if I’m the Seattle owner, I’m telling my GM not to accept any calls from Cleveland.

And as for Asdrubal Cabrera, he continues to show that he is a candidate for league MVP if the Tribe can stay in contention. 

The switch-hitting SS is now hitting .290 with 17 HR and 59 RBI’s while making a daily highlight reel defensively as the key defensive position on the field.  Cabrera ranks in the top ten in the AL in hits and extra base hits, and should get consideration for his first gold glove at the end of the season.

He continues to put up numbers and Cleveland remains in the playoff hunt, he’s going to garner a lot of MVP support. 

One player overlooked though is catcher Carlos Santana, who’s been a fixture in the middle of the lineup all year, but gets ignored because of his low batting average, hovering around .230. 

However, Santana is on pace to hit around 25 homers, knock in 80 runs, and still has an on base percentage of over .360 because he’s in the top five of the league in walks. 

Recently, his power numbers have been increasing.

The Indians have now won 51 games this season, about a month ahead of where they were at this point last season.  They done it despite missing Choo, Hafner, Sizemore for significant chunks of the season, and with off years from Fausto Carmona, Choo, and Sizemore.

A different guy is the hero seemingly every night.  The constants are Asdrubal and Michael Brantley (another guy quietly putting together a solid season), but there usually is another guy every night.

The outstanding work from the bullpen and solid work of the starters figure in here too, no doubt about that.

Who will emerge during the last two and a half months of the season?

MW